Ride. Knit. Read.

Like a Hurricane

I was wearing my Garter Yoke Cardigan when I ran into Melissa LaBarre at WEBS on Saturday.  Love her simple but thoughtful sweater patterns. Of course I cast on for her most recent design the day the pattern was released. 

Pattern: Tea Leaves Cardigan

Yarn: Hedgehog Fibres

Lipizzaner Stallions

The conclusion of Birthday Week ^(TM) included tickets for tonight's performance by the World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions. The horses are beautiful and the riders talented. Although, it was incongruous to see dressage in a hockey arena and I still regret not seeing a show when I was in Vienna. 

So, who has a dressage pony for me?

 

C is for Cormo...

Like many knitters on the eastern seaboard I travelled to Central New York last weekend for the New York Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck.  The wintery mix that had been forecast held off and we had a cold but pleasant day to enjoy. I forgot that I had my camera, so no photos of cute dread-locked sheep and goats or the amazing parade of handknits.  Before the Ravelry Party (which was great fun, as usual), our group of knitters settled in at Bread Alone to drink coffee and knit.  The four of us occupied the row of barseats in the front window and found ourselves the subject of photos and fancy for many of the strolling visitors in the town. Reverse people-watching. 

At the festival, I focused on "farm yarn" and my loot has as much cormo as I could convince myself to bring home.  First, a sweater's worth of 100% Cormo Wool Cross from Foxhill Farm in Lee, MA. After much deliberation I picked this sheepy light grey/brown.  I think I will cast on for Claire Bennet after I finish my current sweater. 

 
 

A single skein of Bijou Spun 50 % Yak 50% Cormo for a hat or cowl. Very squishy and warm!

My bargain find of the show was these two skeins (enough for a sweater!) of yarn from a NY craftswoman.  She only sells at Rhinebeck and I couldn't find any info for her online.  I wish I would have bought some of this same yarn in white. Not Cormo, but also very squishy and soft.

I bought some fun buttons at Crippenworks and a pendant and sock yarn at the Jennie the Potter booth.

Next year I would love to visit Eleanor Roosevelt's ValKill and maybe go to the festival both days.  I also need to take Monday off. Re-entry is hard!

Plum Vine

I may finish this sweater this weekend... Color is more accurate in swatch photo. I've been reading somewhat exessively lately. Has anyone read Lorrie Moore's latest novel?

Summer Vacation

Boheme

Sweet little summer cardigan for a wee Texas newborn with ladybug buttons.  

Pattern: Boheme Yarn: Mama Blue Troika Sport in "Honeydew" (~200 yards)

Preoccupied with work and Mad Men marathons lately.  Wish I had this view instead of sidewalks this summer:

I have been enjoying a fair amount of escapist fiction and can entirely recommend:

Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet

People of the Book

p.s. How long have books had their own dedicated websites?

Pickles and Progress

I made pickles! My Red Fire Farm CSA has been keeping us well-stocked with dill, cucumbers and young garlic so I followed the bounty to their logical conclusion. After a week of daily shaking I'll know if these refrigerator pickles are any good. They really couldn't be any easier to make and require none of the scary pulling jars out of boiling water that has always put me off of canning until now.

I'm an armpit away from finishing the left front of Saffron but may not make much more progress since have to work most of the weekend. I do have a strawberry chocolate chip (local chocolate!) scone to enjoy while I watch the last 30 miles of today's TdF stage.

Tricot de Tour

This year's Tour de France is underway again and I've decided my very yellow coin cable cardigan is a good match for watching the yellow jersey competition. It also looks like Versus has greatly improved their online coverage, which may allow for some lunch break viewing this July. (Would prefer less Lance mania...there are over 150 other riders afterall.) The sun came out today and I bought the last of the local asparagus at the farmer's market. All the makings of a good weekend, I'd say. 

FO: Garter Picnic

Pattern: Garter Yoke Cardigan by Melissa LaBarre Knit 1 Fall/Winter 2008 

Yarn: Sundara Worsted Merino x 4 skeins "Teddy Bear's Picnic" from the Crusade Against Winter Gloom

Notes: The weather just would not cooperate for a decent photo session, so I post what I could get. I knit this pretty much as written other than substituting simple bind off instead of cuffs and bottom band. Plan to reinforce the buttonband with ribbon on the reverse before next winter. Consider myself very lucky that yarn did not pool or stripe in an unpleasing manner. It was my first time knitting shortrows to raise the neck in the back--turned out well. Pattern available as single download in case you missed the magazine on the stands. (It was a good issue--I'm also making Cookie's Marlene Socks from same.) On Rav Here

Localvore

    

 

My new city ride that you saw glimpses of in my last post is a 3-speed Soma Mixte with 650c wheels, cork grips and a Brooks saddle. I love her! Built by the good folks at ATA Cycle. I'm just over 5 feet tall and had an impossible time finding a bike that fit me and could handle a pannier or two. Soma brought back this vintage inspired mixte and I am likely in the first group of owners. (These photos were taken in my office with ye olde iphone. )

 

 

 

We signed up for a CSA again. This year Red Fire Farm will be delivering vegetables to my door every Wednesday via MetroPed's tricyle. They still have shares available if you are in the Boston area. Last week was our first box of veggies including a brown grocery bag full mixed salad greens, a head of lettuce, kale, japanese turnips, a head of brocolli, radishes, and green onions.

 

 

In other local eating news, we have a half-share in the inaugural session of Cape Ann Fresh Catch CSF - that's Community Supported Fishery for the uninitiated. Last night we dined on fresh golden cod and local asparagus. There is a flounder relation waiting for dinner Enthusiasm for the fish butchery prevented photo documentation this week (fish heads, fish heads roly poly...) but there was a feature in the Wall Street Journal today and the Boston Localvores Blog has a great post about the first haul.