Paasing the Time

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

I'm sitting in the British Airway Lounge at Heathrow passing time until our flight home. As you can tell my November post-a-day attempt was unsuccessful. I really don't have as much to say as I thought I would. I'll still attempt next year.

Our Christmas was really nice with Daren's family. The snow in England did get in the way. We were stuck at the house or at the mercy of my father in law to drive us in his 4wd. I did manage to finish all of the Christmas gifts I was knitting for the family. Pictures will be posted on here once I download them from the camera.

I did get a set of Addi Lace Clicks from my wonderful hubby. I'm very excited by them. I hope everyone's holidays were nice and you got everything you wished for.

The Walking Dead

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

We watched the first two episodes of The Walking Dead last night. So far, it's great. There's nothing new about the show, but so far the characters are compelling. The gore is fantastic, just what you want from a zombie film. A very entertaining show, we'll keep watching.

Snow Day

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

After unusually warm weather we finally had our first snow today.



Will had to see.



The deer are already hunting for the bird feeders.

Fall Back

Monday, November 08, 2010

I really hate the fact we have to change our clocks. It seems pointless, why does the time on a clock matter to farmers? The part that drives me crazy is Jezebel doesn't get it. She has her internal little clock and her stomach dictates the day. Right now everything is an hour earlier and she will wake us up to make sure we don't forget her breakfast.

Now I'm discovering babies don't understand time changes either. Nap times and bed time are all out of whack. I'm working on getting both of them to adjust. I have hope for Will, Jezebel I know from experience will never change.

Mitchell's Gloves

Sunday, November 07, 2010

Daren has been asking me for fingerless gloves like Mitchell's from Being Human. I thought someone would have a pattern for them, but I haven't found one. So know I'm making it up. I'll make Daren's in charcoal gray instead of army green. I will likely be sharing the pattern once I've finished.

Missed One

Saturday, November 06, 2010

Looks like I've already missed one day in my quest to blog everyday, bummer. It is much harder then I originally thought it would be.

On to the topic for today, teaching. I started teaching knitting while in Miami. I really never thought I would, but Jeanne (from Elegant Stitches) had me teach a beginning class. I got the bug and really enjoy passing on knitting to others. Today I taught slipper, in two weeks it will be Christmas stockings. I still think I have a lot to learn about teaching.

Eve's Pudding

Thursday, November 04, 2010

I've recently signed the family up for organic food delivery. It's a little like a co-op, they deliver a box of mostly local organic produce at the door every Thursday. I plan to get local milk delivered as well, once Will starts drinking it.

The boxes have apples it it every week. I really needed to use them, so Daren introduced me to an English dessert called Eve's Pudding. I've made it a couple of times now, with apples and once with plums. It's basically stewed fruit with sponge cake on top served warm. Daren likes to top it with custard, but ice cream would be just as good

Eve's Pudding:
2 - 3 large cooking apples, thickly sliced (or tart plums)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp. water

Sponge Cake:
½ cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1½ cups self-raising flour (or all-purpose flour with 1½ tsp. baking powder)

Oven: Pre-heat to 375F

Put the apples in an oven-proof dish. Sprinkle over one third of the sugar and all of the water. Cover loosely with aluminum foil, and put in the oven for about 10 - 15 minutes.

While the apples are stewing, cream the butter or margarine with the remaining sugar. Mix in the eggs. Mix in the vanilla and milk. Then add the flour. Mix to a not-too-stiff batter (add a little more milk if it is too thick).

Spread the batter over the top of the apples. Return the dish to the oven and bake for about half an hour, or until the top is golden brown.

Serves about 4-6

Arbor

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

I finished something for me! This is Arbor by Melissa Burt. Several members of my Wednessday night knit group are knitting this top. We started in July so far Joy was the only finished one I've seen. I should have finished mine a month ago, but I either missed placed a ball of yarn or used it and didn't realize it. I had to order another ball despite desperately searching for a possibly non existent ball. I used 6 (or 7?) balls Debbie Bliss Prima (80% bamboo, 20% wool) on size 3 needles.

Flight of Fancy Anklets

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

I have written my first pattern. They are socks I use as a sample for my yarn and several people have asked for the pattern. I intend to offer them as a free download on Ravelry, but they are not uploading on the site, so the text is here until I can get them uploaded. The pattern is available for download!



Flight of Fancy Anklets
Finished Size:
7 3/4" foot circumference
Yarn:
Skeindalous Bettie Sock [75% wool, 25% nylon; 436 yards/399 meters per 100 g skein]: 1 skein Pibgorn
Needle:
US 2 / 3.0 mm 40" circular needle
Gauge:
16 sts and 21 rows = 2" in stockinette stitch in the round

Short Row Toe:
Using the Crochet Provisional Cast-on co 32 sts (this is1/2 the total stock sts) in waste yarn. Change to your sock yarn and knit 1 row, turn and purl 1 row. Begin short row shaping.
Row 1: k31, Move the working yarn as if to purl. Slip the last, unworked stitch from the left needle to the right needle. Turn your work.
Row 2: Slip the first, unworked, stitch from the left needle to the right needle. Purl the next stitch (you will have wrapped that first stitch) and p30. Move the working yarn as if to knit and slip last stitch. Turn.
Row 3: k29 sts, wrap and turn
Row 4: p28 sts, wrap and turn
Row 5: k27 sts, wrap and turn
Row 6: p26 sts, wrap and turn
Row 7: k25 sts, wrap and turn
Row 8: p24 sts, wrap and turn

Continue until you have 9 "wrapped" stitches at either end of the row and 14 stitches in the middle. End with a WS row. Now you will be working in the reverse direction and pick up the wrapped stitches to form the toe.
Row 1: k14, k the next st tbl together with it's wrap, wrap and turn
Row 2: p15, p next st together with it's wrap, wrap and turn
Row 3: k16, k next st tbl together with it's two wraps, wrap and turn
Row 4: p17, p next st together with it's two wraps, wrap and turn

Continue in this manner until all stitches have been re-worked. Using the magic loop method pick up the stitches from the provisional cast on, you will now have 64 sts on your needles.

Foot:
Working in the round knit in stockinette until the length of is 2" less then the length of your foot measurement.

Short Row Heel:
Working on half your stitches (32 sts), begin short row shaping similar to the toe.
Row 1: k31, Move the working yarn as if to purl. Slip the last, unworked stitch from the left needle to the right needle. Turn your work.
Row 2: Slip the first, unworked, stitch from the left needle to the right needle. Purl the next stitch (you will have wrapped that first stitch) and p30. Move the working yarn as if to knit and slip last stitch. Turn.
Row 3: k29 sts, wrap and turn
Row 4: p28 sts, wrap and turn
Row 5: k27 sts, wrap and turn
Row 6: p26 sts, wrap and turn
Row 7: k25 sts, wrap and turn
Row 8: p24 sts, wrap and turn

Continue until you have 9 "wrapped" stitches at either end of the row and 14 stitches in the middle. End with a WS row. Now you will be working in the reverse direction and pick up the wrapped stitches to Shape the heel.
Row 1: k14, k the next st tbl together with it's wrap, wrap and turn
Row 2: p15, p next st together with it's wrap, wrap and turn
Row 3: k16, k next st tbl together with it's two wraps, wrap and turn
Row 4: p17, p next st together with it's two wraps, wrap and turn

Continue in this manner until all stitches have been re-worked. Rejoin in the round to continue up the leg (64 sts)

Leg:
Leg is knit in rib, *k2, p2, continue from * until end of round. Knit in rib for 1 1/2".

Ruffle:
Knit 3 rows. Next row, inc 1 in each st around.
Following rows continue in stockinette for 1", or until desired length.
(From Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge)

I have decided to participate in NaBloPoMo, I'll do a blog post every day for the month of November. We'll see how that goes, nothing for 6 months, then 1 a day. Thanks for the idea LaDonna!

Monkey Magic

Monday, November 01, 2010

I wasn't terribly excited about Halloween this year, not really sure why. I had to get Will dressed up though, so here's the super cute little Monkey Man. We did end up doing a little trick or treating with Ruth and her sons. Her oldest had an adorably creative costume, he was a spaghetti dinner complete with table cloth. She's better blog it with pictures.



Jezebel couldn't resist the cuteness either.



I actually crocheted something (and finished it). This is the Baby Sherlock Hat from Debbie Stoller's website. I used 2 colors of Cascade 220 and a G hook. My gauge was way off so I made the toddler size and it fits him perfectly. The leather covered buttons were from my stash. I also did a several more rows then called for the front flap.

Poor Neglected Blog

Thursday, October 28, 2010

So it's been almost 6 months since I posted anything. I have been busy, but that's no excuse. I'll just update with a few highlights of the past 6 months.



We went to Santa Fe when Will was 8 weeks old. That was so much fun. I even found a bird walk with the Audubon society for my bird obsessed hubby. We now realize they are in every city in the country. It's a nice way to see the counrtyside.



I left Will with a sitter for the fist time to see The Psychedelic Furs. Our friend Rich is the guitarist, so we had dinner with him and the saxophonist first. The concert was fun, but the best part was after when Rich was surrounded by fan girls, hilarious.



I made a fish mobile for Will's room. When he out grows the mobile I can take the fish off and they become toys.



Daren's parents came out from England and spent 2 weeks. They were able to meet Will for the first time.

Daren and I both decided we needed to lose the baby weight, so we started eating out less and joined a gym. He's lost all the weight he wanted to (20 lbs in less then 2 months), I'm still working on it. I have lost over 25 lbs since having Will, still have more to go.



We flew out to the Bay Area to see my family. We stayed in San Jose, went to they Monterey Bay Aquarium and stayed in a really nice cabin in Big Sur. Will was able to meet my friends and almost my mom's entire side of the family.



Will and I went to Taos for the wool festival at the beginning of the month. I took a fantastic dying class, expect great thing to come. I went down with several girls from my knitting group and just had a great weekend. I'm totally doing it again next year. For some reason the only picture I took was of a Tardis tent at the Ravelry booth (Will told me he wants one).





That brings us up to this past weekend where we decided to drive up to Aspen for our anniversary. It is beautiful up there, but we forgot what it means when they say snow in Oct. We were parked on 70 just before the Eisenhower tunnel for 30 minutes. Over Independence pass was terrifying because of the narrow road and icy conditions. We had a nice meal, but that was about it for a fun weekend. Both Will and I were just getting colds, so I got 2 hours of sleep and felt terrible. We had to leave early before more storms hit and we got stuck up there.

If you want to see more pictures you can always visit my Flickr site.

WIP Cup

Monday, May 10, 2010

After the Knitting Olympics ended this year I thought of the upcoming World Cup and was suprised to see there was no knitting event associated with it. A friend of mine did all WIPs for the Ravelympics and I thought the World Cup would be the perfect excuse to get some of those WIPs sitting around.

Taken from the description on Ravelry;

The 2010 World Cup runs from 11 June - 11 July. That’s a whole month to clear out those WIPs.

Rules (Yes there will be rules):

• We will be using the Ravelympics Wip rules, projects must be dormant (no work being done) for a month before the start of the World Cup (11 May)
• A finalized list of Wips/Ufos that you will be working on must be decided on a week before the start date (June 4)
• Tag your projects WIPCup2010
• Post all of you finished works here
• To be eligible for the prize (yay prizes!) you must complete your list of Wips by 11 July (will figure out what time zone later)

The prize will be a skein of Skeindalous yarn dyed in the winning teams’ colors, a $25 gift certificate to Scout Swag and a stitch saver. It will be determined by a random drawing.

That means tomorrow is the when you need to put the needles down for the project to qualify for the Wip Cup. My projects will all be crochet (I hate to crochet). My list to work on will be:
* Hooded Beach Cover Up - I started this over 2 years ago while I still lived in Miami. It's a crochet pattern from a 1972 Women's Day magazine
* Plastic Grocery bag rug - I started this in Miami as well. It's a rectangular rug made out of plastic bags cut into strips and crocheted in single crochet stitch. I'm about 2/3 of the way done.
*Aspen Gloves - A pair of gloves using the Progressive gloves pattern from interweave. I started these our first winter here in Denver. I'm half way through the second glove.
It doesn't seem like much, but I think with little William it will be plenty to keep me busy.

Please join the group, it should be fun. I would love for this to become a regular event like the Knitting Olympics. Just like the the Olympics it's only every 4 years.

William Stewart

Monday, May 03, 2010

Our little frog finally arrived on April 20 (only 8 days late). My labor actually started on April 18, but it kept starting and stopping. So it was 40 hours before he finally showed up. I managed it with out drugs. He was 7 lbs, 4 oz and 19.75" long.




With Daddy.


This is from a couple of days ago. He's turned into a little chubster.

Only a Year

Saturday, April 10, 2010

I bought the materials for these cushions a year ago with the intention of using them last summer. Well a year later I've actually finished them. I think they look great and they were way to easy to sew. Now I think we need pillows to rest against the back. I have quite a bit of fabric left, so I will do placemats for the table on the deck and get some coordinating fabric to do the pillows.

Creme Eggs

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

I love Cadbury Creme Eggs! It's been my favorite Easter candy since I was a kid. I just found out my sister likes them just as much. It seems we are sugar junkies. The first time I went to England with Daren I was amazed they sell them year round there. There is a place called ShakeAway that even makes milkshakes out of them, yum! Well I just found this recipe for Because I Can Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes. I think I might skip the ganache when I make them.

On to some knitting projects. I made my mom a set of dishcloths for mother's day.



The Luv Bug Dishcloth.



Mother's Day Cloth by Kris Knits.



And the Be My Dishcloth.



I also made Newborn Sock for the our little frog. They are so tiny, it's hard to believe feet can be that small.





My due date is this coming Monday the 12th. I really want the baby to come soon. It doesn't seem like it will be this week, but maybe.

A Beautifully Finished Product

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Our first floor remodel is finally finished (for now). The wood flooring was installed Thursday and Friday. It's incredible the amount of dust that gets created for a project like this. Daren and I spent all of Saturday morning scouring the house to get rid of it all.

Here's the fireplace with the new floors and a new floor rug.



The entire living room.



Here's the dining room and kitchen. We have a new chandelier for the dining table and we want to reface the cabinets and get new counter tops. But for the near future we are done.

States of Deconstruction Part 2

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

We are now getting the flooring replaced on the entire first floor of the house. One of the more bizarre parts of having the house ripped apart is I currently have a toilet in my living room.



This is where the toilet should be. Once the grout cures tonight it can go back to it's home.



The kitchen is getting tiled as well. Yesterday my refrigerator and stove were in the dining room. The tilers put them back this morning.



There is also tile by the back door, which means the only usable exit in the house is through the garage. Jezebel is having a hard time understanding why she can't go out the back door to the back yard.



We get the hardwood installed tomorrow and by friday all of this work should be done and we'll have our house back.

One Fish, Two Fish

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

We decided on a Dr Suess theme for the baby's room. My friend Heather said she would be happy to paint the mural of one fish, two fish on our walls. She did such a great job, Daren and I couldn't be happier with the results.



Here's One Fish with his splash on another wall.



Two Fish



Red Fish



Blue Fish



Thank you so much Heather. This is way beyond what we could have done. Love it!

Dishcloth Mad

So ever since I started the Kris Knits dishcloth KAL I have become obsessed with them. I never understood the appeal of knitting dishcloth, I never actually made them when I was learning to knit. I now have plans to make them for my mom, to make some for gifts for other family members, and lots for me.

The only this I've knit for the frog so far are these set of Kris Knits Baby Cloths. I need one more color of Sugar and Cream to finish the last cloth. I figured out you can get 1 of her small cloths and 1 large cloth from 1 ball of sugar and cream.



Next up is the February KAL. Some people said they had a hard time seeing what it was. Once it was pointed out to me that there was a branch on the bottom I saw the love birds and the heart.



Last is one of a set of cloths I plan to make for my mom for mothers day. Another Kris Knits cloth (I told you I'm obsessed right?).



The little I-cord loop was from another cloth. Ladonna put one on her Jan cloth and I thought it was a great idea.

New Fireplace

Thursday, March 11, 2010

The fireplace was completed today. I am thrilled at how it turned out. It will be a beautiful focal point to our downstairs.

Here's the frame after we decided to take it all the way to the ceiling. We should have done that in the first place instead of having the framer come out twice.



The stonework was completed today. It is actually darker then I thought I wanted, but I love it.



The funny stone on the side with the white in it is the switch to turn fireplace on. I've already put some accessories on the mantle. We will set up the logs and see how it works tomorrow.



The french doors were also installed today. They look great, but I think they need trim. It took me a while to figure out what was missing. Maybe Daren and I will be brave enough to try it ourselves.