Popple Gets a Tan

The sun stopped by again this past weekend, much to the delight of my daughters who enjoyed a turn or two around my parents backyard. It is lovely to get out and take in the sun, even the popple got a little fresh air. Not sure how my parents feel about having their home littered with toys, but I like the fact that my girls are enjoying some of my old favourites.

My diaper bag is dubbing quite nicely as a knitting carryall, bringing new meaning to the name "mothership". As you can see from the photo I made very little progress on the Knit Cafe Bath Robe it carried to my parents' this week-end—only about 10 rows. At this rate I may finish it before my second daughter turns five.

This week-end taught me some more things-I-know-because-I-knit. I learned that knitting and driving (as a passenger) makes me a little carsick, and that my childhood hate-on for purl rows is coming back to me. Am I the only one who has this preference to knit rather than purl?

It was a Beautiful Weekend

Over 50 people fed, 5 dozen cupcakes baked, watching my kids get icing all over their faces—priceless.



Last year, on earth day, I woke up in labour. I got my hair done, dragged Kristin along in case I couldn't drive home, called my parents to come look after daughter one (while the hubby and I were gone), and waited for the arrival of daughter two. When she came out—very quickly—I got to hold her while she was still attached (between my legs after standing to deliver her) because the second midwife hadn't had time to get to the hospital before she debuted. She was tough and strong and beautiful.

Now she walks, talks (I can understand her) she climbs, and falls, and finds herself quite funny. She is tough and strong and cuddly, and every bit as sweet as daughter one.

I am lucky, very lucky.



Her birthday weekend was beautiful, warm and sunny. Everyone enjoyed being able to sit out after so much cold, wet weather.

Enjoy a virtual cupcake from the party! Coconut, morning glory and black bottom, yum!

I should also point out that I do shower or bathe almost everyday. Not sure if I made myself clear in my last post, it was late when I wrote it and I was a bit loopy. Hope I didn't scare too many of you away ;—) Not that I stay clean after a day spent with the girls. I usually wear most of their meals by days end.

Earth Day Birthday

Some ideas start small, but what if we could do something huge? My husband, who ordinarily is not interested in the blog-o-sphere actually asked me to find out what people think of an idea he has.

We were watching 20/20's episode about the environment and he was inspired by an idea. What if we had an international or—is it even possible?— a worldwide don't-take-a-shower-day? How much water could be saved in that one day? I reasoned that I already have those days, but he insisted it had to be on a much larger scale, still I try to do my part.

Furthermore, what if we had a do-not-drive-your-car-day? We decided that these days would have to fall on a week-end, say earth day, maybe even the two actions could happen simultaneously. We could all be government sanctioned to stay home in our pajamas that day. He is arguing that a try-not-to-drive day would be easier to accomplish, but everyone will think their reason for driving anyway is valid. Also we are tossing around all the fun sayings like, "two and out" and the ever popular "If its yellow let it mellow..." (you may know the rest).

So, let me know what you all think. Look at how many people celebrate St. Patrick's Day? That has me thinking, maybe there needs to be a wine, beer or spirit involved? How about a do-not-shower/try-not-to-drive day Appletini? (30 ml vanilla vodka, 10 ml Sourze Apple)

Stir with ice and strain into an ice cold cocktail glass.
Decorate with an apple slice.

Or maybe a Gin Fizz? (60 ml gin, 40 ml lemon juice, sugar, club soda to top with. Shake all ingredients except the club soda in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a rocks glass. Top off with a small dash of club soda just to add the fizz. Decorate with a slice of lemon and a maraschino cherry.

Well, happy earth day everyone!

You Can Keep My Tea Warm Any Day

And the tea cozy winner is...

...The Felted Tea Cozy. Too fun! I will cast on soon. I was so inspired by the designer's wool blanket cozy (pictured in the same Knitty.com article) that I started a temporary cozy similar to it with some fleece I had on hand. (Sorry no photo yet.)

I was a bit limited in colour choice since I bought the fleece this year for Halloween costumes. Daughter 1 wanted to be a blue animal!? (thank god for birds), daughter 2 got to be a pile of autumn leaves.

Did I mention I need a new kitchen? That is my portable dishwasher in the background. Useful, but pretty U-G-L-Y

It is hard to tell, but the hat has a green leaf on the top

I am up to my eyeballs with schedules in order to get everything ready in time for Saturday (about 26 ppl) and Sunday (about 30 ppl). Not sure how I will get it all done in time, then again it always goes well in the end. Miraculously there is always time for blogging (thank you for reading). Hope you all enjoy your week-end! The weather here is finally spring-like. Yay.

Tidbit #3: I, like Sabrina, also went to art school. So there was lots of (nude) figure drawing—we were so, a-hem, mature that my friends and I could never keep a straight face in these classes.

Birthday Anticipation

We (I mean me dragging the kids around town buying this and that) are busy preparing for a big week-end. My baby turns one! It isn't that I can't believe it, it is just that it happened in a flash.

Saturday is a get-together with friends, Sunday will be a family gathering. Don't get me wrong, I love parties, but it is a lot of work to get them to go smoothly so I am gearing up for all the hours on my feet in the kitchen.

What is on the menu? Saturday will offer roasted chicken, roasted red pepper and goat cheese sarnies, macaroni and cheese (for the children, of course), sun dried tomato dip with veggies for munching, and a roasted garlic white bean dip with toasts. For dessert, CUPCAKES! I am going to make coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and black bottom cupcakes with chocolate frosting, and fruit with yogurt dip.

Sunday will offer chicken kebab, pork loin roast, turkey burger (sticks), red pepper rice pilaf, some green veg of some sort, roasted potatoes, hummus, green salad with vinaigrette, some sort of pasta, birthday cake (which I haven't decided to buy or make yet) but if I make it it will be carrot cake, and fruit.

Why am I telling you all this? Well I really need to keep it in my head. I need to see it written to know it is enough food because our families will eat it if it is on the table and I am always afraid of running out as a result. Believe it or not, last year we did run out, not even my butcher saw that coming. Also, it will explain why I am not going to be writing about knitting until this week-end is over.

I will leave you with a tidbit and a recipe to share a taste of what we are having.

Roasted Garlic White Bean dip

1 head garlic, roasted or 2 clove raw garlic
1 19-oz can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed or 2 cups cooked beans
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)
1/2 tsp hot red pepper sauce
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste


Place beans in a food processor. Squeeze garlic out of skins and add to beans. Blend.
Blend in lemon juice, oil, hot pepper sauce, cumin, and pepper.
Taste and add salt or more lemon juice if necessary.

Tidbit #2: I am itching to get a food processor, a new kitchen, and I have a school girl crush on chef Gordon Ramsay (ala Kitchen Nightmares and Hell's Kitchen).

Bag 'O Yarn

Yesterday I purchased a whole whack of yarn for two new projects--neither one started mind you. My daughter picked Nashua Cilantro for her bathrobe(she had help choosing the brand) in aqua with fuchsia for the trim. As a purist, I feel a little guilty buying a blended fibre (cotton, polyester), but it makes it very washable. I may change my mind before it is knitted we'll see.

For my slouchy cardigan from Greetings from the Knit Cafe, I chose Berroco Ultra Alpaca in denim.

The consensus among my blog friends is that a tea cozy is, in fact, not lame! So I am searching for a pattern. The Knit 2 Together pattern is an option. But I found this one while searching which made me laugh. The illustration is something else. The contenders are this one from Knitty.com and this one will catch Kristin's attention, the pentafold tea cozy, A lace cozy and a cabled cozy. It would seem there are no shortage of patterns available on the web.

O.k. so this one is for Sabrina over at So Much Fun, which by the way is also a really cool store for clothes and accessories. My something new that you don't know about me is that I am a foofer. I like to fix tags sticking out of peoples shirts, I flick fluff from their shoulders--I can't help it. So when I worked as a hostess at a restaurant in university I sat a very nice couple at a table one night. Immediately after seating them I saw it--a long hair coming out of the gentleman's collar. Without thinking I move to foof it away. I am not sure how long it took me to realize, but it seemed like forever, that the hair was ATTACHED!!! It must have been three inches long! But I was so mortified I didn't let go right away. His wife kindly said "He's hairy, I call him my hairy man". Hairy is right! you could have braided his chest hair. I finally released the hair and apologized profusely and secretly hoped I would never have to see them again. So embarrassing.

And with that, good night!

Finishing Details and What Next?

I thought, how hard could it be? Well, apparently, finishing takes a bit of practice (sorry Kristin's baby, you get to be my guinea pig for this bolero.) I have taken away valuable lessons for future projects so I suppose that is an upside. It should get better from here, right?

This photo was taken on the week-end. The bolero is now drying after a wash and I am dog tired and not photographing it today. It looks great from the outside, a little slapdash (a term from a kids book, Pish and Posh Wish for Fairy Wings my daughter absolutely loves which loosely translated means sloppy—or silly, we're not quite sure but we like how it sounds) from the inside.

Now I am itching to buy wool for my next project. Is it lame to want to knit a tea cozy? I have a great tea pot that needs some lovin'. I would also like to do a head band, and comfy pants for the kids. I still want to knit the bath robe from the Greetings from the Knit Cafe book, but I am scared of the yarn. What to do, what to do?

If you have ever been fascinated with the thought of dyeing yarn, check out Scout's Swag Site today for a demo of Scout's Ghetto Warping Board. She makes it look easy. I have been tempted since reading the Knitty article about kool aid dyeing. The colours are really vibrant. However, this doesn't give me the urge to want to drink the stuff.

Spring has Sprung!?

So this was the scene on Easter morning here. Can you believe it? Ordinarily, Easter weather is bright and at least on the warmer side of 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit). Of course this weather did not put a damper on the egg hunting, which went something like this: Daughter number one finding eggs, excitedly putting them in a basket. Daughter two finding eggs, excitedly showing mom and dad, daughter one saying "thank you" and taking the eggs from daughter two, then putting them in a basket. It was quite entertaining. I was up late finishing the baby bolero and hiding eggs was the last thing I did before bed at 1 a.m. Not very wise considering as soon as daughter one woke she was very eager to "hunt".

I did manage to scrape up enough energy to boil our breakfast eggs in three fun colours for extra oomph to a staple meal around here. Lots of photos for you to enjoy. I thought the eggs looked neat bubbling along with the colours and some oil for speckling.

The baby bolero is finished, hear the heavenly music playing? It took a lot of ripping out, and frustration, but it continues to shape up as I sew in more loose threads. Better get back to it while I can.

Hope you all had a great week-end!

Things I Know Because I Knit

I know that the term "knitting", for me, means more time ripping out work to fix a mistake, then actual knitting.

That sewing fabric and sewing knitted work are two very different things yielding very different results. I have spent the last week sewing, and re-sewing the knitted sleeve of the baby bolero, despite the very appreciated help from Leslie.

That sewing on the second sleeve goes much faster than sewing the first.

Knitting requires patience—I am getting better at that one...slowly.

In addition to being a design snob, am now also a yarn snob.

My LYS is closed at 4 p.m. on Saturday! Closed on Sundays AND Mondays! What mother can work within those hours? I need another LYS.

Did you know you can crave a yarn much like craving chocolate. I have been pretty itchy to buy lately! Dear Cadbury's, please understand I am not saying yarn is better than chocolate! Sincerely, your devoted fan.

I can knit my own hat! And because of this I also know I can knit my own socks, mitts, pants, blankets — anything. This knowledge is very empowering even if I don't take advantage of all the possibilities (or know how to sew them properly.)

I would love to hear what you know now because of knitting.

More Yarn I Admire

What an original blog post title.

Looking for Canadian content for this next round of this topic I was getting discouraged. I suppose I am a design snob, so let's just say that there were a lot of sites I entered and exited really quickly.

For those of you who like a really down to earth feel Nature Song Yarn are a good bet. Think subtle and relaxing.

I started to get excited when I found Ocean Wind Knits. In addition to some really beautiful colourways they have fun patterns too.

I started to salivate when I found Sweet Georgia Yarns. This was exactly what I had been searching for. With names like honey fig, afterglow, libertine, boheme, the colours are a promise delivered—vibrant, modern and fun! Now for the bad news—HIATUS—that's right no Sweet Georgia for at least six months starting April 15. Bummer, I just found her and poof! she's gone.

Can't go to bed until I mention Handmaiden a division of Fleece Artist. Great colours and, as with all of the previous options, a worthy blog too.

Yarn I Admire

I admit that there has been a knitting dry spell in this blog of late. I apologise for it and hope to remedy it today, not by showing more of my knitting progress—of which there is none to date—but by sharing some of my favourite yarns.

My current fav is by Scout at Scout's Swag. I think prepster looks good enough to eat, but I would definitely follow that with fraises des boise and needles on fire for dessert. Can you tell I like pink?

While I was searching for more yummy hand dyed yarn, I came across Hello Yarn. Colourways I love here include laughs, puzzled and syrup.

I will continue with more on this topic later, but really I am using this post to secure my Technorati profile. Hope I don't end up regretting it. I was really motivated to CLAIM MY BLOG.

Technorati Profile

What a Difference a Year Makes!

I was looking through my iPhotos and feeling very nostalgic. I thought I would remind myself what it was like around here by this time last year. It really is amazing to me how much can change in just one year. Judging by the photo you may have had the same thoughts about me, I was about ready to burst by the time that photo was taken, but still had more than a month before daughter two came along.

This photo makes me feel that while I am not ready to be pregnant again right now I definitely want to be pregnant again. Also, I remember that I had spilled supper on my pants that night and the stain is really evident. Hard to work around a belly that size.

Makes me want to wake up the kids and give them big hugs and kisses before they change again tomorrow.

Anyway, because Kristin is about ready to pop I write this in her honour. We were pregnant together for our first borns, now I get to watch from this side of the fence. Can't wait to see what's in your belly!

Technical Difficulties

Not really sure what I did, but somehow I took away the comment option to my post yesterday. All is right now, but it is a real bummer because I don't want to make it difficult for anyone to post. Especially while attempting my first blog tea party. Technology is great, but relying on me to operate it is bound to cause some glitches every now and then.

Tea and Crumpits

I made some yummy treats today so I thought I would welcome you in with a snack.

These are chocolate surprise cookies made fresh today, from the Holiday Cookies issue of Martha, which is a favourite of mine. The surprise in the cookie is a marshmallow filling. They really are more like a brownie—VERY rich. Anyway, enjoy!

Surprise Cookies (Hope Martha doesn't mind my sharing) Makes about 2 dozen

1 3/4 Cups all-purpose flour
3/4 Cup cocoa powder
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 Cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 Cup milk
1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract
12 large marshmallows, cut in half horizontally
Chocolate Frosting for Surprise Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add reserved flour mixture; mix on until combined.

Using a tablespoon or 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies begin to spread and become firm, 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove baking sheets from oven, and place a marshmallow, cut-side down, in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly. Return to oven, and continue baking until marshmallows begins to melt, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Makes 1 cup
2 Cups confectioners' sugar
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 Cup cocoa powder
1/4 Cup milk
1/4 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in butter and cocoa powder. Add milk and vanilla, and whisk until well combined.

Spread about 1 tablespoon of frosting over each marshmallow until marshmallow is covered.

That's a Wrap

I am a sometimes environmental nut. Mainly this means that I am prone to bouts of major recycling and composting, and a strong urge to hug the trunk of the beautiful butternut/beechnut tree in our backyard (not sure which it is, but it is pretty). I also go back and forth on wrapping paper and the evils of using it.

I must be on an ecological downturn because in a moment of weakness last week-end I bought some beautiful wrap, by Papyrus, and a gift bag for an upcoming girls birthday party. The wrap was for a baby shower and it allowed me to work in my favourite colour, hot pink, quite nicely. The hot pink envelope held a card made by the same company that made the wrap. Lots of fun designs.

Today I was sewing shoulder seams on my bolero. Three needle bind off is my new best friend! Thank you Kristin. Still having trouble with the sleeves which involves sewing a salvage end (edge the has been BO) against a side piece so I am up for any suggestions (see picture below). I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but the sewing yarn is visible as a twist on the RS of the bolero.

Hope you have a great week-end!

Rainy Days and Thursdays

After an exciting evening drawing up an offer that, admittedly, was low but justifiably so, we did not become the proud owners of a new home. We are just the proud owners of a lot of guilt that our calculated decision to offer the price we did may have been a mistake.

What if we never find a house that nicely finished? What if I have to live with two young children through a renovation? What if I have to LIVE with my MOTHER-IN-LAW during a renovation?! What if we never find a house in this neighbourhood we like? It is supposed to be a good area for schools. Which has got me thinking, how important is a good school to my children? I mean really, I still made it through University and design school despite a mediocre early education.

Knitting helped work out my nerves over the whole thing, probably I should have napped instead, but look at how cute this is. This is the baby bolero, which I am trying to sew together, I may need a bit more practise before I master finishing techniques, but I am confident. It practically fits in my hand—which is, I think, a fairly normal size womanly hand. The little lace section, according to the book, is believed to bring luck and protection to the wearer. The camera wasn't handy, so I cleverly used my scanner, hence the rough looking backdrop.

I promise not too many rants about this house hunting thing. I am optomistic it will be over before we really get into the heat of summer, I hope.

No News Is Good News

Well, nothing new to report on the home front. We have not placed our bid on the house we saw, but who knows what tomorrow will bring. Also, no new knitting news either. I have been a bit obsessed with reading blogs on the internet. It is addictive. I have found some worth mentioning though.

Knit Cafe, they have a wicked soundtrack and an intersting Web site worth visiting.

January One has an example of a mitered blanket I will put off for a future knit adventure. Also a funny commentary on how addicted she is to these squares of colour. Makes a really stunning blanket, complicated to arrange, yet seems simple enough to knit.

Well, back to watching the Idol. Husband got me hooked! Go Chris and Lakisha!

A New Address

We are looking for a new address. It has become a little tight for us in our lovely just-perfect-when-we-were-two bungalow. I love this little drafty house, don't get me wrong, but our growing family is just needing a bit more space.

The problem with looking for a new address, aside from dragging the poor kids to each viewing, is having to look at a bunch of not-so-perfect houses to find home-sweet-home. Also, Kristin will not live just around the corner which is funny in a way, because mostly we talk to each other over the phone.

Today I am heading out with the girls to view a house on a street with a name I can barely pronounce, Aurora, say it over and over and it stops sounding like a word at all. I am also sure it is going to need to be spelled out every time someone asks for our address. So with spelling that and our last name umpteen times I am going to be tongue tied.

It has been updated quite nicely, and the master bedroom has room for a King size bed (see photo below). With all the kids in ours with us (in the mornings) it is like that song that goes "...four in the bed and the little one said, 'I'm crowded, roll over. So they all rolled over and one fell out..." Usually it is daughter 2 falling out, and daughter 1 saying "hey, get off my pillow."

Hopefully we find one soon, the anticipation is killing me. Of course, then we have to get down to the work of selling our house and deal with keeping it clean with two children and a dog living in it. Oh dear!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!

I tried to search for an appropriate Irish knitting proverb but no such luck. Instead I found a cute rhyme someone's irish aunt used to teach her to knit.

In the little bunny hole, around the big tree, out the little bunny hole and off goes she.

Hope you all enjoy your green beer. Slainte.

I started the baby bolero last night and so far I think I like the Densie needles. They are very light, but my wrists and hands seemed a lot less fatigued as a result.

Ain't it Sweet

Denise Interchangeables came today! Now I can start on the Baby Bolero, a more challenging project for a newbie like me. I am not sure I can keep up to the same pace as my fellow knitting bloggers. I will cast it on to get a feel for the needles and put it aside until the second baby hat is done.

I am really intrigued by this knitting jewellery I have seen lately. Might have to give it a whirl.

Today was a whirlwind. We went to a nearby heritage village and enjoyed pancakes and syrup. Between my sister-in-law and I we have six kids under nine. Our youngest ones are going to be the ages one, two, three, and four in the next few months so it is busy when we all get together, but quite fun. I am pausing for a moment to imagine if they were all mine — gulp.

All these kids make me think of one of my favourite books of last year, The Birth House by Amy McKay. It is a great book about friends, mothers, midwifery and the Occasional Knitters Society (everyone should be a member). And so, I leave you with this nugget of knitting knowledge to impress your friends with:

During World War I many women all across Canada joined together in the practice of knitting items for the soldiers. The Red Cross slogan, "Knit Your Bit" and songs such as "I Wonder Who's Knitting for Me" became part of the popular culture. Thrumming - a knitting technique used in Newfoundland and most of Atlantic Canada - is a process where pieces of roving are worked into mittens, hats, and socks. It makes them amazingly warm and almost waterproof. (Which is why soldiers were known to trade almost anything for a pair of socks knit by a Newfoundlander.) Borrowed from www.thebirthhouse.com