Gardens and puppies and knitting, oh my!

I've been (once again) quiet over here - I guess it's more like a pattern than an exception, which wasn't really what I had in mind when Bernice and I started up! Alas. Anywho, it's been an intense few weeks: spring has rushed over with all kinds of hustle, so I've been spending way more time outside in the garden (and picking off woodticks - don't get me started), doing some home livestock management with our ducks and chickens, keeping the cats from eating everything that's ever left unattended, and most of all, welcoming and attempting to train our new puppy, Clover! She's just nine weeks old so the training part is largely illusory but she's learning to come when we call, and also working on being left alone for short periods while we have to do other boring stuff like dishes and vacuuming (that's me, not my husband, haha). She comes from a large pack, so being alone is a weird new thing for her, but the cats don't seem interested in letting her join up and she kind of seems to want to murder the ducks, so we figure she'll just rock out on her own for now.

Other than all that home stuff, I've been attempting to knit and read as much as I actually want to, which is challenging with a job and other demands on my time! But I've managed a fair bit - reading technically falls under the purview of my job (librarian) so that works out, and knitting falls under the purview of the OTHER job (yarncraft) so voila! Work-related hobbies :D
My knitting news is pretty sweet - in the past two months I've worked on two tests; one Ambah O'Brien wrap, Lovetta, you'll have seen if you follow me on Insta, and one secret test for Tin Can Knits that I can't wait to show off because not only is the pattern easy and awesome, but it's with my hand-dyed yarn! So stay tuned for that beauty. In addition, I've been accepted into Manitoba Fibre Fest 2018!! So if you're heading down in September, you'll be able to find There and Back Yarns as a wee display there. I'll have patterns, hand dyed yarn, and hopefully a few kits and wooden accessories. I'm really excited, and also excited to get to all the dyeing...after the garden is all done, of course :P
So to that end, I was able to fit in a pattern for the MBFF2018 Make Along! It's called Snowy Path, and it's a nice easy cowl that's got enough embellishment to keep you entertained, but is simple enough to wear with pretty much everything, depending on your yarn choices or fashion sense ;) Since that's usually what I look for in a cowl, I'm pretty pleased with this little piece!

If you're interested in purchasing it, you can find it here: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/snowy-path-cowl-2
And if you want more details on MBFF2018, you can check out their site (with MAL details) here:
https://manitobafibrefestival.com/makers-challenge-2018/
Well, these tomatoes won't plant themselves, or so I hope...that would just be a bit weird for me. So I guess it's time to tuck my pants into my socks and get outside! Enjoy the rest of May (didn't it just start?!) and watch for some exciting pattern peeks in the following months as I get myself together and get some more of my own designs on the needles :D

May Two-Four

I hope you're all having as chill a May long weekend as I am. In Manitoba, the first holiday weekend of the summer is lovingly nicknamed May Two Four, since the holiday Monday often falls on the 24th, and all you need to get ready for the weekend is to pick up a case of 24 (known as a Two Four) beer and get to partying!

As I got home Friday night jubilant that a three day weekend had finally arrived...my eyes were drawn to a rock and roll craft I created many a year ago and thought it would be the perfect thing to share today.

So this is my one and only cross stitch creation ever. I had the idea and took it through to completion, and have so far not had the urge to ever cross stitch again haha. It's certainly not my crafty calling but I'm awfully fond of this piece and I'm so glad I finished it. 

This of course is a reference to Skid Row's title track off their 1991 Slave to the Grind album and the subject matter has soothed and inspired me at different points in my life. Once it was finished, I hung it on the wall beside my dishwasher. I find it's a good thing to ponder on while toiling away the the dishes ;)

The guitars took me untold hours of work to create. I'm not much of an artist as far as drawing goes, but I sat at my TV and watched the Slave to the Grind video over and over, working on pixel versions of Snake's guitar and Rachel's bass from the music video. After that, I searched for the perfect colours to match the originals as closely as possible and got to stitching!

I'm not sure how long ago I stitched this guy up - probably over 5 years ago, and I recently came upon my original sketches for it. It might be time to graph it up on Stitch Fiddle and share it with crafty rock and rollers out there!

But that's all for another day, it is the long weekend after all and I can't be working too hard. I'll just leave you with the rocker of a video and hope you all are working on being king of the world! If you need a little help turning up to 11, this ought to help!