Author: MCD

I'm a writer. I also bake. And knit. A lot. My novels are available anywhere ebooks/paperbacks/audiobooks are sold online. Find more info on my blog: http://www.madebymeghan.ca

Categories
gardening

baby “sugar baby” watermelon

The last few days have not been kind to the garden–lots of rain and lower temperatures.  Powdery mildew is trying to take hold of the squash plants, and I am seriously worried that what was shaping up to be a bumper crop of tomatoes will now be a breeding ground for blight.

Despite that, this little one,  more sheltered on the south side of the house, is actually attempting to fruit, who knows if it will be at all edible by the end of season, but it sure is cute:

Plant: Sugar Baby Watermelon
Purchased (as a seedling) at Garden Works, Burnaby

Categories
Knitting

les Abeilles by Anne Hanson – a mini triangle shawl

This was my first triangle shawl and I absolutely loved knitting it.  I have done a number of Anne Hanson, Knitspot, patterns now and les Abeilles is definitely up to her standards – well written and so pretty.

The colour, Peony, is a big departure for me, as was the yarn; first time I tried Sunshine Yarns Sunsilk, but I love both… just not too sure it’s the right colour for my skin!  I knit the mini and think it is the perfect size to compliment, not overwhelm, an outfit–and/or just right to add a little neck warmth!

This was a very quick knit and looks WAY more complicated than it actually is… the pattern is mostly comprised of knitting, purling, decreasing (ssk & k2tog) and yarn overs.  No tricky stitches.  I think this would be a great beginner lace project.  FYI – I used stitch markers between every repeat and, after the setup rounds, had no issues with the math–this might have been overkill, but I didn’t have to rip back, not even a single row.

I believe I bungled the grafting at the end–the kichener stitch and I are not on friendly terms and this time was no exception to our mutual dislike.  Oh, well, I think it is still totally pretty and a very unique construction.  I will be knitting this pattern again, very soon, probably in a darker yarn.

As to who will be the lucky recipient of this les Abeilles?  Hmm… I’m not too sure, it is awfully pretty…

Ravelry project page (if you are a member).

Categories
Knitting

Knitting FOs (Finished Objects)

First up, a very fun knit from the Early Fall Knitty 2010 – Coquille by Mary Lou Egan.

I knit the small size with 2 skeins of Crystal Place Mini Mochi (colour:108 – neptune rainbow), but the consensus on Ravelry seems to be that the shawl tends to take more yardage to complete (both sizes). I must knit tightly?

I absolutely loved the colours of this yarn, and originally bought it to make socks for Michael. Then the pattern came out and I was inspired to knit a Coquille instead, which I am actually happy about because I found the yarn very splitty, so even with an easy pattern I had to pay attention.  The yarn also broke on me THREE times, just pulled apart with the slightest tug. I definitely would not have been a happy camper knitting socks with this yarn.

FYI – If you are a member you can check out my Ravelry Project page for more details.

Next up Mystery Socks ’09 (ravelry page) by Kirsten Kapur, which, I gather, were originally part of a KAL (Knit Along), but I laid eyes on the pattern after the mystery part of the kal was complete and LOVED them.

I had a skein of my favourite sock yarn– Handmaiden Casbah– in the Bronze colour way. I could once more rave about this yarn, but I am pretty sure I have made my feelings clear in previous posts.

I adore these socks. They fit me perfectly (I knit the size small to compensate for the bigger yarn gauge)!

FYI – Ravelry Project page

What is on the needles now? Another pair of Michael socks and a new shawl!

Categories
writing

LOVE LIES BLEEDING @ THE COLD READING SERIES

Just found out that the first act of my feature script LOVE LIES BLEEDING will be read at the Cold Reading Series this Thursday, July 29th.

Logline: Pamela just wants to reunite in the afterlife with her dead fiancé, Grady.  Problem is, Grady was a secret agent, and his coded emails have infuriated both his employers and his enemies.  They need Pamela alive.  So, instead of her planned suicide, she is kidnapped by Black Op’s Agents, tortured by Mobster Warlords, hunted by a Psychotic Killer, chased by Zombies …and killed; all necessary evils in order to ultimately walk into the sunset with her true love.

LLB is one of my bloody comedies, so the read should be fun and funny (I hope).

Please join us if you happen to be in Vancouver!  If you want to read you need to get there by 7:30pm for casting otherwise just show up for 8pm.  Feedback is welcomed and appreciated.

Address: 1407 Laburum Street (between Cornwall and Creelman).

Hope to see you there.

Categories
baking

Strawberry-filled Oatmeal Fruit Bar

Last Saturday we went berry picking at Driediger Farms in Langley.  We picked strawberries, which were really close to being at the end of their season, and raspberries, which are just at the beginning of their season.  We also grabbed four pounds of blueberries; already picked… we must have come home with almost 15 pounds of berries for about $21.  It was quite hot, I might have given myself heat stroke and a strangely shaped burn on my back, but the berries were delicious!

We made the trip extra worthwhile by stopping by A Bread Affair and picking up my favourite bread (The 100-Mile = organic, blueberries, hazelnuts – YUMMY).  I never rave about anyone else’s baking so that is saying something!

I immediately made this with the strawberries:

Which when cooked and half-eaten looks like this:

I am currently cooking down the remaining blueberries and raspberries to make another bar.  Will post pictures and the full recipe later on today.

Categories
baking

Another Birthday Cake…

Chocolate was the request for this birthday, so I obliged with a fudge chocolate cake, chocolate cream cheese icing, chocolate flowers (from Chocolate Arts)  and a little bit of fresh local strawberry compote.

Here are the two cake halves, the strawberry filling and the chocolate cream cheese icing, which, I must admit, I (heavily) sampled.

All the cake (above) needs now is birthday candles and a little bit of vanilla ice cream…

YUM!  There are still 2 pieces left in the refrigerator… let’s see how long that lasts!

Categories
gardening

Bad Breath Pepper Garlic Spray

Tomorrow I will puree this bad boy and the flea beetles plaguing the tomatoes will flee in terror…. FLEE in TERROR…. Muah… ha… ha!!!!  As a side note, I doubt it would work on zombies, but vampires, now they would absolutely loathe it!

Err, yes.  The recipe can be found on page 117 in Gayla Trail’s first book You Grow Girl. BTW, I love, LOVE this book.

Categories
webseries

Online interview about SiftingRealities

Check out this fun online interview with me about the origins of SiftingRealities in my Creator’s Corner by SciFinal.

Categories
gardening

Garden update: all the baby plants

A bunch of little seedlings made their transitions out into the big wide world of the garden this weekend, and I thought, as a collection, they made a sweet, though photo heavy, blog post (I think there are too many commas in that last sentence…).

I requested a cool three-tier wooden pot to house another new round of strawberries this year and Michael built it for me this past Saturday.  I raised these little ones indoors from seed (planted in Jiffy Pellets at the end of February and beginning of March). Baby Strawberries:

We planted three 2-year-old raspberry canes in a container this year and I almost pulled this little guy thinking he was a weed, but no!  This seedling will grow tall and bear fruit next year!  Baby raspberry:

  • Plant: Chemainus Raspberry. *Summer fruiting variety.
  • Canes purchased at: Family Farm in Aldergrove, sourced through Craigslist
  • First planted in: March 2010 (2 year old canes)

We also invested in two 3-year-old blueberry bushes at the same time as we bought the raspberry canes.  I also tried out a mail order gardening service this year and bought this little blueberry:

  • Plant: Top Hat Blueberry
  • Purchased online at: Spring Gardens.  I can’t say I recommend buying online.  It took them over 2 months to ship and the plant cost $18 plus shipping which was way too much for a plant that will most likely need another 3 years to bear fruit (IMHO).
  • First planted in: May 2010

Another first for this year’s garden: artichokes!  We were late getting this out and don’t expect it to flower this year, but you never know!

Last, but not least (seeing as we use frozen rhubarb in our smoothies every morning) and, hopefully, we will be harvesting from this seedling early next Spring! Baby Rhubarb:

So that’s  little glimpse of all our baby plants this Spring!  I am looking forward to getting the remainder of the seedlings (tomatoes, basil, peppers, and multi-squashes) and direct seedings (green beans, mini cucumbers, more carrots and lettuce) out over the next few weeks, if the temperature agrees and, sooner than you think, it will be time to HARVEST!!

Categories
baking webseries writing

SiftingRealities: Episode Five: ALL THE WRONG PEOPLE

This is the sixth episode of my web series SiftingRealities.  At the end of episode 4, Belinda seems to think she’s got this whole “sifting” thing under control, but does she?



Oh, those are shortbread cookies she is making and eating in the final scene… I’ll post the recipe later on today.