How to block a hat ....

When I took the photo of the hat, it had not been blocked yet. I have been pondering how to block a hat when you do not own, nor want to own, a styrofoam head. I did think of a ball, but I don't own one the size of a human head ... 

I finally came up with a solution ... stuff it with towels ... 

Voici, the top of the hat

I first placed an open small towel and stuffed the other towels inside the cavity. The key is to get it nice and smooth.

The trick worked perfectly. It has now been delivered to the recipient ... just in time for his birthday. 

Here is the handsome, goofball modeling his birthday present LOL ....

I do hope you find the hat blocking trick useful. I would certainly enjoy hearing how you go about blocking a hat.

Thank you for stopping by my little corner in cyberspace! Cheers!

Yep, I became frustrated ...

Remember this?

Well ... it is now this ...

Just in time for his birthday! Not that he'll be wearing it during this heat wave!

Oh ... the wool for my Poppy Scarf came in this week from Black Sheep Yarns in BC.

Such delicious colours. I cannot wait to start on that project ... but first I need to finish a couple of things.

Catch you all later! Cheers!

Who ordered this heat wave?

OMG, Summer is in full swing. I think we went from spring to summer in a flash! lol With this heat, Penelope's room is like an oven. So off I went into town to purchase an air conditioner.

Last Sunday I decided that I needed to finish the reproduction quilt that was on my designer wall. With life being a tad chaotic, I had put it aside until things settled. Well, I can't say I'm not settled anymore! lol Besides, I'm itchin' to start a new project! lol

Back in February 2019, I fell in love with the fabric line ... Feed Sacks: True Blue by Linne Kull McCray for Moda Fabrics.

Look at those gorgeous blues! I am so in love with reproduction fabrics ... and especially this fabric line. I purchased a Fat quarter tower to work on the quilt pattern she designed specifically for that line. The pattern is also called Feed Sack: True Blue .... you can actually download it here.

Brought the quilt to a flimsy stage ... 

and loaded it on Penelope. With the room nice and cool, I tackled it today.

Voila! It's a done deal!

Tomorrow, it's binding time!

Thanks for stopping by! Stay cool!

A beautiful day in the neighbourhood ....!

Sunday was the first day the restaurants in our area were open for in-house seating. Naturally, my friends and I had our coffee shoping date set! It was wonderful to get back a bit of normal. It had been so long since we were able to just sit at our favourite coffee shop and chat.

On my way back, I took some picture of our gorgeous Lake Champlain ... how strange it was to see the lake so empty of boaters. Normally during this time of year the sailboats are out and about. It was a perfect day to sail. But with Covid, not many boats are in the water.

Being a hop skip and a jump from Canada, many Canadians keep their boats on this side of the border. With the Canadian borders being closed, they have not been able to cross in early May and de-winterize their boats. So there they sit ....

With the Canadian border being closed until July 21, at which point they will decide on either extending or opening, not sure if it would make sense to put a boat in the water. The summer is almost gone!

I do miss seeing the sailboats sail across our beautiful lake. What a strange summer it's going to be.

Thanks for stopping by my little corner in cyber space! Catch you all later! Cheers!

I'm in love .....

I have fallen in love with Marie Wallin Designs ...... I recently purchased her book Gentle

And plan on knitting the cover project ... Primerose. It is such a gorgeous sweater. Marie wore it during her Instagram chat 4 and I fell in love with the design and colours. So I ordered the yarn kit as soon as it was back in stock at The Woolly Thistle. The fourteen (14) different colours are absolutely delicious.

This is quite the project and I'm getting cold feet ... so I thought I would start with the Poppy Scarf ...

A more manageable Fairisle project for a first try. 

I ordered my yarn from Black Sheep Yarns in Canada. They had all the twelve (12) different colours colours I needed in stock. I cannot wait to get the yarn.

Hope you are all doing well and keeping healthy! Catch you all later! Cheers!

A new project ....

My favourite on-line shop, The Woolly Thistly, is having a knit-a-long on Ravelry ... TWT Vanilla Sweater .... Corine, the owner designed the Vanilla sweater ... a simple sweater knitted in Finull Rauma.

Anyway, I think I need a course on reading knitting pattern because I found this pattern anything but easy to understand. It took me about seven tries to understand what I needed to do. This is not a complaint about the pattern writer, but more about my frustration with my ability to properly read knitting patterns in general.

Reading/understanding knitting patterns is a challenge for me. I think it's just a matter of getting comfortable with the language.

On another note, I found the yarn I needed for a winter hat I want to knit for a special someone.

If I get frustrated with the Vanilla Sweater ... I'll get going on the hat! ;)

Keep well everyone ... Catch you all later! Cheers!

Snood ....

Remember the snood I started a couple of weeks ago?

Well ... I've been working on it .... and it's done .... mostly!

I still need to weave the ends together to make it continuous. That can wait ...

I wanted to start a new project and felt because this was colour work, I needed it completely knitted so that my tension would be consistent. When I knit with more than one colour, I keep my tension looser than usual ... otherwise the design looks tight and I don't like that. I also need to think about how I'll go about weaving the two (2) ends together. Any ideas ... techniques?

This was such a fund project to knit. I loved using Jamieson & Smith yarn.

Thank you so much for stopping by my little corner in cyber space! Cheers!

And the beat goes on .....

The other day, I was chatting with my friend Gina. We were talking about the global situation and the need for compassion. Many are experiencing an increase in stress ... these are challenging times ... Covid 19 circumstances, reduced work hours, pay cuts etc ... however, on the surface there appears to be a calmness ...

Gina brought up the analogy of a calm lake. When you look at the surface, it is calm, serene and yet underneath are the currents, the turbulence ... sometimes the chaos surfaces and at other times it just is ... that's how I feel at the moment ... calm on the outside and yet, on the inside I'm affected by the situation.

I am truly grateful that I have a warm home, food, employment, my family and to be surrounded by wonderful friends. I do miss my family terribly ... and so wish I could visit. My parents are aging and I'm not there. I cannot cross the border. My inability to be there for both my parents is the underneath turbulence ... what the others do not see. Time is precious!

On another note, I started a new knitting project. The En Voyage shawl is still in the works ... I just wanted a little bit more of a challenge ... perhaps a good thing! lol

I purchase the kit from The Woolly Thistle, my favourite on line store. The pattern is called Foula Snood by Donna Smith.

It is from the book Shetland Woolweek - annual 2018. Lovely book/magazine ... Lots of wonderful projects!

I'm using Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool from the Shetland Islands. Lovely wool!

I'm truly enjoying these various knitting projects I've been working on. Particularly enjoying learning about the various sheep breeds and the type of fleece they produce. Loving it!

Thank you for stopping by! Enjoy the moment! Cheers!

Self awareness ... Self acceptance ...

How is everyone doing? I do hope that you are finding time to connect with loved ones.

As I mentioned in a prior post, I am using this time to get to know my self better ... becoming more and more comfortable with who I am, working with the areas that need some attention. Self awareness is not always easy ... actually, rarely is it. It's takes patience, gentleness and courage to face ourselves.

You might ask, "why am I bringing this up?"

Well ... A few days ago, I came face to face with my imperfections. Some of you might not know but, I'm a perfectionist! I know, it comes as a total surprise to you! lol ... Not in an obsessive, compulsive sense, but more in a need to continuously improve upon myself; striving to become a better version of myself.

I set high standards for myself and work towards achieving those standards. I don't always succeed, but I learn from them. In my mind, it's really about what you are willing to live with. Can I live with that mistake in that quilt? Sometimes, it's a yes and sometimes it's time to take out the seam ripper!

I started a new knitting project. I needed something mindless, yet beautiful, to keep me occupied. I purchased the kit from my favourite yarn shop in Montreal, (Espace Tricot) on line of course, as the borders are closed. The pattern is called En Voyage by Espace Tricot and can be found on Ravelry ... It's a free pattern.

Photo from Espace Tricot

I began knitting, checking my work as I knitted along, making sure I was doing my cables properly...

It wasn't until I was into my second skein of yarn (that would be over 275 yards) that I noticed a mistake .... in the beginning of my project! I'm missing a cable row, making the V shorter than the others.

Well, as I looked at that mistake I started to tear up .... not from my having noticed my mistake so far up into my work, but from a position of total acceptance ... completely surrendering to my imperfections! It was such a wonderful feeling ... so liberating!

After I finished savouring the moment, I thought about unravelling my work to correct my mistake ... which would not have a been a big deal for me .... but I chose to leave it as is, serving as a joyful reminder of this beautiful moment of total surrounding.

I am now five (5) skeins into the project ... and just loving how it's turning out.

I'm using Scout yarn by Kelbourne in Charcoal Heather. I love that yarn and am planning on knitting another shawl in Navy Heather for someone special! ;)

What have you been up to?

Thank you for stopping my little corner in cyber space! Stay safe and healthy, both emotionally and physically.

Cheers!

Knitting in peacefulness ....

This whole pandemic really has me reflecting on life, the universe and everything else. What is important/meaningful to me?

For one thing, I refuse to look at this as social isolation but more as a quiet, peaceful time. An opportunity to spend time with myself, away from social distractions. It is allowing me to think about my priorities, my life and the next paths I will choose ... What really matters to me? ... my family, friends and hobbies. The rest, is just small stuff!

Sure I miss our weekly get-together at our local coffee shop, what we gals refer to as "Coffee Shoping" ... but this peaceful time only makes me more grateful for the friendships I have cultivated. When the quarantine has been lifted, we will have a wonderful show & tell party! Now there's something to look forward!

In the meantime, I have been knitting. Seems quilting has been put on the side for now. It's easier for me to sit in the living room and pick up the needles than it is to sit at my machine. That's ok ...

I finished this winter hat for my little Pumpkin, who is not so little anymore. 

I used Cuzco Cashmere, by the Plymouth Yarn Company ... 40% Superbaby Alpaca, 40% Mulberry Silk & 20% Cashmere ... As you can imagine, it is super soft. This is a birds eye view! 

Pumpkin wanted a pompom ... so I bought this gorgeous vegan pompon at my favourite brick & mortar yarn shop in Montreal ... Espace Tricot ... Le Pompom

And now, voici le pompom with le hat!

Now my little Pumpkin is all set for the winter! She be stylin' lol

How have you been doing? 

Thank you for stopping my! Wishing you a wonderful day! Cheers!