Urges

I get the urge to blog but then I can't keep up with it. Same thing happens when I try to keep a journal. 


We have started eating at home and eating healthier since the New Year. Our favorite salad is to fry chicken breasts in a little bit of olive oil, chop it up and add to the salad. I'll season the chicken with different things, just depends on what I'm feeling at the moment. 
We have also tried some other new recipes, which I plan on starting to blog about....(added to the to-do list for tomorrow). 


I'm still knitting! I have also started sewing. I have a few projects that I want to try out and then yes, I'll try to remember to write up a blog about it.


I didn't make a New Year's resolution to blog more, but I want to. So here's to hoping I can stick with it and at least blog once a week!!


Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.


~ Cassey

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my wonderful Dad's birthday! I hope he has a terrific day, I wish I could spend the day or at least dinner with him. It's days like today that are always the hardest for me since I live away from family. I sent his present on Wednesday and he is supposed to receive it today...crossing my fingers! 

unassembled

The last couple weeks I have been working on this along with other projects, but today is all about my Dad! We get to see him and the kiddos in October and I can't wait. 

My dad has been one of the few people that have supported me no matter what. Even if he doesn't agree with my decision, he still supports me. Don't get me wrong he will tell me if he disagrees, but he is still there for me. 

He is always hard to buy for and even harder to knit for! However, when I saw this pattern I knew I had to make it for him. He has a collection of stuffed gorillas and I thought he would like it. 

Meet Jerry. He and I had our frustrations, because I kept misreading the pattern. He was also in such a hurry to be made and get to my Dad's to play that he I just kept messing up. I hope the gorillas don't scare him, because they are quite a bit bigger than him. 

I do hope he brings a smile to my Dad's face and that my Dad knows he was made with love. 

Happy Birthday Daddy! 

We love you and miss you!

Details of Monkey:

Needle - US size 6 (4 mm)

Yarn - Lion Brand Wool-Ease

Pattern - Jerry the Musical Monkey by Rebecca Danger (I LOVE her patterns)

Would I knit this again? YES! Next time with different colors. 

Things I learned with this pattern - 

1. Make sure you read the directions twice before starting.

2. Make sure you verify how many stitches to cast on.

3. Don't rush!

Playing Catch Up

I haven't posted our menu because we are just rotating the same dinners...turkey patties, spaghetti, salad, chicken.  These are meals we like and all are super quick and easy.  Eric did make chile verde on Sunday and it was so yummy! 

If you know me, you know I like LOVE bags and purses. I might have an addiction to them.  I like to keep each of my knitting projects in a separate project bag.  I have bought a couple and have used some small bags I already had for others. However, I got the urge to sew some bags!  Before buying a sewing machine, I wanted to make sure I was going to be able to make them.  So I asked my friend Amy to help me...she did and we made some super cute bags!!

She made this one to show me how to do it. Isn't it cute?? I love it!

This is the one I made (with Amy's help) and I was pretty impressed with myself! I have now added a sewing machine to my wish list. 

Diatom Shawl

 Of course, I've been knitting! 

I am working slowly on my Diatom shawl! Amy and I decided to make it a knit-a-long (KAL). I'm excited she is joining me. 

The knitting group I go to is having a retreat in October. Everyone is making slippers so we can take pictures. I don't wear slippers, so I decided to make little slipper socks. I love how they are turning out.

Another friend asked me to make her some dishcloths. I got one done, but have put it on hold for a week or so to get a couple gifts done. So while this is one completed cloth, I don't consider this a completed project until the other 3 are done. I have an idea to modify this pattern and hope it turns out good. 

What new recipes are you trying? 

If you knit, what is your favorite pattern as a go to for gifts?

Have a great day!!

~ Cassey

Football knitting and Finished Project

Football is my favorite sport to watch on tv and this will be my first year to knit during football season! Maybe this year I can stay interested in a full game. I don't do good with just sitting and watching anything on tv, I feel like I have to be doing something. This was my main reason for wanting to learn to knit, to give me something to do while watching movies or tv. I'm excited to see how much knitting I get done while watching the games with Eric. 

Finished Project -

I finished my Saroyan scarf last week.

This was such a fun pattern to knit

it was so neat to watch each leaf form. 

Details of this project:

Needle - US size 7 (4.5 mm)

Yarn - Morning Moon alpaca

Amount of yarn - about 1 1/2 skeins ***

Pattern - Saroyan

Size made - 7 increases - 12 straights - 7 decreases

Would I knit this again? YES! The new Saroyan pattern came out this week and I can't wait to try it. There are leaves on both sides of the scarf!

Things I learned with this pattern - 

1. Do not cut yarn until you are 100% sure you are done with the pattern

2. I love alpaca

3. I don't have enough t-pins (this has been resolved!!)

4. When I knit this again do only increases/decrease to make a triangle.

5. Listen to Amy and take her suggestions.

*** I did not measure my skeins before starting to knit. Ravelry has 190 yards per skein, Morning Moon's signs at the booth listed the skeins as 200 yards, and a friend measured hers and only had around 183 yards. Since I didn't measure I don't know exactly how much I used. I have around 90 yards left out of 2 skeins.

WIP Wednesday

I have started so many projects that at times I have forgotten about something I haven't worked on in awhile. I try to keep everything up to date in  Ravelry to help keep track. 

ALL my WIPS (works in progress) -


Diatom shawl - first circular shawl!!

Eric's blanket - this lays beside our bed and I knit while watching tv at night

Afghan - afghan club with Knit unto Others in Arkadelphia. Fourth month was received in August
Honeycomb blanket

Dad's birthday - needs to be done by 9/17

Christmas gift x2 

Retreat gifts - quick items but need to do 13!

Surprise shawl 

Slippers - for KTS retreat

Cisco's scarf - halfway through!

purse - finished 1 of the 4 sides

Simple Shawl 


Last night I finished my Saroyan shawl made with alpaca! This was the first thing I have made with alpaca; it was so soft and fun to knit. I'll block it today and post pictures tomorrow. 


Some of my projects while I love them I get tired of working on them - I like variety - so I have each of my projects in a bag and rotate through them. This gives me variety and I make progress on each project

Weekly Menu

We always try to have a menu planned out on Saturday or Sunday for the following week. This helps with grocery shopping, most of the time. There has been a few times I had to send Eric back to the store because I thought I knew what I needed for a recipe and didn't look at it, which resulted in ingredients left off the list.

This week's menu is - 

Saturday - Salad with chicken
Sunday - Lasagna 
Monday - leftovers 
Tuesday - Turkey patties with veggies

Wednesday - Spaghetti

Thursday - Pulled Pork

Friday - Chicken with veggies 

Salad with chicken 
Season chicken breast and fry in a little olive oil. Chop it up and add to our salad. 

Turkey patties 
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 chopped red bell pepper
1/2 chopped onion
Worcestershire sauce
Season salt
Garlic powder
Diced jalapenos
Mix together, cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes on each side.


Pulled pork
Using the recipe out of Pioneer Woman's cookbook


Chicken with veggies
Cook the chicken like I do for the salad but I don't chop it up.

Traveling Woman Shawl

Unblocked

 I started this shawl as a KAL with a group on Ravelry. I was excited about it being my first shawl, until I started making mistakes and having to rip back 2 or 3 rows every time I knit 3 or 4. 

I decided not to finish the KAL on time because I was so frustrated. After some motivation from my knit group, I decided to hurry up and get it off my needles. I'm very glad I did too! There are mistakes but I still love this shawl! 

This was not only my 1st shawl, but my 1st time to block a project. I NEED blocking wires! I ended up having to block this twice because the first time you could tell that I pulled the entire shawl to one side. These pictures are actually taken after the 1st blocking. 

Details of this project:

Needle - US size 6 (4mm)

Yarn - KnitPicks Palette (Caribbean)

Amount of yarn - 1 full skein and not quite half of 2nd skein

Pattern - Traveling Woman by Liz Abinante

Size made - I used the free version of the pattern. 3 repeats of Chart A. (55"x14")

Would I knit this again? YES! 

Things I learned with this pattern - 

1. Pay attention to the pattern. 

2. Don't watch tv or talk while trying to knit.

3. I NEED blocking wires.

4. I love lace (even if at times I was frustrated).

5. I need to take better pictures.

My second shawlette is on the needles!

Have a wonderful day!!

~ Cassey