Happy Trails

The Knit and Crochet Show is next week in Minneapolis - hooray! I'm very excited about it even though I'm only going to be at the conference for a couple of days. I'm not half as prepared as I was last year but I'm ready for it.

There will also be a visit to Wisconsin where, in addition to crafting with my sister-in-law, I just might get to visit an alpaca farm! Isn't that awesome? I hope to also see the sites of Minneapolis including the gigantic Mall of America. A few days with extended family will also be wonderful.

So it'll be a crafty, family trip. If you're at the show and see my logo bag, please say hello. Otherwise, you'll hear from me next month. Or maybe if I have the opportunity, I'll have some updates on Twitter. Maybe even cute photos of alpacas!!!!

Completed Project: Tropical Colors Baby Blanket

When I make a baby blanket for a friend, I ask the mom- and dad-to-be if they have any particular colors or patterns in mind. Sometimes I get very specific details on what they like (i.e. purple, but not bright purple, more of a lightish blue-purple violet but not pastel) or don't like (i.e. no pink anything!). Some want to see pattern samples and others want to be surprised.

In the case of this baby blanket, I was given the following info - anything with blue and/or green - maybe even some orange. I was also told to let my creative juices fly! Or drip. Or whatever creative juices do.

So here's what I came up with...


As always, details on Ravelry.

The pattern is Willow from the book "200 Crochet Blocks" using bright colored cotton yarn and a G hook.

My plan was for a 5 x 5 square blanket and I had made all 25 squares. But when I laid out the pieces, it was too big. I went with a 4 x 5 design which is still a little large but I liked the shape and size better than a 4 x 4. Plus I couldn't handle not using 10 squares I had already made.

I kept the border to a minimum as the blanket was already so big. It's one round of orange sc, one of green hdc and one of blue Hhdc. The final size was about 41" x 32".



I literally finished weaving in the ends from the border about 30 minutes before leaving for the baby shower yesterday. I usually cut things close but this was a little stressful for me. The mom-to-be and grandmas and aunts liked the blanket (yay!) and I got to meet another Raveler who knitted the cutest little booties, hats and mittens.

There's a lull in babies now...I'm sure it won't last too long so I better get to work on my other pending projects.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

Thanks to a botantically-inclined friend, the identity of my mystery plant is
Lamb's Quarters (Chenopodium album). A wonderfully cute name for a plant to show up in this fiber fanatic's container garden.



But it's not a plant, it's not a flower, it's not a bush, herb, fern or vine.

It is just... a really big weed.

::sigh::

So two nights ago I proceeded to unearth it from the giant blue pot. I had to hack at the soil with a trowel to get it to come out in clumps. It was a damn healthy weed with roots that had spread through that entire pot so out went all the soil, too. I had no chance of saving the coconut lining of the other container, either, so the whole thing was put in the trash.

The mystery still remains how these plants showed up in my garden. Was it a bad seed packet - labeled lavender but full of weeds? Or was it the potting soil mix (moisture control by Miracle Grow)? It wasn't birds or seeds on the wind since these plants were all started inside.

Oh well - it doesn't matter. The weeds are gone now. I'll be transferring basil to the big blue container and I hope to grow a formidable basil tree in it.

Lucky Find

On a recent day trip to St. Michaels, I made my stop into Frivolous Fibers. They've got a new sign up and they have reorganized the store. It looks lovely! As usual, I didn't need any yarn but that didn't stop me from checking out the selection. I was drawn to their new wall of sock yarns with bold and beautiful colors. I asked my DH if he'd like me to make another pair of socks for him. He looked at the wall and then found a basket full of - wait for it - Blue Moon Socks That Rock lightweight yarn! One of the owners commented the store had the lucky mistake of getting the skeins by accident. Blue Moon doesn't want new clients (booooo!!!!) so the store has been unable to get the yarn. In the end, it was a lucky find for me.



The colorway is Mustang Sally. I've got a pattern picked out on Ravelry for some cabled socks but I need to purchase the pattern in order to make sure I have enough yarn and that the pattern will be large enough.

DH was warned at the yarn store that the date of completion for this pending project is way, way, WAY up in the air. Like, he might get this pair of socks in the next two years. In the meantime, it makes a wonderful addition to my stash.

WIP: Burnham Wood Capelet

When I saw the Burnham Wood Capelet pictured in the Spring 2011 Interweave Knits magazine, I knew I had to make it. I scoured the magazine to find the pattern to no avail. Thanks to a quick search on Ravelry, it turns out the capelet was actually in the Winter 2010 magazine. The photo just made a second stop in the spring magazine. This was a very fortuitous error for me as I had not flipped through the winter magazine as thoroughly as the spring one.

This is the most complicated knitting project I've attempted to date. Not only is this my first attempt at knitted cables, it is also my first attempt at reading knitting charts and it is the largest knitted garment I've ever attempted.

Note the key word here - attempted. I have high hopes that I will make it to the end of the project with a capelet that fits and one that I adore wearing. But there is so much that can go wrong between a collar and the last stitch. I'll be checking in with Romi's Ravelry group and other wonderful knitters who have made this project.

My Ravelry project page is the most up to date and I've chronicled my progress in the notes. So far, I've completed the collar.





The delay in starting the next part of the shawl is a baby blanket I must complete before a baby shower in July. It's close to being done so I hope to pick up the capelet and get back to work on it soon.

What has been your greatest knitting or crochet challenge this year?

Gardening Update

The herbs are doing extremely well. I've made multiple batches of salsa using the parsley and I have too much basil and thyme.



The only issues so far is that the rosemary plants are just now looking like they will survive.



And there is the great mystery plant that is clearly not lavender. The seed packet said lavender and I planted lavender in the pot marked "Lavender" and yet these random sprouts showed up in the "Lavender" pot and all the other containers, too. It then proceeded to grow over two feet in height and hint at some kind of flowers, but no blooms.



This does not resemble any lavender plant I've see before. The stalks don't look right at all. If you happen to know what the heck this plant is, please leave a comment. Whatever it is, it's growing without any problems. It has even filled one of my rail containers.



And so far, two Johnny Jump Ups have bloomed. Look closely - they're little.



While I love my container gardening, I yearn to someday have a yard with lots of space for these herbs to grow and flowers to grow.

Year of Lovely Things Update

The past two months have been oh so lovely. Quite a few things to cross off the list...

My birthday was celebrated in many ways, starting first with a trip to see "C" and "D". Our visit was in Fredericksburg instead of North Carolina, but it was lovely just the same. I also received some awesome gifts - a sheep mug and the cutest yarn stitch markers.



My birthday celebration continued with a pedicure, facial and massage thanks to my wonderful husband's gift of a day at the spa. I did my own manicure after a relaxing bubble bath at home. I was truly pampered for my birthday!

Other lovely things accomplished include: sending some snail mail, seeing a Red Sox game, staring at the stars on a warm spring evening, and trying a new restaurant. I watched a marathon of "Game of Thrones" and I am wholeheartedly addicted. I've tried to celebrate the small lovely things of every day life too, like an easy commute home on a Friday and the fun emails exchanged with friends.

And still, there are so many things on the list to look forward to. I truly am blessed.

How lovely is your year so far?

Oh, Honey, Honey

I made my first ever home-brewed mead with a kit gifted to me by my sister-in-law. It's from The Bee Folks who are local beekeepers with booths at both the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

The kit (many to choose from) has the yeast, herbs, rubber band, cheesecloth, and instructions. You buy two jars of honey (many to choose from, too) and some spring water.



Follow the super easy instructions and you'll be brewing mead like a pro. Here's a photo showing the yeast at work.


And here's a video where you can see the bubbles churning the herbs.


Since I didn't have a dark place to store it, I improvised by covering the jug in a dark dish towel.


Then - voila! The mead was done in a week.


It was then enjoyed by friends during Sheep and Shenanigans.


I recently tried brewing another batch using one of the kits I bought at MS&W. It was quite tasty but I liked the first batch I did better. There are so many combinations of mead kits with honey flavors to try. I've still got another one to try and I plan to buy a couple kits at this year's Renaissance Festival.

This brewing also helps me cross off an item from my Year of Lovely Things list. Which, now that I look at the list, there are a handful of items to also cross off. Where's that pen?

Completed Project: Queen of the Snow Cow's Blanket

There was one, then there were two, and finally, there were three.



In just under a year and only days after Sheep and Shenanigans, the blanket for the Queen was finished. As always, full details on Ravelry.

This won't be the last big blanket of the year if my plans stay in tact. There is a brightly colored granny square blanket I'd like to complete before Christmas.

Photos of Stockinette Stitch Shawl

There was too much giggling and general merriment during the shenanigans that better photos were not taken as planned. You'll just have to deal with these that don't do the finished project justice at all.



The original post is here and as always, details on Ravelry.