Cinnamon Bun Deliciousness

There are few things in this world I believe I do well. I'm no horn-tooter, but I can bake a pretty mean cinnamon bun.

On more than one occasion, people have requested the recipe, so I thought I'd share it here.

Hope you have a very sweet and cinnamony day!
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Preheat oven to 425 F.

Ingredients:
Dough:
2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup milk

Filling:
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 tbs cinnamon

Combine all ingredients for dough (except milk). Mix until a crumbly texture forms, then add the milk and knead.
Lay out dough on flat surface, and spread the filling mixture on top.
Roll up dough (the tighter you can roll it the cuter they end up looking, I find). Pop them into lightly greased muffin tins and bake for about 14-18 mins. I usually keep them in a bit less, but that's personal preference.
And of course, icing is always good on top!

Icing: a random mix of butter, icing sugar and a very little bit of milk.

Sometimes I'll use cream cheese with, or instead of, butter. They're both very good.

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Sarah Horn
Blog: Adventures in Knitting
Rav ID: sampras
Some Great Designs: sampras' Rav Designer Page

Sampras, this week's designer, is one of the wonderful and talented people with whom I knit¹.

And when she designed the Bowser Backpack, inspired by that fantastic Nintendo character, I knew it would be supercool, awesome and adorable (though, the appearance of her bunny Sampras in the photo makes it even more adorable!)

I like very many things about this piece, but I think her creative use of shaping and texture take the cake! Check out the pattern page on Rav to see images of the other side of the shell. Ridges of ribbing replicate a turtle tummy terrifically.

I'm looking forward to seeing more designs!
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¹Ok, so I tried to avoid ending my sentence with a preposition. Doesn't it sound awkward? Hmmm... English, you crazy, crazy language!

Literary Heroines; Or, I Take Quizzes

One of my favourite time-kills on the interwebs are silly quizzes.

As of late, I've joined a Jane Austen book club, and have been inspired by such to discover deep, ingrained and unalienable truths about myself through various, extremely scientific, web tests.

A quick google-ing retrieves numerous choices, and the following were my selections and results:

Abebook's Literary Personality Quiz
says I'm Shakespeare's Juliet

Quiztron says I'm Anne Shirley

Quizilla says I'm Jane Eyre

This Quizilla quiz says I'm Ophelia

Hmmm... perhaps the internet is telling me I have multiple personalities?

I wonder: who is your favourite literary heroine? Or, least favourite?

It's really rather difficult for me to choose, but I think I very much like Anne Elliot. She may be my favourite.

Oiseau Wednesday

Canaries are sweet and wonderful little creatures, who sing, shout, squawk, hop, fly and generally entertain their humans, delightful in their yellow silliness.
I've had canaries for years now, always boys (save for one exception!¹), each to his own cage (cause boys don't get along together).

Sadly, canaries don't live forever, and the boys I've added to my wee flock over the years have gone through their bright-beaked youth, mellow-middle-age and some have even reached the heights of canary geriatrics.
I still have my adorable Hilts and Butters, both nearing their sixth or seventh year.

While I love their little hearts dearly, I've had the wish to hear a few more tweeting voices greet me every morning.

Enter the two new sweethearts, Henry and Anne.

Henry and Anne are Zebra finches. I've never owned finches before, and they are certainly proving themselves to be entirely different creatures than their yellow, ornithological cousins.
As their names imply, Henry is a male and Anne is a female. Zebra finches, unlike canaries, enjoy company of their own kind. I decided that, since I was getting two finches, it would be wonderful if they had the possibility of breeding.

Named after the (in)famous English monarchs, Henry and Anne are already displaying their own unique little personalities. Anne is the brave one; she was the first to hop on over and eat out of my hand. Henry likes to cuddle up to Anne; I'll often find them side-by-side on the perch, or crammed into one of their seed dishes, in a seemingly uncomfortable position.

And so Henry and Anne have found a new home with me, Butters and Hilts. I'm still getting used to their tiny little squeak of a tweet. They sounds very much like squeeze toys.

Come back on Wednesday, when I'll be updating from Canary(and Finch!) Land :)
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¹ I've always purchased my canaries as males, but canaries are notoriously difficult to sex. One particular male, Valencia, decided he was going to defy logic and lay eggs! Since I wasn't going to breed canaries at that point, I decided to give Valencia a much better home, where she could indulge her maternal instincts and have canary chicks.

A Very Civilized Valentine's Tea

I remember when Valentine's Day was a celebration of wee chocolate hearts, red-construction-paper-based crafting and cute little pop-out perforated Valentines featuring the day's latest and greatest cartoon characters.

I miss those days!

One of the down sides of being a grown up is that you lose some fun activities of childhood.

But, one of the bonuses of age? You get to do whatever you want. You can throw a Valentine's Tea party, if the fancy catches you!

And indeed it did.

This year I had a bunch of friends over, and we gorged on delicious bittie sandwiches, teeny scones, a mini cheesecake and loads of other wonderful treats.


Here you see some of the spread, all laid out and waiting for ravenous knitters-turned-tea-party-goers.

One of the fun little things I baked for the day were some one-bite sugar cookies. According to Martha, I should have been able to stamp cute little letters on top of the royal icing, but Martha I am not, and lo, the stamping did not work.
Here you see them pre- and post-icing. That part was superfun.
Awesome-icing-sauce, in fact!

And so begins my post-a-day efforts for March! I've got a bunch of other ideas all lined up, and I'm excited to share all the goings-on round these parts.













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And, should the mood strike you to blog surf, here are some others planning to blog more in March:
Laura at Flours and Fibers
Kathleen at her brand new blog!
Love2Stitch at Life Outside of Work
Susan at Knitter's Delight will be participating in Me-Made-March

To the bloggers: please let me know if I've misquoted any info here!

Indie Designer Revisited

Designer: Susanna IC
Website: ArtQualia
Rav ID: zuzusus
Some Great Designs: zuzusus's Rav designer page
Original Indie Designer Post: September 5, 2008

I've profiled over 100 indie designers, and I have to tell you, my memory isn't that great. But, over the course of the past couple of years, as I've flipped through numerous knitting magazines (both in print and online), I've always had this design-gut-recognition feeling and wee bit of a thrill when I see a Susanna IC pattern. They're always recognizable through their delicate, feminine design, beautiful shape and classic feel.

Way back in September 2008, when I first profiled this very talented designer, she had a handful of lovely patterns which were all self-published (without even a blog or website!)
Now, she's been featured in Interweave, Twist Collective, Knit Circus, Knitty, Knit Picks, Yarn Forward, Knit on the Net and has her own website, ArtQualia Designs.

That's a lot of hard work, and an incredible talent!

It was difficult for me to choose which of her pieces to feature in this post, but I thought I'd share a recent one, Gweneria, published in the Winter 2011 Knitty.
This piece looks so cozy and perfect (especially for all the snow I see falling outside at the moment).

I'm very much looking forward to having that design-gut-recognition again when I come across the next beautiful Susanna IC pattern!
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Check out Susanna IC's group on Rav!

March; Or, My Efforts to Blog More

I've decided to challenge myself: Can I actually post a post every day in March?

And I mean, every day.

As in, no "I'm tiiiired. I just want to sleep/knit/eat!"
No!
Discipline, I tell you. I will have discipline.

And, interesting things to say!

Anyone else want to give it a go?
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Image: An adorable wild canary.
Didja know they're all green and stuff? It's true.
Selective breeding over many years has modified canaries into all sorts of different colours. types, shapes and talents (some are bred specifically for their fantastic singing abilities).
Image copyright Alan Manson

Amie Mitts

Pattern: Amie Mitts
Yarn: Mini Mochi, two skeins (approx. 550 m total)
Needles: 2.5 mm dpns
Gauge: 8 sts and 10 rows = 1" on 2.5 mm needles in stockinette
Sizes: one size

I really love these mitts. They were inspired by a gift from a good friend
(and here's the original ones).

These mitts are a long-cuffed, lightweight, versatile accessory that will carry you through Autumn, Spring and Winter. They can be worn pulled up over your arms, or scrunched down around your wrists to keep the cold wind out of your cuffs.
(that's how I usually wear them!)

I've gotten quite attached to my Amie mitts. They come out with me every day now (but, with the weather beginning to think about Spring, I fear their days are numbered!)

They're wonderfully soft and light, but still give my hands the warmth they need.

Wear them with your friends in mind - I always do!

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Linnéa Öhman
Blog: Viffla
Rav ID: Viffla
Some Great Designs: Viffla's Rav Designer Page

Today we're going to look at a designer who has, so far, shared only one pattern. But it's a really sweet one!

Elin, pictured right, are the lovely (and free!) first pattern by the talented Viffla.
I can't believe there's only 30 projects for this knit (to date).

This project looks like the perfect way to show off a few adorable buttons (thanks for giving me the excuse/reason to go button shopping!)

I'm really looking forward to any more designs Viffla may share in the future.

Introducing Little Seasonals!

I'm very excited to announce a new publication that a good friend of mine mousewife and I have put together.¹

It's "Little Seasonals", and this first edition contains patterns designed for Spring.

The idea behind this project is to give knitters a selection of season-appropriate knits that are indeed, little.

The two patterns I've contributed are the Frühling Wing Mitts and Shrug, pictured below.

Hannah has designed the lovely (and awesomely named!)
Gauntlets of Flirting (+10 to Coolness) and Shrug of Flirting (+10 to Hotness).
I love a well-named knit!

You can head on over to Lulu.com to download the eBook, and check out the projects on Rav.

There will be three more editions, for Summer, Autumn and Winter, so stay tuned!

Pattern: Frühling Wing Mitts
Source: Little Seasonals - Spring eBook
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll
Needles: 2 mm and 2.75 mm


Pattern: Frühling Wing Shrug
Source: Little Seasonals - Spring eBook
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll
Needles: 2 mm and 2.5 mm

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¹ Mousewife is the alter-moniker of Hannah Poon. I profiled her and her lovely designs here on a recent Indie Designer Day.

Miss Robu's Fantastic

Just a quick post to show ya'll my newest wee pattern.

Pattern: Miss Robu's Fantastic download now
Yarn: 160 m of handspun
Gauge: 5 sts /1"

Inspired by this lovely hank gifted to my by an awesomesauce friend this Christmas, this cowl knit up at lightning speed (the whole lifting the slipped stitches thing gets addictive!)
The Mock Honeycomb stitch makes for a sproingy fabric, great for keeping the cold off your neck on a chilly day.
Enjoy!

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Nakia Casey
Blog: Nakia Knits - My Knitting Blog
Rav ID: nakiacasey
Some Great Designs: nakiacasey's Rav Designer Page

A cool piece of colourwork can really turn my crank.

Check out nakiacasey's totally cool Rowr Mitts. These cute little pieces would look lovely peeking out from the bottom of your coat sleeves. I'm already envisioning them in a parade of various colours.

Being a big fan of the fingerless mitt, I think these are going on my ever growing list of to-knits.

Thanks for sharing, nakiacasey! I'd love to see more of your designs :)

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Summer Star
Blog: Stardust: a soul, searching
Etsy Shop: StarGrrl spinworks: Handspun yarn
Rav ID: StarGrrl
Some Great Designs: StarGrrl's Rav Designer Page

A recently published design by StarGrrl caught my eye back in December.

See the pictured Thorin's Hooded Cowl, in her own handspun.¹ I love how functional and versatile this piece is. A scarf/cowl and hood in one. It just might be the perfect winter accessory.

I'm also really digging the historic flair this piece embodies. The tassel on the hood is fantastic (and I think, might just be, the very best way to do a tassel!)

This is StarGrrl's first design. I can't wait to see what she'll create next!

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¹ Her handspun is available at Amethyst Cottage.

Cinnamon Grace; Scarf Extraordinaire

Ever since I profiled MrsMK a while back, I knew I wanted a Cinnamon Grace of my very own.

A hank (or, more like half a hank) of madelinetosh Merino Light in perfect Posy took about two weeks to knit into this sweet little scarf.

A happy and unexpected side effect of knitting this pattern is the great spiral the ends of the scarf curl into. That and the picot edging, along a very simple lace detail, make for an accessory that's feminine, but not overly so.

This is the way to do picot, my friends!

(Incidentally, I'm learning here. Picot made it on to my "disdain" list. I've been keeping my eyes open and brain whirring for approaches to integrating said design detail successfully into a new pattern!)

(Incidentally #2, I did get a snow day yesterday! New projects are in the works.)

Snow Day: Supercell Yarn Storm

This wee squirrel looks adorable and rather cheery, but he's gracing this here bloggy because of the impending snowstorm round these parts.

The talk's all about getting a snow day...oh, the things you can do with a snow day!

If you're lucky enough to experience this possible day of cozycomfort bliss, I've a few fab suggestions:

-whip up a warming drink with this delicious recipe for Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate from Knitted Bliss

-follow the suggestion from BabyCocktails and get knitting something snuggly

-break out those board games! It's been so long since I've played something (non-electronic).
Incidentally, what's your favourite board game? I have as of yet to invest in any. But, methinks my first purchase needs to be Scrabble.

-create a looming stack of to-read books by perusing one of the many top reads lists on the interwebs. I checked out this one. I've only read eight of these books. For shame!

Wish me luck! My snow day counts on my place of work declaring it so. If I'm cloistered in tomorrow, I'll be whipping up a yarn storm (along with a mug of that Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate!)