Stitches in Play

snow days

This Sunday the snow came down. A whole foot of it!

In the morning I took photos out the window.

But once the wiggles set in and i had three stir crazy kiddos on my hands we took the show - and the camera - outdoors.

  

Then the sun came out and we set forth to explore...

in the veggie garden:

with the girls: who refused to let their feet touch the snow and remained "cooped up" (pun intended) for two whole days.

 

with icicles picked off the roof:

All that play can be exhausting so we took a break.

Then back inside for a snack.

I have been making Ina Garten's Cherry Granola for a while now but when Soulemama posted her granola recipe i decided to combine the two into what turned out to be the best granola EVER!

We just mixed all the ingredients leftover from making holiday gifts for the teachers and we got this half gallon jar + one quart jar full of yummy, healthy, hearty goodness.

We couldn't stop munching on it right out of the jar...

 

But around here everyone enjoys granola best over a bowl of plain yogurt, generously drizzled with honey.

Happy New Year to you! 

holiday wishes

 

From our home to yours...

i wish you joy.

i wish you wonder.

i wish you peace.

i wish you merriment.

(thanks to Dani for the button snowflake inspiration)

i wish you warmth.

 

i wish you simplicity.

i wish you wisdom.

i wish you find a bit of magic.



(crocheted trees from Tonya)

I wish you the most wonderful of holidays spent with those you love. 

 

 

the soup and a shawl and forty

Today I turn forty.  I am super excited. I am healthy, I have a wonderful family, the greatest friends, I feel joy in my heart and (on most days) a spring in my step.  Today I picked pajamas off the floor and thought how fabulous it is that my girly still can't seem to pick up after herself because this mama can use the extra squats to keep her backside in shape!  Delusional or not, I am happy to be my age and look forward to an awesome year...beginning with my cake!  (I wrote this on sunday and will post photos of me and my cake as soon as I eat some tomorrow.)

Now back to the busyness (I mean business) of serious blogging.

For those of you who showed interest in my mushroom soup recipe from Thanksgiving and patiently waited more than a fortnight for me to finally get around to posting I have the recipe - proceeded by a small disclaimer. 

  

Disclaimer: I make soup at least once a week (often twice) when the weather is chilly.  I rarely use a recipe as I have found a cooking "method" that works for me and that my family will eat.  No matter what type of soup I'm making I always begin the same way - by sauteing the veggies in olive oil and then adding broth and leftover chicken or meat or beans.  Thus, this is less of a mushroom soup "recipe" and more of a "method" for making whatever kind of soup you like.  I usually use trader joe's organic chicken broth for most of my soups but mushrooms go best with beef stock.

Mushroom Soup  - the Method

olive oil (enough to generously coat bottom of large soup pot)

1 large onion, diced

8 oz carton mushrooms, sliced

4 oz package mixed dried mushrooms (i got mine at trader joe's)

Saute onion and mushrooms in olive oil on high heat for 5 minutes.

2 carrots, sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

       2 cloves garlic, minced

1 turnip, sliced

Add above 4 ingredients and saute 5-7 minutes more. (this gives the soup a ton more flavor than simply tossing them into broth to boil). 

2 -32 oz. cartons beef stock/broth

3 cups water

5 small red potatoes, diced

Add beef stock, water and potatoes and simmer 15 minutes.

leftover chicken breast, shredded  (optional)

1 bunch rainbow chard, sliced

Add chicken (if using) and chard and simmer 5 more min.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy.

Note:  do not omit the dried mushrooms - they impart the most wonderful flavor and smell to this soup.  Also, there is no need to rehydrate dried mushrooms if you are using them in soups.

Soup Tip:  Leftover soup of any kind tastes great ladled over a bowl of pasta or steamed rice - and satisfies the needs of all the carb lovers at my house!

But wait; there's more. 

I knit this super simple, super cute shawlette.

This is the storm cloud shawlette pattern by ever green knits.  I knit the ruffled version shown in blue but modified the pattern a bit.  To create the ruffle I knit into the front and back of each stitch followed by 8 rows of garter stitch.  There are a lot of stitches here but this small shawl knits up quickly and it's a perfect beginner project - just knit stitches and yarn overs.

I used 2 skeins Noro Kureyon wool left over from this sweater and half a skein of Rowan Pure Wool for the ruffle. (about 300 yards total)

Pattern: storm cloud shawlette

Yarn: 2 skeins Noro Kureyon &  half a skein Rowan Pure Wool  (300 yards total)

Needles: US size 8

Mods: for ruffle I knit into the front and back of each stitch followed by 8 rows of garter stitch (not elongated garter like the pattern suggests).

Finally I learned that I am not the only one getting older around here.  My girly, who turned six in September, is a very big girl and requires a size 8-10 sweater.  And nothing will bring a knitting mama back to the reality of how big her kiddos are getting like ripping an entire sweater (i had been ripping for a while when i stopped to take this picture).  So this year I vow to live each day with purpose, to have joy in my heart, and to be present with my kiddos because the years are passing way too quickly.  I also vow to knit my girly more sweaters now - before she gets even bigger and her sweaters take longer to knit - or heaven forbid she asks to borrow mine!

"Happiness is a sort of atmosphere you can live in sometimes when you're lucky. Joy is a light that fills you with hope and faith and love."  - Adela Rogers St. Johns

no computer means more play or 'I MISS U'

I can't believe I've been away for two weeks.

I am a bit sad to report that my computer is no longer with us.  My IT guy (awesome husband) was able to retrieve most of my data.

I am so excited that a brand spanking new computer is on its way to my house.

In the mean time I have been playing with my kiddos (who have more days off this year than school days), celebrating Hanukkah, cleaning and organizing my home, squeezing in a bit of making time, and wracking my mind wondering what all of you have been up to.

This week, snow days have been added to all the usual days off from school and we have been enjoying every minute.

 

 

 

We received these fabulous chalkboard place mats from Leslie several weeks ago and have loved using them.  The kiddos sit at the table longer playing hangman and tic-tac-toe or patiently await dinner while doodling away.  And each morning they find mama written 'love notes' or words of encouragement under their cereal bowls.  These place mats are brilliant and make me proud to be a part of this community of bloggers who Dream and Create and Make. 

And yes, David does sit at the head of the table because that's where the window is and this middle kiddo likes to read in the kitchen while mama cooks.

I must return to my kiddos who are busily making birthday gifts for their Dad.  We are celebrating his birthday tonight.  I will be checking in with all of you and sharing that soup recipe (yikes!) and some knitting very soon - promise.  For the next several days I will need to kindly ask permission from my husband to use his computer - and wait in line behind the kiddos who are officially on winter break - but no worries because I am up later than they are!

Have a wonderful weekend!

the sweater recipe

Thank you so much for all your kind comments about my latest knit.  I must admit that I love it too because it is so simple and versatile that I can wear it all the time.  In fact I'm wearing it right now.  It is super warm and the color is great for winter.  It also doesn't hurt that this jacket looks good with my mama uniform - jeans and white tee.

This sweater began it's life as the featherweight cardigan.  But by the time I got around to knitting it, cooler weather was coming so I decided to use a bulkier and warmer wool.  This is Peruvian Quick in color # 9137.

I cast on 48 stitches divided them 1 front (pm) 6 sleeve (pm) 34 back (pm) 6 sleeve (pm) 1 front and knit the top-down recipe in the pattern.  I increased at the markers until I had about 38 stitches between the sleeve markers, then separated the sleeves onto scrap yarn, and continued knitting to desired length.

I used a US 9 knitting needle which is smaller than the US 11 recommended for this yarn in order to get a tighter knit resulting in a sturdier jacket that doesn't stretch out too much.

The bottom edge and cuffs are done in a twisted knit stitch (just knit through the back loop).  I attempted a knit stitch collar but some things are better ripped and forgotten.  The tried and true 1x1 rib looks so much better.

I love top-down knitting because it allows me to try the sweater on and get the length of the sweater and the sleeves exactly where I want them. 

Pattern: Featherweight Cardigan

Yarn: Peruvian Quick, color 9137 (Plum)

Needles: US size 9

Size:  small, had to adjust guage for bulkier wool (see above)

Mods: added length, twisted knit for cuffs and bottom edge, long sleeves, 1x1 rib for collar

Abigail was sitting by me and reading while I was weaving in the ends.  As the snipped ends piled up she said, "Can I have these?  I can make something cool out of these."

She gathered the necessary supplies - which always include tons of glue and scissors - and worked her magic quickly.  No more than ten minutes later she was writing dialogue for this family of "sweater monsters."  The one on the right has a "weird face"  because it's the family pet, she explained.  In case you were wondering, Ezra built them a curtained stage out of a box and Abby's production was brought to life with the help of her brothers.  Things got very loud when the monsters got their lines wrong (most likely on purpose) and at one point the director stormed off stage and went to her room but we had a blast and making toys out of wool scraps was a wonderful way to spend our Black Friday.

I'm off to get some stuff ready for more Hannukah fun tonight - which will be celebrated early to make time for back to back Taekwondo classes.  We played so hard and had so much fun last night that it will be hard to beat.

See you back here soon with the mushroom soup recipe! 

May your day be full of joy.