Revamp

I took a long break from blogging and a lot has happened in the past 15 months or so! I got a new job (library manager), got pregnant, went on a few trips, knitted a lot, made a ton of recipes, went to several weddings, had a baby girl (more on that later) and have had an absolute blast watching her grow up!

I've realized over the past few weeks or so that I really want to start using this space again, but it will probably be in a different way than I did before. There will still be knitting content, recipes, and I'll share a bit about what we do, but I will also have a lot about babies (it's pretty much impossible not to talk about a baby once you have one!) I'm also thinking I may talk about home decor and organization, because for me it has become a bigger part of my life now that I have an infant.

I also really want to do more reviews (movies, books, products, services) and maybe link up with other bloggers. I know when I am looking for a new product I love hearing what other people have to recommend, so it only makes sense to me to include that type of stuff here as well.

I'm going to do a condensed post about my pregnancy and the birth of our baby soon, but that's all the additional catching up I plan to do. I'm really looking forward to using this space again!

Monday Menu and Weekend Recap

This weekend was perfect- nice and relaxing. Since we had originally planned to be in Florida (trip was postponed until later this year) we had an open schedule, which almost NEVER happens. Friday I had the day off, so I went and visited the hubs who was at his grandmothers helping to prime and paint her shed roof. I visited with everyone for a bit, and then I got a text from a friend I hadn't seen in a while inviting me to run to Hobby Lobby with her. Totally last minute, but perfect! We just had a Hobby Lobby open about half an hour from us, and I hadn't been yet so I was totally game. It was a quick trip, but it was nice to catch up with her and her adorable son and also to shop at Hobby Lobby! The rest of the day the hubs and I relaxed at home- I think a lot of knitting and Tv watching ensued :)

Saturday I went in to work for a bit since the hubs was at work anyway, and then we worked outside and caught up on chores inside. Again, another lazy night relaxing- it was great! One thing that did get accomplished was I finished spinning the singles for my last skein for Tour de Fleece.

I tried very hard to keep this a bulky yarn, since most of what I spin in DK weight and thinner. Singles looked good!

We also finally hung the beautiful quilt/wall hanging that a family friend gave us for our wedding. Not only is it beautifully made, its super special because guests signed small pieces of fabric that make up the quilt. Between chasing after a few key people who hadn't signed fabric pieces, then the massive amount of time spent making it (Thanks again Margaret!) and then getting it and finding the right place to hang it, this thing has been a few years in the making. I'm so glad it found a spot in our home though!

Sunday we did a few things around the house after church and I finished plying the singles pictured above- this is one full bobbin!

I didn't get a chance to skein it up and soak it, but I feel proud of spinning 12oz for my first Tour de Fleece :)

We spent the rest of the day with Kris and Sara, who are old news to readers of this blog ;) After Sara and I grabbed groceries for the week, we sat in the basement with the boys while they honed their CoD skills.

Sara has finally decided to start a blog, which can be found at http://rockandnotroll.wordpress.com/  Sara is tons of fun, and just shared a post about her week long anniversary trip to Tennessee. Check her out!

This week is looking good as far as eats go :)

Monday: lunch- salad with tomatoes, leftover grilled chicken, sliced turkey, and peppercorn ranch

dinner- salmon and veggie fried rice

Tuesday: lunch- leftovers

dinner- Dorito taco salad and corn on the cob

Wednesday: lunch- leftovers

dinner- out!

Thursday: lunch- salad with fruit

dinner- Grilled Shrimp Quesadillas and pasta salad

Friday: lunch- leftover pasta salad

dinner- out

Saturday: lunch- not sure

dinner- baked chicken chimichangas

Also, I pinned a TON of stuff this weekend. I have the sudden urge to make my house really "lived in" by decorating, if that makes any sense. Even though we have lived here for two years, after the initial painting and fixing up of things, we haven't decorated much. I've decided that I want our home to be a space that makes us happy, so I looked for ideas yesterday. I also found a lot of inspiration from the book Young House Love. I may do a book review when I've finished it (almost there!)

TDF Skein #1

I finished my first skein of Yarn for Tour de Fleece!

This is Into the Whirled English Shetland in the Sternennacht colorway.

Its about a fingering/sport weight yarn, and I got 330 yards of a chain ply from 4oz. I was really happy with that, especially since this was my second yarn spun on my wheel. The plying isn't perfect, but I'm sure it will make a nice project/ finished object someday.

I'm almost finished spinning my Sunshine yarns fiber into singles, hoping to ply tomorrow!

WIP Wednesday

This is going to be a quickie since I just walked in the door and have to walk back out really soon! I finished the baby blanket I have been working on. There are still some ends that need to be woven in and I might do some sort of border, but I'm considering it complete.

I'm still working on the dog sweater, but it hasn't gotten much love. That project will become my priority now though, so look for more progress next week!

I have been spinning a ton! I have a finished skein of yarn, but its not dry yet so that will have to wait. This is my current spin- Sunshine Yarns SW BFL in the Hogwarts at Night colorway. I love it!

Above is the second 2oz still in progress, and below is the first 2 oz.

Such awesome colors. I am loving spinning this fiber.

My next project has me starting my Christmas knitting! More info to follow :)

WIP Wednesday

This is going to be a bit of a random WIP Wednesday post as I have a lot to share!

First things first, I got a haircut yesterday. Normally I keep my hair about the same length and style, with small variations. This time I decided I wanted something different, and this was the result!

Before

 After!

 And here is my hair that is going to be donated.

Initially I wasn't planning on donating my hair. I have done it twice in the past, but I didn't think my hair was long enough. By cutting off another inch or so I was able to donate it, and I really like the way it turned out!

Right after I got my haircut I went grocery shopping and managed to lock myself out of my car AFTER I got groceries. Fun times. Thank goodness for friends! They rescued me by running to my house, getting my spare set, and bringing it to me. 

We also changed up our menu for last night. Originally we were going to have breakfast casserole, but I wasn't feelin it. Since I had just gone shopping, we had lots of fresh veggies in the house so I made fried rice instead with the rice leftover from our burritos. It's one of our favorites and we hadn't had it in a while, so it really hit the spot. Yay for changing it up!

Now, onto the knitting! I'm still working on the baby blanket for my niece, and I think I got another colorful section and white section done since last week.

It is still really fun to knit, but this week hasn't had as much car riding time as last week, so less knitting got done :)

I did start a new project, a washcloth for me! My cotton stash has been slowly growing, and I decided that I should try out some different patterns and use it up. This one is the Spa Day Facecloth. 

 The color is actually more lilac than it is showing here, but I'd say its about 1/3 done. The pattern is easily memorized and makes a nice texture.

I also started spinning a new fiber. This in Into the Whirled in the "Sternennacht" color way, which is based on the Starry Night painting. I decided to split the roving up by color, and started spinning the yellow sections. 

A little bit of the light blue crept in there, but overall I'm pleased with it so far. I hope to be into the light blue later this week!

I'm still reading all the same books but have made a little progress, especially on Game of Thrones. As always, come find me on goodreads to keep up with what I'm reading.

This post is linked up with Ginny's Yarn Along. 

Whew!

Posting has been a bit sporadic, and I know I mentioned that it might be, but to be honest I had hoped to stay on my schedule of three times a week. Ha. But I finally turned in my last final yesterday! Graduation rehearsal is today, and tomorrow I will be officially graduated with my Bachelors!

I thought I would make this a bit of a catch up post since I missed both Monday and Wednesday. Surprisingly, I did sort of have a menu plan for the week, it just never made it on the blog :) We tried a new recipe this week- Taco Salad. A relative used to make a similar recipe for every family function when I was younger, and I was really hoping this was it! It didn't taste exactly the same to me, but it was similar and good, so it's a win!

Last night's dinner was pretty good too. Pasta with salmon and garlic white sauce- simple but yummy. 

We also had small salads, but those don't look nearly as good! 

The knitting is coming along slowly. I have a project that is for a friend that I would really like to have done for Saturday, but there's still a lot of knitting to do. However, the exciting fibery thing that happened this week was that I got my wheel!

I have been saving for and researching wheels for about six months now, and decided that it would be a perfect graduation gift to myself. I was careful to order it as close to graduation as I could because I didn't want to procrastinate on my finals by playing with my wheel :)

After researching and going into a LYS to try out a few wheels, I decided on a Sidekick. I ordered my wheel form the Woolery, and not only did they have a good price, their shipping was fast! My wheel came from Kentucky in 2 days. 

By the time the wheel got here I already knew what I wanted to spin on it first. Last year for my birthday I ordered some yarn and fiber, and one of the things I got was some Finn wool from Pacasha in the Rosmerta colorway. I figured the wool would be good to get used to the wheel with because it has a long staple length. I spun up one bobbin between Wednesday and yesterday, and started the second 2oz last night. I love it!

Just a couple of pins to share because I know this post is starting to get long :)

This recipe is one of those things that is super simple, but looks so good! Skillet veggies on cheese toast. We might roast or grill our veggies though!

This Beef and Noodle salad just looks so fresh!

I came across a few picture of bedrooms that I really like the looks of. Maybe if we move (or stay here long enough) I will use one for inspiration to redo ours!

Well that's its for today! Here's hoping things go back to the regular schedule, maybe with a few additions? Who knows :)

Where I Have a Spinning Fail

Spinning progress is hard to show on my spindle, so usually I wait until I have some finished yarn, and even then I wait until I have a few to soak and thwack before photographing. When I first borrowed a spindle to learn how to spin I bought some teal Corriedale wool to practice on. I wanted to finish that up before moving onto something else, so whenever I spun (which, admittedly, hasn't been often) I worked on that. I did take a break between spinning the singles and plying to work on one of the little fiber balls I got from Cris at Into the Whirled. I had all sorts of problem plying, but after a few tangles and deciding that the fiber really wanted to be a two ply and not a three ply, I was away. It was going well until both of the singles broke. Thankfully it was a pretty clean break, so I just started plying again and would the first bit off on its own.

That white bit at the bottom is the tie. Overall this yarn came out super springy and squishy, however its not a very soft yarn. I still have to measure, but there is enough to do some stripes or a small project.

The rest of this fiber, however, did not turn out so pretty. Apparently I have a hard time remembering which way I should be spinning, and even though halfway through I thought it looked a little funny, and I kept checking to make sure I was spinning opposite my singles, this happened.

The top is the first part after it broke, but toward the bottom you can see how it looks like... well, poop. That my friends is what happens when you ply the wrong way. I'm trying to take this as a learning experience, but it will stink to have to cut it. I'll just add the top section to the rest of it. No biggie.

I also did my first chain plying! (Excuse the really fluffy end and the gray ties)

I think this came out pretty good for my first time. It took a few loops before I had the hang of it, but now I think I will try to chain ply all my little sample balls from ITW.

2 out of 3 isn't too bad, right!?

Back to school, back to school

That's right, it is back to school for me as of yesterday. I think I may have mentioned before that I am a few classes short of my Bachelors degree, and have decided that there's no time like the present to finish the darn thing up! School prep took up a good amount of time, plus we had our annual end-of-summer roast on Saturday, so it was a busy weekend in mi casa.

Some fun things have been going on, however. Thing number one is spinning! I haven't spun in a few months- time got tight and I had some deadline knitting that needed to get finished up, so now that almost all of that is done I decided to get working on my spindle again. I also plan to attend a few fiber festivals this year, and I would have a hard time justifying fiber purchases if I hadn't spun in months. No guilt now!

The fiber that is pictured is all that I have left of the teal Corriedale that has been on the spindle FOREVER. Its spinning up pretty thin, and I'm hoping to finish spinning and ply in in the next few weeks.

The other thing the hubs and I did last night was make breakfast burritos. This is an hour long process, because we make a bunch at a time and freeze them so we can have a quick breakfast in the morning. Last night we had pork breakfast sausage, bacon, mozzarella cheese, colby jack cheese, salsa, black beans, hot sauce, green enchilada sauce, and eggs to chose from. We pick and chose which items to add to each burrito. We were obviously feeling the Southwestern flair last night ;) They turned out great! I didn't take any progress photos, but maybe one of these mornings when I eat one I can remember to snap a pic.

Finishing Up

For the first time in a long time at the end of this month I will only have 2 WIPs. Really its only one because the crochet blanket is a long term WIP. Its a nice feeling but its also a little odd. I'm really enjoying the thought of starting and finishing projects in the time I set for them (which is getting more realistic the longer I've been knitting) and buying yarn for specific projects. I know that I will occasionally find the lone skein or skeins of yarn that I buy just because they are pretty, but for the most part I feel much more in control thinking of my stash and my knitting in that way.

All that to say, I have knitting progress! First, some finished objects.

This is the Lacy Baktus scarf, complete with kitty butt for scale. Its about 5.5 feet wide, and I really like it! I have yet to wear it, but I think it will be a nice addition to my wardrobe :) I knit this with Knit Picks Stroll Hand Painted yarn in the Make Believe colorway and size 3 needles. I was surprised at how SOFT this yarn is! Stroll has definitely become my go-to solid color yarn for socks! I may even try out more of the hand painted colors.

I also finished this pink hat:

I'm pretty sure that this will end up in my Etsy shop at some point. Don't get me wrong, the pattern (the Robin's Egg Blue hat) is really cute and I may make another, but this yarn is SO not my color. I'm not a big pink person anyway, and this is bright, bubblegum pink. I used Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Chunky in the Dried Rose color with size 10 needles. The color looked more tan-ish pink than bright pink when I ordered it a while ago. Lesson learned, and hopefully someone will appreciate it!

The last finished object is a preemie hat.

After finishing my Lacy Baktus I had a small little ball of yarn left, and I thought it might be enough for a preemie hat. A lot of the video podcasts I am currently catching up on have mentioned making these and donating them, so it seemed like the perfect thing to do with my leftover yarn. I knit it on size 3s since A) they were what I had with me after finishing my scarf and B) I knit tightly, so it turned out only slightly bigger than the pattern called for. Its SO tiny, and I hope to make more and send it off to a hospital where they can use them. I used the Preemie Baby Beanie Pattern, and I will definitely be using it again. So cute!

Here's a progress pic on the second Christmas stocking:

I know its sideways, its just how I uploaded it, and I didn't want to go back and change it :) I'm making good progress. My goal is to finish the actual knitting by Thursday so I have 2 days to do the duplicate stitch and block them. Maybe I should go ahead and block the other one now! Anyway, this is the New Ancestral Christmas Stocking from the Mason Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines book. I'm using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes since it was cheap :)

I've also got some spinning in progress that I'm hoping to finish by the end of the month. Here's a photo:

This is the new spindle that my husband made me. Its not perfect, but its lots lighter than the one I learned on, and I'm enjoying how much easier it is to spin thinner! This is a Teal Corriedale that I got from Curly C'ewes shop on Etsy. I'm hoping to finish it by the end of the month, but we'll see!

The other work in progress is a secret project that I might be able to blog about tomorrow. Teaser!

Picture Post

My weekend consisted of these:

which are very yummy and almost gone now.

Also these:

which are really cute! I am enjoying them immensely.

Also this:

which is pretty darn exciting. Its my first hand spun! Pictures of it all finished to come shortly. Stay tuned! Also... what should I knit next month? I might do a poll once I get my options decided upon.