Watcha Been Up To, Ellen?

Ellen's been hangin' around waiting for me to knit things for her to wear. I did machine knit a spring scarf with buttons that can be worn as a scarf or buttoned and worn as a cowl. The buttons can be popped in anywhere in the lace. This gives a lot of freedom for the wearer. It's machine knit with Knit Picks Organic Cotton and Knit Picks Shimmer using the thread lace mechanism on the knitting machine. The organic cotton makes it like Baby Bear's porridge - not too hot and not too cold!

The other items I've knit, Ellen can't model them because they are too small for her. I went looking for a child mannequin a few weeks ago. We didn't find one locally, but one of the warehouses we went into had a stand with a hanger. The hanger was adult size so I asked John to cut it down to child size, which he did (and did a fine job of it too!). So, while I don't have a mannequin for showing children's knitwear, we have an acceptable stand/hanger.

The dress is machine knit with Knit Picks Organic Cotton. I wanted to design and make a child's dress with this cotton because it is soft and feels nice next to the skin. The child's sweater is hand knit with Paton's Devine using a pattern I found in a Lopi pattern book but had to make a lot of changes to make it smaller than the pattern stated, add a hood with strings, buttons instead of a zipper and so on..... The dress and sweater were knit for my little friend, Katherine. She likes both items!

All the while, we've been having some decent weather. So yesterday we went out and about with the camera. It was super windy so Ellen had to stay home or we'd be fishing her out of the Atlantic! No big waves yesterday despite the high wind although there were a lot of white caps on the ocean. I've heard it said that the big waves happen 2-3 days after the high winds. I might take a trip to the beach tomorrow to see if this is true.

We went to Portugal Cove and then around to Middle Cove Beach.

Portugal Cove

I guess Goat Cove Trail is nearby.

Yes, the name on the boat is "Breaking Wind".

Middle Cove Beach
I had the camera set to "posterized effect" to see how the picture would come out.

Left the camera on "posterized" and snapped this picture.
I guess 'someone' is in training.  :-)

That's Jazzy, Ellen!

Many, many years ago, in a land far, far away, there once was a knitter who knit jazzy clothes for her children and children's dolls. The children loved the jazzy clothes and the children's dolls loved them also. The knitter even won an award for the jazziest garment in a regional fashion show. Then the knitter found another job, stopped knitting and lost her jazziness. Many years passed and the knitter, who was no longer a knitter, decided she should try to find her jazziness again, so she began searching. She searched and searched but found nothing. She tried making things but none of it was jazzy. "Oh dear!", she cried. "How can I find my jazziness?"

Fairytale?  No, not really. The above description describes me pretty accurately. 

Before Christmas I promised Andrea a sweater but explained that it would be knit after Christmas. Last week when I was preparing to knit it, I asked Andrea if she had any ideas. She said she wanted a cropped sweater, with a boat neck and to make it jazzy like when she was a kid. Hmm.... where to begin? A jazzy sweater for a child is very different from a jazzy sweater for an adult. Oh well. I have to start somewhere!

The sweater featured below is my first attempt at "jazzy".  Of course, Ellen was all about modelling this one! It's machine knit with Patons Canadiana, with Berlini Bunny Soft and Magical Treat used as accents (hand knit and crocheted). The Magical Treat has a lot of sparkle that I didn't capture well in the photos. Sometimes I find inspiration for colour combinations in nature. This sweater is inspired by 'winter twilight' where the sky is dark blue, there's pink from a setting sun and the stars are becoming visible.

This is the beginning of my study of jazziness! :-)

Back

Front patch is a pocket.

In the Woods, Ellen!

This past weekend we were invited to our friends' cabin for supper and to spend the night before they closed it up for the winter. While we were in the neighbourhood, we offered help to another friend who had wood to split and stack. We even had the opportunity to go to a neighbourhood annual bonfire later in the evening!

Not thinking, I left Ellen and my new sweater at home. Then when I arrived at the cabin where we went to help with the wood, I soon realized that Ellen was missing a great photo opportunity, so I used my phone to capture some of the fun - minus Ellen, unfortunately! Ellen got her two minute photo shoot on the back patio after we came home.

My new sweater is machine knit using Knit Picks Andean Treasure, which is 100% baby alpaca. The trim is hand knit. I really like this one. It's cozy, plus has real nice drape.

You'll notice in the sidebar I've added another Craftsy logo. I've decided to promote Craftsy simply because I think it's fabulous. You can join for free and then sign up for all sorts of craft and related courses that you can do in your own time. The prices are very reasonable and they have promotions all the time. When you buy a course, you can sign in and do the course (or a segment of it) whenever you like. Once you pay for it, the course never expires. If there's a technique you are trying to master, you can view it as many times as you like until you get it right. I've done a couple of their courses and really enjoyed them and learned a lot. I don't intend for the blog to be cluttered with advertising, but I do think Craftsy is worth promoting because it's fun!

Neil B and Neil N using the wood splitter.
John was wheeling the split wood to the stacking location.

My job was making splits. I did split enough to fill this container.  :-)

John adding to the drying stack.

Huge bonfire!

My new sweater!

All Over the Place, Ellen!

Last week we did a short (in duration, not distance) road trip to Grand Falls-Windsor, which is considered to be in Central Newfoundland. I was delighted to find that many trees still had their leaves, especially around the Gambo area.

Earlier this year when we were out that way, I noticed a beaver dam with a 'For Sale' sign on it in the middle of a pond beside the highway. At the time I first saw it we were in fast moving traffic and didn't stop. This time I took the camera determined to get a snap of it. I did get a shot, but discovered that it's now "Sold"!  The beaver must be building a new place! Everyone's into real estate these days! :-)

Then on Sunday, John, Ellen and I took a drive out to Baynoddy Farm, in Chapel's Cove. Linda and Bernard Lewis own the farm and Linda spins, weaves, sells yarn, and sweaters, among other items. We chatted with Linda for a while and had a quick look around the farm, spoke to the sheep and one of the llamas. They have two llamas, but the white one was in the barn.

Recently I've been keeping my eye out for a bag of fleece because I want to make a doll sometime before Christmas and stuff it with fleece. I lucked in and was able to buy a bag of washed and picked fleece from Linda. Yay!

While we were at Baynoddy, Ellen mentioned that it was a great place for her to help show one of the children's sweaters. This one is a boy's sweater machine knit using a pattern card in tuck stitch mode with Patons DK Superwash Wool. The neck is hand knit.

Busy, but fun week!

I like pictures of tall grass!

Gambo - looking right from the highway.

Gambo - looking left. Those trees are lovely!

Area of "sold" beaver dam. 

"Sold"

The tall, wispy birches of Central Newfoundland.

Ellen at Baynoddy

Llama in the doorway of the barn.

I love how when you speak to sheep, they look right at you!

I guess we weren't very interesting.

View at Baynoddy.

Barn and front yard at Baynoddy.

A Little Introspection, Ellen!

Those of us who knit know that all our thoughts get knit into the things we make. While knitting along many thoughts pass through our minds - some stick, some we let pass. I've noticed recently that my life has taken many different turns and brought many different people my way. I credit some of this to the process of knitting.

One of the thought lines that has stuck with me since I started knitting children's sweaters (which I never expected to be doing by the way!) is: What have I learned from my children? When I dug a little deeper and began to reminisce, I discovered that I've learned a great deal from them!  

Here's the short list (not necessarily in the order I learned them!):

1. A dog can be your very best friend.

2. Don't be afraid to travel alone. You learn a lot about yourself that way.

3. Beauty is not how large or small your body is - it's how you treat people.

4. Fight fair - no name calling. Don't stay mad for long.

5. Coffee shop visits can be good for the soul.

6. Anyone can wear red lipstick if they do it right.

7. A cup of fancy tea can make everything right with the world.

8. Have a nap when you feel tired.

9. Olive oil, salt and pepper is the best salad dressing.

10. When you are little, it's okay to wear your new boots to bed. (Maybe it's okay at any age.) :-)

11. Take lots of pictures, print the good ones and keep them.

12. It's super cool if your socks match your top.

13. Bright colours are the best.

14. Knees/legs with flowers water-painted on them look great.

15. You really can kiss the sting out of a scratch.

16. Take care of your skin. 

As you can imagine, that list could easily be twice or three times longer than it is, but those were the immediate things that came to mind and thought I'd share them with you.

The children's sweaters are slowly getting finished and Ellen is happy to participate in holding them for a photo. I've used Patons 100% Superwash wool for the two boys sweaters featured below. Very nice yarn and soft enough for it to become a kid's favourite sweater!

Sweaters...Autumn...homemade compote. It all seems to go together so well. This week I found a giant bag of fresh cranberries at the grocery store, so now I have to find ways to use them up. Today I made up a cranberry compote recipe. The end result turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Here's the recipe:

2 cups fresh cranberries
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
2 clementines (peeled and sectioned)
1 teaspoon grated clementine rind
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
small piece of ginger grated (probably equal to 1/2 teaspoon)

Place all ingredients in a pot and place over low heat. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the cranberries have popped and the raspberries are no longer whole. I like compote to be tart, but if you like it sweet, by all means add more sugar.

A bit of a long-winded post today but not as many pictures. There's an old saying that says, "A change is as good as a rest." We'll go with that for today!  :-)

Boys raglan sleeve.
Machine knit with hand finished edges

Boys square sleeve.
Machine knit with hand finished edges.

Cranberry compote atop brown rice cake with almond butter. Yum!

What's a Snood, Ellen?

Last post I promised I'd show you some pictures of Long Point Lighthouse, near Twillingate. When I took a second look I realized that I have only one lighthouse picture and it's not even the full lighthouse, so you just get a glimpse. Inside the lighthouse they have the whole Story of the Titanic set up around all the walls. John and I paid the $5 each and went in to read it. Very well done! It's similar to the one that's set up at The Johnson Geo Centre in St. John's. The trails and picnic area just off the road on the way to the lighthouse is very scenic and I do have pictures of that! 

In the meantime, while we are on the topic of lighthouses, Jennifer and I went to Cape Spear this week to do a photo shoot with a snood. Some of you fashion conscious followers will know what a snood is, but for those of you who don't know, it's a scarf/hood one piece combination. The snood Jennifer is modelling below is machine knit with Knit Picks Telemark and trimmed with Berlini Bunny Soft. (Yes, it is bunny soft!) 

Ellen did join us at Cape Spear, but it was the day before Hurricane Leslie landed and while she did have a sweater to model, Jennifer had to assist her to stand up to the wild wind.  Ellen is modelling a machine knit sweater that I think is a good berry pickin' sweater. It's knit with Berlini Mirage which is a cotton/wool/acrylic blend and would be very suitable for berry pickin'. You can see from the pictures that it was blowing a gale. We were okay with going home for a cup of tea.

The free pattern for the snood can be found here. I've named it "Misunders'nood." :-)

I'm not sure what this is. I just liked the way the light was on it with the bright colours.

Looking across toward Cabot Tower.  Leslie was coming our way!

See the blurry right sleeve - no way to keep it still unless we tied it on.

Close up of stitch pattern.

We all need a little help from our friends sometimes!