Episode 30: Cruising along
In celebration of our 30th episode (cue trumpets), we need a drink! And we chose another gem from Laylita.com. She has so many great cocktail recipes, we recommend you try them all; you're welcome. This one is Melon Sangria. First you use a melon baller (or in Bossy's case, a cookie dough scooper) and soak them in a little grappa, honey and lime juice. You let that sit in the fridge, and then you add some wine and chill it for another hour or two. To serve, you add a some seltzer, mint leaves, and lime slices. To be really fancy, you can also make some melon ball ice balls (and you know how we love fancy ice balls ;-)). To make those, you put some melon balls on a tray in the freezer and then once they're frozen (in a couple of hours), you put them in a container in the freezer. And then you're ready to party whenever the mood strikes. Your future self will thank you for balling up the melons, even if ours are not as perfect as Laylita's!
Bootie had the pleasure of going on an Alaskan cruise, even though she is not newly wed, nearly dead or overfed (well ok, there were many trips to the buffet and man, does Bootie miss that buffet). Alaska is the perfect place to show off your handknits and Bootie did so on many occasions. It's also a great place to learn about whales and bears, even if there were no sightings of them (despite wearing bear and whale hats from the book Knitting the National Parks). In the picture with the bear hat, Bootie is wearing the Fiadh sweater by Marie Greene of Olive Knits. She used Kelbourne linens Lucky Tweed. She made the cowl but doesn't remember the yarn or pattern. In the picture with her mother-in- law, Bootie is wearing the Aurealis sweater by Jenn Steingass in Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia in Violet for the main color and Feederbrook Farms Entropy DK in Event Horizon for the contrast. Bootie does not remember what yarns she used for the hats--they were from stash!
The joys of knitting while traveling! This photo was taken by Bootie's son while we were on a train in Scagway; the best train ride of Bootie's life thus far! See above caption for the sweater details (Aurealis)
Bootie picked up a souvenir skein of yarn at Fabulous Fiber Arts. It's Raven Frog Fibers Marvelous Merino in the colorway Sage. She has long since lost the tag for the qiviut her husband bought her but here's a picture of the headband she made out of it. Bootie can attest that qiviut is super warm and comfortable, and a quick knit because who can afford to get enough yarn to make anything big?? This pattern is Celtic Roots Headband.
Bootie is working on a Pokemon sweater for her son. She's using the Marshland pattern from Tincanknits and is duplicate stitching the pokeballs around the yoke. She did the math to figure out where to place the pokeballs and did mark the spots where she would place them while knitting. The yarn is Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Faded Quilt for the main color, Cardinal for the red, Puff for the white, and Charcoal for the black.
A finished object!! Bossy was literally blocking the blanket on the day of the baby shower but she did it! The pattern is Cascade Yarn's pattern 25 "Slip Stitch Sunshine" in their 60 More Quick Baby Blankets. The yarn is Berroco Superwash (Charcoal: 33113; Light Grey 33109; Teal 3324). She did an i-cord edge on the sides, though the original pattern has you adding the i-cord at the end on all four sides and in the same color. That looks great if you are not panic/power knitting up until the last minute.
Don't do what Bossy did! This is called "overzealous cleaning with Clorox wipes" and now Bossy can't read any of the settings on her washer. Le sigh.
And whatever you do, don’t knit like my sister!
