Buttonholes and Heaven

I know I have been pretty quiet lately.In the priorities of knitting, family, reading blogs, business, working on my blog, writing mine seems to be at the bottom. But I have been lurking on your in silence. Thanks for not being like me, quiet.Lets take my life in order:

Knitting:Five felted bags – four buttonhole, one cross between Sophie and buttonhole with a ruffle thrown in. In my neighborhood we have a girls women’s birthday dinner twice or three times a year. So we are celebrating Debbie, Judy, Beth and Karen’s birthdays tonight. Just finished Beth’s bag this morning (do you think she will mind that it is still wet?).
Hers is the red Sophie hybrid. She has an 18 month old and I think that requires a handle that goes over the arm. The black and pink fuzzy reminds me of some beast that might hide under a child’s bed. (You can tell that it doesn’t rock my world.) The sea foam, lavender and butter one is nice colors, but I don’t like the shape – I double stranded on the bottom and not the sides – think it lost that great shape.

Family: DH has been sick for a week so I am hopping with all the kids etc. (And the room got cleaned, before the boyfriend came over)

Reading Blogs: I keep up with you, every morning, my home page is my blog lines, thanks for keeping me entertained and motivated.

Business:

Lease negotiated and gets signed next week. Still aiming to open May.

Do you know what heaven is? Spending a morning with Kym from Knitting Fever looking at yarns and putting together an order. I love the Maggi Knits stuff – what fun to see real art in knitting patterns, why didn’t I look at her stuff before?

Haunted by a mother's words

I know I should tell you about the knitting I am doing, two buttonhole bags, lucky clover sweater, but I just have to know what you would do with this.



Mom was my room this bad at 15?

All in a days work

3 extra kids this week. 2 best friends of my kids’ plus a brother. Divorce, father half a nation away, mother not coping well, kids falling through the bottom. So here we are, a little stability and love for three kids in a hard place.

And look at my ROAK from Shannon. Are they the cutest stitch markers you have ever seen – perfect for summer knitting.

Worked on the Shapely T on the two hours drive to and from Rugby Saturday (S#1 is 1st prop) –am at the cap of the sleeves. Funny, I used to always knit the sleeves one at a time, now I do them together, and I like it much better – when you are done with one, the sweater is done.

Three Olives and an Artichoke

Some days woman does not live by knitting alone:

Followed off by a steak and this perfect cheese cake

Cheesecake in Yarnland

1 T melted butter
3 T graham cracker crumbs
2 lbs regular cream cheese – room temperature
1 ¼ cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1 t finely chopped zest of lemon
2 t vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Cover the base of a 10” spring mold pan with Aluminum foil. Brush melted butter in the bottom of pan, sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs and distribute evenly.

Beat cream cheese until smooth; gradually add sugar, vanilla and lemon zest and beat for at least 3 minutes. Add eggs and yolk one at a time; scrape down sides of bowl and mix well between each addition. (Any cream cheese that is not mixed at this time becomes lumpy).Mix in heavy cream and sour cream by hand.

Pour into pan and put in preheated oven. Bake at 500 for 10 minutes then turn the oven down to 200 and bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and leave in for 1 more hour. Then take out to cool for a little and then chill in the fridge.

This really is the best best best cheesecake. It is a mixture of three of an old recipe from my ex sister in law, the Perfect Recipe cookbook and an Internet recipe I found.

Kelley

My mom and dad have come and gone. Wonderful visit, always sad to see them leave. My mother brought her knitting, that she hasn't worked on for two years. She knits raglan from the top down, so that she never has to seam. Never uses a pattern, checked her gauge twelve inches into the sweater, had me measure her arms so she knows how many stitches she wants on each sleeve and can't wait to get below the armholes so she can just knit away.

While she was here I joined the club and made my first buttonhole bag. I think they may be addicting. Fast to do - I made mine longer and still finished it in one day. This may be an addiction. It is such a great little canvas to be creative on. Do you think I can make one with a red bottom and flames shooting up from the bottom? What about flowers and flower stems? I saw a bag in a magazine the other day and it has 3D daises felted on it, will have to think about what knitting technique could be used for the petals.

I actually want to make four of them for a birthday party for four of my friends. For Debbie B. I will need to put some of that eyelash, furry stuff on is (can you tell how much I dislike enjoy those novelty yarns by my description.) For Debbie D. red flames would be good, some carpetbag type for Judy and daisies for Karen. I am glad you don't mind being part of my thought process, cause I just planned then all out.

The first bag I made for Kelley. Kelley is one of those special people. You are lucky if you have a life that touches hers. When my dad retired from GE, he hired Kelley to be his assistant in his home office. In the 18 years since then she has become part of family.

My three brothers and I all live quite a distance from mom and dad, and as they get older you know how you can worry. But for us, we have Kelley. When mom or dad needs to go somewhere at night and they don't trust their eyes anymore, Kelley takes them. She brings lunch for all three of them everyday so she (and I) know that mom and dad will eat right. I can't really begin to tell you the things she does. But for me, most of all, she gives the gift a child of distance wishes for. The surety that if mom and dad need anything or anyone, at anytime, some one that loves them as much as I do will be there for them.

Kelley, the little knitted bag is nothing compared to the gift you give me, know that every stitch was knitted with appreciation and love for you.

Interviews

I love getting to know other knitters/bloggers, so here we go, I am asking the questions you have to follow the links to the answers:

For Heatherly (I love that name - it is like a color or a feeling - it is going to be a heatherly kind of day - maybe that is what we should call a day with lots of knitting.)

1. Obviously religion plays a major roll in your life – but you have this mix of Jewish and Baptist how did it come about and how does it translate to daily (or weekly) life.
2. With everyone to knit for, how do you decide what to knit for whom?
3. Do you let your kids pick out what you will knit for them? (This is a two-part question and I say it only counts as one!!!) And if you do, do you find they have problems making the mental/creative leap from a picture to imagining what the real item will be like?
4. I am impressed by your knitting in relation to how long you have been knitting – so tell me about how and why you learned to knit, then what makes you such and adventurous knitter?
5. And you have to tell all of us how you ever find time to knit with all the other stuff going on in your life?

For another Alice (love this name too – oh is it mine, but can we share?) think about these and answer, tears don’t show on the computer and maybe it will provide a little diversion.

1. Tell me at least three of the nicknames that go with Alice that people have come up with for you over your life? (alas alas its all ass alass and ally ally bowling ally were two of mine)
2. You design your own knitwear and patterns; some knitters are most comfortable with knitting from a pattern with the recommended yarn. What do you think gives you the courage to design and create what you want?
3. Where do you get most of your yarn and why? What is it about the shop (on or off line) you like best?
4. Besides conversations on the train – do you knit with others? If you do – when and how did it start? If not – why not?
5. How do you deal with those people that sneer at knitting when you are knitting in public?

Now the rest of you have to watch their blogs and wait for the answers and while you are waiting have a heatherly day.