You Make My Day!

The amazing Neuroknitter has honored me with a "You Make My Day" award and so I am passing it on. Here is a list of blogs that I can't wait to see when I grab that first cup of coffee . . . ok, second cup of coffee - I drink my first cup in bed.

In alphabetical order AND my actual blog list is MUCH longer but it would take me all day to write them all down. I love them all! You all inspire me so much to knit and and knit.

A Family Life
And Sew It Is Bag of Olives
Blather Magather
Halfway Down the Stairs
Imagine Knits
Life In Yonder
Of Faith and Fiber
On the Needles
Pieni Neuleblogi
Saartje Knits
The Knitting World of Suz
We Heart Yarn

Honorable mention: Woolgirl and Sweet Sheep

Blogs I'm waiting to see:
Nama Knits
T's Fabulous Blog of Crafts

Now go knit!
PS. IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD - I started an 'easy' sock knitting challenge. VERY CASUAL. Knit a pair of socks per month. Check us out at A Year In Socks and join in!

Time to Knit

Remember these funny little slippers? Well, here they are finished. They are a really great knit. These slippers are very sturdy, hardy little things. (Fiber Trends Felted Clogs)

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After reading A Bag Of Olives, I made some soup based on her recipe. She wrote this fabulous narrative about making her soup out of things she had around the kitchen. So I wrote down her recipe, ran to my kitchen and made due with what I had.

First, I sauteed some onions, added some garlic and Italian sausage (I didn't have chorizo). No white wine, so I opened a bottle of red, poured some in the pan ( poured even more into my glass), added chopped carrot, cooked rice, a can of tomatoes (no fresh tomatoes in Minnesota in January) a box of chicken broth and voila - soup is served (with crusty bread). Thanks Kathleen!
It would be fun to hear about someone else taking this recipe to their own kitchen and seeing what kind of soup they create!


I have been asked, on more than one occasion, how I find time to knit and blog. The answer is a In a nutshell -

I find time to knit because I don't spend enough time doing this:
And if you really want a dose of honesty - I actually cleaned this room before I shot this picture. (By the way - those clothes are clean. Really . . . they are!)

Seriously, if you decide to blog, it is healthy to pick one day when you sit down, write your blog, check out your bloggy pals and respond to people. It usually takes a good morning and a couple cups of strong coffee and 'ta-dah' - your blogging. It's not something you have to do every day (unless you want to). Then turn off your computer and walk away! It can get addictive.

Knitting, on the other hand, takes time - but you can take it with you anywhere you go. The doctor's office, waiting for the bus, break-times at work, while watching the evening news (or again, I'll be shamelessly honest - American Idol or CSI Miami). If you are a "KNITTER" this is easy because when faced with the option of
a. reading good book
b. making dinner for your family
c. getting dressed and taking a shower
d. knitting
. . . the "KNITTER" will always pick D. ALWAYS. And so you see, it's just a matter of priorities and suddenly, one finds all the time in the world to knit.

The Year of the Sock, Anyone?

Would anyone like to join me in a fun little distraction called, A Year In Socks? It will be a group dedicated to knitting one pair of sock per month. Please check it out. If you're not a sock knitter . . . maybe this will be a fun way to jump in! If you're interested, contact me at rarnarATgmailDOTcom with your name (or alias) and your web page or blog (YOU DON'T NEED A BLOG TO JOIN) and I'll send you an invite to join the blog. CLICK HERE FOR A YEAR IN SOCKS.

Lots of Goodies for my Goody Bags!

I love my puppy, but I needed a new title picture because my blog was looking so cold. My fingers are stiff as I type this. Brrrrrr.

I've become so excessive with buying yarn that I'm not even going to try and justify this one for you. I bought some Noro sock yarn from The Loopy Ewe. I'll let you know what I think.

And I couldn't resist this:DK Knits "Molly Ringwald" - Monochrome Toes - Bought @ ETSY

(please, God, don't let my husband see this!)

Felted Clogs: I griped and complained about these so much that I decided to cast on for another pair. Cuz that's the kind of girl I am. Here are Belle's slippers, but I think they're already going to be too small.Specs:
Pattern: Fiber Trends Felted Clogs (adult pattern and child pattern)
Yarn: Galway Worsted Weight 100% Wool
Needles: US #13
And they felted up fabulously! (and they fit)

My warm cozy scarf. I may felt a pair of mittens to match. We'll see.

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As some of you may remember, I have a great friend who's birthday I NEVER remember. Well - HA HA! This year I DO remember (it's tomorrow). SO! I have 1 day left to finish these socks for her.
It's not going to happen.

They won't be on time. But then, that would be in keeping with tradition . . . missing her birthday, that is. Besides, she probably won't wear these until next October, when they'll actually be fashionable again.

And the Voyageur socks for my man? They're still here. Sitting on the floor in a Ziploc baggy. You see, I've decided I must make some felted bags and buckets to put everything into, so I may have to put off my current projects a little further. Completely justified of course; one can't keep entering Ziploc baggies all the time.

And so, thanks to my enabling friends (this time, Dr. B), I will be spending more of my children's college funds for some yarn to make these:Felted Bucket by Julie Weisenberger (Cocoknits.com)

AND these:
Booga Bag by Julie Anderson

Really quick

Thank goodness for bloggy/knitty friends. I took your advice and e-mailed Sheri at the Loopy Ewe regarding the shipping/handling fee. She was very kind and informed me that, in fact, there won't be a $5.24 shipping fee, but more like $1. Phew! Thanks for the info, peeps!

Oops I did it again (revised)

Thank you so much for all your advice on "Socks That Rock" yarn club. But again, I forgot that I had accidentally signed up, in fact, for two clubs already. Tee hee hee. So STR will have to wait until next year, darn it! (Woolgirl Sock Club 2008 and Seven Deadly S(p)ins) But your feedback was very enlightening!

Well, I promised I wouldn't start any more projects until I zipped other projects to completion. But it's -12 F, I'm cold, I wear a big ugly pink coat and have no scarf to wear with it. So here's my illegal, promise-breaking project.Noro Scarf (yes, another one - but this time I'm not giving it away). These knit up in no time, so technically, it's not really a project. Just a slight blip before I continue with these FUGLY things:These clogs are so dang tedious that if they don't felt up right, I will shave my head in an act of delirium. These also knit up quickly if you have a few hours of uninterupted knitting. (I don't.)

I found a better pattern for my Valentine sock yarn. CHECK THIS OUT!The pattern is "Hearts for Heide" by Wendy Johnson (sport weight). I bought the pattern from the Loopy Ewe but GAH - it's not available as a .pdf download, the pattern cost $5.00 and it was $5.25 for "shipping and handling". - I am editing this blog - The shipping probably won't be $5.25 - I'm waiting to hear back from The Loopy Ewe. That would be a relief! Thanks Guinifer and cksKnitter!

PS. The talented Dr. B said that DkKnits will occasionally have sock clubs where she personalizes the yarn for you based on a questionnaire. COOL!

HELP!

I have a last minute chance to sign up for Socks that Rock club. What are your opinions. It's expensive! HELP ME DECIDE!

I Heart Yarn

Woolgirl sent out her Charlie Brown Valentine kit and somehow, I had accidentally signed up for it, accidentally gave my credit card number and accidentally gave my address. achem.I couldn't help it! Look at all the fun goodies she included!
Now stop drooling and start knitting!

FOR DOG LOVERS ONLY:

You know that old saying, "Pride goeth before the fall." Well well well. In the last post, I brazenly told you about Leo, the Prince of Poopness, being accident free for five days. Not 1 hour after I posted that, he had two accidents (one of each kind) and has been having accidents almost every day. Last night, we put him into his kennel for bed and as soon as his paws hit the blanket - he peed. Doggy whisperer, help us!

Mornin' . . . blech.

Dang! It was so hard getting out of bed this morning! I love Minnesota, but some of these cold dark mornings are hard on the body. Even the kids protested more than usual when we woke them for school. It's about -4 F, clear and cold. Crunchy snow day. Too cold for a walk to the mailbox with Prince of Poopness (puppy). By the way, he is accident free now for 5 days!

Hubby setting up new dog kennel -

Leo playing with the box it came in.Another "puppy" playing in her box.

OK, so on to knitting. I immediately broke my pledge to start no new projects until my current deals were closed, but as any obsessive knitter/person knows, that is fairly impossible to do.

I went to buy a new "Fiber Trends - Felted Clog" pattern from the knitting store . . . the dog ate mine - no kidding. And low and behold, I found another kit for Norwegian mittens - bought it and cast on ASAP. (I also lost the pattern for my Ladies Mitts - grrrrrrrr).Mystery Orange Socks - so so cute but a tad bit tedious.
Pattern: Little Pumpkin Socks by Sabine Ruppert
(if you can't open this link, google "little pumpkin socks sabine ruppert" and it will take you to a pdf download.)

Hubby's Voyageur Boot SocksMy own pattern (but I totally copied Hanna Anderson's socks).

- And Sew It Is asked, "Did your hubby let you off your yarn diet?"

Not exactly. I received some "funding" for Christmas!

ALERT:
Noro Sock yarn at Knit Wits in Chanhassen. One word: yuck. It's beautiful yarn with an unfortunate texture for socks. Very scratchy and coarse.

Viewer Discretion Advised

Guinifer, don't look (she's on a yarn diet).

I love this. I love love love this. I think these will be my Christmas presents for next year. I've learned my novice knitting lesson: Start your Christmas knits in January. Several colors to choose from and the kit is $23 for the yarn and pattern.

But what color? Check out the website !

The Curse - Revisited

Those socks are Hanna Anderson socks for $12.50

My version is below - skein was $10.50 plus endless (and apparently unending) hours of labor. Doesn't that make you mad. And mine are not without the infamous 'husband-sock' curse. (Remember Chocosocks?!) This time, Leo-the-Prince-of-Poo grabbed my knitting and terrorized it for several minutes before I caught on.

1. He ripped out the needle. grrrrrrrrrrr2. See those little snags on that wire. That is my circular needle - trashed. The yarn snags horribly on those little snags. 3. He managed to create a huge mass of snarl and knot with the skein of yarn. Pulling the yarn to knit has because a process of tortured tedium. The curse is back!Alas, I will persevere! I managed to pick up the stitches - no easy task, mind you! And I knit on . . .By the way, my blog has become a monotonous sock knitting extravaganza. So I am going to try a few new projects. A sweater for my Belle and my first pair of Norwegian mittens. . . (I lost the pattern! GAH). More on those later. First, I have a few pair of socks to finish, so bear with me.

Minnesota Cold!

We are home after a quintessential Minnesota winter weekend. First stop: Pine Needles in Seely, WI where I picked up a delicious skein of yarn for a pair of birthday socks for hubby K. (On Your Toes - DK Boot Sock Yarn w/ Aloe Vera - 100 g. 75% superwash wool, 25% Nylon)

I love this yarn because it reminds me of the plaid wool coats from Bemidji Woolen Mills that every self-respecting Minnesota owns. It reminds me of the Voyageurs who traversed this state in their canoes so many years ago.

We did some sledding and cross-country skiing. It was Lunker's first time on the North American Birkibeiner trail. And of course, the dads took the kids ice-fishing. We were going for pan fish but caught a record walleye instead. A huge surprise since the lake was tiny.

By the way, we don't usually keep fish this big. This poor fella had an unfortunate incident with a 7 year old fisherman and an ice hole that was a tad too small. I don't know if it's the same for all fisherman, but generally, we would have taken a picture and returned this real lunker back to the deeps. Sorry old man.This hideous piece of knitting is supposed to turn into a felted slipper. We'll see. It's for Hubby's birthday, too.
And shhhhhh. Remember that orange wool I told you to keep an eye on? ("No.")
Well, it's knitting up nicely into a pair of socks for a dear friend 's birthday. I can't remember when her birthday is, but I know it's near the end of January, so I have to hustle and get these done!