The thrill of victory....

It's taken me 17 days, and it's about a month later than I needed it, but I finally finished something this year.



And a close-up:



This Christmas tree skirt has been sewn and basted, waiting to be quilted for at least 2 years. Probably more like 3 or 4. Want to know how long it took me to quilt it? About 4 hours, plus another couple of hours to bind it. I'm pretty sure I could have found 6 hours in 3 or 4 years to finish it. No, I don't have an explanation for it, either. Oh well, it's done now.

I had lots of help while I was quilting it.


"Mama, stop moving my quilt around!"


"And if you don't stop, I'll get you with my laser eyes!"

...and the agony of defeat.

As you know, I've been waffling about the Karira socks. I thought I'd finish them and see if they fit me. If they didn't fit me, I was going to see if they fit someone else and if that didn't work out I was going to get some nice sock blockers and hang them on the wall.

But then I was working on them last night and I decided I just couldn't finish them if I wasn't going to be able to wear them. So I took them off the needles, soaked them and put them on sock blockers to dry. I tried them on and have decided that they are just not going to work as socks. The yarn is too pretty to just hang on the wall, so I'm thinking that I'll rip them back to before the linen stitch heels (that took forever to knit) and make fingerless mitts out of them.


I think they'll look pretty good as mitts

I haven't had the nerve to actually rip them back yet. Maybe later this week.

This doesn't have anything to do with anything, but have you ever cut into a pepper and found a little one inside?


Pretty cool, huh?

And in cat news there's been quite a bit of male bonding and brotherly love going on here.


"This is a pretty cool basket Mama left out for us"


Hanging out on the chair


"I love you, little brother"

Got Egg Nog?

Christmas is over and you might have a bit of leftover egg nog in your fridge. If you've had your fill of drinking it, you could use the leftovers for cookies.



You can find the recipe here. I opted to not use the icing, but added 1 cup of Craisins to the dough. They're nice and soft, and the egg nog isn't overwhelming, so if you're not really a fan of it, don't worry.

In keeping with the food theme, I made a pot of chicken soup the other day from leftover chicken and broth that was in the freezer.


No shortage of chicken here, folks.

I promised to share the knitting in this post, so I'll start with the finished objects, since they're more interesting.

First up, my Noro striped scarf. This is not new to anyone who reads knitting blogs, but I really enjoyed making it. I used two different colorways of Noro Silk Garden yarn and followed the instructions here.



I only cast on 31 stitches, since I prefer a narrower scarf, and I only used one skein of one color, and a little more than a skein of the second color so it's not terribly long. But I'm not one of those double-it-up-and-pull-it-through people, so it's fine.

The next two were made from kits I got at Studio Knit in Medina, OH.


Adorable little Santa hat - needs stuffing or something, I think


Isn't this the cutest thing EVER?

They were pretty quick knits. The hat I started and finished in one evening. The snowman took a little longer, since it was more involved. I did the accessories one evening and the body another. I liked these so much I bought some yarn to make more of them.

I'm still slogging away on the Karira socks.


They're a little farther along than this now.

They are taking forever. Probably because they are linen stitch and charted lace that I can't really memorize. And I've been knitting those other projects and sewing a couple dozen fiddly grocery bags.

Plus, my heart isn't really in them anymore. Once I got the heel turned, I tried them on and I could barely get them over my ankles. One of my friends is a designer and she said her latest pattern was pretty tight as she was knitting it, but it stretched a bit when she washed and blocked them. I have hope that I'll actually be able to wear these when I'm done. If not, I'll either find someone very sock-worthy to give them to, or get some pretty sock blockers and hang them on the wall as art. The yarn is gorgeous and they're my first lace socks. I can't bring myself to rip them back and I would never start them over, at least not as written. If I did, I'd do 1x1 ribbing on the back panel, I think. I like the way the linen stitch looks (it's on the back of the heel), but I'm not a fan of knitting it.

I also started a new project.


Warm Thoughts from Decorator Throws to Knit

This is knitting up a lot faster than the socks, and I like how it's striping. The yarn I'm using comes in 50g balls, and I'm holding it double, so it's been entertaining trying to keep the pattern repeats more or less together. I have lots of little bits and balls of various colors lying around. I'll probably make cat toys with them later. My only concern is that it isn't superwash wool, so I'm going to have to be very careful when I wash it.

I've been on vacation the last two weeks, so Emma has spent quite a bit of time on my lap. In fact, she's here now. Who cares if there's a laptop there, she just squeezes her way in. The other day, I was laying on the couch and she was using me as a kitty bed. This doesn't look comfortable at all, but it must have been, since she stayed that way for quite a while.


"Yes, my head and back feet are going different directions. What of it?"

Oh, and Happy New Year, everyone! A lot of my friends had a pretty rough 2010, and I'm hoping that 2011 is kinder to them.

Update Number One

Okay, I have about 6 weeks of stuff to catch up on, right? I'm going to start with the non-knitted stuff today, and I'll do the knitted stuff next time.

In the sewing department, it's mostly been about the grocery bags. You might remember that I cut out a boatload of them a while back. Well, I finished the first batch of them, but was a bad blogger and didn't take a picture of them. I gave most of them away to my family at Thanksgiving.

Then I made some more and did get a picture.



Aaaannnnnd a bunch more....


Some of these were done and have been pictured before.

I gave nearly all of these away to friends and John's family for Christmas. I'm definitely taking a break from making grocery bags for a while. I got a bunch more fabric out of my stash, though.

Sometime just after Thanksgiving, I got an unexpected package from St. Martin's Press with this inside.



That would an advance copy of Jonathan Maberry's latest Joe Ledger novel! It doesn't come out till March, but I have a copy now. I read the first two Joe Ledger books (Patient Zero and The Dragon Factory) and really enjoyed them. I went to the website and put my name on a list for a chance to get the book early, and they picked me! I currently have a couple of library books to finish (one of which is overdue), but then I'm looking forward to checking this one out. Thanks, St. Martin's Press!

Earlier this year, I joined a group that meets every Thursday night to knit. I LOVE this group. They are funny, inspirational and occasionally a bad influence on me. I have purchased a lot of yarn this year from and and because of them. But you should see the great stash I have! :) The second weekend of December, we had a Christmas party, with tons of good food and prezzies! Each of us brought food and enough stocking stuffers for everyone else. After we stuffed ourselves with the food, we opened our stockings. This was my contribution:


Tissue holders made with fabric that looks like knitting

We got some really excellent stuff! I didn't take any pictures, but Pam and Andrea both blogged about it. My foot is the one in the solid green sock in the pictures on Pam's blog. It was loads of fun. We had a pajama/Festivus party the night before Christmas Eve, with a Festivus Pole and Airing of Grievances. We skipped the Feats of Strength, but it was a good time. What a great group of people. I haven't known them long, but I love them to pieces.

Santa was very good to me. In keeping with the bag theme I've had going lately, I got some great bags for presents.

First, John gave me this:


A Namaste Newport bag in Hollywood Pink. The little knitted bag was one of my stocking stuffers. It matches well, doesn't it?

Then my friend S. in Massachusetts sent me this one, also pink:



Isn't this great? It's made from a chicken feed bag. S. and her family raise chickens, so I'm sure there's no shortage of these bags at their house. It will be perfect for carrying around my latest project, which I'll show you next time. I'm going to show it to Andrea. It might be something she could sell at the farm once they open the shop.

Yesterday I got together with some other friends for craft day and more food. Two of us knit while the third one sewed. She gave me this.



A little pouch with this inside:


The storage pouch clips to a D-ring inside the bag

How cool is that? J. and S. are going to trade each other for their bags, since S. is part of this group, but now lives in a different state. I've known these friends a lot longer than my new knitting friends, but I love them to pieces, too!

In other news, I was on vacation all of last week and this week. Today I'm catching up on all the Christmas DVDs I didn't get to watch before Christmas. It's going to be really hard going back to work on Tuesday.

The cats have enjoyed my being home during the day, too.


"We love the heated kitty bed."

Next time: Knitting!

Merry Christmas Eve!

I did some baking yesterday.


M&M pretzels and sweet potato rolls.

That and a pan of fudge are the extent of my holiday baking this year. If I make it, I'll eat it, and I don't want to gain back the 10 pounds I've lost since last month.

I thought I'd share the goodness with you, though.

The pretzels are super easy. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper. That part is optional, but you'll thank me later. Lay out as many pretzels (I use Snyder's Snaps) as you can possibly get in there in a single layer. Place a candy melt (I used Wilton's white/vanilla, but you can use any color/flavor you like) on each pretzel. Bake at 250 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until they are are shiny and soft the middle, but not completely melted goo. Take them out and put an M&M in the center. Let cool completely. Using the parchment helps make them faster, because you can slide one sheet off and immediately fill up the pan again. What you see in the picture is most of a 1-pound bag of pretzels, all of two 14-oz bags of candy melts and most of a bag of holiday milk chocolate M&Ms. I think the color contrast is very festive and they're very tasty. You could use dark chocolate or mint M&Ms, too.

The rolls are blatantly stolen from the 2001 Taste of Home's Quick Cooking Annual Recipes cookbook, page 172. The difference is that my bread machine bakes lousy bread, so I just use it for making dough. Here's the recipe:

Sweet Potato Bread
Recipe from Christi Ross, Mill Creek OK

1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp warm milk (70-80 degrees)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1-1/2 tsp salt
4-1/2 Tbsp softened butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped canned sweet potatoes, drained
1/3 c. mini marshamallows
3 c. bread flour
2-1/4 tsp active dry yeast [equiv to 1 pkg]

In bread machine pan, place all ingredients in order suggested by the manufacturer . Select basic bread setting. Choose crust color and loaf size, if available. Bake according to bread machine directions (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1-2 Tbsp of water or flour if needed). Yield: 1 loaf (about 1-1/2 pounds).

My notes/mods: I soak the uncracked egg in hot water for a few minutes to warm it up. I don't chop the sweet potatoes, I mash them into the measuring cup with a fork. Then I measure the milk into a glass measuring cup, add the butter and sweet potatoes and microwave for about a minute to warm everything up before adding it to the machine. My dough always comes out a bit sticky so I skip the extra 2 Tbsp of milk and sometimes still need to add a bit more flour; your mileage may vary.

I make the dough in the machine, then knead small handfuls of dough into roll shapes and place them on a greased cookie sheet. Cover them with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray, and let rise in a warm place for 40-45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or browned as you like them. I have small hands, so I get 18-24 rolls. It's not an exact measurement.

I don't have to go back to work till January but I decorated my monitor at work, anyway.


USB LED lights, from Big Lots -$4

I've been busy this week running errands, shopping, wrapping, baking, cleaning, sewing, and etc. It hasn't felt like much of a vaction yet.

I haven't done much decorating but...


"Mama loves me - she put up a tree in the living room for me to climb!"

More about my activities since mid-November later. I have to get back to my sewing room. Have a safe and Merry Christmas, everyone!

Still here

It's true I haven't been feeling the blogging mojo lately. I have been working on things, though.

I finally started the heels on my Karira socks:



I have about an inch of linen stitch done and have at least another inch to go. I knit linen stitch very slowly.

I finished one scarf and a matching hat that will go to my Secret Santa kid, but I haven't taken a picture yet. Since I finished one scarf, I started another one:


Noro Striped Scarf by Jared Flood

I'm using Noro Silk Garden yarn in colorways #284 and 268. It's 1x1 rib on an odd number of stitches, alternating the two colorways every 2 rows. Since the yarns are self-striping you get the cool fading effect. The color changes keep it interesting. I'm making mine narrower than Jared's - 31 stitches instead of 39.

I also finally got around to working on some more grocery bags. I'm taking them to my uncle's for Thanksgiving, so I have to get busy. These are almost done.



They just need the 2 bottom seams and the handles sewn together at the top. I might have cut out a few more:



There are still 7 of them under the sewing table waiting to be sewn up, and I want to cut out at least one more, but I have to dig out lining fabric for it. I'm still pulling fabric out of my stash for these. You really don't want to see my fabric closet.

I don't have to have these *all* done by Turkey day, but I wanted to get a few more "manly" colors/prints sewn up, in case my male cousin wants some. I'm taking the last two weeks of the year off, so I'll have time to finish up the rest of them by Christmas. Of course if there aren't (m)any takers over the holidays, I'm going to have these things coming out my ears.

Emma's been busy, too.


"Sitting on this scrunchie, keeping your seat warm for you, Mama!"

Ugh

I have a cold. I've *had* a cold for the last week. I hate colds. I took Monday off from work, but I ended up working from home part of the day since they were shorthanded in the office.

On Sunday, I took a sweater fitness class with Anne Hanson. I was really looking forward to it, but thanks to the cold, I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. I didn't take any pictures, but Anne did a great blog post about her weekend here. I did learn a few things, some bad, some good. My waist is now the same size as my hips were in college (bad). Also, you should pick a sweater size that fits your back shoulder measurement (good). Have someone measure from the top curve of one shoulder up and over to the top curve of the other shoulder. Pick a pattern that fits that measurement, then adjust the rest of it to your body. I bought a bunch of her patterns while I was there. Someday I'll get around to them.

Meanwhile, I've been working on my socks. I'm a couple of rounds farther than this picture. I have about 10 rounds to go before I start the heels.


Karira sock pattern, Destination Yarn in Tuscany colorway

There's a new baby in my extended family! My cousin had this little beauty this week:


"My name is Josie"

She'll get the quilt I made last month when I meet her at Thanksgiving. I just need to make a label for it.

In other news. I got a package in the mail this week and someone helped me open it.



Anyone want to guess who my helper was?


"What'd I do?"

Banana Pineapple Cake

Here's the recipe for the cake I made the weekend before last. It's based on this recipe plus some of the comments.

Banana Pineapple Cake

3 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 c. diced/mashed bananas
1/2 c. cooking oil
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 c. drained crushed pineapple, (reserve juice)
1/2 c. reserved pineapple juice

Sift together flour, sugars, soda, cinnamon and salt. Add remaining ingredients and pour into a greased tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until the cake tests clean. Cool 15 minutes in pan, then invert onto a serving plate. Cool completely. Glaze as follows: Mix about 1 cup of powdered sugar with enough pineapple juice to make a thick glaze. Drizzle glaze over cake.

Enjoy!