This weekend was the Quilt Odyssey quilt show in Hershey. It's become an annual tradition for mom and I to attend. This year it looked for a bit like we might not make it due to car trouble, but in the end we were able to go and had a great time. The show was excellent as always. This show always includes modern quilts as well as a selection of antique quilts (my favorites). Much of the show did not allow photography, so I didn't get any pictures. There were some absolutely stunning exhibits of outstanding craftsmanship. My quilting is firmly grounded in the utilitarian and I don't aspire to 12 stitches per inch in hand quilting. But I sure can appreciate the skill required to achieve such fine results. Even some of the machine quilting could take your breath away. The merchant mall was fun and tempting as always. I was a pillar of restraint and walked away with only a nifty compass type tool for drawing every size circle imaginable and this gorgeous button jacket pattern. Mom and I are both planning to make this sweet tog. I was on a mission to get wool quilt batting for the quilt kit I completed from last years show. Didn't find any at the show, but was able to order it online. We topped the day off with lunch at Houlihan's and some shopping at the Hershey Outlets. Despite getting soaked in the rain, it was a truly enjoyable day.
Looking for a daily dose of crafty inspiration, check out One Pretty Thing. This blog became an instant favorite when I discovered it some time ago. I always stop by at least once a week and always find something I would love to make.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Wormwood, HP and, yes, some FOs
The fantabulous weather continues here in PA. Low 80s during the day and cool nights, perfect for sleeping. I finished the Summer Sweater (based on Sally Melville's Favorite Sweater) and had the great pleasure of wearing it yesterday.
The cotton/microfiber blend yarn is wonderfully soft and drapey. The large, open gauge of the sleeves and lower half of the sweater make it cool enough for warmish days and warm enough for coolish nights. I'm very pleased with this sweater and am contemplating knitting another one.
I finished a hat and booties to go with the baby cardi for C's friend.
Baby stuff is just so darn cute!
I'm still knitting away with my laceweight yarns. I've now got 3 projects going...the stole I showed you before, this beaded triangle shawl (which is actually quite a bit further along now; this picture is from a few weeks ago),
and a square garter stitch shawl called a foulard. The downside to laceweight yarn is it takes forever (at least for me) to show much progress. This is also the upside, though, since it means I get the pleasure of knitting the project for quite a long time.
The garden is going like gangbusters.
We got our first zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers this last week. We've harvested most of the storage onions and all the garlic and have them hanging in the garage to cure. Last year we dried them on screens on our patio but ended up losing a bunch when they got wet from rain. This year we've installed cup hooks along the garage rafter beams and are hanging everything in bunches to dry. So far this seems to be working exceptionally well. I'm hoping the Candy onions mature soon. The pumpkin plants are trying desperately to take over that end of the bed. 
In the spots vacated by the alliums, we now have dry beans (red calypso and cranberry) and brussels sprouts and broccoli.
I hold my breath every morning when I venture out to see if the rabbits have eaten the broccoli, so far we've been lucky. After last year's debacle, I wasn't sure if I wanted to try again.
I must share with you my newest obsession....Wormwood. No, not the absinthe variety, but the podcast. Wormwood is a serialized mystery in the style of old radio drama. It's actually a few years old. Seasons one and two are available in their entirety and season three is set to start soon. I've only completed the first season and just started season two. The story revolves around Zander Crowe, a mysterious psychiatrist with ties to the occult who is drawn to the town of Wormwood by visions of a drowned woman. There's murder and mayhem, weird cults and oddball characters. The voice actors do a great job, particularly the guy who does Crowe. If you're a fan of radio drama, be sure to check it out.
I had the opportunity to see HBP yesterday at the MoviEtown cinema. I love this theater. It's an old car dealership building that's been reoutfitted to a state of the art movie theater. The seats are comfy, the sound system is great and, best of all, you can get coffee at the concession stand. There were lots of previews before the movie. I was somewhat excited to see there's a new Sherlock Holmes film coming out, but the preview doesn't really leave me dieing to see it. I do like Robert Downey Jr (go see Ironman!) but this portrayal of Holmes seems so far out of character. It's definitely Holmes for the new century.
Obviously, as we've seen with the last few HP movies, the movies can in no way do justice to the books. The movie folks pick the highlights and go from there. HBP was no exception and is by far the most altered. Overall, I liked the film alot. This was my favorite book of the series. It's the book of explanation. The movie could never live up to my perception of the book. I'm not going to go into any detail since I want to wait until I have a chance to see it and discuss it with my number one HP buddy, my sister. My advice, if you haven't read the book first (and shame on you if you haven't), but if you haven't, see the movie first, then read the book. You'll find the book so much richer.
The cotton/microfiber blend yarn is wonderfully soft and drapey. The large, open gauge of the sleeves and lower half of the sweater make it cool enough for warmish days and warm enough for coolish nights. I'm very pleased with this sweater and am contemplating knitting another one.I finished a hat and booties to go with the baby cardi for C's friend.
Baby stuff is just so darn cute!I'm still knitting away with my laceweight yarns. I've now got 3 projects going...the stole I showed you before, this beaded triangle shawl (which is actually quite a bit further along now; this picture is from a few weeks ago),
and a square garter stitch shawl called a foulard. The downside to laceweight yarn is it takes forever (at least for me) to show much progress. This is also the upside, though, since it means I get the pleasure of knitting the project for quite a long time.The garden is going like gangbusters.
We got our first zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers this last week. We've harvested most of the storage onions and all the garlic and have them hanging in the garage to cure. Last year we dried them on screens on our patio but ended up losing a bunch when they got wet from rain. This year we've installed cup hooks along the garage rafter beams and are hanging everything in bunches to dry. So far this seems to be working exceptionally well. I'm hoping the Candy onions mature soon. The pumpkin plants are trying desperately to take over that end of the bed. 
In the spots vacated by the alliums, we now have dry beans (red calypso and cranberry) and brussels sprouts and broccoli.
I hold my breath every morning when I venture out to see if the rabbits have eaten the broccoli, so far we've been lucky. After last year's debacle, I wasn't sure if I wanted to try again.I must share with you my newest obsession....Wormwood. No, not the absinthe variety, but the podcast. Wormwood is a serialized mystery in the style of old radio drama. It's actually a few years old. Seasons one and two are available in their entirety and season three is set to start soon. I've only completed the first season and just started season two. The story revolves around Zander Crowe, a mysterious psychiatrist with ties to the occult who is drawn to the town of Wormwood by visions of a drowned woman. There's murder and mayhem, weird cults and oddball characters. The voice actors do a great job, particularly the guy who does Crowe. If you're a fan of radio drama, be sure to check it out.
I had the opportunity to see HBP yesterday at the MoviEtown cinema. I love this theater. It's an old car dealership building that's been reoutfitted to a state of the art movie theater. The seats are comfy, the sound system is great and, best of all, you can get coffee at the concession stand. There were lots of previews before the movie. I was somewhat excited to see there's a new Sherlock Holmes film coming out, but the preview doesn't really leave me dieing to see it. I do like Robert Downey Jr (go see Ironman!) but this portrayal of Holmes seems so far out of character. It's definitely Holmes for the new century.
Obviously, as we've seen with the last few HP movies, the movies can in no way do justice to the books. The movie folks pick the highlights and go from there. HBP was no exception and is by far the most altered. Overall, I liked the film alot. This was my favorite book of the series. It's the book of explanation. The movie could never live up to my perception of the book. I'm not going to go into any detail since I want to wait until I have a chance to see it and discuss it with my number one HP buddy, my sister. My advice, if you haven't read the book first (and shame on you if you haven't), but if you haven't, see the movie first, then read the book. You'll find the book so much richer.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Back on Etsy
After several months off, I'm finally back on Etsy with hand dyed sock yarn and small tote bags. Click the link at right to see what's in my shop.
Now that it's July and summer is officially here (although it doesn't feel like it with temps still in the very tolerable upper 70s and low 80s), it's time for a garden update...
We had a delightful June. Moderate temperatures and lots of rain. The garden is flourishing.
The peppers are all loaded with fruit, the pumpkins are eagerly attempting to overtake the garden, the limas are starting to set pods, the snow peas are nearly done.
Although this looks rather shabby, it's a great sign that our garlic and onions are nearly ready to harvest. Once the tops drop and start to wither, we'll pull these out and hang them to dry. I'm currently looking for some short season shell beans to plant in here once the onions are out to keep the bed active until fall. This bed has proved perfect for the alliums and we'll definitely replant them here this fall.
Our tomatoes are growing like gangbusters.
No signs of red yet, but we'll have tons once they start to ripen. And we finally got a zucchini plant that's starting to show some buds.
The mums and lavender I experimented with starting were only mildly successful.
None of the lavender seems to be rooting, but most of the mums seem healthy and are starting to show some roots. In then center I've got some broccoli and Brussels sprouts starting for fall planting. At the moment I can't tell which is which since the marker I used to write on the tags was apparently not waterproof.
We've got bunnies again this year, but so far they've been far less destructive than the ants have been.
This little dude is so tame I could nearly reach out and pet it. I found it munching away on the sweet peas, but since they are nearly done anyway, I figured I'd let the little fellow have its treat.
Earlier this week we had a rather strong thunderstorm that left us with this display of beauty.
The double rainbow was so bright and perfectly arched we imagined we could actually drive to the end of it!
Now that it's July and summer is officially here (although it doesn't feel like it with temps still in the very tolerable upper 70s and low 80s), it's time for a garden update...
We had a delightful June. Moderate temperatures and lots of rain. The garden is flourishing.
The peppers are all loaded with fruit, the pumpkins are eagerly attempting to overtake the garden, the limas are starting to set pods, the snow peas are nearly done.
Although this looks rather shabby, it's a great sign that our garlic and onions are nearly ready to harvest. Once the tops drop and start to wither, we'll pull these out and hang them to dry. I'm currently looking for some short season shell beans to plant in here once the onions are out to keep the bed active until fall. This bed has proved perfect for the alliums and we'll definitely replant them here this fall.Our tomatoes are growing like gangbusters.
No signs of red yet, but we'll have tons once they start to ripen. And we finally got a zucchini plant that's starting to show some buds.The mums and lavender I experimented with starting were only mildly successful.
None of the lavender seems to be rooting, but most of the mums seem healthy and are starting to show some roots. In then center I've got some broccoli and Brussels sprouts starting for fall planting. At the moment I can't tell which is which since the marker I used to write on the tags was apparently not waterproof.We've got bunnies again this year, but so far they've been far less destructive than the ants have been.
This little dude is so tame I could nearly reach out and pet it. I found it munching away on the sweet peas, but since they are nearly done anyway, I figured I'd let the little fellow have its treat.Earlier this week we had a rather strong thunderstorm that left us with this display of beauty.
The double rainbow was so bright and perfectly arched we imagined we could actually drive to the end of it!Friday, June 05, 2009
SoapQueen TV
I love making soap and was excited to see that Anne Marie of Brambleberry was going to be producing soap making videos this summer. She's got 6 episodes up so far and they are great. So far she's only dealt with melt and pour soap and I'm not sure if she'll be covering any other methods in the future or not. If you are at all interested in soapmaking, be sure to check it out...http://www.youtube.com/user/soapqueentv
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The sweet little baby sweater is finished.
As I was knitting it I listened to the KnitPicks podcast about knitting for babies and one of the ladies (a new mommie) said never to use the cutesy buttons because they are too hard to do up with a squirming baby. Since I already had the buttons, I chose to ignore this advice. They do seem to slip through the button holes easily enough. And they are just so cute!
I'm still happily knitting away on the summer sweater and shawl, but there's not a lot of visible progress, so no pictures.
We had a week of showers and the garden is doing wonderful as a result. So are the weeds, unfortunately. I hate weeding, with a passion. But I did try to get the majority of the big ones out while the ground was soft. It looks like we are losing the cherry tomatoes I planted to replace the first cherry tomato plants that died. I'm really wondering if I'm just not supposed to have them this year. I picked up another plant at the flea market today, my last ditch effort.
My latest gardening experiment is to try to propagate some lavender and mums for a bed that runs along side my house.
This bed gets full south sun all day and tends on the dry side. Lavender seems to thrive there and I'm hoping to get enough plants to root to go the length of the bed. I'm also trying to propagate mums for the fall. The instructions I found said you could either start them in water or in soil with rooting compound. The water method did not work for me...they just rotted. So I took a bunch of new cuttings today and am trying them with rooting compound. Fingers crossed it works. Could save a good bit of money in plants if it does.
It is absolutely gorgeous here today. The sun is shining, its in the mid 70s with a light breeze. The plan for the afternoon is knitting and catching up with my podcasts out on the porch. I recently got a new Zen Mozaic after getting tired of fighting with my Zen V+ and it's sticky play button .
I love the Zen MP3 players. If you like audiobooks they are a dream since they allow you to set bookmarks. The new Mozaic even has a built in speaker so I can listen wirefree.
As I was knitting it I listened to the KnitPicks podcast about knitting for babies and one of the ladies (a new mommie) said never to use the cutesy buttons because they are too hard to do up with a squirming baby. Since I already had the buttons, I chose to ignore this advice. They do seem to slip through the button holes easily enough. And they are just so cute!I'm still happily knitting away on the summer sweater and shawl, but there's not a lot of visible progress, so no pictures.
We had a week of showers and the garden is doing wonderful as a result. So are the weeds, unfortunately. I hate weeding, with a passion. But I did try to get the majority of the big ones out while the ground was soft. It looks like we are losing the cherry tomatoes I planted to replace the first cherry tomato plants that died. I'm really wondering if I'm just not supposed to have them this year. I picked up another plant at the flea market today, my last ditch effort.
My latest gardening experiment is to try to propagate some lavender and mums for a bed that runs along side my house.
This bed gets full south sun all day and tends on the dry side. Lavender seems to thrive there and I'm hoping to get enough plants to root to go the length of the bed. I'm also trying to propagate mums for the fall. The instructions I found said you could either start them in water or in soil with rooting compound. The water method did not work for me...they just rotted. So I took a bunch of new cuttings today and am trying them with rooting compound. Fingers crossed it works. Could save a good bit of money in plants if it does.It is absolutely gorgeous here today. The sun is shining, its in the mid 70s with a light breeze. The plan for the afternoon is knitting and catching up with my podcasts out on the porch. I recently got a new Zen Mozaic after getting tired of fighting with my Zen V+ and it's sticky play button .
I love the Zen MP3 players. If you like audiobooks they are a dream since they allow you to set bookmarks. The new Mozaic even has a built in speaker so I can listen wirefree.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Ok, prepare yourself for an extremely photo-heavy post. Lots to show you this week.
Check out how well the garden is coming along! This is just 3 weeks after my last photos.
The tomatoes have doubled in size. You can't see it, but we lost one of the eggplants so I'll be picking up another plant this week to replace it.
The main bed is much changed as well. We put up a make-shift fence to keep the bunnies out (and it's actually working!) The onions are all thriving. The snow peas are up 5-6 inches. The limas are just starting to come up (dad says it's still a bit cool for them to sprout yet). The pumpkins are up and I saw today the first acorn squash has also sprouted. The cucumbers are looking a little sad, but I think they'll pull through if we get some sunshine. And the peppers are doing excellently. On the left side of the wall you might be able to barely perceive the soda bottles lining the bed. I've planted okra in that bed and have them capped with 2 liter soda bottles to deter the rabbits from eatting them up. In the very back of the picture is my garlic and onion bed (yes, I know, we've got a lot of onions planted. But we love them, they keep well and are uber-cheap to plant.) The garlic and egyptian onions were planted in the fall. It was so much fun to see something go dormant for a few months then spring to life when the weather warmed up.
The Topsy Turveys were a complete bust. The plants died within a week. I didn't even bother replanting them. Instead I purchased some more cherry tomatoes and planted them in a regular hanging basket. So far, they are surviving much better.
I've been inspired to sew again lately. I got this cute little book from the library, Sew Pretty Homestyle. Chock full of easy and adorable shabby chic sewing projects.
This weekend I undertook sewing cushions for our patio chairs (the ubiquitous plastic stacking chairs). The fabric is sweet and looks very nice on our green chairs. I had some trouble with sizing...the first one was a little too small. The second one I mis-measured. By the third I think I got it down. One more to go.
Also on the sewing front, I picked up Lexi Barnes new book Sew What! Bags.
My mom sews lovely fabric purses and I would like to try my hand at it too. I muddle around and can make a decent tote bag, but I want to learn more. So I thought this might be a good jumping off point. Boy was I right! This book provides excellent instructions for sewing simple, functional and very attractive bags in several styles. She also includes a very good section for beginning sewers (something I am not, but it never hurts to refresh your mind on the basics). Now I'm on the look out for kitchy fabrics to turn into glorious bags!
Knitting has not been forgotten, not in the least. I'm still rocking the laceweight wrap.
I just adore this yarn. It's like knitting with air. I'm a little concerned it's not going to be as wide as I would have liked. I know it will block out some...I'm figuring 20" wide blocked, but it's so hard to judge on the needles. Still, I just want something to throw over my shoulders and I am confident this will fit the bill. The pattern is super easy...20 rows stockinette, 6 row lace pattern, repeat ad nauseum (I'm throwing in a purl ridge every so often to break up the pattern).
And since I'm loving this laceweight so much, I bought some more. This time from handpaintedyarn.com. I've purchased their worsted weight yarns in the past and have loved them so I was confident I wouldn't be disappointed with their lace weight
2 skeins of Cedro Dulce and 1 of Rocas De Mar. I love the Rocas and would have bought more, but this was their last skein. The yarn is very nice although not as soft as 100purewool. This yarn also comes from Uruguay, however, they have a US distribution center so the shipping is much less and much faster (a few days rather than a few weeks.)
A friend of hubby's is expecting a child so I jumped at the opportunity to knit a baby sweater.
I'm knitting the Lion Brand Garter Ridge Baby Cardigan. The yarn is Plymouth Dreambaby DK which is a different gauge than the pattern calls for. But the adaptation is simple enough. I'm hoping the pale sage green will be appropriate for a boy or girl since we don't know what the sex will be. And the little teddy bear buttons are sweet as can be.
I don't recall if I mentioned wanting to knit a summer sweater or not, but I've had the desire to do so for some time. As always, it was my deep seated hatred of cotton that kept me from doing so. But, as I've said before, I very much want to grow as a knitter and stop letting things hold me back. So I'm giving cotton another try. This is the Sally's Summer Sweater from The Knit Stitch, knit in Valley Yarns Longmeadow.
I'm knitting the sweater much shorter than the tunic length called for (who wants a big tunic in the summer?!) The yarn is a dream. Yes, a dream! So soft and drapey. I'm sure it's the microfiber content that tames the cotton into submission. Finally, a cotton I may be able to love.
Not much progress on the socks, only because I've been knitting mostly on the shawl and sweater.
I do really like the Red Heart Yarn. I'd venture to say (so far) it's my favorite of the craft store brand sock yarns. Can you believe it? RED HEART! It is really nice. Soft but sturdy and the colors are classy.
Check out how well the garden is coming along! This is just 3 weeks after my last photos.
The tomatoes have doubled in size. You can't see it, but we lost one of the eggplants so I'll be picking up another plant this week to replace it.
The main bed is much changed as well. We put up a make-shift fence to keep the bunnies out (and it's actually working!) The onions are all thriving. The snow peas are up 5-6 inches. The limas are just starting to come up (dad says it's still a bit cool for them to sprout yet). The pumpkins are up and I saw today the first acorn squash has also sprouted. The cucumbers are looking a little sad, but I think they'll pull through if we get some sunshine. And the peppers are doing excellently. On the left side of the wall you might be able to barely perceive the soda bottles lining the bed. I've planted okra in that bed and have them capped with 2 liter soda bottles to deter the rabbits from eatting them up. In the very back of the picture is my garlic and onion bed (yes, I know, we've got a lot of onions planted. But we love them, they keep well and are uber-cheap to plant.) The garlic and egyptian onions were planted in the fall. It was so much fun to see something go dormant for a few months then spring to life when the weather warmed up.The Topsy Turveys were a complete bust. The plants died within a week. I didn't even bother replanting them. Instead I purchased some more cherry tomatoes and planted them in a regular hanging basket. So far, they are surviving much better.
I've been inspired to sew again lately. I got this cute little book from the library, Sew Pretty Homestyle. Chock full of easy and adorable shabby chic sewing projects.
This weekend I undertook sewing cushions for our patio chairs (the ubiquitous plastic stacking chairs). The fabric is sweet and looks very nice on our green chairs. I had some trouble with sizing...the first one was a little too small. The second one I mis-measured. By the third I think I got it down. One more to go.Also on the sewing front, I picked up Lexi Barnes new book Sew What! Bags.
My mom sews lovely fabric purses and I would like to try my hand at it too. I muddle around and can make a decent tote bag, but I want to learn more. So I thought this might be a good jumping off point. Boy was I right! This book provides excellent instructions for sewing simple, functional and very attractive bags in several styles. She also includes a very good section for beginning sewers (something I am not, but it never hurts to refresh your mind on the basics). Now I'm on the look out for kitchy fabrics to turn into glorious bags!Knitting has not been forgotten, not in the least. I'm still rocking the laceweight wrap.
I just adore this yarn. It's like knitting with air. I'm a little concerned it's not going to be as wide as I would have liked. I know it will block out some...I'm figuring 20" wide blocked, but it's so hard to judge on the needles. Still, I just want something to throw over my shoulders and I am confident this will fit the bill. The pattern is super easy...20 rows stockinette, 6 row lace pattern, repeat ad nauseum (I'm throwing in a purl ridge every so often to break up the pattern).And since I'm loving this laceweight so much, I bought some more. This time from handpaintedyarn.com. I've purchased their worsted weight yarns in the past and have loved them so I was confident I wouldn't be disappointed with their lace weight
2 skeins of Cedro Dulce and 1 of Rocas De Mar. I love the Rocas and would have bought more, but this was their last skein. The yarn is very nice although not as soft as 100purewool. This yarn also comes from Uruguay, however, they have a US distribution center so the shipping is much less and much faster (a few days rather than a few weeks.)A friend of hubby's is expecting a child so I jumped at the opportunity to knit a baby sweater.
I'm knitting the Lion Brand Garter Ridge Baby Cardigan. The yarn is Plymouth Dreambaby DK which is a different gauge than the pattern calls for. But the adaptation is simple enough. I'm hoping the pale sage green will be appropriate for a boy or girl since we don't know what the sex will be. And the little teddy bear buttons are sweet as can be.I don't recall if I mentioned wanting to knit a summer sweater or not, but I've had the desire to do so for some time. As always, it was my deep seated hatred of cotton that kept me from doing so. But, as I've said before, I very much want to grow as a knitter and stop letting things hold me back. So I'm giving cotton another try. This is the Sally's Summer Sweater from The Knit Stitch, knit in Valley Yarns Longmeadow.
I'm knitting the sweater much shorter than the tunic length called for (who wants a big tunic in the summer?!) The yarn is a dream. Yes, a dream! So soft and drapey. I'm sure it's the microfiber content that tames the cotton into submission. Finally, a cotton I may be able to love.Not much progress on the socks, only because I've been knitting mostly on the shawl and sweater.
I do really like the Red Heart Yarn. I'd venture to say (so far) it's my favorite of the craft store brand sock yarns. Can you believe it? RED HEART! It is really nice. Soft but sturdy and the colors are classy.Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Laceweight
Anyone who knows me and my knitting will know that I have a love/hate relationship with fine yarns. It took me a good year or two of false starts before I embraced and fell in love with socks. I'm still working to reach that same comfort zone with laceweight yarn. I've reached a point in my knitting life where I'm ready to expand my horizons and venture into new territory. The February Lady proved to me I could successfully tackle lace albeit at a large gauge. Now I'm itching to try laceweight yarn again. So I took the plunge and ordered 2 skeins of Nicanor from 100PureWool.com. I chose standard shipping and the package took about 3 weeks to arrive from Uraguay. The yarn is fabulous. The softest merino you can imagine, soft spun in a singles yarn. The color is gorgeous. Even though I had other things to attend to last night, I made sure to carve out enough time to wind one of the skeins up and cast on for a wrap.
I'm improvising the pattern and it will be very plain. I figure tackling the laceweight yarn will be enough of a challenge without struggling through a lace pattern as well. So far, I'm in heaven. This little exercise in growth may or may not work out for me, but at the moment, the prospect is good.
I'm improvising the pattern and it will be very plain. I figure tackling the laceweight yarn will be enough of a challenge without struggling through a lace pattern as well. So far, I'm in heaven. This little exercise in growth may or may not work out for me, but at the moment, the prospect is good.Sunday, April 26, 2009
Garden inventory
Mother nature has turned up the heat so we took advantage of the sunny weather and got to planting the garden. Dad and I took a trip to my favorite greenhouse (Zimmey's outside of Schaefferstown if you are in the area) yesterday and stocked up on plants. He only picked up a few plants. He's more old school about planting things at specific times and whatnot. That's cool for him, being retired and all, he can plant at his leisure. Hubby and I both work so we plant when we have the opportunity. So far this approach hasn't caused us any trouble. So I bought everything I could. A whole garden's worth of plants and all the flowers for my beds for $20! You so can not beat that.
Once again, the long skinny bed is dedicated to eggplant and tomatoes.
4 Dusky eggplants, 2 Roma tomatoes, 2 Beefstake tomatoes and 2 Early Girl tomatoes. I've also planted seed for a yellow squash plant in this bed.
The main bed has 2 varieties of onions, snow peas, lima beans and peppers planted so far.
We will also be planting cucumbers (which weren't available yet) and pumpkins in this bed. There's still a good bit of room left in the center of the bed for something else, but I'm undecided what I'll plant there. Perhaps broccoli (although the rabbit debacle of last year has me shying away form that. Maybe another squash. We need to get the rest of the weedblock down. I'm only using it on the right side of the garden. I find it difficult to use around the onions and seed rows. But I do like using it where I can. It helps cut down on weeding and also keeps the stray cats from using the garden as a toilet (which they did last night in the uncovered area!) I think we are going to put up chicken wire fencing as well. It will at least keep the rabbits out if not the cats.
I started the okra seeds in little popup pots and they are just starting to germinate. They'll be planted in a bed on the other side of the garden wall. It used to be a flower bed, but I would prefer to put it to use for food.
And finally, the ultimate in hillbilly gardening...the Topsy Turvy.
Aren't they the tackiest looking things ever? I'm a bit embarassed to post this picture but, yes, I gave in to the hype and decided to try the hanging tomato planters. The one on the left has 2 Tom Thumb cherry tomatoes and the one on the right has a Bush Goliath tomato. My mother in law grows her tomatoes over a wall (so they basically grown down) and they are the most prolific and tastey tomatoes you can find. I know her excellent soil is part of the equation, but I think the vines growing with gravity rather than against it could only be a good thing. I'll keep you posted if this actually works or not.
Still not much knitting going on here. Still working on the Christmas project, although the end is in sight there. I finished the horrid, scratchy socks.
I do love the colors and they did soften up a bit after washing, so all is not lost. I'm sure I'll wear them. I ran out of the variegated yarn on the second sock, so the toe area looks bigger on one sock than the other. At least that'll be hidden in the shoe.
Here's the Nutkin mittens I was talking about.
I adore this Imagination yarn. So soft and the colors are fabulous. The pictures don't do it justice.
Since I finished a pair of socks, I started another.
I received Wendy Johnson's new sock book in the mail this week so decided to go toe up this time. I have knit toe up in the past and do like the technique alot, except for the short row heels. Wendy's book offers instructions for toe up socks with gusset heels! Yay!! I'm using HiyaHiya needles and Red Heart Heart and Sole yarn. Love the needles (possible more than KP Options! The join is much nicer). The yarn is also a lovely surprise. I was a bit disappointed with Lion Brand's Sock Ease, but this craft store yarn seems really nice so far.
Once again, the long skinny bed is dedicated to eggplant and tomatoes.
4 Dusky eggplants, 2 Roma tomatoes, 2 Beefstake tomatoes and 2 Early Girl tomatoes. I've also planted seed for a yellow squash plant in this bed.The main bed has 2 varieties of onions, snow peas, lima beans and peppers planted so far.
We will also be planting cucumbers (which weren't available yet) and pumpkins in this bed. There's still a good bit of room left in the center of the bed for something else, but I'm undecided what I'll plant there. Perhaps broccoli (although the rabbit debacle of last year has me shying away form that. Maybe another squash. We need to get the rest of the weedblock down. I'm only using it on the right side of the garden. I find it difficult to use around the onions and seed rows. But I do like using it where I can. It helps cut down on weeding and also keeps the stray cats from using the garden as a toilet (which they did last night in the uncovered area!) I think we are going to put up chicken wire fencing as well. It will at least keep the rabbits out if not the cats.I started the okra seeds in little popup pots and they are just starting to germinate. They'll be planted in a bed on the other side of the garden wall. It used to be a flower bed, but I would prefer to put it to use for food.
And finally, the ultimate in hillbilly gardening...the Topsy Turvy.
Aren't they the tackiest looking things ever? I'm a bit embarassed to post this picture but, yes, I gave in to the hype and decided to try the hanging tomato planters. The one on the left has 2 Tom Thumb cherry tomatoes and the one on the right has a Bush Goliath tomato. My mother in law grows her tomatoes over a wall (so they basically grown down) and they are the most prolific and tastey tomatoes you can find. I know her excellent soil is part of the equation, but I think the vines growing with gravity rather than against it could only be a good thing. I'll keep you posted if this actually works or not.Still not much knitting going on here. Still working on the Christmas project, although the end is in sight there. I finished the horrid, scratchy socks.
I do love the colors and they did soften up a bit after washing, so all is not lost. I'm sure I'll wear them. I ran out of the variegated yarn on the second sock, so the toe area looks bigger on one sock than the other. At least that'll be hidden in the shoe.Here's the Nutkin mittens I was talking about.
I adore this Imagination yarn. So soft and the colors are fabulous. The pictures don't do it justice.
Since I finished a pair of socks, I started another.
I received Wendy Johnson's new sock book in the mail this week so decided to go toe up this time. I have knit toe up in the past and do like the technique alot, except for the short row heels. Wendy's book offers instructions for toe up socks with gusset heels! Yay!! I'm using HiyaHiya needles and Red Heart Heart and Sole yarn. Love the needles (possible more than KP Options! The join is much nicer). The yarn is also a lovely surprise. I was a bit disappointed with Lion Brand's Sock Ease, but this craft store yarn seems really nice so far.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Starting the garden 2009
I survived another tax season, hooray!! Now I'm seriously ready to get back to normal. The weather is turning a bit warmer, although the nights are still cool.
We've been able to do some work on the garden. We've doubled the size of the main bed, thanks in large part to my dad. After spending the last month and a half rehabilitating from knee replacement surgery, he was ready for some fresh air and exercise. So I came home one day and found he cleared the grass and rototilled the new bed.
I was able to get the onions and snow peas planted this week. Like many folks, we are hoping to grow more of our own veggies this year. In addition to my usuals...onions, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, squash and cucumbers, we are adding okra, snow peas, lima beans, garlic and pumpkins (the last mostly for Halloween decorations!) We'll need to wait another week or two to get the rest of the plants and seeds in until the nights quit getting down in the 30s.
We also expanded a small bed that has bleeding hearts and ferns to make room for a blueberry bush.
This is a self pollinating, dwarf variety. It will take a year or two to mature to the point it will produce fruit, unfortunately.
Mostly I've got no knitting mojo at the moment. I've got a few projects going...the Colour Your Own fair isle (still on the sleeve), the horrid scratchy socks (thankfully well into the foot of the second sock), a pair of Nutkin socks that are now going to be mittens in Knit Picks Imagination yarn and a Christmas present (don't be impressed, it was supposed to be knit for last Christmas, really determined to make sure it gets done for this Christmas). I work a bit on each of them but nothing is really inspring me. I've ordered some laceweight yarn for a shawl, perhaps that will get me going again.
Instead of knitting, I've been reading. I'm trying to get through Breaking Dawn. As much as I enjoyed Twilight, I just can not get into this book. I think I've mentioned before, I'm not a Bella fan, nor do I really care for Jacob. The vampire thing is the only thing this series has going for it. Everyone assures me it gets better, so I keep slogging along. I've also been reading Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. Now this is an excellent book. It got me back into baking my own bread and what fabulous bread it is. If you love homemade bread, but hate the work, this is the book for you. Plus you can make small loaves so they get eaten up before they go stale.
We've been able to do some work on the garden. We've doubled the size of the main bed, thanks in large part to my dad. After spending the last month and a half rehabilitating from knee replacement surgery, he was ready for some fresh air and exercise. So I came home one day and found he cleared the grass and rototilled the new bed.
I was able to get the onions and snow peas planted this week. Like many folks, we are hoping to grow more of our own veggies this year. In addition to my usuals...onions, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, squash and cucumbers, we are adding okra, snow peas, lima beans, garlic and pumpkins (the last mostly for Halloween decorations!) We'll need to wait another week or two to get the rest of the plants and seeds in until the nights quit getting down in the 30s.We also expanded a small bed that has bleeding hearts and ferns to make room for a blueberry bush.
This is a self pollinating, dwarf variety. It will take a year or two to mature to the point it will produce fruit, unfortunately.Mostly I've got no knitting mojo at the moment. I've got a few projects going...the Colour Your Own fair isle (still on the sleeve), the horrid scratchy socks (thankfully well into the foot of the second sock), a pair of Nutkin socks that are now going to be mittens in Knit Picks Imagination yarn and a Christmas present (don't be impressed, it was supposed to be knit for last Christmas, really determined to make sure it gets done for this Christmas). I work a bit on each of them but nothing is really inspring me. I've ordered some laceweight yarn for a shawl, perhaps that will get me going again.
Instead of knitting, I've been reading. I'm trying to get through Breaking Dawn. As much as I enjoyed Twilight, I just can not get into this book. I think I've mentioned before, I'm not a Bella fan, nor do I really care for Jacob. The vampire thing is the only thing this series has going for it. Everyone assures me it gets better, so I keep slogging along. I've also been reading Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. Now this is an excellent book. It got me back into baking my own bread and what fabulous bread it is. If you love homemade bread, but hate the work, this is the book for you. Plus you can make small loaves so they get eaten up before they go stale.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Even though tax season is in full swing I've managed to keep a fairly good attitude (most days). I do seriously credit my knitting and spinning for helping me keep my sanity. I've been really quite productive with both lately.
I finished the February Lady Sweater.
This was a delight to knit even though I am not a lace knitting fan. I didn't realize until it was too late that the lace has a tendency to grow. So my sweater is a bit on the long side. I wanted it to just graze the top of my hips and it ended up below my bum. But it still looks and fits great.
Here is my sock in progress
It's just a plain vanilla sock. I'm using some yarn I got ages ago from an Ebay dyer called KimiK. The yarn felt so rough to me I never felt inspired to use it. But the sock yarn stash is getting low and with money the way it is, I decided to give it a try. I'm surprised how nicely it's knitting up. The colors are just gorgeous. The kit included one variegated yarn and two kettle dyed coordinates so I'm knitting the cuff, heel and toe in the solid color and the body in the variegated.
My Colour Your Own fair isle sweater is well underway.
This pattern comes from the book Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified. The book is fantastic. Their fair isle technique is so easy and provides great results. For this design, you choose your colors as you go along. It's fun and exciting to see how it's turing out. Once I get past this first sleeve, I'll be able to coast for a bit on the second sleeve since I can simply duplicate the color choices there.
On the spinning front I spun two batches of roving up. The first was from Pigeon Roof Studios, superwash bfl in the color Nightshade
I didn't do such a great job splitting the roving up as I ended up with one light and one dark skein. But the colors complement each other well.
The second is a Hanks in the Hood merino batt called Blueberry Ice
There's a bit of sparkle in there that doesn't show up on the photo.
There's currently nothing on my wheel. Jen is sending me fiber to spin for a sweater! I can't believe I let her talk me into spinning a whole sweater's worth of yarn. It should be here by next weekend which I'll hopefully have off from work so I can get started on it.
And finally, a nifty little project I heard about on the Stitch It podcast. These are felted dryer balls.
I had a set of the plastic dryer balls and thought they worked adequitly well. But they do make a lot of noise and one of them ended up wearing out so I was down to one. So when I hear Meghan talk about them, I looked up the instructions. I have plenty of scrap wool laying around so I didn't even have to go to the store. Basically, you take plain wool yarn (no superwash, it has to be feltable) and wrap a tight small ball. You pop the balls in an old piece of nylons/panyhose and toss them in the washer and dryer for a few cycles. When the balls seem to hold together pretty well, you add more layers of yarn, wrapping tightly, until they are as big as you want them. Then you repeat the washing/drying process until they are felted enough that they won't fall apart, then you can start using them as dryer balls. They work fabulously. My clothes are soft as can be without a drop of fabric softener. They don't prevent static, but I can live with static. And if you keep the synthetics out of the dryer, you reduce your static anyway. They do tend to pickup a bit of lint (you can see mine are looking a bit shabby already) but this is purely cosmetic. If it bothers you, you can shave the pills off. I'm not that fussy.
I finished the February Lady Sweater.
This was a delight to knit even though I am not a lace knitting fan. I didn't realize until it was too late that the lace has a tendency to grow. So my sweater is a bit on the long side. I wanted it to just graze the top of my hips and it ended up below my bum. But it still looks and fits great.Here is my sock in progress
It's just a plain vanilla sock. I'm using some yarn I got ages ago from an Ebay dyer called KimiK. The yarn felt so rough to me I never felt inspired to use it. But the sock yarn stash is getting low and with money the way it is, I decided to give it a try. I'm surprised how nicely it's knitting up. The colors are just gorgeous. The kit included one variegated yarn and two kettle dyed coordinates so I'm knitting the cuff, heel and toe in the solid color and the body in the variegated.My Colour Your Own fair isle sweater is well underway.
This pattern comes from the book Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified. The book is fantastic. Their fair isle technique is so easy and provides great results. For this design, you choose your colors as you go along. It's fun and exciting to see how it's turing out. Once I get past this first sleeve, I'll be able to coast for a bit on the second sleeve since I can simply duplicate the color choices there. On the spinning front I spun two batches of roving up. The first was from Pigeon Roof Studios, superwash bfl in the color Nightshade
I didn't do such a great job splitting the roving up as I ended up with one light and one dark skein. But the colors complement each other well. The second is a Hanks in the Hood merino batt called Blueberry Ice
There's a bit of sparkle in there that doesn't show up on the photo. There's currently nothing on my wheel. Jen is sending me fiber to spin for a sweater! I can't believe I let her talk me into spinning a whole sweater's worth of yarn. It should be here by next weekend which I'll hopefully have off from work so I can get started on it.
And finally, a nifty little project I heard about on the Stitch It podcast. These are felted dryer balls.
I had a set of the plastic dryer balls and thought they worked adequitly well. But they do make a lot of noise and one of them ended up wearing out so I was down to one. So when I hear Meghan talk about them, I looked up the instructions. I have plenty of scrap wool laying around so I didn't even have to go to the store. Basically, you take plain wool yarn (no superwash, it has to be feltable) and wrap a tight small ball. You pop the balls in an old piece of nylons/panyhose and toss them in the washer and dryer for a few cycles. When the balls seem to hold together pretty well, you add more layers of yarn, wrapping tightly, until they are as big as you want them. Then you repeat the washing/drying process until they are felted enough that they won't fall apart, then you can start using them as dryer balls. They work fabulously. My clothes are soft as can be without a drop of fabric softener. They don't prevent static, but I can live with static. And if you keep the synthetics out of the dryer, you reduce your static anyway. They do tend to pickup a bit of lint (you can see mine are looking a bit shabby already) but this is purely cosmetic. If it bothers you, you can shave the pills off. I'm not that fussy.
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