The Holiday Craze...

I am sure that, like me, everyone is crazy busy with the holidays. And as if the time of year doesn’t make me crazy enough, I got my invitation to Ravelry about three weeks ago. Can’t stay out of there! It has quickly become my favorite thing to do on a Saturday and Sunday morning, when I should be finishing up some of those Christmas gifts...

I have managed to finish a couple of things. I have my hat for my favorite Aunti done. Love this color and the yarn is so soft! I am not sure what brand it is because I picked it up at my LYS bargain loft. I do know it is Italian though. I was toying with the idea of sewing some fun buttons on the brim, my Aunt loves buttons and has been collect them since she was a little girl. Thought it would be a nice touch.



I have a green one made out of the same yarn that I need to FROG part of because I think I acciden

I also just finished up my snowmen last night. I have to say, they turned out so darn cute! These are for my sister, three little boy snowmen — because she has three boys of course.



Bragger’s Corner...

I have to show off my mom here this time, too! Is this not the most beautiful table cloth ever she is working on? And guess who it is for? Yep, me! It is so very pretty and obviously a lot of work, I think she is two years into it now. Can you imagine working all this up with a tiny crochet hook and string weight yarn! Eeks! Lucky me though! I will post more pictures as I get them.


Ok, since we are bragging I have to toss in my boys here. Just look how handsome they are, how can I not toss them in here, too? The oldest one just took all conference line backer.


The younger one just got invited to play in the school jazz band (did not even have to try out) — he plays the tuba.



Favorite holiday cookie: Chocolate Covered Cherrie Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Beat butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Add dry ingredients and stir until smooth.
Roll into 1-inch balls about the size of a walnut (larger if desired). Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Drain cherries and reserve juice. Press center of each ball with thumb. Place a cherry in indentation.
In a saucepan, heat condensed milk and chocolate chips until chips are melted. Stir in 4 teaspoons of cherry juice. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of mixture over each cherry and spread to cover cherry. (More cherry juice may be added to keep frosting of spreading consistency.)
Bake for 10 minutes.

Grace's Hat

I have had a couple of questions about the little hat I made for Grace, so I thought I would try to give a few more details.



The original pattern came from Kids Knitted Hats by Cabin Fever. I started the hat as instructed, but quickly realized I liked the scalloped edge hanging down much more than folded up as in the picture. I knew I would have to alter the pattern, though, as the bound off top of the original did not (in my mind) go with the scalloped edge I was going to leave down. I continued knitting in the round until that hat measured a good length for a small hat, purled for three rows and then started by decrease by dividing out my stitches evenly. The decrease I used was a skpsso (slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over).

Below is a picture of the original hat from the book and the cover of the book incase anyone is interested in purchasing it.

News, Wine and gravy....

News...
Big news in the house this week is Dalton made All Conference Linebacker on the varsity team this year and him and his best bud Joey will be captains next year! It is so rewarding to see all the hard work pay off and see your kids dreams come to reality! We could not be prouder of them!

I don’t have any fun completed projects to post this week. I have been working away on a wrap and an afghan. The afghan was suppose to start out as a jacket made out of the Lion Brand faux suede. But the pattern was a little too experienced for me so I will have to wait until my mom is coming for a visit and make it then. In the meantime, the yarn is so soft I have decided to make a lap afghan out of it in the same stitch my jacket will be made out of so I can practice.

Wine...
Hurry up and wait seems to be the name of the game for Ravelry. I could kick myself for not signing up a few months ago when I first got wind of it. Don’t know what I was thinking. Now here I am weeks later with 7,932 people still ahead of me. Don’t get me wrong, this is much better than when I had 10,498 people ahead of me... Anyhow, it is good to be moving up the list. If you have not checked out Ravelry, you should!

The Ravelry address is: https://www.ravelry.com/account/login

Gravy...

Since I do not have any fun projects to post, I am going to post a recipe for make ahead gravy since Thanksgiving is just around the corner. We usually have lots of people at our house for Thanksgiving (which I love) and it can get a little tight getting everything done and on the table at the same time. Two years ago my bud, Kelly, got a recipe from her mom for make ahead gravy she had clipped from a Woman’s Day Magazine. I loved the idea and made this last year, it was fabulous and a great time saver!

Make Ahead Gravy
Makes: 8 cups
Time: About 3 hr (mostly unattended)

Planning Tip: Make up to 3 months ahead and freeze in an airtight container. Refrigerate 2 days to thaw. Reheat in a saucepan, whisking often.

4 turkey wings (about 3 lb)
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
1 cup water
8 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp stick butter or margarine
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Have ready a large roasting pan.

2. Arrange wings in a single layer in pan; scatter onions over top. Roast 1 1/4 hours until wings are browned.

3. Put wings and onions in a 5- to 6-qt pot. Add water to roasting pan and stir to scrape up any brown bits on bottom. Add to pot. Add 6 cups broth (refrigerate remaining 2 cups), the carrot and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours.

4. Remove wings to cutting board. When cool, pull off skin and meat. Discard skin; save meat for another use.

5. Strain broth into a 3-qt saucepan, pressing vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard vegetables; skim fat off broth and discard (if time permits, refrigerate broth overnight to make fat-skimming easier).

6. Whisk flour into remaining 2 cups broth until blended and smooth.

7. Bring broth in pot to a gentle boil. Whisk in broth-flour mixture and boil 3 to 4 minutes to thicken gravy and remove floury taste. Stir in butter and pepper. Serve, or pour into containers and refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 6 months.

Per 1/2 cup: 52 cal, 2 g pro, 6 g car, 0 g fiber, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 4 mg chol, 516 mg sod

One UFO Done...

Ta dah! I finished my cute little hate for Grace. I really struggled with whether or not to stray from the pattern with this (scroll down to see what the hat was suppose to look like). I don’t have the experience under my belt to be able to picture exactly how it would turn out and I really did not want to have to take it out stitches. This puppy was knit on size 4 (Harmony needles from knitpicks.com – fabulous!) which adds up to a lot of stitches!


One of the things I really liked about this pattern was how the P3 / K3 rows really accented with the stripes in the yarn. I wanted to bring this pattern back into the top prior to decreasing to create unity with the bottom part of the hat, plus I thought it would create a fabulous framed area for the six buttons I want to add around it (mostly for decoration but also to cover up the tiny holes my m1s left, not sure why will have to work on that).

So I made sure I measured out to almost the distance the pattern called for before decreasing, did two rounds of the P3 / K3 rows and then started my decrease. I have to say I am very happy with the results, although the were unexpected. The purl stitches totally changed how the decrease angled! Making the top of the cap flat instead of round, much like a little fishing hat.

Another cool thing about this patter, you could knit it in 100% wool add an i-cord handle and felt it for an adorable little basket/bowl. It would also be a great way to make a flat bottomed purse.

Off to see what other UFOs I can finish up... I think I hear a snowman calling me.

Warm the Tummy with Cheeseburger Chowder!

My kids beg me to make this soup, it is fabulous and hearty. I tend to add just a little extra flour with the butter to make the soup a bit thicker -- but not too much, you don't want paste!

Go ahead and garnish this with mustard, diced tomatoes and diced pickles -- it is so yummy! Sounds odd, I know, and it took us a while to work up to it (especially the pickles and mustard) but once we did we never looked back.

Cheeseburger Chowder
1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
4 tablespoons butter, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup diced carrots
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups diced peeled potatoes
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
2 cups cubed process American Cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
Garnish:
Chopped dill pickle
Chopped tomato
Squirt of Mustard

In a saute pan brown the ground beef. Drain and set aside. In same saute pan saute onion in 1 tablespoon butter until tender. Add garlic, carrots, basil and parsley. Saute about 3 minutes. Add broth and beef and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover, simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until carrots and potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile melt remaining butter in a small skillet. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add evaporated milk, stirring constantly, cooking and stirring for 6 to 8 minutes. Gradually stir the sauce into the soup. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese, salt and pepper. Continue to stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream. Garnish each serving with squirt of mustard, chopped fresh tomatoes and dill pickle slices.

Featured Free Pattern: Pumpkin Basket

I saw this Pumpkin Basket and fell in love! This pattern is from Mag Knits and is so very festive! The name of the pattern on the site is a little odd (12:01), but it does pop up as the first pattern with this name.

I hope I get to make this this year, but I already have so many other projects I need to get done I just don't know that I see it happening! Oh well, there is always next year. In the meantime, I hope someone else out there gets tht chance!

Take care all!

I'm in the Knitter's Coffee Swap 3!

I am so excited, and I just squeaked in a number 150! Not the last person in as the ended up taking 152 so as to not turn anyone away, but how lucky am I?!

I have been crocheting since I was a little girl and I just started knitting about three years ago. My mom taught both to me (she is an INCREDIBLE yarn artist!). I am 38 (eek), been married 18 years this Sunday and have two boys, 16 (eek again) and 12.

I did not start drinking coffee until after my second son was born. He was cesarean and they had me on a liquid diet. I was starving and had to choose between coffee and Jello (which I hate). Coffee won and now I love coffee! The first smell when you open a new vacuum packed pouch, the smell of it brewing in the morning, the way the cream swirls into it, the first fabulous sip. What’s not to love. My husband thinks if I have another baby I might start liking onions, but we won’t be testing this theory!

I am a mom first, graphic designer by day to pay the bills and a knitter every spare moment I can find. I have recently become a LYS junky, too. Can’t get enough of all that color in one spot. I seem to have to go through touching everything! And this Friday I am taking the day off from work to do a LYS Shop Hop! I’m a goner, huh?

Below is my Q&A, I am looking forward to meeting my Swap PAL!

Q&A
1. Whole bean or ground?
I prefer ground, but vacuum packed so preserve flavor. But I do have a coffee grinder and would be totally open to beans, they would make a great weekend treat.

2. Fully-loaded or decaf?
Fully loaded!

3. Regular or flavored?
I am currently hooked on Gevalia coffee, any of their non flavored blends and roasts. But I also like a nice Hazelnut and Pumpkin Spice, but that is about all the flavored ones I find I like.

4. How do you drink your coffee?
Half n Half and Sugar (usually Splenda)

5. Favorite coffee ever?
Love Pumpkin Spice as a fall weekend treat, snuggled up in my chair Saturday morning with my fuzzy robe, slippers and current knitting project and computer. Or in my office playing with my stamps.

6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do?
I don’t think I am too fussy, but I do like a good cup of Joe to start my day. I hate it when I run out of my Gevelia and have to resort to some grocery store bought something.

7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee?
Baked treats with cinnamon. Love the combo! Sometimes on the weekends I make scones with cinnamon chips, so yummy!

8. Anything else about your coffee preferences?
Not that I can think of.

9. Yarn/fiber you love?
Love really soft 100% wool, worsted weight. I also love soft 100% cotton.

10. Yarn/fiber you hate?
Can’t seem to get into the acrylic blends much when knitting, it feels sticky going across my fingers. Much like finger nails on a chalkboard. I just bought an acrylic/wool blend and ended up taking the project apart because I could not stand the way it felt to work with.

11. What's on your needles?
I have a cute hat going, a wrap, some snowmen, some felted clogs and am looking forward to starting a sheepy bag.

12. Favorite colors?
Fall is my color season for sure! Love fall colors.

13. Allergies?
None, but i really don't like cigarette smoke/smell in my yarn.

14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest?
I have two wonderful boys (12 and 16) and the nicest husband (most days) in the world. I am a novice knitter and am having loads of fun experimenting, so I think I will be a fairly easy swap buddy. I prefer wooden kneedles, infact I just bought some of the Harmony needles on knitpicks.com — fabulous needles! I am going to by more later this month. I also crochet and currently have a faux suede jacket going on my hook. I bought myself the most beautiful cherry wood hook for the project.

Me, a Blogger...?

Who would have thought I would succumb to the blog? Sounds suspiciously like a disease, but I think this could be fun. Plus with family so far away, an online diary could be a great way to stay in touch. And this might just be a fabulous name for my "someday" yarn store!

I have started this post hoping to get an invitation (and preparing just in case I do) to participate in a Coffee Yarn Swap for which they recommend having a blog. But I think I have high hopes for my little blog (as I am sure everyone does), with my goal being to update once a week — most likely weekends.

Since the title of my blog is Wooly Wonder's Café, it only seems appropriate to start with what I currently have on my needles. I am happy to say I currently have three projects going at one time! For those of you who knit with me, I suffer from obsessing about one project at a time until it is finished, so having three sets of occupied needles at one time is quite the accomplishment for me.

The first project is the adorable hat I am making for Gracie (a very cute little cousin in the family) for Christmas. I have decided to make hats for all the cold weather kids this year, they are so easy and fun to make, plus inexpensive to mail so I think I will include candy or something.


I have to say I am in love with this yarn, especially for it being an inexpensive fiber from JoAnn’s (which I purchased with a 40% off coupon and saved even more). The pattern is from a hat for kis book and has been fairly easy for the novice knitter that I am. I am in a quandary now, though. To deviate from the pattern or stick with the pattern!

As you can see from the photo from the book, the brim will be folded up and the top is more squared off with a three needle bind off (which will be a new technique for me). However, I love the ruffled floppy brim, it is very girly. I am tempted to leave the brim down and go with a standard round beanie style decrease, then place cute little buttons (4-5) around the middle section just before the decrease begins. Stay tuned, I am bound to make a decision soon — it is in my obsessive nature!

Another set of needles is occupied by the Modern Quilt Wrap from the Kitting Daily site (kittingdaily.com). If you are not a member of this site, I highly recommend signing up ASAP! Starting this week they are posting a Stitch of the Day from the upcoming Harmony Guide book series. The stitches will only be posted for one day Monday-Friday, very cool!

Anyhow, I had trouble visualizing how these magical little squares formed for this Wrap. As it turns out, it is pretty easy and there really has not been any “tricky” knitting required. I am venturing off the pattern a bit by not using the recommended yarn (daring, huh?). I am making this wrap for a Christmas and I want it to be pretty and warm, so I am using a soft sport weight wool. That will make it hand wash only, but I think that will be ok. Since I am only on block seven, the jury is still out as to whether or not my yarn/color selection will be a winner — time will tell!

I also have to post an image of my big find this weekend! Are these not the most beautiful colors ever, and I got them for half price!! I have started another wrap using these nine colors. Mohair is much harder to work with than wool, though. I need to find a number seven needle with a sharper point, I think. The K2T in back loop is very hard with my wooden clover needles. I may try the Harmony needles from KnitPicks.com.

And the last item(s) on my needles are the Wooly Snowmen! I am trying to make some snow families for Christmas presents. Nice thing about these little guys is that when it comes to making scarves and hats for them I can use up my scraps! Woo-hoo!

I hope to start my Sheepy Knitting Bag soon...