silly dog friday.

Posted on January 25, 2008 by barefootrooster

Actually, every day is a silly dog day around here. Though I’ve been making some serious knitting progress, in the form of another foot of length on my gathered scarf, a few more pattern repeats on my magic loop socks, and even some decisions on how many more increases my brompton cardigan needs before I divide for the sleeves, it is hard to see this in pictures. Rather than bore you with the equivalent of the WIP photos I shared yesterday, I figured we’re due for some ridiculous dog pictures. Allow me to share a few from this week:

That’s my dog: full of decorum, appropriateness, etc. You can’t tell from the picture, but he is twitching and snoring, perhaps dreaming of having some uninterrupted time to throw and retrieve whatever ball of yarn is attached to my knitting needles and ALMOST within reach. Happy Friday!

another FO!

Posted on January 15, 2008 by barefootrooster

Sometimes, while I sit at my funky 1960s kitchen table working on my laptop, the dog sits on the futon with a regal air that makes me wonder what exactly he is thinking. I had the camera handy yesterday, and managed to capture this:

I also finished yet another WIP: a simple garter stitch scarf made out of 2 skeins of very soft Patagonia cotton. Mel, of Pipe Dreams and Purling Plans, is also working on a garter stitch scarf, and her post reminded me to weave in the ends and tie this up with string for its intended recipient. This yarn was left over from a My So Called Scarf that I made for my mom last spring. I gave some of this stuff in an orangey colorway to a friend learning to knit, and when she turned it into a gorgeous garter stitch scarf, I decided to do the same with my leftovers.

This is a birthday gift for my landlord. She commented on how beautiful my mother’s scarf turned out, and I know she will really appreciate it. (I live in the back house on my landlord’s property, so I see them quite a bit and really enjoy being able to live by myself, but surrounded by the noises of children and chickens, and able to walk into the main house to catch up and have a cup of tea.)

I hope she likes it.

snowshoe adventure

Posted on January 8, 2008 by barefootrooster

After spending Christmas with my family, Boh and I jumped back into my trusty Honda and headed even further east to meet up with our dearest friend (Boh did some serious bonding on this trip). We spent a day gathering our provisions, finishing some top-secret work (thanks, Mad) and movie watching before heading up to Southern Vermont to the Merck Forest and Farmland Center, an educational organization that runs a sustainable farm and has several cabins for rent, year-round, on its 31oo acres.

The theme of this trip for us was “luxury camping”, so we hefted our packs, filled with sausage, knitting, reading, down booties, part of a growler of Southwestern beer, brownies, etc. and began the gorgeous hike in to our cabin, a few miles from the main visitor’s center. (Note: the above picture is from the hike out. You’ll notice there is a good 9 inches of snow on the ground. This was not there when we arrived, so we left the snowshoes in the car.) An hour or so later, we arrived at our cabin, stocked with firewood and complete with two wood stoves. Soon the fires were roaring, and we were settled in for the evening.

Note that the dog is in MY spot. We made dinner, brought in firewood for the evening and began to hunker. I made some serious progress on tiger sock number 2:

Santa brought me these deliciously warm down booties, and I was thrilled to have them for this trip. It snowed through the night, and on into the morning. It was still snowing when we packed up and began the hike out — a bit more challenging due to the many inches of powder we’d received over the last 12 hours. Here’s a shot of me and the dog at that same vista overlooking the farm portion of the land trust.

From there, a review of the forecast for continuous snow modified our plans a bit — worried that we might get snowed in at Merck and never make it up to our final destination in northern Vermont, we left early in order to cover some of the mileage before the roads froze and spent a more “civilized” New Year’s Eve making pasta and lounging in a hotel room halfway “up” I-91. The following morning we left early, and it began to snow. We reached the Wheeler Pond Camps just as the previous evening’s guests were leaving. Still snowing.

Plenty of snow for snowshoes. We packed our daypacks and snowshoed out the cabin door, eventually deciding to climb Moose Mountain in the Willoughby State Forest. With Boh leading, we climbed up and up and up, eventually reaching a rather anticlimactic summit that had to be the top! (We confirmed this on the cabin’s map upon return.) Here’s a view of the frozen pond, from part of the way up Moose Mountain.

Feeling invigorated (and okay, a bit sore!), we returned to luxury camping, which involved soup, yahtzee, more knitting and reading, a crackling fire and a bunch more snow. I can’t think of a better way to spend the first day of 2008.

I haven’t been this relaxed in months, and the company and the setting made this one of the best camping trips I’ve taken in recent memory.

(Surreptitiously slipping in some knitting content: See that on my head? That is my finished Foliage, made in purple Malabrigo. I wore it the entire trip. It stretched out a little bit, but that is likely fixable with some blocking…I love it.)

The next morning (still snowing), we dug the car out and drove south for one more evening of lounging before I set out for my parents’ house and Maddy went back to work. The next day, Boh and I began the 1801 miles back to our casita — and here we are.

Now that I’ve told you about New Years, I’ll have to sit down and make my resolution list — knitting and otherwise. Stay tuned!

minimal knitting content, but look — snow!

Posted on December 19, 2007 by barefootrooster

As promised, here are a few pictures of our adventures about 100 miles west and about 3000 feet higher. First, a traffic jam. The guy in the pickup ahead of us was asleep at the railroad crossing. After about 15 minutes and a phone call to our destination (in which we considered leaving the car and climbing through the spaces between the stalled train cars), we turned around.

some weather-appropriate graffiti:

The sky, particularly when it is this color, is one of my favorite parts of being out here:

Boh and I took a walk before heading back yesterday morning. I love the way the early mornings seem to make everything glow.

Oh, right. I’ve also been knitting. Here’s a shot of Mom’s Montego Bay scarf. I’d say it is a bit over 3 feet in length, so I am more than halfway. I’d love for it to be perfect, but that is not quite happening. I’ve done some ripping back because I’ve messed up my counting or dropped a yarn over, but the stitches are so small that I am realizing that I can hardly see the rows where that happens, so I am leaving it. Also, under a time crunch. Full disclosure aside, this is GORGEOUS. Nice to have a lace pattern that is a bit forgiving when you discover a mistake 3 inches back….

I just hope I can get it finished in time!

to do: yo, k2tog, assemble camping gear

Posted on December 13, 2007 by barefootrooster

Next week, Boh and I are jumping into my CR-V and heading East. It will take us somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 hours to get home, at which point, we will throw ourselves into holiday baking and lounging with the family. This is big for Boh — he tends to be afraid of new folks, particularly men (of which there are 2 in my family). After Christmas, we’re heading even further East to go snowshoeing/wood-stove heated cabin hopping (with some winter camping/lean-to sleeping in between) with the lovely recipient of that blue purl scarf (here). We are excited — and when we get excited, we make lists, a la the above picture.

Appropriately staged, this picture demonstrates how things are going on that list — notice that the list is mostly obscured by the Montego Bay scarf. I managed to make it double in length yesterday while watching The Queen, with Helen Mirren. I know I’m a bit late on this one, but even without all the Oscar hype, she truly is fantastic.

I think this looks even bigger when I lump it all together. I feel better about this rush because it seems like a lot of us are experiencing the stress of holiday knitting. I may be a bit sleep deprived, but the knitting is still fun. Stay tuned for more Montego progress. (Every time I type “Montego”, I think of the Beach Boys. Funny.)

Ami of SourCherries is my favorite person. Seriously.

Posted on December 10, 2007 by barefootrooster

I participated in my first ever swap this month, hosted by the lovely Keri of Knitty Gritty Thoughts at the Fingerless Mitts for Fall KAL. (Also, my first KAL!) I was super excited to be paired with Ami of SourCherries because her photography is gorgeous, and thus worthy of her knitting. I received an incredible bounty of treats today:

Take note of Ami’s beautiful handspun — the first I’ve ever owned. This will have to become something special for me. Also, Burt’s Bees treats (this lip gloss is the only “make up” I wear — how did you know?), a felted notions bag filled with a selection of teas, and Dagoba chocolates. You don’t see the mitts in this picture because I’m wearing them. It is hard to take pictures of mitts that are on your hands. Exhibit A:

Oh, alright. I guess I can take them off for a second.

They fit perfectly, by the way.

One more:

These pictures are a bit unworthy of these gifts and the gifter’s photographic abilities, but it is absolutely pouring down rain, and this is forecasted to continue for a few days. Thank you, Ami, for such a thoughtful combination of treats, and for these incredibly luxurious mitts. I may put off eating dinner awhile so that I can enjoy wearing them!

On a related (?) note, Boh “enjoyed” a first today. I picked up this package at the post office and brought it home to open it. I let him out to romp around the yard like I always do, and began unloading. As I was bringing the package inside, I heard some squawking — also not unusual, as Boh tends to chase the neighbors young chickens, which wander the entire street, around our yard with his mouth open. (Very funny.) Today, however, he actually caught one, so I spent a good ten minutes chasing him around the yard yelling for him to “Sit!” “Come!” “Drop!” “No!”

Clearly all of his obedient tendencies go out the window when he has a chicken in his mouth. He finally dropped the bird and I was able to take a look — still alive. I took Boh inside and went back to the chicken, only to find her walking away, wobbling a little. (Our yard is fenced, and we have chickens as well, though they mostly stay in their coop.) Though Boh is often outside, those birds still find a way in. Maybe they love the smell of danger.

logic board, schmogic board.

Posted on December 9, 2007 by barefootrooster

My MacBook has returned victoriously, though you wouldn’t know it by the look on my dog’s face:

Seriously? Seriously. This dog is a comedian. Because I am so thrilled to have my computer back, please allow me to share an excessive amount of pictures of my weekend with you. Knitting content below, I promise, but first, to demonstrate how much I trust y’all, a funny Saturday morning picture:

The answer is “No” to all of the questions you are asking. (“Are you a speed skater?” “What about a super hero?” “Did you actually buy those?” They were a gift.) I went for a run on Friday with the dog, and wore these under my shorts for added protection from the gusty winds in the bosque. Saturday morning, pre-sunrise, the dog was begging to go outside, and I was awake, so I pulled these on to keep me warm. Upon returning inside, I realized how ridiculous I looked, and snapped this photo. Feel free to laugh out loud. I share this with you in part because I settled in with a cup of coffee, episodes of CraftLit and Cast On and some knitting deserving of some attention: my Fleece Artist Tiger Socks.

See? Now you can enjoy my completed sock without being completely distracted by the glow of my electric blue spandex. Maybe I kept them on for the whole morning. I am really proud of this sock — the first of my second pair ever. There are still a few teeny mistakes here and there, but overall, the heel is solid, the stitches are tight and even, and I even kitchenered the toe! I was so excited about all of this that I immediately cast on for the second sock. I asked Mr. Claus for some long sock circs and a Magic Loop book, and I want to finish these before I hear those reindeer hoofs on my parents’ roof. (This is going to be a long post — I’ve only been blogging a short while, but I missed you this week.)

Onward to more knitting:

I finished another garter brim hat — a bit too big for my small head on purpose. Not sure who this will go to, but I love this. My Thanksgiving host called this my “watermelon” hat, and I like the name.

You may notice the style of this photo — consider it a tribute to cosy of cosymakes. The pattern is hers, and can be found on her blog for free here. I love the photos she takes of her hats, and thought that I would display the result of her scrap-happy celebration hat pattern in a similar way. Thanks, cosy! This hat is made of Cascade 220 and Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed scraps, and is destined to go to my brother — the brim yarn is leftover from the pair of Dashing I made for him.

Boh and I went for a hike in the rain this weekend — we were the only ones out wandering, and it was absolutely beautiful in that foggy, forlorn, expansive kind of way. The weather was the kind that makes you want to eat soup, and, inspired by this post by Amy at angry chicken, I modified a Moosewood recipe for curried spinach and pea soup to be a warm, soothing mixture featuring kale, potatoes and Thai chile paste.

That’s all for now. I did even more knitting than I ‘ve posted here this weekend, and perhaps in the morning light, I’ll be able to take a few more pictures to share.

P.S. I’m sure you all already know about how fantastic the CraftLit and Cast On podcasts are (links above), and that I’m just a little late to the party, but on the off chance that you haven’t given these a listen, go download an episode. You won’t be disappointed.

FOs below!

Posted on October 28, 2007 by barefootrooster

I’m back in my own house now, and Boh is fast asleep. Nonstop playing is exhausting! I can’t help myself. Before I get to the results of my own playtime with yarn, I have to show you some doggy pictures:

Adorable. I love those dogs too, but I am glad to be back in my one-dog house. I managed to wrap up a few projects today, and I am really happy with the way they turned out. First up, the Baby Bib O’ Love from Mason Dixon Knitting. This was a super fast knit, and very enjoyable. This would’ve been done earlier, but Boh decided that he loved it too, and managed to chew through one whole stitch. I secured it with a fairly subtle knot (yikes, cardinal sin!) but it was still a bit obvious, so I decided to try my hand at some simplistic embroidery. Cosette, over at cosymakes, does some beautiful embroidery on the hats she makes, and her work inspired me to attempt to do something eye-catching to draw the viewer away from Boh’s teeth marks.

I know that pooling is generally frustrating, but in this case, I like how crazy this bib came out. I mean, I wear mostly neutral colors, but the 1-year old this is for seems to love bright colors (and, surprisingly, me!). Today is her birthday — Happy Birthday Ava!

I am excited to get this in the mail tomorrow.

I also finished the turquoise pair of Fetching, for a friend who is about as far away as you can get from where I am. (I used to be that far away too.) It is pretty hot there, but I think these will be a nice way to keep her hands warm while she rides her hot little Honda motorbike around town. (E –excuse the spoiler. I’m sharing now in case your package ends up in Nigeria. Oh, and boh mi ban ha, mi tan ha.)

While house-sitting, I managed to watch a lot of really bad television instead of crossing things off my list. I am learning that this is one of the dangers of knitting — because I am moving my hands and creating something, I can justify some seriously marginal activities, just because I can knit while doing them. Here’s my progress on the LMKG legwarmers. They are intended to be super long, which will allow for some serious scrunching. I love the combination of the Cascade 220 Heathers and the Madil Kid Seta. I’m about about 22 of 26 inches on the first one. Can’t wait to wear these!

Alright. Time to make a cup of tea and stop procrastinating.

garlic (and the weather allows me to debut a scarf)

Posted on October 24, 2007 by barefootrooster

I have a work share at my local farm. Last year at this time, I was rising before dawn once a week to schlep up to the fields in my work clothes to do things like weed winter lettuces, lay down and pick up drip irrigation tape, and plant garlic, all as the sun slowly rose above the mountains. Life was good. My work schedule makes a morning farm work share practically impossible this year, so I have the next best thing: a warehouse share. I spend a few hours each week restocking vegetables, sweeping up onion peels, making silly faces at the children who accompany their moms to veggie pick up — and, oh yes, volunteering to adopt veggies that don’t quite make the cut. Yesterday, I walked away with handfuls of loose cloves of elephant garlic.

Last night, I headed to a friend’s house for dinner, and brought a handful to share. We had a delicious Caesar salad — Papa Rooster’s own garlic-heavy recipe, actually, modified to include some scrumptious breaded calamari on top. Apologies — I ate it so quickly that it was gone by the time I remembered my camera.

In honor of the cold weather, please allow Boh to model a ribbed scarf I completed in April. I wore it yesterday, and it was ever so toasty. Details: Brown Sheep Top of the Lamb (2 skeins, I think). It wraps around my neck multiple times, which I absolutely love.

i’m in!

Posted on October 22, 2007 by barefootrooster

I am now on Ravelry — you can find me there as barefootrooster. I’m glad I started taking pictures of my stash over the weekend! Also, I just got back from practice, and our girls made us shirts that say COACH on the back. I never imagined that coaching would be this rewarding.

Here’s a gratuitous dog shot. Boh is reenacting Duck Hunt (you know, the game that came with the original Nintendo. When I saw this mallard in the grocery store, I couldn’t resist.)

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