Hug and Snuggle? With whom? Under?

Does this qualify as snuggle? or strangle?

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I was allowed to snuggle and play with young-people from 6 to 17! I was impressed - all of them - boys and girls allowed hugs AND conversation. The older ones did not even carry their phones in their hands as we visited!! i am not sure the cat in this meme would agree snuggling is a great idea, but it is the thought that counts, right?

Family does not have to be related by birth or marriage, my children and I have "adopted" parents and grandparents over the years. When you live next door to a wonderful senior, whose family are overseas or in the Maritimes, can you leave them home alone when you are celebrating bounty of the season? They joined us at the table for seasonal celebrations. We called them "Orphan suppers" or "adopted family." Great memories!

When I was growing up in a smaller Alberta community, we knew all the neighbours for a couple of blocks around - whether they had children or not. We were probably the last generation to be raised by a community.

Community is much more than the neighbour next door, or the people you meet every week at the grocery store. Eclectic trivia: women in Canada did not have the right to vote until 1928 in most of the country, 1940 in Quebec and indigenous people were not granted the right to vote until 1960 - men or women. I find it really sad to note, they could fight in both the first and second world wars, but could not vote.

So, Please "Get out and vote!" I will not advise you on how to vote, but please do vote.

I love to create things for people to snuggle in/under. I have just finished sewing together the new blanket for our first girl great-grandchild! (picture to come soon)

My first crochet project is finished and delivered. My thanks to customers, friends and family as I learned so much. I may become addicted to crochet. I am really pleased with the finished gift.

This is a silk blend, so light and very warm!! I hope she will snuggle under it over the coming winter months. It is light enough to throw over your shoulders and sit in the garden on a cool evening.

Crochet is a very different muscle skill, so I am learning I can do some of one and some of the other and get more done - with less arthritis pain!!

Last week at Knit Night, we learned parents are no longer allowed to put their child into the car seat with their snowsuit on. So warm, breathable, washable blankets will be high on request lists from new parents, whether knit/crochet or quilted. Hone your skills, there is a need for everything you can do.

This week's 75% Off Sale is a perfect yarn to craft into smaller blankets quickly, or warm little sweaters, and is very washable and wears really well.

Sirdar

Snuggly 4ply

50g/226 m

55% nylon, 45% acrylic

Reg. $8.00

75% Off

$2.00

Posted by Anne, who continues to walk and knit - while the weather holds. I know snuggle weather is coming!

Snugglin' into Summer Time

Did you get snow this week?

Here in Central Alberta we've been experiencing near-drought conditions (with a side of Concern About Full-on Drought), so when it began to rain pour the other night, the moisture was most welcome.  Then...it turned to wet snow for the better part of a day!  The worst snowfall was in the Rockies and Foothills, of course, where it made travel nigh on impossible...but it surprised us all by reaching as far East as it did.

It was time to turn the furnaces back on, and snuggle down under a blanket with some knitting!

Today, our part of the world is a greener place: the sky is blue with scudding clouds and the sun is shining brightly.  All the snow that settled on the grass, gardens and trees has melted into the soil to give the plants a much-needed drink -- and where I am, there appears to be no snow damage.

Even better, all the bug bits on my car's windshield have been washed clean away!

Margaret's Outdoor Studio, Aprill 2018

But it's still a bit on the cool side.  The furnace can't be shut off quite yet.  That said, it's still good weather for yarn craft, preferably wearing a comfy sweater and snuggling under an afghan.  I'm planning on a bowl of soup for lunch and then...knitting under the trees on the bench in my back yard -- with a quilt on my lap for good measure!

It's my way of celebrating World Wide Knit in Public Day, which is what June 8th has been designated.

June 8th is also my mother's birthday.  Seeing as she was the one who taught me to knit -- almost 60 years ago now -- it seems only fitting that I honour her by snuggling up with some yarn and a cuppa in the crisp, clear sunshine of an early June day.

Of course, yarn-crafters have no problem cuddling up with yarn pretty much any time of year -- making garments and coverlets of all sorts and sizes, which provide snuggly warmth for folks of all ages.

That's why this week, for her Super Special Sale, The Crafty Lady has chosen to show-case a yarn that's just perfect for the time-honoured tasks that cloak all and sundry with snuggly goodness:

Snuggly 4 ply

from Sirdar Yarns

50 grams = 226 metres (247 yards)

55% Nylon

45% Acrylic

Regular Price: $8.00

Sale Price: $2.00!

Mainly used for baby garments, there are 124 pages (!) of projects on Ravelry that have used this yarn, either alone or in combination with other yarns for items including "not-baby" blankets and even "not-baby" socks!

So...the next time you choose to snuggle with your kiddoes, or with a cat or pup on your lap, or with a book or something good on television, you can be prepared to enjoy whatever you make with this soft, washable yarn.

Now 'scuse me...I'm off for my "Outdoor Studio".  Whether you choose to Knit Inside or In Public today, I'll leave you with this wee ditty to enjoy the next time you have a snuggle...

See you in  The Shop!

*Written by Margaret, who loves to snuggle with yarn every day of the year, no matter the weather!

Fly Me to the Moon

Are you a moon watcher?

Do you pay attention to the phases of the moon or carry some suspicion about what happens when the moon is full?

Do you do your best to go out to see 'special' sightings of the moon -- like a 'blue moon' or a 'blood moon'?

Or are you more romantic about this subject, enjoying walks under the moon, or songs about '[spooning] by the light of the silvery moon'?

Do you love the sight of a rising or setting moon or the glow of a bright moon on the snow on a crisp winter's night?

And...did you know there's a gemstone named after the moon -- so named by the Romans because of a belief that it was composed of rays of moonlight that had been solidified on the earth?  Both they and the Greeks associated this stone with their various lunar deities, and named it (rather obviously) "moonstone". 

As a rock, it's pretty enough...

Photo: Didier Descouens

But as a polished gemstone, it has a glow to it that's simply beautiful.
Cut and polished into a cabochon, it rather resembles the moon.

Pierre de Lune Cabochon
Minas Gerais, Brazil
Photo: Didier Descouens

It's this wee bit of a glow, this shine and glimmer, that was inserted into the yarn we're offering this week as our Super Special Sale -- just in time for you to knit up something for the Holiday season that includes -- as mentioned in an earlier post -- a bit of the 'bling' so fashionable this season!

Sirdar

Moonstone

50 grams = 100 metres (109 yards)

70% Acrylic

30% Other (beads)

Regular Price: $10.00

Sale Price: $2.50

And the projects?  Everything from pretty hats to wraps, shawls, shrugs and full sweaters!  Just think!  The New Moon is just peeking out this week.  If you cast on by Tuesday, you could have several hats completed or a good leg up on a shawl by the time the Full Moon rolls in on October 24!

Well...what are you waiting for?  

   The Light of the Silvery Moon? 😉

*Written by Margaret, happy TCL employee who'll knit during any phase of the moon!

All That Glitters is Not Gold*

It's almost Remembrance Day...a sombre and serious day in which we remember our military, the roles they play(ed) and the sacrifices they make (made) for our freedom and democracy here in Canada and in most other nations around the globe.

At the same time, the days are shortening...the time "fell back" one hour to "Standard Time" here this weekend...and, as we've mentioned in several posts now, the longer evenings mean more time (one hopes!) for yarn-crafting.

Christmas/Holiday gift ideas abound on all the yarn-crafting websites, in the magazines. on social media of all kinds, and those deadlines loom large!

Christmas is fixed at December 25, but this year, Hanukkah
spans the week just before that (December 12-20), while Kwanzaa runs from Dec. 26 (Boxing Day) through January 1 (New Year's Day).

However you celebrate, there are opportunities to make something special -- or to decorate with a bit of colour and glitz to bring into your home the light and joy of the season.

In our last post we introduced a bit of glitter...just to get the inspiration going.

This week, we're offering more...

First up: 

Perfect for arm-knit 'decorative' cowls to complement that glitzy holiday party outfit, to trim a skirt or jacket, or to fashion a garland right off the hank to decorate the tree!

Red Heart Boutique Ribbons

100 grams

75% Manufactured Fibers - Acrylic

25% Manufactured Fibers - Polyester

38 metres (42 yards)

Regular Price: $7.50

Sale Price: $1.88!

And next...a bit of heaven...perfect for finger-less gloves, cowls, scarves, a hat...perhaps a brooch (or two or three)...or a tiny bit of 'home decor' that could become a 'memento mori'...

Sirdar Divine

50 grams

72%  Polyester

28%  Acrylic

Regular Price: $9.00

Sale Price: $2.25!

Whatever you choose, you'll introduce a bit of light, sparkle and energy into this otherwise dark and gloomy time of year.  See you in the shop!



*Merchant of Venice,  Act II, Scene VII, William Shakespeare.


Written by Margaret, happy TCL employee who loves a wee bit o' glitter in her life!

New Sirdar Yarns!

We have two new yarns. One thinks it's an animal, and the other one can't decide what it is.

Husky (65 m $7.00)

Top Row: Misty, Bluff
Bottom Row: Flecky, Waffle, Eskie

Waffle up close.

This is a super chunky (6) made up of 87% acrylic and 13% nylon. It's nice and soft. All the colours are spotted naturals. Three in the brown/tan range and two in the black/grey.

Although it's called Husky it reminds me more of kittens. Either way, a really nice yarn for cowls, scarves and hats or a big cuddly sweater. Let this be the yarn to bring out the animal in you. Or start you purring. It has purrsonality. Some might say it's purrfect. It certainly has purrsibilities. Okay, I'll stop.

Top: Paradiso, Fortuna
Middle: Florentine, Frencesca
Bottom: Lucia, Esther

Divine (150 m  $9.00)

Fortuna up close.

This is the yarn that is embracing its multiple personality disorder. It's 72% polyester and 28% acrylic. Ravelry says it's a DK (3). Sirdar says it's an Aran (4). It's thick and thin so I guess it's both. There's metallic running through its fluffy fibers and its colours are variegated.

This yarn looks like so much fun to knit up because each stitch is going to be different. It calls for a simple pattern - fancy stitches will get lost. Just let the yarn do all the work while you knit it watching TV, making dinner, learning a language or doing an aerobics class.

Esther up close.

Posted by Anna Maria Junus happy employee who can easily find projects for these yarns. Like I need more projects.