Happy Hat!

This hat was one of the more technically challenging, yet satisfying projects I've attempted. And now Kristen has matching mittens and hat and small scarf for next winter in Chicago.

Happy Labor Day!

Photographic evidence

I have tons of pictures of my knitting, and a fair number of pictures of Kristen, but almost no evidence that my husband also inhabits this household. But he does, and today, I managed to get him to stand still for a few pictures.


Looking fine, Sammy!

And a couple of family pics:

Hat and a few pictures of Kristen

I'm working on a hat for Kristen called Koolhaas, designed by Brooklyn Tweed. the stitch pattern is interesting and attractive, but if you make a mistake, it's very difficult to figure out how to fix it. So I had to rip back the first 8 rows of the pattern once and start over from the ribbing. But at this point I've got the ribbing and 2 repeats of the pattern done and it's looking pretty good. I love this yarn!
And while I'm here, let me post a few recent pictures of Kristen. She went to a murder mystery party at a friend's house last weekend and they dresses up like the 1930s.

Also, the dog has been restored to its rightful owner, but it was a good experience having her here for a week.

Dog again

Remember the dog that followed me home last fall and stayed with us for 4 days, until we finally located her owner? Well, at that time, we asked the owner that if they ever wanted someone to watch her for a few days, that we gladly would. And last week they called us and asked!




So Heidi is spending 6 days with us. She is such a good dog!

nice and easy

This was really fun and easy. The finished size is more scarf than shawl, but it has a nice flow. I might do it again, with a bit more yarn, maybe 300 yards. This was just 218 yards, and ended up about 64" long.

Whee!

...and the living is easy

Summer is finally really here for me. Summer school is over, all my grades are handed in, and all I have to do now is relax, knit, and, uh, yeah all the cleaning and other chores that I put off all year.

Well, in order to keep myself from getting overwhelmed, I've made a list of discrete tasks to accomplish, such as "measure window shades" and "buy replacement window shades" and "install window shades." So today I got two and a half of those bullet items off my list!

To reward myself, I cast on a super simple knitting project: the Sunday Market Shawl.




This is basically just all stockinette all the time, on largish (but not awkwardly large) needles, and then at the end, you drop stitches that were yarn-overs and end up with something pseudo-lacy that grows in dimensions. Huh. Worth a try. I have 2 skeins of 100% alpaca yarn in a lovely chestnut brown that I don't know what to do with, so this will be my Olympic knitting and my being sociable knitting and so on. Actually what it will do is completely displace the actual lace knitting which is a little annoying to work on. But it's summertime! The knitting should be easy too! And if the alpaca gets too hot to handle, I'll go back to the laceweight shawl.

Last night for dinner, I made a lovely crustless quiche sort of thing that is so yummy:

Spinach-Feta Bake

3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 10 oz or 1 16 oz package frozen chopped spinach
1 cup lowfat cottage cheese (2%)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 eggs, beaten
oregano and black pepper (the feta is salty, so no salt)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan, sprinkled on top halfway through baking.

Thaw spinach and squeeze thoroughly to remove water. Combine all ingred. except parmesan in a bowl and mix well. Spray a 9" pie plate with Pam and transfer filling to pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 min, sprinkling with Parmesanafter 15 minutes. Should be lightly browned and firm. Cool slightly and serve. Serves 4 hungry people, or 3 people plus yummy leftovers for breakfast!

We also had fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil salad and a piece of garlic toast, and melon for dessert. Out on the patio. Bliss! (Unfortunately we ate it too fast to get a picture of its beauty!)

And now a pair of mittens!

Always more useful that way!



These were really a fun project, and I'm proud of the fact that I worked out the cable myself and adapted the pattern from Ann Budd's book. I only needed one skein of Berrocco Ultra Alpaca to make the pair plus a large swatch. I am in love with that yarn. It is so bouncy, with a depth of color that really shines in the sunlight.