Author: Mylene Lacroix

I finished the puppets for Operation Christmas Child.

Jacob and I went shopping yesterday and got a whole bunch of stuff to put in each box.  Jacob got stuff for a boy and I… yah, you guessed it, got stuff for a girl.  Then I topped off the boxes with my puppets.

They’re cute right?

I think I’ll start Taylor’s Bella Mittens.  She asked me if I was finished with them.  They were supposed to be for Christmas.  I’m guessing that when New Moon comes out, she’ll want to wear them to school.

It was knitting tonight. 

As always, we gather at the cafe.  We order our lattes and our dinners and/or desserts.  We all sit in the same place every week.  We chat about who’s working on what and who’s been up to what.  It’s pretty much the same every time.  I always look forward to seeing what every one has been up to and what every one is working on.  Sometimes, we share patterns and ideas.  It’s a nice group and we all get along very well.

Often times, people come into the cafe and wander around wondering what we’re knitting/crocheting.  It’s cute sometimes.  People shout out orders as they walk by and we all smile and laugh (but never take them seriously). 

Tonight I met the most lovely and enchanting woman.  Her name is Norma Peachey.  Even her name is lovely! 

She came into the cafe and I’m sure we all though that she was another one of the passers-by wondering what we were up to.  But, she stopped.  She started telling us about her love of wool.  I think she even used the word “wool-aholic”.  I got her a chair and she ordered a drink with foam on top and she told us about herself. 

She was born in “the time of the war” in England.  Her and her husband moved to Canada in the early eighties.  They live in a stone farm house and her son runs “Peachey Apiaries” (I had to look that one up – it means a group of beehives) – pure natural honey.  Mrs. Peachey (how cute is that?) lost her husband some time ago (I wonder if he was as lovely as she is) and she ran the Bed & Breakfast called “Winook Farm” for a time until she had to stop as she got older and the work became too strenuous. 

She told a story about going to the yarn shop down the road when she was a little girl and only being able to purchase one skein of wool at one time; how she would go home and knit up that skein and return to the shop to pick up another. 

When she and her husband moved to Canada, more specifically to the small village of St. Andrews West about 110 kilometres from the capital of Ottawa, they purchased a farm.  They had sheep!  (How cool is that?)  Mrs. Peachey spun and weaved and knit. 

She came tonight to sell us the remainder of her wool because she doesn’t knit, spin or weave anymore.

The moment she started to speak, I was instantly drawn to her.  I couldn’t stop asking her questions.  I want to know her.  Plus, she kept calling me “Love”, which made me smile from the inside out.

I’m going to go visit her.  I really hope I have the opportunity to get to know her.  But, even if I only see her at circle, I’ll be happy because her presence alone (as she may not knit) is like a breath of fresh air.  I wanted to take her picture so you could see how sweet, yet spunky she seems.  I thought it might be a little intimidating on her first visit.

In the meantime, I started my Wurm last night.  It was a bit small so I ripped it back and will start over with the medium… maybe after Christmas.  I just realized that there are too many things to do before Christmas and that I should probably get a move on.  When did it get so…. NOVEMBER!

Someday… I won’t have to work so much and I’ll have time to knit.  I might even be able to make time for learning to spin and weave.  What if I even had time to design and write. 

…. In a perfect world….

I finished my felted clogs last night.  My mother went to Atlantic City for the week so I took my needles back from her while she was gone so I could get them done.  She came back on Friday and was putting some pressure on me (in a nice way) to finish my project so she could have the needles back to finish hers.  So, here I was at the dinner table last night putting the second sole on the bottom of the second clog.   Fewf.  I did it. 

These things have to be the ugliest things on the planet.  Keep in mind that I haven’t sewed the soles together and woven in my ends but, man are they U.G.L.Y.!!!!!

How about you be the judge.

Not only are they ugly… they’re gigantic!!!

Those are my uniform boots.  I’m a size 6. 

The first time I made these, I was revolted by how absolutely horrendous they were.  I couldn’t imagine that these monstrosities could turn into what was on the cover of my pattern booklet.  I made fun of them.  I insulted them.  I didn’t give them any love.

Then I put them in my washing machine.  First go, still ugly.  Second go, much better.  Third go?  They were awesome! 

They are now my favorite slippers.  I’ve been wearing them for two years and I have yet to make a hole in the foot!  They’ve stretched a little over the years but I know that I can just throw them into the washing machine and they’ll come out perfect again. 

I have a whole new respect for my washing machine.  She doesn’t only clean my clothes, she also does magic with my knitted things!

I was going to start my Wurm but decided I should work on some of my Christmas gifts first.  I figure, one gift, one small project, one gift… and so on.

It’s not too bad.  I’m makint a pair of Fibre Trends felted clogs.  They really don’t take long if you have some quiet time.  There’s a lot of counting involved.  So, don’t try to work on these if you’re babysitting your girlfriend’s three kids!

Off to work this weekend.  Probably won’t get in a log of knitting.  That irritates me.  I wish I had more time to knit these days.  The money sure is nice though…. I guess I’ll stop complaining.  Some people don’t have a job and I have two.