Hot Off the Needles

A few weeks ago, my good friend Christina went on a trip to Moab, Utah to go kayaking and hiking. I was invited, but couldn't make the trip, so she brought me back some wonderful yarn. :)

I looked on Ravelry for a pattern, but couldn't find anything that was just perfect for one skein of yarn, so I went to an online stitch dictionary, found something that I liked, did some math (ick) and created my own pattern. Here's the result.

My Mock Argyle Cowl:

(Please excuse the cat hair.)

This is a short cowl that only loops once loosely around the neck. I'd guess it's about 16-18 inches long, about 10 inches wide. 

I started with a 4 row seed stitch border. The other alternative was ribbing, but that might have made the pattern pucker a little, and I wanted something that would lay flat but have some texture. The center works in repeats of 17 stitches. I feel a little guilty calling this my own pattern, since I borrowed the pattern from a stitch dictionary, but the construction of it into a garment is all my own. The swatch I looked at was knitted flat, with instructions for flat knitting. I created a chart to help me knit it in the round.

This pattern was perfect for the yarn, as it used up almost every last bit of the skein. :)

Shawl 11 of 2012

I finished and blocked my 11th shawl of the year. The pattern is Color Affection by Veera Valimaki.

Camping Trip: City of Rocks State Park

Christina and I wanted to try camping for two nights in a row to see if it would be more relaxing than if we just camped overnight. Usually I come home more tired than I left, because I feel like I spend all my time loading and unloading the car. We chose City of Rocks State Park in New Mexico as our destination, because they have showers, and potable water near the campsites. This is a bit essential in the desert, where you can get dehydrated very quickly. It's also a bit of a pain to pack upwards of four gallons of water.

 Here we are sitting on the rocks near the campsite. It was overcast the first evening. We had to lay the tent flat until after sunset because of high winds. We managed to sleep a couple of hours in the tent, but the winds picked up again, and the tent looked like it was going to collapse, so we laid it flat again, and spent the remainder of the night in the car. Not very good sleep.

The visitor's center uses a windmill to pull up water from the well for the restrooms and the small garden they have. I thought it was very cool and rustic looking. 

 I wanted to make friends with some of my camera's special features... This one turns things into a watercolor.

 Some ominous looking rainclouds. One of the things that I love about the desert is the way the clouds highlight the landscape below. The shape of the ground really stands out.

 Here's another windmill shot.

 And more clouds.

 A fire ant in a thistle bush.

 And... this windmill was near the campsite. I was playing with different camera functions again. (HDR Painting mode)

 (Toy Camera Mode)

 (rich tone monochrome mode)

 (pop color mode)

 (watercolor mode)

 (Miniature mode)

 (Illustration mode)

 There was a spectacular thunderstorm in the clouds over the mountains in the distance. It was fun to watch from the safety of the tent at night.

 Here's our campsite. We stayed under a large oak tree. The birds liked it, and it was shady and cool.

 This friend was running for shelter from a rainstorm.

And this owl was probably hunting for ground squirrels.

We ended up not camping for two nights because the wind started to pick up again. I didn't want to spend another night sleeping in the car if things got ugly, and I wasn't feeling very good. (Heat rash, fever, headache.) It was a good camping trip, but not a very good test of whether two nights are more relaxing than one. Gives us a good reason to try again, though. :P

In the Garden

My mom and I spent about an hour yesterday doing maintenance in the garden: trimming back the herbs, clipping dead stems back, sweeping out spider webs, and saving a tree from an invasive vine. My Basil plant is getting huge! (Actually, there's 3.)  At the end of every planting year I tell myself that next year I'm not going to buy as much Basil. They always seem so small and helpless when you first buy them. Then they get gigantic and bush-like. For perspective, the Basil is on my mom's right. This is after we cut it back. Also, I've always been told that you're not supposed to let herbs go to seed, because it ruins the flavor of the leaves. But The Complete Guide To Basil  says that you should cut back the blooms in order to keep the plant growing. Plus, I really don't want it to reseed itself. I know some people are comfortable with a very wild, untamed looking garden, but I have a slight case of the tidies with mine. 

 On a more positive note, I thought I lost this Thyme after our last heat wave. Yesterday I went to cut back the dead stuff, and there were tiny little leaves underneath. :D I squealed and did a little dance! I like thyme much more than oregano, and the flowers are so pretty! I also enjoy the way it starts to climb over the edge of the wall like it's trying to escape from the Tarragon.

 Here's a shot of a bee in my sunflowers... He kept moving, though, so it came out blurry. I really enjoy watching bees, and don't mind getting very close to them. I love to see them with pollen covering their hairy little legs, because it means more flowers, sweeter honey from the local beekeepers, and an overall healthy garden.

 I'm not sure what this is, but it has pretty leaves and was in our wildflower mix that came from the Wildseed Farms. Mom and I visited once when over in San Antonio where my brother lives, and every year we order flower seeds from them. They have quite a variety for all over the US, but I particularly like some of the Southwest varieties.

 This is a Laura Bush Petunia.

 And best of all, my Bougainvillea plants are coming back! It took forever, and I thought the frost killed them, but they started to send out little shoots from the roots about a month or two ago. Now they're about 18" tall, and starting to flower again! I planted them because they reminded me of cool summer evenings in Greece.

 Here's a close-up of the Basil leaves.

 And a close-up of the moderately large but extremely scary looking spider that was hanging out near my hand while I was taking the previous photo. I have an extreme aversion to spiders. It makes me a bit of a bad gardener, but if I see a web, there's no way I'm putting my hand near a plant. Which I feel is justified in a desert where nearly everything is poisonous, especially Brown Recluse spiders and Black Widows.

The healthy Thyme (can't remember which variety) with pretty pinkish-white blossoms on it.

On the Needles

I realized I haven't done a knitting post in a while, so I took out my project bag to take some pictures of the progress I've made so far. I feel like I haven't gotten enough knitting done this summer, but quite a bit has been accomplished.

First up, my Larch Cardigan.(http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/larch-cardigan)

My struggle with sweaters is that they're fiddly. and I don't like making 2 of anything unless they're small. Sleeves are not small. This sweater is only missing a sleeve and some seaming, and then I can call it a finished object. OR I can wear it now as a weird looking vest. That said, I really love the beauty and uniqueness of a hand-knit sweater. They can be modified to fit perfectly. You can choose your favorite color, even your favorite fiber. So, every now and then I'll make one, usually complaining the whole time, but I end up extremely satisfied with the finished object. I worked on the collar, and it was fun. No short rows, but you pick up stitches at the end of every row to create the wider-in-the-middle shawl collar look. This needs to be finished before the Ravellenic Games begin, because I have at least 2 projects that need casting on.

Next up is becoming one of my favorite projects. It's extremely popular on Ravelry, and I'm surprised I haven't seen more around El Paso.   Never mind that. It's summer. I'm the only crazy person willing to wear a wool hand knit shawl in summer because it looks pretty. Even if I sweat and it ends up smelling like wet dog. :P Here's my Color Affection. (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/color-affection)

 I don't know what it is about cats. They seem to have a camera-detector. They'll all be asleep in various places in the house, but the minute they hear my camera turn on, they come running to "pose" next to my knitting. And take a swipe at the ball of yarn when they think I'm distracted. Anyway. Ignore the gorgeous cat in the picture (Comma) and focus on the great knitting. :P

I fell in love with Sarah Diamond's Color Affection Kits at http://thepluckyknitter.com/shop/ . My favorite was called Mid-Century. Which had a grey, a pinkish red, and a yellow. I love bright, primary colors and jewel tones. Problem is, her kits are a bit expensive. So I found some colors that works at http://www.knitpicks.com/knitting.cfm that were also on sale. Like... CHEAP. So here's my version of the Mid-Century kit.

The shawl is knitted flat in garter stitch (knit every row) with a crescent shape. It starts with one color (grey) then adds in a second color, with color change every two rows. Increases are made on the ends of rows. Then short rows are added when the third color is added, giving the shawl it's signature asymmetrical shape. I have to say, the short rows are very addictive. :)

Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

I've been wanting to try making a banana cream pie since I had a delicious one at Geske's. http://www.geskesgrill.com/

I improvised a bit on the recipe, but here's what I came up with.

I followed the recipe for a graham cracker crust from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. (If you don't have a copy of this already, I strongly recommend it! My mom still uses hers from the 60's, and the recipes always come out great.)

 CRUST

1. 2 packages of graham crackers, crushed (about 1/2 a box) comes out to about 2 cups 
2. 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

• Place the graham crackers in a ziploc bag. 
• Using a rolling pin, gently crush the crackers until they are a fine consistency
• Pour the graham crackers into the glass pie dish. (aluminum ones work too, if this is for a potluck or a party)
• Melt butter over stove or in microwave
• Pour melted butter into pie dish. 
• Using a fork, mix in the butter.

FILLING

1. 1 small package vanilla pudding mix
2. 1 small package chocolate pudding mix
3. 4 cups milk
4. 2 bananas, sliced

•  Following directions on the back of the pudding mixes, cook the chocolate pudding on the stove. (Most puddings have you combine the mix and 2 cups milk in a saucepan, cook on medium heat until it begins to boil, stirring occasionally to prevent scalding it to the bottom of the pan )
• Pour chocolate pudding into the pie pan, and place in the fridge to cool. Pudding will thicken as it cools. 
• Repeat the process for the vanilla pudding, but leave it in the pan to cool. Once it is at room temperature, stir in the sliced bananas. Mixing them in with the filling keeps them from turning brown. 
• Spoon the vanilla pudding with the bananas on top of the chocolate layer. 

 TOPPING
Try one or several of these toppings for a delicious pie!

•   Whipped Cream
• caramel sauce or cajeta (goat's milk caramel from mexico)
• chopped peanuts
• chocolate sauce

FINISHING:

Makes about 8 servings. Cover and store in the fridge. This recipe can be made low-fat by using fat-free milk and pudding mixes, and fat-free whipped cream.