Getting ready for the January knitalong.

These are going to be....wait for it....wait....socks! Where you surprised? Nah, probably not. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/spanish-dancer-socks.

The kal is for the solidsockknitters group on Ravelry...http://www.ravelry.com/groups/solidsocks. The theme in January is black/white/grey and this is what I had. A nice worsted weight that should knit up quickly. I don't have many solid colors in fingering weight that I can use for this group.

But I do like having the knitalongs because it gives me a deadline to work with.

Just staying home tonight (which is actually what I've always done on New Years' Eve because I don't really care to go out anyway) in my pink jimjams with polar bears and penguins (I'm quite the fashion-plate!) with a pot of Trader Joe's Candy Cane green tea ...peppermint with vanilla...so good and my knitting. Right now I'm working on this....http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/supernova-pullover. I am almost finished with the back so it's moving right along. I'm using Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool and I just love the color.

Well, I hope that everyone has a blessed and safe New Years and happy knitting!

Been busy knitting socks. For the Vanna White contest.



Hahahaha! See. It really exists!

The Celtic poncho in all it's "glory". I had to hide it because it was a gift.....

But she was totally surprised because I told her that I had torn it out and wasn't going to finish it. Teehee. Whew. Glad it's off the needles and I WILL never make it again.

I hope that everyone has a blessed and wonderful Christmas!

(This isn't from here....nothing but sun for the next few days.)

Here's my Christmas present to myself!

I "loves" me some Hello Kitty.

Been busy knitting and making food to freeze for Christmas. This year I'm making lots of appetizers and just pulling some out of the freezer and making them as wanted. I figured that it would be alot easier to have everything made ahead and reheat.

I made some things that I've wanted to try and thought this would be a good time to have some. Worked with puff pastry for the first time and can't wait until it's time to have some. I did make some lovely sugar/cinnamon nuts that I cannot stay out of at all! Actually, this is the second batch I've made since ....well, ate the first batch. Don't judge!....it's the holidays. Yeah, that's it.

This is what I just finished. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/knitsensei/weaving-way-socks. 

They are worsted weight and made them for the Solidsockknitters group on Ravelry for the December theme, which is "Blue".http://www.ravelry.com/groups/solidsocks

They were a really fast knit and other than changing the heel and toe (the directions were incorrect for the ones listed) they were fun to knit.

These are some "Sugar Plum" scones that were in the current issur of "VegNews" magazine. Also the recipe for those mean, awful nuts...teehee. And some peppermint bark that I made yesterday. The scones were really good. Rather soft and cakey, which is a nice change from some of those dry scones.

This was just a quick post since I've been knitting for a contest. I'll see you all soon and hope everyone has a blessed and happy Christmas.

Yes, I have been knitting and no, I haven't posted in awhile. No pictures really but I did finish these.

These are "Susie's Reading Mitts" http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/susies-reading-mitts and they were a fast and fun knit. The yarn is Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Yarn" and I think it knit up nice. They are a good pair to wear over a pair of those cheap dollar gloves that you can find everywhere.

New mug photo.

Got it the other day when Starbucks had their Christmas sale....$4.95. A good deal and it was hard to decide which one to get. I finally decided on green since I broke my other green one some time ago.  Right now it's full of Harney's Holiday Tea.

Haven't done any knitalongs in awhile but just started this one.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/weaving-way-socks  in this color.

It's called "Wedgewood" and it's for the Solidsockknitters group. I didn't have any blue yarn except for this so a nice worsted weight it is!

I have been trying to catch up on projects so I can start some more! but it's taking time. I'm almost finished with a hat for mom so that will done tonight. Good 'cause I'm tired of looking at it now.

Made some lovely treats for Christmas that are now in the freezer. Some cranberry struesel bars and mocha cappuccino cookies. Also some artichoke/mushroom packets (which are like spanikopita but with different fillings) and some taco-like fillings in wonton wrapper cups. I thought that it would be nice to have things already made to just heat up throughout the day. Makes it alot easier to have most things ready ahead.

Also made a wonderful skillet lasagna from "Quick-Fix Vegan"by Robin Robertson. Absolutely fabulous!

Okay, I'm off to finish the hat. I'm glad to be inside because it's cold outside!! Somehow it being sunny makes it seem even colder because when you look out it just looks lovely but when you open the door....bbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Hot cuppa and some wool socks and I'm good to go.

Stay warm and keep knitting.

This is just so funny. I'll be back in a day or two. Enjoy!

Give a Moose a beer and you never know what will happen.

Must be Moosehead Beer !!!!!!

This actually happened with some guys from Maine.

They dressed the truck up with the guy dummy spread eagle on the roof of the truck.

The driver and passenger put on Moose Heads.

Down the Maine Toll interstate they went causing about 16 accidents.

They went to jail.




Sorry it's been so long between posts. I really have no excuse other than  knitting. I have a project that seems to be taking forever. Sooner or later I will get it done. It's theAran knit wrap from www.redheart.com and I am over half done but some days it seems like I get nothing done.I did finish the felted bag...

But I finished these. They are fingerless gloves out of some Hobby Lobby acrylic yarn. I think the pattern is called "Suzie's reading gloves" but I can't find the pattern. I will have to look for it.

Here's a picture of the bag. The color is not great but it's called Garnet heather and it's Wool of the Andes from KnitPicks. The bag is http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/satchel and it's the smaller one. I've made the larger one several times and the one that I made for Amanda used Cascade 220. I like that better for felting. I knit them and Amanda felts them and she really had to work the wet bag to get it to the right measurements. The end product is nice though. But had to make the strap WAY longer than the pattern called for because it felted really short and fat. But it's done and now I just have to wait for KnitPicks to get more of that color 'cause I need at least 8 more skeins to finish Amanda's. And they aren't getting any until the middle of February....grrrrrrr.

The weather today is wretched!! Pouring rain and the gutters were supposed to be cleaned today but that's a bust. I rescheduled for Friday but they are now running over and I have to have big garbage cans under part of them 'cause they are running into the basement. I am tired of being wet and the bottoms of my jeans are soaked from emptying the cans. I have a lovely cup of Cranberry Autumn tea and I want to pour it on my legs......brrrrr.

Did some cooking today. For Thanksgiving I'm making a Chestnut-brussel sprout potpie, and  "bacon" onion turnovers from "Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites", rum-kissed sweet potatoes with cranberries and walnuts from "Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes" , a cardamom cinnamon cake from "Have Your Cake and Vegan Too" (which also has a lovely maple cake that was fabulous!) and some greens. And maybe some stuffed mushrooms for a snack.

I just got "Upstairs, Downstairs" from the library and I've never seen it so I will have an English marathon this week while trying to finish the wrap.

Okay, off to empty the cans again. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and remember it's a great day to give thanks to the Lord for all He has given us!

Bad blogger. I know, I know. It's been far too long. I've been busy knitting an order for a felted purse so I will post in a while.

In the meantime...the red cups are in!!



So glad that it's cooler chilly now. I opened my sock drawer and was teary-eyed at the thought of all those lovely hand knits! So many to choose from. Ahhhhh.

Went running around today doing some errands and found one of the farmer's markets still open. A pleasant surprise since I thought they were all done for the season. Got some lovely chard and pattypan squash and one HUGE white radish that I have no idea what I'm going to do with it at this point.

Then went to Trader Joe's and ran into a fellow Raveler. She had a beautiful handknit sweater in a lovely shade of green. I was going to rip it off her and run but she looked like she could keep up with me...teehee! It was fun to actually run into someone from Ravelry like that. I knew they existed but never have seen anyone.

Last week went to Lambikins in Hamilton.

So many yarns....too many great things. ... head spinning....must grab yarn to counteract yarn fumes.

A few things came home with me.http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-key-to-warmth I got some lovely KnitPicks Wool of the Andes to make it.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/spectra I don't know what yarn I'm going to use but I saw this knitted up and it's gorgeous!

I've always wanted some sparkly socks so this jumped in my hands.

And I've only read about this yarn so I had to splurge and get it. There was a free pattern to go with it to make a cool scarf/wrap so I'm going to make that.

 I love the colors. You can't see it but there is blue and purple and all kinds of colors there.

I really enjoyed my trip there. They were really nice and the yarn selection was stunning. Things that I'd only read about and just loads to fondle and plunge your hands into and just have a great time. I will definately be going back and recommend it to people. Actually I already did recommend it the other day!

My fun purchase. It's a mini pie/tart maker. It's nice to have because the pies cook in less than 10 minutes and you can have mini ones instead of a big pie. Very good purchase. Target for under $20.00. These are cherry and apple are next!



It really exists!! I am absolutely sick so close to having it finished that I can almost taste it! Off to work on the edges.

Fall is here! There are not many pretty trees but the ones that are turning are gorgeous. Today the temperature was finally cool enough for jeans and some socks. Which was nice because I'm sick of wearing shorts.

 It's always nice when the seasons change so I can wear different clothes.

Been cooking alot since it has cooled down. This is a "cheesy" chili bake and the chili is chocolate stout chili which I had made the other day.

Yum. It has a lovely crusty top so just delicious. Yes, I have been a bad, bad blogger but just didn't have anything to write. I've been working on putting the Celtic poncho together. Yes, you read that right. I have finally finished all the triangles and have sewn some of together. I had to go to a knitting group last night to beg some help. Everyone agreed that the directions and schematics for putting it together were the worst we'd ever seen. But, Praise Jesus, there was a lovely woman there that had been knitting and sewing for years that was gracious enough to help me tack it together in some sort of way that makes sense! Almost done now.

This is what I'm working on now. It's called In and Out and is from Cookie A.'s book "Knit.Sock.Love". It's tricky but I love the pattern. The yarn is Cascade Heritage in the color "Hyacinth".

The other thing I've been knitting is this Aran Wrap,which is a free pattern from Red Heart. I'm using Red Heart Super Saver in "Ecru".

It's hard to tell but it's a lovely pattern with several stitch patterns and will be nice if I can ever seem to get any progress on it. I have knit and knit and knit but it never seems to get any bigger. I hate when that happens.

Okay. I am off to have a cup of cherry pineapple green tea and work some more on the never-ending project! Happy "I love yarn" day tomorrow.

The time just went so fast this week. I can't believe it's already Saturday  and October!

Here's a peek at the next big knitting piece that I am going to be doing. (Yes...yes...I've been finishing up the Celtic poncho. Get over it already...teeeheee!)

http://www.gotyarn.com/detail.cfm?ID=7502

It's bee--u-ti-ful. It's the biggest piece I've attempted so far and I must admit some trepidation at the thought of starting it.

But the yarn is staring at me from the box (I shut the lid on it and told it that I'd get to it soon) and I've printed up the very scary looking charts. I will have to label and color code and really make some good notes to keep everything straight.

Yesterday was the first chilly day. Low 50*s, windy and rainy. Good knitting weather that's for sure. I am making a hat for mom to go with the cardigan I just finished. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/that-other-hat. She often likes hats until I make them and then they either don't fit or they eventually slide up and off her head. This one she should like as it's big enough to go over her ears.

I have a lovely pot of Cranberry Autumn tea from Harney and Sons and it is just fabulous. My favorite fall tea.

Okay. I am going to go and fill up my tea cup and finish mom's hat. Cold tonight. Supposed to be the lowest temperature here on this day in 200 years. Crazy. I have my lovely flannel jimjams on and I was glad to pull out the first socks of the season. The hardest part was deciding which of the hand knit pairs to wear first!

I know. Bad blogger. I have neglected you so much lately. It's not that I don't like you anymore. It's just  that I've been doing so much knitting that I haven't been sitting at the computer as much.

The upside is that I've gotten quite a bit of knitting done.http://www.ravelry.com/projects/knitsensei/sinuous-cabled-socks. These are the first socks I've ever designed and I'm pretty happy with them.



These are made with Paton's classic wool in the color Burgundy which is kind of hard to see with this photo. It's been rainy and grey here and not conducive to good picture taking.

Not that I take such great pictures anyway.

This is a sweater that I just finished for mom.

She never asks for anything knitted so when she said she  wanted a sweater and picked out the pattern from Lion Brand's website, well, I just had to knit it up for her. It's hard to tell from the picture (gee, what a surprise!) but the yarn is a lovely sage green. It's Red Heart super saver and it knit up fairly fast. She has a couple of skeins left so she wants a scarf and hat to match. All I have to do is find a pattern she likes.

Went to the park the other day when we had a decent, sunny day and these are at the entrance to the harbor parking lot by the lake.

Mastadon! Rrrrrarrrrr.

I haven't been up to that part of the park in quite awhile so they were a surprise.

Dinner last night. Just delicious. "Crab" cakes from "Vegan Unplugged", steamed veggies and a vegan adaptation of Red Lobster's cheddar biscuits. Very good. I love the ''crabcakes". They are made with chickpeas and are so tasty. I've made them twice already and so easy too.

Alright. Well, I'm off to get a bit more knitting done and in a few days I have a knitting announcement about something I'm planning on knitting. Have a great week all!

 Go here and enter this giveaway.  And read the blog! Very good reading. http://www.singerskitchen.com/2011/09/second-blogiversary-and-giveaway.html

Mmmmm. Lunch. Raw "dinosaur" kale with sliced peaches and strawberries. So good. We had been having much cooler weather but it warmed up into the 80*s again so salads are on the menu.

Finished these plain

socks for mom. Didn't really need any pattern since they are so colorful. I knit them when I'm riding in the car so it takes a little longer sometimes. But it's supposed to be cooler by the end of the week so she can wear them then. As well as the cardigan that I have been slogging along these past few weeks. I am thrilled that she wanted something handknit and happy to make it for her....but it seems like it's miles and miles of garter stitch. Yawn. Plus it's knit with the sleeves and back all in one piece so it seems to take foooorrrrevvverrrr to get across a line. But I've finished the back and halfway through one of the fronts so not long now! Woohoo.

My new new to me rocking chair. Isn't it lovely? I have wanted one for years but having dachshunds and cats really wasn't conducive to rockers. No more animals :( but a rocker to enjoy. Amanda was having a yard sale a few weeks ago with a few of her friends and this is one of the pieces of furniture that her friend brought. I got it for $10.00 and quite a deal. I think it's oak and it is very solid and comfortable. Amanda also got a lovely wing chair and table so I think she got stuff out and brought stuff in! But nice furniture. Just brought it home so rocking tonight...teehee. Praise Jesus for providing it for me.

Loot! I entered an anniversary contest on www.200shawlproject.blogspot.comand was one of the lucky winners. A fabulous shawl/scarf pattern and enough yarn (yummy,yummy,luscious yarn) to make it, plus lots of goodies. A beautiful handpainted canvas bag, some Chibi needles (sweet!) and a portable Ott light,which I can't wait to use. I can't wait to knit it up.

But I have to finish up some other projects first.

Okay. Off to have some coconut-lime tea (hot) and knit and rock.

Finally. A decently cool day. Rainy and grey but still. Had a lovely pot of tea...pineapple cherry green tea, so good. It's nice to be able to have a nice cuppa without sweating all over.

This is a sock that I'm knitting for http://www.ravelry.com/groups/solidsocks. The theme this month is Red and the picture doesn't look like it but they are burgundy. Patons Classic wool in worsted weight. This is a sock pattern that I designed; it's my first time designing, and I like it alot. Knits up pretty fast too.

Went to Fresh Market this morning to pick up some ciabatta rolls and their delicious onion pocket rolls (yum) and we had just gotten in and poured a sample of their Pumpkin spice coffee ...mmmmm, when the electric went out. We all stood around for a few minutes to see what was going on and all the electric was out on the whole block and maybe even a little farther. The manager said that it would probably be on in about 10 or 15 minutes and if we all wanted to shop the cashiers would round up the amounts and we could pay that. I got some tea for about $3.00 less than it should have been marked because it wasn't marked anywhere and they just randomly picked a number to charge. It was kind of fun to wander around the store once your eyes adjusted to the emergency lights. Everyone was really nice and chatty and the employees were walking around offering cookies. Very civilized...teehee.

Going to work on my other sock so hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday!

Knitting up a storm here. These are some bulky armwarmers from the new Rowan magazine (#50). I have several projects earmarked but the yarn will have to wait on the bigger ones. This one was easily knit from 144 yds of bulky yarn on size 11's. If only it were cool enough to wear them. But they will be nice once fall finally rolls around.

Another mystery kal done! I love this pattern and I will definately knit this again. I will make them longer though now that I know what they look like and how much yarn they take. But the pattern is fun and easy and I really enjoyed it.

This is a Trellis shawl that I finished and it's kind of crazy looking. But it will be nice to wear around the house.

Busy today so I will write more soon.

Gee, knitalong pictures....what a surprise! This is a kal from the Ravelry group KnittingLikeCrazy.It's a mystery kal and so far I love the pattern. I will probably make it again with another yarn also.http://www.ravelry.com/groups/knitting-like-crazy-fans. One more clue on next Friday and I can't wait to see the finished socks.

Finished this kal also. It's the Carefree Kal http://carefreeholiday-ornot-kal.blogspot.com/ and I think they came out quite nice. Although they are stretchier than I thought and do not fit me. But they will be a present for someone.

The yarn is Panda Cotton and I don't think I will use it again for anything. It feels nice and knits up well but it's very splitty and just kind of unravels as you pull it out of the skein.

I must recant something that I posted about earlier. (The June 14th post). I decided that I wasn't going to go back to that yarn store but I was down in that area today and mom said we should give it another chance so in we went. I must say, it was much better this time. They were quite friendly and chatty and lots of great yarn. I will definately go back now. Although they did raise some of their prices. I bought a skein of Cascade Heritage for $8.95 and now it's up to $14.95. Which is still not bad but more than I wanted to pay for it. Got a pair of HiyaHiya steel dpn's in size 0 6". I really want the 5" size but no one locally carries them and I don't want to order just one thing from Patternworks 'cause it doesn't justify the shipping.

Mmmmm.

Vegan coney. Well, 2 of them anyway. I made "Cincinnati (Skyline) Chili" from "The Happy Herbivore" which is good since I'm from Cincinnati. Also some veggie dogs, yellow mustard, steamed buns and Daiya cheddar cheese. Tasted just enough like Skyline that it totally fulfilled a craving.

Farmer's market goodies. The best squash and peppers from the market in Loveland and so cheap also. I will definately go there again.