Wasn't that a Party!

This year, I celebrated World Wide Knit in Public Day (WWKIP) in Cambridge, Ontario.

The Cambridge area was once the home of several knitting yarn mills, including Monarch, Galt (Lady Galt yarns), and others, and the textile tradition of here runs deep.

The Cambridge Arts Centre has embarked on a project to recognize this history later in 2010 -- a 'yarn bombing' event they're calling "KNIT camBRIDGE."

KNIT camBRIDGE is a project to completely cover the Main Street bridge that spans the Grand River (?) with knitting. When I told Mom, she said "Oh! A covered bridge!" My Mom has a pretty good sense of humour.

To boost publicity for Knit the Bridge, Sue Sturdy, Artist-in-residence at the Cambridge Art Centre, put together a huge team of volunteers for the 2010 WWKIP, with a view to breaking the Guinness World Record for the number of knitters knitting simultaneously. Fortunately, an event in the Civic Square the night before resulted in some shelter -- enough for several hundred knitters. Dozens of the pieces for the Knit the Bridge project were displayed on a vintage fire truck.

Sue and the team put together a great program, with prizes for numerous categories -- oldest knitter present, youngest knitter present, highest number of generations of one family present (4), and many others. Several pairs of pool cues had been sharpened, and teams of three vied for prizes for who could knit three rows of 10 stitches the fastest. Volunteers were easily spotted by their neon-coloured balls of yarn threaded through lanyards.

There were several speakers present, too. Dr. Karen Dearlove gave an all-too-brief history of textiles and knitting in the Cambridge/ Hespler area (I could have talked to her for hours), and Lynn Spence, from City TV's Cityline was on hand to hand out some prizes and say a few words to the hundreds of knitters in attendance. Steve Robinson, a Federal government employee by day, did a terrific job as Master of Ceremonies for the event.

The weather didn't co-operate fully, but still, hundreds of knitters turned out. A brief shower happened just before the serious knitting began. It was just enough to encourage people to come in under the tents and fill all the chairs.

There were knitters from Newfoundland, Texas, Germany, and Australia. One lady had brought some vintage Barbie doll clothes a relative had knitted in the 1960s.

At the appointed time, with needles at the ready, everyone set to their knitting. I stopped only long enough to sneak a photo of one half of the large tent full of knitters, and discovered that there were knitters almost as far back as the Art Centre!

The Cambridge WWKIP event was superbly organized. At present, they are looking for volunteers to help stitch together the bridge blanket. Volunteers can contact KNIT camBRIDGE at http://www.knitcambridge.com.

To Sue and crew, I send a wave and a big thanks for such a terrific morning!

Everything's OK at CGK

Already this morning I've had an e-mail from a member asking if we survived last night's tornado.

The tornado went through Midland, a town about 40 miles west of where I live. There were warnings for Orillia/Washago, my home area, but, apart from rain and some high winds through our tall white pines, we were safe.

Our hearts go out to the people who lost their homes last night.

My next blog post will be about the WWKIP event held in Cambridge last weekend. Stay tuned!

All the News

I can't believe it's been seven weeks since my last post!

There has been much going on... e-mails and phone calls have been going back and forth with the good folks at A Needle Pulling Thread, and I've been learning more about the workings and writings for a colour publication. We came up with an idea for a complimentary accessory for the project in the Festive 2010 issue, that will be great for gift-giving.

I had my first meeting with Editor Kate and we laid out the plans for the knitting section for A Needle Pulling Thread through to the end of 2011. Now, I need to get writing again. No, still.

The first issue of A Needle Pulling Thread was mailed to Canadian Guild of Knitters last week. It was very exciting to know that a copy of it was sitting in my mailbox, but going there would have landed me in the height of May 24 weekend traffic, so MY glimpse at the new issue will have to wait until tomorrow.

Because of the new system for distribution, I will be mailing out membership renewals under separate cover, so members should look for their renewals in the mail soon. I was supposed to be doing that last weekend, but I was down with the "office cold" which knocked me right off my feet. I haven't been that sick since the last time I had bronchitis!

Retail members recently were shipped a promotional offer from A Needle Pulling Thread, and one of our retailers advised that she didn't receive the flyer in her package. If you fit into this category, please let me know, so I can pass the information along to John at ANPT.

Earlier this month, I managed to get a little update done on the website. It still needs work, but I'm not up to snuff in the html department, so I'm doing the best I can.

On the home front, a lot has been happening, too. On April 27 we welcomed our new little angel to earth. Sarah has quickly become close to our hearts, and the apple of Grandad's eye. In this picture she is two days old, and she is in the arms of her great nana, who we had visit with my mom for Mother's Day.

The day after, I drove to Toronto to Knitter's Frolic, which is hosted by the Downtown Knit Collective. I went as a 'tourist' this year (I didn't have a booth), and visited with a lot of knitters and vendors.

As mentioned above, last weekend I had planned to get a lot of things done, but didn't! Instead, I yielded to sinus pressure.

Apart from baby knitting, I have got a few bits of knitting done. The 'sleeves in your pi' sweater I've been working on for several years is nearing completion -- about 5 inches of sleeve to go. I also needed a 'lace fix' and decided to make a shawl in honour of Sarah's arrival. I chose Haruni, which means 'grandmother' in a language created by JRR Tolkein in one of his books. Since I'm a 'grandmother by proxy', I thought making a shawl that means grandmother in a fictitious language was appropriate.

This past weekend I finally delivered two cardigans for my friend Karen -- one I knitted for her first grandson, and one I made from the leftovers for her second grandson -- they can quasi-match now... This one is Colin's.

Karen and I haven't seen much of each other lately. Between her becoming a grandmother, and running her first MARATHON (!) she's kind of busy. So, it was really great to get together with her and have a two-day visit!

Here we are sittin' and knittin' on Darling's new pontoon boat. Yes, that's Zoey on the back bench!

Yesterday we had the family over. Here are three generations of 'froggers': Grandad, Dad, and Tobias (proudly holding two of the critters while Grandad fetches the third from the net).

Today, I was back in the office, getting some bits cleaned up and getting this long-overdue blog post up. Darling has just called me for dinner (he's a keeper). I hope everyone got to enjoy some lovely holiday weather, and remembered to get some time in for their knitting.

'Tis the Season (to file taxes)

Yes, this weekend I'm in Drudgeryville, making sure all the receipts and entries are in order for the bookkeeper, the tax accountant, and Revenue Canada. No one ever said having a business was glamorous!

But, it's time for a break from the drudgery, and give you an update... The first two submissions for A Needle Pulling Thread are 'in the can', to use film-speak, and the third needs a few more 'details' to satisfy the editor. This one, scheduled for the Festive, 2010 issue will be done by the end of the Easter Weekend.

Back in January, I posted news of a new baby in the family. She, as yet unnamed, will be along in a few more weeks. I finished the little pink number photographed in progress in my January 2 post. Here's the result:

The yarn is Sunbeam Montego.

She will also receive Baby Surprise Jacket No. 5, a 'grown up' number in my modified version, made with navy blue and white marl yarn by Phildar, with fuzzy navy blue trim in Patons' Venus or Valencia (never could get those two straight), and little pewter buttons.

I also started a baby blanket, but since 'Great Nana' made her a beautiful mauve blanket, and Mom has other blankets from child # 1, this effort will probably be put aside for future consideration - perhaps for an expectant niece (in a few years... The one of child-bearing years is going to be like her dear old aunt, I think, and opt out of motherhood.) This project is being crafted from Phentex Merit, in a variation of Grantmother's Checkerboard, a pattern in Knitters' Best of Shawls and Scarves. I adapted the pattern for knit and purl design, and dubbed it "Nanu's Checkerboard", as Darling's grandson calls me "Nanu". I bought the yarn for 99 cents a ball at a department store that is probably now out of business -- perhaps K-mart? (For our American readers, there are no K-marts in Canada anymore.)

All three of these projects are part of a 'stash busting campaign' started late last Fall. The three project so far have used up 12 balls of stash yarn, and so far this year I have purchased only one ball of yarn. I bought it to finish yet another baby jacket (a Carnival Coat by Cabin Fever in their Top Down for Toddlers book) that I made from leftovers of this project, the Basic Cardigan from the same book. Thus, the ratio is 12 balls used to one ball purchased -- a complete first in my world.

Now, I need to clarify, that I *have* purchased more yarn, but it was yarn for yarn reviews and projects for Canadian Guild of Knitters. Business purchases are exempt from the process.

I started the Basic Cardigan in 2006 for a friend's grandson. The good news is that Owen now has a little brother, and if this doesn't fit him (it's a size 4, so the timing appears good...) it will fit his little brother.

Anyway, in addition to being a stash reduction kick, I've been on a project finishing kick. Over the Christmas Holidays, I found about 6 knitting bags with UFOs (UnFinished Objects) in them.

First, I finished the blue and red cardigan, then I picked up the Shetland cobweb project I started for the yarn review in the August, 2009 issue of Knit Together. It's had only a little progress, because it was relegated to the bedside table, and I find it is a bit fine for working in the dim light of early morning with hands that haven't been 'warmed up' for the day. Still, it made a little progress before morning coffee moved to the love seat in the bedroom to watch the bird action on the bay. For that, I have pulled out my Sleeves in your Pi coat in Briggs & Little Anniversary Twist, and am about 1/2 way down one sleeve (with just the sleeves to go).

I also finished off a pair of socks from last summer, and I've been working yet another pair of socks, the Celtic Cable socks by Cabin Fever in Shelridge Ultra. I think I started them in about 2006.

The next UFO to be tackled is the Fair Isle sweater for Darling... but in the meantime, some of the Florida knitting included a scarf and matching hat for him, to ensure he feels he is getting some attention.

Then there's the Celtic Shawl I'm designing that has had SO much attention on my Ravelry Project page. For that, I'm going back to the drawing board and creating a whole new design from scratch.

There are two other UFOs -- a baby sweater from a Sirdar Pattern that I started for Grandbaby No. 1, and a sweater in Patons' Brilliante for moi, but they're a little way down the list, currently, as is the Faroese Shetland Garden Shawl, which met with an unfortunate mishap when I forgot to purl a row, and did about 10 rows in reverse stocking stitch. AARRGH!! It is in its second lengthy time-out.

That's the plan for the remainder of 2010, and still write pieces for A Needle Pulling Thread, spend time with a new "granddaughter" and keep a full-time job. Stay tuned!

Now, I have to get back to the tax man's goodies... yummy.

The Official Announcement

The November issue of Knit Together announced that Canadian Guild of Knitters has made a change with regard to its publication.
Henceforth, CGK members will receive A Needle Pulling Thread with their membership instead of Knit Together.
A Needle Pulling Thread, a multi-craft Canadian publication based in Newmarket, Ontario, recently expanded its knitting section by hiring editor Kate Atherley. Cynthia is pleased to announce that she will continue to communicate with Canadian Guild of Knitters' members in the way of technical articles, designs, and other writing for A Needle Pulling Thread.
This is a value-added matter for members, as they will now receive a 100+ full-colour publication with their membership.

The Knitting Accreditation Program, Random Acts of Knitting, and our branded products continue to be offered exclusively to CGK members; the only change members will see is in the publication.

To register with Canadian Guild of Knitters, visit our website, www.cgknitters.ca
The website is next on our list of things to take care of, so please bear with us if it hasn't been updated before you visit!

Knitting on Location

Usually I try to get some 'on location' photos of me knitting on vacation. Darling usually accommodates, but he's been a bit busy on this vacation because this one has been about BIRDS. Birds, birds, and more birds. And he loves birds more than I love knitting (yup, I know, it can't be done, but he's done it.)

Herons, anyone? More than I have ever seen in my LIFE, and I've seen more herons than a lot of people. First, because I really like herons, and second, because I live on a river where we get two types - the Great Blue and the Green.

Herons are like a lot of birds; simultaneously pretty and ugly. It's kind of amazing how they do that. Herons and woodpeckers have been defined as my 'totem birds' by a First Nation's fellow from the West Coast of Canada. Woodpeckers to represent my strength, and herons because of my love to be near water. He was one smart Salish man!

I do like birds, just not quite as much as Darling. Even for an amateur birder like myself this has been a dream birding vacation... I have seen more green herons in the last four days than I hafe seen in my entire life, let alone as many types of heron. And they're all beautiful! (and ugly)... here's an example: Check out those wing feathers... amazing!

Then there's the little blue heron - one I didn't see before this vacation. There's a photo of him at left, but my program crashed before I could add a photo of my new favourite: the tri-coloured heron... whose neck is the colour of pale amethyst and whose back is just about the colour of rose gold. That and a white tuft of feathers behind the head. Such beautiful creatures!

Then there are the yellow-, and black-crowned night herons... perhaps the more logical for me, because they are hard to find during the day. But, we found 'em!

On the right is a black crowned night heron... This one doesn't have the long, streaming breeding feather that some of the ones we saw did. I've only ever seen these guys in pictures.

At the risk of acting as a tour guide for the United States National Parks system, I have to say, the two I've been to so far are definintely worth the visit... Everglades National Park is a birder's mecca. The Everglades are as much a natural wonder as Niagara Falls. Rocky Mountain National Park is just plain pretty scenery.

True, I'm a flag wavin' Canadian, but it's good to see some of the rest of the world! Besides, a lot of the birds we've seen on this jaunt will be back in Canada within a couple months... Darling just couldn't wait for them to come back, and I'm quite happy to have come along for the ride!

If you DO want to stay in Canada and see a beautiful national park, my favourits so far are Algonquin ( which is about 20% larger than Everglades National Park -- I looked it up) and Cape Breton National Park in Nova Scotia. I'm an equal opportunity national park visitor!!

Absence Alert!

This is just a quick notice to advise that Canadian Guild of Knitters' office will be closed from February 13 through February 28, 2010.

Our phone and e-mail services will be on, and we will respond to your inquiries upon our return.

The latest issue of Knit Together is in the mail now, with stories about a yarn shop in British Columbia, a knitter from Quebec, and a knitting designer from Toronto, plus all the usual features -- yarn and book reviews, etc.

There is a big CGK knitting bag sitting by the door, stuffed with items to knit while we're away!