New Beading Project

I sure hope you aren't sick of hearing me whine about how many beads are on my current project. I have a new beading story to tell you.

I've rooted through my closet and pulled out an old beading project. Approximately 6 years ago, I decided I was going to make my neice a butterfly blanket. I used process of elimination to decide how the butterflies would be made.

Emboidery

• I don't own an embroidery machine
• Hand-embrodery would take me a long time and I hate it when the thread gets twisted

Cross stitch

• I don't own an embroidery machine
• Cross stich would take me a long time and I hate it when the thread gets twisted

So, this naturally led me to buying an enormous amount of beads. I made 5 butterflies in the month of December. As Christmas Day approached, I gently folded the blanket back up and stuffed it into the closet.

I pulled it back out yesterday with the intention of finishing it for my youngest neice. After seeing how big the blanket really was, I walked over to my computer and ordered the Pigeon book from Amazon.com.

The new plan is to finish it by June 2008. Wish me luck! I think I might need it.

360 Beads to be Exact

Yes, I counted them.

And then I took more pictures so that you could see each and every one of them.

How many more beads to go? I don't know and I don't want to know. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Update pic on the AWHF Shawl

I'm stealing Tracie's name. One of her recent crochet projects was called the Dress that Never Ends. My AWHF Shawl will henceforth be known as the Shawl that Never Ends. It's a good name.

I am only 75% done. Wait. Let me rephrase. Hark, I have knitted 75% of the shawl. Gosh, that sounds better, doesn't it?

Every 4th row now requires 16 sead beads to be woven in. Thus, every 10 stitches, I have to stop and move one bead towards the top of the string and slip two stitches. I am grateful every time I finish a beaded row and can then knit 3 rows plain. As a bit of good news, it appears that I have enough beads strung onto the cone to last me till the end of this shawl.

Enough of me yammering, let's have that pic, shall we?

And without the light
Gosh, you can't see all the beads in either one of them. There is sweat and tears on each one!
I'll have to find another way to take a pic of it before I publish the pattern on it.

Christmas Cards

I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving Day!


Ours was small but nice. We ended up just having our close friends stop by. I cooked too much food, since last year I barely cooked enough.


Now that Thanksgiving Day has passed, we are in full Christmas mode. No, the Christmas lights aren't up outside ... mainly because that is Dan's job and he was too busy playing Rock Band this weekend to do anything else. Instead, all the Christmas presents have been purchased save 2, the inside decorations are up, and the Blue Spruce tree outside is sporting large, red bows. Plus, my favorite activity has begun: writing Christmas cards.

I only have 12 more cards to write our of a total 56 cards. Not bad, since I take the time to write a personal note in almost every card. What does Dan do? Why he signs his name on each card and has the audacity to complain about his hand being sore. How he manages to see the ball drop every year is beyond me. I think I'm too soft.

Chili Pepper Quilt Finished!

This quilt has been finished for over a week. Apologies for waiting till now to post a pic of it. More apologies for not taking a pic of the back before I packaged it up. I don't think I chose the best time to take a pic of the quilt; it was shortly after I cut my finger. I was still a bit shaken.

Today I feel much better. Thank you to everyone who offered sympathy, empathy, and advice. Your advice was much better than Dan's who simply advised me to not hold scissors anywhere near Baby Flick (they've named her Evangeline) when we stop by to visit. Rude!

Tagged

I've been tagged by Mrs. H, Dana and Fuzzy Izmit (not her real name, I assure you).

In case you haven't already met these ladies, allow me to introduce you.


Mrs. H is the author of the I Like Yarn blog and podcast. And, yes, she does like yarn. Her stories about her family, neighbors and life events have made me laugh so hard - I cried.


Dana is the author of My Tangled-Up Life blog. She is also the person behind Unwind Yarn Company, an Etsy store that sells beautiful, hand-dyed yarns along with handmade scarves and hats.


Fuzzy Izmit is also an owner of her own Etsy store filled with unique bracelets, stash beads, and chainmaille. (I swoon when confronted by chainmaille. It speaks to be with its simple chain links and labor-intensive craftsmanship; very similar to knitting which starts out with a string of yarn).


Although Dana and Fuzzy tagged me with the 7itis (list 7 unknown facts about yourself and then tag 7 people), I opted to steal Mrs. H's format because it is easier. I am still having difficulty typing. 'S's are my enemy.


1. Name one person who made you laugh last night?
Jake, my devoted golden retriever, helped me wrap Christmas presents last night by taking the empty roll of wrapping paper and ripping it to shreds.

2. What were you doing at 0800?
Sitting on the couch, knitting my beaded shawl.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Feeding Jake his breakfast.

4. What happened to you in 2006?
We adopted Jake in July.

6. How many beverages did you have today?
One thus far - a strong cup of tea (Irish breakfast mixed with mint tea leaves)

7. What color is your hairbrush?
I don't have one. I use a wide-toothed comb. It's pink and white.

8. What was the last thing you paid for?
Stocking stuffers for my niece from Etsy.

9. Where were you last night?
At home, wrapping presents and hanging the last of the Christmas decorations. Dan made me a fire.

10. What color is your front door?
White.

11. Where do you keep your change?
I use my change. My husband keeps his in an old tin.

12. What’s the weather like today?
Raining.

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor?
Butter pecan

14. What excites you?
Designing - anything (I'm not picky) from knitwear to quilts to my garden

15. Do you want to cut your hair?
No. I've finally found the right length.

16. Are you over the age of 25?
Yes. I'm 31.

17. Do you talk a lot?
No. Instead I hum a lot.

18. Do you watch the O.C.?
Thanks to Mrs. H's answer, I now know that this is a TV series. I didn't know that 2 days ago. And with that tidbit of info, I believe you have your answer.

19. Do you know anyone named Steven?
No. My cousin's name is Stephen. Does that count?

20. Do you make up your own words?
Yes as well as my own sayings.

21. Are you a jealous person?
No. No reason to be. My cup runneth over.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’.
Arecia. Isn't that a lovely name?

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’.
My niece's name is Katie. Does that count?

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list?
I don't own a caller-ID box. On my cell phone, Arecia called me last.

25. What does the last text message you received say?
"After 3?" You see, Dan is in charge of picking up the pumpkin pie today between the hours of 3 and 7 pm.

26. Do you chew on your straw?
No, but I do chew my nails. A horrible habit that I can't seem to break.

27. Do you have curly hair?
I wish. I always wanted curly hair. My hair is wavy on good days.

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to?
My comfy chair to knit.

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life?
Nobody.

30. What was the last thing you ate?
Homemade apple-egg bread.

31. Will you get married in the future?
No, I love the husband I have.

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks?
This question could be reworded as "Name the movie you've seen in the past 2 weeks - nay, 2 months". My answer is the same: Meet the Robinsons. I wanted to see it because Pixar's chess man was featured in it. It was a cute, but dull movie.

33. Is there anyone you like right now?
My husband, my dog, my friends, my neighbor across the street; generally anybody who smiles.

34. When was the last time you did the dishes?
Yesterday afternoon

35. Are you currently depressed?
No.

36. Did you cry today?
No.

37. Why did you answer and post this?
Because I was tagged and this survey seemed easier than coming up with 7 random things about myself.

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey.
Jo
Not Lucy
Nicole
Nan
Amby

Suffering Pain for the Love of Christmas

I wanted 2 Christmas trees this year.

This seemed easy enough to accomplish. We own an artificial tree from our days of living in an apartment (real trees are considered a fire hazard and thus were banned by our landlord). It has been sitting up in the attic since we bought our house. I drug it down from the attic and set it up in our guest bedroom. It is the first thing you see when you walk into the room.

Since we didn't have enough lights or ornaments for 2 trees, I stopped by Lowes and picked up some clear lights and red & gold balls. The lights went on easy-peesy. The ornaments were a different story.

I was a tad disappointed when I opened up the box of ornaments to find that they did not have the wire hangers already attached. No problem, I thought. I just went and found my ball of green-coated wire and my kitchen shears. Perhaps you know where this story is going.

The kitchen shears not only cut the wire, but also cut a piece of my finger off.

Still, my 1st Christmas tree is up and decorated.

If I had to do it again, I would have used wire cutters to cut the wire. I can confirm that cutting your finger hurts a lot. I'm a bit uncertain how I am going to cook a full meal on Thanksgiving Day. Cooking normally requires that your hands get dirty and wet.

Did I mention that I love my tree?

Pine Tree design on Christmas Tree Skirt

I have the laptop back! This guy moves so much faster than Hal! Yet in my excitement of having the laptop back, I forgot to snag the digital camera. And, what's a blog without pictures? So, I made you a picture.







What is it you ask? Why it's a pic of my design for the white ties in the Christmas Tree Skirt.

I've cast on for the 1st of the white ties. I'm pleased that my design/calculations allow for all the ties to start in the same manner. I don't mind doing the extra math, but I think it's easier on the knitter if s/he doesn't have to check the pattern constantly.

More pictures later:

• The Chili Pepper quilt is finished!
• Progress on my never-ending-beaded-shawl (It's getting bigger - I swear!)

Have a great weekend!

I'll be out on the roads doing some more Christmas shopping. Will I finish? Heck, no, but I'll have more done than undone. And that seems like an accomplishment.

Marjorie Mohair Stole

The Mohair Stole is finished!

I have named it after my Aunt Bette (Marjorie W.) because she will actually receive the stole as a Christmas present. I know I said it was going to give it to my MIL, but I changed my mind. I don't know why I thought it would be a nice gift for my MIL. She never wears stoles - Never. It would sit in her closet until the moths found a way in.

So, it's going to my #1 fan - my Aunt Bette. She is my pseudo-Mom. She is always telling people about me and my work. She's more proud of my work than I am.

The pattern for the stole is already uploaded to my Etsy store. I have also submitted it to the Knitting Vault. Fingers are crossed that it is approved.

Christmas Tree Skirt, the 1st tie

The 1st of 9 ties is downstairs being blocked.

I just love the way this tie came out. The colors are gorgeous and so little work was required by me to make the yarn shine. I must tip my hat again to Brenda for hand-dyeing and hand-spinning this fiber for me. My MIL has asked me why I don't try my hand at dyeing. My answer is because I could never have my yarn look like this. My time is better spent listening to the yarn and manipulating it into various shapes.

I will cast on for the white tie next week, which will feature a cabled pine tree in its center.

My plan is to complete the pattern with just 2 of the 9 ties being knitted. If we wait for me to complete knitting all 9 ties, there won't be enough days left for any knitter to purchase the pattern and complete the skirt before Christmas is here. Additionally, I will offer the pattern at a discount, since it will take a small leap of faith from the knitter to believe that the 2 knitted ties make up a 50-inch diameter tree skirt.

Baby Flick's Quilt is Finished

I had promised that I would finish Baby Flick's quilt before she was born. It was getting down to the wire! She is due to arrive on Tuesday.

I finished the quilt on Thursday night. (I'm so grateful she didn't arrive early. Of course, her mom wishes she would come a month ago.)

Here are the many pictures of it.

The 'F' is for the baby's last name. (The child's sex was unknown when I was picking colors and patterns). After finding the dragon panels, I designed the quilt around them.

The F and the Dragon panels were hand quilted. The rest of the quilt was machine quilted using the stitch-in-the-ditch method. The binding was made from the green fabric used to frame the 'F'. I stitched it to the front and hand-tacked it to the back.

I had a great time making it! I can't wait to start my next one - an Americana quilt for my nephew.

AWOL for a week and look what happens!

Dan needed the laptop at work last week. Although, I still have Hal at home with me, he is 10 years old now. He can still make a mean excel spreadsheet, but crashes and burns when the latest Google products are opened. So, I have been unable to check my gmail account and update my blog. I've also slipped behind on my blog reading (137 posts behind!).
And I have much to tell you. Apparently, if you take away the computer, I can get a lot done.
Funny how that is.
Here goes - this is the first of 4 posts today.

Chicken Paprika recipe

Since Dan complemented me several times on this dish, I thought I should share it. He's a man willing to eat anything put in front of him, but it is rare that he raves about a dish.

Chicken Paprika recipe

4 cups shredded, cooked chicken, preferably leftovers from a whole chicken

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. olive oil, mild

2 tsp. paprika

1 cup sour cream

2 tbsp. white wine or chicken stock or water

salt and pepper to taste

Heat butter and oil in a saute pan. Toss in onion and saute until golden and tender. Add chicken and paprika. Stir occasionally till heated through. Add sour cream and wine (or substitute). Add additional wine if you desire sauce to be thinner. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Serve immediately over hot noodles.

Pumpkin Pie recipe

After my last attempt to make fresh pumpkin from a neck pumpkin, I wasn't sure if I would be able to muster up the energy to do it again. After staring at the neck pumpkin for approx 3 weeks, I caved. My FIL requested that I bring a dessert to the upcoming mini family reunion. Dan suggested that I make the pumpkin pie again, since it turned out so well last time. It is his favorite pie after all and he only gets it a few times a year. With a host of reasons like that, how could I resist?

Without further ado, here is the recipe for Pumpkin Pie.

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 large eggs

2 cups mashed pumpkin

1.5 cups heavy cream

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.

Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar mixture. Gradually stir in heavy cream.

Pour into an unbaked pie shell.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional hour or until pie filling is set.

Cool to room temperature and then transfer to refrigerator.

Note: This pie is best if left to chill for 24 hours before eating.

Mohair Stole Blocking

The mohair stole is downstairs in the basement on top of the ping pong table being blocked. Even though I've poked at it and prodded it and glared down at it, it's still not dry. It's making me wait. I hate waiting.

To make me feel like I've made progress on it, I took pictures. Thanks to the lack of natural sunlight, the pictures are dark and difficult to assess.

Well, I feel better. I won't bother it for at least an hour.

Finished Knitting the Mohair Stole

Weeee! I just finished knitting the Mohair Stole and weaving in the rest of the ends!

As you may recall, this is an xmas present for my MIL. I'm 1.5 months early. I've never been so prepared and organized. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself on Christmas morning. It's been tradition to get up at 3am to finish whatever project I have still on the needles. Maybe I'll get up anyway and make waffles, eggs, and bacon.

Here are 2 pics before blocking. (Post blocking pics will have to come much later. I imagine the mohair is going to take a million years to dry).

If you are eyeing the lovely, golf-green rugs, please understand that they came with the house. The house was decorated back in the 1970's and as far as I can tell - never altered again. Slowly but surely, we are moving the rugs to find gorgeous hardwood floors underneath. In the meantime, we're going for a kitsch decor. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Happy Halloween

I was trying to give my pumpkin a Fu Manchu. Despite my failed attempt, he's still cute.

Despite having gangsters, superheroes, Minny Mouse, pirates, and train engineers stop by last night, I still have half a bowl of candy leftover. Thankfully, I had ignored Dan's doubts over my candy supply. If it was up to him, I'd have a whole bowl leftover.

What to do with all this leftover candy? I suppose the traditional answer is to eat it, but we're not big candy eaters. I like my chocolate straight and dark. So instead, I plan to try out a new recipe I found in our Pottstown Mercury newspaper: Peppermint Pattie Brownies. The last time I snuck mint into the brownies, it wasn't very good. Yet, hopes are high.

PS. I only have 7 more rows to knit on the Mohair Stole before it is done!