Some Progress

I've managed to finish another page on Gypsy Firefly and all suicidal thoughts from the disaster are gone....  4 Pages Plus a start on the 5th Page

I've got a bit more done on my knitting as well and I'm so pleased with it....

I've got so excited about knitting again (It's been years and years) that I've treated myself and ordered a set of wood circular knitting needles from "Knit Picks"...I can hardly wait for them to arrive.  Aren't they pretty???

Last night Greg and I took my step brother and his wife out for dinner.  They were visiting Vancouver from Mexico where they live.  We had a wonderful 9 course dinner at a fabulous restaurant downtown called "C" (we had 4 Groupon coupons and it was an excellent deal).  The wine was flowing and we had an excellent time...Time for a trip to Mexico I think.

Learning to Knit Lace - Becoming a Lace Master

I used to knit.  Not much, but I know how to knit and purl and read a chart...sort of.  I love lace.  I've never knit lace, but I've always wanted to.  I have always felt that I could have lived in England sometime in the 1800's wearing long flowing gowns with lace collars and lacy shawls with my hair done up on the top of my head.  You wouldn't probably believe that this is how I'd like to dress if you saw me as I'm rarely out of my jeans.

I signed up last week to take an on-line lace knitting course with Craftsy.com http://www.craftsy.com/lp/FBLP_Stitches_10-6-11;jsessionid=B10274830040E4E733D2E75DAD9E05C8.vedder 

It's called "Mastering Lace Shawls" and what a GREAT class.  I entered the contest that this link takes you to and after registering and becoming a member of craftsy, I was sent an email saying I could take one of their courses for $25.00 (amost half price)....so I figured why not....

As of today here is where I am in my "Skywalker" Shawl....

It's being stitched in a fingering weight wool called Melody by JoJoland on 3.75mm circular needles.  The wool is hand dyed and is lovely shades of green, greenish yellow and light mauve...very subdued.

The class is excellent.  I can access it anytime, pause stop, go back and ask questions if I don't understand anything.

When this shawl is finished, there is another one....two for the price of one...I'll be an expert in no time....

Disaster averted - Fabric Fixed

Whew, I managed to fix the fabric and all is well

The area that was fixed is ALL outside of the area that will be stitched.  How considerate of my dog to not put one tooth mark in the stitching area.

I am a happy camper..or should I say "Caravaner" and have learned my lesson.  Stitching will now be put away every time that I'm NOT stitching....

DOG DISASTER on the STITCHING FRONT

My lovely dog is in the proverbial dog house today.  I woke up to find my needlework on the floor in the living room.  I had placed it on a small table that I keep near the sofa with all my stitching supplies on it for while I'm stitching.  She must have dragged it off and then proceded to have a bit of a snack.

Here's what it looks like now

The top is salvageable as it's far enough away from the stitching, and even going down towards the bottom there is enough "good" fabric to get it all in, but I'll only have 1" of fabric at the side and along the bottom...

I can't believe she did this?  Is she becoming senile?  Will this happen to me as I age?  Will I go around eating unedible items and think they taste good?  Will it make me sick?  I feel sick right now....



Some Gypsy Progress and Thoughts on travelling in a caravan of sorts

I've been making a some progress on Gypsy and I've now got 3 pages finished.....

I'm loving the sky and the colours in the caravan...Hope you do too.

Today my step-son and his girlfriend are flying off to Japan to visit with her family.  He's never met them, although they got introduced via Skype last week.  Technology - isn't it grand.  They'll be gone almost 3 months and plan on travelling around a bit.  Makes me wish I was young again.

or older...

Hubby and I have been mulling around the thought of buying some sort of travelling caravan (though not like the one in my needlework) when he retires next year.  I'm thinking it would be a nice way to travel around for a few months and yet have our precious belongings with us without having to haul suitcases into strange hotels and worry about whether the bed will be comfortable or not.  I think it could be fun...stay tuned..

October is here and with it Rain Rain Rain

September was so nice this year - well some of it.  It changed mid month and it was a sure sign that Fall was coming.  It's been raining and grey for a couple of weeks now.....The warm weather from September has gone.  But on a good note, the trees look beautiful as their leaves take on the red and gold colors that I love so much.  Fall on the west coast of Canada isn't as spectacular as back east, but it's still pretty.

It's been great stitching weather. I've managed to complete two pages from my Heaven and Earth chart "Gypsy Firefly" and the colors are wonderful. They may not be fall colors, but they feel good.

The picture doesn't do it justice and it looks so much better "in person".  I'm pleased with the results.

My sister was visiting at the end of September from Ontario and we had a good time as usual.  We travelled up to Hope, B.C. and went to the Othello Tunnels. Luckily my son Richard was able to come with us.  These tunnels were built in 1914.  In the Coquihalla Gorge - the river cut a 300 foot deep channel of solid granite.  A straight line of tunnels were built through it .    There are a series of 5 tunnels and they were in operation till the 1950's.  The train tracks are gone, but walkways have been built so you can walk through them.  The river can be seen below as it presses through the gorge.  We were lucky enough to see some salmon trying to make it up the churning treacherous river to spawn. 

If any of this looks slightly familiar it's because this area is where the first Rambo movie was filmed.

We left the tunnels and went to Harrison Hot Springs where we spent 2 nights and days laying around in hot pools and taking it easy.....oh yeah, we also ate and drank way too much.  Sadly, I forgot to take any pictures.....But here's some pictures from 2 years ago to give you an idea what it is like

As for my diet....I kind of took a hiatus till now, but I'm back on my RVL Monavie Diet and I will lose that last 20 lbs now.  The good news is that with summer, visitors,
BBQ's and lots of eating and drinking, I didn't gain any weight back, so while I may not have lost any for 2 months, I didn't gain either and that's a good thing.

Till next time....

The summer may be Gone, but it's Hot here

Summer was really slow in arriving on the West Coast of Canada, but the last week has been beautifully warm....unseasonably warm for September with temperatures around 30 Celsius.  I LOVE it.  My husband and I love going up to a small lake that is only a 10 minute drive from our home and if we don't go during the summer, it seems like summer didn't exist for us.  We almost didn't make it this year, but on Wednesday we packed up our floaty chairs and headed to the lake for a gorgeous afternoon of just floating around in the water.  Heaven.


Last weekend we were up in Whistler, B.C. It's about a 2 hour drive from our home, but when you're there you feel like you are in a different world. I was lucky enough to score a Groupon coupon for a 3 night stay in a suite for $208.00. This is an unheard of price for Whistler. Since neither of us ski, summer seems like the best time for us to enjoy this gorgeous spot.

View of Whistler Mountain from our suite

View of Blackcomb Mountain from our Suite

The front of our Hotel - The Cascade Lodge (Highly recommend)...our room was right above the entranceway and yes, it stretched across the whole thing....the Balcony was HUGE

The Pool - a little cool but once you got in, it was fine...

Street Entertainers on the stroll in Whistler Village - a 5 minute walk from the hotel

In the summer Mountain Bikes take over Whistler Mountain.  There are bikes everywhere...this was the view from the restaurant where we had lunch.  The first picture, for some strange reason the biker in the front reminds me of a gopher who has just popped up out of his hole to see what is going on....

enjoying the sunshine and some Smirnoff Ice - awwwww, life is good...

Leftover from the Olympics - Future Olympic Hopefuls playing in the rings (not our children)

Happy Couple

The morning we were leaving I woke up early and went out onto the balcony to enjoy the solitude.  The sun was just coming up and to my surprise a large Black Bear popped out of the bushes across the street, looked both ways and then crossed the street and came onto the property of our hotel.  I ran in to get my camera, but he'd already disappeared when I got back.  Bears are a common sight in Whistler, but I've never been lucky enough to see one until now.  I think it's very nice of them to share their home with us, but I don't think I'll ask to give him a hug or to shake his hand....and I definitely won't feed him.  That can be a death sentence for a bear as they become a dangerous nuisance and why would you want to put these magnificent creatures in harm's way?

Stitching Update

I've finished the top 12 rows on Leo now - that light blue background was a challenge - boring.  I can't decide whether I just hate stitching light colours or really enjoy confetti stitching, but all I know is I'm really glad the "sky" is finished.

Leo is going for a nap now as I start something new

Here is my latest project.  I fell in love with it as soon as it was released....NOTE that there is no light colors..YEAHHHHHHHH

It's Called "Gypsy Firefly" and is another Heaven and Earth Design (these are pretty well the only designs I stitch now).  The artwork is from the brilliantly talented Aimee Stewart.

This is just the start of the first page.  I'm stitching it on light Beige 25 count Laguna and doing my usual "tent" stitch (half cross stitch) using 2 threads over 1.  The picture doesn't do justice to all the lovely blues, teals and greens and also it looks like you can see a lot of fabric showing through.  In "person" it doesn't look so obvious and from a distance (like hanging on a wall when framed) you won't even see the fabric at all.  I think I'm going to love this design - lots of confetti to be had and no boring blocks of light colors.....Even my hubby loves this one....and not a fairy to be seen...

Till next time