Baby!

This is my new little male alpaca who was born yesterday afternoon. Mom and baby are doing fine. Not sure what his name is yet, but should have that sorted out in a day or two.

Holidays!

Three weeks of naps, knitting, naps, knitting...did I mention the naps....and the knitting?

Pics

As promised...pictures of my hot water bottle in progress. This one's for our riding coach. I'll do another like this one for my 'paca Mommy, and then maybe one for me. Seen here with some of my deck plants. I really do have two black thumbs, but so far this year the flowers are thriving. (it's early yet...)

Nothing Too Fiddly

Last night I went to my daughter's last band concert of the year. As usual, the music was staggeringly beautiful. There are 70 or 80 kids in the high school concert band playing every kind of instrument under the sun. The high school kids played "Robin Hood Soundtrack Highlights," "When the Saints Go Marching In," and "Instant Concert," which was a medley of many interesting songs. The junior high kids bands played beautifully as well.

I, of course, was knitting the whole evening, working on a hot water bottle cover I'm knitting out of Cascade 220. The pattern is free on Ravelry. I'll do some pics this evening. 

An older woman was seated beside me in her walker chair. At one point during the evening, she tapped me on the shoulder to ask me, "where did you learn to knit like that?" She was referring to the two circular needles I was using. I explained I learned this technique at a knitting store, and that it was just like using 4 dpns. She nodded with great knitterly wisdom, and then told me how much she loved knitting, but that her eyes wouldn't allow her to read the patterns any more. This nearly broke my heart. Here's a woman who definitely gets the addiction that is knitting. It's crack for her too. And this one thing that would bring her joy in her final years has been taken away. So, I got her phone number and address and promised I'd blow up some patterns for her on my computer so she can once again knit. When I asked her what she liked to knit she said, "nothing too fiddly; I don't think I have the patience anymore." Gawd...I love her already...

In other news, after the shearing weekend at the alpaca farm I came home with 15 lbs of fleece. So under the weight of all that fleece as well as the fleece from last year and the year before, I started cleaning fleece this week. And I hand carded some of Harley's cria fleece, and I couldn't WAIT to try spinning it...and to my surprise, it spins great! I was thinking it would be sooooo slippery and difficult to spin, but this is going great so far. But the cleaning is going to take until next year's shearing time...Oh, well. It's a relaxing endeavor fondling all that softness.

And, my friend Mo and I went to see Deepak Chopra last week, and we just may have gotten a picture of "Big Daddy" holding the sock. More to come later...

Peeling

Remember when you were little and your nose would get sunburnt? Remember how much it hurt when you got slammed in the face with a pillow when your nose was sunburnt and peeling? Remember how pink and tender the skin on your nose got after said slamming? Sigh...Growing up with three brothers was really big preparation for the slings and arrows of the real world, don't 'chya think?

And then, there are the dish towel scars...but that'll keep for another day.

Ahh...summer...

Hello Again

Wow. Give a girl a job outside the home and she drops a few plates. Plates have been smashing all over around here, but it's ok. I've been terribly busy teaching ESL to Filipinos and editing knitting patterns, and I'm loving every minute of both jobs. When I'm not working, I'm knitting or spinning. 

                         

I've been knitting Classic Elite's Premiere V-Neck Lace Medallion Tunic, 

a gorgeous design from Pam Allen. I loves me a v-neck and I loves me a tank top. 

I'm knitting it up in Ella-Rae Silkience in a deep purple (shade 18) which the image above does not show. The pattern has you knit the front and back separate, but I knit the body in the round and split it at the armholes. It's knit bottom up so the body and the front is done, and I'm nearing completion of the back.

  I've also been plugging along on the Odd Sock kit I purchased from River City Yarns a few months ago. Can't say I'm crazy about the whole knit two rows of main colour and knit one row of contrast colour. I'd rather just knit with a hand-painted yarn using a plain recipe so my socks can be knit up lickety-split-like. Oh, well. The colours are quite pretty so my plebeian brain is kept happy as I go.

Summer is on its way here in the prairies. We've had spring on life support a few times, including earlier this week, but its back on its feet once more and we're enjoying the sunshine. I hope it's sunny wherever you are.

Time...Where'd it Go??

Some time has passed since my last post, but life has a way of sweeping you up and before you know it, almost a month has flown by. I've been busy. I started my new contract February 23rd teaching grammar and writing skills to 10 ESL students from the Philippines. My second group starts tomorrow, and I have a third group starting in April. I'm really loving this one. The guys are very friendly, polite, and happy to learn. Nice change from some of the college students I've taught.

I've also been knitting a fair bit. Doing a good job of finishing UFOs: (Click to embiggen.)

Mrs. Beeton's for Miranda, and a couple of pairs of mitts for me. I love knitting mittens.

    

My first hat, and then my first Fair Isle. Turned out better than I thought it would.

      

My first hot water bottle cover. That's King Cole DK wool. Had to fiddle with the pattern, but it's sooooo cozy when it's full of hot water.

  

Today, after a 4 week absence, I finally got out to see my alpacas. This is Harley. Looks like I hit his sweet spot, but looks can be SO deceiving. I was trying to scratch his chin, but he wanted no part of that. Doug just caught the moment before he bolted outta there. He's my best friend... until the pellets run out!

 

Today was his close-up day, and he didn't disappoint.

    

Hmmmm...maybe if I hide behind this guy, no one'll see me....yeah...that's it...

 

We also got a few shots of Kalamara. She's so sweet. Still a bit timid, but she's much better than when we first got her.

   

I just finished the Mock Cable socks in the hand painted yarn from Barb at WildGeese Fibres. As soon as I redo the toe graphs, I'll take some pictures. My Kitchener stitch leaves a lot to be desired. I prefer a toe chimney graph. 

I've started a his and hers sock kit I bought at River City Yarns. The kits were sitting by the cash register...and the colours were calling me...deep reds, blues, and greens. Like I've said before, I'm drawn in by the colour, and overtaken by the softness. Not sure how it happened...really...they just wound up in my basket. And I'm still chugging along on Chase's sweater. I also started Agatha, but I hit a snag on row 8 or so, and haven't had a chance to sort it out yet. All in good time, all in good time.

Shawl Pics

1978

I just read Rick Mercer's latest blog post. In it he tells that "a billion seconds ago it was 1978." Wow. That's a crazy amount of seconds and a crazy mountain of time. He refers to how much our current government is planning to squander, er...I mean spend. And he uses the billion seconds to show us the enormity of what a billion is. We love Rick...he tells it like it is.

Hmmm...I wonder if I've knit a billion stitches yet?

New and Different Mac

Today I bought a MacBook Air. Now this is largely different from our other Mac. This one's pretty in a different way. And so much more schleppable; it only weighs 3 lbs, and it's not measured in 4 inch increments. I think I'll call her MiniMac. Now that I've gotten through the wireless Internet snarlies, things are good.

One day soon...very soon, I'll have knitterly pictures and news. I've been working on Mrs. Beetons', a hotwater bottle cover, EZ Mitered Mittens, a Doodlebug sweater for toddler Chase, and I bought a skein of Lucy Neatby's Cat's Pajamas in the Fiesta colourway (80% Merino, 10% Cashmere, and 10% Nylon). The colours remind me of the vibrant colours seen on Macaw parrots: intense blues, reds, yellows, and greens. This yarn is meant for socks but I'm going to knit up her Sea Lettuce scarf with it.

The Snowdrop shawl is still kind of in a time out. It hasn't really misbehaved; I just need some distance from it for a bit...what with the mohair and all.

I bought Elizabeth Lovick's Fair Isle Workbook. It came highly recommended from Barb of Wild Geese Fibres. Check out some of the hand painted yarn Barb sells, and her patterns are lovely.

To quote Elizabeth's site, "It [the workbook] is arranged in separate ‘lessons’ on the theory and practice of Fair Isle knitting, including detailed instructions with lots of clear photos of topics such as ways to hold the yarns, steeking and dealing with mistakes." I told Barb I was preparing to make the Snowbird mittens, and she sent me the book link. I'll update as I progress with the mittens.

Now, back to my downloading...

Winds

Winds of change are blowing. Barack Obama was inaugurated today in the cool sunshine of Washington, DC. It was an auspicious and moving event. I cried when Aretha Franklin sang "Let Freedom Ring," and I cried again when Obama said: 'This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."

There is a song by the legendary Canadian rock band Rush, titled "Closer to the Heart," (Words by Neil Peart and Peter Talbot, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson) that with Obama's inauguration, may be moving from the abstract to something tangible and concrete. The song starts with the line: "And the men who hold high places must be the ones to start, to forge a new reality closer to the heart." Obama is the one who I believe could do this, and lead the world in a new approach to people, and governments, and how the world works. I watch with new hope for all of us.

Happy New Year

Well, our new year was swept in on a cold front. It was -34 when I got up this morning. Now it's a balmy -28. Great weather for staying in and knitting. I've been knitting and spinning up a storm. I finished the first pair of Mrs. Beeton's, am almost finished the shawl, finished the hat, and I spun up 100 gms of hunter green corriedale, which is lovely and soft.



I hope to finish the shawl today. Pictures of that soon...I hope.