Mid-November?!

 

Hello, Gentle Readers!  Where have the weeks gone?  

It's been unseasonably warm -- and very dry -- here this year. No snowsuits required for Hallowe'en.  And (believe it or not) -- our county is under a fire ban lest one want to start burning leaves or branches blown down by the winds.  This is distinctly odd for central Alberta in mid-November!

Still, it's been lovely for afternoon walks around the Hamlet, for venturing out to feed the birds or to chat with a neighbour on the sidewalk.  And as you can see from the photo above, my house plants and the over-wintering geraniums are enjoying my south window immensely!

Now that we're past Remembrance Day, the realization that Christmas is coming SOON is upon us, and I'm trying to get my gift-giving finalized.  

This year I bought four delightful mugs from the gift-ware section of Indigo/Chapters (Canada's version of Barnes and Noble) -- one for each of my kids and my honourary grandson (my HG).  They're substantial, simple, and all white -- each with a singular black initial suitable for the recipient.  

Into each one I'm putting a wee bit of something extra.  My HG will get an annual Indigo/Chapters gift card -- in the hopes he'll buy a Real Book -- but of course, that's up to him.  My son will get both his boot socks (as shown in my last post) and a gift card for one of his favourite 'games' (he already reads Real Books), and maybe something extra. 

My daughter will get some $$ towards her next trip/photography-related purchase or whatever.  

And my son's partner is getting a pair of socks -- the first I've made her.  These are the "Cock-a-hoop" socks from Nancy Wheeler, which I really enjoyed making, in a skein of yarn from my stash -- given to me years ago by a non-knitting friend.  It turns out that the colours in the yarn are some of P's favourites...

Other knitting continues to be focused on finishing up projects for my Warm Things Box, which will be taken to my parish church November 22 for a blessing before the Pastor takes them to be distributed.

I managed to finish a pair of fingerless mittens in a new-to-me pattern: "Simple Fingerless Mitts with Arched Gusset" -- a free pattern on Ravelry, designed by Tania Barley.

I confess I had trouble with the pattern and reached out to Tania for help. Turns out that she'd not knit a sample using DPNs (Double-Pointed Needles) -- only circular ones...so she sent me a drawing of how they were supposed to work out.  Well!  I did a bit of math and managed to finish the pair -- not quite as she'd shown them (and in a solid colour -- no colour-work, given the challenges of the thumb gusset!)...but I probably won't make these again. 

They're large -- knit in a worsted-weight acrylic from stash but still, as the Late Great Elizabeth Zimmerman used to say, "[They'll] fit somebody!"

My last project for the WT Box (this year) is going to be (yet another) simple hat -- the "Be Kind Hat" from designer Melissa Simpson.  It's a simple wide-ribbed hat, which I'm knitting in left-over Cascade 220 worsted (non-superwash).  If I run out, I have a bit of deep red "Peruvian Sierra" (elann.com) waiting in the wings to top it off!

Aside from knitting, I continue to quilt (of course!)  

I gave the "Jewels and Jumbles" (aka the Batik Stars quilt) mentioned in my last post to its recipient.  Her response was...well, she was blown away.  "A quilt! You made me a quilt!  I've never had a quilt!"  

That's all I'll say about that.  We were both in tears and she gave me a hug.  It's the best gift a maker can receive.

"Jewels and Jumbles"
from "Batik Beauties: 18 Stunning Quilts"
Designer: Laurie J. Shifrin

And in the past dozen days, I've finished the second one in my informal "queue": the Log Cabin version of the 2025 Block of the Month from A Quilting Life.  It will be going to an older fellow who's not well off and has just moved into a fixer-upper house because HE has the talent and skill to do the fixer-uppering (is that a word?!).  He'll pay for utilities and the rest will be done in exchange for rent.

Pastor Bev was sure he'd appreciate a quilt. She said he was of Mennonite background so when I showed her a few tops, she agreed that this one would be just right.  I took 2 photos to show the full set of blocks:

It was a biggie -- almost 60" x 70-odd.
I had to wrestle with it under the 
needle of my domestic machine!

I'm very pleased how it turned out with "relatively" straight-line quilting, and hope he'll find comfort in it.

Now I've moved on to another throw-sized quilt -- Bonnie Hunter's "Fun with Bricks" (from her Leaders and Enders series -- free on her website).

I believe I mentioned this project last in September.  I've been working on it for a while, but now I'm nearing a finish.  My objective: give this to my neighbour W. as a 'thankyou' for Xmas -- for all of his help to me over this past year.  He's blown the snow out of my driveway several times and this summer helped me do some Very Serious Pruning of a pair of gigantic willows on the east side of my property.  Plus ALL of my cats love him, he's funny, articulate and intelligent.  So...this throw quilt is for him. 

He's a Big Guy but knowing my abilities, I'm making it only throw sized -- and hope it will cover more than his toes and knees!  

Here it is on my 'design bed' this afternoon:

Here's a close-up:

I'm doing 5 rows x 4 blocks per row.  Each block is 12" finished so it'll be 48" W x 60" L PLUS two borders: an inner one about 1" finished and and outer one that will be wider -- maybe as wide as 3" finished.  That would make it 56" W x 68" L.  That's about as much as I can manage at the moment -- and I think that will work, even for a fellow his size.

And then there's...cross-stitch:

I've been participating in the "Blackbird Academy" group on Facebook, as I mentioned last month.  I managed to finish the "pumpkin" assignment, if not the entire piece:

This month, the assignment is for a "basket", so I've returned to the September assignment, because that particular piece includes a large basket of flowers.  I'm still plugging away at it, but you can see that I've the "bones" of the basket done:

My other focus this month -- with an eye toward Christmas -- is the gift for my cousins' 50th wedding anniversary, belated though it may be: "The Swans at River House" from Ellen Reid, aka "Maximum Cross-stitch" designs.  It involves a great deal of stitching on rather dark fabric, with a soft drape to it, so I've done lots of stitching and 'un-stitching' and 're-stitching'...but it is coming along...

I'm about to start the swans themselves, but want to ensure that first, I have the left side of the border done all the way to the bottom, so that everything will match up at the end (fingers crossed!)

There will be a 'pause' near month-end, stitching-wise, to remember my dear late hubby, whose birthday is November 29th. He would have turned 74 that day, and so I will focus that Sunday -- the First Sunday of Advent in my Anglican faith tradition -- on the piece I currently dedicate to him: "A Quilter's Dream" from Modern Folk Embroidery, with materials from Roxy Floss.  I last worked on it in August, the anniversary of our marriage and of his passing...

Although this is a long post, I'd be remiss if I left out the bit of rug-hooking I've been doing.  It's a lot of fun being part of the "Inspiration Sessions" -- formerly known as the Makers's Meet-up -- on regular Zoom sessions online from Deanne Fitzpatrick's Studio.

In September, I'd just finished "Singing to the Choir" -- a kit I'd won from DFS at the end of March.  I've now fully finished it and gave it to my dear friend A., with whom I used to sing at church. Neither of us attend that parish now, but we have fond memories of our years there.  She kindly sent me a photo of it on the wall in its new home:

And now I'm working on a new gift, a pattern from Beverly Carlaw, a rug-hooker and designer from Prince Edward Island.  Her company is "Hooked by the Sea Rugs" on Etsy.  This piece is entitled "Baby, It's Cold Outside" -- and I'm going to turn it into a cushion for a yarny friend for Xmas:

I just finished the woolly coat for the right-hand sheep; the other two are up next -- and then, the background!

I think that's all the news that's fit to print, this go 'round...

I continue to hope and pray for the light in and of the world to continue to beat away at those who'd shut it out.  Creating beauty every day, being of service (no matter how small), giving and sharing and teaching and loving, including and enjoying...this will be our gift to the world as it ticks along.

I wish blessings for those Gentle Readers who will be observing Thanksgiivng in the US in a couple of weeks...and continue to hope for every one of you that you are finding light, beauty and peace in your making.  Linking as always to dear Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday, wherein she (as I) encourages you -- all of us -- to "Get Creating!"

A bientot, mes amis!

May I Have a Word?

 

I've been blogging in this space since February, 2003 -- but rarely, if ever perhaps, on New Year's Day.  And I've not chosen a "Word of the Year" for a few years now.  Last year I chose a word almost daily through January, sharing them on Facebook, but this year...

This year I just felt inclined to write a few words about the Word of the Year I've chosen for 2026:

Enough.

That's it -- plain and simple.

I don't know about you, Gentle Readers, but even though I live a pretty quiet, blessed rural life out here on the rolling prairie, and even though I had many memorable, gentle, lovely, creative days throughout 2025, I'm tired.  As regular readers will know, I've been tired for a while -- fed-up tired.  I even wrote about it in this space in August, and I thank you for your understanding and kind comments back then.

After all, I don't live under a rock or deep in a cave; like you, I live in the real world, and it seems to me that in the last several years I've been aware of more tumult and angst, anger and power-lust -- and protest against all that since I was a teenager growing up in the nineteen sixties. While I'm thankful for those protesting what's going on, most days it really seams as though "the wrong is oft' so strong".  Protest takes constant work, energy and creativity, even if all the best you can manage to do -- like me -- is to sign petitions, publicize public activities, and write letters to your elected (but not, personally, voted for) representatives.  

It's been exhausting, demoralizing, and sad -- juggling all the events, fear and anger...and so I've decided ENOUGH.  

However, that's only one aspect of the idea of 'enough' for me. 

I've also got enough:

• Not wealth, but enough to pay for shelter, heat, light and food, with some left to give away;
• Enough fabric, fibre and floss to keep creating well beyond life expectancy; and
• Enough ideas and project plans and starts and works-in-progress to keep me inspired, and my hands occupied, so that my mind, heart and soul are fed.

Given that I've had more than enough of the news -- at home (some) and abroad (far too much), but because ignorance, for me, is not bliss -- I've been curating my intake, and am now paring it down even further, even in my craft-viewing, choosing to skip parts of podcasts that are...well...meant for an audience of fellow-citizens of a particular country, and not for those of us who live in other lands, who celebrate other holidays or have a different focus -- knowing -- or at least, hoping -- I can return when the season of a particular celebration is over.

In my quilt studio, the "Keep it Out of the Landfill" project continues, with progress on the Bonnie Hunter 2025 Mystery quilt.  I've finished the first three clues now:

In the photo above, the tray in the centre shows the 2nd clue, which I managed to ignore until I'd done clues 1 and 3 (!) At the time I took the photo, Clue 2 was still under construction, but it's now finished as well. 

Speaking of quilty finishes, in my last post I showed you my "finished" top from the Block of the Month for 2025 -- from Sherri at "A Quilting Life".  I was contemplating adding a border simply to unify it, and this week, I did just that, using one of the fabrics that's in some of the blocks:

Shown here on my bed, it's not quite twin-sized; it's just a rather large 'throw'.  I may send it out for quilting, as between the size and the pattern, it would be tricky to quilt on my domestic machine.

I've enjoyed making Sherri's BOM projects -- I've done both 2024 and 2025 -- they keep things moving and create a bit of a challenge.  However, Sherri has said her 2026 project will be a tribute to the 250th Anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.  I may look at the first block and if I can do it in "Canadian Colours", I might give it consideration, but I make no promises!

Last but not least, my friends M & S sent me a kit of sorts for Xmas, hoping to steer me towards 'Slow Stitch' of the contemporary kind, rather like visible mending but creating an original, meditative piece.  Alas, while I like the idea of Slow Stitching, and I've tried it a few times, I just really don't enjoy it.  Still, there I had in front of me a small 'quilt sandwich' -- a random patchwork top in a pretty palette of pinks, blues and purples, sandwiched with a thin batting, on a plain grey backing.  

It was expecting me to do something with it -- so I did.  When I first started showing my small art quilts, people used to ask me what to do with them.  Were they hot pads?  Cushion covers?  That used to irritate me mightily, but this pretty piece, well -- it certainly wasn't wall art.  So...much (I expect) to my friends' disappointment, I cut it into two squares, quilted each simply with my sewing machine (pink thread, no less!), bound them -- et voila! Two new hot pads to replace 2 of mine that were well over a decade old and looking much the worse for wear!

They're pretty; they're fresh, bright and serviceable -- and the process was strangely satisfying.  Works for me!

In new-ish knitting, the "Sylph Cowl", which starts of my latest "Warm Things" box, is moving along.  

Pattern: The Sylph Cowl
Designer: Jade Sapphire
Yarns (held double): Austermann 'Marina' in 
colour 45 - "Grape" and Universal Yarn
'Odette' in colour 106 - "Concord"

It's knit flat to 26" and seamed to make a long, deep cowl.  Both yarns are from stash -- long stash. 😊

Inspired by the "12 Days of Cast-on", I've cast on another cowl -- red and white colour-work -- but it's too early to show you any real progress. 

This morning I cast on the "Crooner Socks" from Nancy Wheeler. Again this year I'm trying to keep up with the Ravelry 'Socks from Stash' group. The challenge for this month is "Striping, but not self-striping", and the group's moderators have confirmed that this pattern will fit, so  I'm doing these in a royal purple for the main colour and a baby blue for the contrasting "stripes" -- using up more stash of course!

In my stitching, I finished "Wintertime" -- the wee stitch from Cathy Jean at The Victoria Sampler, and had an "almost-fully finished" afternoon, turning it and two other smalls into pillows -- they just have to be stuffed:

Top Left: "Wintertime" by Cathy Jean of
The Victoria Sampler;
Top Right: "Chubby Ewe" by Jeannette
Douglas; and Bottom Centre: "Harvest Virtues
by Thea Dueck of The Victoria Sampler

I think the largest of these is about 5" square, so they're just perfect to put in a bowl or prop on a shelf.

As I decided to interpret the "12 Days of Cast-on" rather loosely, I'm including in it any new starts, no matter the craft --such as these recent ones in my cross-stitch repertoire:

• For my Xmas Day start, I chose "Joy" from Carolyn Manning Designs -- her, "One Color Wonder" series -- which I'm stitching on 28-count "Splash" from Picture This Plus, using Wild Flowers cotton, colour #001 -- "Sandstone" from deep stash, 1 strand over 2 fabroc threads:

Working on a deep blue-green is a new experience but I'm rather enjoying it.  Also, I usually use 2 strands of floss on 28 count but this particular floss is a bit heavier than a strand of DMC, so I find that a single strand is sufficient.

• On Boxing Day (Dec. 26), I started "The Light of Winter" from Brenda Gervais (With Thy Needle and Thread), which I'm stitching on 40-count something -- can't find the label, but I think it's Platinum from Zweigart -- using DMC floss, 1 strand over 2 fabric threads:

• On December 29th, I started a third new piece: "Rejoice" from Lila's Studio.  It's a free pattern at the time of this writing, and I thought it would be a good way to celebrate the season -- and to rejoice that 2025 would soon be over! 😉

I'm working this on 32-count Lambs Wool, a fairly stiff fabric, using the called-for DMC, one strand of floss over 2 fabric threads.  The photo above shows my progress as of last evening.  I chose to do the top border in gold rather than in the blue called for, and switched out the gold of the flowers for blue.  Given that the letters are in blue, I thought this would be a better balance...but that's just my opinion, of course! 😊

And today, being January 1, 2026, marks the start of the 2026 SAL from Jacob of Modern Folk Embroidery.  I've never participated in an actual SAL -- and not one of Jacob's.  I had in my stash a beautiful piece of 40-count fabric in "Platinum" from the July 2025 'Traditional' fabric club offering through Roxy Floss/Evertote, so I ordered the paper pattern and enough Roxy Floss -- in "Pippy" -- to do it.  Yesterday I printed a working copy of the first 2 pages (left and right top) so I could start, using the "map" suggested by Jacob in the pattern book.  Once I get this blog post up and running, I'll be in my stitching chair, making a start!

Does that mean I've abandoned my 'Sunday Stitch' habit? Not at all.  I'm really enjoying my current project, "1000 Hills" from Plum Street Samplers.  Here's my progress as of the end of December:

Each little motif feels like a finish in itself!

NOTE: If you're also stitching this sampler, or if it's in your 'plans' collection, the link to the Plum Street post about it -- shown above -- also has a Big Bold Errata notice about one of the symbols used. You  might want to make a note of that! 😊

There are two other fibre crafts I work on from time to time: spinning, which I prefer to do outdoors in warm weather; and rug-hooking.  I've taken a few weeks away from that, but I did manage to finish the little pattern, "The Two of Us", designed by Deanne Fitzpatrick, in time to send it to Peg in Montreal for Xmas.

While the above photo was taken before the piece was trimmed, blocked and bound, rest assured all that was done, and I sent it off with a note giving options for hanging.  She was totally delighted with it, and I'm sure she'll find a good spot for it in her home.

My 2026 plans for rug-hooking centre on landscapes.  I've received Deanne's new book on the subject as well as some more worsted-weight yarn especially for the purpose, and have decided to use these to finesse my skills in that genre which, truth be told, is my favourite.  It's time to crack open the book, mount some fabric on my frames (large and small) and get to it.  I'm hoping that as the fatigue of 2025 wears off, I'll stay upbeat and energetic enough to make several new pieces, and apply for a booth at the Lacombe Encore! Art Show and Sale in the spring.

For that, Gentle Readers, I will need your good thoughts and prayers for energy, patience, and the willingness to keep procrastination at bay!

 

And so I close with a wish for you and yours -- for all of us -- to have a safe, stable, creative and contented year ahead.  Linking this now to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday...on which she's posted a good reminder as we head into this new year.  

Until we meet again...A bientot!

My Mother Always Said...

 "After you turn 21, the years disappear."  She was right! 🤣

'Love Lives in the Stars'

So...where have I been for over a month?  Well, Gentle Readers...ticking along.  Ticking along. 

I've been taking pains to further 'curate' my news-watching, which has been helping my mental health a great deal.  Some days are still better than others, but I'm finding the better ones out-number the others now.

For one thing, I've found a new faith community, one similar to my Anglican (Episcopalian for you in the US) roots, but also different.  A bit less formal, but with the sound theology I'm used to. One that's warm and welcoming, despite its modest size, and one with a gracious and caring woman as Pastor.  I'm sure my contributions will be very different than they were in my former parish, but that whatever I bring to the community will be accepted with loving grace.

For another thing -- I've been renovating, after a fashion.  I've finally stripped away the cat-damaged wall paper along my hallway, right down to the panel board (it's a late seventies mobile home dressed up to look like a real house).  There's still a bit of under-paper -- the last of the two (count 'em!) layers of wall paper -- and I'll remove that slowly over time.  Then I'm going to prime the wall and paint it in some sort of light, neutral colour, and re-hang my "Rogues Gallery" -- all those family photos I hold so dear.

For a third thing -- I've developed rosacea, which is apparently very common in Women of a Certain Age who enjoy waking up to a fresh cup of coffee or tea, going out to get some sunshine, excercising in said sunshine, maybe having a spicy dish for lunch (me? not so much) and a glass of wine with dinner.   What's left? Breathing? Sleeping? Creating with fabric, fibre or floss?!  Sheesh!

Anyway, I'm treating my face more gently these days to make up for the fact that I'm not giving up any of the above "causes"!  

There was one thing, though, that I have given up in the last couple of weeks: most of my living room furniture.

Yep. You read that right.

I moved here in the fall of 2008, two years into widowhood and still grieving.  It's taken a long time for that grief to ease up to the point where I could be honest and start sifting and sorting my material memories -- but that time is NOW.

During those 17 years, I've let my furniture go to the cats.  A little research showed that perhaps the down-to-the innards mess they made of my over-stuffed love seat and two chairs, combined with the fact they were crammed into a small space that made vacuuming a challenge, was ...well...not good for me.  At least, not good for my skin!

So...at the end of October I went to a furniture store in the town up the road, and bought two new small chairs.  They're "tub" shaped, with wooden frames, including wooden arms, beautifully finished, and with upholstered backs, seats and back cushions. Those cushions have zippers -- the fabric can be washed!

Armed with a bottle of "No Scratch" from the pet store and some of my own quilts and coverlets, I am now enjoying both chairs immensely.

But...uh-oh!  Now the carpet -- a sort of 'Berber' type -- is very visible.  So...I went out and bought one of those light-weight upright warm-water-and-detergent motorized carpet cleaners (a Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner) from my local Home Hardware (a Canadian chain of small-box hardware stores staffed by folks who remember your name).  In between assorted other activities, I've set up a schedule of weekly carpet cleaning sessions.  It's going to take a while, and my carpet will never look "like new", but it's making a difference!

The fact that my furniture is no longer spewing bits of dust, dander, sponge rubber etc. into the air, and my carpet is giving up all that the vacuum couldn't reach for over a decade has worked wonders on both my skin and my sense of peace.

Furthermore, having to clear out a small book-case in order to 'do' the hall carpet has meant that I've just filled my second and third box of books and old DVDs to donate to the local lending library -- for sale or circulation: their choice.

And of course the 'making' hasn't stopped!  We all know that our crafting, hand-work, etc. keep us sane, so let's explore what that's meant for me since my last post, eh?

In rug-hooking, as far as the Women's Show in Red Deer...it wasn't a roaring success for Curiosity Art and Framing, where I show my work.  It was an experiment, and won't be tried again.

But...I'm happy to report that my piece, "Love Lives in the Stars" (see the photo above left) was accepted into the "Winter's Night" exhibit in the lobby gallery of the Lacombe Performing Arts Centre!  The exhibit opens November 17 and runs through January 8, 2026, though it will be closed for the holidays:

I hope to go to the opening reception next week -- if the weather behaves!

In knitting, I've finished that one pair of mittens, and have been working on the gloves my son requested for Xmas.  I've finished one, and have only the ring finger, the pinky finger and the thumb to finish on the second. Given that I am challenged by 'reversing' a pattern -- in this case, for a right- and left-hand glove -- it's been a bit of "one step forward, two steps back", but I'm on track now and the pair will be finished, washed and blocked well before Xmas...

Pattern: Modified Army Gloves
Designer: Selyn Birnbaum
Yarn: 100% Corriedale
Handspun by Kristi, Alberta, Canada

As for my own handspun, the hat is progressing -- I'm past the ribbing -- but it's a "car knit" which means "while I'm waiting for the train" or "when I'm out with a friend for coffee" or whatever...so stay tuned for progress!

That said, once the give-away mittens were done, using the last of the same yarn, I cast on a pair of "Lawn Bowling Mitts" designed by my cyber-friend Kate -- she of "Arts and Socks" blog.  I've finished one (but for the thumb) and will cast on the second soon. They'll join the other things in the "Warm Things" give-away box.

And then there's quilting.  I finished the "Four-patch Fun" top -- Bonnie Hunter's 2025 "Leaders and Enders" project. As you may recall, I used the left-overs from the "Celtic Knots" mega-quilt project from the summer.  I opted for a 'straight-on' layout, rather than 'on point' -- and I'm glad I did. It's SO pretty!

It'll stay as a flimsy until its needed.

That said, on my first Sunday at my new worship community, I found out that a family with whom they were acquainted had recently lost everything in a house fire.  The couple in question are not in great financial shape, as they work as health care aids (not well paid here in this province).  So...this week I sandwiched and quilted one of the comfort throw 'tops' I keep on hand. All that's left to do is to bind it, stitch in thread ends and wash it.  I'll have it ready for the next service in the parish, on Nov. 23.  Below is a photo of the top that I finished a few months ago:

As for the November BOM from A Quilting Life...well...I've prepped the templates on freezer paper, but that's as far as I've gone.  Some of you will know how much I dislike templates. I'll just leave that there for now!

On to stitching!

In my last post I mentioned that I had some 'smalls' I wanted to stitch for Xmas gifts.  I'm happy to report that all three have been stitched!

Alas, it seems that as of this writing, I've photographed only one of them -- and it's only stitched.  It needs to be embellished with the charms that come with it, and then fully finished:

Design: "Coffee"
Designer: Hinzeit
28-count unlabelled fabric
2 over 2 with the called-for colours

NOTE: the above link is to US-based 123 Stitch -- a great company but not where I purchased this pattern. I've owned it for years, and bought it from a Canadian source. It appears to be unavailable from 123 Stitch; I have no idea where you can get it now, let alone the charms that go with it.  Sorry, eh?

In other stitching...

My November focus is once again on "A Quilter's Dream" from Modern Folk Embroidery.  Why?  Because this is a tribute piece to my late husband, my greatest fan as I took up quilting and then moved to explore art quilting not long before he died in 2006.  I began to work on this some months ago -- in February 2025, marking 50 years from our engagement to be married:

In August is/was our wedding anniversary -- the 9th of that month.  He died on that same date, 31 years after we were married -- so here is my progress on Aug. 31 this year:

And November is a) Diabetes Month in Canada (Canadians Dr. Frederick Banting and his partner Dr. Best and their team discovered insulin. Dr. Banting -- aka Sir Frederick Banting, was born Nov. 14, 1891); b) my father's birth month - Nov. 14, 1904; and c) my husband's birth month - Nov. 29, 1952.

So here is my progress to date.  With another 2 weeks to go, I've finished the first two pages (top and bottom left) of this piece.

As for spinning...no...nothing going on there in the last few weeks. No rug-hooking since "Love Lives in the Stars" either.  But that doesn't mean all is lost on those fronts.

I'm learning to go where my hands want to go, and to trust in my "little art spirit" (as Deanne Fitzpatrick is wont to say) as well as the greater spirit that governs us all.

Americans will be celebrating their Thanksgiving soon.  They continue to live in Very Troubled Times there, and up north here we can only watch and pray -- not only for them, but for those up here who would emulate some of the nastier forces at play south of our border.

So I leave you, Gentle Readers, first, with my usual link to dear Nina Marie, with her inspiring posts; and second, with hopes and prayers for a safe, happy, celebratory Thanksgiving -- in the US and every day wherever the ROTW (Rest Of The World) lives...for we have each other, the work of our hands, the skies above, the earth beneath, and the One, the Universe...however you express that...who cares for each and every one of us.

Blessings, a bientot!

Obsessed!

 

I come from sturdy English and Scots stock -- "stiff upper lip" and all that -- but I have to say, the last 3+ weeks have me hovering between weepy/wobbly and purple-in-the-face angry.  

My country's been threatened by a madman -- who has equally mad minions around him. What's a civilized, educated, sensible person of the female persuasion to do?!

Well...hmmm...

I've decided the best I can do is to keep making.  Creating beauty every day, as Deanne Fitzpatrick says.  Making items for those in need of warmth and comfort.  Making gifts for friends and family.  Selecting items I no longer need or want and giving them away.  Filling the 3 active winter bird-feeders in my trees.  Tending to my yard and garden in season.  Making jams in season and giving jars away to friends and neighbours for their enjoyment.  Donating books to the local libraries (yes; one here, one in Alix, AB -- but mostly here, as it's not part of the wider library system).  Donating to causes in which I believe -- or in memory of friends who have died.

My friend Dave died a couple of weeks ago.  He was a United Church of Canada minister, a handyman, a fisherman, an appreciator of art, and a beloved husband, father and friend.  In his 'handyman' role, he renovated my bathroom 16 years ago, and upgraded my kitchen counters about 8 years after that...and with a skinny accomplice, figured out the source of the frozen pipes under my kitchen floor -- and fixed it.  

His wife is a potter, and I have one of her mugs. We met years ago at a small-town 'Art Walk' in which people understood her work but couldn't fathom mine. I hope she knows (as I've tried to communicate) how much I appreciate her work.  

And so...watching my friends and family (by marriage) refusing to come home (some of them have Canadian citizenship -- born here, grew up here, and our government hasn't challenged their birthright) -- but somehow the fear of 4-6 months of snow keeps them south...

I don't understand.

What I DO understand is making and giving...so since my last post, here's what's on the table -- finished:

Hooked Art:

• A 12" square piece for the "Piece by Piece" fundraising auction to support the Lacombe (Alberta) Centre for the Performing Arts (LPAC).  I finished it -- fully -- yesterday and will deliver it to the Centre next week:

"Prairie Gold" - 12" x 12"
Hooked yarn; mounted on canvas

• A small piece for sale later this spring (I hope):

"January Moon-set" - 6" x 6" 
Hooked yarn on burlap
Mounted on canvas

I've another idea percolating -- a reprise of my "Blue Pot" done in fabric several years ago -- so stay tuned!

In all of these things, the attempts to create Order out of Chaos are evident.  In hooking mats, it's the hand-over-hand motion.  This is true, too, of cross stitch.  I've been working on 3 pieces this month, all with deep Canadian connections.

The first two feature Canadian designers -- Thea Dueck of The Victoria Sampler, and Jeannette Douglas of Jeannette Douglas Designs.

I love samplers, as many of you know, and so this month, I pulled out Jeannette's reproduction sampler, Ann Perrin 1841, and picked up where I left off during "Sampler September."  I love all the little motifs inside of that fabulous border:

Hankering for a new start, too, I dug out a pattern -- with accessory pack of threads and beads -- I'd bought in the fall of 2008 when I went to a retreat in Victoria, B.C., hosted by Thea Dueck and her Victoria Sampler staff: "'S' is for Stitcher".  I found just the right piece of fabric in my stash -- an unlabelled 28-count mystery linen that's a Zweigart base (it has the famous orange stripe in the selvedge), and have managed to do the first few bands of this sampler:

In the gap you see above the "S" is a cut-work feature I've chosen to leave out; I'll go back and put my initials and the year in there later.  I even have Thea's blessing to do that! 💜

February 11 this year was rather special for me.  Those of you who follow me on FB will note that I posted about it: the 50th anniversary of the day my DH and I announced our engagement!  I decided a special piece was needed to honour the day and his memory.  No; not something lovey-dovey.  Rather, something simple in construction but complex in over-all effect.  Something that makes order out of the chaos of married life marred by long-term illness and in the end, his death.

I've chosen "A Quilter's Dream", designed by Jacob de Graf of Modern Folk Embroidery -- using the paper pattern, fabric and floss I purchased from Evertote, the wonderful Canadian cross-stitch suppliers of select patterns, and Roxy Floss Co. fabric and floss.  I'm using Roxy Floss' 40-count 'Porcelain' linen, and Roxy Floss "Greater Porpoise" and "Pippy" hand-dyed flosses, 1 strand of floss over 2 fabric threads.

I began with the border, starting in the upper left corner, as is my habit:

By this morning I'd done some of the border across the top too, and decided to add a bit of the red:

It's a lovely, methodical, meditative stitch -- creating comfort, beauty and order out of chaos.

There's been progress on the quilting front too. On Friday,  I finished 168 "Easy Breezy" blocks -- 4 1/2" (unfinished) -- and have arranged them into 12 columns of 14 blocks each. Here's what a stack of those rows looked like, laid out on my ironing board!

Yesterday I finished the last two columns and began to sew the columns together in pairs, randomly sewing one column to another.  I've now got 6 pairs of them to sew together.  That should measure about 48" x 56" before borders -- and once borders are on it'll be a good throw-sized top.  "Easy Breezy" is one of Bonnie Hunter's "Leaders and Enders" projects, and this is the second one I've made. The last one I did was a QAYG (Quilt As You Go), finished in March of 2022:

 I love the scrappy look of these quilts!

I've made a total of eight blocks now in the "Old Town" pattern -- Bonnie Hunter's Mystery 2025.  It's now released as a pay-for pattern, if you missed getting it during the weeks the Mystery was being posted.  I need 25 before I can put them into a top, but I've enough of them now that I can tell they make an interesting pattern without worrying about the sashing.  That's a good thing, because I'm running very low on fabrics from my stash in the colour palette that I've chosen!

Just one of eight "Old Town" blocks finished

And as always, there's knitting.  It's what my hands love most when I'm trying to make sense of the world and my place in it.  

I finished the second "Mash It Up" hat, using two strands of assorted fingering-weight wool odd-balls.  And yes, I used exactly the same colours (or pretty close!) to the ones in the first Mash It Up I made, last November!

Pattern: Mash it Up
Designer: Babs Ausherman
Yarn: assorted fingering wool left-overs

I finished another pair of mittens -- these in an Adult Small size, using up some "Bravo" DK (100% acrylic) from stash:

Pattern: The World's Simplest Mittens
Designer: Tin Can Knits
Yarn: Schachenmayr "Bravo Originals" 
in colour #8355

I finished the "Guernsey" socks -- and discovered on wearing them that the fabric is rather thin.  I probably should have used a smaller needle size from the get-go.  Ah well...I'll wear them -- maybe they'll be okay for spring and early fall.

And I finished the first of the pair of "Twizzler Socks"; the second is now on the needles:

Pattern: Twizzler Socks
Designer: Tangled Bekah
Yarn: Lana Grossa Melleinweit
"Cotton Fondo" in "Greens" (Colour #6507)

These are a pleasure to knit -- easy pattern and I'm enjoying the yarn, which is a blend of cotton, wool and nylon.

Finally, I made progress on my "January Blanket" -- finishing a total of 12 of the 34 pattern repeats, and I've been plodding away at the increases on a sleeve for an over-sized tweedy pullover that I'm converting from an 'in pieces' pattern to an 'in-the-round' pattern.  Slow and steady...

But all those finishes called for a couple of new starts, and I was inspired by the knitting podcasters I watch.

First, I decided that I could use a new hand-knit hat.  I have only one, and it's pretty light-weight.  The regular 'Deep Freeze' weather we've been having this winter calls for something more substantial.

For Xmas 2023, I was given a gift card to Arcane Fibres, an indie dyer in B.C.  I bought two lucious skeins of a DK weight in the colour-way, "For All the Trees":

Once of them should do for a nice cabled hat, and the other, perhaps, for a cowl to match.  so I've cast on the hat and am about 1/2-way through the 4" brim, which is deep because it's meant to fold up for double thickness:

Pattern: Lake Reed
Designer: Asita Krebs
Yarn: Arcane Fibre Works Merino DK

Ribbing is lovely and mindless when one wants to be quieted, calmed, slowed down. It's an orderly stitch, too, which clearly fits the theme of "Order Out of Chaos"!

As if that weren't enough, one of the podcasters I watch -- I think it was Linda of the "For the FUN of Knit" podcast -- mentioned the 'Missoni Accomplished' pullover as a project she wanted to start.  It has optional colour-work which she plans to do.  Now, I've had that pattern for some time -- I got it when it first came out and was free (it's a pay-for pattern now)...so...why not?!

I'm not going to make it with its wide zig-zag stripes, though.  I'm built like a box and those would not be flattering!  Another stash dive -- and I found a sweater quantity of single-ply DK/light worsted weigh yarn I've had for a good 20 years. It's dyed in a mix of blues:

Yarn: Classic Elite "Waterspun"
'Felted' 100% Merino Wool
Colour-way: #2549 - "Periwinkle"

I wasn't sure how this would knit up, but I cast on yesterday and discovered it's got a lovely self-striping thing going on -- in stripes that are far more narrow and subtle than the colour-work in the pattern:

Pattern: "Missoni Accomplished"
Designer: Espace Tricot

It's knit top-down, so you can see I've finished the nect and am on the rows of increasing moving downward.  I'm making a size 4, which will give me a bit more than 10 inches of positive ease -- and that's intentional, per the pattern.  Again, it's simply knitting 'round and 'round -- mindless, soothing, rhythmic, hand-to-hand...Order out of chaos.

Perfect for this frigid, wintry weather.  Perfect for the still-short days.  Perfect for uncertain, shaky times.

So that's where I leave you today, my friends...with my usual link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  This week she's seeking solace in creating too.  How about you?

Until next time, Gentle Readers, thanks for reading, for your support, and for sharing the ways you create beauty, peace and comfort -- every day.

A bientot!