Izumi, Water Infusion, and the Glories of Spring

Izumi

In a previous post I mentioned how I was smitten with this pattern.  Instead of trying to approximate a similar edging on my Richelieu Scarf, I ended up with something completely different but my love of the Izumi Shawl could not be requited until I had purchased, downloaded, and hooked the pattern!  I had the beautiful deep rose lace Merino Wool yarn that I had purchased in Chesapeake City and there was just enough in the hank to make this project.  To be on the safe side, I subtracted one of the repeats, making it slightly narrower.

At first I almost ditched the G hook and switched to an F.  My stitches were coming out very loose and baggy and the delicate filet pattern that begins the shawl was not evident at all.  Mindful again of my limited yardage, I stuck with the G.  When I referred back to Ravelry and inspected some of the other Izumi Shawls that had been made, I was heartened to learn that some aggressive blocking will bring out the pattern.  So I am persevering with this lovely wisp of lace.  Funny, I virtually never wear anything lacy and only very seldom do I actually wear a shawl.  Perhaps I will give this to my mom who does were shawls and loves a lacy look.

Primula Infuze′

My daughter Heather gave me a wonderful gift for Mother’s Day.  I had often sought to buy some flavored water that was unsweetened but tasted fruity and fresh.  There are a few products out there on the market but they are expensive and you really have no control over the ingredients.  The Primula Infuze′ pitcher comes with three inserts, a cylinder filled with gel to place in the freezer, a tea infuser and a basket tha holds fruit and herbs.

In my first foray into water infusion I used strawberries and fresh mint.  I should add here that you will want to use organic products because the fruit will steep in the water for 12 hours or more and you don’t want any pesticides leaching out into your water.  The flavor was very subtle and delicious with the mint overriding the strawberry essence.  Next I tried the cucumber and mint combination.  While this concoction was also very good, I found that the cucumber had a slightly gassy effect on me so I moved on to trial # 3.

This time I used one of my all-time favorite fruits, apples, and included 4 sticks of cinnamon in the basket.  As far as I’m concerned this is the most successful of all.  I adore the subtle flavor of apples and cinnamon and will probably make this often.  I have yet to try the orange and lemon combination.  A real consideration here is the cost.  Once you have used almost 2 cups of sliced fruit, you must really throw it out or put it on your compost pile.  The fruit is waterlogged and unsightly and not fit for consumption.  Strawberries and other berries can be quite expensive, making each glass of water expensive too. Apples, lemons, oranges, and tea not so much.

The Glories of Spring

For whatever reason, this year’s display of blooming trees and flowers has been over the top.  Perhaps it has something to do with the cooler weather that we have had but everyone in our area agrees that nature has put on her finest.  Mother’s Day, my birthday, and our anniversary all fall in May and I have been gifted with some extraordinary flowers that are still filling my home with fragrance.  The yard has brought forth its abundance and we are still anticipating the flowering of the Star Dogwood in front of the house.  Here is a gallery of photos of the beauty that has graced our lives this month.

 

Richelieu Scarf

The beauty of a lacy scarf is often found in the edging.  I spent quite a bit of time researching various borders and edgings to find just the right look for this scarf.  I wanted something that looked complicated but was easy to do.  So I started out by making several different edgings using leftover sock yarn.

Both the body and the border on this scarf are very easy and they work up quickly making this an ideal project for a gift.  This is not a long scarf but it will wrap around the neck three times.  If you would like to make it longer, simply work more rows but you will then need another ball of yarn.

The whole thing only took one ball of Knitting Fever Painted Desert, which is a fingering-weight yarn.  I had a little bit of yarn left over from my ball.  The ball I bought in a yarn store cost me $13 but I believe that you can find it on-line for less.  When working with the Painted Desert, you will notice subtle shading from one color to another.  The color changes are long so there is no pooling.  I must say that the yarn was a bit crinkly to work with.  The strand wanted to twist and turn, keeping some of the longer chains from lying flat.  However, you will have to spend some time carefully blocking your project.  The extra effort is worh it!  I hope that you will enjoy this new free pattern from Wolf Crochet.  Just click he link below!

Richelieu Scarf

 

New Yarn–New Project

I love the Knitting Fever Painted Desert yarn that I bought in Chesapeake City last week!  It took me a while to come up with a project since I only had one skein of 437 yards.  It wasn’t enough for a shawl but really a bit much for a scarf.  Since I haven’t done much with lace crochet, I envisioned an airy all-season scarf with a non-perpendicular stitch pattern.  I toyed with the idea of using the same pattern that is featured in that oh-so-beautiful Alpine Frost Scarf  by Amy O’Neill Houck but I wanted to design my own.

Finally I settled on the star trellis stitch pattern.  That decision led to another whole issue.  I didn’t find this pattern in my stitch dictionary but in one of my other books.  I suddenly realized how completely inadequate my stitch dictionary was!

I had purchased it years ago at a used book sale and it contains knitting as well as crochet stitches.  The number of patterns is limited, the instructions are not well written, and there are no charts.  I have been limping along with this thing for too long!  So I decided to treat myself to this dictionary.  It contains 500 crochet patterns, which should keep me happy for a while.

My new dictionary does not squeeze instructions for four or five stitch patterns onto one page.  It shows no more than 2 stitch patterns per page and always includes a chart.  I love it!

But I digress…I love the way that this yarn shades from deep magenta to deep blue.  The colors are much darker than in the above photo.  One problem I am having, which I seem to ALWAYS have when making a lacy scarf, is that my edges are looking a bit funky.  I had to restart this project 4 times because if I followed the instructions for the edge stitches, I ended up with gaping holes on each side and the sides of the scarf were bowing outwards significantly.  After a bit of trial and error I came up with a set of end stitches that I could live with but the edges still seem crooked to me.  In the end, I will probably run a row of stitching along the edges, we’ll see.  Maybe once it is blocked it will be straight.

I am completely smitten with the lace edging on this scarf and this scarf.  I could do something similar to  second edging by designing a half-circle motif for the ends.

Dilemma

Crochet Today  is a great little magazine.  The patterns are usually in the “Easy” to “Intermediate” range and they make use of some of the more popular yarns that can be purchased at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby.  I’ve made many great projects from Crochet Today.  But recently I’ve decided to limit myself to one magazine and I chose Interweave Crochet.  I have many back issues of Crochet Today and some of them contain projects that I will never make.  How in the world do you get rid of them?  My local Goodwill will not take them.  I would send them out as give-aways but the postage is getting too expensive to do that for all of them.  The local senior centers don’t want them.  Oh I hate to just throw them away!

 

Bonsai Shawl X 2

I was casting about for a good pattern for the two balls of sock yarn that I had.  I had tried an openwork scarf but did not like the way the colors pooled.  Then I noticed a  little triangular shawl (more of a scarf really) called Bonsai Shawl in  Interweave Crochet Accessories from 2011. This pattern is so easy,  a simple trellis stitch with decreases on each side that culminate in a point at the end.  What really made this pattern work with the sock yarn was that the decreases on each side effectively moved the colored sections slightly with each row.  I had no pooling at all!  I made the purple scarf up according to the pattern but increased my trellis chains to 5.  This opened up the fabric a little.  On the green scarf I used  the 3-chain that is called for in the pattern and added a loopy border.  Then I blocked the h____ out of it!

They both turned out very well.  Neither scarf is heavy.  In fact, they are so lightweight that they are more suitable for spring and summer than winter!  I’ll have to remember this little trick when working with variegated yarns.  If you have a short color repeat, then it is best to choose a pattern that will increase or decrease on each side.

Languishing Projects

I have good intentions but no matter how many times I try to finish one project before I start another, I have a bad habit of abandoning a boring pattern!  I really love my Tunisian Cardigan project and the pattern writing has been a bit of a challenge but this thing is SLOW!  The thin yarn makes it seem as if I am making very little progress. I’ve decided to revisit this whole effort in the fall when I will be more anxious to actually begin wearing sweaters again!

The yoga mat bag project is just plain boring. Around and around I go, alternating mesh and single crochet bands.  Ho hum… I am actually pretty keen to get this done since I really need the bag but I am just not inspired at all!

And what about the Crop Circles project I was so excited about a few months ago?  I still want to do something with this but I have hit a real snag.  To get a good graphic in tapestry crochet I must use sport weight yarn. But working with sport weight yarn is also agonizingly slow.

Are you detecting a theme here?  If I can’t finish a project within a reasonable amount of time, I lose interest!  This must be why I have never become a knitter even though I now know how to knit. Knitting is so slow and picky!

Picked Eggs and Beets With Goat Cheese

I was recently inspired by an advertising flyer that came in the mail.  It included a recipe for pickled eggs. However, I reasoned, why not simply buy the jarred pickled beets and marinate the whole boiled eggs in the juice?  I started 4 days before I planned to serve this dish and placed 2 jars of the beets with the juice into a covered casserole dish.  I added 8 eggs and let the eggs marinate for the 4 days. Once a day I turned the eggs.

Before serving, I drained the beets and eggs and placed several leaves of iceberg lettuce on the luncheon plates.  The beets were spooned on top of the lettuce and the sliced eggs arranged on top of the beets.  Then I cumbled some goat cheese and sprinkled it on top. Some fresh asparagus and a slice of Texas Toast completed the meal!

In The Yard

Well, it’s time for me to post my annual photos of my rock garden and my Dogwood tree. Funny how I never get tired of seeing the yard revive after the winter.  Our dead trees along the back fence have been felled and new ones will be going in this week.  The Dogwood is particularly beautiful this spring.  And the rock garden, slumbering under its blanket of dead leaves and debris from winter will soon come into its own again!

New Trees Coming

Rock Garden

And what do you think I will be working on in the evenings?  Will it be the Yoga Mat Bag or the Crop Circles project?  No way! I am starting a brand new pattern with the yarn I bought in Chesapeake City last week!

 

A Spring Fling

A couple of weeks ago, when the weather was still quite frigid, my friend Rose suggested a visit to Chesapeake City, MD.  Chesapeake City is located in the far northeast corner of the state. We made a date for May 2nd.  If you take the scenic route on US 1, you will cross the Susquehanna River at the Conowingo Dam.  When completed in 1928 it was the second largest hydroelectric project by power output in the United States, behind only Niagara Falls.  The road across the dam is very narrow but the views of the mighty Susquehanna are magnificent.  Bird watchers descend on the area in droves to watch the eagles nesting in the dead trees along the banks.

As you approach the city, the St. Georges Bridge dominates the skyline.  This bridge was completed in 1949 and it is at the base that the historic town of Chesapeake City lies.  Chesapeake City is the only town in the U.S. that lies directly on a working canal. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was completed in 1829 and river traffic is still brisk. Barges navigate the canal on a regular basis, working their way down the 14 mile passageway.

Many of the original 19th century homes are still intact, with some dating to the 1700′s. The multi-colored homes are so tiny that one has to marvel at how the residents manage to conduct their daily lives in such small spaces.  The tiny back yards are enclosed in white picket fences and many feature brick patios and small ponds.

One of the more well-known restaurants in town is the Bayard House.  Rose and I chose a table in a sunny section of their patio and settled in to watch the barges float past.  As you can see, our meal was top-notch.  Rose chose the Stuffed Anaheim Peppers and I opted for the Lobster Salad Croissant.  The waitress offered dessert but we decided to take our chances in town.

The Canal Creamery and Sweet Shoppe serving gelato, sorbet, coffee, and gourmet cookies was not open for business.  The owner was preparing for his opening the next day and had an inspector coming in for the final approval.  We walked around the building to the canal side and found a delightful patio with picnic tables.  What a great place to enjoy an ice cream cone!  Alas, it wasn’t meant to be…

Undaunted, we strolled around town, admiring the architecture and the shops.  Shelia allowed me to photograph the antique cash register in the Mercantile.  Dropping into the bakery, we discovered that it was more diner than bakery so we continued our quest for dessert.  Lo and behold!  What to my wondering eyes should appear but Vulcan’s Rest Fibers!  Now here was a yarn shop!  Rose and I managed to handle a variety of soft and delicious yarns before I caved in and bought a skein of Scrumptious Lace and a cake of Painted Desert.  Of course I joined their mailing list, never mind that it took us 1 1/2 hours to get there!

We finally said good-bye to Chesapeake City and headed over the line to Delaware to Winbak Farm.  Winback Farm specializes in breeding thoroughbred racehorses. My friend Rose loves horses and indeed, has been around them most of her life. She now lives in a developement and must limit her contact to the occasional visit to a farm.  On a recent vacation, she investigated where she might be able to see some horses and found Winbak Farm.  The ladies in the office were very gracious and seemed delighted that we requested leave to walk along the fence line and observe the new-born foals.  They told us that the red collars indicated foals that were the result of studding and the mares who were with them had been implanted.  The tiny foals looked very awkward as they galloped around on their spindly legs. A mare and foal came trotting over to the fence to greet us but after a few minutes, their curiosity satisfied, they wandered away.

We still hadn’t found dessert so we headed home. But while driving through Elkton, MD, we spotted Sweet Cowolines!  Quickly Rose made a sharp right turn and we finally enjoyed our dessert!  What a fantastic day it had been!  The weather was gorgeous, in the low 70′s.  At last we both managed to dispel the cabin fever that had taken hold of us during this long winter.

Oh! And last but not least…here is the yarn I bought.  Stay tuned for the next post which will be back on topic. I finished a couple of beautiful scarves and managed to use up some of the sock yarn I had in my stash.

 

A Morning Walk

Each morning I walk my pooch Frazier around my neighborhood.  I usually try to leave the house as soon as light hits the eastern sky.  Frazier is an excitable dog and the sight of any other creature will set him off into paroxysms of high-pitched screeching.  So to avoid the impression that I am abusing my dog, I walk before anyone else gets the idea to go outside.

I live in a rural small town.  However, this small town has been growing since the 1980′s.  New developments are nestled in amidst horse farms and corn fields.  My development was built in 1998.  If I walk a half block and make a left, I leave the neighborhood behind.  From then on,  only farms, fields, and woods surround me.

New Freedom was once an important stop on the B&O Railroad line.  Summit Grove Camp and Conference Center, a Christian organization, was a huge destination during the 1800′s and 1900′s.  The camp is located directly next to the tracks and old photos depict Methodists dressed in their finest arriving by train from the city.  Summit Grove is still in full swing today.  The front doors of the houses on the opposite side open right onto the tracks!

The York County Heritage Rail Trail has replaced the B&O Railroad.  If you are ambitious enough, you can get onto your bike and ride from York, PA to Annapolis, MD.  Most of the track has been damaged or neglected.  In some places along the trail, it has been completely removed.  However, the Steam into History train is scheduled to begin operating in 2013, in time to mark the 150th anniversary of the Confederate invasion of York and the Battle of Gettysburg. It will operate a Civil War era steam train on the former Northern Central Railway between New Freedom and Hanover Junction PA.  I have heard that an on-board lunch will be served.

But back to that walk…

Many of the trees on my street are still bare but the ornamentals are in full bloom!  Walking downhill past the horse farm, I notice that hurricane Sandy has washed out a small section of pavement near the drainage pipe.  Once I reach the bottom of the hill, cornfields are before me as far as the eye can see so I make a right turn and continue along the edge of a wood.  Off in the distance I can see the horse farm and the remaining homes in the development.

Now it is time to turn around and go back.  Frazier is entranced by the smells emanating from the woods and pulls hard to get me to stop.  I don’t mind resting a bit because the rest of the walk is straight up hill!  the hill begins at the New Freedom sign and continues steeply until I reach my street.  Both Frazier and I are tired but always enjoy our morning walk!

 

Cottage Cheese Roast

I know, the name conjures up a terrible image in your mind.  I was looking for a meatless dinner idea and this recipe was featured in my “Recipe of the Day” newsletter from Allrecipes.  Throwing caution to the wind, I decided to make it for dinner so I added the ingredients to my shopping list.  I thought I would pair it with perogies and include some mixed vegetables for color and nutrition.

Wow!  I couldn’t have been more wrong in my expectations!  This meatless loaf was delicious!  Although the recipe name suggests that cottage cheese is the main ingredient, the ground walnuts are what really give it the flavor. It also includes an envelope of dry onion soup mix so it can’t really be considered  vegetarian.  Some corn flakes, a bit of vegetable oil, and 4 eggs complete the list.

Paul was VERY skeptical when I told him what I had cooked for dinner.  Paul first put ketchup on his portion. Then he pushed the slice around his plate a few times but finally decided to take a bite. And he loved it!  The author of this recipe states that one slice is 282 calories and that leftovers make great sandwiches.  We will have this again tonight and then I will use the remainder for sandwiches.  What a find!  The recipe is here.