1. I’m really excited about a new sock yarn line coming soon (currently being photo-ed in our photo room) and my second sock will be done by next Monday, when we put the yarn up. A PAIR!

2. There are still chocolate Easter eggs in the Loopy Kitchen. I wish those Loopy Elves would eat them up faster.

3.  But most importantly, the lilacs are blooming!!

If you click on the photo to make it bigger, you’ll be able to smell that lovely lilac smell.

(I wish)

What three things are on your mind today?

Sheri thinkingit’dbeniceiflilacswouldbloomallspring&summerlong

Three cats, two raccoons, miscellaneous birds, and now a squirrel. All of them frequent the water in the bird bath and the bowl of cat food on our deck. I didn’t know that squirrels ate cat food, but this guy was pretty content to just sit there and eat and eat and eat.

The only reason WH puts up with the cat food on the deck? He figures it’s better than listening to me go on and on about wanting another cat or a dog or any other kind of additional pet. Cat food on the deck is a heck of a lot cheaper. Plus it gives him a chance to take some nice animal photos from time to time.

Do you have any visitors in your back yard?

Sheri whodidnotnamethesquirrel.
Ortheskunkwhotriedtovisitlastweek.

Never seen a photographer before?

(Dog, napping on the job.)

Sheep in line for a Mocha at Starbucks.

They gave up their wool for you. Now wondering

what you’re going to do with it?

Hoping you have a good weekend!

Sheri notaLoopysheepinthewholebatch.
(Youcantell.Noredsocks.)

I was sad to hear that I missed the first big snowfall in Fort Collins, because I’ve been working from St. Louis this week. Here’s a picture of our back deck that WH sent to me the morning after the big snow. (Here’s what the deck looks like without snow. Big difference!) I love snow and cold, and I hope there is plenty of it in store for us this winter. The nice thing about Fort Collins is that apparently it snows one day and then the next day it can be in the 50′s or 60′s. So you get the pretty white stuff, but it doesn’t stay around long enough to get tired and dirty looking. Today is supposed to be in the 50′s, so I’m sure it will be gone by the time I get back home tonight.

On the other hand, St. Louis is a baseball town, and it has been fun to be here during the World Series games. You just can’t beat last night’s game (if you managed to stay up for all 11 innings and watch it). The two teams seem well matched in this series and they both have provided some great baseball moments over the past week. I won’t even be too sad if Texas wins tonight. Great team, great players, and they lost last year in the World Series. Two years in a row doesn’t seem right. I’m still going to root for the Cards tonight, but either way, I’m sure it will be another good game.

Today I’m sharing a recipe from my friend Audrey’s mother-in-law. We’ve been making these bars for about 20 years, and they are always a hit. (And always a good way to use up ripe bananas.) I hope you and your family enjoy them as much as we do.

Mrs. Wilson’s Banana Cake Bars

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (3-4)
1 cup nuts (optional)
1/4 cup sour milk*
2 tsp. vinegar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
4 tsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla
Frosting Glaze (see below)

*You can use regular milk and make it sour. Measure slightly less than 1/4 cup of milk, and add a bit of vinegar to bring it up to the 1/4 c. mark. Let it sit for 5 minutes to sour before adding it to the batter. You can also use buttermilk if you have that.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas, nuts and milk. Then add all dry ingredients, plus water and vanilla. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Let cool and then frost.

Frosting: 6 Tbl. butter, 4 3/4 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup milk, 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Blend well.

For this month’s contest - leave a comment and tell me your favorite sports team. It doesn’t have to be a baseball team and it doesn’t have to be a professional team – it might even be your little one’s little league team. We’ll do a drawing next week for Wollmeise. I saved a few skeins for this month’s contest!

Sheri notadmittingtohowmuchyarnI’mtakingbacktoCOwithmetonight

It might just be the perfect fall day, today. The sun is shining, the wind is blowing a bit, and there is a nip in the air. Not too much. Just enough for you to know that it’s fall and not spring. I think I’ll call it “National I Love Fall Day” today. That means you should get out and do something to celebrate fall. Jump in some leaves. Enjoy a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Take a walk before dinner. (It’s ok if you don’t have fall weather where you live. Celebrate anyway.)

Or we could call it “National I Love Yarn Day”, as The Crafty Council has suggested. That means you get to buy some new yarn, start a new project, and leave work early to celebrate and knit. I suspect we might need to extend that throughout the entire weekend. How can you celebrate all of that in just one day?

As long as we’re making holidays, let’s also call today “National I Love Chocolate Day” so that I have an excuse to share a decadent dessert with you. (Not that I need an excuse to do that, I know.) I found this on Pinterest, and it comes from Kevin & Amanda’s blog. I do like the way she stacks two bars for each serving. Not sure I could eat that much since it’s so rich, but it looks impressive!

Oreo Brownie Chocolate Chip Dessert

1 brownie mix (for 9 x 13 size pan)
1 batch of chocolate chip cookie dough (or 1 tube of slice and bake)
1 package of chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreo’s)

Press the chocolate chip cookie dough into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. (Or, if using slice and bake – slice the cookies, layer them so that they cover the bottom of the pan, and then press them together to seal any openings.)

Put a single layer of chocolate sandwich cookies on top of the cookie dough batter.

Mix the brownie mix as directed and pour that over the top of the chocolate sandwich cookies.

Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes.

Let cool slightly and then slice and enjoy with ice cream.

There you go. A triple dessert celebration for a triple national celebration day. Fall, yarn and chocolate. Yum.

What else should we be celebrating today? Since I made up two days (chocolate and fall), you get to make some up, too.  National I Love …. what?

Sheri  hopingyouhaveagreatweekend!

It’s another beautiful day here in Northern Colorado. I’m sprinkling a few more fall photos into the blog posts this week. I know that there are pretty fall scenes all over the country. WH and I spent a fall weekend in Portland, Maine one year and I don’t think I have ever seen prettier fall trees. You all really know how to do up the colors in the northeast! But just in case you are in a place where you don’t have fall color, I hope you enjoy some of these photos.

In addition to fall colors, we also have a lot of yarn colors to tempt you with in today’s update! Just up on the website, you’ll find:

Hand Maiden Casbah - this merino/cashmere/nylon blend was one of the very first MCN bases to come out, and it remains one of the softest and prettiest, in my opinion. New colors and re-stocks. Here it is shown in Nymph.

Socktopus – part of our Socktopus order has arrived and we’ve added this in to the website. I know that many of you have been waiting for this!

Three Irish Girls - more Glenhaven Cashmerino Worsted Weight, which is what I used to make my Winter’s Rhythm capelet this past spring. I’m so glad that I’ll be able to wear that, soon. I loved knitting with this MCN yarn in the worsted weight.

Shibui - more colors in Sock, Staccato and Worsted have arrived. Have you tried the Staccato base yet? It’s made of a combination of  Superwash Merino (65%), Silk (30%) and Nylon (5%).  If you click on one of the close-up photos on our website, you can see just the slightest sheen. Try this for socks, shawls, or lacey scarves. Maybe the Maia Shoulderette, or Boing, or The Chevron Shawlette.

Tempted – Stacey’s Good Grrl yarn, in gorgeous colors (shown here in Frigid). Good Grrl is the 100% super wash merino base, and is wonderful for socks and shawls. Wouldn’t it be pretty knit up in Pimpelliese or  Simple Things or the 3S Shawl?

Malabrigo – Worsted, Rios, and Silky. Hard to pick a favorite from those three bases! I’m tempted to make Ptarmigan out of the Silky. And I’m loving the Guernsey Wrap (which will take some concentration) or the Nimbus Shawl (which doesn’t look like it will take any concentration, but what a cool shape!) with the Worsted or the Rios. (Note – the Nimbus calls for fingering weight, but I’d probably make it in DK or Worsted, to get it a little bigger.)

Lorna’s Laces Solemate – this is the thermostat yarn! (You know, the base that makes your hot self feel cooler and your cool self feel warmer?) For that reason, I’d use it for socks, scarves, cowls or mitts. But it’s equally pretty for shawls. Check out this Technical sock pattern. That Jeannie is a master of sock patterns! Or Nine-to-Five Socks – I love the cable going down the side of the heel.

We’ve also restocked the HiyaHiya needles, the Soak, Puppy Snips, Dumpling Cases with Stitchmarkers, and all SOAK scents, so stock up on your needles and accessories, too!

I’ve been on a knitting streak. I finished a cowl, my latest shawl, and a few more puffs. I’ve also started in on my Fourth Quarter Challenge (which is not a two-color shawl, like I thought it would be.) I have to take advantage of knitting streak time, because there are also times when I don’t feel like knitting for a couple of weeks at a time, and that’s never good. There are just too many patterns out there that are in my queue and too many different yarns that I want to work with. I hope this streak lasts awhile. Anyone else on a knitting streak?

Sheri nowthatI’vesaidthat,thestreakwillprobablycomecrashingtoahalt