2011 goals - 3 outta 5 ain't bad?

So I have to say that I'm more than disappointed in my 2011 goals progress, but 2012 is a new year, right? To recap:

Goal 1 was to work through Rosetta Stone Spanish. I didn't even touch it. Now we have a new computer, so I'll need to find my CDs and reload it. Give it another go.

Goal 2 was to bike at least 400 miles. In reality, I probably biked half of that. Pathetic. I could have biked a thousand miles if I was diligent, so there's really no excuse.

That was the bad news. And really, I'm taking these failures as an opportunity for growth in 2012. I totally killed my final three goals.

Goal 3 was to read at least 12 books, and I read exactly 12.

Goal 4 was to make significant headway on my yarn stash, and I did. I think I knit more than I bought this year, which was helped by all the yarn swapping I did. Fun, fun. Also, I organized my stash with a new crafty area, so I'm not as stressed about the amount of yarn I have.

Goal 5 was to knit a sweater. While it isn't a done deal yet, I'm well on my way. I have only the sleeves left, so if I don't finish by the time the clock runs out on the 31st, I'm certain it will be done soon thereafter, so I consider this a win. Ultimately, Christmas knitting threw off my plans of a 4th quarter sweater, but now I know to do better planning next year.

I may not have met all of my goals, but I did get some things done in 2011 that I didn't expect to do until much later (or at all). We put in planter boxes for a vegetable garden when the original plan was for 2012. We rescued a Pug, which I didn't think would happen for at least 3-5 more years. We hosted Jose's family for Thanksgiving + Christmas (at Thanksgiving). We raised some money for the SPCA of Wake County. I hosted a great workshop for NCSLA. And I learned how to be gluten-free. One great, busy year behind me, and another on deck! Let's do this, 2012!

Jose's Christmas Socks

I took my skein of Too Much to Dream and knitted a pair of socks for Jose. I thought it would be a surprise, but he kept asking questions along the way that told me he knew. Boo on that, but yay for the outcome!

First, Jose said they are the best fit of any of the socks I've made him, so that's positive. Second, I wrote the pattern and I like the way it turned out. There's a little more variegation in the yarn than I would have liked for this simple pattern, but it's still nice. I'd like to type up the pattern and post it on Ravelry, but it's just so simple that I feel like it may not be worth it. We'll see. Third, Jose said the socks might be his favorite gift. That may mean that the other gifts I gave him were failures, but I'll take it to mean that the socks rock :)

This is my attempt at a close-up of the rib. The cuff is a 4X1 rib and for the body of the sock, I ran 15 stitches (with a purl on either end) down so that it's just off center on the front of the foot. My original vision was for a cable, but I wasn't able to find one that was masculine enough and I started running out of time. I just got a book of stitches for Christmas, so I should be able to find a manly cable for next time...

brocc-o-li is a-go-go

Remember the tiny broccoli bunches I was so excited about a few weeks ago? Well...they survived the bunnies and the weather and the bugs! (Please excuse the sub-par phone photos).

This summer we definitely saved money by planting squash, zucchini, and peppers. I knew broccoli was less practical for planters because each plant would only yield one bunch, but this crop was much more about helping me through my winter blues. Mission accomplished, and I can't wait to eat them!

Side note: cauliflower didn't make it. Collards are looking good and I just need a recipe for them.

Happy Melday!

Today is my friend Melanie's birthday, and I'm a big believer that Christmas season babies get the short end of the birthday stick, so this year she's getting her own blog entry. Well, her and the ornament that we made for her at the RKG knitting party.

See, the group craft was wrapping shower curtain rings in yarn to make them look like wreaths. Melanie failed at it, so she was asking people to make one for her. I knew I would fail at it, so I tied a bow at the top and gave it back to her. That's when it started making the rounds. I think everyone there put something on it. For the record, my piece was the purple and pink yarn. My favorite piece is the straw that's been tied in a knot.

Happy birthday, Mel...enjoy the ornament :)

owl puffs

I know people who knit little things - monsters, animals, flowers - but that's not my scene. Generally, anything that takes as much time to "finish" as to knit, is not for me. But when I saw the Owl Puffs pattern, I knew I had to make some for three of my knitting pals who would truly appreciate them.

Meet BeeBop:

Gizzie:

and Hootie:

Totally cute, right? And definitely easy. My knitting friends squealed and squeaked appropriately, so my job here is done. Now...I really need a cute knitted monster or friend of some sort to live in my craft area. I have PLENTY of leftover stuffing, I just need a pattern and some motivation!

5th grade fun!

Niece's party was less structured, but just as much fun as nephew's. The kids all had their snacks at their desk and some craft projects traveled the room so the kids just stayed put. I got to see her desk and her cluster of friends...crazy adorable.

Sam and friend...


A Venn diagram of gift preferences. The librarian in me LOVED this.


Sam was dying to make this ornament. We were at the very end of the craft circuit, so you can imagine how hard it was to wait out the suspense. I got her here focusing so intently that her tongue is out, Michael Jordan style...but I somehow missed a photo of the finished product. Aunt fail.


Sam has a painting in her room that Jose and I wanted to buy from her. She set the price at $6,000, which is just out of our reach. This was a drawing of hers on display at school that she offered up for a mere $1,000. I took a picture instead, insisting that I would just print copies for myself :)


To commemorate the day, we did a self-portrait. She declared it a great Facebook pic, and I completely agree. She's such a good mini-me.

4th grade fun!

It just so happens that the holiday parties for both my nephew's 4th grade class and my niece's 5th grade class happened during my visit home last week. Lucky for me, the kids like me and invited me to attend :) I'm here to tell you that I was entirely amused from the minute I walked in until the minute I left. Those kids are my favorites. In the whole world.

Jake's class had a really organized party - the teacher had six stations set up with a different activity at each one. I got too caught up in helping with activities to photo-document each one, but I did manage to get my favorites.

What holiday party would be complete without ornament making? Here's Jake working on his:

I'm certain that every parent/aunt/uncle/grandparent thinks their kid produces the best stuff, but for real - this was the best ornament there. LOVE.

The cookie decorating station was a favorite. There were sugar cookies that kids would top with icing and then a giant marshmallow. Red and green M&Ms and piping bags with icing were used to decorate the cookie like a snowman.

Fun kid story: Jake walked over to one of his classmates who was using all green M&Ms and all green frosting and said "you going all green this year, buddy?" and clapped his hand on his back like a grownup asking about some home improvement project. Super. Double. Extra. CUTE.

The finished cookie:

The teacher told me that she got this idea from Pinterest. I wasn't surprised since Pinterest is the best. The kids were all super focused on making their snowmen, and I didn't hear anyone complaining about their sugar cookie topped and decorated with sugar. Win, win, win.

RKG Holiday Party Sponsors

A few months ago, I set out on a mission: recruit raffle giveaways for the Raleigh Knitting Group's holiday party. My goal was to send out 8-10 requests with the hope of securing 5-6 items. When it was all said and done, I sent out eight requests and received eleven prizes! ELEVEN! I wish I could take credit here, but this is really about the generosity of the folks I reached out to.

As one final thanks to our amazing sponsors, I want to share the photos of our excited winners with their raffle prizes. I hope you will all continue supporting these shops that so generously supported the RKG this holiday season!

Yarn Tree Studio, Raleigh, NC

Sassafras Creations

Knitterati Sock Club

Hillsborough Yarn Shop, Hillsborough, NC

Great Yarns/Yarns Etc., Raleigh, NC and Chapel Hill, NC

Downtown Knits, Apex, NC

Cozy, Durham, NC

Color Me Happy Yarns

Admit Ewe Knit, Raleigh, NC

Many thanks to you all, and happy holidays!

socks fit for a yoga master

When my mother-in-law said that my sister-in-law was taking up yoga and had asked for a mat this Christmas, I decided to knit some yoga socks to complete her ensemble. I used my friend Meg's pattern as the basis, and was completely pleased with the results.

First, her instructions were so much simpler than the ones I saw on Ravelry. Second, it's written in a way that you can change up the ribbing, add various cables or stitches...the possibilities are endless. Third, they knit up quick and are great for stash busting. It just so happens that I had some Encore in my stash leftover from the owlie sack and hat, and it was the perfect yarn for this. Soft, durable, and just stretchy enough. Love, love, love!

Mamaw's fudge

I don't really have a name for this stuff...I just call it "Mamaw's chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallow fudge". Not very catchy, is it? I could call it "mmmmm, wow!" or "ohmygod", but for now we'll just call it "Mamaw's fudge". This is the stuff that I think of when i think about the holidays, because Mamaw took any special occasion as a reason to make it. She had a crazy sweet tooth, as evidenced by this made-up candy.

So how do you do it? It's super easy. Here we go.

Ingredients:
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
a dollop of peanut butter
1/2-3/4 bag of mini-marshmallows

Melt the chips in a double boiler, or in a medium sauce pan over low heat. Add a dollop of peanut butter when the chips begin melting. Melt both, stir together well. NOTE: I hate when people use measurements like "dollop" or "smidgen", but really, just use as much or as little as you'd like. I probably use 2-3 tablespoons per 10 oz of chocolate.



Once the chocolate is melted, add in marshmallows and stir until coated. I feel like I've added enough marshmallows when there isn't much remnant chocolate left in the mix.

Historically I've poured the mixture in a glass pan, let it set in the fridge, then cut it into squares for serving. This year I decided to use the cupcake tins since they worked out so well for my birthday candies. Worked like a charm. Also, I usually double the recipe because it's for a party or some gathering of peoples. My double batch at Thanksgiving yielded 14 cupcake cups.

Since this is such an insanely sweet treat, I wasn't sure if the Lopezes would be into it, but they were! On day 3 my brother-in-law called dibs on the last piece and I was so incredibly happy. It's tough not to be able to share Mamaw with my new family, so it was nice to share this piece of her.

WIP Wednesday: the sweater

My first sweater is coming along nicely. I've just cast-on the final two pieces - the sleeves! To everyone who suggested knitting the sleeves simultaneously - THANK YOU - YOU ARE ALL GENIUSES! I was really on a roll with the project and I've just hit a wall, as evidenced by the fact that I haven't touched it in over a month. If I weren't knitting the sleeves at the same time, I might never finish it. Plus, they will be completely identical this way. Or at least they have a greater chance of being identical this way.

Making a sweater was one of my 2011 goals and since I'm not doing too hot on the others, I really need to pull through on this one. Fingers crossed!

HO HO HO!: Christmas in November

Jose's whole family came to Raleigh for Thanksgiving, which was super, super fun...but the shenanigans didn't stop after just one holiday. Since the fam won't be together for Christmas, we decided to exchange gifts the day after Thanksgiving. That's right, black Friday was our Christmas.

A few years ago everyone came into town on December 27th and we celebrated Christmas and then NYE as a family. Jose's mom was SO into being together that she handed out everyone's gift and "ho-ho-ho'd" with each one. Hilarious and fun. Well, this year she decided to outdo herself. She bought a Santa costume. No joke. I laughed until I hurt.

I keep referring to all of my gifts as "my favorite". I'm pretty easy to please anyway, so it's totally normal that I love all my stuff. My in-laws gave me a Santa charm for my charm bracelet which will serve as a constant reminder of what a fun day and year this was, and what a great extended family I have. HO HO HO!

choppin' broc-o-lie...eventually

I'd given up on checking the garden every other day for signs of life, when Jose found not one, but three little broccoli bunches! I'm hoping they can survive the bunnies and end up on our table for dinner - winter garden for the win!