The Golden Ears Bridge

History in the making! Here's what we did yesterday ... we and circa 50,000 other people walked across the new Golden Ears Bridge! This bridge spans the Fraser River, joining Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows and Fort Langley. It was opening day and only pedestrians were allowed on -- what a zoo! Unfortunately, they hadn't planned for the volume of people and actually had to close the bridge down a couple of times, for several minutes, due to over-capacity on the bridge deck. Not for the claustrophobic, that's for sure! At some points, it was wall-to-wall people -- the emergency vehicles had challenges getting through, which was an issue, as one lady went into labour!

Here's a photo of our new neighbour -- a yellow lab puppy named, Sasha. I'm puppy sitting Wednesday - Friday in the a.m., until school's out, as 'mom' is a teacher. I'd forgotten how busy and exhausting puppies are -- if I was even thinking that I might want another dog, this is definitely making me sit back and think again! Although, she is very sweet ...

Look what landed in my flower pot! I couldn't believe how tame it was ... posed for several minutes while I took all the photos I wanted!

I've had a bit of 'start-itis' lately -- this is another 'Hey Teach' from Knitty.com. I made one last summer in Rowan All Season's Cotton and was disappointed with the mega-stretch factor. Also, I think the body section needed to be at least 2" longer and I'm short-waisted! It's since found a new 'home' and I've begun another one in Jo Sharp Desert Aran -- a light lilac, almost grey colour. Very neutral and should go with everything. I came down a size in needle to 4.5 mm to make a denser fabric and I'm doing the body all in one piece this time, to avoid the whole sewing up thing, using markers to separate the fronts and back, plus I'm also knitting on the button band, simultaneously. Talk about lazy, huh?

The LYS had a huge 40% off sale recently, which I noticed as I just happened to be driving by!
Picked up some Noro sock yarn with the intention of using it to make scarves. This one is coming along nicely -- an entrelac style, also from Knitty.com -- but the name escapes me just now. I'm making it a little wider than the pattern calls for, as it was too long and skinny for my taste. As there is some wool in this yarn, I tend to knit outside in the shade, when there's a bit of a breeze blowing, to avoid the itchy sneezies -- so far, so good!

Oh yes, and a few more purchases ... All yarn 'Diamond Luxury' merino. The variegated sock yarn is designated for each a male & female BSJ and the two solids in the background for February Baby Sweaters.

Sigh ... Malabrigo Silky yarn ... need I say more? The rich red yarn on the right is also a merino/silk, but from Meribel yarns. I love that they are women run, and that the proceeds help women and children in developing countries. Nothing like paying it forward!

And one more Noro sock yarn, destined for a funky scarf -- so colourful!

Another change in life ... recently my sister and I discovered that we have Celiac Disease -- an intolerance to anything with wheat, barley, or rye in it. It is apparently genetic and 1 in 133 people may have it without even realizing it.

That has meant a drastic change in diet, as we eliminate all of these items, not to mention a lot of searching and reading labels to see where it's 'sneaked in'. You'd be amazed where it lurks! The frustrating thing is that we've likely had it since we were kids, but it apparently is challenging to diagnose.

The average age of diagnosis is 46, which isn't great as a lot of internal damage can take place in that space of time. Thankfully, by eating a gluten-free diet, we should be able to turn around at least some of the symptoms. Eating out is likely going to be a thing of the past, but thankfully, we're both good cooks and enjoy trying new things. Never a dull moment around here!

BSJ ...

Amazing how this reptilian looking blob, suddenly morphs (with a few strategic folds) into a completely reversible, cute little jacket!

My first BSJ (Baby Surprise Jacket) from Elizabeth Zimmerman. I figured that since I was on a roll with the February Baby sweaters, I may as well graduate to the BSJ -- what a lot of garter stitch -- at times, it seemed endless, but quite gratifying once finished.

Yarn: 'Fat sock' from Hello Yarn - can't remember colourway.


A special thank you for the very kind comments you left on my last post ... we are so appreciative of your thoughtfulness. We have amazing friends, family and neighbours who have been so kind and supportive to us over the past few months as we have dealt with so much loss in our immediate family, most recently with our much loved dog, Brinkley. The children from next door came to the fence with tears in their eyes to say how sorry they were and how much they'd miss him and promised to share their new puppy with me, once it arrives. Too sweet! It's been lots of shared tears, hugs and memories ... amazing, really, how one dog touched a family and a neighbourhood in a very special way.

We are healing ... day by day, it gets just that little bit easier on the heart. We are trying to find a new 'normal', as the past 9 years revolved around a dog and although we are finding the house a little too empty, visits from the grandbaby give us joy and we are rediscovering what it is like to just have each other. Not a bad thing, at all!

Good-bye my sweet, special boy ...

On Thursday, we had to make the horrible decision to say 'good-bye' to our beloved Brinkley, one week after his 9th birthday.

It all happened suddenly (shockingly so). One minute he was fine, laying on the floor with the grandbaby and then the next minute, not fine at all. After doing some x-rays, it was discovered that there were other cancer masses and one of them which attached to his spleen, had ruptured. It would have been terribly selfish of me to put him through surgery again, with a not very optimistic outcome, so we made the decision to put him down.

I am devastated.

February Baby Sweater # 2 ...

Yes, another one ... I'm loving this pattern! Made with 'Donna' by Scheepjes, a lovely merino/acrylic blend that has a little sheen to it and washes up beautifully.

See specs. in previous post, if interested. One modification that I should have mentioned in the previous post, is that I omitted the decreases at the bottom of the cardi and just knit it straight down, instead. I much prefer it this way.

Life has been tres hectic at our house over the past month. We had to have hubby's parent's place cleared out by the end of April, so his sister, brother-in-law and great niece came out for a week over Easter to help out.

The day prior to their arrival, our dog was scheduled for surgery. See the lump on his back, right hip? Larger than a softball! That's him begging for a bit of hubby's lunch -- he's such a mooch!

Head's up ... if you don't do post surgery pics, skip the rest of this post and I'll see ya next time :)

Look at the poor thing! A six inch incision, complete with a drain, where the largest lump site was, and a 3 inch incision on the top of his spine, at the back of his neck. Nearly broke my heart! The drain was a real nuisance and after needing to mop up the floor every time the dog shook, I got smart.

I jury rigged an XL men's t-shirt for him to wear and it absorbed the drippings from the drain, for the next 7 days. Pretty clever, huh? He had a wardrobe of at least 3, so that when one was in the wash, he had a fresh one on, plus a back up.

He was confined to the kitchen, as it's tiled and easy to clean. We came home with one of those 'dog lampshades' that they're supposed to wear, to ensure that they don't chew on anything, or heaven forbid, pull the drain out. That would just cause him more stress, so we decided to 'pass' on the lampshade. Instead, we put on the t-shirt and decided that I'd sleep in the kitchen with him, so I could monitor if any attempts at chewing were made. Not the comfiest sleep, but the peace of mind was worth it.

The next night the company arrived and the bed was required elsewhere, so I spent that night on the couch in the family room adjacent. What we don't do for our pets, huh?

I used to work at our vet's, so they let me bring him home the same day -- I was confident that I could cope, plus it was the long weekend and the thought of leaving him there wasn't appealing.

Sometimes the tough part about having worked at the vet's is that I know too much ...

The pathology report came back and told us that along with the fatty tissue we already knew about from the needle biopsy, there was also a soft tissue sarcoma underneath it all. Knife through the heart! On the plus side, it was completely encapsulated, so it hadn't spread and they took a whack of tissue out surrounding it, just in case. The vet tells me that there's a 10% chance that it will grow back, but for now, he's healing well and back to his perky, lovable self!

February Baby Sweater

Pattern: February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Yarn: Lana Grossa 'Big' 100% Merino - 3 balls in stash
Needles: I used 4mm 24" circulars
Buttons: 3 , 1/2" mother of pearl
Size: I'm guessing, but I would say it would fit a 0-3+ month old
Adjust: I chose to only do 3 button holes

This is my first shot at an "EZ" pattern ... can you say 'vague'??? There was an awful lot 'assumed' which left me feeling like I wished someone would fill in the blanks for me.

After a couple of false starts (including nearly finishing the yoke when suddenly it told me I should have been putting in buttonholes) everything finally 'clicked'.

I loved that it's knit 'top down', as you know that I detest the sewing up at the end. All I had to sew was 5" up each sleeve and then of course, the buttons.

It's really quite an ingenious construction, however, it does require concentration and some sorting out in your mind. Until now, I've been mindlessly following patterns, with adjustments to suit my taste, but this one blew me away! I finished this one and immediately cast on for a second, so I could cement the construction of it in my brain.

Irish Hiking Cable Cowl, + Fingerless Mitts

Pattern: Irish Hiking Cable Cowl
Yarn: 'Dolly' by Laines du Nord (140 m/ball x 2) Stash Buster!
Needles: 3.75 mm

Note: as I used DK weight instead of Aran, I added 2 extra repeats to the pattern, making it about 10" across when it was finished.

My hubby works from home and has been feeling quite a chill in his office, likely due to the fact that he has a large, outside wall and it has been freezing cold and even snowing. "Can't you make me something I can wear around my neck to keep me warm", he queried? I have NEVER had a request from him for something knitted. He's not a 'cable guy', so I was a bit hesitant to show him this pattern, but he seemed to 'warm' up to the idea when I pointed out the ribbed portion, which he loves. I have been wanting to knit a cowl for some time, but knew I would never wear one that didn't have a button -- you know, the whole hair-do thing! Anyway, this one fits perfectly!

Pattern: My own
Yarn: 'Dolly' by Laines du Nord (140 m/ball x 2)
Needles: 3.75 mm

Then, "my fingers are so cold I can hardly type" was the next cry. To the rescue with my own pattern for fingerless mitts, featuring his beloved ribbing. He also requested that they come up to his second knuckle, which is a bit longer than I would normally have made them. I kept having him slip them on so we could get the length to his liking. These are perfect, as they give him the warmth he needs, without impeding his typing or 'blackberrying' capability.

Such an accommodating model! You're probably sick of seeing all the patterns lately for mitts, but if anyone is interested in the pattern for these mitts, let me know and I'll try to remember what I did and put it in a future post.

Here's what we woke up to last Tuesday ... freak snowfall! We had about 3-4" which was totally gone 2 days later, when things warmed up again.


And here I am today, 1 week later, in my finished Garter Yoke Cardi, outside in the beautiful warm sunshine -- hence the squinting :)

Working it ...

Trying not to smile lopsidedly, considering my mouth was still frozen from having had a new crown installed an hour prior -- that's another story, for another day :P***
Photos courtesy of hubby ...

Wanted to know if he should get a shot of the cool 'bumpy' stuff at the top ... I'm assuming he was referring to the garter stitch yoke ... :) !

Pretty darn pleased with myself! It's been a long time since I finished something that actually fit me! The colour is perfect, the yarn is fabulous -- too bad they've discontinued it :P***

Details:

Pattern: The Garter Rib Cardi from Fall/Winter 2008 Knit 1 magazine
Yarn: Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Aran Shade #557 (Aubergine) 13+ balls @ 87 m each
Buttons: 11, pewter coloured/carved (purchased from Ram Wools in Winnipeg)

Because I'm a 'curvy pear' with small shoulders, this style works really well for me -- I especially loved the top down styling, as I detest finishing. All that sewing and weaving in of ends is simply not my favorite thing to do! I made a smaller size for the top, and then after the shaping, where the increasing begins for the hips, I simply kept increasing until I had the next size up. If I had known it would block out bigger, I would have started with an even smaller top and then increased as before on the hip portion. It was quite snug, as I wanted a fitted look, so I was a bit concerned that it might be too small, but it grew a bit in the blocking process.

I made the sleeves the length called for (15.5") which ends up full length for me on my short, Scottish arms. Bracelet length makes my arms look even shorter, so I opted for full length. The sleeves naturally 'bell', so no shaping was required from the armhole down. Easy, peasy!

Another change I made, was to go a bit longer so therefore needed 11 buttons, rather than the 10 called for in the pattern. I made a buttonhole every 16 row (8 garter ridges), but when I got to the bottom, I knew that I wanted the button in the middle of the edging, rather than above it, as shown in the pattern. I didn't want it to split open after the last button. After the 10th button hole, I did 12 more rows of garter stitch on the button band. Then the pattern goes into the garter edging. I simply did 4 rows of the edging, then made a button hole, and then did 4 more rows of edging and cast off. Worked out perfectly!

A new technique for me, that I have read extensively about in other blogs, is the 'spit splice'. Previously, if I knew I was going to run out of yarn, instead of making a join in the middle of my project, I would simply join in a new ball at the beginning of a row. This time I decided to try the splice. While I didn't enjoy hauling excess bits of fluff out of my mouth for several minutes after, I must admit, it was a very effective and invisible way to join in yarn. I was concerned that everything would come undone in the wet blocking process, but it held up well. I know others have tried it on various yarns, but I would have to say that I would be a little leery about doing this procedure with anything but 100% wool.

I would definitely make this pattern again, although not for awhile -- it was a LOT of knitting. Just an aside ... have you ever noticed that the bloggers who manage to pump out a pullover or cardi every other week, are all size XS ?????