madly off in all directions

All the Projects Fit to Print

2012-01-08T15:12:00.000-06:00

Has everyone had a most excellent holiday season? Have you packed up ornaments, recycled trees and made a start on spring cleaning? Somehow, I have, even though I feel as though I'm dragging my feet through each day. The spring cleaning thus accomplished is a fairly thorough purging of the filing cabinet. Credit card statements, utility statements and old bank statements are all making their way through the shredder as we speak. I just need to tackle the rest of the house now...

I've got loads and loads of finished projects to show you. Most were completed over the last few months, and even though it's really my laziness in blogging that makes it appear as though I've been a whirling dervish of late, a finished project still counts as a finished project.

I've been making display cards of some of my vast button collection. Above is a selection of early 20th century bakelite (with one vegetable ivory exception, which made it's way into the bakelite basket, and thus, onto the bakelite board). It's not the best photo, but if you're in the city and want to see it in person you can head down to the Fort Garry Public Library. Our group, The Button Gatherers, has buttons on display at the library through the month of January. We'll be set up in person at the library on January 21st (that's a Saturday), from 10 am until noon, talking buttons. The public is welcome to come in and watch us in "action" (there's a term to be used loosely), to ask about buttons and collecting, and to bring in a small selection of buttons that need identifying.

Also completed is a button board of "dragon" buttons.

I didn't get a good shot of the entire board, but you get the idea, these are all buttons with a dragon motif on them. I was born under the Chinese Astrological sign of the dragon, hence my fascination with myself, I mean dragons, and since 2012 is a Year of the Dragon I thought now would be a good time to get these buttons carded. I'll have to get some better shots, they really are magnificent. The creamy coloured one in the photo is made of ivory and the one up in the far left corner is a Victorian dyed mother of pearl with brass escutcheon - a Christmas gift from Elly this past year. The one in the upper right corner of the photo is an enameled Satsuma button. Glorious!

Also recently finished, an "alphabet" of buttons. This project was suggested by one of the button group members as a project that we could each do independently. I haven't seen anyone else's yet, but I'm curious what others have done.

Starting from the upper left corner; A (Art Nouveau), B (butterfly), C (clock), D (diminutive), E (Egytptian), F (face), G (glass), H (heart), I (iridescent), J (jewelled), K (knot), L (leather), M (mother-of-pearl), N (nut), O (orange), P (pink or pearl), Q (quadrilateral), R (rhinestone), S (steel on shell), T (twinkle), U (uniform), V (vegetable ivory), W (windmill), X (x-quisite), Y (yellow), Z (zodiac).
I found "K" was the most difficult, and didn't bother trying very hard for "X". Here's a close-up of part of a section:

And lastly, I carded a selection of dark brown and tortoise-shell bakelite coat buttons into a "valentine chocolate" display. Yummy!

And what about the knitting?

Currently on the needles is a pair of Pinata Socks (that's a Ravelry link) being worked in Adorn sock yarn by Three Irish Girls in colourway Nora. The yarn was a Christmas gift from a knitting friend, the colors remind me of ice cream colours. I can see chocolate, strawberry, orange sherbet, blue licorice and banana.

Also on the needles, the Cap Shawl by Jane Sowerby (another Ravelry link). I'm working this in Handmaiden Fine Angel Hair in colourway Smoke.I can't see the yarn listed on the site anymore, it was purchase two or three years ago from Wolseley Wool. It's beautifully soft yarn, much like Rowan Kid Silk Haze, but in great big hanks. I'm only going to need two to work the entire shawl, where I'd need 8 skeins of the Rowan yarn - makes for far fewer joins of yarn in the finished project.

No longer on the needles, but mostly completed, is the Ginny Cardi by Kim Hargreaves. I started this back in October, and finished the knitting by mid-December, looking through previous blog posts, it appears as though I never mentioned it. It was worked in Filatura Di Crosa Zara in a deep claret colour - the snapshot makes it look bright pink, but don't be deceived!

Zara is my Mum's favourite yarn, and rightly so, it knits up like a dream and the colours are fabulous. I've yet to sew buttons to Ginny, so I suppose she's not really finished yet...
also, also almost finished, except for the buttons, is a wee jacket for Baby Gregor.

Doesn't he look cosy? The vivid red wool yarn was a thrift store find, in laceweight, held double. the yarn is slightly scratchy, but he hasn't complained. The pattern is by Susanna Lewis. She has some very beautiful doll clothes patterns designed for the Sasha dolls.

And lastly, off the needles in time for Elly's Christmas gift was a Hogwart's Express Shawlette.

This was worked in Fyberspates Scrumptious 4Ply in a deep grapey-purple, with size 8 beads in a goldenrod colour (purchased from Artbeads). The yarn truly is scrumptious, it has a fabulously squishy feel to it, and the colour is beautifully saturated, the photo really doesn't do it justice. The yardage on this yarn was less than on the recommended yarn, so instead of the 30-something owl repeats, Elly only has 24, but it's all fitting, since she has a birthday on the 24th (of March), she turned 24 last year, and as she's petite, it's the perfect length to wrap around and tuck inside her winter coat.

Looking back, it seems like quite a lot of work has happened over the last little while. it's strange how I often feel like I'm not getting anything done, when clearly much there is much happening. It's a conundrum.

No Sewing Required

2011-12-11T22:20:00.009-06:00

Hello. Did you think I'd been abducted by aliens? No such luck, life's just been too busy/mundane to blog about.

I do want to show you a new addition to the house, though:

ain't she a beaut!

It's a Singer 127 Treadle sewing machine. I mistakenly told you in this blog post that one of my other sewing machines was a Singer 128 in a coffin case, not so, it's a 27 in a bentwood case. This machine is the non-electric variation on that same machine, and with fabulous sphinx decals. I've been learning lots and lots about identifying old machines.

I'm in the process of getting this machine up and running. It's required a bit of tinkering and I still can't get the stop motion wheel to properly disengage, but I plan to keep fiddling with it before I give up and take it in to the repair shop. There are so few parts on these old machines that I can't believe it can be anything other than straight forward. The treadle stand for this machine had a top that was in fairly bad shape which I painted cream to match the kitchen trim and it sits now under a mirror by the back door. I find the sound of the moving treadle very comforting. I must have been a little factory worker in a former life.

Over the last few months a friend and I have been working on starting a button collector's club here in the city. So far, we've had two meetings and we couldn't have hoped to find a better group of people - diverse and good-humoured. At the last meeting I gave a talk on vegetable ivory buttons (doesn't that sound impressive? Don't be fooled, it was only a half page of notes - in very large handwriting.) I also brought homemade shortbread buttons...

Scrumptious!

I brought along the button tree Elly and I had made the week-end before the meeting.

We made this for Elly, to co-ordinate with her peacock-coloured Christmas theme using the directions found here. It's very easy, though time consuming. I foolishly bought the largest Styrofoam cone Michael's had, and it ended up being a lot of buttons and pins. The pins were purchased at the dollar store, and good thing, because I think we used more than 300. The ladies at the button meeting all agreed it was a great idea for the many, many mass produced plastic buttons one can accumulate without realising.

As party favours (meeting favours?) I made some button Christmas ornaments.

Another easy, peasy project. Clear glass ornaments were purchased from Michael's, I chose the heart-shaped set, and filled with colour co-ordinated plastic buttons small enough to fit through the ornament top.

It's beginning to look a lot like buttons, I mean Christmas!

Nouveau Famous

2011-10-25T08:28:00.011-05:00

Recently off the needles: one pair of Nouveau Gloves.

I started these way back in March (see this post) when I was desperate for some colour in the middle of winter. The yarn was purchased at Wolseley Wool, on a sunny day during a mostly overcast winter. The colour of the yarn sang to me from a shop shelf and it had to be bought, which it was, post haste. Once home, I checked Ravelry to see what others had made with the same yarn, Yellow Label DK Weight by Tanis Fibre Arts.

It was there that I spotted the pattern called Nouveau, a pair of cabled gloves by Glenna C., and I was off and running. I finished the first glove quickly, then let them languish as I worked on other projects,then picked up the project again in September, then finished them by the first of October. I received oodles of compliments on the project while working on it, and oodles since finishing. The colour of teal is truly spectacular, I'm not sure the snaps honestly capture the depth of tones in the yarn. Beautiful!

So why wait to post about them until today? Because today the Tanis Fibre Arts blog is featuring my pair of gloves in their feature on the Nouveau glove pattern.

My favourite part (apart from having a spectacular pair of teal cabled gloves) is being referred to as a "top tier knitter". Hee hee!

Unexpected Buttons

2011-10-15T07:58:00.004-05:00

A view from the end of the garden:

Newly installed in the back of the garden, a Droll Yankees Ultimate Pole System, one of many gifts for my birthday (the 13th). I've been trying to feed the birds since the end of the deck reno this past July, but I was finding the birds too rough for my "adorable" bird feeders. Between the squirrels and the blue jays, there were two wooden bird feeders broken into pieces within three weeks, and there was always a terrible mess of grocery-store-bought birdseed all over the garden. So, after checking the phone book, I headed out to The Preferred Perch in south St. Vital and purchased the lovely and sturdy tube feeder you can see in the photo (it's the largest feeder), and was told that the grocery-store-bought birdseed is mostly filler of wheat, which most backyard birds won't eat, except for ducks.

***no ducks allowed, that's an inside joke for immediate family members.***

Anyhoo...I bought plain black sunflower seed, which I was told to try, and if it attracted the neighbourhood birds, it was a good place to start, though, they told me, the sparrows prefer white millet and may be angry at the change. I was also told it could take days or weeks for the local birds to adjust to the change of feeder and feed. Well, in less than an hour nuthatches, chickadees and squirrels were all happily feasting, however, when I turned 'round the side of the house, there were about twenty sparrows perched on the fence in a huff.

I went back to the shop the next day and bought a big bag of white millet and appeased the sparrows by setting handfuls down along the garden path - apparently sparrows prefer to eat off the ground. I also bought a bag of peanuts (for the squirrels) and the corn feeder and cobs of corn (for the blue jays and squirrels). Everyone seemed very happy - and now with the installation of the "Ultimate Pole System", everything is central and can be viewed from any of the back windows. Joy!

And now for a few finished projects...

Stitched from a kit from Button and Needlework Boutique in Victoria, a bookmark of thistles.

I've already sent it to Mum, seeing as she's Scottish and likes to read. I love these little cross-stitch bookmark kits, they're quick and easy and pretty, made by Textile Heritage, they have lots of choices... perfect little Christmas gifts... for me... hint, hint....Nigel? Elly? Hello?

Another project, out of the knitting basket, finally, are the Harvest Mice by Alan Dart, started way back in February. I would have never guessed that I wouldn't get around to finishing them until the day after Thanksgiving.

The knitting was easy enough, that can be done in an evening, but it's the sewing, stuffing, embroidering, constructing of props, gluing, etc., etc...

Mine are nowhere near as cute as Mr. Dart's, I suspect I make the mistake of using bits and pieces of beautiful, sumptuous DK merinos, rather than the brutal acrylics that Dart uses. My Dart toys are always too floppy and soft. I keep meaning to learn that lesson, but forget every time I'm assembling yarns for one of his patterns. Perhaps next time.

Also off the needles recently, is any easy, peasy garter stitch stole.

Made from two skeins of Bamboo Bloom using 15mm needles. Yup, 15 mm, those are one and a half centimetres diameter. Very big...and awkward.

It gives an interesting overall effect, the spun and unspun sections of yarn make for a lot of textural interest, and the choice of black gives it a decidedly Haloowe'eny look (which was what I was after). I'm fairly happy with this project.

Also recently off the needles, another Storm Water Shawl, knit up in Swiss Silk by Handmaiden. I made one back in 2008, from this post, and had always intended to make another.

***I find it amusing that the first lines of that old blog post are apologising for my laziness in blogging - have you noticed I'm even too lazy to apologise now?***

The Swiss Silk yarn is very lovely, the colourway I used is called Orchid, which to me should be pale purples, but this blend is a beautiful mix of pinks and creams. This yarn doesn't appear on the Handmaiden website yet, even though I purchased it back before Christmas. I suppose I'm not the only lazy updater out there!

Lastly, off the needles, three Trekkie Dishcloths.

Worked up in Cascade Ultra Pima, in the classic Star Trek colours of gold, red and blue, and edged all around in black cotton. I'd like to point out right now that the edging was crocheted! Yes, that's right, all by me! Swish! These little lovelies are winging their way to Jane and family in Toronto, as I know they're fans of the series.

I've finished another knitted project recently, a pair of gloves, but I'm going to refrain from posting about them until later in the month, in order to tie-in with another post on another website...are you intrigued?

I'd like to share a :::Friday Find::: which was found on a Friday (the 7th of October) and intended to blog about yesterday (which would have been Friday, but the day ended without me blogging, but I'm not waiting until next Friday, when I'll be out of town anyway, blah, blah, blah - let's just look at this new treasure...)

Lotto, found in a local antiques store (Black's, if you want to know), a fabulous board game I suspect from the 1920's or earlier.

Amazingly, all the tiny numbered discs remain, after all the years this thing has been kicking around!

I suspect there originally would have been a cloth pouch to draw the numbers from, which has since gone missing, and only a few of the original plain wooden markers are left, but what did someone long ago replace them with?

well, buttons of course!

Buttons, light and dark. How perfect a game is this? Love!

A Horse is A Horse, Of Course, Of Course

2011-09-12T11:56:00.003-05:00

Above is the obligatory summer vacation snap. Ian and I jetted off to lovely, cool and breezy Victoria as an escape from the relentless heat around these parts. It's hard to believe it was only three weeks ago, feels like forever. We stayed at the Surf Motel again. I can't say enough wonderful things about this place, more than retro, it's downright vintage (as in "slightly dilapidated"), close to downtown, and it's right smack across the street from the Juan de Fuca Strait. I'm sure one day soon someone is going to buy this place and update everything and ruin it all - or tear it down to build some hideous condo.

Ah well, until then I'll have to plan as many stays as I can...

Victoria was full of fun - there were friends, family and hilarity.

My favourite moment of the trip was when Ian and I and my brother (also Ian) were browsing through a vintage/consignment shop that specialises in housewares, when young Ian touched an item and sent sparks flying, exclaiming "What, is that!". Well, it was a vintage table lighter. He'd never seen such a thing - making me feel a little on the aged side. They were such iconic objects from film and television back in my day (and before), I'd never considered how useless they would be for anything other than lighting a cigarette. Imagine dragging one around to light candles, or the fireplace, or the gas stove. Give me a book of matches any day!

Recently off the needles is a horse, of course!

Knit from the pattern book, Dream Toys by Claire Garland, she's knit up in Kiss by Filtes King, an Aran weight merino/acrylic blend in pale pink. The book includes the pattern for the eyes and nostrils, made from wool felt. I love the very knobbly knees on this toy, it's very hard to walk past it without picking it up and making it run along like marionette.

Ian caught sight of her while under construction, with no legs, tail or mane, and was thrilled to see I'd made a "jellybean". I'm not sure why he thinks jellybeans have eyes and nostrils.

Also off the needles over the summer is Octavian the Octopuss, by Jill Watt. He's knit up in worsted weight leftovers, the main colour only uses about 100 meters, or so, and half of that for the contrasting colour. The pattern suggests using plastic safety eyes, but having none, I made mine from more scraps of wool felt.

a note: I use the good wool felt from Holland, it costs a *$#^%&* fortune, but it's worth every penny.

This little creature also enjoys the "marionette dance".

On seeing this piece finished and sitting on the mantle, Ian asked if it was a catfish. Clearly, 15 is an interesting age.

An octopuss is a catfish, of course, of course.

I'd just like to add here, that I don't ever recall watching Mr. Ed growing up, but yet I remember this show (same era) very well:

Mr. Famous

2011-08-11T15:14:00.002-05:00

Here's a quick update while I continue to cope with this wretched, hot, humid, sticky weather.

Nigel has had a brush with fame. Terribly important music website PopMatters has published a list of top twenty, all-time, best-ever Pavement songs. Pavement is a band, and not just any band, but one of Nigel's all-time, best-ever favourites. Ian and Elly and I frequently mock this affection (mostly Ian and I), so this week has been especially thrilling for Nigel. If you check out the top twenty list, and scroll down the page, way down to number 16 on the list, a number called "We Dance"...

Well, the video they chose to highlight that song was shot by Nigel himself, last Autumn in Minneapolis.

If you want to check out Nigel's other concert videos, check out his YouTube channel here.

Now go and watch them and favourite them and make him feeled loved.

Robert Smith Frills

2011-07-17T16:03:00.011-05:00

The peonies were spectacular this year, it's a shame they don't last longer in the garden. No sooner are they there, but they're gone.

This year we've added a more permanent piece of loveliness to the garden. Her name is Yolande and she's a cast stone sculpture made by an American company called Campania, from they're "Mythical" series of garden sculptures.

There is a long, ugly story attached to the acquisition of Yolande; the kind of story that makes me look bad, so I'm not going to share. An abbreviated version goes something like: first ordered over two years ago, three order mix-ups, one gigantic hissy fit (that would be me), a hefty price tag, and a shop that I will never shop at again.

However...

how gorgeous is she? She hides herself away in the corner of the garden and watches the back of house - I could stare at her all day. I think she's going to look quite majestic year-round.

Also new and majestic, is our new Betta, he's deepest black all over with shots of midnight blue running through his long, frilly fins. I've named him Robert Smith, after the lead singer of The Cure.

Oooo...how lovely? (Tricky to photograph, unfortunately).

Recently off the needles is a mermaid based on the Minnowmaid pattern by Amy Florence (that's a Ravelry link).

She's a tad on the hideous side, I think living under the sea is to blame, it's made her pasty-looking and all the swimming has given her shoulders like a linebacker.

Great hair and tail though, yes?

Also off the needles recently is Abrazo made from the Sweet Georgia Lace I blogged about back in March. This pattern only used about half of the hank, so another project may eventually appear in the future.

It turned out beautifully, though I miscounted the lace pattern the first go-round and had to rip it out and start again. I found the orange very cheery to knit with, but it's not a colour I can wear. I will have to gift it to someone...hmmm....I wonder who...?

A friend and I will be undertaking a major project tomorrow. We are going to sort and categorise my buttons.

I sincerely doubt we'll make it through all of them, since when all set out on the dining-room table I can't photograph them all at once.

Clearly, the amassed buttons are calling for a wide-angle lens.

In a brief effort to make use of a few I put together a bracelet this afternoon using some of the shell buttons.

It's not bad, but about two buttons too long.

I shall try again.

While I work on that, here's a look at the real Robert Smith in all his black, frilly-ness:

Done and Done

2011-06-21T08:40:00.019-05:00

Daily, I make lists for myself. Things that have to be done, things that should be done and things that I would like to do. I keep a small notebook for myself with all things listed. Just about anything can make it to the list, from the perpetual, "laundry", to the less likely, "lose weight". As projects are accomplished (or abandoned) they are crossed off the list, until the list is an unreadable mess of scratches, then I tear the page from the book, destroy the old page (or pages), and start fresh with a new page and a new list. I always find the tearing up of the old list a small, cathartic experience. Three or four times a year I start a new notebook which is very cathartic. I feel a sense of progression and moving forward.

The downside, I've realised, is that because there is always a list of what needs to be done, and no clear list of what's been finished, I've often found myself feeling that I'm running in circles and accomplishing nothing.

So...recently, I started, not one new notebook, but three!

I have a "book of to do" notebook - all the things I'd like to do, a "whenever", "no-time-line", "I-have-the-rest-of-my-life-and-if-nothing-gets-done-no-one-will-care" list of projects.

I have my regular notebook of things that I'm actually working on, a "book of doing" - laundry and grass mowing will make that list, as well as which ever project I happen to be tackling - the garden is a current favourite.

And I've started a "book of done". Not everything will make it into this notebook, but I think having a tangible list that I can hold and read and say "ah, yes, so that's what I've been doing all this time" will put to rest the feeling that nothing is happening.

The first thing to make the list was a re-covering of an old office chair.

It use to be fuzzy, grey and tired. Now it's bright and spiffy, and makes me very happy!

Also finished, but not making the list of done, is the simple ribbed scarf started way back in April. It didn't make the list because it's on my Ravelry page, where all my knitting projects reside.

Also making the list, is a new dress for Kiltie!

Kiltie is one of my Sasha Dolls, her new dress is made from one of Nigel's old shirts. This is the first time Kiltie's been out of her original clothes, you can see her here.

I've made new togs for both of the other Sasha dolls too. Here's Baby Gregor Sasha, Mum bought him for me on a trip to Scotland back in 1976 (or there-abouts).

I knit him some undergarments out of white crochet cotton on fine needles. He's had other clothes in the past, but I've no idea what happened to them. He's here in his original togs.

Marina Sasha also has a new outfit knit from the same white crochet cotton. I wound off some length of the yarn and dyed it in a strong tea bath to make the undergarments. Knickers...

petticoat...

and dress...

The knitted clothes didn't make it into the new notebook either, since they're also on my Ravelry page, but Marina's outfit was a major work, for the dress front you cast on 192 stitches, and that's just the front, it's the same for the back, and then the petticoat has 160-ish stitches for front, and then again for the back. Wheeeee.....

She looks lovely though! Here she is in her original clothes which she's never removed.

The major work is the back garden, which is almost, completely finished...

a path of crushed granite leading to the air conditioner...

the not-yet-finished trellis against the garage...

a bed of hydrangeas...

crushed granite under the spruce trees...

a raised bed with a few tiny plants...

the south side of the deck with railing...

and, the north side with trellis, clematis and impatiens.

Now , we wait for the plants to grow.

Dolls and Weeds

2011-05-31T23:46:00.000-05:00

I've managed to lose track of time again.

Is anyone else having this problem? Is it age? Am I really so over-the-hill that I'm rolling fast enough to make six weeks feel like one?

Apparently, yes.

Things do, however, get done. I finished off the Blackbird Shawl

It's really very pretty, and black as can be. I'm glad to be finished knitting with black, at least for now. I still have plans to work my way through all my black yarn, but have changed my mind about spending an entire year knitting with nothing but black. I've come up with a new series of projects that is sure to test my attention span.

I've decided that various dolls in the house require new togs. Thankfully, I don't have all that many dolls (at least, I don't think I do).

First up, and most naked of the bunch, was my Armand Marseille Dream Baby, a bisque head doll with blue glass sleep eyes made around the 1920's. This doll has a cloth body and composition hands. Elly finds him "creepy". I think he's very sweet, in fact, I think he looks quite a lot like Elly did as a baby.

I'd decided as soon as I saw him that he was a boy, and so (finally) made him a bonnet and gown from an old blue linen tablecloth that I'd thrifted a few years ago. I was careful to utilise the hardanger edges for the hem of bonnet, gown and sleeves. The bonnet is a shade on the small side, but he hasn't complained yet.

Isn't he sweet?

I also made linens for the old wicker pram I bought a while back, seen in this blog post.

I made a pillow, mattress and mattress cover from new materials, and made a blanket and pillowslip from two vintage heavy, beige linen hand towels, also thrifted a while back. I added a smattering of embellishment with brown and white polka dot ribbon and two cream coloured satin motifs.

Lucky doll!

That sweet face is still lacking a name though. I'd thought of calling him Armand, but that may be a tad unimaginative. Any suggestions? Perhaps an older name that isn't gender specific; Marion, Beverly,... maybe not... hmmm...Georgie?

I have plans to clothe other dolls through the summer, perhaps I'll show and tell them as I work my way through the naked/shabbily-dressed ones.

In other events, the deck is finally underway. This was suppose to be done last summer, but the good weather ran out before our contractor could squeeze us in, so it had to wait until now.

This year's weather hasn't been as co-operative as we would have liked, so it's not finished yet. All we really need now are two days with no rain.

Soon...

And what else is coming along fast and furious?

Well, it's all those dandelions on the front lawn.

I'm having a terrible time deciding what to do with them. I keep going to the shops and picking up the big bottle of weed killer , debating, deciding against chemicals, putting it down, coming home, and then regretting not buying the stuff as soon as I pull into the front drive. We even had one of those big lawn chemical companies come out and give us an estimate ($389, thank you very much). I find it easy to love dandelions when they're in their "golden flower head" stage (as in the photo), as opposed to the "straggly puff-ball" stage, which is how they're looking today.

Perhaps this fabric will change my mind...

It is pretty, yes?

My 200th Post!

2011-04-20T09:35:00.002-05:00

Look at that, I finished those socks! I quite enjoyed knitting these, the pattern zips along quickly - just interesting enough to keep me engaged, but not so complicated as to require thinking.

There are definitely different kinds of knitters in the world, some seem to like the "easier the better" road, while others want each successive project to be more challenging than the last. I place myself firmly in the centre, choosing projects based entirely on my mood at the time, and more than willing to abandon said project if the mood takes me. I've done an awful lot of abandoning lately - projects that never make a blog appearance. For a few months now, I've been mourning the lose of my "knitting mojo", but I've come to realise that's not been the situation, that, in fact, I had lost my "mojo", as in for everything. I was dragging myself through the day feeling completely lost, but all is better now. Over the last two or three weeks I've done a complete scouring of the house (except for those continually appearing doggie foot prints coming in at the back door), I purged shelves, cabinets, dressers and filing cabinet and sent lots and lots off to charity and the shredders, and re-organised most every nook and cranny. The static that was running through my brain has ceased and a calmness has taken over.

Feels good.

I'm celebrating by setting aside all my other knitting projects and starting something new.

I started my first ever KAL - that's a knit-a-long, for those who don't know. A few people connected to Wolseley Wool started this one, and I jumped right in. We're working on the Rock Island Shawl by Jared Flood, a shawl pattern designed to be worked in either lace-weight or fingering-weight yarn. I'm working this in lace-weight Zephyr merino-silk blend in colourway Dianthus, an intense hot magenta. I've had this yarn for a few years now and thought it might be just the ticket for this pattern. I'm enjoying this very much, especially the part where I've set aside all the other projects first.

I'd like to take this opportunity to make an announcement... I'm not going to buy anymore new yarn for the next six months.

I know, I know.

I've done this before. What I really need to do is not buy anymore yarn until I've used everything I already have, which would make me at least 180 years old.

I've added an awful lot of yarn to the stash in the last few months, there's just always so many good sales this time of year...

want to see the last hank of yarn that made it into the house, just under the wire?

From the very wonderful Fyberspates in Oxfordshire...

their very wonderful Royal Wedding Yarn...

a stunning sapphire blue alpaca-merino-silk lace weight with silver thread running through...

I have no allocated project for this bit of loveliness, but one could come along at some point. Fyberspates has a shawl pattern for sale to go with the yarn, designed with hearts and horseshoes (traditional wedding symbols), but I thought it looked a tad unimpressive compared to the yarn, so I took a pass.

Don't start thinking I've gone completely royal wedding cuckoo, but I also snapped up a copy of this at Chapter's...

too funny...

comes complete with cardboard balcony to place all your finished figures on. I love the fact that Charles and Phillip look identical, except Phillip has more medals and tired eyes.

Have you seen this yet?

Love.

A Black Mood

2011-03-29T11:51:00.014-05:00

Spring is beginning slowly outside the windows these days. There's still plenty of snow on the ground around here, but the sun is warm and strong and we all know it's only a matter of weeks before there'll be buds on the trees and clean streets - well, I suppose Winnipegers know that clean streets aren't going to happen until late May or early June, still, though....just a matter of time.

I haven't been posting much at all lately, due to a deep, dark ugly mood I found myself in through February and March, oddly, perhaps, I blame my knitting.

I've always had a fondness for dark, bold colours like black and charcoal and aubergine and I have, over the last five or six years, indulged in buying lots of yarn in those colours, often in lace-weight, stashing them away for future projects. Unfortunately, I noticed last year that my eyesight wasn't as good as it was once (I suspect bi-focals are in my future). I had a flash of brilliance, or so I thought, around Christmas, that in the new year I would work through all my darkest shades of lace-weight yarn, starting with the blackest of blacks that I owned, hence my starting of the Blackbird shawl mentioned a few posts ago. In fact, I'd planned on working projects in black yarn of all weights, and also started a fairisle yoke cardigan with black as the body colour. My thinking at the time was that I would work through the dark colours before it's beyond me, and would have lots and lots of my favourite colours to wear while I moved on to knit in other hues.

This was a terrible mistake. Often Winnipeg winters are filled with brilliant blue skies, bright yellow sun and sparkling white snow, making for a visually impressive, though brutally cold, few months - but not this year. This year we had lots of snow, too much, considering the flooding that's expected, which meant many, many overcast days. So, not just brutal, awful, bitter cold, but perpetual dreariness. Blah!

And, on top of this, stitch after stitch of black, black, black...

The Blackbird shawl continues to sit on my desk, slowly, slowly progressing. I know I'm going to love this project when it's finished, and suspect that I will wear it often so I'll continue work on it, but...

that cardi...

After knitting the main body and both sleeves (all in black), I started the fairisle yoke in shades of grays and white, and after knitting and knitting, all the way to nearly the end of the colourwork and nearing the neck, I thought to myself, "I don't like this. I'm never going to wear this. This depresses me."

and...

rrriiipp...

I tore it all out.

It was very liberating, like coming out of a fog.

To rid myself of the "blackness", I immediately pulled a brilliant red 4-ply from the yarn stash and knit a tam, Robin by Kim Hargreaves.

Colour, how I've missed you!

Also started a pair of gloves in teal Dk weight. This pattern is called Nouveau by Tanis Fiber Arts (that's a Ravelry link). These are being worked in the recommended yarn - Tanis Fiber Arts in Yellow Label DK.

More Colour!!!!

Also started, the Diversion sock pattern from Knitty's Winter 2009 issue. I'm not a huge fan of knitted socks, but saw a pair of these on display at Wolseley Wool, and could not be contained in the purchase of the same colourway of yarn and a plan to knit these up immediately. Yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome in colourway Sweet Pea.

And then, one last final leap away from the dark; I purchased a hank of Sweet Georgia Merino Silk Lace from Wolseley Wool in colourway Dutch, a very uncharactersitic (for me) orange.

Wowsers! Now that's not black, you have to admit. I don't have an immediate project for this, but I suspect my desire to work with this yarn will make my search brief.

Onwards, springtime!

Where'd I Put Those Buttons?

2011-03-01T09:42:00.018-06:00

Well, I found the perfect buttons for the wee baby jacket from my last post. Ordered from Wool-Tyme Canada, they were by Mission Falls and looked like this:

except, the ones I ordered were darker in colour. They were perfect, the size was right and they possessed enough quaint, homeyness to appeal to my knitting pals, and enough sophistication to appeal to everyone else. This is all past tense though because I have no idea what I did with them.

I was certain that I'd put them in the top drawer of the black dresser in the craft room, where I store yarn for upcoming projects along with various other delights. However, they weren't in the drawer when I went to fetch them for this post.

I did find the shawl pin that I bought from Wool-Tyme in the same order (seemed a waste to spend money on shipping for three little buttons, so felt I should "fill out" the order - this is one of my secrets to spending vast quantities of money, if Nigel is curious)

Lovely isn't it? It's shell with an ebony spear. I'll wear it to knit night on Wednesday so the girls can have a gander.

Yes, lovely, but the buttons weren't there...

I did find my darling package of White Stripes buttons (they're a band) Nigel bought me for Christmas one year. I've never opened these - too adorable. You've got to admire a band that doesn't just sell t-shirts and posters.

I looked all over my desk, which is a disaster at the mo'.

There's my Blackbird Shawl from a previous post - languishing, along with a piece of genealogy research - also stalled.

Oooo, a pattern for an apron and 10 skiens of black angora purchased on sale at Wolseley Wool. Angora and aprons - I am turning into a '50's housewife, yes?

Some half finished Alan Dart mice, and some of the yarn for a cardi I just started. I'll show that to you some other time, it's got a silk hem facing - fancy!

My sewing machine, poor neglected thing...

Hmm, are they in the hutch? If you click on this picture you might see Nessie lurking (she's a former whiskey bottle).

I can see the first buttons, later rejected, for the jacket. Also sitting there is a curling rock, also formerly a whiskey bottle (makes me look like a bit of a boozer, doesn't it?)

The craft cupboard... if you know me from ravelry and click on this picture, you might see the black and white felt cat that appears in my ravatar...no buttons though...Hey, also my half finished Lady Grey jacket I was working on! I really should put the lining in that before summer gets here.

Old tins full of buttons, but not the ones I'm looking for...

glass jars full of buttons, also not the right ones. Hard to believe my entire button collection once fit in these jars...

Would I have put then in here?

no...

no...

no...

Oooo, special buttons!

But not the buttons...

These aren't buttons, but at least I know where (some of) my marbles are...

ah, vintage game pieces and dice, so, so charming...but not those Mission Falls buttons.

I will continue to look through March, but if they're not to be found I'll be forced to place another order...possibly with more "filler" merchandise...poor Nigel...

A Question of Buttons

2011-02-06T14:28:00.002-06:00

Bunnies!

Recently off the needles are a pair of Bunny Baby Booties for a wee boy who's due at the end of April. The pattern is from Animal Knits by Zoe Mellor, and are knit up in Sirdar Snuggly DK in cream, plus a few other bits and pieces.

Adorable, yes?

I'd never used this pattern before, but I'll definitely count it as a keeper.

Also (almost) finished for the same wee laddie is the Cardigan for Merry. Also worked in the Sirdar Snuggly, this pattern is a variation on the Cardigan for Arwen from Interweave Knits Winter 2008 issue. In order to make Merry, you'll need the Arwen pattern for the reversible cable pattern.

The cardi is still missing it's buttons though. I'm having a hard time deciding between the classic toggles...

and the quainter, sweeter hazelnuts (these are made of plastic).

Nigel and Elly agreed that the toggles were better, but both thought them a tad pale, and the Wednesday knitting group all agreed on the hazelnuts (there were nearly twelve of us in attendance that particular night, so consensus was surprising). Nigel and Elly know the parents of the wee one, and I would certainly agree that they'd probably prefer something classic over quirky, however... I'm still a bit torn. Would anyone else like to weigh-in on the subject?

Which do I choose? Classic, but too pale, or high contrast and quirky...

I could order in dark toggles...

...made of wood...or horn...

...that would involve some Internet shopping...

Oooooo....must go ogle some toggles...

Last Year's Knits

2011-01-12T15:12:00.017-06:00

Has everyone packed away the Holidays? I did - I also packed away a few extra pounds, but I've decided not to focus on that...

After Christmas last year, by that I mean 2009, I thought it would be good fun to make a little something knitted for Christmas 2010 for a select few people on my Christmas list. There was a fair bit of knitting that went on all through last year that I never blogged about, but finally, all can be revealed.

There was only one item that seemed to be a bit of a dud, so we'll just casually get this out of the way first...

I made my boy Ian a hat. My mistake may have been the pattern, which I've made unsuccessfully for him previously, or it may have been the yarn, which appears "rainbow-y" in the original photo, but I think the red may have run during it's Eucalan bath, making the yellow into orange, and the blues a tad muddy. Suffice to say, no comment was made when opening the gift, and it sat unworn until I shoved it in a drawer the other day. I'm not taking it personally though, he did love the fish hat I made for him two years ago.

For my Mum, I made the Gretel Tam by Ysolda Teague.

This pattern is yet another keeper from Ysolda - I haven't tried one of hers yet that I haven't loved. This pattern has instructions for three sizes - slouchy, traditional and fitted - I made the fitted version. Mum loved her tam, definitely a success!

Way back in March was when I started the first gift, a Citron Shawlette, I wasn't sure who this was going to be for, but it ended up being perfect for my closest friend, Betsy. I love this shawl pattern (I've made it twice before, both times for myself. See here and here). This one was worked in Fiddlesticks Zephyr Wool-Silk (now discontinued) in colourway Marine blue. Betsy loved this shawlette - another success!

a note: it's only the Zephyr Merino/Silk by Fiddlesticks that's been discontinued, it's still being made by JaggerSpun and Fantastic Knitting.

For Elly, I made the Felicity Cowl (the pale blue in the following photo). This pattern is lovely, knit from edge to edge instead of bottom to top, the final challenge of this pattern is grafting in garter stitch, which I accomplished with a few moments of pausing to think about what I was doing. I knit this up in Sublime Yarns cashmere Merino Silk DK. Very nice, if I do say so. Swish!

Next to Elly's cowl is one for her boyfriend, Steve. This pattern is the Caera Cowl, a pattern I used liberally leading up to Christmas. Steve's was made in a deep indigo, almost purple-blue - very lovely.

Most of the other men on the list received a Caera Cowl too. Nigel got charcoal, my brother Ian got truffle brown, Dad's was classic cream and Betsy's son Cailin got a heathered blue. Apart from Nigel those other three fellows live out on the west coast where one rarely needs a neckwarmer, but this year they've actually had snow, and some very chilly temperatures, so I've heard the gifts are getting a bit of use. Hooray!

And for Jane and her family, I made Galileo Mittens by cosmicpluto knits. This project was, by far, the most labour intensive of all the knitting. According to my ravelry records, I started this project April 7th and didn't finish until September 19th. To be fair, I worked on other projects in between, but....whooosh... I think I can knit that pattern without looking now.

They were worked up in Knitpicks Gloss Merino/Silk, in the following colours: for Jane: Winter Night (a dark navy), for Jane's hubby, Hart: Jade (a heathered teal), for Jane's eldest, Thea: Kenai (a vivid teal), and for Jane's youngest, Aaron: Dusk (a heathered navy - a colour which has since been discontinued, but was very nice none-the-less). Most importantly, they all fit. Huzzah!

And that, as they say, is all she knit.

I'm back to knitting something for myself in this new year.

New on the needles is Blackbird by Kieran Foley. This is another one of his start-from-the-bottom-up shawls where you cast on some ridiculous number of stitches (527) and then add beads on that first row...

Wheeeee.....

A Very, Merry Bovine-Protein-Allergy Christmas

2010-12-24T09:56:00.001-06:00

The last of my Christmas baking recipes! All the yumminess that has been blogged about so far can't be consumed by Elly due to her bovine protein allergy. She's not allowed any dairy, or beef for that matter, though she can wear leather shoes, as long as she doesn't chew on them.

Not being able to eat butter can turn sharing Christmas treats into a bit of a challenge, but Elly has altered a few of the classics on her own, and I've found three new winning recipes that I'm able to offer.

From the Fall 2008 issue of Home for the Holidays Canadian Living comes Tropical Fruit Bark. In order for this to be dairy-free I buy the dark Bernard Callebaut chocolate, as I know for certain what's in it, whatever chocolate you buy, make sure it's good quality and check those ingredients!

Tropical Fruit Bark

1 lb. good quality 70% chocolate, melted
1/3 cup each chopped dried papaya, pineapple and mango (Elly also has a pineapple allergy, so I skip that and use either mango only, or mango, apricots and papaya - the all mango is best)
1/4 cup pepitas or sunflower seeds (I've only ever used pepitas)

Line a 15x10 inch baking sheet with foil; grease foil. Set aside. In large bowl, stir together melted chocolate, fruits and seeds. Spread to about 1/4 inch thickness over the prepared pan. Tap on counter to release air bubbles. Refrigerate bark until firm, about 30 minutes. Break into chunks.

Was that easy, or what?

From the December 2008 issue of Cooking Light magazine, this recipe doesn't make very many cookies, but they're low in fat and calories and very tasty.

Espresso Crinkles

4.5 ounces flour (about 1 cup)
1 1/4 cups icing sugar, divided
1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/4 tsps baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
5 1/4 tsps canola oil
1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (again, this needs to be dairy-free chocolate)
1 tsp instant espresso powder granules
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp light-coloured corn syrup
1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
2 large egg whites

Combine flour, 3/4 cup icing sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine oil and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat; cook until chocolate melts, stirring constantly. Add espresso powder to pan; stir until blended. Remove from heat. Pour chocolate mixture into a large bowl; cool 5 minutes. Stir in brown sugar, syrup and vanilla. Add egg whites, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, stirring gently just until combined. Cover; chill at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Dredge balls in remaining 1/2 cup icing sugar; place balls 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until tops crack and are almost set. Cool cookies on pan 2 minutes or until set; remove from pan. Cool cookies on wire rack. Makes about 2 dozen.

I highly recommend those espresso cookies, they're excellent.

From the Holiday 2000 issue of Canadian Living Holiday Best:

Sweet Spicy Pecans

1 lb. pecan halves
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp each chili powder and ground coriander
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp each cinnamon, cloves and cayenne pepper

Blanch pecan halves in boiling water for one minute; drain well. Transfer immediately to large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and drizzle with oil; toss to coat well. Let stand for 10 minutes. Spread in single layer on greased foil-lined rimmed baking sheets. Bake in 325 degree F oven, turning every 5 minutes, for about 25 minutes or until nuts are crisp and slightly darkened. Meanwhile, in metal cake pan or other heatproof pan, combine cumin, chili powder, coriander, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cayenne; toast in oven alongside nuts for 5 minutes. Dump nuts into large bowl; sprinkle with spices and toss to coat well. Spread in single layer on baking sheet to cool. Store in airtight container for up to two weeks.

This is another excellent recipe, being savoury rather than sweet makes this a nice departure from the other baking being passed around this time of year. My batch didn't turn out as well as usual this year, when I reached in to take the pan of pecans out of the oven, I knocked the pan of spices and half of it spilled all over the inside of the oven. Not only was I facing small flames, but I had to act fast and pull extra spices (which I didn't bother to measure) from the cupboard and mix them into the hot pecans. I think they ended up needing more of something, possible cumin, or chili powder. However, they were still pretty good.

That's it for me for pre-Christmas blogging, I'll be back next week with some knitting to show you.

Have a happy and relaxing Christmas week-end.

Happy Christmas!

Festive and Fruity

2010-12-23T10:15:00.001-06:00

I've two more recipes for you today, plus a little knitting at the end of the post. If you're weary of all the baked goods, just skim done to see the jolly, red fellow I knit a couple of weeks ago.

First recipe today is for Orange Cherry Poundcake. I'm not sure where this recipe came from, my Mum use to make this when we were younger, so she must have discovered it from a book or a friend in either the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s (I had a lengthy childhood). Ian has discovered this year that he loves this cake, in years past he wouldn't try it, being too suspicious of "things" (like cherries) inside of other "things" (like cake). I guess he's not a baby anymore...

Orange Cherry Poundcake

1/4 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed is a nicest)
1/2 lb. red glace cherries, cut fine (sorry, i don't know how to make the wee accent mark over the "e" in glace)
1/2 lb. butter, softened (that's one cup, for you novice bakers)
1 1/4 cups berry sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups unbleached flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Grease two standard loaf pans and line with wax paper. Mix the juice with the cherries in a small bowl and stir well to separate the fruit. Cream the butter thoroughly and add 3/4 cup of the sugar gradually. Continue beating, add flavouring, then flour sifted with the salt. Beat well. Scrape the batter into a larger bowl and add the cherry mixture and zest. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together until fluffy; add the remaining sugar gradually and beat until very stiff (the egg whites, not your arms). Fold the egg white mixture gently and thoroughly into the cherry batter and scrape into the prepared pans. bake at 300 degrees F oven for 1 1/4 hours or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan, then remove and peel off the wax paper. When cold, wrap airtight and store 24 hours before slicing.

Another cherry-filled recipe that I found through Mum, this one comes from the November 2006 issue of Chatelaine. It was a recipe submitted by a reader, who mentions in the preamble that her Mother found it in a recipe book back in the '50s and they've made it ever since at Christmas time.

Festive Cherry Bars

Base:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Filling:
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. each baking powder and salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup finely chopped almonds
3/4 cup maraschino cherries, drained and chopped

Topping:
1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 cups icing sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch pan. In a bowl, using a fork, stir flour with 1/2 cup icing sugar. Using a pastry blender, or two knives, cut in 1 cup butter until coarse crumbs form (or instead pulse ingredients together briefly in a food processor). Press over bottom of baking dish. Bake until light golden around edges, 25-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, stir flour with baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat eggs, then stir in brown sugar. gradually stir in flour mixture, then almonds and cherries. Spread over base (no need to cool the base after baking, as it's going right back in the oven). Bake at 350 degrees until filling is set, 25-30 minutes. While filling is baking, in a small bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cherry juice with 3 Tbsp butter and almond extract. Gradually beat in 2 cups icing sugar until fluffy. Cover and set aside. Cool bars, then evenly spread icing overtop. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before cutting into bars. Store in airtight container.

My Festive Cherry Bars didn't look so great this year because I forgot to chill the bars before cutting into them, I just left them to cool on the counter, and now the icing looks a tad sad and wilted. This, of course, won't happen to you because you'll follow the recipe.

Off the needles recently is another Alan Dart toy, this one is the Little Devil from the October issue of Simply Knitting.

I thought why not Old Nick instead of Saint Nick for the festive season. He's not all that threatening though, as I never did make his trident.

On an unrelated-to-anything-except-for-Christmas note, this video makes me wish I'd asked for a timpani drum for Christmas:

Something Nutty

2010-12-22T08:50:00.000-06:00

More recipes today! Three, in fact.

Mmmm....see that, it's called Tiger Butter and it's wee Ian's favourite. Like the rest of the Christmas baking, I make this treat early and then squirrel it away in the freezer to dole out in small plate-fuls through the holiday season, most other years I've noticed this item dwindles quite quickly, despite being frozen solid, as Ian would quietly help himself after school. This year has been different, and even now, so close to Christmas, there's still plenty in its little box in the freezer. It tastes just as good as always, so I suspect that Ian, now 14, is simply going through a "lacking initiative" phase (also evident in his algebra marks).

It's one of the easiest of all the Christmas baking, involving simply measuring, melting, marbling and cooling. It's important to use good quality chocolates and a natural peanut butter for this recipe, it makes a huge difference in the flavours. I use Bernard Callebaut chocolate and I purchase it at Scoop 'n Weigh on Taylor Avenue.

Tiger Butter

1/2 lb. white chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 lb. semisweet chocolate, chopped

Line the bottom of a 9-inch square cake pan with wax paper. You will use two glass bowls set separately over a saucepan with hot, but not boiling water. In first glass bowl, melt white chocolate. Stir in peanut butter, and pour into prepared pan. In second glass bowl, melt semisweet chocolate over hot water. Pour the semisweet chocolate over white chocolate in prepared pan. Spread evenly, then draw a table knife through both layers to create a marbled effect. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes, or until solid. Cut into wedges or squares to serve.

More nuttiness:

Here's a classic Northern and Eastern European Cookie, Almond Crescents, the little lovelies on the plate aren't actually "almond", other nuts can be substituted for the ground almonds, I've used pecans in the past and this year I used ground hazelnuts. They're very nice, but I'm going to recommend almonds, because the flavour is stronger and more defined (more festive...?). Nigel and I both agreed that the hazelnuts were just a little too delicate in flavour.

Almond Crescents

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds (or other nuts)
2 1/3 cups flour
more icing sugar for dusting

Cream the butter and icing sugar together until fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts, than add the almonds. Stir in the flour and beat until well combined. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a roll 1-inch in diameter. Cut each roll into 3/4 inch slices, roll each slice into a cylinder 2 inches long, place 1 inch apart on baking sheet and form into crescent. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Let cool, then dust liberally with icing sugar.

This next recipe is from the Canadian Living Holiday Best magazine from 2005, reading through the recipe, they sound a little fiddly to make, but they're not as bad as they initially seem, and very tasty if you're partial to coconut.

Coconut Macaroons

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup icing sugar
1 egg, separated
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each coconut and almond extracts
2 cups flour
45 chocolate macaroon candies (this would be one box of Neilson Original Macaroons)
1 3/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Line baking sheets with parchment or grease; set aside. In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy; beat in egg yolk, salt and extracts. Add flour, stir until smooth. Roll dough into 1 Tbsp balls. Press 1 coconut macaroon candy into centre of each, covering candy with dough. Roll with hands into smooth balls. In small bowl, beat egg white with 1 Tbsp water. Place coconut in shallow dish. Dip each cookie into egg white mixture; roll in coconut to coat. Place, about 2 inches apart on prepared pans. Bake in 350 degree F oven until coconut is lightly browned, about 18 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool.

Mmmm...one of my new faves.

Meet me here tomorrow, I'll have two more recipes for you!

A Tale of Two Shortbreads

2010-12-21T10:15:00.000-06:00

I had big plans for December, and though I've accomplished a fair bit, I never did blog all my Christmas Baking recipes like I'd planned, so I mentioned to Nigel the other day that I was going to blog every day until Christmas with one cookie recipe. He scoffed when I said this, and it seems he may have been right - there's only four days left before Christmas day and I have more than four recipes to share, hence, the title of the post.

Let's get down to some baking:

Everyone I know has some recipe or another for Shortbread, but I'm here to share with you how it's really done. Shortbread is the purest of all the baking at Christmas, there are very few ingredients (specific ingredients, please) and a simple, though exhausting technique.

Real Scottish Shortbread

1 cup butter, softened (that's butter, please, no margarine or other faux fats)
1/3 cup berry sugar (not granulated sugar, and not icing sugar, those are wrong)
1 2/3 cup unbleached flour
1/3 cup rice flour (you can use 2 cups unbleached flour, but you'll get your hands slapped)

Cream the butter very well (this sounds simple doesn't it? It's not, I put my butter in the stand mixer and beat, beat, beat until it's very pale and soft. If you don't have an electric mixer you can expect to develop big, brawny Scottish forearms.) Gradually add the sugar (again this sounds very straightforward, but the word to remember in that line is gradually, just a spoonful at a time). Gradually add the flours (see sugar reference). Turn out of bowl and knead dough until it begins to crack (this shouldn't take long if you've done everything else I told you). Wrap in wax paper and chill for 30 minutes. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface about 1/4 inch thick using as little flour as possible (too much flour will make them tough). Cut into fancy shapes - try to be economical in your shape cutting, you want to roll and cut as few times as possible. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees F for 15 minutes (if you've rolled them a little thin you'll want to make sure to check them so they don't burn).

Well done! Here's another recipe that's for "shortbread" too:

Lemon Shortbread

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup icing sugar (I know, that's why I call it "shortbread")
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/4 tsp salt (I don't bother with this if the only butter I have in the house is salted)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp sugar

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light. Sift the flour and salt together in another bowl, and add to the butter mixture. Then add the vanilla and lemon zest, and blend thoroughly. Gather the dough into a ball and wrap in wax paper, chill for 4-6 hours (well...sometimes I cheat a little on the time). Remove from the refrigerator and let softened slightly. Line an 8-inch cake pan with foil or parchment. Press the dough into cake pan. Sprinkle with the 2 Tbsp sugar, and refrigerate, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake until the shortbread is just starting to colour. about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool, then cut into 2 x 1 inch bars.

Not real Shortbread, but very nice none-the-less.

Winter Begins

2010-12-01T09:25:00.010-06:00

Winter has arrived of late and I've been busy, busy, busy.

I'd been thinking through November that I should blog all my favourite Christmas baking as I baked - showing the finished project and sharing the recipes, but then I went ahead and started baking and completely forgot about sharing. Already baked and squirreled away in the freezer are my Cherry Pound Cakes, Hazelnut Crescents, Lemon Shortbread and Coconut Macaroons. I think, perhaps, I'll treat a sampling to a visit to a plate and do a wee photo shoot. I suspect Nigel and Ian will help make sure that none of them have to return to the freezer...

Today though, was Jan Hagels day...

this cookie recipe was one Mum use to make years ago, and one I've made every Christmas for a long, long time. I suspect the recipe came from a magazine, possibly a Canadian Living, but I'm honestly not sure, all I do know is that it's not listed in their recipe index.

But don't despair, because I've got the recipe right here:

Jan Hagels

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar (I use granulated)
1 egg, separated
1 tsp. almond extract
2 cups flour (I use unbleached white)
1/2 cup blanched sliced almonds (I suspect I use more than that)
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

With mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg yolk and almond extract. Blend thoroughly. Stir in flour (I don't stir, but beat it in with the mixer). Turn cookie dough into an ungreased 15x10x1 inch jelly roll pan. Spread evenly to edges with spatula (for many year the pan I had was too big, so I only spread it to three edges and about 3/4 the length of the pan - use your judgement people!). Beat the egg white until foamy. Spread evenly over cookie dough (I don't use all of it, I brush it on with a pastry brush until there's a nice even coating on top), spread nuts evenly over top (I use a fair bit, probably more like 3/4 cup, rather than the 1/2 cup stated in the original). Combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over nuts (I always have a shaker full of cinnamon and sugar in the cupboard, for making cinnamon toast, I don't measure this out I just shake, shake, shake all over the top of the almonds). Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes until lightly browned (hmmm...actually, I check them at about 22 minutes, and if they look and smell done then I take them out - don't let them burn). Let cool in pan on wire rack for about 10 minutes. Cut into 8 lengthwise cuts and 12 diagonal cuts (I use a pizza cutter). Cool in pan, remove with spatula. Mmmmm...

There's always a few odd, too-skinny shaped pieces that are left over for snacking. This makes Nigel very happy.

I got a tree for the landing and decorated it with a collection of vintage ornaments.

My favourite...

and the tree topper, so lovely...

Every year since Ian was tiny we've put up the Playmobil Advent calendar. It's been amusing me every year that no matter how old he gets, he'll make a bee-line for the calendar and open the little box first thing in the morning, before anything else, but today...for the first time...

...box number 1 still sits and waits.

They break your hearts for the first time at fourteen.

Would You Knit a Gingerbread House?

2010-11-11T14:40:00.009-06:00

Isn't this a fabulous piece of embroidered vintage linen? A friend who speaks German says it means: "Do it like the sundial, only count the bright hours", which, I assume to mean, "look on the bright side".

Lovely...

It's a dresser cloth, approximately 3 feet by 2 feet, it must have taken the maker such a lot of time and effort, it always breaks my heart to see something like this end up in a thrift shop - I had to give it a home.

I've been on a real tear with regard to new acquisitions lately, and not just linens...

I'm afraid I've amassed quite the collection of old books lately, even Nigel (who never criticises) remarked on how many there seemed to be...

...perhaps I should blog them all one day...

I really need to steer clear of the shops, it's not like I don't have enough projects to keep me busy:

The Lady Grey continues to haunt my days (just a ghost, of course, it's not materialising into anything concrete).

Lining is cut out...

I started a new shawl called Kiri by Polly Outhwaite. It's suppose to be a fairly easy knit. I'm working it in Elann Super Kydd in black. I made the mistake of starting it in a dimly lit room one evening, and it promptly had to be started over.

Here's a snap of the scraped first attempt:

so sad...

Also, on and off the needles lately has been Alan Dart's Gnomes at Home.
I started this project thinking it might make a cute Christmas display, but after finishing the first gnome,

I decided the gingerbread house was a tad tacky. I did finish the gnomette, but have yet to take her picture. I'll show her next time, she's rather sweet, with crooked ears.

Also, just look at what's been on and off the lemon tree!

Yes, it's a bumper crop!

Happy Hallowe'en

2010-10-31T11:00:00.011-05:00

Nigel and Ian and I went out for our annual walk through the graveyard yesterday. There are two we like to frequent, this is St. Andrew's on the Red, it's one of the older cemeteries in the area (the other we like is the Lower Fort Gary Cemetery). We've been going for years, but I still find new markers every time we go.

There'd been a bit of snow the night before, which had started to melt and drip off the trees. It made a strange pattern on this headstone and we wondered if underneath it had a name like McKay...

it didn't.

Ian does strange things when we get to this site. This year he crouched under a tree and stayed there for a long, long time while Nigel and I took in the history of the place.

Later, I snapped him skulking around the edge of the church, but he was reluctant to venture in amongst the headstones.

There's a photo from him here in this old post from 2007, sitting in a tree.

Don't know what to make of that boy sometimes...

I finished up the Emily Dickinson shawl (started back in this post). I'd finished the knitting a few weeks back, and have finally blocked it. The silk yarn is so fine you can roll the entire shawl into a ball and fit it into the palm of your hand.

It's got a fabulous spooky quality to it...

Also finished is the Noro Striped Scarf started recently.

Shortly after I started it, I realised the colours were very carnival/tropical...very... Jane. So this one is for you, Jane - you can collect it next week-end when you come to town!

Here' a bit of Belle and Sebastian:

Happy Hallowe'en.

Post Birthday Post

2010-10-22T15:18:00.013-05:00

It's that time of year again. Time to get your Hallowe'en decorations up. I put all mine up the first week-end of October. No sense in not enjoying my favourite season of the year.

Draped across the mantle is a Martha Stewart bat garland I bought a few years ago at Michael's.

The first year I cut a few bats off one end and taped them to the hall mirror, in fact, I do believe I blogged about it back here.

Well! Just look at what Martha Stewart is selling this year! Clearly, she's following my blog.

I've finished basting the hair canvas to the fronts of my Lady Grey coat.

I've also finished pad stitching the lapels. It's coming along nicely, though I'm still way behind where I'm suppose to be time-wise. I'm not too concerned though, coat season is a very long season here in Winnipeg, I could take months to finish and I'd still have plenty of opportunity for wear.

I've got a :::Friday Find::: today. Two, in fact.

Nigel and Ian and I went out for lunch to Eat! Bistro today - one of my favourite local lunch spots (the must have is the Eat! Platter, available for one person or two, so fantastic....) The bistro is located at the back of Aqua Books - my favourite local vintage book store. Found today was "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall" by Gayelord Hauser, 1961 edition. Known for his nutrition books and products, this is Hauser's "Invitation to Beauty", wherein he states, "beauty is duty".

I may have to read a little more to figure out just what that's suppose to mean.

On seeing the back of the dust jacket Nigel asked if this beauty book was written by John Diefenbaker.

Really, Nigel!

The illustrations are charming. Love the exercises!

Check out this one - the "Rag Doll Slump"...

now that's my kind of exercise!

And this:

what on earth?!

My other little treasure was found last week-end at a neighbour's garage sale.

A stunning piece of Franciscan Ware pottery.

It even had it's little lid.

Flawless!

and just $2 - an excellent birthday week find!

Happy Birthday to Me

2010-10-13T17:00:00.002-05:00

Today is my birthday.

Remember back to this post in April when I bought my wee lemon tree?

Well, it produced three lemons which have grown and grown, and in celebration of my day it's decided to finally ripen those formerly tiny lemons.

And look, at least one new teeny, tiny one is starting for me.

Can't wait to see what other gifts await me later today!

What's That Name?

2010-10-08T22:05:00.002-05:00

I've been working double-quick time lately, getting caught up on the oh-so-many lingering projects around the house. Along with the lovely red Citron Shawlette in the photo, I finished painting the bedroom ceilings and ripped out all the half-dead petunias in the front garden beds. We had a spell of cold weather in September that hastened in Autumn, killing off the annuals, and turning the leaves. It's turned warm again, so the trees are looking very bleak and spooky, but it's warm enough to go out jacket less and in short sleeves. Strange.

I've got a :::Friday Find::: for you today -

a vintage ceramic goldfish lamp in chartreuse. I bought this back in the spring, but it was without a shade and it took a fair while for me to find one that was acceptable. It should really be made of fibreglass to be authentic to the 1950's era - Elly has suggested a rice paper shade would be better than the one I chose, however, the proportions are not far from what it's original would have looked like, and the colour is good enough. I'll keep my eyes peeled for one that's even better. I've been skulking around Vintage in the Village in Osborne Village, hoping they'll bring in one that's just right. I'll post if I find a new one.

Work continues slowly but surely on the Lady Grey sew-a-long project.

I'm way behind where I should be, but I'm trying not to get too hung up on that - it really should be more about the journey and not the destination, as they say.

I would post photos of the process, but the fabric I purchased is black (beautiful black cashmere/wool blend) which doesn't photograph well at all, and the lining fabric is a hot magenta silk - also beautiful, also doesn't like being photographed. So, you're all just out of luck until the project is finished and I can do a photo-shoot outside.

New on the needles is a stripey scarf in Noro Kureyon Sock.

I love this pattern, dead simple, the perfect mindless knit and very effective with the colour changing stripes. It makes me very happy.

In adventures away from the craft room (*I very nearly wrote craft tomb*) I've had an ongoing issue through my adult life with my name. I'm not sure when it all started, but for a fairly long time I've had problems getting my name spelled correctly on official documents. My birth certificate and my social insurance card are both fine, but everything else has had an issue of one sort or another.

My name is Harriett Anne, and I go by my middle name (not so complicated, right?). Years ago, when I got my first driver's license, the woman that took down all my information told me that if I didn't go by my first name then it should be listed as H. Anne on the license - OK, fine, whatever - I was just happy to have finally passed my driver's exam.

Then when I applied for a passport I was told that I had to have the name on the passport match the name on my driver's license, despite having to show them my birth certificate as well - something to do with matching up to the photo-ID. I was tempted at the time to argue with them, but I was happy enough to be getting a passport, so I didn't.

Then there was the time when some ninny at the bank decided to change my name on my account to Anne Harriett because it was easier for them to find me in the computer (a wiser teller spotted it and fixed it).

The worst was when I was traveling home from Scotland on my H Anne passport, and I noticed that my airline ticket had me listed as Hanne, and I was about to try to get through security with that discrepancy. It turned out to not be that big a deal, but these are not the best of times to not have your ducks in a row.

So I've made more of an effort to correct things as they come up (like when I re-newed my passport), and to insist that both my full first and second names are listed on most things (though my cheques currently call me Harriett Amme), but this week I got my voter's slip in the mail:

*sigh*

The Flaming Lips

2010-09-22T09:28:00.005-05:00

We (as in the lot of us) went out to see The Flaming Lips perform last night. It was truly most excellent.

Someone has already posted a video of the event - video recorders aren't allowed at the venue, so someone must have had a half-decent, small device with them.

Check it out:

There was lots and lots of confetti, balloons, and streamers everywhere. Wayne Coyne also walked across the crowd in his giant space ball/hamster bubble. Very cool. And no, I didn't shoot the video, because I was right down in front about four people in from the stage.

Oo, very loud...

Here's an official video of them:

Thank you, Flaming Lips, for a fabulous show, and thank you, Nigel, for buying all those tickets for us!

:::links:::

2010-09-11T19:30:00.002-05:00

I've been absent again, haven't I?

I'd love to confess that I'm living a secret double life - like a spy - and am fighting international crime in some exotic locale, but in truth, I've been getting Ian ready for the start of school (which happened last week) and painting Elly's old bedroom (which is an ongoing saga). I painted the walls of her room the very lovely Gossamer Blue by Benjamin Moore that all the other bedrooms have been painted, but no sooner did I finish that, then I realised that the trim really needed a fresh coat of glossy white, and now that that's done, I'm realising that the ceiling really, really needs to be painted...as does Ian's ceiling...as does the Master Bedroom ceiling...

...and so the saga shall continue for a while yet...

However, there always things to link to!

If you haven't already noticed the new link button below my fish pond (just a glance to your right), I've signed up for the Lady Grey Sew-a-long over at Gertie's Blog for Better Sewing. I've never done a sew-a-long before, but since I've been wanting to get back into sewing, I thought this might be a good place to start. The Lady Grey is a coat pattern by Colette Patterns out of the States. I've made a coat in the past and this one doesn't look to be beyond my skill level, so lets cross our fingers shall we? We're suppose to start next week with cutting our muslin models. I had to measure myself this week, and good god!!! I've become a tubby wee lassie! However, I suspect I'm not so fat as to be unable to find enough fabric to cover myself. I'll let you know how that goes...

In another sewing related link, eBay has the most comprehensive collection of Vogue Magazines for sale. Check it out. Yes, you read that correctly, for just $58,000.00 US Dollars you can own the complete set from the 1950's to the 1970's. It says shipping is $5,000, but further down the page it says that shipping is free - so, well, you might just want to clarify that point with the seller.

And, have you seen this?

Yes! At long last! PeeWee Herman has a blog!

How I've missed him...

You should also be making note of the following service...

andvinyly, as in "and finally". You can preserve your loved one's remains in record form. This has become Nigel's new preferred treatment post-death, as opposed to the former being shot into space.

I've favourited the link so I don't forget when the time comes...

And finally... was I the only one that missed the German entry for the 1979 Eurovision Song contest?

Finally, Buttons in Frames

2010-08-29T14:26:00.015-05:00

After ages and ages, I'm ready to show you my best antique buttons in their frames.

I'd bought some old vintage frames at a thrift store last year, and I'd even painted them a lovely antique silver way back in the spring, but I didn't get around to putting them all together until mid-June, didn't hang them on the wall until July, and hadn't taken photos until this week-end. For shame!

I've sewed them onto handmade paper, layered with poster board, though I may re-do them at a later date with crisp, white linen.

The three matching round frames hold the mother-of-pearl and shell buttons, mostly from the Victorian era.

The long, rectangular frame has the vegetable ivory buttons, most of which are probably from the 1930's and 1940's. Gorgeous!

They make me happy every time I walk past them in the hall.

I still have a box of old glass buttons, as well as some metal ones and copious amounts (an understatement) of plastic. More projects, for another time...

On the needles at the moment is the Vixen Shawl available through KnitPicks.

I'm working it in Zauberball Lace weight in the colourway called cranberries. It's extremely vivid, but should be good and bright for those dreary winter months that are ahead. I may have to add a repeat or two of the pattern, as the pattern calls for fingering weight, not lace weight, but we shall see...

Words and Time

2010-08-16T20:32:00.014-05:00

The boys finally returned this afternoon, after further mechanical delays that sent them to Minneapolis for an added two hours. They arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon, rather than the 10:15 last night they were suppose to arrive. We're still waiting for the luggage to get here, its had even more adventure, though I doubt its going to be talking.

While I was in Victoria on holiday with Ian, my Mum gave me her Grandmother's gold watch. This beautiful timepiece hasn't worked for quite some time - we have to blame Mum for that, she has the ability to stop time when she wears a watch.

I took it in for repair when we came home and it's working fine and dandy now. The jeweler told me it's "a very special timepiece", and that it likes to be wound at the same time everyday.

It's inscribed on the back H.E.C. - my Great Grandmother's initials - Harriett Elizabeth Crawford. She and I and Mum are all Harrietts, and I often tell Elly that if she has a daughter she'll have to name her Harriett, to which she rolls her eyes. I wonder if the watch will be an incentive? Hmmm...

One piece of jewelry I have marked for Elly is this 1930's Monocraft Brooch.

I bought this back in 1984 when I worked at a local vintage clothing store (Lorraine's Cheap Chic, owned by Timothy Hebl - does anyone else remember?). The military look was popular at the time, so I bought this fabulous brooch and use to wear it on a black linen Nehru collar jacket (I use to be such a little doll). It wasn't until years later that I realised the 1930's brooch I bought in 1984, had the same initials as my daughter born in 1987.

Kooky, yes?

Yes.

I have two old books to show and tell.

The first is Autobiography and Selected Essays from Lay Sermons by Thomas Henry Huxley. A noted British Zoologist, he was pals with Charles Darwin. This book is still in publication today, my copy is from 1910.

On one of the back endpapers someone has written a chart summing up Huxley's body of work in a few pencil marks. I wonder what he'd have to say?

Also pencilled between lines is the phrase "politely called by another name". I've read and re-read the paragraph, but I can't figure out what the interloper writer is referencing. Perhaps I don't know enough polite names?

The Chicago Evening American Cookbook probably dates to the 1920's, though it's unmarked. I find old cookbooks are often chock-a-block full of handwritten notes, this one was covered in notes, back and front.

"Paistry Pies" - calls for "one slice" of butter, and tells us to "beet vinigar with egg"

"Black Fig Wine" - calls for 111 lbs. of "raisons", though I suspect that 1 lb. would be sufficient, also tells us to "put yeast cake in at blood heat".

"Champagne" - my favourite, I would never have guessed that Champagne called for oranges and lemons, much less 4 potatoes.

You can click on the photos if you want a better look at those recipes.

Lastly, some sad news, the magazine Haute Doll is ceasing publication as of the August 2010 issue.

It's still on shelves now, go to their website if you need back issues. Hurry!

Many Returns

2010-08-15T21:24:00.002-05:00

Return the First:

The computer tower has returned from it's extended (and rather pricey) holiday at the repair shop. I have to say, it's working far better than ever before.

So, Hoorah!

Return the Second:

Since I haven't yet posted any photos of Victoria - and we returned from that holiday FIVE WEEKS AGO!!!! - I'll do that right now.

We stayed at the Surf Motel, a 1960's era motel right on the ocean front. It wasn't quite what you'd call posh (I suspect Nigel would have been horrified to have stayed there), but I thought it was very cool. Quite a few of the fixtures were original to the build, including a killer pink bathroom suite, an original '60's stove and the oldest range fan I've ever seen (took me a while to figure out what it was, in fact). All the rooms face the front of the building, so all have an ocean view with floor to ceiling sliding glass doors onto small balconies, facing the Juan de Fuca Strait.

See:

Stunning. We left the door open all night long, enjoying the cold air and ocean sounds - a novelty coming from the Prairie summer.

I'm afraid I didn't take any other photos. I dragged the camera everywhere to all our family visits, but didn't remember to take it out of the bag, not once.

I know, shocking.

More shocking, is that I've done this frequently over the years, so I tend to rely on my sister, Jane, to send me photos of my own parents.

Let's move on to things I never fail to photograph...

I finished the vintage cardi I was working on...

deep olive tweed, with two white angora stripes on a circular, ribbed yoke. Bracelet length sleeves, too! I can't wait for Autumn!

Return the Third:

Well, no return yet... Ian and Nigel have been holidaying in the US, and were due to return this evening, but they've had mechanical problems with the plane on the way home and have been put up in a hotel in Chicago an extra night, so tomorrow morning, they should be back.

They went to Lollapalooza (in Chicago) and then on to New York (Ian's first visit) for a stay at the Waldorf Astoria. Did you know that the Waldorf has a dress code? It's true, I had to buy Ian a whole bunch of new clothes just so he could walk through the lobby. Definitely not the Surf Motel.

I'm looking forward to hearing all about their adventures while away - I'll pass them along if they're appropriate. During a phone call home, Nigel mentioned a good line from Ian. Apparently, on entering one of the luxury accommodations Nigel had booked for them, Ian said, "Tsk, only two bathrooms?"

Mm-hmm...

I had many plans for finishing loose ends around the house while the boys were away, but I'm afraid it was too, too, hot, and I ended up accomplishing next to nothing.

I did get around to painting an old dresser.

This dresser was Jane's as a baby and it's had MANY coats of paint over the years. It's red now...and full to the brim with embroidery supplies. It makes me very happy to look at it. I wonder if the boys will notice?

Not that I'm happy, but that it's now red.

There are more things I still want to share, so I'm planning something shocking.

TWO POSTS ON CONSECUTIVE DAYS.

I know, I know. Stay tuned... I shall return...

Another, Quicker Hello

2010-08-11T22:37:00.002-05:00

We've heard back (at last!) about our computer tower. It's had to have a new motherboard and fan installed, and all of our files and photos are presently being returned to their rightful places. I've been told it might be ready tomorrow.

As soon as it's up and running I'll post soon photos of my recently finished cardigan.

Ooooo.... exciting!

A Quick Hello

2010-07-24T10:23:00.007-05:00

Just stopping in to say a quick hello, our main computer tower is down - actually 'down and out' of the house completely, being repaired by professionals. I'm updating the blog on the MacBook, and I still haven't learned how to link on this thing, so sadly, no videos or photos.

Our trip to Victoria was quite lovely, though the weather was unusually hot. I seem to have bad luck that way, I head out somewhere that's suppose to be temperate, and it happens to be going through some sort of worst-in-30-years heat wave (Scotland was the same) - the Prairie heat seems to follow me. Victoria had other perks though, we visited with family and friends and ate far too many fine meals. There was a particularly memorable meal at Mum's one night, when she was serving some very beautiful salad greens from the pesticide free market she favours. After the greens had been rinsed thoroughly, spun through the salad spinner and served onto plates, Ian speared a leaf and on lifting it up found a great big slug sitting on the plate staring up at him. Ian screamed, Mum was horrified and Dad scooped it up and set it out in the garden, while I just laughed and laughed and laughed. Does this make me a bad mother or a bad daughter? Maybe a little of both. (hee hee hee)

We also did some walking along the beach, finding some mermaid's tears (beach glass) and driftwood. so a good time despite the heat and the slug. Once the computer is up and running again I'll post photos.

It's been a fairly lazy summer, I haven't finished any projects I've started, and the weeds have completely taken over the garden. The mosquitoes like the tall weeds, and the dragonflies like the mosquitoes, so we're inundated. I'm just gazing out over our back garden and there must be thirty or forty dragonflies buzzing around, I don't think I've ever seen as many as I have this year. I really should weed that garden...

Published, Powerful, Pending

2010-07-08T16:42:00.015-05:00

There's a new knitting book available, 1000 Fabulous Knit Hats by Annie Modesitt. It's a collection of photos of 1000 knitted hats, along with 10 patterns that Annie considers her top picks, hat-wise. The author contacted a number of people through Ravelry, and asked to use their photos in the book - and well, guess who one of those number was?

Yes..

Six of the 1000 photos are mine!

One of them even made it to the cover:

that's the back of Elly's head. She appears again later in the book, here:

I was sent an e-mail telling me how to "sell" my friends and family on the book, but I'm truly useless at that sort of thing, so instead I'll just tell you what I like;

I like that the people in the book aren't "model perfect", just ordinary people, sometimes making goofy faces (#471), sometimes trying to strike their very best poses (#373), people happy to be photographed (#726), some not so much(#486)...

I like that the choices of designs range from classic (#016) to inventive (#123) to hilarious (#406)...

I like that the book showcases how people take photographs, some like action shots (#831), some like portraits (#534), some like a bit of the majestic (#164), and others like the utilitarian "just the hats, Ma'am" (that's most of them, mine included)...

I like that the book captures how knitter's knit, and that's with colour, colour, colour - purple, orange, blue, green, pink - all grouped together page after page.

If you want to see which photos belong to which numbers you'll have to buy the book.

- best pitch ever? -

I tried my hand at making iced coffee yesterday.

The recipe is very simple, basically take one pound of coffee and soak in 10 cups of cold water for 12 hours, then strain.

I didn't have a full pound of coffee, but there was one quarter pound in the freezer, which I mixed with two and a half cups of water (the math worked). I'd bought this coffee a while back, but found it too strong, so I stashed it in the freezer until I decided what to do with it - iced coffee seemed a good project.

It's very dark, but this morning I mixed about a third of what I'd made with ice, cream and sugar and gave it a try,

then I added more sugar.

I was about half finished when I started to feel my heart race - really, really race - and I remembered that the coffee from the freezer was espresso...

there were a few moments during the day when I thought my heart was going to give out completely. I made a few phone calls (thankfully, only to Nigel and Elly) where I sounded extremely animated/agitated/unhinged, and I had a very difficult time typing Winnipeg with only two n's.

I'm better now, and wiser too. No more quadruple espressos for me!

Project Alert, Project Alert

I haven't shown you a Friday Find for a while, and I'll be traveling tomorrow, so I thought it was time to show this:

An old Singer in it's original "coffin" case. I've wanted one of these for years

It's a model 128, with vibrating shuttle (instead of a regular bobbin), built in 1948. I've heard that this model was nicknamed "The Farmer's Wife", I suspect because it was a no frills, standard issue (not that I'm knocking Farmers' wives).

The motor and electrics all work fine, but it needs a thorough cleaning, which I plan to do on my return.

Ooooo .... excitement!

Exterior Shot

2010-07-01T11:43:00.005-05:00

The new stucco and painting are all done now. I think the place looks fabulous - though the back garden looks a state, and, between the stucco-ers and the painters, all the plants all the way around the house are thoroughly trampled. The stucco colour is called "Sagebrush" and it's a yellow-green colour. Nigel keeps eyeing it and asking if I'm "sure" it's really green, which I am. At the moment the house colour is competing with the grass and trees, making it look more like tan, but once the snow is on the ground it's going to look very obviously green. I'm absolutely certain that this is a perfect colour, it's going to be a colour that changes with the light and season. The trim colour is by Benjamin Moore, called "Ivory White", another ideal shade. Prairie light is very strong and yellow, so plain white paint can look both stark and dirty if it's tinted with blues or grays, a good prairie white always has yellow, green or red as a tint.

So there.

We had the dormers painted a medium gray to blend in with the roof - another good call, I think.

Later this summer we'll be having a deck built in the back, and a small bit of landscaping done, and then next year will be the year for some exterior "finishing touches" - seeing which perennials have survived and maybe planting a tree or some shrubs in the front.

My wee lemon tree is doing well (despite the terrible weather).

We still have three lemons, the largest is here. I wonder how long they take to ripen? Perhaps more sunshine and less rain would do them some good. We've had lots more blossoms, but I haven't seen any new fruit, probably too much rain and wind. still, I'm very pleased with it's progress!

I've also made loads of progress on my vintage cardigan; finished the back and one and a half fronts. I'm loving the greeny-olive "sludge" colour, but it just doesn't photograph well, so I haven't been taking pictures. I might alter the pattern and add some colour at the yoke, we'll see...

Here's a video to make up for my lack of blogging lately...

The music piped onto that old clip is by Daft Punk, check out the link to their video, they don't allow their videos to be embedded into blogs.

Wow! I sent this off to publish and forgot to tell everyone Happy Canada Day, and also to wish my youngest a Happy 14th Birthday.

Happy Canada/Birthday Day!!!!!

Something New

2010-06-14T16:30:00.001-05:00

I'm trying out one of the new blogger templates available. The pink on pink stripe reminds me of a box of chocolates or, perhaps, a box from a ladies dress shop circa the mid 1960's. What do you think?

I made this wee dissected frog for my niece Thea for her birthday last April, but never got around to sending it (for shame), so I delivered it in person last week-end in Toronto. She was having her Bat Mitzvah, and quite the fete it was! I'd never been to a Bat (or Bar) Mitzvah before, but it appeared to involve lots of food, music, dancing and general all-around decadence. The party was held at the Ontario Science Centre, so my wee frog tied in nicely to the "science" theme (or so I keep telling myself). Can you believe it was the only knitted dissection she received?

The pattern is by Crafty Hedgehog and is available on etsy here.

Quite a while back I found this fabulous old picnic basket.

It's a big one, and well-made. Unfortunately, it was a bit grubby on the inside.

After cleaning it up, I made an oilcloth liner that attaches to the inner edge with velcro. It's Gus-Gus approved.

Makes me feel like an older, fatter version of Dorothy.

Nigel will be happy to learn that I am indeed planning a picnic (him included), if we ever get a week-end without rain.

Also recently finished, a new set of dishcloths for my lovely new kitchen.

This pattern is called Linoleum and it's by Mason-Dixon Knitting. I used three balls of DK weight cotton (white, red and turquoise) and made three fantastically bright dishcloths. If you remember back during the reno, I had made some dishcloths for my new kitchen (the cleverer among you will notice it's almost exactly a year to the day). I loved those pale ice creamy colours back during the reno - I suspect that I longed for something serene and gentle to counter-balance all the disruption and turmoil. However, now that it's all quiet in the house, those old dishcloths look boring. I'm afraid they're going to be relegated to the back of the cupboard in favour of something different.

And, the antithesis of bright housewares, new on the needles is the Eyelet Cardigan, a vintage pattern from Patons and Baldwin.

It calls for a fingering weight yarn. I'm using the now discontinued Rowanspun 4ply. I bought a fair bit of this yarn on sale a few years back when it was pulled from the market. It's great yarn, very "authentic" wool tweed, you can almost smell the sheep. It's a shame I often find those "perfect" yarns once they've been discontinued.

I'm using the colourway "sludge", it's a difficult colour to photograph, but it's a deep olive green/brown with flecks of ecru and mustard running through it - not a colour I would normally gravitate towards, but somehow a neutral that should work with both black and red, which I often wear in winter. I'm considering bright red buttons...

A Fitness Goal

2010-05-28T15:34:00.003-05:00

How many of you out there are working towards a goal of being more fit?

I'm thinking if I could master this:

then maybe this could be next:

Anyone for a challenge?

All is Not Lost

2010-05-23T15:56:00.008-05:00

Anyone watching the Lost series finale tonight?

It's a very big deal in this house.

Nigel and Ian and I started watching the series near to when it started all those years ago, and though the series lost (hah! lost!) interest for me after the second season (and, to be fair, it truly was wretched), Ian and Nigel continued watching week after week, and in the last months there has been much talk around the house about how the series will tie up all it's loose ends and answer all questions. I'm guessing they'll wipe out all of humanity - but then, I'm not a true fan.

In honour of the big finale I'm being supportive and fixing a few evening treats. We've labelled our sodas, among other things...

I've made a batch of peanut butter cookies (apparently Juliet makes them for either Sawyer or Jack, I don't remember who)...

and I've even got the cookies in a "cottage" beside a "palm tree". The boys are getting very excited!

I think I'll knit while they get Lost.

Uh-huh, the knitting...

Over the last few years I've developed the bad habit of starting new projects before finishing what I'm already working on. In the old days I use to feel much more accomplished and, hmmm, well, calm, I think, but lately I seem to be frantic a lot of the time as I jump from project to project to chore to commitment.

So last night I decided to make a bold decision, I decided to rip out all the partially finished work on the Seaweed Stole that I started two summers ago. I don't like abandoning projects, but I felt a tad radical last night. It was very liberating - for about five minutes...

When I saw the 100% silk yarn from Colour Mart in Aqua Marl sitting there, I couldn't help but feel inspired...

Uh-huh...

and so, I printed off the pattern for Emily Dickinson by Dublin designer Keiran Foley. On first glance, this shawl looks easy-peasy, it's mostly garter stitch, interspersed with a few beads.

Uh-huh...

And so...

late last night, I began...

not thinking about the fact that this isn't just any old lace yarn, it's Cobweb Lace (about as thin as sewing thread), and 100% silk (Ooooo, very slippery and hard to handle), and instead of casting on a few stitches and expanding with each row (like many shawls), we start by casting on 545 stitches,

with silk,

late at night,

knitting beads into that first row every 16 stitches...

Uh-huh...

By the end of the first row, my fingers were numb, I could no longer focus my eyes and I had a splitting headache. I was wondering if this is what it felt like to have a stroke, when I decided to toddle off to bed.

I've been wondering if, in the future, someone will say "remember Great Aunt Annie, wasn't she the one felled by Emily Dickinson?"

An analysis here.

Emily Martin, Rosamund, and More!

2010-05-16T15:49:00.015-05:00

Last September I ordered three prints from The Black Apple on Etsy. This is a shop run by artist Emily Martin in ....oooo, gosh, Portland, I think... I've long been an admirer of her work, and blog (Inside a Black Apple), and decided it was about time to order a print, or three. I keep meaning to purchase one of her original pieces, but I'm never quite quick enough. The originals seem to leave the shop in minutes, if not seconds, and it often doesn't dawn on me that the sale has started until the next day.

I love that this artist frequently paints portraits of female characters with dark hair and blue eyes, that's my colouring, as well as Elly's and Mum's former colouring (Mum is now a whiter shade of dark, and Elly has opted for a platinum/magenta combo at the mo'). The prints I ordered were all from her "Oddfellow's Orphanage" series, and I chose these three to represent myself, my Mum and Elly.

This one is called Baby Tooth, apropos, I think, for Elly, as she's studying to become a Montessori teacher. Also, Elly had a dress very similar to this...around about first grade...in fact, hee hee, here it is...

Next is Illustrated Imogene. This one is me, with the tattoos - now I know that Elly has tattoos now as well, but I currently have more, and, well, I did it first.

The last one is Nurse Effie, she represents Mum, who, back in the day, was a midwife in Scotland. I have photos of her wearing her crisp white cap and her uniform, and, if I'm not mistaken, she's said the uniform included a navy cape with a red lining. Sadly, I've no photos of that, but I'll bet it was pretty spiffy!

I couldn't find a photo of her wearing her uniform in Scotland, so here's one after she arrived in Canada (she's the one on the far right).

I've put them up in a corner of the craft room, appropriate, as Mum and Elly and I are all busy, crafting types.

On the needles currently is the Rosamund Cardigan from the Autumn 2009 Interweave knits.

I've been working on this cardi for a while, but keep forgetting to post about it, so here you go...

I'm working it up in Plymouth Yarns Royal Silk Merino in the lilac colourway. The yarn is quite lovely, but I'm not accustom to working with worsted weight so much and I fear it may end up making me look like the side of a house. A silky, lilacy side of a house.

Also, something to share...

from Sheila Lukins book, The Around the World Cookbook, her recipe (mostly) for...

Morning Muesli

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup unprocessed bran 1/2 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1/8 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine bran, dried fruit, sunflower seeds, sugar and cinnamon and mix together.
Spread the oats on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes, shaking the pan once during cooking. Transfer to the large bowl and stir.
Place the almonds on the baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly browned, 6-7 minutes, shaking the pan once during cooking. Transfer to bowl and stir.
Place coconut on baking sheet and toast until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to the bowl and stir. Let cool. Muesli keeps for several weeks stored in an airtight container.

In the original recipe, Sheila Lukins tells you to combine the toasted ingredients first, then add the rest, but I find if you add the toasted ingredients into the already mixed remaining items, the brown sugar and cinnamon will warm ever so slightly and release all those fabulous aromas.

I'm not a big breakfast-eater, so this recipe is ideal, a serving is just 1/3 cup, and it's loaded with fibre and iron. Since the oats aren't cooked, merely toasted, it slowly, well, sort of...cooks...in your stomach (Nigel will be thoroughly disgusted at that thought), but truly, it's a fabulous breakfast - I mix it with a little yoghurt and some fruit.

Fabulous!

Roman Blind

2010-05-06T18:00:00.003-05:00

I finally finished the roman blind I was making for the kitchen. I'd been working on it a bit at a time - ten minutes here, twenty minutes there - until finally I thought, right, that's it! - what should have taken an afternoon ended up taking three months (for shame).

I used the instructions from the Martha Stewart Website, I made a few minor alterations to her instructions, as my windows were a different shape to the ones in the example. I'd recommend putting one's thinking cap on first, before you start this project - my window was brand-spanking new, but I know from past projects, that if your window is older, or in an older building, you'll have to measure the width-way of you window at both the top and bottom, and the length-way at both the right and left, due to settling and shifting and such.

That's the blind closed. I took these photos on a dreary, rainy day so I'm not sure the pictures really do justice to the fabulous fabric, it's got a very mid-20th century feel to it, like a Calder mobile.

I love the photos on that Calder link, makes me want to break out the shrinky dinks and beading wire.

Hmmm...yet another project...

or should I say, yet another project?...

or perhaps, yet another project??!!...

In A Word

2010-04-25T19:50:00.002-05:00

As the mother of a thirteen-year-old boy I would like to make the following known:

I'm sick to death of the following words;

random

ironic

and

snap.

The last one seems to be particularly popular. When I asked Ian, "Are you swearing?", he replied, "Tsk, no!", which was accompanied by eye-rolling.

Back in Elly's day it was 'awesome' and 'squee'.

I'm going back to my knitting...

Nothing As It Was

2010-04-17T20:42:00.002-05:00

I had half-finished working on this post last week, but was side-tracked, and now the whole world seems to have changed. Springtime in Winnipeg always happens ridiculously fast...

When I took these photos last week, there was hardly a bud on the trees, and the grass was dismally brown, but it's since greened up considerably (haven't taken any photos yet!)

I did get around to doing a photo-shoot with another little green tree however...

a few weeks back I bought a Meyer Lemon tree at Shelmerdine's Nursery, it had the most unbelievable scent to the blossoms - if I were of a more sensitive nature I would have dropped to my knees and wept - instead, I grabbed the best one I could see and took it to the cashier.

The blossoms turned brown after a little while and fell off, but look!

I have three tiny, pea-sized lemons on the tree! This is very exciting, apparently you can even eat the skin of these little darlings! and, it's ever bearing to boot! There might possibly be lemons all year-round - I'm going to try much harder to not over-water this plant.

Last post, *good lord, it was Easter*, I told you I was making Barnacle Bill, well, he's all finished now. He was mind-bogglingly fiddly, there were a few moments when I questioned the meaning of life (well, more the meaning of my own life choices) during his creation...

a cotton bean-bag - that would be Barnacle Bill's posterior (yes, you can now google the phrase "Barnacle Bill's posterior" and you should be directed to my blog - also, if you've been paying attention, "you can even eat the skin of these little darlings!" should take you here too).

Look at all those little tiny pieces!

a head and torso...

and then...done.

Squawk!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-03T16:30:00.006-05:00

and, Happy Non-Dairy Easter, too! (Elly's special holiday.)

Earlier this week I tried my hand (yet again) at baking bread.

It wasn't too bad this time - not fabulous, but at least edible. It's a Split Tin loaf, a traditional English bread, very white, too white for my tastes. I had made a loaf of bread shortly after the reno was finished, but it was entirely inedible, even the dog wouldn't touch it. I'm learning that there's a lot of kneading involved.

Can you see the stern face at the end of the loaf?

Hee, hee, hee.

I finished working on a hat I've designed...

...that's all I'm going to show for now. I think I may have to tweak the pattern a wee bit. Normally I despise orange (not as a colour, just next to my skin-tone), but mixed with silver, I'm starting to come 'round to it.

I was considering a cardigan or pullover for my next knitting project when I was suddenly overcome with the urge to knit an Alan Dart toy. So, Barnacle Bill it is!

I haven't found a good on-line photo to link to, suffice to say, he's a 16 inch tall pirate. I started him yesterday and I'm already almost half finished all the pieces. As always with Alan Dart patterns, it's the sewing and finishing rather than the knitting that is the time consuming part of the process, so we'll have to just wait and see how long this takes me.

Puzzle

2010-03-26T21:30:00.006-05:00

I've very little to show for the last wee while... except for this 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle I finished (took an entire week). This was one of my 101 things to do.

It`s not like I haven`t been doing anything else, just nothing worth nattering about...

I cleaned and organised the basement - all my plant pots are in nice, neat little rows...

and I`ve been knitting plenty lately, but I`m afraid I can`t show you any of it - shhh...it`s for Christmas...

I`ve even got a few `finds`I could show you, but I`m not going to do that either - found a fab old wicker picnic basket (perfect for summer), and an absolute peach of a lamp (ideal for the new landing)...they both just need...well...a touch of work...which I`ve added to the already lengthy `to-do`list. I`m considering doing a before and after shoot, but I`m not sharing until I have the after shots.

What I do have for you, are two videos from Nick Cave. He`s been playing a fair bit on my IPod of late, and his gloomy, doomy attitude is suiting me just dandy.

If you have sharp eyes you`ll see Jarvis Cocker shimmy his way through a few frames on the first clip.

Trinket

2010-03-15T23:53:00.001-05:00

I finished Trinket the other day. It's glorious.

Worked in Elann Silken Kydd in the Pewter colourway, the yarn is luscious - and far more affordable than Rowan's equivalent, Kid Silk Haze.

I will, however, admit that Rowan's colours are, for the most part, much nicer.

The body of this scarf is knit on the bias with stripes of ruching.

Did you know that "ruche" is from the Old French word "rusche", meaning beehive? Neither did I, I just looked it up now...betcha didn't know this could be educational!...I've also learned how to use the "italics" feature on blogger - I'm really on fire today.

Each edge has two deep ruffles with a beaded cast-off. The pattern called for size 8/0 beads, but instead I've used silver-lined crystal beads in a size 6/0 (that's one size larger), giving the edges significant weight.

Glorious!

In my last post I added an ad for natural gas from Belgium, and my brother wanted to know if I trolled YouTube looking for clips with knitting. The answer is no, not at all, although when I find one I'm always keen to share. Last post I thought it would be funny to have a cheesy ad at the end to go along with my "sales pitch" for the Bog Boots. I couldn't find anything I liked by searching "cheesy ad", so I googled "award winning ads 2009" and the gas ad was the first one I found - and, Wow! That one was a keeper!

And today?

Well, I went looking through YouTube using the word "glorious", but didn't find anything that appealed.

However, some how I did come across the following, which more than makes up for any lack of cheesiness in the last clip.

Gritty, Icy, Soggy, Icky

2010-03-12T21:32:00.004-06:00

Ah, Springtime in Winnipeg!

It's that time of year again when the temperature warms and the snows begin to melt...and the city turns into one giant mud puddle. It's Winnipeg's least appealing time.

However, I've got a :::Friday Find::: that makes it just a wee bit more bearable.

Called Bog Boots, these are the best, and even better than being the best, you can buy them locally at Lee Valley. They may not be cheap, but they're well worth it - I wear mine not only in the garden, but also for walking the dog. They have excellent traction on the ice, when they get caked in mud you can just hose them down and as they're made from neoprene they're completely waterproof. I've had mine for a few years and, though they're too warm to wear in the middle of summer, they're ideal for spring and fall.

I realise this is sounding a bit like a sales pitch (honest, they haven't paid me) and seeing as I haven't shown you any knitting for a wee while, here's a little something to tide you over (I'll be showing you what's on the needles in a day or two).

"Wool" by a natural gas provider in Belgium:

Very Gingerly Now

2010-03-07T13:13:00.002-06:00

hello...(sshhh, quietly)...

these are the ginger cookies I gave you the recipe for, last post...

computer seems to be working better now...installed a new printer today, and it's not upset with me yet...I fear we may need a new router too...

I'm hoping this machine doesn't turn on me again...just...musn't..breathe too deeply..

Friday So Soon?

2010-03-05T08:40:00.003-06:00

Honestly, I truly believe every Friday afternoon that I'll post two or three times the following week, but it's just not happening...

...next week, promise.

This week has been one of those times where one feels as though they are madly working, but yet accomplishing nothing. I suspect it's because I really, really messed up the computer - who knew how much my life revolved around this thing?

If you'll recall from the last few posts, I've been working on making my own knitting pattern to publish here on my blog, and while I've finished the knitting of the prototype, I haven't actually written it into a document. Ooo ... I had such great plans, remember, I was going to think of a title (easy to do), learn how to add photos to a word document (probably straightforward), and write it up in a swish font?

Yes, it's that last one that was the harbinger of evil.

Who knew that looking through those "free fonts" sites would land our poor computer with a virus? Clearly, not I.

I mean, don't other people do this? No?

To make it all the more humiliating, Nigel sought advice from the tech department at work, but they're not buying the font story (as in, nobody's so stupid as to visit those sites) and the word out is that Nigel was up to something sleazy and/or deviant (not likely!). Hopefully, the computer will be right as rain soon enough.

So, this week I'm writing from the Macbook. which means no photos and no links to YouTube (I don't know how to do that on the Mac).

But don't despair!

I've got something sort of like a Friday Find for you - a recipe!

These are wee Ian's favourite cookie, and the recipe comes from a cookbook my Mum has had since the early days of married life (that's going back about 50 years - oh dear, in fact, it's more than 50 years).

Ginger Sparklers

3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar - I always use Demerrara Brown Sugar, it has more molasses
1/4 cup molasses - I always use fancy molasses
1 large egg
2 cups flour - I always use unbleached white
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
white sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cream together butter, brown sugar, molasses and egg until light and fluffy. Measure flour, soda, salt and spices into a bowl and whisk together gently to blend. Stir into creamed mixture until blended and shape into balls (about 1 1/4 inch in diameter). Roll in sugar and place 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool slightly, remove from pans and cool on wire racks. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

They are crackly on the outside and soft and spicy inside - divine!

Why Yes, I Do Knit!

2010-02-26T18:58:00.010-06:00

Two weeks ago I started my new "Friday Finds" feature, partly to post more than just my knitting and partly to encourage myself to post more often. However, I'm quickly finding that I'm STILL only posting on Fridays and the knitting has been all but forgotten.

Well, today is the day to rectify that (at least the knitting part, not the posting on more than just Friday).

And so, firstly...

:::Friday Finds:::

A set of vintage Size 14 (that's 2mm nowadays) Superfine Knitting Pins by Thos. Harper and Sons - Redditch, England.

See, see? It's already knitting related!

Held in the original wooden needle case and found locally, the label says "Full Set" and there are 4 pins inside, though I'm not sure if 4 is a full set or not.

The pins are a bit tarnished, though not rusty. I've read that you can clean old metal with vegetable oil and very fine steel wool, which I plan to try. I'll let you know how that goes.

Progress continues on Trinket.

I think I'm about a third of the way through, though I haven't bothered to measure yet - it's clearly WAAAY too short, so, really, why bother?

The yarn is Elann Silken Kydd in the pewter colourway. It's beautiful and lightweight, with a hint of silky shimmer. Gorgeous!

I mentioned a wee while back that I was going to be designing my own knitting pattern, which I have!

Almost...

I made a lovely pair of mittens, all I have to do is write the pattern, and as soon as that's done I'll post it here on the blog and make it available.

I just have to write it all down...and learn how to make a fancy word document...with swish fonts...and maybe some colours...and a chart...and do a photo shoot...and cut and paste some of those photos..and then make it into a pdf file.

Is it any wonder I don't post more often than Friday?

::: Friday Finds :::

2010-02-19T15:05:00.013-06:00

One of the items on my mental checklist when I'm out looking through the vintage shops are old books with colour illustrations. Earlier this week I came across "The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini", translated by John Addington Symonds and illustrated by Salvador Dali.

I'm not going to lie, I didn't recognise the name Cellini, not having taken any classes in Art History, though I did recognise the name Dali, not being completely ignorant.

If you want to know more about either artist, just click on the links.

I've decided not to embarrass myself by nattering on about how stunning the illustrations are, I'm just going to let them speak for themselves...

It's no lie, that Dali fella sure could pick a paint colour, no?

And two more...

Last summer I found Hendrik Willem Van Loon's "Geography", with illustrations by the author. I fell completely in love with this book. Again, this was someone I'd never heard of before - though it turns out he's quite famous (I guess I should get out more).

If you want to find out more about Van Loon, you'll have to google him as blogger doesn't want to co-operate anymore today.

Van Loon's books are packed to the gills with facts and presented in a very engaging, airy style - aimed at the young adult crowd. Check out these fabulous sketches...

Also found last summer was Van Loon's "The Arts", a look at the Arts through the ages and how they related to their respective eras. Again, this is another book aimed at young adults, so it's written with a light and amusing touch.

There were two "bonuses" with this book, the original receipt,

and the original complimentary bookmark. It's one of the things I love about old books - the little treasures pressed between the pages - like a wee archealogical dig!

And, here are a few of the illustrations inside...

Fabulous-ness, yes?

Stumbling Over Roots and Branches

2010-02-12T16:24:00.000-06:00

I recently stumbled over a tree branch. Family tree, that is. It's been very exciting. Jane and I have been working on the family tree for a few years now and though we've had fits and starts of information, it all pales in comparison to the treasure trove of photos and stories that arrived this week via another branch of the same tree (big thank yous to Gwen!). It's had the dual effect of opening discussions and ending speculation, and certainly given us all a big dose of history to digest. I'm going to leave it all at that, as I'm afraid you'd find it all very boring unless you were part of the family.

I've been thinking for some time that I should start a regular feature on the blog; something that would push me to post more regularly and also give my loyal readers (sounds grand doesn't it - but I can probably count them on one hand) a reason to seek out my blog each week. So starting today I'm going to feature:

:::Friday Finds:::

note: I might change the name down the road, I think I can do better than that.

Most people who know me, know that I'm always trolling through vintage shops and second-hand stores looking for objects that amuse me (or "objet qui m'amusent", hmm...sounding better already), so what better activity than displaying them on my blog? Oui?

Found recently, this fabulous package of sewing needles, probably from the fifties or sixties. Even better than the old graphics of the spat between two dogs and a cat, if you look out beyond the window, there's a tee pee and a half falling over tree - who thinks up this stuff? I can't see what this has to do with sewing.

The best part of the packaging is what's written at the top.

I can only assume that you could order them this way. When I saw them, of course I had to have them, as I'm a Harriett and my Mum is a Harriet, her Grandmother was a Harriett and her Grandmother's Grandmother was a Harriet (born 1828 - Dingley, Northhamptonshire). Of course, I had to have them, well worth the twenty-five cent asking price.

So there you go, my first "Friday Find". Let me know what you think of the new feature.

Also new this past week or so, I've decided to design my own knitting pattern.

I know, I know, that's a pretty big step.

It's going to be a pair of mittens, working title "Around Town", though that won't be the final title. I won't be showing too many details of the pattern, not until I've worked out all the bugs and have it thoroughly edited and ready to share. So there. I will say that it's stranded colourwork in fingering weight.

Also on the needles is Trinket by Kim Hargreaves, beautiful, and a thoroughly relaxing knit too.

And recently off the needles and blocked: Citron.

If anyone is looking for an easy project with fabulous results, this might be the one.

It could be worked in all different weights of yarn (I used lace-weight) and could be easily adapted to be much bigger if you desired. It would also look fantastic in all kinds of colours. Perfection.

Here's something else I like:

On and Off and On

2010-02-05T10:06:00.007-06:00

That's the bag I've been using for my knitting lately, though last weeks motto should have been "Keep Calm Abandon Ship".

I had the worst series of attempts at projects. After finishing the Peak's Island Hood, which turned out perfectly, perfect and cosy...

I started work on the Liquid Silver Shawl by Rosemary Hill, which I'd been meaning to start for ages. Nigel got me the yarn for Christmas, I'd ordered the beads, the pattern was printed off and away I went. It wasn't too long before the dreaded "Rosemary Hill can't write a knitting pattern to save her life" issue rose it's ugly head. I've had a friend complain to me before about her patterns, how certain key pieces of information are simply omitted, but I insisted on believing that there was something faulty in how that knitter was reading the pattern (sorry Shelagh, I shouldn't have doubted) and that somehow I wouldn't have any trouble at all.

I was wrong.

I ripped out that pattern twice, the beaded border wasn't so difficult, though, why she fails to have a row 1 is beyond me - the pattern starts on row 2 and continues on to row 362. Why doesn't it just start on row 1 and continue to row 361? I've no idea...

I ended up ripping the border out once, on my second attempt I made it up into the body of the shawl, but quickly discovered that though the chart states that there is a 24 stitch repeat within each row (it's true, there is) Rosemary Hill has cleverly placed red line markers on the chart for 28 stitches. Urgh!

I tore it back a second time and decided not to bother at all, instead I'm going to make Trinket by Kim Hargreaves, it uses a similar yarn and beads. I'm very hopeful...

After all the unnecessary thinking (I'm just not up for it these days) of the Liquid Silver Shawl, I opted to knit the very easy Citron, from Knitty's winter edition. This entire wrap is just knit and purl (with increases and decreases) and was the ideal antidote to clear my head and feel accomplished. Sadly, I wasn't even a few inches into the pattern when I lost track of where I was and had to rip it all out and start over. I had been using a row counter, but it must have fallen to the floor and added 10 rows, because it didn't look right at all.

I started again and it's all fine now...

I'm working it in Estelle Super Alpaca Lace in charcoal, a gift from a friend at Christmas (Thank you Lori!). I love how it's working out, the pattern is very easy and the yarn gives the piece a very Victorian sort of air, I can see myself making a lot of these little shawl, in a variety of colours.

Also on the needles is a pair of Hat Heel Socks, another Knitty pattern, this one from Autumn of last year.

I'm not usually a fan of hand-knit socks, but these ones called to me. I think the unusual construction might just make them fit my feet. We shall see...

I'm using Twinkle Toes sock yarn by Dublin Dye Company, dyed by Elana, a friend of Elly's from Dublin. If I remember correctly, Elly gave it to me for Christmas in 2008, though it may have been for my birthday that year, I can't honestly remember. I like how the heel shows all the colours in the yarn, very bright and happy.

And that's the story of what's been off and on the needles lately.

I'm off now to bake some peanut butter cookies.

The Last Word (I Promise) on that Home Reno

2010-01-15T12:15:00.002-06:00

I'm sure a lot of you are getting sick of hearing about the big reno of this year, but Jane requested better snaps of the back splash, and I'm about to oblige.

However, I'll give you a couple of shots of knitting first, that way if you're truly sick to the teeth of hearing about my kitchen you can just move on quickly.

I think I've mentioned before how I'm completely smitten with Scottish designer Ysolda Teague, specifically, her patterns. Well, recently I bought her pattern set Whimisical Little Knits 2, having bought book 1 last year, and I promptly started the Peak's Island Hood.

I'm using Adagio by Skacel leftover from this project, recently finished. (I'm not sure what possessed me to buy 20 skeins of this yarn, even after finishing this second project I'm sure to have five to six still left.) I'm loving this pattern so far, I haven't reached the shaping for the hood part, but it just makes so much sense to me to have the bulk of the knitting in the central part of the scarf and the sensible closure on the front so the piece lays flat against the chest, not adding any bulk under a heavy winter coat. I also heartily approve of the use of vintage buttons.

I'm going to say it again, I love Ysolda.

I'll show you the finished project when I get to that point.

I finished the Kauni cardigan that I'd been knitting off and on since October.

The Kauni colours are fantastic, the only downside to this yarn is its "naturalness", if they could produce this kind of colourway in a superwash merino I'd buy reams and reams of the stuff.

Over the last few years I've been on a "gotta try that" sort of kick, where I see something advertised or being used by some other blogger and I rush out to experiment with the same thing myself, and I have to admit, that though I've found a few textiles, or patterns, or techniques that are keepers, I've found an awful lot of things that just aren't for me.

And so...

I think this year will be a year of a more (brace yourself) prudent me. Not to say that my blog title won't accurately describe me - I fear it shall - but I'm feeling the need for more thinking and less doing.

******I can hear friends and family snickering as I type******

Alright, on to the reno snaps.

I'd like to mention a few final numbers that are important to know in the event you plan to embark on a similar sized home renovation.

1/3 - one third, people. That's how much bigger our house is now - seems like such a small number, and yet it's a whole heck of a lotta' space.

72 - the number of days we had to wait between ordering the stove and when it was finally installed, that's a fair wait.

18 - the number of months we ACTUALLY went without a stove. The true story is that the stove that was here when we bought the house quit on us in June 2008, a repairman let us know that whoever installed the stove did so and THEN installed the kitchen floor (did I mention that there use to be someone who owned this house who thought they were some kind of fabulous Mr. Fixit - he wasn't). This is what pushed us to do the reno when we did.

Now stop and consider that for a moment - 18 months with no stove or oven, only a hotplate and a small toaster oven; 18 months of cooking for the family (Christmas, Birthdays, Wednesdays) with less than adequate equipment. I'm a saint.

186.5 - that's the number of feet of baseboards I painted. Remember, I did all the painting on the second level. If 186.5 feet doesn't sound like a lot to some of you, then get down on your hands and knees and just, say, wash the baseboards in an average sized room, then picture sanding, priming, sanding, painting(first coat), sanding, and painting(second coat) in five of those rooms.

Its a lot.

2 - that's the number of times I found myself shopping at the local supermarket wearing my slippers. I was a tad overwhelmed at times.

1 - one fabulous finished project. Hooray for being finished.

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

A Fear Conquered

2010-01-07T13:39:00.001-06:00

How was everyone's holiday? I didn't mean to take an extended break from posting to this blog, but then, I suppose, I never intend to and yet...always seem to manage.

I finished Incognito for Ian's Christmas. It was a hit!

I asked him to "act naturally" for some photos...

Nicely done Ian...

and it fits Gus too!

Do you remember way,way back in the Autumn I was working on the Kauni Cardi? Yes? Well, it came time to cut the steeks back in October and I just couldn't quite bring myself to take the scissors to my knitting, so I set the project aside. I'd been telling people that the sewing machine was packed away due to the reno and I couldn't possibly dig it out and use it (that may have been a slight exaggeration). However, last week I decided since the year was ending it was time to clear out old projects and , if not finish them, then at least progress towards the end. One evening between Christmas and New Year's I thought I should take a look at where I was in the pattern (it was exactly where I'd left it, needing to run it through the sewing machine), and so, decided to unpack the sewing machine...

...and then well, just, perhaps, run the sections through the machine, which I did...

...and then, without even stopping to think (I'm clearly still exhausted from the reno) I grabbed the scissors and cut, cut, cut...

I hadn't even stopped to get the camera in order to document the momentous occasion.

so, that was that, steeks done, no problem.

Now, it's onwards to the sleeves...

I wonder what Yoda would stay, "Try not. Do!" I suppose.

On an unrelated note, let me show you one of the new calendars (I love calendars) that I have in the house:

Arthur Rackham - fabulous pictures - and my frind Bruce will find this one extra special..

He gets double the number of birthdays without aging an extra year! Sadly, November 9ths are out of luck this year.

Madly Off Decorating

2009-12-21T16:42:00.013-06:00

We've been madly decorating in all directions these last few days...

having survived the first nasty cold spell of the season...

and we're preparing for all the festivities of the week...

hoping the next year is sweet...

and we're all a little wiser.

My Mum made Elly part of the Dickensian Mice set by Alan Dart in honour of her first Christmas in her new place. She made six of the ten pieces (heck of a lot of work), and they turned out perfect.

Aren't they gorgeous?

On my needles, at the moment, is a quick knit for Ian's Christmas. Since I doubt he's reading my blog, I'll tell you it's this pattern from the new issue of Knitty.

I'm also partial to this and this from the same issue (but for me, not Ian), perhaps in the new year...

though I DO have an awful lot of half finished projects which I want to finish first.

I think I may have to plot a course for my knitting this year.

Also, the back splash was installed a couple of weeks ago. Our contractor put up a terrible struggle with me over my choice of tile. I believe he said at one point, "you don't want to ruin the kitchen now, when it looks so good." Can you imagine! It's a good thing I like him and have known him a very long time, otherwise I might have been insulted.

In the end, I got my way.

One by two inch pale green glass tiles installed in a brick-lay pattern.

He admits now it looks fantastic. Hoorah!

In a nod to the Christmas Ghost Story tradition, here's a walking ghoul singing a Christmas song...Enjoy!

I Can't Believe It

2009-12-16T10:54:00.003-06:00

It's happened.

The last of the tradesmen has just left.

The reno is over (at least as far as professionals are concerned).

There's still a bit of painting left for me to do, but well...

Wow! That was really something.

I'm currently treating myself to two things that have been missing all this time - silence and locked doors.

Amazing...will post some photos soon.

Almost Bloomin' Perfect

2009-12-03T08:25:00.003-06:00

Lots of things around here are looking pretty good now...

though some things still aren't quite ready.

Small sections of the house are starting to look like their regular, tidy selves...

(note the bottle of Advil)...

and Christmas is just around the corner...

but don't be thinking I'm totally ready for the holidays. There are lots of decorations still packed up in their boxes.

Some rooms are very close to being finished, and just need a coat of paint to be ready to move into to,

while other rooms are up and running, though you'll note that everywhere you turn there's evidence of the "tradesman's touch"...

We DID get our stove delivered, sadly we have yet to get the gas line run...

maybe today, I don't know....

though, there are tiny sections of the house, that look honest-to-god finished...

and while the last touches are being but on the rooms, I've been getting everything as perfect as I can...

as for the sweater I was going to start and finish in the month of November, well, the front and back are done, I just need to make sleeves and a collar and sew the whole thing together.

I've been a tad distracted.

Please be patient while I chase perfection...

Six Months in an Unfinished House

2009-11-13T10:38:00.000-06:00

I've been working away on the Kauni cardigan. I finished the main section of the body, and am ready to start the sleeves. The pattern looks to me like it would be easier to work the sleeves with the steeking sewn and cut, but since I don't have my sewing machine up and running at the moment (it's under a whole lot of boxes at the back of the craft room) its going to have to wait.

In the meantime I'm doing the NaKniSweMoNo09 - that's the National Knit a Sweater in the Month of November 2009. I've chosen Anhinga by Norah Gaughan, knitted in Adagio by Skacel in the Mulberry shade. This yarn has a beautiful drape, perfect for the pattern. I've finished the back and most of the first of the three front sections, so I'm feeling fairly confident I'll finish all of it by the end of the month.

I've been so negligent in keeping up with the postings during this reno, I've got lots to show you:

the cabinets during installation...

with handles installed...

after the electricians came to visit...

the bathroom, unfinished...

a laundry-to-be...

Ooooooo!!!!!! Washing machine!

RUNNING WATER!!!! Hooray!

and some very lovely lamps...

sadly, still no stove...

Even without the stove, the kitchen space is functional and I'm happily settling in and unpacking. Next up is the re-finishing of the floors on the second level and an awful lot of painting.

It's staggering to think we started this back in June - six months ago!

Here's a very, very old music video...

A Few Finds

2009-10-24T19:36:00.013-05:00

Completed slippers. Hurrah!

Before anyone lies and says, "beautiful...", we need to concede that they are, of course, hideous. However, they're felted slippers and aren't suppose to be good looking, merely practical, which they are. Super-cosy in fact.

Also in the "hurrah" department - the computer seems to be working fine at the moment - hence, the snapshots. I'm going to take advantage of this and share all the little happenings around here.

Last Sunday (the 18th) was the annual Doll Show and Sale here in Winnipeg. I'm not a true collector, but I've always had a few dolls in my possession; some I've had since childhood, some I've sewn through the years and some, on occasion, I've purchased. I'd never been to the doll show before, but was curious what others were collecting and selling.

I was tempted by a 1959 Lloyd's doll carriage (cream coloured metal, spring suspension), and though I thought to myself how fantastic it would be for displaying dolls, I just couldn't quite decide if it was "the one" (does anyone else understand?) and so walked away from it, all the while wondering if I was going to have regrets. I was also very tempted by one little bisque head baby doll from pre-1930's Germany, but wasn't quite sure if I was REALLY, REALLY willing to part with ALL that money for THAT particular doll. It was ALMOST exactly the sort of doll I'd like to own, but sadly, I'm just not that good at large-ticket impulse buys. I'm so, so much better at small-ticket impulse buys.

I found a vendor with buttons,

lovely, shiny buttons.

And another vendor with patterns,

I bought one reproduction pattern (uncut) and one original (cut). Well though, to be honest, I didn't buy that Winnie-the-Pooh pattern. I got to talking to the vendor and told her that my Mum had made Eeyore for my brother back in the sixties from that same pattern and it had been his favourite toy from childhood. She was so touched she gave me the pattern for free and told me to think of her when I sewed an Eeyore for my brother. Wasn't that sweet?

It was while I was driving home that I realised Eeyore was so very, very important to Ian that he'd kept it all these years (probably not requiring another one).

However, if I ever need to make an Eeyore, I'm ready.

A couple of days after the doll show I found this at a local shop,

I can't even speak.

I'm so glad I didn't buy the metal one from the fifties. This one was the same price.

There are no regrets, not one.

And the very same day, while trolling the local thrift stores, I made one of those rare "Finds of a Lifetime" - a stunning crocheted afghan.

The significance of something like this will be lost on some people (Nigel, I'm looking at you), but it is, I assure you, truly magnificent. It's made from scraps of fine sock-weight yarn in an enormous palette of colours. The time that would have gone into making this isn't lost on me and I feel fortunate to be the current "keeper" of this piece of 20th century folk art. Does anyone else see the colours of the Book of Kells?

Lovely...

Now, off to reno-land,

I did not order an orange floor, this is just the layer beneath the tile.

tiles,

tiles with grout (that means this section of the floor is done).

And just in time for the cabinet delivery.

And this is what the cabinets will look like. Kind of, sort of antique white.

Cabinet installation is set for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Soon it will look like a real kitchen - it just won't have running water, appliances or lights.

***soon***

Lettin' Ya Know

2009-10-23T10:37:00.002-05:00

Hello to all!

Wanted to quickly let all know that we are all still here - coping - you know - with the reno.

We're nearing the end of phase one, unfortunately the computer is acting up and I can't load any photos at the moment.

So, don't think I'm holidaying anywhere swish.

I'm also knitting, but alas, no snaps yet.

Patience, I say to myself.

Patience...

Snow?!

2009-10-11T23:10:00.003-05:00

It started to fall Saturday afternoon...

and things soon looked like this:

The snow isn't the only thing that's been piling up, I've finished lots of knitting projects too.

The second Noro Striped Scarf is all finished. The colours remind me quite a lot of my brother Ian, so it shall be winging it's way out to the west coast very shortly.

It's knit from one colourway of Noro Kureyon Sock and one colourway of Noro Silk Garden Sock, being sock yarn it's no problem to throw it in the washer and dryer, and in fact, gets softer and softer with washing and wearing.

Hope you like it Ian.******have I ever knit you anything before??? I'm not sure.******

Also finished is Gretel a lovely cabled tam designed by Ysolda Teague. She's very quickly becoming one of my favourite designers. I've tried a few of her patterns now and they are well written with no surprises.

Knit up in Mirasol Miski, this yarn is a beautifully soft worsted weight which knits up incredibly fast (being worsted weight).

And to match, in the same yarn is Celtic Cabled Neckwarmer. If you have a very good memory you'll recall I made one just like it for Elly last Christmas. It was so lovely I decided to make one for myself.

Don't let the photo fool you, it's all finished, though I'm not happy with the buttons I chose, so I need to rummage through my collection and see if I can find something better. I suppose that doesn't truly count as a finished project then, does it?

Also (almost) finished are a pair of Fuzzy Feet made using the yarn I won at the Knit Out in August.

Again, don't be fooled by the photo, I've finished the knitting part of this project...just have to run them through the washing machine to felt them. I'll take some before and after snaps, that's always amusing.

The reno, the reno...

There has been much painting going on this week.

I chose a beautiful shade called Calming Cream for the kitchen and craft room.

And for the bath, the palest of pale blues called Ocean Mist (both paints by Benjamin Moore).

***Update! Update! It's called Ocean Air, not Ocean Mist!***

Both colours are difficult to fully appreciate in snapshot form, you'll all have to just come on over and stare at it with me.

I chose well. Very well.

This week, the tile for the main floor will be installed and possibly the oak flooring on the second floor.

Soon, cabinets.

Soon...

Back from Chicago

2009-10-04T23:27:00.000-05:00

It's shameful how rarely I've been posting to this blog lately.

And it's not like nothing interesting is happening. Just plain old lazy I suppose.

Nigel, Ian and I went for a brief visit to Chicago in the middle of September (to attend Nigel's second cousin's belated wedding reception). Chicago was quite stunning, it's a very large city, and very tightly packed with skyscrapers.

It's really, really tall. Apparently there's some sort of rule in Chicago that ensures that new buildings look good next to the old ones.

It was really very tall, but attractive. I'm not really sure why, but I'd imagined it being far more run down and shabby (like Winnipeg). It wasn't.

We weren't in town long enough to see much, but what we did see was well worth it - the Shedd Aquarium, the Museum of Science and Industry and the Art Institute...Oh yes, and the wedding reception, of course.

It's rare that a city makes it onto my "must-see-again" list, but Chicago is one. (Dublin and Inverness also make the cut). If anyone cares to know, I absolutely loathe Vancouver, but I'll leave that story for another time.

I have a few photos from the aquarium, but I'll save those for next time. More important, I had a chance to meet most of Nigel's family from England. It was great to finally put personalities to the names and faces.

Unfortunately, though I'm quite capable of taking good shots of hanks of yarn or sweaters, I'm useless at photos of living breathing creatures - so I don't have any good photos of anyone.

nice hat...

that's Rosie and Serenity and the very blurry man in the back is Jake...

every family holiday needs to record the recording of images...

that's me.

Enough of that, let's look at some reno shots.

A much better view of the chimney...

the insulation installed. This stage was very cool - like walking inside a ginat marshmallow...

drywall delivered...

and installed...

hmmm....must choose paint colours...

all the walls and ceilings primed for painting...

and this week the painting will begin.

Then floors (I hope).

Make Room for Baby

2009-09-09T23:39:00.002-05:00

This is the newest addition to our busy household. His name is Baby.

Last winter my friend (Bruce)'s mother (Dolly) passed away and left behind her little white finch who has now found a new home with us. He's very sweet and chirps and flutters most of the day.

***I should mention that he will, in fact, move along with Elly to her new digs if the rental shortage ever lets up - (hee hee, get it, "let's" up, ha ha). Ack, it's late and I should go to bed...***

Gus LOVES Baby and spends most of the day doing this:

He very quietly whimpers too....very sad. He longs to give Baby just one really big kiss - no doubt with his teeth. Don't worry, he's too short to reach the cage, and not nearly bright enough to open it.

While helping Bruce to sort through the estate, we came across this fabulous socialist cookbook:

I haven't tried any of the recipes...

but I love that left wing sense of humour...

this is no frills...

OK, maybe just a bit...

partisan cooking.

Yes! Crush the noodles of oppression!

I'm going to have to try some of these before I return the book.

Off the needles!

The pink and green Noro Striped Scarf:

I found this easy-peasy single rib so therapeutic that I started another one in shades of blue:

I'm finding I desparately need the repetitive motion of knitting something simple while the reno goes along.

This is where my new kitchen sink will someday be:

The furnace ducts went in today (this a pre-installation shot):

And lots and lots of electrical work has been done. Days and days in fact.

I've opted not to photograph every outlet and socket, but here is a shot of the empty wire spools that litter our back garden:

That's a lot of wiring.

Also, a note. August 24th was my second blogiversary and I missed it completely.

Oops! I'm going to blame the reno.

Here's a video to enjoy. It's my favourtie song at the mo', and plays endlessly in my head, and though it has nothing to do with renos, wires, socialist cooking, blogiversaries or birds named Baby, it does mention a scarf...

Keep to the Path

2009-09-03T12:11:00.002-05:00

On Sunday last, Ian and Nigel and I headed out to Spirit Sands to walk the 7km (return) trail to the Devil's Punch Bowl. We've walked this trail before, always on days that were ridiculously hot (28, 29?). Sunday wasn't too bad though, I think highs were 23 or 24 Celsius.

If you check the online site from the government it will tell you to stick to the path and beware of poison ivy. They tell you once you start down the trail to be aware of other dangers too...

Hmmm...yes...former National Defense testing range...well now, thanks for the head's up.

Signs pointed to the scenic spots...

does this refer to scenic outhouses? Don't know, we didn't take the detour.

The trails are varied.

Sand...

roots...

and rails.

After struggling up a few inclines you're rewarded with scenic ridges.

Everyone that's been will tell you that the Devil's Punch Bowl is a bit of a disappointment. It's more of a swampy green pond that empties into a small winding creek. Nigel calls it the Devil's Toilet Bowl.

The grafitti on the wooden rail is always amusing. Clearly some of us have walked this path more than once...

The path of the reno continues...

framing...

rafters...

doors and windows...

installed...

tyvek.

I chose the materials for the counters and cabinets.

The cabinets will be maple with a finish called millstone - a lovely soft creamy colour with a touch of grey. Counters are CaesarStone, the main counters will be done in Quartz Reflections (pale grey with stone chips) and the island in Smoky Ash (dark charcoal/black). Door handles and knobs will be black hammered iron. Should be lovely...

*** I'd love to link you to these things, but Blogger isn't playing nice. ***

Does anyone remember those 101 things I said I'd do? Well, September 1st marked the start of six months of buying NO NEW YARN.

Ack! What kind of crazy journey would require that path?

In anticipation I bought this lovely hank from Etsy at the end of August.

Wensleydale DK in a colourway called Thistle - four ounces - that should be enough to do a hat or mittens. Lovely...

And lastly, last night at the knit meet-up we got to talking about babies and toddlers and how much work they are - there were some hilarious stories people told - and though my two wee ones were very pleasant and rarely willful, it still had it's downside.

I became a mother at the young age of 22 (to Elly) and a single mother shortly after that, and everyone always told me how lucky I was to have a bright and happy child with a sunny dispositon.

Did I ever tell you that Elly started talking at ten months and never (and I mean never) stopped.

She was my friendly friend...

I'd like to add that I stuck to the path and never abandoned her in the park.