Susan's cinnamon buns!

Susan sent me her recipe for cinnamon buns, and I was itching to try out the new Kitchen Aid, so...

These are SOOOOOOOOO good. I split the recipe into three, baked one pan off, and froze the other two. (One is a birthday gift for my boss, with cooking instructions), and one is for us.) What I love about these is that they are more of a caramel-pecan bun, which is my all time favourite. Luckily, it's also a fave of my husband and son, otherwise I would have eaten the whole pan, and that would be bad. (but oh so good...)

Hockey Mom MItts

My brother's wife is a hockey mom. She has little choice in the matter, with three kids that all play hockey at a high level. (My niece is in the Team Canada system, and played int he women's under 18 World Championships last year - she's over 18 this year.) She's also at Brown University this year, on a hockey scholarship, so my brother and SIL have made the trek to Rhode Island a few times to watch her play. She had Team Canada mittens as well as Brown University mittens, but wanted to support her sons as well. They both play in the Toronto Marlies organization (age appropriate levels, not the actual Toronto Maple Leaf farm team). Although, my 16 year old nephew has been in net for the Leafs during a light practice session. I gather he's pretty good...)

So, to show support for the boys, she requested some Marlies mittens. Since Mittens are so easy, how could I say no? A quick play around in Excel to get the chart right, and Bob's your Uncle! (actually, Bob is my uncle, and he's the coolest guy around. He's having some health issues, so if you have a stray good thought, could you could send it Ottawa way for him? Thanks.)

I used some Norweigan Heilo Wool in the appropriate shades of blue and white, and just noodled the pattern as I went (writing it down, so the second mitt would match!) These do not fit me AT ALL, as my SIL has these tiny bird like hands, but they should be perfect on her.

something for me!

I actually finished something for me recently. Actually, this is the time of year when I get a little me-centric with my knitting - the gift stuff is mostly done, so start thinking about ME!

Me knitting is usually sweaters (and there is one in progress - I'm just working out some logistical details on it...) but I started this scarf with someone else in mind, but once it was done, I decided to keep it for myself. It;s the Hitchhiker scarf, and it's one of those rare things - a garter knit scarf with shaping and flair. I can't remember where I first saw it, but I really liked it - enough to buy the pattern. It's straight garter stitch, and once you get the pattern, it's so easy - you don't even need to refer to the pattern. I used two balls of Knit Picks Chroma Worsted, in the Mesa colourway, and while it's not my typical colours, it's really pretty!

And the shape of it means it wraps around the neck quite nicely.

I can see making more of these for the gift box...

asked for knits!

I've mentioned before how the kids on my husband's side of the family shy away from the hand knits - they'd rather wear a cheaply made acrylic hat with the right "label" than a custom hand knit. Fine. It pains me, but I have given up trying to force feed the hand knits where they are not appreciated.

My brother's kids however, have come into the light. I made my niece a brown silk and mohair hat - nice and slouchy as requested, and brown. (She attends Brown University). She loved it. I seem to have brain-farted as far as getting a picture of it - too bad, because I have to say, it was really quite lovely! I hit all the parameters. Slouchy, but not a beret, no pompom, soft, and a milk chocolate, not dark chocolate colour. I love specifics, I really do.

The two boys were a different story - I hadn't had a chance to talk to them before Christmas, so I came prepared with a pile of patterns, and some wools. We spent a fantastic hour, looking at patterns, and wools, and comparing colours.

One was rather specific - tiger pattern. Could I knit a tiger pattern? So we hit the computer, and I did a quick Ravelry search, and found a tiger chart. He loved it, and then requested BRIGHT orange and black. Again, slightly slouchy, no pompom, not beanie like - a little longer than that, but snug enough to stay on his head.

The other nephew was also specific - blue and white stripes. (He plays hockey in the Toronto Marlies system - Minor Midget AAA) But, while he also wanted slouchy and longer, he definitely wanted a pompom.

So I left Christmas with all these instructions, and by the time we were headed to the cottage, I had materials in hand, (and the tiger hat partially started). The stripey hat was an easy car knit, and by a couple of days in, I had this:

Note - the stripe pattern was not determined until after a couple of rounds of texts back and forth between nephew and myself - I asked if he wanted skinny or wide stripes, he decided random, so I did Fibbonacci striping. We also narrowed down the pompom size via text - not too big or small, sort of medium...

Before we left the cottage, I had two hats, ready for blocking:

Once home, I used some balloons and blocked, and two more Christmas gifts are ready for delivery!

These kids can ask for anything, anytime...

hostess gift

My SIL hosted the whole family for Christmas this year (In my husband's family, we rotate each year between three of us - I get it next year). While we don't exchange Christmas gifts among our generation (it's mostly for the kids and the parents), I always like to bring a hostess gift to whoever is feeding us.

Of course, me being me, It's usually something handcrafted (even the bag!) And before anyone starts accusing me of going over the top (which I know I do on occasion...) sewing a bag out of leftover fabric from a recent sewing project took less time than trying to find a box to fit, and wrap it)

This particular SIL (wife of my husband's brother) and I are quite good friends (by choice, not just because we share a family!), and she had been hinting around for a while for a gnome. Her living room is mostly a mustard gold tone, with brown leather furniture, hence the colour choice - she had said she didn't want a particularly Christmassy one, as she planned on having him sitting around all year. Yes, the hints were that specific!

She loved him, and he immediately found a home on a suspiciously empty table (I think she had high hopes this year!) The funniest comment came from my other SIL (husband's younger sister). She hosted everyone last year, and for whatever reason, decided to serve dinner 3 hours earlier than usual, which meant they ate without us. (we were not going to cut short time with my family to accommodate that - especially since no reason for moving up the time was given...) We arrived to find they had all eaten, and were cleaning up, but had left us plates of food - "oh by the way, the microwave isn't working". So we were expected to eat it cold, all the while being rushed so they could open the gifts - "are you done yet - everyone is waiting!". (and this is the same SIL that brought the new boyfriend unexpectedly this year).

Yeah, there are some issues with my husband's sisters - I just try to ignore it.

Anyhoo, when SIL-1 opened the gnome, SIL-2 exclaimed "I love him! Why didn't I get one last year when I hosted?"

Two beats of silence, then I answered. "You didn't host us, remember? You ate without us".

She had the decency to look abashed. SIL-1 hid the giggles (she was appalled at what happened last year, and even sat with us while we scarfed what we could). It was probably the only mar on a great Christmas Day, but as my husband said after - it wasn't really a bad thing - his sister needs that kind of reminder.

Either way, another gnome has found a new home, and it's a happy one. That's the important thing.

Christmas dessert

My SIL asked me to bring dessert to Christmas dinner - since she was doing the turkey dinner for 14 (sorry, make that 15 with the unexpected boyfriend...) I was happy to help. I had some sugar cookies, some peppermint bark (thanks for the recipe, Stephanie!), and some fruit, but my favourite part was these Santa Hat Brownies.

 (Idea totally stolen from one of Robyn's Monday Link Loves). So easy - I baked a pan of brownies, cut them out with a circle cutter, piped some butter cream icing on top, added a fresh strawberry, and topped the berry with a little pompom of icing. Simple, yet so ridiculously cute! And really well received. I had also sent some to the boy's school for the last day party - again, well received. I can see doing these every year - not only do they look cute, the flavour combination of the fresh strawberry with a touch of chocolate and vanilla icing was delicious!

teacher gift

I finished a gift for my son's teacher, just before school ended. Originally, it was just going to be a pair of socks for Mr. L, but it morphed into something for his whole family. He let drop the fact that he and his wife were expecting their second child, and well, I get so little opportunity to knit for babies, I just had to whip something up. So I knit a Baby Surprise Jacket, out of Katia Jamaica in a long dead colourway of blue, turquoise, lime green and white. (The baby is due in June, and this is sized for a few months old, so it should be perfect for the fall.)
But then I realized I couldn't ignore the remaining two family members - that would be kind of rude. (especially his wife - she's the one carrying the baby...) So I dug into the gift box, and found a pair of toddler socks that had never been gifted, and chose a rainbow hued scarf.

It may seem over the top, but this is one great teacher. A terrific role model for my son as well as others int he class - he really puts EFFORT into teaching. We have been extraordinarily fortunate with teachers at my son's school - pretty much all of them have been great - really great. It makes me proud, as a parent, to see the influence they have on my son, and their efforts have definitely helped shape him.
And as many of you know - knitting something is often easier than shopping for something!

Happy New Year!

Sorry about that - I seemed to have ignored the blog for a while. Don't take it personally - I ignored a lot of things lately. It just seemed easier to concentrate on family and friends.
So there is a lot to catch up on. I'm going through my camera, and finding pictures of all kinds of things, so I'll be telling you about those things (mostly knitting stuff...)

We had a great Christmas - our family, my family, husband's family. My Mom and my in-laws are terrific, and the fact that they are all in their 80's (or close - my Mom gets there in March), means we are very lucky. My heart goes out to Marie in this respect, who lost her own Mom over the holidays, but if you want to read about how to "truly live before you die", go read. It's inspiring.

There were some interesting parts of Christmas (in this family, there always are...). Like my SIL deciding to introduce her NEW boyfriend to the clan. Unexpectedly. Like, just bringing him to dinner, while my other SIL (who was hosting) and I scrambled to find a spot at the table. Did I mention that my husband's family is large, and there were already 14 of us? Talk about trial by fire! I can't even tell you if he's a nice guy - he was trying too hard to impress. Really, he should have just stayed quietly in the background, but it was entertaining to watch.
And one of the best parts was me opening a huge box from my husband and son and finding the KitchenAid Pro Series I've been lusting after! I have the best guys in my life...

Now, we are at our favourite place in the whole world, spending New Year's with our friends at the cottage.

It's a pretty good way to start a New Year. I'll be back soon with knitting and other stuff.

Merry CHristmas all!

For those that celebrate Christmas - I hope you have a wonderful weekend, doing whatever it is you do to celebrate. For those that celebrate other holidays - I hope they are as wonderful as they can be.
If you don't celebrate anything at this time of year, I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with whatever it is that makes you happy.
I'll be back at some point next week - I'll surface after Christmas to possibly tell the tale of our day - how we combine my family, our friends, and my husband's family. It's always funny... And of course we will be heading to the cottage for New Year's as always - as soon as my husband can get away, or sooner if the boy and I decide we'd rather be there than home, and the hubby can join us later on - I'm off all next week, while he has some work stuff to take care of.

Best to all...

last gift done!

I finished My Mom's flamingo last week, and that was pretty much the last of the Christmas knitting (except for the Baby Surprise Jacket).
It's far too cute for it's own good, and I can see my Mom getting a good laugh over it. I know she will take it to Florida with her, and I can even hazard a good guess as to where it will end up in her house down there... The only problem is I can also see some of her friends down there putting in requests for one of their own...

It's a free pattern from Spud and Chloe, and can be found here. THe only changes I made were the yarns (I used some Briggs and Little I had in my stash in the right colours), and because of that, I also increased the size of the needles to match the yarn. (I find it funny that a Florida flamingo is knitted out of a quintessential Canadian Wool.) I also just stuffed the whole thing with fibrefill, rather than the super ball they used. Other than that - pretty much as they made it! If I do it again, I may think about putting pipecleaners in the legs for a little more substance.

Dahlia done!

I finished my Dahlia sweater a while ago, and have finally got around to taking some (crappy) pictures. I promise to try and get some modelled shots soon, but I wanted to post this before I forgot.

I love this sweater for a number of reasons. One - it's made of Elsbeth Lavold's Silky Wool, one of my all time favourite yarns to knit with. Love. This. Stuff. Two - it;s red. A great, blue toned red, that looks great on me. Three - the pattern - Dahlia has a wonderful floral lace back insert, and an unique construction. I got slowed down by the endless stockinette for the fronts, but made up my mind to power through it, because I really wanted this sweater to wear on Christmas Day.
The one downside - I wish I had just one more ball of wool - The sleeves are just below the elbow, and while this is okay, I would probably be happier with a few more inches of sleeve length.

Please note that having it draped on the dressmaker's mannequin does not even come close to doing it justice - it looks so much better on. I can wear it either loose and draped down the front, or with a cross over neckline,

anchored with a small pin. Either way looks great, and I can see a lot of use out of this.

Merry Christmas to ME!

quick addition

So my son's teacher let drop that he and his wife are expecting a baby. (at the end of June - how to take a stressful month for a teacher and send it OVER the top!) Anyway - he's a great guy, and has been absolutely wonderful so far this year with my son (and the whole class).
I had already planned on a pair of hand knit socks for Mr. L, but then thought about the fact he's so excited about this baby, and already has a toddler and (obviously) a wife, and well, because I always go over the top, I dug around my stash of gifts, and found a pair of toddler socks that had never been gifted (I think I knit them for my son years ago, and he outgrew them before I finished them...), and I have a multitude of scarves that could be gifted to his wife, but the baby... Well, I had a week, so...

 Yup - a Baby Surprise Jacket.

In a reasonably unisex colourway of Katia Jamaica 100% cotton. The best part of using this yarn? I already have a bunch of mitres squares made from it, and will have enough left over to make a stroller sized blanket to match the sweater! (The blanket will be an end of year gift.)

I should be done the sweater by Wednesday, so I can wrap everything up for the boy to take to school on Friday. I'll try and get a picture of all 4 items before I wrap them.

I knew having a stash of already knitted stuff, and access to "quick-to-make" patterns would come in handy one day...

almost completely hand crafted

We had our company holiday dinner this week. We're a small company, and the CEO took all of us to the fabulous little restaurant and we had a great meal, with great people.
Now, my work clothing is usually pretty casual - jeans and sweaters are the norm, but for this, obviously I put out a little extra effort. And the best part?
Pants - hand sewn.
Sweater - hand knit.
Jewellery - hand crafted.

Other than the top and boots, I made it all!
I kind of proud of that. Especially because of all the compliments I received. Most recognized the sweater as hand knit, because most people here know I knit. I did mention I made the jewellery, but not the pants - that seemed a little strange to me...

 There are actually 5 bracelets there. I jumped on the trend of loading up the wrist...

Whatever - I was proud of myself.

And sorry for the office bathroom shots, but it was the only way to get a reasonably well lit full length shot. And looking at it - it's not as bad as I expected.

Oh! and I just realized, I'm even wearing hand knit socks! Go Me!

just because

Because my Mom spends part of the year in Florida, and because she's my Mom, and because I couldn't resist...

I'm knitting my Mom a flamingo for Christmas. Most people have gnomes from me in their house, but for Florida, I think my Mom needs a flamingo.

I knit this much last night, the legs this morning, and I just have the wings and tail left. I'll show the completed bird soon.

And yes, I laugh when I knit this. I mean, c'mon! It's a FLAMINGO!

idea stolen from Knit Tech

Knit Tech often posts pictures of "down her street". I was driving to work earlier this week, and thought this would be a pretty shot. This isn't really my street, but it's close...

Plus it fills a blog post when I've only got half done sock heels, and ideas of how to finish 5 hats in a blink of an eye (5 hats that haven't been started yet...)

And some replies to the pajama post...
Deirdre wanted to know which pattern I use - pajama pants are so standard, I use whichever one is on sale when I buy them. What I look for is a basic pant - straight legged, elastic waist - match up the waist and inseam to whoever you ware sewing for and off you go. What you want is a pattern that has 2 pieces for the pants - a front and a back. Period. No other extraneous pieces. When you cut - you have two fronts and two backs. Regardless of what the directions say, I do this:
sew inseam seam. press open.
sew crotch seam. press open.
flip around and sew outseams. press seams open.
press hems and sew. Press casing for elastic, sew, leaving opening at back (I also sew a ribbon tag at back to help putting them on...)
Insert elastic, sew ends together (making sure it's not twisted), sew opening closed. Done. I production line this process, so any fabrics that use the same colour thread, all get done at the same time. That's why I can do it so quickly. Also, I don't finish the edges. I don't want a seam with a folded or serged edge, I like the slight ravelling you get - it makes the seams softer, and softness is key with pajamas. Plus it saves time! And if your pjs wear out, well, you get to make more! For my son (who's approximately 5'7" now, I usually buy 2.5 metres - once I prewash it and shrink it if necessary, it's usually enough. For anyone taller, buy a bit more. There's usually enough left over to make a small drawstring bag as well if you want. I find I make a ton of bags with my scraps - great for wrapping!
My local fabric store, Fabricland, has a super selection of flannels and cottons suitable for pajama pants - we have fun with the patterns, since they are PAJAMAS, and really shouldn't be taken seriously. What's the fun in serious pajamas??
Dee - maybe we need to have a pajams sewing meetup-workshop - I know LuckyCanuck wants in on that as well!

And I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who still thinks thank-yous are important. My son still sends out thank you notes. He has to be prodded, and he's not always thrilled about it, but he gets why he has to do it. Funny how surprised many people are in getting them. This year, he will probably be sending emails instead of hand written notes, but that's okay.

pajama-rama

I've spoken of sewing pajama pants before. I'm a well-oiled machine when it comes to making these in bulk. Seriously,. I can make a pair in about an hour - cutting, sewing. elastic inserted, everything. I love them (and would live in them, except my husband takes offense when I try to wear them as clothes outside the house...), and my son loves them. I made a bunch for my nieces and nephews a couple of years back, and heard nothing about them, so I assumed they were not well received. Turns out they are, and the kids were disappointed last year when they didn't get new ones. Too bad. Should have said something to me... As I've said to their mothers - these kids are totally old enough to talk to me direct - even by text or email. (One SIL actually had the gall to say to me her son didn't think I knew how to text! This is the same kid that was all over my Blackberry Torch last year, calling me the "cool aunt" for having the latest technology!)
So I cut them no slack - we have a family list that notes everyone's address, email, cell number etc. There is no excuse for not getting in touch with me. Two of the nephews asked for pants again this year, so two are getting them, along with some other people.

This is the total so far (Not all made this past weekend - some have been done for a while...) 10 pairs:

My son gets the fish and basketball ones:

The two dance patterned one (in their own drawstring bags from the leftover fabric) are for the two girls at the cottage - their parents are great friends of ours, and the girls and our boys are inseperable all the time up there):

The Elvis ones are for my friend Sue - a huge Elvis fan, and fan of pajama pants like I am.

The others will be given to the boys, or kept for future needs. That's a ton of items checked of my to-do list!
If only the knitting would go as quickly...

Canada Post is making my life difficult...

I ordered some stuff from Knit Picks. (Because, you know, I NEEDED more wool and stuff...) I got a notice from Canada Post that it had entered their system, and was to be delivered on December 2. Perfect! Friday, I'm working at home, so I can get it before the weekend, and start some stuff I think I can finish before Christmas (because, you know, I'm in total denial as to what day it actually is...) The morning of the 2nd, I check Canada Post again, and find out it's now being delayed until Monday December 5th! Because from it's arrival in Mississauga, ON, (about 45km from my house) Canada Post decided to send it to Stoney Creek, ON (about 120km further west), then to MONTREAL, QC (about 560km EAST!!) before sending it back to Mississauga!
Yeah, I'm ticked. On top of all that, it wasn't delivered Monday, even though the Canada Post website said it was in Aurora. (Aurora is not that big a town - if it was there Monday morning, it should have been at my house that day...)
Now it's Tuesday, and I checked the website - it says it has been successfully delivered.
Let's hope so...

the last of the glitzy sewing

Sewing for myself now takes a back burner. It's December 1st, and Christmas gifts now take precedence, both in sewing and knitting.

But before that happens, I finished one more thing for me.

This jacket was a quick sew, even with princess seams and a waist seam.

I did change the tie - instead of the self ties attached to the front (they were kind of awkward), I simply made a couple of belt loops and used an existing silk scarf I had.

I had the perfect hemp yarn in the perfect colour to make the belt loops.

The fabric is a shot silk/polyester blend - it's actually a bright yellow warp with a black weft yarn, and together the make this greenish tone. It's really pretty, and shines differently when the light hits it at different angles. It's perfect with some wide legged black washed satin pants, and a black silk shell. That should do it for my Christmas party needs.

Mind you, I'd rather be wearing jammie pants, yoga pants or jeans and one of my beloved hoodies. But circumstances dictate that I have to look and act like a grownup a few times during the next month, so I bite the bullet and do it.

a couple of quick gifts

My Mom and my MIL are not the easiest people to buy for at Christmas. But this year, not only have we succeeded, we have done so, early!
For my MIL - she wanted a new Tassimo coffee maker. She loves the lattes, and their old one have finally given up the ghost, so when Zellers had a sale a few weeks back, I was there. Score.
My Mom - well, she doesn't want things. She's trying to get rid of things (usually trying to pawn them off on my brother or myself, or when she's being sneaky, on the grandchildren). Either way, she's really getting rid of big things. But she loves musicals (as do I), so she and I will see West Side Story, and the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts when it comes in May. The bonus is my husband can cross a gift for me off his to-do list for December 24th - he can give me MY ticket. (Yes, he shops on the 24th - in the man-zoo that is the mall...)
But there is still the need for the filler gifts. The little things that are useful, but not thought of. Surprises, so to speak.
Enter the bird pincushion

Far too cute for their own good, and super easy to make, with minimal hand sewing. Wrapped with a package of ball-head pins and some sewing needles, it's a nice addition for both ofthem, since they both sew and do hand work. The birds are weighted with rice at the bottom, and sit nicely.

And yes there are three of them. I had to test it out first, didn't I? The green one is all mine...

I may need a colourwork intervention...

Meet my next project. really, how do I resist this - Skulls AND flowers...

I even have the wool all ready...

It's a Knit Picks downloadable pattern by the way.