Spinning my wheels...

... so to speak .This is the sum total of my spinning practice for this week . At this rate pigs will be flying before I get enough knitable yarn . Kinky , lumpy , uneven seems to be the order of the day . Some how I can't get my hands and mind co-ordinated . I'm having problems with the drafting , I can't seem to get an even amount of fiber to spin and how to control the tightness of the spin . I don't know if that makes sense but if anyone has suggestions and tips , please feel free .

As mentioned in the teaser last post , here 's the latest yarn acquisition . The orangey earth tones skein is Arequipa sock yarn . I'm so in love with the colour and can't wait to knit some socks with it . The green tweed is Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed. intended for this cowl .

I finished up the last odds and sods at Marie's apartment so the coast is more or less clear for Christmas knitting and baking , not to mention gift shopping . I've not yet started that and have absolutely no idea what to buy . It's all coming up so fast !

Well I'd better get my butt in gear . I'm off to do groceries and get supplies for Christmas cookie baking . Hoping to have a finished knit and some cookies to show for the week-end's efforts . Have a great weekend all !

It's Monday already !

It seems to me that somebody took a few hours out of the day because I can't believe that it's already Monday . I guess that 's the story of my life lately .



Saturday was kind of a blur because I had to empty out the furniture from Marie's apartment . I was lucky to have help from friends and neighbours so the task was made so much easier . Being able to sell off some of the furniture and household items made for a lot less stuff having to be moved into storage . We're only storing her personal items, clothing and bedroom furniture which can be used when she goes into a nursing home . Whatever was left was donated to charity. Sad situation that can't be helped . On a happier note , though Marie is still in hospital she's been knitting up a storm . She's been knitting scarves for everybody and his brother , so there will be a lot of warm necks around here . She's Santa and I'm the little helper (yarn supplier ) .



Speaking of knitting there is just wee bit of that going on here as well . And I do mean wee as in wee socks for Emma . I love , love , love these socks ; I think they're just so cute, bright and happy ! What confounds me though is how , even though the stripes match up , the toes are different . How does that happen ? As you can see there's already another pair on the go . Next up will be her mom's socks . Better find a couple more hours in the day...



I did make it to the spinning class yesterday and really enjoyed it . I wish I could say I had some hand spun yarn to show you , but despite my best efforts , the bit I did manage to spin didn't pass the " I think I can show it and not be embarassed " test . Pitiful really , much more practice required . I'm not giving up , just practicing .


What's a visit to a yarn shop without some stash acquisition . I think I'll leave that for the next post ...

Socks and a movie review

I finally have a finished knit ! Christmas socks for Chantal came off the needles yesterday . Yippee!!These will be my November socks for the Sock-a -Month KAL .

I've been itching to start something new so I'm glad these are done . The pattern (Garter Rib ) is from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch . Nice easy knit , great take along knitting . The yarn is Regia Cotton Surf . Purple is Chantal's favourite colour , so this yarn was always destined to socks for her . It's been lingering in the stash for a while . Next up - toddler socks for BF Shirley's granddaughter , Emma .

I signed up for a 3 hour drop spindle class at Ariadne Knits a LYS in downtown Montreal a couple of months ago .I've never been to that particular shop but had read about the classes on ravelry 's Montreal Knits group . I 've been wanting to try my hand at spinning for a while now but don't really want to go the expense of a wheel , at least at first . The class is next Sunday afternoon and I'm so looking forward to it . We'll see what transpires , will another obsession be born ?

Mike and I went out to dinner and the movies with some friends on Saturday night . We went to see the new James Bond flick " Quantum of Solace " . It was fun , entertaining , lots of action but IMHO not quite as good as the last one (Casino Royale ) . This one begins where the last one left off , so if you haven't seen the previous film it might leave you a slightly bewildered in the beginning . I also found the ending somewhat of a let -down , with some unresolved plot lines , so I'm guessing we'll be seeing more of Daniel Craig as James Bond . Having said that I do like him as the new Bond and overall like the tone of these two recent films . I found them to be more true to Ian Fleming's character and his books than the movies starring Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan . Still worth seeing if only for the action and the stunts which are really best seen on the big screen .

I've got to head out for a walk with Bingo and then go and get my annual flu shot . That season is upon us . Thankfully my cold is over with , except for a cough which always seems to stay with me for a while .

The last week has been quite the week , first too busy to blog and then too sick . I've come down with a nasty , miserable cold which had me down for the count . No fun , no knitting , no reading , nothing except lying on the couch downing Tylenol and copious amounts of tea . The worst is over but the cough is still lingering .

We went to Casey's for brunch on Saturday am . I hadn't seen the little munchkin for a week and man , oh man , has he grown . Chantal brought him to the pediatrician's office on Friday and he weighed in at a whopping 11.5 pounds . He's gained almost half his birth weight in just 4 weeks . I tried to take some photos but wouldn't you know my camera died . It's been acting up lately but Saturday it finally gave up the ghost . So Mike and I gave ourselves an early Christmas gift of a brand new camera . Mike wanted a Canon SLR , which had too many functions and settings and options for my taste , but you know how it is with men's more power mentality . You can never have enough power , so that's the one we bought .

Having no finished knits to show I thought to show you a couple of photos of the not usually seen on the blog felines of the house . I caught them snoozing together on my chair one morning . The together part is really exceptional as they generally just tolerate each other . The black one is Spooky and the barely awake white fella is Hey You . Just to round out the menagerie , here's a photo of Bingo in his usual guarding the house perch on a chair near the front window . Doesn't he look fierce , you wouldn't want to mess with him ....

Yes they can ..

.... and did ! What an amazing and inspiring election result , it sure puts our recent election to shame . We stayed up to the wee hours to watch history being made . Congratulations to the American people for having the nerve to vote for change !

Post halloween

Halloween has come and gone , next stop Christmas . We had the most beautiful weather for trick or treating on Halloweeen , consequently there were loads of kids ringing the doorbell , all ages andall sizes . One in particular brought a smile to my face . Yup that would be little Jessey , 3 weeks and one day old and already dressed for trick or treating . They stayed for about 20 minutes and gave me a hand with passing out the candy . The little munchkin slept the whole way through and got lots of oohs and ahhs from the kiddies . Bingo was the official greeter and he did a great job ...



Not much knitting news here . The first of the new socks on the needles is almost done , just the toe decreases to do . My shoulder is still bothering me quite a bit , but wouldn't you know when I visited my GP last week I forgot to ask him about it . Guess it was a good day pain wise , but there was so much other stuff I needed clarify that somehow slipped off the radar . I'll just try and catch him at the clinic when he's on emergency.



I've been feeling a little blue and out of sorts these days . The situation with Marie has a lot to do with that . I know that I need a bit of time away from that sadness so that I can hold it all together and do what has to be done . I'm playing hooky this morning and going to visit my LYS in search of some really colourful sock yarn . I promised to knit a really cool and colourful pair of mother/daughter socks for my BF's daughter and granddaughter as a Christmas gift . You'd think I could find something appropriate in my stash , but so sad (not ) , I really need to go buy more sock yarn . Retail therapy in action ....