Things I Love

(Welcome back back to blogging, me! I missed this.)

In no specific order:

• New guinea pigs: Cinnamon and Biscuit
• Knitting this dress for a baby girl on the way (not mine.) Pattern here.
• This doily (in Noro Silk Garden Sock) that I made for my mom for Christmas. I hated to give it up… I need to knit one for me.
• My first Pi shawl. The second is already on the needles.
• Edda is four… How??
• Walter is learning to help in the kitchen.
• Testing countless granola bar recipes.
• Decorating cakes.
• Embroidery. (Pattern here.)
• Cold-weather walks. (Picture from last month. We’re already getting some spring temperatures now!)

Basically, I just needed to catch up. It’s been forever. Well, almost six months. It’s hard to pack all that into one post. I hope to get back to blogging more often. (Maybe even with more relevant posts! I know you love hearing about my kids and all… but still…) I’m considering a name-change for the blog. Six years ago this was a knitting blog, but it has grown into more like a crafting/cooking/life/knitting/everything blog. What’s a good name for one of those? Give me suggestions.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

I thought I’d give you my spin on pumpkin pie oatmeal. I am a huge fan of pumpkin and autumn in general. (Butternut squash, too. Amazing!) I made up this recipe, but I’m sure there are hundreds just like it if you google it. I’m not claiming this as an original idea or anything…

-Boil four cups of water in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of old-fashioned oats and 3/4 tsp. of salt, reduce heat to medium,  and cook for five minutes.
I think this would be a lot better if you used 2 cups of water and 2 cups of milk when cooking the oats. I didn’t because Walter can’t have dairy products, so I can’t say for sure.
-Stir in two beaten eggs while still on the stove. (Pour them in really slowly and beat quickly with a whisk the whole time so they don’t curdle.) Let cook for 2 minutes to make sure the eggs get cooked completely, then add:

1 can of pumpkin puree

2/3 cup of brown sugar

and cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove to taste. (Or use pumpkin pie spice)

Cook and stir about 1 minute or until smooth and creamy and hot.
Serve with a little milk or cream on top.

(I bet it would be even better with toasted pecans. I can already tell I’m going to be making this again…)

my first wollmeise + some sewing

My camera was very opposed to this exact color of red. I had to mess around with the saturation a little; hopefully it looks close to right. Anyway… Yay! I have finally seen for myself what this Wollmeise craze is all about. I have to say, I don’t really understand it. It’s nice yarn, but I definitely still like Cherry Tree Hill Supersock the best. It’s been my favorite sock yarn for a very long time.

There is also a new nightgown for Edda. I used this pattern, but left out the sleeve elastic. The fabric was some kind of stretch knit material that I found in my mom’s fabric bin. She’s wearing a 5T in this dress now! That’s the largest size. She has had so many of these dresses in the last 3 and a half years… It’s sad that we’ll have to move on to a more “big girl” style.

*sniff*

She had to take a milk break halfway through our photo shoot.

Maybe a new purse is in order. You know, now that she’s a big girl and all.

I’ve also been working on a new winter sweater for Walter. It’s almost done!

 

 

 

(Edited to add: I found out that there are more sizes for the “sweet little dress” patttern now! That makes things a little emotionally easier for me.)

a summer of

Plum chopping, kitchen play, cake with peaches and blueberries, canning (and canning and canning), naps on the sofa, knitting, baking, knitting, puddle stomping.

I hope you have enjoyed your summer as much as I have enjoyed mine. I am usually a summer-hater, but I’ve found that having kids has changed my perspective quite a bit.

(I’m back thanks to my computer-genius husband. What a nice guy.)

technical difficulties

due to increasingly frustrating computer difficulties, i am going to have to stop blogging for a while. it really annoys me to have to this, because i enjoy blogging. i have several drafts written into which i can’t insert photos… 

anyway. i’ll be be back soon eventually. hopefully with a functioning shift key. 

ryan’s birthday

Ryan’s birthday was April 9. I felt it was worth mentioning, partially because it’s a big one (29!) and partially because I can’t find my camera charger anywhere and therefore I can’t share anything more recent. Haha. Typical of me, I know.

(chocolate stout cake recipe from king arthur flour)

I made Ryan a chocolate stout cake from this recipe at King Arthur Flour’s website. I knew it would be amazing when the directions said to melt an entire pound (!!) of butter in a saucepan with a generous bottle and a half of stout beer. I used a light and fluffy chocolate cream cheese frosting instead of the frosting called for in the recipe, just because I wanted to balance out the chocolate intensity a bit. Also the calorie content…. even though that was probably a useless cause. (See pound of butter.)

Not a very flattering picture of me… but there you go. Ryan looks cute, anyway. Is he whistling?

With his wine and cake he’s a happy birthday man. Enjoy the next 329 days of your twenties, Ryan. I love you.

at last!

We started homeschooling today! I’m a homeschooling mom. Book-loving Edda is super excited.

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

Edda’s first reading lesson went amazingly well. This is the same reading book my mom used for all six of her kids and it is the best and easiest way to teach reading. It’s intended for preschool through age five and the kids really do learn to read in 100 days. (Most can actually read even earlier than that! I was done at lesson 60, according to my mom.)

We did have a quick break mid-lesson to take the dog out… and to find a turtle. Good times.

Blueberry

I have actually already finished this doll (dolls?), but I haven’t photographed it/them yet. (Using Susan B. Anderson’s “Sisters” pattern. From Itty Bitty Toys.)

It was one of those projects that gripped me with urgency and was finished in about 48 hours. Of course, there was no deadline. It isn’t even a special occasion thing. I wish I could harness that kind of obsessive knitting progress when Christmas is three days away and I still haven’t finished all the gift-knitting….

The photo is of the “summer” side of the doll, which Edda has named “Blueberry.” The other side is “winter” and Edda named it “Snowball.” It turned out really cute and has already been played with quite a bit. I, of course, modified it a little. (Just the decorative stuff, though.) The instructions in this book are very clear and easy to understand. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to knit toys! This is the same book I used to knit my Santa Claus.

Spring is here!

I’m not so upset about spring this year. Usually, I dread spring because my body goes nuts in the presence of pollen. But I am so very tired of being cooped up inside with these stir-crazy kids… so… YAY (maybe?) for spring.

The Rae Scarf is still in progress. Except it’s not progressing currently because Edda accidentally broke one of the needles in half. Guess it’s time for a Knit Picks order! Haha. Here are some random photos:

I made a spring wreath that will die tomorrow. But it’s pretty today!

Lunch of peanut butter and pretzel sticks? Go for it.

My sweet, snuggly boy. He’s a big fan of homemade bread.

Now feel like I should go straighten the pictures on my wall…

Quick Rae Update

The Rae scarf looks like this now. Just wanted to keep you posted. I had hoped it would be bigger by now, but knitting time is limited.

 

(Sorry I look like a crazy person.)