Me time - Knitter's Frolic 2016

We all need “me” time. Mother or not, it’s healthy and revitalizing to carve out a time to indulge in one’s own interests. Be it reading, working out, meeting friends, sleeping, knitting, if you take this time to yourself, you will return rested and refueled. You may feel guilty about it, and I often do, but I have come to really understand how healthy it is to have this “me” time.

Last weekend, four of us piled into a minivan with a giant sheep sticker on the side and headed to Toronto for our annual visit to Knitter’s Frolic. Annual is an exaggeration, as it was only my second time attending, but I can see it becoming a yearly tradition. (I blogged about my first time at Frolic here)

It was a knit and wool filled weekend, with chats, planning, laughs and a few glasses of wine. I had a blast, and it flew by!

We arrived a day early and our friend Jen took us to Romni Wools. I spent an hour walking around the store in a daze, picking up skeins and whining the whole time that I had no idea what to choose. In the end I left without having bought anything. Sad, but true. My indecisiveness continued the next day at Frolic. 

I found the Marketplace overwhelming. Maybe because I went in without a plan. Who has not felt disoriented when faced with booths and booths of yarn. Oh, SO MUCH YARN! Am I the only one? 

In the end I forced myself to make a decision, and ended up with a kit to make the Sashiko Cowl, 2 skeins of Sweet Georgia, that I am earmarking for Rheinlust by Melanie Berg and a lovely project bag from Sweet Fiber.  

In the afternoon we had signed up for a class with Bristol Ivy. A class on knitting on the bias, which turned out to be much easier than I thought. I found Bristol to be an incredibly confident and lovely teacher. The class felt like a sit-down with friends, we chatted, we knit, we experimented and learned something new. Perfection, right?

More Inspiration - Macaron cardigan

Since we've moved to the suburbs, venturing out into the city is considered "an outing" in our house. We all enjoy our little trips, and make an effort to keep things interesting. 

Before the start of school, we took the kids to one of Montreal's prettiest outdoor markets, "Atwater market". 

It is always such an enjoyable experience. Fresh produce everywhere, the smells and colours all delicious and tempting. My favourite spots is this little patisserie, tucked away in a corner. We always make a pit-stop there, to enjoy a cappuccino or hot chocolate and a macaron.

When I walked in this time, and saw their display, it hit me...this would be a perfect colour combination for a girl's cardigan. Inspiration is funny that way, it lurks in the strangest places.

My project is a girl cardigan called "Semis de printemps". It is another gift for my nieces. Their mom had asked for a simple go-to cardigan that can be used any-time, and this pattern is just that.

The yarn I chose to use for it is Noro Tayo Sock, in a colourway that perfectly suits my inspiration. 

If you recall, I just spoke about colour inspiration in my previous post. To me, it is such an important part of choosing a project to work on.

I'm wondering...what inspires you when you choose yarn for a project?

Dîner En Blanc

Have you ever been to Paris? It’s a magical city. I have visited a few times now, and it’s forever surprising, always beautiful and increasingly fascinating. I do not think I will ever have enough of it.

One of my favorite memories, is of walking through the streets one night and coming upon this huge gathering of people. There were hundreds of tables set up, all draped in white tablecloths, lights, flowers, music, everyone dressed in white as well, sitting down, having supper under the stars. A mesmerizing picture. 

For years I wondered about this gathering, until a couple of years ago when I heard about “Dîner en Blanc”. Are you familiar with it? It’s an outdoor picnic, in a secret location that changes every year. You dress in white, bring your own table, chairs, and food. You set up, have dinner, after which there is dancing, and it all wraps up at 23:00, when you gather your things and return home. I cannot tell you how much fun it is. We have participated twice now, and it is the perfect date night outing. It’s now being organized in lots of cities around the world. 

I really enjoy the anticipation, the planning that goes into it. Thinking of what type of food to bring (we opted for sushi this year), what to wear, how to decorate the table, it all adds to the excitement of the event.

via Instagram 

via Instagram

What does this have to do with knitting? Well, nothing to be honest, except that, even though the event is usually scheduled at some time in August, I do live in Montreal, and the weather can be  capricious. That made me think, a beautiful occasion such as this deserves a knit. Something beautiful to grab in case it’s chilly. Something special enough for such an event. I am planning on having it ready for next year’s Diner, and I have narrowed it down to  the following 3 patterns. Which is your favourite?

Aisé

Artesian

Bamboo Wedding Shawl

Knitter's Frolic

I recently had the best weekend getaway! 

Picture this: road trip with a girlfriend, uninterrupted knitting time, pedicures, wine and fantastic talks with like-minded people, a wool-festival aptly named “Knitter’s Frolic” and workshops filled with an amazing wealth of information, all new and exciting.

This adventure has been in the works for a while. Robyn, aka knitpurlmama and I had originally planned to go to Rhinebeck, a couple of years ago, but that never turned into reality. Still, we kept the dream alive and finally decided on Toronto’s Knitter’s Frolic. We met up with another wonderfully crafty friend, Jen of Spinnerknits.

I was so busy having fun that I did not even pull out my camera. I do have a few Instagram shots to share though.

Besides the overwhelming amount of yarn, I immensely enjoyed the 2 workshops I took. The first one was with Sivia Harding, who makes these incredible knits adorned with beads. I learned a tremendous amount from her and I cannot wait to experiment more.

The second workshop was with Kate Atherley whose enthusiasm for brioche stitch is contagious! Oh, the possibilities!! So many new things! So little time!!

I came home with what I consider a modest yarn haul, and I am currently obsessively researching and planning stages of upcoming projects.

Now that I’ve gotten a taste of yarn shows/festivals, I would love to check out more! 

Sivia Harding and I

Kate Atherley and I 

Taking a deep breath

The last few weeks have meant more changes in our routines, in our lives. I am back at work full-time, and that, as you can imagine, is a huge adjustment. Schedules are upset, habits must change. Everyone’s a little on edge. Does that happen to you as well? As much as I crave change sometimes, I am always uneasy when it happens. The unknown, the imbalance….let’s just say, I will be happy when things have settled back into a routine.

So we needed a family activity to regroup. Since winter was still in full swing a few weeks ago, even though the calendar said otherwise, we thought we’d venture into the woods, for a sugershack experience. And to be perfectly honest, I was looking for a pretty location to take some decent pictures of my finished Cinder scarf. 

Did I mention my feelings about change? 

So, the plan was in place, details ironed out, reservations made. We woke up to bright sunshine on Sunday … and checked the weather forecast. It said -14, or rather -24 with the wind-chill. Does that sound like an idyllic day to go walk outside? My thoughts exactly! So instead we chose to regroup and …. well, clean the house, since that also needed doing. Our sugar shack experience had to wait for another week, but we did make it happen. It was still chilly, but sunny and beautiful. Still a perfect day to be wearing my Cinder scarf.

The Classic Elite Ariosa yarn is perfect for bundling up against the elements. It’s soft and gives beautiful definition to the cables. Speaking of which, how perfect is this pattern? I love the fact that it is reversible. It practically begged to be made into an infinity scarf. It knitted up quickly, and is a perfect substitute for my Herringbone cowl which I have worn constantly over the last few winters.

Finningan's Market- Love where you live

In catching up with my blog reading recently, I was thrilled to see that Gabrielle, also known as Design Mom, is bringing back one of my favourite "columns", called "Love where you live". (Hop over for lots of fun blog posts!)

When I first read about this series of posts, I was really inspired to make an effort to explore fun and beautiful places close to home. We will be spending this summer in Montreal, so I am certainly determined to "love where I live" even more.

For a while now I have wanted to check out Finnegan's market. It is an outdoor antique market that takes place every Saturday in the summer. We thought it would be a fun outing with the kids, that we could finish off with a picnic. 

It seems that I completely forgot how chaotic it is to travel with babies in tow. Our day was not off to a great start. It took forever to get out of the house as it was impossible to get organized. In the end, my son left wearing the T-shirt he had slept in, and I had no time to make anything for our picnic. ( A big thanks to my sister here who rescued our lunch and made sandwiches for everyone! AND remembered to bring my dad!!!) But, we made it out of the house and believe me, that is something to be proud of these days! The 30 minute drive served to cool everyone's tempers, and by the time we got there we were all smiles and ready to explore.

The weather was perfect for a stroll through the stalls, for admiring, chatting and enjoying. I saw so many knick-knacks that I would have loved to bring home with me, here are a few glimpses.

Lovely garden accessories

                                                   

                                                 Happiness in a popsicle

                                                      Endless treasures to discover

                                             And of course something knitting related

                                                         Cousins

And last but not least, the reason I am not getting any sleep these days

Here, here, here  and here are my other "Love where you live posts". 

Kite Winter Festival

What do you do, as a parent, when you have been stuck indoors for weeks, due to the fact that it has been disturbingly cold outside, and your 5 year old is in dire need of releasing some pent-up energy?

You search and search and search for outdoor activities that you can enjoy as soon as the temperatures climb to the single digits, even if they are still hovering at around -7 Celsius. To be honest with you, growing up, I never thought that it would be possible to feel happy that it is "only" -7 outside, but, there is a forst time for everything.

So I research constantly, and keep a running list of possible outings and activities to try. This weekend, the good weather coincided with the Kite Festival being held about an hour from here, in Saint-Placide. We bundled up, hopped into the car and took off in the morning. 

The festival is held in front of the town church of Saint-Placide, which was built facing the Deux-Montagnes lake. Once the water freezes over, which with average temperatures of -30 degrees should be no problem, the frozen surface becomes a playground. You can fly home-made kites, you can watch the professionals put on a show, there are even Paraski competitions....think surfing on ice with the help of a kite. There were slides for the kids to try, bouncy castles and of course warm fare to enjoy. To our delight we discovered a little stand where we could get maple taffy.

With sticky fingers we climbed back into the car and drove back home, happy to feel our toes slowly thawing out and lazily dozing in the sunshine we have missed so much.

I am off to research our next outing....quite possibly a Sugar Shack visit!

Snow day

Happy 2013! I may be a little late to the New Year bandwagon, but my family and I really tried to take advantage of every free minute we had during this break, and really disconnect.

As of tomorrow morning, we are back to our regular routine, daddy traveling, Aidan is back with his little daycare group, and I am off to my 9 to 5 job, and starting on a new KAL. I have once again joined in one of Shannon's KAL's. This one, being inspired by Downton Abbey. Anyone else a fan? I absolutely love it. My yarn has not yet arrived, and even though we are set to start tonight, I am hoping I will be able to catch up quickly. I have chosen to knit Imogen Cowl, by the talented Carrie Bostick Hoge using Quince & Co Tern yarn in seagrass. I cannot wait to get started.

In the meantime I have some pictures taken during our snowstorm last week. We were stuck in the house for a day and a half, and had to be creative to pass the time. Here's what we did.

Once the snow finally stopped, we bundled up, took the sled and camera, and headed out for some real fun. Here's what our neighborhood looks like now.

I have not forgotten about posting pictures of my Christmas gifts, I will get around too that soon. Until then, a Happy Healthy New year to everyone!

'Twas the night before Christmas

I am quickly checking in tonight, to wish everyone a "Merry Christmas", a most joyous of holidays alongside your loved ones.

The past few weeks have been a blur of planning, shopping and cooking.

We did manage to make our yearly visit to the Montreal Christmas Market, and I snapped a few photographs. It was a typical Montreal winter day. Freezing cold with a crystal clear, blue sky. We warmed up by huddling together on the train ride for little ones, with a glass of spiced wine (recipe here), and around the fire-pits that were strewn around the market.

Santa made his appearance and for the first time ever, Aidan was fearless, sat in his lap, and spoke to him.
We enjoyed lunch at a little french cafe around the corner, and headed back home. One of my favorite winter traditions we've started.

Perhaps, if I find some time during the holidays I will post about my knitted Christmas gifts. Now, I will go enjoy Santa's cookies and milk, but to be honest, I am thinking Santa deserves a glass of wine. Perhaps, this is a tradition that I will start next year!

Fall is upon us

Where does time go? I blinked, and fall is upon us! As warm and sunny as our summer was, our autumn is making up for it with cool temperature and rain.

I had a couple of blog posts planned, but our outings were cancelled due to bad weather. Between that, and finishing the basement in our house, my material for the blog has been quite thin.

We did manage to drive up north for our annual apple-picking trip, and even though my favorite kind was no longer available for picking, we had a pleasant picnic and a fun outing. While the kids played, the adults sat on a bench, sipping coffee, indulging in warm apple-fritters, and feeling the warm sun, thinking of what a great summer we had.

I now have 20lbs of apples, and even though we've been eating quite a few, it seems we've barely made a dent. I might delight you with some baking-related posts. At least those are not weather-dependent!

We are continuing to live by the "love where you live" mantra, and thus were thrilled to discover that only 5 minutes from our house there is a nature-park, perfect for exploring on weekend afternoons.

Just like last year, we gathered leaves to use in craft projects at home.

On the knitting front, I have been working on the Conversion Cardigan, by Jared Flood, and it's coming along great (picture to follow soon). Unfortunately it will have to be put aside for a bit, as I have now finally signed up for my first ever craft-fair. I have been threatening to so it, for a year now, and I am now officially stocking up with knits for this momentous event taking place at the end of November.

What have you been working on? Are you in baking mode? Any delicious recipes you'd like to share?