Prizes for all.

I realize that not every one can manage $10.00. Heck, sometimes I'm lucky if I can manage $5.00 so rather than leave out those who are limited in funds but are still generous enough to donate, I am adding another prize to the everyone hat.

These (my other Flickr account) are all photos I took around here. I will draw three names and each of the three names will win the photo of their choice from the Flickr set. All three winners can choose the same photo if they all happen to like the same one best. They can choose the size up to 8 X 10 (any larger and some of the quality could be lost) and if they want it in black and white or full colour. I'll upload a copy of their choice in black and white to Flickr and they can compare them that way. It will shipped encased in cardboard sans frame since frames are so easily damaged in transit and are also a personal decor choice.

We are nearly halfway to my goal and I couldn't be happier.

Since I have no knitting so show (one inch on a Santa Cruz hat isn't exactly scintillating news), here is a daisy bud I found in front of the house.

Coincidence?

This morning another prize for the Relay draw arrived and it's a beauty. The talented Rabbitch sent me two skeins of some luscious 100% New Zealand wool handdyed by her. She has a shop full of good stuff here. Click on the picture to check out what it's called. I laughed when I saw that. How perfect! Thanks Rabbitch!

It's some good stuff and there is 91m/100yds of 3sts = 1" on 7mm (no US equivalent) needles. Enough for a cozy hat like the Flapper Girl's Twist or a cute bag.

My Relay total rose a little more over the weekend. We are plugging away at it! Our team is having a garage/bake sale this weekend so I hope to be able to add some to that total. I am baking like mad since we just cleared out a ton of stuff and don't have much to add to a garage sale.

I hope to be able to work on this and my ISE 4 scarf in between batches and while bread rises though. The hat is for my sister and her birthday is coming up really darn fast. The ISE 4 scarf must go in the mail before next weekend. Crunch time. Why, oh why must I love procrastinating so much?

Yes, nekkid rain dances are no longer needed. Apparently I did pretty darn good at burning God's retinas since we've had a good bit since then. You know you are in the wetlands when you have a pair of ducks living in your neighbour's ditch and they are hanging out in your yard.

Also all the prayers and wet vibes everyone sent must have had some powerful mojo since all the dandelions are refusing to open this morning.

There must be a good storm moving in if the toughest flower on the planet is saying "Oh hayell, no!"

After party.

Yesterday afternoon the clouds scribbled off some invitations.

It seems they had decided to throw a BBQ. The tunes got pretty loud and

the cops were called, but they didn't want to try to quiet that party down. Too many rowdys.

This morning, there is a bit of spillage to deal with.

I'll be here sitting on the couch knitting. Pretending I don't see it all and maybe I won't have to clean it up. Because, you know ignoring a mess always makes it go away.

Prize patrol sort of.

I finished the hat. The picture shows nothing but a two colour hat that fits. So you'll have to imagine the Wrapped Rib Cable from Barbara Walker's Second Treasury as the black brim then the white is the same spiral decrease as in the Flapper Girl's Twist. My friend likes it as I knew she would. She had admired the Flapper so I made her one of her own but personalized it with a different cable pattern.


Suzanne has very kindly offered up some prizes for my Relay for Life (June 8th, time is running short) draw and if you head over here, you can have a look at them. The yarns look beautiful and her pattern is gorgeous.

We walked a bit this weekend too. Tippy-toed between the raindrops as it were. I figured walking wouldn't hurt me a bit and it might help with the sleeping and the feeling crappy. Although if the dog and child would sleep through the night, that might help with the sleeping and feeling crappy too.

Blueberries-in-waiting.

Strawberries-in-waiting.

Shake a leg.

The hat brim from yesterday had to get ripped. I ran out of yarn before it got big enough to go all the way around my head. So I am starting over and hoping that there will be enough black to mix into the white for a different version of the Flapper Girl's Twist (pattern link in my sidebar). Thing is, it needs to be done by 6:30pm tonight. Good thing it's raining so the children can't pester me into pushing them on the swings until my arms fall off.

I ordered this yarn from Threads in Time in Thunder Bay, Ontario less than two weeks ago. She didn't have it in stock, but she ordered it right away from her supplier in Montreal, Quebec. It arrived here yesterday. That my friends, is service. Sometimes I get so frustrated with the lack of understanding of what good service is up here. (How about stop talking to the person next to me until you are sure I am finished giving you my order, you might not mess it up that way.) Then I find it and it makes me both happy to have found service like I wish all businesses would strive to provide and sad that more businesses just don't bother.


By the way, if you are in the area or planning a visit, Master Knitter, Margaret Duncan will be teaching beginner and lace knitting classes Wednesday evenings from 7:00pm to 9:30pm and giving one day workshops Saturdays 10:00am - 4:00pm. She also does drop in consultations on Tuesdays from 1:00pm - 4:00pm. I think I will be planning another trip to Thunder Bay at the same time as the Mr. goes to rewrite his exam in July or August.

Meme.

This is all the knitting I have to show. Same hat pattern, different cable on the brim. I had a finished Santa Cruz (I used a worsted weight and finished the last repeat instead of stopping at row 8 so it would be longer), but it was a bit on the tight side so it got ripped. Good thing I tried it on before I cut the yarn.


I got tagged a few times for the 7 Random Facts about me so today, it will be my space filler. They aren't very random though.

7 Random Facts About Me

1. I like to think I could attend a high society black tie affair and not stand out like a sore thumb.

2. If I went to a high society black tie affair I would stand out like a giant sore thumb.

3. I have a very loud laugh.

4. I love Mythbusters. It is my favourite, try not to miss it t.v. show.

5. I would work for Mythbusters. If I could attend a proper school, that is the kind of degree I would go for.

6. I don't like medical shows. None of them. They are just gussied up night time soap operas.

7. I have never watched Survivor or Lost. No interest.

Drive with me Wednesday.

Due to clouds like this randomly dropping rain as fast as they could before running off and leaving everything soaked through, I did not walk today or yesterday. Yay for rain! The fire ban has been lifted and I am unpacking our bags.

My daffodils are loving the rain.

At the post, I noticed this pincherry tree. That is the best thing about spring. Trees covered in blossoms along the roads and around the lakes.


New Relay for Life Prize!

I managed to find some S.R. Kertzer Truffle 80% virgin wool/20% cashmere (60m/66yds in each ball) for a very decent price. So good in fact, that I am offering these up as prizes to every one who donates no matter the amount. There will be two winners. The first name drawn gets their choice of either the grey or the pink (Oops, the next name gets the two that are left). The grey is more of a smoke colour then it appears and the pink is a soft pale pink.

There is enough here to make a pair of wristers (Fetching comes to mind) or a lace hat. You could even get a thin, lace, jabot style scarf. It is beautiful and so very soft. It has enough wool in it to show off cables really well and enough cashmere to gently hug your hands/neck/head.

The total is still going up and I am loving it. The Relay is in two weeks (June 8th) and our garage sale is next weekend so I am starting on all the baking and mixing for the sale. Wish me luck!

A pattern and some babies.

My newest pattern.

Flapper Girl's Twist.

Materials:
1 skein of bulky yarn at least 146m/160yds
8mm (US 11) straight knitting needles.

Gauge:
3sts and 4 rows = 1"

Techniques:
CB4F = Slip two stitches to cable needle, hold to front, K2 from working needle, knit 2 from cable needle.
Pick up stitches in garter row = pick up first loop in bump row, pick up long loop in plain row. (If that doesn't make any sense, say so in the comments and I will take pictures of what I mean tomorrow.)

Size:
Women's medium. If you wish to make it larger, add one more repeat before the final repeat. Smaller, one less. Although this is a fairly tight fitting hat so make sure to check by holding it around your head before you bind off. You should have to pull it very slightly to close it, but it shouldn't feel tight. You will have to adjust your pick up number and your decreases accordingly. One extra stitch for each row increased or one less for each row not done. I used a fairly standard spiral crown decrease.



Cast on 14sts.

Row 1: K2, P10, K2
Row 2: K5, CB4F, K5
Row 3: K2, P10, K2
Row 4: Knit
Row 5: K2, P10, K2

Repeat Rows 2-5 19 more times. 20 repeats altogether. For the 21st repeat, only do Rows 2 and 3. Do not slip the first stitch of every row.

Cast off.

Weave in ends before continuing.

Pick up 80 stitches along one long side. If you wish to avoid the worst holes along the pick up row, twist the loops as you pick them up. To have your twists going the same way mine do, start picking up from the cast on and work to the cast off. Start from cast off and work to cast on to have them going the other way.

Join yarn by purling first row.

Begin crown decreases.

Row 1: *K8, K2 tog* repeat *-* to end.
Row 2 and all even rows: Purl
Row 3: K8, *K7, K2tog* repeat *-* to last 8 sts, K8.
Row 5: K2tog, *K6, K2tog* repeat *-* to last 7 sts, K7.

Continue in this manner starting with a K2tog and decreasing the number of K sts by one in the repeat then knitting the last stitches. When you have finished the K2tog, *K2, K2tog* row and the purl row after;

K2tog to last 3, K3tog.

Break yarn leaving a tail long enough to sew hat seams. Pull out needle and thread yarn through loops starting with stitch furthest from yarn. Draw closed and drop needle through the centre to the inside of the hat. Turn hat inside out, pull top tightly closed and begin to sew seam. Make sure to sew through both loops of the cast on/cast off edges when you come to the brim.

Weave in ends and block.


The hat really came in handy when Girly and I and a few friends went to Egli's Sheep Farm in the next town. The girls had a ball, the moms shivered and did our best not to rush them while they were looking at the animals in the outside pens. We all had a good time though and I got pictures like mad. Sadly the children were so excited and the lighting was so bad both inside and out, that most of my pictures featuring children didn't come out. Good thing there were so many babies to take pictures of and I am a snap happy sort.

Baby sheep snuggling up with their Mommas for some heat.

Baby Bison. He was as interested in the girls as they were in him. He came right up to the fence and tried to nose them. They thought that was hilarious.

My favourite, a baby donkey. Awww!! He's a frisky little guy too. Everytime he knew we were watching him, he would kick up his heels and bounce off.

Another frisky little one. He really liked getting his horn stubs scratched too.

Girly's favourite. A couple of Bantams. The rooster crowed the whole time we were in the barn which made Girly laugh. Poor bunny was sitting there wishing that psycho would just shut up already!! Sunday and Monday I was awakened to the sound of a little girl out on the couch crowing at the top of her lungs.

This peacock wowed us all though. So beautiful. Although they don't sound as beautiful. Holy loud, Batman! He is gorgeous though.

Quickie.

Just a note today. It's a long weekend here in Canada. Victoria Day to be precise. For most of the guys around here and many tourists, Opening weekend is it's other name. It's when fishing season reopens. The Mr. is coming home today from his long, cold and wet weekend of camping and fishing on a lake a good boat ride from here. Of course it's also the first long weekend of the warm-ish weather so it is also known as May two-four weekend. When many people camp and drink a two-four of beer. Me, I'm not a camping kind of girl. I will because it's fun for kids and the Mr. like to. I much prefer my creature comforts though. Like a real bed to sleep in and a dishwasher. If I had a giant RV with all that in it, I would camp all the time though.

So, since I have a lot to do today, I am just going to leave you with a small hint of what Girly and I did on Saturday.


I also have a new pattern to share. I love it, especially on Saturday when it was really freaking cold.

Umm, hello!

The sky is a bit brighter than it seems here, but the clouds are more defined in this picture. A cold wind doth blow and we shall have ...

... snow!!!! There were bad words running through my mind this morning at the crack hell 5:00am when the dog wanted out to do his thing. Then I saw the snow.

Very pretty, but go away and stay away this time!


My absolutely favourite quote from Red Green, cracks me up every time: [In a dull tired voice] "I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess."

Bangle Bag.

It is finished, sort of. I need to figure out where I hid my jar of buttons and if I can't find what I want to use, get some. I am probably going to line it too since it will more than likely stretch out under the weight of all the stuff we like to cram into our bags.

The inside pocket. Because sometimes you want to go out, but you need to bring some stuff you don't want anyone to see. I have to get a couple of buttons to keep the pocket closed. The bag is large enough to put in a set of keys (if you are the Designated Driver), a bus/subway pass, some ID and that bit of your face you can't bear to be without. If you are one of those people under the control of the nicotine, it will also hold a packet of smokes and your lighter.

I added the small straps along with the bangles so you can dig in your purse without having to take off one of the bangles. Not as aesthetically pleasing as it could be, but handy. In the words of Red Green, "If the women don't find you handsome, you might as well be handy."

Knitting, but just barely.

The hat brim is done and I am starting to pick up the stitches to knit the crown. I am Speedy Gonzales, no?

The bracelet bag is getting there. I am working on the straps now.


Have you noticed that the internet is a little empty lately? Not as many comments or visitors? There is something new out there. It's addictive, it's fabulous, it's not quite ready to open to the public, but some of us have been helping work out the bugs by stumbling around and tripping over our compulsive punctuation. Ok, that might just be me, but we are testing it out. Casey and Jess have come up with the idea of the year. You can go and put your name on the waiting list to join, but you must be very patient. Casey and Jess both work full-time jobs and although they do have some moderators helping out, it will still take a while. There are a lot of people on the waiting list already. So go, check it out, but be patient it really rocks and it will be well worth the wait. Ravelry!

The Relay fund climbed a little more!

Not quite focused.

It seems that having a 36lb child coming in your room at 4:00am and climbing up on the bed to sleep on your chest is not a great way to get rested. Also not good for the ability to focus on stuff like knitting or picture taking.

The hat brim grew a little. It needs to go faster since it has to reach Toronto by May 25th. Good thing is a big yarn knit on 8mm (US 11) needles. Now, to find a set of 8mm's in DPN's to make the rest of it.


The bracelet bag grew a little. No focus. This picture really shows off the colours. It's amazing how good it is really.


Pincherry blossoms. Pretty, smell nice and someday there will be tart little berries with more seed than flesh. Tart isn't quite the right description for them though. Strong enough to pucker you up for an ugly sailor, would be more like.


My daffodils are blooming and making a pretty spot of colour in the front yard. I am amazed with my focusing abilities.



The Relay total is still climbing! Check out the new total! The Mr. says if I do manage to raise $2000.00, he'll "publicly" apologize with a photo on this blog. He's hoping I do reach my goal, but still not quite believing it's possible although he was impressed by how much we've raised so far. I have the perfect pose in mind for him.

There are more prizes in the works. Some really good ones. I am awed by the generousity shown by all of you.

Mo Rain.

Because I really am cool and down with that. Word.

The rain is still coming and things have suddenly turned green with joy. If this keeps up all day, I can unpack my bags for now. They may even lift the fire ban in time for the long weekend. This Monday is Victoria Day. It's the day we use to celebrate the birthday of the Queen of England. Although we are not an English colony anymore, we still have strong ties to England and her monarchy.

I managed to get a bit of knitting in while staring out the window at the rain. The little bracelet bag got it's inner pocket and now I am working my way up the body.

The green square got finished. Only, the other night when I started it, it was 7" wide. Yesterday when I picked it up to start on it and remeasured, it was 8". How in the crap that happened, I will never know. I'm putting it under swatches lie rather than I can't read a measuring tape while tired.

Sorry about the blurriness of the photos. I didn't have my glasses on when I took them.

Nekkid rain dances always work. Burns God's retinas and makes his eyes water don't you know. Good thing I did it in the dark or the entire neighbourhood would be up for sale this morning. Tout Suite!

Edited to Add: Check out the new Relay total in my sidebar! Awesome! Thanks to a shout out from Cynthia and Rabbitch, I got a good bit of support. If you are unable to donate yourself, a quick note on your blog goes a long way to helping out. Thanks everyone!

It's Raining!!!

Yeehaw!! That there is rain, it is! The good kind too. Heavy enough to get everything good and wet, but not so heavy it just bounces and runs off. Thank you to all who sent rain thoughts and prayers our way!

Startitist.

I finished another Ballband (love this one) and apparently I am taking a break from the dishcloths for a week or two. Some things appeared on my needles when I wasn't looking and they all have a charity deadline.

The white is a hat for the Yarn Harlot's Toronto party. The green is a square for Firefly's Gracious Parcels Project. The red is to be a felted purse and the blue is to be a small bracelet bag along the lines of Crazy Aunt Purl's only different. Both purses are for the Relay auction held during the start of the Relay. Although our team is working on a table so we can sell our own stuff. That way we can split up the earnings among all the team members just in case some people don't make their $100.00 suggested minimum pledges. My donations are going up too! Look in the sidebar! Thank you all! I am reduced to excessive exclamation points by your generosity!!! We have a garage sale planned for June 2nd. If you happen to be in the area, I'll have some baking and some soups up for sale.


How to freak out some nice Minnesota tourists. Come out of the vet's office carrying a bottle of medication. Start taking closeups of the tree by the parking lot. Smile, say "Hi, how's it going." like you are all normal and stuff. Get in your car, fire it up and have Johnny Lang belting out "Lie to Me" while you drive off.

Mother Nature seems to have startitis too. She is growing so many things all at once. My Mother's front garden.

One of my pine trees.

My Tamarak.

The grass. Although the Mr. and Girly got started on cutting that yesterday. Every girl needs to have a chance to drive a lawn tractor. She did pretty good too.


If you have a bit of time, say a prayer for Savant Lake would you? It's a small community northeast of us. They had a train derail last week and the resulting fire is still really bad. The boys who work in the bush and were laid off may be called back to help fight it and apparently one of the tourist camps lost a cabin on Sunday. They are making preparations to evacuate the area if the fire doesn't get under control. Savant Lake is not a rich community. We all need rain. It looked like it might pour on Sunday, but nothing happened and we are as dry as ever was.