We Got the Beet

I have been MIA from the blog again. I got all thrown when I caught pneumonia the end of May/beginning of June. I am all better now and I feel like I got better pretty quickly for pneumonia but all in all not a fun experience. I was so tired while I was sick that I couldn't even knit. I do have one project that I need to post about but Boston has been in the middle of this icky, rainy cycle that seems to appear anytime I think about taking photos.
Just to give you a clue what I knit I can say that it is probably one of the most popular patterns out there and there are over 11,000 projects on ravelry. I do have one picture of it - an action shot taken from the Paw Sox Stitch n Pitch last month (amazing what I forget is on the camera)



I am also really excited about the farm CSA that I joined with my knitta Ariel. We had our first pick up yesterday and I now swimming in greens; kale, chard, arugula, lettuce, beets, curly cress and strawberries (well, the strawberries are actually gone already - they were so wonderfully tasty and sweet that I gobbled them up.

Ariel took some gorgeous veggie eye candy photos so check them out here. I found a yummy sounding recipe for beet risotto with greens and goat cheese and since I was spending Father's Day with my family last night, Ariel beet me to it (oh, bad pun!) and let me know that it good so I made it tonight.

Brimfield

I took Friday off and joined my sister and brother-in-law at the monster antique-fest know as Brimfield. It is just fields and fields of antiques and junk.

We started off with clearly our most important purchase of the day. Amazingly silly matching rings for my sister and I, which gave us amazing Wonder Twin powers. Luckily my brother-in-law is a patient man 'cause my sis and I are together since we can be a wee bit goofy.



I had a few things I was looking for, for some DIY project ideas that are bumping around in my head. I got some vintage hooks, an old key and this great and amazingly heavy rotary phone.



My sister and hubby scored some great art pieces that are sure to look amazing in their already well-decorated home.

Marsy shows off her new Colman's Mustard poster.


While Charley's new game board will be a welcome addition to his collection.


I kept an eye out for knitting and fiber related items, but the $200 sterling silver knitting needles and the $700 whale bone swift from the 1800's were a bit out of my budget.

I did spot this spinning wheel....


I just love the amazing colors of these weaving bobbins.

Then literally moments after commenting on the lack of fiber goodness I stumble across - Yarn!!! A woman was selling some of her friend's yarn from Ragtime Farm in New Hampshire. Her friend does it all - raises sheep and goats cards the wool, spins, dyes etc...ya know I just had to support that. So I picked up this lovely hand-painted sportweight merino. The photo does not do it justice but it is just a gorgeous mix of blues and greens.

By the end of the day, my feet were sore, my arms a bit sunburnt and I was beyond exhausted but it was all totally worth it for such a great time.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Just a quick pop-in to finally post some knitting! I finished this scarf for my mom a few weeks back for but of course blocked it at the last possible moment to give it to her today for Mother's Day. Here's my version of Liesel, knit in Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool. I love the way lace looks when it's done but too bad it is so not my style to wear. I guess I'll just have to keep knitting it for gifts.

I'm Still Alive

I have been a bad, bad blogger. At first I didn't blog because I hadn't taken any photos of my knitting in progress. Then I realized that my next post, this post, would be my 100th. That's a cause for celebration, a momentous moment. There should be balloons, confetti, something. But alas I have nothing special prepared. Maybe I'll do something for my 111th post, I like repeating numbers.

So what have I been up to in this past month? Not too much knitting. I am working on a lace-y scarf for my mom for mother's day but I have to say I am not enthralled by it. But the good thing is that I have gotten back in gear what it comes to going to the gym. A few of my knittas have joined my gym and we've actually been meeting up and going! That really is the hard part for me - going, I am the queen of excuses but I would never bail on someone else (only myself, hmmmm.)

I promise to get back into the blogging spirit for the month of May.

Is this Another Chicken Joke?

Dear Yarn Stash,

I am sorry for being so bitchy this week. Really I don't hate you. I don't think you are ugly. I don't want to get new yarn to replace you (well....we won't talk about that) I was just having a hard time figuring out what to cast on next. I grabbed that nice skein of Silky Wool and really I tried to start that cowl but it just wasn't happening. So I scoured and scoured ravelry until I found something completely silly that made me smile. And I did use some of your lovely stash. So I think the knitting funk that I was in for a few days has passed. Thank you for putting up with me.

-Sarah


So what knocked me out of this short-lived funk, as I approached the first day of Spring with grey dreary days and temps that kept hovering in the 30s? A Spring Chicken!



He is just adorable, I love him and he brings out the truly silly in me. As I knit him up I could not stop the chicken jokes. I finished his body, I nibbled on him and said "Mmmm...tastes just like chicken". Then I knit up his feet and played imaginary dim sum cart, "Chicken Feet? No thanks, are the pork buns coming around?" I knit up his tail feathers and of course he did a little dance shaking his tail feathers. There were quite a few crossings of the road or in this case the ottoman.

Yeah, there's a chance I may have lost it a little bit but don't worry I am not going to be that crazy lady totally surrounded by stuffed animals. Spring Chicken has an adventure planned for him so stay tuned.

To be continued.....

A Year of Fiber

Did you know that 2009 has been designated International Year of Natural Fibres by the UN? I didn't think so. I learned all about it from my very own fiber farm (I am a shareholder after all) the Martha's Vineyard/Hudson Valley Fiber Farm.

Susan also has some cool links to events going on in conjunction with The Year. Or if you just need a pick-me-up check out the link for one of the cutest lamb faces I've ever seen. Or is it a goat? Reason # 104 why I am not a shepherd I can't tell if it's a goat or a sheep! So I better support those who can......

Birthday Fairies

As is my tradition, I make my niece's birthday presents. Except for when she turned 3. But hell, with 4 out of 5 I am at an 80% handmade gift percentage, not bad. Did I mention I am a bit of a number dork? Anyway...my niece has moved out of the princess phase and into the fairy phase. Really, princesses are so last year.

The girl does not need anymore stuffed animals but since they just re-painted her room I figured she could use some room decor. Growing up I had all sorts of stuff hanging from my ceiling; origami birds, model planes, mobiles and a bunch of other stuff. So I decided to make some fairies to hang from her ceiling. I thought I gave myself a lot of time but A) I never give myself enough time and B) I got sick. So sick in fact that I didn't even have the energy to craft. I had knit up a bunch of small knitted dolls using this pattern.

But at the point I got sick all I had were a bunch of naked dolls. So I pulled an almost all-nighter to sew some outfits and wings for them. No this is not the first time I have seen the wee-hours in order to finish one of her gifts. Adults can handle a late gift but really try explaining to someone under 2 feet tall without feeling horrible.

Naked Dolls


The outfits came out okay, some are cuter than others but they were bald. Really do you realize how frakkin' long it takes to sew hair on a doll? The hair does look like it was done at 3am by someone a bit whacked on decongestant. They are a bit weird looking but I like to think of them as sort of Monet-ish and there are meant to look better from farther away then up close. But most importantly, they were received well and hopefully will keep good watch over her as she sleeps.


The Blue and Green Fairies hang out with my plants.

The Funky Fuschia Fairy gets into my vintage knitting needles.

The Purple Fairy says "Auntie Sarah you really ought to clean your house a bit more...."