Yum

I made some delicious Hummus a couple weeks ago, took photos because I was going to post about it, but never did. This stuff rocks:


It is so easy, and I forgot how much I love it. Such a fresh taste.

Aim's Hummus

2 cans chick peas, drained
the juice of 2 lemons +/- a lime
2-4 cloves garlic, minced, depending how strong you like it
1/2 a large white onion, chopped fine
sea salt
olive oil for garnish
optional: small bunch of parsley, chopped and stems removed
optional: sumak, a Turkish spice, or you may use paprika

Put garlic, onions and 1/2 the citrus juice into food processor. Add parsley if you want authentic green hummus as I used to get it in Turkey. Pulse a few times to get it as finely chopped as possible, then add the remainder of ingredients. Process until smooth; you may need to add more liquid to keep it a smooth paste. If so, add more lemon juice (bottled is fine).

Spread into a shallow dish, make a well or two, pour olive oil into the wells, and garnish with sprinkles of Sumac or paprika. You don't have to garnish it at all, but the sumac adds some sourness along with the lemons.

Serve with crackers, and veggie dippers. Yum. Is also great as a sandwich spread for vegetarians. (I took this to work for an alternative snack to the sweets we always grab, and we smelled like garlic all day!!! But we were healthier for it...)

Here is a pic of my birthday cake (I hate cake):

What a scream! I ate most of them myself over the next 48 hours! YUMMY. Thanks MIL ;o)

And, here's a sneak peak at what I mailed out to my swap pal:
You can't see the whole thing until I'm sure she got it!

Dyeing....for warmer weather

I took an indigo dyeing class today. What fun! That dye is like magic when you pull the yarn out of the pot, and it's yellow, but then turns to dark blue before your eyes! What a cool thing :)

The photo above is where my damp, dyed yarn is maturing for the next 24 hours (it's stinky)! Isn't it a kick? (I'm sure the neighbors are enjoying this.) This is my first handspun, all chunky and gunky, but it was the only undyed yarn I had...I got to practice on the shop owner's yarn though, and so I got a lot more dyeing experience than dyed yarn. I love the indigo color, and the dying is not difficult at all! Wheeee.

I got roving when I bought my Ashford, and I think I will spin it up, and purchase some indigo dye and do some dyeing outdoors. I can't tolerate the fumes inside, my house is too freaking small to stink it up like that, but I love the results.

Okay, other news: I FINISHED MY RIPPLE BLANKET!!!!! Finished it on Easter Sunday, and here's a pic:
It was too big to even lay it out flat in my living room, I had to fold it over by 1/3 and measure it that way before I shrank it. Unfortunately, it came out of the dryer COVERED in gray crumbly lint, so back into the wash it went before I could measure it again (it was literally leaving a trail on my floor)! I have yet to measure it again :P

I'm also in the process of making "My So-Called Scarf". I bought some fun thick and thin yarn in a bright colorway:
Then, there is Meinstein without sleeves or collar:

Pretty unimpressive.

And my Ballet Wrap sweater progress, this sash is interminable! But you can see how it is curving for the body-shaping and neckline. It's a cool pattern that way.
Gotta go to bed, I have a doozy of a headache.....

Happy Easter!

Easter Sunday. So beautiful outside, with a rainbow in the misty clouded sky this AM, and no clouds at all the rest of the day. I was able to sit outdoors on my patio again, bundled up in my continuing ripple afghan, with crochet hook in hand. If it had only been about 2 degrees warmer, I would have been able to relax!

However, I do have news......

I finished the ripple afghan! I renamed it the "World's Biggest Dishcloth" because I made it with dishcloth cotton :) I love my blankie.

It measured 87" by 77", and then I threw it into the washer and dryer on hot! No telling what size it'll be by the time it gets done, but my sample ripple had shrunk 12% by 8% last summer. That's why I made it extra big. I want my blanket to be long enough!

Pics soon, I promise!

Eat My Hat....

Guess I have to eat my hat. We got about 10 inches of snow Friday and into this morning. It was wacky to have it coming down when I awoke, then all day the sun was brightly shining and the snow was melting!!! Very strange, short-lived little storm there.

I am sick. Grrr. I have caught a doozy from work. I have been sleeping most of the day, and sneezing until forced to take meds to make it stop! In between there, we went out to dinner, where it was fun until our table became intolerably hot and I had to stand up and get out of there before I hurled! Nice, huh? My poor family was still sitting at the table for about 10 more minutes, while I stood outside in the fresh air. We were supposed to go to a book store for a bit after that, but I needed to go home and lay down, and just got up after another 4 hour nap.

I was gonna knit for a while, but my nose won't stop running and I can't stop sneezing. Poor me. The hazards of my job make me wonder sometimes if I'm getting paid enough!!!!


I am working on the Ballet Wrap from Norah Gaughan in the Interweave Knits Spring 2005 issue. I purchased someone's old stash of mags online, and have started that sweater in a solid blue yarn (similar in color to my Blue Beauty Sweater, go figure!)....I'm on the curved part of the sash right now, and it's really fun to see how you bury the short-rows in the ribbing pattern stitch!

Also, I made a really fun scarf with some of the swap yarn I recieved from Carola last fall! It is mohair, and I only had one skein of this pink color, so I made a really cute fluffy scarf in lover's knot crochet. That thing took about an hour to make!


I was so pumped about that, I began another one, in the navy blue color of the same yarn from Carola. Unfortunately, the dark blue color came off on my fingers! So I decided to set the color by soaking the FO in vinegar water, then drying it. I was a bit more aggressive than I should have been--the darn thing felted! So I have a felted navy blue version of the same scarf >:|


I have also made a fish tawashi pattern I found online. It is cute, but I used the wrong kind of acrylic yarn to make it, and it's limp and floppy! It was very fussy to make up, so I'll probably not do another one. I had also made a circular scrubbie, and took it to work...that was a success, in regular acrylic. Finally a good use for acrylic yarn!!! It makes great dish scrubbies!


Here's how badly the Sugar 'n Cream Stripes yarn bleeds when washed. Very annoyed with the now "Red, Pink, & Blue" washcloths I got out of it.


I was gonna try and make a matching dishtowel, but now I think I might return the other balls of that yarn. There are plenty of other yarns to use that won't bleed like that.



I have been busy, as you can see. I'll try to be a better blog-sistah! More photos to come....

Meinstein

Hello. I feel up to posting. But I have no pics, sorry :) Tomorrow is my b-day, I'll be 46. I've been preparing myself all year!

I have had another crazy week at work, but I think I'm finally starting to get used to the pace. It is usually not this frenetic, but my previous job was, so you'd think I'd be able to adjust.

I got to sit in the sun on my patio tonight after work, and knit for about 1/2 hour. With my feet in sandals, and a nice sweater on, I was pretty comfy. Then my Dad showed up with a B-day gift for me, yay :) And I got to show off my spinning wheel!

I have been working feverishly on my Einstein Coat--Meinstein, I call it. Then, 2 weeks ago, to my chagrin, I realized there was no way I would have enough yarn to make the whole thing. I gulped. I had purchased that yarn more than a year ago at a distant yarn shop, and put it into my stash. When I pulled it out to start the project last month, I didn't even think to check the amount of yardage to see if I had enough!

So I kept my fingers crossed and kept knitting. As I knit I came to the realization that I could order more yarn in a different dyelot, and it would work as long as I didn't join it in the middle of a panel or something. So my plan unfolded thus:

I would finish the body of the sweater in the first dyelot. Then I would make the sleeves in the new dyelot, and it shouldn't matter that much! I got a confirmation of that theory from Molly at knitting night (she's been knitting about 5 times longer than I have!) Yay!

My new dyelot came today...and I can get started again. I want to wear this coat this spring. I cannot wait!

Oh, and although I was sitting on my patio in bare feet and a sweater this evening, tonight we are supposed to get about 8 inches of snow again! Huh?! We are battening down the hatches for that, but I'll believe it when I see it ;0

Swamped

So swamped lately while the boss' wife is in the ICU. I have kept busy catching all the little friendly viruses that cross my path at work (tonight it's a GI bug with fever), I had a colonoscopy, broke a tooth, bought a spinning wheel, and generally have had all my creativity sapped by actually knitting in my limited time. DD is back from Marines training, and short of a car, so we are taking turns getting her to work, lending her a car, etc, until she can get back on her feet financially. I have been trying to book our 25th wedding anniversary trip (Maui), doling out bucks to DS, and trying to keep up with the housework. To top this off, I joined a granny swap before I knew this month was going to be so crazy, and I have a little over 10 days left to make something for my recipient and buy swap goodies to mail out! Yikes, pressure ;o)

So sorry, readers....I'll try to be back soon, but it looks like it'll be at least another week before life gets back to normal again and I can post anything. Probably April.

I must post a pic of my spinning wheel though, so proud to be an owner (at the expense of my budget this month).
All folded up between some pieces of furniture...
Slightly dis-assembled, but my pride and "joy", heh....

Ah'll be back