March ~ an emotional rollercoaster !!

I'm not even sure where to start, but let's start with knitting .....

ASL Charity Afghan ~ this has turned into afghan from he!! after more attempts than I'd like to think about, the first row is finally done, and actually looks pretty good. I'm working on the blocks for the 2nd row, to discover that the last block on the first row has the wrong colour combination .... and I just cant leave it, as it will drive me absolutely around the bend .... BUT, on the advice of Wendi, I've decided to continue along with the squares as planned. IF I have time after all squares are completed, I'll re-knit the mistake square .... and if there isn't enough time then maybe we can include a game of "what's wrong with this afghan" during the raffle !!!

Old friends come back for a visit ...
I had 2 old friends come to town on March 12. Lucy, the beagle, is our house guest when her family go away on holidays. ironically I was just saying to DD that it was getting to be time when I was craving my "Lucy fix". thank goodness for March Break ... Lucy came to stay with us again !!! she comes running in the house like she never left, knows exactly where everything is (including where HER crate is, I mean used to be ... I ended up having to move a crate back to "her" spot in the kitchen). her and our Betty have a marvelous time wrestling and running around, while our Hasia just sits there "supervising" ready to discipline should anyone get too rough. (you'll notice the picture where Lucy is hugging my latest pair of knitted socks!)

Ironically, on the same day, Kris is flying back home from BC, where her and the family moved to about 5 years ago. what a great reunion .... needless to say we went thru quite a bit of wine for the 2 weeks she was here !!!

the first weekend of March Break DD and I tried something I had found on-line. Dog Paddling Adventures is an outfit that arranges hikes, canoe trips and camping (yuck) trips for dogs and their families. what an AWESOME idea !! the only catch with this first hike was the addition of Lucy, who had never been off leash, and we were worried about her recall. no worries ..... up we get, bright and early .... configure the back of the truck so that our Betty and Lucy have a crate to sit in (which they both prefer) and our Hasia is able to sit up towards the front in-between DD and myself so she can look out the window. after a quick Starbucks stop off we head to Pigeon River Conservation area. OMG .... what an absolute hoot ... before we even got out of the truck we were greeted by at least 3 dogs who came running over to introduce themselves. based on this greeting, and not seeing any dogs on leash, we just opened the back of the truck and let our 2 labs jump out and introduce themselves ...... we were a wee bit more careful with Lucy, and kept her on a double leash. the day was bitter sweet ..... the weather was perfect, the guides Eren & Kevin were awesome, and the other hikers (both 2 and 4-legged) were all very friendly. unfortunately, just before lunch, DD slipped on some ice (of which there was lots of) and ALMOST fell ..... she was able to catch herself on a bench beside her. maybe she should have let herself fall ... she ended up really spraining her wrist quite badly. fortunately there were 2 doctors on the hike, and they graciously checked her out to make sure nothing was broken. DD ended up being in quite a bit of pain, so we headed home after lunch. sprain aside .... what a great way to start off March Break .... we were already looking forward to our next hike with them on the ride home !

MUD MUD MUD .... oh my gosh .... off we go with our 3, Kris & Raven (her care for the week while she house-sits for her brother). I assumed there would be SOME mud, but I don't think any of us expected what we ran into. between us trying to walk thru it, and the dogs running thru it, we were splattered up to our nether-regions. that being said, it was a beautiful day, and the dogs had a blast !!

Kris loves dragonflies .... so I had to find something that I could whip up for her before she left .... a great wee project that knit up really quickly, and turned out super !!

GIRL'S NIGHT (and puppies too) .... it was a full house Kris with Raven, Wendi with Tiger, myself and our Hasia Betty and Lucy. there was lots of munchies, wine and laughs all night long. Wendi's hubby Jim showed up about 11:00. they didn't leave until the wee hours of the morning, but Kris and I were up even later (her and Raven stayed for a sleep-over). I've decided I'm too old now to do this too often ... but it was well worth it (and resulted in a very quiet Sunday at my place)

Hasia turns 5 ~ this is a wee bit out of sequence, but that's ok. March 27 2004, proud parents Pyke & Daisy announce the birth of their 12 puppies .... the "H" litter. on Saturday May 22 2004, one of their little girls came home with us, and changed our life for ever. Hasia was our first foster puppy for the Lions Foundation of Canada DogGuide Program. for her 1st birthday, Hasia was SSD training at the foundation, for her 2nd birthday she was on her "honeymoon" with Toby, and for her 3rd birthday she was in CVC training with her foster sister Betty. this year, her birthday was a Friday .... what a wonderful excuse for a party. attendees: Tiger (with Auntie Wendi), Wilbur (Hasia's son) & foster sister Libby (with Auntie Sharon), Rory & Akita (with Auntie Cindy), Betty & Lucy (with me). Eddie (from next door) came for a short time while everyone was playing in the backyard to pay his respects. before Kelsey booked it out of the house after all the guests arrived, she made some special treats for all the guests (that went over REALLY well). Auntie Sharon brought a special b-day cake (fried liver and kibble) .... the ladies weren't impressed, but the dogs all seemed to love it. Happy 5th Birthday to our Hasia ... my special puppy :)

week of good-byes

• the 2 weeks just flew by, and the next thing we know it's Thursday again, and Kris is back on a plane going home. hopefully it wont be another 5 years before we see each other again.

• a couple of days later, it's Saturday and Lucy's family have come home (and apparently want her back .... can you imagine the nerve ??!!). so we say good-bye to our wee Lucy, and look forward to seeing her again when her family go on their summer holidays

• driving to work on the morning of Monday March 30 2009, I hear about a horrific car crash that had happened early that morning. a 17-year old young man crashed his jeep into an embankment on the 403 and was killed instantly. it's 8:44 am and I get a text from my daughter "Thomas died". the next thing my phone is ringing, she is crying and all I can hear in the background is people crying and talking. he was 5 minutes from home .... but a combination of speed and fatigue caused him to lose control of his vehicle and he never made it. he was my daughter's grade-9 boyfriend, but remained to be her good friend and they saw each other and got together often. he ended up moving to her school for grade-11 and they shared their lunch breaks and some classes. he was an honour student, an entrepreneur, always positive & up-beat (the glass is half full kind of person), well-mannered & polite (a very important trait if you want to date my daughter !!). his senseless death has touched so many people ... my thoughts and prayers go out to his parents and family. to all this friends, and those that will only hear about this, my hope is that you take a piece of Thomas with you ..... he lived more in his 17 years that most do that live to old age. give life everything you have, stop moping about "what sucks" about it and take control to make the best of it. Learn from Thomas .... from the good things he did and the positive way he lived his life .... but as no one is perfect, learn from his mistakes. NO ONE is too young to die, or too invincible .... you have been blessed by God when you were given life, so don't throw it away. part of me wants to smack him for being so stupid and careless, and such a teenage boy .... I know WE think he was taken too young, but who are we to question. hopefully Thomas, how he lived and how he died, will be a lesson for all those that loved him, and even for those that will only hear his story.

God Bless Thomas .... Rest In Peace

December 2008 - February 2009

Christmas Update

Mum's Happy Socks ~ I got the perfect yarn for my mum for Christmas. these socks got knitted, for the most part, while I was working/travelling in Westminster Mass at the end of last year. the pattern was very easy, and I'm really pleased with how they turned out. Mum says that they fit well, she would have preferred a sock that we further up her leg. (unlike DD and myself who prefer a short sock, which is what I based hers on .... oh well, next time)

Irish Hiking Arm Warmers ~ they got done in time, but never made it to becoming a Christmas pressie .. but DD took a liking to them, so they are current being worn with love :)

Dad's Gentleman Socks ~ this was going to be a tough one. I had no idea how big to make these socks (or if he'd even like & wear them) .... not to mention I decided to try some new techniques at the same time. NOT a good thing to do when you have a deadline!!! I used 2 lovely contrasting yarns, in browns, that I got from the Heel & Toe sock club ... perfect for a man's sock. after going thru all my patterns, I decided to do the gentleman sock .... it was an easy knit the last time, and looks great. OMG .... but this time, the socks were WAY bigger, and I was using a thinner yarn with smaller needles!!! these socks got done CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON .... and actually delayed us getting to my parents for Christmas dinner!!! from the pictures my Mum took, they look a wee bit big in the foot ... but they'll be a nice "house sock" during the cold winter.

DD's Eclipse Socks ~ well these got started before Christmas ... but were put on hold so that I could get my Dad's socks done for Christmas Day. these socks were also a nightmare of mine !! in theory, they should have been easy ... using the same heel/toe/cuff technique as my dad's sock did help make the basic sock knitting VERY easy. these socks were re-started at least 3 times ... the problem was trying to get the red "ribbon" knit into the one sock, and having it look good. working with multiple colours, in the round, but not carrying the extra colour all the time, just wasn't working ... and for some reason, I just couldn't wrap my head around how to get it to look nice. so an executive decision was made ... from them AGAIN, and knit them plain (with the intent of double stitching the ribbon on afterwards ... and per the pattern's suggestion). knitting plain socks is SO FAST AND EASY (especially after struggling thru getting my Dad's done). so now, the socks are done and they fit DD ..... now it should be an easy task to duplicate stitch the red ribbon on the one sock ..... NOT !!!! OH MY GOSH ..... for some reason, no matter what I tried, it looked like crap. the good news is my daughter got a nice pair of red & black sock ... the bad news, no ribbon (this time anyway .... I think I've figured out how to do intarsia knitting in the round ..... so who knows when I'll try this one again)

DD's cable make-up socks ~ it seems like I'm destined to disappoint my daughter with the socks that she'd like to have. she spotted my first WEBs order, and called the yarn right away .... then she went on-line and found the sock pattern that she wanted. these socks just didn't work ..... no, that's not right ... they looked lovely, but she could just BARELY get her foot into them, and they were such an intricate cabled pattern that I just didn't have the heart to frog them out and start over .... so they were thrown in my basket, with the intent of giving them to someone smaller. DD understood, but I think she was disappointed .... here enters the make-up socks. I have enough of the WEBs yarn that she like to make her another pair of socks ... ones with cables, but not so intricate. I took a pattern on Ravelry, and added my own twist (based on some of the things from the original pattern she wanted). they are not as "fancy" as the original ones she wanted ..... but I hope she was pleased when I surprised her with them.

2nd "kick at the can" machine knit sock ~ well .... project from HeII had slowed down, and I found I was having some time to myself again .... so it was a good opportunity to get the knitting machine back together, and see if I remembered what I learned back in November. now .. the sock took me WAY longer than it was supposed to, and I did a brutal job of hand sewing the seam .... BUT .... I did it, and it fit !!!! (and as long as you look at the non-seamed side ..... it turned out pretty good!) now my test is going to be to try to knit with multiple colours so that I can eventually start knitting the dancers argyle socks!!

time for a pair of sock for me ~ one our SKETCHY group was de-stashing, and I picked up a couple of her brighter yarns. it's called "lagoon", which perfectly describes the colours. I wanted a bright, colourful pair of socks ... and it was my turn!! now the question ..... what pattern would best show off this vibrant yarn??!! NOTHING .... couldn't find anything that grabbed me, and went with the yarn. if all else fails .... go thru old lace books, and FAKE IT !!! so that's what I did. after finishing them, I went to add them to Ravelry, and found that my basic pattern was not completely original ..... but then again, not exactly like what was already there (but they did already have the names I wanted) ..... so even though they are a basic toe-up, short row heel, "arrow lace" pattern sock ... I'm calling them "tropical wave". thanks for the de-stashing Kirsty !!

Sketchy Knitters ~ well .... it's nice to be able to get back to the group again. I've been able to attend our last 3 gatherings .... hope they don't get spoiled seeing me back like this again !! last year, we talked, off and on, about doing some charity work .... well, talk is cheap, and we never got ourselves together to decided what where were going to do, and for whom. I was surfing thru something, probably on Ravelry, and found the 2009 Afghan. each month a new square's pattern will be revealed, and at the end of the year VOILA. well I have enough acrylique in my stash do do an afghan like this from 2009 until eternity. but what's more fun than doing something like this yourself .... it's to suck your friends into the vortex as well (misery loves company). so I put the idea out to the ladies, and they all though it was great. we've had more fun, comparing gauge and (EEK) colour choices. it's not decided if or when these squares will become a blanket .... but with the group of us working on a square a month, we'll have some great charity pieces by the end !! it's the best stash busting idea ever !!!

CHHA Golf Tournament ~ ASL Afghan
my Mum is the secretary CHHA-Hamilton (Canadian Heard of Hearing, Hamilton Branch). they've decided to put together a golf tournament as a fundraiser. fundraising can be a very difficult things to do, especially in this economy .... so I thought maybe I could help out. I've decided to knit an afghan that they can raffle off ..... but not just any pattern, it should be related .... so I'm doing the alphabet in ASL (American Sign Language), and making it a patchwork style. unfortunately there are only 26 letters, so I'm adding the "deaf" symbol to each of the 4 corners. ok, so now I've got the design figured out .... then came the difficult decision of colour. fortunately this is where DD comes into the project .... off we go to Michaels to look at some reasonable acrylique yarn that I spotted. the pattern will have 5 squares across, and 6 squares down .... we we chose 6 beautiful colours, that will be rotated thru the afghan pattern.

ok ... have the pattern, have the yarn .... now begin to knit. started with square 1, colour 1 .... following the pattern get the square done ...... nope, looks like crap. cant see the "deaf" symbol in the square at all. I'm NOT impressed !!! after some consideration, it got frogged out, and an adapted version is knitted up. this one is better, but I'm still not sure. on to squares "A" and "B" .... they look "ok", but I'm still not convinced you can see the ASL symbols for each letter. I tack the 3 squares together, and with the help of DD we kind of block/stretch them and take a look .... THAT'S BETTER. once they are blocked and stretched, I think the symbols will show better. they don't really stand out as well as I was hoping, but I think it will look nice when done.

OH ... and speaking of done .... one of the reasons I was able to convince myself to do a patchwork style afghan is because Wendi has graciously offered to sew all the squares together for me, because she knows how much I hate doing it. THANKS Wendi !!!!

SOCK WARS IV ~ registration has started, and the battle begins May 15. I had a love/hate relationship with Sock Wars III last year .... it was not my favourite pattern to knit, and there were some issues with "flakes" ... but I "met" (killed or was killed by) some really nice people, and isn't that what it' all about. SO, what the heck ... LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE (or rather ... let's get ready to knit !!). Wendi is going to join me this time, and I'm hoping to get some of our Sketch group into it as well. ToFutsies is the sponsor again, and they have a new PowerStripe yarn that is going to be the recommended weapon of death this year. unfortunately, we weren't able to find it locally, so Wendi contacted Danielle at Spun and she's ordered it in for us ***WOO HOO***. Wendi got an e-mail this morning, and it's arrived already ..... I cant wait to go see it in person!! thanks Danielle !!

Think I FINALLY have this knitting machine thing figured out

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OK OK OK .... I know it's been ages, but the project I've been on at work as taken over my life and barely left room for Christmas .... so blogging has been REALLY low on my priority list. however, here's what I wrote, back in November, that was meant to be posted way back then ...

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wow, I cant believe that November is almost over!! work has been taking FAR too much time from me lately, and I've hardly had time to get much knitting done. the good news is I've made some good progress with some Christmas pressies

Saturday DD and I went to Cardiknits for a Christmas crafts knitting machine workshop with the intent of learning how to do one of those fancy Christmas stockings .... hahahahah!!! it was definitely a learning experience, but I dont think we're that far advanced yet.

within minutes of getting to Pat's place and looking around DD spotted some funky black "fun yarn" and had plans for it immediately. one lovely suprise was Pat's offer to let DD borrow a machine, so that we didnt have to share. DD used an "LK something or other" and it worked out great. I was originally worried that her using a different machine would confuse both of us, but it turns out that it is made by the same company as the one I have (even though they have different names) so the set-up, switches & levers are the same. the LK is a bulky weight machine, and very basic, so it was perfect for DD ....a great machine to try for the very first time, and also a good match for her "fun yarn".

DD got help casting on the fun yarn, and dealt with the beginning frustration of the yarn texture and messing around with the machines tension ... but once she found her groove, there was no stopping her.

she finished the loveliest scarf you've ever seen shortly after lunch, and now has a wonderful Christmas pressent for her Grandmother, who has been not well for the last few months. this will definitely dress up her holiday !!!



I followed along with the class as we all worked on a mini Christmas stocking. this was a flat stocking, knit in 2 pieces and then joined together with a very cool "pie crust" edging. this was a great exercise and included a new double e-wrap increase, hidden decrease, punch card pattern with 2 colours, crochet cast-on detail trim, pie-crust style edging. the wee stocking isn't perfect, but I'm pleased with what I learned !!

looks like I'll have to move the laundry off my knitting table, and set-up my machine ..... it will be interesting to see if I can get the thing to work without the "experts" in the room to bail me out when I'm all jamed up.

Happy Mother's Day !!!

ok, I know that sounds like I'm a WEE bit late .. but that's not true, because this week I finished the 6-week Stained Glass course, at the Royal Botanical Gardens, that DD got me for Mothers Day this year. the logistics had the potential to make it impossible for me to attend the classes as it was Tuesday evenings from 7:00-10:00 .... which is our busiest night of the week. DD has 2 dance classes and I have my piping lessons. I decided to bite the bullet .... I cancelled piping for 6 weeks (which is probably a good thing as this project at work has kept me so busy most evening that I haven't practiced AT ALL !!), and Wendi was good enough to bring DD home with her after dance (and I'd pick her up on my way home after class)

the first week was very exciting, I met a couple of nice ladies that I sat with and chatted. it was a quiet class because we all didn't know each other yet (boy did that change by the end of the 6 weeks!!). our instructor was Tony, a lovely man who has a studio in West Hamilton. to say this man was talented would be an understatement, but fortunately for us he also has the "patience of Jobe". I couldn't believe that we actually came home, after our first class with a lovely finished product, this bird sun catcher. everyone's turned out SO cute, and we were all thrilled !!! he also showed us what out main project would be for the remainder of the course .... OMG, not only are we going to do a large window, but the subject is an iris which is my favourite flower !!!

week-2 .... we started to cut out and assemble our iris. this was not a totally fun class. I was deciding at this point, that although working with the stained glass was "ok", I didn't think it was "my thing", but I would (of course) finish the classes. we actually lost one lady half way thru this class, who completely hated it. it's too bad she didn't stick it out, because it got so much better.

I'm not going to bother going into details for each week, but let's just say that by the last class I was enjoying working on the project as much as chatting with all the ladies. it's amazing how fast 3 hours can go when you are busy, and how much you can accomplish.

week-6 .... we couldn't believe that this was it!! the weeks had gone so quickly, and we were all leaving with a beautiful window. Tony brought a VERY yummy box of chocolates (I tried a couple of the dark ones .. only to be polite !!), and one of the ladies brought veggies and the BEST DIP I've ever had (which she let me take home afterwards, and both DD and I've been enjoying it) Everyone's window turned out great .... it was so interesting to see how we each started with the same pattern ... but between the cutting, placement, and colour choices each window had something different and special. I can honestly say there was something from everyone else's window that made theirs stand out apart from all the others.

I was lucky, and got an added bonus out of the class ... because I finished my window early, I was able to take some of the left over glass pieces and make an angel sun catcher.

over all, probably one of the best Mother's Day pressies I've ever had !!!

stained glass is definitely not my "calling", and if given the choice I'd rather be knitting ... but that being said, by the end of the 6-weeks I definitely enjoyed working on my projects and would be willing to give it another go. both Wendi and my neighbour across the street have all the necessary stained glass related tools, and have offered them to me if I ever choose to give it another go. Wendi and I were taking about getting together for a "stained glass day", hopefully with our daughters. I can only imagine what the 4 of us can come up with !!!

I recognize the face, but can't place the name ??!!

OMG it's been 100 years since I've last blogged (and yes, I have been told a million times not to exaggerate !!) ... let's see if I can not only remember how to do this again, but remember what's happened in my knitting life since I was here last !!

July
~ I suppose the 2 big things for July were my Mum and Mother-In-Law's birthdays are both during this month. my Mum was turning 29, my MIL 30 ??!! ok, better make it 39 & 40 ..... would you believe 49 & 50 ?? (well, that's what I'm sticking with, as they are BOTH so youthful looking ... as are all the women in the family :) )

~ Cable Lagoon sock for DD ... finished the socks, the constant cabling was brutal, but they turned out lovely ..... until she tired to put them on. the ankle & cuff are too tight ... so frogged them out the turning of the heel, and re-knitted them on a size bigger needle (was NOT about to frog out the entire sock!). it's July 25, I've rushed MIL to the hospital but fortunately had my knitting with me, so was able to finish them while sitting in Emergency with her!! DD does her best to look pleased when she tries them on, but it's obvious that the foot is also a wee bit tight, but worse they are also a wee bit short. I'm not frogging them out, so I guess I'll be looking for someone with a thinner, shorter foot to wear them. there may be enough yarn left for a plain pair of socks for DD, and I promised to re-knit this pattern for her, but we agreed that a plainer yarn would show off the cables better.

~ I'm heading to Ancaster to sit with MIL who is home but in a lot of pain, and I need something to knit (that doesn't require spending money). I have some left over aran, that would be perfect for the Fashion Cable Knit Bag from Michaels ..... a casting-on we go !!! as I HATE sewing up a knitting project worse that pretty much anything, rather than following the instructions for the bag, I decided to knit it from the bottom up, in the round. it's a bloody pain to start, but now that it's going it is turning out just lovely !!

August
~ the best part of August was our trip to White Birches Cottages just outside Algonquin Park with DD and the labs. we rented a cottage for the 2nd year in a row, then visited with my Uncle & Aunt at their cottage for the weekend on the way home. it was the nicest week of the summer and we had a great time. DD hooked up with some kids she knew from last year, and met some new ones. the dogs spent as much time in the lake as they could, we hiked, and I relaxed and knitted. unfortunately it was not a banner week for knitting. my plan was to finish the cable purse that I had started in July, and I was well on my way, and finished up one side, when I realized that I had not brought enough yarn to finish the other side, NERTZ !! ok, no problem I have my started entrelac sock, which FINALLY looked like it was going to turn out to be the right size ..... got working on the sock, not as pleased with the way the colours were pooling, but wanted to give it a chance. used the solid colour from the toe, to turn the heel, and then back to the variegated yarn as I went up the leg. after a couple of entrelac rows up the leg, I decided to try on the sock ... YUCK .... I knew that I wasn't thrilled with the pooling, and I was not impressed how I went from heel back to entrelac leg pattern, but when I put the sock on that ended it for me. first of all, it was tight (yea, after all the attempts at it being too big), and when it was on, it looked like crap. the entrelac pattern just looked like random squares, and no where near the cool effect that it should have been. maybe if I had alternated the variegated yarn with the solid for each row, it would have looked better ?? I don't know. but to be honest .... even if I did finish the sock, the thought of starting the nightmare all over again and doing a 2nd one just didn't leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling ... so here I was in the wilds of Algonquin Park ... and the sounds of "frogging" could be heard echoing thru the forests !!! ok, now I was 3:3 (due to the cable socks for DD that I FINALLY finished before leaving but are too small for her) and frustrated about what to try next. while in town DD found a book she wanted, the latest in a series she has been reading ... turns out one of the patterns I brought was for a pair of socks based on the cover of the first book in the series. I had the base colour, but needed the red contrast colour. we headed into Huntsville for some shopping and to check out the LYS for a look around. I saw a few things that looked interesting, but nothing really exciting, but I did find a nice skein of the red we needed for DD socks. we got back the cottage, and I wanted to get something started, but both DD and I agreed that I needed a successful project, so starting another pair of socks after the 2 pairs that haven't worked out would not be a good idea ..... then I found it The Scotch Thistle Stole, using Arequipa yarn in lovely shades of purple and green .... it was a perfect match and the skein should have enough for the stole. I was off to the races, so to speak, with an exciting new project to cast on.

September
~ summer is over and it's back to the regular routines of school & dance for DD. this is a big year for her, grade-12 ... it's hard to believe !! doesn't seem that long ago that it was me starting my senior year.



~ Scotch Thistle Lace Stole is "done" ... well, not as per the pattern, because unfortunately I ran out of yarn ... BUT, it's done as far as it's going, and the 2 ends are grafted together .... now all I have to do is block it (any bets on how long this is going to take me to finally get around to do ??!!)

October

~ woo hoo ... Fashion Cable Knit Bag is done, and the handles are on ... OH MY GOSH, but it turned out just lovely !!! I haven't decided if I'm going to leave it as is, or line it with material.

~ this is another popular month for the family. DD turned 17 on October 16, foster puppies Betty & Maisie have birthdays on October 17th, and my parents had their wedding anniversary on October 20. Betty (foster puppy #3) turned 3, disqualified from the DogGuide CVC program last August because of kennel stress, and was adopted by DD. she's still a very nervous dog, but is happy to be "home". Maisie (foster puppy #4) turned 2 on the same day. she has also disqualified from the DogGuide program, and now lives with a great family in the next neighbourhood. we keep in touch with them and I love hearing how she is doing. now that she has settled in with her new family, I'm looking forward to some play dates where we can get the dogs together. it will be great to see Maisie again !!!

~ want to start the "flying south" pattern using the yarn from the September Pick Up Sticks Fleece Artist Sock Club package. it's the perfect colours for my mum, and would be a nice surprise in her Christmas stocking .... unfortunately, my 2.5mm circular's are "somewhere safe". I think it's time to go thru my stash and figure out what I have, and where everything is !!

~ I spent most of the Oct 17th weekend either sorting and organizing my yarn stash and knitting/sewing area in the basement. OMG what a job !!! I headed downstairs about noon on Saturday, and didn't come up for air until 7:00pm that evening .... and when I finally did I went upstairs to find my house FREEZING COLD and DARK !! when I headed down at noon, it was a lovely day so I opened up the house to let the fresh air in ..... well by 7:00 not only had the sun gone down but so had the temperature !!! it was definitely a productive day though. I THINK I have found all my hidden stashes of yarn .... all the bags, bins, baskets, containers and boxes all sorted thru, re-wound and assigned to it's new storage bin (based on yarn weight). much of the yarn has been entered into my "stash" on Ravelry, but I haven't taken pictures of most of it yet. I also went thru and catalogued a number of my knitting/craft related books, magazines and pattern booklets. there were some interesting in-progress discoveries ... some got frogged, some put aside to be frogged, and a couple put in my "to finish" pile. I'm also putting a bag together of "unknown" and partial balls of yarn, that can be donated for charity knitting. the good news is my yarn has been organized ... the bad news is I've discovered hidden stashes of material and other craft supplies that I still have to deal with ... oh well, another craft, another weekend :)

~ finished a cute wee baby sweater, Little Sweetie, that I started YEARS ago .... not sure if it was the right colour combination, as you really cant see the pattern ... but at least it's finally done :)

~ frustrated, bored, and don't know what to knit ... still haven't found the 2.5mm needles to start my Mum's socks .....so what do I have handy ...... cotton yarn, perfect for dishcloths. too lazy to look thru for a pattern, so I'll just wing it for a while. they are dead easy, brainless knitting and great while you are watching Friday night television !! 2 down, and unlimited number to go. I was planning on getting a bunch done for Christmas anyway, so this got me going.

~ Saturday Oct 25 was a machine knitting workshop at Cardiknits in Hamilton. it was a VERY educational day, and I was all pumped up to go home and re-setup my knitting machine and get something cast-on. (did I mention that I MAY have left the workshop with 3 new cones of yarn :) got home and headed downstairs to my newly cleaned & organized knitting area to set-up my knitting machines. had some trouble getting the carriage to slide smoothly, but I wondered if it just needed a cleaning/dusting ... APPARENTLY NOT !! I cast-on some waste yarn ready to knit my first row ... JAM!! pulled everything off, re-caston .. JAM .... JAM ... JAM .... ok, I'm REALLY getting frustrated now. I end up sliding the carriage off, and putting it back on a couple of times, when all of a sudden, it slides on as smooth as butter .... crap, I didn't have the carriage on right, and it was jamming the hooks. re-cast on again, with the carriage on properly, and knit a few rows to find the last 2 stitches not knitting at all .... turns out the repeated jamming totally bent the 2 hooks (so that they are no longer hook shaped !!) ok, no worries, I'll call Pat and ask her for a couple of new hooks ..... I'll just try to cast-on the other side of "0", it's working just beautifully, EXCEPT for ONE BLOODY stitch. this hook must be FUBAR too, but I cant tell by looking at it. I have 3 extra hooks, but by this point, I am NOT in any mental frame of mind to figure out how to replace them ..... yarn goes away, cover goes on, and it's no knitting for me tonight

~ Sunday Oct 25 .... Happy Birthday Wendi !!!

Graduation Night !!

No knitting for me last night. Although I was disappointed to miss out on our “sketchy knitter’s night”, it was well worth it !!!! I’d like to announce the new CVC team of Terry & Wolf. Wolf is the 3^rd of my grand-puppies to graduate from the Lions Club DogGuide Foundation of Canada (Waltz & Wonka both graduated from the SSD program). Ironically, their Mum Hasia was originally trained for SSD, and after she retired from the breeding program went into CVC training before she was retired for good and came back home to me …. So I guess it’s in their blood !!

Terry seemed like a very nice lady. I also met her Daughter & Grand-daughter, and her entire family seemed so proud of her. It looked that although Wolf was happy to see is foster family again, she’ll be well loved and looked after in her new home with Terry.

I haven’t seen Wolf in about a year. I happened to be at the Foundation one day, to pick up Hasia and it was heart-worm testing time. A man walked down the hallway with a black lab (a common occurrence there). Hasia, who prefers the attention of people to dogs, starting barking and straining towards this other dog. It was very strange behaviour for her. I was chatting with some of the staff, and and I had to stop and correct Hasia … then I heard Sam say something about “a wolf”. OMG, it dawned on me … it was “our” Wolf !!! Hasia knew it was one of her puppies !!!

It was a great reunion. Hasia kept Wolf in her place, and I had a great loving session with her. Neither of us had seen Wolf since she was about 8-weeks old and went off to her new foster family. It’s amazing …. With all the dogs that we have go thru our place, and they can do just about anything to Hasia …. But let one of her puppies get out of line, and oh boy, are they in trouble !!! anyone who thinks that dogs are just “dumb animals”, you don’t know what you are talking about ….. even after 2 years, and not seeing her puppies since they were 8-weeks old, if you put Hasia in a room full of labs, she’d herd out her babies without any trouble.

Hasia was a great Mum, and was bless with 10 wonderful puppies !!!

5 Black Females

• Wags
• Wave ~ DQ’d
• Wolf ~ CVC with Terry
• Whim ~ working as companion dog @ Senior Residence
• Waltz ~ SSD with Katie

1 Choc Female

• Walnut

4 Choc Males

• Willy ~ R.I.P. L
• Wonka ~ SSD with Fred
• Windsor
• Wilbur ~ DQ’d

Sock Wars III

now that the battle is officially over, I can discuss the "confidential" details of Sock Wars III.

on May 9th dossiers were sent out to each of the 1153 participating warriors, outlining our intended targets (their location and sock size). the weapon this year was "The Detonator", using the sponsor company TOFUtsies sock yarn. the object was to knit a pair of Detonator socks, and mail them off to your assigned target. once they receive their socks they are considered "dead" and must mail their SIP (socks in progress) back to you along with the dossier of their intended victim. you would then complete the socks and send them off to your new target ... etc .... UNTIL, you received your own socks, at which time you are dead.

Sock Wars III officially came to an end on June 13, when all warriors still alive were e-mailed a set of new instructions. post cards were to be mailed into our Supreme Commander and a winner would be drawn on June 21.

as of June 13, I was still alive, and therefore eligible for the postcard draw. I also had made one official kill, and a 2nd kill was winging it's way to it's intended target. the change of rules meant a new strategy was required if I was going to win .... it was time to put my network of "spies" into action.

as soon as the post card draw was announced, my first spy went into action ..... Wendi immediately sent off a postcard from her PakMail store in Burlington Ontario ... but would it get across the pond and land in Antrim Ireland by the deadline of June 21 ??!! this is where it's important to have an international team of well trained knitters in your network. thanks to Wendi's connections a quick e-mail to Máirín, who lives in Galway Ireland, asking her to send a post card for me just in case the one send from Canada doesn't make it in time. then, just to make sure, another e-mail off to Ceire who lives in Belfast Ireland, and another postcard was fired off to the Supreme Commander.

the best part about Sock Wars III was the people I "met". I had a great time "killing" my 2 targets.

Audrey was my first kill. her socks were probably the most difficult but also the easiest. I had to "learn" the pattern on her socks, and they probably got "frogged" at least 3 times before getting completed ... but they were also easy to knit because her size was just a wee bit bigger than mine so I could use my feet as a guide when knitting them.


my second "kill" was Gwyn. she was a bit of a worry for me because she has such tiny feet (compaired to mine anyway) and as I already knew how big these socks knitted up. I to make sure they were wearable for her, while still keeping the rules of battel. as it turns out they were still a bit big for her, but I understand fit her daughter well.



I also had 2 wonderful co-assassins. my original assassin was Anita, who did a lovely job getting my death socks started. before she could finish them she was "killed" by Jana who then completed the socks and posted them off to me.





this past weekend it all came to an end (for me anyway) ....... Friday, on the way to Sarnia for DD's dance competition, I stopped by Wendi's PakMail store to drop off some DPNs she asked to borrow .... and what did she have in return for me ..... my death socks!!!! it's with mixed emotions that I "officially" announce my Sock Wars death ....... the emotions are mixed because now I cann't continue with the Sock Wars III Continues group ..... but my socks are so lovely, that it really doesn't matter !!! thank you so much Anita & Jana !!! to end Friday on a high note, DD's group took the trophy for their choreography number !!! (her dance studio also took 2nd place in the same category, and also the trophy for the choreography broad sword)

DD and I stayed overnight in Sarnia, with the intent of heading across the border to Port Huron if the weather was nice. we woke up Saturday to rain, but fortunately it cleared up, and we headed over anyway. it turned out to be a beautiful day, and we had a great time walking around the beautiful historic downtown area. just before heading back, we decided to sit and enjoy a nice Dairy Queen treat and some water. DD went in and ordered, while I stayed outside with Hasia & Betty (our 2 black labs). I had a small dipped cone, DD had a candy floss blizzard ..... and Hasia & Betty shared a MILK-BONE SUNDAY !!! yes, I couldn't believe it, but for $1.25 I just had to get one for them ...... a dish of ice cream, with 2 milk bones in it! needless to day the mutts were VERY happy !! well, it was time to head back into Canada, and we didn't end up getting home until very late.

Sunday morning came WAY too soon ...... and I was woken up by the phone ringing. Wendi, the head of my spy network was on the phone ..... "YOU WON, YOU WON". ok, fuzzy head me ..... had no idea what she was talking about. Wendi had been keeping an eye on the Sock Wars sites, hoping that I'd win the big draw (for obvious reasons, knowing that I'd share the lot TOFUtsies with her). I didn't in the BIG prize of all the TOFUtsies yarn ..... this was actually more satisfying ... I won one of the two "cheeky" bonus prizes !!!

here is the e-mail from Julie, our Supreme Commander:
You get a cheeky bonus prize from Sock Wars just for sheer geographical magnificence. UK, Ireland and over the pond. Either you are a prolific traveller or have a crack network of spies. Either way for sheer boldness I am going to mail you a set of luxury dpns from signature needle arts!

this has been a great experience. yes, there has been some frustrations ..... I had some "issues" with the Detonator pattern, and unfortunately encountered 2 "flakes" (warriors that went MIA) that really delayed my progress. BUT, it was a game, I went into it with the right frame of mind (to have fun), and so I didnt let the "little things" get to me. I want to thank my 2 wonderful assassins for the beautiful pair of socks, my 2 targets for being so nice and making the war so much fun, my "2nd in command" Wendi and her network of knitting spies Máirín & Ceire without whom I could not have won the cheeky bonus prize !!! most of all I want to thank Julie, the Supreme Commander of Sock Wars III .... it was a tough battle for her this time, but she went above and beyond !!!