How to kill a Vampire within ten paces

So, everyone requests my hummus recipe. I swear people must get tired of me making it, but they claim otherwise. I happen to like it very garlicky (hence the title of the post) but you can tone it down by using less fresh garlic or by using roasted garlic. Nice thing about hummus is that you can change it up just by adding a little something extra. Roasted red peppers, black olives, pesto, parmesan cheese, etc can all be added to make a spectacular and special hummus. Experiment and see what you come up with.

Terra's Basic Hummus

3-6 garlic cloves
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp plain yogurt
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tsp cumin (start out with 1 and add till you like it)
Salt to taste
cayenne optional (for a little extra kick)

In a food processor, mince garlic until fine. Add olive oil and yogurt, pulse till smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and blend till desired consistency. Add salt to taste. Cayenne can be added last if desired. Any extra ingredients can be added now or to left over hummus. Enjoy with pita and crudites, spread on sandwiches or wraps or as a condiment with various middle eastern dishes.

Now in the knitting world, I am almost finished with my spiral shawl. Only 5 more border rows and the bind off left. This thing is really sucking the life out of me. 600+ stitches for 1 freakin row is so crazy. Makes me just want to run screaming into the hills (this is FL and we don't have any hills so maybe run into the swamp instead). Lets just say I will be glad when it is done.

Keelin's Debbie Bliss sweater is coming along. Almost done with the last front panel and all that will be left are the sleeves. It is a nice fun and simple project that is a nice getaway from the soul sucking shawl. My traveling project are the jaywalker socks from Grumperina. Also a fun project. I am knitting them from the Socks that Rock yarn that lovely Ruthee gave to me. I need to start a sweater for Draken but that must wait till we are moved. Will be packing up my remaining yarn in a few days just to make sure it is safe and does not get left till the last minute :)

So, does someone want to come pack my house up for me? I am getting tired of wandering from room to room packing as I see something I can live without for the next month. The half packed, open boxes are driving me nutty. Maybe I should just pack all this crap up and live minimally for the next 26 days (yeah right).

Two posts in one day!

Amazing I know. Just thought I would share some pics of the town my clan will be moving to. Maybe that way my friends will not be so bitter if they see what a beautiful place I will be living in (yeah right). As I was searching out pics of Mendocino County I came across this great site that had some very lovely pics. Nice little commentary on there about driving through the redwoods. Also, you can visit the townof Willits website. Some nice info about the place if you want to look around. Maybe if I can get you all interested you will want to visit me :)

We have less than a month before our big moving day. It seems like that is still alot of time but the days seems to be going by fast. Only four more Thursdays with my Knitting Bitches. It will be very sad for me on that last night since I have come to cherish each and everyone of those ladies (and Robbie too). I know that I will never be able to find such a wonderful group of friends anywhere else.

Chicken, Chicken, whose got the Chicken...

So, I am being harrassed by Ruthee to give you all my Curry Chicken Salad recipe. I don't really have super precise amounts on it since I like to change it around depending on who I am serving it to. It is a recipe I adapted from an issue of Cooking Light (I don't remember what month or year right now). You can use left over chicken or bake some breasts up just for this purpose.

Curry Chicken Salad

2 large Chicken breasts, cubed (approx 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 c apple, diced (peeled if wanted, I prefer skin on)
1/2 c seedles grapes, halved
1 to 2 tbsp raisins (I like the golden variety)
2 tbsp nuts or seeds (I like sliced almonds, but pecans and walnuts are good. Sunflower seeds are also a nice change)
3 tbsp Mayo
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp honey
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl combine first 5 ingredients. In a seperate bowl combine Mayo, curry, honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add more curry or salt and pepper till satisfied. Pour dressing over chicken mixture until well coated. Chill for an hour before serving. I prefer to let it sit over night so that the flavors blend better.

Serve it wrap style or in a pita with spring mix. Also great served with crackers, pita chips or crostini as an appetizer.

More recipes coming soon. Will leave you all with a picture of my cheeky child :)
(Yes, he is wearing his shorts on his head and his shirt like they are pants. The scary thing is that he came out of his room like this himself without any encouragement from his father or myself. Tells you a little about what kinda family we are, lol)

Baby Knits

I am starting on my second sweater for Keelin. First one I finished knitting but never got around to making it up. Of course she is too big for it now. So I decided to start on a second one that will fit her in time for the beginning of cold in N CA.

This is the sweater I am making in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. I love this yarn and since this is a Debbie Bliss pattern, why not use the yarn called for.

The pattern is from this book (which I plan on making the cover pattern for the babe too). Great little book with lots of cute stuff, including a little stuffed rabbit which I plan on being my next project. I have finished the back and both the pocket linings and am starting the fronts (pics later).

Still trying to finish the SSS but it is sucking the life out of me to work on it. I have 8 more rows before I start on the border so the end is near. I want to have it finished before we leave since it was a group project. I know it will look great when it is done, just have to keep telling myself that.

KB was great tonite but I missed my Ruthee. Her beautiful daughter Grace was sick so she could not attend. Hopefully next week.

Promises

So, I have not blogged in quite some time I see. Been a little busy lately, what with having a baby and all. Things are somewhat settling down on that front only to be replaced by other bigger things. I am in the process of breaking my best friend Ruthee's heart by moving away from her. We (Kevin and I) made a decision to move back to Kevin's native Northern CA when we were told by our landlords that they were selling our house. I am sad to leave all of my Knitting Bitches and all my good friends here, but in the long run it will be much better for the family.

Well, I have been told that I must blog more frequently by my previously mentioned heart-broken friend. So, I have promised and I shall try my best to keep it. Stay tuned in the future for pics of our new place, new knitting and maybe a little spinning (if I get my birthday wish *hint, hint* Kev). And I leave you with a pic of my new little one.

~*Terra*~

On the needles

So, I promised I would post pics of my works in progress.

This is a baby blanket for my soon to be here little one. The pattern is the Cabled blanket from Knitting for Baby by Melanie Falick. I am using some very soft 50/50 Merino and Cotton I got when I was in CA last October from Nancy Finn's Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks. I know it may not be a super practical fiber choice for a blanket that may get spit up on but it is a little more practical than the 100% cashmere pashmina yarn that was called for in the pattern. I mean who is going to spend $300 on yarn for a baby blanket. Not I.

This is a close up of the pattern. I am enjoying knitting it even though it is a little tedious. I will probably wait until my Olympics project is done to finish it up.

The other project I am working on for my little babe is the Ribbon-edged Cardigan from Special Knits by Debbie Bliss. I enjoyed the knitting but am not liking the making up. My first time sewing up seams on the shoulders and it is looking a little wonky to me.

You can't really tell from the above picture, but I am pretty sure the seam is not supposed to be so bulky. From what I am reading it is supposed to just look like one piece of fabric. Oh well, I dunno. Guess I will just give an evil look to anyone who mentions the funky shoulders.

Last project (and one that I am so liking) is the Super Spiral Shawl.

This is as spread out as I could get it, but there is still about 4 in of knitting under on all sides. Aside from the circular cast-on, this has been a very easy and quick project. Have not worked on it a whole bunch but I am already at 43 st in each section (approx 344 st). I will probably have to go up to about 80 to 100 st in each section till I have the shawl big enough to my liking. I am using a US 8 because I wanted the fabric to be knit a little more tight. The yarn for the SSS and the cardie came from Knit Picks. The shawl was the Shadow laceweight yarn in Campfire and the Cardie is the Shine dk yarn in Apricot. I was not thrilled with the Apricot color (it has grown on me though) but the super softness of the Shine yarn more than made up for it. I highly recommend and I will be ordering alot more of it in the future.

I want to get a couple of these projects completed before I cast on for anything else (not counting the olympic cast on). I have a sweater for Draken and a lace cardigan for myself I want to do, plus I still need to finish the 2nd sock for Kevin . I am also looking for a good project to bring with me to the hospital. Something small and not too difficult. It will probably be socks, but I want something new so it will not be Kevin's sock (too bad for him). I still have a little time to find the right thing though.

Swatch, swatch, who's got the swatch?

Well, I do!

I honestly cannot believe that I have swatched something. First time in the history of my knitting career. Guess there has to be a first time for everything.

This little lovely is the swatch for my Knitting Olympics project.

I have decided that in 16 days I will finish a sweater for my darling husband. Now it is no Dale like, but hey it is a man sized sweater and for me that is something. I decided on a pretty straight forward pattern, knit in the round, all one color. Should be do able. May have to have a little extra TV time thrown in for Draken, but hey, a couple extra tv shows won't rot my childs brain too much.

This pattern is from the very cool AntiCraft site. It is the Curse Your Boyfriend sweater. Not that I in any want to curse my husband (although sometimes I really do think about it), I just thought it would look good on Kevin.

I will be making it out of Knit Pick's Wool of the Andes in color Mist. Kevin picked it out himself. I would have chosen a green, but again I am not the one who will be wearing it. Cost for the project is about $30 and that is not bad for a 100% wool sweater. Gotta love Knit Picks!

I have also chosen my Knitting Olympics National Team. Team Wales will be the country I will be supporting. Gotta love their button!

As for all my other projects, I was able to finish the knitting on my little one's cardi but the making up is driving me crazy. Will save it for when I feel in the mood for some sewing. The Super Spiral Shawl (SSS) is coming along nicely. Will again post pics a little later.

The Nesting pays off...

So, I know it was a few days ago, but we finally recieved our new couch!!!! I am pretty excited since we have been living like we live in a dorm with a futon on the floor. Rest of the house put together nicely, but I just could not make myself invest in a couch.

Guess all I needed was a little pregancy nesting instinct to loosen the purse strings. And I sure am glad we did.

See, Thalia (my cat) loves the couch. Helps her reach the window she could never get to because she is gravity challenged (she weighs too darn much).

Draken approves, as you can tell by the goofy grin on his face. I am just glad that we decided to get the stain resitent model since my wonderful son decided later that same afternoon that the couch would be a perfect place to wipe his yogurt covered face on. His logic is that it is cloth like a towel so it is ok. Needless to say Mommy did not agree.

In this case nesting made a positive impact on the household. My garage would disagree with with anything positve coming from my crazy cleaning spree. Mr. Garage kinda gets stuck with all the crap I can not find a place for. Maybe if Kevin gets his own nesting vibe (lol, yeah right) the garage will then have its turn at being clean.

I do not really see this happening though.

Next thing, bookshelves!!!!

On the knitting front, I am coming along with my little ones cardigan (only need to knit one sleeve and then make it all up) and I started and am progressing on my Spiral shawl for our KB's KAL. Getting psyched about the Knitting Olympics and the sweater I plan on accomplishing in the 16 day time period (crazy, I know). I think I may have the lovely Dana (fellow Knitting Bitch) join me in the insanity. Yay, I will not be alone. Doubt all you want, but we shall succeed!

Swimming in Yarn

So, the little group I knit with every week (Knitting Bitches) are planning on doing a Knit-along lace project from Meg Swansen's A Gathering Of Lace.

This is the lovely Super-Spiral Shawl which most of us are going to attempt, many risking our sanity and having the fun of using some very colorful language in the process. I am looking forward to it, but I am sure it will take me forever to finish. If my little girl makes her entrance into the world around or after her due date (March 23rd) I will have plenty of time. If she decides to come earlier (as I so hope) then maybe not so much time, and project will be put on back burner.

Well, I recieved all the lovely yarn in today, and not only was it my own but most of the KB's as well. This was what I wanted to pretend was all my yarn,

when in actuallity this was my yarn.

Not a ton, but enough for a few projects.

And, as a nice gesture to all of our lovely friends, Ruthee and I plan on winding all the lovely hanks of lace yarn for everyone on Ruthee's new swift. Oh, what an exciting way to spend a Saturday :)

In the Beginning

Okies, so this is my first foray into the magical world of blogging. Apparently all the cool kids are doing it, so now it is time for the not so cool to join in (that would be me ).

So, maybe I need to tell you something interesting about myself to reel you in and hook you for more...hmm...I need a backstory. Alrighty, how about this...

As an infant, I was a self-styled Hobo Queen. I would ride the rails with my fellow hoboians, eating beans out of a can and enjoying the freedom only a locomotive can give. Living life in a crib was too static for me, I wanted to explore. So, I set out from life in suburbia and became Patches McSmacky, Queen of the Hobos!

Now, how is that for a backstory?! Not too shabby if I say so myself.

What, you're not buying it?

Well, that's my story and I'm stickin to it! Life for me now is not as exciting as those bygone days, but it sure has its surprises. I am a wife (to my un-hoboish hubby) and mother (to my almost 5 yr old hobo destined son, and soon to be mom to my little princess who is due in March).

I am also an avid knitter (ha, now I know I have hooked you!)

This blog will be filled mostly with my family, friends (and fellow knitters) and yarn. Lots and lots of wooly love!

Hope you all enjoy my zany little world :)

~*Terra*~ a.k.a. Patches McSmacky, Hobo Queen extraordinaire