Food Friday - Gluten Free Waffles

Rhoni and John got us a waffle maker for Christmas. Which I am loving. I use the Gluten Free Bisquick, which I loved already for pancakes. Although they don't make as many pancakes or waffles as the box claims, that's okay with me. Even the husband think they taste better than the glutenous versions.


These were our first try, hadn't figured out the perfect heat for the waffles.





Even yummier with some raspberry jam!







Hope everyone has a wonderful New Years! Will be back tomorrow with the obligatory resolution post! :)

Blue Diamond Socks

I have been working on and off on these socks since I made my November Bakers Dozen Square with this pattern. Still loving it, just working on some other things too. Hope to get back to these and my colorwork socks soon!

I had casted on the ribbing to this sock with a plan sock in mind. Just something simple to knit and I badly need some more hand knit socks. I only have two and they are a few years old now. Any who, after making the November square, I loved the pattern so much, I knew this yarn, these socks, were meant to be made with this pattern.




Doesn't it look lovely?






Alas, I forgot that I had cast these one with negative ease in mind since they were going to be plain socks. After this point, I tried them on and couldn't get them over my heel! So I frogged what I had, redid my numbers and cast on again. I also altered the ribbing section so they flow seamlessly into the diamond pattern. Unfortunately, I have only worked on them a little since then.





Cannot wait to get back to them though. I know they are going to be the perfect pair of socks! In fact, I have more sock knitting in mind, but I shall wait until I can get to at least the ones' I have already casted on for!! :)

Finished Bubbles Hat

I finished the Bubbles Hat. I think it ended up very cute. The husband thinks it looks fancy.


Yarn: Bernat Softee Chunky
Color: Hot Blue
Content: 100% Acrylic
Care: Machine wash and dry
Needles: US 6 / 4mm
Pattern: Bubbles Hat


Here it is flat.





A close-up of the texture.


Modeled by a baby doll, but her little head is too small. It's meant more for a toddler or child, but it is still cute on her.


See, it fits around, but a little too much space up top.




A wonderful little test knit that turned out cuter than I even thought it would. Would definitely make another one of these. This one may end up going to my niece Vera, as I think she would look just adorable in it!

Advent Scarf - Days 4, 5, and 6

I just finished through day 6 of the Advent Scarf. Still enjoying it, but it is still a side project while I work on other things too.


This is day 4. This is one of those lace designs that takes a while to see where it's going. I almost did more repeats, just to be able to see the lace better, but that is a slippery slope to start down. :)


Here is day 5, more nupps again. I changed how I did them, this time I did 9 loops, instead of 7 and then slipped them back onto the left needle and knit them all through the back loop. This worked out much better, but was more fiddly.


This one shows the texture better, but is off in color.


Day 6 is very pretty. Some day I will makes socks with this stitch pattern.



Will post more about the scarf when I have the next 3 days done.

Rhoni's Brattleboro Hat

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Grande
Color: 100 (Natural)
Content: 100% Alpaca
Care: Hand wash and lay flat to dry
Needles: US 6 / 4mm
Pattern: Brattleboro Hat
Modification: Knit the band and button area as one piece and did not make the buttons functional. They are nice black safety buttons, which I thought looked more classy.













I looked for some soft yarn that had a “classic” look and color for my sister. This is like the softest yarn I have ever worked with. I have to work with it again! The hat went much quicker than the baby version, since it’s bulky. Still a fan of this style of hat.

This definitely classifies as the pattern I have knit the most of, since I have now made 3. Granted this one and the baby were modified for my gauge and such. I do love this pattern.

More Bandannas

Here are John's other two bandannas. With the red I did the Herringbone Stitch. The red thread is so close to the fabric colors that it's a little hard to see.






The green is done in a simple running stitch and also closely matches the fabric.












With this I definitely understand having the perfect thread color. For these they work well, because they are on a man's bandanna and shouldn't stand out too much. Although I think in the future I will be working with some color wheel opposites. :)

I loved working on these and miss embroidery, but I have some plans for 2011 to do some more embroidery.

Wildwood Romper

My second test-knit is a garment intended for Ellie, my future niece. It is a one-piece outfit.

Yarn: Red Heart Soft Baby Steps
Color: Lavender
Content: 100% acrylic
Care: Machine wash and dry
Needles: US 7
Pattern: Wildwood Romper

















I am very much enjoying knitting baby things right now. I am knitting a 3month old size and it surprising just how small that is.

Testing Bubbles

A post in the middle of the day!?!?!? Yes, I am sick again. When I was sick last week, the husband got it but worse. Well, wasn't he kind enough to give it back to me, only worse. To say the least I am barely functional and being awake for more than about an hour wears me out. So I called in today.

Any who, tried to post this last night, but Photobucket wasn't working. Y'all knew it was not going to take me long to get back into test knitting. So I doubt this surprises you, but one of my current knits is a test-knit for a hat called Bubbles.

Yarn: Bernat Softee Chunky
Color: Hot Blue (Which they don't seem to carry any more)
Content: 100% acrylic
Care: machine wash and dry
Needles: US 6
Pattern: Bubbles
Modifications: Only modification was I got gauge with Chunky yarn instead of worsted with the recommended needle size.




I love the trim on the bottom of the hat.








The little bubbles. This color/yarn ended up perfect for this project.





I am about 2/3rd to 3/4ths of the way done with it. It is quick and easy. I think it is an adorable use for bobbles, which I am usually not so much a fan of.

Baby Ellie’s Brattleboro Hat

Yarn: Jo Ann Sensation Cuddle
Color: Lilac
Content: 100% acrylic
Care: Machine wash and dry
Needles: US 0 / 2mm
Pattern: Brattleboro Hat
Modifications: Took general pattern and changed the numbers for my gauge and desired size to make a newborn version. Also knit the button band again as one piece.


The front with the adorable Teddy Bear button. I bought the safety kind, so she should not be able to get it off.



The back.




It may have taken some time only working on it here and there, with such a small gauge, but I love the way it turned out. This is newborn size though, so it won't fit her for long. I plan on making some more hats though. Gotta see what kind of nifty hats I can manipulate into baby hats!

Sunday Inspirations

~This Entrelac Cap looks so nifty. I saw an example on Ravelry that was in all different colors, loved it! This is probably future knitting.

~Sewn Hand Towels are a wonderful idea. I love how they are decorated and beautiful on one side and highly functional on the other. So want to make some of these.
Horned Owl is adorable! I’m not quite sure I want to pay that much for the pattern, but I may give in as it is too cute.

~Very tempted to join this Metamorphosis Lace KAL. I want to learn more about lace designing and such, but just not sure I’ll have the time. We shall see.

Recipes I’d like to try:

~Doesn’t this Peppermint Bark look delicious? The recipe looks easy and worth trying.

Vera's Whirligig Shrug

Vera's Whirligig went much quicker than Justice's for obvious reasons, but I am glad I did them in that order. Just as the other one, it is an easy knit and turned out lovely.

Yarn: Lion Brand Pound of Love
Color: Bubblegum
Content: 100% acrylic
Care: Machine wash and dry
Needles: US 4
Patterns: Whirligig Shrug by Stefanie Japel
Size: 24 months


The back.


The front.


Cabling detail on the body.


Hem/Collar detail.





Sleeve detail.







I enjoyed knitting this and think it is adorable, even though it is a heck of a lot of pink! I hope it fits her and I think she will look so cute in it.

Food Friday - King Arthur’s Gluten-Free Cookie Mix

Definitely wanted to try the King Arthur Gluten Free Cookie Mix. The Betty Crocker kind is very fall apart and grainy. Taste good, but not good texture. So I was excited to try another kind. These are very different.

Even the dough is eatable with this kind.




Use some ghirardelli chips. I would probably try smaller ones next time.


The dough looked just like "regular" cookie dough.


Spooned onto the baking pan.


All done.




Over all thoughts are a little mixed. They taste very good, definitely more cookie like. The first couple trays I thought I didn't cook long enough and so the next ones were cooked longer. Cooking longer is good for immediate eating, but as the cookies sit for any real amount of time they harden. A couple days later they were hard. Which the husband loves, because he loves crunchy cookies, but I am a fan of the soft. So next time I will use smaller chips and will cook them on the lower time frame. I also might try making a giant cookie . . . the husband loves those and I think this mix would work well for it.

I recommend them as they are very close to "normal" cookies.

Healthy Thursday

Well, no weigh in this week. I spent most of this week sick so no real exercise happened and I didn't always keep down my food. Plus, since wasn't feeling so well, I didn't sleep so well some of the nights either. So, I think it's only fair to skip this week.

My goals are pretty much the same for next week.

I will:
~exercise each day
~Think of a way to consume more veggies without having to eat so much salad
~continue to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night


In crafty news, I have so much stuff to show you guys this weekend. A couple of long over due reviews and some finished projects! Can't wait.

And the Upside

Well, I am finally feeling better. End of last week I had some residual ickiness from ingesting gluten in something I had thought was safe. The beginning of this week I have been sick, but today I am finally feeling better. So I should be taking some pictures tomorrow when I get home from work so I can post some of the things I have finished. See you all tomorrow!

Advent Scarf

My truly selfish knit. I know some of you are thinking "scarf", seriously? Yes, yes, I know, I am not a scarf knitter at all. I've only knitted one real scarf in my entire life. However, I am thinking of this more as a sampler. Just watching each days stitch take place. I am behind, because Christmas knitting comes first, but I am thoroughly enjoying this.

I first heard about it from Passing Down Crazy's blog about her beginning it. I went and looked at it and was sucked in. There is also a Ravelry group, Advents Calender Scarf 2010 if you want to have a look around.

This is the scarf just as is, I had just begun day 4.


A some-what blocked out view.


One more.


This is the stitch for day 1.


Day 2, I don't think my nupps stood out very well so I planned to do them differently in the future.


Day 3, I think this stitch was also in the Shetland Pi KAL (which I will one day finish). :)




I am a little farther now, but now much. Will post progress when I have through day 6 or 7 done.