I was talking to Shelley, owner of Fun Knits Yarn Shop on Quadra Island, the other day, and she tells me that her Spring Knitting/Spinning Retreat is in danger of being canceled if more folks don't register soon.
That smarts, 'cuz I really need a retreat in April. It's my last chance for a break before the final FibreFest planning, and besides, I didn't get to go on one in January or February -- both the retreats I planned had to be canceled because there weren't enough registrations. And the biggest reason is because I've been to a few of Shelley's retreats, and they're WONDERFUL!
So if you've been thinking about going to Quadra Island in April, or just can't decide, or you even intend to go but haven't put your cheque in the mail yet -- please do it now! I know that, in the past, Shelley has even accepted just a deposit with the registration and the balance later, and if that would make the difference for you, call or email her and ask about that. Join me at the Fun Knits retreat -- you'll be glad you did!
Meanwhile, I've gotten bit by the nastiest flu bug I've had for years. I've been pretty much sleeping or in the bathroom for the last 48 hours, and it doesn't appear to be letting up yet. Not even enough energy to knit -- I've accomplished about half an inch on each of the pair of socks I've got on the needles, and that's it. Today is Knit'n'Cafe, and I don't think I'll be able to go.
I'm going back to bed right now, and I'll see how I feel later. Sure would be nice to get out for the first time in 3 days!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
THE HAIDA CHIEFTAIN
I woke up yesterday morning with the flue bug that Michael's had for several days, but had stuff I had to do. So I was driving home from getting groceries when I spotted this big tug coming into the harbour:
I knew it looked familiar and that was confirmed as soon as I saw the name: The Haida Chieftain is one of the biggest and oldest still-working tugs on this coast.
The 145-foot steel tugboat was built as a U.S. Navy tug by Foundation Marine Co. in 1944, and named Foundation Lillian. (Farley Mowat wrote a couple of good books about the Foundation tugs and their salvage work and tows in the Atlantic.)
After service with Foundation Marine on the east coast, she was renamed 'Escort' and then 'N.R. Lang', and was owned for a time by Kingcome Navigation (1971, running log barges and other materials through Seymour Narrows on a regular basis).
She's 30-ft wide, and 'draws' almost 13 feet (meaning that's how much of her is under the water that you can't see).
In January, 1965, the Haida Chieftain caught fire off Cape Beale on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The crew of 10 abandoned and were picked up by the tug LaPointe of the Vancouver Tug Boat Co. The brand-new tug La Beine, on her maiden trip, intercepted the Haida Chieftain, put out the fire, and towed the vessel to port. The Haida Chief was then rebuilt and returned to service.
Currently owned by WAYDEN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS INC. of Richmond (a suburb of Vancouver), she required further repairs in 2004 when she rammed into the dock on Main Street in Richmond on New Year's Day.
And here she is about to go under the Johnson Street bridge en route to Point Hope Shipyard, yesterday.
There is an old video of her online, taken by a deckhand, slogging through some stormy waters off the Queen Charlottes. She's a grand old boat, that's for sure!
****
And yes, I've been knitting, too ... I finished the purple beaded scarflette while I was watching the Haida Chieftain go by!
I knew it looked familiar and that was confirmed as soon as I saw the name: The Haida Chieftain is one of the biggest and oldest still-working tugs on this coast.
The 145-foot steel tugboat was built as a U.S. Navy tug by Foundation Marine Co. in 1944, and named Foundation Lillian. (Farley Mowat wrote a couple of good books about the Foundation tugs and their salvage work and tows in the Atlantic.)
After service with Foundation Marine on the east coast, she was renamed 'Escort' and then 'N.R. Lang', and was owned for a time by Kingcome Navigation (1971, running log barges and other materials through Seymour Narrows on a regular basis).
She's 30-ft wide, and 'draws' almost 13 feet (meaning that's how much of her is under the water that you can't see).
In January, 1965, the Haida Chieftain caught fire off Cape Beale on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The crew of 10 abandoned and were picked up by the tug LaPointe of the Vancouver Tug Boat Co. The brand-new tug La Beine, on her maiden trip, intercepted the Haida Chieftain, put out the fire, and towed the vessel to port. The Haida Chief was then rebuilt and returned to service.
Currently owned by WAYDEN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS INC. of Richmond (a suburb of Vancouver), she required further repairs in 2004 when she rammed into the dock on Main Street in Richmond on New Year's Day.
And here she is about to go under the Johnson Street bridge en route to Point Hope Shipyard, yesterday.
There is an old video of her online, taken by a deckhand, slogging through some stormy waters off the Queen Charlottes. She's a grand old boat, that's for sure!
****
And yes, I've been knitting, too ... I finished the purple beaded scarflette while I was watching the Haida Chieftain go by!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
ODDS 'n' SODS
Yesterday, right after I posted about being a lousy blogger, I got an email from Anita, who sent me this:
Thanks, Anita! (Makes me wonder how fabulous my blog would be if I actually got back to posting daily...) I'm supposed to pass this award on to five other bloggers, but I'm not awake enough yet to think that hard, so I may have to do that later.
On a completely unrelated note, I've been following the adventures of a young man who was 16 when he left his home port of San Diego, California, to sail around the world alone (and become the youngest person ever to do that, if he succeeds)! He's about to leave Cape Town, South Africa to begin the Atlantic crossing to Panama, and you can follow Zac's adventures, too, if you like, here.
Another 'tidbit': I just happened to be at Clover Point a few days ago (imagine that...!) and saw this ship ... leaving our Esquimalt harbour for a 6-month tour of duty in the Middle East. Hope they all come home safe and sound!
Had a great day at work yesterday ... Mischa and the boys stopped in for a bit of a visit, so that was nice, and it was quiet enough in the afternoon that I got to work on my socks a bit. I'm almost finished the purple scarflette, too, and I'll take some pictures when it's light out!
Today I'm working on FibreFest details, because I *really* want to make a few announcements about some exciting things that will be happening, but I have to clean up a few loose ends first.
Have a happy!
Thanks, Anita! (Makes me wonder how fabulous my blog would be if I actually got back to posting daily...) I'm supposed to pass this award on to five other bloggers, but I'm not awake enough yet to think that hard, so I may have to do that later.
On a completely unrelated note, I've been following the adventures of a young man who was 16 when he left his home port of San Diego, California, to sail around the world alone (and become the youngest person ever to do that, if he succeeds)! He's about to leave Cape Town, South Africa to begin the Atlantic crossing to Panama, and you can follow Zac's adventures, too, if you like, here.
Another 'tidbit': I just happened to be at Clover Point a few days ago (imagine that...!) and saw this ship ... leaving our Esquimalt harbour for a 6-month tour of duty in the Middle East. Hope they all come home safe and sound!
Had a great day at work yesterday ... Mischa and the boys stopped in for a bit of a visit, so that was nice, and it was quiet enough in the afternoon that I got to work on my socks a bit. I'm almost finished the purple scarflette, too, and I'll take some pictures when it's light out!
Today I'm working on FibreFest details, because I *really* want to make a few announcements about some exciting things that will be happening, but I have to clean up a few loose ends first.
Have a happy!
Monday, February 9, 2009
BAD BLOGGER
... but thank YOU for caring about me enough to wonder where I've been! Wow, where did the days go? I'm okay, folks, it's just that weird sleep thing beating me up again -- if I don't post by 7 a.m., it just doesn't happen because the rest of my days are so full!
Life is good here in my little corner of the world, though, just busy. Between paid writing work, FibreFest planning stuff, and classes at the store, I've barely had time to even knit. I *have* finished about 2' on the purple scarf, and I'm nearly ready to turn the heels on the current pair of socks. No pics yet, sorry...
But I do have some other pictures, though. My niece Doneen sent me some that she took before Christmas here during the snow. Here's the 'hill' of Beacon Hill park covered in the white stuff...
And here's the view from that hill, by the way (it's about a block from my favorite view, Clover Point).
And here's the fun on the hill -- River:
Mischa and Gibson:
Mischa, Gibson and Michael:
I have some more recent photos, too. Gibson got a haircut:
And River and I went for brekkie on the weekend, and while we were waiting for our order, we built a 'house of cards' (or two) out of jam packages:
I found time on Saturday to go to a LYS's big blow-out sale and came home with a little sock yarn...
... by my calculations, enough to make about 15 pairs of variously-sized socks for myself and the family -- that's all my Christmas '09 yarn taken care of, and I paid less than $100!
It's Monday, so I'll be at the store today ... and now I must-go-knit-and-drink-coffee. Have a great day, everyone!
Life is good here in my little corner of the world, though, just busy. Between paid writing work, FibreFest planning stuff, and classes at the store, I've barely had time to even knit. I *have* finished about 2' on the purple scarf, and I'm nearly ready to turn the heels on the current pair of socks. No pics yet, sorry...
But I do have some other pictures, though. My niece Doneen sent me some that she took before Christmas here during the snow. Here's the 'hill' of Beacon Hill park covered in the white stuff...
And here's the view from that hill, by the way (it's about a block from my favorite view, Clover Point).
And here's the fun on the hill -- River:
Mischa and Gibson:
Mischa, Gibson and Michael:
I have some more recent photos, too. Gibson got a haircut:
And River and I went for brekkie on the weekend, and while we were waiting for our order, we built a 'house of cards' (or two) out of jam packages:
I found time on Saturday to go to a LYS's big blow-out sale and came home with a little sock yarn...
... by my calculations, enough to make about 15 pairs of variously-sized socks for myself and the family -- that's all my Christmas '09 yarn taken care of, and I paid less than $100!
It's Monday, so I'll be at the store today ... and now I must-go-knit-and-drink-coffee. Have a great day, everyone!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
A FULL AND LOVELY DAY
I had some errands to run yesterday morning, but it was already turning into a lovely day so I couldn't resist indulging in a latte and sitting at Clover Point for a bit. One of the two west coast Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) patrol boats is in town, apparently to take part in Olympic 2010 security exercises, and I watched it for awhile in the Juan de Fuca ...
And along came the local camera club to take pictures of it, too:
While I was there, I finished the market bag:
Now, about that thingamajig-otherwise-known-as-a-fringe-twister... here's the best photo and description I could find online for it.
And here's Ryan showing me how to use it to make the handles for my market bag:
... which took place at the store last night during our first-ever 'Fibre Social' -- it was a lot of fun!
And along came the local camera club to take pictures of it, too:
While I was there, I finished the market bag:
Now, about that thingamajig-otherwise-known-as-a-fringe-twister... here's the best photo and description I could find online for it.
And here's Ryan showing me how to use it to make the handles for my market bag:
... which took place at the store last night during our first-ever 'Fibre Social' -- it was a lot of fun!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
KNOTTY BY NATURE
Most folks are happy when they get to sleep in, but I'm not one of them. Have you noticed I've been slacking here in blogland this past week? It's because I've been up half the night again, and then sleeping in, so that when I *do* get up I kind of have to 'hit the decks running' to do my day!
Today is no exception, but I do have various assorted news to tell you first!
Yesterday was, as always, a wonderful day in the store. First of all I have to show you the thingamagig I was talking about yesterday ... here's my buddy Raven to show it to you.
I think it's really called a 'Fringe Twister' but Stephanie calls it an I-cord buster -- I'll let you know how it goes when I get to give it a whirl.
And while we're on the subject of Knotty by Nature, they brought in a great line of large hand-made mahogany needles made by a local guy named Seth. Here's felting instructor extra-ordinaire Mahsheed showing off a pair of size 50s ... (they go down to about a 10 mm size). These are 14", but I custom-ordered a pair of 9" 10mm ones, so he said he'd have them for me in a few days.
I also started a new project, finally! This scarf beginning is for the International Scarf Exchange -- it's Indigo Moon merino, and I've added some beads into the design just for the first few inches (which I'll repeat at the other end if I ever get there...)-- if I beaded the whole thing, it'll take until *next* summer to finish it!
Meanwhile, here in the marina, we are helping a young woman who just bought her first sailboat/home from SALTS. It's always exciting to see young people, especially women, exploring the live-aboard life!
I'm outa here, I have a gazillion things to do today ... have a great one!
Today is no exception, but I do have various assorted news to tell you first!
Yesterday was, as always, a wonderful day in the store. First of all I have to show you the thingamagig I was talking about yesterday ... here's my buddy Raven to show it to you.
I think it's really called a 'Fringe Twister' but Stephanie calls it an I-cord buster -- I'll let you know how it goes when I get to give it a whirl.
And while we're on the subject of Knotty by Nature, they brought in a great line of large hand-made mahogany needles made by a local guy named Seth. Here's felting instructor extra-ordinaire Mahsheed showing off a pair of size 50s ... (they go down to about a 10 mm size). These are 14", but I custom-ordered a pair of 9" 10mm ones, so he said he'd have them for me in a few days.
I also started a new project, finally! This scarf beginning is for the International Scarf Exchange -- it's Indigo Moon merino, and I've added some beads into the design just for the first few inches (which I'll repeat at the other end if I ever get there...)-- if I beaded the whole thing, it'll take until *next* summer to finish it!
Meanwhile, here in the marina, we are helping a young woman who just bought her first sailboat/home from SALTS. It's always exciting to see young people, especially women, exploring the live-aboard life!
I'm outa here, I have a gazillion things to do today ... have a great one!
Monday, February 2, 2009
I CLEANED MY OVEN
... and that's about all I have to show for the weekend!
I taught Intermediate Knitting at the the store on Saturday -- you'll be hearing about that, because I have two different 6-week classes going on right now. Then, since I knew I wanted lots of guilt-free weekend knitting time, I cleaned my oven. (What? Isn't that how you do it?)
Finished another pair of Noro socks, almost identical to these ones for myself, and finished another 4" or so on the market bag.
. An interesting part of this project will be the handles. I would opt for I-cords, but Stephanie has this gadget in the store -- I have no idea what it's called, but it *looks* like 3 roach clips mounted on a little piece of wood (sorry, I'm an old hippy, what can I say?) -- and she's going to show me how to use it to make the handles, which apparently goes like lightning compared to knitting I-cord. I'll go with that!
Today I have my regular shift in the store, and I have to get another pair of socks cast on before I go!
I taught Intermediate Knitting at the the store on Saturday -- you'll be hearing about that, because I have two different 6-week classes going on right now. Then, since I knew I wanted lots of guilt-free weekend knitting time, I cleaned my oven. (What? Isn't that how you do it?)
Finished another pair of Noro socks, almost identical to these ones for myself, and finished another 4" or so on the market bag.
. An interesting part of this project will be the handles. I would opt for I-cords, but Stephanie has this gadget in the store -- I have no idea what it's called, but it *looks* like 3 roach clips mounted on a little piece of wood (sorry, I'm an old hippy, what can I say?) -- and she's going to show me how to use it to make the handles, which apparently goes like lightning compared to knitting I-cord. I'll go with that! Today I have my regular shift in the store, and I have to get another pair of socks cast on before I go!
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