January goals!!

Out of time again!! What happened here? I made my list for January and it's now February 1st. Did I get everything done? No. But not to worry I'm happy with the way the month turned out just the same. I made these fingerless gloves and managed to have several request for the holidays.Once Christmas was over I was surprised to have several more people looking for them,so, I wanted to get at least 3 pairs done this month and I did.

The pair above is from last year and the 2 below are new for 2011. Where's the other pair? Sold and delivered.

Then there's the Christmas garland I wanted to make in January. I went through several sessions of "I could do this or maybe that" You know how that is.

I think I got a good idea of what I want to do now and have started the project. It's on the top of the list for February.............honest. I got Jiggy started on his diet,finished the little sweaters and made that Christmas card list. Still working on a new ornament,nothing ready to show anyone yet. Of course,don't forget about the barn raising quilt I'll be talking more about that later.

Well today is coming to an end and I don't have my list done for February.How about you.Did you make a list? How do you motivate yourself to get things done?I'm feeling like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. I'm late,I'm late........................said the hobbit

what are we eating

Like many people,we started the new year with weight lost as one of our plans for January.

Salads of course,should be included in everyones daily intake. Not as easy as it sounds.There is something about a cold salad in the winter that just isn't very tempting. However the commitment was made so that Jiggy could reach his desired goal of ***lbs. He still won't let me put it in writing......silly boy.What to do to make it more tasty?

At Christmas I made this raspberry vinegar as a gift and had a few spoonfuls leftover. Of course I couldn't throw it away.Then the light bulb went on and I thought "why not use it as a dressing for the salad?"His favorites are blue cheese, thousand island and anything else creamy and rich that would be a no-no.So,without saying a word I sprinkled about 2 teaspoons all over the salad and gave it to him. "Oh my God.What did you put on this salad?It taste like fresh raspberries!"Ah, a winner!! I could sprinkle this on without worrying about adding tons of calories to the salad.But, I was out of raspberries and the vinegar took 3 weeks to make!!! I did have blueberries however so I put a cup of berries in a quart ball jar added the 1 and1/2 cups white vinegar and 1/2 cup superfine sugar. Instructions are to shake at will for 3 weeks and it will be ready to strain and use. After a week I took a little taste and it was nasty.I continued to follow the simple directions and shook the jar whenever I walked past it and did not taste again till the 3 weeks were up.

Look at this gorgeous cruet of blueberry vinegar. And the taste is fabulous!! As with everything in life, patience is an important part of the process. Good things come to those who wait.Whoever said that was right.

I'm still making my bread every week. A slice of this with the salad and a cup of soup fits the bill for a perfect lunch. Hubby is at the 30lbs lost level so I think we are doing something right. I think we'll stay on this course for a bit longer. Now that I'm thinking of the garden,maybe a section on salad is in order. Do you have the garden bug yet? I bet you do.........said the hobbit

It's a Bittyful day

This is my evil look!I'm getting ready to stare down Old Man Winter. I've had enough snow!!!

The story of the shrinking hubby

Well as you all heard Jiggy got a new knee for Christmas and now he has no excuse to shed those extra pounds that he blamed on his inability to exercise.

He is feeling much better and already hard at work doing his thing. We brought all his tools and gizmos downstairs to the main hallway so he could get his groove back. No slacking in this house.
In order to help him along I am putting his progress in black and white as they say so that he knows someone is watching.

We are taking a year to accomplish this feat. No crash dieting here. It's a whole new learning curve for him and baby steps will work best. That was his usual soup bowl on the left. More of a vegetable bowl but,that 's what he had evolved to. Soup dish on the right is what we are now using. Probably a saving of about 2 1/2 cup of soup. That and half a sandwich of chicken salad on my homemade bread is what lunch consist of.

These are my favorites.Aren't they cute. Tiny little casseroles that hold just the right amount of meat or vegetables for someone who is trying to cut down.I've been cooking ahead and just re-heating in them. I put them next to an 8 ounce cup so that you could see they size. Surgery was Dec. 15th and he has been under my watchful eye,but, as with most men he is losing quickly. We don't have an official weigh in yet but,the pants are falling off and he thinks it's time to shop. The real test will be when he is free to roam in his vehicle with his buddies. Lunch meetings with his clients to discuss upcoming cases is a common excuse. For now I have to say "the man" is doing a great job of doing the right thing.

It's a Bittyful Friday

It seems I made a New Years resolution to get in better shape. I'm being forced to run up and down the stairs in order to keep my girlish figure. Is this any way to treat the one you love?

Getting ready for CHRISTMAS

Ok so I'm dragging my feet here. I wanted to do a garland out of my Christmas cards ,but, I couldn't commit to the specifics.

I realized I had about a bakers dozen of my little sweaters in various stages of completion so, I picked up these little ornaments and didn't stop till I could put them away ready to go in December.I know,I know not a big step but, I promise I'll get more creative next week. You believe me ,don't you?..........................said the hobbit

Something new at stitch and bitch

Ok ,so life is crazy in this corner of the world. What's new? Although I'm short on time, my little brain is still in gear so here we go with a new project. Do any of you have this book?

It's Larissa Brown's Knitalong. I've had it for a few years now,always planning to do one of her projects. It's just filled with ideas of things you can do as a group to make the process more fun and enjoyable. We've been getting together for 4 years now and have geared most of our knitting to making our Christmas presents. It's been great but I thought we should take it a step further. How about making something for someone we don't even know? Giving is such an important part of Christmas and wouldn't it be nice to do for someone we don't even know?

This is the project we decided on. It's called the Barn Raising Quilt and the idea is to get as many knitters from all over to make the squares and then assemble them randomly to create a quilt that can never be duplicated. I would love for everyone to make a square. Yes that means you too. The book is available from Amazon or I'm sure you could get it from the library. I would be so excited if we got enough squares to make at least one quilt.

The girls at S&B have already gotten on the band wagon and are hard at work to make this possible.

The material used is leftover fingering yarn that we used for socks. That's right! This whole project can be made using up those bits and pieces that are too small to use on another pair of socks yet too precious to throw away.

I'm hoping we can create the most colorful quilt yet. E-mail me if you have any questions. The project will be on going till about September. Remember more is better so ask your friends too. Who knows? Maybe we can get 2 quilts done.Be still my heart.............said the hobbit

It's a Bittyful Friday

Does this coat make me look fat?

What direction to take?

By now most of you have decided which direction to take for 2011. Not so easy here. This past month has been filled with new schedules,Dr.'s appointments and trying to keep things as normal as possible.I tried to keep the list small and doable so I don't get too upset if I slip between the cracks,so bear with me. What I usually needed a morning to do now takes the better part of a week.

My first goal was to update my Christmas card list,and, I got it done. I have never made an effort to send out cards, thinking it a waste of time and money but in the past few years it suddenly became clear that making the effort to let people you care about know that they are in your thoughts at this most important time of the year. Not wanting to leave anyone out I carried a box of envelopes with addresses' that I always meant to write down in a book so that I could finally get rid of that excess paper. So after 3 years of checking and double checking I finally sorted the whole mess and have a beautiful Christmas card list to work from next year. Who knows maybe I'll even try my hand at making cards this year. Goal #2 is to make a garland from the old cards.I've seen several of these and I'm hoping to get one done in the month of January.

Now for the gross stuff. This is the back of Jiggy's new knee. Talk about black and blue. He's coming along very well and has a whole new attitude about what he's doing and how he wants to get there. I'm a big part of his plan so, our big goal this year is to help him lose ***lb You see he has done less and less in the way of exercises in the past 12 years because he constantly put off having this surgery done.

Here is the front .Not so bad,right? So my little goals will have to take a back seat because this weight lose is top priority. He's got the right attitude and even though it's a lot of weight I think he can make it. We're going to take it one day at a time with Christmas 2011 being his deadline to lose about 2 lbs a week.His Doctor told him he's eating nothing wrong just too much so first thing on the list is to cut the portions in 1/2. I'll keep you posted as to his progress.

But fear not I have 2 crafty daughters who will make sure I get my share of cooking and crafting.Want to see what they're up to? This is my Christmas addict She thinks Christmas all year long and has lots of plans for us crafters this year. Maybe you'd like to join in the fun?Can't think about the holidays yet ? Head on over to #1 daughter blog and see how she makes coming home to make supper a little less stressful. Well enough news for now,I've got to get to work on that garland.............................said the hobbit

Tuesday night S&B

New year hasn't stopped the girls from getting together on Tuesday night.They seem very serious here don't they? Everyone said "don't take my picture while I'm eating " but, that's a big part of our get-together. We've decided to do some giving projects this year and the details are still being worked out. Perhaps you can join it. But,I can't tell you about it until I have all the details worked out.

Alright that's better,nothing like smiling faces to make my day. Here are 2 of my girls ready to show you their stuff.C #3 on the left and Sox queen on the right.


I wanted to show you what C3 does with her leftovers.

How's that for a colorful throw.Not sure where she got the idea but it sure looks like a fun project.

We all oohed and ahhed when she whipped these 3 hats for her daughter and her 2 best friends. They are seniors this year and she wanted to give them something that was the same but, different. What I was unable to show on the inside were the girls names. C3 Such a clever lady.

Sox queen had to make an 8 hour drive to visit family this week and came back with 3 and 1/2 socks all good to go. It's a heavier sock,much needed for our New England weather,but, the shading of soft pink and grey with off white tells me her hubby won't be trying these on any time soon. Hope to be back real soon so we can talk about that special project. Off to get all my ducks in a row ......................said the hobbit

It's a Bittyful Friday

Wow! Have you ever watched a dripping faucet? It's positively mesmerizing. Sometimes a watch for hours. What do you do to pass the time?

Here we go again!

Yes mam,It's that time of year again. Tie up loose ends, finish projects, cancel projects and start with a clean slate. Thank God for January 1st. I love being able to put things behind me and this is by far the most acceptable excuse.

Thank you to good friends for a new superwash sock yarn 40% wool45%cotton and 15% nylon from Plymouth yarn I can't wait to try this. That means new socks for me me me. A lovely Christmas cactus for my green thumb. I hope to keep it going however, Bitty ate every bloom that was on it. Looks like it will have to go on the piano where I keep things that Bitty shouldn't get at.

Our annual ornament swap brought new treasures for my tree. I enjoy getting these since I like to make my ornaments in January when there is no pressure and new ideas are floating around in my head. Don't get too excited about my organizational skills. I like and it happens don't always go hand in hand in my world.Chealsea in Florida sent the flamingo,Alpha the shimmering seashell from N.C. and from Tenn. my little jointed Christmas tree.

A garland styled kite from Texas was too cute as was this felted dove from a New Jersey housewife

A cranberry stitched ornament from Massachusetts brighten my holiday but,I have to say when the snowflake and the canada dry star arrived I had to say "wow"! You see these 2 ladies are friends and I believe co-workers here This is the first time I had someone make a recycled box with with tab closure and all. I just might have to start drinking soda again.

And talk about a useful ornament. This honey lavender soap has a luftah scrubby in it. When it's served its purpose as an ornament bring it right in the shower with you. Very clever Meryl.................said the hobbit