A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

First off, night shift sucks. Now that we have established that, let me move on the the items I've been meaning to share...
1) Bread recipe...
my breadmaker makes 1lb loaf, you put in the dry ingredients first, so I'll just list the ingredients and you can adjust as needed.
Irish Raisin Bread
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
2 cups bread flour
2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs sweet butter
1 medium egg
1/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup warm milk
1/2 cup raisins (added after secondary kneading)

I really love this, especially warm!

2) the finished baby kimono:

(okay, so the picture upload thing isn't working... I'll update later.) For anyone on ravelry, its in my projects list... Jaka13

3) um... I thought there was something else I wanted to post, but I guess not. Headed up north tomorrow morning for brief visit - starting some Monkey Socks from Knitty.com in Dream in Color Smooshy yarn for the trip. (was enabled by all the ladies at the yarn shop even though I have some Zen String waiting for a project)

Waterfall sock #1 is done!

I have finished sock number 1 and number 2 is on the needles, ready to start the lace pattern. I may just finish this sock before then next shipment arrives after all!

I love the Koigu beret, Jean - fabulous. I can't wait to get on Ravelry, either, but I'm going to have to find a weekend to devote to uploading all of my information, and I don't even have a lot of projects going at any one time!

Here is the recipe for the whole wheat bread:

1 1/2 cup minus 2 TBLSP hot water

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup honey

4 cups whole wheat flour (I use fine ground organic wheat)

1/2 cup bread flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp vital wheat gluten

1 TBLSP yeast (SAF yeast is the best)

Liquids go in the bottom of the bread maker, then the flour. Salt and gluten go on the top on the sides, and the yeast goes in a well in the center so it doesn't touch the other ingredients.

Settings:

Preheat : 18 min

Knead: 20 min

Rise1: 46 minutes

Rise 2: 50 minutes

Rise 3 - off

Bake: 36 minutes

I love this bread recipe. I hope it works for you!

Melissa

Oh for the Love of Ravelry

Picture 246
Originally uploaded by jaka13

Oh, Ravelry. Melissa, I can't wait until you get over there.... the trouble is, it kind of serves many of the purposes of blogging - a place to put photos of projects, post notes about the projects. When you can look at my projects, my queue or favorites, whatever will we blog about? :-)

I'll post some pics of progress on current projects I took to update my ravelry notebook.
My Purl Bee Beret being made with a orphan skein of Koigu. Love working with the Koigu, the colors are great. I will definitely make some socks with it in the future.

I'm working with flickr so much I went ahead and paid for the 'pro' version so I didn't have to worry about file size, etc. (and I can have more 'sets' to organize the photos.

MIL/FIL are visiting this week, she brought up a breadmaker she wasn't using AND some yeast. Melissa - now is the time to post some recipes for your bread so I can try it out....

Rosie joins the family

Well, life without my sister just isn't the same.....so we got a dog, and Rosie seems to have helped assuage some of my usual homesickness for my sister. Mason has turned into Little Cesar, and has whispered his way into Rosie's heart. Don is up running with her in the early morning, and Little MacGyver may actually learn to keep her personal items OFF OF THE FLOOR!!!!!!!!

Curly is still a little shy around her but I'm sure they will be fast friends.

MacGyver is now knitting her first baby hat in the round in Takhi Cotton Classic in hot pink for Anna's baby(one circular needles....not pencils in double point) . It is slow going, but should just about be done by the time Anna gives birth in the middle of winter! I walk by the beginnings of the project and think, would she notice if I picked up her knitting and laid down a few rows, just to help her along? This is when good knitters go bad. If you find yourself being a cobbler's elf at night, just say no....

I am enjoying the book, Yarn Harlot, immensely. Life has been so busy that I can only read a few pages before bed every night, but on the bright side, it is going to last a lot longer that way. The Waterfall sock is coming along nicely. It takes some attention to the pattern, so I'm finding I'm taking more time with the lace pattern on this one. If only I had a week of vacation like someone I know...

Where there is a will there is a way...

We are training a new generation of creative knitters here...

Little MacGyver over there decided pencils were the perfect tool, she seems to prefer them to knitting needles and is creating headbands and scrunchies with aplomb.

Finished the Woolgirl sock club socks.... love them - the first pair of socks to actually fit me. I really need to look for lace based socks in the future.

Alright, now we're rollin'

The fruits of 1 week of vacation - family reunion, almost finishing a pair of socks, fixing my sister's computer and re-inventing(re-starting) the blog. (just in time for my Ravelry invite to arrive and me to return to a busy work schedule so I can abandon it again.)

Woolgirl Sock Club - how do I love thee let me count the ways... fun extras, neat pattern, beautiful yarn, fantastic shop owner/coordinator. Granted, its my first sock club so I don't have much to compare it to, but its been really neat. Even more exciting is that my sister and I both are doing it. Seeing as she is a monogomous knitter with only one project at a time, and I'm a bit of a yarn ho (lets see... is 5 projects on needles too much?!?) I jumped in and started the socks. One down, one in the middle of the gusset.














Don't my new sock and pretty namaste bag look soooo good together? (Melissa, don't you just want to go out and buy one of these bags RIGHT NOW!!!?) First I was a yarn ho, now I'm a crack, um, I mean, bag, pusher.

More of the woolgirl sock on flickr group of pics on the blog.



And now on to highlight the mutant socks, since Melissa won't do it herself. Let's give credit first, they were short row toe and heel socks... even I haven't gone there yet. But, well, it's important to start the next heel close to were the first one was start...if not, you end up with mutant socks. But they are made with love so I'm sure her 5 year old won't mind.



and finally.... I'm number 488 on the Ravelry queue..... It feels a little wrong to be this excited, but I am.

mewa wana post

Man I hope this works!
You're the best, Jean. We can't wait to hang out with you for the week!!
Liss

A new day...

Who'd have ever thought I'd love a dog. Really. Who'd have ever thought I'd be excited to come home and walk a dog. I'm not really a 'dog person'.Well, its a new dawn its a new day its a new life for me oooooooohAND I'M FEELING GOOD..... (can't you just hear nina simone in the background....)introducing... sophie.


2007_09090011She of the grassy knolls,


2007_09090018
and the sandy beaches.Now that she is sleeping throughthe night, its a much happier arrangement then when we started.And back to knitting.....Happy to discover a new addition to the extended family, so I'm working on a new Bobbi Bear, this time in Misti Cotton Silk... whoa boy, what a yarn. soft, silky (yeah, I know, silk is supposed to be, uh, silky). Works up a little bit smaller than the Blue Sky Alpaca Cotton yarn, but should be nice nonetheless.
Misti Cotton Silk (in blue) Blue Sky Alpaca Cotton (in brown)


2007_09010001
1 comment


2007_09090023 LYS is having a sale... I'm lusting after:


DustyroseNamaste Everyday BagAnd finally...... there are 4147 people ahead of me on waitlist for Ravelry. Is it wrong to check this weekly, um, I mean every other day?!?

July comes after April, right?

Okay, so its been a few months... I've been a little busy at work, a little busy knitting, a little busy sleeping - no blog.

And what turned out to be a really great idea of sharing the blog with my sister kind of fell flat on its face when her computer won't let her post to the blog. Well, maybe I'll be able to figure it out when I go out there to visit next time.

Our mom just got back from a trip to Europe and visited a relative and turns out she is a sock knitter! Hurray for us she hooked mom up with some cool sock yarn. Melissa 'says' she's going to send my half out to me... hee, hee. At the rate I've been going, it probably would be better if she knit them for me

I'm almost finished with my second sock (of my second pair of socks) knit with ArtYarns supermerino in a pattern from Charlene Schurch's book.
sock2.jpg (sorry, can't figure out the thumbnail option)
sock1.jpg
I've been spending some time knitting washcloths/baby bibs/burp cloths for all the myriad babies being born here - something in the water, I guess.


Just got a new camera too, so hopefully that will also encourage the posts!

Speaking of pictures: the beautiful roses my husband sent to work for our first anniversary
!

My tomato plants:

I really do have a sister... and FO's.

So, I know this blog is really supposed to include two people, and while not many people may be reading,I just didn't want anyone to think I was making up a sister. I have been known to have imaginary friends (Wass'up Cotton), but I do really have a sister. She really does knit, cook, sew, etc., but she is on vacation. Seeing as I'm an working a bit more now (and yes, on-call on Easter!!!), Melissa, dear, you might have to pick up some slack!.

Unable to post pics at the moment due to firewall issues, but I finished my Thuja sock! This means I have officially knit a sock, and am therefore qualified to take the Charlene Schurch sock class at my LYS. Drumroll, please... I got the day off that day! With 4 days off this month, it must have been meant to be.

I have also successfully avoided the dreaded Second 'Fetching' Syndrome (closely related to the well known Second Sock Syndrome) and finished my second fetching yesterday. Perfectly time to coincide with the cold snap down in the South. Yea! I'm probably the only one happy it was 33 degrees this morning. I also started the cuff to my second Thuja so I really do plan to finish it. Not to be too selfish with my knitting projects, I started the burp cloth I bought the Cotton Rich for 2 weeks ago. It is fantastic to work with - makes a really dense fabric, knitting it with 7s. I will definitely make some face washcloths with it, it is soooo soft and cushy.

Maybe I'll be able to link some pics tomorrow, but the finished Thuja is on flickr.....

A sock? I'm knitting a sock??

I never thought I'd be able to do this - as often as I've heard people say it is not that hard, I had sort of put it up on a pedestal - Sock-aliah (my 40-year-old-virgin movie addicted husband has worn off on me!).

I'm actually nearly done with my first sock - just have to finish the foot section and then the toe decreases.

Yes, Melissa, you will be able to knit socks. Just have to dive in!! These may actually end up being yours. I used size 4 needles and I think I probably should have stuck with the size 6 or maybe size 5 for my big ole feet. My only hope is that they are narrow so it will be okay. I think that I'll knit #2 on size 5s and just deal with uneven socks - a learning experience. The yarn is great to work with - I just love how it feels when I knit.

I'm hoping my strategy of alternating projects will prevent the much discussed 2nd sock syndrome - I'll make sure I finish my 2nd fetching glove and then the second sock. I'm trying to save some mindless/non-patterened knitting for work since I have many q3 call nights ahead this month. (hence the infrequent posts)

Thought I would get my act together and post so you have some inspiration while you are on vacation, Liss, and plant the seed that YOU can make socks!

Finished object (singular)

I finished one of my Fetching wristwarmers!! I did cast on and work a few rows of the 2nd one, but couldn't wait to get started on the Thuja socks that I bought the yarn for yesterday, so I did the cuff and started on the seed stitch rib for those tonight instead. I am following all the posts I've seen and advise I got to knit them on size 4 DPN even though pattern calls for size 6. A little worried because at this point to get the cuff around my calf will probably have to really stretch and I've got size 10 feet... but I'm going to have faith. Worst case scenario, I give them to someone with smaller feet like my dear sister or nieces... (shhh... Melissa, don't read that part) ;-)



I really dig the fetchings - I lengthened the hand part by a few rows and also the thumb section. Naturally I have to make the second one match the first, but I think for the next pair I make (and there will be another) I'll skip the picot bind-off and keep the extra length, maybe even add another cable at the fingers. I alternate between really liking the look of the picot and really not liking it. I guess how I make the second pair depends on how my most recent feeling at the time. Although I like the Lion Brand Wool-ease (definitely cheaper) I would like to try a pair with the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. Naturally, I really feel like hitting the yarn store tomorrow to pick a color, but I probably should finish the other 3-4 projects I have.

LYS sale = stash

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I had pledged not to build a 'stash', that is not to collect yarn for future projects because I already have a large quilting fabric/project backlog. My LYS sale tested my resolve. I think I did okay.... here are my purchases, and rationalizations.... (I just realized the beauty of the blog shared with my sister - my very disciplined, non-stash-oriented sister - it's like accountability therapy for me!)



1) Cotton Rich - Cascade yarns, a new yarn at my local shop - very soft, mashine wash/dryable. The project: baby bib and two-color mason-dixon burp cloth. The rationalization: I was planning on a project for a baby boy due in 5 weeks.... (never mind that I have a blue-toned Peaches 'n Cream ball just sitting there..... waiting.....)


2) Artyarn Supermerino- The project: my first pair of socks. The rationalization: As I was talking to a experienced knitter (and sock guru) at the yarn store, she pointed me toward this yarn and the Thuja pattern on Knitty.com. She said it was a good beginner project, and, gosh darn it, I believe her. Thuja Pattern


3) Online Supersocke cotton - Beach color 945 - The project: my second pair of socks. The rationalization: Naturally, I'll finish my first pair of socks, I only have 3 projects before that... and then I'll do these.... and they aren't real socks until they are knit in fingering weight (says the little yarn ho demon in my head).

I would have had a #4 but luckily for my wallet, they only had one skein of Cherry Tree Hill Merino Silk DK which, I have decided, will be the yarn I use when I eventually knit a Clapotis. Granted, I haven't ever had a skein of Lion & Lamb in my hot little hands, but it just seems so expensive.

And all day I was planning on blogging about the decision between knitting a project for yourself or someone else... maybe another day for a treatise on id vs. ego.

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My new knitting bag

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- This really is to post a FO for my sister, but it now belongs to me, so I get to write about it.

I went to a recent visit to see my sis with a strong desire for a knitting bag. It took a discipline I rarely use to NOT purchase a fancy, and expensive ready-made knitting bag. Good thing I didn't, because on a trip to a fantastic fabric store, we found knitting themed fabric....that fabric, coupled with the always amazing sewing talents of my sis yielded this great knitting bag and needle case. It's got a lot of pockets, and the needle case has a place to hold row counters, tip protectors and stitch markers. Now I can take my knitting out with me without stuffing it in a purse!

I'll have to let Melissa post with details of the pattern that served as the base for the project, though I know she did some improvisation

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The first blog post....

The first blog post - being the 'techy' sister, I'll get this started and hopefully I won't be the only poster, after a while of course....

I uploaded to flickr some pics of my most ambitous knitting project to date. It started as a simple booga bag inspired by a knitting shop near my mom. But since it was a present for my dear sister, of course I had to raise the bar a little. I added some plastic canvas to support the base and sides, added a fabric lining, some grommets, a magnetic snap and a clip for keys. Now I just have to make one for myself.... it has 20 rows to go, still on the circular needles - and naturally I have gotten distracted to another project. Any bets on when I'll actually finish it?!?

(more pics on flickr)
Project: Booga Bag http://www.blacksheepbags.com/booga_bag.html

Yarn: Noro Kureyon (I'll have to go look up the colorway)

Needles: 10 1/2 circulars

Modifications: a lining, grommets for the straps, magnetic closure


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