Not a Blogger Yet

So, apparently I am not a blogger yet.  I apologize for failing all of you with high hopes for this blog.... I will attempt again and see if I am better at sticking with it. I figure if missionaries in Haiti with unreliable internet and 7 kids can crank out blogs on a regular basis, than I should be able to as well...or so one might believe.  But still- life has been in the way, as often happens. Recently, I have been on overdrive....summer is suppose to slow down the schedule...my summer has taken the opposite route. I do it to myself, something I know very well :) I think that I like to be busy, I like to be needed, if given too much free time I just feel guilty about all the things I could be doing...so why not stay busy?

Well all that rambling to say, I will do better :) (Sidenote, I forgot how to edit this blog...that is how long it has been...sad)

Anyways, amidst the business- I have been finding time to read. I love to read, but consider myself a slow reader so I usually don't make a huge effort...not the mention during the school year I feel guilty about reading for pleasure when I should be reading a textbook.  But this summer I have already finished a number of good books and have more waiting for me. (Just ask if you want to know more about what I have been reading!)

I started this book yesterday, and finished it today!

I absolutely loved it! It was a really easy read (a series of stories, broken up by patterns and recipes) I know it sounds dorky, but there is definitely a little bit of "you have to be a knitter" to relate to some of the things she is saying. Without a doubt, I am sure non-knitters would enjoy it as well- but for knitters it is a must read! BONUS- the author is from Iowa City! Two of the novels I read before this were by an Iowan author, and I am becoming quite found of Iowan authors!

This book has some really fun patterns in it that I have added to my to do list.

I have already become one of "those knitters," the ones that have 3-4+ projects going at a time---itching to start a new one, but trying to force yourself to finish the ones you have started first! :)

Next Post: Knitting in the round...since I promised this one before...and it is so much fun!

Knitting Connections

I apologize for the lack of posts recently, busy busy busy! Someone needs to keep me accountable so I don't fall of the blogwagon. I have plenty of projects and cooking adventures to tell all you, who don't really care, about!

Anyways. Tonight is about the "connections" I have made because knitting. I alluded to how much I enjoy knitting class because of the people that I have met.

At the end of my "Beyond Beginning" class a group of us discussed getting together to knit. I know it sounds nerdy, but what about this blog is not nerdy.  Well tonight we met at Starbucks, and we chatted, knitted, laughed, etc for 3 hours. As I left I thought about how much fun I had, and that if I met these women under other circumstances I may have not cared much to "know about their lives."

Sometimes I have a hard time in large groups, because I don't want to do something to embarrass myself or make someone feel uncomfortable. I tend to over think every scenario I find myself in. I learned that when I have something in common- or an ice breaker (i.e. knitting) that I let my guard down much quicker. I found that too often I let my initial judgements of others stop me from really getting to know them. I feel like we all say that we don't judge, but if we are really honest we all do it, pretty much all the time! It is the very reason that I feel uncomfortable- because I know I am (on some level) being judged.

So all that to say, I am glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone and joined a knitting class, and then another...and then met at Starbucks to knit some more. I am even more glad that I didn't let initial judgements stop me from really getting to know these girls!




Side note- the above picture is not my own, and those are some ginormous knitting needles!

Public Service Announcement

A word about my blog...

Any of the pictures you see- you can click on to make them larger.

Also I apologize for the quality of some of them. Having a good camera on my phone has meant that I use it way more than my "nice" camera...hmmm. So more often than not, the pictures you see came from my phone.  Hopefully someday I will use my love and talent of photography to give you images that are of a bit better quality/interest!

Organized Chaos

I. have. a lot. of. stuff.
It isn't really that I have more than the average person my age, although I might...it is more just that I am living at home and so most of my "apartment" stuff is in boxes occupying my brother's room...and the rest is confined to one room- and even though it is a good sized room- it is not the biggest bedroom ever.

This is conflicting with the fact that I like to be organized...I like things a certain way. There is a long standing joke in our family about my dad and I both having a bit of OCD. We just like things how we like them...nothing wrong with being particular :)

So a little over a year ago I bought a new TV, and shortly after bought a TV stand with LOTS of storage space! This led me to buy organizational baskets (50% off at Jo Ann Fabric)....

These baskets worked wonders, holding things such as wii remotes and accessories. They worked wonders  until I started knitting. I was not prepared for the amount of room that yarn and knitting needles/other tools take up. Primarily because most projects do not use the whole skein/ball of yarn. I am not even 6 months into knitting, looking at the big picture- I haven't made that many things

Because I do have  lot of stuff and a small room, I am constantly rearranging, reorganizing, etc. As I was doing that this afternoon I realized just how much yarn and other knitting things I have...and how much space it takes up....

And that isn't even all of it!

Not all of these baskets even fit, and have had to be placed on another book shelf

So despite my bank account hurting from buying all the knitting stuff I already have, I think I should probably use up some of this yarn before buying more. The only problem with that is that I have 4-5 projects that I am dying to knit....none of which use any of the yarn you see above....and some require needle sizes/lengths that I don't have yet...

Self-control...a wonderful lesson to be learned by knitter wanna bes.

So I caution those of you entering the world of knitting...be prepared for knitting overflow in all of your previously organized areas.

Hand Washing

Today I am thankful that we do not have to hand wash all of our clothes. I am quite certain that I would wear stinky clothes for far to long if I had to wash them by hand.
A few weeks ago my mom and I both bought Silver jeans. I wore mine a couple of times (a few hours each), and each time I got a faint sniff moth ball scent- but never enough for me to connect the dots.  When I did the trusty "smell test" to see if I should wash them, I discovered the smell was from my jeans. After my initial "anger" over them being brand new and smelling- I figured once through the wash and a few of the worlds best smelling dryer sheets would fix the issue.
NEGATIVE! They still smelled, and once I knew it was them of course the smell was stronger. So I tried two or three more times, different soaps, different cycles- no luck. Now 3 weeks later, I was starting to get annoyed...thankfully they are capris and it hasn't exactly been capri weather round these parts recently...or I may have lost it much earlier in the process.
So tonight I started googling how to remove moth ball smell from clothes. A LOT of sites said... there is no hope.
After reading many "remedies" I settled on one. Currently, this is what my jeans look like...

The steps called for a series of soaks and rinses through vinegar and then ending with a "gentle detergent" and it said a "wool rinse" was even better.  Well dontchaknow, I just bought some eucalan for blocking my knitting projects- and it smells wonderful. So currently my jeans are soaking in the eucalan, and I am crossing my fingers that the moth smell has left the building...or at least my jeans. 

Thankfully, the receipt was located, and if this does not work I will be taking them back-, no tags, rinsed in vinegar and all it's glory.

All that to be said, that in the rinsing and wringing and everything else I just did...I am thankful for my washing machine, and I don't fault all the medieval and otherwise stinky centuries one bit. 

On a another note... 

Tonight I had an epic failure turned ugly, but delicious, Easter sugar cookies- that will likely be the topic of an upcoming post. 

I also discovered a delicious new yogurt...or as they say "yoghurt" 

After all, it does say that it is the "finest" right there on the container. 

A bit pricey, but has two servings and is rather fine, possibly even the finest yoghurt I have ever had....then again I usually eat yogurt- so I don't have anything to compare it to...yet. 

Heart Healthy Spaghetti Sauce

WHOA! Two posts in one day!

Spaghetti sauce, I LOVE spaghetti sauce! Especially with some form of meat in it! A little salty, a little sweet...and just the right amount of spicy (in my opinion!) Delicious!

For years my taste buds were satisfied with spaghetti sauce from a jar. I didn't buy the cheap stuff, but never splurged either. I figured it was all pretty much the same...and it is, store bought anyways. The more I thought about it, I didn't think it would be that hard to make. (At this point I was even considering starting from whole tomatoes...but that is an adventure for a later date.)

While homemade spaghetti sauce was already on my mind, I read an article about how much salt is in store bought spaghetti sauce. Some have a concentration higher than salt water. Say WHAT? Now I am not going to lie, I love salt ---a little too much sometimes. But in order to indulge in some areas that I like salt, why not cut it out of things that it just doesn't need to be in...or at least cut some of it!

After looking through recipes online, I put a few together to create my own- and it was AWESOME!

It makes a HUGE sauce pan with only a little bit of salt! I achieved the "low sodium" version by buying the ingredients with "no salt added." Unfortunately, Fareway doesn't always carry all of the items with no salt- but I have found that Hy-Vee always has them!

"HEART HEALTHY SPAGHETTI SAUCE"

Cook Time: 45min-1hr

ingredients:

1 ½ pounds Italian Sausage (ground beef substitute for less spicy)
1/2 large Onion, chopped (add up to whole onion, to your liking)
1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1-3 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
2 (6-ounce) Cans Tomato Paste (no salt added)
1 (8-ounce) Can Tomato Sauce (no salt added)
1 (14 ½-ounce) Can Stewed Tomatoes (no salt added)
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp Red Pepper Flakes (less if you can't take the heat)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Water

directions:

Brown the sausage in a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan (or pot) , drain off the fat.
Add onion, green pepper, and garlic. Saute until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients.
Simmer for AT LEAST 30 minutes.
Will keep for several days in the refrigerator



Side note: for those who have Macs...download the YummySoup! mac store app....It is a GREAT way to store your recipes and categorize them!



Also- sorry if you find any weird characters in this post, having some formatting issues!

Baby Hats

Skipping the part where I learned to knit in the round for an opinion post...

I made the following hats for a "not yet born" baby boy and his 2 year old sister....

 SO....the question is.... Flower, or no flower?

AND...if you chose flower, should I find/make something for the blue one (like a big button or something?)

Your comments are much appreciated!

Knitting Progression

As I said, I joined a knitting class. It was so great to meet some awesome ladies and discuss much more than knitting. Rose Tree really has a great little community, and it is nice to know they are so willing to help beginners with obvious questions!

Here are a few pictures of the first thing I ever knitted...

If you are asking yourself...What is that? Don't feel bad, looking back now I am wondering the same thing. But it was just a practice swatch so I tried lots of "techniques" and "failures" on it. 

After this, I felt pretty confident- so I chose a bulky yarn and set out to make a scarf. With my own "made up/adapted" pattern and only a few minor issues, I finished a scarf and a matching brown one for my mom. 

 When I started knitting two things I definitely wanted to make: socks and hats. I was too scared to attempt knitting in the round, so I found a pattern that was knitting flat and seaming up the hat. Who cares if sometimes it makes you look like a cone-head, I made it! With my own two hands!

At this point I was in between my beginning class and beyond beginning and was getting really frustrated because I didn't understand patterns that well, but wanted to make something other than a scarf. A couple days a week I babysit next door, I noticed that their wash clothes were knit and thought that should be an easy pattern. I hit the jack pot, and wash clothes of all colors started emerging from my knitting needles.

 Here is the pattern:

Materials:

1 ball of knit worsted weight cotton (Sugar N’ Cream) 50 gm size (Only $1.97 at Wal-Mart, makes 2 wash clothes) 
Size 6-8 needles (personal preference, I made some on each size) 

DIRECTIONS
Cast on 4 sts.

Row 1: Knit one row.

Row 2: K2, YO, knit to the end of the row.

Repeat row 2 until there are 40 sts (for dish scrubber) or 50 sts (for face
cloth).

Next row: K1, K2tog, YO, K2tog, knit to the end of the row.

Continue decreasing until 4 sts left. Cast off.

Knitting in a round, a sneak peek 

The Knook

HOW I CAME TO LOVE KNITTING AND COOKING!

The purpose of this blog will be to journal my adventures in knitting and cooking; however, I am sure it will grow into much more than that. It may take me a while to figure the whole blog thing out, and to remember to write posts/write posts that you will care about...so stick with me and hopefully it will be worth it!

Cooking: I have loved cooking my whole life. From easy box cakes to full Thanksgiving meal menus- I find peace in all of it. I enjoy, what some might call, traditional dishes- but love to add my own flare. I like taking a recipe or two and making it my own. I believe that eating dinner as a family keeps a family close. I love cooking for my parents and siblings, but look forward to cooking for my own family someday.

Knitting: I tried to teach myself to crochet in high school- epic failure. I tried to teach myself to knit at the end of 2010- also a failure. So, in January I signed up for a knitting class at the Rose Tree Fiber Shop in Ames, IA. I loved it, and immediately signed up for Beyond Beginning Knitting. I dove head first into knitting and have loved every minute. I have so many projects that I want to attempt.

So far I have completed:

2 Scarves
1 "knit flat" Hat
Countless Cotton Wash Clothes
2 "knit in a round" Hats
1 sock (working on it's mate)

Some projects I hope to complete in the near future:

Baby Hats, Baby Booties, Cardigans (for kids to start), Socks with thinner yarn, an Infinity Scarf, Christmas Stockings, and Blankets (probably baby to start).