Hats off to Autumn

 I made it little wall hanging for the season. I may eventually give this as a gift, but for now I'll let it decorate my wall for the next week or so.
It has squares and rectangles displaying many  autumnal elements. I'm not a huge Debbie Mumm fan, but these are fun & relatively quick to make. You have to be a fusible web fan. I made a winter one of these kind of patterns last year. They do make fun and unique gifts. The directions are crystal clear in the book. For a link to the book, here it is:
http://www.amazon.com/Seasonal-Samplers-Autumn-Winter-Trimmings/dp/B000JHO0AA

I'm in a hat craze. I like wearing hats. I am up to my neck in scrap yarn so I am on a quest to make as many hats as I can for the time being. This urge may wear out after my very next hat, which I've already started, but it's what feels right, right about now.
This hat pattern is from the new issue of Love Of Knitting, Holiday 2011. Picked it up at a newstand. I was pleasantly surprised at the nice patterns in it. I am an Interweave Knits magazine girl, but I can't resist the Holiday issues of some of the other knitting and quilting publications. This is call the Double Diamond Hat and Scarf. It's shown being worn by a handsome young gentleman, but I think I'm keeping this hat for myself.

This was made out of leftover yarn..a Brunswick Worsted weight that I'm sure has been out of circulation for a long time. A barn red color.
Well...off to knitting more hats.

Encore performance & UFO completed

The first one was so fun, I decided to make another Cardi-vest for Claire. Made using Paton's Shetland Chunky yarn in Tangerine. Hope there is an "orange" day at her Kindergarten! This sweater has "October" written all over it. This is such a wonderful pattern. I could make dozens of these. An easy weekend project.

 Husband's sweater is done. It was posted as a beginning project last year. A beautiful sweater and he looks great in it. This project took time, but it wasn't an unpleasant or burdensome job....just a lot of stitches!






Finally, had a distress message from the grandaughter the other day. She was traumatized to find out that she had a loose tooth. A harsh reality for one who has never gone through it before. Well, I immediately set out to make a Tooth Fairy Pillow. It will conveniently hang on her door handle or the bed headboard. Used a embroidery download and designed my own little pattern. The grandaughter called last night to tell me how much she loves it. For her, It took the sting out of the idea and her phone call made my evening.

New cardigan in time for fall....just in time!

My new cardigan. I knit this sweater in 1 month, thanks to some long plane flights and some rainy August days thanks to a couple of East Coast hurricanes. Great sweater and great yarn. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury tweed and the pattern is Pure and Simple V-Neck Cardigan. Knitted from the top down.....fitting is a breeze. http://knittingpureandsimple.com/

It's a good thing I finished it....it's only in the 50's today. Perfect sweater weather!

Summer memories

 Well, the summer is coming to an end. A great summer. Took a trip to Maine to see our children and granddaughter and two weeks ago my husband and I took a vacation to the west coast to visit San Francisco and the wine country. I could write an entire blog on just that! We did visit the Napa region and some of the Sonoma country and we do know it is going to be a place we will revisit again, no doubt!  We stayed at some great places and we acquired some great wine. Upon suggestion of our B & B host, we brought our treasured wine home as checked luggage on the plane. It is safer and faster. She suggested this very cool wine carrier especially designed for the job.

It got our wine home safe and sound from California to Central New York State. When filled with wine it weighed 43 lbs. so it stayed under the 50 lb. weight limit. The beauty is that it has rollers on the bottom and it folds down flat so we can bring it out with us back to the wine country. The unit is called Wine Check.  It cost us $54.00, but it would have cost more to mail it and certainly it might have been exposed to more treacherous conditions to the wine. It was the first thing off the plane and at the baggage pick-up! 

After getting back from California it was back to work. Thinking of school and balancing my fun in my sewing room.  Made a grocery bag from some upholstery type material. Added an embroidery to the front pocket that reflected my kitchen task this week. I made and canned homemade salsa from the abundance of tomatoes this year. I'm bringing the bag to the store today as I am out of tortilla chips! And I'll take some wine with that.

Knitting Pure and Simple - Child's Cardi Vest

Finished the cardi vest. Very fast and cute and easy pattern. Made for my granddaughter who is modeling it with her new Kindergarten wardrobe. She loves it! The cotton yarn I used is very heavy and takes forever to dry. I will use a more practical yarn next time with some acrylic or fiber of that sort to make it more wearable and washable. This yarn has some heft to it. It would be more useful as a nice baby blanket. It is also hard to knit. Soft though.....























  I am starting a cardigan for myself made our of Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed. Expensive yarn! Hard to find a good buy on it, but when I bought one skein of it to swatch and sample as a possible contender for this sweater, I was sold! Soooo lovely. Perfect cardigan sweater weight and color.

http://www.knittingpureandsimple.com/

I am beginning this sweater now and it is going to go with me on my trip to San Francisco and the California wine country next week. These top down sweaters are great for travel as you knit in one piece. No seams! 

Itchy fingers..but not itchy yarn

I woke up yesterday morning with a yearning. I need to get some knitting projects started for the upcoming season. Getting a knitting project started is a day long activity that requires my full attention. I used to be so impatient during this process.  Once I decide on the project and the yarn it takes me all day to swatch the yarn and get the gauge correct along with deciphering the pattern.  In this case it is a yarn I acquired a couple years ago at a "going our of business' yarn shop.  The yarn is the most beautiful shade of ethereal pink. When I saw it I immediately thought of my granddaughter, Claire. At the time I thought it would make the most cuddly blanket...and it would! However, she is almost 5 years old and I imagined a cute little sweater for the fall to wear to Kindergarten. I found a great pattern from Pure and Simple. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these patterns and the company. There is no second guessing, no trying to interpret. Thank you for making my life easier!  The sweater I am making is a girls cap sleeve cardi-vest. 


The yarn is discontinued, but it is wonderful and a bulky and oh so soft cotton yarn called Punta Del Este Yarns-Baby Pink # 572. The sweater is knitted from the top down which is great for fitting purposes.  I also am planning on making a cardigan for myself. I'm just looking for the perfect yarn. 
 So get out your knitting needles, despite the heat and feel the fiber!
 By the way, you can buy Pure and Simple patterns at many stores and online, but for those of you who need it NOW, there is a e-store called Patternfish and it can be bought and downloaded instantly. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that too!

Bread 'n Butter

Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day....gorgeous!

Three weeks ago I ventured into more homemade bread baking. I really wanted to try to emulate some good airy "custardy" type of artisan bread. I bought the book "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day"....which is a misnomer, but true in some respects. I haven't stopped making homemade bread since. I bought my first store bread today only because we were away on vacation and I came home to an empty breadbox.  I'll be back to making this again tomorrow. Easy and delicious. Look at those nice airy holes and tender texture! I also made boule' breads and it is so fun to make the size you want. As a point, I didn't go out and buy all of the gadgets they say in the book. I made due with what I have. I do have an oven stone and a 5 quart plastic container, which held the dough just fine. I don't have a pizza paddle or peel so I just put the dough on a piece of parchment and 'floated' it onto the hot oven stone when the time was right. I am going to get myself a nice baker's blade or lame to slice the tops. I also own the Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day by Peter Reinhart and his recipes work beautifully as well. I prefer his stretch and fold technique in the beginning stages of making the bread and combine processes of both books. Check it out!

Now on to the the Zucchini bread. I know. Moan.....

This is the only recipe I like and the only one I make. Not a big fan of greasy over spiced Zucchini bread, however I do like tea or quick breads (as they used to call them). This is pleasant and light. It's the lemon zest. Feel free to try.

Lemon Zucchini Bread

• 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest

In a bowl, beat together the zucchini, sugar, egg, and oil. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder; stir in the cinnamon and lemon zest. Stir the flour mixture into the zucchini mixture just until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan.Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from heat, and cool about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Now I can't possibly post something that doesn't pertain to my sewing. I acquired an amazing tool. Old tool. It's a pair of Florian Pinking Shears. Never have I cut with anything so unique and incredibly solid. It makes THE most wonderful pinking. It cuts curves like a breeze and the atypical pinking shears have nothing on this tool. I can't believe they don't make them anymore. I can imagine if someone has weak or arthritic hands it would be awkward and tiresome. I saw that this goes for amazing high prices on ebay and I received it free from a family friend who passed away. I can't wait to edge all of my crafts edging with this tool. It cuts like butter.  If you ever see one of these at an antique store or flea market. Try it out just to experience it's operation. So neat!