Knitiot Savant

This has been a semi-busy week! I've been working on a cute little sundress made out of a great batik fabric. No pics, yet. I just finished serving the edges yesterday so I should have more progress on the dress today. I've also been working frantically on some socks I need to have finished by the end of the month for my Mom. She really loves when I knit socks for her so these really are a joy to work on. I like knitting for someone who not only appreciates the work but will wear the heck out of what I've given them!!

Sheldon was neutered yesterday. He came through the surgery fine. I'm all about spaying and neutering pets but there's always that sense of dread when anyone goes under the knife. He was pretty droopy yesterday but is back to his feisty/crazy self today.

Look for project pics in the coming days! I'll have some, I promise!

Skully

I cut this bag out back in December, I think, then just sort just sort of lost my steam.  But, in a quest to finish the unfinished, I sat down, pulled this sucker out and in a relative short period of time, finished this thing off.  I have to say I'm pretty pleased with it.  I'd originally planned to put a couple of extra pockets in it for extra stuff but decided not to.  Honestly, I tend just fumble around in purses with lots of pockets...as opposed to just fumbling around in a purse filled with crap.  

The pattern is New Look 6984.  I think I originally bought it for the sundress and ended up liking the bag a little better.  

So far, I really like carrying this sucker around.  There's something really satisfying about putting all you junk in a bag you made yourself.  :-)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Fourth

Happy Fourth, y'all!  Don't blow yer fingers off!

Munchies

I like to bake.  I like to eat what I bake.  But I need to be healthier.  Really, don't we all.  Three years ago I made the commitment to be a vegetarian.  I've loved being a vegetarian.  I feel better and I think I look better, too!  Recently, I've challenged myself make most of my baked goods vegan and to make at least 40% of my my meals vegan as well.  I really enjoy the challenge of  that.  At first, figuring out the substitutions was slow and awkward, but I've gotten pretty quick at it.  And, believe it or not, there are tons and tons of vegan junk food recipes out there.  Watch that waist line kids!

You are looking at Chocolate Chip Scones.  Yes, they are vegan.  The recipe is from the book, "The Joy of Vegan Baking."  This book was a gift from a dear friend and I really like it a lot!  However I have to warn you that the recipes call for granulated sugar and granulated sugar is not vegan.  You'll have to look for the vegan version of it in your local store.  It's not too hard to find.  Florida Crystals makes a great one and, if I'm not mistaken, most organic sugars are also vegan.  (Someone correct me if I'm wrong!)  This cookbook was written in 2007 and, at that time, not many folks were aware that granulated sugar wasn't vegan.  (It's processed through animal ash.  Gross, huh?)

These scones are really, really yummy!  I want more!   I'm not sure Sheldon was as thrilled about them as I was.  :-) 

Fashion

My daughter is completely in love with American Girl dolls.  Seriously in love with them.  She got one for her birthday and, on a trip with her Girl Scout troop to the American Girl store in Atlanta, she picked up a second doll using allowance money she saved for months.  These dolls aren't cheap and neither are their clothes!  Fortunately for us I can sew.  I'm not that great at it but I can whack out doll clothes.  And sewing clothes for these guys is a lot of fun and pressure free!

The doll on the left is the doll Lili picked up in Atlanta.  Lili named her Emma, after our beloved dog we lost last July.  Emma is from the My American Girl series.  These dolls aren't historical and are open to anything.  The doll on the right is named Julie and Lili got her for her birthday.  Julie is from the historical series.  Julie is from 1974.  This tickles me to no end.  She has accesories from '74 and Lili is determined to have her clothes reflect that era.  I think that's so cool!!  Both girls are wearing a couple of simple sundresses I made them.  They look ready for a day in the sun!

Next up, a more princess-y look.  Emma is ready for a really fance day!  I had this cute cotton fabric that I'd made a table cloth with and it works well as a simple fancy dress for Emma.  Julie is wearing a little cordurory skirt I made with boots and a t-shirt we matched up from other outfits.  

I don't have the pattern numbers handy for any of these but I'll try to post them next time.  And I'm sure that Emma will be looking a bit more historical.  Lili is completely enthralled by the book "Little Women."  She listens to it as she goes to sleep every night and, as a result, has decided that Emma should go more historical.  I have a pattern for clothes from that era for Emma so I'm pretty sure you going to be seeing a very buttoned up Emma and a super funky Julie.  Should be fun!

Sew into you

In addition to several unfinished knitting projects, I also had a few sewing projects that didn't get done.  So, since I committed to finishing those pesky knitting projects, I figure I might as well hit the sewing machine, too.  

This skirt took no time to finish so it's just a mystery as to why I let it sit!  My daughter loves it and, once I'd finished the thing, she didn't want to take it off.  (Thus the t-shirt that doesn't quite match. :-) )

Next up, the doll clothes I've been working on.  I've got to get the snaps on the last dress and hope to have pics up tomorrow.  

At Last

I finished the American Girl blanket!!  I'm so happy!  I followed Kat's advice, worked on a small project and what you see to the left is the result.  My daughter is thrilled and she tells me that the recipient of the blanket is thrilled as well.  (Lucky for me that dolls aren't that picky!)

This was a super easy knit.  Once the pattern is under your belt, you don't really need to look at the written instructions.  The author of this pattern also provides a chart to work from as well so you have a nice visual of how the Seed Stitch blocks and the Stockinette Stitch blocks go together.  The pattern can be found here.  The details of my blanket are sketchy only in that I can't remember the name of the color I used because the puppy ate the the band that was on the skein.  Let's just call it 'purple' and leave it at that.  :-)

This little project gave me the steam to go through my knitting and see what's what.  I've got lots of unfinished projects, (show me a kntitter who doesn't) and my goal is to knock each one of them out.  I'm going to start with some socks that should have been finished ages ago and move on from there.

In the mean time, I've got some doll clothes to work on and, as long as the girls aren't too shy about modeling, I'll share what I've been doing for them!

It Knits!

A big thanks to Kathryn and Michelle for dropping by!   Kathryn, you're complete right.  A small project is just what I needed!  And here it is:

This is the first of what will probably be many little afghans for the American Girl dolls.  I haven't been able to put it down.  It's a  quick knit, small and super portable.  And the pattern is easy to memorize once you get going.  The pattern is by Jennifer L. Jackson.  I really love it and am almost finished with the sucker!  And my daughter loves it too!  She's so excited and I think her excitement has helped keep me knitting on this sucker.

And Michelle, you are special, even with no knitting mojo!  I love and miss you very much, too.  I miss our girls playing while we knit and I wish I'd gotten my tattoo with you.  That would have been awesome!

Saturday I celebrated my birthday and it was simple wonderful.  We went to a lovely little yarn shop in South Carolina, ate out and I gorged on cheesecake.  Yeah, I'm a vegetarian, not vegan....I can't give up my chocolate and cheesey goodness!  

My little afghan should be finished this week and then I'm starting the pattern I picked up this weekend.  Can't wait to show it to you!

 

Kick

Knitting, or getting in the mood to knit, has been tough for me over the last few years.  I'm not sure why.  Initially, I thought it was the loss of a regular knitting group to participate in.  But that's not it.  Have I lost my lurv of yarn?  Hardly.  I still love it, just not feelin' what to do with it.  So what's up?  

I don't have any answers for this.  I know I've been busy with other things, but I think I've let them get in the way of making time for knitting.  

My daughter recently got an American Girl doll.  How is this related to knitting you ask?  Well, these dolls need clothes.  I love to sew and then I decided to hit Ravlery to see what sort of little knitted items might be available.  Wow.  So many cute things to choose from!  I started a small afghan, (because my daughter informed me that the dolls get cold at night) and I'm hoping that her enthusiasm for these dolls and my desire to see her happy will kickstart my knitting!  

Searching

Let's face it, trying to come up with what to fix for dinner every night can get really old.  No matter how many cool cookbooks you have on your shelf, most of us just fall back on the same old tried and true recipes.  Trying to come up with yummy stuff is really tough when your also challenging yourself to eat a more healthy diet.

That's where the internet can be a real lifesaver.  There are tons and tons of great sites out there and great bloggers to help guide you toward yummy and, most of the time, pretty easy recipes.  One of my all time favorites sites is Finding Vegan.    This site offers lovely pictures of tasty food with links leading directly to the blogs from which they were taken.  It's a fantastic opportunity to try new recipes and new blogs!  A win/win for everyone.  Give the site a try.  I'm sure you won't be disappointed.