Saturday, March 20, 2010

March Musings

Every so often, I remember that projects with garter stitch seem to take longer than they should. So it has been with Minni. She's done now - or as done as she can get with the yarn I have on hand. Praise God for Ravelry Stashes! I've found someone with a skein of the color I'm out of (almost out - and 2 yards will not make a sleeve) and we're working out the details of a swap that will not only let me finish Minni, but also clear out one of my yarn boxes! How efficient can one get?

The socks are done, too. I'm positive my camera ate some pictures of them, but here's what one of them looks like. They're warm, and toasty, and TALL! Now I need something old-fashioned to hold them up better. But for sitting and knitting? They can't be beat.

Of course, now that the socks are done, the weather warms up. We lost almost 2' of snow in our front yard in just over a week. The flowers are up, the sidewalks are visible under all the snow that the plows pushed into the yard, and the yard needs a good vacuuming. Inspired by the warmth, I started some Swiss Chard, peppers, and parsley. The first is up, the latter sprouted in a paper towel and has been gently transferred into pots, and the middle isn't saying anything about its activities.
The massive time-gobbler of genealogy has been kept under strict control. But - because it's always fun to find new relatives - I'll still pass along a bit of family history here and there. Back a ways up my husband's tree, he has a Very Jewish Relative. (Just like I have Very Polish and Czech Relatives ... can't get more Polish than Tekla Gaciarzianka, can you?) Dan's Jewish Relative is named .... Judah Levi. You can't get much more ethnically distinctive than that. Judah came from ... England. And because he seems to have been escaping an unpleasant situation in the old country, the line dead ends there.

The shawl hasn't been frogged yet. It's nice to pop on in the evening when my shoulders get cold.

And a question: Why do all the pictures of roast veggies show them with nice dark marks from roasting, but mine - despite cooking them for twice the suggested time - don't? Yesterday's new recipe called for roasting potatoes until golden brown - 20-25 minutes. I upped the temperature 50 degrees and cooked them for closer to an hour, and they were still pasty white. It's a small annoyance in life, but if anyone has a solution, let me know!


Anonymous said...
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Deborah said...

I like the shawl. Why would you frog it? Cute little jacket. When I get in trouble with something you will have to tell me about the Ravelry trick again.

Shan said...

The sock - LOVE!

The veg - Hm, interesting...mine always have crispy brown can try a pinch of sugar when tossing them with whatever oil or herbs you use, and that'll caramelise a bit.'re not roasting them covered, are you? I do mine 40 minutes covered, then turn and 40 minutes uncovered.

Carolyn said...

Deborah, I'd frog the shawl because I picked up 200 too few stitch around the outside, so the Old Shale design is TIGHT compared to the inside. The center square is fine, but unless the shawl walks out of my life, I will need to do some frogging to be happy with it.

Shan - my recipes call for roasting the veggies for 20-25 minutes at 450, or 30 mins at 400-425. Uncovered the whole time, and stirring so as to prevent burning. I'll have to try the sugar, and longer.

Anonymous said...

hmmmm, my veggies - 25-35 minutes, 350-375. Toss in olive oil first, turn occassionally. Nice brown bits. Perhaps your oven runs cooler? Is convection an option?

Hira Animfefte (Xera Anymphefte) said...

Pardon my ignorance, but what is 'frogged'?

Carolyn said...

"Frogged" means, in knitting, to remove the needles from the knitting and undo a lot of work. It's also called ripping back. "Rip it, rip it" is a lot like what a frog says (at least in English), "ribbit, ribbit."