White Tree of Gondor Cup Cosy

I finally finished a cup cosy my husband asked me to make for him; it took me 2 weeks. Why? I offered to build him a house out of Popsicle sticks, he asks for the Taj Mahal. He wanted the White Tree of Gondor. I took the simplest chart for the White Tree of Gondor I could find on Ravelry. I painstakingly used 2.5mm knitting needles with yarn that requires 4mm needles; therefore, the fabric was nice and dense. I had to use a magnifying glass and my powerful OTTLITE to sew it together seamlessly. I used a beautiful silver yarn from my stash for the tree. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out!

         

Flattened before sewing         

 

David Bowie No More

The world lost a bright light on Sunday.  Just 2 days after his 69th birthday when he released his 25th album, David Bowie succumbed to cancer after an 18 month battle.

I did this picture of David Bowie in acrylic back when I was 18 in high school. I had bought a couple of books on David Bowie's life at that point in time because he was one of my all time favourite artists. The picture in the book was black and white, but I had seen his video for "Blue Jean" on MTV (I know I'm dating myself), and did it in shades of blue.

Projects Done - Time to Post

At long last I can post projects I had completed for Christmas.  We're still working on Christmas and New Year's clean up and trying to get back to some semblance or normality.

The first item was a baby bee outfit for a friend of a friend.  She gave me some idea of what she wanted but no one outfit had everything, so I improvised and created my own version.

  

The second was a couple of caffeine cup cosies for in-laws.  Again, my own creation with my son's help.  I was so busy with work, I needed to enlist his help.  He actually did the crocheting of the base units themselves.  I later added the button loop and beads and embroidery.

"Super" Shoes

When my husband went to Fan Expo in Toronto this year, he bought the coolest shoes for me.  The company is called Sexy Strut and can found here http://www.sexystrut.com/15/.  It was a custom order because they didn't have my size in flats at the show.  It took a while to get them because they had to go through a "rubberization" process to waterproof them.  They are absolutely gorgeous!

    

  

  

Warm Glow in Cold Weather

Despite the side effects from Hurricane Patricia we've been experiencing (cold temperatures, strong winds, heavy rain), there is still one rose left on my rose bush going strong.  Nature is amazing.

I now have a miniature garden inside, too, which I purchased from a friend at the dojo.  I adore succulent plants!  She did such an amazing job with this.

To further sustain me in these weather conditions, there is of course my knitting.  My physiotherapist recently commissioned a pair of socks from me.  I used a beautiful ombré yarn for it - Lion Brand Landscapes in colour Tropical.

Pumpkin Time Again

About a month ago, my son stated he wanted to make crochet pumpkins as Halloween decorations.  I found a pattern that used cluster stitches.  He could do it but found it very difficult to manage.  I found it difficult as well.

So I did some more searching and came up with a couple of other patterns.  And here they are in all their glory; some with eyes, and some without.  Note the long tendrils on the tiny ones so they can be hung. Change the colour and they become Christmas ornaments.  I love multifunction patterns.

 

The mini pumpkins can be found here:  http://www.allfreecrochet.com/Halloween-Crochet/Mini-Pumpkins

The medium sized pumpkins can be found here:  http://www.petalstopicots.com/2012/10/little-pumpkin-crochet-pattern/

The large cluster pumpkin can be found here:  http://www.yarnspirations.com/pumpkins.html

Waterton Lakes National Park

It was our first visit to Waterton Lakes National Park. This tiny town exists on the park grounds and operates for about 4 months of the year. We took a ferry across one of the lakes to Montana. A lot of people do this type of excursion and spend a day or more hiking. When we returned from our short boat trip, we visited the Prince of Wales hotel, also on the park grounds. It definitely abounds with old-world charm.

 

 
 

Saskatoon Farm

This was our first time visiting Saskatoon Farm. We picked Saskatoon berries and sour cherries - yummy! The scenery was breath-taking.

Drumheller Revisited

It’s been 7 years since we first went to the Royal Tyrrell Museum with the kids. It was great to be back! It’s still my favourite museum. After our museum visit, we took one of the walking trails through the Bad Lands.

Now they rule the Badlands

Slipper Repair

We bought a fairly expensive pair of moccasins for my son from L.L. Bean. The moment he put them on his feet, one foot burst open. I returned it immediately claiming it was defective.  They were very good about it and exchanged it without hassle. The next pair arrived and didn’t burst immediately; however, a couple of weeks later, they burst, too. I was really disappointed.  We never had issues with the quality of their products before. Even though shipping was free, after paying duty, taxes, and with the exchange rate, what began as a fairly expensive pair of moccasins became a very expensive pair of moccasins. I was therefore very determined to get my money’s worth out of them and repair them myself.

Never underestimate the power of crochet.  With one 4mm hook and a bit of yarn (and needle and thread), the moccasins have been saved.

I began by doing an initial row of single crochet in the existing lacing.  I worked back and forth for a few rows.  I did fewer rows in the toe area for shaping purposes.  Then, I crocheted a few rows along the side of the work to extend the length that meet the leather thong that tied up the top of the moccasin.

 

When I got to the thong, I incorporated it into a row of single crochet. Therefore, the thong could still be adjusted while my crochet work had an anchor. Finally, I sewed my crochet work to the top of the moccasin. Success!