Casting off...

By Nicole R. Dickson-best Knit Lit book I've read in awhile! Seriously, what a great read! Perfect for these bleary, cold, wintery nights! I found it on the shelf of my good friend's mother's Vt. house and since cracking it, I haven't been able to put it down. This book appealed to my knitting side, as well as my interest in history-art/craft history in particular and of course, the Irish are rich in their history. Here is the Barnes and Noble synopsis, in case you're looking for a new read:

"On a tiny island off the west coast of Ireland, the fishermen’s hand-made sweaters tell a story. Each is unique — feelings stitched into rows, memories into patterns.

It is here that Rebecca Moray comes to research a book on Irish knitting. With her daughter, Rowan, accompanying her, she hopes to lose herself in the history of the island and forget her own painful past. Soon, the townsfolk’s warm embrace wraps Rebecca and Rowan in a world of friendship, laughter, and love.

And it is here that young Rowan befriends Sean Morahan, a cantankerous old fisherman, despite his attempts to scare her off. As Rebecca watches her daughter interact with Morahan, she recognizes in his eyes a look that speaks of a dark knowledge not unlike her own. And when current storms threaten to resurrect old ones, Morahan and Rebecca find themselves on a collision course — with Rowan caught between them — each buffeted by waves of regret and recrimination. Only by walking headfirst into the winds will they find the faith to forgive without forgetting…and reach the shore. "

This book makes me want to go to this island, meet all of the people involved and take a long holiday, soaking up knitting history and beer along the way. If you are looking for a book to read when your knitting fingers need a break, this one is sure to captivate you. I loved it!

Lye-eee...

Yes, out of all the things I have knit for my daughters, this ratty, holey, yucky looking thing-she-calls-a-blanket is what my youngest loves. I had originally knit this blanket for my oldest when I was pregnant with her. I didn't know who I was having, boy or girl, hence the yellow color of the yarn. I wanted something soft and cushy and came upon this yarn at an LYS in Manchester, Vt. I loved the little bits of yarn on the strand and thought my baby would too. Well, I was right, but not right about which baby would love it. Baby #1 wanted nothing to do with it, but Baby #2 has yet to give it up, named "her" LYe-eeee, and refuses to go to sleep without her. She holds a really ratty corner of Lye-ee, in between her two fingers and thumb and sucks her other thumb. Rubbing this ratty corner while sucking her thumb is what gets her to sleep-it is so adorable to watch and warms my heart everytime I see her do it. At the age of 4, she refuses to give up Lye-ee and I have no intentions of making her do it. I figure when she's ready, she will and she's only going to be a child for so long so why should I force her out of this love???

So, what is it exactly that makes her love this blanket? It started out as a 2X3 rectangle of crochet (I even forget how I did it-it was early on in crochet for me) and I don't even recall the name of the yarn. It was before the days of Ravelry, so I can't even look it up. It is really soft cotton though and right out of the wash, it smells wonderful...after a couple of nights of cuddles with my girl though, and that's another story. She impatiently stands by the washer when Lye-ee gets her bath and I have to pull it out for her when it's nap time. I always thought my firstborn would be my yarn-lover as she is the crafty one right now, but I think it just might be my Lye-ee lover instead...

Totally OT, but if you're from NEPA, you need to go here!

Ok...so today was pretty mundane-housecleaning, playing Memory game with 4 year old daughter, errands to run and whatnot...but in the back of my mind all day, I've thought about....pizza!!!! Nope, not the regular, italian plain slice, which for most of the time, suits me just fine (Basilico's in Dickson City-hands down, is the winner of the area)-oh no, today, I've been obsessing about Kay's Pizzeria in Lake Ariel-specifically, their hot wing pizza with bleu cheese dressing. Ok-seriously, this pizza is to.die.for.-no really. If you live in the area, you MUST try this pizza-my local friend, who grew up in Lake Ariel, brought it to a friend's house when we were having pizza and since then, I've been trying to recreate the hot wing sauce at home-to no avail. I can't figure it out, but I can tell you that each time I have this pizza, I love it more and more. I've heard of two other dishes that they serve at Kays with the sauce: The buffalo shrimp (OMG!!!) and buffalo wing hoagie-yep, that will be next week's menu choice...for sure....

The sauce is tangy, hot, sweet, and sort of grainy??? I'm originally thought bbq sauce was used in it somehow, but no longer-I'm thinking it's hot sauce, honey, butter, and maybe brown sugar?? It tends to be on the runny side (that's why I thought honey) but it takes all of my willpower not to lick the inside of the cardboard pizza box when we're through....and as I type this, I'm not even slightly embarrassed that I admitted this to cyberspace!?!

If anyone has tried this pizza and would like to weigh in on how you think the sauce is made, please do so...if I crack this recipe, I think I will be using it on everything!!!!

Yarny things...

Just got back from some good 'ol fun in Vt and among other things, got to go to an indoor farmers market that had a whole lotta...yarn!!! There was even a woman spinning there-it was great. I wore my Ingenue sweater (thank God too b/c it's cold up in Vt!) and got to feel up some good local fiber-there was shetland wool and alpaca spun in various widths and hand-dyed in lovely colorways-esp. an oceany blue/green of 270 yards-that one really tempted me...BUT-I really must have more than enough yarn at home b/c I didn't.buy.a.thing. Can you believe it???

I knit away at my Dad's MIKEY Cap-a present for his birthday, and got a bit more on the debbie bliss 9 to 5 cardi. Then, I got stumped...You see, I've modified the DB pattern to be seamless at the sides but forgot what to do when I got to the armpits??? This stumped me-frustrated me, to the point that I had to rip out 4 rows of what I'd done and start all over. I even mulled it over in bed and woke up this morning, still trying to figure out what was the best thing to do. Well, I'm going to bind off 6 stitches at the armpits, put it away and start on the sleeves and once I finish the sleeves to the point where they need to be attached, I will reattach them to the body, and just keep knitting-should work right? Feel free to weigh in here...would love other ideas if you've got 'em...

I may even sneak in the hat while I bang away at the sleeves-who knows??

Now, to locate some nice dark brown silk for the lining of Dad's hat....maybe etsy??

Also on the back burner, desperately waiting to get cookin' is Trina....my Trina, to be done in Cascade's Sienna Quattro yarn in yellow....I can't wait to do this one but I've got a few projects before I can even CO for this-AND I want them all done by my birthday in April....Man, I think I've got knitting ADD.....I just can't focus on one project at a time....

Speaking of birthdays...Happy Birthday, Amber!!! If you haven't checked out her blog, she's great!-she's in my blog list that I read and she's also got a GREAT etsy shop that sells handmade soapy goodness and other lovely items...check her out!!

Ok-more knitting to do....