blueprints of a dream

This may not look like much to you, but it's my craft workspace brainchild, sketched by Jose. I've been craving a dedicated space for all of my knitting supplies, but in the interest of being tidy, my stuff is all tucked in bins that are not-so-strategically scattered about my house. For those of you with any sort of crafty hobby, you completely know what I'm talking about and you feel my pain. Anyway, the result of me trying to be non-intrusive, is that I'm overly-intrusive. There are projects and supplies everywhere. It drives Jose crazy, and it really gets under the skin of the uber-planner/organizer in me. And it tempts Puggie to do bad things - by the way, she doesn't really need me to enable her, she gets into enough on her own.

So my latest kick is that I want a sewing machine. I've sewn a lot of things by hand over the years, and I have a half-finished quilt tucked away in a closet...PLUS, my friends Christy and Tina talked about (and flaunted) their sewn goods until I caved. Well, that was really the straw that broke the craft supply camel's back...I carved out a corner of our guest room, and after much measuring and online browsing, I came up with this configuration. I used painters tape to mark it up and see if it would work and Jose was nice enough to sketch it all out. It works, and I love it. Now comes the hard part: material retrieval and construction. Stay tuned.

swedish potatoes

My favorite kind of recipe is one that uses foods that I typically have in my kitchen. Also, most of the recipes I use are ones that someone else recommends. It's nice to get trusted opinions, warnings, and suggestions before diving into something that may or may not be good. My friend Christy has given me some pretty fantastic suggestions over the years, and these Swedish potatoes were no exception. The recipe calls for you to drizzle melted butter and olive oil over them, rub freshly minced garlic between the slices, and top with salt and pepper. They were really great, but I should have used more butter. And next time I'll probably start branching out with some various herbs and spices. The possibilities are really endless...

the great yarn fiasco of 2011

Oh, Puggie. Why did you do it? Since she can't talk, we can only assume that she did this because I was painting in another room and had locked her out. Because I didn't want her to breathe in the fumes. Because I love her. Jose thinks that she thinks that yarn is a toy. Not me. I think she's just mischievous. And super cute.

Side note for the knitters: this is the cheapest yarn I have in my stash. I told her that she's lucky the Madeline Tosh wasn't the one that struck her fancy.

seasons change and so does my garden

I don't typically get the end-of-summer blues until mid-winter. At the exact moment that I forget how excruciatingly hot June, July and August really were, I want them back. But something tells me that this year I will miss the dog days of summer a little sooner, because I will miss my garden. What to do, what to do? Ah, yes - plant a Fall/Winter crop.

I didn't start anything from seed, and the pickins' was slim. We have cauliflower, broccoli, and collard greens. The first two are favorites, the last one I've never cooked. Or eaten. So I will need help on that front if these actually produce!

possum scarflet

Last year some friends of ours traveled to Australia, crazy awesome, right? I know, I was totally jealous too. It just so happens that they stumbled upon a market with hand-knitted things, and also some pretty fantastic yarn. The result was a super cute hat for their super cute kid, and a skein of yarn for me - hip, hip hooray!

Whenever yarn is a gift or souvenir, or sentimental in any way, I have the hardest time deciding what to knit with it. And in this case, in addition to being a souvenir and a gift, it was also really unique. Why? Because it's a local yarn, spun from POSSUM fur, and un-dyed. You can actually see some individual hairs in the yarn (wow) AND the smell sends Berger into a frenzy. Berger Lopez: possum hunter. Rii-i-i-ight.

Anyway, the point is that I wasn't sure what to make...then I finally saw the Tweed Scarflet in KnitScene Easy 2010. Bingo. It was completely perfect. I knit it up in about an hour and a half, easy peasy. If I had it to do all over again, I think I would have chosen some more colorful buttons...but hey, buttons can quite easily be replaced.

And for those who were curious, here's the really sassy hand-knit hat that the baby got...

Photo and child by: Todd Guerdat

I think she likes it.

what is love?

Has it really been that long? Time has sped by at an inconceivable rate - tomorrow marks our sixth wedding anniversary. You are correct, that means that we were married at the age of 16. Or maybe we're just in denial about how the numbers add up...

So why am I blogging today instead of tomorrow? Well, because we are celebrating our union with a night out on the town tonight. Why tonight instead of tomorrow night? Well, that's because tomorrow is the kick-off to college football season. You may be asking yourself: what kind of husband rearranges an anniversary celebration to watch football? I'd have to point out that it was my idea. The love of football: one of many reasons why I love Jose.


Other reasons include: the fact that he gives in to my crazy whims (like going to Super Bowl 43), he cheers for my Alma Mater, even though they are hated by his college team, he loves growing vegetables as much as I do, he has indulged me in rescuing two of the cutest dogs on the planet, he is surpassed in awesomeness only by his fantastic family, he does the laundry, he rarely complains about my yarn habit (and loves the socks I've knitted for him), he never forgets a special occasion, he's an excellent chef, he baby talks the aforementioned dogs when he thinks no one is listening (sorry, but it's true), he complains minimally about some of my ridiculous TV shows, he handles all bug and spider issues promptly...

And the final reason is that his idea for a joint anniversary gift this year was a new composter. The one I've been dreaming of. The one that will help us be even more green and garden-efficient. And he's just as excited about it as I am. That's love, folks. That's love.

show me fierce

I almost feel bad for all of the many, many dogs out there that are sweet and smart, but can in no way match the cuteness, or dare I say fierceness, of the Lopez K-9s. I say 'show me love' and they show me love, I say 'show me fierce' and they give me fierce. Don't believe me? A picture's worth a thousand woofs...


Now accepting modeling contract offers for these two primo pups. Make sure the offer is good, though. They say peanut butter and fresh bacon are non-negotiable, as is freshly cut basil for sniffing, and a fresh dirt patch for rolling.

WIP Wednesday: first sweater

One of my goals for the year was to knit a sweater for myself. I've been knitting long enough to take on a bigger project, and I'm a little bored with the same-old. I toiled over which pattern to use (way more than I'm willing to admit), but I knew that if I wasn't excited about it, if I was *too* bored to death with it, that I'd never finish it.

The Raglan (asymmetrical) Cardi from Knit Simple won, hands down! To make the deal a little sweeter, two of my (incredibly talented) knitting friends agreed to do make the sweater as well - knit-a-long style! My yarn? The very affordable Encore Tweed, in grey.

So far, I'm totally loving it. AND I think I'm on pace to finish it by the end of the year, but secretly (I guess now it's a little less of a secret), I hope to have it ready to wear on Thanksgiving. I would cross my fingers right now, but it's clear that I need them freed up for knitting.