hurrayic

Yarn Along: Honey Cowl

Wow!  Ginny's Yarn Along feels like it was just a few days ago...I blink...the week whizzes by.  Are you feeling that way too? 

The puppy dog is finished sans embroidery for the eyes and nose.  I want to practice a bit before adding in his details.  I'm considering using wool felt for the features instead of straight embroidery.  Not sure.  Hope to show you the little guy next week.  My black Annabel is receiving some of my attention too, so I hope to be finishing it within the next two weeks, but we'll see. (the next few months are proving to be busy)

So of course, I cast on another project: the Honey Cowl by Madeline Tosh.  I've had this saved in my Ravelry favorites since August and have seen this roaming around other blogs for several months, and when I saw that my dear friend had started her cowl, I thought I'd join in too.  Obviously I haven't gotten too far, but it looks like it'll be an easy pattern despite the 220 stitches I cast on, frogged, then recast on since my long-tail was not long enough...

For reading, I'm busying myself with homeschooling books. Presently I'm reading aloud Augustus Caesar's World by Genevieve Foster (an Ancient Roman timeframe book told in story form and including all kinds of history that happened around the world during his life span) while the boys are amusing themselves with Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfield.  Unfortunately they insist on referring to one character in the book (Mucius) as 'mucus' :) And so as to not exclude my older two, they just finished reading Hamlet...

Ravelry Info here.

Sewing: Zipper Pouch

For some of you this may be a ho-hum project.  Been there. Done that.  Sewn that.  No big deal.  For me, this was... drum roll, please... my 1st zipper!  Okay, technically not my 1st ever zipper, but my 1st zipper that actually worked.  I tried twice before unsuccessfully years and years ago, and since then, I've skirted the issue.  Anytime I needed to sew a top or bottom or accessory or some item for the home, I would choose a pattern WITHOUT a zipper.

So I decided to try and conquer my 'fear'. 

After rummaging through my sewing supplies, the only zipper I found was a vintage one from a thrift store (I told you I don't do zippers). 

I followed the tutorial from this video and adapted the size of the pouch to the size of my zipper, which is 7".  Within a very short amount of time, I had a pouch with a zipper. Ta da! Pretty nice I thought until...

...I turned it over.  Notice anything wrong with this? 

At least the zipper went well!  I know there's a lot more to zippers than this simple project but one step at a time.  My daughter told me this will probably mean many many zippers in the near future...

 

What about you?  Are you leery about zippers too?  Or are they easy?

 

Enjoying

Happy Monday morning!

I'm enjoying:

sewing a zipper! (more on that later)...

putting the 'slaves' to good use with a fold-the-laundry party and listening to boys(!) turn a mundane task into a 'battle' with their 'attack of the undies!" cries... Only boys do this, right? ...

thinking how glad we are at having taken out the kitchen cabinet several years ago and replacing it with open shelves...

thinking too how lovely all that dust looks on said shelves (sigh. where's that maid again?)...

staring at yet another Lego creation but grateful for his creative mind...

wondering if those are buds atop the pear tree already and loving that bright blue sky...

wondering too if I like or dislike chocolate covered edamame...the jury's still out...

finding the thorns on one of our backyard trees awfully amazing...

rediscovering a few beads for my collection while cleaning (remind me to show you part of my bead collection another time)...

being thankful that we have a backyard despite the overwhelming ugly state of it right now...why yes, you're right, that is a stray brick, a watering can and a rotting pumpkin amid the weeds and leaves that we never raked up during autumn...

listening to my youngest practice practice practice a variation of Go Tell it on the Mountain from this book...

gobbling down Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs (I tweaked and doubled some spices) and definitely adding this to our must-do-again pile...

being thankful that we have a plethora of clothing (albeit some of it a bit stinky) since our washing machine went kaput this weekend (what's that burning smell, dear?) and our dryer is limping along (we have known about this one for awhile but were hoping to milk it a bit more)...this on the heels of lots of other home maintenance...what's that old adage, 'when it rains, it pours'?...This, I am not enjoying right now nor do I want to spend the $ on it right now, but it truly is a small trial in the scheme of life...

So...what are you enjoying?

And...any washer & dryer suggestions? 

I'm a no bells and whistles, workhorse, energy saver, top-loader kind of person...

 

{this moment}**

"Cool, Mom!  I can see the cut on my hand under the microscope!"
"That's nice, sweetie (pause) Wait a minute, what cut?"

 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~ Soule Mama

{this moment}** a single photo with a few accompanying words ~ hurrayic

Enjoy your weekend!

White Beans with Collards and Sausage

Thanks for all the Clara Cowl love yesterday!  And yes, I really need to stop pointing out my flaws.  Old habits die hard, I guess...

This past Saturday was a very busy day for some reason and not enough hours in the day to do all as we had hoped.  Before I realized it, the dinner hour was nearing and nothing had been simmering on the stove or baking in the oven, and I certainly did not want to call for take-out.  I also had a bunch of collard greens in the fridge (which I had originally intended to use for making this recipe again) that needed to be used up, and I remembered that there was some sweet Italian sausage in the freezer...

So I threw some stuff together in the dutch oven...yum!  This is something that we will be doing again.  I wish I had made a double batch of it.

White Beans with Collards and Sausage

6 links sweet Italian sausage, cut into about 1" pieces
olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups sliced celery
4 cans white beans, drained (I used great northern)
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 (32 oz.) carton low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup white wine
salt & pepper
1 tsp chipotle or red pepper flakes (opt)
1 big bunch collards, ribs removed, rolled & cut into ribbons then chopped (kale or spinach would be a good substitute)

In large Dutch oven (or soup pot), brown the sausage in a wee bit of olive oil.  Add onion, garlic, celery and cook a tad more.  Add in everything else except collards.  Stir well to combine and let simmer for about 20 min or so.  Add the collards, stir well to make the collards dip under the liquid.  Cover and let simmer for another 20 min. or until the collards are tender but not mushy.

I served this with whole grain rolls.

We watched  Great Expectations while slurping it up!

 

Yarn Along: Clara Cowl

Joining in again for Ginny's Yarn Along!

I finally finished the Clara Cowl that I had begun before Christmas.  Knitting a very large cable was quite the feat for me; my fingers wrestled with the stitches each time I had to change the cable direction.  But, it's done, and I learned a new stitch/technique, so that's good.

Overall, I like the pattern and the color.  Unfortunately, this will probably get little use this season since it's been unseasonably warm.  But who knows...perhaps we shall see a dip in the temperatures and a bit of snow before springtime? 

Please excuse the bad hair, blotchy-skin day - I seem to be having many of those of late.  And of course, I really dislike having my photo taken...

Reading this week is no different than last week I'm afraid.  Reading aloud lots of books for school, studying cookbooks and glancing at the one craft book I mentioned on Monday. 

What are you knitting and reading? 

Ravelry info here.

Sewing: Ironing Board Cover

Last week, Randi introduced her 2nd Fresh Squeezed Sew Along for 2012: an ironing board cover. This was definitely something that could stand to be redone in my house.  Mine was stained, and when I took off the cover, it tore around the edges of the ironing board.  After finally deciding on fabrics (the hardest part of it all), I sewed it up in a few hours.   I made a new cotton padding (the existing one was pitifully thin) also following Randi's advice.  I think, however, I will make a new cotton padding with thicker cotton so it's a bit more cushiony.  Now...if only I would use the iron more often...

In fact, my 2nd son even asked me once in all seriousness and with such incredulity when he spotted me ironing, "You know how to use that thing?"  

(fyi - my husband irons in our house unless it's sewing related or he's pressed for time)

Who irons in your house?

Enjoying

Happy Monday! 
I'm enjoying...

giggling at my youngest's artistic rendering of my husband...a pretty good likeness I think except my husband does not own a pair of pink pants...

watching new bathroom tile being laid down (did I use lay/lie correctly?  hmm...)

baking a triple batch of banana chocolate bread (and ending up with 4 loaves instead of 3 - good thing!)...

finding it amazing how grown-up my two older ones are...

enjoying my daughter's new haircut and enjoying that's she's liking it now (no more tears)...

squeezing in a little bit of practical sewing...

wishing the bouquet of white tulips and hydrangea lasted a little while longer (leftovers from Valentine's day)...

loving how my two younger boys work well together...mostly...

happy for a new book in the mail and hoping to make more sewing time soon...

thankful to God for a new week ahead...

 

What are you enjoying?

{this moment}** ~ from the archives

From the archives:  "I can do that!"

 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~ Soule Mama

{this moment}** a single photo with a few accompanying words ~ hurrayic

Have a good weekend!

A little felt comes in handy...

You never know when one of those many thrift store felted sweaters (which have been sitting in bins unused for some time now) will come in handy...

like yesterday, in fact...great for our static electricity experiment.

Didn't exactly get the 'wow' results I had hoped (my guess is that the air wasn't as dry?), but the spot of color from the wool sweaters was awfully nice. :)