Doll Dressing

If I'd spend a little less time dressing Chloe, I could probably knit a bit more! It's definitely time to quit playing and start working around here.

When life gives you lemons

make lemon water. Squeeze one lemon into a cup of boiling water and add some honey. It's good for what ails ya. This one thinks it's a grapefruit. I love everbearers.

Now about Nantucket - this pattern's no lemon. I've added a few inches. I'm still in love even after checking around on the internet and finding a number of them that I was not overly enthused about. The color in the pictures I'm posting on it are so off. It's really deep berry colored, more like the sweater on the magazine cover.

Nantucket Grows Slowly

Saturday was the beginning of a scratchy throat, but I was no woos and I walked with MFN. Sunday I thought, yeah, I'm kinda getting sick, but if this is sick, I can do it; I feel pretty good except for that throat. Monday ditto - Kelli's birthday and I ran around like a chicken with her head cut off. Work said there was nothing for me on Tuesday, which was okay with me, but I figured if they had had a job, I could have worked no problem. Tuesday I woke up, threw some bread on to rise, sipped my lemon water, and realized that yep, I'm sicker than a dog, a barkless dog. I could barely make a sound. But worse, I felt sick. I tried to remain vertical for a little knitting, but I didn't get too far. Here's Chloe checking to see if it's going to fit around her butt.
Looks good so far.

And here's a shot of that oatmeal bread.

Happy Birthday!

I know what I was doing 28 years ago today. It was even a Tuesday, bowling night. The team came to the hospital to await my new arrival. I was petrified it might be a boy, but I guess He knew what I could deal with. But if I did have to have a boy, this one would have been okay. There they are in junior high, sometime after high school when they thought they were all grown up with their coffee drinking, and now. They just get cuter and cuter. I was hoping to finally meet his wife, Katie, last night now that they're my neighbors and all..... another time.

Happy birthday, baby!

(p.s. If you'd been raised with my three brothers, you'd have been petrified to have a boy too!)

Nantucket

Oh, those wonderful beginnings -- you know, when your heart's atwitter, your appetite's diminshed, you feel like you can stay up all night just to have some quality together time because you're in love? I'm there.

I began small with a sleeve to check the gauge, which should have been off terribly, but in reality, it's fine. One small unintentional pattern modification with a twist on the twisted stitch pattern was born early, and an executive decision was made to let it be - all the way throughout the sweater as if it were an intended consequence of thought.

The pattern calls for wool and my Nantucket will be in cotton, Classic Elite Provence. Who in the world would want a short-sleeved wool sweater? Or at least in California I see no need for that. I will add an extra inch at the waist to lengthen the sweater just a bit. Cotton alone will, from what I've read, lengthen it in time (although I did make a blue cotton sweater and I notice no appreciable lengthening of that sweater).

Trellis

Finally, in all it's glory, I present Trellis. It ended up about 74 inches long by 16 wide and took 3.5 skeins of Jamieson Shetland Lace. There was a lot of hoopla on the internet about the beginning and end not matching. For a brief period I was brilliant and modified the designer's pattern in what I was sure would be a matching end, that is, until I realized that she knew more than I do when it comes to lace and ripped back and did it her way. Looks good to me. Not sure if you can see the sides where I stuck the blocking wires. Nice little edge.

Coming soon to a new home will be some Rowan Pure Wool from Elann who had it at 40% off!! Really, before that though, I need to do something red, something cotton.

Latest Obsession

I want to make a carpet bag, a PERFECT carpet bag and have been doing a lot of research. But I have a practice piece to show you which I've learned so much in making. I did manage to get a tubular frame in it, but the bag's way small. My machine doesn't like this project and will not sew upholstery thread through heavy material for some reason, but will sew it just fine on light-weight fabric. The bottom was cut from an old suede vest which belonged to Dr. G. The sides are stabilized with some heavy-weight stuff fused to the fabric. I have to remove the little flap with the snap and move it to the outside of the tubular frame. And for the next project I'll need to order some little feet. This frame is a 10" size. I had originally cut the fabric for what I thought would require a 12". Hmmm.

For THE CARPET BAG of my dreams, I think I need an 18" frame. The sides and bottom have to be much wider. AND I need a sewing awl to get through all thicknesses, which I've found at a quite reasonable price online.

On the cooking front, I made two loaves of rye bread yesterday on my pizza stone. In the oven right now is a coconut layer cake. The lemon curd is cooling in the fridge. The heaviest decision on my mind at the moment is do I make 7-minute frosting with coconut or whipped cream frosting with coconut?

More yarn is on its way to finish up my Trellis Stole. Then it's definitely got to be a project involving my Classic Elite Provence (cotton) yarn in the color French Red. I've had it sittin there far too long.

Rhetta Beasley's Cake and Knitting

Let me eat cake:


Are you beginning to wonder is this a food blog or a knitting blog? Hmm. Well, I guess I'd just say it's a knitting/food blog. I really did work today. It's just that during my coffee break or lunch hour, I whipped up this cake. The layers are brushed with lemon syrup and filled with whipped cream/cream cheese mixed with a few raspberries and raspberry jam. Then I stabilized some whipped cream with a bit of gelatin and frosted the cake with that. It's very good, I must say. But I think there could be some improvement.

On a knitting note, I received one-fifth of my Amazon order. Being the thrifty person I am, I took the free shipping. Don't ever do that unless you really don't want what you're ordering. It's been over a month. I did get a notice that three of Barbara G. Walker's Treasury of Knitting books are shipping. But the last book is definitely coming by Pony Express. I have a couple skeins of Zephyr just waiting for this. But first I have to knit something besides a shawl.



I was born Brenda Diane, but called Cindy all my life (starting with my mom - just call it a fight with my dad over what to name me) until I became a court reporter and decided I should use my legal name. Even my dad didn't call me the name he won the fight with. He called me DeeDee and CC. Then of course I was called Mom. Kelli's friends called me Mama Brenda/Cindy. Fast forward to blogdom and Mrs. Bear has called me Kate. My Favorite Neighbor out of the blue has decided I'm Rhetta. At this point in my life, I think if somebody calls out a name, I'll just answer! But I've decided if I'm going with Rhetta, Beasley's going with it. Thanks, Tink.

Spring Forward Sunday

Gotta move ALL the clocks forward an hour today. Hate that. What's wrong with everyone just getting used to the fact that some parts of the year, it's dark till 7 a.m., and other times it's light real early. As a transplanted Michigander living in California, anything that gives me a sense of seasons makes me happy. And as long as we're dreaming, a little snow now and then wouldn't be a bad thing.

So I'm gonna need a serious diet soon if I keep up this bread thing. Here's loaf two pictured. I did share the last loaf with neighbors. Now she's making her own!


And as far as knitting, this is all I have on the needles at the moment. Added a repeat to make it slightly wider and hopefully it will block out to about 18-20" wide and make an acceptable width for a "stole." I can't seem to stay with it very long at a time. Maybe my heart's not in it. But I know I will love it when it's done.

And to go with the bread some lentil soup with meatballs.

Playing House

I think my favorite play-time activity as a little girl was playing house with all my dolls. No Barbies for me (which is all my daughter ever played with). I had baby dolls, nun dolls, bride dolls, Chatty Cathy - you name it.





Perhaps I'm old, but I still love it (sans dolls). Today I'm just enjoying myself. No housework. Just cooking, baking, knitting, crocheting. She (http://www.foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/) started it. She (http://www.catduck.com/Clog/) didn't help. And this (http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/heather_bailey/ ) sent me right over the edge. Did you know there was a whole 'nother world of blogs besides knitting blogs? I mean FOOD blogs, Crochet blogs, FARM blogs, etc. Good Lord the internet's fun.



The crochet bag needs lining and zippers yet. The bread's baking (in a Dutch Oven, if you can believe that!) The blueberry breakfast bars were fantastic. Check out FoodieFarmgirl above for the bars and bread. Just took the lid off that bread and WOW!

This bread is truly the EASIEST BEST bread I've ever made. Yes, you have to let it sit in a bowl for a long time, but that's as difficult as it gets. FarmGirl has the complete lowdown on this bread.


Today life is good.

I can't pull the plug

Quote from some website: Euthanasia is a term we hear more frequently today. The word is derived from two Greek words--one meaning "well" and the other meaning "death" -- and so the word "euthanasia" has come to mean "an easy or painless death." In current usage, euthanasia refers to the practice commonly called "mercy killing." To painlessly put to death persons (blogs) who/that suffer from incurable and extremely painful diseases seems like an act of mercy to many unthinking people.

I even discussed it with my Pennsylvania knitting buddy, http://mrsbearswoods.blogspot.com/ - I'll pull mine if you pull yours. But I can't. There's still hope, a shred of life, potential. And maybe soon there'll be some knitting.

By the way, Mrs. Bear and I had our first REAL conversation (via phone) - this occuring after probably a year and a half of written communication. I've felt like I've known her for so long now, so why is that first voice communication still kind of scary? When I heard her message on my phone, I actually giggled out loud (even though I felt thrashed) cause her voice sounded just like it should.