One stitch at a time ....

Back in May 2024, I had started a gorgeous shawl pattern called, Skovbund by Fiber Tales. I had put it on hold for a bit because ... I could not get the stitch count to work out. Well, it turned out to be a knitter error! lol Off I went stitching away ....

I did almost complete it until the it came to the last 8 stitches. Yes, you read that right .... I stopped with 8 stitches on the needle. I could not wrapt my head around doing the Kitchener stitch on a shawl. Seriously?!

In June 2024, it was put on hold while I mulled this over. Truth be know, I did not want to frog it if it was a pattern mistake. I've lost count of how many times I frogged this project. Sigh!

Picked it back up early December and did the kitchener stitch, as per the pattern instructions, and voila ... it worked. I blocked it this January.

For the record, blocking a shawl is my least favourite ... weaving the wire on the edge takes sooooo much time! But ... blocking makes all the difference.

A close up of the stitch pattern.

The colour in the picture is not the true colour. It is more purple and not so much burgundy.

The yarn, which is a truer colour ... although much richer. 

Glad that I finished it. I love that I learned new stitches. A lesson learned here ... trust the pattern designer. 

Thanks for stopping by, Catch you all later! Cheers!

It's been a while ...

 It's not that I don't have anything to blog about .... it's just that life is requiring from me to make some adjustments. I've always been in introvert .... and quite enjoy being by myself ... and when life gets intense ... I just retreat and spend time evaluating and adjusting. I know this about myself, so I do make time to be with family and friends .... however some things fall in the neglect category, like this blog. 

I have not mentioned this, but I've been in school full-time for the past three (3) years. I'm presently working on another graduate degree ... a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. If full time grad school wasn't enough, until recently, I was also been working full time (40 hours a week). As you can imaging ... I've even busy. I am now a full time intern at the local hospital (37.5 hours a week), part time work (20 hours a week) and school work/class ... As I re-read the above ... I wonder how I am able to manage it all ... but not going to question it at the moment .... I'm doing it! lol Having said this ... I do enjoy blogging and plan on continuing. 

Now that's out of the way, I have not been quilting much ... as a matter of fact not at all. I do miss it but with my current schedule, picking up the knitting needles seems easier and more efficient than sitting at my sewing machine. 

On the knitting front, I have been attempting to finish some projects, one of which is Storm Sweater by Petite Knit, started in August 2023. 

It was knit with Australian yarn (Merino) sent to me by my dear Aussie friend Cheryl, back in 2015, when I was contemplating taking up knitting again. 

All that was needed to call it a "finish" was to knit the collar. Pumpkin has now claimed the sweater and it looks great on her. Pumpkin wore it when we attended the Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool festival last fall. She received so many compliments ...  I won't lie, it felt great .... I was beaming! lol

Well, that's it for now. I won't inundate you. Thanks for stopping by ... Cheers!

Annual CPKC Holiday Train 2024

 Such a yearly treat! Enjoy!

I've got closure ....

I have FINALLY finished a quilt I started in 2002. I originally blogged about it on February 11, 2007 as part of a UFO compilation project and again on April 2, 2018. 

The issue I had was, how do I finish this project? I had originally started to hand quilt it. That was before I knew better about batting. I used Warn & Natural, which is not the easiest to hand quilt, especially their earlier version. I knew that I did not want to continue with the hand quilting, however ... how do I complete it? I also did not want to do any ditch/ruler work. I just wanted it done and out of my brain space!

Then, on June 9, I decided to load it onto Penelope and go for it ... it's Panto time!

I kept the hand quilting and machine quilted over it.

I like how it turned out. I don't have a problem with having both hand and machine quilting. I'm, going to let the historians figure out what happened here! lol 

As you can imagine, having that quilt sit around for over two (2) decades, it needed a good washing. There were some stains from the cats sitting on it that I could not get out, I can live with that ... patina! 

I'm just glad that it's finally done! 

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

Trip down memory lane ...

As I mentioned, I wondered around Newfoundland with no plans. It was wonderful not to be tied down to anything. It is such a beautiful province. I found this spot, overlooking the north Atlantic.  

I could see myself spending time there ... reflecting. If you hang out long enough, you will see whales at a distance ... doing their whale thing. 

Such beauty all around.

I explored various fishing villages. I could not resist taking this picture. It so reminded me of the 1940's.

I just love it!

So much to explore ....

Miles and miles of beauty ... being on the coastal line, you're bound to run into some lighthouses.

Another one ...

And ... some gorgeous sun sets

I loved my trip ... however the only negative thing I have to say about this section of Newfoundland ... the food stinks. Everything is fried. 

There wasn't any fresh seafood to be had any where. I was hoping for a seafood feast vacation but that was not the case. 

I even went to a fancy hotel restaurant and ordered seafood fettuccine .... OMG ... was it out of a can? The shrimps were so small .... oh, can you spot the scallops? 

I've had better seafood fettuccine in Vermont! Towards the end of my trip, I did come across a restaurant that had an amazing lobster roll and I could get a salad, as an extra.

I was never so happy to see greens! 

Thanks for stopping by. Catch you all later!