Friday, 9 March 2012

Creative Fridays: Rainbow Yarn Wrapped Branches, Shamrocks and Dumplings

Today I am joining Linda at Natural Suburbia for a Creative Friday post.

This week, I tried Linda's knitted Shamrock pattern which I really enjoyed. I used Cascade 220 Worsted. The colour is Ireland (very appropriate!). Thank you again Linda for generously sharing this great pattern!



The girls and I also worked on some rainbow coloured yarn wrapped branches. We got the idea from The Magic Onions. The arrangement is quite cheerful on it's own, but it might also welcome many of our spring crafts and decorations to come...





We finished our week with lots of fun in the kitchen with our dear friends who showed us how to make Chinese dumplings...



First, we chopped and grated lots of vegetables (carrots, sweet potato, cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, celery, green onions or whatever you fancy) and mixed them with some soy sauce (we used tamari and shoyu) and sesame oil (you can also add some ginger if you wish). We then let the vegetables marinate for a little while (half hour) and drained and squeezed them (getting rid of the liquid in the bottom of the bowl). With our finger and some water  we wet the outside (contour) of the thawed pastry disc (dumpling wrappers which we bought frozen), put a teaspoon or two of veggies in the middle, folded it in half and pinched it tightly closed. The dumplings can be frozen and cooked later. To cook, heat some oil in a pan. Brown one side of the dumplings, turn, add some water to the pan and cover to create steam and finish cooking. Delicious!



Thursday, 8 March 2012

Around the House - Autour de la maison

Some winter paintings done a few weeks ago. We are now starting to think about spring themes...

Des aquarelles réalisées il y a quelques semaines. Nous commençons à penser à de nouveaux thèmes en lien avec le printemps.

Icicles - Glaçons by/par Pip
Once again, inspired by a Kristie Burns story.
Peinture encore une fois inspirée par une histoire de Kristie Burns.

Snowflakes - Flocons de neige by/par Pip
Inspired by this craft project.
Inspiration trouvée ici.

A finished handwork (knitting) project by Pip.

Un projet de tricot terminé et réalisé par Pip.



We finally gave no-knead bread a try. The results are quite spectacular. The crust is perfect, the texture of the bread is light and chewy. The recipe can be found in English here.

Nous avons enfin essayé le pain sans pétrissage. Les résultats sont spectaculaires. La croûte est parfaite, la mie est moelleuse et alvéolée. La recette en français se trouve ici et un petit vidéo se trouve ici.




Lots of wonderful play....


Beaucoup de beaux jeux...





Tuesday, 6 March 2012

Keep Calm, Craft On: More Baby Knits

Joining Nicole for another Keep Calm, Craft On post.


I am still working on baby knits this week (I am obsessed!). I have no finished projects to show other than a pair of baby leg warmers that I am about to cast off. They are made with Cascade Yarns Eco Duo Undyed Baby Alpaca and Merino. Such soft yarn in beautiful earthy tones...


Another project that I just cast on is a pair of bootees in Noro Kureyon. Amazing colours!


I am getting really inspired by two books that I have been looking through and I thought I would share them here. I am very happy with my recent purchase of Vintage Knits for Modern Babies after seeing it so many times on Tonya's blog. It does have many interesting projects that I would like to knit. Also, the Emroidery Companion is one of the cutest embroidery books that I have come across in a while. I recommend both, although I have not yet tried any of the patterns in Vintage Knits (soon though...).


Happy crafting on!

Monday, 5 March 2012

9

Our big girl turned nine this weekend.
Notre grande fille a eu neuf ans le week-end dernier.




Her birthday table...
Sa table d'anniversaire...






Some gifts...
Quelques cadeaux...




My Little House Crafts Book


Little House Paper Dolls



We love you so much and we are so proud of you. Happy Birthday!
Nous t'aimons tant et nous sommes si fiers de toi. Bon anniversaire!

Tuesday, 28 February 2012

Keep Calm, Craft On: Baby Knits

Joining Nicole at Frontier Dreams today for Keep Calm, Craft On.

I have baby knits on my mind right now... My head is full of ideas and projects. This week I finished a pair of baby socks out of beautiful, dreamy, soft Sea Wool by Fleece Artist. What could be more appropriate than Sea Wool for an island baby?



I also finished a baby cardigan in wonderful Malabrigo Twist. The colour is Indiecita and it is one of my favourite yarn colours. Once again so soft and dreamy...



The patterns for both the socks and cardigan are from More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.



I am also working on a simple baby blanket with another favourite yarn, Rowan Purelife Bristish Sheep Breeds Chunky Undyed. This yarn is such a joy to work with. I love the feel and the colours of this natural wool.


Happy creating!


Monday, 27 February 2012

Baby #4 - Bébé #4

We are overjoyed to announce that we will be welcoming a new baby into our family next September.

C'est avec la plus grande joie que nous vous annonçons que nous accueillerons un nouveau bébé dans notre famille en septembre prochain.


Sunday, 19 February 2012

Valentine Swap

Here we are back in the Islands after our two week trip to the continent. I was so happy to find my Valentine Swap package waiting for me in my pile of mail when I got back. Linda from Natural Suburbia sent me such a lovely gift that I thought I would share some pictures of it here.




Linda's beautiful, colourful knitted heart bunting now hangs in our dining room on my favourite piece of furniture in the house.

Here is a picture of the package I had put together for the swap. More pictures here.



This swap was so much fun! Thanks again Linda!