Emptyknitster

While the NorDak Family was home I made templates of their feet as suggested by The Sock Therapist of Fish Lip Heel Fame. It became apparent that the pair I'd thought would fit The Tiger would be sadly to small and so it became necessary to knit another pair quickly before Christmas.   Pattern: Fish Lips Heel Sock Pattern Yarn: Patons North America Kroy Socks Stripes Colorway: 55520 Rusty Stripes Amount: 2 skiens Needle Size: US 0 I've finally moved down to a size 0 and like the tight fabric it produces. After Christmas note: The boy loved his new socks and wore them 4 days straight! Everyone commented on the great fit of their socks, smaller needles AND the great template really helped me to knit socks that fit!

This year marked our family's First Annual Virtual Turkey Trot . All family members were invited to partake. Each family's time would be averaged for the 5k to find the winning team. (We were estatic to hear of The California Dreamin' Guy's sore back - it gave all the rest of us a chance!) The winners of this year's race are the members of the NorDak Family! Go Team! A big thanks goes to The Chick for all the encouragement given, the kiddos couldn't have done it without you! PS: To my knowledge the Oregonian Family are still out there on the track!

Recently the Oregon Family sent me a Trader Joe's care package. It was filled with wonderful things that only Trader Joe can produce. Coffee, chocolate covered almonds with a hint of salt, natural licorice, Himalayan salt. But the package also had cookies and while most items couldn't be replicated the Trader Joe's Kona Coffee Shortbread Cookies were worth a try.     Pirated Trader Joe's Kona Coffee Shortbread Cookies Ingredients:      1c butter, softened     1/2c brown sugar     2c flour     2T coarsely ground coffee beans     1c white chocolate chips or white candy melts Instructions:     Preheat oven to 300 degrees.     Cream butter and sugar. Gradually stir in the flour and coffee until combined. Knead 3 minutes.     Roll into a 1/3-in. thick rectangle measuring 11 -in. x 8 in. Cut into 2-in. x 1-in. strips. P...

Recently, I found a new clog pattern and have now opened a clog knitting factory! One Christmas I knit 17 pairs of clogs. They were a more difficult pattern but this new pattern is quick and easy! Pattern: Easier Clogs for Men and Women by Kris Basta Yarn: Cascade 220 WOOL Colorway: Stash=buster Amount: Less than three skeins a pair Needle Size: US Size 11 Are you running out of time for those much in demand handknit Christmas gifts? Then this is  the perfect pattern for you!

For the last few of visits Sadie has been talking about learning to knit. I thought she might also like to dye her own yarn. So one afternoon during our Thanksgiving visit we did just that.  Sadie dyed a skein of 4ply and I dyed some more sock yarn - because if you are knitting a mitered square sock yarn afghan you can NEVER have enough sock yarn!     In the end, the dyeing of the yarn was the easy part- knitting, well it's evidently not as easy as Mom.Auntie and Gramma make it appear!

   The turkeys are here, let the festivities begin!   There will be plenty of time for eating, games and shopping! What a fun week!

Why do kitty cats come out of the woodwork when a camera is in hand? Last time California Dreamin' Gurl was home I led her to my stash and told her to choose what she wanted for whatever her heart desired. She chose this beautiful yarn and wanted socks. I’d hoped to use it for a scarf but I had to live up to my promise and they did turn out well. I don’t think the colorway has a name but I’ve received several comments about how beautiful it is! Beautifully knit up and I expect the 80% wool and 20% nylon to hold up well! Pattern: Vanilla Latte with Fish Lips Heel Yarn: Vice Paradigm - fingering weight Colorway: Beautiful Amount: 1 skein Needle Size: US O