Kathrine's grandmother's dishcloth

I had the opportunity recently to help a very nice lady recreate a dishcloth her grandmother made for her a long time ago.
I must say I'm pretty happy with the results!

Thank you Katherine for allowing me to share this.

Cast on 15 using left thumb loop method

Row 1 (and all ws rows) knit
Row 2: k3, yo, k11 (one stitch remains unworked)
Row 4: k3, yo, k11 (two stitches remain unworked)
Row 6: k3, yo, k11 (three stitches remain unworked)
Row 8: co 3, k10 (continue leaving one more stitch unworked each rs row)
Rows 10, 12, 14: k3, yo, k7
Row 16: co 3, k6
Rows 18, 20, 22: k3, yo, k3
Row 24: co 3, knit all stitches previously left unworked (will look like stockinette row after first three knitted stitches)

Repeat rows 1-24 6 more times for seven repeats.  Co all stitches loosely and sew together edges, picking up and sewing closed the middle circle as well.

When casting off the three stitches on rows 8, 16, & 24 the process I used was knit 2, pass first stitch over and off needle, knit 1, pass first stitch over and off needle,  knit 1, pass first stitch over and off needle again. Three stitches will have been cast off and remaining worked stitch will now be first stitch of the row.

Summer Garden, Goals, and Ideas

Well, it's summer here in my part of the world. With the exception of the last week or so, it's been relatively mild and comfortable, hanging in the 70's but the humidity can't seem to make up it's mind. But all this means is my garden is THRIVING!

Small orange rose bush rescued from the mint

Acorn Squash

K and I have now planted carrots, onions, tomatoes, basil, eggplant, acorn squash, green beans, corn, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, beets, radishes, green peppers, spicy peppers, zucchini, cucumber, spaghetti squash, and ambrosia melon. The carrots are just about ready to be pulled, and I'm impatiently waiting. We've got garlic growing all over the yard, and also waiting to harvest it. As well as mint....tons and tons of mint growing wild through my roses. So much, that I think I'll have enough to do everything from HappySimpleLiving's blog, and still have plenty left for a Mojito or two (*ahem* dozen) over the course of the summer.

Corn and green beans reaching for the sky!

I've read a lot that things like cabbage, and broccoli don't do too well with warm summer sun on them, so K and I strung up some string and cheesecloth to make a bit of a sun shade for our cold loving veggie bed, and it seems to be working OK. I just have to be careful when watering, and make sure to check it after a rain to make sure the cheesecloth isn't trying to push the plants back into the ground.

Happy Tomatoes and basil

Surprise! Apparently tomatoes will grow just about anywhere.

K and I planted about five tomatoes when we started seeds this spring. Now we have 25 plants. When the big garden was tilled by our husbands, apparently a tomato or two got tilled in, and they sprouted. We also found a volunteer growing out of a barrel where we dumped all the tiny rocks from the onion and carrot patch. So we now have a few varieties of what appear to be heirloom, beefsteak, roma, cherry, and a few unidentified tomatoes.

We also found a few pepper plants that popped up in the tilled ground, so those got transplanted as well.

The Ambrosia Melon we are growing is an experiment. Not sure how it's going to turn out, but since the plant cost me like $2 I'm not complaining. It looks like it's something like a cantaloupe, but it is supposed to be super sweet.

This past week we had a bit of a heat wave, getting up into the upper 80's but with high humidity it felt more like 90's. Our air conditioning is out, so we ended up spending about a week at my mother-in-law's house, taking advantage of her cool air. During this time, I ended up teaching her how to knit a dish cloth. She had one she loved that has just about reached the end of its useful life, so it was time for a new one. I ended up picking some thread for a few wash cloths for myself (I just can't bring myself to use such pretty things on dirty dishes) and worked right along side her while she made her first dish cloth. I must say, for her first time knitting in several years, she got right back into the swing of things very quickly. She picked a skein of red/blue/grey mix that when I looked at it on the shelf, I wasn't too much of a fan, but after she started knitting with it, it pulled a transformer on me and ended up looking pretty kick-ass! Enough that I'm planning on making a few out of the same stuff. 

A nice bright and cheery wash cloth!

I am now into my second batch of home made laundry soap, and I am loving it! Some stains that I thought were there for good have magically disappeared, and it rinses out so well there isn't anything left to irritate sensitive skin. Bonus - It works beautifully in my H.E. front loading washer. Next time I make a batch, I'll have to put up a tutorial on it. 

While reading around online for something...I think ideas for more wash cloths since I get bored pretty quickly, I stumbled across something I haven't thought about in a few years. Hot Process Soap.....but in a crock pot! Sign. Me. Up!

I love homemade soap, especially the kind with herbs and flowers in it. I stumbled across the blog Little House in the Suburbs and have been browsing through the wonderful entries there, getting my creative ideas flowing. So of course now I'm reading up on making soap in a crock pot, and the ratios, and what to do if it doesn't work, and how to tell if it's not working before waiting for it to set up. 

I'm hoping to have my first batch of crock pot soap in the next few weeks, (seriously, not standing over a hot pot of soap stirring away in summer, umm yes please), now I just have to decide if I'm going to make plain old soap, or if I'm going to do something fancy, like oatmeal and honey, or lavender chamomile, or even a mint and lemon. This is especially exciting for me, because I'm always looking to find ways to pamper myself, without spending all the extra money at the store. Also because this year I'm really trying to cut back on our seeming dependence on store bought items, and be more proactive incorporating nature into our lives. What more wonderfully pampering way to incorporate some of our summer garden into our winter lives than including some of the herbs and flowers in the soap we will use all winter? Add to that the scrumptious wash cloths, maybe some homemade candles, and hey, who needs the spa?

Well, that's all for now folks. Need to get off of here before I get any more ideas and try to do too much at once!

Reflections, A new year, and new experiments

Sitting here listening to the rain pitter-patter on the sun room roof, wrapped up in a blanket, with a kitten snuggled on my feet, with a wonderful cup of hot tea, felt like the perfect time to sit and reflect on the past year, all the ups, downs, successes and failures. I won't bore you with the bad, but some of the goods from last year were getting closer to some of my friends and family through planning my wedding, I was able to leave my job where I was overly stressed (and also on a contrasting schedule with hubby) so that I could spend more time with him, and with my mom who needed three surgeries. Had THE MOST PERFECT WEDDING I could have ever wished for. Sadly for our bank account, I always wanted the fairy tale, over the top, royal type of wedding, but we did it. Got to meet many of my new family on my husband's side at the wedding. Traveled for the first time out of the country, to the UK. Went to the ocean for the first time IN SCOTLAND, went dolphin watching, again in Scotland, slept in a castle, played ping pong in a throne room, washed laundry in the castle, and hung it to dry in front of a fireplace (I know, I'm different), flew in a propeller plane, and spent hours driving through Scottish and Irish countryside. The final day of our trip, we spent hours at Guinness brew house, fell in love with the drink, and the people of both countries all over again. My mom made it through surgeries on both her shoulders, now we are working on getting things lined up for her back, and my mother-in-law was able to move closer to us and the rest of the family. Made some new friends, and reconnected with long lost friends. Learned how to make several things that we use on a regular basis, and have been able to spend more time with my husband, and our family.

My bouquet from the wedding.

Just like so many people, I've decided to set some resolutions. Not specifically new year's resolutions, just goals I want to accomplish this year in my ongoing quest to live a healthier, happier life.

1. Experiment more in the kitchen with healthy foods
2. Reduce use of chemicals in our lives by making more cleaning products (this should also help reduce plastic we use since we won't be buying the stuff in the plastic)
3. Allow myself to be happier by accepting that I can't do everything, and what I do, doesn't have to be perfect. Accept that I'm allowed to make mistakes. Yes I'm a perfectionist. 
4. Grow and can more of our own vegetables
5. Get my craft projects organized, cataloged, and down to a more manageable number

So, in an effort to to complete the craft project resolution, I'm finishing up pairs of socks that I had previously started. I got a pair of dark green socks, and 1 out of a pair of light green socks, both for my hubby, and working on the second of a pair of socks for myself. I know I've covered this in a previous post, but it's nice to get everything down in one spot.

My first self designed sock!

Light green sock for hubby

Start of the toe of the second sock.

As for experimenting more in the kitchen, the other night I tried making foil packet lime pepper chicken, with mashed rutabaga, and steamed broccoli. Turned out pretty well, even with the calamity of the rutabaga eating the knife. 

I started to peel the rutabaga, which was tricky because of the waxy coating, but muscled through it. Sliced a little off the bottom so it wouldn't roll when I'm cutting it, and started to cut it in half. This is about as far as I got the knife through and I couldn't get it to go any more. When I went to pull the knife out it just didn't budge! This is our sharpest knife, and since hubby was a chef for many years, he keeps them pretty sharp. I tried everything I could think of to get the knife out, but no luck. I even (shame on me) grabbed a hold of the knife with both hands and shook it to try to dislodge it. About half way through I realized what a sight I must be. Shaking this knife with a giant rutabaga on it, my hair coming undone, yelling (more growling I think) in frustration. This is the point I started laughing uncontrollably  and ended up kneeling on the kitchen floor, knife still in hand, laughing so hard I was holding my stomach and crying! An adventure indeed! By time I collected myself I simply had to share this moment with a few of my friends and proceeded to text/email them. The modern age of sharing EVERYTHING! 

I ended up leaving the monster on the cutting board and went to preparing the chicken.

Lime Pepper Chicken:

2 Cleaned, and skinless chicken breast

Pinch of Kosher Salt

2 tsp Lime Pepper herb mix

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dill

sliced onion (these are like half onion, half chives we found at the farmer's market), they are sweet onions

Olive oil

2 Radishes, sliced

lime juice

2 TBSP chicken broth

2 Pats of butter

2 Squares foil to wrap chicken in

Take 2 tsp lime pepper, 1 tsp onion powder, and dill and mix them all together, breaking up any clumps. 

Sprinkle a little salt on the chicken, then coat both sides with the herb mix.

Drizzle some olive oil over the chicken, then turn it to get the oil on the foil, then turn it again so the oiled side is back up. 

Drizzle a little lime juice over the chicken
Sprinkle sliced onions over chicken
Lay a few slices of radish on top, then top with a pat of butter
Put 1 TBSP broth on top of each chicken, then fold foil in half over chicken, fold and crimp the three open sides shut so nothing leaks out.

Put in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Check to make sure chicken is fully cooked before eating please!

Hubby came home, and managed to get the rutabaga chopped and we got that boiled and mashed just like it was potato. Steamed up some broccoli, which was then tossed with butter and a little garlic powder.

So yummy! I didn't realize it, but the lime pepper mix I bought had chili peppers in it, so it was a bit spicy for me, but moist and tender, and full of flavor! The rutabaga tastes kind of like a potato, but is slightly sweeter, with a very light carrot type of flavor. I ended up using the left overs to make something like potato pancakes in the morning with chives and garlic. That was amazing! I think we'll be buying rutabagas more often.

Not too shabby for my first time with a new vegetable!!

Well that's it for now, off to do some laundry so I can use up the store bought stuff, and plan dinner for tonight, baked ginger and lemongrass salmon and asparagus with a creamy dill sauce I think. Maybe work on my fair isle double knit hot pad some more since it's almost finished.

Take care, and happy creating!

Toe up socks

So, one of my resolutions this year was to decrease the number of ongoing projects I have. In an effort to complete this I have been finishing up socks that I have had cast on for the past 4 months. Well, I hurt my back Thursday sliding around on some of our wonderful ice we get here this time of year, and haven't really been able to get off the couch since without lots of pain. All this rest is helping, but it's taking it's sweet old time.

So anyways, I decided it's a perfect time to work on some of these old projects, namely socks, Light weight, normally requires a decent chunk of uninterrupted time, and I can't go anywhere, perfect! Well, I get to the bind off on a pair for hubby, but the first bind off I did was WAY to tight, he couldn't even get it over his heel. So I looked up an elastic bind off online, and did that. It was plenty elastic but it just didn't bounce back, so he has this frilly ring around the top of his sock now. Would be REALLY cute on a little girls sock, but not on someone who looks like they should be a linebacker for the pro's.

Frilly top, and I kinda made the cuff about 2 inches too short.

I followed the bind off technique I found at Slip Slip Knit for this. Not so great for me for socks, but I think it will work beautifully on some lace patterns I also have on needles waiting to be finished.

I have a second pair of socks on the needles for hubby, and a pair for myself (my first attempt at designing my own!) and I really wanted to find a nice solid, easy to do bind off that would be stretchy enough to accommodate a large foot sliding into it, but resilient enough to spring back. Back to the interwebs we go.

I made up four swatches of different bind offs, to see how they responded to being tugged, and stretched and all that. One stood out as a simply amazing sock bind off.

 These samples here are following the bind off on Slip Slip Knit's page. A little slouchy at the top, but definitely stretchy.

 This one worked up great, a little time consuming, but very stretchy, and very resilient as it would snap back to shape after being stretched. I found this one on Knitty.com. I completed a sock with this, and it turned out well, but I had to slightly alter it for 2x2 ribbing, as this was written for 1x1.

I tried a few others that were equally as stretchy, but not nearly resilient. They are a k1p1 invisible bind off I saw on Pinterest a while back, from Cranky Girl on wordpress.

k1p1 invisible bind off

I'm not sure what one I would use this for in the future. I used this for one of the sock, and it ended up kind of frilly. Once I got the hang of it, it was quick work, but just not what I was looking for. It might make a nice edging on a hoodie around the hood, it's less noticeable, especially if in a solid color, and won't be stretched out too much. I'll have to keep that in mind for a project I want to try.

The last one that I thought even worth mentioning is Elizabeth Zimmerman's sewn bind off. This is VERY loose, but I was disappointed in how it stayed stretched out. It'll be great for that cowl neck sweater I want to make though! This one is pretty simple. Just take a threaded tapestry needle, and go from right to left through two stitches, turn around, skip first stitch, and go left through right through the second stitch, and pull it off the needle, over and over.

Here is my finished sock, the first of my own design, with a 1/2 inch 2x2 ribbed cuff. You can't really see it too well, but I put 5 columns of three stranded braids across the top of the sock. It made it a bit more snug, which I like, but also much more time consuming. Happy Sock!!

Well, I do believe that is all for tonight, tomorrow I hope to get the last three inches of another sock for hubby done, I'm driving myself nuts with the 1x1 ribbing, of course I started this sock throwing, instead of picking, and my tension is too different to switch now. Bleh. Well, I know better for next time, and what is life if not one giant learning experience, especially for those of us who are creative!

Good night, and Happy Stitching!

Shameless Plug

Hi All,

Just a quick shameless little plug....

Check out my knitting page at Betterfly

Thanks, and Happy Knitting!