My spoiler was FiendishChef, and she did a wonderful job!

So here’s the swag:
2 skeins of Knit Picks Palette in Lilac
2 skeins of Cascade Fixation in a teal color
1 skein of Eden bamboo, which I already knit up
An adorable sewn bird ornament that she made herself
a bag with Ravelry stickers, a Bob pin, and a Soak sample
3 kinds of tea, Summer time (orange, strawberry, and marigold), Mind Medley (which is delicious!), and Black-Cherry (already gone! *sniff*)
A kit to make homemade marshmallows
Jack-Daniels flavored coffee
A cute magnetic picture frame
And finally some really pretty shell stitch markers

Here’s a close up of those (sorry about the flash, boo inside photography)

It was a lovely, thoughtful package. =)

In other news, I’ve slowed down a bit on the Christmas knitting, mainly because I’m trying to work on projects for the BF that I can’t work on while he’s at home, which is like 80% of my free time. Also, I took the size 4 needles out of the Light House Socks for the Jacques-Cousteau hat and put my size 4 DPNs in, instead just for them to hang out, and I need the size 4 DPNs to start Bubby along with some other Christmas project.

I also need to finish Tiny Turtle. He’d probably take less than 3 hours to knit if I just sat down and did it, but I put him down because I wanted to have Wendy sew the head on (she did, she makes dolls and I knew she’d do a good job), I just have to make 2 more tiny legs and sew them on and he’ll be finished.

Right now I should be writing my take home final, or the 8 page research paper that’s due on Thursday. Meh. I have some time.

more animals

more animals

He’s not a cat, but he’s SO CUTE

more animals

Him too. =)

I’m also giving you a recipe for an awesome dinner I made the other night.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas (Vegetarian!)

Ingredients:
1 can of black beans
2 med. or one large sweet potato(es), diced1/2 of a white onion, diced
1/2 of a green (or red, or whatever) pepper, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 can of Del Monte tomatoes, the ‘chili’ ones, they’re awesome and add a bunch of flavor to this dish!
2/3 c 10-minute brown rice (or regular brown rice, you’ll just need to cook it longer)
3/4 c. water
Chili powder
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper
6 whole-wheat flour tortillas
1 c. cheddar cheese
1 jar of your favorite salsa

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375. Put the diced sweet potatoes on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with some chili podwer, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bake approx 30 minutes, or until tender, stirring/turning once during baking. You can do this ahead of time.

Place the rice, water, and can of tomatoes(including juice) in a pot and bring to a boil, cook for approx 10 minutes. When the rice is done, you want the mixture to be fairly wet, but not soupy.

Meanwhile, in a skillet on medium heat, sautee the onion, garlic, and pepper in about 1 tbsp or so of oil. When the onions are translucent add the can of beans, drained. Also add approx 1/4 tsp of chili powder, 1/8 tsp of paprika, and salt and pepper (You could also add some cumin if you like, I just happened to be out when I made these). Cook for a minute or two and then stir in the rice and cooked sweet potatoes. Stir in 1/2 c. of the cheddar cheese. Remove the pan from the heat.

Heat the tortillas for about 10 seconds in the microwave to soften them up a bit. Take a 9X13 baking dish and pour some of the salsa in the bottom, spread evenly (you just need a thin layer). Spoon a 1/6th of the mixture down the middle of the tortilla, roll it up and place it seam side down in the baking pan. Repeat process with the rest of the mixture and the rest of the tortillas. Pour the remaining salsa over the tortillas and spread pretty evenly, you don’t need to cover them completely.

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, take off the foil, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 c. (or more, if you like!) of cheddar cheese. Put the pan back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

ENJOY! (my boyfriend loved these and they will definitely make my dinner menu again)

Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted, gray
Pattern: Loosely based on Fibonacci Pea Cap by Lisa Bennett
Embellishment: This was inspired by Cosy who taught me to duplicate stitch when she stayed here a few weeks ago. I duplicate stitched the main part of the bass cleff and then just embroidered the dots. The recipient (step-brother) plays Baritone, so I thought it was a nice touch. I drew a little grid to figure out how I wanted it to look and just did it. I’m pretty proud of it!

My camera decided not to focus.

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease, black
Pattern: A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend by Stephanie Nicole
Mods: I cast on only 90 sts because I thought 100 would make it huge- it didn’t. I think it will be too small for my other step brother so I think I’m going to keep it because it fits me and I’ll make him something else.

There would be a picture and description of Branching Out here, but my batteries died before I had a chance to take pics!

I picked this up and finished it this weekend, I had taken it to class a couple of times to work on, I wove the ends in on Sunday. I made a mistake, picking up stitches after I had ripped back a few rows, so in the 2nd half of the scarf, the dropped stitches don’t line up with the YOs, but you can’t tell hardly at all, especially when I’m wearing it. There is that one big block where the dropped stitch wasn’t in the right place. I ended up fixing the dropped stitch and not worrying about it. It gives the scarf character, eh? ;-)

Specs:
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino, “Stone Chat” 2 skeins
Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert
Mods: I made it scarf sized, so I only did 2 of the increase rows, and I did probably like 18 of the straight rows. Also I slipped the first stitch of every row. I wouldn’t reccommend this, because the kfb increase leaves a bar, so one side is bumpy even with the slipped stitch. The other side was smooth, personally I would have preferred it to be bumpy to match the other side, but I was already 6″+ in and I didn’t feel like frogging it (Malabrigo doesn’t really like to be frogged, it gets all fuzzy).
Thoughts: The pattern got a little monotonous, but I love the yarn and the end result.

Friday I worked and then hung out at my LYS with a couple of friends. Then I went to the BF’s parent’s house to hang with them. We played Euchre and the BF and I lost. We were up 6 to 0 and then they caught up and we only made it to 8 before they won.

Saturday was kind of a lazy day. I had yet another Thanksgiving meal at my uncle’s house. I got to see my younger cousins. As soon as I walked through the door, Anna (2) ran right up to me and I picked her up and was talking to her. I tried to get her to see my mom for a minute, and all I could do was get my coat off before she wanted me to pick her back up. Then I fixed her a plate and tried to get her to sit next to her dad, and she followed me back up to the food table and wouldn’t sit down until I did. Later, I got up to go to the other side of the room and say goodbye to my brother and talk to the adults and she ran over, grabbed my hand and drug me to the other side of the room. It was so cute. =) I’m always surprised when they remember me and want me to play with them the whole time because I don’t see them too often.

Saturday I also dyed some cotton yarn I had purchased some Sugar ‘n’ Cream cotton on sale for a gift and then I didn’t use it so I decided to try my hand a dying and see what happened. My original plan involved Kool-Aide, until I did some research and found out that cotton doesn’t take Kool-Aide, only protein base fibers do. Sooo I headed to Jo-Ann’s on Friday and picked up some dye. I did one solid and one vareigated. You’ll have to wait until it dries and the weather is better for a pic. =P (See, appropriate title.)

I still have a 2 page paper to write (this is why I’m writing this blog…). It won’t take long at all so I don’t know why I’m procrastinating so much. I was going to write it yesterday, but I decided that reorganizing my 300+ favorites on Ravelry for easier browsing was a better idea. What, aren’t you favorite sweaters organized by yarn weight?! I also found Tokyo (Ravlink), which I will definitely be knitting. My SP from SP 12 gifted me some Jagerspun Zephyr which is what the pattern calls for, so I only need to get the fingering weight yarn. The Zephyr is a really pretty brown/tan color which I like but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to to be a shawl. This will be the perfect project for it. But, alas, another project set on the back burner until after Christmas. Also probably after I make myself the Windowpane Coat (Ravlink) out of some snuggly Ecowool, as Tokyo is a very light, warm-weather top, and winter is just beginning here in Ohio.

1st: Cuttin’ It Close Cowl

Why the name? Because I only had this much yarn left:

I made this for a gift exchange at work. Its not until Dec. 19th, but I was thinking about it at the LYS on Friday (while I was knitting on my other FO), and I picked up this yarn. I chose this color because the recipient is a Michigan fan. They happen to be the rivals of my school, but that’s okay I love my coworker anyway ;-). Their colors are yellow and navy, so I thought this would suit her tastes just fine.

Cowl Recipe:

I just kind of winged it on this. I thought that it turned out pretty nicely. Not to mention easy, I cast on Friday night and I was done Saturday afternoon.

So, I used another cowl pattern to find out what kind of width/length I wanted and I did a swatch, cast on and only had to rip back once.

Materials I used:
Size 10.5 16″ circular needles
Darning needle

Yarn I used:
Malabrigo Worsted, held double

Gauge I had:
3.5 sts per inch, row gauge is unimportant

Pattern*:

Okay, so, first you need to swatch. Yep. Swatch. Don’t whine, just do it!

Got your gauge? Okay. Multiply your stitches per inch by 21.

Cast on whatever this number is. Example: I had 3.5 sts per inch, so 3.5 X 21 = 73.5. Since I can’t cast on a half stitch, I cast on 74 stitchs (always better to be a little bigger than a little too small).

Join, being careful not to twist, and knit every round for approx. 1.5″

Purl 1 row

Knit 1 row

Purl 1 row

Knit 1 row

Purl 1 row

Knit for another 3.5″

Purl 1 row

Knit 1 row

Purl 1 row

Knit 1 row

Purl 1 row

Knit for another 1.5″ or until you think you only have enough yarn to bind off. Bind off loosely. Weave in ends and enjoy your warm and squishy new cowl!

*Simplified explanation of pattern (Well you still need to swatch and all that!): 1.5″ knit, roll edge. Knit 3 garter ridges. Knit 3.5″. Knit 3 more garter ridges, Knit another 1.5″ and bind off loosley.

2nd: Calorimetry

This is for my step-grandmother. It still needs a button she is obsessed with loves her dogs so I thought a cute paw-print button or something of that type would be appropriate.

Specs:
Yarn: Leftover Cascade Ecological Wool from Emerald
Pattern: Calorimetry
Mods: I had bigger gauge so I cast on fewer stitches and did fewer short rows
Thoughts: Easy pattern, quick knit, great for gifts. =)

Today I have a group project to film, which will be interesting. That’s soonish.

Enjoy your Sunday. =)

It’s all wavy because it was sitting on a bush

So, on to the real FOs:

Binary Cable Hat:

This is a Christmas gift for my dad

I look like such a dork in that picture!

Go Bucks! We’re playing our rivals this weekend and at work we hat a pot-luck tail gate party so I had to sport my OSU shirt.

1) You have to have a blog to participate in this.

2) The first three people who sign up in the comments will receive some sort of kindness from me.

3) Those three people then blog about it at their place and offer the same to the first three people who sign up, who blog about it at their place, and offer kindnesses to the next three, &c., &c., &c., until the Kindness Revolution is unstoppable due to Newton’s Second Law, where f=ma.

4) The act of kindness can be whatever you like; it can be a little gift you mail to someone, or it can be something more intangible; whatever fits your circumstances, budget, or personality. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, certainly; just something to put a smile on a stranger’s face.

5) Link back to this post in your post.

I will post later on both the kindness I receive and the kindness I send to others.

So, instead, I want to share with you my favorites from the new Twist Collective. If you still haven’t looked, I suggest you do because there are some really nice pieces.

So, firstly I’m a sucker for cable work. So I fell in love with Vivian by Ysolda Teague, who is fast becoming one of my favorite designers.

My Second favorite (also including amazing cable work) is Sylvi by Mari Muinonen. It’s lovely. I don’t know if I’d ever make it, but I just love the flowers and leaves incorporated into the cables.

Okay, third, Valia by Gudrun Johnston. I know, more cables. It’s a beautiful sweater, and it’s made of mmMalabrigo. I’m hesitant to make a sweater with Malabrigo because I think that it would pill a lot, especially around the under arm/chest area, but this sweater just might convince me to try. I even love the slightly belled sleeves.

I’m only going to actually show you one more. My fourth favorite is Jadis by Nathania Apple. I love the simplicity of this sweater. I’m just so drawn to it (I also happen to be a sucker for cream colored sweaters), not to mention that the model is just charming.

A couple worth mentioning are Rebecca by Fiona Ellis (I’m hoping this is the right link for this designer), Broderie by Connie Chang Chinchio, and Kingscot by Norah Gaughan.

Okay, so that’s almost all of the sweaters in there, so you can tell this was a good collection! So go to Twist Collective and ‘leaf’ through it yourself!

About a month or so ago, Cosy of Cosy Makes, and Cosy Knits (Literally), posted on her blog that she was coming to Columbus for Tiny Canary, and wondered if any of her blog readers were from Columbus and if they were willing to let her crash for a night. So I looked up Tiny Canary and lo and behold, it was less than 10 minutes from my apartment. So after asking my boyfriend if it would be okay (“Hey, do you care if this person I don’t know stays here for a weekend? It’s cool, she’s a knitter…”) I commented saying that she was welcome to stay on my pull-out bed if she wanted. It also happened that it was the weekend of knitter’s night out at my LYS so I invited her to come on Friday night instead of Saturday morning and come hang out with some Columbus knitters (also she wouldn’t have to get up at 4 AM to make it to Columbus with enough time to set up at Tiny Canary).

So, right around 6 PM Cosy and Lauren arrived at my apartment and we pretty much immediately headed over to the LYS where we socialized for a few hours. Afterwards we were all pretty famished so we headed over to Noodles for some food stuffs.

When we got back to the apartment I had the pleasure of sorting through Cosy’s hand dyed, hand spun yarn to choose a skein for myself. I chose a 4oz, 135 yd skein of 2 ply 100% falkland wool. Colorway “Swimmingly”

The astute among you will notice that her hand spun is sitting ontop of her book, Knit One Embelish, Too (Which you can buy signed at her etsy shop). She also kindly gifted me that and signed it with a personalized message. =)

Saturday inbetween researching and paper writing, I visited Cosy and Lauren at Tiny Canary and shipped off my Swap on a Budget package, which I am excited to share with you all once the recipient has recieved it. Saturday night I made hot and sour soup and sesame noodles for dinner. The noodles went over well (they’re to be one of the BF’s favorites). I also made the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread of the last post for dessert (Which was gone the day after it was made…). I also managed to finish the Binary Cable hat that I’ve been working on. I’m thinking I’m going to have a FO post in a bit so I won’t post pictures or specs right now, but you can check it out on Ravelry if you want.

Sunday, more school work, and after Tiny Canary was over the four of us went over to Jeni’s for some delicious ice cream (If you don’t live in Columbus, and have never been, you should be jealous). My favorite was probably the Gravel Road, salty-caramel ice cream with smoked almonds. Yum. I also had the Buttercream Chocolate Freckle ice cream that tasted exactly like the straciatella gelato in Italy. After indulging in some ice cream it was time for Cosy and Lauren to hit the road and head home.

Having forgotten to previously take pictures, we stood infront of a Christmas window display to do such…

(Click to see full sized images, I made them small because my blog cuts the right side of larger pictures out)

Cosy and Lauren were tons of fun and both Mason and I enjoyed having them as guests. =)

This week I have 2 papers due, and this weekend I’m filming for a group project. After this week things should slow down a little, and by the 2nd week of December I’ll be pretty much done! =)

One last thing, it’s totally snowing/sleeting outside and it’s actually sticking. Hello, winter!

Note: This recipe is an adaptation of one I found online. It’s delicious, and lower fat, although I won’t say that it’s low-cal.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1 c. white flour
1/4 c. whole wheat flour*
1 c. white sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar*
5 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp applesauce*
2 medium, or 3 small bananas, very ripe
1/3 c. chocolate chips + 1 tsp of flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Combine flours, cocoa, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Cream together the eggs, oil, applesauce, and sugars until smooth.

Add mashed bananas and combine thoroughly.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and make sure everything is incorporated. Beat the batter on medium speed for 1 minute.

Make sure the chocolate chips are thoroughly coated with the tsp of flour (this keeps them suspended in the batter instead of sinking to the bottom). Fold into the batter.

Pour into a greased loaf pan.

Bake for 45-60 minutes. When a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out cleanish it’s done.

It’s delicious. Trust me.

*If you’d like you can skip the different kinds of flour and sugar and use just white, and if you don’t have any applesauce you can just use 1/4 c. of oil. I sub applesauce for oil often because it keeps baked goods moist without all the fat.