It is snowing outside, but my feet will be extra warm and cozy when I finish there socks I am knitting with Cascade 220. I am also starting a pair of felted slippers.

I made fingerless gloves and they are perfect for taking photos in the snow.

Hats Hats Hats

Since this year is a home-made Christmas, I made hats for the kids and my parents. I hope to get one finished for David, but I have a big project that is officially in crunch time for him. If I can't get a hat finished by Friday at 7 am, I will make one for his birthday in February. I made all of the hats with left-over yarn from other projects, yarn that was given to me or purchased at Goodwill, so the total cost of the hats is probably under $3.oo.

Dyeing Wool

I did some wool dyeing yesterday. The bright colors are all from Kool Aid. The wool with the yellow tint is from onion skins and the part that looks un-dyed was my un-sucsessful attempt to dye with left over black bean water. I think I need to try to dye with actual black beans. I did all of the dyeing in the crock pot. I have two crock pots, so I can do two batches at a time. I also like this method because I can turn the crock pot of when the dyeing is finished and let it cool slowly and I don't have to handle the wool when the water is hot and risk felting.
I want to try carding some of the bright Kool Aid colors together to see what combos I get.

What I've been working on

Christmas is quickly approaching and I am relieved that the speed which I knit is also increasing. I have been very busy. I have a pair of socks knit for Christian finished. (pictured here) I am ready to start the gusset on the second sock in the same yarns for Liam. I hope to finish that tonight while I watch TV.


I made the bath-mitts last week. They only take a couple hours to knit. I used yarn I bought at Goodwill and buttons I purchased at an estate sale. I love buttons and will looking for more a garage and estate sales.


I also tried my hand at making my own knitting needles. I took dowels and sharpened the end with a pencil sharpener. I sanded them down a bit, rubbed them with lavander oil and then took self drying clay and made the tops. I used some craft paint to decorate. David helped by sawing the dowels down so the needles were not to long. I got the ideas for the needles and bath mitt from the book Kids Knitting by Melanie Falick. This is the same book that I got the instructions for dying yarn with Kool-aid> I originally checked the book out so the boys could use it for inspiration and learning to knit, but I find that it is a great resource for me too.
My last project is a spinning project in the making. When I first bought my drop spindle, I send a message to a friend on Facebook who has sheep and asked her if she might have any wool. She replied that she had some. I figured some meant a grocery bag of fleece. We drove out to her place Saturday and by "some" she meant the complete fleeces of two sheep. The fleece is fresh off the sheep (from June). I get to work with it from off the sheep to hopefully yarn. Currently, I am in the washing phase. I have exchanged e-mails with a sheep farmer I met on Craigslist and have also been seeking help from some spinning groups on Ravelry. It looks like washing the wool once in Tide and then a second time in Dawn to get the lanolin off is a winning combo. I have barely dented the first bag and I already have so much wool. I will buy a carder over the next few weeks and start making roving out of the wool. Stay tuned.

roving and spinning

I placed an order for roving from Wearmoa at Etsy. It came in the mail yesterday. It is all so beautiful. I will blogs had a feature for feeling textures. I ordered some Alpaca, Superfine Merino, a Yak/Silk Blend and Alpaca locks.
Here are a couple of photos...


I also took a picture of the wool that I have got from our new Angora, Phina when I comb her. I will not be able to get a full harvest for about two more months. I still think this is a lot of wool from only two days.

Naturally, I had to get my drop spindle out and start playing with some of the wool. Here is the start of my very first spinning project.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

My parents are coming over for Thanksgiving this year. It is not a huge gathering, but it is the first time I have hosted Thanksgiving in several years.
I have found that organizing and planning the meal is much easier and less expensive this year than it was when I hosted the holiday in the early years of our marriage.
I realised that the key is proven, established recipes and raising our own turkey.
This year, when I planned the menu, I singled out dishes that I don't really like or lack a passion for preparing and asked my mother to bring them.
This left us with the
Turkey (defrosting will go into a brine Wednesday night)
Stuffing (I need to bake a stuffing bread tommorow)
Cranberry Relish (need to search the internet for something quick and easy, but bought a huge bag of cranberries at Costco and froze them)
Sourdough bread
Cranberry Apricot Bread
Garlic Mashed Potatos
Pumpkin Pie

I have a recipe in a cookbook called Fix, Freeze and Feast that prepares four trays of garlic mashed potatos. David and and I made these yesterday afternoon and put them in the freezer. We just have to grab one tray out Wednesday morning to defrost and we still have three trays waiting to get eaten later.

I will share some of my recipes this week. I will start with Garlic Mashed Potatos

10 pounds russet potatoes- peeled and cut into large chunks (we never peel and they are still great, we just wash)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 8 oz packages cream cheese, cut into quarters
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup chicken broth
four 8 inch square baking dishes
plastic wrap
aluminum foil

1. put potatoes in a large stockpot with water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook potatoes until they break apart easily with a fork, 9-12 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
3 Drain potatoes and return them to the pot. Add garlic with oil, cream cheese, salt and pepper; mash potatoes. Stir in chicken broth. Divide potatoes evenly among the baking dishes. Wrap each dish entirely in plastic wrap and cover with foil.
4. Label and freeze

To cook one side dish

1. Thaw one side dish in the refridgerator or bake straight from the freezer.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
3. Remove plastic wrap and foil from baking dish and replace the foil. Bake for one hour if frozen, 30 minutes if thawed or until potatoes are hot all the way through.

a bunny and a dream come true

I have wanted an angora rabbit since I first learned they existed when I was a child. I had a couple pet rabbits growing up and enjoyed them, but always dreamed of getting an angora. I also loved nothing more than a sweater, hat or scarf made from angora.
Last spring I went to a 4-H event and saw some angoras there. I was just learning to knit at the time and I got the idea that I would like to learn to spin. I looked up some information on angoras and found that professional breeders charge quite a bit. I put the dream on the back burner and thought that maybe I could find someone in 4-H who might breed them and sell them for less. I figured, I would have to wait a year or two.
Yesturday, a message arrived from one of the Yahoo groups I subscribe to and a woman had some angora rabbits, she wanted to give them away free to someone learning to spin or a family with young kids. We qualify in both catagories, so I sent her an e-mail. Today after church we drove up to Vancouver to pick this cutie up.
She has to be combed often and I can add her fur to roving that I spin now and in about two months, she her fur will be long enough to using for spinning on its own.