Walkin in a Winter Wonderland

Yesterday that song kept buzzing in my head. It was the perfect snow day. Idyllic really. I walked to the bus, then hopped a bus to work (well waited 30 minutes in the snow really, but who's counting). It was a quiet day & with more snow than this city has seen in oh about 12 years.



It snowed again last night, and so this morning there was even more snow!
By our walkway which is shovelled, the snow comes up to just below my knee!!
I absolutely love it! I don't even mind walking in the snow.



Oh & there has been some knitting around here lately too...
Mostly just baby hats for Mothering Touch.



I am loving knitting for toddlers. The designs are all my own ideas. I am sort of free-form knitting the tops of the fruits, the bunny ears, etc.

Happy snow day to all! & I hope all who are graced with this winter wonderland of snow are warm & safe :-)
~Nessa

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

Ever since exams finished on Monday, knitting has been happening...



I love the little stem and leaf I improvised on this little lemon cap.



The green on is now a finished lime cap, more photos to come some other time.






The first snow of the winter hit us several days ago. It was close enough to have some of us wishing and daring to hope for a White Christmas, which if you are from Victoria, you would realize is exactly not "like the ones I used to know". I can't remember ever having snow for Christmas, and I have been here for 24 years.
Actually, I think this dump is more snow that we've seen in a long time, which by the rest of Canada's standards, is not very much. But to us fairweather Victorian's it seems like a lot!



It is supposed to snow again today, but so far it's just been the normal old wet precipitation, and not the snowflake variety.



These are some stitch markers I've been working on making up to sell. They are polymer clay, baked, and then painted and glazed.





Well, I think I should go make some breakfast now.
happy knitting,
~Nessa

wherin exam stress pays off

So one exam down, two more to go... I actually was extrememly worried before the Immunology exam I had this morning. Last night, I was convinced that I was screwed... but I think that is a fairly normal feeling for sleep-deprived-insomniac-overworked students around this time of year. Exams is the one thing I really hate about school. Escpecially exams in the sciences which often hold a heavy weighting at the end of term. It is pretty normal for an end of term exam to be weighted at 40% to 50% of your overall grade. That's HALF your grade, people! HALF your grade relying on a couple of days of major cramming, because classes and normal class work doesn't cease until right before exams. Sometimes, no actually, a lot of the time, midterm exams are still happening the week before exam week starts! Mid-terms? Seriously, the most inappropriately named exams ever. So anyways, for those of you still reading this rant, last night I was feeling like all was lost, that immunology was a bust, a low grade, a failed exam.... when somehow... today... I knew the answers! I was the first person to finish the exam.... so I'm thinking it went well. I feel confident about my answers. So, there is one block of stress of my shoulders.

But why does exam stress pay off? Our prof for immunology made a list up for "overworked folks" on how to keep your immune system happy... apparently stress burns lots of calories... (he claims is a bad thing, as I reach for another cookie). It's true people, I've totally lost weight since last week. Gym? Who needs it? I've got stress to maintain my waistline! ;-P (just kidding of course)

ps. all of this has nothing to do with that photo, I just like it. I'll post with real finished object photos tomorrow.

ode to the Christmas box

One of the things I love best about Christmas, is the tree. Well, actually the ornaments to be more precise. Over the years I've built up a collection of hand-made ornaments using everything from baked and painted salt clay, to mini knitted garments, and of course there are those few keepsakes that have managed to stick through it all and still adorn the tree year after year. I look forward to seeing them when I bring that big Christmas box up from the basement, like old friends I only see once in a while, they still bring a smile to my face. This little Santa is like that. I am certain that my mom picked him up in a set of ornaments sometime in the early 1980's. I remember playing with all of the characters, Santa, a deer, a mouse, and others. All plastic. All covered in some sort of mysterious fuzz layer. All totally awesome. Santa here is the only fellow who has endured, and is still around to cheer up the tree year after year. Isn't he a fine fellow?



This Christmas decoration is not actually a real decoration, but a tin that used to hold real maple syrup that my hubby brought me back from a business trip to Ottawa. It is kind of like those great cookie tins that have cute little paintings on them, my mom always saved those...



This little tin pretty much epitomizes a Canadian winter in the 1980's. I get all nostalgic looking at it. Although, realistically, those kids would have frostbite in the sub-zero Canadian winter weather! Where are their snowsuits? You know, the ones where you can hardly move your arms, and that take so long to get on that you have to pee by the time you're ready to leave (& will take another 20 minutes to get off again). That, and the milk would be frozen.
(I should point out that this tin does not epitomize a West Coast Canadian winter, if it did, it those kids would need rainsuits)

Speaking of those festive cookie tins...



Here is my all time favourite Christmas cookie tin. I admit, I love this tin so much that some years it never makes it back into the Christmas box; it just stays out all year. Don't you just want to let that gnome inside and give him and his goat (angora goat btw) some milk and gingerbread cookies?



This next one is a snippit of a little Christmas scene I set up this year, we have lots of tiny winter themed figurines, and they look so cute on the mantle on a big vase of stuffing snow.



And of course, the Christmas Pickle. This is a relatively new ornament, which I recieved just two Christmases ago as a hostess gift when I held my annual Christmas potluck fete. I absolutely love the randomness of a pickle ornament, and I have a feeling this one will be with us for a long time.

These Yetis Mean Business!

If you live in Victoria BC, these Yetis want YOU to go to the MAGICAL CHRISTMAS CRAFT FAIR this weekend!

Hurry to scoop up these cuties (and other awesome one-of-a-kind COY softies) before they are all gone!!

Just a reminder, in case you forgot... it is running from Friday(tomorrow) to Sunday (check a few posts below for full info)

And for those of you who may be looking for me in the crowd, I won't be there!
I know, "what the heck Nessa? You won't even be at the craft show you've been pushing for the past week or two!!?" I really want to be there, but final exams are next week!!! Sadly, I need to spend my weekend in the books. Though, I might try to sneak down briefly during a study-break to check out the other vendors.

ps. send the A+ vibes my way ;-)

how much is that doggie in the window?

I almost forgot to share this little pup with you! I have dubbed him Percival Pup, and he is quite the fashionably doggy, as you can probably already tell from his swanky new knit scarf!



I crocheted him up while watching Season 4 of Grey's Anatomy. We don't have TV so I have to wait for these things.... no Season 5 spoilers please! I'm waiting until it's on DVD!
Percy is the first crochet amigurumi that I've ever designed. It was done free-style though, so I couldn't tell you how I did it :-)
Oh & of course he will be for sale! How much IS that doggie? $20.00 CDN. :-)

Well, right now I am knee deep in organic chemistry studies, so I should be off. But I did want to share that I actually distilled orange oil in the lab the other day! I actually made real orange essential oil! How cool is that? Organic chem is SO HARD, but seriously awesome sometimes!

~Nessa

Sunday Brunch

Today I dropped off all of the softies for the craft fair. Now they are out of my hands. I feel a bit sad to let them all go, but yet I really do want to have them sell out! I guess I will be a bit dissapointed, and a bit happy each way; if my favourites sell, I'll be sad that they are gone forever but happy that they sold, if they don't, I'll be sad that they didn't sell but happy that they aren't gone forever.
Anyways, here is the last of the softies I sewed up for the Magical Christmas Craft Fair at Pearkes Arena (see previous post for all the details).



I present, Little Red.



She took a whole lot longer to sew than I had anticipated, as the work was a bit fiddly. I have already thought of a few ways I could make her easier to sew when I make more in the future. My vision is to have Little Red dolls in many different skin tones, and hair colours. Not shown here are her polka-dotted undies, which is an extra detail that I love. I know I would have gotten a kick out of it as a kid.



She is approximately 18-20" tall.

And because I love to share... here is a recipe for brunch.


I have a love-hate relationship with eggs. As a toddler, my mother had to force feed me the stuff, some of which invariably ended up down the bib in protest. As a teen, I tried to like eggs. It just seemed like such quinessential breakfast food that I couldn't really believe I didn't like them, although when I did eat eggs I usually had to choke them down. As an adult, I have come to learn that there are a few different ways I do like my eggs.
One is poached eggs, fabulous! If it is eggs benny, even better, bring on the Hollandaise!
Sunny side up eggs, with peanut butter toast. Similar to the poached egg in flavour and texture, and the pb toast for dipping. I know what you're thinking, "peanut butter toast? And EGGS? Seriously?", Seriously. It is so good.
Oh & of course to round this out, I do like soft boiled eggs with buttered toast "fingers".
Eggs are also delicious when made into French Toast, or as egg salad sandwiches.
Other than that.... all bets are off.
So today, when I dreamt up this brunch food, I was in that hopeful naive place where I forget that I'm not really "that" into eggs. Luckily, it turned out fabulously! Do you like omlettes, grilled cheese sandwiches, or french toast?... then you will likely enjoy this delicious brunch toast! Don't like mushrooms and onions? Substitute your favourite omlette veggies, or meats! Having guests over for brunch? Grab a large pan and make a batch!

Nessa's Brunch Toast: (serves 1)

1 piece of rye bread (or your favourite bread)
1 egg
4 slices of sharp cheddar cheese (or strong cheese of choice)
1 green onion stalk, chopped
1 button mushrom, sliced
olive oil for the pan

heat up your oil in a pan, and lightly sautee the mushrooms and onion.
remove mushrooms and onion and set aside.
place bread in the pan and let heat up on one side, remove from pan.
immediately break an egg into the pan, and cover with mushrooms and onions, place bread on top. (I broke my yolk at this stage)
let cook until the egg seems done, then flip toast over and place cheese strips on top.
Cover, and let sit until cheese is all melted.
Serve immediately!

(this is a tweaked version, as I placed the bread in the pan first, then broke the egg onto the bread... it required a spatula to hold the raw egg on the bread until it was cooked enough to flip over. I think the version above should avoid that problem.)

Magical Christmas!

As many of you already know, the fabulous Arika from my knit group has so graciously given me some space to showcase some of my softies from the Coy shop!



The Magical Christmas Gift Show is running from December 5th to 7th at the Pearkes Rec. Centre.
The hours are 10am-8pm Friday, 10am-5pm Saturday & Sunday.

So if you are in the area, please stop on by and check out the fabulous items on display at Arika's booth! She has knitted some adorable punk-baby sweaters, legwarmers, and more, a couple of other knit group friends will be selling at the booth too. Tiffany will be selling the most adorable kids hats, such as a dragon hat, and a viking hat *tooo cute*, and Sylvana is selling some crocheted goodies.
**The address is 3100 Tillicum Road, right beside the Silvercity theatre. **



I found my mind exploding with new creative ideas after the never ending mid-term exam train, so this project was incredibly cathartic.
I would wake in the night with the schematics for a new softie, and have to run to my idea book so I could capture it for later use. I still have loads of ideas that have not yet been used, and you can look forward to seeing them around Christmas and in the new year.



I actually spent time sewing while studying for exams (I took creativity breaks), and had a couple of days of solid sewing a few weekends ago to get ready.



I think the Yetis are my favourites by far, they are just so unbelievably soft! It is truly difficult to send them away. I will definitly be making up more of these cuties during the holiday break, so stay tuned. I might even try out making some BIG yetis. These are around 11" tall.



This one is my favourite yeti, he is grumpy. I always choose the grumpy character. Grumpy dwarf, the Grumpy Carebear, Oscar the Grouch... I dunno, grumps just make me wanna cuddle them & cheer them up!



Here is my sewing desk (aka my "kitchen table")mid-way thru the sewing. It now looks like a major disaster zone, but we'll not talk about that...
Mess indicates creativity right??

~Nessa

create-ivity

I was perusing through some of my photo albums on my computer, and I found some great pics I shot & edited last fall around this time.



This is Roo, our loveable, naughty, chubby cat-who-thinks-he's-a-people.



This shot is of the fire in our woodstove, which we just got last year. I absolutely love it! The smell of woodstove fills up the house with this warm, sweet pine filed, winter fragrance. We don't actually use that much wood because it heats the house so well. We haven't fired it up yet this year, but with that November chill in the air I sense it will be soon.





These last two shots were used as a part of an online presentation for my bio class last winter. The top eye is my hubby's, and the bottom one is mine. Can you see the camera in my eye?

I've been swamped here with studying for midterms, and feeling slightly hopeless, but I've been taking creativity breaks so that I don't go crazy. So far I've sewn up about 10 items for the impending craft fair in December, and I have loads of ideas in my little idea book for more. I've also got some tricks up my sleeve for presents this year... he he he... you'll have to wait until after Christmas to see~

~Nessa

a cure for the blues

The above pic was taken a couple of weeks ago when fall was in full swing. But now it is almost beginning to feel wintery! And by wintery I mean West Coast BC wintery ie.cold, wet, and grey.

So I have been making some cheerful stuffies to chase the winter greys away.
It is impossible to have the blues when you've got a fluffy frosted cupcake with rainbow sprinkles, and a maraschino cherry on top!! It is like happiness incarnate!



These little guys will be for sale at the Perks Arena Christmas craft fair (more details to come closer to the date).



When I showed these to Jeffy, he asked "but can I eat them?"
Sorry Love, they're full of the wrong kind of fiber.


These little fluffies make me hungry for the real thing, which I admit I've been indulging in quite often this season :-) Can you blame me though?

I've also been working on some other more festive stuffies for the Christmas craft fair, but no pics of those yet.


And what is late Fall/ early winter without some hearty warming soup? Here's what we ate for dinner tonight...

Minestrone With A Colombian Twist



Ingredients:
1 can diced tomatoes (796 mL)
3 stalks of celery chopped
1 handful of cilantro chopped (about 10-12 sprigs)
1 can of beans rinsed, I used white kidney beans (540 mL)
1/2 pkg Mrs.Leepers Corn Rotelli (one pkg is 340g)
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup vegetable juice (like V8)
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 cube boullion (I use veggie boullion)
Shredded cheddar cheese for topping
Sour cream for topping

Mix all ingredients together except for noodles, sour cream, and cheese. Heat in a large pot on medium.
Cook noodles according to pkg directions, set aside.
Once celery is cooked, add the noodles.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkle of cheese on top. Cheese quesadillas, or corn chips would be a tastey side :-)

Happy November!
~Nessa

I really have been up to stuff...

This vest has taken forever to knit! Ironically, the actual knitting time needed to finish this is very small. I would even classify it as a weekend knitting project for a quick knitter. But it has taken since August to make this sucker. I am still not quite done the finishing.... but who has time? I'm usually stuck under some heavy textbook or other.Maybe I'll get it done for Christmas...




Next we have a simple knit, great for chilling on the couch and watching a show.
It is going to be a Christmas present! Go me!
Can you guess what it will be?



The last one is decieving, thrown in for a little autumn colour. I haven't actually worked on this for a while, but it is a KIP I am doing as a shop sample for the beehive.... What will it be?

Ok enough being mysterious, I really should be studying immunology...

Happy Thanksgiving to all you knitters-and nonknitters alike :-)

~Nessa

Bad bad blogger

Hey all,

I know I am a bad, bad blogger, but I've been super swamped with school! I have had a little time for knitting, so there are some new projects in the works to show you all.
BUT I haven't had time for photos.
The lineup of classes this semester feels a bit crazy: calculus, physics, organic chemistry, and immunology (a chemistry). My mind is reeling. Even now I am falling way behind in math homework so I should go work on that.
In good news, I made it through the first clump of midterms with ok grades in calc, and excellent grades in physics and chem. The bad news, there is another clump of midterms coming up in about 2 weeks. Gah! There is no rest!
Anyways, I know I'm whinging about something that is entirely my own choice, so I'll stop now. Besides, I really should be studying!

~Nessa

Artist Weekend Recap

Hey all,

so this post is a loooong time coming, but I think you'll all forgive my silence as it has been a crazy first two weeks of school. I am taking four lab sciences: two organic chemistry, immunology (a bio chem), calculus, and physics. So far I am enjoying being back at the books, even though the homework assignments are already beginning to pile up.



The artist weekend was a blast! I met some great local artisans, and got a really good response from the public about my artwork. I was so nervous to put myself out there, but it seems I need not have been so worried! Sales were not so good for any of the artists that weekend, I guess a cafe as an artistan market isn't the best consumer atmosphere but at least I got out there and got seen and known a bit by the public & it was a free venue too. The two days were glorious and sunny and loads of friends came out to visit me! Thank you all for your support, and it was awesome to catch up with so many of you that I just don't seem to see very often. Special thanks to Bonnie, who came out on Saturday to be my knitting buddy for several hours!

First, a sampling of my work...






Bonnie and I getting in some quality knitting time in the sun.


A silly little doggie, doesn't he look sinister?


One of the guys from the bonsai club, with his gorgeous bouganvillia bonsai!


An incredible ironwork sculpture from one of the other artisans, Nancy.