Some Finished Things...

Well, I've finally finished the Breathe & Hope Shawl. It took all but 15 of my blocking pins. And I'm not necessarily jazzed with it. I mean, I did a decent job. I learned some nifty techniques. And the colors are ok. But - it's not something I would wear in these colors. Which isn't awful either. It would go with a couple of things in my wardrobe. 

I did a plain bind-off instead of the Knotty Stitch that was put in the instructions -- which, frankly, looks like a rather large picot bind off. I did the pass-stitch-over thing wrong, couldn't pick it out, and got frustrated, so I figured, "There is no knitting police. This is a design element." 

Except. I'm worried, because that set of pink & blue stripes along the right side? That's ribbing. And it has a nasty habit of curling. And that could drive me nuts. I could, now that it's blocked, do a crochet edge; scallop maybe. But I want to sit on this a while. 

I need to work on something that's Not This Project. If you know what I mean. 

It seems, in this time of COVID, that the knitters have been burning up the needles. "This is my 10th pair of COVID socks." Or "This is my 5th COVID shawl." What. The. Heck. Do they sleep? Eat? Have jobs? Do they have knitting fairies?

So this gives me a chance to sit with this and still knit, because I've become habituated to the need to have needles in my hands. I'm working on my second Blue Stripe Sock. I'll have to (again) tink back the first one because the star toe requires a longer foot. It had been so long that I'd forgotten that. So it's a bit tight on my foot. Easy enough to rip back and do another inch or so on the foot. 

So, my COVID knitting consisted of the following:

1. Meghan Shawl (Mira Organic Cotton)
2. 5 washcloths
3. Breathe & Hope Shawl
4. Very Simple Shawl (WIP)
5. Black-Red Ombre Crochet Scarf (WIP)
6. Blue Stripe Socks (WIP)

Not shabby, but it's not "10 COVID shawls" or "My 15th pair of socks." And I'm not talking about professional knitters - those folks who make their day job knitting. I'm talking about run of the mill (albeit very talented) regular human knitters. 

I need to just let this go, don't I?

How Does My Garden Grow...

We have tomatoes. WE HAVE TOMATOES!! We do NOT have kale or Broccoli rabe. The bunnies or squirrels or some other critter (could be deer, for all I know...We're close enough to the park) have nibbled them to the nub. 

And the swallowtail caterpillars took out one tub of parsley, but that's why I plant so much. 

I didn't have all 4 basil survive, so technically not enough for pesto. On the other hand, the sage is doing well, and the Rosemary isn't too bad. The dill managed to sprout during one of the deluges we had. My wildflower gardens are kind of going nuts. 

Saw some Borage during my last foray out (which was to take pics of the B & H shawl). So not too bad all in all. 

Random Picture...

I'm going to just pluck one...to see if I remember when/why I took the shot. Ohhhhhhhhhh, my favorite cookies! Pineapple crescents. I make about 160-200 of these per year. They're a holy mess to make and addictive to eat. It's a recipe from my granny. And so far, I'm the only one in the family who makes them, aside from Kid #2. 

Short blog tonight; I need to write more, but I have to be up with the chickens (relatively speaking) so that I can get to work at 8 a.m. or a little before, to let workmen in.