April 2009 – Page 2 – Thimbleanna

Little Cotton Rabbits

62 Comments / April 8, 2009 June 30, 2016 / Knitting

Boy, you guys are a ruthless crowd! Thanks for all your squirrel comments — I had a good time reading how much you love or mostly don’t love rodents LOL. I’d like to re-cover my patio cushions, but if that darn squirrel is just going to eat them again, I probably won’t waste my time. Maybe the patio chair fairy will come along and take care of the problem for me.

In the meantime, it’s been a slow week here in ThimbleannaLand. Easter has snuck (is that a word?) up on me this year and I’m so late with decorations that I think I’ll just skip it. The one Easter thing I did do this year though, was to knit these little egg cozies.

I can hardly bear their cuteness! I’ve been a huge fan of Little Cotton Rabbits since I found her shortly after I started blogging. I used to stalk Julie and send her e-mails begging her to sell her patterns, but one day she very politely asked us to stop bugging her. So I did, but that didn’t mean I loved those bunnies any less. And then, a month or so ago, Julie announced that she would sell a pattern to knit these little egg cozies. I think I screamed out loud when I read the news and then I bought the pattern as soon as I could!

Julie’s pattern is exquisite. It’s beautifully illustrated with VERY clear instructions that are so easy to follow. I do hate to gush, but I really think it’s the prettiest pattern I’ve ever purchased. The hardest part about the whole process was finding the yarn. I looked on-line for the yarns that she called for, but I didn’t see the colors that I wanted. I ended up going to my local Michael’s and purchasing some Paton’s Grace 100% mercerized cotton and crossing my fingers in hopes that it would work.

I’m very pleased with how they turned out, although I’d like to see if I can find a bit darker color for the rabbit skin. I was hoping to make enough for each place setting at our Easter dinner, but I don’t think that will happen — maybe next year?

If you’re a knitter and you want to make a Little Cotton Rabbit Egg Cozy, there’s still time! You can download Julie’s pattern for a ridiculously low price HERE. (Thank you Julie for such a great pattern!) And if you’re not a knitter, Julie’s little rabbits are whispering to you to learn how to knit LOL!

XOXO,
Anna

P.S. I was surfing around the other day and got lost somewhere and stumbled upon this very funny post about leaving a little message in a hotel room. Oh, how tempted I am to do the same thing next time I travel!

P.P.S.S. Did you know they’re making a movie of Where the Wild Things Are? Oh. My. Gosh! I can’t wait!!! You can check out the trailer here — but bring a napkin for Wild Thing costume drooling. Now, if they’d just make a movie out of my all time favorite children’s story, I’d be in hog heaven!

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Dear Mr. Squirrel,

43 Comments / April 5, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Around the House, Scruff

Whaddya think this is? This is not:

a) A Holiday Inn Express.
b) That lovely backyard where your California cousins live. (Don’t let this brief sunshine fool you buddy, snow is on the way.)
c) Nests ‘R Us.

We. Are. Not. Amused. Don’t make us call out the Catalry.

Sincerely,
The Management

April’s Recipe Box Swap

30 Comments / April 2, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Recipes

It’s the first Thursday in April, so that means it’s time for another recipe box swap. Our hostess, Randi, at I Have to Say, has chosen Pasta as our theme this month (well, ok, I helped choose LOL).

My pasta recipe is suspiciously a lot like the one that Randi posted. This is one of our new favorites. I wrote it down in one of my recipe books years ago and never tried it. A few months ago, I was looking for something new so I tried this recipe, and now we have it all the time. (And SweetiePie, I’m betting you and TheFirstChild would like this too.)

Smoked Sausage Primavera

8 oz. uncooked spaghetti — broken in half
8 oz. sausage, cut in slices (we like kielbasa)
1 head fresh broccoli, or 3 cups frozen broccoli
1/4 c. water
3/4 c. evaporated skim milk (I’ve substituted heavy cream before and it was fine)
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti. Place sausage, veggies, and water in skillet. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 7 to 8 minutes or until veggies are crisp/tender.

Add milk, butter, and seasoning to skillet. Heat until butter melts. Toss mixture with spaghetti and parmesan. Let stand 5 minutes to thicken.

On an unrelated subject, here’s a little addendum to the twitter conversation we had a few posts back. I still don’t get it. I do get that it’s not facebook and that it could be a powerful tool, but I don’t get how it has much use to me. I’ve been very sad to see several bloggers move to facebook and now some are heading to twitter. Hopefully they won’t abandon their blogs, but I do think their blogs suffer. Because I’m a visual person, twitter just doesn’t appeal to me, and having another account to keep track of is even MORE unappealing.

All that said however, I have been reading of one AWESOME use of twitter. If you have some spare reading time, check out the story of twitchhiker who traveled half-way around the world, and all for free. If I could do that, I’ll bet I’d love twitter!

Have a great weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

Month: April 2009

Smoked Sausage Primavera