New Hobby Unlocked

Watch out world! I do in fact have a new hobby, and it’s crocheting. Thankfully, I already have so much yarn to use, but may need new patterns, kits, and hooks. Who is scared for me?! (Me. I’m scared! Haha!)

When I started teaching my niece to crochet a few weeks ago, I idly started knitting a longer thin strip. It looked like the brim of a hat, so connecting it in a circle seemed like a good next step. Picking up stitches was pretty easy and then I improvised the decreases. I’ll have to pull up a video to see if my strategy has a name. 

Trying it on after every other round was helpful to see if I was deceasing at the right pace. I started decreasing every 11 stitches for 6 rounds, then decreased every 4th stitch every third round for several rounds. Finally the decrease was at every stitch, making the top of the hat a little hole-y, but I’m pondering whether to add a Pom Pom. 

Fun, no-brand yarn has interesting color choices, but since it was free, I’m calling it “whimsical.”

And for my record keeping, some spring flowers that are blooming around the house. 

March 28

March 25

March 22

March 20

March 13

March 13

This tree came down in a storm on March 15, and our neighbor saw it and shoved it into the woods with his tractor. My neighbors are amazing!

Crochet? Why Not?

Everyone who knows me a little bit also knows that the last person to need a new and unique hobby, is me. I am also a prolific knitter and crochet only under duress (when the edges of something fancy demand it). I had a terrible time learning it as a child and was not interested in the frustration. I could never get the gauge right. Imagine my trepidation when my niece wanted to learn over spring break. And then imagine my surprise when I was able to make a quick swatch using THIS video almost instantly.

My niece is six, and so I decided to focus on the chain stitch first. We kept attaching it to the swatch when it got too long and dangling. 

This girl has so much grit! After I showed here with my hands on hers a few minutes, she was ready to do it herself. But she was very tense, which slowed things down considerably. I think we sat together at least 30-45 minutes before her first break. 

It’s too early to see if the hobby will stick for her, but I may have started a hat…

We were also delighted to visit the baby farm animals on our visit. My brother and sister-in-law had recently welcomed four Saanen goat kids and one Nubian goat kid. We were happy to cuddle them and sample incredible dairy products. 

The Farmer may also have a new hobby goal??

In spite of a freak blizzard during our stay, it looks like spring weather is starting to return this coming week as I go back to school. Enjoy!

No Adornment Needed

As it was a mast year last year, I processed several cups of acorn flour in the fall. I am starting to get worried that the flour might get rancid, so this morning I decided to finally make acorn pancakes using THIS recipe. 

I used 1/4 cup almond flour and 1/2 cup white flour for the white flour part, and 1/2 cup almond milk with the rest water for the milk part. 

The pancakes turned out so wonderful that they didn’t even need any sort of topping. The sugar in the batter made them sweet enough to leave off any syrup, preserves, or honey and the flavor was rich enough that there was no need for cheese or yogurt sauce. 

Of course I got curious how the batter would react in my waffle maker. The waffle maker did bake a little longer since pancake batter is typically more watery than waffle batter, but the flavor and texture was also outstanding in this format. I do recommend not overfilling the waffle iron so all the batter stays inside of it. 

Finally, nothing says helpful quality control like your cat sitting on the new blanket your are knitting! I’m about 1/3 finished and love how smooshy this blanket is turning out. 

Happy Weekending!

 

New Year, New Blanket

The first month of the year is gone, but not before I started a basket weave blanket last weekend! I was surprised, but then I remembered that this is the sixth blanket I’m making from the Done by Monday book. So relaxing and lovely…

Yarn is hand-spun by the friend I never met, Anne Cohee. I’m not sure she did anything but spin in her retirement, but I’m not sad. Yarn is held double and knit with size 13 needles.

Yarn and pattern are a dream to work with. With a source that is a Romney Brown named Helga, this should not be a surprise, either.  I foresee a quick finish!

 

Wee Trees

 Merry Christmas! 🎁🎄 

I really wanted to continue making trees in the style of my Yarn Forest, but I forgot the physical pattern before leaving for vacation. So I found this cute pattern from the Fuzzy Mitten. 

I forgot my finishing kit, so I strategically hid the loose ends and will probably add some decorations at a later date. 

Enjoy the festive season!

With a Little Help From Mom

Another Done by Monday blanket is finished, this time pattern #8, also subtitled “Annette’s Afghan.”

We just celebrated a marvelous Thanksgiving feast with my mom and The Farmer’s mom and stepdad. Great food, some fun games and activities, and lots of relaxing rounded out the week. 

This blanket is a bit shorter than the others since I didn’t have additional yarn to add when I ran out. 

I offered if my mom wanted to try knitting a few rows, and she declared that she wanted to make sure and knit fast so she could take it home!

At least I know what to give her for Christmas this year! The other blanket (Afghan #11) was also highly loved upon, so I may have another holiday gift in my head…

The tag on the yarn skein is so interesting: hand-written, hair cream (conditioner?), and made to sell at the Maryland Wool Show in 1990! I love that she spun yarn one sheep fleece at a time. Norman is still with us on our laps now! 

Looking forward to the next month of concerts and celebrations. Wishing all of you winter blessings!

Details about the blanket can be found HERE
 

Hat in a Day

At the beginning of Fall Break, I had a day of travel, so I wound a skein of home grown, hand dyed, hand spun sheep yarn from the Walker family farm and popped it into my bag. By the next day, I had a hat finished, including sewing in the two ends. 

I like that there are two ways to wear it: slouchy and with a folded brim for extra ear protection on windy days. 

 I felt very accomplished and promptly knit zero other things in spite of having a whole week off. *sigh* 

Happy Autumn Days to you!