Re: Gift

About ten days before Christmas I realized I had not knit a gift for my daughter. December was hard and long this year. Creativity was little to none.
"Oh well", I thought "She just won't get a knitted gift this year".

Now I have knitted the kid something for Christmas every year for the past ten seasons. This simply would not do. So I trotted off to Yarns Untangled and bought the same yarn as last year (Lichen and Lace Superwash Worsted) in a different colour and quickly knitted the same hat I made her in 2017. She opened it on Christmas Eve and was delighted - especially as it was wrapped around the sweater shaver she had requested. Whew.

Sometimes it's the little things.

End of Year

Goodbye 2017. It is now 5pm our time Deceber 31. My lover is making us a delicious dinner and soon we will toast the New Year. What are you doing?

It's been a hectic holiday season with fractured family all about there is much driving and visiting to be done. Every year I wonder if it's worth it.

Yet, when I stop my complaining and really take a still moment, I see just how much I have to be grateful for in this past year. I took part in the Fight for $15 and Fairness, a movement that got raises and better working conditions for 1.6 million people starting tomorrow. So Amazing!

I travelled across the Atlantic for the first time this year. See me being happy in London in the photo above? The picture was taken by my friend Victor who I hadn't seen in 5 years and with whom we spent a wonderful day. That's pretty special. 

We also did spend some holiday time with those we love and who love us. The beautiful members of The Workers' Action Centre hosted a fun holiday party. There was potluck dinner and dancing to Elvis with families I've known since The Daughter's pre-school days. There was wine and risotto with some, wine and mussels with others, wine and lasagna, wine and beef stew. Food and company.

And then there's this one. My relationship with The Daughter is a source of great joy to me and I think maybe to her too. I'm so happy she is making the transition into independant adulthood while still being my friend. She even likes my knitting and sent me this photo of her wearing the Antler Hat I made her for Christmas.

There's also this one. He loves me. He doesn't just say it, he actually practices it. How wonderful to be in an adult loving partnership that we both treasure and care for. And to think it only took 50 years to find him.

Not bad, right? If that's all there ever is, that would be enough. I do feel there's more good coming though and I hope to be open to it when it arrives.

Happy New Year everyone.

London: The Yarn

On vacation, as with everything else, sometimes you have to be flexible. There were midweek plans consisting of taking the tube to Camden Passage for shopping at Loop of London in the morning. Then a second tube trip was meant to do some sight seeing further north. Unfortunately the morning involved lots of tea and me ill in bed with killer cramps well past noon. After rallying, plans were amended. We headed to Camden where yes, I did see the lovely Loop, as well as various vintage shops and stalls. I bought a costume jewellry brooch from the 50's and a pretty skirt from the 70's. We even managed to fit in an actual pub meal - ale, steak and mushroom pie, and mashed potatoes that were more butter than potato. Mmmm.

It was a shortened day but a nice one. We spent the evening watching tv in our suite. I'm glad that we didn't force ourselves into a strict schedule. Sometimes it's about the company as much as the content. 

The window next to the cash at Loop. The garland and the greenery with the white window framework was one of the prettiest sights of the day.

I wish I had gotten a better photo of these scarves. They are teeny tiny crocheted granny squares done in silk that's only slightly heavier than thread. So beautiful. Elegant crochet? Who knew?

One can't go to the UK without buying Shetland wool. At least I think so. I want to make some sort of shawlette with this Jamieson's DK. The skirt I was wearing that day has this palette and I was just feeling the combination. I'm thinking triangular with striped garter in 2 or 3 of the colours and a complicated border that incorporates them all.

London; The Windows

We spent a whole day shopping the high end shoppes of London. We got off at Piccadilly Circus and from there it was round and about (in no particular order) Regent Street, Sloane Street, Piccadilly, New Bond, Old Bond and Jermyn. I was strangely underwhelmed by Liberty of London, but absolutely delighted with Fortnum and Masons. My partner shopped shirts and ties at the beautiful and elegant Harvie and Hudson but ended up purchasing at the more affordable Thomas Pink. Watches are his passion so we stopped into boutiques where burly but polite guards have to open the door to admit you. I tried on a 1500 pound coat at Dak's made with Jamieson's of Shetland wool. The Holiday lights were just coming on at 5pm when we, exhausted, stummbled back to Green Park station and on to our hotel for dinner.

Channeling Georgia O'Keefe here, don't you agree?

English bears wearing knits at Ralph Lauren.

LOVE this! Max Mara homages the best of the 70's

Dak's. Wool dress, silver shoes.

Watches watching the time at Cinderella's ball.

One of the many holiday windows at Fortnum and Mason's. 
The store was packed with people filling their carts full of biscuits, tea, coffee, fruitcake and Christmas chocolates.  I'm sure much of it was meant for mailing to relatives around the world.
 I purchased tea and shortbread here for The Daughter.

Sweet November

It's been a diverse and busy November here. I continued to struggle for workers' rights and equal pay and I also took a posh trip - to England! The irony of this does not escape me. However, that may be a discussion for another day. 

I'm in the process of sorting through the 200+ photos I took in London. I think maybe only thirty or so are any good and of those I shall choose the best to create a holiday photo post here in the coming days.

Staycation and Good News

We are very lucky here in Toronto in that there is so much to do, especially in the summer. My partner and I are taking Stay-cation this week and we've done so many lovely things together, many of them free. We rode our bikes to my old neighbourhood of High Park on one day and up the street to Allan Gardens on another. We caught a play at Soulpepper Theatre (definitely not free but worth the price). We drove to Elora to look at the Gorge. Yesterday we walked to the local farmer's market where we bought our entire dinner, meat, veg and potatoes, from local sources. It's been a grand time. Admittedly, a  couple of days we spent lazing about doing nothing and that's been nice too!

Allan Gardens has been around since 1910. It's open all year providing a tropical oasis in the centre of the city.

"There's sometimes an egret in this pond," I said as we turned the corner of the bike path into High Park. And there it was! We watched it fish for several minutes until it caught a snack. 

I visited Taste of Regent Park on Wednesday as part of the local chapter of The Fight for $15 and Fairness. It was Bollywood Night. I had a delicious meal prepared by community members and bought some pea shoots from these young enterprising gardeners. This event continues every Wednesday for the rest of the summer. Come if you can!

And finally, good news! I found my missing sock. I had a chill last night and put on a hoodie. My heart soared to discover that the lump in the pocket was the dearly missed sock. Now how did it get in there?

Another Birthday

The planet did another year rotation and I had another birthday. To celebrate we went on a spa trip to an inn not far from here. The spa experience was admittedly a little disappointing. It was far too crowded which caused me to have a "moment". Thankfully, my lovely and patient partner was there to get me quickly out. I love that I can so thoroughly trust him to help me when I need it. What a beautiful gift. I still marvel at having such reliable love in my life and am grateful every day.
Our best experiences of our overnight visit were away from the main building: visiting the stables and gardens, sitting on the deck outside our room watching the moon rise, walking down the road to see the neighbouring sheep farm. 
Yes, I said sheep!

The garden grooming achieved a planned, yet not too formal look.

Watch out for the working sheep dogs! Though we never felt  in danger, they aggressively defended their flock. We knew to keep our distance.

Wonderful to breathe the fresh, foliage scented, air.

Shortly before we left, I finished my scrappy socks. They are quite delightful, looking even better than I had hoped they would. The knitting is fast but the weaving in of ends is slow. It's a good balance that makes a great sock. I plan to make more like this.

Season's Greetings

 Well, winter has arrived here in Condo-land. Our favourite walk to look at the city became a glorious ice palace last week. Thankfully we are warm and safe in our little space. The groceries are in the fridge, the wine is ready, the presents are wrapped and are waiting the arrival of their recipients tomorrow. I have one more shift at work tonight and then it is officially the holidays here.

Have a joyful and peaceful holiday season my friends.

Birthday Trip - Again!

For the second year in a row, I was treated to a birthday trip. What a lucky girl am I! We spent a weekend in Montreal, a city to which I have not been in thirty years. Remarkably, little of it has changed at first glance. Montreal respects its heritage and architecture in a way Toronto never has, so many of the streets display the same vistas they have for many, many years. Of course Rue St. Catherine has become somewhat of an outdoor major chain mall and Old Montreal a collection of tacky souvenir shops. Still, the buildings themselves are beautiful and original in this highly walkable city.

Saturday was spent walking. And walking.
And buying earrings from street vendors.

A picture of my lover taking a picture. We saw many churches - as one does.

Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel. I had a bit of a religious experience here. All my latent Catholicism came to the fore. Stained glass brings it out of me I guess. Here we lit candles for lost loved ones. It felt like the right thing to do.

We had a suite! That`s right. I said suite.

And now I`m 52.

Art and Fashion

One last post about my Chicago trip. For what's a trip without a little window gazing? I am quite enamored of these displays at Chanel on Michigan Avenue. The whimsy of the airline theme mixed with classic Chanel details delights me. I especially love the three piece skirt set though I suspect that for me, the light blue shirtwaist is more flattering. As if I would ever have the opportunity to wear Chanel in the first place!
I do admit that the shoe choice leaves me puzzling.

And what's this? I excitedly posted this photo of Marcel Duchamp's Hat Rack on my Facebook page and got barely a look. Coming across this 1964 signed repro of the 1916 Dada milestone at the Art Institute set my heart pounding. You can clearly see his signature. Am I the only geek to be thrilled by this?

So cool!

Yarnify That

While in Chicago, I had to visit a yarn store! Luckily, I found Yarnify via the hotel advertising guide. It was even within walking distance of my location. Yarnify is a bright space with friendly, helpful staff. They carry a great variety of weights and fibers. As always when travelling, I was in search of something I had never seen before - souvenir yarn. I found it in this pack of Wonderland Yarns (from Vermont). These 5 skein, 640 yard, packs of fingering weight merino came in many colour combinations but of course I chose the gradient red. This will make a luscious shawl.

The store had a shelf, marked 'FREE', of old magazines and flyers. Flipping through it I found the Spring/Summer 1987 Vogue Knitting. And I love eighties sweaters!! I offered money for it but they said they just wanted the books to go to good homes. How delightful.

This issue is a gem. Naturally, some loud colours, over sized bodies and floppy sleeves are present. But check out these lovely designs:

The cotton in this pullover reminds me of Americo's Cotton Flamme.

Cute cardigans with dresses and skirts are always a favourite.
(Side note: I tried this hairstyle in the 80's - to disastrous effect.)

Wow!. And it's cotton. I want this deep waist rib top now.

I've been looking for a simple loose pullover. I don't wear contrasting
stripes myself so I'd use a single colour while keeping the texture.
I am mad for dropped sleeves.
They are out of 'vogue' these days but are still so flattering.

Yes, this is an article by Elizabeth Zimmerman!
This magazine was truly a find. I had heard of EZ's faux seams before.
Now I have the source material.

A Quick Chicago Visit

I recently had the opportunity to spend a day and a half in Chicago. My partner had a conference so I tagged along and spent a day walking my feet off in the Windy City which, thankfully, was not windy at all that day.

This is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park. 
Chicago seems to be very committed to its public spaces in a way that Toronto often is not. People friendly design is everywhere and there is a definite respect for existing architecture. 
The new integrates beautifully with the historical. 
I was delighted to learn that this pavilion was designed by Frank Gehry who also designed one of my favourite local spaces - The Art Gallery of Ontario.

One could spend a whole day at The Art Institute. What a magnificent museum! I only had the morning and chose to spend most of it in the European Modernism galleries.
Braque, Duchamp, Man Ray, Gris, Miro. My little Surreal heart was all aflutter.

We came across this fantastic horse sculpture in a children's park
 on E. Chicago.

Our evening walk in the park was splendid.