{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
As inspired by SouleMama.

The Madness Round 4

Finished it last night at midnight; fourth in my team. This round has been a bit insane; mad even. Monday was spent hovering over Ravelry awaiting the arrival of the next pattern and reading all the lovely songs. Nearing the end of the day it was deduced that the designer was European meaning that there wouldn't be a pattern that day; but this meant it could be early the next day. In my insanity I went to bed with the IPod next to my bed thinking I'd check it if I woke up around 5 or 6 and if it was up then I'd get up. I usually wake up naturally around then and go back to sleep. I woke up reaching for my Ipod and checking Ravelry. I really don't remember reaching for my Ipod or turning it on and only vaguely remember going to Ravelry. And there was a thread for the pattern and it was an hour old. I assumed it was 5am; I looked at the time it was 3am. I thought no I can't get up now. That would be crazy too much madness if you will. I tried to convince myself of this for the next 45 minutes all the while thinking about all the European knitters who would have already started their socks. Really it's a sickness. I got up listened to podcasts and started the sock.
My mother is now in town and I am going to spend some more time with her and get some plants. Maybe it will stop raining someday so I can plant them.

And the waiting.....

I finished one Diamond's in the Fluff. Which was all I was going for. Now we await Round 4....
Riverbed heel. Really neat and the fit is fab And no counting to see if you've finished the gusset yet. I'll have to remember this one.

As I was saying....

Cake. Chocolate Cake. Chocolate Cake that is kosher for Passover. Oh yeay. The Bug and I went to a big Seder at a friend's house on Monday. It was great. Also meant I didn't feel much the need to do an at home Seder. So I didn't. But I did make Cake.It is pretty much this recipe. But I used Almond milk instead of Coconut milk. I just can't stand the smell of coconut. And 1 1/4 cups of silken tofu instead of the crazy 5 eggs called for. Creamy and chocolatey.

And then....

I was going to write about vegan passover chocolate cake. But then this happened
and I just had to share. Her first lost tooth. She's quite excited and proud. I can't believe it.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
As inspired by SouleMama.

Sucker

The Sock Madness Round right now is the Optional round. Optional as in you don't have to do it and there isn't a time constraint. Of course, the sucker for a KAL that I am, I'm doing this round. And I had the perfect yarn (ATH Yarns my mom gave me quite a while back). And it's cool. And I'm just a sucker.

Percy Shawl

Isn't it purty. I think it should be the Purty Shawl. I like it a lot. I followed the pattern and only repeater the last two rows once more. I could have done more of chart A or B but I was afraid of it being too big. Smaller shawls can be shawls or scarves I like things with two purposes. It's almost too short as this. But it'll do. I wore it the entire day after it finished blocking. It was a day at home and all I was doing was house stuff but I wore my purty shawl all the same.
Also my first experience with nupps. My opinion: ok. I'm not anti the look of nupps as long as they aren't over used, like bobbles. A tad here and there for texture is fine. All over is just scary. As far as making the nupps. It took some getting used to but in the end it was fairly smooth going. In all I won't avoid but I won't seek it out either.
The yarn is from last year's February DAL, February Stars.

You'd think I'd be burnt

Burned out on socks that is. But no. Ha ha ha! Ok so Monday I was exhausted. A total zombie I barely remember the History Museum, there may have been some square dancing. It's hard to say. It's amazing, and maybe a little sad, how tiring knitting a pair of socks in less than 48 hours can be.
But then that afternoon, much to my surprise my Cookie A. Sock Club package arrived. I knew we were getting the pattern and recipes that evening but wasn't expecting the yarn until Wednesday. Oh happy day! Lovely isn't it. The pattern I choose to knit encompasses everything I love about Cookie's designs; twisted stitches and traveling cables. Oh joy. Of course there were cookies. One cookie recipe is brought to us by a designer Cookie interviews. This woman adapted a recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. Yes. Isa in a Cookie A. Pattern. I peed. The cookies were chocolate jamers. Chocolate cookies with jelly on the inside. They were so good pictures just didn't happen. The second cookie recipe is for peanut butter cookies and are awaiting a post Passover return to baking.

Some FOs

These were finished last week. Without a photographer (aka Mr. Gnome) and getting ready for More Madness they just got put away without proper documentation.
First off Goodale. I did the extra rows my math told me I could and used every bit of yarn. The yarn is Fairyhare a merino/angora blend I picked up when the store was closing. Oh so soft and loverly. And Warm! The sweater is a tad shorter than I'd like but wearable. The pockets are cute and fun and will be used. I do love pockets.Then there is the experiment. Finished and awaiting the heat of summer. It actually was about that hot this weekend. But my brain was in Sock Madness Mode and I didn't think to try them out. They say it's the best thing because wool wicks the sweat away. But you know how I trust the "They".

The Madness Round 3

Round three came out Friday evening and I finished yesterday evening; just under 48hrs. The first person on my team to finish. Which could just be everyone else having a life. Regardless I am proud and pleased. And the socks! Oh sweet lovely cables. Oh sweet lovely yarn. Part of Sock Madness is one has to do the cast on, heel and bind off that the pattern calls for. All three of these things were new to me this round. Judy's Magic Cast on is really neat and I will totally be using that for a toe up cast on again. The heel I'm not to sure about. It used increases to create the gusset then short rows to bring the stitches back down. The heel is a bit tight and kid of hard to get on. Oddly the socks fit great once I give them the tug over my heel. The bind off is Jenny's super stretchy bind off and I'm not sure about it. It is supper stretchy but I don't really like the look of it. The yarn is Miss Bab's Navy. It is the perfect shade of Navy Blue. Dark yet almost jewel like. I saw this yarn at Maryland Sheep and Wool but didn't get it. I thought about this yarn for months until Stitches where I finally succumbed. Lovely and it does great with cables.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. As inspired by SouleMama.

Strollin' on Bye

OK so yes, to posts in one day. But HOPEFULLY there will be a new pattern for Sock Madness tomorrow and then you won't here from me for a few days. And if you are on Ravelry you have to check out the Sock Madness group specifically the Team Eight Socks a Week thread's last few pages of posts. These people are hilarious and awesome!

For the past few weeks The Bug has been walking to the library then riding home in the stroller after ballet. Last week we decided to take the plunge and leave the stroller at home. Last week I also forgot the camera and kicked myself the entire walk. So lets just pretend this was last week or that this was our first long walk without the stroller.
Stick dragging; something she's enjoyed doing from the stroller for years and has apparently not lost it's charm.

Independence abounds.

But still holding tight.
Walking high. Also something she'd jump out of the stroller to do.
And probably her favorite part: picking a bouquet on the way home.

Negatives to the no stroller:
I have to carry the library books on my back
I can't power walk for added exercise (though put this with the above and maybe it all evens out)
No quiet time listening to a podcast
My baby growing up

Pluses to the no stroller:
No stroller (duh)
Sharing walking with my daughter
My baby growing up

The Other Thing....

about just saying one feels like knitting lace is that on occasion I'm not the only person home at night. Well yes there is the bug, but she's in bed. I'm talking about those rare nights when Mr. Gnome is home. Four nights last week to be precise. And despite my reaching a point in the Percy Shawl where it was feeling fairly intuitive, even the purl sides, I just kept messing up. Haven't messed up since; hadn't messed up before. Well not much. Not multiple times in a row. Really I just can't knit lace when Mr. Gnome is home. I need to accept it. So I did. Naturally this meant I just had to cast on for something I could knit with him home. Oh sweet cables you are my constant. I show you Jaali. Well take two on Jaali since gauge is a fickle mistress.

Now What?

Now that I've finished the sock scraps blanket I have to figure out what to do with the rest of the left over sock yarn. Oh there is more and more coming! Another blanket? Well that's kind of boring now isn't it. I'm going to try out short socks in the summer. All summer my poor socks sit in a bag unworn. I only wear short socks in the summer, when I wear socks at all. Usually just when I'll be walking and need to wear sneakers. Thus these short socks. Will they be too warm? That is the question. I will make these, wear them this summer and report back. As far as the use of leftover sock yarn I'm doing as I did before. One ball at a time, when I run out I start the next. Now this means doing two at a time, pulling from the outside and inside of one ball. And that means socks on circs. I know the horror! I started doing them on two circs and that was HORRIBLE! Oh the things swinging all over the place and the tangling ugh. No. So I switched to magic loop on one. It's a bit "too short", which really just means I have less annoying loops hanging out and I'm fine with that. In all it was easy to figure out but I really still prefer DPNs.

Button Searching

Goodale is finished! It may be a while before you see it one a person I'm afraid. Rather lacking my more reliable photographer this week. In the mean time I'm stalking the Sock Madness forums awaiting the final person to finish for round 2. No one said the waiting was the Madness!

Cakey

The other day I was inspired to may Raspberry Jam Swirl Crumbcake and boy am I glad I did. I have the book and have thought about making this a number of times. Last year we ran out of jam before strawberry season. I was nervous to use a jar. I made more jams last summer and we are doing just fine. I was fine using an entire jar, yep all of one whole jar, they are little...but still. But Oh so yummy. Intense raspberry with the wonderful cinnamon of the crumbs and the just right cakeyness of the cake. I will have to make sure to make plenty of Raspberry jam in the future.....it would probably be good with the strawberry too.