2021-04-26 10:00
I knit the Teddy Bear Sweater for my own baby! This is the first project where knitting with boucle yarn appealed to me. Normally I think projects made from boucle yarn look like cat barf. H… Read More
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scotch bonnet peppers
pork
woven cable headband
yarn
bonnet peppers
butter body balm
cable
teddy bear sweater
red queensland beach
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2021-04-19 10:00
I knit this purple Frida headband using leftover yarn from my Ravine Hat. The Ravine Hat used almost exactly half a skein of DK weight yarn by Annie Paaren. The good thing about headbands is… Read More
2021-04-12 10:00
This oak crest hat is a study in cables, unlike any other project I’ve ever made. The elaborate cables make a lovely repeating leaf design. After this hat, I have a much better underst… Read More
2021-04-05 10:00
This green tea and cocoa butter body balm is the next level in our DIY body products here on Kiku Corner. Meinhilde and I loved our other body balms and decided that we should branch out. He… Read More
2021-03-29 10:00
I make this pork and fennel tomato sauce all the time. It’s a riff on my roast pork loin with fennel and thyme. The fennel and thyme add a somewhat Italian flavour to the pasta sa… Read More
2021-03-22 10:00
I’ve created a roundup of some beautiful free entrelac knitting patterns. Of course, you can always browse the massive archive of free patterns on Ravelry to find more free entrelac kn… Read More
2021-03-15 10:00
The Blue Woven Cable Headband by Priscillia Uloho is an easy but impressive start to working with cables. It is knit in a bright blue aran weight yarn from Cascade.
The pattern calls for… Read More
2021-03-08 10:00
The Clover Hat by Susan B. Anderson in Lagoon is a free pattern published by the Barrett Wool Co. One skein of worsted weight wool makes an adult and a matching baby’s hat.
The Clo… Read More
2021-03-01 10:00
This Red Queensland Beach Headband is from Fiona Alice’s book called Take Heart published by Pom Pom Press. This lovely book incorporates Fiona’s journey from Nova Scotia to Lond… Read More
2021-02-22 10:00
Here is our recipe for Trini pepper sauce, as approved by Ryan! We started with a base recipe we found online that looked like his family’s pepper sauce. Then he taste-tasted and we ad… Read More
2021-02-15 10:00
I’ve created a roundup of some beautiful free vest knitting patterns. Of course, you can always browse the massive archive of free patterns on Ravelry to find more free vest knit… Read More
2021-02-08 10:00
I knit the Caswell Bay Hat by Fiona Alice for myself.
To knit the hat, I used 3.5 mm needles for the main part of the hat. To make it more form-fitting, I used 2.5 mm needles for the… Read More
2021-02-01 10:00
This blue coastline trio hat is made in a worsted wool and made a really quick knit. I used a rich blue wool purchased from the Mariposa Woolen Mill, which is located near Lindsay, Ontario… Read More
2021-01-25 10:00
This is the second Charlie Caftan that I sewed for Tomiko, and third overall. I was gifted 3 m of this rayon-linen fabric in a colourful digital print from Minerva. I initially wanted to sew… Read More
2021-01-18 10:00
The Treelight pullover, inspired by light shining through a forest canopy, is knit seamlessly and in the round from the bottom up. With an easy chart and heavy worsted weight gauge, this pat… Read More
2021-01-11 10:00
I’ve created a roundup of some beautiful free mitten knitting patterns.Even though I have yet to knit a mitten, I definitely want to make some of these! Of course, you can always brows… Read More
2021-01-04 10:00
This honey soap is another one of my favourite homemade body products. And it may be one of the easiest since I didn’t make the soap from scratch. Making soap is a more complicated pro… Read More
2020-12-28 10:00
I received 2 m of this beautiful turmeric-coloured cotton poplin from Minerva. Since I’m pregnant with my first baby, due in February, I decided to make a ginkgo leaf quilted playmat… Read More
2020-12-21 10:00
One of our friends had a baby at the beginning of October, and so I decided to knit him a hat! I chose to knit the Bayside Beanie by Stacey McCrea Warner, since it’s so cute with… Read More
2020-12-14 10:00
I knit myself the Palmetto Cardigan by Emilia Jensen, published in Pom Pom Quarterly, Issue 22: Autumn 2017.
I chose to knit myself size 4, which corresponds to a bust size of 41.75… Read More
2020-12-07 10:00
We named this hat after the bustling, oceanside city of Osaka. The Seigaiha wave crest pattern is a traditional geometric motif that represents good luck. ‘Seigaiha’ means &lsquo&hell…Read More
2020-11-30 10:00
I’ve created a roundup of some beautiful free sock knitting patterns. It’s almost December, so knitting socks would be great for holiday gifts. If these tempt you, you can always… Read More
2020-11-23 10:00
I knit the Binic pullover by Solenn Couix-Loarer for my own baby! All the other baby things I’ve been knitting for the same reason, such as the Remi Cardigan, the Oliver Sweater… Read More
2020-11-16 10:00
We named this hat after our German Oma’s village of Lichtenberg. It was such a small village, it didn’t even have a bar! We used to spend our summers at our Oma’s house, an… Read More
2020-11-09 10:00
I’ve been admiring the Ravine Hat by Woolly Wormhead since before I could knit! I love the 1920s cloche style and thought it would look great in a solid or tonal dyed yarn. The texture… Read More
2020-11-02 10:01
This is my second entrelac headband because I love this design. See my first variation here. Headbands are a Canadian winter necessity for anyone with a ponytail. For the lucky people that d… Read More
2020-10-26 10:00
We included the Macaulay Cardigan in our roundup of free cardigan knitting patterns last year. I liked the design so much, that I decided to knit one for myself!
To knit the Macaualay Ca… Read More
2020-10-19 05:00
The Turquoise Tête-Bêche is my first project using slip stitch. I love the beauty of multi-stranded knitting, except I don’t enjoy handling two strands at once – the… Read More
2020-10-12 05:00
I knit the Remi Cardigan, a free pattern by Claudia Q for EweKnit Toronto. EweKnit is one of our favourite Toronto yarn stores, and they publish many free patterns! This cardigan pattern is… Read More
2020-10-05 05:00
I knit A Simple Baby Pullover, a free pattern by Erica Kempf Broughton. The free pattern includes four sizes, from 0-6 months to 2-3 years. I chose to knit the 0-6 month size using yarn from… Read More
2020-09-28 05:00
This is the second Fidra Hat on the blog. Meinhilde suggested I knit one of them after I finished my featherweight cardigan. It acted as a great palate cleanser after the long process of kn… Read More
2020-09-21 05:00
I made M6044, my first ever men’s shirt. Our brother Karlos requested that I make him a shirt. Of course I was eager to jump on his offer, since he didn’t want me to knit him a s… Read More
2020-09-14 05:00
This is the fourth featherweight cardigan here on Kiku Corner. It will also not be the last. Meinhilde knitted the other three in about the same time it took me to knit this one. She is a v… Read More
2020-09-07 05:00
Tomiko requested that I sew her a caftan or muumuu. All she wanted was a bedsheet with a hole cut out for her head. I thought that that would definitely not do! Instead, I got the Charlie Ca… Read More
2020-08-31 05:00
I knit myself the Gilt Lace Cardigan, a pattern by Susanna IC. When the Spring 2020 issue came out, I immediately added this pattern to my Ravelry queue. Many of the patterns highlighted var… Read More
2020-08-24 05:00
Simplicity S1316 was my last sewing project last year. I cut it out and sewed it about halfway, then I lost my sewjo over the winter. During lockdown this spring, I finally found time to fin… Read More
2020-08-17 05:00
The Vine Lace Vest by Cecily Glowik MacDonald is a free pattern from the Classic Elite Yarns Web-Letter Free Pattern Archive.
The Vine Lace Vest is a perfect project for summer knitt… Read More
2020-08-10 05:00
I bought the McCall’s M7981 pattern last year during a sale. I had recently gotten a Singer buttonhole attachment for my machine and wanted to sew everything with buttons!
The M798… Read More
2020-08-03 05:00
I’ve been eyeing the Cullum Tee by Isabel Kraemer for over a year! It is part of the Linen Noir collection by Quince and Co. I added the collection to my Ravelry shopping cart and let… Read More
2020-07-27 05:00
I bought the Butterick B6674 pattern last year as I had recently gotten a Singer buttonhole attachment for my machine and wanted to sew everything with buttons! Thankfully this pattern also… Read More
2020-07-20 05:00
The Tender scarf is a great travel project. I started this piece on my trip to Colombia during Donatello and my vacation last December. It is easy to memorize and uses just one skein of ligh… Read More
2020-07-13 05:00
I made individual strawberry shortcakes as Tomiko’s ‘birthday cake’ this summer. Luckily for us, Ontario strawberries are in season and they are so sweet and delicious! I m… Read More
2020-07-06 05:00
Most caramel icing recipes I’ve seen call for a candy thermometer and closely watching a pot of melting sugar so that it doesn’t burn. Time consuming and tedious. So here I&rsquo&hell…Read More
2020-06-29 05:00
McCall’s M7920 helped me get my sewing mojo (my sewjo) back! I always seem to not feel like sewing all winter. Then, once Toronto warms up enough for bare legs, I want to sew ALL THE D… Read More
2020-06-22 05:00
Try baking these chocolate chip peanut butter cookies during your isolation! If you’ve looked at our cookie archive, you can see that I love cookies with chocolate. I also love peanut… Read More
2020-06-15 05:00
I started knitting myself the Leiden Tee last summer but just got around to finishing it last week! Obviously I love knitting, and warm weather is no excuse for me to put down my needles. Ac… Read More
2020-06-08 05:00
Etobicoke is an inner suburb of Toronto. Southern Etobicoke, which borders Lake Ontario, has numbered streets, from First Street all the way to Forty Second Street. Those ordered streets ins… Read More
2020-06-01 05:00
I’ve created a roundup of some beautiful free miscellaneous knitting patterns. Lots of these are in my own queue! Of course, you can always browse the massive archive of free patterns… Read More
2020-05-25 05:00
These beeswax lotion bars are easy to make and smell amazing! They make your hands feel great without being greasy.
I had found a recipe for homemade lotion bars a while back and made a b… Read More
2020-05-18 05:00
A few years ago, I started making my own sandwich bread on a biweekly basis. Good bread is really expensive here in Toronto (like at Cobs Bread), and cheap bread is really bad! And cheap bre… Read More
2020-05-11 05:00
We’d like to introduce our newest crochet pattern, the Berlin Cowl! If you’ve already purchased our Berlin Hat pattern, you can get the Berlin Cowl pattern at 50% off on Ravelry… Read More
2020-05-04 05:00
I knit myself the Foxglove Cardigan, a design by Kate Davies in her book Yokes.
From start to finish, I was able to make this cardigan in under a month. I knit the body and sleeves in jus… Read More
2020-04-27 05:00
This applesauce cake is studded with walnuts and raisins and topped with an easy caramel icing. It’s a perfect autumn dessert, but Toronto is still cold and snowy and grey, so it still… Read More
2020-04-20 05:00
Claudia Q, the owner of EweKnit, designed the Oliver Sweater. EweKnit is one of our favourite Toronto yarn stores, and thankfully it’s just a short walk from where we live!
North 4… Read More
2020-04-13 05:00
We only grew up eating scones because I had read about them and wanted to make them! Our mom is German and didn’t grow up eating these either. I was confused as to why some recipes ref… Read More
2020-04-06 05:00
I knit the Doe Cap, a pattern by Jenny Gordy in Making magazine, for a friend’s baby. The pattern is a bonnet style with adorable ears that you knit and then sew on. I suppose you coul… Read More
2020-03-30 05:00
I’ve created a roundup of some beautiful free cable knitting patterns. Lots of these are in my own Ravelry queue! Of course, you can always browse the massive archive of free patterns… Read More
2020-03-23 05:00
I knit the Skógafjall pullover! When Tomiko and I went to Iceland last summer, I bought enough Lettlopi specifically for this sweater. I also bought Lettlopi for the Telja pullover, a… Read More
2020-03-16 05:00
I love samosa chaat! We made this samosa chaat recently when Tomiko bought 100 samosas from Samosa King. If I were to make them myself, I wouldn’t want to waste them by chopping them u… Read More
2020-03-09 05:00
Here is my latest sweater: the Telja Pullover by Jennifer Steingass of knit.love.wool.
I used Istex Lettlopi yarn that I bought in Iceland last June. I knit size F with a 45.75″ bus… Read More
2020-03-02 05:00
Lilac Wine is a free cowl pattern by Amy Christoffers. It’s so simple that she says it’s barely a pattern at all, just a recipe.
To make mine, I cast on 180 stitches usin… Read More
2020-02-24 05:00
I’ve created a roundup of some beautiful free sweater knitting patterns. Lots of these are in my own Ravelry queue! Of course, you can always browse the massive archive of free pattern… Read More
2020-02-17 05:00
This black chocolate bundt cake uses black cocoa powder in the cake and the glaze, so it turns out black as night!
Black cocoa powder is the intensely dark cocoa powder that is used to ma… Read More
2020-02-10 05:00
This is my third Featherweight cardigan! I knit my first (a grey one) in December 2018 and my second (a mustard one) in September 2019. As I’ve said before, this makes the perfect trav… Read More
2020-02-03 05:00
I first saw the Fidra Hat when I visited EweKnit, one of our local yarn shops in Toronto. It was a knit sample just sitting on a table full of yarn, and it caught my eye. I loved the lace de… Read More
2020-01-27 05:00
The Baa-ble hat by Donna Smith caught my eye even before I knew how to knit! I purchased the pattern a few months ago and finally got around to knitting it. This was the official pattern fo… Read More
2020-01-20 05:00
This orange and brown sugar lip scrub is a winter necessity if you have dry and chapped lips. The scrub is very easy to assemble and use. I make a small jar and keep it in my bathroom so I c… Read More
2020-01-13 05:00
I’ve created a roundup of some beautiful free lace shawl knitting patterns. Lots of these are in my own Ravelry queue! Of course, you can always browse the massive archive of free patt… Read More
2020-01-06 05:00
This honey mustard roast duck is a recipe from my German aunt. Roast duck is a common dish served at Christmastime in Germany, and aunt’s mother, Oma Ella, would raise ducks herself. I… Read More
2019-12-30 05:00
I’ve now knit the October Hat by Sloane Rosenthal six times!
At the beginning of December, we received a custom order for six matching hats. After a couple emails back and forth, we… Read More
2019-12-23 05:00
I knit the Débutant Bonnet for my friend’s new baby. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the garter ear flap hat that I knit for his older sister.
To knit the bonnet, I used lefto… Read More
2019-12-16 10:00
M7351 is my first shirtdress! The pattern, which has separate cup size pattern pieces, is still available here. To read the full blog post on how I made my M7351 dress, head over to the Mine… Read More
2019-12-09 10:00
I used to bake this cinnamon streusel coffee cake when I was in middle and high school. Neighbours on our compound would often come over for a visit and some coffee or tea. My mom liked how… Read More
2019-12-02 10:00
I’ve created a roundup of some beautiful free cardigan knitting patterns. Lots of these are in my own queue! Of course, you can always browse the massive archive of free patterns o… Read More
2019-11-25 10:00
One of my friends just had a baby, and of course I wanted to knit him a hat. However, I didn’t think I should send him a present without knitting his older sister a hat as well! I chos… Read More
2019-11-18 10:00
I sewed a B4686 skirt using a wool-mix black twill last year and it’s my favourite skirt! The only problem with my previous skirt was that it didn’t have pockets. To fill a gap i… Read More
2019-11-11 10:00
Here is another body balm recipe, this time for winter. The other recipe I made earlier this year is more appropriate for summer. That other balm makes a more solid product, which is perfect… Read More
2019-11-04 10:00
I knit our dad a Strange Brew pullover, a design by Tin Can Knits. This is the third colourwork yoke sweater I knit by Tin Can Knits, after the Mountain Mist and Compass pullovers.
I knit… Read More
2019-10-28 10:00
Hunter Hammersen is one of our favourite knitwear designers. We follow her on Instagram and Tomiko already knit her free cowl pattern, the Consilience Cowl. When she published Firmament: Ste… Read More
2019-10-21 10:00
I’ve always wanted a red beret. One day I plan to be that mature and eccentric lady with bright red lipstick and a red beret. Maybe that’s when I’ll finally get a big ol&rs&hell…Read More
2019-10-14 10:00
This simple brioche cowl is my first brioche knitting project. It is based on the lovely Beginners Brioche Cowl by Lavanya Partricella. I adjusted her pattern slightly because I used a diffe… Read More
2019-10-07 10:00
Here is a roundup of some beautiful free stranded colourwork knitting patterns. Lots of these are in my own queue! I’ve collected some beautiful patterns for hats, cardigans, sweaters… Read More
2019-09-30 10:00
Last winter, I knit myself a Featherweight Cardigan. This summer, I cast on another! This mustard Featherweight Cardigan by Knitbot (Hannah Fettig) has long sleeves and a cropped length. Ins… Read More
2019-09-23 10:00
I knit the Kross Pullover by Védís Jónsdóttir for our Etsy shop. I knit the size large using 4.5 mm and 5.5 mm needles (my gauge is loose), and it only took me ei… Read More
2019-09-16 10:00
I’ve created a roundup of some beautiful free knit hat patterns. Lots of these are in my own Ravelry queue! Of course, you can always browse the massive archive of free patterns on Ra… Read More
2019-09-09 10:00
It’s been a while since we’ve featured any bath products here on Kiku Corner – I think we were too busy knitting! Our old projects are here. This is our newest one: lanolin… Read More
2019-09-02 10:00
This garlic chive kefir spread is another example of the many uses of kefir. To see how to make kefir, read this post. Kiku Corner has also featured some smoothie recipes here, but those kef… Read More
2019-08-26 10:00
Iceland is famous for being pricey. It’s a European country with a high standard of living but also an island that needs to import many goods. However, it is possible to stick to a bud… Read More
2019-08-19 10:00
This banana chia kefir smoothie proves that Kiku Corner is into kefir these days! Read about making your own kefir here and our kefir mango lassi here. This version uses banana, chia seeds… Read More
2019-08-12 10:00
The Summer Chic Cardigan is a free pattern by DROPS Design. I love wearing a loose cardigan over a sleeveless top or dress in summer. I’m also in love with linen (as demonstrated here… Read More
2019-08-05 10:00
This bacon and bonito cold tofu is so good it will convert anyone who is skeptical about tofu. Whenever I hear someone say they don’t like tofu, I know they’ve never tried this d… Read More
2019-07-29 10:00
This kefir mango lassi is one of my favourite ways to drink kefir. If you’re new to this fermented beverage, learn about making your own kefir here.
This recipe uses canned mango p… Read More
2019-07-22 10:00
Summer is finally here! Salade nicoise only requires a bit of cooking (boiling eggs and steaming the beans which can be done in advance) and then the dish is mostly about assembly. It is an… Read More
2019-07-15 10:00
It is so easy to make your own kefir. It is a fermented beverage made from milk. Kefir is similar to yogurt, though is more liquid and better suited for drinking. It doesn’t require c… Read More
2019-07-08 10:00
Kiku Corner has has a new knitting pattern!
We named the Riyadh Cowl and Hat after the city of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Meinhilde and I lived there with our family during our tween and tee… Read More
2019-07-01 10:30
Liege waffles are different than regular American breakfast waffles (like our version here). They are also less cakey than German dessert waffles. Lastly, they are different than the large… Read More
2019-06-24 10:00
Butterick’s B6318 dress is a reissued pattern from 1961. I made view A with same-fabric ties. The dress has a semi-fitted bodice, short dolman sleeves, wide single-layer tie ends (wron… Read More
2019-06-17 10:00
I’ve created a roundup of some beautiful free summer knitting patterns. Lots of these are in my own queue! Of course, you can always browse the massive archive of patterns on Ravel… Read More
2019-06-10 09:00
I used 3.5 skeins of Juniper Moon Zooey in Mint to knit the Cascata top by Filipa Carneiro. This is a cotton-linen DK yarn with a slubby texture, and I like the fabric it made. However, I fo… Read More
2019-06-03 10:00
McCall’s M7381 is a pullover dress that has a loose-fitting, lined bodice with shoulder pleats, raised front waist, front pleated and elasticized back skirt, narrow hem, and front snap… Read More
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