Living the Enchanted Life

Hello there...is this thing still on?  I've been absent from the blog lately, but with really good reason.  I am NOT sick, and nothing horrible has happened to me.  In fact, I've been spending a crazy amount of time away from home lately and as a result the blog and my sewing have been non-existent.

So...in April, I spent some time in Alberta, hanging out with my brothers.  We skied (well...I skied, one of them boarded, and the other had to watch from the sidelines due to work and a knee injury).  I took a TON of pictures of the mountains (you'll have to believe me for now - I'm having a techno-burp with my phone and all of my "real" pictures are on my camera at home).   We at awesome food we cooked for each other (yup, all foodies), we hung out at the fitness centre (for the pool! and hot tub! and steam room!).  We saw a MASSIVE GRIZZLY bear, which immediately curtailed any thoughts we had of hiking or snowshoeing.

Touristy picture of me taking a picture of my brother who is taking a picture of me...
enjoying a Rock Creek Dry Cider after a good day of skiing at Lake Louise

The brother who doesn't live there and I are dreaming up ways to get back there as quickly as possible.  Summer in the mountains brings a whole realm of different things to do! (horseback riding, camping, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking...so many choices!!)  Ah...the mountain life is the life!

Back to reality...I attended a conference in April for work, which seriously cut into my sewing time as well, and have another starting this weekend.  So instead of sewing, I will be visiting my brother in Ottawa for an overnight before heading to the hotel for the few days of the conference.  It is the first weekend of the annual Tulip Festival, and I have never been before, so I am very much looking forward to going!

There has been knitting.  Again - you'll just have to believe me for the time being until I can upload my photographs.  I have started a pair of Colonial Rib socks for my dad, and I'm really enjoying this knit.  Not mindless, but I am certainly finding these to be a relaxing knit. Here's the Rav Link.  I'm loving these!

I also started and finished a pair of plain vanilla socks while I was away in Regia yarn.  I enjoyed knitting on these when I was too tired to knit anything else after skiing.  Here's the Rav Link for these.

In the meantime, let's take a look at those goals from last month, shall we?


Goals for April 2013

Knitting:

1. Finish Reims socks Hooray!  Finished!
2. Finish Melissa's sweater, block it and send it to her in the mail Finished, blocked but still need to weave in the ends before sending it to her.
3. Finish Emerald Raspberry Fingerless Mitts for my mom um...yeah.  No further than last month.
4. And just because I'm feeling SO bold owing to finishing my goals for March, I'll throw in this one too - finish the Francis Revisited sweater I started for myself eons ago.  A warm alpaca/wool sweater just in time for spring. hahahaha...no progress at all.

Sewing:

1. Sew the *&@#$ red sweater.  I have till the end of April, right?! Famous last words...
2. Sew yoga leggings and tank tops to wear on my spring skiing vacation in two weeks. And again...famous last words.

Goals for May 2013

Knitting:

1.  Weave in the ends of Melissa's sweater and send it to her on Friday (is it cheating to write a goal you know you're already going to accomplish?  I'm taking this to knit night tonight!)
2.  Finish Emerald Raspberry Fingerless Mitts for my mom.
3.  Finish Colonial Rib socks for my dad
4.  Start socks in Casbah yarn for myself.
5.  Pick out sweater pattern and yarn for a sweater for Sara

Sewing:

1.  Should I even bother??!

LOL.

Buongiorno!!

I have returned from my vacation in Tuscany!  It was an amazing two weeks with lots of history, pasta, cheese and of course, red wine.  We spent a TON of time walking and exploring the old towns and cities, viewing art galleries, and driving the incredible roads.  Florence (Firenze in Italian) is amazing - I could spend more time there, learning about the city.  My parents were amazing - it is so much fun to hang out with them. My mom is a great tour guide, and my dad took to driving in Italy like a native!!

I have not yet had time to upload my photos (and some of my memory cards I mistakenly packed in my suitcase which has not yet made it to Canada), but once I get my suitcase back I will upload a few of them.  I have been told my suitcase never left Florence, though I cannot blame it - it was hard to leave!

I was inspired by the window shopping I did in the various towns - Italians are very stylish!!  I love the little shops that have original and unique fashions.  I did a lot of sketching, and dreaming up outfits - my sketch book went with me everywhere, and I was once asked when we stopped for lunch if I was a designer!  (I took that as a huge compliment as it was in Prato, the textile capital of Italy where they manufacture textiles for the main fashion houses).  Staying true to my RTW Fast, I only bought myself a sweater from a market in Lucca as it was unusually cold even for this time of year.  My suitcase was delayed in getting to me when I arrived as well, and while I had a change of clothes in my carry-on, I desperately needed another layer!

My travel wardrobe worked relatively well, though I packed too much.  Things I was glad I had included a pair of slip on running shoes in black (oh how cold the floors are in Tuscan villas!!!), wool socks (I wish I brought more), my black riding boots that lace up the back took me all through Tuscany and made me feel as stylish as the local women, my black skinny pants that are styled like jeans but really are dressier than jeans - I wore these a ton!!  I could have done without my knit pants (for some reason I just feel like I'm wearing pyjamas when I have them on and just didn't feel comfortable in them when we were out touring), even though I wore them a few times.  I didn't wear the short sleeved tee shirts I threw in at the last minute - the forecast SAID it was going to be warmer, and I packed them in case it was.

Things I noticed fashion-wise, EVERYONE is wearing low heeled boots with skinny pants, whether they be jeans, stretch twill coloured pants or leggings.  Boots were for sale everywhere, in every price range, and in brown, black, tan, grey and red.   I think I may have even seen a green pair!  Studs were also big in the footwear.  Women and men always had a scarf, and the puffy coat is a HUGE fashion item this winter (maybe every winter there!).  Chunky sweaters were also something everyone seemed to be wearing, and could be found in almost every shop.  Green, from a bright emerald to a dark forest green was everywhere in the shop windows, shown in leggings, sweaters, stretch twill skinny pants, and skirts.

While I haven't been sewing, I have been knitting up a storm!  I took three pairs of socks with me to work on.  I finished two  pairs while I was away, and the third is almost done.  Though I must confess, two pairs were already works in progress.

I have not yet had time to get to the sewing machine since I returned (I'm still fighting jetlag so my evenings are really unproductive and I usually end up going to bed at 9 pm!), though I am busily planning my next SWAP/wardrobe projects.  I hope to have a couple of sewing days next week.  My plan is to get a few more "work" pieces done, and maybe a pair of jeans.  Though I may end up sewing for university daughter #2, who has recently come to understand the value of a mother who sews, and needs some new clothes even worse than I do!  :)

Hopefully I can share some photos with you soon!!  Off to find an espresso...