Malabrigo and my Knitter Profile

Where should I begin? I have a couple of things to share with you tonight. The first one being that I was featured on Jordana Paige's blog today as this month's "Knitter Profile". I had a lot of fun answering all the questions in the interview. So head on over to Jordana's page and get more of an inside peek into my personal life.

Elizabeth, Jordana, Author Julie Turjoman, and myself

As you may already know, I'm working on a knitting book. So when possible I will be sharing bits and pieces about the process. One of the yarns I have chosen to use in several of my pattern designs is Malabrigo Yarn. Talk about a yummy yarn! I also love the fact that they are taking steps to improve sustainability and to reduce their carbon footprint. Liat Gat of Knit Freedom fame just recently fulfilled a dream that seemed almost impossible to her — She visited the Malabrigo Yarn factory in Montevideo, Uruguay. Check out this video of the tour she was granted and share in her dream come true!

Cottage Crafts Boutique

If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, come join me today, Saturday, August 18th at Cottage Crafts Boutique. They're having a Cottage Festival. It's their official kickoff to The Fall Holiday Season. 10am to 5pm with Tea Tastings, Sidewalk Sale, Drawing & fun. I'll be selling a few of my own crafty items outside on the sidewalk! ;) — at Cottage Crafts Boutique.

A Road Trip and Some Knitting

Photo I snapped with my cell phone of the beautiful starfish at the Sea Life Aquarium - Carlsbad, CA

I love road trips! Just last week we headed south on a mini family vacation. My children don't go back to school until the 27th, so this made for a nice "end of summer" outing. We decided to visit Universal Studios as well as Lego Land. We spend 3 wonderful, fun filled days theme park hopping! I didn't realize that Lego Land was 3 parks in one. So we purchased the "Resort Hopper" package which included admission to LEGOLAND^® California, SEA LIFE^® Aquarium and LEGOLAND^® Water Park. The kids had loads of fun! But I was in awe of the beautiful Sea Life. My favorites were the starfish (what lovely colors they have) and the stingrays. I was captivated just watching the stingrays glide around. I could have watched them for hours. But children and husband beckoned. They were headed for the Water Park.

Meeting Scooby & Shaggy at Universal Studios Hollywood with my family

And of course no road trip is complete without a little knitting. The drive alone was about 8 hours from our home to Universal Studios in Hollywood. Then another 2 hours from there to Lego Land in Carlsbad, CA. I had planned on knitting a pair of fingerless mitts while my husband drove. But alas, I ended up driving more than half the way there that first day, because he had a headache. By the time he got behind the wheel there wasn't much daylight time left. So needless to say, I didn't complete my set. But I did get in quite a bit of knitting time while standing in lines! We ended up waiting more than an hour to ride some of those rides! But it's amazing how fast the time flew while I was knitting. ;) 
By the end of our trip, my husband was ready to do all of the driving and I was able to complete one mitt and get started on the second one on the way back home.

One mitt completed and the second one was well underway

I just realized how nicely the color of my mitt coordinates with the starfish in the photo above. Coincidence? Maybe that's why the starfish caught my eye. I just love that shade of purple! It's always been my favorite color. :)
It's been a busy summer. Have you taken any road trips? What are you knitting?

Sliced Banana Bread

All I need now is a nice cup of English Breakfast Tea! This banana bread recipe is in the post below...

Banana Bread Recipe

I just removed the banana bread from the oven and have set it out to cool! In the meantime I would love to share this good old country recipe with you! I found it in a recipe book that my dad gave me a few years ago. His church put the book together as a fundraiser. So without further ado, straight from the Heartland comes this Recipe of Worth from Choctaw, Oklahoma!

Banana Bread:

2 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. butter (melted)
2 c. flour
pinch of salt
3 over-ripe bananas (mashed)
1 c. pecans (optional)

Mix sugar and butter. Add eggs, flour, baking soda and salt. Add mashed bananas and nuts. Pour in loaf pan and bake at 375 F degrees until done, about 30 - 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Note: I left out the nuts and I only used 2 bananas because that's all I had! Still turns out awesome! My son LOVES this recipe. I'll be lucky if there's any left by days end.

Baking in the Morning

Our bananas had gone all mushy, so what better use for them? I've mixed up a batch of banana bread batter which is being popped into the oven right now! :) A photo of the finished product along with the recipe will follow!

Meet Joelle Hoverson

Take a moment to watch this beautifully done video. I own both of Joelle's books; Last-Minute Knitted Gifts and More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. Both are gorgeous! If you haven't heard of her before, this clip is well worth checking out! Enjoy!