Thankful Tuesday

Putting my thoughts out there in a podcast must be more anxiety inducing than I expected. I went to bed early and woke in the middle of the night. That hasn’t happened in a while.

I never thought I would be saying this, but I’m thankful that it’s budget week at work. Numbers are so solid and reassuring. And I’m always thankful for my job, which I enjoy as much as I appreciate.

So I am up in the wee hours of the AM, steeping some nutritious and relaxing tea and contemplating my Weekender progress.

I’m not at all sure about it. The sleeve seems too narrow, I have started the cuff but now it looks too short, and I gave up on the fussy and (in my mind) completely unnecessary Kitchener stitch bind off. I’m hoping this is one of those designs that looks better on. I can always make an extra long ribbing at the cuff. This design is forgiving that way.

I haven’t started Vanishing Fleece by Clara Parkes, but if I’m in for a long night, I may as well get started. Or, I think I will catch up my blog reading first. Yay!

Sunshine and Seaspray

We went back to Louisbourg today to hike the Lighthouse Trail. I wore my wool so I was plenty warm, although the sun was out.

We hiked the trail to Gun Landing Cove and then headed back.

I especially enjoyed the ruins of the old battery and original lighthouse.

I have been knitting in the car, and was surprised by how much gold is in my green Weekender sweater.

I still like it.

We went to a wonderful concert at the Highland Arts Theater in Sydney on Wednesday night. I fell in love with another band, Beolach, and bought another cd. I found a video to share with you, although it’s from 2014.

We had an interesting conversation with Bob’s Uncle Basil about the difference between traditional Scottish music in Scotland versus Nova Scotia, and how Scottish music has evolved in Scotland but in Nova Scotia it is still in the old style. When Scottish students want to learn the old style, they come to Cape Breton.

I did notice a marked difference between the Scottish bands and the Nova Scotian bands. I love the blending of different influences in Kinnaris Quintet, and I love the traditional fiddle and pipes in Beolach. They even danced during their set. I love it all!

Another concert tonight, and a matinee tomorrow afternoon. Our time here is really flying!

The Good News

We’ve been in and out of airports all day, but the good news is I checked out a knitting mystery from the library, A Dark and Stormy Knit.

It’s full of knitting (duh) and mystery (uh yeah) and puns! It also has fiber art and knitting graffiti! It’s the perfect vacation read.

When we got to Newark I found I had twisted my knitting on Weekender. The good news is I had an hour to tink back two rounds and fix it. When I got to Halifax I realized my center ridges weren’t right but the good news is I had several hours to eat a delicious meal (local cod cakes and a glass of Nova Scotia white wine) and then pull out two stitches back to the mistake and fix them. (I couldn’t find the correct knitting slang for this, but while looking for it, I did find this hilarious guide to knitting slang. My non-knitting loved ones will thank me.)

We have another hour before boarding our flight to Sydney, but the good news is the leaves are already in full autumnal glory here, b(oy)ize. And I’m not just talking about that red maple leaf, eh?

Shimmering Silver Lady

Mildlygranola has me convinced to make a Weekender by Andrea Mowry with her. I admit to flirting with the idea of this pattern, but I never committed. I am ready.

Do you remember this yarn? It’s Scout by Kelbourne Woolens. The gauge is spot on for me for Weekender since I’m a loose knitter. And I have almost enough of the green to make it! I only need one skein. I do have enough of the silver, and I do love me a silver sweater which matches my silvery hair making me swan about like a shimmering silver lady (hence the title of this blog.)

But greeeeeen… deep verdant earthy evergreen.

I only need one skein. I’m going to go to my local yarn shop tomorrow to see if she has one more skein of this. If she doesn’t, I’ll probably cry. But maybe I’ll find it on the internet.

I considered waiting until our trip to Nova Scotia in case there was some special yarn there I would like to buy, but realized I don’t want to lug home a sweater quantity of yarn. Maybe one or two skeins of something special!

I’m still waiting on the new zipper for my jeans. Today I serged the edges on all the pieces and did some top stitching. I’m taking great care with these as I want them to fit well, and I’d like to be able to take them in and let them out as needed.

I lost another 5 pounds, making it 18 pounds total. My old jeans fit more comfortably now and I’m ready to take the larger sizes down to the basement. I save my old jeans since my weight fluctuates so much.

I’m almost finished with Lilac Heather Cumulus Blouse.

How is your Sunday going? I cleaned the bathroom, the stove, and my car interior today, but I’m still having a good day. 😁