Hello, Is That You, Summer?

Good Morning Everyone!

The weekend weather may have been a bit of a wash, but I had no shortage of fun. I will admit, I don't necessarily enjoy playing in the rain like I did as a kid, but it's not a deterrent, just ask Bernie. Despite feeling more like November 1 than June 1, on Sunday, a bunch of us loaded up and made our way to Compton Quebec for Julie Asselin's Annual event, Like A Needle In A Haystack. Last year, it was hot and sunny, we brought our own shade (thanks to Carrie). This year, OMG, what a difference!! I had no idea that my biggest decision of the day was going to be how heavy of a wool sweater should I wear? How many layers? Boots? Seriously, mittens? Nothing like 45 degrees with a misting rain and a good stiff breeze, I do like a challenge lol...off we went.

It was a fantastic event, I love smaller venues like this. The crowds are manageable, people are friendly and you get to see how creative others are. I did buy yarn to knit my Flower Child sweater, it's a merino and cotton blend called Gaston. I was able to meet the dyer and talk to him about the inspiration for the color which is Lucy in the Sky. I love this color of blue, it's along the lines of Forget Me Nots, Cornflowers and periwinkle. It's going to make such a lovely summer sweater, now I need to get her into my queue (it keeps getting longer and longer). It's unfortunate the weather was so dreary, we couldn't have our picnic lunch together, we had to sit in the cars. We couldn't hang out and knit, so what did we do? We stopped at the Pine Cone Snack Bar in Richford on the way home to get Creemees! I got my first maple Creemee of the season and was it delicious!! We about froze to death eating them, but it makes for a fun story, the morals being, it's never too cold for Creemees and you can never have too much yarn...

I always have to ride shotgun or drive when in a vehicle, I never outgrew motion sickness, ugh...I am, however, able to do mindless knitting. I worked on my Anita cardigan during our little journey, it was about 4 hours round trip. Even though I'd forgotten my row counting ring, I was convinced I could continue without it. The 6th row is when you drop the knitted stitch down 4 rows and then knit through the back loop, easy peasy. Everything else is pretty much K2, P1 and P2, K1 how hard is that? It's not hard at all, but I realized once I got home, I had an extra row in one of the 6 row repeats (I blame Carrie's driving and the pot holes, lol). Is it noticeable? Not really... Is anyone else likely to detect it? Definitely a hard NO. Did I fix it? YUP... Was I going to? Nope. I'd made another mistake with a stitch and it was so obvious I figured I may as well rip out the extra row while I had my needles pulled out. Of course, I am 100% happier, it does look much better even though it's one of those things I could have easily kept to myself. I'm like the rest of you, I'd wear it, get a compliment, and then immediately point out that 1 extra row. Now all I have to say is, "Thank-you, I made it."

Don't forget to hand in your completed Stitch Every Day in May entries by this Saturday June 7th, I was happy to hear some feedback. I'm thrilled you found it fun and that it gave you "permission" to knit or crochet everyday. It was just that little reminder to take some time for yourself, work on your project, and reflect on your day. I automatically knit everyday, it's what I do, but I know for others, it can be a struggle to carve out some time for yourself. We've learned a lot about self care these past few years. I am a firm believer in finding time each day to decompress and let the weight on your shoulders ease a bit. I also know that sometimes our knitting can be the most frustrating part of the day, but also the most rewarding. For me, I love that knitting can calm my mind, ease the tensions and help me refocus. At the end of all my efforts, there's a garment, pretty cool...

We have World Wide Knit/Crochet in Public Day Saturday, June 14th. We will be meeting from 9-11:00 near the fountain, bring a chair or be prepared to sit on a cold, likely wet (ya know because of that rain), granite bench. I have put in an order for a lovely, sunny morning, but in case we need the rain, we can meet under the bandstand. I feel like I'm forgetting something important, story of my life...I guess if you want to hear about it, join us tomorrow evening, Wednesday 6-7:30 for Stitch and Bitch, maybe I'll remember by then. Make it a great day, enjoy the sun, and I'll see you soon!

Katy