Bird's Nest Knits

Summertime summertime...

I love summer time, especially in Southern California.  Long warm days, cool nights, and the bounty of fruit and vegetables from the garden (or the garden box) are some of the things I love most about this time of year.   My vegetables are doing really well, thanks to the Earthboxes that makes it difficult even for ME to kill everything in sight.  Tomatoes, green/purple beans, herbs, cucumbers, peppers, blueberries (thanks Wendy!) are doing really fantastically.  I'm thinking about putting up a box of corn as well.

They can never ripen fast enough for me, so I often end up splitting a single green bean with Mr. Bird or cutting a cherry tomato in half to share.    We've had a handful of blueberries, a couple of kumquats, and a few beans.  The sweet peas have suffered with the heat but I've been able to break open a couple of pods and had some super sweet samples.  Heidi suggested replanting those after the summer since they are a cool season crop.  The tomatoes are growing so fast that every day I go out there I marvel at the number of fruit and can't wait till they ripen.  They've grown as tall as I am and the EarthBox trellis system kicks some serious ass.  I only bought one trellis and the other tomatoes I put up in a cage and the cage proved to be a cheap and really really crappy alternative.  The tomatoes outgrew the cage really fast and then fell over the top because the fruit heavy sections snapped because there wasnt enough support.

I'm hoping that the tomatoes will produce enough to do some jarring in a few weeks.  Homemade tomato sauce - exciting!  I had some trouble with blossom end rot a couple of weeks ago, but I've added some bone meal to the soil and removed all the tomatoes with any sign of it.  Hopefully the rest of the crop will be ok.  I continue to be amazed by how well I'm doing with the gardening and so excited with being able to grow and eat my own produce.

Oh.

Did you think this was a knitting blog?

Well as a matter of fact I have been doing a bit of knitting.  Somethings here and there.  I will have to admit to breaking my yarn diet, not bad that I held out for six months though.   I picked up some Trekking sock yarn from the Grove and started working it up in the Conway sock pattern from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road.

Meh isnt it?  The color way just does not work well with the beautifully subtle pattern of Conway which just gets lost in the varigation.  I thought so at least, so riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip.  Bye bye Conway, I'll revisit you soon with a more solid color sock yarn.

I had told myself I wasn't going to be a lemming and would NOT make a pair of Jaywalkers.  Cause everyone and their grandma's roommate had knit these and they just looked too much like the Broadripple socks that I'd already knit.  Who wants to do the same thing right?  Well - I've proven myself a hypocrite because I went with the Jaywalker pattern.  And sheepishly, I must admit its a pretty great pattern and it works up this varigated yarn beautifully.  I was wrong, it's not boring. 

Isn't that pretty?  I'll be kitchener'ing the toe today and casting on for the 2nd straight away.  The two row pattern is very nice cause I dont have to lug around the pattern. 

I've put Mariah on the back burner since I can't get myself motivated to sit and knit with wool during the summer heat.  I plan to get this one done in time for my sister's graduation from nursing school in December which is when she'll be moving back to Seattle and she'll have good use for a warm cabled sweater.

I've made a couple of modifications to the pattern.  I'm extending the cables up the sides to cinch in the body of the sweater to make it more form fitting.  It also keeps the stockinette section from being so painfully boring now that the lovely cabled arms are completed.  I'm also going to make a fold over collar instead of a hood, but we'll see how that all goes.

Can you see where there is a mistake in a cable cross?  I'm leaving it in, cause I'm too lazy to rip back that far.

 

Have I ever said that Elann is evil?  It is.  Really. 

I bought Elann's Callista yarn (50% Viscose Rayon/ 25% Cotton/ 25% Linen) in a DK weight to work on a summer skirt along the lines of the Indigo Ripples skirt from the Spring 2007 issue of Interweave Knits.  It's a much smaller gauge yarn and I'll be doing a leaf lace edging instead of the ripples, but the shaping will be similar and there will be a longer section of stockinette.

I have enough skeins of it in the Burnt Olive color and the Italian Plum for two separate skirts.  Delusions of grandeur?  Considering I've got one pair of socks done and it's June?  Yah probably - but it's nice to dream isn't it?

Oh.  And because I'm a Norma acolyte,  I made up some Rose Petal Jam and it is delicious!  I'll have to call it Rose Petal Lemon jam because the lemon really comes out.  It was incredibly easy to make and I changed the recipe just a bit.  I boiled the sugar, water, lemon juice, rose petal (blended) mixture until all the sugar was dissolved, and then mixed in the pectin (I used liquid) into the hot mixture then poured it into the jelly jars.   

I don't know the variety of rose this is but they are grown in my back yard organically and smell amazing so I figured they'd be perfect for this jam.   I had Mr Bird test out the jam and he's quite the PB & J connoisseur so if he thought it was good that was the stamp of approval.  It's a touch tart but is really nice on toast or with PB.  He really liked it!  I have a jar for Heidi, Crissy, Joelle, Wendy and Yoly.

Thanks for sharing Norma!

Hell hath frozen over...

So, I'm a bit of a fluffy zaftig sort of girl.  Lots of curves, plenty of cushion, and generally out of shape all around, well, if roundish is your shape I'm all over that.  Recently I've been rather confronted by my age and my lack of activity, and frankly - a little worried about my overall health.  My cholesterol is high, my blood pressure is high and I have an extensive history of cancer in my family.  At a recent checkup my doctor gave me an ultimatum...  Get some exercise, lose some weight, work on your heart health or you are going to be looking up the shotgun barrel at late onset diabetes or an early stroke.

What.
The.
Fuck.

Ok, so maybe I've been deluding myself that getting a little out of breath going up two flights of stairs was just because I was carrying stuff.  Uh.. a latte.  She also said that the extra weight would screw up with my fertility and may make it hard for me to get pregnant when that time comes.    By sheer force of laziness (and the force is strong with me folks)  I managed to put on a LOT of weight after college.  I avoid looking much at those photos of me when Mr. Bird and I started dating 12ish years ago - its just too embarrassing.  With the financial and emotional stability - you start to get comfortable in your own skin, and before you know it - there is a heck of a lot of skin now.

I need motivation.  And I found it in Nike+ .  The thing is freakin brilliant.  It is a little sensor that attaches to your running shoes, and works with the iPod Nano, tracking the number of miles you've run, the calories you've burned, and the pace you are running.   Once you've signed up for an account on the Nike+ site, you can challenge other people to distance or speed contests, look at your own progess, setup your own goals.  The competition aspect of it has made all the difference.  My sister, Mr. Bird and I have a challenge going now with the first to run 20 miles.  I'm in the lead with 14.75 miles, a little over three miles ahead of my sister.

I'll let you in on a secret.  I hate running.  My boobs would bounce all over the damn place, my shins would hurt, and my arches would cramp up before even a quarter of a mile was done.

I. Hate. Running.  (and I hate to sweat)

Until - I discovered that I had the wrong kind of shoes for my feet, that there were kick ass sports bras out there for even my gigantor boobs, and the motivation to leave my sister and Mr. Bird in the dust really kicked in.  I went to RoadRunner Sports to have my feet checked out - I have severe over protenation which in English means my feet are flat and as a result running puts a lot of strain on my arches.  Armed with some nice (read pricey) shoes - I took on the treadmill and lo and behold - dang.. my feet don't hurt.    It's not easy mind you - it's still damn hard to run because I get tired so fast and my heart just isn't used to the work.  It regularly cusses me out like a drunken sailor these days, but I soldier on.    I run/walk on the treadmill with Yoly every couple of days at work, and since March 8 when I got my Nike+ I have gone 15.72 miles and worked off 2188 calories.  Yah I know - damn unbelieveable.  I'm actually excited now when midway through my workout I can feel the sweat on my forehead.  I even have to wipe it away!

I am still firmly in the camp that I am NOT a runner.  But I've started running.  For myself, for my health, and for my rather suck ass body image of late.  I don't delude myself into thinking that I'm going to turn myself into some super model.  I like to eat.  But I would like to see myself being able to wear cute little clothes and such.

Saturday is the annual 5K Race for Autism and I'll be going to that.  I won't be running the whole thing (not even close)  but I'll be jogging till I get tired, walking to recover and jogging a little more.

Oh yah...  I even finished a sock.  I went with a 1 stitch picot bind off that made the cuff crazy stretchy even if its a tad sloppy looking.

I'm on the bandwagon for knit from my stash in 2007 and have not bought a SINGLE skein of yarn all year.  Not even sock yarn!  (although I'm reserving that priviledge cause sock yarn doesnt count)  I've also not cast on a single new thing.  Nothing till the other sock is complete AND Mariah is done.

I think I've been taken over by a body snatcher.

Where to begin..

A blog is a lot like weeding your garden.  A little maintenance here and there and it looks lovely.  But sometimes, life gets in the way, work gets a little busy, the needles start to get dusty, and you realize that you haven't knit a full row in over a month.  You start to forget how much pleasure the delicate stitches gave you, and the comfort a tube of stockinette could provide.  The effort of picking up an unfinished object to figure out where you'd left off weeks and weeks ago seems too much trouble.  You become ashamed.  Reluctant.  The excuse that posting with so little knitting to show for yourself gets in the way of actually writing anything.

If you let it go, a week maybe four, ten minutes of pulling the odd weed here and there turns into a full days work usually involving a machete, the neighbor's weed wacker and 911 on speed dial in case either gets a little out of control.  This is where I find myself.  A backyard filled with 6 foot tall weeds without a machete in sight and the only thing to do my much needed maintenance with is a butter knife.

To say that I haven't been knitting at all is not entirely true.  I have in my brief and sadly rare moments spent time working on Mariah's sleeves, still not quite done yet, and also a pair of worsted weight socks.  The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill worsted weight in this wonderfully plummy color.  I started out planning to make them into knee highs but realized that it wouldn't be all that flattering on me and I didnt remember to put in calf shaping, or a stretchy enough bind off at the cuff.  Definitely a downer when you can't get your socks on.

My sister tried them on and they dont fit her either so its not entirely my chubby feet at fault here.

March in San Diego is the beginning of a long extended summer for us.  With the change of Daylight Savings Time, the longer days have allowed me to spend more time with Lila the WonderDog.  She's starting to grey around the muzzle, reminding me that life is so short, and I've only got a few years left with my darling fur child.  I dread that day coming, and try to enjoy every moment I have with her.

That stuffed animal she's got in her mouth is a hedgehog that she loves with all her little heart.  She'll carry that thing around all day and then bing it to bed with her.  It's lasted nearly three weeks and now there is a bit of a split down the center of it.  It'll have to go into the trash soon but I'll leave it with her as long as I can.

With the longer days has come warmer weather as well, and I've taken advantage of it to start my spring planting.  Tomatoes, strawberries, green beans, radishes, cucumbers, and peppers are all on the agenda this year.  Last year's blueberries are starting to flower, as well as the wee nectarine and tangerine trees I have in pots so I'm hoping for a really great harvest of wonderful home grown produce.

Clockwise from the top: 
Nectarine flowers, Tomatoes, Blueberries, and Tangerines

Does anyone out in blogland know how to get rid of aphids?  They have over taken my roses and are absolutely decimating the buds.  Check out the grossness:

The fruits of my labor

Anyone who's known me for any length of time knows that I am not horticulturally talented.  In fact, a certain Mr. Bird has offered in the past to buy me plastic plants - just to save another plant from a lengthy and painful death.  Its not for lack of trying, its more for over watering, and sometimes for absentmindedness - and discovering a long forgotten plant  and finding it this dry husk. 

This year though - inspired by Heidi, Wendy and Crissy - I've attempted to rehabilitate my black thumb, and I think I can fairly say its now just a yellowish one.

These lovely gems are some VF100 hybrid cherry tomatoes - they have some built in resistance to typical tomato problems.  No blossom end rot here baby!  They are tasty too - the only problem is that they arent ripening all at the same time so once or twice a week  I get to harvest a cherry tomato - cut it in half and sprinkle a smidge of salt and share with Mr. Bird.  He agrees that they are quite tasty.  These are growing in some container boxes on top of a table on the side of my house.  Kind of nice to have them elevated and I dont have to root around on my hands and knees.

I may germinate a few more of these tomatoes and add a few more planter boxes.

End Radio Silence

I'm a stubborn sort of woman.  I was born in the year of the Ox (contrary to popular opinion this *IS* the most glamourous year of the Chinese Zodiac - screw all ya'll dragons and tigers - I didnt want to be a dragon ANYHOW - and at least I'm not a pig or rat).   And Oxen are well known for being steady, even tempered, and stubborn.  I told myself that I was not going to post until Orangina was completed because I had to prove to myself that I was still a knitter.  The speed of knitting Continentally btw does not even out only knitting a couple of rows a week.   

That being said... I <3 Stephanie Japel.  I lurve most of her patterns (aside from the odd Knitty ones) and they are just so damn flattering - even for the more zaftig of us girls out there.  You know who you are.    I've knit the One Skein Wonder, and now Orangina, and have my eyes on the Mini Sweater and the Simple Knitted Bodice.   I'm looking forward to the next few patterns that come out from her. 

Orangina was a fun knit - it met the three rules of Happy Bird Knitting:

1. Easy to Memorize pattern
2. Looks real fancy-like
3. Doesnt make me look like a jumbo sized biscuit.
4. Perfect knitting in public project!

It took me off and on (more off than on) about two months to finish the project - not because it was difficult or anything - just didnt spend all that much time knitting. 

Some small changes I made to the pattern:

1. Stopped the lace portion right under my bustline to have the ribbing cinch the waist in a little.  No need to emphasize my fluffiness more than necessary.
2. Knit the ribbing in one size smaller needles.
3. Cast off in pattern with the ribbing - purling the purls and knitting the knits.

The KnitPicks Shine is super soft, and the stitch definition is decent, however I'd love to have this in a yarn thats a little crisper - maybe SWTC's Bamboo.  I liked this project so much that I picked up some Rowan Wool Cotton in maroon to knit one for my mom.

As you can see - a nude bra is a must, and always fun to tease the boys with whether or not a nippy is visible.  The only thing I think I might rework is the neckline.  The scalloping is really pretty but very prone to rolling.  Ironing the beejezus out of it didnt really keep it from rolling so I'm considering - 1.) Starching 2.) a single crochet edging to firm it up a bit.

And no knitting project is complete without at least one near disaster.  I was about 6 inches left on the bind off and saw that I had about 3 inches of yarn left.  After much frantic searching I found the swatch I made for the project and unraveled it to use to complete the bind off.  Thank goodness too because this color is no longer available from KnitPicks.

Stats on Orangina:

YARN:    6 skeins of KnitPicks Shine in Violet
NEEDLES:     Lace pattern Size 3 Addi's, Ribbing - Size 2 Addi's
DIFFICULTY:   2 skeins out of 5 skeins
REQUIRED KNITTING SKILLS:

1. Knitting in the round
2. Increasing and decreasing (k2tog, skp, yo)

Gardening, Rabbit Ass, and Mysteries of the Universe Revealed

Things have been busy Chez Bird of late, and unfortunately the bird has come down with the phlegm-tastic plague which has considerably slowed me down, enough to finally get around to getting the pictures off of my cameras.  My thumb is showing some signs of greenness.  Here is the picture of my kitchen window plants, doing a stint outdoors to get acclimated to the environment before planting.  I'm noticing that I have much more plant than I do places to put them so I think I may need to get another planter.  I really like having it up on the table like that - no digging up the lawn, and no trampling by a certain dog who's name will not be mentioned, and NO FREAKIN SNAILS.

In addition to the vegetables I have some thriving blackberry vines and I'm starting to see my very first berries!  I'll be having blackberry jam by the end of the summer, just you watch.  As long as a certain canine does not develop a taste for them.  I can just imagine coming home to see her covered in blackberry juice, and not a berry left for me.    We'll have to see - but in the meantime - hope springs eternal.

And the fight goes on, daily warfare against the slimey, escalating into holey hostas, lacerated lilies, and corrupted clematis.   Its woman against snail and lately, the snails seem to be holding steady.  The killer snails are taking their time getting established, and in the morning I have to go out and crushing the ones that I can find to feed my baby snail army.   I use a little hand trowel to flick em into a spot near my wee soldier snails and squash their shells with it.

Take a close look.. because soon... soon my pretties... you wont be seeing this slimey invader anymore!

All is not slime trails and mushy bodies here - oh no!   The previous owner of Chez Bird also planted some roses, and man are they beautiful.  A creamy white dipped in rosy pink - and I loves me some bi color roses.  I usually can snip one or two every few days to sit in a little cup and bloom by my sink.  I'm still figuring out how to take care of them.  A couple of the bushes are a little weird looking, the leaves have holes in them but I don't see aphids, and another has baby shoots coming out of the bottom.  They were pruned into a sort of ball shape and straight bare root going down.  I'm not sure if I want to keep it like that or let it get a little bushy.

On the knitting front I've completed the body for Eleanor, and am debating on if and what kind of fringe I may use for it.  Wendy suggested I refer to Nicky Epstein's edging books for some design ideas - brilliant!  I complained for ages about the rabbit hair, which indeed was a pain in the ass as well as not so good on black pants.  However, now that she's mostly done (sans edging)  I love her.  I've worn her twice - once last night to a Rabbi ordination in Santa Monica, and once today to the Childrens Pool to look at the seals with a friend who's visit.  I hope I didnt give her my plagueiful cooties.

The photo on the left is the most color accurate, the one on the right gives you an idea of the length, long enough to throw over a shoulder.  One word of caution while blocking this yarn... wet Kochoron smells like ass.  No amount of open windows, fans or Febreeze can avoid this fact.  Just accept it and pray it dries quickly.

Next on the agenda:

Orangina - I lag on this KAL but I should get it done pretty quickly.  The lace pattern is really great, super easy to memorize but enough to keep my interest.

Another busy weekend coming up as well - I'm not used to being pulled out of my cave so all this activity is wearing me out.  Saturday is Dye Day at Wendy's, Sunday is the Housewarming, and Monday is Firefly night.    Somewhere in between all this activity I should find some time to breathe.

Oh.   And if you've ever wondered....