Show and Tell #7 plus Story Time

Missing Knitcrate Video

The Barnhardt's Thanksgiving Favorite- Drunken Sweet Potatoes

Hey guys!  So it has been a crazy month.  I just wrapped up a Show and Tell video over on my Youtube channel and I wanted to come by here and knock off the cobwebs.  I about died laughing when I realized I had forgotten to post my two other videos over here...  Ooops!  That just goes to show you what kind of month October really was!  I really wish I could say that November and December will be better for blogging...  but...  Yeah...

I did want to share with you guys one of my family's favorite recipes though.  In the spirit of getting ready for the holidays and being a crafting AND homemaking blog...  I should share something other than crafts with you guys!

No one in my family growing up really liked "Traditional Sweet Potato Casserole", so my mother spent years testing out different things until she found this one.  We call it "Drunken Sweet Potato Casserole" but I think if you want to take it some where else, I would call it...

 "Praline Sweet Potatoes"

• 5 pounds sweet potatoes
• ¼ cup Irish cream liqueur, orange liqueur, praline liqueur, or 'Orchata Rum (what I use)
• 1/8 cup heavy cream (more if needed)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• ¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter

Prepping Potatoes:

• ·         Roasting-Wash and pierce with a fork, Bake in a 350-degree oven for 1-1/4 hours or until tender.  Cool until you can handle for peeling.
• ·         Steaming-Wash, peel and cube potatoes.  Place in steamer basket and steam until fork tender not mushy. 

 Making the Mashed Potatoes: 

• ·         Melt butter and add booze and cream to it.
• ·         Mash potatoes by hand until smoothish, I do recommend mashing by hand.  
• ·         Using masher, mash in liquids as needed for texture, the 2 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt.  
• ·         Mix until fluffy.  
• ·         Spread mixture in a lightly greased 8x8 baking dish.  At this point you can stop and put casserole into the freezer or refrigerator if you are making ahead of time.  If you freeze I would recommend thawing before the next steps.
• ·         Just before baking, sprinkle with praline pecans.  Bake uncovered, for 30 minutes or until heated through.  

Making Pralines:

• ·         Cook and stir pecans, granulated sugar, and the 1 tablespoon butter in a small heavy skillet over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes or until sugar melts and turns golden brown.
• ·          Remove from stove and spread mixture on a silpat or parchment lined sheet pan.  Separate into clusters, not one whole slap of candy. 
• ·          Cool completely and chop into small pieces with a knife; set aside.

Some Notes from Carrie:

• I have purchased my pralines or candied pecans from Publix and Fresh Market in years past.  I am not a good candy maker.  This turns out just fine using store bought.
• I have never frozen my potatoes, but I make the mash on Wednesday and refrigerate over night; top with pralines right before it goes into the oven.
• I don't use pie spice anymore, I really love cinnamon and nutmeg with a bare touch of clove.  I do almost all of my cooking by smell and taste, so if you are like me, just add until you like it.
• I recomend finding some kind of Horchata Rum (I use Chila 'Orchata) and using that.  It really made a huge difference, but Irish Cream is a close second.

I really hope that you take a chance on these.  I haven't taken them to a party where they weren't well received.  Let me know if you try them and what you think!

Until next time!  

Darn Good Yarn Unboxing Month One

Here is a super quick post.  I did want to share my unboxing video and a picture of the box after I started to work with the yarn and needles.  I will have a review when month two arrives.  I am almost done with the first project and the second shouldn't take me overly long.

Super slow week!

So, as my previous post said, my grandmother's passing really took up a lot of the last week.  I have been working on things, but at a much slower rate than usual.  After last Friday, I really only worked on the blue blanket I showed in Vlog #5.  

So, one with the show!  First off, I did finish my varigated, knit Christmas stocking.  I used Bernat Happy Holidays in Merrier.  I really enjoyed the pattern with the exception of how the heel turned out.  I use the pattern, Waiting Up for Santa Stocking by Sour Krot Designs.  I think it must have been me that messed up, not the pattern, but my heel is so pointy.  I just don't like the way that it looks.  I love the way it was constructed, but I just don't like how it turned out for me.

I do however really love the toe decreases that she chose.  This is done round like a hat vs being done like the toe of a real sock.  For some reason that rounded toe looks so much nicer hanging down.  Many moons ago I knit a stocking that used a standard toe decrease and it looked nice laying flat but kind of looked funny while hanging on the mantle.

The next stocking I worked on was Christmas Stocking by Sonya.  This one turned out very lovely!  I really like the finished style.  I don't think it would be as good as my knit one for using as a stocking, but it looks so great hanging up.  My picture doesn't really do it justice.

This pattern was a bit wonky to understand.  Well, it was wonky at the heel and restarting for the leg.  If you have knit or crocheted socks before, you will perfectly understand what is going on in the pattern.  If you haven't ever made socks before, be very careful at reading and working this pattern.  It isn't intuitive.

The last finished object of the week is another donation hat.  This one just uses a basic recipe idea of the crown measures x, the total length is y.   There are many people out there who have created graphic charts to show you the recipe.  I don't want to get dinged for copy write, so I will just tell you to Google that one.

This hat is made from Lion Brand Wool Ease and Caron One Pound scraps that were in my scrap box after finishing the rainbow blankets.  I really like the texture these worked up together.  The Wool Ease is so light compared to the Caron it made a really nice fabric together.

I wanted to share with you all this label I found on one of the balls of yarn from the rainbow blankets.  Not a color that you would see much of anymore.  I am not sure when Caron Sayelle was discontinued, but this ball is at least 20 years old.  I love finds like that!

Here is this week's Vlog Show and Tell.  I hope that you guys enjoy.  I did forget to mention in the Vlog that my yarn weight usage is up to 63.65 ounces out of 400.  So, we keep creeping up there!

Take care everyone and I will see you all next week.  XOXO

Wow, I really dropped that ball!

Hey guys, sorry for the delay in getting any kind of update up for you guys.  It has been a long week!  My grandmother sadly passed away and I was going back and forth with my family getting updates and traveling to North Carolina for the funeral.  Her passing was very sudden.  Taking care of that took up most of my time.

Sorry, but for last week's update, we will just have to go with my Vlog post.  I wish that I had time to write everything up, but I don't want to miss a chance to get this up before this week's video goes live and the new post gets put up.

As to the "pattern" for the cowl:
CO 66
Work in the same moss stitch for 8 rows
Knit for 25 rows
Moss stitch for 8 rows

Remember to bind off in a very stretchy bind off.

I do have this up on Ravelry not as a pattern, but the pattern is written in my description box.  Cowl to Match Lomond Hat.

I should have more up either later today or first thing tomorrow! 

Hats, Hats, Hats-- and a Scarf...

So, this last week or so with the knitting and the crochet have been a bit different than my "normal" flow.  I am running through a lot of the small knitting projects that I had wanted to make to enter into the SC State Fair, I am working on some hats for donation, getting ready to redecorate and waiting to see what Hurricane Florence does....

So...  I will start with the scarf.  I made the scarf that matches the hat from last week.  It is the Dublin Duo Scarf by Bonnie Barker.  It is in the Celtic Cable Crochet book.  I have 2 crochet cable books by her, this is the first one I am working from.  I plan on doing a review after I finish two more patterns from the book.  This scarf actually worked up super fast compared to the hat.  I had originally planned on an extra row of single crochet around the perimeter in the cream I used for the ribbing, but decided against it.  I really like the width of the written boarder.  Just like the hat, I really like the pattern and found it to be very well written.

Next, I worked on a slew of hats.  Seriously...  all of my FOs and WIPs are hats...  I didn't work at all on my August Knitcrate or September Knitcrate projects...  All has been for the fair or donations this week....  LOL!

Fair hats, K&K by Nathania Apple, I have made this hat before and I love this brim!  I come to this hat when ever I want a super basic hat pattern that doesn't have ribbing.  I am not one of those people who doesn't like purling, I just want a different shape.  I went a head an made it in the "Toddler" size and the Adult size.  I put toddler in quotes because I would say that this is more young child in a lot of yarns.  Make sure of your size gauge before you start for a toddler or a child. 

For donation hats, I wanted to use up my orange scraps, it isn't a color that I really use much of, so one ball is more than enough for my stash.  I started with one of Margaret Olander's favorite donation hats, the Better Late than Never Hat by Kathy North.  I really love this hat's construction!  It isn't something super spectacular if you have made a lot of hats unless you are like me and just love clever changes to the basics.  I also am so tickled at how well I am getting my rows to stack when I am smart about working.  So, I got two Better Late than Nevers done, then I decided to go a little off script with another hat.

I took the brown and orange one and used it as a size guide to make my own double crochet-double strander hat.  I know there are 500 patterns for this out there, I think Margaret Olander has a "recipe" for this kind of hat.  I just wanted to finish off that brown and suck up as much orange as I could...  I did finish the brown ball, but I had just enough orange left over for....

A cream and orange (creamsicle) Better Late than Never Hat.  I actually started this one last night when I was chilling with a mask on my face waiting to go to bed.  Trying to de-stress from "What if...Planning".  So, next week this one should be done and I will hopefully not have only 5 hats to share with you guys as FOs and WIPs.


So, I have some fun additional information on my Youtube channel (that just sounds so bloody funny!) video from today that is in conjunction with my "Show and Tell" here.  Please stop over there and take a listen to the fun shares.  I have some fun acquisitions and "reviews" to share with you guys!  Including Halloween finds, my disappointing Mary Maxim purchase, and books!

I want to take a moment and thank all of the people who have supported me this year in my getting out there again.  It has been a long time since I shared in the open like this and I have really missed being able to share with my friends and make new friends.  I know I don't see very many comments on my blog, but I do see my "lurkers" and I am very grateful for you all! 

Hugs and Kisses until next week hopefully!

Knitcrate August Review and September Unboxing

Crafting Makes the World Go Around...

At least it makes my world go around!  Sorry, I haven't had time to get back over here to share with you the updates on my WIP and FOs.  I thought I was going to have more time on Saturday before the football games started...  I was WRONG!

So, lets get this ball rolling!

I did finally finish my C2C Rainbow Blanket.  I might still put a boarder on here, I haven't decided yet what that should be if I do.  Maybe one of the random purples I have up in the craftroom...  I don't know yet, but I will figure it out.







I finished two hats. One is this pink and cream one.  I used Vanna's Choice yarn and the pattern is the hat from Dublin Duo by Bonnie Baker.  I got her book, Celtic Cable Crochet and am just smitten with the aesthetic of all of the patterns.  I think I might go ahead and make this the next book that I work my way through the whole thing.  I can't think of one that doesn't just look like fun to make.

The next hat is Crochet Ribbed Hat by RecycleCindy.  I liked this hat as a starting place, I have a whole basket of neutral scraps still, so I think that I might work through a lot of those using patterns like this that are just simple and basic.  I already have another brown and cream one going upstairs.

I have been working on my two Knitcrate projects.  I finished the one from the Primary box.  I had some extra yarn from knitting the cowl I decided to knit an ear-warmer.  The cowl pattern is The Beach Ball Cowl by Virginia Sattler-Reimer.  I liked it, but I will have more to say about the combo when I do my final review of the first Knitcrate and the unboxing for months number two.  


No one part of this was wrong, I am just not 100% sure I like them together.   That might change after some wet blocking too.  The fabric is fun to touch through and I am looking forward to wearing this when it a touch cooler.




The ear-warmer is my own pattern (if you can call it a pattern) CO 100,  in the round- 5 rows of K2P2 rib, 15 rows knitted and 5 rows of K2P2 rib, extra stretchy bind off in pattern.  I love the feel of the yarn around my face.  I ended up with only a small amount left over.  I don't even know if I have enough to add into a junk pompom...


I have been working on Caribbean Escape by Jennifer Dickerson.  I am once again loving the yarn, but... I will say that over all but not super excited with the pattern.  I will get more into that when the next box gets here and I give my final review of the yarn and box as a whole.  Don't let me sound too negative, it isn't bad, I am just little meh on both combos though.




The last thing I have been working on is Cakes Two to Tango by Gwen Kok.  Now this is a super simple pattern once you have both balls established, but those first few rows you need silence and patience with yourself.  The pattern is very well written, you just need to pay attention.  HOW PRETTY!  I am using Lion Brand Mandala Baby in Unicorn Cloud. 

I am already planning my next round with this pattern.  I have the yarn, it will be the Warlock color way for the fall!  I love how it looks using the same colorway, but the pattern is written to use different colorways.

I do have my next Vlog up, please, go and take a peek.  This one is a Show and Tell video mostly but I also introduced my next challenge for 2018!

Take care and I look forward to hearing from you all! 

 Please, if you want to follow more closely with the 25 pound challenge, let me know and maybe we can start a group on Ravelry or Facebook.

Portland Trip Part Two

So guys, part two of the trip!  It was so much fun!  I really am just sharing the bare highlights of the whole thing.

Tuesday, Cotton Top and his colleague were jammed packed at their conference.  So her granddaughter, Volly, and I spent the day at the whole Washington Park complex.  We started out with the Zoo.  Now, I will be honest, I have never been to a proper, normal zoo before.  I know that is crazy, but I haven't ever really thought to go before!

There were a few parts that were closed because they are expanding Africa, but it was so much fun!  We both just wanted to pet and snuggle just about ever critter that came across our way.

I am just going to share some quick pictures with you guys of the animals.  I don't want to bore you with a virtual zoo trip, but I love me some animals!

 

I just love this little guy.  He was "having his lunch" on a random bench at the zoo.  I just love some whimsy!

When we had finished up at the zoo, we took the park van over to the Japanese Gardens and Rose Garden.

I really wish that I could have spent more time at the Japanese Gardens.  By the time we got there, we were physically exhausted, but didn't want to lose time by "taking it in" at the gardens.  We still had one more stop and didn't want to run out of steam or time.  It was so stunning through and the way it had grown up, made its own climate within the whole park.

If you are ever in Portland, go to the gardens!  It was really special.  Their own website will do a much better job at telling their history.  Please, go and check that out! Japanese Garden History

This garden really was restful and rejuvenating.

Our last stop in the park was the Rose Garden.  Holy Cow!  No picture will really show you the magnitude of roses in this garden.  No, unless you have ever been standing in terraced garden where you can only see roses for your whole view...  You can't understand... I was reading that there are over 10,000 bushes and almost 700 varieties!

The smell was the most amazing perfume you could imagine.  It isn't rose scented.  It smells luscious, green, floral and clean!  The whole complex smells super clean, but the smell of a garden jammed with flowers...  It was just a dream!  I took a lot of pictures for color planning and inspiration.  I was so over whelmed I couldn't get a good picture to show you the magnitude of this garden!

I tried so hard to get a good picture or video, but I couldn't get even half of the garden in a shot with either camera.

The Rose Garden was our last stop of the day.  We took the train back into downtown and met back up with Volly's grandmother and Cotton Top for the night.  The two of us were exhausted.  My Fitbit saw this as 25,000 steps and 47 flights of stairs and that was before the night's walk to dinners and events!

Wednesday, we really didn't do anything exciting.  Volly and I were still worn out from the park, hiking around Mt. Hood and Cannon Beach the days before!  So, we kept it simple and went to the mall.  We had planned on doing some more local shopping, but we just didn't have the energy left.  Volly was also starting to get sick by that morning.

We found her some great clothes for back to school but the biggest find for me was a Bigfoot softie! Now, I know that this sounds silly for a grown woman, but I really wanted a Bigfoot to go with my Champ softie from our Montreal/Vermont trip a few years ago.  I now have two cryptid softies living on my vanity.  I took this after my nap, so excuse my messier than normal look.

So, for now, I am going to wrap this up.  When I come back later this weekend, I will have Thursday's adventure and what have I worked on since then!  I was super sick for a whole week after we got home, so there was quite a bit of sofa time when I got home.

Until next time!

Knitcrate Unboxing Month 1

So guys, welcome to the first change this month!  Here is Vlog post one explaining what I am going to be doing and how this will work for the next few months.

I am going to be reviewing yarn subscription boxes and assessing not just the quality of the yarn, but the patterns and flair in the boxes.  I feel like just having yarn is fine, but are you being encouraged to work with it not just horde it?

I am very excited to start working with the yarns I received this month.  The cowl pattern for the first box is what I am dying to jump into right away!!!

I won't be counting this towards my budget, however I will be counting towards other goals for the year!  I am very excited and scared to be posting this out into the world.  I am not very comfortable with seeing myself in this format!

I did however think that video format would be far easier for me to get this out in a timely manner.  I know that if I keep working with the video format I will get better and this will become more cringe worthy, but I am going to go with it!  If I never start, I can't get better!

So, thank you guys so much for the support and encouragement!  I am looking forward to the changes!  I will be continuing my postings here and there will be content here that isn't shared through my Youtube channel.

Portland Trip Part 1 of I don't know...I could go on forever about it

So, you have read about the saga of my luggage.  I did finally get my large bag back.  It took hours of calls, 20 some Tweets (I really don't use Twitter) and 4 days...  She made her way back home though!  It was one of the most frustrating situations I have ever dealt with while traveling.  I truly hope that United handed poor Neil Penney's bag over quicker than American handed mine over (4 DAYS) especially as my bag was never "lost" it was just not where it was supposed to be.

Part of getting my bag being back in my possession means I can start sharing what I worked on (not much at all) and what I got while traveling around the greater Portland area.  Most especially my birthday/travel yarn purchase (also a plug for the sweetest yarn store to ever exist)!

Love the messed up hair!

So, the flight to Portland was pretty standard, nothing to report, cross country flight.  We flew from SC to Dallas at o'dark thirty.  I had one single hour of sleep going into the airport, but I was jacked up on travel adrenaline and the big ideas in my head that I have to circle back to at some point...  I took my hexies on the flight thinking that between those and my kindle I should be entertained the whole way to Portland.  Lack of sleep caught up to me very quickly...

So, don't get me wrong, I did get a lot of crochet done, but I was way over ambitious on the flight project thing and with only an hour of sleep...  I kept nodding off but never quite getting to sleep all the way to Dallas.  Cotton Top was out a lot of the first leg.  He could have slept the whole way if he had taken the window seat from Dallas to Portland.  I was picking up my crochet as I was awake but having to put it up again while nodding off...  It was a mess.

Finished hexies

This went on the whole flight.  I did get to sleep about half an hour when we were over the desert...  But yeah, it was frustrating.  By the time we got to the hotel in Portland I had crocheted all of my tiniest balls in the basket into centers (1 and 2 round circles) so that was at least done, but I had over a gallon bag full of balls for the outsides and "whole hexies".  I never did get a count on my centers that were completed, but it was a samie bagish amount.


The whole week, I was toting around this 2 gallon bag of bits of yarn and circles.  I am sure that if anyone had noticed me getting to and from cars, in and out at our destinations, the hotel lobby...  They would have thought I was nut bag.  I didn't take it on our train and walking destinations and I did forgo taking it to the nightly parties.  I did manage to remember to take my cutting pendant off every night while changing clothes (I am prouder of this than I should be).

Yarn left still in basket

The craft time on the flight back was about the same until we were most of the way back home (last 2 hours in the air) because I was just getting sleepy. 

I finished a total of 54 hexies while I was gone.  25 have their ends woven in.

That is it!  Seriously, this was the least I have ever knitted or crocheted while on a vacation ever.  Especially a vacation where we were traveling for Cotton Top's work!  Normally I find myself in the hotel most of a trip while he works, but Portland was so easy to navigate on foot and train!  I also had the teenage granddaughter of a colleague to go to the zoo, gardens and shopping with.

My yarn and look at that bag! LOVE!

I want to share my yarny purchase before I start on the vacation portion of our trip.  First off, I am not counting this towards my "Great Craftdown" this is something we do every trip we go on out of state.  This is somewhere between a memory reminder and trip "scrapbook" for me.  It was also my 35th birthday while we were traveling, so Cotton Top is the one who kinda bought it for me.

Garden out front

Thursday, August 16th, we went to Wooly Wooly Wag Tails Yarn in Washougal, Washington.  A) Isn't that just the cutest name for a yarn store?!  B) Jennifer has an amazing shop.  I didn't get pictures of the inside because we had people waiting on us.  C) Jennifer is also just the sweetest shop owner!  I will get around to that in a
second.

So, as always I asked Jennifer if she carried anything local or unique to her store.  No romance, right to it; we had two other people traveling with us who aren't yarnies or married to one.  She took it in stride and was very gracious!  She carried a wonderful variety of colors and textures to share with me.  I purchased 3 brands and different fibers.

The blue yarn is Mountain Colors Hand-Painted Yarn.  Holy cow this stuff is visually so intoxicating!  I am beyond in love just for the look of this yarn!  The color way is Avalanche Lake.  The fiber content is 100% Merino Wool.  The fiber is sturdy but not rough at all.  I have no idea what I am going to make with it, but it will be for me and I am going to just love it!

The lavender yarn is Traci Too by Imperial Yarn.  The colorway is Sweet Plum.  The color is just right up my alley with the dusty lavender, but the texture is so soft and bouncy!  I have worked with a similar yarn years ago, it was one of the first high quality 100% wools.  I loved how the bounce in the fiber stayed into the finished project.  The two balls I got of this will be turned into Architexture by Jennifer Weissman.  This yarn was displayed in that pattern in the store and it just had to be mine!

My yarn and new coffee mug

The Fuchsia is Teresa Ruch Tencel.  I only got one of this to make a shawlette (I haven't picked a pattern).  It is just special.  This is the kind of yarn you buy with every intention of making something, but end up petting it for years because you are just in love with the yarn itself.  On its own this is a stunning fiber and I want to just love it as it is until the right project comes along.

Now as I was checking out, we got to chit-chatting and Jennifer was so gracious and sweet and gave me a birthday gift.  The circular needle and the soft pink yarn both were birthday gifts from her based on our conversation.  I just felt so blessed and happy to have met her and spend the little time I got to spend in her store.

Please take time to go and see Jennifer if you are in the area!  The address is 982 E Street-Washougal, WA 98671.  Come on, the store name alone you guys!!!  Wooly Wooly Wag Tails Yarn!  How sweet!!!!

Cannon Beach, Haystack Rock

Sunday after we landed, we went to Cannon Beach.  I didn't get anything there.  Believe it or not, with the number of shops that were open, I couldn't find a single shirt to fit and I really wasn't looking for jewlery.  Most of the places with local art were closed by the time we were done taking in the Pacific ocean (first time for 2 of us).

It was freezing.  I was the only one with sleeves and pants.  Everyone else was still dressed for South Carolina.  I was amazed at just how different the beach was from the Atlantic coast.  I could have easily just stayed here and taken up "writing that novel".  It was just stunning, the air felt so clean and the water just freezing!

How many times do you have a lovely drive through mountain passes to get to the beach.  There was a house off in the distance that I just really was in love with.  Not that the house was that special, but the view that house has...  OH MY GOODNESS!  LOOK!!!  How can anyone say no to getting your morning coffee looking at that!  So, now I know my millionaire house!  LOL!

This house will be mine!

Monday afternoon, we went up to Mt. Hood!  I was able to grab some more normal stuff like shirts.  I also grabbed this bag that I am using as a project bag for my Cakes Two to Tango Shawl.  I know it is so silly, I only have 50 bags around my house!

Tote bag

This was an easy drive and so much fun!  I wish I had gotten a shot of it while we flew in, but I was pretty out of it Sunday.

I did however get some shots coming around the bend to see the mountain.  I will have to edit those into videos that I can share.
It took everything to not stop and take a picture every mile we went.  It was just so pretty and the air quality was so clear when we first got to Portland.

Mt Hood coming around the bend

First full look of the mountain

These are untouched!  These are like my normal "ugly" natural pictures!!!!  Look at that BEAUTY!!!!!  Look, I am 100% a mountain person.  The beach was stunning, however, I was dying at Mt Hood and Trillium Lake.

Yeah, we were done with the mountain fairly quickly as none of us are skiers and no one was prepared for hiking.  So we decided on our way back down, we went to Trillium Lake to see the view.  I could easily spend a week redoing the Mountain and Lake.  The weather was just perfect and really showed both off to their best.

Trillium Lake with Mt Hood

 I swear the landscape just makes it so easy!  I look like a pro with this scenery!

Cotton Top and Me

Over the weekend, I will get part two pulled together.  I still have pictures to round up onto my computer.  I am hoping that later this week I will get my regular WIP post up and take some time to let you know what the next few months will hold for us.  I might have to rearrange some things because I came back sick (like always) and have had to post pone starting my next crafty adventure.