Sunday’s Line-Up
While an astounding 106 million people get ready to while away the afternoon watching a group of men chase around a little ball, our house will be filled with the sites, sounds and smells of our own, slightly different, line-up.
First up, weighing in at 7 pounds and measuring 12 inches in diameter, the kitchen workhorse – our no. 10 Wagner Ware cast-iron skillet.
I use this pan probably more than any other kitchen utensil (silverware excluded). Today it was used for my one-pan granola (from stove top to oven). Yesterday, blueberry pancakes in the morning, sauteing onions and mushrooms for pizza in the evening.
A rookie skillet was added to the team today. A no. 7 skillet that will have its first trial run today, serving as a baking dish for a loaf of bread. Here you see it getting ready, conditioning after having had a serious scrubbing.
You’ll notice that we’ve added a couple of potholders to the mix. These are pretty fresh off the crochet hook, Virginia having recently made these out of some lovely colors of Ultra Pima Cotton yarn. The pattern is by Mandy Powers.
Skillets, granola, potholders? I suppose some might think this hardly the substitute for the excitement and anticipation that await the fans of tight pants, 8 seconds of play followed by incessant replays and the yammering of commentators. I say, have your football. I’ll take a quiet afternoon with a spot of tea and the remains of last night’s rustic cherry pie.
A Good Week for My Hands and Feet
Among some projects finished these last couple of days, Virginia made a pair of mittens and socks that deserve some blog time (obviously, every project should get a mention, but my track record lately has not been good).
These “Vespergyle Mittens” are from a pattern by Elinor Brown, knit using Spindrift. I really admire the argyle and stripe combination. And, of course, the Spindrift is such a cozy yarn for this sort of thing.
I am happy to say they are big enough to fit my hands, so there will likely be a race to the mitten bin every time we head outside.
I’m also the happy recipient of this early-Valentine’s gift. A pair of “Tweed Socks.”
These are knit from a pattern by Marilyn Morgan, in the book Socks, Socks, Socks, using several types of yarn, including Jawoll and Socka. The slipped-stitch pattern really dress up these socks, and I can already envision these paired with dark brown khakis and cardigan.
Like I said, it’s a good week for my hands and feet.
Weeks 3 & 4 in Review
Snippets and snapshots of the last 14 days, the third and fourth week of the year.
And, as always, the full-size versions of these photos can be seen in my One a Day set on Flickr.
I am looking forward to the days when the outdoor pictures will be, well, less white.
Miles of Crochet
A very audible sigh of relief was heard in the ScratchCraft household when the final loop was made on this piece.
Twenty-four skeins of Spindrift were used to crochet this luxuriously substantial wrap. Let’s see, that’s 24 x 115 = approximately 2,760 yards of yarn, or about 1.57 miles of spun wool. That’s a lot of crochet (although, we have been spending some quality time in front of the television, to help the miles go by quicker).
Virginia used a pattern by Kathy Merrick, called “Tropical Stripe Wrap” in the book Crochet in Color, deciding to play with 11 different colors of yarn.
And, as this is a shop model for the local yarn store, we’ll have to wait a bit before enjoying being wrapped in all that wooly goodness.
