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...

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 ...

On the heels of my root beer adventure , there was a jar of ginger bug on my hands awaiting a purpose. It just so happened, about that time, my mom dropped off some cranberries. Straight-up cranberry pop did not seem at all appealing, so I started experimenting with ways to take things up a notch. I got lucky, and the very first batch turned out great! The only problem was, I had just winged it and didn’t remember enough of the specifics to share. This second batch, I paid closer attention to what I was doing, and here you have the recipe for what Darren has dubbed, Christmas Ale. 4 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen 1 orange, zest and squeeze 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise 2 quarts water 1 ½ cups raw cane sugar 1 cup ginger bug Learn how to make a ginger bug here . In a large pan add cranberries, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla bean. Boil gently until the cranberries are exploded and mushy. Strain the liquid into a large bowl. I use m...

This is a chart I've been meaning to get to for a while. The Christmas before last, I was making a whole bunch of Christmas ornament gift toppers . I wanted each to be unique, so some of the miniature sweaters were adorned with duplicate stitch in traditional knit motifs. I hit a snag with the tree. A row of perfect triangle trees is cute. A single triangle tree is not so cute. A chart for a small tree is not hard to find. One which is not symmetrical is. Enter the sketch pad. My goal was a scraggly tree, which was small, but was still recognizable as a tree. This is the result. As a matter of personal preference, I think this looks best when the chart is turned upside down and is used on a piece being worked from the top. That way, the top of the tree comes to a nice point.

Before my mom taught me to knit, crochet and sew, that knowledge was passed to her. My Grandma Hansen was a tough lady. The kind who wouldn't tolerate rude behavior or disrespect from anyone old enough to control the tone of their voice. She could still a child squirming through church with an outstretched hand. She was also the kind who, with a wink and a smile, would slide an M&M across the table to a kid to shy to ask for one, then elicit a whispered, "Thank you," with a gentle, but expectant, "You're welcome." Grandma Hansen in 2005. Grandma was also a crafter. She gifted many crochet dolls to her grand-daughters. One Christmas, each grand-kid was given a pillow case. Mine, a black and white panda print with lace on the cuff, is still in circulation. Another year it was a pajama set, wrapped and topped with a little crochet animal. My brother's gift topper was accidentally sent out with the wrapping paper, and she made him another. It sh...

As snow settles in, I find joy in the small things that make life a little bit more cozy and sweet, two of which I'd like to share. The first is a recipe for an almost instant brownie. Spoiler alert: I knit these stocking ornaments as gift toppers this year. But even if you weren't on my gift list, you won't be left out. The pattern is now available for all, free on ravelry. I used to keep my cupboard stocked with microwavable, mini brownie bowls, for emergencies, but lately they've been hard to find. There was a packet of instant hot chocolate on the counter which gave me an idea. What if I could just make a brownie with that? A quick google search revealed several recipes for almost-instant, single serving brownies. All were basically the same: flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, oil, water and vanilla; all with similar proportions of each. I figured instant hot chocolate was basically the sugar and cocoa pre-mixed. Another quick google search proved my hypothesis p...