Knitting Adventures: My First Hat

Having had moderate success moving away from my straight patterns (scarves and blankets) to more challenging patterns (the knittens from a previous post), I tried my hand at making a hat.

I started on circular needles but quickly came to hate them. I may need to give them a second chance in the future though.

I switched the my regular boring straight needles and picked a smaller size to ensure a warmer, more tightly knit hat. I used 4.0 mm (US 6) needles. 

I started with the basic pattern idea - knit a swatch to know how stitches it's going to take to make it around your head. Always err on the side of caution and knit less than you think if you're unsure. It's better if the hat needs to stretch a bit anyway.

I forget how many stitches it took me but it was quite a few. 

Then I knit and knit and knit until I had about 6 inches of the hat. Then I started knitting 3 together at each end to start tapering the hat down. 

Once I was down to about 10 stitches left I casted off and stitched the back together. 

I won't show you a picture of the back because it's horrible.

Nowhere near as nice as the front. 

I may do a few fixes to try and correct the monstrosity at the back. All I need is a patch I ordered online to arrive then voila - this hat will be a Valentines day present for my mountain climber.

I'll show you the final product once it's done! 

The Happy List: January Edition

I'm right in the middle of my week of nights (I even took an extra night shift to make my bank account happier). The weather has been so cold lately, so cold that Wednesday's -22 (before the windchill) made me say "oh thank goodness it's warmed up!"  ...so this is a week where I could use some reminding of all the things that I'm happy for.

 

My Happy List.

 

While John & Reese were away for New Years, I got to spend some quality snuggle time with Murray.

I'm happy to have this scoundrel.

 

 

With the weather having recently been indicative of an impending ice age, I'll admit that I've regretted our decision to care for an animal that doesn't do her business in a box of litter.

Putting on 8 layers and trekking outside in -40 degree temperatures was the last thing I wanted to do.

But we ran around and chased each other and chased after sticks until our toes/paws were too cold and then we went back inside to warm up.

 

With the weather improving, I'm enjoying our long park walks again.

And I'm enjoying our post adventure cuddles even more.

 

I'm happy to have Reese.

And I'm happy that the temperature is supposed to be +4 on Saturday!

 

As tired as working nights can make me, I'm happy for my job.

I'm even more happy when I stumble across hilariously appropriate comics.

I found this one on my lunch break during a shift where I was mentally preparing myself to start chest compressions on a declining patient who was (at that time) a full code (meaning CPR & the works). I was happy to laugh off a bit of the stress.

 

*For those of you unfamiliar with CPR please (please) know that this is a joke and not actually what happens when you perform CPR. Just a (hopefully unnecessary) disclaimer.

 

I'm happy that I've started work on my Hopes & Dreams for 2014.

I registered myself in a French class!

Three hours once a week til mid April I believe.

Here's hoping I didn't get a bit too big for my britches enrolling in the intermediate class instead of the beginner class.

 

I'm happy that I found a new TV show to binge watch - Scandal.

It's good.

I'm also happy that The Mindy Project is back because I love me some Mindy Kaling and I loooove Chris Messina (have you seen his Aaliyah dance? Youtube it. You won't be disappointed).

 

I'm happy that when I go home in the morning I'm going to jump into my warm bed and fall asleep for a few hours.

 

I'm happy that when this week of night shifts is done, Monday night I'm going to fall asleep curled up beside my husband.

And sleep for probably 13 hours.

 

Date Night: In the Dark at O.NOIR

Before Christmas, John and I went out for dinner at a place I was curious to check out.

It's not well known for the wine list, or impeccable food, or the view.

In fact, it's quite the opposite of that last point.

O.Noir is a restaurant where you dine completely in the dark. 

We're talking pitch black, can't see shapes nor shadows, or the hand in front of your face.

As you can see from that top picture, the restaurant is located underground. You walk down a flight of stairs into the venue.

You sit in a dimly lit area where you are given the menu to make your selections. 

Then a waiter (many of them blind) lead you into the completely dark dining room. 

You are told to feel the table to get a sense of where your utensils are and to kind of get a sense of your location relative to your dining partner and of the other tables. 

It's amazing how many conversations I eavesdropped on, I think partly because I was relying completely on my other senses.

Being handed your drink and plates of food is scary at first but slowly you start to figure out where things are. 

Neither John nor I spilled anything on the table or on ourselves. 

I will admit though that I have a totally irrational fear of the dark and had to calm myself down from a rising panic attack once or twice. 

I also kept convincing myself I could see shadows (I couldn't) and that I was now actually blind and would never see again. 

The food was decent, although I did find a hair in my main course (my own?). I suppose in the dark you're supposed to appreciate tastes and textures more since we usually eat with our eyes first. 

John and I were the last people in the dining room and that was weird. I could keep myself calm when I could hear other voices but when it was just us left I was ready to leave.

Emerging back into the light was a nice way to cap off the date.

The experience is worth checking out. 

Especially if you're terrified of the dark. 

Check out more info on the restaurant here

Adventures in Knitting: Knittens (to warm hands on cold days)

During my experimentation with knitting patterns more complicated than blankets and scarves, I moved on to mittens. 

My first attempt ended in a gigantic mitten better suited for an oven mitt. 

So I started again, with a better idea of how to proceed.

The end result was still a bit bigger than I perhaps would have liked but I used it to my advantage and created felt inserts filled with rice that can be microwaved to provide some extra heat. 

Follow the pattern from Martha Stewart that I posted in an earlier post (also found here) or do what I did and use thicker wool and thicker needles and just cast on half the number of stitches they call for and continue with halving the numbers (except for number of rows, then just go by how wide the mitten looks).

I've taken to calling this knit mittens 'knittens'.

Once your knitten has been cast off, use a darning needles to stitch the mitten together around the edges.

I used a white wool to show what I did, but I removed it after and re-stitched it with the same colour wool to make it look cleaner.

For the microwavable insert, I traced the finished knitten onto a red felt stocking I bought from the dollar store. I ended up having to cut it a little smaller to fit into the mitten. I sewed around the edges, leaving a small opening into which I poured uncooked rice. Add just enough to fill the mitten without leaving it bulging. 

Ideally, use thread the same colour as the felt. Unfortunately in my case my dog took off with the red thread in her mouth and it was too slobbery to use on something I hoped would turn out nice.

I thought about sewing the inserts into the knittens but ultimately figured leaving them as inserts was the better option because they did make the knittens quite bulky.

I gave these knittens to my father-in-law, who works outside and I'm sure with all the crazy weather lately could use something to keep his hands warm. 

They make a cute gift AND I was able to knit both mittens in less than 5 hours so this is a project that won't take a long time to finish.

Here's to a 2014 filled with many more handmade crafts!

(Hopes & Dreams item #9!)

Hopes & Dreams for 2014

The end of the year is always rife with resolutions and promises to be better at this, to stop doing that, to change this, to start doing that. 

And I usually participate, promising myself I'll start going to the gym more regularly, or eat better, or whatever I've decided will make me a better person.

This time around, while I'm not giving up making resolutions (that I inevitably quit caring about 2-3 months into the year), I've decided I'm going to call them goals, or my hopes & dreams for the upcoming year.

I figure this way the year will be about the process of achieving those goals as opposed to the actual achievement itself. 

So, here are my 10 Hopes & Dreams for 2014.

1. Run at least one of the following distances: 21 km (my 4th half-marathon), 30 km (Around The Bay or A Midsummer's Night Run), or 42 km (my first - and most likely last - full marathon)

2. Start a family. (temporarily) Gain 30 + lbs.

3. Put away $5000-10,000 into savings for a house.

4. Stop telling myself I need to get lean/put on muscle/workout to be healthy. Do it only to be happy. Walk long distances with the dog, swim in cold lakes, get lost on runs, ride my bike to work, hike/canoe/portage through nature.

5. Make a Happy List on the blog once a month and be thankful for all the wonderful things in my life. 

6. Learn how to speak French again. A patient at work speaks only Swahili and French. While my French is passable (barely), having her laugh, kindly, at my attempts to communicate with her have made me acutely aware of how badly I wish I was bilingual. 

7. Appreciate my friends & family more and make sure they know it.

8. Become more of an activist for HIV/AIDS. Attend more conferences, correct common misconceptions, become a better nurse. 

9. Knit more. Maybe learn to crochet.

10. Go on lots of dates. With John, friends, my parents, etc. 

What are your resolutions/goals/hopes/dreams/wishes for 2014?

Last Minute Christmas Printables (and ice storm 2013 pictures)

It's Christmas Eve!

Our beautiful city was pummelled by an ice storm over the weekend and many people are still without power (including my parents).

We've been lucky and haven't been without power & heat but my parent's have been wrapping themselves in blankets upon blankets to stay warm since Sunday morning. 

I finally convinced my mom to come over yesterday for a shower and dinner but I haven't been able to talk them into sleeping here yet. 

Hopefully tonight.

Freezing rain and high winds caused a lot of trees to snap and pull down power lines all across the city. Roads and walkways were turned into skating rinks seemingly overnight.

Driving home on Sunday morning we saw a lot of the damage first hand:

This is the dog park we frequent. John took the dog but wisely didn't stay long as the trees were making ominous creaking noises and the possibility of having large branches come crashing down was too great.

This was a common sight on the roads.

But despite the destruction and danger, the ice has actually been quite pretty. 

I snapped this picture of John last night on our walk back to the apartment.

As a result of the lack of power we're switching up our Christmas Eve tradition this year (also cause my dad is working) which, as a big fan of traditions, I find really sucks. But I'm sure tonight will still be as magical as every other year.

Christmas Eve is hands down my favourite day of the year. 

Hopefully everyone is finished their shopping.

If you're struggling for some last minute gifts you could whip up some bacon jam, knit mittens (that post to come), or bake a batch of Christmas cookies (with Bailey's icing on those snowflakes)

And if you're wrapping up your gifts, why not print out and use these adorable rustic gift tags? I've been using the gift tag templates found HERE or you could use the tags found  HERE

If you're throwing a party why not make some props for people to take photos with?

Simply save and print this image to size, cut out and attach to sticks.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE EVERYONE! 

Red Velvet Christmas Chip Cookies

The first step in getting better is admitting you have a problem.

I have a problem.

My diet as of late has been shameful.

Just absolutely shameful.

I wake up and the first thing I do after brushing my teeth is I throw on a bunch of layers and take the dog for a long walk in the park. 

Usually I grab something to stuff into my mouth as I'm heading out the door and this, unfortunately, is usually a cookie or 2 or 3 Quality Street chocolates. 

Then I get home and have another cookie or more chocolates and make myself a giant mug of coffee.

Then I'll think about having a real meal.

But you better believe there are plenty more holiday treats sprinkled in between.

I should probably slow down on the sugar.

Anyway, it was a sugar craving and need to get into the kitchen that got me making these cake based cookies.

They're soft and chewy (or can be crispy if you don't put them into an airtight container) and delicious.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix 1 box of red velvet cake mix with 1 egg, 1/2 cup softened butter and 2 tbsp canola oil. 
• Mix in 1 cup green & red mini m&ms.
• Drop a tablespoon of dough on a greased cookie sheet and press flat. Bake for 10-12 minutes then let cool. 
• Place cookies in an airtight container to maintain their softness.

And that's it!

Easy and delicious and festively coloured for the holidays.