Happy Canada Day!

Happy Birthday to everyone in Canada! Today we turn 141 years old as a country.

We enjoyed a very long weekend amid the gorgeous trees, water and rocks of the area known as the "Near North". We had rain and sun and mosquitos in their swarms. We swam and sat on the dock. We watched fireflies and lightening, took the kids water skiing and wake boarding and of course I did a bit of knitting too! Now we're back to our incredibly multicultural city and I must admit my patriotism is running high.

To celebrate this red and white day on the blog I thought I'd present a little red knitting that was a very thoughtful gift from a friend I taught to knit this past winter and spring.

I adore the colour red above all others in the spectrum. The sight of it literally makes me feel good so when my friend brought this gorgeous box to the final coffee gathering of the school year last week I couldn't take my eyes off it!
Then I learned it was for me and saw that it contained more red goodness! I can't tell you how thrilled I was. I absolutely do not deserve such a gorgeous gift for sitting with her and talking about knitting!

It was of course most enjoyable teaching her to cast on, to knit and purl, introduce her to a few helpful spots on line then to the wonderful ladies at my primary LYS. Look at what she made for me! The photo below is in focus - its just the halo on this knitted fabric is so incredible - the whole thing looks blurry even in real life!

This beautiful scarf is knit in the softest baby alpaca yarn I have ever felt. The ribbing makes it extra squishy. It will be soooo warm!The accent stripes are a blend of alpaca and silk and they contain every fiery colour imaginable from pink through orange to crimson.

Given the elemental nature of my connection to red, she couldn't have made me anything more thoughtful or fitting or that would thrill me more than this beautiful, beautiful scarf.

I feel lucky to be a Canadian today and lucky to have such a thoughtful (new to knitting) friend!