Meanderings of a Mermaid

Rejoice Friends! I had a chance to get some expert help and now my new website is published to the web. You can check it out at www.mermaidknits.com  There will be announcements of upcoming knitting class and a heads up for Guild members. Also my designs come up for sale periodically. And I am invited to show pieces from time to time.  There will be lots of pictures of me. Because I give myself permission to show myself.  Me, shaped like a munchkin. What happened to my legs? This is the Rainbow jacket I made this summer. Even celebrities will flock to my website. Be the first one!

 And here are the "after" pictures. Isn't that Canadian Maple just a lovely glowing wood? It matches well with the tumbler of Forty Creek Whisky that sits atop the castle - also a Canadian beauty. So you can see there are two upright posts now, side by side. There are eight shafts and therefore ten treadles. This is part of the expansion from four shafts I mentioned previously. Yes, those are John Deere curtains I made for Mr. They are staying. He suggested that I should weave new curtains. Maybe once these ones fade too much in the sun.  The view is from the left side. In the centre of the shot in the bold sunshine is the box for the new flying shuttle beater. The same box exists on the other side as well. A fancy shuttle with metal tips is propelled by a tug of the cord and races along the "race", across the beater to the other side, where it stops inside the box and awaits my command. This mechanism will speed up my throwing of the weft and also eliminat...

It's time to give thanks for everything and everyone in my life. I don't take anything for granted. Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! In Canada we already celebrated the turkey feast twice: once with neighbours and once alone with all the fixings that had been purchased before we had been invited over to their place.  Now in the US, we will contribute some fresh baked pan rolls and head over to friends for the big feast. I am so thankful for all the friends we have here and there!  Why are you seeing this Tuff Shed image? Well Mr offered me 2/3 of the space inside this beautiful shed, so that I can spread out the crafting studio and truly take over the world. He has offered it before, but now that he is selling his giant motorcycle, there will actually be room in there. So today, if I get the chance, I will start to clear out some of the things and store them in another shed. The shed is very nicely finished out and has two windows that open and the ...

Basically what it boils down to is this. I am very thankful for the most wonderful man in my life, Mr,...otherwise known as BS. BS has enthusiastically taken on two new and widely different lifestyles to be with me. No matter where I drag him, it is usually cold and yet he comes, unflinchingly. I try to keep him warm with hand knits, and teaching him how to layer his clothing properly. I feed and water him routinely, trying to keep him a little larded up against the chill. I am thankful for his good sense of humour and willingness to do all these new things. He's one heckuva guy! He supports me through all the hobbies and schemes I have going. I love him dearly.

 Soon I will be locking up the studio, which is the space upstairs. Imagine the staircase and deck all in a pale silver  stain. I did that this summer. And also imagine all the ground around the studio white. Yup, there is snow on the ground and that means it is time to get out. The road we live on is not plowed, and before any significant amount accumulates, we need to scram out of here. I always miss my studio a lot. This will be my sixth winter spent in the south, Texas to be more precise. I miss the open and flexible floor space I have in the studio. I miss the feeling of being in a treehouse. I miss seeing the lake when I sit on the deck, spinning. I brought a loom from the US that is on wheels, with the intention of wheeling it out on the deck too, but I did not get a chance to try that out.   I also miss all my books. Most of all I miss the tranquility and beauty of the boreal forest and the lake. To have this inspirational setting all around me is wonderf...

Today we lost our beloved female Norwegian Elkhound. A sudden lameness and possibly a tumour in her leg made it very hard for her to get around. Sigi was a fabulous dog and we enjoyed sharing our lives together for nearly thirteen years. Farewell old girl!

   This would be the brash Blue Jay. We normally have around nine at the feeder these days. They generally fight each other for the prime position on the feeder. The losers are left to feed off the ground. Not a bad situation, really.  And this is the Camp Robber! A gray jay, formerly known as the Canada Jay; but my favourite name for it is the Whiskyjack, after my preferred beverage. It's called the Camp Robber because this gregarious, friendly bird will easily come to feed from your hand or snatch things from inside your tent or cabin. A robber disguised as a sweet little thing! We seem to have three of them mooching around the place right now.   And because I can't resist a little environmental destruction, yesterday I created a new trail in the bush. The autumn leaves are still falling and making for lovely scenes on Turtle Bay. The new trail meanders along the shoreline. In the spring parts of the trail will surely be under...