Red Bird Knits

Designer of the Month!

2011-08-18T09:08:00.002-04:00

Patternfish's August newsletter is out and the designer of the month is .........ME!

I have 102 patterns on PFish (as I fondly refer to it) - almost all of which are socks.

I am honoured and humbled to be featured and have my patterns showcased like this

Patternfish's home page is here

New pattern just released

2011-06-23T08:49:00.004-04:00

... and guess what..... it is a ...... sock!

Surprised? Not really, I know - since most of my patterns are socks

This is the top of the foot - I am enchanted by it and the way it wanted to be decreased - not my usual star toe.

Some times the design just tells you what to do!

Byzantium is available from Patternfish (I should mention how lovely the people at Patternfish are - they really are!)

One day in June

2011-06-09T10:09:00.002-04:00

June 9th blooms:

Siberian Iris

Salvia

Pulmonaria leaves - bloomed for almost 2 months - the earliest to bloom

Newly planted Oakleaf Hydrangea, Clematis Summer snow and Lady's Mantle

More Siberian Iris

Lady's Mantle up close and personal

Chives

First bloom on my new Clematis Niobe. Every picture I have seen of it has been red but this is closer to the actual colour but still a little on the red side -it is even more beautiful than expected

Hakon grass

More Lady's Mantle - a lovely plant for partial shade - buy, beg, borrow or steal some if you don't have any - it blooms a brighter almost fluorescent green

More to come

a quick update

2011-06-09T08:50:00.002-04:00

A very quick update

I am back

Selling yarns again - on eBay - so have a look and see if there are any of my yummies you can't live without

More soon

Meanderings

2011-03-03T09:19:00.003-05:00

A friend and I visited a yarn shop (or 2) on the weekend and I am pleased to report that although I am no longer selling yarn myself, I am still getting that heart thumping feeling when I see a gorgeous hank of yarn.

Case in point is VIOLA

Walking in front door of Shall We Knit (in New Hamburg, ON) there is an old armoire on the left stuffed to the gills with Koigu. I stand and gaze at the colours, thinking of all the lovely things I could make of the luscious yarn and its luscious colours and my heart beats and I breathe deeply.

Then I turn to my right and spot (wasn't hard as it is right at eye level - clever marketing folks there!) 2 baskets of beautiful, intense, subtle, luscious, wonderful hanks of colour. The yarn is Viola, from an indie dyer in Toronto and is stunning! Heart thumpingly so. Especially the red

Go see it - trust me you will like it!

Impatiently waiting for Spring - it was -13.6C this morning when I got up with the dog. Brrr. And here I am thinking that that little rodent who didn't see his shadow on GH Day was going to give us an early Spring. Nuts to that

Off to work - have some knitting projects on the go but can't show them to you yet.

Yearnings

2011-01-31T09:01:00.005-05:00

I read a few garden blogs on a regular basis and one of them today talks about the advantages of snow.

Intellectually I agree that snow is a good thing - helps to insulate the garden and keep perennials from being heaved out of the ground, provides moisture when it melts and gives a good start to the season - but I must say I am sick of the sight of it.

We have about 14 inches on the ground with huge mounds at the bottom of the driveway allowing just enough clearance to get the car out (I got stuck the first time - my technique has improved since then). The dog loves it.... but I do not. Enough already!

Oh and I forgot to mention it was -19.9C this morning when I let the dog out for a microsecond.

Time to get the shovel out and dig some garden!

I have been knitting up a storm though (I guess that is another advantage to snow) and have completed the preliminary knit of a shoulder shawl in mohair (lots of fuzz, great depth of colour, not too complicated a design since it would be lost in the fuzz).

And also a triangular shawl in fair isle in Kauni yarn (long colour stretches with gradual changes from one to the next) with a corrugated ruffle for the bottom. I knitted it circularly with a steek and cut the steek in the company of my knitting group - now picked up along the edge and am knitting a border to wrap around the cut edge. This is how the yarn started out but I realized I had knitted it too small so ripped it.

Off to work on a pattern for fingerless mitts. Two hand dyed yarns in a fair isle with a corrugated ribbed cuff and Latvian braids (yum)

Long time posting

2010-12-14T09:18:00.003-05:00

I knew it was a long time but was actually shocked to see my last post was in August. A LOT has happened since then!

Red Bird Knits has stopped selling yarn and I am just going to be promoting my patterns and will add to the list now and then. Pattern sales won't keep food on the table but I have been lucky enough to find another job that allows me to work at home and give me the flexibility I need/want/crave!

I am doing freelance copyediting

How's that for a change of pace?

Other happenings:

I have a fence and it has changed my life! The dog goes out in the morning and we have a walk later in the day when the sun is up. Hallelujah!

I have barely knit a thing since I stopped the Sock of the Month Club - finished my Hoxbro shawl knitted in Noro Silk Garden Lite (discontinued wouldn't you know) and wear it daily. Warm and cosy winds the day. I also made a pair of wrist warmers from the left over bits and although they are only about 4 inches long they are greatly contributing to my overall warm happiness.

I have been obsessively making bead crochet necklaces and bracelets (and have sold 2!) from my bead/semi-precious stone stash

Silver metallic and turquoise:

Gold metallic and random bits of shell and leaves

Matt black and swarovski crystals - since ripped out and redone with only the clear crystals - made thinner and more delicate I thinks

There are more - and I will post some more one I get them photographed.

DS is about to go and shovel us out so I will go and help. There are about 8 inches of snow on the car!

We Has Postses etc

2010-08-25T08:53:00.004-04:00

A storm brought down my tomatoes which were supported on 3 bamboo stakes (bamboo from my old garden!) and I lost about 3/4 of my crop. After untangling and retying to twisty metal tomato stakes (who'd a thunk they would actually be used for tomatoes one day) the plants are recovering.

There is a Lemon Boy (low acid, quite fleshy not too seedy), an orange one (juicy!) and a red one (not much flavour):

This is David Austin Leander - the buds open tangerine and fade to pink as they mature - not sure where the spots come from - haven't seen them before:

Pot of Coleus, potato vine and some added pots of Gerbera stuck into the original pot. The Gerberas have been disappointing as the original 6 plants stopped blooming over a month ago:

One post!

More posts!

The 1st picture shows how perfectly the posts were set - as you sight down the line you see only the 1 post.

Now all I need are the parts in between and I might be able to let the dog out!

Charlotte

2010-08-11T08:45:00.002-04:00

Presenting the newest addition to the Red Bird household:

Princess Carlotta of Cobourg also known as Charlotte

Last two are a bit blurry but too cute to pass on

Charlotte arrived yesterday thanks to a very quick series of events. Mention of a cat in need by Liz at my knitting group Tuesday morning, a quick phone call to confirm gender (only a female would do) a quick trip to TO by John (hub of Liz) and the rest is history

She is very sweet and seems to be affectionate and a happy girl. I will be slowly introducing her to my boys once I figure out if she requires any shots or other medical attention (spaying, FIV test for eg).

She is 2 yrs old and her arrival brings the Red Bird family to 4 cats and 1 dog. Yahoo!

Weekend progress

2010-08-09T08:41:00.002-04:00

Wasn't able to do much this weekend - last week's face plant has me still rather sore and bruised. (Montana bolted as we were coming out the back door and I lost my balance and planted myself on the rock edge of the shrub border!)

I did plant the white Phlox that my friend Hilary brought me from her garden though and some Salvia that has been lurking in a pot for some time now

Almost all of the post holes are dug (not by me!) and I should have posts in about 2 weeks. Slow but steady progress.

Unproductive

2010-08-04T08:34:00.002-04:00

The rock fence is gone - hope the city approves!

Didn't get as much done in the garden on the long weekend as I had hoped although there is even less grass now.

Fence is completely stalled - fence builder nowhere in sight

Trudging!

No joke!

2010-07-27T08:30:00.004-04:00

At first I thought it was a newcomer to Stratford hazing joke. It arrived on the 4 month anniversary of my arrival here. I couldn't believe my bad luck when I opened an official looking letter from the City that summarily informed me that I had violated the city fencing bylaw.

Fence bylaw - what fence?

Apparently this:

(on the left) is a fence in the eyes of the city !!!!

I called the bylaw folks and asked what the heck they meant and apparently anything that creates a line, no matter how short (we are looking at 3 inches here) is defined as a fence!

The wording of the letter was about as obscure and bureaucratic as it comes but seems that this "fence" will interfere with "municipal operations"

Now the good news!

"Municipal operations" means the snow plough that clears the sidewalks of snow!

Squeeeee.

No snow shovelling for moi - they do it for ya here. How good is that (still have to do the driveway though!)

So the rocks are gone - I needed them for the back anyway.

Hazing - what hazing....

Weekend work

2010-07-26T08:37:00.003-04:00

Saturday rained and was stinky hot but Sunday was beautiful.

I worked in the garden all morning - mulching, moving and planting.

The yellow false cypress got moved closer to the edge and behind it I planted some Alchemilla mollis (Lady's Mantle) which I adore and a pink Geranium x oxonian "Wargrave Pink which I also adore - perennial geraniums that is - this is my first Wargrave Pink version

Also planted some Echinacia purpurea and a peony (Sarah Bernhardt) to the right of this little grouping.

Dug out some of the mystery plant at the front and put in a Geranium Himalayense instead (salvaged from the planting of the peony in the back)

The garden is starting to feel like mine now as I have removed some diseased roses that were spindly and non-producing plus did a major deadheading and tidying up of spent blossoms.

Did some knitting too!

Have a great week everyone!

Gardening

2010-07-22T09:13:00.005-04:00

My just arrived Clematis Snow in Summer! I am very excited and am looking forward to its long bloom season and vigorous growth. It has a small 6 petalled flower and was fabulous in my previous garden so am hopping it will like it here too

Hostas are in (Frances Williams at the rear, June in the middle and 2 Great Expectations at the front). the Hosta on the right was already here and is growing very well

Pretty Rudbeckia is blooming now and lots more to come

Almost ready! My first full sized tomato - this is Big Boy I think - I planted 3 varieties and this is the 1st to ripen

I have a visitor! She is a little uncertain but has a room to herself for now so she can settle in. There is much hissing under the door so far. Her name is Madam and she belongs to my niece and her partner:

Marble being cute as usual:

Myles wonders what all the noise is about:

Anyone know what this is - it is growing very vigorously in the front garden in full shade and so far hasn't shown any buds. I thought maybe Tansy but no blossoms to be sure

It's a great ground cover whatever it is

More potential

2010-07-21T08:53:00.005-04:00

Echinops seems happy where it is in the front - no blooms yet though

The Eryngium has lots of buds which will soon turn a steely blue (Sea Holly):

And in case you think I have managed to get rid of all the grass - this is the grass at the front (very tall and sturdy!):

And at the back - also tall - a little more delicate looking though:

I found some mosquito larvae swimming in my little dish ponds yesterday so dumped out all the water, rinsed and added fresh water. This morning there were a few more of the little buggers so I dumped it out again and have left it to dry out (thus killing off any eggs and small larva!). Watch yours if you have any - the mosquitoes are breeding and West Nile Virus is still an issue!

Weekend progess but no knitting

2010-07-19T09:15:00.004-04:00

My kids and my DD's boyfriend were here for the weekend so there was not much planting done by me and no knitting at all

I did manage to plant a Hosta Frances Williams, a June and 2 Great Expectations at the front in the spot I dug the Centaurea from the other day

Post holes were dug (but not by me) and design decisions made on the east part of the fence to be:

a privacy screen made of lattice in a 2 by 4 frame by the house plus some metal (possibly chain link depending on prices) and the wooden fence towards the back.

Went to the Golden Retriever national specialty for a short time on Friday and Saturday and got re-acquainted with Montana's family - what a great bunch of dogs (and their people!). His brother, father, aunt, grandmother and great uncle were all here and competing. Wonderful to see!

Potential

2010-07-15T08:44:00.001-04:00

Potential number one:

A place for a Hosta 'Frances Williams'

Was a Centaurea montana (which is a flagrant self-seeder)

Potential Number Two:

Lots of lumber to be turned into my fence.

The boards are almost 9 feet long so cutting a 5 ft and a 4 ft will give me fence boards galore. There are 92 boards - the majority of which will be re-usable. Lots of 2 by 4s to be re-used too!

It was a wall at the back of the property - 4 ft in from the property line and encroaching on the church next door. Bad planning! (not by me)

Potential Number Three:

Will become a perennial/shrub bed with the addition of lots of compost and topsoil

Was a rotting, smelly old shed that everyone tells me had been there for " a while".

The posts from the wall. They will stay (except for the one that is on church property - far left) and will become supports for a variety of climbing things. It is quite shady so I will be doing my research!

The cedars that were planted behind the wall (!) will stay except any that are broken/misshapen and need to be moved for fence post holes

Invasive plant to be avoided! Houttounyia It lines the east side of my house:

Mulberry after its hair cut. Still looking at it and it might lose some more hair:

Lovely lovely Eryngium - Sea holly - about to bloom. I planted this just a few weeks ago and I am VERY happy it is happy and blooming

Oh yes, and a sock! this is July's SOTM - Nuppy. Knitted in lovely Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Color Commentary series - colour is Ysolda's Red

Delish!

That is all

2010-07-14T08:25:00.002-04:00

This it the kind of fence I am planning on - with squared lattice at the top - not the diagonal version. If the weather holds out we might actually get a start today

I love this gate! Private and secure but giving a hint of what is beyond. Looks complicated!

Send me some good weather vibes please!

A Weather Conspiracy

2010-07-13T08:28:00.003-04:00

I got a guy to come and build a fence to keep my puppy safe but the darn weather is conspiring against us.

Thunderstorms yesterday

Thunderstorms today

No thunderstorms tomorrow (fingers crossed)

Thunderstorms Thursday and Friday

It's a weatherly shame!

More garden

2010-07-08T08:57:00.004-04:00

This is what you get
when you add this:
to this:
and top it with this:

but when you run out of newspapers or mulch you get something that looks like this:

And when you put pea gravel on top of mulch on top of newspapers on top of grass you get something that looks like this:

And this:

My dry river bed at the front of the house.

Still much more of all of the above needed to get rid of all the grass. It would help if I could actually breathe outside however so until the air quality improves I will be inside knitting instead!

Garden progress

2010-07-07T08:45:00.006-04:00

Lots of pictures of the garden so far. The previous owners had done some great things - 3 mature trees - a copper beech in the front and a pyramidal mountain ash and a sugar maple in the back so I have some shade and some protection from the winds here in Stratford.

I have been focussing mostly on getting rid of the grass but have planted some pots and a few things as added colour.

There is a good perennial bed in the back which is all in bloom at the moment and is very pretty. I have added an obelisk and some twisted stems to support a clematis

Water garden at the back steps with Papyrus, water hyacinth, water lettuce and Houttounyia

First of the tomatoes in a pot on the back porch:

Shasta daisies in the back by the shed:

David Austin's Leander brought from the old house and now happily blooming and putting out new shoots. I love this rose and there was no way I was leaving it behind!

Annual planter by the side door - there are 2. I was going for pretty!

Mulberry prunings! I hate weeping mulberry and this one was neglected with a ton of dead branches and hanging almost to the ground. My plan was to cut it down until I saw a severely pruned one on a garden tour on the weekend. On Monday I started to transform it!

Stem partially exposed now:

Interim step - there is still much more pruning to go but it actually looks much better already:

Love this rock - Jasper from Colonial Brick and Stone. It weighs 320lbs!

Mulch and tumbled granite and part of the dry river bed at the very front of the front with more Jasper in the background. this was grass once upon a time but with lots of newspaper and black mulch the grass is gone gone gone:

Daylilies at the back:
A pot of coleus and potato vine at the end of the driveway (people seem to love the big asphalt driveways here - easier to plough in the winter I guess - but butt ugly)

Perennial bed in the centre of the back. All of this was here already except for the metal obelisk (a present from my daughter on a Mother's Day a year or 2 ago) and the twisted metal stems for a Clematis Niobe that I added this spring (not showing much action yet):

Sweet Marble at the landing:

Looking cute!

More pictures to come!

Happy Canada Day

2010-07-01T08:48:00.003-04:00

Looking pretty good for a 143 year old I would say!

We do have our moments and this seems like a good day to look at the positive side of Canada and can anything be more Canadian than this Muskoka Chair made from broken hockey sticks!
Plans are here if you feel like making one to celebrate the day

Have a wonderful day and throw some ribs on the BBQ for me. I'll be right over

Little bit of knitting

2010-05-19T08:41:00.004-04:00

Still precious little knitting time chez redbird but I have some to report!

Bought the yarn for this at Maryland Sheep and Wool - Krazy Skeinz Vest from Still River Mill. It is 50 merino and 50 alpaca and the big juicy skeins were just too lovely to pass up. Knitted from the top down - it is finished - just have to darn in the ends and block it!

May's Sock of the month is also finally done:

It is knitted modularly in strips that move back and forth - calling it Jazz Dance.

The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock - colours are Cedar ns, Gold Hill and Tuscany

The alternate colours are Blackberry, Lakeview and Purple Iris (top to bottom)

I get so little knitting time lately (the pup is still pretty demanding) that I actually arrived an hour early for knitting group yesterday so I could get some extra knitting done. Did manage a couple of squares on my Noro Silk Garden Lite version of my Vivian Hoxbro shawl

Now on to process May's SOTM!

Its been a month!

2010-04-27T08:46:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was my 1 month anniversary in Stratford.

I spent it gardening and receiving rocks for the garden and thinking about the garden (when I should have been working!)

The previous owner had done some pretty good stuff so I have good bones to work with. the soil is a heavy clay so lots of amending to do - bought some compressed peat substitute that is renewable (love peat but it is not renewable and therefore not a good choice). You throw the compressed bricks into a bucket of water and come back a couple of hours later to a lovely soup that then gets shovelled (or poured since I used too much water) on the garden and gives instantly satisfying brown fibrey stuff.

Planted a Magnolia (stellata - the multy fingered kind), some Hakenachloa - Japanese Feather Grass I think is the common name - that might be wrong), a globe shaped yellow threadleaf false cypress and a spreading juniper that I bought last year and over wintered in a pot - and moved to Stratford.

Received a shipment of a ton of river rock to go around the base of the silver maple where there is nothing but moss and dandelions. I can get rid of the dandelions but the moss is pretty sparse so the rocks are a better option. Then I can put a couple of chairs there and have a lovely sitting spot in the shade. (have a look at the chairs - they are from recycled plastic and come in 15 colours - you have to look really really closely to tell they are made from plastic! - and they are made here in Stratford!)

Work is all set up - pick up starts today - just have to persuade some orders out of people!! Have some HandMaiden casbah coming today or tomorrow - maybe that will do the trick

Go smell some roses!

Saturday

2010-04-10T08:33:00.002-04:00

Myles's xray showed some "interesting" heart changes. Re-check in 6 months and in the meantime load him up with salmon. Wish I could be a little more active than that but at least I can do that much for him

Saturday brings taxes - or at least me working on them. Must get all my expenses in order and entered into my multipage spread sheet and then get the total off to the accountant.

Good thing the deadline is April 30th here!

What I really want to do it start hitting the garden centres and Anything Grows - which sounds much more fabulous that going through little pieces of paper!

Must work - play later

Myles is being Xrayed

2010-04-08T11:16:00.002-04:00

I took Myles to the vet this am - the new vet now I am in Stratford - to see about the lumpy thing on his neck. We are adopting a wait and see attitude about it - it hasn't grown in 4 months

But.... the vet did hear something weird in his chest and I have left him there for an Xray - fingers crossed it isn't anything other than his murmur but the vet, rightly so, wondered why no one had xrayed his chest before to see if neck lump was also elsewhere

Fingers are crossed

Almost a living room

2010-04-06T10:05:00.003-04:00

The first room I have tackled and tried to clear out is the living room dining room combination. It is long and narrow (27ft long by I think 16ft wide) and until yesterday was mostly full of boxes of books.

With my DD and DSs assistance it is now mostly cleared out

I am swatching paint samples so the walls are looking rather pock marked - blue but which blue, green but which green, yellow but which yellow. The paint store people are beginning to dread my arrival with another quest for the perfect colour

Canadian Tire has acquired a fair bit of my money as well - baby gate for the dog yesterday plus some stools, an ironing board and an iron, recycling bins x 3 (sorry Stratford but more people would recycle if we didn't have to sort things into so many different categories! - corrugated, cardboard, paper, plastic and tins ). The easier it is for people to recycle - the more they do it . Its a FACT!

Off to my knitting group - mine cuz I live here now

Settling in

2010-04-01T08:57:00.002-04:00

Just a few kinks along the moving road - like a cat who went missing and was nowhere to be found - but has now been found. Way too much stuff and way too little time to do it all

The movers were fabulous - Avenue Moving - for anyone contemplating doing something crazy like selling their house and moving to Stratford (or anywhere else for that matter). The packed and hauled and shoved and grunted and managed to get my huge old butternut/tiger maple dresser up to the 2nd floor and my hugely heavy oak couch (also a queen sized bed so imagine how heavy that was!) into the living room

House is still full of boxes of course but a semblance of normality is returning.

Saw a rabbit run across the street this morning! Saw some raptors circling overhead the other day (5 of them). Can see stars! Can see blue sky right down to the horizon!

Boy did I do the right thing!

Now all that has to happen is for the Toronto house to close smoothly today and all will be right with my world

Oh and practically everyone I have met so far in the neighbourhood is from Toronto!

Kids are coming down on Sunday for a visit and to go and see the Swan March - pipers lead the swans back onto the Avon River from their winter home. What a great town this is!

Moving tomorrow

2010-03-25T09:06:00.003-04:00

It's here finally - the big move to Stratford happens tomorrow. Seemed like such a long wait and now it is upon us. I am so looking forward to it.

Here is the kitchen. The light coming in from that door is spectacular - it faces south.
I am going to be reconfiguring the kitchen but have some electrical and plumbing work to do first before I can change the layout here - it is a bit awkward with the stove right beside the fridge. Ok for now but not ideal. There is no fume hood either so that will have to be added.

This is the house - my Stratford friend Liz took the picture the day the sold sign went up. I am hoping the snow is gone by now - although Stratford is in a snow belt.

I would love to find some archival pictures of the house when it had its front porch - you can see the discolouration the brick where the porch roof was. Maybe a restoration project down the road!

Anyway there is lots to do still so see you on the other side

Sleep!

2010-03-17T08:52:00.000-04:00

Puppy slept through the night last night!

Hallelujah!

What a difference a full night's sleep makes

Verrry interesting...

2010-03-10T18:34:00.002-05:00

Paid a measuring visit to the new house in Stratford today and was delighted and enchanted to see some Opuntia in the garden. It is a hardy cactus and a bit on the obscure side so I am much anticipating seeing what other delights await me under the snow.

A bit of a shock to have a couple of inches of snow cover there still when all of ours is gone (it is in the snow belt after all) - all the more to anticipate

Granite wants to know what all the fuss is about and can it be eaten

4 week freak out

2010-03-01T08:47:00.000-05:00

I move in 4 weeks - now I am starting to freak out as we are in the month of the move. It always seemed so far away until today!

My daughter moved into her new apartment on the weekend and the house is already feelinga bit echo-y and empty. Much to do!

Orchids

2010-02-25T08:48:00.002-05:00

To brighten up the dull snowy day!

Taken by me with my Nikon D70s and my wonderful macro lens at the 2008 Southern Ontario Orchid Society Show.

Enjoy

Some knitting

2010-02-17T08:58:00.001-05:00

Actually got some knitting in last night - pup was co-operating nicely. Working on a design for the next Sock of the Month - may be doing a combined February March one since February is nearing its end.

It will be only the 2nd time in the many years of SOTM that I have combined one so I hope no one minds!

Stay tuned - it will be colourful! Tentative name is Jazz Dance - any guesses on what it might be?

Cats and quilts

2010-02-09T09:13:00.004-05:00

Catscape for your Tuesday enjoyment

Myles at the rear aka Bear, Arwen in the middle (my nephew's cat who is visiting for about 3 more weeks) and Bunny aka Bean in front. Pretty cute I think!

I am getting pretty excited about the move and have visions of many projects rolling aroung in my head.

First there is the waste stack which is corroded and needs to be replaced (euwwwww!)

Then the knob and tube wiring that needs to be ripped out of the 1st floor - holy sparks Batman

Then I am, unreasonable and nonsensically thinking .....

QUILTS!

I am not a quilter but I did make a machine stitched log cabin - years ago.

I love the look of them and have been doing some surfing to see what is out there.

Like this:

William Morris fabrics

And this - love the way the colours run

And this - although I am not a particularly pink person but I love the faded old look of this:

I saw a 9-patch on a blog some time ago that really appealed - the patches were cut and repositioned to make a more complex pattern out of a fairly geometric one. Of course I can't find it again but that is the sort of thing I have in mind

Anyone point me in any interesting directions? It needs to be pretty simple or I won't make it to the end!

A demain

Forgotten anniversary

2010-02-05T10:59:00.001-05:00

I completely missed my anniversaries!

4 years of blogging passed me by in January and

9 years of Red Bird Knits passed me by on Monday!

I can't believe it - into my 10th year. Time flies

26 hours and counting

2010-01-29T09:02:00.003-05:00

26 hours until I pick up the pup. These are from the breeder's website - galloping babies!

Cuteness pupsonified

Are you my mummy?

Interesting coincidence: Arthur was born on March 14, 1995 and the father of these pups (Gowrielea's Don't Need to be Coy - call name Roy) was born on March 14, 2008

This is the dad - handsome isn't he

Picture from the breeder's site

Greed!

2010-01-28T12:21:00.001-05:00

My Ravelry queue just reached 19 pages! 19!

And my Patternfish wishlist is so long I get a cramp scrolling down to the bottom to see the one I just added (Knitspot's Fern Frost - achingly lovely!)

There is not a hope in anywhere that I will knit everything - but then there ARE 24 hours in the day and I know I am not using all of them

Looking forward

2010-01-27T08:52:00.002-05:00

I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of Montana (Gowrielea's Bear Tooth) aka Tanner and looking ahead to a stretch of sleepless nights - broken sleep nights anyway as the new baby adjusts to having just 2 adults ( and 5 cats) as his family instead of 7 dogs including his mother, 6 puppies, 2 adults and a cat.

I am looking forward to walking him in this neighbourhood and soon walking him along the Avon River in Stratford.

I am looking forward to taking him to Stratford's dog park and letting him run like the wind

I am looking forward to taking him to Lake Huron to run along the beach and discover his retriever self

I am looking forward to his companionship and wagging tail. I've missed that since losing Arthur (Cooke City Montana) (see the connection?)

Arthur's father was owned by the same breeder that we are adopting Montana from so they are cousins of a sort and although not the same line, they have common ancestors. Cool!

I am not looking forward to packing and clearing out the house though!

More big changes (well will be big in the future)

2010-01-25T08:33:00.004-05:00

Mom of the pups - Cora looking a little perturbed at being disturbed from her sleep

These are at 7 weeks - we pick up our baby on Saturday. I am ++ excited

I want to snorgle this one! Look at that adorable muzzle!

Big changes

2010-01-22T09:33:00.000-05:00

I have been quietly working on some big changes behind the scenes Chez Red Bird and haven't wanted to blog about it until it was finalized.

It is now finalized!

I have sold my house in Toronto and bought a house in ..............

Stratford!

After many years on contemplating leaving the city I have done it!

I will be moving at the end of March and will be a bit out of commission 'til everything gets set up at the other end

Delirious excitement here!

New SOTM

2010-01-19T13:13:00.003-05:00

Red Fox is done and up on my site and on Ravelry

The moment I saw this colourway, I knew it was going to be a sock of the month.

The yarn is Fleece Artist BFL Socks (lovely feel - silky!) and the colour is ......... Red Fox! I hope you like it

This is my nephew's sweet little cat who is staying with us for a while until Ryan gets back from Ireland (it's been a year almost). Arwen has made herself at home here and is quite happily napping on my bed with Bunny and Myles. She woke up so I could take some pics for nephers

Cute!

Cuteness

2010-01-11T10:38:00.004-05:00

Visited the pups this weekend and my son took a few pics. There are 3 boys and 4 girls

We are getting a boy

Still knitting

2010-01-08T10:11:00.001-05:00

Started off the day getting salmon oil on me (while puncturing the gel cap to put some on the cats' food) and then spilled coffee on my leg and arm (luckily cold). I am unreasonably and buoyantly optimistic about the day and the weekend ahead!

Still knitting

Shocking

2010-01-07T09:21:00.003-05:00

My daughter looked over at me the other day and said "Mum, you aren't knitting!"

How shocking is that!

There wasn't much knitting at all over the holidays - lots of cleaning up and clearing out and sorting of things in the house and in the stash and then a rotten cold that still has me stuffed up in morning but very little knitting.

Situation remedied though - started my January Sock of the month yesterday.

Yarn is Fleece Artist BFL Socks in the Red Fox colourway

The yarn is about as delicious as a sock yarn can get!

I am still working out the pattern but there will be texture and garter stitch and some SSKs and YOs.

This is in my future too:

Not all of them - just one of them (a boy). Haven't decided on a name yet

MY olympic sweater

2009-11-26T07:58:00.002-05:00

Not too thrilled by the Dale or The Bay Olympic sweaters (the former is dull and the latter is machine knitted!), I am going to make my own

There will be maple leaves (thanks Liz for the charts) borrowed from an old Mary Maxim sweater (there was a beaver involved - but he will be absent from mine), greens, red, some blues, some white and a few snowflakes.

All seems pretty February 2010 in Whistler BC to me.

What do you think?

Oh and the yarn .......... Lopi of course - what could be more Canadian that a yarn grown and spun in Iceland!

Remembrance Day

2009-11-11T09:28:00.002-05:00

In memory of Dexter Colwell and William Pachal of the South Alberta Regiment whose lives were lost during the battle to close the Falaise Gap at St Lambert sur Dives, France on the night of August 20/21, 1944.

We remember for those who no longer can

Small progress

2009-10-26T11:54:00.001-04:00

Knitting the CTH Java socks on teeny tiny needles (1.5mm) that are SHARP! Needed a break so started the 2nd sock of the red Berroco Sox pair for a break.

2.0mm needles are HUGE!

Proving once again that everything is relative.

Overdosing on Cake Boss while knitting socks. It's a good thing.

Sock 7

2009-10-24T17:24:00.003-04:00

Sock #7 - pair #6

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in colour Java - deep and rich

Knitting it in mistake stitch rib - seemed to need a more formal approach than the feather and fan

About 1/2 into the ankle

Yum

Blissfully Friday

2009-10-23T10:47:00.001-04:00

And the weather is lousy so lots of knitting.

Almost done sock six - ever onwards!

Sock Six

2009-10-22T20:46:00.002-04:00

This will be sock six - Berroco Sox Metallic

Am about halfway into the foot and may finish tonight

Don't know yet what sock seven will be knitted in - I found a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Java in my stash and may do that.

Sock progress

2009-10-20T09:58:00.002-04:00

Two of these are done:

One of these:

One of these:

And this is done to the heel turn:

That makes 5 of 12 - pretty good sock drawer filling progress is being made I think!

Not reading blogs!

2009-10-19T09:54:00.001-04:00

I am refusing to read any blogs this week - no reports of Rhinebeck will be viewed or consumed!

I am knitting!

That is all!

No Rhinebeck for YOU!

2009-10-16T17:53:00.002-04:00

Ainslie and I both decided it wasn't a great time to do Rhinebeck again this year and I am a little sad that I am not sitting in my hotel room planning our Rhine-attack.

I will instead be knitting socks - almost finished the 2nd of 12 now and will start on #3 either tonight or tomorrow

And watch Stargate Universe. I sure hope this episode is better that Air 1-3!

Need to get out and walk in this gorgeous weather too!

Have a great weekend

11 more to go

2009-10-15T10:06:00.003-04:00

The 1st of 12

Next is a green one - same yarn and pattern

So 1 1/2 down, 10 1/2 to go

Six socks

2009-10-14T09:29:00.006-04:00

Actually 6 pairs of socks!

I have a shocking lack of socks in my sock drawer and have decided that I need to knit 6 pairs in quick time in order to keep my feet happy as the weather cools (frost warning last night although things look fine this morning - although the air does feel frosty)

I finished the first of 12 socks last night and will be casting on the 2nd tonight.

This is the colour (warm isn't it!) of Berroco Sox that was once part of a double knitted hat that was knitting up big enough for 2 of my heads:

And this is the pattern - my Feather and Fan:

Progress!

October Sock - this makes year 8

2009-10-13T13:23:00.002-04:00

I can hardly believe it but this October sock for my sock of the Month Club makes it the beginning of year 8 of the club!

That means I have designed nearly 7 x 12 or 84 socks!

This one is knitted in Berroco Sox Metallic and has some sparkle to it - can't see it in the scan but it is going to brighten up your knitting day.

The darker one is Lang Aktion and was my 1st test of the patterns.

I think both work - what do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-10-12T10:53:00.002-04:00

The fam (most of it - the parts that weren't otherwise involved or on another continent) helped me celebrate Thanksgiving yesterday.

Partly by accident I discovered that you CAN successfully cook a frozen turkey and that it helps a lot if you have a convection oven and a meat thermometer just to make sure. 8+Kg of a largely solid lump of ice actually tasted quite delicious after 6 1/2 hours of slightly nail biting roasting.

Today is a veg day. I might knit but I am head to toe in fleece to keep warm and have no plans other than to watch Dollhouse later when my DS comes over. There will be turkey-lurkey (mine is mashed potatoes, cranberry stuffing, cranberry and of course turkey - all heated up in a bowl - YUMM)

Peace, joy and love to all (and on to Christmas decorations - starting with evergreen boughs in a week or 2 and coloured lights (but not until Nov 1 or so))

Lots of small projects

2009-08-25T12:34:00.006-04:00

Working on a few small projects these days - can't seem to get anything larger started - or worse - finished

Noro Kureyon fingerless mitts

Poems Sock Moebius neck thingy

And matching fingerless mitts

SOTM

2009-08-05T18:21:00.002-04:00

August

Butterfiles

Colour

Yum

Meet "Flutter By"

That is all

Spinning again

2009-07-17T09:46:00.002-04:00

Dragged my wheel out (Lendrum Traveller Double Treadle) after a long hiatus (finished the homework for a spinning course 4 years ago and put it on a shelf from which 1 of my builders knocked it off! - seems ok - just a scratch)

Started spinning some Lincoln I had bought in the fleece at Maryland in 2008 (and had processed at Frankenmuth) and got about 1/8th of a bobbin full when the footman broke (it is a plastic tube about 1/2 and inch thick). Duct taped that one and then the other one broke - More duct tape and the original 1 pulled apart.

After some calls I got replacements (Lise Noakes at The Yarn Source) and picked them up on Sunday on my way down to see puppies (See previous post) and with the help of my brother's screwdriver (and after undoing everything to untangle the drive band that I had somehow managed to get into the wrong position) I am spinning again!

1 bobbin down - many more to go. The lincoln is a lovely medium dark slightly greyish brown. I am planning to spin enough to make myself a rustic, warm sweater. At my rate it may take a while but I will post progress (and pics) from time to time

Spin spin spin

Puppy Therapy

2009-07-13T11:29:00.003-04:00

Visited a Golden Retriever breeder yesterday to meet a Mum who will deliver about the middle of August. Happily there were also 6 puppies (all spoken for though) to fondle as well.

How delightful their little faces are!

My DS went with me and spent the time throwing a kong for the other 6 adults. I am not sure who had more fun Christopher or the dogs!

The breeder, a woman on her own, has 9 dogs - plus the 6 puppies - so I think if she can handle all of them, I can handle 1 little puppy!

Stay tuned - there may be news!

Happy Birthday Canada!

2009-07-01T10:09:00.001-04:00

Happy and proud to be a Canadian every day but especially today on our Birthday

Hug someone and wish them Happy Canada Day

Our lovely boy

2009-06-18T09:23:00.003-04:00

Arthur

2009-06-17T18:07:00.004-04:00

Arthur - Cooke City Montana - March 14, 1995 to June 17, 2009

Sweetest, smartest, most beautiful dog on the planet

New colours!

2009-06-11T18:46:00.003-04:00

Hit the warehouses yesterday to pick up the rest of the Silk Garden Sock for my June SOTM and found some new colours:

They are on my website here:

As always different balls of the same colour show great variation depending on how they are wound - part of the delight of Noro

Have I told you how much I love Noro lately?

Progress

2009-06-10T09:55:00.005-04:00

I was rather disappointed with Noro's offering of Kureyon Sock. I resisted buying it at all for a while and finally succumbed because of the colours. I was never particularly successful in knitting a satisfactory sock from it - tried a fair isle pattern but it ended up too thick ( and would have been too expensive for my Sock of the Month club). I did knit a wrap shawl for a few balls of it in garter stitch and that is fairly successful - and warm but I don't even carry it it any more.

I do however, like their Silk Garden Sock - and have knitted a modular vest from this colour:

Rich

Reds

Lovely

And knitted a sock in this colour:

It is also modular with accents of black. Pictures to come once I have finalized the design.

The first result was too big so I am adjusting the gauge and doing it in this colour:

Recognize it? Yes, it is the same as the vest

Why fiddle with what works

I am happy with this one and will be photographing it and posting it to my website shortly

Happy knitting everyone

Gardening

2009-06-08T10:09:00.008-04:00

Ainslie and I were talking about our gardens the other day and I was trying to tell her about the various things in my garden but of course, a picture is worth a thousand words ... so here are a thousand pictures instead

Violas on the porch in a Mother's Day gift from a few years ago - planted them April 1st and had to cover them a few times in both April and May (so cold this Spring)

Weigela finally blooming again after a severe pruning 2 years ago:

Viburnum plicatum looking lush this year:

I love my orange pansies:

Marble wants to know what I am doing outside without him ( and Bunny doesn't care)

Front of my house showing the Cornus mas the city planted 16 years ago that still looks more like a bush than a tree - and the Japanese Maple behind it that we moved from the back to make way for the deck:

Geraniums being geranium-like (these are the perennial Geraniums not the blousy annuals that need a lot of sun - these take shade):

Geese geesing:

Volunteer Euphorbia that is spreading itself around the garden in a very pleasing way:

Deutzia

My sweet little Cornus kousa - I've long wanted one of these and am delighted that it seems to like it where I planted it last year and is giving me a multitude of blooms (actually not blooms but let's not get too technical)

Brunnera looking forget-me-not like. This is the green one:

And the silver Brunnera that isn't blooming as much as the green version:

Home Depot made these - I just added the iron basket:

Another Geranium spending time with Alchemilla mollis (Lady's Mantle) - both are great favourites and do well in my front and back gardens - these are in front:

Dappled willow (which is actually a little peachier that the picture shows) with Heuchera that may be Marmalade but I have lost the tag. The Heuchera is in a pot (and seems happier there that most of my Heucheras that are in the ground):

That is all for now

Knitting next time

First time!

2009-05-12T09:57:00.003-04:00

What's this?...

Something tealy and lacy?

And what's this - more tealy lacy goodness.....?

What ... more? A sort of out of focus arty shot?....

Tealy and lacy and arty - oh my...

Oh look - its a shawl!

And the shawl has a back....

And the shawl has a pattern!

Here on Patternfish

Its my first!

This doesn't count

Wahoo!

Maryland oh Maryland

2009-05-11T08:53:00.003-04:00

Maryland Sheep and Wool was cold and rainy this year but it didn't matter at all. it was wonderful to be there!

I didn't buy much - but did pick up 7 skeins of Autum House Farm's Finnean's Rainbow in an interesting mix of a goldy brown, mauve and purple. I found it on Sunday morning before the crowds arrived so I was actually able to get into most booths (not The Fold - they had a mesh up and several grumpy looking patrons who gave me the evil eye when I walked in front of themjust to take a look at the STR - I still don't get the frenzy and the long lines!)

There were 3 skeins of 1 colourway and 2 of another that seemed to work well together (and the price was right) so I bought all 5 plus a solid in a deeper purple to make a border (probably a Shetland lace border with a bit of ruffle - there is lots of yarn to do that)

And here is the beginning of the shawl - a simple diamond pattern that won't fight with the colour variations.

It was so cold on Sunday that I ended up wrapping a couple of skeins around my neck to stay warm - looked like and idiot I am sure but at least I was a warm idiot.

The highlight again this year was the Parade of Breeds. What an amazing array of sheep! And again this year there was a lamb who entertained with her/his antics.

No sheep pictures - it was always pretty dark in the barns and I hadn't brought my flash.

Wonderful! And well worth the drive (1,000Kms each way - about 600 miles)

Next up is Rhinebeck which isn't as sheepy but has lots of interesting vendors

SPRING!

2009-03-23T11:19:00.005-04:00

I've seen these little red squirrels at the cottage but this is the first year I have seen them in my city garden. Hooray for the little guys!

Noisy though - this guy was screeching at something for several minutes - cat perhaps...

Not a very prepossessing bird until you see him basking in the sun. These guys (Grackles) were hit hard with West Nile a few years ago and are slowly making a comeback. They are noisy and a bit thuggish but I am still glad to see several of them in the garden

And these fellas make my heart sing - Goldfinches in their winter clothes still

See the flash of yellow on his wing:

And another one who was hit hard by WN - this gorgeous guy:

Arthur snuffling in the ground looking for something interesting:

Arthur turned 14 on March 14th! We are very lucky

All taken with my Nikon and my 70 to 300mm lens - handy for garden pics

Books .. lots of books

2009-03-06T19:23:00.002-05:00

Got this list from Dr Steph - the average person has ready 6 books from the list.

My number is 78

My father was an English teacher. I guess he rubbed off on me

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - Many times over - I was 13 the first time
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien – Read it in University and re-read it when the first movie came out
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte - Read it, watched it, love it
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling – All but the last one which I couldn't get in to
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - Yes
6 The Bible - bits and pieces but not lately
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte - Studied it in High School. Loved it
8 1984 - George Orwell - Yes
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman - First 2 - still sitting by my bed for the 3rd
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens - Yes
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott - Yes
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy – Yes - cried buckets
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller – Yes
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare – Not all of them but all the biggies (Hamlet, The Scottish Play, R & J, Julius Caesar, Lear, Midsummer Nights Dream...
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien - Yes
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks - Part - its on my bookshelf waiting
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger - Yes - am I the only one in the world who thought it was sophomoric?
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger - Yes, - cried buckets
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot- Yes
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell - Yes
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald - Yes and everything he wrote
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens- Yes- read it last summer
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy - Yes - in my ambitious University days
25 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams - 42
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh - Yes
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Yes
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll - Yes
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame - Yes
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy - Yes
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens - Yes
33 The Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis - only Lion Witch and Wardrobe
34 Emma - Jane Austen - Yes
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen - Dozens of times
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - Yes - see above
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - No
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres- No but saw the movie. THis one doesn't seem to belong on the list
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden - Yes, - fabulous
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne – Yes - my father read it to me and I read it to my kids
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell -Yes
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown - No
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Yes
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving - Yes
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins - Yes and saw the BBC series - its great
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery - Yes
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy - Yes - in high school
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood - Yes
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding - Yes
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan - Yes- are all of Ian McEwen's mothers dysfunctional?
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel - Yes
52 Dune - Frank Herbert- Yes
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons - No
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen - Yes
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth - No
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon - No and haven't heard of this one
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens - Tis a far far better thing I do... um Yes
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley - Yes
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon - Yes
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - No
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck – Yes. Why not The Grapes of Wrath
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov - Yes
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt - Tried and failed
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold – If Heather says its worth reading then it must be ... right?
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas - No
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac - Yes
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy - Yes
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding - Yes
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie - Yes
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville - Tried
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens - Yes
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker - Yes
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett - Yes
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson - No
75 Ulysses - James Joyce - Has anyone read this?
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath - Yes and now I am depressed
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome - Yes
78 Germinal - Emile Zola - No
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray - Yes
80 Possession - AS Byatt- Yes - twice
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens - Bah Humbug - Yes
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell - No
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker -No
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro - Yes
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert - Yes
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry - Yes - fantastic book
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White - Yes
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom - No
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Yes
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton – No
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad - Yes
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery – Yes in english and French
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks - No
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams - Yes
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole - Yes
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute - LOVE LOVE LOVE this book - YES
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas - Yes
98 Hamlet – Shakespeare – Yes
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl - yes
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo - Yes

So where is the Hemingway? Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Sun Also Rises - all missing. Puzzling

I read a lot! I have a pile of books beside my bed at all times and one of my favourite activites is scouring the used book stores for deals.

How did you do?

Waiting

2009-03-04T10:48:00.003-05:00

Waiting for some of my auctions to close on eBay and waiting for Ravelry to open up their April ads

Waiting ...............

Started my March sock of the month last night - Lang Aktion in a pretty purple combo with a solid for a faux fair isle in Anatolian motifs - have a few motifs in mind for this and will see how they play out as I knit
I would likely normally have chosen cream or black to go with this but wanted something a little different and choose a light grey tweed. The combination is giving me a really good vibe - sort of tudory
Was watching the 2nd season of The Tudors - RUN to get this if you haven't seen it yet - fabulous series. Am loking forward to season 3

Just read Alison Weir's Innocent Traitor - about Lady Jane Grey - daughter of Henry 8s cousin. Weir has written several Tudor histories and this is a fictional account based on those histories. A very good read

In a very tudor mood today

Crazy!

2009-02-20T14:07:00.003-05:00

Crazy is because I just added my three hundred and oneth project to my Ravelry queue!

OK so if I can knit a small project in a week and a larger project takes 3 weeks and say half of my queue is small and th'other half is larger how long do I have to live to knit everything

And add in my 3 or 4 days each month to work up my sock of the month

I think that makes me 152 when I am done.

How crazy is that!

This is my current project:

Winter Branches by Chrissy Gardiner (bought it on Patternfish)

Knitting it in Cascade 220 Heathers in colour Irelande (because my nephew is leaving for Ireland on Monday) and am onto my 4th ball - love it! Great colour and great texture - an easy to remember pattern that looks fantastic in this yarn

Ooooh - texture.... ooooh

And the obligatory depth of field shot ...ooooh

Started this last Friday and knit like a demon all weekend and a few inches each day so should be done the body and start the sleeves this weekend and be done by next

1 down 301 to go - this one wasn't even in my queue

Darn that Patternfish and double darn that Ravelry!!

Have a great weekend everyone

GO KNIT!

New sock

2009-02-09T10:27:00.004-05:00

Loved working with this yarn

Malabrigo Sock is more like silk or a silk blend than a regular sock yarn.

It is 100% wool, nicely twisted and the subtle colour variations are quite pleasing.

It has been a while since I have done a sock with a cuff - something I love to do - knit the cuff sideways and then pick up and knit the stitches and continue on down the ankle.

This one meanders back and forth and brought a stream to mind - thus "River"

Colour is Lettuce.

And a Photoshopped version that is very close to Impressionist Sky:

I started out with quite a different pattern and even changed colours but the pattern I was using just wasn't showing up and although I liked it a lot and will use it for a later sock, it just wasn't working in this yarn - too fine and just enough colour variation that it blurred the pattern.

If at first...

Cashmere?

2009-02-03T15:46:00.002-05:00

There are a couple of fibres that really turn my crank

Silk

Cormo wool

Wensleydale Longwool

Blue faced Leicester

Mohair

Mohair and silk

and the greatest of these is...

Cashmere

Cashmere makes me drool

Cashmere makes me want to do nothing but fondle it

Cashmere can be pretty darned expensive

But now and then along comes a deal - got a bunch from my supplier who gave me a bit of a discount

Lang Cashmere is delicious and I now have a bunch of colours and just ordered more!

A friend of mine is knitting a camisole from Knitting Lingerie Style in a beautiful ice blue (1 of the colours I have re-ordered) and I am going to knit a hat for my daughter (allergic to wool but happily can wear cashmere)

I drool!

One word

2009-01-29T17:20:00.000-05:00

CASHMERE

Cats multiply

2009-01-27T10:12:00.004-05:00

My nephew and his girlfriend are leaving at the end of February to work in Ireland for a year and they have asked me to take care of their cats while they are in the Emerald Isle.

I will post more pictures once they come out of hiding - Arwen is an orange marble tabby and is comfortable with everyone except the dog now (much arching of back and fluffing of tail when Arthur arrives on the scene) and Casper is a pretty grey with a few subtle stripes on his tail, lovely eyeliner in cream (very 70s) and a spotted tummy.

Puss's Boots
Casper spent all of yesterday hiding in the furnace room scrunched down behind a bunch of boxes but he arrived on my bed last night and after some shuffling of cats, he spent the night in my room and I woke up to a purr-fest.

Still knitting (obsessively) the mitred square Hoxbro-ish shawl in Silk Garden Lite. Am a little more than half way through and am on the last row of squares before I split it for the front opening. It seems to be eating through the yarn at quite a rate but I should have enough. Starting to feel as if I woudl like to work on something else for a little while - have to work up the February SOTM (in Malabrigo Sock - droolworthy yarn if there ever was one)

Cat and project pictures later

Family pictures

2009-01-16T11:33:00.002-05:00

Our lovely Arthur enjoying the snow

Pretty boy and the best dog! He's 13 and a happy go lucky fellow who especially loves to snow plow with his nose.

Pictures taken by my DD Katherine with my Nikon

modular - what again!

2009-01-15T13:24:00.005-05:00

Sitting and freezing while watching TV on Tuesday evening wearing a couple of layers of wool made me dive into my stash and pull out some Silk Garden Lite that I had put aside to knit a Benedikta ( modular - Cornelia Tuttle-Hamilton for Noro) to knit what amounts to a blanket.

It is based on Vivian Hoxbro's Zig Zag Shawl (which I knit in her kit yarn of a warm tomato red with green diamond highlights and wear all the time) but in a heavier yarn and I am going to make it longer

Here is the start of it and I am a little further along - one more strip is finished and another one started.

I adore the colours and of course adore knitting modularly since no measuring is needed until the end. I have lots - 20 balls so this will be cosy and will also keep me warm while I am knitting it.

And I pulled out some orange Tofutsies for a pair of socks.

Can you tell I am freezing!

Stay warm everyone

Socks and more socks

2009-01-13T09:33:00.003-05:00

Much sock knitting happening here - partly for my sock of the month club and partly to replenish my dwindling stock of personal socks.

I have lost a pair of Regia Jacquard in purple to the washing machine - loved those socks but they have a huge hole in the side - not even in the heel - so to repair them I would first have to dig through my leftovers and find the last of the yarn ( tis the pretty purple version) and then pretty much re-knit the whole foot. Not likely!

Then my beloved and only pair of Koigu socks that I knit long ago in the first summer after I started Red Bird (that would be August of 2000) and they have developed a big heel hole. Must fix that pair as they are a glorious shade of purple too.

I guess the purple ones come out of the sock drawer first and get worn the most!

Here is Curlicue - my January Sock of the Month:

It is knitted in the lovely Lana Grossa Meilenweit Seta Cashmere - charcoal grey and a very light silver grey.

All of my previous mosaic socks have been 1 motif with a few highlights. This one sports 3 (4 if you count the trim) different motifs and the instep is a mirror image of the ankle.

I particularily enjoy mosaic knitting since it is so simple to do and becasue you only use 1 colour at a time it makes for a not too thick sock (stranding be gone!)

Personal socks in Andante - my December SOTM - out of this are on my feet. Warm and cosy and the bright colour is perfect for the dull snowy day outside:

It is also Lana Grossa Meilenweit but this time is Magico - nice thick stripes of colour with short highlight broken stripes.

And another pair of this:

Which is some leftover Regia Kaffe Fassett Landscape. This one I knit in my Feather and Fan and the stripes are just narrow enough that each pattern line starts at a new colour. I likey!

I plan 2 more pairs before my mini sock marathon is done - another Regia Fassett one - ths time the variegated version in reds - again in Feather and Fan and something else that I haven't decided on yet but it will be bright!

Stay warm - its going down to -21 C here tonight - I won't be sticking my nose into that although I do have a quartet booked to play tonight - I am hoping it won't be that cold when we are en route.

And then there is the snow.......

Cheers and go and have a cup of tea

Family Matters

2008-12-22T23:29:00.001-05:00

The Fam just got bigger by a count of 1 tiny wee girl named Juliet Claire

My niece Lindsay delivered her this morning - all 7 lbs 7 ozs of cuteness

My scratchy throat prevented me from visiting but I hope to see her soon. In the meantime I can only imagine those tiny fingers and toes. They tell me she looks like her sister Ainslie

Just in time for Christmas

Clogs and socks and my short attention span

2008-12-17T10:52:00.004-05:00

Andante is my sock of the month for December and is a bit of a departure from the usual complicated thirteen things at once designs I tend towards:

I guess with the busy-ness of the season and all, I wanted something that was a little easier to work on - not having to follow a chart seemed like a good route to go but I do get bored easily so this is 1 step up from a plain stocking stitch sock and boasts only 2 pattern rounds.

I have knitted a couple of socks in this now - not bloggable yet but I tried it out on a variegated yarn and a self striping one as well and am quite happy with how they both turned out.

There are many zig zag socks out there - I even have 2 myself (one is a lace version and one a modular stripes knitted one at at time) and this is my version. Easy. Peasy.

I am working on a few pairs of knitted clogs (Fiber Trends brilliant pattern) and am experiencing a few challenges - not with the pattern which is perfectly written - but rather with the operator .

The 1st try was in Noro Kureyon - colour 149 which is beiges - and knitted 1 to make sure it turned out well. I used the largest mens's size and it is LARGE - HUGE in fact. Felting has been a little les than successful - it felts but I can still see the stitch definition too well for my liking and it is still quite large. None of the men in my family have particularly large feet so I might have to donate these.

The other problem with the Kureyon ones is that so far I have used 3 balls - and even at my cost these are going to be one expensivo pair of slippers.

Pair 2 is Cascade 220 and my operator error has meant that one of them leans off to the side a bit. They felted beautifully and are perfect in every respect except for the rather acute angle of the cuff on one of them. They will be mine and are my "test" pair and that is my story to which I am sticking!

Pair 3 is also Cascade 220 and I just need to knit the 2nd sole on the 2nd one and felt them.

My short attention span comes into play here as I am not sure I can bear to make another pair. So maybe only 1 of my nieces gets slippers. I have other things on hand so will give them instead.

Happy Holidays to everyone in case I don't blog again before Christmakuh.

Patternfish landmark

2008-12-12T18:09:00.002-05:00

Patternfish is almost at the 2,000 patterns mark

And Julia has written the descriptions and uploaded every single one of them

Applause applause applause

Congratulations Julia

Send her a bottle of champagne (and go buy some patterns!)

Working weekend

2008-11-28T12:36:00.005-05:00

This is what I want to work on this weekend:

Umm yumm - perhaps in purple heather

But this is is what I have to work on this weekend instead:

Watch this spot for what this ball of turquoise tweediness will turn into

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who were eating turkey yesterday while I was working

And happy weekend to everyone!

We remember

2008-11-11T11:34:00.003-05:00

Newest SoTM

2008-11-10T11:06:00.005-05:00

Some times a design in my head spills right out onto the needles and takes no time at all to get to a point where it works for me.

Novembers didn't come easily though.

This was in my head:

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

It is by Robert Frost and a favourite poem - one of the few I can still recite parts of!

This is what it turned into:

In lovely Fortissima/Socka - a great sock yarn in some classic and not so classic colours.

This was the green I used in Holly Berry from a few years ago (that time with red and cream). it is a great green - lighter than loden but not too grassy or kelly green.

And through the magic of Photoshop, these are the other colours it will ship in

Red:
Lilac:

And turquoise:

A happy Snowy sock.

It took me 4 tries to get it right. My first go was too large and there was no coherence in the pattern. I ripped it out quickly so as not to leave any evidence behind.

The 2nd version worked better but there was too much cream in it and I would have had to ship 2 balls of cream instead of 1 with the colour (making it more expensive than I wanted this months to be - last month's was the most expensive of any kit I have done so far ($33.00) ).

The 3rd was almost there but the highlight stitch that is where the line of checkerboards along the ankle sits now wasn't carrying its weight well enough so I changed it to the checkerboards.

Took a bit of doing but I am happy with the result. I hope you like it too!

More shawls

2008-10-27T09:54:00.005-04:00

Finished my Norwegian Woods Shawl and blocked it (pictures to come). I love the purpley goodness of the Grignasco Merino Silk and there is enough left over from the 1 skein to make a scarf. Love that 1.4Km of yarn!

Started working on a variation of the Danish Tie Shawl. I have a few triangular ones that I have knitted for myself in Fleece Artist BFL 2/8 and I plan to work up the pattern in both triangular and tie shawl versions.

I am doing the tie version in Meilenweit Mega Boots Stretch as I love the subtle variation in colour (#721)
It changes from deep greyed blue through to a bit of teal.

I have 2 balls of this colour and I might add a border in a contrast colour - something blendy with some earthy tones to it. Will see as I go.

Last weekend, I started another version of my Silk Garden Sock vest. This time in more earthy tones (#245) and am on the braided waist band:

Here is a glamour landscape shot of the peplum and waistband so far. The cabling is delicious but I am finding it a bit hard on the hands thus the start on the other Tie-Shawl

Have a great week everyone!

Finishing weekend

2008-10-06T11:10:00.005-04:00

Was supposed to go to Kingston this weekend to visit Ainslie and pick up some yarn from the spinner but neither Ainslie nor I were feeling well so it turned into a finishing weekend instead.

I am determined not to start anything new until I can at least see some room on my knitting projects shelf - which is deep, wide and tall - and lives above the TV in a cabinet in the living room. I sorted through everything up there and frogged a couple, put a couple away for next spring (summer tops aren't going to be needed again for a while - darn it!) and took a few down for designated finishing work.

This was the first - my Noro Kureyon Sock wrap shawl (colour #184 and 2 balls for those who asked):

All it needed was the last tie sewn on and to be steamed but I couldn't find the last bit of yarn left over (which wasn't much anyway) so had to undo one of the ties a bit in order to steal some yarn from it in order to sew it on. You can just see a bit of the end of the tie at the bottom of the picture.

All done now - and steamed this morning. I wore it a bit yesterday - sitting on the deck having my am coffee and just love the way it feels to wear - like a very warm comfortable sweater but fitted close to the body and completely cosy.

I see more in my future!

And the other item finished is my Noro Silk Garden Sock mitred square and braided vest:

The waist sits better on me than on the judy - it is my daughter's judy and she is much more short waisted than I am. The braided section is right on my waist

This is the back of the neck. Nice play of colours imho.

And all folded up and ready for the drawer

Also did another pattern repeat on my Norwegian Woods Shawl. 1 more row to go on repeat 2 of 3 of the 2nd last section.

I practised on Sunday too! Not a very frequent thing but I am playing the Schubert C major quintet today and the 2nd movement is a real bugger for the 2nd cello so I thought I would do a bit of wood shedding so as not to make too much of a hash of it. I'll let you know how it goes!

Much music little knitting

2008-09-30T17:55:00.003-04:00

A shocking lack of knitting going on chez redbird! A few stitches here and there on a few on my many projects including some sock knitting that went on in the church while waiting for our turn to play on Sunday.

Trial by Jury was a blast! Apparently it was the first Gilbert and Sullivan done at St Anne's long ago and a perfect one to present along with a time scan of music played over the 100 years' history of the church. Started with Stanford - hadn't heard it before but my brother and father sang it in Westminster Abbey (yes, the one in London, England) many years ago on a choir tour they went on with Grace Church on the Hill.

And here they are in front of the Abbey:

Dad on the left and Ian , my brother on the right.

I am playing tonight with two of the people who were on that trip - one is my bro and the other is Irene who was along with her then husband - the conductor of the choir. Tiny small world!

We are playing Brahms' Clarinet Quintet and likely also the Mozart and Carl Maria von Weber. Should be fun!

But no knitting!

Must run!

Fall signs in spades

2008-09-22T10:04:00.005-04:00

I got out my camera yesterday and spent some time in the garden

These have been blooming nearly all summer and are still going strong - Gaura Pink Butterflies. Very pretty but they have a tendency to sprawl so would be better staked.

Visiting mourning dove taking advantage of some spilled bird seed beside the house:

My Viburnum plicatum - Doublefile Viburnum is starting to show signs of Fall colour:

And so is my neighbour's Euonymous elatus - Burning Bush - which is definitely beginning its burn

Lots of berries - these are the Virginia Creeper that has pretty much taken over the shed in the back (my neighbour 2 houses up planted it years ago and now I can't get rid of it but it does have its advantages - covering the ugly shed is one and its fall colour is the other):

And another volunteer tree - maybe a Hawthorn although I have never tried very hard to identify it and have never seen it with so many berries. The birds don't eat these:

Caryopteris bought a few weeks ago at Home Depot is blooming. It is bluer that this and the leaves are silver - quite lovely and a fantastic colour particularly at this time of year when everything seems to be orange or rust

A macro shot of its tentacles - would make a great looking alien I think

Cimicifuga racemosa or snakeroot/bugbane blooming in spite of it being nearly crowded out by other plants. This was one of the most expensive perennials I have ever bought - cost me $25.00 for 1 plant about 15 years ago - can't remember ever spending that much on a single plant before or since:

Cornus kousa - the one last sputnik left

Acer palmatum or Acer japonicum in the back right by my deck - ready to make more acer babies

Ready for his close up - very narrow depth of field - look at the next one for a slightly different version of the same shot

And one of my favourite plants - Anemone japonicum or Japanese Anemone - blooms from August through the Fall in pink - there is also a white version.

Ancient apple tree across the street.

Heavily laden with apples that will pretty much all end up squished on the street and ferment making for a scent of apple cider for the next few weeks.

Fall indeed!

Shots taken with my Nikon D70s and my 105mm macro lens.

Many a stitch was knit last night

2008-09-20T10:22:00.007-04:00

Nothing more delightful than a long evening of pure knitting time stretching out before me. Last night was great for working on my Norwegian Woods Shawl.

Both repeats of pattern 2 done and on to the first of 3 of pattern 3.

This is the scarf version but you can see where I am - just at the beginning of what looks to me like gothic arches. Getting close to the end - but still lots of looooong rows and getting longer ... to knit

Just queued this up on Ravelry. Another Hanne Falkenberg design - love the colours and the directional knitting. This version has 4 colours - better I think than some of the others that are only 2. It is called Blues and is in a new yarn for Ms F - a cotton/wool that is a bit heavier than her usual Shetland style yarn.

It is now #3 on my queue
Number 1 is the Aran Wrap Cardigan from Vogue Knitting Fall 08 - sideways cables with knitted downwards sleeves and a cabled peplum. Clever pattern!

And this is #2 - a finer knit - probably do it in Jo Sharp Classic DK or perhaps Filatura di Crosa's Zara

Off now to get ready to go to a rehearsal for Trial by Jury - a concert version to be performed in one of the most beautiful churches in Toronto - St. Anne's on Gladstone Ave famous for its Group of Seven paintings. A truly glorious setting

Not one stitch knitted yesterday

2008-09-18T11:55:00.005-04:00

Rarely does a day not include a bunch of knitting! Instead, yesterday was "send all 100 sock of the month club kits out day " and then "play Brahms evening". In between were feed animals and catch up on the financial news.

I got a group together to play the Brahms' String Sextets last evening - not an easy feat finding 2 violins ( the easiest) 2 violas (the hardest) and 2 cellos (easier since one of them was me) and getting them all in one place at the same time. I can usually only count on it happening once or twice a year at most.

There are excerpts on Wikipedia of the 2nd one we played - the Opus 36 - (scroll almost down to the bottom and then scroll to the bottom of the media files section)

I am now trying to get a group together to play Brahms Clarinet Quintet - a little easier since it is 5 not 6 people and I already have the 2 violins pencilled in. Just have to confirm with the Clarinet that he is still available and find me a viola (and someone to play it too)

Does anyone know the definition of a String Quartet?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
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.
.
.
.

A good violinist

A bad violinist

A former violinist (the viola player)

and someone who hates the violin (the cellist)

One of many silly music jokes - most of which are directed at the viola

Which is better - a violin or a viola?

A viola - it burns longer

Spinning with the DKC and Ashford

2008-09-18T11:55:00.004-04:00

My guild , the Downtown (Toronto) Knit collective had its first meeting last night. The Ashford folks were there to show off their pretty pretty things. Great way to start off the Fall.

This is pretty:

The Ashford Traditional - nice looking wheel!

This is pretty too:

The Ashford Joy - very portable - might be a little small for me (I'm 5'7") but it is pretty still

This is pretty:
Hand cranked drum carder - not too expensive as carders go and would be very nice to have on hand to process and re-process and blend fibres.

These are new and very pretty

The Knitter's Loom - in 2 widths. just what we need to use up the stash. They showed a video of warping them and it seems much more straight forward and quicker than a standard loom (of which I know nothing - can identify a loom as a loom but that is as far as it goes) and sits on the edge of a table while supported in the weaver's lap.

Oh no - not another hobby!

Distracted - who me?

2008-09-15T17:29:00.002-04:00

No , I haven't quite finished my Silk Garden Sock vest - still working on the neck trim. I started something that wasn't working then started something else and it is sitting waiting for me to decide to rip or stay. In the meantime:

Stack o' Silk Garden Sock - in all its cable, garter and stocking stitch glory

And here is the new delight that has my attention for the while

It is Sivia Harding's Norwegian Woods Shawl - all of the first section is done and the second started. The colour is actually more purple than the pic shows.

So from a whole lot of red to some purple - moving along the colour spectrum is always a good thing!

On a perplexing but true note - I received a Final Notice from the post office today (Sept 15th) - item to be sent back if not picked up by August 22nd. Efficiency isn't a Canada Post feature I am thinking. Well at least they sent it back when they said they would!

Harummph!

Something finished

2008-09-11T16:45:00.002-04:00

Finished this - my September Sock of the Month.

I named it Intrecciato - which is braided in Italian - clever eh?

I loved working with the yarn - Estelle Cadenza - a bit of shine with its silk content and a really springy feel to it.

And back to my vest which is just about done - just need to sew down the self - faced braided edges and knit the neck band - which will also be self-faced and braided

There seems to be a theme going on here - or perhaps 2

1. Braids

2. Red

And lurking in the back of my knitting brain is a new shawl to sample my new Grignasco MerinoSilk lace yarn

Slight detour on the road to modules

2008-09-05T13:38:00.005-04:00

I haven't done much more on my Silk Garden sock Vest - have finished the last square and have had to put it away as I am working on September's Sock of the Month.

I can't yet post a picture of it but I can tell you that there are cables involved!

And that the sample ( and your kits) will be done in this yarn:

The yarn is Estelle's new Cadenza - a superwash wool and silk blend that is being truly delicious to work with. Just a wee bit of glowing shine from the silk and slight colour variation that blends beautifully with the cables.

Still trying to think of a name!

Progress

2008-09-03T10:21:00.005-04:00

Dappled sunlight shot of my nearly finished vest.

Last square started and then will do a small wedge to shape the shoulders and then add the braid trim (knitted on of course - no sewing for moi)

Garter stitch gorgeousness:

And the dappled sunlight version

Braids - love the braids!

Just received a note from a friend (Hi Ainslie!) in Kingston that Kaffe Fasset will be in Perth, ON (Perth, ON!!) October 16th. Tickets are available from Creative Styling in Westport - 613-326-0626. $30 for the evening.

I however, will be on my way to Rhinebeck!

A demain

Project progress

2008-08-29T10:21:00.003-04:00

Working away at my Noro Silk Garden Sock vest and finished the braided cables at the waist last night:

Close up showing the cast off edge and a little cable splay left after trying to adjust for it - not too bad - any more will be compensated for once I add the braided edges

Love the colours!

Counting down to Rhinebeck! Oct 18 and 19th

Whistle while you work

2008-08-26T10:58:00.003-04:00

I don't whistle but I do listen to music while I am working away at my lovely new built in desk - custom built for me by my wonderful contractor Matt.

When CBC Radio2 announced major changes to its programming I went in search of something else. CFMX (96.3FM here in Toronto) was my first attempt but it seems to play lighter classics and I have heard Chopin Piano Concerto #2 at least 4 times in the short time I have listened to it. Not quite what I am looking for.

I can get WNED-FM (94.5FM) in my car but not on the system in my house. They also have streaming audio so I tried tuning in via computer and have loved what I am hearing. I like my classical music with a bit of history and an educational component to it and WNED is fulfilling those needs in spades.

They even have a request show (I asked for the Faure Piano Trio and am hoping they will play it today).

Some sputnik like pods from my newly planted Cornus Kousa (Japanese Dogwood). I guess it likes it here!

Finished another row of squares on my Silk Garden Sock vest - great colours