I Really Do Love Me Some Lace!

I have a new cardigan and I absolutely love it. It's probably my number one favourite knit so far this year (and just for reference, I've knit 28 projects to date in 2013, so that's saying something!)

Hetty by designer Andi Satterlund is a sweet little retro vibe cardi - slightly cropped, fitted, with an all over lace pattern. I modified mine to be slightly less fitted and slightly longer, which was so simple to do as you switch from lace to stockinette as you do the shaping, so there's nothing complicated to figure out.

I have been hoarding some Arucania Nature Wool in my stash for over three years now. It was one of the treasures I received from my dear friend, Kristy's mom's stash. It also happens to be one of my favourite colours!  I gave been waiting for the right pattern to come along and as soon as I saw Hetty I knew that it was the one.

Timing was perfect too. Luvinthemommyhood's Summer Sweater KAL was still in full swing and just before it was scheduled to finish Andi's Ravelry group, Untangling Knots was going to be kicking off a knit along specifically for Hetty. I love knitting as part of a KAL, it really motivates me to keep going. Although, with Hetty I didn't really want to put it down anyways. It was a totally unique construction from any other thing I've knit. Top down with sleeves attached by picking up stitches and then doing short rows to form the cap. (I'll admit it made me feel brilliant when I mastered those short rows I've been so intimidated by!)

I finished it on Friday morning and it got a bath in Euclan then blocked and was ready to wear to my dinner date with my sisters last night.

Swatching - actually got gauge first time around!

Trying to knit... with  help -
Little Man took this photo the other day

Splish Splash getting a bath!

All Done!!! I love it!!!!!

Love the fit of my Hetty!

Monsters on the Move!

Early in the spring one of my mama groups on Ravelry got a group together to do a "travelling sock" project. There were a few of us who couldn't commit to a sock project for various reasons - for me it was because they had to start as toe up socks and I wasn't sure a project where others would be depending on my skills would be the best place to try and learn toe up sock knitting - so the idea for a traveling monster project was born. (Some moms did both! I bow down to their enthusiasm and time management skills!)

A small diary travelled with each monster -
this was ours

We could each choose our pattern and it travelled along. We also could make requests as to what kinds of yarns we wanted to be used or what colours were our little one's favourites. We all started our own monster (some of us, like myself chose to do two smaller monsters rather than one big one so that our "October Baby" and their sibling would each get a monster.

This is what the boys and I sent off into the world

I wrote up a very loose pattern for our monsters. Really what I hoped was to just give a jumping off point and hoped everyone would have fun. The part in the photo was meant to be a flat base, but the first knitter changed them into legs by shifting the start point (I assume). I love the legs a million times better than my flat bottom original idea!!! They are perfect!

Each knitter worked a few inches and then would mail it on to the next knitter. The last knitter finished up the monster's face (if requested) and sent it home flat and unseamed (to cut down on postage) to its owner. We kept the monsters a surprise so that we didn't have any idea how they'd look when they got back to us. Our monsters have travelled nearly 19,000 kms around North America before coming back home to us!!

And these are the awesome monsters that arrived home!

Such a fun project!! And such a great group of ladies to do it with. Definitely good times and Little Man and Baby Boy adore their monsters!!

Getting to know their monsters!
 Little Man is tickled with the fact his monster has eyes on the back of his head too
 and Baby Boy loves that his has hair!

So that's the last of my "crafty installments" for this week! Of course I'm still plugging away at my Hetty Cardigan. I was knitting while tired the other night and made a mistake I didn't notice so I have a few rows to rip back before I continue on. Sob!! I'm also busily working on some sewing projects that I'll likely show you next week! Hope you all had a great week and got in some time for your favourite hobbies or activities too!

Working Nine to Five...

Sorry. I've got Dolly Parton running through my head right at the moment. You'll have to forgive me if I break into song at some point along the way today.

The reason she's on continuous loop is my latest sewing project. Another gorgeous bag pattern from Anna of Charmed Liebling! You may have noticed I have a bit of a thing for her patterns. It's like an addiction. She sends a request to ask if I'd like to test and I'm helpless. I just love her patterns that much.

Anna has just released her latest, The Working Girl Laptop Bag this week and it's a beauty! Loads of pockets, a generous size - it even fits our somewhat large, somewhat ancient Toshiba, and great details such as piping (she guides you through making your own, or check out some of the other test versions! A couple testers used ric rac instead of piping and it looks amazing, another one did ruffles instead!) as well a locking clasp and swivel hooks so the strap is removable.

I was really excited to get the pattern to test. Not that I really need a laptop bag, but I just loved the look of it and couldn't wait to try it out. As per usual her pattern did not disappoint. She puts so much attention into creating instructions that make it easy for even an novice sewer to understand, with lots of explanation and photos.  If you haven't checked out any of her patterns yet, I really urge you too.


And really, if you sew and you have anyone on your gift giving list that carries a laptop at all, I think this would be the perfect gift.


It's quick to sew up too. I only spent two days working on it, and part of that time was working up the courage to cut a hole in my beautiful bag to insert the locking clasp. Yikes! That is one heck of a nerve wracking task. Right up there I think with steeking your knitting. Well. Maybe not quite at that level, but close.

A word about locking clasps.  It's come to my attention that not all clasps are created equal. Boo to that. I had ordered a locking clasp from Emmeline Bags when I ordered my gate rings for my Liebling's Bag, with the intention of using it on the Necessary Clutch I'm so smitten with. Then I got the project from Anna and thought I'd use it on my laptop bag instead. But. (There's always a but...) Then I was in the little fabric shop in town and spied locking clasps there. So I got one thinking I could use it for my laptop bag and the one from Janelle's shop for the clutch and I'd be covered on all basis.  EXCEPT not all clasps are created equal as I mentioned.  The one from the local shop is absolutely abysmal.  Where the ones from Emmeline Bags leave a neat professional looking finish inside and out, the un-marked ones from my local shop are applied like a magnetic snap would be, which ends up with the prongs showing and worst of all it lends itself to fraying around the edges. EEEEK! So not what you want when you've spent time and money on a beautiful bag. Not only is it unsightly, it doesn't seem like it would be very sturdy. Unfortunately this epiphany did not strike until after I was already finished the bag except for the final step of the clasp - the locking mechanism was already in (with much cursing and usage of clear glue to stop the fraying - where the h-e-double hockey sticks did my fray check vanish too????) and I'd have to take the entire bag apart to use a different clasp. More clear glue was used and hopefully that suffices to keep any fraying at bay, but really. Don't waste your time. Go for the good ones and you'll be much happier. You'll want to look for one with a little screw on plate for the back. It'll make a world of difference to the finished product.

Anyways, despite my disappointment with my less than great quality locking clasp I am really happy with my laptop bag and how it turned out! Stylish yet functional and versatile. You can't beat that kind of combination!  Head over to Anna's website and see the other test versions for inspiration then get working on a laptop bag of your own! (I might even use it as a knitting bag for going to knit nights! I could easily fit my ipad, a knitting project - even a large one, and all my necessities in the bag.)


And now, since I've been humming it in my head the entire time I've been typing, I'll leave you with this country classic from Dolly. You're welcome. :)

Miette

I have so many things to tell you about that I've been working on lately crafty wise that I don't know where to begin.

I've been mentioning it long enough and yesterday I finally managed to get a few pics of my newest cardigan, so I think that's where I'll start for tonight.  It's Miette from designer Andi Satterlund.  A sweet cardigan with a retro vibe and pretty feminine eyelet detail along the edges.

I fell in love with the look of Miette ages ago and knew I wanted one to wear with my summer dresses. Of course procrastination and a need to order yarn being what they are, it ended up finished sort of late in the season. It was also a billion degrees out when I finished it, so no need for a cardi at all. I am glad I got it done though and it'll be ready for the minute spring hits next year.

I chose to modify it from the 3/4 length sleeves to short sleeves to make it even more summery. (Also I'm lazy and sleeves are my knitting nemesis.  I HATE knitting sleeves.) It really only took about a month to knit and would have taken much less time except I sort of put it aside when my knitting mojo went out the window with the sweltering heat of summer.  (Interestingly enough I suddenly started going on it again when summer all but vanished for a few weeks in the middle. Ha ha!) Also, knitting something white while sitting on the deck seemed a bad idea.  Things have a habit of getting a bit dirty outside and I didn't want some sort of ghastly mishap occurring to my pristine white cardigan.

The buttons were another time killer for me.  I decided I absolutely needed vintage buttons for my Miette.  I justified it by the fact that I could get them just as cheaply off of Etsy as I could brand new buttons from the fabric store.  Especially if I went to the tiny shop in the local town instead of the big chain store in the city.  So I ordered a set. Actually, in manner of full disclosure I should admit to ordering two sets.  BUT! They were a great bargain. I promise you that. Really. They were.

The first set was a set of eight 1920's glass buttons.  They were very pretty. I thought they would be perfect, however, what I failed to do is mathematics.  Or proper mathematics anyways.  They turned out to be far too small.  Oooops! Have no fear though. I'm thinking they'd be perfect on a cute button down the front shirt at some point. I'll use them. It's not like they'll go bad! And did I mention they are 1920's GLASS BUTTONS?????

So, I had to get a different set. Which, ahem, I'd actually ordered long before my too small buttons arrived, only because after ordering the glass ones I found some 1960-ish plastic buttons from a closed out haberdashery in Paris for a song. 19 buttons for under $8.00  (and that included shipping!!). I'm lucky if I can get four nice buttons for under $8.00. My Parisian buttons arrived quickly - even before the ones from the states, but at that point I didn't know that my glass ones would be too small so I waited it out thinking that way I could compare and decide. It cost me a couple extra weeks in finishing time, but that's alright. As I said, I'll be all set for next spring!

I think it will be a really great addition to my spring and summer wardrobe in the cotton blend Berroco Weekend yarn I used!

Well that's project number one! I'll tell you about another tomorrow.  But for now I have (BF)G's lunch to make and coffee to set for tomorrow morning and I am eager to get back to working on my newest sweater, Hetty (which is also by Andi Satterlund - I LOVE her designs!)

Wild Chokecherries!

It's definitely a chokecherry tree -
 taken only a few days before the chokecherries turned dark purple
and were ready to pick!

I seem to have developed a small obsession with chokecherries after having discovered several, dripping with berries, chokecherry trees on our property (and confirmed by a quick picture text message to Mom a few weeks ago, having no desire to accidentally poison my family if I was wrong). They are actually everywhere I turn, except unfortunately the best one's seem to either be too high to reach with a ladder or too awkward for bush crashing too get too. There has even been a small incident involving over five foot tall stinging nettle in the gathering of chokecherries as well. Obsession. I have it something fierce. I seem to have a crazy need to pick all chokecherries. It's as though I dare not waste, or Mother Nature may determine my property to be unworthy of this boon of fruit.

Wild chokecherries, which are native to Western Canada, are an interesting sort of fruit. They are unbelievably tart, and more than a little astringent. They will dry your mouth out in a second when eaten fresh off the tree. One taste had me gasping and my mouth puckering for the rest of the evening. And yet, Little Man eats them by the handful. Crazy kid! Boil them, strain the juice and cook with sugar, however, and suddenly they transform themselves into amazingly delicious syrups and jellies.(and apparently wine - maybe a project for next year) just don't eat the stones if you're eating them whole or crush them if you are making juice - they contain Hydrocyanic Acid, which could make you sick if you consume too much. But the fruit itself is perfectly safe!

So, if you're like me and have chokecherries a plenty at your disposal here's a few ideas of what you can do with them!

Lots and lots of chokecherries!

Preparing The Juice

First off you will need to pick, wash, boil and strain the juice. To do this, place your washed chokecherries in a large pot and barely cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and strain. You can use a couple layers of cheesecloth, a jelly bag, or like me grab an old cotton pillowcase from your linen closet that you don't care about staining.

I place my colander on top of a bowl then hang my pillowcase "jelly bag" over the colander and pour the contents of my pot into it and let it pour through. I will use a potato mashed to press a bit more juice through at the end. I know a lot of jelly makers would be horrified as you're never supposed to do anything but let juice drip through, lest your jelly be cloudy, but from what I've read you can't expect a clear juice from wild chokecherries anyways. I've certainly found this to be true - it makes a somewhat thick, opaque, pink-purple juice, not even remotely close to clear! So go ahead and get every last drop you can! Waste not want not and all that! (just don't crush the stones!)

Chokecherry Juice

So now you have juice. What to do, what to do????

All three of the following recipes will follow basically the same process once you've cooked it.

Processing Instructions

Fill clean, hot sterilized jars leaving a 1/2" headspace. Run a non-metal utensil such as a chopsticks, spatula or plastic knife, down the sides of the jar to remove any air bubbles. Wipe rims and apply snap rings and lids. Process in a boiling water bath for ten minutes.

Wild Chokecherry Syrup

There is NOTHING in this world so tasty on pancakes or waffles. Seriously. It's heaven.

4 cups prepared juice
4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 pkg of powdered pectin (such as Certo which comes in a 57 gr/2 oz box)

Combine all ingredients in a large pot, bring to a full rolling boil for two minutes. Remove from heat and process as above. (makes approx 3 1/2 pints)

Chokecherry Syrup

Wild Chokecherry Jelly

So good on toast and scones. YUM!!!

3 1/4 cups prepared juice
4 1/2 cups white sugar
1 pkg of powdered pectin

Combine prepared juice and pectin. Bring to a boil and then add sugar. Return to a boil, allowing the mixture to be at a full rolling boil for one minute. Remove from heat and skim foam if necessary, then process as above. (makes approx 5 half pints)


Wild Chokecherry "Soda" Syrup

So incredibly refreshing on a hot summer day!

3 cups prepared juice
1 cup white sugar

Combine prepared juice and sugar and bring to a full rolling boil for one minute. Process as above. To serve, pour a half glass of soda syrup (or to taste) over ice and top off with either soda water (we have a soda stream machine for making our "bubbly water") or ginger ale.

Chokecherry Soda

And for one last treat... I whipped up some chokecherry frosting the other day to put on vanilla cupcakes! So pretty and pink and not a drop of artificial coloring used at all! I made my usual buttercream using a bit of lemon juice in place of the milk and vanilla then stirred in some jelly and blended until smooth. So simple, yet so tasty!!!

Chokecherry Frosting

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do!

PS: I used a couple online resources and of course my Mom. For more info check out the following websites. Sorry I'm not sharing my mom - well except with my seven siblings, but that's only because I have too. ;)
The University of Minnesota
Manitoba Association of Home Economists

A New Bag!

First off, apologies for any potential weirdness that might occur in this post. I'm blogging from my phone. My Internet has died a mysterious and sudden death here at the house. All things look good, but nothing connects. It has been days. I may go mad. My phone only gets service sporadically here so I have no idea how things will work.

But enough of my griping and grumbling - let's talk about good things instead. I've got a brand new bag! It's another new pattern from Anna of Charmed Liebling called the Liebling's Bag! Such a fun bag! It sews together quickly, and features a outside zip pocket and two pockets inside - one slip pocket and one with an elasticized opening that will be perfect for my phone! Like all of Anna's patterns the instructions are really detailed and clear.

Liebling's Bag by Charmed Liebling

One of my favourite details of the Liebling's Bag is the gate rings that attach the straps to the bag! I had quite the time finding the rings, but I'm going to tell you exactly where you can get them so you don't do what I did and have to spend ages hunting high and low for them!

I really love the look of the shiny gate rings!

I first checked my local sewing shop. Nothing. Then I checked the one in the city. They had them but $10 felt a bit steep. Etsy and EBay both produced results but shipping from the states was crazy expensive (I might as well buy the $10 ones...) and my other options - from China - would take far too long to get here. I checked other places too. Walmart, Canadian Tire, even Dollerama. I thought all hope was lost. Then late one Saturday night I tried googling purse supplies. BINGO!!!!!! Emmaline Bags! Located in Alberta, Janelle has a great selection of purse making supplies all very reasonably priced. Best part (beyond great products of course) is shipping is inexpensive and FAST! I got my order within three business days!!!

I really like my Lieblings Bag! It will definitely be a go to bag this fall! And it will definitely fit all the essentials... including the fruit treats, hot wheels and super heroes as well as quite possibly a small knitting project. A girl can't ask for much more than that!!!

So jump on over to Anna's site to read more about this fun new bag and pick up the pattern for yourself! With the change in seasons - I saw a large flock of geese pass over the house today which means fall is setting in soon - it's always nice to treat yourself to a change of handbags as well!

Greyson 2.0

A couple weeks ago I told you that I was knitting a replacement sweater for the one that fell on hard times at the hands paws jaws of Bella the Sometimes Very Bad Dog.

I'm very happy to say it's DONE!!!!! I'm also very happy to say I love it. More importantly, Baby Boy loves it! What he did not love was trying it on earlier today so I could take a few photos. Granted it was a ridiculously muggy +30C when the pouring rain had stopped and the sun came out. Hey! A knitter's got to do what a knitter's got to do right? I needed those pics for my Ravelry project page. Don't worry. He was only dressed in his jeans and long sleeved wool sweater long enough to snap two pictures, then I brought his sweaty little self in and stripped him back down and replaced his winter attire with more appropriate shorts and tee. Besides, I'm certain I can't be the only knitter who utilizes this particular brand of torture. He really is quite pleased with the sweater. Especially since he did pick out the yarn for it "all by mine self". I'm also feeling pretty happy that I finished well within the time frame of the Luvinthemommyhood Summer Sweater KAL. There's still almost three weeks left in the KAL. I might even be able to get another sweater in for it. We'll see! But back to Greyson 2.0!

Greyson, by Julia Stanfield, is such a fantastic pattern. The classic V-neck knits up really quickly top down and is designed for several different weights of wool to suit your fancy. I did Baby Boy's in worsted weight Berroco Vintage (the darker green) Valuruguai Supernova (the pale grey green). Both yarns are machine washable and wear really well. Perfect for a rough and tumble little fellow like Baby Boy!

In other knitting news, I finished my Miette cardi by designer Andi Satterlund. I had ordered two sets of vintage buttons because I couldn't decide which I liked better and had to wait for both to arrive before completely finishing it. I'd show it to you now, but I can't as I haven't taken any photos of it yet. It's way to hot to be parading around in a short sleeved cotton cardi while someone snaps photos... That would be all kinds of crazy. Ahem... (don't tell Baby Boy I said that - I have a feeling he wouldn't appreciate my suitable sweater weather double standard...)

That's about it for me in the knitting department these days. Now you'll have to excuse me... I'm dying to cast on a swatch for Andi Satterlund's new cardi pattern Hetty!  I absolutely adore her patterns with their retro vibe and feminine details! Cross fingers my yarn is going to work with it! I'm hoping to use some stash yarn I've been hoarding for a few years now!

The Rose Petal Bag

A little while ago, Anna, from Charmed Liebling put out a call for testers. I'm not sure that I so much as took the time to blink before offering. I do love bags and her's all look wonderful, so I was pretty excited about the opportunity!

Shortly after I got an email with a pattern to try out. It did not disappoint! What a fun little purse and great project! I decided to challenge myself to use as much "stash" as possible for my bag and in the end was able to do it except for needing a magnetic snap. I almost always have a couple on hand but for some reason this time I was out. A quick trip to the fabric store in town solved that problem and I set to work.

I used a red linen (leftover from a pair of maternity pants I'd made when I was expecting Little Man) for the outer fabric, a fat quarter I got in a swap with one of my Ravelry groups for the lining, fancy d-rings I've had kicking around for at least eight years for the handles, the zip I'd bought for my dress that I then decided to not use and a remnant from I can't even remember what for the pockets and rose petals. Stash busting at it's finest wouldn't you say?

The purse took no time to put together. A snippet of time hand sewing the petals on while the boys played, a bit more time at the machine after they'd gone to bed and a wee bit more the next day while they wreaked havoc played in the sewing room. The pattern itself is incredibly detailed, with lots of pictures to guide you along. Any mistakes I made were solely mine, not a problem with the pattern (like absentmindedly cutting out my flap lining the wrong way, and because I was using a fat quarter didn't have room to cut a new one so had to piece two bits together and seam it. Ooops!)

I'm really pleased with the end result! With both an inner zip pocket and a slip pocket it's a great little bag that will hold the necessities - well maybe not all the necessities. The fruit snacks, hot wheels and superheroes may have to stay home on occasions when I use my Rose Petal bag. Ha ha!

When I went out the other morning to take a few photos in the beautiful sunshine I noticed my bag was the same colour as the ripening chokecherries. I thought it the perfect background - and as an aside, a little tidbit of trivia for you, chokecherry trees are part of the rose family. So even more fitting a place for a photo!

The Rose Petal Bag by Charmed Liebling

A closer look at the details

I love this lining fabric - it coordinates so nicely with the linen

If you're looking for a new purse with lovely detail give this one a try! It won't disappoint you! You can purchase the pattern over at Anna's shop on her site, Charmed Liebling. She's also blogged about the bag as well!

And speaking of chokecherries, I've got to dash. We're in the midst of boiling down and straining chokecherries today for jelly and syrup - my canner beckons!

Greyson - Version 2.0

Remember last winter I knit Baby Boy a sweater?  I was so very pleased with his Greyson.  It was such a great pattern, it fit really well and he loved it.  It was soft, cozy and comfy and it looked great on him.

Greyson Version 1.0

Well since then a few tragedies have befallen his sweater.  The first being in the spring I washed exactly as I had several times before, on gentle, in the machine.  Only that time instead of coming out perfect as usual, it came out ever so slightly felted in the Punta Merino Perfection variegated parts.  I wasn't sure why, but wasn't too worried.  He could still wear it, it hadn't suffered that much damage, the Berroco Vintage stripes were still soft and nice.

Fast forward several weeks.

We had a cool spell for a few weeks recently here on the prairies. (Seriously, summer vanished completely for a bit!) I thought it would be a good time to pull out the Greyson, but it felt sort of crisp and crunchy for lack of a better description.  A friend suggested a soak in hair conditioner might do the trick so into the sink it went for a 45 minute bath. It softened up beautifully. Even the slightly felted parts seemed to relax a bit.  It was almost back to it's former glory! I was so excited.  I set it on the kitchen island to dry, but then at supper time shifted it to the top of the dog's cage.  You know where I'm going with this don't you...

So sad :(

Yep! Unrepairable tragedy.  I could've cried. (actually I may have cried.  I also am pretty sure I said more than a few bad words). Really it's not the dog's fault.  I totally forgot I had left it there and the next morning decided to go to the loo first before letting Bella out of her cage.  Bella disapproves of anything being done before being let out of her cage, so she took that quick opportunity to haul the towel and sweater in through the bars.  The towel was completely unharmed.  Why oh why couldn't I have a dog that preferred towels to hand knits?????

Baby Boy was pretty sad too, so I promised I would knit him a new one, he just had to wait until we would be able to get to the city for some new yarn.  He did find something he liked in my stash for the stripes, but we had nothing he liked enough for the main colour.

We made a quick trip to Wolesley Wardrobe the other day and he picked out his yarn.  It was kind of cute. As I plucked yarns off the shelf suggesting this one or that he was rather non-committal.  Then I thought I'd found the perfect yarn. Oh it was a gorgeous shade of blue-green.  I showed it excitedly to Baby Boy, who flatly said, "No. I don't want that one. It's not the one I want." Then he picked another colour off the shelf and said emphatically, "This one," as he clutched it to his chest, nuzzled his face into it and started walking to the front of the store.  The front door was open and I guess he felt his job was done and I stopped him just before he headed straight out of it, then redirected him to the cash desk where he proudly put his selection up on the counter.

We paid for our yarn and headed out.  Every time he looked at his yarn he felt the need to remind me that it was his.  "That's mind.  I choosed it all by myself.  It's for my sweater." I guess in case I might somehow forget.  He also asks several times a day if his new sweater is ready. (Slave driver!!)

So I'm knitting as fast as I can whenever I get a chance.  I've decided it works well, too, for the Luvinthemommyhood Summer Sweater Knit Along, where Shannon encourages us to not forget our knitting in the heat of the summer, but to work on sweaters so that they're ready to wear come the cooler temperatures of fall. (Or in the case here on the prairies - what is supposed to be summer although to be fair, this week summer has suddenly reappeared after several weeks of absence!) Anyways, Greyson fits the bill, it is a sweater and has full length sleeves!  Whoot!  I really enjoy Luvinthemommyhood KALs.  Everyone is so friendly and encouraging, it's really motivating!

Moving right along with Greyson Version 2.0

In a Pickle!

Or at least up to my eyeballs in pickles...

For a few years now, a very generous soul at (BF)G's work has been supplying us with awesome homemade dill pickles (and lately salsa too - yep! We've got it made!!) They're delicious as only homemade pickles (and salsa) can be. Mmmmmmm. Yum.

A long time ago I used to do a lot of canning. Jams and jellies and pickles - dill, beet, something called "bucket pickles" and even a most unfortunate crabapple pickle (I was trying to do sweet canned crabapples like Mom always had... You'd think the vinegar in the recipe would have clued me in. Alas...). Anyways, that was a lifetime ago and I haven't done much of anything of the sort in years.

Last year after getting a pile of second hand canning jars and a canner I thought I'd ease back in, so I made jams, apple butter and apple pie filling, but I really wanted to get back to pickles. (BF)G must have mentioned it to our pickle supplier and she offered to pick up some pickling cukes at a local Hutterite colony when she got her's. I agree (although a bit hesitantly because I figure that means the end of her pickles coming our way), because it would be great to have a pantry full of our own. So for $25, I got a HUGE 20lb box of cukes, plenty of dill, and the best part? She had tucked her own recipe inside. I had stopped by Mom's earlier in the week for some jars - I had either 500ml or gigantic old (with glass lids) jars that didn't fit my canner - so having all my supplies gathered, yesterday morning I decreed it to be pickle making day.

Wow! What a lot of work. I was pooped! I'm sure I could have streamlined my flail and fumble about the kitchen, making mad dashes out to the garage to scrounge for more jars to sterilize, frantically peeling and cutting more garlic and making more brine, running between the kitchen and the window to make certain the boys were still in the yard and not performing any death defying stunts and generally just resembling a chicken sans head. it wasn't pretty, but hopefully it was worth it. We'll know in a few weeks. (oh how I hope they are as tasty as Carol's!!!)

There is something so incredibly satisfying about hearing those snap lids snap as they cool and then standing back to admire the fruits (or in this case pickles) of your labour.

Holy Smokes! What have I got myself into????

Pickling cukes take a heck of a long time to wash!

Splish, splash taking a boiling water bath!

Yum! Pickles for winter!

Hopefully I'm not divulging some ancient family secret recipe here by sharing the one I used, but I'm pretty sure it's fairly standard.

Garlic Dill Pickles

Pickling cucumbers - gently scrubbed and washed
Garlic - peeled and bigger cloves, chopped
Heads of dill

Brine:
21 cups water
7 cups vinegar
1 cup pickling salt
2 cups sugar

Mix all ingredients in a pot and cook until salt and sugar are dissolved. (make more brine as needed)

Meanwhile pack garlic, dill heads and pickling cukes into hot sterilized jars. Pour brine over top, seal jars and process in a boiling water bath until yellow.

*********

Pretty straightforward, really.  I took a look at one of her jars to see how much garlic and dill she used and saw there were about five chunks of peeled, chopped garlic and two smaller heads of dill. I processed mine for 10 minutes in the canner.  Oh! And to do the brine I had to make only half at a time because I didn't have a pot large enough to fit it all at once.  I started out with 20 lbs of cukes and ended up with about 21 litres of pickles. The brine recipe was sufficient for about 14 jars.

A Honey of a Blouse

I mentioned in my last post that I did finish the Honey Blouse from Make it Perfect. I fell in love with the pattern a few months ago when I had stumbled across it on another sewing blog. It looked like it would be just the kind of top I could easily live in. I ordered it from Pink Chalk straight away and then started my search for fabric. With (BF)G's help, I finally settled on a cotton lawn with a bright and abstract print on white background that I found at Fabric.com.  Once pattern and fabric had both arrived I was so excited to dive right into sewing... and then I read some reviews of the pattern that weren't really enticing, but still I thought, can't be that bad and I really loved the look of it, so I opened the pattern up, ready to trace and set to work and understood the basis for the unfavourable reviews.

For a full priced pattern there's a lot of work to be done.  Pattern pieces that need to be traced together are printed back to back on smaller paper and then there are several pieces that need to be just cut to measurements with no pattern piece at all.  I can understand that it cuts back on printing for the publisher of the pattern, but at $12, I expected a little more.  I tossed the instructions aside after about the first sentence as they just weren't reading well to me - although that could just be me being finicky. I have to say in all honesty I really did not enjoy the making of this pattern. From start to finish I was annoyed with it.

My whole disgruntlement could really just be me.  After sewing my Jamie Dress and thoroughly loving the whole process of it, maybe my expectations were just simply set too high.  The Sis Boom pattern, as you may recall, went together like a dream.  The instructions were clear and thorough not too mention intuitive.  I just wasn't getting that feeling from the Honey Blouse.

Despite the annoyance with the pattern, I am really happy to say I did end up with a blouse I love.  It's comfortable, fits pretty well (although a touch roomy in the hips) and I have worn it several times.  Definitely worth the frustrations I had making it.  I can truly say I love my Honey Blouse now that it's finished and I'm so glad I persevered!!

(photos once again curtesy of Little Man)

Up next in sewing I have a little project to finish for someone, then possibly another warm weather top for myself and a new pair of warm weather pj pants for (BF)G.  After that it may have to be another set of jammies for the little boys because I'm getting tired of having to wash the digger ones every second day.  (That's all they want to wear and oh the anguish when they need to be washed as you know, clothes sometimes do...). In between that the Christmas knitting continues as does work on my Miette Cardi.

Kid's Clothing Week Round Up

Last week was Kid's Clothing Week. KCW means one thing for me usually. I make grandiose plans to sew for the boys all week and in reality, fabric does not get cut out, my machine does not get turned on and nothing gets accomplished.

I was determined to be successful this time. So I didn't sign up.  I figured signing up would alert the gods of sewing that I was planning on participating and that would mean I would be dead in the water from that moment on, they would shut me down instantly somehow.

I set the bar low for myself.  Instead of making a list of five or six items I made a goal of sewing two pairs of pyjamas. One for Little Man and a matching set for Baby Boy. Easy Peasy.  How hard could it be to finish on deadline?

Before diving into the kid's sewing though I really wanted to get my Honey Blouse done first because I was planning on wearing it to a party last weekend that I ended up not able to go to in the end anyways (thanks to my 42 year old back that likes to think it's 90), so I got a bit of a late start to the kid's projects to begin with.

I am happy to say I did finish!  Last Thursday. Only four days late.  I call it a win.  Whoot!!!!!! Success at last. That so rarely happens for me with KCW. Ok, ok. I realize KCW is supposed to mean at least one hour a day for that particular week, but whatever. I have lower standards... And after all, better late then never (or not at all), right?

I had the fabric and the patterns picked out well in advance.  I decided to use a vintage Simplicity pattern for Little Man that I used to use a lot for J and N when they were little.  (Vintage.  Ha ha! It's c1974.  That would be three years younger than me... Does that mean I'm vintage too?) I could make that pattern in my sleep I've done it so many times before and it makes nice comfy jammies.  For Baby Boy I used my standard go to Kwik Sew pattern that I've also made about a billion times now, and just altered it to match Little Man's.  The fabric I had picked up early in the spring and have had sitting in my stash waiting to be used for months. I made a size bigger than they really needed in hope that since summer is half over already they will still be able to wear them next year. Of course this likely guarantees growth spurts of epic proportions over the winter months.

I was provided with motivation to finish in the manner that about once every five minutes Little Man would ask if his digger jammies were finished yet. Once his were done, he asked about once every five minutes if his brother's were done. (I had told him he had to wait for Baby Boy's to be finished or it wouldn't really be fair). Nothing like an incessantly demanding child to light a fire under you to get things done if for no other reason saving your sanity. (PSA: if you do not want to be harassed do not tell the child what you are making...)

I finished late Thursday evening long after they had gone to bed, so last night was finally the night they got to wear them. Both were very pleased.

Some Selfish Sewing

I decided in the spring that I was going to do some selfish sewing to go along with my selfish knitting.  Projects that were for me all me! So far I've done the Washi Tunic - which I absolutely love on really hot summer days, and two dresses.

Today I want to tell you about my new favourite dress pattern.  It's the Jamie Dress from Sis Boom patterns.  It's a fantastic pattern.  For a PDF, the pattern pieces went together like a dream.  Sis Boom makes it completely fool proof.  There's no fiddly lining up of pieces or worse fudging pieces that don't line up together (I've had that happen before.  Grrrrr). The sizing it great with many options to choose from.  They have even included extra where needed in the bodice for us bustier girls.  Love it!  I didn't have to alter a thing in that department.  The instructions are very detailed and very clear except for what appears to be a small typo in one of the directions where the seam allowance was somewhat unclear, but it was easy enough to figure out.  (It's 1/4" in case you get stuck too!).

I could wax poetic about this pattern I adore it so much.  In fact I loved it so much that the minute I finished sewing the first dress, I immediately cut out a second one.  I never do that. (Ok. I do. If its for the kids and its a Fishsticks Designs pattern.  But for me? NEVER!) Anyways. Onto the details!

The only modification I made to the first dress was to skip the zipper.  I loathe doing zippers.  They (and buttonholes) are the bane of my sewing existence, being never able to get them just perfect.  Oh how they vex me.  To ensure fit without the zipper, I sewed the bodice as instructed, then basted the side where the zipper was meant to be and tried it on.  There was plenty of room to get in and out, which is important.  I made a dress last year that I skipped the zipper on and I'm constantly getting stuck in it. It's not pretty.

The fabric is Happy Land Claudia in Sky Blue (by Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom). I was able to snag it on sale from Fabric.com back in the spring.  I love the trailing flowers and their bright colours.  A bonus was up until a few days ago I had two pairs of sandals that matched the fabric perfectly.  Then the dogs ate one sandal.  I'm still a tad bitter about that, but at least I still have one pair that matches perfectly!

I didn't have anyone over four feet tall at home to take pictures for me when I finished making the dress so Little Man (Oh how it feels strange to leave out the "Toddler" part of his nickname!!) took some for me.

A few of them were mighty unflattering - that happens apparently when taking pictures at that angle.  Yikes! But I was able to save a few that aren't too bad and show the dress pretty well. As I said I love this dress so much that as soon as Little Man finished snapping pictures I went in and cut out a second dress.

The second dress is made from a random very lightweight cotton that I got in the clearance section of my local fabric store.  I had intended it for a different project, but then it seemed to say Jamie Dress to me so it's purpose quickly shifted.  I had to fully line this one as it's so light it would have felt a bit indecent.  I used an inexpensive cotton lawn that I was able to pick up in the city.  I skipped the zipper again and added side seam pockets.  I do love pockets on, well, anything.  I had meant to put them on my first dress, but had forgotten until I'd sewed the side seams of the skirt using French seams.  Unpicking them, it turns out, was far less desirable than having pockets.

I will admit to pretty much living in my second dress. It's lightweight and cool even with the lining, comfortable as pyjamas and I like to think pretty and feminine too with it's little sprigs of blue flowers and dots.

Again, I relied on my four year old fashion photographer for this next picture.

To wrap up, I can't say enough good things about the Jamie Dress from Sis Boom.  It's well worth the $10 price tag - I got mine on sale so I feel like I got an exceptionally great find!! Anyone from beginner sewist on up to experienced will enjoy this pattern.  Go forth and make yourself one.  You won't regret it!

Next up I'll be making myself The Honey Blouse from Make It Perfect. I'll let you know how it goes!

Birthday Time!

It was birthday time around here this past weekend. Little Toddler Man and I celebrated another year older on Friday. I suppose being four years old, means he's not really a toddler anymore, is he? Maybe he hasn't been for awhile and I've just been clinging to the idea that he's still little...

I thought I'd share some pictures of the fun with you!

I made the now traditional annual birthday crown. Little Man is thoroughly obsessed with dinosaurs right now, so it seemed fitting his crown be dino related. Volcanoes and lava are also very important apparently so I thought I'd incorporate that too. I was quite happy with the result, as was he!

Rawr! 

Volcanoes and Lava!!

On Friday night we had a small gathering with a few people that weren't going to be able to make it out for the party the next day. Little Man was excited to open some presents and have some cake, but it was a late night and the birthday boy ended up pretty tuckered out by the end of the evening.

Whoot! Dinos!!

The Birthday Boy and his big sister G!

Birthday Snuggles from Aunty G!

The next morning J and his girlfriend arrived early in the day (thank goodness!!) and jumped right into helping prepare for the party! They also pitched in to help decorate the cake that was a volcano made from a layer of chocolate cake, a layer of homemade strawberry ice cream, a layer of homemade chocolate ice cream, which was all covered with chocolate buttercream and then covered in clodhoppers candies. Strawberry sauce stood in as lava and sparklers, candles and plastic dinos completed the cake that Little Man has been planning since about February.

Team Work!

Sparklers in my face - not sure I like that much...

Ready to blow out his candles!

All in all it was a good birthday weekend, which (BF)G, Baby Boy, Little Man and I finished off with a trip to the beach on Sunday afternoon!

Fun on the beach!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Inspired by Soulemama's {this moment}

" A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

In the busy hustle, bustle of life, this notion of a photo capturing a moment to pause and savor really appeals to me.

I haven't done this in so very long, but the little boys have had some amazing adventures this week. Instead of a single picture here is a whole series capturing our fun this week.

Moments To Remember - June 18 - 20, 2013