pjbknit

Some More Stuff

I went walking last week when it was cooler, and kept having to take my gloves off to mess with my smartphone in its armband, because the WBHM app kept crashing while I was trying to listen to All Things Considered on NPR. The reason I wore the gloves is because I have Raynaud's Syndrome, and it can be painful if my fingers get cold. Anyway, I researched sports gloves that work with touchscreens. I kept finding boring gray and black ones. (I have gray and black ones already, with fingers that are 2 or 3 inches too long.) I also kept finding colorful women's sports gloves at Zappo's. So when I went to the Zappo's site to reset my password, after their hacking incident, I ordered these Manzella gloves that have conductive fabric on the index fingers and thumbs. The fingers fit, too!

 

 After I ordered these, I discovered conductive thread, thanks to a post on Plurk. Then I discovered gloves with the conductve thread knit in, like this Knitty pattern. I now have this thread, and have ordered pink and turquoise too.

 

Then I had to open a Pinterest account to keep up with the links for conductive thread, etc., after my nephew's wife and great-niece both sent me invitations. That and recipes.

I made a New Year's resolution to exercise, so I started off with my new Leslie Sansone DVD, Walk Slim Five Big Miles. (I got it with a $3 off coupon.) So I did a different LS DVD for 5 days in a row, then walked outside on the weekend.  Now my doctor says I have tight hamstrings and irritated tendons behind my knees, sigh.

So I have been knitting on my Susie's Reading Mitts instead of exercising. These are knit in the Reynolds Ultra Alpaca Light that did not want to be boot cuffs.

 

 

Today, there is Chicken Enchilada Soup in the Crock-Pot. I now think I need a 5-quart Crock-Pot because I don't have a stainless steel one, or 5 qt.

 

New Years at Callaway Gardens

I spent the weekend at Callaway Gardens with 24 of my siblings, nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews. The "old people" were in one villa, and the rowdy people in another. We had Christmas again. I gave out 18 jars of preserves, jam, jelly, etc.

On Friday night, everybody went to the Fantasy in Lights display. We heard there were 8 million light bulbs. No, my pictures did not come out.  On Saturday, the old people went to the Day Butterfly Center, Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel, the Sibley Horticultural Center and Mr. Cason's Vegetable Garden to see the Victory Garden and any gift shop along the way.

Those look like real antlers to me

Too bad my photo of my sister and sister-in-law straightening the bows did not turn out

It sounded as though there was a big waterfall behind the chapel, but it turned out to be a small one on big rocks.

Sugar Snap Peas

We still have the Sugar Daddy sugar snap peas on the patio in a container. They are covered at the moment, as we are having a brief cold snap.

They are not ripening as fast as they do in the spring, but the vines are full of baby pea pods and blossoms. They get moved around to catch the sun and are under a patio covered tonight because it is supposed to be in the teens.

Christmas Time, With No Knitting

I think the last time I knitted was at lunchtime at work the week before our holidays started.  I have been baking instead. I had to make gingerbread of course, and I made three kinds of biscotti. Biscotti was made first, so that I had some for gifting.

Cranberry almond

Gingerbread biscotti was next. My first attempt got overbaked the second time, and was greatly enjoyed by the dogs. They all love gingerbread. I haven't found a photo of it yet.

The next type was chocolate chip cranberry almond biscotti from a Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix recipe. They were good, just not as crunchy as the others. Here they are in one of my fancy Martha Stewart cookie boxes.

I made the dogs their own gingerbread dog biscuits for Christmas. They also got Milk-Bones and rawhide shaped like gingerbread men from my SIL's family.

We did have real gingerbread cookies for the humans here.

I have been on a turkey panini kick here lately, and made some rosemary focaccia to use for panini making. I think the panini press had not been used in a year or two.

For the past two years at work, we have had a brunch on the last day for faculty. This year's was December 16, and  I made mini pecan stcky buns and cinnamon rolls, using Pillsbury crescent roll dough.

I cooked a turkey breast in the crock pot the day after Christmas. I also made some cheddar parmesan biscotti to have with soup.

Today, on the 27th, I made butternut squash soup and ciabatta bread. Tonight's panini was made wth the fresh-roasted turkey  and the fresh-baked ciabatta.

I found this photo that I had forgotten about on my phone.  This is right before the model woke up and ran away.

 

 

KitchenAid 7-Quart Bowl-Lift Residential Stand Mixer Giveaway

Now that I am off for Christmas break, I am thinking of making marshmallows using my Kitchenad mixer. I came across a giveaway for a more souped-up version, LOL. Head to to Mom Spotted for her Kitchenaid giveaway. A Mom Spotted reader will win a $550 KitchenAid® NEW 7-Quart Bowl-Lift Residential Stand Mixer in their choice of color. It’s available in Candy Apple Red, Medallion Silver, and Black Storm. I want Candy Apple Red myself. Look at this thing!

More Assorted Stuff

I got my first order of CJ Kopec yarn, which I have heard about, but never ordered. This is Magic colorway in alpaca/merino/silk blend worsted. It is soooo soft.

Here's the finshed first Glam Glove, w/o ends woven in, or blue button for ring

Here is the toddler hat I crocheted for a 1-year old girl. The pattern is Angie, and this is the Kraemer Perfection worsted yarn. The darker pink  trim is Caron Simply Soft.

More Mitts and Yarn and Stuff

I started the Glam Gloves after finshing the October Leaves mitts. I strung 240 or so beads on the Cherry Tree Hill Supersock yarn  got from a Ravelry destasher. It is way lighter than the yarn for my socek, but oh well. I have finished one mitt, and added it to the Pile of Finished Objects (FOs) That Need nds Woven In. Sigh.

While I try to find a photo of the Glam Glove 1, here is some new yarn to distract you--ooh shiny.

Autumn Sky Handpanted Merino/Csahmere DK yarn from Wildethyme Art

Autumn Sky with Belvedere checking it out

Cranberry in Nebula Sock (merino, nylon, cashmere) from Ethereal Fibers on Etsy, which had to come to my house after I saw its photo on Plurk

I found the Glam Glove photo on Ravelry.  I will add a button to the ring finger for a ring. I cannot decide if I want to add a  bead bracelet to the second glove. I will have to use the crochet hook method , since I started the cuff w/o stringing the beads.

I went to  The Taming of the Ewe in Jacksonville, AL on Black Friday instead of shopping at the mall. I got this Kraemer Perfection yarn, and have crocheted a toddler hat and and a flower to sew to the hat. I have finshed that, hope to take a photo tomorrow.

I also got this Debbie Macomber Blossom Street Collection Petals Socks yarn in Flowering Cabbage colorway. I also watched about 2.5 Mrs. Miracle movies on Hallmark Saturday night, which made me think about the yarn. (Yeah, my brain works funny) At first, I thought I was allergic to its angora content, as I sneezed while in the LYSm but my sinuses are still bothering me, and I have not touched the yarn in a week.

The sugar snap peas and shallots seem to be happy with the weather

Harvest Leaves Mitts Done

I didn't say the ends were woven in... These are October Leaves mitts  in Springvalley Yarns by Alabama Fiber Dreams Simply Fingering...With A Twist! Harvest Wind is the colorway.The thumb gussets of these mtts have two leaves, and there is a small cable on both sides-I did the cables one way on one and twisting the other direction on the other mitt.

It was warm and muggy and clouding up when I took these, and mosquitoes bit my hands and face and neck. I also dropped one mitt over the fence a couple of times and got leaves and stickers and vegetation on them. I also had to blog on the desktop computer, as java or something is not cooperating in IE or Firefox on the laptop.

"Mom, what are those things on the ground in the leaves? They smell interesting."

 

One October Leaves Mitt

In this case, Harvest Wind mitts too. That's the color name of the yarn-- Springvalley Yarns by Alabama Fiber Dreams Simply Fingering...With A Twist! I had put it aside in order to finish the second sock in the last post. It is a little  hard to photograph your own hand with a mitt while trying to show the cables on both sides.

 

Socks at Last

I started these socks in March, and then set them aside during the summer for cotton sweaters and such. I kept thinking of them when knitting on the October Leaves fingerless mitt, and I was disgusted to see how close they were to being finished when I pulled them out a couple days ago.

These are knit from Sophie's Toes sock yarn in Autumn Leaves. The pattern is Twin Leaves, kinda like the mitts I did earlier. I sorta followed the pattern Roses for You and Wendy Johnson's toe up sock wth a flap heel. (I don't remember all this stuff-it's in Ravelry.)

And to celebrate finishing another pair of socks, I am giving away this book, of which I have 2 copies. So I am sharing with another sock knitter. Please leave a comment on this post by midnight Central Time, on Wednesday, November 9. The winner will be selected by a random drawing.

Here is the Applesauce Nut Bread that I have been wanting to try since I saw the recipe not long ago. Haven't tried it yet, as it is supposed to cool before you slice it.