Vegan Knitting...and then some

Secret Pal Question of the week

In many communities, "the fair" is a great place to visit and spend
time with your family.  It's also where many have entered one product
or another (jams, cakes, even knitting)...

Have you ever entered your knitting (or anything else) in the fair?
Would you ever consider it?

I have not entered anything, although soon after I left CA, several members of my LYS knitting group entered projects into the Marin County Fair and won prizes!  TBH, I hadn't thought of entering until I heard them do it.

I may look into fairs here in OR and see what opportunities there are, although the competition, I think, will be fierce with so many LYSs and so many knitters here in Portland.

Perfection

Perfection, thy name is home-made marionberry ice cream.

1/2 C plain soy yogurt
2-3 TB nondairy milk
a LOT of frozen marionberries
a splash of agave
1 hand blender

MMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmm......It's too hot to each much else.

Thank you Secret Pal!!!!

During my mom's visit, I got my first package from my secret pal.

1.  Yarntopia Treasure's 10/2 Tencel lace in the "bright idea' colorway.  Pattern suggestions for a lace in this bright color cheerful accepted!  It's lovely.  I've been looking forward to trying it.

2.  Shawls and Scarves.  Some very pretty lace designs in here with both written and charted directions.  I can't wait to make some!

3.  Smelly candles from Pacifica!  Nice and small to put on the edge of the tub while I take a bath in the winter.

4.  Classic Elite Yarn's book "Make it Modern".  I love every single pattern in this book and am really happy about it!  (Not shown as it's disappeared into my room that I'm reorganizing.)

Secret Pal Question of the week

"What is your favorite supper for a hot summer evening? (For added "flavor", post a photo or recipe link)"

       I have two favorite meals for a hot summer evening.  One is a huge salad with lots of veggies, avocado, and either some beans (garbanzo or kidney are my faves in salad) or some chopped smoked tofu on top.  I like it either with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or Annie's Goddess dressing. 

My other favorite hot summer dinner is a taco bowl:  rice topped with black beans and Field Roast Mexican Chipotle sausage, some corn and red pepper, and then the usual taco fixin's (lettuce, cilantro, yellow onion, vegan cheese, avocado, and salsa.)  Then either corn chips or corn tortillas to eat it with.

WIP: Spring Forward Sock

I finished the first one and will be casting on for the second tomorrow.  The cast-on edge is a little bit tight so I might pull that out and bind-off with a k2tog bindoff that's much stretchier.  Otherwise, it looks and feels great!

Can your heart stand it? More brunch!

Also from Sweetpea Bakery.  Crepes, both savory (tofu scramble, potatoes and mushrooms with bechamel sauce) and sweet (strawberries, bananas, and pineapple with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

FO: Gentleman's Fancy Socks

Or, I should say, Gentlewoman's Fancy Socks.  !!

Name:  Gentleman's Fancy Socks from Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn:  Panda Cotton in "sable" - 2 skeins
Needles:  Size 1 1/2 Addi Turbo Circulars
Modifications:  quite a few!

1. toe-up instead of cuff-down
2. Judy's Magic Cast-on
3. altered number of stitches and rows to fit my foot
4. short-row heel

Comments:  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this yarn.  It's a bit splitty but it's so soft and easy to knit.  The stretch is great.  I'm not so crazy about some of the colors not because they aren't nice but because they tend to be blotchy since the yarn is dyed in very short sections.  I'd love it if they made some self-striping ones.  That said, they are thin but soft on my feet and I look forward to making many more pairs with this yarn!

My mom knits!

Since my mom is visiting me right now, I'm teaching her how to knit.  I taught her the basic knit and purl stitches last summer when she visited but I knew she hadn't done anything with the yarn and needles she bought before leaving.  So when she was packing, I called and told her, "Mom, I know you haven't done any knitting since you were here last so bring your yarn and needles!"  She did and after a tutorial and some practice, she decided to make a striped neckwarmer using a K2 P2 ribbing.  It's complicated enough to look fancier than a "first project" but simple enough for her to master right away.  We aim for her to be done before she leaves on Wednesday so that I can help her with the bind-off and decide how to close it.  As you can see, her tension is getting much better and she's also getting much faster.  The bottom two stripes were done on different days but the top two were done on the same day!  I'm very proud of my mom.

Yet another brunch photo

From the smiley face: hash brown, pancake sandwich, McMuffin, kale, fried apple pie. Yikes!

Vegan Sock KAL and Contest!

For those of you who don't know, there is a Vegan Sock KAL blog.  The leader just started a KAL and contest.  The pattern is the current issue of Knitty's Spring Forward socks - sooooo cute but a really easy pattern!  For each sock that you knit by August 15th, you'll get an entry to the contest, and an extra entry if you post on Ravelry as well.  Prizes include vegan sock yarn from Crystal Palace Yarns.  Come check out the details!

I'm going to be making them in Crystal Palace Yarn's Panda Cotton, a cotton, bamboo, nylon blend.  I just finished making a pair of socks for the first time with this yarn and I LOVE it!  Here's the color I'm using.