THE REST OF THE STORY

I used reverse crochet to make an edging for the afghan after adding two more rows.  It now measures 42" x 48" of scrap yarn.  

And we even sorted through 4 large totes of yarn to keep only the truly useful skeins and have the new closet shelves organized!  

I'm glad I used quite a bit of yarn, too!

Recently CityMouseQuilter posted her lemon shortbread cookies 

and she was kind enough to share her recipe with me. 

 I didn't roll out my cookie dough but rather made small balls of dough to bake them. Let me tell you that of the 20 cookies that were made, only one is left!  They were that good!!!  

Thank you for sharing the recipe and sharing the lemony goodness!

 

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Proof I do know how to do some baking!   

Just one top was bound...

but I did attach all of the red around the gingerbread top

 and found fabric for the backing from the stash.

I loaded the snowflakes quilt on the frame and did start to quilt it.

I was ready for my recliner after all of the standing and to dig into this new adventure!  Have you seen this new release yet?  It is a continuous color changing yarn that makes a granny square with only the beginning and ending tails to work in!  

I will admit to a bit of trial and error in working the gauge to match the color change just right but it is easy enough to fudge a bit with the granny pattern to make it work out!  Each skein will make 14 squares so I bought several skeins for an afghan!  This will be a very relaxing project over the next few weeks!

Merry Christmas Eve!

 

Curcuma Beauty

 Look at how beautiful this plant it is!

It is a perennial; 

one I had never heard of but I loved the height and long blooming time for this plant.

It is doing great and I love learning about a new plant!

 Here is something I don't do too often--bake!

It is a Ghirardelli Brownie mix--Caramel Turtle--but you put the mix into cupcake papers,

saving the caramel for the frosting. 

 The recipe is on the box--it has been tempting me for months so

I gave it a go today when my youngest son and family came for a visit today--it was beyond superb!

Give it a try!

And after a day of snuggles, fun and swimming,

I enjoyed a good sit and knit on my socks that will never end!

As Eclectic as Always

I dyed the sample skein of the mystery wool and tried to make it the same color blue which I accomplished but the skein might not have enough black added.   

I can always make it darker but if it is too dark, I will be kind of stuck.The blues blend perfectly but I am not sure about the dark factor.  I am going to look at it and think about it for a few days.

                            

I cut the golden weaving off the loom.  This is the pile of warp waste is known as thrums.  I threw them away this time but in the Spring will save them for the birds to use as nesting material.

I laid the clotht outside to see the color variations caused by the manipulation of the handpainted warp that I used.  This was inspired from a recent issue of HandWoven magazine.  Plain weave 8/2 pearl cotton weft in gold and Araucania cotton yarn for the warp.  I think Nyki approves!

Here it is after I tossed it into the washer and dryer.  It shrank very little but the weave did tighten up.  It feels very smooth.  I think it is going to become a backpack next week!

I made two loaves of Friendship Bread-also known as 10-Day Amish Bread. This time I added a can of pineapple and walnuts.  All I can say is wow!  If you want the recipe, just ask for it in the comments and I will be glad to send you a pdf.  I used to make this a long time ago and Caleb asked for some recently so I got the recipe from my Mom and have been fermenting several different batches on the counter many weeks now.  This combination is the all time best!

 On the knitting front, I finished David's vest using the fingering weight yarn from KnitPick's Palette line of yarn.  I am thinking of adding a stripe at the front of the chest.  I had planned on doing that and forgot to during the knitting.  I would use duplicate stitch to add it now.  Another decision I will defer....

Update Alert

I added pics to the old post (Feb 12) about the trailer Jim Millis is staying at if you want to go back and see them! Thanks!




Will get back to the cookies I am making...wish I could share some good smell with you!