Block It Ellen!

The sash for the wedding dress is finished! Yaay!  Ellen wanted to get "sashed" again, but I explained that we have to block it first.  You can't see the fancy beaded silk yarn crocheted around the perimeter because I'm blocking it wrong side up in the hopes that it will not curl when it's dry.

Of course Ellen was watching the whole time.  Hi Ellen!

A Good Yarn Ellen!

One night last week I finished the red shawl that I started just before Ellen's summer adventures. Remember the "on the road" project?  Ellen modelled the start of it in Adventure #2. Anyway, I  was waiting for the right time, weather, etc. to do a photo shoot with Ellen wearing the completed shawl.  While we did have sunny days, some of them were a little too windy. Poor Ellen blows over if the wind is either bit strong at all.

Yesterday was the perfect day. Ellen and I took a trip to downtown St. John's to scout for the perfect location. Then I remembered the cast iron fence at the Anglican Cathedral.  When we arrived part of the fence was shaded but there was one sunny section perfect for Ellen. At first Ellen complained that the shawl was all twisted until I explained that it's supposed to be like that - adds some interest, you know! 

This shawl is made from Bejewel yarn and the pattern is from the book One Ball Knits Accessories.

When we finished the photo shoot, we parked on Church Hill and I walked to Bate's Hill (about a block away) to visit A Good Yarn, a local yarn shop.  Ellen had to stay in the car because it was a little too far to carry her, plus I was already carrying the camera so I could take a few shots of downtown to show you.

When I arrived at A Good Yarn, I was greeted by Jenny and her dog (both very friendly!). I had a look around, had a "yarn" (Newfoundland term for 'short chat') with Jenny and of course bought some yarn. I'll show you the yarn in another post. Jenny has some real nice stuff there!  I told her about Ellen and Jenny said that Ellen is welcome to come by for a photo shoot some day. Yaay!

Ellen Got Sashed!

In April/May this year I designed and made a wedding dress for my middle daughter who is getting married October 1. I think I mentioned in a previous post that I'll post pictures of the dress after the wedding. In the meantime, after the dress was finished, my daughter and I decided that maybe it needed a sash for the waist and my daughter said that a big bow on the back would be a welcome addition.  I've been working on the design of the sash and bow. Did one and frogged it because the bow would end up being too small and it rolled too much. The second version is now machine knit so Ellen was up for trying it on.  There's still quite a bit of work to do because it has to be hand finished with crochet.  I've included a photo of the materials that have made up the dress.  The sash is made from Knit Picks lace weight Shimmer. I'll provide dress fibre details at the time of posting.  The sash will be hand finished with Knit Picks Aloft and Tilli Tomas Beaded Plie.  I'll show you that part when I get it done.  In the meantime, the Catherine Purse is coming along - made from the same fibres as the dress. Ellen wanted to hold that as well to show you the progress. The lining is purchased so we'll soon be ready to finish it up.

After knitting the sash, I decided to walk to the nearby park (with a pond) that is home to two geese who I've been feeding a few times per week for the past four years as well as ducks and their ducklings.  Today, it was such a nice day that I brought the camera so I could show you my good friends. I thought about taking Ellen to the pond, but the geese hiss at strangers and I wouldn't want Ellen to feel like a stranger. Duck Ellen!

Oh! The orange flowers are in our back yard and the cat hangs out near the pond on sunny days.

 

Ellen at Botanical Garden!

Even though yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day, I had to stay inside in the morning because I was so close to finishing Mom's sweater that I couldn't do other things until it was completed. So I set aside an hour and finished it. Then, later in the evening we took Ellen out for a photo shoot. Too bad it was cloudy by the time we went out. But then again, cloud cover is good for portrait photography. Ellen thought she'd look better with filtered light anyhow!

It was around 6:00 p.m. and we thought that Botanical Garden would be a good spot for a photo shoot. I did forget that the Garden closes at 5:00 (I think). We stopped there anyway because they have some real nice flowers planted outside the fence and there's a little pathway across the road. It worked out just fine. 

Ellen is modelling Mom's cardigan that I designed especially for her. Mom wanted a cardigan with just one button in the top - kind of a wrap with sleeves. The cardigan is another example of what I call combo-knitting which is a combination of machine and hand knitting. This is knit with Paton's Silk Bamboo (70% viscose, 30% silk). It has a nice drape and feels kind of crunchy soft. Below are some photos of Ellen and the cardigan, along with some of the flowers planted outside the fence.

The sunflower is almost open - complete with spider web.

We will have to revisit the Garden to see what they have planted inside the fence.

Staying Home Ellen!

Ellen reminded me that we haven't done a post since Sunday and now it's Wednesday!  I explained that we have to stay home because I am trying to finish projects and I have to do other things besides knit! - like work, for example. Oh dear! The pressure! She's right though. We have to keep our readers in the loop.

Anyway, to allow Ellen to "feel" like she went somewhere, I thought it would be a good idea for her to watch the sunset from an upstairs room.  It rained for most of the day but the sun came out this evening. When we can see the sunset (no fog or clouds), the light is real nice in that room in the evening.  So, I brought Ellen up from her apartment and had her face the window so the light could shine upon her.  Ellen is modelling the sleeves to Mom's sweater that I am hoping to finish soon.  

You can see the sunset highlights in the clouds over the neighbour's house.
Lovely isn't it Ellen?!  :-)

No Motorcycles Ellen!

This morning the weather was perfect for a motorcycle ride, so John and I decided we'd do a run and take a small camera with us. John said that I could strap the SLR unto the back of the bike, but when I asked if Ellen could come along he said that probably wouldn't be a good idea. Anyway, off we went up the Southern Shore Highway with the intention of stopping somewhere for lunch, but when we reached Bay Bulls the fog was rolling in and it was pretty cold riding through it, so we decided to turn around and have lunch somewhere nearer home. That didn't take too long so we decided we'd do some errands and that was when John said that there'd definitely be room for Ellen. Hooray!!

We decided that the photo shoot would be at the dock in Portugal Cove.  (You can see Bell Island in the background of the second picture.)  Seagulls were plentiful and not very shy. Seeing Ellen didn't get the opportunity to ride the motorcycle, she really wanted to wear a helmet so we thought, "Why not?" After all she did manage to balance a glass dish with a hat yesterday. And, seeing this blog is supposed to be knitting related, Ellen agreed that she would wear a couple of skeins of yarn from Artyarns, namely Cottonspring and Alpaca Silk - two lovely yarns I purchased from Fabulous Yarns. Have to figure out what to make with them.  Any ideas anybody?