Outdoor Blogging

Tim and I were joking about drunken blogging, so I decided to do some outdoor blogging. Less embarrassing, more Vitamin D. Our porch isn't huge, but we have a lake view (also a railroad tracks view, and a highway view, but we like to focus on the lake), and room enough for a table and chairs, and my potted plants. Every spring, we take the tarp off the table and clean the porch for use all summer. The cats love to hang out on the porch, too. We have ducks, ravens, and squirrels that hang out below us. Oh, and around dusk, we have raccoons, too.

Here's the finished Somewhat Cowl:


I like it! The fit is really good, and I love this yarn. It took 5 balls of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Moss, and a bit of a sixth. Really, I just switched to the sixth ball for the last inch of ribbing. Click here for the pattern. I used size 4 and 5 needles, and my gauge was fine. This is a very fun piece to knit, and I love the finished top. I'm still waffling a bit on going back and lengthening the sleeves, since I have so much yarn left. Maybe 3/4 sleeves to make it more versatile--I can only wear short sleeves here for a short summer season. But I like the look in short sleeves. I got my husband to take the picture outside, although I know you guys love the bathroom mirror modeling shots.

Other knitting: Holly got the Baby Beluga Bolero yesterday, and it fit! She made some great suggestions about the fit, so I'll be posting a revised pattern to make the front panels a bit wider. Look for the revisions tomorrow, probably--it's just a bit of math.

On to the Orangina (Natural Cherry Soda for me)! I also *must* finish the Heavenly Stole in time for Mother's Day. I just do not like the Kid Silk Haze, and every time I walk by my knitting bag, I glare at the stole. KSH is definitely noBut it is going to be lovely... Oh, and I cast on for my first Jaywalker. My first sock ever. Rachel, I am a bit concerned about the sock cult recruitment folks (do they go door-to-door?), but I'm hoping they'll wait a bit to see if I become addicted on my own.

Reading: Um, another fluffy book. But after that, Trollope!

Writing: Still in the same spot. Argh.

Cooking: I'm making stuffed mushrooms, pasta, and something chocolatey for friends tomorrow night. Fun! The first outdoor farmer's market of the year was yesterday, and I got...bread. Rumors of asparagus were greatly exaggerated. Ditto for baby beets. But I did get to take my Felted Farmer's Market Bag out for a spin, and it worked really well! And I always enjoy the market, which is huge. There's also comfort in seeing my favorite vendors back again this year. And my herbs are sprouting! My basil just started today, and three of the four other pots have sprouts. Here's the thing: I put the basil in a large rectangular thing, since that's what I use the most of. The other four (cilantro, parsley, bell pepper, and tomato), are all in identical round pots. And I didn't label them before moving them around. So, I have no idea what's growing at this point. Fun! (String Bean, see why I wasn't sure I could handle roses?)