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Yarn Along: My Patinaed Age of Brass & Steam

I don't know why it took so long!  My Age of Brass & Steam kerchief turned into a slightly larger shawlette.  I love the colors and the style.  It's simple, straightforward, without frilly edges.  I will definitely get much wear from this during the colder months. 

I've also been dabbling with my scarf and my sweater the past few weeks, but unfortunately, neither have seen too many rows or rounds except here and there.  Season of life is too busy, (I've become a 'chauffeur' recently with all the hurrying to and fro, and it's not even my schedule!)  and I can't figure out how to knit AND drive at the same time!  (just kidding, Mom!)

Soon, I'm expecting a gradual slow down and a return to a normal routine (whatever that is) when we restart our homeschool, and the older kids students begin their college classes.  I am definitely looking forward to that!

Sorry for the lack of book pic this week.  Reading has been a mish-mash of things: Grow Your Handmade Business, Millionare Teacher, a very nice Moosewood cookbook, and, oh, I did manage to skim to the end read Stealing Mona Lisa.  Can't comment on the other three at the moment, but the latter one was so-so.  I thought it would have an interesting storyline since it was based (albeit loosely) on an actual event, but it fell flat and became cliche.  The characters were somewhat superficial, the dialogue seemed forced at times and ... well... you can see why I skipped to the end.  Too bad, really. 

Joining with Ginny today... how about you?

 

Enjoying

A little bit late today...

I'm enjoying...

making one of my family's favorite dishes: picadillo...

catching my husband contemplating life (or else figuring out how much farther we need to walk on the trail!)...

taking a walk on a bright sunny day...

getting in the mood to bake all last Saturday (most of what you see was eaten in less than 1 week!)...

loving my fig variation of Heather's vegan apricot raisin bars**...

catching a glimpse of a young bunny venturing too close to the house...

soaking beans overnight (and realizing that I stuffed too many in the jar!)...

being blinded by the colors of a carrot, beet & red cabbage salad...

repeating the above with the colors of new sneakers...

thinking that the zucchini on a bed of swiss chard looked great, but tasted sort of bitter (not sure why but will try again...I'm sure it's not the recipe, but the cook)...

finishing a knitting project...

 

** I can't give you Heather's recipe but this recipe is sort of like them with quanitites changed, minus the whole apricots, and substitutions made for making it vegan, but you can get the idea.

Yarn Along: Age of Brass & Steam continued...

Well?  I managed to finish my black Annabel but am still waiting for my photographer to show up so I can model it.  Plus, it needs some buttons and blocking or blocking and buttons...but at least it's 'complete'. 

Today, I'm showing you my inching along of the Age of Brass & Steam.  I actually finished it about 2 weeks ago (using <1 skein) but after trying it on (I want to wear it wrapped around my neck and tied in front), I realized it simply wasn't long enough.  No, I hadn't blocked it for the trying-on stage, but didn't want to block it and then realize I needed to enlarge it.  So right now, I'm in the process of adding a 2nd skein.  I don't think I'll add the entire skein (otherwise, it'll end up being more like a wrap than a kerchief) but we'll see. 

Reading has really been a smattering of books this past week including but not limited to: Stealing Mona Lisa (again), Canning for a New Generation, Food in Jars... I haven't made any jams this year (either canned or freezer), so I hope browsing these books as well as other canning books will give me the kick in the pants I need.

Have you canned anything this season?

And of course, for Ginny's Yarn Along, what are you knitting/crocheting and reading?

Yarn Along: Jason's Pebble

Sorry for the multiple photo post for Ginny's Yarn Along...

And yes, I forgot to include the picture of the book I'm reading: Stealing Mona Lisa. 

Ever have one of those months?  Too busy to focus on the important things in life?  My friend, Joy, was blessed with another little baby boy about a month ago.  Thankfully this little boy is her 6th child, so she was not desperate for meals is an experienced mother.  Good thing.  I had promised to bring her a meal several weeks ago...and that was several weeks ago!  Oh well.  Joy is a very understanding woman. 

button is sewn on - only decorative

So late last week, I made a nice big main dish salad (it's been much too hot to cook) with other assorted goodies and delivered it to her.  I meant to also bring along a little handknit for the new baby, Jason.  Unfortunately, I was a few days late with that too.  Another 'oh well'...

all that's left - almost ran out of that blue

At any rate, I chose a knitted-in-the-round variation of the Pebble vest.  Since I had success with the other two pebble vests already, I knew I wanted to use the pattern again but wondered if I could knit it in the round to eliminate seams.  So when I found the variation, I was happy. 

jogging jogless stripes!

I chose yarn from my stash: Bazic Wool (now discontinued) by Classic Elite Yarns in 3 colors - citrine, alpine blue, and light teal.  It's an aran/heavy worsted weight wool that is also washable.  Using a size 5 needle made the vest come out very dense.  I blocked it.  Not sure what happened.  The above photo is the side 'seam' where the stripes met ,and I changed colors every few rows.  I was trying to achieve jogless stripes and used this video for guidance.  Good video, but my final product didn't come out the way I thought it would.  I'm thinking perhaps I didn't block it enough?  Washable wool doesn't block as well as unwashable regular wool?   Not sure.  I'm guessing however, baby Jason won't mind.

I love the stripes and the sheen of the wool. Those buttons up there are simply decorative.  I sewed them to the straps.  No buttonhole. My knitting came out just a wee bit wonky at the neckline, but I think that just gives it character! :)  The variation says that it should fit 6-9 months.  I don't know.  It looks pretty big to me.  Hope it works out well.  It'll definitely be warm for the winter.

Hmmm... winter seems so impossibly far away at the moment as I sit here in 90+ degree weather...

What are you knitting, crocheting and reading this week?

Yarn Along: Age of Brass & Steam

Remember those tentative May plans?  Getting 2 projects done by the end of that month?  Didn't happen.  Not even close.  They might get done by the end of this month, but don't hold your breath.  So it makes perfect sense to start a new project for Ginny's Yarn Along this week, yes?  :)  I actually managed to begin a new mini shawl/kerchief, frog it when I realized that the number of stitches weren't matching up and restart the whole thing.  I think this pattern was made for me: it's a great little knit to have in the car while waiting for your son to finish work or your kids to finish youth group or vbs or piano lessons or orthodontist appointments...

Knitting: Age of Brass and Steam
Yarn: Madeline Tosh DK
Color: Fjord

As for reading, I visited the library and borrowed a few promising fiction books (none of which I've begun) and a few more cookbooks.  Although my vegan month has technically finished, I think I may continue a little while longer.  Vegan Family Meals has some interesting recipes (not quite as whole foods as the workshop but good none the less).  I've already made the black-eyed peas soup and have my eye on several other recipes: South American Stew (cooked in a squash), Lasagna Rolls (with Tofu Ricotta), Sesame-Shiitake Tofu Frittata, Super Hippie Granola...

And yes, besides our avocado experiments, that is a venus flytrap.  My youngest has been wanting one so we went over to Lowes to search.  Unfortunately, all of the flytraps and other measly-looking carnivorous plants looked pretty sorry from lack of water.  I would have been fine leaving the store without one, but my son was intent on bringing one home (even after I warned him it may not live too much longer).  But what the heck...it was only $4.99, so home it came.  So far he's tried feeding it a fly, but the plant spit it out.  Perhaps the fly was too big?  Or the plant was not hungry?  The directions on the package were scant at best.  I guess it would have been a good idea to actually read some helpful tips before buying the plant?

What are you knitting and reading?

Yarn Along: Annabel & Taproot

You'd think that with just two sleeves to knit this week, I'd have finished the black Annabel.  Nope.  When I switched to dpns, I found I was getting a little bit of laddering, so I pulled harder on the yarns, wishing of course that I simply had a short circuluar needle to do the job. I discovered a site with a few tricks on how to deal with ladders (I think mine were too tight rather than too loose).  At any rate, I've been fixing the one sleeve and will have to get a move on the other.  Don't think I'll meet my self-imposed deadline for this sweater since tomorrow is the last day of May, but who knows... between the dentist visit (for me) and college placement exam visits (for my two oldest), I may just squeeze in some knitting. 

My reading has consisted mainly of cookbooks (for all the vegan cooking I'm doing recently) but yesterday, when my 2nd issue of Taproot arrived, I happily substituted my reading material for the magazine.  That is..until I turned it over...just look at the poor thing!  So sad.  Yes, I've received damaged items delivered to my mailbox before, and I know it happens, but on the inside of the back cover is a very neat illustration (at least from what I can tell), and I was hoping to be able to see the whole thing.  Oh well.  Hope to get my hands on a 2nd copy soon.

What about you?  What are  you knitting and reading this week for Ginny's Yarn Along?

Yarn Along: new yarns

No school lessons.  A wee bit more free time.  An extra pair of hands to help with dinner prep and clean up (thanks, Mom).  All of these things add up to more knitting and reading this week.  I finished the body of my black Annabel and am working through one sleeve.  I think I should have it completed for next week.  Exciting! 

Even more exciting is discovering stumbling upon a new yarn store in the area.  On Friday, we (grandmother, mother and daughter) had a girls'-day-out and visited 3 yarns stores nearby.  We intended to visit only the first being that we did not know the other two existed.  (the owner of the first store told us of the other two stores)  Good thing she did (or not so good depending on how you look at it...he he)... at any rate, I came home with a linen yarn (Louet Euroflax in Pewter) and a few skeins of Berroco Seduce in Graphite.  I'm thinking of a simple lacy scarf for the Euroflax, but the jury's still out for the Berroco yarn.  Might go back and buy more to make this top or this one.  I saw a sample knit of the 2nd top at the store and bought a pattern since I like the ruching on the front.  But with my ahem figure, it may not be the best match.  We'll see. 

At night I've been reading a combination of things: various cookbooks, recipes, printouts from Heather's 30-Day Vegan workshop, and  An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler.  After reading Amanda's post on the book (read her post - she very eloquently talks about the book!), I ordered it from the library.  Haven't gotten too far but am enjoying what I've read up to this point.  The author makes you approach eating in a new way; it's more of mini 'essays'. (No, no...not the boring and lengthy paragraphs that we were forced to write and read about in school!) These 'essays' are filled with lively adjectives and tidbits on how to use foods in a creative and common sense way rather than recipes per se.   How to Boil Water is the very first chapter heading...interesting, indeed! 

So what are you reading and knitting for Ginny's Yarn Along this week?

Yarn Along: Annabel progress

Ginny's Yarn Along has snuck up on me again.  I have been knitting (albeit a few rows or rounds here and there) but somehow not enough to show a big difference.  I've made progress on my Black Annabel although from the picture above you probably just see a big old mess of knitting.  Right now, I'm thinking that finishing the present skein of yarn and perhaps using another will cover the body, and then I'll just have to move onto the sleeves.  My goal is to try and finish the sweater by the end of May (and perhaps the purple scarf as well), but since my parents are visiting this week, and ...ahem... I foresee a few visits to local yarn stores...meeting that goal may prove challenging. 

Reading has consisted of prepping for homeschool again and drooling over the pictures in the La Tartine Gourmande.  I like the freshness and combinations of food used throughout the book.  The photos remind me of some of the gourmet cooking books that I would pore over when we were first married (when we had more leisure time...remember leisure time?)

Right now, my time is limited and honestly, my interest has shifted away from recipes that require a hundred unique ingredients and thousands of hours spent in the kitchen to execute that one gourmet meal.  Instead, I'm into simpler, wholesome recipes that are also easier to make and much quicker to grace our table. Admittedly, this cookbook does lean to the gourmet side (maybe for special occasions?), but there are few recipes that fit the easy/quick need.  Of course there is one recipe that caught my eye right away when I browsed through this at the library.  It'll probably take a bit of time to execute but who knows?  I'm willing to give it a go.  Chocolate crepes.  What do you think?  Have any of you tried recipes from this book?

What are you reading and crafting?

Yarn Along: treading water

Like my title for this installment of Ginny's Yarn Along ? I think treading water would make a nice name for a knitting project, don't you agree?  I imagine a long flowing scarf or shawl that cascades down to my knees or puddles at my feet using a silky turquoise yarn that I would knit in an undulating design.  Something to wear to the beach?  No.  Too hot. Too much time to knit...never mind. Besides, if I wore a scarf that lengthy, I might end up like Isadora...

Actually, my knitting and reading this week have once again seen very little of me. Hence the title of this post. Treading water.  It's not anything big.  It's just a lot of 'little' things that are taking up my time again: helping the seniors find part-time employment, finalizing college stuff, trying to figure out a date to have a graduation party (sort of like trying to write the guest list for a wedding, I tell you), continuing on with school lessons, hoping the piano recital goes well, readying the house for family, realizing only yesterday that we need to call an exterminator, looking forward to dinner with a friend and her family... you get the picture.

After finishing my husband's scarf, I knit roughly two more inches of the Lace Ribbon Scarf.  I like knitting this pattern design much more.  It seems to go faster.  Good thing I have 3 skeins since I'm on my 2nd skein now, and it looks like I'll definitely need the 3rd in order to have the scarf long enough.  But as you can tell, I'm in no hurry...it'll get done...eventually. 

Reading has consisted of beginning to read aloud the final two physical science books for my younger boys: Light and Sound.  Good thing.  We just finished the Magnets & Electromagnetism book in the series and all of us were getting sort of 'bored' with it.  I think it's just that time of year.

Knitting: Circle & Stripe Scarf

Finally!  I finally managed to finish my husband's very belated Christmas present a few days ago:  the Circle and Stripe Scarf!  What a patient man he is.  And good-natured!  He humored me by modeling it in almost 80 degree heat.  In that last photo there with his Peter Pan stance, I asked him, "what are you doing?" to which he replied, "sucking in my gut of course..."  There...ahem... seems to a bit of sucking in the gut at our house lately (both of us!).  At least the scarf will fit.  smile. 

I haven't blocked the scarf and probably won't since I actually like the way it curls on the edges into a tube.  The Malabrigo yarn was soft and easy to work with.  The colorway reminds me of salt & pepper...sort of like the direction his beard is headed...