New blog!

Hello, all! I have a new blog! I will probably not be using this one anymore.
Click the button on the right or go to www.mrslemonmint.blogspot.com for patterns, recipes, and fun up-cycling ideas!

Again, it's been awhile since I posted anything. But, I have a pretty good excuse. Getting married! Three weeks ago I married my best friend James, and now we are enjoying our quiet little life together. Quiet, because we are fairly boring people who rarely leave home if we can help it; little because we seem pretty insignificant to the big wide world right now. Neither of us is terribly upset by this.

I'm loving that he gets to work from home, so I see him literally 24 hours a day and we are still not tired of each other. :) Seems like a good sign to me!

While my darling husband is working in his study I have been finally getting around to stuff I simply haven't had the energy or desire to do for ages. That would be designing new patterns and setting up an etsy shop. My shop's name is LemonMintKnits and it does not currently have anything for sale, but I am working on it. A few things need finishing touches, some haven't even been started. But once I've got a bunch made I just need to find a friend to model for me and I can get it started.

The design part of my life is going rather slowly as I tend to design as I knit (which sometimes produces less that desirable results). I tend to have more success with a garment if I literally write the pattern before knitting it, but often there is not enough inspiration at the beginning to motivate me to do it this way. My latest design is a pretty little cardigan designed especially for my Mother-in-law. The construction is a little unconventional, but very streamlined. I like it when knitting construction feels streamlined and organic, as if the yarn is making all the decisions; being sculpted, not forced into shape. Once I get the pattern written (and not just a bunch of numbers in my head which I am liable to forget) maybe I will talk to my designer friends who have connections and try to get hooked up with a knitting magazine. I may be biased, but I personally think the sweater is cute enough to be published on more than just my Ravelry page.
Hopefully they do too. :)

Been awhile...

I haven't posted in ages. Not that anybody probably really reads my blog much or anything, but still. Things have been chaotic and messy and rather distressing during the past six months, and I've had no desire to put it all out there on the internet for the whole world to see.

Good news is: God is in charge. He protects me and will deal with the problems and people (and problematic people) in my life in His own way and time. He has also given me an incredible, loving fiance (soon-to-be husband in 35 days), who goes to great lengths to ensure my well-being and sense of security.

If not for them, I'm not sure what I would do.

I want to design more and such, but it seems unusually hard to accomplish anything lately. I can only hope that I will feel less drained of energy and life in the near future.

Museums

In January we hit three museums in Tacoma all in one night! The pic above is the illusive WWI button/pin which the boy's team (James, Joey, and Tyler) found but the girl's team (Mom, Kayla, and me) just couldn't seem to spot, fro the Washington State History Museum's scavenger hunt game.

The next two are the outdoor water sculpture exhibit from the Museum of glass. SO beautiful! The pictures just don't do it justice. It is a must-see, especially at night!


James, Joey, mom, and Tyler doing the scavenger hunt.
Kayla has always wanted to have her own covered wagon. :)

Engaged!

This is a few weeks late, but on February 1st, my boyfriend asked me to marry him! Yay!
(And, yes, I knit my sweater. It is "Louisa" from French Girl Knits, made with one ball of Cascade Yarns Eco Wool.)

It's SO sparkly! He cut out a circle in the introduction of the book and put the ring in it, tied to the ribbon bookmark.

:D

Beginning Crochet Ruffle Scarf

For Renaissance Yarns beginning crochet class

By Lexi Cushing

Supplies

Yarn: 1 skein Cascade Yarns Cascade 128
Hook: K
Notions: 1 large button
Size: 1 size fits all

Pattern
Ch 13

Row 1: Skip first ch, hdc in each ch, ch 1, turn. (12 hdc made)
Row 2: Skip ch, hdc in each hdc, ch 1, turn.

Repeat Row 2 until scarf measures 15 inches or desired length.

Button hole row:
Hdc in next 5 hdc, ch 2, skip next 2 hdc, hdc in next 5 hdc, ch 1, turn.

Repeat Row 2 once.

Ruffle:
3 hdc in each hdc, ch 1, turn. (36 hdc made)

Repeat Row 2 three times.

Fasten off. If desired edge the scarf with single crochet.

Sew button on the end of the scarf which does not have the ruffle.

Weave in ends.

Enjoy!

Flooding cookies... mmm...

Today I attempted my first cookie flooding venture, and they turned out really beautiful!

Super easy. Super yummy.

(The upside-down T is for my little bro, the car is for my dad, and the heart that says mom, obviously, is for mom)

I started by outlining my homemade gingerbread cookies (which Tyler helped me cut out) with a thick royal icing. Then with thinner icing I filled the space inside the outline with a spoon.

For my sweet friends M and D:

D's kind of leaked at the lower right corner. :( But, hey, it was my first try.

...and James:

This one is for me!

Near perfection!

Fleur de lis for the boy scout in the family:

Everybody's favorite.

Authentic gingerbread men for the foreign exchange students:

(It's not flooding, but it's still pretty cool)

And stars for my grandma:

Ta da! Now, only now that they have had their pictures taken, can the cookies be eaten.