I too love cozy knitting by the fire - enjoy!

Happy Trails! I'm glad you've finally found one that's steering you toward home. That sweater is gorgeous, so I'm off to hit up my local inter-library loan system. Cheers!

'as much as I love home, there's no reason not to enjoy where I am now'

True in so many ways.

Love it. Wish I were doing the same.

Enjoy your day. I would love to sit outside and watch a sunrise over the water!

Your event link isn't working for me or Chapters is messed up.
FYI:
CHAPTERS
142 John St.
Toronto,ON
7:00PM

Nothing beats being inside all cozy and warm while the weather is foul outdoors. The saying about red skies is totally true. I was going to try to explain it, but this website does it better:

http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/weather-sailor.html

So nice to hear from you. I had wondered how the retreat was going =) Have a safe journey back to Tina's.

From what I understand, the red sky at night part is correct since most weather comes from the west. The red sky in the morning is not all that predictive. Do you carry that Perlemore pattern around in your head? Amazing.

The morning red sky may dovetail into my grandmother's "When the wind is in the east/ 'tis good for neither man nor beast." In my experience, anyway, it's mighty predictive. What I couldn't have predicted is how much more that pattern appeals to me in blue and white -- the lavender and white in the book leaves me cold, but yours is adorable. (And if you're looking for used books I will give away a trade secret and tell you to google ABE, the American Booksellers Exchange. Shhhhh....)

Steph. If you are on the left coast there is no way you watched the sunrise over the ocean!

I love your atmosphere and wish that you could just stay inside and enjoy the fire, coffee and knitting. And, yes, today is a special day here--Veterans' Day. My father was a career man in the U.S. Air Force and my hubby served in the U.S. Army National Guard. Observance is important to us. So is thanking everyone who gave us and still guards this day for us.

Happy Armistice Day and safe travels.

You've got everyone who reads your blog fantasizing about doing exactly what you're doing today. What's better than knitting inside beside a fire on a cold, windy day? OK, there are a few things, but not many. It feels like 0 C. here in Kingston today, which is about normal for Remembrance Day. On this day I always think of my grandfather, with whom I lived until he was 95; he was so badly wounded at the Battle of the Somme that he was expected to die. So glad he didn't. Love your baby knits. Maybe in 10 years my kids will marry, and produce some offspring so I can do baby knits again.

Stephanie,

We are all indebted to those who serve. God bless them all!

Lest we forget, yes. My parents put their ordinary lives on hold for 5 years during WWII so that I could enjoy my ordinary life, today. I'm eternally grateful to them.

Thank you, Stephanie, for your thoughtful words. I am proud to call you a sister-Canadian!

<3

We have a red sky saying in Catalan too. It says: "Cel rogent, pluja o vent". Which means "Redish sky, rain or wind". Good knitting!

Here in Wales we say "red sky at night, shepherd's delight, red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning" - but then this is Wales, where the sheep outnumber the people, so we kinda would really! Our two minutes' silence at work was meticulously observed. Our windows look out on to the town's carpark, and it was heartening to see people stop where they were as the bells rang for eleven o'clock and stand in quiet contemplation for two minutes. And I agree on the teleporter - it would make life SO much easier!

That is indeed the warning and it is coming down this way (Cali) as well. I hope you find some time for energy rejuvenation. I am quite jealy of the fireplace. When I finally buy a house to live in, it will have a fireplace. Beautiful sweater.

Very happily celebrating the arrival of a new niece who could n't quite wait for 11 am, and totally failed to observe the moment of silence, but that's a good thing. Our family vets think a new baby is way better than silence anyway.

Love that fireplace! Enjoy the calm inside; it's supposed to be crazy windy on the outside.

We here in the U.S. will also be remembering sacrifice and peace.

Lovely post and yes, red sky at morning means the bad weather's coming. We marked the 2-minute silence for Armistice Day today here in the UK, with Remembrance Sunday to follow, and on my blog I paid tribute to my great-uncle who died in WW1 at 21.

Now I know what I couldn't find my tape measure this morning!

Of all the things that they have come up with from science fiction, you would think the teletransporter would be tops on the list. Would SOOOOO like to have one because I rarely leave enough time to get from Point A to Point B...and absolutely detest driving in the rain!

My husband use to do quite a bit of sailing. I asked about the "Red sky at night sailor's delight, red sky in morning sailors warning. He claims it to be true. This guy has only been wrong once in seventeen years. (Sure I can build a stone wall...no he can't and I have proof!)

Beautiful sweater! Couldn't help but notice your "remembrance flower" laying on top of it. I've been watching a lot of hockey lately, and all of the coaches have been wearing theirs all week. What a lovely, moving way to mark this time. We Americans could learn from this.

Love that baby sweater, so I looked up the Dale of Norway book. Wah! Amazon has a new one for $210 and used copies starting at $90. And, according to the World Catalogue, the closest library to me that has a copy is 2000 miles away :-(

I did not know before today that the Flanders field poem was written by a Canadian. According to Wikipedia,Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote it on 3 May 1915 after he witnessed the death of his friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, 22 years old, the day before.

Thank you for your post.

Both the setting and the sweater are lovely. I love the patterns in that book and can't wait until I have grandchildren to knit them for.

Wow, a month away from home is a long time. Have a peaceful "Veterans Day" as we call it and godspeed home!

Rams, delighted to learn about American Booksellers Exchange. But not ready to pay $88 for a used copy!
And for a change, my library's wonderful knitting book section doesn't have it.
Wonder what we have to do to get Dale of Norway to reissue it? I LOVE that little sweater.

I just finished reading your new book and I really enjoyed it. I curious as to how you knew the name of the song that our washing machines play at the end of their cycles?

Clouds in white against blue of sky and water, warm stitches in white and blue to welcome a new one into this world. Perfect.

I see that book is still available at Amazon.com. Look interesting.

That looks so cosy. At first, I thought your tape measure was some type of vintage poppy on the sweater.

I too like that sweater MUCH better in blue than the original lavender.
Dale of Norway is starting to put some individual patterns on Patternfish...maybe if enough people asked them....just sayin'
Safe travels Steph.

That is a treasure for books, it sells on Amazon for $110.00 new and $90.00 used.So I had to say keep your treasure to Amazon! I love this little sweater! That willbe a treasure for some little child!

Goosebumps when I clicked on the link to your Grandfather's information. Thank you for posting it.

So odd, we have the same weather here in Halifax. I am knitting it away too. (Some of Tina's yarn I got at Lettuce Knits. small world.)
Pattern Fish has some of the patterns from that book. I bought Marihone, which I am knitting with some Dale of Norway Stork from my stash.

This day and your annual post always remind me of this photo I took in London in 2007. It's the Canada Memorial in Hyde Park.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj42/rfholly/London2007/May2007093.jpg

Lest we forget.

I'm thinking about our veterans, but it is also my husband's birthday. So, I've been thinking about him, our future, and making cake, cheesecake, and savory snacks for his party.

ahhh... wonderful day. I'm envious.

Norma and GeniaKnits - ask your library about Interlibrary Loan. They may be able to borrow it for you from another library.

Thanks for the post on Remembtance/Veterans day. Veterns everywhere deserve recognition and thanks. ------- Enjoy your west coast sunrise, Stephanie, I kind of think all the traveling has you a bit confused!

Enjoy your well-deserved moment of peace - and on this Veteran's Day, my wish is that there may be more of them for everyone.

Beautiful sunrise over Puget Sound! The TRUE Novemeber is coming in today so hold onto your hat. Beautiful little project and a warm fire. Does it get better? Maybe, if the fire is in your own hearth, but that looks like a lovely view to go with the one you are in fornt of for the momment.

My daughters heartily wish they could apparate.

today i'm remembering my uncle bucky and my aunts mickie and kellie, all of whom served in the u.s. navy in world war ii. (my dad was 4-f, but was a guard in a defense plant.)

buck went on to a 28-year career, retiring as a chief petty officer after being stationed in places like pearl harbor (after the war), guam and what then was french west morocco. he was the one who taught me how to spit-shine shoes. later, he sold real estate in florida.

mickie and kellie both were waves, but i don't remember them ever talking about where they served or what they did, though i have the impression their jobs were clerical work. after the war, they lived in california, which makes me think they may have been discharged there and decided to stay out west where it was warm rather than come home to indiana winters.

rather like the african-american marine veterans only now being honored for their service, the women who served in desk jobs to free men up for front-line duty, and the women who treated the wounded of that war seem pretty much forgotten these days. i'm not even sure they're officially considered "real" veterans.

but i take pride in knowing that, like their younger brother, two of my dad's sisters stepped up when their country needed them.

For a moment, I thought the red tape measure was a poppy. Remembrance Day isn't complete for me unless I go to the cenetaph and observe the ceremonies. So moving.

Found Soft Treasures for Little Ones used, online. They wanted $88 for it.
Beautiful sweater you're knitting!

On Tuesday I attended Aboriginal Veterans Day celebrations in Arborg MB. It is the third celebration of this little-publicized event to take place in Manitoba's Interlake. One of the founders, Randi Cage, was there and gave us the history. It was a moving and intimate ceremony, and I was privileged to be there in my capacity as a reporter for the local newspaper. English by birth, Canadian by choice, I have observed Remembrance Day from earliest childhood in honour of my parents and uncles, all of whom served in time of war. Reporting of Remembrance Day observances won't appear until next week, but this week's paper contained articles on the need to preserve our history, stories of our veterans, and an article about KNITTING for victory! View online at www.enterprisenews.ca

I took my moment for remembrance, but i wanted to put this out there, my little brother, who received knitted birthday gifts this morning was born on the 11th. we dug out his birth certificate, and no word of a lie, it said he was born at 11 minutes past 11 on the 11th of the 11th. My thoughts? demon child.

It's Veterans' Day here in the U.S. and, yes, we absolutely must remember all those brave ones, past and present. I still remember finding myself in a castle park in an English town on November 11th, 1978, at the time of a Remembrance ceremony. Included in the gathering were a small group of veterans, frail old men in their World War I uniforms. It still brings tears to my eyes each time I think of it, even now as I write you. I cannot tell of this experience because I become too choked up to speak.

I love staying in and knitting in front of the fire with a cup of coffee too. I get plenty of chances to do that in Maine of course I have to go to the barn and feed the fuzzies first but that makes it more lovely.

Perfect knitting weather (what isn't?), and I love that sweater. Several babies coming into my life right now, and one of them, at least, will need that! Armistice/Remembrance Day is special to me for all the reasons mentioned, but it also is my birthday. Today, on 11/11/11 I am 66. :)

It's Veteran's Day for me and it's so wonderful, because my son came home from Iraq yesterday. Makes a Mommy's heart relax a bit!!

Oh, that is a lovely soft baby thing. Could it be for baby Marlowe?

Oh my. Your last two posts have been outrageously sweet and thought provoking. I think I may just go back and read them again.
Thanks!

aussies and new zealanders also observe remembrance day on the 11th day of the 11th month.
I'm glad yours was so peaceful :)

Good Blessings to you. Rest peacefully tonight. See you in the blog.

KLAP-knit long and prosper, (the Vulcan hand thing done with knitting needles and a ball of yarn- peri-parentheticallly, oooh oooh I just thought of something really cool...I bet you can guess it too.;)Veteran's Day is a great NPR radio listening day too.

Because I could not make the book tour or Port Ludlow I sent yarn! Hope it made it!

Of course you know that a red sky in the morning means clouds are on their way. In just the same way, a red sky at night happens because of clouds or water vapor in the air. Other dawns are clear and golden slowly turning to blue. And, at night, the sun appears to go down, slowly sinking, reflecting gold upon the sea. If you are lucky you will see a flash of green as the light refracts in the sky.

South Louisiana depends in large part for the labor of sailors for our income. Red sky at night -- cloudy weather makes the sky red. If the clouds are moving in at night (hopefully while we are safe at home after a days' fishing), the weather will likely pass during the night, and calm weather will follow tomorrow. Red sky at morning -- the cloudy, foul weather is moving in, to be with us as we work during the day, making for poor fishing and dangerous conditions.

And a word about Armistice Day (which I still insist on calling it) -- I'm with you on mourning the dearth of little paper poppies, the kind volunteers used to sell to support the local veterans' hospital. Armistice Day has become Veteran's Day, and flags have replaced poppies, and retail spending sprees have replaced solemn remembrance (or else a certain boorish personality type uses it as an opportunity to chant "USA , USA, USA" as though we are at a football game cheering for "our side" to win). Instead of a day of remembrance, appreciation of service, and hope for peace in the future -- as Armistice Day was originally intended -- it has become a day of consumerism and nationalism. I don't like that.

Instead, I think of those living and dead I know who have served our nations, doing what they believed to be right. I think of my relatives, living and dead, who've served in so many wars. I wish I could call my Dad and wish him a Happy Armistice Day once more.

I also wish I could still find the old, old man with the cane who used to sit on a stool for hours on end in front of the corner drugstore near our home during the first week or so in November, with a little upended crate at his feet, which served as a table of sorts, holding a basket of paper poppies and a tin bank into which you placed a quarter for the poppy. He'd fought in France in the First World War. I can still see him so clearly, wearing the little hand-painted sign around his neck, which asked passers-by to buy a flower to help hospitalized veterans.

I know he's long gone. I just wish I could thank him for his service, and buy one more poppy from him.

Yikes...checked out this book "Soft Treasures..." on amazon $210!!!!

I did not get your tweet about hunting for a poppy, I thought you meant fizz. Then, I saw all presenters at BBC wearing THE poppy and I realised: Remembrance Day, of course. In the Netherlands that is on the 4th of May, day before the end of WWII (we were neutral in WWI, so not really in war). The lovely use of one same item to wear (in our case a little red, white and blue bowflag) is out, felt as being to demonstrative, such a pity. So I remember twice a year, once with you guys and once with my country. One can never remember the loss of lives, the bravery and disrupted lives enough. In school, in 1962, we learned the following rhyme in English lesson, it is true for our Dutch country too: Evening red and morning grey, the lambs and calves will have a nice day, evening grey and morning red, the lambs and calves will go wet to bed. Well, that was truly meant for farmers (I am a farmers daughter) and, unless the wind suddenly made a 180 degree turn, it always came true.

Well, crumb. I'll be in Toronto a week late! No chance of a do-over is there? Safe travels!

My grandfather fought in the second world war too. I recently had the opportunity to look at his military records. He was shot. Twice. I had always heard he was sent home as a young man because he was wounded, but never had I realized how lucky I am to be here.

Never have so many had to be thankful for the sacrifices of so few. I read that somewhere.

That sweater has me drooling! What a beauty! I will have to find that book (at less than $90.00)!It's a real classic. Thanks as always for sharing!

I can't find the book in a search in the library catalog. I don't have a little one to knit for, but I was wanting to look up the stitch pattern used. Can you post it?

My oldest granddaughter (age 15) is working on a teleporter. When she finishes, I'll send you one. We need one because we are not close enough to each other to be together weekly. She says she just needs a whatz-a-jigger for the thing-a-majig that makes it work. It's on order right now.

Did you know that Perlemor means Mother of pearl?

Thank you for your writing, photos and knitting!

That's good that we are able to get the personal loans and it opens up completely new possibilities.

Lovely sweater, and lovely conditions for knitting!
Enjoy!

Is Port Ludlow where you had the retreat? I was checking out the pics and thinking they looked a lot like my backyard here on Vancouver Island (Weather sounds about right too)

Thank you for your consistently wonderful posts on Remebrance Day. Do you know, that I originally decided to learn to knit socks because of "Rilla of Ingleside" and the scene where Rilla decides to stop shirking her duty and turn the heels of her socks for the soldiers in WWI rather than letting Anne or Susan do it? So not only do I always re-read "In Flanders' Fields" on November 11th, but I always think of the sock knitting too, and hope that it will some day be true that we will never forget and never again.

The Veteran's Day post from a professor who teaches for a graduate program at the university I work included a link to Canadian Terry Kelly's "Pittance of Time"
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kX_3y3u5Uo).

A moving song about Canada's two minutes of silence.

De-lurking to let you know that the little sweater is adorable :) Hope you have a smooth and safe trip, as well as a lovely and relaxing few days at home before you're on the road again. I'll be there in spirit on Thursday. (I don't get to Toronto for another month. Blasted school.)

I love those November storms on the West Coast (my spiritual home though not currently my physical home).

Thank you for the red tape measure representing a poppy - that was intentional, right?

Do you know how many times I have wished teleporters had been invented?? Let me know if you succeed.

Seriously though, I love reading your adventures. And I can just imagine being in such a nice cozy setting. I am not, but through you I can escape a little. *smile* Thanks for sharing with us. And I hope your travel home to your loved o es is quick and uneventful. Home is great.

Nov 11 is Veteran's day in the US - we honor all veterans who have served our country and fought for our freedoms - we are blessed to live in a country where we are free. Thank you for your reminder of Remembrance Day!

Welcome Home !

Kelly: I think the quotation you're remembering is "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few", part of a speech by Winston Churchill about RAF Fighter Command, during the Battle of Britain (which turned out to be the first major defeat for the Nazis). There's some information about the background on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_was_so_much_owed_by_so_many_to_so_few

Leaves there are still leaves on trees . . . wow I have been skiing for weeks. Oh yes there is a world out there that is not frozen!

Steph,
I found the perfect tee shirt for you, posted at teemagnet today. I thought of you immediately when I saw the design. Really. It's a Canadian bike.
http://www.teemagnet.com/

How about posting the list of your favourite audio books that you mentioned in your Tweet? You seem to have excellent taste in literature and I'd love the suggestions. I'm listening to Lois McMaster Bujold's latest Miles Vorkosigan novel at the moment - it's great!

By now you're home, but I love the general "coziness" of this post. You were by the fire knitting all cozy, what you were knitting will make its future owner cozy, and the knowledge that you will be spreading coziness around the world can make you feel even more cozy!

Now I need to go make/do something cozy too!

Just want you to know that I went to my local bookstore on the weekend with my husband. Headed straight to look for your book on the shelf and there it was. I read the first 4 pages out loud to my husband. He said, "You'd better buy that book", so I did. That was my plan all along but better to have him think it was his idea don't you think? Especially since my book/yarn studio is bursting at the seams already (with books and yarn!) - like I need to explain that. So I got all cozy last night and started reading your book. Love it! Thank you.

I love that stitch pattern . . . do you (or anyone else) know if it's available anywhere else than an out-of-print pattern book?

There is no better combination than fire and knitting. Well, and coffee. Fire, knitting and coffee.

There is no better combination than fire and knitting. Well, and coffee. Fire, knitting and coffee. OK! And chocolate! And maybe a post-coffee icy beer. I'll stop.

I wish all your readers to flood amazon with requests for this book and then maybe they will put it back into print!

It's just mean to show a beautiful sweater and then we have virtually no way to get a copy of it. My library doesn't have it. Darn it.

I'm with Dez about Armistice Day in the US becoming Veterans' Day and the original purpose becoming muddled. I think I shall take the best of both worlds, and call it Remembrance Day too, from now on.

There's been a lot of saber-waving here lately, especially from those who seem to have short memories. I pray they won't win out this time.

Peace, Stephanie.

You will be happy to know that some of us in the states remember 11:11 on the 11th too. In fact, every year 150 juniors in my classes memorize and recite "In Flanders Fields" after learning the significance. (thank you Canadian John McCrae)