News from the Nest, October 11
Good Morning!
Welcome to the new week! It’s going to be a great one, I just know it. And Happy Thanksgiving to our friends in Canada!
Terry and I have designated this week as our Fall ‘Week of Work’. We try to do one of these weeks each season to tackle the little nagging home-maintenance chores that never seem to get done on the weekends.
This week, the big projects are tackling our attic and garage, in addition to some yard maintenance. Our attic is a hot mess…we were storing the furniture and household items for both our children, but we haven’t had the chance to go back and organize now that their stuff is gone. We’ve been waiting for the cooler fall weather to jump in and do it, and now we have no excuse. I’m actually really excited to dive into the attic! But, if you don’t hear from me next week, send out the search dogs!
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- We are going to go over this list of questions to ask when decluttering to keep ourselves focused and productive and this Declutter the Attic checklist. I need to put it on my to-do list to make that list of questions into a printable!
- Speaking of attics, we had a door sitting in our attic for years until I got an idea! I now sit at that door everyday to work!
- Y’uns guys/Y’all/You need to check this dialect quiz out! It’s a little uncanny. I lived in 8 different parts of the world growing up, from the West Coast to the East Coast, from Hawaii & Guam to Newport, Rhode Island, and many places in between. I took the quiz and it picked Virginia Beach, VA, one of the cities that we lived in while I was growing up! One tip, think of your answer before looking at the options. And I’m thinking it probably only applies to continental U.S. dialects.
- Oh my heavens, I absolutely LOVE this! One of our readers, Kate, used the Chunky Stocking pattern as a jumping-off point for her own Christmas Stocking. And check it out! You could have so much fun with this huge stocking, I’m thinking it’d be a great ‘reusable’ gift wrap for a large item under the tree.
She was kind enough to write down her pattern, so let me know if you would like me to send it to you.
- Given how busy my hands/fingers are and how I really don’t like to wear gloves, I struggle with dry cuticles, knuckles, and fingertips. I formulated this moisturizing balm to help; it’s not an overall hand lotion, just a thicker balm to target the really dry areas. It is easy to make and easy to customize with essential oils and makes great gifts!
- We are slowly growing our Etsy store, this is the latest addition.
- This Amaretti Cookie was featured on a recipe site last week and received lots of well-deserved attention! 😊 It’s a great recipe to add to your cookie recipe inventory as it is quick to make and oh-so-delicious. And not for nothing, if you need to mail cookies over the holidays, it’s a great one for that as well.
- Savory Red Onion Jam may just be the missing ingredient for the world’s best hamburgers, steak sandwiches, pizzas, and appetizers. Just saying…
- This time of the year I find myself eating down the fridge and freezer in anticipation of filling it back up! This fromage fort is a great way to use up those bits & bobs of cheese that may be lingering in your freezer or refrigerator.
- How does your cast iron look? Be honest now. Get it in tip-top shape with these tips.
Well, my friends, you know where I’ll be in just a bit! I know cleaning the attic is not everyone’s idea of fun, but I’m pretty excited about it.
I hope you put yourself somewhere that you are excited to be over the next couple of days.
Wishing you a great week!
Hugs,
I would love a copy of the pattern for the giant stocking!
You got it Judy!
I have not followed her pattern yet, but very glad to share with you what she shared with me.
I cast on 66 stitches and used a super bulky #6 yarn (Lion Brand Wool Ease – thick & quick) with #13 (9 mm) circular needles. I then purled 24 rows (instead of 7) > switched to knitting and did 72 rows (instead of 24). To shape the heel I separated the 66 stitches I had into 39 on one needle and 27 on the other. I worked the 39 stitches and left the 27 untouched. I followed your pattern for the heel from there, just started with a higher number and had more rows as I worked my way down until I got to 5 stitches.
The toe shaping did take a little more adjusting >
K4, K2T, K20, SSK, K4
K30
K4, K2T, K18, SSK, K4
K28
K4, K2T, K16, SSK, K4
K26
K3, K2T, K16, SSK, K3
K24
K3, K2T, K14, SSK, K3
K22
K3, K2T, K12, SSK, K3
K20
K2, K2T, K12, SSK, K2
K18
K2, K2T, K10, SSK, K2
K16
K2, K2T, K8, SSK, K2
K14
K1, K2T, K8, SSK, K1
K12
After that I went into the Kitchener stitch, but probably could have done another row (or two) of K1, K2T, K6, SSK, K1 to get down to K10 before I bound off the toe.
Please do check back in and let me know how it goes! And I’d love to see a picture of your stocking!
Happy Knitting.
Hugs,
Lynn
The quiz was a fun quiz with no surprises for me. Born and raised in northeast PA and lived in Buffalo, NY for 28 years. These two areas came in equally strong (which was interesting, since I was often teased about some of my PA expressions in Buffalo). Thanks for this one!
And I can’t wait to try the onion jam. I have a quiche recipe that calls for caramelized (Hah! there’s another word for the quiz – do you say “caramel” or “carmel?”) onion chutney and I think this might work well. And I have all the ingredients on hand. I don’t do canning. Do you think it can be frozen?
Hi Bette Ann,
I’m so glad you enjoyed it as much as I did! It gives you a sense of how much of our language is regional, which we really don’t realize.
Oh my, that onion jam! You will love it. And I think that quiche sounds delightful. My only ‘warning’ is that the jam has balsamic vinegar in it; make sure that will work in your quiche.
And I am absolutely a care-a-mel gal, what about you? I’m surprised they didn’t have pecan on there. My kids were born and raised in the south and say PEE-CAN, which makes my skin crawl. It’s peh-cahn! How do you say it?
Yes, you can absolutely freeze the jam, but it will keep in the fridge for a month or so.
Hugs,
Lynn
That survey was fun! Proved I was most closely connected with central Mississippi which is where I lived 36 of my 59 years!
Isn’t that cool!? It was fun to do.
Have a great week, C.K.
Hugs,
Lynn
The dialect quiz was fun – shows I’m a Jersey Girl through and through (although I tend to sound like Winnie the Pooh whenI’m upset – beats cussing…)
Hi Elizabeth,
So glad you enjoyed it! I did too and share it with my whole family. But, I’m not sure what Winnie the Pooh sounds like when he’s upset!😉 I’ll ask my husband.
Have a great week, my friend.
Hugs,
Lynn
Hi Lynn!
I would love the pattern for this awesome giant stocking. 😀
It would be great fun to hang in our office at the fire station.
Thank you and Kate.
Hi Karen,
What a great idea! If you get a chance, take a picture of it hanging in your fire station!
And I think it’d be great fun to knit.
I have not followed her pattern yet, but very glad to share with you what she shared with me.
I cast on 66 stitches and used a super bulky #6 yarn (Lion Brand Wool Ease – thick & quick) with #13 (9 mm) circular needles. I then purled 24 rows (instead of 7) > switched to knitting and did 72 rows (instead of 24). To shape the heel I separated the 66 stitches I had into 39 on one needle and 27 on the other. I worked the 39 stitches and left the 27 untouched. I followed your pattern for the heel from there, just started with a higher number and had more rows as I worked my way down until I got to 5 stitches.
The toe shaping did take a little more adjusting >
K4, K2T, K20, SSK, K4
K30
K4, K2T, K18, SSK, K4
K28
K4, K2T, K16, SSK, K4
K26
K3, K2T, K16, SSK, K3
K24
K3, K2T, K14, SSK, K3
K22
K3, K2T, K12, SSK, K3
K20
K2, K2T, K12, SSK, K2
K18
K2, K2T, K10, SSK, K2
K16
K2, K2T, K8, SSK, K2
K14
K1, K2T, K8, SSK, K1
K12
After that I went into the Kitchener stitch, but probably could have done another row (or two) of K1, K2T, K6, SSK, K1 to get down to K10 before I bound off the toe.
Please do check back in and let me know how it goes! And I’d love to see a picture of your stocking!
Happy Knitting.
Hugs,
Lynn
Love your news and would love to do Kates huge stocking for my two grandsons, would you share the pattern with me please.
Thanks
Hi Angie,
Oh, your two grandsons would LOVE that stocking. I think it’d be great fun to knit.
I have not followed her pattern yet, but very glad to share with you what she shared with me.
I cast on 66 stitches and used a super bulky #6 yarn (Lion Brand Wool Ease – thick & quick) with #13 (9 mm) circular needles. I then purled 24 rows (instead of 7) > switched to knitting and did 72 rows (instead of 24). To shape the heel I separated the 66 stitches I had into 39 on one needle and 27 on the other. I worked the 39 stitches and left the 27 untouched. I followed your pattern for the heel from there, just started with a higher number and had more rows as I worked my way down until I got to 5 stitches.
The toe shaping did take a little more adjusting >
K4, K2T, K20, SSK, K4
K30
K4, K2T, K18, SSK, K4
K28
K4, K2T, K16, SSK, K4
K26
K3, K2T, K16, SSK, K3
K24
K3, K2T, K14, SSK, K3
K22
K3, K2T, K12, SSK, K3
K20
K2, K2T, K12, SSK, K2
K18
K2, K2T, K10, SSK, K2
K16
K2, K2T, K8, SSK, K2
K14
K1, K2T, K8, SSK, K1
K12
After that I went into the Kitchener stitch, but probably could have done another row (or two) of K1, K2T, K6, SSK, K1 to get down to K10 before I bound off the toe.
Please do check back in and let me know how it goes! And I’d love to see a picture of your stocking!
Happy Knitting.
Hugs,
Lynn