From My Loving Home

We adopted a "dorkie" in June from PAWS for Life Rescue in Edmonton and have found that small dogs definitely have some different needs than big dogs.  Our big dogs love being outside no matter what the weather - rain, sun, snow, cold - but our little Slinky is more of a fair weather walker. Since I love knitting, I thought I better get a sweater made for her before the fall/winter chills come.  I found a cute pattern from Martha Stewart.  The free pattern is found on Lionbrand and is called Sharkey -  Lionbrand Sharkey .  While this is a free pattern, you will need to login to Lionbrand (also free) to view it.  I used very inexpensive yarn (as it had the fall colors I was looking for).  The sweater in the photos below was made using the Craftsmart Value Yarn, Stonewashed Color #34.  Obviously, Slinky needs more of a long and slim rather than the short and wide in the original.  I just added a few rows on the back length and positioned my buttons a bit differently to al

One thing that always reminds me of my Oma is Schwarzbeerkuchen (blueberry cake).  Oma and Opa used to bike into the woods to pick the wild blueberries around their home in Nuernberg, Germany.  These weekly trips would yield baskets of blueberries which Oma would then lovingly bake into delicious blueberry cakes.  She did both a yeast dough or a Quarkoel Teig which is made from the German quark (similar to a ricotta in texture).  When we immigrated to Canada, my Mama found that quark was not readily available (foodies weren't a thing back then haha), so she adapted the recipe to be made with sour cream.  This was my favourite summer cake as a child and still is today.  I can vouch that it is delicious with blueberries from Bavaria, the Kootenays in British Columbia and wherever the store bought ones happen to be from on a given day.  Since blueberry season is upon us, it's time to turn yummy, plush blueberries into that delectable Schwarzbeerkuchen.  Enjoy! Recipe : 2

The kiddo and I love to grab a supermarket roast chicken for lunch when we are in a hurry but the hubby doesn't enjoy them at all.  A $7 chicken ends up still being too much food for the two of us.  We usually end up just eating the drumsticks and thighs when the chicken is warm and the rest ends up in the fridge.  Those chicken leftovers make a very yummy and juicy chicken salad though, especially this time of year when there are delicious fresh herbs growing right out the back door.  Serve with a lovely slice of rye, pumpernickel or multigrain bread and you have a simple, tasty and inexpensive lunch.  Recipe : Leftover chicken diced - skin and bones removed (amount depends on how much you ate when it was warm) 3 green onions chopped - I use winter onions from my herb garden A few large sprigs of fresh dill chopped coarsely - don't scrimp and make sure you use fresh not dried 1 tbsp. of olive oil mayonnaise Salt and pepper to taste   Happy Friday!

A few weeks ago, I happened upon this picture while googling dachshunds. Slinky was listed under dogs for sale on kijiji as a 4 year-old very timid "dorkie" in desperate need of a foster home.  After having a discussion with my husband, we decided that we would offer to foster Slinky to try to help her become trusting of people and situations.  We were fully aware that if she was a dog that fit into our already large fur family, that we would offer to adopt her.  When I first went to the meet and greet with Slinky at  Dogspaw (the kennel that generously houses, trains and socializes the rescues until they go to foster homes), she was very nervous, timid and yappy.  After a few minutes of sitting on the floor in the training room with her, she eventually came over for a sniff and after a while allowed me to pet her.  She seemed "okay" with it which was a good sign that we would at least have another meeting.  I came back a few days later with husband, 4 y

When I found out my good friend had a baby girl, I couldn't wait to crochet a girly pink hat for her.  I ended up finding a pattern on Pinterest and adding on a little flower to make it a bit more feminine. Here is the pattern to the hat http://www.whistleandivy.com/2013/04/faux-ribbon-baby-hat.html .  I used Rowan handknit cotton yarn so had to adjust a bit for gauge but I really like the colours so made it work.  The pattern for the flower embellishment can be found at http://www.alittlebirdtoldme-craft.com/2010/10/crochet-flower-tutorial.html . From my loving home, Monika

I saw this cute scarf on a blog and realized I had the same yarn sitting at home with no purpose as of yet.  New to crocheting, I thought it would be a nice project to work on while watching tv since I didn't have to concentrate too hard. The free pattern (Estelle button cowl)  was not only simple but the finished product turned out as promised notwithstanding my novice skill level.  I used one skein of Red Heart Boutique yarn for this the project.  I bought a set of metallic buttons at Michael's to finish it off.   I like the versatility the buttons add.  You can either wear it as a simple double-wrap cowl by fastening it end to end or you can fasten the buttons anywhere along the scarf for a variety of different looks.  From my loving home, Monika

Having a little boy, I always wanted to knit a newsboy hat for him as they are so wonderfully adorable.  When searching for free patterns, I only ever seemed to come across crochet patterns so didn't actually attempt making one until taking up crocheting this year.  After making the newsboy hat, I decided to also make a lady's hat from the same yarn (Red Heart Super Saver - Aran Fleck).  I found a very cute pattern on Pinterest (link to website below). Once the hat was done and ready for finishing, I decided to have an angled brim instead of the straight folded back brim and it ended up looking a bit flapper which I think is also cute. The pattern can be found http://www.crochetaddictuk.com  and I would consider it a beginner level pattern.  There are numerous other free hat patterns to be found on the same site.  The child-size newsboy hat pattern I used can be found at http://vallieskids.blogspot.ca (linked directly to pattern page) and is also a beginner-level

I recently decided to give crocheting a try after being an avid knitter my whole life.  It turned out to be surprisingly simple to figure out thanks to my knitting background and Google.  I found a lovely bag pattern (free!) on Pinterest and used some bargain yarn to give it a try.  The whole project took me about a week to complete and used two balls of yarn.  The original pattern I was following was the Rainbow Bag .  I followed the pattern as best I knew how (as it turns out I may not have been doing some of the stitches correctly at the beginning but they still looked fine!).  Obviously, I did not change colours throughout instead using a colourful yarn.  I decided learning to crochet would be enough of a challenge so I didn't need to add the hassle of changing colour every row and then sewing that all up at the end.  Here is the finished project.  My next project is a triple stitch scarf but then I think I will try something a bit more fun like some Amigurumi. 

As the weather gets colder, it’s time to break out the wool and the woolies.  I took a basic sock pattern and added a diagonal pattern for a bit of fun.  The yarn used is Lion Brand Sock-Ease and it is usually easy to find (I get mine from Michael’s).   One ball makes the pair, which is great so you don’t have to worry about matching up dye lots. The pattern is set out below and I would rate it as an intermediate pattern but an easy sock pattern.  In other words, I don’t consider sock knitting a beginner project but, if you’ve successfully knitted a pair of socks before, this pair should cause you no problems. These are knitted in the round on 5 double-pointed needles (size US 2) and for the gauge: 8 stitches equals 1″.  The pattern is for a woman’s regular calf and ladies’ size 8 foot. Sock Cast on 64 sts (16 on 4 needles). Row 1:  Join to begin round and work in K1, P1 across all four needles. Row 2-6:  Continue in K1, P1. Diagonal Pattern Row 1:  P1, yo, K3, ssk, K9,