star knits

Featured!

2012-01-10T09:58:00.001-05:00

I am part of a team over on etsy. The team I'm a part of is the Etsymom Team. We support each others shops through different things. One of the ways we do that is to create treasuries. Last month I won the EMCA (Etsy Mom Curator Award). So right now I'm featured on the Etsymom website. It's so exciting! Go check it out!

Mundle Bread what's that?

2011-12-09T23:21:00.002-05:00

I had to make some cookies for a cookie swap I'm participating it tomorrow, soooo I made some mundle bread.
What's mundle bread? you ask. It looks like biscotti but the recipe is a bit simpler and the dough is wetter and easier to shape!

I added/changed a few things. I found that you can pour the batter into two thin cookie loaves. Depending on how you cut the loaves you can get anywhere from 30-40 cookies. The first batch I added some cranberries and then dunked them in melted white chocolate. The second batch I added chocolate chips. The Third batch chocolate chips and chopped pecans. The fourth batch I added 1/4 c of cocoa powder to the dry ingredients and white chocolate chips. The fifth batch I switched out the vanilla for anise and then dipped those in chocolate. YUM! (I should start a bakery!)
Here's the base recipe, courtesy of my sister...

Mundle Bread

mix together till whipped

4 eggs

1c sugar

add in

1/2c veg oil

1t vanilla

mix together in separate bowl, then add to egg/oil mix

3c flour

2t baking powder

1/2t salt

Spoon onto baking sheet in a long, skinny loaf. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min. Take out and cut, flip them onto sides and put back in for 15 min

So enjoy and LMK if you make them!

Highs and Lows

2011-12-06T20:36:00.000-05:00

I saw this on my friend Rachel's blog and followed the link to Life Crafts & Whatever I figured I should try a go at this! (not that I think anyone is still reading this blog though)

Ok so we'll start with the Lows of the past week...

1. I wasn't able to finish the sweater I was knitting in the month of November so I didn't get full points for it. (in case you didn't know I play a knitting game on ravelry that's Harry Potter related and totally awesome) I did get about 33% though.

2. I'm currently working out to get into shape, but this last week I've been really tired and not doing my best.

3. I thought I could take it easy knit and crochet wise this month.
Not so! My list is growing and growing!

4. This is starting the hardest month to lose weight.

So now on to the Highs!
1. A group of gals and I started a study together on Sunday nights while our kids are at AWANAs. We're reading through and discussing Made To Crave.
We met together about it on Sun and it was great!

2. I love Christmas music! We set up our tree and have a few presents wrapped under the tree. We'll be adding more as they come in!

3. I did finish a ton of projects in November. Here's a photo that I made it names what class I turned them in for.
What they all are: (with rav links)
Dyeing, spinning, a WIP bag,
a shawl, mini socks, a baby sweater, fingerless mitts and carding and spinning some fiber.

4. I found the coolest boxes for my cookies for the swap I'm participating in!

Treasuries

2011-11-24T10:56:00.001-05:00

I made a few treasuries for the Etsymom Black Friday Sale. I forgot to tell you that the Etsymom Team is offering a free printable gift list with purchase. It will be emailed to you.
The first treasury I have for you is all shades of Brown.

The next one is just one that were fun and things I liked.

Remember my shop is running a 15% off sale. From 11/24/11 to 11/28/11 anything you order from my shop will be 15% off. Enter the coupon code EM15OFF when you check out. If you're searching for other sales type EMBFCS in the search and you'll find all kinds of Etsymom Team sales. Enjoy!

Hey Twilight Fans!!!

2011-11-22T15:53:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to remind you my friendly visitors that there is still a few days left in to get your name in for one of the 66 prizes for the Breaking Dawn Giveaway. My shop has entered a prize for this giveaway- #6 to be exact. But there are some awesome things in this giveaway. Go check it out! You only have until the 26th!

Black Friday Sale!

2011-11-21T11:21:00.002-05:00

As you know I have a shop on etsy. You may not know that I'm a member of a team. My team is Etsymom, and We're having a Black Friday Sale.
My shop will be having a 15 % off your order! From 11/24/11 to 11/28/11 anything you order from my shop will be 15% off when you enter the coupon code EM15OFF when you check out.

Want to check out the the other Etsymom Team member's shops? Why not head on over to Etsy and search 'EMBFCS' and check out what's on sale! I'll be doing a treasury or two later on this week, for you to look at.

It's time to gear up!

2011-11-11T23:08:00.000-05:00

That's right I'm a Twilight fan! With the newest movie coming out it's time to get ready to go see the show. I've been pondering re-reading the books. But I know I'll get all offended when things are left out so instead I'm going to talk about a free giveaway that's coming up. I donated one of the prizes for this give away. Over on Bacon Time there will be a Twilight party soon! You'll be able to enter to win fabulous Twilight themed prizes. Bookmark and follow her blog to find out more.

T-shirt Surgery Allena's Way.

2011-09-21T19:00:00.001-04:00

So I've been meaning to post this small tute for a while now. But life being the way it is.... well I'm posting it now!
So I'm a t-shirt and jeans type of girl. But being a plus sized gal, most regular t-shirts don't look good on me. So this summer I decided to research some t-shirt surgery. There are many great sites with tutes. But being a basic gal I decided to do it my way..
I was inspired by this video tute from Craftzine.
So I took a regular t-shirt, a pair of scissors and my sewing machine. I don't have a serger though so I couldn't follow that craft video exactly.

First you need to cut off the collar. I cut the collar right under the seam at the back and then a little lower in the front. maybe about 1/4th and inch (at the most). Then you fold it over twice and press in place. Pin in place and sew. This is what it should look like.

Then you need to cut the sleeves. I followed the craft tute (linked above) in cutting them and then re-fitting them on to the arm holes.

This is where my method is a little different. I sew around the arm hole with a regular straight stitch. then I go around again using my zig zag stitch. This helps stabilize the seam.

By now you should have a scoop neck t-shirt. Very simple and I think it makes the t-shirt look much better and doesn't choke me in the collar. I actually sewed quite a few of my T-shirts. Here's a final photo for you one of my TeeFury shirts.

Though I'm not sure if anyone reads this blog anymore since I haven't had any comments for a while. I'm not too proud to beg, if you're reading leave me a comment.

You Know You Wanna!

2011-09-17T15:29:00.000-04:00

Hey all this is the last chance to get in to the contest for this yarn. It's 538 yard (2ply) and handspun by NaturallyKnitty herself. My sister and I will be taping the next podcast this coming week and the contest will close when we do that. All the details about the contest can be found here.
You can also find out on the podcast my sister and I do. We'd love it if you enter and listen to our podcast!

Featured!

2011-09-03T20:27:00.000-04:00

Last month I took part in a craft expo and I entered these stitch markers. I think the jury is still out on who wins the $50 gift card but I was pleased to see that they featured my stitch markers on the blog. It's so exciting!
Go check it out!

Want to Win some handspun?

2011-08-23T13:35:00.001-04:00

Hey all, there's a chance to win some handspun. This handspun? My sister spun it up and we're offering it up as a prize. The details are on our newest episode of our podcast.
Check it out here.
I hope you like it. We really enjoy making the podcast and we're trying to do it every other week so it's more consistent than once a month.

Win some Fiber!

2011-07-18T10:16:00.000-04:00

WOW 2 posts in 2 days... there must be something in the air!

I just thought I'd come over here and share this great giveaway. It's a random giveaway of 2 oz of hand combed cormo. That fiber is SOFT and pretty!
So go check out the blog. enter to win!
(I've now subscribed to it in my reader)

Win a Bag!

2011-07-17T22:36:00.000-04:00

There's a contest going on. You can win this upcycled box bag, made by me! Check out the details here.
My sister and I started a podcast for our HPKCHC group on ravelry, and to get more people interacting with our podcast we're having a contest. So go check out the podcast and the contest!

What's up?

2011-06-23T19:44:00.001-04:00

So i've been kinda out of sorts with my knitting. I'm not sure what is going one whether it's the heat or what. I have been reading a lot so that could be it. My daughter picked up Midnight for Charlie Bone from the library and I wanted to read the book before she got to it. It was very interesting and an enjoyable read. She's now on the 2nd of the series and I'm on the 3rd.
I've also been listening my way through the LOTR series. Starting with the hobbit. I picked up the unabridged book from amazon a few weeks ago and wanted to "read" all the way through the series. Sooooo good! I'm on the Return of the King right now. While I've been listening I've been sewing. I tried my hand at some box bags and I think I've finally got it! I also got the hang of some triangle bags. I first started making one or two for a swap. I participated in a swap a couple of months ago and also signed up to be an angel should someone need it. Well there was need. Since this swap was a Weasley Swap we could only spend about $10 total and had to use some things we found in our house. well I've got 2 totes and 1 dresser full of fabric so I thought this bag would fit the bill. I also added some wonderful other little things for her. I can't wait till she gets it. I'm always nervous about swaps.
I made another bag for the swap I'm participating in now too. But I'm not going to show a photo of it in case my partner checks out this blog.
I also added some to my etsy shop. I have a few more in the works as well. I ran out of interfacing so I had to run and get some today. So I'll be updating my shop in the next few days with even more triangle bags. I think i'm totally obsessed with them now. The quilting of them like the one above takes forever though so I thought i'd try some with just interfacing and I think I like those ones just as much!
Other things going on... lets see.. Oh my sister and I started a podcast for fellow HPKCHCers and all. Here's our show and the notes. Please give it a listen but be kind b/c it's our first go.

Iced Coffee Allena's way...

2011-05-28T15:48:00.000-04:00

Rarely do you see me with out the wondrous brew we call coffee! and in the summer it's iced for me. I've had a few people ask me how I make my iced coffee. I thought I would give you a photo tute to copy if you wish.
This summer I bought a few of these Cup / Tumbler with Straw (I love how the straw has a little stopper at the bottom) Actually I bought one and had to go back and get a 2nd b/c I found I was using it like every day. I may have to get 1 more... why not have all the colors there are?
Anyways on with the tute!

Firstly Gather your Supplies:

I use espresso b/c when you're making iced coffee you want the strong stuff. So I use my Mr. Coffee Espresso/Cappuccino Maker of course mine is an older version. I also have Milk, flavored creamer, espresso ground, my cup and if you don't do the creamer you can have flavored syrup. I use simple syrup for extra sweetness.

Ok.. so I put the grounds in the filter and add the water and while it brews I get my cup ready.

Filled with ice, then I pour a bit of simple syrup over the ice. like 1tsp-1tbls it's up to you and your taste buds, but remember you'll be adding a flavored creamer so don't go overboard.

The espresso is brewing I love how it foams. To get the perfect cup it should foam like that! You can tell if it comes out like honey if it's going to be good or not.

When it's done brewing you pour it over the ice. Don't stir yet! add your creamer and enjoy how it swirls down through the coffee and ice making pretty patterns in your cup. I use only about 2 Tlbs at the most of the creamer, remember we used simple syrup (or flavored syrup)

After that top it off with your milk. Now you can stir and enjoy!

How I made my simple syrup:

I took 1 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar and on the stove boiled it until the sugar was dissolved then I poured it into an empty syrup bottle capped and it's ready to use for coffee or tea.

I love ModPodge!

2011-05-22T12:37:00.000-04:00

We found this on YouTube and the girls are so excited about it. we're going to have to make a trip to Michaels to find some wooden disks and blocks to make the checkers and puzzle!

Special Summer Classes

2011-05-11T16:52:00.001-04:00

This summer, I won't be having the Wednesday night classes but I will have 3 special classes on Saturdays throughout the summer. The classes will be repeated in June, July and August. So hopefully one of the days will suit your schedule. Monday classes will still continue as normal. You can sign up for a class by calling Forget Me Not or stopping by the store.

For these special classes I'm asking that you please sign up and pay 2 weeks before. There will be a 3 person minimum for class.

1: Dye your own yarn 10AM-1PM $40 – bring pen and paper for notes. Other materials included in class price. We will be learning how to dye our own sock yarn using koolaid. We will also talk about other types of dyes and methods of dying. June 11th, July 16th, Aug 6th

2: Broomstick Lace 10AM-12PM $20- Materials Needed: Basic knowledge of crochet.US size 19 (15mm)Knitting Needle, Size E (3.5mm) crochet Hook. 100 grams of Sock Yarn. (hand dyed works wonderfully with this pattern) We will be making a skinny scarf and learning how to do the stitch. June 18th , July 23rd, Aug 13th

3: Beginning Spinning 10AM-1PM $50-Bring pen and paper for notes. Other materials included in class price. Learn how to use a drop spindle and how to make your own yarn. June 25th, July 30th, Aug 20th

I hope to see you all there!

Spring is coming!

2011-03-19T14:11:00.000-04:00

I'm not going to continue to apologize for my lack of posting anymore. I'm just going to post.

Just recently my friend Rachel turned me on to Paperbackswap.com and I'm LOVING it. Basically you take all your books that you have lying around and type in your ISBN numbers and then you trade books through the mail it's totally awesome! I've gotten rid of quite a few books that I'm not going to be reading anymore and I've got some really great ones. like the 2nd in the coffeehouse seriesThrough the Grinder (Coffeehouse Mysteries, No. 2) I'm also collecting the Sookie Stackhouse series.There's a few others I found and read and then re-traded likeKnit One, Kill Two it was really good. So go check out paperbackswap if you like reading (I should be getting paid for this!) Be sure to mention me if you do sign up b/c I will get a credit for referring you.

So around here it's been getting warmish. The other day I went outside with the bead to snap some photos and search for spring.(we did this as part of school) We found a few pretty flowers blooming. there are some tulips coming up but they haven't opened up yet. I'll be checking back later this week to see if they have bloomed.

I have been knitting like crazy and I should be getting back to it. I have deadlines to meet. so with that I'll go but I will be back.

It's Feb already!?!

2011-02-09T11:37:00.000-05:00

Wow it's February already and true to form I'm coming on here to post. It seems like I can only make it 1 time a month these days. So i'm going to try and distract you with photos.... (i hope it works)

my latest is a nice worsted weight 6 ply. I really love how it turned out.
I think it will stripe nicely when I knit with it.
I also finished a green 3 ply that's a fingering weight. I'm not sure what I'll knit with it yet but I really love how it turned out. Here's a close up of it.

I've also been knitting. Mainly I've been working on the stockings I was commissioned to make. I'm down to the last two. I'm so close to finishing them it's not even funny. I just hope the lady who ordered them isn't annoyed it's taking so long.

I've also been sewing. I made some more WIP bags for my store. I loved the one cherry bag so much I kept it for myself. I already transferred my socks and clipped it to my purse for travels. This weekend is the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet show and I'm so excited to be going. It's going to be a ton of fun.
Well I should go... until next month (or sooner)

Snow!

2011-01-20T17:53:00.000-05:00

There's been quite a bit of snow around here lately. Last week we took a day off from school and went out sledding. We had so much fun. I snapped a few photos and we really enjoyed ourselves. We're supposed to be getting more snow tonight so I see more sledding in our future. I see knitting in my future. (But I would see that regardless!)

Speaking of Knitting, I've been knitting stockings to match a set for someone. They're going well. I feel bad though, that I haven't finished all of them yet. They are pretty big though so it's a lot of knitting. I'm working on the 4th one right now. I'm also working on spinning some yarn and a few other small things for myself.
I'm getting excited for the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Show in Feb. I sent our registration and we already have a confirmation for the hotel. Soooo exciting!
Other news my computer got a makeover and I've been having to put all my music back into Itunes the past couple of days. It's rather annoying. But I'll get over it.
Well anyways that's about it, I'll try to think of more interesting things to update you with in the future. Time to make dinner.

New Year!

2011-01-06T22:43:00.000-05:00

It's a new year and I have a new goal. To update this blog more often. to start off, i thought i'd share a slideshow of last year in photos.

Update!

2010-12-17T23:18:00.000-05:00

Right before Thanksgiving I had a shop update. I know i'm really really REALLY late in getting this posted here.
Sorry about that. Since turkey day things have been super crazy around here. I'm not sure about you but doesn't it seem like this year is just flying by?
I have been really busy knitting and crocheting things for Christmas and other things. I think my fave project by far are these crochet hooks. Aren't they fun? I made some for my DH and then some for myself. I just recently used mine and LOVE it. I'm going to have to start doing more of these. they're so comfortable in my hand and really helps with the smaller hooks. With the extra I made some buttons. Not sure where I'll use them but they're pretty. The ones I made for my DH are more manly. He says he likes them and has been using them while he's making his hats for everyone. I'm so proud of him. He's really going to town with the crocheting. If you want to see what he's made here's a link to his own set over at flickr. I also had him set up an account on Ravelry to share his crochet projects with other people.
It's totally awesome!

SALE!

2010-11-29T17:46:00.000-05:00

It's Cyber Monday and StarKnits is on sale. My etsy store I mean. Everything is 10% off. So if you've been waiting to buy a tote, WIP bag, or some bling check it out!

Christmas Giveaways

2010-11-12T22:00:00.001-05:00

5 Minutes for Mom is having a Christmas Giveaway. Not only are they sharing fun stuff for us to win, but they're also helping other families out with Under the Tree. It's a program to provide families in need, with presents this year, for Christmas. The companies who are donating prizes the giveaways, are also providing presents for those families. So why not try to win a prize, nominate a needy family and have some fun?

Bill Oddie - "The Knitting Song"

2010-11-05T23:35:00.000-04:00

This is a great song, fun to listen to. Enjoy!!! I just had to share.

Halloween

2010-10-29T10:22:00.000-04:00

So lets talk about Halloween. Last year we skipped it b/c I have issues with how commercial everything is anymore. But this year I let the girls pick out some cheap costumes. (read they needed to come up with their own costumes from what they had)

So the Bub found some fairy wings at the dollar tree and decided to become a fairy. Luckily I just finished the pants I was knitting her and they match rather nicely. The pants were a test knit and I really love the pattern. (go check it out) Then I figured for her costume to be complete she'd need a mask. Not to mention I've always wanted to go to a Halloween party where you wear masks and people have to guess who you are. So I made her a butterfly mask. (since she's a butterfly fairy) I had to make up the pattern as there wasn't much to go off of on ravelry. Not a big deal, it was really fun to make. So her costume is complete.

The bead on the other hand, her costume was easy. She found a shield and breastplate at the dollar tree and already had a sword. She wanted to be a how to train your dragon viking. To complete her outfit she needed a viking helmet.

I was able to find a pattern for it but had to adjust it a bit to fit her. She loves it and wore it for like 3 days straight. So her outfit was complete, just in time for our trip to the Zoo.

We went on the Zoo Boo event so the girls got to dress up and "trick or treat" through the zoo. It was fun, but really crazy busy with people. Luckily we bought a family membership and we'll be returning on a not so crazy zoo day. My fave part is the aquarium and walking UNDER the sharks and polar bears.
Now we just need to find a trick-or-treat time around here that fits with our schedule.
Later Gaters

I love grover!!!

2010-10-10T21:56:00.000-04:00

It's all craziness I tell you!!!!

2010-10-04T23:07:00.000-04:00

I guess with the start of school and all, I have been so crazy busy lately. So an update is in order.
The coolest thing we've done lately, (in my opinion) was we went to our backyard and picked some apples and I made some apple butter. If you follow that link you'll find the recipe I used. The girls had a lot of fun picking the apples as you can see. We used a ladder and everything. (as the bead explained to my DH when we were done) I am really overjoyed at the idea of getting apples from the tree out back. Don't ask me why it just makes me all kinds of happy. (yes I'm a dork)

The next coolest thing I've been doing is sewing. I found some great t-shirt surgery tutorials and I tried one of them on a tie-dyed t-shirt. I think it turned out really interesting. It's definitely something I'm going to have to try again. Basically you take a large t-shirt or one with a stain or hole or even one that's too small for you and get out your scissors and cut and sew it into something you actually want to wear. I took that plain old man's XL t-shirt and turned it into a girly and sparkly v-neck (something definitely showing off the girls better) Here's another link to some tutes for you (if that type of sewing interests you)

I also spun up some angora for a friend, crocheted some squares for a comfort blanket, Knit some death socks and worked on a test knit. (that I'm still working on but almost finished)

Oh and I also made this crazy cute Owl key chain or zipper pull that I'm going to/HAVE to write up a quick pattern for. (or so I'm told)
And did I tell you that the girls got a new pet? It's a hamster.
I think that's about it for an update... as usual you're most likely to find me over at ravelry, in the HPKCHC group.
I've got another blog post running through my head so I'll be back sooner than later!

Do you listen to podcasts?

2010-09-19T22:59:00.000-04:00

I love listening to podcasts. (in fact i'm obsessed with it) it's great for walking, spinning, knitting, and just all around fun! One of the podcast I listen to is Getting Loopy, it's all about crochet fun. Well every week she has a contest to enter and you can win a prize. Guess what!?! a couple of weeks ago I won! and last week I got the yarn I won in the mail. Its pretty isn't it? I'm not sure what to make it with. Any ideas?

Another podcast I listen to is Knitmore girls. I love it. well they had a head to toe contest. for designing preemie hats. I made one up and submitted it, and it was picked for a prize. I haven't received it yet but I'm sure I will soon. It's sooo exciting! So do you listen to any podcasts? lmk which ones b/c I'm interested.

One of my Summer Projects

2010-08-22T22:25:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the Ravelry Group DIY tools, I found this tute. Of course I had to try it, I got my DH to do the cutting for me. (b/c I can just see myself sawing something I need off). I'd measured and marked everything for him to cut. Then I needed to find someone with a drill press. Luckily my BIL had one and he allowed me to bring myself and the kiddos over while He and my DH drilled the holes for me. So I had all the parts sawed, and I sanded them till they were smooth. The hardest/longest part was sawing the heads off the nails with the dremmel. After that was done the nails were epoxied in place and I glued the two pieces of wood together and attached a handle. It was from an old grilling tool that I hadn't used in a long time so I re-purposed the handle. I only put a handle on one of the

combs b/c I figured I'd be using the other one attached to the table. Then I tried them out. The weren't awesome but worked completely well. I loved it. I'm slowly working on the unprocessed wool a friend gave me. Look at my little nests! So much fun. I'm off to process more wool. Now if only someone would send me a sheep or an alpaca or both!

What to Knit with these wonderful skeins?

2010-08-06T09:13:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I went on a dying binge. I was actually dying some yarn for my etsy store. With the left over dye I thought I would dye some roving. I broke some up into 4oz sections and dyed away. It was a lot of fun. Of course I couldn't let the roving sit that long with out spinning it.

So first I took the Peacock roving and got to work. I named it Peacock b/c it reminds me of the colors of a peacock feather. I decided to try my hand at spinning a cabled yarn. Which is taking the singles plying them together and then plying those together. (4 ply total) Here's a close up of the yarn.
I'm unsure of what kind of wool this is. because my sister got it at a garage sale. But it works out fine for me to play with.

The second 4oz of wool I dyed with the Twilight book cover in mind. I use only 2 colors, black and red. They blended really well and it just turned out LOVELY! I am really amazed at how wonderful the roving turned out.

Spinning this yarn was a lot of fun. The colors changing as I was spinning was exciting to see. I've got to to try dying with only 2 colors again. This yarn I just plied a 2 ply yarn. It's so lovely i'm just staring at it. Here's a closer photo of this yarn. of course there's more photos in my handspun set over at flickr. I really enjoyed how the grey parts and the pink parts plied together and look almost purple. And I have one more 4oz roving left, from this dying binge, to spin up. This one is named Flaming Forrest. and I can't wait to spin it up.

Summer Fun!

2010-07-22T15:56:00.000-04:00

I've been creating things like crazy lately. So much I made a mosaic to show it all. Most of it had been made for my Etsy store. with the exception of my new green sheep hook for my spinning wheel. I geeked out too making all the HP stuff. but I love it!
Here's the links to the photos if you're interested.
1. green sheep, 2. sheepy hook, 3. dragon stitch markers, 4. yellow and black, 5. my fave colors, 6. ravenclaw, 7. stitch markers, 8. slytherin, 9. bronze and blue, 10. gryffindor, 11. hogwarts, 12. top of yarnlet bag, 13. needle/hook roll, 14. pretty toile, 15. tall flowers, 16. small yarnlet
Today I went to Home Depot and got some stuff to make myself a comb and hackle! I'm so excited to do that. Now I've just got to find someone with a drill press so I can drill the holes. Then I'll be processing fiber like a champ. Now all I've got to do is make a diz.
that's not all my Garden has exploded!

See this is the right half. My zucchini, cucumbers, radishes, carrots, beans, peas, a few tomato plants and, I was hoping, some peppers but I don't think they're going to do well this year.
This is the first year I planted carrots and radishes. the radishes are doing well and I'm not sure when I'm supposed to harvest the carrots, they don't look ready yet. we'll have to wait and see.

and the Left half that's my lettuce, onions some garlic (i hope) and more tomatoes and cucumbers.
What you don't see is the watermelon and pumpkin and corn. they're up further past the main halves. I also have a pot of mint (just started) and a pepper out by the porch. But I can't remember if it's a hot pepper or regular bell. I was hoping to can some salsa this year. I may need to stop at the store and get a jalapeno plant. inside i have some lemon balm in water trying to get roots, and dill, basil from last year and hopefully some cilantro.
with all the rain we've had the garden has been doing well and gone a little crazy. I've gotten some radishes and a few zucchini and onions so far. the cukes are almost ready. I'm hoping the tomatoes come in this year. they never did last year.
so we're surrounded by green things right now. Not that we mind at all!
ok well I've got laundry to do. (if only that was fun)

I've been busy!

2010-07-08T10:00:00.003-04:00

I've been keeping up with my HPKCHC group on ravelry and my job is to do the CRR (common room recaps) for those who are away. so I'm usually found on the Gryffindor House Cuppers blog doing the CRR's. But I figure I should update my blog more often.. so I wanted to stop in and say HEY!

I have been taking a photos though for my project365 group on ravelry. So I wanted to share what I've been doing... Here's the photos from the last 36 days. At the beginning of June we went to WI to visit with my family and we stayed for a week and a half. While we were there, my Sister and I had a Ravelry meet up in Milwaukee with 2 other ravelers it was a lot of fun. When we got home it got really hot and the girls have been playing in the pool a lot, trying to stay cool. My garden is going well and I'm glad for that. I'm starting to get my first few veggies. which is always exciting! Life is a little crazy, my DH has started school and I'm getting ready for home school next year.
Here's the links to all the photos if you want to know more about what I did the past month or so. I've got all the photos with little blurbs about what they are.. go check them out!
1. bento lunch, 2. hawaiian, 3. raw but clean, 4. dyed and drying, 5. 1st ever!, 6. hiding, 7. down the hill, 8. say cheese, 9. windy day, 10. ravelry meet up, 11. from above, 12. 5 grandkids, 13. fingerless mitts., 14. the mess, 15. yum yum yum, 16. raddishes, 17. batt of the month, 18. elliptical, 19. new pool, 20. goggles, 21. ready to be stuffed, 22. green garden, 23. sock progress, 24. soooo hot, 25. time to ply, 26. painted girls, 27. gerbel sitting, 28. black beauty, 29. iced coffee, 30. first veg, 31. zuchinni flower, 32. Mocha, 33. bike ride, 34. stopped and watching, 35. 1st zuchinni, 36. goggle girl

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

I hope you're having a great summer! I'll be back soon!

So Excited!

2010-06-30T10:10:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited for this movie I can hardly wait till November! Are you excited yet?

Facebook in Real Life

2010-05-25T20:20:00.000-04:00

This is hilarious!

Dyeing!

2010-05-17T17:19:00.003-04:00

So I've been really busy lately but I've been able to keep up with posting over at the gryffindor blog for the HPKCHC, so there's no excuse for my lack of posting. I hope my fabulous adventure in dyeing can help by keeping you distracted.

I used this tutorial to get me started. and Picked 3 colors Pink, Blue and Green. then I started squeezing the colors on to the roving.When I was finished it got wrapped up in saran wrap and rolled up like sushi and put in a pot to steam for about an hour. When I pulled it out of the pot, I realized that the blue kinda took over. So next time I'll have to be aware of how that works out.
But after it dried and was braided, I really like how it turned out. I can't wait to see how it will look spun up. I'm just itching to try it again. Though I only have a few more rovings to dye. But my sister did just pick me up some more wool.

This spinning thing is sooo awesome.

Great Video Tute.

2010-05-08T20:54:00.000-04:00

I found this video about how not to get ladders when working in the round with a Purl row. I think it is really helpful to anyone who'd going to knit in the round. Watch it and LMK what you think.

Win something free!!

2010-05-03T10:09:00.000-04:00

I've been all non-bloggy lately but that doesn't mean I haven't been around. I've been following Knock-Off Wood now for a while and I love that site. I'm budgeting, right now, to buy some wood to build a bed for me and my DH. then I want to build some shelves for the girls' room and build them some beds too. The possiblities are sooo endless. I love that site! Well when I was reading KOW's latest post she shared a contest for a Free Mosaic Kit over at Inspired. She has a great website that sells Pink tools they're great! Go Check it out and enter to win!

ignore this post

2010-04-21T23:30:00.000-04:00

I made some badges for HPKCHC so just ignore this post!

DIY mugs

2010-03-24T16:07:00.000-04:00

So over at ravelry I'm taking part in a coffee/knitting swap. Part of our swap needed to be handmade. I got to thinking, what goes good with coffee and yarn? how about a mug? I shared with my sister and she loved the idea so I thought you'd like to see it also! Here are the tools I needed
some white mugs (I was looking for clear ones but couldn't find any)
rubbing alcohol,
paint brushes,
ceramic/enamel paint. (found at the local michaels) I got the water based kind.
I figured I can't draw that great so a saying would be key. I used a piece of paper and wrote down what I wanted my mugs to say, to have spelling working and all that jazz. I had two I really liked, but "I don't have a problem with caffeine I have a problem with out it" wouldn't really fit. So "Coffee.Knit.Repeat" won. So I slowly painted on the words then let them dry for about 10 min . I'm amazed at how shaky my hands were. Then I repainted them and let them dry for about an hour. The directions on the paint said to put the items in a cold oven heat to 350 then bake for 30 min and remove from a cold oven. the Black turned out better so that's the one I sent on to my partner. I really hope she likes the mug. I really like how they turned out. What do you think? I plan on getting better at painting and making more mugs to use as gifts. they're a lot of fun to make. If you try it share the photos with me!
To celebrate my creativity I made myself a cappuccino!

Hey Look!

2010-03-19T16:30:00.001-04:00

a quick distraction.... I posted about socks over here

a new pretty spindle
and a new spinning wheel
more to come about those later

Scarves the word of the week!

2010-03-10T09:06:00.000-05:00

I've been told I need to update this more often...

So Scarves. it all started when I taught the bub to knit. she made this one for the bead After that she started on a scarf for my MIL. Which she finished this year for Christmas and that was her present to her this year.(a child after my own heart!) Then she made a scarf for a friend at school and
Her last scarf she finished was for a friend who's in kindergarten. I just think it's so sweet she's been knitting them scarves. I've been thinking about getting her to make other things... we'll see. she's happy making scarves right now.

spinning

2010-03-02T23:05:00.001-05:00

I have a really cool friend named Ann. she lives on a farm and is really interesting. I met her through knitting. She gave me this. she's trying to use up of some wool she bought a few years ago. And when I told her that i want to get better at my drop spindle before I buy a spinning wheel. (read save up for one) I didn't really know what to do with it until I searched Youtube. you saw the video on the post before right? I turned that fluffy cloud into a ball. then i proceded to spin it on the drop spindle not very well. but I will need to practice some more. After I finished that I got out some blue roaving my sister gave me and spun a small skein of lovely yarn. and I'm getting a little better I think. Unfortunately I was organizing my basket and found that my spindle is broken. So I need to get a new one I've been searching etsy and falling in love with tons of spindles. we'll see what I get after we get our tax return. If you have any suggestions leave them! I need a new spindle b/c I have a ton of wool from Ann to spin! I can't wait! She's so awesome I'm pondering sewing her a bag or something to thank her for her generosity! what do you think?

Batty Rovings

2010-02-15T16:54:00.001-05:00

This is a great tute!!! just wanted to share

where has the time gone?

2010-02-09T18:39:00.000-05:00

So it's been a little crazy around here. I can't believe it's the 2nd week of Feb already!

Last Friday it started snowing at 4ish. I snapped this photo around 11 when my DH came home. If you look at the bushes you can see a great deal of snow had already accumulated. and if you look past the bushes you can see the street wasn't really plowed. Luckily my DH didn't have to work Saturday b/c by the time the snow was all done there was about 2 feet everywhere. We took the girls to a local movie place to see the Princess and the Frog. it was a cute movie. I think the girls really liked it. Then they played outside. how could they not with all that snow? They had a hard time getting around it was rather funny. I snapped a photo of them, and you can see how much snow there was on top of their house. Tonight we're supposed to get more snow. On through Thursday we're supposed to accumulate another foot or so of snow. We'll see how that goes!
Today in the mail we got a memory foam mattress topper that I ordered from overstock.com It took a little work over an hour to unroll and when we were done I wasn't sure if it would fit our bed. In fact I was worried they'd sent us the wrong sized mattress topper. But the directions said it took a while to "air " out or puff up so we went down stairs to eat lunch and do stuff, and when we came back up stairs we found that it totally fit. I'm sooo excited b/c it will be a good nights sleep tonight. in fact I woke up this morning and thought to myself that matress topper needs to get here soon b/c i'm sick of my back hurting. My sister said they got a mattress topper like this one and it really helped when she was pregnant. of course we got our soooo cheap and with two pillows for less than what they cost in the store. (I've been looking at them for some time now). Sorry just had to brag a bit. well I've got dinner to make. Have a great night.

Knitting!

2010-01-29T20:13:00.000-05:00

I've been knitting like crazy lately. I'm trying to finish a few things by the end of Jan. (yes I know that's only a few days away) I'm procrastinating for a bit to update ya'll here. and Yes it's all my "homework" for the HPHC group over at ravelry. I've turned in some of my homework already and I'm working on a sweater vest that I'm testing for a fellow raveler. I won't share a photo of it until it's ok for me to do so. that will probably be when it's finished. But I'm also working on a Child Surprise Jacket for the bead. I think she will like it when it's finished. It's just getting there before the 31st to get points. lets cross our fingers!
My Dh has been bugging me about his sweater that is one of my OWL's this "term", as I haven't started it yet he's feeling unloved. but I did start my other OWL. it's 4 pairs of fingerless mits. here's the start of the first pair they're going to be for some friends who've been wanting them. the OWLs aren't due until the end of march but I need to have 33% done by the end of Feb. so my plan is to work on my OWLs the first 2 weeks of Feb. I hope to finish 2 pairs of the fingerless mitts and a good portion of the sweater. Then after that I'll do my Feb homework. It's a good plan I've just got to stick to it. Well I have knitting to finish so I must go. if you've stopped by and read please leave me a message of love!

Potter Puppet Pals in "The Mysterious Ticking Noise"

2010-01-27T16:49:00.001-05:00

The girls just love watching this "song" now that we have hi speed internet it's soooo much easier to watch things that make us laugh.

Spinning Yarn on a Drop Spindle - Tutorial

2010-01-22T08:10:00.001-05:00

I found this video and I want to keep it where I can find it. Plus if you've ever thought about spinning yarn on a drop spindle you may want to watch it.

Dying with Wiltons.

2010-01-20T10:00:00.001-05:00

I'm trying this delayed posting option since I have some time to type right now. we'll see how it works....
Last week, I was approved to test a sweater vest. I'm super excited. Luckily I'd just recently "found" some undyed wool yarn. (when I say found I mean I updated my stash on ravelry) I decided to dye 5 skeins for the sweater vest I'm testing, and I had a pot of spiderman black so I thought it was worth a try.
So while I was getting the pot and the dye ready I let the yarn take a bath with a few glurgs of vinegar. I mixed a good scoop of the black dye in the water and vinegar. I dipped the yarn in the water and it didn't look like it was going to be dark enough. I was going for black of course, it will match my button up shirts really well. So I pulled it out and mixed in some more of the wcd. then I let the yarn soak and simmer in the pot for about a half an hour. After I turned the heat off I let it set for another half an hour so it was cooler to touch. after pouring out the water and rinsing it the yarn looked wonderful. almost a dark grey smoke color. As it started drying it started to get lighter and lighter. now it's a greyish purpley color. which I like but won't match my shirts. It looks really cool I think. I'm knitting with it now, and when I'm done if I decide I need to have it be black I'll just try dying it again. but to tell you the truth I'm loving how it's knitting up.

A month?

2010-01-19T16:59:00.002-05:00

Has it really been a month since I last posted? I'm really slacking aren't I? well I've been busy doing a lot of knitting, crochet and other things. Today at MOPs, we had a lady speak about becoming a couponer. what's that you say? it's someone who clips coupons and gets deals and groceries for super cheap. I've always been a person who uses coupons but I never really worked at it.. anyways I'm super excited to get started trying it. Though it's a little overwhelming to start out. i'm game if I can start saving big bucks at the grocery store. I'm going to start subscribing to a few couponer's blogs to get used to the whole thing. I have a small list so if you'd like to share anything you've found with me feel free to leave a comment!

Ok on to the fiber arts.. the last finished object a pair of felted mittens.they're for my DH to use while he shovels snow. of course it stopped snowing and has been raining for like a week since I finished them. I've got a few things that I'm working on but they're not finished and I've not taken a photo of them so you'll have to wait until they're finished.
I'm going to try and be more of a poster on this blog, this year. lets face it. I've been here for about 5 years now... I'd hate to just let it die. Well I've got to feed my kids and I've got a date with the Wii here shortly!

To distract you from my lack of posting....

2009-12-17T22:10:00.006-05:00

So I have a blanket pattern that walks people through learning to crochet and I added a traditional granny square to the mix. I thought since everyone has their own version I'd share mine with you.
enjoy!

Basic Granny Square

Size : 6 inches

Material : Worsted Weight Yarn 2- 4 colors named A, B, C, & D

US H/8 5mm hook

Stitches Ch= chain

Sl St = slip stitch

Dc = double crochet

Sc = single crochet

Lp = loop

Sp = space

Corner = [3 Dc, Ch 2, 3 Dc]

Directions

Ch 5 Sl St to first ch to make ring.

1. With color A Ch 3 (counts at 1st Dc) 2 Dc, Ch 2 *3 Dc in Lp, Ch 2*; Repeat * to * 3 times join with a sl St to top of the beg Ch 3 and break yarn.

2. Join color B to a corner space with Sc and Ch 2 (counts as 1st Dc) [2 Dc Ch 2 3 Dc] Ch 1 *[3 Dc, Ch 2, 3 Dc] in next sp, Ch 1*; Repeat * to * 3 times join with a Sl St in top of the beg Ch 2. Break yarn.

3. Join color C to a corner space with Sc and Ch 2 (counts as 1st Dc)[2 Dc Ch 2 3 Dc] Ch 1 *3 Dc in next sp, Ch 1, corner in corner, Ch 1* ; Repeat * to * 3 times ; join Sl St in top of the beg Ch 2. Break yarn.

4. Join color D to a corner space with Sc and Ch 2 (counts as 1st Dc)[2 Dc Ch 2 3 Dc] Ch 1 *(3 Dc in next sp, Ch 1) twice, corner in corner sp, 1 ch*; Repeat * to * 3 times ; join with a Sl St in top of the beg Ch 2. Break yarn.

5. Join color B to a corner space with Sc and Ch 2 (counts as 1st Dc)[2 Dc Ch 2 3 Dc] Ch 1*(3 Dc in next sp, Ch 1) 3 times, corner in corner sp, ch 1*; Repeat * to * 3 times ; join with a Sl St in top of the beg Ch 2. Break yarn.

6. Join color C to a corner space with Sc and Ch 2 (counts as 1st Dc)[2 Dc Ch 2 3 Dc] Ch 1*(3 Dc in next sp, Ch 1) 4 times, corner in corner sp, ch 1*; Repeat * to * 3 times ; join with a Sl St in top of the beg Ch 2. Break yarn.

Weave in ends.

Top of Form

Turkey In Yo Belly Time!

2009-11-29T23:29:00.001-05:00

I know it's a little late but this is hilarious!

Christmas Letters

2009-11-21T11:35:00.002-05:00

The other day while the girls were coloring in their coloring books they found these empty dear Santa pages and proceeded to write their letters to Santa. they're so cute I just had to share them here! This will help my family get some ideas of what they'd like.
The Bub's (the one on the left) says:
I want to get nintendogs chiwowa and friends, I want zoo tycoon 1. I also want an MP3 player (we got her an mp3 player and also a zoo friends game) and I really want to see you this year. Maybe I could get some pink, blue and orange yarn. (she has been knitting scarves and making toys) I also want a real live horse. (we told her our yard wasn't big enough)

The Bead's was translated by the bub from scribbles her says:
I want a zebra bath toy, I want a bob the builder toy too (the workbench kind of toy) I want a camera,(we got her a really cool camera for kids) I want the land of the Lost movie (not going to happen as it's not the type for kids) I want to see you this year, I want a brother, I want a nice sister, I want a happy new year. I want a happy family. (i think that she was a little mad that she wasn't letting her do it the way she wanted)

Pretty funny huh? Luckily we took them a few weeks ago to Kmart and put what we're getting them on layaway. We'll still have to pick up some thing small from Santa and I'm working on some sweaters that I'd like to give them for Christmas if I get done in time. Of course I've got other presents to finish. so I should get off the computer and get to work.

It's Friday!

2009-11-13T20:33:00.003-05:00

it's Friday and time to share your fave 5 along with Living To Tell The Story!

1: My washing machine. besides keeping my clothes clean it also helps me to felt wonderful things I've knitted. This past week it helped me to felt my new purse. I test knitted this purse pattern and I love it. the pleats just make the bag look awesome don't you think? The pattern is available over at ravelry here. I'm pondering making more for Christmas Gifts... that is if I have time. I have other gifts I'm making first.

2: the beautiful fall weather. Most of the time here the weather skips over fall and goes right into winter. but this year we've been having some beautiful weather. I'm talking jeans and a sweater/sweatshirt is all you need, maybe a nice hand knit scarf in the evenings. I love it. Not only that but it's great for my hair. being naturally curly I only have good hair days when the humidity is down. so I've been able to wear it down with out it bothering me most of the day!

3:Hansel and Gretel's House......well the smell of my newest candle. it is great and smells like I'm baking. this candle is hand poured and I got it at the Forget Me Not Floral & Gift Shop (one of the places I teach at) it burns clean and doesn't leave residue on the jar and no black on the jar either.

4: Local video rental places. We're able to rent kids movies for free and tons of favorite movies for only $1 for five nights. It makes for a fun cheap family movie night.

5: Chocolate. how can I not have chocolate as a fave? esp after halloween when it's on 50% off.

Fave Five

2009-11-06T23:07:00.010-05:00

In an attempt to be more of a regular blogger again I've decided to start doing Friday's Fave Five along with Living to tell the Story. That means at least on Friday's you'll be hearing from me. (hopefully!) and I'll be recapping the week.

1. I love my job teaching knitting and crochet. I meet so many wonderful people and I have a lot of fun doing it. Every day I have a class is a good day! This past weekend some of my Thursday night knitters and I went to Pittsburgh on a yarn store tour. it was a lot of fun and I came home with some glorious yarn that I've been petting all week. it's so soft and pretty. and the pattern book has at least 5 if not 6 patterns in it that I will make.

2. Great Food For All. with everyone watching their pennies these days this organization is helping out. You can order a box of food for a low price of $30 and you get about $50-$80 worth of food. so it cuts down your grocery bill a lot. Anyone can do it you just have to order it. Even better is their website, I wasn't able to go into the church, downtown, to order this week so I was able to order online.

3. Our church hosts a MOPs that I've recently started attending and helping out with. This week was the 10th annv. of the Johnstown area Mops so we had a "birthday" celebration. everyone learned to make/decorate cakes. Mine turned out very rustic but now I know how to decorate a cake. MOPs is a lot of fun and I really enjoy going.

4. Ravelry. I love that website. It really connects people who knit, crochet, spin, and so much more. Specifically: the HPHC it motivates me to get my projects done and not just have outstanding knitting or crochet projects hanging around the house. if you knit or crochet and you haven't signed up... what are you waiting for?

5. Koolaid, it's not just for drinking! I was talking to my mom earlier this week and she said she'd like some purple sock yarn to knit some socks. I told her I probably had some so not to buy any and then I looked at my sock yarn basket. I had a lime green skein and a berry blue skein of yarn. so I put them in a pot with about 8 packets of grape, and I got a lovely royal purple for my mom and an olive green for me.

New Look

2009-10-22T16:38:00.001-04:00

I got a blog makeover! (well sorta) and it was free! if you'd like to spruce your blog up I got my background from Shabby Blogs. go check them out!

Soooo what do you think?

Apple Butter

2009-10-16T16:14:00.002-04:00

I swear I think that this is becoming a cooking/food blog. well I guess it is what it is. Anyways I've been canning lately and yesterday I made some apple butter. what is special about this is that I made it in the crock pot!!!! I got the recipe from a friend last year but didn't try it until now. it's wonderful and it tastes almost exactly like my gma's recipe.
so I wanted to share it with ya'll. Again I've added where I changed things a bit. mostly b/c the flavoring didn't taste right so I added more.

Traditional Apple Butter (for the crock pot)
12-14 cooking apples (about 16 cups chopped)
2 cups cider (I used about 3 cups)
2 cups sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon (I actually used 3 tsps)
1/4 tsp ground clove (I used 1/2 tsp)
1/4 tsp allspice (again I used 1/2 tsp)

core and chop apples, the recipe said not to peel them but I don't like bits in my jelly so I peeled. (I actually got to use my apple, peeler, corer from PC) combine the apples and cider in your large crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours. Puree in a food mill or sieve (I used a blender). Return the pureed mixture into your crock pot, add sugar and spices, cover and cook on low for another 1-2 hours.
It will keep for several weeks in the fridge or you can pour into prepared jars and can. makes about 8 cups.

I had actually 5 of those big jars but one the bottom popped off. (I think I may have filled it too full) and a bit left over in a bowl for in the fridge. enjoy it's great!

Soup Weather!

2009-10-05T23:22:00.003-04:00

It's fall and that means soup! I got this recipe from my neighbor and tried it today and loved it. I'm sure you could adjust this to use it in a crock pot. I did change a bit of the recipe so I'll give you the "real" recipe and then my modifications. Taco Soup
1 can golden hominy
1 can creamed corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can of kidney beans
1 lb of meat
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can rotel
1/2 a package of ranch seasoning
1 onion
Throw it all together and simmer.
add ins - salsa, cheese, tortilla chips.

I strongly believe in using what you have.so I used:
1 can golden hominy
1 can white hominy
1 can creamed corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can of black beans
1 lb of meat (ground turkey)
1 packet of taco seasoning
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can diced green chili's
1 a package of ranch seasoning
3 cloves of garlic
1 onion chopped
I browned the ground turkey in the bottom of the stock pot and then added the taco seasoning and I filled the packet of the seasoning with water to mix it in with the meat. then I started open cans and just dump them in. I let the soup "boil" while I opened and dumped. I added in some garlic b/c garlic is yummy and good for you. and I used the whole package of ranch seasoning b/c I dumped it in way too fast. After everything was in I turned it to low and let it simmer with a lid on for 1-2 hours or so. When it was dinner time I topped it with some cheddar cheese and it was wonderful!
Enjoy!

Such a Procrastinator

2009-09-25T19:28:00.004-04:00

I finally typed up the pattern for this cute little toy. I named it the "Completely Fierce Dragon". Which it totally isn't it's so freakin cute you just want to hug it to pieces! In fact when I made this I made it as a baby rattle. so it's cute enough to chew on! I have the pattern in testing right now. But it will be available on Ravelry and eventually over at my etsy store some time next week. I'm also working on a cloche hat pattern right now. I've been meaning to do this for some time and I'm finally doing it.
I feel that ravelry is killing my blog. I spend all of my time over there when I'm online. where I used to regularly write for your enjoyment. LOL
If you knit, crochet, spin or weave you should know what ravelry is. if you don't go on over there and sign up it's worth it. I like it b/c it's the place to connect with other fiber obsessed people, talk about projects. You can keep track of your projects and what yarn, hook, needles you used for them. Not to mention you can spy on other people's projects. you can also make a queue of patterns you want to make. it's wonderful!
OK enough of my "ad" for ravelry I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Just a few advertisements!

2009-08-21T14:41:00.005-04:00

I have many many many patterns and ideas swirling around in my mind these days. my problem seems to be finding the time to put them on "paper" so to speak. Not to mention uploading them to ravlery and etsy. (I know not everyone is on ravlery yet) I just wanted to do a little advertisement for my patterns.

I finally put the pattern up on ravelry for the Learn To Knit Sampler Scarf. I'd written it up for teaching how to knit at Forget Me Not Floral shoppe. I've had many people asking for the pattern. And I debated for a bit if I should make it available to people or just those taking my classes. as you can see I decided to make it available to all.

One of my fave patterns is the Diamond Wrap Socks. They're knit toe up with a short row heel. but of course you can substitute any heel you'd like in there. They're a great knit! and the pattern looks good with variegated and also solid sock yarn.

For Christmas time I've a great Toe Up Striped Stocking pattern. It's an extra large pattern using bulky yarn knit super tightly for a great sturdy fabric. I've made it in different colors One in Steeler's colors and one in Bronco's colors. It's a fun and easy pattern to knit. Though gauge is key with this pattern.

And I hope you who crochet don't feel left out because I've got a felted crochet bag pattern for sale. It was the first pattern that I've ever written. It's original and fun to crochet. I really like the way it looks. The Shunky Pattern!

Some of my patterns are free for your pleasure those are available on ravelry or crochetme and this very blog. I'm very nosey so if you've made something from my patterns LMK b/c I'd love to see photos!

Enough with this humidity!

2009-08-10T22:37:00.004-04:00

This past weekend I've been sewing like crazy! (when I was home that is) I've also successfully broken most of my machine's needles and I fear I may need to take my Gma's old singer in for a look over. But it probably needs it anyways. It did force me to get out my new and much neglected sewing machine. I'd forgotten how much of a love/hate relationship I have with that new machine.. but it works well when I have the right needle in it. Tomorrow I've got to go and get new needles so I can finish what I'm working on. Most of what I've been sewing I'm going to take in to the LYS and see if they will sell there.

But I'd like to show you what I've been sewing. First I made a shoulder bag blue and browns, I love these colors together in any shape or form! I've found that I'm a little obsessed with buttons and using them on the bags this weekend. Inside the bag you can see it's a blue embossed fabric and I used the outside fabric to make some pockets. (there are two pockets) The bag is 13.75 inches tall and across the flat bottom it's 10 inches long and 4.75 inches wide. It's a great bag and fits wonderfully over the shoulder and will hold some great knitting or crochet projects.

This one cracks me up I can't explain why it just does. I made a needle roll using some left over fabric from a Halloween costume I made years ago. I went for the brightly striped inside fabric, mostly b/c I couldn't figure out what would look good with it. So I picked some striped fabric that always catches my eyes when I'm sewing. I used a button again but this time a loop of elastic to "close" the roll. This is for the Diva who loves animal prints. even if that diva is hidden deep inside. (at least that's the story I'm going with) I've got to make some more needle rolls for the store. I'm pondering a circular needle case but that's still in the works.

I also made another shoulder bag. This one my DH said "that bag is sooo cool I really like it!" So it's got his seal of approval on it, if that means anything to you. This bag is 13 inches high with a bottom that's 9 1/2 by 5 inches. I really like this black and white scene fabric. I paired it with some black, brown, green and red striped fabric. Again I used the button to close it. I figure if it's used as a knitting tote you don't want a zipper near your yarn so a snap or button closure is the best, right? This one also has 2 pockets for your notions and pattern or whatever you want. Though with the trend of big ol' bag purses that I see my babysitters and other teens carrying around it may make a great purse too. HMM that's something to ponder.

I really like those two fabrics together. So I made myself a new purse with it them. And I can't wait to go out and use my new purse. I even made a zipper inside pouch. I like how it looks like the tree has a zipper in it. I didn't plan that at all btw.
Anyways I seem to be rambling so I'm out!

July Recap

2009-08-02T22:37:00.005-04:00

So July was busy. Very very busy.
Last week we spent some of the time in MD visiting with my Grandma as she was sick. She's getting better now and we were able to "rest" a bit at the farm. While we were there it was hay baling time. and the girls sat down for a good hour or so to watch it happen. the novelties of life huh?

This past month was also Stitch N Pitch with the Pirates. We went and had a lot of fun. I'd like to get a group from my LYS to go next year. B/c I think it would be loads of fun to go with some friends. We got some cool stuff too. See the black and white bag we got this year? It had some yarn and a magazine in it. I also picked up a sticker that I now stuck on my car. (you can see a photo of it on flickr)

July was also the last month for my Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup over on ravelry. they're taking a month off and then we'll start back up again for September. I love that group it gets my creative juices flowing!

I completed my Muggle Studies OWL. 2 Weasley sweaters. The girls each picked out the colors they wanted. I did a gauge swatch and bought yarn according to the pattern but I have at least 1-2 balls left from each of the main colors and most of the letter colors. So I'm pondering a BSJ or really a not so baby one. since I have the yarn and it goes well together.

For Quidditch our wrist warmers were due. I made them for the girls. they love them. I heard the bead singing, "I'm in gryffindor, I'm in gryffindor" after I gave her the one that fit. I think she's lost it now though... oh well.

For potions this month I made a necklace. Which then I gave to my older sister to have. b/c she likes gold and I do not. So she'll probably wear it. I hope she likes it that is. I really love the color of the beads and the butterfly but I really really don't like gold and I thought about wearing it but just couldn't... sigh. I have some of the beads left so I may have to make something from them but with silver. We'll see.

For Charms this month I made 2 headbands. One green with some left over sock yarn and one in gryffie colors left over from my scarf. They come in really handy and work really well. (esp with my thick curly hair) I'm going to have to make more of them I think! In fact I was all set to see the new movie wearing my new headband (that the bub is modeling) tonight when we were told that they wouldn't be showing it b/c of rain. (it was at the drive-in) so we'll wait until next weekend I think. unless we can get the girls' grandparents to watch them for a matinee sometime this week.

For muggle studies this month I made some socks. I love them. though it's too warm to wear them now I know I'm going to love them come winter. I also joined a new Sock a Month KAL. So I'll be knitting a pair of socks every month for a while. I wrote a small post about these socks there. They're your basic of basic toe up socks 2x2 ribbing with Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn.

And last but not least for Astronomy I made an invincibility star. I made it with Glow-in-the-dark yarn. It's awesome! And simple simple simple. I snapped a photo of it playing the xbox. which I thought was rather funny. It's arms are too short to maneuver the Wii remote I guess. he he he he he.

OK that's it. you're caught up for July. Now on to August.

Flatbread YUMMO!

2009-07-19T09:18:00.004-04:00

I made some flat bread on the grill today. I've been wanting to try it out for a while now so after reading this post I decided to try it. You start with your regular stored dough. Heat your grill. Roll out your dough. If you'd like add some sesame seeds or poppy seeds. then you grill it about 2 min on each side. It turns out wonderful! You should try it out! YUMMO

Playing Catch Up again.

2009-07-18T10:22:00.003-04:00

Lately it seems all I do here on this blog is play catch up. I need to get back in the habit of posting more regularly. I guess the busier life gets the more this poor blog gets neglected. Anyways on with our catch up.
Over the 4th of July weekend we went to WI to visit with my family. It was a lot of fun. While there I made this necklace. I find doing the Harry Potter House Cup helps me to finish more projects than if I'm working on my own. This particular necklace (ravelry link) I turned in for my July Potions homework. The assignment this month was Felix Felicis (sp?) So we needed to make something that was small and golden.

Also on the trip I finished my June Charms homework. I didn't have enough time to finish it in the month of June. I made an illusion scarf to wear to the HBP movie. (which we've yet to go see) The scarf is in the Gryffindor colors but the illusion is of the Heroes sign. Just something for fun!

Also for this Month we needed to turn in wrist warmers for our Quidditch team. I made a pair and let the girls each have one. they were super excited. and Have been wearing them ever since. I had to make the Bub leave her's here at home when she left for camp on Monday morning.

Monday Night I finished 1/2 of my OWL for this term. (I'm working extra hard on it so I'll be done at the end of the month) The bead was super excited and proceeded to wear it most of Tuesday. I also started on the bub's sweaters (the other 1/2 of my OWL). I'm using Vanna's choice yarn and after washing the sweater it's super soft. I made it s size bigger (5/6) so she can wear it longer. Of course it's being summer it's a little warm to wear it.

For this month's astronomy homework I choose to do an invincibility star. The pattern can be found here. (here's my ravelry link) It's a really easy pattern and I used glow-in-the-dark yarn. it's pretty cool. Being crochet it was a quick project.

I wanted to share something that isn't knitting or crochet. This past Wednesday my DH called and said you have to come get this playhouse. someone had left a plastic playhouse out by the side of the road with a "FREE" sign on it. So I packed up the bead and we went to collect it. It wasn't a pretty sight. when we got it home we had to deep clean it. It looks a lot better now. and the Bead has been sooo excited playing with it all the time. We've been talking about getting something like that for the girls to play with. so we were lucky that we got one for free. I really love getting things for free don't you?

man it's the middle of july already?!?

2009-07-11T22:03:00.003-04:00

It's definitely summer! And it seems that finally the weather is getting sooo warm that it feels like summer. I finally got my garden in and I'm not sure I've enough time to get a good crop. we'll have to see.

This year we were able to secure childcare so that we can go to Stitch N Pitch. I'm excited. It's next weekend. We got our tickets in the mail this past week. I was hoping to get a group from the LYS to go but I wasn't able to get it together. hopefully next year.
Though first this Monday the bub goes off to camp. It will be fun for her but I'm not sure how the bead is going to take it. So I've found a polish pottery tea set that I've had for "just in case" that I picked up ages ago in Poland. I'm going to give it to the bead to play with while her sister is gone. I think she's really going to enjoy it.
well I've got things to do I'll TTYL

Potter Puppet Pals in "The Mysterious Ticking Noise"

2009-07-04T17:58:00.001-04:00

I'm sure you've seen this before, if not it's pretty funny! gotta love good old voldy

We've missed it.

2009-06-27T21:14:00.003-04:00

Usually when you hear the words thread, crochet and pineapple in the same sentence you think "grandma, or doily" Well I don't want you thinking that anymore. From now on I want you thinking SEXY!
This past week I made my sister a garter for her wedding. We're not able to attend the wedding so I wanted to make her something. pretty huh? The pattern is from Interweave Crochet. (ravelry link) up close you can see the beads. very cool I had to overnight the package to her and I'm not sure if she's gotten it. she was supposed to get it by 12 today.. but I haven't heard from her. I know she's doing the whole day before the wedding stuff so I'm not too worried.

I also wanted to make her something for after the wedding (eye wiggle) so I found this pattern on ravelry. super sexy pineapples huh? Note: that link isn't child friendly so watch who's watching when you click it. I had some red thread laying around and thought it would look wonderful in red. I hope she likes it!

OH Holy COW!

2009-06-20T12:45:00.003-04:00

I can't believe how long I've been gone. right after my last post (with in the next few days that is) I hurt my back. I went to the chiropractor and was feeling good until I stretched the wrong way or bent over or something and then last Saturday and Sunday I spent in bed with maybe about 5 min or so sitting up. (it was sooo painful) I went back to the chiro and he confirmed that I had/have a bulging disc. UGH not fun so he tried some traction and sent me home. my next appt was for wed and I was remarkably better. I could sit up at least. Then yesterday I had another appt. and I'm doing soooooooooooo much better. the result of all that is not much knitting or crocheting going on. Though it did make a dent (a smallish one) in my reading queue.
Yesterday was the last day for the girl's VBS at our church so they had a closing program. They sang songs and each grade level did their verse. I know the girls had a lot of fun this week. My Dh was the valet and he also went and picked up my nephew and took him to the VBS.
I brought my Sock Wars SIP's to knit on during the program. and I got a good part of them done. I'm seriously surprised I'm not dead yet. (in the game I mean!) I actually have a goal to finish them and send them off this weekend. It's a good goal! I'm also going to use them as my DADA project this month. now to get off the Internet and knit... LOL.. not sure when that will happen. Oh ravelry, I love you!

more projects!

2009-06-06T12:14:00.003-04:00

Just in time for may classes I finished my tote/bag. for Charms class. The charm was repello muggletum. so on our trip to the new movie I can hide goodies and knitting in this tote and those muggles won't know.. LOL. I'm a dork I know! I really really love the Asian print I used as the inside lining. It's larger than it looks and I can carry a book or two inside and the pockets give me room for other things. and the straps are a comfy. I love it!
I have a baby shower to go to today and I made some baby bibs and a pineapple hat for the gift. The hat turned out rather cute! I hope she likes it. I also turned it in for my herbology class. We had to use bobbles for this month's project. I'm not the hugest fan of bobbles. but like I said this hat turned out cute.
I'm still working on my 2nd pair of Socks for sock wars. I'm ready to be done and just waiting to die... for some reason I'm having a hard time finishing this pair. We'll see if i "die" before finishing them.. anyways gotta jet.

A Whole Lotta Knitting and Crochet going on...

2009-05-29T21:58:00.003-04:00

So I've been quite busy lately and not just with my classes. But with my Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup (ravelry link) this group is great at getting people (read me)to get projects done.
Currently I'm working on my Charms Homework. it's due Sunday so I'm almost done. and cutting it close if you ask me.

You already saw my DADA homework (the water cuffs) a couple of posts ago.

A friend of mine is having a baby so I made this cute little dragon rattle and turned it in for my Ancient Runes homework. We had to do something with letters or based on a fairy tale. So this dragon is sorta based on the Dragon of the North fairy tale. But I seriously think dragons have a bad rep in fairy tales of old.

I also made a baby mandrake root for Herbology. I have a cute story about it over at Ravelry. Plus my girls posed for me so that I could snap this photo. it's pretty funny!

For Arithmancy we were doing the Fibonacci sequence so I made a Fibonacci cable hat. I cabled the number sequence around 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 , 13 (that's all the cables I could do on the hat) it's to replace the hat attack had my oldest lost this past year. my youngest daughter snapped this photo for me.

For muggle studies we were looking into that "television thing" those muggles are so fond of. I made a totoro. B/c my girls just love that movie. (i like it too!) The small one. of course the girls now want a big blue one and the grey one.. we'll see. maybe for Christmas next year.

During all of these homework assignments I also started Sock wars and finished my socks and "killed off" my target and received my SIP's and I've "kinda" been working on them but really I've been sewing and working on my Charms homework. It's funny how much the HPHC has taken over my life. (but in a good way!)
Well I'm off to knit...

i need sleep!

2009-05-21T22:25:00.003-04:00

I was going to type a big blog and all but I'm tired.. so here's a photo to distract you. I went around yesterday gathering things for my apron swap. I've got to get started, still. i hope it turns out! I'm starting to get nervous of course. as I always do.
enjoy, discuss, comment!

New Term!

2009-05-10T14:26:00.004-04:00

Life is/has been crazy here!
A new term has started over at ravelry's HPKCHC! And I've already completed one class. I did DADA,the class assignment was Protego. We had to protect against something so I made some water bracelets. (to remind me to drink my water) I made one in each house color.

The green and silver/grey for slytherin. the bracelets are all crochet and protect from dehydration! and Help fight the fat. we all like that don't we?

The yellow and black for hufflepuff. (this one also reminds me of Edward from twilight)

The red and gold for Gryffindor. (my house!) Go Gryffindor!!!

and sliver/grey and blue for ravenclaw.
they all turned out rather well and have actually been helping me to remember to drink all the water I should be! I change them to the other wrist once i drink 1/2 of the water bottle . I'm averaging 3 bracelets and my goal is 4. so it's going well!

I'm currently working on another homework project and I've also been approved for my Muggle Studies OWL. I'll be making 2 Weasley Sweaters one for each of the girls! They picked out the colors. I've been wanting to make them a sweater for a while and just haven't gotten around to it...

That's what's been going on here. I've also been bit by the sewing bug and I've been sewing some bags. but, I'll post about those another day!

An Apron Swap!

2009-05-02T20:17:00.003-04:00

I just signed up for an apron swap. I'm so excited about it b/c we'll be making gardening aprons and you know I've got a garden started and I'll soon be talking about it again. If you'd like to sign up you can go here. This will be my first apron swap and I'm super excited as I love aprons and I only have 1 that i used to have for pampered chef and 2 that i snagged from my gma's. I'm excited to have an apron made for me!!!
if you can sew or you like aprons why not go check out the blog?

Get your garden on!

2009-04-20T11:43:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year again. where we all start thinking and planning out our gardens.. i've got to get my seedlings going in the basement here shortly! Saturday I went to a composting seminar and got a free compots bin. I love it and i'm so excited about it.
I've been wanting to compost and not really knowing what to do the seminar was very helpful and now I know a ton!
anyways I took a photo of it and just had to share..
have a great day!

Win a WIP bag

2009-04-11T21:43:00.003-04:00

The past day or so I was on a sewing binge. I was storing my crafterly-ness up and I just had to do it... soooo I made 9 bags. Two you can win b/c I'm having a contest to win a bag check it out here.
or stop by my etsy store for instant shopping gratification!

I won!

2009-04-08T09:21:00.002-04:00

I feel horrible that it's taken me so long to get to this post. I've had a crazy busy couple of weeks.
Remember the Ultimate Blog Party 2009? well I actually won a prize. I received my prize in the mail last Tuesday. (See why i feel bad about posting about it now?)
I won 5 bars of Goat milk soap. From Goat Milk Stuff, it's super fabulous! You can read about PJ and her family on her blog. They just had a new baby goat arrive... sooo sweet.
The soap smells wonderful and really moisturizes in the shower. I love it. I got to pick 5 different smells It was so hard to choose just 5 smells! From left to right I got Pink Grapefruit, Coconut, Pink Sugary, Fiji Island, and Kool Koala
the small ones are samples she sent me to try out. Luckily she sent them because i used them to bribe my kids with them and not have to share! the small ones from left to right are black raspberry, cranberry spice, and rosemary mint. I started using the pink grapefruit and I love love love love it! When I got them I just sat here and smelled away and my DH just laughed at me until I made him smell the soap. He goes "huh that smells good" that's an understatement! It's wonderful and I think I'm off to take shower!

OWL complete!

2009-04-01T16:51:00.003-04:00

I had so much fun with the Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup that I signed up again for this term. If you'd like to try it out here's the ravelry link. If you do sign up tell them StarKnits referred you. I'd appreciate it!
and on to my fabulous sweater...
I had the bub take a photo of me wearing it since my DH was at work. (she actually stood on the outside chair) And, of course as I've finished this awesome sweater it's getting warmer out.. bummer huh? I'm hoping for a little bit of cold weather next week (after it's dry from blocking) so that I can wear it at least one day. The pattern is #28 Vihervaara-huppari by Mari Muinonen was in the Fall '08 Vouge Knitting magazine, actually there's about 5 or more patterns in that magazine that I want to make.
the pattern was for a hoodie but as you can see I didn't make a hood. I figured it would cover the fabulous cable and I'd never use it so I modified it.
I also "fixed" the front so the placket neck wasn't so low and I don't need buttons either. I think the next time I make this sweater I'll use worsted weight yarn and carry the cable up the arm a bit more. If you 'd like to see my modifications check out my ravelry project page, I typed them out there.
For this sweater I used 9 skeins of Lambs Pride Bulky. in color M-173 Wild Violet.
On to the next project!!!

D is for Done

2009-03-23T22:32:00.003-04:00

I've finished my bag. it's now felted and drying. I wasn't sure if I would finish in time. (it's an OWL for my HPHC over at ravelry) but it DONE. and with an added pocket inside! the bottom ended up being 51/2 " wide by 101/2" long with being 121/2" high. (and the opening at the top is bigger)

Of course my fave part of this process is having my 4 year old wearing the before felting and the after felting. It's really funny to me b/c the before is so HUGE and the after is... well um.. a bag. LOL
I think it turned out rather good!
what do you think?

Yup I bought it.

2009-03-22T01:53:00.005-04:00

So um yeah I did buy it.
and I watched it again, then I watched all the special features. now I've got to watch it with the commentary. I'm trying to get myself off this thinking that it needs to be exactly what the book says... I'm having a hard time convincing myself of that though. Not sure why. B/c i can do ok with the HP movies and books.
so that's my photo of the day.
But while i was at wally world getting the movie, i also got new batteries for my watches. (i have been forgetting them every time I'm out.) so last week i got smart and finally shoved them into my purse. that way I only needed to remember they were in the bottom of my purse waiting for their insides to be replaced. I also picked up some heavy fabric to make a lining for my sheer curtains in my bedroom. Since Walmart is getting rid of all their fabric i got it 1/2 priced. And I'm not going to get into how stupid it is that they're doing away with their fabric... sigh.
anyways I've been visiting people for the UBP'09 and I'm loving it! You can still join if you'd like.

It's Party time.

2009-03-20T10:54:00.003-04:00

It's that time again. Time for the UBP!!!
i had so much fun last year browsing blogs and leaving comments. this year it's totally bigger. You can check it out here.
I'm glad to meet everyone and I'll bounce back to the blogs of people that leave me a comment. I'm on Facebook Here.
I'm not a twitter person. I'm not sure what twitter is but it's all the rage. feel free to clue me in

and there's a whole bunch of prizes! i'm not able to fathom it all. so may generous people and it's possible I may win something. I'm going to make a list of the prizes I would love to win.....

First of all I'd love to win #58 the Kitchen Aid! In red i think.. I LOVE IT!

I think i'd also like to win #49 b/c i love jillian michaels

also #20 the goat milk soap. we can always use a bit of pampering!

and who can pass up #21 the target gift card?

#60 the Pepsi tote filled with goodies sounds like a great prize too.

there's sooo much more but i can't decide.
why not join the party and go look at the prizes for yourself?
feel free to look around and leave a comment or two.
thank you for stopping by.

B is for Beautiful

2009-03-12T22:42:00.002-04:00

Over at Ravelry Project 365 we're doing an ABC challenge. and today I have B.
I've got 2 beautiful girls (thank my dh for that), the bub and the bead. so that fits with B also... it was a beautiful day yesterday too. Today it was yucky cold again.
The girls were "painting" with their chalk. they scribble a big patch (outside of the photo) and then use some paint brushes to paint a pix in another part of the driveway. pretty funny. they also like to use the paint brushes in the sandbox to uncover fossils. but someone left the lid off the sandbox and the sand got wet and yucky. so I've got to get new sand this year. I'm thinking about buying some fossil toys and some shells and hiding it in the sand box with the new sand.... how fun will that be for them when they're at the "dig" LOL.
not sure where I'd find some fossil toys though.
any ideas? TIA

Crazy Cool

2009-03-09T18:10:00.003-04:00

So lately I've been crazy busy. This past week FLEW by.
On Wednesdays i take the girls to awanas and then since there's nothing for me to do I usually go to walmart and do the grocery shopping. This past week I stopped at goodwill b/c the bub needed some new pants. (she's growing sooo tall lately) I walked away with much much more. for only $24 I got my DH 2 new pairs of jeans (one is from the gap), a pair of sketcher shoes and a sweater (also gap) for me, and a pair of dress boots and 2 pairs of pants for the bub. Nothing for the bead but she got stuff last time. I love it! for what I would've paid for one pair of jeans or shoes i got 7 items. Gotta love it!

This Friday I put some knitting bling up in the LYS. I wasn't sure if Margaret would want to hang up the bling or put it in a basket or what so Thursday I packaged some up with tabs so they could be hung or put in something on display. So now if you're in the area and you want to pick some up stop by the store and get some bling! If you don't live in PA I have some available at my etsy store. Contact me for shipping outside of the US. (I do ship outside of the US i just have to get you a price)
Another exciting thing that has happened is I joined the Etsymom street team. What that means is I've joined a group of moms who have etsy stores. We support each other by browsing, buying and referring people to their shops and also we have some forums where we can inspire each other, help with our shops and encourage each other with mom-related things. here's a quote from the etsymom blog "EtsyMom Street Team is dedicated to promoting women artists and crafters who also share the joy of being mothers. Some of our members work from home, some work from other places, but we all share a love of creating beautiful, useful, artful things. Our goal is to create a forum where these creative EtsyMoms can inspire each other, discuss our work, share the success of juggling kids at home, with housework, jobs and creating for our etsy shops, as well as marketing ideas for Etsy.com, advertising and promotional opportunities, and maybe make a few friends along the way."
If you'd like to join here's a link. If you'd like to buy handmade you can go to etsy and search etsymom or you can click here as I've done it for you! there are some great things in that group! go take a look! It's super exciting.

For Project 365 I've decided to also photograph the ABC's. One a week. My first week was this week so....A is for anniversary. Friday was our 10th anniversary! My Dh and I got a whirlpool room at the local Hampton Inn. It's something we do every year. Well every year since he's been out of the army. We figured we spent so many annv apart and away from each other we're going to make it a tradition to spend it together in the nicest way possible. so my In-laws had the girls sleep over and we got to "sleep" over at a hotel. Pretty nice. we also went out to dinner and watched a movie that we wouldn't recommend. We went to see the watchmen and from the previews we thought it would be a good action movie, maybe a little bloody and some swearing. maybe if you follow the comic book maybe you know what to expect. here's my short overview:The one guy walks around the whole movie naked. Yes he's CGI but he's anatomically correct (if not a little bigger than normal) . and then there's some sex scenes in there that leave nothing to the imagination. I guess we're used to watching PG-13, PG and G movies and had NO idea that R ratings showed so much. I personally think they pushed it a bit. And the storyline was ok, it seemed to jump around a bit not really explaining some things like the should've been. The bloody parts some were normal and others were just weird. like one part there's this kid he jumps on another kid punches him and then bites his cheek. totally gross! but i guess b/c it's a comic book it probably was written in there like that and it just translates more gross on screen. I'm seriously wondering why we didn't leave the theater. We felt really bad b/c some guy brought his 6-8 year old little kid in there. I'm sure he thought like us, it'd be an action/superhero flick nothing too major. that poor kid will probably have nightmares.
I think if they took out the porno-ish parts it would've been better. but that's my taste. Anyways we wouldn't recommend it to anyone. it was kinda funny to see all the comic book geeks crawling out of their parent's basement to watch the movie.

busy busy

2009-02-28T20:18:00.004-05:00

soo a quick update on the Star Knits front:

I've been totally enthralled with our new Wii Fit! we got it on Tuesday and I've been playing it since. I love it. and it totally KICKS my butt! I snapped a photo of my DH trying it out with his snowboarding game. It's pretty cool I'm still not good with the games though.

and on the crafty front. I'm feeling the sewing bug coming on. Like I've been finding myself looking at my fabric and thinking about sewing. I even brought down my sewing machine. But I haven't started on anything.

I've picked up a few more classes starting this past week. Monday afternoon and Tuesday Night I have my crochet classes. I created a crochet sampler block for them. It's a few squares that each week I walk them through the basic stitches and by the end I'll teach them joining and finishing. as they go through the week they're supposed to make extra squares for practice so as they go they're almost at a lap blanket at the end of the class. (it's a 4 week class) The sampler is displayed at the store. I'm pondering an Amigurumi class. but it's still in it's planning stages.
Along with my crochet classes I have Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday afternoon and Thursday night knitting classes. So as you can see I've been really busy. But it's a good busy and I really enjoy it. I've just got to find a sitter for Thursday night.
As for knitting I've finished my sleeves for my cabled sweater. (it's supposed to be a hoodie) So I'm excited to get going on the body of the sweater.
and last but not least
I signed up for Sock Wars IV . It's looking to be better than last year. SO I'm super excited! go ahead and sign up for yourself! it should be fun.

KCS4

2009-02-20T16:23:00.003-05:00

I got my package today! it totally made my day. My partner Marisol sent me a wonderful package. look at everything that was inside, she really spoiled me.
She gave me a Page a day calendar from The Yarn Harlot. 2 beautiful skeins of Interlacements sock yarn. It's just lovely. My fave chocolate covered espresso beans and some lovely Biscotti.
a great journal with pockets inside a fun chocolate trivial pursuit game. And the coffee! it just smells delicious! She picked out some Sumatra Blue Batak from Peet's Coffee. I can't wait to try it tomorrow morning. I would try it now but I just made a pot of coffee and I don't want to waste it.
Thank you so much Marisol! The package was wonderful and I love it! I can't wait till you get your package.

History Of Magic (in the kitchen)

2009-02-14T17:14:00.003-05:00

For my HP Knitting/Crochet House Cup HOM homework we had to pick a character out of the books and creates something with them in mind. Wednesday I realized I had enough bananas to make lots and lots of banana bread:My family likes to eat bananas but we always have 1 or 2 that turn spotted and no one eats them. so I throw them in my freezer until I have enough to make some banana bread.(freezing them is great but they don’t look pretty, but they’re the best and when you unfreeze them there’s no need to mash them!) So I chose to channel Mrs. Weasly, Thursday Night and bake some banana bread/muffins for my HOM homework. I love Mrs. Weasly as she’s the ultimate mom. always caring for people In the books i mostly see her baking and cooking to feed the ones she loves. I relate to Mrs. Weasly that way. I’m always trying to feed my family and friends. Though for Mrs. W. she’s got to be constantly cooking with the huge family. But i’m sure magic helps a lot. My ultimate faves are the mocha double chocolate chip banana muffins in the front of the photo (texas sized if you please! you can actually see an star plate with one on it.. hot out of the oven yum yum) Just my way of feeding those I love and making out home more “homey” and really very burrow-ish with the cluttered counter.

After Turning in my homework i was asked to share the recipes sooo I did, and I thought I'd share here too. Like when I'm knitting, I've tweaked a few of the recipes and i’ll share the tweeks with you. each of the recipes also freeze well so after they’re cool throw them in a ziplock bag and freeze and unthaw when hungry. (in the microwave for 25-50 seconds and it’s like out of the oven)

Get your ingredients ready!

1st we have a recipe that I love and grew up with it’s from my Grandma’s It’s a banana bread recipe but i just threw it in my muffin stone and made muffins.
ps when i say texas sized muffins i mean the big ones b/c everything is bigger in texas.

Grandma Fran’s Banana Bread
yield: 2 loaves or 4 mini loaves (12 muffins and 2 texas sized muffins)
Preheat oven to 350 F and grease and flour pans.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c Flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c shortening or oil (i use oil)
1/2 c sugar or 1/3 c honey (i use honey)
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 c mashed bananas (3-4 bananas) I use the aforementioned freeze and thaw method so no mashing needed.
1/2 to 1 c chopped nuts (optional) i used walnuts. but it’s good with out nuts too

Mix all ingredients but nuts together alternated bananas with flour and shortening. (i just throw them in my kitchen aid and mix away) until all is moistened. add nuts and mix in. Fill your pans 3/4 the way full bake bread loaves for 1 hour adjust time for smaller loaves and muffins. a toothpick will come out clean when it is done and it looks a nice golden brown on top. cool and enjoy!

The second recipe I found a couple of years ago on the Internet but i don’t remember where and I didn’t have it written down so here you go.

Monkey Muffins
yield: 12 muffins and 8 texas sized muffins.
preheat oven to 375 F (last night i just used the 350 b/c i didn’t feel like playing)
spray and flour muffin tin

ingredients
1 1/2 c old fashioned oats (i almost never have these i just use the instant plain oatmeal that I have also when i made these last night i ran out of oatmeal so i added 1/4 c of wheat germ)
1 1/4 c whole wheat flout
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 Tbls baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbls) of melted unsalted butter (the real stuff)
3 eggs
2 banana’s mashed (gain the freezer thing but i used 3 bananas b/c that’s how many I had)
3/4 c milk
1/4 c veg oil.
1 c semi sweet chocolate chips (i forgot for my texas muffins b/c i was in muffin mode but they taste wonderful anyways but i remembered for the regular muffins)

Spread oats on baking sheet and toast for 10 min. (i almost always forget this step so it’s not important) Combine flours baking powder and salt in large bowl and stir in oats. In a separate bowl mix together sugar, butter, eggs, bananas, milk and oil until well blended. Add the egg mix to the flour mix and stir until the ingredients are moist and blended. (almost all recipes say this and i think it’s stupid getting 2 bowls dirty and i’m impatient so i just dump everything together and it all turns out fine) Fold in the chocolate chips (see if i followed the recipe i’d remember to do this)
scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins. about 3/4 the way full or if you have a large scoop just one scoop or 1/3 c measuring cup. (I sprinkled mine with some raw sugar for the sparkley top)
bake for 25-30 min until the tops spring back when pressed lightly or a toothpick comes out clean.
let cool for 5 min and then take out of tins. Enjoy! (these are good hot!)

and finally my fave of all fave’s muffins. they’re almost like a dessert but good for bfast! This is a heavily modified recipe from all recipes so i call it my OWN b/c i’ve changed so much.

Mocha Double Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Yield 12 muffins and 8 texas sized muffins
pre heat oven to 350 F and grease and flour muffin tins

Ingredients
1 c butter or 1/4 c oil and 1 c plain applesauce
1 c sugar
1 egg
3-4 ripe bananas (whatever you have on hand)
4 Tbls instant coffee dissolved in 1Tbls hot water (it’s like a syrup)
2-3 Tbls cocoa powder.
2 1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c semis sweet chocolate chips (reserve the 1/2c for on top of muffins)

dump everything into your kitchen aid mixer bowl and mix away add the chocolate chips last. Put into your muffin tin about 3/4 the way full and top with reserved chocolate chips for that bakery look. Bake for 20-25 min. cool and enjoy!

Ok If you have any questions just ask. if not enjoy!

Bling Bling!

2009-02-10T10:26:00.003-05:00

I've bee busy! I made some Knitting Bling as Christmas presents for the ladies in my classes. Well they loved them. (they still rave about them!) So i decided to make more and put them up in my etsy store to see if anyone else would like them.
I like them. They brighten the knitting up and make you smile as you slip them to the next needle. Just a little added something!
Go have a look and LMK what you think!

A Magical Creature!

2009-02-09T08:58:00.002-05:00

I found a Jobberknoll outside in the cold. Well at first he looked like a regular Blue speckled bird to me but when I referred to my Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander (every household should have one you know!) I recognized it at once. I coaxed him inside with some small dirt flys that have been hanging around my potted plants this winter. He’s really sweet and helpful at getting rid of the insects around. It seems he likes the spiders the best! to my pleasure of course.
For those of you who don’t know a Jobberknoll is small blue speckled bird that eats small insects. Normally found in northern Europe and America. It makes no sound until the moment of it’s death then regurgitates one loud scream of everything it’s ever heard backwards. (oh what it will say after leaving this house with the girls jibber jabbering all the time) A Jobberknoll’s feathers are used in truth serums and memeory potions.and the M.O.M. classification is XX-Harmless/may be domesticated. alt text Here, you can see he’s taken up nesting in the Christmas cactus that never blooms. It amazes me that a bird with such a large beak is so quiet. He’s even charmed the pants off our cat, Simba Jeffery: the master of cuddles and spills. Who is more interested in chasing his tail.. I guess it's good I didn't put any catnip inside! you can see more photos of him in my flickr photostream.

I’ve been calling him Hiro b/c he likes to eat the spiders and I was watching Heroes when I "found" him. I've left him nesting in my plant to see how observant my family is... so far neither of the girls have claimed him... LOL

I've turned him in for my Care of Magical Creatures homework for this month. I'm working on my DADA as I type and pondering a charms project too.

an Elephant story

2009-02-06T09:52:00.003-05:00

Isn't this the cutest story you've ever seen? I'm researching what my patronus would be for my HP Knitting/Crochet House Cup homework and I was having a hard time figuring it out. So I emailed the proffessor and she helped me figure it out. So right now in this time of my life my patronus is an Elephant. pretty cute... now to figure out what my Homework project should be..... hmmm.

O.W.L.s

2009-02-03T17:32:00.002-05:00

In case you haven't noticed I've changed my template a bit... we'll see how this one works out. LMK what you think.

I've been working on my two of my OWLs for my HP knitting/crochet house cup this week or past week...
My first is in transfiguration. I'm making a Villiage St. Market bag. The pattern is available at the LYS with the purchase of yarn. I made one a long time ago as a test knit and my SIL saw it and wants one. Here's where I was on Saturday. I'm much further now. It's a great project.

I've also been working on my Arithmancy OWL. I've signed up to make 20 baby bibs. It's b/c everyone i know seems to be having a baby these days and I like to make my gifts so these are going to be mass produced for gift giving. (also everything seems to be revolving around my HP K/C house cup these days)

This month there are new assignments and I've signed up for Care of magical creatures. So I need to make an amigurumi. I'm excited.. I'm just deciding what to make. There's also DADA and figuring out what our patronus would be... it think there's a few others that I've got to re-look up. It's a great group to join over at ravelry if you're looking for fun ways to tie in knitting with your love of all things harry potter.
anyways that's my commercial.. LOL

KCS4

2009-01-30T16:06:00.002-05:00

I signed up for the Knitter's Coffee Swap 4. I love this swap it's the one I wait for. Here's my questions answered.

1. Whole bean or ground? I like beans but will take both. sometimes the kind I want is only ground. so I'm not picky about that.
2. Fully-loaded or decaf? fully-loaded (still don't know the reason for decaf)
3. Regular or flavored? Both, but only certain flavors i love hazelnut, vanilla creme, toffee. etc. I don't like fruity flavors or chocolate flavored coffee.
4. How do you drink your coffee? with cream. (half and half)
5. Favorite coffee ever? It changes with my mood/tastes
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? I like to buy higher end stuff b/c the flavor is richer and the acidity isn't bad (no heartburn) I try to buy from local roasters/coffee shops. I don't prefer starbucks b/c I think they over-roast their beans and "gasp" burn them.
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? Chocolate covered coffee beans, brownies, cookies (my fave are oatmeal raisin with pecans), anything sweet really, and Popcorn
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? it changes but but mostly i like a full flavored strong coffee. but i will enjoy anything you send.
9. Yarn/fiber you love? anything super soft, baby alpaca has caught my eye again and again but i like most all yarns
10. Yarn/fiber you hate? I don't mind acrylic as long as it's super soft...but red heart super saver and the like are OUT.
11. What's on your needles? Lets see, all my (all ravelry links) HP Knitting/Crochet house cup OWLs: #28 Hoodie, 20 baby bibs, and a felted bag, I'm sure there will be more on the needle soon. I'm surprised I don't have a pair of socks on the needles.. i normally do, hmm that's weird. also on the hook is my babette blanket and a blanket I'm designing to teach crochet.
12. Favorite colors? I like most colors.. but i really don't like pastel colors or orange. I love blues, pink and chocolate brown (together) , green and purple (together), greens, purples, pinks. I'd say bright is the way to go.
13. Allergies? nope
14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? Um how about a little about me. I like to read. But i find it cuts into my knitting time so I've been doing the whole borrow from the library the books on CD it helps a lot. I love to take photos (hence the project 365 I'm doing) I also like to bake bread and sew. I have 2 daughters but i don't really knit for them b/c they destroy everything. My DH i will knit for but get annoyed b/c he doesn't always appreciate what I make him. um i think that's all if you have any questions just ask!

ummm is the laundry done?

2009-01-27T21:08:00.003-05:00

So I like to make things. (as if that's news) Though this week and last, I've been a little slow on the projects. I have been reading (actual reading not listening to books on CD) I did, how ever, finish this scarf for a friend. Her birthday was Sat and we were going to her house on Sun. So this simple seed stitch scarf was the perfect gift to knit. I used Limari by Aruacania it's a Merino/Alpaca/Silk blend. Just Lovely! I actually finished knitting it on Saturday and had enough time to block the scarf. My friend was really excited to open the gift and said she needed a scarf. (and it's getting cold this week) so it was the Perfect gift!
Friday at sit and knit I was talking with a friend and she'd gotten the cutest Bull Terrier beads/trinkets (I'm not sure what) off of ebay. She was asking me about how I made stitch markers and where I got the stuff. For Christmas I made some knitting bling for the ladies I teach and a few other ladies. (I forgot to take photos) They went over really well! So while I was explaining what and where I got the stuff to make them I offered to throw together some stitch markers for her. So today, I finally had some time to sit down and put them together. They turned out really cute. I used only one bead with them just to add something "extra". So what do you think? I've been pondering making up a few sets of Knitting Bling and putting them on my etsy site. I'll have to get on that soon... LOL ... I keep saying that. (one day I'll just sit down and do it)

Until then I'll just share with ya'll what I've made here on my blog.

A Parade

2009-01-20T21:56:00.005-05:00

It's a parade of Knitting projects! Whoopee!

This post is going to be FULL-O-Pix. I realize I've severely neglected this blog and updating you with all my FO's lately.(I'm so into ravelry it's not even funny) To start I thought I'd catch you up with my Christmas gifts. (with as many links as I can put in there for you)

But first let's look at this hat I made for my Dh. Originally I was going to make it for him as a surprise for Christmas b/c he saw me making the "may the force be with you" hat for a friend's kid. And he kept hinting that he'd like a storm trooper hat. I got so far as the ribbing, then all the other projects I needed to finish got in the way so to the back burner it went. I finally finished it on Saturday. and I'm glad I didn't make it for him as a surprise Christmas present b/c i would've been really upset, it's a tad big. I even knit him one that was 1 inch smaller than his head but since it's St st it doesn't pull in...... so I've got to knit him another but smaller. i like it maybe i'll use it. anyways onto the Christmas presents. they're in No particular order.

First we have some Crochet Pac Men. I made them for my little brother. He's hard to shop/knit for b/c I'm not sure what he likes anymore. I figured these can sit in his room and he can use them as balls and throw them around or something fun like that. The coolest part is I used glow in the dark yarn so at night they'll light up! SO.MUCH.FUN! if I didn't have to give them away I'd keep them to play with. But since I used that yarn I couldn't use the true pac man colors.. but i don't think he'll mind.. or even really care/notice.. etc.

Next is a combo of some patterns in the Amigurumi!: Super Happy Cute Crochet book. I made this french chica for my niece. When she opened it at first she didn't like it. but that was b/c her brother just opened a leapster... and being a normal sibling she wanted what He got..etc. But I spied her the next day running around with it and then sleeping with it. So all is well. I liked it and so did my sister.

Up next we have a hat I made for my sister. She really liked it and started wearing almost immediately. In this photo it's me modeling the hat. The pattern is a great pattern, Robin's Egg Blue Hat. it reminds me of a cloche type of hat. It was a fun and easy knit. The button is one I had in my button stash.. it looks nice doesn't it?

Next up is some amigurumi I whipped up for my neighbor's kids. They surprised us unexpectedly and I thought they should get something from us.. so I made a hamster from one of my Japanese Amigurumi books that i got off of Yes Asia. Then the elephant is a pattern from Lion brand.(you have to log in to see it but it's free) It was pretty simple. The last is a monkey that I just made up. I needed something simple and quick. So that is what I came up with.

Next are some gifts for my niece who didn't get her present until a week after Christmas. I *think* she liked them (she's 8 months old). The first is a little ditty bag. made to hold all the finger puppets and anything else she'd like to put in there.
The frog isn't part of the pattern of finger puppets that I made for her. It's one I've added. Usually when I make these finger puppets I add another one. b/c 5 just makes it fit on a child's hand or hands. I've made a dog before when I've given these away in the past. But a frog I figured, goes really well with the whole Fairy Tale Finger Puppets theme. Don't you think? Anyways the frog isn't a pattern just something I kinda made up. I really like finger puppets as gifts for kids. and I find that the youngins like them too.

The next gift we have here is one of my fave's this year... I think it's b/c I made it up from scratch, plucked it from my head and it came out great. It's a Robot I made for my nephew. (who at first wasn't so jazzed about it b/c he'd just opened that leapster...grr) anyways I caught him sleeping with it the next night so I don't mind his initial reaction. The wheel at the bottom moves! sooo cool! and I used that great glow in the dark yarn for the white parts so it gives it an added neatness at night. It's cool huh?

So this little amigurumi was a gift for my niece. It's a donkey but she kept calling it a pony. So it's now a pony. Not that I mind either way. She LOVED it. She carried it around all day. As is the tradition of getting together with family for Christmas, either my kids or my sister's kids are sick. This year it was my sweet little niece. But she still really liked this little gift. Which warms the heart. It's that type of reaction to the things I make that makes me just jump for joy (inside of course)

Next I made some Star Wars guys for my Nephew. who hasn't opened his gift yet as we haven't seen them.. (I know!) SO I'm not sure if he likes them or not. I think they're cute and the girls were playing with them so we'll see. As an added bonus I made him a hat. The pattern is the Basic Earflap Hat for the whole family (a free ravelry download) I didn't make it until really late. It's a great pattern and goes really fast. The yarn I used was paton's classic wool. I like how the yarn pooled it looks really neat. That's the bead modeling the hat btw. It only used half a skein and that's with the poof ball on top. And It was used as one of my homework assignments for the HP Knititng/Crochet House Cup (ravlery) group. Which now all my knitting projects are consumed by.. but that's another post another day!

Last but definitely not least I made a scarf for my future BIL. The pattern is for a neckwarmer but has modifications on it for a scarf. It went really cool. It took a skein and a half of the paton's classic wool. (I made it before the hat for my nephew) I didn't get it done in time for him to open on Christmas. so I've got to send it to him...
yeah that's my goal for this week or next to get the packages in the mail!

Ok so I think I've updated ya'll for now.. if you've read this far why not stop and leave a comment, it should only take a few extra min! thanks a bunch.

ahhh mom!

2009-01-15T22:02:00.003-05:00

The faces of the girls in this photo just cracks me up!
I caught them a they were coming in from playing outside today. Tomorrow they won't be able to b/c it's supposed to be really cold and I don't want them getting sick (or hurt). So since it was relatively warmer today I sent them out. they had a ton of fun and turned our backyard into paths and paths. (that's what they told me at least)

So it gets colder....

2009-01-13T22:54:00.004-05:00

Right around Christmas we didn't have much snow.. in fact it rained and rained and rained... a lot! now it's getting colder and snowing some. Tomorrow's big news is it's going to be COLD. with that in mind I sent the girls outside to play today so that they got the snow play out of their system for a bit, while it's bitterly cold.
I have been finishing so many projects it's been crazy. You can look at my ravelry page or my flickr acct. that will update you... I fear if I did it here I would have way toooooooo many photos... so I send you there instead with promises that I will try to post here more often. and with that I must go.

2008-12-29T19:22:00.001-05:00

missing me?
you can find me more frequently over at my other blog MommaCrafter. stop on over!

It's official.

2008-12-12T10:50:00.004-05:00

Our tree is decorated all the way to the top with a nice bright star to light the way!
This weekend we have a great one planned.
Saturday Night My husband and I are going with some friends to see Fireproof. I'm super excited my family (sister, mom and dad) said it was really good. And this is the first time it's been around here. It's actually in a really cool theater around here they have a great cheap date. They wait a little longer to get the movies but it usually is well worth it. It's not very often you can see a movie with popcorn and dinner for $30. I'm wondering if they're going to get House. I'd like to see that movie as I love Ted Dekker's books. and i love a good scary movie.

Then Sunday we're going to friend's to celebrate 2 of their son's birthdays. For the one he love star wars and I knit him this hat. It has all kinds of star wars guys on it and of course says "may the force be with you" around the bottom. I fear it's going to be a little big on him but I'm sure he'll like it regardless. The inside looks a little crazy. But the yarn I used was really soft so it shouldn't bother him. I had ribbing on the bottom but then the hat would've been way way way tooo big so i folded it up and sewed it down so when he gets bigger he can take that out and still use the hat. The whole time I was knitting it my DH was pestering me for one. So I think I may have to surprise him and make him a star wars hat. actually he'd really like a storm trooper hat. so I told him after Christmas I'd make him one. but secretly I'm going to try and make it for Christmas.
Oh the joy of gift giving. I love it so much!
speaking of gifts If I don't get cracking no-one is getting anything... of to work!

few and far between.

2008-12-05T11:54:00.004-05:00

My posts here have been few and far between haven't they? It's that time of year I think. For thanksgiving we went and visited my Grandma. It was a great relaxing weekend for all of us. The kids got to sled ride on the same hill I used to when I was younger.

While there I finished an amigurumi for my niece for Christmas. isn't He cute? it's from one of those Japanese books I've got. (which I told my DH I'd like book 5 & 6 for Christmas)

When we got back I started a Hat for a little guy I know. (he's a son of friends of ours) His birthday is coming up and I know he loves star wars. The whole time I've been making it my DH has been bugging me for a storm trooper hat... so I think to surprise him for Christmas (if I have time) I'll make him one. I didn't know he's be so obsessed with it. Seriously!

Here's my month of November in one mosaic. (at least my project 365 photos that is.) So you can see what I've been up to. Well I've got lots to finish. I just wanted to check back in and tell ya'll I'm alive! I'll be back soon I promise.. (for those of you who still read my blog that is)

It's time....

2008-11-27T00:07:00.002-05:00

Time for Turkey. I'll be back later gater...
YUM i got to make the cranberry salad for tomorrow. I also get to make some bread YEAH!
Friday we're going to go visit my G-ma. It will be a nice and MUCH NEEDED rest for all of us. Esp my DH. He needs the time away...
have a wonderful Thanksgiving people!

A wintery day.

2008-11-18T16:34:00.003-05:00

This past weekend I went on a knitting retreat with my LYS. We went to Autumn House Farm. I talked a little bit about it on my other blog. I have a flickr set with some photos if you're interested. Aside from the ones I am showing you here. Some of my photos didn't turn out something with my camera hiccuping. We got to get up close and personal with the sheep and learned how they care for them (the industry side of it) We also got to shop at the store. We also met with a weaver who works there also She designs some beautiful things. I had her card and all that info ready to share but I'm not sure what happened to it. (I'll look for it)
We had a lot of fun. (well i did that's for sure)
While there I finished my Tilted Duster. I used the called for Berroco Peruvia and I love the yarn . it's super soft and knits beautifully. The pattern said i would need around 9 skeins but really I only used 8. so that's a good thing. I found some ceramic buttons at joann's for the sweater. I blocked the sweater and it was finally dry this afternoon so I dragged my DH outside for a photo op! (it was a tad cold) I'll be taking it in to the store to stay for a while. I'm sure the more people look and feel that sweater the more will want to make it.
Now I'm on to my Christmas presents. I'm currently working on some Star Wars Amigurumi's. Starting with Princess Leia. off to work!

Name this photo!

2008-11-13T22:43:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to post a blog for the past couple of days and I keep getting distracted!
Yesterday while I was finishing up the 2nd of the 2 stockings I made for a lady at church, Simba started playing with some of the string that was hanging around waiting to be sewn in. So i stopped knitting and started playing with him. And snapping some photos b/c it was really funny! and I came up with this fun photo. and it says something so I'd like to know what do you think it says?