Elwood - A Knitting Pattern

I keep thinking I should be knitting things for me: after all, my kids don't really appreciate the time and effort involved in designing and knitting a sweater (let's be honest, they couldn't care less if I put them in a dirty sweatshirt every day of the week.) But, when I pick up my needles all I can think of is darling designs for them. And so, the stitches turn into rows, and the rows turn into whole little sweaters, and this boy is dressed in hand knit goodness yet again!

Here's Elwood (the sweater, not the boy.) It's a very simple raglan sweater, but with bold stripes and a textured collar, it provides all the makings of the perfect old man sweater!  My Grandpa Elwood would have rocked this sweater!

And, the most fantastic thing about this design is that I sized it from 6 months to adult XL, so you can knit it for everyone! As usual, I'm blown away by other knitters projects.  Check out all the amazing sweaters being knit:


This pattern can be yours for only $5.50.  So, go ahead and buy it. Buy it now!

Calaway - A Knitting Pattern

When I'm out and about and see cute sweaters, sometimes I become a little bit of a creeper. Seriously. Like this one time when I was at Calaway park and I saw this little girl in the most darling red sweater, and I followed her around for long enough to determine the stitch pattern...  Ya, like that.

Anyway, turns out I put my creeping to good use.  

Introducing my newest knitting pattern: Calaway!

Um, first of all, is my little nephew not the cutest thing EVER?!? Seriously.

 But check out the sweater!  Darling, eh?   The cable pattern on the front is really easy. It's knit top down and is totally seamless.  And, I've sized it from 6 months to 12 years, so whomever is on your knit worthy list, you can make this one for them!It doesn't get much better than that! And, the whole pattern can be yours for just $5.50!  That's right folks. So go ahead, plunge in, 

Indie Designer Gift-A-Long 2014

What is a Gift-A-Long, you ask?  Well, it's an opportunity to join with other fiber folks to support independent designers and hopefully get a few Christmas knits done.

And, I'm part of the madness!!!

Until Friday at midnight all of my designs are 25% off!  So are the designs of 293 other designers.  Just use the code "giftalong2014" when you purchase the patterns through Ravelry.  Then, head over to the GAL group to participate in discussion, sharing, and a crazy amount of prizes. Seriously, do it. You won't be disappointed!

Here are a few of my favourite designs. Now I just have to decide which ones I am going to take advantage of the sale to put in my own pattern library!

Symbiotic Cowl

by Hanna Maciejewska

Polar Vortex Thrummed Mittens

by Cynthia Spencer

Goldilocks

by Justyna Lorkowska

Vaffel Votter

by Anniken Allis

Limesicle

by Debbie Sullivan

Libellula

by Cristina Ghirlanda

Summer Festival

by Georgie Hallam

Thyone

by Tori Gurbisz

And Suddenly it's November!

 My life. It get's away from me. Daily.

One day it's June 2007 and I'm having my first baby, and the next day it's November, I have no idea what day or year because I've suddenly got 5 kids and the calendar is in the other room!!!

By the persistence of my little sister, Chloe, I did manage to pull myself together enough to gather coordinating outfits, comb through everyone's hair, and meet her for an hour for a photo shoot.

My favourite thing about these pictures?  Atticus's hair. I love it!  He's 2 1/2 and hasn't had a haircut, and I love it.

The Suit that wouldn't Knit Itself

When I was pregnant with Eli I began crocheting a blessing dress for the much anticipated Baby Blessing that all children in our church receive shortly after they are born. Of course, when Eli was born a boy we realized that he would look much better in a suit than a lacy dress (which was okay, since I had only gotten about 10% done by the time he was born.) So, my lovely sister-in-law, Renee, made me a darling little suit out of the leftover fabric from my wedding dress. It was cute. He was cute. All was happy.

When I was pregnant with Silas I worked a little more on the blessing dress, but again did not get it complete by the time he was born. When he came out a he, I called upon the mad sewing skills of Renee again.  The suit she had made for my tiny little Eli, who was blessed at 6 weeks did not fit my monstrous Silas, who was blessed at 3 months. 

When I was pregnant with Atticus, I got awfully close to finishing the dress.  But, he came out a he as well. So, having made Eli and Silas each their own, Atticus naturally needed one as well.  Enter Renee, and a blessing outfit was made for sweet Atticus as well. Here's the dress (which, incidentally, won the Best In Class Ribbon at the Calgary Stampede Creative Arts and Craft Show): 

Well, seeing as I'm not sure if I will ever have a girl, and not one of my boys have worn anything of my own making, when Machen came out a he I decided I needed to make something for him.  I should have known, seeing as it took me 5 years to make the blessing dress, that this would be no small endeavour, but I dove in anyway. And, after two months of knitting ferociously, I did in fact finish a blessing suit for my sweet Mac.   Isn't he the sweetest thing?!?

The pattern is a Dale of Norway design, from a pamphlet I bought off Ebay.  I used MadTosh Lace, and teeny, tiny needles (size 0 and size 1), so it was basically like knitting with spider webs. Actually, if I consider the stitch count, I probably could have knit Jared an entire outfit of his own with worsted weight yarn - not something I would EVER consider doing.  I posted all about it on my Ravelry page, so feel free to jaunt over their and take a look: jennyvangy's Blessing Suit. 

Chicken Fajita Joy

I'm no food blogger, I promise, but I love me some easy, fast meals that will feed the crowd that is my family.  It feels like over the last year I have suddenly acquired two horses that eat their weight at the dinner table.  So, with four eating like adults, I am always searching for good, quick, filling meals.

This one turned out good. It doesn't have a name, because I made it up out of the contents of my refrigerator, so I shall call it Chicken Fajita Joy, because it brings me joy to be done dinner with full, happy children.  I'm blogging it because I want to remember what I did. I don't follow recipes well. Sometimes I see a picture of something on Pinterest, realize I don't have half the ingredients for said goodness in my kitchen, so just wing it. Most nights I forgo the Pinterest step and just make it up from the start. Usually it turns out okay, as long as no baking is involved.

First, I made 3 cups of brown rice.  I always add a few cups of bone broth to my rice for all the nutritious goodness it holds. (I make the bone broth after I cook whole chickens and freeze it in ziplocks for such occasions.)

While the rice was cooking I laid out 4 chicken breasts in a pan.  On top, I sprinkled a liberal amount of my own fajita spice mix. The chicken breasts were frozen, otherwise I would have diced them and mixed them up with the spice. I just diced the chicken after it was cooked in this instance. It turned out just fine.

And, on top of the chicken went sliced peppers and onion, and then some more fajita spice (I like it spicy.)

And, only because I had a tiny amount of leftover cheese in my fridge, I grated and sprinkled that over the mix. We try to avoid dairy as much as we can, but I figured using it up would spare me from irresistible late night grilled cheese sandwich blitzes, so it was worth it.

And then I baked it at 350 degrees for about an hour (actually, until Jared walked through the door and I remembered I had actually put dinner in the oven.)

I cut up the chicken and then served the entire thing on the rice with salsa and sour cream (which in our house is actually just plain yogurt.)  It was super easy, maybe 15 minute actual prep time, and completely delish.

For those who want to know, I make a few spice mixes myself, like the fajita mix, and just leave them in jars. I like to know whats in, or rather, what's not in, my spices.  I put the "recipe" on the lid so that I can always recreate.  Here's the recipe for this fajita mix: