Possum and the Pot and American Idol

Since Wayne linked this blog to the Dutch Oven list he is on, I thought I'd give a little more information on the newest member of the cabinet.

This is a Mario Batali, 6 qt Italian Essentials Pot. Good thing it's first venture in cooking was Italian meat balls and not the Swedish version! I did notice that the weight of the pot and with as slick as it is with the ceramic finish, the pot could slide right off the pulled out rack of the oven. Our rack tips downwards a bit when it's pulled out. So I've warned the family and we'll have to make a point of taking the pot out of the oven when adding items or checking on progress.

Someone asked if that really is opossum in the socks. The answer is yes. It's not the American possum. These are small, and dare I say cute little creatures that have fluffy tails. They are from New Zealand and it's a pest there, but it does have soft fur that is nice in fibers like yarn.

For the American Idol fans - GO BLAKE LEWIS!!! (who is from Bothell WA!!!) Wayne says I can knit you a pair of socks if you win. What size do you wear and send me your address buddy... we're rooting for you!

Seeing Green

The green socks are done and fit well. These were knit from the toe up. I used 2 skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash yarn. The toe up method allowed me to knit the full skein into each sock, so there's more leg and no leftover yarn. Pretty cool method, I'll probably do it again sometime. Missy has recovered from her surgery and is her old self.

I've started knitting some socks for Wayne out of some fiber I got from Jen, and then Sam spun it up for me. I was going to dye it before I knit it, but since I've been slow to dye I'm knitting first. The fiber is Polworth & opossum. I'm knitting these from the top down, and I've got both socks going at the same time. I just thought I'd show you how they've started and hopefully I'll have completed socks to show in a couple weeks.

We found a lovely dutch oven on Amazon. The color is called Pesto, and while I think it is lovely it was $20 less than the other colors. I guess it was just my lucky day. Yes, I was a kid in the 70's. If only I had a Goldenrod colored counter top to go with it!

Here is our first dinner cooked in the new dutch oven. I was going to do a roast and all the potatoes, carrots, etc. But I was reminded that our first dutch oven adventure for the outdoor dutch oven turned out great and was asked to do it again. How could I say no to a compliment like that? The ingredients are layered with corn salsa, Italian meatballs, steak fries, and a little cheese on top. I don't know if you can tell, but the lid has little bumps on the inside to let condensation drip over the food rather than running down the side of the pot. It seemed to work great for this meal.

Whales

Wayne and I got to see whales in Puget Sound today. It's a first for me, and it was so exciting. They were blowing water up in the air, and you could see their backs slip along the top of the water from their heads to their tails. They were quite a ways out, so the photo is blurry, but we saw several of them and it was wonderful.

These were taken at the light house near the Mukilteo Ferry dock. It was about 4:00 PM. It made for a very memorable and special day today. That is Whidbey Island in the background.

Apple Trees on Easter

Early this Winter I ordered 5 apple trees from my cousin, Marvin, who had bought a quantity of root stock and had grafted a variety of apples onto that stock. The trees came to us a couple months ago and Dad kindly heeled them into their garden in Onalaska until we could get down there to plant them. This weekend the trees finally found their homes on our own 5 acres. What a nice Easter to be outdoors in the sun with my Mom and Muffin planting trees!
The trees (from farthest to closest) are: Yellow Transparent, Red Gravenstein, Honey Crisp, Gravenstein, and a Chehalis apple tree. I hope the deer don't munch the trees down to nothing. Mom and Dad's trees do okay, but they are a bit closer to their home. If these take off, we will have some lovely apples in a few years. The Red Gravenstein was from some cuttings originally taken from my parents tree years ago.

I did find some eggs today. Mom and Dad sent home about three dozen lovely farm fresh eggs in a cute Easter basket, as well as some lovely pickles and jam. I should have taken a photo of the beautiful eggs. They are light brown, cream, and green colors and there are small Bantee size to huge double yoke eggs. What a treasure. The pickles are from Mom's cucumber patch in the garden with home grown dill and garlic. The jam is from their raspberry plants that produced so heavily last season. The farm is such a special place where you know where the food comes from and the work that it took to grow it.

Coming in from watering the trees I heard some hawks calling. There was a pair soaring over the field. There had been only one earlier, but now there were two. I think they were looking for field mice or rabbits. They stayed pretty low and were just sort of hanging there in the sky over the field.













I have had a lot of fun spinning and knitting this last week. I bought a headband kit when I was at the Whidbey Island Weaver's Spin In. I got the Shetland roving spun and plied on my drop spindle and I knit the headband pattern that came with the kit. I think I'll spin some of the Shetland I have in my stash and make another for a friend of mine. It was fun to do and I know the Shetland I have is very soft and will be excellent for this project. The tulips where some Tina and I bought on the way back from the Spin In when we were in Mt Vernon. They have a big tulip festival every year, but it hasn't started yet. These were some of the first of many that will be coming out of their fields. They have lasted over a week on my table without any additives to their water.

Wayne's socks are coming along. These are toe up socks that Jen and Kim inspired me to knit. The song "The Beat Goes On" is going through my head as I knit only with the word "Beat" being changed to "Feet", well that and a few other lyrics being changed. I just started sock #2 of this pair.

There is news on the Braids sweater. The sleeves were perfect! I don't know how but they ended up right where they should be when my sister tried it on. However, after putting it on we both decided it was a bit short in the body length. It was knit as a cropped sweater and to make it a truly magical sweater I think I'll take the couple extra skeins I have of the Cotton Fleece and see if I can make it longer. This may be a bit tricky since this is knit from the bottom of the sweater up. I'll have to try and see what I can come up with, but I'm sure we can make it happen.

Spin In Weekend

I finished the Beaded Bauble bracelet! It was a fun project, and I will have fun wearing it. Thanks Rosemary!

I also finished the Mombassa socks but I don' t have a photo for you yet. I've been wearing them, and they're in the laundry now. It feels great to get projects finished up and being able to use them.

This weekend there was a Spin In on Whidbey Island. Jen and I drove around to the North end of the island can came down to Oak Harbor. It was a beautiful day. I worked on some Silk Merino fiber from Lisa Souza in the Pacific colorway. It sure spins up nice.

Tina wasn't able to go with us on Saturday. For some reason I woke up this morning and thought, "why not go back today?" I called Tina to see if she was up to going for awhile, and she had been thinking the very same thing. So, we jumped in the car and went over so she could take in the Spin In and the vendors there. Here's a couple of photos of the spin in for you.

I found some fiber from Sarah Anderson called Midnight River that is black and shades of blue. It's is superwash Colonial so it is destine for socks. I also got a pound of Shetland top in a pretty creamy color. A four bobbin lazy kate found it's way home with me. It will work great for my Wooly Winder bobbins since they don't spin well on the lazy kate that came with my Lendrum. Tina and I bought a CVM lamb fleece and are splitting it between us. It's a lovely white fleece that we are having processed into roving. You will see photos of it in a month or so.

We have some great spin in events around the Seattle area. It's always such a joy to meet up with friends at these events. You know who you are, but do you know that you ROCK! ? Well you do. It was great getting to visit with you this weekend.

Friends and Finished Objects

Last Thursday I met up with friends. We had a fabulous evening and I thought I'd share a little of that with you.

Sam had a near dropped stitch, but managed to find it and is happy she now has 16 stitches all around. Whew! That was close. Kim finished her Swallow Tail shawl that very evening and she is admiring how the Sheila Ernst button looks nice with the shawl. Tammy is spinning some merino fiber that is just lovely. It's mostly yellow with bits of other colors combined. Jen is working on an afghan for her daughter. I love how those colors are coming together. I have to admit, she's making me just about pull out the feather and fan afghan I started years ago and haven't finished yet.

I worked on a beaded bauble. It's coming along. I think I'll get busy and get it finished soon. I'm so close! I used bigger beads than I probably should have, so instead of a three stitch pattern, I'm making this as a two stitch garter stitch. It is a from a pattern that Rosemary designed. You'll have to check out her blog and the pattern on Knitty.com it's really neat. I'll show you when it's done.

Wayne's socks got their toes redone. They were rather tight in the toes before. He had worn they quite awhile, but wanted them redone. So I ripped them back and reknit some of the foot and the toes. I made them slanted for the left and right foot this time and he says they are much more comfortable.

Another project that has been waiting for literally years for me to finish is finally done! It is the Braids pattern in cotton fleece for my sister. Well, except for a sleeve adjustment if needed. I haven't tucked those ends in yet because I'm thinking they may need shortened. Cotton tends to "grow" once it's knit. The color is called Rue.

I hope to have some more photos in a couple weeks when I get it to my sister and have the sleeves done up right. It is still drying in these photos, the color isn't as varied as these look.

Missy Update

Missy was preparing for her surgery in this photo. She's not looking her best tonight, but she's doing okay. Her lump was removed as well as some teeth. The lump was under a couple layers of muscle so there is about a 3" long wound on her chest with 12 stitches and drainage hoses. She will have the hoses until Monday, and the stitches for 10 days. The vet pulled teeth that were loose, so her mouth will be tender as well as her chest area. We're glad she's home and on the mend. She will be more comfortable without that lump when she's walking, laying down, or typing on the computer.

Finished Shawl

I finished the Wool Peddler's Shawl this morning. It's not the traditional red color, but I just love how this Wild Things colorway works with the shawl pattern. The top photo was pre-blocking. The photo with me wearing it is after I washed it and let it dry a bit. I have not pinned it, but I think I'll let it be relaxed for now anyway.

I received a package in the mail on Wednesday. I won a drawing from Southwest Trading Company that I entered when I was at Stitches West. How exciting to get a surprise in the mail! It was a skein of Tofutsies yarn, a nice clear project bag, and a copy of the Tidal Wave sock pattern by Deby Lake.

Missy is scheduled for her surgery Friday, March 23rd to remove the fatty tumor from her chest. She got a bath and a haircut this weekend so getting ready is spread out a bit for her. She smells great and is soft and smooth to pet, so she is eating up all the attention. I think deep (way deep) in her heart, she likes getting baths and haircuts. She runs around and has to show everybody what she's done afterwards.

Shawl Progress

Just a quick photo update of the Wool Peddler shawl progress. The photo is a little light colored. It amazes me how Wild Things colorway has all these wonderful bits of color in it. I love how it's coming together. I can't wait to show you the completed shawl, but I think it's going to be a while. It moves slower to knit, the longer it gets. The pattern adds four stitches with every other row, so the longer it is, the wider the it is.

I'm working on reworking toes on some older socks for Wayne. They are moving slowly, but progress is progress. We are loosing an hour due to daylight savings time kicking in this weekend. Therefore if I don't get more progress done on these toes, well we DID loose an hour!

BOP Socks!

The Weather Schnauzer indicates wet lawns today with showers expected this evening. Missy is doing well and is as sassy as ever. She's a great knitting companion and loves to lay beside me while I knit. She does have a tumor on the underside of her chest. We have scheduled surgery to have the tumor removed at the end of March. It is not cancerous according to the vet, but it is starting to get in her way when she lays down and will effect her walking eventually. Your positive thoughts for Missy and that the tumor goes away easily for her are appreciated.

Here is the second Bird of Paradise sock under construction. I had to show you the double points that Michael and Sheila Ernst are making. They had them at Stitches West, and I snatched up a set! They are very nice to use and stay put in the sock like a bamboo needle would. The glass has a very natural feel in my hand (not grainy or plastic feeling) and the points on these are awesome! I don't see these on their web site but you can contact them if you are interested and I bet they can help you out. I know they carry them in size 5's and up.

It didn't take long to get the last few rows for the sock foot done, and then the toe. Here's a photo of the finished pair! I've ran them through the washer and have them on the sock blockers tonight. I thought about treating them gentle and hand washing, but then I decided to just throw them in the washer and see what happened. Looks good to me! Hooray! I won't go as far as putting them in the dryer. I never do that to my hand knits. I can't wait to wear these about. They feel so soft and cushy! I have a lot of yarn left over. Enough to make a third sock, or possibly even a hat. This is Lisa Souza's new yarn called Hard Twist Merino and it is superwash.

Wrist Bands and PJ's

Village Yarn and Tea hosted a PJ party last night until midnight! We were knitting wrist bands for the Breast Cancer Seattle 3 day event that will happen in September 2007. The yarn was provided as well as the pattern. Sam, Jen, about 50 or so other people, and I showed up and we had a ball. They want to make 3,000 of these bands, so they would appreciate an assist if you would like to knit some of these.

We were able to create buttons for the wrist bands as well! This was a first for me, and it is way fun. Thank you to Amy of Good to be a Girl, who gave us a lesson on how to make the buttons and brought the supplies to use. She makes adorable stitch markers. Here's Jen and Sam busy creating buttons. Don't they look cute in their sheepy PJ's?!
Here is one of the wrist bands I knitted with a moon button. Jen made a wonderful flower button. Sadly I was showing off my macro feature on my camera, and the photo just didn't turn out of our buttons. That's Murphy's law for when you think you got it right.

You must think I'm a slow poke for not getting that pair of BOP socks out yet! Okay I got distracted. I've been knitting out of the "Folk Shawls" Book, by Cheryl Oberle. Interweave Press 2000. Making the Wool Peddler's shawl. I'm using Hard Twist Merino from Lisa Souza in the Wild Things colorway. This stuff is so cushy I just want to wrap myself up in it, and thus the shawl was the perfect pattern to accomplish this. I've knit enough yardage to count for that other sock, honest! Okay, I'll set aside the WP and get on with the other sock. I owe Wayne a pair of socks too, come to think of it.

BOP

You might say I'm heels over head about this new hard twist merino yarn from Lisa Souza. Here's a sock done in the Bird of Paradise colorway. I've cast on for the second sock, so the pair should be done soon. The yarn is not yet up on Lisa's web site, but should be soon. I'm sure she'll hook you up with some if you contact her.

The camera flash went off taking this photo. I'll try and get a better shot when there is a pair - the colors are deeper than the photo shows. They are fabulous to say the least. You can you see how this yarn got it's name! I found a nice informational link about the plant if you're interested, and this link has lots of great photos.

We got about 7 inches of snow last night. I see it falling off the trees this afternoon, so it should be gone very soon. I went out and filled the bird feeders today and the chickadees and towhees were most appreciative. The squirrels got a new cob of corn as well. We do enjoy our wild critters. There was a huge crow under the feeders this morning digging through the snow. He was quite handsome in his black feathers with the white snow. Our winter humming birds are doing great. There's at least two hens that come look in our window if the feeders are frozen. Otherwise they come and go happily eatting the necter we put out.

Stitches West

Some friends and I went to Stitches West (a very large knitting show) in Santa Clara, CA this weekend. It was fitting that the trip started out with us drawing the Disney airplane for the trip down. Yes, it did take us to the "happiest place on earth", Stitches West!

The flight was without incident and the weather was rainy and on the cold side. We rented a car so getting around the area was easy. The parking at the hotel and at the convention center was free.

San Jose airport is small and different because you exit the plane and walk through a long canvas tunnel to get inside the terminal. The car rental place is reached via a shuttle bus from the terminal to the car rental lots. Having friends with a positive, adventurous outlook, and being patient, made the trip fun and very rewarding.

This is the biggest show I have ever attended that centered around knitting. Crowds were biggest on Saturday. It was nice that we were able to attend every day of the show to look at the different vendors displays, help out where we could, see (and touch) hand knit treasures throughout the weekend, and of course get to bounce ideas and thoughts off of one another. Bottom line for me though on what made the weekend, was the people. The friends we got to spend time with was the absolute best part of the whole weekend.

Speaking of friends....

here are Michael and Sheila, Rod and Lisa, and Jen and Sam

They don't allow us to take photographs inside the convention center. I wish that they did because it was amazing. We did our best to bring items home from the show for you to see. Yes, I know you will be grateful that we made these purchases of wonderful treasures just for you. You will be seeing these items appear over time on this blog. Just to give you a teaser, there are some of those gorgeous glass needles from Sheila and Michael as well as beautiful yarns from Lisa and Rod that will be showing up. Wait till you see the hard twist superwash yarn Lisa is dying - it's wonderful stuff! I got a sock knit out of this yarn, in only 2 days, using a set of Sheila's needles and the magic loop method. I am working on sock #2. You should be seeing the pair sometime next weekend.

Socks!

Here are some of the socks I've been working on. The blue and black are made with Lisa Souza Sock! in the colorway Blue Sky and some of her Heels and Toes Sock! in Black. I love this stuff. I knit these on a size 1 Addi needle. I think I could go up a needle size especially where I doubled up the yarn on the heels and toes. These will be sturdy socks and great for wearing with open sandals or with boots. Yes one of these socks is not like the others, but they all are the same size and shape. I need to get a sock blocker to really show these off.

This pair is a made from Mountain Colors, Bearfoot yarn in Elderberry colorway. I wasn't in the mood for a lot of ribbing when I started these, and I should have probably done more before I moved onto the foot. They are cozy anyway. If they shrink a little, it will be actually a good thing, they are a little loose on me. The color in the single sock picture is what they really look like. The flash went off on the shot of both feet. I think I'll knit the next pair of these in Ruby River, with a smaller needles size. I used a Addi size 2 on these and they seem a bit loose. I will give in and do the ribbing too - I like a cuff and I was just lazy on these.

I'm getting socks out of my system I guess because that's all I've been working on lately. They are very satisfying for me right now.

The Cold Season is Here

This time I'm not talking about the weather. I've got a cold and my cheek bones hurt. It is the part of this cold that makes me want to curl up in a ball and stay there until I'm better. Only I cough and sneeze and well, we won't go into that. Our son also has a cold and has stayed home from school the last two days. He's feeling pretty bad too.

Wayne got me a wonderful card and some lovely chocolates for Valentines Day. He's a sweetheart. He even cooked dinner and served it on the "you are special" dinner plate. That's what made me feel so special today.

I've been knitting socks. I have made a pair since I last put up photos of the Rooster Rock socks. I'll have to get some photos when I'm feeling better

Plied and Plied Again, I Replied

I finished your birthday present on your birthday Sandy! Sorry I couldn't give them to you today, but you can see them at any rate. These are made from lightweight Socks that Rock in the colorway Rooster Rock. I hope you enjoy them. I have another skein and I'll start up a pair for myself very soon. I've never blocked socks. I suppose I think of them as meager socks and that a foot is the perfect object to block them with. I am sure you will like them when they are warming your toes. The cuff turns down so the colors that are pooling wont show when you have these babies on your feet. I never mind the pooling myself anyway. It gives the socks character.

I plied the soft wool and tencel that I blogged about before. It came out very loosely plied. So, I plied it again. Heck, I plied one two ply with another two ply and now have a four ply yarn! It is so soft and bouncy, I'm not sure what I will end up making out of it. It would be perfect for a soft hat with lots of shine and warmth. I think that's what it wants to be.

New Sweater

Gumby was in need of a little something to brighten his day. The result was a evening of design and knitting for a new sweater! Saint Valentine's Colorway by Lisa Souza in Sock! Size 1 double points 16 stitches at neck, and 18 at the bottom. Sleeves are 9 stitches round. Yeah, you have to love a sweater project when you see it being worn. Sheep are from Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. Pokey's blanket has shoulder (or is that back, withers?) shaping.

Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat

This weekend was the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat, in Tacoma WA. What could be better than going with my good friends Jen and Sam to the retreat on Friday and again on Sunday? (Well besides maybe going again on Saturday - but we had to do some stuff at home this weekend.) What a wonderful time we had seeing friends from on line, and from our fiber network in the Pacific Northwest. Here's a photo of some of the dinner group. That's our group clear down to the window and um, yes, the Christmas Tree.

I learn so much from hanging with these friends. Not only seeing knitted items to check out how they look in real life (as compared to seeing a photo), and being able to ask the person who knit the garment any questions, but by listening and hearing how others have tried various ways of doing projects. We all bounce ideas off of one another and share the love of fiber arts. Sam showed me Magic Loop knitting Friday night, and with my good friend Sheila's circular needles, the rest is history. I love it. Not only that, I got to talk parrots with Kerry! Not everyone understands parrot people. It's great to find someone else who is owned by a Quaker Parakeet.

The vendors out did themselves with wonderful rich colors and soft dreamy combinations of fibers that were irresistible. The Ernst Glass booth was awesome. I walked up and this deep red flower button jumped right out at me. The Chili Pepper glass needles were destine to come home with me as well. I bought a couple of skeins of Blue Moon, Socks and Rock lightweight yarn. I started knitting with it Friday night and you will see how my progress has come along as of 4:00 Sunday night in the photo below. Some of my other finds were Blue Moon Merino Tencel roving in the Rooster Rock colorway, Crown Mountain superwash sock fiber in "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Say a Little Prayer" colorways.

My power cord on the laptop is funky and needs replaced. I was able to get it to work tonight by turning the cord to the left or right until the computer came on. Let's hope that new cord I ordered comes in tomorrow!

Ya, you do want a closer look at that glass - I knew that you did! Double click on the photo if you want to blow it up.

Sunday Spinning

Spinning Guild held a surprise this month. Someone found that a family was threatening to throw out a spinner's stash! The lady who owned the stash was in her 80's and had forgotten how to spin, and the family was not interested in learning how. They had boxes of colored and natural fleece, mostly Romney. This photo was taken after about 1/2 of the entire stash was already spoken for.

We spinners all chipped in to help find homes for the fiber. The bag on the floor in front of my wheel came home with me, along with another bag that somehow fell into my car. All those boxes on the floor were full of clean fiber too. More spinners showed up after the photo was taken, more fiber found homes. All but about 2 or 3 pounds of fiber ended up finding homes and the woman who brought us this treasure took that. I'm sure it too will find a happy spinner to care for it. It was all lovely fiber.

If there comes a time when I no longer remember what my wheel is for, and Wayne even thinks of tossing my stash, it's up to each and every one of you to help find homes for my stash. I know you will not let me down. I have quilters in my family even if there are no spinners, but it's going to take a few of you to take on my stash as it stands today. Let's hope I get some spinning done before I get to the age where I forget how, or loose the ability to do so.

Yes, the photo of the spinners taking fiber home is small to protect the innocent and to make the amount of fiber you collected seem smaller than it truly is. Um... my bag had air in it too!

Here are a couple other creatures I met while at Spinning Guild. I thought you might enjoy them.

Blue Days

I have been having fun spinning tencel. It is hard to photograph because it is so shiny. I have 4 ounces of this beautiful blue, and I have 4 ounces of a tencel merino mix that has blues and greens in it which is already spun under this blue color on the bobbin. I was going to ply it with a black tencel that I have, but instead I think I'll ply it with some wool.

I dyed some "soft wool" that I bought at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival last year. Soft Wool is what the vendor calls this mix. All I know is it has some targhee in it. I used Blueberry Blast and Artic Apple Kool Aid and Blueberry Gaywool dye. It's drying tonight. I think it will work well with the tencel.