Tuesday, 27 March 2018

Blue Boo Bear

Once I finished Another Little Lamb, I started right away making a Blue Boo Bear. It has been a while since I last made a Boo Bear. I chose a mix of blue and off-white chunky yarns from my stash altering my pattern as I worked to keep him properly proportioned. I also made a cutesy smiley face for his tummy ... simple and sweet without being too busy. 

Blue Boo Bear posed for photos showing his front, back and side views.  
 
 
 
Blue Boo Bear looks a little sad, yet totally adorable and huggable too.
Blue Boo Bear and Little Lamb both made from leftover yarn - how great is that? I hope it brightens your day seeing more cute and cuddly crochet.


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Monday, 26 March 2018

Another Little Lamb

Seeing my yarn stash sorted by colour in neat little cakes displayed on a table inspired me to make more toys. I started with Another Little Lamb. I love the way it turned out ... so squishy and soft. 
 
 
Another Little Lamb to brighten your day with smiles and crochet. 

If you would like to make your own Little Lamb, you can find the free pattern here by blogger Ashleigh at Sewrella. This is such a fun pattern, I have made few. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed if you do.


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Friday, 23 March 2018

Puff Stitch Infinity Scarf

I recently finished a Puff Stitch Infinity Scarf using yarn from my stash. There are no ball bands on my stash, so I am guessing the brown yarn is wool and the grey and cream yarns are an acrylic wool blend. I picked this yarn based on weight as it's lightweight fingering yarn perfect for practicing the puff stitch using a 3.75 mm crochet hook. 

Why practice puff stitch? 

Well because I want to crochet this free pattern for a Heart Baby Blanket of course. It's for my niece who is having a baby this summer. The bulk of the blanket is done in puff stitch using lightweight fingering yarn and a 3.75 mm hook. This scarf is basically a simplified version of the blanket. It incorporates all but the border and the colour changes required to make a heart shape in the middle. I think the puff stitch looks and 'feels' amazing with its soft squishy texture. 
The photo above shows a closeup view of the puff stitch. The photo below shows the Puff Stitch Infinity Scarf stretched out - 29" long (58" circumference) by 4" wide.
This scarf is long enough to loop comfortably around my neck twice.
 
 
I have included instructions for the crocheters out there who might like to make their very own Puff Stitch Infinity Scarf.


Puff Stitch Infinity Scarf

Follow instructions for Puff Stitch Blanket found here.


Lightweight fingering yarn
Hook size = 3.75 mm

Starting chain 23
Row 1 - 10 puff stitches
Row 2 - 9 puff stitches 
Alternating rows of 10 and 9 puff stitches

Brown yarn - 85 rows
Grey yarn - 26 rows
Off white yarn - 47 rows
Total - 158 rows (even number for joining)
Finish off leaving a long tail to stitch last row to beginning row.

Note: The pattern calls for a starting chain number multiple of four. I used a multiple of four less one because I made the first puff stitch in the fourth chain from hook instead of fifth. Also I crocheted three chains at the beginning of each row instead of four. I found this made neater edges.


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Tuesday, 20 March 2018

Love My Ball Winder

I have been crocheting for over 7 years and winding all my leftover yarn by hand - a slow, time-consuming task. I justified it as a relaxing mindless part of the process. Just over a week ago now, I decided to splurge and buy a yarn ball winder for $50 at London Yarns. I say 'splurge' because I could have shopped around for a lower price, but I like to support our local yarn shop plus I didn't feel like waiting even one day longer.
I secured my new ball winder to an old wooden high chair and went to work on this colourful collection of yarn balls plus more from storage.
Once the table was completely covered in yarn 'cakes', I stopped to admire the view. I love how seeing all that yarn on display fills my head with ideas. But then I worry as there are so many things to make, yet so little time. I expect this is a common problem amongst crafters.
I do Love My Ball Winder. Making these stackable, centre-pull yarn cakes was so fast and easy, I wish I had invested in a gadget like this sooner. 


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Sunday, 11 March 2018

Crochet Stripey Giraffe

I am finally getting around to writing about this Crochet Stripey Giraffe I finished the day before we left for Cuba. I started it over a year ago using yarn from my stash making an arm and two legs before putting it aside to work on more pressing projects. 

I picked it up again after Christmas working one stripe at a time.  
I love how this Crochet Stripey Giraffe turned out ... so sweet. 
  
I hope this colourful cheerful Crochet Stripey Giraffe brightens your day just a little ... smiles from meo my crochet.

If you would like to make a Crochet Stripey Giraffe too, you can find the free pattern here by blogger Emma at I Love Buttons.


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Saturday, 10 March 2018

Playing with Colour Pooling

I bought a big ball of Bernat Handicrafter cotton yarn in Holidays Ombres to make cork hot pad covers for Christmas. I wrote about those here if you missed it. 

There was quite a bit of yarn leftover after making only four hot pad covers. I had read about "colour pooling" using variegated yarn and the linen stitch or moss stitch as it is also called. I was intrigued by the idea of letting yarn create a colour pattern. I thought it might be fun to make a few dishcloths and try my hand at colour pooling using this yarn. 
Successful colour pooling patterns vary depending on the yarn, hook size and tension. It requires experimentation to find a starting chain that magically works.

I tried a starting chain of 34 ... no pooling just small patches.
I tried a starting chain of 30 ... still no pooling just bigger patches.
Then I tried a starting chain of 32 ... finally a pooling pattern XX
It really is very cool to create little dishcloths with a cross pattern. For me the magical number was 32, but for you it might be different. Experiment ... it's all part of the fun. 
I made four dishcloths with clear XX patterns, two with random colour patches and one more smaller cloth to use up the rest of my yarn. I made another dishcloth in red (also from my stash) to make four gift bundles. These have been put away for next Christmas - handy hostess gifts.

Starting chain 30 = colour patches, 32 = XX, 34 = smaller colour patches
Hook size 5.0 mm
Red cotton yarn starting chain = 34
Border = linen stitch

32 was my magical number ... experiment as results may vary.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing with Colour Pooling. Get some variegated yarn and give it a go. You won't be disappointed if you do. 


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Friday, 9 March 2018

Cuba Yet Again

We have vacationed at the same all-inclusive resort Club Amigo Marea del Portillo in Cuba for the past two years. We enjoy our time there so much, we decided to stay yet again this year.

We got back from Cuba over two weeks ago. Yet again it has taken ages to sort through our photos and decide what to say. I wrote about our last two trips here and here. Since I have already written about the resort plus hiking and biking in the area, I thought it might be interesting to focus on things we did differently. 

For starters, we did not take our high-end bikes packed in heavy bike cases risking higher fees for exceeding the 44-lb limit. Instead we bought decent older-style mountain bikes found on Kijiji for $125 each - bikes perfect for donating at the end of our stay. My husband replaced the cables, brakes and tires then packed the bikes in cardboard bike boxes. Even with seven extra tires our bike boxes weighed less than 44 lbs. 

To take bikes, we paid the standard over-sized luggage fee of $30 each plus another $15 CUC (Cuban Convertible Pesos) each to transport them by taxi from the airport in Manzanillo to our hotel. Four bikes fit per taxi so the $60 CUC fee can be shared if there are enough bikes. Last year our bike boxes made it on the bus while bikes in cardboard boxes did not. We expect our hard-shell bike boxes were handled like luggage because they could not be strapped to the roof of a taxi. We worried about sending bikes by taxi especially when they arrived later than expected. It was after midnight and we had just gone to bed when our bikes arrived safe and sound. All in all travelling with 'donor' bikes was so much easier, we are planning to do it again next year. 

This photo shows me enjoying one last matcha tea almond milk latte while waiting near the front of the line to check our luggage at Toronto Pearson airport. A forecast snowstorm had arrived on schedule. Luckily we had driven the night before and stayed at a Comfort Inn just 12 km from the airport. We heard another couple from London took 5.5 hrs to drive through the storm almost missing their flight.  
This year we were pleased with our ground floor ocean-view cabana. The air conditioner was newer and quiet ... so quiet we could hardly tell it was running. Last year our air conditioner sounded like a tractor. 
We found a handy spot to hang our clothesline between two trees behind our cabana. We liked to sit in the shade reading and relaxing while our clothes dried, but took the line down between uses as we heard it might disappear if left unattended. 
We thoroughly enjoyed both hiking and biking in Cuba Yet Again. Over our two-week stay we fit in four hikes (~12 hrs) and seven bike rides (264 kms). Plus every morning before breakfast we walked the length of the beach up to the other hotel on the hill and back. We love how easy it is to be active and improve fitness on holiday.

Last year we figured out how to hike around the reservoir. We did the hike three times over three weeks. I wrote a guide describing our route here. This year it is impossible to hike all the way around. All the dry river beds we walked through with ease last year are filled with water. We heard it rained a lot from November through January topping up the reservoir with much needed water. 

Instead of hiking all the way around the reservoir, we split our route into two separate out-and-back hikes. First we headed East to the Look Out behind the reservoir. We love the views on this route.
Our hike to the Look Out takes us over our favourite rickety stick bridge. Last year this river was completely dry making me feel quite brave to walk across a structure so dilapidated and far off the ground. It looks a lot less scary with this much water ... not nearly as exciting.
Stick bridge - last year compared to this year

There was so much water one end of the bridge was wet. We walked along the railing to keep our feet dry. 
From the Look Out behind the reservoir you can see how much more water there is this year. 
Reservoir - last year compared to this year.

There are always interesting things to see and photograph on our hikes ... pretty flowers, chicks, working oxen just to name a few.
This year we met a friendly Canadian named Vijay on our flight who has a one-year old son with Ismarays a young Cuban lady. She and her son live with her parents on this farm not far from the hotel. Vijay kindly invited us to his son's first birthday party - a pig roast at the farm. In the past we have declined such offers of hospitality. This year we made an exception.
The pig roasted for hours over an open pit filled with hot coals with the men taking turns manually rotating the spit. My husband joined them taking a turn at the spit much to their amusement.
The menu included roast pork, yucca, rice and beans, sliced cucumber and tomatoes. All the food was cooked outside over wood burning fires. For dessert there were two fancy birthday cakes. I saw Ismarays and her cousin Juan Carlos arrive with the cakes by horse and buggy ... not an easy task holding two cakes of this size over rough roads. 
Here I am holding Antony the birthday boy with Juan Carlos' daughter by my side. We met a lot of family and friends at the party.
I had fun feeding the farm pigs grass and yucca peelings. They devoured everything I tossed in their pen.
Turkeys and chickens like to roost in trees at night. Ladders make it easy for them to climb up. We have seen many such make-shift ladders propped against trees in Cuba ... now we know why.
Once the pig was cooked it was propped against a tree and left to sit for a bit before being carved onto a big metal platter for serving.
One of the farm dogs stood under the dripping pig licking at dirt saturated in pig fat ... a yummy doggy treat.
Antony with his Tía (Auntie) this time and dressed for his party.
In Cuba, it is customary for guests to eat first, then children followed by everybody else. It feels a bit awkward eating while everybody sits around waiting, but it's expected. Vijay, my husband and I helped ourselves to a delicious meal eating quickly so the others could eat too.

My husband said the pork was cooked to perfection ... much better than at the hotel. Another change I should mention - I stopped eating meat and dairy last summer. Although Cubans are familiar with 'veganos', they don't really understand why anybody would choose to do it. Regardless, I was happy to discover lots of healthy plant based options both at this pig roast and at the hotel buffet and didn't miss meat or dairy at all this year.  
This year we hiked up the crazy-steep Bayamo Road. It took us 2 hrs and 40 mins to hike from the hotel to the top and back. Last year we biked this route, but the last 2 km is really too steep to ride. Either way, this climb is a good sweat-inducing, muscle building workout. 
Last year we biked ... this year we hiked.    

The fields are much greener this year. The cows and all the other animals looked much happier and healthier grazing on so much green grass.
I never tire of seeing 'free range' animals wandering everywhere. These babies looked particularly sweet.
A picture-worthy gate we passed on our hike back to the hotel.
This year we went out for dinner at Danny's - a restaurant in the nearby town of Marea. We took a horse and buggy ride with Juan Carlos who we met at Antony's birthday party. He is Ismaray's cousin. 
Since we knew Juan Carlos from the birthday party, we invited him to join us for dinner. My husband and Juan Carlos shared every meat and seafood option on the menu. It was delicious according to my husband. I had a bit of salad and rice and beans then stopped by the hotel buffet to fill up after dinner. Eating plant based works wonderfully at buffets; not so great at restaurants featuring meat dishes with small non-meat 'sides'.
Every morning we walked the beach before breakfast. Sometimes we walked early enough to watch the sunrise. Sometimes stray dogs joined us on our walk. Morning beach walks ... a great way to start the day.
Last year we thoroughly enjoyed a sunset cruise around the bay in front of our hotel. This year we were disappointed to hear the boat had broken down. For the first week of our stay, the sunset cruise consisted of a 'bus ride' down the coast. Cubans are resourceful. 

The boat was fixed by the second week but the ocean was rough so we did not leave the lagoon at the back of hotel. We were surprised to see hundreds of jelly fish in the lagoon.
The boat traveled to the mouth of the lagoon close to open water where the sunset did not disappoint ... spectacular.
Another day we headed West up the trail past the waterfall to hike the second segment of our hike around the reservoir. 
We passed this turkey looking majestic with his tail feathers on display.
And followed the trail over streams. Last year these streams were dry.
The route looked different in reverse, but we recognized this view.
And this gate assured us we were on the right path.
We found walking sticks along the way making it easier for me to balance on wobbly stones my husband placed across this shallow stream to keep my feet dry.
This stream was chock-full of algae ... so colourful and strangely pretty.
We crossed over four shallow streams, but had to turn back when we reached deep water. This was a challenging four-hour hike with plenty of views, stepping stones and pretty flowers to keep things interesting.
We visited Cayo Blanco only once this year on the first Tuesday for a much appreciated Rest Day. 
I was happy to see the island mamma dog was still there with two full grown female pups. These dogs are very friendly and healthy living here.
Last year the pups were 6 wks old. A year later they are full grown.

We spent most of the day relaxing and reading in the shade. 
  
After a delicious barbecue lunch, I went for a swim while my husband snorkeled. The water was relatively calm but stirred up from high winds and waves in the surrounding waters. The ocean was rough for the whole two weeks of our vacation. So rough I only ventured in twice - once at the island and once at the resort.
After spending a day at the island most people are dropped off at a nearby dock to take a bus back to the resort. We stayed on board to enjoy the ride. It was rough and oh so fun.
This year we biked West towards Pilon only once. We visited the same places as last year - ostrich farm, a small quiet bay and ranch lands.


Last year compared to this year ... everything is greener.
We packed a few baseballs to hand out to kids on our rides. Baseball is a popular sport in Cuba.
We rode East along the South Coast Road six times. It is still our favourite route. I was pleased to manage the big 2 km climb twice this year. Mountain bike gearing was perfect although lifting this heavier bike was a little more challenging.

For biking this year, we decided to take flat pedals so we wouldn't have to pack special bike shoes. These IMRider pedals worked perfectly as they are lightweight with very good grip.

My husband wore sandals to ride while I wore Fitkicks which are barely more than socks with thin rubber soles. Riding flats worked so well, I am considering transitioning away from clip-less pedals at home too.
FITKICKS® Size Large Active Lifestyle Footwear in Black
There are so many interesting things to see along the rugged coast and back through Mota - makeshift bridges, egrets, royal palm trees.  
This year we met Guy and Sharlene. They live in St. Catherine's but visit family in London so may contact us the next time they're in town.
The snack bar is under construction with a completion date that keeps changing. We hope it will be done before we visit next year.
On the last full day of our trip, we rode out the South Coast road to donate a few spare bike tires. It is difficult to find tires for sale in Cuba so they are very much appreciated.
This nice lady who lives about 18 km down the road from the hotel made us Cuban coffee to show her appreciation. Next year we would like to be able to give her a bike. 
We met Fernando at the pig roast. He cleans the pool at the Farallon - the hotel on the hill. Most mornings we would stop on our morning walk to say 'hi' and bring him a coffee. On departure day, we said our good-byes.
We also donated our bikes on departure day. My bike went to Ismarays. She was very happy with it.
My husband's bike was given to Juan Carlos' younger brother who is the same age as our son and works on his Uncle's farm. Juan Carlos picked up the bike for his brother who had gone to Pilon to renew his ID card.
All too soon it was time to board the bus to the airport. It was so much easier traveling home without big bike cases, we have decided to search for suitable bikes for next year.
Ismarays brought Antony to say good-bye ... such a sweet boy.
We enjoyed a fabulous time in Cuba Yet Again.


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