Harvest of beauty

A rose is a lovesome thing...

God wot, and I agree.

Here's a list of some of the things I've planted this year:

marigolds, violas, pansies, black pansies, nasturtiums, columbines, California poppies, marguerite daisies, shasta daisies, blue lobelia, forget-me-nots, (more) peonies, Japanese iris, sweet violets...and more roses.


In fact, today we bought a David Austin rose, the Winchester Cathedral. It's white and full-blown, with a rose-pink tinge around the edge as it starts to bloom.

Coggeshall Farms Fiber Fest 2010

As you can see, we had a beautiful day for it. Very breezy, but otherwise perfect.



Lots of healthy, happy critters.


I think I went round twice before I decided what to take home. DH started right in, though.


He got (machine knit) alpaca blend argyles, honey, a vintage card game (it's a lot of fun, we played three times after we got it home), and I think one or two other things.


I finally picked out a cone of orchid colored Shetland in fingering weight...it might be enough for a cardigan. And best of all, wood (sweet) violets. Finally! I've been trying to find some for a couple of years now...but most nurseries just don't bother to carry them.



We had a great day. And Sunday wasn't bad, either--plant sale, gardening, and even better weather. But I'll save that for another time.

My Favorite Fiber Festival

Honestly. It's the festival at Coggeshall Farms, in Rhode Island.

Google (or Blogger or whatever) is being useless again, and will not allow the link to post. Please just search for the place; you'll find it. Click on "Events" and you'll find the information.

It's in Bristol, RI, a gorgeous little town. We've been there the past three years, and loved it every time.

It's at a working Colonial farm, and the festival itself is worth your time. It's small, but the vendors are wonderful. We've found gorgeous fiber (of course), delicious honey, a charming vintage style apron, and more...including some of the most beautiful, inexpensive cashmere I've ever fondled.

In addition, you'll get to see horned cattle and sheep, chickens all over, striped, serious working barn cats and a lovely small house, complete with weaving, cooking on the hearth and exquisite Colonial furniture.

If I'm organized enough to remember, I'll bring the camera so as to give you some views from our perspective.

So...it's tomorrow, Saturday, May 15, 2010. If you're within an hour's drive, do yourself a favor and go. It's open from 9:00 am to 4 pm, and you'll have a fabulous time.

(Don't forget, it's in Bristol...and in Bristol and neighboring parts you'll also find antiques stores, great grocers, consignment shops and a very good yarn store!!!)

The Inimitable Miss Horne

Lena Horne was one of the greatest Hollywood entertainers ever. A fabulous, gorgeous, smoldering, funny, earthy, talented woman; and in her heyday especially, dragged down by idiotic racists.

Miss Horne, I'm glad you were out there, brilliant, funny, and wonderful. Thank you for illuminating our lives and showing us just how incredible you could be. (And what you could inspire...you even inspired fictional characters. I remember a genie in a sci-fi story who venerated you above anything he could have invented!!).

To your family I send my deepest sympathies; I'm sorry you lost her on Mother's Day. Thanks for sharing her with the rest of us.

Of Uncle Fred and Bakelite in the Springtime...or something like that

Today has been a great day. It's spring. May. Sunny. Blue Skies. And Good Weather.

In addition, I've been reading Wodehouse, which is enough to make a cloudy, cold, early winter day seem bright. In addition to THAT, a vintage Score was made.

The book is Cocktail Time. Good title, isn't it? It's an Uncle Fred, and not the earliest...he's married, but as bright eyed, bushy tailed and interfering as ever he was. Really, next to Jeeves he's Plum Wodehouse's best creation.

(And I'm reading it because, bless the place, the Providence Athenaeum still keeps it in the stacks.)

As to the vintage Score (aka Bakelite napkin rings)...I saw them a few days ago at a local antiques mall. Not the one where I hold a booth. It's a little less pricey, and if you're willing to dig, a great place for a bargain.

These napkin rings were jumbled together in a plastic bag. Twelve of them. And the price?




[Wait for it...]




$16.00. Really. I kid you not. For twelve Bakelite napkin rings, in near-mint condition. They're Scottie dogs. On wheels. With bright little eyes. Now, DH and I did consider selling them. (I'd make a killing.) But can you see them holding place of pride at a buffet supper? Fala eat your heart out (look up FDR if you don't follow that).

Vintage Kitchen

Believe it or not...there's a possibility that my kitchen will be the background for part of a fashion shoot.

For bathing suits. (No, I don't see the connection either.) I'll keep you posted on whether this odd and interesting thing actually happens.

Here's the kitchen in question:

Hamlet!

Finally.

The David Tennant / Sir Patrick Stewart RSC production will premiere in the US tonight on PBS. 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and it will show for a while after on the PBS website.

(And I'm knitting a pair of 1950 cable socks in khaki yarn. For me. I've sized them down by using #0 needles. I'm on the toe of sock one.)

Happy Birthday David Tennant, and Welcome, Matt Smith

Odd mix, really, but there you go.

Today (though with Blogger's vagaries, the date will probably show wrong) is David Tennant's 39th birthday. Happy Birthday, Mr. Tennant, and I'm greatly looking forward to seeing "Hamlet" on Wednesday, April 28th!

Next, Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. Well done! You're marvelous--loony and scatterbrained and brilliant. I loved "The Eleventh Hour" and am looking forward to the rest of the episodes for this season.

(Knitting? Another Cozy. This one rather over sized, and made of a charcoal tweed. Not wool, an acrylic/cotton blend, as it's for my mother-in-law, who is, sadly, allergic to wool. It's coming along nicely. It's going to be lap afghan sized, and will be very easy to care for.)

Cozy

After approximately one year of knitting, on and off, as I worked on socks and things for gifts & etc., I finished the "Cozy" [see knitty.com] in laceweight.

It's washed and blocking now, and it's lovely. If I say so myself.

I used a merino single, very, very soft with a bit of halo. It's in an almost (but not quite) varigated aqua, incorporating shades of chartreuse, turquoise and sky blue. The original pattern calls for a tweedy worsted, but I used this...not that I didn't think the worsted was a good idea, but I didn't think I had enough in one color.

The resulting wrap/shawl is a rectangle, 5' by about 2.5'.

It should be dry tomorrow, and I can't wait to wear it.

Now to finish my 30s sweater and get the baby sweater off the needles!

Clarence Budington Kelland

Mr. Kelland was a writer of movie scripts, novels, and best of all, short stories. The ones that I love have a central character named Scattergood Baines.

I first read these stories in the old magazines that we collect. (That's one of the best things about vintage magazines. The stories were stories, and not exercises in peculiar ego or Angst.)

Mr. Baines was "born" in 1915, and Mr. Kelland wrote about him for years, first in the Saturday Evening Post, and then The American (Magazine). The character is a down-home, folksy fella who doesn't often impress onlookers favorably...at first. They then find out, to their chagrin or benefit, that not only is he clever, his brilliance is something to have on one's own side whenever possible.

Scattergood Baines likes to dabble. In people, primarily, but he likes to make a cash profit whenever possible as well. Combining the two is his favorite way of operating. Prodigal sons, orphaned babies, young lovers, old folks who've had their independence taken away...he saves them all, one way or another, and you only wish that he lived in your town.

Many of the stories have been collected in hardcover, and are even available in present day editions, though of course I prefer the originals. After finding the first collection at the Providence Athenaeum I trolled the Internet for a copy, expecting it to be available and not too expensive. I was wrong...I'm not the only one, even now, who appreciates him! However, I lucked out recently on a "new" collection, Scattergood Baines Returns.

Check your library's old stacks for it. Reading a few of these stories is almost a vacation, even for some time after you close the book. You'll be glad you made the effort.

Check List for Spring

Yes, the workroom is cleaned up. Not pristine, you understand, but I can work in there now. I even made a (sewn) hat last week. Birthday present.

And I worked on a blanket square for someone on Knitty. So it's back to the correct function. The cleared out "stuff" went to the thrift shop, too.

We've had (it would seem) a very early spring this year. Not only have I tidied up the front garden and sidewalk, DH and I cleaned up the yard. It's still ugly and asphalt, but the chairs are out, I scored lots of earthworms, which are now in the garden and a container where I plan to plant herbs this year, and many encroaching vines and tree branches have been cut back.

Knitting has suffered a bit. There's a WIP--a baby sweater--that's well on its way. I even have the buttons. But right now I'm working on a 20s style headpiece for the next Chifferobe, which we'll go to on Friday. The socks I started last week got frogged, when I realized the instep pattern wasn't properly centered. I'm afraid to start another pair, because I don't want to be led astray from the baby sweater, even though it's not needed just yet. The Sweater Curse, you know.

Speaking of which, the 30s sweater is still in pieces. Soon, though, I will finish it. Sure. I only hope that pigs don't fly first.

What's everyone else doing to celebrate the spring?

Pathetic, but mine own (excuse).

So...I did finish knitting the sweater. It's not finished, however. My excuse? My work room is so messy [read: a pig sty] that I have no where safe to block it. I always block the pieces before I sew seams and pick up neckline stitches.

Is that an excuse? Well, if you had a cat nicknamed Destructo the Wonder Kitty it would be.

I am currently knitting another pair of belated birthday socks for a friend because Than Chai helped himself to #1 as I was finishing sock #2 of the first pair.

Of course the real problem is me...I need to clean out the work room, which is presently "functioning" more as the house dump. Stock for my booth, clothes to be mended, books, gifts, and God-knows-what is covering nearly every square foot. Not to mention the ironing.

With any luck, admitting this online will be embarassing enough that I'll finally clean the place up and keep it that way. For a while, at least...

The Sweater Continues

I recommend knitting lots of socks if you want to make a small gauge sweater. I've become so used to sock gauge that this thing is just flying along. Front & back are done, and bound together by a three needle bind off at the shoulders.

I needed to re-write the sleeves, as the original pattern called for long and I wanted short, but that's just about done. The real question was whether to pick up and knit (using a certain amount of short row shaping) or knit and sew in. It's probably going to be the second. And the knitting will be from the ribbing up, as the alternative includes too much casting on for large increases from the top.

This isn't exactly scintillating copy, is it? But it's interesting to me because it's an examination of a creative process. At the end of it I'll also have not only a new sweater, but a new 1930s sweater.

Not uninteresting after all.

Left Out

New England and New York seem to be left out of the party this week. Not that it's a party everyone wants to attend: snowstorm.

Friends on the rest of the Eastern Seaboard and in the midwest are literally digging out. In Baltimore, for heaven's sake! And my sister in Texas tells me that snow is predicted down there. Again!

At the moment a few lazy flakes are floating down to die a lingering death on the brown grass and pavement. There's a tidy rim of snow around the perimeter of our yard (such as it is, asphalt and all).

In Rhode Island, a storm prediction usually means a run on milk and bread. DH and I both find this rather funny. Unless, of course, you live on milk toast. Then I'd be concerned, too.

However, I admit to making a grocery list a few minutes ago:

baking potatoes
soda water
fruit
salad greens
..and so forth. Ending in bread. I admit it.

More firewood, too. We use our fireplace for coziness and atmosphere, not a great deal for warmth, but I love having it. So do the boys, needless to say. They even "ask" for a fire by plopping down decisively in front of it, bundling front paws under and glancing back and forth from the nearest human to the dark, empty, cold bricks in front of the pathetic little (cold) feline face. Sometimes it works.

So...I'm getting ready for the possiblity of snow. Seems like the city fathers believe it's heading our way this time; there's a parking ban right now.

Which means I'll feel no guilt at hauling out the knitting and curling up with two feline lapwarmers this evening. I like snow.

Random Siamese Cats

Pictures of them, that is. Of my boys. (Yes, I'm one of those; other people are twee if they obsess over their pets, I think it's perfectly fine for me to act this way.)

Getting There

In spite of some difficulty (nothing like having a needle snap, especially when it's vintage and you can't be sure of the gauge of a new one) I'm moving along quite well on the sweater.

The armseye shaping is finished, and soon I'll be shaping the shoulders. Shall I be lazy and bind off (thereby landing myself with some nasty seaming) or do proper short-row shaping so I can use a three needle bind off? Probably I'll do the latter, and then add some ribbon to the inner seam for stability.

I had to buy a new--and I do mean new--needle. None of the straights at the shop were of the correct dimensions (I did have the presence of mind to bring a needle gauge with me), so I ended up buying an Addi circ. It's working very well. I don't like circs for knitting in the round, messing with cable lengths drives me mad, and I don't like interchangeable needles very well.

But...they're great for working back and forth on an item, especially when it gets some weight on it. And it turns out that marked "3" or no, the straights I was using were really 2s. Oho...just thought of something; I'll bet they were needles from New Zealand, and so the size marked was, of course, in mm. Because, yes, the one I bought is 3.0 mm. Mystery solved.

Would you still like some proof?



The young critic in the photo is Than Chai. He insisted on making an inspection.

Why the U.K.?

I'm an Anglophile. It came naturally, via my mother and her Anglophilia.

As kids we watched Dr. Who (Tom Baker), (parts of) Benny Hill, and Monty Python...because Mom did. We saw Masterpiece Theater with Derek Jacobi in I, Claudius, and never made it through Upstairs, Downstairs because, foolish children that we were, it bored us.

Then I married another Anglophile. When I got married again...you guessed it. I've spent a lot of time watching Are You Being Served?, As Time Goes By, Waiting for God, Mulberry, and a slew of other British programs, either on PBS or BBC America or on video, DVD and whatever other media presents itself.

British programming can be just as empty and useless as U.S. shows are at their worst, but the best in the U.K. is very, very good indeed. And it's usually richer, funnier, and much more inclined to require that the viewer possess a few working brain cells.

I'm not sure why that is. Maybe because of the television license? Maybe because America got there first, and the Brits set out to surpass us? I really don't know, but I see the superiority time and again.

There are good U.S. shows. Funny ones, quirky ones, shows that ask the viewer to think...but so many inane things lurk around them that I'm not inclined to try and sift through to find the stuff I like.

It could be, of course, that their better offerings are what we get over here. After all, it's been pre-sifted. There are things, though, that I can't buy in non-PAL format (I'm looking into getting a format free DVD player)...or instance, Blackpool, which I managed to watch on YouTube (not my preferred method of viewing, I promise you).

I'd like to see Tennant's Hamlet NOW, thanks. And the truly uncut versions of Dr. Who. Why in the hell do we get the slashed and burned versions here? Is the Hays office still lurking?

I don't know. But in the meantime, I'll continue to hunt down British comedy, dramas on the Beeb, and wish for complete access to it online. For heaven's sake, we don't even have radio shows any more!

This time I'll finish it!

The sweater I'm working on, I mean. For some reason, I seldom finish a sweater, no matter how small it is, or whatever the gauge. I get bored, probably. Socks are usually quick, and there's no such thing as too many hand knit socks. They wear out so quickly.

This time, though...I found the missing yarn, my "Crayola Tweed". First I thought it would be a 20s sweater (June 1924, from Needlecraft). No, didn't work. No gauge was mentioned in the pattern, but some swatching and math made it plain that it needed a very bulky yarn. Found a nice worsted, but even that didn't do the trick.

So back to the fingering weight and a different pattern, out of a British hardcover, The Compleat Book of Knitting. It's just listed as a jumper, and the pattern is indicated by graph. I'm using US #3 needles to get gauge, which is 6.5 stitches per inch, and 9 rows per inch. The ribbing for the back piece is finished. It took 45 rows and is staying true to gauge. I'll have use for a sweater like this: fine gauge, yarn that will go with half my wardrobe, from jeans to skirts, and real 1930s style.

The question is, will I actually finish it?

Comfort Food and Comfort Knitting

I'm an expert on both.

Therefore I have been knitting socks. Socks for me. Baby socks to stash for gifts. Bed socks...which chose not to felt. (Yes, Bozo the Clown would like them. A lot.) I have a crazy pair on my feet, made from the remains of the multicolored skein I used in the potholders. They're knitted in a wavy lace pattern and the toes are quite pointy. On purpose.

Right now I have a pair of ribbed gray socks on the go. Also for me. Lots of socks for me (who appreciates them more, I ask you?).

In the food department, we have beef stock. Real beef stock. I've been stashing away beef bones as I find them in the market: marrow bones, bits of oxtail, you name it. And I added the usual carrots & onion. And a caramelized onion, and bits of leftover beef bits and pieces also stashed in the freezer. The house smells heavenly. Canned stock works in a pinch, but it doesn't have half the flavor of the real thing, with its darkly caramelized bones and meat and onions.

Tomorrow we'll have chicken, though. I'm planning on stuffed pounded chicken breasts, with a filling made of spinach, cheese and pork sausage, and sides of caramelized red onions and yellow potatoes.

Possibly some of this is in response to the news the NBC won't be airing the pilot of "Rex Is Not Your Lawyer" this spring. (I didn't name it. But it stars David Tennant. So, frankly, I don't care what they call it.) I needed something to compensate, and hand knitted socks and home cooking fit the bill.

Links still not working, so...

...go to Facebook or other sites where you can get safe information on donations from people you know.

Again, try organizations like Red Cross International, Doctors Without Borders (which you can also reach through the Yarn Harlot's website), UNICEF, and so on.

And pray for them and their friends and families. The new year is an important time in Haiti, but this is one lousy beginning.

Haiti

A one-minute earthquake in Haiti has destroyed lives, hopes and even relief agencies. Some news reports called it "The" quake. It's an horrific situation.

It comes home to me a bit more forcefully than it might, as a friend whom I was very close to has family there. None of his immediate family are down there now, but no one has heard a thing from extended family. All communications are down.

There's nothing I can do hands-on, but I'll ask this of anyone who can spare a few dollars: please make a donation. Even $5 or $10 will help.

Unfortunately, times like these bring out the bad as well as the good, so make your donations to well-known relief agencies: the Red Cross, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières, and so forth.

I wanted to post links for you, but Blogger is being more useless than is believable; it will not post the links when I insert them.

Please search for the legitamite sites and look for donations specifically geared toward Haiti, or where help is needed most. I will try again to make the links work, perhaps tomorrow.

Dr Who and Shakespeare

(It's not a typo. In British English there's no [.] after the _R_ .)

Anyone? Even here in the States many of us saw the show as kids. Mind, I never thought of it as a kid's show. My mother is the one who wanted to watch it. I suspect she had a crush on Tom Baker. I have to admit, he's got a gorgeous voice. I'd forgotten how good, until the other day, when I watched an old episode.

If she had a crush, she wasn't alone. Now in the 2nd incarnation of the series, and just past the 10th Doctor, I'm with her. But my crush is on David Tennant. It helps that he is a mad Dr Who fan. (In fact, in re-watching Tom Baker I found that consciously or not, Tennant's Doctor has some very similar quirks.) I'm not familiar with the other Doctors, so I can't comment on their ways.

David Tennant is a fine actor in any case. I've been seeking out his other work, and it's impressive. Sometimes he just lets go and is full-out silly, but he can do any kind of character and make him real. My husband compared him to Cary Grant, which made me blink--I don't think of him as sophisticated and smooth. But DH explained that he meant endless charm and a certain clownishness, and David Tennant has that in limitless quantities.

This crush is quite recent, too. I have the cold that won't quit, and when BBC American ran a Dr Who marathon before the second part of the final special this year I settled in and watched for hours. I'd seen bits and pieces of episodes over the past few years, but didn't really bother to sit down and watch the show on a regular basis.

It's rather embarassing to go fan girl on a present day actor, but it's fun. I'm really looking forward to seeing his Hamlet. Especially as Patrick Stewart is in the cast as Claudius; in high school, I saw the videotaped production with Derek Jacobi in the title role, Stewart was Claudius then, too, and that production is what made me realize just how much I love Shakespeare.

Hamlet is supposed to air on PBS in the spring. April, I think. Unfortunately, the DVD is not yet available in US format, and our zone free DVD player isn't terribly dependable. Still, I might break down ahead of time and get it anyway.

Any other retrophiles with embarassing celebrity crushes out there?

2009 Was Not a Good Year

Mind you, there have been worse years. But it was difficult to lose my job. I do office work because I'm good at it, and it pays bills, and it generally brings things like a 401k and health insurance to me as well.

I don't particularly like office work, unless I particularly like the people I work with. I did like those people, from the workers in the factory to the CEO. I didn't fit in (I seldom do, unless I'm in a theatre or at some big Art Deco function) but people usually enjoy having an Office Misfit, if he or she is colorful and gives them something harmless to gossip about.

Still hurts to have lost that job. Granted, nearly no one keeps a job for many years at a time these days, but I still felt I belonged, in some fashion.

My husband and I have been lucky, partly due to the job I had and the perks I got, even more due to his foresight and habit of keeping an eye on the housing market. We still have medical, if not dental, and money in the bank. We're still able to go out (though far less frequently) and we can buy some luxuries.

Our families are still doing pretty well, and most of our friends are hanging in there, too.

It's the worry that gets to me. When you're in your teens and twenties it just doesn't, as a rule, stick in the same way. At forty and beyond, you're tired of starting over (and over) and you hope that some of the things you've done will pay off already and it doesn't quite work that way, if only because in middle age you know what can happen from personal experience.

However, you also know that even when things are difficult you can pick up the pieces; you've done it before. So do it again, already, and stop kvetching.

Time to move on.

Plum Pudding (Merry Christmas)

I tried plum pudding for the first time today. It just hasn't appealed to me in the past, but we picked up a small pudding at a British imports shop in Plymouth last month, on impulse.

We will be having it again. And it will be homemade. I had no idea it would be so good! Lovely blue flames and all...not to mention a good dose of real heavy cream from a local dairy...I adored it.

Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope you had a joyous day.

Pattern: Superwash Potholders

Here's the pattern for the potholders shown in my previous post.

Materials:

Trekking fach (color 1802)*
Cascade 220 Superwash in forest green*

No. 6 straight needles (American size)
Size G crochet hook

Stitch pattern (linen stitch):

Row 1 [RS]: (sl 1 wyib) *K1, sl 1 wyif*, end K1
Row 2 [WS]: (sl 1 wyib) K1, P1, *sl 1 wyib, P1*, end K1

Knit 79 rows in pattern. Bind off on WS in knit stitch.

Cut off working yarn and fasten off. (Leave at least 9" of yarn to work crocheted loop.)

At same corner as last BO stitch, work a chain of 20 loops. Fasten off. Weave in all loose ends.

These can be washed in cold water in the washer, but should be allowed to drip-dry.


*The Trekking sock yarn is a light DK weight, and the Cascade a light worsted, if you wish to substitute. I did not take a gauge measurement (and the ones I made are now wrapped up for the recipient) but the finished pieces are slightly larger than commercial potholders. I hate getting burns!

Final Knitted Gifts

All done! And it's December 23. Not bad, especially considering that some of these were rather last-minute ideas.

Here's the set I made for our friend Chris. The mitts are his Christmas present, and the hat is for his birthday...the poor guy's birthday is December 26.







These are the potholders I made for our neighbor. I think they'll serve very well. I'm thinking about making some more for myself, but in red (my kitchen is red and white).



Here's a close-up of the texture. I used linen stitch, so they're quite dense. This would make a good hot pad, too.


It took about two days to make them. Boring knitting, but I like the end result.

An early Merry Christmas, everyone!

White Christmas?

It's possible, according to the weather forecast. At least I'm in the Northeast now, where a storm doesn't instill real panic. Though in RI there is the most peculiar run on milk and bread. What, you couldn't go a few days without? Ah, well. (Mind,I'm not saying this is a bad idea if you have kids, but adults should be just fine with water for a few days.)

We have most of the food for Christmas dinner and for brunch that day. We bought real popcorn at the farmer's market. Home cured bacon. A pannetone for French toast. Our Christmas cards and the last package went out today.

I finished the last gift today. It's ready to be blocked. Pictures soon.

Ta Da! (Or, finshed.)

Yes, it's true. Not only are they knitted, blocked, and dried, they have been shipped out. Not to sea, but their final destinations. One to my MiL in Michigan, one to my sister in Texas.


These socks are made of Cascade Fixation, and the pattern is just an openwork rib on the ankle. Piece-of-cake knitting, but pretty.




This neckwarmer is made from a pattern in "Knit Two Together", and it's very fast. I used some stash yarn, a blend of baby alpaca, silk, and cashmere. MiL is allergic to wool.

I made myself one a few years ago, from Lorna's Laces in silk & merino, and I still wear it a lot. Lace in a circle, can't go wrong with it.

As for local Christmas knitting, I'm moving right along again. The second mitt is done except for the thumb. It will likely be finished today or tonight, and I'll cast on for the hat, too.

After that, I want to put a stocking top on a sock that looks great, but isn't the right gauge for DH; it's going to become a kitty Christmas stocking. One more thing, too. I would like to knit some potholders for our neighbor across the street. She just lost her mother, who was a grand old dame. They've been good neighbors, and last year Mrs. Brown (her mother) gave me a dishtowel with a crocheted top. J wasn't able to get to her usual craft shows this year, due to the funeral, and family in town. She likes lots of color, so I'm going to dig up some crazy colorway sockyarn and do it in linen stitch. Those will be fun.

Three and Four Are Blocking

(To any non knitters out there, I apologize for the post title. The knitters understand, especially at this time of the year.)

The socks for my sister are done, washed, and in the process of blocking.

I decided that the mittens for MiL were not working out. I don't think they'll be warm enough, etc. BUT they would be good liners. So they're a start to next year's gift. I have some chocolate brown alpaca that will go well with the fawn colored silk/alpaca on the go. I'll make heavy mittens with a lace motif on the back of the hand and tack the two together.

With that in mind, I made MiL's gift this afternoon! It's a lace cowl. The pattern is out of Knit Two Together, the book that Tracy Ullman put out a few years ago. It's exquisitely simple; just a feather & fan pattern in the round. Very forgiving as to type and amount of yarn, to boot. I made one for myself a few years ago from some Lorna's Laces in merino & silk. The cowl I made today is in an alpaca/silk/cashmere blend and it's very soft & warm. She'll love it. It's washed & blocking right now, too.

Pictures soon. When they're all dry...provided I remember to take photos before I wrap them up!

Gift No. 2

These are fingerless mitts for one of my nephews in Michigan. He's about 12, so I decided if they fit me, they should fit him (though they might be a little bit long).

I used Mission Superwash & one other superwash, and Nos. 5, 6, & 7 needles.






My sister's socks are moving right along; I'll probably finish & block them today...I hope!

So much for not knitting presents...

This is the first. I made it for my FiL. The original pattern is from the Lion Brand website, but I changed the decreases & went from two colors to one. The embroidery was also my idea.

You can't see inside, but I added a snap so that the glasses won't slip out.

It was a very quick knit. I finished it in one evening, while watching movies. It took two days to dry (stuffed with three plastic grocery bags).

I will probably make more of these. The end result is good; better than the photo, I think.

My sister's socks are still OTN, but I've just finished the gusset on #2. MiL's mittens are more than 1/2 done. With luck and persistance I'll have everything finished by Monday, I hope. Oh, I also made a pair of striped fingerless mitts for one of my nephews in MI. I'll put up a photo shortly.

Christmas Tree 2009

The tree topper is new. I bought it today, as I couldn't find my angel without digging through all the stored decorations.




Here are some close-ups of the other ornaments:









I'm not much of a photographer. One of these days I will finally manage to get the flash to stay off. Much of the detail has been washed out, but it gives you some idea of how my idea paid off.

It was quite a bit of work, but worthwhile. I like it!

Quest for a Cat-Safe Christmas Tree

I've been lucky with my pets. Until now.

Than Chai (you remember him, Destructo, The Wonder Kitty?) was a little too fond of trying to climb the tree last year. We locked it into the guest room, but this year there's no room, as it now contains a bed.

So I was mourning the lack of a tree this year, in advance, while paging through a book on Christmas cookies and had a flash of genius. Or hope, or something like that.

What about a tree with ornaments no more breakable & valuable than a cookie? Mind, I haven't gotten to baking the cookies yet (though the dough is chilling even now in the Monitor Top), but over the past week I have done the following:

*gilded walnuts
*made snowflakes from silver doilies
*collected large pine cones, sprayed them w/white paint & added glitter
*studded tangerines with cloves and hung them with ribbon
*bought candy canes

I am going to take a chance with my angel. Only his head is breakable, and the boys haven't tried to climb the tree once. Fa Sing does reach up and ring the bells. I hung lots of bells on the tree to set up an alarm system. It works pretty well, except when the heat sets them off.

Today the Victorian tin icicles arrived from The Vermont Country Store, and they're on as well.

When I have the cookies in place, I'll take some pictures and post them. Probably before next Christmas, but don't place any bets. It's safer that way.

Thanksgiving Menu 2009

It's going to be slightly untraditional this year. DH does not like turkey, and I found a duck at a local market...ergo, duck will be the main course this year.

Since it's duck (does anyone make duck gravy?) I will be roasting vegetables in some of the duck fat: yellow turnip, yellow and orange carrots, yellow onions (do I sense a theme here?) and a few other things, I suppose. I am going to put some chicken stock in the roasting pan, and the duck will be stuffed with an orange, some cranberries, and an onion. I'll use the pan drippings to make a glaze, adding apple marmalade and port.

I also want to make a mushroom gratin. It's very rich. I saute crimini mushrooms in olive oil & butter, with thyme. Deglaze with white wine, and the result is piled into a gratin dish with cream and Parmesan cheese and baked. It's lush.

For something a little less decadent, we'll have green beans almondine, and I might make some kind of cranberry relish.

We'll have a light red wine, and homemade apple pie (already in the freezer). We have some gorgeous eggnog from a local dairy, and whiskey and cognac to add, if we wish. (I'll wish. DH probably won't.)

Also on a foodie note, someone on the jury (I am presently serving on a grand jury) asked for my recipe for chicken pot pie! I'll be writing that out for him tonight.

Crime Bake 2009

Nearly time to go!

I'll be bringing my manuscript with me, though I have not signed up for a critique...I hope that this will give me the push to get back into working regularly (that is, a kick in the posterier to make me act like an adult with a proper work ethic).

This is going to be fabulous. I have been wanting to attend a mystery conference for many years. Twenty at least!

If I remember to bring the camera pictures will make an appearance after I return.

Proof of Socks

I've been making socks still. The knee high cream boucle socks are on my feet right now.

Jimmy's Regia Silk socks are here:



He hates the pointy toes. :-D So his next pair (cream and gray boucle with a Fair Isle band) will have round toes.


Here are the openwork ribbing socks I made a few weeks ago:



Unfortunately, the flash washed out the details. Still, here's some proof!

Pumpkin Soup

Yesterday I baked: orange flavored sugar cookies cut out as pumpkins and decorated with orange icing. I also made the maple spice cake. It looks great. (We'll see how it tastes on Saturday. Living dangerously...)

Tonight I made pumpkin soup and pepper-Parmesan cheese spread (just 8 ounces of cream cheese, about a cup of grated Parmesan, a few dashes of Tabasco, and a spoonful of light cream. Freshly ground black pepper to taste).


Pumpkin Soup

3 tbl. olive oil
1 tbl. butter
~2 tbl. flour
2 cans pureed pumpkin
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, scraped and chopped
4 small garlic cloves, chopped
4 c. chicken stock
2 c. beef stock
2 c. white wine
1 qt. milk
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbl. lemon juice

For seasoning to taste: Tabasco, Worcester sauce, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

Prepare the vegetables and saute in the butter and oil until the carrots are almost tender; sprinkle the flour over and stir frequently for several minutes. Pour in the wine slowly, stirring as you do so.

Next, whisk in the stocks. When the soup begins to warm, pour in the milk slowly. Blend again. Add the Parmesan.

Simmer until beginning to bubble at edges, up to an hour over very low heat. Puree (in a blender or with an immersion blender).

Add the lemon juice, and taste for seasoning. You will need quite a bit of salt and Tabasco. If it is still a too sweet, try a few dashes of balsamic vinegar.

Serve very hot, with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Halloween is on its way

So...we're having another Halloween party. Smaller than last year's. In fact, on request. A friend whom we met last December will be having guests next week: her brother and his girlfriend, from France. They're unfamiliar with American Halloween celebrations, and she (the friend) has heard about our parties, and....

I told her we'd have a small gathering. There will be eight or ten all together, and instead of chili this year, we'll be having pumpkin soup. I still have to come up with the recipe, but it will probably be a kind of bisque, very smooth. (I'm going to buy an immersion blender, finally, so as to be able to make this and not deal with cleaning the blender and pureeing hot soup that way.)

There are gingerbread bat sandwich cookies in the freezer--filled with ginger and chocolate, and frosted with more chocolate--and I will be making orange flavored sugar cookies cut out in pumpkin shapes and decorated with an orange icing. The pumpkin bread is already made, and I'm going to make gingerbread or maple spice cake or some other similar thing. I found a recipe for maple spice cake in a 1938 issue of McCall's. It's like gingerbread, but with maple syrup in place of molasses.

Then cheese, raw veggies, and the other usual suspects. We are serving red or white wine and sparkling water.

I'll be wearing (probably) the "daytime" pin-up witch costume from last year, provided that (a) I can find the dress and (b) the damn thing still fits! (I really should stop eating my own baked goods, it's dangerous. Dancing once a week doesn't cut it these days.)

Does anyone else have plans for Halloween? It's on a Saturday this year!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My mother is a terrific person and parent. She taught us independence, caring for others and how to survive. She's intelligent, well-read, interesting to talk with, and I thank God that my sister and I have her.

My father died when we were very small: I was about two, and my sister was six months old. Somehow my mother picked up all the pieces and never dropped them. (And she didn't have an easy time as a child; her father died when she was seven. Her mother was orphaned at 15 and raised her younger brother and sister.)

But we keep going, all of us. And my mother did it without bitterness or "why me?" or any other kind of self-pity. We had food to eat, a roof over our heads, and even some luxuries now and again.

Happy birthday, Mom. I love you very much.

President Obama...and the Nobel Peace Prize

There's still "Hope" as far as I am concerned.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_nobel_peace

Socks and more

The knitting continues! Now I have two more new pairs of socks. The second is from a UFO I began in January.

Yesterday I started a pair of gloves from "Holiday Knits"; the Vintage Gloves made of an alpaca/silk blend. We'll see how they go. I had to start them 4x, and then the gauge was off, and...we'll see. It's a good learning experience all the same, I've become too accustomed to knitting with wool. In addition, these are the first complete (ie, not fingerless) gloves I've attempted. If they come out as I hope, they'll probably go to my MiL for Christmas.

We're also re-financing the house. It has appreciated considerably in value, too; we had an appraisal as part of the process...the market value is now 2x what we offered for it last year. Our hard work is paying off. (Now if my job search would do the same. To date I've had a whole 3.5 hours of work since March 6.)

Knitting and apples

I've got lots of both.

We went apple picking last Saturday (on the most perfect fall day imaginable) and got half a bushel of apples. I have made four apple pies, 12 4 oz. jars of apple marmalade, and an apple bourbon cake. (Not to mention the apples we've eaten out of hand and the pork chops smothered in apples, red cabbage and carmelized onions). We still have about 12 apples left.

I also made DH a pair of socks from some Regia Silk color yarn. Within a week, no less, and have finished one of a pair for me, made from some wonderful cone yarn we bought the year I began to knit. It's ivory slub (wool) around a nylon core. I've made a few other pairs of socks, as well as a two piece 30s dress from the stuff. It's pretty and rustic, and it wears like iron. (I also have some in gray and in plum.)

It's good to be knitting again. And this particular yarn is inspirational. It looks so warm (because it is) and I'm thinking that a cabled cardigan in this stuff would be wonderful. Maybe on size 4 (American) needles. The socks I'm making right now are on size 2 needles. The gauge is great for socks.

(But I still wish I could find the Missing Yarn!)

A Yarn Conspiracy

Now that I've fixated on a particular sweater pattern, needless to say I can't find the yarn I want. Not all of it, anyway.

I've been through most of the stash and it's hiding from me.

And though I have a ROOM full of yarn (really, I do) nothing else will do. Of course it won't. (If you think otherwise, you're not a knitter.)

A New Sweater, and Antiques

I really want to knit that sweater. I took a good look at the pattern, and it's probably going to take sport weight, which is pretty good. I've got leftover shetland yarn from a 1920s project I made a few years ago. I might want to buy one or two more skeins of shetland, but otherwise I think I'm set. I hope Fresh Purls has some in; last time I looked I didn't see any.

Now, as for the "antiques" part of this post...I've just signed up for a booth at a local antiques mall. Not just any antiques mall, either. RI Antiques Mall, which is rapidly building itself an excellent reputation. I'm to open on October 1st, and I've got a corner booth, downstairs. It's a good location. http://www.riantiquesmall.com/

I already have some stock about ready to go: vintage clothes, shoes, hats and books, as well as a bit of kitchen things and furniture. In addition, I'm going to keep a look-out for 60s items, as "Mad Men" is so popular; I want to set up a corner that I'll devote to trends in vintage, so to speak. (I do like the show. I've only seen Season One, but I thought it was great. I think I'm going to borrow it on DVD if I can to catch up and maybe start watching it on AMC.)

Anyone in the area got requests for stock?

The Socks are Finished

Hold your applause.


I knit two different cuffs. Both are twisted ribbing, but one is K1, P3, and the other is K2, P2. Argh!

And I'm keeping them that way. A lesson, and all that. Apparently I knit the first one and then lost the detailed notes, so I took a quick look at the first sock and went on my merry way. I usually knit K2, P2, you see.

Oh, well. I did get back to my oversized Cozy (from Knitty) and am now back on track with that.

The project I'm thinking of starting is a sweater from a British hardcover on knitting, from the 30s, I think. It's garter stitch, in thin stripes. The sort of thing you knit to use up odd balls. I've been thinking about this particular sweater for quite a while, so it'll happen eventually. And it's a very simple knit; as it's garter stitch, not much shaping is necessary.

The pattern is in The Pictoral Guide to Modern Home Knitting, edited by Catherine Franks, A.R.C.A. No copyrite date, but my guess is late 30s.

Maybe I'll cast on for it some time this week (but don't make book on that).

Art Deco Diva does What?

"Knits", she sighed.

Except that she doesn't. Hasn't much recently. I was in a fine knitting frenzy in the winter and early spring. In March I made two pairs of socks for myself and started a pair for DH. Finally finished his socks in early May, cast on for a pair for myself (to be taken to the PawSox Stitch 'n Pitch)...and I will probably finish them this week. There are about 10 rows left (and have been since late last week).

You would think that an otherwise unemployed Hausfrau/writer would seize the opportunity, wouldn't you? Oddly, this state of mine has the effect of making me feel guilty for "wasting" time knitting. If I'm not doing housework or writing, I'm being bad, get it? (I never said it made sense.)

I did go so far as to put the lightweight lace wrap I started in February in the knitting bag where the white socks are living. Because God forbid I should run out of things to knit...even if I'm not knitting.

An analyst could have a lot of fun with this!

The Taste of Summer

I think most people associate foods with seasons even now, with foodstuffs being shipped world-wide.

Three of my favorite summer fruits have actually been available this year, though not in any great quantities. A few weeks ago DH found me an apricot that tasted like an apricot and was not mushy (I've never had one from a store that was not, which is why I generally restrict myself to dried apricots); I saw red currants in the market (which go into my favorite tart in lemon sauce); and yesterday I bought a whole quart of sour cherries!

Sour cherries seem to be more rare than hen's teeth these days. I haven't seen them in the markets in years...so yesterday I grabbed the ones I saw, and today we'll be having sour cherry crumble for dessert.

I don't use a "recipe" per se; I pit them and strain out the juice, which I cook down with a few squeezes of lemon juice and simple syrup, mix the cherries with brown sugar, lemon zest, almond extract & vanilla extract, and dot them with butter; pour the cooked down juice over the top, and add the following topping:

a crumble topping of butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, and oats.

Bake at 325 F for 20 to 40 minutes depending on the amount you're making...let cool and serve with ice cream or whipped cream or as is.

Leftovers tomorrow for breakfast!

July 2008 to August 2009

July 2008:






August 2009:






Click on the second picture for detail; the first won't enlarge, I'm afraid. The light isn't the best on the new photo (I took it after 6:00 p.m.) but the garden is really beginning to look lovely.

Murder Hunt

No, Big Brother, you can go elsewhere. My murders are fictional. I'm not hunting for real victims, I'm in search of ideas.

The hunt for good ideas is never-ending. I have all kinds of rough general ideas. Fleshing them out into something that a reader will like--and believe--is something else again.

Today I've been searching through the archives of the NY Times. (I think they could use a better search engine, but it's still a wonderful source.) Arsenic was a common cause of poisoning in the 20s and 30s, partly because it was so prevalent in pesticides sold over the counter. That's something I already knew, thanks to our huge collection of vintage magazines and the collection of mystery books cluttering up my house, but it is drawn from real life happenings.

How-to is something else. I start writing, and my characters want to ramble on, but I have to give them something reasonably intelligent to say, or I'm just wasting time and cyber ink.

Working on this has confirmed my appreciation of Helene Hanff's writings. In one she talks about her difficulty with play writing, saying, "I specialized in plotless charm." and she also mentions that for the most part, she had little appreciation for non-fiction. (It's not "I was there", as she put it.)

I like fiction. Not the "best sellers", as a rule, but I love mysteries and authors like Jane Austen and E.M. Forster.

I only hope that the idea of me coming up with a viable plot and characters doesn't fall under the heading of "fiction" too.

Finally: evidence!

This unlovely mess is a section of the upstairs bath at Before.




(wait for it....)






These are After.

It's a Mystery

I do a lot of reading. More specifically, I read--no, devour--mysteries. It's a long standing habit, begun in childhood, when my mother got us a subscription to a Nancy Drew book club. From there I moved on to Trixie Beldon and other YA series, taking in an occasional Agatha Christie, though at the time I couldn't appreciate the subtleties she worked into her books.

As a younger adult I read a few mysteries, but the bulk of my fiction reading fell under the fantasy/science fiction banner, and in the past ten years or so it's swung back to mysteries.

My favorites are either real golden age authors: Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, et al, or modern works whose authors set the scene in an earlier time, 1920s and 30s for preference.

Throughout all of this I've thought about writing one. It happens to most people who do a lot of reading, especially those who field the "you should write one, you read so many you must know how!" comments. I've been hearing a lot of those comments in the past few years from my husband, who has had to put up with stacks of books on the staircase, next to the bed, on the dining room table and even next to the bathtub.

As of last week, count me in as a would-be author of a mystery novel. It really has begun. So far there have been hours that fly...when my last memory is of noon, and I look at the lower right hand corner of the laptop to find that it's suddenly 4:36, and days when half an hour produces no more than four tortured sentences.

I have a setting, main characters, a time period and some gimmicks that aren't, I hope, too cozy. What I need now is persistence, a cohesive plot, and a better plot to crash the publishing industry.

The Bouchercon will be held in Indianapolis, IN this year. I don't know if I'll be able to attend (I think it might come into conflict with the RBS weekend of this year), but if I can I'll absorb all I can in order to do this thing properly.

It's no overnight job but it's possible (if not necessarily probably) that two years from now I'll be a published author.