Things fall apart

OK, deep breath, we've had a bunch of breaking things around here.

Back in January, we had the boiler problems, and it is fully described in this article that just came out in the Vancouver Jewish Independent: Make me a Sanctuary  Well, except for one thing.  Here is the image they used, and well, our boiler is probably at least 50 years old!  (If only our utilities were so small, tidy and up to date!) Hah.

Then we had a problem with my car--at first, the battery was old and the car wouldn't start in the intense cold.  (no surprise, even when it was plugged in.)  But then, this week, I noticed the tires did not look so good, and when that was being dealt with, uhh, the suspension and a wheel bearing all needed to be fixed.  Not actually surprising stuff considering my SUV is nearly 16 years old.  However, that was a pricey date at the auto repair garage! (Think...over $2400. Yup.)

And it snowed a lot, so we had to get the snow off the roof to avoid ice dams. (An hour and three guys up on the roof of a 2.5 story hundred year old house= not free)

Then today, I went to pick up my mom (who is visiting us, hurray!) at the airport, and I lost the parkade ticket for the first time ever, I think.  (charged full rate of $25.)  I am wondering what my next lucrative career opportunities might be, because writers/knitwear designers do not make enough to cover all this!

However, some things can be fixed.  This lett-lopi Bohus-style sweater is one designed by Norah Gaughan that I knit a long long time ago.  (Probably more than 10 years ago.)  I love this sweater.  It was getting fragile.  I washed it.  It came out with big holes in the sleeves.
The benefits of a deep stash?  I found the exact yarn that will match it.  I can fix these sleeves. And I will still have my beloved sweater.  So, some things can be fixed --and the cost of this repair of my sweater?  (free.)  Can't beat that.

A Sale, Slow Fashion and Fun

Thanks for all the kind thoughts about Harry-- we appreciate it and miss him very much.
And now, some knitting talk:
A while back, I wrote about my stash and a sweater I'd just made.  Here's the thing--I made the sweater, and the kid was happy wearing it.  Very happy.  However, I just didn't love the yarn, it felt droopy to me, so I gifted it to my mom in case she could use it.  It went to Virginia.

Time passed and my kid loved the heck out of this sweater, and it stayed in good shape.  However, this year, when he put it on, the sleeves were way too short, and so was the length of the sweater.  (This kid's one long string bean in shape!)
I dug in the stash but could not find the leftovers...as they no longer lived in Canada.  My mom came to the rescue and mailed the yarn back from Virginia...so re-fashioning this sweater cost a lot in international postage.  (Thanks, Mom!)  Here is a quick snapshot of the sweater, with it's new additions.  Note the stripes on the sleeves and two additional orange and blue stripes on the bottom.  I also ditched the seed stitch at the bottom in favor of ribbing, as the seed stitch made it look even more droopy.  Kid is back to wearing and enjoying this enormously.  I still find Rowan Felted Tweed DK a bit limp, but it knits up nicely and has worn very well.

This year, I realized it was not possible for me to be coming up with much to say about slow fashion in October, as I did last year, as I really live it all year round whenever I can.  This sweater remake is a great example.

Also a good example?  My twins were doing horse races in the yard a few days ago after school.  I made their race horses--they are hobby horses.  I doubled old Smart Wool socks with big holes to make those horse heads, and used bits of felt from felted sweaters (from diaper soakers when we cloth diapered) to make their eyes and other features.  The only costs were many hours of my time and the broom sticks from the hardware store.

In honour of Canadian Thanksgiving, I am running a little Ravelry sale on my patterns.  Until October 16th (ends midnight, CT US & Canada), my knitting patterns will all be on sale with the coupon code: Thanks

Also, I've learned recently that my local bookstore, McNally Robinson, has copies of all three of my books available online here, and actual print copies of my latest book, From the Outside In are now available there, too.  So, if you like to do things the old fashioned way and buy your books in person in Winnipeg, now you can!