Back again! With lots of knitty content!!

I guess the boys and I didn't get enough of camping with the family and had to - just HAD to - go back for more.
Much as we missed all the cousin action and the laughter, the lake was pretty tranquil with just the boys, one of their friends, and me.




The weather was gorgeous, not too much smoke made it down the valley, and we all got a lot of swimming time in!


When I wasn't swimming, I was beach sitting.  It gave me a great opportunity to get some knitting, journal writing and drawing done.   Every year, at least once over the past few years, I've drawn Saddleback from the vantage point of the beach.

Typically I've got watercolour pencil crayons in my bag, along with some coloured pens.







This year I also brought some pre-cut artist trading card sized cards of different weights and textures. 

And, because I'm that knitterly kind of girl, I finished up two projects that I've been working on for a while.







This shrug, from this pattern, has been on my needles for only about a week from start to finish - pretty big project considering the gauge!  The yarn is one of my all-time favorites, Noro Silk Garden Sock. It's a blend of wool, silk, angora and nylon meant for sock knitting, but I think it's far to lovely to hide in my shoes.

For the curious, I used colourway 268 - colours that coincidentally completely match this season in this area.   Something that doesn't really show in the photos is the beading in the cuffs.  This was my first adventure with beading in knitting, and it's spawned loads of ideas for my next projects.  Now if I could just settle on one and get started!

The other major project that I finished was this big red cardigan.  It was originally started as something to keep my hands busy while I sat on my rear recovering from my broken toe.

Please excuse the cheezy self portraiture - it's hard to set the camera, run around to the front and quickly look natural!!

For those who are interested in the process and modification notes of either sweater (or in seeing more photos of how they go together), there is a great deal more information on my Ravelry page.  Look me up, if you care to - you'll need to be a member or become one to sign in - you'll find me there under the username Threadsongs.

Ciao!
Lisa

Pulpit Rock

The boys and I hiked up Pulpit Rock yesterday with a couple of dear friends. It was the first time on this particular hike for the 3 of us, but a regular hike for our friends.

The weather was perfect for it - although Oldest claims it was about 10000degrees!  We were pretty hot and dusty by the time we got down the hill, so went straight to Lakeside park to jump in the lake for a swim. The weather was perfect for that, too.

In all honesty, I wondered if I was going to make it up!  It's only 3 km, but pretty steep most of the time - and I'm obviously pretty darn out of shape from sitting on my duff this summer!  Good motivation to get out more!

The boys and I are picking up one of their friends, and heading out camping for a couple of days.  See you soon!

Lisa

Reflecting

It's late morning, DH has gone off to work after 3 weeks of holiday and the boys are still sleeping (one out on the deck, the other up in his bed).

I turned 40 last week.

The day itself was pretty anticlimactic, in a way, as lovely people in my life have been celebrating it with and for me for over a month already!

My dear girlfriends from Nakusp whisked me off to Lillith Fair in July to see amazing performers(Sheryl Crow! Erykah Badu! Sarah McLachlan!) and be silly for a couple of days. If it weren't for these girls I'd not know the what chicken gizzards taste like (yummy), that dollar store beads can colour skin in beautiful hues, or the multifarious meanings of the word 'Schrag'. I can't begin to say how wonderfully silly and profoundly deep my experience of these women is... but they've certainly been heavy influences in my growth and emerging adult womenhood over the past 15 years.

As we do each summer, we camped for a week with the extended Thiessen side of the family. I continue to be amazed at the connections made and tended amongst us all. I know I'm very blessed to have such loving and welcoming in-laws - ones who are not afraid to create some high silliness in honour of milestone birthdays! Two of my sisters-in-law also reached the 4 decade mark this year, and the family rose to the occasion with a ceremony complete with hand carved staffs, paper towel gowns, tiaras, champagne and (literally) jumping through (hula) hoops.

My own family honoured the day with lovely notes and calls, unexpected gifts and beautiful sentiment. I can't seem to write about how that made me feel without tears springing up.

Through all of this I've been knitting and drawing, jounaling and thinking, and just letting the summer soak into my bones. I've been counting my blessings and feeling deep gratitude.


Somehow I wanted to weave into this post something about my hands...just how grateful I am for them, how they have been the locus of my interaction with the world, the place I learn and the place I create. Though people flatter me with saying that I look younger than my 40 years, I think my hands show each day of that time. They're strong, wiry and capable. The skin is showing my age. And that's as it should be.

Lisa