Let's Go Out, Ellen!

Recently we've had a spurt of cold weather where Ellen stayed in beside the fireplace for weeks. Yesterday, we had to get her out of the house! It was a lovely day for outdoor winter fun and lots of people were out and about taking advantage of the good weather. John, Ellen and I went for a drive around Goulds, Petty Harbour and Maddox Cove. It was late afternoon and by the time we reached Petty Harbour, the light was lovely.

Cold spurts are always good times to get down to business with knitting. In recent weeks I machine knit a sweater for Stephan (Andrea's husband - couldn't send Andrea's jazzy sweater and not include something for Stephan), one for John and hand knit a going away dress and scarf for Leezel. Yes, Leezel was adopted this past Saturday by a fun family with a small girl who quickly became Leezel's new best friend. We'll still get to visit with her every now and again. 

Outdoor rink.

Snowmobiles on the pond.

Dirt bikes on the pond.

Petty Harbour

East Coast Trail at Maddox Cove
Ellen modelling John's sweater keeping it wrapped tightly around her!
Machine knit with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Tweed.

Ellen modelling Stephan's sweater.
Machine knit with Patons Canadiana - easy care!

Leezel in her new dress.

Leezel all ready to go with her winter coat and new scarf.
She has her bag packed beside her.

Mesh for Summer, Ellen!

Gee, spring just arrived and Ellen is already talking about summer! I suppose being from California and living in Newfoundland would make you think like that. Even though we are having some really nice weather, we do have to remember it is still only April and it's a bit on the chilly side some days.

Being a true Newfoundlander I check the Weather Network every day and often click on the pictures that people upload just to see what's on the go. I upload pictures there myself sometimes. A few days ago while I was browsing I noticed someone had uploaded a picture of an iceberg at Maddox Cove. So, when it was time for Ellen to model the finished mesh stitch sweater, John, Ellen and I headed out to Maddox Cove for a look. Sure enough! As soon as we rounded the corner from Petty Harbour, the iceberg came into view. We took a side road to see if we could get closer, but ended up at another section of the East Coast Trail. I took Ellen and headed part way down the trail but I clearly didn't wear the proper footwear and had to turn back. Note to self though - must return in summer when it's (hopefully) drier. The sign says that you can walk to Cape Spear from there (10.7kms)!

We took a few shots of Ellen in her summer mesh sweater. It's hand knit and modelled in the post last Sunday when it was partially complete. I wanted you to see how it turned out when finished. The yarn label said that it could be machine washed and machine dried on low. I never trust that, so I hand washed it, only to discover the sleeves stretched 5 inches! Oops! I left it to dry on a towel, properly blocked, but after 12 hours realized that it needed the drier at least for a few minutes. I put it in the drier on low heat for 15 minutes and everything went back to normal. Whew! It was still damp, so I blocked it again and it turned out fine. So happy! The sleeves are intended to be a bit long so that they can bunch up. I will have to enlist a real live model to show you how it's 'supposed' to look.  No offence Ellen!

Anyway, I've named this sweater - "Annie-licious".  It's pink - the colour of bubble gum and it reminds me of my friend Annie's bubbly personality so I named it after her. I want to develop this pattern for eventual sale so I have to knit it a couple more times to make sure I work out all the bugs and make some improvements. It won't always be knit in pink but I think it will always remind me of Annie!

After the modelling session, we headed over to Petty Harbour and took a few pictures. I came across some neat marble (it looks like marble so we'll call it that) set in the rock - wishing I could have a piece. I like fancy rocks.

And, to complete the post I've included a picture of Cooper who came for a visit today. We walked on the trail and made muffins. Cooper is around 16 months old now and a very good doggie! 

Maddox Cove (from the road near the East Coast Trail)

Maddox Cove (looking out to sea)

Here's the iceberg!

Petty Harbour side looking back toward Maddox Cove. The official name of the town is Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove.

Same iceberg looking out from Petty Harbour. See the neat marble in the rock?

Close up of marble. 

Looking toward Petty Harbour

See how clear the water is? You can see the rocks under the water.

Part of Petty Harbour

Petty Harbour Breakwater

Cooper on the trail. He has his eye on something!  :-)

Hurry Ellen It's Snowing!

This morning when we heard the forecast I said, "We'd better get Ellen out and get her home again!" We were hoping for a sunny day to model this piece because we wanted the sparkles to shine. It's really a party piece - a hand knit Holiday scarf made with Berlini Glitter Ribbon yarn. We even put fringes on for fashion and movement!

It was just starting to snow when we headed out to Petty Harbour. We wanted to go somewhere close to home today because it being so close to Christmas, we have a few things to do around the house, plus a little bit of shopping (which I am pleased to announce, is now complete!)  Yaay!

Even though it was grey sky and snowy, it was a beautiful, calm Christmassy day in Petty Harbour. Most of the smaller boats are up for the season, including the lobster pots and crab pots. People have their wood cut and stacked and houses are decorated for Christmas. It snowed what I call 'romantic snow' most of the time we were in Petty Harbour - gently wafting down and covering everything in a graceful kind of way. Really pretty.

They said on the radio that it was -3C, but felt like -10C. Indeed it did feel like -10! Generally speaking, Ellen is a real trooper and doesn't mind the weather as long as someone holds on to her in high wind. But today, she nearly froze up on the hill modelling this piece. However, she liked it so much that she said she'd put up with the cold just to get the opportunity to wear it.

By the time we were on the way home it wasn't romantic snow any more though. The roads were slippery and you would have had to haul your collar up around your neck to keep the snow from blowing in. Time to get Ellen home out of it!

We did stop in Bidgood's Supermarket on the way home and John bought me some partridgeberry "jam"! Bidgoods' had a sign up saying the Federal Government said they can't call it "jam" anymore. Apparently "jam" must contain 66% sugar. Bidgood's say that their "jam" is now called "spread" because it has more berries than sugar.  Sweet !  :-)