secret

Friday Roundup: A Friend’s Book!

What I’m Knitting

There’s been a whole lot more secret knitting this week—but my secret projects are getting closer to completion, so hopefully I’ll be back to things I can show you next week! I did manage to take this pic of my two WIPs at the moment, which explains why my fingers are so confused right now (that’s light fingering on US #2s and super-bulky on US #15s!):

Oh, and I wanted to mention two other knitting-related things. First, I finally took the plunge and started an Instagram account! I’m @trionadesigns if you want to connect with me there. I’m posting fun pics of what goes on behind the scenes around here (which often involves a lot of toddler wrangling), as well as sneak peeks of upcoming designs and things I find inspiring.

Secondly, I’m planning to raise prices on my patterns slightly on Ravelry next week (after the 15th of the month). Most of my garment and accessory patterns are currently priced below the average, and I’ve been meaning to raise them a little higher for a while now to bring them more in line with current costs of production (which include editing, photography, and so on). I’m proud of the work that goes into my patterns and want the price to reflect that!

So if you’ve been meaning to purchase any patterns from my Ravelry store, you can take advantage of the advance warning and save a few bucks this week. :-)

What I’m Cooking

Well, this is embarrassing… I didn’t cook anything worthy of photographing this week (meaning, nothing entirely from scratch). Thanks to a few late work nights for me and the hubby, we did more than our usual share of picking up food or cobbling together quick dinners from frozen or convenience-type ingredients. I’ll try to be better about it next week!

What I’m Reading

Okay, definitely saved the best for last. One of my very good friends had her debut novel come out this week, The BFF Bucket List! I preordered it, so it arrived a day before the release date and I’ve been happily reading it ever since. It’s so good! She has a knack for writing books for tweens that make me really remember what it was like to be that age. You can pick up this book for yourself or your tween friends/family members from your local big bookstore or Amazon.com. You won’t be disappointed!

Friday Roundup: Not Much to See Here

What I’m Knitting:

I finished the large secret sweater project (yay!) and am working feverishly to get the pattern all written up by the deadline next week. So that means nothing new has been cast on, unfortunately. Hoping to rectify that with an instant gratification project tonight!

What I’m Cooking:

Look Ma, I actually cooked something this week! For my weekly vegan-meal-for-a-crowd, I went with a tried and true favorite: a soft taco bar. Cook up some peppers and onions, heat up some vegetarian refried beans, and provide lots of toppings (I wasn’t feeling the vegan cheese or Mexican rice, so that’s missing from my plate). Add homemade guacamole and chips on the side and it can’t miss.

I also discovered a much better way to heat lots of tortillas at once. I much prefer warm tortillas, but it’s a pain to microwave them or heat them on the stovetop if you’re doing more than 5-10. So I searched online and figured out that you can wrap stacks of 5 or so in aluminum foil and put them in the oven for 10 minutes. So much easier!

What I’m Reading

I finished Dangerous Lies (it was really good all the way to the end!) and am looking for my next read. I think a trip to the library is in order…

Friday Roundup: Closeups

What I’m Knitting

Well, there’s been a whole lot of knitting on the secret commissioned sweater project… which means that once again, I don’t have much to show off here. I’m cruising through the yoke now, so it won’t be long before I can show off some actual knitting content again!

In the meantime, I figured I could show you some extreme closeups of some of my favorite details. (Side note: these remind me of a feature they used to have in the Highlights for Children magazine, where they’d show closeups of everyday items and you had to guess what they were. I LOVED those!)

Texture:

A nice squishy rib:

One of my favorite features, subtle waist shaping away from the sides:

What I’m Cooking

Uhm, nothing. I’ve really fallen off the wagon on cooking healthy meals, yikes! Work has been crazy for both me and the husband, so there’s been a lot of takeout and ready-made meals stuck in the oven or microwave. But I’m determined to get back to it! Posting here makes me more accountable, so maybe that will help….

What I’m Reading

I’m currently writing a young adult mystery novel, so I’ve been looking for some examples in the genre. This one, which involves the witness protection program, a believable romance, and a really scary villain, is excellent so far!

Friday Roundup: New Year’s Edition!

What I’m Knitting

A fairly low-key day (not a day off—freelancers have it tough sometimes!) means plenty of time for knitting! I can’t show you the whole sweater I’m currently working on for a publication, but I can give you a teensy peek. Look at that gorgeous, rustic yarn:

I’m also working on two(!) other designs for publication with a similar deadline, so there’s going to be some frantic knitting around here for the next few weeks. Wish me luck!

What I’m Cooking

Family in town means lots of eating out, so not too much to show this week! I did manage to make a double recipe of this tasty tortilla soup, which everyone appreciated:

What I’m Reading

Is there anything better than getting a big stack of books for Christmas? I’m working my way through, starting with this one that’s been on my wishlist for a while:

Happy New Year!