Sometimes We Say "Meh"

Not all projects are Love, Love, Love. Sometimes they are just OK.  Now the story of how I came by possession of this yarn is an amusing one. Unfortunately it's not a story I can freely share without breaking my rule to never say anything bad about someone on social media. Suffice it to say, the skein was summarily thrown at me in a melodramatic pique. And then I had new yarn.

It's beautiful yarn, this Fibre Company Canopy. Coincidentally, it is also the yarn called for in Ysolda's Veyla, a pattern I've long admired. So I cast on during the Olympics and had my Games project.

My knitting was just not up to par this time. I got terrible ladders and uneven stitches. The fit is funny. The colour is not great with my skin tone. I think maybe the origin of the yarn put bad karma on the project. Alas.

I have discovered however, that I like the project better on me when worn backwards. It's much tidier in appearance this way. So wear it backwards I will.

Oh, For A Well Lit Monkey

Another challenge of the new home is "Where in the heck do I take my knit FO photos?". There are large windows on only one side so we get either full morning sun or no light at all. I can't get the depth and softness I used to easily achieve with the diffuse side light of the windows in my last place. I'm having to take over exposed morning shots and soften them with photo software (as with the sock shots below). The effect is not ideal. I guess I may need to find somewhere outdoors to shoot.

Other than that, the knitting goes very well. I finished my Olympic gloves and have swatched and cast on for a pullover. It's been far too long since I knit a garment.

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A.
Yarn:  Manos del Uruguay Alegria

Accidentally Olympian

It was never my intention to knit an Olympic project this year. However, I just happened to cast on Veyla the afternoon of the opening ceremonies and despite one huge set back where I missed ten rows and had to rip, this pair of gloves is now about 80% done. Combine that fact with an invite to watch the closing ceremonies with other knitters, and suddenly I am determined to have these complete by tomorrow night. 

House Museum

Theaster Gates in his current Art Gallery of Ontario installation How To Build A House Museum, asks who has the right to have a museum created in their honor? Why are some people's houses more worthy as candidates for museums? 
It's a thought provoking, immersive installation that takes the entire upper floor of the AGO. It presents as art, urban history in a socio-economic framework & constantly re-interprets the word "house" in changing contexts. House music. The bricks of the factory that built the neighborhoods (The George Black House) . The House of Muddy Waters.
Go see this exhibit if you can.

I visited a more traditional house museum yesterday - Spadina Museum and gardens. I've posted about the fabulous gardens here before. I visit these gardens often but yesterday, I took the museum guided tour.  Basically the house was owned by a very wealthy family for a very long time and is a museum on that merit. Still, it has been beautifully preserved and restored with most of the furnishings and artwork being original and the textiles and wall coverings being painstakingly reproduced. It's all very lovely and gives one a glimpse of past Toronto as it was known by the very few. Admission to the garden is free so provides an accessible refuge to all from the summer's bustle. It's a peaceful way to spend an hour in the city.

The greenhouse is still in use.

Looking at you from the drawing room.

Fine dining indeed. The painting is the wedding portrait of the matriarch.

The conservatory with it's exotic plants - an incredible luxury.

A Walk By the Lake

I have now been living in my "new" neighbourhood for six months. It's been an interesting journey. After seven years in a radically different space, the adjustment process has been lengthy and ongoing. I've gone from a residential street to a downtown tourist destination, from a second floor to a high rise, from spaciousness to "economical" living, from living alone in all my spinster ways to living (happily and gratefully) with a loving and patient partner.

My fella and I have been working at discovering our area. It actually has much to offer if you take the time to look. We go on many walks and bike rides. The other evening we wondered down to the port lands and watched the sun set over the city. It's such an underappreciated part of town with one of the best views going. Unfortunately, on our walk we saw one of those nasty development proposal boards - a sure sign that rapid change is on the way.

Improvised

Back in May, I wrote of casting on while travelling, with the yarn I had available in my bag. I realize now I neglected to share the results.

I had no pattern so I improvised a wrister with simple seed stitch borders and basic thumb gussets. The leftover yarn used  is the sadly discontinued local brand Painted Fleece, with which I knit these Daughter socks five years ago. It's a deliciously soft merino in beautiful tones of pink and grey. Though I made notes while knitting, I am not likely to repeat this project. It's too basic. However, I am pleased with the result and by the fact that a little improvisation and a quality yarn made a car trip so much more pleasant.

Syd supports my knitting efforts and he's so darn photogenic.