Summer Time Fun

It is always amazing how fast summer flies by! 

The garden has done so well, and we are canning or freezing something everyday.

We even have proper corn to eat (we have tried on and off for years without much luck).

I finished making a few things recently-

I sewed a dress with fabric that I thought I would make a skirt with last month.

The pattern is from this Japanese magazine (vol 10 - Amazon link).

My Mom and I have made so many things from this one issue, that the magazine is bulging with the traced tissue paper patterns.

This is the pattern I used.

I made it with some fabric I was given and then dyed with indigo last summer.

 

I finished knitting a pair of socks from some handspun yarn. This is a BFL/Nylon blend that I dyed then spun.  They are 56 stitches, toe-up socks, knit magic loop, two-at-a-time, on a 2.75mm circular needle, with a slip stitch heel flap, and gusset.

I didn't quite have enough of the yellow/grey mix, and added some grey stripes on the leg.

These are the latest socks on the needles - a merino/nylon blend this time.

Photos from around-

 Molly waiting for someone to join her on the trampoline.

Maggie!

I can never resist great clouds.

The next place down the road just has some old buildings.

I think this barn is interesting with the boards on the diagonal.

A Great Blue Heron came to visit.

The surrounding field of canola is almost ready for harvest.

We have a new windmill to aerate the pond (we are trying to get it cleaned up since we swim in it).

All the best!♥︎

Spin the Bin

I participated in a spinning challenge in a Ravelry group (Completely Twisted and Arbitrary Spinning) called Spin the Bin. The challenge was to get together 24oz (680g) or more of fibre in a bin, and spin it within the year.

This was my starting fibre - 1.32kg (46.6oz),

and the finished yarn.

Ended up with 1.28kg (45.2oz), 2,788m (3,049yds) of yarn. It is also almost 9km (over 5 miles) of spinning - singles and plying lengths added together (some of the yarn is two ply and some three ply).

Most of the yarn was spun during Tour de Fleece (another spinning challenge).

Photos from around- 

The gardens are doing well-

perennial flower garden

vegetable garden

the grasses have gotten so tall

we started canning (pickled beans)

Best friends-

Checking out each other's teeth?

All the best!♥︎

July Sewing Plan

Since it is Tour de Fleece this month I will be spending most of my free time spinning, but I hope to sew a skirt with this fabric that I dyed with indigo last summer.

That is my One Monthly Goal for July - thanks Patty!!

Photos from around-

With all the hot weather there has been some thunder storms, this one was in the distance-

we couldn't hear anything but there was lots of lightning,

I managed to catch a few on camera-

We live in the corner of a farmer's field,

this year it is a canola field.

Across the street

there is barley.

I never realized before how much chemicals went into growing a crop, there is some kind of spraying every couple of weeks. This week lots of the surrounding fields were sprayed using planes.

It seems like the most dangerous job.

Lots of flowers are blooming in the garden-

The grain bins-

More amazing clouds-

All the best!♥︎

Just Finished!

My One Monthly Goal for June was to make a pillow cover, and I waited until the last moment, but at least it is done.

My 85 year old father stitched the cross stitch pieces when he had to stay home because of COVID 19. The charts are from the book 'Répertoire des Motifs' by Valérie Lejeune. I have a few more stitched pieces, so some more projects in the future. This piece is going to his sister.

Thanks once again Patty (Elm Street Quilts) for the motivation!!

I did finish a couple of knitting projects this past month, but I can only show one.

This is the Sun Tea, a pattern by Laura Aylor, that I knit out of Lindy Chain from Knit Picks. The blue is some that I dyed with indigo last summer. It doesn't look much better on, and I find the linen/cotton blend a bit rough - maybe it will be better after a few more washes, it should be nice a cool though.
I also finished a pair of handspun socks.

Tour de Fleece (an online spinning event) started on Saturday, and I have big plans. I prepared some raw fleece (cleaned, combed, dyed and carded into batts), plus dyed quite a few commercial braids of fibre in anticipation of the event. I know I won't get it all spun during the tour dates - June 27th to July 19th 2020, but it is nice to have some fibre all ready for spinning. There are future socks (3 pairs), a cowl and a sweater all in that bin (it is also my 'Spin the Bin' challenge on Ravelry).

Nice, hot weather and the garden is really growing (the grass is not doing so well). 

I am so glad that it is summer!

All the best!♥︎

A New Pair of Pants

I sewed myself a pair of pants this week.

Not typical pants, but lots of fun to wear.

The pattern is from this Japanese sewing pattern magazine.

Super easy to make. I used fabric that I had bought in Japan last fall. I think I will make myself a skirt based on the same pattern - I just love the large pockets, and I have some fabric that I dyed last summer.

Photos from around-

I forgot to show these two photos from last month - a skunk and a fox caught on the trial cam.

This one is of a racoon in the vegetable garden.

The vegetable garden is growing well.

A nest high up in the shop - the babies were chirping but we couldn't see them.

Bachelor Buttons blooming.

Our son made a metal decoration for the entrance to our yard.

He has an Etsy store now - Iron Crow Studio.

This one scared our cat - she crept around the pole to see if she could find the intruder cat.

All the best!♥︎