Busy Times, Ellen!

Ever get a bunch of things done, but nothing really finished? That's the situation I find myself in lately.

I'm knitting children's sweaters to sell for Christmas and have a few done, but some are being blocked (not quite dry), others are waiting on buttons and another is half finished.  I have another pattern almost finished for a pocket scarf and brim hat, but haven't had the chance to finish writing and editing it. 

I do have some pictures to show you though. When Ange and Blair were here, of course we had to go to the Ferryland Picnic! Alana, Ange, Blair and I went. It was foggy and windy but we ate outside anyway just for the fun of it!

Then when Ange and Blair left, Cooper came to stay for a week. So, needless to say, I've had a constant helper with everything that I do when he's around. :-) Ellen is not even afraid of him anymore. He just ignores her now.

I'm just doing a quick post today so you won't think I fell off the face of the earth. Will be back again as soon as I get a few projects completed.

Alana in our picnic spot out of the wind.

Seagulls hanging out in the fog.

Inukshuk

Salty splash!

Kelp flower under water in a tidal pool.

Blair and Ange

Field of high grass on the walk back to the car.

Cooper keeping an eye on the street! :-)
I took his attention for a brief moment.

Cashmere Mittens, Ellen!

I thought yesterday was going to be a sleepy kind of day - until John asked if Ellen and I would like to go out somewhere. Of course we did! He never has to ask twice!

We decided to go to Port de Grave. We go out there for a look around every few months. In Newfoundland I find that one can go to the same places over and over and you'll always find something different than last time you were there. Besides, the weather is so changeable that every day looks different anyway.

I brought along the cashmere mittens that I knit last week. Yes, I know it's summer, but I came across a pattern for mittens and thought I'd give them a try. They turned out very nice and even in summer you still want to try them on or pet them! They are hand knit with Mongolian cashmere. Enough said.  :-)

While in Port de Grave we went looking for the miniature pony we met there last Fall. To our surprise and delight we found that she has a little one! Their pen is near the road and they are super friendly. We stopped to say hello and after a little coaxing, they both came to the fence to allow us to pet them and take their pictures. The little one kept wanting to bite the lens of the camera. John even got a kiss from him/her. We don't know if it's male or female. They are both adorable. We think their owner lives across the street because that's where the barn and other outbuildings are and there's sheep there also.

Then a little further down the road, we found a slipway next door to the Fishermen's Museum. Great place for Ellen's photo shoot. It's a small area, but proved to be very interesting. Lots of pictures this time. Everywhere I turned something caught my eye.

Momma

Closer view looking left

Closer view looking right

Fishermen's Museum in the background

Mmmmmm..... cashmere

Seagull paparazzi

If you look closely you can see the seagull nest at the top of the
tallest part of the rock.

Newfoundland flag

Hardy flowers will grow anywhere!

This greenery is actually under water! The ocean is so clear here.

Parts of the slipway - also under water.

Graffiti - how did it get here?
Did someone paint it while standing in a boat?  Hmmm?

I took this picture because I liked the colour of the kelp against the bright green grass and wood.

Wild roses spilling all over the road

I Think It's Spring, Ellen!

This week the weather has been behaving like it's Spring, but we are supposed to get more snow tomorrow and Saturday. We had to get Ellen out for a photo shoot yesterday while there was no active weather, so we went to Conception Bay South again, but a different area from last Saturday. CBS is a busy spot. We drove down a few roads that lead to the beach only to find beach access no longer available because of housing construction. Seems that a lot of people want to live near the ocean. It was a beautiful calm day, but still a bit nippy on the fingers. The sun did peek out for a minute while we were there so I managed to get one sunny shot.

Ellen is modelling the colourful scarf that I finally finished last weekend. I loved hand knitting this scarf, but was delighted that it was finally done! Toward the end, I had set my mind on knitting other items so the scarf became like the last mile! Felt like I was knitting a road! Anyway, I am keeping it for myself because I love the feel of it and the way the colours knit up, although I don't have any clothes that match the colours in it! (I guess it would go with black though, hey?) The yarn is aptly named "Cottonspring". It's made by Artyarns and is 80% cotton, 20% wool. Even though it contains wool, it feels cool to touch and you don't want to take it off. When you were a little kid and you get something new, you wear it all the time regardless of whether it matches your clothes or not. Maybe I'll do that!  :-)

Another item Ellen modelled yesterday was a bandeau bra that I knit for Andrea (my middle daughter). Andrea said she wanted mint green and when I went through the yarn stash, the only yarn I had in mint green was a Karabella yarn that consists of 60% dehaired llama and 40% cotton. This yarn is absolutely lovely to touch. I'll have to knit something funky with the rest of it. Oh, by the way, no llamas are harmed in the dehairing process. Apparently the llama is shorn and then the course hairs are removed from the fibre before spinning. Anyway, the bandeau bra is a work in progress. Andrea will have to wear it and make recommendations for the next one.

Conception Bay South has a rich history

Our moment of sunshine

Bandeau Bra

Seagulls enjoying the calm afternoon

Large unusual beach rocks in this area

The boats will soon go back in the water. There was some people activity here at the Marina yesterday.