Central Avenue

Sometimes I feel our back lawn isn't so much our private property as the area's High Street or Central Avenue. In just one week in early June, we had a black bear, several deer, a brown rabbit (aka Hop Hop; aka Peter), a huge ginger cat, and no end of birds, large and small, trekking through.
Yesterday, I glanced out the kitchen window and, lo and behold, there was a Northern Flicker pecking away in the grass. Now, they have been pounding on the roof in the spring, and their piercing call can be heard frequently as they fly to nests high in nearby trees, but I have never seen them here on the lawn and so close to the house. Apparently, they are frequent ground feeders and hunt for ants, snails, beetles, etc. They are more than welcome to any insect they out there!

Playful Progress

This is such an enjoyable project!

Playful Stripes Cardigan

Pattern: Playful Stripes Cardigan

Designer: Alana Dakos

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino - five colors

Needles: Circulars - 3.5 mm and 3.75 mm

I've wanted to knit this little cardigan for a long time - ever since Alana posted the pattern on her website and Ravelry.We were in Mahone Bay on Saturday and without a shred of self discipline, I purchased an armful of luscious Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino - natural as the main color and seafoam green, smokey pink, blue, and tan for the striping. I really like the very feminine picot edging and the soft, pretty colors. It is a pleasure to knit.

If you click on the pattern name, you'll see how pretty the sweater really is and though the little model is an absolute sweetheart, I am sure Lucy Darling will look every bit as good in this cardigan.

Le Sleeve Cuff

Streptocarpus in Bloom

Streptocarpus Bristol's Doo Dah??

In May, I went to the African Violet shows in both Halifax and Middleton and purchased small Streptocarpus plantlets. They are cousins to the African Violet, both being in the gesneriad family. I have never grown them before. The foliage is not symmetrical and it is a tad unruly but, like orchids, the blooms justify having them around.

This was labelled Bristol's Doo Dah but it more closelyy resembles a photo I found on the Web for Bristol's Doo Wop so I am not sure which of the two it is but the bloom is gorgeous.

What to knit on a hot summer's day when the temperature is too high to do anything more strenuous??

A scarf with Nova Scotia sea silk!

Pattern: Montego Bay
Designer: Amy R. Singer
Yarn: Handmaiden Sea Silk (a beautiful Nova Scotia yarn!)
Color: Pale Pink

Shetland Triangle on a Sultry Summer Day

Blocking The Shetland Triangle

Pattern: Shetland Triangle Lace Shawl

Designer: Evelyn A. Clark

Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Silky Alpaca Lace

Color: 2477 Forget Me Not

Just off the needles and on the blocking board.

I've had my eye on this pattern for a while. I am partial to Evelyn Clark's shawl and scarf designs.

I had enough yarn to add more sections to  make it larger but opted to stick to the original pattern repeats and use it more as a neck scarf than a shawl.

This is the first time I have used Silky Alpaca Lace. It is 70% alpaca and 30% silk. It knits up well, very soft to the touch, and it is a very pretty shade of blue.

Little Turtleneck

Pattern: #252 Bernat Six For Toddlers

Yarn: Dream in Color Classy

Color: Absolute Magenta

I had leftover yarn from Big Sister's TINY Tea Leaves Cardi and couldn't resist making Baby Sister a little turtleneck - using the same pattern I knit for her Daddy many, many years ago.

I'm not happy with the underarm area. I decided to knit the body in the round up to the armholes, then divide for the front and back. Sounds like a plan but introducing a small section of seaming after knitting in the round results in a pinched in area just below the underarms. Next time, I will knit the pieces separately and use a mattress stitch to sew them together.

Hopefully, she will wear it to daycare, look sweet, and play with her arms more at her sides than up in the air. And hopefully her French grandmother, an excellent seamstress, will not examine it too closely.

Even More Clematis

Clematis Wisley cascading over the top of the back deck.

Clematis Hagley entwined with Clematis Niobe on the obelisk.

Jawoll Silk

Pattern: K2P2 ribbing and K3P1 sock

Yarn: Jawoll Silk

Color: 130.0003

Needles: Circular 2.25 mm

I haven't met a Lang yarn yet that I didn't like. Jawoll Silk is 55% wool, 25% nylon, and 20% silk. The socks feel soft and comfortable and the color is pleasing.

A Low Cost Rejuvenation

A trip to Canadian Tire and, $30.00 later, an old brown wicker chair from Adam's college days is transformed into a pretty rocker for the Yellow Room. Purchases included the padded seat cushion, one can of spray primer and one can of white spray paint!

A Stroll Through The July Garden

Clematis Niobe, on a wrought iron obelisk, hides an ugly wellhead along the front walkway. Here in woodland suburbia, we have to drill for water. We do not have a municipal water supply.

Rosa Bonica

Rosa Bonica as viewed through lavender

Goat's Beard (Aruncus)

We have three varieties of Aruncus on the property but this one, at the top of the walkway, is the prettiest.

Goldmound spirea is supposed to measure 3 feet by 2-4 feet in maturity. This spirea obviously likes its location!

Our Home and Native Land

It's Canada Day!