Wintergrass, Day 1

As usual, the first evening of Wintergrass brought some great entertainment. The festival starts Thursday night, then continues Friday evening, most of the day and evening on Saturday, and all day on Sunday. Thursday is sort of the “warmup” session, but there are always a couple of “sleeper” groups that turn out to be great. Last night the Tallboys, a string band from Seattle, were my favorite. It’s an old time string band, and as they point out, are neither all boys, nor all tall. They have fiddle, banjo, bass, and a clogger girl. What more could you want in a group?

The other hit of the evening was Mike Marshall and one of the many group iterations that he plays in. This particular group was the Big Trio, playing acoustic string music that is difficult to pigeonhole into one genre. Mike is also playing with a Brazilian acoustic group tomorrow, and that should be terrific as well.

As to knitting, I worked on True Blue last night. I’ve finished the back piece, and cast on the front so I was ready for the evening. I managed to just finish the bottom ribbing and the increases last night, so now I’m ready to just knit mindlessly back and forth on the body without having to pay much attention. The ribbing is a twisted rib (P1, K1tbl on the front, K1, P1tbl on the back), so I had a bit of trouble with it in the dark, but from here on it should be easy. Here are photos.

The back, done.

Those little clips holding the extra yarn on the shoulders? They are from a set of bag clips that we got at Ikea. The smaller ones are just a little too small to work well on food bags, but are perfect for this application!

Ribbing done:

What? You don’t have a pirate pencil case??

I suppose you want to see inside, too.

Well, of course it came with the pirate pencil sharpener and the pirate eraser.

Arrrgggh, matey. I’m ready for the weekend.

Wintergrass

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Wintergrass, the annual bluegrass festival held in Tacoma, starts tonight and runs through Sunday evening. As usual, I have tickets for the entire festival. I also have my knitting lined up.

The Peacock Shawl is not one of the things that I’ll be taking. It’s not so difficult that I can’t work on it when chatting or being sociable, but it is definitely not something I’d want to work on in near darkness while the fiddles are playing. Here are a couple of progress photos.

It’s just really difficult to get a good photo of this at this point. It is going to be one huge shawl when it’s done, since the pattern calls for laceweight yarn, and this stuff (Blue Heron Mercerized Cotton) is somewhere between a heavy laceweight and fingering weight. I have 50-some rows to go, and the rows are close to 400 stitches at this point. It’s taking me a little over half an hour to get across one of the knit-side rows. The wrong-side purl rows go a little faster, but not much.

What I am taking to Wintergrass is socks. I have two pairs of socks in progress, both at a point where I can just knit around and around in circles mindlessly. I’m also still working on that True Blue sweater, and have just finished the back and have the front started so I can knit away on that as well for a little variety. I’ll show photos of those next time.

I’ll leave you with a photo of Lewey. He frequently can be found sitting by our kitchen windows, with his chin resting on the window ledge. He just likes watching the animal activity in the back yard, especially the birds.

I’m off to listen to the banjos!

The New Brown Socks

OK, I figured I’d better get knitting, since you’re all expecting Man Socks here. I found the perfect guy-approved hank of yarn, in the stash, no less, which appealed to my guy’s sense of frugality.

The yarn is Mountain Colors Weaver’s Wool Quarters, a sport weight 100% wool yarn. I bought a bunch of this for socks way back when, before MC came up with their Bearfoot sock yarn. At 100% wool, this stuff has to be hand washed, and it felts like nobody’s business. It makes great socks, though. They are a bit thick to wear in dress shoes, but since I almost always wear Birkenstocks, that’s OK with me. John pretty much lives in his Birkies, too, so these will work for him as well.

Here’s what I’ve got so far. One advantage of sport weight yarn is that it knits up relatively fast.

The color is Red Tail Hawk, the pattern is my own, this time using 60 stitches and my trusty Ivore needles, in 2.75mm. The gauge I’m getting is about 7 stitches per inch.

And here’s the old next to the new:

In case you were wondering about the size of the new socks, I’ve tried these on, and they fit me with a bit of ease, meaning they’ll fit John perfectly. I think you may now be getting a sense of the full ugliness of the old socks. He was sweet to say he loved them, though. The new ones will actually be socks he can wear in public.

And in the category of small victories over my tendency to enhance the stash in the middle of the night with internet access and memorized credit card number: After I started knitting the new socks, I was reminded of how much I love this Mountain Colors yarn. In no time, I had an internet shopping cart full of new skeins. I then turned around, opened the sock box, and found 9 more hanks of this stuff already in my house. I emptied the cart, turned off the computer, and went to bed.

Next time: An update on the Tidepool Peacock shawl!

The Tribe Has Spoken

I guess I’ll fix those damned socks after all. As of right now, the vote is 64 to 48 in favor of darning the holes in the Ugliest Socks Of All Time. Interestingly, the vote in the comments was overwhelmingly in favor of tossing them out. There are some lurkers out there who want these things mended, apparently.

Of course, now that I’ve gone through all this angst over the holey socks, John now thinks new socks would be better after all. Maybe I’ll do both. I need to find some kind of ugly yarn that “matches” the ugly brown Wool-ease. I am so not buying new yarn for this, so it’s going to be non-matchy, thus making them even uglier, if possible.

If anybody pays attention to my sidebar, there was a little “whoops” this month. The Great Stash Knit-Down has apparently turned into the Great Stash Buy-Up. The net number went into a negative this morning after I added a little bag of yarn that I had added to the stash this past month. I’m blaming it on Kris. Sonny & Shear had that blasted end-of-the-year inventory sale, and some of the bargains were too good to pass up. Do you want to see some of it? Of course you do!


This is one of my favorites. It’s Imperial Stock Ranch Sock Yarn, in Wild Iris. This is just the loveliest “wooly” wool, the kind you want to just bury your nose in. Kris still has some of this stuff left, though not in this color. Go buy some, so I don’t feel so guilty.


This is Dream In Color Baby, in the color In Vino Veritas. It’s a heavier weight lace yarn, almost fingering. Who knows what this will be, but I couldn’t resist the name. I already have some of the Smooshy sock yarn in this exact same color, so I can have a matching shawl and socks. Cool!

Last but not least is more shawl yarn. This isn’t from Kris, but from Sharon from Three Irish Girls. I’m a member of the Sock Yarnista sock club, and this was the December offering. Sharon solicitated color names from members on Ravelry, then dyed yarn to match the most popular name. It’s called Mulled Wine. Of course, only one skein of this was included in the sock club, but I bought a couple extra so I could have enough to make a shawl. I’m thinking Cluaranach, by Anne Hanson of Knitspot.

Of course there was more, but I’m not showing it just now. I need to go knit like a banshee* to get that net number back into the positive range.

*Do banshees really knit? If so, can I get one to help out around here?

RIP

No, I’m not frogging anything, and nobody died. It is however, a sad day around here. John’s favorite hand-knit socks have bit the dust for the last time.

When I first learned to knit, I waded right into a sweater after I had done about six interminable inches on a garter stitch scarf.* Then I decided to knit socks. Knowing nothing about sock yarn, much less sock knitting, I went to Hobby Lobby and bought not only Wool-Ease yarn, but the absolute ugliest skein of brown Wool-Ease yarn they made. It was brown, and John claimed it for his own. I had a generic sock pattern from somewhere, and ended up with these.

As you can see, we have a little problem here. Here’s another photo with both socks.

The heel of one went at exactly the same time as the toe of the other one. I’ve already darned these once. The last time he wore holes in them, I tried to toss them out, but he convinced me that they were the best socks ever and that I should fix them. Fortunately, this time I have no more of the ugly brown Wool-Ease left to repair them**, and they’re headed for the trash. I had to do a little bargaining, and promised him that I’d make another pair, better than the first. They’ll be brown, but they won’t be Wool-Ease.

*The sweater eventually was finished, the scarf wasn’t.

**If any of you have brown Wool-Ease in your stash, just keep it to yourselves, OK? He does not need any encouragement.

Back From Vacation!

And what a weather shock. We had beautiful weather in Maui, except for one day that it rained hard, and another where the wind howled all day. But heck, it was warm, we had rum drinks, and I wasn’t at work, so it wasn’t all bad. It’s been in the low 30’s most of this week since we’ve been home, with rain and grey skies, and yesterday morning we woke up again to snow. Sheesh.

We did lots of cool stuff in Hawaii, as well as lots of relaxing by the ocean. We did a luau, saw whales, and drove up to the top of Haleakala Crater. It was socked in with fog on the drive up, but cleared off as we neared the summit, and was in full sun by the time we got to the top. On the way up, we saw a few miserable looking bicyclists coming down the mountain in full rain gear, looking wet and cold. It seems there are quite a few lunatic people who get up in the middle of the night so they can go to the top and stand there in the fog and rain at sunrise.

Here are just a few photos. Here’s the link to the whole slide show if you must see more.

John on the beach:

On the whale watch cruise, a big whale breached twice in the span of a few minutes right in front of our boat. We didn’t catch the whale in the photo, but caught the splash-down.

Big banyan tree in Lahaina:

Socks on the beach:

Socks on the mountain top:

Knitting by the beach. Here are two photos that show that this yarn is the same color as the ocean tidepools.

And one last sunset at the resort:

Alas, all vacations must end. Here’s the plane ride home:

What? Don’t try telling me that you’d send Sweetpea through checked baggage. She always goes Princess Class.

A World Undone

by G. J. Meyer


I actually started this one in 2008, but what the heck. It’s my blog. It’s also close to 800 pages, so I’m counting it.

This is the story of the 1st World War, and Meyer manages to cover a complex period of world history in a style that is easy to read and understand. In each section, he provides background stories of the major players in the war, enabling the reader to follow the complicated politics of Europe that led to the bloodbath called the Great War. Once you finish reading this account of the “war to end all wars”, you will more easily realize how the world was set up for a second great disaster in World War II.

Meyer includes a helpful chronology in the beginning of the book, as well as a list of the major characters. There are a handful of photographs, and only a few maps. Probably my only criticism of the book is that more maps would have been helpful.

The last sentence in the book follows a background section entitled “The Fate Of Men & Nations”, in which Meyer describes what happened to the major characters in the Great War over the next decade and a half. After discussing Winston Churchill’s eventual warnings about the rearmament of Nazi Germany, he ends the story by saying, “But that is another story.” I can only hope that he plans to write that story as well.

777 pages.

Dead Until Dark

by Charlaine Harris


This is the official first book of 2009. Dead Until Dark is the first in a series by Charlaine Harris. If any of you watched True Blood on HBO this past fall, you’ll recognize this story. It’s the story of a cocktail waitress named Sookie Stackhouse in Bon Temps, Louisiana, and of her adventures with vampires and murderers. It’s a great story, there are some hilariously funny moments, and Sookie is an entertaining heroine. There are 8 books so far in the series, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of them.

292 pages.

Resolutions

OK, I really didn’t mean to go two weeks without blogging again. That was one of my New Year’s resolutions. This doesn’t bode well, does it? Here are a few of the rest of them. These are not in any particular order.

Blog more. There, I said it. Maybe I’ll do better at it now that I’ve put it in writing.

Knit more. Knit faster. Use up more stash. I’d be embarrassed to die now; the people going through my stash would think that I was a lunatic.

Complain about work less. I have a relatively secure job, one that pays well. It funds far more than the yarn budget, not a small thing in this economy. Quit your whining.

Read more books. I signed up for the 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge on Ravelry. I have no hope of actually completing this one, since I tend to pick huge books that take me weeks to read. The two books I’m in the process of reading now? One has close to 800 pages, the other has 900. I’ve decided to just keep track of the number of pages I’ve read through the year.

I even made a new blog page to keep track of the books. The link is over there in the sidebar. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Oh, and the 900 page book?

That’s where we are this week. We’re on Maui, and having a fabulous time. My laptop computer has a little weather icon that shows the temperature back home. It’s 38 degrees this morning at home. It’s much, much nicer here! Here are a few photos to prove that we’re having fun, another of my NY resolutions.

We picked this spot on a drive around northwest Maui to return for a picnic later in the week.

Rum drinks:

Knitting by the pool. I’ll show a photo of that Peacock Shawl yarn next time I get the camera out. It looks exactly like the colors of a tidepool. Oh, the drink in this one was vodka, not rum. Nothing like a little vodka tonic to get you going in the morning.

Sunset on the beach. Is anybody but me humming the song “Red Sails In The Sunset”?

More rum drinks, this time at a luau.

Yet more rum.

Yes, those photos prove that plenty of rum drinks have been consumed. There is nothing better than going someplace on vacation where they put little umbrellas in your drinks!

Happy New Year!

I'd like to wish all of you a very Happy New Year! I''m posting my blackeyed pea recipe early, so those of you who haven't planned ahead can get out there and stock up before the stores close tonight. You absolutely must have BEP's on New Year's Day, or something really bad might happen.*

Lorette's BEP's

1 biggish onion, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped
Celery, about 3/4 cup chopped
1-2 large carrots, chopped
1 Bell pepper, any color will do, chopped
Olive oil
Blackeyed peas, 1 pound bag, picked over and rinsed
1-14 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained (use the juice if you like it more tomato-ey)
Chicken stock, canned
1 bottle of beer
Splash of worcestershire sauce
Ham hock or ham shank (shank is meatier)
Thyme & oregano, a couple of teaspoons each
Bay leaf
Dijon mustard, a teaspoon or two
Salt and pepper
Cayenne, to taste. I start with about 1/4 teaspoon, and generally add more.

Saute the onion, celery, carrot, and pepper in oil in a big pot. Add the garlic when the other veggies are soft, cook for a minute. Add the rinsed peas, the can of tomatoes, the beer, and enough water or chicken stock to cover by about an inch. I usually use the tomato liquid, too. Throw in the seasonings, except for the salt. Add the ham hock and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until the peas are done, about 45-60 minutes or so. Add salt to taste towards the end of the cooking time. Keep an eye on it, and add more liquid if needed as the peas cook.

Pick the meat off the ham bone, if there is any, and add it to the peas. Serve with cooked rice.

My promised NY resolutions will be in the next post!

*I have no idea if this is true or not, but I'm not taking any chances.

Behinder and Behinder…

That’s what I usually am. I am always about 6 or 8 projects behind, whether it’s knitting, blogging, or cleaning my office. Oh well. You’d think I’d get used to it. If you’re in my family, you know me as the relative that buys “belated” cards on purpose, knowing that they will never get out on time.

Memes and internet games are no different. This will be a dual post, to do two different ones that I’ve been saving up (that’s the ticket, I was saving them up for a special post).

First is a very nice “I Love Your Blog” award, given to me by Miss T quite some time back. That was very sweet of her, and I’ve been remiss in thanking her publicly, and in posting my own choices. I of course love Miss T’s blog, and especially her lovely cooking posts with gorgeous photos. Here are the rules, and a few of my faves:

The rules:

1. Please mention the award on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. You must nominate at least 4 fellow bloggers for this award.
4. Add links to the recipients.
5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

Here are my four. Oh my, how to pick just four from all the talented bloggers that I regularly read?

Part Two: The 6 Random things meme; I was blackmailed challenged to do this one by Jocele of Knitting on Call. Here are the rules for this one:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Randomness, in no particular order:

1. I am sort of a procrastinator. Can’t you tell? 🙂

2. I still wear my high school class ring sometimes. The town I grew up in is small, and has only one high school. The ring design is the same that it’s been for decades. Oh OK, here’s a photo.

3. I also still know all the words to my high school “fight” song. Prove it, you say?

Edgeley High School, hats off to thee!

To our colors, true we will ever be

Firm and strong, united are we!

Rah! Rah! To Edgeley High

You Rah Rah Rah!

Hats off to Edgeley High!

4. I sleep with a teddy bear, you’ve all met her, Sweetpea. What you might not know is that this isn’t a lifelong thing. She joined the family only about fifteen years ago. She’s my first ever teddy.

5. My current hair color isn’t natural. (Shhhhh!) Though it’s actually pretty close to the color I was born with, my hair turned a plain very dark brown as a child. Then the grey started creeping in. I’m not ready for that, so now I’m back to a warm dark brown with a little red in it.

6. The last random thing is that parts of this post got eaten by Typepad, where my blog usually lived. I’m not going to try to fix it. There you go.

Back From Vacation!

The blog vacation, that is. I hope everyone is having a great holiday! Christmas was busy around here, but fun-filled. John and I decided this year not to buy gifts for each other. Instead, we’re keeping lists of little things we’ve always wanted to do together, like more walks in the woods, and more movie dates. The plan will be to choose things off the lists throughout the year instead of buying junk that we don’t really need.

We had two big holiday parties at our house. One was our annual Winter Solstice party with neighborhood friends. We had a dozen fine people around our table for a huge prime rib dinner, with plenty of wine and laughs.

Here’s how I plan and execute a huge meal for a dozen people:

Riley loving the whipped cream:

The table set for dinner:

And the aftermath:

The second event was with family, and we had another dozen for that set of meals. We did prime rib again for Christmas dinner, since it was such a hit the first time around. We have enough meat leftover to make one heck of a stew, which will be tonight. Nothing like using prime rib in stew instead of tough stew meat!

For some reason we did not get one single decent photo with all the kids and grandkids in it. A good time was had by all, though.

On the knitting front, I’m still working on the same projects. No photos, since I’m too lazy to take new pictures. True Blue, John’s sweater, is getting bigger, and I’m almost at the underarms on the first half. The Peacock Shawl is slowly growing. The dog mittens are about halfway up the dog legs on the back of the first mittens, and Wicked Witch socks are proceeding.

I’m working on some New Year’s resolutions, and will hopefully have those in my next post! Have a happy and safe New Year’s holiday!

Ten On Tuesday

I know, I know. To my knowledge, I’ve never done one of these TOT things. By the time I get around to doing them, it would be Ten on Thursday, which I suppose would work. I couldn’t resist an opportunity to list my ten favorite Christmas songs, though.

We have a subscription to Rhapsody, which allows us to listen to all the music we want for a flat monthly fee. Believe me, this is cheaper by far than when I was into buying albums. And this way, they have to put the albums away, not me. My holiday playlist currently has over 3500 songs on it. How to choose just ten?

1. Gesu Bambino, my current favorite version is by Ying Huang, who has just a heavenly voice.

2. Sleigh Ride, the Mitch Miller version, from the album Holiday Sing Along With Mitch. Corny, but very singable.

3. Jing A Ling Jing A Long, by the Andrews Sisters, on the album Sing & Swing. Very catchy tune, as only the sisters can do it. Ha ha! Ho ho!

4. In Dulci Jubilo, by just about anybody who sings it.

5. Blue Christmas, only the Elvis version. Anybody else is just an imposter.

6. Merry Christmas From The Family, by Robert Earl Keen. The version on his “Live” album is the best.

7. The Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah, the Mormon Tabernacle version is my favorite.

8. Santa Baby, by Eartha Kitt. Again, anybody else singing this is just not doing it right.

9. Away In A Manger, currently I’m listening to a version by Richard Proulx and the Cathedral Singers.

10. O Holy Night, by the Irish Tenors. Or Il Divo. I’ll take either one. Now that I think about it, pretty much anything by Il Divo would do. They could just stand there and I’d be happy. 🙂

No links, you’re on your own finding these!