Holiday Knitting

The Irish hiking scarf is done. I altered the pattern to include a slit, so it can lie flat. I think it turned out well, the wool is very warm. The cables are almost lost in the variegations of the yarn, but it is still lovely.I have someone in mind to receive this scarf. I think it will make a good Christmas present.

Here's my latest accomplishment. Two socks at once!!!! I am thrilled with this technique. This is a 40" circular needle, #2, and both socks are cast on at once. Then you knit around and around the big circle, moving the needles along as you go. This is the 'magic loop' technique. I am SOLD. This is the way to make socks.

You can use this technique for top down or toe up socks, and any pattern. I'm using Cascade Fixation yarn, and I've used one of the four stitch patterns from Sensational Knitted Socks, Elongated Corded Rib. It was pretty easy to get the hang of this pattern, especially after I tackled the zig zag hat.

This picture is a bit blurry, but you can make out the the zig zags.

I haven't bought the yarn for my Cardigan for Arwen yet. I think I'm going to get the Swish Superwash from Knitpicks in Dublin (that's the color... it's green of course), but I haven't absolutely decided yet. Soon. Let me finish a few of these things first!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Jaya and I had a quiet Thanksgiving this year, just the two of us. Magda and Andrew had other plans. Our non-traditional Thanksgiving meal was excellent. Jaya has been studying his videos from America's Test Kitchen, and this is the holiday meal he prepared:

We had Prime Rib, Potatoes Anna and Green Beans.
Everything was absolutely delicious!


I also opened one of my birthday presents, a bottle of Scharffenberger champagne from Meg and Kevin. Wow, it was delicious too!

The potatoes were crispy on the outside, and creamy soft on the inside. We had the heat up too high at first, so they are a little darker here than on the show, but they were still fabulous.


The Green Beans were cooked for four minutes, then put into icewater. When it was time to serve them, they were sauteed with some butter and salt and pepper. They were perfect.






The Prime Rib was aged in the fridge for 5 days. Then it was trimmed, and slow cooked for 3 hours.

Jaya is going to turn into a master chef before long. I have no problem with that!

We cooked, watched movies and ate. And I completely redid my computer... wiped the harddrive and installed Tiger and all the software I need to work from home. Getting ready!

Sales and Socklets

Yesterday my friend Anne held a Craft Sale at her home. There were seven or eight vendors selling their wares. I brought scarves crocheted by my daughter, Magda. These are all beautiful scarves, but the shoppers weren't interested in scarves. What do they know?

I like the ones with the pockets.


Janet and I provided entertainment for the crowds. We wore similar colors, purely by accident. The customers seemed to enjoy the music. Anne will probably do this again in December. Maybe we should set out a tip jar next time!


I finished the secret project. I'll post them here... the sock-lets! I'm going to give them to my friend Meredith tonight. She's a flip-flop girl, and these socks are specially for wearing with flip-flops. I may make a pair for myself, because The only reason I don't wear flip-flops is because I don't like the way they feel between my toes.

I found a great project for the sari silk. I crocheted this little bag with a size F hook. It's quite dense, perfect for a little purse, I think. The multi colored silk has a lot of shine, it's very pretty. I had this half finished at the Craft Sale, and it got a lot of attention. I'm going to give some skeins to Magda.


I sewed a zipper into the top of the bag by hand. This picture is blurry, but you get the idea.