Category Archives: Out and about

8:56 am - August 20, 2013 - AngelaH

Guess where I am

Hotel room view.

Prayer flags for victims of the Boston bombing.

Well, okay, that last one gave it away. I have never been to Boston before, but L is presenting at a conference here, so I tagged along. We got in on Sunday evening, which gives me three and a half days in the city, more or less on my own.

Yesterday I wandered around Beacon Hill, sat happily and knit in the Common, got lost in Chinatown, went to Fenway and then strolled along Newbury St. Today my plan is to walk the Freedom Trail, and then I have no idea. Any suggestions? I want to go to the aquarium (apparently there is a newborn seal pup, as if I needed any convincing) and the inflight Porter magazine was all about Fort Point, but what else should I see? Are there shops and/or cafes/restaurants/bars I should see (besides Cheers, which of course)? And, not that I need any yarn, but is there a knitting shop somewhere in this city? I tried Googling it yesterday and all the much-loved ones seem to have closed… Any tips?

Category: Out and about Tags: Boston, photos, travel

9:41 am - July 29, 2013 - AngelaH

This old house

The front of the house.

Two weekends ago (that is, not this past weekend, but the one before) I went home to Nova Scotia for four days. It’s always nice to go home, but this time there was an actual occasion: this year marks the 250th anniversary/birthday of the house I grew up in. Yes. My parents’ wooden house is (at least) 250 years old. Obviously, this is not usual, but it is especially impressive when you consider that the town it’s build next to burnt down twice.

The house was brought up on a barge from Connecticut in 1763. After the British expelled the Acadians from the Annapolis Valley they wanted to ensure that they couldn’t return, so in addition to burning their homes and fields, they brought Loyalist Americans north to settle the land.

My parents bought the house (which sits on five acres of land) in 1991 and have basically spent all the years since restoring historical details (such as exposing all the beams downstairs) and creating gardens. When I went home, it was to help them host a tour of the house and gardens, in support of the local historical society. I took a bunch of pictures, so I thought I’d share some.

Looking in – you can see the original height of the meadow on the left.

The walled garden is the newest edition and still a work in progress. It was excavated four years ago, at which point the walls were built, and every year since then something as been added. This is the first year that it has been fully planted, so a lot of the ground cover and whatnot hasn’t spread.

The view across the garden from the entrance. We ate dinner up here almost every night I was home (there’s a big stone table in the shelter).

The view from the far back corner, diagonally across from the entrance.

There are lots of flower beds and gardens, and a whole fenced in yard where we played as kids, but besides the new walled garden, the other sort of spectacular part of the property is the ravine. When we moved in, and for most of my childhood, it was a wild and overgrown swamp, but in the late nineties my dad had it excavated and turned it into two beautiful big ponds, which are now home to muskrats, many frogs, and a ton of water lilies.

Looking down toward the bottom pond, from the bend in the little stream that connects them.

Stone steps that lead down to the patio by the ponds/back up toward the house.

Of course my trip home wasn’t entirely about the house and gardens. My dad took my sister Connie and I to the south shore for lunch one day and, as luck would have it, there was a lovely new-to-me yarn shop. I was very good and didn’t go crazy, but I did walk away with this beauty:

Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in what I’m guessing is her Autumn colourway (she doesn’t write the names on the tags because they are hard to repeat exactly and people get mad about it, or so I’ve been told.)

All in all, I’d say it was a pretty excellent trip.

Category: Out and about Tags: Fleece Artist, Nova Scotia

9:38 pm - March 26, 2013 - AngelaH

I’d go back in a heartbeat

The view from the veranda.

There’s nothing like looking at vacation photos a few days after returning home to make you sigh wistfully. For me, holidays feel like time outside normal linear life-time, as if they happen adjacent to everything else. When I get back, it’s like I’ve never been gone, but also just had an amazing dream I can’t fully describe to people. Luckily, though, unlike dreams, vacations have photographic evidence. (Also, none of these photos have been edited or colour corrected, so yes, the water really is that colour. I couldn’t believe it either.)

Since we’ve been back it has snowed (and then melted) and I’ve been sick (and gotten mostly better), L has been hard at work on his thesis, we’ve had (and still have) house guests, and Ganymede has been her most cuddly self ever. It’s nice to be back, but man, if you told me I could go back to Eleuthra tomorrow, I would be at the airport in no time (my speed would be helped by the fact that I’ve only half-unpacked).

Rainbow Bay Beach. You can see our house just up the shore (it has the gazebo).

Our time in Eleuthra (an island in the Bahamas) overlapped partly with one aunt and uncle (my dad’s middle brother and his wife) and partly with the other aunt and uncle (my dad’s youngest brother and his wife) and entirely with my grandparents, with whom we stayed. My grandparents have been going to Eleuthra in March for the last several years and I can absolutely see why. It’s pretty far north as far as the Caribbean goes (it’s about 60 miles off the Florida coast) so it’s more temperate than the islands farther south (I’d say the temperature ranged from 15 to 30C, and it was only 15 one evening when there was a breeze). Being in the north also means the flight is pretty short, which is a major bonus.

The beach outside Tippy's, which had the best pina colada and mojito I've ever tasted. Ever.

The beach outside Tippy’s, a beach-side bar had the best pina colada and mojito I’ve ever tasted. Ever.

The thing that really won us over, though, was that there were no resorts on the island. There’s a fair bit of tourism (it’s their main industry), but it’s tucked away in small hotels and guest houses and in rental homes, like the one we stayed in. We went out for drinks and lunch some days, but we made most of our meals in the house. We drove around to lots of beaches (Eleuthra has some amazing beaches), but we also swam off the boat slip in front of the house, or at the beach just down the shore. We went for walks and read and knit (well, I knit) and L kayaked and in general, the six of us hung out did our thing.

Ben Bay Beach (at the northern tip of the island) was an amazing beach. It was a little tricky to get to, but, well, look at it! How could that not be worth it?

My dad’s family all lives in out East, so I don’t get to see them very often, and L hasn’t seen them in years, so in addition to being a thoroughly enjoyable holiday in its own right, the family time was invaluable.

I’m avoiding family photos, since I didn’t ask first, so instead I give you dolphins! These look like they’re in a pool, but they’re 100% wild and we saw them when leaving Spanish Wells, the old, colonial town/island off Eleuthra’s northwest side.

Truly, I would go back in heartbeat. And, if you go (or want to), let me know so that I can a) travel vicariously, and b) tell you about all my favourite places that didn’t make it into this post.

It tended to cloud over at night, so there weren’t many great sunsets, but boy, when the sunset was visible, it was stunning.

Category: Out and about Tags: Bahamas, beaches, Eleuthra, family, photos, travel

8:58 am - March 22, 2013 - AngelaH

Snow on re-entry

Time flies when you’re in the sun. We got back to Toronto last night, and it was snowing. Snowing! When we left Eleuthra yesterday morning it was still cool (we left the house before the sun was up) but it was still probably 17 or 18C, and then we landed in snow. Boo.

Nevertheless, we had a fantastic holiday. I will do a proper post about it in a day or two, but before then I have to go through the many photos and unpack, and deal with all the things that didn’t get dealt with while we were away, and also cuddle Ganymede, who spent the week in an empty apartment (don’t worry, though, a friend of ours visited regularly to check on her).

So, in the absence of real holiday pictures, lets talk socks – apparently I need to start wearing them again.

Finished Stepping-Stones.

I finished the Stepping-Stone Socks last Friday, the day after we arrived. I had the cuff finished before we left, and the leg finished by the time we landed in Nassau and the heel turned by the time we boarded our teeny plane for Eleuthra (it sat 18, including the pilots, and I didn’t knit on it). Even with swimming and walking and reading and eating and drinking, it was a breeze to finish the foot on Friday, and L obliged me with some lovely photos.

This one is less lovely, but he thought a behind-the-scenes shot would be hilarious, so…

Certainly one of the reasons these socks were so quick to knit was because they are knit in worsted weight. Man, what a difference that makes! Besides the heavier yarn, though, these socks have a delightfully fluid and quick stitch pattern that only takes two rows to memorize. Honestly, I will knit these socks again and again, and because it’s a six-stitch repeat, it’s an easy pattern to adjust for size and yarn weight. All that being said, I found the subtle change from leg to instep pattern weirdly hard to adjust to; it just didn’t flow as well for me. The instep is just a little less intuitive (it also involved more counting) and while I like how it looks, I think the next time I make these I’ll continue the leg pattern down the foot and see how it looks.

I knit these socks over two weeks, but actual knitting time was only about four days, so these would make an excellent last-minute gift. My mum requested that the socks be a little taller than the ones I knit for myself, so I knit the legs to 7 inches. She also has slightly longer feet than I do. Those two factors meant I needed just a bit more than 100g to knit these, but you could easily make them from one 100g skein. I now have 82g of red yarn leftover, but I might just whip that up into another Puerperium Cardigan (our friends had a baby girl last night!), so I’m not annoyed in the least that I needed that little bit of extra.

Details
Pattern: Stepping-Stones by Clara Parkes (from The Knitter’s Books of Socks, but also available for free on Ravelry!)
Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in Ravelry Red
Needles: 3.5mm
Modifications: First of all, I changed the needle size. I thought the large size would be too big for my mum, so I just adjusted the small. They knit up perfectly to fit a size-10 foot (9-ish inches in circumference). I also changed the heel. Since I went up a needle size I was worried that the one in the pattern would be too thick/bulky for a comfortable fit, so I just went with my normal slip-stitch heel (also saving me extra ends to weave in). Other than that, I knit it exactly as written. (My socks are Ravelled here, if you’re curious.)

I also finished another pair of socks while away, but I’ll save them for another post.

Categories: finished, Knitting, Out and about Tags: Bahamas, Eleuthra, Malabrigo, socks

9:16 am - March 13, 2013 - AngelaH

Beach holiday

Surprise! Although going down south for a week is rather out of character, tomorrow L and I are doing just that. Every year for the last few years my grandparents have gone to the Bahamas for three weeks in March. They rent a house and spend their time reading and walking on the beach and being warm, and every year they invite family down to stay with them. This year, L and I are going, and even though it’s not the sort of holiday we usually take, I honestly cannot wait.

Our trip is actually a bit of a muddle, though, since I’ve been busy trying to get work stuff sorted out before we go (did I mention that I’d switched jobs and am now editing full-time at the Financial Post? I still do EweKnit‘s website, but I don’t work in the shop anymore) and run errands and organize stuff. And L, well, he’s also writing his PhD thesis (due in May) and this is not an ideal time to be taking a week-long vacation to a place with spotty Internet access. I think excitement will win out, but there has been some anxiety. I truly feel that this is all anticipation nerves, and that once we’re there and in a routine, it will be fine. We’ll be in a house, and not on some adventure trip, so he’ll be able to work, and I’ll be able to relax, and we’ll both get to spend some awesome quality time with my grandparents, which I am really, really looking forward to.

I am also looking forward to being consistently warm, to swimming, to wearing my summer clothes, and to spending days away from the computer. I am bringing books (plural) and knitting (also plural), and I plan to split my non-swimming time pretty evenly between the two. My beach books will be Tamas Dobozy’s Siege 13 (the most recent CanLit Knit pick), which I’m almost finished, and Some Great Idea a new book about Toronto by local journalist Edward Keenan. I may throw in a third book at the last minute though, since those aren’t very long.

On the knitting side, I still have some deciding to do. I’m going to bring the Stepping-Stones socks I’m knitting for my mum, because she will be heading down to the Bahamas with my dad a few days after we leave, and I want to leave them there for her (she bought the yarn when she was here last month). I have one sock finished and the other one started and since they’re in worsted weight, I half suspect I’ll be finished them by Friday.

My mum asked for red socks, and now I have a knitting project that refuses to be well photographed. Sigh. They’re almost this vibrant in person.

I’m also going to bring Shaelyn, the shawl I’m knitting (doesn’t it sound like I’m talking about a country singer?) This is a top down shawl, so even though it feels like it’s knitting up quickly, I know that feeling will subside. Still. I think I might throw in a ball of yarn for another pair of socks as back up. Or, I could just bring my languishing Seafoam socks and finish them up. Tricky. Summer clothes do take up less space than winter clothes, though, so maybe I’ll just bring it all and see what happens.

I have barely knit on this thing and it’s growing like crazy. I have two skeins of this yarn, so I haven’t decided yet how big to knit it (I’m thinking medium to large).

What do you think? I still have a few hours to decide.

Since I’m already bringing back-up yarn for both the shawl and my mum’s socks, adding another one isn’t that much more. (Also, yes, that is the same skein that I’ve been bringing as back-up yarn for almost a year now. What’s up with that? I consistently want to knit this yarn and then consistently don’t. Am I jinxing myself by bringing it?)

Also, this means I probably won’t be blogging until the end of next week. I promise a vicarious vacation when I get back, though!

Categories: in progress, Knitting, Out and about Tags: Bahamas, planning, travel

10:27 am - February 21, 2013 - AngelaH

Some new craftiness

Okay, maybe that should be crafty-ness, but whatever. The point is, this week I got out my sewing machine (an amazing Christmas gift from my parents this year) and made something useful. I had been wanting to make napkins for a while, but there wasn’t a pressing need, so I put it off and put it off. Then, my parents visited on the weekend and, since my mum rented a car, I suggested we go to Parkdale, and specifically, the workroom. (My mum also visited the shop, where she picked out two skeins of yarn that I will turn into socks for her.)

It is so fun choosing fabric.

I can 100% get there on public transit without much ordeal, but somehow it always felt like it was going to take my whole day, and it’s been cold, and, well, in the winter you can always find an excuse. We went, though, and I had some fun picking out fabric. I will admit that I expected that fabric to sit around the house for a while before I got around to using it, but then I cast on for a rather overdue baby sweater (the baby has not been born yet, but still) and realized I didn’t have a project bag for it. I know I could have used a Ziploc or something, but I hate doing that. Clearly, this was the perfect opportunity to get sewing.

I was going to wing it, but then realized I could probably do a quick(ish) Google search for a pattern and end up with something useable instead. After going down the rabbit hole of sewing blogs, I came out with this great tutorial by Jeni at In Colour Order. I was a bit nervous, since unlike with knitting, fixing sewing mistakes is not so easy, but I read carefully, measured everything twice, and followed exactly what she said, and, well, judge for yourself:

I am foolishly proud of this. (The lining is royal blue.)

I chose to practice on some fat quarters I bought ages ago, in case it was a disaster, but since it wasn’t I think a few more bags will be made this weekend featuring my new fabric. I also bought some quilt batting, so I can add a needle-proof layer for sock bags. This one is more than large enough for the baby sweater, and would comfortably fit a large shawl or fair isle project. I am quite pleased.

I promise that there is no danger of this turning into a sewing blog, but it might pop up now and again. We don’t live in a big enough apartment for me to get into quilting, but small blocks? Yeah, that could happen… Ahem. Speaking of knitting and baby sweaters, though, what do you think of this? I love the yarn, but I’m worried it’s knitting up too dark (we don’t know the baby’s gender yet). Thoughts?

It will be the Puerperium Cardigan.

Categories: Knitting, Out and about, Sewing Tags: baby knits, sewing, Toronto

10:49 am - February 12, 2013 - AngelaH

Lots of snow means lots of knitting

I grew up in rural Nova Scotia, which meant that every winter we’d get close to a dozen snow days (one year, we had so many school was almost extended into the summer to make up for it). Snow days were, of course, the best, and usually an excuse to sleep late and be lazy all day (except when we were little and then they were an excuse for a lot of playing). Living in Toronto, we don’t tend to get much snow, and working at a newspaper, my workplace is never closed because of weather.

Last week, though, Toronto got hit. That same big storm that barrelled through the the East Coast hit us first, and although we didn’t get quite as much snow, we got a lot (over a foot!). It mostly came on Friday and, yes, I had to work, but waking up on Saturday to a city that was still digging out meant that everything was quite and beautiful and wintry. If that combination doesn’t fill you with the desire to knit, well, I don’t know what does.

After long grey days, snow really brightens everything up.

L was busy marking assignments, so while we did go walking around in the snow and admiring how much prettier the city is in the snow – it was one of those perfect winter weekends, with a bright blue sky and no wind and snow everywhere – I spent the majority of the weekend happily knitting and listening to Tina Fey read Bossypants.

I was was a little all over the place knitting-wise, but here’s what I occupied my needles most:

I wish I'd taken a photo on Saturday morning, because I just about doubled the size of my Woodstove cardigan.

I wish I’d taken a photo on Saturday morning, because I just about doubled the size of my Woodstove Season cardigan.

I can sometimes be a reactionary knitter, thus, a new hat. This is Scrollwork by Irini Dmitrieva and I’m knitting it out of Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Plume.

And, last but not least, I’m making good progress on my Everyday Socks. They’re good TV knitting, and with the cold, I’m extra motivated to get another pair of socks finished.

A little all over the place maybe, but I like variety; it keeps me interested and helps ensure my hands don’t get tired or sore. Those cables are addictive, though, and if it’s still cold out when I finish that hat I will probably cast on right away for the matching cowl!

Categories: Knitting, Out and about Tags: Brooklyn Tweed, cables, hat, Madeline Tosh, snow, socks, Toronto, woodstove cardigan

6:09 pm - January 26, 2013 - AngelaH

New York yarn shops

Well, that ellipsis lasted longer than I had intended. This week got away from me, and while I could tell you all about the moose gloves (fingers are super weird to knit), I promised to write about yarn shops in New York. We left the city on Friday morning, mere hours before the VKL marketplace opened, but that was probably for the best, because I got quite an odd look from the customs guy when I told him that I had purchased “shirts, books, and yarn,” so it’s definitely good that everything came under the allowed amount because I think they would have been very confused about how to charge duty on yarn.

Anyway, we really only made it two yarn shops, because I didn’t want to highjack the trip and, while L and I are generally very supportive and indulgent of each other, I try not to push it. Also, we did this part of the trip on his birthday.

First up was Lion Brand Studios. I’ve never actually knit with any Lion Brand anything before (I’m not sure it’s that big a deal in Canada, but I might be wrong about that), but I had heard about its amazing window displays and wanted to see the shop in person. Let me just say, even if you intend to buy nothing, it is still worth a visit. The front window was incredible (despite the scaffolding erected in front of it) and the shop itself is small and cozy and fun.

The reflections are annoying, but since taking a photo straight on was impossible, this was the best I could do.

Everything in the window was knitted, including the swans and trees, which L thought was pretty incredible. (He thought I should make sure to get a photo of the swan’s feet on the blog, so take a good look.)

One of my favourite things in the shop was the “Testing Wall,” where you could get some yarn and swatch it before buying. This is so smart, and something I’d love to see more of. I didn’t take advantage of it while we were there (it being L’s birthday and all), but I definitely would on a future visit.

Such a good idea.

I also really enjoyed that the knitting-related decor didn’t end with the window display. I didn’t even notice this needle light shade when I first passed it, and while I was taking a picture another woman came to see what I was doing and laughed when she noticed it. Genius.

What to do with your giant-needle collection.

Next up was Purl Soho, which was the real destination. I’ve been reading their blog since I first started knitting, and very much wanted to see the shop in person. It was getting dark (and cold) by the time we got there, so I didn’t get a shot of the window, but I did take this one from just inside the front door.

It’s a bit deceptive how big this makes the shop look, but the back half is all sewing and fabric. Yarn wise, they had many beautiful things, but I knew what I wanted, and I wanted Brooklyn Tweed (which you cannot get in Canadian shops, at least as far as I know). I splurged a little (it’s New York!) and bought five skeins of Shelter: two in Plume, two in Hayloft, and one in Snowbound. We went and grabbed lemonade (why? I couldn’t say) and I started swatching.

Yum yum yum. The Hayloft is really more mustard than green, but it’s tricky to photograph.

Plume up close. I am in love with this colour.

I have definite plans for this purchase, but they remain secret for now. I will say, though, that Shelter is a dream to knit with. It’s rustic and lofty a very soft, which is everything I want to knit with right now – I just need to finish those moose gloves! Speaking of which, I should really go do that since I’m just four fingers and a thumb from finished. Have a lovely weekend!

Categories: Knitting, Out and about Tags: Brooklyn Tweed, Lion Brand, New York, photos, Purl Soho, travel, yarn shopping

12:00 pm - January 22, 2013 - AngelaH

Two and a half days in New York

Before the parage of photos begins, let me put things in context. L and live in Toronto, the largest city in Canada. The population of Toronto (and area) is about 5 million. To put that in context, that is more than five times the population of Nova Scotia, my home province. So yeah, for me, moving to Toronto was a pretty big adjustment for me. So, it would stand to reason that going to New York City, population 8 million-ish, should be overwhelming. Oddly, though, it isn’t. It might be because we’ve both been there and know what to expect, or that we’ve travelled quite a bit, but I suspect it’s because New York is so ubiquitous. I mean, you can walk into a neighbourhood you’ve never been to, on streets you can’t name, and recognize something from a TV show or a movie, and that makes New York not at all intimidating.

All of which is to say that we had a great time. We had pretty crappy weather for the first couple of days (cold and raining/sleeting), but our third day was crisp and clear, so it all balanced out – I always figure it’s good to get at least one rainy day when you’re in a big city since you’re probably going to go to a bunch of museums and things anyway.

So, without further ado, here’s a selection of things we did in New York:

1. Walk around Central Park: We were staying on the Upper East Side, so it was close by, and who can resist, really?

This is, as best as I can figure, the bridge in Home Alone 2.

2. Eat Ramen: This was near our friends’ place and is their favourite ramen place. It did not disappoint.

Eat Ramen: This was near our friends' place and is their favourite ramen place. It did not disappoint. (This is L's bowl, since the veggie ramen, while delicious, was less photogenic.)

This is L’s bowl, since the veggie ramen, while delicious, was less photogenic.

3. Visit the Museum of Natural History. I’m pretty sure this is where the Night at the Museum movies were filmed, and with good reason – it is awesome. We spent an entire (rainy) day here, and didn’t even make it through half.

The Hall of Biodiversity wasn’t even an exhibit we were intending to go to, but it was so full of lovely things we stopped in anyway.

More biodiversity. There was just so much to look at.

Dinosaurs! I had never seen dinosaur skeletons before, so this was pretty cool. (We also saw the big sea life and North American mammals exhibits.)

4. The Empire State Building. Neither of us had been, and since we had free tickets (our friends had leftover City Passes) we figured we should go. It turns out that if you go before 11 on a Thursday, there’s no line!

The Chrysler Building is pretty magnificent.

I love all the water towers on top of the downtown buildings. I’d never noticed them before, but I’m smitten.

5. Walk the High Line. We started at 28th Street and walked all the way to the end, stopping for lunch at Chelsea Market. I cannot recommend this highly enough – what an awesome way to experience New York.

The High Line was a definite highlight. We started at 28th Street and walked all the way to the end, stopping for lunch at Chelsea Market. I cannot recommend this highly enough – what an awesome way to experience New York.

Yes, it was cold (I have a shawl on under that scarf), but it was sunny and beautiful. I wish we had something like this in Toronto.

6. See the city at night. You basically can’t avoid this (especially at this time of year), but still. Walking around downtown at night is immensely satisfying and lovely (and cold!)

The arch in Washington Square Park plus the Empire State Building, all lit up.

My mum always says that you can’t do everything in one trip or you have no excuse to go back, so true to that we didn’t make it nearly everywhere we wanted to, and we’re okay with that. We did, however, make it to some yarn shops, but that will be its own post later this week.

Category: Out and about Tags: New York, photos, travel

10:03 am - January 15, 2013 - AngelaH

Quickly, quickly

By the time you read this, L and I will be in (or at least on the way) to New York. It’s his birthday on Thursday and, even though I won’t have finished moose gloves to give him (I totally got the first hand done, though!), I can at least show him a good time in a big city. Although we have both been to New York before, we’ve never been together, so I’m pretty excited (and, before you ask, I’m sorry to say we’ll be heading back to Toronto before Vogue Knitting Live – before the marketplace even opens, actually, which is perhaps for the best, since I don’t want to high jack our trip).

We will be staying with friends in Manhattan, and while we have a rough idea of stuff we’d like to see and do, we’re not planning too heavily because we don’t want to feel rushed while we’re there. That being said – what is your New York must-see/must-do? Please tell me so I can impress him with my insider knowledge!

Okay, I have to pack, and finish work stuff (and probably repack – who are we kidding?), and try to get some sleep before I go (see how organized I am, writing this in advance). I may get a chance to blog while we’re there, but I sort of doubt it, so I will fill you in on how it all goes when we’re back. Until then, please enjoy this adorable little hat I knit for our friend’s baby shower on Sunday:

Unisex colours, totally girly wrapping paper. I still think they’re having a boy, though.

It’s so cute I want to knit six more! (Ravelled here, if you want the details.)

Categories: Knitting, Out and about Tags: baby knits, New York, travel