Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Combining a little of this..and some of that....

Combining things together can make for some great recipes. The same goes for knitting and the reasons we knit. Take for instance the "Flaunt Your Colors Scarf" and "Hail to the ... Dishcloth" patterns....



Cast on 70 stitches and knit the Block "M" from the dishcloth pattern into the first stripe of the scarf pattern flat.



Knit the remainder of the stripes in the round.



Weave in the ends, mattress stitch the side seam closed, and sew up the bottom of the scarf.



Find a comfortable place to sit while you knit around...



...and around....



...and around...



...and around until it's all finished.



Mix in some 'appropriate' coordinating clothing...



Find another comfy seat...possibly in your favorite football stadium...



Combine that with a Band....


...mix in some Olympians...



Including Mr. 8 himself, Michael Phelps...who all are connected with your favorite University....



Toss in the football team.....



The a'maizing' student section...



Bring on the kickoff...



Toss in a "few" of your favorite fellow fans...all 109,833 of them...



as you watch the team go from this....while you're thinking...'huh?'....



Consider how to get the Band to play the fight song...oh that would be mixing in ....



a touchdown....



or two....



....or three....



...possibly even four...



....watch as your heart stops when the catch is missed by 'JUST THIS MUCH'...
(click on the picture to see just how close...)



and end up here...



As the team begins a new tradition singing "HAIL! HAIL!" with the student section....

And you will know that great combinations belong together!

Oh yes...the girl's got a Wolverine heart...
(even if the scarf wasn't in the stadium...I'd still like to think it helped to 'root' the team to Victory!---Yep, uh ah...I know...I dream big!!!)

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Fast Healing my friend!



Remember Norma? She had her surgery yesterday...she'll be needing some Chemo in a couple of weeks...keep her in your thoughts, prayers and send her lots of 'gentle' hugs with me? Here's to you my dear friend...get better....FAST!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Sometimes...it doesn't take much/Updated

To make a girl really happy!

These are pie pumpkins.

Not huge jack-o-lanterns, but pie pumpkins. The little pumpkins that pack a big punch of flavor.

And they're so 'happy inducing' because after living in Southern California since forever, I've rarely been able to find them. (go ahead and laugh...but after growing up in Michigan, the idea of not finding these is strange.)

Last year, it was midnight when I was making Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pies when I was able to cook down a pumpkin for the pies.

This year...I'm way ahead of the game!

And since it took me years to get the hang of cooking down pumpkins...for my kids' benefit..or those of you who are used to ordering pumpkins or cracking open a can of already mushed pumpkin, let me show you how easy it is to make them taste sooooooooooooo much better than the cardboard some of them come packaged in.

Step 1: OK that would have been buying them and bringing them home.

Step 2: Cut them open, scoop out the gunk, and slice into 6-8 chunks.

Step 3: lay them into a roaster with about a 1/4" of water and cover with foil.


Step 4: Bake at 400*F for 1 hour in the oven.

Step 5: Be careful when opening the foil, the seam will be hot.



They will look softer than when you started, and if you poke them with a fork or a knife you'll feel how soft they have gotten.

Step 6: Drain in a colander and let cool. Using a spoon, scrap the pulp out of the skin and into a bowl.

Step 7: There are several choices to 'smush' the pulp. You can put the pieces into a blender, food processor, or just use your mixer. You want to make sure the 'lumps' are all smooth and well cooked.

Step 8: Storing the cooked pumpkin. I like to store my pumpkin in 2 cup amounts, which just happens to be the amount my favorite pie recipe calls for. (Compliments of Betty Crocker, thankyouverymuch.) Now, with the cooked pumpkin being a wee bit on the messy side, here's my current hint to keep clean up a breeze. Line a 2 cup liquid measuring cup with a 1 quart zip top plastic bag.

Step 9: Measure out 2 cups into the bag and zip it shut without as much air as you can squeeze out of the bag. If you flip it over on the counter once or twice, it will be 'flat' on both sides and pretty much even itself out. Make sure you label the bag with a permanent marker what you have inside, and the amount you have measured in the bag along with the date you cooked it to keep your freezer filled with only fresh food. HOWEVER.......

DON'T flip the bag over AFTER you have just marked the bag with the permanent marker! It tends to leave permanent marker on the counter.

*sigh* See what I mean?

In case you have made my same mistake, know that fingernail polish remover will take it off of the counter if you use it right away.

Step 10: Freeze flat until you're ready to use.

See? Easy as Pie!

Update: noon: These 6 pumpkins gave me 21 Cups of cooked pumpkin. No added ingredients, all natural.

Update: Noon + 30: Good question 'shortoldlady'....Jack-o-lanterns are a lighter shade of 'pulp' and are much stringier. Pie Pumpkins will be listed as either cooking pumkins or pie pumpkins. Not only are they smaller, but they're a darker shade of 'pulp meat'. They're a different variety than the jack-o-lanterns.

In other news:

The patch has been stitched on with DMC floss and as soon as I remember where I put the matching hat the other day, it'll be on it's way with cousin #2 KBB baby blanket. *sigh* all the best-laid-plans I tell you!

Update: Noon + 5 hours + 32: The hat has been located, the Cousin #2 set has been photographed, packed and is now on its way, and rumor has it - baby may be born tomorrow. Not a moment too soon! When all else fails, Look in your camera bag. You just MIGHT find the missing baby hat hiding in there! (Don't ask.) This stuff only happens to me. OY!

These are called "Black Bottomed Cupcakes" and they cost me 4 burnt fingers taking them out of the oven. Maybe this post should have been called Lessons come in threes? oy!

Friday, September 12, 2008

clicking along...

I've been quiet here once again, so you know it generally means I've been clicking away with the needles. First up, is my 'twist' on the Irish Hiking Scarf'. I had an idea to make it similar to a Seaman's Scarf..you know the type that is ribbed around the back of the neck to keep it narrower to fit easier with a winter coat. Here's where it is right now....


I've got two sections knit up identical to each other. Using the IHS pattern before switching to the rib section. And get a load of this...I used Yarn Bee's I Love this Cotton! yarn in Cherry!

Extra soft, bright color that has already given the scarf lots of compliments on the bright and cheery color!

Here's a close up of the two sections. Such a fast knit!

All that's left, is to graft the two sections together. I figured a 3 needle bind off would stiffen out the ribbing too much. We'll see if my bright idea will carry over to the needles.

Next up is the cousin #2 BSJ sweater. It's been sitting 'in the wings' while I was driving across the country and knitting up the purple baby set. It was ready for the I-Chord seaming, collar and buttons.

That having been finished this morning, I need to find some embroidery floss to match the "Block M" patch to finish the sweater off. Up next the hat and pop it into the mail!

Lastly the purple mystery scarf is coming along between everything else. Hopefully with the above two projects being 'just that close' to finishing, this one will take off a bit faster and be on it's way.

I decided to add an addition over to the left side of this blog. I got tired of having to go back through each of the listings to find my Tribble and BSJ tutorials. So, If you go below the list of Wishing I was Knitting at the Lake Patterns, you'll find a new section called Wishing I was Knitting at the Lake Tutorials. Click on which one you're looking for and the link will bring to you that posting. Hopefully you'll find this helpful. I know I'm happier with the links when they're easier to find. After all, I use them, too! Enjoy!