Spazzmanda

Other than the stealth knitting, which is progressing, I have managed to work on some other small projects. The first is the finished Baby Bolero for the piglet.

Front:

And the back with the ‘optional’ eyelet lace detail (although, it is so damn cute, WHY oh WHY would anyone opt not to make the eyelet lace detail?)

Do you like the quarter I included as an indication of scale? That’s how I roll with my mad blogging skillz. I am a tad concerned that it won’t fit the Amazing 10-lb. baby come winter, but I suppose as it has already been gifted, it is no longer my concern.

I am also working on this:

It is called the “Jughead” from my new favorite book Domiknitrix that Rachel and Caleb gave me for my birthday. It is knit in a garter stitch sideways with short rows for the shaping (a great pattern for practicing your short rows if you were going to make something like socks- which I’m not, but I’m just sayin’). I’m about ready to bitchner stitch this thing up- grafting the two sides together- then picking up stitches at the crown to finish it off. Not too shabby for a weekend project.

There are so many cute patterns in this book- I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up. It isn’t nearly as naughty as the title would suggest- but more devilishly, delightfully quirky. And the yarn I’m using is like sex on toast (for lack of a better description.) It is so decadent for me-I’m more of a Wool Ease, knitpicks kind of gal- so Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed in Licorice, a wool, cashmere, silk blend is BEYOND yum, yum, yummy. It is by far the sexiest yarn I’ve ever worked with (as in, out of my tax bracket at full price.) I purchased one measly little ball at 50% off when my LYS went out of business and I regret not buying much more of this stuff- like enough for a sweater or something.

The hat is a gift for my man, my main squeeze, my sweet honeypie, my raison d’être- Jeff (also affectionately known as Delayed-Reaction Boy). He, unfortunately, isn’t much of a hat person, he sports a much fancier hairdo than I, but I think that 10 minutes with this baby when it is finished should change his mind forever.

Has anyone ever made a Baby Bobbi Bear?

They are so farkin’ cute I couldn’t contain myself any longer, so, since now more than ever I have an itchin’ to knit some disgustingly cute crap for the new babe, I succombed and bought the pattern online today.

I also bought Knitting for Baby at the grand closing of my LYS last week. It was slightly warped - but at 65% off I couldn’t NOT buy it! Besides, books (among other things) that live with me have a tendency to end up slightly warped anyways.

Exhibit A:

Okay, well, admittedly, he was pretty twisted when I got him.

On Friday night, we took a trek to East Atlanta (a very fashionable little area) to Bound to be Read Books for the drop of the final installment of the Harry Potter Series. Fox and Olaf were taking pictures of the Harry Potter fans anxiously awaiting the book release (I helped a little- putting stickers on discs and trying to get folks to step right up and say cheese.) Fox is a master at setting up amazing backdrops. Her photography skills are truly fantastic and the fanatics seemed to enjoy it too. (My favorite group came as a Quidditch team- using what were basics from around the house- some maroon graduation robes, little nerf baseball bats and household brooms to complete the look, but as a group they were hysterical!) The photos will be posted here sometime soon- but Ole used the photo of moi in his full report here.)

Unfortunately DR Boy had the flu on Friday night and had to miss out on what was a fun (albeit late) evening- I like to go to bed between ideally between 9:30 and 10:00, so the drive home was a little exhausting for me too and WAY past my bedtime. But I got my book! Like a fool, I didn’t pre-order, and initial reports had claimed that the bookstore was completely sold out of their first two shipments. I pouted most of the evening, particularly when the kiddies were clutching their books- but alas! Salvation! The store owner had some people not show at the midnight release and there were a few copies left!

I started reading the book early Saturday morning when I got home only to realize that the 6th book must not have made much of an impression- I was mostly clueless as to what was going on. So I re-read the last 4 chapters of book 6 (I should probably re-read the whole thing- but I’m afraid to delay the 7th book too long as it might be spoiled somewhere along the way by some evil, loud-mouthed child.)

DRBoy fully recovered by Sunday and took me to see the Harry Potter movie. It was fantastic. I don’t care what people say about Harry Potter, anything that generates this kind of hype is something worth paying attention to. Particularly if it gets kids to put down their playstation and get to the reading. Do you remember books that had power and meaning when you were a child? I wept and laughed and lived Laura Ingalls Wilder for an entire summer. Does anyone else remember Ramona Quimby? Or Anastasia Krupnik? Even now, I can become so enraptured in Jane Austen’s heroines, just opening a book can make me feel like I’m going home.

So it is with Harry Potter. I think when I finish the book, which could quite possibly be very soon, I might just have a gaping void left behind when he is gone. Will J.K. Rowling kill off her main character? A boy we have watched grow up - longing for a father figure and a place to call home? Yeah, I think she will.

For my birthday I received the Silver Palate Cookbook from my boss. She knows how much I enjoy cooking and with her impeccable taste selected the most perfect book on the planet. This place, the Silver Palate, is apparently very well known for amazing catering and the like.

I haven’t been much for turning the oven or stove on since it is summer, so I selected the “Summer Pasta” as my first crack at the book. It is a no-cook pasta sauce that calls for fresh tomatoes (and thanks to my mom, I had some to supplement my one) fresh basil from my herb garden, garlic, olive oil, and chunks of brie. You let the linguine gently ‘heat’ the sauce and thus release all the flavors.

I made the man’s favorite salad (not much on the vegetable count which is probably why he likes it) but it has field greens, bleu cheese, mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, toasted almonds, crunchy Chinese noodles and balsamic vinaigrette.

Yes, we had lots of cheese at dinner last night. No- I didn’t take a single photograph! But it was as beautiful a dish as it was good. I’m thinking it will be tasty leftover tonight, although I’m not sure how I will recreate the “gently heated” aspect again. Once again, I inadvertently planned an entirely vegetarian meal. (My poor, poor man.) I think I must have the tendency to eat this way from time to time and particularly in the summer.

Anyhoo, I highly recommend this cookbook to anyone who likes to cook or read about cooking. The margins of the pages are peppered with interesting tips on nurturing your creative side, such as, how to inspire yourself to play with unique flavor combinations in your cooking, technical tips like how to deglaze a pan- mingled with quotes about the joy of food and suggested event menus (I like the “nuptial brunch” that commences with figs and prociutto, mmmmmm.)