Eternal Arts & Crafts

Sunday Inspirations

2012-01-29T15:02:00.000-05:00

Inspirational Quotes:

Who we might have been . . .

Keys to happiness. . .

What we look for . . .

Inspirational Sewing:

I love how easy this Sparkle Punch Quilt Stars are! I think I may have to use this soon in finishing up some Pay It Forward gifts(yes from last year)!

Inspirational Other Crafts:

I do not make my own soap and probably never will, but this tutorial for Seaweed Soap makes me wish I did or knew someone who did, because I would love some of my own!

I still love macrame, even if I don't really do it often, this Cobbled Solomon Bar Paracord Bracelet is quite spiffy though and makes me want to make one!

This embroidered Tortoise and Strawberry is just magnificent. I love the layering and how detailed it is!

Inspirational Recipes:

I have never been much of a biscuit person, but one every now and again with some good gravy is nice. So these Gluten-Free Buttermilk Biscuits sound delicious and look good. I'm thinking a little sausage with country gravy . . . yummy!

Now, this isn't gluten-free, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to make them so. It's the lemony and caramel part of these Crepes with Salted Lemon Butter Caramel that drew me in. Sounds delicious!

With days being busy with work, I love things I can make and we can reheat as leftovers for lunch or a quick dinner and this Spinach Lasagna with Mushroom Ragu definitely fits into that theory. I will be buying the stuff to make this today. I think I am even going to try making my own lasagna noodles!

As for desert, these GF Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies with Salted Caramel Filling sound delicious . . . can you tell I love caramel? This just sounds so very tempting and bite size!

I love jalapeno poppers! A bit more difficult to eat when you are gluten-free, but this Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich looks beyond delicious. With a GF bread thrown in instead, this is definitely viable!

My sister sent me the link for these Homemade Jack-in-the-box Tacos as she knows I am a die-hard Jack-in-the-Box taco fan and you just cannot get one here. I will say, that I learned they are even more unhealthy than I thought! Doesn't change their deliciousness though! Not sure if I will ever get around to trying this, but definitely seems worth it!

I love making my own soups, similar reasons to the lasagna theory, but I can also be certain they are gluten-free that way. Plus, just so much more freedom in making your own soups, which is why this Buttermilk Potato Soup with Bacon and Roasted Jalapeno is also on my grocery list for this week. Will let you know how it goes!

Along the fast food lines of the Jack-in-the-Box link, these Perfect French Fries are meant to imitate those yummy fast food fries!

Quick breakfasts that are filling are difficult to find, but these Oatmeal Freezer Pucks are a quick morning breakfast with really not much prep work for what you get out of it. Will need to make myself some of these with GF Oats.

Happy Birthday to Woo!

2012-01-28T20:48:00.000-05:00

Hey interwebs, it is me, your lovable Wookie and today I turned 2!

It was a great day, I played with Mommy and Daddy after Mommy was done at work, then we went and bought some treats and a new toy! It was a great day! Mommy is even making me a special little dinner for my birthday . . . let me tell you, it's been a tiring day for a little dog like me.

So as my birthday gift to you all, I'd like to show you some pictures of just how much I love this stuff called SNOW!!

Isn't this stuff just great?!?!?

First you have to run around like a crazy dog!

Then investigate . . . I know it would make more sense to investigate first, but it's really no fun that way.

Investigate further . . . yes, you make get some snow in your fur and some snow up your nose, but that's okay.

Then taste, lets face it, everything in life is worth a taste.

Then of course you realize that this snow stuff taste delicious and you try to sneak it and hide from others the deliciousness of it.

Then, you run around in it some more!

I will admit, it does make everything a little bright though . . . I look a little like a cranky old dog here, but I swear I am only 2!

Don't get me wrong, I am not really a fan of WINTER, or normally anything that includes such things as WIND, RAIN, or COLD, but this SNOW stuff is wonderful!!

P.S. Mommy says this isn't appropriate, but I feel I need to share with my friends that this snow makes it much easier to be territorial, because it makes it so much easier to see where those other puppies have been! There is prints and oddly enough . . . snow that changes color. I am a quick learner! :)

Sunday Inspirations

2012-01-22T16:08:00.000-05:00

Recipe Inspirations:

Salad dressing is another iffy thing for gluten free people, all the more reason to make my own, right? I want to try this Tangy Cilantro Dressing as I am a huge fan of Cilantro. I also want to try this Tahini Sauce a little more diluted as a salad dressing. I had tahini sauce on a chicken salad before and it was delicious.

I'm not sure if I'd like them or not, but Lemony Pickled Cauliflower Florets sounds very interesting and worth a try.

This Christmas Panettone Bread sounds interesting. I have seen similar stuff in the store, but I have never had anything like it before.

These Giant Cinnamon Rolls look so good. It makes me want to try them with Gluten Free flour.

I love marshmallows, but not sure I am patient enough to make Marshmallows home-made. Have any of you ever done it? Is it worth it?

These Cream Wafers are adorably small and cute. They look like it would be way too easy to eat too many of them!

Most tacos do not look light and delicious, more like heavy and satisfying, but these Korean Tacos look like they fall more into the first category. They seem a little more like carnitas. I must try these.

Justice's Desert Socks

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

Another pair of socks for Justice, but these ones aren't complete yet. I am shooting for Valentine's Day or Easter. We shall see.

I love that Justice's favorite color is orange, but it is hard to find a good machine washable and dry-able yarn in orange. So this is a bit of a compromise on my part, it's more of an orange/brown/yellow colorway. I am hoping she will like them anyways. I plan on dyeing up some yarn this Spring/Summer to make this easier in the future. I also bought a couple sock blanks through Knit Picks and I am hoping to fly Justice out to Buffalo this summer so she can hang out with me and her uncle (whom she thinks is just so nifty). I figure when she is out here she can dye up some yarn for me to knit her some sock . . . she'll be 9 then, that would be interesting to a 9 year old, right?

Anywho, onto these socks:

Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Multi
Color: Sunset Multi
Content: 75% Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Nylon
Care: Machine wash and dry
Needles: US 0 / 2mm Circulars

Almost finished with the first sock . . . it's been languishing while I work on projects for Ellie and John.

I am trying a new heel called the Yo Yo Heel. It is an intersting variation of a short row heel. I will definitely be trying it again on a sock, with maybe some small variations. I did change it up a bit this time too, but we'll talk about that more when I actually finish the socks.

I am enjoying the socks as far as I have knit them, they, among other knitted items, are bus knitting and bus waiting project. :)

Tuesday Inspirations

2012-01-17T15:52:00.000-05:00

Crafty Inspirations:

This Pear Shaped Coin Purse is adorable and made a little larger would make an adorable project bag also!

Love the look of this Crazy Stitching!

I love this Ball made from Hexagons! I want to make one, ten, or twenty!

Recipe Inspirations:

Scallion Meatballs with Soy Ginger Glaze, does that not just sound yummy even without seeing the picture? Makes me hungry.

I have never had a Cassoulet, but it sounds interesting. Plus, it sounds filling and potentially good to take for lunch!

Okay, people, I am going to admit to you that once upon a past, I was a Ho-Ho addict. Yes, yes, I was. Now I have found a gluten free recipe for yes . . . Ho-Hos. I am so excited, I just have to try these.

Gluten Free Raspberry Chocolate Brownies . . . doesn't that just sound wonderful?!?! Definitely something I will try.

I want to try a gluten free version of these Indian Fry Bread and Indian Tacos.

I love lasagna for a few reasons, leftovers and lots of possibilities. This Mushroom Lasagna looks and sounds yummy. My only concern is that with a white sauce it may be lost a little in the stronger taste of gluten free lasagna noodles. Only one way to find out though!

It's so weird getting older and liking food you wouldn't have touched as a child or even a few years ago. Taste-buds are an odd thing. This Chipotle Bean Soup with Bacon is definitely in my near future, but it wasn't so long ago I wouldn't have touched it.

Gems Socks

2012-01-16T13:57:00.003-05:00

My niece Justice loves color, which is good, because so do I. So I thought this yarn would work perfectly. I needed just a bit of another skein to finish up the toe on the second sock, so I bought another skein and figured that would work perfectly to make Vera a matching pair.

Yarn: Serenity Garden Yarn
How much: 1.5 skeins
Color: Gems
Content:100% Dralon Microfiber
Care: Machine wash and dry
Needles: US 1 / 2.5mm
Gauge: 7.75sts per 1” / 9.75rows per 1”
Pattern: My own.
For: Justice & Vera
Size: Specially knit for Justice’s & Vera's measurements.

Justice's socks. I made no attempt to make them match as that doesn't matter to me and I figured it wouldn't matter to her either.

Justice's star toes.

Vera's socks, unfortunately do not get as much color since her feet are so small.

Vera's quickly decreased heels.

Vera's little star toes.

One of Justice's socks with on of Vera's. The difference between an 8 year old and a 2 year old!

I like how these socks turned out and I really hope that Justice likes them and they fit her well. They were bus knitting and bus waiting knitting. I decided to knit Vera a version of Justice’s socks, since as the lovely little sister, she wants whatever Justice has. They were also bus knitting and bus waiting knitting. The gusset is decreased quicker though since the circumference of Vera’s heel is small since she’s so young. So I decreased on the top and bottom of the gusset every other row. I did a star toe for hopefully a better fit. I never much care for the tradition toes.

Perry's Plate

2012-01-14T14:07:00.001-05:00

I have to admit I love finding new food bloggers. I usually find them accidentally through other food bloggers that I already read. So here is my latest find, Perry's Plate. She does a variety of types of recipes and seems a little more heavy on the vegetables, which is a direction I need to be heading more too.

Here are some of her recipes that I thought were interesting and would like to try:

~Pesto Zucchini Spaghetti - - I love the thought of trying zucchini as my noodles and I am also a fan of pesto!

~Crispy Shredded Tacos - - Absolutely have to try these, especially because she even links to another one of her posts on how to make your own corn tortillas!

~Marinated Chicken Skewers with Clementine Salsa - - Now these will be a hard push with the husband since he is not a fruit with meat type of person, but something tells me he will like these anyways. They just look delicious!

~Pesto Eggplant Rollatine - - I have never had anything like this before and it sounds delicious. Eggplant is something I like, if cooked well and not too mushy, but most recipes are loaded with tomato sauce and cheese! This looks a little lighter and definitely worth trying.

~Tangy Avocado Dressing - - There is a salad as part of this post too, but what I am really interested in trying is the dressing. As a huge fan of avocado, this sounds tasty!

~Spicy Green Tomato Vinaigrette - - I so want to make my own home-made dressings, since I am so limited at the grocery store due to my gluten issues. This one sounds like a good one to add to my list of ones to try.

~Fried Green Tomatoes, Two Ways - - I never thought of garnishing fried green tomatoes like this, it makes it seem more like the fried green tomatoes would be the main part, instead of a side dish.

~Portobello and Black Bean Enchiladas with Roasted Poblano Sauce - - Boy do these sound yummy! Plus, easily can substitute a meat in there for the mushrooms if needed.

~Baco-fried Green Beans - - Do I even need to say anything? Sounds delicious!

~Spinach and White Bean Dip - - A little more healthy version of a spinach dip.

~Cornmeal Crusted Catfish - - I am not sure I have ever had catfish, but assume almost any fish is easily substituted in there.

~Shrimp and Cotija Enchiladas with Salsa Verde - - Still loving my shrimp lately and this sounds very yummy, maybe I can get the husband to try them!

~Chipotle Sweet Potato Corn Chowder - - Still wanting to try things with sweet potatoes, plus who can pass up a chowder?

~Fruit-N-Yogurt Pops - - Who doesn't love a good popsicle? Exactly, what better than to make your own at home?

~Spicy Citrusy Black Beans - - These will be tried soon, I need some good recipes for black beans . . . even the Wookie LOVES black beans!

~Creamy Dill Foil Packet Fish - - This just looks so good and sounds so good. I love dill though.

~Thai Corn Chowder - - This sounds unique and interesting.

~Thai Noodles with Ground Chicken and Crispy Shallots - - This looks interesting with the layering of the items and also sounds good.

~Huevos Rancheros in Tortilla Cups - - This is such a nifty idea! Love it and would make a quick breakfast when made in advance.

~Home-made Taco Seasoning - - Lovely!

~Baked Corn Tortilla Chips - - I need to try this, I always think the ones at the store are WAY too salty!

Yes, there are a lot of links, but I went through the available archives. There are sure to be more that you may find interesting that didn't peak my interest, so I recommend not just clicking the links I provided, but heading over there and checking out her blog for yourself! :)

Thursday Inspirations

2012-01-12T15:14:00.000-05:00

Crafty Inspirations:

I love this Journal Quilt piece. In another life, with more time, this would be something I would also like to do.

I love the movement in this Table Runner!

Love this version of the Modern Drunkard! The way the colors shift and work together is just wonderful!

An easy Smocking Tutorial. I love the look of smocking and will someday work something that has smocking in it.

Garden Inspirations:

I love gardening and think it is an area where the input is worth it. These Window Farms are super nifty. I would so do this if my apartment had sturdier walls and window frames!

Recipe Inspirations:

This recipe claims to be the Perfect Gluten Free Pie Crust and I must say, it definitely looks good!

The Savory Apple Tart looks delicious also!

These Apple Pie Cookies look good enough to experiment with gluten free flours to try to find a good substitute!

Doesn't this Dark Chocolate Truffle Tart looks so yummy?!?!?

Dark Chocolate Buckeyes . . . isn't that self explanatory?

Lastly, have you seen these Baby Cakes Doughnut Maker, Cupcake Maker, and Cake Pop Maker? When I first saw them I thought they were frivolous, but cute. I thought it was definitely something I could never use, then this Baby Cakes Doughnut Gluten Free post! Makes me want the doughnut maker because I miss doughnuts!

Echo's Gracious Tam

2012-01-11T17:29:00.000-05:00

This was a Christmas present that I loved making!

Yarn: Patons SWS – which seems to be discontinued?
How much: 2 skeins
Color: Natural Plum – which I cannot seem to find a link to
Content: 70% Wool / 30% Soy
Care: Hand wash, lay flat to dry
Needles: US 3 / 3.25 – for the ribbing. US 6 / 4mm – for the body.
Pattern: Gracious Tam
Modifications: Used a heavier weight yarn. I skipped a couple of the rows towards the end due to running out of yarn. I used a much smaller needle for the ribbing because the one I made for myself was a little too loose on the ribbing, love how it turned out on the 3s.

I like how the thicker yarn makes the hat a little bigger and gives it more of a Tam feeling. Let’s just say that Echo is really lucky that I love her, because I so want to keep this hat. Especially now that I know the yarn is going to be difficult, if not impossible to find now. :) I am sure she enjoyed her Christmas present though. I am going to find a bulky-ish yarn to make myself one!

Here it is from the front.

From the side, ignore my tired look.

Another side view, I love the colors in this yarn.

I wish I would have had a larger plate to block the hat out on.

I wanted to make the hat nice and big, so I literally used as much yarn as I could. This was all I had left after I was done.

No Excuses

2012-01-09T13:47:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that my love for the show The Biggest Loser has been hit or miss over the years. Some times it seems that they just deviate too far into the drama and not enough focus is on the healthy. I watched the first episode of this season though and love the motto . . . "No Excuses". I am going to try to remind myself of this as I try to get healthy. Plus, I love that Dolvett is back, he's such a cutie. I have to admit, I was a true Jillian fan. Definitely was not an Anna Kournikova fan at all. The other two trainers they had a couple of seasons ago were okay, but I don't think they were real Biggest Loser trainers.

I try to watch the episodes while I am working out, usually on Hulu, because this makes me want to work harder and longer. I know that it's not necessarily healthy to work out as much as they do, but I know I need to work out longer and harder than I do, so it's good motivation. Plus, I figure, if they can muster the energy to work out 6-10 hours a day, then I can go another 10-20 minutes longer! :)

They always say it's better to work out for yourself, than try to loose the weight for someone else. I admit that I was partially trying to loose weight before because I wanted to be in better shape to have a baby. However, with all my allergy/health issues, I do not think I want a biological child or maybe any child anymore. (All the more attention to lavish on my nieces and nephew!) I don't know if I am emotionally strong enough to handle a child that has issues like me or worse. I know, sounds weak, but it's true. In a lot of areas, I am not a very strong person, I only act like I am. Plus, my husband worries enough about me with these allergies, if we had a child that was similar or worse, he'd probably have a stroke, heart attack, or mental break down.

In another words, the workouts and the eating are now about me, not a potential future child. I want to be healthy for me, for my future. So there are no excuses.

Sunday Inspirations

2012-01-08T11:53:00.000-05:00

Personal Inspiration:

I love this quote!

Crafty Inspirations:

I like this tutorial for an Eyelet Hole Stitch as it makes it look quite easy.

Love the look of this purse because of the squares that make it up. With the addition of some snaps or a zipper it'd be perfect.

Love these Triangle Boxes. Want to make some of these also!

Recipe Inspirations:

These Apple Tartlets with Custard Filling look absolutely delicious!

Spanish Roasted Potatoes with Tomato Sauce sound yummy and satisfying.

I like meatballs if they are smaller, these Chipotle Meatballs definitely sound worth trying!

I am a huge oatmeal fan, but due to most oats being processed in facilities that process wheat, commercial breakfast oatmeals are off of the list. I am a little too lazy to make oatmeal everyday, but this Baked Apple Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal sounds delicious and easy. It is kind like a breakfast oatmeal layered like a fruit crisp.

I love Peppermint Patties, but they are often a little too pepperminty for me . . . making my own makes this not an issue! Plus, I love that she tosses in the idea of lemon, chocolate, or other flavors instead. Yummy!

Brush with death?

2012-01-07T12:49:00.001-05:00

Ugh, so yesterday, Friday was scary. I had a severe allergic reaction to something at work and had the worst allergic reaction I have had so far in my life. Worse part is, I am not sure what set it off. As far as I know, I didn't come in contact with anything angora. In fact, I have to wonder if it was something I inhaled because the reaction was so quick. It was only about 3-4 minutes between realizing I was having a reaction to I couldn't stand up because my airway was almost completely closed.

I wasn't even able to do my epi-pen myself, due to being on the verge of passing out, so someone at work had to do it for me. My airway started opening back up and I was feeling better. First responders showed up and had a hard time finding a pulse. . . always a comfort. Then the Ambulance showed up and they said I was still too shaky and needed to go to the hospital. In the ambulance waiting to leave, my allergic reaction flared back up and they gave me medicine mixed with the oxygen they were already giving me. It wasn't helping enough, so they gave me something else and steroids, still not helping fast enough. I ended up having like a panic attack because I could barely get any air. The medic in the back with me had to call a doctor and see if it was okay to give me some amount of Benadryl also. Shortly after I had the Benadryl things started feeling better. Things slowly got better after that. By the time we were at the hospital I was mostly okay. They gave me another drug and kept me hooked up to machines and oxygen. They had me wait there for 2 hours while they observed me, out of concern that I may flare up again after the drugs wore off some. But I was okay, in fact, all of it was so exhausting, plus some of the drugs make you drowsy, that I slept most of the time at the hospital. Then walked home, the hospital is only like 3 blocks away from my house.

Boy was it scary though. It's not comforting to know that I may have some unknown allergy that can react that quickly. Usually if it's angora, I have hives or itch at the point of contact, but I didn't have any of that. Plus, this time, I went into a coughing fit right before my airway started to close. I have a follow up appointment Tuesday with my normal doctor and to get another prescription for an epi-pen.

My husband has told me that I need to go get an allergy test. I have been avoiding doing this like the plague. Why you ask? One, I don't want to experience that un-pleasantry. Secondly, I already hate having as many allergies that I know I have. . . I don't really want to know that I am even worse. I apologize to others with allergies, as this is not meant as an insult to you . . . but doesn't it just get on your nerves some times that your body tries to kill you over stupid things all the time!?!?!? Well, I definitely find it annoying. But the fear of this potential unknown allergy that acts this quick is just too scary, so I will get the stupid allergy test if my doctor thinks I should.

Unfortunately, I scared the crap out of my co-workers and was banned from coming into the mandatory overtime today. Which in a way is good, because I am still pretty exhausted today, even after sleeping for 11 hours last night. But is bad, because now I will just be that much more behind on all my work! Plus, I have to miss Tuesday for my doctors appointment. Ah, such is life!

I hope all of you had a better start to your weekend! :)

Sushi

2012-01-04T18:20:00.000-05:00

My adventures in Sushi rolls has taught me many useful lessons in just on night. First, look at the pretty sushi that turned out, then we will talk about the opportunities for improvement.

Here are my very first two sushi rolls. Rice, seaweed sheets, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, and crab mixture(canned crab, light hellman's mayo, and sweet chili sauce)

Here with the seaweed on the outside.

And here with the seaweed on the inside and sesame seeds on the outside.

I think they look pretty enough and they taste good, but definitely plenty of room for improvement.

Lessons learned:

1. Canned crab is not worth it! Picking out little pieces of shell just a waste of time, next time will be shrimp.

2. Because I waited too long to make my sushi, my avocados and cucumber had gone bad!

3. The rice was easier to make than I expected.

4. I need more practice.

Will keep you updated on the Sushi adventures, as I have many ideas. For New Years Eve I had ordered out my Sushi and had a grilled beef and mushroom sushi roll that was super yummy! Now that I now it's not too hard, I can plan better in the future.

Any ideas or recommendations?

Tuesday Inspirations

2012-01-03T14:23:00.000-05:00

Crafty Inspirations:

I, as a lot of others, love the Box Pouch as they are suitable for so many things, I would love to make some time this year to make myself some.

In this post their is a picture that says True Aran Knit Technique! I love it and never would have thought of doing it that way. The collar knit first, work out from the collar for the shoulder area, and then pick up stitches to do the front and back! Genius!

Bad Cat Designs always has wonderful projects and this Sugar Plum Fairy Winter 2012 Group looks so tempting! I so very much want to join, but don't think I'd have the time to finish it any time soon.

Garden Inspirations:

I love this theory of Square Foot Gardening. When I someday own a home. . .

Recipe Inspirations:

I love the sound of this gluten-free/meatless Moo Shu. I love mushrooms and this sounds delicious!

I've only had Kale a couple times, so I am a little weary in my ability to cook it. But this Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup looks delicious and conceptually sounds good.

These Gluten Free Chocolate Dipped Mini Eclairs look absolutely delicious and decadent. You know you have to click over to look at them! I absolutely have to try these.

Also in the desert line of thinking, this Grain Free Chocolate Cake with Honeyed Ricotta looks super yummy!

My love of Mexican style food, never ends, these Entomatadas look delicious.

And if you are eating Mexican, you cannot forget the lovely Cheese Enchiladas.

Mexican finger food? That is definitely what these Tex-Mex Fried Pies fall into and boy do they sound yummy! If I find a good gluten free dough to use, I am so trying these!

I am definitely a corn dog kind of girl . . . I use to love them! Since this Corn Dog recipe uses a pancake mix as part of the flour, I am hoping I can try these and use Bisquick instead. I will admit that the cheese on a stick doesn't sound too bad either!

PIF Slippers

2012-01-02T21:19:00.000-05:00

Also on the Pay It Forward crafty list are these Felted Slippers. Surprisingly quick knit, but took 7 washes to felt them to the appropriate size. I think I will keep my felting adventures until I own a washer and don't have to pay per load at the laundry mat! :)

Yarn: Jo-Ann Sensations Kashmira
Color: Green
Content: 100% felt-able wool
Needles: US 7 knitting needles, 3.5mm crochet hook
Pattern: Vintage Slippers

This was a test-knit and a Pay It Forward item at the same time. . . only because the test-knit worked. I do recommend the pattern as it makes a lovely slipper. I intend on making my own when she makes the pattern for the larger sizes.

I love how this yarn felted. It kept the stitch structure of the moss stitch.

The rolled edges are created very niftily, it seems more difficult that it is, it is definitely one of those patterns where you just have to trust the pattern and go with it.

Obviously they lack some structure without feet in them.

Unfortunately my other two Pay It Forward gifts are more behind. I am still working on them, I apologize to the other two recipients! :)

Hello 2012!

2012-01-01T11:56:00.000-05:00

Well, it is a new year. Yet another one where at least part of the population thinks the world will be coming to an end again! :) I have to say, this one is particularly humorous to me. If you truly think that a culture that couldn't predict the demise of their own culture had the power to determine when the entire world would end . . .

Any who, a new year, a new start . . . in theory right? I try to make changes through out the year, because let's face it, if you continually put it off until the new year, you are wasting a lot of opportunities. But when New Year rolls around, my mind gets even more into, what changes do I want to make . . . so I have New Year Goals, whether I believe in the principal of it or not.

I am trying this year to make them more realistic. I think that is usually the downfall of my goals. One often thinks they can achieve more than they will. I hope to have evolving goals that I will review and alter if needed each month.

So, I have two main goals:

1. Take better care of my health. This is the broad theory, broken down:

~ Really Gluten Free - I will eat out and eat things I know there might be contamination issues with, just to make it easier. Easier to eat out with my husband(who likes to eat out), not to inconvenience people, easier for myself, etc. Sometimes things go okay and sometimes I get really sick. So, for the month of January I will not be eating out. Everything I consume will be something that I know the parts that go into are gluten-free. To help me on this journey, I recently purchased 100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes by Carol Fenster and Gluten Free on a Shoestring: 125 Easy Recipes for Eating Well on the Cheap by Nicole Hunn. And a few months ago I purchased Gluten Free Asian Kitchen by Laura B. Russell. I will be learning to cook gluten free from home more. Trying out new recipes and learning more about the different flours and what I like and don't like.

In part to this or a deviation from this, I have learned in 2011 that I love the principal of Sushi. I only eat cooked meats in sushi, but still, love the principal and think it's a great way to work in more veggies. Tomorrow, I will be trying my hand at making my own Sushi inspired rolls.

~ Exercise/Fitness - I made some progress with this during different parts of 2011 and some setbacks, but more if it was in the positive. So, I am continuing with this, because I know it can work if I make time for it. So for the month of January, my goal is to exercise each day for at least 20 minutes. I have a few different exercises to vary things from day to day. My day often ends up feeling too long, so my goal is to wake up 20 minutes earlier and exercise before I head off to work.

2. Write up and publish a knitting pattern.
~Here my main goal is to get my butt moving on doing some designing stuff which I am very interested in. So for the month of January, my goal is to write up the pattern I used for the Vetter Baby Sweater from the notes I have scribbled in my notebook. Then in the next months I will do things like prepare the pattern in other sizes, etc.

Pay It Forward Socks

2011-12-27T20:22:00.000-05:00

So, I know some of you think I forgot about my Pay It Forward gifts, but I didn't . . . got a little busy at the end of the year so I am a little behind, but still working hard on them. I was able to finish two of them, one of them being this pair of socks for Deneen over at Yarns and Musings.

Yarn: Premier Yarns - Echo
Color: 42-205 (Red and Blue with a White strand throughout)
Content: 68% superwash wool / 22% Polyamide / 10% cotton
Care: Machine wash and dry
Needles: US 1 /2.25mm
Gauge: 8sts per inch
Size: US Women 7.5
Pattern: Plain Vanilla – my own.

Here is right after the heel and gusset were done.

Then I got really horrible at taking progress shots so I only have the finished pictures:

Now they ended up pooling in completely different ways. At first they pooled so the red was on one side and the blue was on another, but I worked with my numbers and gauge to fix that problem. Overall, I think they turned out well and I hope she likes them.

A Wookie Christmas

2011-12-26T11:08:00.000-05:00

Let me tell you interwebs, I love this Christmas thing! First off, Daddy's shutdown for work falls at this time so I have someone home all day and night, that is great, cause lets face it, I require a lot of petting! Then, Mommy gets a three day weekend since she works for a bank. Yeah, for more walks!

Then, get this, they give you things!

Check out my gifts!

Mommy and Daddy got me my very own bed. I still love to share their bed, but when I don't want to be so snuggly, I sleep here now. I really like it!

Then Aunt Kathy, who is Daddy's aunt, sent me toys! The little yellow giraffe is a squeaky toy and I attacke it even more just to try and shut it up! I love a good tug-a-war rope. Then the reindeer has a squeaker in it's head and it's tummy has crinkly stuff inside that sounds like you are crumpling paper. I really like this one, I will even jump in the air and catch it . . . which I never do for any of my other toys.

Oh, did I forget to mention, Aunt Kathy also sent homemade doggy cookies.

Not to be rude people, but it's cookie time, so I will see you later . . . I don't share.

Oh, yummy cookie!

P.S. See you next year!

P.P.S. Do you like my winter coat/fur?

John's Illusion Scarf

2011-12-23T20:38:00.000-05:00

My brother-in-law John asked for a scarf for his birthday. Since it's nice to have someone appreciate one's craftiness, I had to oblige. But I knew that I wouldn't be able to knit a whole scarf, especially one for a man over 6 foot, if there wasn't more to it. He wanted one in colors of the Seahawks. So I decided to go with that theme and decided I would try shadow knitting. I couldn't find patterns for lettering that I thought would work well, so I designed my own. This was definitely an interesting experience.

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft
Color: Limelight & Dark Country Blue
Content: 100% Acrylic
Care: Machine Wash & Dry
Needles: US 5 / 3.75mm
Hook: 3.5mm

Here is a pic just straight down of the detail.

A straight down picture of as much of the scarf as I could.

The scarf is around 7 feet so it's hard to get a good picture of it all, here is a piece of the word SEAHAWKS.

A little better.

A few more attempts to get a good shot of the letters.

Here are some shots of the individual letters.H

A

S

W

K

I know there is a heaping ton of pictures, but I am quite proud of this scarf. It turned out well and except for the rolling I wouldn't change a thing. If I were to to something like this again, I would add a border of another stitch. . . . maybe seed stitch. I am definitely tempted to try some more illusion/shadow knitting.

Vetter Baby Sweater

2011-12-18T20:09:00.000-05:00

So, as always, I do apologize for just disappearing. This project at work is ending up being more work and more tiring than I expected. This is the first weekend I have actually had Saturday off, so I enjoyed it by taking a bunch of pictures so I could actually post things this week. Due to various issues, I have been given extra responsibility at work, so I cannot guarantee that I won't continue to disappear here and there until the end of February, but I will try my best. Hopefully the mix of this new responsibility and my normal work will make the days more enjoyable and go quicker.

Any who, onto the Vetter Baby Sweater. . . it is named after the baby I knit it for. At my previous receptionist position I worked with a woman with the last name of Vetter and she was very appreciative of my knitting and insisted that if she got pregnant again while I was there, that her baby would need something knitted by me. I finished this sweater in late September and she had her daughter in early October. I designed this sweater especially for her. It is inspired by the Sliding Shawl (rav link) that I test knitted. Sliding Shawl (blog link).

Warning - - Lots of pictures in this post.

Yarn: Sensations Cuddle
Color: Pink
Content: 100% Acrylic
Care: Machine Wash and Dry
Needle: US 5 / 3.75mm
Size: 3-6 months

Here is a full shot of the front of the top.

The back.

I tried to get an angled shot so you could see the texture better, but with this being in pink, it was just so hard for me to get good pictures of the texture created in the pattern.

Another attempt trying to demonstrate the texture.

A simple neckline of crochet slip stitch.

Snap band as who wants to deal with tons of buttons by an infants neck!

Both sides of the snap band are reinforced with ribbon.

I really like how this turned out and even though it was a bit tedious, it made it much easier to attach the snaps and added some very much needed reinforcement.

A crappy sleeve shot, again trying to show texture, you can see the slipped stitches a little better here though.

The end of the sleeve has an applied border that is worked onto the end of the sleeves live stitches.

The hem is also a cable, I decided that instead of connecting them, I would make a place for a non-funtional button.

This was completely a prototype for this pattern, which meant the poor thing was knit, ripped, knit, ripped, etc. barely getting finished in time for the baby. I am hoping as soon as I have time to write up a pattern and get some test-knitters to try it out.

Hello from the Netbook

2011-12-02T20:57:00.001-05:00

Yes, I am saying hello from my new Netbook and so far, I am definitely liking it. I just got it last night. I have to say this week flew by even quicker than I expected.

I have some projects to share with you all though. I hope to take some pictures tomorrow after I get out of work and have some actual post for you guys this week! Which should be much easier this week, since I have this nifty little thing!

Completely Cauchy

2011-11-27T14:00:00.000-05:00

I haven't done a blog review in a long time, but one of the things I love about the blog-o-sphere is finding new and unique people that I wouldn't have known otherwise. There is a vast amount of wonderfully crafty people and just plain wonderful people.

I have found the blog Completely Cauchy through another blog I read, Knotty bits and her post on Dropping F Blocks.

So I clicked on over to the Completely Cauchy blog and loved as I clicked through her old blog posts. I love it when there is a blog that just seems like it clicks with you and this definitely does. I love her attitude and blogging style . . . humorous, informative, and genuine. I appreciate blogs that are about more than just one craft, since I also enjoy a multitude of crafts.

Some of the posts I like:

~BQF-Hearth is about a wonderful blanket she made with old scraps from pants. I love not only how the blanket turned out, but her approach with color and the beauty of making the old pants new.

~Zum Ziggity is about the scrap crochet blanket she made going off of this pattern. I loved how hers turned out and that she used irregular steps in the afghan. It reminds me kind of like layers of earth over the many thousands of years. I am going to have to make something based off of this . . . maybe some hand towels or pot holders.

~How I Smurfed My Kitchen is about her experience with dyeing with indigo. She doesn't do a step by step but she does provide some very useful information and links to the product she used, which I am now considering trying come summer when I do some dyeing. Her pictures are good and she talks about some different dyeing techniques, such as tying and using acrylic shapes. It all makes my miss my fiber class I took in college.

~Curried Socks Diary Part 1 is where she begins her journey of dyeing some sock yarn with Turmeric. Lovely!

~Dyeing using Neon Food Color for her dyeing, which I don't think I have ever seen those, but will now have to look for them!

~The Behemoth is a lovely crocheted log cabin inspired blanket and I love it!

Anyways, there are many more and I recommend giving her blog a look! If you are offending by profanity, maybe not, but I think it is done in a tasteful way.

Saturday Inspirations

2011-11-26T15:35:00.001-05:00

I absolutely love the look of this Ternion Shawl and recommend you hurry up and get it while it's free. Although I love the look of it so much, I'd recommend buying it even if you don't get to it while it's free.

I may have mentioned these before but I love the idea of Embroidering on Metal. Would make a wonderful project with kids too!

I really love this bag and how it was made. Would love to take the time and make me one similar.

Very cute idea for a quilt and there are many different ways to work with color in this.

Recipes I'd like to try:

I think these Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies sound interesting and worth trying.

Even if you don't want to dump your chili into little Frito bags, the Chili in this recipe sounds good!

This Ancho Chile, Shrimp, and Pasta sounds delicious!

I absolutely love the whole theory of Homemade Poptarts. I'll have to find a good gluten-free dough to substitute.

These Gluten-Free Apple Fritters look so delicious. Apple fritters remind me of college back in Washington State, where I would often buy one each day!

Even though the author of this blog considers this a crisp, I think of it more as an Apple Cake since it is more doughy than crispy, but it looks delicious no matter what you call it.

This Gluten Free Pizza/Calzone looks good.

Time, what is that?

2011-11-24T13:35:00.001-05:00

Ah, it seems to a constant that lately, time just doesn't seem to be in abundance around this household. So as you've noticed, I am still around, just more popping in here and there. Our big project at work started this week, so overtime is back again. For the next 11 weeks I will continue working 10 hour days, which will be great for the banking account, but not so good for the problem of time and having any of it! Just letting you know in case I disappear for a few days here and there, just working more.

I do have something to share with you on this lovely Thanksgiving . . . Qannick Sweater (ravelry link).

Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby
Color: Lemon
Content: 100% Acrylic
Care: Machine Wash and Dry
Size: 2T
Needles: US 3 / 3.25mm
Pattern: Qannick (ravelry link)
Modifications: No modification since it was a test knit.

I knit a 2T so I could gift it to my niece Ellie, however, she is an expert grower and this may not fit her by the time it arrives. I hope it does, but if it doesn't it will then be given to Vera, another niece.

I enjoyed knitting this, there were a few corrections needed during test knitting, but the designer was quick at fixing them. I wasn't able to finish it while I was out in Washington State, but I'll hopefully be mailing it off on Sunday.

I'm not sure if I like the pointed hood though. I will have to wait until I see pictures of it on a child.

I spent too long looking for perfect buttons . . . even as is, these are a little fiddly.

On a positive side note, the husband is getting me a net-book for Christmas so I should be a little more active on here since I will have a portable and convenient way of keeping in touch.

Sunday Inspirations

2011-11-20T14:03:00.001-05:00

I love this quote from Buddha.

These Organizational Boxes are so cute and could be used for so many things.

I love the simplicity of this Shag/Rya Rug! It would make a wonderful little bathroom rug.

Recipes I'd like to try:

Oh how I miss Oatmeal Cookies. I will definitely need to try these.

Don't these Custard filled Pastries look yummy! Honestly, just the outside of the pastry even looks yummy! I cannot even put into words how I would love to have one of these right now!

Yet again, my love for Indian food. This slow-cooker version of Tikka Masala looks delicious!

I have only recently, as in the past year or so, learned that I love basil! Any recipe I see with it, I am automatically drawn to it. I also like spice, so these Chili and Basil Scallops sound delicious. I wouldn't take the time to serve them in shell, but over some noodles . . . yummy!

There are many things that as a child you may try and dislike and assume that you dislike that item period. When in reality, your tastes may change, it may have been cooked or prepared poorly when you tried it before, etc. When I was out in Washington State back in May, my sister Rhoni convinced me to try fried sweet potatoes . . . cooked just like regular fried potatoes. To say I was a little worried, is not even close . . . I never cared for sweet potatoes as a child . . . however my sister's fried sweet potatoes were delicious! So I am tempted to try something like this Sweet Potato & Cranberry Salad.

I always love the thought of making my own broth, especially now that I am gluten free. This recipe for Bone Broth sounds not only nutritious, but full of flavor.

I love Mexican food and this version of Choriqueso sounds delicious!

I love the crocheted wreath that Lindamade posted, the tutorial she linked to looks super easy!

Doesn't this Gingerbread Cake look awesome! I think it looks delicious and I will hopefully have some time to make it in the near future.

This Gluten Free Pastry Crust looks great. It appears both light and crispy, will definitely have to try this!

I love Thanksgiving leftovers almost more than I love eating them that day. It is one of the reasons I make so much food even though it is just my husband and I. We have leftovers for the whole next week, it is great! So these Turkey with Cranberry Barbeque Sauce Sandwiches sound super interesting.

This Brazilian Feijoada looks and sounds yummy!

I have to admit, one of the reasons I like Thanksgiving is also because of all of the cranberry recipes, another thing I didn't realize that I actually love as an adult. When I saw these Cornmeal Cranberry Cookies I knew I would have to try them!

Me, Unrealistic?

2011-11-11T23:34:00.001-05:00

So I do realize that some of my crafting ideas are a little out there sometimes. Especially when you do a Google search and like only one other person can you find that was crazy enough to think of actually attempting to do the same thing. I tend to think I can accomplish anything craftual so long as I take a good approach. So I ask this question to you all, my lovely knowledgeable readers . . . who can give me a good smack upside the head if this idea is just too ridiculous.

To start, let me explain that went from 70 degrees on Wednesday to only 30 today, there were even snow flurries! Yes, that dreaded four letter word. (True it was an unseasonable warm week before this temperature drop, but still.) Any who, I had to break out the gloves, because it was just too cold and I am already a person that gets cold easily. Now I have to admit though . . . yes, I have been knitting for years, no I have never knitted myself real gloves. Yes, I wear the cheap acrylic $2 ones. Now you can see how my fingers still stay cold, just not quite as cold.

This wasn't as big of a deal in the past, because I could always stick my hands in my pockets also. However, the Wook goes on 40 minutes walks and I have to hold the giant retractable leash thing. Since that thing is way to big for my pockets, my hands are not so warm.

My concern is, I am harsh on my gloves, which is why it benefits me to buy the $2 ones. I am not interested in knitting myself gloves when I will undoubtedly snag, tear, etc them within the first week. So I have a theory of felted gloves. Know I know you see many felted mittens, but mittens really aren't my thing. There is only one pattern on Ravelry for felted gloves and I'm not sure I trust it, plus it is a pay and I will ship you a copy of the pattern type thing. Not so interested in that either.

I realize that to make such a thing would be a huge venture. Knitting a swatch, felting it, lots of math with the hands, knitting ginormous gloves, and felting them. So the question I pose, does anyone think it would be worth it??

Here are my very real concerns:

Is it possible to felt that accurately?

Would the felted wool make the material too thick for comfortable gloves, meaning will there be too much material between each finger due to the condensing of the fibers?

I wouldn't want the ribbing felted as then it seems it would defeat the purpose of being ribbing. Would it be possible to use a superwash wool for the cuffs? Or maybe attach cuffs after the felting process?

Here are my justifications:

Felted gloves would so be worth it!

I would definitely make sure to do a few swatches and felting of the swatches to insure accuracy. Plus, if I didn't think it was going to work by this stage I could just bail out here, not too much time lost.

Please weigh in and give me your thoughts, do you agree, disagree, have different concerns, or even have different justifications . . . trust me any thoughts would help! :)

Being back

2011-11-09T19:23:00.000-05:00

So yeah, we are back!

The time away was good, but lets face it, I missed you guys and so did Wookie.

In the mean time our car is leaking coolant and a bunch of things are wrong with the whole coolant system. Minimum of $2,000 to fix it they say. We called and looked around and pretty much everyone else says the same things. So whats a girl to do but look for our next used car. So we are on the hunt. In the mean time I am riding the bus again, not really a problem, but at my new position it takes an hour to get to work and an hour to get home. Instead of the 20 minutes each way by car. So it is making my day longer.

The upside of all of this, I am getting a little more knitting done while I wait for buses. :)

However, not wanting to disappoint, I do have some pictures to show you from Halloween:

From left to right: Justice, Me, Ellie (on my lap), Echo, and Vera (on Echo's lap). You cannot see in the picture, but technically there is another little one inside Echo waiting to come out in 2012.

Here is me and Ellie. Rhoni had gotten her a duck costume for Halloween, but she outgrew it. So she was only stuck in it long enough for pictures.

And one of Ellie's desire to learn to crochet, boy does she love some yarn and needles/hooks:

I didn't get any pictures of it, but she also helped me unravel the skein so I could wind it into a ball. :)

Knitty Deep Fall 2011 Review

2011-11-07T09:30:00.000-05:00

I'm not exactly sure when the Knitty Deep Fall 2011 came out, but here is my review.

Patterns:

~Takoma - - A little more oversized in the shoulder area than I care for, but I do like the look of this sweater otherwise. I would probably not do the full 4" of ease, maybe 2. I would definitely like to knit this, different colors though, maybe some fall colors. I love the collar.

~When Sampson met Lila - - I actually like this. The close fit of the body with the loose, cowl like collar is nice. LOVE the texture on the cowl! I love even more that the cowl is part of the sweater and not some separate piece.

~The Candles - - This is an okay long cardigan. I'm not so sure I like the use of the colorwork as shaping, it just doesn't look right to me somehow, plus it's unreliable as different people will have different tension doing colorwork. I don't much care for the arrows, maybe if it was a different color design. I like the yoke, plain, but well knit/designed.

~Tenney Park - - I like the entrelac in this sweater, however, I am not so sure how I feel about it being attached to the sweater afterwards and not somehow being more of an extension from the sweater. I don't so much enjoy sewing pieces together, nor do I think they are as durable.

~Friendly Grey - - I am all for texture, but this is just too much. Plus there is no shaping and just doesn't seem to fit very well.

~Flugel - - This might be nice if it was a fitted sweater, but it is super baggy and the super wide arms are just not flattering. The model is slender and it isn't flattering, a plus size person is definitely not going to look good in this.

~Vignette - - I think this sweater has cute potential. I would probably either make the sleeves elbow length, wrist length, or make the taper at their 2/3rds length. The bell out look isn't so much appealing to me. I like the lace used, but I think it would be nice if the lace went around the collar on the back too. Again, not so much for all that seaming, it would be much nicer if it could be knit as one piece.

~Auguste - - I actually really like this as a man's sweater. I would not do a purple color like that. Otherwise, I would make the sleeves longer and work this in the round. I really like this though.

~Microprocessor - - I like the colorwork on these socks and that she provides different sizes. The "boomerang" heel looks interesting to try out also.

~Glomerata - - The lace designs are pretty and it is nice to have different sizes available. It's a little over girly for me, but I could see potentially knitting these for someone else.

~Paper Moon - - Simple and appealing, I definitely like them. I like the cabling, simple and not overwhelming along with the garterstitch looking area. Plus, how can I resist a good pattern in a lovely orange???

~Mortar - - Still not a fan of cowls, but I love the texture the deign creates.

~Semi-precious - - A lovely shawl, with different lace designs that work well together.

~Apis Dorsata - - Another lovely shawl. I really love the texture on this one! I will definitely end up knitting this at some time.

~Callette - - I like the flow and design of this shawl. Although it is knit more like a stole and I usually don't have the patience for knitting like that. Although I think this would look really lovely is some brighter handpainted yarn that was more a reminder of more colorful birds. This is a maybe.

~Mathematix - - I really love this! I like the way the different sections of colorwork are done and work together.

~Alda - - I personally am not a fan of this, nor would I wear it, but I can see how it might appeal to some people. . . people more girly/feminine than I am. I even thing my niece Justice might like this if it was in shades of yellow, red, and orange.

~After the Rain - - As always, not much a fan of mittens. I like the color and the way it was used. Might be a good gift project. My only concern is that the wrist band of the mittens look loose on the woman in the first picture and that would need to be rectified.

~Tambroso - - More mittens, The design is kind of interesting.

~Spatterdash - - Sideways knitted wristwarmers/gauntlets. I am not so much a fan of this look. Especially all of those buttons that are needed, there is no way in the world that it is convenient.

~Lithuanian Wristers - - I am not so much a fan of wrist warmers, because it's my fingers I am interested in keeping warm, but I do like the beaded designs and would be tempted to make a pair just to be able to try out the beading.

~Ogiku - - I really like the colorwork in this. This style of hat always worries me though as to how well it will fit my head.

~Weeping Willow - - It is an interesting design and I like the colorwork, but probably not something I would knit. Size goes completely off of how thick the yarn is and your needle size.

~Kiwi - - I think these are cute, but then I like it when they have toys. Not sure it I'd actually knit one though as they are a little odd looking!

Overall, seems like a good issue! Please go have a look and let me know what you think.

Sunday Inspirations

2011-11-06T13:47:00.000-05:00

Another wonderful quote!

I know Halloween has passed already, but some things are cute enough to remember for next year:

These adorable Fanged Pumpkins are just too perfect.

We do not have enough room in our small apartment for a dining room table, but when we get a house these homemade Placemats and Napkins will be something I make.

I always thought I would enjoy an Inkle Loom so why not build one myself?! We shall see, but I just may have to do it.

I will admit that I tried paper piecing with sewing and wasn't any good at it. My mind has a hard time wrapping around it, I think this is due to my not so good relationship with geometry. This Circle of Geese Block is almost enough to make me willing to try it again.

I am also loving this Retro Potholder Tutorial! I can definitely see this in some lovely color combos!

Recipes I'd like to try:

This Alfredo Sauce sounds delicious and interesting.

I love the idea of sweets in smaller serving sizes, so these Gluten Free Cake Pops sound delicious. I'll admit I tried making cake pops back in the time of gluten and failed miserably, so hopefully second time will be the charm!

I was never really too much of soup person, but since going gluten free I appreciate a good soup even more. I miss chowders, like this Corn Cheese Chowder.

The husband and I use to eat granola bars all the time. Only I was and still am quite picky about them. The only type of granola bars that I can find gluten free are ones that are a little more nutty/earthy than I care for. So I am looking forward to using this Granola recipe as a spring board for making my own. Because boy do I miss them!

A lovely Chinese take-out food that I miss is the Crab Ragoon. This will definitely be something I have to try to make.

Blog Vacation

2011-09-30T19:02:00.000-04:00

Well, Wookie and I decided that it was better to go on a blog vacation until some of the busier parts of life are worked out. Otherwise, we feel guilty about not having enough time for the blog. So we are going on a vacation from now until November 5th, when we come back from visiting family in Washington State. We thank you all for reading our tiny little blog and hope to see you when we return all bright eyed and bushy tailed!

Sunday Inspirations

2011-09-25T12:47:00.004-04:00

These Dresser Planters are so nifty and a wonderful way to get more plants into the house or even outside.

Along a similar line these Mason Jar Wall Planters are very rustic looking and nifty!

I haven’t been doing much sewing lately, but these blocks at the top of this post make me want to get the Living Large 2 booklet and make some of them.

Love the illusion this scarf creates!

Thesefelt broaches are very nifty looking!

Recipes I’d like to try:

I love the thought of making Homemade Ketchup, one it takes the worry out of the whole gluten free aspect, but also you could so tweak it to fit your own style.

As I am trying to figure out other things to make with veggies, this Zucchini Gratin sounds yummy!

Pickled Green Tomatoes sound super interesting to try, as does Green Tomato Salsa!

These Tuna Patties could easily be made gluten free and sound yummy.

Since barbeque sauce that is tasty and gluten free can be hard to find, I am interested in trying to home-make some and this Spicy Barbeque Sauce sounds like it would be good to try.

Along the same vein, this Raspberry-Chipotle Barbeque Sauce sounds interesting and yummy!!

You can never have too many recipes for Enchiladas!!

Chili is another thing that is often not gluten free because people use normal broth, but it wouldn’t be very hard to substitute gluten free broth and make this yummy sounding Black Bean and Beef Chili.

I am not a fan of regular tomato soup especially the canned kind, but I have had more gourmet types of roasted tomato soup and like them, so this Roasted Tomato Soup sounds simple and yummy! I even have a gluten free roll I could use in place of the bread.

Wading through it

2011-09-23T22:03:00.000-04:00

I am still here. The Wook is still here. Life is taking some different paths emotionally, physically, and psychologically. We will still be around.

I started my new job this week. I was hoping for a challenge, new things to learn . . . this job is mind-numbingly boring and there is no challenge except the one I set for myself each day. Which is simply a numbers goal of getting through a certain number of files a day.

I will still be working overtime for my old department, I will be there tomorrow morning for about 4 or 5 hours. This will only be until the new department I work for goes into our special project around December and we all have mandatory overtime of about 12-ish hours a week. So, unfortunately things aren't going to slow down any time soon.

The husband will be busier too as he trains for a new position. Yet things will also be odd as his employers chose to shut down the plant on Sundays as production has slowed down some. So a little concern as economic issues effect his employers and the stability of them continuing.

Crafting is going slow as I work on getting healthier in all aspects. I finished my proto-type for my baby sweater design and will share it will you shortly.

~~Part of this journey is over on my other blog, but in warning I speak very openly about things and if you do not like that, then do not read it. I will be posting there every Saturday.~~ I have decided to delete this blog as I don't know that I am personally ready to put that much information out there yet.

Wookie is still making progress health wise. He is now up to lunch and dinner as dog food with a couple dog treats throughout the day. He still eats breakfast as low-fat human food I make him. We are letting his hair grow out now. He is doing even better at the dog park and it makes me sad that we do not have an indoor dog park around here for during the Winter.

Side note, on our walk today after I got home from work, the skies opened up and completely poured. We were about two blocks from home. I had to take my coat off and pick Wookie up, who in a matter of seconds looked like a drenched rat and put my coat over him to shelter him. By the time we got home I was completely soaked and couldn't see anything through my glasses and the Wook was not happy. In a way, it was hilarious though, I mean what can you do but laugh! He enjoyed a good nap after that stressful experience.

Saturday Inspirations

2011-09-17T11:45:00.000-04:00

So in all the busy of the overtime and Wookie being sick, I haven’t done much updating on my actually knitting, but I will, not all is still going to be knit, some ideas have changed, etc . . .

I saw the Paraphernalia on Pink Lemon Twist’s post September Knit Something of the Month and I will definitely be casting on for these in the near future as I am drawn to them for some reason. Maybe as a Christmas present for someone?

Recipes I’d like to try:

I was never a pickle fan as a child, in fact, I was the only person in my family who didn’t like them. The only time I ate pickles was when they were in potato salad, mostly because their flavor was masked by all the other ingredients. As an adult, I am not in love with pickles, but I definitely like them. I blame my husband for this as he introduced me to relish, which I had never had and I love me some sweet relish. I think this encourage my new pickle enthusiasm. So the thought of making my own pickles like in Fridge Garlic Dill Pickles sounds very nifty!

It’s amazing that in a way, eating Gluten Free can open your eyes up to more healthy food with so much of the junk food that consumes America now being off your list of things you can eat. But as food lovers in general, we find ways to create Gluten Free junk food, like these Donut Holes which unfortunately sound and look yummy!

Gluten Free Pita Bread sounds good. Hmm, I use to love a good Pita sandwich.

As a huge fan of cheese and Mexican food, this Restaurant Style Queso Dip sounds delicious.

All of this overtime means no real dinners, I just don’t have time, so man am I missing food at home. There is just so much more I can do at home than I can at a restaurant or fast food chain. This Honey Garlic Chicken sounds so good!

Caramel has always been one of my favorite candies. So Juniper Moon Farm’s post on Making Cajeta and the links she provided to Lavender Caramels and Milk Liqueur sound very interesting. I have this weekend to myself, since my overtime will be done for a little while . . . maybe that means some experimentation in the kitchen?

In my quest for good peanut butter cookies, Erica sent me a link to a Peanut Butter Cookie recipe which seems super easy and from the picture, they look yummy, so I will have to try these soon!

Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-09-08T18:00:00.000-04:00

I was excited to try another cookie mix that was gluten-free as I still hold out hope that I will like one of them enough to use it consistently.

I found this Hodgson Mill Mix and decided it was worth a try.
I thought it was nifty that on the back it had different ideas for what to add to the cookie mix and how much to put in there.

I decided to do the peanut butter variation, for which they say to add 1/2 cup peanut butter. The dough was actually tasty.

I made little balls and flattened them with a for.

They look lovely.

I also tried little cookie balls.

The only problem with these cookies is that they taste like nothing, not bad, not good, just nothing. The peanut butter is only tasted VERY faintly. It would definitely need more peanut butter, how much I am not sure, but at least twice as much as they recommend. My concern would be, how well would the cookie hold together if it had to have a LOT of peanut butter in it? So disappointment.

Tuesday Inspirations

2011-09-06T17:52:00.000-04:00

I love the look of this Thimble. I don't use thimbles, but I would love to make one as they could make lovely rings too!

These simple Baby Doll Diapers look cute and would be so quick and easy to make!

Recipes I’d like to try:

As I am sure you all know by now, I love lemon, cannot eat them raw or anything, but things like these Lemony Potatoes are just too much for me to resist trying!

Now this Cheesy Basil Stuffed Chicken Breasts sounds so delicious, I will definitely be finding time to make this during the week. Hmm, maybe with the Lemony Potatoes above!

I love salsa and I love homemade salsa even more, so this Canned Tomato Salsa sounds definitely worth making.

This Baked Eggplant Parmesan definitely sound yummy and would be easily made Gluten Free.

Since I have found a bread/roll that I like, I am more interested in things like jelly and jams again and this Peach Butter falls into this category.

Zucchini is one of the things I have found that I really like. However, eating it the same way all the time gets old, real quick, and these Zucchini Fritters don’t sound like they would be too hard to make as Gluten-Free.

My husband loves pie and I use to experiment on how to make him a good pie that was homemade, but since I have to eat Gluten Free, I haven’t really experimented any more, but Lauren’s post on Pie has made me want to experiment more, so hopefully I will have some time soon.

Some more Lemon Cookies!

I think even more since I have to be Gluten Free, I love a good soup. Since it’s so hard to eat out and have soup, since everyone uses wheat in their broth, I am looking around even more for good soups to make at home and this Corn Chowder definitely sounds like a good soup to try.

I always love a good Potato Salad.

Explanation of Disappearance

2011-09-05T16:46:00.002-04:00

So, I know I haven't been around much. Work has been very busy and before Saturday, I had worked the last 12 days straight, going in early and all that jazz too. It just tires a person out and unfortunately doesn't leave much energy for blogging. I took off Saturday, went in yesterday (Sunday) and am taking of today. Plus, since I am home less, I am trying to spend more quality time with Wookie, so he doesn't feel left out and we go to the dog park when I get home, after we get home, we are both fairly exhausted and crash, to start everything all over the next day. There are a few reasons why I am going in for so much overtime.

First, the department I currently work in is VERY busy right now and everyone is working overtime, it just varies by person how much overtime is being worked.

Second, I was accepted for a different position in the bank and I start on the 19th. I am training a temp to replace me so I am doing everything in my power to get everything caught up so she doesn't feel like she is buried under a mudslide since we are so busy right now. It's hard to learn so much stuff and not be overwhelmed, much less have to learn all of it and be behind because we are so busy.

Third, the new department I am going to avoids overtime at all costs from what I hear, so it's not like I'll have the opportunity to work any once I go over there.

And last, but not least, Fourth, the husband and I have decided to start saving up to purchase a home in hopefully 2013. So all the money we can save the better.

I will do my best to keep blogging but starting tomorrow I will be working the next 11-13 days straight, right up until I start my new position. So it's going to be a busy household here. If I cannot keep up and I disappear, at least you will all know where I am. :)

Jodi and the Peach Bars

2011-09-05T16:33:00.000-04:00

So I tried making the Peach Bars . . . you can already tell somewhat of how it went, just by that introduction.I made the recipe exactly as listed except I used King Arthur’s Gluten Free Flour. It was a mixed bag of outcomes though. On the one hand about 2/3rds of it didn’t actually cook all the way through, even though I cooked it a bit longer than she suggested. On the other hand, the part that did cook all the way through was fairly yummy, but a little grainy, even the husband liked it. Unfortunately, only the outsides cooked through.

The bottom crust.
Completely baked.

From the side.

So today I tried to do a variant of it and see what I could get. First goal was to go more by instinct, which I don’t do very often when cooking because I don’t view cooking as a very strong skill of mine and do not trust my instincts with cooking well.

First thing I changed, was I used Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Mix to see if a different gluten free flour would make any effect. The other change was to use up the crust and the filling as things “looked” correct.

The bottom crust
From the side, I put in just enough to fill about 1/3rd of the pan, which was only about 1/4 before it was baked.

I pitted and chopped up a bunch of cherries.

I put a layer of cherries over the crust, this deviates from the recipe, but I didn't want to use all of the filling mix, because only wanted enough to make it work.

I poured just enough of the filling to come to the height of the cherry layer.

I crumbled some of the crust, like she says to do, over the top, but I didn't use much more than a handful.

All done, it is a little dark . . . completely my fault, I got knitting and forgot about it a bit and it cooked about 15 minutes too long.

Except for being a smidge burnt on the bottom it turned out wonderfully! I will definitely make this again, using my approach to her recipe. Also, as much as I love King Arthur Flour, the Arrowhead Mills did not have the grainy texture.

A lovely slice.

With the leftover crust and filling mix, I made little tins with different fruit to try:

From right to left, there is strawberry, plum, and orange. After they have been cooked, they are the other direction here.

The strawberry was surprisingly good, although next time I would chop the strawberry pieces smaller. The plum was good, but the plum flavor was not very strong at all. The orange was good, I used canned mandarin orange, because that is what I had to experiment with and I would use them again, I would chop those into smaller pieces too though.Overall, the experimenting turned out well! I might try next time to cut down the sugar in the recipe some though, because 3 cups of sugar overall is just too much, plus with ripe fruit, it really doesn't need it.

Don’t be rushing when you’re brushing . . .

2011-08-30T20:30:00.001-04:00

Take your time it’s all worthwhile, cause you want your teeth to be there every time you smile, you smile.* Wookie is learning how to brush his teeth with a toothbrush and toothpaste. My sister said he likes to kind of chew on tooth brushes, so this should be a snap, right? Ha ha ha, he loves the taste of the chicken toothpaste, so much so that he’d prefer to just lick the toothpaste off!

This is his toothbrush, it has two sides, one for little mouths and one for bigger mouths.

Here is his toothpaste.

So, for now, I am just rubbing toothpaste on his teeth with my finger and letting him chew a little on the toothbrush, hopeful we will one day reach a compromise of the toothpaste and the toothbrush work together.

* = Lyrics from a kids movie we watch when we were little, can’t remember exactly what it is called though.

Ha I fibbed!

2011-08-29T19:52:00.001-04:00

Just too busy, lots of overtime, but I have projects and Wookie pics and videos to share with you when I have a moment. Should have some time tomorrow night! :)

We are still here

2011-08-28T17:48:00.002-04:00

We are still here, just a long weekend, we shall be back tomorrow, hopefully with Wookie videos! :)

Finale!

2011-08-25T21:38:00.002-04:00

Well, it is final my beloved readers! I have graduated from Beginner Education, better known as Beginner Doggy Training! I must say I was a top student, I know, I know, I am modest too!

Mommy says tomorrow when she gets off work and after we go to the doggy park, she will have Daddy film us doing some of my obedience skills and tricks.

Now, on to the glamor shot!

Mommy says come Spring we will consider Intermediate Training, depending on how I do over the Winter.

Love,
Wookie

P.S. I stole some of that pretty roving! Mommy said she things it's still usable though. Of course it's usable, it just has some Wookie slobber . . . doesn't that make things better?

The Spinning Attraction

2011-08-23T20:38:00.003-04:00

Ha ha, you thought I was going to talk about the exercise bike, huh? Gotcha!

The spinning attraction started with this blog post from Erica of Desigknit. She fell in love with a picture and I fell in love with her colorway Sea Anemone. I had to have it! This is actually the first dyed roving I have ever bought, usually I dye my own.

I mean seriously people, is it not just beautiful?!?!? This is the first time I have worked with Polwarth before too and I am LOVING it!

I am working very hard to make my spinning thicker, so instead of like a thread thickness, it's more like a lace-weight single, which looks enormous to me, but I am liking it. The colors are just beautiful . . . I am thinking about designing some gloves for it when I am done spinning it.

The Wook, wanted me to reassure all his lovely readers that he is doing much better and he is NOT eating any roving . . . not because he didn't try though! He looks tired because we just got home from a 2 hour play at the doggy park and he loved it! He played with a Chihuahua named Bella and they ran, wrestled, and wore each other out. He is slowly transitioning to doggy food, here is his dinner tonight (a repeat of yesterday night).

Be it by force, guilt, or choice . . .

2011-08-22T19:05:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone, this is Wookie! Boy am I so glad to be feeling better. Mommy says we have to take better care of not only the Wookie, but the Mommy too. So me and Mommy are going to get healthy together.

Right now, I am still eating Mommy's home-cooking, low fat food. Today I got just a small bit of dog food as they ease me back into normal doggy food. However, my dinner was brown rice with, one scrambled egg, a little pork, cauliflower, and some zucchini. Who knew healthy could be so yummy?!?!

Mommy says she cannot expect the Wookie to change if she doesn't change herself as it is unrealistic to expect things from someone that you wouldn't do yourself - - within reason. So, she is going to be eating healthier too. She will also start exercising more, this week her focus is going to be on riding this bike in the apartment that doesn't actually go anywhere (humans are weird!).

So expect to see a healthier, even cuter Wookie in the future!

Love,
Wookie

P.S. Mommy bought this new roving for something she calls spinning, I haven't been attracted to any of her yarn yet, but this roving is hard not to steal from her. It smells good!

Sunday Inspirations

2011-08-21T17:34:00.001-04:00

This sewn Froggy is adorable. Yet again, I think it would make a great dog toy. What do you expect, my dog essentially is my child? :)

Also by Coloured Buttons is this Fridge Shnookie which is so cute and I so want to make some!

Adorable Coin Purse!

Absolutely, super-duper, love this Art Journal Tutorial! These will definitely fall into the Christmas present category . . . I may even make one for myself! :)

I am a lover of the Pencil Case! I love little bags this size for various little project, notions reasons. This may also fall into the Christmas present category!

This Vertical Garden idea is nifty and very space saving.

Recipes I’d like to try:

Doesn’t Peach Vanilla Bean Jam sound delicious? I definitely want some.

A new to me gluten-free blog Gluten Free on a Shoestring that has some nifty ideas. Haven’t had time to take a good look at the site, but it’s definitely added to my reader and here are a few links that sound good : GF Pizza Dough, Ice Cream Cones, Soft Taco Tortillas, and GF Enchiladas.

I have to admit that these Steamed Eggs sound interesting and healthier. I will have to try these.

Oh how I miss Asian food, but there is a cookbook coming out, The Gluten Free Asian Kitchen, I want it!

Canine Pancreatitis

2011-08-19T12:53:00.003-04:00

Well, we most definitely had a scare yesterday that is becoming less of one, but is still present, unfortunately.

I was at work yesterday and the husband sleeping, like normal. The husband woke up about 2:30pm to find many(10 or so) puddles of clear, watery vomit around the apartment. Wookie was huddled under my desk. He tried to get Wookie out and he got scared, vomited again and quickly went into the craft room and under my chair in there. He hadn't touched his food or the doggie treat he had been given in the morning - which is completely unlike Wookie, he is definitely a lover of the food. The husband called me at work and told me what happened. I told him to call the vet and come get me that we were taking Wookie in. He called the vet and went to get Wookie and found him huddled in the back of closet. Wookie threw up twice on me while in the car.

On the positive side, the vet and the technician/nurse didn't think it was bad enough for Wookie to stay overnight at the vet. They ran some test and we should find out today, but so far they think the signs point towards a mild case of Canine Pancreatitis. So he was given some drugs and some saline solution with instructions not to eat or drink until this morning. He has a very strict diet for the next couple days, maybe the rest of his life. He has over-boiled rice, so it's basically mush, mixed with pureed sweet potatoes and boiled chicken. Which he doesn't mind, because he thinks it is yummy. They don't know specifically what caused it, but getting occasional pieces of cooked meat can be too much for some dogs . . . this may have been something that has been slowly building in him his whole life or he could just have a life change and something he use to be able to handle, he now cannot.

Whether this is or is not what is wrong, Wookie will no longer be getting "table scraps" of any kind and we will be even more careful about the food and treats we buy him. I had no idea that cooked meats could be so bad for him. Hopefully I can find a way to make a very low-fat, healthy doggy treats for him. Wookie's diet will be very restricted as we want him to be healthy and with us for as long as possible.

We have to watch him to make sure he is not lapsing backwards, but so far everything seems to be improvements, some slower than others, but he was definitely interested in eating again today and has kept his food down. He's getting lots of needed sleep for his little body to heal. He's about 75% back to his normal personality/behavior and will hopefully be 100% soon!

Food Day - Taquitos

2011-08-15T13:32:00.002-04:00

Well first off, I am home today. Blah! Woke up to no hot water, evidently when we had a huge downpour yesterday the water heaters in my apartment building got wet and knocked out all the pilot lights. Then they needed into my apartment for a backed-up bathroom sink and to replace the lock on our front door which doesn't work anymore. So I was only able to shower recently. Missing work is more annoying than I can possibly put into words, but nothing I could do about it.

Anyways, onto the food. So this is my 2nd attempt at these Chicken Taquitos. Our main problem last time was that they were a little bland and dry. So I tweaked the recipe.

We have:
1package of cream cheese, slightly melted in microwave
1/2 white onion diced
2.5 tsp of cumin

1 jalapeno diced small

2 Tbsp of Wegman's Salsa Con Queso (It's gluten free and tasty)

And 2oz of prepackaged Mexican Shredded Cheese.

Add 2 boiled and shredded chicken breasts.

I also thought it might helpt to fill them a little fuller . . .

This caused the flour tortillas to absorb too much moisture and not crisp well.

And the corn tortillas to burst.

So the moral of this story is, the changes to the filling worked, they were tastier and not dry. However, they do not need to be filled any fuller! Will definitely continue to try different versions of these . . . shredded pork sounds really good in there.

Sunday Inspirations

2011-08-14T10:47:00.002-04:00

So, today is not only about inspirations found out in the vast Internets, but also about my own. As I have been blogging I have created specific structures for myself (Food Friday, Wookie on Wednesday, Sunday Inspirations, Healthy Thursday, etc) and in the past this created a good thing for me. Unfortunately, as life has shifted . . . not only with Wookie and all the things I do with him, but just as I change, that structure had become a little stifling. It made me less likely to post because I felt more like I require specific things from myself at certain time and with my life busier now, I just couldn't keep up with those requirements or could only fulfill them on a day that wasn't the day they were scheduled for. I know, crazy you are thinking, huh? So, no more with the structure, things will be posted when I am inspired and have time. So if I have food to post on a Monday, then Monday it will be. I think this is just what I needed in terms of blogging.

On to the Inspirations:

I love the look of this Book Cover, not only do the fall colors appeal to me, but when I was younger I would make book covers for most of my books. I need to go get myself some plastic canvas!

This adorable Pin Cushion could also be adjusted to be a dog toy, which was my first thought. Take out the button and the pompoms and this thing might really fly. It’s a nice pin cushion also, I just don’t use them often myself.

I know you are thinking that I am turning into too much of a dog mommy, but the first thing I think of when I see the directions for these Crocheted Beads is that when made in a few certain sizes they would make perfect little balls for Wookie!

Love Chan’s Moonlight Sonata! Makes me want to knit one.

Recipes I’d like to try:

Don’t these Peach Bars look yummy!? I’m wondering how well they would do with Gluten Free flour? Might have to try real soon while peaches are in season.

This Raspberry Mango Coconut Smoothie sound interesting!

One thing the husband and I disagree on is Lemon, he is not a fan of lemon flavored things and I love them! These Lemon Ricotta Cookies sound interesting and delicious! I need to try these . . . yes, need!

I never thought of making something like these Zucchini Chips, but they are just like eggplants in the Eggplant Stacks and I am betting zucchini tastes great like this too . . . maybe even with a little of the tomato mixture used in the Eggplant Stacks.

Dehydrated Doggie Treats

2011-08-07T13:10:00.003-04:00

Hey guys, it's me again, Wookie! I know you guys are probably wondering where Mommy is in all of this, well she's been dealing with some pretty nasty migraine stuff this week and weekend. I'm told her head hurts lots, so she's mostly been hiding out in the A/C in the bedroom and sleeping when she's not at work. She was suppose to go in for overtime this weekend, but didn't cause she is feeling very icky. I'm trying to give her lots of cuddles and letting her pet me lots in case it makes her feel better.

I thought I wouldn't leave you guys hanging though, so I thought I'd tell you about Mommy trying to make me some doggy jerky in the dehydrator. She wanted a cheaper way to get me good treats and honestly, she's found it is cheaper to make me them than to buy them. So here is what she tried this first time:

So on the left we have turkey jerky, right we have ham jerky, and on the bottom we have hot dog jerky.

So, lets talk about all this yumminess, yes I have tried a piece of each of it and let me tell you, delicious!

So the turkey jerky is just lean ground turkey from the grocery store. She didn't add anything to the meat for flavor or anything, because we wanted a base of flavor for just the meat itself. I personally think it's pretty tasty. She used the tool in her jerky kit to make them thin tubes of meat and then dehydrated them and broke them into smaller lengths. She thinks this tool is going to come in handy with future batches and ideas.

The for the ham, we just bought a ham from the grocery store and sliced it up and put it in the dehydrator. We were wondering how well this would work, because ham is precooked, but it worked out well. Mommy then took those big pieces and cut them into smaller pieces for me. I'll tell you a secret . . . even Mommy likes the ham jerky.

Lastly, the hot dog jerky. This was more of a "lets see if this will work" idea. Mommy hates it at class when her hands are all slimy from feeding me bits of hot dog and thought it might work so much better if it were dry. They are also yummy.

Since these worked so well, Mommy has a few more complicated ideas in her head. Especially some ideas to make the treats more bite size for me. I have to say, who knew a dehydrator could be so doggy friendly?!?!?

Love,
Wookie

Wookie's World

2011-08-03T20:56:00.002-04:00

So, this week has been exciting so far too!

On Sunday we went to the dog park again. We went on the "All Dog Side" again because there were no little dogs on the "Little Dog Side", but I held my own really well according to Mommy. This time I actually walked around the perimeter of the fence with Mommy and my tail was in the air and I was happy. Some big dog would occassionally run up to me and sniff me, but I wasn't too afraid. I even ran with the other dogs a few times, it was fun. One time though we were running and I just stopped and the big dogs either couldn't stop in time or didn't want to and plowed me over. Luckily I didn't get stepped on, but I did roll a few times. Then some big dog playingly gnawed on me, like puppies do, and I had doggy saliva all over my back. But I enjoyed it and it was fun.

At the end two little dachshund came over in the "Little Dog Side" so Mommy let me go over there and meet them. Boy did they have a lot of energy, I found it almost scary. They loved running up to my Mommy though and dropping their tennis ball for her to throw for them. I let this happen a couple times, then I had to yell at them, I mean she's my Mommy, not theirs.

We stayed in the dog park for about an hour and then we walked around the park by the water's edge. You cannot really go in, which is fine by me, because the edge is where big boats use to tie their boats to the cement. I was very interested in the smell of the water and it was crazy how many big bird hang out by the water. It was fun to chase after them.

See some pictures of our day :

Yesterday, Tuesday, we went to the dog park again. This time was not only for me to get some more exposure, but for Daddy to see that he doesn't have to worry about me so much. Unfortunately, it didn't work out completely like that and we had our first bad experience at the dog park.

When we first got there, there was actually dogs in the "Little Dog Side", about 8 or so. Which was super exciting because Mommy says I need more experience around little dogs. It was fun and I did really well according to Mommy and Daddy. There was this little Chihuahua mixed puppy that was SO flirting with me.

So we played over there for about 30-40 minutes and all but one of the little dogs had gone home, so Mommy wanted to show Daddy that I do well in the "All Dogs Side" too. So Daddy picked me up, this is because I refuse to walk into the areas on my own yet. We walked out of the "Little Dog Side" and went to walk into the "All Dogs Side" when a Bassett Hound jumped up on my Mommy, it looked friendly enough and so Daddy continued in with me when the Basset Hound then jumped up on Daddy and bit me! Luckily he didn't get any flesh and just got a nice chunck of my tail fur! Mommy and Daddy immediately took me out and we went home.

Mommy and Daddy were upset too, not only because I could have been seriously hurt, but also because the Basset Hound's owners weren't paying attention to their dog and if they saw what he did, they didn't come over to make him behave or apologize for his behavior. The rules of the dog park, is that they are suppose to leave because he is not behaving, aggression is not allowed. I shouldn't have had to leave, I was behaving and having fun. It also caused about 3 or 4 other owners to take their dogs and leave.

Mommy says we will go again and we might try the dog park in Amherst too, but we will not be going in when that dog is there. She is very disappointed and it is too bad there isn't someone there to watch and make sure the owners and dogs are doing what they are suppose to. This was suppose to be our trip to show Daddy that I was SAFE around other dogs and that they wouldn't hurt me! Bad owners suck!

Wookie's World

2011-08-01T21:50:00.002-04:00

Okay, I know I am behind, but today I am going to tell you about last week and then Wednesday I'll be back to tell you about this week so far!

Well Mommy says my behavior is slowly improving. We went to the dog park, had a second play date with Rosie, and had training class this week. I am definitely learning that dogs aren't always something to fear. It is going slowly, but there is definite progress, especially around
dogs I have already met.

Sunday evening we went to the dog park, there are two sides to the dog park, the small dogs side and the all dogs side. Since there were no dogs in the small dogs side, we went into the all dogs side. Before we went in I was barking at the dogs, but once we got in, I didn't bark
at all. I'm not going to lie to you guys, I was afraid, but Mommy says this is what we are working on anyways. I did try to run a couple times with some of the dogs, but then got scared because I
thought they were chasing me. I got to wander around some and let me tell you, I loved that the other dog's brought their people. Afterall, I love people and not to brag, but people love me! We also went back yesterday, but we will talk about that on Wednesday. We will also be going back on Tuesday. Unfortunately Daddy is having a hard time with my socialization also. He is worried about me annoying other dogs and the other dogs hurting me, so we have to work on Daddy's comfort level too.

Tuesday night after Mommy got home we had our second play date with Rosie. Daddy came with us, so we could start working on his comfort level. Do you know what I figured out? Rosie is a girl! Mommy says not to go into details, as this is a PG blog. It's not like I really tried anything. So needless to say, I am getting pretty comfortable with Rosie and I love the way she smells.

We went to training class last night. I am getting more use to my class mates, when walking around the store, I recognize them. I tried smelling some of them, which Mommy assures me is a good thing, but can you believe that they wanted to sniff me back? That obviously was not kosher. I still barked a lot at class, but less than last time. Some of the stuff we do in class I am already good at, like we did handling at the beginning of class, trust me, growing up around little kids, I have that one down. Then we did some loose leash walking around the store, which I am always good at when Mommy has treats. :) Although, do you know how hard it is to pay attention when you are walking down the treat aisle?!?!? Last we worked on greeting strangers. Our Mommies and Daddies had to ask strangers in the store to ask us to sit for them and then give us a treat. That was fun because then people wanted to pet me.

I did get ran over a few times by Ellie, one of my classmates, who evidently doesn’t like little dogs, but she is fascinated with me. She is a black lab, so she looks similar to Rosie, so I am a little more tolerant of her. But Ellie wants me to wrestle and play and I am so not into that.

Overall, it was a good training night. We were both worn out by the time we got home. And we both crashed. Mommy also found some dog treats that not only do I like, but she feels comfortable feeding me. They gave us a sample the first class. They are called Blue Bits in the Chicken flavor and basically no grains and no crappy fillers. Only downfall, of course, is that they are a little pricy – but not too bad. Mommy says this has given her the idea to try to make some of her own doggy treats. I hope they are good!

Well guys, this has been a long catch up post, so I think I need some sleep! See you all Wednesday!

Love,
Wookie

Sunday Inspirations

2011-07-31T18:17:00.002-04:00

Well, I have quite a few recipes to share this Sunday, since I've been pretty absent for the month of July.

Recipes I’d like to try:

I’ve never been a fan of tomato soup, it always seemed bland to me, but this Roasted Tomato Soup sound delicious.

This Chile Halibut and Black Beans sound delicious. Black beans are something I have definitely grown to like since moving to New York State.

Another thing I have grown to love is Cashews, especially in cooking. So this Spicy Garlic Cashew Chicken sounds good and interesting.

Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars not only sound good, but are perfect for right now when berries are so plentiful. This seems like an easy thing to substitute Gluten-Free Flour also.

I love roasted cauliflower and this Curried Cauliflower Popcorn sound delicious and simple.

I am a fan of potato salad so this Poblano Chorizo Potato Salad sounds good.

I love salmon and I love Indian food so how could I not think that this Salmon Curry. I am so making this soon.

One of the things I have missed are simple snacks like Granola bars. I know they have Gluten-Free ones, but have you tried those? Any who, I was so glad to see this recipe for Granola Bars. I will be switching some things out when I try them, but it seems like a good base, plus the bars actually look good.

Love the sound of this simple recipe for Crockpot Applesauce. Have you ever looked at what they add to the applesauce you buy? Any who, will be making some of this soon when apples come in season.

Some loves are learned slowly

2011-07-30T21:08:00.002-04:00

When Wookie first came to live with us, I wanted to find him treats he would enjoy, but that would also be healthy for him. There are a lot of things I refuse to buy or feed him. Bones were something I figured every dog liked, so I bought some Dentley’s Mini Knotted Bones for him. He had absolutely no interest in them, I mean none! Since I had a bag of them, I realized I needed to figure out some way to get him to be interested in them.

So I took a little melted bacon grease and painted the outside of one of them, to see if that worked. It did, but it was slow, it’s taken about 7 weeks for him to demolish the bone. Once he realized there was flavoring inside (beef), it went quicker. So yesterday I decided to give him another bone from the bag and this is what it looks like already, no bacon grease needed.

This is Wookie's favorite place too, he has a bit of a foot/shoe fetish. He doesn't chew on them, he just likes to lay on them and lick them!

Now that he knows he likes the inside and chewing them apart, he loves them!

Wookie's World

2011-07-24T14:15:00.003-04:00

Hey guys, Mommy said since she hasn't been able to read blogs to have anything for Sunday Inspirations, that I could blog today!

First off, I finally got shaved! Our extra blades arrived! Woo, hoo! I didn't much care for it during the process, but afterwards I was all energy and bouncing around.

Today I went to the park and had a play-date with Rosie. Boy did she have a lot of patience with me. We hung out for 2 hours and played with our Mommies, sticks, and a tennis ball. Unfortunately we had to play with the big ball because Mommy says Rosie might choke on ours, but it was still fun! Did you know that when running for a tennis ball, I can run right into Rosie and she doesn't even notice me? We just keep on running for the ball.

Here's a couple pictures of the park:

I know she doesn't look that much bigger than me, but trust me, it's all an optical illusion.

Mommy says I behaved very well. I even shared some of my treats and my water dish with Rosie. We had a good time together. We have another play date scheduled for Tuesday night when our Mommies get out of work.

Training Update

2011-07-23T21:01:00.003-04:00

I'd apologize again, but I am sure it's getting kind of old. The heat is still crazy here though, hopefully the weather people are right and the heat is going to break in next couple days. Right now, more than a couple minutes out of AC and you are drenched in your own sweat. Unfortunately since the way our apartment is structured, you can open every window in it and it just doesn't get a breeze to cool down, so it's always hotter in here than outside!

I haven't been knitting much, I am designing a baby sweater and it's going slow due to my lack of knitting time.

Any who, onto the Wookie info. First class went better than expected, meaning we are still in the class. :) Wookie barked about 2/3rds of the class, but never got aggressive with any dogs. So we are moving on. Our homework this week is to go on a playdate, so tomorrow Wookie has a playdate with Rosie, the dog of a co-worker. Rosie is a German Shephard/Lab mix, if I remember correctly. We are going to the park in the morning and have them get use to each other. Rosie is of a much better disposition than Wookie, so hopefully she will have patience with him. I'll try to get some pictures.

Also, I have to mention that sometimes the kindness of strangers is overwhelming. The trainer said I am supposed to not avoid dogs while walking, instead see how Wookie does and reward him for his good effort. This is incredibly hard, because the moment Wookie starts barking, other owners don't want their dogs near him. Which I understand, but it makes socializing Wookie very difficult. Tonight we were walking and Wookie barked at a big black dog on the other side of the street. This guys stopped and asked if it was okay if he brought his dog over to meet Wookie. I told him about Wookie being in training. Wookie had a good 10 minutes or so with the other dog. This guys was very understanding and nice, as was his dog. His dog was a rescue dog, when he was a puppy he was beat to within an inch of his life. It was just so wonderful that this guy took his time out to help me and Wookie. He cannot possibly understand how much I appreciated this. In the end, Wookie even let the other dog sniff him.

Wookie's World

2011-07-20T19:51:00.002-04:00

Hey guys! Long time no see, well things have been off schedule here this week and last. I am doing much better from my surgery, I still have to wear this though:

The week is going to continue to be a little hectic. The weather here is exceptionally warm and humid, so we have been spending a lot of time in the bedroom, which is the only room with AC. Mommy is also working overtime this week, so early mornings and tired nights. Tomorrow we start my training class though, which I will either accept socialization with other dogs or we will find out that I have to have private classes. Mommy is really hoping that I accept socialization, we shall see.

So, I wanted to share the new treat Mommy made me. This is 2 cups worth of roast juices and little chunks mixed with about 4-5 cups of Plain yogurt and then frozen in an ice cube tray:

This is what I am eating in the bowl above, with my cone on. I do much better now though and can go without the cone while Mommy just keeps an eye on me. I really like these.

We have some dishes to do and a walk to go on before Mommy attempts to get some sleep tonight, so I will see you all later!

Love,
Wookie

Update

2011-07-15T17:50:00.002-04:00

Sorry if we worried anyone. We are okay. Wookie had his surgery on Monday and didn't take so well to the drugs and he's now on some pain meds. The only way he can go around without his cone, is if I watch him like a hawk, which isn't really conducive to being online. He's getting better and is being more defiant and bratty, so he's getting into more trouble, so I have to watch him more.

With the cone on, he's barking and yelping pretty much the whole time between when the husband leaves for work and I get home. Granted it's only like 30 minutes, but that is plenty of time for someone to lodge a complaint and us have to get rid of him. So I don't know what to do. It's all a little frustrating right now.

We hope to be back online soon, maybe this weekend, but we will have to see how things go.

Sunday Inspirations

2011-07-10T12:19:00.001-04:00

Recipes I’d like to try:

These Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls sound delicious. Going to have to get the ingredients when I go grocery shopping today!

Gluten Free Tortellini sound not only interesting but yummy. Not sure with our warm weather that I’ll be making it any time soon, but it’s definitely on my list to try.

Even though I cannot eat these Chicken Pillows with Creamy Parmesan Sauce I think some of you should try them, because boy do they sound good!

Sliding Shawl

2011-07-07T22:21:00.003-04:00

Yarn : Knit Picks Stroll

Color : Cocoa

Content : 75% Superwash Merino Wool / 25% Nylon

Care : Machine Wash, Tumble Dry Low

Needles : US 8 for the body and US 6 for the edging

Pattern : Sliding Shawl (pattern not out yet)

Size : 49.5" across and 22" down the center (This was blocked, but not aggressively)

Modifications : None since this was a test-knit. I did have to go down in needle size to get the appropriate gauge though.

Even Wookie liked the end product!

This was definitely one of the more unstructured test-knits I have done. I'm not sure what the end pattern will completely look like as we went off more rough draft and pieces of it. The drafts for the chart I found confusing and they didn't include everything so I re-wrote mine so it made more sense. I would have been done sooner, but the yarn estimations were wrong, I ran out of yarn and had to place another order with Knit Picks, wait for it to arrive and then finish. I only had about 7/10ths of the border left to do. Overall, a little frustrating, but a lovely overall pattern. I would definitely knit this shawl again.

Wookie's World

2011-07-06T21:38:00.002-04:00

Well, guys, I am going to have to start taking over some things.

~First off, Mommy forgot the camera and camcorder when we were in Ohio, so we have no pictures or videos of family or me. I mean, this is a serious offense. Obviously I will have to be in charge of packing from now on.

I liked the trip to Ohio, once I realized we were going to be in the car for a long time, I mostly slept on Mommy's lap. We stopped for food and potty breaks. I had lots of fun meeting new people, especially Garren who was lots of fun. He liked to play rough some times though, so Mommy had to protect me. I didn't so much care for being in Motel, I could hear everyone get in and out of their cars, open their room doors, talk, play their music. I did not sleep well the first night, but the other days were so packed full of excitement that I was so tired I slept through the night.

There were lots of bugs, which I didn't much like. Mommy got sunburned real bad. She lost track of time, playing with Garren and didn't have sunscreen on. She says it sucks but that Garren was tons of fun.

~Secondly, they took me to the VET yesterday. I know vet is not a four letter word, but it really should be! I got a physical and heartworm tested. I was VERY uncooperative. The first time she got the needle in, I freaked out so much the needle came out, I started bleeding some and they had to bandage me up and try a different leg. Well this continued until we were on our last leg, literally, finally I stopped jerking and yelping and it took her like 5 times to find a vein in that leg! Luckily I do not have heartworm and have started my preventative medicine today. If Mommy feeds me medicine in a piece of hotdog, I am all for this medicine thing!

I'm not exactly sure what Mommy and Daddy mean, but evidently I am going to get fixed on Monday. I don't think I am broken, so I don't know what this means. Mommy says I will probably pout and be upset with her again though. Very confusing these humans are.

Sorry it took us so long to blog, but Mommy will be back tomorrow with her crafting. See you all next week!

Love,
Wookie

Special Ellie Post

2011-06-30T17:50:00.002-04:00

This is a little video from when I was out in Washington State:

Aren't they just adorable?

P.S. We leave for Ohio tomorrow so I won't be blogging until Monday or Tuesday. In-laws have no internet! :)

Wookie's World

2011-06-29T19:59:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone! Mommy says I've been like a teenager this week, some days good and some days crazy! Any who, we have a couple videos for you:

Hope you enjoyed! I am in the middle of a haircut right now . . . it's taking forever, because I don't want a haircut, so I'm not really playing along.

Oh yes, I am super excited about this weekend. We are taking a car trip to Ohio to see Daddy's family. I love car rides . . . we shall see how much I love a 5-6 hour car ride though. Mommy assures me we will take potty and water breaks. See you guys next week!

Sliding Shawl

2011-06-28T20:40:00.002-04:00

Sneak peak of a test-knit shawl :

This is shortly after I started the border. Unfortunately, the yarn estimations were incorrect and I am waiting on more yarn to finish it up! It is a lovely design and I cannot wait to show you all the finished and blocked item!

PS: If I can get everything working correctly Wookie will have a video tomorrow and Thursday will be a little video from my May visit to Washington State. *fingers crossed*

Sunday Inspirations

2011-06-26T14:00:00.002-04:00

For some reason this summer, I have enjoyed wearing skirts, so this Skirt Pattern from Anna Marie Horner is a definite try this summer. Nice and simple.

Recipes I'd like to try:

These Mini Cherry Clafoutis look delicious. Plus, as I grow older, Cherries are definitely one of my favorite fruits.

I'm not sure my husband would go for these, but Shrimp Burgers sound good to me. Sandwiched between a nice Gluten-Free Ciabatta Bread. Cannot wait to try these. Even the home-made tartar sauce sounds good!

Congrats for more Equal Rights!

2011-06-25T14:26:00.003-04:00

This definitely deserves its own post:

New York State finally voted YES for Gay marriage rights!

It's most definitely about time. Now the other states who are behind need to get their acts together.

Knitty First Fall 2011 Review

2011-06-25T14:18:00.003-04:00

Knitty First Fall 2011 is up!

Patterns:

Creekbed - - I absolutely love the colors used in this. That’s cause I am a Fall kind of girl though. The scarf is a simply chevron with a play on colors and I love that Stephen West admits that. I’m not much of a scarf knitter, but I could definitely see making more of a short scarf/cowl.

Dunes - - I really like the movement in this shawl. The straight lines contrasting with the perpendicular waves are lovely. I also like that it is meant for handspun.

Rhodion - - I am quite drawn to this. I think the close resemblance to an actual floral design is well done. I’ll admit that it is more like a scarf construction so it is unlikely something I would have the patience to knit, however it is quite tempting to try.

Kuusk - - The geometric lace is lovely. Unfortunately it makes a very thin cowl with not much coverage and the lace is really hidden as a cowl.

Dragon Wing - - I find the construction and look of this so very intriguing, but less so when I read that it was two pieces connected. For me this is visually appealing, but not likely something I would knit.

Pretty Twisted - - I like the look of these little wrist warmers, but I am not a person who is likely to wear them. Although, it is slightly appealing if I knew how to hook the face of a watch onto one of these.

Darrin - - I like the general look of this layering garment. Not so much a fan of the belt look, but one doesn’t have to use the belt. I like the way the construction makes the outside of the arm detail, but I do not like how the construction creates all that fabric bunching under the arms. Unfortunately that is really the big downfall for me with this and I am not likely to knit it.

Leaflet - - A nice, simple top. I do like the detail down the spine though. Often all of the sweater detail is focused on the front and I like this attention to the back of the top.

Undercurrent - - A nice colorful hoodie. I know that part of the way all the colors work in this garment is due to it being knit in multiple pieces, but I am unlikely to knit something in pieces.

Date Night - - I like this, which somewhat surprises me. During Fall/Winter though, this would make a lovely layering piece with a tank underneath. I am not a fan of the multi-color version though. I really would like to make this, I will most likely make the sleeve ribbing a little longer by a couple of inches. Hmm, will have to consider what yarn I would like to use.

Kindling - - Unfortunately not a fan of this child’s sweater. I don’t like how the top half is purls out and the bottom half is knits out. It creates an awkward break. The cables abruptly ending with the purling makes the top half very detailed and the bottom half bare.

Chasing Snakes - - I like these. Just enough detail to not makes the sock too boring, but not over detailed. Mostly I appreciate the variety of sizes.

Gratitude - - Love the story that goes along with these socks, but I also like the pattern. I like the detailing of these socks. The whole design works well with the individual pieces of the design. Not sure if I’d be able to fit into what she considers and XL, but I would definitely knit these just for the process of it.

Lingerie - - A lovely pair of socks. I really like the way the design leads down into the foot pattern. Delicate and lovely! The back of the heel is done wonderfully. Definitely would like to knit these also.

Double Helix - - Interesting structure and working not top down, nor toe-up, but heel out. Another sock that I would love to try just for the process of making it. Pattern provides many pictures and definitely seems doable.

Inlay - - Definitely will be knitting these socks! Hopefully soon! LOVE the texture that is created in the inlay sections. A nice range of sizes are also available.

Bosnian Socks - - I love the colorwork in these socks. So much detail! Colorwork socks with a large of 9”, will most likely not fit me though. I have a strong dislike of the toe on these though.

Tortora - - Interesting look, kind of gives me a whole “outer – space” type feeling. Feels very alien. Might be a hat I would try, I like the beanie version more. However, I doubt an 18” unstretched would stretch to fit my head.

I Crocodile - - Unfortunately, I just figured out that I am not a fan of the colorwork slouchy look.

Commuter - - I want to like these fingerless gloves. I love the folded over look, but when buttoned for more coverage they look a little wonky to me. Not a fan of the wrist/arms being the same stitch count as the palm, meaning the arms look a little baggy.

Morse Code - - I am normally not a mitten fan, but I love the story and idea behind these! Even without the back story these mittens are nifty looking!

Dolly Dearest - - Not really a fan of a lot of this recreation stuff Franklin Habit has been doing, this included. The little booties are kind of cute, but don’t really care for the other knitted item.

Overall, pleasantly surprised with this Knitty as there are quite a few things I like for different reasons. I recommend giving this issue a glance if you haven’t already and let me know what you think!

Apologies

2011-06-23T18:48:00.003-04:00

The Wook and I apologize about our absence. I have been having some headache issues and having been sleeping well. But we will be back this weekend with some videos of the Wook training. See you all then!

Happy Solstice

2011-06-21T21:03:00.002-04:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Summer Solstice! I had to work, but later in the day Wookie and I got a couple of good walks in.

Mystery Medallion Shawl

2011-06-20T19:53:00.003-04:00

Yarn : Knit Picks Palette

Color : Mustard

Content : 100% Wool

Care : Hand wash / Dry flat

Needles : US 4 / 3.5mm

Pattern : Mystery Medallion Shawl

Modifications : None, I did the shawl exactly how the clues were.

Now this isn't the normal use for a yoga mat, but it worked wonderfully! :)

As you can see, this shawl is Wookie approved!

This shawl went pretty quickly knitting it up on lunches at work. I've been done knitting it for a little while, but hadn't had a chance to block it. Now it's all blocked. I like how it came out, even if it's too warm to wear it right now! :)

On the yarn, I love how the Knit Picks Palette knits up. I will definitely be buying more in the future.

Sunday Inspirations

2011-06-19T10:35:00.001-04:00

I know I have linked to these inspirational sayings for each day before, but I am linking again to Clyde The Mad Tatters blog simply because I really appreciate him posting these. Some times, you just need a good reminder. One of the reasons I also love the Monday Musings from Romi of the blog Rosemary Go Round.

This Book Strap Tutorial is very nifty!

Recipes I’d like to try:

I have the burden or blessing in my family of being the only daughter who really doesn’t have much natural skill in the kitchen. I say burden, because I am the odd man out here . . . I got the short end of the stick on that one. However, it is also a blessing, because I can learn from them. My sister, Rhoni, is a fanatic when it comes to pastas and she does them super well. She recently posted her Spaghetti Sauce and her Chicken Parmesan! I definitely recommend both of them!

Emily from A Joyful Abode recently linked to her recipe for Roast and I have to try it, is sounds very flavorful, which I find difficult to achieve with a lot of recipes.

These Scalloped Apples sound super delicious, especially with some Vanilla Ice Cream.

All of the Gluten-Free cookies I have tried have a crumbly nature to them, which I know some people don’t mind or even prefer, but I am not one of them. However, these Chocolate Chip Cookies appear to have more of a normal texture, which definitely makes me want to try them!

Not only does this Chicken Cordon Bleu sound super yummy, but it also would be made easily into Gluten-Free. This is going on my list of things to make!

The older I get, the more I like pickled food, so these Pickled Vietnamese Diakons and Carrots sound interesting. These seem like a nice side dish to something that is a little spicy. A Mexican restaurant in Ithaca served something similar with their food and both my husband and I loved them, so I will have to try this recipe.

On the same thought process, these Pickled Onions sound good too!

I have never had Kimchi but every time I see a recipe for it, it sounds so interesting. I think I will have to give in and try making some.

Food Friday - Chicken Creamy Spaghetti Casserole

2011-06-17T22:34:00.003-04:00

So I tried the recipe for the Chicken Creamy Spaghetti Casserole.

I changed just a few things up. When cooking the mushrooms I also added 1/3 finely diced onion and about 1.5 cups of frozen peas. I also, did not add any wine to this part of the cooking. Since my husband and I have different gluten dietary needs, this was baked without the noodles.

I sprinkled Parmesan and Mexican shredded cheese on the top, then put the olives on top and baked it.

The husband hand mini penne noodles, while I had my Chinese rice noodles. I served it with roasted asparagus, yellow squash, and cauliflower. Here are a couple pictures of my plate.

This was pretty darn good! I definitely recommend it. I am a fan of casserole like foods though! :)

Wookie's World

2011-06-16T18:22:00.002-04:00

Hey guys, well the bucket of photos seems to be working now, so lets get on with the show.

First, after I blogged last week, Mommy thought she had a wonderful idea to help me cool down. She had me take a shower with cooler water. I'm just not sure about this woman's intelligence level, because seriously how many different ways can I tell her that I do not enjoy being wet!?!? She insists that you see how crimpy my hair gets after I'm wet.

Look at what the water does to my beautiful hair!?!?!? It gets all crimpy and poofy!

She says that during Winter she will let me grow out my hair, but that in Spring when I get a haircut again, she is going to try to blend my hair with some wool and spin it. I'm telling you guys this woman is just a little off her rocker. I mean, I know I am super terrific, but stealing my hair? And why would you need to add sheep, aren't I great enough all on my own?

My hair wasn't even very long and look how much of it there was! It was crazy!

Any who, I also got a haircut this weekend. Mommy was sticker shocked on how much it costs to get a good shaver for a doggie with thick hair. It works really well, except the blade gets hot. She read up on it though and still thinks it was
the right shaver to buy because it cuts easily through my fur. We just need to buy a second blade so we can switch back and forth as the blade gets hot. Back to me though, don't I look rather spiffy with my hair all cut again?

Mommy did okay for her first time shaving me. I was very cooperative though, she said
she is very glad my Washington State Mommy taught me to be such a good helper when being
shaved. It's not as smooth as it could be all over, but it is fairly good. She said I
will get shaved more often now, probably every other weekend so I don't get too warm.

We are doing lots of work with our Clickr training and Mommy says I am responding well,
much better than the previous attempts. We are going to try to get Daddy to take a video
of us doing our training so we can post it next week. See you all next week!

Love,
Wookie!

Wookie's World

2011-06-15T20:08:00.002-04:00

Well guys Mommy's Photobucket isn't working right now. Evidently they are having something called maintenance!?!?! Any who, I will try again tomorrow.

Love,
Wookie

New Scrubbie for the Dishes

2011-06-12T15:49:00.004-04:00

No Sunday Inspirations today, just didn't find any. So we have an FO instead!

I loved my Crochet Scrubbie I made back in March of 2009. Let me tell you, I had no idea it would last me a little over 2 years! I was just hoping at the time that it would last me longer than the sponges I purchased at the store, which only lasted a few weeks at best!

I will admit I was disappointed when it started falling apart though, as it was a wonderful tool for washing the dishes. Once it got a little hole though, it didn’t take long for it to become mostly useless. So I knew I had to make another. This time though I wanted to use the remaining ball that I had in a different color and wanted one that was larger. So I took the same principle, I cast on 30 stitches and started crocheting, decreasing always at one end and increasing at the next. This is what I got.

Here you can see the diagonal seam.

This is all I had left over from the ball I had!

I have used it a couple times now and it is working wonderfully! This different colorway did bleed quite a bit on the first use, but now seems fine. I am still so glad I picked up this yarn so many years ago when it was being discontinued, I wish they still sold it!

Lacey Thorns - Finally Finished

2011-06-11T18:34:00.002-04:00

Yarn: Rozetti – Always Dreams

Color: 116-04 (Variegated bright pink)

Content: 75% Acrylic / 25% Wool

Care: Machine wash and dry flat

Needles: US 2 / 2.75mm

Gauge: 7sts per inch

Pattern: Taking inspiration from the Mistletoes pattern.

Modifications: I am using the cast on numbers (20) and the starting foot numbers (40), but everything else changes. The top of the foot pattern is a simple lace stitch pattern called Lace Thorns from the Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns. I start the gusset increases when my heel begins. My gusset stitches increase to 68 stitches total, then the heel turn adds another 8. The heel decreases my stitches down to 48. Lace pattern all around for the small bit of leg and then 2x2 ribbing lined up with the pattern for 6 rows.

They were a little warm to put on for these photos as our weather has been rather warm lately and this are thicker and mostly acrylic. I love the way they turned out though. Is there room for improvement? Yes, I should have added a few more stitches to the gusset, you can tell the lace pulls more around my heel. I will be very happy to wear them this Fall though!

Wookie's World

2011-06-08T20:36:00.002-04:00

Can we say warm? I mean seriously people, I am from a cooler climate. You know, the summer is the 70s and maybe into the mid 80s. This in the 80s days in a row with around 60% humidity is killing me! The AC is suppose to be installed in the bedroom hopefully this week. I'm not exactly sure what AC is, but Mommy and Daddy assure me that I will feel much cooler. Also Mommy is going to buy clippers this weekend to cut me super short again. Honestly, I am looking forward to the rain the is forecasted for tomorrow, I am getting use to these thunder/lightning storms and they don't bother me much anymore.

Until then I try to distract myself with toys. Who knew knitted toys could be so much fun?!? Mommy needs to put squeakers inside them though.

Any who, onto our training regimen. Mommy has been trying different approaches to training. She says she sure dogs are just like children/people and not all of them learn the same way, so she wants to find what I respond best to. She says at least her college education might help her train me better. So we tried the stuff we talked about before, which did help some, but I resisted to some of the more serious types of training and was acting out. So Mommy went searching for other ways that I might like better. Right now we are trying out "Clicker Training". We are learning from Mary Woodward, Karen Pryor, and Gary Wilkes websites. I guess I am liking this training. I get good treats when the clicker likes what I am doing. We even ordered some books. Mommy says we can review them once we receive them and try to use them.

We'll see if we can get some video of us for next week. Love you guys, but we are going to take a walk to go pick up Mommy and Daddy's Chinese food, so I will see you next week!

Sunday Inspirations

2011-06-05T09:52:00.001-04:00

Anyone who’s ever read any of my reviews knows that I am not so much a fan of knitted or crocheted jewelry, I almost always think it looks tacky. However, Laura of Nelkin Designs has a lovely knitted necklace called Butin Collar and it is not tacky, in fact I think it is quite nice.

Recipes I’d like to try:

This Mexican Frittata looks not only good, but interesting! I love the idea of Avocado in there!

I am a huge fan of Tuna, but let’s face it, I only have like 2 things I do with it and they get old. The Pioneer Woman’s Tuna Melts look delicious!

The weather here keeps fluctuating, but when it’s warm, I just want a popsicle . . . isn’t that what everyone wants on a hot day? I recently bought fudge popsicles from the store, ugh, the chocolate flavor is all watered down and to say the least, they were a disappointment. Now these Homemade Fudge Popsicles sound super good . . . plus its chocolate, the good kind!

Blogiversary Contest Winner

2011-06-04T13:28:00.003-04:00

Random number generator picked . . . . #1! Congrats Monika!

The weather is super rainy and stormy today so no FO pictures . . . maybe tomorrow. Wookie says cuddle up with a pet and wait out the rain!

Mystery Medallion Shawl

2011-06-02T18:39:00.003-04:00

Jen of Knitting Like Crazy held a mystery shawl knit along for the month of May. I casted on the day after the first clue came out, May 7th, and knit away. I was only a couple rows away from finishing clue one, when I realized my stitch count would be off when I completed clue one. So I gave a good look at the shawl to see where I messed up. Can you see it?

Can you see how the top diamond is a bit smaller than the next one?

Yes, people. I missed a lace row and the purl back row after it!

So it was frogged and I cast on again. This was right before I left for Washington State. I knit in the airport some and on the plane. I got a few rows done while visiting. I am finally finished with Clue One . . . again.

A very rough blocking to show the pretty.

As you can see the diamonds are correctly sized now. Also you can see Wookie's little feet in the top left corner. He wants you to know that he must supervise everything!

Wouldn't you hire this face?

I have moved onto the second clue and am quickly making progress. I have given myself permission to cast on for Wendy's Summer Mystery Shawlette when I have completed the Mystery Medallion. P.S. - Clue Four has been released!

Wookie's World

2011-06-01T19:48:00.003-04:00

Yet another busy week folks. We’ve been working on behavior and crate training. Mommy says I have to learn that I am not Alpha. I say why? Oh well, Mommy says she already sees small differences in my behavior and that this is a good thing . . . I have her so fooled.

Saturday we went to the park again, only this time we went to the other half that is by the water. It’s not water to swim in . . . it’s kind of icky, but there are lots of paths to walk on. We’ve had so much rain here; I am told around 2 or 3 times what Buffalo normally gets in May. The ground was soggy and muddy; in some places even the paths were flooded. We walked all the way around and I had so much fun in the mud. I even rolled around in some of it, Mommy just laughed at me. I tried to chase some Canadian Geese. I even had a German Shepard try to make friends with me. He was walking with his Daddy and he didn’t even have to wear a leash! I mean the nerve! He just walked up to me like he does it every day or something and sniffed my face. He seemed like a nice chap and I mostly behaved, then he left.

Now I wasn’t going to tell you all about this, I mean, a guy has to have some dignity, but Mommy says it was hilarious. So, since I aim to please, maybe you all will find it funny too. On Saturday we also went to the pet store, before we went to the park. We got some new treats to try . . . I won't even touch them! Any who, Mommy saw a tiny Chihuahua around the corner, in another aisle, of course she immediately said hi to the little guy and he happily ran towards us. Mommy said he was only like a couple of pounds and she could probably fit him in one hand. I personally thought he was scary and had to run and hide behind Mommy! I mean seriously people, what is funny about that?

As you can tell by the lack of photos above, Mommy forgot to bring her camera. See, I still have some more training to do with her.

We came home and had to take a bath! I was unhappy and pouted on Mommy's lap until I fell asleep.

I also wanted to show you my room . . . this is where I like to sleep sometimes. Mommy put this nice cool blanket in there that she made when she was a teenager.

Well, that's all for now folks, I'll be back soon though to talk about my training and what we are learning. I say "we are learning" because this is definitely a learning experience for Mommy too!

Sunday Inspirations and Blogiversary Contest!

2011-05-29T22:43:00.002-04:00

Well, had a fun day, got to talk to my sister Echo and my niece Justice, and then Wookie, the husband, and I went to the park and out to eat and I completely lost track of time.

First off, Sunday Inspirations:

This quote is my favorite of the week. If only it was a little easier for me to get into this mindset!

We have been doing some research on not only Pomeranian dogs, but how to modify behavior and crate train. Dog Breed Info appears to have some beneficial information on behavior and making sure Wookie knows who is Alpha. We already tried some of it since our evening walk on Saturday and I have noticed results already. He is doing well so far with the crate training also.

I love this Car-seat Cover Tutorial! It looks so easy, yet so very, very practical. I think I might make up one of these for little Ellie. I’m sure it’ll be helpful with the Washington rain.

I love this"in-the-round" version of Sartjee’s Booties from Fleegle!

Recipes I’d like to try:

This Skillet Chicken Parmesan sounds so good. My sister, Rhoni, makes a wonderful Chicken Parmesan. I just need to use Gluten-Free flour. I think I may try it this week.

Now for the contest! So since I completely forgot about my Blogiversary, to enter the contest all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what is the worst thing you've ever forgoten! The prize . . . a $20 gift certificate to the store of your choice. It can be a cooking store, an etsy store, a pet store, etc. As long as it's possible for me to get a gift certificate/card from them. You have until Friday, Saturday I will draw a winner!

WTF Watermelon Socks

2011-05-28T14:13:00.003-04:00

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette

Color: Wallaby & Fuchsia

Content: 100% Wool

Care: Wash by hand, lay flat

Needles: US 1

Pattern: My own creation.

I finally finished the first sock. I like how it turned out, however there is still room for improvement. I will be adding a few more stitches to the gusset. Plus altering the toe a little bit.

As you can see, I've already started the second sock, with the colors reversed. These are a little slower due to the thinner yarn and my many other projects on the needles!

I think for my next pair that I cast on, they will have wider stripes, maybe 3-4 rows high, instead of just one row high. I'm thinking orange and either one or two other colors.

* * * *

Also, it seems I forgot my Blogiversary when I was on vacation. So look tomorrow for the Blogiversary Contest!

Wookie's World

2011-05-25T19:31:00.002-04:00

Hello again world, wow has this week been exciting. It feels like I just got here and like I've been here forever. Things are going smoothly in my new home. I think I am grasping that my Uncle Jacob and Aunt Jodi are my new dad and mom.

We went to the park on Saturday. Boy was that fun. There were so many new things to smell, people, and lots of other dogs. This was only my 3rd day in New York, so my social skills with other dogs, still wasn't very good, but my new mommy says I am getting a little better with each walk. I hope we go there again this weekend.

I'm not quite use to all this walking, but I am slowly increasing my stamina. I had to be carried home a few blocks yesterday, because after our walk, we walked down to get mommy and daddy some dinner. I got so tired. When we got home, I took a nap with Daddy.

On the home-front, I am not having any more accidents in the house. Even on the day where my new daddy had to go in for a morning shift so I was left alone for about 10 hours. I may have pulled a few things off of shelves, knocked over a planter full of dirt and played in it, unplugged the phone, and a couple other things . . . but I am told I wasn't too bad.

Lacey Thorns

2011-05-24T06:50:00.001-04:00

Sunday Inspirations

2011-05-22T11:19:00.003-04:00

Well, I have taken the blog back from Wookie, but don't worry, he'll be back every Wednesday! I have had a lot of blog posts to catch up on since I went on vacation! So today has quite a few inspirations.

Wendy has a new shawl knit-along for the Summer! It is being released in pieces, the intro piece, the 1st Clue and the 2nd Clue have been released! Part 3 and 4 are still to be released. I love her shawls and will definitely try this! Also, in the blog post for the 1st Clue, she has her Tidepool Spiral Shawl which I love!

Annita has finished her English version of Joris!! So super excited about this as I have been waiting for it to come out. You can get the Pattern on Ravelry. I recommend it, she is very detailed with her pattern and gives wonderful instructions! Plus, it’s just too cute to pass up!

I love this Wallet to Tote pattern by LiEr from ikatbag! I in general love things that fold up into smaller things. We are in need of new re-usable grocery bags, so I might be making a few of these soon!

LiEr also had a project over on HomeSpun Threads called Treasure Pouch which I think it adorable and I love little bags like that.

Recipes I’d like to try:

I am or was a fan of risotto, still this Risotto Primavera sounds good. Maybe something similar made with regular rice would be almost just as tasty? :)

I miss a variety of Mexican food, simply because wheat is used in a lot of the sauces, etc. This Mexican Rice sounds good. I might have to make it with some tacos soon!

I have always been very picky about my onion rings, because I definitely like the onion to be cooked, but not mushy. So what better way, than to try homemade? These Buttermilk Onion Rings sound delicious, partially just because of the seasoning used. I figure if I try some Gluten Free Bisquick or Gluten Free King Arthur Flour, these could go very well. Already craving some!

The husband loves those huge cookies that are the diameter of like a cake, so this Skillet Cookie.

As a huge fan of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies this recipe sounds like an interesting twist on the cookie.

Pet Store Visit

2011-05-21T14:15:00.004-04:00

Hello again everyone, this is Wookie. I planned on posting early in the day, but once we woke up, went potty, and played I had to take an hour long nap on my Aunt Jodi's lap. Of course when I woke up, we had to go potty again and play, let me tell you, I'm ready for another nap.

So, I know what you are going to think when you see this dog food, I thought the same thing. I mean, is she trying to turn me into some sort of tree hugging hippie dog? Isn't this food cutting out everything that makes food good? But actually I like the small pieces and it's pretty good.

She even let me help pick out my dishes. We had to get heavy ones though, cause when I am excited, I sometimes knock them over. These ones can withstand the hyper and they are cute!

We had the food in the kitchen cause it makes more sense with the linoleum in there. But I am so scared of missing what's going on and little time is spent in the kitchen. So I wasn't eating as much as I should. So the food got moved into the living room, so I can eat where all the action is.

Now onto the treats! These are super delicious. They take me about 10 minutes or so to work through and I eat them away from everyone, because obviously something that tastes this good must be something I am not really suppose to have.

Now Aunt Jodi tells me these Dognation treats are actually doggy treats, but I don't believe her. They come from the refrigerator just like human food and they smell so good and taste so good. I know, more hippie dog food, but I am beginning to think maybe those hippies are onto something.

We had to get some of this flea killing stuff, which drove me crazy at first, because all the fleas were trying to escape it. But I seem to be feeling much better today. And yes, I know you all can see the weight range on there . . . don't be a hater, plus, I just barely fit into that weight range.

Now this is super duper fun! I get to run farther in the yard, which is wonderful! My Aunt Jodi says I run around like a drunk bunny bouncing everywhere.

I'm told that once actually go poop outside and not on the linoleum in the kitchen, this is to clean it up.

Onto the toys. I loved playing yesterday so much, I may have fallen asleep mid-playing. :)

Here is my tug-a-war rope. You may recognize it from the picture above.

Can you believe we actually found Wookie sized tennis balls? They are called SqueakAir. They squeak and everything!

Here is a picture for size difference. Speaking of which, do you know how hard it is to find toys that are small doggy size? We don't have many options. Aunt Jodi assures me that she'll make me some also though.

Here is my favorite of the toys, this is my squeaker puppy. He squeaks easily.

As you can see, me and him spend the most time together.

For the end, I think we just need to remind my Aunt Jodi that every dancing puppy deserves a treat. . . even if I try this every five minutes or so to get one . . . right??

Love Wookie!

Hello World Wide Web!

2011-05-20T15:07:00.003-04:00

Hello to all! My name is Wookie and I am taking over my Aunt Jodi's blog today! Here is a picture of me with my Aunt Jodi, just so you can see how adorable I am.

Do you like my lion-like hair cut?

I had one hectic trip getting here as this was my first time flying and then our connecting flight was cancelled and we had to spend the night it the Detroit Airport. In fact, this picture is at 1am, after we had been sitting outside of the Detroit Airport for 3 hours, relaxing and trying to calm Aunt Jodi down cause boy was she cranky when our flight was cancelled. We got home a little more than 24 hours after we had left for the airport the day before. I slept most of the time, but Aunt Jodi was a little sleep deprived and we were both starving since everything at the Detroit airport was closed by the time we got there. Which brings me to a good subject . . . why aren't there better vending machines, maybe even a doggy vending machine? I was okay with my beef jerky bits, but it was underwhelming to say the least.

I am told I was a very good puppy as I didn't whine or bark and I only tried to dig my way out of the carrier a half a dozen times. My home here is very different, but I am adjusting. We went out to the Pet Smart today and I had a blast meeting people who of course thought I was adorable. My social skills with other dogs isn't so good, but then, I use to live with 3 cats so there is a chance I might think I am a cat - - we will keep that our little secret though.

We got some pretty nifty toys and treats at the store, but I'll be back tomorrow to talk about that, Aunt Jodi says we need to go wake up Uncle Jacob so he can go to work!

See you all later! Love Wookie!

Garren's Giraffe

2011-05-10T17:59:00.002-04:00

Yes, I have started another George. This time for Garren, my nephew, it's amazing that he turns 3 in only nine days. I doubt I will be finished in time, because I will be gone most of the time, but hopefully not too late! :)

Yarn: Red Heart

Color: Cornmeal and Coffee

Content: 100% Acrylic

Care: Machine wash and dry

Needles: US 3 / 3.25mm

Pattern: George Giraffe

Modifications: None yet, but there will be some.

It worsted weight is going to make a nice size giraffe, which will work wonderfully and for it to be Washable is just so important. I really think I found the perfect colors too!

Sunday Inspirations

2011-05-08T11:01:00.004-04:00

Not much crafting inspiration this week, but TONS of cooking inspiration!

This Dog Harness Tutorial is perfect timing! I will be bringing Wookie home with me in about 11 days. I will definitely be trying this!

Recipes I’d like to try:

I have been really loving the idea of quiche lately for something I could easily reheat in the morning for breakfast and this Build a Better Quiche has lots of wonderful ideas. Especially the shredded potato crust! Sounds Yummy!

In contrast, these Spinach & Artichoke Mini Frittatas sound simple, easy, and also very satisfying.

This Baked Crab Rangoon sound delicious. I just need to figure out a way to make them gluten-free. I use to love getting these at Chinese restaurants!

These Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos look delicious! I haven’t had taquitos in a long time! Her Vegetable Enchiladas also sound yummy.

I love the variety of ingredients in these Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos. They sound so interesting. Definitely going to have to try soon! Her Crab Cakes sound wonderful! These Elly's World Famous Black Beans sound super yummy!

These enchiladas are a little different and sound super delicious. Beef Enchiladas with Chipotle-Pasilla Chili Gravy are definitely going to be on my list of things to make. I am in general enjoying looking through the recipes from this blog. Armadillo Eggs also sound delicious! As do the Turkey Tamales with Guajillo Cranberry Mole! And I have to admit that Cactus Casserole does sound interesting. Lastly I urge you to have a look around her blog and leave you with the thought of Pickled Green Tomatoes.

WTF Watermelon Socks

2011-05-04T20:14:00.003-04:00

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette

Color: Wallaby & Fuchsia

Content: 100% Wool

Care: Wash by hand, lay flat

Needles: US 1

Pattern: My own creation.

Last week I had been trying to figure out how I want my gusset to go. So I went with what felt the most natural, when it needed more room, I started the gusset, when it didn’t need any more room I stopped. What does this mean for my sock? My gusset starts about mid-way through my arch and after it ends there are rows of plain stockinette before I will have my heel to make it the appropriate length. Does it look odd? A little compared to your typical sock, but it’s a nice fit and that is what is important for me.

I am using a mix of things that I learned doing the Mistletoe Socks and this tutorial by Becca of Forward Motion.

On a side note, the doctor's appointment went well. I am on some medicine to clear up a small infection. Blood work was done, as she is a little concerned that my blood sugar may be off. So some test will be done for Diabetes (which runs in my family) and Thyroid issues. Hopefully they will both come back clear. Everything else seems to be good so hopefully I will be exercising more soon.

May '11 Mock Socks

2011-05-03T18:18:00.003-04:00

Yes, people, I cast on for yet another pair of socks! I know shocking, huh? These ones are cuff down though and are the mock sock for May in Sock Knitters Anonymous(Ravelry Group).

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette

Color: Celadon Heather

Content: 100% Wool

Care: Hand wash, dry flat

Needles: US 1

Pattern: 5-22-24-13-7-12-19-15-9 . . . this is a code for the real name, that is also something to figure out. I know it, but won’t spoil the surprise.

Modifications: None yet.

I love the fact that she is doing multiple sizes! I am really liking the sock so far.

Front.

Back.

P.S. Can you tell a made a Knit Picks order not to long ago?

Lacey Thorns

2011-05-02T19:49:00.001-04:00

Yarn: Rozetti – Always Dreams

Color: 116-04 (Variegated bright pink)

Content: 75% Acrylic / 25% Wool

Care: Machine wash and dry flat

Needles: US 2 / 2.75mm

Gauge: 7sts per inch

Pattern: Taking inspiration from the Mistletoes pattern.

Modifications: I am using the cast on numbers (20) and the starting foot numbers (40), but everything else changes. The top of the foot pattern is a simple lace stitch pattern called Lace Thorns from the Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns. I start the gusset increases when my heel begins. My gusset stitches increase to 68 stitches total, then the heel turn adds another 8. The heel decreases my stitches down to 48. Lace pattern all around for the small bit of leg and then 2x2 ribbing lined up with the pattern for 6 rows.

I finished the first sock!

So you may ask, what is my current obsession with toe-up socks? Well, most toe-up sock patterns I had run into before had short row heels. I hate short row heels for the most part, they do not fit my feet well at all, and there is just too little structure to them. Now obviously I know there are other toe-up heels to do, but I hadn’t really experienced any of them, so I just stuck with my cuff down socks. Now, I am really liking this toe-up heel flap structure and therefore loving toe-up socks a lot more. I think I may be ordering some toe-up sock books here in the near future to find out what other kind of toe-up options I have.

Technical Difficulties

2011-04-28T20:56:00.002-04:00

Healthy Thursdays are put on a little bit of a pause. Nothing serious as far as we know, but I am having a few health issues that are making it harder to work out. I have a doctor's appointment next week and another one in 3 weeks and hopefully some things will get figured out and corrected. Until then, I am still trying to eat healthier and do some exercising, but not to the extent that I would like. When things get back to normal, Healthy Thursdays will return.

Lacey Thorns

2011-04-26T18:50:00.003-04:00

WTF Watermelon Socks

2011-04-25T19:18:00.001-04:00

Sometimes, I love the way my mind reels with ideas. The problem tends to be that: one, there simply isn't enough time to do all of these ideas, so how do we sort out the ones worth trying and two, these ideas often complicate themselves when trying to become an actual project.

Now, the fact that there isn't enough time to do all of these ideas, isn't really something I can change. Only so much time in an hour, day, week, month, etc.

However, the making projects more complicated, I can. I tend to over-think and over-calculate the projects, trying to figure out how to make them just perfect. For example. I started a sock (pink and a gray-green) last week. I have started these socks over 4-5 times now. Which in the end is sometimes helpful, but can also be a discouraging part, because really I am making little visible progress, just fine tuning things.

So, are my socks the way I would prefer? No, not yet, but that will come in time. I am working on a pair of toe up socks. I am so VERY particular about the shaping of the toes. My toes do not fit comfortable in a "normal" toe. So I am striving to find my perfect toe, but not in the span of one pair of socks anymore, instead in the span of many pairs of socks, until then, I will accept the fact that with each sock, the toe improves and the toe feels better.

For this pair I have worked on the decreasing of the outer side of the toes and left the in-side to be worked on with the next sock. The outside of the toe is close, but it decreases a little too fast at the end and a plain row in-between some of the decrease rows will help the fit. This way, I am also feeling like I am making progress and perfecting the fit.

I am working on making my hobby once again enjoyable and not feel like a chore or task.

I am using some lovely KnitPicks Palette in the colors Wallaby and Fuchsia with size 1 US Circulars. After doing the potholders on 2 circs, I am definitely enjoying it. Now I just need to save up for a bunch of circulars. :) But anyway, enjoying this and the pink makes the gray-green look even more green. It's a little eye confusing, but that's because they are almost complimentary colors. I will definitely be ordering more KnitPicks. I am doing the first sock with a pink toe, heel and cuff, then the second sock with have a gray-green toe, heel, and cuff.

Sunday Inspirations

2011-04-24T18:37:00.000-04:00

You’re putting me on socks, is a nice and simple pattern for worsted weight.

Recipes I’d like to try:

This Peanut Chicken with Broccoli sounds interesting and delicious. I hope to try it soon, just to see how I like it.

Mistletoe KAL

2011-04-23T20:48:00.003-04:00

Welcome to what is probably going to be the Year of Socks. I just feel very into the socks right now.

Yarn: Rozetti : Always Dreams

Color: 116-10 (It’s like variegated Olive Green)

Content: 75% Acrylic / 25% Wool

Care: Machine wash cold, lay flat

Needles: US 2 / 2.75mm

Gauge: 7sts per inch

Pattern: Mistletoes

Modifications: Started the gusset about an inch earlier than suggested and increased to 52 stitches on needle 2 instead. I did the turn of the heel how the pattern said, which I ended up with 60 stitches on needle 2. I worked the honeycomb heel until I had 28 stitches left on needle 2. This has worked wonderfully for fit. Besides more room for my ankle/heel, it also makes for a longer heel flap, which I prefer. I only did one repeat of the pattern for the cuff. I also did 8 rows of ribbing instead of 4. For the bind-off I did it in ribbing with a yarn-over after every 2.

This was a paid KAL ran by the designer Mindy Vasil in her Ravelry Group , Minknit Designs. I am a fan of her patterns.

Both socks together laying flat. This is fairly accurate to the color.

One sock.

The other sock.

A close-up of the heel, the patterning does not work well, due to the light and dark variegation of the yarn I used, but the heel itself is super comfy.

My gusset.

The Mistletoe stitch.

My ribbing.

The sock on, still wearing them as I type this.

Sock on from a side view. You can see it fits very well.

You can see a little more of the definition of the heel when it is on, but not by much.

Love how these socks turned out. Yes I did make modifications, but I have unique feet so it's going to happen. I love the basic construction of this toe up sock so much that I am using it as a base for another pair of socks I started today. Will post about them later in the week. I would most definitely recommend this pattern! It is a fair price and a well written pattern.

Healthy What Day?

2011-04-21T19:13:00.002-04:00

Yes, no real Healthy Thursday this week either. I know I am huge slacker. Not much exercising this week.

Also, I completely forgot to ad the link to George's Ravelry Pattern yesterday, sorry about that!

Meet George

2011-04-20T20:57:00.003-04:00

George thinks the life of miniature is pretty awesome so far, he gets to hang out with me at work and find out what the wonderful world of mortgages are all about at a bank.

Although he is not sure what to think about the fact that there is a famous monkey also named George. He's not quite comfortable with the fact that when people hear his name they might think of the monkey first. So he's considering a name change, but he's unsure as of now.

Yarn: Patons Beehive Scotch
Color: Beige (the darker brown is the same yarn, but dyed with Wilton's Icing Dye)
Content: 100% wool
Care: hand wash and air-dry
Needles: US 000

Overall, George was fun and interesting to make. I love patterns that pick up stitches off of other pieces, instead of being sewn together. I just trust them much more with small children. I will be making a larger size of George for my nephew Garren with some worsted weight yarn.

Luckily for both me and the next George larger yarn and needles will be a blessing. Because trust me, little George is glad that he couldn't actually hear the things I muttered while trying to knit his little ears. They are cute and very much worth it when all is said and done, but during. . . lets just say that I seriously considered making him an ear-less Giraffe.

With the second one, I will be making a modification or two to the pattern, but we will talk about that when I get more into making him.

Mistletoe KAL

2011-04-18T18:40:00.002-04:00

Yarn: Rozetti : Always Dreams
Color: 116-10 (It’s like variegated Olive Green)
Content: 75% Acrylic / 25% Wool
Care: Machine wash cold, lay flat
Needles: US 2 / 2.75mm
Gauge: 7sts per inch
Pattern: Mistletoes
Modifications: Had to make the heel larger. Started gusset 1" earlier, increasing by 32 instead of 20. Only decreased heel down to 28 for 48 total stitches, instead of 20 and 40.

This is a paid KAL ran by the designer Mindy Vasil in her Ravelry Group , Minknit Designs. I am a fan of her patterns and it was only a $1.50 for the pattern.

These are not great pictures due to bad indoor lighting. It snowed again today and it's overcast outside, so not good outdoor shots.

A much better fit in the heel/ankle area.

The honecomb heel is not very obvious in this yarn, due to it's already light and dark variegation.

Still enjoying this sock pattern. May make another pair in a different color! But first the last clue is out and I need to finish the cuffs!

Sunday Inspirations

2011-04-17T18:57:00.000-04:00

This Tatted Fan is beautiful! You can get the free PDF on the side of Linda’s blog under Free Patterns.

I cannot wait for Sewn Toy Tales to be available. That caterpillar alone with be worth it!

Recipes I’d like to try:

I love the idea of having Lasagna Rolls. I am thinking with some yummy spinach and sausage!