Wool @ Home - The Nursery

I thought it would be a fun exercise to share on the blog just how present wool and my love of this fibre is in my life. In my home to be more precise. 

I am planning on taking you from room to room and share with you how I have "decorated" with wooly goodness. I am calling it "Wool @ Home".

As a knitter, and a compulsive one at that, wool and yarn are always on my mind. But not just on my mind, at my fingertips as well.

One's home should feel comfortable and safe, and personally, to feel comfortable and safe, I surround myself with some of my favourite things. A nice book, a cup of tea, a pretty notebook, chocolate, a glass of wine, and of course, knitting. That's me in a nutshell. Follow the trail of yarn bits and chocolate foil, and you will find me, no fail.

As any self-respecting knitter can attest, wool and yarn are an investment. I have a rather small stash, and I am working on changing that, I promise you, so I find it important to make every yard count. I also tend to overbuy when purchasing yarn for a project, so there are always leftovers. So I am often faced with the question of what to do with those. 

I realized that these leftover bits of yarn are perfect for pom-poms. A fun, colourful pom-pom garland for my daughters room. 

Bonus? It is a good project to do with bored 8 year olds in need of a break from playing video-games. My son thought it was hilarious that the pom-poms needed a haircut after being finished.

Let the Holiday season begin

How did you spend this year's first advent? we started preparing the house for the holidays. Pulled out some favourite decorations, made the outside look pretty, planned Christmas activities all the while listening to the Vienna Boy's Choir create a festive mood. I also managed to put the finishing touches on this year's Advent Calendar, and just in time. This year's version features a mix of hockey cards and of course chocolate.

The Details? This IKEA fabric caught my eye last year, and I had to have it, as I knew it would be the perfect backdrop for an Advent Calendar. Add in some hockey cards, every 8-year old boy's favourite, and some chocolate, and voila, our 2015  calendar.

Keeping record

The school year is out. The begin of summer vacation was greeted with relief and joy. No more homework, no more stress, no more negotiating playtime. I am sure you can relate.

On the last day of school, Aidan came home with a backpack bursting with art-projects. Which I love, it’s always great to see what he’s been up to. And of course he has an emotional attachment to most of his drawings.  We have binders full, from daycare to preschool, Kindergarten, and now Grade one, I’ve been keeping it all. It was a matter of time before I had to make a decision as to….. where to put it all?

Aidan is showing a bit of an interest in photography. He always asks for my camera to play around and take his own shots. He’s also claimed my old Ipod as his own, and is practicing writing emails to us, which to be honest is great practice for his spelling, and makes for some adorable correspondence. Along with writing he’s been taking photos. That gave me an idea.

I decided to sit with him, go through our massive collection of drawings, select his favorites and photograph them. Pinterest has an abundance of ideas on how to de-clutter and store you kids artwork. Initially I was going to create a collage, similar to this, but then..... I thought of something else. 

I created Aidan his own Instagram account. A private one of course, that I manage, but where he can upload his photos. Not just his artwork, but other pictures he takes. He always sees me using my account, and asks questions, so I thought he’d have fun with his own.

And as a bonus, later on, I will be able to use a service like Printstagram Or Blurb To turn his photos into magnets, a calendar or a book even.

He’s very excited about the idea, and we’re looking forward to immortalizing our summer adventures. Lazy afternoons spent in the backyard, biking around the neighborhood, exploring new corners, probably some selfies. It will be cute to see them all from his point of view.

Svalbard Progress

Svalbard…isn’t it a great name? I don’t know why, but the name is what caught my attention to begin with. Not the ideal way to choose a knitting pattern I agree, but in this case the look did not disappoint either. Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago. I believe that loosely translated it says pointy mountains. What a perfect name for a knitting pattern, don’t you agree?  Scandinavia, mountains, snow-covered peaks….all of these images make me want to pick up the needles and knit away.

I initially planned on having the cardigan finished for my return to work, but as so often happens, things came up, and I started late. I had found the perfect shade of yarn, a warm, sunny, mustardy color, a yarn that I think will perfectly compliment this pattern. 

Then I started reading the instructions. Right away, I noticed that this was going to require some serious concentration, as you are keeping track of several types of increases at the same time and different types of patterns for the front, back and sleeves. The cardigan is knit in what is called a Cartridge rib, which is simply a succession of K3, P1 stitches, strategically aligned to create this wonderful texture, so I thought, really? How hard can this be?

Famous last words. I started, and almost immediately stopped when it came to setting up the sleeve stitches. The diagram included with the pattern, did nothing to lift the mystery for me. I read through project notes, and noticed I was not the only one confused, so I emailed Brooklyn Tweed Support for guidance. In less then an hour I had an answer with detailed row-by-row, stitch-by –stitch instructions. If that is not support, I don’t know what is!

I was determined however to understand the instructions, and not just blindly follow them, so in the end I made up a diagram to help me along.

I will post it here for any knitters that may come across the same issue to use. After all, knitters help each other, don’t we?

Once you get it, the yoke starts growing quite quickly. And then you can knit along until your next challenge pops up...the sleeves. I had to ask for help for a second time, and it was swift and concise, and it even came with photos. I am still working on a diagram for that, and will be posting it soon.

I cannot wait to show you the finished project, it's my new favorite.

To download click here

When knitters get together

As you know, I am a mom. A mom of 2, whose son is quite the sporty type. We have soccer, swimming, hockey, power-skating lessons... it busy, very busy. And as my daughter grows, it's only going to get worse. So finding a day when my schedule is clear is no easy feat. But it worked, for myself and my knitterly friends. We all cleared a Saturday, and gathered at Lilian's place for an afternoon of ....yarn-dyeing.

Lily and I took a workshop together a few years ago, and since then we've been hooked. And sadly enough it's taken us this long to get organized and meet to do it again. This time around however we wanted to try something a little different. Instead of acid dyes we used natural, plant-based ones. 

We had tea, onion peel, pomegranate, turmeric and cabbage. These were not our snacks, but our dyes. It was fascinating to see everyone's imagination take flight and experiments turn out. 

My inspiration came from a few evenings before, when I was having snack and tried to sneak in a few paragraphs from one of my favourite books. The colour I was hoping for is  a pastel yellow-pink-orange colour, and as you can see, it turned out pretty well. I used a combination of pomegranate dye, and onion peel.

It was so much fun! I came home with my mind buzzing with ideas, and thoughts and questions... I looked up articles and plants, and I am going to try this again. For sure! As soon as I can clear my schedule again! Hopefully it will be sooner then a couple of years from now.

As a side note, red cabbage is not a good choice... I guess there is a reason it does not come up as an example when researching natural yarn dyeing. It smells...

A Love of Travel

I love travelling. I was lucky. As a child I would accompany my grandmother on her yearly visit to her sister in Germany. This was a huge deal at the time, as Romanians were not free to travel across the border. My first trip with her was at the age of 3, and I looked forward to our vacations every summer. I still remember the thrill of boarding a plane, knowing that only a few hours later we would touch down in another place, experience a whole new reality, different smells, different routines, different customs. I think that these trips are at the root of my “wanderlust”, and I will be eternally grateful to my Oma for opening my eyes to the joys of travel.

I want to do the same for my children, I want them to experience the world and all it has to offer, to learn about , become immersed in other places, places that will broaden their horizons and teach them about life. My oldest has been  to a few places with us already, but I noticed that, of course, at this young age, his memories fade, he forgets about his trips. That made me wonder about what the best way would be to help him hang on to these memories.

Sightseeing is not always easy with children, they have little to no patience for exploring a museum, walk the streets of a new city but I found a way around that. What works for us is pretending that we are on a treasure hunt. We give Aidan a map and tell him he needs to help us find a specific location. It gives him the sense that he is in control of our explorations, and what child does not love that? I find it helps him cement those memories more, as he was not just a follower, but a leader.....Or maybe he's just getting older...that is of course entirely possible, but I like to think I have come across a genius idea here!

And now the maps that he's used to guide us, are a treasure in themselves. So I thought I'd incorporate them into his room's decor. I came across this tutorial for folding origami hearts, and tried it with the maps. Once framed and properly labelled, they are the focal point of his room, and he proudly shows them off.

Happy 1st Advent

For our little family, first advent has always marked the beginning of the holiday season. This weekend we pulled out our Christmas decorations, started playing Christmas carols, and even managed to make salt-dough ornaments.

And, as I have done every years since Aidan was born, I made an advent calendar. This year's I am especially pleased with.

As I have found out, first graders are especially fond of Pokemon trading cards, so I decided to use those as my advent calendar fillers. Cheery wrapping paper and pretty tags helped complete the project. And finally my new chalkboard wall turned out to be the perfect backdrop. 

Aidan is already itching to rip open his first envelope.

Happy Advent!

Embracing your Heritage

In my last blog post, I shared a glimpse of my childhood, and this stroll down memory lane sparked some ideas. It's funny how that happens.

In looking at old photos I came across pictures of us wearing traditional Romanian folk costumes. We all had at least a dress or a top growing up. I realized that I never appreciated their beauty when I was younger, but I now see how intricately beautiful and special they are. These costumes are world famous for their embroidery patterns. 

It came to me that these embroidery patterns would look great as knitting patterns as well. So I started sketching out a few possibilities, and I really like the result.

You may have noticed that I have had baby on the brain for months now, but at the same time knitting, so it was only natural that at one point the two would intersect. 

My daughter is at the wonderful age when she is starting to notice things around her. She is especially fascinated by high contrasts, like black and white images. So it dawned on me....I could knit up something for her featuring these Romanian inspired images.

I am not sure what to call the end result. I suppose you can call them a crib mobile?
I attached them to the inside of the bumper and I have to say, Sienna loves looking at them.

Bonus....it helped me practice my stranded knitting!

Summer Vacation!

This is it, school is officially out. My (not so) little boy is about to experience his first summer vacation. How terribly exciting for him and at the same time terribly terrifying for me.

As much as I enjoy hanging out with my little man, I have not spent this much time with him since maternity leave! He is the kind of child that absolutely needs a routine, spur of the moment things do not go over very well.

I still remember that feeling of freedom on the last day of school, the idea of endless sunny days stretching in front of me. Every day a new adventure, full of possibilities. I was used to playing on my own, it never bothered me, but my son is different, he craves company, and needs help to get his imagination going.

So I have been thinking of how to fill our days. We have playdates and outings lined up, swimming and tennis lessons. But I also want fun activities to do at home. After all, we will be spending a lot of time around the house! Since Aidan is not great at playing on his own, I have to find creative ways to encourage him to be a more independent player.

I, of course, started a Pinterest board of ideas, and as often happens, this sparked my imagination. My son loves "Hunt and Seek" games, so I thought....why not create one myself?

I scoured the house for little toys and items to use, arranged them on a tray, and photographed it. This is accompanied by a list of items that he has to find in the photograph. 

This is what I have on the list:

a firetruck
the letter S
the letter A
an angel
scissors
a whistle
a bicycle
a medal
a  milk carton
a ball
a lollipop
a walnut
a rock
a dinosaur
a gift-tag
a basketball net
2 postcards
an antler
a brush
a ribbon
an elephant
a stamp
a slinky
a cellphone
a golfball
a flower
a key
an eraser
a house
a garbage can
a seashell
a harmonica
a cup

I mean the possibilities are endless, right?

If you are desperate for some time fillers with your kids, you can always download my pictures from my flickr account here, and the list here.

We're playing this afternoon....

Be careful what you wish for

Seven years ago, when I found out that I was pregnant with a boy, I felt a bit of panic. I grew up surrounded by girls, in a family where we had only a couple of boy cousins. I wondered, would I know what to do with a boy? How to play with him? How to relate to him and find common ground?

He is now six years old, and I have come a long way. Cars, trains, sports, hockey, I've learned about them all, alongside my son. True, I am still amazed at the level of energy, and I still have a hard time understanding how play-fighting is fun, but I can honestly say that I no longer have those worries about forming a bond. We are close, very close.

So you would think that I would have felt relief finding out that I was having a girl this time around, right? WRONG! Girls are complex and sensitive, and I started thinking of the importance of teaching them self-respect, and giving them confidence, showing them how to stand up for themselves. 

Of course these are all true for boys as well, but for whatever reason they never came to mind when I had Aidan.

And then I started worrying that I am already subjecting my children to a double-standard, when they are only this young. You can tell, I am sure that I have been driving myself mad!

In speaking to other moms though, I have come to realize that I am maybe over thinking the situation. The most important thing is to lead by example, pay attention, and also let their personality develop, as a lot depends on that as well.

So I have made the conscious decision to trust my motherly instincts and believe that I will know the right thing to do. The power of positive thinking, right? 

As if to reinforce this idea, a few weeks ago, I came across and advertisement for Dove, that to me, said it all. I decided to recreate it as a poster in Sienna's room.

It's quite a simple message, but I love it! If anyone else is interested in having it, click here for the JPEG version, and here for the PDF.


 

Happy Easter

Easter preparations are in full swing at our house. Since my mom is here, she is going all out with traditional dishes. We are certainly spoiled this time around, and it feels fantastic!

While my mom is busy with these preparations, I have had some time to ponder what sort of crafty surprise I can make for the kids. My criteria is simple, it has to be fast, cute and inexpensive. 

Now that there are 4 kids in the family, my sister and I have worked hard to create traditions and lasting memories for them. We are having an Easter egg hunt (indoors because it's still cold out), they will be decorating easter eggs, but I wanted something new as well. And then it hit me!

Why not dye quail eggs for them? They are certainly healthier than their chicken counterpart, and just their size. Plus the fact that they are spotted, makes for a cute pattern when you are done. 

Here are some before and after shots. What do you think?

And that lovely candle you see in the background? Remember how I was talking about my uncle with the bee-hives? Well he makes these candles as well, and this one has an adorable bunny theme.

Advent Countdown

It's that time of the year again! The holidays have snuck up on us, the first snowfall has already happened, and the countdown to Christmas begins. 

Now that I have made an Advent Calendar for 3 years in a row, the expectation has been set, and my son started asking days ago when this years' will be ready.

I just finished setting it up yesterday, and I find that it makes the house look festive. We're slowly setting up our Christmas decorations and we have a few cookie baking days set aside, these also having been requested by my son. I have to say, I am pleased to see that the little traditions I started a few years ago seem to already be ingrained and looked forward to. To me it means that he will have happy memories as an adult and that is exactly what I was hoping for.

On a more practical note, I am starting to run out of ideas as to what to fill the calendar with! I started with a puzzle, went on to a Playmobil one, last year's was filled with activities, and this year, every day he will get to unveil a Lego piece. 
What about next year?

Ideas? Suggestions? I realize I have another year to come up with something....still....help!

Tell me about your Christmas traditions. Anything that makes the countdown special? Something the kids can't get enough of? I am open to ideas, so go ahead, share!

And A Happy Advent-time to everyone.

Color Affection - To YO or not to YO?

I am back today, to tell you more about my experience knitting the Color Affection Shawl. It is an incredibly popular project on Ravelry, having been knitted more then 10 000 times!
And because I am slowly starting to learn from my mistakes, I read up on quite a few project notes before starting my own.

It seems that there are 2 schools of thought when it comes to the correct way to knit Color Affection.There are those who choose to do a YO after the first stitch at the beginning of each row (dropping it on the way back so as to keep the correct number of stitches), and those who believe this step is unnecessary. The first avenue will result in a straighter top edge to the shawl, whereas not doing the YO, will give you a more crescent-shaped shawl.

What better way to test this theory then to start knitting 2 shawls using each technique. I was feeling adventurous you see? Below you can see the 2 samples I made. You can already notice that only after about 30 rows or so you can tell how one is curling more then the other. To me that was proof enough, I now had a decision to make. To YO or not to YO? It was not an easy decision, but ultimately, to me, the YO gives a cleaner edge, and I prefer that.

My shawl is finished and I will share photos of it in a couple of days, once the sun makes a long enough appearance to allow me to photograph.

In the meantime I have been working hard on my craft fair stash which is almost complete. The event is taking place on the 1st December in Montreal, at the Hampton Inn Dorval. If you are in the area, stop by, there will be tons of incredibly talented people there and you will surely be able to cross a few people of your list!

Advent Calendar and accepting imperfection

There are only 10 days left till Christmas, as I have realized with horror, and not much has happened in way of preparation. Not nearly enough. I am hauling out decorations and feverishly writing lists of things still to do before the holidays. I will never get everything done in time!

I did manage to stick to one tradition I started 2 years ago (see here and here), I made and Advent calendar for Aidan. And that, at the last minute, by that I mean the night before the first of December.

I have been meaning to photograph it , however the weather has been so overcast on weekends, that I barely get any light. This is the best I could do:

My favorite crafty blogs are full on ingenious ideas, and so is Pinterest, but due to the time constraint, I chose to go with a simple idea. Each envelope contains an activity for us to do each day. We have crafts, coloring, baking, singing. There are outdoor activities too, such as a visit to the Christmas market (another yearly tradition) and a trip downtown to admire the decorations.

Aidan has really thrown himself into the Christmas spirit this year, making sure the activities are followed and done the way he believes Santa would like them done.

Seeing him so happy and filled with anticipation, I stress a little less, as I realize that it does not all have to be perfect. He does not care if the decorations match, or the wrapping is "professional", or there are three types of cookies instead of ten, or the house is immaculate. He is perfectly content making his Christmas crafts, while humming carols, and correcting me, when I incorrectly sing along in french!

So tonight, even though my list is still long, I will pour a glass of wine for my husband and I, and we will curl up on the couch to watch a Christmas movie, and glance occasionally at the slightly lop-sided Christmas tree in our living room.

The list will still be there tomorrow morning!

Levenwick- the mystery of the invisible purl increase

One of my favorite knits so far has been the Levenwick cardigan by Gudrun Johnston . I have worn it countless times, and it is my most admired knit, both in person and on Ravelry. I was asked by a friend of mine to make another one, and I happily obliged. And what better time then now, when there are still 2 months left before the deadline for the Luvinthemommyhood Summer Sweater KAL runs out.

I thought it would be a quick project, since I have already knit it once. I was making quick progress on the cardigan until I got to the yoke, which for increases uses the "invisible purl increase". I remember stumbling across this part the first time around as well, so I hopefully turned to my notes. Alas, I did not make any on this particular subject. So I turned to Google, which surprisingly, failed me, as it had the first time around. I had no choice but ti figure it out on my own....again.

The pattern notes give the following instructions:

"Insert the right hand needle from the top down into the purl stitch that sits below the next stitch on the left needle. Purl this stitch and then purl the next stitch on the needle."

A decent explanation, but I am that kind of girl that needs pictures. So here's my first ever tutorial on the "invisible purl increase".

Now, I have no way of verifying that this is indeed the correct way of doing it, all I can say that this is how I have knit it. If I am incorrect, please let me know!

And at this point a "thank you" to my husband who took these photos despite some serious hay-fever this morning!