The Latest Toughs....

I'm going to shrug 'em off. That's going to be my motto heading into 2009. My only resolution will be to spend more time crafting and baking. That is why I only work a four day work week, so that I can focus on more "me" time. I spend all week taking care of other people and that is the day i need for all things creative. Today I spent the day, with the boys I take care of, singing and dancing and it was a great reminder to be more grounded and positive when it comes to life and what it throws at us.

This last month and half have been so inspiring and I don't want it to stop, just because winter does! I have a bad habit of putting down the knitting needles as soon as it stops being cold, but I'm pushing, or rather urging myself to sew and knit straight through to the next fall/winter! I'm also going to encourage myself to become social again and find other vancouverites with similar crafting ideas. But most importantly I want to continue to wake up on weekends with the urge to sleep in, but an even stronger desire to drag myself out of bed and finish the current project and start on the next one. As long as my husband continues to surprise me with soy lattes just the way I like them, I think I'll do just fine....

Merry after xmas!

We survived another one, with a very quiet christmas that was almost blissful (if we didn't miss our families so much). We got so much and so little done in the small amount of time, and it was all worth it. I made tourtiere for the third christmas eve in a row and was so happy with the turn out, and I'm pretty sure my guests did too ;-)I finished another neck warmer and am in the process of finishing another hat for my husbands co-worker. I attempted my first hat fix with earflaps, but I'm still unsure of the fit. I love how easy the earflaps are, but will stick to doing a whole hat with that technique rather then attempt to sew them onto an already finished hat. Now that we're heading into the New Year, I'm going to start stock piling as many hats for the next fall/winter and encourage myself into the etsy world. Wish me luck! here is the neck warmer made with organic cotton in Ivory:

dreaming of an un-white christmas....

Snow is here by the bundles and wreaking havoc on all things christmas. We're trying hard to get out of the city and to the in-laws, but it's looking like a no-go. I feel alright, as I stocked up on wool and organic cotton to knit and now all we need is some food and drinks and leonard cohen on the radio! okay...so maybe some of us aren't looking at things this way, but I'm hopeful. I've already survived a trip to the island and back and loved seeing my family, so i'm content. I now have five days to work my fingers into a tizy and catch up on some reading, and try not to think about how wonderful it would have been to be in the okanagan :(

Here are some of the projects I've finished. I'm still unsure of straying away from the earthy tones I love so much, but these are gifts for the family, so I thought I'd give them some perk. Merry Christmas eve and happy crafting into 2009!

i'm dreaming of a knit christmas

So close to the holidays and getting ready with all my knitted and sewn gifts.  Here are few of my recent projects...neck warmers and knitting bags!  More to come.

happy holidays *

a room with a view

My hats are in New York! I posted a link to Unis New York and I'm really happy to see they made it safe and sound and to welcome arms!

I came across these "knitted poufs" in the weekend globe and mail and was super excited to see knit furniture! It's amazing how great these looks as I can't see any other pieces of furniture looking good hand knit, the only other "piece" of furniture I can remember seeing was a cushion my grandmother made for her dining room chairs. These I love! but guess what the prices is?....$800!! and that's for the medium (the large is twice the price!) it's from a store in Canada and the US called DWR (design within reach)...*cough* i think my arms are too short to reach for that price. What a great idea though?

golden dears.

I had been hoping to post following a few days of knitting and crafting with friends, but it's harder and harder to organize an evening with fellow crafters! I know there are several circles and craft nights, but after a long day of work it's so hard to leave the house! A close friend from the island came over and we had the nicest night, just knitting and catching up (and inspiring me!) that it reminded me how much I miss living in a smaller city and being close to friends with common interests.

My hats for myself for the winter have been turning out beautifully and i'm onto the wrist and arm warmers, but the one i was making for my husband has turned out to be quite the challenge! I've been knitting with bigger gauge needles for so long now, that it's so hard to knit so tight and so small! I'm hanging up that towel and hoping he comes around to bigger stitches! I'm also looking for inspiration for the knitting bags.

I'll leave you with a great site for links to every knitting pattern you ever wanted!

www.knittingpatterncentral.com

Hats off to Brooklyn!

My babies are gone! I sent them off yesterday and they are currently to friend's place in Brooklyn. I'm excited, but also nervous about this all. What if no one likes them? What if no one buys them? We'll see in short time!

They are going to be selling at www.unisnewyork.com, (thanks K!) and hopefully in January I'll start up an etsy shop. That's my goal right now! I made a striped one out of my left over colours and am now making matching wrist warmers! I'm also making pillow covers for the cushions in our living room. My husband covered our wood tv stand with an image he took on the South Beach trail in Tofino(he works in print) and I'm trying to tone down the colours in that room to more neutral and earth based. Seems like those are the colours I'm drawn to lately! Lots of greys, browns, ivories, greens and black. Will I ever stray??

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Live Creatively

It's late (for me) but I wanted to share with this new site I came across. I'm was looking for a sewing pattern/idea for creating a knitting bag to carry all my accessories conveniently and in my (internet) travels, this is what I found. I'm going to have to spend my entire day off exploring the site, but so far I'm addicted!

http://www.livingcreatively.com.au/

enjoy!

label me.

I could not, for the life of me, think of a label name, so i just went with what i know. My husband designed the labels and used a print of his that I love, and it makes me feel pretty special that he would let me use it! So here they are and I absolutely love them! Hope you like them, can't wait to see them with my knits! Now I just have to go out and find a craft punch to get those tiny little holes. They are the pretty tiny and will look really nice pinned on with embroidery floss.

On another note, I'm finding the long hours of work and trying to get things done a little exhausting, but it's all worth it. Now if only I could figure out how to do this as my main source of income! I need to get rid of the exhausting part (work) and have more time for the fun part (knitting)!

Thoughts?

12 down 3 to go...and a new bed.

I'm listening to emmylou harris and neil young sing "wrecking ball" and finishing the hats...slowly.  This was the song we finally decided on for our "first dance" as a newly married couple, and I can't beleive it took so long to find it!  I've started (and stopped) two more hats, different homemade patterns for both myself and my husband, hoping to warm into winter, but they'll come when I'm finally finished these hats.   I've added some pictures so you can see what I'm up to!

On another note, we actually bought our first real bed!  Okay, okay, it's still from Ikea, but I really feel like this one isn't going to fall apart on us and give us a good nights sleep, which we could really use!   Also, I really want to start a knitting/crafting night here with some ladies, but it's so hard to coordinate and the ones that are happening aren't really that close to my neighbourhood, so I'm kind of using this blog as my own ladies night.  Please comment with any projects you are starting! 

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend and likes the hats! xo

wooly hats...x15

I'm so close to being finished the hats, and someone said to me today "you must be sick of them by now" and you know what? I'm not! It's been so motivating having these hats to knit, with a deadline, that it's forcing me into creativity. I don't really feel like I have any time right now, but in the end it will be worth it. I'll photograph what I have done in the next day or two and give you a peak.

On another note, the crock pot birthed us turkey and wild rice chili and it was delicious. the recipe for this one is as follows:

1 pound turkey breast tenderloin or
skinless, boneless chicken breast,
cut into pieces (i used ground turkey)

1 15.25-ounce can whole
kernel corn, drained

1 15 ounce Red Kidney Beans, drained

2/3 cup uncooked wild rice
rinsed and drained

2 4-ounce cans diced green
chile peppers, undrained
(i used herbed diced tomatoes)

1 med onion, chopped

1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin

few dashes bottled hot pepper sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14-ounce cans chicken broth

1 1/4 cups water

In a 4-5 quart slow cooker combine turkey, corn, beans, wild rice, tomatoes, onion, chili powder, cumin, hot pepper sauce, and garlic. Stir in Broth and Water. Cover and cook on low-heat setting 7-8 hours or on high-heat 3 1/2 - 4 hours.

Enjoy! Tomorrow is garlic and artichoke pasta.

One New Crock Pot and One Less Book

We have slow cooked meals! I went out with my list yesterday, and it turned out that both things took quite a bit of deciding. The crock pot was a hard one, as I knew we wanted one, but what was the right choice in a sea of crock pots that all cost relatively the same amount? I ended up grabbing the Original Crock Pot (with digital timer and heat setting) and am pleased to say it works amazingly well (it was on sale - and I'm always weary of why). I started with a Rosemary chicken stew and the house filled quickly with this scent for hours, and this baby is now a welcome addition to the family.

The book on the other hand - did not turn out so well. As soon as I got to the hobby and craft section there it was, staring straight at me. I opened it with great excitement and quickly realized that it was filled with pages upon pages of words! Don't get me wrong, I love to read! but when it comes to cooking and crafts - I want pictures! I like my pages laid out in colours, textiles, patterns, recipes and with a little wording. I think what I envisioned was a book that combined all things domestic in recipe and pattern form with simplicity, but that was not how it turned out, and at $40 (CAD) I wasn't convinced it was a good purchase. Maybe someone can get inspired to combine a book with all these things?? PLEASE! So off to the knitting section I go to find a replacement. Another sea of choices! I quickly realized I was cutting into crock pot and knitting time so I grabbed some cooking magazines and headed home.

I should say that another reason I started this blog was to track my current dive into the knitting and crafting sections of my life. I made a hat (a tam of sorts) a year back, with no set pattern and just an idea to roll with, and in the end handed it to a friend. Well, said friend moved to New York, and works in a shop there, where her boss and co-workers loved the hat. So I was asked to knit 15 hats in three colours in 3 weeks! It's a true test of feat! and my love for knitting, so I'm happy to oblige, even if this turns out to be a one time thing. You will hear more of this adventure along the way.

The St(art) of Domesticity

I'm starting this blog to keep track of all my knitting, cooking, baking and sewing....and more (whatever that entails!) I'm stepping out this morning with a starting point of a few key things. One would be the crock-pot to save our lives (or at least an hour each day after work) and a new craft book http://yarnstorm.blogs.com/knitblog/my-book-in-the-usa.html(to inspire me during those extra few hours that the crock-pot gives me each day). This blog will be my record of whether these two things will save me....and inspire me, or leave me pretty much in the same spot I started in (with less $$) - hopefully not the latter!