Sunday, June 3, 2018

Yopping Update #49 - Casting on ALL the things


I finished another potholder and I am pleased with the size of this one because I think the design shows up much better:



I can finally share the big news around here.  We are going to be Grandparents in December and so of course I had to cast on a few baby projects:  booties, a bonnet and some diaper pants.

We will go to Croatia in December to meet the newest member of our family and I am very excited and have already started packing.

Casting on seems to have started me down a startitis rabbit hole, so I have cast on two more shawls, a pair of slippers for the mother-to-be, and another hemp potholder.

This is what my coffee table looks like at the moment:


The flashcards are from my croatian lessons because I am determined to be able to speak Croatian with my grandchild!

I did finish my May spinning and I am especially pleased with spinning the baby doll (gray) fleece that I had carded on my sister's little island.


The green is ounce three of the yarn I have been spinning.  One more one ounce bobbin and I can try my first ever 4 ply yarn.

I have signed up for Tour de Sock this year as a cheerleader for the Double-Double, eh? team (we are a Canadian Team and "double-double" (two sugars, two creams) is how one orders coffee at Tim Horton's - a Canadian phenomenon.  I like signing up to get the patterns - six patterns for ten dollars and I usually knit one or two, but I don't join the race.  All profits go to Doctors without Borders.

I will join Tour de Fleece in July - to spin every day during the Tour de France.  I won't join a team, but will spin for myself.   Part of July I will be on Vancouver Island so I hope to pack my spinning wheel, but if it won't fit with all my teaching supplies I will take along my drop spindle. No stress, just a few minutes of spinning everyday as I work my way through all my fleece. 

If you read my previous post you will understand that I do not need to put any more pressure on myself to meet deadlines or participate in challenges.

So that is it for this week.  I have been thinking of what I want to be called as a grandmother.  My brother suggested Grand-M-A  since my name is Mary-Anne.

I like it!

Or in Croatian it is Nona.  I like that too.

If you are a grandparent, what are you called?

To follow other yoppers as we head towards the finish line go here.

Oh ya, and I am going to join Year of Projects #8.

It isn't stressful, and I love following my other blogging/crafting friends.

13 comments:

  1. Congratulations!!!! You are one amazing woman! Do you live in Canada? I had no idea I guess where you lived. I love Canada and your Prime Minister! Trade ya!?! LOL! So happy about the new baby..I love babies! Nona is neat. My grands call me Grandma Sam but then the littlest started calling me Nana...I asked his mother where that came from....she had no idea....he's a hoot! I don't care what they call me. Learning Croatian? It doesn't sound easy but knowing you, you will have it down by December! LOL! I am in a casting on mood also at a time when I have no business casting on anything. Oh well...it must be that sense of adventure and going against the odds! LOL! Your potholder is gorgeous...more like a piece of art to be framed. Your fibers are so lovely too. I hope I live long enough to learn to spin. Vancouver Island sounds wonderful and your sister has her own island? Do tell! No wonder you are such a good knitter. The farther North the better the knitters! It's called survival back in the day. No one in my family did any of that so I am self taught and not very good I might add! LOL! I am so very happy for you! When is the baby due? Enjoy your new found joy!

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    1. lol. I guess I don't want to 'trade' what with all the nafta talk. Yup I live in BC, a west coast girl through and through. My sister doesn't own her own island, but I don't like to see which little gulf island she lives on so I call it her little island. Croatian is definitely not easy, but I am determined to be able to communicate better with everyone on our next visit. Baby is due Dec 18. I am so freaking excited.

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  2. Congratulations on your upcoming grand child. Mine call me MiMi. I didn't pick it my grandson did.

    Startitis has taken over, yes. But you will have all those baby items done in a blink of an eye. They go quickly! Will you he finding out gender?

    You will do fine on your Croatian. You have already learned quite a bit.

    That pot holder is gorgeous. I would probably hang it up in my kitchen as a decoration and never use it. It is waaaaay to pretty to use.

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    1. Not sure if they will find out the gender, but I think so. I will probably use the pot holder as a trivit - it is very pretty and I don't want it to get singed which knowing my lack of cooking skills it would.

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  3. So excited for you about the upcoming birth of your grand child, Mary-Anne! While I'm plenty old enough, I'm not a grandma (yet), so my opinion might not count, but when my friends started collecting grandchildren I became a bit obsessed for a while about what I might want my grandmother name to be someday. I actually started to worry that all the fun or clever grand mother names will be gone by the time I (hopefully) reach that status. But now that grandparent names have become such a "thing", I'm starting to have a different mindset about it all. Partly it's like anything I do... once everyone starts doing something I want to do something else (e.g. I never read books when they're wildly popular). I think I'm also starting to realize what SAM wrote - that when the time comes I will likely not care what my grandchildren call me. Whatever grandmother name flows from their lips will surely be as sweet as the different mother names my sons have called me as they've grown up. I have a feeling, like motherhood, grandmother-hood will be late on my life's clock and I'll just be so thrilled about it all that I'll truly not care what name(s) I'm dubbed.

    That said... I still will look forward to hearing what your grandmother name ends up being. :) I'm so happy for you.

    And, by the way, that newest potholder is as beautiful as the others.

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    1. I don't care what I am called - I imagine it will happen organically. The croatian grandmother will be Baku, so I just wanted something different but I am sure the grandbaby will come up with something!

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  4. Happy to hear the good news!
    Beautiful pot holder!
    All the best for your new project for your grand child!

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    1. lol. that would be projectS for the new grandbaby. 3 cast on at the moment - 3 already done and more to come for sure!

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  5. Oh, congratulations on getting to be a grandmother!

    And the pot-holder is beautiful. :)

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    1. Thank you - the potholder certainly lived up to its pattern name - TPEHP - The prettiest ever hot pad! I am soooo excited about my first grandbaby. Can't wait to meet her/him.

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  6. Oh wow. Congratulations. I know how excited you must be - I now have 3 grandsons, 2 arrived in the last 3 weeks. I love it. I'm Nanny to mine.

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    1. I have already finished the booties and the diaper pants - now on to the little owl hat!

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  7. Congratulations on the news of your expected grandchild. My Australian grandmother was Nanna and Nan while my Dutch grandmother was Oma. I find Oma sits more easily with me but I suspect my children will prefer Nanna.
    After being away for quite some time, it was great news of yours to return to, along with all the new projects. I reckon you have your next year of projects well and truly underway! How are you enjoying exercising the crochet skills? Your owl motif and princess doll are especially cute. Good luck with your language learning and your travels. So exciting!

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I look forward to reading the comments. It makes me feel like I am not just posting into the void.