Good Morning!
And welcome to July. We had some good rain yesterday which seems to have cleared the air a bit. Geesh but it was a hot and humid weekend. I hope your weekend was a good one. Mine was good despite the awful weather. There was cooking, knitting, reading, stitching, just sitting, sipping wine - all the things that I love.
Fletch had an appointment Friday morning, so while he was out of the house, I took advantage of the time to turn on the oven and make the promised peach/rhubarb crostata. Oh my!
It really was delish! And there is even some left in the frig!! While that was baking, I stepped onto the patio and spied a little visitor:
Such a beautiful and delicate creature. The picture is not the greatest, but each time I moved to get into a better position to capture it on my camera, it would fly up and around and then land again.
We had a modest amount of rain Saturday evening, so Sunday Fletch went out to the garden and pulled all the garlic. We (He) managed to get some nice heads...others are a bit small, but the scent is wonderful!
Fletch will be hanging the stalks on the patio to dry. We will share some with Colin & Mailing too. Last Fall Fletch planted some at their house, but the squirrels dug each and every clove up! Never would have imagined that squirrels liked garlic...
Sunday afternoon I finally finished the 2nd Fairy Maiden sock.
I say finally because these were such a PITA to knit. First of all the initial stitch on each DPN is a purl stitch. I dislike starting with a purl stitch. The pattern is 8 rows long. The first 3 rows of the pattern have cables (both front and back) as well as some yarn-overs, SSK and K2together. I can do all those things, but I guess because I was knitting with DPNs it was more fiddly and awkward. I was continually messing up my stitch count (either dropping stitches or adding some). THIS is a link to the free pattern on Ravelry in case anyone wants to make themselves crazy. LOL. And here is a picture showing a close up of the very pretty pattern:
Pretty but still a PITA to knit! I'm glad to have knit them but I'm betting I will never knit this pattern again! LOL. (The yarn is from The Farmer's Daughter - April's Sock Squad yarn)
Finally, I will end this lengthy post with yet another picture. When I came downstairs at 6 to turn the coffee on, look what I saw outside:
Two little fawns resting on the grass. So sweet. They didn't stay there long after Mabel went outside. (Picture taken through our door so that I wouldn't disturb the little darlings.)
Well, time to finish my first cup of coffee and then hop in the shower. May July fill you with wonder and bring you much joy!
That crostata looks delicious and your socks are lovely! I can't decide if the design looks like hearts or owls, but I don't think I'll be knitting them since you've described all the ways that they are a pita!
ReplyDeleteThe socks are lovely, Vera -- but I can imagine they'd be a pain to knit. (I'll pass . . . ) And the crostata looks divine! I saw a doe with THREE little fawns in my front yard the other day! I've never seen (what I'm guessing are) triplets before. I hope you enjoy at least a day or two of cool weather . . .
ReplyDeleteMmm, that crostata sounds amazing! I don't know how you still have leftovers -- I would have a hard time not eating it all! The socks are beautiful and well worth the effort, though I can understand why you aren't interested in knitting the pattern again. Love those sweet little fawns, too!
ReplyDeleteThose socks are gorgeous (despite being such PITA's to knit!) And those baby deer! So sweet! I thought about you yesterday afternoon... 8 flights were diverted to Pittsburgh because of bad weather in NYC/Philly! This morning's chilly weather was a delight!
ReplyDeleteThat crostata would have been dinner, period. Remember, we're grownups now, and we can skip to dessert anytime we want.
ReplyDeleteLovely socks, but I can see why you'd never knit the pattern again. Still, what a gorgeous reward for all your torture.
How absolutely wonderful to see those pretty little deer curled up on your lawn. My son has a doe that regularly lies in his yard near the split-rail fence. He's named it Beverly and talks to her so often that she now accepts his voice and relative near presence. I'm so jealous (but she's not eating *my* hostas, either).
Those socks are fantastic but I can see how they would be fiddly to knit. Wear them judiciously so they last! All the things of your weekend sound lovely. We spent ours on Cape Cod and I only took ONE photo!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful socks! I don’t like purl stitches at the beginning of a row either.
ReplyDeletethey might have been a pain but they are glorious to look at!!
ReplyDeleteThose are really lovely socks! There's nothing wrong with them being a one and done. Think about all the patterns out there. It's endless.
ReplyDeleteThe weather is just gorgeous here today. Breezy and cool. What on earth happened to summer? I've got the AC off and the windows open. I hope it stays this way but I know better.
Fantastic look socks even if they will remain the only pair! The dessert looks yummy! The fawns are so sweet! Glad you got to see them!
ReplyDeletewow, I miss a few days and there are THREE posts from you! love that you're back cooking/baking, and the garden produce looks delicious. Congrats on a pair of finished socks ... the pattern on the leg is really pretty, but I'm with you, stockinette on dpn's :-) Have a good week!
ReplyDeleteOH FAWNS! Love seeing them!
ReplyDeleteThe pattern in those socks is really pretty but it does sound like a lot of work. You must be feeling better if you are baking and stitching. The little fawns are very sweet.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful butterfly! And nice garlic harvest - mine has a couple more weeks to finish curing on the porch, but it's looking great. My heads aren't huge, but I think they are a decent size.
ReplyDeleteSorry the socks were a pain - They certainly look nice!
Have not seen one fawn this year except for an orphan on another road whose mom lay there from a car hit.
ReplyDeleteThe sock pattern certainly looks tedious but so pretty.