Wow, have I ever been busy! I’ve been away a lot, at the beach a lot and have done lots of sewing…knitting, too! I’d like to slow down a little so that it won’t feel like summer is going too quickly.
The Best Little Yarn I’ve Never Knit
I hear (and read) so much about Felici, the special issue self-striping sock yarn from Knit Picks that, when I saw the promotional email, I just had to try some. I have to say, I see what all the fuss is about! It is just gorgeous to knit with, and the colors…YUM! Just when I thought I was over self-striping yarns, I have three beautiful colorways and three dynamite ideas. Thank goodness socks are portable; I won’t pretend I don’t always have a pair on the needles anyway 🙂 The bright, cheery sun-and-water-filled colors are pushing all my buttons, too.
Free Pattern Friday
This week’s offering is a fun portable idea…a little bit silly, a little bit useful and definitely cute. Next week’s will be very nice, I think! Here’s a sneak peek:
Food
Mmmmm! This past week has been a treat-fest. I spent the 4th in Fair Haven, the capital of road-side ice cream so…y’know. Yesterday, I made a bunch of jam with the last of the strawberries. I like making a super simple recipe that contains a little lemon, low sugar and no pectin. It makes for jam that is a little looser in texture than supermarket jam and tastes much fresher. Usually, I keep a few sealed jars back for the refrigerator but process the rest in my canner. And didn’t I pick the perfect day to have three burners and the oven on? Yup. The hottest day of the year so far. When Carl asked how I could be comfortable in the kitchen under those conditions, I replied that it is a childhood memory for me, hulling strawberries in the steamy heat. That’s when the berries are best!
I also had a Southerner’s craving for red beans this week. It’s a traditional dish
to put on in the morning if you have a lot of housework or laundry to do during the day. Soak the beans overnight, then set them to simmer all day with a leftover ham bone and the ‘holy trinity’. We had some homemade andouille sausage to pop in there too. A little crusty bread and they are just the yummiest thing! And once you’ve made ’em, you only need the microwave to warm them up. (Add a splash of water, stock or, in my case, beer to the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.)
I turned the beans on low and went to the beach in the afternoon, something we almost never do during the week, but now that I know how lovely it is, I’ll make a habit of it! We’d been to a quiet little beach with Teddy the weekend before which was, predictably, full of people. Not everyone loves a big, soggy dog running around the way we do. This time, being Tuesday, we had the place to ourselves. It was divine. I felt so refreshed when we got home that I found time and energy to finish writing the Orinoco Tank pattern. I’m making reasonable progress with it:
Today will be about sewing for me, and getting ready for tomorrow’s free pattern and deal of the week. I cut out three pair of cool, cotton summer jammies for me and Carl this morning while I was having coffee. I hope they’ll be weekend wearable. See you tomorrow!
