In September 2027, I’ll be heading to Alaska aboard the Discovery Princess for a very special knitting cruise – Dancing Lights: Alaska 2027.
I’ll be teaching knitting workshops, sharing two specially designed projects, and, of course, there will be plenty of knitting, laughter and time spent enjoying Alaska through a designer’s eyes.
The cruise information is now live, and I’m delighted that I can finally share it!
There is so much more to come. Over the next year I’ll be sharing peeks at the projects, yarn, inspiration and some of the preparations happening behind the scenes.
It is July already and I am not quite sure how I got here. How are you feeling? Is time getting faster in your world this year?
I have really been focused on The Blanket Project, Threads of Colour – A Year in Squares for the last six months. And the Renovation. And now the final bit of the last years move – the Organization. In between I try to fit in some life. This last week had a lot of “life” in it.
La Dolce Vita – living a life.
It has been a beautiful Sunny week. With a little bit of rain here and there. We popped up to Fanny Bay Inn to meet some family on Wednesday and had a lovely lunch. it was a gorgeous day and the views were spectacular.
On Saturday we drove down to Victoria to catch some baseball with our Grandson. The afternoon before the game we popped over to Cadboro Bay for lunch and a wander down to the beach. Tom had read about a new Olympic sport being practiced there. It was a combination of running and rowing and then running again – Rowing Beach Sprint. It was being run in timed heats. It showed potential I think.
As for the game – the Harbour Cats won the night and Logan was thrilled.
We stayed the night and made our way leisurely back up Island. We stopped at Goldstream and wandered a bit. Checked out the Farmers market and had lunch with some friends… A very satisfactory week in all.
So I took a few photos over the week as we travelled.
A beautiful view with a perfect Gary Oak at Fanny Bay Inn.Fanny Bay Inn has a lovely little garden.Rain dapple Hydrangea – I love watching how these flowers open up.Roses in the rain.Sun reflecting off the Moon one morning this week.Cadboro Bay – watching a new Olympic sport develop. Running and rowing.Sun dappled new growth at the point of a broken off branch! Such a vivid green.Looking Waayy up at Goldstream Park.More new growth at Goldstream.
Threads of Colour – the July Square and Fancy
I have a new block and a fancy for you today.
For the block I went with the tried and true. One of my favourite Shetland Lace patterns, Old Shale, is always beautiful and always effective. Here it is representing Waves. Reminding me of Summer leisure time, idling away hours at the beach, swimming and reading.
Are you a Summer reader? I read more in the Summer than I do in the winter. Light reading, science fiction, mystery and romances to while away time when I feel too hot to knit. And not so light reading, research for my fall classes and patterns – I love delving into my knitting book collection and playing with ideas!
So this month I took a look at double knitting and decided the technique would create a fun fancy. How about a bookmark to go with the Summing Reading.
This one is light weight, totally revesible and was a really fun, quick knit!
The July block is the start of the second half of our block collection. If you have knit all of the blocks so far you will have 8 blocks completed. I am having fun playing with technique and colour and hope to add a few more colourful, textural options in the next couple of months.
Planning Ahead
If you have been knitting every block you will have 8 blocks completed. I will be knitting 20 blocks for my blanket (maybe 24) so I have to decide which Squares I like best and knit an extra one or two. If you want a more Afghan sized blanket your will need to double up on a few of your squares as well. The 12 or 16 squares I have planned for the year will make more of a lap robe sized blanket.
I have started to play around with how to connect our blocks into an interesting and useful blanket. Of course we could keep it simple with just the basic connections outlined. Those ideas will be covered. As well as a few more unique ideas. More on that in the next blog post.
Happy Knitting
And Happy Canada Day!
Lynette
Our Collection to date. Only the February fancy is not here. It is currently attached to a hat, which is somewhere in my very disorganized yarn room.
Last week we had one of the most colourful sunrises ever! My husband dragged me out and we raced down to Departure Bay Beach to capture the colours and light before the show ended! I hope that it is a promise of things to come!
2023 is already shaping up to be an interesting year.
I have signed up for the Sweet Paprika / SmallBird WorkshopYarn Box Club. This is a continuation of my own exploration into breed specific yarns as each box contains yarn, natural and dyed, from a specific sheep breed. Information about the yarn, breed, source, best uses etc. plus there will be zoom meetings about each box. I decided to join just as they ran out of the first run of boxes – of course! But this week they added some more subscriptions so I am in – I am very stoked about this.
Every two months there will be a new box with the first one arriving mid-February! Six new yarns, and new ideas always come with new yarns. Today is the last day to sign up for the full shot!
As well, Tom and I are going on a very small cruise – as in small boat, local waters exploration! The trip is around the end of May and we going to see and do things that we have never tried before.
MotherShip Adventures specialize in Kayak Cruises (I am not a kayaker – a little too up close and personal), but they also do a couple of smaller cruises for history / photography buffs. We are going on one of these. The history and geography of Discovery Islands, Bute Inlet and Desolation Sound will be the focus of our tour. Hiking, zodiak trips and small island adventures await us. Hopefully lots of whale viewing and other wild life encounters! This will be a unique opportunity for us to discover more about our environment and enjoy a very up close and personal journey into the maritime history of B.C.
The boat is the Columbia III and was originally a hospital ship that serviced the small communities that dotted the rugged coast of B.C. It was totally renovated and restored to become the tour boat that it is today!
Of course there is always knitting and designing. That will never stop. More patterns, more yarns, ie – the yarn boxes offer intriguing opportunities. I am developing some designs for Gathering Yarns. This is an exciting new opportunity for me, new yarns, working with a Canadian Co. I am the first designer that they have worked with and I hope that we both have a great experience.
Below are th new patterns that I will be releasing over the next few weeks! Multiple hats, a new Salish Sea Sweater Pattern – this one the Great Bear! and a new shawl, complete with a lovely wide beaded edging!
We will also be starting classes up again at Mad About Ewe! I do love teaching people to see the amazing possibilities that can be created by yarn and needles. So, as always, knitting will be the focus and creative outlet of the year ahead!
I hope that your Year ahead is happy and healthy and full of the things that make you happy!
