So here we go a long term project.........

I made a start on The Beekeeper's Quilt, on Thursday at our Sit and Knit session.  Both Angie and I are going to make one each and I am pleased to say she walked me through the pattern.  I would not have been able to decipher the pattern on my own, so was grateful for her help.  Although I can knit I only really do pretty basic stuff.

I am using the 3.5 mm dpn's (double pointed needles) as suggested in the pattern, along with Paton's Canadiana Yarn.  Angie is using 5 mm dpn's and a similar thickness yarn; slightly thicker than mine.

This is what our first hexie turned out like.  I stuffed mine and it's around 3 inches high, and Angie did not stuff hers.

They come together quite quickly once you get the hang of it.

I also learned some new skills in knitting, so all in all a good thing.  I figure I may need around 400 - 600 of these hexie's so as I said in the title, this is a long term project!

Can't wait to see what your comments are today.....

Every week, the Toronto Life magazine/website posts in their real estate section, Home/Cottage/Condo of the week.  Not every week; I in turn post about them on here.

So my question is when you hear the word cottage what do you envision?

Why am I asking this?  This week's "Cottage of the Week," to my mind is NOT a cottage.  Not only is it an island, which is fine, but it has a price tag of $12 million.  My idea of a cottage is somewhere small, cozy and a place you can relax, without worrying that you may or may not disturb or make a mark on the designer decor.

The "Home of the Week," is pricey at $5.8 million, but according to one of the comments on the post, it's the going rate.  When I was looking at the photos I kept thinking there was something missing, it wasn't until I got to the end I realized what....painting's, there is nothing hanging on the walls.  One of the closets is full of clothes so someone must live there?

On a side note.  Our daughter and son-in-law got married at the Golf and Country Club that this house backs onto.  Nice area, close to the city, so that's why the price is what it is.

The "Condo of the Week," is on the market for $700,000.  It's okay but doesn't show well, as it looks cluttered to me and I am not a huge fan of that sort of duct work being exposed, but that is just me.  The outdoor terrace is nice though, but if that a/c unit is noisy it won't be a great area to sit.

I spent a great couple of hours at The Knitting Basket, helping Angie out with a couple of things with her blog and Facebook page.  Pop by and say hello if you have a minute.  I love the shawl pattern she posted on there.  That yarn she is featuring would be lovely knit in it.  But NO I WILL NOT BUY ANY MORE YARN UNTIL I FINISH SOMETHING!!!!  The two balls I picked up on Thursday while there don't count do they???

Yarn is so soft and needs to be squished between your fingers, don't you think?

I went last week to check out another yarn store called The Knitting Basket.  It's in the village near where we used to live and a lovely lady called Angie runs it out of the back of her home.  Where I had my knitting lesson, they do not have an area where you can sit down, and knit and talk to other people who knit.  They offered great advice and are super ladies, but I need that extra one on one and a knitting "community" so I can learn more.

Angie offers that, and holds a get together twice a week on a Tuesday and a Saturday.  So on Tuesday I was all set up to go and attend for a few hours.  Got there and the water had been switched off by the water company.  So yes you could knit, but you couldn't use the bathroom, as there was no water to flush....BUMMER!!

I talked to Angie for a short while; she answered a couple of questions I had and I bought the yarn for my next project a baby blanket.

Look at this yummy colour combination I chose:

Grey, lemon and teal.  I love those colours together and they are gender neutral to my mind?  The way they are set out above is the order in which they will be knit together.

I am using yarn from the Patons Canadiana range and those five balls of yarn cost me $24 from Angie, which I thought was very reasonable.

I have made up my own pattern (again) and here are my chicken scratchings:

I will admit, I struggled royally with everything on Tuesday as I bought a pair of bamboo circular needles by Clover.  They are awful and will be going back.  I ended up going to the store in town where I got my first set of needles and bought another set of those.  I will show you them at a later date, as I LOVE them, they are so easy to use and feel so comfortable.

I took the photos of the yarn on the kitchen table.  I have an Easter tabletopper on there at the moment that my mam gave me.  Look at the cute little chicks.

And the cute little bunnie:

Angie currently does not have a website, but she is on Facebook.  If you search for The Knitting Basket Alliston Ontario, you should come up with a link

By the way those are my $50 oranges I bought when staging the house!!  They were actually worth the $50, I wrote about them here.