Finally finished a project

 So it need 2 pictures.  These were a nice easy knit.  Too bad the knitter was a bit of an idiot.  I started the first sock, missing the cuff instructions in the pattern.  I though, ok, I'll just do a third pattern repeat instead to make them longer.  Then (after turning the heel) realized that I was going through yarn like water, weighed the remaining ball and forecast a serious yarn shortage.  So, I figured, since I'm frogging, might as well go all the way to the beginning.

From then on, it was smooth sailing except for some tense moments at the end where I once again knew that yarn was in short supply.  I dropped one row from the foot and made it to the end with about 2 inches of yarn to spare.  Phew!

The pattern is Jack of Diamonds from this season's holiday Interweave Knits.  While I likely would have made them anyway at some point, I was motivated by the Sock Yarn Anonymous group on Ravelry.  Rachel Coopey, the designer, just happened to be one of their challenge designers for the month.  So it was meant to be.

Yarn is Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20, picked up at Stix & Stones in North Bay.  A very nice, soft, smooth yarn.

Vinyl Tap

I just wanted to write a short note on a radio show that my friend Kristen told me about ages ago that I've lately remembered to listen to.  It is Randy Bachman's Vinal Tap and it airs on CBC Radio 2 on Sunday nights at 6.  I think it is on CBC Radio 1 on Saturday nights.  I've only caught a few shows but he covers a theme every week.  This week it was songs that broke the rules.  Think Bohemian Rhapsody, Come On Eileen and the Canadian Railroad Trilogy.  They didn't fit the three minute constant time pop song.   A really interesting show with some music I've heard before and some I haven't.

Spinning

I have too many in progress projects and I need to get something finished:

1.  Quilt for my dad for Christmas - all cut, partially sewn.  I hope to get the hexagons finished today.
2.  Lizard Ridge - about half done.  I'm doing the second version but with two colour ways only - both bought on sale without a project in mind.  I originally started the first version and decided I had no interest in all of the sewing up that I would need to do afterwards.   Good call.
3.  Sweater for my niece for Christmas - no picture anywhere because I can't find it on Ravelry or on the Sirdar website because the book is out of print.  Not to mention the pattern was a photocopy that the yarn store made for me.  They claim that is allowed because the book is out of print.  They shall remain nameless in case that isn't on the up-and-up.
4.  Jack of Diamonds socks that I started as part of Ravelry's Sock Knitters Anonymous October project.  I really like them but they aren't very speedy so I'll be hanging out with these for a couple more weeks I think.
5.  Handmaiden Sea Angel Jacket - which looks much better in real life than in the picture.  I even got to try it on so it should be the right size!

There are other projects as always but I wouldn't exactly call them "live" at the moment.  I also got the latest Vogue Knitting the mail and started reading it yesterday.  That took me down a rabbit hole of:

1.  Looking at 500 different patterns on Ravelry.  I've spent more time there in the last two days than I've spent there in the last two months.
2.  Buying the latest issue of the Sock Report.  I think my next project (desperately trying not to wind the skein) are the fingerless mitts.  I have some nice Sweet Georgia yarn that I think would look lovely. There are also a few sock patterns that I like in there too.
3.  I'm also thinking about this gorgeous yarn that I bought to make a shawl.  Trying to decide between several Jared Flood patterns.  I must be in the mood for a challenge.
4.  I ordered 2 books from Indigo yesterday too.  One is called Knitting the Perfect Fit.  I have made too many sweaters where I haven't entirely liked the fit.  I know I just need to amend the patterns and hoping the exercises in this book will help me.  I also bought another whose name escapes me but it had some lovely patterns, mostly for sweaters.

I'd better get my day started so I can make some progress on some of the above.  Pictures of completed projects at some point in the, hopefully not too distant, future.

Seasons

Until I discovered my love of gardening, autumn used to be my favourite time of year.  Now I feel nostalgic for the summer flowers and the fresh veggies from the garden.

But autumn ... the crisp air, wearing sweaters again, a reawakening of crafty enthusiasm, brand new school supplies.  I guess it still is a pretty great time of year.  And, as someone said to me the other day, you can't have spring if you don't have winter.

Cleaning up the garden = food in jars!

I have always been big on homemade jams and every year make at least one type.  This year I've made Strawberry, Strawberry Rhubarb, Blueberry and Peach.  All very tasty.

I recently bought the Canadian Living Preserving book and it has a bunch of really good looking recipes so I decided that it was time to expand beyond the world of jam.

One recipe that caught my eye as I was flipping through the book on its first read was green tomato chutney.  Every year at this time, as I clean up the garden, I'm faced with tons of green tomatoes with few ideas on how to use them.  This chutney recipe uses 4 pounds which makes me feel good about putting them to use rather than throwing them into the compost.

I also, after waiting for a lot longer than expected for them to ripen, have bunches of tomatillos.  Too many for salsa.  A few weeks ago, I baked some and used them as a salsa for fish which was really good but one can only eat that so often too.  So I looked in my new favourite preserving book and there are several uses for tomatillos.  I picked a recipe for a tomatillo salsa with roasted green and jalapeno peppers.

Finally, because I don't know when to stop, I also pickled the remaining beets.  Now I'm ready for a nap and realizing that I need to become the sort of person who thinks to eat chutneys.  I'll use them on sandwiches, at least.

Last week I was up in North Bay and my dad wanted help cleaning up crab apples that had fallen from the next door neighbours' tree.  I started bagging them when I decided that they should be put to better use than the landfill (no curbside composting up there).  So I made crab apple jelly.  This was my first experience with jelly and I found it quite easy.  Tasty too.

Now I just have to find room to store all of these jars.

The simple projects

My niece asked for a pair of mittens in her school colours of blue and gold.  I put that on the list of things to think about for Christmas knitting, deciding I would have to go shopping for the yarn at some point (terrible hardship).  Then I was sorting through stash, yet again, when I came across leftover yarn from a felted bag project of a few years ago.  While the gold is really yellow, based on the schools website, I think the blue is pretty close.  The pattern is from Weekend Knitting and because the yarn is bulky, I finished these up in a couple of hours.  Instant gratification!

Only because I couldn't eat it all at once ...

... I remembered to take a picture of the bread I made the other day.  Also from the book Homemade Pantry is this lovely sandwich bread.  I let it rise right away instead of refrigerating as directed in the recipe (no room in the fridge for any more bowls) and it worked perfectly.  It rose more than most whole wheat breads and I used some of the whey left over from the ricotta cheese excitement.  I think I'll make some more this weekend so we're set up for lunches as we head back to work.