Sunday, March 22, 2009

MMMMMeatiness

Finally, the snow is melting and the sun is shining and warm. It's great! With all this warm weather, BBQ season is quickly approaching. As such, I have started to perfect my BBQables.

Tonight, we experimented with a new recipe. It was one of those recipes that I just "winged".

Herb and Garlic Feta Burger
1 pkg extra lean ground beef
1 egg
feta cheese
herbs of your choosing (I used parsley, italian seasoning)
Chopped green onions

- Mix feta, herbs and green onions together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Mix egg with uncooked ground beef. Make thin flat patties and spoon 1 tablespoon of feta mixture on top. Make another thing flat patty and lay on top.
- Push sides together to prevent cheese from oozing out.
- BBQ! (or fry... or whatever you need to do to not make it pink anymore.)

Yum, yum, yum. I had it on a nice bun with regular hamburger fixin's, and it was divine. divine.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Updates

Our camera has quit working! I brought it to a birthday party that Hunter was invited to, and when I got home and took it out of my purse, it wouldn't turn on. Luckily, the memory card is still in tact, because I have some awesome photos of my mom's visit with Hunter - and they need to be scrapbooked ASAP!

So, since the camera is broken, I bring you a verbal updated:

Yarn:
1. I finished the Mellow Yellow Mittens and love them more than anything I've ever made. It was my first attempt at mittens, and I had a blast. I used Istek Lett-Lopi, and they are so warm.

2. Still working on the Radiating Star Blanket... Though I made a mistake a few rows back and am unmotivated to rip it out and fix it.

3. I've started a pair of legwarmers for my friend, Jodie. It's my own pattern, using cables. I had always wanted to try cables, and here I am trying them! They are progressing rather quickly.
- Bernat Satin (black)
- US5 Bamboo needles

Fabric:
I have finished going through some older fabric my mom gave me from her time quilting (she made some amazing quilts, I wish she never stopped). I've ironed it all, folded it, coordinated it all, and stacked it downstairs on my shelf. It's beautiful :)

I'm planning on making a pillow for Hunter's room, as well as some napkins (maybe) for my sister-in-law (and her boyfriend) for their new home - which they move into on March 7th.

Paper:
Valentine's Day is fast approaching. With my newly organized fabric, my ever-growing yarn stash, and some scrap papers of every sort, I'm ready to start making the love cards.

Also, my mom has requested that I make her a scrapbook page for Hunter's first Christmas that she can frame. I have all the supplies, and just need to get going on it! :)

**Pictures of all this will eventually appear. Until then, I cross my fingers that the camera problem isn't as serious as I'm thinking.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Slow Going

Things have been progressing slowly these days. I'm getting daunted by the big projects, and keep casting on new small ones.

NEW:
Bath Puff: I really had fun with this, it was so quick and fun to do. I've read a few reviews that says it doesn't lather and it difficult to use, but I wanted to knit it for the sake of knitting it. We'll see how it goes when I try and use it.

January Fingerless Gloves:
These fingerless mitts are done in Lett-Lopi wool. I can't help but love it - the whole time I'm knitting I am thinking of those awesome pure Icelandic sheep. I would give almost anything to go to Iceland! Anyway... The colour is called "Garnet" and Garnet is the birthday stone for January (and happens to be MY birth stone). It was a simple cast-on-40-stitches kind of thing, no pattern. Unfortunately, they are a little baggy, which is not the way I like my mitts.

Still On the Needles:
Radiating Star Blanket: I'd say this is about 60% done now. It's going alright, and I really enjoy how it's an easy knit, but it's SO long... it feels like I'm never going to finish it. I think I've come to the conclusion that I like doing the "big" part first... Starting with 8 stitches and ended with 300 or whatever seems like it's getting harder as you go (like a hill getting steeper as you climb it). I like working the other way. From 300 to 8!

Hunter's Snuggle Sack: This is going ever slower than the blanket. My mom is coming for two nights, and I'm really hoping that I can bribe her to help me plow through. Maybe I'll hand her the Snuggle Sack, and I'll grab the Radiating Star Blanket, and we can sit and drink tea until they are done. Maybe. :)

Mellow Mittens: I cast these on last night, and have since almost finished one of them. I LOVE stripes, I love yellow, and I love this wool. I've never knit a mitt before, and am slightly concerned about the thumb.... but I'm going to give it a go.



Sunday, January 18, 2009

New on the needles
















Finished:
I have finished another hat - this one was for my mother-in-law. It was a simple crochet beanie with a few extra patterns and a little frill on the brim. They finish quick, and they seem to be well-received so far.

In Progress:
Hunters Snuggle Sack has hit a back-burner -- I think it's going to be too small for him!

Cast-On:
I started a new project - This is an afghan/blanket for a housewarming gift for my in-laws. They are moving the beginning of March. It's going quite well so far. I'm not a huge fan of the yarn-overs at the beginning of the pattern though... At least not until I switched to circular needles. The pattern can be found on Ravelry here.



Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Finished!

Finished:
I wrote about a cuddly caterpillar that I was making for my son. I've finally finished it!

Also, I quickly crocheted up a ball and a cube for Hunter as well. They are far from perfect, but he doesn't seem to mind. :)


Still in Progress:
Hunters Snuggle Sack is coming along not too badly. I'm getting slightly bored of the endless miles of stockinette stitch, but the break to for the zipper opening helps a little. At least there is a "start" and "finish" available to me on a row-by-row basis.

New:
I've cast on a new project, however, I'm a bit concerned about the complexity of it. Here I thought knitting lace would be a breeze. Not the case :(
It's being knit out of Misti Alpalca (100% baby Alpalca) - Hand Painted Lace in Sugar Sand(29).
Love it! My fiance thinks it looks like the colour of the inside of a band-aid. He actually enjoys winding up skeins of yarn for me, and he comes up with some pretty funny observations while doing so!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Card, Knitting

I've finished a hat for my sister-in-law - and it came out pretty well. It is a basic beanie with a *fancy* trim on it, and took no time at all (these are the projects I like - limited amount of time to create them and nice end result!)















I'll be giving it to her tonight, and am crossing my fingers that she'll like it, and that it'll fit.

My birthday came and went, and it was an awesome day. My mom sent me some money, which I spent almost immediately on some nicer yarn that I might not have purchased on my own.


Purchases:
- Madil Eden 100% Bamboo in black
- Misti Alpalca 100% Baby Alpalca (hand dyed lace) in sugar sand
- Tahki Cotton Classic in dark teal


I came home and made myself a pair of fingerless mitts out of the bamboo. They were based on the Greenaway Fingerless Glove pattern that I did previously, however... I did a small rib cuff and then strait stockinette stitch instead of a 1x1 rib pattern throughout. I love the feel of them and how the yarn falls, but they turned out a bit big in the wrist (this is probably where the 1x1 ribbing would have helped).


And last but not least -- Thursday was my mother-in-laws 50th birthday, so I made her this card. I've just started making cards, and I'm having a lot of fun with it!


Sunday, January 4, 2009

The New Year

Happy 2009!

Although I don't have any new finished projects to show - I do have a little bit of a Work In Progress.

I started knitting this on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) for my son. He loves to be swaddled, but tends to pull the blankets up over his face - not good! - so, I'm making him this little sleep sack. The hood will be left off, and it will be made a bit longer than is should be (he's so big!).

Here is an 'in the works' shot. It is my first attempt at Fair Isle knitting, and although I was warned that it would be really difficult, I LOVE it. I had so much fun doing it, and after looking back through all the stitches, it appears as if I only fudged up a bit once. Woohoo!.

Pattern is from the Purl Bee which is where I seem to get most of the patterns I work on. The inside shot is crazy! Now I can truly appreciate all the work that went into those Nordic sweaters my mom used to make for me.