25 January 2010

Since I’m (mostly) committed to knitting from my stash this year, I’ve been looking through my yarn and trying to match skeins with projects (and in some cases, wondering what possessed me to purchase some of my finds). While it was easy to find sock and shawl patterns for the fingering and laceweight yarns, I felt a bit stymied when I happened upon a bunch of three-ply merino from 100purewool, which I’d initially purchased for soakers and longies — but never used because we went with AppleCheeks diapers instead of prefolds.

And so, I was thrilled when Adam started complaining about needing a scarf. Having read horror stories of strangulation caused by scarves (and not completely convinced Adam has the dexterity to actually secure a scarf around his neck in a non-choking type way), I quickly moved on to the idea of a cowl (the Windschief). Or, as Adam prefers to call it, a nose and cheek warmer.

Trying to get a good photo was a bit challenging and Adam was slightly disappointed to note that it wouldn’t be terribly effective as an eye warmer while still allowing him to actually see. Project details available on Ravelry. Adam is now actively planning out his list of all the other things he would like me to knit for him, which should keep me busy. Forever.

To further encourage my stash knitting efforts, I joined a knit-along with Laines Magnifiques that started mid-January. We’re each knitting different projects but all with Nicole’s yarn. My first project was some socks for me (Monkey socks minus the purl stitches) using some bamboo/merino/nylon sock yarn in Winter Ice.

As is usual for me, I knit them toe-up, and I’m particularly glad I did, as I was able to maximize my yarn use and bound off with less than three metres to spare. Phew. Project details available on Ravelry.

And since there are still several weeks left till the KAL ends, I cast on for a sweater for Leah: the Elsie Cardigan using Champion BFL in Bohemian. The blue-purple-pink colourway is gorgeous and I’m pleased that there’s no unsightly pooling.

Hopefully I should be able to finish the sleeves shortly and then I’ll be on the prowl for the perfect buttons. Hopefully I’ll find just the right ones before Leah outgrows the cardigan!

Tags: 100purewool, elsie cardigan, knitting, laines magnifiques, monkey socks, windschief

• knitting
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14 January 2010

I’ve been on a bit of a baking kick all week, and this morning, when I woke up at the ridiculously early hour of 4:30, I decided to surprise everyone with freshly baked muffins for breakfast. I know, I’m awesome. (Exhausted though, to the point where I later joined Leah for a two-hour nap because I could no longer keep my eyes open.)

Truly, it was wonderful to be able to have the kitchen all to myself without working around Adam’s mostly helpful but sometimes distracting attempts to fully participate in the baking process and Leah’s mostly successful attempts to wreak havoc while I have my hands full of dough or batter.

Flipping through my cookbooks, I settled on Zucchini Spelt Muffins from Vegan Brunch, as I quickly determined that it was one of the few recipes for which I had all the ingredients available.

I’ve made these muffins before and the results were, predictably, incredible. I added the optional cup of raisins since everyone here loves the added sweetness. Adam declared them “delicious” and insisted on taking one for his afternoon snack to kindergarten this afternoon (he even wanted to take one for his teacher).

Once the sun came out this afternoon, I figured I now had a good chance of getting some halfway decent photos of the muffins, and since I had hoped to spend a good chunk of time with an iced coffee and my knitting, I set up my little photoshoot to capture my afternoon plans.

The first shot looked good, but I decided to take another.

What’s that in the top left corner? A finger?

Whose hand is that? And what is it doing on my muffin?

Um, Leah. What are you doing?

Leah quickly tried to shove as much muffin as she could possibly fit inside her mouth.

Busted!

A less-than-stellar photo of the now decimated (yet still delicious) muffin.

Tags: leah, vegan brunch, zucchini spelt muffins

• baking , life
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8 January 2010

As you can see, Leah and her doll are very much alike.

At least during those rare times that Leah deigns to take a nap.

Tags: doll, leah

• life , sewing
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5 January 2010

Given that we’re now five days into 2010, it appears that my first resolution should have something to do with being on time. Sigh. I blame being sick. And suffering from a severe lack of sleep.

On the bright side, I think I’ve now narrowed down my resolutions to a manageable list:

• Transition from a strict vegetarian diet to a vegan one (no more honey for me or the occasional latte-made-with-cow’s-milk).
• Shop from the stash when it comes to yarn and fabric, whenever possible. I’m planning to make a major dent in my yarn stash this year and hope to  sort through my piles and bins of fabric in the coming weeks and plan out some projects.
• Work on increasing my level of activity (walking Adam to school every day is helping with this but I’d like to get back to working out more regularly, which has been challenging with Leah underfoot).
• Learn Korean. I doubt that I’ll ever achieve fluency but if I could communicate at even a kindergarten-type level I’d be pretty pleased. To that end, I’ve subscribed to KoreanClass101 for actual lessons, which I’m supplementing with various textbooks, and am watching dramas on Drama Fever.
• Read more. I used to be a voracious reader, but kids and work have cut into my lazy afternoons of curling up on the sofa with a cup of coffee and a good book.  Now that I think about it, this may be the year of the audio book, especially if I want to multitask and knit at the same time.

So I think that’s it for me, resolution-wise. We’ll see how things net out in December!

In other news, we’re settling into some new routines as we head back to school, work and managing life stuff this week, so you should see more posts from me soon. With photos!

Tags: 2010, happy new year, resolutions

• life
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24 December 2009

From our family to yours, wishing you all the best of the holidays!

Merry, merry!

Tags: christmas

• life
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