This weekend we are in Michigan cheering on our team in a hopeless football battle!
I’m excited to (hopefully) visit at least one great local yarn shop in Ann Arbor. This week I finally finish my August socks, work on lots of designs, talk about the humble garter tab, and share a life-saving website. Enjoy!
Finished Objects
After a plane-ride to Michigan, my Waffle Creams are finally done! I even brought blockers with me to snap a quick picture. I love the texture in these socks and the beautiful cable down the side. My heart breaks because… these aren’t even for me. These will be a Christmas gift for my purple-loving mother. I hope she loves them!
WIP’s- Focus Projects
The next pattern in my Fall Means Football- Subtle Fanwear Collection is in the testing phases. That means I’m working a second sample of the design to double-check that the pattern is written correctly. I’m really excited about how this pattern turned out! This is a bottle cozy, meant to fit around standard 12-ounce glass bottles {like the ones that hold beer or classic sodas}. The release date for this pattern is September 25th!
Something New
I’ve started my very first shawl design. It’s in collaboration with Cassie of Big Sky Yarn company- I adore her and her yarn! This shawl features two beautiful textures in a triangular shape. Cassie sent me two skeins of her lovely Squish DK in the colorway “Hayride“. Don’t you just love it?!
I did some research on shawl design and discovered a great tutorial. SPOILER ALERT! This pattern is going to begin with a garter tab. A garter tab is a smooth way to start a shawl that has a garter edging. I’ve always found them rather finicky and just fudged my way around them. But then I found this picture tutorial from Tin Can Knits that explained everything perfectly! So if you’ve ever had trouble starting a shawl with a garter tab, look no further than this tutorial.
What God’s Teaching Me
Natural disasters are terrifying. Do you remember being a little kid who was afraid of the thunder? And you didn’t even know yet what the lighting could do!
Isn’t it funny that when we’re young and innocent we might be scared of the things that are loud and obvious {thunder}, but we don’t even know what terrors are really out there {the silent lightning}?
Hurricane Florence is hitting the East Coast hard this week and my heart breaks for all those affected. I’m feeling particularly empathetic during this storm because I have a close friend who needed to evacuate from the Myrtle Beach area. That’s not even the worst thing that’s happened to her yet!
These kind of natural terrors remind me how little I am in control of my life. Those thoughts can be very anxiety-inducing. If I stop to ponder about the real problems out there, instead of my small first-world problems that seem to scream so loudly, I can get very down. So I’m seeking peace in His word while praying for my friend and everyone who will be affected by the storm.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
– Matthew 11:28
Who is like you LORD God Almighty? You, LORD, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule over the surging sea; when it waves mount up, you still them.
– Psalm 89:8-9
What We’re Cooking
I found an easy and tasty recipe for lunches this week: Roasted Vegetables and Sausage. All I needed to do was chop veggies and sausage and toss some seasonings on them. I loved sprinkling Parmesan cheese on top {as suggested in the recipe}. I’ll definitely make these for lunches again soon!
Kent cooked nearly three pounds of sloppy Joe’s on Sunday and we ate on that for the rest of the week- sometimes with fries and sometimes with veggies. My new favorite vessel for sloppy Joe’s is the King’s Hawaiian roll buns- so yummy! I even used the small rolls and called them sloppy sliders. Delicious!
What I’m Reading Listening To
I listen to a weekly podcast called Clutter Free Academy with Kathi Lipp. Her tagline reads, “helping you to be clutter-free in your heart, your home, and your mind“- she has wonderful tips! This week she hosted the founder of Eat at Home, Tiffany King. Eat at Home solves the problem of “I’m too busy to think and plan what to cook.” You’ve got to go listen to the episode!
This website is the answer to my unvoiced prayer. I signed up for the weekly meal plans right away! Now I’ll get a meal plan and grocery list delivered to my inbox. All I’ll need to do is choose a few of those seven meals to put on the menu that week- and I’m done! I think I might even try ordering my groceries online for pick-up to make the task of meal prep that much easier.
Tiffany has a new cookbook called Eat at Home: 101 Simple Busy-Family Recipes for Your Slow Cooker, Sheet Pan, Instant Pot, and More. I think this book might have been written just for me. It has EASY written all over it. I’m going to try the recipes for a month and see if I need the book too!