Tiny Sweaters, etc.

I've been watching Arne and Carlos' Sit and Knit for a Bit videos on YouTube. They're getting ready for Christmas and have designed another 24 Christmas balls and 24 Advent Christmas Mini Nordic Jumpers. The patterns are for sale on their website and they'll reveal daily in December. They have released the entire 2021 Christmas ball pattern already. I spent an entire evening adapting the large ball patterns to smaller ones - the size of the mini balls from last year - using cross-stitch software. Yes, it works for knitting, too.

I liked the idea of Christmas sweaters but didn't want to get involved with knitting them. In the past, I've knit lots of Christmas balls and advent mittens.

I really enjoyed Arne and Carlos' recent video on how they met. The kickoff to their great success happened when a stylish Norwegian newscaster wore one of their sweaters on air. All of a sudden everyone wanted to know what fashion house they were from. It was surprising to know that all this talent didn't come from Oslo but a converted train station high on a mountain in central Norway. It was a very sweet and interesting episode.

On one of the Facebook knitting groups, someone posted pics of tiny Christmas sweaters they had knit. The pattern is Tiny Sweaters by Malia Mae Joseph. I was inspired and quickly knit a couple of them.

I still need to embroider on the red one and possibly create little coat hangers. It's a free pattern on Ravelry and there are others as well.

My attention span is very short these days so I appreciate being able to whip up a project quickly and move on.

I stitched last week's Steady Thread SAL flower - Dutch Iris.

I downloaded this week's last night. It's narcissus but I will stitch them like daffodils.

I was commissioned to make three project bags for Jeanette. I have one completed 

and the fabric for the second one prepped and ready to cut. 

The William Morris fabric by Moda is beautiful. I sure wish I had been aware of it last year when it was widely available. I would have bought a bunch for myself.

I installed our new Samsung TV yesterday. I can certainly understand why technophobes get so frustrated. I had to Google how to raise and lower the volume on the light-powered (solar or indoor) remote control with no number pad. I also got a couple of apps installed on it that weren't already programmed so Skip can watch The Red Zone on DAZN on Sunday afternoons for 7 hours. It's the male equivalent of 'Happy wife, happy life'. 

More has been done on Token of Fall. The greens and dark blue are silk threads. The rest are DMC.

It's another gorgeous, sunny day and I can hear a neighbour's incessant leaf-blowing. I'm going to head outside and get some Vitamin D.

Happy weekend, y'all!

I Don't Know Why I'm in Such a Hurry

I got quite a bit of stitching done yesterday,

and finished the bird last night.

I like the swirly light blue motif. I still need to finish the light blue DMC 932 in the tail for the bird to be really finished.

I haven't decided whether I'll do the letters with one thread or two. The 'e' is done with two. 

I have selected an ornament to finish for our Trillium Guild ornament exchange at our December meeting. It'll be a pretty plain ornament finish but I'll jazz it up with cording.

When I was dropping something off at the library last week I noted that the plexiglass container for the Red Scarf Project was filling up. 6" x 60" scarves are created with red yarn and donated for HIV Awareness Week the last week of November, when the scarves will be tied around the city with tags that say "Please take this scarf if you are cold".

I have a bunch of Mary Maxim acrylic DK yarn that I bought at a tent sale with the intention of weaving a bunch of them like I did back in 2015.

This time, I decided to crochet at least one with a big hook (5mm) and double crochet so it would go faster. 

I chained 24 sts, then am doing 24 simple double crochet stitches back and forth. In just a couple of hours I am almost half finished.

It's a loose weave but I like the softness and drape. A smaller needle would have made it bullet-proof, which probably would be handy on city streets but doesn't make for a snuggly scarf and would have required about double the crocheting. This way I'll be able to knock off a couple of these while I'm sitting watching TV over the next few days.

I have been looking for my box of sewing threads for the past week or so. I've hunted high and low to no avail. Finally yesterday, I was picking something up from the dining room (aka Geri's Sweat Shop/my sewing area) and I found the container WAY back under the cart that I keep my sewing stuff and ironing board on. Thanks goodness I don't have to replace all those spools of thread. I have been commissioned to make some project bags and now have all the materials I need. I just need to get off my behind and get started making them. Once I get going I enjoy the process, it's just a matter of tearing myself away from stitching that is my challenge.

I used my nifty carpet cleaner to clean part of the family room carpet yesterday - the spot where I had spilled chocolate pudding. I can't believe how dirty the water was that I pulled out of that little  bit of carpet. I then cleaned a bit of the dining room carpet (which is when I found my box of threads) and it's amazing how good the carpet looks. I will have to do more of it sometime. It takes quite a bit of effort hauling the machine around and I work up quite a sweat. But with the furnace on, the carpets dry pretty quickly.

I have lots on my crafting 'to do' list:  * are 'must do' items

• make one of my wool felt applique ugly Christmas sweater ornaments
• *finish the ornament for our guild ornament exchange.
• make the wool felt applique sheep and mitten piece
• *sew three project bags
• *crochet some more red scarves
• bind the quilt Sue quilted for me on her long-arm over a year ago
• *think of a treat I can make for my closest crafty friends for Christmas and make it.
• find my Cinnamon Stars pattern to give to Barb
• rummage through my pattern stash for other giveways
• rummage through my pattern stash for projects to kit up and stitch
• stitch the companion piece to my Strawberry Thief
• start my Three Pumpkins project.
• *get caught up on my Steady Thread SAL
• plan some projects to start to whittle down my yarn stash 
• assess the yarn stash for skeins to give away to knitters or to charity.

I'm sure there are lots more things to do but that's a start.

Skip and I are looking forward to our little trip to Niagara Falls for his birthday in December. I sure hope our COVID numbers stay low enough for us to feel safe enough to go. I'll be really disappointed if we have to cancel again because of a surge in COVID cases.  I so enjoyed staying in the hotel at Elim and hope we can start taking more little trips - I LOVE staying in hotels.

We've even discussed flying down to TX for the spring bird migration. I told Skip it had to be between April 4 and 27 so we could fit it in between two stitching retreats I'm planning to attend. Again, much will depend on if we still have to get PCR tests to re-enter Canada and what the COVID numbers are in the Rio Grande Valley. I most certainly don't want to get sick down there.

There certainly is lots to look forward to.

Fall Elim 2021

We had a lot of fun at the Elim stitching retreat this weekend. It went by quickly because we were only there Friday to Sunday.  Trillium Guild usually books from Thursday to Sunday but this one wasn't our retreat. We were filling out the numbers for the Ganaraska Quilt Guild. 

Jen1 and I drove up Friday morning, arriving at about 10:15. We went to our assigned rooms in the motel. They were very comfortable, double bed, table and chairs, efficiency kitchen with kettle, toaster, microwave oven, full fridge, plates and utensils. It was very cozy. It's such a treat to have a room to myself.

We took up most of one side of the chapel; one per table because of COVID spacing. We could remove our masks if we were sitting down but wore them any time we were standing up and moving around the room. It wasn't all that conducive to a lot of chitter chatter but was conducive to getting lots done.

Likewise, the quilters had lots of room to spread out.

I had decided to stitch on a rotation on Friday so every hour I switched projects. First, I wanted to finish up the little bits of my Strawberry Thief piece.

I then got a good start on the companion piece. It's not a great photo but the fabric matches the photo above.

Then I did the outlines of the peace lily which was this week's Steady Thread Blackwork SAL flower. I outlined the 'white' flower with grey and finished it up this afternoon by adding the green stem and yellow interiors.

Later on that day I started my Token of Fall by Hello from Liz Mathews.

I had a few issues deciding which light blue I would use. I did have a Dinky Dyes colour Ningaloo but it didn't go well with the darker Gloriana Northern Lights so I defaulted to DMC 932 for the lighter blue. I'm liking working with the silk threads and am stitching 2 over 2 to get the best coverage on the 36ct Zweigart Cream and Sugar fabric. The darker green is a bit fuzzy after stitching so I'll try my SnagNabIt tool will help that. I'll have to be careful with the silk threads and stitching in hand.

The rest of the weekend was spent stitching Token of Fall, perusing books and magazines on the giveaway table, setting up the raffle of donated items, 

snacking on the many treats provided, eating meals, looking up future retreats online, visiting in Jen1 and Poppy's 'suite' after hours, setting up a Show and Share table, doing the raffle, etc., etc.

After lunch yesterday we vacated our rooms and Jen1 and I got home by about 3. We did take time for a group photo before departing. It is a lovely setting in the fall.

Jeanette, Siobhain, Sue, Mary, Poppy, Janet, Shelley, Immy, Phyllis, Geri, Jennifer, Sylvia and Marilyn.

I was really pooped when I got home and had to have a nap while Skip prepared a delicious roast beef dinner. We had 20 trick-or-treaters, the most we've had in several years and turned out the lights at 8pm. 

This morning I have what Jennifer called a retreat 'hangover'. I didn't do much except a bit of stitching and unpacking. 

I have a couple more projects I want to kit up, inspired by a couple of the magazines I got from the 'giveaway table'. Kim has the supplies so I will be making an order soon. 

I also want to get my ornament done for our guild's Christmas ornament exchange. JenP found a Secret Santa app so we've picked our recipients. Mailing deadline is December 1. If delivering in person, it needs to be done by Dec. 13, (preferably anonymously) so the ornaments can be opened and the Secret Santas identified at our December meeting via Zoom on December 15. The exchange was very successful last year and we have as many participants again this year.

Several of us are very excited about StitchNorth which will be held April 1 - 3, 2022 at the Courtyard Marriott in Brampton. Our guild's April Elim retreat is tentatively the last weekend of April.

So we have lots to look forward to and hopefully by late spring it will be safe enough for us to resume our road trips and not have to have a costly COVID test to return home.

It's Been A While

I finished the model I was stitching for Teresa Kogut and am ready to mail it to her. I can't show it to you yet as it will be part of her new releases next March at Market in Nashville. Once I think I've finished stitching something, I take a photo of it and look at it closely a little while later. It then go over the pattern and see if I've missed anything. Yesterday I found about 4 things I'd missed so am glad I took the time to check it.

I did go back to my Steady Thread SAL garden of flowers project after leaving it for about a month. This week's flower (Week 43) was roses. I had no trouble selecting the colours.

I have a few to catch up on and some decisions to make about what substitutions I want to make. I'm not doing the outer border so I can substitute any of those flowers for some of the interior ones. The graphs just need to be re-jigged a bit.

Only 8 more weeks to go on this!

I have a bunch of projects I want to start or work on. Last night I started Cecilia Turner's 'Winter Cardinal Etching' and got the cardinal finished using DMC 115 - my favourite variegated red floss. I cut out the darkest threads and only used the brightest. Now I'm doing the trees.

I'm stitching 2 over 2 on 36ct white linen from my stash. I've had the little piece of linen ready for months and kitted the project up last week. The finished piece only measures 3" x3" (7.5cm x 7.5cm) and fits nicely in a 10cm x 10cm frame which I already have in my frame stash.

I'm so excited to be going away this weekend for a stitching retreat at Elim Lodge. It's actually a quilting retreat but they needed extra bodies to make up the minimum number. So about half of the 21 or 22 attendees will be quilters and the other half will be stitchers. I am taking as many UFOs as I can locate and plan to do a rotation throughout the weekend. 

We each get our own bedroom and most get our own bathroom. We eat together in a dining hall. Because of COVID we'll be wearing masks except when we're seated for meals or seated at our work station in the hall. Rather than buffet-style, we'll be served farm style - bowls and platters will be put on our tables of 6 - 8 diners. Basically it's three days of stitching fun, inspiration, snacking, and relaxation.

StitchNorth has also been recheduled for the first weekend of April 2022 at long last. With room capacity limitations only 160 are going to be registered but if capacity limits lift (and they are scheduled to next March here in Ontario) at least 100 more stitchers will be allowed to attend. I anticipate seeing some FlossTubers whom I've followed, spend three days stitching, shopping at the marketplace, being inspired, and generally having a wonderful time. Poppy is going to be my roommate and Jeanette and Barb got in from the wait list. We're going to talk it up at Elim this weekend and see who else thinks they might want to come.

Today is a grey, rainy day. I'm still in my jammies as I write this at almost 1pm. Tomorrow should be nicer so Skip and I are going on a little day trip to get out of the house, enjoy the scenery, and do a little shopping.

A Fall Colour Tour

Skip and I hit the open road today, knowing the weather would be fabulous and the autumn leaves reaching their peak. 

As Skip had never driven on the new portion of the 407 from Oshawa to Hwy 115, we went by that route, then ducked down to the Kirby exit and the road to Bewdley. We continued cross country as we could drive more slowly and take in all the colours, and vistas as we went over the crests of hills en route. 

The route we took had us go right past the Primrose Donkey Sanctuary. It's only open for visitors on Thursday and Sunday from 1pm to 3pm so we didn't go in. We got a good look at some of the inhabitants from the road. 

While going through Alderville, we noted the cheap(er) gas prices and made a note to top up the tank on the way back home.

Once at Campbellford, I headed to Your #1 Sewing Centre on Bridge St E. I remembered I was looking for the pattern I saw at Thimbles and Things last month and they had it.

I was going to take their online class but decided to just get the pattern and make it myself. In reading the actual pattern there was a suggestion to make one side with the green fabrics for Christmas and the other side with autumnal colours which I thought was a great idea.

I have enough different green fabrics to do the Christmas version. Will have to scout around in my stash for autumnal colours.

I also picked up some small seam rippers which are great for removing erroneous stitches quickly. Finally, I bought two 1/3m of Brother Rabbit in Indigo from Moda in their Morris Garden collection. 

It wasn't until I got home that I noticed the 2 thirds I bought totalled less than $6!! I will definitely hit the 1/2m and 1/3m bins next time I'm up there. 

We planned to buy some buttertarts and coffee at Dooher's Bakery across the street from the quilt shop but there was a big socially-distanced lineup outside. We quickly revised our plans and got subs a few doors down at Master Submarine and dined at a picnic table along the river across from the big toonie. It had warmed to almost 20C by this point so was very pleasant.

After lunch we dropped into Kerr's Corner Books  for a little look-see. It is a well-curated little book shop  with many of the current bestsellers and is attached to a rubber stamp shop,  Frog's Whiskers Ink. The proprietor (Mr Kerr?) informed me his wife designs the rubber stamps and he makes them.

Right away I saw "Unravelling Canada: A Knitting Odyssey" 

in which 'author and knitter Sylvia Olsen explores Canada's history, landscape, economy, and social issues on a cross-country knitting-themed road trip'. I was intrigued so I bought it as well as a 2022 Lang wall calendar of songbirds and bird houses.

Back at the car we headed a bit further east to the Empire Cheese Co-Operative. 

Skip selected some 5 year old cheddar and some creamery butter. I voted for cheese curds. 

We retraced our 'steps' through Campbellford and Roseneath to top up our tank with gas in Alderville - $0.20/L cheaper.

We then made for home taking the more direct route to the 401. 

It was a lovely day.

Our First Getaway

Skip and I travelled to the area of my hometown for Thanksgiving. Normally, we'd attend the Brigden Fair which is always held on Thanksgiving weekend, but of course, not for the past two years. We took the iconic selfie at the Bluewater Bridge with a chip truck in the background. There were lots and lots of people out and about, enjoying the sights.

We visited my sister and brother-in-law for dinner on Saturday and met at the community dining room in their building for the big family dinner on Sunday. 13 of us were able to attend. It was a great opportunity for us to catch up on what everyone is doing with their lives after 2 years. The meal was so good, I didn't leave room for the many deserts that were offered. We came away well stuffed.

I didn't do any stitching while out of town. We briefly visited one friend - a former student - and dropped off all the vinyl LPs that have been sitting in my basement for decades. It was nice to hand them off to someone who would appreciate them rather than have them go directly in to the landfill.

We had fabulous weather on our drives to and from the Sarnia area. As I write this, it's 24C and brilliantly sunny. I call these lovely days in October 'bonus summer days'. Skip has been working in the garden, getting it ready for our first frost - which hasn't been predicated for the near future.

While away I watched several painting videos on YouTube. One of my favourite artist/teachers is Emma Jane Lefebvre from the Toronto area. Last week she inspired me to paint some maple leaves so out I went into the neighbourhood to find a leaf to trace. 

Watercolours certainly lend themselves to painting things in nature.

There are obvious pooling issues but I like the overall effect.

Near our community mailbox is some kind of oak tree so I tried an oak leaf next.

I have a smaller one I can use next (you can see part of its outline at the bottom of the above photo).

I next want to practice wet on dry techniques for a translucent layered look.

I also did a bit of stitching on the model for Teresa. My goal is to get it finished by the end of this month because I have several others I want to start or work on.

At the end of this month, some of us are going to attend our first stitching retreat since winter of 2020. A local quilt guild needed extra bodies to round out their minimum number required to run the retreat and invited several of us stitchers to attend. As we're all double vaccinated and in our area, our numbers are getting under control and slowly going down, we are pretty comfortable getting together with each other in a big space. We each get our own bedroom and meals will be presented farm house style. That is, rather than going through a buffet line, bowls of meat, potatoes, and veg will be put at each table for sharing among that smaller group.

It will be fun to get away with my stitching friends.

Today I also got a message from Caroline McNeill from (Stitching) Off the Grid Needlearts, that the True North retreat she's been planning to host since November 2020 may finally take place in Brampton ON in April 2022 pending confirmation of the dates and venue.  Poppy and I signed up for the original retreat but some of my other stitching friends are now hoping to attend. I am so hoping that with so many of us fully vaccinated, that our COVID numbers will stay low and we can officially feel like we've got COVID under control.

Exciting Mail

I put in an order from 123stitch.com a week or so ago and it came yesterday. I always try to order from my local stitchery shop, then Gitta’s, then other Canadian shops but you can’t beat the flat postage rate of $4.99US from 123stitch.

I ordered a skein of Gloriana 12-strand silk for the upcoming Hello from Liz Mathews chart I ordered as a result of the Needlework Expo last month. It should be arriving at Kim’s at the end of this month. Word has it there is a scarcity of blue silk floss so I wanted to get some so I wouldn’t be stuck without it when the chart arrives.

The pumpkin-coloured 35ct linen arrived for my Three Pumpkins project. It should be a quick stitch which I’ll work on between sessions of the model I’m stitching for Teresa.

The last item is Winter Rose Manor that I’ve been admiring for months and finally ordered. There is also a pincushion pattern. I doubt I’ll get it done before the Christmas season but am hoping to start it in November.

I spent all morning playing with watercolour paints outside on the deck. I found a series of tutorials by Emma Jane Lefevbre on YouTube and like how she breaks down the steps to create paintings and gives lots of good technical tips. 

I painted a colour wheel with primary colours and blended them to create the secondary colours. Then a second wheel blending the adjacent secondary colours to make tertiary colours.

It was a fun exercise and really showed the results of mixing primary and secondary colours.

Then I painted a sunflower from another of her tutorials using the thin-thick-thin technique on the petals using different pressure on the paint brushes.

I’m very picky about people’s teaching techniques and deem Emma Jane to be an excellent teacher. I’ve never attempted painting or had any art lessons before other can colour theory for dyeing yarn.  I probably will never get beyond the dabbling stage but have very much enjoyed playing with watercolours and a fabulous morning out on the deck in early autumn.

Skip took a photo of me as I worked ‘en plain air’. 

I want to do all the things.