Positivi-Tuesday!!

Ok, ok, so I know I'm not supposed to ONLY post on Positivi-Tuesday, but time just got away from me this week.  Before I go too deeply into the positive vibes I just want to mention that my all day date on Sunday was delicious  fabulous!  We had brunch at Frank at the AGO and it was amazing.  Definitely one of those places where they somehow manage to concentrate the flavour of a regular sized meal and squish it down into a daintier petite portion.  Dessert was a plate of cookies, and let me just say that I may have fallen in love with madeleines.  Naturally the gallery was wonderful too.  The exhibits we saw were inspiring and full of colour.  Have I ever mentioned how I love museums and galleries?  Well, I do...

Now on to the positive newa story of the week.  Tonight I found http://www.goodnewstoronto.ca/ which is dedicated to highlighting goodness in Toronto, Ontario which can regularly be forgotten in a large city.  For instance, this story about a local youth who has taken the initiative to not only volunteer in a wide and varied number of organizations, but has also facilitated the donation of hundreds of pairs of jeans to the underpriveledged.  He even bought 500 pairs of jeans for this cause with money he had saved from his own allowance! 

Knitters are also generally viewed to be generous people given our penchant for spending hours upon hours of time and energy on items given away (sometimes as gifts, sometimes as charity), but for this young man to spearhead this idea at such a young age shows his passion for this cause as well as his generosity.  Up to this point I have not knit anything for charity but I would like that to change in 2012.  I will be making blankets for my local doggie daycare.  They take in rescue dogs at a moment's notice and give them food, shelter, and most importantly love.  Find something that strikes your passion, spread the good and de-stash with some charity knitting along the way.  If you already knit for charity, leave a comment and let everyone know how we can get involved in your charity too!

Last week I breifly mentioned looking forward to my new job and now that I've started it, I am adding it to my list of things I'm enjoying this week.  I've met new people, I'm learning every day and I'm loving the challenges so far. 

I'm also really loving my friends this week.  Monday was the first day of my new position and at lunch time there was a delivery of a beautiful arrangement of my favourite flowers in one of my favourite colours (let's face it, I like all colours) with a note from my "besties" congratulating me on my new job.  Aren't they beautiful!!?!?  I have the bestest friends in the world.   

Beautiful, simple, modern - my fave!

Happiness in a vase.

If these things weren't enough to keep me smiling, I finished my quick-knit scroll stitch cowl Thursday night!  I love, love, love it.  The yarn was a dream to work with and the thick-thin nature of it kept the project interesting.  The scroll stitch pattern, which I picked up from Serenity Knits in Newmarket made the fabric of the cowl twist and turn into a bit of a wibbly accordian before blocking, but I wore the cowl pre-blocking anyway simply because I couldn't manage the wait.  On Friday night I washed it in some Eucalan and laid it casually over the back of a chair with a fan on it to air dry overnight.  Without even using pins, it blocked out into a completely different shape and feel, giving me a luxuriously soft cowl with a fabulous drape to it.  Now instead of crimping up the fabric, the undulating stitches simply add a flow to the direction of the fabric that I would never have expected to acheive.  I love to snuggle into it when I wear it, and the alpaca content makes it super warm in this cold spell we've been having recently. 

Still on the needles...

Nice stitch definition.

I may never take it off.

It doubles as an effective disguise.

What am I looking forward to this week?  Mostly socializing I think.  As you know, I was sick last week and really only got back to my regular self at the end of last week.  This means much catching up is to be done so I will have a few visits and outings to do that I'm eagerly awaiting.  I'm also looking forward to casting on my second thrummed mitten (betcha thought I forgot about that one) and getting more of my ripply blanket ends woven in (will they NEVER end!). 
Until next time, Happy Crafting!