Phloem Socks – mud&string

ON THE NEEDLES

I’m still plugging along on the Phloem Socks but on the home stretch for the second of the pair. I really love this pattern and so it will probably show up again on the needles at some point. Hopefully I’ll have it completed tonight, I so want to start the Etched Rio Wrap, I can hardly contain myself. Jeez Louise! I ran out to get a quick pic in natural light and it’s windy and cold. I bet the neighbors across the back think I’m nuts. This is what I imagine is going through their heads, “She takes pictures of YARN, for heaven’s sake. WHO does THAT?”

Phloem Socks from Knitty, Spring 2012

IN AND OUT OF THE OVEN

I made Snickerdoodle bread Monday evening as a special request from Mr. Iknead. My recipe makes two loaves, a good thing since one gets eaten up pretty much as soon as it comes out of the oven. It’s addictive, this stuff. Here’s how it goes:

SNICKERDOODLE BREAD

2 1/2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. butter, softened

2 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c. sour cream

1 pkg. Hershey’s cinnamon chips

TOPPING

3 tbsp. sugar

3 tsp. cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cream butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon until fluffy. Add eggs and mix well.

2. Add vanilla and sour cream and mix well.

3. Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add to wet ingredients and mix until all combined.

4. Add cinnamon chips and stir into batter.

5. Spoon batter into two regular sized loaf pans (about 2/3 full)

6. Mix 3 tbsp. sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle over the batter in each loaf pan.

7. Bake at 350 until cake tester comes out clean. Let cool before removing from pan.

Recipe from Kristyn (Lil’ Luna) on Pinterest – Thanks

NOTE: If you have trouble finding the cinnamon chips, (like me) in the store, there are several recipes online to make them at

home.

Go to Tamis Amis for more great WIPs.

ANSWER TO WHO DOES THAT QUESTION: Fiber fiends, that’s who! ; )

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. Mark Twain

TRENDING NOW (what’s that mean anyway?)

Any time one of us had the droops or doldrums, especially in winter, my grandmother always said we needed a tonic. She never gave us a tonic, just said one was needed, which was probably a good thing since when I hear the word tonic, I think of cod liver or castor oil, both of which are off the scale on the official Disgust-O-Meter. My own personal winter tonic is this:

Take one cold and cloudy day

Add a nice fire and some knitting

Mix in a couple of grands, chocolate milk and cookies

Monitor closely as not to miss anything

and

Watch your contentment rise

Repeat as often as necessary

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?

The Papoose Gives the Sprout a Clean Bill of Health

ON THE NEEDLES

I’ve done very little knitting the last day or so, still working on the second Phloem Sock; I did remember that I promised a quick show and tell of the Metalico yarn that The Yarn Mart ordered for me and it’s more beautiful than I remembered –

Here are the stats:

Metalico

Blue Sky Alpaca

50% baby Alpaca and 50% raw silk

All natural/No dyes

Gold Dust

This is going to transform into Sarah Smuland’s Etched Rio Wrap and I can’t wait to get started. The softness and shimmer of this yarn is amazing. Check out the Blue Sky Alpaca website for a look at the pattern.

POP THE QUESTION

What’s your favorite winter tonic?

The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment. Tony Robbins