Friday, July 26, 2013

Friday Mishmash

I've been knitting, but can't show you what I've made yet...gifts, you know.  Next week, I'll post pictures.  But I can show you one pattern I bought - backstory is that I was looking through hat patterns on Ravelry.  My criteria, beyond it being cute, is something that I can actually knit with my limited knitting knowledge, so I check the projects page for whatever pattern I'm interested in, to see how many people have made it and what they're saying about it.  I saw one that I really liked - it had cables and looked challenging, but nearly 300 people had made it and said really good things about it.  So I bought the pattern, downloaded it, printed it out, and saw this:
Geez, if I wanted to read this much, I'd get a book!
TTI?  2/1 lpc?  2/1 rpc?  What the what?!?

Needless to say, I did not use this pattern.  I put it in my pattern binder, where it will stay until I become much more experienced with knitting.

Speaking of knitting, I discovered a forum on Ravelry devoted to finished projects made from Madelinetosh yarn, which is what I've made several items from, including the pink baby sweater and the cabled feather cowl.  It's incredible to see so many beautifully-knit things; not only is it inspiring me to *gulp* start the sweater that I bought the yarn for when I was at the Madtosh store in May, but it's also great to see how different colorways look when they are knitted up.  Of course, it also makes me want to buy more yarn, but that's pretty normal for a knitter...I'm assured.  By other knitters.  What? ;)

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We've been eating a lot of fresh tomatoes and basil this week, thanks to my basil that finally grew!  I planted it from seed and it took a lot longer than I thought it would to sprout - eventually we moved the planter to a sunnier area and I think that helped.  When I opened the packet, I was expecting more seeds than what was in it, and somehow I managed to only scatter them around the outer edge of the planter.  I tried stirring up the soil at the time, but it didn't help much:
A ring of basil.  Farmer John, I am not!

 It may not look lush and perfect, but it sure does taste good!  And thanks to seeing Roz use it on her blog, I bought some balsamic reduction, which kicks my homemade Caprese salad into gourmet status, if I do say so myself!

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 It goes without saying that it's hot here - mid-summer in Texas?  Yes.  Which is why I was surprised to see Paco make himself comfortable yesterday afternoon (it was 98 degrees at the time) when I went outside to take a picture of the basil:
I guess he needed some Vitamin D?  I stayed outside for a few minutes, in the shade like a sane person, so he would get the sun he apparently needed, but I finally went back inside and naturally, my shadow followed.

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Can you tell that I spent a lot of time knitting this week?  Not a lot of fun pictures/stories to show; but it was really nice to step back from the busyness of running club after three weeks of registration and then the egg hunt, and get to relax a bit.  I was ready for that.  Tomorrow we even have a roll-back on our mileage for the long run...only 2 miles.  Ahhh!

Have a great weekend!

14 comments:

  1. That knitting chart looks like a foreign language to me!

    Hooray for only 2 miles tomorrow - its a glorious 65 degrees this morning here - love it!

    Have a great weekend Shelley!

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  2. I hadn't thought about that in regards to buying patterns on Ravelry--you can't look at them first to see if they are good directions to follow or not. Of course the advantage is that you get the opinions of a lot of people. But really--300 people actually followed that pattern?!

    I'm so glad you've gotten some time back in your day for knitting. I was starting to worry about you!

    Yay for home grown basil! I have not heard of balsamic reduction--like in a bottle? Must check it out!

    Dogs are so strange about when and where they think they need some sun! You're a nice dog mom, staying out there with him. I just go back in the house, and a minute later hear the inevitable scratch on the door.

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    1. Yeah, not getting to look at the pattern has made me a little cautious, especially after this one and the chunky sweater pattern that I bought. It's not like they're a lot of money, usually around $5 or so, but still...

      The balsamic reduction is in a bottle - really concentrated balsamic vinegar (and it was located right next to the balsamic vinegars at my store). Yummy. :)

      "Inevitable scratch" made me laugh. Yep.

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  3. Hi Shelley,

    The directions that you are unfamiliar with are for cables that lean to the left or to the right.

    2/1 RPC means to slip the next 1 stitch to your cable needle and hold it in the back of your work, then knit the next 2 stitches on your left-hand needle, then purl the stitch you put on your cable needle.

    2/1 LPC means to slip the next two stitches to your cable needle and hold it in front of your work, then purl the next stitch on your left-hand needle, then knit the two stitches from your cable needle.

    Here is a legend for you in case you come across other abbreviations you want to know about: http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/chart_knit.html

    If you have any questions on how to cable or anything else knitting, just let me know, as I'm happy to help.

    Cheryl

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    1. Thank you, Cheryl - I was so flummoxed at seeing these new terms that my brain just shut down! I can see how to do it now that you've described it...are you a knitting instructor? You have a great way with words! :)

      Thanks for the legend, as well - I've bookmarked that one. I appreciate the help so much!

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    2. I have been knitting for a pattern designer for a number of years now and so I've gotten pretty familiar with how to best word instructions for easy understanding. As for teaching knitting, when my youngest son was in kindergarten I taught his whole class how to knit Beanie Baby blankets, but that's as far as my instructing has taken me so far.

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  4. Awww, Paco! Does he nap on sunbeams in the house too? Meko does that in the morning, when the sun is hitting the kitchen floor just right.

    Your basil looks really good! I don't know what happened to my herb garden. Everything was doing so good, and now it's all dried up :(

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    1. Paco and the cats jockey for position with the sunbeams, and I'll admit, some mornings they make ME want to go sit in one!

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  5. Thanks for the shout out Shelley! So glad you liked the balsamic!!! I'm super impressed by your basil plant!!!! I'm with Biz, the knitting pattern looks like a different language to me. :) LOVE the Paco pic. Love ALL Paco pics!! Have a great Friday and a great weekend!!!

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  6. Look at you farmer Shelley! I love fresh basil. It's amazing on pizza, as well as fresh pesto!

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  7. I know nothing about knitting, but the Basil looks great. Hope you enjoy your run and weekend.

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  8. I'm not a knitter..but it makes sense... I do that with other craft projects (fabric for quilts...can never have enough!!)

    It wasn't about the sun with Paco....he was sitting there thinking, "Come on mom...it's hot, I want to go back inside...but I won't go without you!!!"

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  9. No it's not foreign language that pattern because I can't read it either LOL. I think it's alien language :)

    I never get the mind of dogs: why are they lying in the full sun when it's hot? Bella does that too and after 5 minutes they realize that it's too hot and look for shade. Funny dogs. They are a lot the same Paco and Bella because you mention he's your shadow, Bella is mine. If I go outside, she goes. Go back inside, she goes. Go upstairs, she's there :)

    I love it how knitting has become a huge hobby for you. I put my work away, maybe someday I'll pick it up again but I realized I prefer cross stitching over knitting.

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