Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Out With the Old

Just as the old year is about to end and a new one begin, it has worked out that I've been able to finish one knitting project and start another. And why not? This is prime knitting season now that winter has settled in, we're still in vacation/holiday mode, and months of good-sweater-wearing weather are ahead of us.

Last night I sewed the buttons on a yoked cardigan that I started around Thanksgiving. I don't quite remember how I came across this pattern originally. I suppose I saw a posting on Ravelry. Several knitters had begun with the complimentary pattern from the DROPs website and modified it to include long sleeves and a slightly different pattern in the yoke design. The modified look appealed to me, I had some yarn on hand, and so I cast on.

Talk about economical knitting. I used only two skeins of Lion's Brand Fisherman's Wool and bought those on sale. I'm pretty sure that the buttons cost more than the yarn did on this project--and that's saying something, because the buttons are nothing special.

It's a cute sweater, and I'm sure I'll get plenty of wear out of it, but I would warn a new knitter that the finished product has little to do with the original pattern. If you are confident enough to "go with the flow" as you are knitting to get the yoke decreases and garment shaping, by all means. But if you need a "by the book" knit, I would think twice.

Of course, I was itching to get started on the "Green (Red) Sweater" project that was shipped to the house earlier this month. It's not even so much the sweater itself that has me excited to get knitting as it is the story behind the sweater. It makes you wonder how many other undiscovered treasures could be out there. It also makes me wonder what will ever happen to all the garments I've knit over the years. I'm surely no Elizabeth Zimmermann, but there are lots of sweaters around that have come off my needles. Maybe someone will put one on some day and think about who put it together one cold winter day.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Now I Pay

After spending a few days in the lap of luxury as a guest of the Encore in Vegas, now I must pay. Not for any gambling losses, but for the days lost in Christmas prep. No tree or nuthin' up in our house yet. Yikes!

It was worth it. Look at this view! Not to mention much warmer temperatures than we were getting back home. And the food. Ah, the food. For me, Vegas isn't about gambling. It's about the restaurants. I think it might take several days before I actually experience a normal hunger pang again.

The cold wind in the airport parking ramp was an extremely nasty slap in the face that brought me back to reality. Fortunately, I adapt quickly and by even later this morning as I ran to the grocery store I was struck by how warm the car gets in the sunshine even in these grisly temperatures. Besides, it won't be too long and we'll be heading down south again.

As an update...
Before we left, I took delivery on the pattern and yarn for EZ's Green Sweater. As you can plainly see, my Green Sweater is going to be red---lovely red Ultra Alpaca. I read through the pattern to see what's in store, and I saw that word "steek." I've steeked before, just not any of my hand knit projects. I must admit that I was a bit put off at first, but decided that this will be a good time to try something (sort of) new. I've never minded cutting machine knitting before because I think of it as knit fabric. Of course, that's what I create by hand as well. It takes much longer to create though, doesn't it?

Okay, break's over.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Oh, the Weather Outside Is Frightful

The first good snowstorm of the season is always exciting. We are on the lighter edge of the snowfall totals here, but even this amount of snow looks impressive when it's whipped up by brisk winds.

As tempting as it was to stay in a warm bed this morning, I made it to the gym and had the place practically to myself. Wimps!!

Now I'm the wimp. I intend hole up inside today and get to some Christmas prep chores, so while the weather outside is frightful...

Speaking of exciting, after a few days of rather dull stockinette knitting, I am finally approaching the interesting part of my Patterned Yoke Cardigan---the yoke. The Packer game on Monday night gave me a chance to get an entire sleeve finished, but I haven't gotten back to it since.

This is the first time I've used one of the DROPS designs, and I probably wouldn't have made this one in its original form. It's the variations of the pattern posted on Ravelry that have appealed to me. Substituting a ribbed hem and cuff and adding longer sleeves gives the sweater a traditional look and also makes it more practical.

I haven't decided yet how I'm going to work the yoke. Some knitters have substituted moss stitch for the rows of "purl 3 together", and it's attractive. Maybe I'll try some of both and see what works the best. As much as I'd like to shut the laptop and pick it up right now, I have to resist that urge. Seriously, how great would it be to sip coffee, knit, and watch an old movie by the fireplace while the snow flies? That's going to have to wait for another time.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Two for the Price of One

Last year I made the big mistake of ordering croissants from Williams-Sonoma for a holiday treat for our family. A big mistake because they are so incredibly delicious that I had to order some more again this year. And not only are they delicate, buttery goodness in every bite, but they are shipped with several pouches of dry ice. Two big thrills for the price of one!

Almost as soon as they arrived, I was producing mounds of bubbling fog on my kitchen counter. I did restrain myself and saved some for later when my husband got home. This actually made me feel better about the whole thing, since I was a little embarrassed by my delight over such a simple pleasure, but trust me, he was getting just as big of a thrill out of it as I was. Next year maybe I should just order up a boxes of dry ice for everyone's Christmas gifts. I will continue to get mine delivered with croissants, thank you very much.

I've become more acquainted with the UPS and FedEx drivers this week now that all my Internet purchases are being delivered. What a great way to shop for Christmas! And for me! I'm not a big shopper most of the year, so when I'm looking around for gifts, I always seem to find a few things I can't live without. Merry Christmas to me. Last week one of those items dropped right in my lap(top).

A while back, I was perusing the online knitting magazine Twist Collective and was intrigued by a story entitled Channeling Elizabeth by Sunday Holm about a wonderful keepsake one woman has from her famous---at least among knitters---godmother. Probably like everyone else who read the article, I proceeded to search and search trying to figure out why I couldn't find the link to the site where I would be able to purchase the pattern for this "I-can't-wait-to-make-it-for-myself" design. After several minutes, I finally figured out that there wasn't a pattern, at least not yet. (They have since noted that fact at the end of the piece.) I did get my name on a list of people who wished to be contacted by email when the pattern would become available, and that email popped up in my box over the weekend while I still had my still-smoking Visa card in hand after making a few Amazon purchases.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who was itching to make this sweater. It appears that Schoolhouse Press has been swamped with orders for the pattern and wool. This is great. I'm picturing Mrs. Zimmermann getting quite a kick out of the fuss being made about some old sweater. Good for her. So now even if I have to wait a little longer, it's big fun knowing I have one great Christmas gift coming my way.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

This guy doesn't look too worried about his fate on Thursday, but his cousin is already thawing out in the refrigerator, and we've got a ravenous college kid at home who's sizing him up. I'm not sure if the bar is raised or lowered for this meal once your kids start doing their own cooking---the pressure is on to make it memorable, but you've got to figure anything tastes better than most of the stuff they're making.

So, here's Thursday. Dinner. Football. (Packers, no less.) Nap. Check. Check. And check.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Missed It By That Much

So close to making it to the "once a week entry" point. I really do consider myself a fairly disciplined person. I just can't seem to stick to a writing schedule. In my defense, I was writing yesterday---for a couple of hours, in fact, but it wasn't here, was it?

We continue to experience a "warm" November. I have to go outside and laugh menacingly about how each day cheats Old Man Winter. Oh, I know we'll pay, but not today.

Last night we entertained some old and new neighbors. I guess our neighborhood is getting to the second-owner-stage. Literally, there were the old neighbors---those of us whose kids are off to college---and the younguns' who just moved in with three girls under the age of five. Adorable. We shared a pan of White Russian Tiramisu and Italian Prosecco. A real international evening!

On Sunday I picked up some desperation knitting. I had finished everything in my basket, and yet there was a full afternoon of football games ahead of me. I frantically went to my bin of leftovers and right on top sat the two skeins of Debbie Bliss Rialto leftover from my cardigan. Ah-hah! There had to be something in my queue that would work. Matching mittens! So I cast on a pair of Cabled Mittens and happily knit away. Now that one mitten is done, I'm beginning to wonder what I'll do next. Hmmm?

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Thanksgiving Knits

These cute, little pumpkins caught my eye on Ravelry the other day, and before I knew it, I had knit a whole bunch of them. The Little Lucious Pumpkin pattern is a freebie on the site posted by Marie Greene.

The originals call for fingering weight, but I went with some leftovers of Brown Sheep Naturespun Sport. I still knit them on size 2 DPNs so that they're nice and firm to hold in the stuffing of lentils. This project would be good practice for someone who wants to try working with DPNs.

I think these would be great looking on the Thanksgiving table. Guests could take one home to remember a special day. You could even tie on a name tag and use them as place cards. Very cute. I may try knitting up a few tubes in red and make a few apples, too.

FYI: The tricky part was getting the lentils packed into the knitted tube. I found that using a kitchen funnel poked into the open end worked best. Load it up with the lentils and use a skewer to nudge in as many as you can. Then close it off and add the stem.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Fabric Gift Baskets

The last few years I've given up on trying to find the "one perfect thing" to give each of my family members for Christmas, and started to give out bags or baskets of goodies instead. None of us need anything, but we all eat and drink, right? And shopping for edibles is something even I enjoy.

Now I'm always on the lookout for interesting ways to give the goodies. A couple of years ago I bought personalized tote bags. Last year I found some great baskets on sale. This year I found the answer while I was kicking around on the Internet---fabric baskets.

I stumbled on this tutorial last week that had step-by-step instructions for this super simple project. The measurements provided were a little too small for what I had in mind, but at least I had the general idea.

Each basket requires:
1. Lining: Since this is the largest pattern piece, I determined this measurement first. I wanted to make the most of the width of the fabric, in this case 44-45". So, I went one half the width and cut a lining piece that was 22" X 18". One half yard yields enough for two baskets.

**FYI: Keep in mind the direction and placement of the print before you purchase your yardage. You'll want your design to run the right direction and have larger motifs centered on the basket.

2.Upper Fabric Bands: You'll need two for each bag. Make them the same width as your lining and as wide as you want them to be. Mine were 5" X 18" pieces.

3. Lower Fabric Base: You'll need one base fabric. Again, cut this the same width as the lining and upper bands. The length will be the size of the lining, minus the upper bands. (Don't forget to include 1/2" seam allowances on each piece!) Mine were 14" X 18".

4. Interfacing: Cut one piece of heavy iron-on interfacing the same size as the lining. This give the basket some body.

The baskets on the original tutorial had handles made from ribbon. Instead, I made mine out of scraps of fabric. Cut two 7" X 4" pieces. Sew a 1/2" seam lengthwise, turn out, and iron the seam inside.

For this project, I purchased 1/2 yard of three co-ordinating prints to make two baskets, and I bought enough to make six baskets total. Then I just followed the instructions on the tutorial, and after an assembly line-like process of cutting, sewing, and ironing, I had all of them done in no time. One last thing: you will have to experiment to determine how large to make seam for the bottom corners. Mine were 5" across. Less and the bag is taller and thinner; more and the bag is shorter and wider.

Now comes the fun part. Filling them up. Fancy coffee, nuts, wine, candles, pretty napkins, snacks, or whatever looks and sounds good. Maybe with some extras to keep.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

November? Really?

So much for the discipline of sticking with a journal. Twins win? My last entry was Twins win?! Where did that month go? It's not like I haven't been doing anything. Honest.

There have been the usual "winter is coming" chores to take care of: cleaning out the garden, storing the porch furniture, raking leaves, etc. Both sunny days that we had in October (not an exaggeration , by the way) were filled with that kind of fun. (We even had two measurable snowfalls during October. Doesn't Mother Nature ever get tired of proving Al Gore is an idiot?)

Lots of hours have been spent with some volunteer work that I enjoy doing at church. It's satisfying to get back into the routine, but at the same time, a little overwhelming catching up after sloughing off over the summer months.

We even got a chance last weekend to drive to the North Shore. Even though most of the leaves were off the trees that far north, we did enjoy hiking. Nothing is better than that spicy fall air in the damp woods.

And I've gotten some knitting projects going. Months ago I bought Elise Duvekot's book, Knit One Below. (Free pattern available on the web site.) There was so much buzz about this book when it first came out that I just had to give the technique a try. Finally, this month I bought the supplies for the felted bag pattern. It was a quick project and definitely got me excited to try some of the other patterns. This technique appeals to me because it's a way to do color work by only working with one color on any given row, and it can be worked into multiple effects.

I've been knitting a long time, and it's always exciting to try something new, especially something new that's challenging. Even this simple bag pattern took some effort, and I practically broke out in a cold sweat when I had to frog back on a row. Once I got the hang of it though, I got more confidence. I'll be coming back to this book.

Another fun little project was the Chic Knits Mondo Cable Cap KAL. I had purchased a couple of patterns from their web site and received the instructions for the cap as a bonus. The first clue arrived on the day that I had purchased a skein of Berroco's Vintage wool to test. How could I resist? I loved both the pattern and the yarn.

The patterns on the Chic Knits site are sort of traditional with a modern twist. One of the patterns that I purchased happened to be another of the Mondo Cable designs--a vest. I took the yarn and pattern with me on our trip up North, and it's almost done. I think I'll like the finished project. The knitting is pretty boring though. It was good for a road trip. Maybe some pictures by next week.

Last but not least, I finally found some acceptable buttons for my Lopi jacket. For some reason, I had it in my head that I wanted red buttons and only red buttons. No luck, so I settled for some black/brown, sort of natural looking ones. The poor old thing looks a little saggy in the photo because I've been wearing it so much. It's terrifically warm and the warm red color lends a little cheer to our gloomy weather.

With a new month I'll try and be better about keeping the habit of keeping track here. In fact, I will put up the details of a cool sewing project I found online later this week if I get the chance. An easy project for Christmas gifts.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Twins Win!! Twins Win!!

...and that's all I have to say about that.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Baseball Knitting

Where has a month gone? Like Spring, Fall is one of those busy transitional seasons when there are long lists of things to be accomplished and now even less daylight to get them done.

I have to admit that I'm pretty grateful for a cold, rainy day. I couldn't possibly wash windows or clean out the garden, so I am inside today catching up on all the things I've let go. At least all of the things I can get done by 4:00--when the Twins play their AL Central Tiebreaker with Detroit!

I'm looking forward to another afternoon of baseball knitting. Just for fun, I cast on Chic Knits Mini-Mystery KAL as they threw the first pitch of Sunday's final game of the regular season and by the end of the ninth, I had almost worked my way through Clue #2. Before the Twins' fate is determined this evening, I should be ready and waiting for the next step.

The "mystery" part of this KAL keeps me from saying too much. I was mostly motivated by a skein of Berocco Vintage Wool that I had picked up on Saturday. I had heard about it on a podcast and wanted to give it a try. I'm always looking for good, reasonably priced, basic wool in lots of colors. So far, it lives up my expectations. It's soft and easy to knit and gives good stitch definition for this project.

The invite for the KAL came after I purchased a couple of knitting pattern downloads from Chic Knits. The designs on the site are basic, but with a twist--usually a big mondo cable twist, which seems to be the designer's signature on several items. Like the new yarn, the instructions for the KAL seem to live up to expectations. Looks like there was a glitch with the second clue, but it was corrected immediately.

Outside of baseball and knitting, it's been lots of volunteer work hours as we rev up our fall activities, the usual yard work that comes with the end of the growing season, and some family obligations. We did make time yesterday to make our annual trek to a couple of local apple orchards, too. I was hoping to take a few pictures, but it was such a gloomy day that it seemed pointless to even bring the camera along. Too bad. What's more beautiful than a tree heavy with ripe apples? Really, who could blame Eve?

Go Twins!!!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

My Own Boss

Now that summer break is over, and I find that I'm my own boss once again, it's amazing how much I can accomplish in a day. One of the first things on my list was to get to some of the housekeeping chores that tend to slide over the summer months. Disorder is not my friend. After all, I have to keep up my OCD reputation. (I don't think I'm that bad, but then crazy people don't know that they're crazy, do they?)

I've also been anxious to get my Cable Band Cardigan project blocked and put together. Not because it was such a high priority, but I was dying to see what it was going to look like. And whoo-hoo, I think it turned out great--if I do say so myself--and it fits perfectly.

There aren't many sweater patterns that I can knit without making some modifications. Being somewhat height challenged, I usually have to adjust both the body and sleeve length, but this one was right on. There is also just enough shaping around the waist to give it a pretty, feminine fit.

After knitting cables with DK for the last several weeks, I wanted my next project to be something thick and chunky, so I cast on a fall cardigan--almost jacket--in some apple red Lopi on size 101/2 needles. It miraculously grows right before my eyes! I can imagine that by the time I get to posting the details, I could be done.

All right! The boss says it's time to quit loafing and get back to work.

Friday, September 4, 2009

I Love You Son, But Could You Get Your Crap Out Of Our Living Room?

As summer comes to its unofficial end, I'm getting the same overwhelming feeling I get every September to get back to a normal routine and spend some time getting my life and my house back into shape. By the end of August, I have usually surrendered myself to the fact that some things have to be compromised. However, I can only take disorder for so long. It's been great having our son home from college for the summer, but I have to admit that I am looking forward to, among other things, picking up the kitchen and having it stay clean for at least a few hours.

Now we have a growing mountain of apartment furnishings taking over our living room that will all have to be hauled off this weekend. Another moving day. Part of me envies his going back to college. Those are great years. Most of me is glad that I'm past living in an overpriced closet and eating boxed macaroni and cheese.

So, the summer in review. We got to Lake Vermillion for some fishing, Chicago for the Twins, went to the PGA, and made it to sunny CA. We squeezed in visits to aunts, uncles, and cousins. There were lots of hours in the garden, and I think I have perfected the art of making my own yogurt. I knit three sweaters and a baby blanket. We celebrated twenty-five years of marriage. We ate lots of great food, drank a few wonderful summer adult beverages, saw some great movies--and a few that weren't so great. And we must have gone to at least a dozen different golf courses. Whew!

It was a terrific summer, and I love you son and will miss you, but could you please get your crap out of our living room?

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Monterey

For our last gasp at summer vacation, we scheduled one final trip and spent a few days out in Monterey, CA. This was a destination we had tried once before and had to cancel at the last minute, but this time the stars aligned, and we made it.

Not unlike San Francisco, this area can be quite cool in the summer. (Didn't Mark Twain say that the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco?) Even though we got a little taste of that, most of the time we were there it was sunny and gorgeous with record highs. Good for us; bad for the fires.

Like most of our vacations, this one revolved around food and some kind of sport. Ahh, the food. What's better than fresh seafood, pastas, salads, and wine? Lots of good wine. What's better is that you get to look out at all this beautiful scenery while you're enjoying it!

Besides the food, this area is known as golf heaven. The guys got in a few rounds, but I think they got the biggest kick out of walking around the Pebble Beach course. To our surprise, this gorgeous course is very accessible, and we were welcomed to walk around to our heart's content.

After having seen this course for so many years through tournament television coverage, these signature holes were familiar, but like everything else, were so much more fun to experience in person. We could have sat by this par three along the coastline all day.

Between golf days, we took a drive down to Big Sur. It was a warm, sunny day and the traffic was light, so we were able to take our time and pull off the road a few times to admire the view.

This was the perfect way to end our summer--a great summer. So, now we're home and getting ready to take our son back to college for the year.

Monday, August 17, 2009

PGA 'til You Drop

Our last week was consumed by golf, golf, and more golf.

Cleverly hidden in the center of the country, Minnesota rarely plays host to international sporting events. So when over one hundred of the greatest golfers in the world make the trek to play in your backyard, you go.

Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly in our backyard. The journey was the most trying part of the week. With the drive, traffic, road construction, and shuttles, it could be over two hours each way to the course and back. But once we arrived, it was truly a great experience. The course was beautiful, the golfers were unbelievable, the tournament itself was well run.

And Tiger-mania is alive and well. To avoid the largest crowds, we spent most of our time watching the rest of the field. When we did stick around on a hole long enough for his group play through, the flurry of activity around him was just as fascinating to watch as the man himself. Security is tight. The media coverage is phenomenal. And his fans watch his every move. (When he used the bathroom after teeing off on one hole, more people were staring at the Biff than Padraig's tee shot.) I'm sure it's good to be Tiger, but it's got to be difficult to live with that kind of attention.

After a couple of practice rounds and the opening round of the tourney, I surrendered my ticket for the weekend to my brother. By that time, I was more than happy to watch the coverage from the comfort of my own home with a new appreciation for the phenomenal skills of these elite golfers. Even HD doesn't give you an appreciation for the challenges of the course, and these guys just make it all look too easy.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Cable Chart Psychology

How can it be the last day of July already? That's a little sad, but we still have some of our best summer plans ahead for August, so I'll try not to get to down about July's demise.

It has been a good July for knitting. Hot and humid weather can be a deterrent to picking up the needles. With the cool temps we've had, a growing cardigan on my lap in the evenings actually feels good.

This morning I decided to lay out my sweater to double check that I'm still on gauge and that all of my cables are going the right way. As long as it was on the floor and my camera was nearby, I snapped a picture.


At this point in a project--when I've become very familiar with the pattern and am sailing along--I've learned from past experiences, to do some quality control. Familiarity breeds stupidity, if you know what I mean. It's no fun finding out that you zigged when you should have zagged about twenty rows back.

As I was knitting along the other day, I also got to thinking about cable chart psychology and wondered if anyone else experiences similar thoughts. Here's the thing. On most cable charts, the wrong side row is generally just knitting the knit stitches and purling the purls, so I always think of those rows as my "brain gets a rest" rows. Then I also tend to have rows in the chart that I like to knit--row 9 is quite exciting in this pattern--and rows I tend to dislike (even dread)--row 1 is the dull one in this bunch. Isn't this sad? I am probably exposing my own simple mind. I'm sure other knitters contemplate world affairs or read "War and Peace" while they work their craft.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Homemade Yogurt

Snooping around on different food blogs over the years, I came across a few people who insisted that homemade yogurt is not only the best tasting, but was easy to make. So, after reading what I could about the process, I decided to give it a try. As long as I was typing up my results, I thought I might as well share.

I settled on a recipe that started out with scalding one quart of whole milk. Using the candy thermometer, I brought the temperature of the milk to 180 degrees--following the directions exactly--but it probably isn't necessary to get it that warm. How much bad bacteria can there be in fresh, pasteurized milk? (If you know, please don't answer that hypothetical question.)

The next step was to stir in 1/3 cup of non-fat dried milk. Not everyone adds the dried milk. It boosts the protein, and I know it's weird, but I like the taste, so I went with it.

Now the mixture needs to cool off before you stir in the starter. If the milk is too hot, you'll kill your culture, and if it's too cool, nothing is going to happen. Once the milk mixture is cooled off to about 100-110 degrees, stir in a tablespoon of plain yogurt. You don't want to add too much, or the finished product could get sour. We always have Dannon's All Natural yogurt on hand. There isn't all the junk that's in most yogurts. And for this, I made sure that I used a fresh container.

At this point, I added a step of my own. I noticed that there were some solids floating around in the mixture. (Probably from when I impatiently turned the burner up to expedite the first step. Ooops.) I strained the whole works through a sieve, and you can see that was a good idea.

Now comes the fun part. I poured the mixture into two canning jars, one of which I had punched a hole in the lid to allow for the use of my thermometer.

The key at this point is to maintain the temperature of the yogurt-to-be at approximately 110 degrees for two to five hours. My first plan was to use my bread raising technique, which is to put them in the microwave over my stove with the door shut and the stove light beneath it left on. This is the perfect temperature to encourage the growth of yeast, but it turned out to be too cool for yogurt. Within a half an hour, the content of the jars had cooled to 102 degrees.

Plan B was the crock pot, and this worked great, but don't wander too far away. On low, with a semi-damp towel on the bottom as a cushion, the jars quickly came back up to temperature. By checking back periodically, I was able to maintain a fairly even temperature by turning the heat on only one more time.

From start to finish, the whole process took about five hours, but most of that time is hands-off. And now that I've done it once, I won't have to waste time working on the heat source.

Was it worth it? No question. Homemade yogurt is creamy--of course, it doesn't hurt to use whole milk--and not tart at all. It is definitely a far superior product than even the best yogurts that I've bought at the grocery store. Next time I'm going to try it with a lower fat milk, but I think I'm sold on making my own.

Breakfast this morning? Yogurt with fresh raspberries drizzled with honey. Mmmmm.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Still in the Garden

When the weeds are under control and the deadheading has been done, there's only one excuse left to linger in the garden, and that's to snap a few more pictures.

Photographs help me remember what works and what doesn't in the garden. P.D. (pre-digital) I used to take notes and make drawings of the garden, which worked to a point, but there's nothing like the real thing.

Over the years I've learned a few things. I'm a sucker for pink and blue flowers. Petunias are worth the sticky job of picking off the spent blossoms. Not everything has to have flowers. (For instance, hostas are beautiful; their flowers usually are not. I tend to cut a lot of them off before they bloom.) You should plant flowers where they want to grow. And vegetables and herbs are pretty, too.

Every year I learn something new about gardening. Mostly I've learned that it's a darn good thing I don't have to live off of what I grow. If I did, I'd have to plant a lot less flowers, and I'd be darn sick of rhubarb and lettuce by now.

Even though there are all these outside distractions, I'm still making progress on my Cable Band Cardigan. I've never knit a sweater like this before. The yoke band is knit first and then you work your way around knitting front, sleeve, back, and the other front. The yarn is great even though it has the tendency to split. It makes me look down at what I'm knitting once in awhile.

My biggest gripe about the pattern would be the lack of cable charts. I didn't want to draw them by hand, so I hit the Internet and found a program called Knit Chart Maker. It was just what I needed. A few minutes work saved me having to look back through all those written instructions. I'll have to try making my own cable designs with it some day.

Finally, last night we went and saw the latest installment in the Harry Potter series. I'd highly recommend the movie, and a bonus was all the knitted items, and Dumbledore's excitement at finding new knitting patterns!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Mother Nature's Fireworks

My thistle plant is in full bloom, and full of bees. And you know what? They're busy. Huh.

These perfect globes of color come from a plant that has to be over a hundred years old. I took a division from my Mom's, who took it from her Mother's, who probably took it from her's.

This is a plant that gives twice--once with the blossoms and again when the goldfinches come later and devour the seeds.

Another old reliable, the echinacea, is blooming, too. The birds would like me to leave this to go to seed with the rest, but it self-sows like crazy.

The garden is saying mid-July. The weather, however, feels more like early fall. It's been a cool summer. That keeps the lettuce from bolting, but my tomatoes and beans could use some heat. So could I.

It looks like the weather is going to cooperate for a family picnic we have planned for the weekend. The whole gang doesn't get together too often with lots of busy schedules, so this is a rare occasion. We're covering two birthdays and our 25th Anniversary. That quarter of a century flew by!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Fitzroy

Isn't it great when you finish a summer cardigan, and it's still actually summer? I sewed the buttons on Fitzroy this morning and snapped a few pictures, so I thought I'd pop them up on the site.

I'm very happy with this project. Knitting lace is fun, the pattern works, I like the yarn, and the fit is just right. Like any lace project, you can't get too excited when you see this bumpy heap come off the needles, but after blocking--purty.

Besides a couple issues with knots and yardage, the project was a breeze. The designer gives detailed instructions that could guide even a novice lace knitter to a happy ending.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day

After I got a big breakfast in to the guys, they took off for a Father's Day of golfing. The weather looks a little iffy, so I hope they can get in a round before the thunderstorms hit. If they can't play, maybe it will clear up enough on the east coast so that the US Open can continue and they can at least watch golf. They'll have a good time together either way.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Perfection

How often do we get to experience perfection? And yet that's exactly what this is. Peony buds are the epitome of hope, and when they open up--absolute perfection in sight and scent. Sometimes I think I should dig up my whole garden and just plant peonies.

June is a great month in the garden. My rose bushes are blooming, too. And there's the catmint, the false indigo, and a few delphinium buds ready to burst. We have wrens nesting in the birdhouses and are having daily sightings of two white squirrels.

With all the work outside, I must confess that my knitting is suffering some. The slowdown wasn't all due to the garden. Last week it became obvious that I was going to run out of yarn before I was able to finish my final sleeve on my Fitzroy cardigan, so I got on the Net and the good people at Webs found one more skein of the yarn--in my dye lot. How great is that? Now I'm back in business. My vacation knitting fizzled too when I finally decided that I needed sharper dpns than I had to work on a lace shawl that I wanted to start. The hiatus wasn't too painful, and I'm hoping to finish up the "Fitz" just in time to start a swatch with some yarn that's in a postal truck somewhere between here and the East coast.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Wrigley

Twins vs. Cubbies at Wrigley. Hotel room right next door to a brew pub. One night of Giordano's, and one night of Gino's East deep dish pizzas. Does it get much better?


The sweep would have been perfect, but we'll settle for winning the series.

Chicago really is a great city--one of our favorites--and stadiums don't get much better than Wrigley. It makes us excited for outdoor baseball in MN next year.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Knitting Blasphemies

Knitting has never really been a communal thing for me. Probably because there were so many years when, besides my Mom, I didn't know anyone else who knit. Now that knitting has become more popular, I still tend to see it as a solitary pastime, but I do enjoy the online community support of Ravelry.

In a way, Ravelry has become another knitting tool. When I'm going to start a new project, one of the first things I do is to check the entries of other knitters of their experience with the same project. It's rare if I don't get some tip that helps--yarn selection ideas, links to corrections, some insight into modifications.

Of course, Ravelry has a social component as well. I don't spend a lot of time in the forums utility--I'd rather be knitting, but this last week I have been enjoying a thread on "Knitting Blasphemies" that has obviously hit a chord with other members. Reading some of the entries has been like eavesdropping in a Ravelry confessional. "I hate knitting socks," one knitter admits. "EZ annoys me, and a lot of her patterns are ugly," says another. It's a hoot and good to know that we have kindred spirits with some of our own knitting peeves.

Besides Ravelry, I was distracted from my knitting this week by a delivery from Amazon. Earlier this spring I had pre-ordered Debbie Bliss' new book Design It, Knit It: Secrets from the Designer's Studio. When I saw the Cable Band Cardigan pattern in an ad, I knew right away that it was a sweater I wanted to make.

Although I haven't had much time to read the book too thoroughly, the patterns look tempting. There are several designs I'd like to try, and I'm looking forward to her advice on planning out my own sweaters or at least getting some words of wisdom on making modifications or getting better about picking the right project in the first place.

Despite the intent of the book, I do think I will start out as a blind follower and make the sweater that brought me to the book in the first place. I love the color and the style of this cardigan, and it looks like it would be something fun to knit--something out of the ordinary. You actually begin by knitting the yoke strip band and then proceed by picking up stitiches for the body of the sweater. Isn't it purty!? Must order yarn soon...

Monday, May 25, 2009

Happy Memorial Day!

It's the un-official start of summer and what a beautiful weekend we've had to get the season going. Here in MN, you can never really count on the weather cooperating, but this year has been the rare exception.

During the Twins game this afternoon, the broadcasters broke into the game at 3pm to join the rest of America as they took a minute out of their day to honor all the men and women who have died defending our freedom. It is important to remember why we're home today to rest and watch baseball.

With the warmer weather, it's been time to work in the garden. I took a couple of days to run around looking for all the plants that I wanted and then took this last week to get them in the ground. The gardens look good, my body is sore, and my fingernails are still dirty. Life is good.

I didn't need too many perennials this year. Despite our very cold winter, almost everything came back again this spring. I did decide to try delphiniums and foxgloves again, and I couldn't resist a red and white columbine, or a cute little dwarf catmint. There's always room for one more. Now that the planting is over, it's time to get some pictures and make a few notes for my garden journal. It's always fun to look back to see how the gardens have progressed over the years.

Last year I had the good sense to pot up a few of my herb plants to have right off the back porch, and I did the same again this year. I can't have everything that handy, but I like having the most common ones close by--basil, parsley (Italian and curly), mint (Mojitos), and cilantro.

I also finished up the Bobbled Braids cardigan last week--just in time to store it away for the summer. I'm such a sucker for cables and bobbles, and I especially liked the bobbles in this pattern because they are made without turning the knitting. Each bobble is made by working P1, K1, P1, K1 in one stitch, and then passing the first three stitches over the last one one-by-one. This creates a more subtle bobble that gives texture without being too pronounced.

The pattern runs a little big, so I shortened it by a couple of inches--not a problem for the body, but a bit tougher for the sleeves. I kept the stitch count the same, and if I were to do this again, I would probably reduce the numer of increases so that the sleeves were narrower at the body, but not a big deal. Even the length adjustment was tricky. I wanted to end the cable design to have a crossover at the seam, and one less was too short, one more was a bit too long, so I opted for a longer sleeve.

Overall, I'm really happy with the finished sweater. As this one was drying on the blocking board, I was already casting-on the next project--a cottony summer cardigan. The pattern is one of Kim Dolce's called "Fitzroy." I've been itching to get at this one so that I could knit it up to wear this summer, but it's just not in me to start a new project without finishing the one I'm already knitting. So, if you see me at the July 4th picnic with my wool cable cardigan on, be kind.