Knitting In The North

FO: Earflap Hat

 

 

 

With snow about to fly (there were flurries in the air this morning!  Flurries!  Isn't it still September?), it's time to get these kiddies ready for the cold.  Gwenyth is slightly put out with me this year because her winter coat is blue (what an ridiculous mother I am, when Gwenyth is clearly a girl, and practically a princess, no less); I've attempted to redeem myself with a pink & purple hat.  She seems happy, although she doesn't have to wear the blue coat yet - we shall see how it goes.

 

Particulars:

Pattern - Ear Flap Hat (scroll down for pattern)

Yarn - Debbie Bliss SoHo, 2 balls

Needles - 5.5mm

Size - 2-4 years

Notes/Modifications - I jiggled the numbers a bit, to make this a bit bigger than the 2-4yr size, but a bit smaller than the 6-8yr size.  Seeing how it fits, I probably could have gotten away with knitting the larger size, but keeping the length for the smaller size.  I have knit the Thorpe hat before, and I think I like that pattern better than this one - the earflaps on Thorpe are less pointy, and joining them to the hat was simpler.  I also added a single row of crochet around the whole edge of this, a la Thorpe, which seemed to neaten up the edges, and soften the pointiness of the earflaps.  Still, I'd call it a successful Finished Object; this is a pink & purple wool hat, after all, and that's nothing to sneeze at (unless you're allergic to wool, that is).

Preparing for Winter

 

 

 

 

There are so many things that need to be done at this time of year, and it all needs to happen Right This Very Minute!  We've been busy for the last week gathering our winter's supply of firewood, and yesterday, made a day of splitting and stacking the whole bunch.  (That is a rented gas-powered log splitter, in cast you don't know.  The orange lever moves that big splitting maul, letting us split the whole bunch of logs in one busy morning, instead of days and days with an axe.)

 

 

 

 

This is one job that I love.  I love it.  I love going out to the woods to cut the logs; I love running the splitter; I love using my body in the fresh, crisp air; I love the whole family pitching in together; I love feeling like we're ready for snow to fly. 

With temperatures only a few degrees above freezing today, this job was a priority, and today - I love that it's done. 

 

 

 

 

 

There is Too Much, Let Me Sum Up

With the arrival of the official first day of fall, I feel like I should touch on the summer lists that have been important around here over the summer (which is really over now.  Really?  Already?).

My summer knitting list - ahem.  What can I say?  I knit not a single thing from the list all summer long!  I'm not sure why, really.  One item was started and then frogged, but I still like the pattern & plan to knit it one day.  Another was cast on, but put aside for other, more important projects.  Sorry, Ali - maybe next year I'll do better!

What was a big success, though, was our Summer Things To Do list.  Although I estimate we actually did just over half of the items on it, this list served it's purpose of keeping us mindful and intentional during our schedule-free days.  It was great to see the kids turn to the list when the "I'm bored"s were ready to strike, and we all found satisfaction in marking something "complete".  We will definitely make this an annual practice in our home! 

How about you?  Did your summer go as planned?  

Ahhhh... Refreshment

Ginger ale is a big hit around here.  It's one of those products that I often buy, and until recently, never considered making some of my own.  I know there are several versions of homemade ginger ale, many of which are fermented, but just like our small step into soap making, I wanted to start with something very simple.  More chance of success that way, I think, plus I don't make a huge time/money investment into something that might just fall completely... flat.

Here's what I did:

• Peel & slice 2 cups of fresh ginger (about 1/4" - 1/8" thick)
• Put ginger into a pot with 2 cups of water & 2 cups of sugar
• Cook, without boiling, until syrupy (ours took about an hour and a half)
• Fish out all the bits of ginger with a slotted spoon, or strain syrup into another container, reserving the ginger.
• Coat reserved ginger with sugar, and put on a cookie sheet into a low (225 degrees here) oven for about 3 hours

At this point, you have two ginger treats, which makes my frugal, waste-hating heart very happy.  Eat the candied ginger whenever you have an upset stomach, or feel like a gingery snack.  (I'd like to try dipping it in melted chocolate, myself.)  To use the syrup, pour about 1/4" into the bottom of a tall glass, and fill with tonic water.  Stir & enjoy!

My crew finds the candied ginger a bit hot, although I'm quite enjoying it myself.  Subsequent conversations with friends have suggested that I might substitute honey for sugar in the syrup, which I'd like to try next time.  I'm not really a "wing it" kind of gal, and I tend to follow any recipe as exactly as I'm capable of doing the first time around (and often every time thereafter).

A bonus with this recipe (as if the candied ginger wasn't enough!) is that the house smells fabulous the day you prepare this!

One Last Taste

 

With me working weekends, taking a family camping trip was something that didn't look like it was going to happen this year.  Earlier this summer, we sold our old tent trailer, and I figured that going camping (something I LOVE beyond reason) would have to be missed this season.

I didn't take into account my husband's super bargain-hunting skills, though, and he found us an amazing deal on the exact piece of camping equipment we were hoping for.  We had planned to purchase a trailer next year, to take out to Ontario and visit all the family there, but this one was just waiting for us.  Naturally, we had to take it out, just for an overnight.  In a short time, we packed in a bit of hiking, a decent campfire complete with s'mores, and a chilly early morning by the river.  One last taste of summer for us all - bliss!

FO: Log Cabin Washcloths

  

I really hate having leftover yarn at the end of a project.  In a perfect world, I would buy exactly enough yarn, and the pattern would use every last scrap out, without any fear of running out at the end.  Since this world is amazingly far from perfect, I had a whole bunch of leftover yarn when I finished the Little Bubbles Baby Set.  Fortunately, this great washcloth pattern came along from The Purl Bee. 

 

Particulars:

Yarn - Leftovers of Knitpicks Comfy Sport, in Marlin, Sea Foam, Ivory & Jalapeno

Pattern - Log Cabin Washcloths

Needles - 3.25mm straight needles

Notes & Modifications - Because of the change in gauge for this project, the cloth as written came out a bit small.  I got around this by adding a fourth strip of log cabins, but you could also knit each stripe for a few more garter ridges.  This was an awesome mindless, take anywhere project.  The design is sweet & vintagey, but so simple to follow.  Plus, garter stitch can be so soothing, anyway.  These washcloths had me just a bit obsessed, until I ran out of yarn on the third one.  I'm already thinking what a great gift these kind of cloths would make - with some homemade soap, perhaps?

 

 

   

Summer's End

Today is the first day of school here, which made yesterday our sweet last day of summer.  We spent it hanging out with family, and then took a nice little hike into the forest.  The air was fresh and cool, with a distinct whiff of autumn. 

Stuart grabbed the chance for a new kid photo, and then got some awesome individual shots.  I have a collage frame I picked up at Ikea on our trip to Vancouver earlier this summer, and I've already uploaded and ordered some prints to frame - a simple way to hang on to these quickly fading warm days. 

FO: Baby Sophisticate

  

My handsome boy is fast becoming a toddler, causing my heart to break in the sweetest possible way.  Every day, it seems that he's learned something new, or become more confident with one of his little tricks!  For a big boy like this, a big boy autumn sweater was definitely in order.

Particulars:

Pattern - Baby Sophisticate, by Linden Heflin

Yarn - Knitpicks Comfy Bulky, Planetarium, 3 balls

Needles - 5.5mm Denise Interchangeables

Notes & Modifications - I started knitting the 6-12 months size, but quickly realized that even with the change in gauge, I needed a bigger sweater.  I added about 4 extra increase rows before dividing off the sleeves, and I'm quite happy with it.  Liam is a little squirt, though, so for your average 1 year old, I would certainly plan to increase even more.  I made the body & sleeves proportionately longer, and still didn't run out of yarn (hooray!).    

I'm just as pleased with this yarn after a second full project with it - it is soft & squishy, and it really doesn't hurt to have something machine washable for this grubby little boy.  The buttons were a result of the Great Button Sort here last month - we have no proper fabric store in our community, and buttons always cause me a bit of trouble.  What a relief to find five buttons in the correct size, biding their time for the right project.

All in all, I'd say this pattern is a winner - do give it a try if you need a cozy warm layer for a little one in your life.

 

 

Soapy Goodness

The kiddies & I decided to spend an afternoon this past week trying out a melt & pour soap kit we picked up at a garage sale a little while back.  The whole process couldn't be simpler, and was a great activity choice, as it was fun whether you were 4, 7, 11, or 32.

I cut up a big chunk of glycerin, meltable soap and put it in a pot.

Once it was liquid, we added about a half dozen drops of scented oil, and a few chunks of soap dye.

The kids each chose a couple of molds, and I poured the pretty smelling green liquid in.  They pressed some dried flowers into the back of a couple, for a "fancy" effect.

A short play-time later, the soap was ready to come out of it's mold, and we all admired our pretty handiwork.

 

One of these days, I plan to make some soap the longer way, but for now, this was unanimously a satisfying way to spend a quiet afternoon!

FO: Little Bubbles Baby Set

I've been thinking for the past little while that I should really change the name of this blog - although we do lots of fun (and hopefully, interesting) stuff, there hasn't been a whole lot of knitting going on lately!  Today, though, you get the real deal.

As soon as I saw this pattern in the Knitpicks catalogue, I knew I had to try it.  Someone from Stuart's work was expecting, so I had the perfect opportunity to try it out.  What a fun knit!  This is most likely something I will knit again, especially for another little boy - there seems to be a dearth of good baby boy patterns out there.

 

Particulars:

Pattern - Little Bubbles Baby Set,  Knitpicks

Yarn - Knitpicks Comfy Sport, 1 ball each of Ivory, Planetarium, Sea Foam, Marlin & Jalapeno

Needles - 3.25mm

Size - 0-6 months

Notes - I made no modifications here, just followed along blindly.  This was packaged as a kit, so I didn't get to pick out the colours myself, and I'll admit I really don't like the sea foam in there.  It's okay, I guess, and polling knitting friends (and random strangers) tells me that no one else sees this problem, but it still bothers me a bit. 

There was enough going on with the pattern to keep me entertained at all times, what with the easy top-down action, the bubble stitch, and the one-row stripes.  I did check out this tutorial for the bubble stitch to smooth my way, and found it very helpful. 

I was pretty skeptical of the yarn at first (it's a 75/25 cotton/acrylic blend), but was pleasantly surprised.  The initial feel is super soft, and the yarn lived through a bit of ripping and re-knitting without falling apart into a pilly mess.  (I liked this yarn so much, I ordered more to knit Liam's fall sweater!)  The hat is very sweet, but left me wishing I had taken the time to learn how to knit jogless stripes - definitely a technique I need to pick up before I do this one again. 

The baby this is intended for made a surprise arrival (two weeks early) on Saturday, which left me grateful I had actually done the knitting in July.  I did need to quickly sew on buttons, but it's all good.  And there's nothing like a 5 1/2lb (but healthy & happy) baby to make you glad you knit sweet little things!