Sad Day

Well, it was a sad day in my house yesterday. I think I've mentioned previously that I seem to have developed an allergy to 100% wool. Basically anything wool that isn't extra-fine merino, or cashmere. I was at my LYS recently and was bemoaning the fact to the shop worker when a lady overheard me and asked me what I had in stock. I listed off what I had, and what I wanted for it and her response was, "I'll take it all"! She came over yesterday, cash in hand, and left with 8 bags of wool in 2 huge carriers! On one hand, I was sad to see it go, but on the other hand, thrilled that it would go to a good home where someone who knows her yarns would appreciate it appropriately. I had laid all the wool out for her on my dining room table and after she left, spent the rest of the day blowing my nose, feeling like I had bugs crawling all over me and wanting to scratch my eyes out ... good riddance!


Here's what I made this a.m. for a display at work:

An acrylic pail, with all the makings for a day at the
spa, but at home. We've got lots of the unadorned
pails that we need to sell, so we're giving folks some
themed ideas of that they can do to personalize
them. It was a big hit!


The paper wasn't long enough to go all the way around, and I didn't really want to have an overlap, or put an extra piece in, so I came up with the idea of making it look as though it was a corset. Put some big eyelets in, laced it all up with black cherry organza ribbon ... fabulous!




Here's the cute little gift tag I made to hang off the side.

I've got family visiting from Scotland (my cousin, her husband and 2 tween girls) for a week. They're staying at a hotel in the city, but we plan to spend as much time as we can with them. They'll be doing the touristy day trips for a couple of days, but then we'll get together with them on the weekend. They had 5 days in Toronto, visiting her brother, and now a week in Vancouver, and then back home. Short trip! But they'll make the most of it.

Card Tin

Spent some time working from home on this cute little lunch box tin, to be displayed in the store and hopefully motivate shoppers to buy and decorate one for themselves! We've got about 50 in stock, and need to make room for all the purchases from the Chicago show last week. Since so many of our scrappers also like to make cards, I thought they might like to have a place to organize them, so they can see/grab one quickly as they need it.

Twins!

My friend just sent me these photos of her twins, Jamison and Jared, modeling the hat/sock sets I knit for them. Aren't they adorable? My friend has 5 children: a 10 yr old daughter; twin four year old boys and now *surprise* 5 month old girl/boy twins -- all the most beautiful children I've ever seen. While life can be a little overwhelming at times, she handles it with the most amazingly gracious attitude and is so grateful for the blessing and gift of her children. In my books, she wins the 'mother of the year' award!

Bonsai Tunic Finished!

Remember when I started this, way back when? Well, it's finally done! I did modify the pattern slightly (natch!) as I detest the appearance of reverse stocking stitch. So, I did the bodice in stocking stitch instead. The only other thing I added was a crochet crab stitch (aka 'reverse single crochet') around the neckline to finish it off and add stability. I'm quite pleased with the outcome ... what do you think?

Birthday/Wedding/25th Anniversary

Look what my hubby got me for my birthday ... I was so excited! I had this book on loan from the library and was loathe to give it back. It was waiting for me when I got back from Winnipeg. There are so many cool, quick things to knit, I hardly know where to begin!

My friend, Connie, treated me to a special lunch for my birthday, to a wonderful place called "PineRidge Hollow" just outside of Winnipeg. It's a converted barn on a large acreage that serves amazing food, but don't even think of trying to show up without a reservation ... this place is hopping busy! We decided to eat 'light' so we could indulge in one of their famous desserts. Shown below is the Skor torte, which was absolutely amazing! Four layers of chocolate cake, with mocha mousse sandwiched between the layers. Then, more mousse (as icing) on the outside, and crushed Skor bars sprinkled on top. The whole thing sat in a pool of drizzled chocolate and homemade caramel sauce. Decadent! Can you believe the size of the piece of cake??? Needless to say, we shared it and topped it off with a delicious cup of coffee. We liked the mugs so much, we bought some to take home! The bill arrived and we were surprised to learn that the dessert was free for the birthday girl -- bonus! I just realized that you've know seen this top for the third time recently ... I do own others ... I just seem to wear it on picture taking days! Notice the new glasses??? Aren't the 40's wonderful? I'm still getting used to wearing them, and have to be especially careful on stairs.

Here's the reason I went to Manitoba ... the happy couple, Kerri and Ken, were married on 07/07/07. What a lovely wedding! I spent several hours reconnecting with folk I haven't seen for years ... such a fun time! I didn't get to bed until 1:30a.m., but not before I phoned home to check in with hubby, who announced to me that it technically was my birthday ... I'd completely forgotten! I had been rifling through my suitcase, looking for a specific item, when I spotted a birthday card tucked inside from my hubby. What a guy! He's so good at picking out cards that say it all ... sigh!
After the ceremony, Connie and I blew back to the hotel to get the "Wedding Cake" set up. Kerri didn't want cake, she wanted cupcakes. So, Connie and I baked cupcakes, trying to determine what kind would be best. This was no small feat, considering we are 3 Provinces apart! Anyway, it was finally decided that they would be chocolate/chocolate chip, covered with buttercream icing. Connie's husband, Byron, was enlisted to create the stands and I was giving direction to Connie, via email/phone, how to cover it with fabric and decorate with ribbon. It turned out fabulously!

Here we are, greeting each other in the reception line, as though we hadn't just seen each other half an hour before! Connie looked stunning. She was having trouble finding a dress she liked, so I emailed her a picture of the dress I wore to my sister's wedding. What you need to know, is that prior to heart medication, we were similar sizes and I could buy clothes for her and know without a doubt it would fit. She liked it, so I mailed it out to her and not only did it fit perfectly, she looked absolutely fabulous in it!


The day after the wedding was Connie & Byron's 25th anniversary ... which means we've been friends for 26 years !!!! They invited 57 of their family and friends to spend the afternoon with them at their home. I was running around taking pictures all afternoon, which gave me more opportunity to catch up with folks. Kerri and Ken postponed their honeymoon so they could be there to help celebrate. And a good time was had by all!

Vacation

I'm off to Winnipeg ... see you when I get back on the 12th!

First Sock!

Ta da! Just finished this one last night ... I'm surprised how quick a knit it is, considering how fine the yarn is. Well, part of the reason it's so quick is because I decided to just do an ankle sock.

While it obviously needs blocking, it didn't turn out too badly. I did the 'knit one, slip one" thing on the heel to give it the ribby look. Why do handmade socks look so much fatter in the middle than bought socks? This one looks a bit like a parrot fish I encountered while snorkeling in Cozumel ... don't the toe decreases look like a fish smiling?

I consulted a pattern for the toe decrease. This one says to decrease down to an 8 stitch point, which is very like the baby socks I've made. All you do is cut a 6" tail and pull it through the last 8 stitches, tie off and weave in. I've seen other socks that go straight across at the toe, but as my toes are more pointy, this style works better for me. I can see that I'm going to have to be fastidious about my pedicures if I don't want my big toe poking a hole through ... I'd be some choked, after all that knitting!