Puttin' a fork in these Sweet 'Taters

There done! Done! Done!  No more pitiful, begging eyes of the Ponderer asking me when there going to be finished!

These are the Riverbed Master Pattern from Cat Bordhi's book.  I've made this architecture before, and the Ponderer really seems to like them, as he insisted on a second pair just like the first.  But I made a few changes from the first pair...

Firstly, I tried out an eye of the partridge heel.  Which doesn't look all that partridge-y.  Perhaps I made some errors in how I slipped the stitches, but it looks cool, just the same.

While I kept the cuffs the same, using a k2, p2 ribbing,  I chose to knit the last round k1, p1.  Then I slipped all the knit stitches onto one needle, and the purl stitches onto another and grafted them closed.  It makes such a nice edge.  With the first pair, I used EZ's sewn off binding, also another nice edge.

I used 2 skeins of Koigu KPPPM  P601  lot 36.  I have just enough yarn left to darn them, if necessary.


The Ponderer is thrilled with them, so I am, too.  I feel soooo bad for taking more than a year to finish them.  And of course, props to him for modeling them for me in 100+ deg F heat.

These had better be good...

as they nearly killed me.  Well, not really killed me, but almost.  Remind me to not drop an empty jar in the canner...or burn the crap out of myself fishing out the shards...or pour scalding water down the front of myself.

Bread and Butter Pickles

These are my first quick pickles ever.  And the first time canning anything (could you tell?).  Now I know why Mom prefers to freeze.  I'm generally of the temperament that doesn't mind a little tediousness...but this experience was positively nerve wracking.  Especially when an unforeseen visitor popped in and caused me to drop the jar in the canner.  Which caused the burn...which led to the scalding...


I used the B and B pickles from here.

Because I need another distraction!

I recently went through one of my UFO boxes, and discovered that I started a really cute sweater and never finished it (see this post).

detail of sleeve center

detail of center panel

So off I go, knitting away on it.  Sorta...After several minutes of comparing and hunting through the directions.    And now I know why I might have put it down for a while.  Written out pattern directions. <sigh>  I really like charted out directions since they are soo much easier to see and figure out where you stopped.

sleevage!  guess who won't be going to sleeve island?

back...I've a long way to go...

I hope I have enough to finish this...I saw that Ravelry's entry listed this as discontinued......really?  Oi.  It's Peaches and Creme...in the soft ecru colorway.  My ball band lists it as color number 4 and I assume  that the new one is 01004.  I'll be bringing one of my balls into the ye-olde-mart to do some guerrilla comparing.  Not sure what I'll do if there isn't anymore to be found around here...

At least the goose (or chicken) isn't cooked...yet.

Boy it's really been hot the last few days (weeks, really, on and off), and I've been thinking about how the Girls will handle it.  The temp today is supposed to be right around 100 degrees F (which it did, UNOFFICIALLY at our house).  That's miserably hot.  For people, plants, and animals.

The new shade cloth...it looks kind of rag-tag, but it works

I did a little research for some ideas to help keep the Girls through dangerously high temps.  Most of the suggestions offered were:

• Make sure there's plenty of shade---check!
• Make sure to provide adequate water---check!
• Provide good ventilation---check!
• Offer cooling snacks like cucumber or cabbage leaves--check!
• Offer jugs of ice for lounging on---check!
• Place a fan, if able--check!

Here you can see the fan and jug of ice...

With those ideas in mind, we went to work to see what will work. I sewed new shade cloths made from old twin size bedsheets.  I added rod pockets to place the old broom and mop handles that we've been saving to use as supports.  Then we propped them up like struts so the breeze can more easily pass through.

Here's the Girls snuggling up to the jug of ice.

A small clip-on fan was added to blow down on the area that the girls like to lounge in.  And lastly, I pulled a jug of frozen water for them to lay by/on.  They really didn't know what to think of it at first, but I'm glad to see them laying beside it.

See? They're just sure it's nuclear waste!

I took a cucumber and chopped it up and put it in the tractor....Every new thing that they encounter always comes with this look like--really?  Space debris?  Nuclear waste?  What is it?  But after a few pecks, they were happily snacking away.

Now they'll have a nibble or two...

For the Girls and the plants and people's sakes, I hope the heat wave passes...and quickly!

Why yes, there is fungus on the cake!

Doesn't everyone like mushrooms on cake? No?  Even if there made out of meringue?

I have been dying to try these cute little meringues...

Never mind I've never made meringues before.

I found these cute little bites in the book Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt In Your Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich.

They really weren't too hard to do....just fussy.  I think they turned out pretty well, yes?

Now I'm totally going to be ready for Yule this year...I can just picture a cute bûche de noël accessorized with these cute, little guys.

I am soo grateful...

for interlibrary loan!

the SGC Library actually had this one at one point, but I guess not enough patrons checked it out.

It has made it possible for me to peruse knitting books that otherwise might have been tooo expensive to even dream of buying (aww, you know who I mean).

So pretty, this pullover....

I had started the Denim Lace pullover in this book a llloooonnnnnggg time ago *cough, cough-at least 5 years ago-cough, cough*.  I found it sulking away in the UFO box, and now I'm excited to think about finishing it.  It's really summer-y, and I hope I can finish it before fall arrives.

Sockin' it...

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

finish it!  Woo! Woo!

Happy Solstice

to all that celebrate it!

Ewe spin me...

right round, like a record, baby....well at least like a ladybug,right?....right?

I spent the day with a friend attending the monthly meeting of the Country Heritage Spinning and Weaving Guild.  They meet the 3rd Monday of the month in Mansfield, Mo.  What a nice and welcoming group of ladies who like to spin and weave and knit and crochet!

I started the meeting working on the Ponderer's sad, and neglected sock...you remember the poor little sweetpotato sock?  I'm hoping to finish it in the next couple of weeks so he has them ready to take them camping.  Too bad I forgot to take a pic of them...

My friend J--- brought her Kiwi and spun up some cute merino fiber.  She weaves and knits and crochets, too.  Lurve that!

I brought some Frabjous Fibers blue faced leicester in Purple People Eater to work on.  I really have no idea what I'm doing with this fiber.  My dream is to be able to spin my own sock yarn, but I know I have a LOOOONG way to go before that happens.  There's about 8 ounces of this yummy deliciousness to spin, and I hope that I can at least learn some consistency.

I'm glad I got to spend the day surrounded by a lot of great fiber and good fellowship!

You mean there really IS knitting here?

I've been so busy chasing after chickens, pulling weeds, and making earrings that I haven't really knitted anything at all.  I've been missing it, along with doll crafting, so I took out some of my handspun  yarn and knitted this little shrug for the barbies.

Some day I'll properly introduce you to them...it's not something I talk about a lot, as I feel kind of sheepish telling folks that I knit, crochet and sew for my dolls.  I am an adult, and most adults put away their childhood toys--you know?

Anyways, here's what I cobbled together:

I had really been trying to spin some sock yarn with this fiber which I just can't remember the name of right now.  It's more of a sport weight, and I only spun enough to make a sample.  Then I got busy with other stuff and just didn't come back to it.  You know how it goes.  

It only took just a few minutes to have that sample knitted up...I had hoped there'd be enough for a vest or sweater, but I like the way it turned out as a shrug.

These pics are of it unblocked.  It looks a bit better all blocked out.

I think the girls are really going to enjoy having it in their wardrobe come fall.

Now I'm going to be hunting around to see if I can find any more samples lying around and make some more.

I've got three other dolls requesting one of their own.

This last picture shows the shrug all blocked out.  Hmmm time to go fiber stash diving........

Edited to add: the fiber in question was Scarlet Fleece Hand Dyed Roving in the Olives and Pimento colorway.  

No chickens were harmed in the making of this short...

Although I can't say the same for the japanese beetles.
  

I think Violet actually likes to go hunting for bugs in the garden with me...the other girls don't really care all that much, and the Rhodies really don't trust me enough to eat when I hold them.

*Ramble on!

We had quite the little scare when we were told that our queen may have vamoosed for other parts.  Whew!  What a relief to find her safe in the hive.  And laying!

Look at that drone!

The frames are filling albeit slowly, but I'll take any progress at this point.  We were really late in the year getting this nuc, but I bet they will be okay now.  Russian bees have the reputation for building populations rapidly (and swarming, which isn't a surprise, really.).  

Can you tell the brood from the capped honey?  

Don tells me that they were quite a bit more aggressive with him today, than they have been yet, and I'll take that as a sign that they are moving in to stay.  

Don inspecting the frames.

*Extra points if you can figure out why I chose this post title...I'll give you a hint...It's from a Led   Zeppelin song.

--edited to add--changed caption of first pic to say that that is a drone, not a queen.  Oops.

'Doh!

So now I guess I'll have to remind myself when hopping off the ladder into the pool, to not land on my heel wrong.  Yikes that hurt! And now I'm hobbling around.

It was such a nice day to swim....but the water was sure cold! LOL

I'm lucky to be able to swim in such a lovely pool!  Thanks Senior and J__!

June's Garden

The garden is moving into full swing now...we've been eating a little from it nearly everyday.

The pics tell the story much better than I...

Broccoli looks so cute and tasty!

Lookit...the celery is doing well!

Mmmmm  pickles.....

View from the south west

Front view with the chickens picking around

Mmmm 'maters!

baby Sugar Baby almost ready for its sling

I'm very thankful that the garden is doing so well...I'm afraid that the sumer is going to be very long and hot.  Not good when you're trying to conserve water.  

Oh yeah...we got bees!

The other day, the Ponderer's dad (Senior) told us he'd like to place a hive of bees in his yard.  And would he (said Ponderer) like to set it up and take care of it?  Let me tell you, that boy was over the moon!

Weeks before, we had gotten in contact with someone who makes hives locally.  This guy stays rather busy in spring and summer building them and it took a week for it to be ready.  What a great hive!   We're hoping to get a few more from him in the coming years.  I'm sure by now, most people have heard about the dire state of bee populations in the US, especially, so I'll try to stay off that soap box.  But, I will say that in addition to the honey, wax, and the pollination that bees do, having them around is especially important for the biodiversity of our planet.  So 'nuff said, on the the bees!

So much buzzy potential!

We located someone willing to part with a nucleus or nuc (said like nuke) of Russian bees, and made arrangements to pick them up.  I can't tell you the sense of trepidation when I saw that, um, cardboard box--the only other nuc, which is a tiny hive complete with queen, workers, and brood, I had seen was in a wooden box.  Not a cardboard box.  My little brain just about went into overload. You must know that I am always anxious and somewhat OCD about stuff (now quit yer snorting, I am NOT that bad!!!), and the thought of going 20ish miles partly through town with a cardboard box of bees was really daunting.  You see, I held the box...in my lap.  Yep.  In my lap.  I expected the box to be heavy, but I was surprised at how warm it was.  And fragrant with the smells of honey, bees, brood and queen.  They buzzed and buzzed, and I remembered from the classes that the Ponderer and I took that you can tell how your bees are doing by their buzzing.  They sounded pretty annoyed.  I guess I would be too, having been poked in a box, put in a car and toodled off to who-knows-where.  I did my best to relax.  Yeah...I forgot that we'd have to stop and pick up medicine for my mom that wouldn't wait.  That, thankfully, didn't take long, and we were off once again for Senior's.  Except that I must have shifted the box enough to let out one little worker.  I freaked when I saw her fly up from the backside of the box.  That stupid cardboard box.  I just knew it was going to be a catastrophe of horror film proportions.  I sweated.  I saw stars.  I had all the familiar symptoms of a panic attack coming on.  The Ponderer remarked, "If you don't shut up and calm down, you can get out of the car.  Your choice."

The girls are in.  With out incident.

I took a deep breath, and tried to get a hold of myself.  It was just one bee.  And she looked so tiny and vulnerable, desperately searching for the way back to her sisters.  Around and around the air holes she marched.  I felt bad.  I hoped she would just stay by the air holes where I could see her, and maybe she'd follow us when we carried the hive to its location.  Nope.  She started crawling further and further from the air holes.  Then she disappeared behind the box again.  Don't get me wrong, I do like bees.  I just can't take the thought of her tiny little insect feet on my flesh. I've got friends with feet issues, err human feet issues.  I have bug feet issues.  So we ended up letting her out the car window at the next traffic light.  Poor girl.  I hope she finds a new hive.

Waiting for the stragglers to go in

On we rode, me clapping the lid down as tightly as possible, towards their new home.  I'm sure I looked pretty ridiculous hanging on the lid like that, but I didn't care.  No more escapees for me.  All stinging fears aside, we need every bee.  They've got a lot to do this year.  We'll not have any honey for ourselves this year, and that's okay.  The sisters are going to need every drop, and even more, to establish the strong, healthy hive that we (the bees included) hope for.

Look at that happy bee man!

And we can tell people that my father-in-law has a Russian nuc in his back yard!

I'm sure the sisters are glad to have a new place to crash.

The Ponderer admiring his handy-work.