Off The Grid NeedleArts

The garter stitch project is one that’s been floating around in my brain for while now. I’ve had the yarn for a while and the inspiration came from Kristen and her cozy gingham blanket. I’m organizing my colours a bit differently and they will be a bit louder than her lovely gingham, but that’s what made me start planning what to do and reminded me how much I love garter stitch. Miles upon miles of garter stitch…………

My daughter has started to learn how to kayak this summer. She’s taken to it very quickly showing natural ability that obviously comes genetically from her father and not me. I’m sure she will be off and exploring the watery nooks and crannies of our home for many years to come.

The first two nights I wanted to knit or stitch something but everything that I’ve been working on lately is at the cottage and all of my WIPS here are packed up because we’re having some flooring installed upstairs. It was desperate. So I thought about what I could reach in my closet if I could jimmy the door open just enough to reach the stash closest to the door. I have a very unusual closet – it’s a staircase that goes up (to nowhere) and the cubbies are all on the left with a clothes rod at the top – the whole house has weirdo things about it, but anyhoo…..

I could just reach some yarn and lo, there was garter stitch. Garter stitch ahoy! I have an idea of where it’s going, but I’ll leave that for another day.

Last Tuesday my MIL suffered a massive stroke and passed away on Friday. In the summer, we live on an island in Georgian Bay – our cottage is next door to my inlaws and we are as you can imagine very close. While my husband and his sister stayed with their dad and kept vigil over her, I was here with my children and we are all heartbroken. This shawl kept my fingers busy and we watched episodes of Gilmour Girls to distract our minds. My daughter insisted I try to finish it when I didn’t think I would make the deadline of today for posting. I have no blocking supplies up here, but she said that Grandma would have wanted me to finish it to the best of my ability. She would have too, she’s the one who taught me to knit.

A good friend who had been visiting only the weekend before posted a sunset picture of the bay on FaceBook and really said it best. “Goodnight, Beautiful Bridget.”

*pause* remembering that my very literal son must have heard something and squirrelled it away….

*click* Right – “umm honey? I think you mean grammar school” (where your very British grandma did indeed go to school. Truly, and my husband agrees, doesn’t Grandma school sound way more fun?

I thought about posting on Monday, but when project monogamy hits and the project doesn’t look all that different after hours of work, there’s not much point in writing about it.

Today I’m linking up with Ginny, and sharing what I’m knitting and reading. My shawl is coming along nicely and I’m averaging about 10-15 rows per day which is needed in order to finish it in time for the KAL deadline. My son and I are still reading Harry Potter. When the chapter about the first Quidditch match was over, he wanted more, PLEASE read more!! Heady, heart filling stuff, really.

I have a new stitching start in the queue for today, one that I’ve really been looking forward to beginning. I’ve changed out the charted linen and a few of my colours have been swapped out. This is a design that I plan to stitch and then hang up here. I am still plugging away on the coffee cup – it has a whole handle on the side now!

The water is very high this year. This picture shows an area where 2 years ago we had a very small beach. No sand castles this year! It is good to see the lake levels rising instead of continuing to drop which had been the trend for the past 15 years. See the colour in the rock? That is very common here. Georgian Bay is a true geologic wonder. If you are interested in that sort of thing, this interesting article describes in detail the history of our special place. This quote in particular sums it up for me…. “From the point of view of those travelling the water trail through Georgian Bay the legacy of the Pleistocene Ice Age is the ice-scoured topography of smooth rocks and islands that gives the area its beauty and character, and the thin layer of glacial till and outwash that has given rise to soil for plant growth. One is reminded of how shallow the soil is each time that one attempts to dig a latrine.” –

G.M. Courtin

I had to laugh when I read this. Intellectual potty humour at its best.

It is hot here today. 33 degrees with the humidex makes for an unhappy knitter. I’ve made some progress with my shawl for the KAL but I think the remainder of the evening will be devoted to some coffee and stitching. I found reference to the AAN coffee cup that dates it start back to 2012, so surely I can get my act together and finish it up,

First canoe camping trip ever for this little boy. His big sister is helping to show him the ropes. My daughter is 14 and I feel that I need her permission before I post about her. Perhaps she will let me tell you how wonderful she is as well 🙂