Yopping Update #52 - It's a wrap

 Well, here I am.  The wrap-up post for the Year of Projects.  The first thing I realize is I have to make a new header for next week.  Ack!!  I had better get out the paints and easel.

I did have a finish this week.  Last night I finished the Elizabeth Montagu knee high socks.  I ran out of yarn, but just found all the purples (and blues) in my stash to finish them.  It's not like I am ever going to wear them with a short skirt so only I (and now you) will know the top of the socks don't match the bottom.  

I do love them and they fit perfectly.  It was a chore sewing in the ends last night as we are in a heat wave (90 degrees +) and holding the socks to darn in the bits and pieces of yarn ends was very sticky, but I was determined to have them done for today.  So here they are:

Ta-Da!

Tour de Fleece started yesterday, but by the time I figured out what the date was it was toooooo hot to even consider spinning.  I did spin a little today before the heat climbed too high.  Luckily I was awake at 7:30am.

And now for the wrap-up. I finished all the wips on my list, and most of the projects.  The ones I didn't will all probably be the start of Year 11's list.  Or not.  You will have to wait until next week to find out.  Don't you love the suspense.  Here is my annual Yopping wrap-up in Rhyme.

Yopping in the time of CoVid-19

Who would have thought in July of last year

That a pandemic would continue to cause me much fear

Yet continue it did and through thick and through thin

I gathered my stash to knit, and to spin

Sweaters I knit, four of them in all

So much nicer than any I'd find in a mall

This past year was the year of the gnome 

I made nine, and seven found a new home

Ornaments were made to hang on a tree

little baubles and sweaters for Santa to see

Three blankets were finished, not a knit stitch in sight

New skills in crochet all done up right

I was determined to walk all winter in spite of the cold

Mitts, toque and cowl made me quite bold

I dyed yarn using Kool-aid - a first time for me

Thanks to the internet there wasn't a fee.

I had to make something of all the fleece I had spun

So a sheep breed sampler cowl was done

Four toys were made (and two given away)

This little lady atop my piano still makes my day.

A gift for my son to keep the cold at bay

Arrived thankfully just before Christmas Day.

And the socks, oh the socks, a dozen pairs in all

Worn every day through spring, winter and fall

My Aunt's hot water bottle cover I frogged and remade

To keep me warm and ensure that memories won't fade

Shawls I have many, but hey, what is one more?

Now I will always look elegant going out my front door.

I spun and I spun through two Tour de Fleeces

I think it's time I taught spinning to all my great-nieces!

Silk I spun for the very first time

and then knit a cowl with yarn as thin as a dime.

peruvian/silk blend Cowl

November was knitting the Nativity story.

All of the characters in all of their glory.

Last but not least my unfinished basket was done.  

Started two years before under the Arizona sun.

There you have it -  a year and a world full of pain

My projects and yopping have helped keep me sane.

Well that and the vaccine, shot one and shot two

Here's to a more social year for me and for you.

Thank you dear Readers from wherever you hail

Your comments always lift me up without fail.

Next week we will be on to Year of Projects 11.  Stay tuned for my list. 

Oops, I almost forgot...

Isn't this magical?

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Yopping Update #51 - It is DONE!

 Ta-Da!

I finished my Gansey on Tuesday, washed and blocked it on Wednesday morning, and today I sewed in the ends and posed for a photo.  I am very, very happy with this and I am already planning my next one for a graduate student of mine.  

Meanwhile I picked up the Elizabeth Montague socks, and they are going quite quickly.  I am knitting them two at a time on two separate 9" needles.  I have started the leg on the first sock with the twisted rib increase to allow for the calf as these will be knee high socks.  

proof that these toe up socks fit!

The other most wonderful news is that my dh and I got our 2nd dose of the Phizer vaccine on Wednesday.  I do have a weird side effect that started within an hour or so of the shot.  I have a metallic taste in my mouth and a weird smell in my nose.  I did look it up, and it is a very rare side effect that is suppose to dissipate within a few days.  I hope so - it is quite yucky!

My son is getting his 2nd dose next Friday so we are hoping that by mid-July we can go visit him in the next province over.  Hope is springing eternal. 

Now that the 2nd dose is doing its magic I have booked dental and eye appointments for the first week of July.  Life does seem to be s l o w l y returning to normal.  

Now that Yopping Year 10 is coming to an end I have started to work on my plans for Year 11.  There will be more Ganseys, and more Socks, and more soft toys for sure.  Stay tuned.

If you want to subscribe to this blog you can go to Bloglovin.com.  It is a great site where you can subscribe to any blog you want and when there is a new post it will be emailed to you.   You can find Breathing Life at https://mary-mann.blogspot.com.

Okay - off to sit in the sun and continue with my socks - I have finally memorized the lace pattern so I don't need to keep checking the pattern.  Yay me!

My daughter played a music festival on Friday night and I am happy she is still pursuing her music while being a fantastic mum.

And, of course, what would my blog be without ending with a pic of dear grand-daughter. 

I hope to see her and her mum and dad before the end of 2021

Yopping Update #50 - Almost

 

I stayed monogamous with my knitting again this week.  

Here is a progress picture from last Thursday

As of today the first sleeve is done, and the second sleeve is finished with the pattern and just plain knitting for another five inches before doing the ribbed cuff. 

I developed a puncture on my right pointer finger from my sharp knitting needle, so I rummaged around in my sewing kit and found an old thimble of my grandmother's, or perhaps my aunt's that is keeping me safe.

Two weeks ago I did do one pattern repeat on my Elizabeth  Montague socks from the Bluestockings collection, but they won't get any more attention until my gansey is done.

I have been continuing my daily walks and taking pictures of the flora and fauna on my way.  My sister mailed me a bear bell to wear so I feel better cutting through the forest trails once again.  I check on the ducklings nearly everyday and although there are not as many as last year, they seem to be growing quickly. 

The squirrels like to hang around the pond too  to get the leftover bird seed after the ducks have had their fill.

I had an MRI two weeks ago, and a CTscan last Monday so I hope to get some results from the doctors this coming week.  I just finished a course of antibiotics that were making me feel tired, so I hope my energy returns this coming week. 

On the positive front my hubby and I are getting our second vaccines this coming week.  The province is opening up more and more and I will admit it makes me quite nervous.  I will take it in baby steps venturing out into the world once I am three weeks past my second dose.  That will be early July.  I don't imagine I will be rushing into 'business as usual' but I will feel more protected for sure.  My son in the next province over is hoping to get his 2nd dose perhaps by the end of June as well so all things being equal we hope to visit with him this summer. 

I did get together outside with four knitting friends yesterday for the annual Knit in Public Day.  The weather cooperated and it was so great to be chatting and knitting together just like in the old days before CoVid.  Definitely a sign of things moving forward. 

My grand-daughter is continuing to charm us with her videos and pictures and whatsapp chats.  

What a character!

Lately she has been sleeping in so I have been able to have some lovely chats with just my daughter some mornings too.  These are golden moments. 

I will leave you this week with this 'wisdom' tree.  That is what a father was telling his son as I walked past.  It really does look quite mysterious and whimsical and I do believe in the wisdom of the plant world.  Some days it truly is my saving grace. 

Interesting how the bark has formed twisting around itself

I am still processing the news I shared last week about the 215 bodies found, and then earlier this week a Muslim family of five was deliberately run over.  The parents, grandmother and teenage daughter were killed.  The survivor is a nine-year old boy who has lost his family. 

As my son once said when he was very little, "I just don't understand people".

I don't either my dear boy.  I don't either. 

Yopping Update #49 - There are no words

 On May 27, 2021 the remains of 215 indigenous children were found on the grounds where the former Kamloops Residential school operated from 1890 - 1969 only a few hours from where I live in British Columbia.  Their relatives never knew what had happened to them - only that they never came home. 

The grief, anger, confusion, and outpouring of support for these little ones has filled social media sites and the daily news on radio and television.  Read one such article here.

I have no words.  Only a deep, deep sadness for all who have been affected, and are continuing to be affected by the shameful residential school history of my country and the churches involved in the cruelty and abuse these and many other children suffered.  It has been noted that this is just the beginning of such discoveries.  There are estimates that the remains of more than 4000 children from similar schools across the country have yet to be found. 

The stories of those left behind to mourn are not my stories to tell.  The stories of Residential school survivors are not my stories to tell, but these are the stories I need to bear witness to.  We all need to bear witness to.  I am listening.

honouring the land I walk on and the people whose land it is

may peace come