But it's still oak!

A change is good, right?

We have just repainted our bedroom walls and the ensuite just didn't match at all anymore. So one project leads to another and the ensuite needed to be done too!

To paint the walls is one thing but to paint the oak cupboards is another. I have been talking about doing this for a couple of years now. At first DH would just say : No way, those are oak cupboards. I would answer: They'll still be oak cupboards, just a different colour! Most men have this unexplainable fear of painting over anykind of wood. As women, we need to help them get over that fear!

Our cupboards were in a honey oak colour. See the before picture. The walls were in some kind of Dijon yellow...nice at first but I was tired of it.

After a visit to the local paint shop, I was ready to tackle the oak painting project! The cupboards are painted in Cloud white (Benjamin Moore paints). The walls are a dark taupe brown as is the ceiling.

While we were at it, we replaced the handles on doors and drawers and the lights above the mirror as well.

Quite the change, isn't it?

Guess what I will be doing next? The kitchen cupboards. Hubby is all for it now! Maybe I tackle that project this winter. We'll see.

Alpaca softness

I picked up some wonderful worsted weight alpaca yarn from Misty Haven Alpaca farm this spring. The reason for a visit to the farm was to pick up a birthday gift for my mother (and a little something for me too).



Hand dyed in a rich denim colour.

100% alpaca = pure softness

The cowl is Foxglove. Available on Elann.com.



I modified by casting on only 108 stitches instead of 144. I prefer my cowls to fit closer to the neck.

Now, I 'm not wishing for the cold weather to come, I am enjoying this warm summer way too much! But when the cold wind does start to blow, I will be ready!

Are you ready?

Round and round we go

Our grand daughter, bébé O will be one year old in september. Time flies by so fast. She is such a joy.

I wanted to knit her a sweater for the fall. I must have looked at several dozens of patterns but none had that special little something I was looking for.

But that all changed when I came across the Pinwheel sweater. Have you seen it? It's basically a circle with two sleeves knitted into it. The pattern says this little sweater will fit from a one year old to a 4 year old...one size only will fit a growing toddler for 3 - 4 years. Even if she can wear it two seasons that would be a bonus...cause we all know babies grow so fast!

But what really got to me were the colours knitters were using to knit them. Have a look at the project page on Ravelry, here.

I had a lot of Cascade 220 left over from other projects. I only needed to buy one ball of purple.

Here are the seven colors all knitted up with a partial first sleeve done.

I knitted the seven coloured circles in one day...I wonder if that's why my wrist is so sore! That is what car knitting will do to you! I was so excited to see all those circles of colours appear that I just could not put it down.

The next day, I worked on the I-cord bind off. Now who would of thought of this? It's so brilliant! This bind-off will surely show up in my work again. It was long to do but really worth it.

The red line of knitting that you see in the green section is a waste yarn that I will remove to pick up the stitches for the sleeve. This does such a great job. No holes and no uneven picking up of stitches.

So I am hoping to finish both sleeves this week and work on a little hat to match next week.

So what do you think? Fun sweater, right?