Hibernation

 The first Snowfall Warning of the 2024-2025 winter season arrived yesterday evening out here on the rolling prairies, so "hibernation" is the watchword for today -- and perhaps tomorrow too.

All weekend plans are up in the air...or stuck in a snowbank, if you prefer!  I'll probably try to go out and shovel some of the white stuff later today, but that will depend on how Mother Nature plays it over the next few hours.

Thus...I thought I'd share some of what I've been doing to add light to my days as we edge closer to the Solstice, still a month or so away.  

I've been knitting a *lot* -- but not on "all the things" I started in my last 'making' post from 3 weeks ago. With Xmas coming, I wanted to make some real progress on the [Not So] Presto Vesto for my daughter.  

I took it from this 

Left Front Progress (Nov. 2-2024)

to this

Left Front Finished -- and armhole trim -
November 22, 2024

Yes -- the major sections of the vest have been knit, the shoulder seams sewn, and the armhole ribbing completed!  Next up: the collar!

I also started a pair of "Downton Abbey Gloves" for a friend of mine who is positively obsessed with that television series.  I've lost track of how many times she's watched it -- every single episode.  It's not my cuppa, but the gloves are pretty.  Here's what the start looked like:

Pattern: "Downton Gloves"
Designer: Ceecees Stringer
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend
Colour 3049: Rose

My friend's not a big wearer of wool, but I figure she'll be fine with merino blended with silk, in one of her favourite colours...right?  

You might notice I'm using a long dpn (Double Pointed Needle for you non-knitters out there 😉).  Even though these are knit flat and seamed, my 'regular' straight and circular needles are far too long for the 38 stitches called for; hence the switch to a pair of long double-points!

By the time I went to bed last night, I'd finished the first one, complete with picot edge, and just have to sew it up.  The second one will be finished later today.  😊

I've also started a 'give-away' box.  I want to fill it with small, warm wearables -- made from stash yarn -- that need a good home with people who don't have the where-with-all to buy them.  Last week I finished a little pair of mittens (child-sized):

Pattern: The World's Simplest Mittens
Designer: Tin Can Knits
Yarn: Schoeller & Stahl, Limbo Mexiko Color

And earlier this week I finished and adult-sized hat out of left-over sock yarn, two strands held together.  The first time I made this hat (some years ago), I used 2 strands of blue -- one darker than the other -- and it was okay, if but a bit 'ho-hum'.  This time I decided to play with self-striping and/or variegated yarn left-overs. The result? Much more fun to knit and -- I hope -- to wear!

Pattern: The LOSY Hat
Designer: Barb Engelking

 

On the stitching front, I must admit I'm rather proud of myself: I Fully Finished the little "Precious Friend" stitch -- another Xmas gift:

"Precious Friend"
Designer: Bent Creek

Look at that!  It's in a 7" hoop!  And I covered the back with craft felt, so it's all neat and tidy!  I'm so thankful for a couple of YouTube tutorials -- particularly one from Helen D (Eastcoast Crafter)  -- though I chose not to use glue, and stitched around the back instead.

In the end it wasn't as finicky as I thought it would be, so I'm rather pleased with m'self!

I've continued to make progress on "Remember Me" -- my Black Sampler November stitch from Jacob at Modern Folk Embroidery:

Even though it's a complex pattern, I actually find it a rather restful break from other stitching, as I never have to change colours!

Speaking of 'complex', having finished the 'Precious Friend' I dug returned to the tiny stitch from Jeannette Douglas -- designed to wrap around a spool that's going to be a scissor holder:

Since this photo was taken, I've added the year and watched Jean Farish do the "Nun Stitch" so I can fully finish it...soon!

And...I've started yet another Christmas Gift Stitch:

"Don't Bug Me When I'm Stitching"
Designer: Sweetheart Tree

I got the kit for this some time back (who knows when?!) and decided it would work as a studio door "notice" for a stitching friend.  It's tiny, and involves 1/4 stitches (!) plus a fair amount of back stitch, and will be embellished with beads and even a teeny-weeny lady bug charm...eventually!   I'm doing those wee bumble bees 1 over 1; they don't look like much until the back-stitching kicks in. 😄

Pretty much every afternoon has found me doing some quilting.  I love to turn on Tom Allen's "About Time" on the CBC music station -- it's a classical music show for 3 hours -- and just go into my happy place in the studio.  As a result, I've been piling up the Disappearing 4-Patch blocks and Easy Breezy (Bonnie Hunter) blocks (sorry, no photos), as well as strip-piecing 2" x 7" rectangles to cross-cut for more postage stamp blocks.

Sherri of A Quilting Life is nearing the end of her 2024 Block of the Month, which I've enjoyed immensely.  A couple of weeks ago -- after my last 'making' post -- I did up the November blocks:

I'm continuing to use up left-over Thimbleberries fabrics, and I've been making two of the 8" (finished) blocks per month.  I'm really looking forward to what the December blocks entail, as I think Sherri will include ideas for setting them.  I'm thinking sashing and cornerstones, myself.  I'll have 24 of these, which sounds plenty, but they're small...

And just yesterday I finished the top for the throw quilt I want to make up for my son's 40th (in June!):

Here's a vertical view

and here's a horizontal view:

It's from the book "Batik Beauties" by Laurie J. Shifrin (Martingale & Co., 2001) that I got second-hand somewhere however long ago; so far, this is the first and only pattern I've made from it!  

In my last post, I showed you all those pieced bits for the sashing -- I'm thinking all that work was worth it, eh?  The only non-batik in the mix is the very narrow inner border, which is a dark purple cotton print.  AND I decided not to go with the colourful, 4 1/2" finished outer border.  Too much of a muchness (plus I'd have had to piece it as I didn't have the sort of fabric called for)!  So...I went with a narrower -- 3" finished -- outer border made from the batik background fabric.  The top at present is about 56" W x 65" L and will be just right as a throw for comfort, for TV watching, and book reading...or at least that's what I hope!

And yes...there's been art-making.  Lacombe's Annual Under $100 Art Market is next weekend, and I hope to get all seven pieces delivered there for set-up on Thursday morning -- if Mother Nature behaves herself after this weekend!

In my last 'making' post I showed you five pieces that needed to be mounted.  Here are the four on canvas, all stacked up and backed with brown paper.  (They now have wires for hanging, too.)

A fifth one looks like this, mounted on the "wrong" side of a wooden board/panel, which I painted black:

All That Blue, Green & Gold! (c) 2024
Hooked art mat, 6" square (panel = 8" square)

And...this week I finished two more that will also go "inside" black-painted panels.  Here they are, fresh off the frame:

Top: Autumn in Aspen Land 
Bottom: Slough View
6" square - (c) 2024

They're now blocked and ready to finish -- I have to sew down the edges on the back, and then mount them in their 'panels'.

As for other hooked art, some time ago I finished "Little Yellow Flowers", one of Deanne Fitzpatrick's designs, which I bought as a kit on burlap.  Earlier this fall I had it framed, with the idea of giving it away -- but in the end, I've decided to keep it and hung it up over my couch in the living room.  It measures 17" W x 6" long before framing:

What you also see in that photo is the ceiling fan in my kitchen.  Yes; there's a cut out in the wall between the kitchen and the living room -- and in the cut out I've hung a vintage glass window, rescued from a house down the block when it was being renovated several years ago. 😊

Now, my friend C. saw the 'Little Yellow Flowers' piece and asked if I'd make a coaster for her out of a 'slice' of it -- the bottom right corner, full of flowers -- so I did, and gave it to her when we had lunch together last week:

Snippet of "Little Yellow Flowers"
Approx. 4" square

It was a bit tricky to hook, as I was trying to use up a scrap of burlap, but I jerry-rigged a 4" embroidery hoop, clipped it to my stitching station, and managed it that way!

I've got some ideas for a new hooked piece -- one that is larger and more abstracted (maybe) but for the time being I'm taking a bit of a break and will ponder just how to do it, while keep on knitting, quilting and stitching.

Maybe I'll take some inspiration from the work of Nancy Crow, whose pieces are on exhibit at the Kent State University Museum, on now through December 15 -- or so reports Nina-Marie over on her Off the Wall Friday blog post for this week. She went to see it -- and I'm glad she did, and shared photos.  Some of those linear pieces from Ms. Crow might need further study for my next hooked work...

So, having caught you up, Gentle Readers, and hopefully shared some colour and light with you, I'll leave you with a link to that blog post and bid you adieu.  For my American friends and readers, I wish you less chaos, safe travels, and times of fun, food, and comfort with family for your Thanksgiving Holiday next week.  I am thankful for you -- and for all of my Gentle Readers, wherever you may be.

A bientot!

Dumfungled and Gobsmacked!

 

I learned a new word this week: 'dumfungled'.  It's an old Scots word meaning "mentally and physically worn out" -- and it can imply being depressed.  And I've been all of that much of the time for months.  Years.  Since DT was elected, anyway.  I thought I was easing out of it, but then there were planes shot down and COVID and BLM and the unmarked graves of Canadian indigenous children discovered, and January 6, 2021, and cancelled art shows, and Zoom exhaustion, and over 30% of the US Electorate losing its mind and...and...and...

And then, in the last few months, I've been soundly reminded just how blessed I am:

• For one thing, I'm still here.  I turned 70, and lightning didn't strike. I didn't get "called home" as some folks put it.  I AM home, here in this wee hamlet with all its beauty and wonky citizens and such;
• I have a glorious yard and garden, and the deer haven't attacked too much of it.  I have baby apple trees and Saskatoon bushes, and lilacs and wild flowers, and 5 bird feeders.  I have bees in the May/June blossoms.  I have benches on which to sit and knit or stitch or read or just think.
• I have two great kids who, despite their own health challenges, are managing to live independent lives, pay their bills, and show me they love me.
• I have a sister who's a delight and who shows me love and hospitality whenever we get together.
• I have a few close gal pals, and a whole lot of long-distance friends, some whom I've never met -- who gave me support by buying my work this summer so I could afford the trip to Art in the Park, the price of which had sky-rocketed since COVID interrupted the planned 2020 event, which finally happened this July.
• 
  I've a faith community that struggles with aging members and fewer hands to do the work, but we gather every week to worship and pray and learn and have fellowship and struggle together -- and it's a blessing to be able to bumble along in person again after 2 years apart.

And then...yesterday...I was totally gobsmacked!

I went for the mail.  In it was a package from Traditional Stitches, my trusty LNS (Local Needlework Store), which operates online as well as in person.  I have a Wish List on their website, that's six pages long.  Yep!  I place orders as I have time and $$$ to do so.  Each order takes a long time; they're a tiny shop and don't keep a warehouse of inventory, so often things take weeks to put together.  I placed an order recently for a pattern they've told me is now on order, and I'm prepared to wait several weeks for it.  They don't request payment (via PayPal) till it has arrived in their shop, which I see as another Good Thing.

So, I looked at this package and wondered what the heck it could be.  They'd not asked me for $$ recently.  Had I ordered something, paid in advance, and forgotten??  Was I drunk or sleep-walking when I did that?  

I came home and opened the package.  It was a kit for a pattern that's been on my Wish List for months, maybe a year.   I checked my e-mails. No hint of it.  I checked my PayPal account.  No transactions recorded that referred to it, and none in that dollar amount.  I decided to look again at the order form that accompanied the kit, to check the Order Number.

Keziah Campbell 1796
Designer: Needlemade Designs (2017)
A Scottish-style sampler
Photo source: Traditional Stitches

And that was when I was GOBSMACKED.  

Right between the eyes!

Two of my dear stitching friends -- people I've known for years, and with whom I gather annually to stitch and talk and walk and eat and enjoy art and textiles and gardens -- had sent this to me.  The name and address of one of them was on the order form as "purchaser".

Oh. My. Ohmyohmyohmyomyomy!

But...why now?  Why in November?

I picked up the phone.  When one of my friends answered and asked, "How are you?", I replied, "Stunned".  I then explained about the mail and the parcel and asked, "To what do I owe this honour?"  "It was supposed to be for your birthday," she said, adding that it was because it was a Big Birthday. "We didn't know it would take so long."

After thanking them both profusely -- the call was on 'speaker' at their end -- we had a lovely chat and I ended with telling them, "nothing for Xmas", because this in and of itself was enough to cover both occasions!  

Now, I'm not interrupting my Xmas 2022 'making' to start this.  (I can hear some of you snickering.  Trust me; I'm not going to do that! 😇😆😁)  But my friends have suggested that perhaps I could have it finished by the time we get together again in August 2023...God willing!

Hmmmmmm.

Meanwhile, the Gothic Lace Cowl for my nephew's partner is finished but for sewing in the ends and adding the buttons:

And I've started a simple cowl for my nephew:

Pattern: "Just Try It"
Designer: Susan Ashcroft
Yarn: Kathmandu Aran 100 from Queensland Yarns

I finished the "Wabi Sabi" quilt top for a Certain Young Man -- now it's ready to sandwich and quilt:

Original Pattern: "Magic Tiles" by Kathleen Bissett
My adaptation: "Wabi Sabi"
No pattern notes; it's One Of A Kind!
Size: 9 blocks + borders = 50" x 50"

And I'm 90% of the way through stitching "Lick the Bowl" for my son's partner.  It'll be made into a journal cover -- I've bought a little journal to go with it -- and I hope she'll use it to collect her favourite recipes, as I've been told she likes to bake.

One of the "Kitchen Counter" Series
Designer: Hands On Designs
Fabric: 30-count mystery even-weave
Threads: my own selection - DMC

My right hand is still a bit 'iffy' -- aggravated somewhat not only but the stitching but also by the writing, typing, and shovelling.  I try to rotate activities...but my art-making is on pause.  I figure if I get these gifts finished, I can move into sampling for the 3rd piece I need to do re: Art in the Park.  

And in the weeks left in November, I have 2 short theology papers to write, two Morning Prayer services to manage (with homilies), 3 dozen Christmas cookies to bake for the church cookie sale (Nov. 26) and the Under $100 Art Market in Lacombe (Nov. 24-26), where I'll be showing small works and volunteering.  

Here's just one of the pieces that will be for sale at that Market:

Winter Grasses (2021)
5" x 7", floater frame

Just a few things to keep me out of trouble!

Meanwhile, it's Remembrance Day here in Canada, and I'm going to wander downtown (3 blocks from here) around 10:30 a.m. to see if there's a ceremony planned.  The good folks at the Royal Canadian Legion here used to do it every year at the Community Hall, followed by a buffet lunch at the Legion Hall.  Then COVID hit and it didn't happen in 2020.  Last year it was an outdoor service (no lunch).  This year it's been very cold and snowy, and while I noted that a small area around the Cenotaph at the Legion had been cleared of snow, there's been nothing posted about a service at the Community Hall -- or anywhere, for that matter.  So we shall see.

It's also Friday, and Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday is up and running...so I'll leave you with an invitation to check out the action over there, and with the hopes that your weekend is warm and cozy, or cool and beachy, and wherever you are -- safe, sound, happily creative!  'Bye for now!

Okay, I'll Bite

I've had quite a bit on my plate in the last couple of weeks, so I've been trying  find  ways to procrastinate other things to do.  The Gremlins of Planned Obsolescence have been happy to help.  

On Monday, my drip coffee pot died.  I don't know how old it was, but I've lived here for 13 years and it's the second replacement in that time.  It's predecessor was from a thrift shop, so I can't fault it for not lasting -- but neither of these lived up to the quality of the 23-year-old one I brought with me from my former home.

On Wednesday, my not-quite-10-years-old clothes dryer died.  Well...maybe it's only ill and needs a part.  I'll find out for sure when the appliance repair man (yes, they still exist and this one happens to be a man) comes on Monday afternoon.   I'm hoping the machine is down, but not out just yet!

As for the coffee pot, my friend C. lent me one till the local hardware store gets in its shipment, expected about a week from now.  C. didn't want me to have to resort to instant coffee while I waited -- bless her!  

Other things to do have included quilting, binding and wrapping the little quilt I showed you in my last post (sorry, no photo of it quilted) -- it and one other out-of-town Christmas gift will be mailed early next week.

And I've been working on C's Christmas gift (no photo -- she might be reading this!); it's coming along nicely.

Advent began on November 28; in addition to attending an Advent Retreat for which a local small group has formed on Zoom, I've cast on a pattern for socks, broken up into just enough units to get a pair finished on Christmas Eve.  

I'm making them in "royal purple" -- the long-time liturgical colour for Advent, even though now blue is often used.  As of last evening, the leg units were finished.  It's ready for today's section: the heel flap.

Pattern: Countdown 
Designer: EdithABDesigns
Yarn: Bernat Sox in "Purple Hot"!

The first patten section was a bit tricky -- I didn't understand the directions, so after a couple of failed attempts, I contacted the designer.  Edith's a nice woman in Germany, and it turns out that essentially, the intended instruction was lost in translation.  Once she clarified it, I had no problem.  Can you see the wee butterflies in the section right after the ribbing (on the left)?  So cute!

On the quilting front, it's been a combination of art exhibiting and scrap quilting.  The Lacombe "Under $100 Art Market" ran from November 25 through 27.  I volunteered for cash duty on the 25th, which was a lot of fun -- but exhausting!  Even though there was masking and a certain amount of distancing kept, I've not been around that many people in a long while, and I found I'm not used to it!  

I believe in "Art for art" -- that is, when I sell something, if I can find something affordable, based on how much I've earned, I'll buy a piece of art from another artist -- generally someone who uses a different medium.  I managed to sell a few items at the "U $100" sale, so was able to purchase a mug from a young potter whose work there I admired -- "The Beagle and the Alchemist".   

It's my new favourite coffee mug.  (Shhhh!  Mustn't let the others in my collection hear my admiring sighs.)

In a few hours I'll be making my way to Curiosity Art & Framing in Red Deer, where I've just finished a stint as 'Featured Artist' -- but where it's still on exhibit for the next few months at least.  Today I'll be there for guests at a Christmas Reception, and will be bringing with me three more small pieces -- framed -- that didn't sell at the U$100 market:

Abandoned: Alaska - (c) 2018 
5" x 7" x 1/2", floater frame

Between the Woods and Frozen Lake - (c) 2018
5" x 7" x 1" in deep floater frame (can stand or hang)

Canoes on Cranna (Lake) - (c) 2017
5" x 7" x 1/2", floater frame

The gallery's a fairly small space, so it's operating under the REP program (Alberta's name for a 'vaccine passport), meaning that attendees have to show proof of vaccination.  They also have to wear masks except when enjoying refreshments, and try to keep distance while viewing the art and talking with the staff and the artist(s).  And the owner's opening up the big back framing studio for refreshments and perhaps some more art on display, so that should make distancing somewhat easier -- I hope!  I'll be there from 3 to 5 p.m.!

In the ongoing work of the Keep-It-Out-of-the-Landfill Project, I've got the better part of a new top finished.  I find that making string blocks very calming (as you know), so I got to it and finished the 98 blocks I needed for Bonnie Hunter's Basket-weave Strings pattern:

The dark green fabric you see in the photo is for the setting triangles and corner blocks.  I've now managed to assemble the central part of the top -- and I'm really pleased with it.  

Currently it's about 51" W x 58", but should finish closer to 62" x 69", with a 1 1/2"-finished inner border and a 4" outer border.  I've chosen a butter-yellow solid for the "zinger", and may repeat the dark green as the outer one.  We shall see...

With neighbouring British Columbia hit by both fires and floods this past year -- and still coming out from under -- I've decided to keep plugging away at my scrap stash to make tops -- some the size I can quilt myself, others that will need the help of a long-arm quilter -- getting them ready to send away when they're ready to be received.  I have "more stash than cash", so that's how I can help...

Now that "Basket-weave" is almost finished, what's next?  

I've been keeping an eye on the clues for Bonnie Hunter's 2021 mystery, "Rhododendron Trail" and, well...today, with the release of the second clue, I went down that procrastination lane rabbit hole too, printing off the intro and the first two clues.  I already have a stack of solids from my inheritance that should be just right...

So...I'm off to get 'gussied up' to go to the Christmas Reception...and will leave you again with the link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday, wherein she proceeds to embarrass me...you'll have to read to find out how... 😉

Have a great weekend!

Sometimes It All Comes Together at Once

 Life continues apace, each day bringing a fresh start, which I try to hold onto even as my emotions continue in flux.  The challenge to keep an even keel for an entire day is very real right now!

That said, on the Very Best Days, Things Get Done!  Even better, sometimes I accomplish more than I expected because...well...sometimes it all comes together at once.

Last week I drove into Red Deer to Curiosity Art & Framing, to pick up invitations for the Christmas Reception that's happening there December 3.  I won't be the Featured Artist by then (that's coming to an end as I type, because another artist -- a painter -- will be featured) but my work is staying there for the time being, and will continue to be shown.  And I'll be at the reception from 3-5 p.m. that afternoon.  The Featured Artist will be there in the evening.

While I was talking with owner/manager Andrea, she asked if I could bring in some small pieces -- 5" x 7" -- in case someone in attendance would like to purchase something with only a little financial lay-out.  I confess, that cheered me up and lit a fire under me.  With only a couple of weeks to the event, I needed to act pronto so I could take them back to Andrea for framing.

Ol' Man Winter, it turns out, was on my side too.  We had wild wind and blowing snow here on Monday and Tuesday -- so I stayed inside and went to work.

In the summer, I'd dabbled with some fabric painting, mainly on some semi-sheer synthetic stuff -- just for fun, when I was taking the "Cloth to Codex" workshop (online) with Susan Purney Mark -- and I'd written about it HERE.  I decided to dig out the fabric and see what I could come up with.

Well...this

became this...

On the Dunes - (c) 2021 - 5" x 7" 

and this...

Slough-side - (c) 2021 - 5" x 7"

This...

became this...

A Dream of Spring (c) 2021
8" x 10" mounted on 12" x 12" 
painted stretched canvas

And another piece --  fabric print that I altered with mono-printing and paint sometime last year -- became this:

Winter Grasses - (c) 2021 - 5" x 7"

I was on a roll so, having decided to paint the canvas for A Dream of Spring, I also got busy and painted the one I needed for Forgiveness.  (Alas, I lack great spaces for phography in my house, so this was taken at an odd angle and looks wonky; it's not!)

All of these are at Andrea's now for framing -- in my usual black 'floater' frames -- but the invitees at the December 3 reception will see the finished products.  I, for one, can't wait!

In the Xmas Gift Department...

I used left-overs from at least two other, larger projects -- maybe three -- to make this comfort throw for a friend who shall remain nameless for the moment (Christmas gift, remember?)

What's Left in the Box of Chocolates? (c) 2021

It's really simply a batch of 2 1/2" squares sewn into 9-patches and then all joined together, surrounded by narrow "zingers", wider pieced borders and even wider solid-colour borders -- with outer corner-stones made from HSTs (half-square triangles) left over from yet another larger project.  No pattern; I just made it up.

Technically,  it's a medallion quilt because it features "something in the middle, and something around it" -- to quote Joe (The Quilter) Cunningham.  Further, per his friend and mentor, the late Mary Schafer, it's a "country medallion"  -- not a "fancy" or "more sophisticated" one, because the 'something in the middle' is pieced, rather than featuring a central motif that's appliqued.  And my borders include piecing, not applique. 

I learned all this on Saturday, when I was working on the borders of this piece and attending Joe's latest Quilt Freedom Workshop.  Yep; it was all about medallion quilts -- antique and vintage inspirations -- with his guests (and friends) collector and quilt historian, Julie Silber, and Carolyn Ducey, Curator of Collections at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska.  

I confess I pay to take these classes ($50 CAD a pop) not only to see if I can play with fabric in a new way, but also because I think Joe's one of the best quilt artists out there; he makes me think; he stretches my mind and my perceptions, and he introduces me to quilt history in the most interesting way!  Not all the topics he covers interest me, so I've yet to spring for a monthly Patreon membership (about $50 CAD per month, which is expensive for me these days); I prefer to pick and choose.  So far, I've attended most months -- but not all of them.  Sometimes I make a project; sometimes I don't.  This month, my medallion piece was on theme but not even close to Joe's style.  Still, I could imagine, decades from now, someone coming across this little throw in a thrift shop or antique market, and wondering at the provenance, at the colours chosen, the design, even the size.  That's what makes quilt history come alive for me -- and Joe and his friends and colleagues have given me that appreciation. 

In that vein, I've just purchased a soon-to-be-released book -- Alberta Quiltmakers and Their Quilts -- authored by Lucie Heins, Assistant Curator for the Daily Life and Leisure Program at the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) in Edmonton.  

I met Lucie years ago when she and Patti Morris, former SAQA Western Canada Rep for Alberta, joined forces, with two other quilting organizations, and created an exhibit at the RAM.  SAQA's contribution was "Meet the Best of the West", which had toured around Canada, and finished its tour there (late summer 2014).  Here I am -- much younger -- with my piece, "Mutt and Jeff" (upper left corner) and others, at the reception for the participating artists, as many as could get there:

But I digress...there's Xmas knitting too!

And it's all done but for one piece, for a friend who lives a few blocks away.  That will be done when the time comes...

For now, I am ready to meet my daughter on Sunday to pass on gifts to her for herself, for her friend (the commission) and for my son, his partner and her son.  All are finished, washed and ready to wrap!

The commissioned socks were an adventure because of the size required, which was larger around than the lace pattern could accommodate.  I'll spare you the details -- especially those of you who don't knit or understand the language (!).  Interested parties can read my notes on this adventure on my project page on Ravelry.  Here they are, just before I grafted the toe of the second sock:

Pattern: Hummingbird 
Designer: Sandi Rosner
Publication: The Knitter's Book of Socks
by Clara Parkes
Yarn: Gathering Yarn - The Basics Sock

These are long socks -- 11" from cuff to bottom of heel; 10" from heel to toe -- but I still had some yarn left over from the skein!  And the hand-dyed yarn colour-way is spectacular!  I am more than pleased -- I only hope the recipient is too.

I've also finished the hats and mittens I planned for giving:

• Not one but two hats for my son (the first shown a few posts ago, but here it is again):

Pattern: Ribbed Toque
Source:Knitting Stories - Sylvia Olsen
Yarn: Cascade Yarns "Anthem"

And here's the second:

Pattern: "Bankhead"
Designer: Susie Gourlay
Yarn: Baycrest Sayelle Knitting Worsted (d/c)

• And a hat and fingerless mittens set for his partner:

Hat: Violet Waffles - Designed by Halldora J
Mittens: Simple Fingerless Mitts
Yarn: Schoeller + Stahl Limbo Mexiko Color
in "Fjord" 

Here's one of the mittens on my hand.  
I added an inch to the body after the cuff,
in case she wants them long enough to go inside her coat.

I finished my daughter's Christmas Socks a few months back; lest you missed that, here they are:

Pattern: Thermal Weasleys
Designer: Desiree Bowman
Yarn: Gathering Yarn Merino Sock Italian

And yes, the "Weasleys" reference is from Harry Potter... 😉

The other gifts I'm giving aren't made by me...but are ready to pack for delivery on Sunday afternoon or to put in the post later this month.

One of the latter is a selection of two designs for a 2022 calendar, created by my daughter, who is a talented photographer (as I've mentioned before, as followers of this blog will know).  This year she assembled "This Chickadee Life" and "Chubby Cheeks" (featuring squirrels and chipmunks).  You can see these on her Facebook page -- or if you are in Edmonton, Alberta, at Mandolin Books and Coffee or Apache Seeds -- available now for purchase.  I've chosen one for my cousin James in Scotland, and another for my next-door neighbours here in town.  Perfect!  

At this point, anything else I divulge would spoil surprises for Certain Gentle Readers...so that's it for now!

Aside from that one knitted gift for a local friend, I'm ready for new knits -- and for me, that means returning to two pullovers that were just started before the Xmas Knits took over.  More about them in a future post...and more about quilty things too.  Bonnie Hunter's 2021 Mystery starts in earnest a week from tomorrow (right after American Thanksgiving) -- and I'm hoping it will be another fun challenge for this year.  

I'm also closing in on the 98 string blocks (5 1/2" square, unfinished) that I need for Bonnie's free "Basket-weave Strings" pattern; this top will be reserved for when needed for charity.  I've been using a pile of collected strings, and have 84 blocks done...but the pile doesn't seem to be getting any smaller...Sigh.

Upcoming: 

The 3rd Annual (second In Person) Lacombe Encore! Under $100 Art Market at the Memorial Centre, Lacombe, Alberta -- Thursday, November 25 from 4-9 p.m., Friday, November 26 from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturday, November 27 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (COVID protocols in place.)

I have four 5" x 7" pieces in the sale (NOT the ones shown above!) and my daughter Gina will have some of her photography there too.  I'll be on cash on Thursday from 4:00 - 6:30 p.m., so if you're a local reader, do come by, see the lovely work, and find something that's just right for you to give at the holiday season.

And of course, as mentioned above, Curiosity Art & Framing has a Christmas Reeption the following week (Dec. 3); I'll be there from 3-5 p.m.

After all this, I'll be glad to be home knitting and string-piecing quietly in the lead-up to Christmas.  Our parish church, where I'm now the lone musician music "team", is still discussing the timing of a Christmas Eve Service, and I've no idea what our family is able or willing to do this year re: getting together...so whatever happens, happens.

This coming week, American family and friends will be celebrating Thanksgiving.  I send good wishes to all who are doing so, and hopes that you will stay safe and have a loving, happy time together.  

I'm linking this up to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday, where she's busy bringing a new creative idea to life.  She's facing a deadline -- so I hope that for her, too, it will all come together at once!

And for you, Gentle Readers, Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans for November 25 -- and may all of us have a safe, healthy, creative week ahead!