the two winners and a lunch menu

My friend, Amy, had our little knitting group for lunch today. Man does she know how to do it. I am still thinking about the meal and wish I had more of all of it right now.
Here is what she served:
Fresh Baguette
To finish it off there were these. YUMM!

Honestly. I wish you all had a friend like Amy. However, you can make this lunch, have some friends over, and be a friend like Amy. Celebrate fall. Celebrate life. And maybe even knit a few rows.

The random number generator chose numbers:
187: Bethany
Congrats you two lucky winners of Lily's patterns. If you could please e-mail me (address in sidebar) I will get Lily your contact information. Thank you!
Like so many of you, I can't wait to see what Lily brings us in the future.
And for those of you that asked, my Libby informed me about a couple of years ago that knitting wasn't her thing! That stung a little. (Fingers crossed she may change her mind... one day.)

lily kate

Are you familiar with lily kate? If not, let me introduce you.
Lily is friends with my daughter, Libby. Just like so many of us, they have never met in person, but through this wonderful online knitting community, have become friends.
Lily is the same age as Libby. Thirteen.
Thirteen.
Thirteen.
I have to say it a few times, because at thirteen, Lily is one of the most amazing, accomplished knit designers (and knitters!) I know. Her talent and inspiration blow me away. I can only imagine where this ever beautiful path in life takes her.
Lily has been published in both "the Knitter" and the Scrumptious Collection. (Her sweet mother photographed the shots and Lily modeled.)
Lily also has a few free patterns and these six patterns to purchase on ravelry.
wray ........................blisco
kirkstone........................... latrigg
levens................................. McCafferty
Pretty amazing, huh!
Guess what?
Lily would like to give away a complete set of these patterns to two of my readers.
Leave a comment here before Tuesday, September 27 at 12:00 E.S.T. and the random number generator will choose two names.
Happy Knitting!

i just can't stop

My parents came to town. They are a tremendous amount of help when they are here. I feel very fortunate.
My mother had a bit of an intervention and told me we HAD to purge the house.
I don't need all those baby spoons? Really? I can't keep all 6 platters? Really? I don't need her old set of china, those extra glasses, those silk flowers, those candle sticks, those extra bowls, 50 cookie cutters, a tea server? Really?
It took some time and felt really amazing. The house feels light and I don't know if I have ever felt this organized. I absolutely need someone to reason with that voice in my head that tells me I should hold onto something. My mother was just the person.
I continue to pick up things and question it's need and use.
The "stuff" has been blessings to me and will hopefully bless someone who needs it. We had the VVA pick it up out of the driveway. (Gotta love that.)
I didn't knit much, however, my mother sure loved the socks she finished. Extra special because we got the yarn in Greece. (I got some, too. Time to cast on.)

Oh, hi! hi! hi! hi!

granola bars

For those of you that have been here awhile, you know I love to bake. And during the school year we do a "cookie of the week". In the beginning I had the kids choose the cookie. We soon ran out of cookies they wanted to try and now they usually just request a cookie we have already made.
Mostly chocolate chips. Or cinnamon cookies.
To switch it up, I thought I would try granola bars. I've made them for three weeks in a row. However, I'm not going to lie.
The kids don't like them.
I assume they would eat them if they were starving. But they usually just let them sit.
I really like them. A whole, whole lot. And for those of you watching your gluten, they're gluten free.
2 cups rolled oats + 1/2 cup to grind :: 1/2 cup sliced almonds :: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts :: 1/2 cup sunflower seeds :: 3/4 cup dried berries (I like the orange flavored cranberries from trader joe's) :: 1 can condensed sweetened milk (I said gluten free, not fat free.)

Grind 1/2 cup oats in food processor. Mix all ingredients. Butter 8 x 8 baking dish and spread ingredients into prepared dish. Bake at 350˚ for 30 minutes until slightly browned. Cool completely. Cut into desired size squares. Will keep for about 1 week in airtight container.

Working on Aidez. Slow moving at first, but I'm now picking up a little speed.

Happy Monday!

casting on

The yarn did arrive on Friday. Oh, happy day! The hold up was that the color I ordered (palta 9181) was on back order. I changed my order to indigo (9165) and I couldn't be happy. Can't remember the last time I made an indigo sweater.
I'm using size 11 needles instead of the recommended 10.5. Simply because I frantically searched for my 10.5's and they never showed their pretty points.
I'll be back tomorrow with the four winners.
Enjoy the rest of your Labor day.

in paperback

Happy Friday.
But more importantly, Happy September!
I know I said I love August, and I do. I just love September so much more. My absolute favorite month of the entire year.
Guess what? Two of the greatest books are now available in paperback.
Nicky Epstein's knitting beyond the edge is filled with just that. All those edge stitches that make a piece look so lovely. More than 150 edging embellishments for cuffs, collars, angles, corners, closures and necklines.
Knit Simple Knitting Workshops is composed of step by step directions for dozens of knitting techniques that can help you through any of your knitting binds. An extremely helpful resource to have around.
I have two of each of the books to giveaway. If interested, leave a comment here before Monday the 5th at noon, and the random number generator will choose 4 names. If you have a preference, please let me know, I will try to accommodate.
Enjoy your long weekend.
(Still waiting for a delivery. I have a good feeling it is coming today.)