We Interrupt Our Knitting Content For..........

MUFFINS!


My youngest son LOVES almond-poppy seed muffins, but I don't love the price of the Krusteaz muffin mixes he prefers. I knew I could make more, better muffins, from scratch and less expensively than the cost of a mix. So I warmed up my google-fu and searched for a muffin recipe. Reading down the ingredient list of the majority of recipes nearly gave me a heart attack. They ALL used so much OIL! I wanted Almond-Poppy Seed muffins, not OIL Muffins. This prompted me to figure out how to make a tasty muffin (that would be 13-year-old-boy approved), and not be swimming in oil. I suppose what I came up with is low-fat (sorta), but it wasn't what I was shooting for. I just wanted muffins my kid would eat. So here it is......

MY ALMOND POPPYSEED MUFFINS

WET INGREDIENTS
2 ½ cups plain non-fat yogurt
½ cup vegetable oil
6 large eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla
3 tsp almond extract
2 cups milk (I used non-fat)
Measure and mix all together.

DRY INGREDIENTS
6 cups flour
4 ½ sugar
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
4 TBSP Poppy Seeds.

Measure and mix together dry ingredients. Then add wet ingredients to dry and mix until all is combined (do not beat). Spoon into muffin cups ( I used a standard size ice cream scoop for regular-sized muffins). Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

This makes a HUGE number of muffins - 4 dozen standard size muffins (I have a freezer and I'm not afraid to use it!). But you can easily halve the recipe, or make Lemon-Poppy Seed muffins by substituting Lemon Flavoring for the Almond, and throwing in the zest of a lemon. Next up, experimenting with other flavor muffins (although the kid will eat ONLY Almond-Poppy Seed - I told you he was weird).

2010 - The Year of Socks

Apparently, for me, 2010 has been the year of socks......In no particular order......


















A total of SEVENTEEN pairs of socks by my count on Ravelry (couldn't find all of the pics in my file). And I am proud to say that the majority of these socks were knitted for Afghans for Afghans. Although I am ashamed to say that I had promised my husband 6 new pairs of socks in 2010. He got ONE (well, I got a second pair of socks halfway done for him. Halfway). So I have to work harder on my hubby's sock supply. He loves his handknitted socks and I have to keep his tootsies warm.

I DO have a knitting goal for 2011. I want to knit a piece for entry into the Puyallup Fair. That's the big deal state fair in my neck o' the woods. I do have a piece in mind. Well, a couple of pieces, that require that I learn a new technique - Entrelac. Proud to say that learning Entrelac was pretty easy. I am now the master of entrelac, and to prove it, I knit THIS:


Noro Kureyon from the Beardsley stash. Next up, Motley from Knitty.com. I have assembled a HUGE random collection of Noro Kureyon for this little gem.

And now for recent FO's. Not much in the way of Christmas gifts. I wasn't in the mood to kill myself with a Christmas deadline this year, but I did do gifts for the girls in the office. A shawl for Galina:
Gloves for Kayley And a hat because I thought the pattern was interesting and I had yarn.


Well there is a big ball of Kureyon calling my name................

Binge Knitting

I'm beginning to suspect that 2010 is the year of charity knitting for me. This is not a problem, BTW, except for the 6 pairs of socks I promised to knit for my DH this year. I've gotten ONE pair done.

But I just sent a small box of goodies off to Afghans for Afghans the other day:



I love that I have been doing some serious stash reduction with these projects. I found and used yarn that I had all but forgotten about. The blue stuff and the watermelon striped stuff, for example. They both made beautiful, colorful, and warm socks.

I've been thinking about and discussing charity knitting with friends online and in person, and I have come to the conclusion that charity knitting (especially for an organization like A4A) is a meditation on peace. Each stitch is a wish/prayer for peace. I like that idea. I like it a lot.

I, of course, already have other charity knitting in process. I'll keep on knitting goodies for Afghans for Afghans until they tell me to stop. My wish is that this charity knitting would be completely unnecessary in the very near future, but the realist in me knows better. I will keep knitting and praying for peace for as long as it takes.

Boom, Boom, Boom.....Muffins

Kiddo #3 loves muffins for breakfast, but I don't like buying mixes when I can homebake easily (and get a MUCH better result).

So last night I did a couple batches of Muffins for my Boys (the ones I gave birth to, AND the one I married).

Almond Poppyseed Muffins



And Banana Nut Muffins



Gonna have to make more of those Banana muffins - I only had enough bananas to make one batch. They have a touch of strong coffee in them and it seems to do a trick.

Now I need to find a pumpkin strusel muffin recipe that DOESN'T have cream cheese in the middle (what's up with that).

Charity Knitting holds a special place in the special place in my heart where my love of knitting dwells. I’ve always believed that knitting is a way of expressing love. I don’t knit for just anybody for any reason (although it is well known I need only the tiniest reason to knit something for someone). I knit socks for my husband to show how much I love him. I knit for my sons to surround them with warmth when I can’t be there with them. I knit for new babies to share the joy of their tiny lives with their parents. And, I knit socks for my Sister-in-law’s Mother just to make her happy (and keep her feet warm). But none of this is charity knitting. This is knitting to share my love with those that I love and care about.

But when I pick up my needles to knit socks or mittens or a blanket for Afghans for Afghans, it IS an expression of love, but not for individuals or for little babies. Charity Knitting expresses my love for my fellow humans, for those men, women and children for whom a warm pair of socks, or a blanket means their difficult life in a war torn country will be just a little more comfortable. Granted, pair of socks, or mittens, or a hat isn’t going to bring world peace, but the small comfort they bring may make someone start to believe that there may be hope for the future when there is a knitter far-far away who wanted to share a little bit of the love she shares with her family with someone they will never know.
A warm pair of socks may remind a tired Afghan woman that there is kindness in the world. A blanket may keep her son or daughter warm when they sleep. It may just bring them one day closer to a country at peace.


As I knit, I think about the woman or child who will wear what I’m knitting. How the work of my hands will make their lives just a little easier. With each stitch, I think about peace, justice and kindness, willing a little bit of kindness into each one.

Trying to keep up.

Well, in an effort to be more consistent with my blog, I thought I would post some FOs that I have completed in the last week or so.

My productivity has been spurred by the latest Afghans for Afghans campaign: socks, mittens and sweaters for women, children and teens. My oft mentioned Beardsley Memorial Stash is perfect for charity knitting, and the fact that it is almost all worsted wool, provides some pretty satisfying knitting pretty quickly.
These are my first and second pairs of mittens. And the first mittens I've ever knitted. I've made tons of socks, and nearly as many fingerless mitts, but never actual mittens. I think this is mostly because I wouldn't wear mittens on a bet, but that sure's heck not going to stop me from knitting them. The purple ones were finished during "Glee" last night.

Wanna know a secret? I designed these mittens, too! It's a heavily adapted version of the "Cigar" fingerless glove pattern. It's nothing earthshattering, and plain as hell, but the pattern works and the mittens WILL keep the hands of women and children I could never hope to meet warm.

I've also finished a graduation present for one of my "extra sons." OK, so it's nearly November and he graduated from high school in June, but I've been doing a lot of charity knitting, so other stuff has taken a back seat. But it's getting cold, and Alex needs his collegiate hat and gloves. They're in University of Oregon colors (insert nasty OU Duck commment here), other than that, Alex is a really nice kid. The gloves are the Cigar pattern from Knitty and the beanie is a pattern called Zports.


It apparently appeals to the collegiate set, because I've made nearly a half-dozen of them in the past year.

Back to charity knitting!!!

I SUCK!

I haven't posted since early JULY! I am a slug, a non-blogging slug. But I have been knitting. After my crazed sock phase, I entered a crazed shawl phase - that I am still in, I think. Witness my work (in no particular order):

A simple shawl in Kauni. Niiiiiice!

A bit more than 198 Yards of Heaven. The yarn is Berrocco Jenny (sorry folks, discontinued) from the Joan Beardsley Memorial Stash. Usually I don't make things for myself out of the Memorial stash, but this I couldn't resist. Also, the yarn is cotton and rayon, and I didn't think it was properly suited for charity knits (wool-less yarn is not helpful for cold folks).


And then two Mini Mochie Shawlettes, One for me (above) and one for an auction (below). The top one is made from Mini Mochie, and the bottomone is Wisdom Yarns Poems Sock. I love them both, but the one made out of Poems Sock is light, airy and awesome. I will be using this yarn again for shawls (not sold on it for socks, however).


So I suck as a blogger, but I STILL am a very dedicated knitter. Rabid, in fact. Some might say a little out of control. You see, I only post finished objects, my UFO pile is embarassingly large. And try as I might I can't resist a new project. Especially when Afghans for Afghans announces their Fall campaign, and they want more socks and mittens! (the Beardsley Stash is just perfect for pair after pair of mittens). Have I mentioned that I have three, no....four afghans started and NONE of them anywhere near completion? Oh, and the six pairs of socks I promised my husband in 2010 (I'm on pair #2). And the sweater I started for #2 son.....TWO YEARS AGO!

OK, so I have a problem, but I'm having a good time.

P.S. I could have linkied this post up the B-hind, but I really wanted to get something up and tracking down links takes time. BTW, all the shawl patterns are FREE and are available on Ravelry.com. (I love free!)

STOP ME BEFORE I SOCK AGAIN!!!

Afghans For Afghans (a worthy organization, if you are not familiar with them already) announced a summer sock knitting campaign in the middle of June. After a wild bout of stash-diving, I have been knitting "plain vanilla" socks with a passion. So much so, I'm not sure I can stop!

The above pair of socks were made from my early knitting days, where I thought cheap self-striping yarns were just "all that."

These two pairs are from some KnitPicks sock yarn that I bought ages ago for a shawl that just didn't pan out, but it makes some awesome warm socks that will warm the feet, and hopefully the heart, of some kid in Afghanistan.
And I even started a FIFTH pair of socks.....Initially, I thought I might keep this pair for myself, cause I really like the way they are turning out, but I have to give them to A4A. That's what the socks are telling me to do. YES, my knitting does talk to me. You act like there is something wrong with that!

Even though the socks are simply knitted, they are giving me a great deal of satisfaction. I am trying out techniques that I've understood for a while, but never tried....afterthought heel, and afterthought leg. I am trying to build up enough confidence to try two at a time, toe-up.

The only problem with this wild spate of sock knitting, is that I PROMISED my husband I would knit him SIX pairs of socks in 2010. I have completed ONE, and the year is slipping away from me.

I know, NEXT pair of socks will be for my hubby.....REALLY!

I'm Spent!

I got to spend the day making Spent Grain Bread. "Spent"......Not "spelt." Spelt is indeed a grain, but my bread is made from the, well....leftovers of my Darling Hubby's beer-making. Making beer requires grain, once the beer-making is over, the grain is "spent," but far from useless.

Take the grain, spread it out on a cookie sheet and let it dry (it's wet, you see). Once it's mostly dry, you can store it in a zip-loc bag in the freezer until you are ready to make the bread.

So, spent grain, flour, another kind of flour, yeast, sugar, salt, butter, olive oil and warm water, and the usual bread-making magic, and you come up with THIS.....

Warm, and buttery, out of the oven......

And I have three MORE loaves rising right now! Yeah, that's an awful lot of bread, but who cares! Fresh, hot, healthy and HOMEMADE!! This is how you LIVE!!

BTW, I would really like to find a butter churn................

Where the Hell have I been???

Yeah, Yeah, I dropped off the face of the earth again. It seems to be a habit of mine, and honestly, I'm as annoyed by it as you are. But life, constantly, intrudes. If I had my way, I would knit, watch Doctor Who and play on my computer all day every day. But last time I checked, no one had died and made me God, so I'm stuck with having a job, and trying to balance work, home, family, and yarn all at once. Mea Culpa,

But I've been busy, went to Washington, DC again in May for the REALTOR mid-year meeting and ran all over the place as usual. We took the youngest son with us, so that added a whole new aspect to the adventure. (and prevented us from our usual sojourn to Russia House for vodka, russian beer and foolishness, but oh well, sometimes you just HAVE to act like an adult).

Oh yeah, we did get our picture taken with our local Congressman on the roof of the congressional office building (one of the best views in DC, really).

Back from DC and back into the fray - work, little league, and end of school year activities. The youngest son has been out of school for a week now, and I am not yet motivated to ship him off to grandma's...permanently.....but just a little more newly minted teenaged attitude and I may change my mind.

I have been knitting, however. It is, after all, one of my few attachments to sanity. This is what I've been up to.

Here are my Cinnamon Rolls in their natural state...........................

And after they are enrobed in delicious cream cheese frosting......YUM!

Worship she who is Pioneer Woman!