my latest work in progress…

introducing my adorable excuse for months of blog-neglect: our perfectly lovely daughter, aven. we’re quite smitten and seriously sleep deprived, and i’m already day-dreaming about what i can stitch up for our little dumpling (you know, with all that spare time i’ll have…). and, even though it’ll be a few years before she’s whipping up her own sweet treats, i’m looking forward to introducing her to the delicious world of butter and chocolate and dog-eared recipes. lots of good things to come!

loot!

this giveaway is too good not to share.  actually, it’s too good to share, but i’ll share it anyway.

most of you probably already have a crush on megan nielsen and her patterns.  if you haven’t stumbled upon her yet, you really should check out her blog – it’s loaded with some amazing tutorials (particularly fabulous for anyone needing maternity ideas).  AND, if you drop by her blog today, you’ll find out about all of the loot she is planning on giving away to celebrate the one year anniversary of her business (and her very own birthday as well).  what a generous way to mark the occasion and spread the word about her wonderful company!

fingers crossed!

holy liebster and {printemps shawl}

i love pleasant surprises. and, from unexpected birthday gifts to a huge dump of snow, this weekend has been full of them. the cherry that crowned the icing on top of my wonderful weekend cake was discovering that i was the recipient of a liebster blog award.

a liebster, i have learned, is a peer-awarded recognition of little blogs (read: fewer than 200 followers – i am, ahem, well within that margin). apparently, by loose translation, liebsters are “dear, sweet, kind, nice, good, beloved, lovely, kindly, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome“. how very warm and fuzzy! the recipient of a liebster is to pay it forward by bestowing it on five bloggers whom they admire, and so on and so on (kind of like a good-vibe chain letter). salma, from the beautiful blog beautifully sewn was kind enough to include me in her list of honourees. thanks, salma! i’ll try not to let too much time pass before i come up with my list of liebsters.

all of this liebsterness has prompted me to switch up my post. i was going to tell you about my ‘flopjacks’ – the kitchen disaster that started out as buttermilk oatmeal pancakes and ended up as a pile of mangled and chewy (though tasty) dog’s breakfast, but that just seems a little too negative for today. today calls for feelgoodery, so i would like to introduce you to my most recent finished crochet project, {printemps shawl}.

{printemps shawl} is so named because the colours remind me of spring crocuses peeking out through the snow. this is the scarf-sized version of the garden path shawl, designed by ‘lily go’ on ravelry* (lily’s well written and charted patterns are wonderfully intricate and creative – i can’t imagine the time and mathematics that go into her patterns, let alone the art and the vision).
i’m not sure if this colourway of malabrigo merino wool was the best choice…i can’t tell if it’s hideous or fetching. i tend to be drawn to either very plain or completely gaudy colours and patterns – there is no middle ground for me. this was my first foray into colours other than grays and browns, so maybe that’s why i’m a little uncertain of it. despite my uncertaintly, however, i will embrace my printemps scarf/shawl in the name of liebsterism! long live good, kind, generous, welcoming, nice, cute, beloved, sweet, endearing and lovely souls!

*do you know ravelry? if you crochet or knit, or just dream about crocheting and knitting, you will love ravelry, guaranteed. the garden path shawl link above will take you to ravelry, if you’re interested.