Life LackaDaisiCal

Remember the song? We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave! (I think you have to have a fruit basket on your head, and be wearing a sarong while you sing this for the full effect!) Well, it's been quite the change in climate here -- last week I was freezing, wearing a jacket, and wondering where the good weather was! Yesterday and today, it's in the 30's (Celsius), so for those of us who are still in Fahrenheit mode, that's the high 90's!!!! And of course, my air conditioning isn't working....well, it's working, it's just not cooling anything! (a moot point) So, last night, Daisy and I "escaped" to the basement, to the "yarn studio" as I call it in my more creative moments. Lorraine posted a photo of where she knits, and dared others to follow suit.....so here goes. This is what it looked like BEFORE I tidied up. Well, it doesn't look much better now that it's been tidied LOL! When Daisy wants to get to her favouri...

While googling around, I came across this fellow blogger -- Wendy in Shetland! Turns out she is the amazing person who creates Burra Bears! Little bears made out of recycled Fair Isle sweaters. She uses old sweaters, or waste bits from the Shetland knitwear factories. Fabulous Idea! She sent me a link to the "Shetland Arts & Crafts" web site -- click on through and take a virtual shopping trip in Shetland, browse to your hearts content. (Burra Bears are on the "Home and Gifts" page.) Every blog entry deserves a photo..... a shot taken of the Shetland coastline -- you can almost feel the salt spray on your face!

Little did I know that the stitch markers that I had Vall make up for me would be so popular! First, there was Lorraine who just had to have some just like mine!!!! Now I'm "consulting" on stitch markers for another project. What do you think? I think they look lovely -- and they match the yarn perfectly. (Of course, I am biased LOL!) I do think that little touches like this really make the whole experience special! OFIC - Erin Update After major brain work (which isn't easy let me assure you) I've decided to do Erin EXACTLY as written -- no alteration at all -- well, maybe one little alteration at the shoulder, but we'll talk about that when I get there! Erin is designed with the traditional drop shoulder - and I had considered making a shaped arm hole. After trying on all of my sweaters, ones with shaped underarms, and ones without -- I decided that for a cardigan like this, it didn't seem to matter much (for me) - this might be different for you -- ...

If you came across this - you'd probably jump to the conclusion that someone had attacked my knitting -- maybe this little cutie! Not so! I'm not fussy on housework in general, and dusting and vacuuming are particularly annoying! Usually, vacuuming is done by a very experienced vacuum person -- but since that person has been unavailable, I decided to do it myself today! What has this got to do with the pile of yarn snippets above! Well.... Yes, I had to cut that yarn off of the beater bar! So much for Mr. experienced vacuum person LOL! I can't complain, or he might quit vacuuming! Bloggers, er - Beggers can't be choosers! I choose too keep quiet, not complain, and hope someone doesn't read this! Forever Erin Onward -- I'm at the underarms -- update photos soon!

Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball I seem to have this love hate relationship going with Oprah. Sometimes I watch her show and think that she's gone way over the top with her power, she's pompous and full of herself.....then there are times when I just feel it so deeply, like tonight WOW! She admitted it -- giving everyone diamond earrings was over the top, but why not! What a spectacular way to acknowledge those who came before you, who led the way, who inspired you, and who opened the doors. The poem that was written and spoken by the "young uns" as she called them, in honour of the Legends, was so moving, and definitely deserved to be repeated at the Black/White ball. The only thing I have to say to the negative is, surely you could have done without Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes! Diane Sawyer said that it was one of the most spiritually moving events she'd ever been at -- I was watching it on TV, a year after the fact, and I was moved -- the luncheon, an elegant ...

Saturday Night at the Movies....... "A Sound of Thunder", released in March of 2006, yet it was buried in the "Action" section, not where the recent releases are displayed -- my first warning that maybe this wasn't the greatest of movies LOL! Here's the synopsis from Blockbuster.... In 2055, the elite travel agency, Time Safari Inc. has cornered the lucrative time-traveling market. There are only three essential rules: Don’t change anything in the past; don’t leave anything behind; and most important, don’t bring anything back. The slightest alteration might impact the existing course of evolution in ways that no one can imagine. Time Safari Inc. is the hottest ticket in town… until the unthinkable happens. Someone breaks the rules. Threatened on all sides and fast running out of time, Ryer and Rand must find a way to go back and correct whatever catastrophic error was made, to save themselves and the human race from certain extinction. Ben Kingsley plays th...

Well, instead of watching movies, I've been watching the final episodes of TV shows that I haven't watched regularly -- go figure! Last night it was the Will & Grace final show ever, at the same time as the season ending show of CSI was on. What's a girl to do when her hands are fully occupied with her two-handed fair isle project? Well, you tape one and watch the other. But when a commercial break happens during the one you are watching, you flip over to the other to see whats going on over there. It makes for a fairly nerve wrecking time, but I did manage to get some knitting done. Here's Erin -- I've finished one repeat of all of the charts. There are a few shades in this design that are strictly used as accents on lines in the two checkerboard patterns. I can see that they add to the design -- they aren't obvious, but they do add to the overall don't you think? (I bet you can't really see them in this photo right?) While watching Will & Gr...

Last night I finished the first motif of Erin -- the large Celtic dog motif that is repeated 3 times on the body of the sweater -- here it is..... Yes, that's Daisy's little foot showing at the top left-- she thinks that every time the camera comes out, she should be in the picture! You can see that the stitch markers I'm using match the project perfectly, (I love it when that happens!) and it IS inspiring me to finish each round. Thank you Vall! I've got a few days of uncluttered time coming up, so I'm hoping to make some major progress on Erin -- and I'll post regularly to keep myself on track. Also, I'll be doing some serious movie watching......like last night, I watched Nanny McPhee. This was a cute movie - with a cast that you will recognize - Emma Thompson as the Nanny herself (and she wrote the screen play adapted from "Nurse Matilda" books). I didn't realize that she had written the screen play for "Sense & Sensibility"...

Thank you all for your guesses, and thanks especially to Lorraine who is still complaining about how cruel I am -- remember Lorraine, the Complaints Department is closed - permanently! LOL! But Vanessa from Florida guessed it -- yes, it's Erin from the Celtic Collection book. Vanessa's "sheepy thing" will be on it's way to her tomorrow -- let us know when you get it Vanessa! I'm not going to say what it is, until Vanessa gets it -- I want it to be a surprise for her. Erin is a totally radical fair isle -- originally done in Rowan yarns (discontinued yarns and shades from long ago) -- so I got out my old Rowan shade cards and converted it to Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift shades -- there are absolutely gorgeous shades in this design and I've always wanted to knit it. My original photo of this showed my knitting with little yellow elastic bands as markers -- but I had to have special markers for this fabulous design, to help keep me focused and on the...

COMPLAINTS DEPARTMENT? Closed - Permanently So Sorry! (well, not really) Brigitte thinks I may be knitting "Windsor Waistcoat" -- WRONG AGAIN! You're right Brigitte, Windsor Waistcoat would suit me perfectly, but why would I be knitting Windsor Waistcoat when I have one to wear, it fits me perfectly and I didn't have to knit it! This photo was taken when I was in my "strong studious woman glasses"phase -- I've moved on to lighter frames! Lorraine knit this one for her DH, but somehow it seems to reside at my house more than at hers....well, what can you do. Happily knitting away on ?????????

Jewel guessed that my Summer Project is "Morning Glory" from the "Stillwater" book, by Alice Starmore. You can see a recently completed Morning Glory, knit by Peggy, on my "Gallery" page of the SEK web site -- www.sheeweknits.com/gallery.htm NOPE! WRONG! SORRY Jewel! I'm not going to post an update photo until I've got a good bit of this sweater on the needles, or until someone guesses which design I'm knitting up. Be the first one to guess and I'll send you a little sheepy something! (Of course, some people are ineligible to guess -- even if they don't know what I'm knitting -- because they are closely "affiliated" with my knitting LOL! - Lorraine -- this means you! Sorry!) Happy Guessing!

Oprah last Thursday showed how Crayola crayons were made -- and Crayola very nicely made her a whole box (a large 64 crayon box) of "a color purple" purple crayons -- specially made just for her! (They had asked her what her favourite colour was, and she had replied that there was no other colour than "the color purple".) Well, after she's got the purple crayons in her hands, she then says that her absolute favourite colour is green, young grass green to be exact! Well, the Crayola lady - you should have seen her face -- they ask the big O, she tells them what colour she likes, they custom make the shade she said was her favourite shade, and then on air, she tells them that she likes GREEN! I really like Oprah -- she does some amazing things and has opened my eyes to a lot of what goes on in the world. But, I think that woman had better realize that the world doesn't revolve around what she likes -- watching her show lately has made me think that maybe she...

It's been a few days since I last visited "Shades of Shetland" -- and I have a few updates on previous posts..... "To Guild or Not to Guild" update - congratulate me -- I'm the "Newsletter Editor" for the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitters' Guild -- wish me luck is perhaps better. I've not been that great at deadlines since I "retired" from the corporate world - this might get me back on track. "My Other Guild" update - I didn't report on Lily Chin's presentation. Lily is always entertaining - so full of energy. This photo was taken from our usual vantage point in the Toronto Y meeting room. (Lorraine, Brigitte and I sat together -- with a row of rowdy knitters behind us (I won't name them unless I have to!). Above, you see Lily making a point, her presentation behind her, and a selection of her sweaters for us all to look at, touch and fondle! The abbreviated Coles Notes of her presentation (to me) - inspiration...