KNITTING, GARDEN, and SQUASH

KNITTING: Home from LA one week and have been busy.  Knitting, garden, and squash are always evolving into something newish.  Here's the bear I made for my niece, D.  She is similar to Esperanza that went to my sister, C, who, like me, is a breast cancer survivor.  These bears are wearing pink and have pink/red hearts symbolizing hope for all breast cancer patients.  D can name her bear who went into the mail today on her way to Vancouver, WA.

     Also in the mail today, is the finished "ribs with cable on the side" scarf for my sister, C.  She laid claim to it as I was working on it during my visit.  I know it will keep her neck warm on cool LA nights. 

GARDEN: I ventured into the drying-up garden today and found a bounty of beautiful fall colors that only Mother Nature can create.  WOW!  The peppers, eggplant, and gourds are still producing.  By leaving the peppers on the plant awhile, they turn a gorgeous red.  I couldn't wait to get a photo for my blog.

SQUASH: The first of the Blue Hubbard squash has gone under the knife and not easily, either.  D worked hard with large kitchen knife and cleaver to break the smallest one open.

     Here it is in half.  The insides were very easy to remove not like pumpkins where you have to do a lot of scraping.  The seeds were nestled inside, easy to remove, too.  Then D cut the halves in half again, and I baked them on cookie sheets at 300 degrees for 90 minutes as was recommended at the Blue Hubbard Squash web site.  Yes, there is such a place. 



Here they are baked ready to be eaten.  The seeds are drying and they'll be going to the gray squirrels that live in our neighborhood. 

     Most the the squash meat went into the freezer, but I had some for dinner with a little brown sugar sprinkled on - delicious.  Three more squash to go. 

Fall is making itself known with a mini-storm this weekend, although today it's in the 90s.  I still feel like I'm on an extended summer vacation - Going back to school and the changing of the seasons seemed to go together.  Now I'm keeping an eye out for the first perfect autumn leaf that will fall in our front or back yard.  Then thousands will follow.  Raking leaves is the price we pay for their beauty. 

Knit and crochet on!  I'm working on a cabled pouch that could be used as a gift bag.  Will be in the next blog.

HOME AGAIN HOME AGAIN JIGGITY JIG

     I'm home again after a fun and loving three days with family in LA.  I'm not a seasoned traveler at all, so when I got on the plane in Sacramento, I went for the first window seat available. Here's my view...the wing.  But once I was seated, I wasn't moving.  To fly these days, requires a lot of patience since security is tight and the lines are long.  But it was worth it - and I could handle an hour's flight to LA - Burbank, actually.

     My photos were few, but I did take some at the Getty Museum which had the most beautiful grounds.  I tried to capture the expanse of the city.  No mountains in the background just more big buildings. We had lunch there and then walked our legs off admiring the sculpture and the flowers.  The garden was closed for upkeep, but I was able to get a shot of the shrubbery maze.

And, a picture of my sister, C, and her daughter, D. 

They're beautiful.

     So after fun and eating and drinking wine, I boarded Southwest again for a flight to Sacramento where K picked me up and drove me home.  Security was extra tight this time since someone had made a false threat at the San Francisco airport and the alert went out to other airports.  Had to show my ID three times. 

     Again the wing - leaving LA.  

     Knitting and gardening are still going on.  The ribs with cable on the side scarf is nearly finished and will be going to my sister, C.  D, has requested a pink bear like the one I made for C so that is underway.  The yellow hat is finished, but needs something extra - it's too plain.  So all of these knittings will be in the next blog.

     This is the remains of some of the garden, mostly squash plants as D  is cleaning it out so we can plant a winter garden as soon as plants are available at the nursery in a couple of weeks.  Hard work.  

     The tomatoes and bell peppers are still producing and the pumpkins are ready for Halloween.  We may have to carve one of these Hubbard squash.

    On the lovely side is the white rose bush.  Others will be pink, yellow, and red.  Spring bulbs are in as well as more wild flowers.  More garden photos to come.

     See you in the next blog.  Keep on knitting and crocheting.  GG



A Hat, a Hat! My Kingdom for a Hat! or was that a Horse?

     Sorry, Shakespeare.  I've been knitting hats lately which are more of a challenge shape-wise than scarves, although I keep a scarf going, too.  Many hats are knit in the round using circular needles and double point needles - a technique that is still a challenge for me.  This hat: Super Easy Chullo Hat, was knit flat and then seamed.  It can also be knit in the round.  The pattern can be found here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/super-easy-chullo-2 

     The next two hats I knit using wool/cotton yarn I found at the thrift shop.  I love the texture - thick and thin and bumpy.  This hat was also knit flat and seamed.  Notice the cables.  This pattern can be found here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bubbles-beanie

     For this hat I ventured into the realm of knitting in the round, even though it looks square at the top.  When worn the two pom poms stick out like little ears.  It's called Future Forestry Hat and can be found here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/future-of-forestry-hat



     I've got two projects going now.  This is what a hat being knit in the round looks like. No seam.  It's called Perfect Fit Chemo Hat.  I'll post the finished product in a future blog.

    I'm also working on a scarf called Rib Rib Cable.  Sounds like something you would find on a menu - ribs with cable on the side.  I like this pattern because it's easy to remember and once you've mastered making cables, you realize they're easy but look impressive.  I also like this yarn that has flecks of other colors in it.  This is a Red Heart Super Saver acrylic yarn.

     Sometimes I enjoy knitting with cotton yarn making small projects like wash cloths.  There are a zillion patterns for these, some very intricate.  This is one is the traditional feather and fan pattern with a small scrubber in double moss stitch.  All of the above projects are going to the Eagles Christmas Bazaar in November.

     The vegetable garden is starting to die back although the tomato plants are still producing.  The pumpkins are showing more and more orange and you know about the Blue Hubbard Squash. 

 The flowers, however, are going strong, especially the geraniums which seem to be on a second bloom.  They're so easy to grow and just get bigger with more flowers. 

Who told Mother Nature to make pink?



     And finally faces only their mothers could love ... however, they are loved around here and spoiled.  Orson the Pound Dog, is my walking companion, has good manners, shakes hands, and loves food.

     Hunter, who thinks he's the alpha-dog only minds his manners with the Master Gardener, D, who is his owner.  However, he is my shadow when I venture into the back yard.  He has few  manners, couldn't take him for a walk because he would drag me down the street, and he also loves food and knows to "sit" so he will get a treat.

     That's it from this corner of the world.  My next blog will have pictures of my adventure in LA - more specifically Studio City where I'll be visiting my sister, C and my niece, D this weekend.  Look for my sister, C, as Gloria on the TV sitcom, SCRUBS.  Happy knitting and crocheting!

TAIL'S TALE, NEW SCARF, AND NEW ROSES

     Before I start the tail's tale, here's a photo of one of the Blue Hubbard squash growing in our garden next to a watermelon and bell peppers.  Now you can see the true size of mother nature's workings.  We are planning to open this one and cook it in sections.  That's as far as we've thought about what to do with this much squash. 

     On to the tail's tale.  Spaz saw his vet today to have the stitches taken out of is tail.   Unfortunately, it isn't healing exactly as planned, so out he came with a large wrapped bandage and another vet visit planned for next week. 

     He's caught on that getting in the cat carrier means a trip in the car to see someone who pokes and prods.  He yowls all the way there and home again.  Otherwise, he's content to sleep and eat, as usual.

     I have finished knitting Your Boyfriend's Scarf.  I think the colors work well for a man or boy.

The pattern is The Scrunchable Scarf found at: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/scrunchable-scarf.  Another rib pattern I like is: The Go-To-Scarf at: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-go-to-scarf - aka "Uneven Rib"  Both patterns make a rib with more texture and scrunchiness that the usual k1, p1 rib.  More fun to knit, too. 

 

      I think knitters should experiment with their own stripe patterns.  I used one main color and three other colors for the stripes.  When I got to the middle of the scarf, I started the stripes in reverse order so when the scarf is hung side by side, the stripe colors matched up.  I used knitting worsted and size 9 needles.  So I hope some one's boyfriend will get this scarf as a Christmas gift - it's going to the Eagles Christmas Bazaar.

     The master gardener, D has been dividing flowering plants with rhizomes (tubers) and moving them to other places in the yard.  Otherwise they will keep multiplying in one spot.  He's also added two new rose bushes, long stemmed so when they bloom we can cut some and bring into the house.  Here's the yellow one - the pink I'll show you next time.  More garden in the next blog.  It's 97 degrees out today - HOT.  Everyone in the house but me, is taking a siesta.  No cooking tonight - sandwiches and deli potato salad. 

Until next time - knit on, and crochet, too.