All my Fall into Autumn Goodies!

O.k., here it is, my Fall into Autumn swap package!
Here we have: the keychain sock blocker with sock pattern!!!, Halloween stickers, a cute little lion clip, a Hebert's Mokanola chocolate bar (dark chocolate with java drops and granola - yummy, I'm eating it right now), and that gorgeous yarn! It is Rowan Summer Tweed and I have been wanting to try it. It's 70% silk, 30% cotton and the pink has beautiful tweedy bits of yellow and purple. ;-)

And here, the lovely dishcloth Jenna made me (I haven't tried this kind of pattern yet so I am very impressed by the round kind of dishcloth!), a pretty fall kitchen towel, a shiny flower embroidered purse (soon to star in my knitting bag), and two yummy smelling soaps - Canus Goat's Milk Soap with Marigold Oil (saw this at Rhinebeck but didn't treat myself to any!) and Pre de Provence Exotique.

Thanks again, Jenna, I've enjoyed getting the secret swapper messages from you and love my package.

Fall into Autumn package!!

Just a quick note to say that I got my wonderful Fall into Autumn package today! I love everything and I will be posting photos and info Saturday night. :-D And! See that link to swapdex over there? The Jenna of Swapdex was my secret swapper! :-) I really appreciate the work you put into swapdex, Jenna, so it is easy to find swaps all in one spot. O.k. more swap info tomorrow, I must go to bed!

Fall into Autumn post of the week

Thanks for the reminder, secret pal!

This week's topic of the week for the Fall into Autumn swap is:
Now that it is getting cooler here, it makes me think of apple picking and hay rides. Are you the type that likes to go to participate in all the fall festivities like apple picking, pumpkins, decorating for the fall, hay rides, baking fall goodies, etc. or do you just sit and count the days till Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hanukkah?

Oh yes, I like to participate in the fall festivities! Last week we (me, Trevor, my sister and BIL) all went apple and pumpkin picking. And we had the wonderful fall treat of apple cider donuts, of course. mmm (I've already mentioned my love of cider and shown some of our halloween decorations.) So far I've made one batch of applesauce and one of apple cheddar turnovers. I will be making another batch of applesauce and probably a pie. I made the first pumpkin pie of the season a few weeks ago, and I will be making some of my favorite pumpkin chocolate chip cookies sometime soon.

Fall into Autumn

Yay, my Fall into Autumn swap pal has received her package! I had fun emailing with Katie throughout the swap and we've got each other friended on Ravelry so we can keep up with projects etc.! :-) Her daughter is a big cutie so I had to include a little something for her too and it turned out to be perfect timing for stampers. It's funny how that works out sometimes.

Speaking of Autumn, we put up halloween and fall decorations last night. Here's a nifty one of our front porch window decorations (I love these things - we had ghosts last year then this year we found cats too) O.k., one more. I love these giant paper lanterns!



On the knitting front... Last week I started a shawl with the misguided idea that I might finish it to wear at Rhinebeck. Yesterday I realized that Rhinebeck is only two weeks away! Yeah, that's just not going to happen. So I set that aside for a bit to work on something more "seasonably" appropriate (post to come). Speaking of Rhinebeck, anybody else going this year? I'll be with family at least part of the time but they are all muggles (not a knitter among them!), so I expect to be left in the dust when they tire of my yarn browsing. The plan isn't set yet as to when we'll be there, I'm trying to convince the husband to camp out so I can go both days (book signings by tons of people and a Yarn Harlot talk on Sunday!) but as of yet he doesn't really even want to go at all. sigh.

Fall into Autumn post of the week

This week's posting theme from the "Fall into Autumn" swap...

Are there any recipes you especially enjoy having in the Fall? Any foods that are seasonal that you especially enjoy? Feel free to share recipes with us too!

I do a lot of crockpot cooking in the Fall and Winter... also soups and hearty things in general.

This is one of my favorite soup recipes, a variation on a recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker

Pesto Minestrone
1/4 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and cut up
1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 regular or 2 small potatoes, diced (helps to precook partly by
microwaving for a few minutes after cutting up)
1/2 medium/1 small zucchini, diced
1/2 medium/1 small yellow squash, diced
optional: diced celery, carrot, onion (in recipe, I include each only depending on what I have each time)
at least 6 cups vegetable broth (3 cans) (that's all that will fit in my crock pot. I start with that then add another can or so after some of the soup is eaten and it is very thick and needs more broth)
Cook 7-8 hours in crockpot (6 quart size needed for this quantity) on low or cook on stove until tender
add your favoirte cooked pasta before serving, or add 1 cup of the tiny stars (my favorite)
(pastina?) the last half hour or so of cooking the soup and they will cook quickly
When soup is ready, stir in approx 1/4 cup of prepared pesto and serve with yummy bread!

And this, is another of my favorite recipes. This one is based on a recipe from Boca Foods

Barbecue Beans
(can be done in a crockpot or on top of the stove)
4 15 oz cans of your choice of beans, rinsed and drained (recipe calls
for butter, pinto, black, and white but I've used any sort of
combination of what I had/liked - I don't like black so I never use those)
1 12 oz fake burger (or other size equivalent to 1 pound burger) or, you meat eaters can use real burger, I suppose ;-)
1 cup chopped onion (I don't use)
1 bottle bbq sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's is our favorite)
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

Bring all to a boil on med high heat; reduce heat to med low, cover, simmer 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove lid and simmer another 5 minutes. Enjoy! Good with cornbread, is also good served right over a piece of cornbread or a biscuit.

Fall into Autumn Theme of the Week

This week's question/theme for the Fall into Autumn swap is...

Autumn has now officially begun here in the States!! What is your favorite thing about Autumn/Fall? Why?

My favorite thing about Fall is apple cider. I love the stuff! It is my beverage of choice from September to January. I like it cold or hot, plain or with spices. I have a crockpot of hot cider going at each get-together of the season. yum! I also like leaves, pumpkin desserts, and halloween decorations. :-)

When you wish...

I had a request from my Fall into Autumn swapper to share my knitting related Christmas gift wishlist that I mentioned the other day. So here it is!

• Cascade fixation sock yarn
  
• Crystal Palace Maizy sock yarn
• keychain mini sock blocker
  
• knit car sticker http://www.cafepress.com/knitty.22561366
• Red sockmonkey sock knitting bag from here: http://www.yarntraveler.com/knitting-bags/
• a tie dye kit (any kind appropriate for cotton except RIT)
  
• sock blockers size large
  
• Knit Picks Harmony wood double point needles sizes 1, 3, 4, 5, & 7
  
• Wood or bamboo straight needles - size #8 9 or 10" long
  
• Knit Picks Harmony wood circular needles sizes 6 & 8 - 16" long
  
• Knit Picks Options cables sizes 24", 32", 40"
  
• Knit Picks Harmony wood tips 5, 8, 17

Yarn changing with the seasons?

Just a quick post as I don't have any of my photos with me at the moment. (not that I'm posting from work. That's not what I meant at all. cough.)

The Fall into Autumn Swap hostesses are posting a question/topic of the week. Posting an answer to the question gets you entered into a contest so here goes!

"Now that in some geographic locations the weather is starting to turn cooler, do you change the type of yarn(s) you knit/crochet with? If so, what do you now knit/crochet with instead and why? If not, why do you not switch and what do you knit/crochet with?"

I don't change the types of yarn I knit with as it gets cooler. Since I don't work with wool it doesn't make much difference to me! I'm using cotton, bamboo, silk, etc. no matter the temperature. My projects might change - I don't really feel like making a scarf in the summer when it seems it will be eternity until I can wear it again.

As for what I'm knitting right now - that would be things from my big list of Christmas gifts to knit. So: socks, Fetching gloves, mini socks, dishcloths, and scrubby washcloths will be all you'll be seeing for awhile. After I'm done with that stuff, I really want to start a shawl using the silk my No Sheep for You pal hand dyed for me.

Fall Into Autumn Questionnaire

I just joined this swap! So here are my questionnaire answers for my future swap-ee:

1. Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been doing it?
Both, but I prefer knitting at this point. I have been crocheting for two years and knitting for four months.

2. Have you made dishcloths before? Do you use them yourself, give them as gifts, or both?
Yes. Both.

3. What's your favorite cotton to make cloths from? What cotton would you like to try that you haven't before ?
Any cotton really! I frequently use Sugar 'n Cream or Peaches 'n Cream. Sometimes I make decadent ones using Blue Sky Cotton.

4. If you knit, do you prefer circular or straight needles? For all, do you prefer wooden, metal, or plastic needles?
Usually straight but I use circular some too. Wooden/bamboo is my favorite, plastic is o.k., I am horrible with metal needles. The stitches just jump off!

5. What are your favorite colors? Any colors you don't like much?
Pink is a favorite. I can't think of any colors I don't like, really.

6. What do you like best about Autumn?
Going apple picking, pumpkin picking and carving, halloween decorations, baking, cool but not too cold weather, leaves changing...

7. Pies: Pumpkin? Apple? Pecan? All of em? or No Thanks!
Apple - yes Pumpkin - yes Pecan - no thanks!

8. When you were a kid, were you the one who couldn't wait to get started with school , or the one who overslept on the 1st day?
Hmm. I think I was excited about school for the first day (but still didn't want summer to end) then didn't like it after that.

9. Do you celebrate Halloween? (The real key here guys is especially knowing if you have an aversion to the holiday or little goodies/decorations associated with it, given the timeframe of the swap)
yes

10. If you had to choose just 3 edible 'goodies' to eat for a full year, what 3 would you choose?
chocolate. Just chocolate. Of any kind unless nuts are involved. ;-) Also, fruit, and... more chocolate I guess.

11. Do you have any pets? Kids? Husbands who seem like kids? ;)
Yes (two cats); No; You could say that ;-)

12. If you were to describe a particular yarn that shares traits of your personality, what would it be and why?
Pass? I'm just not good at that sort of thing. I don't know what kind of animal or tree I'd be either.

13. Do you use your cloths mostly for dishcloths, or as facecloths?
dishcloths

14. Favorite Fall Holiday: Halloween or Thanksgiving and why? (Feel free to share another fall memory if you do not celebrate either of these holidays)
Probably Halloween for the fun and the fun decorations. Although Thanksgiving used to be a favorite when I was doing the cooking and spending the day with my family.

15. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should know about?
Wool! That's it really. I'm good with other animal fibers like alpaca. Not allergic to any foods etc.