Not Again!

Can you believe it.............the lights went out again Saturday evening.  Seems it's the same problem with the generator.  It's doing its best to crank over, but just can't quite make it.  Yesterday my husband pulled the battery out and ran a trickle charge to it, but it didn't help.  So, bright and early this morning he made a call to the company that came up last time.  They're due to call back later this morning to schedule a call out time.

Fortunately, we're getting rather good at improvising and even managed to get the pellet stove up and running with the help of our portable mid-size generator.  If I can heat the house up with that, then turn it off, I can do some stove top cooking.  The 2 small portable generators are each hooked to extension cords running through our bedroom window (the gap is sealed with tape because it's so cold now) and I can run our two floor heaters with those to keep the bedrooms warm.  I can even connect one to our washing machine and do a load of clothes - which I'll do in a bit.

I know this sounds so crazy, but for me, one of the reasons moving up here was to actually have to "work" for my existence.  My husband keeps reminding me that I got my wish!  At times like this it can be a harsh way of living, but honestly I wouldn't trade it for my old life!  We're in such a situation now, that we absolutely have to look up and that's THE best position to be in.

As far as knitting goes, I've been working on the above socks.  These still have the waste yarn all in place and I hope to finish them up later this afternoon.

Since my power is limited today, I better end this post and will get back to all of you as soon as I can.  Take care and keep warm!

Christmas Socks

Now how fun is this sock yarn!  It's Heart & Sole with Aloe from Red Heart.  It went through our sock machine wonderfully well and I'm quite impressed with it.

I also started a pair with Sock Ease and will post those as soon as they're finished.  I really thought by now that this addiction to making socks might end for me - it hasn't!

Have a great weekend.

Our Winner is..................

Congratulations to CGuard on Ravelry!  Please email me at Tehachapisockcompany@gmail.com with a mailing address and we'll get this right off to you.  Hope that brought a smile to your day.  I think that I enjoy this more than all of you!

We got our Christmas sock yarn in the mail yesterday and I hope to get a pair made up today.  There should be a new post tomorrow with pictures!

Have a great and safe day.

Apple Strudel and a Little Giveaway.............

Having a grandmother that was from Croatia always brought something special to my childhood, especially when it came to food.  Probably the thing I remember most, was how her kitchen was always filled with the aroma of fresh baked apple strudel.  Of course, they didn't have ready made fillo dough back then, so she made her own.  I'd watch as she'd start with a mound of dough and place it on top of her cloth lined table.  She'd gentle stretch it until the entire table top was covered.  And never did it have one tear in it - skilled hands for sure.

I thought you might enjoy trying to make your own and filling your kitchen with that wonderful smell!

Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper and spray with Pam.

Slice about 6 baking apples VERY thinly. Place them in a bowl of water while you prepare the fillo so that they don't turn brown.

Pull out about 4 or 5 sheets of fillo dough, keeping the remaining sheets well sealed.  Brush the top layer with melted butter.

Place a single layer of apples on top; sprinkle lightly with white sugar (not too much) and add cinnamon (again, not too much).

Roll up carefully and place on the cookie sheet.  Brush entire piece with melted butter.

Repeat again until you've used up all the apples.

Bake in a preheated oven of 350 degrees for approximately 40 mintues or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Now, how about another little giveaway?  I have one remaining skein of Sockina Cotton.  Just leave a comment on this post ( be sure to leave contact info such as Ravelry, etc) and on Thursday, Nov. 3rd, I'll randomly draw one lucky name.  Good luck!

Sock Time.............

It's always sock time around here.  But, at this time of year, Doris is really cranking 'em out!  Who's Doris, some of you ask?  She's our antique sock machine!  Yesterday her and I made 4 socks and today our goal is 6!  Can you imagine trying to hand knit that many even in a week?

It's always fun to see how the yarn will work up.  I never intentionally try to match up the color sequence.  Sometimes it does, but that's really a fluke!  I prefer to just let the yarn have a mind of its own.  That also makes each pair so unique and truly one of a kind.

All the socks get a good hand washing and then are blocked before adding them to our Etsy shop.  They always look so nice after going through this process.  Blocking can really make a difference with hand knits.

Years ago I had a customer in my shop that was having trouble with a front button band on her vest that was refusing to lay flat.  She said that she had tried everything.  So, I recommended some serious blocking.  Really serious.  Wet it, pin it, allow it to dry and repeat the process until it laid flat.  A week later she came back and was shocked that it had worked!  Blocking is a good thing!

I think Monday might be a good day to have another little giveaway, so I hope that you'll check back then to see what we have in mind!  Have a great weekend.

Claire Won our Little Giveaway!

Congratulations to Claire (SierraK on Ravelry) for winning our skein of Sockina Cotton. I just sent you a message via Ravelry.  You can send me your mailing address from there or write me at: tehachapisockcompany@gmail.com

I think that's a good way to start a new week, don't you?  I think on our next post, we'll have another itsy bitsy giveaway.

And now for some really big news.  I found Prell shampoo at Walgreens!  Same great smell and boy does it fluff up your hair.  Even my husband loves it! (just had to share that news!)

More sock pictures are on the way - I've been cranking like crazy with the Christmas season just ahead. And today I'm hoping to order some Christmas sock yarn.  Can't wait to see how it will work up.

Have a great day ahead and thanks so much for your fun comments on all your favorite shampoos.

When Did That Happen?

Ok, I'm the first to admit that I lead a somewhat reclusive lifestyle. It isn't that I don't like people, I just don't enjoy crowds, noise, traffic, crowds, long lines and crowds! That's probably why I live on the side of a mountain where even the mail man won't come!

Well, last week made me realize that I really am losing touch with the outside world. I decided to run to Kmart and look for some Prell shampoo. As the 'ole hair seems to be getting thinner and thinner, I remembered how much I loved that shampoo and how it made your hair feel thicker and it smelled wonderful. I searched the shampoo isle from end to end and top to bottom. Finally, a sales clerk walked by and I asked her if they carried Prell shampoo.

"Prell?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied back.

"I've never heard of it," she said with a strange look on her face.

That night I came home and told my husband about this and he almost fell off his chair in laughter. "They haven't made Prell shampoo in years!"

Ok, so my life is a bubble. I can live without Prell shampoo and I'll just quit asking stupid questions when I find myself in public!

How about a little giveaway to get my mind off the shampoo?  On Monday, Oct. 24th, I'll randomly draw one lucky name to win this skein of Schoeller + Stahl's Sockina Cotton yarn.  Just leave a comment on this post and tell everyone what your favorite shampoo is!  (ok, so I didn't get my mind off it!)  Please be sure to leave contact info (like Ravelry, etc) to make it easy for me. 

I may be in a bubble, but it's a happy bubble and I've been cranking like crazy for our Etsy shop.  Did any of you ever read the Pipi Longstockings books when you were little?  I'm convinced that's when my love affair with socks and stockings began!

UPDATE:  Amazon.com for Prell shampoo?  I'll check it out.  I also heard that maybe Walgreens carries Prell!  Can it really be true?  Stay tuned and I'll let you know, ok?