Blue Sweater

Hi All.  I happened into my favorite knitting shop last weekend, The Ladybug in Dennis, sadly they are closing at the end of December.  The owner has decided to retire after many years of shop keeping.  I'm bummed but the bright side is that she was having a 50% sale on everything in the store!  I picked up a bunch of patterns and some yarn and some great needles.  I was so excited.  She was nice enough to recommend some beginner knitting patterns because I am not yet all that adept at the craft.  I started on a roll neck sweater for my 1 1/2 year old a few days ago and I can't believe how fast it's knitting up!  Plus it's super easy, at least up to this point it is...
It's a pattern by Roo Designs, they had tons of super cute stuff for kids.  So I'm off on my second attempt ever at a sweater.  I'm hoping that it fits him!

Above is what I have thus far.  You can see why it's been easy up to this point since I'm only on the beginning of the back piece. lol.

Looking for Linens

I've got a bug in my bonnet.  I have been dying to make more embroidered linens.  I have an adorable spring time set that I made a year or so back but recently I've been wanting to make some fall and Christmas napkins.  My problem is I can't find any plain white dinner and or cocktail napkins!  At least ones that don't cost a fortune. 
My friend just started on an adorable Christmas set, I think she found the napkins at Home Goods.  So maybe I should get my butt over there this week.  Wish me luck that they are still there!

In the meantime I've been brainstorming what contributions I can make to our Thanksgiving meal...
I know I'm baking a Pumpkin Pie, but I need something else.  Maybe an appetizer, or a second dessert, hmm.  If the pie turns out to be a great one, I think Pumpkin pies are always hit or miss, I'll post back with the recipe!

Toddler Hat

Well I've haven't written in quite a while but suddenly I'm re-inspired.  Maybe it's the holidays.  There's a chill in the air, everyone seems a little cheerier and home seems a little cozier, it's a good time to settle into indoor things like knitting, cooking, crafting. All the good stuff that tends to fall to the wayside in the summer months. 
I've been picking up forgotten projects, lots of Christmas crafts to be finished!  But one of my favorite things that I've been making lately are winter hats for my little guy.  The design kind of came about as an accident but turned out to be super cute.  It's a really easy pattern, a good thing when you're trying to knit and simultaneously keep an eye on an ever moving toddler. 
I used a size 7 circular needle with a washable worsted weight acrylic yarn.  It's awesome for kids stuff because it wears well and can go in the wash (always a plus after a particularly rough day on the playground).  I swear sometimes I have no idea how he manages to get everything we pass by smeared over his entire body, it's really quite an accomplishment.

I cast on 62 stitches to start.  Then just knit until you have about 4" in length.  Once there you start to decrease, I did knit 10, knit 2 together and repeat until the end of the row.  Repeat this alternating with straight knit every other row.  Once you get to the last few row start doing the decrease row every row eliminating the straight knit row all together.  Bind off the yarn and sew the hat together, then top with a pom pom.  Super cute!
To adjust size just increase or decrease stitches by multiples of 12 and adjust the number of rows you complete before starting decrease.  I'm definitely not an expert so hopefully this is easy enough to follow!

Home Made Christmas Garland

I am big into home made christmas decorations, mainly because I love to do christmas crafts and I can't stand paying $12 a strand for plastic red berrys. So over the past few years I've come up with some easy craft ideas for the holidays.

One of my favorites is my hand made garland. I used stockings and stars on mine but you can really use any shapes that you like. So here's what you'll need, different colored felt squares, you can find them at any craft store, I used red, green, and off white. Then I find some big sequins, on this particular garland I stuck to red and green with coordinating seed beads. You'll also need some 1" wide christmas ribbon for the trim on the stockings (sheers won't work, you'll need something substantial). . How many shapes you will need depends on the space you are making it for and what length of garland you will need. I found the shapes simply by googling star pattern and stocking pattern. You'll find tons of options for whatever shapes you choose to make.

Start by cutting out your shapes. For the stocking I use two pieces of felt and sew them together so that they open up like a real stocking (totally optional, I just think its looks a little better). So first cut out the two sides of the stocking and choose your ribbon trim for the top. Sew the ribbon along the top of each side the stocking then sew the two stocking cut outs together using coordinating thread.

For the stars I do them double sided as well to hide the stitching. Here's how I did it...Cut out the star shapes and choose your desired color of sequin and seed bead. For those who don't know how to attach sequins...place a sequin in the desired location on the felt and place one seed bead on top, thread the needle through the sequin and bead, then come back through on the opposite side of the bead going back through the sequin hole, this will secure them in place. I do some of my stars with a border of sequins, on these I do the same sequin pattern on both sides. Others I cover entirely in sequins, these i leave one side plain felt. So sequin whatever pattern you choose on one, or both, sides of the stars and then sew the back and front together with coordinating thread.

Once the shapes are complete attach a thin ribbon to the top of each, on the point of the stars and on the top left corner of the stocking, so they hang right. Then slide each ornament along a coordinating ribbon of your choice, you will need to measure your space to determine the length needed. You can either tie a knot or put a stich through the ribbons to secure them in place on the garland ribbon.

And viola you are done and have a beautiful hand made garland for your home! I tack mine to the trim with clear thumb tacks. You can also use the felt ornaments to hang on your tree or sometimes I attach them to presents as well.

Happy Holidays!!

Break Through on the Pizza Front

My husband and I have been trying to come up with the perfect pizza sauce for what seems like forever now. The sauce is just never quite right, so I've been playing around with it and trying different things every time.

I've tried garlic and hot pepper flakes and different brands of canned tomatoes but nothing was getting me to the taste I was looking for. Finally last night I added just a pinch of sugar and viola! Great Sauce!!

So now that we have achieved sauce perfection I am going to move on to the dough. I still haven't found a recipe for that fluffy light crust that makes a pizza perfect. I will say that in a pinch Shaw's pizza dough is very good, although I really like to try and make my own dough when I have the time.

Here's what I used:

1 can of Hunts tomato sauce

a bunch of chopped fresh parsley and basil

3 garlic cloves minced

1 tbs. olive oil

pinch of sugar

red pepper flakes (use as many as you personally like, I like a little heat to my sauce)

Outdoor Kitty

This is Outdoor Kitty. He won't leave our yard. He scares our cats and beats them up. I like him because he's different and a little strange in his cat ways, but I wish that he would go home. He appears on the deck and just stares into the kitchen for hours until I give in and give him some food. I am torn, if he's homeless I don't want him to be hungry, if he has a home he should go eat there and leave my kitties alone!

My Favorite Chicken Soup

I love fall and all the foods that come along with it. I get so excited for fresh crisp apples, roasted squash, and all the other yummy comfort food dishes I crave once the weather turns chilly. There's nothing like a delicious bowl of warm soup after a long fall day. Yesterday I got home around 4 o'clock and put a chicken soup on to cook. Around 7:15 it was ready to eat and it was delicious!

I was running through the super market on my way back from the real estate office and as I was looking for spinach to add to the soup I came across Swiss Chard. I had never cooked with it before but it looked intriguing. It's a beautiful combination of emerald green leaves with deep pink stems. As vegetables go it's really quite attractive. I put it in my cart thinking I'd switch things up a bit, make the soup a little different this time. Then I came across a rutabaga as I was grabbing my carrots so I threw that in the cart as well. Both purchases turned out to be good decisions. The flavor that they infused into the broth was amazing, just a hint of tart from the greens with a sweetness from the rutabaga.

I put the chicken and veggies on to cook and let the pot simmer for about 3 hours while I worked away back in my office. There's a little more to it than that but not much, it's a great thing to make when you know you'll be home but you don't necessarily have the time to actually be in the kitchen. So next time you think to put on the soup to simmer grab some Swiss Chard and Rutabaga and try out this delicious Fall Chicken Soup!! Recipe below.

Fall Chicken Soup

1 whole chicken

(2) 32 oz. box's of chicken stock

32 oz. water (or however much will fit in your pot after stock is added)

1 chicken bullion cube

2 carrots cut into thirds

3 celery staulks cut into thirds

1 bunch of leaks (white part only) cut into thirds

2-3 whole garlic cloves

1 tbs pepper corns

1 bay leaf

4-5 stems fresh dill

4-5 stems fresh parsley

Add after soup has been strained:

1 rutabaga diced

1 bunch swiss chard roughly chopped

2 carrots chopped into 1/4" rounds

Add all the ingredients to a big stock pot (I always like to use my 6 quart Le Crueset, then you can store the soup right in the pot), leaving out the rutabaga, swiss chard, and the 2 additional carrots. Cook at a simmer for about 1 hour and 10 minutes until chicken if fully cooked. Remove the chicken and set aside until its cool enough to handle. Pull the chicken meat off the bone and set aside. Return the bones to the stock and simmer for another 2 hours. Strain broth using a fine mesh colander and dispose of all of the cooked vegetables and chicken bones. I like to run it through a second time pouring it back into the original pot and this time I line the colander with a paper towel to catch any small debris that might be left, I like a very clear clean broth. Bring the broth up to a boil and add in the chopped carrot, rutabega and swiss chard. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper as needed and enjoy!