Happy Friday

I am looking forward to a little pampering this weekend.  Some home spa remedies, tea, and a book.  The superbowl is on Sunday and we have a four year old birthday party in the morning and a party to attend in the afternoon/evening for the big game so I am going to indulge myself a little bit this Friday afternoon in anticipation of my busy Sunday. 

I have this book to peruse and hopefully find some good moisturizing masks because this winter is drying my skin out beyond belief. 

I am going to make copious amounts of tea to sip while I start a new book. I know green tea is very good for you but it is not a favorite; this one from Good Earth with mango, peach, and pineapple is fantastic hot or on ice.  But my first tea love is chai tea and I always have plenty of that on hand. 

I have this book list I posted last year.  Seventy-Five books every woman should read.  Sadly I haven't read anything in the last year to make the list a little smaller.  So I have The Left Hand of Darkness to start on my way to whittling down the list.

Anything fun on your list of things to do?

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A little taste of the holidays in February

Each year on the day after Thanksgiving we scour the mountain for just the right tree. The menfolk cut it down and haul it back to the truck. We walk through the woods sometimes through snow, sometimes not.  Back at the trucks the trees are loaded in the back and our lunchtime picnics are pulled out. Hampers of food full of Thanksgiving leftovers and goodies baked for this day. A thermos for coffee and another of hot chocolate. Giggling, story telling, good food shared with friends and tree cutting. 

This weekend my husband surprised each of us with a special present. A reminder of that special day and the month of Christmas that follows.  Using  a saved portion of our Christmas tree trunk he....

Cut

Sanded

Drilled

And created pencil holders for all of us.

He sealed them with a clear sealant and used a sodering iron to put the date on the bottom.  Placed on our tables and desks we each now have a small reminder of our Christmas tree. 

And if you don't have any pencils that need to be stored then lollipops will do in a pinch :) 

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Some mitts for my girl

Well after the flurry of mitt knitting last May my daughter requested some for her. So what was I to do but cast on.

They have been approved for all sorts of activities like bike riding
Potion making
And some unapproved activities like painting at a friends house :)
And of course after I knit up one pair she requested another and another and another. I am expecting to have a rainbow of colors knit up very soon for her.

Here is the link. It is a free pattern and incredibly fast and easy to knit. I used Cascade 220 superwash, a superb fiber for children knits. Both pairs have been washed and dried (in the dryer) many times and are holding up beautifully.
P.S. The yarn I used for my newsboy cap was Blue Sky Alpacas 100% alpaca sportweight. Luscious yarn.

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The New Year

Happy new year to you all! It is the first month of the new year and after a lot of lazing around with my family after the holidays I feel full of energy. Being as it is the new year there is usually a lot of resolutions being made. I prefer to call them intentions because then there is no sense of failure if/when I slip up. I am very excited for this year and my intention is going to be to not waste. Period. Not waste .....

my time- I want to spend my time. If I am being lazy then relish the nothingness. Not just spend time but fill it. Actively. Knitting projects, sewing projects, playing mindfully with my children, really enjoying each moment.

food-I want to buy and cook food with the least amount of waste and really compost what I can. Not just when I think about it but really do it. Plan my meals. Cook mindfully. Prepare in volume and freeze for later.

my body-Exercise this body of mine. It is healthy and strong and I shouldn't waste this time while I am on the youngish side. Keep it healthy and strong for when I get older.

yarn/fabric-I want to make things that are either beautiful or will be used. If I make it and it doesn't fit into either category than rip-rip.

I think you get the idea. With this in mind here is my first project for 2010. I turned this

into this.

The Hannah Newsboy Hat (ravelry link).

I didn't wear the cowl ever and I really needed a carpool hat for the days when I can't quite get it together before we get out the door. This is my solution to feeling just a bit more put together. It was very easy to knit and the pattern comes with a lot of different ways to make the hat. Multiple bands, and hat tops can be mixed and matched and then just add the brim. I will definitely be making more.

The only part I am not particularly thrilled with is the brim. It was torn out out and redone twice and I think this is as good as it will get. Maybe my next one will turn out a little better.

I hope you are all off to a wonderful start for 2010!!

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This month

The last two months kind of got away from me. We had about four weeks of someone or multiple someones being sick. And then we left town right in the middle of the holiday season for ten days. The Haunted Mansion in Disneyland at Christmas...

It has been a very fun vacation for the family. My husband has had a conference for half of it and the rest of the time we played. Now I am sitting in a hotel room listening to it pour outside. I am alternating between catching up on blogs and watching the weather and road reports. We have a long drive home ahead of us and there has been a lot of snow in our absence and it just keeps on coming. I only finished one pair of socks in November and December has been prepping for vacation and then the vacation. I did bring some knitting but it has sat in my bag this whole time. Thanks for checking in Kristyn I appreciate it, all is well just busy :)

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! I'll check back in next week when we are home.

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Things I love right now

Thank you so much for the supportive and encouraging comments. It helps to feel that I'm not alone in my knitting debacle and that there is hope I will turn the page and knit something that fits and looks good on me. That being said I have pulled out my knitting books that have information on design. The tape measure is sitting close by to take some accurate measurements of my body and I have a notebook with some notes on what kind of cardigan I would like. I really appreciate the advice from all of you.

Here is the cookie recipe from my last post. Where was my head? Picture but no recipe :)

1/2 Cup Shortening, 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar, 3/4 t baking soda, 1 t. ground ginger, 1 t . ground allspice, 1/4 t. salt, 1/4 cup molasses, 1 egg, 2 cups flour, 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped (I used dark chocolate chips)

Beat shortening in mixer; add brown sugar, baking soda, ginger, allspice, and salt-combine well; Beat in molasses and egg; beat in flour; stir in chocolate. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes or until bottoms browned; cool on wire rack. Makes 36 cookies.

They can be frozen for up to 3 months so make a double batch and freeze for when someone pops over. Great with coffee!

Now here are a few things I am loving...

Google Reader has become my go to place for blog reading. It is set up through GMail and has saved me tons of time. Whenever a new blog has been posted it shows up in a list right in my reader. I then click and voila I am transported straight to your blog. It ensures I don't miss any of your blog posts.

Fly Lady , what can I say except my house is clean thanks to you. Thank you Erin for posting a link to her site. Part of my struggle with balance in my life has been the overwhelming task of keeping my house picked up and clean. I have to think I'm not alone in this battle. If this is something you struggle with as well go check out her site when you have the time. The Daily, weekly, and zone cleaning routines work like a charm. My stresses about the house being clean have vanished.

I know we are in the midst of winter and the holidays but I have a new love. The Anacapa Summery Aran Wrap from Knitting in the Sun. I found this photo of the wrap on knit picks and I love it. When I saw the photo on Ravelry of this pattern I had no opinion, but this photo.....it did it for me.

I don't currently own any shawls and last summer during my knit-a-long with the Elizabeth Zimmerman Almanac I opted out. But this....I really want it.

I'm also loving, Thea's fireside sweater, Chris' pinky goodness, Erin's birthday shirts, and Philigry's cardigan. Now I'm off to knit some more socks, tend to a sick child, and hopefully watch a snowstorm blow in...what does your day look like?

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Knitting blahs

My clasica coat is in knitting death throes, aka being frogged. Oh clasica coat how did I love thee? Well so much that this is killing my love of knitting, momentarily of course. The sleeves are waaaay to long. The front hangs a bit cockeyed and the whole thing weighs close to one hundred pounds. One of these by itself could probably be fixed but after painstakingly seaming it together and then being almost done and having this many problems, well it is too much for me to take and it is being frogged and hopefully forgotten.

After so many problems with knitting sweaters for myself I am a bit depressed. Here is a link for the first sweater I knit for myself and a little problem I had with gauge. If you want a good giggle click and check it out. My neckdown hooded cardigan turned out well enough but just didn't fit right. It too has been frogged and is awaiting a reincarnation.

My knitting seems to be fine it is just the fit that eludes me. The knits for my children turn out great. My daughter is wearing this dress for the third time this week and has requested a winter version, long sleeves and the bottom of the dress needs to touch her toes

So back to the drawing board. I am going to take the yarn from my clasica coat and cast on for the ubiquitous Fireside Cardigan inspired by The Holiday. I have pulled out all the design books I have and my tape measure in the hopes that I'll finally get it right.

After all of this knitting heartache a little fall sweetness was in order. Gingerbread cookies with dark chocolate chunks. Seriously delicious. I have dug out cookie recipes from all corners of the house and with my children snuggled up next to me on the sofa we have poured over them. Picking this one and that one to make. Queuing up baking recipes much like my knitting in Ravelry. Holiday baking is in order for this weekend. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend too!

P.S. I have one knee sock knit for my daughter and the other one started. Hopefully I'll finish it this weekend.

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