Almost two weeks ago, I placed my first Knit Picks yarn order and four days afterwards, it arrived. I’ve had a chance to play around with some of my yarn. I started knitting some yellow mittens..
Look at all the colorful yarn! The bright colors make me smile. š
And while some rave about Wool of the Andes yarn, I wasn’t a fan… well at least not for myself since it feels itchy against my skin. Also, I didn’t find this wool as soft as some of the other wool yarn that I’ve worked with, like Patons Classic Wool. But, I really liked Knit Picks Swish! Swish, didn’t make my skin get all prickly like Knit Picks WOTA, and I thought it was softer. Of course, my reaction to a finished object made with SwishĀ might be completely different.
Take for example the lovely crocheted scarf, that I made with Patons Classic Wool. I didn’t have an issue while working with the yarn. I even held it up to my skin/neck while working on the scarf,Ā but now that it’s complete.Ā It’s itchy. I’m a bit sad since the scarf is so lovey. The good news, is that I already know who’ll be the recipient of that scarf. I have a few finishing touches to add to the scarf, like beads, but I know the recipient will be happy. I’ll be making Sarah’sWindblown leaves scarf for myself, but I’ll use yarn that my skin will tolerate.
We’re not big tofu eaters in my house, but now and again I’ll prepare a dish that calls for tofu.
I love color!
What’s amazing about tofu is that it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. I think of it as my blank canvas that I can turn into whatever I want. A few years ago I made a chocolate truffle pie. The secret ingredient was tofu. A few of my friends didn’t believe that tofu was in there, until they saw me make one.
Last week I made tofu scramble for my daughter and myself. My daughter was pleased since she loves tofu scramble, and I was thrilled that because the meal was colorful, nutritious, and on the table in under ten minutes.
For Thanksgiving, my daughter wants Indian and Caribbean food. I suggested we go out to eat, but she wants us to make the food at home. Uhm, ok… looks like we’ll be cooking on our unturkey day. š
My daughter and I are both counting down the days; we share one countdown, soapmaking which we’ll be doing during the Thanksgiving holidays. She also has two more countdowns; Thanksgiving, and Christmas. She’s excited seeing me pull out my soapmaking equipment….
Getting ready for soapmaking!
I’ve already set aside my stock pots, immersion blender, and my dependable Kitchen Aid mixer which I purchased about six years ago. If I remember correctly, I spent a little over $300, for that, it was a great investment. All the items I’ve listed are used exclusively for making skin care products..
The above mentioned items, along with essential oils, herbs, and my carrier oils; jojoba, coconut, olive oil, and palm oil, are in the basement. Jojoba oil, finds it way into many of my soaps, and skin care recipes since with soapmaking it adds lather, and conditioning properties to the soap. Also, jojoba oil mimics the sebum, which is naturally found in human skin, and can make a great ingredient to add to skin products. If used correctly.
You can use a variety of items for soap molds.
My sodium hydroxide (NaOH) aka Lye should be arriving toward the end of this week. I have lye in my garage, but I don’t think it’s good since I’m thinking it’s been exposed to moisture. My ‘soap molds’ are actually bread loaf pans, which I purchase at the local department store. I also have my goggles, mask, and rubber apron that I’ll be wearing while making the soap. I don’t play when handling caustic chemicals.
Since cold process soap normally takes three – six weeks to cure the process won’t be instant gratification, but I still have enough homemade soap to tide us over until my new batch cures.
I’ll be sure to take pictures of the process. I imagine you’ll see photos from my daughter and myself. This will be her first year, that she gets to play an active role making the cold processed soap, and she’s excited.
My daughter and I are looking forward to next month when we can finally go see The Hobbit, at the movie theaters.
We don’t watch too many movies at the theater, since we both seem to prefer watching them at home on our large flat screen television, without the potential crowding/noise that can accompany a theater… but I do believe we’ll make an exception for The Hobbit.
Last evening, I started making a cowl that I most likely will give away to someone, but I’ve decided to hold off and knit a few hobbity items for my daughter and myself. Now, I’ll just have to narrow down what I want to knit.
On Ravelry, The Lord of the Rings group, has numerous Hobbity patterns. I’ve already knitted a few over the past several months. And so I’ll be browsing those, and the pattern section at Ravelry so I can knit some hobbit inspired items for my daughter and me.
Did you know that Knit Your Bit, was an American Red Cross slogan?
I learned about this several years ago. And since that time, I’ve collected some memorabilia from that time period.
The American Red Cross used the slogan, Knit Your Bit, during World War 1 and World War II. A creative way to get the American citizens to support their troops.
From my research, I learned that many women and a few children knit for US troops. I imagine some men did also.
Children knitting for the War Relief League
InĀ 1918 the Seattle School Bulletin printed a patriotic knitting song:
Johnnie, get your yarn, get your yarn, get your yarn;
Knitting has a charm, has a charm, has a charm,
See us knitting two by two,Boys in Seattle like it too.
Hurry every day, donāt delay, make it pay.
Our laddies must be warm, not forlorn mid the storm.
Hear them call from oāre the sea,
āMake a sweater, please for me.ā
Over here everywhere,We are knitting for the boys over there,
Itās a sock or a sweater, or even better
To do your bit and knit a square.
The American Red Cross, even supplied a sock knitting kit that included yarn and a pattern to knit regulation military socks. It seems that a lot of people knit for US Troops. The American Red Cross said…
If the Guinness Book of World Records had a category for the biggest knitting party of all time, the winner would be the American Red Cross and its millions of volunteers who āKnit Their Bitā during World War II to support American troops fighting around the world.
The Red Cross played a critical role in outfitting troops during World War II with warm socks and sweaters. Nearly 7.5 million Red Cross volunteers supported the war effort then, many of them knitters. The Red Cross provided the materials, and volunteers came back with thousands and thousands of socks, sweaters, āsea boots,ā and gloves.
Each military pattern was designed to be compatible with soldier’s and sailor’s uniforms and were required to be knitted in olive drab or navy blue.
āIf the garments did not pass inspection, they were ripped out and redone,ā said Steve Shulman, executive director of the American Red Cross Museum. āAny leftover yarn or rejected pieces were returned to the Red Cross and recycled for use by another knitter, and not a bit of it went to waste.ā
Upon passing inspection, each item had a label sewn into the garment reading, “Gift of the American People thru the American Red Cross.”
I’m involved with numerous charity organization, one of which is Operation Write Home. Recently, I’ve been thinking about knitting some balaclavas for US soldiers. I really must take a better photo of the knitted balaclava I made for my father. He seems to love it, and it looks great when he wears his hat. I does a great job protecting his head, face, and neck from the cold.
I know that balaclavas can be worn by US soldiers. I’m unsure if they can wear them with their military attire, but they can wear them when their off duty. Now, I’m thinking of knitting a few for a few US soldiers.
I’ve sent a few boxes to soldiers after checking out some of the needs on AnySoldier. Sending items to those within the US military, is one way I can thank them for serving our country, and hopefully it lets them know that there are people at home thinking about them.
Imagine my surprise, when I stumbled upon one of Glen Miller’s songs; Knit One, Purl Two. Although much before my time,Ā I’ve heard several of his songs.
On December 15, 1944, Glen’s plane disappeared over the English Channel. He was on his was to entertain US troops in France, during World War II.
Glen Miller: Knit One, Purl Two
Knit one, purl two
This sweater, my darling,ās for you
While vigil youāre keeping through rain and storm
This sweater will keep you warm
Purl two, knit one
Our trials I know have begun
And while you are fighting each battle through
My darling, my heartās with you
I just left the cot where our little Todd
In sleep was smiling
He must have dreamed of you…
Knit one, purl two
My darling, whenever Iām blue
Itās comfort to know that when heās a man
Heāll be glad that his Dad came through
Knit one, purl two…
Today, my daughter and I attended an even at out Lutheran Church, one of the ladies (M) and I spent a lot of time talking about the various crafts she does, naturally crochet, knitting, and sewing came up from myself. It turns out she’s a sewer too, and we spent a bit of time swapping sewing stories, and talking about the various projects we’ve done.
Look at all the colorful spools of quilters thread.
It turns out she’s a hand quilter! Now that had me interested, since I’ve expressed an interst in it before, and I’ve slowly started acquiring tools needed for creating hand-sewn quilts. Even better, is that she designs her own quilts, now that I think about it I vaguely remember her bringing one of herĀ hand sewn quilts to the quilters group, it was gorgeous.
Naturally I asked her a ton of questions, which she seemed more than happy to ask. I left the event so fired up, that I promptly purchased quilters thread. Now, I’m not the type that gets fired up, and lets a project languish. I’ll eagerly awaiting my thread. Tomorrow after church, or sometime early next week, I’ll stop by Jo An Fabrics and take a look at their fat quarters. According to M, they have a nice selection there.
This morning, I finished knitting a slouch beanie hat for one of my daughter’s Monster High dolls. I used some of the scrumptious yarn that arrived from Knit Picks. I’ll be sure to post a picture of the hat, and the lovely yarn soon.
I’ve really been enjoying Sarah’s scarf, which she’ll be calling windblown leaves, I think the name is appropriate.
During the process of creating this scarf my daughter got to see me “practice what I preach” , which is…Never give up! I faced a few obstacles (mainly because I’m not as knowledgeable about crochet as knitting) but I persevered and thanks to Sarah’s input, I’m a few steps away from the finish line. I just need to add the fringe. Additionally while crocheting this scarf, I learned a few more crochet techniques in the process. That’s just pure win!
I’m loving how this scarf looks, and it’s so warm!
When I took this project, I’d planned on using brightly colored yarns! However, when I frogged the scarf I opted for something completely different. The good news is, these colors look great on me. I must say, that I’ve enjoyed tracking my scarfs progress.
In hindsight I would have crocheted this with a thinner yarn like she used, but I’m really pleased with the thickness of the scarf, and I’ll definitely be making more of these scarves.
It’sĀ nice to know that the stitches I was doing to ‘get comfortable’ with crochet, actually have a name, right?
