Working Weekend

Well, there was some pleasure in it also! On Friday my friend Lauren and I went out to Langley to a yarn sale at 88 Stitches. It’s always fun to check out what a shop carries that’s different from the ones usually frequented. The staff were very welcoming and for the first day of a sale, it wasn’t crowded at all. I got away with under $100 worth: sock yarns in bamboo, bamboo/cotton and superwash wool plus some baby yarn and an impulse buy (thanks to some encouragement!) of Berroco’s Seduce in shiny gold. The latter will hopefully become a warm-weather necklace-type scarf. Now I know why they call it “Seduce” because it’s such a shimmery, slinky, luxurious yarn. And of course something that I can’t spin myself, which is my biggest criterion for yarn purchases. I’m now regretting not buying more of the On Your Toes bamboo sock yarn. It’s so seriously yummy. I got 2 balls of white so I can try to dye it, even though it’s a cellulose fibre plus nylon which dyes like wool. I plan to try it with Procion MX and see what happens. I want a deep warm brick-red.

One other thing I got (not on sale but cheaper than ordering it overseas) was the little booklet “Whimsical Little Knits” by Scottish designer Ysolda Teague. It’s even autographed! I was going to design my own version of the little scarfy-shawl Ishbel but now I have the pattern and the one for the matching beret. They would be a great use for the bamboo sock yarn, yes? I think I have enough! There are quite a few other cute patterns in this booklet too (little Mousie makes me wish I still had cats) so I’m sure I’ll be using it often. Ysolda is an amazing knitwear designer and she’s still so young! I know she will be one of the future big-name knitting “rock stars” since she seems well on the way there already.

So I got absolutely no knitting done on anything. I spent the whole weekend outside in the garden because the weather was lovely and mostly sunny but not hot. I got most of my deck pots planted – or at least partially planted – with the summer flowers. I also got the herb bed tidied up. But mostly I planted stepping stones which is a slow process. There’s still a whole bunch of them to go. At least once they’re in they are pretty much permanent. Did I mention that one of our neighbours gave us a bunch of smaller stones in a similar type that were left over from his path-building efforts? There should be enough to finish the garden now. He saved us from another trip to the stone supplier and about $50. Nice neighbour, huh?

T got a good chunk of the side fencing done while I was digging in the dirt. He couldn’t find the crushed limestone he likes to put in the posts so had to use a quick-setting concrete instead. This fence is not going anywhere! Hopefully it will be the last time we have to rebuild it in our lifetimes. Now he needs more wood before he can carry on. It’s never-ending, I swear.

I hope everyone who is a mom had a lovely Mother’s Day and those who still have a mom managed to tell her how much she is appreciated! I called mine and we had a lovely chat. Since we usually email it was nice to talk more freely and for much longer. Both my kids called me while I was out in the garden so I had messages on my answering machine to reply to. T-Man talked to his mom too so the day was duly celebrated without resort to cards or flowers! Neener-neener, Hallmark.

The grand-beasties are coming over shortly so I’d better get my weekend’s worth of dishes washed. I need to pass on some more of my plants for their veggie garden. I still have way too many tomatoes! It’s raining today anyhow so I get an enforced rest from planting rocks.