So, it's December already...

Time has gotten away from me again! So much has been happening here and I wanted to post about it but just didn't have the time. We have been working on remodeling the house (pics to come, I promise!) and getting ready for Christmas. All of the gifts are knitted, but some still need the ends woven in and blocked. I will post pics after those gifts have been given on Christmas. We have been baking cookies and I have yet to make the fudge and truffles. Christmas shopping is almost finished, though I am stuck on a couple of gifts and I really hope that I get a good idea soon since they really need mailed out ASAP! I also am working on sewing up a few last minute gifts for my family. I am going to try to make some Christmas morning pj's for W and C, but that will depend on if I can get the two other gifts I need to make done in time. I did make my daughter (W) a Veggie Tales printed bag from a tutorial I found on the Sew, Mama, Sew! blog.

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I am going make a bag for my son (C) also out of Cars print fabric. I'll post a pic of that also when it is finished, hopefully buy the weekend! I did make one addition to the pattern; I used the extra fabric from cutting out between the handles for a pocket inside. I liked how it turned out, though for the next bag I am going to lengthen the handles a bit. I just think that there needs to be a bit more room to get your hand through the handles comfortably. This is an awesome blog and I would recommend those of you that like to sew going and visiting this site. The owner did a 30 days of gifts theme for the month of November and there are so many really neat projects that are simple to whip up for gifts. (You'll have to go back to the November posts to get a link to the projects. December 1st has the complete listing of the projects.) Well, off to finish that laundry so I can start on that bag!

Italian night!

Today I just wanted some spaghetti and W completely agreed with me! I usually always make my sauce from scratch, so I thought I'd share some pics with you of the process. I always start with getting all of the ingredients needed an pile those on the counter so I don't forget anything and to also make absolutely sure that I have everything needed to complete a recipe. Here is my spaghetti sauce pile:

After browning that onion and garlic, which smelled absolutely delicious btw, I dumped in all of the cans of tomatoes and added the spices:

I then had to make some Italian bread to go along with the spaghetti. If you have never tried baking bread before, I would strongly recommend that you try it because absolutely nothing can compare to fresh homemade bread! Here is that ingredients pile (minus the pumpkins and squash in the background, obviously!):

I usually make my bread in my bread machine or by hand, but I was in a bit of a hurry since the bread needs an hour to raise and 30 min to bake, so this time I used my mixer. This was the first time I attempted that and it worked wonderfully! After proofing the yeast:

I threw everything in the mixing bowl and let the mixer do it's job. I always sprinkle my pans with cornmeal when I am baking bread because that is what keeps it from sticking instead of greasing the pan, which in my experience, makes a mess and can burn the bread.

I rolled the bread into two loaves and placed them on the baking sheet to raise and into the oven they went.

Unfortunately, I didn't take a pic before we just had to try some of the warm bread straight from oven! LOL! I did remember to take a pic before we ate the second loaf, so that is why the pan only shows one loaf.

My son is always the first to beg for the warm bread when I open the oven door or take it out of the bread machine. Maybe he is my future baker? Anyways, the meal turned out great and the good news is that there is leftovers for tomorrow!

It's been a while...

It has been a while since I last posted. We have been very busy with finishing up remodeling of our house (we now have a front hall closet!!!) and canning applesauce to last us until next year. I think I am going to have to go get more apples to accomplish this goal because we eat a lot of applesauce! I have been working on knitting a skinny scarf for the skinny scarf exchange that is going on at Tea Time Knitters. I have started this scarf at least five times, but it got ripped out once by my little ones and the other times, I just did not like the pattern that much with the yarn I picked out. I think that I am just going to have to design my own simple pattern if I plan to have this scarf done on time! I'll take a pic after I send it off to my exchange partner.
Thankfully, I am almost done with Christmas knitting. I thought I was done until my sister-in-law requested a scarf for Christmas, so off to the yarn store I went to get something to knit her one. I just have to pick a pattern now and I am sure I am going to have the same problem as with the skinny scarf where I can't decide on a pattern! Maybe some cables, since you can never go wrong with cables in a winter scarf!
I almost forgot to tell you all about the knitting class that I took this past Wednesday. I took a class to learn continental knitting. It was only two hours, but it was a lot of fun. I have never had the opportunity to get together with other knitters to knit. I had so much fun that I wish we had a knitting group closer to where I live! I live an hour away from the store where I took the class. The teacher said that I must be a natural at continental knitting since all of my stitches were neat and even, even those purl stitches that can some times end up being really loose in continental knitting. It was very dangerous sitting amongst all of that yarn, though! I am proud to say that I didn't buy a single skein of yarn, just one pattern book. I did buy some organic cotton when I signed up for the class, though, but it was just so soft that I couldn't possibly leave it there. I think that I'll knit a scarf for myself out of it since I did only buy one skein. (I'm trying real hard to use up my stash instead of adding to it!) Anyways, I'll add a pic of the swatch that I made continental knitting so you can all see what we did at the class after I charge up the batteries for my camera.

Update: Here is the swatch that I knitted continental method

Garage Sale Find!

I am a die hard garage saler.... hey, I've got to do my part in reducing waste and keeping stuff out of landfills, right? Doesn't hurt that I can find good bargains now and again, too! Well, I just have to brag about my find this morning. I went to a garage sale where the lady was clearing out her craft room and she had a box of KNITTING NEEDLES! I picked up several circular needles in both nylon and aluminum, several sets of dpn's, one set of straight needles, 4 stitch holders, one cable needle, and one of those needle size/gauge thingies all for $10. Several of these needles look bran new! Needless to say, my knitting drawer is very happy. I think I need to celebrate by buying some nice wool yarn to put one of these needles to use... LOL!

Knit shawl done!

Right now, for some reason, the knit bug has bit HARD and I am knitting like mad and am drawn to all of those luscious yarns out there! I have been knitting dishcloths from all of the KALs I belong to and I just finished a knit shawl. I needed something to keep me warm for an up coming wedding I was invited to, so I decided to knit the shawl to go with the dress I bought. I found this gorgeous, soft wool/cotton blend yarn and could not resist using it for the shawl. I just used the granny's favorite cloth pattern (without doing the decrease). I also added a lacy bit at the top of the shawl. It is so soft and warm! My daughter loves to wear it so I let her model it so I could take a pic to post. I'll hopefully get my husband to take a pic later so you all can see how it goes with the dress.

Hi All!

Ok, so I have been browsing the web and am a bit envious of all of the wonderful blogs people have created, so I decided to just start my own! This is also a great way to share with all my friends and family who care to know what is going on here at my house, since I am terrible about keeping in touch with everyone! I knit, crochet, sew, and very occasionally embroider and plan to make the majority of the posts about my needle work, but I do also plan to share about other things that are going on here. I am not that computer saavy, so I am learning how to do this as I go along. I hope to be able to figure out how to post pictures and also one of those slide shows of completed projects. So, here goes...