Dying to dye

Still no knitting to show. I have been knitting - I've been very diligently working on my heart socks - but work has been CRAZY, so I haven't had as much time as I would have liked. And that's the other problem with resisting startitis - you have less to blog about.

I'm almost done the socks, and will have pics tomorrow - but in the meantime, have you seen the new Knitty?

Personally, I find the patterns on Knitty very hit and miss - some I love, some I don't. This edition is no different.

The only thing that really caught my eye was nozky

But I can't decide if I really like them - or if it's just the styling I'm loving. I do have to say, I really want that skirt!

I am, however, intrigued by the idea of over-the-knee leg warmers. The weather has been all over the place lately, and my bare legs under my summer dresses are a mite bit cold in the office - this would solve the problem nicely.

It's also making me want get my butt up to the dye studio. I haven't dyed yarn since before the move. So... what colour would you dye to make these?

Birds of a feather

I promised a post of all the birds at Harrison Park. While the girls were bopping around on the playground, Mom and I took the opportunity to wander around.

There are lots of ducks and geese and swans just hanging out all over the park...

...but it also has a small, enclosed sanctuary with all kinds of funky fowl!

This handsome fellow looks like he waddled right out a nursery rhyme. No idea what kind of goose he is, but he's cool.

 I recognized the Muscovy thanks to Knaotlee!

And idea what this guy is? There was a sign, but I didn't write it down.

This is a Guinea Fowl! I see a yarn colour there.

But what I really loved were the peacocks. Is there any cooler bird than a peacock? Really? This guy was seriously proud of his plumage.

But they also had white peacocks, which were just as cool. This is the coy little hen.

And her ... what's a male peacock? Drake? Cock?

Peacock bum! (He was very proud too!)

They also had this pretty greyish hen.

I could have stayed there all day and just watched the swans.



Of course, no trip to the park would be complete without our favourite feathed friends....

Don't they just look like three wise guys?

If you're ever in the Owen Sound area, I recommend a little pit stop at Harrison Park.

Hi Yo Silver

It's in need of a darn good blocking, and I'm definitely going to overdye it....

...but the Silver Cardigan is off the needles! (It's amazing, this knitting monogamy... things actually get finished quickly!) I finished it up last night, and I couldn't be more pleased. As I mentioned before, the colour is lovely, it just won't work with my wardrobe, so it will be going up to the dye studio on the weekend.

The shape looks odd in this picture, but the fit is perfect. The neckline lays exactly where I want it to. Unfortunately, any notes I wrote on upsizing the pattern from child to adult, have been lost in the move. I might come across them one day - and I will share.

And I'm very glad to have this yarn out of my stash. It was Debbie Bliss Pure Silk - while it feels lovely, it's so unevenly spun, it's a nightmare. It's suppose to be DK - but in some spots it's fingering, other it's chunky...I can see the slubs from here! It's a good thing I got it on sale, because it's definitely not worth the price. But I can live with it - it just gives the cardigan a bit of a rustic feel. I have five skeins of black still - I'm thinking they would make a nice simple camisole... or maybe a shawl. But after that, I'll never knit with it again.

Anyway, I'll share this again after she's had a good long soak in some dark blue dye and a nice stretch on the blocking board!

Five Alive

Yesterday was Rowan's birthday party. Bright and early, I hitched a ride with Mom and Dad for the long trip North.

When we were kids, my grandparents lived in Owen Sound. Ron moved up there a few years ago. The three-hour trek along Highway 6 is one that is very familiar. Of course, when we were kids, my back seat companion was a little less.....stinky.

 

Though Lady is definitely cuter and not as annoying.

 

We stopped for a pee break (for Lady) at a little park outside of Durham, and I took the opportunity to stretch my legs pick some wildflowers.

Rowan was celebrating her birthday at Harrison Park.She was all gussied up in a new party dress and celebrating with her cousins. 

Harrison Park is a very cool park that sits alongside the Syndenham River. It has a little restaurant, huge playground, bird sanctuary (pics of that will follow in a day or two!)and more. It's a great place for a party.

  

The kids had a ball.  Rowan of course got spoiled.

It was too warm to keep her shrug on for long... her mom has promised proper pictures when all the excitement is over. She did enjoy the feather boa I tucked in the bag.

 The tiara was a hit too.

 "Seriously? This is like a real crown!"

And as much as she liked it, it didn't stay on long enough for a decent picture either. She's is definitely five.

Paisley, however, was more than happy to pose as a proper princess!

It was definitely a fun day and I made some great progress on my cardigan during the drive. I'd planned on heading to the dye studio today, I haven't dyed anything since before the move. But I seemed to have picked up an inconvenient stomach bug... so it's sticking close to home for me... maybe next weekend...

If you fill it - they will come...

Sorry for the lack of posting. There has been knitting going on. I'm making great progress on the Silver Cardigan, but I'm still on the body, so the pic wouldn't be much different from the last one.  Instead, it's time for animal tales!

For the longest time, I've wanted a bird feeder.  Not only do I enjoy watching them, but I thought it would be great entertainment for the cats (I also enjoy watching the cats watch them). I always meant to get one at the old place, it just never happened.

So, once we got settled, and I got working on my gardens at the new place, I decided it was time. Being ever the thrifty shopper, I grabbed a small unfinished one from the Dollar Store - birf feeder for $1.50? SOLD!. The plan was to paint up all pretty, but in the end, I decided the birds would just be pooping on it, so I opted just to slap some leftover varnish on it to protect it from the elements, and away we go.

I got an inexpensive plant hanger and plunked it smack dab in the middle of the mystery bushes (I have now discovered that one of the bushes is a Gooseberry Bush).

I filled it up and waited.
And waited.
For days.
I actually had to dump some of my seed because it got soaked in a storm before rthe birds could find it. I'd almost given up hope. Almost all the other neighbours have bigger, nicer feeders - I figured they probably had better seed too - the birds couldn't be bothered with my piddly little feeder and  meagre seed offering.

But finally, one sunny morning, I looked out to see a little pack of sparrows bouncing around, finally chowing down and dumping more seed than they ate. I was so happy.

The cats were happy too - they have the perfect seat for viewing.

But now that the birds know it's there... well I'm a little less happy.... man, can those things eat! Give five sparrows, three grackles and a pair of mourning doves 20 minutes... and my poor little feeder is bare! These $%^&ing birds are going to cost me a fortune in seed!

I've made the commitment to fill the feeder up once day. That's it! Once they empty it, too bad ... they can fly off to one of the other birdie buffets.

Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

As you may recall, I recently added a little kick to my hair style...

Well, a few weeks have gone by, and it was time to refresh it. My neices were with me when I went to pick up a new colour, and little Rowan chose...

Orange! I was planning on something a little more red... but this will do.

WIP Wrangling - Getting back on track

On May 7th, I had two shawls, two cardigans, an afghan, and a pair of fingerless mitts on the go. This mitts were completed, but I didn't manage to clear out any other WIPs. That's mostly because I had several deadline projects to complete, including a shawl, some baby gifts, and Rowan's birthday present.

As of  June 2nd, my WIP count still stands at six, two shawls, a pair of socks, two cardigans and and afghan. But now I am completely deadline free - and plan to stay that way for a while. So, the WIPs I have left are:

Two new shawl designs: No pics of these - but I'd like to complete at least one this month and get it out for testing.

Pair of Hearts socks: The first sock is done...

...the second sock is started, but this is mostly travel knitting. Though I do expect to have these done by the end of the month. If I hitch a ride with Mom and Dad to Rowan's birthday party next weekend, I could have them done very soon.

Two cardigans: One of the cardigans is in serious hibernation (and I'm considering frogging...) the other is the silver cardigan, and it's going to be the main focus of my knitting time  until it's done. And I'm getting close

I've got a few inches to go on the body, and then the sleeves are just finished up with a few rows of garter. I'm actually debating on dyeing this one. It's a light sea foam green, and while it's a pretty colour, I don't really have anything in my wardrobe to wear with it,other than jeans or plain dress pants. I've love to be able to layer it over some of my dresses - and a nice dark blue would fit the bill nicely. 

Barn Raising Afghan: My plan was to knit a square a week on lunch, and I got quite a few done. But just before the move, everything got packed up. I'd like to use my lunches for walking now, but I still plan to finish this one before the end of the year.

How are your WIPs doing?