And So It Begins...

All day the forecast has been for snow -- "light snow" or "flurries" -- back and forth -- due to start this evening and continue through tomorrow.

The same tomorrow I was to leave for Calgary (2 1/2 hours' drive southwest of here) around 6 a.m...

But...

The snow has begun.  It was preceded by a day of confused weather that included rain, freezing rain and sunshine.

I squeezed in a jog mid-afternoon, and surprised myself with pace and distance. When I'll jog again is anyone's guess.

The trip to Calgary was to take the SAQA 25th Anniversary Trunk Show, Section "F" ("F" is for 'Fascination'" I call it) to the Bow River Quilters...but now...both the organizer of the meeting and I are on tenterhooks, watching Mother Nature to see what's she's going to do.

"F"ascination in Syvlan Lake, AB - Dec. 9, 2014

The Trunk is prepped and ready to go.  If I don't get to Calgary, I will have to haul it to Alix Home Hardware to put it in the next Purolator pick-up, because it's due in Dauphin, Manitoba on the 8th...and Dauphin's a Long Way from here...

Meanwhile...the learning has begun.  EB's invoice for the Master Class arrived and was duly paid.  The first lesson has arrived, been printed and set in its own special binder for reading and follow up...

Simultaneously, the 'clearing out' continues...

Another year, another Block Of the Month (BOM).  Today I assembled the first block of the third collection of BOM blocks I'd amassed from Freckles' Quilt Shop all those years ago.  This BOM is called "Zen".

However, I didn't buy much in the way of supporting fabric (fat quarters) for it, so I am tempted to call it "Scrappy Zen", because aside from the background fabric and 2 'specially purchased fat quarters, I'm using what I have to make the blocks work.   Here's the first block, an Irish Chain variation:

"Scrappy Zen" - January - 'Irish Chain' variation

The BOM is only one way to clear out...there's the scrap stash...  Today I sorted and trimmed more pieces for a couple of different charity quilts, one of which involves string piecing on paper:

(L) to (R): Short strings, long strings; 2" x 7" pieces for a specific pattern

On  the knitting front, slippers are under construction for my DD's birthday.  The bottoms are finished and the first cuff, and about 1/2 of the second cuff:

Two Cuffs and Buttons -"Little Red Riding Slippers"
from Berroco's Inca Tweed 

To continue "stash busting" I'm devoting 2 skeins of Diamond Luxury Collection 'Foot Loose' (alas discontinued)  in a lovely pearl grey --  to the making of a pair of socks - "Isabella d'Este" from Clara Parke's Knitter's Book of Socks -- as part of the Ravelry group, "Socks from Stash"'s January challenge.

Sock #1 - Picot Edge Completed - 2.25 mm needles

May you be warm and cozy this wintry night, with your favourite creative work, your favourite music, your favourite beverage, your favourite people around you...Till next time...

Where Did It Go?

This year, 

the week after Labour Day

flew by:

preparations for new counter tops,

now installed,

repairs to the underbelly

of the house

so pipes won't freeze 

come January.

The wind blew in rain and wet snow

on my birthday.

Diesel went missing,

still gone,

likely forever.

Diesel Cat

On the heels of his disappearance, 

a trip to Calgary

despite the weather,

for a dental check-up,

 an over-night visit,

 a meeting

and a workshop 

that all who made it enjoyed.

Tree down behind our meeting venue

Back home in a

twenty-four-hour turn-around;

then to work,

followed

by another trip --

this time to Sherwood Park

north of here,

just outside Edmonton.

 Another over-night

sandwiched

between two very full days

working a booth 

at the Creative Stitches Show.

Home again to face

fall yard work,

and company over-night.

Much to catch up:

correspondence,

errands,

connecting to neighbours

and friends.

There's always knitting

and working a bit in the studio.

There is always knitting.

This week?

A Monday evening meeting;

a Wednesday evening art Preview:

"10 x 10: The Unknown Artist".

Then a Thursday work-day

and travel that night

once more to Calgary.

Two nights this time;

another

Creative Stitches Show.

Suddenly -- Canola! (C) 2014

One of these days the merry-go-round will stop

and I will get off.

Quietly linking to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.

WIPs This Wednesday

Yesterday I prepared two miniatures for sewing today, so here's what I'll be working on...

"Pristine"

 This one is based on a photo taken from my back stoop late Sunday afternoon.  The new snow was so white, and the sky so blue...and the shadows...

"Vespers II"

This one is a miniature of a piece I did several months ago, which now lives in the home of my singing partner, A.   As you can tell, the size, and the available materials, produces something quite different from the original, but I think it will get the idea across.

Stay tuned for the finishes...tomorrow or Friday.

Now I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday at The Needle and Thread Network -- so go take a look and enjoy!

Snow Dye Report

Yesterday, as I posted, in a pinch I cobbled together what I hope will be the last batch of snow dyeing till December.  I decided to use the dye powder directly on the snow, rather than mix it with liquid first.  Here's what it looked like at the outset:

Sky Blue/Golden Yellow/Hint of Fuchsia Red

Lemon Yellow, Golden Yellow, Some Scarlet, Fuchsia Red

I let it sit about 7 hours, and the snow was still there, though diminished in volume.  Quite a lot of dye left in the rinsing.  Once washed with Synthrapol and dried in the dryer, this is what turned out:

Pastel, indeed, but perfect for sunrises or sunsets or florals or funky skies.  The pastel results are likely due to a combination of things:  first, the fact that the fabric is recycled bed linen and therefore not likely pure cotton, but a cotton-polyester blend; and second, the fact that my soda ash solution wasn't fresh.  It had been preserved from the last batch of snow dyeing -- about 6 weeks ago, at the end of January.  But I am not disappointed.  I knew those things going in.  And so...the results are not unexpected and entirely satisfactory.

On the "Train" front, I assembled a larger truck-end yesterday.  Don't you think the proportions are better in this view?

The truck is not yet fused down; I am undecided as to whether or not to show a few of the grasses/cat-tails behind it.  I'm going to ponder that for a while, as I await an order of 1/8" silk ribbon from Dharma, which I will dye and use to put those in.  I have only a bright, sunny yellow and a selection of reds in my stash, and can't find any silk ribbon locally to save my soul.  Neither can I find it online except in large quantities, with 4 weeks requested for dyeing.

In the Dharma order, I included a yard of silk habotai and one of silk charmeuse to play with in my online class with Jane Dunnewold through Craftsy.com, and another jar of Sky Blue MX dye powder...for obvious reasons!

And now to prepare to head out to Edmonton.  It's snowing lightly and there's a bit of a breeze, so I'll venture out cautiously and see if I can make it up Highway 21...with a pit-stop at Lori's in Sherwood Park, just for fun.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Little Earthly Good

Ever heard that saying? "She's so heavenly-minded that she's no earthly good!"  (said with disdain and eyes rolling, most likely.)  Well...to some extent that's how I've been feeling since mid-week.  Last weekend's intense spiritual experience found me up on the mountain top, and I've been hard-pressed to descend into reality, lest the joy desert me.  We humans!  How little we understand about the work of the Spirit!  I decided (at last) to pray for a return to balance, and since yesterday, little by little, I've been getting back to my routines, punctuated by restorative naps each afternoon.  :-)

Pookie Report:  My wee kitty (not as 'wee' as she used to be) is now...ahem...an FF (Former Female), having been spayed on Thursday (in a snowstorm)...She came through with flying colours.  When I got her home around 4 p.m., she was up and about immediately, playing with her favourite toy (the plastic pull tab from a frozen OJ container) and getting into everything, per usual.  To look at her, you'd hardly think she'd just had major surgery!  She has been sleeping a touch more, and welcomed my early-to-bed plans last evening, but other than that, she's been her usual self.

In the C&G:  I'm taking this week off, and will get back to it...stay tuned.

Is there knitting?  There's some Christmas knitting going on, but this week it was interrupted for the making of a long narrow "prayer scarf" for my friend P, whose husband is recovering from triple by-pass heart surgery.  The pattern is the "Barn Swallow Scarf" from the book, Wrapped in Comfort: Knitted Lace Shawls  by Alison Jeppson Hyde (Martingale and Company, 2007).  It's simple and pretty, but very narrow and in the yarn I used (Estelle "Watercolours", 50% Mohair, 50% acrylic), curls at the sides even with the eyelet border.  This photo was taken before I finished, washed and blocked it. Surprisingly, it took less than 1 ball (50 gm = 160 metres) for a scarf that's over 60" long which I decided was enough, seeing as P is shorter than my 5'2",  It washed nicely and is now blocking, but I couldn't get the eyelet border to open up.  Perhaps it will when it's dry.  I have 2 more balls in this colour-way (and a bit from the first ball), so given it's capacity to go and go and go, I'll likely make another scarf (wider) or perhaps a shawlette with it.

In the kitchen, you say?  Incredulously, yes.  I'm not that fond of cooking, but the low-sky, grey, snowy, blowy weather yesterday brought on the creation of a slow-cooker full of chili and a dozen applesauce oatmeal muffins, made with applesauce I'd put up and frozen from the apples I picked in August.  Now they're in the freezer, pending use in December (see below).  I had chili for supper last night and lunch today and have another couple of meals left yet.

Any exercise?  In between knitting, cooking, reading (another Deborah Crombie novel featuring Inspector Duncan Kincaid and his Sergeant, Gemma James), napping, catching up with the blogs I follow and writing thank-you notes for last weekend, I've been working out with a shovel.  The snow finally stopped this morning.  The sun came out, the sky is blue -- and I at last managed to clear both my back walk and driveway, and my front walk, for what I hope is more than 5 minutes.  This is the view looking east from my back stoop toward my garage and the empty lot beyond, and showing a section of shovelled sidewalk -- just a fraction of what I cleared.  :-)

Though my walks and drive are now clear, there have been no plows out (we're 'done' by the County), so my alley and the side-street that leads to the highway are both under 6" - 8" of rutted snow.  I want to get to St.Cyprian's for the Remembrance service tomorrow a.m., but we shall see. Maybe the snow angels will be out yet, eh?

Last but not least on the "heavenly-minded-but-earthly-good" list is the drafting of the program for an Advent Quiet Day that I'm leading at St. C's on December 8.  Entitled "The Work of Our Hands", it's been inspired by the book Knit One, Purl a Prayer: A Spirituality of Knitting by Peggy Rosenthal (Paraclete Press, 2011).  The day (10 a.m. - 2 p.m. with brief breaks for snacks -- the aforementioned muffins -- and lunch) will consist of a series of reflections on the calming spiritual effect of various types of repetitive handwork, from knitting, crochet, spinning, and embroidery, to beading, weaving (table loom), card-making, mending (buttons, darning, hemming), jig-saw tending, photograph sorting, Christmas card addressing, gift wrapping and the like.  Once I get the rough draft completed, I'll forward it to my priest for vetting as she will be helping me with the structure and presentation.  I'm hoping to prevail upon one of my singing buddies to bring her guitar and help out with a song or two as well.

So now...I'm thinking a short walk while the sun is high, followed by a nap, and some work on that draft..."See" you later!

More Snow...

...is not surprising, this last weekend in January, here in Central Alberta.  Heading into evening, the snow has been joined by the wind, and drifting.  On the menu:  Comfort Food in the form of home-made tuna casserole: whole wheat fusilli noodles (cooked), water-packed tuna (drained), condensed mushroom soup, and frozen mixed veggies (about a cup) -- all mixed together in a trusty Corning Ware (r) casserole dish.  Maybe some shredded cheese, melted and golden, on top.

Dr. Oz, eat your heart out! ;-)  I'm taking his 11-week challenge, which is going to take me and my 58-year-old, post-menopausal, mid-winter body at least twice as long.  Yes, I am moving more; I am eating less (snacking less); I do appreciate the awareness that the special website has created...but it is what it is!


Stormy weather enables more studio time, too.  I am contentedly working on several things:

• This morning I quilted the first of 2 new pieces.  These are going to be my submissions to "In the Red", a juried show to be held from early April through early July at the Alberta Craft Council Feature Gallery in Edmonton.  The show is intended to express how artists feel about a recent 16% cut-back in Provincial funding. Let me introduce you to:

"Make Do" and... "Mend" (pre-quilting)

Yes, you read the titles correctly.  The main body of each piece is constructed from paper towels left over from my dying exercise last week, layered onto muslin with MistyFuse (r), embellished with a bit of dyed yarn acquired somewhere in my travels, and secured under a subtle bit of sheer fabric.  The borders are my newest hand-dyed fabric.  The batting is pieced from remnants and the backings are commercial cottons from my stash, bought aeons ago (at least, long before I moved out here!).  Binding will be in the hand-dyes.  "Mend" has a bit of hand-stitching (ladder- and running stitch) as well around and through the centre rectangle, to effect patchwork.

• This afternoon I put 3 new dye packs aside to 'percolate': an even bluer purple (more Sky Blue, less Fuschia); a green-green (Lemon Yellow and Turquoise -- who knew?!); and a red orange (Scarlet, Golden Yellow and a touch of Lemon Yellow).  I've included skeins of white perle cotton in the first two...the better to stitch with, my dears!

• Also this afternoon, as things began to 'perc' in the dye pot, I began to hand-stitch on the first of my "Abandoned" series, which I hope to have ready to exhibit at the Lacombe Art Fair in April.  I bought some wonderful Sulky 'Blendables' in "Milk Chocolate" (#4011) and "Soft Blacks" (#4034) with which to stitch down the 'siding' on a building.  I bought 30 wt, because I knew I could use it for both hand and machine stitching, but they have the same in heavier weight for hand-stitiching only.  I am lovin' the way this is coming together and will provide a photo before too long...

For much of the afternoon, once the CBC shut down it's classical mode, I've been listening to an audio-book I got Monday from my LL (Local Library):  Matthew E. May's In Pursuit of Elegance.  Fascinating...but it's going to take me a while to digest.  (I've just finished Chapter 2).  I commend it to you, whether you're an artist, a designer, a writer, a physicist, a scientist...or just plain curious.   Here are some of my notes:

"What isn't there can often trump what is."

"Doing nothing isn't easy."

Prioritze goals -- then eliminate the bottom 20% forever.

Elements of elegance: surprising power; 

simplicity; 'less is more'; changes our view of things; clever; concise; symmetrical; pleasingly memorable; spare...

Appreciate, embrace -- and travel beyond complexity.

Not everything simple is elegant, BUT everthing elegant is simple.

*****

Snow Days 2 - a Post-script


9:29 a.m.:  Well then.  I've given it the old college try.  Spent about another 10 minutes shovelling the last of the alley to the street, while the car was warming up.  Came in the house, fetched coffee, knitting bag/purse, swimming togs, indoor shoes, got back in the car.  Made it to the street, which was heavy with snow.  Found some wheel-wells in which I could drive -- to the corner, where it meets the Highway.  The Highway had, indeed, been plowed -- right across the entrance to it from the street.  Wheel wells had been made by only large trucks.  I tried anyway -- and had to back up for fear of getting stuck.  Put my flashers on; dug my emergency shovel out of the back of the car, and tried to shovel a path for my little car.  No dice; the graded snow (underneath the newly-fallen and recently-drifted snow) was too hard-packed.  Sigh.  I'm home.

When I looked in my bedroom Diesel, lounging on the bed, looked up as if to say, "Well?  Told you, didn't I?"  Smug!

Snow Days 2

Not my actual car, but what mine looks like!

It's 8:40 a.m. I'm having another cup of coffee to warm up before I go out for Shovelling, Round II.  The first round lasted just under 20 minutes, and I cleared what had drifted in over my back sidewalk and driveway, where my neighbour had blown it out yesterday.  Then I started on the alley, as getting my wee Echo out of the alley would be a feat.

Strange how what is a short walk the other 3 seasons of the year is a Heavy Slog when one is shovelling snow.  About 1/2-way down to the street, my hands -- double-mittened -- became so cold and painful I had to stop.  They are now warm again, so I'm going to drink up and head out.  The road reports are good (even Hwy 50, usually considered Last and Definitely Least when it comes to plowing), so there's no reason not to get to town.  I need a good session of the rosary and some conversation around the knitting table -- but I must admit, after this shovelling, I don't think I need my swim class!

ALERTS

Snowfall warning for Lacombe Co. near Clive Alix and Mirror

So says The Weather Network for this part of my world -- and up into Edmonton -- for the weekend.  I could pout, as it means I won't be able to get up there to the Deep Freeze Festival (I have four pieces -- count 'em! -- four -- in the DF Gallery, as one of only two textile artists in the weekend-long show)...but I choose not to.

Yes...my client has lo-o-ong feet!

Instead, I am staying home to happily work on the argyles (Sock #2 is under construction), and I promised Linda  I'd take a page from her book (pun completely intended) and spend some time tomorrow working on my sketchbook for TSBP.  Goal: to get it into the mail on time, so it can go on tour with the rest of 'em.  My (chosen for me by request) theme is "In Flight"; I'm now looking on my little bird as one that needs to wing South through the Canadian snow and blow, to join the rest of the flock!  (Maybe Canada Geese should be on the cover...)

In other knitting...I finished the Tobermory Bay Scarf for my friend J, and it's packaged and ready to mail before the snow flies.

I've begun a Pretty Thing for my friend P, who's going through a tough patch (likely longer than shorter) caring for her aging mum.  For this I'm using Peruvian Baby Cashmere, an alpaca/merino/cashmere blend, in a deep blue-green, that I bought from Elann.com several years ago now.  I'm also using 4 mm Addi circular needles (16" long) -- but they're not specifically lace needles, and I fear I may run afoul of the  pattern without appropriately pointy tips.  I've already had to frog it once...so I feel a trip to Crafty Lady coming on Monday if the process doesn't improve over the weekend.

These two projects (Tobermory and Pretty Thing, that is) are my 'listen to my inspirational podcast' knitting.  During this 25 minues or so of knit-listening each day, I aim to work on a project that will bring comfort and joy to someone I know who seems to me to be in need of a little lift.  They don't know it's happening, and there's no deadline for finishing, but this bit of steady work on a small project produces results in an amazingly short period of time.  It also gives me a lift -- and a change from all that fine sock yarn on my argyle commission!

Isn't it odd...

That in the winter, one's driveway looks larger...

and... 

one's garden looks smaller...

  

than in the warmer months of the year....