along the waterfront trail

On an afternoon walk by the waterfront trail I managed to snap this picture of one of the fox cubs before it disappeared into the lair. Cute, huh? Too bad my pictures of the local groundhog aren't worth posting. The groundhog was not moving far from the burrow - probably protecting a litter of young ones - and almost deafened us with high pitched whistles when we approached.

I've received another large donation of yarn from the ladies at the local community centre - this time a bag of bulky acrylic yarn. It's all from the same dyelot in an off white shade and there's about 800 yds. It's not a yarn I would have purchased for myself but when I saw it I thought "Umaro". Oh dear, my queue just gets longer and longer.

uncertainty

This morning I woke up with the conviction that I was going to rip out this blanket and start again. I had convinced myself that this blanket was coming out too small and had decided that I would spread it out, make a photo and then start unraveling.

But when I spread it out, without stretching or tugging to distort it, the blanket measures 28" on the width. And I'm lead to believe that the yarn relaxes and blooms in the first wash, so I expect the blanket will grow to about 32" wide. Maybe more; some Ravelers report that their finished items end up "scary huge". It's possible that after machine washing, tumble drying until just damp, and then blocking, that the blanket will be more like 34 to 36"wide.

It's tough, isn't it, the not knowing part? But the only way to be absolutely sure is to try it, so that's what I'm going to do. One thing's certain: I'm going to measure and record the dimensions in my Project notes on Ravelry before washing, after washing and after drying. After all, maybe someone else can benefit from my experience.

peeps

Over at Wandering Cat Yarns they've just announced their Summer Stitchalong. The rules?
• you must be a member of the Wandering Cat Yarns Ravelry Group
• entries must be knit or crocheted from Wandering Cat Yarns
• must be completed between May 23rd and September 5th
• project type must start with an "S" ... socks, scarves, shawls, etc.

Count me in! I've got my Alley Cat BFL at the ready in this cute "Peeps" colourway and I've picked out my pattern. I'm thinking of these as Silly Summer Socklets, but first I need to finish my herringbone ribbed socks!

cold and damp at the zoo

Yesterday was the last of the few days I had booked off work. Our planned trip to Rhode Island for an Eastern Surfing Association competition fell through when some family stuff came up, so the vacation turned into a "stay-cation". I wasn't very lucky with the weather - damp, cold and rainy - but yesterday we decided to get out and do something out of the ordinary for my last day off. We settled on a trip to the Zoo.

The Toronto Zoo is just up the street from us, but we seldom go because it's very expensive. Don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining about the admission price. I can't even begin to imagine what it must cost to feed all those animals, see to their health and well-being, and maintain all those habitats. A few of those massive pavilions were heated and humidified to tropical conditions - that's got to cost!

Because of the weather we spent most of our day in the various pavilions looking at fish, reptiles and bugs. The tigers were outside pacing the edges of their enclosures, but they looked extremely annoyed with the rain and the mud. Most of the other outdoor animals were hanging out in sheltered areas, looking none too happy either.

A couple of months ago Bob Barker was in town, promoting the transfer of the three elephants of the Toronto Zoo to an elephant sanctuary in California. We didn't visit the elephants on our trip to the zoo, nor do I think the absence of elephants would affect my likelihood to visit again, but one thing's for sure: California's got to be a better place for elephants than here. I just hope the board of the Zoo is listening!

the new moon in Taurus

With the new moon, it's time for a TUSAL update. Turns out, not much has changed in my little jar. With russian joins as I switch balls on this blanket, no ends have been created so far. And with my Herringbone rib socks still progressing slowly, no ends there either. Thinking back, I used every inch of scrap yarn on my Lopi sweater to complete the seams, didn't I? More often than not, I was digging out scraps from my TUSAL jar to tie off skeins of Lopi before washing instead of adding anything to the jar.

Astrologers tell us that the new moon in Taurus means that "available energy moves from the inspirational to the practical." The seeds that were planted last month take root and experience solid growth. Hmm, maybe. I do seem to be knitting the things in my queue rather than adding to my queue. Socks are being knit, blankets being completed, Lopi yarn being washed and knit. And as a result the pile of finished objects for the September shipment of the Warm Hands Network is growing. All good.

shopping highs and lows

Although the Frolic ran Saturday and Sunday, the marketplace was only on Saturday so Shirley and I were out of luck. MUST. READ. FINEPRINT. MORE. CAREFULLY. Fortunately, even on a Sunday there are lots more yarn shopping options in Toronto. Within minutes of our initial diappointment we were back into the car, headed towards the Purple Purl. And as you can see, I was able to pick up most of the items on my shopping list. Needles for hats, needles for sweaters, and yes, some sock yarn too!

The yarn is Viola sock yarn in a Robin's Egg colourway. It's very softly multitonal and I think it'll be perfect for Bayerische socks. Or maybe something fun and lacy instead? Sounds like a good excuse to wander through the Ravelry database looking at sock patterns, doesn't it?

the frolic

In just over an hour I'm picking up Shirley and we're heading to the Frolic - the Downtown Knit Collective's annual event. The marketplace at the Frolic gathers a wide assortment of local vendors; that's what were going for. This morning I prepared my shopping list:

i) a ball of Jojoland Melody superwash so that I can finish my latest scrappy lengthwise scarf

ii) needles for another Lopi sweater. I've decided to knit the next one in the round, but I don't have circs nearly large enough

iii) needles for the planned fleeced earflap hat(s)

And if some sock yarn happens to fall into my shopping basket, I'm going to try to make sure there's enough yardage in a subtle enough colourway for some Bayerische socks.