And now for something completely different.. Or, For the love of The Hidden Cameras.

Although I don't often blog about it, I love music. I love Canadian Independent Music, among many other well deserving genres. One of my favourite Canadian bands is The Hidden Cameras. I am lucky enough to be acquainted with some of the members of the band (Meadowvale and Toronto represent!), and this past fall I got to see them on three consecutive weekends on their North American tour, first in Toronto (at a dear friend's wedding!), then in my new hometown of Kingston and finally in Brooklyn, NY.

Below is a photo taken of me, up on stage in Brooklyn with The Hidden Cameras (and the ever-lovely Gentleman Reg) gleefully helping out with the final song of the night. It was also my birthday. And my three best friends were there with me. What a night.


Now, if you have the time, enjoy this charming video from last year.
Ladies and gentleman, "In the NA":

One small change

I am participating in Hip Mountain Mama's One Small Change campaign. The basic idea is that all of us make one small change toward sustainability each month until Earth Day, and all these 'small' changes might just add up to something BIG!
I am joining a little late, and really wanted to get a post up right away about my change, so I have truly chosen a small one, but one that will be a big deal for me nonetheless.
I am going to only use a reusable coffee/tea mug from now on. This is big for me because I typically do not remember to bring one with me, and just end up buying my drink in a disposable container. I won't be doing that any more. If I forget my mug, tough. And since I don't have money to be buying 10 reusable mugs, I can't cheat, so I figure it won't take me long to get the hang of it!

Above is a photo of my mug in all it's rust coloured glory. I got it for 50 cents at the MEC gear swap last fall! Actually, MEC has an online gear swap, which is worth checking out if you are in need of any outdoor gear. Could be the seeds of another small change.

I have bigger plans in mind for my February change, which I will post about at the beginning of next week.

Above is a photo of me taken by my husband on a walk we took with friends behind our property last week. We live on Wolfe Island, along with about 1200 other people and 86 wind turbines! This one is about a kilometre behind our house.

Some Bunny Loves You.....

Here is my latest FO, two cute as pie bunnies. It's a very fast, but somewhat fiddly knit. My kids love them. After my disappointing first attempt at a Baby Surprise Jacket (didn't like the yarn, and didn't pay close enough attention to the increases..) these little bunnies are a very satisfying distraction indeed!
Here is the pattern. These would make really cute Easter gifts for little and big folks.




Have a lovely weekend!

Some Birthday Knits

As promised, here are two of the knitted items that I made Azzurra for her 7th birthday. The first is a child sized Caliometry in a mustard yellow/green Malabrigo worsted. It is super soft and fits her very nicely. She is trying to grow out bangs right now, so it is just the thing needed to keep her hair out of her face at school.



Next we have Neighborly. Made from Lamb's Pride in a lovely teal and some great hand-dyed bumpy thick and thin yarn that I acquired on my trip to NYC at Purl Soho. I really love the way it turned out. Azzurra loves it and has already worn it a few times. I will be making one of these for Sonika's birthday too! More details can be found on my Ravelry page here.

Happy Birthday!

I can't believe that it was 7 years ago today that I became a mother. My dear, how my little sweet Azzurra has grown into such a lovely girl. And I can hardly believe how quickly it has gone by. It's like she was a baby yesterday, and at the same time, I feel like she has been with us forever.


Above is a detail of the wall quilt that I made for Azzurra for her birthday. I am very proud of it, despite the beginner embroidery and crooked patched squares.


Azzurra's birthday table,



Happy Birthday to a very special 7 year old!!


Tomorrow I will post photos of the two knitted Birthday gifts that Azzurra is proudly wearing at school today.

Outside

We are blanketed in beautiful white snow here on Wolfe Island. These are some photos that were taken just after dawn this morning.






I really love this weather. Cold, clear and bright with lots of clean and lovely snow.

More of the holidays...

Some more images of our holiday season:

Window star and wool angel


Our seasonal table


Our advent calander


The "wall pockets" that I made for the kids for Christmas. It is one of the many amazing projects in SouleMama's newest book, Handmade Home


Some woolens warming by the fireside


Two happy girls in new handspun, handdyed, handkint hats!


And, last, but certainly not least, I bring you this: an image to sum up my New Year`s Resolution for 2010. I am really not much of a resolution type of person, but the timing is working out for this one, so, here goes...I resolve to become more of a fiddle player this year. I have taken lessons in the past, but my playing has fallen by the wayside. I have someone who is willing to teach me, I have the fiddle, and now I have the resolve! 2010 will be the Year of the Fiddle!!!