Fabulous Feather

Aussie Love

Ashley had a ball reuniting with her sister Hailey. 

Here are a couple of quick shots of the pair together.   

On the duck front, Mama came back.

We got home a heck of a lot later than expected. DH did AWESOME in his race. I am so proud!!!  I then had to go back out & get a headlight replaced that we just noticed was out today. We got lucky & found a place that open on Sunday. The sour dough bread is rising. I am going to try a new & hopefully fast and simple homemade pizza recipe this evening & I have the crazy-ass idea that I will also knit three inches of my sock.

Off to knit & bake.

Beginings - two simple, two quite tentative

First the simple ones.

1. Extra blue, blueberry muffins. Before we meet Haily, DH is running a race in my old stomping ground, Old Town Alexandria. While he runs, Ashley & I are going to visit with one of my dear friends. The muffins are for the ride to Alexandria and to share with my friend.

2. The second sock. I would love to complete this sock by Friday night. It would be a record for me AND I'd plan to buy more sock yarn on Saturday at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.

Now for the tentative starts.

1. My first loaf of sour dough bread. Here is what should become a sponge overnight and then, with the addition of more flour, hopefully become yummy bread tomorrow afternoon. I am afraid that my mother is too thin. Time will tell. 

2. Saving what could become the best for last, today we discovered that a duck laid eggs in a nook outside our front door. I am worried because she flew away. Hopefully she'll back we'll have baby ducks. Fingers are crossed. 

Saturday morning

One sock that is 95% complete. I may re-graft the toe. I also need to weave in ends.   

Pretty flowers.   

Destroyed dress shoe.   It may not look too bad but it is enough to render them useless for work.

Tomorrow we are taking Ashley to a playdate with her sister, Haily. 

Sock and Sour Dough Starter

Last week was nutty. I thought I was going to finish the sock, but then work got in the way and Ashley attacked the WIP. I spent most of Thursday night detangling the mess that she made in less than three seconds.  This week, I am back on track but it is a little slow going due to distractions - work, traffic - the usual. I love the color-way and the feel of the sock. Hope to have it complete by Friday night so that I can't start it mate at my step son's lacrosse game.

 

On Monday I finally made a sour dough starter. This is something that I have wanted to try for a long, long time. I will get to bake my first loaf of bread with it on Sunday.

Here is the starter: It doesn't look like much but it rises each day and smells wonderful.

Off to knit!

Misti Sock

After two weeks of NOT knitting I cast on a sock yesterday. The yarn is Misti Hand Paint Sock Marino. I love the color-way and the way the fabric feels. I am concerned though about the apparent lack of elasticity that I normally see in wool. I have narrow ankles and do not care for socks that slouch too much. I am going to rip it out & re-cast on using 2.5 mm needles later today.

Update 7 p.m.

I went down a needle size and I am pleased with the result. The 2x2 ribbing is going well and appears strong enough to stay up.

Cry of the UFO

"Help me! Help me!! On Sunday, the Knitter finally stuffed my middle and attached my limbs, but my ears are still not sewn in and she hasn't added the details of my face AND the baby I am made for is over a year old!! Woe is me." cried the rabbit.     Mr. Turtle sauntered over to comfort the rabbit. "Don't be blue little rabbit. It took the Knitter over fourteen months to finish me and I was a gift for her DH (a Terps fan)."

  "Fourteen months?!" screamed the body of what will become a stuffed dog. "But I am destined for a baby that is due this August!"     "Our baby is coming then too!"  Said the yarn and picture of the monkey project. "Will we be ready in time?" "Well, the rabbit should be done in time for its baby's wedding."  With that, the rabbit promptly mooned the turtle, because as a gift for a wee one, the rabbit cannot swear. 

"Pssst" whispered some Noro stash.   "We used to live in the coat closet near the computer room. Last week we heard the Knitter gasp and call for DH. She had him look at a picture of knit cuttlefish. That's a SEA CREATURE.  DH thought it was cool. The Knitter than said that she could buy the pattern. It gets worse. We just moved upstairs, near the yarn closet. We caught a glimpse of Nemo. Rumor on the street has it that the Knitter used to scuba dive and Nemo was a gift from DH when they were dating." 

Suddenly, an orange, non-knit fish appeared on the bed. "Hi!"   

All of the knitted objects screamed at once "Ahhh! Run for you life! We are safer outside."     "Where are you going?" asked the orange fish. "We would rather chance being attacked by birds and never finished (except for Mr. Turtle - he just had to worry about the birds) than be eaten by a cuttlefish."

The end.

P.S. from the Knitter: the knitted object's escape was thwarted by a screen. They will all lively happily ever-after - at least until I get around to buying pattern for the cuttlefish.

I'm back!

After a little over two years, I am back! I would like to extend a personal thank you to Kim for her delightful blog and for giving me a gentle nudge to get on line when she sensed I needed to expose myself to fellow addicts knitters.  I also just got set up on ravelry.

My plans for this diary are to help me end up with more FOs and ideally less simultaneous WIPs. There will be critter updates and the occasional cooking story. I want to master baking  - specifically sour dough bread, olive bread and the perfect pizza crust. I am also, in theory, training to walk a half marathon (my knees can't handle running). Perhaps accountability here will help me take my training a bit more seriously. Who knows - it may even result in the occasional sit-up.

So, in preparation for blog re-entry, I actually finished three socks on Sunday. The ends  just needed woven in & that kind of thing, but now they are officially done. Here is the close up of the one that is waiting it it's mate. The yarn was a Christmas present from DH. I need to go look up the yarn but dinner is in the oven. Last year we adopted an Australian Shepard & named her Ashley. She is a sweetheart BUT she also loves to grab yarn & WIPs and RUN like a crazy thing. Apparently it is funny to watch me attempt to out maneuver her and swear like a sailer. While I love the open floor plan of our home, on chase days it has distinct disadvantages for the two legged members of the house. Ashley also like to t-bone the cats as a means of play. When she passed the Canine Good Citizen class, it was not for her frequency in coming when called anywhere besides the class, her choice in treats (cat litter - yum!) nor did the cats get to vote on her performance. For all of that, she has the kindest disposition and adds joy and laughter to our home.

Off to finish dinner.

Happy knitting!