by Sarah

Better Late Than Never...A Contest

In the spring, I said I was going to have a FRESH SALSA RECIPE CONTEST this summer.
oops, I forgot.

So in the land of better late than never, I am still going to have it.
Here's the deal:
~~~~~
FRESH SALSA RECIPE CONTEST

I love salsa.  Homemade salsa is even better. 
Post your favorite fresh salsa recipe on your blog (and tell me in the comments), or leave the entire recipe in the comments here if you prefer.  I will choose two winners - my favorite recipe submitted, and one randomly chosen from all entries.  You may submit more than one recipe, but I will only put your name in the random drawing once.
~~~~~

Contest begins now, and ends in one Week...Thursday, September 25, 2008.
Winners announced on Friday.

What do you win?  How about a box bad sewn by me especially for you.  If you are a knitter, I will put some sort of yarn-type swag in it.  If you are not, I will put a little something else in it.   And you can even give me color preferences for the bag. 

And here's a hint, if you are choosing between a couple of recipes, and you are trying to win based on me PICKING your recipe...I really don't like bell peppers.  Hot ones are great, but bell ones I use in EXTREME moderation.

More Box Bags...

I made a few box bags last night.

And, I finished the scarf out of my own handspun.

Insomnia...

It is very rare that I cannot fall to sleep when I go to bed.  Last night was no exception.  In fact, I went to bed embarrassingly early.  I fell sound to sleep exhausted, but then woke up quite refreshed about 25 minutes later.  I was in the mood to knit something, and not just any something...something with my own hand spun.  So I wound some of my handspun into a ball and started knitting.  Three hours later, I had this:

Morning Surf Scarf.
Size 8 straight needles.
Cast on 26 stitches and decreased YO's by one loop each.

This scarf is coming out exactly as I had envisioned, and will be gifted as a christmas present.  Maybe with a handspun-handknit hat with a tiny stripe of the brown yarn if I feel like the scarf is long enough to save a couple yards back.  Currently the scarf is about 1/3 done (I have used up 1/3 of the yarn) and I couldnt get back to sleep with wanting to keep working on it last night.  =)

Rainbow Baby Surprise Sweater

So, a while ago...I spun some yarn. 
Now, finally, I am knitting it:

Here is the beginnings of another baby surprise sweater.  I blame the new Spin-Off for an actual physical NEED to cast this on.  Immediately.  With my own handspun.  It is hanging out in my purse as travel knitting, because I am enjoying it so much, I am working on it slowly.

Chestnut Hill (PA) is SO Pretty!

You deserve a blog update...

Normally, I would be going on right now about my trip this week.  The work part was productive, I ate at a couple of very yummy restaurants, and I gathered some swag with Jody, Jen and Staci on Sunday.  (See Jody's post for awesome pics of our day, as usual.)

But, I arrived home to find that the electric company had removed a tree in my front yard (which I agreed to) and it makes my house look quite naked.  So, I thought I'd show you that instead:

My house was built in 1927, and by the looks of it, this sugar maple was planted soon after.  The stump that's left is a little over 5 feet in diameter (yes, I measured).  I am sad to see the tree go, because it gave my yard a lot of character, and my house a lot of shade and protection from the wind.  (But it was dying, and dropping LARGE branches on a fairly regular basis, so it had to be done.)  RIP big tree.  I am really glad Erin made me that awesome picture of my house in felt that I have hanging in my office to remember you by.

I guess I am going to have to start thinking about some landscaping.

In the meantime, although the mornings are getting cooler, some of my flowers are still blooming:

Sock meme from Sticks and String...

I am away on business this week, so this is likely going to be it for posts until Thursday.  When I come back with, say, a camera cord, I will have some lovely pictures of my weekend exploits with Jody, my sister Jen, and my friend Staci.  In the meantime...

Jessica tagged me...so here's my meme on sock knitting.

When did you learn to knit socks? 2005

What's the first sock you ever knit? Plain old cuff down - as part of a class

Favorite sock pattern? I love so many - i will just say I prefer to knit them cuff down than toe up.

Favorite sock yarn? There are so many gorgeous handpainted varieties I love, but for standing the test of time and long wear, I will say good old trekking XXL.

Fave needle method? Addi Turbo 12 inch Circular - size US 2.

Favorite sock needles? See above

Who do you knit socks for? My family.  Myself...All winter I wear only handknit socks except when I go to the gym or hiking.

How many pairs have you knitted to date? Over 50.  I am not sure I have a pic of every pair I have knit.

What's on your sock knitting to-do list? Finish up knitting the various 4 or 5 socks I have on the needles.

What kind of socks do you like to knit -
Striped? sure
Colorwork? I love how fast colorwork seems to go.
Plain stockinette? The best for knitting in the dark - and while on the phone.
Cabled? sure
Lace? sure
Anklets? yep, mostly I knit myself long anklets - only about 3 or 4 inches before the heel.
Knee socks? Not yet, but I may someday.
Solid colors? sure
Bright & crazy? on request
Faux-Fair Isle? not really - I prefer to make my own fair isle knitting - not use that preprinted yarn (although I did make a pair to begin with).

Tag a few sock knitters here - if you knit socks and feel like doing a meme, you are tagged.  Tell me in the comments so I can go read yours.

I REALLY made this...

I interrupt your regularly scheduled Friday afternoon to present my latest project...

When I say I made this, I REALLY mean it.
This is two different skeins of my own handspun yarn.
I spun it.
Then I wove it.
And I learned something important from the experience...
I was thinking of making a really skinny (like 5 inch wide) Dr. Who length scarf.  Then I sort of let myself be talked into making it fatter - and it turned out WAY shorter than I intended. So I learned to go with my gut when designing a project.

BUT...its STILL awesome!!  Go me!  You can't see in the pictures (I will try to get better ones this weekend), but one of these yarns is spun from a loop batt...so this short-fat scarf is SPARKLY!!!

I wove!

There are a lot of things wrong with this project, but in the end, it is still pretty.

It is a table runner.  I just took it off the loom last night, so it hasn't been washed and finished.  Here's a close-up:

I also blocked the shawl,and plan to take a modeled picture this weekend, but here is is all folded up:

Have a great weekend!

Tea update...

I continue to be really into drinking hot tea. 

I already finished that entire tin of the Get Gorgeous tea I mentioned from the Republic of Tea last week.  As a bonus, I realized I could reuse the tin for some of my loose teas, and happily started exploring some of my tea stash to see which one will fit best in the leftover tin. 

I enjoy herbal, fruity, non-caffeinated teas, particularly those designated as rooibos.  The past couple of days, I have been drinking apple/lemon/pomegranate rooibos tea from Teavana.  Another of my favorites from there is a 50/50 blend of the Rooibos Tropica with either the Plum Harvest or  Strawberry Kiwi herbal.  YUM.  Next time I am in an area with a Teavana (sadly, there isn't one in RI), I will be replenishing my plum harvest supply, as it is running really low.

In the last couple of days, I also managed to finish knitting this while sipping on my tea:

Now I just have to block it, and a birthday gift for my grandma will have been completed in the nick of time!