Home Again, Home Again, Bloggity Blog

I've returned from the Far West, and most things were in good order when I left. My Dad is home from the hospital and recovering slowly, but steadily, from his triple bypass. As well, Mum is adjusting to playing nurse-maid and hardly ever talks about sending him back.

The home-front didn't fare nearly so well in my absence. Ian broke a tooth in a scuffle with a door at school, and the laundry basket was being slowly crushed under a mountain of clothes. The dentist came to the rescue of Ian's tooth and I came to the rescue of the laundry basket. All's well.

The weather on the coast was stunning. Usually January brings nothing but drizzle to Victoria, but in the week I was there the sun shone, the air was crisp and snowdrops were in bloom. It's really too bad that I forgot my camera every time I stepped out the door. So, I've no photos to show you, not one.

All is not lost though, Penny has tagged me for the "7 Weird Facts MEME", so I'll entertain you with this instead.

The Rules:

1. Make a link to the person who tagged you. Done.
2. List seven weird or interesting facts about yourself. Hmm...
3. Tag seven others to do the same.

I was having some trouble believing there was anything weird about me, but my lovely wee Ian has assured me that there's lots. LOTS.

Well, regardless, I'm going to share two weird place facts and five weird name facts. Enjoy.

1. While growing up, my family moved often. My first move was at six weeks old, and between grades one to twelve I was in eight different schools. I'm a master of burning bridges.

2. Nigel had a very similar upbringing. In fact our fathers worked for the same company, and we lived in some of the same places at the same time, though we didn't meet until we were in our late twenties. Now please, that's pretty weird.

3. I use to take guitar lessons from Chet Breau, son of Lenny Breau. (That's me name-dropping.)

4. One of my great-great-grandfathers was named Flavius Orlando Gamsby (1846-1903). I love a good name. My sister and I have been doing a genealogy search and have found loads of other fascinating facts.

5. Another great name, Forester Wood, belongs to one of my great-great-great-great-grandmothers. She would have been born in the 1780's, though I've been having a little trouble pinning down the date. The name appears later in the tree too, Forester had a granddaughter named Forester Crawford, who would be my great-great-aunt, and she also had a grandson named Mescander Crawford, a great-great-uncle to me.

6. I'm related to both Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. More name-dropping. Shameless.

7. Few people know that I go by my middle name, Anne or Annie. My first name is Harriett. This name also belongs to my mother, my great-grandmother and my great-great-great-grandmother. My mother wanted to name me Victoria Anne, but my father insisted (I'm not sure why) that I be named after her. She relented on the condition that I go by Annie which is probably for the best. Harriett is a German name meaning "ruler of the household", I don't think you'd want more than one of those under one roof.

Now, I can't tag seven more people for this MEME, because I don't know that many people who blog. In fact, most people I know don't own or even use computers (hey, I think that's a bit weird maybe I should have MEMEntioned it on the list). I will tag one, though.

Jane, consider yourself tagged.

Second, Third and Fourth Objects Finished

Well, what a week it's been. My Dad had his bypass surgery on Tuesday and he'll be out of hospital on Sunday - you can't beat Canadian health care. I'm going to be heading out to the West Coast to help my Mum with the first week home from the hospital, mostly driving and running errands I should think. Being so far away can be tedious; the best thing, of course, is to keep busy, which is exactly what I've been doing

In fact, it's been a stellar week for finishing objects.

First up:



A hat for a friend. Made from this yarn in a pattern whose origin escapes me at the moment. I think it's from a book called "Hats", but just try Googling THAT!.

Next finished was a wee hat for Ian, who likes purple and green:




This one was made from Debbie Bliss Rialto (one of my new favourites) and used the pattern Scrunchie Hat by Lucy Neatby. I made one of these for myself a few years back; my daughter and I agreed it looked like a tea cosy more than a hat, no doubt because I made it too big. Ian's has turned out a bit on the small side, which is how the pattern recommends it be made, but I think next time I'll try for a happier medium.

And finally:



The Tangled Yoke cardigan, remember? That's back to my first ever post. The cardi is looking a little rumpled here, mainly because it needs to be soaked and blocked as it's lived in the bottom of the knitting basket for a long time. I have no desire to block it at the moment; I'm quite sick of looking at it.

Now I need to share with you a fantastic find. The next big project I want to tackle is the Seaweed Stole by Needle Beetle. I thought I might like to knit this in silk, and I was going to need 2040 m of lace weight yarn: that can get a bit pricey. While looking for silk lace weight yarn, I came across a company called Colour Mart in the U.K., and on their site I found 100% silk lace weight yarn. A lovely 2128 m cone in aqua for only $16US, and that price included shipping! It also took less than two weeks to be delivered. Wow!



I can't wait to get started working with this yarn, if it works up as lovely as it looks I'll be smitten. Also going for it: the address of the company is;

Featherbed Lane,
Shrewsbury

How adorable is that? I just have to order something else.

The First Finished Project of 2008

Well, a finished project. I didn't post the process of knitting this project, not really sure why, but I started it in early December, which makes it a fairly quick knit considering the size. It's a throw for those cold nights, made from a free Patons pattern available here. I used Patons Decor (the recommended yarn), though I never cared much for that yarn, however, it washes well, and wasn't nearly as "acrylic-y" as I had remembered.



Instead of the sage greens used in the pattern, I chose the olives.



I'm fairly happy with it. Now I need to finish a few other lingering projects.

On an unrelated note, my Dad had a mild heart attack last Monday and needs to have bypass surgery. This is a huge shock for our family, as Mum and Dad both have an excellent diet and are very fit. I'm going to go and stay with them for a week once my Dad is released from hospital. I'm confident he'll recover quickly and I won't be needed for long.

I'd also like to say thank you for all the lovely comments about Gus, he's a very sweet little dog (just a wee bit dim-witted).

Happy Birthday Gus Gus

Happy Birthday Gus Gus!

Mmmm, cookies, and toys too,



and what's that you're making Mummy?



Is it a cake? Is it? Is it?



oooooo, is that for me!!!!



You didn't put almonds on all of it. Is that because almonds make Whimsy sick and I have to share with her?



Well, alright, since I'm a gentleman.

Happy Belated Second Christmas

The Amazon order I placed for Nigel finally arrived! Hooray! Ordered at the beginning of December, I've never seen Amazon take so long. No wait, that's not true. Last year Nigel placed an order for my gifts which arrived in late February. Ah well, I suppose they're improving.

I used some last remnants of lime green wrap and taped them together to look like a tree. I feel well and truly finished with Christmas now.

My sister also sent out the Button-of-the-Month for December. She sent it out on the 27Th of December, posting it Express (that's two days and a small fortune), as she didn't want it to arrive after the 31st. It arrived on January 2ND and was very lovely none-the-less.



It's a beautiful, festive, sparkling button in honour of the holiday season. She also made me six very lovely quilted napkin rings,



Jane always surprises me. She doesn't sew very much, but the projects she chooses are always a little ambitious (did you know this Jane?). Machine quilting is challenging enough without doing it on such a small scale, and they're really well done. Thank you Jane!

Happy New Year

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL.

I love New Year's.

Not the "staying up late and partying" sort of new year, but the actual putting up a new calendar and starting again sort of new year.

The last of our celebrations ended last night, we had Nigel's mother and sister over for dinner and a few games of Masterpiece. Does anyone else remember this game? If you read the Wikipedia definition it says "(the) game requires few skills". I'd just like to say that I must have less than few skills, because I never win - regardless, we had a good time.

This time of year finds me making lots of resolutions, which rarely make it past the first week, so this year I have a plan. I'm going to spend the rest of this week hibernating, and then all things will be go, go, go next week (or so I wish to believe).

Until then...