31 while 31 Update

I will not get some of these done, and I am okay with that.

The ones I finished since my last post?
13) Take Michael hiking-Middlesex Fells, see the picture below!  It was a beautiful day and he liked it and a mountain in New Hampshire is in our future.















24) Make cider donuts.

27) Go to 4 concerts.
We went to the Wallflowers a few weeks ago and brought back the 90s...  That made 4!
28) Make sourdough bread from scratch














31) Have a cocktail party...
We had a great group of friends over a few weeks ago and everything was hit.  Good food, good drinks and good friends.

The ones I will get done before October 20th....
4) Knit an entrelac project-will have to finish one I have started.
18) Make Madeleines...
21) Learn three guitar chords-I can't promise I will remember them at the end of the year.
22) Learn rudimentary phrases in Spanish.

30) Watch three foreign language films that are not a romance language
2 down, one to go...

Ones I won't have completed:
6) Make lamb bacon
12) Take Michael camping
14) Host/Organize a contest involving pie, maybe eating, maybe making?
26) Blog every week.
29) Dye my own yarn
I am really only bummed about two of them-camping and dying yarn.  I will do both next year.  They will go on my list for that.

1) Race a trail 5k-Spring/summer/Fall-DONE2) Knit a colorwork project-DONE
3)Knit an adult sized sweater. Picked out Thermal for this project.-DONE
4) Knit an entrelac project-will have to finish one I have started.
5) Run a relay race-DONE, my team Reached the Beach! (Pic at bottom)
6) Make lamb bacon
7) Make pasta from scratch
8) Take a finishing class for knitting-DONE at the Common Cod's weekend of volunteer taught classes-thanks Alanna!
9)Take a crochet class-DONE, at Gather Here in Cambridge. I made a granny square mostly there and finished it later and then used my crochet skills to do a border on a hat!!!
10) Take a sewing class-DONE, also at Gather Here, where I made an awesome bag I have been using for a bunch of things!!!
11) Take an exercise class I would normally avoid-maybe not trapeze as Sarah suggester, but something similarly out of my comfort zone.-DONE, I went cross country skiing recently in Stowe, taking a beginner class and while I am a very proficient down hill skier, cross country skiing is very different and something I didn't do so well at. It was a good challenge and I will continue to try.
12) Take Michael camping
13) Take Michael hiking
14) Host/Organize a contest involving pie, maybe eating, maybe making?
15) Make a good soy milk based ice cream-DONE, we made dulce de leche soy ice cream for the latke party my dad and step mom had last weekend.
16) Run another half-marathon-already picked out the Run to Remember!-DONE, I also beat my previous time by 24 minutes this past Sunday! 
17) Make Pizza from scratch-dough and sauce. Cheese will have to buy-Done on September 3, 2012!
18) Make Madeleines...
19) Make buttercream from scratch-DONE, we made a bunch of cakes and cupcakes for a Girls on the Run event and our running club banquet, including buttercream in a number of colors and two flavors, vanilla and chocolate.
20) Raise money for Girls On The Run as a Solemate for the Run to Remember.-DONE, Michael and I raised over $2,000 for Girls on the Run.  You can still donate at http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/randmrobertson/team-solemates-2012
21) Learn three guitar chords-I can't promise I will remember them at the end of the year.
22) Learn rudimentary phrases in Spanish.
23) Knit something for charity.-DONE
24) Make cider donuts.
25) Visit a new city-this will be hard, I've been to most I want to go to. Thinking New Orleans.-DONE, technically done as I drove to Albany, NY for work a few weeks ago and dropped off a few things. Not exactly what I was thinking, but it is technically done.  Visited New Orleans in June!
26) Blog every week. I have completely abandoned it, and will try and do 52 before October 20th, so get ready for a plethora of posting.
27) Go to 4 concerts. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for us, which is sad. 1) Smashing Pumpkins; 2) Saw live Jazz in New Orleans; 3) Kelly Clarkson and the Fray and 4) seeing the Wallflowers soon!
28) Make sourdough bread from scratch
29) Dye my own yarn
30) Watch three foreign language films that are not a romance language
31) Have a cocktail party

Cross another one off the 31 while 31 list!

31 while 31 Update!

I made pizza from scratch last night!  Ok, I only made the dough and sauce, but that was what was on my list.  It was easy, if time consuming!  I used this recipe:  http://www.shutterbean.com/2011/knead-pizza-dough/ and it takes very little time of actual work to get it ready.  It does take 2 hours to rise but the actual working time should be about 5-10 minutes total and the crust came out great.

You start with the dry ingredients together and add the water to get the wet dough.

I had to add close to an additional 1/3 cup of water to get a good consistency on my dough.

Then you spread it all out on an oiled baking sheet and add the toppings and bake.  I made my own sauce so it took some additional time for that.

Here is the one with homemade roasted tomato sauce, from this recipe http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Tomato-Sauce-352110, cheddar and capers:

Just a note on this sauce:  Michael made it with the plum tomatoes it calls for and it was amazing.  So amazing I hope we have time to make it every time we want tomato sauce.  However, the tomatoes have to roast for an hour so it takes some time.  I am thinking of making large batches and canning it.  This time I did not have plum tomatoes so I just used regular, but good quality, tomatoes and it was still delicious.  Roast the tomatoes for the full hour-it's worth it.

Here is the one with goat cheese spread, caramelized onions and aged balsamic drizzle:

Both pizzas were a success, though I only baked them for 15 minutes in the 500 degree oven-which was enough to get the crust crispy and brown on the outside and deliciously soft and chewy inside.  I will definitely use this recipe again soon for dough!

The total list:

1) Race a trail 5k-Spring/summer/Fall-DONE2) Knit a colorwork project-DONE
3)Knit an adult sized sweater. Picked out Thermal for this project.-DONE
4) Knit an entrelac project-will have to finish one I have started.
5) Run a relay race-DONE, my team Reached the Beach! (Pic at bottom)
6) Make lamb bacon
7) Make pasta from scratch
8) Take a finishing class for knitting-DONE at the Common Cod's weekend of volunteer taught classes-thanks Alanna!
9)Take a crochet class-DONE, at Gather Here in Cambridge. I made a granny square mostly there and finished it later and then used my crochet skills to do a border on a hat!!!
10) Take a sewing class-DONE, also at Gather Here, where I made an awesome bag I have been using for a bunch of things!!!
11) Take an exercise class I would normally avoid-maybe not trapeze as Sarah suggester, but something similarly out of my comfort zone.-DONE, I went cross country skiing recently in Stowe, taking a beginner class and while I am a very proficient down hill skier, cross country skiing is very different and something I didn't do so well at. It was a good challenge and I will continue to try.
12) Take Michael camping
3) Take Michael hiking
14) Host/Organize a contest involving pie, maybe eating, maybe making?
15) Make a good soy milk based ice cream-DONE, we made dulce de leche soy ice cream for the latke party my dad and step mom had last weekend.
16) Run another half-marathon-already picked out the Run to Remember!-DONE, I also beat my previous time by 24 minutes this past Sunday! 
17) Make Pizza from scratch-dough and sauce. Cheese will have to buy-Done on September 3, 2012!
18) Make Madeleines...
19) Make buttercream from scratch-DONE, we made a bunch of cakes and cupcakes for a Girls on the Run event and our running club banquet, including buttercream in a number of colors and two flavors, vanilla and chocolate.
20) Raise money for Girls On The Run as a Solemate for the Run to Remember.-DONE, Michael and I raised over $2,000 for Girls on the Run.  You can still donate at http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/randmrobertson/team-solemates-2012
21) Learn three guitar chords-I can't promise I will remember them at the end of the year.
22) Learn rudimentary phrases in Spanish.
23) Knit something for charity.-DONE
24) Make cider donuts.
25) Visit a new city-this will be hard, I've been to most I want to go to. Thinking New Orleans.-DONE, technically done as I drove to Albany, NY for work a few weeks ago and dropped off a few things. Not exactly what I was thinking, but it is technically done.  Visited New Orleans in June!
26) Blog every week. I have completely abandoned it, and will try and do 52 before October 20th, so get ready for a plethora of posting.
27) Go to 4 concerts. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for us, which is sad. 1) Smashing Pumpkins; 2) Saw live Jazz in New Orleans; 3) Kelly Clarkson and the Fray and 4) seeing the Wallflowers soon!
28) Make sourdough bread from scratch
29) Dye my own yarn
30) Watch three foreign language films that are not a romance language
31) Have a cocktail party

What is left and my plans for them:   

6) Make lamb bacon-I just have to figure out how to do this.
12) Take Michael camping-Maybe not doable
13) Take Michael hiking-Doable
14) Host/Organize a contest involving pie, maybe eating, maybe making?
18) Make Madeleines...check to see if I have the pan, if not, order
21) Learn three guitar chords-I can't promise I will remember them at the end of the year.
22) Learn rudimentary phrases in Spanish.
24) Make cider donuts.
27) Go to 4 concerts. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for us, which is sad. 1) Smashing Pumpkins; 2) Saw live Jazz in New Orleans; 3) Kelly Clarkson and the Fray and 4) seeing the Wallflowers soon!
28) Make sourdough bread from scratch-order the starter from King Arthur Flour29) Dye my own yarn-I have a bunch of yarn to dye blue30) Watch three foreign language films that are not a romance language
31) Have a cocktail party-in a couple weekends, evite already sent and planning commenced with a good head start!

26 is blog every week-getting to 52 will likely not happen, oh well!
 
 
 

Homemade Pasta!!!

I crossed another thing off of my 31 while 31 list!  I made homemade pasta.

I used Mario Batali's recipe and for me, the ratios were a little off and I had to add some extra water in the form of moisture to get it to come together.  However, it was really sticky.  Next time I will maybe try Lidia Bastianich's recipe.

First I made a well in my flour on my wooden board.  Thanks Joe Bastiniach for that tip from watching Master Chef.

Then I put my eggs in the middle of the well.

Then I mixed in the flour on the sides into my eggs with a fork, keeping the well formed as long as I could.

 Then I kneaded the dough for 6 minutes!

It looked like this after all that kneading.  It was a lot like kneading the dough for challah, use your palms and keep turning it.

Then you wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest.  This allows the glutens to relax, I think, but don't quote me on that.

 Then I put little pieces into this tiny pasta machine.  The only shape I was familiar with that it makes?  Bucatini!

 After a good while of hand=cranking I ended up with this:

 I cooked it for five minutes(after the water returned to a boil after adding the pasta) in water well salted and oiled.

Here it is draining!

This was dinner last night!  Yum!

Thanks to Michael for stepping in on the sauce while I was busy cranking away!

I have some knitting to show you soon-it just needs to be blocked!

Heirlooms for Babies

Lately it has seemed like almost everyone a year ahead of us from law school who is married is having kids. 

I have been knitting a lot of baby stuff due to that situation.

The latest?  A baby blanket that came out wonderfully but was down to the wire, as usual with baby knits.

Presenting Heirloom:

Unblocked. with right side and wrong side showing.

Unblocked with right side showing:

 Blocked with right side showing.

I didn't get any better pictures because of the aforementioned down to the wire status.  It dried overnight before the shower the next day.

It was all worth it because it was very well received, people were very complimentary and recognized the work a hand knit gift requires.  Mom to be likes it and was glad to find out that it can be machine washed, but not dried.  The shower was a good one and very well planned.  I was impressed with the hostess and the coordination and planning of everything that went into it.

I would definitely use the Madeline Tosh Sport yarn I used for this again for another project.  It has great stitch definition and comes in a variety of great colors.  It isn't cheap but has a fair bit of yardage per skein.  I'm glad I have a bit of a break right now from baby items however.  Next thing I show you will probably be crochet!!  I've been taking classes at Gather Here in Cambridge to pick up some basic crochet and sewing skills.  They have all taught me something new. 

Happy knitting and crocheting!

Trail Race

One more thing down on the 31 while 31 list!

This was a tough race and I fell during it but it was fun and there was great beer after.  I was working hard up this hill and you can see the sweat to prove it.

1) Race a trail 5k-Spring/summer/Fall-DONE
2) Knit a colorwork project-DONE
3)Knit an adult sized sweater. Picked out Thermal for this project.-DONE (Pic at bottom)
4) Knit an entrelac project-will have to finish one I have started.
5) Run a relay race-DONE, my team Reached the Beach! (Pic at bottom)
6) Make lamb bacon
7) Make pasta from scratch
8) Take a finishing class for knitting-DONE at the Common Cod's weekend of volunteer taught classes-thanks Alanna!
9)Take a crochet class-DONE, at Gather Here in Cambridge. I made a granny square mostly there and finished it later and then used my crochet skills to do a border on a hat!!!
10) Take a sewing class-DONE, also at Gather Here, where I made an awesome bag I have been using for a bunch of things!!!
11) Take an exercise class I would normally avoid-maybe not trapeze as Sarah suggester, but something similarly out of my comfort zone.-DONE, I went cross country skiing recently in Stowe, taking a beginner class and while I am a very proficient down hill skier, cross country skiing is very different and something I didn't do so well at. It was a good challenge and I will continue to try.
12) Take Michael camping
3) Take Michael hiking
14) Host/Organize a contest involving pie, maybe eating, maybe making?
15) Make a good soy milk based ice cream-DONE, we made dulce de leche soy ice cream for the latke party my dad and step mom had last weekend.
16) Run another half-marathon-already picked out the Run to Remember!-DONE, I also beat my previous time by 24 minutes this past Sunday!17) Make Pizza from scratch-dough and sauce. Cheese will have to buy18) Make Madeleines...
19) Make buttercream from scratch-DONE, we made a bunch of cakes and cupcakes for a Girls on the Run event and our running club banquet, including buttercream in a number of colors and two flavors, vanilla and chocolate.
20) Raise money for Girls On The Run as a Solemate for the Run to Remember.-DONE, Michael and I raised over $2,000 for Girls on the Run.  You can still donate at http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/randmrobertson/team-solemates-2012
21) Learn three guitar chords-I can't promise I will remember them at the end of the year.
22) Learn rudimentary phrases in Spanish.
23) Knit something for charity.-DONE
24) Make cider donuts.
25) Visit a new city-this will be hard, I've been to most I want to go to. Thinking New Orleans.-DONE, technically done as I drove to Albany, NY for work a few weeks ago and dropped off a few things. Not exactly what I was thinking, but it is technically done.
26) Blog every week. I have completely abandoned it, and will try and do 52 before October 20th, so get ready for a plethora of posting.
27) Go to 4 concerts. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for us, which is sad. 1) Smashing Pumpkins, I have the second picked out for New Orleans this weekend and one scheduled for later this summer. 28) Make sourdough bread from scratch
29) Dye my own yarn
30) Watch three foreign language films that are not a romance language
31) Have a cocktail party

31 while 31 Update

1) Race a trail 5k-Spring/summer/Fall
2) Knit a colorwork project-DONE
3)Knit an adult sized sweater. Picked out Thermal for this project.-DONE (Pic at bottom)
4) Knit an entrelac project-will have to finish one I have started.
5) Run a relay race-DONE, my team Reached the Beach! (Pic at bottom)
6) Make lamb bacon
7) Make pasta from scratch
8) Take a finishing class for knitting-DONE at the Common Cod's weekend of volunteer taught classes-thanks Alanna!
9)Take a crochet class-DONE, at Gather Here in Cambridge. I made a granny square mostly there and finished it later and then used my crochet skills to do a border on a hat!!!
10) Take a sewing class-DONE, also at Gather Here, where I made an awesome bag I have been using for a bunch of things!!!
11) Take an exercise class I would normally avoid-maybe not trapeze as Sarah suggester, but something similarly out of my comfort zone.-DONE, I went cross country skiing recently in Stowe, taking a beginner class and while I am a very proficient down hill skier, cross country skiing is very different and something I didn't do so well at. It was a good challenge and I will continue to try.
12) Take Michael camping
3) Take Michael hiking
14) Host/Organize a contest involving pie, maybe eating, maybe making?
15) Make a good soy milk based ice cream-DONE, we made dulce de leche soy ice cream for the latke party my dad and step mom had last weekend.
16) Run another half-marathon-already picked out the Run to Remember!-DONE, I also beat my previous time by 24 minutes this past Sunday!17) Make Pizza from scratch-dough and sauce. Cheese will have to buy18) Make Madeleines...
19) Make buttercream from scratch-DONE, we made a bunch of cakes and cupcakes for a Girls on the Run event and our running club banquet, including buttercream in a number of colors and two flavors, vanilla and chocolate.
20) Raise money for Girls On The Run as a Solemate for the Run to Remember.-DONE, Michael and I raised over $2,000 for Girls on the Run.  You can still donate at http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/randmrobertson/team-solemates-2012
21) Learn three guitar chords-I can't promise I will remember them at the end of the year.
22) Learn rudimentary phrases in Spanish.
23) Knit something for charity.-DONE
24) Make cider donuts.
25) Visit a new city-this will be hard, I've been to most I want to go to. Thinking New Orleans.-DONE, technically done as I drove to Albany, NY for work a few weeks ago and dropped off a few things. Not exactly what I was thinking, but it is technically done.
26) Blog every week. I have completely abandoned it, and will try and do 52 before October 20th, so get ready for a plethora of posting.
27) Go to 4 concerts. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for us, which is sad. 1) Smashing Pumpkins, I have the second picked out for New Orleans this weekend and one scheduled for later this summer. 28) Make sourdough bread from scratch
29) Dye my own yarn
30) Watch three foreign language films that are not a romance language
31) Have a cocktail party

Well, I have 5 more things crossed off and I really just need to do the cooking ones, those are my next ones to do, then the learning ones, then the cocktail party one in September.  

Here are those pictures I promised.

  

Happy Knitting, Running, and whatever else you are doing!

Good Knit-Wear Recipieints

They are not lacking in my family, though there has been a lost hat incident and a lost scarf incident which I don't hold against the two people and have knit to replace them.

My brother's girlfriend is a wonderful knit wear recipient who sends extremely grateful thanks and appreciative statements and sends pictures of her wearing what she has received. That is sure-fire get on the knit list for good behavior.

Here's said photo.

I have some FO's to show you, maybe a parade is in order next week?

In other news I have been running a lot and will continue to do so in preparation for an upcoming relay across Massachusetts where I will run 15-20 miles in 24 hours in three legs and a half marathon and the BAA Distance Medley, which consists of a 5K, a 10K, and a half marathon over 6 months.

31 while 31 UPDATE

I did 6 of the things on my list since I last posted!!

1) Race a trail 5k-Spring/summer/Fall
2) Knit a colorwork project-DONE
3)Knit an adult sized sweater. Picked out Thermal for this project.
4) Knit an entrelac project-will have to finish one I have started.
5) Run a relay race-Scheduled for December
6) Make lamb bacon
7) Make pasta from scratch
8) Take a finishing class for knitting
9)Take a crochet class-DONE, at Gather Here in Cambridge. I made a granny square mostly there and finished it later and then used my crochet skills to do a border on a hat!!!
10) Take a sewing class-DONE, also at Gather Here, where I made an awesome bag I have been using for a bunch of things!!!
11) Take an exercise class I would normally avoid-maybe not trapeze as Sarah suggester, but something similarly out of my comfort zone.-DONE, I went cross country skiing recently in Stowe, taking a beginner class and while I am a very proficient down hill skier, cross country skiing is very different and something I didn't do so well at. It was a good challenge and I will continue to try.
12) Take Michael camping
3) Take Michael hiking
14) Host/Organize a contest involving pie, maybe eating, maybe making?
15) Make a good soy milk based ice cream-DONE, we made dulce de leche soy ice cream for the latke party my dad and step mom had last weekend.
16) Run another half-marathon-already picked out the Run to Remember!
17) Make Pizza from scratch-dough and sauce. Cheese will have to buy
18) Make Madeleines...
19) Make buttercream from scratch-DONE, we made a bunch of cakes and cupcakes for a Girls on the Run event and our running club banquet, including buttercream in a number of colors and two flavors, vanilla and chocolate.
20) Raise money for Girls On The Run as a Solemate for the Run to Remember.
21) Learn three guitar chords-I can't promise I will remember them at the end of the year.
22) Learn rudimentary phrases in Spanish.
23) Knit something for charity.-DONE
24) Make cider donuts.
25) Visit a new city-this will be hard, I've been to most I want to go to. Thinking New Orleans.-DONE, technically done as I drove to Albany, NY for work a few weeks ago and dropped off a few things. Not exactly what I was thinking, but it is technically done.
26) Blog every week. I have completely abandoned it, but will start again and track my progress there and here. I AM MAKING PROGRESS ON THIS BUT HAVE SLACKED SOME WEEKS, WILL HAVE TO DO 52 TOTAL BUT THEY WON'T ALL BE WEEKLY
27) Go to 4 concerts. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for us, which is sad. 1) Smashing Pumpkins
28) Make sourdough bread from scratch
29) Dye my own yarn
30) Watch three foreign language films that are not a romance language
31) Have a cocktail party

Hat Progress

I tell you, this is slow going because I had to design the hat and now knitting time has been short.

I am making pretty good progress though, as I am 4 to 5 rows beyond this now. I am picking up places where I want the pattern to be different than the chart and taking notes on that so I can easily write up the complete pattern when finished.

It is also time to update my 31 while 31.

1) Race a trail 5k-Spring/summer/Fall
2) Knit a colorwork project-DONE
3)Knit an adult sized sweater. Picked out Thermal for this project.
4) Knit an entrelac project-will have to finish one I have started.
5) Run a relay race-Scheduled for December
6) Make lamb bacon
7) Make pasta from scratch
8) Take a finishing class for knitting
9)Take a crochet class
10) Take a sewing class
11) Take an exercise class I would normally avoid-maybe not trapeze as Sarah suggester, but something similarly out of my comfort zone.
12) Take Michael camping
3) Take Michael hiking
14) Host/Organize a contest involving pie, maybe eating, maybe making?
15) Make a good soy milk based ice cream
16) Run another half-marathon-already picked out the Run to Remember!
17) Make Pizza from scratch-dough and sauce. Cheese will have to buy
18) Make Madeleines...
19) Make buttercream from scratch
20) Raise money for Girls On The Run as a Solemate for the Run to Remember.
21) Learn three guitar chords-I can't promise I will remember them at the end of the year.
22) Learn rudimentary phrases in Spanish.
23) Knit something for charity.-DONE
24) Make cider donuts.
25) Visit a new city-this will be hard, I've been to most I want to go to. Thinking New Orleans.
26) Blog every week. I have completely abandoned it, but will start again and track my progress there and here. I AM MAKING PROGRESS ON THIS BUT HAVE SLACKED SOME WEEKS, WILL HAVE TO DO 52 TOTAL BUT THEY WON'T ALL BE WEEKLY
27) Go to 4 concerts. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for us, which is sad. 1) Smashing Pumpkins
28) Make sourdough bread from scratch
29) Dye my own yarn
30) Watch three foreign language films that are not a romance language
31) Have a cocktail party

Happy Knitting!

New Project

I am working on designing a hat for M.

Step One is complete.
Step Two is re-making the chart in excel and doing the math.

Step Three is casting on and knitting!

Happy Fall Knitting!

Tough times and good times

My mother came to visit this past weekend. That was good times. Losing power to a freak October snowstorm? Bad times. Having to take pictures and post my finished projects tonight from the parents house? Tough times.

31 while 31,....

I recently turned 31 and one of the things I did that day was to make a list of 31 things to do while 31. I completely missed the 30 while 30 bandwagon. Without further ado and in an attempt to be accountable here is the list.

1) Race a trail 5k
2) Knit a colorwork project-already started
3)Knit an adult sized sweater. Picked out Thermal for this project.
4) Knit an entrelac project-will have to finish one I have started.
5) Run a relay race
6) Make lamb bacon
7) Make pasta from scratch
8) Take a finishing class for knitting
9)Take a crochet class
10) Take a sewing class
11) Take an exercise class I would normally avoid-maybe not trapeze as Sarah suggester, but something similarly out of my comfort zone.
12) Take Michael camping
3) Take Michael hiking
14) Host/Organize a contest involving pie, maybe eating, maybe making?
15) Make a good soy milk based ice cream
16) Run another half-marathon-already picked out the Run to Remember!
17) Make Pizza from scratch-dough and sauce. Cheese will have to buy
18) Make Madeleines...
19) Make buttercream from scratch
20) Raise money for Girls On The Run as a Solemate for the Run to Remember.
21) Learn three guitar chords-I can't promise I will remember them at the end of the year.
22) Learn rudimentary phrases in Spanish.
23) Knit something for charity.
24) Make cider donuts.
25) Visit a new city-this will be hard, I've been to most I want to go to. Thinking New Orleans.
26) Blog every week. I have completely abandoned it, but will start again and track my progress there and here.
27) Go to 4 concerts. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for us, which is sad. 1) Smashing Pumpkins
28) Make sourdough bread from scratch
29) Dye my own yarn
30) Watch three foreign language films that are not a romance language
31) Have a cocktail party

I will post here on my progress!

Happy Knitting!

Knitting and Running Update

Hi everyone!

I have decided this year to participate in or emulate the Yarn Harlot with her self-imposed sock club. I don't need any more sock yarn, in fact, I need less to be able to purchase some yarn at Sock Summit 2011, which I plan on attending. It turns out, I have a lot of people I can knit socks for who will appreciate it. January was my cousin Allison, who really loves socks! I decided to knit the first pair of the year for her, as I promised her socks when I was in Portland, Oregon last time for my grandmother/grandfather's informal memorial. We picked out the Toe-Up Totem Socks and some Dream in Color Smooshy I received in a swap a few years ago. They turned out to be a really good combination. The yarn was a dream and the pattern was easy to follow. I only used the stitch pattern from the pattern, doing my standard toe, heel and bind-off.
I did these in 19 days, which is a record for me for socks. I normally take my time and have more than just the socks on the needles. However, this time, I only had this project going and it went very quickly.You can check out the rest of the project details here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KnittingDefender/toe-up-totem-socks.
I also finished the baby blanket for my cousin's son. It was difficult to find a spot to take a picture of this. I took the patterns from some dishcloth patterns I purchased on etsy and put them together into a 3 X 3 block pattern with seed stitch in between. You can check out the pattern pictures here http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KnittingDefender/baby-blanket-for-nephew.I have started my February socks already, I'm doing the Manly Aran Socks by Wendy Johnson in String Theory Caper Yarn. It's very soft and a good match for this cabled pattern. You can see the details here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KnittingDefender/manly-aran-socks.Here is the start...This pattern requires a lot of attention from me at least and so I also started a scarf project to use up one of my single skeins from Rhinebeck. It is Brooks Farm Solo in a green and white colorway. The pattern is the Prismatic Scarf. Here is the ravelry link for the project.
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KnittingDefender/the-prismatic-scarf
I have been running a fair bit and I have a 5k coming up at the end of February, a 10K planned for April, a 5K planned for July when I am in Portland for Sock Summit on the Nike campus and a half marathon scheduled for the end of August. I admit I have been struggling with my runs, energy wise and my legs have been feeling dead but I stuck it out for 3.5 miles yesterday even though I felt awful. I'm going to start a 10K plan now and jump into a half marathon plan when I am done with that.

I also made meringues for the first time and they turned out great, soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside. I plan on making more as they weren't hard to make.

Happy knitting and running and baking.

Happy New Year..

I hope that you had a great end to 2010 and a great start to 2011.

M and I stayed in and had a nice pasta dinner and some champagne drinks made with a bottle of the champagne from our wedding. On the first day of 2011 we ran the Hangover Classic in Salisbury, MA. I wasn't expecting a whole lot because of the drinking the night before but I managed to run around a 32:30. I can't say for certain since they can't manage to get all the results up, but I know M came up to me and the clock read 33:06 when he did and told me it had to be a Personal Record. It had been at least 15 seconds since I got to the corrals, where there was a huge back-up and I didn't cross the start line for probably 30 seconds at least after the race started. My previous best time was 35:57, so this was a huge jump for me. I am just glad that the running work is paying off in increased fitness. Then we came back and finished the duck confit and leek, artichoke, and potato gratin and peanut butter and chocolate puddings we were making for New Year's Day dinner. It was delicious but the pudding was a little too thick. If I make it again I will not let it thicken so much. Here are the links for the recipes from epicurious.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Duck-Confit-102313

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Artichoke-Leek-and-Potato-Gratin-238010

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Peanut-Butter-Milk-Chocolate-Puddings-350968

If you make the duck, it takes the full three hours cooking time for it to get really tender.

I have been knitting and I did a lot this weekend. I have been working on these socks.

As you can see I have one done and the second one is about halfway done. I am at the exact point where I need to start turning the heel.

It is the Laurel Socks Pattern from Toe-Up Socks for Every Body by Wendy Johnson.

Happy Knitting and Running and Baking in the New Year!

Catch-Up

It's been a while. Let's play catch-up.

Here is the baby blanket I am working on for my cousin's baby #2. The baby, named after my grandfather, has been born. He's in Hawaii though, so how much need is there immediately for this blanket? Probably not much. However, after a break from it for too much thought required, I sat down and figured out the question in about 30 seconds. I guess it was the wine making the question seem way more difficult than it actually was?

Here is the sock I am working on, when I am commuting or need something small to take a long. This is sock #1. I needed some sunny yarn to work with.
I also started this project, a pair of Dashing (from Knitty.com) for M with yarn he purchased at Rhinebeck. That's right, I went and he came with me. I am a little farther along now and it is a darker blue color but fall light in Boston is difficult for color.

M went with me partially because it was the weekend before my 30th birthday. We also went to the Boston Book Festival the day before and it was fantastic. I highly recommend it next year.

My Portland family sent me flowers for my birthday, aren't they pretty?M got me new gloves for skiing. I wanted and needed these.
He also got me this book all on his own (I picked out the mittens). He remembered that I wanted to get better at finishing and he read reviews and picked it out on his own. It's a great gift for me.

He also knew I wanted one of these: a Namaste Circular needle case. I haven't set it up yet, but I will soon. I have a bag of circular needles just waiting to be neatly sorted.
This is M's Rhinebeck yarn.

This is part of the yarn M purchased for a sweater I will knit for him at some point. The rest of the yarn is being shipped from the seller.
M also got a skein of this super sparkly yarn to learn how to knit socks for our 2 year old niece. We will see how great he does with it!I bought four skeins of this yarn with Cashmere to knit a sweater with. Cashmere. That is all I am saying. You will see more of this soon.
I also got some yummy sock yarn. This is closer to the color but blurry.
This is not the color, it is much deeper, a real dark burgundy type color.
We also saw these puppies and thank god they were already purchased otherwise we may have bought one due to cuteness overload and we could not handle a dog right now.
There were of course adorable other animals, like these:
None of them really cooperated with my photo taking attempts.

I also ran in a 10K and finished under less than ideal conditions for me.

I did it despite eating some of the below peanut butter cup cookies. These are the ingredients and the process.
It is fun pushing the peanut cups into the cookie.M also made us delicious dinner. This was really good.


It included these really delicious twice fried potato slices. If you haven't tried this and don't mind a lot of work, it is worth it.
I also made a peanut butter tart that was the best thing ever but so dangerous to have around. It didn't last long.
That is what I have been up to, running and eating peanut butter desserts to replace those calories.

Happy Knitting!