My Feets Are Tired

Since we’ve been stuck in the house for much too long, we took advantage of the relatively nice weather (a little fog and some welcome sun) this weekend and went walking in the Urban Jungle:


On Saturday we walked downtown, went to Dressew (for a zipper for my pencil case), Murchies (for tea and coffee), lunch at Tsunami Sushi (with the little boats), Chapter’s (for magazines) and home (uphill all the way). Yesterday we went to Blockbuster (for videos), Home Depot (for new rechargeable tool batteries), Best Buy (for phone batteries but they didn’t have them any more so we bought a new phone), Save On Foods (for groceries) and Kin’s Market (for fruit and veggies). Whew! I’m pooped just remembering it all!

One of the magazines (though it’s more nearly a book at 144 pages) that I picked up is another new Stampington issue called “Stuffed: A Gathering of Softies”. Whether you call them softies, plushies or, as I do, stuffies, these totally hit my ugly-cute button. They are all fairly simply constructed (mostly pancake dolls with appendages) and there are general instructions for most and some include patterns. I think the point is not necessarily to copy them anyway but to get inspiration to create your own. There are stories and tips and the magazine is beautifully laid out in a simple uncluttered format. Favourite quote: “Even the most ferocious monsters seem less threatening when you can give them a great big hug!”

Of course all that hoofing around meant that I didn’t get much knitting or sewing done. I did finish the FMQ on my pencil case:


The back is still a bit ratty:


But not too bad. I got much more comfortable with the stitching in the second session. Who knew that it would take a week to make something that should be relatively simple? I’m enjoying the process though so no hurry. Dressew has isles of zippers to choose from and I got the perfect black zipper with heavy bronze teeth in exactly the right length. I’m working on the lining next. I didn’t back the top (like a real quilt would have) but stitched only through the top and the cotton quilt batting because I wanted a separate lining to conceal the seams. I also want to include an extra stiffened piece to create 3 sections inside. Further info as I continue.

With all that walking going on, I haven’t done much more on the knitting front. The socks have a one-week deadline before The Ninja’s birthday party (thrown annually by his MIL!) and I’d like to get the gloves done by then also since Nana is coming to the party. Her birthday is only a few more weeks away and I want to start her another pair of socks. She can always use more! The Seaweed Shawl only gets a stitch or two done here and there so it’s not proceeding very fast. Impossible to knit while walking your feets off, you know. At least for me. My talents only stretch to knitting plain while reading. The streets around here are much too dicey these days to avoid watching your footing at all times. Otherwise you might end up flat on your face instead.

However it was nice to get some sun on our faces after all the snow and then fog we’ve been having. The fog is still there down on the water. I can hear the ships in the harbour almost constantly. Unfortunately now that the sun is shining in the windows I can’t ignore that I need to go vacuum up the monster dust bunnies that have accumulated unmolested. Best get to it.

I leave you with a sign of spring. This is a local witch hazel that I just love because it’s orange instead of the more common yellow. The blooms are just coming out: