Some Knitting Advice

 I learned to knit when I was about 6. Since my mother didn't knit, I had multiple teachers, and books as my guides. Some things I just had to figure out for myself.

Interestingly, the thing I knit the most is socks and my sock knitting is entirely self taught. I bought a book, then another book, and worked it out from there. My first pair looked a bit odd, and I didn't think anyone would wear them. However, my big kid thought they were perfect and wore them happily. So now I am a sock knitter. 

One thing I was slow to learn, was how to keep track of the notions I use over and over again. I have more than one project bag and they could be in any of them, or some in one and some in another. 

Last year, I made this little Dumpling bag. It sat for awhile, wanting to be useful. Then I realized it was the perfect size for my sock notions.

It easily holds my little scissors, my tape measure, the case with my yarn needles, a little double ended crochet hook, and a bodkin. The case is small enough to fit into my project bag. Now I can quickly finish a sock and cast on the second sock of the pair.

It is currently moving between my sock bag, and my mitten bag. 

This is the start of the September socks.

These are in DK weight sock yarn. They knit up quickly.

This is the current mitten.

And the pair from the last blog are finished.

The needles are flying!

We are enjoying the last truly summer weather. The days are pleasantly warm and the nights are cool. The garden is flourishing.

The bees are really enjoying the sedum.

Just 20 Minutes

 Many years ago, the lovely Nancy Zeiman was telling us that you can get projects done by working 10, 20, or 30 minutes at a time. You don't need to do a whole project, you can do it in bits. I keep trying, but I do sometimes forget. 

In the past week, I have been trying to work for 20 minutes every day on some sewing.

I made some dog banadanas (8 in total).

This is Canadian Summer fabric, two prints I couldn't find when the fabric first came out, but I recently found on clearance.

I finished my Saturday Bag Sampler for April.

Instead of sewing scraps together for the drawstring, I used some t-shirt yarn I had.

I also did some crafts with my 7 year old craft buddy. We made a bunch of Fabulous Freezer BooBoo Bags. (Also known as Rice Bags). Some went to his house, and some are here for times when one needs a simple cold pack.

I  got some pieces cut out for my next bag.  They just look like navy fabric, so I won't bore you. Not bad for little bits of sewing.

I started my May socks and I am working on them every day. I am to the Muppet stage of the first sock. It is the place where the heel is turned and the gusset is about half finished. A friend brought me a googly eye to pose the sock.

We have had some nice days, so things are starting to look like spring.

This forsythia bush was the first one I bought for this house, It never really bloomed well, so I put a hardier type next to it. It was a surprise this year to see it completely yellow and nearly a month after the hardier bush.

Forget-Me-Nots grow wild in my lawn. If you try to plant them in a specific spot, they will appear somewhere else, the next year.

These Grape Hyacinths are recent additions to our spring bulbs.

There are bright fuchsia tulips are flowering. Spring is often brief here, before the weather turns full summer and hot. It is lovely to enjoy it when I can.

When Things Don't Go As Planned

 I haven't blogged in two weeks because things were not going as I planned.

It started with the Income Tax. I discovered that it was a bigger job than usual, due to some financial decisions we made. So, I needed to understand that portion. Mudd offered to help.

He isn't as much help as he thinks.

Meanwhile, we had to do some extra grandparenting we weren't expecting, which slowed down the tax preparation.

We had a couple of lovely afternoons, which may have distracted me further from bookkeeping.

We were not in the Path of Totality, for the lunar eclipse but it was close. Unfortunately it was also overcasr, with only brief glimpses. A young friend sent me this picture that he managed to catch.

I did manage to finish the first April sock.

Of course, Mudd was helping with the extra grandparenting.

He is assisting with a jigsaw puzzle by sitting in the box. Also not helpful.

The taxes have been submitted. The second sock is coming nicely. I have sewing plans for this week. Let's hope there aren't any more surprises.

Still Knitting

 I seem to have abandoned my sewing lately. I have been busy trying to get my Christmas knitting done. Since some has to go in the mail, I have only a couple of weeks left.

The church is collecting baby things for a local Family Centre that serves families new to Canada. So yesterday, I made a little hat.

I think it is toddler sized and in a worsted weight machine washable yarn, I expect it will keep some little person warm.

I continue to work on socks but I don't have any other finishes.

The weather has turned wintery cold. So, all the plants we hope to save for next summer are now moved into the dining room/ conservatory.

The new pink hibiscus rewarded us with some bright flowers.

The Christmas cactus says it will be ready soon.

I don't remember how long we have had this but it gives us lots of flowers, as long as we remember to water it.

Okay, I need to get back to my knitting!

A Month of Contractors

 For the past three summers, we have avoided having contractors to the house. In addition, contractors were hard to get. So this spring, we decided it was time to get a couple of projects finished. You can try to schedule contactors but they still come when they come. Wet weather delayed some of the work. That said, we ended up with three contactors, all arriving in the same couple of weeks. 

Last year, we had to get the foundation fixed and the subsidence from that needed to be fixed. It looked like this before the landscaper.

Now it looks like this.

Last week, the temperatures decided to remind us that it is still summer (even if we aren't suppose to wear white shoes.) Temperatures were in the mid 30C range and the humidity was awful. My sewing room was like an oven, so I sewed from about 7:15 to 8:30 in the morning. I did manage to finish the shorts I was making my little guy for back to school.

I suspect they will not be needed for daywear in a couple more weeks, but they can become pajama pants next.

I joined a Fall Finish Along, and have been trying to do a few rows of a shawl I've been working on for 2 years now. However, I got caught by a shiny new thing.

It will become a toe up slipper sock if all goes well. I also have another sock on needles. Wonder if I can get all three done before the end of the month?

Meanwhile, I didn't play with my August Thread Lab from Aurifil, and now September has arrived.

The green spools are 40 wt. and the grey spools are 24 wt. The project for this month is applique and I don't know if I have suitable fabric for the projects. So, I might try something else. I have two purses promised so I need to get to those.

As summer continues a bit longer, I will add a flower picture from my patio to the bottom of this post.

Holiday Bag Making

 In my part of the world, today is Victoria Day, the unofficial start of summer. It is our hope that from now until September, our weather will be warm enough not to require woolie hats and mittens (though the possibility exists.)

Since Saturday was wet, I got back to some sewing I had started over a month ago. I had the foolish idea that a simple phone wallet wouldn't take too long, and that I should make three of them at once. I spent a lot of time cutting out three bags, linings and stabilizers. I got everything fused into place, then I got distracted by some volunteer work that needed to be done.

I did make the inner zippered pockets for all three, but nothing else got done.

So, after a session on Saturday, I finished the back of the bag.

This is a new to me bag designer, and I followed that pattern, closely, thinking that she might know how it all goes together. That may have been a mistake. In the first place, she said to use an interfacing that is not my usual for the lining, because it would be thinner. Turns out, I don't like the one she suggested because it doesn't press as flat as my usual.

She also wanted the flap portion of the magnetic snap installed after the flap was finished. That proved nearly impossible. Not going to try that again. Fortunately, I have given up on the idea of making three at once, and I am just working on the one I am keeping. I will make all my mistakes here first.

Yesterday, I made the front of the bag.

It went better. The magnetic snap went in first. Of course, I should have put my bag label on at the same time. After the front was finished, the bag label couldn't go on the front without either sewing the pocket to the front, or ending up under the flap when it is closed.

So, it is now on the back of the bag.

Today, I made the card slots and slip pockets for the lining.

Learning from past mistakes, I checked to make sure that the card slots were the correct size to hold cards.

My first wallet ended up off centre and half the card slots were too small for cards. Now I keep a old card in my drawer to measure the slots. 

Now that I am using my own experience, I top stitched the tops of all the pockets. It makes a crisper fold that makes it easier to get the cards in and out. I discovered that a blind hem foot does and excellent job of keeping the top stitching even .

The foot has a step in it, so you can run the fold along the lower edge.

 The next step involves cutting the lining to match the outside. That seems like a good job for the beginning of a sewing session, not the end. So it can wait until tomorrow. Hopefully it will all come together quickly.

For the flower lovers, I have a picture of our apple trees.

They really look good this spring.

And, of course, Emme and Mudd. I think Emme is telling Mudd a secret.

Tulip Time

Today is the opening of the Canadian Tulip Festival. As many Canadians know, the festival is a legacy celebration of the Canadian contributions to World War II, including providing refuge for Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, and her family. Princess Margriet was born in Ottawa in 1943. The tulips are a symbol of the ties we have to the Netherlands. This year 300,000 tulips are growing in gardens from Majors Hill Park to Dow's Lake, along the canal.

If you live in Ottawa, you are encouraged to plant tulips. So here are some of mine.

The Canada 150 tulips from 2017 did not come up the same colour after 2017. This is one group I have (not white and red, but yellow).

This is a second group, where you can see the maple leaves at the bottom, but the white part is yellow.

These are a rose pink, and planted more recently.

A different breed of yellow and red.

Under the tulips are some low flowers in purple and blue.

Last week, I joined some friends in a walk in Gillies Grove. It is an old growth forest near the Madawaska River. It was a lovely day for a walk. 

Look at the colour of the sky! After a week of rain it was so good to be out in the sun under such blue skies.

The quilter in me was fascinated by the bark on this tree. The tree is huge, towering over me. Don't ask me what it is, it didn't have leaves yet.

When not outside in the sun, I've been knitting.

I found this bright yarn, in my stash, and I knew it would be the next yarn to be used. The first sock is finished now. Because it is two matching skeins, I am knitting a pair of baby socks and I started the first one from the end of this ball, before I get out the second ball.

Happy Mother's Day!