Handmade Wednesday

Today I have a simple pattern for some reusable face cloths/face scrubbies. I use these every night when I wash my face and they are great. I use cotton yarn and they knit up super quick and the best part is they are machine washable so you can use them over and over.

Cast on 8 to 10 stitches. Knit in garter stitch, (knit every row), for 8 to 10 rows. Bind off and weave in ends. That's it.

Give it a try. This is a great use too for using up scrap cotton yarns too.

Handmade Wednesday Linky Party

Favorite Fall Comfort Food

Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year.I look forward to bundling up in layers, wrapping up in a soft cushy scarf and gloves. I also look forward to making some of my must have, leaves falling, cold weather, comfort food. I bake more in the fall. I love filling my home with scents of cinnamon and nutmeg, apples and pumpkin. I have a new recipe for Pumpkin Bread that I just love and I'm going to share it with you. Please give it a try and let me know how you like it.

Angela's Pumpkin Walnut Bread

2 cups flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2-3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, the brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg. Add pumpkin, milk, eggs and oil.Beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. If mixture is too thick, add another 1/4 cup of milk. It should be a little thicker than pancake batter, but not as thick as bread dough. Add remaining flour. Stir in nuts.Pour into a greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 60 - 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

*If you can find fresh nutmeg, please try it. It is so worth it. My loaf was eaten so fast, I didn't get a photo of it. Next time, maybe. :D

What are some of your Autumn Favorites?

Take a Look Tuesday Linky Party

Fiber Goodies Galore!

On Saturday I attended my very first YarnCon in Chicago and it was glorious! I met the organizers and they were super friendly and total fiber junkies just like me. I volunteered to help at the show and "booth sat" for the lovely and talented Allyson from The Sweatshop of Love for a little bit and then I spent the rest of the afternoon touching, feeling, and being in awe of so many beautiful yarns and fibers and so much more. Here are my goodies from the day:
Project bag and stitch markers from Stitch Candy.

$5 Mystery Bag from Chicago Knitters Unite.

Superwash Merino hand dyed from Colorbug.

A skein of Twinkle Sock from AnotherCraftyGirl.

A skein of 100% Merino in Plum Crazy from Sun Valley Fibers.

And a bar of handmade soap shaped like a sheep from Jabonero Blake Soap Works.

YarnCon!

I am getting ready for my first ever YarnCon! YarnCon is as you might guess, a yarn convention, a Disneyworld for knitters if you will. I have been to other fiber fairs, but this is a special one because a lot of the vendors are local "indie" yarn dyers and artists. I am so excited to find some really unique yarns to create truly one of a kind designs for my shop.

YarnCon

Check back soon for photos of all my goodies!

I am a Who-vian!

“Through crimson stars and silent stars and tumbling nebulas, like oceans set on fire. Through empires of glass and civilisations of pure thought, and a whole, terrible, wonderful universe of impossibilities."

Matt Smith, the 11th Doctor
Episode 9 "Night Terrors"


I started watching Doctor Who with the 9th Doctor, Christopher Eccleston and I've watched some of the classic episodes too. Although David Tennant is my favorite doctor, I have an appreciation for each regeneration. And I love the story of River Song.

If you understood any of this, you're a Who-vian too!

Yarn Yarn Everywhere

I have been very busy planning new designs and accruing ball after ball of yarn. It is slowly taking over my dining room and part of my living room. I have lived in a very small house for a long time so I've become somewhat of a master at blending my yarn stash into my decor but it is becoming more and more difficult, lol.

I am enjoying the start of Autumn in Chicagoland as well. Cooler days, leaves turning...it is my favorite time of the year. I tried my hand at making some felted bowls with the idea of having some candy corn in them, I must practice some more as felting is much more of an art than a science. Once you've knitted your piece, you're never quite certain of how the felting will turn out. You can see the bowl in my dining room along with my branch of fall leaves and jar of suckers...

My Music Man

An ode to my beautiful, guitar playing husband...we've been together for 17 years and the first time I saw him, he was playing guitar...my favorite thing to listen to still, him playing his Martin guitar.

Autumn Splendor is on the way...

I have been so busy designing new yummy knits for fall and winter, getting a Junior in high school and a 2nd grader ready for a new school year, and becoming a first time Room Mom that I've neglected this little old blog. So here are the knits I've been working on...

                                                                 Knit Hat Admiral Blue

Autumn Stroll Fingerless Gloves

Knit Scarf Cable Cowl

                                                   Chunky Knit Bracelet Lemongrass

                                                            Autumn Knit Bracelet

I am also working on making some of my patterns available for purchase on my Etsy shop
In the meantime, I await the cool colorful crisp Autumn...

                                    Autumn Fires by Robert Louis Stevenson

                                                    In the other gardens
                                                    And all up the vale,
                                               From the autumn bonfires
                                                   See the smoke trail!

                                                Pleasant summer over
                                             And all the summer flowers,
                                                  The red fire blazes,
                                                The grey smoke towers.

                                              Sing a song of seasons!
                                               Something bright in all!
                                                Flowers in the summer,
                                                     Fires in the fall!