Salad Season?

It's the end of January. We've barely had any ice or snow. Yesterday The Bug and I went to the Botanical Garden. The trees were budding and the daffodils we coming up. It is unreal. The Peach Farmer was saying if it isn't in the 40s until march we won't have peaches this year. It is truly the end of the world.
But if there must be a silver lining it is that there were lots of yummy green things at the farmer's market on Saturday. Even some tomatoes; those were not green!
Thus I made a salad for dinner tonight. Spicy lettuce mix, tomato, scallions, carrots, roasted Butternut Squash, and basic Baked Tofu topped with Sanctuary Dressing. The only non local stuff being the carrots and the dressing now for January that is pretty crazy! The baked tofu and dressing recipes are from Appetite for Reduction. This book will change your salad life in ways you can't imagine. Since most people can't imagine their salad life changing that doesn't say too much but really it changes you!

Knits at Sunset

Up to five WIPs....well I still don't feel bad. So there. The red in the back is some lovely involved lace which has been giving me a hard time if I don't give her all of my attention. The blue bit is the Mystery. The brown and green blob is Mr. Gnome's sweater. The sleeves are done now I have over a foot of stockinette in the round for the body. *snore* Then a sock for Mr. Gnome; someone's a luck man! This is sock is for between the mystery clues. Then there is the latest bit of short sock for summer use, at the heel turn.

The pretties

Yesterday Mr. Gnome came home early. We watched a movie all three of us. Then relaxed, read a chapter of Harry Potter and had dinner before he went off to his second job.
I also finished clue 2 of the Kniterati. Really I wouldn't have done this pattern otherwise. I would have thought it would be too boring. All that garter. But with the mystery wrapped up in those short row wraps I'm really enjoying it.
There was also pie yesterday. Peach Pie. From the peach pie filling I made last summer. Quite good and peachy. I used three jars to fill the pie. Leaving me with 2.5 jars. I could probably get a pie with that. But I'm thinking of just putting some granola on some filling in a bowl and being done. Maybe some ice cream. Oh the extravagance of peaches in January!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
As inspired by SouleMama.

Problem? Who has a problem?

I signed up for Janel Laidmen's club doing the pattern only option. You see not getting more yarn just patterns....because I need more of that....or something. And well you know I'm a suck for a KAL. With this club you get a sock pattern and then the second pattern is a mystery. I do love a mystery and this is being so cleverly done. Story, intrigue, humor just wonderful.
Doing the pattern only means the yarn has to come from somewhere. So instead of being smart and space frugal I'm dying the yarn to go with the pattern. Or in this case the story in the mystery. The mystery talks about the yarn being the color of stone and all colors but none. Well I'm working with Kool Aid so....I did some research and found a someone's gray on Ravelry that is kind of a blue/gray. One package grape, then one package lemon-lime, then I waited for that to be mostly absorbed, this took no time at all really, then two packages of Berry Blue. And viola above is what I got.
And this is it knit up into the first clue.
This may get me knitting different things as I don't know what I'm knitting to begin with and lets be honest I have enough socks. And it gets me dyeing again, and I've missed doing that.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
As inspired by SouleMama.

Two More

The Dragon Crystal socks are complete. Lovely lovely things despite all of the mistakes I made on them. For starts on one the ribbing doesn't line up; the one on the right in the picture. Then I missed how the foot should be done so mine isn't like it was designed. I do however love the bumps coming off the sock. So funky.
And finally the Wandering Around socks. Gosh these things have been going on for over a year! As you may or may not recall I knit them in the car; with Mr. Gnome driving. When he'd take a left I'd do a left cable, when he'd take a right I'd do a right cable. Quite fun and I do love random anythings!

Finished!....again.....

Oh happy day. Jaali is done and finished and fits!
The sleeves are now the perfect length.
Oh the cables. I do love cables. I love the fit of this sweater. Hits me just right on the waist. Hugs in just the right places. And being blue I love the color. Rowan Felted Tweed is really nice to knit with; especially when you bought it on sale! I'm really pleased with how it shows the cables. Happy me; I have a new sweater!
The Twist Collective Ravelry group is talking about doing a 12 Twists in 2012....tempting. This counts as one and the newest sweater on the needles is a Twist as well....tempting very tempting.

Just in Time

Last night I finished the mittens for The Bug.
Turned out to be perfect timing!
The yarn is Cascade 220 Painted. Left over from her Tiny Tea Leaves Sweater. Those little things went nice and fast!

Bulking Up

I've been working on my spinning muscles.

The Traveling Mitt in St. Louis

During the last week of December the Traveling Mitt was in Town. What you don't know about TTM? She and her sister are touring the world via the Fingerless Glove Fanatics Group on Ravelry. It's quite fun showing this little mitt around town.
She posed on the Chuck Berry statue in the Loop. People were surprised to find out he's still alive much less playing.
Had some Pi. I just couldn't bring her to imo's..
Lit the Chanukah Candles and
made Latkes with us. They turned out just right this year!
Mr. Gnome shared some Schlafley beer with her.
We took her down town to The Arch,
Busch Stadium, and
The Bug showed her around City Garden.
We also went to Forest Park.
She got to meet the knitting group and in general had a fun time here in St. Louis. She is now nearly in New Hampshire. While I was showing this mitt around the city her sister was in the woods in Norway. Lovely wintery pictures. It's fun to watch the group and see everywhere people live and all the neat stuff about different places. I had fun showing the mitt around.

Knits at Sunset

These aren't technically all on the needles. The sweater in the back is so nearly done it's ridiculous. Done again..... On the left is the yarn I'm going to cast on with tonight to make some mittens for The Bug. Next is the shawl I'm making for the January shawl knit a long the knit group is doing. And last is the second sock from the December Cookie A. Shipment. Not too bad totally within reason bit of pile there.

This first week of this year

This first week has been wonderful. And I rarely say anything is wonderful. Pessimist? Me? Yes, well, it's good to know yourself. With the last two weeks of December being non stop crazy go go go with all sorts of different flavors of crazy thrown in this week has been blissfully simple. This week Mr. Gnome was back at work giving The Bug and I space and time to be quiet. The Bug has spent so much time in her room listening to music and stories, looking at books and playing. This has given me space to do house stuff I wanted to do, needed to do, heck I mopped! I put down on paper a quilt design that has been rattling around in my head for years. At least it's on paper....baby steps. I cooked and baked and cleaned the kitchen after. It hasn't all gone perfectly apparently when a recipe says quick it takes me three days to make. But we've rolled with it.
I made two of the three recipes in the December Cookie Sock Club. The third one is quite special and will have to wait.
The first one was Chocolate and Peppermint Swirl Cookies. Swirl cookies never look as pretty when I make them. But boy were the tasty!
Then we made some Oatmeal Cookies. This recipe was brought to the group by Ann Hansen another knitting designer. You make the cookie dough, then split it up and add different add ins to each. Really why has no one thought of this before? I split the recipe in half and put chocolate chips in one half and dried apples in the other half.
A co-worker of Mr. Gnome's is leaving for better things so I stuck six in an ex-salsa jar and made it pretty as a good by gift. I'm putting more into a tin to give to a friend who helped me out last month too. Who doesn't like getting cookies?

This year

I hope to sew more. Ok so I probably say that every year. Maybe if I say it enough it will happen. Or maybe it is more each year and eventually it will get to where I envision it.
I did finally make The Bug's pajamas that I've been thinking about since the fall. I found the fabric at the Upcycle exchange. Nearly three yards of pink with sheep! It had a good number of holes, like someone had dragged it around or something, perhaps that's why they sent it to the upcycle. Then Someone cut a big chunk off to staple together a dress for herself. ahem.... But despite these breaks in the fabric I was able to work around get her a top and bottom. All matchy matchy!
Initially I thought I'd do elastic in the head hole but I didn't feel like dealing so I just did box pleats at the shoulders. Puffy sleeves. What little girl doesn't want puffy sleeves?
My mother got rid of a bunch of her craft stuff by giving it to me. In all of that was some narrow pink ribbon. So I put a little bow on the front. Again what little girl doesn't want a little bow? It's all in the details you see.

oh this sweater

When I ran out the door to go to my mom's house I grabbed the sweater which was more than half sewn up at the time. I finished sewing it up while I was there. Turned out to be a very good thing since I'd only packed two shirts. I did wear it the day I finished it. I also came to the conclusion that the sleeves were just too short. I was pulling on them the entire day. Sigh. One sleeve off and lengthened. Now just to do the cap and saddle. Then on to the other sleeve. I will hopefully finish this thing before the winter is over.

Off with the old sock and on with the new

I did not finish my socks before the new year. Sad. And scary because the car is now acting possessed.
I finished the hexagon socks this morning. There they are all hexagoney.
It is constructed in such a way that the heal is even turned using the hexagons and how you attach them together. So only the cuff and toe are not hexagons.
I also finished Boysenberry Yo. They are almost where they belong. This is a horrible picture. The previous picture shows the color way better.
Then at knit group I cast on for the New Year's sock. The latest and last pattern in the Cookie A. Sock Club of 2011. It's Sanguin Gryphon's Bugga. Getting this package resulted in a lot of Oh!'s. It's when I found out that Sanguin Gryphon is splitting up, there was a card from Cookie, and that adorable project bag you see in the picture. I have loved this club. The excitement, the patterns, the yarn, the cookies! And because I won't be going to a yarney thing this coming year; no Sock Summit, can't make it to Maryland Sheep and Wool, I renewed my membership! So this is not the end!