pjbknit

Socks at Last

I started these socks in March, and then set them aside during the summer for cotton sweaters and such. I kept thinking of them when knitting on the October Leaves fingerless mitt, and I was disgusted to see how close they were to being finished when I pulled them out a couple days ago.

These are knit from Sophie's Toes sock yarn in Autumn Leaves. The pattern is Twin Leaves, kinda like the mitts I did earlier. I sorta followed the pattern Roses for You and Wendy Johnson's toe up sock wth a flap heel. (I don't remember all this stuff-it's in Ravelry.)

And to celebrate finishing another pair of socks, I am giving away this book, of which I have 2 copies. So I am sharing with another sock knitter. Please leave a comment on this post by midnight Central Time, on Wednesday, November 9. The winner will be selected by a random drawing.

Here is the Applesauce Nut Bread that I have been wanting to try since I saw the recipe not long ago. Haven't tried it yet, as it is supposed to cool before you slice it.

 

Pears, Honey

Actually, this is pear honey. (I used 2 cups of pineapple and cooked it in a 3.5 qt Crock Pot on High until it got thick) I did not quite have enough pears for a batch, so I had to run out to the tree. I grabbed a limb, shook it and got outta the way as pears rained down. I also didn't have crushed pineapple, so I put chunks in the food processor. Think it looks OK.  The recipe yielded the equivalent of 9 half pints, in a combination of 12 oz, 6 oz and 4 oz jars.

I have finally, finally, reached the sleeve divide of the raglan cardigan Sedona in Rowan Calmer yarn.

Yesterday, I got my Margarita sock yarn package from Woolgirl.  Mine was strawberry, and had all kinds of goodies, includng a pattern, bag, stitchmarker, Jelly Belly beans in drinkie flavors, flipflop notepad, much more, etc. All PINK.

 

 

 

Plants and Sockies

I am still working on the second Twin Leaves sock in Autumn Leaves Sophie's Toes yarn. I just started gusset increases.

I got new yarn in the mail. This is The Plucky Knitter DK in Tippi Blue, 80/20 merino/cashmere.

While I was outside, I took a few photos of some plants.

Edamame-they are going in the container where the snow peas now are. They don't seem to make it in the garden.



Brandy Boy tomatoes-Brandywine and Better Boy hybrid. Grown from seed.

San Marzano-plant purchased from the Tasteful Garden

Genovese and Siam Queen basil. The Thai basil is starting to get a slight purple tint. Its flower buds are purple.

I don't think the snow peas are going to last much longer. They have been growing since February, and it is getting too hot for them. Belv likes to snack on them, and was eyeing the vine the other day.

I made chocolate Cheerios marsmallow treats with chocolate marshmallows. I was in Wal-Mart and kept smelling those chocolate marshmallows two aisles away. THEN I had to pick up graham crackers and Hershey bars displayed right there. They do taste better than they look.

I was outside watering plants and came around the house to find Belvedere was in DH's truck bed.  This involves him putting his front feet on the open tailgate, and waiting for DH to lift the Belv's back end. DH picked up Ursula to put her up there. Belv flew across the truck bed, growling, and barked in her ear. She cowered and left. This is MY truck, Belv says, and nobody else can get in there..

Bathtime for Belvedere and a Sock

No, the sock did not get a bath yet. Belvedere had to have a bath today.  He carried off DH's little battery chainsaw one night, then he carried off the oil for it, and made a tooth hole in the container, causing it to leak out slowly. There were large oily pawprints on the pavement by the back door. Then he lay down in dirt. Yuck, his fur felt nasty. Today he got a bath, which involves DH and me wrestling with a 175 dog who does not want a bath. (We still wonder how many people it took to wash him at the veterinary hospital) I spent a lot of time scratching Belv at the base of his tail-that area is really clean. I see why Saints are good at weight pulling. DH is about twice Belv's weight, and he pulled him down. Someone scratched my hand up, too. Belvedere loved the toweling off part, after he ran away from the rinsing part.

He's still not sure I am not going to wash him again.

We washed his forelegs with Dawn to get all the oil off.

In knitting news, I also went back to working on my Twin Leaves "Roses for You" sock (pdf file) in Sophie's Toes yarn. Think it is Falling Leaves colorway. I just have the ribbing at the top to go.

 

 

A Few Things

I have been knitting on a Santa Christmas stocking for someone who ordered it.  (Why I am working on it in March) I am done with the chart, and now just have the heel, toe and foot to go. This is a Mary Maxim pattern, in Mary Maxim Starlette acrylic yarn. I have all of DH's grandmother's patterns, plus newer ones that I have collected. The colors in the second one is more like it. I did mess with the color balance, to not much avail.

Belvedere was two years old on Tuesday. He finally got the birthday cake I promised to make on Thursday. All the dogs seemed to like it, but it did have 1/4 inch of cream cheese on top. It was too dense to get candles in, and the dogs enjoyed chewing on it.

Belvedere  had a great evening on Thursday. He chased horses, ran through a mudhole, waded in the pond and drank water, wandered in the woods and found another mudhole, then came in the house and drank out of the toilet. Then cake a couple hours later after he cooled off.

I worked a little bit on the Twin Leaf sock, because I had a question about the stocking and had to put it down for a day. It doesn't look too much different.

 

Spring Break on Jekyll Island, with Knitting

We went to Jekyll Island, GA,  for Spring break. I had read about the ongoing revitalization project in the Florida Times-Union online. (I grew up reading the "Florida paper" in South GA and subscribe to the RSS feed.) Anyway, we did not know the Jekyll convention center and the shopping center were gone. We knew the Buccaneer, the hotel my family stayed in for decades, was torn down. So was the Ramada. We stayed in the Days Inn, the first hotel past the construction site. You had to go kinda through the middle of the island to get to things on the other side of the construction, such as the temporary location of the shopping center in trailers.  There is a new Dairy Queen and gas station on the causeway.

We planned to go to Savannah for a day trip, but I did not feel motivated to get up and make the 80-some mile  drive. We did not stay in Savannah because the hotel prices were high for St. Patrick's Day. DH said it was much quieter in Jekyll anyway, surrounded by the snowbirds. We always look for boat-tailed grackles, too, speaking of birds. Also sandpipers and seagulls.

We drove the length of the South Georgia Parkway, discussing the changes we could see in Albany Tifton, Waycross, etc. in five years or so. On Sunday,  we went to the Jekyll Island Art  Festival. We wandered around Goodyear Cottage looking at pottery, paintings, photography. One print I  got was of a bird reflected on the beach. I also got a set of notecards and a print of the marsh and palm trees (that I want to put in the new bathroom) by the same artist. 

We also went to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. I went through all the stations to get my form stamped and be a sea turtle for a day. We got to see several patients in their tanks. I also got a bracelet, a mug, a magnet, and stickers. All this shopping to help the sea turtles, right?

After that, we went to Brunswick and went to Books-A-Million and T. J. Maxx, where we went the week the stores opened, over 10 years ago. Wow! We ate at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, where they gave us enough fries for four people, I think. Then we went to Jekyll and walked on the beach. I am missing the seabreeze now when I go outside, and grackle screeches.

The next day we went to St. Simons Island, where the entrance was different, there were more traffic lights on Demere, and there was no traffic light where I told DH to turn left on Frederica Road. There is a new confusing roundabout, (pdf) instead. We went to the Stitchery, which was in a different location. We ate at Barbara Jean's, another place I have been going for years. After lunch we searched for Stepping Stones Quilts, which I knew was at the airport. It had not moved, but we drove around a lot. After we got home, I discovered the address was on my cell phone.

We had to walk through Neptune Park, which is where the public restrooms are, and down to the  St. Simons Lighthouse.  The pier was closed for repairs.

View of Jekyll from St. Simons. The tide was high, so there was no beach to walk on at SSI.

Then we went back to Jekyll and walked on the beach.  DH says he enjoyed walking for five miles and seeing two people, not crowds like Savannah or Destin. The weather was phenomenal, according to the TV  weather person in Jacksonville or Savannah. (Except for the last morning, when it was cloudy when DH planned to take photos of the sunrise, at 7:30.) Gee, WTOC has some of the same anchors and weatherman they had when I was at Georgia Southern long ago in the 80s.

I went back to St. Simons on Tuesday, and got a pedicure, then went to Brunswick to check Lowe's for paint, which I couldn't figure out, and ended up getting today at the Anniston store. I also had to go to the Publix supermarket store. I miss Publix, especially the bakery. I was hoping for Key Lime tarts, but had to settle for mini eclairs. DH drove everywhere, except for Tuesday, when I went to SSI and Brunswick.

Koala Bear-y, OPI

Palms on Jekyll


The Marshes of Glynn, and the Sidney Lanier bridge, from the observation deck at the Jekyll Island welcome center. I was more than six miles away from the bridge, on the Jekyll causeway.

I finished my second Ragtop Mitt, mainly while waiting for Farm Town on the Acer netbook. We had free, slow wi-fi in the hotel room. I didn't have the patience to blog. One mitt has the cuffs folded down, in convertible mode. Malabrigo Rios in Cumparsita, Ragtop pattern. After a failed attempt at a charted leaf toe-up sock pattern, I started the Roses for You socks, with the twin leaf lace pattern. I finished the toe before leaving on vacation. This is Sophie's Toes yarn in Autumn Leaves, I think. I did a couple of tiers on my entrelac throw, too.

Second Ragtop mitt

Finished mitt photos by DH

I got some more Malabrigo Rios at the Stitchery of St. Simons. Zarzamora

I also got Pagewood Farms Denali sock yarn in Woodsey.

I was in a purple mood, apparently. I got this Kroy FX sock yarn at Michael's.

Also, Belvedere says Happy St. Patrick's Day! I say I had to hold on to him, or he would knock off the headband and stomp on it, especially when I tried it on Punkin.

 

Socks Finally Finished

It seems as if it took me a lot longer to finish the first sock. Knit Picks Stroll in Tidepool Heather. The color is a lot darker teal in real life. The sock is based on Shaping Knee Socks, and the cable is from Faery Ring, which is hibernating.

Belvedere was enjoying the sunny weather, gallumping through the henbit with Ursula.

He looks almost dignified

 

Knitting Stuff

I have finished one Ragtop Mitt in the Malabrigo Rios Cumparsita. It is posing with the Aerogarden thyme. I also have about half the foot done on my second knee sock in Tidepool Heather Knit Picks Stroll!

This morning, I witnessed this scene, very close to me. Punkin was lying on her bed under the coffee table, at my feet. Her tail was sticking out. Belvedere walked up and stomped on her tail. "ARF!" said Punkin, flying out from under the coffee table, snapping at Belv's nose. Hee hee

Assorted Stuff Again

There has not been much to post about the bathroom. The guys have been waiting for the furniture to come in at Lowes. We now have a Kraftmaid vanity and linen cabinet with Kohler Bancroft pulls. They had to get more screws because the ones in the boxes were not long enough. We also have a funky Bancroft faucet.

 

I couldn't walk on the newly grouted floor to get a better angle. This is the bottom of the linen cabinet with drawers and Bancroft pulls. The top part has three shelves for towels and things. I need to go get a few new towels, bathmat, etc. We also have Bancroft towel racks to be installed.

I made pumpkin cranberry chocolate chip granola bars today.

I also made falafel in the crock pot. I am using up things that I have on hand, like lots of garbanzos from my hummus phase. I needed bread crumbs for the falafel, so I chopped up bread in the food processor. I did about 1/3 of a leftover loaf, and froze the bread crumbs to have on hand.


I also took some knitting photos, and never remembered to upload them. I also left this bag of yarn outside overnight. It seemed to be OK, and I left the bag open for the condensation to get out. Plum is the color, I think.

I actually worked on DH's perennial sock, restarting for third time after I was inspired by finding the Harris Tweed pattern. Lorna's Laces Rainbow Shepherd Sock.

The second knee sock continues. I am past the calf now, and decreasing down to my usual sock size.

The dogs are enjoying the springlike sunshine. I think Ursula had too many bone-bones.

Belvedere enjoys the shade.

 

More Assorted Stuff

I have a problem with titles, yeah. I finished my One Koigu Mitts (pdf) out of p612. They look autumnal to me. The pattern was fast and easy, and the palm gussets were neat. Don't worry, I did start on the second knee sock. I had to use the circ needle that had been in use for the mitts for the sock.

Speaking of autumn, I made gingerbread skeletons. The icing did not come out of the tube smoothly, so they were not as pretty as the photos with the recipes I saw.

I came across this sock yarn while looking for a knitting pattern, and it was an impulse buy. This is My True Blood colorway from Wayward Yarn.

I got this cute fabric for knitting bags.

And I got this cute blocker and pattern for a mini mitten blocker keychain from Knitcellaneous.

I also got some worsted yarn to try out making mittens with a pocket on the palm for a handwarmer to warm my fingertips. This is Felicity from Spindle City Yarns.