A Couple New Dishcloths

I knitted a couple new dishcloths for our hosts during our recent trip to Pittsburgh.

The blue one is the Criminy Jickets Garterlach Dishcloth and the yellow the Sunny Days Dishcloth from Knitting Pattern Central.

Market Bag

Tonight I finished the knitting part of my Everlasting Bagstopper.  Can you believe that all I had to do was cast off and the bag sat there on my needles for over a week?  The bag turned out great and was fun to knit.  I absolutely love the result.  Now I just have to figure out the handles. I'm thinking of using some sort of webbing. 

Great Allegheny Passage: Day 2

On Sunday morning despite the heavy rains, we were ready to roll.  We planned to ride 74 miles from Ohiopyle, PA to Cumberland, MD.  Before we got on our bikes, my brother taught me some back stretches; my sister enjoyed putzing  (see photo on left).  We were riding by 8 am, stopped in Confluence for breakfast at Sister's cafe 11 miles down the trail at about 10:30.  

My bike was covered with dirt my trunk and so much grit in the teeth of the zipper that I could not pull it shut.  I poured clean water out of my new Sigg bottle all over the zipper so I could close the bag.   Sometime in the early afternoon, the skies cleared.  We crossed an impressive 1900' bridge and rode as far as Meyersdale.  At which point we ended our ride.  I was the

one who first said (without a doubt) that I was ready to stop riding for the day.  We all plan to return to complete the 30-mile stretch from Meyersdale to Cumberland sometime in 2008.   

It felt great to be back on my bike.  I had fun hanging out with my siblings, but I was ready to return to my girls and hubby. 

Great Allegheny Passage: Day 1

After a delicious breakfast at my sister's friends' "wanna be" B&B in Pittsburgh, we loaded into the van. Truly our hosts in Pittsburgh were lovely; she always dreamed of owning a B&B so to have the four of us (me, E, A and Pop) spend the night was like a dream come true for her.  She even went out and bought four new sets of towels in four different colors (not boring white) so they would not get mixed up!

Our weekend goal was to bike 130 miles on The Great Allegheny Passage.  Pop agreed to drive the van as sag wagon.  We started riding in Boston, PA with information from a local bike shop owner that the trail was closed four miles ahead due to a mudslide. He did not have specific information so we decided to ride on. The photo to the left shows what we found. After waiting a few minutes, the dump truck pulled off and the digger stopped digging to wave us by. It was a bit slow going through the mud, but on through we went.

Day one took us 56 miles from Boston to Ohiopyle.  The air was cool and the sky was clear until the last mile into Ohiopyle when we rode through a downpour to the MacKenzie House. The days' highlights: deer, daisies, waterfalls, meeting up with Pop who rented a bike, pb & j on bagels lunch (note:  it tasted good at the time, but turned out to be too much of  a gut bomb for me, don't eat that for lunch next year).

An Early Mother's Day Celebration

My oldest daughter had a Mother's Day gathering at her school yesterday.  Her teacher compiled a booklet of recipes that the children "wrote".  She asked each child, "What is your favorite meal that your mom makes and how does she make it?"

Here's T's recipe:

"Mommy makes the best mac and cheese!  She takes the mac and cheese out of the box and puts it in a bowl with water.  She puts the bowl in the microwave for 10 minutes.  She takes it out and then we eat it!

Knitting Knews

It's sad to admit that the last time I posted about a completed project was back in February.  I don't have too much to report, here goes.  My recent knits include a couple hats and some felted Christmas ornaments.   

Hat one (left) I worked up for myself in Morehouse 3-strand Merino.  I was hoping for different pooling, not so stripey looking. The yarn was great to knit. So far even though I did not have many cold day opportunities to wear it, I've been able to wear it right against my ears with no itch. I made hat two (right), the Halfdome Hat, for my husband. It was designed specifically for the Bay Area.  However, it woks just as well for us here on the Eastern seaboard and guess what? My husband wears it!

I made felted ornaments for a friend and I'm really happy with how they turned out.  They are knit swatches which are felted then cut to shape.  

Architecture

During our visit to Longwood Gardens today, we explored the most impressive tree houses I've ever seen. In every detail these were not your ordinary backyard treehouses. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I'll update this post with photos of the place as soon as I can.

At The Lookout Loft, a treehouse overlooking the meadow, we enjoyed a leisurely hike through the woods. At The Birdhouse, a treehouse towering high in the sky, we walked on floor boards reclaimed from an old toothpaste factory.

However, oddly enough, I got to see my favorite architectural feature on the property all because my four-year-old daughter had "to go potty". Of course there was not a toilet in sight. So, we quickly ran to the closest building - the lovely Peirce-du Pont House. At the door an employee, intent on clicking her counter to keep track of the day's visitors, looked up.

Me: Excuse me, can you tell me where the closest restroom is?

Employee (E): For her? (pointing to my daughter)

Me: Yes.

E: Walk in the library to the front left, just push on the corner wall and it will swing open to a bathroom. It is very small, but I think she'll be able to fit in. And don't tell anyone about it.

Me: Thank you.

We quietly made our way into the gorgeous library. It was full of chairs and plenty of people enjoying some sort of film. Sure enough we pushed against the dark wainscoat in the corner of the room and it swung inward to a narrow corridor leading to a commode and sink. This bathroom was just as well-maintained as any garden I've ever seen on said premises. It had a tile floor and a small marble-lined sink area. If you ever visit Longwood Gardens, be sure to visit this bathroom. But, don't tell them I sent you.

Welcome Flat Stanley

Recently a surprise envelope arrived in our mailbox from friends in New Hampshire.  What fun to open it and find that Flat Stanley had made it to our door!

Flat Stanley started out in a 3rd-grade classroom in CA. The instructions asked us to mail back a postcard from our area of the country.  The classroom will be plotting Flat Stanley's visits as he makes his way around the USA.  Thus far Flat Stanley had been in Hawaii, Michigan, Missouri and Colorado.

Flat Stanley stayed on as a visitor in our home a little longer than I had planned, I wanted to make sure he got a chance to visit local historic sites:  Independence Hall and Valley Forge.  He enjoyed our Easter celebration with traditional ham dinner and a family favorite at the table - dandelion salad and of course the egg hunt.

At one point I could not find him.  After a diligent search, I found Flat Stanley stuck between the CVS and Genuardi's circulars in our recycling bin!  

Good Bye, Flat Stanley, have fun on the rest of your journey!

Leap Year

For all you knitter's out there. I suggest you celebrate Leap Year by frogging a project that you've had sitting around for more than ten years that is less than half complete.

Happy Valentine's Day

This morning my older daughter ran over to our bedroom and wished me a Happy Valentine's Day. My husband had already left for work. I had been out knitting the night before and purchased helium-filled balloons for the girls. T. had found hers at the foot of her bed and was delighted with it.

Later that day we had lunch at my folks' house and Dad showed me his favorite comic from their morning paper. It showed a man and a woman at a rack of cards, each chose a card for the other, they exchanged cards right there, placed the cards back on the rack and declared they'd put the 5 dollars they just saved on seeing a movie. Somewhere the comic was labled The Long-term Relationship. Dad and I shared a good laugh over that.

The valentine I received that morning, however, was way more funny than that comic strip. I found it on the kitchen counter:
"Beth, I took $20 from your purse. Happy Valentine's Day. Love, B"

Truly, it is the most favorite valentine I've ever received. It made me smile a big smile when I read it. I think it does exemplify a healthy long-term relationship and that's right where I want to be right now.

Cardigan Complete

I've been working on this jacket from Baby Knits for Beginners by Debbie Bliss for six months and it is finally done. It feels great that it fits my little one and bettter yet, she likes it. I absolutely love the way it turned out and what a joy to work with the baby cashmerino yarn!

Pattern: Debbie Bliss Jacket

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino - Periwinkle #605

Needles: US 2 and US 3

Buttons: from Kaleidoscope Yarns inVermont

Start date: 8/10/07

Finish date: 2/9/08

Notes: I used just over 4 skeins, for size 24-36 months.

Happy Groundhog Day

Part of the tradition in my home is to make groundhog cutout cookies. This morning I was lucky enough to watch a live broadcast of Punxsutawney Phil's prediction - "As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me. Six more weeks of winter it will be."

Finally Blocked

Way back in September, I mentioned that progress was slow on the Debbie Bliss jacket. On Friday I finished the sleeves and on Saturday I blocked it. I hope to seam it soon and furthermore, I hope it will fit my 2-year-old for whom it is intended!

New Year

A friend in my knitting group suggested this and I like the idea - cast on a new project every January 1st. My 08-Jan-01 cast-on is a strip for an afghan. The group is knitting strips to be pieced together for afghans for Afghans.

I'm knitting on US 6 needles, co 35 stitches and using KnitPicks Wool of the Andes along with some yarn donated to me for the project.

Also, my knitting new year resolution is to knit something (anything) for myself in 2008.

Thank you, SP10

A surprise package arrived just in time for Christmas from my SP10. She sent magazines and chocolate (yum!) for the girls and I all the way from the UK. Thank you so much! I enjoy receiving items that are not familiar to us here in the US.

Just Enough Sugar

Sugar cookie baking gets better and better every year. "This one is almost ready, Mommy. It needs some more 'ellow' on it" Have you ever baked cut-outs with a toddler or two? Oh, how sweet it is.

And just when you're wondering if you've had enough sugar, you find that recipe for the tree Mom made every Christmas morning.

It is made of a yeast-risen sweet dough. Use butter and green sugar on the limbs, form a tree shape, use butter, cinnamon and nuts for the trunk and top it off with a maraschino cherry. I can't remember a Christmas without one of these! Of course there was enough sweet dough to make sticky buns as well. And did I mention Aunt Ruth's toffee?

Beyond Thanksgiving

Since our table of twenty for Thanksgiving, my girls have come to the conclusion that three toddler chairs are not enough at their table. Today I walked into the living room and found seating for nine. Cute, huh?

In knitting news, progress continues on the Christmas stocking for my youngest. All other knitting projects have been set aside in hopes of finishing this by Dec 25. I've abandoned the idea of adding a beaded snowflake to the brim of the hat. I had completed it and frogged it - looked nothing like a snowflake. I will probably end up adding the girl's names in duplicate stitch in order to distinguish between the two socks. But, I'd be happy to entertain more creative ideas.

Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving by eating a huge feast at Mom and Dad's with a table of twenty guests. The meal was great. The turkey was tasty - of the fresh, grain-fed variety. I contributed mashed red-curry sweet potatoes - a recipe Mom found in Martha Stewart Living Nov 2007. They've got coconut milk and Thai red-curry paste in them. Believe me, these sweet potatoes are absolutely incredible! Try them sometime. Find the recipe within this article.

I can't talk about Thanksgiving without mentioning Uncle Bob. I see him about once a year - at Thanksgiving. Uncle Bob is a loud, obnoxious sort of guy, but this year he did not get on my nerves as much as he usually does. I could more easily shrug off his comments. One of our conversations went something like this:
Bob: Do you have a job now?
Me: Yes, I work all day long.
Bob: Oh, you're home with the kids. What, you can't get a baby sitter!?

I just left it at that and next thing I know he's asking about the marital status of my parents' minister and shouting about how all divorced clergy ought to be kicked out of the church.

By the way, I took this photo in my folk's yard. I really like the way it shows the fall color.

My Oldest WIP

My Oldest WIP (work in progress) got a facelift. If you remember from a previous post, I knit this sweater back in October 1988 for my niece (now 21 years old!) My sister-in-law kindly found it and sent it to me for my girls to enjoy. I tried the sweater on my youngest the other day and realized I better get to work if I have any hope of her wearing it. She is growing so fast!

Fairly immediately (that's as immediately as a mother of two preschoolers can get), I set to work on salvaging as much yarn as possible from the neck placket. When I frogged the stitches I had picked up for the placket, I discovered that the neckline was still beautifully intact. Believe it or not, I still had the instructions for the sweater, so I was thinking I'd reknit the inset.

While I was working on the sweater yesterday, Marsha was with me and suggested a more up-to-date ribbed v-neck instead of the placket. That sounds easier, will use less yarn and ought to look great I thought. Let me tell you, it's a good thing I hang out with such brilliant people.

I ran with the idea, adding two rows of contrasting color at the border and cranked out the updated sweater last night. What do you think?

A New Tree

This past weekend we planted our new tree - a Bloodgood Japanese Maple. We also put in a couple perennials: a Spirea and a Nandina Domestica. I had tons of fun getting my hands in the dirt and I was reminded just how good that outdoor work feels. I enjoyed the dirt up under my fingernails, the smell of the soil and the cool autumn air under which we worked.

Our landscape plan around our new porch and walkway is finally taking shape. There are alot of plants I want to put in, but we'll take our time and do bit by bit.