Monthly Archives: September 2015

They’re Here …

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Shepherd Sweater, Complete!

Almost exactly two years after casting it on, my Shepherd sweater is DONE.

I used farm yarn taken from the backs of our colored sheep for this project, figuring that a a shepherd I should wear the fruits of my labor!

However, it wasn’t always easy sailing. It took many frustrating attempts to attain the proper gauge; even so, the finished product is still a tad snug. I’m not overly concerned about that, but it adds to my “swatches lie” conviction!

The knitting itself was very enjoyable. I love Kate Davies, and I was thrilled that she collaborated with Susan on this. I can definitely see myself knitting this again; probably in the cream color it was original designed for in order to show off the cables better.

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I got lucky that it was my birthday so I had Maddie here to model for me.

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It’s probably a bit nit picky of me, but I do think some of the stitch definition gets lost in this yarn.  Still, I love the color.

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I haven’t gotten the buttons on yet. In fact, I haven’t even picked any out. I should really get on that!

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This wool will make this sweater a very hard-wearing garment. It should last quite a long time.

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It’s also super warm. Maddie couldn’t wait to get it off in the heat outside this evening!

I’ve already cast on a pair of socks and ordered needles for the next Shepherd Sweater, designed by Pam Wynne. What do you think, another two years? I hope not!


Tagged: Knitting

Review: One-Skein Wonders for Babies

Review: One-Skein Wonders for Babies post image

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First, the facts:

Title: One-Skein Wonders for Babies: 101 Knitting Projects for Infants and Toddlers

Author: Judith Durant

Published by: Storey, 2015

Pages: 288

Type: Babies!

Chapters:

Little Ensembles
Little Tops
Little Bottoms
Little Dresses
Little Hats
Little Socks & Booties
Little Accessories
Little Blankets
Little Toys
Little Miscellany

KS: One Skein Wonders for Babies

The In-Depth Look:

There are three things that tell you, right off the bat, that this book is going to be a good one.

1. It’s a new book in the “One-Skein” series by Judith Durant

2. It’s full of patterns for babies–which means, at the very least, lots and lots of adorable pictures of adorable patterns.

3. It’s got 101 knitting projects. One hundred one! That’s … huge.

I could really just stop the review right there, couldn’t I? What more could you really need to know?

Going by the table of contents, you can see that these patterns are a wide-ranging assortment of things designed to keep your baby warm and snug. Sweaters, hats, booties, blankets … I can’t think of much (which is to say, anything) that’s left out.

The fact that there are 101 projects in this book is astounding to me, especially when a lot of books only offer a dozen or so. That means this book is crammed full with actual patterns, not padded at all. There are plenty of pictures–good ones–but they’re smaller than in most books–no full-page spreads of lush photos taking up space that could be used for a pattern instead.

Honestly, the only complaint I have about this book is that I don’t have any tiny people to knit for.

You can get this lovely book at Amazon.com or at your local yarn shop.

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

This review copy was kindly donated by Storey. Thank you!

My Gush: Adorable, but did I really need to say it? And … 101 patterns!

Other posts for this author:

Farewell To Summer …

Labor Day is pretty much the end of summer for most.

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End Of Summer Travels …

It was always sad when my summers as a child on the Vineyard would end… it’s still sad for me when I have to leave the Island

My parents and I always left the day after Labor Day, we sailed from Oak Bluffs, and usually on the Nobska.

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Back in the 1950’s my parents and I traveled to and from Martha’s Vineyard by train… the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad’s Cape Codder went from Pennsylvania Station in NYC right to Woods Hole… or vice versa at the end of the summer.

Day Cape CodderThe train stopped at what is now the staging area for cars waiting to get onto the ferries. The tracks ran under the overpass in the left corner of the photograph below.  It was literally only steps from boat to train.  Train service ended in the 1960’s.


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I loved riding on the train, still do. The trip to NYC took about 5 hours and then we arrived in Pennsylvania Station in NYC.

 But we weren’t done with our train travels yet, we still had to take a train from Pennsylvania Station in New York to Pennsylvania Station in Newark, New Jersey.  From there I think we took a taxi home.

We traveled light on our way home, I would have my favorite doll, Beverly, and my teddy bear with me and my parents would have a small suitcase with a few belongings in it, the rest of the things… like ALL my toys we sent to and from the Vineyard by Railway Express.

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It took days for the rest of our things to arrive home and I would watch every day for the Railway Express truck to arrive.

It was bittersweet seeing that truck as I was happy to have my toys and things back but it also meant the official end of summer for me.

There were always dreams of the next summer and the next one and the next one…


Delicious Scotland

Ever since we got home we have been meaning to re-create a delicacy we enjoyed in Edinburgh.

Deep-fried Mars bars.

Deep. Fried. Mars bars.

We had heard about them from Jessie before we went over, but it wasn’t something that necessarily sounded appealing at the time. Would we try it? Meh.

But then, we got to Edinburgh, and our first day was cold, rainy, and windy.  We traipsed all over the Old Town and though the sun occasionally made an appearance and briefly warmed us, the weather was mostly a cold, grey, bucket of suck. (Not that that would deter me from moving there in a heartbeat!)

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Firth of Forth bridge – our very first view of Scotland.

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We walked all around this part of the city, taking it all in, trying to keep warm and dry, and failing.

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We kept passing this little hole-in-the-wall advertising Deep Fried Mars Bars, but we were trying to sample more traditional Scottish fare.

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And though we were fairly successful at finding good Scottish food, we did have a challenge finding a dinner spot we could get Neve into. In Scotland, under 18’s are not allowed in restaurants past 8 pm. The rule is they have to be “In by 6, out by 8”.

So after wandering, cold and damp, we gave in and decided to try the fried candy.

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It was delectable! Warm, gooey, full of sugary goodness to give us that boost we needed to make the trek back to the hotel.

On our last night in Edinburgh we tried them again – along with deep fried Snickers – with our friends.

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Eating deep fried chocolate bars and tasting authentic Scotch Whiskey with our best friends is still one of our favorite memories.

Back home, we knew we could get our hands on some Mars bars from World Market. But how to go about making them?

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First,  I knew they had to be frozen pretty solid. But beyond that, I wasn’t sure what batter would be best.

So, the other night we tried our first round. I made batter from flour, corn starch, milk, baking powder, and salt.

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I’m going to give it a B+. The batter was a bit too thick and too bread-y, and the Mars bar was not gooey enough.

Paul, Oona, and Emily were sold, but they hadn’t tried the original.

However, based on this first try, Neve and I are pretty confident we’ll nail it.

Then we can enjoy them and pretend we are looking at this view:

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Tagged: food, Trips

Weekly Challenge: Connected…

This week, show us how two (or more) things — people, objects, places — come together.

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Two paintings connected by knitting.

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The Dingmans Ferry Bridge connecting NJ and PA.

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Nubble Lighthouse, Cape Neddick, York, Maine

Except for boat the only way this island is connected to the mainland is by this bucket/gondola on a cable of some sort … something you’d ever get me in :)

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https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/connected/


September Apples …

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September, Honey!

It’s September, and it’s sweeter than ever around here, because we got our first honey harvest!

I’ve been keeping a careful eye on the hive all summer, after they attempted to swarm this past spring. Actually, they may have actually had a successful swarm, but if so, it was a very small one.  The hive has been crowded and busy and super productive.  I administered two feedings of sugar syrup early in the season, but they’ve done well on their own since. One entire 8-frame “super”, or box, was filled to the brim with beautiful honey.  They actually began making comb and filling it with honey in between supers as well, and every time I picked one up to check on them it would break and leak, so I gave them an extra box to fill.

As it turns out, they didn’t bother with it much, but it was also late in the summer at that point.  Out of 8 frames, I took 3, so I could leave them with plenty to get through the winter.  That gives us enough for a decent amount to enjoy and I don’t feel like we are robbing them entirely. Especially since I keep them expressly for pollination; honey is a secondary benefit!

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To get the honey off the frames, I used the “crush and drain method”. You can get special centrifuge extractors, but with only 3 frames, it didn’t seem worth it.  I managed to get the comb and honey off of 2 frames without damaging the wax frame, but I mangled the third.  Oh well. Can’t win ’em all!

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I drained it all over a very fine mesh sieve to filter out the wax and any bee parts.

In the end I got 9 jars’ worth, or about 5.5 lbs!

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I’m so proud of my little honeybees!


Tagged: Farm, food