For me!

I won a contest!

A couple of weeks ago, I added a comment to 1600 others to congratulate Sheri at The Loopy Ewe on her second anniversary.  And I was chosen as one of sixteen winners, much to my shock and amazement.

The package arrived today, and was just a fabulous way to celebrate a beautiful, cool summer day.



I knew the yarn would be yummy, so I left it as the last thing to be unwrapped.  What a fun little package.  There's a Loopy Ewe mini tote bag with a little tag that reads "Sock yarns don't count as stash!" and a cute little pin.  The pattern is for Making Tracks socks, by Wendy.  This is one I'll definitely be trying out.  Sorry it's not really in the picture, but here's the Ravelry link.



And then there was the yarn.  Oh, the yarn.


There is a skein of Wollmeise in a vibrant, yummy fall colourway called Campari Orange.



It feels lovely and soft, and seems to be a thinner yarn than most of the sock yarns I've used.  I may actually need to swatch to make sure I use this to the best of its abilities.  And since this is "the" yarn right now, I want to make sure I get the most out of it.


But as lovely as the Wollmeise is, I have to admit that I've fallen for the Yarn Love Juliet.



I doubt I would ever have picked out this colourway on my own.  But as soon as I held it in my hands, I knew it was the colourway I never knew I always wanted.


It's all my favourite colours and combinations rolled into one.  It has the warm, toasty fall colours, the rich brown, and the bright, sunny-skies-blue. 



And if you happen to know what I do for a living, you'll know why the name of the colourway is particularly appropriate and cracks me up.


Thanks to Sheri and the Loopy Ewe!

In a Spin

I'm still not entirely sure how it happened.  I was in Romni Wools, picking up some yarn for a very special project (not sure if I can blog about it yet) and I wandered down to the basement.  This is where the sales rooms are, full of bins and boxes that you can dig and dive through in hopes of finding treasure.  On the way to the sales rooms, you pass by the spinning supplies: wheels, roving, spindles, and miscellaneous mysterious gadgets.  I rarely give these a second glance, beyond making sure my sleeve doesn't catch on anything as I move along.

So I still don't really know how I came to be standing at the checkout, paying for this:



And this:



I haven't been really all that interested in spinning. It just seemed the slow way to get yarn.  But I'm finding that I'm enjoying the movement and the feel of the fibre in my hands.  And it's rewarding to start with a bag of fuzzy blue intestines, and end up with a cute little skein like this.

Clover

As usual in my world ‘tomorrow’ is a flexible term.


So, the most lasting memory of the cottage? Was one I brought back with me in a very real, very physical form.



This is Clover.

When we arrived at the cottage, there was a box of cat food and a note left on the kitchen island. “Please feed the stray cat and call the Humane Society”. Various clues led us to believe that the cottage owners probably don’t visit the place between renters, and so the note was most likely from the group who had rented the cottage the week previous.

The stray cat in question showed up that day, and he was a very friendly, warm kitty. The next day he brought his girl. And the day after that, we’d apparently cleared the security check, and they brought the kids.




We were in the back of beyond, not close to any municipality that had a humane society, and we know that they don’t come to pick up strays anymore in any case. So we just continued to feed them and let them hang out on the deck with us.



A few days into the week, the grey kitten wasn’t around anymore. There was no one in any of the nearby cottages, so we were left to conclude that something had happened to her.

At the end of the week, I couldn’t stand to leave the second kitten to a similar fate. So Clover came home with me.



But Sebastian is a one-cat cat. And he’s that cat. A new home was found for Clover after only a week. It was hard to see her go, but I’m confident that the person who came to pick her up will give her a wonderful, loving home.



So all’s well that ends well. I just hope our next cottage doesn’t come with similar residents. It’s too hard on my heart.

Home Again, Home Again

I'm back from the cottage now, and working on getting used to things as they are. No lake view, no whispering pines, no friends waiting in the living room.


Sigh. Back to the noise and limited views of my little neighbourhood.
But it's still nice to get home.

It was a great time away. We all spent a lot of time reading, and Charlotte and I played with our sticks and string. I finished my one project, and started three more. Apparently, the limited attention span that develops while on vacation can prompt a wicked case of startitis.

Charlotte may also have done a little recruiting.



We had one evening enlivened by a visit from this little guy.



We were very brave for city folk, and did manage to drive him back out the patio door. Unfortunately, we also succeeded in inviting in several hundred mosquitoes during the fracas. I was tempted to invite the bat back in to deal with it.

Charlotte and I also spent lots of time playing with our cameras.



There was plenty to snap.





But the most tangible memory of the weekend is one I'll share tomorrow. All that relaxing has worn me out and it's time for me to get to bed. My own lovely, soft bed.