Saturday fun

I have about 36" of the Nikko wrap done. I checked the pattern, and it's only supposed to be 60" long. It's coming along swimmingly.

I've also got about 6" of the KP&S cardigan done. Gawd, I hope I have enough yarn.

I also made some 100% Whole Wheat Bread.

New Toy!

Sam got me a new camera for our Anniversary. I'm still trying to figure out how to use it. It's a Panasonic DMC-FX12. Our other camera was okay, but technology has come so far since we purchased it.

Here is a shot of Boy.

And, some yarn porn for you.

This is hand-spun hand-dyed yarn I bought a jillion years ago form E-Bay. The wrappers say they were hand-spun or spun with a drop spindle by Gladys McRae from Texas. Each of the bundles of yarn have been left undyed or dyed with natural dyes. The ones that are dyed have Gladys's handwriting on the type of dyes. Some say Tickseed + Ammonia, Lichen etc. They are most likely too precious for me to actually use in something. I enjoy looking at the little balls of yarn so much. I have a big gallon Ziploc bag full of them. Who would even begin to guess what the yardage is. I suppose I could make a free-form purse with them. They are all natural colors. White, browns, and yellows.

Tonight, I'll do the prep work for bread baking tomorrow. I'm going to make a whole wheat bread.

Relaxing Sunday

It's nice when you are expecting a house guest. A little extra cleaning always feels good. I have decided to make portobello goat cheese lasagna with flashy green sauce and a green salad with anise croutons with vinaigrette for Bruce's dinner. Both recipes are by Didi Emmons.

I cast on for the KP& S cardigan. (It's the second cardigan.) It should move quickly as the yarn is a heavy worsted and needles are a size 9. I'm using the hand spun and some Noro Big Kureyon in color 1 around the shoulders. I just want to be sure I have enough yarn, as it will be impossible to get any more of the hand spun (purchased at least 10 years ago on eBay). Another warm sweater for when the winter weather sucks in Kansas.

Tonight, we will celebrate Tate's birthday at my parents' house. I'm going to give her the Chanelish-Cardigan jacket, the black Fetching glovelets and a gift certificate to Wild Oats. She wanted the kombucha, but it's not quite ready. When it is, she'll get the mushroom, some tea, and the vessel so that she can prepare it at her place.

Light at the end of the tunnel

I finished the Hyde Park Pullover last night. Pictures later. It's drying on the spare bed right now. I liked this pattern a lot. I highly recommend it. It isn't a sweater to be worn indoors, but rather an alternative to wearing a coat. I think this may be the direction I go. Sweaters instead of coats.
Today I attempted to make a couple of loaves of whole wheat bread. Total flop. I just threw the (not so risen) unbaked loaves in the trash. I got my book from Amazon today, so maybe I can figure out what I did wrong.
I worked on Nikko today. I have about 2 feet knitted.
I also spent some time cleaning today. And I forced myself to deal with the basket of UFOs. It's a tangled mass of crap. After untangling and sorting, I realized that I don't have a whole bunch to do to get caught up.
1) The Ribby Cardi. I'm thinking that it would be nice if I could get this done for Caitlin when she comes back. All that's left is one sleeve, picking up the collar and finishing.
2) EZ's Surplice Baby Jacket.
3) The brown twirly scarf from Scarf Style. Bind it off and forget about it already.
4) a pair of cabled slipper socks for me.
I also identified a few things that need to go to the frog pond. Along with the Kimono Jacket, I have made all the pieces of a v-neck pull over with this kick-ass hand dyed yarn from Bonkers. But, it just looks weird. I think it's a waste of this fabulous yarn. It should be used for a different project. So, I will rip it out.
I also started a sweater vest for my dad a long time ago with a Dale of Norway washable wool. He looks good in blue. It just seemed giant. And he's lost quite a bit of weight, so this needs to be ripped out and redone.
My cousin, Bruce, called me today. He will be coming to town this Wednesday. I can't wait. He was always my favorite family member. We had so much fun growing up. Bruce is a vegetarian. I can't wait to make a lovely meal for him and to have a long talk with him.

Yarn Porn Friday

This is hand-dyed super wash merino that I bought at a holiday craft sale for fiber artists in December of 2006. It was dyed by Marci Blank of Th'-Red Head Designs. The photo doesn't show the subtle changes in the deep red. I plan on making the Seamless Hybrid from Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann for me.

I signed up to be a recipe tester for Cook's Illustrated magazine a while ago. Today, I got my first email from them. Looks like Sam & I will be making their French Onion soup this weekend. I love French Onion soup.

I also bought this book from Amazon. I'm looking forward to honing my bread baking skills. I intend on making some rye bread this weekend. The sour has been fermenting all week. And then a plain loaf too. I can't wait to get my new book!

What is your favorite Food Movie?

Tomatoes

One of my greatest pleasures of summer is fresh, ripe tomatoes. I love having a sliced tomato for breakfast. Sometimes with a poached egg and toast.

This year, we planted 12 plants. Several of which are heirloom varieties. To date, I have only had one of my tomatoes as the squirrels have made off with the rest. The area I live in has quite a squirrel problem. I had heard that human hair deters the squirrels. While I have a bag of Sam's hair from his last haircut, I didn't have the nerve to go into a Great Cuts with a bag and ask for their hair clippings. Especially after Sam got the heeby-jeebies about it.

So, I have been forced to buy my tomatoes. One specialty store had home grown tomatoes and some Heirlooms this weekend. They were sold out on Monday, so I went to my usual grocery store. Arkansas tomatoes. Not that whippy either.

I sliced one for breakfast today and took a few bites. Absolutely no flavor. I threw out the rest of my plate. Barf.

And so, I must declare war on the squirrels. I didn't want to use a chemical deterrent. Last night, I read that squirrels are deterred by pepper smell. So, I boiled some water and soaked three habeneros that I cut up. Today, after the peppers had steeped overnight, I strained the water and added a couple of drops of dish washing liquid. Then I sprayed my plants with glee.
We'll see if I fixed those bastards or not.

The Nikko wrap is coming along swimmingly. I have about 15 inches done. When I brought it to my parents' house on Sunday, Tate admired it. That's a good sign.

I went back to the specialty store and got some homegrown tomatoes and a few heirlooms. Tonight, we will have BLTs on pumpernickel. I also smash an avocado in the Veganaise. A super easy summer dinner.