Honeycomb (aka Newfie) knitted mittens

I just finished knitting a pair of Honeycomb (aka Newfie) mittens to donate.

I used 4 ply yarn and 5mm double pointed needles. The colours are black and cornflower.

Wrist

1. With A, cast on 42 sts
2. Knit 1, purl 1 for 18 rows
3. Purl
4. Purl, increasing 2 stitches on each needle for a total of 48 stitches

Pattern

1.  *Knit 4 with B, slip 2 purlwise with A*, repeat to the end of row
2. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
3. Purl 2 rows with A
4. Knit 1 with B, * slip 2 purlwise with A, knit 4 with B*, repeat to the last three stitches, knit 3 with B
5. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
6. Purl 2 rows with A
7.  *Knit 4 with B, slip 2 purlwise with A*, repeat to the end of row
8. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
9. Purl 2 rows with A
10. Knit 1 with B, * slip 2 purlwise with A, knit 4 with B*, repeat to the last three stitches, knit 3 with B
11. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
12. Purl 2 rows with A

Thumb

1. In step 12 above, purl 2, put 7 stitches on a stitch holder for the thumb and cast on 7 stitches, purl to the end.  Purl 1 row.

Mitten

1. Knit the pattern until long enough (I did 6)
2. Knit 1 row
3. *Knit 4, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
4. Knit 2 rows
5. *Knit 3, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
6. Knit 2 rows
7. *Knit 2, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
8. Knit 2 rows
9. *Knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
10. Thread the yarn through remaining the loops and pull tight
11. Weave end inside

Thumb

1. With A, pick up the 7 stitches from the holder
2. Pick up 7 stitches around the thumb hole for a total of 14 stitches
3. Knit to fit length of thumb
4. Knit 2 together all around
5. Thread the yarn through the remaining loops and pull tight
6. Weave end inside

Happy Family Day!

Today is Family Day, a statutory holiday in Ontario.

Enjoy and spend some time with your family!

Book ~ "Further Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman" (2012) J.B. Lynn

From Goodreads ~ Knocking off a drug kingpin was the last thing on Maggie Lee's to-do list but when a tragic accident leaves her beloved niece orphaned and in the hospital, Maggie will go to desperate lengths to land the money needed for her care.

But the drug kingpin is the least of her worries. Maggie's aunts are driving her crazy, her best friend's turned into a bridezilla ... and a knock on the head has given Maggie Dr. Dolittle abilities - she can talk to animals. Unfortunately, they talk back.

It's just another day in the life of this neurotic hitwoman,

Maggie was recently in a car accident and her sister and brother-in-law were killed and Katie, her three-year-old niece and goddaughter, was left in a coma. Maggie works in the call centre of an insurance company and doesn't have the kind of money it takes to keep Katie in the high end hospital she needs to be in. When she was approached by a mob boss to kill his son-in-law, she took the job as it paid off well. The mob boss offers Maggie another job ... to kill a drug dealer. At first, Maggie doesn't want to do it but changes her mind when she finds out the drug dealer had supplied the drugs to the driver who had caused the car accident that killed her sister. On top of this, Alice, her best friend, is getting married soon and Maggie is the maid of honour.

This is the second in the Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series and I liked it. It can be read as a stand alone but you should read the first one as there are many references in this one that will make more sense and you'll have the background. I had my doubts about this series when I discovered Maggie can now carry on conversations with Godzilla aka God, Katie's tiny lizard, who Maggie takes care of until Katie recovers, and Doomsday, a dog she took in when she killed her owner ... it sounded dumb but they are amusing and good friends and confidents to Maggie. Maggie has a crazy assortment of relatives around her. Her mother is in the "looney bin" and Maggie has chosen to have no contact with her. Her father is in prison for robbery and murder. Her mother's sisters (aka the witches) are quirky in different ways. Maggie was one of four daughters and is the only one left ... but she recently discovered that her sister, Marlene, who had run away years ago and was presumed dead, is actually alive.

It's written in first person perspective in Maggie's voice and was humourous at times ... she hates her job (her boss keeps hitting on her) but has to keep it to appear "normal". But it's also heartwarming as she is dealing with so much from her past and the present. I look forward to reading the others in the series.

"Love Letters", Red Sandcastle Theatre, Toronto, ON

Gord and I saw Zippy Said Production's Love Letters at the Red Sandcastle Theatre on Queen Street E.

Deborah Shaw and David Agro return to the Red Sandcastle in a unique theatrical event. Deceptively simple, devastatingly revealing, A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters traces the 50 year hand-written correspondence between two people whose relationship - whose very lives - come to depend on this now-lost-art.

The Roy Public House, Toronto, ON

Gord and I had supper this evening at The Roy Public House in Leslieville.

Gord had Fish’n’Chips (Crispy beer-battered 8 oz. North Atlantic Cod filet. Served with coleslaw & tarter sauce). He said it was very good.

Honeycomb (aka Newfie) knitted mittens

I just finished knitting a pair of Honeycomb (aka Newfie) mittens to donate.

I used 4 ply yarn and 5mm double pointed needles. The colours are black and cornflower.

Wrist

1. With A, cast on 42 sts
2. Knit 1, purl 1 for 18 rows
3. Purl
4. Purl, increasing 2 stitches on each needle for a total of 48 stitches

Pattern

1.  *Knit 4 with B, slip 2 purlwise with A*, repeat to the end of row
2. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
3. Purl 2 rows with A
4. Knit 1 with B, * slip 2 purlwise with A, knit 4 with B*, repeat to the last three stitches, knit 3 with B
5. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
6. Purl 2 rows with A
7.  *Knit 4 with B, slip 2 purlwise with A*, repeat to the end of row
8. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
9. Purl 2 rows with A
10. Knit 1 with B, * slip 2 purlwise with A, knit 4 with B*, repeat to the last three stitches, knit 3 with B
11. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
12. Purl 2 rows with A

Thumb

1. In step 12 above, purl 2, put 7 stitches on a stitch holder for the thumb and cast on 7 stitches, purl to the end.  Purl 1 row.

Mitten

1. Knit the pattern until long enough (I did 6)
2. Knit 1 row
3. *Knit 4, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
4. Knit 2 rows
5. *Knit 3, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
6. Knit 2 rows
7. *Knit 2, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
8. Knit 2 rows
9. *Knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
10. Thread the yarn through remaining the loops and pull tight
11. Weave end inside

Thumb

1. With A, pick up the 7 stitches from the holder
2. Pick up 7 stitches around the thumb hole for a total of 14 stitches
3. Knit to fit length of thumb
4. Knit 2 together all around
5. Thread the yarn through the remaining loops and pull tight
6. Weave end inside

Book ~ "Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman" (2012) J.B. Lynn

From Goodreads ~ Maggie Lee is not your average hitwoman. For one thing, she's never killed anyone. For another, after hitting her head in the car accident that killed her sister, her new best friend is a talking lizard - a picky eater, obsessed with Wheel of Fortune, that only Maggie can hear.

Maggie, who can barely take care of herself, is desperate to help her injured and orphaned niece get the best medical care possible so she reluctantly accepts a mobster's lucrative job offer: major cash to kill his monstrous son-in-law.

Paired with Patrick Mulligan, a charming murder mentor (who happens to moonlight as a police detective), Maggie stumbles down her new career path, contending with self-doubt, three meddling aunts, a semi-psychic friend predicting her doom, and a day job she hates. Oh and let's not forget about Paul Kowalski, the sexy beat cop who could throw her ass in jail if he finds out what she's up to.

Training has never been so complicated! And, this time, Maggie has to get the job done. Because if she doesn't ... she's the mob's next target.

Maggie was recently in a car accident and her sister and brother-in-law were killed and Katie, her three-year-old niece and goddaughter, was left in a coma. Unless Maggie can come up with a lot of money to pay for Katie's care in a topnotch hospital, Katie will be moved and probably will get lesser care. Maggie works in the call centre of an insurance company so doesn't have that kind of money. When she is approached by a mob boss to kill his son-in-law for $100,000, she doesn't have a lot of choice. Luckily and suprisingly he offers to have Patrick, a police officer and contract hit man, to train her.

This is the first in the Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series and I liked it. I had my doubts about this book when I discovered Maggie can now carry on a conversation with Godzilla aka God, Katie's tiny lizard, who Maggie has to take care of until Katie recovers ... it sounded dumb but God was actually amusing and a good friend and confident to Maggie. Maggie has a crazy assortment of relatives around her. Her mother is in the "looney bin" and Maggie has chosen to have no contact with her. Her father is in prison for robbery and murder. Her mother's sisters (aka the witches) are quirky in different ways. Maggie was one of four daughters and is the only one left ... Theresa was killed in the car accident, Darlene was abducted years ago and murdered and Marlene, Darlene's twin, ran away from home a long time ago.

It's written in first person perspective in Maggie's voice and was humourous at times ... she hates her job and is floundering as she learns how to become an assassin. But it's also heartwarming as she is dealing with so much from her past and the present. I look forward to reading the others in the series. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "Julia's Daughters" (2017) Colleen Faulkner

From Goodreads ~ Julia Maxton can’t imagine anything worse than losing one of her three daughters - until the day seventeen-year-old Haley runs a stop sign, killing her younger sister, Caitlin. Six weeks after the crash, the family is falling apart. Julia struggles not to show hostility toward Haley but her deep-rooted anger won’t go away. Her husband, Ben, has drifted away emotionally. Their youngest daughter, Izzy, is lost in the shuffle. And despite Haley’s insistence that she’s fine, her actions scream otherwise.

Fearing that she’s about to lose a second child, Julia decides to take Haley on a cross-country drive. Maybe somewhere between Nevada and Maine they can bridge the gulf between them. But first there will be painful questions to face - is Julia a good mother? Did she secretly love responsible, respectful Caitlin more than defiant Haley? Can Haley ever find peace with her mother - and herself - again?

Haley is 17 and was driving Caitlin, one of her younger sisters, home one night when she ran through a stop sign. Haley wasn't hurt but Caitlin flew through the windshield and was killed. Six weeks later, Julia, their mother, hasn't left her bed and is crying all the time; Ben, their father, is working all the time or spending time with his mother and brothers; Haley feels guilty and is acting up (why didn't they get her help right away to deal with the accident?!); and 10-year-old Izzy hasn't spoken to her sister since "she killed Caitlin".

Once Julia realizes how out of control Haley has become, she figures the only way to straighten her out is to go on road trip with her ... drive across the country and spend some time with Laney, her best friend, who lives in Maine. Ben doesn't agree but Julia feels this is best for her and Haley. And off they go. 

It's not a happy topic (I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a child in an accident) but I thought this story was okay. It is written in first person perspective in Julia, Haley and Izzy's voices (the chapters are labeled). The ending was a bit of a surprise but I was okay with it ... it was the best way to end the story. As a head's up, there is swearing and self-harming.

There is a confusing timeline posted at the beginning of each chapter ... the story moves forward without jumping back and forth but the timeline posted didn't make sense to me. For example, the first chapter is "47 days" which I assumed was 47 days since the accident. But chapter two, in which the action happens right after the first chapter is "46 days, 13 hours". Chapter three is "still 47 days" and chapter four is "3 years,  months" but is happening right after the preceding chapters. Huh?!

I liked Julia and surprisingly Haley. I felt nothing for Ben ... he was barely there physically and emotionally and provided zero support to his wife and daughters. I really disliked Izzy ... she was annoying and I cringed when I read her chapters.