I am a Sock Knitter!

I finished my very first sock!...I am a sock Knitter...with a captial K. Up until now I have always felt like a beginner knitter, too unconfident in my skills to try anything that required more than two needles, but no more! I knit this sock on four, size two (incredibly small) needles; picking up stitches and turning heels, like the best of them. No longer do I consider myself a novice knitter, I am a Knitter ...Norwegien sweaters here I come...okay, maybe not quite yet, but I am currently working on a lace project and a fair isle project. Both gifts so I will not disclose what they are for fear of giving the surprise away.

This sock was knit with Regia Sock yarn, using a basic sock pattern.

Finished sock (unblocked...not sure if blocking is necessary, but my grandma says I should)

Now I just need to knit another...my other foot is jealous.

Mail Call

During the last week or two, I've received some fun mail. Fun mail usually consists of magazines, letters/cards, packages from Amazon.com, etc.; it is apart from the usual junk and bills that normally grace our mailbox. The recent contents included the new Harry Potter movie from Amazon, Yarn and a pattern from KnitPicks, and a couple of magazines. Check out the Stash Enhancement from Knit Picks:
Hand-dyed Merino wool, going to be used for my first lace project (sorry the pic is so dark) .

One of the magazines I received was Everyday with Rachel Ray , which is my new favorite cooking magazine. Rachel and her staff have wonderful and easy recipe's and fun articles. In my excitement, I decided to try out the PB&J cookie recipe, which sounded delicious. It is essentially a thumbprint cookie (you know the kind with the jam in the middle), but uses a peanut butter cookie base. First let me say, the recipe couldn't be simpler, however it turned out to be a disaster. Not because of the recipe, but because of my own ineptness at baking. I underestimated how much the cookie would actually spread (two inches apart seemed rather excessive at the time) and made too large of an indentation for the jelly ( I like a lot of jelly). Into the oven they went, and the bottoms fell out. The bottoms fell out, leaving me with a donut shaped cookie and jelly stuck to the baking sheets. What a mess...but a tasty mess, I must admit. I will definitely try them again, hopefully with better result.
Before Baking:
A couple of the cookies turned out ok...
...but mostly they looked like these sorry excuses for cookies. How unfortunate.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I meant to post this yesterday....actually, I meant to post it Sunday, but whatever. I celebrated my 25th birthday on Sunday! Happy Birthday to me...Happy Birthday to me... The above is the gorgeous castle cake my honey baked and decorated for me.
This year I received a beautiful road bike for my birthday. Along with the bike I received a bunch of fun and needed gear from my Parents (via REI)...I can't wait for the weather to be consistently warm enough to ride daily, but for now I'll have to settle for short, face freezing rides, or training on the stationary.
I am also the soon to be recipient of the Lucky Twist Longaberger basket set. I very pretty basket with a bottom twist and green reeds. Thanks Kunkels!

The grand daddy of gifts would have to be my new Twinkie bake set (which along with the bike and the cake, is also from my honey), I can't wait to try it out. I have always LOVED Hostess Twinkies, an obsession that those here in TastyKake land do not understand. Lately, I have not been able to eat Twinkies; we try to eat very little processed foods, which lets face it, Twinkies don't fit under those restrictions. They are one of the few foods that will outlast it's packaging. This Christmas, I received a Twinkie the Kid, Twinkie holder in my stocking, but he has been sitting empty, longing for the yellow goodness he was made for. But, no more...I will now be able to make my own Twinkies...with real ingredients (flour, sugar, eggs, etc...) no preservatives! And if that weren't enough...it came with a second Twinkie the Kid! Bliss.

When Irish Eyes are Smilin'

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Bikes, Beer and Knitting, oh my!

Here on the East Coast, we received our first taste of spring yesterday! It was sunny and in the upper 60's, perfect weather to try out my Birthday Bike. We stayed local for our first ride of the season, taking advantage of the paved trail near our house. Jake spent so much time decking my new bike out, that he neglected making sure his was in proper riding order. He was soon sorry, because as it turns out he couldn't shift out of gear, so he pretty much only had one speed. Needless to say, after a couple miles, he was ready to pack it in and try to repair his bike.

Sophie's trip through the wash:
Completed Sophie:
The Sophie bag is felted and complete, and in time for Gretchen's birthday, how about that for timing. I still need to shave it and I'm thinking about embellishing it with a small knit/crocheted flower, but we'll see how I feel. After the ride yesterday we met up with some friends for an evening of beer. I brought along my very first sock project. Can you think of anything more fun than beer and socks?

Check out my new site...

So yesterday my wonderful cohabitant built me a beautiful new website, with all the bells and whistles. He did a fantastic job, I am so excited about it. He included this blog to the homepage so that you can read the blog from the site. Pretty cool.

The Sophie bag is almost complete! I need to finish the second strap (hopefully I have enough yarn... it's going to be close) and off to the washer to FELT! This will be my maiden felting voyage, keep your fingers crossed because it can't be unravelled after felting.

MySpace Addict

As it turns out there is this amazingly addictive web~whatever called MySpace. I'm sure everyone has heard if it, as I think I am the last person in the world to sign up. Be that as it may, I have recently come in contact with many of my High School friends from back home, as well as a couple of my Americorps buddies. I must say, I'm addicted.

I started a new knitting project this weekend, after the disappointing Knitting Olympics. I'm currently working on the Sophie Bag. I think this is going to be a gift, if I finish on time. It actually knits up surprisingly fast.