Miserable Sod

That's me.  I'm trying to stay focused and positive, but the common cold has a stranglehold that's pushing me to the brink of defeat.  Sigh.  Cough, cough!

It's germ season again, and with the onset of the cooler weather and so much rain, germs are rampant.  I don't normally succumb to a cold at this time of year.  However, thinking back to the last few weeks of limited business at The Bloomin Bog, I would guesstimate that 75% of customers entered the shop with one kind of bug or another.  One guy was coughing so badly, I swear he was hacking up a lung!  And now I'M sick.

So here I sit, forlorn and stuffed up.  However, all is not forsaken!  This morning has been productive in a knitterly way.  Last week, I signed up for a KAL (knit-a-long) for Recipe for a Rustic Jacket by Mona NicLeoid.

Recipe for a Rustic Jacket by Mona NicLeoid

See the cable around the waist?  Well, every knitter gets to search out the cable pattern she/he wants to knit for the waist band.  After several hours of research last night, I narrowed my choices down to just two patterns.

This morning, following what I am going to call "sleep" [ha, ha], I decided on a beautiful viking cable by Elsebeth Lavold in her Sigrun jacket pattern.

To hell with work today!  I'm sick.  I'm gonna sit on the couch, cough and sniffle as required, swallow the drugs with reckless abandon, and start swatching my viking cable.  Pics tomorrow!

Baby it's Cold Outside

Although not as cold as in other parts of Canada, it's still cold outside!  Only four more days of the store being open and then....

I don't have to go OUTSIDE anymore [laughing] well, not until 1st March 2010!  Woo hoo!  Holidays are nearly here.

Quite honestly, I shouldn't complain about the cold.  At least I'm not a fish!

Three Tier Pond

You might remember in my last post that I wrote about my Caramello Hilja Vest - the project had been stalled due to a pattern error.  Well I'm now delighted to post pictures of the finished project!  It's a great fit, and a really nice little pattern.

Caramello Hilja

Caramello Hilja

I also got around to knitting the lining of my Fiddlehead Mittens.  These mittens are super warm since there are basically three layers of fabric (two for the fairisle, and one for the lining).  Tonight I will cast on the second mitten.  The Tanis Fiber Arts DK (which incidentally looks more like sport weight to me) is very soft and a pleasure to knit with.

Lined Fiddleheads

Today I was swatching for my next sweater project:  Rogue by Jenna Wilson.  There are 1,040 Ravelry projects for this hooded sweater!  Not bad when you do the math at $USD6 per pattern.  There is a kangaroo style pocket pouch on the front of this sweater, but I don't think I'll knit that.  I can't imagine putting my hands in the pouch and risking stretching the sweater.

The yarn I got for this project is Cornelia Hamilton's Heaven's Hand Wool Classic in the chocolate colourway.  I ordered this yarn online, and the colour was darker in person than on my monitor.  So I'm a little disappointed about that.  There is some very pretty celtic cabling in this sweater pattern, and now I'm wondering whether the cables will get lost in the depth of the brown.  What do you guys think?

Swatch

Sign of the Times

If you build it.....they will come. So with that in mind, we built it, and they are a comin!

Customers that is....to our store! Yup, our once very sad Bloomin Bog sign is now repaired. The winter finally destroyed the 8ft x 4ft sign at the road, so Nick built a "make do" one. And just as we were all getting used to the white greenhouse plastic with the black "Bloomin Bog" graffiti! I do miss that sign. If nothing else, it had character and was certainly a conversation starter with our customers. Many laughs were shared. I'm still suspicious of the spray can control ..... I think I've seen the artist's work around town [laughing].

Staff around our new sign (pictured from left: Ian, Dave, Kim and I)

Our new sign at night (totally awesome....looks like an 8ft plasma tv!)

Knitting progress is slow at this time of year. April through July I basically eat, drink and sleep business. My knitting time is now restricted to the evenings around 11pm, and only if I'm not falling asleep.

I did cast on a pair of socks last week - two at a time on 2.5mm circs. I finally found a great pattern for my hand-dyed sock yarn (from last year's dyeing party). The pattern is called Nutkin by Beth LaPensee. Nutkin is an easy to memorize pattern with dramatic results. Although the pattern includes many YOs, the sock does not appear lacy. Given the bright colours in my yarn, I didn't want the patterning to get lost in the bright variegations - all that effort for nothing ya know?

I really love the pattern so far. The heel calls for short rows - haven't done a sock this way before, so it'll be interesting to see how it turns out.....I'm so used to a heel flap and gusset.

Finished the legs and starting the short row heels on my Limozeen Nutkins

I hope to cast on soon for a felted kitty bed (cat pi) by Wendy D. Johnson. I've already dyed my yarn - Cascade Ecological wool. I spoke to my feline recipient, Sandi Pandi, and she loves the colours [phew!].

Dyed Cascade Ecological wool for kitty bed

And now it's 8pm, and I haven't started dinner. No surprises there. Not to worry though - one of my new staff [bless him] is a great cook, and he brought me a fabulous chicken casserole! I just have to warm it up!! Yep, he's scoring BIG brownie points with me [laughing]. His Indian dinner was fantastic, and so was his slow cooker chicken dish! Ooooooo! I'm getting spoiled.....possible sugar daddy you ask? Naaaah!

FROGS MATTER. JUMP IN.

Our passions can take us on some wild rides at times. Personally, I believe that every one of us should be passionate about as many things in life as possible. Especially these days with mounting stresses, burnout syndrome and very fast-paced lifestyles.

If you'll pardon the platitude "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy".

All of us should look deep within our hearts and souls to find what "turns us on". What makes you want to scream your cause from atop the highest peak? What is it that makes you feel alive?

Have you ever noticed that those who "feel" the most are most passionate about life and in turn, have many passions?

I'm one of those wretched souls that is too emotional about most everything - not only do I cry when I'm sad, but also when I'm over-joyed or extremely proud of someone. Awww hell, I admit it that I'm pathetic and even cry when I catch an episode of DOOL!

I have many passions, and 2008 launched a global awareness program that is very dear to me: The Year of The Frog (TYTF). I simply adore those cold-blooded little amphibians [except for the ugly, disgusting, gross plague of Australia, the cane toad!].


"The main goal of TYTF campaign is to generate public awareness and understanding of the amphibian extinction crisis which represents the greatest species conservation challenge in the history of humanity".

Why do we need to conserve our amphibians?

1. Amphibian species are becoming extinct at a pace faster than anything humanity has ever experienced.
2. Up to 50% of the approximate 6,000 known amphibian species are threatened.
3. Many people do not know that amphibians are declining and how threatened they are.
4. Amphibians are indicators of environmental health, and important components of ecosystems.
5. Amphibians are contributors to human health. They provide vital bio medicines, including compounds that are being refined for analgesics and antibiotics.

Via The Bloomin Bog, I plan to organise the following fund-raising activities on behalf of TYTF:

• frog photo contest
• frog colouring-in contest
• raffle
• promotion, awareness and education through the distribution of brochures and pamphlets

We have at least six varieties of frog at The Bloomin Bog, and we've noticed first hand their decline in numbers over the last five years. Typical species you'll spot at our water gardens include: the Bullfrog, the common Toad, the Spring Peeper, the Leopard Frog, the Pickerel Frog, the Tetraploid Gray Tree Frog, and the Green Frog. Here's a link to them all!

Many of my fund-raising activities will be directed towards children, because they are the ones who will inherit the earth; they are our future!

Keep an eye on my blog for updates. You will also find information on The Bloomin Bog website.