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June 29, 2007

Eye Candy Friday

My evening primrose are really thriving this year. I love their sunny yellow cups!

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (20)

June 28, 2007

Maple Tree Socks

This photo:

Inspired this dye job:

Which lead to these socks:

The scarf from yesterday may have been a bust but nothing soothes a defeated knitter like a simple pair of socks. And while they are a bit more blue than I intended, I declare these a success! Why?

There is no pooling whatsoever.

The yarn is squooshy.

And they will always remind me of my maple trees in the early spring.

Now that these are done, bring on the Summer of Socks!

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (55)

June 27, 2007

Just a Scarf

First of all, Dale wants to thank each and every one of you for your warm birthday greetings, wishes and even videos. He reads every comment on my blog anyway but when they are directed at him, well, he reads them over and over again. When he's supposed to be mowing the lawn. And then he feels the need to repeat to me what you all said. Over and over again. It was a fun day. Heh. Seriously, though, I'm glad you all enjoyed the video and I love that you all took the time to wish my man a happy birthday. You made us both feel really special.

Now, on to the business at hand. It's not all about vacations and birthdays around here, you know. It's about knitting, too. And today it's even about finished knitting because I finished (and blocked) La Dentelle Belle Scarf.

The pattern is free and available from Knituition. It's a truly fabulous design and I love it. The yarn is Brooks Farm 2 Ply Kid Mohair that I bought at Rhinebeck last year and I love that, too. However. The yarn and pattern together? Not feeling the love. It's not that I hate it - I just feel sort of "meh" about the whole thing.

Let's get those compliments comments flowing. Change my mind, okay?

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (46)

June 26, 2007

You Say It's Your Birthday

Today is Dale's birthday and I can't think of a better way for you all to be a part of the celebration than by giving you the chance to watch a video clip of his band.

Happy Birthday, Dale! I love you. And I'm pretty sure all my readers do, too.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (69)

June 25, 2007

The Rest of the Story

Here's what I did for the rest of my vacation last week:

The back of Ambrynn's shirt says "My Grampa Rocks". How cool is that?

Went to a Dale and the Duds show. This one is in my town and it's a great chance to catch up with friends and hang out with family.

Picked up our first share from our CSA. We ate the strawberries plain - mmm. And I've cooked the peas and made lentil & beet green soup and a wonderful salad and also rhubarb sauce. This is going to be a lot of fun and a great way to try some new recipes, too.

Went to the beach. I've written about this place before. It has special meaning for me for lots of reasons but one of them is that it's where I learned to knit.

Went to a parade. The nearby town of Plympton celebrated their 300th anniversary this weekend and the parade was loads of fun. Dale dropped me off on the parade route while they went to set up the band equipment on their float. I sat alone and watched the crowd and knitted for a glorious hour and a half. The parade was pretty good, too.

Other things I did for which I have no pictures:
~walked on a beach on Cape Cod
~had fish tacos - yumm
~had lunch on the waterfront in Plymouth
~sat on my deck A LOT
~watched movies

It was a fabulous week!

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (36)

June 22, 2007

Eye Candy Friday

Hydrangea from Worlds End. Such a gorgeous shade of pale blue. Have a great weekend.

Posted by Carole at 7:40 AM | Comments (25)

June 21, 2007

Gone Fishin'

I neglected to mention that I'm on vacation this week. See, as a public servant, my vacation time goes July 1 to June 30, and I can only carry over one week, so I had a few extra days to use up this June. Librarians don't make a lot of money but there are some decent perks - like 5 weeks vacation per year. Anyway, this vacation is a little different than the last one because Dale is also off and Hannah is done with school as of Tuesday. We've tried to do something fun every day and Tuesday's fun was fishing.

I've loved fishing since the first time Dale took me out in a canoe and handed me a fishing rod. I didn't know what I was doing back then but I've learned a lot in the last 10 years. Not that all my time and effort did me any good this time.

We went here.

And here.

And one other spot where I neglected to take a photo. Sadly, I got nothing. My companion was more successful than I, however.

A lovely pickerel - which was promptly put back in the pond and sent on his merry fishy way. Catch and release, that's how we do it.

Despite my lack of success with the fish, well, you know what they say, right? A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.

Posted by Carole at 7:30 AM | Comments (36)

June 20, 2007

Walk With Me Wednesday

It's been a long time since we've taken a walk together, hasn't it? I'm really excited to tell you about a new place that Dale and I walked the other day. We owe it all to Martha, too. First, because she told us about it and second, because when we got lost trying to find it she answered her cell phone and gave us directions. Thanks, Martha!

The place is called World's End and it's owned by the Trustees of Reservations. It's about 40 minutes from home for us and well worth the trip.

Since this was our first visit and we wanted to get a real feel for the place we hiked the largest loop around the property. It's about 4.5 miles of trail and we enjoyed every bit of scenery.

The trails are easy to walk and many of them are nice and shady - great on a warm day!

you can make this one bigger if you want to

The salt marshes provided views of wildlife.

this one gets bigger, too

And the openings between the trees provided views of city life. That's the skyline of Boston, in case you didn't know.

We really enjoyed our trek to Worlds End. The birds provided a wonderful score as we walked and Dale and I talked and talked and really caught up on things during this time together. I was tired when we finished but it was a great feeling. And boy did I sleep good that night!

Posted by Carole at 7:30 AM | Comments (33)

June 19, 2007

Flowers Everywhere

It must be summer because my three most recently finished projects are cotton. And flowery.

Behold:

A reverse-bloom flower washcloth. The pattern comes from Weekend Knitting and the yarn is Crystal Palace cotton chenille and only requires one skein. These make a great gift, especially when you include a fabulous bar of soap. The washcloth will be off to it's recipient this week.

An Eyelet Sun Hat. I just think this is the cutest thing! The pattern is from Knitting at Knoon and the yarn is Tahki Cotton Classic and like the washcloth it only uses one skein. This is a birthday present for Ambrynn - can you believe she will be two at the end of the month? And, as you may recall, they are moving to Florida so a cotton sun hat seems like just the thing.

A Petal Bib. Also, so very cute and also a gift. The pattern is from One Skein and the yarn is Debbie Bliss Cotton DK and, again, only uses one skein. And talk about fast! I knit this on Sunday morning.

These one skein gift projects have been just the thing for making me feel oh-so-accomplished. But honestly, I'm ready to sink my teeth into a bigger project. I think a shawl is coming up next!

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (47)

June 18, 2007

Saturday Friends

I've been reading my DailyOm Horoscope since Margene first told me about it and that was ages ago. Sometimes I have a hard time applying what it says to what's going on in my life on a given day and then other times it's so accurate it's frightening. And that's what happened on Saturday.

Here's what I got in my inbox:
June 16, 2007
Lively Social Activities
Virgo Daily Horoscope
You may be feeling uplifted by the possibilities of all the social activities available to you today, which could make you feel lively and excited. As you gather your friends to share in the fun, you may feel that the world is one big party and that all in attendance are friends. This outgoing sense of connection puts you at ease in any surrounding and allows you to share your joy with anyone in the vicinity. In truth, your positive energy ripples out into the world, affecting everything and everyone and tipping the balance of the world’s energy toward the positive. It may be difficult to imagine that a party in our neighborhood for no particular higher purpose can have a positive effect on world peace, but it creates an atmosphere of acceptance and camaraderie that uplifts those involved. Their positive energy ripples and joins yours as they enter the atmosphere. By socializing and enjoying life today, you uplift others as you share your light.

Another positive outcome of social gatherings is the forging and strengthening of a sense of connection between strangers. When we are having fun, we are more likely to let down our walls and overlook arbitrary social divisions. As we melt into one group of people sharing a common desire for joy and peace, a vision is planted in our hearts and minds, making it easier for us to envision a world at peace. Being outgoing today is a joyful way to create unity in the world.

And here's what I had planned:
An afternoon of knitting and spinning with Blogless Sharon, Martha and Maryse.

Clearly the universe was working in our favor! We gathered in the early afternoon and sat in my kitchen and chatted and knitted for a while. Once the sun was over the yardarm we indulged in margaritas and various cheeses, breads and crackers. We eventually made our way to the deck and spent the early evening hours spinning. It was wonderful and relaxing and FUN. We made connections and solidified friendships and shared our common interest in all things fibery and it was just as good as my horoscope said it would be. I didn't take any photos, but Maryse took some beauties and you can see them here. Really, go look. It's worth it.

So, yeah, it was a really fabulous afternoon and evening. I just love it when the planets align.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (21)

June 15, 2007

Eye Candy Friday

Thank you all so much for the anniversary wishes! Dale and I both read every one of them and we appreciate your warmth and caring so much. We had a wonderful and romantic dinner last night and now it's on to year eleven! But, you know, what's an anniversary without roses?

One dozen long stemmed beauties. Mmm.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (26)

June 14, 2007

Ten Years

Dale and I were married ten years ago today.

It was a perfect New England June day, warm, but not humid, with the bluest sky I've ever seen. We had a simple ceremony in what was, back then, only my church but is now the church we go to together. Our children (3 of his and 1 of mine) were our attendants. My dear friend Diane read Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Dale's sister Lisa read from both the Old Testament and New Testament, and the guys in Dale's band sang "Let It Be Me" with their fabulous blend of voices and folk guitars. The minister said one of the most beautiful prayers I have ever heard and the sunlight streaming into the sanctuary while we said our vows was breathtakingly beautiful. After the ceremony we headed to our favorite restaurant with 48 of our closest family and friends. We feasted on chicken and beef, drank our fair share of wine, fed each other delicious wedding cake, and danced our first dances as husband and wife. We laughed and cried and loved every minute of that day.

A lot has changed since then. My mother died before our first anniversary. Dale's mother died a few years later and then my father died last year. At the same time, though, our family has grown with the addition of a daughter-in-law and two wonderful grandchildren. We have observed divorces with sadness and we have rejoiced when others have married. We have gained weight and lost hair. We have changed jobs and lost jobs and experienced financial difficulties that we never would have predicted. And through it all we have been together. We have built a life and a family and, just like our wedding day, we have laughed and cried and loved every minute of it. It hasn't always been easy but it's always been joyful because we've done it all together.

So let them say your hair's too long
'Cause I don't care, with you I can't go wrong
Then put your little hand in mine
There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb

Happy Anniversary, Dale. I'm so glad I've got you, babe.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (94)

June 13, 2007

It IS Easy Being Green

When it comes to memes, I'm generally in the "been there, done that" camp. However, yesterday I read a meme over at Kristi's and I just can't resist this one. It's pretty simple: make a list of the things you're doing to help our environment.

~I knit with green yarn. Okay, so this isn't really an environmental thing but I wanted to show you how the Early Spring Maple yarn I dyed is knitting up. And let's face it, all that wool I have around my house must be acting as some sort of insulation. Right?

~ I signed up for Green Dimes. Not only are they reducing my junk mail but they are also planting a tree in my name every month.

~I use a company called Green Earth Cleaning for my house cleaning services. This company is owned by my two sisters-in-law Mary (the one I knit socks for) and Jen (the one who finds spinning wheels at yard sales). They use only natural cleaners and essential oils and everything is environmentally friendly. No harsh chemicals for my home, thankyouverymuch.

~Dale wrapped our hot water heater in an insulated blanket.

~We switched to compact fluorescent light bulbs. This one is a no brainer, people.

~We wash only full loads of laundry, in cold water, and hang things outside on a clothes line whenever possible.

~We recycle everything that can be recycled. Curb side recycling in our town has made this very simple.

~Dale installed a digital programmable thermostat for our furnace but we primarily heat with wood. And our wood stove has a catalytic converter. We also have ceiling fans.

~Our refrigerator and dishwasher are both new and have great energy efficiency ratings.

~We joined a CSA this year. We expect to pick up our first share next week and are really excited about this. We also eat local beef as we have friends who raise their own beef.

~Dale and I work to make our schedules compatible in the summer months so that we can carpool to work. This one involves some sacrifices on both our parts but it really helps with the gas bill.

As you can see, most of the things we do at Chez Carole Knits are very basic and pretty simple. But, there might be something new to you on this list and that's why I think this is a really worthwhile meme. So go on, show me your green list. I bet I'll get some great new ideas.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (38)

June 12, 2007

Man Socks

I think you might already know this but I learned to knit socks so that I would have something to do at our Civil War reenactments. This was back in 2001 and the sock pattern I was using was from the Atlantic Guard Soldiers' Aid Society. Back then, they recommended using worsted weight yarn and size 5 needles and truthfully, that was a wonderful way to learn to knit socks. Everything was big enough that I could actually see what I was doing and the learning curve was swift. Unfortunately, I knit that first pair from Lopi and Dale wouldn't wear 'em because they were too scratchy.

I've knit loads of socks since then, including several pair for Dale following that worsted weight pattern, but the one thing I've never knit for him is a pair of socks with sock weight yarn.

Until now, that is.

The pattern is Garter Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. 72 stitches with a 7 inch leg and a 10.5 inch long foot. They took nearly 3 weeks and my usual time for a pair of socks is 2 weeks. You wouldn't think those few extra stitches and inches would make that much of a difference but "man socks" really do take longer.

The yarn is Claudia's Handpaint in the colorway "Boot Camp" and I purchased it from Sheri at the Loopy Ewe. I used 2 skeins of the Claudia's plus part of a skein of Lorna's Laces in Chocolate. I really like the way those contrasting heels and toes look, even if it did mean having a few extra ends to weave in.

I had a 3rd skein of the Boot Camp yarn for justincase but I didn't need it. I came pretty close, though.

I was originally going to keep these a secret from Dale but that's kind of hard to do when you're sitting next to each other on the couch. And he takes a pretty active interest in my knitting so of course he asked who they were for and I couldn't lie to him. He'll have to wait until his birthday at the end of the month to get them, though.

You know, he's getting pretty old. Maybe he'll have forgotten about them by then.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (52)

June 11, 2007

Exciting Times

On Friday Laura emailed me and told me to have a good weekend. She also said that she always looks forward to hearing about my weekend adventures because I do such exciting things. This weekend's excitement was our church picnic. What? You don't think that's exciting?

There was a wheel barrel race and a bubble gum blowing contest.

There were Bible wars - that's when you try to be the first one to find the Bible verse that's yelled out - and three legged races.

There were bubble contests, too.

And best of all there was sitting around, eating and socializing. And knitting, of course.

It was a very pleasant Sunday afternoon. I almost couldn't stand the excitement of it all.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (28)

June 8, 2007

Eye Candy Friday

Last year I had poppies on Memorial Day. This year, two weeks past Memorial Day, I still only have buds. Global warming? Perhaps, but at least this way I can still anticipate beautiful flowers.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (19)

June 7, 2007

Library Knitters

The peony is completely irrelevant to this post. However, all the cool kids are posting peony photos and I didn't want to be left out. Plus, you know how I feel about a pictureless blog post.

Remember how a while ago I started a spinning group at the library? By doing that I finally figured out a way to get paid to spin since I'm "on the clock" during those spinning nights. Well, hold onto your knitting needles because I've done it again. I started a library knitting group.

The whole thing got going about 6 weeks ago in a very roundabout way. I saw an email on a local yahoo group and someone was saying how they thought it would be great to have a knitting group at the Carver Public Library. Frankly, I almost deleted this email before I realized it was MY library they were talking about. So I responded and said I'd be happy to set something up and we now have a group of library knitters.

We meet on the first and third Tuesday of each month and, while we're pretty small at this point, I think this group has great potential. We don't have a lot in common, we are all ages and come from different backgrounds. Some of us work and some of us don't but all of us knit and that's enough common ground to bind us together. It's pretty amazing to me that a group of women who have known each other for about 3 minutes will just start spilling their guts about all kinds of personal stuff. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that you can look at your knitting instead looking at people's faces and there's a sense of anonymity in that. Whatever the reason, I think it's great that people feel able to share some very personal things while knitting at the library.

And all the while I am getting paid to knit. I love my job.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (52)

June 6, 2007

One Spinner's Trash . . .

The Scene: The kitchen at Chez Carole Knits on the morning of Memorial Day. Carole is unloading the dishwasher. The phone rings.

Carole: Hello?
SIL Jen: Hi Carole, It's me, Jen and I'm at a yard sale. They have one of those things you use.
Carole: Things I use? Huh?
SIL Jen: You know - the thing with the wheel that goes around. You have a bunch of them at your house.
Carole: A spinning wheel?
SIL Jen: Yes! I couldn't remember what it was called. Anyway, they have one and it's $15. You want me to buy it for you?
Carole: Well, what does it look like? Is it huge? It could be a great wheel and I wouldn't want it if it is.
SIL Jen: Let me ask the lady what she knows about it. (muttering in the background) All she knows is that it's been in her family for a really long time and someone moved away and gave it to her.
Carole: Does it work?
SIL Jen: She says it does. I'm putting my foot on the pedal and the wheel is going around.
Carole: That's a good sign. And if there's a foot pedal then it's not a great wheel. Hmmm. How's the wood? Is it in good shape?
SIL Jen: Carole! It's wood for crying out loud. How do I know if it's in good shape? Do you want me to buy it or not?
Carole: Sure, go ahead and buy it. $15 isn't much to lose if it's crap.

Carole goes back to unloading the dishwasher and starts making potato salad. Fifteen minutes later SIL Jen pulls in the driveway and unloads this:

Carole: It's quite interesting. It's very primitive and the wood is rough and not finished well it all. It's really in need of cleaning. But it appears to work and there is probably quite a story behind this wheel. I think I'll go email Marcy.
SIL Jen: So did I do good? Are you happy with it?
Carole: I'm not sure yet. But I'm really curious. My blog friends will know more. Thanks Jen.

Marcy and I have drawn a few conclusions but most of this remains a mystery. What do you all think? Trash or treasure?

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (73)

June 5, 2007

Breaking Out the Dye Pot

I promised I would share my adventures in dyeing with you and that's what today's post is all about.

Of course, the first step is not all that fun - measuring out the skeins! I got out my skein winder and niddy noddy and set to measuring off 500 yard skeins of fingering weight yarn from Henry's Attic. I bought these skeins right after the last time I dyed because I was desperate to dye some more and Knit Picks was sold out of their dye-your-own yarn back then. The jokes on me because if I had been more patient I could have had pre-measured skeins in plenty of time -- the last time I dyed was a whole year ago! Anyway, I made up two 500 yard skeins, soaked them in water and vinegar for a while and then I headed for the garage.

Yes, that's right - I now have a dyeing area in my garage. I can mix and measure and set everything up out there. I still have to use my kitchen stove for setting the dyes but I'm hoping to change that soon, too. One location dyeing will be mine! So here you can see my measuring cups and dyes and utensils and good stuff like that. You can't see my rubber gloves and face mask because I'm already wearing them. Safety first, you know.

The first skein of yarn I did was handpainted with brown, green and blue. I wanted something that reminded me of my maple trees when the leaves first come out. Handpainting yarn is very simple. I put down plastic wrap and lay out the pre-wetted skein on that. Then I just squirt away with my colors. Once I've got it all painted I wrap it all up in the plastic and then steam it in a big kettle for about an hour.

I'm very happy with the results of this one. The green is exactly the color I was hoping for and the brown really does remind me of tree bark. The blue is a bit brighter than the sky but that's okay by me.

I used the immersion method for the second skein of yarn. I mixed up 2 teaspoons of "turkey red" powdered dye with 4 teaspoons of vinegar and a cup of water. I put the skein of yarn into the dye pot full of water first then poured the dye on top. I only stirred a teeny bit because I wanted the red to be a bit mottled and not evenly dyed. I set this on the stove and let it simmer for an hour or so.

I'm pretty happy with the results of this one, too. There are a couple of spots where I had the skeins tied a little tight and the dye didn't penetrate as well as it should have but I think that will make for more interesting knitting so I don't mind too much.

The whole thing only took the better part of a morning. You can bet I'll be dyeing again soon!

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (57)

June 3, 2007

Where Have All the Good Times Gone?

The vacation is over and I'm back at work. Ugh. At least it's raining. Last week was a seriously wonderful week. Dale was at work, Hannah was at school and I was . . . at home. By myself. Let's take a look at my previously stated vacation goals and see how I did.

~weed garden
~plant annuals

Check. Hannah helped with the weeding and Dale helped with the flower selections and planting.

~get haircut & color
Check. It looks good, too but you'll just have to trust me on that one.

~spin every day

Check. I have a bobbin and a half full to prove it.

~practice spindle spinning
Check. I put that basket of spindles on the hutch in the dining room. Sitting right there it's so easy to grab one and spindle for a few moments a few times a day.

~go to YMCA 3 times
Whoops. I never even made it once.

~dye some yarn and/or roving

Check. I'll have more on this tomorrow.

~fix the everyday cardigan
Whoops. I thought about it and read about how to do it. But it was pretty warm last week and the idea of sitting with a wool sweater in my lap was less than appealing. I'll tackle this one soon, though, because I really want that sweater to be wearable.

~knit a pair of bootees

Check. They are my first pair of baby bootees ever and they were quick and fun to knit. The pattern is Herringbone Bootees from 50 Baby Bootees to Knit. Size 2 needles with Rowan 4 Ply Cotton. These are a gift for a friend and they're getting mailed off today.

I also did several other things that weren't on my list like have breakfast with a new friend and go shoe shopping and have lunch at Panera and watch my soap every day. It was a fabulous vacation. What a shame it had to end.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (55)

June 1, 2007

Eye Candy Friday

I can't believe it's Friday already! A week of vacation sure goes by faster than a week of work.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (33)