Dyeing for a Gift

As a knitter, I find it challenging to give gifts to other knitters. I could knit for them, but that always feels weird. I could give something non-yarn related, but that just seems totally ridiculous. If it's store-bought, I just feel like I'm cheating them. So what did I do when a dear knitting friend recently had a birthday? I decided to dye for her! I've been toying with the idea of dying yarn for awhile now and this birthday was the perfect motivation. No matter how it turned out, I knew she would appreciate it and love it for what it was - you know, kind of like a kindergarten art project?

I've had supplies on hand for months now so I gathered them up and took a deep breath. This is what I came up with:

It reminds me of a sunrise or a sunset and I know she'll make something absolutely beautiful with it. I wanted her to be completely surprised so I had to keep it a secret. I'm not good at secrets so this was tough, but her over-the-top enthusiastic reaction made it all worthwhile and she was immediately looking for project ideas!

I'm not sure where this dying adventure will take me, but I know I will be back at it again in the near future. I really enjoyed doing something new just for fun and this experiment sure was fun!

For now, I'm excited to see what this beauty becomes. 

Cheers!

Big Herringbone Love!

I've had a love affair with the Big Herringbone Cowl for quite awhile and decided to use this lovely accessory as motivation - actually, it was bribery - to push me through the last bit of the 2012 knitting. My rule: as soon as I finished the 2012 projects, I could cast on with the Blue Sky Worsted Hand Dyes. AND... cast on I have. The classic herringbone stitch with the fabulous yarn make this a timeless accessory and the Ecru will go with anything - including marinara and red wine *gulp*. The stitch pattern is beautiful inside and out and the squish factor is amazing!

I'm using ginormous needles (US 17) so my forearms feel like they are going to fall off if I knit with them for too long. I've been trying to balance with projects on "normal-sized" needles, but I have a feeling I'll be risking physical injury trying to reach the finish line this weekend. Seriously, this is going to feel like a big hug when it's off the needles. I might not take it off until spring. Or maybe summer. We'll see.

I have a few more projects that have recently come off the needles and holiday gifts to share, but I'll save those for later. For now, I'll leave you with sweet herringbone weekend wishes and a photo of the cutest boy ever, my fabulous Mr. Joey.

Cheers!

Coffee Liqueur | a recipe for YOU!

We survived the holidays and I hope you did, too. All I have left to do is upload photos to Ravelry for the knitted gifts and try to clean up the tornado that seems to have gone through my house - I have a long weekend coming up, so I should be able to find some time to get some cleaning done. Fingers are crossed. It's no secret that I'm a coffee addict and last week on my snow day I mentioned that I made homemade coffee liqueur. The making and gifting of this lovely creation has become a tradition of ours during the holidays - this year was no exception and as the gifts were opened, cheers erupted over the bottles of Drunken Joe. Yes, we have given it a name and designed labels. We're weird that way.

We've been making this for several years now and it's been a learning process to get it just the way we want and this year I think the recipe might have been perfected! It's not only delicious, it's also easy and fast to make!

So, gather your supplies and let's get to making some Drunken Joe!

Note: We usually make a double or triple batch and the recipe below is for a single batch.

Drunken Joe Coffee Liqueur

• 1 - 10 cup pot double-strength dark roast coffee
• 2 lbs brown sugar
• 2 tbs dark molasses
• 4 tbs vanilla extract
• 1 - 750 ml bottle Everclear

First, brew your coffee - we use Black Gold which is our favorite from our local coffee roaster Black Waters Coffee. Use a high quality coffee, this is not a time to be thrifty and use cheap stuff.

Add your hot freshly brewed coffee to a large pot on the stove. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer and add brown sugar and molasses. Continue to heat while stirring until the brown sugar is dissolved.

Let cool to room temperature and add the Everclear and vanilla to taste.

It's ready to enjoy right away or you can let it rest for a few days for a little more flavor. It also stores really well. We pour ours into a large glass bottle (or bottles) and then fill smaller random bottles we've saved throughout the year for gifting. Easy, right?!

Enjoy and cheers!