Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Yarn and Books




I've been slowly plugging away on my Sunset Mitts.  I am working hard to stay patient as I stretch myself into this new skill area... color work is fun but definitely not mindlessly easy for me.  I think I might have gotten closer to figuring out how to eradicate the gaps I have at the start of every round but I'm not thrilled.  I was trying out using woven floats using this video and it worked the first night and then second night I tried to replicate what I'd been doing I was unsuccessful.  Guess I'll have to keep working on it.

I have still been listening to Dracula on CraftLit and have to once again recommend you check it out.  One of Heather's taglines is "If your hands are too busy to pick up a book, at least you can turn one on..."  And I do, especially when the girls are down for rest time and I am picking up or putting away groceries or folding laundry.  Books are good company but I am so tired by the evening that I have to admit I zone out for the five minutes I stay awake in bed playing "Candy Crush" on my phone - a game that is new to me and helps me turn my brain off a little.  But Dracula... OOOhhhh, it's spooky!  And fun - I knew it was creepy but I didn't know if I would be able to "handle" it... but I am really enjoying it.  Poor Jonathan Harker locked in the Castle Dracula... Bram Stoker is an excellent writer, and the fellow who has been reading Jonathan's diary is excellent as well.  

The beautiful plummy yarn is for a Sugared Violets wrap.  I fell in love with this pattern at first awhile ago and then the other day it was offered free and I was so thrilled to download it!  The yarn is Canopy Fingering from the Fibre Company and was purchased with birthday gift money from my mother-in-law.  I can't wait to cast on and get started but I've been so busy!  Tonight I was finally attempting to "do SOMEthing" with all the garden tomatoes that have been trying to spoil on my counter for some time.  I slow-roasted some in the oven, and I processed a couple jars of whole peeled tomatoes as an experiment... the quart jar made it, but my little pint jar, poor dear, burst in the canner.  The process was easy, though so I think I will do it again as the rest of the tomatoes ripen in our root cellar.  

Last but not least, Jesse is going to carve pumpkins with the Kingdom Kids at a little Halloween party and scooped out some of the insides to make it go smoother.  So I have 14 sugar pumpkins worth of seeds now separated, washed, and drying in my dehydrator.  Maybe this is all a waste of time in the end ... but I'm quite sure it's not because it really is something I enjoy playing with, regardless of the turnout.  Not that I want to be wasting my time, but I am enjoying myself and learning, and with the pumpkins, at least, Lyddie and Millie had fun helping me sort the seeds from the juicy squishy insides.  



What are you reading and knitting these days?  Joining Ginny for her Yarn Along and looking forward to peeking at your blog too!  Say hi in the comments so I can know you stopped by!

11 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:00 AM

    I read Dracula last year and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I'll have to check our CraftLit...

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    1. Oh do! It would be worth your time, the library of audio books has a lot of variety and I always learn so much from Heather's commentary... and the crafty newsy bits are fun too! So relaxing to listen to and a win-win either way you look at it!

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  2. I have nowhere near the skill level (or the patience!) to do color work like that! Bravo! I wish my kids like pumpkin and pumpkin seeds a bit more. I seem to be the only fan in the house.

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    1. Well, I have patience the size of a grain of sand when it comes to perceived failure, so kudos are hardly in order - only that it's not as hard as I feared it would be! And the abundance of information online has been helpful as well!
      Pumpkin is yummy and fun and I actually don't love seeds that much roasted in the oven anymore (too crunchy and splintery) so I am trying to dehydrate first and then later will roast them... we'll see if I like it better...

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  3. I love that Sugared Violets pattern. I did a colorwork sweater for Peter last year. It was fun but I am definitely doing a much simpler pattern this year with probably just a a couple of narrow stripes across the chest (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/childs-placket-neck-pullover). We are opening up our pumpkins today too and I hope that the kids will enjoy the slippery feel of the seeds and pulp. I'm accustomed to roasting the seeds in the oven--you'll have to follow up with how they turned out in the dehydrator.

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    1. I will try to follow up about the pumpkin seeds - so far they are dry but I haven't figured out exactly what to do next. I will be consulting my handy dandy Encyclopedia of Country Living shortly to decide my next move.
      And I am not ready to try a colorwork sweater... maybe that will be a good goal for next year...

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  4. I started Dracula earlier this year and then put it down . . . put your blog makes me want to pick it up again!

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    1. It is a good read for October!

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  5. Canopy fingering is a DELICIOUS yarn, you will love working with it. :) And I love Craft Lit!! I am so glad you mentioned it because I had been listening to a book there and sort of forgotten about it with our move, I will have to start listening again!

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  6. Such a pretty lavender shade! Kudos to you for trying a new technique; I often stick with what I know, but the possibilities are endless when we venture into new territory, aren't they? Happy knitting! ~Lisa

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  7. that purple yarn looks lovely!

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