Habitat

I couldn't help myself. I knit Greg another toque. I love the Habitat pattern. I had a skein of grey Lopi and I had exam studying that needed to be put off. And so, I knit.

After the first of my four finals, my friends convinced me that the best place to study over the weekend was at a farmhouse on the Bay of Fundy. I did study, and when the studying was done, I finished the toque. I rushed to finish it, actually, because we planned a study break walk alongside the Bay of Fundy and it was frigid out (and maybe by "rush," I mean that I took a study break to knit).

[Greg wears the toque below]

If You Build It, They Will Come

I had several 3/4 balls of wool and was racking my brain trying to figure out what to do with them, and then it came to me: I need to knit baby-sized things. There are no babies in my life, but I figured, not improbably, that if I knit baby-sized things, someone will eventually have a baby. In honour of one of my sister's favourite childhood books, I knit Saartje's Booties in red red wool.

Sartorialist Archive

(found here: November 29, 2007 and here: Janury 14, 2007)


(found here: January 14, 2007)

Sartorialist Archive

(found here: November 20, 2007)


(found here: November 21, 2006)

Edward Street Apple Butter (2010)

And again, for the third year in a row, I am making apple butter to give to the people I love for Christmas. Apple butter is messy and time-consuming and noisy to make. But, it's spicy and my mum loves it and I can't think of anything better to give or to receive than a handmade gift.

The Sweater That Took Three Years to Knit

(my roommate Aurelie is modelling it here)

This sweater started at Birkeland Brothers back in September of 2007 when I bought 8 skeins of Berroco Peruvia in grey. I had in mind a different sweater to knit, but changed my mind when I came across the Drops Jacket pattern. I started the actual knitting a year later, after I'd left Vancouver for Halifax and was living in a lonely one bedroom apartment. Although I don't like starting one thing before the last is finished, I knit several other things (including a whole different sweater) before casting off and seaming this jacket in August of this year.


By the end, I tore apart and reknit so much of this that I could have knit two other sweaters. But, that's part of the process, and in the process, I'm learning patience.

The Good Lovelies

I first heard the Good Lovelies a couple of years ago when I joined my friend Teresa for their show during the In the Dead of Winter festival in Halifax in 2009. These ladies were fun and their music joyful. The Company House hosted them again last Tuesday, October 26th.


(photo found here)

The show was again a two-set night of hilarious stories (they must practice beforehand, they're so well-timed and funny) and heart-swellingly uplifting songs. I've never thought of myself as a bluegrass fan, but if this is bluegrass, I am.

These last days of October

bring early nights and cold, cold wind. But there's still some time for the kids down the street to get some sidewalk chalking in before winter sets in.

The Khyber Side

By Michelle SaintOnge

Sartorialist Archive

(found here: January 12, 2007)


(found here: September 12, 2006)

The Wilderness of Manitoba

The Wilderness of Manitoba played at the Company House for the Halifax Pop Explosion last Thursday. I told everyone I knew about the show and brought along as many friends as we could fit into our taxi. Other friends who'd already seen them spread the word as well. I've seen them play a couple of times already and am invariably moved by how beautiful they sound:



They played with Acres & Acres, Christina Martin, and Erin Costelo.

[Full disclosure: Melissa Dalton of WOM and I have been friends for nearly 20 years]

Sartorialist Archive

(found here: November 26, 2007)


(found here: January 24, 2007)

Needle Roll Redux

Kate is a good friend, who happens to be a fellow knitter. She visited me while I was living in Toronto this summer and, among other things, we went to Lettuce Knit. She picked up a needle roll and might have bought it, but I offered to make her one for her birthday if she a) promised not to buy herself one and b) forgot that I offered. She turned 25 last week. So, using bespoke uprising fat quarters, I made one for her this afternoon. Thankfully we're celebrating her birthday tomorrow. Otherwise, I'd be late.

Sartorialist Archive

(found here: February 21, 2007)


(found here: November 20, 2006 and here: May 25, 2007)

First Saturday morning in Halifax

Saturday mornings are market mornings in Halifax.

I passed a yard sale down the street this morning and saw a sturdy picnic basket in amongst the other sundries. I walked past it, because I didn't want to have to walk back home to drop it off, but then turned around when I realised: hey, I'm going to the market, I can bring the basket with me and use it straight away. So, I went back, happily found out it was only three dollars, and bought it.

The market was exceptionally busy today. I spent far too long waiting in the crepe line and missed my chance to buy croissants.


I did, however, find all sorts of other harvest bounty and managed to fill my new basket before I left.

Sartorialist Archive

(Found here: June 28, 2007)



(Found here: June 27, 2007)

Labour Day Weekend

Drinking coffee made from lake water. A campfire made of fallen wood, burning in a rainstorm. Finding the right tree to hang food up and away from wildlife. Setting up and tearing down camp. Hiking. For hours.

(campsite 11B; campsite 10B)

"Can you hear the wolves calling?"

"No."

"They're pretty far away. You can barely hear them, but they're out there."

Jacques Cousteau's Toque

It's taken a long time to photograph the Jacques Cousteau style toque I knit Greg (a basic 2x2 rib in red wool), but he wore it this past weekend, while we were camping in Frontenac Park, and as the sun went down and it started to rain, I did, between fits of laughter.


This man is hilarious.


(J-Y C photo found here)

Favourites from the Sartorialist Archives

Perhaps against my better judgment, I've borrowed these from the Sartorialist for my own little archive of well-dressed people.


This guy was nominated as Sartorialist of the year.


(Found here: July 28, 2006)

the same dress worn three times in two weeks

Some school friends were getting married and invited the bf and I to their wedding. Greg was in the wedding party and was wearing a tux. I wanted to make a dress. After surveying my sister and two friends, I decided on a Cynthia Rowley pattern from Simplicity. I didn't like the trendy sleeve, so I made a proper short sleeve. I spent four hours trying to sew in pockets, eventually deciding to abandon them. I spent the better part of a day fussing about with the facing, eventually ripping it all out and trusting my instincts instead of the pattern instructions.



I wore it to the wedding and received a compliment from a wedding guest I didn't know. I wore it out to my goodbye roommate dinner. I plan to wear it again to a party later this week.



A good choice, I'd say.

Remade

I really liked my Mimi & Marge necklace, but I didn't like it as a pendant. So, I asked my clever friend Melissa- who is an artist, a jeweler and a musician- if she could change it for me. She kindly agreed.

She replaced the chain, and when she returned it, she returned my chain with a lapis charm that she'd made during a session teaching at the shop she works at.



She gave me both at dinner the other day, which was the first time we'd seen each other since her band's CD release and their cross-country tour. They're on a short break and then back on the road again in the next couple of weeks. I plan to make something to give to her when they make a Halifax stop in October.

Stratus redux

After finding our romance wine corked this past February, I contacted Stratus to find out how to go about getting a replacement bottle. They were sold out, they told me, but would be happy to offer me a bottle from their library and a complimentary tour of the winery for myself and a guest when I came back to pick up the replacement. Greg and I planned a trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake to see a play at the Shaw festival this past weekend and stopped at the winery beforehand.

We arrived at 11am and were started with a glass of Riesling. We were given a very comprehensive tour of Stratus, with details about everything from the winery’s health and safety procedures to their annual natural gas bill (we also learned that the French oak barrels used for aging wine cost $1,000 apiece, hold about 300 bottles worth of wine and are replaced every four years). We ended in the private tasting room and sampled a 2006 Stratus White, 2006 Stratus Red and a red Ice Wine. The white and the red were both assemblages. The white was a mix of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Semillon and Viognier. The red was mix of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Gamay and Syrah. The white was everything I love in a white –fruity and creamy all at the same time, but more complex than just that. The red was good, but could sit another few years.

I’m not that patient, though, and the red Ice Wine was delicious enough for drinking straightaway. So, by noon I was making the sort of decision I often make when feeling a little merry: I decided to buy several $40 bottles of red Ice Wine.

I plan to save this second bottle of Riesling for another celebration and although the red Ice Wine was bought to offer as gifts for friends, I would like to be sure to have some more myself, so I’m likely to find a celebration to anchor a bottle of that drink to, as well.

Turkey; what I loved

Underground cities-



Ballooning in Capadoccia-



The Med-



Poppies, everywhere-



Iznik tiles-



Cities and churches carved into mountainsides-





Drinking tea next to the Bosphorus-



Learning about Roman history at the edge of the empire-



Reverence-