dragon with a wee knight and princess

Last Spring, a friend generously gave me the brilliant idea to design a dinosaur. That idea kicked around in my head for a while, and a few months later I drew up a sketch of how I wanted it to look. In the sketch I included a variation for a dragon, and that thought was so inspiring I went out and bought yarn before the end of the week! I found the perfect yarn: brilliant colours, soft to the touch, with just a little sparkle. Within a few days I had the body all knit, and was eager to start on the rest... but then the heat of summer set in. By the end of a busy day playing with the kids, I just wasn't interested in picking up something woolly and using my brain.

We got home from visiting family at the beginning of September, and as soon as the kids were off at preschool, I started working again after a much-longer-than-expected break. I decided to go with a simple pattern to ease myself back in. The Baby Orangutan was something I'd worked on a long time ago, and just needed a few adjustments and an accessory to finish it up. While I was happy with it, I wanted more of a challenge for my next design.

I had a brilliant idea one day during a yoga class (yes, my mind was wandering, but you can't always help that)! I enlisted a friend's help with smoothing out the design and picking colours, found some yarn to knit a sample, and eagerly picked up my knitting needles... Only to fizzle out after a week, when I realized I'd messed up the first part and would have to pull it all out.

At this point I felt a little lost, so I asked my friends which idea they would choose, of the 3 I felt like working on. The vote was unanimous for the dragon. Feeling renewed inspiration for the toy, I set to work again. It came together so quickly - just a few adjustments to the legs, 3-4 versions of the head, and maybe as many for the tail... Anyway! I soon had a design I was very happy with, and then had a brilliant idea for the accessory.  A week or so of furious knitting, next to a sick little boy, and everything was done. My cousin kindly offered to test knit the pattern for me, and had it done in just a few days (she's amazing. I don't know how she got it done so quick, when she's also a graduate student!)

I took some photos, my husband worked his usual magic with the ever-temperamental publishing software, and, "Ta da!"

So, much sooner than I planned, and with a very happy heart, here are the Dragon and his wee friends. Find it on Ravelry or Craftsy. Knit some cuteness!

still here

I haven't been a very good blogger lately, have I? But I have been busy working on stuff for you. A new pattern is in the works for this fall. I've decided to get some of my local friends to test knit it for me, so it will be a big surprise for everyone! And that's all I'm going to say about it :)

I also found time for some sewing, so there will be a few kits available soon. I just need to add the last few bits, and take photos, so they should be up in my Etsy shop by the end of the week. They will all have my Fuzzy Knits book, since I'd really like to sell the copies I have sitting around. They also all have yarn hand-dyed by me, so their little outfits will be pretty and unique.

I think that's it for now. I'm off to do some baking for my girls' night get together (a bunch of my friends get together every Wednesday to cook, bake, drink, chat and knit). We're making soup and cookies tonight, which seem perfectly suited to the cool wet day we're having.

oh nostalgia

That was an unplanned absence! I just got busy, and didn't have much of an urge to write until today. Besides, it seems like half the world is off on holiday right now. I wish I was still on holiday! I'm pining for the seashore, and I know it will be a long time before I can go back. As a bit of nostalgia, here's a photo from our honeymoon last fall.


I have been busy knitting and working on patterns. This set of cuties is awaiting just one more member. They're all going to a friend's mom, who wants them to give away as baby gifts. I hope whatever new moms and babies get them will love them to bits!


I also knit up Owen, a super cute little owl for my friend who's moving back to Portland soon. We'll all miss her crazy sense of humour, her bizarre and funny stories. I have some great vidoes from our all-night retro girly sleepover last weekend, some of which are for mature audiences only! I've been too lazy to edit them yet, but I might put one or two of the cleaner ones on flickr. It was a lot of fun, and reminded me of summer camps as a girl guide. Oh nostalgia!

up and down

It's been an up and down kind of week. I got some good work done, had an awesome visit with my girlfriends, and enjoyed the cool, wet weather. On the down side, my morning sickness medication ran out this week. I gave myself a couple days to see if it was passed, but sadly not. I've been pretty sick again the last 2 days, so today I broke down and went to the pharmacy. I love my pharmacist, he's so nice and reassuring. I get the feeling that he's a recent dad, and understands what I'm going through. Anyway, I have another fun date planned with my friends this weekend, and I'm so glad I can now enjoy myself!

It looks like my husband's great idea about Lulu didn't pan out. Probably too much to hope for that they would have done things the efficient way. I'm not a web programmer, but I can sometimes still see the way something should be done, but maybe it's too complicated for some reason.

Finally, I'll share with you these two sweetie pies made by Pat. The kitty is wearing a dress made from some of my hand-dyed yarn, and the lamb was made from one of my kits. It's so fun to see my ideas turn into cute toys, through someone else's hands.

espresso cupcakes

This recipe originally came from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess. I've changed the recipe a little, and used a different icing, but they are still delicious. Because this came from a British recipe book, most things are measured in grams, but you can find the conversions here. I used good-quality chocolate bars, not baking chocolate, although you could probably use semi-sweet baking chocolate. This will make 12 medium cupcakes, or about 20 mini ones.

Espresso Cupcakes

Ingredients
125g softened unsalted butter
125g dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
125g all-purpose flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
75g dark chocolate with ground coffee beans, melted (or plain dark chocolate plus 1 tbsp instant espresso powder or finely ground espresso beans)
2-3 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F). Line cupcake tins with paper liners, or butter and flour them.
Blend butter and sugar well, then add eggs and blend until smooth. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder (and espresso powder or ground coffee, if using). Stir in dry ingredients a bit, then blend until smooth. Add chocolate and 2 tbsp milk, blending well. Add 1 more tbsp milk if batter seems too thick.
Fill tins about half to 2/3 full. Bake for 12-15 min - toothpick inserted in middle should come out clean.

Chocolate Icing

Ingredients
100g dark chocolate
100ml whipping cream

Put cream in a small saucepan, heat until almost boiling (but don't boil). Add chocolate in small pieces, stirring until it's all melted. Remove from heat and whisk until smooth. Let cool until thick enough to spread.










Thanks to Amanda and Allison for taking photos of our fun, and listening as I talked way too much about knitting. Taylor was a hoot, as usual, and it's been too long since we all hung out together. I hope Sara gets better soon, and enjoys her cupcakes. Also, thanks to Minou for keeping me warm during my sleep-over. She may be a little crazy, and eat yarn, but she's a cute kitty.

cupcake bakers

Last spring we moved to the far west end of the island of Montreal, from where I used to live in the heart of things. We moved for lots of reasons - to be closer to my job, to have cheaper rent, to live somewhere quieter and prettier. While I now live much closer to my sister, I'm an 1.5 hour bus ride from all my other friends.

When I lived downtown, my friends and I had weekly get-togethers for such things as cooking, baking, knitting, chatting (and maybe just a bit of drinking). I've really missed these (probably more than my friends know), since it's much too far for me to go on a wednesday evening, especially when I was working a regular job.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of our first cupcake baking party, and I'm super excited! I'm planning to stay over at my friend's place, so I don't need to worry about the murderous bus-ride at 11 pm or something. Who says I'm too old for a pyjama party? I spent yesterday evening reading through a Nigella Lawson recipe book, making myself hungry even after I'd eaten supper. I suggested we make either her espresso cupcakes (which also include chocolate), or the fairy cakes, those being an excuse to buy candy cake decorations. I'll be sure to get pictures of whatever we make, and maybe I'll post one of the recipes we use. Cupcakes once a year can't be bad for you :)