Flipping Sides

Here's how it looked half-way through Clue #3, the brioche stitches. 

The Mystery Knit-along is coming along, but I still haven't started the last clue. You can see from this photo that you work on one side, then flip it around and do the same thing on the other side, but with the colors reversed. It's interesting, and I've learned a few new things, but keeping the yarn from tangling in the extra needle is a nuisance. Fortunately, the rows are long now.

Nothing left but the fancy bind-off after I finish this section. I should have it done in time for the Rose City Yarn Crawl, which will be virtual this year. 

I did some more flipping when I made pancakes. We celebrated Shrove Tuesday by enjoying our own pancake supper at home, instead of going to the church.

It was a very busy week. Rocky had his eye checkup on Wednesday. The ulcer on his left eye is smaller, and it has good blood vessels coming to the area, so we can stop the antibiotic drops when they are used up. The other eye drops will need to be continued, probably the rest of his life, and in both eyes. He will get checked again in May.

That afternoon we noticed some of our neighbors, a doe and two yearlings, in our next-door neighbor's front yard.

Later that day, I recorded my part for the virtual choir performance on Sunday.

Thursday was our second dose of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. It wasn't as crowded as three weeks ago. They have halted giving appointments for the first dose.

They don't let us take photos during the actual procedure now, but we could take a selfie after we finished. I flipped sides and had my shot in the left arm this time, not because I had any trouble with having a sore right arm, but I was trying to make it easy for the nurse to administer the shot. The chair was facing that direction.

There was mixed rain and snow on the way there and back. I tried to get a photo of the huge snowflakes, but my phone focused on the raindrops on the car window.

We both had sore arms the next day, but no other side effects. We had read that people are often sick after the second dose, so we had planned on not doing much for the next couple of days.

Unlike many people we know who live elsewhere, our power was on the whole week.

What's on my needles: The Mystery Knit-along shawl.

What's on my sewing machine: Nothing right now.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt, but no progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Hearing with Your Eyes. Emil explains to Pippa how sign language works.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Love Is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry and just started The Black Madonna by Stella Riley. Bishop Curry's book is very good. The Trinity Adult Forum is studying it, two chapters a week. Stella Riley is an author I've enjoyed in the past, so I know I will enjoy this one.

What's in my wine glass: Plaza de la Reina Monastrell Tempranillo from Spain. A friend has been posting his travel photos, one per day, during the pandemic. We're just visiting lots of different countries by drinking wine from all over the world.

What's my tip of the week: To keep straight whether I gave Rocky his eye drops or not, I use this list and the special tape for keeping track of where I am with my knitting.

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from BookBaby and other booksellers. Royalties go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. The three stories in the book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. The stories (and links to them) are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

Brioche?

Brioche!

No, not the kind you can eat. This kind:

Here's what it looks like from the other side:

That's the next thing I have to do in the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery KAL, and I've never done it before. Here's what I have so far, before starting Clue #4, which is the brioche section.

I finished the hearts just in time for Valentine's Day!

I found a couple of videos for help with the brioche stitch. This one is more involved, but it shows you what it's supposed to look like in "real life."

I found this one a better place to start, however. It's the one I used to make my practice swatch.

After making my swatch, I think I'm ready to have a go.

I finished Pippa's outfit on Tuesday. I used 2.25mm needles. I think 2.5 might have worked a little better. The fit is OK, but it appeared a bit looser on the model used in the pattern. I may try this outfit again in different colors.

What's on my needles: Rose City Yarn Crawl "Meditations," just starting Clue #4. Brioche!

What's on my sewing machine: Waiting.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. A little bit more progress this week. It's good to work on in the evening when I'm usually tired and sometimes not able to concentrate very well. (My second glass of wine could have something to do with that.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "Valentines!" The store is out of valentines, so the boys decide to try to make their own. They get hung up on a poem, and need help from Mariah.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished A Castaway in Cornwall by Julie Klassen. Now I'm listening to Love Is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry and Sara Grace.

What's in my wine glass: Mildiani Saperavi 2018 from Georgia. (The country, not the state.)

What's my tip of the week: If you have a leftover Good Seasons bottle with the lid, you can make an easy balsamic salad dressing. I fill the bottle to the "V" line with balsamic vinegar, but instead of adding water, I use red or white wine vinegar to fill to the "W" line. Then I add some seasonings: granulated or minced garlic, a half teaspoon of tarragon, basil or oregano and a half teaspoon of salt. You can throw in a pinch of pepper if you like or dried chopped onion. Then fill to the "O" line with olive oil. 

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from BookBaby and other booksellers. Royalties go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. The three stories in the book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. The stories (and links to them) are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

Photo of brioche: Element5 Digital on Unsplash

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

Busy, Busy!

Here's how my project for the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit Along looked after Clue #2. I haven't started Clue #3 yet.

I've been busy working on projects for a knit/crochet along in the Goetz Doll Lovers group on Ravelry. We decided to focus on the designer Sugar Grove South. Everyone picks a pattern by this designer and makes it. We'll have a drawing for a prize of a free pattern from the same designer. I wanted to make some of the designs designed to fit Götz Happy Kidz and make the for Pippa, who is only 80% of the size. She doesn't have much in the way of clothes yet, and it's an interesting puzzle to figure out how to make it smaller. I started out with the pattern "Blank Canvas," so named because it can be a starting place for something fancy, if the knitter likes. I just made the plain version, but I used some leftover yarn that has a bit of sparkle in it. I used The Farmer's Daughter Fibers "Moon Sisters" sock yarn in "Blue." It has stellina in it for a touch of bling.

That worked out, so I went on to "Cold Winter Winds," also for Pippa. The pattern has you knit the body down to the bottom of the sleeves, then knit the sleeves and sew them up before moving on. I really hate to seam things, so I decided to join the body as you would after finishing the sleeves, then knit the sleeves in the found after finishing the body. Here's what I had after finishing the body. I was happy with the fit.

I was really involved with my audiobook, so I forgot I would have to reverse to P to make the garter stitch edging at the top of the sleeve...until I had finished the navy blue part of the sleeve, so down to the cuff. Looking at it, I thought it really did need the added texture at the top of the sleeves, so I picked out the end of the red yarn and pulled it out. After reknitting those rounds, I grafted the navy part of the sleeve back on and then finished the cuff.

I still need to make the hat. This buttons down the back. I'll show the whole thing when I have the hat made.

My sourdough starter has become very effective for making bread. I'm really happy with the result. I'm also making more kimchi (which you can see in the background) and sprouts of various kinds.

I decided to try air frying regular extra-firm tofu. I found this recipe. It made a nice, crispy, addition to stir-fry with home-grown bean sprouts and stir-fried fresh vegetables.

I think I'll try this with tempeh when I have some.

I've been trying to figure out how the royalties from my book, Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, would go directly to St. Jude, rather than coming to me first. I had three reasons to want to do this.

1) I didn't want to have to pay taxes on money coming into my account if I'm just sending it out again.

2) I didn't want a lot of bookkeeping to do.

3) I'm hoping this project will be around after I'm gone, and I didn't want my heirs to have to deal with it.

The solution was fairly simple. The publisher will send a check directly to St. Jude periodically. We aren't talking a lot of money. It works out to about $3.30 per book, but it's nice to know that every time someone buys one of my books, that amount is set aside for St. Jude. I don't know how many have been sold so far, but I expect to get a report about March 1st.

If you don't want to buy the book but want to give directly to St. Jude, I have a fundraising page here. I hope to be able to do something more with it soon. In the meantime, if someone orders a signed copy from me directly, and they decide to pay me more than the cost of the book and the shipping, I transfer the money to the fundraising page. I think that's all that's there right now.

We've been walking almost every day. We don't go too far. Long distances are getting difficult for Rocky, and we want him to enjoy himself. We use WoofTrax's Walk for a Dog app, so every walk we make over 1/4 mile using it provides a donation to Best Friends Animal Society. The app gives you a map of where you walked, how long it took and when you walked.

The pups sleep well at night.

What's on my needles: The Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery KAL and a dress for Pippa.

What's on my sewing machine: Waiting.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. Still more progress this week, but not as much because of the other projects with a time limit.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Sorry! Jolena learns that it's best to confess when you do something that hurts someone, and you feel better after you apologize.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: I finished Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. It was a good listen and enlightening. Now listening to A Castaway in Cornwall by Julie Klassen. It's interesting to notice a similar theme in both books, which I would think are totally unrelated.

What's in my wine glass: Atico Monastrell Estate Bottled 2019, from Spain.

What's my tip of the week: We will get our second dose of the vaccine on the 18th. We have heard that people often have a more severe reaction to the second dose than the first one. Some people even get sick from it. We will plan to not have anything important to do for a few days after we get the second dose, just in case. 

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from BookBaby and other booksellers. Royalties go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. The three stories in the book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. The stories (and links to them) are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

A Shot in the Fairgrounds

We took a ride to the Deschutes County Fairgrounds this week. That gave me some knitting time in the car. This is my project for the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit-Along.

I thought I would spend some time sitting (or standing) around, waiting, so I took my knitting with me when we entered the exposition hall. No knitting happened, though, until the ride home.

What was I doing at the Fairgrounds, you might ask? I would have been asking the same question a week ago. That was when I found out that the vaccine the governor was expecting turned out not to exist. The new plan was to start vaccinating people over 80 around February 8th, and sometime after that, people over 75. We were thinking maybe the middle of February for our first dose.

Then Tuesday, I received an email saying that people over 75 and essential workers (including teachers) could make appointments for the first dose at the clinic run by St. Charles Health System, the organization that runs our local hospital. We clicked on the link and discovered we could get the first dose of the vaccine as early as late Wednesday. We didn't want to have to drive all the way home from the Fairgrounds after dark, so we picked mid-day on Thursday.

When Thursday rolled around, we donned all our winter gear (except for the snowshoes) and took an umbrella, just for good measure, because we expected we would be spending some time outdoors. As we arrived at the parking lot, a greeter asked us if we needed handicapped parking and/or a ride to the building in a golf cart. We're both in good shape, so we said we could walk, which we did. People in the ticket booths checked that we actually had appointments. They gave us each a clipboard with a sanitized pen and a form to fill out. Other volunteers directed us to the entrance of the building.

They had ropes to keep people moving along, just like at the airport, with separation dots and tables interspersed along the way so people could have a place to fill out the paperwork without getting too close to others. They had boxes for us to leave our pens when we were done. Volunteers were available to help with the paperwork if needed.

Next they checked our paperwork, entered the information in a computer and assigned us to a "chair" for the actual vaccinations. They had a big screen with the number of vaccinations they had given so far. It said, "8,594." I don't know how long the time period was for that.

Someone was keeping track of the empty chairs and directed us to a person who had just finished giving a shot. DH got his vaccine first, while I took photos.

I took this selfie when I received my vaccine.

Because we were good while we were being vaccinated, we each received a a sticker. No candy, though, for obvious reasons.

We were told that it was the Pfizer vaccine. I didn't care which vaccine I received. I was just so happy to get it! 

More volunteers steered us to a place where we could make the appointment for the second dose in three weeks.

We had to sit in a big waiting room for 15 minutes to make sure we were OK before leaving. I could have gotten my knitting out, but I checked my emails instead and posted my photos to Facebook.

We had a place to take a selfie on the way out.

We saw a lot of members of the National Guard helping with checking people in and making appointments for the second dose.

As far as I know, Oregon is still just vaccinating essential workers (including teachers). I can only guess that the distribution somehow provided more vaccine to the St. Charles system than they could give if they just restricted it to those people already eligible. It has been very organized, so I'm pretty sure it isn't something like the situation where some Oregon health workers were stuck in a snowstorm after a semi jack-knifed and offered vaccine to other stranded motorists because they realized the vaccine would expire before they could get to their destination. Or even like the event the other night in Seattle, when a freezer broke down, sending workers scurrying to find people to vaccinate before the vaccine would spoil. Like in the Chinese curse, we live in interesting times!

We've been walking almost every day, sometimes along the trail, but when it's muddy, just around the neighborhood on the sidewalks.

Just when I was pondering whether I would dare go to the Rose City Yarn Crawl now that my immunity should be pretty close to complete about the middle of that event, I received an email from the organizers. The Rose City Yarn Crawl is now going to be virtual. That means a) I can participate for sure, and b) I don't have to make a decision about whether to travel to Portland.

What's on my needles: The Mystery KAL, and ready to CO for a project for the Love in the Sugar Grove JAL (knit and crochet) in the Goetz Doll group on Ravelry. (Not as racy as it sounds.) I should be able to start it soon, because I expect to have some time between the Mystery KAL Clue #2 and Clue #3, which will come out on Wednesday.

What's on my sewing machine: Sitting idle right now.

What's in my hoop: Still the whole-cloth quilt. A lot more progress this week. I like working on it in the evening in front of the fire. I have a good light over my chair, and it's good for my body to alternate between knitting and quilting.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Pippa's First Snow! Pippa learns that not everything that comes down from the sky is rain. This story was somewhat time-intensive, because of getting the dolls dressed in all the winter clothes and then having them doing things in the snow.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann a nonfiction book. Very interesting, especially after having lived in Oklahoma for several years. 

What's in my wine glass: Akiyoshi 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Clarksburg, California. Nice.

What's my tip of the week: When I'm hand-quilting cross-hatching, I don't quilt straight across the quilt. If the quilt is stretched, the thread can break or the knots pop out from inside the quilt. Instead, I quilt in a zig-zag pattern, which will stretch without putting a lot of stress on the thread. I often use 3-4 needles, so I can work my way across the area without moving the hoop or unthreading and threading one needle.

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from BookBaby and other booksellers. Royalties go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.