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April 30, 2008
WIP 'Em Out Wednesday
I was admiring perusing my Ravelry projects page the other day and I realized that I have no in progress photos of any of my current projects. Shame on me! So, what's on the needles at Carole Knits? Glad you asked.
I wanted to cast on for this sweater the minute I tried on Caro's back at SPA. And I finally did a few weeks ago. The back is about 3/4 done at this point. The yarn is Peace Fleece and the pattern is very well written and easy to understand. I'm so glad I got over my fear of cables. You all were right, they really are fun! I've sort of lost my steam on this project since it's gotten too warm to wear it, but I'll plug away at it and be rewarded with a nice new sweater when the fall comes.
Daffodil Socks
Because there are always socks. The yarn is Carole's Eye Candy Friday in Daffodil in Mama E's -C*EYE*BER Fiber Coordinates, dyed for me and gifted to me by none other than Mama-E. I love it! I didn't expect it to stripe but I'm pleased that it's happening. These will be on the plane with me tomorrow.
This shawl has been on my to-knit list forever and I'm so glad to have finally started it. The yarn is Judy's Arequipa from Ball and Skein and I was originally going to use it for Twinings. But the variegations and the pattern weren't a good match and I ditched that for Icarus and I'm glad I did. I'm almost finished with the last repeat of chart one and then it's one to the edging charts. Woot!
So that's what's knitting here. What are you knitting today?
Posted by Carole at 6:30 AM | Comments (43)
April 29, 2008
Frank Harlow Day, Year Four
Our fourth annual Frank Harlow Day was a rousing success! The sun was shining and we had an abundance of participants. Union soldiers, civilians, sutlers, musicians, Confederates, horses, Boy Scouts, politicians and spectators were all in attendance.
Our set up on Friday was simple and fast. Even a 12X12 tent and fly goes up quickly when you have such cute help.
We had two new additions to our program this year - musicians and confederates. The musicians are part of a local folk music group called Rocky Run. They made such a difference to the event. Not only did they learn period appropriate music but they even made a concerted effort to dress for occasion.
The addition of Confederates allowed for a tiny skirmish to take place and spectators always love a good skirmish! Those Confederates held the Union soldiers off for a good long while but eventually the odds (20-2) caught up with them and they surrendered.
Dinner Saturday night was a wonderful meal of beef stew cooked over the campfire along with a chicken cooked on a spit, biscuits, and homemade pie for dessert. Eating outside always makes everything taste better!
Here's my favorite picture of the day, taken by Chris, a blogger I met for the first time on Saturday. See that smile on my face? It's two fold. First, I'm smiling because I'm waltzing with my husband. Second, I'm smiling because the event is winding down. It's a lot of fun but it's a lot of work and I'm happy to put it to rest for another year.
P.S. More pictures on flickr, if you're interested.
Posted by Carole at 6:30 AM | Comments (43)
April 28, 2008
Primavera Socks
Thanks for all your well wishes for a great weekend for our living history. We had blue skies and lots of fun. I'll have pictures and details tomorrow but today I have socks.
These are the finished Primavera Socks. They are for my May Day Sock Swap pal. The yarn is Trekking color 145. It's very bright orange but my sock pal indicated orange as one of her favorite colors so I think I chose well.
Teyani brought this pattern - a free Ravelry download - to my attention and I'm so glad she did! It's simple but entertaining and I found that it knit up very fast. I did substitute my usual heel and toe treatments rather than use the ones as written in the pattern.
On Thursday these socks will be winging their way to my sock swap partner. And I will be winging my way to Maryland Sheep & Wool. That's right. I'm going to stay with Hillary. We'll be touring DC on Friday and hitting the festival on Saturday. I'll be back home on Sunday night - a whirlwind trip, for sure! But you know it won't be so fast that I won't remember to capture every little detail for you guys. It's a tough job but someone's got to do it.
Posted by Carole at 6:30 AM | Comments (41)
April 25, 2008
Pie Candy Friday
Two posts in one day! I couldn't resist showing you the mince pie I made this morning. Dale says it's a work of art and should be on the cover of a magazine. But I think we'll eat it instead.
This weekend is our 4th annual Frank Harlow Day - the living history that we put on here in our town. Keep your fingers crossed for blue skies for us. And I promise to save you a slice of pie!
Posted by Carole at 9:28 AM | Comments (31)
Eye Candy Friday
I hope you aren't tired of daffodils because I can't seem to stop photographing them. They are everywhere I look right now, dotting the landscape with their sunny yellow petals and bright orange centers. Ahhhh.
Have a great weekend!
Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (11)
April 24, 2008
My Week in Photos
It's a random post today. Random picture post, that is.
On Sunday we drove to Plymouth and saw brant and seagulls. And seagulls and brant. There were a lot.
I love the combination of my husband and a telephoto lens.
Don't you laugh at this one! I bought Mason a harness so that he can be outside with us. The success of this venture remains to be seen.
You just never know what to expect when brother-in-law Randy shows up with the backhoe.
The thermometer in our kitchen yesterday. It sure felt like summer. We celebrated by having lobster rolls.
A flowering tree at Borderland State Park. So pretty!
Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (28)
April 23, 2008
Spinning Saturday
These are the chairs on my deck. They are quite obviously empty in this photo. However, last Saturday they were full of spinners and knitters as I had a small gathering at my house. I was thrilled to have Cheryl, Judy, Kathy, Manise, Martha, Maryse, and Sharon over for a terrific afternoon and evening.
The weather was wonderful. Warm and sunny with just a hint of a breeze. The lunch was terrific. We had macaroni and cheese, homemade salads and sandwiches along with brownies, fruit tarts and strawberries for dessert. Some wine and beer was consumed, too. Oh, and fresh brewed iced tea. The spinning was prolific. Merino and BFL and silk fibers were furiously spun into yarn. The conversation was stimulating. We covered politics, recipes, ravelry, husbands, gardening - you name it, we talked about it.
At the end of the afternoon we took a walk down back to the river. It was really great to go on this walk with everyone. I got to show them the flag pole that nearly killed Dale and the campsite we have in the woods. Its a terrific spot and I'm so lucky to have it right in my backyard and even luckier to have shared it with my friends.
It was a perfect day and I wish we could do it every Saturday. Sigh.
Posted by Carole at 6:30 AM | Comments (33)
April 22, 2008
Ten on Tuesday
I had a great time Patriotizing (as Deb put it) yesterday. Dale did yard work and I sat on the deck and knit. I also took a few photos.
But enough of that because this week's Ten on Tuesday is:
10 Things You Love About Your Life
1. I have a wonderful, loving, funny, supportive husband.
2. I have a great kid. She does well in school, she has good friends, and she reads every day.
3. And 3 great stepkids. And 2 great stepgrandkids.
4. I have a job that I enjoy.
5. I get to work with people I truly like.
6. I have friends all across the country.
7. I have satisfying hobbies. I love knitting and spinning.
8. I live in a great part of the country. We've got history and scenery and I can be at the ocean in 30 minutes.
9. You know I love my cat, Mason.
10. I have all the stuff I need and want. Sure, I save for certain things but mostly, if I want something I get it.
What do you love about your life?
Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (28)
April 21, 2008
Happy Patriot's Day
I should have told you this on Friday but today is Patriot's Day here in Massachusetts. Carole Knits will be taking the day off to enjoy the holiday. Dale thinks I'm going to do yard work. Yeah, right.
See you tomorrow!
Posted by Carole at 8:37 AM
April 18, 2008
Eye Candy Friday
There is a mass of these sweet little squill growing between my yard and my father-in-law's yard next door. The blue is so bright and the green is so vivid and I took about a million pictures of them yesterday. This one is my favorite - hope you like it, too.
Have a terrific weekend!
Posted by Carole at 6:30 AM | Comments (23)
April 17, 2008
Avocado Socks
I found something rather unusual in the garden the other day. Wanna see?
Can you tell yet what I found? Let me see if I can coax them out.
Is that better? Can you see them now?
Ahhhhh. There they are in their full glory. A pair of socks. Whaddya know.
Truth be told, I hauled ass to finish these this week so that I'd have something to post about today. It was totally worth it, though, because I love these new socks. The yarn is Cider Moon Icicle (tragically no longer available) and the pattern is my basic 64 stitch sock recipe.
They are perfect for Project Spectrum's Earth component, too. I love the browns and greens together.
And they look great with blue jeans. Or daffodils. Take your pick.
Posted by Carole at 6:30 AM | Comments (46)
April 16, 2008
G is for Garden
I resisted doing G is for Garden since I just posted F is for Flowers. I thought perhaps I was being redundant. But last week I raked out the perennial bed and now every time I walk by it I can't help but notice how fresh and green it looks. And since there are no flowers this time of year, I think perhaps it's not redundant after all.
This is my perennial garden. Please ignore the big brown patch in front - yes, we need to re-seed. I moved many of these plants here from my old house when Dale and I got married nearly 11 years ago. People told me it was the wrong time of year and the plants wouldn't survive and I was wasting my time. They were wrong.
Look at these day lilies. They came from a neighbor at my old house. She was very very old and said these day lilies had been in her yard since she was a little girl. I cannot find this variety in any book. I've even checked with a friend who is a day lily expert and she hasn't been able to identify them. They'll be in bloom in about a month and I know I've posted about them before but I'll be damned if I can find it.
See the ground phlox? My mother bought me one small flat of this on my first mother's day in 1993. It has spread and grown and every year when it blooms it brings back such sweet memories.
The peonies are just starting to send up their red shoots. These are the plants everyone said wouldn't survive the move. I'm really glad they did, though! The gorgeous white blooms always come right in time for Dale's birthday and he loves them.
This poppy is the first successful poppy I have ever grown. I planted them for years and they never came back but this one is back for the third year running now. Hooray! I love their papery thin bright orange petals.
The iris I could probably live without but they do make a nice tall green back drop for the other plants. And they grow without any effort and there's a lot to be said for that.
Later in the season there will be tall phlox and hollyhocks, black eyed susans and more, but for right now I love seeing all my plants coming back to me after the long cold winter. It's the fulfillment of a promise we made to each other. I plant and weed and care for them and they grace me with their beauty. It's a pretty sweet deal.
Posted by Carole at 6:30 AM | Comments (26)
April 15, 2008
Nothing Here
I got nothing. This happens every once in a while and I'm just stumped for a blog post. Quiet times are great for knitting and reading and tv watching but they don't make for great blog fodder. Seriously, the most exciting thing that happened yesterday was that I made pot roast for dinner. It was delicious but, again, not much to write about.
I wrote the first paragraph of this post last night and then gave up. I thought perhaps if I "slept on it" I'd have more to say this morning.
blinking cursor blinking cursor blinking cursor
Nope. I still have nothing to talk about. You know what you should do? Go hang out on the Ravelry forums for a while. There's plenty to talk about there!
Have a great day. I'll try really hard to have something interesting here tomorrow. Mwah!
Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (22)
April 14, 2008
When All Else Fails: Write a List
My weekend. A list.
1. I found lots more daffodils in bloom when I came home from work on Friday.
2. We had dinner Friday night at the local tavern with good friends.
3. I love going here because we see lots of people we know.
4. And they make really great martinis.
5. I had a long list of things to do on Saturday.
4. I finished everything, including the homework for my online photography class, uploading my latest yarn purchases on Ravelry, knitting 3 inches of sock for the May Day sock swap, and going bra shopping.
4. Some of those things were not as fun as others.
5. Saturday night we attended the most boring banquet ever. Truly.
6. But it was worth going because my brother-in-law Randy and his wife Mary each got a very special award.
7. Mary's award was for being the power behind the throne. They called it "quiet and unnoticed" but we know what that really means.
8. I'll never get an award for being quiet and unnoticed.
9. I made scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast on Sunday.
10. I love bacon.
11. In the afternoon we went shopping for a new camera bag for me.
12. And out to lunch.
13. When we got home Dale had stuff to do for our upcoming local living history event.
14. So I watched American Gangster.
15. It was really good.
16. After that we watched tv together.
17. And I did some more knitting.
18. It was a great weekend.
19. But I wish it had been longer.
20. What did you do this weekend?
Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (34)
April 11, 2008
Eye Candy Friday
I came home from work yesterday and found this blooming daffodil by my back door.
And I broke into song.
At last
My love has come along
My lonely days over
And life is like a song
I hope you find something to sing about this weekend, too.
Posted by Carole at 6:30 AM | Comments (26)
April 10, 2008
Spirogyra
I have another small knitted project to show you. That makes for knitting content three days this week. Can you believe it? I know. Me neither.
They are the Spirogyra fingerless mitts from knitty.com
The pattern is well written and very simple. It's easy to modify the length to suit your needs which makes it adaptable for anyone. For instance, I did 30 repeats for the wrist portion so the length is halfway between the two sizes given in the pattern.
Now don't fall over or anything but I made them with some of my very own handspun. It's Spunky Electic coopworth in the color Nightshade. They are a wee bit scratchy but they were the right weight for the project and that was enough for me. And actually, they can't be too scratchy because Hannah wore them for these photos and she didn't complain. Delicate flower that she is, that's saying something.
They will come in handy for reenactments and such this spring. Assuming it ever stops raining and we actually get a spring.
How 'bout that. I made yarn and I made mitts. Will wonders never cease?
Posted by Carole at 6:30 AM | Comments (50)
April 9, 2008
Random Wednesday
First, go buy some Can-Do yarn from Heather.
You'll be helping a great cause and getting some really beautiful sock yarn in the process. Can-Do. It's a win-win.
Second, I get to tell you that Leslie honored me with a Blogging With Purpose award last week. I was really flattered because Leslie's blog is one I have read since before I started my own blog. She's got wonderful crafts and photos and I really enjoy what she has to say. So, now it's my turn to offer up this award to 5 blogs that I think are purposeful.
Alarming Female - for raising my consciousness
Lolly Knitting Around - for her inspiring colors and photographs
Beadlizard - for her principles about healthy and natural ways of living
Habetrot - for her amazing postcard collection and wicked sense of humor
I'm Knitting As Fast As I Can - for her technical knitting prowess
Also, I have a new toy. And it's red. Very very red.
Finally, I just couldn't resist taking this test. Not bad, eh?
Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (28)
April 8, 2008
Tea for Two
I don't know about you but when I finish a major knitting project like a sweater I like to knit a few smaller things before undertaking something major again. This time around the smaller things were tea cozies. Two of them.
Aren't they sweet?
The red one is the Kureyon Kozy from knitty.com. Simple and quick and just the right size for this small Brown Betty tea pot.
The green one is Tea Cozy from the book One Skein Wonders by Diana Foster. This one is a little more complex to knit but still very simple and fits my larger tea pot perfectly. The yarn is Tahki Donegal Tweed and I used just one skein. Funny how that's just what the book promises.
They are just what I need to compliment my new obsession with tea. And I blame that entirely on Ms. Knitting the Blues.
Posted by Carole at 6:30 AM | Comments (30)
April 7, 2008
Fionn Sweater
Yesterday Dale and I visited the birthplace of Abigail Adams for a photo shoot of the finished Fionn sweater.
Since I knit quite a bit of this sweater while watching John Adams on HBO we thought it was a fitting place for an excursion.
The weather was chilly and the skies were gray but Dale was warm in his new sweater.
I think the fit is a bit small but it's just what he wanted. In his words, "I want a sweater that fits like a shirt." Good thing I knew what he meant.
The pattern is terrific and available from Figheadh Yarnworks. I'd highly recommend it. It's simple and straightforward, knit in the round from the bottom up and then the sleeves stitches are picked up and knit down. Easy peasy, this one.
The yarn is Ella Rae Classic, purchased online from Lavender and Peonies. It's very reasonably priced and comes in loads of colors.
More pictures on flickr, more details on Ravelry, by the way.
After a quick stroll around the grounds we headed home. Dale's with his new sweater and me with my new pictures. We were both pretty happy with the outcome of this trip.
Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (73)
April 4, 2008
Eye Candy Friday
Dale brought me a bouquet of roses last week to thank me for being such a great nurse during his time of need. Truth be told, I prefer tulips or daffodils or wildflowers. But roses sure are fun to photograph and I loved having them on my windowsill all week.
Have a terrific weekend everyone. And don't forget to stop and smell the roses!
Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (26)
April 3, 2008
Observations of Spring
I haven't blocked Dale's sweater yet and even though I'm been busying myself by knitting some smaller projects I don't have any knitting to show you this week. However, yesterday I had the opportunity to go to Boston for some library type meetings and while I was there I couldn't help but observe some very obvious signs of spring.
~Young men were playing baseball on Boston Common
~The wind was pretty chilly but the sunshine was definitely warm. Gloriously warm, in fact.
~We stopped for a beer on the way home and they had Sam Adam's Summer Ale on tap.
~While at this bar we watched the Red Sox playing baseball
~And ate cherrystones. Even though we're lucky enough to have cherrystones year round, well, they just make me think of warm weather.
~Finally, and perhaps best of all, when I got back in my car at the end of the day I heard spring peepers. To be fair, I did hear them last week but they were rather faint. Yesterday they were peeping their little hearts out and that was surely music to my ears.
Those are my observations of spring from this little corner of Massachusetts. What are you observing where you are?
Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (47)
April 2, 2008
F is for Flowers
I tried to come up with something more original for "F" but I kept drawing a blank. So, flowers it is. I love to take photos of flowers. Whether I've got a bouquet or I'm in a garden, whether it's wildflowers in the woods or poinsettias at Christmas time, give me some flowers to photograph and I'm entertained for a good long while.
I've taken lots of photos of flowers since I started blogging. So I took a bunch of those flower photos and made a mosaic.
I like it. And I hope you all do, too.
Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (33)
April 1, 2008
Ten On Tuesday
Today's Ten on Tuesday is Ten Things You'd Fix in Your Home (if you had the time and money). Oh boy. I can make a list with a lot more than ten things, I think, as I live in a very old house. But, for the sake of brevity, I'll keep it to ten.
1. Replace the vinyl siding. It's blue. I like blue well enough but a blue house? Yuck.
2. Replace the front door. It's old and drafty. Really drafty.
3. While we're outside let's get some professional landscapers in here to spruce things up.
4. And let's put a fence around the whole yard so the dog can roam freely.
5. A new floor in the front hallway. I think the tiles that are there are the stick 'em down yourself variety. At least they're red, there's something to be said for that.
6. While we're in the front hallway, I'd feel safer with a new stairway.
7. I'd like a new kitchen counter and sink. Granite, please, and the sink should be an undercounter.
8. A new light fixture in the dining would be nice.
9. I'd like a new bathroom floor, please. Tile instead of linoleum. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, let's get new flooring in the dining room, living room, bedroom and office while we're at it.
10. Oh hell, maybe we should just move.
Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (38)
