Easter Weekend

I actually see sun shining on the road! I should be outside but here I am filling you in about life to date.

Yesterday was Good Friday so the shop was closed. A good thing too because Jim, Patrick and I went to Belleville and brought Rhea home for the summer. Yes! The college year is over! It is loverly having her close by again. Hopefully she will find summer employment! Keeping my fingers crossed for her.

Today the shop ( Kniterary) is open. I will be getting to knitting a commission soon. I got 6 inches in and then realized I had cast on 20 too many stitches....fricker bricker......SO...frogged and restarted using stitch markers to help with the counting issue!


I have been working on flower brooches with Tara for Tarmina Designs. A little bit of rug hooking and a little bit of beading and we have these lovelys.

We are stocking up for the Mother's Day weekend Studio Tour. They will make great Mother's Day gifts!

I have been working on some tea cozies for the same tour as well but they are not at a photographable stage yet!

It is now 12:30 PM. I am hungry. Going to get a bagel!

Mom in her Swallowtail

Finally! My Mother has her own Swallowtail shawl!

McMichael Dressup Time

Last Sunday we went on a family outing to the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg. We don't do family outings near enough. It gets much harder when teenagers are striving for Independence.

The most enjoyable part for me was finding out that my children still love to play dress up. Witness the pictures.
It was family day at the Gallery so they had colouring and dress up for the littler children. My goofy teenagers didn't let that get in the way of them hamming it up a bit in the dress up room!

Well I guess it was mainly Patrick.

But Rhea did get into the swing of things too!

After goofing around in the dress up room we went for a walk on the grounds. The gallery is built on a hill at the edge of the Humber River so there was a long walk down and a long walk up.
You can see in this picture the glass walls of the gallery reflecting the sunlight back into the trees that surround it. All hallways and rooms in the gallery have these huge windows that make you feel like you are walking among the trees while enjoying the art.

Half way down we are truly into the forest.

Oh ya and the Robert Bateman show was beautiful. It was amazing to get real close to the paintings and see all the individual brush strokes. We also wandered through the Group of Seven paintings as every real Canadian should do on a regular basis. I was wishing there was some more Emily Carr though.

All of this is fodder for knitting projects. But since I have none of my own to show let me show you what I discovered when I googled Knit Art. I love Autumn in Ontario. It captures these Autumn days perfectly!

Appliances, Stained Glass and Knitting, Oh My.

We broke down this week and bought the house a new fridge (a very large monolith that we bow down to every morning)(with the music of 2004- The Movie- playing behind us)


and a new stove. Look at how shiny and new !!

The old ones were getting scary and close to the end of their life span. We bought the old kitchen appliances when we bought this house. That was 18 years ago! I find it hard to believe that we have been here that long. Even when I lived with my birth family I never stayed in one house longer than 7 years!

The fridge has a bottom freezer. Something that I have wanted for a long time.

Next appliances on the upgrade list....washer and dryer. Hoping for front loading.


This is fianlly up. A stained glass that I designed and started 2 or 3 years ago.
I didn't do the bulk of the actual making of this piece. Stained glass is so not my thing.
But it is my Mother's thing. Thank goodness for that.
With flash. I am loving it! Thanks Mom!



On the knitting front.

I have started to do a series of headbands.
They will serve 3 purposes. 1. To show customers how the yarns look knit up.
2. To experiment with various knit,purl surface textures
3. To sell.

Colinette Iona

Nashua Sitar
I have also done a Noro Transitions one but I am going to redo knitting with the beginning and the end of the ball alternately to get a more even look.

Felted pumkins from Knitty. The large one was done exactly the way the pattern said, in 8 separate pieces and assembled. The smaller one was done all in one piece with decreases and increases at the appropriate places.
Cute eh?

Today the family is off to McMichael Gallery to see the work of Robert Bateman.

All I want is a Dry Towel!

First I would like to show you this wonderful picture of my teenagers. Don't they look mature and sophisticated?

Would you believe that, as much as I love the picture and know I am going to cherish having it as the years go by, it lies. These are teenagers that irritate and annoy. These are teenagers who have hormones and brain cells flinging all over the place.

The boy teenager is starting to want to be out to all hours. He plans his day with little or no thought about the schedule of the family that lives with him. He has Lo-o-o-ng showers every morning using at least 3 towels to dry off.

The girl teenager has started dating. (gulp) She spends many days avoiding me or grunting at me and then thinks I should sit and listen gleefully when she is happy that she was asked out for a date. (I listened and I was).

I have started following her out of the room when she turns around and walks away from me while I am talking. Maybe she will realize that it is just easier to stay and listen once instead of having me follow her around the house.

And now!!! For the latest in exasperation she hoards all the towels that the teenage boy has not used in her room (which by the way is wall to wall laundry).

Ah yes, this Mother cannot just grab a dry bath towel when I want to have a relaxing bath because:

1. there are 4 wet bath towels in the bathroom

2. no bath towels in the linen closet

3. there are 6 (yes 6) bath towels on the floor of the teenage daughter's room. Some are on the bottom layer, some in the middle layer and 1 on the top layer. AND!!!way back in the corner is the red towel that I have been missing for months now and actually have sent her into her room to look for it.

Jim has learned to deal with the problem of disappearing towels by always hanging his on his hook on his side of the bed. (he allowed me to use it today)

I find it slightly annoying that Patrick uses so many towels. But he does leave them in the bathroom and usually hangs them up. Rhea, on the other hand, hoards the wet towels in her bedroom on the carpet. I find completely and absolutely annoying!

I take on the responsibility to at least once a week remove all the towels etc... from the bathroom to wash them. The towels that Patrick uses get washed regularly. Both children wash their own clothes so I do not go into their rooms to gather laundry.

I can deal with what Patrick does but I can't deal with what Rhea does.

Jim altered his ways to get around it. I feel that Rhea should be expected to change her ways to accommodate the workings of the family. Either hang up her towels in the bathroom so they can get washed and dried and put away, or, choose one towel that is her towel and treat it as she wants.

Is it too much to ask? One dry towel?

I have asked the father to talk to her because I am quite wired about it. Probably unreasonably so. (PMS I am sure)

The score so far:

Rhea 6

Patrick 4

Jim 1

Martina 0

All I want is a dry towel!

Patrick The Graduate

Back on June 21st Patrick made the leap out of primalry school! Next year grade 9 and High School! He got his first suit and dress shoes and looked very handsome indeed.

Pat with his Grade 8 diploma!

Last year Rhea was taller than Patrick. He had a year of growth spurts along with his growing maturity and deepening voice. My babes are becoming adults. I am so proud!

Ok, someone tell me when he got taller than me! I knew he was taller than Rhea but I am the Mommy!! I am supposed to be taller! This will probably be the last dance I have with my son until he gets married. Sigh,

Congratulations Patrick!

Time Flies

Oh Boy!

Another week has gone by!

Time does fly when it does!

This week I got in all the Lucy Neatby Patterns, books and DVD's! One Cool Socks Warm Feet is already gone! My favorite pattern that came in is the Faroese Flower Shawl (the top pattern on the right). It looks like bird's wings. I can't wait to knit it!
The DVD's are really good instructional DVD's for those wanting to improve their basic skills or learn to knit socks.

Finished projects include this little bag from Knitted Gifts done in Svale. Wouldn't it be sweet as a bridal gift bag for a bridesmaid present or even as a holder for a small bunch of flowers.



WIPs now includes this bag in Berroco Boho. I have this colour and 3 others in the shop right now. I have misplaced my nice big eyed tapestry needle so I have been delayed in finishing it. The yarn is in various thicknesses and is a tube knit yarn so I really need it!

As of June 1st Jim and I have been married 22 years. Like I said before time flies when it does. It had been a fun and interesting 22 years and I am looking forward to the next 22! Our big present to each other this year was a long, long overdue new mattress. I forgot how comfy a good mattress can be!

Monday, Monday

I spent the first part of this Monday planning a few summer activities. I am going to be closing up the shop during the first 2 weeks of July. During the first week the family and I are going to visit Lou in Winnipeg for a few days. We decided to fly this time so the children are excited by that. Although Patrick has flown in a small plane they have never been on a big airplane before. During the second week I am going to take a course at the Haliburton School of Art. A week of knitting with Fiona Ellis! I am so pumped!! I absolutely love her books and I am sure I am going to love learning from her!

Last week I knit a scarf I call Orange Ade. I combined 3 yarns (Laine du Nord Mulbury Silk, Gedifra Angora Tweed (a discontinued yarn) and Ritratto collezione S. Charles Mohair) Cast on 20 sts, k1, p1 rib for about 35", cast off, make a 8" fringe. Quick and luxurious with the silk, angora and mohair.

Today I had a visit from my Mom, two of her sisters and a cousin. We had lunch and laughs at the store. Audry lives in British Columbia and Dorothy and Lorraine live in Saskatewan. Since they all live so far away I don't get to see them often. It was a nice visit.



When Jim was in Windsor the other week he stopped by his Grandmother's old house. It is now a rental property that still has one of her trunks in the attic because the house was built around it. There was no getting it out unless deconstruction was involved. This tree was planted back when the house was built and is now the oldest tree in Windsor (I think I am right). I see a Cable pattern growing out of this picture.


Yup. Most definitely I do.

Whew...Jim is tired!

Jim took this picture while on a short little walk in a forested area north of our town today. Well it started out as a short walk. He was going to complete his short foray and head into Toronto to pick up some yarn for the store. While he was hiking the box that he was supposed to pick up arrived at the shop. Once I informed him of this fact he decided to extend his birding expedition a bit. The "bit" turned into several hours of following paths that took him into directions he was not sure of. He had no water with him but thankfully a biker that Jim asked for directions was nice enough to offer him some.
I was a bit worried but he managed to finally get back to the car and made it home about 6 hours later than he intended to.
I found him asleep on the couch once I arrived home.
I am going to buy him a compass tomorrow.



I made this cat bed for my Secret Sister out of Alpaca and Wool. See the Yellow cat paw design on the outside. I know that My Secret Sister will love it when I can get it to her. Unfortunately she didn't attend the revealing dinner last night.

I took the pattern from a Cat Borhdi book minus the moebius since I was in a rush to finish it. The exterior is not felted but the interior is. I LOVE the was this Ultra Alpaca by Berocco felts!
It took 4 skeins and all is done in the Ultra except for the yellow paws that are in Lopi.

The view upside down.

Good night.

Socks and Snacks

Today when I was getting in the car to go the the shop I brought my camera to take some pictures of WIP's.

None were taken. Why? Because the camera stayed in the car ALL day.

When I got back home 7 hours later I felt obligated to take at least one picture of something knit.
Behold! The leprachaun (sp?) sock that hangs from my rear view mirror!
Also in the picture...an egyptian terra cotta pot that holds essential oils to make the car smell nice.... the back of our clunker car (does everybody have at least one of these?).....the Japanese Maple coming into leaf...and the front door to our house. (You can see the Hydrangea vine starting to climb up the porch. It might actually flower this year!!!).



Tomorrow is Mother's Day here in Canada. My daughter has given me flowers for the day before Mother's Day eve (yesterday) and homemade cookies for the day before Mother's Day (today). Then she headed off to sleep over at a friends house for the night tonight. I wonder if I am getting anything tomorrow? (not that I need anything) She is such a sweetheart.

Last weekend I took Rhea and My Mother out to a High Tea at a tea house in the town just north of Whitby for an early Mother's Day celebration. I think the place is called Campkin's TeaHouse. There I found the link. I am not sure if the story is in the link but the Patriarch of the family in Canada was supposed to travel to the North America on the Titanic. He over imbibed the night before the lauch and missed the boat. Talk about a lucky man!


Ma Mere..Lois... She just doesn't look 78 to me. I should age that well.


Ma fille...Rhea... Can you tell she doesn't like getting her picture taken?


All 3 generations after having hoovered the High Tea off the table! It was good! The teas even better! Rhea had the most delicious strawberry kiwi tea. It was like dessert.

All of the items you see on the walls around us are for sale too. It was really hard to walk out without buying anything other than the meal!

Last Monday I went into Toronto to visit 3 of my suppliers and start my fall orders. I ordered some new books (can't remember which ones at the moment). At the second stop I ordered some more Sublime merino cashmere and Peruvian hand dyed merino and alpaca. Beautiful! Funds made from the sales of this yarn will go to help build a school in Peru for the kids. When I get more information I will pass it on. I almost purchased the Kaffe Fasset sock yarn collection...As usual the colour combos are stunning. My almost is turning into a for sure so I will be ordering it for the fall and Christmas season. Yum.

That's all for now folks! I will try to keep in touch with you more often!

March Already?

Busy, busy, busy! I have been that!

Some knitting happening since the last post but business is slowing me down. There are some major changes happening in my life right now. Good changes that I can't wait to share with you all! You will have to wait but I promise it's worth it!

Knitting that has been happening is the slow progress on the Swallowtail Shawl. I am remembering how much I love knitting lace! I am really enjoying knitting it but it is definitely a project that requires undivided wide awake attention. Knitting in front of the TV or while people are in the room with me is a no go, so, I only get to knit for 1 or 2 hours a day on this. I have finished the main part now and am about to embark on the border. I made sure to put in life line that's for darned sure!



Other big news! My youngest got his braces! This picture was from yesterday. He is in a bit more discomfort today but nothing a little Ibuprofen can't handle. Rhea has one more year of braces and he is just starting his 3 year stint. Now a days braces are so commonplace. It is not like when I was young and children with braces were made fun of. Well, I hope that is true for my children's sake.



It may be March but man is it cold out there today!

I'm putting in good thoughts for warm,sunny, blossom filled, spring days.