So Here’s The Thing…

…a little over two years ago, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to knit or spin or even carry my own friggin groceries ever again. My wrists were in serious trouble, and I didn’t know what to do to fix them. I did everything as ergonomically as possible, and even stopped doing lots of things.

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I couldn’t grasp anything – not even spinning fiber – and it was starting to look like it would be a permanent problem, so I sold my wheel. Not because I didn’t want to spin any more, but because I was sad every time I looked at it.

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Fast forward two years…

It was the push ups! Friggin push ups derailed my crafting and ability to open doors for myself and carry things. I even got myself some push up stands, but to no avail. My wrists were still wrecked. It seams if all I do is add in a few push ups, my wrists are a mess again, but if I add in a whole crap load of knitting, they’re fine. So there you go. Push ups are bad, m’kay?

Here’s the thing – money is crazy tight right now, so even though I am able to spin, I can’t afford a new wheel until my fortunes change a bit, so I’m renting a spinning wheel from Sweet Georgia Yarns. It’s a Schacht Ladybug. It’s so nice to spin again, and it looks like I haven’t forgotten how, even though it’s been more than 2 years.

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Remember how I said that the second I spun on the Lendrum, I knew that was the wheel for me? I stand by that. The Ladybug is not ‘my wheel’. You know what I mean? It just doesn’t feel the same. So, I’m still looking forward to buying a new Lendrum at some point, but spinning on the Ladybug is better than not spinning at all.

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Anyway, I’m working on some superwash merino from Sweet Georgia in the Darkshore colorway. So pretty!

I can’t wait to move onto this though -

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So pretty!!

In other news, I have seriously wrecked my knee, and have dr’s orders to be a ‘couch potato’ which is driving me INSANE!! I just hope it’s a problem that can be fixed with physio and nothing that involves surgical measures.

I also have a temp job that I started on Thursday and runs for the next two weeks. I’m a little bit bummed that it’s not something I could do on a more permanent basis, but such is life. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts. It’s been so nice to work somewhere where there is no yelling, crying and general fear based management (random firings, people throwing things, stomping around, etc). I didn’t realize how bad my previous work environments were until spending a few days in this new one.

I’ll try to do an update on my knitting later this weekend – there has been lots of progress – and I’d do it now, but I’m heading out for some yarn shopping! Happy long weekend to my fellow Canadians!

Cranberry Oat Muffins

When I was growing up, my mom did a ton of baking. She was a health nut though (still is! Hi Mom!!), so it was rare for her to make a recipe without altering ingredients and proportions. Yesterday, I was looking for a muffin recipe that involved cranberries, and I stumbled upon one for cranberry oat muffins in one of her muffin cookbooks (see mom, this is why I can’t give you your cookbooks back. I still use them.)

Cranberry Oat Muffins

The recipe that was scratched in the margin hardly resembled the original recipe, except that it still had both cranberries and oats in it, and I’ve altered it a little bit further – to the point where the only original amounts of anything are the cranberries and lemon zest.

Cranberry Oat Muffins

The one thing that my mom used to do was write the date that she made the recipe and if it was good or not right on the recipe page. It has a little “January ’99 – Excellent” beside it.

Cranberry Oat Muffins

I made the muffins yesterday and they were fantastic!

Cranberry Oat Muffins

So, here’s the new recipe –

Cranberry Oat Muffins

1 cup quick oats
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup salted, roasted sunflower seeds (no shells)

2 cups coarsely chopped cranberries (fresh or frozen)
4 teaspoons lemon zest

2 eggs
3 tablespoons of rice bran oil or other ‘non-flavored’ oil of your choice
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

In one bowl, mix the oats, flours, brown sugar, sunflower seeds, baking powder and baking soda together. Add the chopped cranberries and lemon zest to the flour mixture and set aside.

In a second bowl, beat the eggs, and add the oil, buttermilk, and vanilla to the ‘wet ingredient’ bowl.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Scoop into a lightly greased muffin tin, and bake for approximately 30 minutes (your cooking time may vary) in a 400F degree oven.

Cranberry Oat Muffins

If you’re like me always end up buying too many sunflower seeds, you can sprinkle a few on the muffin tops before baking.

Easy alterations:

- If you’re not into sunflower seeds, you can omit them completely, just mix a sprinkle of salt in with your dry ingredients. Or substitute with another seed or nut.

- The 3 tablespoons of oil can also be reduced to 2 without any problems.

- Don’t have whole wheat flour handy? Just use 2 cups of all purpose flour instead.

Let me know if you try this recipe and how you like it!

Again With The Knitting…

I have been knitting again! Tons actually! We’ve been spending more time in the car lately and it’s been so nice to have something to do.

Effortless Cardi Progress

Last week, I cast on for the Effortless Cardigan, designed by Hannah Fettig. It’s a nice knit. Pretty straight forward and definitely a knit that allows a conversation, which is my favourite kind of knit!

I’m a little further than the picture shows, and still enjoying knitting it.

The yarn is fabulous! I’m already planning the future knits I’ll be using this yarn for. It’s the Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label Aran in the Dove colorway. Great color, great twist, and super squishy.

Baby Quilt For A Friend…

I’ve been working on a baby quilt for a friend of mine who is due later this month.

Baby Quilt Quilted - Ready For Binding

I found a tutorial over at the Cluck.Cluck.Sew blog (tutorial can be found here).

I can’t believe how long it has taken me to sew this quilt, especially considering how small it is. It doesn’t have the binding on it yet, but it only measures about 36″ by about 60-something inches, so it’s really not very big.

Baby Quilt Quilted - Ready For Binding

It really took me no time at all to quilt it though, with the basting and quilting getting completely done with a portion of yesterday afternoon.

Baby Quilt Quilted - Ready For Binding

I’ve been taking pictures as I went with this quilt, but I just haven’t been feeling very chatty lately. Here’s a better look at the fabrics -

Baby Quilt for a Friend

I think my friend will like it. Can’t wait to get it done.

Before and After – Take 2

I took some proper before and after pictures of my kitchen and living room this morning. I tried to match the angle that the original photographs were taken from.

So here we go again…

Kitchen before –

Before

Kitchen after –

Kitchen After

Please forgive my mountain of knitting and sewing stuff that’s taken over the kitchen island. Yes, I do have a craft room now, but I’m having some knee problems, so I’ve been trying to avoid the stairs as much as possible, leaving the kitchen area as my home base.

Living room before –

Before

Living room after -

Livingroom After

Ahhh…much better…