Busy, busy, busy....

Yesterday was a bit of a hectic day. With the freezing rain that was predicted for the afternoon; the schools all dismissed students & staff. So by 1:00 PM all our school-kidlets were here. Thankfully the weather held for most of the afternoon and they were able to get outside to play.
  Instead of trying to concentrate on finishing the sweaters, I started another hat & mitten set. This one is for our granddaughter, Adelyn, whom will be born in April. I used the smallest size hat pattern from Ann Budd's "Book of Patterns" and for the mitts I cast on enough to make a 4" mitt and did a simple rib and st st without thumbs. I used another skein of the Cascade's 220 Handpaints. It's a superwash wool ( I know, Teira ~ lol), but new moms seem to think they don't have time for handwashing knits. And I want them to use the gifts that I knit. :)

   Today we're in the middle of a heat-wave it seems. 10C and the snow is melting fast. We've also had quite a bit of rain and the weather network was forecasting thunderstorms but none so far. The littles that are here today enjoyed a walk around the neighbourhood to get some fresh air this morning. This afternoon while they were sleeping (and they still are), I was able to get the finishing done on sweater #1. Looks great! I love the richness of the aran style sweaters. Something so comforting about them. Still need to finish up #2 - perhaps this evening and then give them both a hot soapy bath to remove the last of the spinning oils.

   We have two new babies in our neighbourhood. Just born Monday - both of them - though they aren't related. To welcome them, I'm going to knit each a hat & mitt set like Adelyn's. I had some un-dyed superwash here in worsted weight and decided that today would be a perfect dye day. Three skeins soaked for much of the morning while we were outside and then into the dyepot. A deep purple for a dark-haired baby girl and a deep rose for second baby girl. The third skein will go into a pair of mitts for a friend of our Raven. This friend admired Raven's salt & pepper mitts and asked her if I would do her a pair as well. She's hoping for bright pink and aqua.The pink I had and I hope the blue is close to what she is expecting.

   Littles are waking up ~ time to get back to my other life!

Keep knitting!

Hurrah!....

....knitting on the sweaters is finished. TV time during the weekend evenings was spent knitting the collar on the second sweater. Now I've just got to darn in the ends and there are quite a few as these sweaters were knit in pieces. A few seams left to sew as well and I'm ready to wash them. Then I can let recipient know that they are ready to enjoy for the rest of this winter.

  Much of my weekend was spent sitting in a cold van in the parking lot of the riding stables where our middle granddaughter, Desiree takes lessons. Saturday was a makeup lesson and Sunday was a clinic. And while I usually use the time to drive into Kingston to run errands, there is still quite a bit of waiting time. Both days it was sunny and I parked facing the sun. This way it was warm enough to knit for a bit. I was able to knit up a couple pairs of fingerless mitts to go with the hat I knit a few weeks back. This set will be for granddaughter Reese.I used Cascade's Superwash Paints for this set. The hat was knit at 5sts/inch and the mitts were knit at 6sts/inch. This yarn is soft enough that I think I could easily knit it at 7sts/inch and create a really warm fabric that isn't stiff.

   I did finish gloves for Desiree as well. I think it was Friday ~ but since she didn't ride on Thursday night because of the extreme cold, they were done in time for her next lesson ~ Saturday.

   We're experiencing some nasty weather right now. Freezing rain. And they're calling for it tomorrow as well. Of course the kids are all hoping that the buses will cancel. :) Hmmmm....hoping not. Papa Bear has already called it a night as he needs to go in during the night to plow the snow out of the school parking lots that we got earlier today. Munchkins are in bed too. The remote is mine, cold drink is waiting, rocking chair & knitting await as well. I think I'll enjoy.

Take care & keep knitting!

Cold weather knitting....

...the bitter cold outside today has kept us indoors. So while the little guy played, I chatted on-line with a dear friend (about knitting, of course) and worked on Desiree's gloves. She's hoping that I'll finish them for tomorrow evening and I'm not sure that will happen. But I'll try.

   And now while the little guy is napping, I've got an episode of Murder, She Wrote on Netflix and I've seamed the raglan seams of the second sweater. Now I can start picking up the stitches for a shawl collar and merrily knit away in twisted rib for about 20 rows.

   Earlier this week, I had a chance to get some of my yarn organized. Usually the most recent purchases sit in plastic bags in all corners of the house. And languish, while I purchase yet more. I dragged out this unit and parked it right in the playroom. Then I unpacked all the yarns and proceeded to fill it up. Now the yarns for my list of projects is in front of me, in plain sight. And while I would like to be able to say that this is my entire stash, I cannot. :) Like most knitters, I have back-up. And they too will join this display as projects are accomplished and yarn used up.

  Every so often, I like to pull out one of my many knitting books and have a good read. This morning it was "The Green Mountain Spinnery Knitting Book". I love the sweater that is being knit on the cover. I've never used these yarns but enjoy reading about the process. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to work in a small mill and thoroughly enjoyed it. Wish it were still possible to be doing something like that, but maybe someday. Meanwhile, I knit. Lots.

  And I am blessed to spend my days with little ones. They are fun to be around and one never knows what they will come up with. Today, the little guy came to me and said, "look, a red-nosed reindeer". He'd placed a toy teacup on his stuffies nose and was very pleased with himself. We've named him Rudolph, of course.

Have a good one & stay warm. :)

Wool in the mail....

....love getting wool in the mail! It's just like Christmas! Yesterday's mail brought a box from Custom Woolen Mills in Carstairs Alberta. First in the lineup ~ a skein in each natural colour of their 2ply  mule spinner yarns. (This process produces a lofty woolen yarn and you can read about it on their website.) 4oz skeins that have 226meters. These will be perfect for some warm stranded mittens. Think I might try dyeing a couple of the skeins as well.
Next ~ some of their kits.
Jo's Slipper Sock ~ the yarn in this kit is a lopi type. These are for me.
Tree Line Mitt ~ again, a lopi style yarn with a couple of mini-skeins of plied yarn. Again, for me.
Northern Harvesters Toque ~ an earflap hat ~ looks like 2ply yarns. A friend was hoping I could knit this type of hat for her.
Teething Booties ~ this kit intrigued me, especially as we're awaiting a new granddaughter in April. These are supposed to help in a natural way to ease the discomfort of teething. Comes with instructions for Mom to use. It will be interesting to see if this works. If not, baby still has a warm pair of slippers. :)

-23C here this morning. Looks like it will be an indoor day for me & the little guy here. He's got the playroom floor covered with Duplos & matchbox cars. I've got a rocker in the sun with my knitting and coffee.

Have a good one, stay warm & keep knitting!

A wee break....

...from working on the sweaters. I need to seam the second sweater together before I can start the collar. I'll do that this afternoon while the little guy is napping. Then I can spread the pieces out on the table without him trying to "help". :)
  So this morning I'm starting another pair of gloves. I'd never knit gloves before the red pairs and discovered that it's not as fussy as I thought it would be. Note to self....try other things that you've been putting off too long because you thought it would be a pain to do.
  My middle granddaughter picked out some purple (of course) superwash merino DK. I'm using 2.25mm needles to get a nice firm 7sts/inch. She's hoping that I'll have the pair done in time for Thursday evening's riding lesson. We'll see.

  

  Another cold day here. It was -15 when we went outside this morning to wait for the bus. We were outside for about 20 min and that was enough for the little guy. The sun is shining and the thermometer is reading -9 now. Perhaps we'll get back out this afternoon when the schoolkids return. 

  For now, he's quite happy playing with the toys in the sunny playroom. 

Enjoy the day, keep warm & keep knitting. :)

Almost finished....

.....knitting the collars on these two fisherman's sweaters. Doing a shawl collar for each which takes longer to knit but is nice for wearing.
Hopefully will be done the knitting tomorrow or Tuesday and then both sweaters need a good wash in warm soapy water as I didn't get all the spinning oil out when I washed the yarns. They're looking a little grungy but will brighten up after a good soak.

It's a very windy day here. We're under a wind warning and are experiencing gusts of 80-90 km/h according to the weather channel. Wowsers! And we've experienced a bit of damage on the farm. The door to the stable cleaner has been split in half.
I'm wondering how much damage is happening elsewhere. Stay inside and stay safe.

Take care & keep knitting.

Laundry room...

...grouting is finished.

Cabinets are installed.

Knobs are on.

And the washer & dryer are back in place and ready for action. :)

Still a few things to do ~ trim around the door, the railing here in the picture is temporary, and we're going to cut back part of the wall to open the room up into the kitchen area. In good time.

Til later ~ keep on knitting!

Rainy day...

It's pouring rain here today. 4C and it's supposed to rise to 9C. At this rate, the snow will be completely melted away. What a soggy, foggy, muddy mess. Blah!

It does mean that there will be lots of time for knitting. Something in the slow-cooker would be good for dinner.
Papa Bear is going to use the enforced indoor time for grouting the tile he laid yesterday in the laundry room. 

He's also getting some lake trout ready to go into the smoker. Mmmm....

Stay dry & keep knitting! 

Gloves again....

Finished the second pair of red gloves. I hadn't done gloves before and they weren't too fussy to do. Now my middle munchkin wants a pair of gloves instead of mittens. She's busy going through pattern books and trying to decide.

We're experiencing a mini-spring here. It's about 7C and the snow and ice is quickly melting. The yard and drive are a muddy mess. Makes us wonder how the maple syrup season will be affected as well as all the fruit trees. Last year an early spring meant blossoms before the bees and many blooms went unpollinated and the fruit crops were almost non-existent. We got just a couple of apples from two trees. Hopefully winter weather will soon return and things can get back to normal.

  

 This afternoon I pulled a couple of almost knit sweaters out and will spend the next couple of days finishing them up.

Keep knitting!

Gloves...not mittens!

....finished the set of Salt & Pepper mitts for our youngest kidlet. :) She was quite thrilled and promptly put them on. No need for blocking! The next pair for her will need to be the next size as they just fit. I'm sure with the fulling that will happen from playing in the snow that they will become a bit small. Oh well. And she has requested that the tip not be so pointy! Fussy, fussy. :)

    I took a break from knitting mittens for the kidlets. I've been asked by a long-time friend to knit a couple of pairs of gloves for her daughter to use while playing in the snow. So off to Knit-Traders to pick out some yarn. Chose some merino superwash DK from the Diamond Luxury collection. A nice red. The suggested gauge for this yarn is 22sts/4" but I moved to a 2.5mm needle and am getting 28sts/4". It makes a nice firm fabric that will help block the wind but it's still soft enough to not be stiff.
    And of course, I came home with some more sock yarn. :) Papa Bear picked out a nice grey Tuffy from Briggs & Little. These will become long boot socks for him in the next couple of weeks.

    Today we're back to routines...school for the kidlets and here in the daycare we have three littles. It's pretty cold out just now, -7C, but once it warms up we should be able to get out for a walk. So while they play about, I'll sit with them and work on my knitting.

Enjoy & keep knitting!

More mittens...

...mittens for the next kidlet are on the needles. I'm doing the salt & pepper pattern for these. Doing a WS  for size, so will work up a bit faster. After washing, the fabric softens up but it is still cushy and will hopefully keep hands warm while outside.

Enjoy and keep on knitting.

New mittens...

.....my experiment with yarn dominance will have to wait. Recipient has asked for Salt & Pepper patterned mitts. This time I'll be using the lime green with purple. Cascade 220 wool again from Camilla Valley Farm.
I finished the striped mittens and washed them. Once they are dry, I'll take a picture and post it.

Enjoy and keep knitting.

One mitt down....

....one to go. This is a fun pattern and works up quite quickly. The pattern has a couple of typos that gave me a bit of grief until I pulled out her original book. Between the two books I was able to figure out where I was going. The next two pairs will be with the same colours but I'll switch the position of the yarns. It'll be interesting to see two completely different looks from something that is knit completely the same except for the dominance of the colours.

Enjoy and keep knitting!

Progress....

....cuff is done. :) This may be a traditional pattern, but they are definitely not traditional colours! Requested by the wearer and it will ensure that she actually wears them.  A quiet day here means that a lot of knitting will get done between chores.

Enjoy and keep knitting!

New project....

...a pair of warm mittens for our eldest granddaughter. I'm going to use a traditional pattern. These were designed and created to keep hands warm in a cold environment. Knit firmly, stranded and then slightly fulled. They'll take a bit longer to make, but what is the point of mittens that don't keep out the icy blasts of winter cold?

Enjoy and keep on knitting!

Finally finished....

....better late than never. Finished knitting the last pair of mitts that are gifts for the munchkins in my daycare. I've got them bagged up, ready to gift each child as they return after the holidays. It's a nice feeling, knowing that they will have another set of mitts to keep hands warm while playing on the snow mountain that Papa Bear has created for them in the yard.

Now to decide on the next project. Warm mittens for my girls!
Enjoy and keep knitting!