Pickles and (take a guess) Socks

Virginia, I’m sad to say, is not going to have a finished big project for the month of July. Life, right now, is taking the driver’s seat, and leaving the projects we’d like to be finishing, well, unfinished. But, such is life, with its many ups and downs. We take it all.

However, I wouldn’t just post to the site without leaving you with some actual scratchcrafty goodness. Even though the big projects are on hold, does not mean the smaller projects are not being completed. These two pairs of socks, for instance, were wrapped up in the last week.

Sock #10 (52 Sock Challenge)

Sock #11 (52 Sock Challenge)

This last one is Mountain Colors Bearfoot doubled up. That means twice the squish, and probably twice the warmth.

For my own distraction today, I decided to try my hand at some pickling. I picked up 6 pounds of organic cucumbers, a bunch of dill and some garlic from the farmer’s market today.

Pickles, part 1

After comparing a couple of different recipes from several locations, I decided on a vinegar/water/salt solution, with added dill and dill seeds, peppercorns, and garlic. The solution boiled and then, after pouring it over the stuffed jars, I processed it all in boiling water for 20 minutes. The results:

Pickles, part 2

I think we’ll be ready for a cold, crunchy pickle in a couple of weeks… very exciting.

Maimu’s Mittens

Like I said before, Virginia has been bitten by the mitten bug. These she finished in a mere week. Perhaps not so astounding if you lived in eastern Europe and had to make multiple pairs of mittens for every major occasion in your life. These are from Nancy Bush’s “Folk Knitting in Estonia.”

Maimu's Mittens

These are knit with some beautiful lambswool yarn that she picked up last year at Shepherd’s Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival from Riverwinds Farm.

Maimu's Mittens

She knit these using size 3US needles.

Maimu's Mittens

I wish I had smaller hands.

June’s Big Project – Audrey

Virginia pulled this project out of the “punishing” corner to finish it (I think she was trying to free up the size 6US needles for another project). The reason this project was being punished, I’m told, was that she didn’t realize until after attempting to “fix” the straps that there was an errata published for this pattern… this was after frogging it back and starting again, and, well, you know how it goes.

Obviously, the needles are freed up, and there’s another project down for her big-project-a-month challenge.

Audrey

The pattern is Audrey from Elsebeth Lavold’s The Sophisticated Lady Collection. The yarn is Silky Wool knit on, like I said, size 6US needles.

Audrey

Audrey

Geno

Even though the record has been lost because we changed blogs, Virginia has not forgotten her attempt at a “major-project-a-month” challenge for 2008. So, for April she has finished this.

Vknits_Geno

Vknits_Geno

This is Geno from Rowan No. 43. She finished it just in time for the warmer weather we’ll be getting (at least I hope we’ll be getting).

Vknits_Geno

Vknits_Geno

She knit this using Rowan 4-ply Cotton, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you see future projects made with it.