Does the tax man (or woman) play badminton?

Hey fellow Canadians, I will be adding HST/GST to applicable orders shortly. I was supposed to start in February, but I've been waiting for the receiver general to perform the Very Important Ritual of sending my new tax number to my very old address and then re-sending it to my correct address. The good news is, you've been getting a discount on all your orders and you didn't even know it! (I will pay your tax for you, aren't I nice? Actually, I have to, it's The Law.)

In non-businessy news, the weather is gorgeous today, and I have several fun things on the go. Too many. I've been doing a lot of swatching in a very fresh colour palette. Some of the swatches have to stay secret, but I can share a couple. And the new skeins you see are Mirasol Nuna, a sport weight blend of silk, wool, rayon from bamboo. It's really nice to work with, lots of yardage, and comes in nice cheerful hues. (The balls are Knit Picks Palette, and the wound cake is Americo Original Pima Lace).

May is action packed for us. Long weekend. Lots of birthdays. (I just turned the-meaning-of-life-the-universe-and-everything on Saturday). The bikes are out and lubed, tires pumped with optimistic air. Jogging is no longer fraught with frostbite warnings. And the boys and I have invented a new sport: Faux-minton. It's cooperative badminton with an invisible net and extra points for absurdity.

The Official Rules of Faux-minton:

• Strike a pose after every hit


• If the birdie has been in the air for more than 4 hits, you must hit it into the ground as hard as possible


• We can't go inside until the birdie has been hit 10 times in a row (yes, this conflicts with the above rule, is "paradox")


• Throw, rather than swing, your racket at the birdie. Extra points if you manage to hit birdie after throwing racket.


• Say "shuttleCOCK" loudly when opponent is serving


• Whisper "tits-pervert" in your teammate's ear when he or she is serving (hint: I forced the boys to watch Bridget Jones's Diary with me on my birthday)


• Extra points for getting the birdie to land in my glass of gin and tonic or Charles's cup of coffee


• Infinite redo's are allowed on serve, but you must say "redo redo redo"

 

Stripes are the best. I never tire of them. I have a vague plan that will involve something like this:



And I love this stitch pattern from Walker, it's all done with slip stitches (no Fair Isle required!):


Don't these colours play nicely together? I especially like the blue-green, yellow-green, and red trifecta (I just like using that word) when combined with tints and neutrals. But in all seriousness, this is a classic split-complementary color contrast.

I think the third grouping is my favourite: cream, coral, red, yellow-green, and pale taupe. The taupe is especially good at making colours sing.


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