News

The other day I wrote a post and it did something funny to the blog layout, so I ended up deleting the post. If you happened to see the post before it was deleted, it was about the cutest dinosaur, aka Terence the Tap Dancing T-Rex! (pattern by Rebecca Danger). Only something this cute could interrupt my sock knitting. Seriously.

Yarn for the dinosaur is Araucania Nature Wool Multy, and it's knitting up so beautifully! So far I have knit the body and am just closing the head. I am already dying from the cuteness. Pictures soon!

Araucania Nature Wool Multy...all caked up

I am still knitting these socks but not at full force. I just finished the heel flap and only have the leg left. Progress:

I received some bad family news yesterday, and depending on what happens, I may be less present here in the coming weeks. But I am praying for the best.

I hope you all are enjoying the end of your week :)

Sockalong

I joined Susan B. Anderson's sockalong on Ravelry this past week (there are already over 100 people sockalong-ing!). The purpose is to use up sock yarn scraps for a pair of new socks.

I gathered my scraps:

And here is my progress:

I snuck some of the Patons sock yarn (Sweet Stripes colorway) in but I don't think I will use any more of it. It's a slightly heavier yarn and makes for bulkier rounds.

The yarns I am using are the Berroco Sox from my last pair (Faux Cable), the Alpaca Sox from Scott's socks, and a Regia Silk from a pair that is still unfinished :) (but I am at the ribbing and only have an inch or so left to do, so I stole some).

They are not the prettiest socks. There are a lot of beautiful scrappy socks on Ravelry, so I am not being unreasonable :)

I just sneezed like eleven times. Hello, allergy season.

Woman possessed

That is what I was this past week. But I finished my Faux Cable Socks.

Words are unnecessary.

Socks with the flowers I planted this weekend; I think they go together nicely!

Thanks again, Andi, for inspiring, encouraging, and enabling me! This is pretty much the perfect sock pattern.


(See previous post for pattern, yarn, and needle specs)

Socks obsessed

Hey friends.... it's FRIDAY!! Are you as excited for the weekend as I am? This work week has been a real doozy; three surgery days in a row means chaos. I am ready for a stress-free weekend filled with lots of knitting and home improvement :)

A little while back, I fell in love with Andi's socks. And I mean, I really fell in love with them. I was pretty much obsessed with them night and day. I had to start my own:

Cast on May 14th

The pattern is Faux Cable Socks by Jen Lucas. The yarn is Berroco Sox and I'm using 2.5 mm needles. Looking back, this was probably not the best yarn choice; the cables kind of get lost in the bold stripes. Oh well :) These were also the first cuff-down socks I've knit in quite awhile and it took a bit of adjusting! (the last three pairs have been toe-up). There are certain parts of cuff-down that I really enjoy, and there are parts of toe-up I prefer. For instance, I like the heel turn on cuff-down soooo much better, but I like the cast on and gusset on toe-up. If only the two methods could get married and make the perfect sock construction baby.


I hope you all have a wonderful and fun weekend!

Scott's Socks II

I love the stripes!

Woo hoo! 

Yarn is Classic Elite Yarns Alpaca Sox. The colorway should actually be called Mr. Grinch, because that's what the color reminds me of! But really, I don't know what the colorway is called.

I used 2.25 mm needles because I read Alpaca Sox needs to be knit at a tighter gauge since it loosens. I did not love knitting with this yarn. It was very splitty and undefined. But I absolutely looooove the finished fabric!! So squishy and wonderful. I have two other skeins of this yarn (in different colors) that I received for Christmas last year, and I will undoubtedly knit a pair for myself.

Happy Monday, everyone!

These purple beauties are growing at work: 

I've been told they're alliums

It's finally the weekend! I have a lot planned for today and it's gorgeous out ^-^ Enjoy your day!!

Summer Socks

I finished these babies yesterday! From now on, socks shall only be knit with sport weight yarn; they're a breeze! (Scott's socks will certainly be knit with sport weight from now on)

It's Sereknity Yarn and Fiber and was won in a contest put on by Gina House of SleepyEyes. It is sport weight and 260 yards. I knit these toe up with Magic Loop and was determined to use all the yarn! I did end up using most of it, except the last yard or two.

I started with a 3.00 mm needle and switched to 2.5 mm for the ribbed leg because I was worried it wouldn't be snug enough. I think it was a good call because they fit beautifully!!

I am seriously over the moon with these! It might be because they are the quickest socks I've knit so far (only six days! I feel like those all-star sock knitters who whip out pairs before you can blink. Yes, Andi, I mean you!) It also might be because I love hand-knit socks and now I have another pair!


Happy Thursday! The weekend is almost here!


(Progress photos can be seen at this post)

Western Montana Yarn Shop Hop 2012

I am a little bummed that I will be missing the Shop Hop this year. Last year was my first year participating and it was so much fun! All you have to do is visit six participating local yarn shops in Montana, have the shop stamp your Hop card, and then turn your card in to your LYS. Each LYS has unique prizes to win for people who complete the Hop, and last year I won a Namaste bag!

The Hop is only through May, and I just learned today it was happening this year; I think I will run out of time to visit enough stores.

Here are the links to my posts about last year's LYS (reading them again reeeeally makes me sad I'm not doing it again this year! It was such a blast to drive around Montana, sight see, and check out new yarn stores) :

• Helena -- We also went to a local brewery/restaurant and had the BEST amber ale...delicious
• Bozeman -- I fell in love with Bozeman's yarn stores!! They were so neat and so unlike Missoula's

Yarn bomb in front of Bozeman's LYS Stix

That settles it... this summer I am definitely doing my own shop hop. There are some shops in Kalispell that I really want to check out, and I want to revisit Bozeman.

Scott was such a trooper and went to all the shops with me, only grumbling when I was on my fifth lap of each store

Happy Hump Day! I am soo close to binding off on my Summer Socks...I'd love it if I finished them this morning. Bye!

Does your LYS participate in a Shop Hop in your state? What makes a "good" local yarn store?

New socks

Remember the yarn I received in a contest?

the yarn!

Well, it became two cute little yarn cakes...

...which became two cute little toe cups!

I am so excited about this yarn and the colorful socks it is becoming! The yarn is sport weight and I'm using size 3.0 mm circular needles from Knit Picks. One of my LYS stocks and sells a huge variety of Knit Picks needles which is great because then I don't have to pay for shipping :)

Let's end this post with a cute photo of Berny, shall we?

May the Fourth be with you! -- Happy Nerd Day!

Is it May or January?

Maybe I'm exaggerating a little. But it snowed this morning. And it's also only 34 degrees F at 12:50 pm. Brr!
 

This is the view from our kitchen window. Usually you can see mountains in the background :) Even though the weather has gotten a bit nasty this week, I know warm weather will be back soon. And I am still so in love that all the trees are budding!! Makes me happy to see them.

Part of me hopes this weather keeps up tonight (I'm pretty sure it's in the forecast for the week) because I just borrowed this funny book from the library:

Yup, that's my cabled Kindle cozy in the background :) still working great!

and I want nothing to do other than to wrap myself in blankets, knit, and read! This book has been on my reading list since it was published and the first few chapters I've read so far are hilarious. I think Mindy Kaling is just great.

It's super easy to borrow an e-book from your library too (it needs to offer Overdrive). Sign into your library account via a computer. When you find a book you want to check out, it should give the options to either download to your computer or download to a Kindle. After you click on download to Kindle, it will prompt you to sign into your Amazon account. To receive it on your Kindle, you have to turn Wi-Fi on and allow the device to sync and check for new items. Voila! (I learned how to do this today).

Time for work. I hope it's a bit warmer in your area than it is here!

Happy May!

On this day, many years ago, a filly was born. The mare belonged to my dad's friend, and she was staying with us. The filly was such a sweet girl with the cutest face. Her name was Shiloh. I always think about her on May First; I wonder where she is now.

On another note, I finished my first project to be auctioned at my friend's fundraiser! It's taking place sometime this month; I still have an afghan to finish and I'd like to knit a few more things.

Meet Geet the Bunny:

He even has a fluffy tail!

The yarn is Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller Full o' Sheep in Clementine. It's the first time I've used it and it is fantastic yarn! Great stitch definition and it feels nice :) Generally knitting the arms and legs are the worst part for me, but with this yarn they were a breeze! (especially when compared to the two acrylic Baldwins I just finished!)

The sun is out and I must knit*.
Happy Tuesday, everybody!


*The mountains are calling and I must go. -John Muir

Tuna noodle casserole recipe

By request, I'm posting the recipe for the casserole I made the other night. I made it again tonight because it's ridiculously easy and delicious! It doesn't require many ingredients, and the ones it does call for, I find I almost always have them on hand.

I'm not taking credit for this recipe! There are hundreds of other casseroles just like this one, but this is how I make it.

Tuna Noodle Casserole 
Could probably serve four people, definitely feeds two :)

• Your favorite type of noodles, or whatever you have handy
• 2 cans tuna, drained
• 1 can of peas, or green beans, or corn, or any vegetable you like! I've tried bell peppers but they get soggy. I think broccoli and cauliflower would be delicious! 
• 1 can of cream of something-soup. I've used Cream of Potato and Cream of Mushroom: both were good but I think I prefer Mushroom.
• Grated cheese- any kind would be delicious! I usually use cheddar because that's what we have.
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil noodles. It takes about five-six minutes for my oven to heat up, so I wait to turn it on until the noodles are are about four minutes from being done.

2. Turn oven to 400 degrees F.

3. Meanwhile, spray casserole pan with non-stick spray. I think my pan is 8x8". Mix tuna and your choice of vegetable(s) in casserole pan. Break apart tuna chunks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Drain noodles and return to pan. Pour Cream of Soup into the noodles, plus one can of water. Mix together well.

5. Pour noodles/soup mixture into casserole pan, and mix well with tuna and veggies. Top with shredded cheese and if you like, crushed chips, cereal, etc.

6. Bake for 20 minutes.

That's it!


If you make it, I'd love to hear about it! I am by no means a great cook, but I do enjoy simple food that tastes great :)

Hope you all have a great evening!


 

Some progress

Last night I started my journal:

I love Moleskins, especially these gridded ones! I've been using them for the past five or six years -for note taking, as an agenda, and for creative writing. Without having read the Happiness Project or knowing much about it, I think it has been so successful for some people because it makes them summarize their day in just a few sentences, forcing them to think about the key moments of that day. Hopefully, we have more positive moments than negative, and so if you are always focusing on those moments you would be happier. This is probably how I'm going to focus my entries :)

Last night I made a tuna cheese casserole:

it just has tuna, peas, noodles, cream of potato soup, and shredded cheese! simple and delish

and decided why I like Christmas music so much: it's cheery and has so many good connotations. And from now on (I've decided) when it's gloomy and dark outside, I'm going to play my Christmas station on Pandora and feel cheery :) It worked like a charm yesterday!

Today we filled one of the planters with soil:

It's on our front steps, right outside of the door.

It's compost, soil, and peat moss. After I took this photo, we mixed it all together the best we could. This box will have peas, spinach, and marigolds. Right above the box (on the underside of the railing) is a wasp nest. I am torn about it; I want the bees to pollinate the vegetables and flowers, but I don't want to be so near to them, especially as Scott is allergic to them.

And I finally took a photo of our origami boxes! Cute, huh? We cheated and used staples to hold the tops down.

Today I also took a few photos of my more exciting stash yarn to upload on my Ravelry stash page. When I first joined Ravelry I didn't understand why anyone would want to take photos of yarn! (ridiculous, I know.) But after meeting Andi and drooling over her beautiful stashed yarn on Flickr, I've decided it's a great idea! It's nice to have a pictorial representation of the yarn and not just the written name. Of course, it didn't take long to photograph my exciting yarn because most of my stash is boring yarns :)

Hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend! I'm off to knit some bunny legs.

Plants and things

This past week has been full of:

• Construction and planting:

It's recycled/ repurposed wood. I helped Scott build one, but he put together three by himself! He said it's his knitting.

• We've been constructing origami newspaper pots, pictures soon

• I turned the second heel on Scott's socks

• I am going to start a journal, writing only one line each day for several years (my take on the Happiness Project)

• We ate some delicious sushi at my favorite place, Sushi Nara:

California Maki is my absolute favorite! It had been waaay too long!

• I bought a new pair of shoes:
  

They're my first pair of Toms. They are extremely comfy - like wearing slippers all day! - they are PURPLE, and the company gives a pair of shoes to a child who needs them for every pair sold. 


Hope you have a lovely weekend!

(p.s. I vow to try and post more often than just once a week!)