Carefree cowl knit along

I was really excited when I heard that Shannon of luvinthemommyhood had decided to start off another KAL. This time, in keeping with the season, we are knitting a cowl.
I have to say that I did not have a hard time making a choice. One of the patterns I've always admired is the Herringbone cowl. The look is the perfect blend of classic and modern style. As for yarn, I thought that luxurious was the way to go, warm and super-soft, so I invested in 2 skeins of Malabrigo worsted. The color is called "Polar Morn", though I think that something like Storm Clouds is more accurate. It is soooo soft. It'll feel great wrapped around my neck. I've made pretty decent progress, and am sure it'll be ready for when the cold weather hits. And sadly, that's right around the corner.

Stocking up

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Ours was quiet and relaxed, sunny and warm.

It was so nice to be able to sit out on the balcony, absorbing the last few warm rays of sunshine and trying really hard to ignore the fact that A. refused to nap all weekend.

I’ve always had a predominantly monogamous relationship with my knitting projects, but lately I feel the need to keep starting new things. Today I forced myself to finish up some headbands, like the one I made here. They have been really popular with my friends, and I even made a set , as loot-bag gifts, for a toddler birthday party. I enjoy knitting little girly accessories like this, so I made a few for the shop. I have not updated my etsy shop in quite a while, so I felt it was time.

Life has been a little crazy around here, and I am having a hard time keeping focus. There are a lot of changes happening for our little family, and it’s sometimes overwhelming. It’s certainly affected my creativity. It’s odd, because I still knit, quite a bit, but it’s almost a furious knitting process, as if I am trying to capture that “feeling” of contentment it usually gives me, but it’s not quite working out. I know that time will resolve everything, but I am running out of patience.

I will be showing off some more knitting soon. I’ve been working on the Levenwick cardigan by Gudrun Johnston, and I am making some decent progress.  And I cannot wait for the new Luvinthemommyhood KAL to start. I’ve got a pattern all picked out, and yarn ordered.  Here’s to putting reality and its problems aside and focusing on some fun stuff, right?

Apple picking

It may sound trivial, but family is really important to me,but especially creating family traditions and beautiful memories for my son and niece. Maybe I’ve become more conscious of the importance of traditions by becoming a mom, or maybe it’s the fact that I don’t have a lot of family around, but I spend a lot of time trying to come up with memorable and fun traditions for our little clan to enjoy.

For the last 3 years, every September, we go apple-picking. Believe it or not this was an entirely new experience for me.  Growing up in Romania, we had our own apple trees in my grandmother’s garden so there was no need to go too far to stock up on fruit.

There are lots of choices around Montreal when it comes to apple-picking, but so far we’ve gone back to this one particular orchard called Verger Lacroix. They grow Honey Crisp apples, which are my favorites. We pack up the kids, sandwiches, sometimes drag the grandparents along and we spend the entire day there. They have everything from a playground to a petting zoo, sometimes even a little maze made of bales of hay. A trailer hitched to a tractor takes you to the place where you can pick, and what 3 year old does not love that? Every time we’ve gone the weather has been absolutely perfect, and we’ve had a blast. Both my son and my niece will talk about the experience for weeks afterwards, and I am sure they will remember these excursions.

The only problem is…..I’ve got 30 pounds of apples! Help! What was I thinking? Anyone have some apple crumble/cake/crisp/pie recipes to share?

Fall knitting

Fall has arrived, and it seems everyone is back in knitting mode. Maybe it's the chilly mornings begging for a cozy scarf, or the beautiful colors surrounding us, golds and reds, greens and browns. Maybe it's the return of the Pumpkin spice latte that is the perfect companion for your WIP.

I can certainly say that for me, I am back scowering Ravelry, and reading up on all knitting blogs to see what's new and exciting. I think I am not the only one to be thrilled about the recent release of "Coastal Knits". Ever since I pre-ordered it and got the pattern for the Rocky Coast cardi, I've been obsessively thinking of the right yarn to use for it. I even knitted up a swatch in some yarn I already had, but I find it too stiff. It does not do it justice. So the search continues. I've ordered the sample booklet from "Quince and Co" , because I've heard so much about it, maybe it's a good choice. Anyone have any suggestions?

One last summer adventure

I’ve always had a soft-spot for hot air balloons. I find them incredibly romantic and beautiful. This is why, when six years ago they started to hold a hot air balloon festival outside of Montreal, I was thrilled. But every year something prevented me from going.

This year however, nothing was going to stop me. We chose to go the first day the festival opened, as the weatherman promised clear skies, and set off. As an hour drive turned into three, I started to suspect that everyone had had the same brilliant idea. And of course I was not prepared, no toys, no snacks, no distractions. But we were strong, and our patience was rewarded with a parking spot about a 20 minute walk away from the action.

The festival included open-air concerts, inflatable bouncy castles, rides for all ages, food and of course, the balloons. There were over 100 hot air balloons of all shapes and colors scheduled to take flight that evening. How exciting!

We quickly grabbed some sandwiches, and ran to the field to secure a good spot to watch the wonders unfold. After a bit of a wait, because some unexpected clouds decided to shed a few rain-drops, we were delighted with:

What, you mean you cannot see it? Look closely! See that little spot waaaaaaay up in the sky? It’s not a smudge on the lens, it’s a balloon all right! Granted, not a hot air balloon, but….this was all we got to see. The rain had delayed things so much, that it was too late to fly. Did you know that they do not even take the balloons out of the trailer if they do not fly?

Yeah, so feeling completely “deflated” (pardon the pun), we debated what to do. The only way to salvage the outing was to make sure that at least one of us was going to have some fun, so we headed for the inflatable bouncy castles. A few line ups later, the sun was beginning to set and we were trying to convince A., that it was time to go, when  I noticed…..hot air balloons!?

A few of the participants had in the end decided to inflate the balloons, so as to give the crowd at least a glimpse of what we missed. So we did not get to see 100 balloons fly across the sky, but you have to agree that even this sight is stunning.

Summer sweater KAL, mission complete!

It’s done! I am so proud! A few hiccups along the way, but I’ve been able to overcome all these little obstacles, and I’ve learned quite a bit (my favorite being the super-stretchy-bind off). It’s my first adult size project, and even though it took 3 months to complete, I am hoping that with time I will get faster.

I convinced my husband this morning to come to the nearest park and take pictures of me modeling the cardi, and he did really well I think (I can’t blame him for my frizzy hair, right?).

Now….feel free to shower me with compliments..;-p

Our visit to the coast of Maine

As kids, we spent at least two weeks at the seaside every summer. Romania has a beautiful coastline, and we always had a blast being there on vacation.

I remember waking up early, eating in the garden, then marching down to the beach, our towels and beach-toys trailing behind us. We would return in the late afternoon, our skin still hot from the sun, and smelling like salt-water. Magical wouldn't you agree?

To me, no vacation is complete without a stop at a beach. I love the smell of the sea, the feeling of your toes digging into the sand. Since we spend a few days in Boston back in July we decided to stop by Ogunquit for a few days before heading back to Montreal. And it was a great few days. The weather was incredible, and it felt good to just lie in the sun, finish a book and listen to A. giggling while playing in the sand. The only drawback really was the freezing cold water, and by freezing, I really do mean, teeth cchattering, lips turning blue, feet feeling numb kind of cold. What else can you call a water-temperature of 54 Fahrenheit (that's 12 Celsius)?
Here's a few shots of our time spent there.

On another note, my cardi is almost finished...I am actually meeting he (extended) deadline!!!