Yopping Update #5 - It was a spinney kind of week

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Good Morning!  We had some rain in the wee hours of the morning for an hour or so.  Yay!  I think it has been over forty days since the last bit of precipitation.  I am sure the plant world is very happy. 

I did finish my toque to match my gansey and my fingerless mitts.

Lovely free pattern Rainbow Indigo Fisherman's Beanie

I then started my gansey style socks called Sunday Best 

Colour is more purple than this picture shows

I didn't get much done on them because I was busy spinning the 250 gms of fleece (unknown breed). I spun directly from the fleece using the long draw method.  It was easy to spin from the fleece and the locks seemed to easily get spun into the drafting area.  Using the long draw method made it easy to pick out the grasses and such as I came upon them and this particular fleece must have been washed because there wasn't much lanolin in it, but after each bobbin spun (I ended up with four) my lap was full of dust and fine dirt that I would have to shake off.  I ended up with 346 metres of aran weight yarn.  Now I have to decide what to knit with it.  I want to knit something fairisle using it with the 250 gms of white I spun during Tour de Fleece. 

Speaking of Tour de Fleece I found out yesterday that I won a $25 Etsy gift certificate.  I already found something to buy - a hand tooled birch wood darning disk.  They are made in the UK but it does say they ship to Canada.  Stay tuned. 

Also this week my key fob cover was looking tatty so I double knit a new one out of some rainbow hemp I have lying around. I forgot to take a picture of the one I replaced, but trust me this one looks much nicer. 

My navy Frangipani yarn arrived on Thursday so I hope to cast on my next gansey sometime this week.  I just have to verify the recipient's measurements.  

The best news of the week is that on Friday (our 44th Anniversary) our son arrived!!  We haven't seen him since October 2019.  We have three weeks with him!! (Yes, all those exclamation marks are necessary)

Last night's sunset walk

There were quite a few errands run this week getting ready for his visit, and for a short camping trip we hope to take  with him later in August.  Bear spray, camping chairs, and a propane fire pit (because wood fires are banned in our province because the dry weather has sparked many, many wild fires).  I even reorganized the camper and bought a three drawer unit for one of the cupboards so my husband's clothes can be better organized than just one big messy pile to sort through.  It feels good to be getting things done in the house and in the camper.  Between my husband and I it seems like we have deliveries coming to our door almost daily! You are welcome Amazon. 

Okay - that's it for this week.  Despite this morning's rain it is supposed to get hot and humid again later today so I had better get some chores done before the heat starts to build.  I already had my swim this morning (my son came too), so after chores I will get my knitting out for certain. 

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 #47 - Ohoh - I think I am addicted

 

Except for two more clues for my wee little gnome 

Body done (note cable didn't line up - oops)

I have spent this week solely on my gansey.  It is very addictive.  Hmmm I may have to check out a twelve step program for Gansey knitters.  

I tried it on yesterday and a couple of rows later I started the gusset for the underarm.  

yup, still in jammies

Here is a better picture of my progress.  All designs now completed at least once.  

I am keeping track of which row I am on for which pattern with good old pen and paper. 

Up to row 70 out of 176 rows!

I know I am addicted because as I knit this I am already designing one I want to make for a friend who is just graduating with her Marine Biology degree.  I am thinking of incorporating a whale motif, and maybe a planaria or two (planarium were the focus of her thesis).  She also loves manta rays so I might try to design that motif as well!

I did sign up for Kate Davies' Bluestockings group.  There will be seven patterns released and a number of lectures about the Bluestockings  - a group of women from the 18th century.  You can read more about them here. My first zoom lecture is tomorrow very early.  The zooms are happening in London time, and London is 8 hours ahead of me - so I had better get to bed early tonight.  8 am isn't too bad for me, but the event later this week will have me up at 5:30 am!  Eeek!

I still haven't cast on the first stocking pattern which was released on Friday, but I ordered the book so if I don't keep up with the pattern releases every two weeks I will have them all delivered right to my front door.  

I have been walking his week.  I got caught in a hail/thunder/lightning storm on Wednesday.  There was a horrific crack as I was leaving the forest, and I turned to see a large tree falling.  OMG - I ran forward to avoid it falling on me but then saw it (luckily) get caught up against another tree.  Needless to say I cut my walk very short and headed straight home.  I was soaked, and to be honest a little shaken up.  My other walks this week have been in open areas far away from large, tall trees!

On my Friday walk I discovered a lovely Japanese Dogwood tree, and then a bit further along a Labyrinth that the park maintenance people had mowed into the field.  I spent about ten minutes walking the path.  I always find labyrinths very meditative. 

Yesterday I raked up another two large bins of cedar leaves, and then planted some herbs my dh had given me for Mother's Day. I couldn't get my lawn mower to work so I will leave that for another day.  There is a thing called 'No Mow May' that people are following to give the bees some food via the dandelions before everything else comes into bloom.  I don' t feel so guilty about my dandelion crop this year because of this initiative - I am helping the bees! Maybe my mower knows that May isn't over yet, and it will start up like a dream come June 1st!

Parsley, Spearmint, and Oregano

My son has been delighting me with pictures he has been taking on his bird walks.  Look closely to see these camouflaged beauties. 

"Hoo Hoo" is looking at me?

 

Baby can play hide and go seek too

Of course while he was sharing pictures of his treetop friends, my daughter got in on the action. 

Look at me Gramma!

So there we have another week.  We are getting so close to the end of Yopping Year 10.  I had better get on my thinking cap for my year eleven plans.  

One last note if you subscribe to this blog via email Blogger is going to stop this feature in July.  I am not sure what that will look like, but I do have everyone's email so one way or another I will figure out how to keep you connected because I do appreciated all my subscribers.  Another blogger mentioned that BlogLovin' is a platform to subscribe to blogs.  Check it out, and if you have any other tips let me know in the comments below.  

Have a good week dear Readers.  Stay away from falling trees, and be alert to the beauty and magic that is all around us if we just take the time to look.