Stolen Hand Knit Items

Stealing stuff is no good.

But stealing hand knit items, well, I'm sure there's a special place in hell for people who steal hand knit items.

My sister recently had some items, we'll say liberated, from her possession. Among them, a pair of hand knit fingerless gloves my mom worked very hard to make for her. They were super cute and she loved them.

I seriously hope, whoever owns them now, is at least wearing them. And I hope they are still wearing them when they are arrested and booked for stealing. I'm sure the cops will appreciate the fact that the perps fingers will be easily accessible for the finger printing portion of the booking process.

Ishbel: First Finished project of 2010

I finished Ishbel last week and I love it! It's a beautiful shawl pattern that I would knit again.

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda

Yarn: Malabrigo Sock

Colorway: Stonechat

More pictures can be found on  my flickr site or ravelry site.

The return of the sun

I snapped this picture the other morning while waiting at the bus stop:

The sun was rising over the Cascade Mountains and reflecting in such a lovely way on the clouds. My camera phone seriously does not do this image justice at all. But as I enjoyed the colors on clouds it made me so happy to see the sun returning to the Pacific Northwest. The bus ride over the West Seattle bridge was so beautiful that morning, with the view of Mt. Rainier and the Duwamish River on one side and Elliot Bay and the Seattle skyline on the other side.

I wish I could have snapped a few more pictures, but mornings like that make me feel good to take that ride into work.

Welcome back sun. I hope you're hear to stay for a while. We missed you.

A take on the Market Tote

I found some time in the sewing room today and after sifting through patterns and fabric I finally found a project that I could whip up in the afternoon. Sort of.

I made a modified version of Amy Butler's Market Tote*. I didn't have any home decorator fabric, but I had plenty of lovely cotton fabric so I pulled out some for the exterior and the lining. I also added a pocket with a little trim just because. I also didn't have enough fabric for the really long handles to run the length of the bag so I modified those as well. In my book, as long as handles can swing over your shoulder without cutting into your armpit, they'll work.

I think I'll make this pattern again and try the home decorator fabric to see what it's like. It's a good sized bag and I do love the shaping at the bottom of the bag which makes it deep and wide. I think this will be my new knitting bag for a while!

*I find it slightly ironic and funny that I've declared 2010 the year of clearing the clutter - especially my bag obsession. And what do I go and make for my first sewing project of the year? Yeah, a bag. Guess I need to take another bag to Goodwill or consignment!

A Homemade Life: my book report

I decided to treat myself to Molly Wizenburg’s book A Homemade Life. I can honestly say it’s one of the best treats I’ve bought myself in a long, long while.  
                                                            
To say I loved this book is a bit of an understatement. Molly’s* writing is so clear and conversational, I felt like we were great friends and she was simply telling me about her day.

I believe Molly and I could actually be friends if we met in real life and here’s why:
1. We both live in Seattle, thus making the friendship geographically feasible.
2. We both have a slight obsession with Paris, to say the least (as I write this I am listening to French music).
3. We both love to cook, bake and eat.
4. We both love chocolate – dearly.
5. And she shares my belief that goat cheese pretty much makes any dish freakin’ rock.

I’ve recommended this book to pretty much everyone I know. If you haven’t read this yet, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. The chapters are short and sweet and end with a recipe that leaves you with a bit of a hungry rumble going on in your tummy.


And it’ll make you want to call your dad just to say hi and tell him you love him.


All of those things my friends, are very good.


*On an somewhat unrelated noted, Rebecca sent me an email today about a soup cooking class next week, I had ready decided to sign up before I got to the bottom of the email and discovered the class is going to be held at Molly’s restaurant Delancey. I did a little dance of joy in my cubicle. Slightly stalkerish I know.

Red Onion, Potato and Goat Cheese Pizza

Potato Pizza. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking I'm crazy. Finally lost it. Well, you're not alone with that thought. But you're dead wrong.

There's this fabulous pizza place in town called Serious Pie. It's got some delicious, serious pizza. My favorite of which is the Yukon Gold Potato pizza. I've taken several out of town guests there for lunch and then made them try the pizza. They are all skeptical at first, but I make them try one bite. Then they usually admit it's fabulous, or they don't like it and I eat it all myself. Either way, I'm pretty happy.

So imagine my delight when I was flipping through a Cooking Light magazine and found a potato, onion and goat cheese pizza. I ripped it right out and decided this was going to be a staple in my kitchen before I ever made it.

If you're looking for a different type of pizza, I promise this won't disappoint.

Red Onion, Potato and Goat Cheese Pizza

Fruit...beware....

For Christmas my sister gave me the book jam it, pickle, cure it. She also gave me a bunch of fun jars (plus some other fun goodies!) The book has a bunch of really great recipies for jams, pickles, meats, cheeses and crackers. I think this will keep me quite busy and hopefully quite full through out the seasons!

Ishbel

I've cast on my Ishbel by Ysolda. It's beautiful and I love it. Practically everyone else in my knitting group was knitting one or had knit one and I so longed to have one as well. So I ran out and bought some fabulous yarn.

It's sock yarn from Malabrigo in stonecraft.

There are more pictures of my project on my Ravelry page and flickr site.

2009: Projects in Pictures

Here's a few of the projects I worked on in 2009. From baby hats to jam to baby dresses, quilts, sweaters and a few little projects for me (hat, started a sweater and made myself socks). Oh, and I learned how to make creme brule. A pretty productive year if I do say so!

Looking back*

It doesn’t seem like we’ve come to the end of a decade, but it’s all about 2010 now. And I thought I’d look back at the decade that has been the most meaningful to me. I can’t really remember everything but here are some of the highlights, and sadly, a few lowlights.


2000: While everyone I knew was out partying like it was 1999, I was in the Fox 12 News room in Nampa, Idaho waiting for whatever Y2K would bring us. If the world was going to meltdown, computer crash, ATM’s stop working, I was going to be there to report about it. Well, as you recall, it was a pretty uneventful night. The rest of the year was pretty much the same, but if I recall, a few friends and I had some pretty fun times!


2001: Of course this year is seared into all of our memories. 9/11 changed a lot. Even in Boise, Idaho. The economic impact from the attacks reached to the television world and the show I produced was cut, I was moved to part time back on the main news show I had started on. While I felt this was a setback in my career, a funny little thing happened along the way. Now that I was back on the night shift, I began a real friendship with the woman who had earlier replaced me on the main new show. She had been moved to reporter/anchor.


2002: This was the year that things began to change. One night after work, my new friend said, hey let’s go out for a drink. I of course, said sure! Then she added, my fiancé is going to meet us out and he might bring a friend, is that ok? Sure why not! And you guessed it, that friend of a friend would later become The Hubby. The year ended on a very sad note with the passing of my dear college friend Brian Ellis. He lost his life long battle with Cystic Fibrosis. Every time I go back to visit my old stomping grounds of the University of Idaho I think of him and all the fun we had there. I cheer extra loud at our football games to make up for the loss of his voice, but I know he’s cheering on from Heaven.


2003: A pretty good year, treasuring friends and having fun with the Boyfriend.


2004: This is one of the most impactful years of my life. After being with the TV station at a job I loved, it came to an abrupt and somewhat painful end on July 1 (I remember that date clearly because it was day one of the Golden Birthday Month, I was turning 29 on July 29th. Ironic I know.) It turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. After spending a fun summer hanging out with my friends, hiking, going to our place in Cascade, Idaho, and of course doing a lot of knitting, I took a leap of faith in myself, my boyfriend and our relationship and I moved with him to Seattle, Washington that fall. It was a place I had been to twice briefly and where I knew no one and didn’t have a job. Shortly after we moved, I got a job offer from the Fox station in Seattle, but it wasn’t the job I wanted. After a lot of soul searching, I turned it down, hoping it wasn’t the end of my TV career. The fall brought new adventures as we explored our new city. Oh, and I found a knitting group online and decided to just show up and see what happened. I still show up every Monday night. Monday is now one of the best days of the week for me.


2005: This was the year I turned 30, took my first trip to Europe with a visit to London, Bath, Brussels, Belgium and Paris, France. And it won’t be my last. We were world travelers this year with a fall trip to visit family in the Grand Cayman Islands. Seriously, this is the place to have family to visit!


2006: On my birthday, the Boyfriend became the Fiancé. It was a great birthday as I had already planned the event. My friends were meeting up at the Fremont Outdoor Film Festival for a sing along showing of Grease. It was a great night. This is the year that I found my current job, back in TV, doing what I love, only at a much, much better schedule than working nights/holidays/weekends like a traditional TV station. I am very thankful for it and feel like I should enjoy my holidays for my TV friends still working/living that lifestyle! This was also the first year that I'd participate in my first triathlon! It was challenging event and I loved every minute of it. I went on to do event for the next three years.


2007: On June 16, the Fiancé became the Hubby. It was beautiful wedding and all of our family and friends made the trip to Seattle to celebrate with us. Then we spent a week and a half in Nassau, Bahamas on the beach. Not a bad way to celebrate the beginning of our adventure.


2008: The first year of marriage was a great one. A few trips here and there. We went back to NYC for a surprise trip for the In-laws wedding anniversary. Turned out it was the very same weekend Sara (now living in Washington, D.C.) was in town. It was great to meet up with her and spend a day in NYC together. Unfortunately, it was a sad visit, as our college friend Jen(and Sara and April’s college roommate) had lost her very long and very brave battle with breast cancer that very same weekend.


2009: Started with a fabulous once in a lifetime trip with my mom and sister to France! We rented an apartment in Paris and took in the sights and lifestyle. We visited Arles, Aux en Provence, and Nice. It was a trip like no other. A trip we will all cherish forever. My dad was sure we’d come back not speaking to each other, and while there were squabbles along the way, there was a lot of fun, laughter, wine and crème brulee. Shortly after my return, the Hubby and I found what would become our first house on Easter Sunday. By Memorial Weekend it was officially ours and we were in by the Fourth of July. The summer and fall sped by with gardening work, trips to the Oregon Coast, Priest Lake, Idaho, Cascade, Idaho, Boise, Idaho and then back to Post Falls, Idaho. Twice. It’s been a busy year. A busy decade for that matter. But a great year and decade.


I can’t wait for what 2010 has in store for us!
 For my house to yours, I hope you had happy holidays and here’s to a wonderful 2010!


*I’m pretty sure these events happened in these years, but no promises! It was a long time ago!