Candy Cane Sparkle Ball Band Duo

 It's that time of year again! I stumbled upon some Bernat Holiday Handicrafter at Zellers on discount so I grabbed what they had. I had planned on doing a different cloth and then I thought it would be neat to have a pair of ballband in alternating main colour. The final product is very festive. Am I the only one who loves doing dishes with seasonal coloured cloths? I hope not! It seems though, that I am bypassing Halloween and going for Christmas. It's actually the first year I've been looking for Christmas supplies early enough to not find them available....wow! I am way ahead of the game.

I did these with a CO of 39 and worked five repeats of the pattern, ending with row 1 and 2.

I an sending a package up to my niece and I thought I'd add some cloths as my sister loves them so much and she doesn't
knit.

I've been knitting mainly dishcloths, although I did have a request to make two knitted stockings for a Christmas gift. I had decided to send gift cards to all the family who was out of the city, after my Mom saw this, she put in a request for a pair for Christmas. How could I say no?

Whole Wheat Sunflower Bread

I adore my Bread Machine, it's so easy to get tasty and interesting loaves at home at a fraction of the cost. A nice loaf of bread runs you between $3 and $5. This is a variation of a recipe I've been doing for years. This version is a little lighter and the sunflower seeds are a nice addition.

2 cups water
3 Tbsp margarine(or oil)
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp milk powder(I use fresh if I'm not using delay setting)
4 Tbsp sugar
3 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup 7 grain or Red River cereal
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 1/4 tsp yeast(I use 1 tsp of the fast acting yeast)

Measure ingredients into machine in order listed, place pan into unit. Select Whole Grain loaf and size. This makes a 3lb loaf. You can cut this in half if you have a 1 1/2 lb unit. Hit start and wait for the goodness to begin.

My family loves this bread and prefers it over to the pricey loaves you get at the super market. If you try it let me know what you think of it.

A Victorian Christmas Stocking

The Story of my Victorian Christmas Stocking

 

 The story started out on Sunday afternoon, I had just finished knitting a Christmas gift bag and I saw a Christmas stocking on the label. I checked out the label pattern and it was for crochet, but I wanted to knit. Although I have tried to knit a sock, I have never finished one. Off to Ravelry I went in search of a pattern.



That led me to the Ruffled Lace Christmas Stocking, it was the perfect fit. I looked at the pattern and got a little intimidated, but I just said 'go for it'. For the first time I just knit and didn't worry about the next step. The cuff and body of the stocking knit up very quickly, it was a breeze. When I got to the stuff that intimidated me(turning the heel etc.) I was patient, I started to second guess myself but I was firm - just follow the directions. What I learned was it all makes sense when you are at the right stage.

 It's hard to imagine what they are talking about in the pattern if you aren't at that stage. I had done the Kitchener Stitch before so that wasn't intimidating me, but the heel and such were.

This was a great lesson in not trying to jump to far ahead for me. I learned a lot and I have a beautiful new Christmas stocking, which I truly love!

I don't know if I'm quite ready to go for socks yet, but I'm getting closer.

I had some Country Red and Ivory on hand. The country red was Lily Sugar and Cream, gifted to me from a friend in Utah. I had nothing that matched for the trim so I went in search. I finally found an Indigo blue in Bernat Handicrafter Cotton and a muted green by Phentex Merit for the ruffle.

 I highly recommend this pattern, it is very well written and it turns out beautifully. I have seen it with and without the ruffle trim and variations in between. I prefer at least the ruffle at the cuff.