on our way..

We are off for a couple of days of camping north of Wakefield, Quebec. Just before we head off, I thought I'd share the last two FO's of mine..two Sweet Baby Caps. One that turned out the right size for Basil, and one as a gift for Erin's coming baby boy. This first photo is of Erin, in all her pregnant glow, at her shower, with her new hat.

warrior girl...

Our dear Azzurra had a terrible fall from the monkey bars on Canada Day (July 1st) and suffered a supracondylar fracture. We spent two nights in a children's hospital, and she underwent surgery to repair her elbow...three pins are holding it together. She has been so strong and brave through all of this. We are proud of our little warrior.

Here she is recovering after surgery last Thursday.

at long last...

Well, almost a week after the fact (we have spent a lot of time at the lake the last few days), here are some photos of the busy weekend we spent peddling yarn in Kingston and Toronto. First, a couple more production shots of the day or two leading up to last weekend:



Here is the booth we had at the Skeleton Park Music Festival, it was a super rainy day, but we had fun, and did okay despite the weather.





I will be posting more photos of this event over at the Material Girls blog.

Next up, the Spring Garden Trunk Sale put on by City of Craft and hosted by the always amazing Workroom




Doing these small trunk shows is just about the most inspiring way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Besides the fact that I get to fabric gaze the whole time....



(yes i spent most of my earnings on fabric and also finally got a copy of Heather Ross' book Weekend Sewing)

....but, I also get to become intimate with my fellow crafters merchandise! My absolute favorite being Bespoke Uprising, which is Roison, a super talented and friendly lady..And just check out those bloomers! Many of her fabrics are hand-dyed and her original silkscreened images are oh so lovely.



So, all said it was a fantastic weekend. And to think, it's Friday again already!

work in progress

I am busy spinning and doll making for two sales coming up this weekend! On Saturday, the Skeleton Park Music Festival in Kingston, and on Sunday, the Garden Party Trunk Sale in Toronto. If you are in either of these two fine cities, please come on over and say hello!

Here is the stuff I dyed the other day and spun last night:


Now, back to spinning!

One Day Beret

Well, this beret became the one-week-beret, but it wasn't at all slow in the knitting, I started it one night watching a movie, or maybe hockey playoffs...got about half-way through, and then picked it up a week later at work and finished hte rest off. It was made with my handspun, thick/thin heavy worsted/bulky singles, in a colourway I called 'toast'.
I like this simple pattern, because it's knit top down, and therefore suitable for yarn of any gauge..you just stop increasing when you've got the right size! I will make this pattern again in a worsted weight yarn.

Violet

Recently completed Violet Child,

Did you know that both the leaves and flowers of the Violet plant are edible? Try the leaves raw in salads, or add them to your favorite blended soup! Also, the flowers are actually a 'false' flower, meaning they produce no seed, so go ahead and eat as many as you can! We are lucky enough to have them coming up all over our backyard, and the girls just love them as a little outdoor snack-on-the-go! If you want to learn more about the medicinal and culinary uses for violet, check out Susun Weed's must have book, Healing Wise.

Montreal!

We took a short weekend trip to Montreal, and packed about as much into two days as we could! Highlights included a trip to the Botanical Gardens and Insectarium, hanging out with dear friends, yummy sandwich from Aux Vivres, and of course an inspiring visit to Marguerite of Le Grand Ourse, our favorite Waldorf Toy store, where the children played happily while I tried not to spend our entire savings on all the lovely playthings, books, fibres, supplies and instruments.
Here are some of my photos...












currently listening to: Blitzen Trapper

Mayfair!

Yesterday the whole family made the trip sown to Kingston to participate in the Mayfair at the Mulberry School. What a beautiful day. We were there from start to finish, as I was set up selling yarn and dolls.


The children made crafts, had their faces painted, made friends, enjoyed the lovely treed school yard and just generally made merry for the entire morning and into the afternoon.



After yesterday, we are feeling very secure in our decision to move to Kingston...now if we could only find a house!

Enjoy the rest of this lovely gift of a weekend....

holiday monday

Here I am at home on the Monday of the Victoria Day, or as it is so affectionately known, the 'May 2-4' weekend. Funny to think of what a big deal this first long weekend of the long party season was as a teenager...
Our family is spending it at home with some clean-up projects (the lawn finally gets mowed for the first time this spring) and soon we will be heading out to check out this chamber music concert in Brooke Valley.

I worked at the Farmers Market this weekend for the first time...other than the torrential downpour it went pretty well! The Material Girls Collective was well received indeed.
While at the market, I picked up the following very lovely local produce:
Morels!

Gorgeous flowering chives and wild leeks courtesy of Coral, Queen Beet.



The wild leeks then became this very tasty pesto...just the leeks (greens and all), come olive oil, cashews and salt.



..and..here is a slightly blurry (he moves so fast!) shot of little Baz after sneaking a fingerful of the pesto for himself...

new yarns on etsy!

I posted some new yarns in my etsy shop just now....I will post later about the market today, but it did go well, despite the deluge of rain!

Fantastic Weekend!

To start the weekend off, the Ladyfest craftsale was really fun, and while not the huge financial success it was for me back in December, I made a couple of good connections and bought and/or traded for some amazing handmade stuff, including a great purse from lines by: davis, sweet printed t-shirt from pinpals, lovely printed shirt and leather earrings from loot by stina b. and a super-sweet necklace and tote from wine on sundays.
I also met Anita of The Warm Hands Network, and I am very excited to hopefully be working with them! What an amazing and worthwhile cause.


On Sunday, for Mother's Day, I was treated to a lovely breakfast in bed, handmade gifts from the kids and flowers they bought from the Farmer's Market. Then we packed into the car and headed into Ottawa to visit the International Pavilion of the Tulip Festival where we gorged ourselves on amazing foods from Turkey, Korea, Vietnam, Mexico and beyond. Much fun was had by all!

Apple Fritters

A free styled late afternoon snack that turned out fabulously!

Spelt flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, a bit of organic sugar, lots of chopped apples, cinnamon, nutmeg..fried up and sprinkled with just a touch of organic icing sugar to make it special...mmmmmm