Bit of Spinning Then

Fiber: 4 oz. batt of Merino and Corriedale blend, dyed in the Berries and Cream colorway from Maine Woods Yarn and Fiber
Wheel: Kromski Sonata
Spun: semi-worsted, chain plied
Yardage: ~250 yards
Intent: Scarf for Jenna, the 8-year-old neighbor girl who asks me every day if I have the scarf done yet, sigh

Now I just need to find the right pattern.

Curled Up

I couldn’t resist a picture of Beau. He looked so cute all curled up on his bed.  He even has his own pillow.

I threw in this photo too, just to prove that he is a well loved puppy. Do you think he has enough toys?

Surprises! I Love Surprises!

Like getting a lovely birthday package in the mail from Helena.  My dear wonderful friend Helena, whom I met through the Knitter’s Tea Swap at least two years ago.

See all of the lovely things she sent? Cookies and tea (oh. oh. she sent Australian Daintree tea, my favorite. so tasty) and a book and a bunny bag. What’s that? Can’t see the bunnies very well? Let me help you out.

But that’s not all! The bunny bag held more surprises.

See? All kinds of surprises.

A cute little needle holder.

Some inspiring fall colored roving.

Some lovely peachy colored roving (that reminds me of Woolly Bear caterpillars).

AND a wraps per inch tool! How spoiled am I? I think I’m very spoiled.

You know as soon as I took my pictures I sat down for a nice cup of Australian Daintree tea with a biscuit (that’s Australian for cookie, hee).

Thank you, Helena!

The Wonderful Thing About Tribbles

. . . is Tribbles are wonderful things.
Their tops are made out of rubber.
Their bottoms are made out of springs.
They’re bouncy, flouncy, trouncy, pouncy,
fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!
But the most wonderful thing about Tribbles is: you can’t make just one!

No, you can’t make just one!

Apparently, I have a problem.

Help.

Sock Hunter Episode 60: Happy (Birthday) Socks

This shall not be your typical Sock Hunter post.  You see, ’tis the Sock Hunter’s birthday and any socks found on a Sock Hunter’s birthday are extra special lucky socks.  ‘Twas just this sock hunter’s lucky day that she found one of those extra special lucky socks.

Happy Birthday (Socks) to me! Happy Birthday (Socks) to me!

Happy Birthday, Lucky Sock Hunter, Happy Birthday (Socks) to me!

Happenstance brought me around a corner just as these *socks settled into a Burning Bush near my house.  I had been on a sock hunting expedition all morning, my faithful Sockhound coursing at my side. We had failed to flush or pin any socks, but hope is ever a Sock Hunter’s friend.

Hope and luck were with me finally, as the socks shifted a little, trying to take in more of the late fall sunshine.  I quickly heeled my hound and snapped some pictures before the socks decided to take off.  As they startled, I did a little happy dance and made a wish. After all, lucky birthday socks can only be found once a year.

This is your Sock Hunter, happily hunting while eating a piece of cake, signing off.

*Malabrigo Sock Yarn, Violetta Africana, Sunshine sock pattern by Cookie A., Hiya Hiya 00 Steel DPNs

Just A Touch Of Tatting

One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn’t belong.

You know, because one of the angels is light pink instead of white.

I’ve been on a tiny tatting kick lately and wanted to make some small things. I don’t seem to have the patience to make large tatted things, unlike knitting.

I wanted to make a cute little snowflake, but I was having trouble finding a pattern that I really liked. I searched my books, the blogs I frequent, and several free pattern sites, but I just couldn’t find a pattern that I liked. So, I made one up!

If you are a tatter and want to duplicate this snowflake, it is shuttle tatted with No. 10 DMC Cebelia cotton. The pattern is as follows:

Ring A: 2 ds, *1p, 2ds* repeat from * to * 6 more times (7 total picots), cr, rw
Chain: 3ds, *1p, 3ds* repeat from * to * 3 more times (4 total picots) rw
Ring B: 2ds, 1p, 2ds, join to 6th picot of previous ring, 2ds, *1p, 2ds* repeat from * to * 4 more times (6 total picots and 1 join), cr, rw

Repeat the Chain and Ring B until you have 6 total rings. For the seventh and last ring, join the 2nd and 6th picots to their adjoining rings to finish the middle. Make one last chain and weave in ends.

Happy (Smiley) Halloween

This Halloween, as you carve your pumpkins, remember to save the seeds. Wash them well, dry them slightly in a 350 degree oven and then make some lovely roasted pumpkin seeds. It takes approximately 1/4 stick of butter per pumpkin, but you may need to adjust the amount to make sure the seeds are coated.

Use a lipped baking sheet (so the butter doesn’t run off) and season with your favorite flavors. I used Lawry’s Seasoning Salt on mine, but they are equally lovely with sea salt or garlic salt. They will need to roast in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until sufficiently golden brown.

Enjoy with your favorite Halloween movie or as the salty alternative to all of that sweet candy you “hid” from the kids.

Friday’s Post

. . . wherein I bake too much and tempt you terribly.

No Bake Cookies

The recipe was from the Elkhart County Extension Homemakers Cookbook. I like this particular mix and flavor, though I know everyone has a favorite No Bake Cookie recipe.

Mix together 2 cups sugar, 1 stick butter, 1/2 cup cocoa, and 1/2 cup milk. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Take off the stove and add in 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and 3 cups of quick oats. Drop by teaspoonfuls (or tablespoons, ahem) onto parchment paper. Let cool (or eat while soft because you can’t wait).

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and Cow Sprinkles

Yes, that’s right COW sprinkles. They even have tiny little sugar udders. It amuses me to no end.

I used Ina Garten’s chocolate cupcake recipe, but substituted black foil liners for paper liners and Hershey’s special dark cocoa for regular cocoa. It makes all the difference my friends. The icing is actually a peanut butter cream cheese icing from elsewhere. I loved the idea of peanut butter icing, but really wanted that cream cheese kick. Here’s the recipe:

Whip 1 package softened cream cheese and 1/2 stick softened butter with 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. vanilla, and 2/3 cup of peanut butter. That’s it. You can add a little more sugar to make it sweeter, a little more peanut butter if you like it like that, or a little more salt to cut the sweetness. It’s a perfectly decadent topping that tastes light and lovely.

And the cow sprinkles, well, that was just for whimsy, and Shelly, whose birthday we’re celebrating.  I did end up with 24 cupcakes, but I had to put them on two plates.

It seems that I can bake and cook with beautiful results right now, but if it’s not a tribble, I can’t knit it. I had to rip out and restart the heel flap on this sock two times.

Apparently I can neither count or read directions correctly. It’s Malbrigo sock, if you were wondering, and a Julip bag. The pattern is the Sunshine sock from Sock Innovations by Cookie A.  If I weren’t tired of tribbles at the moment, I would just go knit a few more, but as it is, I really want to work on this sock. . . even if it hates me.

Distractions

The Trouble With . . .

Tribbles!

Is that you keep wanting to make just ONE more.

They knit up so quickly.

The three blue tribbles are knit in Sugar n Cream, Faded Denim. The yellow ones are Peaches n Cream, Daisy Ombre.  It’s like eating a bit of toffee.  You think you want one piece, but then you keep going back for more.

I even bought more cotton, simply because I want to make more tribbles.  I’m addicted.  Plus, you know, the cotton was on sale.  It’s hard to resist 4 for $5.  That’s a $0.50 savings per ball!

There may be a few dozen more tribbles appear on the blog. Isn’t that the trouble with tribbles though?  They mulitply.