So, I started a video blog! (Vlog? Podcast? Whatever!) It’s called “The Guilty Knitter” and it’s like a snapshot of what’s going on in my (knitting) life right now with a focus on particular projects I’m working on with discussion about the challenges they provide. I also like to tie in my music life,...
Author: Vivian Lee (Vivian Lee)
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Lazy Summer Days
I’m sitting on my front porch writing this blog post, after neglecting my site for many weeks. I have been on vacation, aside from three days of work, since early June. I really have no excuse for not blogging aside from the major distractions caused by knitting, some gardening and social media. I’m really enjoying...
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My Crafty Grandmother
I recently found myself thinking about my paternal grandmother, Jean Lee. I didn’t get to know her all that well because she lived in Winnipeg and I grew up in Montreal, but our family visited probably once a year or so. My grandmother taught school in a one-room schoolhouse starting at age 16, but gave...
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Colourwork and Sock Fun
I did some gorgeous mittens in my first year back at knitting called Fiddlehead Mittens By Adrian Bazilia. I had so much fun doing stranded knitting that I was sure I’d be churning out sweaters and more of those great mittens for the rest of my life. However, like a kid in a candy store...
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Process knitting vs product knitting
I’m finished my Vertices Unite Shawl! So I guess I can get back to writing about knitting instead of actually knitting. I can’t express how much fun it was to knit this project and how much it satisfied something deep within me to let my heart choose the colours one after the other and see...
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Sick bed delirium
So, I’ve been sick with the flu and its aftermath for two weeks. The only upside to this is that I’ve been able to sit on the couch and knit while watching knitting podcasts and Star Trek TNG, guilt-free. Therefore, I made great progress on my Vertices Unite shawl and finished a pair of Simple...
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Knitting mistakes as a metaphor for life
Can grappling with mistakes in your knitting help you to understand and cope with the more important ones you’ve made/are making in real life? Perhaps they can, if you allow those lessons to swarm up from your subconscious. From the first day you embark on a new skill, like knitting, playing an instrument, or riding...
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Colour Quandary
Since taking up the needles again just before Christmas, 2013, I’ve discovered a lot about myself and how I relate to colour. Choosing colour is a surprisingly emotional issue. When you’re about to commit to a knitting project, which will take many hours of work, choosing the “right” colour(s) becomes very important. I have been...
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My Knitting obsession
Hi, Knitters, and those of you are visiting because you’ve subscribed to the old Tranquil Garde! I hope you’ll stay! It’s been an interesting year or so of transition. I put this site on hiatus, partly because my commitment to gardening had become a little thin, but also out of frustration with my computer, which...
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Hello from Away
Actually, I haven’t been physically away much, only spiritually. I have been in and out of the garden over the summer, but I have done little actual gardening. Whenever I walk through I marvel at how things are doing without my active participation. Things look a little overgrown and messy, but also wild and beautiful....