FO's: Christmas Presents

Finally I get to post about some Christmas presents I have knit but haven't been able to show you! This first one I knit way back in August. It was a gift for my mother-in-law, Moira, and I LOVE how it turned out!

Pattern: Kureyon Kozy
Yarn: Noro Kureyon color 226
Needles: KP Options US 7/4.5mm

I really liked knitting this tea cozy, and I loved watching what color would come next. I found the base a bit challenging, but figured it out after a few tries. I was happy to find a Japanese teapot that fit the cozy perfectly and I think they look really nice together.

Next up is the Irish Hiking Scarf that I knit for my Father-in-law, Danny. He is allergic to wool, so I found a nice, soft cotton blend to use instead.

Pattern: Irish Hiking Scarf
Yarn: Knits Pick's Comfy - color Cypress
Needles: US 8/5.0mm

This was a fun pattern to knit, it was easily memorized and the yarn was really nice to work with. It came out super soft and cozy, perfect for a scarf.

Christmas was awesome, as always, it speeds by so quickly that you've barely finished preparing for it and it's over. My parents have left on a flight back home this morning, my fingers are crossed that they will be able to land because Terrace is expecting some snow today. Hopefully the majority of it will fall after they land! We were all spoiled rotten and had a really good time ripping open the gifts. Christmas is so much more enjoyable now that we have kids of our own. It is so fun to see all the wonder and amazement through their eyes. They spent a good deal of time on Christmas Eve peering up the chimney and trying to figure out how Santa was going to make it down such a small space! They really are quite clever!

I have three more gift FO's to show, I'll post again sometime in the next week.

Just a little bit of snow...

We had a big snowstorm this weekend, thankfully I am now officially on vacation and didn't have to join thousands of other brave commuters on the slippery roads this morning! I love this kind of snow. It reminds of growing up in Terrace, the snow is much dryer there than what we typically get here. This is perfect snow for tobogganing (which we are doing tomorrow since Aidan also has the day off of work), and for snowball fights, and snow angels. I was supposed to bring my car in for an appointment this morning, but it looks pretty treacherous out there so I'm going to rebook for next week. Today, we stay home.

When I went out yesterday to shovel the sidewalk, I found a bag on the front porch that a neighbor had dropped off. It seems her son had outgrown his tuxedo and she was giving it to Owen.

How cute is that! He put it on yesterday and didn't want to take it off the rest of the day. He looks like James Bond with really bad hair. Speaking of his hair, we are in the middle of trying to grow it out, but Owen has a double crown which makes for some crazy Ed Grimley style cowlicks in the back. The hairdresser assures us that when it gets long enough they will settle down...we'll see. I may cave, though, and get Aidan to shave his head again, but I'm trying to hold out because Owen really wants to be able to do his hair in a mohawk. His double crown may come in handy for that!

I wish everyone a warm, happy Christmas, and hope Santa spoils you all rotten!

Oh Christmas Tree

Rather than go to the store to buy our tree, this year we decided to take a drive out to a tree farm in Maple Ridge and cut down our own tree! We went to Alouette Tree farm, and it was an awesome feeling to make getting our tree so special for the kids. There were wagon rides, a petting zoo, and lots of different types of trees to choose from. We warmed up by a fire with hot cocoa, and filled our belly's with some complimentary hot dogs. (It's all about the free food, you know!)

Here are Aidan and the kids hunting around for the perfect tree.

Yay! We found the perfect one! It's a bit on the short side, but it is perfect.

Why yes, I am wearing my Meret!

Every Christmas this candlelit angel ornament was a big hit for us kids...now my kids love it just as much!


And at last, the tree. Perfectly decorated with way too many ornaments and way too many lights. (So much so that the tree actually fell over twice last night...Aidan had to perform some magic with fishing line to secure it until he could cut some more branches off the bottom this morning!)

I love the holidays. I get completely stressed out, and sometimes a bit overwhelmed, but creating traditions with our family is what makes it all worth it. My parents are coming to spend Christmas with us this year. I'm really excited to have them, I wish we could be with our families every year at Christmas, but unfortunately they live to far away.

I have a number of FO's to show you, but they will have to wait until after Christmas, I haven't worked on anything for myself for a while now, but as soon as I finish up this last gift that I'm working on now, I'm going to FINALLY finish my Central Park Hoodie. That thing as been a WIP far too long!

My Meret

I'm very pleased with my most recent FO. I took part in the Mystery Beret KAL on Ravelry put on by Woolly Wormhead. If you haven't checked our her hat patterns before, you really should, they are fantastic!



Pattern: Meret (Mystery Beret) (Rav link)
Needles: US 8/5.0mm
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in the Gothic Rose colorway
Mods: I added an extra repeat in Clue 2 to give it extra slouch!



I think this picture gives the truest color.

I love this hat, I don't wear a lot of hats because I get horrific hat hair, but I'm sure going to try now that I have TWO nice hats to wear this winter!

While we were at swimming lessons today with the kids, the pool had to be evacuated because of a chlorine leak! It was crazy...Owen had just finished his lesson and was dripping wet in a towel, and Maeghan was just about to hop in the pool with her class. The smell was very strong. We had to leave the building immediately, could not even spare time to get the kids dressed. Thankfully, the weather here has been pretty mild, 12 degrees C, so we just threw the kids in the car in their bathing suits and went home. I felt bad for all of the people who were swimming in the pool...they couldn't even get their things out of their lockers, just sent outside to shiver and wait until it was safe to go back in the building. As we were leaving four fire trucks arrived, much to Owen's delight, hopefully they got it under control quickly! Maeghan's a bit miffed that Owen got to have a lesson and she didn't. I'm sure she'll get over it!

So that was the excitement of the day. Back to work tomorrow! Yipee!

Happy Halloween!

Yeah, I know I'm a week late. What's your point?

Here are the kidlets in all their Halloween glory.


Evil Witch

(Maeghan told me where the exact placement of her black warts needed to be)

Angry Pirate

(Those are supposed to be scars on Owen's face, just so you know, I was never very good at art.)

We had a great night, full of sugar and laughter! This year I got to stay home to hand out candy and Aidan took the kids out trick or treating. I was relieved, I didn't feel like going anywhere. We had far fewer kids than normal, which made my doorbell answering duties fairly easy. As did the beer...I may have given out large quantities of candy to the kids...I was in a relaxed and giving mood. I was also glad that I got to stay in and start working on my Mystery Hat KAL that Wooly Wormhead is putting on thru Ravelry. I finished the second clue yesterday...now I have to wait a whole week for the next one to come out! I will post some pics of it when it is finished, which should be the end of November.

Happy Belated Halloween everyone!

Attack of the Gecko's!

I'm not very good at crochet. I find it frustrating and a little painful, yet I managed to whip off five of these cute little gecko bookmarks this week.

The kids are having a craft fair at school for a fundraiser. Every parent is supposed to donate at least 5 items that the kids can then purchase at the fair to give as gifts to family and friends at Christmas. I found it a bit hokey that I had to first pay for the supplies, take time to make the crafts, and then give my kids money so they could purchase things. I'm trying not to be grouchy about the whole thing, but it would have been much easier just to write the PAC (Parent Advisory Council) a check, kwim? This has not been the only fundraiser, it is one of many, and it is only October. At this rate I will need to quit my full-time job just to be able to take part in all of the fundraising!

Anyhoo...enough of my grumbling...look at the pretty gecko!

Ooohhhh, another one!

Pattern: Gecko Bookmark by Lion Brand Yarn
Yarn: the light green ones are Lion Wool, and the darker greens are a mystery yarn that my mom gave me. I think the ones in the mystery yarn turned out better, they are a bit smaller and drapier, perfect for a bookmark.
Hook: 3.5mm (E)
Mods: The first Gecko I made I crocheted as directed, all in pieces, this left a lot of ends to weave in which was quite annoying. So for the next 4 I decided to crochet all in one piece. First I made the body as directed, then I slip stitched around to each of the legs and tail and made them as I got to the right space. I think they turned out great!

I attempted to make some Frog heads with great long tongues that were the bookmark part of it, but I couldn't manage to make the head so I got frustrated and gave up. I know I just need more practice, but I'm not sure if crochet is my "thing", even though you can make such cute things like Gecko Bookmarks doing it. (Okay, as I read back that last sentence it sounds really dirty...get your minds out of the gutter people! That is so not what I meant!!!)

I hope you don't get the wrong idea from all of my grumbling above...I really do enjoy helping out at my kids school, I just wish I had more time for it! Hope you all had a great weekend! See you soon.

FO: Felicity

I love my new hat.

After knitting and ripping 4 times, I was finally able to get a good fit.


Pattern: Felicity
Needles: US 7's & 8's/5 & 5.5mm
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Merino Aran in Moss Green

Mods: I cast-on 90 st. and went up a few needle sizes to almost get gauge.
I did the increases starting with K9 M1
I increased till I had 130 st, knit 6 rows, and then started the decreases as written in the pattern. Next time I think I will add a bit more slouch by adding the 6 rows missed at the beginning of the increases in somewhere. Maybe even increasing to 140 st. total.

I couldn't get a cast-on of 70 st. or 80 st. to fit over my noggin'. And I don't think I have a particularly large head either. Anyways, I really like how it turned out. It fits better with a pony in than without, and when I make my next one (which I definately will) I will go down one needle size for the beginning band for a slightly snugger fit so I can wear it without a pony in.

I wore it out to Owen's soccer practice last night and it kept me toasty warm, and did not itch a bit. And I have a particularly sensitive head to itchiness.

Aidan is home now, safe and sound. I'm really glad to have him back.

Tomorrow we are heading over to the Carlson's for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm bringing mashed potatoes. I rarely make potatoes at home, so does anyone have a favorite recipe to share?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brrrrr.....

It is getting rather nippy in these here parts! Yesterday I walked the kids to school and it was cold. Not freezing cold yet, thankfully, but around 8 degrees C which is scarf/hat weather for sure! I decided I needed a hat so right when I got home I cast on for the Felicity hat (Ravelry Link) by Wanette Clyde.

I cast on for this sucker THREE times!!! Apparently I really am a tight knitter, and I must have a rather large head because each time I couldn't even get it past my forehead. I'm limited in needle sizes so I have decided to add an additional 10 stitches to the cast-on. I'll let you know what happens. This of course meant that I walked to school again this morning with a cold head. I will also need to knit myself a new pair of slippers because these new floors are a lot colder than the carpeting was! I've even turned the furnace on. Every year Aidan has a little furnace war with himself, trying to hold on a little longer each year without turning it on. Considering he is in Miami overlooking this

from his hotel room (sorry for the crappy pic...it was taken from his blackberry and then emailed to me, probably to rub it in how warm he is!) I could give a rat's ass about his little war! (hee hee! Love you babe!). Apparently he went to a jazz club the other night that share's a wall with this place


That's right folks, Miami Ink. He said that if they had been open he would have come home with a new tattoo, thankfully they were closed. It's not that I don't like tattoo's, but he already has two, one of them fairly big, I think that is enough. Wow! I really sound old. Anyways, I'd better get going or I won't have a hat for tomorrow. Later!

Happy Birthday Melissa!

A few months back I completed a few gifts for my sister's birthday. Her birthday is on Saturday (Happy Birthday MySisa! - when my brother was a baby he couldn't say her name and he called her MySisa, so cute.) and she recieved the package and opened it on the phone with me yesterday. Let me tell you, she was really excited to receive a parcel in the mail. I don't think it even mattered what was in it! Half the fun is in the anticipation and the surprise, right?

These are Maine Morning Mitts found in The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes. Knit with Noro Kureyon on size US 7/4.5 mm needles. They were quick and easy and I love the colors! I tried to make them match, but it didn't quite work out, I do love the color's in them, and while bothered with their non-matchiness at first, I have decided to embrace the color changes as they are (Thanks Julia!). They were quite snug on me, which isn't a bad thing, but if I were to make a pair for myself I think I will go up a needles size to make them slightly bigger. They are very cool. Maeghan is modeling them for me in the picture.

The other thing I made for my little sis was this Hot Water Bottle Cozy, another quick knit which was fun to make. It is knit out of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted on size US 7/4.5 mm needles. Melissa's lives in Prince George which has the longest, coldest winters known to mankind and I thought that she really needed something warm to help her get to sleep at night. I'm being completely serious, she had a glass of water freeze in her living room last winter. Yowsa!

Aidan is flying out to Miami this weekend for a work conferance. He'll be gone a week so it'll just be me and the kids. I booked a week off of work so I could just stay home with them, the daycare doesn't open early enough for me to be able to bring them there and get to work on time so this will be a perfect opportunity to take a bit of a breather. Hopefully catch up on some laundry. Ah, who am I kidding...I sense some completed CPH sleeves in my future! (I'm going to make my CPH with buttons down the front.)

Well that's all I've got for now. Have a great weekend!

FO: Raglan Sleeve Baby Sweater

Well now, it has been a while. The return to school and work has made our lives a whirlwind again. No energy for anything really except collapsing on the couch at the end of the night in exhaustion. I have been knitting, of course, and it helps that we have formed a small knitting group at work during our lunch hour. It's pretty funny actually, my co-workers are as nuts as I am, so it makes for a pretty good time.

An old friend of mine, Tracy - no "e" - recently had a baby girl (we didn't think we would ever see the day...out of all of my friends she's probably the one I would bet on never having kids, I just about fell out of my chair when I found out she was expecting!) Maggie is absolutely adorable, so I knit her a sweater.

Pattern: Raglan Sleeve Baby Sweater by Linda Bohrn
Yarn: Vanna's Choice
Needles: US 8's
Mods: I changed the neckline/cuff/hem ribbing to seed stitch as I wanted more of an A-line shape.

My favorite parts of this little sweater are the buttons.

Aren't the ladybugs adorable? Tracy has a small tattoo of a ladybug just above her big toe and I knew as soon as I saw these buttons that I wouldn't find anything more fitting. They are so cute. I really think they make the sweater.

I hate the yarn. I was looking for something extremely easy care for the new mom, but this was the wrong choice. The color is gorgeous, but the finished fabric is kinda stiff...it has no drape to it. It also concerned me a bit that the faster I knit with it, the more it smelled like burning hair. Needles of fire I suppose. Ha! I will not use this yarn for a garment again.

Owen has started up with soccer again. Have I mentioned that Aidan is one of his coaches? I think it is so cute that Aidan is really getting involved with the team like this. It's a pretty great team too, the kids are all really nice and many of the parents have volunteered to pitch in whenever they can. It's been pretty good weather here these last couple of weeks - no games in the rain yet, but I'm sure that will change soon.

Maeghan is doing gymnastics this year and so far is having a great time. She's wearing a gym bodysuit that was given to us a few years back by her "cousin" Hera. I thinks it's really neat that Maeghan gets to wear the same one. It's like there's a little piece of Hera here with us, all the way from Phoenix!

First Day of School

Our summer is officially over and school has started once again.

Who wants to go back to school?


Rock/Paper/Scissors to see who is happy about it.

Well what do you know....they both are!!!

Owen started Kindergarten today. He was a bit worried about it last night, but this morning he told me that he really like Kindergarten, so we are in the clear! The goofy guy would not stand still for a picture this morning.

I can't believe my baby is old enough for big kid school. I have to admit that I got tears in my eyes when it was time to leave him in the classroom. Before I know it he'll be graduating!

In the previous post's picture I actually was not working on my sock...I was working on some secret knitting, here is the finished sock!

Totally not red! I love the stripes in it. It was really fun to watch the colors emerge! The second sock will have to wait a bit while I work on some other stuff. But since I was able to knit this in just over a week, I think it'll be done soon.

Look Ma!

Originally uploaded by Red Yarn

I'm knitting! This is probably the only picture that has ever been taken of me knitting. I didn't realize I looked so stern!

Owen was pretty funny the other day, or at least I thought so, I don't think he would agree. I was working on my sock and he wanted me to get him something from the cupboard. I told him to hold on for a minute, I was just going to finish my row, he stopped, turned to look at me, stomped his foot, and emphatically told me...

"All you care about is your knitting. You don't care about me anymore!"

I don't think it helped the situation very much that I burst out laughing! I mean, seriously buddy, I cater to your every whim....and then some! But I guess that's pretty typical of kids, they are the center of their worlds, they haven't really learned much about selflessness yet. One day he will see....one day....maybe when he has kids of his own? Hopefully sooner.

PS I love my sock...almost done one of them...pictures of my progress to come!

PSS I blogged this from flickr, just for fun. I'm crazy like that.

FO: Cable Footies

I can finally show you an FO that's I've been sitting on for awhile. They were a birthday present to my dear friend Connie. I hope that she finds them cozy and warm this fall/winter.

Pattern: Cable Footies from One Skein
Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino
Needles: US 7/4.5mm DPN's
Started: May 29, 2008
Finished: July 11, 2008

These would have been a very quick knit, but I paused after I knit one of them to make those baby booties from a few posts back. The pattern was very straight forward, and they make such cozy house slipper socks. I will definitely be making myself a pair as well! Even though these were finished before Connie's birthday, I'm sad to say that I only gave them to her last night!!! I'm such a numbnut, that every time I saw her between her birthday and now, I had forgotten them at home! Nice friend, eh? But I hope she loves them enough that it makes up for my delinquency!

So I know I said I was going to start working on my CP Hoodie again, but the other night I got distracted by some delicious sock yarn that arrived in the mail and have cast on for a pair of socks instead. Hopefully this time around it won't take me a year to complete the pair!

Bathroom Reno's

Aidan worked very hard, cramped in a tiny space in 32 degree (celcius) heat to renovate our powder room last weekend. Here are some before shots - it's really hard to take pictures in such a tiny room!

Vanity and countertop - the mirror had already been removed:

Toilet - yes I realize you probably did not need to see my toilet, but here it is anyway! That wooden thing at the top of the picture is a cabinet.

And here are the after shots! New mirror, sink, countertop and a fantastic new faucet (it looks like an old pump, I love it!).

The cabinet was painted white and new hardware attatched.

Another toilet shot - at least this time it's new!

And a new cabinet on the wall above the toilet.

And here is a close up of the new tap. Cool, huh?

We are currently working on the upstairs bathroom, just a few minor touch ups as we can't afford a complete reno, but then we will be done! Since there has been a delay in listing our place, we will get to enjoy the reno's for a few months before we sell.

I have been knitting, but unfortunately, nothing I can show here, mostly Christmas presents and a few birthday gifts thrown in for good measure. I need to get back to work on my CP hoodie if I'm going to have it finished for fall, I've been getting distracted by too many other things.

Well that's it for now, thanks for checking in!

Summer of Firsts

I have been a delinquent blogger, but in my defense, we have been busy! We had a wonderful vacation in the interior with my family. We celebrated my Dad's 60th birthday and retirement over a fantastic long weekend at my sister's house in Prince George. We also went camping for the first time since we've had the kids. It was interesting to say the least. We used to camp all the time when we were childless, but the last time was 10 years ago. I have discovered that I am not a good tent sleeper. Every single noise kept me awake all night. I was terrified. I know, ridiculous, and although I knew I was being irrational, it didn't help. And the Loons! My word, they were eery, and loud, and they "sang" all night long. Hopefully I'll get over it because we will be sleeping in a tent for the next few years at least!

It was a vacation of firsts.

First weiner roast:


First 4-wheeler rides:

First fish!:

First tadpoles!:

And first dinghy ride into the sunset:

We had so much fun. It was worth all of the work that went into packing/unpacking, and the long hours in the van (which we had to rent because we couldn't fit all of our crap in the car!). I look forward to next summer so we can do it all over again!