double check.

i wasn't totally convinced that my stitches weren't twisted so i made very good use of the cubicle wall and clips-so now i really think the vesper is ready to move on to the short row part. actually the cubicle clips were a triple check. i had my coworker carol ann hold the needle stretched out, so i could move the stitches around, but since she's a non-knitter, i wasn't 100% convinced. however, she did promise to testify on my behalf that this was sending me over the edge-let's hope it doesn't come to that. AND the giraffe officially has a head-it's soooo cute.

binder clips.

so coming up with a name for this post was a bit tricky. i thought about how many &*(%$# times am i gonna have to cast on this "easy" sweater (about 10!), or how many times is the &^%$## waste yarn gonna come out of the some of the stitches (at least 3!), or how many &&**** ways can this thing actually twist around. how about i've wasted 4 knitting hours on trying to get this ***&&%%$$ started. after all this i decided to try this approach-finally success. i used binder clips to keep all the stitches going in the same directions. who'd have thought binder clips could be so useful.
a few weeks ago i frogged the dill pickle nordic swing, and hanked the yarn, it looked totally like ramen noodles, friday night i soaked the hanks in eucalan (should have done photos of the process), then hanged them from my drying rack weighing them down with-what else- BINDER CLIPS, and the results! as good as new-will be winding this up into hanks hopefully this week. let's hope the cast on of this project will not require any binder clips!

you won.

finally the words i've been wanting to hear. i'm always leaving comments on blogs hoping i'll be the lucky winner and on this blog i was. here is the post about block i named. yea, can't wait to see what the fat quarters look like. you know it really is the little things!

if.

i win the lottery. i'm gonna buy me a place in midtown like this.
so i can go for walks at piedmont park, and see this.
and then i'll have a knitting shop, and a quilt shop (combo) with a bakery next door. and then i'll have a place in nyc where i can go to the other park i enjoy, but then, who'll run the shops? ah, but that's only if.

unstoppable.

back in february when we got the first snow fall the daffodils next to the garage were about 3 inches high, now after the 2nd snowfall of the year they are budding and about 8 inches tall. can't wait for them to bloom, such a cheerful sight to see when i pull up the driveway.

a month of sundays

well, almost a month since the last post. an update on the food front- the ham, artichoke and potato gratin- awesome, next time i'll cut the recipe in half, use prosciutto and tons of artichokes, cheddar, bacon chive biscuits- are just as good without the bacon as they are with, these will be part of the permanent recipe collection. the leek and mushroom soup with parsley dumplings- just okay, a lot of work, and not tons of flavor. the easy marsala chicken was very good, and not heavy on the indian taste, will add more seasoning next time, a winner with the kids. the cream tart with orange, honey and almond crust-AWESOME-plan to make it again for easter. celery root and apple salad with hazelnut vinaigrette, very good, used walnut oil instead, will make again when a main dish calls for something that's cole slaw-y in nature. didn't make the chocolate cake-but i do have hopes on that one.
on the knitting front, i finished the ravelympics (and mom's infinity scarf), not my favorite pattern, or yarn, but she's delighted, can you tell?, and so that means a lot.

here's a close up
yesterday, we had a sewing day at church, i worked on some quilts and then got the pieces for this diaper bag. i was hoping to do a happy dance when i was done, but i couldn't get the seam that goes around the top, that actually attaches the liner to the bag to work out, i broke one needle and continued to overload the motor on my machine. i tried 4 times, and am going to have to pass the rest of the finishing onto someone else. it is cute, but i wish i could say i'd make more, but don't think that's gonna happen.

am now focusing on the peasy sweater. february brought ravelympics, chinese new year, quilt club, sunday school lunch, sewing day, as well as, crazy weather: snow, frigid temps, sunshine, gray skies, etc. wonder if march will come in like a lion? i'm off to watch julie and julia and do some more knitting-TTFN

inspired to.

cook. the february issue of bon appetit is full of wonderful recipes to try. here's my list
~easy chicken masala (i love indian food)
~celery root & apple salad with hazelnut vinaigrette
~ham artichoke & potato gratin
~cream tart with oranges, honey & toasted almond crust
~top tier devil's food cake with sour cream fudge frosting
~mushroom and leek soup with parsley dumplings
i've already made the cheddar, bacon and chive biscuits-amazing.


also inspired to knit. toys and baby hats. got these two books (thanks to excellent coupons), and now that i've done the very hard part of the winter mystery shawl 08 (yes clues 3-5 done this past week!) i'm looking forward to some small projects. alana recommended these books and did an interview with the author. i'm confident that if alana can knit these things quickly with a toddler running around i should be able to handle anything in these books.
journal. the art calendar polly and roy gave me for christmas has a quote on one side and a piece of art on the other. i really just noticed that the other day, but one quote that caught me was "if there were dreams to sell, what would you buy?" thomas lovell beddoes. maybe i'll be able to draw on these for inspirations. also mary's recommendation of sunday scribblings. i hope to get journaling soon.