Linky Inspirations

Paleo Recipes:

Cinnamon Pork Tenderloin with Fresh Apple Salsa

Gummy Bears - - use honey or something similar instead of Stevia though

Pumpkin Coconut Chowder with Shrimp - - when I was young the only pumpkin I ever tasted was pumpkin pie and boy did I not like it, so I assumed I wouldn't like anything pumpkin . . . ends up that isn't true, so I am interested in trying this chowder

Dark Chocolate Coconut Pudding

Paleo Mediterranean Meatza Pies


Gluten-Free Recipes:

Apple Jalapeno Jam



Recipes:

Raspberry Jalousie

Stir Fried Green Beans with Ginger and Onions - - could easily be made Paleo by substituting Coconut Aminos.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Nutella Dream Pocket Cookies - - considering making these for the husband

New England Seafood Chowder

Creamy Lemon One Pot Pasta

Faux Fair Isle Hat

So after the Drizzle, I still had a chunk of the handspun it didn't seem like too much, but definitely enough for another hat. Let me tell you , there was more than I thought there was left. Any who, I decided I liked the look of the handspun and the bare together, because the white really made the other colors pop, so wanted to use them together again. Almost did stripes, but I wanted it to use up the rest of the handspun . . . yeah right!








Absolutely love how it turned out, I've worn it a couple of times and am so very careful not to loose it like I do most of my hats. Only one color is used per row, I just slipped the stitches. The handspun is softer than I thought it would be.

Yarn: Handspun and Knit Picks Bare Stroll Fingering
Color: blue/green/purple and bare
Content: 100% Wool and 75% Superwash Merino Wool/25% Nylon
Care: Handwash and air dry
Needle: US 2 / 2.75mm
Pattern: No pattern, just did some math and started knitting.

Drizzle - the first hat

You'll notice the title says "first hat" . . . yes, along with spinning I have been on a small bit of a hat kick. I've been longing for Fall and the weather has just started being a bit Fall like.











I am somewhat attached to this hat, because the blue/green/purple yarn is my own handspun, remember this? And down the rabbit hole I fell, I really liked knitting with my handspun and this hat didn't use even close to all of the handspun, so there will be more posts this week . . . and yes, next week.

I love the slouchy effect.  I did modify the pattern some so I could use fingering weight yarn, but it wasn't too difficult.  The straight knitting sections were done in the bare and the lace and top portion were done in my handspun.

Yarn: Handspun and Knit Picks Bare Stroll Fingering
Color: blue/green/purple and bare
Content: 100% Wool and 75% Superwash Merino Wool/25% Nylon
Care: Handwash and air dry
Needle: US 2 / 2.75mm
Pattern: Drizzle by Mel of Single Handed Knits

Jacob's socks

I do not believe I blogged about the first socks I made my husband, but these are the second:








They are just a version of broken rib, size 9.5 mens.

Yarn: Serenity Sock Solids
Color: Navy - it's not really any shade of blue, it's a dark gray
Needles: US 1
Pattern: Just made up.

He likes them well enough, but next pair I think I will have to go down a couple stitches for the legs as he has some scrawny ankles.

Linky Inspirations

Paleo Inspirations:

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce - - leaving out the rice and make cauliflower rice makes this Paleo

Chilorio Mexican Pulled Pork

Creamy Spinach Soup



Gluten Free Inspirations:

Savory Roasted Chicken



Recipe Inspirations:

Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake - - ah, sounds so good

Linky Inspirations

Links are pretty skimpy this week!


Paleo Inspirations:

Zesty Tangerine Sauce

Thai Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

Spinning Craze - Part 4

I promise this is the last part of the Spinning Craze! Lastly, Malia from Yarn Raising Podcast has a New to You spin-a-long going on in the months of September and October. You can spin a new to you fiber, do a new to you technique, or use a new to you tool. I am using the 40% Camel/40% Merino/20% Silk that I got through the Highland Handmade Luxury Fiber Club. Also where I got the Yak/Merino.

If you could spin clouds in heaven, this is what it would feel like! It's so soft and just drifts apart.








It catches on everything though! Everything! It takes a bit more patience than the other fibers shown earlier through the week, but I know it's so going to be worth it. I know it is frivolous and probably really stupid, but something about this fiber screams to me that is should be a baby garment. . . I know, not wise, but it does. So we shall see.

Spinning Craze - Part 3

I know you are starting to think I've gone off the deep end and I definitely have. I have enjoyed the Turkish Spindles so much that it has refueled my love for spinning. I love the pre-made ball/cop so that I don't have to wind off, because that is just so very time consuming. Plus, they are also small enough that I can stick them in a small Tupperware container and shove it in my purse and go. I have been spinning on my breaks and lunches at my temp job.

I don't beleive I ever told you about the Alpaca pencil roving I purchase the Winter of 2011 . . . Wookie fell in love with it, found it while I was at work, shortly after it came to live with me and ripped it apart and spread it over the apartment. It is no longer pencil roving. Most of the pieces aren't more than 4-6 inches long and not all of it was salvageable. I have started spinning it again. It's been a while since it's been spun. I forgot to take of the top-whirl I have with some of it on there. It takes a lot of spin and it wants to spin so thin, that the other spindle was just too heavy. I purchased a Tiny Turkish Spindle and have started spinning it again:









The whole tiny spindle fits in the palm of my hand.

I also have no idea what I am going to do with these singles when I am done, most likely will be at least a 6-ply because anything else will just be too thin.

Spinning Craze - Part 2

Ah, the Yak is 50% Yak/50% Merino. It is a wonderful gray-brown color that shifts slightly. It is very soft to spin.









As you can see this cop/ball is already off the spindle. I will save them up until I am all done spinning the singles and then decide how I want to ply them. I'm not sure at all where I want to go with this. Two-ply is going to be too thin, it'll maybe be a lace-weight, which is just to thin for my preference. I am considering a 4-ply cabled yarn (2-ply and then ply them together) as I really did like the look and feel of the Navajo Cable Plied yarn I did.  That should turn out to be a fingering weight.

Spinning Craze - Part 1

I have picked up the fiber from DesigKnit that I got a while ago. In the Sea Anemone color-way, 100% Polwarth.






Isn't it beautiful? I love watching the colors change, which is the allure to this kind of dyed fiber. The trance of watching them spin and blend and shift and change.

I am using this spindle to bounce between projects, so once I finish this cop I will go back to the yak, spin a cop of that and then come back to this again.  Tomorrow I will show you the yak!

So far I think I will be Navajo plying this is two singles held together, mostly because I want the colors to blend together more, I just love how that ends up looking.  But I might to some test plies when I finish spinning all the singles.

Tunisian Entrelac Baby Blanket

Remember this dye post from a few days ago? I am using the four dyed balls of the Debbie Bliss Stella (60% Silk/20% Rayon/20% Cotton) and some balls of the un-dyed Khaki color to create a baby blanket.

I am using a size I/5.5mm crochet hook. Due to the small amount of stitches I am using a regular crochet hook and not a Tunisian crochet hook. I am alternating colored rows between Khaki rows because I have about 4 Khaki balls and 1 ball of each dyed color. I don't have any idea how big it will be, I'm going to use as much of the yarn as I can. I am looking more for a floor blanket than an actual cover-me-up blanket.




It's not much so far, but I work on it here and there. It's going to be a baby blanket for my future kid, whenever that ends up being.

As you can see there are going to be tons of ends to weave in, but it'll be worth it.

Linky Inspirations

Paleo Inspirations:

Lava Flow Ice Pops

Peach and Bacon Guacamole - - sounds weird, but also interesting

Garlic Ginger Brussels Sprouts


Recipe Inspirations:

Peach Cheesecake Crumb Bars

Savory Souffle - - this is my current cooking challenge, I will make a good souffle!