Friday, January 15, 2016

Catching up on hats, wooden boxes and pulses



It feels like I am coming up for air again. Much as I love the holiday season, I do feel rather drained, OK really drained, by the time the the dust settles. It is mid January already and it is time to get my poop in a group and get back in the swing of things!

I knit a lot of hats for gifts this year and they were well received and greatly appreciated.Some years it can be a bit of a crap shoot, but this year cabled hats are big and are in. You just gotta roll with it!

knits in the wild

Recently we were pulling into the grocery store and I espied these two, daughter Rachael and her partner Brandon, loading groceries into their car. And they were wearing their hats!! Be still my knitting heart!!! Of course I had to pull over and yell-I mean call out softly and graciously-I need a picture of you two goobers!! Brandon is my ally on this one and a picture was taken.



Brandon's hat is Habitat, a Brooklyn Tweed pattern. I knit it with Tosh Vintage in Charcoal. I love this hat and with the yarn, the cables really pop. He has been wearing it a lot so that's good.





Knitting with black yarn can be less than uplifting at times, but the request was for black so black it was. It's hard to see the cables in the pictures so I overexposed one picture. The pattern is Take Heart, a pattern from Pom Pom Quarterly. I knit it with Ultra Alpaca Chunky-a nice wool/alpaca mix. It fits great!


Father Cables, a YOTH pattern, was sent out east to our son. Its a great pattern-I knit it with Tosh Vintage in Tart.



I knit a couple of these hats for our son and his partner also.There are made using the Madelinetosh Essential Hat pattern using Unicorn Tails.I am missing one last picture of a hat. I have been promised some pictures, but I am not holding my breath! I have requests for more hats but I am kinda over hats for the time being. Enough about hats! Why do people not send pictures!!!

Our Backyard Farms Boxes


Oh that Pinterest! I found some pictures on Pinterest of vintage wooden boxes used for display some time ago. Since our house is full of a lot of old crap that has great potential, I figured we could put together some boxes using some upcycled materials.







So we knocked together some boxes, thought of a name, and assembled some full of seasonal decorations for both our home and as gifts to special people. As soon as the potted narcissus and other spring bulbs are out I will make up a spring box.


Cooking stuff

I think in my last post I was talking about making marshmallows. Let me tell you, they are da bomb!! Everyone loves them and they are really good. And really, they are just puffs of air, so no concerns there. They are super easy, I used a recipe that didn't involve candy thermometers or anything too complicated. I made both plain and toasted coconut. Next up I will try some with spices or different fruit flavours. I am on a sugar detox from Xmas, sort of.






On to more things healthy!!

The UN has declared 2016 to be the year of the Pulses-dried beans, lentils, chickpeas etc. I have taken the pulse pledge, to incorporate more pulses in my diet weekly.They are full of protein, vitamins and minerals. Great antidote to marshmallows, but you have to have a balanced diet in my view.


I make lots of chilies and soups using beans and pulses but I thought I'd incorporate them into some baking. I made these pumpkin, lentil muffins and let me tell you they are delicious!! The recipe is Pumpkin Loaf and it can be found on the Pulse Canada website. The advantage to using lentils is that it allows you to use less fat, adds moisture and gives you a protein boost. I added chocolate chips in....just because! Yumm!! I also used a pumpkin pie squash we had grown this summer. We have a cold corner of the basement and I am totally astonished my squashes are keeping so well.

At the end of the year on IG (where I am Chrissyknitz), everyone was posting there favorite nine for the year. It is a good reminder to be happy and grateful for the good things in our lives.


At the close of the year we celebrated our 35th anniversary. Holy doodle, where did the time go!?! That seems like a big number ,just a minute, it is!! We are still a pair of goofballs just getting through life! Lots to be happy and grateful for! I am a little late to the party but I wish you all a Happy New Year. Let it be a year of peace, contentment and joy.

Keep Smiling!

Chris

19 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for posting the recipe, Chris. I hope to make it next week. I'm very impressed with your hats! They are all wonderful, but I can see why, after knitting so many, you want a break from hat knitting for awhile. What a great moment to see your hats "in the wild" at the grocery store. And the boxes you made came out great!

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    1. You're so welcome Kristie! I'm sure you can make it gf and it will taste great. Thanks for the kind words about the hats, I am knit hatted out, actually I'm knit out right now- lost my knitting mojo! I love our boxes, I will pass on the compliments to my resident carpenter!

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  2. Lentils and choc chips? That's a new combo! Happy New Year to you, too and thank you for the very thoughtful comment on my post about my son. :o)

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    1. I know, I know, it sounds like a really weird combo, but it works! The lentils just add moisture but not much flavour. But who thinks of these recipes?!? I sure hope you have a great year of happiness fun and uneventfullness in certain matters!!

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  3. I wish you a very happy New Year and many many good things for you and your beloved ones .... As always so many pretty hats !!!! hugs

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    1. Thank do much GĂ©raldine! I hope your country has a peaceful and healing year. I look forward to seeing more of your beautiful knitting, crocheting and spinning- and kitties too!!!

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  4. How wonderful to see your hats being worn and loved like that!!! They are all really great aren't they. Love your boxes too, very useful and pretty too! xx

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    1. Thank you so much Amy, sometimes you just don't know how well your knits will be received. I was pretty happy to see them being worn! I saw some potted primroses in the grocery store today- as it snowed 6 inches today- I can't wait to do a spring flower box!

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  5. I like those cabled hats, Chrissy! You know you've succeeded with nitted gifts when you run into people wearing them! The boxes are fun and I like the name you choose to put on them. As for pulses (a term new to me this year), I took on the challenge too, after hearing Chef Michael Smith interviewed on CBC. I like beans and chickpeas, time to bring on more lentils and new recipes.

    Karen

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  6. The hats are amazing, the boxes are so great I can't stand it. I want one, or four or five, such a great way to decorate or display yarn. You are the cutest couple, so much love in that photo of the two of you.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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    1. Thanks Merefith,mi love my boxes and want a couple of bigger ones! To store some of my junk!! Right I am de cluttering!! Thanks we go way back and still laugh a lot together! We could never break up- no one wants custody of all our junk!!

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  7. Happy New Year to you too. And happy anniversary. The hats are wonderful and so nice that you saw them being worn.

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    1. Happy New Year to you too Gillian! It was a real treat to see the hats actually being worn and enjoyed

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  8. I know how you feel about the holidays - my daughters birthday is also at the end of December & we hosted the neighbourhood New Years gathering. Love the festivities, but am VERY glad it's all done.

    Love the hats & those boxes look great. And I see you got one of those massage thingies for you head - they're hilarious, aren't they. Wishing you all the best for the New Year!!

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    1. It takes me the month of January to get over all the holiday festivities! Sounds like you are even more busy , I hope you survived! The massage thingies are so goofy but they do work, gives me the shivers though! I'm looking forward to seeing your gardening plans this spring.

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  9. Happy 35th anniversary friend! My goodness that is awesome! And I LOVE the boxes you used for display in your shots above! So stunning for both Christmas and your knitted pieces! You work….You need to sell your pieces…you have such a gift! It just blows me away every time I see what you make! Wishing you a great week! And your daughter is so pretty!!! Nicole xoxo

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    1. Thanks buddy, we have been together for a long time! I love my boxes and probably need more in different sizes lol. I've been knitting forever too, and there never seems to be enough time to knit all the things I want to do. Thanks for the lovely compliment about our daughter!

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  10. Isn't it nice when a gift is appreciated! Your knitting projects always turn out nicely, so I am not surprised that the hats are being worn. You make homemade marshmallows sound so terrific. I am shy of making new things, but you make marshmallows sound doable.You must post the recipe! Belated happy anniversary. It is amazing how quickly the years can pass!

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  11. Congratulations to you and your husband on reaching a milestone of 35 years. That's wonderful! May you have another great 35 ahead of you.

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