My Old Band

Today I attended the holiday concert of the community band I used to play in. It was quite enjoyable and I got to chat with a couple of former band mates.

The Pickering Community Concert Band was formed in 1990 and has been rehearsing on Tuesday nights at the East Shore Community Centre ever since. I played the oboe and subbed in as conductor from time to time.

It was a nice way to spend a festive Sunday afternoon.

On the way home I picked up tacos from Cocodrilo, the taco truck in front of the Ajax Canadian Tire. Yum! While I was waiting for my taco order, I went into the store and bought the Santa Snoopy inflatable. I bought extra tacos which I froze and will be deliciously reheated for some future dinner. 

Before I attended the concert I got most of the stitching done on the Tiny Modernist ‘Cardinal Wreath’. I used all the called-for colours and 28ct tea dyed linen - all from my stash. I stitched with two strands over two threads. 

I just have the backstitching to finish and the ‘snow’. I used white rayon floss in the centre of the ornament and will use it for the snow plus some HotFix ‘jewels’.

I got Day 23s ribbing done on the KAL stocking. Today was the heel and the hanger. The heel involved picking up stitches on either side of the waste yarn and knitting an afterthought heel, closing the last stitches with Kitchener stitch. I then cast on 4 sts on the top edge and knit i-cord, folded it on itself and grafted it to the base of it.

I’ve been watching the new ‘Cross’ series on Netflix. It is quite disturbing and drawn out. I think I need to watch something with more levity next.

Day 21

 I missed doing the KAL yesterday so got caught up this evening. (Oops! Not the sharpest photo).

I think we'll have one more day of knitting the design, then a day on the ribbed cuff, then a day on the afterthought heel.

I'm so glad the KAL was in November this year as I will be away a couple of days next month and didn't want to deal with it.

I decided to change the beaks on the puffin hats I knit. These beaks looked too pointy.

so I took out the leftmost stitch to make the beaks a little blunter.  (Sorry, bad lighting)

I think they look much better. Not sure when I'll pass them off to the person who commissioned me to knit them. The big occasion for which they were created isn't until next March.

I did a bit more stitching on Miss Hazel.

My eyes and I get tired at night so don't get a lot done. I need to do more daytime stitching.

I raked 5 yard waste bags of leaves on Tuesday and was thrilled to not be crippled when I got out of bed the next morning. I have an excellent, ergonomic 24" rake so the whole process only took about an hour. I was surprised I finished so quickly. We only have a tree on our boulevard but it is huge and likes to hold onto its leaves. Usually it's December when the last ones fall. I also scooped up the leaves that were against the curb and cleared the leaves away from the storm grate down the street. 

That activity used up my last bags so I dropped into Canadian Tire for more yesterday. Christmas has exploded in there. I enjoyed seeing all the decorations and almost purchased an inflatable Santa Snoopy on his doghouse but held off. Maybe I'll go back and get it for next year.

We displayed this snow globe for several years on our front porch. It lit up and the blower blew little styrofoam balls around the inside. However it sprang a leak one year and a bunch of the 'snow' escaped. You can see my duct tape patch above the lower layer. It finally became too damaged to use any more and we scrapped it a couple of years ago.

Snoopy would be a good replacement.

I have been having issues lately with both bank fraud and credit card fraud. A month or so ago a couple of $600 withdrawals were taken from my account and sent to a PayPal account - not mine. I disputed it and the bank replaced the funds within a day. Phew! Then today, I was going over my credit card statement and noted a purchase from Apple for over $200. Huh? What the heck was that about?

I checked my Apple account and there was nothing there about this so I called and spoke to an 'advisor' who checked and didn't see what I supposedly bought for that amount. She reversed the charge which should show up on next month's bill. 

It really shows that one should check all financial statements every month. With so much being done virtually, hackers are becoming quite clever at accessing accounts. 

Day 17

I was tired after the big Peel Stitch-In on Saturday so didn't do Day 16's six rounds of knitting then. I got caught up last night.

Most of my drive to Port Credit for the Stitch-In on Saturday went well. Just as I was getting onto the QEW, we all slowed down to a crawl because of 2 accidents which caused lane closures. I arrived almost 30 minutes late. Fortunately, Chris texted me to tell me where I could park as the parking at Clarke Hall is all on the street. Other than dropping into Gitta's several years ago, I've never spent any time in this area. Downtown Port Credit looks very cute and worth exploring.

Once I got into the hall, I found Chris at the back and got set up. I worked a bit on the Christmas tree piece and got more done on Miss Hazel. This is what she looks like today after the stitch day and my Monday morning stitching.

As usual, the photo on the pattern doesn't do the stitching justice. I just adore the colour of her dress - WDW Twilight.

There were 7 vendors around the periphery of the hall. Kimat Designs, Tiny Modernist, some folks selling project bags and other sewn items, someone selling beaded items like zipper pulls, and a couple of folks selling hand-dyed fabric. Lots to choose from.

I purchased 3 charts from Tiny Modernist. Cardinal wreath - 42 x 44. with DMC and Anchor choices of thread.

These two animals were on display: Autumn Animal Pillows. Both about 48 x 72 on one piece of fabric.

I asked if she had the other three seasons and she did have Spring Rabbit Pillows. 44 x 70 and 56 x 70 respectively. They are so cute! 

There really isn't a lot of stitching on any of these animal pieces and happily, the outline is graphed - no guessing. It will also be easy to FFO them with the outline already stitched.

There were door prizes and a smalls exchange. The small I received was very disappointing - not what I would call a small, not decorative, not stitched, and not of any value. I didn't mind giving away one of my triangular scissor cases, though, as I have so many. I hope the person who received it enjoys it. I walked around the hall several times, trying to find who got it but never did find them. 

I added some 'bling' to snazz it up a bit but didn't get a photograph before wrapping it up.

For the way home when the traffic on the regular routes would be heavy, Kim suggested driving up Hurontario St. to get to the 407. There was a lot of construction and narrowing of lanes on Hurontario but we really kept moving at a good pace so I got home in reasonable time. Then baffed out for the rest of the evening. Apparently the construction on Hurontario is a rapid transit project that has gone way past its due date for completion. Regardless, it got me to the much less aggravating toll road in fairly short order.

I was anxious about getting a Christmas ornament finished for our guild's ornament exchange but just today realized it's not until next month's meeting - phew! I have the piece stitched I just need to FFO it.

Scooter came out for a visit yesterday, late afternoon and helped me put the deck furniture away for the winter (down to the basement) and loaded the winter tires into the back of the car for the tire swap tomorrow. As a reward, I fed him a nice, rotisserie chicken dinner with green beans, scalloped potatoes, and Häagen-Dazs chocolate and peanut butter ice cream. Then we watched the last 7 minutes of the Bills game when they beat Kansas City 21  - 30. It was the first time KC has allowed the opposing team to score over 28 points in the last 30 games!! Way to go Bills. It felt like Skip was right there with us. Kinda comforting.

On the way to stitching this morning, the radio folks were wondering why Taylor Swift wasn't at the Bills game to cheer for her boyfriend, Travis Kelse. Um, she's in the middle of a six concert stint in Toronto. Where, in over 3.5hours, she performs over 40 of her songs each night. I'm just guessing she was resting comfortably somewhere. I hope they don't speculate that the KC game was cursed because she wasn't there. Good grief. After Toronto's 3 concerts next week, she'll perform her last 3 concerts of the tour in Dec. 6 - 8 in Vancouver.

I couldn't name or recognize a single tune of hers but I really admire what an industry she has created. So many people are employed on her tours. 180 transport trucks were required for all the stage equipment. And the tour started in March of 2023! Granted she did take a couple of months off here and there but by the end of the tour next month, she will have performed 149 shows over 5 continents and brought in almost 2 billion dollars in revenue. And she's only 34 years old. Brava!

And finally, I'm considering Mary Corbet's Christmas mitten StitchALong. Again, I have everything I need in my stash. I welcome the opportunity to experiment with various specialty stitches.

Do make sure to print the corrected mitten template at the right size. Double check the recommended height of the mitten on the printout. I probably won't complete mine before Christmas but I'm in no rush. It will be nice to have festive things to work on between Christmas and the New Year.

Have you registered for the Jingle Ball? Lots of fun on the first weekend of December for only $10US. 

And now, time for a nap.

Day 15

I'm having a lazy day. Tomorrow I'm attending the Peel Stitch In in Port Credit and will have to get an early start to get there for 10am.

I got caught up on my mystery KAL today, finishing Day 15's rounds just a few minutes ago.

9 more days to go. One of those days will probably be working the afterthought heel where that row of pink stitches are.

Yesterday we spent the morning at Jeanette's helping her sort through some of her mother's things. Her folks have had to downsize and Jeanette wanted us to help her think of what to do with some of her things. I took a hatbox full of vintage hats which I'll pass on to my friend for his daughter who works in the costume department at Stratford.

I got a little bit of stitching done on Miss Hazel.

I'll continue to work on it at the stitch day tomorrow.

I picked up my travel documents for my upcoming Alpine Christmas Market tour on the way home. I need to start laying things out to get ready for packing. Lots of decisions of what to take for dressing in layers. I did acquire from Amazon a very suitable long, waterproof windbreaker that is lined with fleece. It's breathable, has a bit of stretch and has a lined, detachable hood.

It should be perfect for any weather we encounter on our trip.

Then I went to Cyrus Persian Restaurant in Oshawa for delicious, melt-in-the-mouth barg (grilled filet steak kabob), salad, and baklava. It's mostly a takeout place but there are tables for dining in cafeteria-style. 

Day 11

 It's day 12 but I haven't done today's 6 rounds yet. Here it is after yesterday's:

At stitching yesterday morning, I continued work on the gold stand for the tree. There's a LOT of stitching on this piece. I'm not even trying to have it finished for this year's holiday season.

After all that kitting up I did yesterday, I started Miss Hazel last night. I'm using a #26 needle which makes a larger hole and creates less drag on the thread. 

I usually start in the centre of the fabric and work out. The hand-dyed threads on the larger areas are really effective. I don't think I'll make this a standup when I'm finished but one never knows.

Stitchery Shopping with a List

We are fortunate to have the stitchery shop, Kimat Designs in our area. I usually shop by appointment as the shop is in their home and they have many vending events that they're out for. They're very accommodating with orders from their website, via email, or phone. I usually email my needs and unless I need to peruse other items in their shop (like I did today), they'll leave them in the mailbox for me to pick up and I just eTransfer the money. 

Today after stitching I went over there to get the Weeks Dye Works threads I needed to kit up Miss Hazel and Clovis.

Last night I went through my stash and determined what threads I was missing for my upcoming projects. 

I store my DMC floss in FlossAway bags but my hand-dyeds in Ziploc snack bags. I also have all the colours in my stash listed in Files on my iPhone.

These pieces are pretty small  - no more than 6" high so I found a nice remnant in Kim and Meagan's remnant box that I'll split into two 10" x 9" pieces - one for each project.

I stitched Miss Maggie Mae on 36 ct, one over two, and toyed with the idea that the coverage would be better with 40ct but this 38ct is a good compromise.

While there, I also bought a variegated pumpkin colour for the Primrose Cottage 'Autumn Quaker' - Sleepy Cat from Cottage Garden Threads, an Australian company. Wouldn't you just love to be one of the people naming the colours?

I always have a self-threading needle handy for those annoying last bits of threads that need to be tacked down. Usually I weave the needle under threads on the back, pop the thread into the top of the needle (some needles have side entries), and pull through.

I've used Clover Self-Threading Needles before so went with them again. The pack comes with a variety of sizes. I prefer the thinner ones.

I've put the threads in the respective pattern bags and am ready to start any one of the projects. Probably Miss Hazel will be the first one.

I was pretty proud of myself that all my purchases were for a specific project or purpose and not just stash enhancement. I've been looking at all my stash and realize that it certainly doesn't need any more enhancement and shopping for specific items I need is how I plan to operate from today forward. 

Then there's my yarn stash. On Thursday, as part of our outing in The Big City, we visited EweKnit. The yarns were scrumptious but I really wasn't compelled to buy anything after having had a good look at the bins of yarn I already have. I do plan to start another Holden Shawlette. It will be my third or fourth. 

These are a couple I knit a few years ago. I actually wore it today.

Any tonal yarn would work. The lacework would not show well with anything 'busier'. A good wet blcoking really opens up the eyelet holes.

It's a really easy pattern, good for knitting whilst watching TV. One skein of fingering weight/sock yarn is perfect for the project. It might be a good one to take on my upcoming trip as it can be easily rolled up and stuck into my carryon bag. Barb, Judy, and I will do somewhat of a knitalong.

Day 10

I didn’t get around to the Arne and Carlos KAL yesterday. I was busy with one thing or another then too tired in the evening to even knit. 

I had stopped into the local public library to pick up some DVDs to have a little filmfest with myself this weekend. 

One of the DVDs was too annoying to watch. I couldn’t get the captions to appear on the screen (I usually have the captions enabled) and the ongoing comments by the actors and director did appear on the screen. So ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ went back in the case. 

‘The Manchurian Candidate’ was the next choice - and an interesting premise. I have three others to pick from before I return them all at the end of the week. Netflix and Prime Video are definitely my preferred entertainment sources.

I just finished Days 9 and 10 of the KAL. After Day 8, waste yarn is knit on half the stocking stitches. I used a nice, slippery bamboo yarn (the singular pink row of stitches in the green area) that will pull out easily when removed to free up the stitches above and below it. The stitches are picked up in the round and the afterthought heel is then knit. This type of heel is a really good option when knitting a particular pattern that you don’t want interrupted on the front of the sock at the fold of the instep. 

So the rest of the sock will be knit as a big tube with the toe at one end and the cuff at the other. And the heel will be added last.

I’m now planning what to take to work on at the Peel Stitch In next weekend. I can get a lot of work on Kathy Barrick’s Merry Christmas Wishes.

I’ve taken an inventory on Hazel and Clovis from Stacy Nash’s Animal Crackers series. I’ll buy the missing threads and get them kitted up to start at the Stitch In.

Whiskers?

At stitching last Monday, Judy brought her recently-FFOd Maggie Mae as a stand-up. She mentioned that she forgot about doing the whiskers until afterwards. “Whiskers?”, I inquired and quickly Googled the image of the pattern on my iPhone. 

Sure enough, I, too, had forgotten to give Maggie Mae her whiskers. This is not the first time I’ve had to add stitches after fully finishing items.

I didn’t have  the called-for floss (WDW Linen) so selected something close (DMC 3866). Using one strand, I knotted the end and plunged the needle into her stuffing, popping the knot through the outer fabric. The knot got caught in the fibrefill.  I then stitched the whiskers from the inside. Finally I exited the needle a few centimetres away, tied a knot, popped the knot through the fabric and did that a couple more times, finally cutting the thread.

All done!

She has whiskers now! 

On a totally unrelated topic, I did an Amazon return today - my first in at least 4 years. It was so easy (as Barb had reassured me it would be). I went online to my account on their website and selected the item that I wanted to return, then the reason from the dropdown menu. I was promptly sent an email with a QR code to take to the post office with the item in its original packaging. I didn't even have to wrap the package, put it in a box, or address it! At the post office, the QR code was scanned which generated a sticker with a barcode. The post office employee stuck it on my package, scanned the bar code and that was it! The return was accepted within minutes and I got another email that refund should appear on my credit card statement within 2 - 4 days.

I have since ordered what I hope will be an acceptable item which will be delivered tomorrow, and another item for my upcoming trip. It should arrive on Monday. 

A Fun Day in the City

Marilyn, Jeanette, Barb, and I ventured into Toronto to see the Canadian quilt exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). We got Jeanette fixed up with her Presto card and coordinated our meet-up on the GO train. Once at Union Station we enjoyed 'elevensies' and Jeanette's first Starbucks order ever. Elevensies ia something we have learned from Jeanette - basically it's a coffee break around 11am - a very civilized pause in the day.

We hopped on the subway to the museum and took in the 20 iconic Canadian quilts. The exhibit is only on for another week.

Here are three of the most remarkable (to me) quilts:

Over 8000 Triangles! - each no more than 2cm long.

The spiraling beads around the figures particularly attracted me to this one.

Then I read the placard. 2010! Does the world recognize our Indigenous people as a sovereign nation yet? So ironic that they had no problem getting into Bolivia (probably no passport scanners or the like) but couldn't get back into their own country. On further investigation because they were not admitted to Canada nor the UK and they had to forfeit their games, dropping them to last place.

This quilt told the story from the Bible of Joseph in several little vignettes using appliqué, embroidery, and trapunto. There was a stunning amount of intricate detail, from both the piecing and the hand quilting,

When we finished there, We had lunch at a little cafeteria by the U of T campus. Freshly made sandwiches for under $7! Then again, hopped on the subway to the Ossington station to visit EweKnit, a yarn and craft shop on Bloor St.

Once home, I continued with the Arne and Carlos KAL:

Day 7

Day 8 

I think the heel might be next.

This morning I was confirmed for attending the Peel Stitch In next Saturday. Chris, a new stitching friend with whom I shared a table at the Pastime Pieces stitching retreat, emailed me yesterday to see if I was going. I hadn't really thought about it to that point but being my 'year of yes' and only an hour drive from here, I decided to go and let her know. I contacted the organizer to say I was interested and I got word this morning that I was in. There is space for 80 of us at a hall in Port Credit. 

It will be an early wake-up but not a problem for something that is sure to be lots of fun.

My session with the grief counselor on Thursday went well. I wasn't sure what to expect but we basically chatted about the respective losses of our husbands and compared notes. I think I'm doing as well as can be expected in my journey.

Having so many wonderful things to look forward to and many wonderful people to share the experiences with certainly make things much more tolerable. I had my social network already established, regular weekly activities established, and engrossing past times established to keep me busy. I am so very fortunate than most folks in my situation.

In spite of the crappy 'cards' we get dealt, life is good.

Nervously Knitting

It’s Election Day in the US and I’m very nervous about what the outcome will be. We probably won’t know for sure for a couple of days because of all the hand counting of ballots.

I had a nice afternoon of stitching with Jen1 and Barb. The past couple of days I’ve finished the motifs of the Christmas tree.

Still lots to do and will keep plugging away.

I finally took a photo of my Live on Little. I still have to finish the house (converted from a church) and may add a little something to the right between the house and the tree. There are a couple of ‘bricks’ that I still need to fill in.

Today is day 5 of the stocking KAL. I’m all caught up.

After Day 4:

After Day 5:

I skipped out on my Tuesday night crafty group. I got home after 6 from a hair appointment and I was too pooped to go out again.

Day 3 of the KAL (KnitALong)

I just finished today's 3 rounds of the KAL. 

I'm not in love with the emerald green. A darker one would work better, I think. I'll have to check other Michaels stores to see if there is a darker green in stock.

 

November Stitch Day with the Guild

Yesterday was our guild's stitch day - the first Saturday of the month all year. I got the rest of the mortar done on the house on my Live on Little piece (pics to follow) then worked on my Kathy Barrick Christmas tree piece.

Once home I completed Day 2 of the Arne and Carlos Mystery Stocking KnitALong and after posting this will knit Day 3's six rows.

I then completed the Puffin Hat that I was commissioned to knit.

I took some artistic license with the design, adding a couple of rounds here and there, duplicate stitching the beaks on the puffins rather than deal with stranding 3 yarns for those rows, and only using a medium and light blue rather than dark, medium, and light.

The pattern calls for 90 sts and 6 repeats but due to the recipients larger head, I cast on 105 sts and did 7 repeats. 

The decreases for the crown on the chart were a bit misleading so I just did what I thought would work and it did. Also the chart calls for a k3tog on the final round before finishing/closing the top. this creates a slanted stitch that shows. I thought a centre double decrease would look better. This is done by slipping 2sts together knitwise onto the right needle, knitting the next stitch, then passing the two slipped stitches over the knit stitch. What results is the outer two stitches slanting towards the centre and the centre stitch resting on top.

I emailed the person who asked me to knit the hat with photos. She was pleased with the result. I said there was more than enough yarn left for me to knit her one - either the same pattern or another pattern using these colours. She thought another one the same would be good so I have started it and am at the round at the top of the beaks. Instead of using orange yarn there, I knit with the white, then cover the beak stitches with the orange yarn using a darning needle and duplicate stitch.  The orange yarn is a bit thicker so covers nicely.

These hats are for an upcoming tour of Iceland that we'll be doing before our cruise out of Bergen up and down the western coast of Norway - well beyond the Arctic Circle. A first for me. 

Arne and Carlos just did a knitting cruise out of  Bergen on the same itinerary and highlight each day on their Instagram page. 

Skip and I travelled to Bergen on our Scandinavian tour back in 2017 and after that, the Norwegian cruise was on our bucket list. Sadly, Skip didn't live long enough for us to do it but I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to do this trip with dear friends. Skip's spirit will be with us. 

• Watched 'Maudie' on Netflix. 
• Enjoyed 'Nobody Wants This' and hope we don't have to wait long for the next season.
• Also watched the Martha Stewart documentary.