Calico Sarah

Welcome to the world

Sarah — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 21:09:31 +0000

Here is Emmanuelle Elaine Abbott:

She was born (2 weeks early) on June 17, 2010. 7 lbs 1oz.

Dear Mom,

Sarah — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:09:57 +0000

I’m sorry I ever teased you for having to pee every 2 hours. I now understand.

Love, Sarah

My first pattern

Sarah — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 23:14:00 +0000

In all the baby hoopla I had forgotten my first creation:

I guess it’s a little fitting but at the time my passenger was just a hope.

I’ve been knitting these baby mitts for years but didn’t publish the pattern until September. A woman at Stitches gave me some of her gorgeous sock yarn to use for the pattern. Here is her site: The Craft’s Meow

If you’re a knitter you can download the pattern on Ravelry for free here (even if you’re not a member): Baby Mitts

Click on the pictures for the Ravelry page. Someone else has already made them! I must confess I take great pride whenever someone favorites them. It makes me feel like a knitting celebrity.

Indescribable Joy

Sarah — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:46:41 +0000

I haven’t written because really only one thing is going on and it’s big. So big that everything else seemed unimportant. I wanted to make an announcement with a picture but didn’t get the picture uploaded and the longer I waited, the bigger it is. My belly, that is. Yes, we’re having a baby. Due date June 30, 2010. There is a lot to say, but really in the end, there is a person growing inside me and nothing tops that.

We are hoping to know the sex in Feb. You can find me on Facebook if you want to see what the tiny being looked like in November.

Everything from scratch

Sarah — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:48:00 +0000

I made cabbage soup yesterday. It really turned out as a vegetable soup because I kept throwing in random veggies that I had left over like potatoes and bell peppers. The recipe called for stewed tomatoes but all I had were fresh so I popped open The Joy of Cooking and made my own stewed tomatoes. I’m starting to feel like an old hand at this. It’s not even that I feel like I need to make everything from scratch, I just don’t have canned things on hand most of the time. It once took me an hour to find a peach cobbler recipe using actual peaches instead of canned.

After I ate my first bowl of soup, I decided that it needed barley. I didn’t have any so I didn’t add it but I think it’s cool that I am thinking of things like that. I’m really looking forward to having a kitchen that has a better layout*. Our new kitchen won’t be much bigger but it has an open layout and an island.

It also has a gas stove, which is worrisome with O’s lack of the sense of smell. Yet another thing that would never have occurred to me had I not married a anosmic man. He says he will use our little hotplate since he doesn’t do much cooking.

*We’re moving on Friday. I haven’t blogged about it because things are changing daily and, really, I figured it would be boring. Maybe that’s why I don’t post enough – the fear of boring my readers. Of course, the same post up for 2 weeks is also boring!

Apparently It’s a Big Deal?

Sarah — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:07:18 +0000

I’m turning 30 today. People keep asking me about my plans but I just want to have nice dinner with my love and maybe watch a movie. I guess I’m supposed to be evaluating my first 3 decades and celebrating this milestone with a big blowout but I’m not feeling it. Maybe it’s because of the move (better apartment), maybe it because I won’t see my family, maybe it’s that work has been overwhelming (not in a bad way) or maybe it’s the day it falls on.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been calling myself 30 for a year. It always sounds like a lie when I say I’m 29. 29 is the fake age that over-30s call themselves.

So, I’m 30. And I won’t be taken for 30 until I’m 40. Maybe then I won’t get asked if I’m old enough to fly alone*.

*I had forgotten my id so they had to put me through uber security at the airport. I was 25 at the time. I think you have to be 14 to fly alone.

Sewing Achievement

Sarah — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:12:11 +0000

I think everyone who sews has to make a bag and an apron at some point. Here is my apron:

The fabric is from fabric my sister and I used to make barbie and American Girl clothes when we were young. I didn’t have enough for the entire apron so I had to fudge. It’s not very attractive but it’s done right and the pocket is adorable and sewn on perfectly. I made it so that when I get home from work and don’t feel like changing I won’t get my fancy* clothes dirty from cooking.

*Fancy is a relative term these days. I’ve realized that a t-shirt over a skirt and low heels is considered professional in my department.

Meals of Corn

Sarah — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:28:40 +0000

I took pictures of things I cooked on 2 different days and realized there is a theme. See if you can pick up on it:

Yes, corn. Lots of corn.

The corn on the cob is from my CSA box and was amazingly delicious. I tried to buy some at the farmer’s market, too, but they were all out by the time I got there. I took a picture so you could see the weird mutant corn. It looked like 2 cobs had grown together. Weird.

I make a pan of cornbread several times a week. The recipe I use has no sugar or yeast so I can eat as much as I want. This picture shows it after O has had a bowlful (he eats it in milk). That particular one lasted 1.5 days.

I still have some random vegetables left over that I wasn’t sure what to do with. Now I think I’m going to make a cucumber dip and cut up the yellow pepper and cauliflower and just have them around at work for snacks. I sometimes get hungry around 10am and need a snack.

Pictures of Knitting

Sarah — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:23:15 +0000

One of the reasons I never post is that I like to talk about what things I am creating but I never have pictures. I think everyone can look at pretty socks and sweaters and say “That’s pretty” but without the pictures I just have a boring post for non-knitters. The issue here is that I don’t think I have good photo skills but who cares? I’m not making any money at this. So here are a few okay pictures of a pretty sock I am working on for my mom:

The yarn is a cotton elastic called Panda Cotton that I love even if it does split like crazy. I have 3 pairs of socks for myself made out of this. It is very very soft.

I don’t know if you can tell from the picture above but the pattern is a bit of a wave down the leg. It breaks up the multi-colored yarn and keeps the knitter from falling asleep. I may make this into a pattern. I haven’t decided. Maybe a $2 Ravelry download?

Sarah — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:02:48 +0000

I just had a great little dinner: farm fresh green beans with butter and salt and 2 tiny farm fresh potatoes with the same. We joined a CSA this summer with my friend Kelly and it’s been very interesting. I haven’t liked everything but I’ve tried it all (except broccoli, I made her take it). Below is a picture of kale chips. It’s a great idea and if you like kale I highly reccommend it but….I apparently dislike kale.

I put the chopped kale into the oven with salt and olive oil and baked it for a while at 450. They were crunchy and fun and looked cool but, blech.

It’s so much fun to figure out what to make with all the vegies, though. I’ve been getting a lot of use out of my Joy of Cooking cookbook that my dad found for $15 at the Book Fair this year. I did have to throw away some zucchini today which was really annoying since I had a recipe picked out and everything. That’s the one drawback, they need to be used right away. I may buy a few at the farmers market this week.