Yarn On The House

My new project is the lovely French Press Knits felted ballet slippers. This is the photo of the original pair from the pattern site on Ravelry.



The random number generator over at Yarn On The House chose my name to win both the pattern and two balls of Paton's Classic Wool in a very lovely Deep Olive color with which to make my first pair.

Knitting on the project commenced last night. So far it's going very well! Since you knit with either 2 or 3 strands of wool on size US #15 needles, it's knitting quite quickly too. I only knit for about an hour last night and finished off both bottoms and one of four sides.

I will take photos of them when I get them assembled, prior to felting. (They are going to look a bit like clown slippers at that point I suspect since they are about 4 inches longer than my feet!) Of course, I'll post pics post-felting too!

I highly recommend this pattern! And this may be my Christmas 2010 project for the ladies in the family!

If you're a knitter and haven't visited Yarn On The House, what are you waiting for??!! It's a great blog...and she gives away free yarn! It doesn't get much better than that dear readers. Head on over there; I'll see you later!

Happy Knitting!

FO Alert!

I have a FO to report!! (Finally!) Although I still have quite a lot to do in weaving in loose ends, I finally got the afghan put together.



I really like how it turned out. Even DH said last night, "That's really nice! The colors are great!"

Also, I was much surprised to learn that I've won another blog give-away. The ladies over at Romancing The Yarn are so awesome! Fran Baker has some sock yarn she was parting with and I will be the fortunate receipient!

Look what else came my way today!



Here's the rules:
• Thank the person who gave this to you.
THANKS Val!!
• Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
• Link the person who nominated you.
• Name ten fun facts about yourself.

1) I like a splash of milk in my tea.

2) My guilty pleasure is watching Desperate Housewives.

3) I spent too much $$ on magazines last time I was at a real bookstore.

4) My favorite indulgence right now is a cup of almond biscotti flavored tea (with milk as stated above) and a real biscotti to go with it.

5) I used to visit a "rock shop" located in the basement of a house in my nieghborhood as a kid and buy up pretty, polished rocks. Then my friend Linda got her own rock tumbler and we made our own. I was so jealous of her rock tumbler! Then the kids received one for Christmas a few years ago. What fun!

6) I used to love riding my bike around the neighborhood I grew up in during the late afternoon in autumn. I could hear other people in their homes sometimes. On occasion delicious smells of something baking in someone's oven for their supper would waft by in the air. Sometimes when I'm out on a walk and catch a smell on the breeze I am transported back to those days of leisurely riding around Riverside.

7) I played the organ for my church for one terrifying, gut-wrenching summer. I was truly horrible and it made me throw-up from the nerves. (Sorry if you were eating while reading this....)

8) A couple times my sibs and I rode our bikes up the state highway a few miles to the near-by Stone State Park. We carried back packs and took a picnic with us. It was fun.

9) I enjoyed all the fishing outings I went on with my grandparents and family as a kid. Even when I didn't catch anything, I still had a good time.

10) Some days I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up.

Ok - I'm supposed to give this to the most frequent commentors on my blog.

That would be:

McVal
Two Cables & A Frap
Cathy over at Kerowynsmom
Marie-Jolie
Caffeine Girl

Congrats Blogger Buddies!

Like Free Yarn?

If you like reading blogs about fiber and enjoy the possibility of being the receipient of some lovely yarn, then you have to check out Yarn On The House.

Warning: there are currently some truly gorgeous photos of some Malabrigo Twist on the opening page. Just sayin'!

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Marie-Jolie!

Today is a special day over at one of my favorite blogs, Permission To Unwind. It's Marie-Jolie's birthday and she is celebrating with a blog party! You will want to head on over there straight away as she has a delicious recipe and some terrific give-aways going today!

(Hurry! Click there now! You can always come back here when you've finished at PTU!!)

PTU is a wonderful blog. Not only are the knitting and photography fabulous, I think you'll enjoy Marie's philosopy, sense of humor, and reflections on life.

To help her celebrate, here's a decadent recipe from my recipe stash.

Aunt Katherine's Brownies

Preheat oven to 350*F

Combine in a small cooking pan:
1/2 cup oleo
1/2 cup shortening
4 Tablespoons cocoa
1 cup cold water
Bring to a boil and cook for a minute or two.

In a large mixing bowl combine:
2 cups of flour
2 cups sugar

Pour the hot cocoa mixture from stove into the flour & sugar mixture. Beat well.

Combine in a seperate bowl:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
Add this mixture to the above flour/sugar/cocoa mixture and beat well.

Pour into a 10" x 15" sheet cake pan. Bake for 20 minutes at 350*F.

Frosting:

1 stick oleo
4 Tablespoons cocoa
5 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring ingredients to a boil. remove from heat and add 1 lb. (16 oz.) of powdered sugar. Beat well. Can add chopped nuts if you like. Frost the brownies as soon as they come out of the oven.

Enjoy!



Happy Birthday Marie-Jolie! Have a terrific day and thank you for the gift of PTU!

The Rosy Side of Life

I've been working on a project from my stash. I discovered some lovely Andean Treasure (100% Baby Alpaca) in a lovely colorway, Wild Rose (the state flower of Iowa I might add!) I have 6 balls with which, given the wintry weather of late, I decided to knit myself a fetching set of mittens, neckwarmer and hat.

The mittens,



are an uber easy, super quick knit with an ingenious design for the thumb gusset. The cuff is knit in K1P1 ribbing and then 7 stitches of that ribbing continue up the "hand" section of the glove to fit in place of a gusset. Isn't that genius? I hate doing gussets, and the set in thumb works, but isn't as comfortable as a mitten with a little stretch for the thumb. This solves the problem very nicely!



One can easily knit a pair in a weekend.

After I completed the mittens, I searched around for a hat pattern. It turns out I like the ones I'm seeing which others have knit from the book Boutique Knits. So I ordered a copy from Knit Picks and am currently awaiting the arrival of the book.

In the meantime, I cast on for a neck warmer to complete the set. I decided since the yarn is rather luxurious and the hat will be something a little more special than a simple beanie, I wanted the neck warmer to be a little "frilly" too. (After all, this yarn, besides feeling decadent is quite the girly color!) I looked through my stitch dictionaries and found the pattern for "Opulent Cables."



I wanted the guage to match from the mittens, so I stayed with US #5 needles. I had never knit this cable pattern before, so I wasn't sure how much the cables would cause the fabric to shrink up. I originally cast on 135 stitches, but it resulted in a size which would not go over my head. The current WIP is 153, having doubled the reverse stockinette stitches between the cable repeats. (I originally planned for only 2 stitches between cables, now there are four.) I do hope this one will fit!

That's what I did with part of the "no school, inclement weather" days we had Thursday and Friday (mittens) and over the weekend (neck warmer, twice!). . .

How was your weekend?

Happy knitting/shooting!

[p.s. I forgot to mention that I'm the lucky winner of a blogiversary give-away by a gal in Wisconsin! I believe the prize is a beautiful hank of hand-dyed yarn from another lady in Wisconsin...which is in blues. I'll be sure to post a pic when the package arrives. Maybe it will be here just in time for my birthday next week!! won't that be a fun treat??!! Thanks Deborah!!]

It's A Win-Win Day!

Wow, am I feeling really blessed today!! I discovered I was given a blog award by a fellow blogger today, my friend Val over at Sew Not My Day

It is a "Kreativ Blogger" award.




I believe I'm supposed to tell you 7 things you didn't know about me and then nominate 7 other blogs for the award. So here goes!

1. I don't really like phoning for pizza and will always try to get out of doing it.
2. I always wished I had red hair when I was in grade school.
3. I've always wanted glasses.
4. I had a panic attack during my last dental appointment and nearly jumped out of the chair.
5. I can bait a fishhook and I can take a fish off the hook too.
6. I sometimes make frosting just to eat it on graham crackers.
7. I don't mind the smell of skunk.

Ok, now for 7 blogs I nominate/read daily:

Franklin Habit's The Panopticon
Romancing The Yarn
Crazy Aunt Purl
Wendy Knits
Yarn Harolot
Knitman
and Cast On

I read many of the same ones my friend does, so I tried not to repeat any of the ones she posted today.

On the other "winning" front, look what came in the post today?!!!



It's a lovely box full of all sorts of goodies! A couple years ago I met an on-line friend via a swap over at SockKnitters.com. We have kept in touch and formed a friendship. A few months ago she and I decided to do another swap which would feature a hand-made gift and some add-in treats. Isn't it a wonderful surprise?!!



I just LOVE the color of the sock blank! (And I've been really curious to see how they work, so I'm thrilled to have received one hand-dyed just for me!!) In addition there are several knitting goodies like a wpi key chain, little crochet hook for emergencies, yarn needles, blocking pins, and a lovely needle guage check that will make a cut necklace too! A little notebook which is perfect to tuck in my knitting bag to keep track of projects, some chocolate, a cool basket (I have to wonder if Kathleen hand-crafted it?! It's really nice!), and some coffee she made for me in a fall blend. (I have to tell you she sent me a small sample of this in the last exchange, and it is THE best coffee I've ever had.....I am so, so, SO happy to get some more!!!!!) <- and a mug with a knitting theme to go with it!

I tell you, I am one spoiled-rotten mamma today!

I was going to post my weekend mitten progress, but I'm going to indulge in a bit of chocolate and oogle my gifts a little more!

Happy Monday! Happy Knitting!

(& Thanks so much Kathleen!!) (& Val!!)

Parting Shots

One of my favorite parts of putting together the Fort Dodge Today magazine each month is doing the "Parting Shot" on the last page. I get to showcase a photo and find a quote to go with it. Ususally I try to attach it to some theme for the month or a theme of one of the articles. Sometimes it's my only chance to draw attention to a holiday or such when there hasn't been room to do so elsewhere in the preceding pages.

The Parting Shot always runs on page 40, the final page of the issue. This will be the Parting Shot for our upcoming April 2009 issue, which is still in layout and not due to hit the racks until March 20 or thereabouts.

Consider this your "insider" sneak peek!



My friend, Regina, who has been the head of the art department since I've been working for the paper is changing positions. She will become the webmaster for our newspaper and its associated publications (including the Fort Dodge Today magazine).

Regina will be setting me up with a blog on that site in the near future. There I'll post photos now and again with commentary or quotes or "how-to" photography info. Stay tuned and I'll let you know when it's up and running!

Happy Shooting (& Knitting!)