The Woolen Rabbit

Roll On Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

True to my word, this weekend was spent relaxing at home and not doing too much of anything other than hanging out in the yard, doing a little knitting, a little gardening, a little soaping and serious dog grooming.

I don't know if it is the time of year or if there is just not that much going on in my life right now.  Do you ever feel that way when you are blogging?  Trying to find words that just aren't there?  Today is one of those days for me, so I will leave you with a few pictures of my weekend.  Pictures are worth a thousand words.....right?:-)

Friday's Flower..........Delphinium

A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives flowers.
~Chinese Proverb

What do you think about this heat?  Ewwow!  We here in the Northeast have been spoiled by very moderate temps this summer, until this week.  Me....I am so not a hot weather person.  Great for the garden and the kids playing in the pool, but give me a cup of iced tea, that my good friend Terry got me hooked on and a sock to work on in the shade....I am a happy camper.

Speaking of socks, I have started another pair for my SOS.....but as you can see from the pile of unraveled yarn, my first attempt didn't go so well.  I was going to knit these Artichocke Socks, but I was having a hard time memorizing the pattern.  It's not a hard pattern at all, and I will most definitely knit a pair later, but I want another easy pattern for mindless summer knitting.......keeping the summer simple :-).  I am saving my more complicated knitting projects for the fall, so for this pair of socks, I settled on another Nancy Bush pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks.  This weekend you will probably find me sitting in the shade, with that class of ice tea and these socks in my lap :-)

I hope you have an enjoyable weekend in your corner of the world......stay cool~

Summer Days

The days of summer are marching by peacefully.  Now that the girls and I have found that summer rhythm, the days are flying by........but in a good way.  Don't you just love those lazy, hazy days of summer?  I know I do.....but then I love when fall rolls around too.

The garden is really starting to take off and my Neapolitan socks, well, they just flew off my needles.  I love, love, love these socks!  Nancy Bush's pattern is a perfect blend of lace and mindless knitting.  Easy to remember without a pattern, but working in groups of 12 rows, makes it a very quick knit.  As I mentioned before, the only modification I made was to not carry the lace down the foot.  I opted for a simple ribbed knit, which for me is the most comfortable type of sock foot.

In addition to the knitting and dyeing that has been happening here, I have to admit that the soap bug bit me bad again....(thanks Robin~).

In the past, I never worked with colors in my soap, but not being quite the purist that I was in my younger days, I am trying new things..........and thoroughly enjoying it!

One Local Summer

This weekend, I set out to finally make a completely local meal.  Earlier in the season, all excited about my garden, I joined Liz's second One Local Summer challenge.  You know.......the challenge of preparing meals from food purchased (and grown) locally.

It's not nearly as easy as I thought it would be.  So much of what we eat, is trucked in from hither and yonder....especially up here in the North Country. 

My meal is a simple one, but oh so yummy!  Strawberry Oat Pancakes.

Strawberry's:  Sherman Farm - 10 miles
Milk:  Sherman Farm - 10 miles
Eggs:  Moat Mountain Farm - 4 miles
Oat Pancake Flour:  Littleton, NH Grist Mill - 59 miles
NH Maple syrup:  Littleton, NH Grist Mill - 59 miles

I have always said that I am not good with any kind of "alongs" and this is no exception, however, what this challenge has done is make me much more aware of how and what my family eats.  The nice thing is..........it is also forcing me to look outside of the normal things that we always eat.  Oat Pancakes?  Who knew that the kids would actually eat them............and LIKE them? 

Other than a little knitting, my weekend was spent weeding the flower garden and bathing the dogs.  Here are a few pictures of the youngest member after her bath, saying............Nope, you can't take a picture of me......I won't look at you........I can't possibly stay still that long......heehee!

Friday's Flower.......well kind of

Not really a flower.....but then again, those tomatoes came from a flower...right?

Yesterday's little harvest gave us our first pesto of the season...yum!  It's been a few years since I have grown basil, but I quickly remembered why homemade pesto has been a big favorite in my house.....so much better than store bought...and so easy to make!

Pesto
1c fresh basil leaves
1/4 c olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1T pine nuts
5T Parmesan cheese
1-2T melted butter

Toss all of the ingredients into the food processor starting with the basil and pine nuts, heat in the microwave for a minute to warm up.......then eat.  Yum!

Bubbles Anyone?

Look ma........soap!  One of the other things that I managed to squeeze in this weekend was making a batch of soap.  I used to make a lot of soap, but somehow it has been one of the things that has fallen to the way side a bit.  Remember when I told you that Robin was a giver....well, she was kind enough to point me in a new direction with soaping.  The ingredients are the same, but the process is a bit different and of course, I am always eager to try new things, so out came all the old pots and utensils.

My first batch came out........well.........not so great, and sadly I had to toss it, but I am very happy with the second batch of Rosewood Geranium...wheee...  With fall fairs around the corner, it will be fun to get in touch with the soaper deep inside of me again :-)

On another topic............did you see that knit picks is offering 40% off of most of their books?  It's a great time to pick up those titles you have been wanting!

A Restful Weekend

This weekend was a weekend of rest after a crazy, busy week.  My work week last week became much busier due to an unforeseen event......so much so that I even had to shut down my aim, just so I could concentrate on getting work that needed to be done, finished....eek!

So....after the craziness of the week, I was ready for some rest and relaxation... and for me, that means a cold glass of wine and a date with some knitting needles, working on some SOS socks :-)

As I mentioned before, I am using Nancy Bush's Child's Silk Sock pattern from Vintage Knitting, for this Neapolitan sock, but I made a few slight changes to the pattern, which will make it more comfortable for my foot inside of a shoe.  Instead of carrying the lace down to the toe, I opted to do a ribbed pattern that lined up with the lace and I added my regular kitchner stitch toe.

The yarn is a different one for me. I have had trouble getting my usual base yarn, so I ordered a different superwash/nylon blend.  When I first got it, I wasn't sure that I was going to like it because it is not merino, but rather a lambswool.  Having finished the first sock however, I am very happy with it.  The texture reminds me of my favorite socks that I live in.  They have truly been used and abused and still look like new when they come out of the wash.  I will still work with the merino blend when I can get it again, but this new yarn will be a new regular staple for me as well.  I think it is a yarn that will hold up well over the long run.

Other than working on my sock and a little on Hypotenuse, I spent my free time giving the garden a much needed weeding.  Man......it never ceases to amaze me how fast those weeds grow!

The weather was perfect though, for just spreading out a towel, turning on some tunes and just plugging away at it.

The weather here in the Northeast has been pleasantly warm, but the nights have been pretty cool, so the garden isn't growing quite as fast as it probably would otherwise, but it is starting to show signs of promise.

We've had a few meals with some of the romain lettuce and this week, I will have a few ripe sungold tomatoes and green peppers.  :). 

As much as I really hate the bugs......it makes me smile when I walk down the garden paths and see the little veggies happily growing.

Friday's full of Pink!

Do you remember those little candies?  You know, the ones with the pink,brown and white stripes....those coconutty ones?  Those little wrapped Neapolitans?...mmm.  That is exactly what this yarn colorway reminds me of.

Now normally any one will tell you, I am not really a pink person, but somehow this combination of pinks and browns has captured my attention.  I first saw it on the Sundara Yarn page, but alas it is no longer being sold.  I saw it again in Margene's stash and was smitten all over again.

Well, if you can't buy it.......I say, dye it.  The colors are almost victorian in appearance and begged for something lacey, so once again, I am knitting Nancy Bush's Child's Silk stocking from Vintage knits.  After the last sock, I needed something a bit more mindless, but with enough pattern to keep my interest and this fits the bill :-).

In keeping with the pink theme, I bring you a pink snapdragon as my Friday Flower.  Snapdragons have been a long time favorite of mine in the garden and the best part.......if you neglect them a bit in the fall, they happily reseed themselves and surprise you in the spring!

With all the rain this week, my gardens have been happily growing a lot of weeds too...uggh!  A weeding we must go this weekend for sure.

You may remember in a previous post, I spoke about my feelings on life's givers and takers.  Well, this past week, I have met one of the givers and am happy to count her amongst the new friends I have met in blogland.

A few weeks ago, Robin had a comment contest and I won a prize :-).  I rarely win anything, so I was pretty excited, and even more so when Robin's gift arrived.

Enclosed along with N.Epstein's Knitted embellishments were some lovely things that Robin made herself. Some VERY yummy soap and beautiful stitchmarkers.  Over the week, Robin and I chatted about the many things we have in common....it is always so nice to meet a kindred spirit.  Go over to her site and say hello.........you won't be disappointed.

Northern Friends

This past weekend, I mentioned that I had traveled up north to visit with a friend.  Last Wednesday, Hannah and I jumped in the car and traveled North a little ways thru Crawford Notch into Littleton to have lunch with Judy.

The day couldn't have been more perfect for a road trip.  The temperatures were almost autumn like with a warm breeze and the sun was smiling on us.

We met at this fabulous little cafe that looked out over the Swift River.  Even Hannah who sometimes does not like to travel out of her own back yard had to admit that it was a nice day, especially when it included a trip to Chutter's, home to the world's longest candy counter.

Right next door to the cafe is a little grist mill, where you can find locally ground flours, oatmeal, pancake mixes and maple syrup.  Given that I am trying to participate in Liz's One Local Summer, I snagged some of each.  Whew........I never realized just how hard it can be to create meals comprised of completely local stuff.  The fruits and veggies....not so hard, but it is the other things, such as flours, butters, etc that are a bit more of a challenge....but that's for another post.

After a little chatting, a lot of laughter and a great lunch, it was time for Hannah and I to wind our way back home thru the Mt. Washington National Forest.  As pretty as the mountains are in the winter, they are even more so in the summer.  The lush colors of green against the blue skies...........just beautiful!

There was a purpose for this trip besides just a visit with a good friend.  You see this fabulous toy........it is an electric winder that Judy's significant other made for me.  Let me tell you what a life saver this has been for me.  What has made it extra special to me is that some of the maple wood on this was handmilled by C from trees on their land in VT.

Up until now, I have wound and rewound my skeins with a niddy noddy to the point where I thought my arm might go on strike, but with this new little toy, I have been able to quadruple what I can wind in an afternoon and my shoulders are greatful.

With winter not to far in the distant future am trying a few new heavier weight yarns....what a dream it was to use this winder with them :-).  Thank~you Judy and C!!!!!

New England and a Garden

"Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."
-- Henry David Thoreau

Have you ever worked on a pattern that didn't bring you joy, but when you finished the object it gave you great joy?  This is how it was for me with these socks.  The pattern is the New England Sock from Knitting on the Road and I used the recommended Koigu. 

Now, I do love Koigu....I mean I LOVE koigu, but when I knit with this yarn, the fabric that I like the best is produced with size 0's (2.0mm) and this is what the pattern called for as well.  To me, it is amazing the difference a 2.25mm makes in terms of ease on your hands.  I find that knitting with the 0's causes my hands to cramp up from time to time and even more so when doing a lace pattern. 

This particular lace pattern was not one that I could seem to commit to memory, which meant carrying the copy of the pattern around with me when I was knitting, so it was easy to put this second sock down and work on other things........but having said all of this.  I absolutely LOVE these socks.  I know that they will be my new favorite socks.  I love the pattern, the yarn, the color and the fabric.  Nancy Bush is a master when it comes to sock patterns!

In between work, dyeing and knitting, I have been working in the garden.  Ok......maybe I have more weeds than I would like, but truly I don't mind weeding, so a day of weeding will happen next week.

What I do hate however are the bugs.  I have quickly remembered one of the reasons I put my last garden to rest a few years ago..........cucumber beetles.....sigh.

How is it that this pretty beetle, who by the way matches my Big Yellow Yaxi socks so nicely can create such havoc in a garden.

Early every morning and again late afternoon, I go into the garden and pick off as many as I find, but of course the next day there is a new batch of pretty black and yellow relatives happily munching on my yellow cucumber flowers.  If any of you gardeners....Liz, Norma...out there have any non toxic suggestions, give me a shout!

I will leave you with a few pictures of my favorite garden things......