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A Newfoundland Photography and Knitting Blog by Betty Nolan

Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy New Year, Ellen!

This is the time of year when everyone talks about the year just passed and what their plans are for the new year. Some make New Year's resolutions and some are totally against this practice. I don't make New Year's resolutions anymore. I prefer to make changes when they are required throughout the year. I find that helps life have a bit more flow than waiting until January 1 to try to make a bunch of big changes.

I always reflect on the past year and set some goals for the New Year. Speaking of reflecting, today I received the Artyarns Newsletter and discovered that Ellen is mentioned in Popular Patterns of the Year. It's the Faggot Stitch Scarf. That's pretty exciting! That scarf is one of the few pieces that I actually kept for myself. Now I'm glad I did.

What are the goals for the New Year? I'm still pondering that. Where do I want knitting to take me this year? Hmmm. Good question! However, I have to say, knitting is always an adventure for me. Whether it's sitting by the window leafing through a new knitting book, watching a pattern form on the needles, figuring out something on the machine, or taking Ellen on a road trip, the excitement never ends. Kinda funny isn't it? A lot of people would imagine knitting to be boring, but I'm still just as fascinated by it as I was in my childhood. Maybe I just didn't grow up! :-)

You will notice the format of the blog changing in the New Year. As a Christmas present, my daughter, Andrea, is helping make it more professional looking and easier to navigate. Thank you Andrea!

Ellen and I would like to wish each of you and your families a Happy New Year! Thank you for visiting the blog as often as you do and for offering praise and positive feedback. We appreciate your loyalty and we love hearing from you! Best wishes for the coming year.


"Fireworks"  copyright Betty Nolan

Monday, December 17, 2012

You Need a Dog, Ellen!

Maybe it's me who needs the dog, not Ellen. Then I'd have to take Ellen, and the dog, everywhere. Wonder how they'd get along in the back of the car? Ellen probably wouldn't fare out too well in that situation.  :-)

I am hand knitting some dog collars for friends' grand-dogs for Christmas presents but Ellen had to model one of them so I could show a potential customer how it looks. Ellen would rather not model dog collars, but hey I think it looks great on her!

We did get the snow the weather-people forecasted, but it was a day late in coming. When I went to the pond yesterday to feed the birds, I took a few snaps with my phone. The geese were happy to see me and made sure I didn't get away without sharing the bag of seeds with them. 

The bells go on the dog's front so they'll jungle when he/she walks.

Back view.





I love how they look like they are smiling. 

Friday, December 14, 2012

Warm Now, Ellen?!

The past few days around these parts has been lovely - when you look out the window. Blue sky, sunshine and a scattered puffy cloud. The outdoor thermometer just outside our kitchen window registers +30C when the sun shines upon it. However, when you open the front door, it's a different story! Early this morning it was -5C, and with the wind chill, it felt like -13C. It did warm up later in the day though.

Ellen is not pleased with these temperatures, her being a Californian girl and all. She was pretty happy to see me knit a woollen leg warmer a few weeks ago. However, her happiness was diminished when I started to knit the second one! She did get the opportunity to try one on before I gave them to my friend for her birthday.

According to the weather network, we are supposed to get 10-15 cm of snow tomorrow, so I thought I should visit Bowring Park this afternoon and get a few snaps before the snow flies. It'll be a different looking place tomorrow!










Popcorn on a tree? :-)

Leg warmers (100% Italian merino wool)





Wednesday, December 5, 2012

I'm in a Quandary, Ellen!

Here I am busy as a beaver knitting things for December birthdays and Christmas and can't share any of it with you because the people I am making presents for, follow the blog. Hmmm... what to do? Ellen suggested that I make a couple of small items and share those. Then photograph the rest of the stuff (so she can get the chance to model it before it goes out the door!) and share those items with you after Dec 25.  Pretty good idea I thought. So let's do that!

I'm working on a couple of new patterns too. We can share those when they are finished. But, for today we'll show you the Christmas ball that I recently made. I bought the book "55 Christmas Balls to Knit" by Arne and Carlos - the same guys who wrote the Knitted Dolls book where I found the pattern for Leezel. 55 Christmas Balls is a delightful book! The day after I received it, I sat with a cup of tea and leafed through just looking at the patterns and reading the short stories that accompany the patterns. The book has a magical feel that I wanted to keep with me the whole of the holiday season. Most of the time, I just want to do "quick knits" that can be completed in a minimal amount of time. Reading this book and knitting a Christmas ball from it brought me back to the "process" of knitting, which is much more thoughtful. 

Didn't mean to do a book review there, but, by the same token, that book deserves a great review. I will definitely leaf through it again and again, and hopefully get the chance to make more Christmas balls. The one I made will be sent off to Andrea and Stephan for their new Christmas tree. It's knit with 100% wool and has fleece stuffing (just like Leezel). I did knit it a bit tight, but none of the stuffing will ever get out! Next one I will use larger needles.  :-)