Thawing out.
19 Jan 2010 2 Comments
in Learning to be a Midwestern Gal, Off the Needles
Phew! It’s 44 degrees today and I’m loving it! No it’s not my 60′s and 70′s from days of LA past, but I’ll take it! See, for the last two weeks we’ve been subjected to highs of ZERO and ice and snow and winter of DOOM. Yeah ok, maybe not that bad, but it says something when my dad tells me he’s heard that Kansas City is one of the coldest places in the country, doesn’t it?
With that in mind, I raced to finish some mittens!
The Pattern: Fiddleheads by Adrian Bizilia
The Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts kit at PickupSticks
The Needles: The pattern calls for US3, but I used US1
The Verdict: I LOVE these mittens! If I make them again, and I will, I will probably make them on US2′s so that they will be a bit larger and have room for a more substantial liner. As they are, I ended up subbing Kid Silk Haze as the liner (yarn was included in the kit – but I had some KSH in the stash!) because the mittens weren’t quite big enough for the intended liner. These took me a few weeks to knit because I dallied a little, but I knit the entire second mitten in 2 afternoons, and then the liners only took me a few more hours. Now my fingers are toasty warm!
Beautiful Fall.
03 Nov 2009 1 Comment
in A Picture's Worth 1000 Words, Learning to be a Midwestern Gal
This is, hands down, my most favorite part of living in the Midwest.
As the vegetable turns.
12 Jun 2009 Leave a Comment
in Farm Fresh Foods, Learning to be a Midwestern Gal
My my…. what do I spy?
A growing cucumber.
Some tender green peppers.
A budding squash flower.
Some sweet carrot tops.
Behold
31 Jan 2009 1 Comment
in Farm Fresh Foods, Learning to be a Midwestern Gal
I CAN HAZ COT GARDENZ.
MAH BEANS OF DOOM.
It’s like Ohmigod!
25 Jan 2009 2 Comments
in Finding my Green Thumb, Funny, Learning to be a Midwestern Gal
You can say many things about me. I possess many talents. Gardening, however, is not one of them. In fact I’m spectacularly bad at it. Since moving to Kansas City, you might say that I have a one way relationship with potted plants and cuttings, one of virtually assured destruction.
My only briefly successful foray into the growing world was the Aerogarden escapades of this past spring/summer. And I have to say it was kind of cheating. It was grow lights, water, prepackaged seed pods and food pellets.
Last weekend Wes and I decided to try our hand at growing again. We spent a little while at Home Depot pondering our options and ended up with a Burpee Grow Kit. The kit comes with a plastic tray, a watering system (reservoir and absorbent mat), and some “magic” dirt pellets (they expand when you add water). At the end of the evening our newest project looked like this:
We planted a variety of vegetables and herbs. From our previous experience we expected the herbs to sprout within a 7-10 days and be ready for harvesting and transfer within 4-6 weeks. From reading the vegetable packets, we expected our plants to be transferable in about 6 weeks and mature in 60-90 days. We reasoned that this would be at earliest, March, and at lastest April, perfectly warm.
A mere 6 days later, this is what we have:
Those there on the left are the BEANS OF DOOM with root systems already OUTSIDE the plastic tray. In the middle you can see a melange of tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and onions. Those big sprouts on the right are the broccoli.
Not much action from the herb section:
Apparently the hubs and I are genius gardeners huh? We’re also in SERIOUS trouble.
Snow day.
16 Dec 2008 1 Comment
in Learning to be a Midwestern Gal
No one told me it was going to be a snow day, but here’s what I saw when I woke up:
My hunch was further confirmed when I went to go to the market and found this:
Why did I leave California again?
P.S. And why do I still have to go to work?
And fall is over.
10 Nov 2008 2 Comments
in Learning to be a Midwestern Gal, Off the Needles, Weekend Update
Just like that, the trees have shed their leaves, the temperatures have dropped and snow is in the forecast. Fall was beautiful but short and I miss it already. I’m really cold.
This weekend we headed down to my in-laws so that Wes could finish up a curio cabinet that he’s building for his mom. This meant LOTS of knitting time for me.
My favorite accomplishment this weekend was finishing the first of two fingerless gloves that I’m making myself.
The Pattern: Winter Twilight Mitts
The Needles: US 1′s
The Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug & Dale Ulli
The Verdict: LOVE LOVE LOVE these! These are going to be a part of my new winter set (well yeah winter is already here). It’s my first big stranded project and I had a little trouble with tension at first, but then seemed to get into the groove. I still have the second one to do, but I’m hoping that it will go faster now that I know what I’m doing!
I also managed to mostly complete a commission order that I’m working on, a newborn baby bunting. (Yes the sleeves are still missing – hope to finish that up today!)
The Pattern: My own, adaptation of EZ’s February Baby Sweater for the yoke and then all my own.
The Needles: US 5′s
The Yarn: Caron Simply Soft, Off White
The Verdict: This is turning out pretty well for a hare-brained idea of mine. I found the red star buttons in my sewing box and thought it would compliment this unisex pattern (Grandma doesn’t know whether it’s a boy or a girl!)
Finally, I managed to finish a big sweater that I’ve had on the needles for a bit. This is a sample that has already been mailed to A Mano.
The Pattern: Shawl Collar Openwork Jacket, Tahki Stacy Charles, Fall 2008
The Needles: US 10′s
The Yarn: Brown Sheep Lanaloft, 7 skeins.
The Verdict: I really loved this pattern and I think it makes a great cozy jacket. Having done a few openwork patterned projects, I have to say that I don’t care so much for the knitting of them – more for the final product. This is another one that may find it’s way into my queue again!
This week is pretty open. I have a few more commission projects to crank out while I’m waiting to hear about jobs. Hopefully I should know more by the end of the week. Hope it’s a great one for you!
Beautiful fall.
30 Oct 2008 1 Comment
in Learning to be a Midwestern Gal, Off the Needles, The Great Outdoors
Today I put Round 3 of interviews to bed and I’m feverishly hoping that soon I’ll have good news to share. Until then I’ll leave you with (of course) more knitting and some lovely pictures of fall.
The Pattern: Mega Cabled Scarf
The Needles: US 15′s
The Yarn: Sheep Shop, Sheep Two
The Verdict: This was a really fun, quick knit. Since you’re using bulky yarn and big needles the scarf goes like lightening. The only thing I might change is that I’d make the scarf wider across – a slightly larger, wider cable to keep me warmer. This one is going to live at a The Studio.
**
With our recent cold weather, the city is beautiful right now; full of gloriously colored leaves. My favorite trees are the ones that look orange and yellow and red, but I like all the leaves. I’ve been dying to shoot a few fall pictures and I got my chance yesterday wandering through midtown on my way to UFO night at MisKnits.
And here comes round 3.
27 Oct 2008 1 Comment
in A Book is a Woman's Best Friend, Learning to be a Midwestern Gal, Let's All Go to the Movies, Off the Needles
The big news of this weekend (well Thursday and Friday) is that I have now progressed to Round 3 of job interviewing. That means that on Thursday of this coming week I will be meeting with a whole new set of potential colleagues and bosses, including the president and CEO of the company. Let’s hope this goes well so that I’m happily employed soon!
Things haven’t been too exciting around here. I’ve used my copious free time to crank out a few projects. I’ve done a second cowl for another local shop in another scrumptious yarn, I’ve progressed on several other projects I’ve got going and I finished another commission – an Elizabeth Zimmerman February Baby Sweater and hat. The yarn is VERY VERY pink, but the client brought it to me to make something cute for her granddaughter.
I’ve also managed to catch up a bit on reading. I’d had The Other Boleyn Girl on my must-read list for a while now, especially since I wanted to read it before I rent the movie. I tore right through the book and it was a pleasant read. I find myself sort of engrossed in the Tudors now having just watched Season 1 of The Tudors on Showtime and having pored over the internet today trying to learn more about the Boelyns and Henry VIII.
I’ve also gotten sucked into Mad Men. I’m now mid-Season 1 via my old friend Netflix, and I’m loving it so far. My only complaint is that I can’t get the DVDs here fast enough to devour them!
The weather here has really turned to fall. The leaves are changing, and it’s crisp and cold out. We’ve been down in the 40′s at night, so the first frost can’t be far off. All of this makes me want to knit up tons of warm sweaters and get myself ready for fall. Today was sunny, although a bit cold, and Wes and I managed to take a couple-mile walk through the parks and trails behind our house. It’s been interesting living here over 9 months now and watching the area change with the seasons. Today I noticed how bare the trees are becoming and how the colorful leaves are burying the paths. I love the change in the seasons and I love fall, so I hope it sticks around for a while. No need for snow just yet!
Busy today.
12 Sep 2008 Leave a Comment
in A Picture's Worth 1000 Words, Learning to be a Midwestern Gal
Worrying about people in Ike’s path and building ark after rain in Kansas for 12 days straight.
