Thoughts

A WIP a day…. until October?!

August 18, 2023 by amanda Leave a Comment

I run pretty much every day and I love listening to podcasts while I run. Podcasts kind of make me feel like I’m running with a friend… except I don’t have to work around anyone else’s schedule and I can just run straight out of my front door. 😛

This morning I was listening to the Pardon My Stash podcast. They were discussing the number of WIPs that each person has and whether or not they’re monogamous knitters.

First, for anyone who doesn’t know, I am NOT a monogamous knitter. Far from it, I often have 30+ WIPs at a time. I know this number realllllly stresses some people out, but it feels pretty great to me. For my first 10 or so years of knitting, I felt guilty for having so many projects, and I’d work really hard to reduce the total number. As soon as I’d get down to single digits, I’d hate it! I love variety and I love having lots of options to choose from. I also don’t particularly like casting on (although that might not seem very believable with the number of projects that I have.)

One thing that I’m learning in my 40s is to lean into the natural flow of my life/brain and not fight it so much. For one thing, fighting it never really works… the only real difference is whether my internal chatter is accepting and appreciates the way I work or if my internal chatter is telling me that I’m wrong.

OK, so back to the title: I was running and listening to the podcast and thinking about how no one on the show had nearly the number of WIPs that I do. It was interesting to hear their individual takes on everything. I love hearing how brains work and I love how fiber arts are so flexible and can be approached in so many different ways.

This afternoon, I was knitting on my couch and my beautiful pit bull, Layla, was working on a bone beside me. (BTW, Layla has at least 30+ WIPs going at any time too. There’s a reason we’re best buds.) I realized that if I photographed one WIP a day, I think I could make it until October. For some reason, this really cracked me up. I thought it might be fun to write a little more about each one and share why it’s a WIP, because there are a lot of projects that I have NO intention of finishing anytime soon. A lot of them are scrappy and the scraps just don’t exist yet. Plenty of others use funny techniques that I like working on sometimes but also don’t want to do all of the time. Some just get forgotten for a bit or make me bored and then I pick them back up later.

Today’s WIP that I’ve been focusing on is a Sockhead Hat made out of a beautiful sock blank from Gale’s Art. I let it sit in my stash for way too long. I had started to use this yarn for a pair of socks in this year’s Sock Madness, but they ended up too tight and I liked the yarn too much to waste it. I frogged the socks and decided to make a hat instead. I was actually going to make a Musselburgh Hat (my bajillionth), but my 13yo and I were heading to see Theater Camp in the movie theater earlier this week and I didn’t want to do increases in the dark. I’m pretty good at reading knits and purls by feel, so I figured the ribbed brim would be easier to work on than the crown of the Musselburgh.

Sure enough, I feel like I’m flying through this one. I mostly just worked on it in the theater and then for a little bit today. It’s fun to watch the color develop and I think it’ll make a really happy hat. It’ll probably be knit night/purse knitting for a few weeks, because I’m almost to the stockinette section and then it’s entirely mindless.

I’m going to try to photograph and talk about a WIP a day until I get through all of them. I’m not too stressed about being perfect, so I’m ok if I miss a day here or there. I really like seeing older projects from other people, because there are often really good patterns in there that I’ve forgotten about. It’s easy to get swept up in the latest-and-greatest on social media and forget about other gems that are out there. If you want to follow along, I’ll be posting them on Instagram too.

If you want to share any info about your number of WIPs or your philosophy on WIPs, I’d love to hear it! Feel free to comment, DM or post and tag me. Like I said, I think it’s fascinating to see how brains work.

Easy, healthy (and plant-based) breakfasts for families

December 4, 2018 by amanda Leave a Comment

Winter is upon us, and we’ve been craving warm, hearty breakfasts. Our mornings can be pretty busy, so I’ve found that the key for me is having a few go-to recipes that everyone in our family enjoys. Here are a few of our current favorites. I’d love to hear some of yours too!

Banana-Oat Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Banana-Oat Chocolate Chip Pancakes

OK, chocolate chip pancakes don’t sound particularly healthy, lol… but hear me out! This recipe is filled with whole grains and it happens to be vegan if you’re into that. If not, you can easily use cow’s milk in place of the plant milk. I use a cast iron griddle and they come out PERFECT. My griddle gets so much use and is so well-seasoned that I don’t even need to use any oil in it. It’s my favorite pan in the whole house.

Even though pancakes definitely take some time in the morning, I’ve found that this recipes reheats wonderfully. That means that I can make a big batch and we can eat off of them for a few days, which is pretty perfect.

Old-fashioned Oatmeal

The meal that we probably eat the most during the week is just a big ol’ pot of oatmeal. After finding out the startling numbers for how much Round Up is in our oats, I have been trying to buy ones that are organic (or at least aren’t Quaker!) I know we can’t completely avoid these environmental toxins, but I would at least rather have 10 parts-per-billion instead of 1300.

I usually make my oats very much like Sadia describes on the Pick Up Limes blog. I cook my oats either in water or whatever milk I have on hand, using twice as much liquid as oats. Then I cut up a banana or two and let it cook in the liquid with the oats. This makes the banana all caramelized and yummy. I throw in some goji berries and let them plump up while it cooks, too. Once the oats are done cooking, I add nuts/nut butter and berries to the top of each bowl.

Skillet Granola

We love granola of all sorts, but skillet granola is a special, magical thing. It is ready in just a few minutes and it is so easy to customize. It’s perfect for using up bits-and-bobs of nuts/seeds/dried fruit and it is delicious over milk/plant milk/yogurt.

Also, I know the name is “Skillet Granola”, but we make ours up in our dutch oven and it’s fabulous. There’s enough oil in the recipe so nothing really sticks and I feel like the cast iron helps it to really brown nicely.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (with or without the chocolate chips)

This recipe has been an old standby for years. Much like the pancakes, these muffins store beautifully and can be eaten over a few days. If you don’t have whole wheat flour (or just prefer white flour) you can sub it out and it works just fine. My kids REALLY love if I make them into mini muffins.

Sweet Potato/Apple Crumble

This recipe is one that I got off of a parenting board back in 2005. That seems like a lifetime ago! It’s basically a normal crumble, but it includes sweet potatoes with the apples. You dice them both up and cook for a bit, then you add the oat mixture on top and let it crisp up. I love topping mine with cashew cream and my kids are a bit obsessed with our Whip It, so they tend to put whipped cream on there.

Pinterest is always my friend

For some extra ideas, I tend to keep my food boards on Pinterest quite full. I have them separated by meal, but my breakfast one is what I use the most. I made sure that each of these recipes was pinned on there and I am always adding more.

During the summer, eggs feature much more heavily on our menu because our chickens are laying then. We don’t supplement our chickens with light, because we want their bodies to have a natural break. That means that winter is focused on lots of whole grains. If you check out my pin board, you’ll see the difference in seasons as I pin a bunch of egg recipes vs a bunch of grain ones. 😛

I’d love to hear about some of your favorites. I am always trying new things and the best way to find them is through personal recommendations!

Making my own “mystery” knitting club

December 1, 2018 by amanda 1 Comment

Oh man… it’s that time of year again. The time when I see all of the beautiful new knitting club subscriptions open up and I start to drool. 😛 It’s so fun to receive new yarns and patterns every few months and I’m just a sucker for a good subscription club.

My secret plan all year was that I’d finish my year of Cold Sheeping and then reward myself with a club (or two) to help freshen up my stash. In the past I’ve done clubs by Ysolda, Martina Behm and A Verb for Keeping Warm… and I’d honestly love to do any of them again. I was thinking that it’d be really fun to be in Sincere Sheep’s “Made Here!” club and that might be my big splurge.

But then, the responsible part of my brain took over. 😛 I started thinking about all of the amazing club projects that I still haven’t even cast on from previous years. I decided I’d gather them up and see if I have enough to make my own personal club. I’ve heard of people on Ravelry who have done something similar.

Lo and Behold! In an embarrassingly short amount of time, I gathered the yarn and patterns for 12 projects. I put each project in a bag and threw them all inside of a big bin. Now I can tell my kids to grab a project for me each month and I can work through my backlog. I figure that once I’m done with these 12, maybe I’ll sign up for a club to replenish what I’ve used.

The yarn and patterns that are ready to go are:

So, for now, the responsible part of my brain has won. The real trick will be getting through one of these projects each month. I’m looking forward to the challenge, though!

Cold Sheep Update: I haven’t bought yarn for a year!

November 26, 2018 by amanda 2 Comments

After years of following along in the Stash Knit Down group on Ravelry, I decided last November that I’d bite the bullet… I’d go “Cold Sheep” (buy no new yarn) for 1 year. It helped that my dear friend had come to the same conclusion, and we decided to make a friendly wager. The first person who bought yarn would have to buy a skein to give to the “winner”… I love competition, so it was on!

I feel like I should mention that I have a little bit of an advantage… my “stash” also includes 8 adorable, baa-ing pets that happen to make wool. This means that I have a stash that’s constantly renewing itself. I do not need to buy yarn! If I need yarn that bad, I can always spin it up. Sure, it’ll take a lot longer, but I obviously didn’t get into knitting/spinning because I need instant gratification, LOL.

3/8ths of the reason that I have no excuse for buying yarn

In this past year, I’ve completed 54 projects for a total of 17,131 yards(!!!) but my stash still has a LONG way to go. I have quite a few sweater-quantities of yarn that I want to use up, including one that I spun during Spinzilla this year. (Pictured in the top photo.)

I thought for sure that when I hit the 1-year mark, I’d be ready to go on a buying spree, but the reality is that this year has taught me that I’m really content with my stash. There are so many skeins in my stash that I love, and they’re still waiting for me to get around to them. Knitting from stash has forced me to be more creative with yarn substitutions and patterns. It has taught me that there will always be more yarn, and I don’t need to get sucked into the fear of scarcity just because I see a pretty skein. If I don’t get that one, there will be plenty of others.

This week my friend broke her streak and bought some yarn. She sent me a gorgeous skein of Must Stash Yarn as my prize. I contemplated if I wanted to end my streak too, but I still don’t feel ready. I thought the Black Friday sales would be too much to resist, but they just weren’t that tempting.

I don’t know how much longer I’ll go, but I’d like to get my yarn to at least fit in my small set of IKEA cubes. With the fact that I keep making yarn from my wool, I don’t know if that’s even an attainable goal. I might need to start selling the stuff that I spin (or other yarn from stash) in order to make that happen. The good news is that my stash is 17K yards lighter than it was this time last year, and I feel really happy about reducing my consumerism at least a little.

If you’re thinking about Cold Sheeping in the new year, I say “Go for it!” You might realize that it’s not for you, but I bet you’ll learn some new things about yourself during the process. I definitely did!

This week in our kitchen

November 23, 2018 by amanda Leave a Comment

I always love to see what’s happening in other people’s kitchens. Here’s our week of dinners for a (mostly) plant-based family.

Monday – Jackfruit burrito bowls from Whole Foods (I tried these during Knit Night. You can buy them from the hot bar at our local Whole Foods.)

Tuesday – Coconut Chickpea Curry with rice, homemade tortillas and a salad

Wednesday – Veggie fajitas (like this recipe, but with a bit of soy sauce and maple syrup mixed in, which took it over the top)

Thursday – West African Tofu in Peanut Sauce

Friday – A basic veggie stir-fry, kind of like this one

Saturday – Farro and Chickpeas in Honey Lemon Butter

What have you been making recently?

Farm life and loss

October 1, 2018 by amanda Leave a Comment

In our 4 years at the farm, we’ve definitely experienced loss, but today we’re experiencing something a little different. I just sold one of our animals for the first time, and I’m surprised by how similar the emotions are.

When we moved to the farm, we knew there would be losses. We inherited a flock of 15 chickens with the house, and they had dealt with recent deaths due to predators and poor health. On top of that, they had too many roosters for the flock size, so one of the first things that I googled was “what to do with extra roosters”. When I scrolled down and saw an article about a “killing cone”, Joe and looked at each other, wide-eyed, like “OMG. What are we getting ourselves into?!”

Once we moved in, we greatly reinforced the existing coop, bought a new (far more secure) coop, and then eventually built the giant coop/run that we now have. We managed to give away the spare rooster to the neighbors, so no killing cone was needed. Still, there have been deaths. Most were due to old age, but we’ve had a few losses due to predators too, and each one has been very sad.

Since we’ve dealt with these kinds of losses, I didn’t expect such sad feelings when I sold one of our llamas today. The reality is that we only wanted 1 llama for guarding, but we ended up with 2 because the llama that we loved also had a nursling, and it seemed wrong to separate them. Now that nursling is bigger than her mama, 3 years old, and ready to move to a flock of her own. Still, it’s hard!

I’m a member of a Shetland sheep Facebook group, and the topic recently came up about selling your sheep. I felt a bit relieved to see so many responses about feeling really sad when they go, even when it’s the right decision. One member said that they just try to remember how happy they were when they first brought home their sheep, and they remind themselves that they’re giving that feeling to someone else.

And on that note, the silver lining…. With one less (GIANT) grass eater, we’re starting to make room for lambing again next Spring. We have a few sheep to sell (that’s going to be even more sad!) but then we’ll be ready to welcome new life as well. (Bouncing baby lambs!) I guess this is just how the world works, isn’t it? There is death and loss… and there is new life and fresh beginnings. <3