Renee Knits Too

HAPPY 2012

2012-01-01T16:47:00.001-05:00

Beauty.. Freshness.. Dreams.. Truth.. Imagination.. Feeling.. Faith.. Trust..
This is begining of a new year!

Was your 2011 wonderful? We had a good, busy year.

It's with optimism and a smile that I look forward to 2012 and reflect on 2011. The next few months will be cold and wintery here in Ontario, a good time to buckle down to finish projects and start new ones. With that in mind I'm going to take a planned winter break from blogging. I'll return in spring, hopefully with projects to share and more time to spend blogging myself. I plan to keep visiting all my friends in the blogosphere and enjoy your wonderful posts. Stop in to say hi on Flickr if you're so inclined. See you back here when the daffodils bloom!

May 2012 will be all you wish for and more. Live, love and laugh much, tell those you care about you love them and find happiness in your day. Renee

you may live in Canada, if...

2011-12-01T21:56:00.000-05:00

Sharing a little Jeff Foxworthy whimsy as we head into winter. Here's what Mr. Foxworthy has to say about Canadians, during a recent appearance at Caesars in Windsor :
If someone in a Home Depot store Offers you assistance and they don't work there, You may live in Canada.
If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, You may live in Canada.
If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation With someone who dialed a wrong number,........................... You may live in Canada.
If 'Vacation' means going anywhere South of Detroit for the weekend, You may live in Canada.
If you measure distance in hours, You may live in Canada.
If you know several people Who have hit a deer more than once, You may live in Canada.
If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' In the same day and back again, You may live in Canada.
If you can drive 90 km/hr through 2 feet of snow During a raging blizzard without flinching, You may live in Canada.
If you install security lights on your house and garage, But leave both unlocked, You may live in Canada.
If you carry jumper cables in your car And your wife knows how to use them, You may live in Canada.
If you design your kid's Halloween costume To fit over a snowsuit, You may live in Canada.
If the speed limit on the highway is 80 km -- You're going 95 and everybody is passing you, You may live in Canada.
If driving is better in the winter Because the potholes are filled with snow, You may live in Canada.
If you know all 4 seasons: Almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction, You may live in Canada.
If you have more miles On your snow blower than your car, You may live in Canada.
If you find -2 degrees 'a little chilly', You may live in Canada.
If you actually understand these jokes, and forward them to all your friends, you definitely are Canadian and proud to be ♥ ♥ ♥

harvest

2011-09-15T17:36:00.001-04:00

A little sunshine in our back yard.

And the last of the tomato harvest.

May your day be sunny and bright!

Renee

mani pedi

2011-09-02T19:10:00.002-04:00

Nicole and I had some spa fun this afternoon to start our Labour Day weekend. Mom and daugher mani-pedi - what fun! Yeah, that's gray polish on my toes... It's really taupe-brown-ish, kinda... gray.

Hard to believe it's already the last weekend of the summer. We're in the midst of a crazy heat wave that blew in with severe storms. The high today saw a humidex of 41C (105F). Crazy is the only word for it. Tomorrow and Sunday are more of the same with a huge drop for Labour Day Monday to only reach 16C (61F). A tornado touched down last week about 5km from us in Cambridge, damage was limited but Goderich was not so lucky. Hoping any of you in or near tornado areas are safe and well. We are Not a tornado area, normally. It's really unusual for us to have really severe storms - winter excepted. This summer has brought a lot of strange stuff.

In hopes of cooler temps, I cast on a little something for myself to ease back in to knitting. Toast! How do I love thee?? Finally a pair for me. Knit in Cascade Heathers "Oatmeal". I can't wait to wear them. Soon, soon, very soon - I hope. Autumn is my favourite time of the year.

Happy September everyone! Be well and enjoy a lovely long weekend!

This is your Life

2011-08-10T21:24:00.003-04:00

Too entertaining (and silly) not to share - Top Gear BCC and Ford Fiesta

2011-07-24T15:45:00.000-04:00

Have a great weekend all!
Renee

Hello Spring!

2011-06-03T10:49:00.001-04:00

It's finally here! Very late - odds are we'll be flung right in to hot and humid summer shortly, but after a long winter that's just fine by me. Bring on the allergies and mosquitoes (also known as the Canadian Air Force), it's worth it to see green and feel warm sunshine and bright blue skis. Around here that means it's time to indulge in annuals. The growing season is pitifully short here in South Western Ontario - but what there is of it we enjoy.

North facing front garden in-progress

Our front yard garden has always been very small. Well, grown a little bit each year as I edge in a few inches every year to sneak some more size to it. Don loves his lawn, I'm greedy and want more garden space... this year I just dug in and expanded a bunch. The garden is still tiny, but doubled in width under the living room window and expanded about 2 feet along the walkway. Divided up my hostas and spread them out. Once they're opened up more it'll be purdy. I'll take pics again soon when everything is leafed out.

It's with sadness I share that we lost Hunter, who passed away last month. He had a ton of character and was a real ham. Rest well, old man, you'll always be in our hearts. These pics were of Hunter in his younger days, this is how I remember him most - always grinning and having a good time.

On the knitting front, I've only pick up the needles to get the first border done on McCafferty, once I have the gardens and lawn at the farm (acres of it, seriously it could stop raining already...) under control I'll have a little more time to sit and knit. This weekend is the Poodle Club of Canada Regional and National Specialties so I'll be off playing with dogs. Have a great one yourself, hope you're doing something you enjoy.

wood wall n wool ~ cast-on-itis, full blown case

2011-03-21T19:11:00.005-04:00

We got a new tv, perfect to put over the mantle. It was hard to see with our necks cranked up that far and the tv was sitting up a bit too high. And I wear bifocals so tipping my head up to see the screen had me peeping through the reading part of my lenses. We planned to lower the brick by 3 rows and put the oak mantle top back on. What we thought would be a simple, weekend project and a small drywall repair wasn't quite what we expected. The fire brick behind the decorative brick front of the fire surround we discovered was installed before the drywall. The drywall was butted up to the frame. Result? The firebrick of the chimney stuck further into the room than the wallboard around it. There were lots of ways to fix that, most easier than what I was hoping for, but Don was a sweetheart and humoured me. We clad the wall - after a lot more chiselling, grinding and dust then first planned - in wood.

We used rough hewn pine boards that we had planed to a smoother surface and brought all the boards to the same thickness. They range from 11 to 13.5" wide. Amazing how out of square a 26 year old house is, but Don did a fantastic job cladding the wall. I put a fresh coat of paint on the adjacent walls, then made a stain from the left over paint by cutting it 50% with water to stain the pine boards.

Loving the finished wood wall. We need to deal with the wires, blu ray player and cable box on the mantle in some sort of attractive manner and accessorize on the right side of the fireplace. Any suggestions would be very welcome. Check out the wall all finished up with the pine planks!

I haven't knit in forever. Not for a lack of wanting to. I'm about to cast on for Lily Kate's pretty shawl pattern McCafferty . It's just what I'm in the mood for with spring here, something chic to wear my favourite white blouse and jeans. The pattern is available here on Ravelry. The yarn I plan to use is The Plucky Knitter Primo, but just can't decide on which colour? Pink or Gray? Help?! Which colour should I use?

I'm pretty certain I'd wear the gray more, but this pink "Gumball" colourway is fun too...

If you have

2011-02-11T21:17:00.000-05:00

I am grateful for all I have. Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend. Renee

Poodles in Snow Suits in a Snow Storm... yeah, that's really what this is

2011-02-07T14:20:00.002-05:00

We have a ton more snow than in this video clip taken 3 weeks ago. This was the start of one of the snow storms. This past Saturday evening we got 15" of snow in 2 hours.

My fav part of this video clip is at 3:21 into it. Don's had to blow the dog playing field clear with the tractor more than a few times, not to mention the 1000 foot laneway. Hope everyone who lives where it snows is managing to shovel out from under this year. We went to Home Depot on the weekend and the store front is full of bbqs, lawn furniture and ride mowers. Retailers are pretty much sold out of snow blowers and shovels. Spring must be coming?... I hope so. Course, where we live we get blizzards in April and it can snow on Mother's Day.

Be well, stay warm, hug and tell those you care about you love them.
Renee

FO: knitting the blues

2011-02-02T18:51:00.005-05:00

"Not Noro Striped Scarf" in Rowan Tapestry

Pattern: Noro Striped Scarf by Jared Flood
Yarn: Rowan Tapestry, 2 balls each of colours SH 170 Country and SH 176 Whirlpool
Size: 5" x 88"

Knit up in Rowan Tapestry ~ "a modern blend of wool and soybean protein fiber; the yarn has a slightly felted look. It is soft and has a gentle drape. This self-striping yarn knits up into stripes that shade subtly from one to the next." Tapestry is discontinued but still available in some yarn shops and on ebay for really reduced prices. It's a yarn I'm sorry to see go. If you can still find it I highly recommend it for knitting accessories.

It's been a while since I've blogged ~ but we're still here and doing fine. Home today with the "big" blizzard which wasn't big by Canadian standards, but we did get about a foot and a half of snow that's been causing white outs and some pretty impressive snow drifts. We're inside with the woodstove on enjoying pristine winter views.

What better to keep warm while shovelling snow than a snuggly new scarf? I finished knitting this just before Christmas, but wanted to share it on the blog. Both Nicole and I have gotten some cozy, warm wear from this scarf. It's the same as my other one in berry reds, knit in my favourite blues. Knitting these striped scarves is addictive, I don't tire of the colour changes. I like scarves very long - at 88" it can be worn in all sorts of ways. http://ravel.me/ReneeKnitsToo/9p9af

Nina finished her show Championship in 2010 and was a delightful girl in the ring. Now we've moved on to the fun stuff... obedience and tracking. She has a lot of hair and looks very grown up ~ just 9 months old in this photo.

I've been sewing, not so much time for knitting. Very adorable baby boy quilt to share soon .

Be well, stay warm and tell those you care about you love them.
Renee

how did it get to be the end of November already??

2010-11-22T19:15:00.002-05:00

Over the past month I have knit several pairs of fingerless mitts, all of which I gifted before taking pictures. In the past 2 weeks I haven't knit a single stitch. sigh. Quilting? nope. Spinning? nada. I have baked up and storm for a few different parties and events, but that's all eaten and gone too without any pictures or recipes posted...
The only pictures I do have lately are of Nina - puppy girl is doing great in the show ring, so lots of fluffy poodle puppy pictures. She's half way to her Championship and entered again in December. No wonder I have no time to knit... enjoy the puppy pic, she's looking very grown up, but just turned 8 months old.

Be well, be happy and hug those you love!
Renee

Thanks for the good luck wishes

2010-10-31T20:40:00.000-04:00

They must`ve worked!

Nina was expertly presented by pro handler Chrystal Murray - whom Nina loves. She`s now Champion pointed and well on her way to her Championship!! I`m crazy busy over the next 2 weeks and apologize for not being quick to respond to comments and emails - just wanted to let everyone know I appreciate hearing from you so much!

Knitting posts to come - honest - lest you all thing this has turned into a poodle blog!! Poodles and Wool do go so well together though...

Happy Hallowe'en

2010-10-28T21:10:00.001-04:00

How did it get to be the last weekend of October already? Fall has been flying by. I won't be around the blog (or home for that matter) for the next 2 or 3 weeks much - off every weekend to dog shows with Ms. Bella Nina. Nina is fluffed, buffed and ready to roll with me before dawn tomorrow morning for her first ever dog show. She's 7 months old already, looking very grown up. No - won't be sporting her pink elastic horns in the show ring, but I'm sure her halo will be showing. Wish us luck.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Halloween. Have fun and enjoy some candy!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

2010-10-10T16:13:00.000-04:00

I absolutely love this! Sending it out to all the amazing women I know and have yet to meet for whom I am all thankful for. Especially my mom and daughter. This Thanksgiving I'm most thankful for family, friends and what each new day brings.

Wishing you all a great day! Renee

S'more cupcakes

2010-10-06T23:06:00.000-04:00

These are decadent. Oh ~ so good! Recipe can be found HERE

I brought 2 dozen of them to class to celebrate this.

My comments on this recipe: the cupcake itself is really wonderful and one I'll bake again. The batter is watery and runny - but like the recipe says - it's ok and will bake up nicely. They did. Light and firm, tasty and tastes like homemade - very very good!

The icing recipe says it makes enough for 30 cupcakes - the recipe makes 24 cupcakes. Truth is the icing makes enough for probably 60 or 70 cupcakes! Even halfing it would be far too much. I found the icing too sweet for my liking. The first time I try a recipe I follow the directions as written. Next time I'll drop the sugar added to 1/3 or 1/4 of recommended and 1/2 the marshmallows. The icing texture is wonderful - light and fluffy, just way too rich for me.

I grated some of the graham crackers over the icing and had no problem making the graham wafers and chocolate stand up in it. These look even better than they photograph and are going into my recipe file, with the tweeking of the icing. The cupcakes themselves would be great topped with whip cream and berries, how I plan to serve them next time.

If you like s'mores, you'll love these cupcakes! They were a big hit at class. I'm giving them a big thumbs up. What's your favourite cupcake? I'm looking for new recipes, I'd love it if you'd share your best with me. :)

Be well, be happy and take care! Renee

OTCh!!

2010-10-04T18:48:00.006-04:00

Piper completed her title yesterday with a big smile on her poodle face to match the thrilled one on mine. As one of the judges told me when we left the ring after one of her qualifying scores, "Steak for supper for that poodle!" Thank you Piper, you are an amazing partner!

It's been a long journey with Piper to reach this level in her training and trialing. An up and down hill journey with the excitement of new skills learned, friendships gained, exercises mastered and confidences (often) humbled. Piper and I suffered through fear and guilt when she was attacked and hurt, a re-building of trust and confidence to keep her safe from other dogs in the sport, happiness and tears at moments when the light goes on -- when clarity and understanding sinks in. She's had big wins, High in Trials and left me pleased and thrilled with our performance even on the days when we failed to qualify. Piper never stops trying and works her heart out for me. She 'makes me want to be the person my dog thinks I am'- as the saying goes. As much as my life has been molded by my parents, mentors, friends, and teachers - it also has by the animals I've shared time with.

Training to this level creates bonds in many different relationships. My dog of course, she knows me better than I know her. My coach, mentor and friend Marie Sawford who brought us from Novice A to OTCh. The supportive and amazing help from class and school mates at Companion Dog Training, those I've traveled to compete with and set up at trials beside to spend the weekend, other trainers we've met at shows and trials from Canada and the United States. And especially my dearest and most wonderful friends in the dog world - those women and their dogs that are the "inner circle" of my friends. Hugs to you and thank you for the support and your friendship. Your being who you all are-- I can't measure the value or be thankful for enough. There are far more of you than I can mention without forgetting anyone, but especially Pat, Andrea, Dawn T, and the SPW: Dawn N, Cheryl, and Vivienne and all your amazing dogs. I've learned so much from you all in so many different aspects of dogs, family and friendships. I thank you.

Piper and I will continue our journey with no specific plans for her Excellent, Master and Grand Master title that follow her Obedience Championship - we'll take it one step at a time just as we have to this point and see how far the journey will take us in that direction. As long as we're having fun we'll continue. After reaching this point, the rest is just more icing on an already over the top cake.

Thank you mostly to my wonderful and 'Sweety Pie' girl Piper, you've taught me so much and made me a more understanding, patient and feeling person. Who knew a poodle could do so much? I do now. And to my training buddies in the Tuesday night Utility class - there'll be cake to celebrate tomorrow!

Renee & OTCh Ravendune Piping Hot RE AGN CGN HIC(s) RNMCL aka 'Piper' or The Princess Pie

French Breakfast Muffins

2010-09-23T13:59:00.000-04:00

Ryan especially loves these. He's keen on the sugar and cinnamon topping, I prefer mine plain with my tea so there's always one in the dozen that's not dipped in the sugary stuff. These store well and freeze well, but don't last long enough at our house for that to matter.

French Breakfast Muffins
Prep: 15 minutes Bake: 20 - 25 minutes

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

Topping:
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted

1. In a mixing bowl combine flour, the 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

2. In another bowl beat egg slightly; stir in milk and 1/3 cup melted butter. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened ~ the batter may be lumpy. Lightly grease muffin cups. Fill cups about two-thirds full with batter. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until muffins are golden.

3. Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl combine the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Immediately dip tops of hot muffins into the 1/4 cup melted butter, then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture until coated. Serve warm.

Yield: 12 small muffins. This recipe doubles well!! I pretty much always make a double batch.

Make-Ahead Tip: Bake muffins as directed. Cool completely. Place muffins in freezer containers or bags and freeze for up to 1 month. To reheat, wrap frozen muffins in heavy foil. Heat in a 300 degree F oven for 15 to 18 minutes.

This is one the Go-To staple recipes in my files. It's easy and quick. I enjoy one for breakfast cut in half and spread with a bit of jam. You can also drop any of your favourite fruits into the batter to bake. Give them a try! Would love to hear what you think of French Breakfast Muffins.

Be well, eat well and take care!

Because one just isn't enough & "Dark and Stormy"

2010-09-17T18:33:00.014-04:00

This is another "not" Noro Striped Scarf a la Jared Flood's formula.

To see Details from my other one click here.

I had 2 tan balls of the Rowan Tapestry in stash and the blue/gray ones were on clearance for 40% off. How could I not knit this again?... so this is a 1/2 stash busting project.

Now check out this knit pictured below! There isn't anything I don't love about it: the shawl collar is flattering on everyone, the colour - well, y'all know I'm nuts about gray. The detail and shape of this garment is retro and yet cutting edge for today's knits. I. Must. Knit. This!! I can see myself trucking around town all stylish with a smile on wearing this cardigan. And maybe my new boots.

These three 'Dark and Stormy' photos are courtesy Thea, copyright 2010 Splityarn (who takes awesome photos!!)

I can't stop thinking about this pattern. Thea Coleman and Sarah Dimond have collaborated to release "Dark and Stormy". If you're not on Rav click here for Thea's blog post. I didn't get the yarn Sarah's selling to kit it (not that I didn't try!), and when I tried to sub Madeleinetosh worsted there wasn't anything in darks that I liked. My weakness? Lisa Souza in mahogany.

I'll be stalking my mail box for yarn to show up and casting on asap! Thanks Thea and Sarah for what I think is the most appealing and wearable pattern for Fall 2010. I'm biased I'm sure, I LOVE this pattern. I'll be knitting like a fiend on my current WIPs because the second the Lisa Souza goodness arrives I'll be ditching everything else to swatch.

Hoping to have this striped scarf completed before the weekend is out and positively itching to cast on for Dark and Stormy! The pattern is available separate from the kit from Thea is you (like me) weren't able to get it all from Sarah.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful fall weekend!

edited to add: Ha, ha, very funny - you know who you are!! I will not "only" have on this cardigan, a smile and my boots -- there'll be pants too... sheesh! lol Renee

FO ~ Mara Shawl

2010-09-09T17:56:00.004-04:00

Details:

Pattern: Mara free from Madelinetosh

Yarn: 3 skeins of Madelinetosh dk in "Silver Fox" from stash, originally purchased from The Backwards Loop

Needles: 5.5 mm circs

I'm way behind in posting, Mara was cast on and off beginning of January just before I broke my finger.

The yarn is delicious, the colourway is one of my favourites.

Love my grays either darkly saturated or light and fresh.

Very simple pattern and a pleasure to knit.

This shawl is going to see a lot of wear. It's an accessory that can easily be dressed up or down.

Autumn is my favourite time of the year. I love the colour, the produce and especially wearing sweaters and boots. I'm a boot gal and newly shod too! My well worn, comfy barn and hiking boots have seen better days. These are my brand spanking new ones.

Love. Me. Some. Great. Boots! Definitely not office or going out wear, but for outdoors, I'm most comfortable in something solid and warm. They're "Lowa" brand and extremely comfortable. I can feel a sock knitting spree coming on...

My funky boots are "Bogs". They come in various heights and styles. The colours and patterns range from plain black to all sorts of flowers and designs, are rated to -65 degrees and truth be told - there's never been a more comfortable rubber lined boot. They take rain/winter boots to a whole new level with neoprene uppers and handles for easy on and off.

Been doing a lot of painting in the house fall makes me feel nesty and creative. My favourite blog to fuel my reno mojo is Kevin and Layla Palmer's The Lettered Cottage. Fall is also when I drink tea non-stop. Visit Claudia at Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog for great info about tea. Thanks Claudia, you've upped my tea learning and pleasure. I never thought to use a French Press and can't wait to try it.

Be well, be happy and have a great day,

Renee

Nina has her own blog now and Piper had a nice win

2010-06-14T21:39:00.004-04:00

Nina photographed by Kinnear and Chung at age 11 weeks

Nina's got her own space to hang out in now. And Piper and I had a great time at the Poodle Club of Canada Specialty in Ontario winning the High in Trial from the Open B class. Not bad for 2 old girls...

Some craftiness and baking coming up soon. Promise!

she's finally here!

2010-05-20T14:01:00.002-04:00

Let me introduce 'Bella Nina'

She's pretty as can be and her temperament is sublime.
Our new darling will be 10 weeks old tomorrow. We couldn't be more delighted with her!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-03T18:58:00.001-04:00

Onion skin dyed Easter eggs

and the first bloom in our garden for 2010

Both of which make us smile. On Good Friday we enjoyed Tilapia and Bass for dinner. Tonight we'll be hunkering down to watch The Ten Commandements on tv and on Sunday is church and Easter dinner is at the farm. A lovely weekend with record breaking warm temperatures and spring fever. Wishing everyone a very Happy Easter!

flowers for mom

2010-03-28T17:52:00.005-04:00

I adore traditions. Since becoming a mom myself there's 1 tradition I'm especially fond of. On my birthday I give my mom flowers. Chosing flowers for her each year is a pleasure.

This year is pure white and a hint of green flowers that are mom's favourite: mini carnations. She says carnations are dependable, long lasting and pretty. Giving flowers to my mom not only tells her I love and appreciate her, but reminds me how much I love being a mother myself.

For the first time I also bought some for myself. Buying myself flowers that I won't plant was such a hoot and novelty for me. An indulgence I think I'll add to the annual tradition of getting flowers for mom. Usually cut flowers are only enjoyed when they're seasonal to cut from our garden. On a dreary, wet and raining day like today daisies are a really nice pick-me-up.

Do you have any non-typical traditionals you enjoy? I'd love to hear what they are and maybe I can incorporate some new ones for myself. Be happy, be well, stay dry! Renee

where she gets back into the groove

2010-03-26T00:37:00.006-04:00

I want a restart and I've decided it starts today. I'm going to restart 2010. Things have improved and I'm especially happy to report that dad is home and recovering well. Thank you everyone for the continued support, kind words and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.

What do you think of the new blog look? Truth be told, I forgot to save my template to the hard drive before I started playing with Bloggers great new template options so it'd take a bit (lot) to revert to the old format. My last save is on a fried lap top that I can't get to any time soon. I'm going to go with the change for now and see how it does or doesn't agree with everyone, or myself. Let me know if you like it or not, and 'bear' with me while it gets some tweaking as I have a few minutes here and there.

Kids are busy with school, we're finally busy at work. Dogs are always busy and the horses have spring fever. While it's still doing a lot of that cold, dreary, snowy stuff around here the daffodils have broken ground in the front garden and are just peaking out. I saw my first Robin today so spring is surely on it's way here.

There's been no knitting yet in 2010. I mistook myself for Wonder Woman... Linda Carter I definitely am not. I accidentally (I'm the first to admit I'm not always the most co-ordinated diva and over estimate my physical prowess far too often...) tipped a heavy load on the wheel barrow hauling grain bags -- and in that instant where before you realize it's a really bad idea -- I tried to catch the side of the steel wheel barrow and found my hand between it and a steel gate. It's doing and looking a whole lot better and needles should be sparking here again soon. I did cast off a Mara Shawl pre-Christmas that I'll have to take some photos of. I have 2 test knits that I'm terribly behind on. Not only do I feel bad not having them done for the designers to see, but one was supposed to be Nicole's Christmas present. They're first on my list to complete.

As soon as they're completed I intend to cast on Alexandria by Connie Chang Chinchino. I have some gorgeous lavendar (it's definitely leaning more into the pink zone) Jaeger Roma that would be perfect for that.

On the tracking front, friends are preparing for tracking tests and I try to get out as often as possible to help lay tracks and enjoy tracking Chase. Piper has started to track as well and she's really enjoying herself. She's also had the light go on for her scent work in obedience so that's been a lot of fun for us too.

I had a few people email to ask if we ever got our new standard poodle puppy? "Nina" will be arriving here in May. I'll be sure to post plenty of sweet puppy posts come summer.

Hope everyone has been well and spring is being kind to you all. I plan to have a great day 'cause it's my B-day!

Best,

Renee

an update

2010-01-21T09:29:00.002-05:00

Thank you. Everyone. You're support, prayers and kind words mean so much to my family and me.

An update: Tuesday, January 19th dad was able to be extubated from the ventilator and is now breathing on his own with oxygen assistence. He's starting to be able to talk and responding well to physio and his doctors. He'll remain in ICU for some time yet, but after several major setbacks including mini stroke and blood clots in his lungs while sedated on life support -- dad is on the path to recovery.

I've had little time to knit or do much of anything, as you all understand life per normal goes on hold, but will post back to regularly to the blog as soon as I'm able. I'm looking forward to visiting everyone on their blogs and on Rav as well. Thank you so much everyone for the shoulders to lean on and emails. Be well, be happy, be healthy and tell those you love that you love them every day.

Best,

Renee

Difficult

2010-01-09T19:05:00.001-05:00

2010 has been difficult. My dad has been in ICU since Jan.1 and I'll be away from the blog for a while yet. When things improve with dad's health I'll post an update. Thank you everyone who has emailed to see if I'm ok because the blog has been quiet. Your good wishes and prayers and very much appreciated.

Be well and hug those you love,

Renee

This was emailed to me and I think it's wonderful

2010-01-07T10:23:00.001-05:00

Tequila and Salt

This should probably be taped to your bathroom mirror where one could read it every day.

You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.

1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.

2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.

3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.

4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.

5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.

6. You mean the world to someone.

7. You are special and unique.

8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.

9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.

10. When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.

11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

And always remember.... when life hands you Lemons, ask for Tequila and Salt and call me over!

Good friends are like stars........

You don't always see them,

But you know they are always there.

"Whenever God Closes One Door He Always Opens Another, Even Though Sometimes It's Hell in the Hallway".

I would rather have one rose and a kind word from a friend while I'm here than a whole truck load when I'm gone.

Happiness keeps You Sweet,

Trials keep You Strong,

Sorrows keep You Human,

Failures keeps You Humble,

Success keeps You Glowing,

But Only God keeps You Going

'Worry looks around, sorry looks back, Faith looks up.'

Have faith.

Renee

Christmas Yarn Giveaway Winner!

2009-12-16T16:48:00.003-05:00

Thank you so very much everyone who entered the giveaway and was willing to give this lovely Plucky a new home. I enjoy reading everyone's comments so much and it's fun to hear what everyone is up to.

By random number generator the winner is: Barefoot Rooster! I hope you enjoy the Plucky yarn. If you email me your postal address to rycole at hotmail dot com I'll get it out into the mail and on it's way to you.

My Best to everyone! Renee

Christmas Yarn Giveaway

2009-12-09T17:32:00.001-05:00

Do you need a little help with your yarn stash? Would you be interested in rehoming some gorgeous Plucky goodness?

This is 400 yards of Sock weight yarn in the colourway "Prickly Pear". 80/10/10 Merino, Cashmere and Nylon. Oh - so - soft! The colours are beautiful. I see a little more of the greens when I look at it then it photographed.

Leave a comment and let me know how you are or what you're up to. I'll leave the Giveaway open until December 16 at 4pm. Be well everyone and have a Merry December!
Best,
Renee

It's starting to look festive around here...

2009-12-04T15:47:00.004-05:00

Similar to last year ~ but different. I love the "Chocolate Therapy" paint on the fireplace wall with all the other walls painted white. Martina is still my favourite listen for the holidays.

Now that I'm looking back at last years photos I much prefer the new colours to the ginger walls we had before.

Next on my agenda is baking and knitting. And more baking. It's really starting to look and smell festive around here and the snow fall is adding to the atmosphere. Wishing everyone a lovely first weekend of December! Best, Renee

Test, test - 1, 2

2009-11-28T12:15:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to blog most every day for the last 2 weeks. How it got to be the last weekend of November I have no idea? To say we've been busy here would be a huge understatement. Kids, dogs, horses and work have taken up most of my time ~ the rest has been devoted to knitting. Test knitting. Oh my, but I do love test knitting. One project is a coat for Nicole called Adeline from Lucy Sweetland. The yarn is a sturdy gray/brown wool. One skein was lighter than the rest, even though they're the same dye lot. I opted to make it a stripe in the stocking stitch around the bottom of the coat. If we don't love it at the end of the knitting we'll dye it all darker when it's blocked. I want one for myself so I've pretty much resigned myself that when I'm done knitting it ~ I'll only be 1/2 way done. Nicole can hardly wait to wear it. It's her Christmas knit this year, but in no way a surprise. She loved the pattern as much as I did and chose the yarn from stash.

I apologize for the way behind in blogging and photos, I took these quite a while ago and need to take newer photos of the test knits. Soon, I hope. I'm further along on both knits, but behind on taking pictures.

The second test knit is so pretty! It's White Russian from Thea Colman. I'm knitting it in one of my all time favourite yarns: Jaeger Roma. The turtle neck is standing up beautifully (my favourite type of collar). I could cry about this yarn being discontinued. Jaeger closing is a shame. I have a bunch of Roma in stash and am practically hoarding this yarn. This knit is for me, so far. The simple lace pattern is going to really be gorgeous after blocking.

Lots going on this weekend so I'm not sure how much knitting time I'll have, but if I'm holding still, it's these 2 projects that I'll be working on and a little Christmas decorating. Hope all my American friends had a lovely Thanksgiving. Have a great rest of weekend everyone! Best, Renee

FO: Caera Cowl by Lucy Sweetland

2009-11-07T10:58:00.007-05:00

This pattern was a pleasure to knit from start to finish. The cables are lovely and the pattern easy to follow. This is a gift knit, I like it so much I'll knit one for myself. I still need to block this cowl, then it's off in the mail.

Details:
Pattern: Caera Cowl by Lucy Sweetland, Published in A Black Pepper, free
Yarn: Naturally Hand Knit "Sensation", Shade 301 ~ about 1-1/2 skeins

I highly recommend a visit to Lucy's blog, it's wonderful and so inspiring. Beautifully photographed and one of my favourite places to visit. Thank you for the pattern, Lucy!

I've been knitting like crazy here: working on Christmas knits, finishing some WIPs and stitching away at test knitting. In the midst of all of that I finally got my new glasses. It's huge adjustment for me since there was a radical shift in my prescription which is rarely stable. They're my first pair of Progressives. That's been odd for me to adjust to. While my doctor said most people don't need bifocals at my age there was no other option. I picked them up 2 days ago and really am getting the hang of them. They've made knitting and pattern reading a lot easier. Everything is so much clearer that I'm sort of wondering how I was functioning in a blur...

I'll post more to the blog again soon, lots going on and super busy. Have a great weekend everyone!

been outside playing

2009-10-25T10:53:00.019-04:00

The last few weekends I've been outside a lot playing with the dogs and friends. Tracking, actually ~ one of my very favourite past times. These 2 dogs are Tracking Champions, only 11 to date in all of Canada. They are Questa ~ German Shepherd and my boy Chase ~ Standard Poodle.

Yesterday we also were playing with three of these absolutely adorable 9 week old puppies. How cute is that face? They're field trial bred labs for working homes from Pat and Chris's B-Line labs.

Star and Pat are prepping for their next tracking test so we'll be out plenty tracking. With having been down sick for so long I really missed getting out to track. So did Chase.

This time of year the colours are amazing, but it's going away fast. The trees have started to drop their leaves pronto and will be bare soon. I have to keep reminding myself that a week from today it will be November. Yikes.

Last night I was swatching. The colour of this Valley Yarns Williamstown is glorious. Usually I dig out autumnal colours in October, traditionally I knit with reds... but when I went stash diving last night this is the yarn that I kept picking up and petting. Not sure what it'll be yet, I'm having trouble settling on my next project. I want to start lots of them... "Cold Sheeping" has given me a serious case of startitis. This one is washed, dry and ready to see it if hits gauge on my 5.5 needles. I like the fabric is produced on 5.5 the best. The colour isn't at all like it photographed, it's a lot more vibrant and apple green.

Hope everyone is happy, well and enjoying their weekend!
Best,
Renee

Mondo Cable Cap for Nicole

2009-10-13T17:59:00.013-04:00

This is a must knit for anyone who likes hats and cables. Bonne Marie's patterns are wonderful and her newest releases with Mondo Cables are hitting it out of the park for fall. I knit this from the mini mystery KAL.

Nicole didn't know what it would look like finished, but I was barely into the second clue when she claimed this knit for herself. Clue 3 finished it up quickly. This yarn would benefit from wet blocking, but she's not parting with it just yet. It wasn't off the needles for a minute when it was on her head. It's still there. She wants to wear it to school tomorrow so blocking is going to have to wait a bit. Holding the Terra double with the Kid Silk Haze gives this hat a level of luxury I wasn't able to photograph, but the KSH takes it up a few notches.

DETAILS:

Pattern: Mondo Cable Cap by Chic Knits

Yarn: Terra - Light Indigo (60% merino/20% baby alpaca/20% silk)

Kid Silk Haze - light smokey blue

Yardage: 190 yards

This hat's gotten my 15 year old style maven's seal of approval. I'll knit her another one in dark purple for her to match her school colours and definitely one for myself. It was a fast, fun and easy project.

Oktoberfest: Schnitzel 101 (and the Giveaway winner!)

2009-10-09T18:00:00.001-04:00

Who won, who won??? I'll let you know at the bottom of this post.

Our city population has begun to swell beyond capacity. Kitchener hosts the second largest Oktoberfest in the world running this year from October 9 - 17th. It starts the Friday of our Thanksgiving weekend. Opening day is time to make Schnitzel. It's easy to make, really easy.

Cast of Characters, also known as the Ingredients:

Wiener Schnitzel, flour, eggs, bread crumbs, season salt, salt, pepper and Canola oil. That's it, don't need anything fancy, although a slice of lemon is usually served with each piece and a nice touch to squeeze it fresh on the meat. I'm not keen on the lemon myself, but most everyone else is. Just imagine that the flour is in this picture too, the canister is sitting on the counter just outside of this picture. Had a blond moment ~ what can I say?

Our butcher has a machine that tenderizes the pork. If yours doesn't a good smacking with a tenderizing mallet will do the job or even the flat side of a cleaver and then poke them up with a fork or meat prongs. My dad jokes you can drive over them with a steamroller in the parking lot yet too. Once they're tenderized and we put some weight into them they'll flatten out plenty.

Traditional Wiener Schnitzel is prepared in restaurants in a deep fryer that's shallower than most and has rolled pipes a few inch down in the oil to let the bread crumbs that separate float down into the basin of the fryer, keeping the oil cleaner where the meat is cooking. It used to only be fried in beef fat, but now Canola oil is the accepted healthier substitute. At home a fry pan with just enough oil to cook in and then turning them over works well too, that's how I do it. If I'm making a lot and the oil is starting to darken I'll start with a fresh pan and new oil. Use medium high heat. You want the oil good and hot so it isn't soaked up too much during cooking, but not so hot that it's smoking. I get a good rolling bubble going on in the pan.

Pay attention from here in out ~ because the real way to your loved one's heart is with Schnitzel. Men will be putty in your hands. I wouldn't kid about something like that. The trick to great Schnitzel is a double dip into the flour and eggs and super fine bread crumbs. Double dipping is allowed here. It's a must. This is a traditional flour, egg and bread crumb crust... just a little particular about how it's applied. Get ready to get your hands messy. I keep a big bowl of warm water in my sink and a plastic scrubby to give my hands a quick clean off between each piece. I use a bowl so that I can dump it outside instead of putting that down the drain to avoid any clogging issues. These fried babies will do enough harm to your arteries, don't need to call a plumber too. We don't eat fried food often, but seriously - it's Schnitzel and Oktoberfest ~ some times we need to live a little.

Use plain white bread crumbs available from the grocery store or baker. Now this is a biggy point: if they're a bit coarse, give them a few good rounds in the food processor to make them as fine as flour. There is a big difference in the texture of the crumbs and the texture of the finished Schnitzel breading. The crumbs on the left are straight out of the container and the crumbs on the right have been processed. You can see how the colour has changed too after the darker crust bits got pulverized in the food processor.

Let me apologize right now if you're on dial up... there's plenty of pics coming up next.

Set yourself up a little assembly line: flour, eggs, bread crumbs and your preheated frying pan, as well as a plate or pan on the other side with racks and paper towel to drain the schnitzel on when it's just out of the pan. Ok, here we go.

Start by seasoning the meat. I do this on both sides, unless I'm in a big hurry. To taste use Season Salt, fresh ground pepper and salt. I like to use Kosher or freshly ground sea salt. Tasty.

Press the meat into the flour. Bury it and give it a really good press. Both sides. Then give it a little jiggly-shake to drop off the loose excess flour.

Dip it into the beaten eggs.

Back into the flour. Don't skip this part. They need the double dose of flour and egg bath. Don't be shy, press it in well again on both sides, then shake off the loose flour.

Back into the beaten eggs for dip #2.

Now the fine bread crumbs. Press and cover it well. Turn it over and press it in again. Shake and jiggle off any loose bread crumbs. At this point you can either keep assembly lining the schnitzel and stack them up to cook, or keep it rolling and cook as you go. I start cooking right away. My family is starving the instant they smell the first one start to sizzle.

Into the hot oil.

Turn them over when they're a nice golden brown underneath.

As they're done you can put them on your waiting rack. I put a jelly roll sheet under the wire racks and paper towel on top. See those bubbles? The oil is nice and hot, but not smoking.

I did 3 layers of these. See how they're a little darker on the edges... that's what happens when your camera battery dies and you start rushing around looking for a new battery as the schnitzel keeps cooking. No worries, they're fine. They smell good. Mmm...

Ryan likes his plain on a bun. He's got 2 on there. See that smile, he learned that from his daddy. His mouth is full right now and he's making Mmm, mmm sounds.

Wiener Schnitzel 101. Enjoy!!

* * *

Thank you so very much everyone for the kind get well wishes. I love hearing from you all. I admit it, I adore comments. Love them. I'm happy to report that we're all feeling better. Thank you also for entering my First Blogaversary giveaway. I really enjoy having Giveaways and will do lots more.

By drawing from my favourite mixing bowl the winner of the books is: Celtic Cast On. Congratulations! If you could email me your address to rycole at hotmail dot com I'll mail them off as soon as the Post Office opens again on Tuesday morning. I enjoyed this Giveaway so much that I pulled a second name as well!! Second prize goes to Dandy. If you can send me your address at the email I just mentioned I'll ship a copy of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Knitting Rules your way.

Have a terrific weekend everyone! Enjoy Oktoberfest and to all my fellow Canadians Happy Thanksgiving. Happy Columbus day to our American neighbours as well. :)

Best,
Renee

1st Blogaversary! ~ Giveaway

2009-10-03T11:23:00.015-04:00

One year. Wow, I can't hardly believe it. I'm surprised how much blogging has become a part of my day, my leisure and my social life. I get so much pleasure from it ~ especially reading all the comments ~ that I want to give back, 'tis better to give than to receive.

I'm sharing one of my passions: Books. Love them. Love. Seriously. I read quite a bit online, but there's nothing nicer than the tactile pleasure of a book in hand while reading. This giveaway it's an assortment of subjects that interest me: knitting, quilting and cooking/entertaining.

The Knitter's Book of Yarn, The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn by Clara Parkes is a must have on any knitter's shelf. From fiber foundations, making yarn, types of plyes, care of your yarn to patterns this book has it all.

Celebrate! by Sheila Lukins with Peter Kaminsky is a wonderful cookbook with 43 Celebrations/350 Recipes. Can't go wrong with this one.

Tips for Quilters by Rachel T. Pellman is 'a handbook filled with hints, shortcuts, practical suggestions from Experienced Quilters'. Lots of useful ideas in this little red book.

If you'd like these or could use some books to enhance your gift giving for someone special leave a comment to be included in the draw. Enteries will be open until Friday, October 9th at 4pm EST ~ when I start my weekend.

Thank you everyone for the get well wishes for us here with the flu.
Love 'ya all,
Renee

under the weather ramblings

2009-10-02T13:51:00.006-04:00

We've been sick. All of us. Dragging on since Monday. Starting fall with the flu hasn't been fun. My mom made us homemade Chicken Rice soup to help us feel better. Mmmm. If this doesn't cure what ails us, nothing will.

The weather has been gearing up for Oktoberfest. Translation? Bitter cold and raining. Last night there was another heavy frost. It's not nice to be outside, but the maple trees are turning gorgeous colours and the sedum has changed to it's autumn colour. Pretty, isn't it?

Tomorrow we're invited to a wedding, the bride and groom are a warm and happy couple so I'm sure no one will pay much attention to the lousy weather. Isn't it supposed to be good luck if it rains on your wedding day? Think I heard that somewhere. Tomorrow is also my first blog anniversary. Where did a year go so fast? To celebrate I'm going to have another Giveaway. Check back tomorrow to see what it's for...

Have a great day! Hope everyone is healthy.
Renee

FO: 100% scraps throw quilt

2009-09-27T13:30:00.012-04:00

The quilts I've sewn over the past few years have had lots of tiny triangles, points and little pieces. I'd finish them and then I'd give the quilts away, then start something else with lots of little points and pieces. This scrappy throw is a huge departure from that. It's scraps cut into big, plain 4-1/2" squares that I collected in a plastic shoe box. Sometimes I'd sew a 4-patch block and toss it into the box too. There was never a plan on exactly when it would get done. My normal project MO is to plot and plan and wrangle a quilt project to death with a feeling of urgency to reach the finished object deadline that loomed over my head from the get go. This throw happened on it's own peaceful time.

This is the most fun I've had sewing in years. I'm not a 'completely random sewer' so I played around with the layout to keep the same fabric pieces from ending up side by side and I spread out the white pieces.

There's an excellent tutorial (and many others) on binding quilts at Amanda Jean's incredible blog Crazy Mom Quilts for the same method I use to bind my quilts. Amanda Jean is always inspiring and TALENTED!

The finished throw is 40 x 60 inches: 150 squares cut to 4-1/2". I squeaked it onto the beige & red backing fabric with only a centimeter to spare on the width and maybe 3 inches on each end for length. I didn't want to piece more fabric into the back since my goal was to be as simple as I could make it. It's quilted in the ditch, not beside the seams a touch like normal in the ditch machine work, but literally in the seam.

We love this throw. It'll be well used, washed and worn. My husband doesn't want me to gift or sell this one. I've never felt as rewarded as I did to hear him say this one's a keeper. He's never said that about any quilt before. It's changed the sort of quilts I'm going to sew in the coming year(s). The reaction to this quilt when people see it tossed over the backyard deck rail or folded in the truck has been surprisingly positive. It's about colour and comfort, not skill or style. I'm going to enjoy the pleasure of simplicity in my quilts more now. More rustic and homey. More 'use-me' than 'be careful' with me quilts. I have 2 new shoe boxes on the go ~ one is a collection of 3" squares and the other is 4-1/2" again. I'll sew plenty more quilts like this one in the future.

Tasty Kitchen

2009-09-24T15:00:00.019-04:00

Tasty Kitchen is a brilliant site created by Ree Drummond, aka Pioneer Woman. Tasty Recipes from Real Kitchens. You can keep a recipe box of your own and/or other people's favourites in your profile. Recipes can be searches by category, ingredient or by name. There's also a chat wire, user feedback, a rating system, plus member profiles and links to their blogs. And it's free. There's photos of lots of delicious food. Think Ravelry for recipes. It's brilliant and wonderful. It's inspiring. Go check it out, you won't be sorry ~ you'll thank me ~ so will the people you cook for.

I've been spending a lot of time there. The recipes are printable. Categories and tags help you search for any recipe you could possibly want like chicken, chocolate, glutton-free, desserts, main courses, soups, salads, sides, canning. The list goes on and on and the data base is being updated constantly.

Every so often I find I've fallen into a culinary rut. Tasty Kitchen is a great resource to get me out of that. It's fun, it's free and maybe just a bit addictive.

Autumn sees the gourmand wanna be in me take a firm hold, happens every year. I spend more time in the kitchen cooking and baking. Like most people we barbecue less and eat heartier foods during cold weather. I've been checking out slow cooker recipes on TK, love those. Coming home after a long day at work in the fall or winter to a house that smells wonderful feels like walking into a favourite restaurant where I don't need to be the one doing the cooking. I'll often set the table for supper before I go to work so it's ready for us to just sit and dine at the end of the day. Tasty Kitchen is expanding our eating pleasures one recipe at a time.

It's been comfort type knitting on the couch while checking out the new season of tv for me. I'm not a tv watcher most of the year, but I'm hopeful of something I'll enjoy at the beginning of the new season that will hook me. Rowan Felted Tweed as Celeste's beautiful Wandering the Moor shawl is on my needles right now. On Rav you can find it here. I can hardly wait to get to the lace border. This pattern is going to be my Christmas knit gift of choice this year. Ssh, don't tell.

Be good and scoot yourself over to Tasty Kitchen!
Best,
Renee

"The Farm"

2009-09-22T19:26:00.011-04:00

As requested, here is a picture of The Farm. We love this farm and farmhouse. Originally built in 1855 it's historically significant in our area and even on a bus tour for the region. The road it's on is one of the oldest roads in Ontario. It stretches from The Grand River all the way to Lake Huron. It was a main stage coach route with a stage coach depot about a mile up the road.

The area was original known as New Aberdeen but as happened to many towns as politics and settling happened it became a ghost town for many years, mostly abandoned. Years later is was re-settled by a German population and came to be known as Berlin. In 1916 during the World War it was renamed as Kitchener. It's surrounded by black walnut trees and very old evergreens. The settlers at the time it was build looked for land with black walnut trees on it as it was an indication of fertile soil excellent for farming and grazing livestock. A local university student wrote his thesis on the century homes on our road several years ago and supplied us with a wealth of history about this house. The photo above is the side view of the house.

Original working shutters lasted over 150 years, today's technology has not. Replacement aluminum shutters have quickly torn from the windows after just a few storms. I still have the original shutters and we've got them stash and coveted away until we get our own farmhouse one day. My dad didn't want "those old things" on the house anymore. Shame, that. Anyway, we have them and I wouldn't part with those historic shutters for anything.

The stone walls are up to 28" thick. They're awe inspiring. The main house is 2 stories. There are multiple chimneys for fireplaces and stoves. Many have been closed up. We discovered access to a chimney where the original kitchen was during renovations. We discovered a lot of surprises during renovations that previous owners had closed up... The interior walls are horizontal strip board with the original horsehair plasterwork. Protected under the plush carpets my parents fancy in the main house on both floors are the original floor boards. The main support of the house in the basement, which has been excavated to full height, is a very old tree as the post with it's bark stripped off.

The glass window sliders and centre peak area in the photos is now a solarium where the original court yard was. The single story stone portion between the solarium and garage was the regions ice house. Various owners over the years added their own renovations to the home and at some point the two stone buildings were built together. There are additions off the back of the house as well. Directly behind the original ice house is now the summer kitchen which was the wood shed before it became the summer cooking kitchen. After refrigeration was available and the ice house was no longer an area necessity it became a common room that opens to the solarium. The solarium transformed from court yard to a screened porch and now the sun room it is with high vaulted ceilings. The stories about this house and it's previous owners are mostly unknown, but the ones that are really are charming.

Previous to my parents buying the farm it stood vacant for 3 years, not considering the racoons, mice and rats, and numberous birds and squirrels that managed to gain access to the house via the odd hole and unscreened chimneys. There was a huge bank barn across the island (middle round grass area in the driveway where the pit is for fires and we have a couple of picnic tables, blocked from view by my suv) that was bigger and longer than the farmhouse. It filled the grass area to back side of this picture and then some. It was one of the largest historic barns in southern Ontario. Over the years it had seen many uses from livestock, hay and a riding school to storage and then dismantled for it's materials. The people my parents bought the farm from sold the barn to the Mennonite Community the summer before my parents purchase it. The Mennonites came by horse and wagon and dismantled the barn taking all they could from the materials. The only remaining wood was the center roof beam. It was old and petrified like hardened steel. They had tried to cut it up and couldn't so they left it behind. We spend a long, long time drilling it as best we could and burning it. It was too long and heavy to move or deal with. Chain saws didn't touch it.

The land surrounding the farm itself has fallen way to city development. Hundreds of acres surrounding my parents farm when they first moved there was leased grazing land for cattle and corn fields. I had plenty of adventures helping out the local police when the cattle would escape and their owner couldn't be found. They'd head for the road or into neighbours hay fields. We had the only horses around for a ways and the authorities always knocked on our door when they were loose assuming that the cattle were ours and asking if I could saddle up and help bring back the AWOL cows. As long as it wasn't the bull I was happy to help.

I was a teenager at the time and my horse was born and bred at the Saddle and Surrey Ranch in Aubrey, Texas. He was bred with the cutting gene rooted down deep. I have more than a few tales where well meaning city officers believed they could move cattle with their car and siren. I warned them otherwise, more than one hit the siren when they thought they had the cow penned between a fence and the cruiser and could move it in the direction they wanted to. It was darned funny (for me - Not Them!) to see a cow go straight over the hood of their cruiser, leaving a crumpled hood behind in it's wake. Yeah well, I warned them not to hit the siren, but did they listen? One officer looked at me sheepish and said, "Uh, you were right, but I'm not writing that part in my report."... and then woefully looked back at the cow mashed cruiser hood.
Wonder, my quarter horse, loved to cut and chase calves and cows. He had to be turned out well separated from the steers and sheep dad raised for meat because he would've run them around the pasture for hours on end. He came with his name by the way, Certain Wonder. I'll have to tell you about him some time.
My best to you all,
Renee

the Giveaway winner and Chase

2009-09-20T00:30:00.012-04:00

Thanks everyone who was willing to give this yarn a new home. Without haste, the winner by drawing from a hat is: Philigry! If you email me your address to rycole at hotmail dot com I'll send the yarn on it's way. I wish I could mail it to everyone. If it was possible, I would. I'll go stash diving again soon and see what else lurks there that the knitters amongst you would enjoy. There's plenty of new non-knitting stuff looking for a home where it gets more attention than it gets from me here too...

We have a three dogs. Hunter is the oldest. Piper is the middle child at 7 years old. She's showing signs of her age with silvering in her coat but she's spry, playful and full of herself. She's the Grand Dame of her domain. Chase is the current baby, he's 4. My crew calls him Momma's Boy. He really is. He's my bud, my boy, my almost constant companion. He's happy to keep tabs on me and pose for the camera.

He's always on the job.

He needs a bath.

And a shave. Under all that hair is a handsome mug. Somewhere.

Have a great rest of your weekend everyone!
Renee

do we live in the country or the city?

2009-09-19T06:00:00.014-04:00

A question that came up from two people via email was if we live in the city or the country?

Both, actually. We do most of our living in the country on our parents farms and hang our hats at the end of the day in the city in this house. Because it's north facing, blooming flowers are only planted on the east side (left side of this picture, hidden behind our truck) where there's enough morning sun to grow my grandfather's favourite lilies. All the rest of the blooms are in the backyard. I love gardens. Love them. Lots. And lots. I would happily quadruple the size of them at this house and then some if we had the space. Ironically, I only have issues with rabbits raiding my garden here in the city, no problems out on the farm.

The front shade garden is limited to ornamental grasses, a variety of hostas and some sedum. The tall stand of bamboo grass on the right of the living room window grows up to 10 feet by the end of the growing season. Until 2 years ago there was a massive Colorado Blue Spruce in front of the windows on that tiny speck of lawn. It was encroaching the property line and that was an issue with our previous next door neighbour so we had to saw it down. It was gorgeous and regal and we didn't mind that it hid most of the front facade from the street. We decorated it at the farm for Christmas. Well, the top 14 feet of it anyway. And it was wide. We tied in it's branches as best we could with baler twine and used brute force to shove it through the doors to get it inside the house. It was so heavy it needed a custom made tree stand my husband welded out of 7/8" steal.

This place was the closest house we could buy to my parents farm where we keep our critters. It was the closest house to the farm 15 years ago but now the city has grown up between us. The adage "location, location, location" was absolutely true and it's biggest selling feature. We call this place our "Postage Stamp" because of it has no land.

I realize now that talking about our horses, baling hay, chickens, the tractor and other farm related things gives the impression we're currently residing on a farm. Our city neighbours enjoy having a handy farm guy living on the street and aren't in a hurry to see us move. Right now it works for us to live here. The kids are in school/college nearby and active in sports and recreational endeavours. Work, shopping and hospitals are all right here as are lots of restaurants (even if we almost never eat out) and access to most all city amenities and coffee shops. We have multiple Tim Horton's, Starbucks, Second Cup and Williams Coffee Pubs. Ontario people have a big thing for their coffee 'n donut shops.

My parents have a beautiful century stone farm house build in 1855. We're there several times a day. Everyday. Our kids were raised as country kids. They enjoy pleasures and chores citified kids aren't exposed to. They help us take care of the landscaping, barns, equipment, horses and livestock. Mom and dad don't have a dog anymore but our 3 romp around there every day. We love every minute we spend at the farm. Well, sometimes mucking stalls not so much...

So do we live in the country on a farm or the city? Yes. To both. It's the best of of both worlds. We reside in the city, but we're country folk.

questions and answers

2009-09-18T00:18:00.001-04:00

I love reading about everyone in the comments for the Giveaway, thanks so much for commenting. The Giveaway is open until Sunday, September 20th. Here's the Q and A:

~Sue asked how many socks I knit in a year? About a pair per season. Here's where I'll let you all in on a secret: a good portion of the knitting/sewing I do is for gifts ~ because of that most of my FO's don't make their presence known on the blog or Rav, unless the giftee is willing to be mentioned on the blog. I like to knit socks in stocking stitch with about 3"of 2 x 2 ribbing at the cuff. They stay up and are comfy.

~RenataS asked where I got the Socken Wolle? I bought it last year at the Knitters Fair here in Kitchener. I don't remember who the vendor was, sorry.

~ Amanda would really like to see my stash. I've thought about cataloguing my stash on Raverly. I'm in stash denial. If I can't see it all at once it can't really be that big, right? I have a list to inventory all the un-knit yarn I have right now. While searching stash busting groups online I realized my stash isn't that out of hand, but I also sew, quilt, spin and um, have stashes for those too.

~Kristin asked when I knit my first pair of sock? I was 18. I really didn't enjoy knitting socks then. I suspect that was because I had awful plastic DPN's. Now I have nice wooden ones , metal ones and addi turbos for Magic Loop.

~Selkie -- I'm going on the yarn diet with you. That means some planned projects like the Wrapigan won't happen this year. I'll buy the right yarn for it after I defeat my stash. I'm in Stash Busting mode!

If anyone has other questions or interesting things to share about yourselves I'd love to hear from you. Not many sleeps until the Giveaway - sharpen your needles and hunt down some patterns, that yarn is going to a new home soon!

every blog needs a gorgeous hunk, right?

2009-09-15T20:25:00.029-04:00

Yeah, I think so too. One of my favourite subjects to photograph is my gorgeous hunk of a virile husband. How about some of him roofing? Did I mention he's drop dead handsome ~ in that capable, muscular, handy and talented sort of way? The first time I met him he was driving a pick up truck, wore a shearling lined winter denim jacket and cowboy boots. Be still my heart ~ when I saw that smile I knew I was done.

The house rooftop is finished, just this area left to do.

"What...?" he didn't realize I was in the upstairs window taking his picture.

"Ah, it's you."

We've lived here for 15 years. We're the second owners of this 24 year old house. The original owners didn't upgrade anything from builder basics so pretty much the whole house needs work (read as spend lots of money doing repairs and maintenance). Amongst our current projects are the backyard, which is a construction zone right now, and the roof. The shingling is almost done except for the kitchen breakfast nook portion on the back of the house. It's got 5 different slopes and 4 seams that need capping. There's a lot of shingle cutting to work the angles.

And then more cutting. For a little area it's a deceptively large amount of fiddly work. Our house is north facing. We have a shady, cool front yard. When everyone else's snow has melted we still have a mountain of it up front that has lasted in to May and sometimes June. Handsome husband has to pile it a storey high with the front end loader when there's a lot of snow so we can park the trucks in the driveway. That used to really excite our kids when they were little.

The sun rises to the left side (east) of the backyard and sets to the right side (west). The back side of our house is a hot pit with full sun all day and the tall wood fence around the pool. The wear and sun damage on the south side of our house is significantly more than the front.

That's a long way down.

And not a bad view up.

Here he's telling me to stop taking his picture already...

Consider this last shot the "before" picture. I almost didn't show it because it's got so much that needs to happen there and it's a mess right now: finish the roofing, build new stairs for the still under construction new deck, and enclose the bottom portion under the deck with planter boxes, cleaning up all the construction tools and stuff. Lots to do before the snow flies again. We have had snow by the first weekend of October (many times) and that's not that far off.

It's rained all summer. We only have time to work on projects on weekends. The few dry weekends have been used up baling and putting up hay for our in laws cattle and our horses. The farmer idiom of 'make hay while the sun shines' has definitely been true this year for us. Working on our yard projects hasn't happened as quickly as we'd have hoped, but they're getting there.

My handsome, charming, loving husband is the best thing that ever happened to me. I'm seriously lucky. He's my true love. The first time I ever saw him he made my heart do a flip. He still has that affect on me each and every time I see him. Sounds corny, doesn't it? It's true though. Some times I have to pinch myself to be sure I'm awake. I take a lot of pictures of him since he's always doing something interesting and well, who wouldn't want to take lots of photos of a gorgeous guy with that smile, with those deep, dark blues eye and that... oh, wait... getting carried away, sorry.

We always have a lot of projects on the go. I'll try to make a point of showing you what we're up to around here and add a bunch of gorgeous hunk pictures while I'm at it. He has the best smile. :)

Win some Yarn ~ It's Giveaway time again

2009-09-13T18:40:00.015-04:00

Could you use some new sock yarn? I'm feeling the urge to share some fingering weight love. There's enough to make 4 pairs of socks or 4 scarves or 4 pairs of gloves or whatever your heart fancies. It could be your new stash enhancement until you decide what you'd like to do with it yarn with no buyers remorse? Free to a good home.

This is two skeins of Knit Picks Gloss in Cocoa, which is a 70% Merino and 30% silk blend.

Two balls of Socken Wolle 4-ply in blues, greens, purples and turquoise. I have got to tell you ~ these were hard to part with, but I'm sure someone else will love them as much as I do. A 75% Virgin Wool and 25% Polyamid (nylon) blend that's machine washable and felt resistant, says so on the label.

Two balls of Knit Picks Essential 75% Superwash Wool and 25% Nylon in a two-tone brown and cedar shade called Dune Twist.

And finally two more balls of Socken Wolle in the same 75% Virgin Woole and 25% Polyamid blend in really delicious solid green. It's photographed on the olive side in this picture but this yarn is a vibrant apple-y green.

If you're interesting in re-homing this pretty yarn leave a comment and tell me something about yourself. I really, truly enjoy getting to know you all. Or if you'd rather not tell me something about yourself, feel free to ask a question or two, or three about me! Ask anything at all you might be interested in knowing about me EXCEPT how much I weigh... 'cause I am just not going to answer that question! A simple 'want yarn' will do too.

The Giveaway will stay open until Sunday, September 20th at noon. Let me hear from you if you want this to show up in your mailbox and I'll send this sock yarn happily your way doesn't matter where you live!

31 questions and answers

2009-09-10T16:00:00.002-04:00

This went around I think a few years ago, or a close variation of it. I had it sent to me twice just this week via emails so I thought I'd answer it and share on the blog. Tagging anyone who wants to play along:

Your significant other? still at work. love him madly and he's darned handsome
Your hair colour? dark blond
Your mother? is at the farm
Your father? he's with mom
Your favourite thing? standard poodles, no horses. it's a toss up. I'll go with standard poodles since they can sleep on our bed
Your dream last night? Painting the bedroom walls in a house I didn't recognize pale blue
Your dream goal? move out of the city
The room you're in? dining room
Your hobby? dogs, horses, quilting, knitting, spinning, renovating our house, gardening, dreaming
Your fear? losing my sight, I'm a very visual person
Where do you want to be in 6 years? on a farm with a huge garden and a barn, lots of pasture and hay fields, and a big country kitchen for cooking, baking and entertaining... heh, guess I'd have to win the lottery. Maybe my goal in 6 years is to be a lottery winner. I better buy some tickets.
Where were you last night? home, it was our anniversary :)
What you're not? patient, I think everything should be done yesterday
One of your wish-list items? long arm quilting machine
Where you grew up? Kitchener
The last thing you did? came home from work
What are you wearing? Jeans and a white shirt, barefoot
Your TV? is old. It's tuned to HGTV when I'm watching, sports or Discovery channel for Don and Ryan, Nicole is all over the dial
Your pets? 2 horses, 3 standard poodles, an assortment of chickens and we're getting some rabbits again soon
Your computer? it's Don's actually. Dell
Your mood? unsettled, restless, hungry... we're invited to the farm for supper with my parents, yum.
Missing someone? always
Your car? Ford suv
Something you're not wearing? socks
Favourite foot wear? my cowboy and hiking boots
Favourite shop? quilt shop, tack shop, garden centre...
Your summer? was cool and rainy
Love someone? yes ~ deeply
Your favourite colour? just one again? apparently I don't follow directions well: watery blues and greens and gray
When is the last time you laughed? now, at this question
When is the last time you cried? last week

Tag, you're it!

Going to the Fall Fair

2009-09-08T11:45:00.020-04:00

This past long weekend we went to theFall Fair in Paris, ON. The midway and vendors have grown in number from previous years, but for me the fall fair is mostly about the animals and crafts. There's competitions to enter in almost anything you can imagine.

Food, produce, flowers, crafts, art, photography, 3 horse shows, dog show, and anything you could think of in between as well as the usual Fall Fair food, grandstand shows, high dives, wild birds of prey shows and helicopter rides.

There were a lot of years the I rode the Central Ontario exhibition show on the Friday in Kitchener, the western show on the Saturday in Paris, and the AQHA show both western and english on the Sunday at this venue. Labour Day long weekends before school started for me were the beginning of the fall show season, much appreciated after having shown the horses in the blazing heat of summer. I miss those days, we don't show our horses anymore, but the competitive nature I have rears it's head every time I see someone in show clothes on their horse. They are fond and wonderful memories.

Now that the kids are older we wander the midway and carnival sections, but don't play along. The kids loved the rides back when, now they aren't interested.
We're more keen on stuff like this (even though we have most of it at home anyway):

Sweet, doe-eyed Jersey cows and calves

Every imaginable breed of hen

...and rooster

This very affectionate pigeon took a real shine to Don

Nicole was smitten by the various breed of adorable bunnies.

Now we don't have an assortment of donkeys, sheep, goats at home...

But we do have horses, this mare was patiently waiting in a rented fair stall.

I wish I could show you more, there was a lot of interesting things to see... but at this point the battery died in my digital camera. There were sheep shearing demonstrations, how to process the fleece, sign ups for classes and vending of sheep sheering, breeding, fleece, raising, you name it stuff to do with their fibre. Two women were spinning the whole 5 days of the fair. One woman in today's clothing fashion was spinning on an oak Lendrum with a double treadle, just like my maple one. The woman beside her was in traditional garb spinning on a walking wheel doing 6 - 7 feet of long draw and then working it back on to the spindle, turning the giant wheel with her hand. It was fascinating to watch and made me really appreciate my treadle wheel.

Our Canadian military was there, a full dress marching band to lead them in the parade, multiple live Canadian performances on the Grand stand and plenty of Carnival and midway noise, lights and midway food.

There were few quilts and needle crafts ~ far fewer than previous years. Needle point, cross stitch, sewing and quilting were all present, but in small numbers and all behind glass or wire fence panels. It seemed a bit sad that the wares had to be behind glass away from dirty fingers, thieving hands and locked up behind cages to not escape... well, really be lifted and stolen. I guess it was just another sign on how times are changing and people have little respect for other people's property.

We spend a good while wandering around the giant tractors, combines, loaders and other various farm equipment, wishing for the day we could afford some of it for the farm we don't live on or have yet. We picked up lottery numbers just in case... someone usually wins the jackpot, why not us? lol

Fall always leaves me restless and wishful. It's my favourite time of the year and every September I find myself wishing we could move. It's not that we don't live in a nice house - but the country calls us back so strongly. 2 farm kids raising our 2 kids in the city makes us shake our heads ~ because if someone had told us that at our 21st wedding anniversary (tomorrow, how did the time go so fast?) we'd still be living in the concrete jungle of the city we wouldn't have believed it... very big sigh...

Ryan started College today. Nicole's started 10th grade. I'm proud of them both and thrilled with the people they're becoming, but a little sad too that my babies aren't babies anymore. Seems just yesterday I was taking their pictures for their first day of school and that was Kindergarten. For us summer ends with the Labour Day Weekend. This year it's extremely late with where the first Monday falls on the calendar, and even though fall doesn't officially start until later this month, for us today is the first day of fall.

Homemade Chunky Salsa

2009-09-06T09:00:00.000-04:00

Smells and tastes so good. We use this for more than just dipping corn chips. I'll add a jar of this to tomato paste for lasagna and to ground beef with spaghetti sauce for over spaghetti. It can be used to doctor up all sorts of different dishes.

We're really lucky that Don's parents have huge vegetable gardens on their 86 acres beef and hay farm (2 hours away). What we don't grow here at home in our yard or at my parents farm (2 minutes away) is supplemented by them. Homemade salsa just tastes so much better than store bought.

CHUNKY SALSA (use plum or Roma tomatoes if possible)

8 quarts tomatoes, diced (you can peel them too if you want, we don't)
1 quart chopped celery
1 quart chopped sweet peppers
1 quart chopped onions
1 quart cider vinegar
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup canning salt (not iodized)
1 tablespoon whole picking spice (tie in a cloth)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 to 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper (more for hotter sauce)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy kettle. Bring to a boil; simmer 3 to 3-1/2 hours.
Pour hot sauce into clean, sterilized pint jars. Process in a pressure canner at 10 lbs. pressure for 30 minutes.
YIELD: 14 pints

tomatoes

2009-09-05T14:28:00.004-04:00

...and there's more. Lots more. There's also sweet peppers, onions and fresh garlic harvested from my in laws farm garden. This box full will be salsa...

Happy long weekend everyone ~ I'm off to start chopping.

purple surprise

2009-09-02T11:56:00.008-04:00

This year I didn't plant any petunias but this determined and inspiring bloom seeded itself from last years crop in the most unusual place. It's growing out of the tiniest crack of the interlocking deck stone under the edge of the gas BBQ. Of all the plants and flowers in the garden this year this is hands down my favourite and most cherished. Yeah for flourishing in the worst of conditions with no help at all. If I can get seed from this hardy annual maybe they'll be some planned surprises next year.

The Greener Celadon is wound off into a cake while I decide what to do with it.

I'm surprised by the strength of the single. Still not sure about plying it on itself or to something else, I'm also considering swatching it and playing around with a little lace type knit. The fun part about this is that it's just learning and playing so I can try things I normally wouldn't. Experimenting while so naive is really enjoyable.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Sunday Morning Pancakes

2009-08-30T12:02:00.011-04:00

Mmm, fresh wild blueberries from Mosborough Market picked up yesterday while I was out all day with the dogs tracking. That can only mean one thing Sunday morning: pancakes. Delicious plain, but the pancakes taste best with fruit in or on them.

SUNDAY MORNING PANCAKES

In a mixer or by hand whisk together:

2 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

To this add the combined dry ingredients a little at a time until smooth and light. (I use my electric mixer with the wire whisk attachment to make them light and fluffy.)

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (the salt enhances the flavours, the pancakes are better when you don't omit it)

To this batter add blueberries, shredded apples or fruit of your choice. If adding frozen instead of fresh berries, toss them until coated in flour before adding to the batter. These pancakes stay warm for a surprisingly long time.

There's been spinning too. I haven't spun all of the natural undyed brown bfl yet, I was too eager to try some colour. This is Pigeonroof Studios "Greener Celadon" in bfl. I wish there was more of it. I haven't decided to ply it on itself from both ends of a wound cake (how I think it'll look bettter) or if I might spin some undyed white Falkland I have and ply it to that (there'd be more yardage).

I'm ~as in handsome hubby Don I hope ~ going to make a Niddy Noddy with the directions from Celeste at Nebula Designs to skein up my home spun. Oh geez, 'my homespun', hang on - I need second to savour that though... Ah. Thanks Celeste, I really appreciate the instructions and dimensions!

Enjoy your Sunday everyone!

so much fun! check out the fiber

2009-08-25T13:10:00.012-04:00

SpindleFrog corriedate combed top in Stained Glass

Greenwoods Fiberworks bfl in Persimmon

SpindleFrog bfl combed top in Shark Infested waters

Greenwoods Fiberworks in Tiger Lily bfl - 2 x 40z.

FLUFF bfl superwash in Tulip Buds & bfl in Understated

Once I finish with my undyed combed top I'm going to spin up some gorgeous colours. I've ordered a variety of colours, stepping away from my usual watery blues, greens and grays into some fun summer garden colours. They're all purchased from indie dyers on etsy. I have no idea how long it'll take me to spin all this gorgeous fiber, but I'm definitely seeing a disadvantage at only having 4 bobbins. There's going to have to be plenty of plying happening soon...

The bobbin on lower left was my first spinning attempt, the one on the upper right is my current spinning. My singles are coming along, the consistency in the thickness and twist is more even and drafting feels more natural. The dvd from Maggie Casey arrived finally, it was delivered in error to a neighbour who called me up last night amused that I'm learning to spin. I've watched disc one which covers the same basics as the spinning books. Later today I'll get to watching disc 2.

There's been a little knitting too. When I get around to knitting with handspun will be a hoot I'm sure. Have a great day everyone!

meet my new Lendrum spinning wheel

2009-08-19T09:12:00.023-04:00

16.5 lbs. of Canadian maple crafted into one very fine spinning wheel by Gord Lendrum of Odessa, Ontario. I love its sleek, modern lines and the tilted angle of the wheel. More than anything I love that I'm making what is starting to resemble actual yarn.

You know the saying the 'Straw that Broke the Camel's Back'? That one thing that pushes you over the edge, makes you take the giant leap... all that cliche stuff? I blame/thank Elaine for that and her post on her new wheel about a month ago. She made me crave spinning more than chocolate. That's a lot of craving. Why yearn, why not just do it? Her post was the straw that made me leap. Both feet. No looking back, take backs or any of that other stuff. Elaine aka 'yes, I'm a YarnSnob' ~ you were so right ~ it does smell good, I gave it a sniff like you suggested. You were the shove I needed after 10 years of wishing I could spin, thanks.

Nicole and I drove to Toronto last Friday to pick up the wheel at Romni Wools in Toronto. The bedlam of a 5.5 million populated GTA vs. our "small town" of 200,000 was like stepping into another world. After an hour drive plus 25 minutes searching for a parking spot we were swarmed by a Goth group of theatre students on the sidewalk making their own movie with 2 big shoulder cameras. Shortly after we returned home Don and Ryan headed up north to Algonquin Provincial Park for 5 days of camping. Nicole and I had a long planned dinner out with our friend Mary whom we haven't seen in ages that took up the rest of Friday evening. Why the details of our Friday night? To let you all know how good I was not ditching everything else just because every 2nd thought in my head was about the box sitting in the kitchen at home with the Lendrum in it.

We were up at dawn on Saturday morning to set things outside for our garage sale. This is the 3rd garage sale I've held. They average on every 10 years. Not sure if that says something about me or not? If you can figure out what it means, let me know. 9 hours of hot, humid 95+ degree temps to sell dozens of things that tallied only $55 in sales was hard work but worth cutting down on our storage clutter. Most of what we sold was from the kids infant, toddler and preschool years. 24 hours after the Lendrum came home it was still in the box. It was killin' me.

When I finally got the wheel out of the box late Saturday I realized my digital camera was at Algonquin Park camping with the guys, bummer for the blog. It only takes seconds to set up the folding wheel courtesy the helpful videos from Paradise Fibres and Yarns. I spun an entire bobbin of BLF natural brown top my first sitting. Addicted? Oh yeah, baby! Big time. First thing Sunday morning I was up at it again. Even Nicole was impressed. Peering at the bobbin thoughtfully she said, "Hey mom, it's actually starting to look like yarn." That my dear friends is high praise. She sees no point in my knitting endeavours and spinning is something she hopes her friends don't find out about. It adds to my crazy poodle lady mystique ~ which isn't a good thing in her opinion. The answer to everyone's next question is NO: I do not want to, I will not, and I have no intention of being talked in to spinning poodle hair. Nicole wants to try spinning, I know she does, she just doesn't want me to know. I saw her treadling when she thought I was upstairs in the shower. I wonder how long it'll take before she gives it a whirl, just to appease her curiosity?

I've contacted the local Spinning Guild and hope to hear from them soon. The Spin Control book is wonderful. The pictures are really helpful when I've got the goods in front of me playing with the wheel. I can see from the photo examples when my yarn has too little, too much or an acceptable amount of twist or energy as it's explained in the book. I can already see an improvement in the consistency of my singles. I'm looking forward to plying. I love the feel of the wool as it slides and twists, slides and twists between my 2 hands and then feeds onto the bobbin.

Maggie Casey's spinning dvd Start Spinning with Eunny Jang is still en route via mail. I'm learning mostly by doing so far. Hopefully I'm not teaching myself bad habits I'll have to eliminate in the future...

I have chronic insomnia. Reading is a bad plan for me because when I get into a good book I'll keep reading until morning. Sewing is wonderful, but the noise wakes everyone up. Knitting I'm usually not alert enough in artificial light to do for long and cutting for quilting makes me want to sew. House cleaning and unloading the dishwasher also taboo because it's noisy. Spinning - now that's the perfect nocturnal time burner. It's quiet, it's peaceful and it produces (or will produce) yarn for knitting. There's some really great groups for spinning and a super Lendrum group on Ravelry. There's a long thread on oiling the wheel and addressing various places it can emit annoying squeaks and noises. Maybe I lucked out, but My Lendrum is whisper silent and it's just the very faintest, appealing whirring sound as it spins. If the tv or music is on I can't hear it at all.

I've ordered bfl and corriedale hand painted roving and combed top from indie dyers on etsy. Hopefully once I make my way through the pound and a half of brown bfl I picked up at I can start playing around with pretty dyed colours too. Don't get me wrong though, I really, really like the natural raw fibres. Can anyone recommend a particular favourite roving or dyer that I should check out? I'm not keen on 100% merino, pills too much for my liking knitting so I doubt I'll spin with it. Other than socks I'm not crazy about the squeakiness of superwash... but when I knit socks for non-knitters I always use it so they don't felt them when they ignore my hand wash/cool water instructions. I've been googling to see if/how wool becomes superwashed and to see if I can superwash a project like socks after they've been knit. I haven't found any info yet. Does anyone know about it that can help educate me? I'm guessing it's probably some evil chemical process that's environmentally unfriendly - hoping it's not too bad - superwash does have it's uses.

A few people have mentioned leg cramps and issues with their knees when they get started spinning. Maybe because I'm used to being heels down in a saddle and using my hands and legs as aids independently for riding it's easier for me, but no problems with cramps or pain. The motion is light and barely uses pressure, the action comes from the ankles. That's probably amazing in itself because I do have a lot of back issues and my neck/right shoulder from a car accident a million years ago. No problems with the spinning in that respect. The double treadle is smooth and comfortable. Like Celeste mentioned, the foot treadles are a nice width apart and I think using both feet keeps my balanced and centred in the chair with proper posture for my spine.

Why a Lendrum? Lots of reasons: Price point is reasonable by comparison. It comes with 4 bobbins, the Lazy Kate and I picked up a Fast Flyer. It's sleek looking and compact, folds to almost nothing and fits under a bed or in a closet. It's light weight enough that people buy or make backpacks to fit it for travelling. It's recommended as a suitable beginner wheel being user friendly and has enough options you can add to it to make it more versatile for advanced to experienced spinners. You can buy more options for drive ratios in the future. It's a wheel I shouldn't outgrow. There are a lot of ads for spinning wheels and how to get started articles. I found Abby's site extremely helpful. Her reviews and advice on picking wheels is fantastic and her whole site is filled with useful and interesting info. She's definitely a spinner that gives back. Her article on The Wheels: Which and Why is excellent, as are all her posts and articles. She's got some great clips on You Tube for spindling. I decided to wait on spindling, I want to produce yarn faster than spindling it and might pick one up in the future for interest and learning, but a wheel feels right for me now.

A special thanks to everyone who took time to offer help and advice in getting this spinning thing rolling. Loving spinning on my new Lendrum! Should've started this years ago, but better late than never.

Kim Hargreaves ~ Precious

2009-08-12T10:21:00.013-04:00

It's that time again ~ Kim Hargreaves newest book is available and it looks gorgeous! I love the colours these knits are sampled in. There's no such thing as too much gray or blue as far as I'm concerned.

I'm not a hat person. I wear them to keep from freezing ~ but they look dorky on me. I just don't have a "hat head". I really like the texture and cables of this pattern. It might look ok on me, maybe even presentable, since the model has a long narrow face like I do. If it could make me look like her it would be some sort of magic hat...

My favourite knit from this release is 'Vivienne'. Described on the web site as:

FITTED SWEATER WITH WIDE NECK

A sweater with button trim on a garter stitch yoke, knitted in Rowan Pure Cashmere DK.

Oh, yum!

'Ronnie' in Rowan Big Wool for those weekends by the fire after being out snowmobiling really appeals to me too. I'd shorten it to just past my hips, I'm not keen on the length.

If you haven't tried a Kim Hargreaves book yet, check them out. The patterns and Rowan yarns are lovely and the photograph in the books is exceptional.

A peaceful Friday evening

2009-08-07T19:11:00.011-04:00

Thank you everyone for the help with my spinning questions, especially Celeste! I've spent a lot of time visiting Ravelry spinning groups as recommended by Joansie and watching spinning clips on YouTube.

After work today Ryan and I went to Chapters where we picked up a novel for him and these goodies for moi. Why did I pick these in particular? Well, mostly because while there's a ton of spinning books online from Chapters and Amazon, this was the extent of spinning material in stock in the actual store. I'll be enjoying a peaceful Friday evening reading them.

These blooms have survived all the wind, thunderstorms and hail we've had of late, a lot of others have been shredded or crushed. I haven't watered the garden all summer and there's plenty more rain in the forecast.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Spinning advice? Where to start?

2009-08-05T20:51:00.007-04:00

Have you ever had a yearning to try something new and been completely at a loss in what direction to start? I'm at that point. Along with my many fiber hobbies I've been thinking about learning to spin for - oh - maybe the last decade or so...

I love repetitive motion hobbies. Knitting and sewing are up at the top of my list. Here's my question: For those of you that spin, how did you get started? Spindle, wheel, take a class, buy some roving and just do it? I don't think it'll be a matter of wondering IF I'll like it, it's more a matter of how to get started. What brand of wheel, what weight or type of spindle? I really need to slow down, settle and relax more. Many people have told me spinning can be very centering and relaxing.

It's been a toss up between dyeing and spinning. After a lot of thought whilst knitting I've decided that spinning and hand dyeing will both happen eventually ~ but spinning is intriguing me more. I practically drool over skeins of hand spun. Well - I do drool, but I try to be discreet about it.

How did you start to spin? Any words of wisdom to help start me on this journey would really be appreciated.

winner and a smile

2009-08-02T15:34:00.009-04:00

Congratulations Andrea ~ At Home Mommy Knits!! The roll of a dice says Stitch 'N Bitch Nation is heading off to your house to live. Please send me your mailing address at rycole at hotmail dot com I'll be sure to send it off after this Long Weekend is over.

These old fashioned orange lilies grow at the corner of our garage where I can see them every time I pull in or out of our driveway. My maternal grandfather had dozens of orange lilies growing at the back of his garden. When I was about 5 or 6 years old one of my last memories of him was of asking him why he had so many? He said because they always made him smile. Every time I see these blooms I remember Opa and smile. :)

Giveaway!!

2009-07-27T18:14:00.007-04:00

I've planned a few random giveaways over the next few weeks from my bookshelves, yarn bins and fabric stash. As the house gets freshen with white paint I'm also purging and want to share some of my stash.

Are you interested giving "STITCH 'N BITCH NATION" by Debbie Stoller a new home? The front cover proclaims: "50 Hip, Even Funkier patterns by Stitch 'n Bitch Designers Across America. Plus: How to make any knitting pattern your own, insider tips, profiles of groups, and more."

Leave a comment by Sunday, August 2nd if you're interested!

She didn't come home

2009-07-25T10:56:00.006-04:00

No puppy. Unfortunately the lovely girl Nicole and I went to visit and evaluate in Quebec didn't suit us. She was a very nice puppy, but wasn't meant to be ours. We're disappointed, but that's how it goes. Her brother would've done it for us but failed miserably on the uterus requirement. Twas not meant to be. So, we wait patiently yet again and see what may happen in the future.

Nothing new going on here since we've mostly been on the road and in Quebec for the last several days and left our schedules wide open to spend time with a new poodle puppy. The driving was a succession of thunderstorms and tiring but we're glad to be home and made it back in time for Nicole's Kung Fu class last night.

I'll spend the next few hours breaking down the puppy preparations here. Baby gates, puppy's crate etc. and put them away for future arrivals. If nothing else, the house got a thorough scrubbing and floors, crates and most any surface that can tolerate it was washed down with a bleach solution so I do have a super clean set up here. I'll spend the rest of today relaxing from all the driving, put up my feet and knit.

I'm waiting on this Raspberry Bubble merino/silk fingering yarn to arrive in my mailbox from Plucky. This knit will be for me. I rarely knit for myself, but I absolutely am lusting for a Baktus scarf like Claudia's. Definitely go check out Claudia and Mr Puffy's post on How to Barbecue California Style, I was drooling reading it and her dad Vern is a master at the craft. Excuse me - I need to go make up some of his chicken seasoning and buy a chicken for tomorrow...

Painting everything white

2009-07-19T20:33:00.009-04:00

Lots of white. Over the past couple of weeks I've painted my way around the house. Kitchen, family room, master bath ceiling, Nicole's room got a major overhaul. I've got a few more rooms to tackle but today it was our powder room.

It's amazing what a change fresh new paint makes. I forgot to take a before picture, but here's the back wall after some repairs and starting to cut in the white. The accessories in the powder room are all the same but the room feels totally different white. I didn't like the old yellow as soon as it hit the walls. There's no natural light and it looked darker then it did in our south facing kitchen that has plenty of windows. It was left over paint so I lived with it for too long. The white is such a fresh and clean change. The yellow was blah, the white ~ We're Loving it. Course, now I really want to change those hideous melamine vanity doors...

What's new with you?

2009-07-15T20:23:00.011-04:00

It's been far too long since I've blogged. Mojo is thankfully back. What's new? Way too much to put into one post so I'll hit a few bits per post. Here's a few highlights:

Dawn N. and I pieced this quilt top for our dear friend Vivienne for her incredible Muskoka log home cottage we get to visit and enjoy annually. We'll machine quilt it asap.

This suv replaces Don's stolen truck and tools. Only 3 years old and a well maintained lease return. Big enough for all of us, the dogs, stuff and gutsy enough to do some serious towing. Yup, the prerequisite 4-wheel package to deal with Canadian winters. It's not the work horse truck he needs, but more of a multi-purpose family vehicle.

There's been knitting, quite a bit actually. This beauty is an even nicer Crest of the Wave scarf than the first also knit with divine Plucky Knitter fingering from the oh so talented Sarah. I enjoyed knitting this pattern so much that I have to say there will be more, several more. Definitely even one for myself. :) This one is going off in the mail tomorrow. Someone, watch your mailbox, not sayin' who....

And last for today is this puppy. Potentially ours? Remains to be seen. Nicole and I will be taking a trip to Quebec next week to meet and evaluate a litter of Standard Poodle puppies and if there's a girl in there that suits us she'll be travelling home with us. Fingers and paws are crossed there's hopefully a new baby girl here at Chez Koch. This pic is of the most promising prospect in my opinion from what I know about these puppies and here she's still only 5.5 weeks old. Wish us luck! We're leaving next week Thursday and returning home with or sans a puppy on Friday.

Hope everyone is well and you're all enjoying July!

I was hacked

2009-05-13T18:59:00.003-04:00

My apologies to anyone who received unusual emails from me today with the subject lines of 'hi' or anything to do with vacations or electronics. My hotmail email address was hacked. It's frozen for the next 24 hours. I am receiving emails into the inbox that I can read - but can't respond since the bl**ping spammers used it instantly to send out mass mailings and exceeded my send limit. Thanks everyone for the heads up, I've gotten a lot of emails from you all realizing that the spam wasn't from me but that my email was compromised. Don't people have anything better to do then hack emails?! Frustrating.

I'm hoping by the weekend to have a bit of time to blog again and catch everyone up on the adventures here. Some good, some bad, some grand!

Sorry again for the spam. Situation has been rectified -- if not quickly.
Renee

Still kicking around here

2009-04-27T15:38:00.006-04:00

It's been too long since I had time to blog. I'm still kicking around here, albeit always in a rush. We're still a one vehicle owning family and the past month has been hectic.

Kids are busy and so are we. Haven't lost my knitting mojo, just haven't had time to sit down and knit. The gardens will awaken soon and need cleaning out so that will be up next.

I've been busy with the dogs too. Chase earned 2 new performance titles and is in a tracking test on May 8th, so the blog will be quiet for sure until after that weekend.

Ryan won first place in the Regionals for Technical CAD in Skills Canada and will be progressing to the Provincials for the beginning of May. We're very proud of him!

Hoping everyone is having a lovely spring and all are well.

Make sure to stop by Philigry as Katie is having a wonderful giveaway you won't want to miss!!!
Hugs to you all, Renee

FO Crest of the Wave Scarf

2009-03-14T19:45:00.004-04:00

This was a fun scarf to knit with a 12 row repeat. The lace pattern is in the first 8 rows and rows 9 - 12 are garter stitch.

My friend loved it. I'm so pleased she did!

DETAILS:
Pattern: Crest of the Wave Scarf
Yarn: MCN Fingering from The Plucky Knitter/400 yards
Colourway: The Stables
Size: 8" x 60" after blocking/30 pattern repeats

This yarn bled heavily when I blocked it, but I like the variations in the hues more after it had a good bath. It has hints of olive, plum and golden tones dispersed throughout the browns. I bought beads for the fringe and played around with those for a good while but wasn't pleased with any of it ~ the yarn and pattern were nicer without them.

Blocking using dental floss wasn't much different then just using pins. I don't think it turned out any differently then had I blocked using pins alone.

It drapes beautifully and the yarn is soft and pleasing. I used all but a few yards of the 400 yard skein.

At 8" wide it could be worn as a wrap. I'll knit it again for myself making it wider to wear as a rectangular shawl to cover my shoulders when I wear my sun dress. The pattern is free and easy to follow. I highly recommend this knit!

I'm still here

2009-03-04T21:10:00.003-05:00

Just been really busy. Driving. Everyone. Everywhere. It's amazing the difference in our schedules and how we've tried to adjust to being a one-vehicle family over the past 3 weeks. It's sort of insanity, actually. No sign of the stolen truck or contents. The insurance has said they'd wait 3 weeks to see if it turned up so next week we only just start the claim for loss.

On the knitting front the chocolate scarf was set aside as were all of my other crafting projects. I have enough yarn left to complete one more 12-row repeat before I cast off the Crest of the Wave scarf. I played around a lot with fringe, tassels, beads... and have decided I like it best without any adornments. I'm hoping to finally get it done this evening and blocking will happen in the next day or 2. I never did get to my LYS to pick up blocking wires so I'm going to try to block this scarf using dental floss instead of the wires, plus pins. Has anyone done this or have any suggestions for me? I won't post FO photos for bit though because I want to gift it first as a surprise and will only be seeing the recipient the weekend after this coming one.

The clocks change this weekend. I'm very pleased about that. Much earlier then in years past. Hopefully spring comes earlier too?? I can only hope. It will be wonderful to have an extra hour of daylight after work to be outside and get things done. This weekend I'm going to be gone at a rally obedience trial with my 2 black standard poodles. It's be nice to get back into the competitive groove again.

I had a wonderful time watching poodles in the show ring when I went to watch with a friend. We were hit by a nasty snow storm so I ended up stranded away from home and stayed at my friends place. She was a gracious hostess and we had a marvelous time. It was an entire unexpected weekend away from home. I should know better then to travel hours away from home in Ontario in February without an overnight bag just in case.... oh well. It made it more adventurous. Everyone was warm, safe and sound so it was fine.

Hope everyone is keeping well and enjoying the start of March!

1/2 full

2009-02-20T17:35:00.000-05:00

Thank you everyone for the kind words and support. They are very appreciated and you are wonderful people. There's no sign of the truck or tools. I'm feeling like the glass is half full, so I'm mostly out of my funk ~ thanks goodness.

I've been knitting when I can and it's definitely been zen for me, helping me relax after the events of last week. This is the progress so far. I plan to knit all evening and hopefully finish it tonight, block it and have it ready to gift.

I'm headed out of town tomorrow to visit dear friends and enjoy a day at a big dog show as a spectator. In particular I'm going to see the Poodles! That will definitely put a smile on my face. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Some days

2009-02-14T22:46:00.004-05:00

Some days are not as good as others. Today was such a day, one I could have done without. Valentine's here in our house was shocking and depressing. Anyone who has even had anything taken or stolen from them will understand.

It's been a difficult past few years and truly it takes an awful lot to fill my plate to the point where I become angry or upset. I'm a "the glass is half full" sort of person and an eternal optimist. Well, today I would like to take said glass and smack someone up side the head with it ~ except I don't know who.

Some time between midnight last night and this morning my husband's truck, tools and equipment were stolen from our driveway. First comes surprise, then shock and by tonight the enraged and angered feelings of invasion and lack of security and safety. Don's truck is a big diesel workhorse. Had it been started in our driveway we would have heard it as it wakes us all up when Don leaves early. We have 3 big dogs loose in the house that would have barked had the truck ignition been turned over. Police believe it was likely pushed out of the driveway and taken away on a trailer. That makes this a calculated theft and not a random act. More then the vehicle, Don's tools and possession that were locked in the truck are a major blow for us.

Some days I wish were different. Sorry for venting.

Calorie-free Chocolate gift for a friend

2009-02-13T15:39:00.007-05:00

Yarn from a Ravelry destash.
Crest of the Wave Scarf.

The Plucky Knitter ~ The Stables colourway.

400 yards Merino Seacell fingering in delicious browns.

This is one of those knits that will bloom after blocking.

I'm off to my favourite quilt and yarn shops tomorrow with Dawn. We'll try to not do too much damage but lace blocking wires are at the top of my list. And perhaps a few fat quarters for Nicole's new quilt...

Wishing you all a sweet and wonderful Valentine's ~ although I don't believe you should tell those you love that you love them only on a dictated day ~ tell them every day!!

FO Not Noro Striped Scarf

2009-02-06T18:00:00.003-05:00

Details:
Pattern: Noro Striped Scarf by Jared Flood
Yarn: Rowan Tapestry, 2 balls each of colours SH 170 and SH 172
Size: 5" x 88"

I wasn't certain I'd like the stripes. Turns out I love the stripes! The colour is richer and prettier then I was able to photograph it in the bright sun today. I'm really pleased with the Tapestry.

The first stitch of each row is slipped purl wise with the yarn held in back. It made for a nice edge and incorporated the change of yarn every 2 rows beautifully.

The interest factor from each new colour combination makes this a fun and easy knit.

It's nice and long. I purchased 3 of each colourway so there will probably be a co-ordinating hat or wrist warmers since after 4 total the scarf measures 88". The extra balls would be perfect for Toast from Leslie ~ I'll make them with the dark browns and berry coloured ball to co-ordinate, not striped with both.

The yarn is soft, warm and has a beautiful halo, perfect for cold February outings. I wouldn't change anything if I knit this again. Actually, I definitely will knit this again using the Rowan Tapestry and try 2 new colourways. Love how this scarf turned out, it'll see a lot of wear.

Let it flow

2009-02-02T19:30:00.003-05:00

Flow Yoga, also called vinyasa yoga. I'm one of those people that needs to stretch or else I seize up. It feels darned good to be loose and centred, energized and relaxed. My search for a yoga studio has not gone well. Instead the kids are enrolling in a new Martial arts club that just opened in our area. Both kids were on a hiatus and then their previous club folded after their Master passed away. Now with doctor's approval they're ready to return to kicking some butt while staying fit. They were up to their blue belts in Kung Fu and both intend to complete their training to Black Belt as well as progress into other martial art forms.

On the yoga front option #2 was DVDs. After asking a few friends, surfing online and high praise from the Namaste Knitters at Ravelry I went with Shiva Rea's DVDs. I would have preferred to get back into yoga with a trained coach to watch our form, but this is a great second option.

We started with Flow Yoga for Beginners. On the back jacket of the DVD it states: "She begins with seated meditations that teaches you how to link breath with movement. Three more segments introduce her flowing approach to classic poses. Transitions from pose to pose are graceful and easy. You may not have Shiva's flexibility (yet), but you can follow her lead in ways that work for you. Feel yourself becoming stronger and more supple. Sense your new energy and find the fluidity that has always been yours."

We liked Shiva so much that we have now added Creative Core Abs, Core + Lower Body and Core + Upper Body to my little yoga library. They're very good, reasonably priced and in this winter weather it's nice to stay home and benefit from Shiva's great teachings.

If you're at all interested in starting yoga, this is a great way to give it a try. Namaste.

On the weather front the groundhog saw his shadow so looks like another 6 weeks of winter. We expect 6 weeks or more of winter around here whether he sees his shadow or not anyway. lol Be well everyone!

Busy, busy

2009-01-30T16:40:00.004-05:00

To say I've been busy as of late would be an understatement. The kids just finished writing exams, we spend too much of our spare time shovelling mountains of snow and I've started 4 new projects. And I'm loving it! All the action, commotion and getting things done makes January fly by. Unfortunately my camera is misbehaving so I can't show you the striped scarf I've finished. Soon. I also won't hand out any details of the new projects that will be Pay It Forward treats. Instead I give you the following treasures that I immensely enjoy:

1. Visit Lucy at her blog ZebraKnits. Her Adelaine coat is spectacular! I love everything about it. Lucy, you should publish and photograph your own knitting books. Your designs, knitting and photos are divine.

2. Visit Amanda and Lily at Joli House. Mother and daughter ~ oh-so-talented and wonderful.

3. Visit AmandaJean at Crazy Mom Quilts. AmandaJean you are a quilting inspiration! This is my favourite quilting blog. Stash ~ Oh yeah! Check. it. out.

4. Visit Katie at Philigry. Beautiful blog, talented & beautiful woman, beautiful family. Lots and lots of great projects and recipes. The best word to describe Katie and her blog is beautiful.

5. Be sure to stop in for a visit with Mr Puffy and Claudia. Lovely knits, super recipes, gorgeous photos and Claudia is the nicest person ever! I'm blessed to have met her via blogging, Claudia you are a wonderful friend. :)

6. Visit Dawn, Torin & Emma at Woolywumpus. Dawn is my dearest friend and blog enabler. We have many fun and wonderful adventures together. We need to plan many more...

Hopefully I'll have a charged up battery and operable digital camera in a few days. Until then Happy Knitting and Yarny Hugs! xoxo

I've been feeling a bit blue

2009-01-24T14:00:00.009-05:00

Good thing I have ample blue stash. This is a sampling of blues, there's plenty more of each yarn.

Since I have 4 new projects in the planning and starting stages I can't blog about ~ or I'll ruin the surprise ~ I've decided to cast on something new for myself too. I'm leaning towards the Kidsilk Haze in shade 592 as Kim Hargreaves Trinket, minus the beads.

If you haven't seen Carolyne Roehm's books check them out. They're filled with incredibly photographed home, garden and recipe ideas. Her web site is inspiring. Be sure to read her bio, she's a multi talented woman who is also a dog and horse lover.

I have all but Carolyne's first book that is no longer in print. At Home With Carolyne Roehm is by far my favourite. It's set up by the seasons, page after page of gorgeous photos and recipes. Have a look at it next time you're in a book store ~ it's eye candy and a oft browsed coffee table book here at our house. Charlotte Moss's Winter House is one I pull out every winter too.

When The Blues strike me it's a good thing! :) Have a lovely day everyone!

To Do List with a Twist

2009-01-22T16:45:00.003-05:00

Many thanks to Alison for this one!! The things already done are changed to ~ bold. Things I want to do ~ in italics. Things not done and don't want to ~ left in plain font. Here we go...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a Meteor Shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disney World/Land
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in Paris
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden a Gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David in person
41. Sung Karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold girl scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Received flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favourite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a Quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved some one's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the great salt lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Pay It Forward

2009-01-19T19:45:00.006-05:00

Wow!! You guys are Great!! I have 4 people interested in Paying It Forward! Participating are Woolywumpus, JourneyingFive, Ze and Celestial. You are the nicest people ~ I'm off to raid my stashes and start making stuff for you all!

Sheila is participating in a Paying It Forward exchange. I absolutely love the idea so I've joined her in spreading some joy and having some fun. If you haven't seen the movie 'Pay It Forward' the concept works like this: When someone has done a good deed for you rather than doing something nice in return to that person you Pay It Forward by doing something nice for someone else. I'll send handmade gifts to the first 3 people who commit to also Pay It Forward by posting in the comments you'd like to join.

The gifts will be from my heart with the intent to make the receivers feel warm and happy. They'll be sent out within the next 6 months. In return you post a Pay It Forward promise on your blog and then send out your handmade gifts within your 6 month time frame.

If you'd like to play be sure to mention what colours you like in your comment. Blogger doesn't ask for emails for me to reply to commenters so please send me an email if you know I don't have yours. Won't you come join me? I'd love to make you something special!

ETA: Leaving a comment won't commit you to Pay It Forward unless you specifically say you want to join, so no worries. Have a great day everyone!

Quilted knitting bag

2009-01-18T14:30:00.001-05:00

Made from fabric scraps this little bag rocks for small knitting projects and socks. The squares are cut at 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches stacked in 3 rows of 4 on each side. There's a 3-1/2 inch wide strip for the bottom so this bag can sit up nicely. The quilted handles are comfortable and sturdy. I used fabric spray adhesive between the layers and quilted it in the ditch on my sewing machine while it was still flat before I lined it with the bull rush fabric. Next time I'll use a different fabric for each square for a scrappier look.

I'm stashing cut-to-size fabric squares to make more bags as gifts. Next time I'll add a magnetic closure and maybe a piece of plastic mesh in the bottom. I'll probably sew up some 5 x 5 inch square bags too. It's a fun project that can be finished in an afternoon to use up leftover bits from quilts.

11 Random Things about me

2009-01-14T20:42:00.016-05:00

1. I hate to be late. I try to keep an organized schedule and always wear a watch. I'm also a list maker which helps prevent me from being late.

2. My family had German Shepherds while I was younger and Rottweilers when I was a teenager. I always wanted standard poodles but it wasn't until I was married that that finally happened. It's been 20 years with poodles now.

3. When I started knitting my dad offered to pay me to quit. He thought knitting was for old ladies with nothing better to do. I counter offered to use the money for wool to knit him a hat.

4. I'm influenced by colour. I'm especially fond of watery blues, grays, whites & creams, and shades of green. Colour affects my mood, my energy level and it inspires me to create, knit and sew. The older I get the clearer and lighter the colours I surround myself with are becoming. In the autumn I'm drawn to reds.

5. I have trouble maintaining my body temperature and dress in more layers than most people would ever consider putting on at the same time. Wool is a major part of my wardrobe along with jeans and boots. I rarely wear shorts, even when it's scorching hot outside. Mom says I've been chilled since I was a preemie.

6. I knit every day unless I'm sick and always have multiple projects on the needles.

7. I'm married to the love of my life and consider myself extremely fortune to be with such a wonderful man with 2 great kids.

8. I hate it if there's a mess or clutter on the kitchen counter or dirty dishes in the sink. I will stay up late to tidy that up or it bugs me so much I can't sleep thinking about it.

9. I used to be a runner. With a compromised right foot that's become long walks, hiking and yoga. I just ordered some Yoga DVDs for a new workout and am looking forward to them arriving in my mailbox. I'm working on being a runner again. I miss running on my treadmill ~ it's where I do my best problem solving and brain storming.

10. I suffer from SABLE. Stash Amassed Beyond Life Expectancy. I love fibre. There's a yarn stash as well as a fabric stash. I suspect my SABLE tendencies are a direct result of enjoying Ravelry and reading other people's blogs so much. I'm constantly tempted by people's amazing FO's and adding to my queue.

11. I love to see inside other people's homes. I'm intrigued by how they decorate, how they live and what things appeal to them. I especially enjoy seeing what they collect and getting copies of thier favourite recipes.

I'd love to learn something random about you!

Ryan's Favourite Oatmeal Cookies

2009-01-09T20:37:00.016-05:00

I enjoy baking instead of buying cookies for my appreciative teenagers and husband. This recipe is from Dawn's mom's 5-Star Recipe file. If you like you can add 1 cup of chocolate chips to the mix before they go on the baking sheet. Ryan is thrilled she shared the recipe with us. Thanks Dawn!! I'll try to eat just one, honest... After a long, cold day outside in the snow tracking with my friends and Chase I'm sure I burned off enough calories to indulge in a cookie. Or two...

5 STAR OATMEAL COOKIES

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup shortening
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour
2-½ cups 3-to-5 minute rolled oats
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt

Cream together butter and shortening; add brown sugar and white sugar, egg and vanilla. Mix in blender until well combined.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, rolled oats, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture in 3 instalments, mixing well after each addition.

Drop by teaspoonfuls for small cookies or a filled and levelled ice cream scoop for large "Ryan sized cookies" onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 8 – 12 minutes for small cookies, 16 minutes for the large sized cookies. Let cool completely on a rack.

You light up my life

2009-01-08T17:21:00.046-05:00

I collect a lot of different things including lamps, they vary from elegant to rustic in design.

I love the lines of this tall lamp with it's square shade lined in gold that casts a beautiful warm light down the hardwood base. If I only had one table lamp this would be it.

The shade on this western saddle base is parchment paper punched with leather lacing.

This elegant cut lead crystal & brass Pineapple lamp with a hand sewn linen shade lights our living room. It was purchased not long after Don & I were married for our first house.

This was the first lamp I collected when I was 10 yrs. old ~ my dad was concerned that I was already collecting light fixtures and dishes at that age!

Mom gave me this adorable standard poodle puppy. The hat band around the top of the shade is leather threaded with silver hearts from the Stetson I wore showing horses in conformation.

A Tiffany lamp ~ everyone probably has one of these.

A wooden dresser base with drawers sits beside one of my porcelain flowers with it's distressed milk based paint finish.

This lamp is for a night table but until I find the right replacement for it's spot it's on the antique chest of drawers in the front entrance.

I also have a lamp with a momma bear (my nick name is She Bear) and 2 clubs, as well as Ott Lites for knitting, sewing and reading. There are exquisite bronze castings of poodles made into lamps (I saw in Maryland while at the Poodle Club of America National Specialty) that are gorgeous. I haven't as yet gotten over the sticker shock ~ but one day I might not be able to resist and ship one of them home.

There's no knitting progress to post ~ I've had my butt kicked by the flu this past week. The true measure of how sick I am is not how high my fever but if I can't manage to pick up knitting or a book to read. I haven't knit more then a few rows on my scarf in the last 10 days or so. I've spent time visiting other blogs and emailing in bursts, then head back to the couch or bed to nap. Being sick is such a waste of time! Hope everyone is healthy and well.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T15:30:00.005-05:00

2008 has been a long year. For us there have been great highs and deep lows. It has been a year of learning, triumphs and laughter and had more then it's share of hardship and sorrows.

In 2009 I don't intend to have as structured a goal list as past years. I'm a New Year's Resolution person. Applying self-inflicted accountability works for me. 2009 will have a shorter and less strict list then in years past. I may be one of the few people that still makes and stubbornly keeps resolutions. I have found myself scrambling in the last months of a year to complete them, but I do. I'm the sort of person who hates to disappoint others, even myself.

I have been learning to say no and not feel guilty about it (stop laughing those of you who know me well). I'm going to make a point of relaxing a little more, enjoying more of the little things, getting more exercise and being sleep deprived less often. Particular goals will be less numerated. I intend to knit more sweaters and cardigans including the Wrapigan by ChampagneMaker (Rav. link here) just because I love it so much. That warm hug of knit comfort is going to be mine . And lace ~ not just basic lace I've knit in the past ~ but a pretty shawl will be patiently tackled and my 'fear of knitting one of those' overcome.

2009 Chase will complete his UTDX tracking and Rally titles and begin trialing his Obedience titles. Eating healthier (which is not hard after an uber-indulged December), finishing the backyard garden projects (almost got there this year!) and finding a yoga class for Nicole and I. My past lists have all been much longer and more specific. This year I'm learning from my friends to be more lenient with myself. That's an improvement from me... baby steps to cutting back. Perhaps my biggest goal?

The Not Noro Striped scarf from my last post? Loving it. Thanks for the encouragement to keep knitting. I've not had a lot of time to sit and knit, but it's growing slowly but surely.

I wish you all a wonderful, happy, healthy and joyous New Year!

xoxox

Not certain about this one

2008-12-26T15:00:00.022-05:00

I'm not certain about this new scarf. It was my car knitting on Christmas day, although it was dark on the way home so just entertained me on the way there. I have tried to pick out colour combinations from Noro to knit the Striped Scarf a la Jared Flood. Either I don't like what's in stock, they're short one ball of what I like or it's completely sold out. I'm usually partial to solid and semi solid yarns or very softly variegated colourways. Except for self striping socks I have never knit anything striped. I've had a yearning to knit this scarf for a long time and when The Harlot succumbed to and described the pleasures of knitting this project on her blog Nov. 18 of this year I knew I would too ~ except then skeins of Noro Silk Garden became a hot commodity in Ontario and were suddenly flying off store shelves. It was Rowan Tapestry that finally won my favour and the 70% wool/30% soybean protein fibre found it's way home with me.

It's a more subtle look and the yarn has a nice halo. Would I really wear something this striped? Have any of you knit this scarf in Noro? How do you like it? Do you wear it very often? Maybe I'm ambivalent because now I'm itching to knit up another Knotted Openwork scarf for myself?

Should I keep going or frog and make something individual out of the colourways instead of mixing them together? I'm usually a very decisive person, but I can't make a decision of whether or not to keep knitting this one. The colours remind me of saddle leather ~ which is a good thing ~ so maybe I'll keep plugging along... it really is tagging my interest as each row changes colour. The colours are gorgeous ~ ok, I've convinced myself ~ I'll finish knitting it and then see how willingly or not I'll wear stripes.

ETA: The further along this knit progresses the nicer it's looking. Thanks everyone for encouraging me to not frog ~ you were right ~ it's turning out lovely!

Christmas Day

2008-12-25T07:42:00.010-05:00

Merry Christmas! I hope today finds you and yours happy, healthy, warm and well.

Click here for the video clip for the Christmas Yarn Giveaway draw to see who won. Unfortunately the video clip I had embeded here isn't working now, I'll try to get it fixed if I can. The link works though.

We had a fabulous Christmas Eve at my parents century stone farmhouse and are heading out shortly to another farm to spend Christmas Day with Don's family. It's a long drive so car knitting is packed and ready to go.

You may notice the quilt hanging over the couch now behind Chase is different then the one that was hanging there just a few days ago for pictures. It was gifted last night to my brother, I think he liked it a lot. The quilt in the video clip is for a bed, but until I get the Latte quilt completed it'll hang over the couch. The draw winner is pictured below as well for those of you on dial up. Thank you everyone for posting such sweet comments, this Christmas Yarn Giveaway has been so much fun that it'll be an Annual event here at ReneeKnitsToo. I am thankful for all my blogging friends ~ you are all inspirational. T Does Wool is our winner! Theresa, if you email me your address the green Plucky will be in the mail to you as soon as the Post Office is open again. Have a wonderful Christmas Day!

FO for my mom

2008-12-24T10:06:00.019-05:00

Details:
Pattern: Knotted Openwork Scarf
Yarn: Merino Superwash Fingering from The Plucky Knitter
Needles: 5.5 mm

We celebrate Christmas at my parents farm on Christmas Eve and I'm very happy to show you this scarf that was a last minute gift for my mom. It's blocked and ready to be wrapped and gifted this evening. Nicole likes it very much and would like one for herself.

When I make this again I'll add 2 stitches and slip the first stitch of each row purl wise, yarn held in behind.

I also intend to purchase blocking wires for my lace knitting. I blocked it on towels and hand pressed it out using my rotary cutting quilt ruler as a guide for pinning.

My mom's not a fussy person. I think the simple styling of this Knotted Openwork pattern will appeal to her. It's a versatile wear and lovely for the neckline of a dress coat.

I'm very much a scarf girl. We got dumped on by another 38cm (15") of very wet and heavy snow overnight and scarves are just a necessity for Canadian winters.

Wishing you all a very wonderful Christmas Eve! Tomorrow morning we'll do the Christmas Yarn giveaway draw so be sure to check back to see if you won.

Christmas No-Bake Recipe #4

2008-12-22T11:00:00.007-05:00

You are the nicest people! Thank you so much for all of the very sweet and kind comments to the Christmas Yarn Giveaway!! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to read your comments and to send one of you out this scrumptious skein of fingering Plucky goodness. Hugs and good Christmas cheer to you ~ you are really the BEST! If you haven't left a comment yet and would enjoy giving this green yarn a new home then please leave a comment on the giveaway post by Christmas Day.

We had a 3rd major snow storm yesterday and there's another forecast for Christmas Eve. The pristine whiteness of the snow cover is so clean and bright it just puts me into a good mood. Too bad it takes us hours of shoveling, plowing and using the tractor and giant blower to dig out from under all this stuff. Nicole went tobogganing with friends and was chilled but had a great time. The city is glistening and the farm it looks like a post card Winter Wonderland. This morning has been chores, errands and grocery shopping. I just made up more cookies and plan to spend a much anticipated afternoon of knitting and watching tv and listening to Christmas CD's. This no-bake is a great bite-sized treat.

QUICK DROP COOKIES

Melt in a bowl over hot water:

1 cup chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter or margarine

Blend in 1/4 cup of sifted icing sugar.

Add 2 cups of desiccated coconut.

Drop from teaspoons onto wax paper. Chill for 30 minutes. Store at room temperature.

Makes approximately 2-1/2 dozen cookies. Enjoy!

Christmas Yarn Giveaway

2008-12-20T10:54:00.011-05:00

Post a comment and you could win this lovely yarn. I am delighted to be one of the lucky people receiving a ball of Leslie's tweed yarn from her Rose Hill post. She is generously sending out yarn for other people to enjoy. I want to keep the circle of giving revolving by sending out 400 yards of "Keep It Real" colourway from my all time favourite indy dyer Sarah aka The Plucky Knitter.

If you would like to give a new home to a festive green skein of 100% Merino Superwash Fingering yarn from The Plucky Knitter then leave a comment to be added into a random drawing on Christmas Day. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas Baking Recipe #3

2008-12-19T09:00:00.017-05:00

Lemon Cake is great for any season and is my only not-made-from-scratch recipe. This cake has been a staple in my baking repertoire for over 25 years. Brand names are really important ~ I've substituted other cake mixes and pudding brands ~ it's the Duncan Hines and Jello together that result in the best taste and texture. These instructions are not the ones printed on the cake box ~ but they should be!

LEMON PUDDING CAKE:

1 Duncan Hines Super Moist (Extra Moist) Lemon Cake Mix (used to be called Supreme)
1 Jello Brand Instant Lemon Pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup Mazola Oil (you can substitute vegetable oil if you want)

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixer on low for 1 minute, then on high for an additional 2 minutes.
Bake in a lightly sprayed spring form Bundt pan (so the centre bakes done or it stays wet). It doesn't always bake through in the centre in a sheet pan but does make nice cup cakes.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 46 - 50 minutes or until the cake top cracks open and a cake tester comes out clean.

ICING options:
1. Leave it plain.
2. Sifting icing sugar over the top of the completely cooled cake.
3. Make icing by combining icing sugar and lemon juice. Make it thick so it will drizzle off a spoon over the top and sides of the completely cooled cake.

Mom's lace scarf is about 20" long now unblocked and there will be a knitting frenzy this weekend to complete it. I used fingering instead of lace weight so it's growing quickly. It's so nice that another skein or 2 of my sock yarn will be knit in this pattern again.

There's a fun Christmas Carol Quiz on Teresa's Knitting The Blues. Give it a try, I scored 90%. Do You Know Your Christmas Carols? Test

We're in the midst of our 2nd major snow storm today. It just keeps coming down and has started to drift with another blizzard expected on Sunday. I have some new books to keep me company during this storm: It Itches from Franklin Habit as recommended to read by Norma, Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders and I've pre-ordered Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush. I plan to curl up with them and my knitting this afternoon. It Itches is hysterically funny and the perfect stocking stuffer for a knitter, I have yet to have a chance to check out the One Skein Wonders. Be well and hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

ETA: Ryan wanted to me add that Lemon Pudding Cake is his all-time favourite cake EVER! I've also made this recipe by using Duncan Hines Chocolate Devil's Food Cake mix and Jello Brand Instant Chocolate pudding mix. It is the best chocolate cake ever too.

This and that

2008-12-13T12:52:00.012-05:00

Suddenly deciding this morning to add a lace scarf project to my Christmas knitting queue for my mom is likely not my best plan, but I can't help myself. Nicole was my swift as I wound the skein into a ball. Chase decided to run a little interference and just wanted to get himself into a photo op.

It's going to be the Knotted Openwork Scarf.

The house feels and smells festive. There's been more baking going on and yesterday I had my dog show friends over for the lasagne dinner Christmas party. The last time we tried to get together we were hit by a blizzard and had to rescheule. Tonight I'm off to another Christmas party and am wondering just when I think I might have time to actually get this new lace scarf knit on top of all my other projects??

I can't believe how quickly all the baking disappears. Quick Drop cookies, gingerbread and a lemon pudding cake are on this weekend's To Do list.

Hope all your holiday projects and festivities are going along smoothly and everyone is enjoying themselves. Be well and happy knitting.

What I got for me for Christmas

2008-12-10T22:12:00.031-05:00

Two of my favourite hobbies are knitting and poodles so it was pretty much inevitable that something like this would happen. This is my boy Chase as a sock blocker. I can't begin to describe how much these hunks of oak wood art delight me! Knitting socks is something I really enjoy but I've never had blockers. Seeing so many lovely socks on Ravelry on unique blockers sent me on a mission to find myself some with poodle cut outs. I couldn't find any. What I did find was Chappy of Chappy's Fiber Arts & Crafts and her wood working husband John. They make and sell gorgeous sock blockers in most any motif you could desire and now also with a poodle. After emailing Chappy about using one of my dogs as a model we were off and running.

They put a smile on my face every time I look at them. I'm on a sock knitting bender and have to begrudgingly admit that I am smitten with knitting on circs. I didn't think I could be lured away from my dpn's. I'll keep using them but I doubt very often because the knitting is so smooth and fun with the Magic Loop Method and there's virtually no laddering to worry about.

Is it possible to be infatuated with an inanimate piece or 2 of wood? Um, yeah it is. What would you have cut out as the decorative part on a sock blocker if you could choose anything your heart desired? I ordered 2 pairs because one is a Christmas gift for my dear poodle owning/sock knitting friend Dawn. I'm not letting the cat [poodle] out of the bag here since I couldn't keep the surprise and already told her about them. I think I might need a horse pair in the future. Thanks Chappy, they're wonderful!

I just love what I got for me for Christmas. Did you buy yourself anything just for you this year?

Christmas Baking Recipe #2

2008-12-07T19:16:00.017-05:00

Christmas cake ~ do you love it or do you hate it? This recipe is not the typical Christmas cake served as it's a light coloured cake. I've made this recipe every year that we're married except last Christmas. I thought people had had enough of it and last year we only baked cookies. I was wrong. My mom, brother and husband each asked me to make Christmas cake again and not miss any more years.

LIGHT CHRISTMAS CAKE

Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 6 small 3 x 6 inch or 2 regular sized loaf pans with waxed paper.

In a large bowl combine:
2 cups slivered citron
2-1/2 cups Sultana raisins
1 cup candied red cherries, halved (for more colour you can use 1/2 cup each red & green cherries)
1 cup blanched, slivered almonds

Sift over the above mixture and toss until well covered with flour:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a mixer cream together:
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
5 eggs (add one at a time until well combined)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup undrained crushed pineapple

Add the wet ingredients by hand into the dry mixture. Combine well, spoon into loaf pans and press down to level. Bake at 275F for about 2 hours or until the cakes are lightly golden on top and a cake tester comes out clean. Wrap cooled cakes in foil and keep refrigerated until serving. They will be ready in 7 days.

Notes: We brush some of the loaves in rum every few days or wrap them in cheese cloth soaked in rum before wrapping in the foil.
This recipe doubles extremely well and can be kept in the freezer after baking for a few months.

I've also being doing some knitting and sewing. My sock got frogged back to the heel turn and I'm working on that again, love this yarn! It was too big for my tiny feet so I've got a much better fit going on now. My Urban Sweater sleeve is slow going, I seem to just get started into it and something else keeps coming up. I intend to wear this sweater soon so it's going to get more attention in the next few days. Like Kelly at Celtic Cast On I would really like to finish up my started projects before the end of 2008.

Sewing has produced 19 blocks and there's 11 more to sew. I've been calling this my Latte quilt because there's a coffee bean motif in some of the fabrics. The black/brown colour combo is a pleasure to work with. The black fabrics are kept diagonally on the left side and brown fabrics are on the right. This block has a traditional log cabin centre with star points and then 2 more rows of log cabin on the outside. I plan to assemble the blocks with a 3-column sashing and 9-patch corners. The finished top will nicely cover a queen sized bed.

Only 2 more weeks until the kids are on Christmas vacation! Yeah!! The Christmas cake will be aged and ready to eat by then.

Christmas Baking Recipe #1

2008-12-05T14:27:00.022-05:00

Sweet Marie Bars are the ultimate Rice Crispy treat without the usual sticky marshmallow mess to clean up after.

SWEET MARIE BARS:

Melt together and stir until smooth in a double boiler:
(I use a ceramic bowl over a little sauce pan with about an inch or 2-1/2cm of water in it on medium-low heat.)

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 brown sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

Remove from heat and mix in:

3 cups Rice Crispies and 1 cup of salted peanuts

Press firmly into a 9 x 13 inch or 8 x 8 inch buttered or non-stick sprayed pan. Compress them really well so they hold together nicely after they've been cut.

Topping:
Also melt and stir until smooth in the double boiler.

3/4 cup chocolate chips and 3/4 cup butterscotch chips if you use a 9 x 13 inch sized pan.
1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup butterscotch chips if you use an 8 x 8 inch sized pan.

Let them set in the refrigerator to make them easy to cut. Store at room temperature. These are easy to put together and oh so delicious.

Christmas Meme

2008-12-01T16:46:00.010-05:00

I saw this at Andrea's blog "At Home Mommy Knits" and it's lots of fun. Join in if you want as well!

1. Wrapping Paper or Gift Bags? Both, wrapped gifts with ribbons for home and family and bags with tissue as hostess gifts when we go to dinners and parties.

2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial. Last the whole season without being a fire hazzard and I no longer feel guilty about killing a tree from my parents evergreen bush every year. We cut a few branches to bring in that smell lovely.

3. When do you put up the tree? On the 1st Advent ~ 4 Sundays before Christmas.

4. When do you take down the tree? January 2nd.

5. Do you like Egg Nog? I don't like it at all, my husband wants a carton as soon as it show up on grocery shelves and then he's satisfied and doesn't need any more.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Books and clothes. No one gift in particular.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, it's ceramic figurines that go on the dining room china cabinet.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My parents.

9. Easiest person to buy for? My kids and knitting friends.

10. Mail or email Christmas Cards? A phone call or visit.

11. Favorite Christmas Movie? Newer Christmas movie is The Holiday. Every Christmas Eve I watch the original White Christmas.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies!!

13. Clear lights or coloured? Clear mini lights. The old ones, not the blue hued led.

14. Favorite Christmas Song? Tie between White Christmas and It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. I've never been able to decide.

15. Travel or stay home at Christmas? Stay home. But we have to travel too. We try to hold a balance and get to relax some too.

16.Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph with his shiny nose and "Olive" ~ the other reindeer. No idea why everyone always forgets her??

17. Angel or Star on the top of the tree? Angel on one, stars on the rest.

18. Open presents Christmas Eve or Morning? We're German, definitely Christmas Eve!

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year? People who are Grinch's.

20. Which looks best, theme trees or homey trees? I love them all! I really enjoy seeing people express their personalities decorating their trees.

21. Gingerbread or Sugar Cookies? Martha Stewart's Gingerbread cookies. Exactly as written in her recipe except we eliminate the black pepper.

That was fun! I'd love to read everyone else's Christmas Meme. Consider yourself tagged!

It's started

2008-11-24T09:48:00.049-05:00

I collect Christmas CD's. Martina McBride's "White Christmas" is the best. Give her a listen ~ she's wonderful. I'll wait here while she puts you in the Christmas mood. This year she's released a "Blue Christmas" with Elvis Presley. Get a load of her hair! It really looks like they're singing live together even though Martina was only 2 years old when this footage was actually recorded by Elvis.

It's started. Decorating for the holidays in earnest. I switched out the swag my grandmother bought us as a house warming gift 14 years ago for a big wreath that I'll add live evergreen sprigs to. The garland lights give the room a lovely glow. I've collected ornaments for about 35 years and buy them for the kids to start their own unique collection.
In the evening when the stove is on with the garland and Christmas tree lit and candles are flickering it's the coziest place in the house. There's a glass sliding door on the wall opposite the quilt. We turn on the outdoor deck lights while it's snowing and the room turns into a winter hideway.

We're hosting our first Christmas party here on Sunday so this week we'll be decorating more inside and out. It's stayed cold so it's still white outside with more snow in the forecast. Looks like it will be a wonderful White Christmas this year.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2008-11-18T23:06:00.012-05:00

We've had a few dustings of snow around here already and it's beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas ~ my favourite time of the year! This photos is taken part way down the lane of my parents century stone farm house just after the sun rose. We have Christmas parties marked on our calendar, days set aside for baking, decorating and some serious knitting and sewing. My friends come for a lasagna dinner and visit. This year it's going to be after the last day of the Caledon Dog Show and Obedience Trials the end of this month, all of their poodles are invited too. It's so much fun to fill the house with so many great friends and a herd of poodles. It's delightful to see the dogs all getting along so well, enjoying the event as much as we do. These are the same women and dogs I spent a weekend with last July at a cottage in the Muskokas. That was blissful, I can hardly wait for next year's trip there!

The kids, dogs and horses love the new snow, but Bonnie especially. She snuffles and plays with it with her muzzle.

I feel the Christmas spirit earlier each year. It's hard to resist bringing out all the decorations too early. We wait until after my dad's birthday on November 13th and then it's daily bits of preparation so we're in full swing by the first Advent. Christmas planning, shopping, list making, organizing and purging the house and getting ready to decorate. Some people have a big spring cleaning, I dig in more just before December. All this snow has me ready to go. I've cut evergreen branches from the farm to add to our front porch urns with funky outdoor LED lit branches.

This year I bought The Holiday DVD to add to our holiday collection. Between the fun storyline and great locations ~ not to mention Cameron Diaz's character wears some amazing knits ~ it'll be a great movie to knit to while the Christmas spirit nestles in to our home. And Jude Law - yum!! Yeah, after this weekend I'm going to start Christmas decorating a little at a time and the trees goes up just before our first party in 2 weeks. I usually like things more minimalist, neat and tidy, but at Christmas it's decorations in overdrive. Trees, the mantle and window are all adorned.

This is the before shot of our family room mantle, next week I'll post the 'after' when it's all decked out. Tradition dictates the mantle is the first thing decorated in the house. favourite recipes only made at this holiday, places we shop only before Christmas, movies and music, decorations that hold wonderful memories, the candle light service on Christmas Eve and cookie baking on a huge scale... I love the familiarity of it all. We spend Christmas Eve with my family and after everyone has gone to bed I stay up late to watch White Christmas on the VCR.

I'll post a Cookie of the Week in December to share our most favourite Christmas baking recipes. I love to collect new tried-and-true cookie recipes and would love to get some new ones from other blogs. I scored a fantastic one last year from Norma! Love these Dutch Letter Cookies!!! Not really a true cookie, I guess. Don't believe the title or first line in her post ~ these are so good they're angelic. They're the first people reach for on the assorted cookie plates I bring everywhere we visit and serve to guests in our home. I can resist most temptations during the holidays, except the cookies...

Dawn is coming over for a day of baking and sock knitting and I'll get to add new recipes to my repertoire from her. We're also planning to make Claudia and Mr. Puffy's Almond Crescents, my husband Don's favourite holiday cookie.

Seeing the evergreen pine bush at the farm tipped in snow brings on my festive mood! Christmas day we drive to Don's family a few hours away. Boxing Day is crashed at home ~ just the 4 of us and the dogs ~ I knit and watching way too much TV. New Year's Eve is a fondue supper followed by a big pancake/bacon/eggs and goodies brunch at our house to bring in the New Year on Jan.1. It's a lot about the food and completely about guests and going visiting with family and friends.

I edited and still used the word Christmas 11 times not including the title in this post! Oops, that's 12. It really is my favourite time of the year. I love our traditions during the whole of December. What are your favourite traditions and cookies?

My Favourite Quilt Shop & a LYS

2008-11-16T21:31:00.005-05:00

Everyone has a favourite place to shop when they have something specific in mind. When I need more quilting fabric I head 20 minutes up the road to the small town of New Hamburg. It has a delightful little historical strip of shops and restaurants. I've been a patron of Heart'n Home Creations since it opened and Esther's store has become the only fabric shop I frequent.

She has an incredible inventory of quality quilting fabrics, patterns and notions as well as gifts and scented candles. I can't leave without at least a few fat quarters, even when I'm just passing through town and really don't need anything. There's always something new and wonderful to find and a welcome stool to pull up to the counter and visit. Esther is friendly, knowledgeable and extremely helpful, she makes you feel at home as soon as you walk through her door.

There are all sorts of interesting nooks and crannies of merchandise and fabric bolts in this store. It's a sensory delight. If you're in the region this is a destination shop worth stopping at.

On the quilting front here at Chez Koch there has been sewing. Some of my friends were interested in the quilts I make and I've taught them to piece tops. I've also gotten a few of them reaquainted with their forgotten passion for knitting. We try to get together once a month from fall to spring for a day of sewing, lunch and scoot to Esther's shop if time permits. It's great to get together with so many talented and enthusiastic friends for a day of fibry indulgence. What a great way to spend a day! We're talking about turning these sewing days into a weekend retreat.

There's a new LYS opened just a short walk from Esther's called Shall We Knit. Karen's store is full of lots of yarny goodness. We're planning a weekend of a pajamas sleep over, great meals, sewing, knitting and carrying on. We have so much fun when we get together ~ there's as much laughing as there is stitching. I have fabulous friends ~ I am truly blessed.

My Magic Loop sock made some progress today during my car knitting time. I'm almost the the heel portion. Will see - the true test if I like the Magic Loop vs. my dpn's will happen between the start of the heel and finishing the gusset... I'll let you know how it goes.

New socks and day trip knitting

2008-11-13T00:00:00.012-05:00

This was in my mail box yesterday! The 1st instalment of my 1st sock club: Riverview Drive colourway in MCN fingering that arrived packaged with a magnet and 2 delicious Dove chocolates from The Plucky Knitter Classics. Thanks Sarah!

I wound the yarn before rushing in to work this morning and cast on at break time. I've got startitis and I've got it bad! These are the first socks I'll knit on circs in Magic Loop which I learned about in the sock knitting workshop last Saturday. Dawn and I had a fabulous day out having lunch and sitting in the rocking chairs by the wood stove at Camilla Valley Farms in Orangeville while it rained, hailed and then snowed outside. I love my DPN's so I'll see how I feel about knitting with this technique? I'm a hard sell, I really am fond of my DPN's. I'm an extremely tight knitter, so these are 4.5mm addi turbos to get a reasonable gauge.

After checking out all sorts of sock patterns to compliment this yarn I opted for my favourite comfort sock: a simple K3P1 rib on the leg and stocking stitch foot. These were almost Charades but when the hand dying is this gorgeous the yarn can speak for itself without pattern work. I adore the look of fancy patterned socks and enjoy knitting them, but I don't find them comfortable tightly laced into my boots. I've got a weak right ankle and have had 3 reconstructive surgeries on the ball of that same foot so my pretty open toed sandals and dressy high heels are getting dusty in my closet. It's hiking boots for serious support lacing up my leg now or high quality running shoes. Function has become a priority, so pretty ~ but plain ~ socks it is! I pampered my feet with regular pedicures, painted toe nails and luscious hand knit socks sticking out the top of my footwear. This yarn?? Divine!

Friends and I are heading out on Sunday to Fort Erie which is about 2 hours south of us close to the Canada/USA border for a day of Tracking Dog tests. I'm not entered but will be cheering from the gallery and taking pictures. I'm also not driving which means 2 hours knitting time in the car with great conversation. Hopefully I can knit on the way home too, but it's doubtful there will be any daylight left. I'm casting on Cascade 200 in dark gray for Toast. Check out the beautiful photographs with this free pattern from Leslie of A Friend to Knit With. This will be the perfect project for this trip, I can chat away and just knit round and round and round. No counting after I've cast on, just keep knitting.

Excuse me, I need to go knit now...

My first Quilt

2008-11-07T09:14:00.067-05:00

I've always had an affection for quilts. When my husband and I were first married we went to an Apple Butter and Cheese Festival that also held a Mennonite Relief Quilt Auction. While I'd always liked quilts ~ that was the day I realized I loved them. I had to have one - or lots - eventually. Annual trips to the International Plowing Match (IPM) found me in the Hand Crafted tents drooling over the quilts on display. Winners and entrants in the various categories all hung up for me to enjoy and women wearing white cotton gloves turning them over for anyone who wanted to see the stitching from the back too. The quilts were the reason I went along each year although I did enjoy the other displays, especially the horses in the plowing competitions.

Six years ago I was standing in the aisle looking at a quilt at the IPM . It was done in the colours I'd chose if I knew how to make a quilt. My husband was standing back further on the opposite side of the aisle waiting for me and I though he and I were alone. I told him I wished I could make a quilt like that one. An old woman with a scratchy and annoyed voice over my left shoulder said, "Well learn, dearie!" She startled me speechless. As she walked off Don grinned at me with a 'she sure told you' look on his face. I couldn't stop thinking about what she said. Learn? Me? To make a quilt? Why not?? Why couldn't I realize that myself, I needed a stranger to tell me to do what I really wanted to do? I was in a class within a month.

I love fabric: the colours and endless combinations and the idea of creating something that will wrap someone else in warmth made by me with love. I enjoy every part of the process of making them. Some projects weren't my thing, like stained glass. I was happy with my finished objects, but really wasn't keen on the making them part.

This is the first quilt I ever made. It's a scrappy Twisted Log Cabin in browns and earthy tones made for my son Ryan when he was 11. He helped pick out some of the fabrics and chose the backing. We drove to my favourite quilt shop 'Heart'n Home Creations' owned by Esther. I can get lost in her little shop for hours. I sit and visit with Esther when I go to New Hamburg and feel the inspiration seeping into me from the bolts of fabric and finished quilts on display.

Ryan asked me to hang his quilt it in the front entrance so it doesn't get wrecked or worn. It was machine pieced on my old Singer sewing machine. If projects are a reasonable size I machine quilt them on my Brother now, I've done some hand quilting and more often then not quilt tops are sent out to be long arm quilted. I've made lot of quilts since this one, learned a lot and improved my skills, but this one is my favourite. It makes me smile when I look at it and remember that woman's voice and what she said. She was the kick in the butt I needed to stop mooning over other people's work. This quilt wasn't even done yet when Nicole and I were out picking fabric for me to make her a quilt too.

My goal is to own my own long arm quilting machine with a stitch regulator. I need to convince Don that our living and dining room would be great if we added French Doors, removed the furniture and made it into my sewing & knitting studio with my own Gammel...

I can't sit still

2008-11-02T08:51:00.028-05:00

I found this in my mail box. 100% Cashmere 2ply lace from Plucky. 800 yards of hand painted goodness. There's 4 skeins of fingering headed my way soon too for some serious sock knitting. I really need to sit down and knit. Take a holiday. Maybe go away somewhere for a weekend to knit? And take Piper and Chase. They don't mind my knitting a lot.

I started a blog. Then 2 blogs. Now 3. In one month. #3 is a passionate project I'm working on. It's been rattling around in my head for a long time and has me very excited. Yesterday I secured a domain name for a web site I plan to build over the next year that will be linked to that blog. I haven't a clue about building a web site. It's going to cut into knitting time, like my first month on Ravelry. I need to look into the regulations regarding copyrighting the name. Not sure if I need to or not? It won't be an operational business for a year or 2 while I make prototypes and wash and test them and build a business plan. It's a sewing endeavour. I love fabric as much or more (did I say that aloud??) then yarn. Shh, don't tell my yarn stash. I have a pretty impressive fabric stash too. I hope to develop a Cottage Industry type business. No idea about anything like that so I'm at the beginning of a huge learning curve. The suffering manufacturing industry vs. a stay at home cottage one is making it looking more appealing now. Made in Canada with Canadian and American materials. Made in my home. In my kitchen. By me. No made in China merchandise that litters the shelves of the local pet stores with no concern for the North American floundering economy or safely regulations concerning lead and other dangerous content. I am a huge supporter of things like Moms Unite.

It's too bad I need an income. I'd happily stay home and be a mom and taking care of my family and craft to make gifts for family and friends. But that wouldn't last long. I need to be challenged. To work and create and do something! I need to learn from the Diane Keaton character in Baby Boom and make something from all the excess apples in my life.

Me being me, I can't leave things alone. Get a new recipe ~ tweak it after the first try. New knitting pattern ~ a little more shaping here, maybe some extra length? It didn't take long until I noticed Blogger blogs that were tweaked. I can change things?? This blog started out with a blue background. Then I decided white would compliment the various colours of my knitting and photos better. Then the header looked too plain... I can be a tad obsessive (stop laughing Dawn) with things that interest me. Things shouldn't change too much more here at Renee Knits Too, after I figure out how to change the font on my header to one that isn't available from Blogger. But that's not a promise, I like to make things nicer when I can so colours or layout just may change here still... I'm still trying to figure that HTML edit out. And I'd like to add 2 bands of colour down the outside margins of the body and sidebar. I tried a few tutorials. Change the background colour of the blog, then edit the html codes to make it white again behind the body and sidebar. I'm sure it's a simple enough edit, I just haven't made it work yet. Soon, I'll figure it out soon. Like a dog with a bone I shall persist.

Notice the frame around my little garden angel? I discovered the toys on Big Huge Labs. That's where the frame and mosaic tools I used on an earlier post came from. I'm determined to find a way to change the font in my header (see I'm like a terrier... can't let that change go until I kill it or fix it). Tried 4 different free fix ideas. None worked. I'll keep trying. Anyone been successful at doing that on Blogger?? If you know how, could you put me out of my misery? Helpful advice from friends ~ priceless. I'm enjoying the challenge of figuring it out and I won't give up. I'm German. If nothing else I am stubborn and determined. It's in my DNA, it's not my fault...

Little angle dude? He's not doing so well. He's made of cement. He's been in my garden for 20 years. I took the picture with the lush ferns just before I started this blog -- before killing frosts and snow came. Actually, it was the very first picture I took on my new digital camera. Last winter I forgot Angel Dude outside.

He was buried under snow early in the winter and didn't resurface until spring. Water got down into his neck shearing his torso in two when it froze. He's been decapitated too. He's perched precariously there in amongst the ferns and propped up from behind by driftwood. I don't want him losing anything else so he's coming in for the winter. I don't dare forget again, he's already lost his head and the tips of his wings are crumbling away. He's still smiling though. Gotta love that about an empty headed cement cherub.

Knitting is progressing slowly. I'm outside most of the time I'm not at work. Soon though, I'll keep telling myself that. Soon I'll have more time to knit. Until then it's a sock that is travelling around with me for a few minutes here and there. The urban sweater finally has a sleeve, one more to go. I've made more Luxe neck warmers for gifting and started a scarf. Dawn and I will be going to a sock workshop on Saturday in Orangeville, ON. That's should spark a frenzy of sock knitting around here to coincide with all the Plucky sock yarn on the way.

No day for me is complete without a little knitting, even if I can't sit still for long.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-29T06:00:00.012-04:00

When the kids were younger Halloween was a major event. We carved pumpkins, played spooky music and decorated the front porch. A lot of thought went into deciding what customs to create. Halloween shows played on TV the week building up to the big day. We loved to watch "Home Improvement" with Tim the Toolman Taylor and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". Don and I took turns touring the neighbourhood Trick or Treating and staying home to hand out candy.

Now that the kids are teens it's scaled down. This year Nicole is babysitting and taking those kids out Trick or Treating. Ryan hands out the candy. I decorate with sugar pumpkins so we can use them for baking instead of carving. Halloween shows have been playing on our tv all week - that hasn't changed.

How precious were they?! That was one of the years we made costumes from boxes. Ryan was a robot and Nicole wanted to be a present. A bigger present then a robot. She couldn't get herself up stairs with the box down past her knees so we'd scooped her up and deposit her on everyone's porches.

This year I'll be knitting, surfing Ravelry and visiting my favourite blogs. I've had a busy few weeks around here and I'm looking forward to spending more time at home and knitting. I might even get caught up some on the laundry and chores. Happy Halloween from our house to yours.

Life is about learning

2008-10-27T14:21:00.009-04:00

Seeing my family happy is my richest reward. 10 years ago my brother married the wrong person. He did very little smiling after that day. That's Nicole he's holding up, she was the cutest flower girl ever and Ryan was a very dapper ring bearer. I'm the blonde bridesmaid(matron?).

His divorce was official this past Friday. He smiles again. Life is about living, learning and having the strength to make changes when things aren't right. It's about maturity and aquiring wisdom. I am proud of my brother.

To give you an idea example of the type of humour he's exhibiting... he's been singing the song, "Ding Dong! The Witch is Gone." Maybe sometimes you don't just have to grow up, but regain some of the immaturity of being a kid to lighten the load and celebrate being happy again. Welcome back, Rick!