Little Victory Chart Guy

I almost lost him, the Little Victory Chart Guy. I found him late yesterday afternoon nestled deep inside a folder backed up on my eternal hard drive. I never did quite catch on to this back-up system. Not with ease. And yesterday was my day of reckoning, the device was full.  The time had finally come for me to enter the dark hole where my files had been sent and see what was there.  Deleting and consolidating both the old and new took much of my afternoon, and in the process, I found this guy.

The Little Victory Chart Guy is a knitting chart for the simplest "v". I drew him while writing the pattern for Victory Scarf and Wristers in A Knitter's Home Companion.  You can insert his "V" into a washcloth, Warm-Up America square, healing shawl or sock top.

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Congratulations to Kris at Light and Texture, Sometimes Sound.  Her comment on knitting and empowerment was chosen as the winner in our International Women's Day contest. Kris, please contact me through the email form on this site -- Open Road Media has an e-copy of A Knitter's Home Companion for you!

A big knitterly thanks to all who of you shared your knitting experiences. If you haven't read their comments, scroll down and enjoy. And if you haven't already, join in the conversation. I love reading about your knitting lives, and I'll be checking for new comments.  Take the time to visit Kris's website/tumblr-- Light and Texture, Sometimes Sound . It's a lovely place.

Apple Cake

Is the age of cupcakes over? Will harmony and understanding dawn with pies in ascension? Or will Toll House Cookies open the gates to the peace?

I'm sticking with apple cake. Elaine Yoder's. Rich, moist, and the true soul mate of even the humblest cup of coffee.

Last Saturday morning, I peeled and chopped the apples, brewed the coffee and stirred in the baking soda till foamy. Batter ready and baked in the greased pan, our house soon filled with an aroma that surely must herald something spectacular. Later, ten thick slices went out the door with my youngest daughter to share with her summer companions and colleagues doing research at the University. The next plate went to my generous next door neighbor who edged my lawn. What remained was shared with our houseguest. And the next morning, when he left for his long drive back to Colorado, the last bit of apple cake went with him, spreading the good apple cake Karma all along  1-80 West.

Elaine Yoder's Raw Apple Cake -- A Bake and Share Recipe.

Raw Apple Cake

CAKE

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup corn oil

1/2 cup applesauce

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup hot coffee with 2 teaspoons baking soda

(stir until foamy)

2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups flour, sifted

4 cups raw apples, peeled and chopped

TOPPING

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup brown sugar.

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease 9x13 pan. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until sooth. Add chopped apples and pour into 9 x 13 pan. Cover with topping mixture. Bake 1 hour.

Notes and News:

Congratulations to Joanne Seiff and the Professor. They are proud parents of twin boys-- Baby A and Baby B, aka Losken and Kugel. Naming will happen shortly, check out Joanne's blog for updates. And take a look around at her great knitting patterns and posts.

I am thinking about starting a monthly newsletter with stories, pictures, pattern and recipe links. If you'd like to be on my mailing list, send me an email from the contact page.

Blog Posts also appear on my Facebook and Ravelry Pages. Please visit me there.

Our Amazing Mothers

This week in honor of Mother's Day (Sunday, May 8), photographs have been popping up on Facebook pages of my childhood friends and schoolmates. For the first time, I am getting to see their mothers--Pearl, Florence and Elaine-- as young women. To add to the parade of those captured on film as forever young, I'd like to add my mother, Lillian Edwards. 

Share a picture of your mother, mentor or important women in your life on my Facebook Author's Page . I'll be there to greet her.

A Mother's Day card for you. Click on card or here to download.

You can read a Knitter's Portrait of my mother on Lion Brand Yarn Company's website. A longer version is in A Knitter's Home Companion.

Readalong: Hazel's Amazing Mother by Rosemary Wells

August 18 2009

It's Tuesday. Mostly sunny here in Iowa. The kind of late summer day that makes one feel empowered enough to think this might be the day to meet all sorts of goals that would seem down right foolish on a gray, rainy day. A goal like maybe updating one's website.

I did try. I did make one change. But this blog has become my escape route, my backdoor. Visit me here, I wrote on what became the only entry I made on www.michelledwards.com/ I had wanted to write something about my book Alef-Bet, now back in print after many years. The above illustration is from the book. Ah well, you did see it here. And it's on Amazon. And wherever fine books are sold, as my husband is so fond of telling those kind enough to inquire.

Knitters, check out this week's Lion Brand Newsletter for my latest story, Back to School.

Other news to report has to do with owls. The one who showed up in the woodpecker's tree the other night. A glorious specimen. Huge. Commanding. And I think maybe a sign of something grand to come. When I was rewriting Jackson Friends, hoping that Harcourt would finally offer me a contract, I spotted an eagle on my walk. Now an owl. I know what I hope it means. Stay tuned.

Enjoy the last days of summer.

April Showers and Children's Books

I meant to post this several weeks ago. Here's what I have learned about blogging, though. Work comes first. This has been a busy time for me. I'm working on a new book. A huge undertaking. More about that in the coming months. And then there's a new knitting essay, Knitting for Soldiers, which will appear in this weeks Lion Brand Yarn Company Newsletter. On my needles at the moment is a hat for the Ships Project. Also the cardigan from the Mason Dixon Knitters, Knitting Outside the Lines.

Back to the the post I had intended for weeks ago. And children's books. My friend and great supporter, Natalie Blitt, has a blog, Reading Kids are Dreaming Kids. And her last post about my book, Alef-Bet.

Writing and illustrating books can be a lonely buissness. And there's a long wait between when a book is finished and when it comes out in print. I know it may sound a bit trite and over used, but a great review, or any acknowledgment of a book, always means a lot to me.Thank you, Natalie.