beets me.

There has been some radio silence over here. Last week was a ‘busy’ week. I put that in quotes because it wasn’t busy but just one thing after the other. We had a good weekend, though, and a chance to get out of the city … clear our heads and start fresh.

One positive to come out of last week, however, was a reason to continue buying beets. I hate beets. I’ve tried. And tried. And tried to like them. But I don’t. I just don’t. I had some in the fridge and I thought I would try them one.last.time. No avail. I still don’t like them. But what do you do with 2lbs of roasted beets?

Beets me.

I decided to go cruisin’ on the Internets to see if there was a recipe or two that I could make with these things. Eureka! These are delicious!

Beets Me Muffins (Original)

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

• 2 C roasted, shredded beets
• 2 C whole wheat flour
• 1 C white flour
• ½ C – ¾ C brown sugar (increase as needed for sweetness)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ginger

Wet ingredients:

• 1 C vegetable oil
• 1 C milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients together. Create a well in dry ingredients. Pour in wet ingredients and stir together until just mixed. Pour mixture into muffin tray, filling ~2/3rds full (muffin cups recommended). Bake 18-20 minutes. Insert a toothpick to ensure cooked through (pick comes out clean). Yields 20 muffins.

Surprisingly, these do not come out pink as they would have you believe online. Here is another version for those of you out there who are vegan or choose vegan more often (like me):

Vegan Whole Wheat Beets Me Muffins

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

• 2 C roasted, shredded beets
• 3 tsp vital wheat gluten
• 2 1/2 C whole wheat flour
• ½ C – ¾ C brown sugar (increase as needed for sweetness)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ginger

Wet ingredients:

• 1 C vegetable oil
• 1 C plant-based milk (eg. Almond milk, soy milk or coconut milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients together. Create a well in dry ingredients. Pour in wet ingredients and stir together until just mixed. Pour mixture into muffin tray, filling ~2/3rds full (muffin cups recommended). Bake 18-20 minutes. Insert a toothpick to ensure cooked through (pick comes out clean). Yields 20 muffins.

Happy Eating! I promise there has been some knitting (albeit very little) that I will be finished with and able to show you very soon :)

additions.

For something completely different, we have decided to try juicing. This has nothing to do with knitting or crafting or anything so I will understand if you stop reading now! I thought I would share some personal thoughts about my weight loss journey since tinytuna was born.

Along with a friend of mine, we are sticking to Weight Watchers quite diligently. I have had some success with it in the past and post-partum, I thought I would sign up again for the online membership. I have lost 5lbs thus far since getting back on the wagon in October. Ideally, I would like to slim back down another 10lbs to my pre-pregnancy weight.

What I really struggle with, though, is fruits and vegetables. I know I should eat them. I love the taste of them – I’m not a picky eater. I really enjoy most all foods except olives. Truly. I’ll be honest: I actually eat very healthfully. My shortcomings happen when I am hungry. Is that the case for most people? I kind of think so. Snack time is the worst for me! Particularly 10am and 4pm. It is just that when I’m hungry, I would way rather eat a piece of bread with jam. Or chips. Or candy. Or just about anything but fruit and veg.

How to overcome this?

There are a couple of reasons I would like to ‘overhaul’ my eating habits (I’m not calling it a diet because this needs to be sustainable forever):

1. We want more children and the idea of heading into my next pregnancy heavier is a bit daunting to me (I think about post-partum the next go round!),
2. I want to feel healthy inside and out, and
3. The food that I love is calorie-rich but nutrient-lacking.

 

I decided to sit down and figure out what my trigger food is – I didn’t actually realise I had one until I was reaching for 72% dark chocolate for the 5th time last week. Who knew? I still have my bars in the fridge but I’ve moved them to a spot I can’t see them every time I open the fridge.

We looked up some recipes online: juicerecipes.com has been a great place to start as you plug in the ingredients you have and it spits out recipes. Also, it details the health benefits of the juice you are making.
 

 

For now, we are going to stick to the slightly more labour intensive blender rather than invest in a juicer. The blender is great for the morning smoothies I make and while it means I have to strain the pulp out of the vegetable juices, I’m willing to do this for now.
 

I have to insert a caveat here: I didn’t think they would be so good. Who knew that a little lemon (fresh squeezed) and apple could sweeten kale, tomato and spinach enough that you almost polish off the glass before remembering to take a photo? Huh.

Do you have any experience with juicing? Has it been successful? A labour of love? Hate it? I’d love to hear the good, the bad and the ugly!

ps. I promised a friend I would include an update about cloth diapering soon and I will. I wanted to take some photos to show you what has worked and not worked. That’s coming soon!

toques, toques … & more toques!

The majority of the Christmas knitting this year was of the toque variety. Everyone got a toque this year … it was a good exercise in stash busting. It was also nice to have items fly off the needles without hours and hours of commitment!

 

This actually isn’t the whole pile but I had to mail a couple off quite quickly for them to be there in time for Christmas morning in Ontario.
 

Let me show you the various patterns and designs for each recipient.

The first set of toques went to my sister-in-law and her fiancé.

 

I decided to knit my favourite men’s toque pattern for J, which turned out perfectly. There is something so satisfying about a fully reversible toque!
 

Pattern: Botanic Hat by Stephen West
 

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers in Grey (8401) and Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball in Grey (1507)

Needles: 4.00mm circs
 

For L, her favourite colour is baby blue so this was a no-brainer. I picked a pretty blue out of my stash and proceeded to find a colourwork toque for her that would have a little slouch to it as she looks great in beret-style toques. Just a side note, I looooved the decreases for this pattern – brilliant!
 

 

Pattern: Seasons Toque – slouch version – by Jared Flood
 

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in various colourways
 

Needles: 3.00mm
 

The second set of toques were gifted to my brother and sister-in-law.
 

 

My brother, P, is always easy to knit a toque for since he loves them so much. It is so great to see him wearing the myriad of toques I’ve knit for him over the years. He looks best in blue so whatever I chose for him would be blue.
 

 

Pattern: Windschief by Stephen West
 

Yarn: Cascade Wool 220 Heathers in colour
 

Needles: 4.00mm
 

I used the same pattern for K as I did for L since the first one turned out so perfectly. Instead of the slouch version, though, I knit the beanie as K has a great beret from me already. I thought this would be more of a warm winter toque for her.
 

 

Pattern: Seasons Toque – beanie version – by Jared Flood

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in various colourways
 

Needles: 3.00mm
 

Lastly, I gifted my mom and dad (aka Nana and Gramps) with toques.

 

For Dad, I knit off the top of my head (sorry for the pun!). He has a large head (25.5” diameter) and he likes his toques loose. I cast on 24” worth of stitches and just knit. I had picked up the ball of yarn on a whim at my LYS and I wasn’t wrong: It is perfect for him. I knit 3” of 2x2 rib, then 3 garter ridges, then straight St st until the toque measured 8” from the brim. I then worked decreases at 5 evenly-spaced points. Easy-peasy!
 

 

Pattern: My own inspiration (see above)
 

Yarn: Berroco Quasar in colour 8220 Ultraviolet
 

Needles: 6.5mm
 

Lastly, Mom’s toque was the most premeditated of the bunch. I had knit the same toque for her dear friend who is battling cancer in Halifax, NS, and we had mailed it off in November 2012. When Mom was trying (but having a lot of difficulty) choosing yarn for her friend’s toque, she kept showing me yarn that she liked. This particular skein she kept returning to, so I went back and bought it a week or so later. She loved the toque I knit up for her friend so much that I knit her the same one using the yarn I’d returned to buy.
 

Unlike my first version, I made this one the full length as Mom looks great in slouchy toques.
 

 

Pattern: Molly by Erin Ruth
 

Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Rios in colour 139 Pocine
 

Needles: 4.00mm
 

My only regret is that I didn’t get a toque knit for my husband – I literally just ran out of time. We are headed on our yearly retreat to Tofino, though, and I’m thinking I might get one finished for him while we are there. Wish me luck!
 

 

Merry (although belated!) Christmas!

Fourteen in Twelve.

Happy New Year!
 

I hope the holidays have been wonderful thus far for you and your family/friends. We celebrated the new year in Tofino, our favourite place to go for quiet and restoration. Unfortunately, we had to cut the trip short and head home today (rather than Thursday) because tiny tuna came down with croup. He sounds worse than he is but after some sleepless nights, we decided to head home. The place we stay, though, put on quite an impressive fireworks show on Long Beach to ring in the new year and we were able to see it all from our ocean-front cabin. That was great!

While I was thinking about the year 2012, a few things came to mind that have defined the year:

• Although our dear friend’s cancer returned (which he continues to battle), they celebrated each other & decided to get married,
• We welcomed our first child into our family, and
• After much trepidation, my brother & sister-in-law decided to try something new and move to Vancouver Island.

At the beginning of 2012, I set a goal for myself to knit twelve sweaters. Amazingly, I ended up knitting fourteen! This was partly due to the month off in June while tiny tuna continued to ‘cook’ and decided he wasn’t ready to be born!

I thought I would quickly reflect on each since I learned much this year about my knitting.

1. Gamine. I was so excited about this vest & knit it in a big frenzy. The buttons I chose for it though are too heavy … and I haven’t changed them yet so this hasn’t been worn as much as I had hoped. Lesson learned: Fix what you don’t like (if you can) as soon as possible!

 

2. Hooray. This is a super cute cardigan but I didn’t love it … right from the start. After wearing it a few times, I figured out why: It’s ever so slightly too small so I’m constantly pulling at it. Lesson learned: Knit with (+)ive ease! I prefer a slightly looser fit!

3. Tinder. I absolutely love this cardigan. I’ve worn it a ton – it’s pilling under the arms and I’ve had to shave it a few times. The change in gauge and size meant it was exactly what I wanted; therefore, I ended up loving the results!
 

4. Truffle. Hmmm. I just love this jacket. It makes me feel warm and wonderful when I wear it. It’s incredibly warm, though! I’m also mad-proud of it as there were countless design elements that I had to work out and re-knit over and over. I learned an incredible amount from this jacket, including appreciating the pricelessness of a dress form!
 

5. Inuit Jacket (Drops 109-8). Again, I changed the pattern to work it up the way I envisioned. I love the results but it’s hot hot hot. Way to warm for an average day here in Vancouver … my favourite thing about this jacket/cardigan? The buttons and hood.
 

6. Audrey. This was a quick knit that I felt very inspired by at the time but I haven’t worn it. I’m not actually sure why. I love the yarn and the finished results … I just haven’t thought of it. Lesson learned: Figure out what I will wear something with/for before casting on! Yarn/cardigans sitting in the closet make a lot of work for naught.
 

7. Creature Comforts. This was tedious to finish – the cable chart felt like it was never going to finish but the results? Totally worth it! I love the finished project … although I haven’t worn it yet. I think mostly because I wear my Tinder so much!
 

8. Gathering Stripes. This pullover is super cute. But it’s way too big. I never took the time to sew the seams, either and I need to. Lesson learned: Finish things right away! Before I burn out on them (and move on to other projects!)!
 

9. Acer. By far my most favourite cardigan I have ever knit. The combination of yarn and pattern was just absolutely perfect. I’m thinking about making another one in 2013…
 

10. Abalone. This was all about stash busting. I held two yarns together to create a soft, grey-ish hue that compliments much of my wardrobe. It is a little too long – I think next time, I’ll shorten it by about 2”.
 

11. Atelier. Oooh this is such a beautiful pattern. The yarn was beautiful too. But for whatever reason, I just didn’t love the yarn knit up. It’s just too busy for me. I was sooo excited about this pattern too. Lesson learned: You can’t make yourself love something!
 

12. Woodstove Season. My first test knit ever! I love this cardigan. I wear it a lot – it’s warm and comfy. The yarn has held up really well thus far and I’ve actually bought some more that was on sale to make another worsted weight sweater I’ve had my eye on for a while.

13. Nanook. Love love love this sweater. I’ve worn it a ton. I will be making it again with a couple of changes: Mostly a little bit more room in the yoke. I like the boat-neck quality of mine but I think just a little more ease will suit my tastes.
 

14. Patrick’s Vest. This was a quick knit for my brother … who has lost weight and it’s now too big for him. Herumph. Thankfully, it still looks good and he’ll be able to wear it to muck around in!
 

In a lot of ways, while I love knitting sweaters, I think working on a few that I really love and wear is important at this time in my life. My time has become, as many new moms find, a bit of a precious commodity! What do I most want to spend my time making? Items for my family and myself that will be worn, used and loved. I hope your crafting adventures in 2012 were as enjoyable as mine.

Thank you for another wonderful year!
 

Cheers and many best wishes for 2013,

rachel

weekend glory.

We have had a difficult weekend. Early Saturday night, after Christmas party number 2 (of 4), I came down with the stomach flu. Unfortunately, I haven’t fully recovered. M came down with it last night almost immediately after his final exam, which finished his semester (yahoo!) – we should have been out celebrating tonight … but we ended up giving the tickets to my parents. Thankfully, TinyTuna did not get a bad case of the flu – he only vomited a few times on Saturday and that was the end of it. He was back to his cheerful, although tired, self yesterday.

We did make it to 3 of our planned Christmas outings … it was fun to get dressed up & have some nights out just the two of us - my lovely parents babysat! Bless them! What holiday festivities are you enjoying throughout the month? I hope you stay happy, healthy & enjoy the season!

owls & cupcakes.

I don’t usually post about more personal things but I wanted to share the wonderful shower that my sister-in-law and Mom held for James. They truly went above and beyond!

K ordered some decorations off of Etsy, which looked beautiful on the cupcakes, glasses and mugs. The food was wonderful – the cupcakes especially, which were K’s homemade recipe.

I think the truly wonderful aspect of the shower was watching C, my SIL’s younger sister, with James – she has a wonderful gift with babies. I think we’ve found the perfect babysitter!

It was a lovely day :)

radio resurgence.

After the much needed period of radio silence, I have been able to catch up on things. This included focusing for the final months of 2011 on finishing my master’s degree and fighting off feeling sick for three months. I’m sure you can guess why – yes, I am almost 4 months pregnant. We are very excited and I am due in the middle of July.

Now that I am feeling caught up and definitely better, I am able to start thinking about knitting and crafting again. Looking forward to knitting for a growing family, as well as starting to design a little bit, I am hopeful that this space will once again be busy.

I have finished quite a few things during my radio silence. One of my favourite projects is Gamine, a cardigan-vest from designer Tori Gurbisz. Another one of her patterns I am looking forward to knitting is Zephyr, a simple contiguous yoke cardigan. I am, however, on a yarn diet, and will not be purchasing the yarn for this sweater for a while!

One of my ‘projects’ this January has been to empty out my 'office’ as it will morph into the nursery. In rearranging and preparing to store much of my yarn and notions, I have been able to cull my stash of a large bag of yarn for donation. It is strangely liberating. If the remaining has not been touched by December 2012, the rest  is being donated as well.

So, Gamine. I used stash yarn – which will be an ongoing trend here at Chez Welfordpurls for the rest of the year!

Berroco Flicker is a relatively new yarn that is very pretty. Odette, the colourway I chose, is a soft cream with flecks of green-gold in it. The flicker is not overpowering and because it’s gold, it’s very subtle against the cream. Gold buttons set it off nicely. As I mentioned on my rav page, though, the yarn is quite splitty.

In terms of modifications, I added about 2.5 inches of length to the body. Flicker’s gauge is strange. It’s listed as a worsted weight but when knit up on 5.00mm needles, it’s quite stiff. Even with washing, I wasn’t too happy with the look or feel of it after. On 6.00mm needles, it’s light and airy – I think it shows off the yarn nicely. And that gave me gauge too.

I hope this finds you happily knitting, enjoying the new year and looking forward to the projects you have planned.

r.