We’re heading off to Oregon today for a graduation vacation!
This week I finish a baby sweater, work on my June socks, talk about a new discovery in crochet circles, feel mushy about summer, and bake a snack, meal, and dessert. Enjoy!
Finished Objects
This week I finished the super adorable Baby Vertebrae by Kelly van Niekerk. I made the smallest size out of Lolodidit‘s Everyday Sock in the colorway “Polyjuice Potion“. The best news is I have 58 grams left- so I can make a pair of socks for myself!
I’ll admit that I was a bit lazy when making this cardigan. I didn’t bother to go down a needle size for the ribbing… and I might regret that now. But, no baby will care about loose ribbing. You can find my notes on Ravelry here.
WIP’s- Focus Projects
I’ve been toting my June socks everywhere this past week. I’m knitting Obliviate by Sarah Stevens (also the dyer behind Gracelynn Wool). They are fun and memorizable! And, of course, “obliviate” is a Harry Potter reference.
I’m using a leftover skein from my So Faded sweater. I loved this blue, speckled colorway so much that I couldn’t put it into scrappy projects just yet! The yarn is “Robin Sparkles” by Woolen Boon in her Boon Classic base.
Something New
I shared the bag design I’m working on last week, and I learned something new along the way: how to crochet a flat circle. Now, I already knew how to crochet a circle, no pattern needed, but I ran into a problem with my design. My little bucket bases worked out just fine- as in they laid perfectly flat. Then once I started working on my big bucket bases I started to get a ripple.
So I went to Google {obviously} and ran across this Craftsy article. It turns out that crocheting a circle is not a guessing game. At the top of the page Craftsy gives us exactly how many stitches we should start our circles with depending on what stitch you are making- brilliant! Ripple = too many stitches in your first round. That seems pretty obvious now! I ripped back, adjusted my stitch count, and got a nice, flat circle in return.
Float Tote is now available!
What God’s Teaching Me
I’ve been saying thank you to God many times this week.
I thank him that I get to sleep in {until 8- woohoo!}. I thank him that I have the time each day to work on my health and go to classes at our awesome gym. I thank him that teachers like me have the summers off; and that because of this, I’ve had the brain space to start designing patterns.
Being home in the summer has been the greatest gift.
I mentioned last week that I’m in a season of abundance. God is providing for me in endless ways. The key thing he has for a childless-20-something like me is time– and I don’t want to abuse it! I’m using my time this summer to invest in another gift he’s given me- the love and joy of knitting and crochet.
My husband works from home {therefore sees what I’m doing all day} and he keeps saying, “All you do is knit!” Yes, but that’s not all… I’m making Christmas gifts, I’m designing patterns, I’m working on my Instagram, writing on my blog, making friends in the online community… I feel good about what I produce each day!
Most importantly, I want to remember this season; because I know that difficult seasons will come. There will be many times in the future when I’m wondering why God is allowing all these bad things to happen to me. I want to remember this time, right now, when God is giving me SO MUCH; then I can get through the time when it feels like I have very little.
What season are you in? What season have you just come out of? Where do you hope God takes you next?
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)
What We’re Cooking
I rounded out my big freezer meal prep this week with Mozzarella-Stuffed Turkey Pesto Meatballs from New Leaf Wellness. These were prepped a bit differently than my other meals since they had to be formed and frozen in a casserole dish. They didn’t take much longer, but I decided to save them for another day since making meatballs is a different rhythm than dumping ingredients in a Ziploc.
I also decided to cook one of the meatball meals that night. I served it with spaghetti and red sauce. They were so good!
We had several friends over this past weekend and I wanted to make one of my favorite snacks- homemade Chex Mix. I used the original recipe right off the Chex Mix site. The thing I love so much about homemade Chex Mix is you can make it how you like it. I adore Gardetto’s Garlic Rye Chips– so I exchange the bagel chips for these. I’m not a fan of mixed nuts, so I just use peanuts instead. And there’s something about stick pretzels in a mix.
I made two batches of Chex Mix in the oven. Making it in the oven it key– don’t take the microwave shortcut! I’ve found that it’s best to prepare the seasoning and butter mix first. Then measure half the ingredients into a bowl and stir half the seasoning/butter with it. Dump this out onto a baking sheet {with sides!} and then repeat with other half. This is to make sure you get everything coated with that delicious butter and seasonings. The Chex Mix was a hit!
We had a few bananas getting real brown and then Smitten Kitchen suddenly posted her Double Chocolate Banana Bread recipe- done and done! {She’s a joy to follow on Instagram by the way.} She recommends using Dutch-process cocoa powder {which I’ve read is not as bitter as regular cocoa powder}, but all I had was regular ol’ Hershey’s– turns out I should have listened. My bread baked perfectly, but it has just the slightest bit of bitterness to it. I think that a quarter cup more sugar might combat this, but I haven’t tried it out yet. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still eating this bread {in massive quantities…}- this is one of those times were it pays to listen to the recipe!
What I’m Reading
I’m still loving See Me by Nicholas Sparks. It’s just the right level of engagement that I wanted in a book after reading Girl, Wash Your Face. The bad boy has already fallen for the good girl, who in turn is falling for him, duh. This book has another creepy, dangerous layer- though I won’t spoil it!
I’m open to suggestions of what to read next!