Last Post for 2007

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday. Mine was busy, as always, with lots of Paul's family coming in for visits. My plan for today is to spend the whole day in my pajamas until it's time to go out for New Year's. Yay!

I got some yarn for Christmas. Some Tempted from my mom:

And this, which I wrapped up for Paul. It's sock yarn that I had dyed in Philadelphia Eagles colors for him from Knitting Like Crazy:

Paul was a little confused at opening it until I explained.

Ooh, I also got Photoshop, which I only just installed yesterday. I am looking forward to figuring out how to use it, it seems kind of confusing right off the bat though.

Everyone have a happy, safe New Year's Eve, and I'll see you back here next year for more yarny fun!

Happy Christmas

Here's to a great holiday and a very Yarny New Year!

Back!

Power came back on this morning. Thank God.

Thanks for all the sympathy on my last post. It's been a crazy stressful week, but things could always have been worse. We lost some trees and the entire contents of our refrigerator and freezer, but at least everyone is safe, and things should slowly start returning to normal.

Hopefully I'll get to some knitting content in the coming week!

**Edited to Add: Ok, I just signed onto Bloglines, and I have nearly 800 new entries. That blows my mind. I probably won't be commenting much, just trying to catch up. Just know I adore all of you and think all your projects are awesome!

Powerless

There's been a catastrophic ice storm in Tulsa. Lost power the night of Sunday, December 9th. Today is Saturday, December 15th. I still have no power at my house and am staying with the in-laws. Eddie, Oliver, and Annie are being boarded. Elly is with my parents. The electric company says our power won't be restored until Monday night.

I have been to depressed the whole week to do any knitting. Was finally dragged out today by my husband to start Christmas shopping, but would prefer to skip Christmas altogether this year. This has been the worst holiday season ever, and I just want to go home.

My Cake

In the interest of full disclosure, I do not cook. Ever. When Paul was in San Antonio last weekend for the Big 12 Championship game, I made him go stock up on macaroni and cheese and frozen pizza for me to eat while he was gone. Paul is the cook in the family, and it's a darn good thing.

I do, however, have three majorly yummy recipes that I trot out for parties, entertaining, bring-a-snack-to-work days, etc. These items are as follows:

1. Spicy Nuts. Very simple, very flavorful. Adapted from a well-known chef's published recipe. Everyone loves them--except my dad, who says they are a waste of good old plain mixed nuts.

2. Bruschetta. This recipe is of my own devising, based on truly amazing concoction of my favorite local Italian restaurant, Ti Amo. I asked them once about their recipe, and they refused to give me specifics (which I totally understand), but they did tell me it has 23 ingredients. Years and years of trying to duplicate the flavor, and I am still only up to between 9 and 13 ingredients in my version. My version is still pretty damn tasty though.

3. French butter cake. Published in a cookbook by the same chef as #1, this is a simple, four-ingredient cake with the taste and consistency of shortbread. I am making it tonight for my Bunko group's holiday party tomorrow night.

Obviously a well-used page.


All the ingredients whirrling in the mixer...


...turns into a sticky mess.


And then it's spread in the cake pan and marked with fork lines, then gets popped in the oven. Yum! The cake is still baking and Project Runway is about to begin, so you may see a photo of the finished product next post.


My policy on these extraordinary recipes is that I do not share them. With anyone. My sister-in-law begged me for my recipe for spicy nuts for years, and I steadfastly refused. The day before she left Tulsa to move to Michigan, I wrote it down for her. I have so few things to work with, I don't want any competition!

I'm sure at least one of my many astute readers will figure out my source material for Numbers 1 and 2. All I ask is that you keep it to yourself and hope we don't show up at the same potluck!

As for knitting, I am working on the same old projects. Sadly, I found out that 2 of the 3 Malabrigo hat recipients...don't wear hats. So I have two extras and that makes me sad.

I started some Go With The Flow socks in the Yarntini Pomtini I won in a blog contest. I absolutely love this yarn. It's the best.

Hats

How much do I love the Foliage pattern? A lot. I made the worsted weight version for myself. Don't laugh--it's really hard to take a photo of yourself wearing a hat.

And three of the bulky weight version for Christmas presents.

All in wonderful, lovely, luscious Malabrigo.

Thanks for all the nice comments about my Christmas decorations. Turns out my sister was right--the pink Santa really was originally pink. I asked my mom. I hate it when my sister is right!

A Christmas Explosion

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. Or a lovely Thursday, for those who are not in the U.S. Mine was very busy, as usual, and getting up to go back to work this morning was a real struggle.

There has been some knitting. I am still working on my ISE5 scarf, which I am starting to genuinely hate. I made a worsted and a chunky Foliage, which I love, but have not yet photographed.

And! Korknisse!

I used this modification for sock yarn remnants and have been having a grand time (Ravelry link).

I have 9 of them now, and I can't seem to stop!

These adorable little cork folk lead in to my tour of my favorite Christmas decorations. We spent yesterday getting Christmas out and I truly had forgotten how long it all takes, and how much hoisting, stretching, and cursing is involved. The effort though, as always, was worth it.

Our tree, newly purchased last year for our tiny little house. It's 7.5 feet tall, and very narrow, so it doesn't take up much room, and I love it.

Our front door. When the Christmas cards start coming, this is where they go.

A soft and pensive looking Santa.

A particularly festive corner of the dining room.

Even the bathroom gets some Christmas spirit!


I bought this wacky tree last year after Christmas and totally forgot I had it. That was a nice surprise.

The lovely stockings I made last year.

A pink velvet Santa. His suit was red back when my great-grandmother purchased him in the 40s, but he's faded quite nicely, I think.

What holiday decor is complete without a bowl of shiny ornaments?

Which, by the way, are nearly impossible to photograph without getting an oddly distorted reflection of the photographer.

Lastly, who knew how much fun it could be to take squiggly pictures of your Christmas tree in the dark?

Seriously.

Birthday Weekend

Paul's birthday was last Monday. I got him this:

and this:

Very fun. We did dinner with his family Friday night at Los Cabos at the Jenks Riverwalk. It was insanely crowded and, as Los Cabos always is, insanely noisy.

This big group behind us was exceptionally loud--shrieking, whistling, cackling, shouting all through dinner. I got a blurry shot of the worst offenders, and it looks to me like they caught me photograpghing them. Sorry, girls, but you were really obnoxious!

Saturday was nephew Jack's birthday.

And today is birthday lunch with my family for Paul and my dad. I finished the scarf for my dad and even had time to wash and dry it. It ended up being really long. Like, really long. Draped around my neck, the edges nearly touch the floor. But my dad is 6'4", so I am hoping the length will be more appropriate for him.

Tonight, the ongoing birthday celebration continues with Paul's lasertag party. Will this birthday ever end?

My Camera's Back--And Better Than Ever!

The camera is charging now on its new charger, which, did I mention comes with an adaptor for charging in the car? That's awesome.

Of course, the people from the cabin we stayed at called the other night and said, Ooops, I guess we really didn't go and search the cabin you stayed in after you told us exactly what it looked like and where to find it, and even after we told you we searched the place from top to bottom, because, funny thing--we found it and we're sending it back to you.

Figures.

But not only did I find this great charger on eBay, I also got a 1GB memory card to replace my old 64MB one. So now, instead of only being able to take 42 pictures before emptying my camera, I can take 803!

Charger + memory card + shipping=$20. I love the Internet.

Knitting-wise I am about done with my dad's yak scarf and am winding Mmmmmalabrigo (my first!) to make Foliage. Still working on Tangled Yoke, and planning to wind my Yarntini to make some Go With The Flow socks.

Pictures this weekend!

Camera Issues

So I left my camera charger in the cabin we stayed at in Branson two weeks ago. I called them, and they said, yeah, we have it, we'll ship it to you. So I paid their $10 shipping fee, and when the box got here--it was the wrong changer! I don't know what it is they sent me, but it's certainly not my camera changer. So I call them back, and they tell me that's the only thing they found and my charger apparently just disapperated into thin air.


Balls.


In knitting news, I finished my Monkey Pal Socks. The Koigu pooled horribly on the second sock, and I felt bad about sending them to my pal, especially after reading an entry on her blog about a pair of socks she did with Lorna's Laces that striped nicely on one sock, and pooled on the second one and how much she hates it when socks don't match and she ended up giving them to her sister. Oops. I suck as a Monkey Pal because I left them to the last minute and so didn't have time to redo the second sock. My pal said she loves them anyway. Yeah, right.


I received my socks too. Lovely Koigu Monkeys, a handsewn projects bag, monkey keychain, and a skein of Jitterbug sock yarn in the most gorgeous blue-green color.


I'm still working on Tangled Yoke. I am about 4 rows from finishing the main part, and then will start on the sleeves. Hmm, what else--yak scarf for my Dad, Trellis Scarf for ISE5. No socks on the needles right now! Amazing, I know. I spent all last week making crafts for my sister's church sale. I told her I didn't donate to churches, but she guilt-tripped me into it. Two pairs of Saartje's Boooties (Ravelry link), and a set of holiday ballband dishcloths.

Well, this will probably be the last post from my with photos until I figure out what to do about the charger situation. I found a new one online, but I don't really want to pay $50 for it! My camera is a Canon Powershot SD600 Digital Elph if you have a creative solution for me! ***

****Edited to say: Oooh, I found a non-Canon brand charger for my camera on eBay for $1.00! And it comes with an adaptor for charging in the car. Awesome. Let's hope it works!

I'll leave you with a couple of shots from Halloween:

My nephews, Noah and Ethan

Paul's brother, Eric:

Monkey Business

I am woefully behind on the socks for the Monkey Sock Swap. I only just started the second one yesterday, and they are supposed to be in the mail tomorrow. Yikes!

I did dedicate myself to them this weekend, but seeing as how the weekend was spent at Silver Dollar City, I didn't get a whole lot done. They will get in the mail this week though. At some point. (on a side note I left my camera battery charger plugged into an outlet at the cabin we always stay at. My father-in-law called them today and told them to just hold it until we come back in December! Maybe I flatter myself, but I don't think you guys would be too happy if I didn't have photos for the next six weeks. I really hope they can mail it back to me).

The reason for my lack of progress on the Monkeys is this:

Love knitting this sweater. I am afraid of the cables though, God help me. I don't have much cable experience, and I am convinced I will get there and find I have made a terrible mistake in selecting this pattern.

One last thing before I get back to the Monkeys. I won a contest at Tres Chic Veronique! The prize? Yarntini. Sportweight. Fuzzy Navel. Yumm! And Halloween candy too. Awesome prize.

I'm Back!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the kind words and comments on both Leo and Yarnival. I had a great time putting both of them together, and I appreciate your support throughout.

Not a lot to report. I got my October shipment of the Brooklyn Handspun Holiday Sock Club. It's very difficult to capture the colors. They're black and bright green, and purple all entwined. It's called Spook, and looks appropriately creepy!

I started Tangled Yoke last week, and am still powering through the garter rib section. I went with Rowan Felted Tweed in Clover, which is a pink-y, rosy color flecked with specks of white, blue, and black.

In other news, I went to Ocktoberfest with my husband and my father-in-law. My father-in-law collects beer steins, and brings home several every year, much to the displeasure of my mother-in-law. See the guy in red? My father-in-law insists that every year, The Man in Red tries to cheat him on the price of the steins. So this year, he came armed with his own calculator, and he used it, too, getting The Man in Red to knock $25 off his purchase. Effective, yes. Also embarrassing.

Almost as bad as Paul chugging down the dregs of his beer on the way out.

Yarnival! The Yarnies Edition

Welcome to the October issue of Yarnival. Without further ado, I present...The Yarnies!

The Award for Biggest Sock goes to Mariknits for her Snowy Night Gansey Stocking (although maybe the award should go to her husband for his size 14 feet). Such a beautiful project, and it looks like a great one for the holidays.

Most Thoughtful Dissertation on Stash goes to Mishkaknits for her post about the constant struggle to come to terms with her stash.

The Seriously Bad Pooling Award goes to Lucy. Scroll down, this is really bad pooling.

Best Use of High School Curriculum to Describe an FO goes to Kristy. It's a well-rounded reflection on her finished Back to School U-Neck Vest.

Best Instructional Post on How To Start Your Own Farm goes to Loren for her very awesome photographic tour. This one is of special interest to me because I have always wanted a pet goat. Loren takes it further with goats, rabbits, a horse, and, of course a Border Collie!

Best Original Pattern Inspired by Literature goes to BigAlice for her truly stunning Cheshire Cat Stole. It's so wavy, so modern looking, so beaded! I'm a sucker for knitting with beads, and this is a gorgeous piece.

Amy is the lucky recipient of the award for Best Seasonal Instructional Post for her mitten tutorial. I haven't tried mittens before, but she makes it look so easy, I just may have to give it a whirl. And who doesn't love mittens, really? Especially purple ones!

Best Post Written Entirely in Pirate Dialect goes to Leone for her entertaining and useful Pirate Scarf Pattern. Love bright colors, stripes, and mismatched textures? Check this one out. I think she's well on her way to starting a trend.

Best List to Keep Handy When It's 3am And You've Just Placed Another Order at The Loopy Ewe goes to Maria for her very through list of reasons to stock up on sock yarn (like you needed an excuse). Bonus feature: Sock Yarn Stash Flash!

Best Tale of a Valiant Struggle goes to Miss T for her post about her encounter with The Very Bad Stitch--just in time for Halloween!

Best Attempt to Duplicate an Interweave Knits Photoshoot goes to Orata for her very showy photoshoot in her Tilted Duster (Step One: Get a better umbrella). There should be more attempts to duplicate Interweave Knits photoshoots!

The Honorary MacGyver goes to Emily for her seriously creative swift.

The Pink-Is-Awesome-HaHaHa Award goes to TheBlackSheep for her account of redemption after angering The Pink Gods. Let this be a lesson to you!

Scariest Tale (with Happy Ending) goes to Lara for her woeful tale of The Ripping of the Kyoto Sweater.

Closest Encounter With a Famous Knitblogger goes to Bertha for her fascinating post about how she ended up owning a sweater handknit by Grumperina. Bonus Award: Best Use of Striped Leggings in a Photoshoot!

The No-Animals-Were-Harmed-In-The-Creation-Of-This Post Award goes to Nia for her thorough documentation of her quest to put her cats in skirts. No, really.

Most Awesome Sweater goes to Kirsty for her truly awesome Wonder Woman Sweater. Seriously, this is not to be missed!

The Best Knitblog You're Not Reading Award goes to Sheepish Annie for her overall wonderfulness. Zombies, cats, trucks, hilarious crock pots--it's all here, folks!

Yarnival Hunk of the Month goes to Tienne's husband husband Matt. Lovely photoshoot in his very handsome Cobblestone Pullover.

That's it for this month's issue. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you. Remember, if you didn't make it in this month, be sure and try again next month, when Yarnival will be hosted by WryPunster. You can go ahead and send in your submissions here.

Happy Yarnival, everybody!

Happy Anniversary!

Leo is done, just in time for our 7th wedding anniversary.

Only problem is, the sleeves are way too long. But I knew they would be. The pattern says that after completeing the sleeve decreases, knit even until the sleeve measures 18 inches. Mine already measure 20 inches by that point. So they are long. Very long.
It's still a lovely sweater though, and I am amazed that it came out looking like a sweater at all.

Dear Paul, every stitch was made with love, except for that one area under the left armpit where you were falling asleep in front of a football game instead of vacuuming like I asked you to. I hope you love wearing this sweater, and I want to see you wearing it on our 30th anniversary.

And I am never, ever doing 5x3 ribbing ever agin.

My wonderful husband got me a substantial gift certificate to a LYS, so the plan for tomorrow is to go and try and get enough Rowan Felted Tweed to do a Tangled Yoke Cardigan for me. Yes, I like the sweaters.

Stay Tuned

Leo is blocking! My first sweater....

Socktoberfest! And A Garden Makeover!

Ah, Socktoberfest! I make socks all the time, but there's something so organized about Socktoberfest.

And to get everyone started, here's some inspiration:

Happy Socktoberfest, ya'll!

Some of you may remember when I posted about the sad state of the flowerbed in front of our house. Just to remind you, it looked like this:

Now, thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law, Beverly, it looks like this: