Thursday, December 1, 2011

December 1st

Here's a little glance at what I get to look at while walking on my favorite trail in Saint Louis Park.







I'll never get used to the geese still hanging around despite the cold temps and snow.

Not the sexiest boots but they let me go stomping through nature without coming home with soaked tennis shoes like last week.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

First Snowfall

Today we had our first snowfall in Minneapolis! I'm excited about it now but I'm sure I'll be sick of it in a few months, especially traveling around in it. So far it's made for a relaxing day inside. We had a warm breakfast consisting of waffles and bacon and sausage, not the healthiest meal but it did feel warm and snug eating it while looking out at the heavy flakes falling outside. Here are a few pictures of the snow taken from the back porch of our apartment.



Monday, October 3, 2011

Daisy/Star Stitch Hat

I finished my very first hat awhile ago and am now just getting some time to post about it on my blog. I love love love this pattern because it is quick to make but has nice bits of detail to it. This project was also the first time I used a material other than acrylic (used 100% wool this time in hopes it will keep my head warm in the coming Minnesota winter).

Here is a closer look at the Daisy Stitch pattern which is a "k3tog, yo, k3tog" using the same three stitches before moving it to the next needle. The k3tog gives it its starburst shape.

I found the pattern here on ravelry.com. It's actually called the Godric's Hollow Hat because it's based off the hat Hermione wore when they traveled to Godric's Hollow in the second to last Harry Potter movie. You can see a still of it from the movie below. You can actually block the hat so that it is wider almost like a beret, but I prefer it as a beanie so I didn't stretch it while blocking.

Now if I can just finish the olive wrap I've been working on since the dawn of time... I am so tired of seeing it on my needles. In the meantime I'm making another Daisy Stitch hat in solid green so that it will match the scarf I just made (as seen in the previous blog post:)

Monday, August 8, 2011

Scarf

It's been almost a year but I'm finally finished with the scarf I started while working at WAFF. You can see where I started it here. It's one of my knitting projects I think I actually like and will keep for myself. Now it's on to more winter projects before it gets cold. Daniel is taking me to the yarn shop this weekend where I'll hopefully find some fiber that doesn't make him itch. The man needs a scarf!


Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Cat Toys



Found this cute pattern for a cat whale toy here. Gary LOVES them, Bear has yet to wake up from his nap to check them out :) The toys were a great way to use up some scrap yarn I had laying around.



The toys are stuffed with polyfil and catnip. Overall a fun quick project my babies will go crazy for.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Mug Snug

I love love loved my latest knitting project. This Mug Snug pattern was super quick and easy and very fun to make. I'm going to take it for a test run tonight using some mint chocolate chip hot cocoa. I know it's not fall or winter but who says hot cocoa can't be a year round thing, eh?



The pattern can be found here on my absolute favorite knitting site, ravelry.com :)

Monday, April 11, 2011

Cabled iPad Cozy



In my attempt to learn a new knitting skill I decided to make an iPad cozy for my friend Matthew who is a busy news producer down in Birmingham. I found the pattern here. It was a bit more complicated to learn at the beginning since I've never knitted a cable before (the twisting part in the middle) but after awhile I figured it out. This was fun to make and rather easy considering I'm still a newbie at knitting.

I also made him a matching coffee cozy (they are currently my favorite thing to knit). They are super easy and quick to knit plus they look really cute on a grande cup of hot cocoa or a 20 oz latte - your choice! :p

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Homemade Bread


Daniel loves his toast in the mornings so I made bread for the very first time in our new apartment. Needless to say it smells YUMMY in here! They turned out kind of short but I'm still proud of them. I'm about to help myself to a slice of bread with my mom's homemade triple berry jam spread on top:)


Here's my mom's recipe for bread...

Mom's White Bread


Mix:
1/2 cup warm water
2 TBS. yeast
1 TBS. sugar

Stir and set aside.

In a large bowl add:
1 3/4 cup warm water
2 TBS. sugar
1 TBS. salt
2 TBS. oil

Stir the both together and add flour, stirring in a cup at a time. When it is too thick to stir, knead more flour in by hand. Total of all flour is about 7 cups.

Knead 5 minutes and coat with cooking spray, cover with siran wrap and let it rise for 1 hour. Punch down and recover and let raise 30 minutes more. Punch down again and shape into two loaves place in sprayed pans and spray top of loaves and cover again with the siran wrap. Let rise to 1 inch above the pans and place in a preheated 425 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Coffee Cozy



Anyone who knows me knows I don't drink coffee... hate the stuff. I definitely believe it's an acquired taste. However, I do love me some hot chocolate (any variation) and steamed milk (any flavor, but especially hazelnut). So I decided to knit a cozy for my coffee/hot cocoa ;) cups.

I found this pattern on ravelry.com but you can locate it here as well. I'm by no means an experienced knitter but I did find it rather easy. Plus it was only the second time I've ever worked with double pointed needles, so I guess that's saying something. :p

Now I have something to keep my cocoa warm while I "enjoy" these Minnesota winters.