My Karalund is done!

I hate sewing, but I buckled down and sewed up the Karalund today at Stream Of Praise (SOP) practice and Charlotte Purls.

First of all SOP was a real teary session today - I love the SOP prayers and today Dad really prayed for all of us. It was needed as this week was not a good one for most of us. But we all knew who brought us through. Thank God for friends to cry with when you need a good cry.

Karalund has been done since Monday, and blocked since Thursday. Today I stitched her - although I noticed a few places she needs better stitching. I made the sleeves too long though - and I'm trying to work up the enthusiasm to take her little sleeves apart to reknit that part of them. I sort of like to be done with projects when my little brain thinks I'm done. But I know I wont' be happy with it looking like a little kid that borrowed her mother's sweater. I love the feel and look for Karalund and I want to wear her a lot, so I need to suck it up and do the sleeves correctly. Thanks Stacy for helping me realize this :)

Here she is:




She is knit out of Moda Dea Silk n'Wool, which is fairly affordable and available at a non-LYS *gasp*. It is one of my favorite yarns actually - I made my daughter socks in this and have washed them several times with great results. It's a great sweater weight - not too heavy or thin. And the drape is fabulous. I will knit with this yarn again.

Most Karalunds are made with striped yarn, but I'm glad I went with a solid. You can see the stitches very clearly and I think it makes the sweater a bit more dressy. I can see myself with some sexy jeans and spiky boots in this baby. It's date night tomorrow with Colin - and Miss Karalund just may get to go out on the town. Long sleeves and all!

Half Pi Shawl?

I'm sort of embarassed to call this a Pi Shawl. I got bored about 1/2 way through it and just decided to bind it off and make it a blankie for Jada. I guess you can tell my lack of commitment through the very poor blocking job I did on it too. I will make one again but I will put lace in it b/c making it plain is pretty boring knitting. And I didn't have a good vision for what I would do with it w/o lace. I love EZ's patterns, they are so well thought out and easy to follow. I just should have learned lace before I tackled this one. After sitting unfinished for over a year I decided to rescue the cone from obscurity so I could use it for something else. Lesson learned - I now know how to make a nice circle shawl and now that I can knit lace the next one will be much improved!

Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport
Color: ??
Needles - 8,9 and 10 (increased needle sizes while making it to make the edging slightly larger.
Pattern: Elizabeth's Zimmerman's Pi Shawl about 1/2 way complete :), using her recommendation for a crochet edging.

Blue a4A hat

.

Again - details at Charlotte Purls!!! Now on to trying to complete my Christmas presents!

Baby Hat

Details at http://charlottepurls.blogspot.com :) I missed the other hat I knit for Afgans for Afgans. But it's on the CP blog too :)

Who is that masked man?

I had promised Colin a helmet liner for his motorcycle helmet *forever*. When I was in Cottage Yarn, the Yarn Lady mentioned she had made one out of Malabrgio for her husband to go hunting in. So - I purchased a ball in the colors he likes - plain black/browns/greys and went at it. I also wanted to practice the pattern since I want to make some for the troops but I had a hard time envisioning how the pattern works. It turned out OK except Colin says the part around the nose needs to be a bit tighter.

It was a suprisingly fast knit. I thought it would take longer. It is basically a turtle neck with a hat attached :) I think I can now tackle making some to send over for the troops. Here is the link to the pattern if you want to make one for the troops too: Helmet Liner Patterns.

Finally.......Cold Weather!

It's finally cold enough to justify making something to keep warm! I made Jason a hat out of Manos del Uruguay. I got the yarn for free!!!! I wanted to try it and decided to by a skein. But then found out I had a $75 coupon to spend and I had to spend it in one day!!!!! Such bad luck to have $75 to spend in a yarn shop!!!



Unfortunately - I didn't have a good game plan. Afterward, I realized I should have gotten some cashmere or something purely luxurious that I would never get otherwise. But I got 4 hanks of the Manos, 1 of Malabrio lace, and some stich markers to use every last penny.

These is the 100% Wool yarn. It's think and thin and fun to knit. It is not as soft as Malabrigo - another kettle dyed yarn. It's great for a hat - perfect weight. I wouldn't use it for a sweater though - even though it's beautiful - but it would be a tad too scratchy for me. I'm hooked on the idea of Malabrigo as the perfect sweater wool.



I also made another pair of Fetchings out of Moda Dea Bamboo Wool. These will be a gift for one of the kid's teachers along with the other pair. The yarn was great to work with, seems like a much more expensive yarn than what you would usually find at A.C. Moore. The color selection isn't that great, however, or I would think about it for a sweater. If I decide to make a dark grey sweater, then I would consider using this again.

Death of Family blogger - Birth of Family Space

Our family Blogger site died a slow, painful death. I haven't blogged on it in over a year. And blogging isn't Colin's thing. So - I've started one on Live Spaces because it does a bit more of what I need in a family blog - basically combline my family blog and photo album.

Here's the link: Family Blog to check out what are the latest antics that our family is up to. The latest excitement is that Jada turned 1!!! I didn't get as many birthday pictures as I would have liked but I snapped a few. I can't believe it's been a year, yet it seems like we have had 3 kids forever.

I felt bad b/c I had to send out our family pictures recently to some college friends and it was all very old. Now I have a new site to send them too. And I will do better about keeping it up.

Meet EastSideKnitters

I found a new knitting group in Redmond!! I was crusing a local mall looking for a bite to eat and a place to knit, and I found a very busy table of knitters (and spinners). They invited me to join them and now I have a home away from home :)

It was great to hear them talk about the knitting community in their area. It's very different than Charlotte. Alot more people who actually produce their yarn, spinning and getting very interesting sounding fibers. I've always wanted to know how to spin, maybe I will learn through hanging out with them when I'm in Redmond. Since I am there once a month - you will know where to find me on Wedensday evenings!!

All done!!!

The are done. They took a tiny bit over 1 hank of the Lana D'Oro. The Thumbs were ok, not too fun but not too hard. How does my neighbor aka babysitter model look modeling them?

My Fetchings

I decided last night when I couldn't sleep to join in on the Charlotte Purls KAL. Here is how far I got. The yarn is Lana D'Oro Tweed by Cascade Yarns which has been in my stash for ever. It was one of my first "real" yarn purchases off ebay a mix of Alpaca and Wool. I have 3 bags of the stuff and this poor hank has been in a ball for 3 years. Miss Fetching is a perfect fit!

Double Dare Me

I'm off to Seattle tomorrow and have some serious knitting to get done.

1. I need to complete a prayer shawl we will delivery to a mom next Saturday. Her son is in a coma at CMC after being hit by a car. He's 7 years old. As a mom - my heart goes out to her anyway. But as we have put our time at CMC with Jason during his 6 years, I empathize even more. So - please say a prayer for Jeremy and his mom that wakes up from his coma. And a quick one for me that I suspend my dislike of Homespun enough to concentrate on getting the shawl done!

2. I have a sudden, selfish need to finish a vest and sweater for me. I can feel the coolness in the air......occasionally. Well, rarely, but I know fall is coming if only for a day. And I am going to look good in my retro vest and sweater!

3. My Christmas shawls have been sidelined for way too long. I can't knit lace to well while in meetings and that is when I do most of my knitting so I can concentrate and not do email! So - I've got to get back to the lace.

4. And lastly - I have to resist adding to the stash. It's totally out of control.

So - I'm double daring me to come back with more than one FO and while I'm not sure I can go on a trip and not by some yarn. Let's just say I need to limit it to yarn I can fit in my suitcase without paying for extra poundage on the plane. I think I left myself enough wiggle room there to win my dare :) Let's see. And hopefully a few pics as well for the blog.

Oh - and I get to hopefully meet the founder of my company at my 15 year service award dinner :) He's a little someone most people have heard of before :) If I do - I will make sure I have digital camera in hand to capture the moment!!!!!

Near Instant Gratifcation

Due to my constant bouncing between projects - none of the socks I was working on were progressing fast enough - and I wanted a new pair of socks!!! The owner of Rave Knits had waved some Universal Classic Worsted yarn in front of me - 20% Wool/80% Acrylic. Normally the yarn snob in me would have ignored the yarn, but after having my 100% wool socks burnout in the sole, I'm not as hot on all wool socks anymore. So I thought that yarn may make a great sock. It does!!! And I finally got Green socks on foot instead of on needle - after two days!!! It's a quick knit on size 2 needles, almost as quick as Jada's socks.

So tonight - I'm wearing my near instant gratifcation socks!!!

Christmas Presents - Caterpillar Scarves and Hat

I decided to make these cute scarves and hats from Merino Farms for Christmas presents for the little kids in my life. I still have to add the eyes and eye brows but they are a quick cute knit. I love using bright colors. The Brown/Yellow is knit in the Merina Farms 3-ply worsted. The Green/Blue is knit in Malbrigo. Ahhhh - that is such a lovely, soft yarn. Doesn't feel anything like wool. I have GOT to make a sweater in it. It's a pretty big hank too, 2X as much yardage as the Merino Farms at about the same price. I like MF too - it's very soft. But I like the variation of color in the Malabrigo and you can't beat the price for the ultra softness. It's almost like knitting roving though. Be careful - I broke the yarn trying to bind it off twice!!

Jada's Silky Socks

I found this yarn at AC Moore. I know - and me being the yarn snob that I am couldn't believe I found something I like at a non-LYS. It's Moda Dea Silk N' Wool - 85% Wool and 15% Silk. Worsted weight, has a tweedy look and great colors - especially the Green and Dark Pink (Sangria).

So - I got some balls to make Jada some socks. I wanted to use them to make the great new style of socks in Cat Bordhi's book - New Pathways for Sock Knitters ().

But I couldn't wait and decided to make up a sock using a standard knitting formula.


They knitted so fast and are so soft and so cute on her. I started last night while Colin was playing at the Grape - yes, I knit in a wine bar while my husband's band plays!!! That makes me a die hard knitting freak, I know. I have brochitis, so I was sitting by myself - so that's my excuse. If I was sitting with others - I would have not knit...........as much.

Anyway - I started last night and wrapped up the last one today.

Isn't she the cutest in them?

Here's my attempt at a pithy pattern if you are interested:

Yarn: 1 Ball (you will only use 1/2 half) Moda Dea Silk N' Wool - Sangria
Needle: Size 5, 32" (if you use the magic loop method as I did)

CO 25, Join in a circle and knit the first and last stitch together.
K2P2 for 16 rows.
Heel Stitch on 12 stitches for 14 rows.
Heel Stich is:
R1: *S1, K1*, repeat stitches in * * to end of row.
R2. S1, P all remaining stitches to end of row.
Repeat R1 and R2.

Turn heel:
S1, K 6, SSK, K1, Turn.
S1, P4, P2tog, P1, Turn.
S1, K5, SSK, K1, Turn.
S1, P6, P2tog, P1, Turn.

Hmmm - I hope I got that right. I'm going by memory!!

Anyway - I had 8 stitches on the heel not 9 so something is off......note to self to edit blog later!

K 8, Pick up 8 stitches on the side of the heel for the gusset.
K 12, Pick up 8 stitches on the other side of the heel for the gusset.
Decrease 2 every other row until there are 14 (not 12 b/c babies feet are fat!!) on the sole.
Knit another inch or so depending on the babies foot.
Then make your favorite toe. I made a wide wedge toe. But the star would be nice too. I decreased to 8 stitches and just drew them together b/c I didn't want to graft it. These are quick remember!! Total - maybe 2 hours knitting time. I did them on a magic loop with my Harmonies since I don't have Harmonies DPs in 5s.

If you haven't made worsted baby socks, they are quick & satisfying, and with lovely, silky yarn - so cute!! Next - I will make the Green sock the Cat Bordhi way - I can't wait!

Dead batteries, Rain, First walking moments and USPS Brings Joy

I got back from my trip to Seattle, tired, cranky, but happy to be home. I had hired a driver because I didn't want to leave my car at the airport (hubby needs it) and I really didn't want to drive. But upon arriving at the airport - the drivers car wouldn't start!! The battery was dead. He was embarassed, it wasn't his fault. But the last thing I wanted to do was sit for 45 mins in the airport. And then when we got going thei Humberto rain caused accidents on 85. And since Charlotte drivers find it impossible to drive in the rain without either crashing or causing back ups to watch other people crash - it tooks us another 45 mins to an hour to get home.

Grrrrrrrrrr.

But - upon arrival, my Knitpicks Harmony Needles had arrived.

A lot of other good things happened, of course - but this is a craft blog.

I'm in love with them. They are smooth and hard, but warm as wood is. The sharp points are heaven. I like them better than the nickel plated and the Addis. The KP lady hit gold with these, every knitter will have to have a pair I suspect.

Both the DPNs and the interchangable are both great. Wonderful joins, and the tips, the tips!!!

I took off 2 sets of DPNs I had on socks immediately. One I knew I was not enjoying b/c of the rounded tips on the pony pearls. I like pony pears feel, but the round tips are not working out on the jaywalker socks. I dread the row with increases and decreases b/c to knit tightly but try to scoop out the inc or dec with blunt needles wears on you after a while.

But my new Harmonies are great!! I love you get an extra DPN for breakage - that has happened to me with my Brittney 0s before - grrrr-. But I now have a cure for that. ON my Seattle trip, I found out about the Nancy KnitNacks DP WIP tubes (check them out at: http://www.nancysknitknacks.com/). No more broken wood needles for me!!

So as a knitter I'm now happy.

Now for the non-knitting grumbles. Jada started walking - as I knew she would. Just like Janeen did 8 years ago. She isn't consistant yet, but she can walk. She's smart enough to know that walking may not be the best thing right now - ie. less carrying - so she holds out for special occasions or when we aren't looking and she is playing in her play area. But once again - I missed this special event in one of my children's lives. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Harmony - nice!!!

Missing Jada walking - not nice!!!

I have no pics of WIPs at the moment. So - just use your imagination. Lots of lace, socks, and yummy yarns of course. :) Stay tuned for pics.

The blog name is Crafty Girlz....

not crafty girl. And I have been trying in vain to get my daughter interested in crafts. She is very creative. Her thing is writing movie scripts. Career wise, she is probably on to something. But I'm a crafty girl, and have dreams of sitting down with my daughters and crafting.

So - I think I finally found something she at least tolerates. I got her making potholders for Christmas presents. I started her on the loops and then did some yarn potholders so she can see how much better they are. She likes them. The brainwashing may be starting to work.....

She likes me to knit for her though. I have a cool book - "Knit a Square make a Toy" that's going with me to Seattle this week. I have a little snake (Janeen) and Rabbit (Jason) that have been ordered from the kiddies. :)

Playing with cotton and linen yarn for washcloths

Can you tell the fibers?

Universal Yarns Flax Sampler

Yummy Linen Yarn called Flax from Universal Yarns. It is divine and I have 8 hanks with a sweater (in this color) for me written all over it!!!! I have several other hanks for faceclothes!!

Potholder Weaving

This is my potholder weaving. It's so fun with yarn, better than loops. Thanks Noreen! Janet sent with Treo on the road.

Neglected

My poor neglected blog. I have been knitting, and even crocheting. And now - I've added weaving as my new fiber art. I've bought a ....errrrrrr.... few looms, and also learned how to weave on a pot-holder loom with the great tutorial on this site - http://www.hankeringforyarn.com/how-to-weave-with-yarn-on-the-potholder-loom-part-1. It's so simple. No need for those pesky, horrible loops. What a great idea!!

I've also fallen in love with linen yarn, and hemp. All types. Thick, thin. For face cloths, shawls, and I'm even experimenting with a baby blanket (perhaps) or a shawl in crochet linen.

Hemp is yummy to. I've ordered some hemp yarn from lanaknits.com and the local LYS. And I also picked up some hempton (Hemp and cotton) from knitpixie.com.

Let's see - what else have I been doing. I have 2 swallowtail shawls almost done, but I've been intimidated by the ending, so I'm pausing to get up my nerve!!! They are so pretty, I will be so sad if it doesn't end well.

I've discovered knitting groups. The Concord, NC knitting group that meets at Rave Knits has been one that my sister and I attend. It's been great getting to know more ladies (and a man) who love knitting as much as I do. And talking with them about different projects, getting inspired by what creative things they come up with, and we have 2 ladies from Universal Yarns that come by and tease us with new yarn on a regular basis. That is like a bartender visiting an AA meeting!!!

I heard from a nice lady about another knitting group that meets in the University area that I think I have to visit. It's becoming another addiction - knitting groups :) My AA meetings.

Oh - and have you seen the new Knit Picks Harmony needles - I've GOT to get me some of them! They are beautiful and I have a bit of a needle fettish.

I've discovered via blogs Japanese Lace knitting books - and I have a few on the way :)

I've fallen in love with lace, and have many many projects in the works.

So it's obvious I'm to busy to blog!! So my poor blog is suffering. But the bright side is I should have lots of cool pics soon.

The baby is getting big. She is scooting holding on to things all over the place. But she isn't walking yet. It is just a matter of time. Her little personality is so funny to us. She is very independant (not anything like her mother of course!! NOT!) and sneaky. She gets very quiet when she is sneaking out of her play area. That's our only clue that a 9 month old is on the loose. If you delay 10 seconds, there is no telling where she will be. She is very attached to Colin these days, sort of hurts my feelings some times. She isn't talking to much, but she doesn't have to - she's pretty good about letting us know what she wants. She used to have a very quiet wheezy cry, but that's gone. She has replaced it with a high-pitch, back of the throat screech. I guess we weren't reacting fast enough to the low wheeze. Being a momma of a baby again is tiring but so much fun. I guess because I know it's the last time - I'm not ready for any phase (even bottles and diapers to end. And I was super depressed when I had to stop breast feeding due to high BP. I still wish I could BF her today - she has a lot of skin problems and I wonder if BFing would have helped. But overall she is as strong and healthy as we could have hoped for. We are blessed.

Well - Jason has asked me for the 10th time for pizza so my sad little blog post will come to an end. I'm travelling next week for work. Perhaps my blog will get a few entries while I'm on the road.

Chat with ya latter.

Posting some pics

I am doing a lot of knitting, but not a lot of posting. I'll try to get a little caught up this post.

Last week we had a "Yarn Tasting" at Rave Knits - our Concord, NC Knitting Store. It was a lot of fun. Universal Yarns, also in Concord, brought by 4 of their new yarns in sample sizes for us to test. We spent a couple of hours testing and lovin on the new yarn. My favorite was Flax - their new Linen Yarn. At $8 a hank for about 136 yrd, it's the best buy I've found on 100% linen yarn and the colors are vibrent and rich.

Here is a sample swatch knitted on Flax: :( Blogger wouldn't post pics.

Linen Leaf Lace Shawl

Between family, work, family, work, family, more work, more family - and knitting (of course). I have not had any time to blog. I've been to Seattle probably 3 times since the last update. We also went to Ashville to go along with Janeen to summer camp since I couldn't bear to send her away by her self at age eight. We had a good time, and my sister and I even managed to find a new knit shop (Yarn Paradise) curtosy of her GPS system. My score there was 2 skeins of Jitterbug (a sock yarn I've wanted to try), and 2 lace yarns. One of them is 2 seins of Malabigo. It is soo soft and wonderful. I am trying to find the perfect project to use it's soft goodness on.




And despite starting many more WIPs than I have finshed, I have finally completed the Linen Leaf Lace Shawl. I didn't really enjoy working with the linen, it's rough on the hands to knit with. But the end result is lovely and much warmer than I thought. I was completing it last night and trying to position it on my chilly legs to keep me warm. It's larger than I thought it would be too. Here is a picture of it being blocked. And a picture of the stiches close up. The Pattern is from the book "Knitted Shawls, Toles & Scarves" The pattern is technically called "Lavender Leaf Lace Shawl". It is very easy (and fast) to memorize and do. I have 2 more on the needles in a laceweight yarn - one in Jaggerspun and one in Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace yarn.

1 down, 1 to go....

And I finished my first Jaywalker. I like this pattern - it's a great next step if you are as bored with straight knitted socks as I was. This one is in pink Fleece Artist yummy yarn. I love them. I think these may not make it to the gift sock pile.....

More socks......

I finished a pair of socks my friend Trouble, yes, that's my name for her Trouble has asked for. Before I was half way done. I guess I'll have to make them her Christmas present. I've got 3 pairs of socks done as Christmas gifts!

These are a DK weight Merino yarn, by Sunshine Yarns on Etsy. It's nice and soft and a huge skein, I probably have enough for another pair. I like the fall colors. Warm and cheery.

I made up a patter with a after-thought heel and toe both done in 4 corners. They fit sort of baggy and comfy.

Two little crazy kids

This was a fun day when we got out the face paints and had some fun. That's crafty right?

OK - now I am just bragging

Jaywalkers

I have two jaywalkers on the needles. I now know why these socks inspire such rave reviews, they are very easy but so fun. I made one following the pattern and one with a fore-thought heel. An idea I got out of the Sensational Knitted Socks: by Charlene Schurch (get yourself a copy here: http://www.amazon.com/Sensational-Knitted-Socks-Charlene-Schurch/dp/1564775704). I like the heel - I need to knit a bit more to see if it fits as well as the after-thought, but theoretically it should.

The pink socks are made with Fleece Artist yarn, and the blue are made with Koigu. It's one of the wildest Koigu color's I've seen. More stripy than I expected, but fun.

I'm rockin and rollin on these, so hopefully I'll have one each very soon.

Running through the wildflowers socks.....

I finished my socks using the Wildflowers colorway from Sunshine Yarns (purchased on www.etsy.com). I love, love these socks. She also has a new tighter spun yarn in the same colorway that would probably make even more durable socks. But these are soft and yummy. It started pooling in a weird way on the 2nd sock and I didn't stop it. So that sock looks a tad weird - but I love them anyway. I am going to make a matching scarf of of the extra yarn I have left over.

I used my own pattern - plain ole' knit stitch - with a standard heel and a 4 corners (janet's no-grafting) toe. They fit me perfectly - and that's good because they are mine!!! I've taken a break from gift socks to enjoy a pair or two :).

In the picture one looks way bigger than the other. It's an optical illusion folks. The are the same size! Blame the photographer - me :)

Koigu socks are finished

I finally finished my green koigu socks. First of all - I love, love, love green!! And secondly I love, love, love koigu. So - you know I love, love, love these socks!

I 3 needled bound off the toe and foot because I have lost patience and confidence in my abilities to graft effectively.

The top of the sock is a garter rib pattern - the heel is an after-thought heel. The toe and heel yarn is Fearless fibers - Midnight Blue. I'm making another pair of socks with the rest of this hank.

Finally- I finish a pair of socks - now on to the other lonely 1 completed socks I have in my WIP bin.

Jason's glasses

Poor Jason has eye's like his mommy and needs glasses. The standing close to the TV and holding his DS close to his face were our main clues. The kid's styles are a lot nicer than when I started wearing glasses, but I was hoping my kids wouldn't have my eye weakness. This blog item has nothing to do with knitting, crochet or crafts. But I was just sharing.

2 sock yarn scarf

I have been admiring scarves on the internet made with 2 contrasting sock yarns. So of course despite my many, many WIPs I had to start one!! The difference in yarns is a bit more subtle than I would have wanted, but I like it. Lots and lots of colors.

Jada in her sling

I just had to get a picture of Jada in the sling her Auntie made her. She loves it, and it quiets her down when I have to get some things done or walk around.

Jada's Teddy

I have been wanting to make a teddy bear for Jada. Soft and cute, that she could cherish as made by her mommy. Well - I hadn't got around to it. And my sister found what I thought would be a great color for a knitted bear. But I hate working with chenille and it was a huge cone. Much larger than needed for a bear. So - after trying to get over my chenille adversion, I realized I would never use it and gave it to her. This is her suprise bear for Jada, isn't it cute?? Jada loves it!!

Gift socks

I completed these two gift socks a while ago and hadn't got around to posting them. Actually - I was posting them and my internet went out. The first was made with Schoeller + Stahl Fortissima Big sock yarn that I had. I like working with the yarn -it's super fast on size 5 needles. The second sock I made with Toasty toes yarn. What a lovely, soft yarn to work with and the colors remind me of rugby for some reason. I like both socks and can't wait to give them to the right person.

A Sock Tragedy

My favorite socks, made out of my favorite yarn (koigu) experienced a tragic, catastrophic injury. Somehow, when I put them on this week I noticed a HUGE hole in the bottom of the sock. I had foolishly ignored the labelling and was washing them in the washing machine. I had dried them flat, but the washing machine (even thought it as a front loader) and the constant wearing exacted it's toll. My poor socks.

Doreen had a good idea to buy some suede and put suede bottoms on them. I think I may have to do that. But for now, I mourn my socks. It's made me add more energy to completing the koigu socks I have been working on for a while. So I can have another pair for my tired little toes to wear.

I had time to make bread....

Wow - that seems so long ago....
So nice......

I want to have an hour to make bread.......

Back to Work

My blogging has taken a huge break because I am back to work. Being a mom of 3, employee (that travels), wife, homemaker, and lots of other things I can't name right now is a balancing act that is getting the best of me right now. I just can't get into a groove.

Through it all knitting still has the ability to calm me down. It give me something to do with the nervous energy when sitting in phone meetings and trying to concentrate, instead of trying to do one of the other tasks that I'm often tempted to do! LIke answer email. When did email move from being a tool to a task master. This never ending stream of conversation that you have to respond to. You can't unplug it or not turn it on like a phone. It just keeps piling up, never ending.

Well - you get my mood. Perhaps next update I'll share some happier thoughts like I am back to sock making in a big way. And my 3 little ones can still make me smile. Both Jason and Janeen came home with the coolest art work this week. I have to get it scanned in because I'm so proud. And little Jada is discovering more of the world every day. Now if their crazy momma could just get everything else to slow down, we might just find more time in the day to enjoy these special moments that will never come again.

More bread pics

Mom came over and made a lovely loaf with the Food Processor. We had a few more problems than with my first batch. It kept bunching up in the FP and eventually it made a weird smell. I think the motor was a bit strained. But it was just as fast and pretty. :) I'll try it again and try to figure out how to not get that "nub" in the future.



And afterward I had to make some junk muffins. These are Colin's favorite, and I like that I can sneak in veggies (carrots and if I can get my hands on some zuchini sp? that too). It's also full of fruit - what ever I have on hand and of course raisins. This time I soaked the raisins to make them nice and full. But the muffins are healty and yummy. This time I also put in some whole wheat in the four mix which didn't make it too heavy or not rise. Next time I'll up the WW ratio in the mix!!

And lastly - I finally got a Kitchen Aid Mixer. Wow - what a difference it makes. I used it today for meatloaf and MacNCheese. I'm not sure what I love most - it or my FP!! Cooking is fun again :)

Jada socks

First of all - yes my baby girl is learning to play. We were given this little play mat that was similar to what my first 2 had. She is getting more intersted daily. Janeen is the perfect baby sister and will play with her while she is on the mat. It's such a joy this time around watching it all over again, as they learn new things every day.

As for knitting - These little baby socks are addictive! I fished 2 more pairs. The first with Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in Girly Stripe. Yummy, Yummy, very soft yarn.

The second pair was in Marks and Kittans Clown Sock yarn - a cotton/wool blend. This yarn has an interesting story. It was marked on clearance at Ben Franklin Craft's. I picked up a bunch for the clearance price, but the sales clerk asked me if it was for 2/$1. I said I didn't see that posted, but she thought it was. So she gave it to me for that price. Now - you don't feed a yarn-o-holic like me with 50 cent yarn!! She's lucky I didn't go back and clean the place out!! But I restrained myself. I did go back and get some for my sister however.

Anyway, lucky me - it was nicer to work with than I expected and made a great pair of socks. And I know have LOTS for other projects in the future.

Inspiration Bread

Inspired by my sister (www.mom2rays.blogspot.com) I decided to make bread to. I had a food processor I had purchased and embarassingly enough never used. Guess what - it makes great bread!! So easy to. Not sure what took me so long.

I used the bread recipe for the processor, for whole wheat bread. It's OK, but I want to use my own recipe next time. This time I wanted to see How to make bread in it. Basically put in all dry ingredients, process for 20 secs. Then slowly pour in the wet ingredients - until it forms a ball. Then let it process (knead) for 60 secs). Voila. It's done!!

It rises....punch it. Shape the bread into a ball and Let it rise again. Then bake. I guessed on the baking time since the recipe was for loaves. Must of guessed right, because they were great!! I also brushed it w/ butter since I like my bread shiny, don't know why. I just do.

Next time I'm replacing 1/2 of the water with beer, it is supposed to make the whole grains more "nutty and flavorful". Let's see.....

More socks for Jada

And more socks for Jada - while I take a break from my socks and make the 2nd sock on all 3 pairs. The pink and purple sock is made with Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in Girly Stripe. I really like this yarn, very soft and I like the think stripes. I have to make Jada's mommy a matching pair.

And the 2nd sock is made with an odd ball of sock yarn I got at a local LYS. The name of the yarn escapes me at the moment. It's not as soft and nice as the Lorna's. But the colors are more baby-like I guess. If you buy into baby colors. Not me - I like brights for babies. But I would never use this color for myself. So here they are for Jada.

Jason's Socks

It has been a while since I had made Jason socks. So I used my new Sock Wizard software (gift to myself ) and put in a pattern for Magic Stripes gauge socks. While I could have figured it out - I love the sock and sweater wizard. So easy and fast and so many options. Cuff down, Toe up, Wide Toe, Star Toe, etc. So voila - Jason's socks with Magic Strip Denin Stripe. I used a size 2 needle, instead of the recommended size 3. But I probalby could have even used a size 1. I guess I knit really, really loosly. The socks knitted up fast. And of course since Jada is going to sleep at 2-4a every night. I have more than I want of knitting time these days while I try to get her sleepy!!