Woogie Woogie Cookies

So as promised, I'm talking about Woogie Woogie Cookies. I know you're asking "CQ what the booger ARE Woogie Woogie cookies?" Actually they're just sugar cookies but they came to be known as Woogie Woogie due to small children remembering what to do. See when Elder Celting was younger, he started calling sugar cookies Wiggle Wiggle cookies because that's what you did with the cookie cutter. I would always say after he pressed it into the dough "Okay now wiggle, wiggle." Then a couple years ago Younger Celting was so excited about making the cookies, he mixed up wiggle and cookie as he was talking and it came out "Woogie, Woogie." It stuck. Now here's the kicker about our sugar cookies. They come from a recipe book from the 50's that my grandmother used. I'm not sure but I think Grandma said that it originally called for lard. We use butter flavored shortening. I've tried using butter, but the cookie spread too much and become too crisp. I like them thicker and softer. These have become the boys' favorite cookies to make.


Now on to knitting news. I managed to finish all my projects just in time for Xmas. I was seaming the Quidditch sweaters at my grandfather's on Xmas eve while we all were enjoying dinner. There were the three teacher scarves, a fluffy teal one, a fluffy purple one, and this lovely multidirectional. They all flew off the needles.


Then there was the Notre Dame de Grace sweater for my MIL. It was wonderfully received and once again, there was much surprise that I made it. Somehow, I wonder how it wasn't a backhanded compliment but all the same it is well loved.

My own mother was the recipient of this yummy shawl. Heather inspired me with the ones she made for herself and as gifts for her priest to give to his own mom. 4 balls of Suri Dream, some big needles, and a joyful time knitting.

So now what? Well, I'm finishing up the Transitional Gloves and the Animal Crackers hat so that I can do my swatch for the Rogue. YAY! I'm also getting ready to spin with the girls. Can't wait to have us all collected and spinning together on our wheels. I've never spun in a group before so hopefully I don't fail miserably. :)

Xmas Trees

So every year here at the Celtic Castle, we decorate for the holidays. And every year, it's the same routine. The Celtic Consort pulls a ton of boxes full of STUFF out of the attic. He then piles the boxes in various areas for me to access. His entire involvement with indoor decoration extends to putting up the tree in it's most basic form. Seen here looking like nothing more than Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree.

Oh and his favorite part: The Bumble




Next up: Fluffing! Yes every year it's my job to "fluff" the tree. This means that I've got to take the tree from looking like some strangled branch to a full size tree. Breathing life back into the smashed branches from being packed away for a full 11 months. After I'm done it looks like this:









So then we begin to decorate. Wrap on the lights, multicolored for us. Then comes garland. It's a lot less mess than icicles and more dog friendly. I found some this year with some holly shaped pieces which carry meaning for me. Then there are all the basic balls and stars. They LOOK like they are glass but they are actually plastic. I got them the first year we had a tree when Elder Celting was still a toddler. This means non breakable ornaments. Then comes all the ornaments we collect. My mom is a big Hallmark addict. So everyone gets at least 2-3 ornaments every year. Each one has a story. This is my favorite part of the season. Telling the stories behind ornaments. Even my grandfather's tree has stories behind it. Like the angel my cousin made when she was 5.... she's now 26. There's those hot pink God's Eyes from Laurie I think. Oh and don't forget the Lifesaver/yarn guy I made in Sunday school. And in the end, I get a holiday miracle.

Next time: Woogie Woogie Cookies

My Knitting Ate My Blog

Okay I know I'm a bad blogger. I've just been trying to focus on getting some knitting done and trying to finish out the soccer season. Good news is that on the soccer front, Elder Celting's travel team finally won a game and they all felt great. The soccer shoot is coming this weekend. Part of the fun of soccer is the parents/coaches vs. kids games. Laurie was kind enough to take some shots of the game.

So on the knitting front, I've cast on and made it through the front and halfway up the back for Elder Celting's Quidditch sweater. The Notre Dame sweater is waiting on blocking so I can seam up the shoulders and do the collar. I also need a button.

I've finished the first Coriolis sock and I'm on the leg of the second. I'm hoping to finish that so that I can send them over to my BIL Lou this weekend. I've also got a wrap on the todo list for my mother. It's similar to the ones Heather made. Oh and I've got THREE teacher scarves to make as well. Now do you get the title?

So in other news, we get new furniture on Thursday. YAY! And while we were shopping for it this weekend, we had lunch at Primanti's. Nothing says Pittsburgh quite like seeing your 5 year old eat a sandwich as big as his head. Funny thing about this shot is that the building it was taken in is the same location a picture of myself at a very young age drinking a shake as big as my head was taken. Laurie knows the picture.

Oh and keep your eyes open. As soon as I figure out the best way to do it, I'm posting my pattern for a few projects starting with the Fibonacci Moebius.

We Made State

Elder Celting won his division of the Elks Soccer Shoot! He'll be moving on to the state competition to be held November 17 in State College, PA. Winners from that level, will move on to the regional which is 7 other states. We're very excited and EC is looking for the perfect place to display his new trophy. The competition was well organized and they had a pizza party lunch for all the competitors afterwards. This was where they passed out the awards. I'll post pics as soon as I get them developed. I couldn't be more proud.

MIA

If I suddenly go MIA, you can find me here. I got my invitation to be a Raveler this morning. I'm not totally set up yet as I've been running about but I'm excited. Now all I have to do is focus on the knitting and not the web cruising and I'll be good.

Knitterati

You know celebrities are chased after by paparazzi for nothing more than following their passion and working at what they love. Last night, I felt a little the same way. Elder Celting had soccer practice and as usual I brought my knitting, the Transition Gloves. As I watch practice and gossip with the other parents, I knit on them. Now at the same time as EC's practice, there is another practice with the girls' team for the same level. So imagine about a dozen and a half aspiring Mia Hamms, Julie Foudys, and Kristine Lillys, playing hard and working towards team coherence when the coach tells them to go get some water. At this point, they all come rushing towards the bleachers where I'm happily working on my project. Soon, they are all asking about them. "What are those?" "Gee those are pretty." "I can finger knit!" "I knit a little." "My Grandpap knits me scarves." And so it goes every water break. They oooh and aaah over the pattern and the project itself. Sometimes even to the point of me having to remind them to get back to their practice. Laurie has always teased me about my ability to find or attract knitters where ever I go. I always thought it just was me being a little more social and a bit lucky. Now I wonder.... are the knitterati following me?

BTW, if you're reading this and wondering why I'm posting so early in the morning, I'm home today. The van is being worked on and I needed a mental health day. So I'll be working on lesson socks and waiting for my KnitPicks package.

Little Feet

This one's for Heather. After all, when she told me that she just wanted to chuck all her knitting to one side just to work on the lesson socks from Cat Bordhi's new book, I thought she was a little nuts. But I bought the book at Knit One just due to patterns included such as Robin Hood's Fireside Boots and Charlie's Dragon Socks. I mean come on people! That just screams the Celting household. I read the book. I flipped through the pages. The little lesson socks just cried to be knit. So I rummaged around for some partial balls and I started last night. Here's the first one. It's the Sky Sock. Instead of increases/decreases placed on the sides, the increases stem from the front center of the instep. Cat has versions of sock architecture for both cuff down and toe up. Of course being a cuff down kind of girl, I was startled to see that the one I found most appealing was a toe up design. The Coriolis. I'm hoping to finish that lesson sock later tonite. I'm also hoping I can get the jist of it to see if I can figure it out for cuff down.

And in case you're wondering, I didn't chuck all my knitting. I'm waiting for the yarn to arrive and I'm working on the Transition Gloves in transit and during soccer. I'll post more pics when they are further along.