My family and friends will tell you that I am not a good photographer. I don’t look at composition. I don’t wait for the perfect pose. Thankfully, smartphone cameras do most of the work and usually I end up with some snapshots conveying what I had in mind.

Today, I am going to share a snapshot with words. Where am I at? What am I doing? What have I produced in the last three months.

If you want some context to my snapshot, I am writing this while waiting for the Artemis 2 to re-enter into earth’s atmosphere and make a splashdown. Oh, and I bought some Artemis yarn at Hand Knit Yarn Studio today without even thinking about the big event. How fitting!

First of all, there are a couple of things I have only touched on in my previous posts.

1. I keep working on newborn, orange hats to send to Sioux Lookout. They are a great project for waiting rooms, meetings and car knitting (as long as I am not driving). I have done 16 since the beginning of January and there are a few more made by a friend.

2. The green and black brioche sweater has been repaired. The new neck brings the over-sized sweater perfectly together. It was a challenge to unpick the baggy (sort of) turtleneck. Once I had all the stitches back on a circular needle, a great YouTube video helped me with the decreases. Then it was a breeze to complete the round neck and weave in any loose ends.

3. The small gloves, I have been working on are also finished. I am not happy with a couple of the increases, so I am going to start over and make a second pair. Thankfully, I have enough yarn left.

4. The Alyanna (name of the pattern) dress has been completed and gifted. One of my friends gave me the idea and necessary hardware to make a pair of matching hairclips. How adorable!

Secondly, here is what I am working on right now.

1. Back in my twenties and struggling with some extra weight, I came across a book titled: the F-Plan Diet. Since then, I have kept fibre a big part of my eating. Altogether, fibre is a huge part of my life. I eat Ancient Grain bread and right now I knit with Ancient Arts yarn. I started working with the yarn I purchased at KnitCity, making a fringed collar. After four different swatches, I settled on a simple garter stitch holding the Alpaca Suri and 3 strands of Ancient Art’s Kid Silk Mohair together. The yarn is definitely the star of this show.

2. I needed a project for my upcoming trip. A 200g cake of self-striping cotton and a pattern to crochet a top seemed to be just the right thing. The pros are that it is a easy project to pack and will feel okay to work with even if the weather should be warm (I hope so!). The cons are that my left hand becomes sore if I crochet to much, and the yarn wants to split in a split second if I take my eyes of the work.

3. That means, I needed to pack another project. I picked up some plain blue sock yarn to pair at the YarnBar Café (what a lovely store!). It will make a nice pair of socks.

Thirdly, I want to talk about my writing.

1. My Squishy Rib Hat pattern is with a technical editor. I should receive some feedback in the next couple of weeks.

2. Three people are testing my eyeglass case pattern. Let’s see how that goes. If there is anyone else who would like to test knit this small project, please let me know.

3. I am working on a pattern for gloves in adult sizes small, medium and large (mentioned in my knitting section). I finished knitting the gloves in size small and realized, I did not like a couple of the increases. That meant I had to go back to my graph paper and work the math again. I think, it should now work out better. I am almost done writing the pattern. When I get back from my trip, I am going to use the pattern to reknit the gloves. Not the other way around. Let’s see how that turns out.

4. My cozy mystery has been mostly left in the box for the last couple of years. I took it out (virtually) in February and realized that I need to make a few changes to the draft. My plan is to start setting time aside regularly to work on it. In the meantime, I am brainstorming ideas for the second book, but those ideas are still mostly in my head. I guess, if I want to get anywhere, I have to put in time and effort.

The splashdown was successful. I hope that I will be able to report the same for, at least, some of my ventures.

It’s the time of year, when my social media feeds show photos of lambs or baby alpacas. Spending much time in the fibre world brings you in touch with some of the animals raised to give their wool/fur/hair to be made into beautiful skeins of yarn. There are sheep, such as Merino and blue Leicester, alpacas, camels and qiviut. Mohair comes from Angora goats, and Angora from Angora rabbits (talk about confusing!) Of course, there are also other fibres not reliant on animals, such as linen, bamboo and cotton. Then there are the manmade fibes like acrylic, rayon and nylon, sometimes spurned by the fibre snobs, but needed in combination to add other qualities to a natural yarn. Think of sock yarn with it’s 10 to 20% of Nylon content. That allows us to machine wash our socks and gives them the strength to last for many seasons without a hole appearing in the heel or toe.

There are fibre artists who own their own farm, a sure access to fibre, albeit with an immense and (hopefully) satisfying amount of work. Even though I love to see some lambs, kid goats and baby alpacas, I can’t see myself doing the work of caring for animals in a stable and out to graze. And to get from animal to yarn, there is shearing, washing, carding, dying, spinning and much more.

No, I do not have a farm, but I do have a STABLE. Which, according to the knitting acronyms, stands for Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy. Nearing the age of 70 and trying to organize my stash, I know that my stash likely exceeds my life expectancy. What can I knit in the next 10 or 20 years? What can I knit if my fingers will no longer co-operate? What can I knit, if my brain won’t follow a pattern? I definitely have enough yarn in my stash to given me years of knitting pleasure. Why is it then, that I want and need a bigger STABLE?

This month, I definitely added to my STABLE. First of all, I used a gift certificate to buy some beautiful fingering yarn to make gloves. The yarn had to be right, because I am writing the pattern and nothing in my stash was suitable.

Next, a post on my local community Facebook group, drew my attention. Someone had inherited a huge stash of yarn and was selling it at reduced prices. Who does not love a bargain? The inherited stash was incredible, so much yarn, and all of it new, most of it still in bags and packages, most of it enough to knit both smaller items and complete garments. I could not resist. I came home with a smoky blue alpaca in sweater quantity, and six balls of a bight pink bamboo, perfect for a young child’s summer dress.

Lastly, the highlight of March was a trip to Knit City Toronto with a friend. Oh, the yarn, the colours, the variations, the textures, the softness! It was a beautiful experience of sight and touch. During a welcome break on a bench, we also watched and admired all the knitted (or crochet) people, because almost everyone wandering the stalls in the Enercare Centre, was wearing some handmade items. All of that sparked ideas for years to come. Thankfully, I only added a small bouquet of four gorgeous skeins to my stash and many ideas for using some of the yarn from my STABLE.

What about:

From Messy to Meaningful

From Unintentional to Useful

From ….

Let’s just stick with the current heading.

Over the last two weeks, I have not done a lot of knitting. Most of my knitting has been working on a couple of sweaters that were in need of repairs. Neither is finished. Hopefully, there will be updates and finished products by the end of March.

On the other hand, I am making progress on my pattern writing.

1. I changed the name of the Manly Hat to the Squishy Rib Hat. The draft pattern has gone to a technical editor. And I am anxiously waiting for the coming critique.

2. My neighbour is currently test-knitting the Softest Eyeglass Case. Maybe I should find a couple more test knitters. Once I have their feedback, it will also go to a technical editor.

3. I have had disappointing news about the Warm Doodles Hot Water Bottle Cover. The colour work uses motifs from the Pacific Knit Co. I contacted them to let them know that I would like to put a link to their company (and NOT the charts) into the pattern. I was thinking that it would encourage knitters to buy a Doodle Knitting Card Deck. They did not like that idea. So, that is a bust for a published pattern. If any of my friends would like the pattern, I’d be happy to share it informally.

4. My son-in-law is helping me with my website. I’m excited about that and a little anxious. As long as he is NOT painting for me. Any boyfriends or partners that did some painting for me in the past are now an ex. A bad track record.

5. Next, I have tons of measurements on a spreadsheet and completed the math for my Tap the App Gloves. I had taken a bunch of measurements when I designed them last September. I thought, I had made great notes. Then I looked at the notes and noticed that some of the most important things were missing. What the heck? What size of needles did I use?

Now, I am turning chaotic notes into a constructive spreadsheet. Why couldn’t I do that in the first place? Because my brain doesn’t work that way. We are all different in many different ways, from eye colour to body shape to the way our brain works. What’s normal anyway? Brown eye colour may be dominant, but is it abnormal to have green or hazel eyes? Is ADHD or ASD abnormal or part of neurodivergence? It’s all good, as long as we all know how to work with our own gifts, talents and limitations.

The week wasn’t all unproductive. My granddaughter dropped two bags of items for mending. That’s part of my skill set. I sewed by hand. I pulled out the sewing machine and fixed some things. And while the machine was out, I made the curtains for my craft room. They are a lovely sage green and look great with the green and white cubbie bins.

I must say, despite the absence of snowdrops and crocuses, I am feeling a bit of excitement myself. The sun in brighter, the days are longer, and yesterday I sat in my new craft room with the sun on my back, a project in my hands, and a neighbour helping me with the dreaded repairs of the brioche sweater. I’ll share how that is going in a later post.

In the meantime, the blue sweater in Cotlin is finished. I blocked it on the last day of the Olympics. Oh, the yarn became so soft, a pleasure to feel. The yarn colour’s name is Indigo Bunting, another bird.

I also finished a pair of socks using mini skeins from Leo and Roxy. The colour is autumn hike. I had to do the cuffs in a different yarn and found 11.5 grams of a dark brown sock yarn. The resulting 5.75 grams finished each sock perfectly. It’s a long time to wait for an autumn hike, but I am anticipating a spring hike fairly soon.

The sock project made me pull out all my sock yarn. Now it is nicely organized in one of my new green fabric drawers. All started skeins have been weighed and tagged using a small note square, clipped to the yarn with a hair clip. That also keeps the end from unravelling. This is a new trick I learned from another knitter online.

All this is putting a spring in my step (at least metaphorically), and a chirp in my heart, learning new things, tackling problems with another knitter, organizing my green fabric bins, and hearing the early birds of spring. What are the signs of spring for you?

In January, I finished a book titled Four Red Sweaters, by Lucy Adlington, a British novelist and clothes historian. The author pieces together the stories behind four red sweaters, now displayed in the Holocaust Museum, the stories of four girls whose fate was irrevocably altered by the Holocaust.

Where did my family fit in?

The book, the recently celebrated Holocaust Remembrance Day, my own thoughts, conversations with my sister and cousins, and the world around us, all caused me to carefully examine myself. As you know, I am German by birth (and Canadian by choice). I was born in Germany into a regular German family. I can trace my ancestry back for generations, but I know nothing of what my own parents thought and felt during the Nazi years and World War II. They both ‘served their country’, my mother with Flak duty and my father in the army. How did they feel? Did they do it willingly or reluctantly? Did they see the atrocities being perpetrated and closed their eyes anyway? Did they have acquaintances, neighbours, friends (Jewish, or otherwise targeted) who suddenly disappeared? Did they accept the politics and propaganda fully, or did they accept it initially and then changed their minds as the realization of the reality dawned?

Where do I fit in?

Now, there is the even more important question. What about me? How would I react in a similar situation. Do I have the guts to stand up? Maybe not. I’m not a confrontational person. Do I have the guts to resist? I think, I do. At least, I hope I do.

Protest Through Knitting

A couple of years ago, my sister gave me a book called The Power of Knitting: Stitching Together Our Lives in a Fractured World. The Author, Loretta Napoleoni, explores the craft of knitting through history. She shows knitting can provide social cohesion, mental well-being, as well as powerful ways to protest and resist. Throughout history, knitters have used their craft to unite and show solidarity through a knitted item, such as the Pussyhat, a sign of solidarity during the “Me Too” Movement nine years ago. Today, it is the Melt the ICE Hat, a red knitted hat first worn during the Norwegian resistance in 1940, now knitted and worn to protest the work of ICE.

I have knitted two red hats in the last two weeks, one for myself and one for a neighbour. When I wear it outside (and it’s definitely cold enough right now), many people won’t know the story behind the hat, but those who do, will recognize it and know what it means.

Knitting in Code

And today, I saw that a new novel has been published, The Resistance Knitting Club by Jenny O’Brien. It is based on a true story of women using knitting patterns (i.e., Guernsey patterns with their knit and purl stitches) to send coded messages during World War II.

A New Big Project

On a lighter note, I finally started a sweater. I’m knitting with a cotton and linen blend for a friend. It will be a great sweater for a spring day or a cool summer evening. For sure, it will be ready by the time our thermometer reaches some double-digit positive numbers. With the Olympics running, I am watching TV a bit more than usual and the sweater is growing accordingly.

Keep Calm and Knit On

I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. I just take it one day at a time, and one stitch as a time. I can knit and I can resist.

It is almost the end of January, and I have not yet started a big project. There is no sweater on my needles, not even a summer Tee. But, I have been swatching, measuring and calculating. Next week, I should be ready to start my first bigger project for 2026. At the same time, I have been incredibly productive. There have been a plethora of little useful items, socks, hats, eyeglass cases, scrubby soap bags and a hot water bottle cover.

The hot water bottle cover was not even on my horizon when I made my project list for 2026. Two weeks ago, my daughter asked for one. Strange coincidence, I had seen my cousin work on a hot water bottle cover back in Germany. She had a paper outline of the actual hot water bottle, pretty much a standard household item with fairly standard measurements. Any patterns for covers I had seen, always had an opening at the bottom or the back. My cousin was going to slip the hot water bottle into the cover through the neck of the cover. Ingenious!

When my daughter asked for the cover, I had three great ideas.

1. Design the pattern, so that the hot water bottle can be taken in and out of the cover via the neck.

2. Use my new Doodle Knitting Card Deck to make it a fun design.

3. Write the pattern so that other knitters can also make the same hot water bottle cover.

My daughter was completely in agreement. I swatched and measured. She chose the doodles and the colours. All set.

As usual, knitting the cover was fun. I love colour work and have a hard time putting it down. It is so exciting to see the design evolve. Just one more round …

Finishing was a little harder. I am an experienced knitter and usually have multiple techniques that I can use to finish an item. I may even change and adjust things on the fly. This time, I had an added complication. Writing the design as a pattern meant everything I did, had to be replicable by another knitter, possibly someone with less experience than me. It took a while, and two attempts to complete the shoulder and neck of the cover.

In my job as a health promotion consultant, I developed resources for professionals working in maternal and child health settings and resources for parents and caregivers. I learned a lot about how to present information, how to edit and allow someone to edit my work. I learned about style sheets, consistency, abbreviations, and how to use illustrations to make a piece of writing come to life in a meaningful way. I guess, all of that applies to writing knitting pattern, too.

With the hot water bottle cover completed, the first draft of the pattern is also written with clarity and consistency. What are the next steps? Photography, schematics, test knitting, by someone other than myself, and allowing my precious work to be critically examined by a technical editor. Will my pattern pass the litmus test? And what is the litmus test? A pass by a technical editor or, maybe, someone else using that pattern and enjoys making a little useful item, a hot water bottle cover.

Stay tuned!

What then causes transitions in our lives? I think, usually there are outside forces colliding or colluding with our inner forces. There is a theory that transitions happen in most people’s lives every seven years. Looking back, we can assign certain spans of time to particular transformations and events. Coming of age, adulthood, parenthood, a new career are some obvious examples.

Transitions Over Nine Decades

A few months before my mother’s 90^th birthday in 2011, I decided to make her something meaningful. I designed nine intarsia squares to form an Afghan blanket. Each square represents a decade of my mother’s life. The surrounding edge includes her name, her maiden name, her date of birth and her age on receiving the gift.

Transitions to Come

For me, I think, this year is bringing interesting transitions. The outer force is my official (second) retirement. The inner force? Who knows? Following my desire to focus on knitting and writing? Going by the seven-year theory and my thoughts about decades, this should be a spectacular transition because it falls on a decade and a 7-year cycle. LOL. That’s not going to happen again, unless I live to 140 (Yikes!).

How is the transition going so far? It’s too early to tell. I’m not working, that’s the big change. I still procrastinate when it comes to writing. On the other hand, I completed five small craft projects in the first five days of January, an orange hat, a pair of socks, a glasses case, and two macrame key chains. It will be interesting when I look back in a few months or even at the end of the year. Will I see clearly how my life has changed? And will I have changed as well?

Transition Plans

One of my plans for the coming year is to write a couple of knitting patterns for things I have knitted without an actual pattern. For Christmas, I received Kate Atherly’s book: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Knitting Patterns. That should help a lot. Let’s see if I manage to write a knitting pattern that others can follow. Stay tuned

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In the meantime, I accidentally designed a glasses case. I was making a swatch with a DK Superwash yarn and Mohair held together. It turned out too dense for what I had intended. Folding the little square in half and sewing up two sides, it made the softest case to keep my eyeglasses safely tucked away inside or outside my purse. Maybe that will become a written pattern as well.

This year, the Christmas decorations are still in my basement storage locker. But for me, it’s been a holiday season to remember. Mostly, because I took a long overdue trip to visit my friend L from nursing college (we started together in January of 1978 and have been friends ever since) in Scotland and my family in Germany. It was a vacation (the UK word would be ‘holiday’) filled with people, catching up, a little bit of sightseeing and a lot of knitting.

Trip Knitting

Knitting, of course, started on my flight. I worked on a Manly Hat for my BIL. I flew with Icelandair and had a brief stopover in Iceland. When I was boarding the flight for Glasgow at the Keflavik airport, half of the people in the lineup were wearing handknitted sweaters and on the plane, many were also knitting. I think knitting is Iceland’s national sport. The woman beside me worked on a pair of mittens with an intricate pattern.

Yorkshire, England

Knitting continued in Scotland as I started my Sophie Scarf with the yarn I brought back from New Orleans. On our sightseeing trip to Yorkshire in north-east England, I knitted while my friend drove the car so smoothly on twisting country lanes and busy motorways, and all on the left side of the road. With things to see in York, the Minster, the old town walls, the castle museum, the Jorvik Viking Centre, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens, there was no time to visit the West Yorkshire Spinners a couple of hours southwest of York. Without even looking for yarn, we stumbled into a lovely little store called the Button Shop. L bought broad ribbons for her Christmas cakes. I explored the yarn section, found and bought two skeins of West Yorkshire Spinner’s Signature sock yarn. What a find!

Sisters like Twins

A few days later, I arrived in Germany. My sister was waiting for me at the airport. On seeing me, she stuffed her knitting into a self-designed, drawstring backpack, one of her projects to use up leftover yarn. Even though, my sister and I have lived apart for fully 50 years, and are 4 years apart in age, we are like peas in a pod. It turns out that we both like to start our day with a few rows of knitting. Together we prepared for our visits with family members in other parts of Germany. For each family we put together a little package of knitted items, a dishcloth, a dish sponge and a scrubby soap bag.

Yarn Store

My cousin, as it turns out, lives behind a yarn store. My sister and I were slightly envious, but it’s probably better that we do not have such easy access to yarn. I came away with a new ball of yarn. When my cousin asked me a week later, what I was planning to make with the lovely green yarn, I could show her the finished Sophie Scarf.

In the meantime, my own Sophie Scarf was completed, and there were 20 grams of yarn left from the 100-gram hank. I decided that I might have just enough for a headband to keep my ears warm in the Canadian winter. And so, I did. Good anticipation. Apparently, there was a snowstorm at home, while we were experiencing drizzle, clouds and milder temperatures.

Thank Goodness for Leftover Sock Yarn

With various family members from near and far visiting before, during and after my sister’s birthday, I had a lot of time to start a pair of socks, the last thing I had packed into my project bag. When the socks were done but the vacation was not, my sister offered me leftover yarn from her own sock-yarn basket. The second pair was finished in no time, and a third pair had to get started. At the same time, I gathered great ideas from all the creative people I met, handsewn curtains, knitted necklaces, drawstring bags, refinished furniture, crochet hot water bottle covers, and pretty crochet flowers to decorate any project. Let’s see what makes it into my project list for 2026.

Intergenerational Memories

Of course, it wasn’t all about knitting. We also walked down some interesting memory lanes, discussed difficult topics, and vowed to share more, with each other and the younger generations. In my family, we (my sister, my cousins) are now the guardians of the knowledge, the memories, and experiences from previous generations. How can we preserve that and pass it along?

Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts. I would love to hear how you handle intergenerational knowledge transfer in your family.

Last week, I had some delightful visits with old friends. Breakfast with my knitting group started the week on a high note.

On Thursday morning, a dear friend of over 30 years and I met for coffee at one of our favourite coffee shops. We both brought our knitting out and knitted while we enjoyed our coffee, cappuccino, and treats of pumpkin loaf and ginger cookies. A stroll along the store-lined street with some window shopping and some real shopping completed our lovely visit.

Late-Night Adventures

Later that day, another friend called me to say that there was a chance for Northern Light activity. We are both crazy about the northern lights and saw them together in Iceland a few years ago. Somehow, we missed the nights last year when even Hamilton had clearly visible northern lights. Off we went at 11 pm in search of a dark roadside spot with good views of the northern skies. We settled on a spot outside the city that felt quite dark to us. While we waited, I took some pictures of the sky. We know the camera picks up the northern lights much better than our naked eyes. So, I wanted to see what photos of the regular night sky would reveal. Indeed, I was quite surprised when I viewed the photo. The city lights were lighting up the sky much more than our eyes thought possible. After waiting until 12.15, we decided that we should scout out a darker spot during a day time drive and then know where to go on a night with a good aurora forecast. Should I bring my knitting or concentrate on the sky when we settle in for a long time of waiting and watching?

Charcuterie Lunch

The third friend encounter happened on Saturday, when I met with four friends. We have been friends since we worked together more than six years ago. We had not seen each other for quite some time and we had much to share, catch up on and discuss. Everyone had contributed to the lovely lunch. A huge charcuterie board graced the dining room table with more delicious and delectable goodies around the outside, and dessert waiting in the kitchen. I had brought my knitting, but I didn’t bring it out. I guess, I was too busy nibbling. What I brought out, where some little knitted gifts for my friends. Each of them received a Scrubby Soap Bag.

Scrubby Soap Bags

Lately, I have been knitting quite a few of these little bags. I plan to take some as gifts on my trip and I have been giving a few away right now. Filled with a handmade or other good-quality soup, they smell divine and act like a loofah. What’s not to like? My latest batch has been mostly in Christmas colours of red, white and green.

Scrappy Soap Bag Instructions

If there are any knitters reading this who would like to make some, here are the instructions. There is one caveat, you also have to know how to crochet.

You will need:

Two different colours of yarn: Loops and Threads Squeaky Clean (two balls of yarn will make four or more bags)

Size 5 mm knitting needles.

A size 3.5 mm crochet hook.

A yarn needle and scissors.

Cast on 24 sts in colour A. Knit 28 rows in Garter stitch. Cast off. Fold in half lengthwise. Sew short side (bottom of bag) and long side (side of bag) together.

Add a 2-row crochet edge at the top of the bag to keep the bag from stretching sideways. Use colour B and make a slip stitch into one of the cast-off knit stitches right beside the seam. Make one chain stitch to start the round. Make one single crochet (sc) into each knit stitch around the edge of the bag (23 sc). Close round with one slip stitch. Make one chain stitch to start second round. Make 1 sc into each sc 6 times. Make 8 chain stitches (this will become a little loop for hanging the bag). Make next sc into same space as last sc. Continue making sc into each sc below to end of row. Close row with slip stitch. Fasten off.

Sew in all ends.

Enjoy your Scrubby Soap Bag.

Fall favourites or favourite fall? It seems like many people consider fall their favourite season. I guess out of all the people who live in 4-season climates, it must be at least 25%. And given that like-minded people are more likely to cluster together, I am probably reading more blogs and following more social media posts that talk about fall in glowing terms. On this, the last day of October, I will add my voice to the fall-lovers’ chorus and expound the pleasures of fall and my own fall favourites.

Every fall, the colours are different. This year, we had a dry summer, and some leaves dried up quickly going from green to yellow and brown. The reds are more muted, the sumac leaves turning a rusty red rather that the vibrant red of other years. The maples’ orange doesn’t flash as brightly, as if it was holding itself in check. Olive, tan and brown are dominant.

Fall Colours

Even though I love when fall shows its most exuberant colour palette, the muted colour of this year resonate with me. Many of these colours are staples in my wardrobe, and in my knitting. If you opened the doors of my closet, you would find, rusty red, tan, orange, olive and brown among the staple neutrals of grey, black, cream and beige. The sweater on my needles seems to echo the colours around us. Standing under the golden leaves of a locust tree, the sweater would blend in with its golden yellow, cream and muted green.

Fall Favourites

So, other than knitting, what are the fall (and non-fall) favourites I have indulged in this month?

· Walking though fallen leaves

· Swimming in the indoor pool

· Watching an Agatha Christie Play at the theatre

· Wearing a hand-knit sweater

· Making butternut squash soup

· Eating pumpkin pie

· Handing out candy for Halloween

· Visiting the Hamilton/Burlington Royal Botanical Garden’s incredible pumpkin display

Pumpkin Display

The pumpkin display was well worth a visit. Thousands of pumpkins, gourds and squashes along with fall flowers were used to create beautiful displays. The variety was evident in several aspects:

· Colour - from creamy white to darkest green, from pale pink to brightest orange

· Size - from fist-sized guards to 100-pound pumpkins

· Shape - from round to star-shaped, from oval to irregular

· Texture - from smooth to bumpy or furrowed

· Colour variegation - from uniform to multi-colour, from subtle stripes to intricate patterns

The displays were put together artfully and creatively with interesting props as well as showy Chrysanthemums and other fall flowers, but the star of the show was natures bounty and variety. Who would think that the lowly family of pumpkin and squash vegetables would produce such an increadible richness.

As I finish the preparations for the window replacement, my home has lost some of it’s comfy, homey feel. One thing that is constant, our pets still need care and attention while providing endless love, entertainment and distraction.

Six weeks after immigrating to Canada, we acquired two kittens. Since then, we have had cats (and other pets) almost all the time. They are a constant source of joy and happiness. And also, they are an important part of taking responsibly and caring for another living being. Pets are a big part of our lives and indeed our civilization. In a few thousand years, when archeologists find remnants of our civilization, will they find cat and dog bones of pets buried in backyards? Will they find lizard fossils where those species would not naturally survive? Will thy find fish remains along with the glass shards of a shattered aquarium?

Pets make our lives richer and help us in many ways. We have service animals with extraordinary skills and support animals who can brighten someone’s day.

My cats have their own peculiar and particular skills. And both of them love to help (or hinder) with my knitting. Milo likes to guard my spot on the couch, especially when I’ve left my knitting there. Lola, on the other hand, is the queen of blocking, jumping on the table and settling on any damp items that I have spread out to block. In the photo below she is laying on one of the placemats and one of the gloves from last month. Both of them, are so intrigued and playful, when I spread a hank of yarn over my dining room chair and wind it into a ball. Milo especially can catch the yarn so easily with his extra digit. And although they are not cuddly, Lola snuggled close one night, when I was knitting and watching TV in bed.

My pets have the power to keep me grounded and keep me in the moment. Do you have pets in your life? I would love to hear about them.

Regardless of where you may have worked, most likely, you have come across your company’s mission statement. If you have ever been involved in the strategic planning process, you know how tedious and mind-numbing that can be. And you know how exhilarating and empowering the end result can be. Most of us, here on Substack also have a mission statement. Usually, we define what our Substack is all about in a few brief sentences. HD Knits and Writes is about reflecting on my knitting (crafting) journey as well as honing my writing skills. I haven’t articulated my vision, or my goals and objectives, but they are vaguely defined in my knitting journal and my head.

Personal Planning

As my window project is coming closer, I had to do some personal planning of what I want to do after the windows have been installed. Having completed some decluttering and organizing, my prep work is progressing well. In the end, my furniture will be moved away from the windows, covered and wrapped to prevent dust from spoiling it. It will be a great opportunity to do a big refresh. Definitely, the whole unit needs a new coat of paint. I also have a few other projects in mind that will update and renew my home décor.

With that in mind, I have been making lists and doing lots of daydreaming. Could I turn my spare room into a craft room? Do I make my own curtains or buy ready-made panels? Can I afford to replace my sliding laundry-room doors?

Overplanning (Delusions of Grandeur)

At the same time, I am planning for my trip home (visiting my friend in Scotland and my family in Germany). As I was making arrangements with cousins, nieces, and nephews, and counting the children, who have been born since I did this trip in 2014, I had thoughts and ideas for craft projects I could do. I bought a macrame kit and macrame cord (macrame plant holders are part of my post window décor ideas) and a stitch dictionary (to make some gifts featuring a red maple leaf on white background). And I started knitting something that did not work out. Had I planned too much? I felt like I suffered from delusions of grandeur and wasted time, effort and money. So sad.

Realistic Project Planning

Moving on, I decided to take a realistic look at all my plans and dreams. I know my current mission and I have a vague idea of my castle in the sky (my vision?). I know that it takes trial and error to create. Am I willing to use time, effort, and money to go from daydreams to reality? I know it means learning and practicing, ditching some things, reworking and rethinking others.

In the meantime, I have been plodding along, working on my linen-stitch place mats. I expect them to be completed in another week or so. During a trip to the Little Red Mitten, a yarn store in St Thomas, I purchased yarn that had planned destinations, a gift for a friend, a pair of shorty socks, and a sweater that has been on my project list since the beginning of the year. I hope I have no delusions of what I can accomplish, but that these projects are (mostly) in line with my mission, vision and goals for this year.

Last week, I was packing up some things from my dining room cupboard. I came across one of C’s chemistry-inspired mugs. It said:

Think like a Proton, always positive.

In general, I consider myself a positive person. Most of the time, I look on the bright side. But after focusing on some of my frustrations this summer, I needed an attitude adjustment. I truly believe that happiness is not something that comes to you, a fickle thing metered out in unfair doses. Happiness is taking responsibility for the way you react to what life throws at you, and choosing to make it into something positive.

Favourite Things

So, this month, I wrote out a list of my favourite things in real time.

My favourite things from the last two weeks:

· Having lunch with my family

· Knitting

· Baking a Black Forrest Cake for friends

· Watching a movie under the stars with people I love

· Smelling the smoky smell of Lapsong Sauchong tea and drinking it from a favourite cup

· Attending a meeting of the Around the Bay Knitting Guild

· Visiting the Supercrawl with a friend

· Eating Rhubarb and Raspberry Crisp

· Feeling soft and squishy yarn

· Watching my granddaughter’s baseball game

· Seeing a flash of orange foliage in a still-green tree

· Adapting or designing a knitting pattern

· Watching a big blue sky and a blue Great Lake

· Planning a yarn trip

· Wearing a knitted (or crochet) garment

· Walking with a friend along the Bay

· Receiving a kiss and “I love you” from a teenage granddaughter

· Did I say, knitting?

Happy Projects

More happy news, the Sigh (green) Sweater is finished and fits the recipient perfectly.

I just finished a pair of gloves. They are so soft. I hope the recipient will be happy with them.

And while I am in the gift-making mode, I have started on a set of placemats. I will tell you more about the gloves and the placements in a later post.

… Don’t Feel So Bad

Writing out the list of favourite things (more items than days in September so far) made me feel so happy and content. The Sound of Music has been a favourite musical for me. I also read the book about the actual Von Trapp family and visited their farm, now a ski resort, in Vermont, USA. And I definitely take the song to heart …

When the dog bites, when the bee stings

When I’m feeling sad

I simply remember my favourite things

And then I don’t feel so bad

I would love to hear what some of your favourite things are.

When I was a child, my grandmother lived with us. She had her own small living quarters above ours. As in most houses, ceilings are not fully soundproof. We could hear her moving around, but most of all, we could hear her sigh. Maybe I remember it more, because my mother commented on it and implored her frequently to stop sighing. I guess it got on her nerves. Guess what, it turns out sighing is good for you. Maybe that’s why my grandmother lived until she was 100 years old.

Lately, I have been sighing and worrying that I’ll be walking around my condo sighing to the exasperation of my neighbours below. Then I heard something about the benefits of sighing and had to look it up. So here are the benefits of sighing (as long as you trust google, other search engines and even scientific articles). I am sure not everything is scientifically proven, but here are the theories.

Physical Benefits of Sighing:

· Maintains Lung Function

· Improves Oxygen Exchange

· Regulates the Nervous System

· Lowers Heart Rate and Blood Pressure

Emotional Benefits of Sighing:

· Reduces Stress and Anxiety

· Promotes Emotional Regulation

My Summer Sigh List

For me. this has been the summer of sighs. And why did I feel like sighing this summer?

· I was feeling overwhelmed with work and family demands – sigh

· The extreme heat kept me from enjoying the outdoors as much as I would have liked – sigh

· The window project in my building is moving along and I have to spend time being prepared by decluttering – sigh

· Summer is almost done. And, although I love autumn, it is always a bittersweet moment to see the signs of fall like earlier darkness - sigh

· There were no pressing knitting projects in August keeping me motivated – sigh

· The second round of the green sweater, done in July, was a complete failure (sleeves just right and body too small) – sigh, sigh and sigh again

Sigh Project

With the green sweater being the only thing on my knitting agenda, I searched for a new suitable pattern, plain, round neck, preferably in the round. I had knitted one a few years ago, but could not find the pattern in my digital or physical stash. Then I came across a pattern I had saved some time ago. The sweater was knit top down (my favourite construction) in Cascade 220 DK Superwash, a yarn with a gauge and feel very similar to what I was using. And guess what the pattern is called?

· Sigh Pullover

This time, I heaved a sigh of relief. So far it is going well. The body is done; and I am working on the second sleeve. This weekend, the recipient will get a preview and pretrial to make sure width and length are correct. If all is well, I will heave another sigh of relief.

Sigh of Contentment

When decluttering my books, I came across a book with 52 beautiful, small knitting projects. Oh, the possibilities! I can now breathe a sigh of joy and contentment.

So far, I have been posting twice a month since starting my blog in February. A posting was “due” at the end of July. I thought about writing something quickly when the calendar was about to turn to August. July had been a busy month with various issues and projects pressing heavily on my time. Should I make the blog a priority and take an extra hour or two to write? Was the regularity of posting my priority? Or was having something to share the key reason to write? I could have found the extra time, but my mind was blank. I am sure writers struggle with this. I know the common advice is to write anyway. I decided not to push myself. Instead, I spent time with grandchildren, completed a DIY home project and decluttered more of my condo in preparation for our window installment.

Planned Project - Tea Cozy

I checked my planned project list in July looking for a small project because the green sweater was still not going well. I set the sweater aside and started the Sheep Carousel Tea Cosy, pattern by Kate Davies. What a delight! It reinforced how I love colourwork. It is so much fun to see it taking shape. This pattern also allowed me to learn a new technique, a Vikkel Braid. I also got to practice a technique I had not done for quite some time, steeking. I used Istex Lettlopi yarn from Iceland. The grey was purchased in Iceland in 2014. I had to buy the white yarn online.

Redo - Half and Half Sweater

I also completely reworked the half and half sweater. Rather than frogging the entire sweater, I made a second sweater. This time, I went down one size but added length to the sleeves. A perfect fit for my daughter! Thank goodness I had enough yarn. What will I do with the first one? I may donate it to my local women’s shelter.

Orange Hat Project

Talking about donations, I am still knitting orange hats. They are my go-to when I need a small project. Waiting in a waiting room, chatting with friends when a pattern would be too complicated, knitting on my break during night shift. It has been one of my priorities to complete at least 60 hats per year. A while ago, I promised to give my readers some background.

When I retired from Health Nexus in 2021, I decided to acknowledge the trauma Indigenous families have had to endure as part of the Residential schools. It is not okay that children were forcibly removed from their families, stripped of their culture and identity, mistreated and abused, and died without their families knowing and acknowledging their place of rest. I started knitting Umbilical Cord Hats for babies born in the Sioux Lookout area, a huge area in Northwestern Ontario with 33 small communities. Birth providers are not available in these small fly-in or drive-in communities and most women stay at the hostel in Sioux Lookout for up to three weeks before the birth of their baby, often separated from their families. I am grateful for the support of the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority that allows a hand-knitted, orange hat to be added to each package a mother receives before or after giving birth. I hope the hat will be a small reminder that Every Child Matters and that the injustices experiences by Indigenous Families matter to me. I have had a few others make a few hats, but it has been mostly my project. Over the last 4 years, I have knitted more than 300 orange hats.

Summer Reading

While knitting, driving, sanding and painting, I also listened to two lengthy (and weighty books).

· Dominion by Stephen Brown is a historical book about the building of the Canadian railway, connecting east to west, and the rise of our fledgling nation. The well-intentioned,but often disastrous decisions, made to build our country left me with sadness and an understanding of the almost unsurmountable challenges Canada faced in connecting and uniting (or dividing) a vast, inhospitable and diverse country and its inhabitants.

· Fayne by Anne-Marie McDonald was a masterful and epic tale addressing difficult and sometimes still tabu topics through unforgettable characters and gripping narrative.

Projects - Completed and In Progress

At the end of June, I forgot to add what I had completed and what I was working on. I'll do that for June and July now.

June:

Completed Projects

· 6 orange hats

· 1 scrubby bag

· Fergus socks

Work in Progress

· Green Sweater

· Half and Half Sweater

July:

Completed Projects

· 6 orange hats

· Sheep Carousel Tea Cozy

· Half and Half Sweater

Work in Progress:

· Green Sweater

In June, some friends and I went on a yarn trip to Fergus, a small town in south-western Ontario. We stopped at String Theory Yarn, the local yarn store. I did not want (or need) to buy a lot of yarn. But I like to bring home something as a memory. This time, I bought a turquoise-blue sock yarn called Fergus. How appropriate.

Warm Weather Knitting

Lately, everyone is talking about sock knitting. Why socks, when the temperature is hitting 30 degrees almost every day. Why? Is it because it’s easier to have a small project on the go in hot weather? I remember knitting a top-down sweater in superwash merino one spring. Just as spring turned to summer and the temperature increased, I reached the point of picking up the stitches reserved for the sleeves. I decided to knit both sleeves at the same time. A new technique, I was anxious to try. So here I was with the big body of the sweater on my lap while working the sleeves. Keeping the sleeves and yarn separate from one another made me sweat and the sweater on my lap made me sweat even more. No, thank you. Not for me. Was it the wrong technique or just the wrong time? I just consider it a lesson learned.

Much Ado about Socks

That’s how it is with sock knitting. There are many lessons to be learned, many techniques to be tried, and many beautiful yarns to be embraced. Socks are such a little item, not showy like a sweater, or out there like hats and gloves and other accessories. A little nothing, but boy, you need them in your running shoes, inside your boots on a winter’s day, and while padding around your home when the floors have an early morning chill.

It took me quite a while to start knitting socks. People talked about heel-flaps, gussets, and other sock-construction items in such a way that is sounded complicated and challenging. Not worth the effort for such a little thing. When I finally knit my first pair, it was no more challenging than any item that requires some shaping.

My Favourite Sock Pattern

I almost always use the Basic Toe-Up Sock Patternfor Dummies. Here are the reasons why I use it again and again:

1. I love that I can decide on the length of the leg, based on how much yarn I have (if I want a longer sock). I don’t knit two at the time. I may set one aside when it has reached the minimum desired length, knit the second to that point and then decide how much longer to knit based on the amount of yarn.

2. The pattern includes 6 sizes. That makes it easy to get a good fit. It is also very adaptable. I have adapted it for children’s socks and even Build-A-Bear socks.

3. I love that there is no toe to sew up. No seams whatsoever! I use my own personal provisional cast on and that’s it: I’m knitting the toe. And I love how the provisional cast on ends up looking like a little braid.

4. I love the wrap and turn short rows. I have tried other short rows in other projects, but wrap and turn remains my favourite, especially for socks.

Sock-Knitting Style

There are a couple of other things I have learned over the years about myself and my sock-knitting style.

• I don’t like colour work or too much texture in my own socks, but I do like colour. That’s why I prefer self-striping, variegated or solid-colour sock yarn.

• I can do a pair of short or shortish socks from one 50-gram ball of fingering weight yarn.

• I like to use Jenny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. I only learned about this a few years ago. Before that, I used the needle and yarn method. I love how the stretchy bind off accentuates the rib at the top of the cuff (and it fits nicely over my fat calves).

• I use Flexi Flip needles. There is no need to change to DPNs or anything else. Right from the provisional cast on, I use the set of three Flexi Flips.

• I love having a little sock project on the go. It is easy to pack, provides a little challenge and interest when you are working on the toe or heel. At the same time, there is some easy knitting while you are doing the foot or the leg.

Here they are, my finished Fergus socks. I hope you enjoyed reading a few reflections about my own sock-knitting style. Have you knitted socks? What do you like about knitting socks? What are your own preferred patterns, styles and techniques?

When I first started knitting in my teens, I knit mostly at home. I don’t remember bringing my knitting with me when I went out. At some point, I read a book about a young Norwegian woman, who knit during school classes and college lectures. It impressed me but didn’t quite apply to me. After all, knitting was my hobby, while the book’s heroine used it to generate extra income.

Pattern for a Wedding Dress

When I started nursing school in Scotland, one of my fellow nursing students was looking at a pattern book during her break. She showed it to me. And there it was: an amazing crochet lace wedding dress. You can see from the photo below that the book has seen better days.

I couldn’t get the picture out of my mind. It was early summer 1978 and I was dating my future husband. We had talked vaguely about our future including marriage. In September, things became more serious. We looked at my schedule (nursing school back then in Scotland was very different to going to university and getting a BScN now) and decided to have our wedding during my two-week break in July 1979. Now, I became obsessed with the dress.

Creating the Wedding Dress

My fellow student nurse gave me the pattern book. And I bought white crochet cotton. I don’t remember how many balls I had to buy, but I remember that I paid 32.00 Pounds Sterling. In my nursing quarters, I spent many hours crocheting, and the dress grew slowly. As time passed, I started taking the project with me to crochet on my breaks. The ward sister (nurse manager nowadays) on the ENT unit gave me a decommissioned, laundered sheet to wrap my dress in as it grew. If I spent time at a friend’s place on my day off, I took it with me. Finally, at the end of June 1979, the crochet dress was complete. I attached the buttons, sewed the lining, put it all together, washed and dried it carefully. Ready for the big day with only a couple of days to spare. (By the way, the dress is still wrapped in the old, slightly torn bed sheet from Stobhill Hospital.)

Knitting Everywhere

It was the beginning of knitting (or crocheting) in public or at least in places other than my own space. When I started my job at a health promotion consultant in Toronto, I knit on the train, sometimes in meetings and sometimes at conferences. Keeping my hands busy, helped to keep my attention. I have knitted on planes, busses, in parks and at beaches, at social gatherings and family functions, at restaurants and in waiting rooms. Usually, I take small projects, that are easy to pack and not too complicated. A far cry from the wedding dress. Socks, hats, headbands and mittens are my favourites. I usually have an orange hat on the go and ready to grab on my way out of the door.

Knitting in Public

The second Saturday of June is now designated ‘International Knit in Public’ Day. This year, I stopped at my local Yarn Store and spent an hour knitting with others on the sidewalk outside the store. I started a new pair of socks, before packing up my knitting and heading off to work. The following week, I went to my friend’s cottage and knitted there. And earlier in June, I knitted in the back of the car on a yarn-store trip with friends.

And at Home

Where do I knit? Pretty much anywhere. But I also have my favourite place. Right now, that is my couch, with a view of Hamilton Harbour to the right or the TV in front, with a good craft light above and my knitting notebook in my magazine rack on the side. It’s a comfy spot with room for my coffee, my patterns, my knitting notions. It’s just right for me.

Where do you knit? At home? In public? Do you have a favourite crafting spot?

You can’t live in Canada without talking about the weather. June has arrived and with it came lush greenery, heat, humidity and smoke particles in the air from wildfires burning all over Canada. The weather is more unpredictable than ever. May turned out to be the coldest May on record since 1967. For me, May started out on a burst of energy, only to be followed by lethargy.

Planner or Procrastinator

In general, I am neither a great planner, or a serious procrastinator. I try to have a bit of a routine for doing chores, and if there is more to be done, I make a list and try to work through it within a reasonable time. Similarly, at the beginning of the year, I make a list of knitting project that I would like to accomplish. Sometimes they have a date, when they need to be completed. Sometimes, I tackle them at random. I add to the list as needed. And what is not completed at the end of the year, may make it onto next year’s list. When it comes to organizing things, I start to procrastinate. It could be physical or digital files, closets, cupboards or yarn. What holds me back is HOW to organize. Do I do it Alphabetically? By colour? Size? Weight? Usefulness? One system is not necessarily suitable for something else. And that’s when I get a little overwhelmed.

Checking off the List

At my condo building, we have been talking about the upcoming window replacement project for quite some time. And suddenly, it’s becoming reality. The test units have been completed, and the first stack of units have been given starting dates. The workers will need 6 feet of space in front of the windows. For most of us that means a lot of moving and clearing things. My unit won’t be done until the fall. So, I had this great idea at the beginning of May to start decluttering, cleaning and organizing. I made a list of things to be accomplished in May. At first, I tackled the list with a bunch of energy, then I enlisted the help of my daughter, then I procrastinated… And at the end of May, the list was only half checked off.

The Knitting List

Looking at my knitting, I wasn’t much more encouraged. It seemed like I had not accomplished much. My list of finished projects for May is short and the list of WIPs (works in progress) is even shorter. Did I not plan properly, or did I procrastinate? In all fairness, one of the projects I started in April, did not go as planned. The green sweater for my granddaughter, was growing nicely. The body was done, almost to the armholes. Then I started the first sleeve. As the sleeve grew, I realized it was too big. Taking time to check the body and the sleeve with the measurements of my granddaughter, I knew, I had to redo the sweater. Going from size 4 mm needles to 3.5 mm worked, and the sweater is growing slowly.

Quick Boost

Thankfully, the end of the month ended on a high note with a quickly planned, perfectly executed trip to Ottawa. Sightseeing and visiting with family, ex-colleagues and friends were an absolute pleasure. A couple of days before leaving, I realized that I wanted to make some gifts. I bought a few goat’s milk soap bars and knitted up some scrubby bags for them. I knitted four bags, but I forgot to take a photo before gifting two of them.

Long-Term Progress

Hopefully, this month will get me back to my list of planned decluttering projects as well as my list of knitting projects. I am also adding two hats to my list of projects for 2025. At the Around the Bay Knitting Guild’s silent auction, I obtained a book, titled: Heart Felt Knits – 25 Fresh and Modern Felting Projects. I want to try the hats from the book. I just need to give myself permission not to hurry through all my planned projects and bravely tackle the mess left by half-finished things, things that are difficult to organize and things that don’t go quite to plan.

No matter what kind of things you are shopping for, a house, a car, an outfit or groceries, everyone loves a bargain. Is it enough to see the word “Sale” or do you do extensive research before you decide on a purchase? What make a purchase a good deal? Sometimes, it seems the good deal is linked to the American Dream where everyone wants to become rich by making a deal, but bargains were struck from the beginning of mankind. Trading for goods with goods and later with currency is part of mankind.

As a knitter, I love a deal that involves yarn. Good yarn, in fact, even acrylic yarn, can be expensive. How great is it when we find a yarn at a good price. In my last post, I mentioned the Koigu Tent Sale. At that sale, I purchased what I planned to buy and used it as intended, giving me a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment. There is also the other end of the spectrum, where I purchased without thinking just because of the sale and the lure of the deal.

A Bargain of Yarn

A number of years ago, I was on an outing with three friends, all knitters. We stopped for breakfast, explored the Southampton Market, had lunch in Port Elgin on the shores of Lake Huron. As we were starting our drive home, someone came up with the fact that the Yarn Factory Outlet in the little town of Listowel was having their annual tent sale and this was the last day of the sale. What pressure! All of us decided that it was a good idea to drive the detour and stop there on our way home.

We arrived at the tent sale less than an hour before it closed. I rushed through tents filled with bins and bins of yarn. There was a huge variety of yarn. There was no time to research and compare. I grabbed yarn that appealed to me. I am a garment knitter, I knit sweaters for myself, my family, friends and babies. It takes 11 to 14 balls of yarn to do a sweater for myself, so I bought big amounts. And the bins contained mostly yarn in bulk packages. When I got to the checkout, my basket was full with packages of yarn. There was some baby yarn, a lime green worsted weight wool, and three 10-ball packs of a DK New Zealand Merino wool blend in two different colours. I had only some vague ideas of what I would make with these bargains.

Fast forward a few years to my building’s annual garage sale, a good opportunity to downsize my stash. Some of the baby yarn, the lime green worsted wool and the purple Merino wool blend ended up on my table. They sold well, but at a much lower price (garage sale price) of what I paid. Some people got a real bargain here.

The Final Project

The black Merino wool blend stayed in my stash for another five years. When I pulled the ten balls out of their plastic wrap last year, they were not quite what I thought they would be. First of all, the colour was dark brown/black, not black. Secondly, the non-wool thread with it’s slubs (little knobs) did not feel Merino soft and made the entire yarn feel a little rough. Thirdly, I had sold one pack of the black yarn at the yard sale as well, and now had only ten balls, not enough for a full, long-sleeved sweater.

Adapting a pattern from a summer top to make a vest, I started knitting. Once I reached the armholes, I realized my calculations were off. I ripped everything back, started again, only to find that I had miscounted when casting on. That was enough to put the project aside.

Over the last year, the project popped back into my mind a few times. Finally, this April, I redid the math calculations and used a basic pattern to make sure the project would be a success. And there it is, a sleeveless top that can be used as a vest or a summer top. The brown/black base colour is perfect for me and the slubs of white, cream, rust and black, bring in some of the colours of my wardrobe, making it very versatile. It’s perfect over a shirt and I already had my first compliment while wearing it.

Was it worth it? Was the tent sale the bargain I thought it would be? Was I lured into a good deal (easily), or was it a (difficult) learning experience? It will certainly be a reminder to purchase carefully and mindfully.

A few days ago, I finished one of the books from Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Armande Gamache mystery series. Louise has a wonderful way of weaving words and art into her books. Famous painters come alive along with quotes from poetry and literature. The twists and turns of the plot provide a maze for my thinking, the descriptions of art works, and the depth of the quotes create a pleasing background tapestry in my mind.

The latest book featured a quote “Surprized by Joy”. When I stop to be mindful, I find that there is something that surprises me with a moment of joy. Usually, these moments come from the arts, a painting, a poem, a piece of music. Sometimes for me, it’s colour, a sunset, spring flowers or an interesting colour combination. Or it could be a field of tulips as it was on this Mother’s Day.

The Linen-Stitch Scarf

The Linen-Stitch Scarf I finished in April, was a project that gave me many joyful moments. Quite a few years ago, in 2008, I was attending a small weekly knitting group and came across the Linen-Stitch Scarf pattern by Churchmouse Classics, made from Koigu KPPPM. I bought three skeins at my local yarn store (LYS) and made the scarf in shades of green. Although all three skeins were a different dye, the colours blend amazingly well and the finished scarf is mostly green with subtle shades of accent colours. Even though I made a few small mistakes, I loved the linen stitch, the whole construction of the scarf and the finished product.

The Koigu Tent Sale

Fast forward 15 years to 2023, when someone in my knitting group mentioned the Koigu Tent Sale. Back in 2008, I just purchased the yarn with no thought about where it came from. Now, I googled Koigu yarn and was surprised by joy, and all the things I learned. Koigu is a Canadian business, a farm in rural Ontario raising sheep and dying yarn since 1972.

That summer, we had booked a cottage near Sauble Beach for a week in August. When I looked at the directions and the dates, I realized that I would pass the Koigu farm during the Tent Sale on my way to the cottage. Now the sale became part of the destination.

We reached the farm on a beautiful day in August with clear blue skies, lush green fields, a weathered brown barn and a cacophony of colours in the displayed designs and the bins of yarn. After browsing for an hour or more, I finally chose six skeins of yarn from the KPPPM bins to make two scarves. KPPPM stands for Koigu Painters Palette Premium Merino. Each skein is hand-dyed, painted. No two are alike, and the colours and shades of colours are exquisite.

Colour Harmony

Putting three different colourways together to create one scarf turns into a surprisingly harmonious accessory. That fall, I made the first scarf. It turned out with a dominant blue and beautiful shades of yellow. I was surprised by the final colour. And this spring, I made the second scarf, another gift, that turned into a rust, pink and light blue creation.

I think I’ll visit the tent sale again this year. Another scarf could be in the works. Or I could fall in love with one of the many other beautiful designs.

April at HD Knits

What did I complete in April?

· The linen-stitch scarf

· A little bunny in a dress

· A repaired sleeve

· 6 orange hats

What is on my needles right now?

· A vest top for me

· A green sweater for my eldest granddaughter