EZ Cardigan

Well I finally knitted up the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket. (EZ BSJ) It sure doesn't look like much before you sew up the (one and only) seam. Unfortunately, I'm going to frog this and start again:(
I wish I had read all the notes in the Wiki page and the BSJ group before casting on. I didn't realize that the sleeves were only 3/4 length and that it would be so tiny...as in newborn size. Ah well, live and learn.
So when I start again I will do a provisional co so I can make the sleeves as long as I want and also I will do an i-cord bind off that incorporates the seam as well so I don't have to sew it just like zigzagstitch does in her Toddlerized BSJ.
All that being said, I love how the colours of the Noro turned out.

some FO's

Just a few projects that I finally finished and posted pics. Everybody wanted slippers for Christmas so I got started on them and made a bunch! A cabled hat for a friends newborn baby. Ribbed 'boy' socks for G-kid #1. Striped knee-highs for G-kid #2 and a pair of cabled footies for my DIL.

GF

Gluten Free Maple Walnut Granola! Some GF oats, maple syrup etc... throw in some dried pear and dried grapes (yep, I mean raisins....just checking if you caught that!) and you have a bowl of deelish. Here's the recipe:

3c rolled oats (gluten free)
1/2c quinoa flakes
1/2c rice bran
1c walnuts, chopped
1/2c pumpkin seeds
1/2c sunflower seeds
1/4c veg oil
1/2c maple syrup (the real stuff)
1c raisins
1/2c dried pear, chopped
Mix all EXCEPT dried fruit in a big bowl...use a silicone spatula to stir. Spread in a large shallow pan (oil it a bit first) and bake at 300F for 20-25 min. Stir occasionally. Remove from oven and stir in pears and raisins. Cool completely before storing in a glass jar.
Serve with your fav milk: soy, rice, almond, goat or cow or over some yogurt!
I think it would be safe to say that you could sub chopped dried apples for the pears if you don't happen to have parents that very conveniently dried some of their pears for you:)

yesterday

Sun is shining; sky is blue. I'm sweaty, out of breath, shaky with wobbly legs and I feel GREAT!
I went running on one of my favourite trails . Well OK, it was a walk/run. OK, it was more of an ungraceful, lumbering crashing through the bush. LOL. I was sucking more wind than a gaping chest wound.
The last time I ran was in September in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver before becoming pregnant. My girls are now 4 months old and it's time to get moving! I've been on walks with their super buggy and a couple solo bike rides but running is what I prefer.
As for knitting, it's been simple things like slippers and a scarf. I manage to knit while nursing so that's a bonus!
oh yeah....we also went camping:)

I'm back...at least for now

Well it's been a while and I've sort of missed this. I've been pretty busy gaining weight and being lazy!
It's been a long haul but we did it! Without going into the details of the rather difficult pregnancy, we finally realized our dream.
Introducing Ayla (5 lbs 8oz) and Arwen (5 lbs 11oz) born April 29th.
Now I just need to loose the excess weight and get active again:)

Happy New Year 2011

Happy 2011 everyone! Hope everyone has a healthy, happy year.
My day so far has been a total waste! Slept until 1130! Wasted some time on the computer and then vacuumed the bedroom. Woohoo! Dpo I know how to live it up or what?!
My plan was to make a nice vegetarian Greek dinner and a cheesecake for Todd's birthday but so far this has not happened.
OK, I'd best get at it. Bye for now.

Autumn

I know the first official full day of Autumn is not until tomorrow but the day is sunny, crisp and cold just like it should be. The sky is a bright blue and the leaves are turning golden. Yesterday when I went for my walk, the leaves were gently falling towards the ground.....yet some had a kamikaze pilot approach to their demise and dive bombed to the end.
I made sure to take my bear spray with me therefore ensuring that I would not encounter a hungry bear trying to fatten up for winter. The only time you see one, really is when you forget to bring it along and you are far into the bush with not a soul around and only an old, deaf 17yr old Shep/Husky cross as your would be defender.
As for knitting....it's been a bit of a disaster. I recently stayed with 2 of my nieces and as a sort of Thankyou, I thought it would be nice to knit a little something for them. I bought some Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Worsted and got to work on a Waterfall Scarf. It was a quick easy knit but at the very end when you are supposed to "encourage" some of the stitches to drop, it just did not happen. If anyone has any ideas about how to encourage these stitches to drop I would appreciate it. I have tried EVERYTHING!! I tried talking nicely, shouting, cursing, cajoling, reverse psychology, bribing, begging, pleading......nothing worked! Grrrr. Now it looks like a plain (twisted) garter stitch scarf:( Not what I imagined at all.
As for the second scarf, I am attempting 198yds of Heaven........which undoubtedly will turn into 200m of Hell.
Happy Knitting and Happy Autumn.

Happy Canada Day!

What are your plans for today? Todd has gone to work but earlier he was building a stage to park the drums and amps on for tomorrow nights bonfire/jam session. A few friends, some appies, bevies, live music and a fire! Should be fun....or at least until my grumpy neighbor shuts us down:(
So as for my plans today.....mowing the lawn, cleaning house and preparing said appies!
I am knitting some cute little boy socks from some Sisu. More on that later. Finished but not felted yet are these slippers:
Have a great day. I'm going to watch for fireworks later.

summer

happy flowers















warm woolies felted booties....yet to felt

Moose

I was tired this morning. Not sure why though. I got up a bit later than usual and while having my first cup of coffee, I went to check on my pumpkins. I planted about 12 of them. They are just in those little peat pot disks that puff up when you put them in water.....grow monkeys for adults:)
Anyway.....I looked outside to see these 2 moose calves trimming the willows.
I went outside to get a couple of shots but didn't see momma until I went back in.....ooops! She walked from behind where I had been standing. I went back out to get a pic of her too.......all the while being warned that she might charge! Yeahyeah! She didn't.

I am slowly working on my Jaywalkers. I picked up some Sisu to finish the cuffs. I think it matches quite nicely. However, I broke one of my Knitpicks Harmony DPN's! Boo Hoo:(

April showers

April showers bring May flowers....does that include SNOW SHOWERS???????
Brrrr....cold. I do have daffodils and rhubarb poking up:)
Had the bike out a few times already though to get groceries with my back-pack; and it's the easiest way to 'run' the dogs. They are sled-dogs and do not WALK, heel or any of that rot.
Todd & I went for a walk on Friday afternoon and he didn't want to go on the same old boring trail so he veered off and I (of blind faith) followed.
I was not prepared for bush-slogging and consequently ended up with two soaking wet (cold) feet. The trail was OK but it petered out and we ended up on the edge of someones property, which we skirted for a bit (more bush-bombing) as he was sure the trail would come out at such-and-such point! As it turned out we were way off course (surprise!). I am not a fan of stumbling around in the bush having no clue whatsoever! where we are.
I was glad to jump in the tub when we got back and Todd made me a nice cup of hot chocolate. OK, I forgive him:)
Just cast on Jaywalkers, but I am doing them toe-up because I don't have much yarn. It was from a swap, so I don't even know what it is.

March Madness

I made some mighty tasty muffins today that are gluten-free. Followed the recipe on the back of Bob's Red Mill 'Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal' except that I use brown rice flour instead of white because I think it is healthier and I can never follow a recipe to the T.
I used my new red silicone muffin cups that I got HALF PRICE!!! They work so well. The muffins just pop right out. Yummy.


I am experimenting with some gluten-free recipes so if anyone has a good bread recipe they would like to share......? The kind you could slice up and make a sandwich with:)
I am making some Mexican Taco Seasoning mix by adapting a recipe I got from a cookbook called Miserly Meals....by someone (sorry can't remember the author). It makes 15T which is the equivalent of 5 packets of store bought mix...which I don't like because of all the additives and stuff.
Currently knitting up a pair of ankle socks for a RAK (random acts of kindness group) gift. Can't share any details just yet. Will post pics and details once the have been gifted. What fun.
I received my first RAK yesterday from Buzzyratt. It was the Green Thumbs pattern. Can't wait to get just the right yarn to start them.

Recent stuff

I am truly sick of people at work not adhering to the Fragrance Free policy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tired of not being able to breathe properly. Wasting my hard earned cash on meds! Grrr.
OK, 'nuff of that. Besides, I've vented about that before.
Current FO's: a cute bulky yarn headband and a pair of Briggs & Little Heavy socks.
Current wips = One row lace scarf and Catch me if you can socks.
Newest purchase: Flusi sock yarn! So cute and pink.
Fav lunch @ the mo: Miso soup:)
Recent activities: Ran a 6 km trail the other day with one of the dogs (the hyper-nut). It was a good run....old trail made newer, longer by someone. Did a great job.
Hiked to Livingston Springs on Sunday. We were going to snowshoe but the trail was so good and packed that they were not needed. The trail is about 4km each way.
The water is about 10C so the plant life grows year round. On the way home we saw 4 Trumpeter swans in the Crooked River!

February already!

Where did all the time go since Christmas??? Work I guess. LOL.
I've been doing some knitting of course. Been pretty active with
xc-skiing too. Running...not so much. Did some runs though with a
couple of the dogs.
Had a bit of the flu....despite having TWO flu shots. It was the type
where you lose 5lbs at one sitting (so to speak...haha) So that knocked me off my feet for a few days:(
Now, two of the g-kids are in town visiting so we went on a walk in "the jungle" with one of the dogs. They did really well...especially the 3yr old.....probably did 3km. I called her my little pumpkin, though she insisted she was a BIG pumpkin until she wanted to be carried. Then she was a LITTLE pumpkin.....LOL
In the middle of making Pumpkin/choc chip muffins with cinnamon...YUM

Lately...

Been pretty busy lately with work, snowshoeing and xc-skiing. Now that we have enough snow I try to get out there at least every other day with the skis or snowshoes. We had a bit of a cold snap that kept me in....but when it warmed up to -24C I was out there again. Yeah, I'm crazy! LOL.
Todd had the dogs out with his Red-Green sled aka Tim the Toolman sled. When the season is early or the trails are not established yet, he uses his home-made contraption to run the dogs instead of the fancy dog-sled. Saves wear and tear.
Had a few items to finish off for Christmas gifts. I love this Birthday Cowl I have made three now. Here's a pic of the latest one and also last minute gift for a couple of sweet girls.

Finally

Finally my friend has given birth! Nov 14th, 8 lbs 9 1/2 oz! Not a little girl. When I first found out way back in February I decided to make a little cardigan and matching hat. Now that she is here I finally sewed on Pink buttons...to frou-frou it up a little.
I made this cute bag to put it in......directions here

and finally.....I finally got my flu shots!

Nov 1

Nov 1 marks the day I started running again...yay me! Finally after a summer of injuries I can finally strap on my Saucony's and get out there! I took one of the dogs and did a short (3k) run through the fields on the way to the mailbox. Once on the trail I let him off the leash so he could really run without dragging me behind or yanking out my arm. Just before the old horse field I noticed a tree down with the bark scraped off and moose (...or deer?) prints all around. Wow, nice! They made it through hunting season:) Just around the bend, we spooked the moose (OK, so they weren't deer) and her TWO calves. The dog took off running but he came back almost immediately when I called to him. I really didn't want that moose mama to be chasin' me down so I hooked him back up again.
When I got back I decided to take a different dog to some different trails. She's about 16yrs old so a bit slow and pokey but she still can run and jump. Anyway, we were almost to the end of the trail when I came across so rather large bear prints. They looked to be about a day old but even so, I decided I should probably have my bear spray in hand rather than neatly tucked into my backpack. After struggling with the clip on my pack, fumbling with the zipper, pushing my mail and newspaper out of the way and finally grabbing the spray with my mittened hand, I thought it was a good thing those prints were old 'cause I would have been dinner by now:(
Last month I knitted my first toe-up socks. They turned out pretty good so I made another pair. Also made a few hats for Knit-for-kids...still working on those so I'll post some pics later.

Apples to Zucchini

Just found this Dee-Lish salad recipe that, conveniently, uses up those ubiquitous zucchini. It is from Backpacker Magazine's book called 'More Backcountry Cooking'. It is meant to be dehydrated and later reconstituted in camp but it is good just to make and eat Now!
Shred 1 Large but not gigantic Zucchini, 1 Large Apple and combine them in a bowl with 1/4c Lemon juice and 2T sugar.
This recipe looks to be very adaptable....I might add some shredded carrots, maybe some raisins and some hot sauce or toasted nuts......
Just taking some Zucchini Spice Muffins out of the oven....yum. Gotta go have one with a cup o' java.

Apples!

Yum! Apples! Don't they look beautiful? I have lovely colourful bruises to match! My own fault completely. Always make sure your ladder (or the one you borrowed...LOL) is placed on solid, stable ground or it will tip over and you will land (hard!) on your back/butt/shoulder etc. Trip to ER found me un-broken but in need of some Toradol and some T-3's.
I am going to make applesauce, fruit leather, apple-crisp and maybe some canned apple pie filling.
Thanks to D for the apples and K for the ladder:)

what a day!

What a productive day today has been (especially compared to yesterday which was just a stupid day all around...basically all I got done was the lawn)! Got up a 6a.m.....got coffee going (organic fair-trade ethical bean 'Lush Sumatran....very yum!), made 4 loaves of whole wheat bread, took the dogs for a run with the bike, made a huge Kale salad....picture shows only 1/4 of it....pumpkin date muffins, Sarah's Hot Greek Salad, Meat Free BBQ Balls (from my new fav site have cake, will travel) also Pumpkin Fauxsage from the same site, a huge Rosemary Garlic Foccacia (already ate some...good but a bit salty...will reduce salt on top next time) from rebar cookbook, did all the laundry and now I am just waiting for the veggies to finish roasting so I can throw together a Lasagne! MMMMMMMMMMMM. I was going to make Polenta, Seitan Chorizo crumbles, and Crispy Seitan Bacon but those will have to wait for another day.
Went to knitting group at Starbucks...had a coffee when I should have had a Decaf!! Oops. Took an Opinion Poll about my Darkwood cardi and am now satisfied that I can continue along according to the pattern...Yay! Thanks gals.