Rambling

I hope everyone had the best possible Mother's Day that they could have this crazy year.  I know it was pretty disappointing for many.  Mine was disappointing but it could have been much, much worse.  We had big plans this year because for the past eight Mother's Days, I was at work and didn't have a celebration.  No work for me this year!  But, at the last moment, my husband ended up working.  And his coworker's wife was hospitalized with covid-19 symptoms (thankfully her test came back negative and she just has 'regular' illness.)  And the MIL was taken out gallivanting around the state a few days before. Between the chance of the MIL being infected while she was out and not knowing what the status of the co-worker's wife was, and having a preemie newborn (seems like Hayden has been with us for ages but she's still considered a newborn) my son couldn't attend.  And I certainly understand that decision.  Don't mean to sound like I'm guilting him here.  I'm really not.

So our party was shrinking.

And then for reasons unknown, I had an allergic reaction to my towel when I stepped out of the shower and dried my face off Sunday morning.  In less than 30 seconds my face began to burn and itch and sting and it turned all red and got all....  well, it looked like I had 100's of zits popping up.  Not fully up, but coming.  You know the type.  The type you'd get when you were 16 or 17 and had a hot date for prom and you'd wake up with a red spot on your chin or the end of your nose.  And it burned!  And felt like 1,000's of bees were stinging me.  It was horrible.

So I called off the Mother's Day celebration completely and hid in my room.  Alone, with just my knitting and Kindle for company.  Honestly, it wasn't a bad way to spend the day.  Instead of having the BBQ my brother-in-law was going to bring, I ate a bag of chips for lunch.  A giant bag.  No fear of starvation here!  And my husband brought fried chicken home for dinner.  And my daughter made a cheesecake.

The cheesecake was delicious and frankly, I'm okay with skipping the Mother's Day thing this year.  It meant more cheesecake for me!

Rambling Rows Afghan

And what did I knit while hiding in my room?  Rambling Rows.  I can't stop knitting on this thing!  Before casting on, I'd set a self-imposed schedule of knitting five blocks a month.  It's only been 14 days and I'm already on block 15.  I am way ahead of schedule.  I don't get to say that very often!

Happy Mother's Day

Sorry, no recipe today.  I'm not cooking.  I hope you aren't either.  

Happy Mother's Day!

Three on Thursday - Mother's Day Gift Ideas

So, Mother's Day is coming up and I thought it might be fun to look for a few giftable patterns.  My mom is gone and the last few things I knit for the mother-in-law did not go over well so I'm off the hook, but if my daughter was a knitter, I'd love to receive one of these knitted projects.

Sneid by Vedis Jonsdottir

Sneid is a round seat cushion knit with bulky weight yarn so it should be a relatively quick to knit project and Mamma can always use a soft cushion to sit on.

Feather and Fan Bag Bag

This Feather and Fan Bag Bag by Kristen TenDyke of Caterpillar Knits would be a fun gift to receive.  I realize that plastic grocery bags aren't everybody's 'thing' anymore but I like getting them.  We use them for small trash can liners and if I'm honest, for those monthly refrigerator clean outs that really should happen more frequently but don't.

Onete Shawl by Fairmont Fibers Design Team

Well, you can't have a 'what to knit for Mother's Day' post without mentioning a shawl.  I saw the Onete on Facebook recently and immediately added it to my Must Knit list.  I'm pretty sure that if my mom was still around, she'd love the simplicity of this shawl.

Happy Mother's Day knitting!  Hope you'll join me over at Carole's for today's Three on Thursday link up.

Sunday Supper - Strawberry Soup

First,

Happy Mother's Day!

Today's Sunday Soup recipe is for chilled strawberry soup.  I won't actually be eating it though.  I have to work this afternoon and the soup has wine in it and my luck, I'd eat a big bowl full, go to work and get randomly drug tested.

Strawberry Soup, photo courtesy of myrecipes.com

I'm not normally a fan of cold soups but this one....  It's basically strawberries, yogurt and wine all blended together then chilled.  There's wine, but no cooking involved.  What's not to like about that??

Makers' Monday - Gifts for Mom

Welcome to Makers' Monday, a celebration of knitting designers, artists & creatives.

The plan was for this post to be about handmade giftables for moms who knit.  Hand lotions, cute stitch markers, project bags, knitting jewelry, notepads with sheep on them.... things like that.  That was the plan.  But the first thing I searched for was handmade soaps on Etsy and well, we now have an entire blog post on handmade soap.  Soaps that any knitting mom should love.

Knitted Soap from Tularoo Soaps

What knitter wouldn't want these adorable knitted soaps from Tularoo Soaps?  The shop offers these mini bars in sets of various sizes as well as full sized bars.  And even if you're some kind of knitting weirdo who doesn't want knitted soap, you should still take a look at the shop.  The artistry of their soaps is amazing and they offer great customer service.

Another shop with fantastic customer service is Sweet Sheep Body Shop.

Sheep Shaped Soap from Sweet Sheep Body Shop

I've purchased solid lotions from the Sweet Sheep Body Shop numerous times and have loved every single scent I've received.  The lotion absorbs into my skin quickly and leaves just a tiny hint of scent on my hands.  I don't know how they do it but my hands will smell slightly like the lotion but the scent is never transfered on to my cookies. (I really hate it when lotion makes my cookies taste funny.)  Until I started researching items for this post, I didn't even realize the shop sold soap.  Look!  It's sheep soap!  Sheep shaped soap made from goats milk.  Every knitter should have some sheep shaped soap!

But what if Mom is some kind of weird non-knitting soap lover?

Vanilla-Coconut Soap from Rustic Edge Soaps

How about this vanilla-coconut goatsmilk soap from Rustic Edge Soaps?  I'm not typically very girly so I'm fascinated with the color of this soap, plus I love the idea of the vanilla and coconut scent. I'm also in love with the shop's header.  It's goats.  Y'all know how much I love goats.

Luxury Soap from Crickett Soaps

Or, how about this soap from Crickett Soaps.  This soap is made with shea and cocoa butter and the swirls of color remind me of a hand painted yarn flat.  Knitters gotta love soap that looks like a yarn flat!

Rose and Clay soap from Sage Sweetgrass Soaps

Or how about this moisturizing rose and clay soap that promises to help with shaving issues from Sage Sweetgrass Soaps.  Not only is this soap moisturizing and helps fight those pesky shaving bumps, but it also offers holistic healing properties.

Spa Gift Set from Little Flower Soap Co.

Or how about this gift set from Little Flower Soap Co. that contains soap, lip balm and a mini bath salt?  I like how the Little Flower Soap Co. has their listing set up so that you can choose both the soap's scent and the lip balm's flavor.

Lotion Spa Set from Wild Botanicals

How could you resist an almond scented lotion gift set?  Don't like almond? That's okay because you get to choose the scent of both the lotion and soap included in this spa set from Wild Botanicals.  The set contains soap, lotion and a whipped body polish.

Organic Healing Salve from LBApothecary

And look - something besides soap!  Last but not least, I know I could use this organic healing salve from LBApothecary.  This healing balm protects against dry skin and chapped lips and helps heal minor cuts, burns and sores as well as eczema.  I would love to receive a tin of this healing salve for Mother's Day.  This salve would be a tremendous help to me at work since the air is so dry, constantly handling money sucks the moisture out of my hands (not to mention the frequent hand washing,) and I constantly give myself paper cuts.  Someone, please forward this post to my kids!

Makers' Monday - Shawls for Mom

Welcome to Makers' Monday, a celebration of knitting designers, artists & creatives.

It's hard to believe but Mother's Day is only about four weeks away.  Do you knit for Mom?  I never knit a shawl for my mom but I wish I had.  I think she would have liked to receive, and would happily have worn, any of the following.  Perhaps in honor of Mother's Day & remembrance of my own mom, I should knit myself a shawl.  (Or maybe even six!)

Magic Spring Shawl courtesy of Katerina Bobkova

I will definitely knit myself this Magic Spring Shawl sometime soon.  It reminds me of a smaller & simpler version of a Find Your Fade and I think we all know by now how much I loved knitting that.  The Magic Spring Shawl is a free (gotta love that!) Ravelry pattern designed by Katerina Bobkova of Cathy-Cathy Designs.

Or perhaps you'd like a hint of lace.

Simple Spring Shawl courtesy of Michelle Krause

The Simple Spring Shawl has just a tiny bit of lace to break up the garter stitch monotony.  Designed by Michelle Krause of Leah Michelle Designs, this would be a great beginner's lace project or movie knitting for more advanced knitters.  The lace appears to be fairly simple & easily memorized.  You won't have to play yarn chicken when knitting the Simple Spring Shawl.  Just weigh your yarn before you start, then knit until you've used up half, then begin the decreases.  Simple!

Woodland Spring Shawl
courtesy of Christina Wall

Or how about knitting a Woodland Spring Shawl?  Designed by Christina Wall of A Knitter's Life, this triangular shawl appears to be about half garter stitch and half lace.  I really like knitting this style of shawl.  You start off with simple garter and you can make lots of progress quickly.  About the time you start to think you'll go mad from garter stitch, the lace begins and holds your attention to the very end.

Primula Spring Shawl courtesy of Linda Choo

Or how about this beauty designed by Linda Choo for Garden Canadensis?  The Primula Spring Shawl is crescent shaped with an all-over lace pattern.  The size of this shawl can easily be adjusted by knitting more border repeats.  And while we're talking about the border, those pesky border nupps can easily be replaced with beads.  (Y'all know how I feel about knitting nupps!)

Spring Flowers & Butterflies Shawl,
courtesy of Katherine Bryant

This one has the dreaded nupps too but once again, they could easily be replaced with beads.  And we'll forgive Spring Flowers & Butterflies Shawl for those nupps because look what else it has - Lilies of the Valley!   I LOVE Lilies of the Valley.  They happen to be my birth month flower plus they remind me of my mom.  She had acres of them growing in the yard. (Okay, "acres" is a slight exageration, but she had a lot.)  The house always smelled of Lilly of the Valley in the spring.  Even more exciting than the Lilies of the Valley, Katherine Bryant, the designer, is offering the pattern for free on Ravelry!  And, Ms. Bryant is kind enough to tell us in advance how many beads we'll be needing.  This pattern is definitely going near the top of my Ravelry que.

And last but not least, I wanted to mention the Sundae Summer shawl.  I wasn't able to obtain permission to use a photo but I thought it was worth mentioning.  It's a free Ravelry pattern, it appears to be extremely simple and quick to knit and you could make the pattern your own by changing up the weight and/or fiber content of the yarn.  The pattern is so simple, with the right yarn, you could probably wait until Saturday afternoon to start knitting and still have it finished by Mother's Day morning.

Will you be knitting for Mother's Day?  Feel free to share pattern suggestions in the Comments below.