Oogyknitter

Hello on this bruschetta chicken quesadilla Sunday!  (talk about a multi-cultural mashup!) (BTW - the crockpot jambalaya turned out great - and not a lot of clean-up involved. We imagined an all-seafood version (OK, maybe still with the andouille). I used this recipe here .) I continue to enjoy the Sharon Air KAL, but have unearthed a WIP in the meantime: This is the I'm Not What You Think I Am cowl, which is knit flat and then somehow origamied into a cowl shape (I haven't looked ahead to see what's involved, but there is some seaming).  This is with one of the skeins I dyed during our Fourth Annual Memorial Day Dyeing Weekend.  It's used up most of it, which is great.  I'm binding off now, with a cute picot edge, and have decided to add a bead to each - very fun! I may actually start a new project involving some more origami - I think this could be lots of fun! Stay safe, well, and cool :)

Hello on this grilled brat(wurst) Thursday (with potato salad!). May I present Clue 1, complete with Cairo passport stamp: The plan is to start Clue 2 this evening - just in time for Clue 3 to arrive tomorrow!  Will I ever catch up?  Probably not, but it's still a blast! Not sure if you can tell, but the above pic was taken with my new phone - which I finally got up and running yesterday (after a self-inflicted delay of several weeks!).  I loved my old phone but it would charge (or not) unreliably, and it was getting worse.  I got a reasonably-priced, refurbished iPhone and so am in the process of figuring out how it works (LOL) as well as getting all my calendar stuff updated (and who knows what else!). In other news - after an even longer delay (I think it's been at least 5 years!), I got an eye exam and ordered new glasses yesterday!  My prescription hasn't changed that much, but my current glasses are old and are my only pair - and I wear them all the time these days. 

Hello on this much-needed-rainy Tuesday!  We were originally planning to grill brats for dinner, but have postponed that plan given the weather.  So something from the freezer instead! In spite of knitting a bunch nearly every day for the past few days, I'm still on Clue 1 of Sharon Air!! I finally got to add Color C, though - it's the one with the multiple colors and sparkle there at the top.  It looks awesome!! I'm still not looking ahead to anything, even in the current clue, so I'm not able to say how much I have left to go before I can start Clue 2 (perhaps before Friday, when the next one is scheduled to be released?). There continue to be "side projects" that I don't say much about because they might need to be secret :)  One of them I've made twice - Starry Night , by Laura Nelkin.  Laura is an adventurous designer and so of course she is the one who decided she could KNIT A STRING OF FAIRY LIGHTS!!! My first attempt turned out pretty well, I t

Hello on this Asian Fish Cakes Tuesday! I was very surprised to realize, at the end of Section Three, that the Sharon Air MKAL pattern called for going back and repeating Sections 1-3 two more times!  This is a new one in my experience with Casapinka :) Here's what things look like after two full repeats and one partial: At least I think this is the ultimate shape for this part - but you never know!  So far it's been great fun and a joy to knit with this beautiful Miss Babs yarn and Casapinka's awesome pattern! Other projects continue along in the background, including one large visit to the frog pond.  My first pass on this got way messed up somehow, but the second time was nearly perfect (and just had to adjust for one extra stitch on one side - a bonus compared with the alternative!).   In other news - it's been so hot and dry that the wildlife have been hiding out, likely back in the woods where there's more shade and probably water too! Stay well and safe!

Hello on this spiced pork and couscous (in the crockpot!) Saturday! The Sharon Air MKAL is off and running!  This is where I was at 8:00 this morning: Both Neuro and I tackled this first fiddley bit before meeting to get the rest of the project underway!  When we last checked, we both had the correct number of stitches going into Section 2. I'm trying not to look ahead, even within this week's clue, so that even every section is its own surprise!   I decided to go with #5 needles for this project - mostly because all my 4s are somewhere else, and 6s are definitely too large for my gauge.  And I actually had to "steal" the 5s from another project - there's a bit more to Not What You Think I Am than would have merited a sprint last evening (it's more like - Takes More Time Than You Think I Would, LOL). Shawlography is still ongoing and is really starting to come together!  I have another project that I hope will be on the mindless track soon enough as well.  The

Hello on this Sweet Chili Salmon Monday! We've come to the end of our yarn adventure revisit: We had a great time back in 2004, and it was super fun to go through all the slides and try to remember what we did :)  Don't be too sad - our SharonAir MKAL starts this Friday, and Neuro has told me she's been swatching to make sure that her (custom-dyed yarns by her!) colors all work together for her.  I still need to find the right size needles and choose some fun stitch markets for the voyage. In the meantime, I'm trucking along on Shawlography's knitted-on border and a couple other projects as well.  I'll start to share more pics of those now that we're through our PPT. This heat wave is supposed to start moving away, which means we can start to open windows and think about using the oven to make dinner if needed!  I've been improvising with the stovetop - not a terrible workaround, but you can't really make a pizza or magically change those root vegeta

Hello on this super hot and humid, parm chicken and zucchini Sunday! I don't remember whether or not we decided to visit Yarns Down Under during this trip: They're closed now, but I think we did visit there once (either then or another time) - I'm pretty sure this is where I purchased the (now infamous) Bear Sweater kit, which I still haven't made (but which may need to be resurrected and possibly re-engineered). I can't believe we would have been within 2 miles of Webs and not gone there - especially considering our long history with them.  When we were in college we used to take the PFTA bus from South Hadley to Amherst just to visit them there!  At some point they moved to Northampton, where they are now. I also remember the first time we visited their NoHo location; again, not sure if it was this trip or another, but that first visit was quite remarkable.  It's a terrific and large yarn store - but they also have a giant warehouse in the back that you can s

Hello on this freezer soup Friday!  (Which may sound counterintuitive, but my experience is that the warmth of the soup after it's been heated in the microwave is a mere fraction of what the stove and/or oven do to the temperature of the house in this weather!) On Day 4 (I believe this is our last day, but I'm not looking ahead!) we're headed to Western MA: Northampton Wools is still in business after all these years - even more remarkable since there is a gorilla yarn store of international fame in the same area! I think this was my first time there, although I've been there one other time since.  As with many aspects of this trip, I don't have a lot of specific memories about it, but I'm sure it was fun and very nice! It turns out that this next part of the Shawlography pattern is a knitted-on, wide border of mostly garter stitch and a slipped stitch here and there at the ends.  It's easily memorized, and may have just transitioned to the Mindless Knittin

Hello on this pulled pork (in the crockpot!) Wednesday!! Hard to believe we spent only one night in Putney: My memory of the cones flying out of the attic at GMS must have overwhelmed most others, because I don't remember many specifics of our stay at the Inn or our dinner (and breakfast?) there either.  I'm sure all were lovely! I was able to do some knitting during the last two evenings - I finished Clue 3 of Shawlography!  Clue 4 is all about the border, and uses another 500 yards of yarn - so definitely more fun yet to come on this project! Stay well and safe :)

Hello on this ricotta meatball Tuesday! Looks like I grabbed the below from a Putney, VT web site: We certainly were in a lovely area.  At one point we took a walk down the road a bit (and maybe along the edge of a field??); the road became a boat launch right into the river!  At one point I imagined just walking down the road into the river (nothing morbid - just for a nice swim, if you're into river swimming, who knows what else is in there, LOL!!). Neuro reminded me just the other day that VT is also known as the Green Mountain State - and for good reason!  There are some larger metro areas (Burlington, Brattleboro), but lots of green space.  Terrific skiing in the winter (from what I understand!), fantastic fall foliage, and of course quiet summers (I'll assume their spring is a bit muddy, like ours!) I did not knit one single stitch yesterday!  I had a work thing that took quite a bit of time.  It all ended well, and I'm hoping to catch up a bit later this evening. Sta

Hello on this Hawaiian BBQ chicken pizza Monday! Day 3 of our adventure takes us to Vermont:   We stayed overnight in Putney so there will be lots more said about that!  We didn't venture far, either - the Inn is right across the street from GMS! Ah, Green Mountain Spinnery !!  So many cool things (you can read more on their web site!).  They are a cooperative mill and shop that uses antique equipment (and parts!) to produce their yarns from domestically-sourced fiber.  They're fairly small but do a lot!  Their tours can often take you nose-deep in the inner workings of a spinning mill.  The folks there are super friendly and informative as well! One of my favorite stories about this visit is about when I finally found the perfect yarn for The Ruana - GMS's Mountain Mohair , a stunning blend of wool and mohair in a variety of gorgeous colors.  The mohair takes the dye slightly differently and adds a lovely shimmer and strength to the yarn.  I started scooping up a bunch of