in process

 The last few weeks have been a blur.  We've had an amazing, sunshine-filled three day weekend, which was such a crazy comparison to last year's Victoria Day.  Last year, it rained, sleeted and snowed--I remember clearly because we shot the photos for the Riverbend Garden Hat  during a cloudy moment without rain and both my twins were freezing!

We've been busy with grilling and eating outside, tricycle riding, a trip to the zoo to see the dinosaur exhibit (very fun, but also a little scary) and other good weather excitements.

I'm slowly working on another design--here are some blurry, 'in process' shots.  Stay tuned!

I've also been writing regularly for the local Jewish Post & News, but have found it hard to post those articles here.  Here's one of my recent columns--but you have to scroll down to page 21 to find it!

The other thing is a bit more daunting and less sunny, as we are dealing with a whole new round of medical appointments and check-ups.  Nobody is dying, nothing life-threatening, but I have been spending a lot of time trying to figure out "the system" to address everybody in the family's needs lately.  Whole days seem to drift by and I haven't even gotten to my computer to write, or to knit at all, or...much of anything.  It's hard to be zen about this time sink but I know that these issues are important.  (and twins are much more likely to have health or developmental concerns, it's par for the course.)

In order to cheer myself along, I'm running a sale.  I love it when I know my sale has allowed someone else to afford a pattern, jump into knitting or learning a new thing --all for the price of a cup of fancy coffee... and of course, the small amount I earn allows for extras at our house.  (Extras might include...a gift for the Professor's birthday in June, a chance to have take-out for dinner, or even an extra sack of beans for the Winnipeg Harvest bin... all things that make me feel better about spending my time on the phone dealing with referrals..)

So, I'll let you in on the sale:
I have a 20% off sale going on for all my Ravelry patterns, including my eBook: Three Ply, until June 1st. (ends at midnight, CT)  The coupon code is:

Cankal2016

This sale is to support the Canada KAL, which features Canadian designs and designers.  Learn more here, in the designed in Canada forum on Rav.

Thanks so much for visiting the blog and checking out my work!
 (and stay tuned for a new design--a quick project on the needles never hurts morale either!)

fixing the province?

Here's my latest CBC piece...
It's on how the new Manitoba government can think about making change on the province's big issues:
How will the PCs fix Manitoba's long-standing problems? 

Several folks have asked, so here's a quick note about the fires in Canada:
It has been very dry on the prairies.  We are in no danger in Winnipeg, (just a preventative fire ban) but there are a lot of scary fires far to the west of us in Alberta (Fort McMurray has been in the international news, I'm sure) and there is a fire along the Manitoba/Ontario border far to the east of us.  For now, I am glad to say that today, it's raining lightly here, which is a good thing...

If it is windy, we do get some smoke in the air and haze when there are fires, even if they are hundreds of miles/kilometers away.  For now though, it's nothing to worry about here, so please extend your worries and prayers, if you do that, to the folks who have already been evacuated and maybe lost everything.  Please think of Alberta and do your very best rain dance, please, wherever you live!  Thanks.

Undertow: a hat for strong currents

You may have guessed that I went on a little trip with my family.  My kids had a (long) school vacation for Passover, so we went to see relatives in Virginia.  It was a big adventure, complete with lots of time with grandparents, family, and friends, and many wonderful excitements:

-Metro rides (DC subway)
-a couple of trips to Ayers Variety & Hardware, an old-fashioned store where you can buy real toys for $5 and under that make for ecstatic little boys.  (a slinky, a toy goat, a plastic box turtle, a toy train...and stickers)
-a trip to West Virginia, to my parents' vacation place, to see real animals like deer, a box turtle, a huge wild turkey....and lots of bugs
-A trip to the farm where I used to volunteer and work: (to see turkeys, geese, sheep, a cow, pigs...etc.) 
-The Smithsonian Natural History Museum
-a carousel
and more.

All on the positive side of the list, including my twins, who wowed all the grown ups at two Passover seders with their firm grasp on what was going on, how it should be done, and why.  (they were astounding.  They have good preschool teachers, that is for sure!)

You may be wondering why I have all these photos here of me wearing a woolly hat.  On the "not so positive" side of the list...it rained nearly the entire time we were in Virginia.  This was good, in a way, to show two little prairie boys what a good spring soaking rain can do.  It was green, it was lush, and there were loads of flowers.  It was also cold and wet.  We had our rain coats, but I longed for a hat. (not packed, alas)

We also had the opportunity to pass along world's longest and crummiest head cold.  It laid the Professor low for 2-3 days at the start of the trip, and I am still trying to get over it.  We also had one unfortunate incident on an airplane due to preschooler motion sickness that required a full change of clothing, right down to the underwear...but these things happen... I digress. Now that I am back home...it's sunny and dry here in Winnipeg, with a high of 31C (high 80sF and beyond) today.

Most people don't launch a woolly hat knitting pattern in springtime, I know.  What can I say?  I like to beat the rush?!  Actually though, if you live in a cooler climate, early mornings and late nights can still be nippy, particularly if you are by the water, or at a sports event, or, like me, just walking the dogs.  Here is a quick to knit burst of lush Merino sweetness (or not Merino, if you choose something else!) and it is sized to fit everybody from preschoolers to an XL Men's size.  Good for a whole crowd of chilly folk.

Undertow: a hat for strong currents

Or, maybe it is good in the not-so-cold climates too.  Next time I go way South, on two airplanes, with a passel of kids and a Professor?  I might just find space for this hat.