Oh yes, I see now!

Moss stitch is a great one to learn if you ever want to do things like blankets or scarves. Visually it’s about as dense as single crochet, but has a lot more drape. It’s a favourite of mine! https://easycrochet.com/moss-stitch-crochet-tutorial/

That’s adorable! I have no patience at all for doing amigurumi so I always find things like this extra impressive :)

It looks like maybe a variant of moss stitch for the body/feathers? Hard to tell from the photo.

They’d be a bit young for that, I think. It is a great museum though.

This is cool! Thanks for sharing; I’ve registered.

For those interested, the four training modules are as follows:

Emergency Management and Preparedness

In this module you will learn about different types of emergencies, how they are managed and what you can do to prepare before an emergency happens.

Emergency Volunteer Risk Management

This module focuses on what you can do to keep yourself and others safe when responding to an emergency. You will learn how to identify hazards and mitigate risks. While this course provides an overview of different types of personal protective equipment you are not required to purchase these items to be a member of Ontario Corps.

Accessibility and Human Rights

In your role as emergency volunteer, you may work with the public. This module provides an overview of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code to prepare you to provide accessible customer service to those affected by emergencies.

Exploring the Roots of Racism

Canada’s history of racism affects how we engage with others and serve the people of Ontario today. This module focuses on deepening your awareness of racism through information, self-reflection and open dialogue. This awareness is fundamental to your role as emergency volunteer.

Friends in Gravenhurst get the occasional bear in their yard, so maybe read up on the wildlife!

Oh wow, you’re totally right. Someone needs to go back to grade ten civics!

That’s great, thank you! We lived in the city in our single/DINK days so a number of these weren’t even on my radar. I had no idea you can water taxi to QC now! That might be a fun one.

I get that, though it does have some cool features (the Science Center is fantastic). But that trip was to see particular people rather than the city itself. We’ll miss them, but we also don’t feel super safe crossing the border right now.

I lived in Ottawa for four years, actually, and my husband for over a decade – but I haven’t been back since 2013 and our kids have never visited. I’m actually really looking forward to revisiting some of my old stomping ground with them!

We haven’t really filled out our itinerary yet, so I don’t mind suggestions on things to do with the kids in particular (all elementary school age). So far we’re thinking touring the Hill & Peace Tower, the Museum of Nature, whatever the Museum of Civilization is called these days, and maybe one of the river/canal boat tours.

Our family was supposed to go to Baltimore this summer but instead we’re going to Ottawa :)

My 10-year-old loves Minecraft and Terraria. Do you play any video games? Which ones do you like?

Making squares into a blanket is a great way to do it :) And the squares themselves can be very satisfying just because they go from casting on to finished so quickly. It’s nice to have something that works up fast, especially if you’ve got bigger things also on the go.

Here’s a close-up of part of the underside:

And you can see a little more detail here (the flowers are the centre parts of big squares for the border that I’m working on adding):

Well, I’ve made about a zillion baby blankets, so making a really big one didn’t seem like too much of a step. Clothes, though, that’s something I’ve yet to attempt!

Very nice! Is that bernat blanket yarn? How did you find it to work with?

Cute! I saw that you used RH self-striping yarn – what is the colourway?

Just three stitches! Well, technically, four, but the last one is just a very simple variation on double crochet (going around the post instead of on top of the stitch).

I’ve done it in a couple of different yarn weights & blends and it’s a very forgiving pattern as long as your hook is suitable to the yarn. I recommend a single-colour yarn or one with a very long gradient to show off the stitching; shorter gradients will look a bit mottled.

Here’s the first one I did, in a 2-weight 100% cotton:

And a rectangular version in progress which is 100% merino and probably about a 4-weight:

I love it!

Great job! Your first real project is a huge accomplishment :D

Can I suggest an alternate as you work up to this? The Klaziena Shawl is a free, beautiful pattern that looks far more complex than it actually is: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/klaziena-shawl

There are really only three stitches to worry about (chain, single crochet, double crochet), the pattern is extremely clear, and it has both written instructions and a chart. This could give you great practice reading charts as well as with general shawl construction. (I’ve made it four or five times now!)