Weekend Snippets

car loaded to it's full capacity with sleeping bags and pillows

out of the city and into the green

surrounded by the trees
together with family and old friends

laughing, singing, playing
strawberry cheesecake, popcorn, coffee and s'mores
cool nights, sunny warm days

new foundations of life-long friendships

afternoons, ankle deep in pond water with nets
buckets of water and squirmy tadpoles
campfires that start at dusk and go 'till dawn
mosquito bites for souvenirs 

a few stowaway salamanders in pickle jars
home to meet a brand new baby cousin, all fresh and flaky

...the cherry on top of a perfect, long weekend.

Yarn Along: Leftie and Strathcona

I haven't posted a lot lately for yarn along as I keep forgetting that it's on Wednesdays. For some reason, I have it in my mind that it's a Thursday thing!
This week  I reminded myself to be sure to post. 

Yesterday I got to cast on a project that's been sitting in my queue for quite some time.

I had sort of forgotten about it until April's knitters frolic in Toronto, where a vendor was selling tiny little colour assortments of sock weight yarn. This way I could buy multiple colours for the project (each in their own very tiny hank-so funny!) without spending a fortune.

It was fun to walk away from a booth having spent very little and yet being given four colours to work with! I love the slight variegation in each colour, it's nothing crazy wild, but adds a lot of depth. I just hope I bought enough-I'd much rather have leftovers than be short. I saved the business card of the vendor just in case.

      Photo credit: Sweet Fiber

It took me a while to pick a main colour also-I wanted a neutral, but there were so many to pick from! The tables were like buffets of  colourful candy selection, it was overwhelming! I ended up buying a slightly grey/white; "paper birch" from Sweet Fiber-a gorgeous little company based out of British Columbia. 

This was my first time trying their yarn but I really like it so far. It too is slightly variegated in tone which makes it all the more fun to work with.

I also purchased the sweater yarn to make an "in threes" sweater for Lotte. I found this soft and gentle sweater yarn from Spud & Chloe. I love the colour name: Chocolate Milk. Perfect for a toddler!

Last but not least-the Strathcona. Here's a beautiful pattern that I think I completely messed up. 

Yes, the basics are there, it looks *almost* right, but the mesh stitch is not.

I'm not sure what I was doing wrong, but clearly something happened that wasn't supposed to. 

Yes, it's still lovely, but it the holes aren't square like they were supposed to be. As I was knitting it, I was carefully trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, because right away I noticed it didn't look right. But I couldn't for the life of me find what was happening. 

Then I thought perhaps it was because I had never knit mesh before, and maybe this is what it DOES look like before blocking. So I went ahead and finished it, blocked it, and it still didn't look right. 

I'm determined to make another and figure out what I was doing wrong. It was a fun knit, and I want to make another anyway!

An Alley Walk

We're lucky to have these quiet, almost hidden paths throughout our neighborhood. All we have to do is step out of our backyard gate, into what seems to be, when in full bloom, a secret garden full of Lilacs, fruit trees, fresh mint and even roses.

 

To some, these alleys might seem  like the areas of the city that are unkempt, being used for yard waste and dead leaves, compost bins and sometimes leftover building materials. 

But to us, this is a treasure trove. 

This is a place where we can walk without the sound of traffic, or the danger of little ones stepping off the sidewalk. It's somewhere that we can still see the odd toad, sneaky rabbit, garter snake, bee hive, or in this trip's case, a busy woodpecker.

The boys are always sure to bring some pruning shears and small shovels for different botanic treasures they're sure to find and take home to plant in our own garden.

This trip rendered a variety of golden green mosses to go in a new shade garden that they're  working diligently to establish.
I wonder what the tomorrow's treasure will be!

Apothecary Circle Giveaway

Laura Emily is giving away a seat in her very nifty Apothecary circle! (I hope I win!) But you have a chance to win too!  Visit here to enter.