It’s a walk in the park.

Still no knitting time for me.

I’ve had a massage which I think helped, but we’ll see. I’ve been stretching. Any day now I’m going to be able to get back on that baby blanket and get it finished in time for the little thing to enter the world.

Since I can’t knit, I’ve been spinning and journaling a lot. I’ve also been doing all those things ordinary human beings do, since I am definitely an ordinary human being and not a cyborg sent from the year 5,192.

That is, I’ve been going to nature conservation areas and making friends with chipmunks and turkeys.

Lynde Shores is a place of wonderment not far from where I live. It’s filled with awesome cute animals who are extremely well-fed and don’t mind coming up to meet humans and/or cyborgs.

This little beasty let me pet him. He was far too interested in the seed on the ground to care about me. Either that or he was thrilled to get a free massage with his meal.

There were a lot of birds around, including the aforementioned turkeys and some very pretty blue jays. I’ve never seen a blue jay in the wild before, so that was exciting. There were also a lot of woodpeckers and a few white-breasted nuthatch, which for some reason are constantly in my brain as ‘white-chested stone hatch’. Google found them for me after rolling its eyes dramatically.

 

I didn’t get good pictures of most of the birds. Turns out they’re much faster than my phone camera can handle.

Somehow this chipmunk let me admire his cuteness for quite some time, though, so I will leave you with a video I took on the day.

Do you love alpaca yarn too?

If you saw my last post about Nuevo Norte Alpacas and my trip into a little world full of alpaca-based happiness, you will know that I one day intend to keep alpacas.

Why? Well, the first time I felt alpaca yarn my mind was blown. I knew on a vague level that alpacas were a thing, but alpaca turned into my gateway drug into the world of fancy, soft, fluffy, amazing fibre. One small skein of pale blue baby alpaca/silk and I was sold on the world of fibre.

That project was one of the early documented ones on the blog, back in December 2011. I had been knitting for about a year and a friend send me the yarn. I found a nice pattern for fingerless mitts, something I’d never needed so badly before I knitted, and spent some of the worst weeks of my life knitting them. I was sick, I was in pain, and I’d had to postpone my year in Canada due to all of the above. (The picture to the side is from when I was bed-bound for a few weeks, and the featured cat is Disney who hated almost everyone but loved me so, so much. Especially when I didn’t move for a while.)

By December I was better and ready to go, but there’s a reason I called them ‘Escapism Mitts’. They gave me the space to enjoy texture and colour and the process of knitting instead of dwelling on the difficulties at the time.

I still have and use the mitts and they still look fabulous.

Since then I would have to say alpaca has remained close to my top spot in terms of my favourite fibre. I knit with wool more often as I knit socks pretty much constantly, but when I have an excuse for alpaca I don’t often resist.

How does that translate into wanting to keep alpacas myself?

My girlfriend and I are animal lovers. We surround ourselves with them, her even more than me (at her work). One day we plan to have a small farm – one they call here a ‘hobby farm’ – and keep a few choice animals. We’ll have alpacas (because I’m deadly serious about it), goats, chickens, horses. Maybe a few cows one day.

I mean, ideally I’d like to have an enormous herd of merino sheep but as I would spend all day running around hugging those giant puffballs, I’ll stick to alpacas.

Just look at this fluffy asshole. – Merino, Glen Orkney, Awatere, Marlborough, New Zealand, CC BY 2.0.

Wait, alpacas are also giant puffballs. Maybe I should reconsider. (I won’t.)

Do you like alpacas? Would you ever like to keep animals for their fibre? If you do already, how do you find it?

 

An Alpaca Surprise

It’s wonderful to get away for a while. In the middle of July we packed up our things into a car that is much smaller than it looks from the outside, like a sort of reverse TARDIS, and drove a few hours along the edge of Lake Ontario with our knees by our chins. It’s been a long time since I went camping and I had no idea what to expect from a Canadian campsite, so I was excited for new experiences (and hopefully raccoons).

As we drove through the gorgeous Southern Ontario countryside my head whipped around when my girlfriend pointed out a field full of alpacas. I noticed the sign ‘gift shop’ and tried to be polite and say we could maybe stop on the way back? If we had time? Except somehow I gave in and we turned around, pulled into the yard, and descended upon the friendliest alpaca farmer I’ve ever met.

We’ll pretend I’ve met more than one.

The farm was Nuevo Norte Alpacas in Colborne, and the owner – I believe her name was Amy – opened up the gift shop just for us. Well, me. My girlfriend and her mum weren’t in it for the fibre.

Nuevo Norte

She showed us down to the gift shop and I told her that one day I wanted to keep alpacas, and she was super helpful. I feel as though I learned more in that half an hour than anything I’ve learned before. She explained the entire philosophy behind how she cares for the alpacas (and she has 80+ so she should know), and that she got into it for the fibre as much as anything else.

I bought two sets of roving and a beautiful grey lopi yarn from their flock, and geeked out about knitting and spinning. On the way back Amy (I think) showed me the wild woad growing on her land which I had never seen in person – only in pictures. She brought us to the pen full of pregnant alpacas or those who had recently given birth, plus some thoroughly adorable crias (babies). I learned that alpacas all poop in the same spot in the field and that crias will stand for a long time in that spot with nothing happening while they’re still nursing. This entertained me more than it should.

I know this isn’t the kind of image you came here to see, but you’re welcome! 😀

Though I cannot get back out there easily for now as I don’t drive, once I do – and have some spare time – I will be going back. My aim to one day keep alpacas is sincere and I think I’ve found a place that would be perfect to learn more.

If you’re ever passing through, check out Nuevo Norte Alpacas. They do tours and workshops and classes, and they have some gorgeous fibre for sale.

Surprise Kitty

My girlfriend works with animals. Combine that with the fact that we have three cats and a dog at home and plan to one day run a hobby farm (with alpacas, naturally) it’s not at all surprising that her first instinct upon seeing an abandoned stray cat was to bring her home.

Khoshekh is a very pregnant stray who could pop any second. When I say ‘pop’ I mean she could give birth, not that she’s some kind of cat-bubble or in danger of spontaneous combustion. She is currently staying in our cat room temporarily and yes, you read that right, we are the kind of people who have a cat room.

Khoshekh on her first day with us.

 

A note on her name: she is not really called Khoshekh, but since we have not decided on a proper name for her I have been calling her that. Since that’s how my Dad and I ended up with a cat called Puss, I think we can probably assume it’s sticking for as long as she’s with us. If you don’t know who Khoshekh is, you have been missing out.

I’m hoping her kittens don’t float.

When we went to take her to the rescue folks today we realised we had the wrong day and they weren’t available. I know I should be annoyed by this but really it means we have more of a chance to meet her kittens. Also, more time with Khoshekh who is a total love bug and won’t stop purring the moment we step into the cat room.

Since she’s been a stray for a while (you should see her coat) she’s kept separate from the other kitties because of fleas and mites and such, and we’ve treated them all just in case. It’s probably nice for Khoshekh to get some quiet, warm, silent time. We’ve built her a little nest in case she produces small fluffy sprogs, though that won’t help much if they float.

If you’ve got any to spare, give a thought to little Khoshekh who will be looking for a new family very soon. She deserves the best after her struggles; someone to cuddle her every single day.

There are good days.

Winter might be cold and dreary but it also the time when people fill the streets with sparkling lights and disturbing ten-foot blow-up Santas. It’s the darkest time of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and yet we do our best to huddle together and bring a little colour and sparkle to an otherwise bland time.

Yes, I like winter. Especially now that I live in a country that has seasons beyond ‘wet’, ‘warm but damp’, and ‘cold and windy but at least a bit less wet’. We’ve only had one day of snow here in Southern Ontario so far and I’m okay with that, but the temperature is definitely dropping.

This weekend we went to cut down a tree and drag it inside our home. It’s now taking up slightly too much room and is draped with all sorts of delightful ornaments. Sparkle to keep the dark away: check.

The dog is enjoying the weather. In the heat it becomes too much for him to sprint around like a mad thing, fluffy as he is, but in this cool weather his energy is endless. He’s only two so he can run for days; I took him out for two hours and he still ran around like mad thing as we picked which tree to take home.

Luckily for him, he’s cute as hell (and photogenic).

Yes, I did have a treat in my hand when I took this photo; what was your first clue? (Right. He’s sitting still.)

Winter is also a time to crack out the many knitted items I own and one that I had forgotten about was a Noro hat I made a few months ago and stashed away. I used to dislike Noro but I’m a convert. It’s softer than it looks and the colours are delightful.

This has been my go-to had this year since I lost my green (store-bought) hat in a snow drift.

I didn’t feel like plastering my face all over the blog today so Luna very kindly let me pin her down and balance a hat on her long-suffering head. What? She’s much cuter than I am.

Though I’m not Christian, my favourite thing about winter is Christmas. I was, after all, brought up in a Christian country even if England is mostly full of sort-of-believers who turn up once a year to hear the choirs more than they care about the sermons. Christmas is not about religion for me, but I love it nonetheless.

Yes, it’s fun getting things. But it’s also fun buying things for those you love and knitting things when you have time (which I don’t this year).

It’s also a time that brings out the kindness of strangers. The other day I got home and I found a package in my mailbox which had a lovely colouring book inside. I was baffled; I couldn’t remember ordering one, though I have been colouring a lot lately.

All was revealed when I found the little note telling me it was from a relative stranger, another member of an Amanda Palmer fan group I joined earlier this year on Facebook. You can sign up to give and receive little gifts from kind strangers and I had forgotten about it.

Colouring was once a stressful pursuit for me; I wanted it to be perfect and it never was, but now I have realised that no one but me is ever going to see it unless I want them to, and even then they probably won’t care either way. That kind of freedom has me scribbling away whenever I feel anxiety taking hold.

If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it.

Winter is a strange old time, but it’s one where you can find a lot of warmth and light if you know where to look.

They’re so comfortable!

I finished the socks two days ago and wore them yesterday. No full pictures yet but have a preview.

For the record this is what happens whenever I stop moving for more than five seconds when I’m inside the house: cat tornado. Not pictured is two other kitties and a dog vying for my attention because they are FAR more interesting than a sock THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Today it’s my day off and I’m not exactly the most energetic being on the planet at this time so I’m lying down and watching Green Wing while knitting some tiny booties for my nephew-to-be. It doesn’t suck.

My Cat Would Like You To Know…

…That she is the queen of being comfortable.

Sean is a fluffy puddle of loud meows. She has quite the voice on her but she makes up for it with the softest fur of all our cats (we have three) and being really good at making us want to be cats.

I mean, look at her.

If that’s not the comfiest animal in the world, I’m a fish.

(Spoiler: I’m not a fish.)

Sean knows that she’s pretty and uses it to her advantage. On our Sunday movie watching time Sean decided to sit right in front of the screen. How dare we ogle the Guardians of the Galaxy on our new posh TV I won from work when we could be cuddling Her Majesty?

There is no knitting in this post, just cat. Cats have fibre on them! That sort of counts, right?

An Unexpected Hiatus

It turns out that changing my work schedule completely for the first time in months messed with my head. In the last week I have been unable to do anything useful whilst at home beyond walking the dog. I don’t even spend as much time knitting at home as I usually do due to the fact my job has become so quiet all of a sudden that I can get entire hats done in my shifts. I’ve knitted two in the last week plus most of a pair of socks.

The Brandywine Shawl I started a couple of weeks back has been quietly put aside. The mix of the pretty pattern plus the yarn with alpaca content just didn’t mix. It needs a yarn with some stitch definition so when I worked a couple of hours at Kniterary this Saturday I got some Cascade 220 in a lovely autumn orange. Sure, an orange shawl in an odd shape isn’t the most wearable of items but it’s not as though I’m averse to bright colours or weird clothes. I’m about to cast it on.

There’s a lot going on with my sticks and string lately but not much time to blog about it. This week I intend to get the hang of my new shifts and get back to normal service.

In penance (and in the spirit of the month), here’s a picture of some evil alpacas.

They’re watching you.

Sheep & Goats & Llamas, Oh My!

Since I’m working on my actual birthday (Thursday) we decided to celebrate a few days early by going to the Orono Fair. We went last year while I was visiting for two weeks so it was extra fun to know I’m here in Ontario for good this time.

There were lots of cute animals. I’m not gonna lie, that’s 90% of the reason I like going. The other 10% consists of weird shaped carrots, bad but delicious fair food (mmm, caramel apples), and of course the knitting and craft displays. I would really like to enter one of those competitions next year; I’m going to look into it.

The best part of the fair this year was my new boyfriend Tony the kissing llama. 

Previous encounters with llamas have left me vaguely terrified (despite fully planning on getting a guard llama for my future alpaca herd), but this dude was chill. He was so soft and fluffy and totally friendly. When you tapped your cheek he would come and peck you gently. Basically, this clever guy has figured out that anthropomorphised displays of affection result in food – or in his mind, ‘press cheek, treats come out’. 

This is Ozzy the therapy alpaca. He is a cutie. Very friendly and sweet although far more interested in the cows he could see past his pen than he was in us.

Ozzy likes to pose. Or just chew on the metal; we’re not quite sure. Either way this is proof that alpacas are seriously goofy-looking animals and I want them. I want them all. I want them all in mine and Nari’s hobby farm that we planned all day yesterday.

We saw a sheep getting naked but it was quite traumatising. She got a huge cut down her middle and the lady had blood all over her overalls. Aside from that it was interesting enough to watch it happen, although I felt quite uneasy afterwards.

Another picture of Tony, my new best buddy. Please note the huge rabbit chilling with him. They were good friends. Not as close as Tony and I though. 

“Hey. You got any food?”

“Seriously, dude, you can’t come in here without treats.”

This is my other buddy, Tiny Goat. Tiny Goat was a persistent little mister who definitely showed his species’s tendency to climb all the things as he leapt up onto my lap to grab the cone that contained the treats we had. He was trying to eat my face in this picture. I attempted to stash him in my bag and take him home but unfortunately there was no room past the emergency knitting I bring everywhere.

Orono Fair is a lot of fun, even if I got a bit of a side-eye for choosing it to celebrate my birthday. 

That evening I also got a Beaver Tail with candles in it. I wish I had a picture of that because it was totally adorable and really sweet of everyone since I love Beaver Tails (big friend pastries with gooey things on it) but as I munched on a caramel apple on the way home I was already stuffed. We shared out the Beaver Tail and I opened my gifts which was a SHIELD mug (yay!), some ‘Almoose asleep’ pyjamas, a bath bomb, a Michaels gift card, and some green Romney handspun yarn which is gorgeous and will be shown off later.

All in all it was a good pre-birthday celebration.

By the way, if any of you guys wanted to do the online equivalent of buying me a cuppa to celebrate another lap around the sun, I do have a Kindle wishlist.

How could I leave out the Jacob sheep?

A Trip to the CNE

Most of my memories of the Canadian National Exposition (CNE) revolve around alpacas and getting horribly sunburnt whilst watching very loud aeroplanes do interesting things. This year despite the clouds in the sky that morning I slathered sun cream on my face just before we headed out to the Go Train. I was taking no risks on that front.

This visit was only my second. Last time we had eaten from the Ribfest trucks but this time we vowed to try any weird things we came across within our budget so we headed straight to the food vans and the food building. We had:

• Octopus tacos
• Bison poutine
• Pineapple in a pineapple husk
• Coconut in a coconut husk
• Churros

Okay, churros aren’t weird but I had never tried them before so they go on the list. The octopus was strangely delicious too even if you could see the little suckers.

The pineapple and coconut was a hilarious attempt at feeling tropical in the frankly substandard weather (what the eff, Toronto) so we found a little splotch of sand to sit on while we drank it.

It didn’t look very tropical out there… but it tasted it.

Of course the highlight of the whole thing for me was the alpacas. I cannot voice how amazing and cute I think these creatures are. Even when one of the funkiest ones sat and stared at me with obvious revile in its eyes. I forgive you, alpaca. We also watched one man poking and pulling another alpaca’s tail persistently, so I don’t blame these particular beasts for not wanting curious humans to get too close.

BUT I JUST WANT TO HUG THEIR FACES OKAY.

LOOK AT THAT FACE. LOOK AT IT.

I wish my haircut was that groovy.

The CNE is an entertaining place. The arts and craft building is glorious although I took no photos. Plus somewhere (cannot remember where) there were beautiful stalls full of real pashminas that made me embarrassingly express to Nari an interest in fashioning a large nest completely out of soft, highly-decorated fabrics and spending the rest of my days curled up in it. What? I’m very texture-orientated, okay?

Thankfully at no point in the day did I burn horribly. Even better, none of the foods gave us food poisoning. The CNE was just as fun and far less painful as I remember.

Though unfortunately Nari wouldn’t let me bring home one of the alpacas.