August is my month!

August is a special month for me. My wedding anniversary is on the first of August. My son's birthday is on the 4th, and my birthday is on the 21st. So there is lots to celebrate.

Since all the baby and grand kid stuff is done and delivered, August is all about me. Catching up on the things that have been percolating in my mind. And I have been pretty prolific so far, with a bit of a head start at the end of July.

On my frame is a small mat for the front door. We have an amazing Oriental rug in the entry way, and when we bought this house, I found a little half moon mat that was quiet enough and the right size. It has not worn especially well, is looking very tattered, and I had no success finding something that could co-exist in the space. So, I decided to design something.

Here are a couple of pictures of motifs in the Oriental rug, which served as the launching pad for my design.  We have collected a few beautiful rugs over the years, and this one has a distinctly different palette.  It is our only one without red in it.

I pulled a couple of ideas from the motifs and I happened to have some of the colours that I needed in my Briggs and Little yarn stash. So, I designed a simple geometric that will "play nicely" with the bigger beauty.

Today, I reached the half-way point, so decided I could share. Hooking with yarn - Heritage yarn from Briggs and Little - is like hooking with a 3 or 4 cut of wool cloth. So, not exactly speedy. And the work seems very similar to hooking the one and only Oriental I have hooked before now.  I've been trying to do two hours every day to get it moving along. 

I am excited to get it done and in position, now that it is "there already" in my mind. I questioned whether or not this was a good use of time to hook a mat that will have wet/messy shoes placed on it and decided that it is. My other mat that is hooked with wool yarn has been in front of my kitchen sink for over 10 years now. And it has worn incredibly well. A true work horse, which I have spot cleaned, but have also put in the gentle cycle in my washing machine.

On my needles, I am knitting a second "Stripes" sweater by Andrea Mowry. This is, in essence, a freebie since the major yarn in it is a Noro yarn that I have had for years and years, and was previously in a shawl that I NEVER wore. I added a couple of variegated skeins in the same hues and it is ready for sleeves. I am debating short versus longer. I like short sleeved sweaters, since they aren't too hot and you always have the option of putting something underneath to warm them up. 

I am going to have to block this like crazy, and hopefully it will grow a bit. 

I love knitting from my stash, especially when the yardage is in my favour, or I just have to add a ball or two.

On to the sewing projects. I decided to make myself another batch of masks, since I firmly believe that they will be with us for a long time yet. Others may disagree, but I will be masking whenever I feel the need. And I will have one in every coat pocket, stored in the car, and one in my purse - just to make sure.

This style of mask is definitely the best for me and my glasses.  I have tried so many other versions, but this one definitely keeps me fog free. And this array, all from fabric remnants in my stash, lets me have a couple in the wash and still lots in the drawer ready to go. 

The beige seersucker one in the upper left is made from a Timberland shirt of my husbands that had a small tear under the pocket. That shirt will be at least 4 masks - and he gets two of them. 

By the time September comes, and I get around to my next post, hopefully the rug will be done, the sweater will have sleeves and there may be some other progress to share. 

The summer is flying by, as they always do. By the time my birthday rolls around, it's time to think about heading back to school. No matter how old I am, I still get the urge to buy a new pencil case and things to put in it.

Enjoy the rest of the summer. I know I will. 

A November to Remember.

It is incredible to believe that we have now entered the eighth month of "life with COVID-19". And I am pretty sure we have the same amount of time ahead of us before we see a vaccine.

Over and over again, I talk with friends about how grateful we all are to have a fibre arts addiction to get us through this. And as the winter looms, I am appreciative of a stash of materials that appears to be never-ending.

I move between knitting, rug hooking and mask making at will. Whatever I feel like doing, I do. And if I feel like starting a new project, I do that too. 

Here's a little hooked wall hanging that I created for a new baby. The design is to compliment a very graphic feature wall treatment. She seems to like it. 

I have a few other hooking projects on the go, and alternate between those, as the urge dictates.

And, I am thrilled to report that I have jumped on the Zoom Workshop bandwagon. Just last week, I did the second session of my "Jeanius Bags" on Zoom. I had eight eager hookers sign up for the session, plus a step-by-step booklet. And their enthusiasm was wonderful. I have been receiving pictures as they finish their bags.

This first one is indeed timely, although the maker did not set out to do a Remembrance Day bag. She just wanted to hook a beautiful poppy. And she did! And she found amazing lining fabric. 

Here's a wonderful bag called "COVID Kitties" and is an adaptation of a pattern designed by Karen Kaiser. Look at their little eyes!! Makes me smile. And more yummy lining.

I warned everyone that these little bags are addictive, and one student sure believed it. Today, she sent me her finished bags photo of THREE bags, and she said there will be more to come. Yes!!!  Great lining fabrics again.

I will share more as I get them.  I am also considering running another Zoom workshop on these bags before Christmas, if there is interest. 

On the knitting front, I started my third stranded-work project during COVID. I alternate it with solid colour knitting and love how it seems hypnotic following the charts. This project is "Ninilchik Swoncho". I got the pattern from Ravelry and all the yarn came from my stash. Amazing how it's not a colour palette that I would pick in a yarn store, but I am very happy with it, all the same.

I continue to make masks and have experimented with many different patterns. Lately, I have been on the search for the perfect "no fog" mask. And after trying a couple of different versions, I found the perfect one!!! It is designed by my friend Mary Dean, who created it for her husband. I am thrilled with this new design, and will make them for my glasses-wearing relatives.

The design above was posted as a YouTube video and started with a circle. It has the required "nose flap" that folds up and fits under your glasses, so was quite effective. It just didn't fit well on the sides.

This is the perfect pattern. Thanks again, MD. The flap that folds up and fits under the glasses like the other pattern, but this one also a great fit on the sides. Plus, it is self-lining, so is the fastest pattern yet. I am making a batch in flannel for a nice cozy mask on the cold days ahead.

I don't think the hospital will take this kind, as they need a light cotton lining, So I will continue to make the "bra style" that I have been making all these months.

So, onward and upward. We will wait as patiently as possible for this virus to loosen its grip. In the meantime, we fibre folks will be just fine until that happens.

Stay safe everyone. And stay sane!

Wow!!! I can't believe it has been this long!

During these last COVID months, we have all been living in what I call "elastic time". That's time where minutes can last forever, but months race by without notice. 

Parts of my life have become monitors. I walk every morning for an hour. And I have established a "walk of the day" calendar, so I am always mixing it up. Except for "grocery day", when I have to be at the store my 8 to take advantage of "seniors' hour". So that day, I don't usually walk - or didn't when the temps were 30+. May start to walk later as the weather turns cooler. 

Most other parts of my life are repeats of the simple things. It's kind of COVID Groundhog Day. Most days I hook and knit. And I usually devote some time to my ongoing mask making. (Truth be told, now that every single manufacturer has joined the mask parade, it is discouraging for those of us who are making masks by hand to see that you can buy 5 masks for $15.00 from many retailers.) That said, I am still making for the hospital, because I believe that many people who end up there don't necessarily have time to plan on bringing a mask with them. 

So I continue to make them every week. I took a bit of time off this summer when the kids and grandkids were here for a couple of weeks. And then when we rented a cottage on Lake of Bays for a week - the only cold and rainy week of the summer. Murphy's Law.

So, what do I have to share with you?

On the hooking front, I continue to add to my WIP or UFO pile (for those of you who don't know, that is Work in Progress and Un Finished Objects. I am embarrassed to be honest about how many things I have waiting to be finished. But I don't apologize for moving on to the next adventure.

My "kilt it" project is languishing, and could be done in a couple of sittings.  It is made entirely from up-cycled kilts, except for the background. It has one kilt, but I added some additional fabric so there would be enough. 

Our grand cat, Jasper, died in July. It was very sudden and very upsetting for everyone. I decided to hook a likeness of Jasper that can be the "guardian Angel-cat" in their home. I mounted him on foam core board, so they can put him in all his favourite spots. 

The quilts for the twin beds are finished and on the beds. I LOVE them, even more than I thought I would.  I still have to make matching pillow shams. Complete with rainbow coloured pom pom trim. Impossible to believe I still have 300+ squares left over. 

I made a second "mosaic stitch" baby stroller blanket for a special new person. Complete with matching hat. 

Also off the needles was a "leftover" sweater for me. A fun stranded knit that goes perfectly with a pair of pants I made a few years ago. For you Ravelry folks, the pattern is called Soldotna. 

Mask making continues. This is a batch in progress that I made for our grand son, out of two bandanas. Blue outsides and red lining, so they are reversible.  They are sooo soft and I figured if I made him a Monday-Friday supply that all looked the same, he might not lose them all. 

Back to hooking. I am working on a couple of Tom Thomson patterns, designed by Carol Shewan at Willow Creek Rug Hooking. They will be made into pillows for our bedroom. Two of his most famous works - West Wind and Jack Pine. Carol did a Zoom class for these patterns. She was awesome. 

Progress is a bit slow, as I am constantly interrupted by other things. But I did sign up for the "10 minutes a day challenge" with Deanne Fitzpatrick, and days where I don't get there are made up by days when I do hours and hours. 

Here is one of the interruptions. This little 8" x 8" mat is called "CLOSE YOUR EYES AND LEAP".

It is based on a workshop that I would have offered at the 2021 Annual: Daredevils and Thrill Seekers.

Listening to a piece of music, you draw on backing with a sharpie marker  WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED.  Then you put several handfuls of worms into a bucket or bowl and mix them all together. Again, WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED, you pull out one worm at a time and put it somewhere in the design you made. 

Full details will be available in the OHCG Winter Newsletter, but here's a sneak peak. Top image is the sketch - my music was "Defying Gravity" from Wicked. Middle image is the bucket of worms. And bottom image is the finished piece.  

It was lots of fun and quick little project. Very brave to just "hook" without knowing what you are going to hook next. 

So, that's what I've been doing instead of posting here. I promise to try to not be absent for so long again.