Progress

Something new and something old. the new are the hats that I am trying to make with some success but mostly.... well lets just say they are a bit more challenging than I thought but I'm still trying and then their is the something old this is a sweater that I think I started last winter

I finally drug it back out along with the dress from from the studio ( so that I would have to look at it every day) and I have gotten as far as I can because you see I have run out of yarn with only the collar to finish

and of course since I started the thing over a year ago they no longer have this yarn at the store I purchased it at so now I begin the hunt.

Have a great rest of the week

Gift's for the Little One's

I Finished up gifts for the niece's today. Little zippered pouches with something special for each girl ... a nail kit for the oldest, who I noticed at Thanksgiving has the longest prettiest nails I've seen in a long time! Another for hair things. And for the youngest, colored pencils, markers and crayons. I sure hope they like their new personal pouches!

Knitting More Gifts

My First pair of Socks. I think I did pretty well these are for my oldest daughter who asked for a pair last Christmas and I finally got the nerve up to try out a pattern And something special for a special Client. A "Luxe Neck Warmer" from this book . I made lots of these last Christmas and just love them because they knit up so quickly.

And sooo many more things to get done in the next few days.

What are you making for the holidays?

Coffie Cup Cozy

I've been having such a fun time gifting these little babies this year. I love how quick they knit up and the best part ... no cable needle required.

and I'm happy to share it with you ( you still have time to make lots of these little cuties )

yarn~worsted weight

Amount~ not really sure I've just been using my left overs

needles set of 4 2.75 or 3 needles

Pattern

CO 48 stitches divide between 3 needles. 16 on each

Join for working in the round

Round 1~ knit 2 purl 2

Round 2~ knit 2 purl 2

Round 3~ knit 2 purl 2

Round 4~ knit 2 together then before you slip the stitch off the needle come back and knit between the two stitches you knit together, purl 2 repeat to end.

Repeat these 4 rows til desired length BO in pattern weave ends and gift to your self or loved one(s)!

Making Soap

I made my Third Batch of soap yesterday( This picture is of my second batch of soap with the remainder of my first batch on the very bottom. I have to say that for me there is a learning curve. My fist batch I did not reach "trace" but it did eventually set up and was beautifully creamy and can I tell you the stuff lasts forever! I did not use any fragrance in the first batch. For the Second batch however I went all out and added fragrance along with lavender buds I thought it would act as an exfoliate and It does, but the lavender buds turned brown in the soap ... Not the prettiest bar of soap in the world so I will not be giving these out as gift but will be using them for my own family.

This is the beginning part of the soap making proses getting the the lye to come down to temp and the oil to come up to temp

and finally my soap molds ... old cheese boxes and tea cups the tea cups have little piece of lufa in it I thought this was such a cleaver idea. As I had mentioned this was my third batch of soap, I used Patchouli as it is one of my favorite scents. I have it on the drying racks now and am so excited because it smells amazing.

I am still experimenting with the whole thing and trying out different recipes for the process. One thing that I did differently with the second and third batches was to use a stick blender as opposed to a stand mixer and the stick blender brought it to trace right away.

for the first two batches of soap I used this recipe and for the third batch I used a recipe that used only lard as it was much cheaper. I think the next batch I do will have a combination of both lard and olive oil and I will use a cardboard soap mold as the soap was really hard to get out of the old cheese boxes.

well there you have it.... I'm now addicted to soap making.

New Books and Finished Gifts

I have new inspiration ( as if I needed another knitting book! ) Great books, both of them

Two people's gifts finished and ready for giving.

Now on to the next project.

Pumpkin

Pumpkin on the walls Pumpkin in the Kitchen

For the first time this year I did something other than carving my pumpkins. I learned how to cook them down to make my own pumpkin puree (I love my computer ) now I have a freezer full of pumpkin goodness!
have a great weekend

Knitting for Christmas

I've got the knitting bug now that the weather is turning cooler. So many things that I want to make for Christmas gifts this year. Beautiful Scarves for close friends, Warm Socks for my children

From this Book Fingerless gloves. I love this pattern no Cable needle needed!

So many thins to knit...

A Few Things Our Garden has Yielded

First and most obvious is Vegetables lots and lots and lots of veggies. This is a load that is going to the Cities with us as we have plenty to share with family and friends In Trade~ Smoked Salmon

In Trade~ Canning jars and homemade Pesto

In Trade~ More Canning jars

In Trade~ 2 big bags of Huge Shrimp and wild caught Salmon

Lots and lots and lots of Tomatoes

Farm Fresh Eggs~ The Farmer that owns the land that we have our garden on has Chickens and he always sends us home with Eggs!

Yes our garden yielded very well for us this year

Wishin

Wishin I had more time to spend on this project... A sweater/coat that I started a couple of months ago and then summer got crazy busy

I had full intentions of having this one done and ready for fall outings

we will see, maybe I will get some time to work on it when I go to sister Penny's house.

Have a great weekend.