Catching the light

Since the last time I was here....well, time flew by.  We had school vacation until January 7th, and I just relaxed right into doing that.  Any work that got done was sort of accidental.  I did have one odd famous moment though.  I got called by a CBC reporter since I'd written a couple of opinion pieces on infill long ago.  (I guess no one else was in town!)  He asked to interview me, and then I appeared briefly in a TV clip, and a couple of articles.

In case you think that writers are big earners, well, not so much...here's a link to a recent NY Times article that covers how little writers make these days.  (A recent Canadian Writers Guild piece said just about the same thing.  It's depressing.)

I did get paid for my initial columns, but I did the interview because I care about maintaining historic neighborhoods and creating intelligent zoning plans so that developers and architects don't get the chance to wreck the character of hundred year old neighborhoods because they think they are boring.  (How about what I hope for? --quiet, beautiful, and mature?!)

Once school started again on Monday, I threw myself into catching up with work.  I have managed to submit three articles in three days.  (I'm tired.)  It is also a really hard time of year to take photos of anything outside.  When we had a warmish day a while back (think, a high of 30F or maybe -1C!) and it was sunny, I rushed outdoors.  By comparison, it was sunny today....and around -18C or 0F.  With the windchill, it was more like -25C or -13F.  I still walked the dogs twice.  And yes--My kids still had outdoor recess.

In the vestibule between the front door and the inside door, we have a big coat closet area with a bench.  On the bench, you can find a lot of handmade woollies at any moment--just in case you need one.  For this "warm day" photo shoot, I grabbed some handmade things and rushed outside.

These photos are outtakes, but I wanted to share the snow, the sunshine and the warmth.  In no particular order, here are:
Distal (the red handspun shawl)
The Hole Inside Mitts (kid and adult sizes)
Thump Thump Mittens (good for Valentine's Day!)
Due North Mittens (2 pairs)
and one plain jane handspun mitten, no linked pattern, that I spun and knit about 25 years ago.  That pair's still going strong.

Happy winter sunshine, when you can get it...and yes, the snow stays on the ground here from November to April.  It only looks this nice after a snowstorm and before it gets dirty.  You can tell the houses with the kids and dogs because the snow is all trampled, like in these photos.  We take playing in the snow very seriously!

Introducing Nanodistal!

Nanodistal is now live!

 Celebrate the dog days of August with me...with the Distal Trio.

Put Distal, Gigadistal and Nanodistal into your Ravelry shopping cart by the end of August, and spend only $10!  That's $5 off, and it's a chance to knit every version of this Distal Trio at a big discount.  Cause it's summer, and I like treats when it's hot out. :)

Gigadistal is live! and on sale!

Gigadistal is now live!  A new pattern!  Hurray!

And...it's on sale for 50% off. It's $2.50 US until June 28th at midnight.  There's no coupon needed--please take advantage of the sale.

This is a great stashbuster.  I used two yarns: a silk boucle and a dk weight Merino...and knit myself a great transitional piece for all that Manitoba weather we have here. :)  Here are some details about my project...but yours will likely look different, and that is great.

In June, we celebrate three family birthdays and our anniversary.  We've also had one abbreviated trip to the Rockies, one mom at home alone with twins and 2 dogs, 3 medical appointments and one ambulance/emergency room visit so far this month.

 (Everyone is ok now.  We're good...just medically active.  I promise.  It's a story for another time.)

So, I needed a little pick-me-up.  We had a photo shoot.  I had helpers.

Please come check it out! 

New Article & Boxing Day Sale!

Here's my latest article on the Manitoba CBC website:
Gifting Experiences--Not Things

Note: That's the title I gave the article when I submitted it...but while the article itself is largely what I wrote, editors usually choose the headlines.

My article talks about making things for people, volunteering and sharing experiences with those you love instead of buying lots of wide screen TVs.  In terms of experiences, I want to enable people to make things, of course! Until December 31st at midnight (EST), my knitting patterns on Ravelry are on sale.

20% off all my patterns with the coupon code:
boxingday2014

Since my patterns are in "cost of a cup of coffee" range anyway, I think that counts as purchasing something towards a positive knitting experience.  I did start the sale itself on Boxing Day, but due to the winter break demands of preschooler twins (one with the sniffles), I've been delayed in posting here.  If you'd like up-to-the-moment info on Ravelry sales, please consider joining my Rav group. It would be wonderful to see you there...and if the group were a bit more talkative!

I'd also like to wish everybody who reads this a warm, happy and healthy 2015.   Wishing you all good things in the year to come.

Take good care,
Joanne

Distal: again?!

 
 The temperature dropped.
The sun sparkled off the snow.
I raced outside to take better photos of my handspun shawl...
Distal.

 About 14 photos later, my camera stopped working.

It was too cold!

(my hands, without mitts, got a little cracked, too.)

So here it is, about -14C (9F), warmed up from -21C this morning.

 Look---there I am, shooting the photo!

Happy Hanukah!
Stay warm. :)

PS: Last night was the first night of Hanukah.  Not only did our twins sing the blessings (first time!) but they sang two songs that they learned at school, too.  It was great!  Almost as great as the wooden train set they got as a present...but not quite...

PPS: And the takeout fish & chips (fried in oil) was pretty good, too.  That was Mommy's gift!

Distal #2 and another article

 Here's my most recent CBC opinion piece...this one is positive, for a change.  (feedback seems to indicate that while readers want positive pieces, editors don't usually want to publish them!) 
Ode to Winnipeg Tradespeople

Also, here's my second crack at Distal, my newest pattern.  This is my handspun yarn, a 2 ply Harlequin and longwool.  The fiber and yarn are at least 15 years old, I think.  It's been marinating in stash a long time! The pattern is on sale for 20% off until midnight tonight on Ravelry, as well.  The photos are terrible because we had a fog advisory all weekend.  When you can't see the tops of any of the high-rise buildings, it does not seem like a good time for a photo shoot, so I stayed inside. The yarn is a rich, textured red and someday maybe we'll catch a better shot of it.

I'm also almost afraid to say this...but we're all virus-free at the moment and I've almost stopped coughing from the last one.  This has resulted in several nights of reasonable sleep (only one twin wake up last night!).  It seems too good to be true.  On that wholly good note, I'll leave it before things get out of hand.  It's only a matter of time before the luck runs out.  be well!  Stay warm! 

Distal sale and more

When I finished and posted my new pattern, Distal , last week, I felt a big let down.  Although I've been slowly working on several other knitting projects, I missed the rush of producing something new, something creative, and--most of all--something fast.  The solution was two-fold:

First, I cast on again.  A new one!  Hurray!  This time, I used a hand spun heavy worsted weight 2 ply yarn (4 sts=1" on a size #8(5mm) that has been marinating in my stash for a long time.  From notes I took in the pre-blog days, I think this was one ply Harlequin wool and one ply of Wensleydale or Lincoln long wool.  The Harlequin was a soft, marled brown/gray/white yarn that I spun woollen and felt would not last long on its own with any sort of hard wear; hence I plied it with something more durable, coarse and spun more worsted style.  Then, I dumped it into the dyepot and fell in love with the deep textured color that emerged.  I saved about 800 yards of this stuff--forever.  Well, not forever, but best I can tell, I bought these fleeces from 1997-2000.  I think this yarn has been in stash for 15 years.

Second....I decided to offer a sale.  Follow this link to get 20% off Distal from now until December 15.  (sale ends midnight, EST)  I'm hoping to sell a few patterns.  Based on rough estimates (cost of tech editing, yarn price, my time @ local minimum wage, etc.), I need to sell about 35 patterns at $5 to break even.  So, if you're tempted, please, knit a Distal!  It's fast!  It's a good gift...and it's on sale for even less than $5, too!

Last up, I had another essay published this past week on our local CBC website.  I'd clarify, before you click over, that I wish the income disparity between rich and poor in our society wasn't so great...but as long as somebody is going to earn $300,000 for a lecture, well, it might as well be an elder with amazing professional experience--that is, a woman with sound credentials.

That's most of the news from here.  We've been passing around cold viruses mostly...I'm thinking we should rename Autumn or Fall to "Getting Cold" or "Falling Sick" or maybe just "Virus?"  :)

Distal: A Shawl for Winter

dis·tal

ˈdistl/

adjective

Anatomy

adjective: distal

1. situated away from the center of the body or from the point of attachment.

   "the distal end of the tibia"

A while back, my professor was doing some research concerning the distal-less gene in butterflies and moths.  I must have proofread a paper draft or attended a lecture...but in any event, I learned a new word. (definition above)

About a week and a half ago, I picked up some lovely Létt-Lopi yarn that I bought last winter at a yarn fire sale. ($1 a ball!)  I had three skeins in the same color and dyelot.  I also had an idea in mind.  My mom wove me a wonderful shawl out of my handspun brown wool yarn several years ago.  She wove it on a triangle loom from Hillcreek fiber studio.  I've worn it to death and it is beginning to pill and show its age.

I wanted a handknit version--and I started knitting. Maybe 10 hours later, I had a shawl.  It was stunningly fast for me, given the twin lifestyle around here.

Here's the result.  I cast on Monday and I bound off on Friday.  It was blocked and ready to go by the middle of the weekend, and the pattern practically wrote itself.  My lovely tech editor, Donna, reviewed it at the speed of light.

 

I present: Distal -- a shawl for wintertime...#10(6mm) needles, about 327 yards of Aran weight yarn, and only a few hours of knitting...a perfect combination for this time of year.  Published on Ravelry yesterday; wore it on my dog walk at 7pm this morning.  Knit fast!  Stay warm!