One done!!!

One Embossed Leaves sock is done -

I love the detail of the French heel and the star toe (but used a standard 1K 1P rib 'cos I couldn't figure out the one she designed).

Thank you Mona Schmidt.

Emma, Sharon and Shrodinger - thank you for your kind comments.

I hope you knit this one too - it is a pleasure to knit!

Jannyraye - Yup, I always have to go down a size or two - these are on #0!

Tey and del- I'm glad you like the recipe. I'll post a favorite from time to time... Cooking is one of my other loves (not that I actually have time for it!).

JoanM - I hope you give socks a try. The patterns can be so lovely and lacy. Do you think this would translate well into, say a scarf?

Hey Mer- if you are out there, how is your second sock coming?

I have just cast on #2, so I must get back to it ~ no second sock syndrome today. Tomorrow may be a different story......

Happy to be Home

Good Sunday!

I flew in late last night and am I happy to be home! Mom is well, her cataract surgery was successful and she seems pretty darn good for the octogenarian she is. In between the surgery and my general doing stuff around the house for Mom, I did manage to get in some knitting.

My friend's daughter is having a baby girl in May, so here is what I knit:

Then I saw this yarn at the LYS and had to do these:

And last but not least, here are the Embossed Leaves progress. My foot is quite a bit smaller the the size in the pattern, so I am making less repeats in the foot for the proper fit. It looks about the right size for me to start the toe.

The Drops Design sweater is also coming well, I am in the middle of the shaping on the back piece for the sleeves. It doesn't look like much yet, so as soon as I finish the back I will post a picture.

How was the Raspberry-Balsamic Chicken recipe? Anyone give it a try?

Feet and Food

Here we are so far:

I am really loving this pattern - it is not difficult but holds my feeble attention. The resulting texture is gorgeous!!! I may have to make a few more pairs of this one. Is it too early to begin Christmas gifts for my cooking club girls?

I was looking through my recipe binder to find something quick and yummy to take to NY Tuesday to see Mom. I plan to cook dinners while there - (it will help insure that she is eating decently) and I came across this recipe. I have made it before and we like it ~ fast and tasty. I thought I would share:

Raspberry- Balsamic Chicken

1 tsp. vegetable oil

1/2 cup minced red onion

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. salt, divided

4 (4 oz) skinned and boned chicken breast halves

1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves

2 tblsp. Balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1. Heat oil over med-high heat. Add onion, saute 5 minutes. Sprinkle thyme and 1/4 tsp. salt over chicken. Add chicken to the pan and saute 6 minutes each side or until done. Remove chicken and keep warm.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the rest of the salt, raspberry preserves, vinegar and pepper to the pan, stirring constantly until the preserves melt.

3. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

Since I will have no internet access while there, I guess I won't be able to post again until next Sunday upon returning. (Arg!!! Email and Blog withdrawals ~ guess I'll just have to finish my socks.)

Knit and cook up a storm while I'm gone. And let me know how you liked the Raspberry-Balsamic Chicken.

See you next week.

On the Needles

Here is a shot of the Embossed Leaves Socks from Interweave Knits Winter 05.

This is the first repeat and I used just a 1x1 ribbing (I couldn't figure out the one in the pattern).
I am using Senso cotton/acrylic on #0 Addis.

Monday Musings

Here are the petunias and begonias in their new pots.

And you can see where they sit in the front of our house.
















In the back yard, there is a long, narrow strip next to our garage where I put in some marigolds. They are a little hard to see, but here is the picture:

I also got in a few more rows on my sweater back. I have finished the increases and am ready to knit another 4 or so inches before beginning the shaping for the sleeves. Woohoo!

Sunday in Suburbia

After getting up in what seemed like the middle of the night (it was 5:45a.m. - that is the middle of the night, isn't it??) and playing three Easter services in one of the larger local churches, we came home and put on our yard clothes.

Off to Lowe's we go for more cedar mulch and once home, put on the gloves and weeded, trimmed and raked old leaves etc. out of the beds.

I also planted some pots full of begonias and petunias, but they are still in the back and I didn't take a photo yet.

We were too pooped to cook, so for our Easter dinner, we went to an Indian resturant and ate curry. That might sound strange, but we knew it would be open - and hey, who says we have to eat traditional Easter fare? It was yummy and we brought home enough for tomorrow's lunch. Heh, heh, that curry should be really hot by then!

So much for Easter eggs and bonnets from us - but there were a few bonnets at church this morning!

I did knit a few rows this morning in between services. So I feel like we had a productive and rewarding day.

Friday!!

The weekend is almost here which means we are almost finished with our rush of Easter work. We still have a Requiem (by John Rutter) to perform tonight and three services to play Easter morning. Then ~ we can breathe.

Here is the yarn I decided on for the Embossed Leaves socks from Interweave Knits (Winter 05). It is a cotton/microfiber blend named Senso I got from Hobby Lobby. No, it is not any name brand, but it sure comes out beautifully smooth and yummy! It is not too stretchy, so the socks won't come out too tight ~ I realize I prefer a softer fit rather than tight around my feet. They may even be bunchy at the cuffs. For me, that is just fine. This is the same yarn I used on the Lacey socks (last month's postings).

Gee - I just realized it is almost the same color as the book! I was actually looking for cream, but they didn't have any.

Then I have a few increases done on the back of my Drops design sweater:

It is coming along steadily. I am not a fast knitter and have had only a minimal amount of leisure time these past few weeks, so progress is slow. I guess I am a turtle - but it will get done. My goal is June - think I'll make it??

If I haven't visited your blog lately, please forgive. My time becomes more flexible after Sunday, so I'll stop by after the weekend.

Happy Easter To All!

What a Weekend!

Whew! It feels like December and all the Christmas gigs!!

Wait a minute - it is April! Why these must be Easter gigs! I drove 310 miles from yesterday morning 'til tonight rehearsing and performing way too many services.

The performances all went well, especially Dvorak tonight.

I am quite exhausted and happy to be done for now.

I was too pooped to knit yesterday - just napped on the sofa between jobs.

But today I got in a few more rows.

Since I have no project to share, here is a family photo. This is one of my favorites of my Mother when she was around 24 years old

(yup - 60+ years ago!) Whoever shot it had a great eye and imaginative composition.. And I love the dress!!!

14 Rows

All right then - you wanted to see sweater progress, so here it is.

Fourteen rows done on the back:

We had rehearsal of Dvorak Stabat Mater this morning, then drove like maniacs to the symphony hall for rehearsal of Walton's Balshazaar's Feast.

These are both huge choral works requiring lots of concentration.

The other oboist and I are hoping we still have some brains in our head for the Walton tonight.

And then we both have early morning church services to play and the Dvorak tomorrow night.

So I am sitting at home trying to veg out for a bit before going back to work. It is quiet in the house since my husband is out playing two weddings and I am alone.

Maybe I'll knit a row or two ....

Swatch

I made a swatch using #5 Addi Turbos on this beautiful cotton/acrylic/viscose blend (Maldives yarn) - yummy! But it turned out too big a gauge (19.5 instead of 21). So I zipped up to my favorite yarn store - The Woolie Ewe - and picked up some #4s.

And guess what?!

I have the gauge! Woo Hoo!!! So I will cast on for the back of this delicious sweater after rehearsal tonight.

Another One Done

Another one off the needles. I have been on a quest to get all these WIPs done before beginning my gorgeous Drops Design sweater. The only one left now is Dainty Bess, and she will be in the wings until I can get with Mary.

I just love the texture of this scarf - leaves of any sort seem to draw me in. I wonder why? I used another one of Caron Simply Soft "Brights" in Lemon Yellow (yarn from my Mom - I don't know if I would have picked this myself) using #5 needles.

I realize that I wanted to tie up loose ends before beginning a larger project. I have never knit anything but small items and this sweater scares me a bit. I hope I can get up the nerve to sit down and swatch for a gauge in the next couple of days. Actually I think it is more a matter of finding time.

Work is insane - 2 services tomorrow, one each Thursday and Friday, three on Saturday and two on Sunday. It is either feast or famine in this music business. Since Easter is rapidly approaching, all the big (and small) churches are hiring musicians (us!) for their special music services. It is good but hectic. And the students are still expecting their lessons and reeds. Not this Saturday or Sunday though, thank you.

I will barely make it in time to symphony rehearsal Saturday. It is an hour drive from the first rehearsal to the location of the next. I already cleared it with the personnel manager, so if I am a few minutes late, the Maestro will not have a fit. Or maybe he will. Guess we'll just wait and see.

Here is the sweater: Drops design #27-1 shown in Garn Studio yarn. To me this is stylish and modern yet not trendy. I think of this as classic styling.

More Mini Shawl

Here are two pics that show the size. I had to wait for my husband to get home - taking pics of one's self is *very* difficult!

Mom's Mini Shawl

I am on my way to start my sweater. Yes, that means I have almost reached my goal of getting my WIPs finished first.

Only the Leisel and Dainty Bess scarves are left. I will finish Leisel tonight but have to take Bess to my knitting teacher to help me correct the entire repeat that turned out backwards! Since what I did was leave off a purl row at the end of the first repeat, we are going to rip out that part and reknit the border beginning there. Thankfully it is at the beginning of the scarf and not in the middle and will be an easy fix. But since my schedule is crazy for the next two weeks (Holy Week = lots of extra Easter related jobs) and I probably won't get to my knitting teacher's, I am not going to try to finish her right away.

Here is Mom's Mini Shawl:

The pattern link is on the right side - scroll down a little bit...

I used Caron Simply Soft Brights in Papaya on #9 needles. Since this is acrylic, I could not block it. I think Mom will like it - it really is quite small ~ just enough for her to drape over her shoulders while she sits and knits at night.