Betty Cable!

Here they are!! Cabled and oh so yummy. I have to say that alpaca socks are not the worlds most practical socks, no superwash here, but soft? Oh the soft!

Done out of 2 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca sport weight, on 2.5 mm needles. These worked up really quickly. I would have had them done sooner but as I was making the pattern as I was going along I learned this cable wouldn't work up the back as it made the sock too rigid to get on. It may have been the yarn, but I just did a rib up the back instead. It worked just fine!

Socktacular aren't they?

There is another free pattern up at kfb! Its the felted slipper pattern! Its not PDF-ed quite yet, but keep your eyes peeled. A new logo is on its way too.. cool huh??

We had a fun weekend with the seeeeeester Angie and her SO (stinky odour? NO! heh hehe Ang!) Jeff. Had some Wii time, some beers, some laughs, what else is there?

Pickles is SMRT! He has learned sit, down, sit up, and shake a paw! Now if only it was that easy to train a teenager..

Lap dog

Pickles likes nothing more than to sit on my lap as I peck away on the laptop in the kitchen. Max was never a lapdog like this! In fact he is sitting here right now making all sorts of grunty puppy noises. Resting his head on my arm as I type. Silly beasty.

It was turkey day this weekend and we three (5 if you count the dogs who got turkey gravy on their kibble!) had a nice little dinner. Thank you Butterball for the prefrozen stuffed turkey breast that you can just pop in the oven! Mmm.. mashed sweet potatoes and veg, pumpkin pie! Nice and not really much in the way of leftovers. Jake took some to one of his pals who wasn't having a turkey day so that resolved nicely. :)

In knitting news... almost done a pair of cabled socks out of Blue Sky Alapaca sport weight. I don't think they will be the most practical socks, but they certainly are YUMMEH!

We have guests coming this weekend!! Chris' sister (my seeeeeester!~) Angie and her SO Jeff. It will be awesome to see them and I so hope Ang has planned for at least a teeny bit of shopping. I so need to show her Sephora!!

Stay tuned for another free pattern.. it is SOCKTOBER right?

Free at last!!

Ok I really should get my head together a little better no? Announcing the first FREE PATTERN from me and knitfrontandback.

Uzumaki socks!!!

We are hoping to have a pattern up once a week during Socktoberfest. Stay tuned for more free goodness (the best kind of all dontcha think?) soon.

I think I made the best soup ever last night from leftover pot roast and veg. I cubed my leftover roast, and left the potatoes and carrots whole, they were both just babies see? Added the leftover gravy (which was not thick like gravy, just what was in the slow cooker apres cooking) and a litre of beef stock to a soup pot, tossed in a handful of pearl barley with everything, generously peppered and salted it, pitched in a few tbsp of freeze dried mixed herbs and OMG. It was heavenly. Served it with slightly stale pita bread (work with whatcha got) that was great for dipping and YUM!

It went really well with my favorite cobbler that I have been making quite often too. My preference is strawberry rhubarb, but have done it with blackberry pear apple, and would like to try some peach something one day. I take all this luscious fruit (usually frozen cause who has all this fruit in the house at once fresh? Not me! And I usually try have have organic frozen fruit on hand)I bag of each say strawberries and rhubarb, toss it in a big bowl and add a tbsp or 2 of cornstarch, a whack ( a couple of tbsp) of cinnamon and splenda (see I am still trying to maintain a modicum of healthy, no way do I wanna gain any weight back thanks.) but you could use sugar for sure, I don't measure so much as see what looks right. Toss all together. pour into a 9 x 13 backing dish. Add say a cup of rolled oats (steel cut would be nice) a few big spoons of organic brown flour, more cinnamon and splenda to a bowl. Cut in about a 1/3 cup Omega 3 margarine or (YUM!) butter until its really dispersed through the mixture. I use a fork and just mash it all up. :) Sprinkle topping over the fruit evenly and back in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour 20 min or until fruit is all bubbly and topping is brown.

I forgot to add splenda to the topping the last time I made this, and when I realised it, I tossed splenda brown sugar blend all over the top with some maple sugar flakes and popped it under the broiler for a few minutes until the sugar began to melt. OMG IT WAS AWESOME. Little crunchy bits of brown sugar goodness.

I usually serve this with a dixie cup of ice cream (serving size ya'll!) and everyone LOVES IT. mmm...

Rock it, Sock it.

Well well well.. its up and its going. Look here:

knitfrontandback!.

This has been in the works for a looong time now and with the down time I have made for myself its time to spring it on the rest of the world.

We hope to have more free patterns and other goodies up very soon. Why hide our collective lights under a bushel? Welcome to the world of knitfrontandback.

Now for happy sock yes?

Please understand I was screaming at Chris.."Take the picture! How long do you think I can hold my legs up like this?!?" He took his sweet time he did. Mystery sock yarn from Morgan that I have no idea what it is, if its superwash, or anything. But I likey the stripes and I really like the mismatched-ness. Haha.

Please note cam ho Pickles. I swear he sees the camera is and all HAY GUISE!! Sheesh.

Pickleskin rug!!!

He does this randomly all around the house. PICKLESKIN RUG!!!!



So as if to prove my techmuhnological impairment, I screwed with my blog and lost all my links (and holy shit you'd think I'd have learned from Nana by now huh?) and all my side bar stuff. I recovered my blog links, but haven't gone through and redone everything else. Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll keep 'er clean. Slackers unite, like tomorrow maybe ok?

I have to say I really do have the cutest terriers in the world. As if to prove it have a look. Hey Moms! We aren't up to anything, nope.. not us!

I LOVE MY GAY DOGS! Or maybe they are just exploring.. I won't judge, just celebrate their love.

Now I took a picture of the slipper on.. it is so comfy! And fast. Did I mention fast? Cause it was sure fast. In fact, it took longer for them to dry than to make them.

Socks of the unknown yarn. I'm calling them ribsy because like they are ok? They don't look like much off, but on, NICE! Just a hair away from being done number one.

I have a bunch of sock yarn I'm DYING to knit up but am forced to wait for my Knitpicks order of super small needles to get here as I am a knitting hussy. LOOSE ok? I also got the Elann update and there is some yarn coming on Oct 16th that is positively calling me. I have a hankering for a sweatshirt gray sweater this fall. Something super soft and snuggly (which seems to be the word of the week yes?) to pull on.

Stay warm kittens, its gonna be a chilly weekend I think.

Whoosh!

And there they are. Finished. I hand felted them in the sink, took about 10 minutes. Now if only they were dry.

Wait .. what?

I am going to shock people I know with this statement. The best cookie I have ever made is a VEGAN recipe. Fall down dead now my bacon loving friends, yes I the lover of all things animal (mmm tasty) have seen the vegan light. Hahahaha.. now don't you worry, I certainly am not changing my ways, just opening up to the possibilities that not everything needs to be made with butter, eggs, cheese or bacon.*

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies Submitted by Isa
prep time: 15 minutes cooking time: 32 minutes makes 4 dozen cookies
These are soft out of the oven, but as they cool they are nice and chewy. They are a serious crowd pleaser, for crowds with taste buds. Note: I use flax seeds because they make the texture a little chewier, but I've made them without and they're still good!
Equipment:

baking sheets

2 mixing bowls

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1 1/3 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons molasses

1 cup canned pumpkin, or cooked pureed pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla

optional: 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1/2 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Have ready 2 greased baking sheets.Mix together flour, oats, baking soda, salt and spices. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, oil, molasses, pumpkin and vanilla (and flax seeds if using) until very well combined.

Add dry ingredients to wet in 3 batches, folding to combine. Fold in walnuts and raisins.Drop by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets. They don't spread very much so they can be placed only an inch apart. Flatten the tops of the cookies with a fork or with your fingers, to press into cookie shape. Bake for 16 minutes at 350.

If you are using two sheets of cookies on 2 levels of your oven, rotate the sheets halfway through for even baking. You'll have enough batter for 4 trays.Remove from oven and get cookies onto a wire rack to cool. These taste best when they've had some time to cool and set. They taste even better the next day

Things I changed (either out of preference or necessity)

I used 2/3 cup of applesauce instead of oil.

I didn't add the flaxseed (didn't have it or I would have).

Used 1/2 sugar, 1/2 splenda granulated (ran out of sugar and hey it saved a buttload of calories) Used 2 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, no nutmeg.

I would add more cinnamon next time, but I am a freak like that.

I also didn't have any nuts on hand so used 1/4 cup of Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips Next time I'll use more in addition to the raisins.

These bad boys run about 43 calories apiece and I got 59 cookies out of this batch. Holy hell they are fantastic.

I found them on this site:

http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=187

It doesn't look like its been updated in ages, but the recipes look GOOD! Go forth and veganise your cookies my friends. Now I am going to try a vegan cupcake recipe for sure. :)

KNITTING KNEWS (oh god I am so sorry) Knit these up yesterday. Will felt in sink today and report back. Again, knit out of necessity as I have no slippers. Used Patons SWS in Natural geranium, and just kinda winged the pattern. Cellphone for size reference and please note my Hello Kitty charm/bell because I love my inner 13 year old girl.

Yesterday we made like babies and headed out to Best Buy to get Halo 3. In fact I'm gonna tell ya'll a little secret, my husband went out the night before at midnight but the lines and the cold dissuaded him from indulging his inner geek.Ah well... anyhoo.. to Best Buy right. He got his game and even a free tshirt and camo headset YEEHAW!! Get home, plug in the most anticipated game ever (I have never know Chris to go on opening day and buy a video game. NEVER) and guess what?

RED RING OF DEATH. (oh noes!)

If you aren't an XBOX 360 slave this will mean nothing. If you are you know. Major boo hoo. Well XBOX is sending us a new unit (thankfully) and I guess the GAME OF THE CENTURY will have to wait. The customer service guy was really lovely, so Chris is just happy that a new one will be here eventually.


Here's some yarn porn for you all.. I'm a sad sad woman huh?




*But realistically most everything is made better with the addition of these ingredients. Like most movies would be made better with zombies in them. Who knows, Armageddon may have been watchable with the addition of zombies. Or not. :/

Less is more.

I am sitting in my kitchen with the heat cranked (the ground was covered in frost this am. Pickles was scared of it HAHA!), on the laptop, just finishing my latte (gingerbread with some cinnamon thanks) thinking about how much I love my little house. Really. I know that there are lots of folks out there who can't understand how three of us (and two terriers of fury) can share such a small space and not kill each other. Hey, sometimes I agree wholeheartedly (and would indeed LOVE just one more toilet in the house) but you know, I am gonna have to say the smaller life suits me just fine. Less house to clean, less house to heat, less space to fill. This is not to say I don't have lots of crap, because oh boy I do, but if I had a bigger place, the possibilities of crap would be overwhelming to say the least.

I think a smaller footprint is what works for us. Its not to say when we are driving out in the burbs I don't sometimes look at the McMansions and think Ï wonder what it would be like to live in a house where I couldn't instantly know where Chris or Jake is? Or have a room that no one else ever goes in, or you know 2 toilets but I digress.. I do wonder this. Then I realise we are driving less (in our little KIA Rio) as we are closer to everything. We are consuming less space, conserving in our small ways. Paying someone to come collect our recycling cut down on our garbage by 75%. Most weeks we have one bag. We have fluorescent bulbs in our fixtures, and use Bio degradable cleaners. I know its not a whole lot but it makes me feel like I am doing a tiny bit.

Well enough proselytising, here's some socks I finished last night. They are super snuggly, as the spiral rib around the ankle is wonderful for chasing away the chill that is Fall around here. I could actually hear the leaves falling off our next door neighbours tree this am. It was like rain.

Colinette Cadenza in Florentina. I think I used a 2.5 mm needle but will have to check on it. Pattern is my own but I think it will be available soon.. (all part of my Master Plan mwaaaa haaaaa!) just keep your eyes on this space.

I have rediscovered my love of cooking this last week. Hearty things and tasty treats. I can't believe I lived without a Kitchen Aid for so long! I made some yummy pumpkin muffins with Ghiradelli chocolate chips, a fabtastic veggie soup, some bitchin' (my Dad loves bitchin' meatloaf) mealoaf and various other yums. Something about the oven being on in the middle of the day is comforting yes? Whats your favorite thing to cook when it gets chilly?

Enhancement

When does Stash Enhancement stop feeling so good? Probably never right. Oh well.. When its hot stuff like this, should I care? The delovely Morgan was pretty damn pleased with the giving of a sweater and rewarded me thusly. MOAR STR! This time in the medium weight. Velvet Moon its called and having just washed my first STR's (in the machine!) they just got softer and slightly fuzzier and OMG YUMMIER.

Now some mystery yarn. There is no tags on it, no idea what the heck it is besides pretty. I reckon I'll have to do some testing to see if its super wash or?? Any ideas on what it is out there?


Mama E's Softee Sock. I have to tell ya'll, this is the nicest feeling Mama E's I have felt. No weird fuzzy, just soft soft soft. Hence the name huh? Durrr..


And finally the Harmony from Zen Strings. Going to Morgans is like going to the bestest yarn shop ever. All different brands for you to touch and ogle. Plus the hostess is hot. And did I mention fun? Goes without saying. :)


I also got a little Koigu action on the side from a sweetheart pal with a pink aversion. Matching skein coming soon from another lovey. I have such fantastic friends.


I did have to do a little enhancing on my own too... Colinette Cadenza that I fell for head over heels at a LYS. I am really losing it here.

Finally you didn't think I'd post without some more socks to show off did you? Knit Picks Tweed from the superfantastique Knitting Grammy! Oh Nana.. purple socks just like Donny Osmond.

We had an exciting weekend full of Vet Trips (GROSS STUFF better not mentioned here. Or anywhere) productivity and exciting-ness. Things are moving so quickly, I have to remember to slow down and take a breath. Like tonight. For UFC FIGHT NIGHT. YAY!!! And there is a PPV this weekend.. that is sure to make me stop for a minute.

New Beginnings and a tail of woe

Poor Pickles has had rough a time of it lately...

First he got fixed, then tattooed (not even cool one by Kat Von D), then micro chipped (no privacy left in this big brother world)! When he got home he had a staple pulling at some skin so he ripped one of them out and had to go back to get RE-STAPLED and how traumatic was that?

Now he has to suffer the indignity of wear a cobbled together onesie (Dr T HATES cones, he thinks they are inhumane and a last choice, and after seeing how well Pickles does with the cobbled together onesie I have to agree, this is a way better alternative!) to stop him from pulling out more staples/licking himself crazy, now he has to see Max laughing at him all the time.


You can totally see the smirk Max is hiding can't you?


But now Max is kissing him all better. In fact they have spent a lot of time kissing this last couple of days. Chris thinks its because they have the stink breath and like it, I prefer to think of it as a sign of affection. I'm sure Chris is right. :)


So on Monday I had some big decisions to make, one of which involved quitting my job. I have some really cool things in the works so think good thoughts for my new endeavours. Exciting times lay ahead...

Get down with the Sickness

Because apparently it is a sickness. This sock thing that is. Oh honestly.. I have it BAD too.. even Pickles thinks so.

Short socks for Chris out of Mission Falls Superwash. Hurray stash buster! These even felt like cheating cause they only took a couple of hours. NICE!


Now socks for me. Shibui sock (my new favorite!) and these only took a few days too.

And oh ho, thanks to the Knitting Grammy I am on to (yet) another pair!

This Knitpicks Tweed is AMAZINGLY soft and yummy to work with. Like WOW! WIPEOUT! Oh Nana.. you rock my (haha!) SOCKS!

So in the pursuit of happiness, this weekend led me and DANA THE ENABLER to hunt out more Shibui. While she was able to resist the siren call I alas. was not so lucky. Or maybe I AM the lucky one...

Like come ON! These are so silly.. OH YEAH!

Those ones up there are destined to be my CrAzY (Loser) socks. As for the beauteous blue ones beneath, Chris will have some more hand knitted goodness.

This morning I took Pickles into the vet to become like all Mars Bars made in Canada.. NUT FREE. haha. Max was none too impressed that Pickles got a car ride without him, but I think he'll understand when he gets back from the vets. And I'm sure will be laughing at him the whole time. Poor Pickle pants! Max is at a bit of a loss without him here, but is enjoying a much deserved rest.

Victory of Da Feet (groan)

Well well well...





So really, how stupid easy was this? Toe up, Turkish cast on (LOVE!) short row heels, and VOILA! You got a sock. Do another. YOU HAVE A PAIR. Who knew? It took a few hours each, (and probably would have been shorter if I hadn't been trying to watch a movie that scared the shit out of me about killer dolls which caused me to drop some random stitches and pick up other random ones. Note to self.. never knit while trying to cover/ing your eyes . Durr. Sorry about the craptacular photos, I now understand the lamentations of sock picture takers eveywhere.




Socks that Rock (and I take back everything I said about this stuff.. and really regret trading away the blue colourway now) heavyweight. in Purple Rain. I have enough for another pair! WOW! 50g a sock is pretty smack on. On the needles now and pair for Chris using up some Mission Falls Superwash in 3 different colours. I've had to rip them out a couple of times (yes you need the foot there to try it on) but I'm so happy about the Turkish cast on, I just DON'T CARE!


Pickles is back from the groomers and I am kinda sorry I clipped his long locks off. Not that he isn't cute, but he looks so grown up. BUT his fur is so ridiculously soft I can't stop petting him. He has had a few slips these past nights and had an accident or 2 in our room, so we will be a little more conscious about when he eats. It had been getting a little slipshod (my fault) and I need to be more aware of it.


He is still our 6.30 am wake up call. Which apparently can really tire a puppy out.

Lace me up

No really.. who knew? Lace knitting? I scoffed at it. I was all "yeah, whatever.. " now..

WOW!

Ok so all drooling aside, I think may have it. The bug. Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino. 2 skeins. Country Garden colourway. Pattern is by Dana. Fall down dead from the gorgeous.

I need to make a public service announcement (with GUITAR!) I am starting some socks. Yes you read right. I'll go as far to say its an exercise my brain may have trouble with but WTF eh?

Now for a little stash enhancement. I hit it out to addies Material goods in Cochrane this weekend with the aforementioned Dana and looky what I found:

Dudes it was 40% off! And will make a lovely sweater yes? mm mmm! Also look what finally showed up:

Very pretty but I had such an unpleasant experience trying to get this stuff from Hipknits (in the UK), that I would never EVER order from there again. I would say the customer service was terrible, but being as it was pulling teeth to even get acknowledged I don't think I *had* any customer service. Emails went unanswered, and I was flat out lied to about shipping times. The product itself is lovely no doubt, but with the world being as competitive as it is, my dollars will go elsewhere. Shame that.

Now for a gratuitous puppy shot:


Take a good look cause he's going to get clipped tomorrow. Him and Max are just so darling together, they share a bed now, and even fell asleep touching noses last night. Oh my boys!