Emptyknitster

Charity knitting is a good way to pass time when you are unsure just what to knit next. It is also a great way to use up your stash. I decided to knit a wool pullover with some stranded knitting around the body and sleeves. My self imposed challenge is to use left over yarn, yet create a nice finished project.  The charity group needs larger sizes and so I allow myself to buy a skein of the main color but the coordinating stripe or stranded knitting yarn must be from my stash. My goal is to ALWAYS end up with a project that I'd proudly put a grandbaby in. I didn't have any stranded knitting graphs, so I began searching knitter's heaven, ravelry. I found some great people. "blanchn" of Quebec, Canada gave me a great stranded pattern to go on the thope hat and also pointed me to "stoperror" in Germany who has some very nice stranded graphs available on ravelry. I'd been marking time in the knitting world, searching for my next learning experience. Af...

Recently while visiting with the California Gurl, she suggested that I make a 2011 "This Year's To Do List" similar to the list from last summer . I have to say that it's been difficult. In my mind the year is split into two equal parts. Most teachers feel as I do, one half of the year - school ; second half of the year - summer   (I know, I know, mathematically they aren't equal). Not only is it divided that way for most of us but somehow almost everything in a teacher's everyday life goes into suspended animation during the school year except the class they are responsible for. Then we go into overdrive all summer just trying to catch up with family, chores and relaxation! I'm going to try to take a giant leap and the biggest "To Do" Item is not to let school entirely consume my life. So, today's list is for the school half of the year. My summer "To Do List" will come about when it's summer and the spirit moves me because ...

We had a wonderful time this Christmas. The Chick arrived on Christmas Eve and since the Hubby was working, we did a little shopping without a purpose, ate out, and went to a movie. Christmas morning and most of the afternoon was spent relaxing and waiting for the NorDak family to appear. Fam is just a little unsure how to get through Hubby's turkey farm. Of coarse, the moment they walked through the door there was only one thing to do...OPEN PACKAGES! The Tiger, NOT happy about the clothes BUT loving the box! They love the pillow pets The Chick got them... The Tiger got a frog, who he named Snowflake. We did a little sledding, a little skating, and a lot of just having fun together! When the family gets together usually the youngest gives the gift of the flu. It marches its way through the entire family, youngest to oldest. This holiday, because Hubby was in such a giving mood,  he couldn't wait to get the tradition underway. We quickly dubbed it the "...

After all the coastal rain, it appears that the California Dreamin' and Oregon kiddos are dry... Chloe A LittleBit, Christmas 2010 The Pirate, Christmas 2010 Joe, Christmas 2010 Sam, Christmas 2010 and with a blizzard scheduled for tomorrow, the NorDak kiddos are warm! The Tiger, Christmas 2010 SadieLou Who, Christmas 2010 Looks like everyone is happy, incuding Gramma!

This year I added a small item to my Christmas decorations, my mother's mittens knit by my Great-Grandmother Jamison. I love these little red mittens that have been carefully mended. I have knitting needles that belonged to a Great-Grandmother. The mittens could be construed as proof the needles were Great-Grandmother Jamison's but I know Great-Grandmother Cheney loved to wear hand knit lace because Mom said that my Grandmother spent many hours starching and ironing her mother-in-law's lace collars. Sadly, I'll never know for sure whose needles they were.... Emily Plowman Cheney Catherine Hedges Jamison

Have I mentioned before, the only good sock is one on your foot NOT on your needles? For a long time I've felt that a person might as well knit a sweater for all the work done when making a pair of socks! I have always hated to knit socks, but loved to wear handknit socks soooo… I found Donna's Easy Sock Pattern , and put them on the needles. They are a breeze! I love all the funky colors out there in the knitting world but a gal has to have some plain jane socks too! This is an easy little sock pattern that will now allow me to fill my sock drawer without frustration!  Life's changing, I'm having a great time knitting these: This is what I’ll be doing for awhile... NO problem! Today I received an article from Knitting Daily entitled, 10 Tips for Longer-Lasting Socks . There were several tips that I wanted to remember and pass along: * Don't wind your yarn into a cake until you're ready to knit. Winding a skein into a cake pulls fibers taught and ...

I've been promising a couple of my followers these recipes for quite sometime. The first recipe is a spice tea recipe that the California Dreamin' Gurl brought with her the last time she came up. It is outstanding hot or iced - my new favorite! Spiced Tea 2 tbs fennel seeds 1 tbs cardamom seeds 1 tbs coriander seeds 1 tbs fenugreek seeds 2 tbs cloves 2 star anise 2 inches of cinnamon bark I use this recipe and multiply it many times to make a big batch. Grind in the coffee mill and brew. The other beverage that I have recently discovered is a flavored coffee. I use a 4 cup french press pot (that makes one big mug for me) so you will have to do a little calculating about proportions, but this is what I use: Spiced Coffee 4tbs heaped full of coffee 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice Hmmm, good!