ducky house

I need a distraction

It's cold here. really cold. the kind of cold that makes me want to stay under the covers all day, drink hot chocolate and eat sugary sweets so I can lay down belly fat to get through the rest of winter. Since none of those options are happening, I have to find other ways to keep myself distracted happy: yarn!

Knitting does the trick in a pinch. Pick up a project, pull it out for a 1/2 hour here and there, take it with you when you do have to go out. It's the ultimate busy mum's companion. In my last post about knitting I was getting very close to finishing a vest that I have spent tons of time picking up and putting down. That vest is all finished (here's a sneak peek), except for the yarn that needs to be weaved in. Would I be a bad crafter if I said that I wore the vest the other day and just tucked those threads in? don't judge me :/

Shopping for yarn is almost as fun as knitting. I really could be a yarn stash hog. I'm already a fabric one. don't judge me :/  I recently tried out a new to me knitting store: loveknitting.com and I have to say they had me at "free shipping" over $50. For us Canadians that only happens if someone lives in the same town as you. On top of it I ordered during their January sale so the yarn was super-priced! The yarn arrived in the cutest organza bags all snug like bugs in a rug. Great packaging! FYI, the January sale is ending soon so if you need some yarn, you still have a couple of days to stock up. 

I ordered the Sirdar montana yarn. It's an economical acrylic/wool blend, as sometimes I don't want to spend eyons of dollars on a sweater that I know is not going to fit in one years time. Which means I was planning on using this yarn for my girlies. I still haven't completely decided on what I will be making yet. I'm currently loving on these: olearia, bulle and paprika. I have to make the final decision soon as my fingers are itching to get knitting. Are you a knitter? If so, what are you working on? 

Knit 4, purl 2...repeat

Last year I started a vest knitting project that is taking me forever to complete. It didn't help that I completed it and then frogged it because it was too large. Ugh! 

The pattern is called Lazarao and it is from the Mirasol Collection book 1. The yarn I'm knitting with is called Hacho in the colourway Jade Sapphire. I think the yarn may have been discontinued but I love knitting with it. It handles nicely, the colours are fabulous and it has so much texture!

I'm almost finished the darn thing but am having a bit of a time trying to re-work the edging on the sleeveless arms. It seems most of the comments on this pattern have been that people are too crazy about how the sleeves ruffle. Hmm, not really a ruffles girl so I've been trying to reduce the number of stitches to resolve this issue. Hopefully that will be a good fix and I will have a knitty project to show you soon.  

In any case, have a lovely Monday, xo. 

hello and goodbye

A fitting title since my first post this month comes almost at the end of February. I am slow time of year, as I make my way through what I hope is the end of winter. Not that it was a bad one; our winter has been unseasonably warm this year, even kibboshing all attemps at an ice rink on the lake as customary for us. Still, I find myself day dreaming of gardening, beaches & warm sunshine on my skin, ahhh! 

For now we keep ourselves busy with:

 

~ posies: something special to spice up a little something I made this past fall

~ tea parties: now that they are reading & writing, little notes are given to me with special requests <3  

~ minecraft: because this mumma caves & gives them techie time   

~ doggy cuddles: because the theme for SPFebruary is with something you love

~ kale goodness: dehydrated for chips, in smoothies, lasagna, soup - as many ways as possible.

~ impromptu weddings: since my niece recently became engaged, the talk at the table & the play has been all things weddings. Here she is a flower girl & this summer my girlies will be her flower girls :)  

~ thank you iPhone for helping me capture a little bit of each day ~ 

girlie knits

Cute little knitty things for baby M.

Pink booties, is there anything that screams "girl" more then pink booties? The pattern comes from an old Patons book called Early Arrivals bk # 702 - kind of ironic because baby M was not an early arrival. 

My girlfriend recently had her first baby girl, it was joy for her I tell ya. Not because boys aren't special enough for her; she has 4 - yes, you read that right, 4 sons already and she has made sure her sons lives are filled with all kinds of specialness. But for this family having a baby girl/little sister is da bomb - and for me it gave me oodles of opportunity to do the girly knitting I could never manage to get done when I was expecting my twin girlies.

The sweater is a free download: the Abigail Sweater on ravelry.  

The pants are my go-to baby knit pattern: Picky Pants, also available on ravelry for $10.00. I knit these a few years back for baby M's brother P, you can see them here.

The booties are from another old Patons Astra booklet that I had in my collection Patons Astra baby bk # 669.  I'll have more specific details on all the pieces once I get things uploaded to my ravelry account.

making it work

picture from Patons website

I wanted to love these socks, really I did, the spiral variegated yarn looks uber cool and I've knit with it before. Alas I found myself feeling :meh: while knitting. In retrospect I think what was bugging me was the pattern and it's absence of a heel. At first read, I thought "no heel, sweet, these (socks) will knit up super fast", but as I was knitting it dawned on me that the combination of stretch yarn plus no defining heel would mean the socks might end up slipping off your foot and that would be annoying, certainly not gift worthy.  

I was going to scrap the socks but I couldn't do it. Instead I modified the pattern to allow for a heel and now I am in a much better head space. My like has returned and I have just turned the heel corner and am heading for the home stretch. If all goes well, I'll be casting on another in the near future.  Wish me luck! 

If you are interested in knitting up a pair you can find the pattern here on the Patons website or on Ravelry, you will need an account for both sites to access the pattern.

I've got spring on my mind, yes indeed. I'm dreaming of green grass, ..grass so green that you can't help but lie down in it. I'm thinking about warm summer days, gardening and pool side play. I'm thinking about it all and wondering when this shift in temperature is going to take place. (Even those flakes of snow that fell last evening can't hide the effects of spring all around. It is coming, that I am sure).

In the absence of green outside my latest knit project will have to suffice. It's for the littlest of our home and in full disclosure I do knit for dogs. It's a Christmas present for Miss Lily, way ahead of the game, though I'm sure the kids will convince me to let her wear it a little sooner once they see it completed ...and they won't have to twist my arm. 

Happy Weekending. xxx 

critters & cuteness

I worked on a felt kit over the Christmas break which has me completely smitten with the outcome.  I realize that Christmas is over and talking about ornaments in March can be a little un-nerving, but bare with me as I indulge this little christmas crafting. And besides have you ever seen a cuter bunch of characters? How could I not work on this kit year round.

The kit is made by Bucilla and called Woodland Santa, it has since been retired but I'm sure if you look on ebay you should be able to find a kit.  At first glance when I opened the kit, it took a bit for me to get my mind around the instructions.  I'd say reading the instructions are just-a-bit-easier than a japanese sewing pattern.  With perseverance and an undying commitment to the uber-cute creatures, I pressed on and managed to get a grip on things. I am a crafter after all.

I started with the bear who seemed simple enough - same colour felt throughout has to be straight forward. Next up was the bunny - oh so sweet and then the toy soldier who was a little more challenging with his fancy uniform.  

I discovered a couple of things while embroidering: 

1. don't cut too many pieces at once or it will whisk you into a fury of searching when pieces turn up missing.  Only to find that said missing pieces are stuck to your sweater - felt, right?  

2. keep a few zip lock bags (or similar) on hand to keep cut pieces separate - don't forget to mark the bags.  

3. create a thread pallet to keep all the threads organized and untangled. 

4. entry level reading glasses may or may not be required for magnification when working with tiny little stitches and bead work - ahem. 

and finally

5. kind of attached to the last point: good lighting is a must - need I say more? 

The last felt kit I completed was a stocking, pre-twins era, for my mum.  This will be good practice for me since along with the felt ornaments I purchase the woodland santa stocking kit for mr. duckyhouse, but shh don't tell him because it's a secret. and secrets I'm good at.

knitting imitates life

I've been spending a fair amount of time knitting this past winter. I have a relationship with knitting akin to an old friend.  There are weeks when we don't see each other and then we reconnect and it is like no time has passed.  This winter I picked up the sticks in December after an entire two season absence and together we have been inseparable. It started with socks, then knucks, dish cloths for an unsuspecting friend who thought she was giving me some cotton yarn (sorry no photos) and then a long overdue scarf that I started back in 2008 that had since been frogged due to lack of motivation. 

On a roll I picked up the lonely balls of hacho, found my pattern "the juan scarf" and began the simple cast on once again.  Things felt different this time around, the repetitive 12 row pattern which seemed to give me so much angst two years ago was flowing so much easier.  In no time I was finished and then casted on for the matching "tintiri hat".  I did have to adjust the pattern slightly because I always find knitted hats a bit snug. And just in case you're wondering, my bean isn't any bigger (or smaller) than the next gals. 

I dare say the ease that I've been knitting with lately is due to a renewed place of peace I've been making with the current state of chaos I live in. There are still designated work zones in my home and tools strewn about and I'm learning to live with it.  It's been over 2 years now, it will be 3 in the summer since we started this renovation journey.  If we were independently wealthy things would have been finished in record time, however being a stay-at-home/home-educating/part time working mum does not lend itself to wealth.  Instead we've been working at what feels like a snails pace (at times), steadily tackling the jobs in the limited free days we have ~ that translates to about 2-3 days every two weeks for anyone wondering what's taking us so long. 

And so here I am, end of February still with no studio to speak of or a completed home. I find myself setting work schedules and then readjusting the time frame once again to make room for things unseen: spontaneous family outings on days we should be working, lazy days of mid-winter when we feel like we just can't spend another moment working on it (the house) or planning it. The distractions are so very frequent and at the end of the day what does it matter?  Life goes on right? Finding the enjoyment in today is most important, whatever that days looks like: painting, sledding, knitting.  Truthfully it's a better way to live and I wish I discovered it a couple of winter's back. I hear Morpheus (from the Matrix) whispering to me: "Unfortunately, no one can be told what the {insert issue} is. You have to see it for yourself."

Much like knitting, the end (of renovating) feels so very near and at the same time so very far off... and I keep my knitting close for those many moments when I should could be working on a house project but "don't feel like it".  I pick up the familiar sticks and lay a few more rows down.  Some days it looks like I'll be knitting forever and then bam, I'm at the end.  I suspect that is how real life works too.

socks for stockings

I was trying to figure out what last minute gift I could knit up for my girls for the christmas stockings when I stumbled on a pair of socks that I had already knit.  I was planning on giving them to the girls for Easter way back when, until I realized that they were still a bit too big.  No problem right? Just put them away for a year (or two), forget them and then bring them out in a pinch.  Just don't forget that you still have to knit up another pair, they can't wear only one sock each silly.   

That is exactly how the story goes, I did forget about the socks and when I was rumbling through my yarn bin looking for something to knit during sick-December, voila, there they were.  I still had to knit up a second pair but that was pretty quick and painless. 

They joined the boys knucks on Christmas eve, placed in stockings awaiting the Christmas morning excitement.  The sock yarn details can all be found here.  I think I like knitting up things and forgetting about them, it's a nice surprise.  

lets here it for the boys

During the month of December from my sick bed couch, I found myself drawn to the sticks once again for comfort in these very craft-less months.  It’s no easy task being without a studio or creative corner to hide in and with most of my fabric & stuff unavailable, my creative projects are small and portable.  

Last winter I had a request from the J-man, for some cool fingerless mitts.  As an avid reader and artist, he likes his fingers readily available for whatever he is working on and fingerless mitts allow him warmth for his hands and flexibility to create.  Call me predictable but what is the point of ever just making one pair, especially when the B-meister is just as busy doing his thing: kicking a ball around the house, playing with lego and all sorts of other (loud) mischief.  

I turned to Ravelry, an overflowing wealth of knitting information and patterns, and chose the Knucks pattern, available in multi-sizes.  Don't fret, if you aren't a member of ravelry, the pattern is available free on knitty.  If you are checking out the pattern, I didn’t do the finger embroidery that looks so cool, only because I needed a break after weaving in all those endless threads that came with making fingers.  I may just tackle the mitts away from my boys to add a few “boys rule” silliness...or maybe not.    

I knit them up with one ball of Rowan felted tweed from my LYS.  They are a lovely shade called avacado, (which reminds me I should be eating more of) and do indeed match the B-meister’s winter jacket, although with the cold and snow we get, one could hardly survive outside with fingerless mitts.  None the less, the natural light does make for a lovely picture.  

These mitts ended up in the boys stocking for Christmas, just a little something extra from the mumma for two terrific fellas.