daisyfaye

Mid-Fall 2010

2010-11-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe, but it's been a whole season since I've last posted. From mid-summer to now mid-fall, we've had a mini- summer get-away, the start of a new school year, visits from dear old friends, ongoing renos to the home, family health issues, and a laptop trauma. Needless to say, very little has been accomplished in terms of knitting, so there's been very little "down" time lately. However, as fall is my fave season of the year, it wouldn't be right without pulling out the camera to capture and share the beautiful vibrant colours of our street, especially when my D reminds me that I should put up a post on the blog.

My K (20 months) is now doing everything in her power to get her way and keep up with her brothers!

D is now outgrowing all his clothes and thinks he's starting to look like a teenager! Already??!!? And my cautious R is still our "old soul" who's chosen his new bedroom downstairs, amidst the partially completed reno, based on its proximity to the bathroom! That's our forward-thinking R!

Iona Beach

2010-08-09T01:09:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, we visited Iona Beach Regional Park, not your typical park with the children's playground equipment, but a park that includes a four kilometre jetty which is really a giant sewage pipe that transports cleaned poo and pee back into the ocean. You see, the park is situated right beside the Iona Sewage Treatment Plant. Surprisingly the boys weren't too thrilled or impressed with the whole idea of walking on top of such a pipe, but they had fun throwing rocks into the ocean. They also had fun picking blackberries (especially the husband) and exploring the beach. D enjoyed beachcombing while R came up with some imaginary fun with the sand. K just wanted to eat all the blackberries and run into the ocean! We'll definitely come back to this unique park, as it is also a great place to ride your bike, walk, go birding (as it is home to over 300 species of birds) and watch the planes land and take off (as the Vancouver International Airport is situated right next to the park).

Mid Summer 2010

2010-08-01T02:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures of our summer so far...

Into Socks Lately

2010-04-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

Some finished objects to show you finally!!! I may be a master at starting projects, but I have to admit finishing is not a forte. Here is a pair of Trekking XXL socks (in slipped-stitch rib) that I was giddy about getting off the needles a couple weeks back. I've been wearing them around the house and just love the look and feel of them! But it ONLY took three years to finish them, having been on vacation with us twice! Here is the enthusiastic post about starting these socks three years ago.

However, I am working on completing more projects this year. I also finished R's Kool-Aid bed socks recently. I randomly dyed the yarn just for fun last year and didn't really have any project in mind until the idea came up for R's socks, as he likes wearing socks to bed. I'm happy to say these crazy, striped socks just took a couple of days from start to finish.

What We Did After School Yesterday

2010-04-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

Not too far from our home is a favourite spot of mine in the city, the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens. So... since I had a day off from work yesterday, I decided that it would be a good day to go on a special after school outing. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens is not a big garden like the Van Dusen Gardens, but it's big enough for encountering and exploring interesting plant life, pond life, and just wildlife in the urban setting. It's a nice change from the playgrounds and city parks. The boys enjoyed spotting the koi fish and turtles near the surface of the pond, analyzing the bamboo, seeing a blue heron in the weeping willow tree, and just being in such a beautiful, peaceful place amongst so many people in the middle of the city. I also don't think my three minded the short walk to the Chinese bakery nearby either, which also involved passing many toy and gift shops along Pender. We'll definitely have to make this outing a more regular part of our activities!

A New Technique

2010-03-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

So, now that I'm back at work and off maternity leave, knitting has slowed down even more. I've really enjoyed my year off with baby K and the family, without the worry of prepping for and going to work. However, I've had to accept that there's no more camping out in front of the tv, knitting, while baby naps and the boys are off at school. Now, I just sneak in a few rows here and there and late at night when the kids have all gone to bed.

Just before work started, I decided to try my hand at entrelac by knitting a hat. I chose the Greentrelac Beret pattern from Ravelry to learn the technique and I must say that it's a lot easier than it looks. In fact, it's downright addictive, especially when you have a fun yarn with long colour repeats. I've used Nashua's Wooly Stripes, currently on sale at Dressew here in Vancouver until it all sells out.

This turned out to be a snug cap for me, instead of a beret, as I cast on less than what was asked for in the pattern, but that's okay. If I were to make this cap again, I’d make the ribbing 1 inch longer and increase the CO to 72 sts or more instead of the 66 sts that I used to try for a slouchy beret. I also modified the top of the hat by continuing the entrelac tiers until I decreased to picking up 2 sts for each diamond. Anyone who's thought of trying this technique and haven't should really just jump right in, because it really isn't that difficult at all. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how simple it really is!

To Another Knitterly Year!

2010-01-06T11:25:00.000-08:00

A Happy New Year's to all! It's been a while since my last post, but reflecting upon the last twelve months, I'd have to say it's been an awesome knitting year! I've been able to finish a lot more projects this past year than I've ever been able to and get back into spinning. I joined sweetgeorgia's fibre club and made it to Gibsons' Fibrefest. I've enjoyed knitting for our new baby (cardis, socks, mary-janes, Pebble Vest) the boys (Kiddie Cadet hats and mitts), a niece and nephew (Boheme and Owl Vest), a sister (Give a Hoot Mittens), and friends (various mitts and hats--baby to adult). I still have quite a few unfinished projects around the house (mainly for me), but I'll slot them into my 2010 New Year's resolutions.

The last days of 2009 were spent making the comfort dolls above. They were inspired by a comfort doll that D received in the hospital when he was three after undergoing a tongue tie procedure. After I found the pattern and made one out of leftover worsted cotton (the one in the striped red shirt), I couldn't stop. These dolls are very addicting! If you have a stash as big as mine with a lot of partial skeins here and there, this is THE pattern for you to make some little person very happy! My boys even carry their doll off to bed with them.

Health and happiness to all and may 2010 be full of new adventure and opportunities!

Happy Hallowe'en!

2009-10-31T15:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Hallowe'en Everyone!

The forecast is for rain today, but it's been a beautiful sunny fall day here so far... We'll be doing a little decorating today, carving some of the four plus pumpkins that we have around the house, roasting some of the seeds, and going a trick or treating! The boys are pirate brothers this year. One of them was going to be a "DJ", but changed his mind last minute. Don't ask. I have no idea why the five-year-old wanted to be a "DJ".

Looking at Trees

2009-10-15T10:55:00.000-07:00

It was back to Van Dusen this past weekend to look at the trees! It was a glorious day to take in colors, feel bark, see wildlife and herons flying overhead, explore trees using a mirror and make leaf rubbings.

Progress on the Fall Cardigan

2009-10-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

Everyday, I hope to have a little time to work on my Peace Fleece Cardigan. But, sometimes, I'm hoping all day long....like Friday, when it travelled with me everywhere to the boys' school twice, Science World, and to my bedside, but I didn't knit one single stitch.

Progress may be slow, but it's still progress. Here's where I'm at.... I just need to finish a sleeve and a bit before adding a closure to the front.

The Magic of Fall at VanDusen

2009-10-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, the boys and I, along with K in the baby carrier, took in some gorgeous autumn colours at the beautiful VanDusen Botanical Gardens. We were lucky to participate in the family program, Plant Detectives: Seeds and Leaves. Although we've visited the Gardens in the past for Seedy Saturday and their annual Garden Plant Sale, it was D & R's first "real" trip INTO VanDusen, an educational garden where they learned how seeds travelled and how and why leaves changed colours at this magical time of year. The boys had the chance to explore and run around the 55-acre Gardens, and I'm happy to report that they had a great time, asking to return as soon as possible! VanDusen is a must-see, inspirational place with an amazing collection of plants and trees, animals, ponds, a maze, a waterfall, and a host of passionate educators for young and old alike! We can't wait to go back for our next visit!

On a scavenger hunt for seeds

Looking for "swimmer" seeds

My Favorite Month

2009-09-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

The first day of fall was yesterday, but I've already been celebrating the coming of fall for the past month or so, obsessively working on my Peace Fleece Fall Sweater, anticipating the start of school for the boys and going for acorn hunts whenever and wherever we spot oak trees.

The past two months have been a blur, for K's already seven months old! She's now eating solids-- rice cereal, oatmeal, and fruit and veggie purees. She's soo... on the verge of crawling, having no trouble rolling over from her back to all fours, moving forwards and back, as if to propel herself forward like a canonball! Utterly fascinated by our cats, K doesn't think twice about grabbing a fistful of fur if the cats happen to brush past her. We really have to watch her carefully so that she doesn't proceed to stuff her hands into her mouth! She's a "taster", something new to us, as D and R did not do this at her age. We'll have to be more vigilant about picking the Lego pieces off the floor. Above is a pic of K at six months. Last month, we had gone daytripping to Gibsons to check out the Fibre Festival and the surrounding area for possible future (camping?) visits.

And another milestone has passed, as our sweet R entered Kindergarten about two weeks ago! R's K class is all day, so it's been quite an adjustment, but he seems to be enjoying his teachers, the class, the new routine, the hot-lunch program, and even his homework!

Finally, as for D, he's happy to be back socializing at school after a summer of drawing increasingly detailed pictures and of reading Captain Underpants and the Magic Treehouse series.

Enticed by the Vision of a New Fall Sweater

2009-08-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Last month the spinning mojo was going strong, but this month, the spinning's taken a back seat to some obsessive knitting. Of course, all it takes is a bit of Ravelry time and the next thing you know, I'm going through my stash to see if I can cast on.... I'm so happy to be finally knitting with my Peace Fleece in the most gorgeous green shade, aptly named "Hemlock".

Summer 2009 So Far...

2009-08-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have been exciting and busy with a big visit from family overseas. My brothers, sister-in-law, and 14-month old twins, A and Z arrived just as the second (or is it the third?) heat wave hit Vancouver, so there were lots of outings that involved playing with water to cool down. We became tourists within our own city, visiting Stanley Park on more than one occasion--once to the water park and another to Second Beach Pool--one of the best places for family-friendly fun! Our local haunts, Trout Lake and Robson Park, were also well visited.

Stanley Park Water Park
cooling down in Trout Lake
cousins at play
nothing like sand to spark imagination
some r & r at Robson Park Pool

However, that's not to say that playing with fiber was forgotten.... I was actually forced to dig out and dust off the Ashford Traditional to be able to spin my July fiber, Summer Twilight from sweetgeorgia. My bobbin-lead Louet S10 kept breaking my spun singles with its overly aggressive "takeup" onto the bobbin, so I had to switch wheels. It was getting frustrating trying to spin thin on the Louet, and there was no way I was going to waste any more of my new yummy panda fiber (a blend of superwash merino, bamboo, and nylon) that I was aiming to spin in fingering weight.

So after a visit to Birkeland Brothers to purchase some extra bobbins, I'm now enjoying spinning on a wheel with Scotch tension, one with a lot gentler "takeup". I can spin a lot thinner and easier without the stress of breaking the single when joining fiber. Sometimes I wonder why I waited so long to use this wheel. It's a great wheel for a fairly new spinner, like me! Some photos will be posted as soon as I fill up a bobbin or two....

K is now 5 months!

In other exciting news, K is now well into her fifth month in this world! See how our sweet-natured, easy-going baby girl has grown! She's almost rolling over on her own and has the most deadly strong grip! K's exercising her legs as well, and goes into the Jolly Jumper at least once a day. It's never too early to start training when there are two competitive brothers to keep up with!

The Spinning Mojo is Back!

2009-07-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been really intent on spinning up and plying the Banana Pancakes from sweetgeorgia, carrying the wheel from room to room, so that I could maximize on all possible spare time. It's been a real treat to spin beautifully dyed fibre in such vibrant colours--a great motivation to practise and aim for greater spinning consistency in yarn weight, my "joins", drafting, etc... Here's my Banana Pancakes all spun up and twist set in 2-ply. Even my seven-year-old couldn't resist hugging the new skein of superwash merino handspun right after being wound up on the niddy noddy.

Picked Up Banana Pancakes

2009-07-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

In between party planning for D's 7th birthday last week, I managed to go pick up my June fibre from sweetgeorgia. I was pleasantly surprised to find some primarily bright, happy yellow superwash merino in the bag, aptly named Banana Pancakes. I'm not normally drawn to yellows since I don't usually wear this hard-to-wear colour for asians, but I'm curious to find out how this spins up colour-wise. I've spun merino before and just love it! It's super soft and easy to spin. I'll aim to spin it in a 2-ply worsted weight..... if I ever get to it, that is......Presently, I'm recovering from D's successful 7th birthday party which took place at a U-pick strawberry field and at a busy spray park with a group of little people and moms. A good time was had by all. It's hard to believe my first, whom we used to call "our little man" as a baby, has now been a part of our family for seven years! A gigantic happy birthday to our handsome, fun-loving D!

Baby K is Four Months

2009-06-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

We're now into the first week of K's fourth month! R just graduated from preschool yesterday, and D is wrapping up Grade One today. There's a lot to celebrate and a lot to be grateful for. D is about to have a birthday and we can hardly believe we've had him for seven amazing years! R is happy to be moving on to "big boy" school in the fall, so that he can be with his older brother and "hang" with his friends. K, she's just discovered her hands and feet, and is quite perplexed and entertained by these wonderful moving parts that will someday help her learn how to knit! However, to our surprise, she's also learned how to protest as loud as possible with her set of strong lungs and by arching her back in an attempt to slide off the chair in the above pic. It's enough to put a squeeze on the brain and rattle the eyeballs out of their sockets!

Gifted On Time

2009-06-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

This little set, completed in May, was delivered just two days before a friend's baby boy was born last week. Whew, just in the nick of time! Quite a hip and handsome set, I think, consisting of the Baby Sophisticate and Kiddie Cadet, both found on Ravelry for more ideas. Hopefully, I will be able to see it on baby.

Foundation All Spun Up and Plied

2009-06-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

The 4 ounces of sweetgeorgia BFL is now all spun up and Navajo plied. The yield: approximately 150 yards or 133 metres of squishy softness for... maybe.... fingerless mitts? Purty, isn't it? I think the colourway would have been even better with more deeper browns in it, but it's pleasing and calming to the eye nevertheless. It's also been so long since I've Navajo plied that I actually had to look up a tutorial to refresh myself! I think what that really means is that I have to keep up the spinning and plying.

This Girl Has a Voice

2009-06-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

Our happy K has a loud clear voice and knows how to use it! She is often the last one to wake up in the morning, and once she does, she doesn't cry or bawl to tell us she's awake in the bedroom, she calls us expressively with her tonal sounds, as though she is calling us to come over and change her diaper before she gets a rash. I don't think there will be a future need to learn baby sign language.

There's Some Spinning Going On.....

2009-06-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

I finally dove in and started spinning my BFL. It's soft and easy to spin, I'm happy to find, as it's my first time spinning blue faced leicester. I'm a bit rusty in my spinning, but the feel of it all comes back to you. I have no idea what drafting method I really use, but I know it's not Paula Simmons' one-handed draw for "softness and speed". I bought Paula Simmons' book, Spinning for Softness and Speed, but I just can't seem to get the hang of her method as useful and practical as it sounds with three kiddies around me. I'm way more comfortable drafting with two hands and do my best to limit the work done by the left hand-- the one that holds the bulk of the fiber mass. I also predraft in preparation for spinning to get the most even results.

Owl Mitts

2009-06-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

I know it's nearly summer and I just gifted mittens to my sister who came home for a visit to meet her new niece. She's currently living in Edmonton where it has snowed as recently as mid-May apparently . Anyhow, she loves her mitts, even though the eyes that I embroidered on them look a tad bit evil. Button eyes just don't seem to work for me on my knit owls.

This ultra cute pattern, Give a Hoot, designed by Jocelyn Tunney, was probably found one late night while on Ravelry in late February. I'm sure I started this little number the same week K was born. It was a great quick knit resulting in excellent fitting mittens. I used Paton's Classic Merino Wool in dark grey and just followed the pattern without any mods. Easy pattern, really, one not too stressful for the sleep-deprived, "baby" brain..... one that may be also put to use for many Christmas gifts in the future.

Time to Kickstart the Spinning Mojo

2009-05-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

Here's some beautiful blue faced leicester that I picked up from the talented sweetgeorgia more than a week ago. oh...so.... yummy!!!..... and the colors are just mesmerizing together ...hey, coincidentally, they're almost my blog colors too! The only problem is I can't bring myself to pull apart the braid and spin it!!! What to do!!!!

Maybe I'll have to give myself a bit more time to admire it, and think about what I might like to knit out of it first while re-setting up my spinning space... yep... gotta' think baby steps....!

Stay Calm

2009-05-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

When K started crying yesterday, R quickly ran over to rock her, calmly reassuring her that we were not aliens. And he meant it.......... not in a "ha-ha" sort of way, but "as-a-matter-of-fact", "honest-no-joke" sort of way! D, who overheard the conversation, just couldn't help but wonder if his brother is insane.

Sushi Picnic

2009-05-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

A sushi picnic at Kits Beach last night was in order for K's three-month-old birthday. The sun was shining and the playground way too distracting for the boys to eat their kappa rolls and tempura, but we all enjoyed our sushi and did our best to eat as much as we could without spilling too much soy sauce on our blankets and mats.

K is 3 months old!

This past month, K's been cooing, smiling, and trying to "talk" to us, manipulating her lips and tongue to produce as many different sounds as possible. She continues to enjoy imitating conversation. She, surprisingly, doesn't seem to be a big fan of taking baths though, crying at the top of her lungs through most of the bath as though we were torturing her. Could it be our technique, the feel of the water? She is our third child, after all. Whatever it is that bothers her about bath time, we just hope that it eventually changes. One good thing that's developed in the last little while is that she's been sleeping for longer stretches through the night. She falls asleep before 11:00pm or midnight, and I manage to get some uninterrupted sleep between 1am and 5:30am sometimes!!! Yaay, some peaceful knitting time before bedtime!

Above, K's finally modeling the cozy handspun, handknit EZ Best Baby Sweater that I knit before her birth. I super love this pattern and sweater, which I substituted stocking stitch for the gull lace pattern in the original pattern design, just in case K turned out to be a boy. See this post for details.

Out and About

2009-05-11T23:57:00.000-07:00

As the weather gets warmer and the days become sunnier, we've been trying to get out more-- to nearby parks, playgrounds, and even just our own backyard. In recent days, we've had the bikes out in the park and in the alley behind our house. The bubble wands and various bubble blowers have all been pretty popular on the back deck too. I'd really like to get out into the garden to attack the weeds, but these days, knitting always seems to win out as the more comforting activity after nursing baby.

And I finally took the time to start something for me -- a Liesl! I know, I said I wouldn't start any more new projects, but I've been meaning to try one of Ysolda's designs for some time now, as many of her designs are in my faves on Ravelry. Besides, I am using up stash yarn as justification. As many others have mentioned on Ravelry, this pattern is really very well written and easy to follow. I'm enjoying it so far and can't wait for it to be done and possibly modelled for you (if I'm up to it). If only I had more hours and stamina in the day...

Boheme Complete

2009-05-06T17:37:00.000-07:00

I'm on a roll.... here's another FO-- Boheme for my niece. It is a slightly modified Boheme though, as I substituted the gull lace pattern (from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Best Baby Sweater) for the tulip lace pattern in the original pattern. I think I've mentioned before how much I adore this gull lace pattern, which is quite bold and full of personality. Again, I've knit in Cotton-Ease for its easy care.

One Finished, Many to Go...

2009-05-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

So, I've made a conscious decision to finish more projects before starting any new ones today. I don't dare tell you how many UFOs I have around the house, but let's just show you one I finished today for my one and only nephew who just turned one.

This is the ever so popular Owl Baby Vest designed by Jodi Haraldson, which can be found on Ravelry. This was such a good knit that I couldn't put it down once I started it in the middle of April, and I was working on an equally fun knit (for the twin niece) at the time. Knit out of machine-washable Cotton-Ease, I lengthened the vest by about an inch and embroidered the owls' eyes instead of sewing on buttons to account for the nephew's age. Wouldn't this vest look dapper for a summer outing to the beach or park with just a plain white t-shirt underneath?

I'm still waiting to hear from the insurance people, so please excuse the less than stellar photography. It took forever just to capture this photo showing the color at its truest (to my eye, anyways). I had to dig out the seven-year-old point-and-shoot camera, so my posts wouldn't be photoless.

Great Finds

2009-04-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

On an outing to Daiso today, I was surprised to find some bamboo circulars and stitch holders in the craft section. As some of you may know, Daiso is primarily known as a department store sized Japanese "twoonie" or $2 store, even though there are items that are now above the $2 price point. Nevertheless, it's still a bargain to find bamboo circulars at $2 each when I just bought a circular needle at Dressew for $6. I have to warn you, however, that Daiso only had the 4.5mm and 6.0mm circs offered in 40cm and 60cm lengths at present. It seems that the needle section is never the same when I visit Daiso, so just pop in when you can, and you may be pleasantly surprised. They just might have a bigger selection of needle sizes tomorrow?! Be sure to also check the section that sells the containers to organize your meds. Daiso has these containers in all shapes and sizes, which make them fantastic organizers for stitch markers and other knitting notions.

I Really Want to Knit This

2009-04-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

So I was checking out one of my favorite sites, Whip Up, yesterday and came across this cool site that offered a pattern for a more sophisticated knit version of the bean bag chair. Now, is that cool and kid-friendly or what? I'm actually finding myself thinking about this pattern way too much, so much so that I'm thinking about how to fit in time in my schedule to purchase the 15mm needles and yarn substitute required to execute this project! I can really visualize this in a cozy reading corner somewhere in the house...

Baby K is Two Months

2009-04-27T15:45:00.000-07:00

There's been a whole lot of knitting going on here lately...... just no camera to take photos with to show you. Unfortunately, we had a break-in here recently and the thief got away with some of our beloved stuff, one specific item being the Olympus DSLR E-500 Evolt. It's slightly killing me here being without a camera while Vancouver is enjoying a stretch of great weather and some spectacular cherry blossoms down our residential streets. However, we're grateful that we weren't home at the time of the break-in, that we have home insurance, and that we managed to take some photos of K with the Olympus a day before she turned two months.

K, as you can see, is plumping up and weighed in at 10 pounds, 10 ounces on the day she turned two months. We're thrilled to report that she's becoming more alert and is starting to coo and smile a lot at us, especially if we talk back to her. We just know she is going to talk as much as her two older brothers, if not out talk them.

Boheme

2009-04-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

So, now that BSJ is off the needles and awaiting finishing, I've had to get something right back on the needles to capitalize on the knitting mojo-- nothing that takes up too much concentration, but nothing that's straight stocking stitch either, so here's the start of Boheme with some of my own mods.

A Newborn BSJ

2009-03-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

On the needles right now is the start of another Baby Surprise Jacket in fingering weight, possibly for a friend's baby due in the summer. I'm just lovin' the Addi-turbos while knitting up another ingenious Zimmermann design. The needles are so quiet when I'm able to knit after baby sleeps. I keep expecting to hear the click-clacking of the needles, but just don't.

Thanks To Cherry and Grape Kool-Aid!

2009-03-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

So, I eventually took a break from knitting baby socks after knitting up this last pair at the end of 2008, a pair I'm highlighting, because I knit it from yarn that I finally love after dyeing it twice!

The yarn started as Spunky Eclectic's undyed superwash wool sock yarn. Back in 2007, I experimented with acid dyes and handpainted a skein along with some fibre. Unfortunately, I didn't like how the colors came out on the skein, so I let it get buried in my stash and didn't do anything with it until this past November when I got this crazy urge to do some dyeing. So, I dug out the offensive sock yarn and the Kool-Aid packets and found my recycled containers to do some simple overdyeing. I wish I had a "before" picture of this skein, but lazy me didn't take one. Anyhow, on one end of the skein, I dip-dyed the skein (prepped and pre-soaked with cold water and a glug of vinegar) with two packages of cherry mixed with about a cup of water, and on the other end, with a package of cherry and a package of grape mixed with a cup of water. After dip dyeing and placing the colours on either end of the skein, I just pushed the entire skein into the dye jar to absorb every last bit of dye before heat setting in the microwave.

It's amazing how the vinegar helps the wool to just suck up every last bit of dye from the Kool-Aid liquid. (How anyone can ingest this "drink", after using this as a dye, is beyond me.)

After the skein came out of the microwave and air dried, the skein completely transformed from a loud, ugly mix of teal blue, navy blue, white, canary yellow, and grass green to a glorious mix of warm, autumn colors that blend well together. I don't think I'll ever be able to reproduce this skein again, but that's ok, I really love the serendipity of the dyeing process! I'll have to carefully choose the rest of my projects for this single yummy skein, but I'm thinking Jaywalkers or a baby sweater at this point... For now, I can enjoy the baby socks on K, which almost fit perfectly on her curling, tiny feet!

Our Baby Girl is a Month Old!

2009-03-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the one-month birthday of our sweet baby girl! Some things we've learned about her so far... She has a good appetite and is beginning to sleep longer stretches of time, especially in the mornings. Tummy time is a frustration for her, but her neck is getting stronger every day. She can be very alert at five in the morning, refusing to tire out and sleep. She cries the loudest when having her diaper changed at night and tolerates having two curious brothers who like to analyze, touch or kiss her.

And look at the display of affection between siblings that's become more and more common around here...

from another kind of affection that we're used to!

A Pair of Red Booties

2009-03-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

A pair of red Mary Janes is definitely in order with all K's hand knit socks not fitting just yet. This pair knit up in no time and is most adorable, like its recipient. I knit the 0-3M size using Elann's Sock It To Me 4-ply yarn and 2.25mm DPNs (not the 3.25mm needles suggested in the pattern), which produced a perfect fitting newborn bootie for our smaller K. K's been settling into a nice little morning routine lately where she sleeps from the time D leaves for school until about lunch time, so I have some "catch-up" time with R or housework or all my knitting projects! Hopefully, this isn't a short-lived sleeping routine. If interested, the sweet, vintage-inspired pattern for the Mary Jane Booties is here, courtesy of Hadley Fierlinger.

We Proudly Introduce...

2009-03-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

the newest member of our family, Kaitlyn! Born just a little over two weeks ago at six pounds, two ounces on February 22, we are overjoyed and thrilled to receive our little girl whom we had no idea was a little girl until she decided it was her time to meet us all out here. We're all still on a "high" with her arrival and even more in shock that she turned out to be a girl. We were just used to "Mama" being the only girl in the household and resigned to the fact that this pregnancy would produce us a boy, as boys run in both Mama and Papa's families. Then, as my pregnancy continued, I increasingly felt that I was carrying more and more similar to my first pregnancy--the belly being high, straight out and round with similar abnormal triple screen worries. So, although the intuition isn't too sharp during pregnancy, we're extremely grateful for a healthy baby!

And as it has turned out, K's two older brothers have been absolutely wonderful and tolerant during this sudden transition and shift in focus at home. R's been kissing her everyday throughout the past two weeks, and D's been asking to hold her whenever possible. So, I guess it's now okay for me to dive into the pink and red yarn stash, as K's wardrobe is severely short of anything in this color range. In fact, she's wearing a beloved D and R hand-me-down in the above pic! Nevertheless, we know that K will be one spoiled and protected member of our family.

Kanoko Pants

2009-02-12T09:42:00.000-08:00

Here's another FO out of the queue.... Kanoko Pants, a very cute free pattern by Yumiko Sakurai found on Ravelry. I can't wait to see it on the baby! I knit these pants with Cotton-Ease, as called for in the pattern, and just love the versatile colour and practicality of the adjustable waistband. I think this pair of pants would pair really well with the Yoda cardi, in the same yarn, that I knit for my nephew, Zac. See this post. I may just have to start another Yoda, along with finishing up more projects and gift knitting! I know so many babies that are going to be born in the Year of the Ox!

EZ Best Baby Sweater

2009-02-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

I've been a bad blogger the first couple of months this year. More accurately, I've been very short of energy to blog, despite wanting to knit more and spending too much time on Ravelry. Now with one more week of work and expecting a baby any day now, even though the due date is during the first week of March, I am knitting as much as I can to finish up baby projects already started and near completion. I say this just because both D & R were early babies. Anyhow, here's a finished variation of EZ's Best Baby Sweater without the lace that used up some of my hand-dyed, handspun merino wool and handspun "Denim Dreams" (wool and part mohair fiber bought from Paradise Fibers). I quite enjoyed knitting up this little sweater with the exception of the realizations that I may not have had enough hand-dyed handspun to finish the project after knitting the yoke (so I had to start spinning and plying some of my "Denim Dreams" right away in January) and that I had forgotten to knit the buttonholes in the yoke of the sweater since Elizabeth Zimmermann doesn't even mention buttonholes until further into the pattern instructions. I ended up making bobble buttons with chain loop closures to remedy the lack of buttonholes on the yoke. The bobble buttons were made by casting on a stitch on a DPN, leaving a 3" tail and then with another DPN, I kfb in the stitch until there were 5sts on the needle. I knit the next row and purled the following row. On the fourth row, I knit the row, but then passed the second, third, fourth, and fifth sts over the first st. I cut the yarn, leaving a 6" tail to thread into a yarn needle for gathering up the edges of the bobble to make a ball, stuffing the bobble with the cast-on tail. I made only three bobble buttons for the yoke to make a swing-like cardigan and did not do the decreases at the end of the pattern. The little cardigan was finished on February 6.

Where Did 2008 Go?

2008-12-31T01:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas came and went, just like the rest of 2008. I can hardly believe that we are at the end of another year. Upon reflection, 2008 was quite an intense year filled with anxiety for the unknown, passion for life, and gratitude for all I have around me. I wish you all a happy, healthy, new year full of peace and new endeavors!

Kool-Aid Socks

2008-11-26T13:58:00.000-08:00

As you can see, I'm still knitting the baby socks. In fact, I may be addicted to this simple little pattern by Amber Ward. I went and dug out one of my very first hand-dyed, slightly slubby, handspun yarns--some Kool-Aid dyed, handspun Polwarth singles that I never got around to plying, to see how it would knit up as a sock. Since a sock for a newborn wouldn't require the durability of a toddler sock, this was a great way to use up some of my handspun singles. I quite like what I see so far... I really do love how handspun, hand-dyed yarns look and feel so vibrant and "alive" versus the commercial yarns. I will most definitely be digging out the dyeing equipment again soon... I have a few skeins of undyed sock yarns begging to be painted in my "gynormous" yarn stash...

R's Thoughts on Baby

2008-11-23T01:11:00.000-08:00

R: Why are you always knitting so many socks? Does the baby have ten legs?

Baby Projects

2008-11-22T02:00:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about knitting for our baby, due to arrive mid to late February, for awhile now, but have had trouble starting projects. There are just way too many patterns to choose from, first of all, and not enough time to go through everyone's amazing patterns and notes on Ravelry! Anyhow, with all the kicking and playing going on inside my belly to remind me that it won't be too long before s/he will be arriving soon, I've had to get a move on with narrowing down a few projects and starting something. Among some of the projects that I really want to complete for this baby are a Baby Yoda cardigan, an EZ Baby Surprise Jacket in my own handspun, some hand knit socks, an earflap hat, and some other crafty projects as well (ie. a kimono style quilted jacket and felted slippers/bootees) I know I'm being quite ambitious at the moment, but there's nothing wrong with aiming high. I decided to start with some socks. Below is my completed first pair of hand knit wool socks in elann's superwash yarn. The pattern is Ribbed Far-Away Baby Socks by Amber Ward found as a free download on Ravelry. My second pair, above, is the same pattern, but in elann's Esprit, a stretchy cotton yarn. I think I like the wool more, which I think, will hold its shape better as a more snug sock. We'll have to put the socks to the test when baby comes out...

Handknits Fit!

2008-11-14T10:04:00.000-08:00

Look! The handknits mailed to HK this past spring for my new niece and nephew finally fit! At the rate that these two cutie pies are growing, I'll be lucky if they get six months wear out of these Baby Yoda cardigans!

Here's the link to Cari Luna's super Baby Yoda pattern along with some other free patterns.

Can't Read Charts in Karate

2008-11-06T23:58:00.000-08:00

I desparately needed a finished object from being so frustrated at the Koolhaas hat that I had been working on, so I started and finished a pair of Maine Morning Mitts instead. The mitts (my second pair) are such a relaxing knit, that I may have to knit a bunch more for Christmas. The Koolhaas hat, which was almost half finished last week, ended up being frogged due to mistakes made while watching D's karate classes. I fixed some of the mistakes, but more mistakes were made after re-fixing, so I gave up. I should just not bring any kind of chart reading to any of D's lessons. That concentration of mine needs some fine-tuning...

Anyhow, it's just too bad that the Bernat Alpaca seemed a bit itchy after trying on the finished mitts. I had to put in a cuff lining just to remedy the problem before gifting the mitts to a friend at work.

As for the flan from yesterday, I pretty much licked the plate spotlessly clean. I resisted the temptation to gobble up a second serving, despite the boys not liking it, but who'd a thought that D would reject dessert! And because D thought the flan tasted like "barbeque", R pushed it away at the table too. I guess the "burnt" sugar taste isn't for everyone, especially for those with simple tastes. Hey, wait a minute, D loves cambozola and blue-veined cheeses on croissants! Oh well, I'm sure he'll acquire the taste for sophisticated desserts in time. For now, that just means more flan for M, me and baby #3.

A Little Baking... A Little Patching... on a Rainy Thursday

2008-11-06T15:27:00.000-08:00

I've been craving flan or creme caramel for weeks now and have finally gotten down to making it. I went through a whole pile of recipes on different sites, but decided on a lighter, Mexican version without the condensed milk. The ramekins are in the fridge chilling until dinner, so we can't wait! My boys have not been eating eggs lately, so this is a good way to disguise a little protein in their meal.

Otherwise, I've also been trying to think of cool ways to patch up D's trousers and sweatpants, which are usually relatively new except for the holes that a six-year-old wears into them right away, more specifically, on the right knee for every pair that needs patching. I love the look of leather patches, but I just don't have the time and patience to hand sew through thick leather sometimes, and for some reason, I'm not very skilled at using a thimble. I just never got used to using one. So, imagine how excited I was to find some bargain iron-on patches at Dressew last week while doing some last-minute Hallowe'en shopping. (Two patches for 25 cents!) This is what I came up with for D's pants.

I simply cut out the skull design I wanted and ironed it on for 30 seconds.

Then I outlined the eyes and nose of the skull using a chain stitch.

That was it! Other designs to consider without having to do the extra embroidery might be a star, a car silhouette, or animal (ie. a dragon, etc... )

On Being a Big Brother

2008-10-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

From time to time, your children say amusing things to entertain you. It's just a given....but then there are times when children just say things that seem ridiculously profound or just a lot older and more advanced for their age. Two days ago, D was being very helpful and set the toilet ring on top of the big toilet for his brother to go potty. Being very conscious to recognize my D's kind and considerate gesture, I told him that he was a very good big brother and that he was going to be an even bigger help as a big brother to the baby that was growing inside my tummy. As D leaves the washroom to give his younger brother some privacy, he turns to me and nonchalantly answers, "That means more work and that means more stress." Now, is that really a six-year old talking??!? Seriously, sometimes I think there's a fifty-year old living in that six-year old's body. I hope he's not too worried about his RRSPs yet.

For the Ears and Just Plain Ol' Bad Hair Days

2008-10-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

Off the needles and straight onto my noggin is my new Star Crossed Slouchy Beret, a quick, diversion knit courtesy of Natalie Larson. As the mornings and evenings get chillier here in Vancouver, I desperately needed a hat to cover the ears, so it was a bit of research on Ravelry to find the perfect hat pattern. I've been meaning to knit a beret for over a year, so this pattern was really satisfying, as it also fulfilled my urge to knit cables and to knit continuously in the round. As it turned out, I loved knitting this hat so much that I could hardly put this project down as soon as I cast on! The cabling pattern looks more complicated than it really is, trust me. Here are the details:

Pattern: Star Crossed Slouchy Beret by Natalie Larson
Yarn: elann's Peruvian Highland Wool in colour, Mocha Heather
Amount Used: 1 skein and perhaps only 1/4 of a second skein
Needles Used: 4 DPNs--6mm and 1 DPN--5-1/2 (because I didn't have another 6mm) and a 7mm circular needle, 60cm/(24inches)

So now, it's back to straight knitting on my Morning Surf Scarf, which is happily growing longer..... photos to come when finished!

Applying Etiquette

2008-09-21T11:10:00.000-07:00

This morning, my R carefully came up from the garden to give me a zucchini flower that his father had instructed to bring to me. I thanked him and my soon-to-be-four year old emphatically said, "It's my pleasure!" R's learned this expression over a year ago, but has not used it for quite some time, so it's always a wonderful surprise to hear that he hasn't forgotten what you've taught him.

It's just annoying when R catches me sneezing and reminds me right away that I have to say, "Excuse me," before I even have a chance to.

As for the latest project on the needles, I'm working on the Morning Surf Scarf using my own hand-dyed merino handspun. The pattern is by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer and was recently featured in the Summer 2008 issue of Spin-Off magazine along with many inspirational examples of this scarf pattern knit-up. With fall just around the corner, I thought I'd knit something cozy with some of my hand-dyed handspun. Here's my version. I'd have to say my second and third photos of the scarf are more accurate for colour than the first one taken in more direct sun.

Comfort Food

2008-08-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, a well-intentioned family member brought over some "jook" or congee for me to eat, knowing that it was one of my favourite cravings from time to time. I hate to say, but it was just not the best congee that I had ever eaten--way too watery and just nothing in it that I liked. So, today I set out to make the most satisfying, congee that I could with all my favourite garnishes. I debated over adding meat to the pot, but decided against it, since my plan was to make my congee egg-heavy with salted duck eggs and century eggs. I was also going to buy some crispy barbequed duck to eat with it on the side, but wouldn't you know it, the closest bbq meat store in my neighbourhood just happened to be closed today. So, I got full this afternoon on plain, but delicious basic white congee to which I added chopped scallions, slivers of peeled ginger, chinese doughnut (yiao tiew)--something I haven't had in a long,long time, century eggs, salted duck eggs, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Now, I don't know if I'll be able to ride to work on such a full stomach....

Back from Vacation

2008-08-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

what summer is all about
We're back from vacation, and happy to be in our own beds. We can't believe August is amost over, but much has happened since posting a month ago. First, we had an exciting family visit with the twins, A and Z--new cousins to D and R--our first meeting-- and boy, are they adorable! The twins turned four months while they were here in Vancouver, and they've grown so much in the two weeks that they were here! We're so happy and grateful that my brother's family was able to make the long trip back home for this special visit.

new additions to the family
Then, as soon as my brother's family left for HK, it was speed packing for camping in Tofino and Saltspring. All our camping gear and necessities just went flying into bins labeled kitchen, bed and bath, food, clothing, and kids' activities. I let the hubby take care of the rest of the gear, like shelter, lights, cooler, stove, first aid, and the vehicle. I always feel we take too much stuff, but we manage to use most of it on our trips, and we're always able to jam everything into the back of our van. Oh, and I couldn't forget my knitting project for the road-- my Slipped-Stitch Rib Sock that I started back in May of 2007. I'm happy to report that although I did not complete the sock on the trip, I did get a chance to work on it a lot, especially on Saltspring Island where I had free time to work on it in the early mornings and while the boys were out playing by the lake during the day--D in the water with the other kids and R on the tire swing. All I have left to complete is half the foot and the toe shaping for one sock, and then the closing up of the toes for both socks!

finally, time to myself on MacKenzie Beach
We went on vacation as a group of three families this year, and although challenging at times with not all of the kids getting along, it was fun catching up with old friends, making new ones, and working together as one big group to make the trip a smooth, relaxing, and memorable one. Below are some highlights of our trip from Tofino's MacKenzie Beach to Saltspring Island and then up to Whistler back on the mainland:

waiting for s'mores around the campfire
D posing on the beach
building sand castles
the dramatic rescue of a husband without a lifejacket, whose kayak flipped
the beautiful view from the cottage
hanging out at the Saltspring Saturday Market
hamming it up at Whistler while watching the mountain bikers
We can't wait to do this all over again next year!!!

Summer Delights

2008-07-21T01:01:00.000-07:00

The garden is such a magical place despite mine being overgrown and full of weeds. This year I've made a bigger effort into growing more veggies that we could use in our family meals. It's been about four or five years since I've grown snowpeas, so it's a real accomplishment that I actually have a small harvest of both round and flat snowpeas.
My strawberry rhubarb has continued to thrive in its present location next to the fig tree. I've already used it in a coffee cake and a rhubarb bar recipe back in June, so instead of making a pie (which I was too tired to make yesterday), I made a simple rhubarb compote using 6 cups of chopped rhubarb, 1 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of grated orange rind, and 1/4 cup of water. I involved the boys by teaching them how to de-string rhubarb stalks, which they had fun doing after a light duel with the rhubarb stalks as though they were swords. The compote turned out great and will be delicious with vanilla ice-cream or even just toast in the morning! I can just see myself making more compote and preserves in the future as my strawberry freezer jam turned out so scrumptious as well this year.

February Lady Sweater Started

2008-07-13T23:11:00.000-07:00

I've just been so happy knitting sweaters using circs that I can't seem to stop..... here's my February Lady Sweater (pattern by Pamela Wynne) that I started last week. The weather has been so hot lately that I couldn't bring myself to knit in wool, so I'm using Lion Brand's Cotton-Ease in Taupe. I'll hopefully have more progress to show you of the sweater while trying to fit in the boys' summer programs, shift work, gardening/weeding, and keeping the house from falling apart.

Our first MEC Paddlefest

2008-07-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

We had a perfect day to try paddling at Ambleside Park this past Sunday. Mountain Equipment Co-op put on some great water clinics with Deep Cove Canoe and Kayak at Paddlefest for kids and adults. D had a great time trying something new despite being the youngest and most inexperienced. He didn't even complain or get upset when he had trouble manoeuvering the kayak to keep up with his group. The teachers were great and everyone seemed passionate about helping one another learn more about the paddle sports.

After the clinic, D told me he'd like to try kayaking again. This is exciting to know. We're glad D isn't too easily discouraged by being thrown into a completely new experience. He's such a good sport!

This guy, on the other hand, was too young to try kayaking, but was quite content blowing bubbles on the beach and having the comfort of his favourite cookbook (yes, you read right, his fave cupcake cookbook) nearby!

Where Did June Go?

2008-06-30T08:12:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe today is the last day of June and it's become hot watermelon- thirst-quenching weather here in Vancouver. The boys have even started sleeping out on the deck in the family tent. June seems to be a blur now, which I only remember as a lot of frenzied planning for the boys' summer activities, the parties laden with sugar wrapping up the school year and the annual late spring activities, namely, strawberry picking and D's birthday planning!

I finally finished the Baby Surprise Jacket in Noro Kureyon. Don't you just love how it turned out?!!! I almost chose wooden buttons for the jacket to give it a rustic flavour, but opted for the classier shell buttons. Like so many others who've knit this jacket, I love the ingenuity of the pattern by Elizabeth Zimmermann. However, I do have to note that the original pattern was seriously confusing to me. If it weren't for Dawn Adcock's super helpful notes here, I may have scrapped this project.

I bribed my youngest to model the sweater, but decided against it, since the jacket was too small for him. Taking photos would have been an injustice to R and the sweater. It looks like Ava will be the lucky recipient of the jacket when she comes for a visit this summer from HK with Zach and the family. I can't wait to meet and play with newborn twins!

Who's Charlie?

2008-06-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

I walk into the living room to check on R yesterday morning, and he looks directly at me in this mischievous way and blurts out, "Sit down Charlie." I try not to burst out laughing, explain to my forty-four-month old my name is not Charlie and that I'm a little too busy to sit down right now, and walk back into the kitchen, all the while trying to figure out where he may have picked up this line. Such a funny kid.

What D Thinks About...

2008-06-08T23:22:00.000-07:00

Today, as we were walking from the parking lot to the swimming pool for his lessons, D asked me who made the world...... AGAIN! It's really not unlike him to ask me such a deep philosophical question, as he has always been pretty mature for his age, but he's asked me this question before and I always bring up the Big Bang theory and he always suggests the added possibility of God creating the world, an idea he's heard from other people besides me. I stress the uncertainty of it all, and because D never gets the black and white answer, he just continues to ask the question from time to time. Then a little later on at the pool, he asks if I was a mom who was just pretending to be nice, but was really an evil person!!! My first thought is, gee, why can't I have a normal kid?!? But then again, what is normal? Wacky and off-the-wall, but maybe that's what almost-six-year-olds think about or is it just mine--one who probably watches too much tv and/or has a vivid imagination in high def? Anyhooow, my D never fails to surprise me with his sense of wonder.

Other activities this weekend included a trip to check out the Chinatown Night Market, which is small in comparison to the Richmond Night Market, but still quite fun and interesting for the atmosphere and offerings by the variety of vendors. I have to say that this market has improved and is a lot more organized than what I remembered it five years back.

Progress

2008-06-03T00:46:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I've made some progress on the Baby Surprise Jacket. I'm not a super fast knitter, but I've been trying to get it in between all the martial art classes, swimming lessons, and the little one's preschool. And lately, I've been getting the urge to start spinning on the Louet 10 again. I actually dug out the nostepinne today to wind up some experimental singles that I had spun up and left on the wheel months ago. I might just have to dig out some new fibre to spin tomorrow, if I have any time left, that is, before having to leave for work in the afternoon.

Handknits for a New Nephew and New Niece

2008-05-31T00:18:00.000-07:00

After waiting for nearly two months for my package to arrive in HK, my new nephew and niece have finally received their Baby Yoda jackets with matching hats. I love this kimono style cardigan for babies. They're easy to put on and such a great cover-up for short sleeved onesies. This great pattern by Cari Luna can be found here. I did make a few mods by lengthening the cardigan by an inch to get longer wear from it, by widening the sleeve at the bottom by just a tad, so that it wouldn't be tight for the baby to slip through, and by dropping the kimono ties for a simple and neater button closure. I also added a small snap button on the inside of the jacket to keep the cardigan front pieces in their places. I knit with Cotton-Ease, so that the cardis are machine-washable, which I'm sure the parents of twins will appreciate. Overall, I'm very happy with the way the Baby Yoda jackets turned out.

Finally Trying a Zimmerman Design

2008-05-20T15:17:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've had this need to start a new project, one that is more easy going, more relaxing than the Endpaper Mitts, which has been a little slow going due to the chart reading and constant untwisting of my two balls of fingering yarn from colorwork stranding. So, out came my Royal ballwinder to prep some Noro Kureyon (with a little help from R). I got my hands on a copy of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop and came across her very cool Baby Surprise Jacket pattern, a very popular project that's been all over blogland and Ravelry. Of all the Baby Surprise Jackets that I have viewed online, I loved the ones that were either knit in variegated yarn like Noro or hand-dyed, handspun the most, so since I didn't have enough yardage in my own handspun, I chose to use up some of my leftover Noro Kureyon that I had used to make M's earflap felted hat and my sister's Maine Morning Mitts. Here's what I have so far from just a little over one skein of knitting...

Highlights of Long Weekend Sunday

2008-05-19T09:58:00.016-07:00

The long awaited weekend for me (two days off!) arrived along with beautiful hot sunny weather, and I did my best to fill it up with some fun activities for both myself and the boys. Sunday started off with a pancake breakfast at home and a good sweaty workout at the gym. After coming home to shower up, we got the boys ready to go to our current favourite dim sum restaurant on Main and 30 something where the seafood dumplings are super plump and delicious.

D loves these dumplings and has been asking for them for over a week. It's just hilarious that he likes only the dumpling wrapper and passes the filling along to me or his "Papa". After a late lunch, we headed over to the eclectic Ruby Dog Arts to poke around as it was only up the street. Nothing new in the store, but D and R came home with a new blank book and some glass "treasures".

Next was a trip to Granville Island where it was opening weekend for the water park. D had a blast, made many friends and got out some cooped-up energy running around the entire water park area. Too bad R needed a nap at the time, but he did wake up to some "sliding" time at the playground. R could've gone to the water park too, but he just wasn't into getting wet, which just goes to show how different the two boys can be. It took some coaxing to leave the playground, but we did it, and by that time, we were way too tired to even drag our crew into the market for dinner ideas. So that was our jam-packed, no-time-for knitting-or-crafting Sunday!

Ordering Japanese Craft Books

2008-05-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

With the city in bloom with beautiful flowers, like my favorite bleeding heart plant above, I've been thinking of ordering some new Japanese magazines. Besides, I've been good. I think it's been a year since I've ordered, and I recently discovered how to view some of the latest titles. If you love Japanese craft books as much as I do, not only for their awesome styling and photography, but for their inspiring projects, then YesAsia is a definite site to check out. It's a much easier site to navigate than Amazon Japan, even when translated into English. For the most direct route to the new Japanese craft books, go to my sidebar on the right, click on YesAsia. You will be taken to the page with the latest Japanese book releases. In order to go to the new Japanese craft book releases, look on the left sidebar under the "Browse" category: Hobby/Lifestyle/Culture. Click on it and then once you are on a new page, look under the "Browse" category again and click on "Lifestyle" to filter into the latest Japanese craft book pages. Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of English info about each book title other than its cover, author, ISBN, price and release date once you click on each interested title, but it's more info than you can glean from Amazon Japan. Also, as a bonus, shipping is free if you order $25US as a US resident and $39US as a Canadian resident with YesAsia. I hope these instructions demystify any confusion you had about ordering these beautiful craft books. I've ordered more than a couple of times from YesAsia and it has always been a good experience. Go to this post for a look into some of the books that I have purchased in the past.

Ready to Ride a Two-Wheeler

2008-05-06T01:15:00.000-07:00

D finally agreed to take off the training wheels of his bike to practise riding on two wheels this past weekend. It only took several tries with his papa holding him at first and then letting him go down the gravel path or grassy areas of Trout Lake. In no time, he was cycling around the lake without any help at all. Me, I stayed with R, who played in the playground and then pedalled to the beach in his tricycle. We all met up a little later at the beach where R insisted on hamming it up for the camera every time I wanted a more serious brotherly shot of the two of them. Good on ya' for finally letting go of those training wheels, D!!! We celebrated with some ice-cream afterwards.

2008-04-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

So, as much as I was tempted to start another mini-sewing project from Amy Karol's book, yarn and needles won out because I'm surrounded by so much yarn in my house! Here's what I started this past weekend....Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts. I originally wanted to make these mitts in red and tuquoise, but the "turquoise" that I ordered from elann just wasn't bright enough for my taste, so I just went with the two colors above--black and a subdued chartreuse, a boring, but very practical combination. I have to admit, the knitting takes some concentration with chart reading and all, but the results will be worth it. I can tell already....

Sun Run Day

2008-04-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

It was Sun Run Day here in Vancouver, and not only was I grateful for amazing sunny day weather (after snow on Friday night), but for finishing the 10K without feeling like I had to drag my entire body across the finish line this year. Although I didn't officially "train" this year, I have been hitting the gym regularly for the past four weeks and consciously trying to get in more sleep. This annual event is one that I've tried to keep up since the 90's and pre-kids. Now that we've had kids, I think I've only skipped the year R was born, and the year afterwards. D has been doing the Mini Sun Run since he was three years old, a fact of which he is proud. R, on the other hand, looks at us like we're crazy and prefers to watch the rest of us do all the work from his stroller seat. This year is the first where I did the Mini Sun Run (2.5K) with the family and then headed up to Georgia Street to do the 10K while Dad looked after the boys in the stadium. It was very "do-able" as it only took less than half an hour to complete the kids' run which started at 8am. The timed Sun Run did not start until 9am, and my group did not cross the start line until well after 9:30am. It was another record attendance year (close to 60, 000 participants, I heard), making the Sun Run the second-largest timed 10K race in the world and third-biggest timed race on the planet for any distance. How cool is that to be a part of such a big community event!

So, here's the Artsy Clutch that I recently completed from Amy Karol's Bend-the-Rules Sewing book. I used cotton fabric that I purchased at IKEA for the exterior and some leftover cherry blossom cotton print for the lining. This is a very cute, practical pattern that I'll probably be using again very soon.

And finally, another reversible fabric headband that I made this afternoon in a silk print on one side, and cotton/linen on the other side in three colors: brown, soft red, and light purple. This pattern worked out much better for my head after narrowing the width by 1cm. I'll definitely be making more of these too!

Starting Small

2008-04-16T14:58:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've really been obsessed about getting back into sewing. Maybe it's because I spent a fortune fixing my beloved Pfaff that my mother bought me when I was in high school and I want to use it. Or maybe, I just need yet another creative outlet to channel all my extra energy built up from going back to the gym four weeks ago. Anyhow, whatever that's possessing me to put my needles and yarn down to take on another crafty pursuit, here's my first small completed project to help me get back into the sewing groove--a reversible fabric headband. I followed a fantastic tutorial by Kate of KC Quilts and was fairly happy with the end result, but would probably make the headband next time just slightly narrower (by 1 cm) to suit my head shape. I chose a cotton cherry blosssom print for one side of the headband and a chocolate linen for the other, both from my small fabric stash. I'll try this headband again, but I'm already onto the Artsy Clutch from Amy Karol's bend-the-rules sewing book.

Look Who's a New Aunt to Twins!

2008-04-13T00:41:00.000-07:00

photo taken by Sandra Ormiston
Introducing my new niece and nephew, Ava and Zach. Ava's older by three minutes and she's on the bottom right with more hair. Zach is the one on the left with the poutier, more pronounced lips. Congratulations to mum and dad in HK! We're all so happy for you. Welcome to the "club"! All you will be solely concerned with for the next little while is what goes in and what comes out of your super adorable babies, and that includes projectile spit! Enjoy every single minute!

Exciting Times

2008-03-31T09:08:00.000-07:00

One of us is learning to take photos.

Another is learning to write.

And Mama is producing finished objects! See here..... it's Julsey's Reversible Winter Capelet knit in Elann's Peruvian Highland Bulky. This was a fun, quick knit despite having to rip out eight rows twice from being distracted at D's entertaining Purple Dragon/karate class and making mistakes in the raglan increases. And if you can believe it, I ran out of yarn while binding off the last sleeve! I had to order one more skein from elann just to finish this project! Who'd a thought I'd be just short a yard or two???!?

Here are the project specs:
Reversible Winter Capelet--size S-M
Yarn: elann's Peruvian Highland Bulky in Coffee Bean Brown
Skeins used: 5
Needles: 8mm circs (80cm)
Gauge: 12sts
Mods: Shortened sleeves by a row on each side to conserve yarn, but just couldn't do it to complete project without having to order that fifth skein!....F*x%k!

Made Me a Pair of Fetching

2008-02-29T12:34:00.000-08:00

I finally made myself a pair of Fetching using some lovely Sierra Aran (elann yarn) in the most delicious deep brown colour (walnut), and I'm very happy with it, despite just two little mistakes in the cables at the beginning of my first mitt where I twisted the wrong way. Oh well, I just couldn't be bothered to fix them. It just seemed too stressful at the time. I think, if you caught me with this situation ten years back, I would've frogged the whole thing and started all over again, but since having children and living life with so much on my plate, I've just learned to pick and choose what to really stress over. I went down some needle sizes (used 3-1/2mm) to get the tighter gauge asked for in the pattern. Anyhow, I've been wearing my Fetching for a few days now, and love 'em! It's funny how little things can make you so happy!

So cool!

2008-02-08T12:40:00.000-08:00

D: Mom! Come here! Come see my spit! (calling me to bathroom where he is brushing teeth after being given a lollipop by grandpa)

Me: Why?

D: Because it's cool!

So I go and take a look at his red spit and make a comment about how cool it is and agree with him that it looks like blood.

Checking Out the Skateboard Park

2008-02-03T11:40:00.000-08:00

I've had lots of projects on the go these past few months, mainly baby-related, for a friend at work, whose wife is expecting, and for the upcoming births of my niece and nephew in HK. We just can't wait! I'll finally be an aunt (and to twins!) at the end of March on my side of the family. I'd like to show you some of the projects that I've started for "Thunder" and "Lightning", names my brother and sister-in-law in HK are calling their twins, but I know they check on this blog, so I'll have to show you a little later. In the meantime, I'll show you the Green Leaf Tweed newborn hat that I gifted to my friend at work recently. I was so happy that he loved it.

Here are some pics of our walk through the neighborhood to the skateboard park yesterday afternoon. This is the first time D and R have had the chance to explore the skateboard park more up close and personal, as there weren't any boarders around to make it impossible to go into the "pit".

As you can see, we had snow earlier in the week, which I'm more than happy to report is quickly disappearing on this beautiful sunny day.

I'm pretty sure this guy is really wishing that he had brought his skateboard with him. I was too lazy to look for all his safety gear, so I convinced him to leave the board at home. Maybe next time...

Besides, he can show you some treasure found...

and be entertained by R who is always making us laugh with his usual made-up expressions and mimicking.

Here's to an Even More Creative New Year!

2008-01-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

Look! A Present for Me!
2007 was a fun, creative year for me. I got the chance to practise more with the digital camera, knit some socks, re-acquaint myself with the sewing machine, spin with a drop spindle, experiment with new hat designs for the shop, and just keep up with custom orders while family life and a work life (outside of the home) continues. Oh, and let's not forget my hardcore addictions to yarn buying that keep me busy on Ravelry and to keeping up with this super gratifying blog that keeps me creatively connected to all those interested... Thanks for reading everyone! I didn't get a chance to finish that Electra vest like I had hoped for in 2006, but 2008 has only just begun. I'll continue to aim for Electra's completion, as well as for more knitting, spinning, dyeing, photography, and all my other crafty interests! Maybe this will be the year I manage to make time to attend a Vancouver Spinners' Guild Meeting or a Maiwa class??? Or maybe just to slow down and complete some UFOs and attack the growing yarn stash?

Slowing Down to Enjoy the Holidays

2007-12-27T00:15:00.000-08:00

Now that Santa has made his visit, and we've all caught up on some sleep, we've been able to slow down a bit and enjoy the holidays together. Here, the boys are learning the art of rod hockey or table hockey, a gift from their great aunt and uncle.

I even managed to complete some last-minute Maine Morning Mitts, an easy, relaxing pattern from Clara Parkes' new book, The Knitter's Book of Yarn, for my sister who really liked the Noro Kureyon colorway (90) that I chose. I'm sorry the photo isn't the best and doesn't accurately show all the colours of the yarn, but it's a very versatile colour if you wear a lot of darker colours. I've even made a felted earflap hat for my husband in the same yarn. And he wears it too!

Anyhow, I hope everyone is enjoying a restful, happy holiday.

Much Needed Comic Relief

2007-12-12T12:19:00.000-08:00

Me: Drink your milk R.
R: Yes sir!

or

R: (in the car) I'm hungry!
Me: We'll be home soon. I'll make you something to eat when we get home.
R: I want to talk to my lawyer!

When the pressure is on to get presents bought, the house clean for a Christmas tree that's been sitting outside for days, and to eliminate thoughts that you behaved, or rather misbehaved at the "office" party, it's good to know that your little boys are always there to provide you with lots of comic relief. R, our three-year old, has been making us all laugh lately with his spontaneous lines picked up from movies that he's watched. I believe R's "Yes sirs" have come from Buzz Lightyear of Toy Story and the "I want to talk to my lawyer!" is a line from Ratatouille, a movie I haven't even seen yet!

Our First Advent Calendar

2007-12-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

It's the official start to our holiday season now that we've put up the advent calendar. I have a store-bought one that I've never used somewhere in my Christmas decoration boxes, but I thought it would be much more fun to make one after reading this whip up post. I liked the ideas of incorporating a family activity each day and of teaching my two little guys how many "sleeps" there are until Christmas.

Our first activity was to learn how to cut paper snowflakes for our window, seeing as we woke up to this in the morning, and it is still snowing as I write.

A Children's Christmas Fair

2007-11-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday morning, we braved the chilly weather, like we did last year, to attend the Vancouver Waldorf School's Christmas Fair. A most memorable activity at this wonderful fair from last year was visiting the "Cookie House" to select a decorated gingerbread cookie from amongst many all hung on curtains from ceiling to floor in a small, narrow, dimly-lit, ambient space. We waited in line to experience the wonderful Cookie House again this year, complete with an elf to guard the house, as well as a fairy, to assist with the cookie selection. As you can see, R knew his immediate plans for his cookie upon leaving the "house".

There were many beautiful wreaths and table centerpieces being created all around us.....
...and new experiences to be had.... candle dipping!!!

in another dimly-lit, but magical room decorated with winter scenes, lots of stars and tiny lights...

...and warm, nurturing teachers that made all the activities at this fair so meaningful. D really got into making and dipping his own candle, deciding on his own how many more times he wanted to walk around the table to dip his candle into the wax pots.

Other cool activities included puppet plays, silk painting, visiting a winter wonderland and woodland pond, woodworking, and a variety of musical offerings around the school. And what's a Christmas fair without a "Marketplace", which was so crowded that I barely looked for fear of losing the boys. I did, however, pick up my felt order from Natalie of Bear Dance Crafts who came down for the fair from Kaslo. She offers good quality wool felt in lots of great colours for those of you who are interested.

Here is D's beautifully fragrant candle finished and wrapped with paper tissue and a lovely poem. The poem should read as below, but with the last line, perhaps, intentionally and appropriately left out:

A candle is but a simple thing,
It starts with just a bit of string,
But dipped and dipped with patient hand,
It gathers wax upon the strand,
Until complete and snowy white,
It gives at last a lovely sight.

Life seems so like that bit of string,
Each deed we do a simple thing,
Yet day by day if on life's strand,
We work with patient heart and hand,
It gathers joy makes dark days bright,
And gives at last a lovely light.

How we love this fair for its wonderful, meaningful experiences that appeal to all our senses and the child within us!

Show and Tell: Fish Hat

2007-11-22T01:31:00.000-08:00

I thought my post today would focus on a favourite and much used FO (finished object) from the past four years. When I took a renewed interest in knitting after D, my first son, was born, I also got hooked on eBay in a very bad way. Not only was I nursing in front of the computer, I got into bidding wars for things I really didn't need or have a vision for at the time-- other than just winning the auction, of course. I didn't go overboard on a regular basis, but when I did, I'd be scratching my head afterwards, wondering what I had gotten myself into. So, what does this all have to do with the Fish Hat, as modelled by R above? Well, all the cotton yarn (with the exception of the lime-coloured yarn) used to make Zoe Mellor's Fish Hat, (from her book Animal Knits) came from such an ebay auction. It was a fairly big lot of new, still-in-ball bands cotton yarn (20+ balls) that I had won, all discontinued machine-washable Bernat Cot'n Soft yarn in a variety of colors, but I think it cost me about $75 Canadian total after the Canada Post guy collected $20 more for some duties upon delivery. I was on maternity at the time, so I really couldn't afford to spend frivolously, but now that I reflect on this impulse "buy", I really did make some good use out of all the yarn, which encouraged me to tackle colorwork in my knitting and experiment with different color combinations for a number of different hats. Mind you, weaving all the ends for the Fish Hat was no picnic, but the end result was well worth it. And look, after four plus years, the hat is still holding up pretty nicely, despite the machine-washed look of it now.

Bamboo Love and Steve!

2007-11-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across some great "finds" at HTnaturals today after picking up lunch at Fujiya for my little guy before his preschool. I have always intended to pay this eco-friendly store a visit, as they also carried some hemp yarn, but it was only in very limited colors, so it was just not a big enough "draw" for me to make it in. But boy, was I thrilled to have made the time to visit today. Still no bigger selection of hemp yarn, but great basic clothes with simple lines, great rich colors, nice little details, and best of all, clothes made with hemp and organic fabrics! I picked up some great deals in their sample baskets-- two super soft bamboo/organic cotton shirts (at five bucks each!!!) that would be great for biking and everyday wear. Bamboo is sooo comfy! I love it, because it has an anti-bacterial property in the fabric that doesn't require the use of chemical antibacterial agents. It's no wonder there are so many new bamboo sock yarns out on the market today. So, if it weren't for my time crunch to feed R and get him to preschool, I think I would've been shopping there all afternoon. I must add, if you are a lucky size 10--that is HTnaturals' primary sample size, you'd be buying up a lot of their five-buck deals. Sorry guys, I forgot to look at the primary sample size for you.

Here's what I'm working on now...... a cat pattern from Denyse Schmidt's book, Denyse Schmidt Quilts: 30 Colorful Quilt and Patchwork Projects. I got my hands on some upholstery fabric sample books for next to nothing at the fabulous Ruby Dog's Art House and decided that I had to make "Steve" (or "Heart" as D calls him).

Kitty Pi Finished!

2007-10-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

Look who got a present. G'nam, our lucky 11yr old kitty just got a comfy new kitty bed, my knitting project for the past week. Using Wendy's popular kitty pi pattern, I knit this up in less than a week, threw it in the washing machine twice, and it felted into a perfect-sized bed for our older and chubbier kitty. Although I really made the kitty pi for the two of them to sleep in together, the younger kitty, Mui Mui hasn't been too interested in it at all.

See, G'nam loves her new prezzie and sleeps in it all the time.

Here is the kitty pi fresh off the needles pre-felting. It was knit from about four skeins of Paton's UpCountry Yarn which I scored for only $2 a ball after Michaels stopped carrying it.

And here is D asking me to make him a bed too after trying it out before felting/fulling.

Last, but not least, here's how I blocked the kitty pi using a stool that we had around the house. Quick projects can be so gratifying! This was the perfect "quick fix" project.

What Am I Knitting?

2007-10-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

Care to guess what I'm knitting? I've ceased to progress with any of my hats and started this project, which has pretty much consumed what little spare time I have in the day. Maybe I'm craving some mindless knitting or just a new project to satisfy some instant completion gratification??? Anyhow, too much has been going on around here with R starting preschool last week, the family dealing with hubby's medical issues, and work being less than understanding about the big picture of life. I'll hopefully be able to reveal my project within the week. Below are some activities the boys are keeping busy with:

alphabet stamping

making designs with glass pieces
A bag of coloured glass pieces--roughly a big handful was only 99 cents at Dressew! Wouldn't these glass pieces make a cool mobile? There is an article on sea glass in the Martha Stewart Living magazine (August 2007 issue) that has an excellent sea glass mobile project using driftwood and sea glass. Okay, so I'm not exactly using sea glass, but our glass would still be pretty hanging by the window!

The Splendour of Autumn at Our Doorstep

2007-10-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

Autumn in its full glory is here! The apple festivals have arrived. Pumpkin patches have opened. Our grey residential streets have suddenly disappeared under a brilliant golden blanket of leaves. It's my favourite season. We took time to play in it this morning-- examining the leaves, shuffling in it, looking at bugs--dead or alive, running for balls through the leaves, and even posing in it as a boarder with some serious attitude.

You look so rad D! Just no real aerial tricks yet please. Mom will have to ask you to abort any inkling of those ideas stirring in your head.

Look at My Loot!

2007-09-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

Depite the pouring rain today, we went to Word on the Street, an outdoor book and magazine festival, held downtown just outside the Central Library. For the first time ever, I was able to snag a book bag for the book bag treasure hunt. In the past, I've always gone too late to buy one of the 250 available bags to collect the treasure hunt freebies, but not this year. I can't believe what I've been missing all these years, because this is my loot collected from some of the participating exhibitors today--lots of bookmarks, pens, books, and magazines, of course, but also extra book bags, (including a knapsack), a kids DVD, a sampler music CD, and one of my faves, a loaded Starbucks card that came with the purchase of the treasure hunt bag!

The festival was super fun with lots of authors and interesting literary types to talk to and many book-related activities for the boys. It was just too bad that I couldn't collect from the entire list of participating exhibitors, but the book bag was still well worth the $18. The wind and rain, unfortunately and eventually, got a little too uncomfy for the boys. I was sensing the meltdowns coming on fast and furious from every direction, so we had to head for the car.

On the crafting front, I've been crocheting booties--just trying to get the design right to match my basic crochet hat design. (Crappy photo, I know.) Not only have I had requests, but I've got two nieces or nephews or one of each making their debut in April, 2008! Can't wait!

Hats to Finish

2007-09-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

Tell me. So where is all the extra time to finish all my projects now that D is in Kindergarten full time? The custom orders are growing and I need to make more inventory for the store. And I don't even want to mention the UFOs all over the house! I finally managed to squeeze in some time to work on hats this morning, (my favourite time in the day to do so) after dropping D off to school and finishing dishes from last night's birthday celebration. (Our little R is now three!!!) But pretty soon, it will be time to get the panniers ready for work after lunch and play-doh time with R.

Here's R just outside the beautiful McGill Library in Burnaby from last week. Vancouver's civic strike is still on, so there are no libraries open in our city. It's hard to believe that it's been about 10 weeks now without our local libraries!

First Day of School

2007-09-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

Looking a little unsure of what full-time school is going to be like, D will surely enjoy all the social aspects of what academic life has to offer. I'm thankful that he already knows many friends going to the same school, many of whom he already knows through preschool and/or other community activities. We're even trying to incorporate biking to school--at least one way anyways, to avoid using the van so much. I actually push R in the stroller while D rides now, but we'll hopefully all ride together in the future. In the meantime, I can't wait to continue more of this:

with only R hangin' out with me all day. Yes, I finally dusted the wheel off to try some of my Shetland wool. In two more days, gradual entry into Kindy will end and D will be in school all day!!!

2007 Summer Trip

2007-09-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a brand new mosaic of our annual summer trip to Tofino and Saltspring Island. Go ahead and click on the mosaic image to enlarge. This year was special for we had arranged to go on the trip with my dearest childhood friend and her young family. We actually ended up having a family reunion of sorts with my friend's mother and sister's family joining us too! A fun time was had by all with many chances to "catch up" with one another's lives in between chasing all the toddlers and the pre-schooler. We stayed at the Clayoquot Field Station for one night and then moved over to the super kid-friendly Crystal Cove Beach Resort where we camped for three nights. To end our trip, we travelled to Saltspring Island to attend the renowned Saturday morning market and stay at the comfortable Wisteria Guest House.

Sadly, very little knitting or crocheting took place during our trip, (despite having brought more than one project with me) but I did get inspired to spin again after buying a bag of dyed fleece from Willowcrest Farm at artcraft. Too bad I did not have my drop spindle at that time.

The Relaxing Drop Spindle

2007-09-07T00:54:00.000-07:00

After an emotional and exhausting month without time or motivation to post, I recently found something new and exciting to practise -- spinning yarn using a drop spindle. I have tried using a drop spindle once before in a beginner's spinning class at Birkeland Brothers, but failed dismally at it. But when the family went on the annual PNE outing this past weekend, I had the privilege of being shown how to use a drop spindle at the country store in the Safeway sponsored exhibit. Every year, I look forward to visiting this exhibit with the spinners, animals, petting zoo, and in particular, the country store where I admire and touch all the yummy sprinkle-dyed wool fibre by Shades of Narnia. Fortunately for me, the owner of Shades of Narnia happened to be working that afternoon and gave me the demo of spinning on a drop spindle. She made it look so easy and relaxing that I just had to buy the drop spindle/wool fibre kit. I got the hang of using the drop spindle fairly quickly at home, but really can't say that I've mastered thin, even singles on it quite yet. Here's what I have so far, and that's with a gazillion interruptions. Look at the pretty colors! Is it a coincidence that the yarn I'm spinning are my blog template colors???!?

The Magic Word

2007-08-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

R has been making a lot of demands lately, maybe to practise using his words, maybe to test out his boundaries, but probably to primarily show his brother that he is just as fast talking and capable in every which way. Last week in the van, R asked for some sandwiches that I had just packed for our outing. I obliged, but then added, "So, what's the magic word.....?" before handing over the sandwich.

"Poo-poo!" laughed R as if it was the most hilarious joke in the whole wide world. D joined in on the joke. Me--I was still waiting for that word (please), which eventually came out as I expected, but bathroom humour, neverending as it may seem to me and common at this age, is what's going around my world these days. I think it's time to find some new and exciting "knock-knock" joke books.

Sewing on the Horizon?

2007-07-29T23:03:00.000-07:00

ISBN: 4579110520

ISBN: 4579110978

Some exciting Japanese craft books came in the mail two days ago from YesAsia (see link on the side). Two are sewing books and the third is a crochet book. I recently spent a fortune repairing and replacing some parts on my beloved Pfaff sewing machine that my mother had bought me when I was a teen, so I thought I'd get inspired by purchasing these two beautiful books to get me back into the sewing mode. I adore the sheer simplicity of the patterns which help to show off some beautiful fabric and to emphasize lovely details like smocking and pleats.

ISBN: 4391622572

I wasn't super impressed by Ha-Na's small things of crochet book, but I did like the cloche and the cute round coin purses.

For those of you interested in ordering Japanese craft books online, it is way cheaper than going to the Japanese bookstore at Yaohan (upstairs) in Richmond. It's a big savings to get free shipping, which YesAsia offers if you spend $39US (and aren't you tempted with the US exchange so low these days @ 2 to 4%?) in Canada and $25US in the United States! My first experience ordering Japanese craft books was through Amazon Japan (who also offers good prices on their books), but I spent $20US just for shipping alone for three books. I've been very happy with YesAsia, as they've been good with communication when they haven't been able to fulfill part of an order and allowed me to make up the order with another selection to qualify for free shipping.

Summer So Far....

2007-07-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

As we approach the end of July, I thought I'd post some of our summer fun pics so far.. Those Flickr toys are so much more fun to use than Photoshop!

1. Treats at Kits Beach(centre), 2. Strathcona Community Garden, 3. Looking Back, 4. Street Party on Commercial Drive, 5. Robson Park, 6. Spectator Ryan at Soccer Camp, 7. Freezies with the Boys, 8. Car-free Day, 9. Feeding Ducks at Trout Lake, 10. Goalie at Soccer Camp, 11. Riding Tadem @ Family Pl., 12. Ryan @ Fam. Pl., 13. Family Pl. Biking

Sock Update

2007-07-27T00:48:00.000-07:00

One sock down and another to go..... which has finally been started. Whew...and I didn't even have to lock myself in the van on a negotiated two hour break from the family to do so, as I did for the first sock! Lovely striping, don't ya' think? And speaking of socks, the new Fall Interweave Knits issue includes quite a few interesting sock patterns. I quite like the William Street Socks, which happens to be a free web pattern! Click here to see a preview of all the patterns. Eunny Jang's Tangled Yoke Cardigan is gorgeous too!

Happy 1st Blogiversary to Me!

2007-07-25T01:25:00.000-07:00

My little blog has given me:

656 visits
953 page views
new like-minded friends and contacts
an opportunity to document my fibery interests
an opportunity to record some daily life with family
a wonderful sense of accomplishment
a whole lot of instant gratification
and a creative outlet

Ahoy, thar Matey!

2007-07-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

We've been havin' some swashbuckling fun celebrating D's big 5th birthday this past long weekend, which is why there has been no knitting in sight. D got a pirate-themed birthday this year complete with message-in-a-bottle invitations, pirate-themed games, a treasure hunt, a homemade pirate pinata, costumes, a Pirates of the Carribean cake, and a pirate song with a jig. We had family and friends, old and new to D, all squish into our modest sized home, which was arranged as best we could to maximize space. In the end, the party ended up taking place throughout the entire house, back deck, and garden area. Shiver me timbers! We were super thrilled and grateful to have had some great weather which also helped us spread the party activities out of doors.

For anyone out there planning a birthday party, I highly recommend a themed party. One amazing site from where I got a lot of great ideas was this one. Click on the Winner's Circle to read about award-winning party ideas. I just couldn't stop reading about all the imaginative, detailed ideas that others have come up with for their own parties. I had never planned a themed party before, and ended up being completed engrossed in the theme. I must admit, there was a lot of obsessive work involved, but all the planning paid off in the end. I had enthusiastic participation in all the games and everyone had a lot of fun, which included all the parents who attended. The only person who did not participate in any of the games, unfortunately, was R. The party seemed to have interfered with his usual naptime. Nevertheless, there were lots of compliments all around.

Happy 5th Birthday D! We can't believe our first baby is already getting ready for Kindergarten. Here's a comparison of what D looked like a year ago versus today.

Above is a thank-you card that I'm currently working on for our guests who attended the party. Sorry, I couldn't get it any bigger for you. I'm still just learning how to work with Photoshop.

U-Pick Strawberries

2007-06-21T01:25:00.000-07:00

It's strawberry picking time again! Yay!!! The strawberries were pretty picked over by the time we got to Featherstone at about noon yesterday, but there were still lots of juicy, sweet berries to be picked with some extra effort. With a perfect day weatherwise, we were able to pick about 10 lbs to bring home. I had a lot more help picking from the boys this year--especially from R who was quite possessive about his little bucket that he carried with him around the field. R mainly stuffed his face last year, although, I'm sure we all gobbled up a few pounds on the field this year too.

My First Rhubarb Pie

2007-06-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

During the first year we moved into the house (which was six years ago), I bought some strawberry rhubarb root divisions from Van Dusen Gardens' Seedy Saturday to plant in our garden. The first couple of years I couldn't understand why I didn't get any growth out of these plants. These were supposed to be easy, low maintenance plants to grow, I thought. We eventually just concluded that the rhubarb plants were probably unhappy in its location, so M dug them up and moved them next to the fig tree. That was about three years ago, and finally, we now have some healthy big strawberry rhubarb with great big leaves growing in my garden from which I made my first rhubarb pie this past Sunday. I'm happy to say that it turned out delicious--tart, but not too lip-puckering tart. I used this recipe. And I used the standard pastry recipe from my mom's old Five Roses cookbook with my own addition of some freshly grated orange rind.

Portobello West Market

2007-05-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of days, I've been trying to capture some good progress shots of my trekking sock, but not one single shot is up to standard. There is progress though, and I'm loving Charlene Schurch's clear, detailed instructions in her book, Sensational Knitted Socks. I'm super close to finishing up the first sock, so I will be able to start the second one soon.

Over the weekend, we went and checked out the Portobello West Market, held on the last Sunday of each month, at the beautiful, new Rocky Mountaineer Station. I've known about this market for about a year now, but just haven't been able to make it to any of their dates for some reason. It's exciting to know that Vancouver has a market like this (inspired by London's Portobello Market) showcasing the talents of so many creative designers, whether it be in fashion clothing, jewelry & accessories to visual art and even botanical art! I loved most of what I saw, especially the amazing clothing and jewelry. I absolutely loved the jewelry by Fiona Louie. That's her Lovebirds Collection and Leaf Collection in the above pics. Check out the market's next date on June 24th. Admission is free and there's music and entertainment after 4pm. Unfortunately, we went too early on Sunday, so we didn't quite catch the music. Maybe we should have planned to go later in the afternoon, so that the boys would've been more entertained while I shopped more seriously. The boys were just too antsy and restless to allow me to go through the market at a more leisurely pace. I guess there's always next month.

Off to the 30th International Vancouver Children's Festival

2007-05-20T01:02:00.000-07:00

Look at my scary skull face painting!

Serious about fence painting

Exploring juggling balls

Make that diablo spin D!

Trying out the stilts

Why won't this kite fly?

With a day off from work on Friday and some tickets to see Tzo'Kam & Sandy Scofield, two First Nations music acts, it was a full day of fun festival activities that started bright and early (out of the house by 8:45am) and ended until the boys were just too tired to fly their kites made at the festival.

As usual on most of my outings, I bring my sock knitting, in case I have a chance to knit a round or two. Most of the time I don't even have the opportunity to unzip my knitting bag, but to my surprise, I was able to pull out the sock that day while R was in the giant sandbox and D was socializing with friends after having lunch. What I also didn't expect was to attract a crowd of French immersion students at the festival (both boys and girls) quite interested in what I was making. It was a little daunting trying to answer all of their questions while trying hard not to make a mistake in my knitting pattern, but it made me very happy that these kids would be interested in just watching me knit on my DPNs. Knitting in public sure has the power to promote it!

Let Me Out!

2007-05-12T00:36:00.000-07:00

With such beautiful warm weather yesterday, it was off to Trout Lake with the boys and some friends for a picnic. After lunch and some active play at the playground, I took D and R for a quiet ride around the park in our red wagon before heading home. Needless to say, R did not appreciate being buckled in once he realized he had the chance to be super close to some water. We had just arrived at a little, secluded pier (complete with a fisherman) near the edge of the lake, when R decided to make a supreme fuss. His powers of persuasion didn't take long to work on me, for I soon broke down and gave in to his desires of escape and freedom. With ducks to look at and murky water in which to look for fish and throw sticks and leaves, how could I resist not unbuckling both boys. Besides, I think the lone fisherman was getting annoyed that we were scaring his fish away by making so much noise.

Anyhow, I was also going to report on sock progress these past couple of days, but I had no choice other than to frog the sock! Yes, you read that correctly. All you have to do is look at the above photograph. Not only did I feel that the sock was a little small, I found some glaring mistakes!!! When I first saw the mistakes, I just thought, oh well, no one will notice when the sock is finished, but the more I knit, the more irritating those garter stitches were, popping up in the stocking stitch ribs (see between the limey green stripe and the darker green stripe). I just couldn't live with the broken up ribbing, so I'm starting all over again. It's a good thing that I didn't knit down to the heel yet.

Time to Crochet Myself a Nomad Hat!

2007-05-06T16:23:00.000-07:00

I'm so grateful to meet such warm-hearted people on the internet via my store and my blog. I love how the internet has brought together creative, like-minded people so willing to share and discuss ideas, thoughts, and solutions. Thank you Catherine, for sending me some "happy mail"! I love Tiffany Reynolds' colourful crochet pattern for the nomad felted hat! It really made my month after having lost my wallet to a pickpocket in mid-April!

Other projects that were on the go, but were interrupted by some sock knitting include the "Panta", a popular translated finnish headband pattern that is documented by a thread on Craftster that is over 80 pages long and some kanzashi. My finished panta, knit in Elann's stretchy Esprit yarn, turned out a little too big and too wide, so I'll have to experiment with the pattern some more to get it right for my head. Maybe then, I can model it myself rather than have Ms. Styro do the modelling for me.

I've also been working on some kanzashi flowers. This is my second attempt (based on a great Craftster tutorial) at getting the kanzashi the way I like it. So far, so good..... my second attempt has been much more successful at getting all the petals in the right position. Only when I get the hang of making these flowers will I actually hunt down some vintage kimono fabric to make more authentic and more lovely kanzashi. I have to admit that I have even more projects started, but I'll leave that for future posts... My crafty life is quite insane. Sometimes, I think I really have to cut down on some projects and go out for some fresh air more often.

Wrestling a Porcupine No More

2007-05-04T15:14:00.000-07:00

I've been itching to start a pair of socks lately, and decided to resist no longer and take the plunge into the sock yarn stash, despite being in the "muddle" of a whole bunch of other crafty projects. So here's what I just started...socks in Trekking XXL from a pattern in Sensational Knitted Socks, a great book by Charlene Schurch that I bought quite some time ago. I'm knitting a six-stitch pattern sock. I am thinking of using the simple slipped-stitch rib for the sock pattern, but the waterfall rib is calling me too. Although I debated knitting these socks on a circular needle (a chance to use my new Addi Turbos), I ended up going with my DPNs. It really wasn't so long ago that knitting with double pointed needles felt somewhat like wrestling a porcupine, but after knitting Ann Budd's Cowgirl Slipper Socks using DPNs earlier this year, I think I've truly been converted! See this post. It was such a pleasure to work with five needles. Dividing all the stitches on four individual needles really allowed me to visualize more clearly the structure of the basic sock. Fixing mistakes also seemed easier with the DPNs. There wouldn't be as many stitches to undo if I had to rip back to a mistake using the DPNs vs. a long circular needle.

Very Funny

2007-04-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

"How did a beautiful mama get so angry on her day off?"

Dylan, 4yrs and 9mos.
--remarks from my eldest after being scolded for fooling around with the sink stopper and ignoring my pleas to brush his teeth this morning

Now, if this doesn't just throw one off in the morning, I don't know what will... And how do you respond to that? Do you get mad, or do you laugh? I think I did both.