August Vacations

Apologies for my prolonged absence from the blog; I've been on vacation.

At the beginning of the month I was off to Vancouver with my Gaelic Football team, and then it was off to Drumheller with my family for a week after that.

The other week since then? Well, I've been recovering from the vacation, and getting this and that and the other thing done, or, really, in all honesty, procrastinating.

So, catching up time then!

My football team had a great weekend, in which we beat Calgary, but lost to Vancouver. We played well, and enjoyed some great football. Our men's team won the championship, and we cheered our heads off for them, and had a generally great time.

I did also do a wee bit of shopping while I was there, having spent a few hours at Granville Island with a couple of friends. I bought some silk for spinning. I am going to practice with a bit of silk/wool blend before I try that though!

It was a pretty quick turnaround to get ourselves out the door the day after my return, but we had packed most things before I left, and my husband had taken care of the last few bits of food prep while I was gone, so it was a matter of sorting a few more groceries, doing laundry, packing clothes, and keeping the excited kids from being too disappointed in how long the process was taking (I think our eldest sat in the car reading for nearly two hours, having decided she was ready whether we were or not).

In Drumheller, my family went camping, visited the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the Atlas Coal Mine, and also went hiking with my parents, who came out to join us for the day. The museum was of course excellent, and full of dinosaurs. The mine was pretty cool; we took the tunnel tour. This was not in the actual mine, which is currently still blocked up and awaiting excavation, but through the tunnel leading up to the mine entrance, going right through the hillside in the process.

For hiking, we went to Dry Island Buffalo Jump, and stopped at Horseshoe Canyon by way of the Bleriot Ferry on the way back. We had a great time, enjoyed being outdoors, and got lots and lots of exercise in while we were at it.

I did work on a bit of knitting while we were away, mainly on my daughter's shawl that I am making from my handspun. Unforunately, I ran out of yarn. Luckily, in addition to the sock I was working on (and needed a break from), I brought some socks I've been carrying around for half a year that needed darning.










These are the third pair of socks I ever made, and they're soft and lovely, but as a result of the softness, not so hard-wearing. I thought I had kept some yarn scraps, but had a lot of trouble finding them. Months later, when looking for something else completely different, they turned up, and so I could use the original yarn for repairs.





Having fit the sock over a wooden toy orange, I duplicate stitched around the trouble area, and so reinforced both sides of the sock toes. Sure it stands out a bit, but the socks will hold together for a little longer at least!

A few days ago, I went shopping at Pam's Woolly Shoppe, partly so I could solve the problem of the shawl, and partly so I could pick out a second spindle. Run out of yarn? No problem, spin some more! There was more Corriedale in the same colourway, so here I am with fresh singles, no-where near so overspun as the rest of the shawl yarn, but as it's for the border, I'm hoping it won't look too off-kilter with the rest of it.




I'm quite pleased with my spinning progress, and I am definitely continuing to enjoy it! I will be winding this into a ball today, but I should make every effort to resist knitting with it until I get a few other tasks accomplished.

I really need to tidy the house (a lot!) to make up for neglecting it all weekend while helping to coach kids at football camp. It has been a busy month so far!