Change of Address!

I've decided to move on up and switch over to Typepad! So, come on over and visit me HERE!

Please don't forget to change your bloglines and such - thanks yall!

A little Thursday (football) night knitting

Last night Auburn played the University of South Carolina. And it was a game! Very very nervewracking to watch. It was a lot closer than what I thought it would be! Thankfully, we still won and are now 5-0. And, I am sure the great debate of whether we deserve to be ranked where we are will continue. And of course USC is much better than every other team in football and we just don't know why they aren't number one and every other football team is crap. Yes, I'm still a little bitter from a few years ago when we were 13-0. But, let's move on...

So, what was I knitting you ask?! I was working on my second Toasty Toes sock and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!



I've got a couple more inches to go on the leg of the sock and then they will be done done done! I've enjoyed knitting on them, but Socktoberfest is coming up and I would love to start it off with knitting a new pair of socks. And, it will be nice to have them done ahead of the deadline!

Sock-ret Pal Questionnaire

In my theme of being a joiner, I joined Sockret pal. It should be great fun and we got our matches yesterday, so here is my questionnaire!

The basics:
How long have you been knitting? I've been knitting for about 3 years.
Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate, or have you been doing this so long you could probably knit a pair in your sleep? I would guess and intermediate sock knitter. I've knit a lot of socks, but I know I'm not the queen of all sockdom.

The measurements:
While your pal may ask for some additional info to ensure a great fit, please provide your shoe size, or any other fitting related info you think is pertinent. The ball of my foot is about 8 inches around and then length is about 9. I wear a 6.5 to size 7 shoe.

(fiber related) Favorites:
What colors do you love? I love pink, but I'm pretty open to all colors.
Do you prefer solids or variegated? I like both.
What fibers do you most love to knit with? Most fibers, I'm not a huge fan of squeaky acrylic.
Who do you consider your favorite yarn vendors? Brooklyn Handspun, Elann are two of my favs, I've bought a lot lately from my LYS because I now live somewhere with a LYS, otherwise, I just buy where ever has a good deal on what specific yarn I'm looking for
What projects (other than socks, of course*S*) do you most enjoy knitting? I've been knitting a lot of baby stuff for the baby, and trying to get back into knitting some adult knits, I'm excited for fall knitting

(fiber related) Dislikes:
What fibers can you not stand to knit with? To wear? NOt a huge fan of acrylic
What colors would you never wear? yellow, not the best with my skin tone

The Tools:
Plastic or Metal? Bamboo or wood? Depends on what I am doing, I'm in love with addis now
Circs or Straights? Circs
DPNs or Magic Loop? 2 needles
Are there any knitting accessories you don't have in your collection but would like? I can't think of any, but there is always room for more and I always loose things!

The Extras:
Do you have a wish list? If so, please share the link! I have an amazon wish list, but it has been awhile since I've updated it
Do you like sweet, sour or salty? (or all of the above? *S*) all of the above ;)
Do you have any allergies your pal should know about? (Certain foods, smoke, pet hair, etc) nope
Favorite scents? Scents you can't stand? lavender, rose, and vanilla
Do you collect anything (other than yarn and knitting toys of course)? china from the 1950s
When is your birthday? (month and day is fine!) October 15th
Do you spin? Dye your own yarn? I'm learning how to spin on a spindle, I'm not very good at it yet. I've dyed my own yarn a couple of times, but not on a regular basis
Your favorite author/band/vacation spot, anything you think will help your pal know you better... I listen to a lot of classical music, but I also love Jack Johnson, DMB, the Killers and James Blount.

A little fall cooking

While it still feels like summer here, I know it is starting to be fall everywhere else. And, fall always makes me in the mood for certain foods. So, instead of knitting this afternoon, I baked some pumpkin bread and it is currently baking in the oven. It smells really good, and I can't wait for it to be done!

Prep: 10 min., Bake: 1 hr. This makes three loaves, so there are two to give away and one for you; they also freeze well.

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
4 large eggs
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

Stir together flour and remaining ingredients in a large bowl until smooth. Divide batter evenly among 3 greased and floured 9- x 5-inch loaf pans.
Bake at 350° for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until wooden pick inserted into center of each loaf comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: Makes 3 loaves

Mary McClure, Barboursville, West Virginia
Southern Living, OCTOBER 2005

I sometimes add, depending on my mood other things. I've added chocolate chips (which is really good) and pecans. It is a really great base recipe that you could add a variety of different things too. It reminds me a lot of a good banana bread, but with pumpkin.

I'm such a joiner

I joined Beth's Handmade Christmas Gift Swap. It's a small swap, non-secret, and it should be great fun. So, head on over there and sign up! Can you believe it's almost Christmastime?!

Yarn Aboard!

Olive and I had a very good mail day yesterday. The Yarn Aboard Christopher Columbus box came to Saraland to pay us a visit! It was from Jessica at Common Threads. Let's see what's inside.





Fabulous candies and tea! The Sour Patch Kids are of course already almost gone. And, as you can see Olive is really curious, afterall, she thinks it is all for her. Ha!

And, the most important part - yarn! Jessica sent 2 skeins of Claudia Hand Painted Yarn in the Ooops! colorway. It is so beautiful and soft! I can't wait to knit it up.



Thank you Jessica for making my day! Everything is lovely!

Third Time's A Charm!

I've decided that I have Knitting ADD. Yes, I started another project. I needed to do something besides baby knitting and do something for myself. So, I started this shrug by Plymouth using Royal Bamboo.



It has been a bit of a frustrating start, but I finally got it right with the correct needles. I started with an 8, which was too loose and then ripped it out at Knit Night, and tried it with 7s. Well, I took that home and worked on it, and then went back to the Yarnhaus the next day and it was decided that it would be better to rip it out and try it on 6s. MUCH better! It will fit so much better because there is nothing worse than spending time on something to have it not work in the end.



Ha! Bamboo yarn on my bamboo floor!!