Busy hands

This beautiful, sunny weekend, my hands have been busy:


Sewing patches on my jeans,


working on a sample of the Contented Cardi for Hannah,


preparing a meal for a very special guest,


holding a precious package,


discovering the beautiful gift that lay inside,


touching and admiring the incredibly fine stitches, and soft, smooth bamboo.





(Thank you, thank you Margie. It was an absolute delight to finally meet you!)

And the winner is....

Steph, from Craftoholic. Congratulations Steph! I hope you like the yarn and the magazines.

Thank you everyone for entering my little giveaway. It was lovely to hear from all of you. Reading over the comments, it looks like autumn was the most loved season. Not so surprising, it is after all the best sweater weather!

An impressive number of you guessed the identity of our feathered friend. It was indeed a Common Redpoll.


Speaking of birds, how sweet is this Durer drawing?
Hope you all have a lovely week.

Wish granted, and a giveaway

So I've learned that I should never underestimate the power of cashmere. My new hat managed to convince Jack Frost to stay a while longer. We've had no shortage of snow around here, and I have to say, I'm in heaven.

If my love of winter makes you doubt my sanity, you should know that I live 20 minutes from here:


Gatineau Park has one of the world's largest network of groomed cross-country ski trails.




Cozy cabins dot the forest. This one is called Shilly Shally.



It's the perfect place to warm up by the fire, sip some hot chocolate, and nosh on some grilled cheese sandwiches (toasted on the stove, yum!)


Every cabin has a bird feeder. This little guy was also fueling up to stay warm.


My Rikke kept me nice and warm.


Perhaps now you understand my obsession with the white stuff? Actually, these trails are wonderful all year round. This is where I hike once the snow melts. You should see the colours in autumn!

I have been so blessed lately with gifts, snow and well-wishes. I thought it was high time to spread the luck and love, so I'm having a little give away:


2 skeins of Madelintosh Eire Light, in a limited edition colour called Wildwood. The beautiful shades of brown, grey and white remind me of the soft colours of my beloved winter forest.


3 back issues of Selvedge, my favourite magazine.

If you'd like to be entered into the draw, please leave me a comment and tell me which is your favourite season, and why. I'll randomly pick a winner, this time next Sunday. And bonus: I'll enter you in twice if you correctly identify the bird pictured above.

Good luck, and have a sweet week.