Hi Nan

Hi Nan!

Nan is my grandmother. She spends most of the year in Florida. When she and my grandfather are "home" they are a few miles away in Manasquan. But from fall to spring, they're snowbirds.

Anyway, now that I'm a full time working gal, it's hard to make phone calls to say hi to people. By the time I get home, the house is full of busy kids, meals to prepare and what not.

Nan doesn't text, so that's out...she does however read my blog.

So hi Nan! I have a question for you. I have been admiring this cross stitch for over a year and I know that I won't get around to it. If your wrist and hand still allow you to cross stitch can I beg you to make this for me? I'll buy the kit and mail it to you. Pretty please?????

For those of you that know my grandmother, she is a counted cross stitch pro and amazing quilter. Her stitches are perfect and meticulous. I did not get this trait from her!!! I'm a bit of a mess and sloppy with my quilting and embroidery, but I do love doing it. Just don't have as much time as I would like these days. 

So, Nan, what do you say???

This is an Alicia Paulson embroidery kit.

Link here: Winterwoods ABCs

Yarn Along for an Early Riser

I have two early risers in my life. My son, Chase and my dad. They wake very early in the morning and are ready to start the day HOURS before the rest of the world. I think of myself as a morning person in general, but more of an 8 am kind of morning. After coffee and the news kind of morning person. So when I saw this hat pop up I knew just who I would make it for. 

Pattern name: Earlyrising by Annie Rowden

Here's the adult large version that is on my needles.

A smaller one is next. Knitting with farm yarn, the brown blend from the herd.

Annie is running a knit along with this hat pattern so you can join in on her Ravelry group page.

KAL link here.

I am still reading A Little Life.

I am still enjoying it. About half way through the almost 800 page book. 

Joining Ginny today for the Yarn Along. What are you knitting and reading these days?

Recipes

I have been trying some new recipes lately and we've had some major winners! So good that they were handwritten into my cookbook. Only the best make it to the cookbook. (I should really take a picture of that book. It was my prize for my winning cookie recipe in 4th grade girl scouts. It's falling apart but it holds my best recipes)

Anyway, here's one that we devoured. It's a Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole.

I made it last night and served it with texas toast garlic bread. I doubled the recipe for my family and I used a lasagna size pan for the baking part.YUM.

Here's the recipe link.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole

Another winner is this Chicken Pot Pie

I made it with just a crust on top but it would be yummy with the crust on the bottom too.

I also did an egg wash on top of the crust.

And the other new one was this Chicken Wild Rice Soup.

I substituted the rice for the Uncle Bens orange box and seasoning packet.

This was so good. Perfect for a cold day or night.

Do you have any favorite recipes you would like to share? I'm always up for trying something new.

Purple Debbie...I'm looking at you!!! :)

Brown

"Mom, does my hat match my eyes?"

Yes, Chase. My only brown eyed baby :)

Frozen

Hey fellow frozen people. Holy cow it's cold out today! And the news says it's going to be even colder in the next few days. But no worries, a warm up will appear next week. For now I will bundle myself in alpaca socks, hand knits and drink a lot of hot coffee.

The alpacas don't seem phased at all. They were out in the fields this morning. I guess it helps to have your own alpaca suit attached to your body. I was worried about the chickens, but when I woke up at 6 am, I looked outside and there they were, all in the outside pen. They seem happy. Crazy ladies.

So...I have a dilemma. A big one. A tragic one!!!!

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO KNIT!!!! Oh the horror.

I am not in the mood to knit another sweater. I'm not a fan of sock knitting unless it's baseball season.

I just made a beautiful big shawl. I finished up a pretty cowl. I knit my sister a hat.

I feel like learning something new. But not something that will make my brain hurt.

I have my eye on a hat. This hat.

Maybe in farm yarn. I see it as a good hat for a man or a woman.

A good utilitarian hat that will keep someone super warm.

So, if you are a knitter and have any project ideas for me, share! Would love to know a favorite project you have made lately.

Stay warm!!!!!!!!!

Yarn Along

Over the weekend I knitted away on my Starshower Cowl.

I used my cormo/cotton yarn from Woolful. It has a linen feel.

For a small item, it was a lot of knitting. A fancy stitch where you have to slip a stitch over a few stitches every row for a while. I liked knitting it because it kept my attention. I was never bored!

My revelry page link here.

I am reading A Little Life. I took it to work with me today to read on my lunch hour.

I had been told that there are parts that will make you sob. Well, 175 pages in and I had not hit that point. Then while I was at work, you guessed it. I hit a really tough part.

I'm really liking it so far. It's not a book for everyone. Long, very character detailed. My kind of book. Reminds me in a way of The Goldfinch. Has a similar feel.

Joining with Ginny for the Yarn Along.

Happy Birthday to You!

Wishing my sister, Liz a very happy birthday!!!!!

She's the youngest of the three girls...so the fact that she's now over 30 makes me feel even older.

Although it's weird how I can still be 23 and she's now 31. Hmmmm. :) I was never good at math. teehee

Love ya littlest sis.

Snow and Finished Objects

SNOW! Somehow I didn't really know this snow storm was on it's way.

I am still down with a cold so I stayed home from work and enjoyed the snow day with the kids, knitting, coffee and a quick walk outside to clear out my head and enjoy the scenery.

It was quick and heavy wet snow...also melted as quickly as it came. It's almost gone today.

 Finished knitting objects:

Stories from Snoqualmie Valley

Knitted with Cascade Alpaca Pure yarn.

It was heaven to knit and I've enjoyed wearing it.

My Rose and Cross Pullover sweater.

This sweater is from the book, My Grandmother's Knitting.

My sister, Andee and I both knit this sweater with a lot of modifications.

She made hers a turtleneck and I went for a boat neck.

More details are on my ravelry page.

I knitted this with the cormo yarn I purchased at Rhinebeck this year.

It's from Foxhill Farm. It knitted up really nicely and is so soft for wool.

The color work was knitted with HiKoo by Kenzie.

 

That's it for today. It's back to the couch with my tissues and knitting.

Starshower

I have a cold. A yucky, little kid kind of cold. I know I shouldn't complain. People deal with much bigger problems and health issues, but what is it about a cold that makes you feel so yucky?

Anyway, normally I would share what's on my needles on a Wednesday.

And guess what??? NOTHING is on my needles!!

(ok...not nothing...there is a lingering sleeve that needs to be done for a sweater but that doesn't count)

Every once in a while I am on the Woolful Podcast in the Man on the Street segment.

I really enjoy Ashley's podcast and the interviews she conducts with fiber folk. I'm always impressed in her guests. She gets the best of the best week after week. Someday I would love to have a podcast similar to hers. A chance to meet farmers, yarn folk, and people in the industry of fiber...someday.

As a thank you for being a part of the podcast, Ashley gave us a gift certificate to her little online woolful shop. I decided on this beautiful skein of cormo and organic cotton, 460 yards of fingering weight yarn. Dyed with walnut and elderberry. I want it to be a special project that I can wear a lot.

So after lots of Ravelry browsing I think I decided on the Starshower cowl.

It looks like a fun knit that is easy to wear. It has the look of a shawl but it's knit like a cowl so there are no ends to worry about. 

Here's the ravelry project photo:

I am reading a new book and I love it so far. It's a very long book about 4 friends.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Happy Knitting and Yarn Along Day.

Joining in with Ginny at Small Things.