THE END OF A BALL


Yes, Sir, there’s nothing like finishing up a ball of yarn. I suppose knitting should be about watching the fabric you’re making coming into being, thinking fondly about the recipient or the cause it’s being knit for (e.g. charity), about the intricate weave of colour of your materials and the play of pattern as it unfolds. Knitting certainly is all of those things for me. However, I have to say that there are few greater satisfactions for me on this knitting journey than finishing up a ball of yarn. I’ve even stayed up the past couple of nights to finish ball 2 of 10 just so I could blog about it! As you can see, the pattern is progressing. The only problem is, I’m getting a bit bored with my design. I like the look of the basket weave and the moss stitch but I’m just getting a wee bit bored with knitting it. Therefore, expect to see some exciting changes in the middle panel of this blanket after another ball or so. I figured Astra is easy to practice with so I may as well learn a new technique while I’m knitting this little blanket. The OXO cable from my Knitting Bible book looks intriguing but, as I have never knit cables before, I need to practice first and determine how difficult it is. Are cables hard?


A friend of mine commented that the blanket looks like it’s knitting up quickly. It’s not. I’m using 4 mm needles and Astra which means it’s not the fastest knit in the world. Nothing like Mission Falls! As I’m not the fastest knitter in the world, it will take me quite awhile to finish this project (and my long delayed and very pretty mystery WIP has to get done before month’s end). However, with all of the aeroplane and road trips DH and I have planned over the next two months, I’m sure to make some progress.

My beading class was a lot of fun. We made five projects in all: two bracelets, one ‘floating’ necklace, one necklace on a cord and a pair of earrings. I certainly learned enough to make some stitch markers and will be doing so soon. I would not have chosen most of the beads that we used but the class was about learning the different techniques – to hook you into buying more beads! I was pretty strong and only walked out of there with a few more beads to make some cool stitch holders. My friend and I may do another course for fun. It was a nice day out of the house.


On Wednesday I went shopping with a friend. Our mission was to find a dressy maternity outfit for an important event to be held for a very special lady on March 31st. My grandmother-in-law (DH’s mother’s mother) turns 90 years old on April 1st. The family is having a bit of a do to commemorate the occasion. DH’s mother comes from the beautiful Kootenay valley of British Columbia, from a small town named Creston. Grandma H still lives there on the family’s small hobby farm, by herself for the most part (although she is surrounded by friends), all year long. Therefore, at the end of the month, this auspicious event has managed to convince pregnant me to brave the airlines once more (I swore I wasn’t going to fly again while pregnant after my trip back from Newfoundland) and go for a visit.

Seeing as I spend most of my time in jogging pants or pyjamas these days, I really felt the need to upgrade to honest to goodness dressy maternity clothes resulting in Wednesday’s shopping day. I/we managed to get the main detail – a lovely blouse. I’m hitting another maternity store over the next week or so for some dressy black pants. I’m lucky in that, thus far, my ankles and feet have not swollen a great deal and I should be able to fit into my regular dress shoes although I will confirm that ahead of time, just in case. I am a little concerned as airline travel has historically made my ankles swell up quite a bit however, I will have a day or so to recover before having to get dressed up for the party so the ol’ ankles should have calmed down by then.
And here is yet another photo of one of my cats – Checkers – playing ‘dead’. I think she looks hysterical like this. We regularly see her in this pose when heat from the sun or our fireplace is involved. I’m learning all kinds of new cat behaviour with this little beauty!