Cricket in a Biscuit

After all the last minute rushing and prep, Christmas finally arrived! I hope yours was merry. We enjoyed time spent with family, and it was a happy holiday, indeed. With the gifts safely delivered, I can show you what I've been working on. The big knitting project which claimed not one, but two of my interchangeable cables was a baby blanket for my nephew, Cooper, who will be arriving this spring. The pattern by Marie Grace Smith is one I've been wanting to make forever, but I allow Darren's input on a lot of my baby projects, and he kept vetoing this one. One day, though, I walked into Jo-Ann Fabrics and these yarns just called to me. The pattern recommends a solid color, fingering weight. Of course, the yarn I chose is worsted weight, not even close to the same, but they were the perfect neutrals; it just seemed right. The nice thing about blankets, they are a simple shape, so the yarn weight really doesn't matter. Just knit until it is the right size. This blank...

Many years ago, there was a candy shop in Duluth, which was owned by my maternal great-grandfather. Though it has been closed for decades, the candy tradition has been passed down through the family. Every Christmas, we start churning out sweet treats by the pound, which is what I was busy doing this weekend. My sister and I happened to have the same weekend free — anyone else have totally insane December schedule this year?! — and we enjoyed spending the time with our mom. We all use the same core recipes: English toffee, caramel, and chocolate covered cherries, but over time we've each developed our own twist. Mine is sea salt toffee with dark chocolate. My sister likes to add turtles to her selection, and my brother's family has ventured into the white chocolate territory. Last year, my mom found the old family recipe for butterscotch, which was pretty good. I would not be sad if those became a regular feature! You're probably wondering if I'm going to share s...

There comes a time each year when I have to get real about what can actually be accomplished before Christmas. This week was that time. I create so much unneeded stress by trying to do all of the things; it is almost a relief to realize certain things are not going to happen and just let them go. It is possible I could finish my big knitting project by Christmas if I really commit. You might remember from last week , the project was derailed by an interchangeable cable failure. If there is one thing I want to finish in time, it is this project, so I found a way to keep knitting. It isn't pretty, but it works! Instead of one circular needle with a long cable, which would be ideal, I'm using three shorter needles. The first Frankensock , my answer to last week's sock woes, is finished. It fits, which is a nice change, but there is room for improvement. Observing all the feverish sock knitting as of late, the kids each requested a pair of socks for Christmas. That wi...

We are now fully into the holiday season, which, for us, means a lot of time in the car. Thanksgiving was a three-day affair with visits to each set of parents — I'm from a blended family, so I've got two sets. Of course, the eating was celebratory, and far from clean. Getting back on track this week has proven to be a challenge! Choosing to utilize, The 20s, has worked out very well. It has been much easier to stay on track with my workouts than it has with food. The workouts are 20 minutes each and exclusive to Beachbody on-demand. I made a schedule, which includes all the workouts from The 20s series and can be done within the 30-day free trial. The first two weeks look like this.  Oops! The last day of each week was cut off. Week 1 should end with Primal Body 1 by Derick, and Week 2 should end with Revival, beginner by Taylor.  So far, I've been really pleased with the variety and quality of the workouts. If you'd like to try it out, use the abo...

"Don't use your head, and the whole body usually suffers." "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." Two quotes, the first from my grandpa, the second from a high school teacher, which convey the same message; it is incumbent on you to think things through and plan ahead. Failure to do so will result in consequences which are yours to handle. The paradigm shifts, however, when you are married and/or have kids. Poor planning on the part of one — or both — can have implications with a broader reach. We were hit with a pretty big snowstorm on Friday, 17.2 inches before 3 o'clock in the afternoon. It was not a surprise storm — we had several days warning, but still we were unprepared, and there were consequences. Fortunately, none were serious, and we learned some good lessons. First lesson: When a storm is coming, move the vehicles off the street before there is a foot of wet, heavy snow on the ground. Maybe even pu...

Hugs from my Sophie Darling rank high among my favorite things. Ever since school started, one or more members of the family have been fighting some sort of cold. Currently, we are dealing with a head-cold/sinus thing, and it's my turn. Until I'm feeling better, I'm keeping my exercise pretty low key — that is, as much as drill instructor, Ainsleigh, will allow. She likes to watch me sweat, that's for sure! My go-to when I need to recuperate is yoga. I like that it is low stress but still presents a strength challenge and uses the entire body. It also helps relax tight muscles, and I sleep much better, especially if I do a quick practice at night. Beachbody has just added Yoga Studio, a collection of yoga routines from across all the programs, to the On-Demand member library with new practices being added all the time. I've been exploring the newest options and found a couple I really like. One is a 10-minute routine to ease lower back pain, which I've...

Well, Election Day is finally here. Honestly, I'm relieved it's going to be over as much as I'm apprehensive about the results. There hasn't been an election since the first for which I was eligible to vote that I've been excited to vote for a candidate. Fortunately, I know where I stand and can vote on policy and not personality. My vote is cast, but it's going to be a low-key, no Facebook and Netflix kind of night. Netflix and knitting… on the project front, I have a few things to show. The first is my climbing leaves pillow , which has been an ongoing project for a few weeks. It is done, and I love it! I should have done the side seams differently, but overall, it came out nicely, and I'm really excited to be able to give it this Christmas. The other two projects are actually sewing projects. I don't have a designated space for cutting and sewing, so the machine isn't dragged out very often, but I had to bring it out this week to get to th...

Omigosh, it's November already, and I am so far behind on Christmas crafts! (I furiously crocheted a dishcloth while waiting for the video to upload.) I've been so busy with other things, I don't have a lot to show for this week. The wool/angora yarn I have been plying is finished. I love the way it turned out! Angora always has such a wonderful halo. The yardage was amazing as well. I got over 300 yards of lace-weight 2-ply from, approximately, 2 ounces of fiber. The pillow has doubled in length, which is good progress. Hopefully I will finish that this week. If not, I'm sure it will be close. I'm really excited to have the fiber chosen and ready to go for my next spinning project. I'm doing stripes of different colorways from Homestead Hobbyist and Fat Cat Knits , spun as a thick single for the Stormy Weather Vest . There wasn't much beyond that besides a little spinning for my Shetland sweater in spare moments. The last few weeks, I have hint...

Sometimes life gets busy, and my to-do list really begins to weigh me down. When that happens, my tendency is to lengthen the list even further by adding craft projects. I retreat from the things I have to do and settle in with what I'd rather do. Whenever I have a prolific craft week, is is safe to assume it is the result of procrastination at its finest. One thing I could not put off was cooking more pumpkin. When it is time, it is time, so we made another run at the pumpkin patch pie. This time, I kept things nice and simple, and we were pleased with the results.  Roast Pumpkin Dessert Small pie pumpkin(s) 2 large apples (honeycrisp or Braeburn are good) 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup sugar 1 tsp cinnamon  Pinch of nutmeg Wash small pie pumpkin(s), cut off the top and remove the seeds. Peel and slice apples, toss with sugar and spices. Spoon the apple mixture into the pumpkin, replace the lid and bake at 350° F for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until pumpkin ...

Soap, socks, sheep, sewing, sawing and siblings Last week , I mentioned wanting to try an old, but new to me, recipe for pumpkin patch pie. The little girls and I stuffed a pumpkin with apples, dried cranberries, cinnamon and sugar, too much nutmeg and baked it. In the end, it wasn't as good as we'd hoped, but still worth another shot after some adjustments. Our savory fall dish before, during and after baking. I tried a couple new soap recipes. The first was a deodorizing kitchen soap made with coffee. I found the recipe in a book of hot process soaps checked out from the library. Before returning the book, I copied down the most intriguing recipes. The first I tried was a goat milk soap. It was a nice soap, but through it I discovered a preference for cold process. Fortunately, most recipes can be used with either process, so I used cold process for the kitchen soap. It was a large batch. I have a  mold Darren made from a rain gutter, which turns out the perfe...

Can you believe it is October already?! My dad always says time passes more quickly as you get older. Boy, is he ever right! I'm sure having a million things going all the time also contributes. I don't have much to show for crafts this week; my life is being consumed by another large project. However, I did start and finish a pair of mittens and made some progress on a project I haven't touched in a long time: my sweater spin . I am enamored with that project, but so many things keep me from it.  The mitten project has been a lot of fun as well. What little kid doesn't want to wear mittens made from their very own sheep? Handspun, hand-dyed and knit for a young girl from the fleece of her very own sheep. Sweater spin: one single down, many more to go. On the fitness side, I finished Country Heat , which was a great program. I really enjoyed. Over thirty days, I lost five pounds, which I credit mostly to being disciplined with clean eating. I got a l...

Over the course of the week, I've had a chance to ponder and come to conclusions on a couple things. First, I'm going to continue with this video-blog for a while, and just see where it goes. Also, I've decided to call it, the Dahlhouse — not too clever, not too punny. It's how I refer to our home, so it seems an appropriate title for a chronicle of our goings on. With that all covered, it's been a busy week, so let's get started! Finished objects The first Owlie sock is finished. Barely! The toe decreases in the pattern continue until eight stitches are left. I generally don't like to decrease that much. The sock fit at my usual 24 stitches, so that's where I stopped — with less than five yards left! Hopefully the skein for the second sock has better yardage. I also finished knitting the Ignot cowl , which will be donated to our church bazaar. The yarn is a spindle spun 3-ply from a polwarth silk blend by, Darn Knit Anyway, wrapped with baby ...

At some point today, the thought struck that maybe I should start a podcast. I was watching one while working on a project and chatting with people in my challenge group, and just mulling over what I'd accomplished so far today — quite a bit, and what still needed to be done — even more. We are always going somewhere, doing something, working on a million things — just like everybody else these days, and I thought it would be a fun way to show that there is time for health and hobbies and family and everything else. It would also be a fun way to bring together the two disparate things which take up the majority of my free time. Clearly, if I decide to continue with this, better equipment is a top priority. The built in camera of 10 year old computer is not optimal! There is also no more storage on my phone, so that would be something to work out. Also, I need a name. Thoughts? What's a good name for a podcast by and about the life of a stay at home mom who spins her own y...

Spend any time on social media, and you are bound to notice the body positivity movement. It seems to be everywhere, and overall, I think it's a good thing. Our value is not derived from our outward appearance, but from our being created in the image of God, each unique but with the same dignity and equally deserving of respect. There is one aspect of the movement, however, which gives me pause. I have had a very public weight transformation. The first time it was shared on a wide forum, the Shakeology blog and Facebook page, the comments were very positive and supportive. It was a fun, exciting experience. Some time later, my transformation was shared on Autumn Calabrese's Facebook page . Most of the comments were positive, but negativity began to creep in. There were probably a couple reasons for that. First, I think Autumn's post had a wider reach and a more diverse audience. Also, the portion of my story featured by the second post was more appearance oriented. Sam...

For the small price of two pairs of child-size mittens, I have been given three rather large bags full of freshly shorn wool. After spending several hours picking through the first fleece, I've come to several conclusions.  First, the possibilities are endless. There is a lot  of wool there, and two of the bags are multicolored, which means I can separate and mix and blend to my heart's content.  Second, this is going to take forever! It is very liberating to be given a large amount of wool in one shot. I've purchased a couple fleeces, and, while I've never bought anything really fancy, it's still a large investment, which makes it hard to throw any of it away. With three giant garbage bags of wool at my disposal, it is easier to part with the less desirable parts of the the fleece. Anything that's really  dirty or packed with hay —gone! It seems wasteful at first, but it will make for better yarn in the long run.  I've also come to realize I may have to do ...