Hubby flew north to Inuvik this morning. Must be dark nearly all day up there. And colder than here...and we are hovering around -25c. BRRR
He is gone all week. I can tell that Jesse has worked out that Daddy has gone away as he is acting up already. "I will survive" - not that I have much choice, of course.

Managed to knit a few rows on my Ribby Pullover. Haven't knitted for days as my right wrist was really hurting. Too much time on the computer last week. Worked on my website a lot. It didn't help with the Google thing but at least I felt like I was doing something.

Want to thank Brooks for letting me sell her lovely Zipple Hat pattern. It is awesome. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do. (Support Brooks and help solve her bandwidth problem).

Just wanted to thank so many of your for your wonderful emails and messages. Most businesses are still are affected by the Google search engine problem. No idea if it will ever go back to how it was. Most of us are trying to find other ways to get our businesses noticed. Sadly we don't all have the huge advertising dollars of the big companies. Thankfully I had built up quite a customer base so I am not totally down and out. Will work hard in other directions now.

Things got put into perspective this week. My Dad's wife emailed me to say Dad had fallen out of bed and fractured his hip. He is 74. Not a good age to do something like that. He had to have a plate inserted and can't walk well at all. I feel out of touch as I am in Canada and Dad is in England. It took 8 days for anybody to tell me. My sister didn't even bother emailing me!!!!!!!

Then I read a friend's blog and cried over her brother's cancer worries. Things like this are awful. You can't help. You don't even know if you are saying the right words. You can't hug the friend as they live on the other side of Canada.

So while my business problems are a worry, they are not anything like my Dad's problems or the problems of my friend's brother. I have my health. I have my son.

Well things haven't picked up on the Google/business front. Many small businesses have been affected. Most of us noticed that other search engines are showing much more normal results still. So if you are looking for a good, non filtered, unbiased search engine, here are some.

Altavista
All The Web

Was just swapping emails with a competitor in the USA. She is almost out of business and hasn't seen an order in over a week. What a sad time for the "little man".

Despondent Jackie alert!

Google has just about put me out of business by filtering certain searches for businesses. Last week a search for Crochet Hooks put my little business at #1. Now you can't find me. A search on Crochet Patterns had me at the top of page 3 (pretty good). You can't find me in the top 800 now. Basically Google has done this to generate revenue it seems. I am not a big enough business to pay huge amounts for advertising. I did go on their Google Adwords but it is costing so much and not bringing in any customers. They click, I get charged but nobody buys. I can't afford it for more than a day or so more.

To say that I am depressed is an understatement. I have worked my butt off building up Karp Styles from nothing. It has taken 4 years to get where I am. I was doing OK. Not a big business by any means. Not a high earner. I have worked until 2am some nights. Now it seems to have been taken away by one search engine. Isn't it sad that they have so much power?

You can see the filter in action. Do a search on CROCHET HOOKS. Karp Styles is not there. (I may appear in the sponsored paid ads on the side that are costing me an arm and a leg for nothing). Now do a search on CROCHET HOOKS -googlegoo . Voila! Jackie's business appears again. The -googlegoo takes the filter away. So many small businesses like mine have been affected by this. I had just bought in thousands of dollars of stock ready for Christmas.
Now our family income has been cut in half.

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas Google!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This morning was FUN! We braved the snow and slippery roads and headed off to Tree House. Tree House is a group for parents and kids. It is a fairly new group. We have a Tumbling Tots morning every Tuesday in the Pentecostal Church. Nice big room for the kids to let off all that energy. You SOOOOO need somewhere like that when it is -30 and they can't play outside. Anyway, today we had a party. We were celebrating World Children's Day or International Day of the Child. The reason that I am not sure which is a 2 year old who distracted me :) Shannon (who runs the group) played guitar and we all sang kids songs. Hey what do you know? The words are different in England. So Mommy Jackie was singing one version and the Canadian Moms are singing a different one. It was funny. Then we had a puppet show. Jesse decided he couldn't live without seeing how the puppets were being worked of course. He can't sit still for a minute anyway. Then we had Gingerbread men and snacks. It was a nice morning. I badly needed to get out of the office and house. I have felt like a prisoner lately. That is often I how feel at the beginning of winter. As soon as we get out on the snowmobile, I start to enjoy winter. Not quite enough snow coverage yet...but if it keeps up, as it has all day, we will have enough.

On the knitting front. I am throwing caution to the wind. Began knitting Bonne Marie's Ribby Sweater. Although it is made flat, I have decided to try to make it in the round. So far, so good. Touch Wood. Fingers crossed. etc etc. I am trying to use up some stash so this is being made with RH yarn (don't all groan at once) in a nice dark blue fleck. Will try to take an "in progress" photo later.

Was hoping to update the blog this morning but I think the pre-Christmas rush started this week. I have been packaging orders non-stop all day. OK I did stop to put a joint of beef in the oven.

Big thank you to Missa for the button that she kindly made me. It is perfect.

Finished the 2nd flap cap. This one is for Hubby. Made in black fleck chunk yarn. It is from my stash from years gone by. Can't say what it is other than it is Patons.

Not sure what to start knitting now. I have a few ideas but I look at the patterns and find something about them that I don't like. It is normally the seams that put me off. If I wasn't so tired, I would think about making them on circs and then separating for the front and back at the armholes. But I am just pooped tonight.

A Poem for Remembrance Day



"The inquisitive mind of a child"



Why are they selling poppies, Mummy?

Selling poppies in town today.

The poppies, child, are flowers of love.

For the men who marched away.



But why have they chosen a poppy, Mummy?

Why not a beautiful rose?

Because my child, men fought and died

In the fields where the poppies grow.



But why are the poppies so red, Mummy?

Why are the poppies so red?

Red is the colour of blood, my child.

The blood that our soldiers shed.



The heart of the poppy is black, Mummy.

Why does it have to be black?

Black, my child, is the symbol of grief.

For the men who never came back.



But why, Mummy are you crying so?

Your tears are giving you pain.

My tears are my fears for you my child.

For the world is forgetting again.



Author Unknown

Finished this project so fast that I never even had time to mention that I had started it. The pattern is Little Flap Cap by Cabin Fever. It is sized for kids but I used chunky yarn and a 6mm circular. It fits me perfectly.

Just started another for hubby. This one is in black.

Bonfire Night - Guy Fawkes - Nov 5th

Remember, remember the fifth of November,

Gunpowder treason and plot.

We see no reason

Why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot!



One British tradition that I miss (and I don't miss many) is Bonfire Night. Nov 5th meant fireworks, bonfires and making a "guy". A 'guy" is a dummy that we make to put on the bonfire. I used to make him out of my Dad's old clothes and stuff him with fallen leaves. Then we would take him around the streets chanting " Penny for the Guy". And people would give us money. Of course the "guy" represents Guy Fawkes who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. Bonfires were lit all over London when the people leant that the King had been saved from this fate. Hence the fact that we light bonfires on this day still. Our "Guy" would be placed on top of the bonfire and burnt. Then the fireworks began. Read more about the Gunpowder Plot and Bonfire Night

Halloween was cold! Tried to clear the drive and paths of snow and 10 minutes later, we had another dump of the stuff. Well at least I got some exercise!!!!

Jesse was a dalmatian. He wouldn't bark though. He pretended he was a monster. After the first house, he got the hang of carrying his bucket and looking cute. Of course the cuter he looked, the more candy he got. Not a dumb kid by any means. He was very polite and remembered to say "thank you!" to everybody.

Finished Jesse's 2nd Top Down Raglan sweater. He wanted to wear it today and keeps saying "Nice, Nice". It is RH Kid's in Crayon colour. Perfect for a kid that adores and suits bright colours.

It is -13c (9F) today. I need to find another knitting project to do as I sure don't feel like going outside too much. And to think it will reach around -40 eventually. Not looking forward to it one bit.

This is what we awoke to this morning. Jesse giggled in delight. He is crazy about snow. Shame that he is still sick or I would wrap him up and let him play in the yard.

"Walking in a Winter Wonderland....."

The 2nd Top Down Raglan is coming along well. On the 2nd sleeve now. I was sidetracked watching Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion. I found it very emotional. Tears kept messing up my glasses. In the end I just watched it and put down my knitting. If that happened today, it would be horrendous, but I kept thinking how much worse it must have been back then. They didn't have the luxury of the medical system and technology that we are SOOOO fortunate to have. Communications were slower. People must have suffered so badly.

Jesse's "Top Down Raglan" was finished on Friday but I never had chance to take a pic before now. He is a wriggler so this was the best picture out of the bunch. The pattern was very simple and it knitted up really fast. I like it so much that I am making #2. This time I am using Kid's Red Heart in Crayon colour. He loves bright colours.

DH took a pic of the carving that he brought back from Iqaluit. The base is soapstone and I think the birds are bone. It is only a few inches across.

A Fond Farewell

October 24, 2003 - Concorde will make her last flight

Celebrate Concorde

To say that I am sad is an understatement. Before I left England, home for most of my life was about 15 minutes drive from Heathrow Airport. My Dad worked for a company that supplied safety equipment to many planes including Concorde. I worked for the same company in my late teens. Concorde was special. Concorde was the plane that would make the traffic come to a halt on the Ring Road at Heathrow. Sadly, as I have not lived in England for 14 years, I have only caught glimpses of her when I landed at Heathrow on trips back to the UK. My dream has always been to fly on her and that is probably the only dream that I will never realise. I expect that there will be a huge turnout at the airport to bid her farewell. Wish I could be there........

Dull, dreary, drizzle outside. Reminds me of my homeland...England. Just thankful that we don't live in the SW of BC. Unbelievable amount of rain over the past few days. And I heard that more is on its way. My thoughts are with you guys.

Hubby came back from his trip to Iqaluit, Nunavut. He brought yet another cold home with him (along with a cute soapstone carving that I will try to photograph tomorrow). That is 2 colds for him in 7 weeks and it will be 3 for me if this sore throat gets worse. I have never had that many colds in one year, let alone 7 weeks.

Jesse's "top down raglan" is coming along fast. I forgot that kid's items are speedy knits. Been years since I knitted any. Well actually the last kid's garment that I knitted was for my nephew who is now 30!!! That was knitted when he was around 8 months, I think. I crocheted a few things for Jesse but this is the first knitted one. We had far too many Gymboree, Gap and Old Navy tops to wear out first. (I am addicted to buying wonderful kid's clothing - and I hate buying clothes for myself.)

Here is my version of Sonnet. As hubby is away right now, there is nobody to take a decent photo of me wearing it. I don't think a 2 year old would get more than my legs :-)

The cardigan looks heavy but DGB Tweed yarn is very light even though it uses a 4 1/2mm needle.

Now onto my next project. Off to the basement to dive into my stash and see if I have some yarn to make a sweater for Jesse. The pattern will be the Kid's Basic Top Down Raglan from Ann Norling.

The knitting part of Sonnet is completed. Now comes the part that I don't like - the seams. At least there are no side seams. Just shoulder and sleeves. Hope the buttons will look OK. Went to the local so called "craft" store for buttons and they wanted roughly $15 for 6. These were basic, nothing special buttons - not gold plated!!!!!!!! So I went to the thrift store to see if they had any. Found some toggles, some wooden buttons and some gold ones. When I have sewn it together, I will see which buttons look best.

Hubby is away on the other side of the Canadian Arctic all week. Kids must know to act up the minute that dad goes away, don't you think?? Jesse is sure having a bad bout of terrible twos this week. We went to to the new play-group this morning which seemed to help burn off some of that energy. He is one of those 100 miles per hour kids at the best of times. This week he is 1000 miles per hour. Thank God for nap time.

Took my camera with me on our daily walk today. It was another amazing Fall day in Hay River. 64F - I stripped down to a sleeveless t-shirt and I was still feeling the heat

Jesse jumping from a rock on the Kiwanis Nature Trail

Fall on the Hay River - taken from the nature trail about 250 yards from my home.

On the knitting front - Jackie made a boo boo. Finished the body of Sonnet and noticed that I had two different widths on the front. I had knitted 16 rows after casting on after the last armhole. I should have knitted 26. DUH! So I frogged back to the error. Oh well at least I noticed before I was wearing it :-)

The weather has been gorgeous here. Most of my free time in the day has been spent walking the trail by the river. Jesse is totally amazed watching the leaves fall from the trees. Then he discovered that they crunch when you jump on them. He picked up yellow leaves and put them in his basket. He added cones that he spotted along our route. A new world opened up for him this week. It was wonderful to be a part of that.

Been managing a few rows of Sonnet each evening. Not as much as I would like as I have had endless deliveries of patterns this week. Am just about to start knitting the buttonhole part - that is the very last part of the body. Then onto the sleeves. Must check if the correction to the pattern has been added to Knitty. I think I will probably make the child's version Haiku for Jesse's little girlfriend, Meg. She would look so cute wearing that...well she looks cute anyway so I should say "cuter".

Grabbed a few minutes to knit a few more rows of Sonnet this weekend. We were out digging up the potatoes and clearing the rest of the garden so that ate into my already short knitting time. This is what Sonnet looks like so far. I am just starting the back section. It is such a nice pattern to follow. Very straight forward. Great pattern Kristi!



The front and back sections are really the same height...I didn't straighten it properly before I took the photo.

Cast on for Sonnet last night. Realised early on that the cardigan would be far too long on me...being short as I am. I reconfigured the figures and started again. Have about 3 inches of garter stitch done.

The yarn that I am using for Sonnet is pictured below. It is DGB Tweed and I am not sure if it is available in many parts. I got it from the company that makes DGB Confetti sock yarn. DGB Tweed comes in big balls of 250g. The colour is a nice burgundy. It 56% wool, 35% acrylic 5% Viscose. I also have the same yarn in grape and am looking for something really nice to make with that.

My garden was totally destroyed by the snow and now cold temps. Need to dig the spuds this weekend and then clear it all. So sad to see my string beans gone. I do love those.