Merry Christmas

It's the 20th; 5 days to Christmas.

Are you ready? I think we are. Think!!

Hubby should be home soon - he went to the valley to pick up our daughters boyfriend; he's coming down to visit us for a few days.

I've been knitting, but no pictures to share right now

I'm fighting a cold and a sore back. Not happy about either.

Merry Christmas!!!

I'm home

and still tired :)

Had a good trip. Learned lots, met lots of new people, had fun.

What stuck with me?? "If what you are doing isn't working, change it", "If you move the body you move the mind", "Get out of your box"

At our 4-H general meeting the other night we played rock/paper/scissors. With a twist. You play one person. The loser then cheers the winner as they go on to play someone else. The loser then joins the cheering squad for the winner as they go on to play someone else. And so on. Until there are two people playing and everyone else cheering them on. At least that's how it was supposed to work. We had some who refused to join in. :(

I got off the plane, and was waiting for our shuttle and said "I'm in the same city as The Yarn Harlot" The lady walking beside me (total stranger) said "It's a good thing, isn't it?" LOL She was a knitter too. She wasn't part of the 4-H conference though.

I did buy myself a 100m hank of 2play homespun alpaca yarn from a booth at The Royal. It's green and beige. Very pretty, soft and ohhhhhhhhhhhh. Wish I had gotten more, but they only had the one hank of that color. There was a nice mohair skein there; but I couldn't spend $65 on yarn! There were several booths selling llama and alpaca yarn. Oh the softness of it all. One booth had the corner piled high with bags of roving; I asked if I could curl up in and go to sleep for a bit. Lady said I must be a true knitter :)

While in Toronto we went to the CN Tower and a dinner theater. FUN. We went to the John Deere plant and Niagara Falls. FUN. We got to see a $250 000 tractor. I got to go to the Hershey store :) They had a whole corner of the store devoted to Reece's Peanut Butter cups and pieces ... sweatshirts, t-shirts, pillows ... need more money if I get to go again. And we got to spend an afternoon at The Royal. FUN FUN FUN Lots and lots of stores/trade booths ... was there 3 hours and didn't see them all. My room mate found a booth selling gluten free mixes and bought me a treat - I didn't even see that booth; apparently there was a whole section that I missed out on. :(

Now, a challenge for you. Can you put a straw through a potatoe? I can. Picture proof later

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

Heading to Toronto tomorrow morning.
Going to the 4-H National Leaders Conference.
Will be home on Sunday.
Hope hubby and kids make out OK without me for a few days :)
Happy knitting. I'm being a chicken and not taking any knitting with me ... too scared they'll take my bamboo needles from me.

Happy Halloween

Pumpkin my hubby carved

Troy as a Scarecrow

Katie as a Zombie Princess

Happy Halloween!!!

Shoulder update

Went to see my doctor today. He says I have tendonitis in my shoulder, not a torn rotator cuff. That's a good thing!! My range of motion is almost back to what it was before, certain movements still hurt.

I have turned the heel on the second thrummed sock, and on the second sock for Katie.

This time next week I'll be at the CN Tower :) Leave for Toronto next Weds at 11:05am. There'll be 10 4-H leaders and I forget how many 4-H members on the flight. (I think they go on the same flight as the leaders)

What do I take to knit on the plane?? Do I take anything? Wish I had a big ball of cotton yarn - I'd knit dishcloths. Suggestions??

Pictures when the socks are done, I promise

Knitting on Hold

I have the second sock for Katie ready to have the heel started.
The second of the thrummed socks is started.

But, knitting has been put on hold.

Somehow I managed to tear my rotator cuff on Saturday. Am on anti-inflamatory pills and muscle relaxer pills now. :(

I am going to attempt to knit on Katie's socks today; they're small and light. In my mind it should be OK ... we'll see how it goes.

My space bar has something under it ... it's makes a noise everytime I hit it. Most annoying~!! MaybeI'lltypeallmywordstogethertoavoidusingit???

15 Day till Toronto :)

It's getting closer and closer. My flight goes at 11:05 on the 3rd (think that's the right time - my e-ticket is here somewhere) So what am I doing? I'm watching MayDay ... all about plane crashes. Silly me.

Been knitting. Have made a pair of Briggs & Little Tuffy socks (with a mystery wool yarn for the heels and toes) that were ordered.


One half pair of thrummed bedsocks that were also ordered. One half pair of socks for my daughter.

I still have plans to make some thrummed mittens for an upcoming craft sale. And hopefully some socks for Christmas gifts ... my fingers had better get busy.

Oh, I'm also working on some sewn mittens; made from felted sweaters. None finished yet because I'm having a difference of opinion with my serger at the moment. Might have to give in and do them on my regular sewing machine. Hope to have a pair of them to take to my roommate at the conference.


And today I received a RAK from Heddy in the mail. Thank you very much! I like it very much!! It's proudly displayed in my living room.

So, what do you think of the new blog colors??

some knitting pictures

Figure since this is a knitting blog, I should put some knitting pictures on here.




Goomba hat and a pumpkin hat for my friend Karen.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

4-H Pro-Show

What a weekend.
Drove to Truro yesterday. Set up our booth, got the horse and chicken settled in, waited forever for them to finish judging, then moved all the judged articles to the booth. Got to bed around midnight.
Today Katie had showmanship - she got 6th place in a class of 13. The judge was the man who judged our Shelburne Exhibition in '08 ... she was happy about that. It was nice to see him. And he remembered her.
In Western Equitation she didn't get a placing. Dee was not being a good girl.
In Western Pleasure she got fourth place. That made us very happy. :) So proud of her.
In Jr. Western Reining she got .... are you ready .... FIRST PLACE!!! WooHooooo So very very proud and happy. Then her friend Kaleigh won in Sr. Reining. Kaleigh went on to be the grand champion - Katie was third place in that.
Poultry showmanship didn't go quite so well. But oh well, it's experience :)
Now we're at the hotel for a rest. Heading back later for the fashion show and possibly tug-of-war.
Got to meet Barbara today :) Another good thing that happened today!
And I judged the vegetable prep competition ... another first :)
Yup, need a nap!

Sept 20th

Three months and 5 days and it'll be Christmas!! OH my!! Where has the year gone?? I do have a couple of presents done - including one knit one.

Been sick this weekend - sore throat, no energy, no voice. Feeling a bit better today though.

Cast on a sock for hubby Sat night, finished it last night. But, before I cast on the second one I cast on a pumpkin hat for a friend. That means I have three projects on the go (also have a shawl on the go) Will have to take pictures of all these things to share.

My kids don't have school today, but the elementary kids do have school, so I have to go to work. Thursday I'm in Lockeport for the day :)

Heading to the "Nu-2-U" this evening, it's my night to go down there and put out new items for people to buy. That's the hopsitals second hand shop. Not as big as Frenchy's ... but much better prices :) We usually have fun there when we work.

Have a good one!

Barbara asked for an update

but I think it was only because she has updated her blog ... after a long break from it :)

47 days to Toronto, think those are the right numbers. Looking forward to it. Hersheys store at Niagara Falls :)

Been working on a shawl for a friend for Christmas. Knit a pair of socks, have a hat on the go. Have 2 hats to knit, but don't have the colors of yarn that I need for them.

Been doing some "canning". Have made pickled beets, gluten free mustard pickles and salsa sauce. This weekend I'm making spaghetti sauce, and maybe more salsa sauce (if I have enouth tomatoes) The urge has hit ... kinda scarey! Perhaps I should think about making some jam next year?

Two more weekends to 4-H Pro-Show. Looking forward to that. Hope to meet some new friends there. Have a RAK to deliver :) OH yes, I have knit a .... fooled ya ... not going to tell you what it is Barbara!!

78 Days and Counting Down

Found out yesterday that I am making a trip in November.

I'm heading to the 4-H National Leaders Conference in Toronto. :) Expenses paid :)

Leave on a Weds, come back on Sunday. Will be attending seminars/talks/sessions while there. Meeting new people. Hopefully making new friends.

Will also be going the the CN Tower, the John Deere plant, a dinner theater and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. I could be exhausted when I get home!

Exhibition is over - next up Pro-Show

Remember in that last post where I sillyingly posted that we didn't have to take our horse to Pro-Show. I was WRONG! The two girls who got to go on to Pro-Show decided that they don't want to go. So now Katie is doing Showmanship, Jr. Western Pleasure, Jr. Western Equitation and Jr. Western Reining. I'm hoping we'll be able to trailer with someone else. We have 2, possibly 3 horses going from our club. If only 2 go, I'm good to go with her, but if 3 go ... I have to haul the trailer ... which means asking hubby to go with me.

Oh well, I'm happy she gets to go.

No suggestions on what to do with that llama fleece if I am lucky enough to get it.

A question

If you were given a llama fleece ... where would you take/send it to be washed/carded/spun into yarn? How much yarn do you get from one fleece? Would it be worth my time?

Exhibition is going well.

Katie's shirt that she made in 4-H is going to pro-show. Which is OK with her (now) since she doesn't have to take the horse to ride there (again) this year. She does go on for showmanship - but has wisely decided it wouldn't be wise to haul the horse to Truro for one show. Lots of other 4-H items from here heading to Pro-Show. So impressed with our club!!

Katie hasn't been doing as well as she hoped to be doing in the riding classes - but she has some tough competition. She's enjoying herself, and that is what matters.

Exhibition Week

It's Tuesday morning, 5:15am ... and thanks to thunder and lightening I'm up. Not fully awake, but up. UGH!

In about 2 hours Katie and I head to the exhibition grounds. Today is day one of the local ex. She has some horse events to do today, and some 4-H events to do. And possibly a parade tonight ... they won't have it if the rain doesn't let up.

By the sounds of the rain coming down out there, there can't be much left up in the sky to come down!! (Oh, on netbook ... battery operated ... not using computer in the lightening)

Yesterday was our 4-H Achievement Day. Plus 4-H light horse events and dog events. Today the kids will do their various competitions, and th poultry kids will judge and do showmanship.

It's going to be a long and busy week. Hopefully it'll be a good week though. I just wish I could get more sleep.

Meet Ginger

This is our new puppy Ginger.
She's a 9 month old Australian Cattle Dog.
This picture was taken this afternoon when Dan had her out for her first canoe trip. They went in the harbour, to a small island, where she was able to run off leash. I think she had fun. I know she had a nice long nap when they got home.

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's my birthday.
I have no special plans - other than a bananasplit at some point today.
Just the way I like it - no fuss :)

Have completed another shirt. Supposed to be for Katie, but the sleeves are too short. Hopefully I'll be able to sell it. Will have to post pictures of it later, I'm on the netbook, and apparently can't access the pictures on the "big" computer :(

Maybe I'll have that banana split for breakfast??

a sewing project

This is something I made the other evening. My daughter modeling it, but it belongs to her friend.
We put the "rhinestones" on the cuffs and collar ourselves.

Mother's Day is coming

Just so you don't forget!! :)

What are you doing exciting for the weekend? I'm heading to Truro with the 4-H Light Horse Project kids, their leader and one other parent. It's 4-H weekend, and the girls are making up 2 teams competing in the Horse Classic. Good luck to them!!!

There's also going to be demostartions and speeches being done by other kids ... a busy and fun time for all. A boy from our club is in the Host Competetion; good luck to him too.

There's a big "4-H Night in Nova Scotia" thing going on on Sat night; but we aren't staying for that. We'll be heading home after the horse classic stuff is done. Which means I won't be there to find out if I'm one of the lucky leaders who gets to go to Toronto this fall. But that's OK, I'm sure they'll let me know if I was so lucky.

I'm knitting on a shawl for myself. I knit a prayer shawl for my MIL with the same yarn, and liked it so much I had to do something for myself with it. Fine grey yarn, no idea what it is made of. It's kind of hairy.

We've got roughly 1000 puppets towards our next delivery.

TTFN

Puppet update

1357 fihished puppet :)

Home with a head cold today. I fought it ... I fought it hard ... but it won. Have spent my day watching TV, sleeping and knitting puppets. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!!!

Puppet Tally

1062

Yup, 1062 puppets. And, you know, technically the Olympics aren't over - there's still the Paralympics to happen from the 12-21st of this month. Who knows how many we'll have done by then!!!

Puppets ... we have puppets ...

We have lots and lots of puppets. 792 as of this afternoon.
Sister has more at her house to be added to the box.
I'm enjoying the puppet knitting.

On the news front - on Monday I start a temp full-time job as a PSA (or TA) with a little boy in grade 2. Could be a couple of weeks work, could be a job until June. I'll be working at the elementary school in Lockeport - about a 25-30 minute drive. Looking forward to it!

Frustration Level? HIGH

I got the skirt part of the sweater coat all knit, thought it looked big, but thought it had to be right because I had gauge in my swatch. Decreased for the waist ... and it's still big. Huge in fact. Big enough to fit my 13 year old daughter ... way too big for a 2 year old.

So I broke the yarn, left it on the needles and found another pattern to knit.

Cast on a little girls swing coat (too lazy to do the link thing right now) ... got most of the bottom part of that done, and just am not feeling the love for it. It's a cute jacket ... but I'm just not feeling it.

So I'm now knitting finger puppets. Gonna knit as many as I can before the Olympics are over. They're simple, they're fun ... and they're what I feel like doing at the moment.

So much for the Ravelympics. Oh well, maybe in 4 years time.

Ravelympics Starting Soon

Yup, it's true ... the Ravelympics are starting. What's that? A lesser known than the real olympics events where you choose a project (or several projects) to complete while the Olynpics are on TV.

I'm knitting the Snow Queen Sweater Coat It will be a gift for our niece Emily for Christmas. Hope she won't read my blog and ruin the surprise ... highly unlikely :)

My plan is to take pictures more often than I do now, and show my progress on here.

The worst part about it ... can't start until the opening ceremony .. which is 10pm my time.

Katie thinks we should have gone to visit with Mary Anne for a couple of days. Some of the events (speed skating??) are happening in her little part of BC. But, you know something ... I wouldn't have gone to watch the events ... too many crowds for me!

Go Canada!!!

So, plan two??? Finish off socks that are in my knitting bag. Why not work on the sweater? The cable on my needle broke!! :( BooHooo Anyone close by who has a 3.75mm 16" (or longer) needle ... please let me borrow it. Oops! 4.5mm, 24" ... not 3.75

Snow storm

Second day of the year.
Second snow storm of the year.
YIPPEE 2010 is off to a rip roaring start!!

I've finished the blanket I was knitting. Patons Divine, 5 big cables in it. Will post pictures later - camera is in NB.

Started a pair of socks for myself. Using Fortissima sock yarn my hubby got for me a while ago.

Hubby is in NB for the weekend. He left here yesterday before the snow started, and had good driving all the way there. He went up to be there when his mom came home from ON. Hopes to be able to come home tomorrow - we'll see.

So far we've had 11 inches of snow fall. YUCK!! I'm keeping the steps and deck clean, that's about it. My brother will come up when (if!) the snow ever stops and roads are fit to drive on again, and use his snow blower to clear us out. Such a nice brother :) Maybe he needs a pair of socks???

Hubby bought some yarn for the jacket I want to knit for Emily. Baby blue color he said. That will be my project after my socks are done ... or while I'm working on the socks as a second project?

So, the kids and I are stuck at home. Roads aren't fit to go on, and if they were I wouldn't be going anyway. The truck has no snow tires or extra weight. My sister was nice enough to go to Sobeys and pick up a few things for me. They are outside playing in the snow right now. Good sliding ... too bad we don't have a bigger hill for them.