Making Progress

The Zara yarns give great stitch definition so it is a pleasure to watch this little cardigan emerge from the needles. We are expecting another wind and rain storm this afternoon (after going without power on and off for six hours just two days ago). I am content, however, to settle in my knitting corner by the window to work on Lillian's sweater, with a pot of seafood chowder on the stove, and the Canada/U.S.A. game set to begin.

The Olympics are winding down today. There have definitely been low points. While the purpose of the Games is to highlight the amount of hard work, skill, and determination it takes to achieve success, they should also demonstrate how the human spirit can work very hard to overcome great loss and disappointment and be gracious and generous in defeat. Team members glaring as they are presented with "only" silver medals, the elbowing of opponents on the ice racing tracks, or the President of a country packing up and going home when his team suffers defeat, do not demonstrate true Olympic spirit. And, of course, there was the terrible loss of an athlete's life before the Games were even officially underway. Despite all this, I think  this good and gentle nation was a kindly host and I hope we can be just as proud of the country after the Hockey Game, (win or lose), which starts in half an hour.

This color may be a tad unconventional for a baby but little Lillian Ellen has been given my mother's name, and pastel pink did not seem a weighty enough color for a wee bairn sharing the name a forceful woman who descended herself from a long line of strong, determined, hard working Scots.

I am aiming for a slightly more sophisticated, unique look here.

Pattern: Garter Yoke Baby Cardi

Designer: Jennifer Hoel

Yarn: Zara by Filatura di Crosa

Color: 1796

Needles: 3.75 mm circular

Olympic Stripe Socks

This is the last pair of Olympic socks made from leftover sock yarn. Though the yarn drawer still holds many bits and bobs, I am weary of cobbling them together. It is time to move on to another type of project.

Pattern: K3P1

Yarn: Opal Uni 1415 (cuffs, heels, and toes)

         Sisu 4228 (red stripes)

         Opal Creme 1020 (remainder of socks

Size: 52 stitch cast on for middling size child

There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow.

      - William Sharp

Olympic Event: The Popsicle Socks

This is the second pair of socks knit during the Olympics with remnants from the yarn drawer.

Pattern: Gentleman's Fancy Socks

Designer: Nancy Bush

Size: 60 stitch cast on for an older child

Yarn: Opal Feelings (5399)

Yarn: Regia Nation Color (5389)

Yarn: Regia Color 4 ply (1258)

Needles: 2.25 mm circulars

St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Red is for Lobster

Olympic Project

The Warm Up Event:

Sherbet Socks

The purpose of the project is to make good use of as many remnants of sock yarn as possible during the Olympics. I decided to knit children's socks as most of the leftovers are not in large quantities and it will be easier to cobble together attractive socks in smaller sizes. I 'd like to complete three pair.

Pattern: Simple K7P1 sock with a Partridge Eye heel
Yarn: Opal Petticoat
Color: 1290
Yarn for Cuff, Heel, and Toe: Trekking ProNatura
Color: 1510
Size: 56 stitch cast on for an older child

Indian Thursday

My favourite Indian cookbooks so far are those coauthored by Shehzad Husain and Rafi Fernandez. After pouring over Indian Food & Cooking this afternoon, we had two of the best dishes that either of us has ever eaten.

Balti Butter Chicken:

And Fruity Pullao:

The soft, delicate flavours of the basmati based pullao (green cardamom pods, bay leaf, almonds, and sultana) compliment the richer flavour of the butter chicken.

Like the environmentalist who feels guilty about a plane trip and plants a tree or two to cover his carbon footprint,  I offset the consumption of butter by, earlier today, walking to the grocery store for a couple of fresh ingredients - a round trip of 6.2 miles!

Celebrating Mrs. Zimmermann

Flipping  this over:

Into This:

Halfway into Elizabeth Zimmermann's famous Baby Surprise Jacket, I decided that the only value in the exercise was experiencing the weird and wonderful construction that Elizabeth devised many years ago, and to marvel at the way her mind worked. Three quarters of the way through, I nearly abandoned it as a mediocre (at best) little garment. Now that it has been completed, turned,  flipped, and smoothed into place with the buttons added, I must say that I understand now why, on Ravelry, knitters frequently comment that they can hardly wait to start another. It is cute.As per the KnitWiki website for the BSJ, I made full length sleeves with K1tbl, P1 ribbing

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket

Designer: Elizabeth Zimmermann (Schoolhouse Press)

Yarn: Schachenmayr Nomotta Extra Big Merino

Needles: 5.0 mm for sweater; 4.5 mm. for sleeve ribbing

Olympic Challenge

The Olympics are fast approaching and even though they are in Canada this year, I'm afraid I am as humbug about the Games as Scrooge was about Christmas. Corporate sponsorship, cities clamouring to host the event for less than altruistic purposes, drug use and abuse, greedy marketers, etc. have tainted, for me, the immense sense of national pride, motivation, and inspiration that used to capture the imagination in the days when we were all so much more innocent.
So, here, in the house by the woods, I am going to ignore the  upcoming, non-stop media coverage, set a couple of small personal goals, and try to accomplish something of value over that same period of time.
In the cardiac fitness category, I am going to be sure to do my minimum four mile daily trek, regardless of weather,  for each day of the Games. I have, by now, knit seven pairs of mittens - a different pair for each weekday of fitness walking. They're warm, colorful,  and have no corporate logo on them.

And
For the speed knitting category, I have gone through the yarn drawers and pulled out all the leftover bits and bobs of sock yarn that are similiar in fiber nature - Opal, Trekking, Regia, etc. I am going to spend winter Olympic evenings finding  a way to put the leftovers together to make a warm, comfy (albeit a little bit unusual) pair of socks! It will really be a design challenge but: Waste not. Want not.

I was inspired by the work of a fellow Raveler, Dawn, who has already done this and posted a  photo of the socks on her blog.

Scents of India

Dried chili peppers - Dried curry leaves - Atta Flour- Very Hot Chili Powder - Moong Dal - Masoor Dal - Cinnamon Bark

On Sunday, after an outing with Lucy in Point Pleasant Park, we stopped in at Indian Groceries on Robie Street in Halifax to pick up a couple of items. For me, it is always a learning experience. I am not shy about exposing gaps in my knowledge and sometimes use their black markers to make notes on the packages I purchase. There is a little nook in  the shop where you can squeeze in and look over a wide array of spices, lentils, dried beans, pastes, powders, etc. The aroma in that corner is heavenly - provided, that is,  the heavenly hosts enjoy cardamom, coriander, cumin, asafetida, a side of samosas, and Naan bread. I remarked on the amazing smells to the young man at the counter. He laughed and said that sometimes when he leaves the store after work and goes to friends' houses or to class, his friends will say that they can detect the aroma of the Indian spices on his clothing and they love it. He thought it would be brilliant to be able to capture the scent in a cologne and market it!

Working on Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket this week. I must be one of the few hard core knitters out there who hasn't yet produced it! For me, it is an exercise in tackling the very unusual construction. The finished garment isn't going to be nearly as valuable as the learning experience.