Around the house

I really love this house.

It has lots of charm.

This garland is from my pen-pal.

Did you know I am in the LWA?

Powder room doorknob...with no lock.

I actually didn't notice until

someone asked about it

the other day.

We have two of these windows...

I used to think this ceiling in the living room

was too dark.

But now it reminds me of the ceiling in church

and it's growing on me.

Rainbow Trader Joe's lemonades...

Orange

I found some orange around the house.

I've been loving orange lately.

I love that the word ORANGE 

is just on the edge of this photo.

I even thought it would be a good color

for the tiny downstairs powder room.

Mr. votes N.O.

But I am still leaning that way...

April Fool's!

See this innocent bowl of cereal?

Looks good, doesn't it?

It's F.R.O.Z.E.N.

April Fool's!

Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day Parade 2012

We braved the crowds 

and went to the parade.

In the train, we were packed 

like a Russian suitcase full of Levi's.

Standing room only.

Folks entertained the crowd

while they waited.

I guess it was a good time to get my 15 minutes of fame.

Too bad I never learned to juggle.

Or ride a unicycle.

My career at the circus is stalled.

We made the sisters wake at 8am.

On a Saturday.

The only thing that made Sister happy

was this sign

which I think she loves because it antagonizes her father.

She's a rebel.

Lookie at that nice family!

The bishop and cardinal were both there.

And, Mr. Joe Biden!

Plenty of secret service guarded him.

That's our Flat Kane! 

We were hosting him from the U.P.

One of the interesting factoids learned at the parade:

The U.S. has more bagpipes than Ireland.

And I think they were all at the parade.

Folks really got into it.

Especially this guy.

And he wasn't the only one with a green beard.

All in all, lots of fun.

Temps in the 70's (YAY!)

Sunny (Double YAY!)

23,000 in the parade

250,000 spectators

2 bags of Pittsburgh Popcorn Factory popcorn

Lunch at Noodles

Ice cream at Betsy's

I'd do it again.

On My Needles

I am experiencing a baby boom.

I thought it would be a good idea

 to make a baby blanket.

It's pretty...

but I'm sort of hating it.

I think it's tedious.

And heavy.

I'm committed though.

Here's the pattern:

Cast on 110 stitches.

K1P1 (seed stitch) for 6 rows.

K1, P1 for first 6 stitches of row 7, 

then knit until the last 6 stitches, ending with 6 seed stitches.

Next row: seed stitch 6 stitches, 

purl to the last 6 stitches, seed stitch.

A lovely seed stitch border

surrounds stripes of stockinette stitches.

Lovely.

But I am already tired of it.

 I also have this on waiting...

which I am EAGER to knit.

But as it is a holiday gift,

it must wait.

Babies come first.

Mr. needs a homemade baby gift

for a friend.

I bought this lovely yellow yarn,

originally for another blanket.

But I am wondering 

if it will be a 

baby sweater instead.

I'll keep you posted.

More socks

So, based on the Frankenstein-like look of the last socks,

I decided a REAL gift was in order.

I right away got going knitting with GOOD sock yarn.

I bought it for 29% off

at my yarn store's Leap Day Sale.

I wish I could move into my yarn store.

Not bad, right?

Can you tell I am getting better?

I loved the way the yarn looked when it was wound in a ball.

The stripes...

a little weird.

But, who wouldn't think that getting TWO pairs

 of homemade socks for Christmas

was a great thing?

Even if one is more than a bit wonky.

Socks

I have wanted to knit socks

for about 10 years.

I even bought sock yarn.

Good thing it isn't wool, 

or the moths would have had a feast!

I finally decided to knit up that yarn 

(now that I am an Amy's Sock Class Grad).

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough to make a second!

I knitted anyway,

and patched the rest of the sock together 

with lovely scraps from other projects.

The pair...

with an OBVIOUS right and left sock.

When you wear them with shoes,

the patchy sock will not be obvious.

They're a Christmas gift,

for the only person I know

who would appreciate them.  

Luckily, though she might be my biggest fan,

she never reads the blog!

March Celebrations

Happy Pi Day!

(get it?  3.14?)

Actually, it was yesterday.

We celebrated.  

With pot pie for dinner.

The fam was pretty bitter

that there was no dessert pie.

But I think we have no shortage of sugar in this house.

Today is the Ides of March.

You know, 

the day Caesar was murdered.

From Shakespeare:

Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant only taste of death once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems most strange to me that men should fear death,
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.—

What say the fortune-tellers?

Guess what we'll be talking about at dinner tonight.

Guacamole

I like to make guacamole.

But I have never used 

this recipe!

I use:

avocado,

onion,

tomato,

cilantro,

jalapeno,

cumin,

and lime juice.

I could eat it all day!

Leftovers

One thing I learned about knitting socks:

it takes about 100 grams for one pair.

No matter the weight of the yarn.

So, if you are traveling,

and you are weird enough

to visit a yarn store while on vacation 

(like I am)

you can buy souvenir yarn,

even if you don't have a project in mind.

After all, 

you could end up with a pair of souvenir socks!

And look what I made with the leftovers:

A coffee cozy!

Mr.'s sister invests in Starbucks.

Every day.

One tall chai latte, please!

I thought she could use one of these.

I just LOVE the way this yarn knitted up.

I had enough to send another to my pen pal.

Pattern is from 

More Last Minute Knitted Gifts

and took me about 40 minutes to make.

It was so easy, 

I might make a bunch...

just to use up my leftover yarn.

Socks

This is a cake of yarn.

Pretty.

After 3 classes,

each 2 weeks apart 

(so we have time to complete the homework)

and 5 newly learned techniques,

I made this:

My first pair of socks!

I'm pretty proud.

They look like socks,

they feel like socks,

and they fit like socks.

I sent them to Granny for her birthday.

Did I mention that I'm pretty proud?

Mail!

This teeny tiny present came in the mail.

I loved who it was wrapped.

So for two weeks it sat,

lovely,

in my kitchen window.

It looks like a bar of soap,

doesn't it?

I finally opened it.

It feels so soft and smooth,

like baby skin.

It smells of beeswax.

Mmmmmm!

And in the light,

it practically GLOWS.

Careful stitching on the binding...

And beautiful cover.

I'm using it for memorable quotes.

So far it says:

Defeat what works AGAINST love.

We protect what we love.

I'm working on filling it up.

Thanks Erin!

Chickens

Some years ago,

Aunt Nancy gave me this

adorable little chicken

to cover a plastic Easter egg.

She thought I could make some of my own.

I have decided to clean up my house,

 including my yarn stash,

and I had some purple leftovers.

I made this little gal:

She still needs a beak and a comb,

but I think it looks pretty good.

Here's how I did it:

Using sport weight yarn and size 6 needles,

Cast on 30 stitches.

I used 2 circular needles as I just learned this technique

 in my sock knitting class,

 but you can use double-pointed needles as well.

Work in K1 P1 for 6 rows.

(1 inch)

Then, switch to stockinette stitch for 9 rows.

(1 1/2 inch)

You can see in the original chicken

was garter stitch,

but my chicken ins a city chicken and 

she wanted a more sophisticated stitch.

(HA!  My chicken is full of herself.)

You can bind off 18 and stitch them together, 

or...

I put them on a stitch saver 

and later closed ALL my stitches with the kitchener stitch

because I learned it in my sock class.

It's up to you!

Continue knitting 12 stitches 

for the neck and head for 5 rows.

(1 inch)

Again, now you either bind off

or now you can kitchener stitch everything,

if you are a show off 

and want to impress your friends

with your mad kitchener skills.

Find some scrap yarn

 to mix with your actual yarn,

and jazz your gal up 

with some BIG CITY tail,

find a plastic Easter egg,

(preferably one filled with chocolate)

and add the beak, comb, and eyes 

and Cluck Cluck! 

You got yourself a swell Easter treat.

I gotta go...my chicken is asking for a beak, eyes, and comb.

She's the bossiest of chickens,

I can already tell.

Pay It Forward 2012...gifts!

Erin started Pay It Forward 2012

I wanted one of her handmade gifts 

(who doesn't?)

so I posted it.

I'm not an artist 

but I noticed LOTS of the participants are.

I hope they aren't disappointed.

I decided to KNIT.

Because I love it.

I knitted bracelets for my gifts.

Unfortunately, I was so eager to send out the gifts,

I forgot to photograph the first one!

Done in fingering weight,

seed stitch.

The sisters campaigned HARD for them.

To no avail, they were mailed promptly

to the participants.

Love: the menu

I know...

Two weeks late.

Here is our Valentine's Day menu:

Heart-shaped pepperoni

It's expensive,

but totally worth it for LOVE.

Placed carefully onto homemade

heart-shaped pizza dough,

a little wine for the grown-ups...

Sister lit the candles...

Viola!

Dinner that says LOVE.

Yum!

Then, 

Red velvet cake for dessert.

Pizza choices:

Mr. chose onions, mushrooms, olives, pepperoni, cheese

Sister chose pepperoni, onions, cheese

Sister Too had mushrooms, onions, pepperoni, cheese

Mrs. chose onions, fennel, olives, cheese

What's your favorite pizza topping?