Ahhhh...summer holidays!

Good Monday morning everyone! :)  Hope y'all had a great weekend!  We took it pretty easy around here.  Wayne was home so he worked on fencing (whew - no more electric fence and me panicking about power outages).  He also fixed the lawn mower and he mowed and mowed and mowed.  After three weeks of heavy rain and then hotness, the grass was insanely high and quite a job to get wrangled back into decentness!  Now it looks amazing again - so nice when its all trimmed and the weed whacking has been done.  Melissa came up on Saturday for one of her last visits before she heads to China.  It was nice to spend some time with her.  She's nervously excited and getting lots of last minute things accomplished.  I cannot imagine getting ready to embark on that kind of journey - knowing you'll be in another country for at least a year. However, that said - most of the teachers abroad love it over there and she's got lots of support and has already found a roommate.  I'm excited for her - but terrified at the same time! :)  I also spent the weekend hanging with some friends who were here from Prince George.  They are planning a move to the area and so I tagged along whilst they looked at potential new homes.  It was great to see them and I can't wait until they are here permanently.   They have kids around Brayden's age so we're looking forward to having some new playdate friends in town! :)

I have been knitting as per usual.  I finished up this:

...and have been working on a couple of other test knits for designers.  It feels a little strange to be knitting hats and mittens in the middle of this heat wave...but hey, I guess I'll be ready for all those craft fairs later in the year! :)

On a spinning note, the Tour de France has started, which always means the Tour de Fleece has started too!! I have a few goals this year and can't believe we're already on Day 10 today.  Crazy!!  My biggest goal was to spin 12 oz. this year and so far, I've only done 4! UGH!!!

This is one of two bobbins I have completed so today I will be plying them together - Polworth/Silk - can't wait to see how this turns out.  :)  Then I'll be pulling out some more fiber and gettin' busy on the wheel.  So happy that my job lets me spin between tasks! :)  Life is GOOD!! :)

Well, that's about it for now!  Hope you have a great week....not much on the agenda this week for B and I but that's the beauty of summer holidaze!! :)  Thanks for stopping by......

Happy Canada Day - Happy July!

Hello everyone - hope you all had a GREAT long weekend and were able to celebrate Canada Day with your families!  :)  We were lucky enough to spend the weekend up at the cabin at Oyama Lake!

Isn't it just beautiful?!!!  The water was really high, which made for easy access and we enjoyed fishing and relaxing.  I spun on my drop spindle and even started reading a couple of books! :)   The kids enjoyed throwing sticks off the dock for Cubby to retrieve........

...and they were even brave enough to go for a swim!!!  I can tell you that the water was COLD as Caroline and I washed our hair in the lake by bending over the dock.  There is no WAY you would have gotten my entire body in that water...it was FREEZING!!! They loved it though and stayed in for quite a while!! :)

You can see in the bottom picture that Cubby is anxious to join them!! LOL!! :)  We did a bit of geocaching - Caroline and Mary discovered my two caches and I restocked them with new goodies for 2012.  Overall, we had a perfect weekend.....and I think we even managed to catch 6 or 7 fish between downpours!  It was GREAT to be up there again - can't wait until next time! 

No more lunches....

Yep, that's right....I made my last school lunch for this Grade 4 year! Yahoooo!! :)  ...and to boot, my kid almost forgot it so I had to sprint through the pasture to bring it to him as he ran for the bus!!! Sheesh - KIDS!!!!

So the past couple of weeks have been busy....I've completed this:

and spun up a little bit of this:

and this:

Then I test knit one of these (yeah, just ask him how thrilled he was to model a PINK beret!!!) :

and I test knit one of these:

I joined a few knitters at the local art gallery for our regular stitch and bitch on Friday afternoons and on my way out the door, I spied these (yarn bombing courtesy of my friend Gudie):

I think they're just lovely......great use for all those doilys our Grandmas used to make!! Don't you think it just makes everything a little more cheery????

Anyway - on this last full day of school, I am going to enjoy it - having coffee with a girlfriend this morning and then packing this afternoon for our trip to the cabin.  I am taking Brayden fishing for the long weekend - so hope to have some more pics for you soon.  In the meantime, I'll leave you with my view this morning:

Yes, I AM a lucky girl!! Nice to see the sunshine this morning...hope it sticks around - we could use a little drying out around here!!

Hope you all have a great weekend and here's a little cartoon that just struck me as super funny the other night!!  It must have been late - but I howled when I saw it!! Cracked me right up!! Bye for now!!

Cheers!!!

Knit Knit Knit ...and knit some more!! :)

What have I been up to you ask??? Well, knitting my fool head off!! Here's a couple of things I've been working on:

The first is a test knit for the shawl pattern Dinner in the Eiffel Tower.  I love how this one turned out.  A beautiful pattern and one I wouldn't mind doing again in a worsted weight yarn - perhaps some Cascade 220 - Superwash. 

This one took about 450 yards of yarn...approximately one skein. 

The next one is my Color Affection Shawl and this baby is HUGE!! This one took about 1100 yards of yarn or the better part of 3 skeins.  I used my own yarn that I hand dyed and just tried to pick three colors that I thought would work.  I love how it turned out - and it is HUGE!!! Tons and tons of mindless knitting on this one. 

Anyway - that's what I've been up to - knitting while it rained.  Now that we're back to some decent weather - perhaps I'll bring out my wheel and do some spinning! :)

Thanks for stopping by....

Between the Dentist and Soccer

So we had some time to kill today.  My tooth has been bothering me for a few days (I think this is day 4).  Usually I'll have a twinge of pain for a day or two but then it subsides.  This has been lasting for far too long and the heat/cold sensitivity is enough to drive me around the bend.  It also has been getting progressively worse and since we were heading into the weekend (read - no dental office open), I decided to see if they could squeeze me in today to see what was up.  Well, the long and short of it is a 2 1/2 hour root canal that will be done the first week of July - unless they can squeeze me in sooner.  So for now, antibiotics and Advil to take care of the inflammation.  Oye Vey!!! I just hope the temperature sensation dissapates cuz that's just a real PITA!!! :(

Anyway - we had soccer at 6:30 so with only an hour to kill, we weren't going to go all the way home.  We decided to grab a picnic supper and head to McGuire Lake for a bit.  The sun was shining so we spent an hour or so walking around the lake and enjoying our dinner.  I cast on for another shawl and we took in the sites.  So lucky to live here...it's really just sooooo beautiful.  Here's some shots of our afternoon! :)

On the crafty front - I purchased one of these today.....a Kromski Harp!  It is coming from Littleton, CO.  I cannot wait till it gets here and I really hope the gal fills out the papers correctly so that I don't have to pay duty on the sucker!! :(  She's only used it twice and I didn't get a screaming deal but cheaper than I could have purchased it buying retail.  I've had my eye on them for a while now and finally decided to take the plunge when I saw this resale come up on Ravelry.  I have some yarn already so I can't wait to give it a whirl.  I am in awe of what some of our guild ladies do, so I'm hoping to learn a few tricks.  I just like simple weaving - so hence the rigid heddle loom.  I'm not into a whole bunch of colorwork - just plain simple towels, scarves, etc.  Anyway, we'll see where this goes.  It's not like I need ANOTHER hobby - but I have wanted to try this for quite some time.  This one also comes with a built in warping board - which will be handy for warping my sock yarns before dyeing.  Who knows - perhaps I'll get into the self-striping yarns next!! They're all the rage!

Well, as always - thanks for stopping by.  I hope you've got a fun-filled weekend planned!  You know what I'll be doing!! :)

Changes to Blogger....

Sheesh - sometimes I don't know why the powers that be need to fix things that aren't broken.  They've taken a simple, easy-to-use product and made it all very confusing!! Good grief ...leave things ALONE!!!

Okay - rant over!!

So...what's been happening??  Well, I've been working on this:

This was a test knit for a gal in Germany!  I was a little late getting it in but it was actually a lot larger than I thought it would be.  It turned out really nicely and I absolutely love it! :)  The other item I worked on was this:

Yes, another shawl.  I love these little shawls - they're really more like shawlettes - I wear them more like a scarf!  They just dress up a turtleneck and do keep you warm.  Not maybe so perfect for the hot summer weather that's on the way but for spring and fall - they're just perfect.  I have started a new shawl so I'll throw some pics up once it's done.  It is a LARGE shawl though - so it might be awhile.

On another note, my Scentsy business is really taking off and this month I'll jump from Escential consultant, which is where you start out, right up to Lead consultant.  I skipped right over Certified and now I have a TEAM!! Sooo exciting - who would have thought that l'il ole me would have a "TEAM"!!! Anyway - I'm really enjoying the direction of this company and am excited to hear what's next.

Brayden has finally finished hockey (yes, by April...I'm DONE!) and has started soccer and flag football.  Football is new to him this year and he is really enjoying it.  He was also invited on a team of boys to play ball hockey in a tournament this weekend.  It looks to be quite the event!  Hopefully the boys will do well - but regardless, I know they'll have fun.

I started a new job last week - doing some administrative work for a real estate team based in Vernon.  I am super excited and so far am really loving the work.  It is only a few hours a day but just PERFECT for my lifestyle.  I get to work from home and other than always being a slave to my email to see if new work has arrived...it is pretty cool! :)  Real estate... oh yeah....right up my alley!! :)

Anyway - that's about all for updates!! Thanks for stopping by......

What did you do today????

I helped shear these guys.....

By the time I took the photos, we'd done over 20 - these guys were still waiting their turn.  Quite the set up getting fiber samples, giving vitamins by syringe, separating the fiber (blanket/seconds), trimming toenails and the obvious shearing...its a multi-person job!  Everyone has a position and a job to do, from hoisting up the legs, to oiling the shaver.....and if you don't do it well, you're in trouble! Alpacas are a fairly calm animal but in a situation like this - they do tend to kick and they will "spit".....especially the ladies - they're the worst!! Nothing a sock over their nose/mouth can't fix though - you just have to be real careful to stand to the side when you're putting it on!! LOL!! :)

Look at all that luscious fiber!!!! WOWSERS!!! Sooo much fun - I'm sooo happy that they invite me back every year to help shear.  This year I felt like a real pro!! :)  I do miss my boys but it was great to see them again.  Brutus has grown like a weed.  Popcorn is still small and he's still so darn cute!!  It was such a fun day!!  Had to leave early as I had to meet Brayden at the rink for Spring Hockey but it was still great to get in the few hours that I did!! I sure do love these little guys!!

Happy Easter Weekend!!

Happy Easter everyone!! I hope you've all enjoyed the weekend and got to spend time with those that you love and deserve to have you in their company!! :)  We've laid pretty low around here and enjoyed a quiet weekend with my Dad who arrived on Thursday to do some "man stuff" with my boys and then we were joined on Sunday by Nancy for some brunch and a nice visit.

On Friday night I went and enjoyed a crop with the ladies and got a few images colored for future cards.

That was a fun night and it was nice to catch up with everyone and meet some new people as well! :)  It was also fun to play with my copics again as it had been far too long!!!

On Saturday, I enjoyed making art yarn with a bunch of talented women in a class taught by my GF Melissa!  It was fun and although I will certainly use a few of the techniques in my spinning - I highly doubt that art yarn will have a place in my future!!  Don't laugh at these - they're filled with techniques and obviously, color was not something I'd planned!!!

I did make my first art batt as well, which was fun....we used different fibers and threw in some sparkle, which does not show up at all in the pictures!!!  Still, in real life, it's pretty and I can't wait to spin it up.  Might try core spinning with this one to make it last!!! I'll keep you posted! :)

Clearly I need more practice with these techniques - but it sure was fun to play outside my box and try different things!! :)

On the knitting front, I finally blocked my Oaklet Shawl:

This morning I finished up my Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West but it is outside blocking so that will have to wait for a later post!  I have enough yarn left over from each of these projects that I think I'll make some fingerless gloves.  :)  Stay tuned!!

Anyway - I hope you all had a fabulous Easter Weekend!  He is risen!!!  Thanks for stopping by!

April...already??

Happy April everyone!  WOW - spring is almost here!!  The snow is gone from the yard and although it is a yucky brown right now - I know that things will be greening up soon!!! We have a new member on the farm this month - a friend is boarding her horse here.  So far so good....he's a lovely little guy.  I can never remember his name so I just call him Jeremy! It's actually something like Jairmaire - but I can never pronounce it properly.  DOH!!!  Brayden is quite interested in earning an income so he would like to be responsible for feeding it.  As he can't even remember to feed his OWN animals, we are skeptical and I can only imagine who will end up doing it for him (raises hand)!  Anyway, he's been looking after his own animals with great care this week -so we'll see how long this lasts!

On the yarn front, I attended an event that the Kalamalka Spinner's and Weavers hosted in Vernon last weekend.  I went as a vendor and had a super great day selling yarn and chatting with all the ladies.  I really like the vending atmosphere, it's soooo fun to see someone actually purchase something you've made.  Even better is when they take that purchase and turn it into something like this:

This was made by Anne, a member of our Shuswap Spinners and Weavers group.  Isn't it beautiful???!  Then I sold a skein of sock yarn to another Anne in our group and she made these on her sock knitting machine:

I apologize for the blurry photo but I was in a rush and these were taken on my iPhone!! Anyway, if you've ever seen one of the sock knitting machines in action - it's quite something.  She can knit a pair of socks in about 20 minutes...a far cry from the DAYS it takes me to knit a pair.  I'd love to invest in one of those machines but they run around $2,000 so it will be a while before I get one of those!!!  In the meantime, I've had my eye on one of these:

I really want to try my hand at weaving!!  I was fortunate enought to borrow a loom from my good friend, Gudie, so I will definitely TRY before I buy to ensure I even like the process!! :)  I think it will be fun though and can't wait to get started.  First, I have to get a few things OFF the needles!

Finished objects:  So....I just finished up a test knit for a designer and made these:

...and I also made these for my friend Donna's birthday:

I will be making a pair of these for myself as they were sooooo soft and squishy - I just loved them!  Yes, Donna - I did NOT want to part with them just so you know! LOL!! :)  Happy Birthday!!

Then, I also made these for the YOSS (Year of Stash Socks) monthly challenge:

So you can see, I've been busy!  I am also currently working on the Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West and the Oaklet Shawl by Megan Goodacre.  I hope to have these off the needles soon so I can get to my loom! :) 

On the Brayden front, we have been busy with Spring Hockey and waiting for soccer to start.  He is also involved in swimming lessons with the school and is enjoying those - even though he has a great fear of water.  I'm hoping these lessons will help a little in getting him back in the water and knowing that he CAN swim when he puts his mind to it.  Hopefully we can get him back on the tube this year behind the boat!! I've booked him for Hockey School in Sicamous this year.  I think he'll be super excited when he gets to meet Shae Weber and Cody Franson!  Hopefully we can find a spot to camp close to Sicamous so we won't have to drive so far in the heat of the summer! :)  We'll see.

Well, I think that's all for now - Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!!!