summer salad

I haven't shared a recipe in ages, so here's one for a salad we've been eating a lot of lately. The measurements aren't exact, since I never really measure anything. So feel free to mess around with the amounts or ingredients, depending on your tastes and what you have at home.

By the way, quinoa is a South American plant with edible seeds. It's very high in protein and has an interesting flavour. You should be able to find it in the natural foods section of a largish grocery store.

sorry for the crappy photo, my dining room is a bit dim

Summer Quinoa Salad

2 cups uncooked quinoa
1 can of cooked beans, drained and rinsed (I used navy and black beans)
1 sweet red pepper, chopped
1 sweet yellow pepper, chopped
1 English cucumber, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1.5 cups frozen peas
1/3 cup chopped cilantro (i.e. the leafy part of coriander)

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp cider vinegar
3 tbsp lime juice
finely chopped green chili, or hot sauce to taste (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook quinoa according to package directions. Or bring 5 cups of salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add quinoa, reduce heat and simmer until most of the water has been absorbed (~10 min). Remove from heat, cover pot, and let sit another 10 min until all water has been absorbed.

Place the beans, veggies, and dressing ingredients in a bowl. This makes a lot of salad, enough for at least 8 people, so you need a big bowl. Add the cooked quinoa. If it's still warm, it will thaw the peas for you. If it's cold already, rinse the peas with some warm water to thaw them first. Stir to mix well, and taste for seasoning.

Refrigerate for a few hours before serving (or just eat it warm if you're impatient and hungry).

<3 the vikings

I ordered this mobile for Lev's bedroom this morning. I've wanted it for a while, since I love all of Herzensart's work, but I had so many other important things to spend money on. But she's having a sale, so I went for it! I really wish I could afford one of her dolls (I <3 Vikings!). I've thought of approaching her about a swap, but don't have the courage yet. She also has a lovely blog, which I enjoy reading whenever Lev gives me a bit of time to myself.

I'm glad you all liked the video! There's another part to why we chose the name Fuzzy Mitten, but I'll have to let him explain it, because it involves puns in Russian. I've watched the video a few more times myself since posting it. The mother's enormous fur hat just kills me. I teased Mr. Mitten by saying I would get one like that for myself, when we visit his family in Russia some day. Really, though, I can't see myself walking around Montreal in a fur hat twice the size of my head :)

Now I must be off, to try getting a few photos of all the toys I've been knitting lately. I just finished a Scraps Chaps kitty last night, destined for my Etsy shop. (to make a kitty, I knit the legs, arms, body, and lion's head, plus the ears and tail from the Tiger pattern).

where did the name 'Fuzzy Mitten' come from?

I know posts here have been quite sparse lately, so I was wondering what you would like to read about, so I can concentrate on that. Please leave a comment, or send me an email.

For something a little more entertaining than usual, here is the Russian children's film which inspired the name Fuzzy Mitten.

poll results

The results of my pattern format poll are pretty clear, so it looks like I'll be changing the patterns to include numbered rows. A little more work for me now, but I think it will make the patterns much easier to follow (for you and me!) I'm slowly working my way through the patterns from Fuzzy Knits, so I don't have to go back and change very much. So far I've done the Silly Duck and Siamese Kitty. The duck has been changed quite a bit, with different feet and a knitted bill, but somehow still looks similar to the old one. The kitty is just the same as before, but she now has a fancier dress, since I wanted something different from the bunny's pinafore dress. I might try taking a few photos to give you a hint of what they're like, since this blog has been a bit boring lately!

In baby news, Lev is growing well, and is generally being a very good baby since his daddy went back to work. We've started solid food again, and it seems to be sitting much better than when we tried it a couple weeks ago (it made him spit-up too much). He even remembered how to eat it off the spoon after a few tries. He's starting to figure out how to balance himself while sitting up, but only if he's distracted from flinging himself around! Today hasn't been going so well, though. He's teething badly again, and he gets his 6 month vaccinations today, so he's going to be a cranky-pants baby for the next day or two. At least the weather is nice, so perhaps a long walk is in order.

pattern format poll

Now that I'm working through the patterns for the new edition of Fuzzy Knits, I was wondering if I should change the instruction format a bit. I tried something new with Scraps Chaps, and I kind of like it. It's a little more work to start with, but helps me with the designing, and maybe it's easier for you to follow as well. Please vote in my poll and let me know!

house photos

I swear, I haven't abandoned you! I'm just getting used to being a full-time mommy during the day, plus Lev is going through a very cuddly and clingy stage, which makes it difficult to type. I haven't had much time for work-type stuff either, so instead I'll share a few photos of our house!

Here is the front, with it's lovely stone facing and pansy-filled window boxes. I'm planning to take out the ugly cedar bushes and fill the beds with pretty flowers so it looks even more like an English cottage.


We had to repaint a few of the rooms, so they were more to our taste. Our bedroom went from rose pink to a relaxing shade of lavender. I have a painting I did in highschool to hang over the bed, but it needs a frame first.


Here is the dining room, looking appealing in a warm butter shade (much better than toothpaste green). We've never had a proper dining room, so it looks a little bare. I'm hoping to find a little dresser to hold our tea-tray etc. Also, Mr. Mitten is going to get some prints made of his photos to decorate the walls.


Here's a couple photos of my veggie garden out back. I spent our first week here digging out the sod, rather than unpacking. I've had bad luck with seeds this year though, so most of what you see I bought as seedlings.

I will share some photos of my studio, once it's all set up and tidy, and I have some time to spend in it!

That's all I've got time for now, folks. A wee man is demanding my attention!

back to work daddy

Gratuitous photo of puppy eyes.

Mr. Mitten goes back to his regular job on Monday, so we won't have him around as full-time daddy any longer (except on weekends). This inevitably changes a few things around here. Being on full-time mommy-duty during the day, I will have a lot less time for knitting, blogging, designing, and hanging around on Ravelry. I guess you all knew this was coming anyway, since so many of you kept commenting that you couldn't figure out how I had time for everything! It was only because Daddy and I would take turns entertaining Baby Mitten during the day, so I could get a bit of work done.

I have a couple projects to work on over the next few months, so I will have something to write about once in a while. I've just started on the updated versions of the patterns in Fuzzy Knits, and hopefully I can get them all done by the fall. If we work hard, we should be able to get the new edition done by October (crosses fingers). I also have another secret project I've been wanting to work on for ages, and I really hope to find time for it over the summer. However, all this means I don't have time for the clothing bundle for the big toys, or the new toy designs I had in mind. I'm really sad about this, since I had some awesome ideas. But I'm trying to be realistic about how much time I have, and some things had to be cut. Baby Mitten is my first and most important priority right now. I'm sure you can understand.

So, I'll sign off for the weekend. I hope you all have a lovely one, and better weather than we have here. The cold and rain are bringing the slugs out in force, and my seedlings might not survive.