baking

So last week--let's just say that perhaps maybe I neglected to put the things I was really going to do--actually needed to do on this list. Which made it very unfulfilling to spend a day doing them and having nothing to cross off. What am I talking about? Baking of course.
Last week I made, two batches of hard candy--one strawberry, one watermelon and a batch of marshmallows. The candy was supposed to be red and green. I made the strawberry first and colored it red. Then I made the watermelon and the flavor oil turned the candy pink! Which of course meant that my green turned it grayish brown. So lovely and so festive! I'm making two batches of spiced pecans today. So at the end of last week, my kitchen was full of this:
and this:

And of course this morning, I'm doing the first batch of pecans (I need to buy pecans for the second batch --eeek) so this is making my house smell all good:
That's a long way of saying there were still items left on the list. Mostly dealing with wrapping presents--a task I despise. However, wrapping of the girls' presents must must must get done this week--this is the last week of school. I also broke out bigger tasks I want to accomplish this week, so my list for this week looks really really long.but it is so so satisfying to cross things off--so there is that.
Hopefully though, even if I don't get all the way through my list, I'll be ready for everyone to have their winter vacations and just chill in my messy messy house. And knit--oh yes knit.

cowl and sweaters

Last week I got EVERY SINGLE THING on my to do list done. That has not happened since I started keeping a weekly to do list 7 weeks ago. And it means that the secret Christmas jammies are done!! This week's list looks long, but I'm hoping I can knock it out too.

One thing that was not on my list this week, but needed to get done (and I should have written it on there) was to create a "ugly" Christmas "sweater" for both girls to wear to a Christmas party. After failing to find anything at Salvation army and refusing to spend $ (although I did buy puff paint for $10 so maybe I should rethink this next time) we decided to decorate some old sweatshirts that their grandma gave us for the occasion. What was really funny was in discussing the designs, it became clear neither girl understood what "ugly Christmas sweater" meant. So they both were dubious as my suggestions, and one of them kept begging to add black widow spiders. It went like this:
me: how about a big santa hat?
her: with a black widow spider on it?
me: um or maybe a Christmas tree?
her: decorated with black widow spiders?

In the end, no black widows, and not terribly ugly either:

On to the knitting!:
I think I might have finished the cowl I was letting myself work on only for this week. I say think because I'm not sure I'm happy with it.

First, I'm not sure it is wide enough. I still have enough of both yarns to make a second one, but that seems a little odd to have two. Even odder to give the identical one away. And I'm not sure it is actually long enough either--this is it wrapped around me--just one wrap. (pre morning run, and so pre-shower/makeup sorry)

So, I didn't tuck in the ends, in case I decide to rip it out and start over.
Pattern:Bloom Striped cowl
needles: US size 8
yarn: Misti alpaca baby me boo Autumn Aster and Malabrigo silky merino

Bloom Striped cowl

I finally finished the socks. I did neglect to get a picture of puppy girl wearing them, but she wore them for a day and a half before taking them off and shoving them behind the throw pillow on the couch. This is a normal repository of socks in my house and I am convinced that both girls consider this to be part of their hamper. I TRY to do the natural consequence thing and not wash things that aren't in the hamper, but honestly they either have too many socks or their tolerance for socks shoved behind cushions of the couch is higher than mine. Perhaps both.

I decided to compromise and give myself a week, this week, to work on an alternate project before starting the second pair of socks. I mentioned a while ago that my LYS had a sale and when I went everyone was just gushing about the Bloom striped cowl. I bought two skeins to make it with and then laid out all my other purples to see if maybe one of them didn't go better. Then this weekend, I even dug out a burgundy and a baby blue. In the end I decided to go with not the silky wool I bought, but a darker purple. That um is called.... um.... I think I may have lost the ball band. Isn't that terrible? I do keep the ball bands--but I always get into trouble when the yarn comes in a skein and I decide I need to wind it RIGHT NOW!

I did a search of the yarn cabinet and did come up with the tag. The yarn is Malabrigo Silky merino.

And I quite like how it is turning out.

I will say this, whenever a pattern says cast on, I use a knitted cast on. I like it, I like how it looks. Sometimes I'll do a cable cast on--again easy peasy and looks nice. However, sometimes a pattern will specify and I truly try to believe that the pattern designer is not just a control freak who wants me use her favorite cast on and actually think there is a reason. So I use the cast on specified. That said--man I hate me some long tail cast on.