Spring has at last come - and most snow has gone.

I got the next sock pattern - Dangerous Turns - on Friday, so did quite a bit of work on it over the weekend. It's the funniest-looking thing! It's toe-up, and also cabled, so it is very long and flat. I've noticed this with toe-ups before. You don't notice how long and flat a toe is when it's at the end of your knitting - unless perhaps it's one of those long, long size 13 ones (hi, Jeremy!). Anyway, I have a few more cabled rows and then I'll do a few rows of rib and then Jeny's Amazingly Stretchy Bind Off. I must have a little look at it on YouTube because I can't remember it. The heel on this sock is interesting too - you do a M1L and M1R on either side of the sole stitches and that forms the gusset, and then you just do short rows and that forms the heel - turn and all. Cool. And now that I've had plenty of practice on the M1's, I should be able to get back to the Thistle Shawl KAL and do a better job of it. More of that later.
Yesterday I went to Vesey's at noon and got some seeds for starting tomatoes, onions and leeks. I have to pick up some potting soil too. The Beechgrove Garden folks just sprinkled the leeks on the top of a big pot and then pricked them out from there. I could do that. The cool thing they have is a seed starter with many tiny, tiny cells - each maybe 2 cm. square. They can then move the tiny plants to bigger pots complete with the contents of the cells, so no root disturbance. I want! But I haven't seen them anywhere. Only thing that comes close are those party ice cube trays from the $$ store, but they are tiny - only a dozen or so cells per tray. I'm not sure if they are flexible enough, either. I may have to give it a try, though.
In looking at our garden on the weekend I found my white tree peony broken off - Fred thinks if I stake and tie it up, it will survive. I staked but didn't tie it yet. The other two are fine. There were a few tiny rose bushes snapped off too, as well as a cedar in the front which had lost quite a few branches. The snow just pulled them down as it melted. We found quite a few crocus - the really tiny ones, which are spreading quite well. No sign of the bigger ones in the secret garden. The daffs down by the road are poking up as well.
It's just last year we were in Ireland - we keep remembering what we were doing one year ago. Emily's birthday was more exciting last year, I think Irish breakfast in Galway, dinner at a Spanish restaurant in Dublin - but she did get to go to the NDP Policy announcement this year. Life's little compensations.

Winter still

So, today we are having wet snow flurries and quite a bit of wind - Fred thinks we can walk outdoors but I am not so certain. I'll have to bundle up *very* well.
Our Mac is back from the shop, with a less-than-ringing endorsement from the fixer. He's not too pleased about how slowly the hard drive is responding - but he re-loaded the OS and the programs, and we'll see how well we do. Fingers crossed. He said to back up daily, so the Time Machine is grinding away as I type.
My Sock Madness team, Minnow, still hasn't reached the cutoff number of 37, so no new pattern until they do. I'm getting lots of other knitting done in the meantime. Finished another pair of Stretch Socks, this time a pattern called Take Five, and now I'm making progress on the Zetor shawl I'm making out of Fleece Artist mohair called "Angel Hair". It *is* a lot like knitting with hair, I suppose - at least, there are plenty of fluffy bits and you can easily knit one of those, rather than the actual teeny tiny core yarn. I've managed to catch all slips so far, but constant vigilance is the watchword. I didn't weigh the ball before I started, but Ravelry seems to indicate that it was 50 grams to begin with. It's down to 30 now, so I'm less than halfway - though of course as with all shawls, it gets bigger and bigger as it goes along, so I'm keeping my scale handy and checking the weight after every chart repeat.
I bought seeds for ground cherries at Vesey's, and I checked today and they are up! And I will have a great crop of cilantro if all goes according to plan. It's almost time to start some tomato plants, I'm thinking. I may have to prick out the cilantro in order to have a flat to start them in. My F1 hybrid strawberries continue very tiny, but they are at least now putting out some true strawberry leaves - so cute!
So, it's officially a year since we arrived in Ireland for our visit. Now that the Mac is back I want to get out the photos and look at them - and re-live the trip!

Nothing much to see here....

I finished my Sock Madness Sock, and posted about it, and so I'm in the competition! What they do is divide all 160 finishers into four teams, and then release the patterns one at a time, with only a certain number of finishers moving on to the next heat. There's a lot of rivalry and encouraging chat back and forth, and the first heats are relatively slow, so it begins easily enough.
It does make you knit, though! So last night I finished off a pair of socks I had started in mid-February - just to clear the decks, you know, as the next pattern should arrive anytime after midnight on Friday.


And then, since I didn't have anything (much) to knit, I started a new shawl in Fleece Artist Mo. The pattern is Zetor, and it seems to be a nice lacy thing. I've had the Mo for a long time, it's a lovely amber-golden colour, but I've been intimidated to actually knit with it, as mohair is quite a lot of trouble to work with. However, here I go, and so far I'm having no trouble. The Mo is over 500 m. so it could be quite a big shawl before it's all done, but it will be light and warm as well. It was actually one of those Fleece Artist Combos, with two different yarns dyed the same colour and put together as a package. I think I was supposed to knit with the two yarns together, but I didn't - I made a Travelling Woman shawl with the sockweight and put the Mo away - for now!
I did go to Veseys at lunchtime, and spent up my $50 gift certificate on seeds (and a few peat pots), with quite a few packets meant to be started quite soon in flats. I will get busy with that this weekend, as long as knitting doesn't get in the way. I have my flower seedlings in my little plastic rolling greenhouse in the living room (it keeps the cats from digging them up) and I was hoping I might get a bit of sun this weekend so I could put it out on the deck for a few hours. However it doesn't look great for sun this weekend.

Yet another Snow Day!

This is getting to be a habit. We have had *two* snowstorms this week - Wednesday night and Sunday. Luckily the expected 25-30 cm. of snow came in the form of rain this morning (changing back to snow later), so we don't have quite as much of the white stuff to shovel. The wind's picked up, however, and it's not a great day to get out and walk, as it was yesterday! The photo on the left was taken when we walked up "the back road" on a beautiful, sunshiny yesterday.
Ah well, we will get our exercise shovelling!
Two at-home days mean that I got lots of reading and knitting done - making good progress on Kilt hose stocking No. 2, with the top bit all finished and just about the amount you would have to do on a *regular* sock left. And of course it's in a much bigger gauge than my usual socks - so it should be a breeze.


Just to keep things interesting I'm making a regular-sized sock from a pattern called "Mockery", with a subtle flat cable - looks really interesting! In a cotton/wool/nylon mixture I got at WalMart or Zellers in a mill ends bag. It's looking like I will get two socks out of a skein, and I bought two bags of the mill ends, so enough for 12 pairs of socks. I am loving the subtle colouring - light ecru background, with striping in light grey and beige. I may well get sick of it by the time I make 12 pairs, but I'm fine with it so far. I am using 2.0 mm. needles which is making a lovely firm fabric. The yarn has been confirmed as Patons Stretch Sock (mill ends are *usually* Patons or Bernat) - they have just released seven new colourways (and the formula seems a bit different as well) and mine is called "nougat". I am so pleased to finally identify it! I've been checking back at Z and W but no joy finding any more. Makes me realize I should go with it when I see something interesting, though!
I got Robin McKinley's new book, "Pegasus" at the library on Friday and I've just finished it. As usual with McKinley, I'm a bit breathless at the end, more so than ever this time because it is a 2-parter - and the second part isn't yet written! I was going to hold out until they were both finished, but when I saw it on the new books list at the library I clicked - and I got it! I must be the first person to read this copy. Now to wait - until 2012 - for part 2!

I'm Thankful

In an update to the pickling news, cooking the mustard pickles quickly on the stove, rather than slowly in the slow cooker, is a much greater success. I was ready to blame the recipe, but it's defo the method. The stove-top ones are bright yellow, crisp and thick. The slow-cooked ones are mushy, brownish and runny. I have learned my lesson!

Excitement of an Irish dancing nature: We have tickets to Riverdance for tomorrow night - this stop in Charlottetown - for 18 performances - is their last performance in Canada. We all thought they were crazy to have so many shows in such a small place - and they've sold out! So much for *my* understanding of theatre and such!

Anyway, one of the principal dancers got in touch with Helen, our set dance teacher (through Bill Lynch's Set Dancing News, presumably) and offered to hold lessons for local folks. Seemed like a great opportunity for local step dancers and such; so, with some misgivings, Helen took it on - notifying all the dancing teachers and getting the word out. She has had a great response, and there are four classes set up. Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced step, and a set/ceili dance workshop for us old folks. I'm not sure what we'll get out of it - it will either be far too simple for us (with 12 years' experience!) or well over our heads with stepping and high kicks, etc. Should be an adventure in any case.

All the parents who came in to register kids are very excited, and most have already seen the show. Wouldn't it be great if someone were to capitalize on the interest in Irish step by becoming qualified, and starting to teach Irish step on a regular basis?

We're having a week or torrential rain and wind - potato farmers are in despair, as their heavy machinery can't work in wet fields, and the fields are really wet... standing water in many cases. My consolation is that at least it's not frosty, so my remaining veg are getting more ripe - Marjorie Williston, the CBC garden guru, says ripening is a matter of time, not sun.

I'm struggling to finish the sulphur yellow socks - a mystery pattern by Nancy Bush in Ravelry's Sock Knitters' Anonymous group, and the September challenge. I have until the end of this month to post a picture - have done of the heels on both, and progressing slowly on the feet. My problem is that I'm not being true to my socks as I've started a jacket with some lovely heathery Briggs & Little Heritage 2-ply and it's claiming my heart at the moment. The socks are at the stage when they are good car knitting, but as I'm driving mostly when I'm in the car that doesn't work very well.

ETA: I have planted the Samuel Holland climbing rose at the south end of the deck - there should be plenty of sun, especially as I have cut down the old lilac which has been such an eyesore the past three years. I'm also planning an expansion of the flower bed in front of the lilac hedge by plastic-mulching - I hope that next year the area will be easy to dig, with the grass all killed off underneath. Fingers crossed.

It's here at last, and I'm too busy to enjoy it!

Yes, double-digit temperatures and rain today to wash away all that remaining
snow. The garden needs work, but I'm working nights this week, doing training, so I have no free time. I'll take Friday off in lieu, and it looks to be a lovely working-outdoors day. So, no more excuses. The small glimpses I've managed to take show progress from that mass of bulbs planted last fall, and of course there are crocus out, so it should be exciting from now on, garden-wise. I'll have to dig out my garden journal and find out what's what and where!

I'm trying to sneak in a little sock knitting betimes - finished Round 2 of Sock Madness 3 and didn't make the cut, so I can make the new patterns at my leisure from here out. The new pattern is called Talia's Wings, and I'm making it in Sisu Fantasy, from LK Yarns in Halifax. It's a lovely yarn, and I suspect I'm using a slightly too large needle for it, but I'm not going to change now. They'll just be a little less hardy, and I'll have to give them to someone who will take care of them.

We're in the thick of planning for the May long-weekend Irish event. Fred's doing the actual planning, and I'm trying to get some accommodations settled for the crew who will stay at ours. There's the bedroom to be painted, and I think a new bed is needed as well. It needs decent light to see where the plaster is required - and when it's smooth enough to paint - so it's a daytime job as well. This working just eats into my free time something chronic!

Easter in Halifax!

Just back from Easter with Pat Murphy in Halifax - what a wonderful time! Great dancing and a bit of knitting - I worked a bit on my Tokena socks from SM III but didn't manage to finish - when I got home and could check the web there were 18 finished in my division, and 20 by the morning. Had I been TRULY dedicated, I would have sat up all night finishing, but I was very tired after dancing all weekend. I knit quite successfully in the car on the way over, and on the way home, at least until it got too dark to follow the pattern any more.

We had snow again on the journey. It started at the Cobequid Pass as before. I'm beginning to think that snow will not be out of the question for June - perhaps even July this year! And the ground was covered this morning again. However, from the glimpse I had last night, it looked as though some of the last January stuff had gone over the weekend. It's chilly all week, however, according to prognostications.

The dancing and socializing was grand! We learned a new set called The Boyne set, as well as a couple of others, including one from Inis Oirr. We bought the new book (Apples in Winter) so I am sure that they are in there, and I could look up the names if I had the time. Painting is calling to me - I have to paint K's bedroom. I started before Christmas but got distracted by painting the living room.

While in Halifax, H. and I had a flying visit to LK Yarns - I got some Fleece Artist sock yarn, as well as some Sisu ( recommended by Colleen at the dance workshop, she was making some lovely picot-edged socks in mauve). Fondled lots of other stuff. Forgot to ask about the First Book of Modern Lace Knitting, which I've been seeking. Oh well, I got the owner's card, so I could email her and ask about it. The library has the second one, and I've reserved it. I got a note that it's in, so I must go pick it up. The First has a GORGEOUS lace curtain pattern that I must make. It's very Arts & Crafts - looking, and is called the Rose Leaf design.

Off to get into grubbies and assemble the painting kit! Who cares if it's not gardening weather yet!

Little by little, spring is creeping in.

We had a glorious weekend, weather-wise, and visited friends & had friends visit us, so it was great socially as well. Much rain and sun meant some flooding on Saturday, but it was a complete surprise to return Sunday evening to find the first of the flowerbeds out from under the snow, with exciting green sprigs appearing - muscari, narcissi, and even some of the perennials are peeping up. No sign of the new bulbs yet, but the bed at the corner of the house is almost bare, so there may be shoots soon.
Because of all of the snow cover, we will probably see lots of mice damage - already I spotted a rose which has had all its bark gnawed off. It's not well-protected with spines on the stems (like the Rugosa hybrids) so it was probably a lovely snack. I am hopeful that it will come back from the roots - they often get pruned pretty severely. Fingers crossed.

Because I was away from home, I didn't get the second Sock Madness pattern until Sunday. I got the cuff on the first one done last night (late, as we had some friends over to play music in the evening). It's a colourwork sock, and I usually find them quite fast, so I hope to have some progress to show soon. My version is in dark green and off-white. The pattern is Tokena, based on Maori basketwork, apparently.

About 7 pm, we were outside and there was a huge flight of Canada geese - we think there were literally hundreds. They all landed by the Creek, making a LOT of noise. I took pictures, but they were very far away in order to take in the vast numbers. Inspiring anyway, as well as spring-like. I don't think I've ever seen so many as I have this year.

On Sunday we visited the "hydrogen village", which is really a plant to make hydrogen from wind power (to allow the power to be stored for the future, thus evening out the load). It's being built in North Cape, and we have photos, but it's "technical. Pretty though".* Well, not pretty but really interesting!

*Homage to Local Hero, the best movie EVER.

Oh to be in England...

EVITA was an acknowledged triumph. Everyone had really good things to say about the music, the dancing, the acting...a spectacular indeed! Those who missed it are asking will it be presented again. Ha! This is live theatre, folks, not a DVD you can stick in the player again and again!

I am quite glad it's over, however, as it was a bit of a strain to go to work all day and then spend four hours in the theatre each night. But who am I to complain? The actors worked on this EVERY WEEKEND since September! They must be truly glad. I'm sure that they are missing it quite a bit, too.

My Sock Madness sock is done and its photo is posted. They go really easy in the first round, I think - 40 people (in each group of 50) go on to the next round. I really couldn't knit at the theatre (despite having a lot of free time) because I had to follow a chart. However, I did finish up a toe backstage one night, and the second sock was much quicker. The afterthought heel was a challenge, but it's good to know one, in case heels have to be replaced again. Grafting 32 stitches at the sole was - interesting. I had lots of time for the second one because - guess? - we had yet another snowstorm, on Monday. Anyway, done and now I'm awaiting the second round pattern, which comes out on Saturday apparently. Because one gets pretty keyed-up, knitting-wise, I had to keep going even after the socks were done, so I finished up Fred's hat and the scarf grew another few centimetres. Winter continues!

No, apparently it's sunny and beautiful out. I may have to go and observe this meterological phenomenon.

I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can

This is busy week. I foolishly signed up for Sock Madness III on Ravelry, and the pattern came out on March 19. It has a few curves, and a pattern that has to be watched constantly. The cast-on was OK (German twisted) and then there's an afterthought heel, which is good to know, but hard to do for the first time. I've posted my beginning photo, but I doubt the pair will be done by the end of the week. And many people are done ALREADY. What was I thinking?

And this is Evita week. Rehearsals every night from 5 to 10-ish, then Dress on Wednesday and Opening on Thursday and then Friday and Saturday. It's pretty exciting for everyone, the show moved to the Confederation Centre yesterday, so the run-through (without costumes) was last night, which gave us all a chance to work in the space. There's a LOT of chatting and giggling off-stage, it will be interesting to see how it is tonight. We had lights backstage last night! But none henceforth. Must remember to get my stuff in place early. I also can't speak to Evita backstage because she'll be miked.

We have been continuing with the ballroom dance lessons (with new teachers) and have been having a good time with it. I feel much more like we are actually dancing most of the time - a combo of more experience, better music with a stronger beat, and good teachers. We're waltzing, foxtrotting, jiving and have done a bit of quick-stepping. No tango or Latin yet.

The previously predicted St. Patrick's Day storm has arrived a week late. Schools cancelled, whiteouts, slippery roads and quite a bit of snow. Will it never end?

Of cutting rugs and dress rehearsals

It was our last ballroom dance class last night. I don't know if we're ready! But we did some dancing around the hall and I actually felt like we were dancing - not just counting out steps and trying to end up on the right spot. My dress is done, and Fred's outfit is ready (we ended up getting a formal at Froggies, complete with another formal shirt). He thinks we should do a dress rehearsal. It's probably a good idea - we need to know if we can actually dance in these outfits. And we need to work out some dance routines for the night of the Ball!

Speaking of dress rehearsals, I've volunteered to be the dresser for Evita when the community theatre group puts it on at the end of March. She has 12 costume changes, and she's on stage almost all the time, so she really needs the help. Apparently she changes in different places in the wings, too, so I need to be in different locations depending on where she comes off, etc. Should be fun.

Knitting content: Working away on the feet of the beaded teal socks. Katie was over for the weekend and was wearing a sweater in the identical teal colour, so it seems like she will be getting the socks. Unfortunately they weren't finished for the return trip.

I can't believe it's October!

The red Kroy (it's called Retro Red, isn't that great?) is slowly becoming Pomatomus socks. It's a really neat pattern but a bit time-consuming because almost all the knit stitches are tbl - which takes a bit more time. However, they look good! Very ribby but good stretch.

The loon socks are done and put away in the "Christmas chest". I find the colour-work so much easier than cables that I'm looking for "celtic key" patterns to do some colour-work sock designing.