My favorite things...

Candy, cats and knitting!

A little bit more knitting...

It's been a little while since I last posted about my finished knitting projects. So here are a couple of things I've done over the last couple months. This is my absolute favorite scarf. I used DK weight yarn and it took FOREVER, but it was totally worth it. I love the little frilly edge.

My very first pair of socks is complete! I found out I don't mind making socks, in fact I'm kind of all about them at the moment.

A hot water bottle cozy that has a pocket that makes it easier to cuddle up to!

A hat and scarf I made my mom for Christmas that has a matching basketweave pattern.

My latest project is a super cool pair of socks to go with my green sneakers. My friend Merrie provided the awesome yarn and gave me the nudge toward working with two circular needles instead of dpns (I absolutely LOVE the circulars! Gonna be awhile before I go back to the double pointed needles). Thank you Merrie!!

A little bit of sping

Knitting

Here's a look at some of my finished knitting projects.

Below is the olive colored shawl that turned into a throw. I am sooo glad it's finished. It will be the last giant project I work on for a long long time.



Here's a quick cowl I did with some extra yarn I had lying around. I'm a huge fan of ribbed pattern collars.



And here is a hat I made for my sis-in-law, Amanda. I absolutely loved making it as hats are my favorite thing to do. It was the first time I used DK weight yarn, which was kind of hard getting used to the lightness of it but I got the hang of it eventually. The lace pattern was really enjoyable and easy to memorize after awhile.

Happy New Year and Check Mate!

This past year I was so blessed to be able to see more of my family than I have collectively over the last eight years. I cannot begin to describe how grateful I am of that. For the first time in almost a decade Daniel and I were able to spend every major holiday with my folks. Just over a year ago that would have seemed so unlikely to be able to happen.

Over the holidays Daniel worked on his model of Optimus Prime (I really need to post a pic of that) and I got to relax and just enjoy the season, though there wasn't any snow this year. I also got to play some scrabble with my parents and even a few chess games with my dad. And for the first time EVER, I beat him!

The win was bittersweet though since I hadn't even realized I'd won until it was his turn and there were no more moves left. Still it was pretty awesome to win at least once. He gave me a brutal smackdown in the games that followed though lol. Here's his frowny face. :p

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.

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.

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:)

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!

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.

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 :)

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

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.

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.

Morning Stroll

It was the perfect morning to go out for a walk! Still nice with a slight bit of chill in the air. I loved it:)

Latest knitting project

Fall Scarf

You can find the pattern here...

Plus a look at my knitting bag :p