Knitting Today: Kate Atherley Custom Socks

 Last week in our Handwork/Knitting Chat group two of us started knitting socks using Kate Atherley's book Custom Socks.  We both are using worsted weight yarn to make nice thick easy to pull on, and even to use as bed socks.  Some of us have cold feet at night which interrupts sleep!

The book is a good book, I would say, but you have to have your wits about you while you are planning your socks!  It would be so easy just to knit someone else's pattern but you cannot count on the socks fitting in any way...thus the Custom Socks book.

This is the beginning of my first sock.  It is knit with Briggs and Little Tuffy sock yarn, a sock yarn I just found out about.  It is a number 4 yarn which I am knitting on US#4 needles to make it nice and firm.  We shall see how they turn out!

Knitting Today: Swiss Darning or is it Duplicate Stitch?

 Recently I knitted a hat for a grandson.  I knitted in his initials in a circle all around the hat.  I knit a hat for his brother but thought I would try Swiss darning.  I had heard it was easy.  Well, I have found out that the answer to that is--yes and no!

 

Here is the hat in a box ready to send.  (Under that hat is a pile of potpourri bags with one Cadbury egg in each bag.,,a last minute idea since I had the bags handy.)

You can see that the Swiss darning is not stellar...but I bet our grandson will be able to distinguish this had from his brother's hat!

Spring Florals in Full Swing

 Last week I went to the temple two days in a row.  It was spring, also!  On the second day all of a sudden there was wisteria everywhere!  In the temple parking lot, on the drive home, even near our neighborhood.  I love the look of it.  Come to find out, I really do like purple. And lavender. And mauve.  And probably more!

This is not a fabulous picture but I was worn to a frazzle and too much of a slug to get out of the car and go right up to the branch for a better picture.  Not that being a slug is a bad thing, just not always useful in accomplishing some activities.

Knitting Today: Blue Bird of Happiness

 Last week our Book Group discussed Indigo Girl about a girl in South Carolina in the 1700's and the beginnings of the culture of indigo here.  It was suggested that the treats be blue.  I wanted to have a few blue decorations also, but had absolutely none.  

While browsing through Ravelry.com I saw a Blue Bird of Happiness pattern!  It was so easy to knit.  I did only knit one at the time but planned to make more.  No time. And now have moved on to other things.

This is hard to see here, but for a variety of reasons, I am not putting in a better one.  You will probably note that, as usual, I did not make a face/eyes on this guy.  I thought I might use some light blue yarn for eyes but did not get to it before Book Group.

Indigo Girl is a worthwhile book to read.  At least all of us at Book Group who read it did really like it.

Munchie Monday: Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies!

 In our house the preferred cookies are soft cookies. At least that is preferred by one of us.  The other of us doesn't care...almost any cookie is a good cookie.  Or it was until health issues made them verboten.

We had a Church Easter activity to which I was invited to bring a dozen sugar cookies that would be decorated by attendees at the activity.  Dear One is not a fan of sugar cookies, so in some sense it did not matter what recipe I made since I did not expect him to eat any.

For some reason I seem to not have the source of this recipe. It was online and when I just searched, I did not find it.  I will share what I did.

Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup soft butter
3/4 granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (both my sister and a dear friend made vanilla last year and each gifted me with some.  I used 5 caps full of vanilla!  Not sure how much it was but the dough smelled delicious.)

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together.  In an electric mixer bowl add the butter and sugar and beat until nice and fluffy, or rather,  smooth and creamy.  Add the egg and vanilla and combine on high speed until fluffy.  Stop after about a minute and scrape down sides of bowl then mix again until fluffy.  Stir in the flour mixture and beat briefly, until dry ingredients disappear.

Divide batter in two parts.  Place each part on a lightly floured parchment paper then, with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out each section to about 1/4 inch thick.  Put one piece of parchment paper on a small sheet pan then place the second sheet of rolled-out dough on top and place in refrigerator for at least one hour.  Don't skip this step.

Remove dough from refrigerator and cut out to your heart's delight.  I used a smallish bunny cookie cutter and was able to cut out 17.  The last three were the dough scraps from the cut-outs melded together by hand and then re-rolled. I got two more bunnies and one round cookie with the final bit of dough.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 11 or so minutes until the cookies are slightly brown at the edges.  SLIGHTLY brown.  Ours were thick enough that they took 14 minutes.  

Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes then remove to a rack to cool completely before frosting and decorating.  Fortunately for me, that step was out of my hands!  I say fortunately because I often have too much icing then stick my fingers in and lick them.  Not such a great idea.  Unless you are checking to see if the icing is good enough for the project...!

It is a good idea to turn the cookie sheet around in the oven about halfway through, especially if you suspect your oven of have uneven baking spots.  I don't suspect it but turned the pan anyway.  Sadly, I put my oven-mitt-covered thumb into one of the cookies which marred its ears badly so that one had to stay home.  It did not last long here.

We took 14 cookies over to the church.  When they were hot out of the oven, after cooling the five minutes, I took the round one to Dear One who had NO TROUBLE AT ALL scarfing it down.  Even though he "hates" sugar cookies.  I asked him about it and he said it was "pretty good."  I then had no qualms about taking them to the Church for the activity.

A Good Morning's Work!

 This morning I woke up pretty early.  This was a surprise since I originally awoke at 11:30 last night and was awake until 2:30 AM.  I did accomplish a lot while up those three hours but still, no sleep.

So there is supposed to be a substantial amount of rain over the next few days, starting today.  Those pricker vines in front of the house have been staring me down for a long time...since last fall.  Now they all have blossoms, which makes them kind of pretty BUT makes me worry that they are hoping to continue propagating like crazy.  Last night while awake I was thinking about what to do this morning and decided I really HAD to get out there and pull up those miserable little guys before the rain.  Of course, after the rain it might be pretty easy to pull them as well.

Shortly after seven I went outside with headphones and iphone and a book in the Michael Vey series to keep me working.  I don't know about you but when I have a job to do that is not my favorite or for which I need a little encouragement, I put on the current audio book, or sometimes sessions of General Conference, and listen away as my hands are working. (And speaking of hands: the only reason I am really out working this job is that we acquired some fabulous heavy thick leather gloves that protect our hands from the prickers.)

These gloves make all the difference between working and not working!

A few times over the next hour-plus ( and that is NOT normal for me...I usually can only keep up the good work for fifteen or twenty minutes.  Sad, but true.) I dealt with dizziness and almost pitched headfirst into those miserable prickers, but did just manage to avoid that fate.  In the end I had stuffed many many vines into the black trash barrel we use for plant refuse.  Surprisingly, the city plant-picker-upper truck came by while I was out there.  If you don't have yard waste out the night before pick up day, you will be too late!  This batch of plants will wait until next week.

Here is some of the results of my labors this morning...

One other result of the job was this wound...fairly deep but I am sure it will heal up just fine. Pretty sure...

That is all the report for today.  I feel pretty good about that project...and even though there is more to do there by the holly tree, a large part of weeding in front of the house is done.  For now!  I am not so silly as to think those guys are gone forever though that would be ever so nice.

The side of the house has a huge infestation.  Perhaps later on today, if it is not raining too much, or tomorrow afternoon, I can get to those guys.  Once our very kind neighbor said she wanted her yard men to help us along that side of the house.  Yikes!  We did not realize how bad it looked.  Or how generous she truly is.

Now on to the next, which today is the wonderful "Handwork Chat Group" we have here at the house every Friday morning.  It is so wonderful to meet with others who like to keep their hands busy while chatting up a storm!  Recently we have had some new young knitters join us.  They are knitting their first hats. I think today they are ready for decreasing the crowns and finishing off.  They have been doing such good work and have bought into the idea that if they don't like it, they rip out their work and start again.  It is better the second, or third, time!

Fun Stuff: Jewelry Making

 Years ago our daughter made me some French ear wires to use for making earrings.  I made a pair that I really loved.  About three weeks ago one of those earrings was lost.  I thought it happened when I took a nap with my earrings on.  Nope.  Could not find that lost treasure anywhere in the bedroom, bathroom, workroom, no place at home.

Fast forward to today.  We are having Book Group at our house.  We read Indigo Girl.  It was suggested that if we had a favorite blue treat, that would be the thing to bring to share.  I had decided to make blue punch: Gallon Blue Hawaiian Punch, 2 liters 7-Up, 12-ounce can frozen lemonade made up.

AND I thought I should make some blue earrings!  I did not have any blue beads. I also did not have a crimper tool that I needed to use to make stitch markers...so off to Michaels I went.

This is what I made:

You will notice that I used split rings instead of jump rings to put things together.  It works but is not great.

AND THE BEST NEWS:  when I was putting the packages in the car after shopping the sun was shining brightly into the car and there on the floor hooked to the foot mat in the back seat was the red earring!  The lost is found!  This makes me so happy.

Immediately upon finding it, I put it in my ear.  (I did not have earrings in even though some people I know and love dearly have told me I should not leave my room in the morning without being duded up...I am not at all high maintenance even though some people suggest that it would be a good thing.  Maybe some day.  Well, now I have blue earrings...!)