Sorry

Well, I have went almost a week with out mentioning knitting here on my blog. Thought I might go an entire week, but I just couldn't do it. Sorry, my non-knitting friends. I can't help it.

I have two email accounts. One for everyday use. The other for stuff that I don't want to see right away and can read a my leisure. So, I had a "leisure moment" just a few minutes ago and I must hurry and get this typed because my leisure time is almost gone!

I went to my 'other' email and found a lovely piece of mail from Knitting Daily. I honestly thought I had unsubscribed because frankly....I think I was getting something from them daily. Ha. I just couldn't sit and read all of them so I unsubscribed. But, somehow....in my box today was new mail.

They gave me a link to this fun place and this neat blog.
I also downloaded the CUTEST shawl pattern for free and I think you could too, if you signed up and received email from Knitting Daily before 10/4/10.

I just wanted to share that and I am still working on my socks. I am on the gusset section. We had a few set backs this week and I couldn't knit NON STOP anymore! ha.

It is another beautiful fall day here in Indiana. Thursday is our library run day. We pick up books and movies for the coming week and we also knit from four to five, but we won't be knitting today.
Oh and another little note....My blood pressure was 180/120 a few years ago and I was promptly shipped off to the hospital. They were able to lower it using medication. Yesterday I went for a doctor visit and TA DA.....my blood pressure was 120/78. Yeay.

My Weekend

This weekend my husband went to his son's house a few hours away to play in a golf scramble. He was gone Friday afternoon til early Sunday morning.
My daughter spent Friday afternoon and most of Saturday at my sister's house.
I spent that time at 'home alone'.

I made sure all of the outside work was done before dark and then settled in with a favorite movie and some knitting. I watched Jane Eyre from Masterpiece theater and started a pair of socks for me. I think they will fit this time. They will match my husband's socks - I had bought extra yarn.

On Saturday I knitted and cooked and canned applesauce. It was a wonderful chilly fall day. Sunny and a few stray clouds, lots of bird talk and a light breeze. I sat on the back patio while the apples cooked and knitted and chased the sun around with my chair.

Here is the applesauce recipe.
45 Cortland apples, peeled, cored and cut into fourths and then set in a solution of water and Fruit Fresh and then moved to the cookin' pot.
Add 3/4 C. sugar, three times.
Add 1 1/2 C. water.
3 pinches of cinnamon. ( mix the sugar and cinnamon before adding)
Cook over low heat for 2-3 hours, depending how lumpy you like it.
Put in jars and process , quarts and pints alike, for 20 minutes in a gently boiling water bath.
Yields 5 quarts.



Today, I made a Brown Sugar Apple Pie for church.
Make two-crust pie dough.
The filling is 8 C. peeled, cored, and sliced apples mixed with the following mixture.
1/2 C. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Pour into the chilled pie shell and dot with 2 T. butter, place on the top crust.
Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. (optional)
Bake 400 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.

The Socks Have a Home

I finished the socks.
They are too big for me and as I was nearing completion I told my husband I was going to rip them out and start over in a smaller size.
Even though I had tried them on him several times as I knitted them, he didn't express a GREAT interest in having them be HIS socks. So I thought....rip them out and start over. He was to have none of that. He would wear them. He would wear them with his work boots. They come an inch or two above the boot. They will look just fine when he wears his long pants. (they will be covered).
The shorter cuff is good for him. Two and a half years ago, he was struck down with MRSA. (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) in his right knee. Twelve days in the hospital with clindamycin and vancomycin continuously alternated, two leg operations, 30 days of oral antibiotics after he got home left him with the desire not to have anything too tight on his calf.
Thus the short cuff-how wonderful!
So here they are. I washed them but didn't block them so they may look a bit funny. The cuff "LOOKS" tight, but it isn't.

I understand that they wouldn't be exactly the same, but the striping seems to be more like cousins than brothers. :(

White Chili

This is a really good soupy soup.
You can find several variations of it and here is mine.

2 T. olive oil

1 onion-chopped

2 garlic cloves-squeezed through a press

3/4 C. chopped celery

@ 4 cooked, boneless chicken breasts, shredded or chopped

1 large can of chicken broth (48 oz. or so)

2 C. water

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

couple good shakes of cayenne pepper

1 large jar of great northern beans (I use Randalls in a jar-48 oz.)



Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and saute onion, garlic and celery for @ 10 minutes or until tender.

Add, chicken (in this instance I used a can of chicken breast-one of the tall short ones)
chicken broth, water, cumin,oregano and cayenne pepper.

Mash or blend about 1/3 of the beans to thicken the broth and add it and the beans.
I also added a mixture of 2T.flour and 1/2 C. water to thicken it as well, although not necessary.

Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and simmer about 30 minutes.

Serve with your favorite cheese, crackers, bread or cornbread,etc.
We grate up sharp cheddar.

Apple Crisp

It is that time of the year again.
We drove to the orchard on Saturday and fetched a bushel of
Cortland apples. I like them. They are good to eat and bake with.
I plan on canning applesauce and um...let's see, oh pies! Yes that's it. Pies.

I made this dish for a funeral dinner Monday.

Here are the guidelines:
Mix 1/4 C. sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon in a bowl. Mix in 5 peeled, sliced & cored baking apples.
Place in an 8X8 baking dish.

In another bowl mix: 1 C. flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt & 1 C. sugar.
Cut in 1/2 C. cold butter until crumbly. Spread over the apples and press down a bit to smooth it.

Slowly pour 1 C. of water over the top and sprinkle with 3/4 tsp. cinnamon.
Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes at 400 degrees.

Good News!

We're happy to report that we're harvesting a fresh crop of Libby's Pumpkin and will have it in your local grocery store by October 2010! Make sure to pick some up to bake your favorite Classic Libby's Pumpkin recipes like these: http://www.verybestbaking.com/libbys/classic/

Felted Mitten

Well, I felted the poor little mitten.

It shrank enough all around to actually fit ME now.

I don't felt often and I wondered if it is felted properly if one can still see some of the actual stitches even though they are fuzzy.
Does anyone know?

EZ Mitered Mitten (Only One)

Remember when I practiced the thumb trick?
I took some wool and just practiced and practiced making thumbs.

The mitten was easy to knit.
This particular mitten is too big, so next time, smaller needles and different yarn.
I previously had knit up a hat with this wool and ripped it out because I didn't like it.
So I used it to practice the thumb trick and decided to go ahead and make a practice mitten out of it.

The are long and go half way up to the elbow bend.

See the thumb hiding there in the middle?

So, I like the mitten pattern, just not this wool. I love wool and have tried and tried to love this particular wool, to no avail.
So....I shall felt it and see if I love it then.

~Until Next Time~

Knitting Socks for Me

O.K.
So here are my toe-up-2-at-a-time socks. If you are unfamiliar with knitting, socks are generally knitted on a set of 4 double pointed needles from the cuff down. This is a newer technique.
You can knit two at a time instead of knitting one complete sock and then have to knit another complete sock. With two at a time, they get done...at the same time.....! (you can also try them on as you go)
I like knitting them both ways, but this is my current favorite.

I am knitting the "Tuscany" sock from the book in the larger size. They ARE a tad bit large. The length is good, but the circumference is a little too roomy.
I am going to finish them up the calf and see if I like them or if anyone I know can wear them.
If not, I won't have any qualms about ripping them out and knitting the smaller size.

This yarn is the Patons Kroy FX sock yarn. Wool/Nylon. Color name: Clover Colors.
You just have to live with the fact that the colors are not exact in each sock.
Here are my other practice socks from this book.

Finished Sweater

I got my sweater blocked. It blocked up nicely.
I purposely knit it long in the body so it would cover my rear. I also chose not to go with ribbing, but a hem instead, which I like the looks of.
The seams in the pants are a technique my mom taught me. She used to put them in my dads pants. Oh, and the grey hair is from my mom too!
Thanks Mom!

We Gathered at the River

Sunday, the church(with the steeple) that we attend baptized several people in a nearby river.
The river has its critters. A few years ago my husband turned a snapping turtle loose in the exact place they baptized.
It was a lovely day and no one got snapped.

Ten were baptized.

Beautimous

Instead of saying beautiful, my friend's little boy used to say beautimous. I think it fits this scene.

(the golden plants are soy beans ripening, when they turn brown, they harvest)

Banana Muffins

So I stood looking at the three very ripe bananas on the counter this afternoon.
We are so guilty of letting bananas go bad.
Well, not any more!
I thought about making a banana pudding type thing from the banana cream pie filling recipe, but thought not.
Went to Allrecipes. com for banana muffins and found this one.
Absolutely delicious.

Another Fun Saturday

My dear friend Carla treated me to spa day.
We arrived at the cosmetology school to be pampered by cosmetologists in training.
Showing my age I said, "so when you are finished with school, you will be a beautician?"
She graciously smiled and said, "yes, but were are called cosmetologists now". How sweet was that?

We received scalp treatments....Um....wonderful.

We received facials......I told Carla we would need a designated driver after that.....you are basically rendered....useless, it is so relaxing.

Then while Carla was getting her facial (we had to go one at a time)...she surprised me with a pedicure!!!
I was happy happy. I had never had one before.
I thought I would just LIVE IT UP....so now my toes nails are lavender!!!!






To top it off, I had been wanting a certain type of white cheese for dipping chips, but didn't know where to find it except at a restaurant in Ft. Wayne. :(
We stopped at a close by Mexican restaurant and ordered from the appetizer menu.
On the chicken nachos....was the most delicious melted white cheese.

After we arrived back at her house, I realized I really DID need a designated driver....to haul my relaxed, stuff body back home.

It was another fun Saturday. Thanks Carla.

An Exciting Give Away

This is a really neat give away!

Go to MrsMamaHen to read about it and enter!!!!
You can click HERE or click on the MamaHen on my sidebar!

Good luck!!!!!

P.S. Make sure your visit her cooking section.....she can really cook!!!

The Thumb-Trick

Most of you know that I started knitting AND baking pies in July 2009.
Year of the Pie is here.

I have really enjoyed learning to knit. I am still learning new techniques. In between projects I try to learn something new.
This week I am learning the Elizabeth Zimmermann Thumb -Trick for a mitered mitten. Woolen mittens will be needed sooner than we think!
I haven't made the mittens yet, but here are some pics of the thumb-trick.
(the pattern is in Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac)

A practice swatch. One end is size 7 needles, the other end is size 8.
Basically, while knitting happily along on your mitten you can knit in a spare and completely separate piece of yarn (the orange), put those stitches back on your left needle and then continue knitting in the original yarn.

When the rest of the mitten is complete you can go back and pull out the special wool, pick up those stitches and knit around to the length of your thumb. Draw the wool through the final stitches.

There are two stitches on the sides that were not in the special wool that need to be picked up and twisted (needle is pointing at it), so you would have 15 stitches. I have yet to perfect that picked up twisted stitch, which is to prevent a gaping hole. But with practice I will over come!

I didn't weave in the ends because I ripped this all out to re use for the actual mitten. You may recognize this yarn from here, I didn't like how it fit so I ripped IT out to make mittens. Ha. ( I like to recycle things)

Ravelry.com is a great place for knitters and crocheters. It has helped me a lot.
I am LKLawsonKnits on Ravelry.

A Fun Saturday

We had been wanting to go here for years and yesterday was the day to do it.

At the top of the stairs is free valet parking. We were heading toward the racing side, not the casino side.
It was a beautiful day, 70's breezy, sunny with some clouds.
But lookie there....that tall flag pole on the right. That is the American flag. Can you believe it? I could hardly see it. I think with all of the money flowing in and out of there.....a bigger flag would be in the budget.

My husband and I pause to record a memory.

This is a view from inside the place (looking from the paddock area).

There is the paddock area, below. I think those flowers are begonias.

The horses were in the gates. We were watching thoroughbred racing at this point.

And they are off!

When it is time for the next race, they parade the participants down the track to the paddock area.

We took up residence under an umbrella table.

They come racing down the track toward the finish line. (please note the position of the horses)

After they go by the finish line, they slow up and all you see are rear ends.

Coming from the paddock. (The paddock is where they saddle the horse and put up the jockey)

I thought the pink went well with the grey.

As they leave the paddock area and go onto the track these folks are waiting to take them on to the starting gate.

These are quarter horses that are coming out of the gate. They run straight down the track for 350 yards.

Notice how at the end of the race they are still wide across the track, unlike the thoroughbred who runs longer with turns and they kind of group up more toward the inside at the end.

After the race each jockey has to weigh in

A behind the scenes look at the picture taken in the winner's circle.

A very patriotic equine.

Two shadows wondering...."should we place a bet at the $2. window?"

We decided to DO IT. Here we are holding our tickets.
The race didn't turn out like we had hoped. lol

We certainly had more fun and spent less than when we went to that movie the other day and had to walk out because it was soooooo....disgusting. (I will stop lamenting about that some day).

Sweater is Winding Down

I knitted a couple messages in the hem. I will be the only one to see these.

Finished sweater before blocking.

I will post a picture of me in it after I get it blocked.

So there you have it, my first sweater. Go pick up some needles and yarn and start one of your own......face your fears like I did.

Until Next Time.

My Movie Rating System

Think of all of the ratings movies have these days.
"G" seem to be safe.
"PG" questionable sometimes.
"PG13" questionable as well.

Well, I think there should be a rating for Tasteful and Distasteful.
"T" for a movie that has taste.
"DT" for a movie that has NO taste. No Class so to speak.

May I add, just my OPINION here, but any movie with Will Ferrell associated with it at ALL, in ANY way....would be rated "DT".

I feel better now.