Tag: bake

Knitting

Mixed Media Monday 11/23/14

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MY OWN MIXED MEDIA aka MOMM

I’ve become obsessed with Artist Trading Cards and the idea behind them.  Learn more about them here and here. I love their size, they lend themselves very well to all different types of media, watercolor, collage, stencil, stamps, you name it.  I love that their size being what it is, every element or space needs to “count”, with the attitude of more bang for your buck or large works in a small space and I love the idea of trading cards with other artists, though I feel very shy about this for some reason right now.  Here are a couple that I’ve completed recently.

ATC, Distress Stain, stamps, butterfly die cut, distressed edge

Corregated ATC, die cuts, key, word beads

Maybe today I’ll get more confident and sign up to trade.  Loyal readers, anyone into ATCs?

CREATIVE CHRISTMAS

Christmas projects continue on the knitting front and I’ve added some of my pottery to the mix.  Being Christmas gifts, your imagination will have to suffice, but I’m excited about gifting them and isn’t that what gifting is all about?

THE TABLE

What’s going to be on yours this Thanksgiving?  Ours will hold a turkey, the requested every year english peas, mashed potatoes, broccoli cheese casserole and corn casserole. My Thanksgiving offerings will mostly be of the sweet persuasion, a raisin pie, something chocolate, snickerdoodle bread, and an apple slab thingy that I saw on the King Arthur Flour website that looks and sounds delicious.  Ya know, we could cut to the chase and just cut out the turkey and broccoli but somehow, I don’t think that will happen.  Does it show that I’m not a broccoli fan??

Deeds of kindness are equal in weight to all the commandments.  Talmud

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FO Friday 11/12/14, Cowgirls, Well Hello

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SUP?

Between Revival, Stephen King’s newest, my obsession with finishing Sockhead and more than a little experimentation with some new inks and stains in my art journal, something had to give and this week it was blogging.  Anyone else familiar with the “as soon as I get to the end of this row/this page” syndrome?  I’ve had a raging case of it lately and see no respite from it in the near or distant future.  Oh yeah, and Michael’s 25% off everything (even sale stuff) Veteran’s Day sale ate up quite a few hours also.

OFF THE NEEDLES

Sockhead

Malabrigo Rios

Ravelry Red

This is the second go round for this hat.  The first was way, way too big so I frogged and reknit using size four needles.  It was still a tad big but after a soak, a spin and then a trip through the dryer at the medium setting, the size is perfect.  Two thumbs up!

YEEHAW!

This week’s prompt for The Documented Life art journal project was to incorporate fabric onto the page.  I found an old bandana that I knew was perfect but sort of got stuck as far as overall ideas.  Nothing felt “right”.  I did a bit of brainstorming about what I thought of or felt when I looked at it. The cowgirl motif fell into my head and I swear I actually heard a loud click.  I had the Wild West card in my paper stash, then added vintage cowgirl ephemera I found on the internet.  After I got everything in place on the page, I was reminded of how we used to stick photos around mirrors back in the day.  Actually, I still do this.  Old school all the way, me.  I love how this page turned out –

Week 46

The Documented Life Project

Use fabric on your page.

BAKED

At Mr. Iknead’s request, I baked Hello Dollies today.

Butter, chocolate, coconut, pecans and Eagle Brand – what’s not to like??

 STILL MY BABY

My son and his girls.  An amazing dad who got a surprise promotion today at work. I couldn’t be prouder!

An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while the pessimist sees only the red stoplight… The truly wise person is colorblind.  Albert Schweitzer

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Knitting

Go Team Girl, Birthday Swag, More Booklove

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NEWS FLASH

So the big reveal Tuesday was drum roll please a girl, bringing the Iknead grandgirl total to four. Her name is Charlotte Faith, Charlie for short. The name Charlotte carries special significance for me as it was my mom’s name. Charlie is expected to make her debut this August and Mr. Iknead and I are once again over the moon excited to add another precious grand to our collection.

BIRTHDAY SWAG

The Stuttgart branch of the Iknead family got me this guy, along with everything I needed to make him feel right at home.

I’ve named him Snoopy.

The Little Rock branch of the Iknead family got me this, which I’m planning to try out today.  Don’t cake pops sound fun?

BOOKLOVE

I’m rereading In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White and am loving it just as much as I did the first time around.  I also downloaded a new library book yesterday, The Scar Boys, by Len Vlahos.  OK, I’m coming out of the closet with this one – I admit it, I love Young Adult Fiction.  There, I said it, my secret is out and I’m glad.  🙂

ON THE NEEDLES

I’ve finished the first Kew sock and cast on the second last night.  Since this pattern has kicked my fanny in the past, I’m glad to say it appears to have been conquered and is now marching to the beat of my drummer.

I love my past.  I love my present.  I’m not ashamed of what I’ve had, and I’m not sad because I have it no longer.  Colette

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Knitting

Looky here, Grands and Cookies

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LOOK WHAT I MADE!

A very kind friend donated some fabric scraps a couple of weeks ago when she found out I was doing some crafty sewing – we’re talking high end stuff.  I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I’d forgotten all about them, which happens a lot around here.  It doesn’t help that I have fabric and yarn and quite a bit of found stuff that I found intriguing and brought home from who knows where.  Really, I do know where, I find stuff on my walks all.the.time. Stuff I can’t resist picking up and examining, always wondering about the backstory.  My children keep reminding me that this is how hoarders get started.  But I digress.  Backing it up…  I started digging around in some fabric that I had laid aside a while ago and found this really cool upholstery fabric.  Thanks Jean!  Look what I made!

A new needle roll to corral at least a few of the (knitting) needles I have at any given time close to hand.

Here’s a look at the outside

A peek inside

I put a big pocket on the end to hold circulars

Rolled up

I like it!

THE GRANDS

I had the joy of one on one time with a couple of the grands yesterday – The Sprout and I, along with Babymama and Babydiva, visited the library for Book Babies and a good time was had by all.  Books, babies, songs, rhymes, it was so fun!  I probably had more fun than anyone else.  Sometimes, my enthusiam embarrasses my kids, but my grands love it  and I have no plans to scale back any time soon.

After lunch, I put the Sprout down for a nap and the Papoose and I made chocolate chip cookies, best I’d ever tasted!  I took pictures:

Just getting started – modeling her apron

Making sure the sugar is still sweet

Ready to scrape the bowl

Pretty close to perfect, Susie says.

One more scrape

The Closing Ceremonies

There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as if everything is.  Albert Einstein

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Knitting

FO Friday 09/13/13, Face The Facts Friday, Whaaaaa…..

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I’m again hooking up with Tami’s FO Friday blog and Frontier Dreams KCCO.

FACT FACING

If you’ve been sort of keeping up with my sock project the last week or so, you’ll know I started a pair of Blue Day socks last week, knowing full well that I didn’t have enough yarn to complete them.  Even with my little feet, I just couldn’t shake that feeling that I was going to come up short.  No problem, I can always get more yarn.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  I started these using Fiesta Yarns Baby Boom, in the color Sweet Pea.  Yeah, I saw that I’d paid a LOT for this one skein, especially when you’re talking just one sock of a pair, but still, sacrifices can be made.  The ONLY skein I found after hours of internet searching was $47.00!!!  As much as this Sweet Pea stuff floats my boat, $47.00 for a sock???  Not even in loonyhoot’s world can that be justified.  So, I gritted my teeth and completely frogged Blue Day and plan to use – thanks to better judgement and a deeper stash dive – some great sock yarn I remember buying on Etsy.  I even remember the color name – Civil Disobedience and, I have a lot of it.  Plenty for Blue Day and maybe then some.  No decision on different sock pattern, but it’ll happen.

OFF THE NEEDLES

I finished the Diagnonal Lace Cowl from Classic Elite Yarns, just in time for today’s post.  It took just under one ball of Mini Mochi, color number 113 (no name, just number).  I probably could have squeezed a few more rounds in, but being paranoid because of the abovementioned sock thing, I decided to give myself a little wiggle room.  My fingernails thanked me.

I think its official name is Lacy Rib Cowl.

HEAD SPINS

Here’s what I learned today spinning:  cotton spins up differently than wool.  Duh.  It felt completely different, it took a different “hand” I suppose you’d call it and seemed to be a little more nubby; that could have been, really, that I’m a newbie spinner and nothing I’ve spun up yet is what you’d call smooth.  It’s getting better, but smooth?  Nope.  Luckily, the person I bought my wheel from threw in a couple of bags of raw fiber – one of wool and one of cotton, giving me a lot of chances to practice and try out different things.   I’ve spun my way though them both, glad that she was generous enough to include them.  I see a serious roving/fleece stash building – especially after the festival in Greenwood in October.

Spun cotton

Spinning wheel Violet and I are becoming better acquainted all the time, I’m learning her quirks and she, mine.

IN THE OVEN

It’s a few degrees cooler this morning and I’m revved up and ready to do some baking, hopefully Cinnamon and Sugar Pull Apart Bread and/or Snickerdoodle Bread.  Unhappily, I can’t seem to be able to buy cinnamon chips here in LR.  I found a package once, at the Stuttgart Wal-Mart.  I suppose I could order a couple of packs online and the recipe I have includes a recipe for the chips, but I think the store bought ones are better (for once).

MAMA

She continues her decline with her dementia.  I miss her and would love to occasionally be met with a smile and an I’m happy to see you instead of the now normal vacant stare.  I do know that this is the disease and all that, but a little bit of responsiveness can keep me going for quite a while.  There are some days I terribly dread visiting and I wonder how long – for her and for me.  What do I pray for??

Sorry for the Debbie Downer….

For success, attitude is equally as important as ability.  Harry F. Banks

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Knitting

FO Friday 06/14/13, Best SIL Ever, Too Hot To Bake?

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Linking up with Tami’s FO Friday blog today.

OFF THE NEEDLES

Medano Beach Bag

Sugar’n Cream 100% cotton

Ecru and Country Red

This bag is proof that stockinette in the round with two colors CAN be messed up.   I was nearly to the bind off when I noticed that I’d missed a stripe, wrestled momentarily with wanting to frog the whole thing and decided to leave it be.  So, the bag has a unique pattern, designed for easy recognition in case it’s ever in a pile with 20 other red and white Medano bags. :p  My only complaint was that this bag grew so slowly, due to my decision to use number 4 needles instead of the number 7 or 8 recommended.  I do like the density of stitches that the small needles gave me, I’ll just scale the whole bag down a little next time.

YOU SHOULD BE SO BLESSED

Happy birthday to my best son in law ever!  I truly believe he was sent to us (not just to Bigmommy, thank you very much) straight from above.   His gifts of love, faith, positivity, strength, generosity, ideas of fun, common sense, intelligence, loyalty and sense of humor have elevated us all.  (He has a ton more assets but I ran out of fingers.)  Great father, great husband, great friend, great preacher, great man of God – Clefton, you’ve covered all the bases!   We love you!

Clefton and Annabelle

IN THE OVEN

Yeah, it’s pretty hot but I’m baking today anyway.  I think I’ll start with Sundried Tomato Basil Bread using my own fresh basil and maybe move on to something sweet, Pull Apart Cinnamon Bread, maybe.

Six essential qualities that are the key to success: Sincerity, personal integrity, humility, courtesy, wisdom, charity.  William Menninger

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Knitting

Yum

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IN THE OVEN

I’ve gotten a little bit out of the habit of blogging my baking adventures, but rest assured, they continue.  I’m trying to keep my cooking/baking obsession somewhat under control but so far, I’ve not been very successful.  I made a new cinnamon raisin swirl bread the end of last week which I had every intention of taking to Stuttgart and sharing but, naturally, it got left on the counter in the kitchen.  So, we’ve been enjoying it ourselves.  The only real rub is that Mr. Iknead and I just can’t eat the baked goodies fast enough and sometimes they go stale or even moldy.  I think I might start sharing with the neighbors, would that be too weird nowadays?  Growing up, we always shared back and forth with neighbors, but that was then and we knew our neighbors well.  Now, though, we don’t, really, just mostly to wave when we see them outside.  Could this be a sign to break out of my cocoon and reach out?  I think it might be just that.  I’m thinking of banana bread today, that would be a good start.

Anyway, I wanted to share this recipe I tried last night that was so good – it was comfort food and crazy easy – Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak.  Here’s the link.  I fixed mashed potatoes to go with it and it was divine!  Real potatoes, too.  I know what my lunch is going to be!

THE GRANDS

Can you stand a few more pics of the smartest, most beautiful grandbabies in the universe?  I thought you could!

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The Sprout and Me

That’s the Karma sweater I’m wearing.  Turned out well, don’t you think?

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The Papoose and a Cupcake

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Babydiva in her Tutu – How Cute Is That?

Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.  Samuel Johnson

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Knitting

FO Friday 03/01/13, A Stash Tour

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OFF THE NEEDLES

It’s finished and is all I’d hoped for and more!  Introducing –

Etched Rio Wrap!  TA DA!

I love it – it’s the perfect weight (not too hot, not too cool), the perfect color (love caramel), it stays put (not falling off one of my narrow to the point of almost nonexistent shoulders or the other) and the drape (OMG).  After some initial misbehavior on the yarn’s part, we came to an understanding and this project truly became a labor of love.

STEP UP, STEP RIGHT UP

After reading a post on uknit2, I decided to document my stash status and share a little of it here.  At the moment, it’s relatively neat and more or less organized, sock yarn, sport weight, lace weight, bulky, you get it, you’re a knitter but the more I looked the more odd I thought part of my stash was.  Here, you be the judge.

Stash as of 2/28/13

Sock Yarn

Stash as of 2/28/13

Sport Weight

Stash as of 2/28/13

Odds and Ends

Here’s what I think is sort of odd

Stash as of 2/28/13

A Ziploc/Shopping Bag Stash

Actually, come to think of it, it’s not odd at all that I hoard ziplocs and shopping bags.  After all, fiberphiles use more ziplocs than anyone else on the planet and for your safety, don’t get between me and a nice, heavy, handled shopping bag.  I won’t pretend to speak for other crafty types, I’m trying to stick with what I know – but no, it’s not odd at all, it’s more than a little smart, green and best of all, frees up more bucks for my fiber fixation.  So, strike the odd.  Smarter than the average bear, us fiberphiles.  I rest my totally turned around case.

IN THE OVEN

Not yet, kneading takes more than a little energy and I’m still promising Mr. Iknead to take it easy, but soon, very soon there will be fresh bread.  I knead it (get it?)!  I know, I love a corny play on words.

Fly by Tami Amis for more FO Friday treats – you’ll be glad you did!

Live so that you wouldn’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.  Will Rogers

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FLASH – Bigmommy and the babies are in town and are headed over!!  Pics and report tomorrow!  Yay, getting a little lonesome!

Knitting

FO Friday 01/18/13

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ON AND OFF THE NEEDLES

This week’s FO Friday is Meg White’s Cabled Hat, a free Ravelry pattern.  Turned out right nice as a friend of mine would say.

A quick knit, with just enough fiddliness to keep me interested.  I think the yarn is some I picked up at Hobby Lobby a while back, I Love This Yarn 100% wool.  Due to our (Mr. Iknead’s and mine) new austerity plan, I’m working toward losing at least a little of my yarn snobbiness.   I’m trying as hard as I can to bring Mr. Iknead, a very thrifty (read tightwad) guy over to the dark side, knitting him a pair of soft, warm, merino socks, I think it might be working.  The upshot of this plan is that in order for me to be able to stay home, baking and knitting, I have to scale back on some things, like high end sock yarn.  Ouch.

I’m still working on the Phloem socks using a happy discovery of two hanks of beautiful Shibui Sock that I found during a stash dive.  Hopefully by the next FO Friday, I’ll have them ready to wear.  I loves me some Shibui!

BY THE BOOK

Another casualty opportunity to cut back is with my book and audiobook habit.  I downgraded my Audible membership and have been using our local library instead.  I love the downloadables, both e-books and audios and I’m nearly always at the ten book limit at any given time.  One I’m listening to now is Danger to Self: On the Front Line with an ER Psy.chiatrist, by Paul R. Linde.  Fascinating.

IN THE OVEN

Have butter and eggs sitting out, getting ready to make Sour Cream Pound Cake, a recipe from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, a wedding gift 33 years ago.  It’s been well used and well loved, judging from the stains and sticky stuff between the pages and is the first cookbook I grab when thinking about what to have for supper or what to bake when my sweet tooth kicks in.  A classic and a favorite.

Check out Tami Amis blog for more FO Friday goodness.

Simplicity is the key to brilliance.  Bruce Lee

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Knitting

If I Were a Size Six Knitting Needle/WIP Wednesday 01/09/13

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where would I be?  I’ve been asking myself this question over and over since this time yesterday.  I started a new project day before yesterday that called for four different needle sizes; for the first time ever I think, I actually had the needles I needed, sizes 8, 7, 6, and 5.  All hunky dory, right?  Yeah, right up until the time I dropped the whole handful and one of the size 6 needles apparently was sucked into a black hole.  I’ve looked everywhere I could think of and even some places that I knew absolutely that it couldn’t possibly be, stripped the sheets off the bed, rolled up a rug, moved furniture and it still hasn’t shown itself.  I went to the Yarn Mart and just bought another set, knowing that in Bethworld, as soon as something is replaced, the original reappears in the most obvious place possible.  Hasn’t happened yet but it will, it will.

ON THE NEEDLES

I’ve a couple of things in progress, small, quick gratification projects for this week’s WIP Wednesday, first up is the Sideways Grande Hat from Boutique Knits, knitted flat and then seamed.

A free Ravelry pattern, Meg White’s Cabled Hat, to match the cabled scarf I finished last week is the other.

A posting for FO Friday this week doesn’t seem too far fetched, but you never know.  I learned a long time ago not to count my chickens before they hatch and never, ever turn your back on a nearly finished project.  It has the ability to unknit and then lose itself in the stash pile, making you doubt your sanity because you know, positively know that you laid it down RIGHT HERE and now it’s missing in action.  I’m just sayin’….

AROUND MY HOUSE

Yay!  We have electricians today and they say they’ll be finished early this afternoon.  I got a preview of the undercabinet lighting and it is beyond awesome!  Here’s a peek –

I feel a heavy baking episode coming on – especially since I cleaned the oven yesterday and the bottom is a clean slate, ready, willing and able to take another pie bubble-over or cake batter mishap.  What did we do before self cleaning ovens?  Did our ovens get smaller and smaller due to the build up of crud on the bottom and the fact that cleaning involved protective clothing and dangerous chemicals?  I know mine without a doubt would have.  Gotta love progress.

Check out Tami Amis for more WIP Wednesday project love.

To be positive is to be mistaken at the top of one’s voice.  Ambrose Bierce

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Knitting

OK, OK, I’m blogging already!

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WHAT’S UP

I been neglecting my blog the past week or so, I’ve been so busy, wrapping up Christmas stuff, attending the grands’ Christmas pageant (more about that in a second) and just acclimating myself to real retirement.  It’s a big change, believe me, but I’m getting into the swing of things.  Even though I can’t seem to sleep past about 6:30 a.m., just taking my time with the newspaper and coffee is a continuing happy.  I’m busy, don’t think I’m sitting around watching soaps and eating bon-bons.  I’m baking (which is different from cooking), cooking, visiting my mom, knitting (lots of it) and reading.  I love retirement – I think more people should try it! ; )

THE GRANDS’ PAGEANT

The Papoose and Babysis were in their first Christmas pageant on Wednesday evening.  The Papoose was an angel (no surprise there) and Babysis stepped up as the Baby Jesus.  The sweetest things ever!  We did have a tiny bump in the performance when Angel Papoose turned around, saw the audience and immediately had a small meltdown,  crying very pitiously until Bigmommy took her down from the stage and she came to sit (on the front row of course) with Grandmary, Pops, Pawpaw and me.  Best. Angel. Ever.

Two seconds and counting down pre-meltdown!

In the green room before her big entrance

Babysis rocked it out as the Baby Jesus, sleeping through the whole thing and being all the more precious because of it.

Showing off her new smile with Bebe (that’s me)

FUNNY THING ABOUT TIME

It flies.  The holidays are nearly upon us and it feels (at least to me) like we just wrapped up Christmas 2011 a week or so ago, relaxing and telling each other that “this was the best Christmas ever”.  We’ll say it again in about a week, vowing that nothing could top Christmas 2012, what with two babies on their first Christmas and one who’s just getting the hang of presents and Santa.  The wonder never leaves me, I’m blessed.

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart.  who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.  Carl Jung

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Knitting

FO Friday 12/14/12

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OFF/ON THE NEEDLES

Mr. Iknead’s Simple Skype socks are finished and he loves them!  I decided after finishing the first one cuff down that I would do the second toe up, which is how I usually knit socks.  Like the toe up sock construction better, confirming once and for all that pretty much any sock can be done toe up, I usually just read the pattern from bottom to top instead of the regular way and use the Fleegle heel.  You can see the difference in the picture, the one on the left is toe up.

IN/OUT OF THE OVEN

Another type of FO – I baked seven loaves of pumpkin bread yesterday and once again, my new KA mixer rocks!  I doubled the recipe, bringing the total flour tally to seven cups, total sugar to six cups, with four cups of pumpkin and eight eggs.  KA performed like a champ.  I once tried to double the recipe in my old KA, a totally dumb idea, since I’m still scraping pumpkin off my kitchen ceiling. : p

These are earmarked for friends, I hope to get them delivered today.  Must make list so I don’t miss anyone.

THE GRANDS

Here is the most recent pic of Babydiva and her mommy.  How beautiful are these two??

Check out Tami Ami’s for more awesome FOs.

Joy shared is twice the joy.  Sorrow shared is half the sorrow.  Swedish proverb

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