Fall Fair Fun!

This past weekend Rowan and I attended my hometown fall fair.  It was Rowan's first time at this fair, and his first time on a carousel!

A blog reader asked if I was entering anything in the craft exhibits.  Uhhhh...no?  I couldn't believe I had forgotten about that aspect of the fair!  Especially since I loved to enter my creations as a kid.  I didn't have time to make anything for a specific category, but I managed to scrounge up three items that I could enter.

0 - 3 month sized Big Butt Baby Pants.  I won by default.  There weren't any other entries in the 'boy's pants' category...I'll remember that for next year!

Super Cozy Sweater.  I was sort of surprised with winning second, this sweater was well worn and showed it!  And yes, there was more than two entries.  Boo-yeah!

I entered the mitts too (forgot to photograph the mitts with their sticker before giving them to their owner), and they took home 3rd prize. 

Next year, I'll be sure to get more things submitted.  So fun!  When was the last time you entered your handiwork into a fall fair?

Grey Cable Vest

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I wish I could post something related to shamrocks or leprechauns or...beer...but it's just not going to happen this year :)

I feel like I've been neglecting my blog lately.  It's not that I'm having a creativity crisis - quite the contrary.  I'm currently working on something that MUST be done by tomorrow!  Actually, three things must be done by tomorrow...maybe I'll just forget about sleeping tonight :)  Couple my over-achievements with a recently mobile (and teething) baby and you've got a recipe for blog neglect. 

Since I can't post my latest efforts until next week, I'll tack up something that I finished a little while ago.

I really love this sweater vest; it's so grown-up!  It was a pretty easy pattern and knit up very fast because it used bulky yarn and large needles.  I love a quick, satisfying (and uber cute) project.

I just wish I had some seasonal forethought.  I made sure I knit it large enough so that Rowan would be able to wear it a few times - but I failed to account for the spring weather that is approaching.  He'll just have to wear it every other day until it's too warm.

Speaking of spring weather:

It's officially spring at our house when the windows are left open for most of the day.  The cats are strictly indoor animals, so they love to sniff the fresh air.

We're off to my brother's wedding this weekend.  Very excited to gain a sister and a niece on Sunday!!

'C' is for Cookie (and Baby C!)

Almost a year ago, I saw these cookies on one of my favourite craft blogs: Homemade by Jill.  From that point on, I really, really, really wanted to make them for a baby shower.  When I found out that my friend Kathleen (yes, from the slipper post yesterday!) would be co-hosting a shower for a mutual friend, I asked her if I could make them as favours.  Wait - 'asked'?  No...I begged.  

They're so darn cute!!  And tasted great too.  I used my Grandma's sugar cookie recipe (sorry, not sharing that one!) and a royal icing recipe from Canadian Living.  There are lots of royal icing recipes that call for meringue powder, but my aunt (who is the queen of all things gingerbread) swears by using egg whites.  So I did!

I also got to  use my Cuttlebug for this project.  I cut out all the tags with the tiny tags die cutter and I discovered that the die was so sharp, I could cut several pieces of paper at a time.  Holy time-saver, Batman!  I printed off a bunch of 'Thank You' messages from the computer, cut them out and stuck them on.  Originally, I was hoping to cut out the tags directly from the 'Thank You' message paper, but lining the paper up and getting it to cut straight (or even semi-straight) was sort of difficult.  Above is the less-stress method.

I wish this photo had turned out better, but I photographed them at night and had to use a flash.  Meh, oh well :)

Becky (who's last name begins with a 'C'...does 'Baby C' make more sense now?) is having a girl, and although I gave her a few gender neutral clothing items (because what if the next one is a boy!?), I had to make the Itty Bitty Baby Dress from Made By Rae.  I altered the straps and replaced the ties with snaps. 

Also couldn't resist knitting up a pair of purple Perfect Baby Booties.

And, since I love making those slippers so much...

A pair for the Mama-to-be so that her feet will be cozy during the 3am diaper changes.  It's not just about the baby :)

The Super Cozy Sweater

I forfeited a good night's sleep to finish this sweater, designed by Marie Connolly.  I had started it in October but it was put on hold while I completed my Christmas knitting and crafting.  Last night, I had serious doubts that it fit and thought I might have to *tearfully* pack it away for another child. 

Hooray!  Not only does it fit, there's still room to grow!  I love the size of the collar, it has 'ski chalet' written all over it.  This will definitely come with us when we venture to Winterlude in Ottawa next month...if it still fits.  The collar will certainly keep the little tyke cozy on the Rideau Canal.

I also made some wonderful Lemon Cranberry Bread yesterday.  We had some unused cranberries from our Christmas turkey stuffing, and they were begging to be paired with something citrus.

What's on for the rest of the day?  Well.....

BREAD!  I'm a gigantic fan of Peter Rienhart's.   He's a bread genius.  I have his book Artisan Breads Every Day.  It's got everything - bread, crackers, pizza dough, bagels....cinnamon buns.  If you want to get into bread baking, this is the way to go.  I'm not going to post his recipes because frankly....it would take me way too long.  Not that the recipes are hard or take a long time, he is just very thorough with his method writing.  I made the dough yesterday, it sat in the fridge overnight (and can stay there up to four days!) and today I'm going to bake it.  Yum!  I'm also hoping to complete a little birthday present for a soon-to-be 4 year old.  We'll see how much co-operation I can extract from Rowan today :)

My First Little Sweater

My very first post!  I feel as if I should be smashing a champagne bottle against something...
I thought I'd start a blog in the new year.  As you'll read on my 'about' page, I'm a little bit of a flaky crafter.  I love starting projects; so much in fact that I have a hard time finishing one before starting another.  I thought that if people kept tabs on me, I'd make an effort to commit.

I completed this little sweater for my son, Rowan, a few months ago.  It's also doubling as my blog title photo because the colours are wonderful.  During my pregnancy I knitted quite a few baby items, but since we were keeping the gender a surprise, I didn't venture into any colours except for red, green and white. 

 

I love the stripe up the sleeve.  It's so cute, I think I may knit him another for next winter.  I used the pattern in Marie Connolly's book 'The Expectant Knitter'.  I've knitted quite a few items from it, definitely worth the purchase!  You can also purchase the pattern on Ravelry, just search for her name.

I had some yarn left over, so I thought I'd knit a cozy hat.  Rowan is trying it on for size before I finish it :)