If you can't knit the one you love, knit the one you're with....

I like to knit with the finer yarns in life, but I am not adverse to knitting with acrylics. I sincerely believe that there is a range of the synthetic yarns, that dependent on the manufacture can be sublime to substandard. Patons yarns fall somewhere in between these two ranges, and when Lewiscraft declared bankruptcy I did buy several lots of yarn. Having said that, I did want to get through those projects to knit things that were, er, more desirable.

I did originally intend this for Heather, but as she snubbed it (didn't like the design) my mother has become the recipient. She was thrilled with the results, although being the person I am, I had issues with the final outcome (she will be fixing some of those issues).









I had also knit up a purple vest with no one in mind as being the beneficiary. It is supposed to be a crop vest, but I knit it to a longer length. In the end, I found it to be a bit smaller than I would of liked. As such, I threw it in with the jacket for my mother to have if she liked. She found it to be a bit short (despite my lengthening) but took it anyway.









The occasion for the these sweater gifts, is my sister's birthday. She had noted that the felted purse I had made would not be liked by my niece Sarah, but she would gladly become it's new owner. I gave her the purse for a birthday present, my niece noted she liked it but probably wouldn't use it.....makes me wonder if Jenny's assertion that Sarah wouldn't like it was self serving?????











Finally, lieu of the sweater and vest I made my mother, she gave me 20 balls of an alpaca/wool yarn she bought over a year ago at the Yarn Boutique when they had a 50% off sale. It had been sitting in her stash for over a year, but she hadn't come around anything to make with it. I have several projects lined up right now, but gladly took the yarn to add to my stash. I will be meditating on what I can do with this lovely bounty.

First Felting

Last week, I picked up some gorgeous yarn that I had dubbed fall perrenial garden, as it had all these beautiful colours. I couldn't afford (justify) buying more than one skein, so I had to creative with what I should do with it. I decided upon making a purse, and then would try felting it (which I had never done before, but had been very interested in trying).

Here is what it looked like before (the round thing to the right side is a knitted rose). The main body of the purse was 9 by 9 1/2 with a 3 " flap and a 40" strap. I put it in the washing machine for about 15 minutes (checking once every 5) and then I let it run the rest of the washing cycle (rinse and spin).




Here is the result. The bag went down to 7 by 6 " in the body, 2" flap and a 28" strap. Overall I am pleased with the results, but the rose I wish I hadn't done (it just looks like a lump to me now).











It was a beautiful day yesterday when I did the felting, and Heather graciously stopped her leaf raking to model my latest creation (it also gives you a sense of scale).

While I was raking, I found this in the leaves. Amazing isn't it? I am not sure how it got on the ground, but any occupants had been vacated. Perhaps a hungry racoon found grubs in the wasp's nest to eat.

And here is our friend/neighbour's dog Harley again (I introduced him last summer). Always on the alert, this doberman is forever looking for someone to throw him a ball (he never wants to be petted or his bellie scratched, he just wants to play). His mother Lindsay, is very much into beaded jewellery and if you are looking to do some early holiday shopping, check our her website.