The last of the garden - and Cake!

I'm still getting back into the knitting groove, but I did manage to cast on something new. The Sherbrooke Cowl pattern written by my good friend Lauren. My sister got some yarn at Webs the last time we went - super soft and cuddly Valley Yarns Colrain. She got white, but dyed it a really pretty green. Two skeins are just enough for a cozy cowl for the ever dropping temperatures! Naomi looked through all the cowl patterns we could find in Ravelry, but she wanted something solid (lacy holes = cold!)but not too ornate or fiddly. Sherbrooke was the perfect pattern. I'm about 2" into it and it goes pretty quick as it's an easy two row repeat to remember. Hopefully I'll have it off the needles soon!

The chilly temps also brought to a close the gardening season for me. I was waiting for a few good cold nights to harvest my Brussel Sprouts. They sweeten up a bit after a few light frosts. I got a good amount, and they were pretty easy to grow. I did have an issue with some cabbage beetles, but it wasn't so severe. They mainly concentrated on eating the leaves and not the Sprouts.

They will make a wonderful side dish to dinner browned in some butter in a frypan. Yum!

I've also been baking. This weather and the fall apple harvest lends itself perfectly to all things baked! I have a wonderful apple pie recipe that I'm holding off on making until hubby returns home from chilly Buffalo, NY but I did make a delicious apple cake the other night. The cake was really moist and not too sweet. Great for breakfast or dessert!

Apple Cake

4-6 apples, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons sugar
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a tube pan with removable bottom liberally with non-stick spray. Toss the apple chunks with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla in a separate bowl. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ones. Add eggs, one at a time and mix until combined.

Pour half of batter into the tube pan. Spread it out evenly. Put half of the apples on next. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and spread until they are covered. Sprinkle the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean and it pulls away from the sides of the pan. Let it cool for about 15 minutes, then remove the cake with the bottom of the pan. Slice and enjoy!

Happy Happy

Finally! Some knitting progress to show!! The Noro stripey socks have reached the halfway point.

So far so good. This comes up to about 1" below the back of my knee. I have not done the ribbing yet as I'd like to see how much yarn I have left after it's mate is knit. I think I have enough yarn for a few inches of ribbing, but if not, I'd like to make both ribbings match in a contrasting yarn. The skein had a bit more purple in it than I had planned. I actually took out one entire repeat of purple as both balls came to purple at the same time. When purples collide!

The garden has really been blooming lately. Things are ripening at a blistering pace. Last night, I finally picked my cauliflower. I can't believe I grew it!

It's good sized too - bigger than a normal grocery store head. The three little tomatoes came off a plant that I had given up for dead. When I checked on it last night, it still looked pretty pitiful - only a few leaves at the top and a bit "floppy". But, these beautiful tomatoes were hanging off their vine! There are also some new baby tomatoes forming as well. I'm not sure how this plant is doing it, but obviously it is a fighter!

The tomatoes on my other plants are just getting bigger and bigger. All of these I grew from seed. Cherry and pear tomato seeds. Yeah right. Something got mixed up somewhere.

This plant is covered with tomatoes all this size or larger. I have another out in the garden that has pretty much taken over and is ginormous. It too is covered with huge tomatoes. So much for minis this year!

The brussel sprouts are also doing well. These are in the container with the above tomatoes, but I have another few 'sprout plants down in the garden and they are a bit further along. I have read they taste better and not to harvest them until after a frost, so they still have a while to go.

I'm actually thinking I may not need the CSA next year! The containers have worked out much better than I ever could have imagined, and I can fit a few more on the deck and even a few on the stairs leading down to the yard. After seeing how well everything is doing, I'm already formulating my seed list for next year!

We did pick up our CSA delivery on Tuesday and it was huge.

I'm thrilled we got more blueberries, and the corn is super sweet. I still have some stuff from last week that I need to eat, so I'm glad that everything seems to last a week or two (maybe because it is picked the day we get it and is local).

With the long weekend coming up, Tucker and I are off to our traditional three day Labor Day weekend trial in Granby, Massachusetts. We've been doing it every year since I started agility, and it is pretty much my favorite trial site. It has huge fields for playing frisbee or ball, and hiking trails with ponds for swimming. I'm hoping that being at home this weekend will bode better for our success at the trial!

So Close

Weaving in the ends on the Phyllo pullover! I really can't believe it's this close to done. I do have a few rounds more on the neck, but I'm trying to figure out how many extra rounds to do so it will be a "normal" neck and not a boatneck. I tried it on and the neck is really wide, so I'd like to do a few more decrease rounds and tighten it up a bit. I do love the fit though. I'm weaving in the ends now because I got majorly tangled in them when I tried it on. With not knowing how many decrease rounds I'll need, there will be lots of on and off in the near future and I don't want to have to deal with all those ends. I did find one boo-boo in the chart, but I think I can duplicate stitch a fix for it.

Summer is in full swing and the garden is really taking off. The tomatoes are starting to fill up the plants - I've been running around every night watering and staking to keep them from flopping on the ground with the weight of the fruit. The Roma plant has the most so far.

I hope they all don't ripen at once - it would be nice to savor them over time. I did pick my first one the other night though, along with a few other things that needed picking. My first little harvest!

And a colorful one at that. Jalepenos, Snap peas (the last of them - they didn't do well this year) a beautiful orange tomato as well as the Roma and a Hansel Eggplant. I fully admit I bought this variety of eggplant because of the name - all I could think of was Owen Wilson in Zoolander. I giggle every time I look at the plant. It is quite the producer though. There are about 10 or so more eggplants in various sizes all over the plant.

My happiest find this week in the garden? My Brussel Sprouts are actually sprouting! You can see them in the crook of every leaf at the base. Pretty exciting in my little garden world!

We also picked up our CSA delivery this week. More blueberries!

I used a couple of the scallions already, and man they were strong. I have never had any that onion-y before. I plan on making more crispy kale also, but in smaller batches - it doesn't store at all.

It's almost Friday, thank goodness!

Halfway

It may have cooled down a bit this weekend, but still not quite cool enough for these yet.

One of the pair is now done! Because it has been a long, long while since I started them, to refresh the memory, these are Mostly Mittens Pattern #25 (Rav link). The yarns: Cherry Tree Hill in Slate and Tess Supersock and Baby in Gray. This one still needs a good soak, but I love how it turned out. It fits perfectly. Now, I just have to cast on for #2!

The garden grew by leaps and bounds this past week. We have had about 6" of rain so far this month, and it has been nice not to worry about things drying out too much. The tomatoes are taking off, especially the Romas.

This one is just about ripe. Another day or so and I'll be picking it! The plant is loaded with more. I've had to tie up all the branches so they don't sag to the ground. I'm also due to pick some eggplant and maybe broccoli this week!

This guy was hanging out on the deck in the container gardens all day on Saturday. Finally, I went inside and grabbed the camera. He let me get pretty close!

This week is looking pretty uneventful, but I am really looking forward to this weekend. I get to hang with some fun girls and do lots of crafty stuff!

A Bit O'The Green

Actually, a lot of green! CSA delivery #2!

(click through for all the particulars)

Tons of green goodies this week. A HUGE bunch of basil (we used some last night), more lettuce and some great scallions. Rumor is, next week carrots and blueberries!

With all the zucchini and summer squash we've been getting, I've been trying to look for some new ways to use it. This week, we made grilled vegetable soft tacos. They were pretty tasty!

A bit of shredded cheddar along with Portobello mushrooms and some grilled red onions - I could eat pounds of squash! The grilling really brings out the flavor. I also tossed them in olive oil and tons of fresh cilantro before grilling.

The garden is really taking off. Pretty much everything has flowers on it!

Everything from Brussel Sprouts to Snap Peas. I planted a few new things this year - cauliflower and brussel sprouts! They are doing really well.

The broccoli too, has really taken off.

Seems like the thunderstorms we've had over the past few nights have really helped! My biggest surprise though, is all the container gardens on the deck.

I have three pots like this, brimming full of plants with tons of flowers on them. Tomatoes, peppers, herbs and even more brussel sprouts inhabit them. I wasn't sure if they'd like being packed in there like that, but they seem to enjoy the company!

My biggest triumph, however, is this little guy.

A pepper! I grew this plant from seed. Of all the pepper plants I have, this one in the upside down soda bottle is doing the best. Biggest leaves, most flowers and it has three more teeny tiny peppers forming already. Next year, everyone is going in soda bottles! For some reason I have never been able to get a pepper to bear fruit for me before. I was skeptical this year also. But, I took a chance on the soda bottle thing and it's working like a charm! I'm not sure if is the insulative properties of it - making a mini-greenhouse for the plant, or what, but it is doing much better and is much bigger than the pepper plants from the same batch planted in a pot right next to the hanging bottles. Eventually these should be red sweet peppers. I can't wait!

Like I said - I have actually been knitting. I took the mitten out of hibernation and began the colorwork portion. I'm really liking it!

The colors are nice together, and provide a great subtle contrast. Both yarns (Cherry Tree Hill and Tess) are great to work with, per usual for them. I do love my colorwork!

Our Fridge Runneth Over

We got our first CSA delivery this week. All organic, grown locally. A great resource to find one, or any type of local produce and products is Local Harvest - just punch in your zip code and all your local options appear!

Lots of goodies this week including strawberries. There is just something about fresh, local strawberries. The flavor is unlike anything you can get in a store! They are intense!

(click through to get all the details)

To supplement the CSA, I planted bunches of other veggies in the garden that we didn't really get last year. Despite the less than ideal amount of sun per day, the tomatoes seem to be doing well.

The second picture is of the Roma tomatoes. One of my favorite kinds. I'm hopeful we will be overrun with giant red orbs soon!

The hanging plants also seem to be enjoying their upside down growing. Both the pepper and tomato (I grew this one from seed so it's a bit behind the others) are getting big and ready to flower soon.

Believe it or not, I have also been knitting! The Phyllo Yoked pullover is now ready to start the lace section. Doing only four rounds of stockinette seemed quick and easy, but with 300+ stitches per round, it goes mighty slow. Plus, I have not had much quality time with the couch lately. Between the garden, training Ace and the new favorite nighttime activity I have hardly sat down at night. The sock, however, has seen some nice progress due to lunch hour knitting.

I really love how this is knitting up. A very nice texture and the wavy pattern is great! With only a few yarn overs per repeat, it is not overly lacey either. The yarn is wonderful stuff. A wool/bamboo/nylon blend, it can be a tad splitty, but it is worth it. The color is beautiful and I love just looking at it when I knit.

Tucker, Ace and I are off to New York this weekend. It should be fun - Ace will get to meet his Aunt Misty (his dad Razz's sister) and cousin Knight (Misty's son). Knight is also the son of Ravin the red dog I trained a year or so ago. It will be like a family reunion!

Everything is growing but my knitting........

There has been little knitting around these parts lately - the lack of posting probably tipped you off. Agility trials, gardening and just wanting to be outside during the short New England spring has pushed my needles to the back burner for now. The recent heat wave had me thinking even less about knitting. When I got into my car after work on Tuesday, the heat was staring right back at me.

Not pretty. The humidity didn't help much either. If I lived in the desert, or somewhere you expect these kind of temperatures, not a big deal. But the average temperature for this time of the year around here is mid to upper 70's. Centennial temperatures are a huge departure. But it is New England - anything can happen. Luckily we got a huge thunderstorm to blow through and bring us some relief.

The garden, however, loved the heat. Things started springing up like crazy!

I decided to to my peppers and some tomatoes in containers on the deck this year to see how it goes. They seem to like it so far! My other exciting crop?

Brussel sprouts! A recently discovered love, I was really excited when I saw seedlings at the local garden shop. I also planted two more in the garden in the yard. I'm hoping a few will produce some yummy little mini cabbages!

Another experiment was growing hanging veggies. My garden space is limited - there aren't many places that get full sun all day. I also didn't want to clog the entire deck with pots. Enter hanging veggies!

I did both a tomato and a pepper plant like this. Essentially, it's an upside down two liter soda bottle with the bottom cut off. The seedling is shoved gently through the bottle opening and grows that way! Pretty neat! They look pretty happy too!

I also planted cauliflower, broccoli, string beans, snap peas and more tomatoes and peppers in the garden. I tried to plant things that our CSA was lacking in last year. Hopefully in a few months I will have a bountiful harvest!

Doggie activities have also been going strong. Ace has continued with the herding and still really loves it.

Tucker and I are at agility trials every weekend and having lots of fun hanging out with our doggie pals.

As for knitting, it has been happening intermittently for short bursts. I am about 5 rows away from finishing the front of the Phyllo Yoked Pullover. Just writing that makes me realize how close I am!

I've also been starting to build some of my own agility equipment so I can do more training at home with both Ace and Tucker. More details on that soon!

Thanks to those of you who are still reading!

If I Try Hard Enough

Believe it or not, we got another dusting of snow this weekend. I was going to take a picture, but I really don't want it as a "lasting memory". Tomorrow is April! Where is Spring? We managed to get some nice sunny weather yesterday. It still isn't warm by any stretch (I think we managed the low 40's) but the sun did help get me in a bit warmer mood.

Nothing can go into the ground around here until Memorial Day weekend. That is the traditional planting day. So, the beginning of April is just enough time to get the seeds started and give them a good 8 weeks to grow before transplanting. I had a long list of what I'd like to get into the garden this year. I've already raked and turned over the soil to get rid of last years non-planned growth. There was over 2 wheelbarrows full of weeds and grass! With a nice covering of a weed prevention fabric, the soil should stay empty until I'm ready to plant.

After doing the CSA last year, I have a good feel for what veggies we got plenty of (lettuce, chard, zucchini) and what we would have liked more of (tomatoes, herbs, peppers). So, to supplement the CSA, I started my tomatoes this weekend. After reading a great tip, I started them in cardboard egg cartons - that way I can just plant the whole thing when the time comes!

Some of the tomatoes I plan on transplanting into containers and leave on the deck. The one time I planted tomatoes in the garden they took over! I love all the different varieties of tomatoes, so I planted a few different ones. A colorful heirloom mix, some balcony hybrid cherry tomatoes, and some yellow and red pear tomatoes. That should keep us happy all summer! I still have to get seeds for peppers. That is my project for this week so I can plant them this weekend!

I'm Such a Joiner

Not quite as momentous an event as our team winning the AFC playoffs, but with all the football watching, I finally joined the sleeves to the yoke yesterday.

I forgot how many hundreds (300 to be exact!) are in yoke sweaters! Fingers be saved though, because I decreased a bunch of stitches right away to end up with the right multiple for the colorwork pattern. I plan on decreasing one more time (one repeats worth of stitches for the pattern) then starting the pattern about 1/3 the way up the yoke. With my new 60" cable for my needles, trying it on was easy. It looked pretty funny, but it fit great and let me know that decreasing another few inches around before the colorwork would be fine.

This has not been using nearly as much yarn as I though it would. To begin with, I had three skeins of 400 yards each. To date, one skein is gone, the second is about 2/3 gone and I have not even touched the third. The hems are left to be done, but they will only be about 3" each (2" plain knitting then a 1" knitted/sewn hem with a contrasting stripe thrown in on the sleeves and contrasting facing on the waist hem) so I think I should have plenty. I'm toying with the idea of a picot edge on the hem to mix it up a little, but I'm not sure it goes with the design of the sweater. Once I start decreasing and doing the colorwork, I know this one will fly off the needles.

Stalking knit objects we see on the street for knitters is like finding a rare bird for Ornithologists. Thrilling. Exciting. The unknown. Leaving the gym last week, I spotted these in the car parked next to me.

Luckily I had my camera with me and while getting some strange looks from people walking by, I just had to get a shot. They look vaguely familiar, and I know I've seen the pattern before, but I just can't place it. I don't think they are entrelac from what I remember, but maybe some kind of shell knitted pattern. Has anyone seen it before? They are just so super cute!!!

Later last week, my encounter in the parking lot of the gym was not so favorable. I came out to find that someone (guessing the big white box truck that was parked beside me when I pulled in, but not there when I left) knocked off my passenger side mirror! It was just dangling there by the wire. My new vehicle! So, I shelled out the $200 for a new mirror. Knowing it was a power mirror, I wasn't sure if I could do it myself. I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but there are some things I just don't want to mess with. I asked at the dealership when I picked up the mirror and he said it should be relatively easy. He printed me out a schematic just in case. Saturday afternoon when I went to install it I made sure I had plenty of time and tons of tools on hand. Turns out it was 3 screws and a jack to plug in for the power. Real hard. I had literally started and finished before my sister was out of the shower. Those are the kind of repairs I like!

Signs of spring are starting to show up in the mailbox.

Seed catalogs!!! This year, I will have a garden brimming with good things. Last year it got away from me, but I plan on doing some container gardening on the deck (tomatoes, herbs) and a bunch in the raised bed. Picking only a few things is hard! There are so many neat veggies out there! Colorful carrots and crazy Cauliflower, yummy tomatoes, things I never thought I could grow, and unusual varieties. This is going to take a while!

Where did it go??

Looking at the calendar this morning I cannot believe that May has come and gone. I think this is the fastest a month has gone by in quite a while (I know I'm not the only one that feels this way!) I had lots of lofty goals, but lack of time once again gets in the way. With my weekends now being spent at agility trials, and the weather becoming much nicer, knitting production has gone way down. That's ok though - I am thoroughly enjoying my non-knitting activities that I can't do as much of during the icky dark months.

I did manage to get seeds into the ground last week. Though my garden doesn't compare to Anne's quite yet, little jalapenos and peas are starting to make an appearance.

There are some mesclun greens growing in another pot - they haven't sprouted quite yet.

The agility trial this weekend fit right in with anticipation of the next triad for Project Spectrum - red, black and metallics -

Tucker did really well - he also earned a third place in another class.

I did manage to get a little knitting done, though I thoroughly admit I was pretty lazy when I could be and just laid back and relaxed in the absolutely amazing weather. Another competitor and I sat next to each other on Saturday and knit for a good amount of time. At a previous trial, she had seen me knitting socks and she decided to take up the needles again - she hadn't knit in years. This past weekend, she had 1 1/2 socks done! It was really fun to sit, talk about dogs and knitting and just enjoy the time.

These will go pretty fast once I really start knitting on them. Hopefully soon!

In the spirit of combining variegated yarns, Christy has a great pair going here. Something I never would have thought to do, but am glad I did - and I hope I inspired people to use that variegated yarn that doesn't work with too many patterns!

Almost There!

I got in some great knitting time this past week and weekend, so some great progress was made...

The Denmark socks are finished!

Pattern: Denmark from Knitting on the Road
Yarn: Henry's Attic Kona - hand dyed by me
Mods: Made the leg about 3" longer than called for as I had a ton of yarn

These are beautiful, cozy, soft socks. I love everything about them! For a simple 4 row repeat that I had memorized by the third or so time through, it creates such beautiful texture. All Hail Nancy Bush!

Urban Aran got some sewing and knitting time as well.

The collar is finished (modified in the same way Diana did hers) and it came out great. I have both sleeves done, though I have to block one and re-do the top 5 rows of the other - somehow I got my cable rows mixed up. But, I'm hoping to be doing lots of seaming over the next few nights! I measured for the zipper and it looks like I need one about 10" long. So, that is something else I'll have to go hunting for.

My best friend's little girl is having her 4th birthday party next weekend, so I was looking for a quick, stash-busting knit to bring. A hat was the first thing I thought of.

Cute, no? Unfortunately, it fits me perfectly. I am horrible at hat sizing. Even using the formula in The Handy Book of Patterns it still is wrong. Very frustrating. I may just make her mittens....but, on the up side, I got a new, super soft hat!

The hydroponic garden is growing right along. It's been about 2 1/2 weeks and they are almost real lettuces!

It will be nice when we can have an actual salad from it!

With Project Spectrum in full swing, I've been eying my blue stash yarns to see what will come of them. It's great timing. Denmark is done, Urban is very close to done. A perfect time to start something else!

I have 7 skeins of Araucania that I got at Stitches this year for a steal. It's a pretty teal/blue color. The light blue I got at Webs a year or so ago for even less. I have 20 skeins of it (about 2300 yd!)! A hoodie maybe? I had Mariah in mind for the light blue, but I may have been swayed over to the Patons Hoodie after seeing Lolly start hers....guess a browse through the pattern books is slated for this week! Any good suggestions? They are both worsted, about 20 sts/4".

The weather has finally taken a winter turn. Luckily, my immediate area was spared the rage of the ice storm of yesterday, but places only about 1/2 hour away were hit pretty hard. They are saying we should have a high of (gulp) 12 degrees tomorrow. Break out the winter wear.

The Numbers

Before any good knitting content, I have to say one thing about the weather here in Massachusetts over the next day or so - WOW!

Check out tomorrow. Yep - low 60's! And, per the weather people around here, there is no snow in sight for the next week or so. I really have to say, I am very happy with what the weather gods have given us for a winter so far this year. I also know, that being in New England, payback will be, well, not so good.

Now for the good stuff. The first sleeve of the Urban Aran is blocking, so I took the oppertunity to weigh it before it got soaked for blocking. Here is what I found.

Back - 5.4 oz
Sleeve - 3.5 oz
Remaining Yarn - 9 oz

Is this going to be a close one or what???? I'm not worried about seaming as I can do that with another similar colored yarn, but I am worried about the collar. I'm not sure if I should put out a search for another ball or two of this discontinued yarn (Rowan Cork in Mousse) or just wait and see. (If anyone has any laying around, you could pipe up now and make my stress level decrease a bit...) So, taunting the knitting gods just a bit more, I started the front last night. I'm undecided as to what to do as far as the top half goes. I was thinking of doing a half-zip pullover as I'm not much of a full cardi wearer, but that means researching to find existing patterns with one so I can have some kind of guideline as far as knitting it. I have a while to think about that though - at least 10" of knitting!

Denmark is coming right along. I'm ready to start the heel (following NB's instructions to the letter on this one!) and the more I knit it, the more I just really like this simple, pretty pattern.

We have a light load at the kennel this weekend, so I'm hoping for a bunch of knitting time.

Our little hydroponic garden is coming right along.

Now that the little sprouts have poked through, they are growing fast! It will be neat to have fresh salad greens at our disposal all winter long!