Yarn Along

My Girl's birthday is coming up in March so I'm going to be knitting up a few gifts for her. The first one I'm working on is a cute hat that knits up very quickly. It's knit on U.S. 15 dpns with thick and thin yarn. I chose a pretty "water colored" blue colorway in Malagrigo Aquarella. I think she'll love it. :)

Right now I'm reading The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett, Illustrated by Tasha Tudor to the kids for our family read-aloud and 1984 by George Orwell for myself. It's fun to revisit a beloved story such as The Secret Garden with my children and to see it afresh through them. As for 1984, it is a book that I have had on my to-read list for quite some time and I am finally getting to it. It seemed like a logical time to pick it up since I had just recently finished The Feed by M.T. Anderson and both books are about an imagined, ugly, futuristic world. My husband had read 1984 years ago and so he warned me that it was pretty disturbing. He was right of course. I have found it disturbing, just as I found The Feed disturbing (though, for different reasons). I would much rather live in the past than in the future. It's just who I am. I guess, for me, it boils down to-- the past is certain and the future is not. I'm almost to part Three in the book and so far my favorite part is this quote…

"The book fascinated him, or more exactly it reassured him. In a sense it told him nothing that was new but that was part of the attraction. It said what he would have said, if it had been possible for him to set his scattered thoughts in order. It was the product of a mind similar to his own, but enormously more powerful, more systematic, less fear-ridden. The best books, he perceived, are those that tell you what you know already." 

I'm not sure why that appeals to me so much. Perhaps, because I can really understand Winston here? After 174 pages I finally feel that I can relate to him in some way. It makes him real to me. Strange. Also, I find him much more simpatico after he starts visiting Mr. Charrington's shop. I think it's Winston's need for connecting to the past. I get that.

In other knitting news…

I finished my fingerless mitts from my last Yarn Along post.

 I am very pleased with them, though a little put out that I never felt that I mastered the thumb gusset. sigh. It came out okay, but the work was not as clean as I would have liked it to be. They are comfy and warm, though. Just as mitts should be. :)

 

For this weeks Yarn Along please join Ginny at Small Things.

{this moment} :: Dreaming of Summer

{this moment}- A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week *last summer*. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, please visit SouleMama.

Yarn Along:: The first of the New Year!

~ Books and Yarn; it's a beautiful thing. Joining Ginny for this weeks Yarn Along…

On the needles right now is my first attempt at fingerless mitts/gloves. The pattern I eventually settled on is called Siren Sleeves. I had a bumpy beginning with this project which resulted in my choosing a different pattern. I'm liking it much better than the first I had chosen; with the biggest redeeming component of the new pattern being that it has you working on only 3 dpns at a time rather than the first pattern's 4. Fagging away on a project implementing 5 sharp sticks at once is a bit much for me regardless of how much I love the process of knitting. Though, I also think the Siren Sleeves pattern, with it's subtile garter stitch at the beginning and end with stockinette stitch in between,  shows off the beautiful yarn I'm working with better as well. I'm using SunshineYarns' Snape colorway in Merino Sport. 

As for what I'm reading/listening to right now, I am enjoying The Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter (Hillarious!) on the NOOK Tablet we received as a family Christmas gift. For our family read-aloud we are almost done with The Invention of Hugo Cabret (the children are really enjoying this picture-heavy, mysterious tale set in 1930's Paris). And while I knit (or, unfortunately is more often the case, wash dishes)  I have been listening to Wuthering Heights on Audible. I had forgotten just how detestable the characters are in this novel. Ick. 

Before I end this post I'm going to brag a little about a few projects I finished over the holidays. The first is my To Eyre Shawl pictured below. I posted about it originally here. This project took me longer than I had expected it would. All those short rows used to shape it added up, but I am very pleased with the finished results. It hangs so that the soft ruffles are midway across my back and halfway down my arm. Now I just need to find the right pin for it.

 

And here are my first socks! I am especially proud of these. I feel like I've finally arrived as a knitter, lol! I followed Silver's Sock Class online tutorial. As a newbie knitter this was an exhilarating adventure for me. It has been my long term goal from the moment I decided to teach myself to knit (over a year ago) that I would make socks by this last Christmas. Well, here they are! I used Sunshine Yarns' Cherry blossom colorway in Classic Sock weight. They are SO soft, SO comfy, and SO beautiful. I'm definitely hooked. I'm already dreaming of the next pair I'm going to create. :)

 Happy yarning, friends!

Raising a glass...

to your health in the New Year!

"Fine friends and companions 
come join me in rhyme
come lift up your voices
in chorus with mine
come lift up your voices, 
all grief to refrain
for we may or might never
all meet here again


So here's a health to the company 
and one to my lass
let's drink and be merry 
all out of one glass
let's drink and be merry 
all grief to refrain
for we may or might never
all be here again…"


May the good God bless you and keep you today and throughout the 
New Year! 


Santé!

{this moment}

{this moment}- A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, please visit SouleMama.

Wordless Wednesday:: All for Our Lady

Dancing around the kitchen in my slippers...

to this…

I dedicate this song to my grandpa; my very first and still my favorite polka partner. I wish he was here with me now. We would be dancing around the kitchen together. :) 

I'm hoping next year he'll be able to come out and visit. Unlike when I was younger (when I took everyone for granted), spending time with family is very important to me. Because after losing so many much loved family since being married, I realize that the memories we make with them are all we take with us when they're gone.

…okay. This post wasn't meant to be sad. I started out happy.

Sorry about that.

Celebrating Santa Lucia Day

…with candlelight

…with an orange cinnamon roll wreath and hot cocoa

…with making paper dolls

…with books

…and with prayer

Saint Lucy, thy beautiful name signifies light. By the light of faith which God bestowed upon thee, increase and preserve this light in my soul so that I may avoid evil, be zealous in the performance of good works, and abhor nothing so much as the blindness and the darkness of evil and of sin. By thine intercession with God, obtain for me perfect vision for my bodily eyes and the grace to use them for God's greater honor and glory and the salvation of all men.

Saint Lucy, virgin and martyr, hear my prayers and obtain my petitions. Amen.

St. Lucy, virgin and martyr,

ora pro nobis!

Champurrado por Nuestra Dulce Madre!

…Champurrado for Our Sweet Mother!

On this beautiful feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe we will be celebrating with a few books, coloring pages and food.

I think I've mentioned before that in our family food is a BIG part of the way we celebrate. So, after a conversation with a sweet friend on facebook the other day, I decided to make Champurrado to go with tonight's dinner of shredded chicken burritos and tacos.

Champurrado is a thick Mexican hot chocolate drink. It is traditionally made during Las Posadas (the Christmas season) and other festive Mexican holidays. Mexican chocolate, finely ground corn flour, milk and cinnamon are combined to make this frothy treat. I thought it would be perfect to make this drink in honor of Our Lady's sweetness. :)

Here is a recipe for Champurrado that I found on Foodnetwork.com --

Ingredients:

1/4 cup masa harina

 (You can usually find this in the Hispanic aisle of your supermarket. We bought ours at Walmart.)

3 1/2 cups cold water

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups of milk

1 (3 oz.) tablet of sweetened Mexican chocolate, flavored with cinnamon

(Again, you can usually find this in the Hispanic aisle of your supermarket. We bought ours at Walmart.)

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl combine the masa harina with 1/2 cup of water mixing by hand to form a paste. In medium saucepan add the paste and the remaining 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Cook slowly for 20 minutes, the mixture will thicken.

While this mixture is simmering, in another saucepan add the milk and bring to a boil. Add the chocolate and cook for about 10 minutes until the chocolate has completely dissolved. Pour the chocolate into the masa harina mixture stirring until well incorporated. With a milinillo or an eggbeater, whisk until a foam forms on the top, about 3 minutes. Serve in a large bowl, spooning some of the foam on top.

Serves 4 

Nuestra Dulce Madre Santa Maria de Guadalupe, 

ruega por nosotros!

{this moment}

{this moment}- A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, please visit SouleMama.