Knitting

Road Trip

June 11, 2012June 11, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE ROAD

Babydiva, Babymama and I are taking a road trip to Fayetteville to see the Papoose and family, to help amuse the Papoose while her mama is busy packing and sorting. The plan at this moment is for us to leave for F’ville right after Babydiva’s morning feeding, hoping that she will take her usual nap while in the car, trying very hard to keep her regular schedule. Yeah, yeah, the best laid plans and all, but 100% achievable I’m convinced. For this very first girly road trip, Babydiva has splurged on a new bathing suit, modeled below. She is really playing the diva on this one.

ON THE NEEDLES

I usually try to stay at least a little monogymous with my projects but at the moment I have a pair of socks, a baby hat, a French Market Basket that has to be felted and a lacy wrap for when my arms get a little chilly, in church for example. All going right along. Sorry for no pics, in Fayetteville, strange computer and all, I just don’t want to spend time figuring out how to post them.

ON THE ROAD (continued)

Babydive was a great passenger. We made one bathroom stop and we were quickly back on the road. The eat/sleep plan worked like a charm.

OK, this unfamiliar keyboard is giving me fits, I’m wrapping it up quickly. Tomorrow, there will be pictures.

Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better. John Updike

Knitting

Frogged

June 9, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

I did it. I frogged the Maidenhair Fern socks, it took me until yesterday to it, but I got it done. I’m thinking Fa Fa Fa socks, a free Ravelry pattern that I saw on someone’s blog last week, I need to go back and look and I will, just not today.

THE GRANDS

I spent most of the day babysitting Babydiva and loving every second. Really, there wasn’t much to do, feed her, play with her, nap with her and it was glorious! She takes a long afternoon nap, so after lunch, she took a nap and so did Bela (Divadog) and I. Don’t know how long it’s been since I took an afternoon nap, I’m usually at work and they generally frown on that sort of thing and on my days off, I’m playing catchup with the things I put off during the work week. I could get used to naps. Here’s a new picture of Babydiva, big smile –

See why yesterday was so fun??

IN THE OVEN

It’s official – I love the silicone pans. Love them an unhealthy amount, I think. I (finally) got around to making the little Apple Cakes I’ve been talking about for at least a week and they turned out amazing. When they were finished baking and cooled a little, I literally just popped them out of the pan. Nothing stuck, they baked evenly and I’m so proud! Here’s one for show.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. Mark Twain

Knitting

WIP Wednesday

June 6, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

French Market Bag from Knitty

The color doesn’t translate well in the picture, but it’s Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool and once again I’ve fallen victim to Lost Ball Band Syndrome, so my description of the color is heathery brown. Oh, and can someone tell me why this photo rotated itself onto its side and how I can fix it? Thanks in advance.

FROG?

I still haven’t decided what to do with the neglected Maidenhair Fern sock. Here’s a pic showing the “girly” yarn.

And this one has decided to recline also. Help.

Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are — you aren’t. Margaret Thatcher

Knitting

Frog?

June 5, 2012June 5, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

The Maidenhair Fern socks have been have been in time out for a week or so; I decided to try the first one on and it is enormous. Enormous as in two feet at the same time. You know that little voice inside your head (in mine at least) that always tries to give a heads up when something is going off track? I finally decided to give it a short listen and by golly, these socks are way, way too big for me; so big that I know of no one that they would fit. Now, should I frog or go around staring at people’s feet, hoping I’ll find a match, sort of like Cinderella? I offered them to Mr. Iknead, but he says the yarn is too “girly” (it’s teal, pink and purple).

THE GRANDS

Here’s the latest pic of the Papoose at the pool. Did I mention that she looooves the water?

IN THE OVEN

Look! My fancy new silicone pans are here! I’m totally making the cute apple cakes Friday. I love them and think they’re very photogenic!

What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul. Joseph Addison

Knitting

Blackberries

June 4, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

IN THE OVEN

Well, another weekend without baking the cute apple cakes but I have a good excuse, really, I do. A friend called me out of the blue yesterday morning and asked me if I liked blackberries and did I know how to make a blackberry pie. Of course, the answer to both those questions was an emphatic yes. He had been looking around some property he had out in the country and had come across a patch of wild blackberry bushes. He brought me a sack full of some the sweetest berries I’d had in a long, long time. Here’s what I did with them:

Picking blackberries is a pain, they grow on a kind of bushy, kind of viney thing that has wicked sharp thorns, and there are always wasps and bees flying around them, they like the sweet sticky juice. To get these great berries with no fuss, no muss and no thorns, well, it was almost too good to be true. Thanks, D. I used the simplest recipe ever for the pie, it let the berries shine. I’ll share it here.

Simple Blackberry Pie

5 c. ripe blackberries

3/4 to 1 c. sugar

1/4 c. flour (as a thickener)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

crust for double crust pie

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the first four ingredients together. Lay one crust in the bottom of a pie dish, pour berry mix in, lay other crust on top and crimp edges. Brush top with milk, sprinkle with sugar, make slits in top crust. Bake for 40-45 minutes, remove from 0ven and cool on rack.

Enjoy!

Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. Henry David Thoreau

Knitting

WIP Wednesday

May 30, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

Here is my WIP for this week. I know it doesn’t really look like anything yet but you’ll just have to take my word for it, it’s a Cat Hat for a baby, with little ears. This is in anticipation of the Papoose’s new baby brother or sister, estimated arrival first week on October.

Thanks to Adel’s Knit and Craft 2011 and Ravelry for the free pattern.

IN THE OVEN

Yesterday I got my first issue of The Baking Sheet, a King Arthur Flour publication, of recipes, both sweet and savory. One that particularly piques my interest is Coconut Coffeecake. Oops, I forgot about the apple cakes I never got around to doing over the holiday, with the eggs that were in and out of the revolving door (seemingly) of my fridge. Maybe by Saturday, my new silicone pans will be here. I hope so. I’m excited to try them out.

Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent of no birds sang there except those that sang best. Henry Van Dyke

Knitting

Memorial Day

May 28, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

UPDATES

The blog continues to evolve and I continue to learn. Now I’m trying different types of titles and think I like shorter, simpler ones. They seem to work better with the new theme and fonts and feel less contrived and more natural.

IN THE OVEN

I’ve set out the same two eggs a couple of times the past couple of days, each time planning on making these really cute apple cakes I got from Pinterest and every time I get distracted by something or another. Since I have to go back to work tomorrow, it will be Friday before I get a chance to make them. On the other hand, my sourdough is rising and I’ll be able to let them bake while I’m getting ready for work in the morning and we’ll have fresh bread tomorrow.

COMING UP

Memorial Day is nearly over and neither Mr. Iknead or I want to go to work tomorrow. It’s been such a great past four days, we did just what we wanted to do and nothing more. Real life is calling though and like it or not, we have to answer.

THE GRANDS

Here’s a recent picture of Babydiva (aka Harper). She’s getting chubbier every time I see her and has started to really smile and coo when we talk to her. She is a treasure.

Harper Elizabeth

The majority of men are bundles of beginnings. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Knitting

The one where I figured out

May 27, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

Update

fonts. Really, though, I have no freakin’ idea about computer code, don’t know what it is, don’t know how to write it and honestly, I don’t want to learn. So, I bought the WordPress Typekit and it magically worked and now I have fonts. I like it.

In the Oven

I’m still baking like a crazy woman. Today, it was Salted Caramel Nutella Brownies, which I pulled from vittlesandbits.blogspot.com, from Pinterest.. They’re the ultimate brownie, chewy, chocolately and the caramel glaze puts them completely over the top. I was going to post a picture, but they are very gooey and haven’t been photogenic at all today, I think I’ll try heating the knife a bit next on the next try.

By the Book

My current read(s) are The Daughter’s Walk , by Jane Kirkpatrick and I am Forbidden: A Novel, by Anouk Markovits. Both are somewhat of a departure from my usual reads, I lean more toward nonfiction, but these books just may change my reading habits a little. These are going to be repeaters, I think.

The Papoose

Here’s Susannah blowing out her birthday candles last weekend, from a bakery in Fayetteville called Rick’s. It was as pretty as it was delicious and she got both of them on her first try!

OK, so the fonts aren’t perfect, but I’m learning.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler. Henry David Thoreau

Knitting

The one where I start to tweak

May 26, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

my blog a little bit. It had become a little bit stale (to me) and after browsing other blogs and looking at different layouts, I decided to try a new one on for size. I like the idea of headings, so I’m going to take test drive that too.

On The Needles

Still working on Maidenhair Fern socks, I’m nearly finished with the first sock, about an inch from starting to decrease for the toe. Is it just me or does any other knitter feel like the last few inches on a project seem to last forever and just when project burnout is threatening, all of a sudden, the magic row appears and that particular part or project is finished. Is it some sort of tear in the space time continuum or something?

The Papoose

Susannah and family celebrated her second birthday a week ago last Saturday (again with the space time continuum, I swear it was just last month that we were relearning the art of baby swaddling and burping) and a good time was had by all. Four two year old girls, two wading pools, a picnic and a birthday cake sounds like a recipe for disaster, but everybody played nice and left smiling.