Fruitcake Weather

 

When the beech trees turn gold it's time to make fruitcake. 

I use the same recipe every year from my very old and very dirty Betty Crocker cookbook.

I've got even older and dirtier cookbooks. This one was my great grandmother's. It was printed the same year I was born. 1953. I think I've held up better than it has. So far anyway.

You can tell we are a fruit cake loving family. There's two handwritten recipes for two different kinds tucked among those sticky pages.

You either love it or hate it. I love it. 

They bake forever at 275 and come out nicely cracked so they can absorb the brandy I'll paint them with each week as they age until Christmas Eve. 

Speaking of cake, look at this darling Peter Rabbit themed one Daughter had made for Baby Grand's first birthday yesterday. It was a day to celebrate even though the family won't get together until Thanksgiving. We all breathe a sigh of relief when the little ones turn one. Those early months are downright scary.

Oh, Christmas Tree

 

We got up early yesterday so we could beat it down to the boardwalk to see the big crane drop the tree. They told us it would arrive at 9 am and we were there....just in time to see the crane drive away. We missed it. My inner child threw a terrific temper tantrum because I really look forward to it every year. I suppose they got an earlier start to beat the rain that was expected but that didn't soothe my disappointment. 

Since we were already out and about, I did some shopping in order to encourage a return to my grown up sensibility. I needed brandy for the fruitcakes I intend to make this weekend. I now have brandy. They only carry one brand now at our local liquor store so there wasn't much choice. This one is new to me. 

That inner child returned when I saw these little stuffies at the gas station mini mart. I don't need another thing in this house but they had to come home with me. There was a whole box to choose from so I should be happy that I had the good sense to only adopt two. 

 

Hung Out to Dry

 

'Tis the season. I've got racks of knitwear all over the house hung with fresh washed woollies. This load is made up of my emergency knits that I keep in the car in case I don't dress warm enough for the weather. It happens all too frequently as it's much colder by the water than it is in our little valley. 

Even Pup's sweaters got a wash. She hates sweater weather. The most exercise she gets anymore is running away and hiding as soon as she sees one coming at her. 

Upstairs, Downstairs

 

The chair trick has been working beautifully. Pup gets her chair and I get mine. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. Lately I've been able to spend some quality time in both my craft rooms. I used to have to drag everything out into the living area so she could sit with me while I worked. If I didn't she would throw the canine equivalent of a temper tantrum until I gave up and just went and sat on the couch with her. Little dogs. They aren't like anything else in the world in their need for constant attention. 

We go downstairs one day and upstairs the next. Downstairs we are working on the Christmas cards. I've got a lot of coloring and die cutting to do for this year's card.

In the upstairs sewing room I've been back to work on the Colorwash quilt top. These are little 3 inch squares so I'm going to have to make a lot of them before I think about assembling them.

I've also been able to resume punching that set of mug rugs I've been working on. I really like the one I finished. It comes in very handy.

With the teeny tiny punch, I've added a beet to the veggie group. I never realized how important this me time in my putter rooms was until I got it back. It makes the day. 

Wednesday WIPs: Something Done

 

How it started. 

How it ended. In 2011 I bought 12 pounds of unwashed Corriedale fiber and over the years made many pairs of snow socks out of it. Maybe this year these will bring me some luck and we'll have a real winter again.

Other than the snow socks my other sock projects are languishing a bit because of the stocking KAL. I'm only doing five rounds a day but I'm always amazed at how fast these things knit up. 

I took advantage of the Knit Picks sale and bought yarn for the actual Arne and Carlos 2025 stocking that I'll start in December. I'm going to try it in a sport weight rather than the fingering weight I have been using. 

I'm still working on the Prayer Shawl in bed at night and I just used up the first skein. I probably should just go ahead and ignore the pattern and order another skein, right?

All these lovely woolly things are going on inside but outside, Mother Nature has been playing tricks. Hot, cold, hot, cold. Even my camellias are confused. 

TNT: Never a Dull Moment

 

The center section of Patchwork Automne is finished. I'm putting it away until January so I can get out my winter holiday projects. I'll tackle those boring borders in the new year. 

I'm working my way across the last of the stitching sections on Matter's House. Thank you for all your advice on what to do about the dots. I'll be taking everyone's advice. I'm leaving some out. Stranding some of them and doing those confetti stitches on the rest. I've got a plan but it will have to wait until after the holidays too. I'm really looking forward to getting out the Christmas Quaker. 

Dear Jane E5 is covered and I should be starting to stitch them together today.

My tiniest of needles are busy on the hexie runner and I've got the scars to prove it. I really want to get this over with.

As for never a dull moment, in the same weekend that we've had every search and rescue dive team in the state looking for a boater that went missing from here last Thursday, we had a big fire in the apartments behind the marina. I heard the sirens go off at about 6:30 am and they just kept on coming. I knew it was something big but I never thought it was this big. By the sound of it I knew someone was having the worst day of their life but I never imagined this. What a terrible way to start the week.

Where Projects Go to Die

 

Do you have a bag like this? I have a very bad habit of planning projects, kitting them up and then putting them in a bag where they end up living forever. I even printed out all the patterns. There are two pairs of mittens, three hats and a headband to be in there. 

I think this year's New Year's resolution will be to empty that bag. 

In my defense, something always jumps in line in front of them. Right now it's more socks for little feet. Daughter liked the pair I made for her Big Grand so much she asked for a smaller pair for the baby

And...I know I'm probably the last person on earth to know about these but I saw someone raving about them on YouTube and had to try them out. They are Swedish dishcloths in case you don't already know. I was a bit surprised when they arrived. They are stiff as a board when dry but when you wet them they turn into a vicious yuck fighting weapon that does an amazing job on the miles of stainless steel and painted cabinetry I have to wipe fingerprints off all day. I bought the pretty ones on the top for the kitchen and then turned around and ordered the floral ones for the bathrooms. Old dog. New trick.

One more thing...I was commenting to someone about a pop up type Christmas tree and I wanted to show the one that I have had for years. It's a Samlas from Ikea and you just take it by the top and pull it out of the little box and drape it over its metal stand.  It's like a magic trick. It doesn't have lights but it does come with already attached ornaments. We love it and some years, when things have been a bit hinky, it's all we have put up. 

Over and Out

 

They came yesterday to pick up the last of the logs. I'm going to miss that cute little Kubota that's been parked out in the yard since this all started. That's one amazing piece of machinery. I want one.

The very last load went up the driveway in the afternoon. The driver handed us a check for all the wood he's hauled away. When we saw that it was for $3,300 we couldn't believe our eyes. We had no idea that those ugly poplars were that valuable.  

They came back later that day and leveled out the ground, seeded and put down hay. They are coming back out again on Monday to clean up the staging area.

So what are we going to do with our windfall? Have a few more trees taken down out front, of course. 

Little Feet

I finally got those socks to fit Big Grand. The multi stripes fit better but in a pinch he's got the blue ones for backup. These are his snow socks to wear with his snow boots when and if the white stuff decides to show up this year. He lives much further north than we do so he's got a pretty good chance of seeing some.

Now Daughter wants a pair for Baby Grand. I think there's enough yarn left for a small pair. All he wants to do now is walk. I am nursing a bad case of sore muscles in my upper body and neck from spending so much time bending over to support him for two days. He's pretty good at standing on his own and can take a few unaided steps but when he wants to fly around the room, another pair of hands is his preferred method. 

Baby and I stayed home in the morning while The Mister, SIL and Big Grand went off to a nearby bakery to bring home breakfast.

The selection they brought home was amazing. These aren't dainty pastries. They are enormous. I had the apple turnover which tasted a lot like mincemeat to me and since I am a big fan, I really enjoyed it. 

On the way back home I ran into a grocery store to pick up some things for dinner and ran right into the display of candied fruit. Every year I go on the hunt for this stuff and can never find it anywhere. I ordered it last year from Amazon and it was terrible. It was so dried out that I had to toss it. Fruitcake makes the holiday for me so I'm tickled to have it back on the menu. As soon as I can move my arms and neck again I'll get to baking.

Friday Fluff

 

It's been a while since I've had a Fluff update but since the weather got so much colder this week I've found myself heading over to the spinning corner to generate a little heat. The Sandy Canyon Merino still has a long way to go but I'm not in a hurry for a finish. I've got skein after skein still sitting here staring at me from this summer's flurry of spinning activities. 

I might be halfway around the handspun Pi Shawl with the edging. I've been pretty good about getting one pattern repeat on a day. No big whoop since it's only 8 rows but at least it's something.

This year's Crocs Snow Socks are almost finished. I knit a pair of these every few years because I ruin them. This is wool that I not only spun but processed myself so it doesn't have the lasting power of commercially prepared yarn. It's warm. It's practically waterproof but it felts like crazy with each wearing.

Replacing them is never a problem since I have a giant bin of fiber that can be turned into even more socks when needed. It all depends on the snow. Some years we get. Some years we don't. 

And...the best of all the cold weather projects, the Garter Squish is in the process of getting bound off. Nothing beats having a lap full of wool on a cold morning. I really thought this project would make a dent in my handspun stash but nope. I'm still drowning in it. 

Bits and Pieces

 

While the trees were being cut down last week I spent a lot of time downstairs working on ideas for this year's Christmas cards and hated all of them. I just got another delivery of some things that might be an improvement-or not. I'm starting to think I should have just bought a box of cards this year. The expense has gotten ridiculous. 

Included in that expense was a new desk chair for the room. I have one but Pup insists on sitting in it with me which is very uncomfortable so I'm giving her the soft cushy chair and using this generic rolly thing myself. The things we do for our critters.....

The chair hasn't been assembled yet because I also bought a new light/fan combo for the upstairs (very messy) sewing room. It was a comedy of errors putting it up that included a late afternoon cross county dash to Home Depot for that medallion thing. It seems I didn't realize the hole the other light would leave would be bigger than the base of the new one. It was a tense situation but at least now I have a much brighter light to work by especially now that the sun goes down so early. 

And...I confess that what's taken up a ridiculous amount of my time this week has been the puzzle The Mister's been working on. He's given up on the top of the trees so I've taken over with the understanding that it needs to be done soon so he can get out his Macy's Thanksgiving Parade puzzle. No pressure there. And yes, I'm working it upside down. This is the way it makes sense to me.

Wednesday WIPs

 

The remaining Halloween socks are getting close to their toes but it's going slowly. I've had other things to get done this week.

We're off babysitting again today and tomorrow so I wanted to get my latest attempt at the Big Grand's socks close to being finished so he could try them on. The blue pair were a bit too short on our last visit so I ripped out the toes and added some length hoping they might fit. 

I also wanted to get started on my version of the Arne and Carlos Christmas Stocking KAL. I knit along with the daily video but I'm knitting a totally different pattern of theirs. I'm way behind but at five rounds a day I should finish by the end of the month. 

I've also been fixated with Chestnut. Now that I know that Bon Ami is a success it's full speed ahead. 

And....I've fallen into knitting purgatory with the Prayer Shawl. I'm getting nowhere fast. The first skein is almost gone and I've still got a loooong way to go. The pattern calls for three but I dunno people. I'm getting worried.