I made this for Christmas. It's called puppy chow and it's the BEST vegan snack I've had in quite some time. I think it's called muddy buddy mix but all I know is I had to send it home with Amanda because I couldn't stay out of it. I just may have to make a small batch for later. ...It is New Year's after all.
Bad puppy chow!

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEdf10/PATTrodekool.php I have joined a kal on Ravelry through thehttp://www.ravelry.com/groups/crystal-palace-yarns-kals-and-other-things Crystal Palace group that starts tomorrow and I now am thinking that maybe I'm not quite up to the challenge. I did the last kal, which was a cowl and easy and fun. Plus, I won a lovely skein of Mini Mochi yarn that I was going to do this Brioche Rodekool scarf. I am going to look at the video tutorial again and see what I can make of it.

Now that Christmas is over I can show you my big stealth knitting project. This is the Clasica sweater from Interweave Knits Fall 2009. I like to knit one big sweater for Amanda for Christmas and this one was a hit! Thankfully there was a KAL group on Ravelry so I got some help because I sure did need it at a few times.
The yarn is Red Heart Super Saver Burgundy Fleck and should hold up pretty well.

I think she likes it!

I spent some time this week finishing up a ufo that's been hanging around for quite some time. This is a (cover your eyes knitters!) store bought sweater that I got several years ago. It's a man's sweater so plain and a lovely dark gray but it needed some jazzing up. So I pulled out my cross stitching supplies and some duplicate stitch patterns and voila! a sparkly butterfly. I was going to put 3 on it because the pattern was really nice but the count on the sweater is sooooo small I just quit after doing one. So I knuckled down and finished it the other day. Happy dancing all around.

It's always gratifying to finish a project that has dragged on and on.
Went to Main Street Yarns yesterday to get a ball of Mini Mochi -color "Rainbows" for a kal that Crystal Palace Yarns is holding.
We are going to be knitting the Rodekool Brioche scarf from

Knitty Deep Fall issue.www.knitty.com.

Looks like it will be an interesting knit and I will learn a few new techniques.

Made some veggie fried rice the other day from "1000 Vegan Recipes" by Robin Robertson and it is delicious!

I hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas! Happy knitting.

The weather has been gruesome (ice and freezing rain today) so stayed in and did some baking/cooking. This is a East Coast coffee cake with strawberry jam from "Vegan Brunch". Yummy. I also made some Christmas Tamales from Alicia Simpson's "Vegan Celebration". I thought that it was going to be difficult but turned out to be quite easy. And tasty. Going to have lots of appetizer-y type things for Christmas plus a stuffed hazelnut cranberry roast from www.fieldroast.com. I made one for Thanksgiving and it was sooooo good. Plus, it made the best sandwiches on ciabatta rolls with Daiya "cheddar" cheese. Yum.Not a great picture but here's one of the things that I'm working on right now. It's a cabled sock from "The Big Book of Socks". I'm using Cascade 220 in orange and fuschia. I learned how to do a two-color cable which is kind of fun.
Okay. Off to have a cup of Trader Joe's Candy Cane green tea and put on my jimjams and knit. Stay warm all!

An actual knitted project finished. I love them. They are made with Patons Classic wool and nice and warm. Plus, they were an easy knit. I really like the color too.

I used this yarn to make myself a balaclava to wear when I had to shovel snow and my face gets so cold. I got almost all the way finished with it when ....duh...it dawned on me that it wasn't going to work because I wear glasses. What a doof! I finished it anyway since it was a pretty cabled pattern and someone will get to wear it.

Bought myself some yarn for Christmas. This is a lovely lace weight that I bought at Fiberge. It was so hard to decide which color. They were so great. Now the hardest part is going to be picking which pattern to knit.This is a wonderful yarn from Cherry Tree Hill called "Bing Cherry" that's a sock yarn. I got it from www.discontinuedbrandnameyarn.com. I really like this site and they have great sales. It was hard to hold myself to just a few. I also got a skein of purple lace weight for some kind of shawl.

Freezing cold again. Although the sun was out today and it felt a little warmer. Tonight it will be 6*. Time for jimjams and a nice warm robe! I have a hot pot of Berryblossom white tea and a new dvd to watch. Plus, a new knitting project. I decided to use my Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool to make a nice vest and I will get a few more skeins to make the cabled cardigan later. I buy them at Joann's with 50% off coupons, which is always nice. Good to save if you can.

It's good to have some projects planned out because it sounds like the weather this coming week is not going to be the best. Ice and snow and freezing rain,oh my! I have several series on dvd that I haven't watched and a few audio books to fill in the blanks.

Off to refill my tea so have a great night all and stay warm!

Mug o' the day shot. It's my new Christmas mug (and I got it for $3.95 at Starbucks the other day....sweet!). Tonight it's filled with Caribe from Harney tea ...www.harney.com.

So good. I ordered my winter's tea and it just arrived yesterday. The hardest part is deciding which one to have first. The Hot Cinnamon Spice is fabulous and very warming, which will definately be nice on Sunday since we are supposed to be having some wicked weather. Snow and wind and maybe 2-4". Sounds like a day to sit inside and knit with a hot cuppa. I made some Cranberry Autumn and .....sooooo good.

Stealth knitting is all finished now and I'm trying to finish a pair of socks for mom and then I'm going to make a few things for me! I got some lovely Fisherman's Wool by Lion Brand to make a cabled cardigan that should be nice and warm.

I also bought a bunch of Cascade 220 for quite cheap when Yarns and Fabrications went out of business. I am starting a pair of cabled socks from The Big Book of Socks and they look like a fun knit.

Had to buy a new washing machine the other day :(. Poor front loader finally gave up the ghost. They delivered the new one today and it has been merrily washing since. Luckily the laundry didn't pile up too much!
This is a pizza I made the other day for dinner. Yum. All kinds of veggies and Daiya cheese. Definately tastes like a cheesy pizza. That's the best cheese substitute that I've had yet. It melts great and tastes even better. It even makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches. Cheese was the food that I missed most when I became vegan so I was used to not having it at all. A very nice surprise when it came out on the market.

Okay. The laundry is done so I am off. Have a great weekend and stay warm and dry.

Brrrrr. Cold today. I suppose that it's just the start of it though. We had snow yesterday....well, just a dusting but still. The roads froze and there were some nasty accidents all over. Praise Jesus that it didn't start freezing until we got home from running errands. I didn't mind looking out the window at it but had no desire to be out in in!

These are the gloves that I've been working on. Nice and toasty warm, made with Deb Stoller wool yarn. Her colors are so bright and I really like knitting with it as well. The tea today is Comfort and Joy from Republic of Tea and it's lovely and "holiday-ish". Very tasty and warming. We are in for a cold snap this week and it's not supposed to get out of the 20*s. Sounds like good knitting weather to me! I have some audio books ( I am looking forward to listening to the best of Garrison Keillor) and a few projects to finish... it will be nice to get those done.

Okay. Off to refill my mug and sit down to knit. Stay warm and get some knitting done for yourself!

Actual knitting content ahead....cover your eyes if you don't believe me! Teehee.

This is the scallop shawl pattern from Bernat. Very fun and cool to knit. I definately recommend going to their website and download it. It isn't quite as big as the picture but it came out a decent size. I am happy with it. These are a pair of gloves from Kristin Nichols' book. I can't remember which one but they are wild looking.

The fair-isle slows me down a little but they are a pretty fast knit. I like to make them longer so my hands stay warm. Plus you can't go wrong with longer gloves!

We will definately need them this week. Today was in the 20*s and snow flurries. I guess December arrived with a bang. At least we didn't get inches of snow. Of course, we had over 2" of rain on Tuesday so we really didn't need any more precipitation. I am glad that the drought is over but did it really have to catch up all in one day?

Okay, off to finish my glove. Stay warm!