This weekend was all about the treats & toes. I’m sure that sounds like a funky combination, but trust me it’s not.

First let me talk about this Rachel Ray chick for a sec. A lot of times I find it hard to watch her because she’s always so damn happy and she admittedly talks a lot. For anyone to be that happy there have got be some good pills involved. And while she may be a little too chipper for me at times, I must admit the girl can cook. I’m not the one for buying magazines, but when I saw her magazine at Bed,Bath, & Beyond, I felt compelled to buy it.

Inside I saw this lovely and simple recipe for a Raspberry Torte.

It’s was just tempting me looking all good and red and what not. How could I resist? It doesn’t help that I justified making it by saying that technically I would be crafting something red for Project Spectrum.

So here is my torte. I added some blueberry/blackberries to mix it up a bit. It sure is tasty.

As for the toes, while the torte was baking I finished my sock.

Isn’t it purty?

And take a look at this….

…one of my readers, Karen, sent me a picture of her first sock. I helped her find some sock patterns for her first sock endeavor. Isn’t it cute? She used the sock pattern from Spun Magazine. She didn’t tell me what yarn she used but I really like the colors.

First I’ll start off with Friendly Tip Friday’s

Friendly Tip #13

If you go to the doctor for allergy testing and they give you the option of having it done on your arms or back, chose your back. Trust me. If you don’t you’ll have to hide your forearms for a few weeks for fear that the 54 well-aligned dot scars make you look like a smack addict.

I had testing done last week and when my sister saw me she said, “You might want to cover that I up. I think that is what they call track marks.” I watch enough Law & Order to know that isn’t a good thing. Good news is I’m not allergic to all the things I thought I was. Bad news is I’m just allergic to the chemicals and sulfites in them.

Moving on….

I’ve been a little bit of a cheat lately. I’ve forgone my Addi’s to have an affair with my Bryspuns and I’ve also been cheating on Project Spectrum and my plan not to buy anymore yarn.

I stopped at a small LYS in Chapel Hill, Knit-a-Bit, which I rarely visit. They just got in some new Berocco yarns and I bought some Touche in Peeps (a bright yellow). I’ve been playing around with it and I’ve started working on a split neck tank. I started this over the weekend but I’ve frogged and started over twice.
I have done a little work on my sock and turned the heel yesterday.

That’s all for my updates and now I have a question for everyone that attends SnB/knitting circles.

When the weather gets warm does the attendance start to go down?

Lately attendance at SnB has been low. Low like, only me and one other person. This is my first year going to SnB nights and I’m just trying to figure out if attendance twindles when the weather warms up or if there are other factors. I know no one can come all the time but lately things have been real sparse.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Everyone go out and have a drink tonight and celebrate. This is the only holiday where the point is to get drunk. You might as well enjoy it. Have a great weekend!

I was weighing the name options* for this hat when I started this orange version. I was making it to match my new orange winter coat and half way through I started to see it. The hat is not quite a beret but much larger than a regular hat. More like a pumpkin. Then it came to me… “Pum’kinhead”.

The minute I thought of the name I instantly remembered the Great Pumpkin . This was by far my favorite of the Peanuts movies. As a child I had the book which I read a million times, and watched the tv special any time it came on. Funny what a little orange and ribbing will make you think of.

Nonetheless, from me to you….the Pum’kinhead Hats.

(See the sidebar) ———–>

*Thanks to everyone that sent in a name. I think I’ll save them for another project.

Hey everybody! I’m back from the A.T.L. Atlanta was great and I didn’t want to come back. It has changed a lot since I was last there. There has been a lot of new construction. The one thing that never changes is the traffic. And the men…ooooh, the men. How I love them. They actually speak, and show interest, and are good looking. Did I forget to mention that I didn’t want to come back.

I met up with my parents on Friday and did a little shopping at IKEA. I didn’t get much. I did find a great bag to carry my knitting in for $5. Saturday, we celebrated my Great-Aunt’s 88th birtday. The woman is amazing. She may be a little older but her mind is at 200%. She remembers absolutely everybody even if she hasn’t seen them in ages. She hadn’t seen my sister in person since she was 1, and she knew instantly who my sister was. And we won’t even talk about the jokes. She’s hilarious. I also got a chance to see a lot of my family and meet a lot of cousin’s I never meet before. Sunday was a lot more family time with a little stop at Lenox mall. I didn’t intend on spending any money but I couldn’t resist getting another Lacoste shirt.

I also hadn’t planned on going to any LYSs but I needed to get some more needles so I stopped into Why Knot Knit in Buckhead. It’s a small shop with a good selection. Luckily they had the Bryspuns I wanted but the rest of the selection was limited. They all the brands (Addi,Inox,Lantern Moon) but not many straight needles except in Clover needles which I don’t really like.

I didn’t make much progress on anything. My weekend was jam packed. I should be back tomorrow with the pattern for the Pum’kinhead hat. It was probably be my last winter related item since it was in the 70′s when I got back to Raleigh. I might as well get ready for the summer.

Sorry for the bit of silence her at Chez Saun. I’ve been “rippin and runnin”, as my father would say, and I haven’t had much worth writing about. I figured I’d save you from the details of work and taxes. I haven’t been home before the sun goes down so I don’t have any good pics either.

I’m almost done with one front side of the Glimmer cardigan. Pics to come soon.

I’ve finished the hat and should have a pattern w/pics for you by Tuesday. Why Tuesday, you ask? Because I’m off to one of my favorite cities for a 4-day weekend… Atlanta. The family is meeting up to celebrate my Great-Aunt’s birthday. Yeah family time! Let the comedy begin.

I haven’t been to Atlanta in over a year and I’m excited to get back to the city I once called home. I’m really excited that I can go to Publix for some of the greatest chicken wings ever. I know I shouldn’t be excited about grocery store chicken wings, but I am. They are goooood! I won’t have time to hit the crack yarn shops but that’s okay. I plan to indulge in a little Ikea instead. Maybe I should write out a schedule. I still need to schedule time with the family and a few old friends.

Have a great weekend everyone.