A new article and a holiday week...

I just had a new article come out on the CBC.

It's about Winnipeg's urban density and pollution.  The image they matched with the article, above, is what the light pollution in Winnipeg looks like from above at night.  Wow, that's bright.  If city regulations were tightened up a bit, it might make living in close quarters an easier (quieter?!) experience.

...and we're having a long stretch of time off.  Preschool is over, camp will begin in a week or so, and I am mostly busy with twins.  Plus, two of us are still sick...and one of those is me! (Coughing is not improved by hazy smoke from Saskatchewan and NWT forest fires,either...)

We did go to the Canadian Classic sheep show on Friday, and yesterday we got to visit a friend's farm and enjoy the company of some Shetland sheep, a horse or two, a llama and some chickens.  The professor got me a gorgeous Romney/Texel fleece as an anniversary gift this year..17 years of marriage...  I think he's figured out that every year is the fiber anniversary. :)

Alas, my hands have been too full holding on to four year olds to snap sheep photos, too.  Hope you are having a good Canada Day/July 4th/first week in July!

a drive-by post

It's been a busy time, complete with a a bunch of vaccines (dog and kid), some stitches being removed (from Harry the dog, he had surgery last week, he's fine) and a kid's nasty ear infection.  I've been rushing around from the vet to the pediatrician's office today.  I am beat!

However, here are a couple new articles, one on the CBC online about the province's recent cosmetic pesticide ban...(no secret, I'm in favor of the ban...)

Local food, dandelions, and harvesting the lawn

Another article came out last week, about finding different avenues to prayer.  I actually called it "Davening with the angels," but it's the same article here, under a different name:  (davening means praying in Yiddish)

Finding holiness in different ways

Finally, in celebration of 3 different family birthdays this month, our upcoming 17th wedding anniversary, and the release of my new eBook-- Three Ply--, all my other Ravelry patterns are on sale until June 28th.  They are all 20% off with this coupon code:
June2015sale

OK, that's the news from here!  I'm off to go make tempting breakfast foods for a kid whose ears hurt a lot...and he feels nauseous and hates the taste of the new antibiotic so much that he is yelling "THROW IT IN THE GARBAGE CAN, MOMMY!"  at the top of his lungs.  Gotta admire the volume he achieves, I guess...

Makes writing about dandelions, or better yet, being outdoors admiring them, very appealing about now.  :)

New Pattern and new eBook!

Here's a portion of what's been going on behind the scenes here!  This announcement will hopefully be going out as a press release today...and these have already been (quietly) launched on Ravelry, too!

Introducing a new Yarn Spinner Story + Pattern --Riverbend Garden Hat. The new Yarn Spinner Story + Pattern series allows readers who knit (or knitters who read) two pleasures at once: downloadable short fiction on Ravelry, accompanied by a pattern that stands on its own. This is a sweet combination for thinking knitters, particularly ones using a tablet or smartphone.

An adult learns his mother’s biggest secret.

Riverbend Garden: A Love Story, features a middle-aged man as he rediscovers the familiar is not what it seems. A mid-20^th century teacher, a loving mother, serious gardener and knitter, Dickie’s mom lived an unremarkable, but lonely life. Yet, she has time for one last story; of a dappled river bend garden, an empty marriage, a widowhood, and a student whose love transforms all boundaries.

This story pairs with a hat to fit everyone, from a small child to a grown man. It’s a fast project; knit with super bulky or a doubled worsted yarn. Make an extra to keep others warm; Dickie’s mama would want you to pass one on.

Want more stories?

Three Ply, the first Yarn Spinner Story+ Pattern eBook, is now available for Ravelry download!  It includes three patterns, for a hat, mittens and a cowl, and three stories: Riverbend Garden, as well as The Hole Inside and Knitting for Mother Earth. All three patterns are also available individually for download on Ravelry.

The Hole Inside offers unrequited love from an independent knitter. On a business trip, she’s invited to a knitting group. Settle into a coffee, a college town, and an unsettling surprise from the past.

-Paired with a stranded mitten pattern in 7 sizes, from 2-4 years to XXL

Knitting for Mother Earth catches a young woman on a commuter train. She alerts a fellow passenger to potential danger…and in the aftermath of attempted terrorism, builds a strong bond through knitting.

-Paired with a super bulky cowl pattern, ideal for hand dyed or handspun one-of-a-kind skeins.

If you'd like to check out this new eBook deal right away, click on that "buy now" link, below!  ($15 for three stories + patterns--a discount of more than 25% off the price of the individual patterns.)
As always, thanks for checking out my new design. :) Joanne

Spindle article in Spin-Off!

This issue of Spin-Off Magazine, the Summer 2015, has my article about spindling in it!  It's called 'Slow Spindles?  7 tips for making more yarn.'

 Here are some outtakes--photos that the Professor shot that did not make it into the article.  He took these in the dead of winter.  It was so cold that his camera would freeze up and stop working...Meanwhile, the editor asked if we could catch some shots of me spinning outside!  (Not on your life.  At -20C or below, I require double mitts, and you can bet I am not spinning outside!)

If you have a copy of the magazine, you will see one shot with a spindle on a white background.
That is snow.

Luckily it is warm and green here now.  Whew.  Just when I thought winter would never end...

This is a "spindle" basket, ready to go: I put it over my arm, loaded with fiber, and wander around spinning.  Works very well while watching twins or helping at the Manitoba Fibre festival!

A birthday... and more

My boys are four years old today.  Here they are, modelling my new hat design (pattern to be released soon!) and blowing funny kisses to the camera.  Thank you to everyone who has helped us make it to four years old!

I haven't blogged lately, in part because just keeping up with life seemed hard.  I had some weird snafus; things that got lost in cyberspace, didn't get published, stuff like that.  Nothing major, I let it go, but it meant some things I wrote, time and energy got lost along the wayside.

Recently, I've focused on my work efforts here.  Several readers have asked me to send links to my articles and this allows me to do it one place.  I've started publishing knitting patterns more regularly again after a long hiatus, and the blog allows me to announce them, too.

I'm excited about this focus on my work life, which I'm slowly regaining. On a good week, I get maybe 10-15 hours a week to work. The thing I can celebrate as the boys turn 4 is getting back a little of my professional freelance life back as well.  Twins are all consuming, and in a place where it is hard to access childcare and we have no nearby family, I sometimes spend weeks or months trying to manipulate all the household obligations so I can find time to write and design.  Preschool and summer camp (X two kids) become essential.

Regaining that chance to think, write and produce is crucial for me to be a financially contributing household member and a happier, self-actualized person.  I think this also probably makes me a better mom.  (Now, if only I could get everyone to sleep through the night.  I am bushed!)    

So here's to four!  Here's to new designs, articles, ideas, and creative outlets for all of us!  (The boys' favorite gifts this year included a lot of creative play toys: ukelele, a kid-sized banjo, lego train and rocket sets, balls, books, a play silk, and other wonderful surprises)

Recently published in the Winnipeg Jewish Post & News, on community belonging and ownership:
Building and revitalizing Winnipeg’s Jewish community

Recently published on the CBC Manitoba website--on enforcement (or not) of Winnipeg bylaws:
Navigating Winnipeg parking driving cycling bylaws a dizzying affair