Eastery Goodness!!!

Hello Everyone,

Look what I got in the mail today...the most loveliest Easter package ever!! Just look at the adorable cupcake wrapping paper!! And the beautiful box!!


Now, take a look at what is in this beautiful box...

Oh my, OH MY!!! This great package is from the lovely Brittany (britbrit). Look at all the wonderful things she sent me!

The package includes: The most adorable Bunny she made (he is wearing shoes!! Love it!!) he is so soft and cuddly, I couldn't stop hugging him! There are also two packages of flower seeds - a pastel mix of snapdragons and Lady Bird poppies (which is totally perfect because I have my own garden!), two beautiful glass Easter egg ornaments - one yellow and one pink, a bunny and carrot cookie cutters (how did she know I like making cookies!), both from from Crate and Barrel (oh how I adore Crate and Barrel!!) and also a package of Green Beans which are all-natural jelly beans that are so yummy and great due to my food allergies! (I snuck a root beer one right away).

Then there is the yarn! She sent me these gorgeous colours for the Dotted Chickens from Itty Bitty Nursery, as well as Crystal Palace Bamboo DPNs (yay!) to knit him with. I can hardly wait to start! I was showing my Mom the pattern and telling her how much I wanted to make one, and she's like "Well, after this weekend things should slow down a bit, then you might have some time." So there you go, I will start next week :-)

Look how pretty they are! I have never knit with Rowan handknit cotton, or Knit Picks simply cotton, so I am beyond excited!!!! Can you tell???

This was the most amazing package ever! It completely made my day! I am so blessed!! Thank you so much Brittany!! You are so incrediably awesome!!

The Easter Week Begins

Good Morning Knitters,

How is everyone doing today? I'm doing very well. I just wanted to take a quick moment to update you all on what's going on around here. I'll be super busy this week due to the Easter holiday coming up, so I'm not sure if I will be able to blog very much.

Yesterday my Mom and I went up to the Pancake House for lunch with my cousin Theresa-Lynne, her husband, their girls and her Dad. We had a great time! Afterwards I went with her and the girls to visit our aunt for the afternoon. We had a lovely time chatting about all sorts of things, including knitting. Our aunt showed us three lovely sweaters she knitted for some of her relatives in Holland that she is going to visit at the end of the April. They were gorgeous! She's a very talented knitter. It was such a fun day to spend time with Theresa-Lynne and the girls :-) I miss her a lot since she lives about 5 hours away from here now. We keep in touch through email, Ravelry and of course our blogs, but it's not quite the same as getting to have a chat in person! I'm looking forward to the Summer when I can hopefully get some time to go up and stay with her for a bit! Until then, our visit yesterday was a great way to tide me over :-)

I have begun a new knitting project (yes, I am still working on the pig, although it's put on hold because I need Mom to give me a hand with some of the seaming parts) but I want to wait a bit before I show it to you. I just started it last night while watching Dancing with the Stars. I'm hoping to get the chance to work on it again tonight when we watch the results show, but I'm not sure if my schedule will allow me to take the time to watch it. I'm working on it while I have my coffee and plan my week this morning though. I think it helps my mind work more clearly ;-)

Well, I'm off to get the day planned out! I hope you all are having a wonderful week! Are you all ready for the Easter weekend?? I'm sure not yet!! Good luck with all your plans, and make sure you make some room for knitting!

Happy Tuesday!!

New Spring Yarns and Plans

Good Morning Knitters,

The weekend is in sight!!! I'm very excited to be getting a bit of time off soon so I can do some knitting. I never got the pig finished in time for Ella's party last night, but I'm hoping to get it done by Sunday so I can give it to her at church. By the way, the party was very nice, my Mom said the cake was delicious, and everyone, especially the birthday girl and her older brother (who is the ring bearer in my sister's wedding) had a wonderful time. It was nice to catch up with some relatives I haven't seen in a while.

Today is going to be a bit more of a hectic day. I got a couple of baking orders from my Auntie Myra. She's ordered some chocolate cupcakes with a twinkie filling as well as some banana bars. My baking for the Pancake House today consists of a few batches of Maple Pecan Shortbread cookies, and Espresso Maple Pecan Shortbread Cookies, and quite possibly some more Maple Caramel Popcorn, but that depends upon how much they sell today. To keep me company, I've downloaded the newest Knit Picks podcast. I'm very excited about this one because they are talking about how they dyed some of the new yarns. I always like listening to how the whole dying process works.

Speaking of new yarns, Knit Picks launched their Spring yarns this week!! I honestly have been waiting for their new line of sock yarn called Stroll Tonals for at least three weeks. I wanted to order one of each colour, but I thought I should just start with a few to see how I like them first. The colours I got are: Blue Yonder, Queen Anne, Golden Glow and Blue Violet (which is for socks for my Mom). I also ordered some of their other sock yarn that I've had my eye on at the same time as well as a stitch dictionary and their DPN holder, so I can take my socks with me wherever I go! Seeing since I've bought so much sock yarn in the past little while, I'm going to have to knit socks from now on! lol Since I should be getting a %10 off coupon in April, I'm going to order some lace yarn as well as some CotLin (which is getting new colours the first week of April!) and maybe a few yarns from their other lines as well, if I find projects for them. I've only worked with Stroll fingering weight and Wool of the Andes, so I want to try some other lines of theirs to see how they knit up. (That's my excuse for all this yarn buying...good one eh?)

Another exciting thing is my cousin and her family are coming down here for a visit this weekend and were are getting together on Monday at the Pancake House!! I'm so excited to see all of them!! She was down at Christmas time, but because of our dog's leg surgery, we were unable to get together, so it's been since last Summer (at her wedding) that I've seen her and her family. I can hardly wait!! :-)

Well, I should be going! I hope you all are having a wonderful end to the week, and I wish you all a fantastic weekend!!

Happy Knitting!

P.S. If you have any suggestions of yarns that you love from Knit Picks and you think I should give them a try, please leave me a comment! I'd much appreciate it!

Late Sneak Peek

Hello Knitters,

I know a while back I said I would post a sneak peek of some knitting I did for my Itty Bitty Group Easter Swap Partner...well here it is! (Sorry it took so long!)






These are made from the pattern Rabbit from the Spud and Chloe blog Spud Says! I made them out of Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton since I didn't have any Spud and Chloe yarn. They turned great, and are so soft!! This is great yarn, and I highly recommend it for anything baby-related!

On another note, my cousin Ella's 1st birthday party is on Thursday, and we just got the invitation a couple of nights ago, so I've been busy trying to finish the Pig from Itty Bitty Toys. If it turns out, I'm going to give it to her. I sure hope it all goes together well! Wish me luck!!

I'm off and running yet again! The kitchen seems to be calling my name. I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

The Old Switcheroo...

Hello Knitters,

Here it is!! My Mini Reversible Duck to Bunny toy!! You can find the free pattern here! It was a breeze to whip up, and oh so much fun!! I highly recommend it as the perfect little something for your own Easter Bunnies!! I can't think of any kid (or adult) who wouldn't thoroughly adore getting this in their Easter basket :-)



How totally cute, eh? I made mine for my Grandma. She's the one who knit the sweaters my Mom and sister wore for their Ravelympic pictures. She was an amazing knitter, and one of the biggest reasons I wanted to learn how to knit. She can no longer knit, but I know she will enjoy this adorable toy, and she'll think it's so neat that it's reversible! I hope to get a chance to bring it to her next week.

It's been a long day, so I'm off to bed!!

Take care everyone!!

Happy Spring!!!

Happy first day of Spring knitters!!!

Yay!! I'm so excited that Spring is finally here :-) The weather has been beautiful, although today is a bit colder than what the week has been, but still warmer than usual for this time of year I think. This is my favourite season, I love to watch everything change, it's all so beautiful. God is doing so much creating; making new flowers, leaves, baby animals...it's all so uplifting and inspiring. Makes me want to be creative too!

This is going to have to be a quick post since I have some icing flowers to make, but I wanted to let you all know (if you don't already) Susan B. Anderson has created another amazing free pattern for the Spud and Chloe blog, Spud Says! and this time it is an Easter theme!! It's a reversible duck to bunny toy and is absolutely adorable! You can check it out here! By the way, this is the pattern she designed for the knitting classes she held at some of her book signings recently, so if you are like me and didn't get a chance to go to one, you can now make the pattern just like everyone who did. I know what I am going to be knitting later :-)

Have a great day everyone!!

Meet Hermie

Hello Knitters,

This is a picture of a cute little turtle named Hermie. He is made from "Tuck" the newest free pattern on the Spud and Chloe blog Spud Says! He's very quick to make, and he can do something quite neat....

He can actually tuck his head, feet and tail up inside his shell! I made him for my Mom and she named him Hermie because her younger sister used to have a imaginary pet turtle named Hermie.

Now that I'm done him, I'm not sure what I will start working on next. I'm not even sure if I will have much time right now to start anything new because all my products are selling very well at the Pancake House, and I need to be keeping up production! The Lord is really blessing everything, and I'm so grateful!!! I'm having so much fun making everything :-)

Well, I should get back to work, I hope you all have a great start to the weekend!!

P.S. The Spring issue of Petite Purls is out!! Yay!! It's a HUGE issue with some truly amazing patterns. You can check it out for yourself here.

Busy, Busy as a Bee

Hello Knitters!!

How was everyone's weekend? Mine was good, busy, but fun. The family dinner we had with my sister's future in-laws went great. They are some seriously awesome people. And his Mom is a crafter (she does the most amazing stained glass you have ever seen!) and she used to knit! What could be better, a fellow knitter soon to be part of the fam!! We all got along very well, and it was a ton of fun :-) My sister is very lucky to be getting such great in-laws.

Sunday was a busy and hetic day. I was asked to bake a cake for my Uncle's birthday, which was on Sunday. So Saturday I baked the cake part, and then Sunday all I had to do was make a truffle filling and then the ganache icing, and assemble it. Well, I got all that done, and was just starting making bread, when my Mom said she thought the cake tasted a little on the dry side and wasn't very good. (I had made her a tester cake, with the little bits left over) So we both thought that it wasn't fit to send, and that I should make another one. This was about 2:30 in the afternoon, and the cake needed to be at their house by supper time. So while I was making the bread, Mom and I whipped up another chocolate cake, and chocolate fudge icing and I quickly assembled it and got it out the door just in time. The good news was that he liked the cake! Bad news...the next day my Mom tasted the cake again, this time she had a piece of the real one, and found out that it was quite good and not dry like the tester cake. I came to the conclusion that since I made the tester out of the leftover pieces, it was probably those parts that were dry, and not the acutal cake. So lesson learned there! Since it's a truffle cake, it lasts for almost a week, so we're going to give pieces of it away today to numerous relatives and neighbours. To make me feel better about it, Mom told me it wasn't really a "man's" cake but more of a woman's, so the one I made for my Uncle was a better one for him. lol

Yesterday Dad was going to stop by here with some people from work that were visiting from up north, so I decided to make a coffee cake to have on hand for them to snack on when they came. Well when I got up in the morning, Emmie (the yorkie) was sick, we think she got some chocolate off the floor the day before, and my Mom had to go to the Pancake House for brunch with my Grandma who was coming down with her retirment home, so that left me to look after the dog, bake the cake, and get myself cleaned up, all before Dad came by with these people. It was quite the morning, but I managed to get the coffee cake baked while Mom was sitting with the dog, then I sat with her while Mom got ready. When she left for the Pancake House, I got myself cleaned up and then spent the rest of the morning rubbing Emmie's tummy and sitting with her in the sun. By the time Mom got home, Emmie was doing better, but so much of the day was gone that I thought it was pointless to start working on baking, plus I didn't want to mess up the kitchen I had just cleaned if people were coming over! So I started a knitting project, more about that later... Dad finally showed up, but not till amost 6:00, and they had just all eaten dinner so no one was hungry for cake. After they left I decided to package up the cake and I sent it with Dad today for his men in the shop, they can have it at coffee break time. So needless to say, yesterday seemed like a wasted day with not much accomplished. Although I did finish my knitting project!

Since Easter is coming up soon, and I know I will be swamped with baking, I thought I should knit something that was Eastery while I had the chance. The other day my Mom bought me the book Knitted Toy Tales by Laura Long, and I instantly wanted to knit the Bunny family! They are so cute! I started out knitting the Mummy bunny, but didn't have enough yarn to complete her, so I ripped out, and made one of the babies instead. I made him out of Plymouth Yarn Oh My! so he's super soft. I'd like to make him a Mummy and sister, like in the book, but I don't think the yarn store where I got the Oh My! carries it anymore. I'll have to call and see. He was a cute, fast, fun knit, and I really like how he turned out. He is sitting her on my desk making me feel Eastery :-)

Today my Aunt Rita and Uncle Lynn are coming down from the city to have a late lunch at the Pancake House, and they are brining their two grandsons who are on March break this week. I think Mom and I are going to pop up there for a bit to have a visit, so I don't know how much is going to get accomplished today either! I have a feeling, come the end of the week, I'm going to be super busy trying to catch up from these two days! I should go and hop in the shower and get myself ready to go. I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I will try my best to get back here soon!

Take care!!

P.S. By the way, I got my Easter swap present all finished and sent out, it should arrive at its destination today!! Then I will post a picture of two things I made for it. I really hope she likes it! :-)

P.P.S. My Dad didn't get the bowl of potato salad, but he did get the two blueberry pies!

And the To-Do List Gets Longer...

Hello Knitters,

I just got home from a trip to the city...we were running out of baking supplies! It was an unplanned trip, so my to-do list for this week got a bit mixed up. I also got a call about an hour ago from our Pancake House requesting more popcorn and cookies. So needless to say, I'm going to be one busy girl over the next few days. Then this weekend my sister's fiance and his family are coming down for dinner at the Pancake House so that his parents can meet my Dad (they've already met the rest of us)...we have some major house cleaning to do! Also, I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I think my Dad needs a big bowl of potato salad and two blueberry pies for Friday as well. Looks like things are going to have to get switched around a bit to make everything work out :-)

I'm thinking that I'm going to send the supplies for the last knitted project I was going to make for my Easter swap partner so she can make it herself (an added project is always a nice bonus!) because I just don't think I will be able to find the time to get it done before I send the package out on Friday. I hope she doesn't mind, but I think it's pretty much the only thing I can do right about now.

Well, this was just another little bit of an update of what's going on in my world right now. I hope you are all having a lovely week and are getting in some knitting time :-) Do a little extra knitting for me, as I don't know when I'll be able to do some myself!

I'm off to chocolate coat some popcorn...have a great evening everyone!

Weekend Fun

Good Morning!!

Wow, what a busy last few days we've had around here. There has been lots of baking, trips to the city, and another trip about 5 hours away to shop for a wedding dress for my sister. Which she found by the way, as well as the bridesmaid dresses. Yay! And lots of knitting of course! Yesterday I started coming down with a sore throat, but it seems to be doing better today. It kind of took the wind out of my sails though...but I'm sure it's nothing that a little (or a lot) of coffee and a few halls can't cure.

While away on Saturday wedding dress shopping, I walked downtown where we were and went to this cute yarn shop that had an amazing amount of gorgeous yarn. I got some yummy sock yarn as well as a cute knitting journal by the Yarn Girls. It's just so cute, I couldn't pass it up :-) There was also a great amount of knitting pattern books there, but I had only a limited amount of money, and thought it was best spent on yarn. Since my sister bought her gown there, that means we will be going back for fittings in the future, so I can visit this shop again! I think I should start saving now!

I got a good portion of my Easter swap knitting done, I just have one more thing to knit. I'm hoping to get it started today some time, but that all depends on how the day goes. I've also been working on a few other things, but they are surprises too. I hope to be able to give you all a sneak peek here very soon.

Well, I'm off to figure out what needs to be done today. Sorry for the short post, I just wanted to pop in a give you all a little update!

Have a great Monday everyone!

One Little Elefante...

Hello Knitters,

I wanted to share my elefante with you today. He was the last project I had to complete for the Ravelympics. Isn't he cute?? I will admit that the colour combination didn't turn out quite as I had planned, and I didn't like it at first, but now I'm beginning to think differently about him. He's growing on me :-) I think he is in need of a friend or two though...he looks a little lonely don't you think? I do not have time right now to make him a partner, but I hope to do so in the future.

Things are starting to get busy around here now. Our Pancake House is opening on the 8th, so I'm in the beginning stages of prep for baking. I'm thinking of adding a few things this year, so I have some product development to do this week. Right now my Mom is making maple candy...it smells great! While she is doing that, I'm working on some knitting for my Easter swap partner. I joined an Easter swap in the Itty Bitty Knits group on Ravelry, and now I'm hard at work on my project! It's turning out great so far, and I might be able to give you all a sneak peek in a couple of days... Easter is my favourite holiday, so I'm very excited about it.

It's beginning to feel like spring here now. Yesterday Mom and I went for a walk up the road, and it was just gorgeous. I think the months of March and April are my favourite. I love seeing everything begin to change in nature, it's just such a beautiful time! I love watching the snow melt, the grass start to peek through and green up, and the ice on the lake break away and the ships come through again...and most favourite of all is hearing the "spring peepers" start up! When I hear them, I know spring is definitely here. God has done such an amazing and detailed work in nature, and I love admiring it and taking it all in! It really does proclaim His glory!

The last thing I want to share with you today is my little sewing/knitting/crafting area I've been working on in my room. It's not quite done yet, but this is how it looks so far.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day, and I should be getting back to my Easter project.

Take care!

Ravelympics Closing Cerimonies

Hello Knitters,

Yesterday was the end of the 2010 Ravelympics (as well as the real Olympics). You should all be super proud of yourselves and hold your medals high!!! I'm amazed at the great works you all completed, and the true ravelympian effort everyone put into their projects. You really should feel very proud of yourselves!

My Mom and sister thought we should have a bit of a party to celebrate all the accomplishments. So I baked up some cupcakes and they did their thing:

This brings back memories of us being high school cheerleaders together!

She really gets into her cheering! I guess that's why she was one of the top cheerleaders :-)

They made a finish line, and Mom had her bull horn (which is actually our dog's cone she had to wear on her head after her leg surgery..... very inventive). And yes, they actually are yelling.

This is by far my favourite picture. This is what true family love is all about! They are the best, and I am so blessed to have them as my family! I love them so much!

We had to have a little "Canada Love" after that awesome hockey game and being the leader in gold medals! (Which is the reason why the pictures outside are in the dark, we had to watch the end of that game first!).

So there you have it. My coverage of the Ravelypics as they played out in my house. I hope you all enjoyed it and had a great time! I know I sure did!

Now take a break, let those needles cool off and bask in all your glory!