https://youtu.be/EySQLQgxkFI?si=ewIA2ee53W59VNEJ

for crocheting the lindisfarne cowl pieces together

Rowanspun 4-ply yarn

 Let's talk about Rowanspun 4-ply yarn and my obsession with it!

It has been discontinued for years now.  At first I bought it because it was so very thin, a real "light fingering" weight and I was intending to use it with my Superba knitting machine. I have a bin filled with it, colors purchased from yarn stores, eBay, and fellow Ravelry members.

I just finished a pair of gloves for a relative, and am so pleased, the colors, and the pleasant "fulling" that occurs when washed.

Such lovely yarn!

You know, what I really treasure is a true girlfriend.  One that I can reconnect with at any time, or, all the time.  Someone to be real with.  Other than that:  I have been making bread!

Chutney!

Sorry - I know this may appear off-topic. I love curry and have made chutney for at last 15 years, off and on. Yes, the mango variety is very good, but really not within the "100 mile rule" for me.

We have a pear tree that is afflicted with some viral disease that renders the fruit VERY ugly but tasty nevertheless. I have perfected a slow cooked version of chutney that is water bath canned and QUITE well received.

But - this season I tried this recipe as well and found it to be SPECTACULAR. It is fresh, not processed, but so very tasty. Well worth the song and dance to follow the recipe explicitly. A tasty delight. No pictures, ate it all!

Scents

From now on, all of my knitted or woven gifts will be accompanied by a sachet of my own potpourri of lavender and "old rose" petals. Such a lovely bounty this year with the late summer.

My 2010 Knitting Olympics Challenge

I know it has been awhile, I’ll get caught up on what I’ve done later. Dear Yarn Harlot, ever-inspiring, has organized the annual Knitting Olympics once again, and I am game!

This is “Celtic” by Martin Storey, from Rowan 40. I have always admired it, thought of making it for my youngest daughter, who, as it turns out “hates” cropped sweaters. I kept coming back to this, I just love it. So About 6 months ago I bought exactly the yarn required for in the pattern (Rowan Felted Tweed and Rowan Kid Classic).

I am in the middle of two projects that are currently “on the burner” so to speak (there are countless ones off the stove).

“”Estonian Garden Scarf” by Evelyn Clark in KSH for an old friend. “Tischdecke” by Niebling, a large doily being knit as a shawl in Malabrigo laceweight.

Game on! I am off to swatch!

This and That (Gardening and Knitting)

I have been a “really bad rose momma,” as I told my sister lately. I have about 90 roses in the ground, and another 15 (I hope!) in pots. Knitting has just about consumed me, and I haven’t pruned, fertilized, or watered (well, I DO water the ones in the pots) for two years. You can get away with that here (coast of southern Oregon) for just so long.

This is “Princess Louise”, a sempervirens from “Jacques” France, 1829. It is a once bloomer, right about NOW. The plant itself is about 10 years old, and was actively cultivated for 5 of those years. It is on a fence on the property, bordered by very tall firs trees, limiting it’s sun after about 2 PM. I no longer do anything for it, it covers about 30 feet of the fence and is about 5 feet high. My mother’s name was Louise, my sister and thought this would be a suitable memorial. Apparently so.

And I am doing just fine with the blanket. Funny how doing a lot of knitting frees one to “just do it”. I wasn’t pleased with the resultant difference in width and length, with the inner doily as a starter pattern, it ended up just 12 sts difference.

I just spent some time elongating two sides of the blanket in a lovely lace pattern from Barbara Walker “Madeira Lace” from the first treasury, but added an additional K1 in the pattern . Worked swell.

And the vegetable garden, which I started in an area that had been a garden two years ago, is doing just fine. I simply could not get behind rototilling, so I have done this “modified” lasagne method. I dug holes just big enough for the plants and then mulched like crazy . I did do some real weed pulling for planting carrots, radishes and the like, but it was a small enough area I could handle it. (And actually DID it!). For a dog guard, I found this cool “insulation netting” at the hardware store, if they WANTED to run thru it and break it, they could, but it is a real visual border.

Of course ALL the zucchini plants I started came up, and I could not kill any of them. Watch out for me on your doorstep at night!