Saturday, May 30, 2015

Salt Rimmed Margarita

See I really have been knitting through all the kitchen turmoil and post turmoil baking time.


D has new Gus approved socks.

These are from Mt Rutsen Studio Madison yarn in the Margarita colorway. I love how eye searing green it is. It is a bit lost in the shadows but in person the color makes your mouth pucker because to reminds you of sucking on limes. That is how saturated the color is. While I was working on them I kept holding them next to Gus's eyes. They did not really match but hints of similar colors are there. 


Ah yes the toes. They were a bit of a problem, turned experiment. You see I've learned my lesson. Experience kept yelling at me as I got close to the toe on the first sock. When I do a pattern on the leg of D's socks I tend to use just a bit too much yarn. You'd think I would make the sock just a trifle shorter but you'd be wrong. 

I weighed the yarn and found I would indeed need to find two toes worth of complimentary yarn. It was D's idea to use a creamy yarn to give the idea of salt rimmed socks. I went digging in my left overs bags and found some of my favorite Icelandic yarn. 

The toe on the left is the first toe. I knit it fine then when I got to the second toe I suspected I would have the same problem on my hands only with different yarn this time. After a bit of juggling I decided to alternate rows of yarn. Now I want to do this on all my socks. I love the way it looks. 

Now D has a new set of blindingly beautiful socks. And I know which booth I'll be going back to this fall. They also had my favorite stitch markers, you remember the ones that made sweater knitting fun again? Maybe I need a nice basket too?




Friday, May 22, 2015

As you've suspected

As you can tell from my absence from here my kitchen has been finished for a while now. There will be finished product pictures soon, but in the mean time...


The baking bug has bit me hard. I don't know that I've ever made so many things since I first got married and had my own kitchen.

My King Arthur Flour Baking Book has given me quite a few keeper recipes. You'll notice my lovely coffee cake displayed above.

It was so good I had to make it twice and neither one make it to the freezer for later. Turns out later can be just five minutes too.

We even have made a tea corner. I took a crappy picture of it but I've got one!!


Even though I've been happily tied up with my baking and my church duties, I've been knitting along when I can find the time. I knit through a church meeting last month. Hopefully I've proven that knitting and paying attention go hand in hand.


I thought about being subtle with my knitting, but decided knitting volunteer is way better than no volunteer. I've been places, knitting along when someone finally notice I was knitting after I'd been doing it for half an hour.

Anyways those socks are Fiber Stash Tweedy Toes in Pick Your Own colorway. My picture does not show them off, but there are tiny little tweedy bits. I decided against her yarn a couple of years ago and regretted it. Guess that is part of the reason I am so happy with the skein I bought last year.

Right now my needles are busy with a second sock for Mom and a second sock for D. Wait till you see D's, they're interesting.

Was that the oven timer? Just kidding I already made a batch of muffins and a couple of loaves of pumpkin bread today. Even my freezer is happy with my baking.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Where were we?

Oh yes the appliances.


It started to feel like a real kitchen when most of the appliances were installed.


Then the sink and countertop people showed up.



Then it really got real! 

We were so very close to getting back to normal. 


Even Jack was so happy he had to go tip toeing through the tulips, I mean across the cooktop.

I don't think Gus is to blame for those foot prints. I am pretty sure he can not leap higher than a footstool.