Angel

On Thursday morning, I was gifted this sweet little angel craft from a coworker, Karin. I sewed her up yesterday, and I think she's so cute!

My stitching is not perfect, but I think it's still sweet. The example has a face, but I was afraid I'd mess her up if I drew on her.

Now that Thanksgiving is over....

We put up our tree today!

It has a few ornaments that I made when I was little.

And a little black crow to keep an eye on everyone.

This is my favorite season!

Chicken Pot Pie

Last weekend I roasted a small chicken to attempt to prepare myself for roasting my first ever turkey (which I purchased last night and is bathing in my sink until it's thawed). I had just enough left over meat to make this chicken pot pie recipe from Pillsbury.

It came out very yummy! I added way more pepper than it called for and a little less broth than what it called for. I don't like soupy pie :)

Market tote

Apologies for not posting lately, but this project has been taking me a while to complete. I don't love the colors I chose for this (crappy picture too) but I think it's a cute bag and it will be nice for small trips to the store or the Farmer's Market.

For photo purposes, the bag contains a small milk, squeezable Welch's jam, and two cans of soup!

Zigzag

After I plowed through all of those previous projects, I started this zig-zag scarf with what I have left over from last winter (when I made the earflap hats for the twins). I love the colors, like the scarf in general but my heart really isn't in it.

Perhaps it would be a good item for a blog giveaway?

Cat Toys

I had a request from my father-in-law to make his girlfriend's cats some toys since they didn't have any. I didn't have any filling or a needle when I was there so I flat knit a little mouse. When I got home I set to work on designing these little guys.

Aren't they cute?

There's already cat hair on the one on the left. Moose snagged it off the table! He watched me make these, so patiently watching with those big eyes. I know he thought they were for him.

Some finished work

Bloomsbury ribbed hat. Easy work that I did mostly while commuting to work on the bus!

Heart-shaped dish/wash cloth

Love, love, love these fingerless mittens. I have made a short pair as well, but am looking forward to making a pair that go almost to my elbow in green.

I'm going to try making my own Christmas cards this year. I'm going to make a bunch of flat-knit things (snowmen, Santa, wreaths, etc.) and pin them to cardstock. We'll see how that goes. This snowman isn't finished yet.

Ring around the rosey..

I should be outside waiting for my bus right now, but I wanted to share the finished piece I had given you a sneak peek at last post. I made a simple rib-knit hat and I love how perfectly the stripes matched up! I think it will make a good Christmas gift.

Just wait until you see what I'm working on right now. I'm super proud of how well 1/2 of it has come out so far!

Imperfect

I just wanted to share the slippers that I made at the beginning of September! I took over this project after my grandmother had started it. Aren't they awesome?

Just kidding! I didn't follow the directions (3 strands for the sole, 2 for the sides - I used 1 for all) and then they looked like this after felting. Next time I'll do it right.

And, just a little work-in-progress with some yarn my grandmother gave to me.

Farmer's Market bliss II

Yesterday, I turned this bounty from the Farmer's Market

into this!

With help from DH and my Aunt Julie, I found that the leafy things are bok choy, the white things are indeed radishes, and what I thought was parsley was actually cilantro. I'm still learning!

I'm fairly impressed with myself overall. I didn't have a recipe or a plan when I bought all of this. I made such a huge pot of soup, we ate it for supper last night, and will have it for lunch and supper tonight.. if there's left overs - lunch tomorrow!

Farmer's Market bliss

I don't think I can tell you how much I love the Farmer's Market! With $10 each, my friend Hannah and I hit the market in Deering Oaks this morning. One of the stands had buckets filled with beautiful ingredients for $7. I chose the one labeled "Asian Stir-fry" happily. It sounded delicious. As I was carrying it to the check-out, one of the girls tossed 3 radishes into my bucket. She said she had forgotten to put them in earlier!

As we were walking to get back to Hannah's car, I noticed the Leeks - $1.50 each. I had $3 left so I got two of them. Maybe you can help me with the rest? There are 2 leeks, 5 green onions, 1 green pepper, 1 orange and 1 red pepper, basil, celery, three radishes. I think the other herb is parsley.. not sure what the 2 big leafy things are though, or the 3 white things.. they look like radish, too..

Solana II

I made a solid blue version of this scarf in 2008. When I stumbled across this pretty yarn I had this pattern in mind. It's skinnier than I'd like it to be, but I think it will make a good gift!

Mmmm... & a question

Christmas came early this weekend when my mother gave me her bread machine! I'm so excited. The first thing I did when we got to the mainland was make DH drag me to the Hannaford for bread mixin's.

I started simple, with a Krusteaz country white mix (I also purchased Italian Herb) just to make sure I couldn't mess up. I've also bought King Arthur flour and yeast so I can try it on my own. I imagine that I'm going to get so much use out of this wonderful little machine (it kind of reminds me of Eva from WALL-E).

Delish! We have devoured half the loaf already!

My question.. what's your favorite recipe for a bread machine bread? I'd like to find a recipe for a really hardy bread.. my favorite is Arnold's OatNut if that's any help.

Knit flowers

I'm full-swing on Christmas knitting right now, but I needed to take a break over the weekend so on Sunday I whipped up a little leaf. I thought it was so cute so I knit up a flower. This project really only took a couple of hours on a Sunday while watching movies and waiting for Irene to wipe out our power (which she did not do!).

I really wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. I don't wear pins or brooches or anything like that. I thought of sewing it on the bottom of a completed scarf, but I didn't have one. Or a hat. Didn't have one of those laying around either. So.. I dug around and found a bobby pin!

I think it's pretty cute!

Farmer's Market II

I went to the market again on Wednesday and picked up more cucumbers, peaches, carrots, fingerling potatoes, garlic, and some tomatoes. So cheap! I can't get over it. Today I decided to do something with the potatoes.

All I did was cut them up, smash up some (6 cloves) garlic, salt & pepper, olive oil, and a little parsley.

Next time I'll use a little more olive oil so I can have that crunchy goodness on the bottom :)

Farmer's Market pizza

On Wednesday I stopped at the Farmer's Market in downtown Portland while I was on my lunch break from work. I picked up a couple red onions, 5 gigantic fat cucumbers, and I also snagged a purple pepper because I had never seen one before. I spent $3!! I couldn't believe how cheap it all was.

Anyway, lunch today is a "purple" pizza (though the purple pepper turned kind of grey..)!

Round cloths

I saw this pattern on Lazy Bee Farm's blog yesterday, and had to give it a try myself.

It knit up so quick and so easy (okay, I had one little snafu but I noticed it right away and corrected it)! I LOVE this pattern and will definitely be making more in the future.

Before & After

I finally finished my "Ugly" blanket, and I'm totally in love with it. Next time (if there is a next time) I'll figure out a way to attach the squares together that isn't so ugly. I'm just glad to be done!

Summertime

I know I've been so busy with work, but I've been thinking of you guys. I've finished 19 squares for the afghan I'm knitting. It's becoming a slow process with working with the summer camp and being completely exhausted. I promise this won't last (just 'til August is over)! I'm on vacation next week so hopefully I'll find something to post :)

In the meantime.. did a little fishing in the river next to our new place. DH's best friend, Mike came to visit from Rhode Island so we were really busy this past weekend, and boy was it HOT outside!

We took this picture of Mike on the front porch. It looks like there's a pizza box in front of him. DH says it's a spirit, I think it's lighting issues.

Summer

My wardrobe for the next 8 weeks:

The last two weeks have gone by quickly.. I'm hoping the rest of the summer goes by just as fast! I have a week off at the beginning of August.. hoping it's worth the wait!

In other news, I have 14.5 squares done for that afghan that I'm knitting. Time is short, but I work on them when I can.

New additions to the family

Something I've been waiting forever to happen has FINALLY happened!!

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Please welcome!!

My Whirlpool babies!

DH surprised me with these yesterday! I'm so happy! I don't even care that they're not new (the washer is from 1990) but they have been working great and they hold a ton. Love them. I might miss going to the laundrymat but probably not :)

Sneak peek

I'm hoping that by the time August is over, I'll have enough of these to make a funky little blanket for the back of the couch. I teach at a summer camp, so I will be pressed for time once the kids get out of school, but I think I can do it.

I'm using Sugar & Cream yarn for this, though the pink yarn is from a little tiny ball I had left over. I'm not sure what the brand is, but it's a similar texture. I'm sort of aiming for an "ugly" blanket here. Nothing fancy. The pattern is from the Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth!

Done!

It took two weekends, but we have finally finished moving into our new apartment. I got everything put away from our first haul, but now..

There's even more stuff!

I don't even know where to start.

Thank goodness for Craigslist!

Visitors

Just a quick, warm welcome to all of my new friends, courtesy of Kim at Millie's Mats! It's exciting to have followers and I look forward to posting my Pay it Forward at the end of the month! You guys can also participate if you'd like. You can win a prize before I post PIF and get two little gifts instead of one :)

It's been depressing, rainy, and dark this week, but these photos were taken the weekend before last. My husband built a bird feeder out of a seltzer water bottle and an ash tray. He was pretty thrilled to see this little guy having a snack!

We are moving soon, not too far from here, so should I disappear for a little while while we wait for our internet to get hooked up, that's why. Hopefully I will finish my current project by then! I am making a BLANKET, can you believe it? I love "Grandma's Favorite dishcloth" pattern so I'm making a ton of squares.. 4 and a half down so far!

A surprise and a proposition

As soon as I got home last night, DH said "You got a package today," which took me by surprise because I hadn't ordered anything lately. I was so excited to see that it was from Kim of Millie's Mats! I was one of her Pay it Forward winners. I love my package, Kim! She made a beautiful little hooked sachet filled with lavender, a pretty reusable dishcloth, and even the card was lovely! Thank you Kim!

Aren't I lucky to have received this sweet gift?

Now, for a proposition. For the Pay it Forward 'game' I need 5 people to make gifts for. My problem is that I only have 3 followers. SO, a pregame to me posting Pay it Forward is a challenge for you. If you can get me some followers, I will send you something special in the mail AND you will have a chance to be one of my PIF post winners for a second gift. All you have to do is tell them to comment on any post of mine telling me that you sent them. I will track who sends the most followers and in 2 weeks I will draw for a winner and post my Pay it Forward.

In preparation of Easter..

I've memorized the pattern.

Sir Bunny Bun Buns

With Easter approaching, I thought I'd share a post about Sir Bunny Bun Buns. SBBB was not his original name, his name was inappropriate for someone who works with children so I had to change it!

In 2005 I took in my friend Moira's rabbit. He was a Netherland Dwarf and was so cute! He spent a summer in my apartment, and then a few more months terrorizing the cat at my parents house. Moira found a permanent home for him a couple of months later and I was sad to see him go. I don't really know where he went, but I hope it was to a good home. I had a little harness for him and we'd go out and chew clover in the lawn. He would often wake me up in the morning by licking my face (gross!), and laying on top of me. Aside from chewing up the woodwork, he was a sweet little boy!

This photo is from a road trip we took and brought him with us. He liked to sit on my shoulder!

Lazy Sunday

We had a beautiful, windows open 67 degree day here on Friday. It was bright and perfect. Saturday we woke to snow. Today was chilly, but bright. The cats loved basking in the sun!

It is a rare occasion when the three of them are so close together and behaving!