Thank You, SP!

I got my fantastic last SP package this last week. It was extremely fiber-liscious. And the reveal: My SP was Regmo! Thank you so much, hun! Your packages were amazing!
From top to bottom, we have:
Misti Alpaca Worsted, color #2030, a really pretty plum
Mirasol's Miski, 100% BABY LLAMA!!!, color #103, a lovely light purple
Mirasol's Sulka, Merino, Alpaca, & Silk, color #203, a deep wine color

These yarns are so yummy. I love the colors. I love the textures. This package was so fantastic to open. It is all so soft! Thank you, Regmo! I loved being spoiled by you!

Brrrr...

It's so cold! We've suddenly fallen into autumn, with no more warning than we went into spring. It was 47 outside and 64 inside this morning when I woke up. Talk about not wanting to get up! We're determined not to run the heater until the end of the month, so it may be time to pull up the space heaters. We've had the AC off since about the last week or two of August, so we're really trying to leave the heater off. The energy bill will reward us. Also, we're going to need to refill the oil before running the heater too much, and we really can't afford that at the moment. Hopefully next month, we can afford to refill the oil.
The forecast for this weekend says highs in the upper 70's, so I guess it's not time to put away summer clothes all together, but it is definitely time to pull out the sweaters and hand knit socks. I realized this morning that I need more pairs of socks! The last pair of Tofutsies that I finished are on display at the shop, so I can't wear them. One Jaywalker is done and I'm a little over 2 inches into the other one, I just need to focus my energies at it. I've stalled out on the lacy airy wrap sweater from fitted knits. It was all going swimmingly until I picked up the sleeve stitches. Now I'm about 3 rows down the sleeve and I don't like the join under the arm. It's got a lot of holes surrounding tight stiches. So I have to decide whether or not that will block out or if I want to rip it back and figure out how to make it go away. So it's on hold until I can deal with it. The crocheted jacket in the last post is coming along. I'm over halfway up the second front. Only problem is that I only have one more ball of yarn and two sleeves left to go. And the dye lot is over a year old. So I have to figure out how to incorporate a new dye lot into the old without it looking like I fudged it. I have an idea. I just don't want to execute it right now.
SO what did I do? I stared a new project. I'm making a little stuffed horse for my aunt for Christmas and I've promised Michelle to make up a new "shop cat." The horse only has 2 legs left, then I'll start the cat. Hopefully those fast projects will help me pull through on these others. And I must finish the 2 pairs of socks OTN.

BlogStalk, Week 1: Who Am I?

I Am:

A Wife
A Doggie Mom

A Knitter


A Spinner


A Dyer


A Crocheter


A Native Oregonian Transplanted in E Washington


A lover of nature


A Food Enthusiast, amateur cook, amateur baker


A Gardener & Plant Lover

Attempting to learn the intricate art of photography


I'm a 23 year old who's only beginning to find herself. I love to make lists and plans, but rarely do I follow through with them. Right now, my big goals are to pay off our debt, go back to school fall of 2009 and to buy a house. My big dream is to own my own nursery specializing in regional plants and flowers and to teach people how to respect the area that they live in by working within the local eco-system.

I want to grow into the woman that I see in my mind. She is a wife, a mother, a business owner, a boss, a friend. She is confident and self-aware. She has dirt under her nails and wakes up each morning ready to go live her dream. She is well respected and loved by those around her. She has made a difference in her community. She is powerful enough to take control of her life but wise enough to guide it down the right path.

I have a long journey ahead of me. But I think I'm finally on the right path.

Oatmeal Cookies

So... I have no photos of knitting because life is crazy. I'm back to full time at work so my mornings aren't my own any more. That means no early morning time for photos and blogging. And since we're FINALLY coming into fall (though you wouldn't know it from the daytime highs), the evenings are too shady to get good pictures.

So since I have no photos or interesting knitting stories, because my life is work for the next 6-8 months, you get my cookie recipe! I make these as snacks in the afternoon. Occasionally Steven will eat them for breakfast. They are incredibly filling. A little high in sugar to be "health food," but fairly healthy outside of that.

Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups Brown Sugar (I usually use 1 cup brown and 1/2 cup white, you could also trade out that half a cup with molasses to add some iron to the cookies, or maple syrup, or honey, or... well, you get the idea!)
• 2 1/2 cups Oatmeal (not quick, just rolled)
• 4 cups Flour (I use 3 whole wheat and 1 AP white)
• 1 Tbs Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1-3 Tbs Cinnamon
  
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/4 cup Canola Oil
• 3 eggs or equivalent egg substitute
  
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1-2 cups assorted dried fruit and nuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Mix the dry ingredients, minus the fruit and nuts, until well blended. Stir in the wet ingredients then fold in the fruit and nuts.
3. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, measure out the cookies and flatten onto a baking sheet. These cookies won't spread much in the oven, so flatten to about 1/2 inch thick.
4. Bake 10 - 12 minutes, until set.
5. Let cool 5 minutes on the sheets then transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before storing.
6. These cookies keep about a week on the counter, sealed tightly. But they freeze beautifully! I tend to keep them individually packaged in the freezer for when I need them. They thaw in about 2 hours on the counter.
   

Wheelin' Walla Walla Weekend!

We've had a great weekend so far, and it's set to be even busier. We did the car show yesterday and will be going to a pooch pool party today. Along with normal weekend cleaning and cooking and shopping, it's been busy! Head over to my flickr account by clicking the above photo for more car show photos. Pool party photos will come later. Not much knitting to speak of right now. I will update that info tomorrow or the next day. Off to go grocery shopping!

FO: My So Called Scarf

It's Done!

Stats:
"My So Called Scarf"
1 Skein Manos Del Urugay, color #109
2 weeks, give or take

I love this scarf! The yarn is yummy. And the colors are so perfect!

Jaywalker #1 is done!

Yippee, 1 down, 1 to go. I made sure to take really clear notes so the second one turns out perfect. The toe is a little tight, I'm going to try blocking it first and may end up ripping back and adding a few rows. I'm not sure yet. But I looove them. This is such a fun pattern!

I have created a salsa I could eat with a spoon...

And yes, the girl who hates tomatoes really did type that! This stuff is so yummy. Even fresh out of the food processor, it's amazing. I think I've found tomato love...

Roasted Salsa

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs tomatoes - I used fresh early girl and yellow plum from the garden, about 6 early girls and a handful or two of the plums. I'm guessing it's around 2 lbs.
• 4 cloves garlic, skin on
• 1 medium sweet onion, roughly chopped
  
• 5 chipotle chilies in sauce - adjust up or down for your own heat level
• juice of 2 limes - add another if your limes are small, hard, or you really like lime
• Salt to taste
• Cilantro to taste - I didn't have any, so mine is without, but it would be great with

Directions:

1. Under a high broiler, broil the tomatoes and garlic in a lightly oiled glass pan. This took about 20 minutes in my oven, just broil until the skin is turning dark and crispy.
2. In a food processor, combine the chilies, lime juice, onion, and roasted veggies. Take off the garlic skins before adding. I also squeezed out about half of the seeds & juice in my tomatoes. It still made a pretty loose salsa, so if you like chunkier, squeeze out even more juice. Pulse to combine. If adding cilantro, add after the tomatoes and onions start to break down. Taste & add salt accordingly. Store bought tomatoes might also need some sugar added, though the broiling should bring out the natural sugars quite nicely.
3. Let cool and enjoy! You can use this hot, but the cooling time will bring the flavors together nicely.
   

I got a package, I got a package!

Thank you, Vicious Circle! Thank you! It is just amazing... So much fun baking things to play with. Tea, spices, specialty chocolates, yarn, and cooking gadgets!
So Cute! Such Cute little cutters!
And a tea bee infuser! I've never seen anything this fun for tea!
And yummy, yummy alpaca is luscious colors.
You do know my weaknesses, Circle. Food, tea, yarn. This package was just intoxicating. I can't stop sticking my nose into the different spices. Thank you again!

FO: Tofutsies Socks

Basic Toe-Up socks, a blend of a few different patterns that I use, with toe-up sock flap, size US1 needles. I love this yarn! Love it! It works up so light and soft. It doesn't stretch too much and the cast on is a little splitty. But once past the first row or two, it is so nice to work with. And it comes in such fun colors! I love it so much that I started a pair of Jaywalkers out of another color:

The green is pooling a lot, not sure why. None of the other colors are pooling, but the green is. I've figured out that if I play with my gauge a little (one or two tight rows, followed by a few looser rows) helps to cut down on the pooling. Because I have midget feet, I'm sizing them down. I cast on 68 and took 2 stitches out of each repeat. I'm still not sure they'll be tight enough around the foot, but I can tighten them up a little in the gusset if that becomes a problem.

It Rained!

Or, I should say, It's Raining! We haven't had rain in MONTHS. But it's raining today. And it's only 59 degrees outside. I feel right at home. It's cold, gray, and wet. At least this will make me do inside work. I have about a metric ton of laundry to do and about 3 hours of ironing to do. I have 2 pairs of pants to shorten and Steven is bugging me to finally finish seaming the last curtain for our bedroom. Yet all I want to do is sit around and knit and wear warm clothes. Because it's raining for the first time in MONTHS (literally, I'm not kidding here. It was May or June the last time I saw it rain). Oh yes, and I have to go grocery shopping. Yuck.

I did finish My So Called Scarf though. I only used one ball and I'll turn the second one into a hat, in all likelihood. Or maybe a second scarf for a Christmas present. Or maybe I'll incorporate it into a felted bag. We'll see. But I liked the length on it with one ball. So it needs to be blocked and then photoed. I'll try to get you pictures later this week.

Guess what I did this weekend?

We went camping! Here:
It was so pretty! There had been bear sightings though, so I got all freaked out and didn't sleep well. But overall, it was a blast. We got one of the last sites in the campground and set up our tent for the very first time since we got it. It was a wedding present - so 2.5 years later we finally got to use it! We had a great time.



I still haven't taken knitting pictures. I love how the ballet tank turned out. Coachella, I'm not so fond of. I'm not sure what happened with my gauge, but she's not fitting. I can't seem to get the fabric to collapse down and relax like it did in my swatch. I am going to do a last ditch attempt to fix it by tossing it in the machine, but then it'll be sent to my ridiculously skinny relatives in Cali if it still doesn't fit.

I have started the Airy blah blah wrap sweater from Fitted Knits. (I don't remember the whole name, it's very long). I'm doing it out of the Habu lace weight that I hand-dyed a while ago. The colors are a little too pastel for me, so I'll be over dying it when it's done. I'm loving it so far though. I started it on Friday and I'm almost through the body already. It's a great, fast, knit. I'm making a few mods on it so I'll write those up when I post it.

Oh yes, the class. It went ok. 3 girls and 1 boy showed up. They were all 8-9 and LOUD. The boy was very very loud. The boy and one girl caught on quite quickly. The other two are struggling a lot and didn't want to be shown the correct way to do things. So we'll see how they end up doing. They were utterly exhausting and tomorrow I am teaching from noon straight through to 3. One adult intermediate followed by the kids. And then Thursday is the kids again. And Friday is the day that all the classes are done. Freedom.
No big plans for the upcoming weekend, just relaxing, cleaning, and cooking. Joy.

It's been a bad morning...

But it didn't start out that way. I woke up early, and well rested. Ate breakfast, took a landscape design test, played with the dog, made a dent in the mess on my desk, put together my next downstream SP package, re-sized and uploaded a bunch of pictures (for a post to come sometime soon about this weekend). I was being productive.
Then I got in my car. And took nearly 5 minutes to turn out onto the main road to work. And got stuck behind someone going 25 in a 35 with no passing zone. And almost got hit by speeding cars on 3 our of the 4 crosswalks I take during my 4 block walk to work, even though I HAD THE RIGHT OF WAY. And learned that I have to teach 5 little girls how to knit because the normal teacher is terribly sick. And I'm hungry. And I'm cramping. And I just want to go back to bed and start this day over. I don't like teaching kids classes of more than 2 or 3. It's exhausting and overwhelming. They are fun and sweet - most of the time - but it wears me out. And I'll be teaching back to back and kind of overlapping classes tomorrow. I can't wait for this week to be over. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

Must go work now. Wish me luck...

I got new Shooooooes!

Aren't they pretty? I used some of my birthday money to get these for myself. And they just got here yesterday. I love them, so far. I wore them all evening yesterday (except for playing with the dog) and I put them on first thing this morning. They are the Pirouette 2 by Earth Shoes. They have this fancy insole that shapes itself to your foot to provide maximum support. They are just yummy. I got them from Planet Shoes, who had fantastic service and free shipping! Yippee! They will be great for showing off knit socks this fall. For now, they are great without socks.

August 7, 2007 Project list!

1. Oasis Tank - based off of the Ballet Tank from MagKnits, Done! Blocking tonight, pictures later this week.
2. Mountain Colors Socks - no new progress to report
3. Tofutsies Socks - #2 ready to turn heel.
4. MountainColors Jacket - No new progress.
5. Coachella: Done! Blocking tonight, pictures later this week.

6. My So Called Scarf: Nearly one skein in. So almost half done. Such a fun project!

So what is that? Only 3 or 4 real projects on the needles plus one or two examples for work? That's nothing! Apparently I need to get started on Christmas knitting. Boo.

(See that space up there between 5 and 6? Yeah... Blogger and I are having issues. Pretend it's not there.)