Tomorrow will be Michael's birthday, and we still haven't managed to have a little 'getaway' yet! Maybe *next* weekend...?

I frogged both the Rosebud hats after the test knit was complete, and turned them into a cowl, which I like much better!

Did you participate in a One Billion Rising event? It was SO much fun to be part of, here! About 500 people showed up when we blocked off McPhillips Ave in Ganges that day...

 (Those signs -- and the posters advertising the event -- were my contribution to the day).

 Here's a pretty good video of the event done by a local fellow.

 We had Gibson over for a visit that weekend again. He has a cold (which accounts for the glazed look in his eyes) but he enjoyed pretending he was a barber and cutting his Papa's hair (with MUCH supervision from Grandma, I might add...!)

Today the last clue will be out for the lace shawl Mystery KAL, and I can hardly wait -- I'm loving it so far! I've also started working on the shawl for the FictionKnitstas tour, finally -- I've had to graph out a house to add to the back of it. It'll be fun to knit, but it wasn't fun to design!

This  past weekend I went to Victoria to be part of a Spin-In being hosted by my old Thursday Fibre Friends group. It was great to see wide-open Pacific Ocean again ...

... and I got to see lots of interesting things going on. This little girl is 5 months old ...never too young to be introduced to the wonders of fibre, right?

Local kumihimo expert Allison Irwin spinning with a spindle...

And this is Victoria Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild member Sara demonstrating a plying method...

There was a large Salt Spring contingent there as well...

I got to watch Brenda spinning linen ... from flax that she helped grow and harvest, how amazing is that?

They've all always cheerfully accepted me as the spinning imposter that I am, and it was great to see everyone, but this weekend was kind of special for me in another way... it was my first 'public appearance' and display as the new owner of WEFT Magazine!

The owner of the former Island Shuttle magazine, published here on the coast for the last 19 years, finally retired in December - and has given me her blessing to carry on the publication! She asked that I give it a new name ... and WEFT (Westcoast Enthusiasts For The) Fibre Arts Magazine was born! My first issue will be out on March 1st --- and now you know why I haven't been blogging much for the last couple of months! I've been a little pre-occupied.... :-) but I'm *really* excited to be back in the writing/publishing business again!

MONDAY AGAIN

I really have no idea how it happens that I'm only posting once a week AGAIN.

Much knitting is happening, I know that. I finished the Colorblock Thigh-Highs commission...

... so they are on their way to England today! I've also finished the first five clues of the Susanna I-C Mystery Knit-Along, and I'm loving it! There will be hundreds of bead on this one by the time it's done (even though you probably can't see them at all)!

I've completed a test-knit for a Vancouver-Scotland based team of up-and-coming designers who are just publishing their third book. I had to knit it twice to get it right, though! The first one is knit in hand-spun so the 'Rosebud' pattern doesn't show up very well (and there's a glaring error you can't see either -- but it sure is pretty, though).

 Got it right this time...

We have been house-and-dog-sitting for the long weekend (it's Family Day weekend, a new holiday declared last year by our BC Premier) and Charlie doesn't respond as well to men, so guess who gets to walk him?

That's a GOOD thing! The walk was lovely, but the trees are a little eery this time of year...

Home last night, just in time to see a second ferry come in to the 'overload' spot here in Fulford -- anticipating big traffic today going back to Victoria, I guess. This ferry, on the odd occasion that it berths here overnight, is about 200' off our bow!

I have to go back to walk Charlie again this morning, then we'll be back to our routine. Whatever that is.  ;-)

"My Week in Review"

The other day in between running errands in Ganges, I wandered over to the boardwalk to have a look at the harbour, just in time to see this navy ship come in... 

They often overnight in Ganges when they're out on exercises. And then I watched this fellow taking the water taxi from his anchored boat ... :)

I often stop at Drummond Park on the way home from Ganges to knit for a bit ... especially if I know that Michael's probably having his ritual afternoon nap, anyway. The other day I watched this fellow do his entire Tai Chi routine while I worked on the Color Block 'thigh-highs' - which are now done, actually.

 

I'll block them today, and by tomorrow they'll be on their way to the recipient in England. :)

Hailey was visiting from Whistler this weekend, and Gibson was here again (he had to collect his new hat), so it's been a full and fun weekend. It doesn't get much cuter than this...

Hailey and I went to the 'Break the Chain' demo to learn the dance -- you can click the pink banner, upper right, here on my blog to learn all about this amazing event coming up.

Then we had to take Gibson to the skateboard park, of course!

Hailey had fun too!

And so, of course, did I!

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Only on Salt Spring...

Actually, I've visited more than one Gulf Island where sheep roamed at large... but on Salt Spring Island, it may actually be part of the acknowledged culture. 

It's been cold... this is the view of the ferry terminal in front of us just after the ferry pulled out and disappeared into the fog ... doesn't that look cold?

 But then again, having relatively clear skies is the only time you get 'pink sky at night' sunsets like this one!

I haven't exactly been hibernating... but I do spend as much time as possible knitting in front of the fire! Clue #4 in the lace shawl knit-along will be out this morning, and in the meantime I'm working on a commission for some leggings that the gal has asked me to turn into socks, basically. The colors she chose are light blue, navy and chocolate brown, and I'm on the mid-section already (knitting from the top down):

It's been fun and easy so far, but pretty soon I have to switch from my circulars to double-points and that'll slow me down!

Speaking of knitting, we just had Gibson here for the weekend (too busy to take pics!) and he says to me, "Grandma, can you knit me a hat?" "Well of course I can! What do you want it to look like?" "I'll draw you a picture." So he drew me a picture as best any 6-year-old can, and of course, it told me nothing. So I asked a lot of questions... it's worn by a character in one of his favorite TV shows, apparently, and his friend at school showed up with this hat knitted by his mom, so now Gibson wants one, too.

Armed with just enough information, I did a little internet sleuthing ... et voila! Here is the hat he wants me to knit ... it's called the 'Brobee' hat, from the TV show "Yo Gamma Gamma". Apparently.

Of course he wanted it done before he got on the ferry to go home yesterday, but I promised it to him for next weekend. Ack! Anyone in my world know how to crochet and want to do me a big favor? I'm knitting the hat (and the red 'spikes') as we speak, but the facial features are ALL crocheted.

All I know is .... when any of my grandchildren wants me to me knit something for them, I'm all over that!  :-)
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MONDAY DRIVE-BY POST :-)

First of all, I want to wish a very happy birthday to my first-born!

(I stole this picture from one of his Facebook albums....) 

Jason is 39 today -- uh-oh, I guess that means I can't claim to be 39 anymore, now, can I?  :-) We're having lunch on Wednesday, so I'm looking forward to that!

Secondly, welcome back to Canada to Hailey, who spent the last week working in La Jolla, California. Well, she *claims* she was working, but the only picture she sent me was this one:   ;-)

I guess if I lived in Whistler year-round, I'd be pretty happy to show off my toes in flip-flops in the sun and sand in January, too!

And since I'm all about pictures of other people taken by other people this morning, I might as well show you this one (also stolen from FB) ... Joshua in the toque I knit him for Christmas!

Adorable, huh? That's his Mom, Cara, with him ... but I didn't knit her toque. (She, and it, are pretty adorable, too, though!)

Knitting is happening .... I'm participating in a 'mystery' shawl knit-along (meaning a clue gets released every week so you don't actually know what it will look like until it's done) -- but so far so good:

What's not to love? Pale blue cotton, lace, and beads!
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HAPPY MONDAY!

Yesterday, since we can't get away to celebrate our anniversary until February, we decided to just spend the day together and go on a little Salt Spring Island 'road trip.' I've gotten to know lots of little beach access roads and out-of-the-way funky places here, but Michael hasn't seen a lot of them. So we 'circumnavigated' Salt Spring for the day!

Here's a link to a little movie I took of watching the stream at Southey Point...

And here's some of the view ... looking northwest up Trincomali Channel...

 ... and west toward Vancouver Island...

And check out this rock formation... I say it looks like a giant petrified fish!

It was a lovely drive and a lovely day... topped off by seeing this on our way home:

At first glance I thought someone had wrapped colored electrical tape around the sign pole, so I got a little closer...

How cute is that? Sign cozies! :-)

I meant to show you this lap blanket last week ... it still has to be blocked, but it's bigger than it looks -- about 40" in diameter:

This gorgeous wool was some loose dyed fleece that I bought at a fibre event a few years ago, when I was still going to learn to spin. I finally turned it over to my Metchosin fibre buddies, and they did their magic and turned it into yarn for me! It's primarily a light greeny color with hints of fuschia in it, and it's really pretty.

Back to work today...
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Yeah, I know, so much for that 'resolve' I had! But I had to share that today's a pretty special day for us... 35 years ago today I met this gorgeous guy -- at a bar -- and took him home. He's still here! Who'd-a thunk it? Not us! We were just a couple of messed-up drunks back then ... it's amazing what one-day-at-a-time sober living can do. He's still gorgeous to me, and we're still having fun! We're hoping to get away for a weekend in February, when it's also his birthday...

The weather has been very cold (for here, that means just below the freezing point!) so I've been spending as much time as possible in front of our little fireplace with my knitting. I've finished a 'Pi' lap blanket for our loveseat and I'm working on an afghan as a favor for a friend of my sister's. And, of course, there's another shawl on the needles. Life is good!
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