The call of the wild

It has been so lovely out here! The sun is shining, birds are singing and I've been spending more and more time outdoors, especially now that my allergies are now going away! YIPIEEEEE!!!!! So now comes the time of year when I take my crafting outside, and yearn to go away from civilization. Right now my ideal getaway would be me and Dear Hubby away from the noise of cities and towns quietly camping in Algonquin park or something similar. No computers, no tv, no video games and nobody asking for favours. I would love to just bug out for a little while and concentrate on my knitting (my heartilly sweater, aka the neverending sweater is still in progress and the deadline is looming over me, and beginning to really stress me out!) or crochet (that's right, the knitting gypsy now swings both ways! Thanks to my wonderful sensei Christina, owner of the Pridie Collection in Peterborough.) in the quiet sanctity of the outdoors. I was really inspired by my ecotourism class at the college to get outside and be more adventurous, even if I haven't tent camped since I was 15. An experience ruined by sharing a tent with my kid sister who kick-boxes in her sleep. I've pretty much been strictly a vardo/ hotel kind of girl since then. Anyways, I found myself wandering around outdoors stores more so than my LYS lately, and so now I've been planning this great camping trip, which hopefully will come to fruition soon. For now I'll just keep dreaming of the wild while I keep going on the never ending sweater.
Happy Travels,
Berlynn The Knitting (and crocheting) Gypsy

Into the wild

Yay! I finally got out of town! I went to the cottage for a late celebration of Ostara, but I now feel 100% better after being out in nature! It was exactly what I needed to re-center myself and sort out exactly what my priorities are. I even finished my hooded scarf  while I was up there; it's so nice and cozy!
Anyways I started making up some washcloths to accompany my handmade herbal soaps that will be sold at a few local businesses this summer, just to make them look a little cuter I think. I still haven't picked up the heartilly sweater in a little while, but I have a new plan of attack for finishing it with a minimal of weight and yarn, so I'll have to see how that pans out. I'm still confident it will be done for Fanexpo in August, despite my avoiding-like-the-plague attitude toward working on it.
And I've decided to go forth with publishing the cute little Mokona I designed, so within a couple of days the Mokona pattern will be made available here.
until then, Cheers
Berlynn, The Knitting Gypsy

Lazier than a well-fed house cat

Ok, I know its been awhile, I just haven't really knit much in the last little while, let alone really have much to write about. It seems I've gotten lazy when it comes to knitting. I start something, I put it aside and then instead gnaw through a book (by the way, just finished One for the Money by Janet Evanovich after YEARS of it being in my "to read" drawer, and now I can't wait to see the movie when it comes out on DVD). I guess its all part of the restlessness that my gypsy spirit experiences every spring; the weather gets nicer and I get really restless and want to get the hell out of town. I guess that restless attitude is showing my knitting as well. I'm still in the process of the epic Heartilly Sweater, half way done the back and nearly ran out of yarn, so I raided the Zellers liquidation sale (not that good of a deal as of yet.). I've been working on a cabled scarf with a hood and actually got MOST of it done. Just the hood to go, so much for it being ready for St. Patty's day as I'd planned however.
lets see what else... half way through an afghan, and a march patch for a monthly patch KAL I started back in October, and for reasons unknown I started a baby sweater. I suppose for practice shaping necklines and stuff for bigger sweaters.
Which reminds me, I'm proud to announce that I've FINALLY worn my husband down in letting me make him a sweater! YAY!!!!! I love the way Irish aran looks on men, so I'm making him a storm gray aran cabled sweater using red heart ecoways. Start date to be decided though; probably after this cluster of unfinished projects clear out.
Well bye for now, hopefully I can travel again soon, before this rut drives me up a tree.

Berlynn, The Knitting (yet currently stationary) Gypsy

the largest design yet/ the Heartilly sweater chronicle

Twas the night before Christmas and FINALLY all of my knitting was done! So I decided to try my hand at knitting my own cosplay, for a more ambitious project. So over the last month I've been working on my own design of Rinoa's blue duster and arm warmers from Final Fantasy 8. I finished the arm bands about mid-January, and have been taking the back portion of the sweater with me everywhere I go.  Unfortunately I've had a bad month, running back and forth to the hospital (I was in an accident and bruised my neck, the rest of the visits have been for my husband) but the upside of that is that there has been a great deal of waiting room time in which to knit with. As of now the length is from my knee to my waist (not sure the lenth in inches or cm, but I'll have to measure later.) and within a few more inches and I can start reducing the stitches for a more form-fitting shape. This is my first clothing design so I hope it turns out right.
Stay tuned for more updates on my progress on this project!
Cheers!
Berlynn

Cabin fever

I'm starting to go a little crazy sitting still. This happens a lot where I start to get fed up with this town and everything in it and badly desire to load up the caravan and hit the road. It could be my gypsy nature compelling me to the road, or it could be that the politics of this town are starting to weigh heavily on me that are driving my desire to get away, but sadly I am stuck until it gets warmer.
I was supposed to be going to the little town of Combermere and seeing about some handspun yarn from the Madonna house, but plans have fallen through and here we are stuck here still. At least it gives me time to get some of my larger projects done (or at least started) such as the cabled poncho I've had sitting in Queue for the last 8 months and I'm still working on that monthly patch afghan (yay! 3 down 9 to go!) and I've been working on the schematics to a sweater and wristwarmer combo for my cosplay to Anime north in May. Thank the goddess I got my Yule knitting done with time to spare. I hope everyone will be very happy with what I've made them.
So I suppose since travel will not be happening for the next 4 months *sigh* I guess I'll bury myself in my work and try desperately to ignore the local yarn shop politics.
Cheers and blessed Yule!
Berlynn The knitting gypsy

Distracted... again

Have you ever started a project only to start another one 3 days later without picking up the first one again? Not only have I done that the last 2 weeks but 2 of the projects I have on the go aren't even Yule gifts! Okay, one is a draft stopper I've been planning for months and since the snow is supposed to be flying soon (though hopefully not because I hate having wet pant-legs)... you get the idea.  The other thing I'm working on is an afghan. mostly because when I was freezing my rear off on the shores of the Burnt River I kept thinking how nice it would be if I had a cozy cabled afghan about now. It probably didn't help that I was reading a magazine featuring some really nice cabled afghans in it, but none-the-less I was determined to knit an afghan! (stupid me I'll be done it in July)
Anyways, knitting ADD aside, I have got about half of my Yuletide knitting done, save for a few dozen dishcloths I have to make.
No time for roaming right now, not with end of terms coming up, yule knits and visions of sugar cookies dancing through my head. I think it might make me feel less overwhelmed and distracted if I prioritized a little better. Maybe make a list or something?
Anyways cheers for now from the hectic and (sadly) stationary
Berlynn the Knitting Gypsy

Relaxing in Cottage Country

Thank god for reading week sabbaticals. It gives us students a chance to get our stress levels back to neutral, finish that book we've been trying to finish reading since summer and catch up on 8 weeks of laundry at our parents house. For me I've taken the opportunity to get a jump on the many articles of Christmas knitting I have thoughtfully agreed to fulfill. So here I am at my mom's new digs along the Burnt River (quite the spectacular view but freezing as hell) working feverishly on hats until I run out of yarn or my fingers go numb. Whatever happens first.
So, on further exploration of the towns in the region in search of a LYS, you could well imagine my horror that there are NO yarn shops between Peterborough and Haliburton. Yes, that is a complete 50 km radius of no fibre related craft stores... unless you count the moderate selection available at Lindsay's Zellers store, but even that is pretty out of the way.
Now maybe I've just lived with all of the conveniences of the city too long, or maybe I'm just wrong in my theory, but in such peaceful surroundings such as this shouldn't there be at least 1 small town with a little yarn store?
I love it up here, (well I should, I'm from here originally) and the fact that there is no LYS anymore drives me nuts. Perhaps if I ever move back to this area I'll start one of my own! Ha ha! a brilliant idea and use of my business know-how! However I think I may need a more permanent set of wheels before I move to a place where I know I would suffer from yarn withdrawl.
Anyways a very relaxed cheers from me as next week its back to the rat races!
Berlynn The Knitting Gypsy