Chickadee Manor

Yarn Along

 Joining in with Ginny at Small Things for Yarn Along

I'm continuing on with Judah's hat.  I really need to get it done for him soon as we are starting to get some spring weather.  I'm certain we will have more freezing temperatures in April so it will get some use before fall.  I'm only five rows from finishing the knitting itself.  Then it is on to seaming, weaving in the ends, and blocking!

I'm finishing up The Sisters Brothers and have started For the Love.  

My mother-in-law sent up a little package for me on the weekend. Inside was the cutest little book and it is quite entertaining.  It's one of those books you want to read a bit everyday so it's not over too soon!

(In the background you can also see the stripes of the Hudson's Bay Company socks she sent along as well!)

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~ Every Thursday, at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

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{pretty}

My sister Lindsey gave me these beautiful tulips as a birthday gift.  (You can find her at The Red Letters Blog and Little Hearth & Homestead.)  They are keeping the celebration going a little longer as tulips only became available here this week but not from our still frozen and snow covered ground!

 

{happy}

The daily artwork by the kids makes me happy!  It is rare that a day goes by that I'm not presented with a special drawing or art creation.  Here are a few selections from the girls this week. 

 

{funny}

A while back we were talking with good friends of ours about children's books and different series that we enjoyed when we were young.  Our friend Kevin mentioned that one of the Hardy Boys books actually mentions the town we live in and the surrounding area, including Wood Buffalo National Park.  I Googled it and found the book title.  Then I went online and found an amazing used book store called Russell Books in Victoria, British Columbia.  They had multiple copies in stock so I ordered one for our family and a copy for our friends as well.  The books arrived late last week.  I opened the package and flipped open the cover of the first Hardy Boys book and let out a shriek.  The name inside the cover was Kevin W.  I quickly snapped a photo and texted it to our friends.  A couple of minutes later I got a response saying that Kevin thought it actually might be his own writing, and thus his old copy of the book!  What are the odds?  (The book store is probably close to a 27 hour drive from here and the book would have been donated over 20 years ago!)  His mom is going to compare the writing to some old worksheets of his that she has to see if we are all just dreaming or if he's now had the exact same copy twice!  

 

{real}

We've been enjoying reading a chapter or two a night from "The Island of Adventure" by Enid Blyton.  My sisters and I have fond memories of our dad reading us "The Castle of Adventure" by the same author.  I was reading about Enid Blyton recently and she was incredibly prolific.  Hundreds of books and many more short stories, poems and plays.  Amazing!

I really need to finish up my book club book before our meeting late next week but I think I am in need of complete flaking instead.  I haven't seen "The Man from Snowy River" or "Return to Snowy River" in years.  Always a fun and scenic watch!  Once the kids go to bed it is ice cream with chocolate chips and "Return to Snowy River"! (P.S. Our current book club book is "The Sisters Brothers".)

 

Yarn Along

Joining in with Ginny at Small Things

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This week I am still plodding along with Judah's hat.  I've made considerable progress but managed to injure one of my fingers slightly so I am having a forced break.  I'm a little bit disappointed as I had picked up momentum.  Oh, well!  We will have winter weather for another month and half so I still have time.  :D I'm still reading "The Sisters Brothers" by Patrick DeWitt.

 

This week I received some beautiful yarn in the mail as a gift from a dear friend. Remember the lovely discontinued Malabrigo Aquarella yarn I was using for the Ovate Shawl?  I now have another ball of it in another wonderful colour way.  Here it is!  Thank you, Ainsley!

 

I tried out Yarn Box for three months.  I chose the sock box as it was both more affordable and also a smaller project size to tackle.  I have yet to make a pair of socks!  I've cancelled my subscription for now, not because I am dissatisfied but rather because I have enough unfinished (and un-started!) projects at the moment.  The last shipment of yarn is so drool-worthy though that I think I will make the last pair of socks up first.  I've captured the colour as best I could but this photo still doesn't do the turquoise blue justice.  

 

 

Yarn Along

Joining in with Ginny over at Small Things for Yarn Along.

This week I finally picked up my knitting needles after a long hiatus.  I had been afraid to start a new project as I didn't have anyone to ask for help when I was attempting some new stitches and techniques.  No more!  I found someone that is willing to help me and lives less than 5 minutes drive from me.  I had some help on Sunday afternoon getting started and think I'm getting the hang of this making holes on purpose thing (lace!).  I've made holes unintentionally before but those are in a different category...

I'm working on the Ovate shawl.  I bought the yarn for this project late last spring and had planned to have it made up to use in the summer.  Yeah, anyway...I will make it up for this summer instead!  I'm making the smaller version.  The yarn is now discontinued but it is Malabrigo Aquarella in Arapey (AQ13).  I'm stuck at the moment though as I'm not sure if I've created more holes than I should have!  I will contact my knitting friend this weekend and see if we can work out what I've done or not done!

I've cast on for a little slouchy hat for Judah.  I actually bought the yarn and pattern for the hat at Wool while in Bath, England in September of 2013.  I had intentions of knitting on that trip in the evenings while Judah was sleeping.  Ha!  I don't think I got past winding the yarn into balls.  The pattern is Rico Knitting Idea Compact 091 - Hats in Rico Baby Classic DK.  I am making "Slouchy Hat" but without switching to a contrasting yarn.  I am using a self-striping yarn instead.  I think it is Debbie Bliss but will have to try and find the label to be sure.  It is so soft and fairly stretchy.  I'm hoping my tension isn't wonky and that it will fit him well!

As for reading I am currently part way through my book club selection for this month "The Sisters Brothers" and I've started listening to "Outlander" on Audible for while I am knitting or otherwise have my hands and eyes occupied.  I have a physical copy of the book as well so I can switch when put the needles down.