The Country Life

Recipe for fun in the country:



1. make large pile of dirt

2. sprinkle with children

3. mix thoroughly with imagination



and you get this:













However, the resident chef in the family, we're calling her lil' Paula now, didn't wish to be photographed. Instead, she was content to play cooking show in the field of alfalfa with the large bag of cooking paraphenalia she'd toted out earlier. A popular ingredient as of late is the chicken stock which she adds to most anything. She's 4. She wants to have her own cooking show. I must have eaten 30 "meals" today. She'd watch the Food Network all day if I'd let her.




I have been knitting. Just in time for the 70 degree weather I made these:










I had one leftover ball of Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino and deliberated for quite a while as to what to do with it. These started out as gloves, but then I realized the pattern would be too big for me and it only came in one size. Hate that. Ripped it out. So I adapted the DK weight yarn to the pattern in "Last Minute Knitted Gifts", or is it "One Skein" or something else. I can't remember where this 2 by 2 staggered rib fingerless glove pattern comes from. All I know is that it has just the right amount of snuggness (I'm sure that's not a word) because of the pattern and they feel heavenly. The yarn is merino, cashmere and a synthetic that feels so soft it doesn't seem possible.

The Sundance sweater is also in progress. No picture yet, but there will be soon. I hope my calculations are right and it's going to fit how I want it to. But I'm not afraid of starting over so there's always that possibility.

And as for me, well my mood has flip flopped all over today. I started out with "this is going to be a great week" and wound up with "I work so hard and everyone finds a way to complain about it". So I'm off to give myself an overhaul. Anytime I want to pick other people apart, it's usually me that needs the picking apart. Sounds like a good time for knitting, a good TV show and a little alone time. Everybody's asleep right now anyway.

Well it's about time

Here's what it looks like outside:

And here's what it looks like inside:

So here I sit, crouched by the fire finally beginning my first sweater project for MYSELF! I have knit oodles of sweaters, hats and other goodies for the shop and many gifts, but never the sweater that's just for me. Part of my procrastination is that I think it's got to be the end all be all sweater. Perfect yarn, perfect pattern, you get the idea. But I took the advice of a friend who reminded me it doesn't have to be the very LAST sweater I knit for myself. The lightbulb went off, I bit the bullet and for about the 5th time got started.

So I'm actually following a pattern (I never follow patterns except my own, that whole copywright issue) from Debbie Bliss "Home". It's the "diagonal-front jacket". And it's not for sale! Of course I'm using the wrong yarn and so it will have a completely different look than the one in the book. I'm just hoping it looks how I want it too after blocking cause right now it's a little lumpy!

But I always say, I learn more from my mistakes than I do from my successes so if it doesn't turn out so great I've got alot of yarn to make some awesome felted bags with!