Rain clouds

We've had several days of rain lately. Lot's of rain for still being winter.

I feel so sad to see my wonderful white snow disappearing.

I feel so much joy every time I look out my windows and see the white landscape.

I enjoy every moment of winter.

It's like a good friend is leaving and I won't be seeing her for many many months.

The snow is now full of water and is very icy in some spots...warning to member of the family with recent hip replacement to stay clear!!

 

Water running down the driveway onto the road.

 

Making the roads soft and muddy.

We watched our young pup play in the puddle yesterday, splashing and trying to catch the droplets.

If only I could find such pleasure in this mess!!



 

 Heavy rain clouds don't allow much of the light to shine through.

But at the moment, the strong wind is blowing them away.

Maybe, just maybe, that means there will be no more rain this week??

 

The colour in the sky is so much like the colour of my finished Alcyone shawl.

 

A mixture of greys, whites and lavender.

 

For Christmas of 2011 my darling hubby walked into a yarn shop and purchased a lovely skein of yarn for me. It doesn't matter the kind of yarn nor the colour...just the fact that he walked into such unfamiliar territory (for him) made this gift such a treasure for me.

 

 

I found it difficult to complete this shawl because it required constant attention, lots of concentration, counting, checking of charts and written instructions...definitely not tv knitting.

But in the end, I'm very happy I did persevere.

The colours are difficult to capture but I think you see them best here.

Project info here

Fresh start

Now that the children are all grown up, we are reorganizing the house to better suit our own needs.**

This has pushed us to do more painting and we now have a freshly painted bedroom.

I will need to keep a single bed in this room for some of our visiting guests but I would also like to use the room as a store for my yarns, fibre and garments.
Yup, a Lonely Oak/Zenitude store opening soon eventually!

But back to the freshly painted room.

A daybed would be ideal, but I'm cheap and won't spend $500 for a new one. So the search is on for something suitable in the right price range.

I'm also looking for some shelving, maybe a entertainment unit would do, to store the inventory. 

I already have a wonderful table that will be great as a desk.



I'll let you know how we are progressing over the next few weeks months.

 

There is still some knitting going on.

The Strathcona scarf is  coming along.

I've modified the pattern a bit because I don't have a whole lot of yardage with this alpaca yarn.

The yarn is also a sport weight.

** About reorganizing the house to better suit OUR needs...that should probably be MY needs. Seems that I'm claiming most of the house for myself. The lower level is not a man cave in our house but it's my studio, dye room, tv room, storage room... And now this bedroom will also be all MINE!
But, hubby has the sheds and the garage to call his own...seems fair to me! :o)

Bits of this, bits of that

Today's post is about little bits of this and that.

I recently purchased the Island e-book. A collection of patterns designed by Jane Richmond.

The patterns are inspired by life on Vancouver Island.

 

I will probably make four of the five patterns included in this book.

 

Arbutus is the first pattern I started with.

It's a cowl with three tiers in the front.

They stack up onto each other making the cowl less cumbersome but still very warm. It gives the look of a wrapped cowl without all the fuss.

 

The yarn I used is yarn that I spun from Alicia's alpaca fibre. Dyed Poppy Red, it feels light and thick and just so soft.

 

 

I've also casted on the Strathcona scarf from the same book. More on that when I can take pictures in a good light. 

 

Remember my Blue Antler cardigan?  When I saw that the designer team of the Antler cardigan had a test knit going on for a new pattern, I voluntered right away.

Here is the beginning of Lush.

I have enough projects on the go and must not be tempted to cast on for anything else!!!

 

Lately, Mia, the cat  has decided to use a half wall as a perch. She can look out the front door from there and out the window as well...perfect observation point!

 

 

But she does sleep on her watch! Not much happening around here I guess.

 







 

Tomorrow, I'll be at the Callander Community Center with yarn and fibre in tow from 10-5.

Come and say hi if you are in the area!!

Alpaca fun run

It's been a while since I've posted anything about the Lonely Oak alpacas.
The three babies are growing well and we will be weaning them in the next few weeks.
They are eating pellets on their own now as well as hay.

Early on saturday morning, hubby led the alpacas to the barn and closed the gate.
What's going on?

We've had a good snowfall on Friday and after cleaning out the driveway

hubby headed for the pastures!!??

I'm not sure if he's using his snowblower because he loves to or if the alpacas really need a path.

But regardless, hubby will make a circuit for them.

You see, alpacas do not like to go into any deep snow. They won't venture out very far in even a few inches of snow. So they tend to stay by the heated water trough or by the hay feeder.

 

So, hubby will make them a wide 'trail' to use.

I was so happy with this picture of Makushla. I rarely get a pic of her with her ears up. She's always so serious looking, for once she seems amused!

 

 No one goes in the barn, all 12 alpacas are staying out to observe the
snowblower make that snow fly.

Hubby is all done and the gate is now opened. They all come out to check it out.

Hummmm, pretty nice.

Which way should we go?

 

Let's see what Coco thinks.

Let's go east first.

And off they go!
They're doing the loop!

And back to the beginning.

It must feel good to run full speed.

Winter fun!

Blue Antler

The Antler cardigan is all done. Even the buttons are sewn on! And all the ends woven in.

 

I had bought the Fleece artist BFL Aran yarn at my LYS last year as a kit to knit the Imogen cardigan. But I decided to use it for the Antler cardi instead.

I'm so glad I did.

It was a nice treat to knit in such a thick yarn. It seemed like a fast project even though there were many hours of stockinette stitch involved.

Once I got to the yoke and the cables started to appear, I gave it as much time as I could.

I know I'll get a lot of wear out of this cardi. It will be great for spring and fall and a few of our cooler summer evenings. 

Project information here.