Zeneedle...needleart as life

Tea and a Book...

...one of the many ways I'll be spending my time this weekend.

Have a lovely Memorial weekend, everyone!

Monday Woes Continued

 

The week started out on the wrong foot.  Mother Nature saw fit to give us a record breaking snowfall.  Two inches covered the garden and, worse than that, the temperatures dropped from 39 to 32 degrees in just a couple of hours. 

Smith scrambled to make sure all the plants were safe from the cold and snow.  The garden looked like the circus had come to town. (Thank goodness the snow melted quickly.) 

The lilac sugar I started earlier this month needed to be twice sifted to remove the lilac flowers.  Smith can taste just a teeny, tiny hint of lilac, but I can't taste more than just plain ol' sweet sugar. A sprinkle on raspberries made them taste like raspberries with sugar.  Maybe if the sugar hadn't been organic the experiment might have turned out better (?) but, for now, I'm calling it a fail. No sugar appears to have been hurt in the episode so, at least it's usable.

Monday night was book club but, while having dinner with friends, I learned I'd read the wrong book.  I read "The Little Locksmith" (and I'm glad I did) instead of "Let the Great World Spin", which I'll read right after "Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest". 

Sunday one of my BFF's, Shelley, fell and broke her ankle.  She'll need surgery and a long convalescence.  Hospitals are a good place to be when you need them, but they sure aren't fun. Please send quick healing thoughts her way.

The weekend weather doesn't look great, but I took Friday off, so let's look on the bright side... Sprössling grows and bad weather could lead to more knitting and spinning (and reading). Not a bad thing at all.

Blue Monday Blues

Blue Monday by Smiling Sally

Months ago I made promise (to myself) that something blue would always be on my needles. The promise hasn't been broken, but the project has been sitting, waiting quietly, in the knitting basket. Socks haven't called to me for some time, as Mr. Sock Mojo is on hiatus again. Where he goes and who he spends time with is a mystery to me, but it's evident he isn't here. Therefore, Carole's Picot Sock fell off my radar. I tell myself it won't be sock weather for several more months and it's OK to wait (although I did wear socks a couple of times last week).

It goes against my nature to have a UFO sitting around and knew I had to get back to the sock.  When I took a peek into the pretty blue Wee Bunny Bag I was surprised to find one sock completely finished!  My memory isn't as clear as it once was and I had no idea we had come so far. Another big plus was the leg of the second sock was nearly complete, too. The sweet blue sock is now out of hiding and will be worked on here and there.

Several blue yarns wait in the stash and almost all of them want to be lace. A siren's call comes from Flydesign Lacewing with her seductive and glorious shades of ocean blue. She cries to be made into the Hamamelis Shawl, but I’m trying to cover my ears. Sprössling will only grow if I stay true to her and, at this point, her lace is all I can handle. Soon, my dear blue Lacewing, soon.

 

Lucia left a comment some time ago to say the pansy was once called heartsease.  The blue pansies on my patio are filling the pot. They were a bright spot on the patio during a weekend of dreary weather.

A Break in the Weather

Wednesday evening the rain cleared away and the temperature warmed. We were able to sit on the patio while waiting for my sister to arrive. I read a book (a "real" book), while Smith read the paper. It was (almost) quiet, as the birds put up a ruckus and a plane flew miles overhead (maybe next time I hear and see a plane it will have Vicki aboard flying her way to Vegas!). By the way, the book is "The Little Locksmith" and it's an excellent memoir. I’m giving it 5 stars.

My sister arrived and we headed to a favorite place, Lonestar Tacqueria. The late evening still provided enough warmth for an enjoyable dinner on their patio.  Smith and Neena refused to pose, so the lone star atop the building will suffice.  Dinner was excellent, but it would be nice if they carried GF beer.

Thursday the wind was blowing (again) and clouds filled the valley. It didn't look like there would be another evening on the patio, but by afternoon the weather cleared. I had the pleasure of sipping a screwdriver and listening to my iPod. The book in my is ear "The Graveyard Book" and, oh my, I love this book!  It’s creepy, funny, exciting, silly, scary (at times) and total off the wall. Listening means my hands are free for knitting and I resurrected the only WIP in my stash.

The weather forecast for the weekend is for more rain, more cold, more drear.  It would be nice to have more than a day or two on the patio.  Maybe next week we'll see the sun.

At a Snail's Pace

The dense fog has been lifting, and while a mist is still with me, it seems I've entered a clearing. There has been some back and forth knitting, a bit of tinking, and much careful reading of the pattern, but there is now visible progress. 

  The correct right front has been completed, with the waist shaping in the right place, the armscye correctly executed, and the neck shaping remembered. (whew!)  It looks "right" and I am very pleased, as this is the second time it's been knit. Everything about the first time was wrong (you know how it is, right?). Sadly it was then knit, and then reknit, up to the armscye.  Why didn't I learn the first time (or the second)?  The third time turned out to be the charm (or was it the fourth?).

While comparing notes, albeit a little late, and looking over the already finished back, I realized there needed to be an adjustment...so, that's where Sprössling sits, the back shoulder shaping being reknit, but each one of us ready to move forward.

Props must be given to Kim's fabulous Kashmir yarn.  It was knit into another sweater, frogged, and then soaked to remove the kinks. The yarn looked like new and it is now holding up very well to my knitting, ripping and knitting again.  The yarn is so soft it's amazing how tough it is, too.

The pattern is well laid out, perfectly written, with a simple, easy to read chart for the lace.  This begs the question (sorry Norma, I just had to), why was my brain unable to understand the instructions? Why couldn't I decipher the pattern properly?  In any case, a light came through the fog and I can see clearly now. The second (left) front should move along more smoothly.  I won't say easily, as I know are pitfalls ahead, if I can remember where they are.

Garden 101

Smith's garden is growing well and he's pleased with his progress and the garden's progress. He has planted peas, onions, beets, Brussels Sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots...and more!  Cucumbers, squash and maybe melons will find their way to the garden this week.  Smith is on a roll, leaning as he goes and having a grand time. (He wears a hat when working, no worries.)

Oh, the Blog...

This has been an interesting week, with a family medical emergency (all is well) and office medical emergency (all is well) resulting in nervous chocolate eating and tea drinking.  

All week Smith has been nervously watching his garden and caring for his soon to be planted tomatoes and peppers. The weather has been less than cooperative. He also babies this strawberry plant (in a hanging pot on the patio) and, from the looks of it, he will soon be rewarded with fruits of his labor (if I don't get there first).

Cormo/alpaca/silk from Fiberfox Fiber

My poor wheels, Emmylou and Corrina, have been neglected too long.  Once again, Cookie's Team CrankyPants will be part of this years Tour de Fleece and, because a ton of fiber is hidden in this house, I think I'll join. I will be realistic about my capabilities and commit to one full ounce. Seriously.

The lilac sugar may be a bust, as after finding this recipe, I realized my flower to sugar ratio was way off.  The moisture from the petals has made the sugar clump, but I will continue to shake the bottles daily as suggested. The jury is out. 

TGIF

Lovely Weekend

My camera isn't quite as good at macros, as Carole's or Vicki's (OK, it's terrible!), but I did give it the old collage try. 

The only picture that turned out well is this white lilac. The others were fuzzy with bad color.  The lilac is lovely enough, but better success was mine with the close up feature.

After reading Eat My Yard's entry on lilac sugar and, perusing all the lovely lilac bushes around the condo, I decided to give it a try. The house was filled with the scent of lilacs as I placed the petals between layers of sugar and I hope it tastes as lovely as it smelled.

Every 24 hours you give the bottle a little shake and, after two weeks, strain the sugar to discard the petals. The essence of lilac is there to sprinkle over strawberries, cookies are anything else you want.

Since the weather turned a little warmer this weekend, Smith spent time in his garden and I tagged along. He's the far figure in this picture. Another gardener has put up the very attractive scarecrow.

 

Rain is in the forecast and the temperatures could drop.  Unlike Norma, we are not fearless, so the tomatoes and peppers will be planted next weekend.  

Not sure if blog laryngitis will continue as there isn't much knitting content to share.  However, I did root around the stash because Susan finally published Fog Lifter . (You must check out Laurie's shawl knit with Kim's yarn. It's lovely!)

 

The perfect stash yarn presented itself, but the only thing I remember about this gorgeous yarn is Susan dyed it long ago. Maybe it will help to lift my fog.

 

Saturday Lilacs

The lilacs are slowly opening and we're hoping for warmer weather in the next few days. It's almost time to plant!

Blue Skies

The weekend was rainy and cold. It's still chilly, but the sky is as blue as can be.  Thought I'd check in to let you know all is well.

I love  this "pompom" tree with its perfectly pink flowers.