Careful Ventures

Quilters, I'm down to another corner.

The corners are much more interesting. However, the cross-hatching is easy to do and makes a nice background for the feathers.

I discovered I have a superpower! I can bring on spring. All I had to do was finish my mittens.

I used the Mummers pattern from Saltwater Mittens by Christine LeGrow and Shirley A. Scott. The yarn is Harrisville Highland Worsted in Aubergine and Silver Mist.

On Wednesday I CO the Brioche Shawl Feathers shawl. It's very complicated, so I will need something mindless to work on when I'm out and about (which is seldom these days) and I have enough dishcloths. The CO was strange, but there is a YouTube video that shows it, and it was helpful. There seem to be videos for just about every step, which is a welcome aberration. I'm ready to start the brioche section.

I needed 50" US2/2.75mm circular needles for this shawl, but the longest I had in that size were 42". I could have made do, but I wanted to be able to spread the stitches out, so after I had my bone-density scan on Wednesday I stopped at Fancywork Yarn Shop to see if I could pick up some. They had interchangeable needles (the kind where you can take the tips off and use them on a different size cable) in that size. I didn't know they came with tips that small. While I was there, we got to talking about my book, and the owner/manager asked for several copies to sell in her shop, even though they aren't about knitting, so I'll be going back on Tuesday to drop them off.

This week brought a friend to town, so we had our first nonfamily guests since the pandemic started. Carol and Jeff, in town to ski at Mt. Bachelor with Jeff's grandkids, came to lunch before flying home. They've each had their first dose of the vaccine, and we're fully vaccinated for more than a month, so it was relatively safe.

I gave Carol a copy of my book for her granddaughter, Stella. She asked me to sign it.

Carol and her husband were our last guests in January of the Pandemic Year, when they came for tea and DBIL Jim was here, too. We got a similar selfie this time. No Jim, but the knobs are on the kitchen cabinets now.

Carol's son Colby had a competition early the next morning, our time at 3:00 AM-something. I didn't get up to watch, but Carol sent me a text and said he got the gold!

This was the FIS World Cup Freestyle competition, and his event was Slopestyle.

If you have no idea what this is, here's a video of his winning run.

Colby inspired my character Jolena, who is on the US Doll Ski Team and tries to do some of the same tricks Colby does, but with the help of a little fishing line. I had hoped to get photos of her in her ski gear, flying through the air this past winter, but we didn't get enough snow down here, and I was reluctant to go up to the ski area to look for a tree in the open I could use. Next year.

I used some of my money from the government to buy some extra orthotics, so I don't have to switch them when I change shoes to go out. One of these pairs is for indoors and one is for outdoors. The Nikes on the right are water- and sand-resistant. (The orthotics maker bought one of my books!)

Saturday was a lovely day. It was almost warmer outdoors than in for the first time this year. (I did this by finishing my mittens, remember?) I sat out on the front deck and listened to the last two chapters of the book we're using for the Adult Forum on Sunday.

The lettuce in DH's AeroGarden is taking over. I will have to pick a couple of leaves each day to add to our regular lettuce for salad. The tomato plants are covered with blossoms!

We sang, virtually, on sunday. If you want to watch and listen, go to 1:06 on the video of the service (unless you want to watch the whole service, which is OK, too).

I went in to record my part for Easter Sunday on Saturday. If you watch the Palm Sunday piece or the Easter piece, you can tell by the background which people recorded at home and which ones went in to the church to record. We had 15-minute time slots for recording. We wore masks until it was time to sing. We never touched anything anyone else touched, and the director stood a long way back from the singer.

We live in challenging times.

What's on my needles: Brioche Shawl Feathers. Just starting the brioche.

What's on my sewing machine: Thoughts and ideas. My turtleneck shirts are wearing out right above the cuff. I'm thinking about taking the cuffs off and turning up a hem. They would be 3/4-length sleeves then. (They're almost that now, because my arms are too long for my shoulders and chest, but the shirts would still be useable. Sweaters will keep me warm. First I need to clean the workroom!

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. We're getting there.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "Ripples." Charlotte tells everyone about how she discovered that one simple thing she did to help a friend started a chain reaction that ended up helping another friend and herself.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Love Is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry. It was an amazing book and puts a lot of things in perspective for me. A little more progress made in The Black Madonna by Stella Reilly.

What's in my wine glass: Tucana Cabernet Sauvignon Pinotage 2019 from South Africa. Excellent, IMO.

What's my tip of the week: The ends of a loaf of bread often get left behind and shoved to the back of the fridge. I try to take them out before they get moldy and grind them up in my little food processor. Then I freeze the crumbs. They are good in faux meatloaf, mixed with texturized vegetable protein crumbles (but you could use ground beef or turkey, if you eat meat) or used as a topping for casseroles.

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from BookBaby, Barnes & Noble 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.

Warm Hands, Hot Tea and Clean Dishes

The tea cozy is done. This one seems to keep the tea hotter than the old one. Maybe it's the deep ribs.

I altered the pattern a bit, because my teapot is smaller, really a one-person teapot. Here is the Ravelry project page with information on my minor modifications.

Before casting on for the mittens, I really needed to make myself a new nylon scrubbie. Here's a link to the free pattern. You use a size K crochet hook and six 1 3/4" strips of nylon net tied together.

It was time for some more kimchi. I started this before last week's blog post and it was ready o Wednesday. My head of cabbage (I used regular green cabbage) was a bit small, so I sliced up a zucchini and added that with a very large carrot and the usual green onion. You can add other kinds of vegetables, too. I've added sweet pepper when I've had it (bell pepper or the little sweet peppers).

My sourdough is still going strong. I make a new loaf at least once a week for sandwiches.

DH started his new Aerogarden going a few weeks back. We have been harvesting leaves from the one lettuce plant, and the little tomatoes already have flowers on them.

Tuesday I cast on the first Mummers Mitten. I finished it on Friday. Here's the back showing the pattern.

Here is the palm of the hand. This "pattern" is called Salt and Pepper.

I got the pattern from this book, Salt Water Mittens by Christine LeGrow and Shirley A. Scott. 

The Ravelry pattern page is here. I'm at the top of the pattern on the second mitten. There's just a few rows of salt and pepper and then the shaping for the top of the fingers, and then the thumb to go.

Friday I dropped off some shoes and the molds of my feet at the place that makes my orthotics. I had been saving money to get a pair for my outdoor shoes, so I wouldn't have to keep changing the orthotics from one pair of shoes to another when we go for walks and come home. My Covid money came in handy, so I was able to do it right away. There's quite a bit left over to go into the publishing expense pot for the next book.

Speaking of the book, I stopped in at our local Barnes & Noble store here in Bend after dropping off my shoes at the orthotics lab. I had noticed that my book was finally available at B&N online, but not for pick up in the local store, so I took them a preview copy. I got to speak to one of the managers. She looked at the book and then looked it up on her system, found it, and said she would order copies. B&N has been taken over by a company that wants to turn the shops into something more like a local bookstore, and they are looking for local authors to promote.

What's on my needles: The second "Mummers" mitten.

What's on my sewing machine: Cobwebs.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. A little more progress this week. When it gets late before bedtime 

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Special Glasses. Pippa wonders why Mandy only wears her glasses when she's reading or doing close work, and Emil never seems to take his glasses off. He explains his disability and his special gift to her. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still The Black Madonna by Stella Reilly, more progress made, and Love Is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry, Chapters 9 and 10. My church's Adult Forum is discussing it, two chapters at a time. In Chapter 10, reference was made to the Project for Deeper Understanding, which was started by Charles Robinson, the priest at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Park City, which was my church and my priest when we lived there. We attended some of the sessions when we lived there, each covering a different topic. The idea is, if someone has a different opinion from you, you ask them to explain what in their life led them to that opinion, instead of just saying they're wrong.

What's in my wine glass: Purple Moon Shiraz 2018. I liked it a lot.

What's my tip of the week: Live basil plants will live longer if the roots are kept wet. We keep ours in a dish that's slightly larger than the base of the pot and more than 2" deep. When I see that the water is mostly gone, I refill it. The plant is happier with bright daylight and some sun. It doesn't do well if it gets cold.

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from BookBaby, Barnes & Noble 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.

The 2021 Yarn Crawl Comes to an End

Well, the yarn crawl is over. The all-day Zoom event was a real highlight.

Each of the shops will have their hour available recorded on YouTube. Eventually, they will have their Zoom presentations available, although it may take a few days. Go to this link to watch. The ones that are already loaded will appear in green. In this day and age, all of them have an online business, so you can order from anywhere. Here are the shops with links:

Starlight Knitting Society

For Yarn Sake

Weird Sisters

Northwest Wools

Pearl Fiber Arts

Knotty Lamb

House of A la Mode

Close Knit

The yarn I ordered from Close Knit arrived, in two separate shipments and on two different days.

I cast on the "Russet" for the tea cozy as soon as I finished Charlotte's Dressing Gown. I have this much done.

The "Aubergine" and the "Silver Mist" are for some mittens from this book:

The next day, I received this lusciousness from House of A la Mode:

It's for a special brioche shawl. This one.

I bought some circular needles from Pearl Fiber Arts (size 000, two of them, so I can knit in the round). I also ordered the Kevät  kit from Knotty Lamb, but they were out of them, so I had to preorder for the kits they're having made up.

Here's another view, this time of the back.

It comes in cropped and regular length. DDIL ordered one. I got the cropped, and she got the regular length. I picked these colors:

It will be at least a couple of weeks before the kits will be ready.

Before I cast on the tea cozy, I finished the dressing gown I was making for Charlotte. You may remember from last week that I thought the blue would be enough for the whole thing, based on weight. However, you can see where I ran out of blue. To hide the color change at the bodice, I crocheted a chain stitch around the body using a slightly darker shade of blue Palette (fingering), right at the base of the white and then added some additional trim around the neck to hide my somewhat messy picked-up stitches there. I added the embroidered flower just because, and made a twisted cord bow from the same yarn. Anyway, Charlotte doesn't look too unhappy with it. (That's her Mona Lisa smile.) She is holding her sleep mask.

During the week Johan read to his great-grandmother, who has come to live with his other grandparents....

....and to his class at school.

I'm waiting for an update on Soren's activities. Maybe there will be a photo next week.

Their cousins in Wisconsin had a dance competition over the weekend. They had to go to St. Paul, Minnesota, and stay in a hotel for it. Daphne took Misty along.

Zachary took his Billy along.

I'm glad they both enjoy their dolls. It's so good for their imaginations.

Their parents, as educators, qualified to receive their vaccines this week. I found this online.

We learned from the CDC that people who are fully vaccinated (two weeks past whichever dose is the final one––the second for Pfizer and Moderna, and the only one for Johnson & Johnson) can get together with others who are also fully vaccinated, and they don't have to wear masks. I see a future in which the choir can meet again. Some of us have been vaccinated, but our director doesn't qualify yet. Still, it won't be too long. In the meantime, some of us went to the church one-by-one to have a "professional" recording made of our performance for Palm Sunday.

In the meantime, we had to turn our clocks forward Saturday night.

What's on my needles: The tea cozy.

What's on my sewing machine: Dust.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. Very little progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Brown Dolls? Pippa has noticed that Mariah's vinyl is brown and wonders why.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still The Black Madonna by Stella Reilly, a little progress made, but it's a long book, and Love Is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry, Chapters 7 and 8. My church's Adult Forum is discussing it, two chapters at a time. Otherwise I would just listen to it until the end, but I wouldn't remember as much of it that way. It's really good.

What's in my wine glass: Trader Joe's Grower's Reserve Zinfandel Paso Robles 2019. I really, really like this one. I wonder if it's because it's from organically grown grapes.

What's my tip of the week: If you need to measure honey using a spoon, dip it in hot water first (or run under the faucet with hot water running) and the honey won't stick as much. If it sticks, use your finger to wipe the honey off it, then you can lick your finger.

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. 

Rose City Yarn Crawl!

Pippa's Red Crocus sweater is done.

As part of the knit-along in the Goetz Doll Lovers group on Ravelry, I cast on this Dressing Gown pattern. I had 51g of the turquoise yarn for a project that was supposed to take 49g. I thought it might be close, but I ran out of the turquoise yarn before I even got the skirt of the dressing gown finished. The yarn must be much heavier than what was used in the pattern. I didn't want to rip it out, so I decided to add a deep border at the hem and then continue on with the bodice and sleeves using some yarn I had, Wool of the Andes Sport in "Bare." I picked up stitches from the inside loops of each cast-on stitch and have been knitting in the opposite direction (toward the hem) with the white. 

When it's long enough, I'll bind off and continue with the white for the bodice and sleeves. This rework of the original eliminates three buttons, because I had started the buttonholes at the stated point in relation to the cast-on edge, and have to stop and make the armholes. I think I can do something decorative that will make it look as if that were the design from the beginning.

We've started the Rose City Yarn Crawl, which is entirely virtual this year. DDIL and I got together yesterday via Zoom to visit our first two shops. The first one was Close Knit. I purchased three skeins of Harrisville Highland worsted-weight yarn. One in "Silver Mist"....

....and one in "Aubergine"....

....for these Mummers mittens from Saltwater Mittens.

I picked up a skein of the same yarn in "Russet"....

....for this teapot cozy. DDIL picked up this kit, but she doesn't crochet (yet), so she was getting it just for the yarn.

Then we went on to House of A la Mode, where after much looking around and contemplating I picked up this  Things Created Equal "Basic Sock" yarn in "Frosty"....

....and "Glacial"....

....for this shawl. The pattern appears to be very entertaining. It uses the brioche stitch, but in a curved design. DDIL wanted this kit, but they were sold out, so she bought the yarn for it from what was available. She also picked up some DK from the Things Created Equal line.

It was a very busy week in my personal life, too. First, because my mammogram from the week before was questionable, I had ultrasound on Wednesday. Because that didn't show enough, they did an additional mammogram. The result: "See you in a year." It was nerve-racking, however, waiting for the radiologist to come to a conclusion, but his time was taken up with all the regularly scheduled results to read, and they had to squeeze me in. Everything was normal, and they didn't think it was because of my vaccine, although that's sometimes an issue.

DBIL came for dinner Thursday, as he planned to fly back to Arizona on Friday. We didn't use masks, because guidance indicated that we could socialize indoors without masks if we've all been vaccinated, and we had all three had the second dose of vaccine. We've all been very careful, anyway. He will be back when the weather warms up down there. DH drove him to the airport on Friday morning. I hope we can go camping together this summer.

I managed to get the photos for two stories taken this week and a third one written. Once the photos are done for the third one, I'll be scheduled through March 19th. That's the most ahead I've ever been.

Today I'll be "visiting" all the shops in the Crawl. Each shop gets an hour to show off or demonstrate. If you're interested, click on this link and scroll down to "Zoom Shopping Event." I don't know if this will be available after today, but they may have a recorded version on the website later.

What's on my needles: Charlotte's Sleepover Dressing Gown.

What's on my sewing machine: Getting bored with nothing to do. The machine, not me!

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. Not much progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "The Survey." Emil and Billy get some surprising advice from Pippa. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still The Black Madonna by Stella Reilly and Love Is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry. The second has given me inspiration for at least one story.

What's in my wine glass: Provare red wine from David Marchese in California. A new one for us. I liked it. It's slightly spicy.

What's my tip of the week: You don't really have to add water to frozen vegetables when you cook them in the microwave. There is usually enough ice in the package to cook them nicely.

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. 

Another Mystery Knit-along in the History Books

The Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit-along is off the needles, and blocked.

The brioche was easier, once I got used to it. The bind-off is Latvian Braid, which was another new thing to learn. Here's a video showing how it's done.

Worked in the round is fairly easy, but this is a very long, flat edge treatment. What happens is, the two balls/colors of working yarn gradually get twisted around each other. You just do the best you can to keep it from tangling. I moved the yarn supply to the other end of the dining room table while I worked, and eventually to a chair. I moved the twist down the yarn every once in a while, and eventually I put a jar of olives between the two colors to keep the twist away from where I was working. As the next row is worked, the yarn untwists. There's more to it than that, but this is what's important in deciding to use this technique. I used the stretchy bind-off recommended in the pattern.

When it was dry, I got this photo in the mirror, so it's backwards, of course. I won't be wearing it to the shops, because the Rose City Yarn Crawl is completely online this year. 

We've had the usual walks with the dogs and cooking, including my favorite quiche recipe (see below), which, for some reason decided to act like a soufflé this time. It collapsed into its shell after I took it out of the oven.

I finally decided I was tired of working out the gauge/tension needed to convert the larger Happy Kidz knitting patterns to Little Kidz (like Pippa), so I worked out this chart:

I cast on a sweater for Pippa. This is another pattern designed for the larger Happy Kidz. I used the formula above and selected 2.5mm needles and fingering weight yarn, Palette in "Lipstick."

Theoretically, you can use the same yarn as called for in the original pattern, but when you tighten up the stitches, you could end up with a knitted fabric that's really stiff. I really like the thinner fingering weight better for dolls anyway.

Just the sleeves to go and sew on the buttons. Then she needs something on the bottom half, pants or a skirt.

What's on my needles: The Crocus sweater for Pippa.

What's on my sewing machine: Still waiting....

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. A little more progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Pippa learns about vaccinations in "Getting Shots." 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still The Black Madonna by Stella Reilly and Love Is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry. The first is a very long novel. The second has been taken up by the Adult Forum at my church, and we're discussing it on Sunday mornings.

What's in my wine glass: FleurDuCap 2008 Pinotage, which we bought in Temple, Texas, when we were there for our daughter's wedding in 2010. I thought it was still really good, in spite of being submitted to temperature changes and a move from Utah to Oregon.

What's my tip of the week: My recipe for quiche reduces the need for eggs and increases the plant-based protein by using silken tofu.

Tofu Quiche

Ingredients

• 2 sliced green onions (optional)
• 4 strips of faux bacon, cooked (optional)
• 1 single pie crust (homemade or frozen premade)
• 1 C grated Swiss or other cheese
• 1 box silken tofu
• 3 eggs
• 1 C milk
• 1 T flour or psyllium husks
• ⅛  t pepper
• ½  t salt
• ½ t nutmeg (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°
Line pie crust with green onion, cheese and faux bacon. Mix remaining ingredients in blender. 
Pour into pie crust and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted into center comes out clean.  

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 at St. Jude. 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.