Happy 125 years of National Parks in Canada.

Today is the 125th birthday of big old Banff National Park. One of our most well known and loved mountain parks was created on this day back in 1885.

“National parks are maintained for all the people – for the ill, that
they may be restored, for the well that they may be fortified and
inspired by the sunshine, the fresh air, the beauty, and all the other
healing, ennobling, and inspiring agencies of Nature. They exist in order
that every citizen of Canada may satisfy their craving for Nature and
Nature’s beauty; that they may absorb the poise and restfulness of the
forests; that they may steep their souls in the brilliance of the wild
flowers and the sublimity of the mountain peaks; that they may develop in
themselves the buoyancy, the joy, and the activity they see in the wild
animals; that they may stock their minds with the raw material of
intelligent optimism, great thoughts, noble ideals; that they may be made
better, happier, and healthier.”

J.B. Harkin
First Commissioner of the National Parks of Canada

Hello.

Today I thought about my blog a lot. I plan on getting back into regular posting this fall. I'll have a new place, my own space, time to be allotted as I wish. I'm excited about all of this and I hope it gives me a fresh outlook towards my creative endeavors and my new job.

On the other hand, unfortunately, this is the view I'll be leaving behind.


I just ran across the icy cold, wet grass in bare feet to snap this shot off the end of our dock. It was worth it.

Always a Maid of Honour, never a maid.

Jayme and Brian got married at 3 pm on Saturday, September 11, 2010.

We walked down the aisle at the Walker Farm. The weather was perfect. One perfect day during a week of storms.

I made that silver dress. My hydrangeas were light blue.


Coming back down after the ceremony. Shortly after this I got a mouthful of confetti.


Ma and Pa.


The crew at one of the prime old farm photo op locations. This has to be submitted to some sort of fashion magazine.


Em, Nat, and I. It's amazing what you can do with a large can of hairspray and a bucketful of blue eyeshadow.


Inside the beautiful barn that was renovated over the summer.


The first dance. Presenting the Stalkers and their little dog Stogie!

Wandering around Van CIty.

After visiting with Crystal the first night, she gave me great directions of places to see in Vancouver the next day. The weather was absolutely perfect. Did I mention that before? Leaving the early May blizzards in the Yukon far, far behind I headed out to see Granville Island.

Granville Island isn't actually an island. It's a peninsula tucked in the river that comes off the English Bay before it turns into the inner harbour. Granville is full of little artsy shops, home to the downtown market, and Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

Some of the boats at the marina on the Island.


Walking under Granville Street, which will take you over the river to Yaletown, to the Island.


Market stalls. Beautiful flowers and foods.




Macaroons from the bake shop just outside the market. I think they were creme caramel and pistachio flavoured. Delicious like the ones that fly here from France on occasion.


Outside one of the weaver's shops on the water.


The view of Yaletown from the shop.


I went to take a look around Emily Carr U and found an exhibit of all of the final installments by the students. Good timing!

These were some of the upper year undergrad's work.

Porcelain painted milk cartons.


Porcelain fallen leaves, each one individually designed and painted.


This was so cool. I love a good kit. Especially if it's a science of imaginary solutions kit.


Rainbow of porcelain old-fashioned styrofoam M*donald's containers.


A huge stack of paper that you couldn't pull apart (well, you weren't actually allowed to touch it, but I'm sure you'd have a hard time pulling one out from the bottom).


Outside the school at the totem pole carving classroom. I really loved this place. I wish some people had been working on it.



After my tour of the island I took a tiny ferry boat (it held about 6 people) over to Yaletown. I walked up through the main part of town to the downtown and visited the Olympic Torch. I don't know what state the torch area was in (if they were taking it down, or if it had always been such a mess), but that fence is ugly. So are the piles of bricks laying all around (I'm pretty sure it had always been such a mess). Now I know what everyone was complaining about during the Olympics.

The countdown is on.

Only 11 more days until these two tie the knot. I have so much to do. This is the main reason why I have not been seen around these parts of late. Tomorrow is finish sewing my Maid on Honour dress day. Yes. I left my most important task this late. Wish me luck.

My westcoast visits.

Finally, my pictures from the West Coast. I love BC and I'm so glad I've had the chance to take the ferry to Vancouver Island twice in the past year. It's one of my most favourite places to visit.

This time, I flew into Vancouver from Whitehorse. I stayed at the HI hostel on Jericho Beach. The hostel is really cool. It's in an old building and it has a lot of character, sprawling lawns, and is right beside the beach. It's a seasonal hostel and had only been open for a few days before I arrived so it was not busy at all. There were 3 people in my 14 person dorm. The weather was so perfect. The most perfect weather ever, really, after spending extended winter months in the Yukon. I sat on the beach a lot. I wandered around the city. I visited with Crystal and Geoff. It was a quick visit because Crystal was already a few days overdue with their little one, but we caught a few exciting hockey games (sadly Vancouver lost out of the playoffs) and had some lovely dinners.

The day I took the ferry across to the Island, I realized I had lost my camera. I was on the bus that was going to take me to the ferry and into Victoria when I noticed. This entire trip takes about four hours. When I realized I had forgotten it, I got off the bus, packed my gear into a locker, went back to the hostel and searched all over the place. I told the guy at the front desk all about my situation. He knew me because I had spent time chatting with him about the playoffs. I went back to the bus and took the ferry across. Three days later he e-mailed me to tell me that my camera had turned up. I have no idea where it was found, or who found it, but I was really happy. Thanks Jericho HI, however that happened, you're the best.

All of these photos were taken by Leah and Jill. My camera was mailed back to my parent's house.

Leah and her housemate picked me up at the busstop in his truck (thank goodness because I had 100 lbs of gear from work in the north. She didn't believe me because she thought I was exaggerating the weight) and was going to pick me up on her bike. That would not have worked.

We spent days at the beach, neat little cafes, ran into one of my MSc committee members in a fancy little grocery store (he was quite surprised to see me in such a trendy part of town ;), hosted a picnic for her housemates, and hiked along the shoreline. One night Jill and her wwoofer, Malte, came into town and we all went out downtown. Being back in civilization was great. There was ice cream and flowers and cool little shops.

On the shore in Victoria.


Right where I was sitting, we found this bright purple seastar. I thought it was a sea cucumber, but it just had its arms folded in. Cucumbers generally aren't this brightly coloured because they need to hide from their predators.


Later that week, I took the city bus out to Metchosin to meet Jill. I spent a week at her family's ranch. This was the place I started my travels the previous August. Jill was working at the local market farm so I spent the days in her garden with Malte, jogging along the Galloping Goose Trail, and knitting my wool from Whitehorse.

One day, Jill, Malte, Bella the pup, and I went hiking along the Jaun de Fuca Marine Trail. Even though it rained most of the day, we had a fantastic time.

Me in the bright blue, Malte, and Bella


Some of the smooth rock formations on the shore. The colours were amazing. You could see the historical tide lines and since tide was low, we could walk right into these caves.


Bella and I exploring a cave full of drift wood, polished stones, and big tube seaweed.


Kettles worn out of the rock on the shoreline.


Bella having a great day by the tide pools.


One more of the slippery, smooth rocks covered with seaweed.


Leah and some friends came out the last night I was visiting to celebrate Jill's birthday! We had a delicious dinner and Leah made a little carrot cake complete with pink Jill sprinkles.

Giant things in Van City.

So, apparently it's not only the Aussies who love their giant things. The westcoasters are right into them too.

I found this huge game of croquet in the windows of the downtown Bay.



Then I came across this work of art by Douglas Coupland. It's a huge lego orca (well, he calls it a pixelated orca) that he made in 2010 beside the site of the Olympic torch. I'm surprised we didn't hear more about this, but then CTV's coverage of the Olympics left a whole lot to be desired.

Weaver's shop at Lang.

I visited Lang Pioneer Village to volunteer at the annual vintage car show. I had a few extra minutes to check out the buildings in the village. It's been much too long since I last visited Lang. Walking around the property really makes you feel like you've been transported back to the 1800's. The buildings are very well kept, the staff are all so friendly and interesting. I spoke with one of the curators and he told me that they have special events running almost every day the village in open. During big events, such as the car show, there are over 100 staff and volunteer actors on site.

I really appreciate that the staff at Lang are so interested in showcasing the history of arts and crafts. It makes me realize how important all of these skills were in the past. People needed to know how to knit and sew and spin in order to keep their families safe and warm. They always made sure that the items they produced were functional while paying close attention to form (colour, detail, beautiful construction).

The day I visited, a rug hooking group from Northumberland was set up in the main square. I chatted with these guest artists for awhile. They taught me how to tear the fabric into thin pieces and use the hook to pull the little loops through. Their work was so intricate and I would never want to step on any of it. There were also people dying wool with natural dyes over campfires, spinning wool, blacksmithing, and dipping candles, tying brooms, and running the printing press.


I was most interested in the weaving. Lang is currently working on a new building which will house an authentic weavers shop and textile arts educational centre. The building will be two stories high to accommodate an mid 19th century Jacquard Loom. This type of loom was invented in Lyon, France in 1806. It used punch cards to control each thread in the warp. This was essential the earliest computer with the punch card technology being used until the 1980's. My old research associate told me all sorts of horrible stories about running statistical programs overnight with punch cards when the lab first opened. The Jacquard technology arrived in Ontario in 1834. It was very popular because it allowed weavers to design textiles with intricate pictures, as opposed to geometrical designs. Today there are only three Jacquard Looms in North America. The other two are at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, USA and at the Science Centre in Toronto. I think Canada is very lucky to have two of these amazing looms. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to see the Jacquard Loom at Lang because it is currently in storage until the building is completed. I think it's a great reason to go back and visit the village.



The loom that I saw in operation was the Two Harness Maple Loom. It is an older style of loom that weaves geometric designs. I think these patterns are beautiful and simple. The woman operating the loom let me try it out. I wove a few rows. It takes your entire body to operate the foot peddles, shuttle carrying the weaving thread (in this case I was working on a carpet made of torn fabric with a heavy cotton thread warp), and push the giant, heavy comb back and forth. It really takes two people to operate the gears that roll the carpet as the length increases.



In 1851 there was a weaver living in every township in Peterborough County. Both of the looms at Lang were originally owned by Samuel Lowrey of Warsaw, Ontario. His weaving shop was in actually located in the house next door to the house I grew up in! According to the stories, he was very tall and could do all of the weaving himself. Samuel was born in Warsaw in 1862. He worked there as a weaver with the Maple Loom until 1888. He then moved to Peterborough and acquired the Jacquard Loom in order to further his business. Due to newer technology, business slowed in 1910. Samuel put his looms in storage in Peterborough and moved west and that is where the story ends. The looms remained in storage until they were discovered and given to Lang.

Busy, busy. busy.

Look what I've been working on!


Tiny Brian still needs his little hammer and buttons for his shirt. Mini Em now has a little black apron and a petite pie box. I'm going to make her some shades once I acquire some black jewellery wire.

The case they are sitting on contains even more components of this project I'm working on. Much more to come!

Also, this was shot at Nat's family's cottage. We had a bit of a Guelph time reunion last week. What a great weekend! We ate like queens, swam about 5 times a day, and roasted (Well, Louise charred) s'mores every night. Lovely summer mini vacation.

"Will you forgive my single-mindedness, and my tendency to see knitting in everything?"

August 9, 2010 marks what would have been the 100th birthday of British-born knitter, Elizabeth Zimmerman. EZ, as she is known amongst the knitting community, was influential in shaping the craft into what it has become today. She was one of the first knitters to publish patterns in magazines. Her Wisconsin-based Schoolhouse Press was one of the first mail-order knitting pattern businesses. It is still producing countless well-thought-out and creatively designed patterns today.

EZ, herself, wrote many books about knitting. Her writing style is direct and logical. I have several of her books and they are my favourite works of knitting theory. I enjoy the mathematics and geometry that is involved in knitting. Elizabeth has managed to take these aspects of knitting and use them to design incredible techniques and guidelines for creating sweaters that fit perfectly and mittens that have such interesting construction. Really, EZ epitomized what being an arts and scientist means to me.

Not to mention, EZ was just one clever lady. Her personal motto was "Knit on with confidence and hope, through all crisis."

I have several favourite EZ quotes, but my all time favourite is a perfect example of Elizabeth telling it like it is, "really, all you need to become a good knitter are wool, needles, hands, and slightly below-average intelligence. Of course superior intelligence, such as yours and mine, is an advantage" (from Knitting Without Tears).

Above and beyond all of this, everything EZ made or designed was absolutely, simply beautiful. I think I will pull out my copy of The Knitter's Almanac tomorrow for some mid-summers knitting inspiration.

Thank you for everything, EZ.

Hillside 2010.

It was a good year for Hillside.

The turtle image they used for the tickets, lanyards, and promotional material was really cool. I just wish they'd used it more. I think adult t-shirts would have sold really well.

Bronwen and I rented a car to drive up because we had all of our camping gear and our workshop supplies to bring (we both volunteer running hour-long workshops in the Do-It-Yourself tent). Since we had the car, we got to visit Andrew and Louise for french toast breakfast on Saturday. Also, we took some detours on the way home to visit some of my favourite shops in Guelph and my old work site, Limehouse Conservation Authority

It rained a couple times on Saturday, but we were under the Island Stage tent for both of the down-pours, so we managed to stay dry. The ground got really muddy, but we walked around in bare feet and it wasn't so bad. It was actually cool on Saturday night. We went swimming after the music and the water was warmer than the air. Andrew had requested that we deliver him a cone from Mapleton's if there was a cold snap, but it wasn't quite that chilly.

Mapleton's had organized their ice cream stands much better this year, so we went there a lot (well, we always go there a lot, but this year they didn't run out of all the flavours so quickly and the line-ups were tolerable). The Flying Chestnut Kitchen had a stand and they served the most delicious Traditional Indian Tacos. All local ingredients, like Grey County beef chili, Ontario tomatoes and peach salsa and cilantro on Ojibway fry bread.

Our workshops went well. Mine wasn't so busy on Saturday (I was competing with The Acorn at 5:00 pm), but my Sunday workshop was packed and I used up all of the leftover materials from the day before.

My favourite acts of the weekend were: Jason Collett on the main stage Saturday night, The Beauties and what would have been the Japandroids show on Saturday night if security hadn't killed the show, The Acorn and Wooden Sky first thing Sunday morning, and Zeus.

Japandroids rock out in kitty t-shirts.


The Wooden Corn rip a hold in the the plaid universe on Sunday morning. This also isn't a great picture, but you have to admire the seven plaid shirts on one small stage at the same time.


Sarah, Bronwen, and I at the main stage on Sunday night.


Amy Milan's insane glitter dress and Stars.

Glowy red mushrooms we found at Limehouse on our way home.


Some of the native alvar plants I planted in the abandoned Limehouse quarry three years ago. It's nice to see that they are doing so well.


The old draw kiln at Limehouse (just another type of old quarry restoration in action).