Since I’m all caught up with the regular (machine-washable) laundry, I figured I’d tackle the huge pile of woolens I have let languish in the laundry room A: for a few weeks, B: for a few months, C: forever. I have a fairly small drying rack, so I can only wash a few things at a time, but I do have a couple pairs of really cool adjustable sock blockers which I use all the time.

The pair of socks drying in front were knit from my first hand spun yarn. I had only had my wheel for about a month. I was pregnant with Olga at the time, and I knit the socks during an unexpectedly long trip flying from Palm Springs, California to North Bend, Oregon, to visit the ol’ family in Gold Beach. Washing them today I see that one of the heels is just about to wear through, so it’s time for a little repair work as soon as they dry. I’ll show you how I do it when I get to it (which, going by my attention span, might be a while).

The other pair of socks are knit from Trekking XXL, made for the husbandperson shortly after Olga was born. (I think… possibly before… mommy brain.) There was just a tiny bit of this yarn leftover when I finished his Neanderthalian-sized socks, so I made a tiny pair of baby socks out of the last bit. And in fact I ran out of yarn while finishing the second toe of the baby socks and had to substitute with bright orange. Nice.

(To see a larger version of the photo above, click it, then on the next screen above the picture click "all sizes.")

Above is Erik’s lunch made from the leftovers of Tuesday night’s meal: Pork ribs (yellow) recipe below, salad (red), fried apples and homemade bread (green), balsamic vinegar and oil in jar for bread and salad, prunes, and raisins (purple).

I am convinced that the very best pork ribs are cooked in a crock pot. Tuesday night I tried a new recipe that called for baking them, and although the sauce was way better than my old recipe, the ribs weren’t nearly as tender and juicy. From now on I’ll be using the new sauce recipe with my handy dandy super-sized crock pot (I bought the biggest one I could find when we got married, and I never regretted it).

Use any pork ribs you like; I’ve used them all: loin back, country-style, spareribs. (P.S. Lenie, I think this would work okay with beef ribs too, but you might want to adjust the seasonings a bit. I like more of a pepper/herb/lemon beef rib, and less sweet.)

Cut up the ribs as needed to fit into your crock pot (this is where having a big one comes in handy, I can usually just cut a big slab in two), and remove the inner skin if desired (I usually do, it makes serving and eating much easier).

In a bowl mix together:
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
8 oz. tomato sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice (I just squeezed 1/2 a lemon)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup water

Pour this mixture over the ribs in the crock pot, and set on low all day. This needs to cook for at least 8 hours, so I get mine in around 9am. If it stays in the crock for a few extra hours, no harm will come to it.

The other evening, the Man commented about how nice and warm my sewing room/office (should I call it my studio?) was, even in the wee hours of the morning when he was getting ready for work, and how nice it would be to sleep in there. Our room is cold at night, and even wearing our warmest jammies, thickest socks, sweaters, under three quilts, and with the thermostat cranked up to 78 degrees, we freeze our toes off. Sleeping in the studio seemed like a smart idea. We don’t have a normal bed, just a Japanese-style futon, so it was no big deal to shift things around.

The first night we lumped all of our blankets in there, and kept the thermostat where it was. I had to get up twice in the night to turn the heat down. Last night we started with only one quilt, and I put the thermostat at 71 degrees. It was perfect! I was worried that the kids room would be too cold, but I checked on them around 3 AM and they were as toasty as can be. Yay! This will probably save us about $50/month on our electric bill. Double yay!

(Above, Olga with my Ashford yarn swift. On the floor is our futon.)

Now laying in bed amidst all of my crafty goodness has got to be one of the best ways to spend the wee hours of the morning (add a hot cuppa’ joe and I’m sold for life). So to milk it as long as possible before putting the bed away (it just rolls up) I decided that it really was unacceptable for my little man, the son of a KNITTER for goodness sake, to not have a pair of mittens to keep his digits toasty. And what more comfortable way to knit on a chilly winter day than by laying in bed?

I’ve had some merino yarn that I spun from a hand dyed roving I bought in Bisbee, Arizona, that I’ve had squirreled away in my stash for Gavin. I bought the roving while I was pregnant with him, and at the same time bought another roving with which I spun up and knit this hat for Olga this past spring. I also had one ball of Knit Picks “Wool of the Andes” which I thought would serve better than the handspun as ribbing. It’s only a little bit darker than the green in the merino. The pattern itself is about as basic as you can get, from Morehouse Farm Merino Knits. I made the smallest size.

I lost a bit of knitting time, because I had to go to the Commissary yesterday, but I finished the first mitten while dinner was in the oven (I’ll share the recipe and the picture of leftover lunch later… yum!). The picture above is at an odd angle. The mitten is actually laying in my my still-aproned lap. (Thanks, Mom, this is my new favorite apron!)

Here’s a closeup of the fabric. It is knitting up fairly densely on 3.5mm dpns, but since I was a bit inconsistent when spinning this yarn, there are a few spots where it’s quite thin, like on one of the thumbs. I think in the future I’ll try to save my thick and thin yarn for slightly larger projects were the yarn has more of an opportunity to balance out. (Does that make sense, knitters?) I think even adult sized mitts would have enough stitches to accommodate the variance in thickness.

And there they are! I finished the second mitt this morning, just before Gavin woke up. See my beautiful stitch markers? I got them from JLYarnWorks a couple years ago, and I love using them. And can you believe it, I managed to wrastle the boy to the ground to get those mitts on him, and they fit! And he kept them on! And they’re cute! I think I’ll try making an earflap hat for him with what’s left of the yarn.

Every January I try to tidy up and organize my sewing/knitting/crafting room/office. It’s not easy to cram so many hobbies, a sewing business, and a my BHM job into such a modest (10′ x 10′) room and still keep it clean, clutter-free, and easy to use. Since we’ve only been in this house since August, this is my first overhaul, and as this is the first time I’ve had a real indoor room (and not the garage) to myself, it has been very exciting. Above is the desk I built last fall. I still love it! The best part is it doesn’t bounce when I sew fast, like my last table did. But I’m not sure what I’ll do if I acquire too many more books or magazines. The bookcases are at full capacity.

I have a lot of things in this room that are very special to me. The tree hanging on the wall is a wool needlepoint that came from a thrift store. Some of the stitches have been eaten away by moths, and the frame is roughly made. My sewing machine is a Husqvarna Viking model 500 Computer. I also have an older Viking in the closet. My serger is a recent addition: a Husqvarna Viking Huskylock 936. What a workhorse! My old serger is in the closet, while I decide it’s fate. I also have a Singer Futura embroidery machine in the closet, along with a Superba knitting machine.

So back to organizing my room. This year I’ve done it. I’ve done such a good job, in fact, that this is now my favorite room in the house.
And believe it or not, things are not quite packed to the gills. Check out that new storage unit! Okay, to be honest, I saw that Cosy had one, and I thought it would be perfect for me, too!

Above is a bit of a breakdown of my current supplies. I haven’t bought fabric in a long long time. Not since several months before we moved here, at least. And believe me, I still have plenty of material to work with. The plastic bins in the left column are unfinished projects that I’m trying to work through this week. The plastic bins along the bottom are where I keep my notions, interfacing, hardware, lace, etcetera.

The very best part of this room is the light. Even on a gloomy, almost raining day like today, the light pours through the big window and fills me with a sense of serenity. I guess my little girl can feel it, too.