Oh Nuts

--- 1 --- As you have probably seen already from the posts that I did I have been in a knitting mood for several weeks now. I am working on two knitting projects right now, though the hat I am working on is on hold at the moment because I started making a pair of leg warmers this past Saturday as a present. The yarn I'm using for the leg warmers is fall colors :) When they are finished I am making sure that I take pictures of them before they are wrapped up and given away. --- 2 --- To continue on with the subject of knitting I have decided to make an afghan as well. The story behind that will be in number 3 of this week's quick takes. Instead of getting yarn from the store to make it I am reusing the yarn from this blanket/afghan that I made a couple years ago but never used: I spent part of Sunday afternoon and evening pulling out the seams and since the yarn that I used to sew the squares together was still in good shape I will be including that as well :) But

Last week Rosalind reminded me that a friend of ours had a birthday coming up so I decided to make her a present. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of my project before wrapping it. Since our friend's favorite colors are pink and blue I was able to buy a skein of yarn with those colors in it and I started looking for patterns for fingerless gloves since its starting to get chilly out now and the only pattern that I found and that I liked was the pattern for close-fitting fingerless gloves. My mom said that they could easily be turned into mittens as well. You can find pictures that follow along with the pattern here , if you need to jog your memory in case you don't remember a step. There are a couple steps that I didn't use but that you can find on the website . Even though I don't have a picture of the finished product you can see what the yarn that I used looks like here . you will need the following supplies: 1 pair size 7 (4.5 mm) knitting needles.  (Siz

Since today is officially the first day of fall I decided to post a combination end of summer, beginning of fall pictures that I took last week while at work. So here are the pictures that I took and edited in Lightroom :)

--- 1 --- On Saturday TJ had another soccer game. The weather was in the upper 60's and lower 70's all day which was nice and there was a breeze as well, it was a nice difference from the 80/90 degree weather that we'd had for his game the week before. TJ got a goal, though I didn't get a picture of it, even though I had my camera with me. Since one set of grandparents came to his game we went out to Stake N' Shake for lunch after that game. --- 2 --- Even though TJ isn't in the picture below I had to share it because of how it turned out. For the photography class I'm taking we have to practice using our cameras in manual. Which I did for this photo and I used the lens of Amanda's clop on sunglasses over the camera lens and this is what happened. I like how there is still color in it as well as a speia like tone. --- 3 --- This week the weather has stayed pretty much in the 70's, with three days in the lower 80's! It has been a

I posted the pattern for these socks last month but I decided to share them again since I just finished making the socks myself. The name of the book that I got the pattern from is   Kids Knitting: Projects  For Kids of All Ages  by Melanie Falick. So here is the pattern as well as a picture of the socks that I made :) Materials needed: Approximately 285 yards worsted eight yarn, such as Classic Elite Tapestry (this is enough for 1 pair of child or adult sized socks) 4 size 6 double pointed needles Stitch marker Yarn needle For the body of the sock: Cast on 42 stitches on 1 of the double-pointed needles (14 stitches per needles) and place a marker between the last and second to last stitch on the third needle. Start the first round by knitting the first cast-on stitch with the fourth needle, pulling tightly on the yarn coming from the third needle so that you do not end up with a large gap where the stitches from 1 needle meet the stitches from the next needle. Work i

Here is this week's Monday Meal as I just started calling these :) Even though the recipe calls for Turkey we have used beef as well :) This recipe has been used by my family for a while and it is a very easy meal to make if you need something easy to make for dinner :) 2 pounds ground turkey breast (or beef) 1/4 cup chopped onion 1 cup ketchup 6 tablespoons barbecue sauce 2 tablespoons mustard 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/4 teaspoon pepper In a nonstick skillet, cook the turkey(beef) and onion for 5 minutes or until turkey(or beef) is no longer pink. Add the next 7 ingredients; simmer for 10 minutes, sitting occasionally. Serve on buns. Since I come from a large family we always double the amounts so I am going to include the doubled amounts for you. For three pounds of meat: 3 pounds turkey/beef 1 1/2 cups ketchup 9 tablespoons barbecue sauce (1/2 cup + 1 tbl) 3 tablespoons mustard (1/4 cup) 3 tablespoons vinegar (1/4 cup) 2

--- 1 --- On the 9th I started the photography class that I mentioned before. It felt a bit overwhelming but I think I'll manage it :) The book we are using for the class is "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson (the 3rd edition). Each week we go through a different section/chapter of the book. This week was "Defining Exposure." I will try to keep you up dated each week :) --- 2 --- This is what the weather where I live has been like all week. Though I am glad that it got cooler today :) --- 3 --- Just recently two friends of ours came out with a cook book. Here is the name of the book: "The Twins' Guide to Gluten-Free Baking: 25 Quick and Easy Recipes for Busy Bakers"   [Kindle Edition] . If you are interested in getting it you can follow this link . You can also read the reviews that people have written about it :) They are also on Facebook so you can look them up at "The Twins' Guide" and like their page

Last week Amanda found this muffin recipe on the Brown Eyed Backer and decided to make them and they were amazing so I decided to share the recipe here with you :) this is from the website ALLSPICE CRUMB MUFFINS yield:   Makes 12 muffins   prep time:   20 minutes   cook time:   20 minutes   total time:   40 minutes INGREDIENTS: For the Streusel : ½ cup all-purpose flour ½ cup light brown sugar ½ teaspoon ground allspice 5 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits For the Muffins : 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ cup granulated sugar 1 Tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon ground allspice ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ cup light brown sugar 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 2 large  eggs ¾ cup whole milk ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract DIRECTIONS: 1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 375  degrees  F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or line with paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet. 2. To mak

--- 1 --- This past weekend, since it was Labor day weekend, my family and I went up to the lake house that my one set of grandparents owns. We had a nice time up there, though for a lot of the traveling to get up there we got a lot of run, though the weather was nice after that while we were up there. Though I didn't go, everyone else went tubing a couple times. --- 2 ---  Here is the sock that I finished knitting already. I am working on the second sock right now :) The only difference is that the top of the sock is black and burgundy instead of purple and I am replacing one of the  sections with a camo yarn that I used for the toe on this one :) Once the second sock is finished I'll post a picture of both socks together. --- 3 --- On Monday I start a four week photography class that is happening at the community college near my house. Though it is only on Mondays it sounds like fun and I shall have to keep you updated on that :) And in case you missed