Buttermilk Is Better

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I got a hankering for some biscuits and gravy after all the rich holiday foods last week. I make my gravy from a mix but the biscuits needed to be from scratch.

I use the basic Betty Crocker recipe that has been kicking around my family for years. I use a food processor to finely cut my butter into the flour. The dough came together nicely and I folded a few more layers than the recipe called for and you can totally see them.

I didn’t get my dough rolled to a super consistent height and therefore they puffed up to varying heights. But they were super tasty! I got all thumbs up from the family, lol.

Happy Baking!!

Christmas Heels

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My 2022 advent socks now have heels!

I am still using the Leading Man Fiber Arts mini called “Baby it’s cold outside” color. I put in waste yarn between stripes where I wanted the heels so I only had to slide needles in and pick out the waste yarn. I think with the many different colors that the blue color works nicely!

We had some inclement weather with a work from home day, so I was able to install both heels last week during Teams calls. The socks did get finished on Christmas eve and I snapped some fire side photos to share later this week. I hope everyone has had a safe and happy weekend.

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Pink Merino Sparkly 2-ply

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My tiny 85 gram batt of shedding merino and sparkle is finally complete and done leaving a trail of fluff in my house! I have a finished Pink Merino Sparkle 2-ply to show for it!

I ended up with an 84 gram skein that made 88 yards. So I lost very little of the original batt despite the fluffy shedding. This skeins is a little inconsistant. Some parts were worsted at 9 wraps per inch and other sections were closer to 11 wraps per inch which is more DK weight.

Still, I’m happy with the skein. I don’t know what I will make with it as it sheds. But for now it will join the precious handspun stash. Now its time to make Christmas cookies!!! Bring on Christmas break 🙂

Happy Spinning!!

Spinning Finn

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I finished the incredibly sparkly and very messy Pink Merino Sparkle 2-ply. I’ll have FO pics to share tomorrow! So I decided to keep my wheel cozy and warm but starting the Finn roving I got at Fiber Flurry.

I have three little one ounce nests. I plan to spin each on its own bobbin and then make a 2-ply if the fibers spins thick or a 3-ply if they spin thin. This is my first time working with Finn so I am interested to see how it turns out with my technique level.

This color would fit nice with some of my first handspun in natural colors. I am still dreaming of a big thick cozy handspun sweater. But we shall see!! Christmas is almost here so I have many many things to do!

Happy Spinning!!

Ghosts of Advents Past (Part 2)

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When I found my wee advent socks, I also found the mini sweaters I was making. I hated them…they were short sleeved and very tiny. So I ripped them out and figured out a long sleeve and larger version I liked.

They turned our great! I am still using Wee Sweater by Sarah Schira pattern, just with some mods. A wee sweater takes me a full evening of TV knitting. So I only have two of these complete but they are fun and get a little faster each time.

For these, I found some gold ribbon that I plan to “hang” the sweaters from for a sweater garland. This garland will be separate from the tiny sock one. One is good so two must be better!

Happy Knitting!!

Cozy Knitter Sock Advent Progress

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I am catching up with the 2022 Cozy Knitter self striping 24 day advent skein!

This is roughly day 10 or so? I may not get a stripe every day but they are only 4/5 rows total so it’s easy to catch up. I am giving myself the grace to complete this as quickly or slowly as I need. After all, I have all of Christmas weekend to do whatever catch-up I need!

Happy Knitting!!

Ghosts Of Advents Past (Part 1)

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With all the festivities this year, I decided to pull out my 2021 Chromatic Yarns advent calendar. I had this big plan last holiday to knit 24 tiny little socks. Yeah…..that never materialized, lol.

I’m feeling a little more grounded this year so I re-evaluated and decided that the socks should be pairs. I have managed to finish two pairs and almost done with a third. These are the first three advent days in order.

When they get done, I am thinking of stitching them to a ribbon decorative twine to make a garland. But let’s get over the hurdle of 48 total tiny socks. It takes me half an evening of knitting to make a sock if I can stay off my phone. So maybe a Q1 2023 goal?

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Super Simple Summer Sweater

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My Super Simple Summer Sweater survived surgery and is DONE!

Pattern: Super Simple Summer Sweater by Joji Locatelli (Rav link)

Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in the Jupiter colorway

Needles: US 8s, US 6s and US5s

Mods: I made this sweater longer in the body and sleeves. I also knit the back split hem longer than the front split hem.

My kitchener stitch is still slightly visible after blocking but not so much that a muggle will notice. I am VERY happy with the adjustments to this sweater. I feel like it suits my body type much better as a regular sweater and not as a tunic.

This took just over 6 1/2 skeins of the worsted yarn so that is roughly 1,380 yards of yarn. I had two different dye lots but using helical knitting I think they blended nicely. The average eye can see some flashing and striping but it looks intentional so I’m pleased.

Now I just need to plot my next sweater! Happy Knitting!!

Making Candy

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Trying to get into the Christmas spirit and I found some walnuts in my freezer. I have been seeing TikToks about candied nuts and how easy they are. So I gave it a go!

The left shows the walnuts pre-baking and the right is the finished product. They were very simple and I used this recipe.

I can attest that when sprinkled on ice cream they taste JUST like cinnamon toast crunch. I will definitely make these again and possible for holiday cheer around my office this year.

Happy Holidays!!

The Weather Outside is Delightful

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It’s definitely getting colder here in Kansas. I decided to pull out my scrappy memory blanket to work on in between my 2022 Advent Socks. Since the daily stripe on my socks doesn’t take much time I thought this was a perfect companion project.

Based on the project keeper, I have added roughly 16 blocks to this since this past April. The bonus factor is that this keeps my lap quite warm while I am working on it. This piece is large enough to cover me from toes to shoulders. And the multi-colored stained glass look is really making my knitting soul fulfilled!

Happy Knitting!!