Hop Hop Hop!

After knitting Nadia's Baby blanket in a bulky cream cotton yarn, I came across a super cute pattern that I thought would be nice to include in the baby shower gift. Normally, I don't have an interest in knitting toys. They usually have many small pieces and lots of sewing involved. But this one was different.

This cute little baby bunny is so easy to make. If I had more yarn, I think I would have made a whole family of bunnies to join this one.
And with this thick yarn, it was very fast too.

 The ears are lined with a bit of chenille fabric I had from another project. I used iron-on adhesive to fuse the chenille to the knitted ear. This really gave shape to the ears.

Instead of making a yarn pompom for the tail, I thought a cute little fabric tail would be fun. I ran a gathering thread around a circle and sewed it on.

I like to knit this kind of toy...very few pieces and easy to put together.

Pattern: The Bunny Bunch (from knitandcrochetnow.com)
Yarn: cotton / acrylic bulky yarn
Colour: Cream
Needles: 7mm

I must post a picture of Lily...that's how Anouk's little puppy will be named. She is 7 wks old now and into everything!!

FO Cotton Baby blanket

Well, it's not Monday but I have another FO to show you.
I first showed you a baby blanket here.
I knew I would eventually knit the Hopkins Baby blanket again.
This time it's with a chunky cotton/acrylic yarn in cream.

I can't remember when was the last time that I've knitted with cotton. But the blanket does have a nice weight to it. Since it was a chunky weight, it was done in no time. It measures 29'' x 29''. So it's not so much a crib blanket as a stroler/car seat blanket.

I washed it in the washer and partially dried it in the dryer. I had to make sure it would still look ok before I gave it as a shower gift to a pregnant cousin of mine.
It came out of the dryer looking and feeling really great. So all is good for the busy parent with little time to hand wash the baby's stuff!

I'm working on a little something to add to the blanket gift...can you guess what it might be? I'll post pictures when I'm done.

 And, last night, on my way to see my parents for a couple of hours (I wasn't driving!), I casted on for another baby blanket. This time a lighter weight, 100% cotton in white.

Shop update

I've neglected my Etsy shop lately. Just not enough hours in a day!

I have some hand dyed yarn waiting to be listed.
Taking pictures takes time and so I've listed only one skein today.

I call it Summer Fling. The colours are very vibrant. I have two skeins available.

I've been sewing Project bags these past few weeks. These are great for small knitting projects or even to carry your lunch or library book.

I listed two of them this afternoon. 

And this one sold almost immediately! Guess I'll be listing a few more tomorrow.

I've been knitting a baby blanket with a chunky cotton yarn. I should be finished by the weekend. The blanket will be gifted to a cousin expecting her first child.

FO socks for me!

I love to wear hand knit socks but I must admit I find it long and tedious to knit them. It must have something to do with the small fingering yarn and the small 2.5mm needles that is required to knit socks. It must also have something to do with the fact that after finishing the first sock, I have to start all over with the second one.

Well, if I want to wear them, I have to get down to business and knit them!

But...I might have found a compromise. I recently knitted a pair of socks using a sport weight yarn and 3.5mm needles. The socks were knitted up in no time at all and I love them.

The colour is not clearly shown in this picture. (I really must look for a new camera.)

It's somewhere between a rasberry colour and plum.

The yarn is 100% Peruvian Highland Wool. I'm eager to see how it will wear on the heels.

Here is a better idea of the colour. This pic comes from the Knit Pick website.

The lace pattern is very easy to remember. Instead of the picot edge I knitted a plain rib for the cuff.

I'm sure, I'll knit with this yarn again.

Yup, this is a great compromise...

Pattern: Rainy day socks (Ravelry link)

Yarn: Wool of the Andes Sport Yarn, KnitPicks

Colour: Fairy tale

Needles: 3.5mm



Copain

Copain

1995-2011

Four Feet in Heaven



Your favorite chair is vacant now...


No eager purrs to greet me.


No softly padded paws to run


Ecstatically to meet me.


No coaxing rubs, no plaintive cry


Will say it's time for feeding.


I've put away your bowl, and all


The things you won't be needing;


But I will miss you little friend,


For I could never measure


The happiness you brought me,


The comfort and the pleasure.


And since God put you here to share


In earthly joy and sorrow;


I'm sure there'll be a place for you


In Heaven's bright tomorrow...
by Alice E. Chase



FO my Citron shawl

Noro yarns are revered by lots of knitters. I must admit that the colours are stunning. When I saw this yarn in my local yarn store, I immediately knew I wanted to make something for myself with it.

The Citron pattern is very easy to knit.

 

Some rows are very long to knit...the rushing parts have a few hundreds stitches near the end. But it does add to the charm of this little shawl. I say little because it measures only 14 inches in length. Long enough to wrap around my neck under a coat but not long enough to wear alone over my shoulders. If I could have found a second skein, I would have made this one a little longer.

The only problem I have with this shawl, is that it's really not soft. It seems that Nora yarns will soften when washed but this one did not get much softer.

Pattern: Citron

Needles: 3.5mm

Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn

Build it and they will come

Well, maybe that title should be Build it cause they are coming!
I was holding off talking about it on my blog until they were actually here but...I can't wait anymore...here we go!
This past April, we purchased four female alpacas! Yes, that's right, the dream is almost reality now!
We purchased our herd from our friend Norma from Misty Haven alpacas.

Our place is almost ready for them. Hubby has been putting the finishing touch on the 'barn'. I had spoken about it before, here.

But the biggest job for him has been the fencing. Posts are being put in the ground every weekend. More than half are in the ground. He will give it a good push this week to finish this job. (That's Anouk out in the field taking a break from mothering her little one.) A little more sun and less rain would help tremendously!

Then, the fencing will be going up with the help of family and friends.

The winter hay was picked up last week!

And to make things that much more exciting, two of our alpacas gave birth this week.

Cria # 1 is a beautiful dark brown female with a white patch on her muzzle and above each eyebrow. She is a little beauty!

Here is super proud hubby with her

And cria #2 is a white female, super sweet and so dainty. But she's in constant motion! A ball of endless energy! Her poor mom has her hands full!



In a few weeks, they will be transfered to our very own backyard and we will be able to enjoy watching them from our deck! Can't wait!

A day with an old friend

When it's been too long since you have spent good quality time with your favorite friend, it's a real treat to do so for a whole day.
My friend and I did such a thing today.

Wanna see her picture?

Here she is.

Years ago, my sewing machine used to be my constant companion. Now, I take her out only occasionally.
I started sewing when I was 12 years old. And I sewed a lot, all the time, making most of my clothes and most of my children clothes till they were in their teens. I even sewed my wedding dress because I could not find what I wanted in the stores and prom dresses for both my daughter and myself.
My fabric stash was quite impressive back then.
Now, I don't sew my clothes anymore. I pretty much only sew for our home. Curtains, roman shades, duvet covers, slip covers...

Todays rain meant indoor time. So out came the sewing machine and with a search through the fabric pile, I came up with a couple of things I could quickly make today.

Here are the completed projects.
Pillows on the sofa badly needed some updating. At the end of the morning, I completed red and yellow pillow covers for the rec room sofa.

Last night, while reading a few of my favorite blogs, I came across this very well illustrated tutorial for a small project bag. It's actually a lunch bag but I will use it for small knitting projects. You can find the tutorial here.

 Using left over fabrics is always perfect for these small projects.

 The bag is lined with a blue and white gingham.

It has a drawstring top on the inside so that you can hide your project and protect it from dust and dog hair!

So all in all, a good productive day. 

Rhubarb in season

I am not a gardener at all. So what we grow around here must be really hardy and able to tolerate some degree of neglect or my lack of knowledge in gardening.
But still, I love to grow herbs in pots and in flower beds. My numerous lavender plants are thriving well enough. We almost always have tomato plants growing on the deck.
And let's not forget the strawberry rhubarb plant by the back door.

Now, this is as hardy as they get. I usually completely forget to water this plant and it still keeps on giving, year after year.

I made our favorite rhubarb coffee cake on the weekend from a Homemaker magazine recipe. This recipe was published in their May 2002 magazine. Yes, it's been around for awhile and I make it every year. 

I checked to see if the recipe was on their website but I did not find it. So in case you would like to make this cake here it is.

RHUBARB ORANGE COFFEE CAKE WITH BROWN SUGAR-CINNAMON TOPPING

Topping:

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tbsp finely grated orange peel

½ tsp cinnamon

Cake:

2 cups flour

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup orange juice

1½ cups chopped rhubarb

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 8'' pan. Combine Topping ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Stir together dry ingredients (first five ingredients for cake) in a large bowl. In another bowl, lightly beat egg; blend in vanilla, butter and orange juice. Pour egg mixture into dry mixture and stir just until evenly combined. Spread half in prepared pan. Top evenly with rhubarb (I actually put in almost 2 cups of rhubarb to make sure that every inch of the batter is covered withit). Spoon remaining batter on top and gently spread even. Sprinkle topping evenly over surface. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm or cool. Enjoy!

FO Baby girl blanket

As my mother is destashing, my stash seems to be growing! That's not exactly how I thought it would end up but some yarn is just too nice to let go. Many, many years ago, my mother and grand mother used to order yarn from Bèrgère de France in Montréal. They would order lots and lots of yarn! My grand mother would knit constantly but my mom would mostly stash it!! (Just kidding mom!)

With all the babies being born lately amongst our friends and family, I thought I would get a few items ready for those baby showers coming this summer.

Eventhough I don't often knit with acrylic yarns, I knew that the washability of this yarn would be appreciated by busy parents.

This blanket starts from the center and is knitted on circular needles. It's one of those mindless knitting project. I always love to have one of those on hand when I want to knit and watch tv or expect to be interupted often.

 The colours are for a baby girl in lavender, rasberry and white. I also made the hat that was included with the blanket pattern. I have enough yarn to make a sweater or booties too.

Pattern: Hopkins Hat and Blanket (free download from Knitcircus Magazine)
Needles: forgot to make a note of it!
Yarn: Barisienne by Bergère de France

Puppy news:
She is growing like a...well...like a puppy! Well not surprising since all she does is sleep, eat, eliminate...
Now 16 days old and with opened eyes.Her ears are starting to open up as well so she will soon be hearing us walk in the room! Doing her best to get off her belly and use her legs. She actually barked this week! With no littermates, we will have to entertain her till she can be introduced to one of our super gentle golden.

She loves to use the stuffed toys as a pillow.
What's her name? Not sure of that yet. She was born by c-section and when we stepped out of the vet's office, there was a penny by the car. I immediately thought of calling her Penny and register her as Lucky Penny. But hubby doesn't seem to like the name too much so we are still working on this.