Year of Projects: week 4

Sunday means check in time for my knitting year of projects undertaking! My list is here, and so far, I have completed 2 things from it!!!

This week I was able to complete the little Acacia I was making for baby Amelia. This is the project that I stretched my abilities with a bit, resizing a pattern written for fingering weight yarn into one where I could use my dk cotton which I had previously purchased.
I did it!
I think it looks great....




As far as my Colonnades shawl, things have stalled a bit.This week I really pushed to get the Acacia finished--and then on top of juggling knitting time between the 2 projects, I ran into a little snafu....I found that instead of 2 stitches in my center column, I had 3!!! Well, that would not do at all, so I did what it seems many knitters found themselves doing....un-knitting. Four rows which had to be knit and purled back.

I was not a happy camper.

Next up, along with the shawl continuation, I will be starting Amelia's little Milo vest which will match the one made for her big sister.

I am looking forward to seeing what everyone else accomplished this week.
*smiles*

Grandy #2

So SeRiOuS

Amelia Kay
3 months old

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce over at At Home With Books. Link up over there and have fun visiting other snapshots!

recipe time!

Hello!

I am happy to report that one week into eating, while keeping the Glycemic Index in mind, has been fairly succussful! There have been a few slip ups, but I keep telling myself, "just one day at a time". I really need to plan my food for when I am at work, which is time consuming but it keeps me from doing the mindless snacking we tend to do at our desks each day.

I also want to say thanks for all the encouraging comments last Saturday--they were all very much appreciated!

I have another website to share with you today. She is a local (to Seattle!) gal, who lost 135 pounds and is now grappling with the idea of maintaining and living as a thin person. She has a very fresh, down to earth practical writing style--Can You Stay For Dinner? is her blog.

I am sharing one of her recipes today, which will be on my menu plan next week---they look totally yum!

(Picture and recipe from Andie at Can You Stay For Dinner? )













Spicy Garlic and Lime Black Bean Enchiladas:

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 15 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, more or less depending on spice preference
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 10 small flour tortillas
• 1 15 oz can red enchilada sauce
• 1 cup freshly grated pepper jack cheese

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until melted, add onion and pepper and saute for 4 minutes, until beginning to soften.
2. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
3. Stir in the fire roasted tomatoes, lime, sugar, cumin, cayenne, and cilantro. Let simmer for 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
4. Stir in black beans and rice. Remove from heat.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread half of the enchilada sauce across the bottom of a 13×9” greased baking dish.
6. On a clean work surface, lay your tortillas in a single layer. Divide the vegetable and bean mixture among the tortillas, roll each into a long cylinder and place seam-side-down in the prepared baking dish. Fit each rolled enchilada snugly beside one another.
7. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce across the rolled enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese. Tent the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and let the cheese bubble and brown for 5 additional minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.

(NOTE: This recipe is not necessarily a glycemic friendly food)

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads each week and offers a unique way to merge booking with cooking! Go check out her blog and see what other people have linked up with today.

Year of Projects: week 3

My knitting is still rolling along, and yes, I am still hooked! I haven't finished a project this week, but I think I am a true knitter now--I have 2 totally different projects on the needles at one time.

I got a little distracted this week while working on Millie's Acacia, by the deep desire to start my Stephen West shawlette, Little Colonnades. So I have worked a little bit on each ...

I am loving this Madeline Tosh yarn, but boy knitting with fingering weight takes a long time. I bought lace point Addi Turbo lace points and they are divine to work with.

I find myself knitting away and feeling pretty proud of my progress and then I stop to count, and realize my increases still need to get me to double the size it is now! :)

(Do you like my yarn bling?? These little acorn stitch markers were given to me by a co-worker, knitting friend. I have a strong affinity for stitch markers and find myself drawn to them on Etsy quite often!)

As far as Millie's Acacia, I finished all the yoke gathers on the front and back, have joined it in the round, and have begun the body part, which is straight knit stitch, round and round, row after row! Definitely t.v. knitting!

Really feeling the need to push through and finish this top for Millie before summer is over--although this weekend is the first we have had temps worthy to be considered summer since the 4th of July---

Have a great week!

Catcher in Red

Our Sam
He plays with such heart, and passion and drive.
We love to watch him play-and we are so proud of him!

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce over at At Home With Books. Link up over there and have fun visiting other snapshots!

LiFsTyLe ChAnGe

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads each week and offers a unique way to merge booking with cooking! Go check out her blog and see what other people have linked up with today.

Good Saturday, everyone! I have missed posting to Weekend Cooking, but am squeezing in a quick post before I head into the office for a bit. You see, I took yesterday off and played with the family, and now I must pay! Just because I wasn't at my desk does not mean the work stopped piling up on it...

Well as I stated in a post last week, I received some not very happy inducing lab results from my doctor recently. Nothing I didn't know deep down in denial land was probably going on, but to see those results in black and white did upset me and has given me a little bit of a push to start eating and living as I know I should. My cholesterol is beginning to creep up and my glucose too. The glucose is the part that really scares me. I have family history on both sides of diabetes, my mother being the most recent to be diagnosed.

My husband and I are both committed to losing weight together, and part of that plan is walking every night after dinner. Already, after 3 weeks, I can feel my legs and back are stronger and we are taking our little circuit around the block at a much faster clip. In fact we are just about ready to add some more distance to our route.

I am also on a mission to learn to really watch and cut out as many carbs and fat as possible, while trying to increase whole grains when applicable. But oh how I miss my carbs, even though my love of them is why I am so overweight!

My book portion of this post, is to spotlight a couple of books I checked out from the library. I have not had much time to really dig into them, yet, but am wondering if any of you have looked at them, are in the same boat as I am with this lifestyle, weight loss thing? Do you have a book you like that you could recommend with some good low carb/reasonable fat recipes. (so many times when the carbs are taken out, the fat is increased and vice-versa).

Do you have any helpful websites??? I do have one to share real quick. It is skinnytaste.com. Her recipes are fresh and exciting and she gives all the nutritional information so you know whether the recipe will work for you or not. Many of her recipes are healthy make-overs of not so healthy favorite dishes!

On to the books, click cover to go to Amazon's page:




(After perusing this one a bit, I think it is my favorite. I can't wait to get into it a bit further)










(Looks promising with some decent recipes_











(This book tends to be a bit controversial in the reviews on Amazon, so I am reading with caution)







Ha! So much for a "quick" post!
Please share with me your thoughts....
*smiles*

My Daybook

Outside my window:Little bit cloudy, little bit sunny, but the sun is going down quickly. Dear husband and I are getting ready to go out for our nightly walk with the dog.

I am thinking: How sad I am that my daughter and granddaughters will probably be moving to the other side of the state this Fall. :(

I am listening to: Nat King Cole radio on Pandora

I am grateful for: good eye doctors

I am reading: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (still!!!)

I am photographing: My 3 boys last weekend, out celebrating Austen's 19th birthday.




I am listing: I need to organize my knitting needles and store them in such a way that I can easily see what I own.

I am creating: The little top, previously shown in a post, for Amelia and a shawl I just began for myself....Little Colonnades. This will be the first thing I have created for myself!

I am hoping and praying: As much as I don't want my daughter and her little family to move, I know it is their heart's desire....so I am hoping and praying they can find housing soon--maybe even purchase their own home.

Around the house: I have mounds and mounds of laundry to fold....will I get to it or not? The husband and I have been watching through the seasons of Bones. We are into season 2 and loving it. Maybe I will veg out, watching another episode and knitting?!

From the kitchen: I have been cutting carbs and fat from the menu plans after some not very fun lab work I had completed a month ago. I hope to write about it in a Weekend Cooking post.

One of my favorite things this week: Well, this will sound a bit bizarre, but my favorite thing was my husband saving my life! I choked on some corn on the cob-really and truly choked and he rushed to me and performed the Heimlich Procedure. It really works!

The child this week: Child back from China, was notified he got a job at IKEA! (He worked there throughout high school and college) The birthday boy ordered his longed for Longboard and it arrived yesterday. The baby of the 3, has been working outside for a lady from church and earning some much needed money. He is also the last of the kids, thankfully, to go on the drug accutane for acne. The goal is to be mostly acne free in 9-10 months.

Plans for the week: Tomorrow, I took the day off from work. We are going to a matinee showing of Harry Potter. Then in the evening, my life saving husband and I are going into downtown Seattle for dinner and then to the 5th Avenue theater to see the musical, Aladdin. Yup! A real grown up date.

Fun from the 'net:

A week of un-knitting...

Okay then--
I wrote about my list and the joining of the group here, and I have to say that when I first was planning my projects I thought a year sounded like such a long time, but here we are at week 3 already and it is time to post an update again. I really had planned to update my blog with another post (after Wednesday's) about a topic other than yarn and knitting. Oh well, I shall try to find a bit more balance this next week! I must say though, that as I have gotten more confident with my knitting over the past 3 years, the more of a stress reliever it has become.

This week found me still working on baby Millie's tiny little Acacia. This is the one I previously wrote about, noting that I was resizing the pattern to use the type of yarn I had purchased for it. So far I think my math is coming out correctly and it might even fit her- although the little chunky monkey is growing like a weed.



















I really thought I would have had this finished to show you this weekend, but I ran into a few little problems with inattention on my part while reading the pattern. This resulted in needing to unknit/unpurl 4 rows, two times! Yikes! I was thankful I caught the errors before I had 8 or 9 rows completed. A sign that my skill level is increasing is that I was able to successfully undo those rows without any problems. Most amazing to me was being able to undo the row that had been knit all the way across in a k2tog pattern!!!! Tricky, very tricky!



















In this second picture you can see the part I have been working on this week on the left side of the garment-it is the back yoke and the right side is the front yoke, with shoulder straps being the long skinny sections. I cannot rave about this pattern enough, from Georgie Hallem. Seamless and top down patterns are her specialty!

I hope this next week finds me finished with this project and started on my Little Colonnade Shawl (first project ever for me!) and the little Milo vest for Amelia I need to make to match the one I made her big sister. These are Fall garments for the girls, but with the cruddo weather we are having here in the great Northwest, they could be wearing them now!!

For now, I am off to celebrate my middle boy's 19th birthday with lunch out at a restaurant--then home to knit to my little heart's content. All household chores were completed yesterday!

a bit of me

Ginny from Small Things, hosts a weekly Wednesday event called Yarn Along. This is what she says:

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~

I couldn't agree more! I still love reading, and I sure have discovered a new found love in the art of knitting. I have been thinking lately why I am feeling so addicted to knitting and this is what I think: Way back in time, when I was a young girl in my teens I was a bookworm. I read everything and was reading all the time. As I got a little older, got married and became a young mom, reading began to take a bit of a back seat. Don't get me wrong--I still read, just not as obsessively. I learned to sew at that time and took great pleasure in creating clothes for my wee ones. Around that time, I came upon a very popular art at the time, that of cross-stitch. I would stay up late and watch tv, cross-stitching to my heart's content, as my young little family slept.
It truly was an outlet for stress--and I took great pleasure in my accomplishments---

Then the busy, crazy school years began.
I home-schooled, we read.
A lot.

The tragedy of 9-11 occurred during that time, and something snapped. I began not watching tv anymore and just spending time reading every single evening--and cross-stitching fell by the wayside. My eyes got older but I only liked cross-stitching on linen and it was hard to see and concentrate at night. I really wanted to just escape in my books.

I re-entered the workplace and frankly, after dinner and homework (no longer home-schooling the younger 2) and bed times, I did not have the eye stamina to work on my projects in the lighting in our house at night. I put it away.

I dabbled in quilting--but had such high expectations for myself in this, that it just wasn't all that fun. Added to the frustration was the fact I did not have a space in our small home to leave a quilting project up while not working on it.

Reading became my favorite choice of past times--and then I began blogging too. I have "met" so many wonderful people and bookish friends because of it. But deep down, I missed creating--I missed the thrill of a finished project---

And then....a knitting class at a local yarn shop, given to me as a gift from my knitter daughter, began my new love. It is portable and can be taken anywhere with me. I can see to do it at night--(with the help of my bifocals!), and it relieves stress. Something within me clicked--something within me was thrilled to be creating again.

So dear readers, books will still be featured on my blog, but they will share the spotlight with my creations, and more of my life and family. I hope you aren't disappointed by this, but if you choose to stop reading, I will understand.

I will miss you though.

For today--I am showing you the little Acacia top I am making for Amelia--and I am sharing a photo of the one I finished last week being modeled by my sweet Adelaide.







In the book world--still reading Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. Even though it is taking me a ridiculously long time to finish this book, I am letting go of the pressure and expectation to be a quick reader--to keep up with all the other reader/bloggers I follow--to just relax and enjoy the story. Little bits at a time for now! It is an excellent story--with such rich characters--just a bit slow at times.

So--that is my Wednesday offering. What are you reading? What are you creating?
*smiles*

Project #1 Completed!

Hello dear readers and knitters.

Sunday is the day to post a little update on how we are doing with our yarn along projects. I feel pretty good about my knitting week. As you can see, I was able to finish the Acacia top in blue for my sweet Grandy, Adelaide and I hope to give it to her tomorrow evening when we get to babysit her. Maybe I will be able to get some modeled shots of her in it. I had also previously purchased a pair of white shorts for her to wear under it.



I was also able to cast on a pretty rosey/pink Acacia for baby Amelia and hope to have this done before they all go on vacation next weekend. It will be very warm where they are going, and sweet cotton tops will be just the ticket. I am having to modify this smaller version, as the infant sizes on the pattern are meant to be done in fingering weight yarn, and I already had some of this gorgeous dk pima cotton I wanted to use. So, I am attempting to size the pattern down from 12 months to 6 months--this is a new knitting adventure for me, so please wish me luck.

The other knitting news is that my list of patterns for the year has grown by one already! I had a doctor appointment yesterday in a neighboring community, one I don't frequent ever, so imagine my delight when in the process of looking for the freeway to take me home, I stumbled upon a yarn store! I, of course, was compelled to turn around so I could take a little look see inside and was not disappointed. You can see in my photo collage, that lovely ball of fallish colored yarn. It happens to be Madeline Tosh, a yarn that everyone in my neck of the woods is just raving about. I was promised by the sales lady that after I bought my first skein of this yarn, I would be hooked forever. As I was perusing the shelves, I saw a shawlette, draped across a display which I fell in love with. It is the Little Colonnade, and I hope to have it completed,using that yummy tosh yarn in time for fall. I sit at a front desk at work, and when chilly weather arrives we are hit constantly with it every time the clinic door opens. I am excited about this project as it will be the first thing I have really knit for myself.

Well, that is about it for me this week. I hope you enjoyed my little yarn along commentary!

daybook

Outside my window: Birds chirping, sun shining!

I am thinking: How I need to get off the computer and go make dinner

I am listening to: Nat King Cole radio on Pandora

I am grateful for: Eyeglasses with the correct prescription for each eye!

I am reading: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

I am photographing: Here are some shots from the 4th of July--collage style..


I am listing: I have been listing knitting projects I would like to complete between now and July 2012. I am participating in the Year Of Projects group on Ravelry.

I am creating: Still working on the Acacia tops for the Grands which I highlighted here...

To live my faith: Church tomorrow...

I am hoping and praying: I am praying for the daughter of an old friend who lost her baby this week at 16 weeks.

Around the house: I have dusted and vacuumed and straightened up--feels good!

From the kitchen: I received test results this month that have challenged me to drastically change how I am eating. A new food blog I found has been helpful in finding new yummy recipes---Skinny Taste.com. Thanks to my daughter for sharing this find with me. :)

One of my favorite things this week: Seeing my son riding the escalator up to us from customs at the airport. He has been gone since early September to China for the 2nd year. He is home to stay for a while this time....



The children this week: Andrew is looking fast and furious for a job and trying to shake the jet lag, Austen will be celebrating his 19th birthday, and Sam is helping out at Vacation Bible School each morning.

Plans for the week: For me: work, knit, go to Sam's playoff baseball game.

SaTuRdAy SnApShOt

(click photo to enlarge)

Backyard pool fun at Mimi and Poppy's house! I used to love having these little pools in our yard when my own kids were little. We just had to get one for our little sweetie. She loved it!

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce over at At Home With Books. Link up over there and have fun visiting other snapshots!
(sorry-I couldn't just pick one this week!)

Yarn Along

With my recent foray into the world of yarn and knitting needles I have discovered a sweet little blog whose author loves to knit and to read. Her thought? Why not combine the two loves into one weekly blogging event. She calls it Yarn Along--and encourages us to share what we are knitting and what we are reading! This is a feature for Wednesdays, but what can I say? I am always a bit late!

So without further ado, here is my offering!




I am reading a selection on my Kindle-- Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. It is taking me forever to finish this book, and there really is not good reason, other than I have spent more time in the evenings knitting and by the time I start reading, my eyes are too tired to read for very long. I have heard so many good things about this book, and I am enjoying it--just a bit slowly. I always do enjoy books sent in England!


I am knitting two little sleeveless tops for my Grandy's. The blue one is for Adelaide, and the orangey-red one is for baby Amelia. I am knitting like crazy to get them done, so they can wear them before summer is over here in the Great Northwest! I am using a pattern called Acacia by my favorite designer, Georgie Hallam. The yarn is a Pima Cotton by Cascade. It is lovely to knit with and has nice little shine to it--makes it seem that much more summery to me.

So, what are you reading? What are you creating?
*smiles*

Knitting: (the other joys of life)

Here is a shock---I am joining a year long knitting challenge! It is being organized and run over on Ravelry and I thought, "hmmmm, why not?" I love to knit, and have "in real life" knitting friends--something I don't have in the reading part of my life. We get together and knit every Tuesday after work--sometimes in an empty room at work, and sometimes at Panerea, so we can get some dinner too! We have a great time visiting and eating and knitting and helping each other with our projects--the skill level is quite varied. It truly is a highlight to my week.

Anyway-- on to The Project Challenge:

What we will be doing:

July 1st, today, we are posting our pattern of choices for all to see. This is supposed to be a loose and fun challenge--changing patterns mid-year is allowed--thankfully, as I know there are a few pattern by my favorite designer being released through out this upcoming year. Some folks are knitting through a whole book, or a part of a book, or any set of patterns you put together based on your own criteria.

Me?

I am mixing it up a bit. Some patterns have been on my favorite list over on Ravlery, and some are patterns I have purchased at my local yarn shop. I tried to mix it up a bit--some stuff for myself, some for gifts, and some for my Grandgirls, Adelaide and Amelia.

Every Sunday we are encouraged to blog about our current project and the progress we have made, or not made as the case may be! I am looking forward to this challenge and developing new skills along the way. I hope you not only enjoy this year of posts, but find inspiration to be creative within your own little corner of the world!

My Projects:

1. Batkus Scarf
2. Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat--for Julie at work: Finished
   
3. Urban Chill Neck Warmer (not on Ravelry-no photo available)
   
4. Little Knitted Acorn Bag
5. Brulee Scarf (or shawl pattern from my personal library-no photo)
   
6. Fingerless Gloves ~~~( a personal pattern-no photo)
7. Fingerless Gloves~~Knit Purl Hunter KAL
   
8. Milo (for Amelia)--Finished!
   
9. Accacia Adelaide)--Finished!
10. Accacia for Amelia--Finished
    
11. Paige BabyDoll (Adelaide)
    
12. IvyAnna (for Adelaide)
13. Olearia Sweater (for Adelaide)
14. Little Butterflies (for Amelia)
15. Sucky Thumb Mitts
    
16. The Regular Guy Beani(2 plus a hat from a magazine, all for my 3 sons) --Finished
    
17. Spring Butterfly (1 for each: Amelia and Adelaide)
18. Pumpkin Hat (Adelaide)-Finished 2x'
19. Ball Band Washcloths for Christmas gifts
20. Little Colonnade (for me)--Finished
21. Boheme for Amelia--Finished
22. Optional patterns by Georgie to be released throughout the coming year.

Add Ons:

* Girl's Best Cardigan by Georgie Hallam.
* Shaelyn Shawl--- by Leila Raabe Designs: Finished
* Waffle Knit Dishcloth by Deb -Finished one for Christmas, should do about 6 more for gifts next year!
Triplicity (Knit Along)--Finished
Winter Buzz Mitts (Knit Along)

(click to enlarge)

If you click the banner at the top of this post, and in those pertaining to the project in the future, you will be taken to my page on Ravelry dedicated to this project. (I think you need to be a member of Ravelry first...)
Wish me luck.....