First, let me show you the PHM jacket on its intended recipient.

I was so happy to finally wrap this up and hand it over. I’m relieved it fits and he seemed to be tickled by it. Exhale.

My friend Michelle keeps giving me the gears because I didn’t charge him for the hours I spent working it. Honestly, in the beginning, I wanted to make it. That’s why I offered. I obviously didn’t know what a pain it would be. But now it’s over and I never have to make another if that is my choice. And that is my choice (right now).

MOVING ON…

I traveled to PEI for the seventh time a few weeks ago. I love PEI so much – the feel of the place is just so… GOOD. I don’t know that I can find the right words to describe how it is for me when I go there.

Enchanting
Amusing
Full of wonder
It feels spacious
I feel content
I feel ease

I could honestly go on. But I wrote a whole article on my Substack if you’re interested: “My Island Love Affair”.

Cause I know you’re here for the knitting, let’s get on with it. Right?

I feel like all I’ve been talking about is that jacket… actually, I have. But I’ve had a few other projects on the go, albeit small ones.

I tested two mitten patterns for my friend Mary with yarn I had in my stash. How perfect!

The first are my favourite! I’m trying to convince her to give them a fancy name. Don’t you think they deserve a fancy name? I knit them out of some 80/20 fingering held with some silk/mohair I dyed ages ago. I love these so much I’ve taken out more yarn from my stash to make another neutral pair.

The second pair are the Double Wing Mitts. I knit them out of Lett-Lopi I’ve had in my stash forever. They worked up crazy-fast.

When she releases the patterns, I’ve asked if she would give me a discount code I can provide to the viewers of my podcast.

WHILE I WAS IN PEI, I headed to Fleece and Harmony. I used to go to Belfast MiniMills but they closed their store and only make mill equipment now – which Fleece and Harmony are using. But I wanted my PEI yarn to make my PEI Jennifer Steingass sweater like I have the last three times I visited.

This year’s sweater is the Goldwing:

Isn’t it stunning? I love her patterns. This will be my fourth Jen Steingass.

These are my colours:

I love them together. But guys, I’m doubting that pink next to my face. I’m going with it anyway because I only have enough to do the top part of the sweater. My fingers are crossed that I can pull off this colour. And it’s a really fun knit.

Here’s how she’s going:

While I was at Fleece and Harmony, I also got enough yarn (and a bit extra) to make the Spring Tide by Tania Barley. I’ve been absolutely obsessed with this cardigan since the first time I saw it on Instagram.

Here’s the colour I’m going with for the cardi:

This green is so beautiful I can hardly wait to start this piece. I know it will be a labour of love but I’m still very much looking forward to it. (As a rule, I try not to have more than one large project on my needles at one time.)

Just because I needed to work with these colours, I got a few bonus skeins that are not yet slated for a specific project..

While still in PEI, I drove out to Green Gable Alpacas. What a treat that was! I was given a farm tour, got to meet all the alpacas, including that few-days-old cria (I’m pretty sure they called her Grace), and got to have a wonderful chat with the owner – who happens to be from Ontario.

Obviously, I got yarn. I haven’t decided what this will be yet, but I’ll take suggestions.

That’s it for the yarn I purchased in PEI.

But I spun a lot while I was there – batts made by my wonderful friend Michelle from Au Fil des Jours.

I eventually moved on to Nova Scotia. I started a new pair of socks with yarn I got from a variety store in Antigonish, NS. This store had a wall of Briggs & Little! So fun.

And because I had run out of fibre to spin, I headed over to Ma’s Wool Co and got more. Unfortunately, I never got around to spinning in Cape Breton – I was too busy looking for lighthouses.

Then I stopped in Sydney, NS. Mostly it was to check out Tracy’s Rolling Yarn Shop – a shop that started as a yarn truck but is now also an amazing brick and mortar. I immediately clicked with the owner, Tracy. We sat and had a long chat. I left with a vase I fell in love with that she had hooks in, a hug and talks of bringing her and her yarn truck to Cornwall. Stay tuned for that.

Obviously, I bought some yarn there too! On top of the many, many fibre braids from Fleece Artist/Hand Maiden.

Honestly, I’m not sure what’s going on with me and pink right now. We appear to be having a moment.

All in, I feel great about my trip. I had the most wonderful time and feel like I made a few friends along the way.

I DO feel guilty about how much I spent on yarn and fibre. I’m sure I’ll get over it, eventually.

Tell me what you’re working on! I also need ideas for what to make with all this new yarn so share your ideas.

Chat soon!

M

I got some weeding done of my giant flower bed.  Thank you Mom for coming to help me!  I think she helped motivate me for all of 22 minutes.

I also got in a little bit of cooking.  This is Tropical Fruit Gazpacho from my new favorite site.

Have any of you every tried to break open a real and still whole coconut?  Let me tell you!  I’ll never do that again.  In the recipe, it states to use the dull end of the knife.  That didn’t work at all.  So, I flipped my knife over and used the handle.  That didn’t work.  I took out my potato masher.  That didn’t work.  I ran down to the garage and got out a hammer.  That didn’t work either.  By now, Jacob was curious enough to come over and see what was going on.  He took the hammer from me and flipped it over to the spikey part (nail remover thing) and gave it a good smash.  It broke the shell.  FINALLY!  What a MESS.  Coconut water all over the place.  Bits of shell everywhere.  If you ever make this gazpacho, get a coconut that’s already been removed from its shell and inner skin – trust me… it’s for your own good.

I also managed to take some quick pics of the merino/tussah silk blend I spoke of in my last post.  I just love this color!  I’ve had a difficult time staying away from it this week.  BUT, I’m cleaning again.  The house feels cluttered a bit.  And I haven’t touched the monster truck.  Sigh.

Forgive my not-great-pictures.  You get the idea though.  I’m going for a three-ply.  This is the first of 3 bobbins.  Please don’t ask me what I plan to make with this yarn once it’s finished.  I have no idea.  I just spin cause it’s fun.  I get what I get.  If I can then find something to make with it, bonus.  Otherwise, I’m perfectly happy just looking at it and fondling it every once in a while.

I’ve been doing some driving this week but I can’t say that I’ve minded.  I love how green everything is getting.  All the farmers have been out tilling their fields and getting them ready for seeds.  Everything is just so beautiful this time of year.  The green is so vivid and new.  And the weather!  We’ve had stupendous weather this past week in my neck of the woods.  It’s been gorgeous and sunny every day and cool and breezy every night.  I don’t know if we’ll get another perfect week like this.  Fingers crossed!

Have an awesome weekend everyone!

This past weekend was full of learning. Our spinning guild set up a workshop given by Robin Russo. She came in from Vermont to teach us. Honestly, I don’t know how she knows all she knows. It’s just amazing. I totally went on line and tried to creep her but all I found was a short Youtube video put up by Interweave. Dudes, she’s got a video with Interweave and she was teaching us. I think that’s so cool. When I asked her the following day if she had a website, or a blog or something, she said no – that she likes to keep a low profile. Admirable.

http://youtu.be/vXzL_gY-YN8

So, day 1 was all about carding wool. I have a carder. I’ve used it once and I wasn’t really keen on the result I got. So, I never used it again. The carder was practically given to me so I didn’t feel badly that it was collecting dust in my basement. Until Thursday.

I’m very pleased with the bats I made. Almost Etsy worthy! Hahaha.

I think day 2 was my fave – COMBS!

I love combs. I especially love the English combs (the ones with the most tines) but they’re a little out of my price range for now. So, guess what Bonnie? I’m going to be spending more time at your place.

And, finally to wrap things up, day 3 was intermediate spinning. I think I was pretty smug going into the second part of our exercises – long draw. I do long draw all the time. But, when you’re using fine fiber, it’s not so easy. I managed, barely, to make some samples that were worthy of my “workbook”.

I had to stop on my way home.  It was warm-ish and the snow looked like it was glowing.

My car got soooo dirty driving through all the back roads!  I kinda like it.  

Robin was all kinds of awesome. Again, I’m in awe of how much she knows. I can only aspire to someday be as knowledgeable as her. Actually, I would be satisfied with knowing maybe 50% of what she knows. She came very well prepared.  We had binders for the fiber preparation portion of the workshop and another binder for the intermediate spinning workshop.

And she’s really a sweet lady. I got a hug.

We have such a wonderful group of ladies in our guild. I feel fortunate to know all of them. I’m the baby (that doesn’t happen often anymore) and I just love and appreciate all their knowledge and experience. I’m a lucky girl.

It’s been a wonderful weekend in more ways than one. Firstly, I booked the weekend off so, I’ve been off now for 5 days and I’m still off tomorrow.  The workshop was eye-opening. I also spent some time at the range yesterday with Steve. He’s a great teacher. Not too tough, not too soft. My aim is getting better… when I’m standing still.  Sigh. When the ground is dry, I’ll be able to move around and practice shooting on the move and hopefully be ready for some competitions this summer.

This morning, I went to my first Bigram Yoga class EVER. It was interesting, hard and fun all at the same time. It’s pretty hot in that room. I honestly saw stars a few times. Before the class started, the instructor told me that my goal for my first class was to stay IN the class. I managed that AND managed all the poses with surprising ease. I was thrilled when a lady in the class came to be as she was leaving and told me what a great job I had done. Yay! Made me feel good.

Now, I’m cleaning.  Then, I’m going shopping for a lamp, some yoga shorts and maybe some yarn.  Depends how much I can get crammed into an afternoon.  We might hit the range again today.  Then maybe the climbing gym.  I see a good sleep in my near future.

Have a wonderful day everyone!