Mean Abs June

I love being fit. I spent years being not fit, and the shame I heaped on myself just made me eat more and more. When I got serious about fitness, nutrition, and the resulting weight loss, I found some serious pride and self-respect. I love the bragging rights that come along with being able to tackle serious physical challenges. With that said, I'm excited about this challenge for the core in the month of June (found on pinterest). It involves some daily effort of increasing intensity. If I stick with it, I know I'll love the results and have some serious badass points on my personal tally. Hope you'll join me! I saved the image as my iPad background and set a daily reminder to help me stay consistent. Do you have any fitness challenges coming up? How do you stay consistent?

Baby Fashion Model

So, this was the year of baby knitting. I know so freaking many people having babies this year... It's wild. To keep up with demand, I set a goal of knitting one blanket or sweater each month for a baby. I've gotten a TON done already (6 sweaters, 2 blankets, 2 hats, etc) but have not gotten to see the fruits of my labor on the fruits of their labors. Until this weekend. Baby fashion show! Announcing Harper Alice, born on April 30 to Ben and Jen. Harper is seen here slumbering in the Elvira tunic, knit in Three Irish Girls Finley Fingering (color: Molly). Her stylist has charmingly paired the handknit with ruffled purple babypants, a winning combination. When babies look this good in handknits, it's hard not to knit them more!

Shepherd's Harvest 2012

Shepherd's Harvest - it's the MN sheep and wool festival. I like to pretend it's like an outdoor Mall of America for knitters, without (almost any) angsty teenagers roaming in packs. Every year, I stock up on yarn and fiber from local-ish vendors, hang with friends, and enjoy the atmosphere. This year, I went with Lisa and Emily, and we met up with Sarah and Leah there. Audrey just happened to drop by on her way from Detroit, too, which was AMAZING.

There were sheep and other fibery animals to see:

This guy had awesome curly horns!

Jacob sheep - they have 4 horns. Awesome.

I premiered my Daybreak shawl, knit out of Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga! (even though Audrey doesn't like it) and  Creatively Dyed Yarns Sami. The Sami (in yellow) was terrible yarn, the skein was only 128g instead of the 184g listed on the label. It was full of tangles, and they dye didn't take consistently. Terrible. But I bought the yarn at Rhinebeck last year and I love the finished shawl - I can't tell you how many people stopped me to tell me they loved it, and to ask for the pattern name. I felt fabulously fashionable all day!

And of course, Shepherd's Harvest is full of awesome things to buy! Our customary yarn haul shot:

Only the stuff across the bumper is mine :) and the garbage bags of yarn and fiber are the Macy's which we picked up for them at the festival from the mill. (The following links go to Ravelry, yarnie friends!) I got some lovely Cloudlover, of course (Thanks, Jessica, for being awesome!!!), some Madtosh Merino Light, and I tried some new-to-me yarns too, including All For Love of Yarn Seela sock, and Sun Valley Fibers single ply sock yarn - it reminds me a lot of the Madtosh, actually. Lisa even scored free yarn for each of us with a sweet wine cork barter with Interlacements! I chose lime green, of course.

I ended up taking this picture, which I love because I think it captures my wild hyperthymic style and passion for yarn. I even made it my Ravatar, as Emily suggested, and it's on top of the blog. I'll try not to wear it out though!

Whoooo!!!!!

Can't wait for next year, so much fun!

Patriotic knitting?

Well, I am no fan of patriotism. It seems like a quick slide from that to nationalism, and then to oppression and genocide. I hold no illusions that America is better (or worse) than other nations - it's far too complex to than simply up or down on the index. But, I have this coworker. She's sweet, and wouldn't know a geopolitical conflict if it knocked at her door. She loves the USA, and her second daughter is due June 30. Of course she requested a baby sweater in the good ol' red, white, and blue. I used the Twinkle Vintage Baby Cardigan for this one, and I think the star buttons were the perfect touch! It's as cute as it could possibly be, under the circumstances. Yarn is Shibui sock (blue and white) and Pagewood Farms sock yarn in red.

Quick "Cluck"-In

A quick check in post to say hi - still knitting away and enjoying spring on our little farmstead place. Here's a shot of my chickens, working on an apple core today. They love people-food! The white one is Fluffy Butt, our rooster, with Dinner, one of the hens. I enjoy raising this little brood so much!

Egg muffins

I made some egg muffins this morning using this super-easy recipe: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2006/10/egg-muffins-revisited-again.html

I added artichoke hearts, spinach, sauteed onions and baby bellas, garlic, and sundried tomatoes with Italian seasoning. Brian wanted plain ones. I'm going to put mine on an English muffin. Yum!

Chicken Hilton

We got chickens! 4 laying hens and a rooster, in this snazzy coop my grandpa made. It's on wheels!

Saturday Morning Workout

Last night I made supper for a friend, including a derby pie. Derby pie is essentially nuts and chocolate in a gooey cookie dough in a pie shell. Yeah. I was due for a serious workout this morning! I am pretty specific about how I put together my home workouts, and invest some time and thought into how I construct them. So I thought I'd share, in case you felt like burning some calories today too!

I have a Gymboss timer which really helps. $20 at gymboss.com. I also grabbed my yoga mat, 10 and 5 pound dumbells, a jump rope, water, and of course tunes (Jay-Z today). First I set my Gymboss timer for 10 intervals of 60 seconds, with 10 seconds in between. I did each cardio drill for one 60 second interval:
Jumping rope
Jogging (I ran around the house for 2 minutes. Yep, I'm that neighbor.)
Burpees
Sprints (from each end if the clothesline and back)
Stepping up and down on one step (60 seconds leading with each leg)
Side hustles the length of the clothesline
High knees
Jumping jacks

Then I set my timer for 45 rounds of alternating 30 and 5 second intervals. I did each pair of exercises twice.
Wood chops and planks
Sumo squats and jumping jack planks
Lunges and reverse fly (10 pound dumbells)
Curtsy lunges and tricep extensions (with one 10 lb weight)
Heel pulse (30 seconds each leg) and push up with row (5 lb weights)
Leg lifts and side planks (this I did twice on each side)
Tricep dips and step up two steps (hold 10 lb weights)
Squat and press up, just did this for a full minute

This doesn't add up to 45 rounds because I took water breaks and did an occasional 30 second interval of cardio to keep my heart rate up.
Next I did a full minute of jump roping and a minute of stepping up and down to get my heart rate up again. Next I did an "ab ladder", which I learned from my trainer at the Y.
60 second plank
50 crunches
40 bicycle crunches
30 low-ab leg lifts
20 crunches with knees bent to chest
10 flutter kicks
60 second plank

Then I ended with 15 push ups. This took me about 45 minutes total, including stretching. MyFitnessPal estimated I burned 500 calories during this time, which seems crazy high but I'm not questioning it too much. Hope you give it a try! I feel worked but great!

Here's my workout spot. Cool and cloudy this afternoon, perfect!

Vegan Almond-Poppyseed Muffins

I just whipped up these muffins this morning by modifying some online recipes. Easy and delicious!

Almond-Poppyseed Muffins - vegan!

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix in a large bowl:
1/4 c. Whole wheat flour
3/4 c. White flour
1/3 c. Sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tblsp. Poppyseeds

Mix in a smaller bowl:
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. almond extract (I went a little heavy on this)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. Canola or vegetable oil
1/3 c. plus 2 Tblsp soy milk (I used vanilla, it's what we had on hand)

Add wet ingredients to dry, folding in gently. Do not over mix, this will make your muffins too dense!

I divided among 6 lined and sprayed muffin cups and garnished the tops with some chopped-up almonds. Bake 20 minutes, breakfast is served!

I liked that this recipe only made 6, which really is plenty for the two of us. Very easy to whip up with on hand ingredients. If you try this recipe, please let me know how you liked it!

Spinning again

I get a 4oz braid of merino fiber from Gritty Knits every month from her braid of the month club. Unfortunately, I spin far less than 4oz per month, so they kind of add up. On the plus side, this allows me to see how colors could be combined in inspiring ways! based on this thread on Ravelry, I found some colorways I thought would make a beautiful 3-ply yarn. I'm really excited about it and hope the finished 12oz of yarn will be enough to make a fitted 3/4-length pullover!

(colors are from November 2011, September 2011, and April 2011 - the 4oz still braided is the April colorway, one of my faves!)

Sock Yarn Blanket: Resurrection

Another of my 2012 goals is to finish my sock yarn blanket. It's a version of the Barn Raising Quilt that I started in 2008. Currently, I have 69 complete squares, I'm thinking I might need more like 100 or 115. I'm only using sock yarn from projects I've completed, and it's quite a trip down memory lane. I'm excited to finally finish this project and be able to use the blanket! I'm still weighing my options for how to sew it up... But I'm trying not to think about it!

A current shot of the completed squares:

Whoa hitchhiker!

Got a wee bit crazy with the Hitchhiker's Ashford bobbins this weekend. Good thing this homeowner owns wood glue! (p.s. I finished some very special superwash BFL in a one of a kind colorway!)

Vietnamese Noodle Salad

There's a Vietnamese deli in St. Cloud, in the back of an Asian grocery. This place rocks (it's on the corner of 3rd & 33rd, if you're interested) and they have a phenomenally fresh noodle salad that I love. I was craving it yesterday and decided to try making it at home. I used a packet of instant Thai Kitchen rice noodles and added napa cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, peapods, and fresh mint. For the dressing, I mixed up a cup of chopped cilantro, 3 tablespoons each of sugar and fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce, 1/4 cup lime juice, some chopped garlic and some sriracha. The result was close-ish to the original and was very fresh and filling. Yum!

....and we're back.

(trying to blog from the iPad. Having problems with photos. Let me know if you have any ideas, please! I need the photos to match up with the text. Kthx.)

So, we made the move into the new house. We painted over glitter-textured ceilings (seriously, who thought that was a good idea??), we unpacked, we settled. We inherited a cat:

And we went to a hockey game (go Huskies!)

I've been knitting (of course!) and whipped up some armwarmers using the 75-yard malabrigo mitts pattern. I lengthened mine, so they are more than 75 yards.

Not much else is new, but I will try to do a better job of updating when it is!

It's been a busy month...

It's been a while since I posted, my bad. We're readying ourselves for our big move to our new home on 5 acres. We're so excited about our new place! We close the day after tomorrow. It's hard not to think about it all the time. For many people, a home is a commodity to be bought and sold, or a place to lock up stuff, or even a status symbol. For us, it's so much more personal. Our house represents, to me, a certain sort of lifestyle that draws a lot from self-sustainability and living "slower". Things like raising chickens, baking bread, being outside, spending time with family and friends - these are the visions I have. For Brian, it's a lot more about freedom. Brian wants to build every cool bike thing ever, to play loud music, to pee outside )I do not get that at all!).

But in the meantime there's a lot of packing to be done.

 I find it endlessly ironic that we're using lots of boxes that say "BEEF" on them, thanks to my in-laws, who work in butchershops. Hopefully will update soon with pics of the house! Take care!