Ten Owls Total

I finally finished the last of my Bernat Handicrafter cotton yarn stash. My stash was bigger than I thought. I had enough to make dish cloths and coasters all summer long. Enough that I was running out of enthusiasm way before running out of yarn.

Seeking a change, I decided to make a few Cat Bum Coasters. Even though my main goal with crochet this year has been to make things from yarn I have on hand, I did buy a bit extra in 'cat' colours. It was totally worth the splurge. I was able to make eight Cat Bum Coasters which is plenty, plus add more colours to my stash for my next project - Crochet Owls. It was so much fun making owls, I decided to keep on until I ran out of yarn.

In the end, I made Ten Owls Total. I only have four left to show because four went to my daughter in Boulder, one to Mississauga and one to Woodstock. These sweet little owls make great gifts.

When they are not lining up for photos, they like to hang out in our decorative branches by the window. It's a perfect perch for owls.

If you would like to make one too, check out my Fall Crochet post for the pattern link and instructions.

As you can see, there was very little yarn left in the end. Now I can return to making more versions of my Boo Bear and work on using up my acrylic yarn stash. There is plenty to carry me through the rest of this year and well into next. I wonder how long it will be before I purchase more yarn?

Be the first to comment - click on No comments: below

KonMari Method in Action

Last week, I took a break from crocheting owls to organize our closets and drawers. I haven't yet read Marie Kondo's book, "the life-changing magic of tidying up", but I have watched videos explaining her philosophy and demonstrating her methods. I was inspired to give it a go.

I spent a couple hours each evening three nights in a row sorting through our closets and dressers kondo-ing the contents. Over the weekend, I tackled our linen storage areas. The difference is amazing. I absolutely love the results. Even my husband is impressed.

Before this, most of my clothes hung in our closet. The rest were folded and stacked in drawers with my cycling and workout gear all jumbled together in two big drawers plus a clear bin for winter wear. My husband's dress shirts, collared casual shirts and pants were hung. His tee shirts and sweaters were folded and stacked on shelves in the closet. I thought it was organized, but honestly it's so much better now.

I'd love to show you our newly kondo'd dressers and closets. Perhaps you'll be inspired to apply the KonMari Method too.

I started with this dresser full of underwear, socks and such. Marie Kondo recommends keeping things you either love or use and getting rid of the rest. Since I can apply these principles to my stuff ONLY, I simply organized ALL of my husband's things without discarding. 

Marie Kondo's folding method saves space and keeps everything visible in the drawers: top (underwear and ties), middle (casual socks, belts, sports socks), bottom (dress socks, swim trunks, navy dress socks to the right).

 

My side of the dresser is similar: top (underwear, socks and belts), middle (tights, tank tops, pj's and bras), bottom (long sleeved tee shirts to the left and short sleeved to the middle and right). 

I also have a large 5-drawer dresser for my clothes: top (swim wraps, travel towels, swimsuits, scarves), 2nd (cycling shorts, jerseys, sports bras, workout tank tops), 3rd (sweaters), 4th (pants on left, shorts and capris on right), bottom (winter cycling clothes and running gear). 

 

 

 

 

The closet still holds some of my things, but the bulk of it is devoted to my husband's clothes. His dress pants hang to the left with his casual pants, tee shirts and sweaters folded on the shelves above. My few things (jackets and dresses) hang to the right.

 

Almost all of my clothes used to hang on these two racks in our closet. I left a few fleeces, hoodies and tops but there are a lot of spare hangers now. My husband's tee shirts are folded in box lids on the shelf to keep them contained. Further to the right are my husband's dress shirts and casual shirts. He has more than enough shirts to last until we retire. Let's hope he can resist shopping. Our closet is an odd shape with angled shelves to the right of the door where I store slippers, shoes and sandals. 

 

 

I was so happy with our kondo'd clothing, I moved on to linens re-folding the towels in our en-suite. The remaining cabinets look fine to me.

 

In our upstairs hall closet, most of the linens had already been sorted. I refolded the sheets and corralled the bags. I might revisit this space to sort the bins of cycling gear belonging to my husband. It'll do for now.

 

Our cat's (used to be kids') bathroom upstairs doesn't have a lot in the cupboards: cat food and spare light bulbs. I refolded the towels and facecloths in the linen closet. I'm not sure if Marie Kondo recommends stacking towels, but I think it works well.

 

We also store towels in a trunk near our patio door where they are handy for our pool and hot tub. I refolded both the towels and swim trunks leaving a few out for use. They will fit in the trunk if necessary.

 

I even refolded the towels in our two piece washroom off the kitchen.

Wow, what a difference. Everything looks so tidy. Seeing the results of the KonMari Method in Action inspires me to continue kondo-ing our whole house. I'd like to read the book first though to fully understand her recommendations concerning discarding stuff prior to organizing.

Are you ready for "the life-changing magic of tidying up"? It's much like crochet. Once you start, you're hooked.

Be the first to comment - click on No comments: below.

Crochet Inspiration from Malaysia

Joyce from Malaysia sent me this photo a couple weeks ago thanking me for sharing my Boo Bear pattern. I love Joyce's embellishments and colour choices used for this absolutely adorable doll named "Honey Boo Bear".

I am so thrilled Joyce took the time to share this with me. I love that my pattern provided inspiration to a crocheter as far away as Malaysia (14,750 km). I especially love that Joyce's "Honey Boo Bear" has inspired me too. I am excited to make a variety of Boo Bear companions now. 

Boo Bear and I would like to thank Honey Boo Bear and Joyce for Crochet Inspiration from Malaysia. Your blessings are much appreciated.

Be the first to comment - click on No comments: below.

Cross Country Crochet

I decided to pack a crochet project for our drive to Boulder a couple weeks ago. It was a last minute decision I'm so glad I made.

I bought this special yarn a couple years ago intending to make a scarf for myself. Manos del Uruguay Alegria yarn is a hand-painted ultra fine merino blend. I love how soft it feels. I also love these colours. The soft greys and greens are perfect for me. 

I didn't crochet on our drive Friday night. I didn't crochet on our drive Saturday morning. I remembered to grab my crochet bag from the back of our SUV when we stopped for cappuccinos at Starbucks in Peru, Illinois - the one and only Starbucks we found en route.

I finished my cappuccino then pulled out my yarn. Before I could crochet, I needed to wind the skein into a ball.

I looped the skein around my knees and started winding. It tended to tangle, but with patience, I finally finished. It was time to crochet.

I crocheted all afternoon while my husband drove. I crocheted until the sun started to set. I took a photo before packing it away.

My crochet project stayed packed away until our return trip. I drove the first 4 hours on Saturday then crocheted until I ran out of yarn. I love how crochet makes a long drive bearable. I go from "Yuck, I'm stuck in the car with nothing to do" to "Yay, hours to crochet with no interruptions".

I finished on Saturday as the sun was starting to set. My Cross Country Crochet got me through much of the drive. Next time I'll take more yarn. It's a very long drive from London to Boulder and back again.

I love how this scarf turned out. It's even better than I imagined.

I followed this pattern designed by Heidi Beukelman. It is available for free on Ravelry. The moss or linen stitch is one of my favourites.

Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Alegria

Hook size: 4.0 mm

Starting chain: 350 (instead of 400)

Worked first row into back bump of chain

Total Rows: 35 (odd # so both edges look similar)

Finished size: 63" x 5"

Time per row: 13-15 mins

Total time to crochet: 10 hours (approximately)

I crocheted until I ran out of yarn. I ripped out almost 2 rows because I was 10 stitches short of 37 rows. I wanted to end with an odd number of rows to keep the edges looking similar.

Be the first to comment - click on No comments: below.

Family Fun in Boulder

About a month ago, we decided to use the last of my 2015 vacation to visit our daughter and her family in Boulder. We hadn't seen them since their trip to Canada in July. I wrote about that visit here if you missed it.

Since our plans were relatively last minute and we had tons of stuff we wanted to take including a table, four chairs and a bike, we decided to drive. We drove two years ago. It's a long drive covering 2,240 km. 

To save time, we packed the car ready to leave straight from work Friday. We drove 6 hrs before stopping in Michigan City at a Super 8 motel. 

We drove 570 km and crossed a time zone Friday, so an early start Saturday was easy. We hoped we could make it to Boulder before bed. We took regular breaks for toilets, coffee, food and fuel. It was tough, but we did it. My husband did ALL the driving. He's amazing.  

Our grandchildren were sleeping when we arrived Saturday night around 9:30 p.m. Boulder time. We greeted our daughter and her husband, unpacked our bags and went to bed. We were exhausted and our ears were buzzing from being on the road 15+ hours. 

Sunday morning our grandson was excited to wake us. It was wonderful to see our grandchildren and hug them properly. After a shower and coffee, my husband started unloading our vehicle. Watching kids opening gifts is so much fun. We loved seeing their excitement.

After gifts and breakfast, we packed our swimsuits and rode our bikes to the North Boulder Rec Center to swim. We all had a blast with the water slides, splash pad, pool and hot tub. Swimming with kids keeps it fun.

After swimming, it was time for lunch and naps. Later in the afternoon, we headed to Coot Lake for a walk and some photos. Our daughter takes fabulous photos. She was hoping to get a few of us to frame and hang with her growing collection of family photos. 

 

Our son-in-law worked all week, but he was there every morning for breakfast and every night for bath and bed time with the kids. He's a terrific hands-on Dad who loves to spend time with his children. 

Monday morning we visited Cottonwood Farms. It was a lot of fun with a bale maze, corn maze, pumpkin patch, old farm equipment and animals.

After the farm, we headed home for lunch and naps then out to a nearby play park before dinner. Play parks are way more fun with kids.

Tuesday morning, we packed the wagon and drove East of Boulder to hiking trails near Mesa Reservoir. It was fun hiking with the kids.

After our hike, we headed home for lunch and naps. Our granddaughter naps most days, but our grandson only naps when he is particularly tired. Usually, he enjoys quiet time while his sister naps. 

After naps, we headed downtown to wander around and look for a restaurant for dinner. We love the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder. 

We decided to eat at Tahona Tequila Bistro and loved it. We plan to eat there again next time we visit.

After dinner, we treated ourselves to bubble tea and basil lime gelato. Mmmm so yummy. 

It finally rained on Wednesday. Instead of biking, we drove to our grandson's soccer class. He loves soccer. Our granddaughter enjoys hanging out and watching. 

In between activities, my husband kept busy assembling bikes and accessories. This bike is too big for our grandson. It will be fun when he grows into it. In the meantime, my husband attached a bar to the big bike with a link to our grandson's little bike. There are so many cool bike accessories for kids these days.

Since it was raining and we couldn't play outside, I wandered around the house taking photos of my daughter's decor. She has been busy framing and displaying some of her favourite family photos. She has a real talent. I love her work.

I love this idea for rotating the kids' artwork. 

This is their chicken coop in the backyard. It is safe and secure housing six chickens. The chickens are hiding from the rain under the coop. Our son-in-law is busy adding siding. I expect it will be finished next time we visit.

It rained again on Thursday. Fort building is a fun 'rainy-day' activity. Our grandson collected blankets and pillows to build this fort.

By afternoon, the rain stopped and we were able to get out for a walk. The fresh air and exercise felt wonderful. We didn't see bears, but we did see a herd of deer in town.

Walking up this hill kept us warm despite the cooler temperatures. I never get tired of the mountain views in Boulder.

The weather improved Friday morning, so we biked to our grandson's rock climbing class. I was impressed when he climbed all the way to the top of this wall. I'm not sure I could do that. It's really very high.

Our granddaughter is happy to wander around and watch while her brother climbs the walls.

We took my Devinci touring bike to Boulder for our daughter to use. My husband had to fix the front shifter because the chain kept falling off. He had repaired damage done by thieves earlier this year, but the bike had not been ridden properly since then. He hadn't realized more adjustments were needed. The chain and brakes are still a bit noisy, but he managed to get everything working again.

We finally got out for a real bike ride on Friday afternoon. We love riding in Boulder. With the hills it is challenging, but fun. I love the views. It's just so different from London.

Our week flew by. Saturday we were on the road heading for home shortly after 7 a.m. I drove the first 4 hours from Boulder to North Platte before letting insisting my husband take over. My drive was easy with absolutely no traffic for part of it. We drove all day, finally stopping in Iowa City at a Comfort Inn for the night.

On Sunday, we enjoyed an early breakfast before heading out again. The weather was perfect and the fall colours were amazing for much of our trip. 

Heading towards London, if you squint and use your imagination, the clouds almost look like mountains in the distance. I do love mountains.

We're home now and back at work. I have enjoyed spending my evenings sorting through our photos and documenting our week of Family Fun in Boulder. I hope it helps keep our memories fresh.

Be the first to comment - click on No comments: below.