Day 17 - Little Loom

I sold my little loom today! 

It was a bit bittersweet letting it go, it is such a good, solid loom.

It went to the loveliest couple, and I am sure that they will love it as much as I did.

 Just some of the things I wove on it over the past 5 years.

All the best!♥︎

Day 16 - More Bees

 Thirsty girls on a hot day.

Did you know that the worker bees (the ones you see out and about doing all the work) are all females!

It doesn't seem to matter if you are a person or a bee...

When my son went to see about buying our dog, her mom was keeping all her 8 puppies in check, while her dad was playing with a log...

All the best!♥︎

Day 15 - Busy Bee

 All the best!♥︎

Day 14 - Fire

 Over 1/4" of rain last week, and the fire ban was lifted.

My son made the fire pit ring.

All the best!♥︎

Day 13 - An Evening Bike Ride

 Drone photos of our evening bike ride.

All the best!♥︎

Day 12 - Sleeping Cat

 I had to wait to make the bed this morning because someone was still sleeping.

All the best!♥︎

Day 11 - A Sweater

My Mom knitted a sweater for me (my part was finding buttons to match and sewing them on).

The pattern is Lady Sunnyside by Tanis Lavallee (there is also a free child's version - Sunnyside).

The yarn is Merino wool that I spun about 5 years ago.

This was the starting fibre - half a commercial dyed red and the other half I dyed. I drum carded the fibre to blend the colours.

 All the starting handspun yarn.

I started 3 different projects with this yarn over the years, even finished one (I am surprised the yarn didn't wear out from all the ripping out). The finished piece I made was a large vest that I felt like Fred Flintstone in - you can tell why I took that one apart. I had told my Mom that I was done with the yarn - it just didn't work for me, so she kindly offered to try making something with it. The pattern is one that I bought years ago - my Mom made one, my sister made one, and now I have one!

Thanks Mom! It's perfect.

All the best!♥︎

Day 10 - Tatting

Last month I finished a piece of tatting that I started about 12 years ago (as a piece of handwork to take on a trip).

It is about 13" across. The pattern is from an old tatting pattern book. I used a very fine cotton for this one.

I started another piece of tatting too. This is also from an old tatting pattern book. This time I am using a #10 cotton thread (Knit Picks Curio in Copper).

All the best!♥︎

Day 9 - Bees

This spring my son became a beekeeper!

They are fascinating to watch, and sure are busy.

Here they are bearding, something they do when it is hot.

Miss Maggie finds them interesting (we don't think she has been stung but the dog has - she was fine).

The bees have swarmed a few times (it was so noisy).

We started with two hives, now we have five.

This is the first frame of honey, and probably the only one we will have this year - the hives need quite a bit of honey in the hive to make it through the winter.

The honey is delicious.

All the best!♥︎

Day 8 - Spinning then Knitting

I spun yarn and then knitted a few things recently, from fibre that I had dyed.

This one is merino/nylon blend that I spun a 3 ply yarn for socks.

And the knitted socks (my regular toe-up, two-at-a-time socks to use every bit of yarn).

This one is an alpaca/merino/silk blend, that I spun into a singles yarn (so the colours would remain clear).

 And the knitted shawl (really a scarf). 

The pattern is one I have made before and couldn't resist knitting again (Entrelac Shawl with Tassels by Eva Martinsson).

All the best!♥︎

Day 7 - Piecing

I haven't been quilting this summer (summer's are just too short here), but back in May I kept up with piecing the Laundry Basket 2021 Mystery Quilt.

The blocks are 4" (it is a 15x15 block layout, but some of the blocks are plain fabric).

It was lots of fun.

 The blocks are now waiting to be sewn together, but that will wait until the fall.

All the best!♥︎

Day 6 - Woodcarving

 Trying my hand at woodcarving again. Today I made a little spreader out of basswood.

All the best!♥︎

Day 5 - Dog Training

We have been working at getting Miss Molly used to rides in the car and seeing different sights.

 She did really well today - treats help.

Someone asked me how my dresses from yesterday's post look on me - I think they look nice, but one of the first thing people say to me is that they look so comfy - I think it might be another way of saying "are you wearing pyjamas?"

All the best!♥︎

Day 4 - Sewing

I have done some sewing lately - all from the same pattern. This one is the Sydney Designer Dress from Style Arc.

It is a super comfy cocoon dress. The first one I made was the blue cotton one on the left. I followed the pattern, but the dress is too long and the pockets too low (I should have listened to all the reviews). So the second one (the red flowery rayon one on the right) I made the necessary adjustments.

The fabric for both these dresses come from the fundraising sale at the Costume Museum of Canada (the pattern cost more than all the fabric).

The dresses were lovely to make and went together so well - a great pattern.

 I had a metre of fabric left over from the red dress, so I made a top using the yoke/sleeve pattern pieces, and just lengthen it into a top. I put an elastic in the bottom hem and added a tie just for fun.

All the best!♥︎

Day 3 - From the Air

Today the field around our home was harvested. It is oats, and was cut a few days ago and left to dry. We are in the second year of a drought, so every thing is very dry, I am amazed that anything grew. The air is smoky because there are so many forest and grass fires around. The green field is canola. My son took these photos with his drone.

All the best!♥︎