Tea Time Ellen!

Yesterday Ellen and I were invited to a friend's house for a tea party. Ellen was super excited as she has never before been invited to a Newfoundland tea party. I opted for flavoured coffee instead of tea. Ellen thought that was weird-drinking coffee at a tea party! We had 'the best' bread pudding with raisins (just out of the oven), crackers and cheese, and chocolates. It was fabulous! Ellen has the patience of Job himself. She stood by the table the whole time with the sweater on.

During the week I made another sideways machine knit sweater like the one I made for Alana last week only this one is red (100% wool). When Ellen and I arrived at our friend's house and discovered red walls we were delighted. We both love the colour red. I did wonder how the red sweater would be against a red background, but it turned out just fine.

While we are on a "red" trend, I thought it would be nice to post some pictures of the old Canadian National train cars we took at the CN Train Museum in Whitbourne a few years ago. Back then I wasn't blogging so didn't think to get any information. Maybe we can go back there this year and get the scoop, then repost. This time we'll bring Ellen!

Brrrrr, Ellen!

Lately in our area we've had some serious rainfall.  Apparently, historically Newfoundland receives approximately 60 mm of rain in February. This past week one newscaster Tweeted that so far this month we have received double that with 10 days to go. Combine all that rainfall with melting snow and you have "a lot" of water around, which when freezes, makes for some pretty strange ice formations.

The other day I was down around Fort Amherst and Southside Road 'again' (one of my favourite places). I took a bunch of pictures of ice to show you. (We'll do Fort Amherst in another post.) You can see that some of the icicles are frozen sort of sideways. The wind does that. Actually when I was walking along the road taking pictures, even though it was a nice day, I could feel the cold coming off the ice. Brrr...

Ellen didn't come along with me that day because I didn't have anything for her to model. However, we did manage to machine knit a sweater for Alana and Ellen modelled that this evening near home. This sweater is machine knit sideways with decreases and increases for sleeve openings. Then stitches are picked up around the open sections and the sleeves knit top-down. The sleeve seams are on top of the shoulder and down the outside part of the arm, not under the arm. It's knit with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Sport. This is an idea I had and wanted to try. I'm pleased with the outcome. So is Ellen!

Ellen, The Star of Logy Bay!

The Star of Logy Bay is a Newfoundland song that was written years ago.  When we took Ellen to Logy Bay today for a photo shoot, I thought of that song when we were driving away.  Yes, Ellen was indeed the Star of Logy Bay today, amidst the cliffs and seagulls!  It was difficult to tell where the sea left off and the horizon began.

Ellen is modelling a sweater I finished this morning.  It's self-designed, machine knit and hand finished with Knit Picks Simply Cotton Worsted in Prussian Heather. When I did the garter stitch trim on the bottom I wondered if that would make it too tight round the bottom to put it on over one's head comfortably. So, I left an opening on the side and created the small flap with a button.  When the button is undone, it provides an extra couple of inches to make it easier to put on. The flap is diagonal on one side to accommodate just one button. That's the only button I had that matched that sweater.  :-)

Ellen's Adventure #1

Just back from the weekend adventure in Bridgeport, Newfoundland (near Twillingate - will get to that later in the week) and surrounding areas.  Ellen had a grand time and met so many new friends. Some thought it a little weird that she was hanging out with humans, while others were totally supportive.  All in all, a very productive trip.  There's so much to show you and so much to say that we'll have to do it in a few posts.  

The evening we arrived, the weather was superb and Bridgeport Harbour was beautifully calm so we got to work right away.  Ellen is shown below all cosied up in a sweater I knit for myself in late Spring.  By the time I finished it, the weather was too warm to wear it (although some would disagree!).  The sweater is machine knit, hand finished, with Knit Picks City Tweed HW in a pattern I designed myself.  I wanted a big comfy sweater with a sweatshirt fit.  It should be perfect for Fall.

In the background behind Ellen you'll see the beautiful Bridgeport landscape/seascape, as well as our friends' fishing shed and wharf.

There's more to follow during the week so please check back.  I'll include some non-Ellen photos to give you a taste of this beautiful place.  Ellen thought she should be in all the photos! Wasn't that the purpose of bringing her along? I explained to her that I don't have enough items knit for her to model in many different settings and we don't want to bore our audience.  She reluctantly agreed.  :-)