Day Trip

I took a sock on a day trip this week, and got through part of a heel flap:

Eventually I had to give up. It's just too hard to be sure you've counted rows accurately in a moving car, over black stitches. But it was pretty great to have a flashback to the old days, when we'd get out of town and head somewhere nice...

 

... with a modest goal of some kind.

The modest goal this round? A purchase at Maple Leaf Fudge, in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Fudge like no other! and that town is always so pretty. Niagara Parks spends a ton on gardening for the area, and Niagara-on-the-Lake is the showpiece. Check out this planting, one of a ton that line the strip between road and sidewalk:

There were visitors from Florida while we were there, and Texas too. I didn't ask if they'd brought knitting, though.

After we locked down our fudge, we went looking for a nice place for a picnic, and landed in a park where I found that cute metal bike atop a bike rack. Can you guess where? Here's another hint:

It got kinda cloudy where we were there - sorry for the dark image. 

If you're from the Niagara area, like me, or have visited a lot, also like me, or if you've been hanging around Hugs for years and years, definitely like me, you will know that spire right away as Brock's Monument. 

It really sticks up there, doesn't it! If you're driving up from Niagara-on-the-Lake, it looms over the edge of the escarpment, too. 

When I was a kid there were concerts in the bandstand here at Queenston Heights, and my parents brought me along to them, but I also came on school trips and trips with houseguests. 

Once I visited the wax museum in Niagara Falls where I saw a scene of General Brock dying in the battle that was fought here during the war of 1812. If I hadn't considered that the monument is a grave marker before, I sure did after. I also decided wax museums are too scary for me and my outsized imagination!

Compared to the thrills of Niagara Falls or the fudge of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Queenston Heights might seem like a bore, but as I realized on this most recent visit, it's really the spot I love most on these trips. I's a lovely wide space, with amazing views...

... and generous amenities for picnickers. It's often quiet, though, popular with locals and their dogs for a leisurely walk.

And it's a battlefield. Every time I go, I look down at the foliage softening the sides of the escarpment and think, people had to climb this with weapons in their hands to come into the various battles fought in this area in 1812 - maybe not exactly here, but close enough.

Here are some more pictures of the monument, which I find so striking:

And also, of the gorgeous flower beds, so carefully maintained:

We often think how nice it would be to live down here ourselves, and be able to pop over for walks through this park whenever we want. But I suppose if we did, we'd be dangerously close to Maple Leaf Fudge. Better just to visit.

Hope you did something nice this week! Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you next Saturday.

Forest Bathing

I don't know about you, but I love this spa-like term for 'hanging around trees'. This is something I do as often as possible, even if it's winter and I'm stuck looking out at the bare ones in the back yard. The rest of the year, though, I'm walking distance from a ravine park with loads of natural world features in it.

The route I take requires - such a hardship! - walking past houses with nice gardens, like this pollinator one:

Or this pretty border variety:

And then it's down through a leafy bower.

The path under these trees isn't *too* steep... coming down. We won't discuss what it's like coming back up, ahem, but it's the reason I don't do this trip three times a day.

On this particular outing, we were having a break from a whole lotta rain. On my way into the ravine the skies were still very stormy-looking, which I love:

It made the air in the soggy leafy ravine smell *amazing*... I so wish I could package that up for you here, along with the pictures. But I can show you what the creeks running through the ravine looked like. Busy!

Maybe not this side of a bridge, so much - all you can see is the churned-up colour, and maybe that the water level is sitting higher than normal:

But on this side? It was noisy. I uploaded larger format pictures this week so you can click on them and see more detail.

I always wonder what magic is happening under a bridge to produce such a change. Trolls? Probably trolls.

It's too hot to knit again this week, so I'm working on another writing project I started last fall and got to a full draft before wandering off to greener pastures. It's important to take a break from a manuscript like that, so you come back with fresh eyes and ideas, but I am definitely making a note to self - six months is too long! I'm so fresh I'm practically a blank slate.

However, it's lovely on the porch again, with a tiny breeze and a lot of squirrels hustling around while we humans laze. I'm going to enjoy it all while I can.

Hope you have some lovely moments lined up in your weekend! Maybe even something with trees. Thanks as always for spending this time with me, and I hope to see you next Saturday.

Hello again

Well that was quite a month I had! I finished writing my novel, and wrapped up two revisions to boot, and now I am tidying up the house again and looking around me at what other things I have in my life. Specifically, an unfinished knitting project to finish.

I know, presented like this these socks look like breakfast (as in, a dog's). 

My real breakfasts have been looking rather more elegant lately. In my effort to actually eat 8 different fruits and vegetables a day I've taken to grazing on them from the time I wake up. Pretty, yes? 

Also, since those breakfasts fuelled my writing so effectively, I've had time the last two days to do some serious tidying up, and tracked down my collection of vintage knitting patterns. Thought you might enjoy a look at this one. I wonder if anyone ever knit those yellow socks patterned with blue, in those exact colours, and then wore them?

Back to this month's knitting project. I don't remember now whether this is the June one I'm finishing in July, or a July one, but I think I'll give myself a pass on June either way and call it July. All these socks needed was the ends run in.

One down, one to go. Don't you love this wide shallow dish? I picked it up at an antique market and the stripe around it always makes me so happy. But the main draw is that it's the perfect size for a small project like socks or lapel pin embroidery. And when I'm working on the porch, I'm always looking for something my needles won't roll off of and into the garden if I put them down for a moment. 

That's right, we're on the porch today! It was looking a little forbidding when I finally got the cushions out and everything set up...

and in just about no time it did start to rain...

but unlike the back deck where I usually hang out, the porch has a roof. I had a little mist on my ankles, and a glorious breeze, and I welcomed both. It's been hot lately.

Being back on the porch reminds me of the good ol' days when I'd set up an audiobook and spin yarn out here. I might do that again this summer, if I still remember how! The other thing I'd like to revisit is weaving. One of the other cleanup jobs I did this week involved overhauling the dining room, and as I moved the furniture around I realized it's much more textile project friendly now. When the temperatures come down a bit, maybe next month, I might actually set up there and finish the pink silk scarf I started before we renovated the house and I got totally distracted by lighting fixtures and things of that ilk.

Ohhh, that'd be a good unfinished project to finish this year, wouldn't it? Unless moths got to it.

Trish showed me how to run in ends diagonally like this, years ago, and every time I do it I think of her. Isn't it nice to associate everyday tasks with a person you like, so you kind of get bonus time with them?

There! All done.

I'm getting another nice soft breeze now and enjoying the way our front hedge is rustling under its influence. What a lovely relaxing Saturday I'm having after working nonstop for a month - hope yours is peaceful too, or at least pleasant.

I'm leaving you with one last photo before I say goodbye for the week - our hydrangeas still have mixed soil, and are not committing to one colour over another. I do love the look of their indecision, don't you?

Thanks for waiting for me all through June and for dropping in today - I'll see you next week!

See in you July

It's been a scrape, but I finally committed time to complete a May knit! and once I've shown you, I'm going to burrow into a cave for a month to finish my current manuscript. When I come back the first Saturday in July, the first draft will be complete, and a June project will be too. Yes, I'm manifesting. If I say it, it'll happen, right? 

So here we go:

How wrinkly is that left hand sock with the cast-on tail still lingering, ugh. This is the pair of socks I started years ago and took to the heel flap before I realized one - Left Sock - was missing a stitch the whole way down the leg. Or maybe two stitches, I don't remember now. What I do know is that I was paralyzed over whether I should add the missing stitch/es back in or rip back and fix it. And eventually, I picked 'fix it.' Hence the wrinkles. 

Weirdly, I took the time to run in the cast-off tail at the toe, but didn't bother to deal with this bit. So bear with me while I tackle it once and for all.

Boy that looks messy. And it took me longer to untangle the knot that got into the temporary tail wrap than it did to run in the end, too. Yeesh! 

But it is done, and that's good enough for this girl.

Ouch. It still looks kinda messy, and it's right on the front, too. I must've erred up after I ripped back, and put my start-of-round in the wrong place. Note to self: don't wear these ones with a skirt. 

And here they are, all done. A welcome spot of brightness on a rainy day.

They still need a bath to settle those stitches but they feel nice on, as handknit socks do. In fact I might be having difficulty persuading myself to remove them for this purpose, ahem.

Okay then, I'm off into the depths of my latest crime novel, with high hopes that it'll be The One. Or maybe the next one will be The One... but I still have to finish this one to get to it. Wish me luck. Thanks so much for coming by today, and have a marvellous June!

Booking time

I loved arranging and taking this photo and immediately forgot to post it ever:

At least, I think I did. If you've seen it, hopefully you're as pleased to see it again as I am. It's Vesper sock yarn as always... and I don't think I've knit up any of these skeins or even caked them? But I am due for more cake-making because my Go Bag of socks to cast on is down to practically nothing. 

Did I mention I stopped buying yarn when I realized my pace was slowing, the better to use up what I had and reclaim space? And I *still* haven't entirely wrapped up my Vesper supply! I mean it's got to be nearly ten years at this point. Astonishing. More so: Hugs itself has been in play for fifteen.

The other night I was talking to Lannie about Hugs and how I used to get up early to write a post every weekday, before setting off for whatever obligations I had to fulfill. 

I can't even comprehend who that person might have been, now. Just the part about when I was posting - I mean I have never been a morning person. But I was getting up with the dawn *and* creating off the bat, over a cup of morning tea! I didn't know then you could prepare a post in advance. 

In truth, I never took to that idea, even once I did know. I am typing this post just before eleven in the morning, having slept in (only a little!) before enjoying a delicious decaf latte and chocolate croissant. It's Saturday, and a long weekend, so why not? 

If you'd like more notes of immediacy, I can hear a siren in the distance through our open living room windows, which are letting in a lovely soft breeze as well as the quiet rustling sounds of Pete shifting garden tools from their overnight storage. I should be out there helping, but this is Hugs time, so instead I'm here thinking of you, and typing.

Back when Hugs was new I had at least five varied projects going at once, one of them often of my own design, and spent all my leisure hours working on them. Also, all of my transit hours. I found it hard even to walk somewhere without plain knitting to do as I trundled along, if the weather was warm enough to keep my fingers from freezing.

Of course I was fiercely protecting my creative life, at a time when long-form writing felt far beyond my capacity. You need to be able to think deeply for that work, and deep thinking is difficult when you're juggling loads of responsibilities. Surface level thinking, though - the math required for pattern design, the tactile delight of yarn, the visual beauty of colour matching for a textile project - all that is just a lovely escape. I suppose *that's* how it was possible for me to do so much back then.

I still do a lot, even if it's not daily knitting. I work on a novel five days a week at least, and I read thoughtfully for many hours every day. If I also took the time to get a table set up for my adorable and compact knitter's loom, I could probably listen thoughtfully to an audiobook, as I used to when weaving scarves. I think there's still a pink silk scarf in progress in the loom bag, too. This isn't a terrible idea and might be a really nice way to spend the summer, don't you think?

What I will not do, because it's sold out, is join Kate Davies' fabulous-sounding mystery summer kniting club. She is pairing a readalong of mysteries by classic crime writer Margery Allingham with her own always gorgeous designs for a months-long project - with clues no less! - that sounds delightful. Feel free to read about it and wish, like me, you had heard about it in time to have a chair at the table.

Probably I will not break out the loom despite the temptation to do that as soon as I've posted this. I am trying, on top of wrapping up a lingering project every month (and no, I haven't even started May's yet) to finish a first draft of the current novel project by the end of June. I'm almost at an Early Hugs level of task-juggling just now, and probably I should throw in the towel and knit a pair of fingerless gloves instead. I won't, though. As a person I lean always to Relentless, so I'm sticking to the project I booked. 

And only a little bit thinking of the project I have in mind for after that...

Hope you're having a lovely day, with an even lovelier weekend in view - especially if it's a long weekend like mine - and thank you as always for dropping by. See you next Saturday!

Sewing kits

Well I am much better today than last Saturday! but in between, there's been so much coughing and sneezing that knitting was impractical at best. So today, let's talk about sewing kits with Ricardo, my friendly fireplace rooster.

Isn't he lovely? He watches over all this stuff from his perch in the glass bowl behind him. It's worth noting while I'm here that a fireplace mantel is an excellent standing desk for small bouts of hand stitching. 

A note too re. the pin cushion shaped like a cat. My mum made this for me when I was in my first grownup apartment and finally had the cat I'd always dreamed of living with some day. She was honouring my love of said cat without ever realizing I would be, you know, sticking pins in a *cat*! Still, I've always used it and always treasured it. I mean all that extra embroidery she put in there... Oh, I miss her, and not just because tomorrow is Mother's Day.

Okay, let's look inside the blue tin, which served as my aunt's sewing kit in the 60s and 70s:

A green seam ripper! I love it. And she kept her safety pins in a plastic case she picked up in New Hampshire. Probably there was originally a plastic raincoat in that little case, or at least a plastic rainbonnet. They used to sell those all accordioned into the box, and you could never ever fit them in again.

Here's my sewing kit, kept in a soup tureen gifted to me after another aunt passed. It's the best I've ever had - lift the lid, and everything I need is right there:

My seam ripper is red because that's my favourite colour. The pincushion lives in here too. There's so much you can cram inside because the lid is vaulted to accommodate whatever's sticking up.

Here's the absolute favourite though, a tiny gas-station branded kit my aunt picked up and never used:

The 'Esso' logo is printed on a tiny tape measure that sits atop a red thimble, over tiny wooden spools of black and then white thread. 

Plus eight additional colours!

The pins are for emergency use only, folks. There are even tiny buttons and safety pins in the top. I wonder if it would all fit in again as neatly, if you ever took things out to use them?

Sadly I'll never know because the lid is jammed on so tight, then taped. I've never been able to get it open. It's the Time Capsule Sewing Kit.

Do you have a favourite sewing kit setup? 

Thanks for dropping by today - hope you have a wonderful weekend and also, Mother's Day, if you are celebrating! See you next Saturday.

Sick Day

Guys, I am down for the count with a cold - haven't been able to knit (or read!) for days, definitely can't face taking cute knitting pix today. So please enjoy a placemarker photo of a mug matched to a lot of classic crimey paperback spines:

I will be back, hopefully even coherent, next week. If you're missing my voice in the meantime you are welcome to read my book posts over at Instagram, from whence this beaut has come. You don't need to register there or anything.

Have a marvellous Saturday! I plan to spend mine napping in between giant bowls of chicken soup.

April project and exciting news

We have a completed project for April, folks - and something else that's fun. Are you sitting down?

My short story, The Canadians, has been shortlisted for this year's Best Crime Short Story from Crime Writers of Canada! It's such a compliment, especially since the other stories in this category are super strong. And this is the first time any of my published stories has been recognized in this way. I'm super excited, and so happy. 

The story is in Killin' Time in San Diego, the 2023 anthology from Bouchercon which features stories from crime greats Anne Cleeves, C.J. Box, and Naomi Hirahara. I've linked it to the Barnes and Noble page if you want a copy, but it's available from loads of other bookstores too.

I haven't celebrate yet. I found out yesterday and still ended up making dinner at home instead of dining on luxurious foods or just ice cream, and today I made a slew of French Toast to share also. Though that's a good thing really because I'm excellent at French Toast. 

Back to my newly completed Hatcowl, which the keen-eyed among you will notice hasn't been blocked yet. I'm still counting it as Done anyway because a/ I can just slip it in with my next sock wash and b/ I hab a code. Or the start of one, anyway. First cold in over four years! I know because I repeatedly tested the beloved family member who brought it home, and it ain't Covid. I guess that's another thing to celebrate?

I did extra deep ribbing on this one, practically to headband territory, because I wanted it good and snug around my ears and thought it'd look nice. It does, and it is, but I'm not sure I'd bother with all that if I made a fourth one. Mainly because I think three of the exact same hat is all one girl needs. Time to move on with a new shape.

I also went a little overkill on the braided drawstring, cutting the yarn four whole inches longer than my pattern specified. Not sure what I was thinking. This is a lotta drawstring! I ended up wrapping the string around the top before tying a nice bow, which solved the problem.

Okay I know this is a gratuitous number of photos of Killin' Time, but I just love the colours on it. Plus it's so matchy with my hat, don't you think?

And now: time for me to head back to bed with a very big cup of hot tea. Hope your weekend is lovely, entertaining, and tissue-free. Thanks for dropping by to hear my good news, and I'll see you next week!

Enjoying Elizabeth Zimmermann

Lately I've been reorganizing my bookshelves and enjoying the opportunity to browse through my copy of Elizabeth's Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac. 

Also, making a tiny amount of progress on the Halloween Christmas Socks. There's no way these'll make it to be my April Knit. Also, they don't really count because I started them so recently - the point of finishing a knit every month is to clear out all my lingering unfinished projects. On the other hand, I'm not really excited about them, which does take them well into 'lingering' territory doesn't it.

I don't know whether you've read Knitter's Almanac but it strikes me as a year's worth of blog posts from an expert in her field. It's so chatty and practical, without condescension. Just an assumption that anyone reading it is perfectly capable of the work required. And of course, she's right.

The other thing I admire is that there's no assumption that a sweater must be flattering on a human body that features a few bulges. The patterns are pure math, for the sole purpose of keeping the wearer warm. And to me, they look so cool! This one's my favourite, for the pattern:

But I'm also intrigued by the shoulders on the so-called Last Minute Sweater, which she pitches as possible to complete in December, for Christmas:

And I do love an Aran pattern:

I'm not likely to knit any of these sweaters anytime soon as my personal goals for this year are to finish two more manuscripts and read Bleak House, but they've been on my radar for a while and I'm going to give in someday. Maybe I should knit one for fun as a mathematical project, and not worry about how long it takes?

Now there's a slippery slope. I couldn't do any of them without adding to my yarn stash. It's probably best if I stick to my (sock) knitting and don't go getting ideas.

Hope you've got a lovely weekend lined up with or without Elizabeth Zimmermann. Thanks for spending some of it with me - hope to see you here next week!

What to do

Boy, this business of finishing a project every month is really motivational. Here's what was in one of the project bags I considered this week:

You'll be shocked to know it's another Hatcowl. Clearly I had a thing for them a few years back when I cast them on. And here's a shocker that's not sarcasm: I left it this close to finishing. What was I thinking?

Probably something like, "picking up a darning needle is too much trouble." Ugh. 

There is another big step after running in these ends, so it's not like it'd be an easy putt to make this hat the April Knit. And it's only mid-month. I could still pick the gift socks I'm knitting - actually knitting, a little bit almost every day, no less.

You'd almost think I like stripes, wouldn't you? 

They're probably a little far from finished to make it happen in two weeks, at the rate I'm going. Maybe for May. So, back to the hat, with a darning needle.

 Done! Except for that last step I mentioned. I still have to block it, and also, make a braided drawstring to run through the eyelets. And then actually weave it in. 

Maybe that's three steps. H'mmmm.

When I've worked my way through all the little bags of yarn on my shelf, I wonder if I'll become a one project at a time knitter? I mean I'm not even a one book at a time reader, so I'm not sure it's possible. Still, it'll be true for at least ten minutes, surely. And maybe I'll like focusing on just one thing, putting all my effort toward making progress on it.

Are you a solo project knitter, I wonder?

Whatever you're knitting, or otherwise doing to occupy your weekend, thank you for spending a little of it with me. See you next week!