It's a Bittyful Friday

Her I am looking over my feefdom.Don't I look regal?

The Bitty sock

It seems like just yesterday I said I'd show you my bitty socks. Of course Bitty thinks they are hers and she was intent on getting into the photo opt.

I do a lot of my projects with fingering yarn and I always have a little yarn left over. These are done using #2 needles and are simply knit in stockinette with a rib cuff. The yarn is thin enough to fit in a shoe or boot without being too tight for comfort.

I have a gram scale so I weigh the yarn and try not to use more than half of it. That way I can make 2 socks exactly alike. Here in N.E. they are the perfect thing to wear over your tights to keep you warm. If you dare venture outside.............................said the hobbit

Road trip with the girls

Well, we finally did it!My 2 daughters and I have tried to plan an all girl get-together for a while now and two weeks ago we finally pulled it off.

Boston is only an hour and half away but, the traffic can be intimidating ,not to mention the ridiculous parking fees. Our plan was to avoid all that by driving to Sarah's ,parking at her apartment and taking public transportation in. Here she is planning our strategy to ride the bus to the famous Sully Square Station.

While she was concentrating on that,sister Renee discovered her stash of fabric and was intent on taking a few samples to go. I wonder if she managed to tuck a square or two away?

After catching the bus, we rode the Orange line into town. Renee was in entertainment mode and immediately started hamming it up for the camera,which set the mood for lots of laughs and giggles. A most difficult decision was "Where do we go?What do we see?"Boston has so much to offer and we have so many varied interest that this was a major decision.

It was decided we should go to a yarn shop on Newbury street,which is the Rodeo drive of Boston. The shop is small,but,filled with hand dyed yarns of high quality.

Mmm looks like Sarah knew what she wanted. A chunky hand dyed yarn requiring #15 knitting needles. But, that was only the beginning of the day. I'll be back to tell you the rest of the story.............................said the hobbit

It's a Bittyful day

Sunny today but soooooo cold. Think I'll just sleep it off.

It's a Bittyful Friday

Aw I think I ate too much!

Mmm Time for apple sauce

Wow! We are really into fall. The air is crisp,the days are definitely shorter and pumpkinAs soon as I finish this post I think I'll be looking for my gloves.

I'm sure everyone has a recipe for applesauce but for those of you just starting out in the kitchen,this one is pretty easy. Here what I think makes it easier.

A quick rinse and then,with a paring knife,I take out the core and the blossom end.

Next I cut the apple in half and using a melon ball er or something similar I take out the core.I've used the melon tool to death . This is an olive spoon that allows you to serve 1 olive and lets the juice pass through a cutout in the bottom. That doesn't happen in our house.If you want an olive just reach in the jar and get it. The plus with this tool is that it is constructed in one piece and only cost a few 2-3 dollars and save me a heap of time.

See how clean this is after just one twist of the wrist. Now I peel the apples and put everything in a pot.

Now I put all ingredients in a pot.

We have 3-4 lbs of apples

4 strips of lemon peel

juice of that lemon

3 inches of cinnamon stick (1/2 teaspoon powdered)

1/4 cup brown sugar

up to 1/4 cup white sugar (optional)

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

Just let this simmer stirring occasionally. Might take 25 minutes. Just standing by the stove and having that wonderful aroma wafting up is warming.

When it's done it will look like this. Remove the peel and the cinnamon stick if used. If you like it really smooth you can put it through a blender or a food mill. Most of the lumps that you see are a leftover peach that I threw in. Don't be shy! If you have any fruit hanging around that you think is being ignored just toss it in. Pears, raisins, cranberries raspberries will all be a plus to this. Pile it on a toast or put a dollop on your oatmeal or yogurt.

It's all good...............said the hobbit

It's a Bittyful day

A bubble bath sounds like a great idea........I wonder if I can fit in the tub?

Storing herbs

This is way too simple. This year I started growing herbs again. Why would anyone stop,you say? Well a few years back I was ill and couldn't work in my garden or yard. I'm all better now but, so many of the things I had planted are buried in a jungle of weeds.

So this week I harvested my rosemary and my oregano. Should I dry it?Freeze,maybe? I think this is even better. I recently discovered Amy Cotler Although she is just 1 state over from me, a 4 hour drive separates us,so any plans to have a face to face will have to wait till spring She was brought to my attention by Sarah my youngest who is always recommending a new locavore guru for me to check out.. ok back to so simple.

How simple is this! Clean and dry your herbs.

Cover with kosher salt.

Place in a sealed container and mark for future use. Don't forget to mark it. This is a mistake I do repeatedly and I am trying to break the habit. Lesson learnt when I tried to blend diced chicken in my Mango rum slushies. Yes I was able to save the slushy,but it was a little embarrassing. A real plus to doing this is the salt takes on the flavor of the herb. This will be great for my little soup business. I can add flavor without having to fish out a bunch of herbs. The salt might even make a nice gift for a friend around the holidays, or maybe a stocking stuffer? cute little jar of flavored salt. I'm all over it..........................said the hobbit

Streching the dollars

I'm always looking for ways to save. I can usually come up with so many that I often have to put most of them on hold till another day.Sometimes another year!! After all we all know that time is money and when trying to go down a new path we often don't have the time or the money to follow through. Well on my quest for a different path I now have the time to do things that will save me the money to do the things I want. Are you still with me?? I am getting dizzy just trying to follow my train of thought.
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This sock darning egg is something I begged my friend Cynthiaaaa to make for me. When she gave it to me I was thrilled and couldn't wait to try it.I spent about 2 months picking it up and stroking the wood grain. It was great to have on hand when I was stressing or thinking up new paths to go down. With more time on my hands lately I am determined to at least try some of the quirky ideas that I come up with.

Some of the first socks I made were these heavy boot socks. They were great for outdoor playing and skiing ,but ,those things are in the past for me and the socks have taken on the duty of adult booties. That's right ! Winter time I have a pair of these on at all times, unless of course I'm leaving the house.Then I put on my outdoor bitty booties.( I'll show you those later).So I took out my new toy and proceeded to fix my booties. I no longer have this yarn on hand so my repairs are visible to the eye,but, only if I have my feet up on the ottoman.

First repair was a little sketchy.That would be the one on the heel.Then I realized if I turn the sock inside out it makes for a better finish.

So, a little time saved me the cost of more yarn to replace my booties, not to mention the time I needed to knit those babies up.

I have to say I felt pretty good about the "hole" thing...............said the hobbit

It's a Bittyful Friday

I've canned my last tomato! I think I need a pedicure.