{this moment}

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{this moment} - Inspired by SoulMama.  A Friday ritual.  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from this week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Recently Reading

Hello,

I finally finished reading Emma last week.  I think it is now one of my very favourites of Jane Austen's books.  It was so good that I wanted to read it all over again as soon as I finished.  I had seen the movies before (my favourite is the BBC version with Romola Garai), but I hadn't read the book till now.  I appreciated getting to know the characters more fully through the book because there is only so much they can fit into the movies.  It was fun to read along with everyone over in the Itty-Bitty Group, I especially enjoyed discussing our favourite parts, and least favourite characters!  I've already started trying to decide which book to read next.  Right now it's between Mansfield Park and Gone with the Wind.  I also was considering Wives and Daughters, and Cranford.  I seem to have been bitten by the reading bug!  I read Persuasion over the weekend when I finished Emma and fully enjoyed it too.  I hadn't read it before, just seen the movies, but as with Emma, I liked getting to dig deeper into the characters and their feelings.  Reading has been bringing me a lot of enjoyment lately and I hope it doesn't stop any time soon.

My current project is a baby blanket for my sister's friend who is due in September.  That's it in the picture up there.  We don't know if it's a boy or girl yet, so I chose to make it in white.  I just measured it and there is about 10 more inches to go and then the edging.  I'm really hoping to get it finished before Friday so that I can focus entirely on my Ravellenic Games projects, which I have finally picked out!  I'm going to do the Honeycomb Scarf and a hexipuff a day for my Bee Keeper's Quilt - which I started yesterday, those little hexipuffs are so cute!  I figured it was best to choose only two things so I don't overwhelm myself since I don't know what is going to be going on during the next few weeks around here.  Then if I do finish up before the Games end, I will just add something else and work on that.  It feels so nice to have my projects picked out, now I just need to get some beads and a small crochet hook at Michael's tomorrow and wind my yarn then I'll be all ready for Mass Cast-On, which here is going to be at 4:00 PM, I can hardly wait!

xoxo

War of 1812 Celebrations

Hello,

Last week I mentioned that our Island was celebrating the War of 1812 with some festivities at our fort.  Our fort was involved in the first military manoeuvre of the war - the capture of Fort Michilimanckinac.  Some voyageurs paddled all the way from General Brock's headquarters to let our fort know that the United States had declared war on Britain, and due to the voyageurs speedy paddling the British knew America had declared war before the American troops did.  The few British soldiers stationed at the fort, accompanied by First Nations warriors, Metis, and Coureur de Bois formed a surprise attack on Fort Michilimanckinac and captured it without a single shot being fired.  As a result, when the American troops got to our fort, they found it unmanned, since we were at theirs, and they burned it down.  There really isn't much left of the real fort now, but they've done a good job of rebuilding what they could and preserving what was left.  It's a fun place to visit if you ever get the chance.   If you are interested you can read more about our Fort here and here, or about the War of 1812 here.

The Voyageurs paddling by our house on their way to the fort.  

Soldiers standing for inspection.

The  US Brig 'Niagara.'

Firing their cannons at the fort.

The Sloop the 'Welcome.'

The two ships as they may have appeared during the war.  

The fort put on a great reenactment and it was a very fun and interesting day.  I think my favourite part was seeing the ships.  I have long been enchanted by pirate ships, ships of the fleet, merchant ships, etc. so they were particularly interesting to me.  There also was presentations, tours, demonstrations (the one about how a dual worked was quite fun!), and performances.  All in all, I think everyone did a great job and I was glad to be able to see it!

Have a great day,
xoxo  

And the Winner Is...

Hello,

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway and for all the kind comments!  The winner of the Bee Keeper's Quilt pattern is Lucy Chen.  Congratulations Lucy I have contacted you through Ravelry!!  I hope you have a fun time with this pattern.  I still haven't started mine yet, but soon, hopefully soon.

I hope you all had a wonderful week, mine went very well.  I got most of my tasks done and we enjoyed a lovely visit with my sister's friend over the weekend.  I didn't however make much progress on any of my projects but this week looks a bit slower, so hopefully I'll be able to make some headway.  I have yet to pick my Ravellenic Games project(s) so that is something I need to do this week as well, preferably in the next day or so.  I'm really not sure what I would like to make for it, I have a small list of contenders, but nothing has really jumped out at me yet.  I'll have to give it some more thought.  Are you taking part in the games this year?  What have you chosen?  What do you think would make for a good project?  I'm open to suggestions and ideas!

xoxo

The Bee Keeper's Quilt Giveaway

Photo: Tiny Owl Knits

Hello,

This week looks like it is going to be a busy one!  My cousin's stag and doe is on Friday and I still have baking to do for it, I need to get my products done for the Pancake House this week, my sister's friend is coming from Toronto on the weekend for a visit, we need to clean the house, and our Island is doing a bunch of community things this week for the War of 1812.  There doesn't look like there will be much time for blogging, so I thought I'd have a giveaway!  Sound good to you?  One of the projects I really want to start this summer is a Bee Keeper's Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits.  This pattern reminds me of summertime: the reference to bees which are always around in abundance, the mix-up of colours makes me think of a garden full of blooming flowers, and the small portable size of the hexipuffs which make for perfect summer knitting.   The idea of using summer free time to get a head start on something that will be greatly appreciated in the upcoming fall and winter months has me enchanted.  How fun it would be to knit these little "puffs" during all the different summer activities - camping, family vacations, sporting games, at the beach or the park or even the cottage.  I imagine all the memories I could knit into this gorgeous blanket!  Then every time I snuggle under it in the cooler months I'll have all those summer thoughts to keep me warm.

So would you like to knit along with me and make yourself one of these gorgeous blankets?  If so, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your Ravelry id and I will choose the winner next Monday July 30th.

Good luck to everyone and have a wonderful week!

xoxo

Today's Project

Hello,

Today I am in the city for the day. I had an appointment first thing this morning and now I am at my sister's house with Emmie while Mom finishes up her shopping. It's a hot one out there today so I thought it best to come here instead of making Emmie brave the heat.

I wanted to mention that I changed my Tour de Fleece goals a few days ago. I ended up being much busier than I had anticipated when I first made my goals, so I wasn't able to keep up at all. I decided that instead of the sewing, I will work on a WIP from my pile for 30 minutes each day. This seems much more manageable and will help ensure that I do some knitting or crocheting each day, which I think helps with keeping me relaxed and sane. The first project I picked to work on is my Georgiana Shawl since I'm hoping to have it done in time to wear (if need be) to one of the weddings at the end of August. So far, I am doing pretty well. I'm on the short-row shaping of the body right now, then next up is a little more lace at the top. If you are participating in the Tour, how are your goals going? Do you find that you ever set your goals a little high and have to scale back on occasion?

Since it's Friday already I wish you all a wonderful start to the weekend! It sounds like it's going to be a hot one in my part of the country, so I will be doing my best to stay cool and enjoy the weather.

xoxo

Drive by Post

Hello,

I'm super busy here today so this post will be a short one, but I wanted to share a few things I finished up a while ago but just now got around to photographing.  So without further ado:

Project: July Socks

Started: July 1st, 2012

Finished: July 5th, 2012

Pattern: Spring Forward by Linda Welch

Yarn: ONline Supersocke 100 Jungle Color #1132

Needles: 2.75mm Signature DPNs

Mods: I did a short-row heel, but everything else is just as written.

Project: A Wisp of Lace

Started: June 8, 2012

Finished: June 10, 2012

Pattern: Shell Script Wrap & Scarf by Michelle B.

Yarn: Knit Picks Aloft in Pennyroyal 

Hook: K (6.5 mm)

Project: Rocky Raccoon

Started: June 26th, 2012

Finished: July 6th, 2012

Pattern: Amigrurmi Raccoon by Stacey Trock from her Woodland Animals Craftsy course

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Grey Heather, White and Black

Hook: H (5.0 mm)

xoxo

Judith's Shawl

Hello,

I finished the Jeanne Lois Bandit!  It turned out bigger than I had originally planned, so I blocked it out to be a nice shawl size.  It's for my friend Judith, and I think the colours are going to look stunning on her.  I can't say enough about how much I enjoy crocheting lace, it's fun, beautiful and a lot faster than the knitted variety, although I enjoy that too!  

xoxo

Happy Independence Day!!

Hello,

I just wanted to pop in quickly to say Happy 4th of July to all the Americans!!  I hope you are having a wonderful holiday!

xoxo

P.S. I will be back soon with an update.  Life's been a bit busy and I haven't had time to write a proper post yet, but I should be able to sneak one in tomorrow.