Whoa! It's been awhile

Whoa!  It's been awhile hasn't it?  Typepad has completely changed their format and I feel like I'm all thumbs trying to put together this post.  Everything looks so strange and new, I hope it comes out ok! ;)  I have a lot to say so pull up a chair and make yourself cozy!

Thank you so, so, much for all your support in the last post.  I am a complete introvert so when given the option to say something or nothing at all I will normally choose the latter.  One of the things I'm challenging myself on this year is to make a greater effort to communicate openly and honestly and when I mean honestly I don't mean telling the truth honest.  I mean being honest with myself and others on what I'm thinking or feeling.  I hope you mean what I'm saying.

I really enjoyed my time away from blogs and blogging in general.  It's funny how much time you end up with when you sort of strip away all the preconceived notions of what you "have to do" and start adding in the things you want to do.  I've been enjoying creating new rhythms and new habits of tasks that are important to me.

One of the things I've finally found a rhythm for is weekly baking.  I've been baking a minimum of two loaves of sandwich bread a week and finally weaned myself off store bought bread completely (knock on wood!)

This was a real challenge for me, one of the things holding me back before was not having enough time to make the bread, or I guess I should say, having other priorities with my time.  I'm using Katie's uber-fabulous wheaty/whitey bread recipe she sent me.  You can get it here.  Katie's been baking 4 loaves a week for her family and my hat goes off to her (I wanna be like her when I grow up! ;)). 

She's taught me so much about the ins and outs of bread storing, something which I had no idea how to do... (They don't teach this type of thing in school anymore! ;))

1)  If you want nice, even slices (and are slightly OCD when it comes to the evenness of the slices!) use a electric bread knife.  I found mine at walmart for 9.98 and it works great.  Make sure the bread is cooled all the way through so you don't squish it and the flavor has fully developed!

2)  Find some bread and food bags at your local grocery store (I did not find them sold at target) and bag your bread after it's fully cooled so no moisture gets inside.  Consider double-bagging for extra frost prevention

3)  That's it!  They go stale fast so make sure to freeze same day.  They last forever, although they probaby won't make it that long.  Throw the loaves in your freezer and pull them off slice by slice.  You can use them as-is if you're making a grilled sandwich or defrost on low (20% or reheat mode) for 1min 20 sec for 2 slices.  Your mileage may vary.

Easy peasy, right?? ;)

In the spirit of getting as much of my food as possible locally, grown mindfully and without unnecessary "extras"  I spent my weekends visiting every farmers market in the area.  I went on farm tours and met my meat and veggies.  It was so much fun!  My favorite local farmers market is the Durham (NC) Farmers Market.  Hands down in my opinion the best market in the Triangle.  I used to hate getting up early on the weekends, now I rise with the sun to get down to the market and pick up fresh food.  I've found sources for local meats and poultry, fresh eggs and honey, cheese (this was a tough one to find!), fruits and veggies, beeswax candles, plants, etc.  I've been challenging myself to produce mostly local meals on a regular basis and it's been a real treat to get better at it week to week. 

On that same topic I've been devouring a wonderful book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  If you have any interest at all in learning more about where your food comes from, how it is produced and just general motivation to rediscover your food you must read this book!  I can't recommend it any more highly.

I've also been making my own jam for the first time.  Something I've always wanted to do.  It's pretty easy and fun!  The strawberries are local of course, they are well in season here in NC and it's fun to admire my pretty jars on the pantry shelf.  I have plans to make more as gifts for Christmas.

Hmm let's see what else have I been doing?  I don't want to make it too long!  My mom came to visit from CA again and we went to Duke gardens.  I have some gorgeous photos of the gardens but I haven't uploaded them yet. 

I've been organizing my knitting books and magazines and I have a ton for sale!  You can see my ravelry destash post here.  Please take a look and I hope you find something you like!  I'm happy to offer free shipping of whatever you want to all of my blog friends, just put blog friends as a code when you PM me and I'll ship for free.  Free! =)

 

I've also been spinning, I wanted to take a turn with something a little thicker than my ubiquitous sock yarn and ended up with a DK/Worsted.  This is one my favorite yarns of all time.  The fiber is from Hello Yarn's Fiber Club, Insect Wings, 10 oz total for about 560 yards.

I immediately cast-on for a BSJ, garter stitch was just what I needed.  I've been wanting to teach myself continental and this was the perfect excuse, all garter!  What was holding me back before was tension issues.  I would switch back in forth in a current project from English to Continental and my stitches would be all wonky.  What I learned with this great video is that it's typical for Continental to be looser than the other way, and you frequently have to go down two needle sizes to get the same tension.  Oy!  What an epiphany!  I knew I had to start a continental only project and the BSJ won!

OH!  And I almost forgot to tell you I've been taking a quilting class too - something on my must-do list for awhile.  Here's my first quilt, just pieced and quilt-sandwiched together.  I'll quilt it next week in class and show you when it's done.  I love the colors!  Blue and Brown and Cream are so pretty together!  Quilting is addicting, I'm already planning my second quilt, plus I get to use the shops machine, a Bernina Aurora.  *Drool*  So, so yummy to sew on!

Oh and last but certainly NOT least as you all know I was a member of the May Day Sock Swap.  Lynne was the one knitting for me, she is one of my favorite people and also favorite people to swap with, such a sweetheart.  She sent me a lovely pair of socks and yummy yummy treats.  A beautiful tray and candles, matching soap and washcloths and yummy candy and as usual got me to a T.  Thanks so much Lynne I love everything! =)

So, haven't been up to much have I???  What have you all been up to?? Can't wait to catch up! =)

Comments

[rohanknitter]

YOu've been busy! Beautiful spinning and quilt there! Homemade jam is a great thing to have on hand for gifting, who doesn't like homemade strawberry jam! We are eating the last of last year's strawberry freezer jam right now. One of the best things about making homemade sandwich bread is that I can customize the slices - thin for me, thick for my always hungry teenagers!

[Carole]

I'm so glad you feel like posting again!

[Angelika]

You've been very busy and thanks for sharing the bread storing info and the recipe link. The quilt looks great. Are you going to hand or machine quilt this one?

[Gena]

You have been busy! Everything looks so wonderful - the food, the knitting! Thanks for sharing your bread tips, I'll be giving that a try.

The farmer's market at the hospital (Wake Forest) just started back up. I love being able to buy local grown produce, and it's all organic. Only it's a small little market, and the next closest one is Greensboro. le sigh.

I just picked that book up from the library yesterday! It's been in my queue forever and finally got turned in. I can't wait to dive into it.

[Valerie]

You've been a very busy girl lately. It's good to hear from you. Your handspun is truly gorgeous and is knitting up beautifully in the BSJ. Your quilt is awesome too, it looks like it must have been a fun quilting class! Make sure to let me know if you like any of the fabrics for our trade!

[Leah]

You have been seriously busy lately, haven't you? I'm gonna have to catch up with all my blogging friends who are reading up on their food choices. Scares me, though. I'm lazy and don't look forward to emptying my kitchen cabinets.

Love the quilting. I caught the bug a couple of years ago, but it never when any further than stashing fabric and patterns and a bit of cutting out. Might just have to pick that up again.

Good to see you back. I've missed your posts and your comments.

[Anne]

So glad to hear from you! So many things to say "look at you go!" about. You NEED to go to this link http://www.tartx.com/blog/?page_id=233 and grab the button for your blog, put it near the top. I've been BWO for some time now. Such a relief :)

[Debi]

Looks like your blog rest did you a world of good. It's nice to "see" you Keri :)

[Rebecca]

Hey Kerri, It's great to hear that you are taking the steps to create the lifestyle you want instead of just wishing for it. So many people say "I wish I had time, I wish I could do that" but never take the actions to make it reality. Congrats! I love the bread and may decide to make that decision my self. The spinning and quilt are lovely!! I'm so glad to read a post from you.

[Homely Heroine]

I'm so glad you're back! I love reading your posts. I'm so impressed with the jam,and the bread is perfect. I also love your quilt, I've been meaning to make one for ages. I tagged you for a meme, hope you don't mind : )

[Beth]

Your yarn looks beautiful and it's wonderful knit up!

[tiennie]

Glad to see you back and with such wonderful projects. Yummy jam and bread! Great job on your first quilt!

[lisa]

Glad you're recharging! I am definitely going to look at that bread post... Beth (biggeek) had a bread baking post recently too that I want to look into. My favorite bread (from a bakery an hour or so away) is not always easy to find, and it costs $5 a loaf! Time to switch, eh? The yarn is georgeous! I did a garter project (a 'coin kitty') in continental. I actually like throwing though. I find purling continental rather a chore, which my friend and I believe is why EZ is a huge fan of knitting in the round or in all garter. That BSJ is on my to-do list (like so many things)... off to check your ravelry destash (I do NOT need any, but fun to look).

[Becky]

Welcome back, Kerri! I've missed you. I just finished reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" about a week ago. It's very inspiring. After reading the book, the thought of eating meat from my grocery store nauseates me. Fortunately, I can get local, grass-fed, free-range beef and eggs. I'm working on finding free-range chicken. I've also been making jam, too. Strawberry-rhubarb and plan strawberry. The strawberries I picked locally and the rhubarb I bought at the farmer's market. Homemade jam tastes simply amazing. We live so far apart but we're living similar lives. :-)

[Hilary]

Yay! I'm so glad to see you're back! Once again, I am completed in awe of your commitments. Your bread and jam look SO yummy....but not as yummy as that handspun!

Welcome back. :)

[katie]

Holy moly, you got caught up, didn't you?! I'm so glad! And I'm thrilled the bread is working for you. I just made four loaves today. =0) I actually gave two loaves to my MIL last week so I had to bake again ahead of schedule. Haha. I'm so motivated by your farmer's market adventures. We actually bought a third of a hog (oink) from somewhere in NC recently, and I'd like to eat it, but they packaged it in huge amounts (like 3 lbs of chops in one package, etc) and froze it. So now I have to cook like a farm wife whenever I get ready to use it. I'll know better next time what to ask for! Your quilt is gorgeous and so are the bread and jam. My mouth is watering.

[Emily]

Welcome back! You've been missed. I checked my "friends activity" recently and noticed that you queued up some very cool patterns!

[Emily]

p.s. I meant on Ravelry. (but you figured that out!)

[Margaret]

It's nice to hear from you again after a well deserved break! You have been busy. I'm jealous!!

[AJ]

You have been insanely busy woman! I've been wanting to make my own preserves/jams for a long time. Another blogger posted her recipe and I'm hoping to try it out this weekend. Fresh strawberry jam, yummy! :) Your quilt looks divine! Much more involved than my first quilt class, lucky you. The colors are gorgeous. It looks like you know what you are doing. I'm glad your life has gotten a little more organized and things have been put into perspective. Stop by one of these days when you have some time.

[Debby]

I'm so happy for you, that you are making time to do all the things you love. Your posts are always an inspiration. That quilt is absolutely gorgeous! The blues and browns are a wonderful combination.

I'm at the very beginning of the local foods journey that you and so many other knitters are talking about. Our farmer's market should start any week now and I can't wait! That's amazing that you've found local cheese. Do you use local butter and yogurt too, or do you make your own?

[Vanessa]

Just so you know I smelled the bread before I even saw the photo - yummy! Great work!
Your quilt is to die for . Love the colors and prints you chose. The pattern is awesome as well. What pattern is it?? I have tons of patterns / books, etc for quilting and magazines to boot. I havent' quilted in a year. I need to get mine out. Thanks for the boost in quilting and bread making!
Vanessa in Upstate NY
www.butterflyknitter.blogspot.com

[Karen]

Wow, you sure have been busy! Isn't it amazing what you can accomplish when you're not on the computer? It amazes me every time I take a break, which seems to be more and more often lately.

I LOVE your quilt! That is an amazing first quilt! It's beautiful!

You also got a wonderful package in the May Day swap. Your socks are so pretty!

[jennifer]

welcome back! i'm still out of the blogging mood on most days with so much else going on, but i finally got my computer back from repair, so i'm playing catch up.

the bread sounds delish...wtg on making it so regularly...i'm sure your sandwiches are a bazillion times better because of your hard work!

the tiramisu blanket from your last post is gorgeous!

hope that you are doing ok as far as the deployment separate goes...you are such a strong woman and i know you will get thru it!

take care, girlie!
xo

[Katie]

I'm right in the middle of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle an just LOVE it! It has really made me so much more aware of what I eat. I made the "eggs in a nest" recipe the other night using rainbow chard and carrots from the farmer's market--delicious!