Hand Dyed Yarn and Canadian Knit Shops

My friend Darlene was kind enough to ferry me to several yarn stores in Calgary last week. We visited Knit One Chat Too where their motto is:

Stop by Knit One Chat Too to enjoy conversation, coffee or tea, and knitting! Come in for classes tailored to fit knitters of all ages and skill sets. Or just stop by and relax in the warm environment and view our latest products!

And it was so true that personal assistance was provided, along with encouragement for your knitting efforts, and a cup of coffee. It was a friendly shop with a comfy sofa and overstuffed chairs available in case you needed a sit down or a quick refresher lesson on a particular hand craft technique.

My purchases at Knit One Chat Too included three skeins of hand dyed wool/silk fiber hand dyed by the Hand Maiden. This company is located in Vancouver, BC.


(photo courtesy of the Hand Maiden)

When traveling away from home, I try to pick up something from the new area so that when I come across it again in my own territory, the object will remind me of the time and place visited.

One of the skeins I purchases was dyed in gorgeous shaded of pinks, oranges, light crimson and burgundies. I began knitting on a lace scarf yesterday and am looking forward to seeing how it turns out. The fiber is a pleasure to hold since it is 50% preshrunk wool and 50% silk.

Another shop we visited, Gina Brown's, provided additional sock yarn for my stash. And look what I picked up there as a knitting toy: a whimsical monkey tape measure.

The nose of the monkey is the retractable gadget that reels in the tape.

You can purchase one of many similar tapes at Create For Less. It is a handy accessory, and one that makes me smile when reaching for it.

Thanks, Darlene, for a fun shopping experience.

Scrabble Tournament Pictures and Chinatown

Here are a few pictures from the Western Canadian Championship Scrabble Tournament in Calgary last weekend:

On the left is player Gloriosa Agdeppa (California) and on the right is Eric Tran from the Calgary Scrabble Club. He executed an amazing game against me in the tournament and won that game with an impressive total game score of 597.

Eric racked up four bingos (using all seven letters on your rack in one play, resulting in an additional 50 points for the bingo) in our game. Four bingos played in one game was just super, and I was so proud that he beat me so thoroughly, that I took his picture with his score sheet just to prove what an awesome player he is! He is 21 years old and a student at the university in Calgary. Needless to say, I believe he won the overall game plays in the tournament and received a fairly large monetary prize.

The picture above is an interior shot of a spice and tea store in the downtown area of Chinatown in Calgary.


This picture is the dome of the Chinese Cultural Center in downtown Calgary. It is patterned from the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. The cultural center had a well stocked gift shop, and a few toonies were spent there.

We shopped at several lovely yarn stores in Calgary, and tomorrow the posting will be about the hand dyed yarns purchased from independent Vancouver, BC fiber dyers.

Integrity in the Game of Life and the Board Game Scrabble

Over 110 participants from throughout Canada and the US met in Calgary for the Western Canadian Scrabble Championship held from October 15-19, 2008. It was a marvelous time of competition and camaraderie. One incident discussed later in this post was the only unsavory incident.

More information about the National Scrabble Association (NSA) can be found here. Schools are getting in the swing of hosting Scrabble clubs, so younger people are finding satisfaction in the game at earlier ages.

There is even internet Scrabble(c) on line in case you would like to play on the computer with another person at a separate terminal, sometimes several thousands of miles from your home port. Online internet Scrabble (c) can be found through this link: Internet Scrabble Club (ISC). It is free of charge to join this computer site. ISC and WordBiz (c) is free and easy to download to your computer. Just read through the help section, and you will be ready to play anyone from all over the world, and in many languages. If you would like to play WordBiz (c)...Scrabble (c) and need help, just leave a comment and I will get back with you.


Scrabble tournaments are held every week, sometimes two or three a weekend, almost anywhere in the States and Canada. Countries outside North American also have Scrabble active clubs and tournament. Newsletters are sent to the participating NSA members at a cost of $20 a year. Again, check out the website here for further details.

Above is a picture of players awaiting a game to start after a short break. Chess clocks (an updated version used in tournament play is the Sam Timer) are used to count the allowed time of 25 minutes per person to complete a game. Point penalties are assessed for any portion of a minute over the allowed time.

I took a few pictures from the game room and at the fun dinner party which Calgary Director Siri Tillekeratne and many others in Alberta both directed and hosted over the past weekend. The tournament was excellent overall, with a total of 8 games in each of two early bird tournaments, and 21 games played in the main tournament. Our tournament hosts were friendly, efficient and professional. They put a lot of effort into running this meet. Thank you!

Calgary was beautiful, the weather was nice, and the fall colors were still in force. My hostess and friend, Darlene, even took me to Chinatown!

My second day of tournament play was slightly marred by a spoil sport whose main focus was to win at games, no matter the cost. Sadly, there are cheaters out there; amidst the intellectual realms of science, medicine, industry, spirituality and even in the board game of Scrabble, people sometimes perform unsavory actions in order to win at the game.

Cheating is an ugly thing. It demeans everyone involved in the act; the perpetrator may or may not have a conscience or concern about the act of cheating, which is maddeningly aggravating. But the ramifications on others is even more profound. Being duplicitous creates heartache not only for the people involved in the hoax, but also has effects long term effects on others. Stress and other debilitating resulting ramifications of leading a double life and lying can be damaging even on future generations. I speak from experience on this topic.

Integrity, keeping promises, being faithful to vows and being a decent human being are all too often not the main focus of our daily lives. We have to constantly keep our humility, seek the higher ground, and do what is right, even if it is costly in unimaginable ways.

Remember this?:

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, c.1920 (from this reference)

We are about as content as we choose to be. My happiness is outside the boundaries of being wronged. Fortunately, the unpleasantness over a board game is neither critical to either my ego or self worth.

This being stated, cheating perpetrated by one of my opponents was still an unpleasant experience.

Dharma says it all.