Five more weeks

This is the view from our second floor sun room. Last week the groundhog forecasted another six weeks of winter and from my vantage point, I believe him.

Party Leftovers

Right now I'm belting out this song.

Off to plan a Valentine's Day tea party.  Toodles.

N

Fourteen

What I will remember about this day:

Your little sister badly wanted to buy you a fish named Chuck Norris.

You watched Avatar and declared it 'epic'.

You had a fit when we tried to make you eat dinner with the little kids.

You cleaned up in the money department 'cause you're saving up for a trip to Quebec.

You surprised your grandparents by ordering an iced cappucino for breakfast in February.

You told everyone you were making a film about a massacre for school.

You got underwear, and we all laughed.

I wrote on your facebook wall, "Happy Butt-day!"

And to top it all off, we got you a rainbow cake 'cause Costco doesn't carry robot cakes.

Every day you are still alive and breathing is another day I chalk down to my success as a mum.  When I had you, I was so flippin' anxious that I wouldn't water you enough or give you enough sunlight.  You are my biggest accomplishment, my dear.  I have a feeling that these teenage years are going to be a breeze!  I swear I can hear laughing.  Nah. Must be my imagination.

N

How the Tomten Got Its Stripes

I have five balls of Patons Classic Merino in a dark peacock-y teal, and the Bee declared it absolutely perfect for the Tomten jacket.   Alas, the garter stitch has been gobbling up what I had confidently decided would be plenty of yardage for a 7-year old-sized garment.  And to be honest, it was getting a bit boring.  I wanted a little dazzle.  I dug up some worsted-weight scraps, and I went to work trying to keep it random but in a very planned way.  I like how it turned out.  The Bee only insisted that there be pink, and I made certain that all the stripes met her approval.   From here on in, I will be sticking to the peacock.  Or sticking it to the peacock.

N

EZ #1

I knit the heart elbow patch from Knitting Workshop last night in an hour.  Not my most pleasant hour mind you.  I cast on three times, and I cast off two rows too late, so the middle dimple at the top isn't as prominent as it should be.  Still not too shabby for one hour.  And with Valentine's Day two weeks away, it was a timely project.  I used a smidgen of red Patons Classic Merino Wool, and I have plenty for another heart.  I can't just give one kid one.  That would be rude.

N

Newfie Hat & A Proclamation

I told you I was casting on asap!  Every night I knit what seems like a thousand rows, and I have about half a hat so far.  It's going to be a warm hat.  That I know.   I pray that 220 yards of wool will be enough.

I've been thinking of a project to work on this year, and given that we are now a month in, I have procrastinated the sufficient amount that is just my style.   I am going to knit 12 Elizabeth Zimmermann patterns.  Although it works out to be one a month, some patterns might only take a few days tops; whereas, a sweater is going to keep me busy for longer than a month, so it should even out quite nicely.  I am not going to make this a tricky project for I am lazy, and I truly believe it's cruel to set up anyone for failure - with me being at the top of the list.   That being said, I am also up for trying lots of new techniques however ugly this might get.  I stayed up late last night thinking of my 12 projects, and I have a list, but I have not yet determined the exact pattern for each project.

• Baby Surprise Jacket (this should be no surprise - it's her most famous pattern)
• Child Tomten Modular Jacket - for the Bumblebee
• Seamless Yoke Sweater
• Last Minute Sweater
• Nether Garments (I never thought I'd consider these in a million years, but yeah . . . )
• Mittens
• A Shawl
• A Blanket
• Something Aran
• Seamless Hybrid
• Heart Elbow Patch/Hat
• A Vest

Rules or what I prefer to call "Best Practices"

•  Knit from the stash.  EZ makes it hard for you to make up excuse not to knit from the stash 'cause she writes the majority of her patterns to work with any weight.  Dang it.
•  Must knit twelve PATTERNS, not projects - meaning I can knit the same pattern twelve times and call it a day.  No repeaties!
• At least one pattern must include steeking.
• At least one pattern must include gads of fairisle.
• Must knit gauge swatches. (I'm going to be honest.  This one is going to be the hardest rule to abide.)
• Must finish by December 31, 2010.
• Completely allowable to knit patterns, I've previously knit.  This could be the lifesaver.  These patterns include the February Baby Sweater, the Practice Fairisle Hat, the 36-Stitch Mittens, the Ganomy Hat, and the Christmas Fiddle Faddle.
• Must blog my evidence that I am indeed making progress on "the project".

I may have wrangled Kat to join along (I gave her some pills), but I would welcome more company in what I believe could only be a barrel of fun.  Anyone else in?

N

Little Ditzy's

Remember in the 80's when "cross border shopping" was the cool thing to do? I guess going over to the U.S. to shop is still a fun activity for Canadians but it doesn't have the same popularity that it had in the 80's. I remember crossing over into Houlton, Maine with my mom every once in awhile as a child. It was not the Guess jeans that I was excited about, or the over-sized Chip and Pepper t-shirts, it was the food that we couldn't get in Canada that I really looked forward to. America had different fast food chains, chocolate bars, and most of all, different snack cakes. In the town where we lived we did not have access to a certain snack cake brand with a little girl on the box in a straw hat. Those were my favourite and if I was lucky, we would come home from a trip across the border with a box or two.

Store bought snack cakes were a treat for the kids in my family because we usually only had homemade and the grass is always greener (or sweeter and more artificially flavoured) on the other side, right? So over the weekend I decided to indulge in my nostalgia and also make my mother proud by making my own oatmeal creme pies. These turned out much tastier than how I remembered the store bought ones tasting and although still full of sugar, these contain a lot less preservatives and other unpronouncable substances. The recipe that I used is here. So even though I now live across the border and can have as many snack cakes as I want, I think I'll stick to making them myself.