Simple mindless knitting to occupy my hands while I watch episodes of "Fruity Knitting", a favorite knitting podcast that I highly recommend to anyone interested in knitting, wool production, sheep, or hiking. It is very well done with loads of interesting content. There are even small nods to crochet, weaving, and spinning.
The socks fit very well, but I find having ribbing on the soles a bit to textured for my sensitive feet. I think next time I'll knit them with stockinette soles instead, but keep the ribbed tops.
A perfect day kayaking on Hick's Lake. Beautiful weather which was neither too hot nor too cold, mirror smooth lake reflecting the blue sky and gorgeous mountains, and best of all ---
--- the amazing quiet. Come along, I'll take you for a 25 second ride. Be sure to have your speakers on. You'll hear practically nothing, it's so peaceful!
Meet the hard working Panda Tetras that are here to cycle the tank. I've named them Eeny, Meanie, and Hermoine. Watching the 12 second video you might be able to figure out which one is "Meanie".
Meanie may have to move out when Ben, the Betta, is ready to move in. With Ben's large beautiful fins and prior solitary lifestyle a nipper and chaser might not be a welcome tank mate.
I have a love/hate relationship with the Internet. Sometimes it seems to be the biggest time thief ever, hours from one's day missing and little to show for it. Let's face it, none of us are getting any younger! Knowing that, I like to make every moment count, and time spent chasing useless Facebook side links is not what I want to see when I look back on the moments of my life!
On the other hand, the Internet can be a wonderful, handy, economical teacher, accessible at any hour of any day, and right when you need it. For instance, when I decided to use circles as design elements on the back of my denim Boro/Sashiko vest, I realized I had barely any experience with applique, and no experience at all with how to get a really nice, smooth edge on a circular applique.
Enter the Internet wonder world of YouTube instructional videos. Pretty much anything you want to learn can be found on YouTube videos. Not just one instructor or method, but many to choose from. I watched several and finally decided that the one I've embedded here would be the one I used. It seemed to be just the right fit for me. It appealed to the perfectionist in me and yet skipped the tedious hand gathering stitches of some of the other methods.
The loose pile of circles pictured above was a photo taken several days ago. I've now selected the ones I'm going to use, have appliqued them to the centre back panel, and I'm well on my way to stitching the background in a Sashiko inspired manner. More photos of that when that section is complete.
