WIP Weekend

I love a three day weekend.  The feeling you have going to bed Sunday night knowing that there is still "one more day" is better than hitting the snooze button in the morning. ("Five more minutes!")

After a reasonable amount of weekend couch sitting, I started to tackle various works in progress.  Especially with my business, there are always started, but not quite complete projects lying around the sewing room...and other places.

So far I've managed to finish weaving in the ends on a baby blanket I knit for charity, finished off three (or four) knit dishcloths for the shop, tinked back 8 rows on another charity blanket to fix a glaring mistake, knit back those 8 rows and then some, finished two 1/2 done aprons, and added to the stack of 1/2 done bibs and blankets.  Sounds like a lot, right?  Don't look in my sewing room then.  :-)

Respect

Everybody wants it.

Everybody deserves it.

Nobody thinks they have it.

Give it, to get it.  You've got to earn it.

Listen to Aretha.  She'll help you understand.

I hope it fits

I'm enthralled with knitting tiny things for tiny people that I haven't met yet.

January's baby knitting was a Vintage Baby Cardigan out of some fun and sassy sock yarn.  Easy to follow directions, and a fairly quick knit.  Done within a couple weeks, including a decent amount of procrastination before actually doing the finishing work.

I used a three needle bind off, which may have been a first.  I also was blessed with my grandmother's knitting needle stash this Christmas, and I was uber grateful for the HUGE stitch holders I found in her knitting stuff.  They were super handy for knitting the various pieces of this pattern...there are only two seams afterall.

Isn't it cute?

What should I knit next? 

What I did on Christmas vacation

One of my favorite things about vacation is being able to focus on the very few crafting projects that fit into my suitcase.  Usually I have a difficult time picking out projects to take along, and always have a list longer than there is actually time to accomplish, or room in the suitcase.

This time, it was easy.

A good friend of mine is having a baby.  Any day now.  I decided back in the fall that I was going to knit her a pair of longies.  I did a lot of searching on Ravelry and found many great patterns.  I finally picked one from http://www.buttknits.com/.  The website was very helpful when I questioned what size to make, and how to finish off the waistband, and what washing instructions I should include.

So I cast them on before Christmas, and cast them off before New Year's Eve!  This pattern is easy to follow, well written and super cute!

I can't wait for the next time I see these little pants, on baby Fuller!

Is this thing on?

Santa brought me a fancy new toy...and I'm wondering how effective it might be for blogging. So this is jut a test. I've got no fun photos on this thing, so I can't even show you how much snow there is in Iowa.

Allin good time, my friends. And if his irks, there just might be more blogging in my future...

Saucy

Apples are another great thing about fall.  There are so many varieties to choose from.  Personally, I prefer a crisp apple for eating.  But there are so many other uses for apples.

We had a small windfall of apples of an unknown variety this week, so I decided to take a crack at my grandmother's apple sauce.  It's SUPER easy to make.  And SUPER delicious.

Quarter and core your apples.  Cook until soft.

This is my vintage Foley food mill.  A fantastic invention.  And the rockstar in this recipe.

Put your cooked apples thru the food mill.  Add 1/3 - 2/3c. sugar and 1/2t. cinnamon to taste to your liking.  Make sure you add the sugar while your apples are still warm. 

Once it cools, you can freeze it. 

We often ate this apple sauce out of the freezer, shaving it off the frozen block as it defrosted.  Leaving the skins on while cooking and processing is what gives this applesauce it's pink hue.  Don't worry, there are no skins in your final product.  Even picky eaters will like this one.  

Fall

Fall is one of my favorite times of year.

The leaves on the trees turn fantastic colors.

There is a crispness in the air in the morning that is invigorating, and reminds me of early morning marching band practice.

And, it means it's time for wearing these...