Still in Search of Sanity!

Since my last regular blog post we've managed to move from autumnal weather into -- heat wave!  Along with that, we're getting wild fire smoke across the mountains from B.C., some from Saskatchewan to the east (!) and perhaps a bit of our own from up north.  Try as we might, we can't seem to get it to travel south... 😉

But between the heat and smoke, work in the yard and garden has been a challenge, and I've not been able to use my Outdoor Studio as much as I'd hoped.  

That said, given all the rain we got in June and earlier this month, everything's growing like Topsy!  The peonies were glorious -- as you can see from the above photo -- and the roses, daisies and yarrow, profuse!  

I've had 2 salads with my own leaf lettuce and snips of dill; my green beans are flowering; my cherry tomatoes are cherry-ing and I've 3 zucchini plants gearing up to flower.

Even the rhubarb I transplanted into one of the raised beds last fall, saving it from being buried by the raspberries, has given me a couple of cups, diced, and is promising at least two more.

And speaking of raspberries -- my canes are loaded again this year.  This morning, before the heat and smoke set in, I picked my first large collander full:

From which I made this:

Seven cups of fresh rasberry jam!

And I have a few cups left over to enjoy fresh.  And there's more on the canes yet to ripen.

Don't worry, Gentle Readers -- my crafting is still in the spotlight, because it is the key to finding daily peace and sanity, as the World Order continues be most disorderly indeed!

In the cool of the mornings I tend to take up my knitting, with what little bit of news I can handle, several knitting podcasts and at least two cups of good, black coffee!  

I mentioned socks in my last post, and indeed, I'm working on the second of this pair of "Cock-a-hoop Socks" from Canadian Nancy Wheeler of New Brunswick.  The photo doesn't do the pattern justice, but I think the yarn I dug out from my stash is capturing what Nancy was getting at when she designed them.  Here's what the first sock looks like:

Yarn: Subculture Yarn SW
Merino Bamboo Rayon Nylon Fingering
Colour-way: "Unicorn Farts"! 🤣 

I've set aside the socks, sweaters and blanket projects though, in favour of small items to go in my "Warm Things Box", which I'll take to my parish church in November for distribution to those in need.  I'm working on hats and mittens, alternating projects in turn, and have finished two hats and a pair of mittens, and am on the second mitten of my second pair of those.  Here's the line-up so far:

First, another LOSY (Left Over Sock Yarn) Hat, the fourth I've made...

LOSY Hat - Left Over Sock Yarn

Next, I tried out a pair of colour-work mittens.  I liked the pattern and would probably knit these again -- but would crib the thumb from "The World's Simplest Mittens" pattern. I'm not alone there, as others on Ravelry had doubts about the thumbs in this pattern. Anyway, here they are, knit as written:

Pattern: Kuura Mittens
Designer: Helena Joronen
Yarns: Blue - Cascaed 220 - worsted
Colour: #9487 - Puget Sound
White/Cream: Unknown worsted-weight wool

Third -- a hat, of course -- to stay in rotation!  This was a new to me pattern that I found when listening to this podcast: Cathy W. Yarn with Heart (a Canadian but I'm not sure from which part of the country). It's the "Look Out! Winter Hat"  designed by Roberta Rich, and it's free on Ravelry. The pattern is size-inclusive, is knit partly flat and partly in the round -- but can be knit entirely flat if you choose. It can be knit in 2 colours but I chose to knit my first one in Berroco Vintage, a worsted-weight (#4 in US yarn numbering) wool-acrylic blend, in "Black Cherry":

It's mostly garter stitch, and has an applied i-cord edge along the bottom.  It takes a bit more time and thought than the LOSY or other more "basic" hats, but I think I'd make another if I have the right yarn (or yarns) in stash.  I'd like to try a two-colour one!

And now...I'm on the second of yet-another-pair of my very favourite mitten patterns. I'm sure, Gentle Readers Who Knit Mitts, you know and likely appreciate this pattern too -- 'The World's Simplest Mittens' from Tin Can Knits.  This go 'round I'm using two yarns: an acrylic solid for the cuffs and a wool/nylon blend for the main part. I remain undecided as to the thumbs, depending on how close I come to playing "Yarn Chicken" in the end!

Red yarn: Mary Maxim Parisienne
DK - 100% acrylic - colour #104;
Self-patterning yarn: ONline Supersocke
6 fach, wool/nylon - Arizona - Color #1970

While I've been knitting every day (it's my go-to Sanity Saver), I've been working a bit with...

Quilting: 

1. The binding is fully sewn on 2 sides of the "Lupines & Laughter" quilt (Bonnie Hunter's Mystery 2025-26) and machine-sewn on the other two, pinned for hand-stitching when it gets cool enough to put a quilt in my lap, or the weekend of August 1 -- whichever comes first!  The reason? This is a birthday gift for my son's partner -- her "almost 40" quilt (she turns 39 later in August this year) and we're having a family gathering on August 3rd, which is a holiday in most Canadian provinces/territories!  So I need to get a move on!
2. No new scraps have been cut into usable squares/bricks -- too hot!  And out on the back stoop?  Too windy! And...
3. I've printed the July block from "A Quilting Life" but...that's as far as I've got.  Too hot in the south-facing studio (no ceiling fan).

Rug-hooking:

Working in fits-and-starts here, but am eager to finish my current project by the end of this month if I can.  For my part in the "10-Minutes-a-Day Challenge" at Deanne Fitzpatrick Studios, I'm working on the pattern/kit I won at the end of March as a member of her "March is for Makers" program -- now continuing as the "Makers' Meet-up".  

The kit is a variation of one used for the "Kit of the Month" a while back, and it's lovely.  That said, of course I'm playing with the suggested colours and colour placement!  That's the whole idea, isn't it?! 😉

"Singing to the Choir" -- on the frame
Designed by Deanne Fitzpatrich Studio

All I have left to do on this piece is the sky...and my plan? To bind it and give it to the friend with whom I sung at church for over a decade -- first as a trio (we called ourselves "The Quartet" -- see why, below!) and then as a duo.  Precious memories:

"The Quartet": 2 vocalists, 2 guitarists 😉

And then there's cross-stitch. Those of you that do these crafts probably know well the commonality they share: hands working together, often hand-over-hand.  It's that quality that plays a key part in the search for sanity.

I really didn't have much to show you in my last post, so I'm making up for that now.

July, for me, is the month I focus on Canadian designers.  In July of 2024 I began a lovely sampler reproduced by a talent American -- Kathleen Littleton of Cross-stitch Antiques, and I've continued to work on it again this month.  It was stitched originally by Emeline Hotchkiss, a Canadian girl living in or around Lacolle, Quebec, in the 1800s -- hence the Canadian connection.

Here's where I last left it almost a year ago (July 31, 2025):

And here's my progress as of yesterday -- July 23, 2026:

Emeline Hotchkiss, Lacolle, 1846
reproduced by Kathleen Littleton,
Cross-stitch Antiques.

I know it doesn't look like much but I'm turning the upper right corner of the border to go down that third side. Once that's done, I'll be moving to the bottom section, closing in on a finish. 

I'm working it with 1 strand of floss over 2 fabric threads on 40-count "Vellum" from Picture This Plus, using DMC floss -- called for the odd close-colour substitute from stash.  

To celebrate Canada Day (July 1) I started this tiny piece at the end of June and finished it at the end of the first week of July: Canadian Flag from Erin Elizabeth Designs.

I stitched it on 36-count Antique White linen from Zweigart, using DMC #327, one strand over 2 fabric threads.  I've a red mat and an inexpensive black frame from Michael's, and plan to frame it up and park it on the indoor sill of my front window, just 'cause.

Last but not least, I've gone back to Jacob's 2026 SAL, "Little Acorns", for a meditative monochromatic stitch. I'm not following the suggested sections very strictly, so I've really no idea of my progress compared to others doing this Stitch-ALong, but I enjoy it.

While I've worked on it on and off, this is the progress I recorded in May (!)

And this is my progress as of July 22:

Yes! I'm nearly finished this latest section!  I'm working with 1 strand of Roxy Floss hand-dyed floss in the "Pippy" colour-way, over 2 strands of Roxy Floss linen, 40-count, in "Platinum".  

Long. Slow. Distance.  That's what these pieces remind me of.

You see, in my younger years (mid-late twenties to early thirties) I took up running.  Long. Slow. Distance.  My purpose?  To manage my weight (I'm built like a box!) and to have Time To Myself.  I would run at least 1/2 hour a day, and longer (up to 2 hours or more) on weekends. I entered 6 marathons and finished 5 (one I quit at 10 miles due to the heat).  So I understand the rhythm.

The rhythm of the feet and legs moving in time. Steady pace; steady breathing.  Managing hills -- up and down.  Navigating around icy patches. Dressing for all sorts of wind and weather.  All to find Sanity, Peace of Mind, in the pace. Long. Slow. Distance.

Nowadays it's Long. Slow. Stitches.  Whether knitting loops or hooking them. Whether crossing stitches, or hem-stitching bindings on quilts. Whether drafting a bit of wool roving and spinning it, or plying singles to make a yarn.

Quiet, rhythmic and meditative -- yet productive.  Creating beauty every day that can be both savoured and shared with others -- with those in need or those "just because".  Beauty, comfort, the quiet expression and sharing of the work of our hands.

I have to believe that if we keep on keeping on, there will always be Light in the Making.  This belief is what gets me up in the morning and keeps me going all day.  Perhaps it works the same magic for you.

I'll leave you with that to ponder.  Nina-Marie is off elsewhere this week so...until next time, Gentle Readers, a bientot!***

***She's BACK! So I'm linking belatedly to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  Have a great day!

Homebodies Unite!

 

A few weeks ago, when I last wrote, we'd had a snow storm and more seemed to be on the way.  Yes, Gentle Readers, and it came.  There was no going anywhere on the Sunday after that post.  

Since then, we've had some more snow -- though nothing like the 60" that Nina-Marie describes, living near the Lakehead out East.  Whoa!  I'm 60.5" tall...so I can figure out the impact of that!

Instead, we've been treated to a smorgasbord of precipitation: snow, "mixed", rain and freezing rain.  I managed to get to the local Home Hardware (about 18 km south) for a load of eco-friendly ice melter...just in time!

All that said, it's been great for those of us who are Certified Homebodies -- who like to stay in our own homes, yards and gardens, doing...whatever we do!  Are any of you with me? 

The added benefit is that it's coming on to Christmas and the Holiday Season, and I've had gifts to make.  Now...yes... those of you who are in Canada are rolling your eyes a bit, because you know that, like you, I have some gifts that might not make it in time for December 25 due to our over-4-weeks-now postal strike.  That said, I live in hope, because a) the government is getting back into the fray; and b) "Little Christmas" -- Epiphany -- the Twelfth Day of Christmas -- Orthodox Church Christmas -- is January 6.  So...there's an alternative!  And who do you know doesn't like a gift when they least expect it?! 😉😊😃😄

So I forge ahead!  

Since my last post, I finished the tiny wrap-around spool project from Jeannette Douglas Designs (a collaboration with Evertote and Roxy Floss), and because the recipient lived nearby, I was able to find One Perfect Driving Day this week -- and deliver it to her:

Those are my scissors in the photo, taken in my living room.  She had her own pair, and promptly inserted them where they belonged, to the delight of both of us!

I've also finished the "Downton Gloves" (Downton Abbey-themed fingerless gloves) from stash yarn, and given them to my neighbour and friend, Claire, when we had lunch last week:

The yarn is a Malabrigo merino and silk blend, soft-soft-soft-soft.  She's a non-knitter and not fond of wool, but I was right; she couldn't resist these!

For my very-good-to-me neighbours, I've finished the 2024 Block of the Month from Sheri at A Quilting Life.  The last block came out December 2nd and I surprised myself by finishing mine that very day.  I've been making two per month in the smaller (8" finished) size, and here they are for December:

Because I knew time of the essence, I immediately began to plot out the rows and sashing:

In doing so, I exhausted the supply of the gold fabric corner-stone squares, and have only scraps left of the brown sashing print -- a win-win on the 'stash reduction' front!

Here's what it looked like once I got all the rows together, plus the inner border -- which I made twice as wide as called for -- and the outer border, a solid red-brown poly-cotton:

I found a couple of pieces of deep wine-coloured poly-cotton for a pieced backing, and had to add only a strip of additional batting to one side of a package of new Quilters' Dream 'Select' to make the batting.

I then decided that, given the flavour of the quilt and the colours used, I'd hand quilt it with a 'big stitch' format, using #12 perle cotton (DMC colour #640) -- also from stash.  I've made my way around the inner border and am now working on the blocks, with shadow quilting that I don't need to mark.  I simply echo the lines of the block pieces, or go from point to point:

If I can manage 3 (or 4) blocks a day, I should have it bound and ready to give by Xmas Eve (or the 23rd at the earliest).

Meanwhile, if the weather behaves, I'll be driving up to Edmonton to spend Christmas with my children and household.  Hooray!  So...

As you probably noticed in my last post, the knitted gifts for my son and his family are finished -- and gift cards are purchased.  That said, a 'squirrel' caught my eye last week in the guise of a 'reading pillow' -- and I just knew such a thing would be a great addition to the gift for my son's partner's teen son, who has a 15th birthday in January.  So I picked up a 16" pillow form (on sale!) at one of my LQS (Wild Flower Creations in Lacombe), dug in my stash for fabric, and made this:

Front -- showing the wide pocket
Free Pattern: Shabby Fabrics

And back, with a flap for removing the pillow form

The fabric was left over from the Canada 150 line of fabrics (2017).  Back in the day, I bought a quantity to make a table runner, which I still use.  

I liked the project so much that when at Michael's on Thursday this week, I bought another 16" square pillow form -- also on sale!

As for my daughter's Xmas/B'day Jan 2025 gift -- the [Not So] Presto Vesto -- there is light at the end of the tunnel!  Since my last post, I've done the twisted-rib trim on each pocket, made the inside of each pocket, and attached said pocket linings to the vest.

One of the pockets - outside view

One of the pockets - inside view.

What the front looks like with 2 finished inset pockets

All that's left is the zipper (28", already purchased -- from Wild Flower Creations in Lacombe), adding a strip of woven ribbon on the inside over the zipper (purchased at Michael's in Red Deer) and sewing down the collar.  Yes -- it's already been washed and blocked.

This thing has been a Labour of Love from start to finish...so I've been knitting intermittently on smaller projects as 'palate cleansers'!

I got the "advent" (non-liturgical) bug -- but I didn't invest in a series of yarny or stitchy gifts.   No.  I found a couple of patterns on Ravelry that were set up as "Advent" Knit-Alongs (KALs), and joined in.

One is for a pair of socks in a series of different stitch patterns.  Some are knitting each daily pattern offering in a different colour, but I opted for using up a couple of balls of Patons Kroy FX that I had in my stash (in the colour "Clay"):

Above is a photo through Day 2, but I'm now well past that, having done a heel flap, turned the heel and finished the gusset -- making my way through Day 9.  I've decided one repeat of Day 10 and I'll be ready for the toe of the first sock.  (This is a free pattern KAL.)

The other is for a colour-work cowl, which I've been using to practice my colour-work skills. (My plan is to try more colour-work in 2025).  I chose two fingering-weight yarns: Julie Asselin 'Fino' -- my daughter gave me a skein a few years ago, in the colour-way "Trench" and some very old wool 4-ply given me from a yarn cull, from The Bay (The Hudson's Bay Company) -- in a lovely pearl grey.  I'm about to start Clue 6 with is the last one in this particular KAL, and am very pleased that the motifs I've knit actually look like they're suppose to! 😆 (NOTE: This pattern was free for a limited time but is no longer so.)

I just might be able to do this stranded colour-work thing after all!

As for stitchery...aside from the spool, which I finished and gave to its recipient, I've finished two little pieces that may or may not arrive at their respective destinations on time:

Designer: The Sweetheart Tree
Kit: 28-count "Ray of Light" Cashel Linen
DMC floss, Mill Hill beads & a charm (not shown)
1 or 2 floss threads over 1 or 2 fabric threads
Some back-stitching and a Rhodes stitch butterfly

Designer: Lizzie Kate
Pattern included the little button
Done on 35-count "Royal Icing" from
Access Commodities
1 thread of floss over 2 fabric threads
DMC floss from stash

"Don't Bug Me" will be made into a small hanging sign for the studio of some friends, while "You Can Touch the Dust" will be made into a flat-fold for a friend of mine -- we have a mutual understanding of the insufferability of dust!  😉😄

I have a stitching plan for January 2025 too.  Recently I bought a pair of "Gatherings" samplers from Hands on Design, through Traditional Stitches, my LNS: "Gather Blessings" and "Gather Memories".  I got them -- and the called-for fabric -- early enough that they arrived before Canada Post went on strike a month ago.  I've kitted them up so they are ready to go, and I hope to finish one, if not both, as 'blessings' samplers for 2025.  I figure with the state of the world right now, we could use all the blessings we can get in the next year!

On the art front, the Under $100 Art Market in Lacombe at the end of November was a modest success for me.  I sold only one piece (of seven on show), but on the Saturday afternoon when I volunteered as a 'floater' on the floor of the exhibit, I had some interesting and lovely conversations with folks for whom this work was new as an art form -- but who remembered ancestors who'd done it to make utilitarian pieces for the floor.  I am hopeful that if I enter the largert Art Show and Sale in the spring, I might sell more of these pieces.

To that end, I've been pondering a larger piece.  I picked up some burlap from Michael's in Red Deer to try it out (shipping from Deanne Fitzgerald Studios in Nova Scotia or even from Legacy Studios in Cochrane, west of Calgary, is pricy and awkward at the momen).  So we shall see.  I got a 2 yard piece, 44" wide, and have cut it to fill the larger of my stretcher bars, so once I get that quilt quilted I'll be ready to make a start.  I'm leaning toward a sky-inspired intuitive piece...Stay tuned!

Once ironed and zig-zagged, it'll go on the frame...

And so, Gentle Readers, that's all the news that's fit to print for now.  As I close, I see out my windows in the early winter dark, that my 3 closest neighbours have joined me in turning on their Christmas lights, bringing delight to all who pass by, and reminding us all that there is still a light that shines in this world, whether or not we can see it.

I'll be linking you to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday, where this week she gives you ideas for gifts for your favourite quilting family and/or friends.  I have all I need, really, and that includes those of you who've stuck with me on this little blog all these years.  I'll mark 22 years as a Blogger in February.  Whodd'a thunk it?!

Till next time -- holiday blessings, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah...and may the next year bring us ever closer to a world that's more hopeful, more peaceful, more civil, more just, more understanding, and more loving.  A bientot!