Modification Monday: Aidez

Original Pattern: Aidez

Knitter Extraordinaire:Cecile (Ravelry Id)

Mods: Changed up the cables for both the back portion and the front neckband, and added pockets. Project page with great details on the modifications can be found here.

What Makes This Awesome: I generally feel that pockets make everything a little more awesome, I'm completely smitten with the addition of pockets on this clever mod. I also love how the cables make the sweater look so different- particularly the front neckband. Just goes to show that you can have a lot of fun playing around and substituting cables for a fresh look on a gorgeous sweater.

Our First Home!

G and I are very excited- this past weekend, we finalized the purchase of our first home!! We have bought a two bedroom condo townhouse in downtown Toronto, which we are thrilled about. We won't be taking possession for a couple of months, but it is exactly what we have been looking for, and we're so excited. I spend a lot of time going over my Pinterest Home Inspiration Board lately. Here are a few of the real estate shots of our new place (keep in mind this is how it looks currently, none of this stuff is our furniture):

Of course, we'll decorate the place and make it our own, and the furniture that they have now is not at all like our furniture, but I'm looking forward to making it our own. These are the photos from the main floor, there is an upstairs, but the bedroom photographs are terrible. Today we have the home inspection, and I'm looking forward to going over the space in more detail with G, and talking about some potential furniture placement!

Oh, and here's a parting shot of little Bruce Quillis. He's very camera shy, but he feels a little safer when he's peaking out from his little wooden house. 

Modification Monday: Blue Coral

Original Pattern: Coral

Knitter Extraordinaire: Jurga (Ravelry ID)

Mods: Added length and stripes to this summery pattern to make a dress. Project page can be found here.

What Makes This Awesome: I love the beautiful, monochromatic stripes of this dress,and the ombre effect she achieved with this. The striping in the fabric mimics the striping in the yoke perfectly. This dress looks striking, yet unfussy. Gorgeous, yet comfy. And who doesn't want a summer dress that does all that?! This is such a perfect knit dress for the warmer weather.

FO: Cooling Ring of Water

Pattern: Burning Ring of Fire

Yarn: leftover scraps of Tanis Fiber Arts Aran Weight (Green label)

Needles: 5mm circulars (US8)

Mods: Added Stripes, to use up 4 leftover colours of yarn. I knitted in pattern for 19 rounds, added one row of the new colour, then back to the previous colour for an additional round, then continued in the new colour for 19 rows.

 

Notes: This pattern is so fantastic- it's super easy, super fast, and by striping it I could stash-bust some of those random leftover bits of skeins that you get piling up.  This is the perfect little cowl for when the fall arrives, and I think this would make an awesome and quick gift for someone, too.  I love this cowl, and I bet it would look lovely in variegated yarns or even something a little fuzzy. Maybe I'll try a different texture the next time I knit this! A little strand of mohair or angora carried with the yarn would be very cozy in the winter...

 

Modification Monday: Un-Iced

Original Pattern: Iced

Knitter Extraordinaire: Isabelle (Ravelry ID, Blog, Podcast)

Mods: Changed the gauge and added length to turn a cozy cardigan into a cuddly knitted jacket. Project page is here.


What Makes This Awesome: I don't think it ever would have occurred to me how wonderfully simple this modification could be- knitting a cardigan at a super bulky gauge and making it longer to turn it into a chic knitted jacket. Plus, the super bulky gauge emphasizes the great texture of the garter stitch borders. This looks gorgeous as a jacket! And I don't yet have a knitted jacket for the crisp fall and spring days- maybe I'll have to make an Un-iced, too!
 

Our Newest Family Member

I would like to introduce you to our newest family member....

This is Bruce Quillis.

He's pretty awesome. And so gosh darn cute.

This is our first hedgehog as a pet, and we're pretty excited. We've done lots of reading up on proper hedgie care, and apparently they get on well with cats! Quillis is is 1.5 years old. Once we decided to get a hedgie, I wanted to find one that needed to be re-homed, rather than buy one from a pet store or breeder. It's always so much harder for adult pets to find homes.Yarn is very intrigued by Quillis, but Gatsby hasn't shown any interest in Qullis at all.

Quillis and Yarn meet for the first time. Not quite a successful meeting of the minds.

Interviewed!

Sarah (aka The Sexy Knitter) has recently revamped her site and started a new feature called Getting to Know You, where she interviews knitwear designers. I'm pretty excited to be the first one! You can find the interview here, as well as a super impressive styling spread for my Make Up Your Mind tank, on taking it into fall. I'm so impressed!! I'm familiar with Polyvore but have never attempted to make a set before- this is so inspiring!!

 
Sarah's board was all the inspiration I needed to play around in my own wardrobe with wearing this knit into the fall, and she's spot on: layered with jeans, boots, a cardigan and killer accessories, this is really perfect. Thanks so much, Sarah!!

Modification Monday: Paulie

Original Pattern: Paulie

Knitter Extraordinaire: sneezerville (Ravelry ID, blog)

Mods:  Changed the gauge for a lighter and airier summer cardigan, and used the contiguous sleeve method, etc. Project page can be found here.

What Makes This Awesome: Summer cardigans are a lovely wardrobe item, yet I don't have any. This knit totally makes me rethink that- it's beautiful, functional, and I love the stripes, textures, and Sneezerville's trying out the new technique for the sleeves. On top of all that, she used recycled yarn from a sweater she found at Goodwill. Such an amazing summer cardigan!

Recipe: Swedish mead

As I'm sure is no surprise to some of my more long standing reader friends, I'm into Swedish everything- the culture, the food, the design. Lotte Jansdotter has created  a beautiful book that is strikes a perfect note for me- she focuses on small space living, crafting one's home, and focusing on friends, family, and make the most of what you have. The sketches, the photos, the projects and the recipes are all exactly the kind thing that I love to see; the kind of lifestyle that I try to create in my own life. I can't recommend the book highly enough, really.

I had lots of fun trying out the recipes, but I was particularly taken with the recipe for Swedish Mead, which I had never seen before and required ingredients that I always have in my kitchen. So I got to work!

Swedish Mead
from Lotte Jandotter's Handmade Living, with permission

Ingredients:

• 17 cups or 4.25L of water
• 3/4 cup or 185 g packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup or 185 g of granulated sugar, plus 6 teaspoons
• zest and juices of 2 lemons
• 1/4 teaspoon of active dry yeast
• 18 raisins

Directions: In a large stockpot, bring the water to a boil. Stir in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, lemon juice and zest.  Remove from heat and let cool from hot to warm (105-115F). Stir in the yeast until dissolved. Let stand, uncovered and at room temperature, for at least 12 hours.

Put 1 teaspoon of sugar and 3 raisins in each wine bottle(I used pop bottles, personally), strain mead through a sieve and pour into the bottles. Cap tightly, and store in a cool dark place for 1 t 2 days, until the raisins float to the surface.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

I usually forget these things, but if you happen to notice the super fun fox t-shirt I'm wearing, I got it here. 

 I've made a few batches of the mead now, and I honestly love the stuff. It's so refreshing in the summer, and it was my first time experimenting with making something carbonated. It does have some alcohol in it, but the content is low (depending on how long you let it sit, I suppose!). This doesn't taste like lemonade- more like a shandy. Served ice cold on a hot summer's day, I can't think of anything better:

Modification Monday: Girly Dashing

Original Pattern: Dashing

Knitter Extraordinaire: Mikka (Ravelry ID, blog)

Mods: Added more cables and modified the thumb gusset. More information on her project page, here.

What Makes This Awesome: When it comes to fingerless mitts, the quest for the perfect thumb gusset is always an important one. Mikka made some great changes to the gusset, and the extra cables definitely make the mitts more feminine and pretty, which I love. I never would have thought to do that with this pattern, and now I'm so inspired!! I love these mitts, they are perfect.