An Embarrassment of Riches Part Two: Fall into Autumn Loot!!!

Herzlichen Dank Frau S!!!! Sie behandeln mich gut!

Thank you so much S!!!! My FIA spoiler sent me this package all the way from Germany! I was worried it was lost.... snail mail is so slow. :-( My spoiler is S of s-knitting. She's the knitter I talked about in a previous post that has the Orangina top I covet. I read her blog and through her I found Adrienne's blog.

S sent me Sweet Kiss(strawberry and cherry) tea, a bar of white magnolia soap, a skein of red Silkdream yarn, 2 skeins of cotton yarn, and the book, OneSkein. The book has knit and crochet patterns in it. I found an infant hat pattern I want to make for my littlest nephew. S sent me 2 soft, knitted washcloths. I really appreciate her doing that because cotton yarn is harder to get in Europe than it is in the US. :-) S also sent me some spice vanilla candles to go into the jack-o-lantern candle holder. The candler holder broke somewhere in transit. :-(

The package was well worth the wait because she sent me 2 bars of Milka Schokolade. It's rich, smooth and creamy delicious Austrian milk chocolate. My friends and I had it with coffee. Thank you again S :-)

That brings me to my answer for the Winter Coffee Swap Topic of the Week:




What is the ideal setting for enjoying the perfect cup of coffee? Who would be there - or would you be alone? Inside or out? Morning or night? With food or just the steaming cup of joe?

Sitting around after dinner talking and playing poker with my friends. I play Tx holdem poker with a group of friends. We usually have dinner around 7 pm then sit down and have a long poker playing session. We drink coffee that we get from Half Price Books.

Fall into AutumnTopic #6...... Apples and Horses

Now that it is getting cooler here, it makes me think of apple picking and hay rides. Are you the type that likes to go to participate in all the fall festivities like apple picking, pumpkins, decorating for the fall, hay rides, baking fall goodies, etc. or do you just sit and count the days till Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hanukkah?

Apple Picking:
Didn't the Unabomber say the happiest times in his life was going apple picking? lol *
Well this is the closest I'll ever come to picking apples...



It's the Apple Harvest Socks from Northern Sunshine Designs. I'm using the incredibly soft White Willow's superwash sock yarn in the Prarie Grass colorway. It's part of her Native American sock yarn series. I used the Medicine Woman colorway to make the Twist&/Shout socks. My gauge is 9spi. I've modified the pattern because of the gauge and I casted on 72 stitches instead of 60.

Hay rides:
I'm from cattle country, and I've never gone on a hay ride. I've ridden horses(on Mustang Island) before but it's not exclusively a Fall activity. On Mustang Island near Corpus Christi, you can go horseback riding on the beach. Most of the horses they have at the stables are gentle, docile mares. Speaking of mares and horses.... guess what I finished!



Yeah, that's right the Thuja socks in the Thoroughbred colorway for size 13 wide feet. I hope my brother likes them.

Now that I told you about my next sock project and my FO, I'm actually going to answer the topic question..... I like baking in the Fall apple pies, cakes, sweets, etc. I love how when a pie is baking in the oven the house is filled with the scent of cinnamon. I thinking of baking a peach cobbler this year. I've never attempted to do one. Peach cobbler was one of my grandmother's best recipes. I know I won't be able to do it like hers but I'm going to try.



*Note: I'm not saying people who pick apples are crazy. I was just making a joke. When I saw apple picking that was the first thought that came to me. I can remember back in 1996 listening to a radio program and the hosts were talking about the Unabomber. The FBI interviewed Kaczynski and he told them that apple picking with some woman was the happiest time in his life.

Fall into Autumn Topic# 5.... A peek inside my knitting bag and A quick Thuja Sock update

I don't think the contest is still going on but here's a picture of me knitting. I took a video of me knitting on my digital camera but I don't know how to upload and post it on my blog. Plus it's been a busy week for me so I'm not willing to take the time to learn how to do it. <---- lazy
Flash your needles and other items you use to make your wares. Dpns, circs, straights, hooks,tape measures, darning needles, favorite stitch markers, needle holders, cases, the works!

Here's a peek into my knitting bag:



I've had this messenger bag for a year. I bought it online from Target. It has served me well, but it's time for me to get a new bag. I was awake at 3:00 in the morning watching HSN. I've had good restraint in the past when I'm watched HSN. I usually ask myself do I really need whatever the item is that I'm looking and wanting to buy. In this case my answer was yes. My knitting messenger bag doesn't close anymore. The weekend tote will be here around October 19th.

weekend tote from HSN

The tote bag matches my notions carrying case. It's canvas pencil pouch with a mesh pocket.

I keep inside of it: darning needles, measuring tape, paperclips (I use them as stitchmarkers), Knitchek for measuring gauge, US 1, 3 and 7 crochet hooks for fixing knitting mistakes, scissors, calculator, yellow highlighter, pencil and lip balm.

I keep a ruler in my knitting bag because Ann Budd says that a measuring tape can stretch out and you won't get accurate measurements.



I got my magnetic darning needle holder as a free gift from a UK knitting magazine, ?Simply Knitting?. Has anyone had their Addi Turbos discolor/tarnish a little? The ones I use the most, the US 1s and Us7s both have a little discoloration/tarnish on them. I bought them from YarnMarket.com so I know that there real Addis......

My on the go knitting reference book is Margaret Radcliffe's The Knitting Answer Book. Great book and the lady is a very nice person. Last year I had a question about tension and elongated stitches. I called her in ?Maryland? on a Monday. She was running an errand and her husband said she would call me back. Well, she called me back and explained to me what I was doing wrong. Awesome, she's just awesome. (I think she is a master knitter and deserves a knitting black belt.)



I also keep a journal/notebook in my bag too. I use it to write notes to myself.



Last weekend, I finished reading The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen. It's the first in the Jane Rizzoli series. It was a good suspense book. I liked how the book accurately depicted trauma situations and what blood products a doctor would order in those situations.... ie someone blooding out would require packed red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma and platelets. <--- It made the nerdy medical lab tech in me happy. The little biography of the author in the back of the book says that she used to be doctor on internal medicine. She knows what she's talking about. Thuja Progress:

I'm now knitting the heel flap of the 2nd sock. Hopefully, I'll be finished with this sock next week.

Fall into Autumn Topic #4

Anne's topic of the week: I know that when Fall arrives, I'm much more excited about having foods like Chili and Soups and Crock Pot type meals - there's just something about coming home to a house that smells all nummy and having a nice bowl of warmth when there's a chill in the air outside. How about you? Are there any recipes you especially enjoy having in the Fall? Any foods that are seasonal that you especially enjoy?

I subscribe to a Southern cooking newsletter and I get alot of my recipes from it. One of the recipes I really like is the carne guisado. It's a tender stew meat with gravy. I serve it on top of rice. I also like to make chicken noodle soup with garlic. I serve it with crusty French bread. I know the times when the bakery at the grocery store makes them and I can time it to get them when the bread is fresh out of the oven. Of course Fall wouldn't be Fall if I didn't bake pies especially apple pies. I like to make apple pies with royal gala, jonathan or pippin apples.

Note: The image in this post is from the internet, mindpetals.com and not taken by me.

Fal into Autumn Topic #2

When you knit or crochet dishclothes, washclothes or face clothes, what do you use? What size needle or hook? Wood? what type? Metal? Plastic? A specific Brand? Why do you love that needle or hook so much? Is there one you are dying to try? Is there a particular yarn you love and use all the time for clothes? What is so special about it?

When I knit dishcloths, I'll either use Addi Turbos if I'm in a hurry or bamboo straights if I'm not. All of my dishcloths are knit with size US 7 needles. Lately I've been using Addi Turbos because they're quick, I like the way they feel in my hands, my purl stitches are matching my knit ones, and I like the soft click clack sound they make when I use them. I'd like to try KnitPicks Harmony needles. I like the colors on them. I like to use Peaches and Cream yarn when knit dishcloths because the yarn feels softer than the Sugar n Creme. I really like the gumdrop varigated colorway. I made my friend, N, dishcloths for her birthday using them. The only problem with me liking Peaches and Cream is that there's only one Walmart in town that has a crafts section and its the only store where I can get it. I haven't gotten to the point where I'll order it online.

Fall into Autumn Topic #1

Now that in some geographic locations the weather is starting to turn cooler, do you change the type of yarn(s) you knit/crochet with? If so, what do you now knit/crochet with instead and why? If not, why do you not switch and what do you knit/crochet with?

I haven't changed the yarn that I'm using. I guess because I'm a beginner.... advanced beginner.... I'm trying to knit projects that I like and are fun.

In my part of the country, we have summer/spring/fall type of weather. It's still summer for us here in South Texas. I'm planning to knit things that are light weight. Light weight scarves, hats, shawls, etc. DK weight types of yarn and some merino wool. Nothing thick or bulky. In November, I think that I'll try knitting a tank top. One of my goals this year is to knit a top. I'll use a yarn that will be cool enough of our weather down here. I want the tank top to be cool yet warm also. If I want to wear it when it's colder, I can put a jacket on over it.... that's what we do here for winter... put a jacket on. Patterns like the ones in Interweave Knits or Vogue Knitting's Spring issues are the type of patterns that are appropriate for this area. I'd love knit a thick wooly cabled sweater,but I may only get to wear it on average for 2-3 weeks total yearly.