Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving rituals seem different now -- at least, for me --than they were in my childhood.  Back then, as I recall, this holiday was almost -- but not quite -- as "big" as Christmas.  There were special decorations in the church, and special hymns and anthems (I was in the children's choir -- very amateur, and mostly female...).  

There was a big dinner in the dining room with all the good dishes, glassware and silverware: a turkey with all the trimmings, and gravy, and mashed potatoes and carrots and maybe creamed onions and dinner rolls and butter and cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie and apple pie with cheese or ice cream...and extra guests, like our Grammie and Uncle Rex with Aunt Ena, and our cousin Georgina (aka 'Nina').

After I married and had a family, we had a slightly scaled-down version of this meal, but there were still decorations in the church (always given away to the food bank or families in need) and special music (again, by the nineties, I was often singing on a music team that Sunday).   Grammie, Uncle and Aunt were all long gone, and Nina and my parents lived miles and miles away in other provinces.  Sometimes my sister would come -- but she also had her own friends with whom she marked the holiday.

Nowadays, Thanksgiving for my and my family is not forgotten, but has definitely taken a back seat to Christmas, all things considered.  

My sister and I have celebrated together from time to time, but not this year, as she has to be in Calgary for work and will be marking the day with friends.  My kids are on their own; we've not celebrated Thanksgiving together in years. 

 Church?  Well, yes -- "pre-COVID"  there was a grand celebration, with harvest produce and flowers (later given away to those in need) and favourite music.  After the service, the Anglican Church Women of the parish put on a turkey dinner, and parishioners contributed salads, rolls and desserts.  There was much fellowship and much left over to share. 

This year, as last, we've been unable to worship in person. Parishioners with overflowing gardens have undoubtedly shared them with family, friends and foodbanks.  There was a lovely pre-recorded service with special prayers and the familiar Thanksgiving hymns that those of us of a certain age know and love.  I'll be having a friend join me this afternoon for some knitting time, and a larger dinner than I usually create (I'll be sending her home with some!)  A bumbleberry crumble is in the oven as I type...

Over time I've added other "rituals" to this time of year.  Although some are weather-dependent, I do my best to honour them -- in part because I'm blessed to have the resources with which to carry them out, and in part because they involve preparations for winter that must be done anyway.

In the past few weeks I've been preparing the yard and garden for winter.  I still have my spring bulbs to plant -- croci, narcissus and tulips this year -- taking special pains with the process because in the last couple of years, my tulips in particular have not fared well.  I've enriched the bed in which they'll be planted, will be placing them in deeper holes, and adding bone/blood meal to the soil for nutrients and to repel deer.  They'll go in the ground tomorrow -- the tulips, under my south window and the croci and narcissus out on the "East Lawn" because deer are less likely to go after them (or so the literature says...)

Another ritual I've undertaken since I'm on my own and now live in rural Alberta where wintry roads can be icy and aren't always ploughed in a timely fashion: car prep!  

Around Thanksgiving, this means scheduling winter maintenance and the semi-annual "tire swap", which refers to exchanging my "not really all season tires" with winter (i.e. snow) tires.  That happens later this week, prefaced by my personal 'around Thanksgiving' ritual: changing out the 'spring/summer' floor mats for 'autumn/winter' ones, and giving the inside of my car a good cleaning.  Yesterday I must have done well, because Miss Pookie went inside for close inspection and definitely approved!

And let's not forget progess being made on preparing for gift-giving...

I finished my Kye toque in honour of Canadian Wool Month, and will be sending it away before too long.  The CloseKnit yarn, from Topsy Farms in Ontario, is rather "crisp" -- even after a rinse with hair conditioner -- but is quite comfortable as a head covering.  Here it is, being blocked on my favourite hat-blocker: an upturned 1 kg jar that used to hold peanut butter!

Pattern: Kye 'beanie' 
Source: Woolmark.com (free)
Yarn: CloseKnit 2-ply Double Knitting
Supplier: Topsy Farms

Once I finished that toque, I found my 'hat mojo' had been triggered, so I finally began the toque I'm making my son for Christmas (by request, instead of socks this year).  I'm using a decent acrylic yarn for easy care -- Cascade Yarns 'Anthem' -- in black (main colour) and red (motif), to make the "Ribbed Toque" from Sylvia Olsen's pattern, Two Toques, published in her book 'Knitting Stories...'  I've chosen to knit the motif as a 'stand-alone' in the black background, as my son wanted only a 'touch' of red.  Knitter's privilege! 😉

Both pair of baby socks were finished and mailed to their new home this week...and the yarn on the far left of this photo has been cast on for the Socks from Stash October Challenge, as it was the hands-down (feet-down?) winner of the Yarn Poll:

And I've been quilting -- working away on that Rail Fence commission.  The top is now finished:

And pin-basted -- taking a good hour on my hands and knees on my bedroom floor!

It's now quilted and trimmed, ready for me to cut and apply the binding. (No photo yet.)  It's a blustery, windy day, so perhaps before my company comes later this afternoon, I'll get a start on that.

As far as art goes...no new work under contstruction, but I did take the plunge this week and sent in my application for Lacombe's "Under $100 Art Market: 2021 Edition".  It's due to be held in late November.  Last year it was switched online at the last moment, and I was thrilled to sell 4 pieces before it went 'live' -- and one piece after it was over!  I'm steeling myself for another postponement -- or switch to online again -- and have taken new pieces of the work I plan to submit (only 4 so far this year):

Abandoned: Alaska - 5" x 7" in a floater frame

Between the Woods and Frozen Lake - 5" x 7"
in a *deep* floater frame that can hang or stand alone

December Dusk - 5" x 7"
in a *deep* floater frame that can hang or stand alone

Canoes on Cranna - 5" x 7" in a floater frame
("Cranna" refers to Cranna Lake in Lacombe, AB,
one of my favourite places, with a walking trail around it.)

Well, Gentle Readers, it's time for me to clean up and get ready for my guest...but not before linking up with Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  This week she's slow stitching -- another tradition for which I am thankful.   Thanks to Nina Marie for enabling the sharing of these posts, and thanks to all of you for reading!

May those of you celebrating Thanksgiving this month have a wonderful holiday.  Till next time...adieu!

Socks and Hats and Sweaters -- Oh My!

I started this weblog back in February 2003 (!) and at the time, it was entitled "The Lady Who Knits on the Bus".  Yep.  It was a blog focused on knitting -- even though I'd been quilting for almost a decade, and had begun to take lessons from a local quilt artist that would eventually move me into the world as a textile artist myself.

I learned to knit about age 8 -- so over 60 years ago -- and have essentially never stopped.  Every year around this time, my knitting ramps up, because Christmas is coming.  And -- new to me this year -- October is Canadian Wool Month.  That takes my knitting up a notch, particularly as it overlaps with Shetland Wool Week 2021, which runs through October 3.  

Here's a little clip showing the state of my "Yarn Studio" (aka my living room).  I move a bit in slow circles, so if you think you might get dizzy, sit down to watch.  It's only 1 minute long but... 😉

You can see there's lots on the go!  I'm currently working on the second of two pair of baby socks for a little fellow born this past May.  He and his parents have moved to British Columbia, so I knit the first pair (6 month size) in a wool/nylon blend, which should keep his feet cozy for the damp winter there:

The second pair, cast on yesterday -- I'm now on the foot of the first sock -- is in a 1-year size, so I chose a cotton/wool/nylon blend that also has a small amount of elastic in it -- it's Patons Stretch Socks in the "Kelp" colour-way:

Here's what the finished pair will look like -- this photo is of a pair I made with the same yarn for a different baby, last December:

My favourite pattern for these socks isn't on Ravelry; it's one I bought from River City Yarns in Edmonton -- and I don't know if they still have it for sale or not.  I always make a 2:2 ribbed cuff, though the pattern offers rolled cuff and a 1:1 ribbed cuff options.  They're fast and fun to make, and use up scrap sock yarn (well, at least some!)

This month in the Socks from Stash group on Ravelry, we had to post a selection of stashed sock yarn -- three to five balls or skeins -- and create a poll.  The other members voted on your selection, and you have to knit a pair of socks using the winner of the poll.  Here was my selection:

(L) to (R): Opal Regenwald/Rainforest 4-fach in
"Docktorfish"; Meilenweit Cotton Fondo in
colour #6507; and Patons Stretch Socks in "Licorice"

Even though, in the intro to my poll, I said I had no preference, in truth, I did...but the voters chose my least favourite colour-way.  Can you guess which one?  Regardless, given the number of items I have on the go, I'm planning on knitting a simple ribbed pattern -- the Colonial Rib from Katie S.  These will be given away -- but not to anyone I know!  😉

Meanwhile, the Canadian Guild of Knitters is holding a Knit-ALong (KAL) over on its blog and Facebook page -- and on Ravelry!  It started at 10 p.m. last night and runs through October 14.  There's even a free hat pattern -- a ribbed toque designed by "Kye" via the Woolmark Company.  (Yes, in the pattern it's called a "beanie" but in Canada, it's a toque!)  

I need to knit a hat for Xmas -- but it will be out of acrylic yarn, and so not fit the criteria for the KAL.  That said, I also have some Canadian wool from "CloseKnit" which I bought at a wee shop in Stratford, ON a few years ago -- so I'm going to knit the (ahem!) toque out of that.  

Last week, via Shetland Wool Week 2021,  I took a class on thrumming from Helene Driesen -- making mittens using a pattern Helene created; I was in it for the technique.  I gathered the materials:

I chose a ball of stash yarn -- 100% superwash worsted wool from Ella Rae -- and my thrums came from Louet, a Canadian company -- from wool sample cards given my by my former employer, the Crafty Lady. 

The thrumming technique is simple but not easy at first, simply because you have to get into the rhythm of it.  It helps, too, if your thrums aren't too thick.  

 

I managed to make a sample:

And yes, my thrums are too thick!  I took it all apart, thinned my thrums by half, and decided to make a hat instead.  I'll be casting on another of Helene's patterns using Berroco Vintage Chunky, and recycling the now-thinner thrums. If it turns out, I'll wear it on my winter walks this year -- and if it's really warm, I'll wear it shovelling!  😉

Berroco Vintage Chunky in
"Elderberry" (#6159)

On the sweater front, my Turtle Dove II hasn't grown at all, but I've finished the yoke on my first Ranunculus pullover and am well along on the first sleeve.  I decided to leave the body until the sleeves -- which I want to be 3/4 length -- are finished, just to ensure I have enough yarn, because I also want to make the body longer than called for in the pattern!

But have you done any quilting?

Yes -- artfully, but not studio art.  Confused?  Well, I'm working on a commission -- a throw-sized quilt for my client to give to her adult daughter.  The recipient is in her late thirties, as I understand it, and likes grey and turquoise.  Hmmm.  I chose these fabrics, blessed to get them from Caroline's Homespun Seasons in nearby Stettler:

It's tough to get on camera, but the "white" has a fine grey pattern on it:

It'll measure about 58" x 66" and is in a variation on the Rail Fence. I decided to make three different strip-sets, using 2 1/2" strips, so that each block will finish at 8" in the quilt.  This allows me to make a 'random' arrangement of blocks which I hope will suit the young woman's contemporary taste.  Here's the layout before sewing:

I've got the first four long rows sewn together, and the last two, and just have to join them to finish the centre of the top.  Then I'll add a "zinger" cut from the darker turquoise, and put on a border made from the rather "pebbly" grey-brown batik (top fabric in the stack above).  The backing is a grey-aqua-black gradient fabric, shown underneath the fabric stacks in the photo above.  It's a wide backing so glorious that I purchased a bit extra to enjoy for landscapes in the future.  The binding will probably match the outer border.

And what about your yard and garden?

Well, Gentle Readers, the yard and garden are just about put to bed for the winter.  I have some tomatoes to uproot, some roses and peonies to prune back, my baby apples need a bit of pruning and I need to put out some fresh soap sacks to ward off the deer...but that's about it.  All is turning green and gold in these parts...providing fodder for artwork as the winter sets in:

Aspen along the edge of town

Just a few greens and golds

When I Look Up in the Autumn...

Surrounded by colour, I'm entering October with strong, active hands and a full heart.  Though it's a challenge daily to resist the Pity Party that the fourth wave has ushered into our province, there's nothing quite like a walk in the woods and fields, a steaming cuppa (make mine coffee -- black, please!), and yarn or roving or thread or fabric in ones hands to rise to that challenge, choosing comfort, hope and gratitude.  

As Nina Marie quotes today, over on Off the Wall Friday, people remember how you make them feel -- and there's nothing like giving a gift from hands and heart to make others feel good. 

Till next time... have a great weekend, Gentle Readers -- stay safe, stay creative and stay cozy!

Touching Base

It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted, I know, and this post is going to be short and sweet.

Booth 2018 

Booth 2018 - other side

The Lacombe Show drew good crowds of all ages, and was a lovely atmosphere in which to show my work.  There was much admiration and exclamation over all the artists' work...but nothing moved in the way of major sales until about four hours before the end of the show on Saturday afternoon. 

Then -- wow!  Not only was there a good crowd of viewers, but also, people started to buy.  In the end, it was a 'good' show for me...selling one large piece and several of my small, framed pieces. 

Two days later I was on the road to Edmonton to visit my daughter, taking the finished 'Random Rails' with me.  It looks great in the single guest room of her Air B&B...another happy client!  😊

The trip, in the main, was to enjoy the Christmas gift she'd given me -- tickets for the two of us to see "2 Cellos" at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.

Another "WOW!" -- beauty, poignancy, delicacy, humour -- combined with throbbing hard rock at HIGH volume!  You'd have to see it yourself to really get the 'gist'...so I'll just give you a taste from You Tube...one of the pieces they played at the concert...

Needless to say, after all that excitement, I was glad to be quiet the next day...but I had another client to see, an older woman not on the Internet, with whom I'd been corresponding by mail and telephone since January, when she'd seen my work at the Deep Freeze Festival in Edmonton and became interested.

Now these two pieces have a new home:

Autumn Skies (C) 2017
Fused applique and quilting,
wrapped around stretched canvas,
12" W  x 4" L in floater frame

November Evening (C) 2017
Stitched directly on painted stretched canvas
12" W  x 4" L in floater frame

The rest of that week was filled with work at The Shop, taking some of my remaining pieces up to In.Spire! Yarn Boutique and Gift Gallery in Bashaw, and taking the car in for regular servicing and the swap out from winter to non-winter tires.

After that, I'll I've wanted to do was knit.

I'm working on a sweater for my daughter, a shawl for me, and most recently, a Murder Mystery Knit-Along (MMKAL) taking place on Ravelry. 

Stash Yarns ready for the MMKAL

I've had to curb my impulse to knit every waking moment, though, as I have five more pieces to create for the Camrose Art Walk -- and a deadline of mid-July -- as well as trying to pull together a large piece for a SAQA Call for Entry (which I know I've mentioned before).  I'm not sure if it will be finished in time.  Even if it's finished, it will have to be photographed, and it's too large to do here.  My daughter is willing to do that work, but it means coordinating a visit to her up in Edmonton...

So...we'll see.

Meanwhile, the Outdoor Studio is once again Open for The Season, and most of my yard work is done (raking, tidying the flower beds), so I can do the handwork on the above-mentioned Project in the sunshine on my bench...and that's where you'll find me this afternoon. 

Linking up to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  She's off on vacation, but the creativity continues...

Have a great rest of the weekend, everyone!