Not so secret garden...

This is the year. I am starting asparagus crowns that I will harvest in a year. I am starting raspberry canes and wisteria. I am growing lettuce, beans, peppers, strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, and Alan is building me up some fancy boxes to do it. We finished one today when it was freezing out.

That and I finished my first pair of socks. Hear that? Two items that match, done.

Cross that of the to do before 33 list (ha, need to finish that list)! I gifted them to Alan so I could make myself some that are longer in the leg and now I just need to decide... Tosh Vintage in Cove or Water Lily? Pictures of the yarn yum are from google images and I am not sure who to credit...

I am in the middle of another fantastic class at the local shop, Insouciant. I went with a double strand of the Habu Tsumugi Silk in charcoal and light grey. I am slow to knit it up but it should be a good summer top.

I have another knitting project that is quite an undertaking. The recipient could be a silent lurker so no details will be revealed until gifted. I know, such a tease!

I have also fallen behind in my book challenge. 50 for this year. I need suggestions so shout some out. And I am not counting cookbooks in the count. :)

On top of life and knitting, I am hindering helping Shirley help a new neighbor. He needed some suggestions for his house (yep, from paint to lights, tile, etc.) so Pinterest to the rescue. I will have to post some before pics, mood boards, and after pics. Have I told you how much I love painting? I do!

Vacation, all I ever wanted...

Wow, where does the time go?! I keep thinking I will get to 'that' tomorrow and well, weeks go by...

I have been up to just about everything. Knitting, baking, cooking, parties, visiting, road trippin', and loads of eating!

I started a sock class on Tuesday. It is an easy sock pattern and I decided on Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in the William Morris colorway. As Morris is my last name it only seemed appropriate! This picture does not do the colorway justice, it is a lovely red-brown with notes of lavender and teal. I realized I have been knitting for 10 years and not once have I made socks. Yep, in 2003 I met a nice lady at my first job out of college and she sort of taught me to knit. Knit badly and she didn't know how to 'stop' or bind off as I later learned. I ended up righting myself with books, other classes, and many scarves later. :)

I also took a class on magic loop and it really is magic! I am working on these socks two at a time!!! When I finish one, I will finish the other!!! Sorry, the magics have overwhelmed me.

So the majority of my time as of late has been taken up by my wittle baby sissy coming to visit. She is not like me. She hunts with bow and arrow (not for sport but for actual food), she fishes, and has gun(s). I asked her what she wanted for her birthday one year and she said "a new pistol." I sent her flowers. She is the mother of my wonderful nephews and married to the coolest guy (EB).

They came to Salt Lake all the way from Ranchester, Wyoming and then we all went in one car to St. George. It was a hoot! Hikes, ribs, ice cream, and sun. Then we came back to SL for some more food and fun. Corned beef and cabbage, the zoo, and yogurt. The food was tasty and tiny guy had all his cousins in one place.

Picture bomb now and more on Mardi Gras in March later...

Seams, bits, and pieces

I have knit all the pieces of the sweater. All that is left is the class on Sunday where I think we will pick up stitches to knit the collar. YAY!!!!! It isn't perfect but it turned out pretty good.

I am working on seaming all the pieces together, this page on seaming is helpful.

I have a couple of classes coming up, magic loop and a sock class. I have a couple of hive hats and a gift on the needles still.

And in baking news, I think I will make a batch of Roma's cookies, I just got the cutest cookie cutter in the mail from Fancy Flours.

Finally

I'm working hard on my sweater. The class first met last Sunday and we have two weeks to knit the back and two front pieces to the armholes. I've 10" of the back done and I think the measurement to the armholes will be 16.5". The pattern is Cinnamon but with some edits to make it more man-like for Alan. No waist shaping, larger collar, cool buttons, etc. I'm using Cascade Eco + in Summer Sky Heather, Alan liked the color and I'm happy it is light so I can see what I'm doing!

We've decorated for Valentine's Day AND knit night is tonight. Sweet. Before I go though, I have a few things to make for our neighborhood pizza party tomorrow. Should be a hoot!

Meanwhile, we managed to get up our posts on our big Northwest driving trip, start reading here. I think we should do it again this spring!

33 by 33

Well, another couple additions to my list...

1. Hike to Delicate Arch (May 5, 2012)
   
2. Run/walk a 10k
3. Dancing lessons
4. Make a croquembouche
5. Travel internationally while little man is still 'babe in arms'
6. Knit more. Knit a sweater. The first one I finish will be for Alan. :)
7. Music or singing lessons
8. Cook from 1 cookbook, all the recipes OR make 1 recipe from every cookbook. Document it and photograph it. Then post about it!
9. Swim. I've never taken lessons and I dislike water. I just need to do it. Get it over with. Swim like a fish.
10. Learn to knit two things at a time. Useful for gloves and socks... 
11. Take a Fair Isle/Intarsia class
12. Visit Bryce Canyon 
13. Visit the Grand Canyon
14. Visit Glacier National Park
15. Take tiny guy camping.
16. Read 50 books in 2013. No, not kid's books... although "I'm Not Scared!" by Jonathan Allen is Frankie's current favorite.
17. Listen to more music, take in a play, go see an opera, basically go enjoy what culture has to offer! I'll cross this off if I see at least 3 of the above...
18. ?

Oh what fun it is to...

The end of a year. Thankful, check. Christmas, check. New needles (A whole set of lace interchangeable! Thanks dearest Alan), check. Fun in 2012, check.

Not much to report from here in SLC. We had a lovely dusting of glittery powder today. Tiny guy is doing well. Keeping us on our toes. Considering the new year is in about 30 minutes I wanted to work on my list of 33 by 33. I might not even finish this list before I turn 33 but I'm working on it!

1. Hike to Delicate Arch (May 5, 2012)
   
2. Run/walk a 10k
3. Dancing lessons
4. Make a croquembouche
5. Travel internationally while little man is still 'babe in arms'
6. Knit more. Knit a sweater. The first one I finish will be for Alan. :)
7. Music or singing lessons
8. Cook from 1 cookbook, all the recipes OR make 1 recipe from every cookbook. Document it and photograph it. Then post about it!
9. Swim. I've never taken lessons and I dislike water. I just need to do it. Get it over with. Swim like a fish.
10. Learn to knit two things at a time. Useful for gloves and socks... 
11. Take a Fair Isle/Intarsia class
12. Visit Bryce Canyon 
13. Visit the Grand Canyon
14. Visit Glacier
15. Take tiny guy camping
16. ?

33 by 33

Well, the list is a lot harder than I thought it would be... in fact, I've completed one item on the list, I'm another year older, and I haven't finished the list!

:)

1. Hike to Delicate Arch (May 5, 2012)
   
2. Run/walk a 10k
3. Dancing lessons
4. Make a croquembouche
5. Travel internationally while little man is still 'babe in arms'
6. ?