Happy dancing !

I finished  the latest baby blanket yesterday and I absolutely love it ! The yarn , the pattern and the colour which is the exact shade of pink I was looking for .To my surprise Stef chose to decorate the baby's room in lilac , but there is pink in the duvet cover , so it matches pretty well . The Ruffled Ridges pattern by Bev Galeskas is a joy to knit . I used Berocco Vintage because in my experience it has the perfect combination of easy care acrylic content with the warmth of wool .

 It speaks volumes for the pattern that I continued knitting despite the fact that we , along with much of the eastern and central part of the continent are experiencing a heat wave with temperatures in the mid thirties Celsius and the humidex reaching the mid forties Celsius . We are lucky that while we don't have central air conditioning , we do have a pool . It has finally been getting some use after our  rainy spring and beginning of summer .

 

This is the perfect time to work on a small project  . I have one of Emma's socks done and hope to get the second one off the needles by Monday  . I'm just itching to cast on another baby cardigan  .

Have a wonderful weekend and stay cool !

July ,already

Time just flies when you're retired , it's almost scary . First , I'd like to wish our American family and friends a happy Independence Day ! I know there's bound to be lots of parades , family gatherings , barbecues and fireworks ! I hope you get sunny skies and warm weather wherever you are .

We celebrated Canada Day by spending the long weekend  at Max and Stef 's cottage in the Laurentians . The weather didn't really cooperate as per usual this summer , but we had fun anyways with walks in the woods and campfires to keep the mosquitos away . It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and just kick back and relax . I had brought some knitting and in the quiet afternoon while Mason napped I started this baby blanket his expected baby sister.

 

I've been working on it monogamously for this whole week and I have about a third done . It occurred to me that Stef doesn't have that much longer in her pregnancy and  since I am notoriously slow at knitting blankets I thought that I'd better get a move on ! She's only due in mid September , but if this baby is anything like Mason , she just might show up a little early .

 

 I would have  accomplished more on the blanket had I not started this book yesterday . I just haven't been able to put it aside . It would fall into the romance category , but it is so much more . I think that I first came across it on Goodreads where it had quite a few glowing reviews . Broadly told it's the story of a young man left as a quadriplegic following an accident and the woman who is hired as his caregiver  and the relationship that develops between them . The underlying theme of  assisted suicide and the right of a person to make that choice is what makes this such a compelling read . It is such an emotional and complex issue , especially with all the advances in medicine and the ability of doctors to prolong life , I think that it will be a long time before we can come to any legislative solution . As far as I can tell so far the author hasn't come down on any particular side of the debate , maybe she's just bringing us on this journey and telling us a love story .

Weekend Roundup

It was a long weekend here in Quebec where we celebrated St. Jean Baptiste day or as the sovereignists prefer to call it Fete Nationale (National Holiday )

 

As per usual this summer the weather was horrible with torrential rains and storms . We were able to salvage one day , yesterday , which was hot , humid and SUNNY . Perfect pool weather . Mike and I took advantage of the nice weather and went for an early morning bike ride and then just chilled with some cool drinks and enjoyed the backyard . Later on Max & Stef dropped by with Mason for a BBQ . Mason was able to take his first dip in the pool , a little chilly (76 degrees) but refreshing . Casey and Chantal had been invited to some friends for the celebrations. We were able to get in the BBQing but not long after dinner the heavens opened up again . No need to water the lawn so far this year .

 

Thanks to the quiet and rainy days I was able to finish Stella's socks and cast on another pair for Shirley's grand daughter Emma .

 

 

Today , I'm catching up on the chores after a lazy weekend . No biking today , my behind needs a day off . It's too hot and muggy today anyway , and guess what , more late afternoon storms in the forecast . The plan for the rest of the day is sock knitting and swimming . Oh and enjoying a little of this ...

 

 

fresh Quebec strawberries and Saskatoon berries from our backyard bush . You have no idea how hard I have to fight off the robins to get a handful of berries . I'm happy as long as they let me get a few ;-) .

 

Have a good day !

 

 

 

 

Cured for now

As quickly as it came on , Startitis is all but over . The fact that there were so many knits lying in various stages of completion all over the house and my inability to tolerate too much disorder helped with the cure .  We have finished knits !

This little vest for Stella has been hanging around for almost three months , just for want of button loops . Doing these was a new technique for me and I can't say that I'm really happy with them . I find it fiddle diddly to do and I'm not sure they'll hold the vest closed , but this was the best of all my efforts . The other thing is the I-cord edge has a propensity to roll and I'm not thrilled with that either . Anyways maybe once she's wearing it none of those issues will matter . Good thing I made the 4 year old size , she'll won't be wearing it till the fall .

Lastly , I got my dishcloth fever under control with these three bright cloths . There are three different patterns , all free on ravelry  .  The tangerine one is the Double Bump dishcloth , the purple one is Ridges and Ribs and the banana yellow one is All Washed Up . All three were just what the doctor ordered .

On to  Stella's socks , I'm almost at the toe of the second sock , so next week should add to the finished knits on my ravelry project page .

Have a good weekend !

Queen of the short attention span

That's me ! Just look at the latest start ups from the weekend ...

 

Now there are two finished dishcloths and one just begun  , but I decided that I needed three , so consequently Stella's socks are on hold . As are the softie , the baby bootee and at least five other WIPs on my ravelry page . Does anyone know of the cure for Startitis  ?

 

Oh and Dee , if you look closely right near the finished sock , you can see the ribbon from the bookmark that you gifted me peeking out. Thanks again , I love it ! The book is excellent by the way , I'm in the mood for an easy read with a good plot interesting setting  and well written characters ,  and this one fills the bill . The author has a new book out I might just pick that one up too .

 

Now I'm off outside to enjoy the first bit of sunshine that we've seen in days  . Have a good day !

When it rains

Knit !  May and the beginning of June have been very rainy and cool . In fact it has felt more like Fall than Spring and the start of Summer . It is downright depressing ! My knitting production has certainly benefited from all of the rain . Let me show you ...

 

Parade socks

 

 

Then there was baby cardigan and matching hat

 

                                
                                                   Then some Cozy Little Toes socks

 

Then came another baby sweater (Kina ) .There will soon be a matching hat .

 

 

Currently in progress are these...

 

 

The funny looking pink thing is the Knubbelchen softie . The second bootee is almost done . It is so teeny tiny ! I'm hoping that it will fit for at least a little bit .

 

Oh and I should mention that all of these knits were knit from stash yarn , except for the softie and one of the cozy toes socks . I wanted some pink(ish) cotton sock yarn  which required a visit to my LYS . That was my only purchase that day , another yay !

Guess what , after almost full days of sun , they're forecasting rain for tomorrow , what do you think I'll be doing ? I really should be doing housework though , but you know you can't clean when it rains because it's too gloomy to see all the dust and dirt .You have to wait for a sunny day . That's my story and I'm sticking to it .

 

Of pink socks and posies

baby socks 

 

We're having a very quiet weekend as both the boys are away with their families so Omi didn't do brunch today . Instead we met up with Shirley and her husband Denis which made a nice beginning to the day .

 Came home to do a little tidying up and then picked my needles to continue working on these little socks . This yarn found me at my LYS the other day and I just couldn't resist casting on right away . I wish I had picked up other colourways  , they are just so much fun to knit , almost instant gratification . I'm going through my sock yarn remnants to knit more . A baby can't have too many socks ...




Spring surprise

Surprise bouquet
I have a few of these pretty little posies growing in the cracks between some of the patio stones . I just love them . We let them grow and they reseed themselves .

Hope you have a peaceful weekend too !