Category: Uncategorized

Let the Games Begin!

denisemor 5 December 11, 2011

This week I am taking off work to participate in the Christmas Cookie Olympics.

I plan to compete in the following events:

Springerle
Gingerbread
Cinnamon Mandelbrot
Sugar Cookies
Fruit and Nut Bread

and perhaps Pfeffernusse and Cardamom Biscotti if I have strength left.

This is the view from the starting blocks

All ingredients are present and accounted for, and I’m going to get a start first thing in the morning.

Dough chilling, baking and cookie cooling time will hopefully offer me the opportunity to take some wool breaks, as I do have a few little non-baking projects that I need to wrap up pretty quick!

The goal is to have everything packed up and shipped out by Saturday the 17th.

See you at the finish line- 🙂

Signed, Seamed and Delivered.

denisemor 12 December 4, 2011

Shadow is officially done.

And its a good fit! I am so pleased.

First sweater knit entirely of wool from my very own guys. Way to go Edgar and Griff! 🙂

In other news, I finally did something with all those neat little quinces that our tree produced this year!

After doing a little research online, I decided to go with processing them into quince paste, aka Membrillo.

It seems that Manchego cheese is the perfect match for the quince paste, and I thought that was mighty cool, since it is a sheep milk cheese. So I set about finding some!

Oh yeah. Just the right thing.
Big yum.

Some Assembly (still) Required

denisemor 2 November 20, 2011

But the hardest part is done.

Only straight seams left- one sleeve and the two sides.

I feel pretty good about having tried something new. Something that was a little outside my comfort zone.
And I also feel pretty good about how it’s turning out.

Here’s a side shot-

It’s nice to know that I can actually follow a pattern if I have a mind to 🙂

Might not make my self-imposed Thanksgiving deadline, but it will be close.

It’s really seeming like winter here recently. Got down to 20F last night (which is pretty dang cold for us)
So right now everything is frosty and crunchy.
And while it’s kind of a pain that the chicken and sheeps’ water is icing over, it’s kind of nice that the yard isn’t squishy.

I guess freezing weather does hold some advantages.

And it makes for nice crisp, wintery photos-

Three Sisters, on the way up Hwy 9

Lyman Ridge (behind our little orchard)

Frosty sheeps munch munch munching

Sadie going long for a frozen apple

And Walla inexplicibly zoomin’ round and round the garden beds

Guess the chill and the crunchiness really gets the pups charged up!

I think I can. I think I can.

denisemor 6 November 13, 2011

It’s knitted.

And blocked.

And ready to rock 🙂

So this morning I started in on sewing it up.

First I did a little research online on preferred techniques.

Then I worked up some courage and set out to sew the first shoulder seam.

I think it turned out pretty well. But it wasn’t as straightforward as expected.
I mean, I get the grafting idea.
But somehow the purls really threw me.
The shoulder edge stitches were purls.

Yeah, tricky.

Once I finally got it figured out, I probably should have gone on and done the other shoulder seam, but I was anxious to give the sleeve a try.

Here’s the setup-

Now the sleeve is an interesting challenge.
It’s part graft, part mattress stitch, sometimes at the same time.
Each stitch is a judgement call, because you’re working on a curve.

Whew.

Then I found that taking a picture of a should seam is almost as hard as sewing it.

But I guess if you can’t really see it, then it’s good, right?

Shadow is now half-sleeved!

That’s where I left it today.

So far so good.