Hello, my name is Beverly and I'm a worrier. Worry obsessively about my knitting, that is. Or, at least, some people think I do.

My latest worry is over Aidez.  I have this gorgeous Quince & Co Osprey yarn in River colorway. And lots of people on Ravelry have made Aidez with Osprey.

My worries:

1-My gauge swatch after washing & drying is 13 sts/4" instead of 15st/4" per pattern. So, in theory, my sweater will be larger.

2-Many comments about the sweater being small by those using the Osprey yarn.

3-Should I go up to a size 40" which would give me 4" positive ease if I get gauge. Or, with my gauge, will that be too large?

4-I am tempted to try knitting it in the round which adds another level of scary.

5-If I knit the 40" size I might run out of yarn.

See?? I have a LOT to worry about!

This one is so gorgeous!! © jordynelizabeth

Recipes

I have been thinking about this & decided to post a few of my recipes here. Not exactly sure how to lay it out but this is a stab at it.

This recipe was given to me by a great friend & chef-Rick M. It is absolutely awesome!! 

RICK’S CHEESECAKE

·                            Cooking Time: 100 mins

·                            Servings: 12

·                            Preparation Time: 30 mins

·                             

·                            Crust:

·                            7 oz graham crackers (about 1 1/2 sleeves in the box)

·                            1/2 stick butter

·                            1/4 cup sugar

·                             

·                            Filling:

·                            4- 8 oz pkgs cream cheese (at room temp)

·                            2 cups sugar

·                            1 tbl flour

·                            1/2 tsp lemon peel

·                            1 tbl lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)

·                            1 tsp vanilla

·                            4 whole eggs

·                            2 egg yolks

·                            1/2 cup whipping cream

·                             

·                            Topping:

·                            16 ounces sour cream

·                            1/4 cup powdered sugar (more if you like it sweeter)

DIRECTIONS

                        This will make one 10" cheesecake or 2 8" cakes.

                            Crust:

                            Melt butter.

                            Crush cookies in a food processor to fine crumbs.

                            Add sugar.

                           Add butter and press into bottom of a spring form pan.

                            Set Aside.

                         

                     Filling:

                       Mix the cream cheese until thoroughly blended and creamy.

                       Then add sugar, flour, lemon peel, lemon juice and vanilla.

                       Mix this all thoroughly until it is fluffy and completely mixed.

                       Then add the eggs and yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

                       Add the whipping cream last and again mix very well until it is fluffy and             completely blended.

                        

                      Bake 5 minutes at 400 degrees F, then at 250 degrees F for 1 hour (approx).       It usually takes mine an hour and 40 minutes in a 10" pan.

.                        

                       After the cake has completely cooled mix the sour cream and powdered             sugar.

.                       Spread over cake.

                       This works best if you make the cake the day before you want to serve it.

                       This allows the topping to set well. You have to let it set up in the frig for at       least several hours before serving or the topping will be runny.  Cake freezes       well but do not top it if you are going to freeze it.

I've been working on a new project. The One Block Wonder Quilt.  I first saw this quilt made by a friend & I couldn't stop thinking about it. I am not a quilter or seamstress. In fact sewing generally makes me very nervous. But, I was hooked.

I bought the fabric in a quickie shopping trip to Hobby Lobby in April while in Schertz at an advanced dance. It is called Tropical Fish.I think it's gorgeous fabric.

It took me awhile to get up the courage to actually cut the fabric. Here are a few progress pictures.

Close up on some of the hexagons pinned together.

Some hexagons laid out on the bed.

Early layout version.

Final layout on project wall.

July 2015

I haven't picked up the needles since May 27, 2015. My tennis elbow in the left elbow got so bad that I couldn't even dress myself and had trouble washing my hair & even sleeping. So, I thought I would post about our Yellowstone national Park trip.

We flew from Austin to Salt Lake City, Utah & rented a car. We spent the night in SLC & then drove to West Yellowstone, MT on Thursday June 25-about 320 miles. Here are a few pics.

View from rest stop in Idaho

Proof that I've been to Idaho.

More Idaho.

Friday June 26-
    We saw lots of geysers and waterfalls. We got a fairly early start and were in the park by 8:30. Traffic wasn't nearly as bad as we expected.  We drove from the West Entrance to Madison Junction & then to the Museum of the National Park Ranger. Which was disappointing. One highlight was Gibbon Falls.

Then on to the Norris Geyser Basin which was phenomenal!

After that we drove from Norris Basin around the North Loop to Mammoth Hot Springs just to get the lay of the land. We took a side loop road to Virginia Cascade that was really pretty.

Here is Virginia Cascades.

From Mammoth back down to Norris there was road construction.

We got back to our motel about 6 pm thoroughly exhausted!

Saturday June 27-
      Today was a day for wildlife watching. We were up at 5:30 and in the park by 6:30. We drove to Hayden Valley on the advice of our motel owner. We weren't disappointed. We saw a huge herd of elk bugling and playing. And roughly 500 bison! These were all in the distance. But later we saw a bison right by the side of the road. And later saw 3 bison in the field at a geyser! I mean we walk 5 feet from them! But they were laying down and ignoring us. By the end of the hike they were up walking around and the bull was snorting and acting angry. We stayed a safe distance from them. We were back in the room by 2 pm exhausted again. Only about 8000 steps today. Tomorrow is the day for Old Faithful and more geysers.

The weather has been wonderful! 40's at night and 70's during the day.

Angry bison.

Old Faithful.

Brrr!

This post will be pretty heavy with photos but I have a lot of updating to do.

First off...the Oasis Wrap went from this plus the back-

To this. There were issues. I had bought a different dye lot & used it for the back. Then I decided I didn't want a hood & needed to rip back about 2/3 of the fronts. Then I realized I had knitted the fronts with 5's and the back with 4's. UGH!

Ok...On to happier news. I finished the Mirbeau Baby Blanket & it's super cute & soft. I want to make a matching sweater using this pattern.

I finished Hitchhiker 2 using luscious Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Sherbet colorway. Love love love it!!

I started a third Hitchhiker using some stash sock yarn that is going to be so bright & springy, I think. The yarn is Indulgence by Knitting Fever color 102.

Vitamin D is in sleeve hell. I'm about 3/4 of the way done with them.

Cuddle Me hasn't seen any action in awhile. That sounds kind of odd. You know what I mean.

Our lake bed is a sea of bluebonnets this year.

January 2015

I scored some awesome yarn, books & needles this week!!

Here's the yarn:
5 hanks Fleece Artist Blue Faced Leicester DK weight-colorway brown sugar
2 hanks Fearless Fibers Merino laceweight-colorway mad love purple
4 hanks Quince & Co. Tern fingering weight-colorway Stonington
2 hanks Windspun Farm BF Leicester Romney X worsted weight-colorway 4-37-BFLR G
2 hanks Malabrigo Rios worsted weight-colorway 870 Candombe

Current value of this yarn is approx $238 & I paid $40!

In addition to the yarn I got Volume's 1-3 of Barbara G Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns & Mary Thomas' Book of Knitting Patterns. Retail value approx $90. I paid $20.

Just have to share what I made for dinner last night. It was so delish!! I wish I had taken a picture. The idea came from this recipe which I heavily modified. ( Decided that "heavily" was a bit pretentious!)

yay...I took a pic of the leftovers. Sorry for the poor quality but at least it's a pic!

Quinoa Salad with Green Beans, Cranberries & Orange

Salad:

cooking spray

1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

1 small can drained mardarin oranges

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup dried cranberries 

2 cups fresh green beans, cooked & cooled & cut into 1 inch pieces

Dressing:

1 tbl fresh lemon juice

1 tbl olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Optional: Fresh grated Parmesan Cheese.

1. Salad: saute onion in cooking spray. Add quinoa, saute' 5 mins or so. Add water & salt to pan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover & simmer 15 mins. Remove from heat & let stand another 15 mins to absorb water. Transfer to a large bowl & add remaining salad ingredients.

2. Dressing: combine dressing ingredients & pour over salad. Serve at room temp.

Top with parm if desired. Yield approx 8 3/4 cup servings.

I plated up the salad then I sauteed about a dozen shrimp & tossed them on top of the quinoa with grated parm. OMG! Oh...a dozen shrimp was for 2 people. I didn't eat them all. But, I could have.

I have a couple of FO's to show off:

I started & finished this Cowl Neck Poncho in about a week. It is almost entirely made from stash! The only yarn I bought was the aran colored.  And it is just awesome! I wore it to Austin on Friday & got compliments from three strangers! I love it so much that I want to make another one. But, I probably won't because really....how many ponchos does one need?

I finished this cowl last month but I am very disappointed in it because it rolls really badly. I tried adding ribbing but that didn't stop it! I was so mad that I wanted to email the designer & tell her the picture on the website lied!

I still have the Oasis Wrap otn & the Mirbeau Slip Stitch Baby Blanket. I really want to finish the wrap this month!! It will be perfect for spring. I have both fronts finished to the neck & the back is about halfway. I'm planning to leave the hood off so I have some thinking to do when I get to that point.

That's it for now!

I'm in a knitting funk. I want to do everything and nothing. Anybody else ever get like that? I get all enthused looking at patterns & yarn. Buy stuff. Maybe even cast on & then the love dies. I've done 10 rows of the Irish Poncho & am sick of it already. But it is so pretty! And the thought of doing the entire thing twice for the 2 panels makes me want to run away. But, I love it. Wahhh.

So, I picked up the Box Lace Scarf UFO which is quite lovely. And part of a KAL that I started on Ravelry almost 2 years ago.  I figured out where I am in the pattern. Knitted one row & realized that I had been knitting this scarf in stockinette even though the pattern is written for garter. Did I do this intentionally? I have no clue. Garter would have been easier. I'm using lace weight yarn which Ravelry says is cobweb & size 6 straights. I hate using straights.

And there's the CNC KAL coming up. Which I want to do but I'm afraid that I'll get started & hate it.

Think I'll listen to my audiobook. Maybe knit a dishcloth. I think I need instant gratification.

Funk, I say.

I finished the Wingspan. I really like how it turned out. The pattern really shows off the striping of the yarn & the sequins. It was a boring knit after one triangle, though. I still have two balls of this yarn left & am comtemplating either another Hitchhiker or Daybreak.

 This is another shot of the Wingspan lying on the floor. The color is more true in the photo where I'm wearing it.

The Winter Flame scarf is also finished. I love it! Saving it for a special gift. This was made with baby alpaca yarn that I got as a SS gift several years ago.

This is the Oasis Wrap. I'm enjoying the knit although it's a bit more complex than anything I've been working on lately. I'm using Araucania Ruca Multy in colorway 17. This is sugarcane yarn that is oh so soft! Darlene gifted me 2 hanks of it for SS this past year and I bought 3 more.

I've also made 2 more of the silly little frilly scarves. These are made with fabric type yarn called Boutique Sassy by Redheart. Totally fun & cute. I'm planning to give one or both of them to Mom tomorrow.

Catching up with FO's & WIP's.....

Last time I posted was in November & I had the Lace Cardi in progress. I finished it just a few weeks ago. I like it but the bust area is a little large. This is a problem that others who've made it also had. Oh well. It's roomy & I love the color.

While we were spending a couple months down south I made a shrug & a couple of cowls. It was really really really cold this year!! I love this shrug!! I used an acrylic yarn from Hobby Lobby...Yarn Bee Fetching in Pewter colorway. It has a little sparkle in it. After I finished the shrug I pressed it lightly with a steam iron over a cloth & it really loosened up the stitches.

I didn't get pictures of the cowls but they were made with acrylic yarn & are sparkly. I made them using the Tunisian Simple Stitch & then seamed the ends together.

The Winter Flame scarf is nearing completion. I have 2 repeats to go. Yay!

Last Monday at HOT, one of the ladies gave me 4 skeins of some really pretty yarn that she'd picked up at Tuesday Morning & then decided that she couldn't handle the small yarn. I loved her description of the color. She said it reminded her of a cup of cappuccino with foam. It's an acrylic wool blend with sequins. I couldn't resist coming straight home & searching Ravelry for the perfect pattern. And I found it. And I cast on. And it's really really fun! Wingspan. And I even bought the pattern! If you know me at all you know that I am frugal...yeah, that's a nice way to say it.

Now, this next one doesn't count as a WIP because:

1. I haven't added it to Ravelry
2. It is really just a swatch. Mostly. Really.
3. It's marinating.

This is Oasis Wrap and I am still deciding if I've screwed up. I got 2 hanks of this lovely yarn from Darlene for Christmas. I knew it was perfect for this wrap. But I needed 3 more. I went to Nan's in Horseshoe Bay & she had the same yarn & colorway. Different dyelot. Yeah. I bought it anyway. She suggested that I use my 2 hanks for the back & the 3 new ones for the front. So...the bottom swatch is with the old yarn. It has some green in it & see those dark specks? The top swatch is the right front using the new yarn. Much lighter colors & no green. What should I do? Thoughts? I'm letting it marinate for awhile while I finish the Winter Flame & the Wingspan.

Ok, that's it for now. Oh yeah. We saw The Lego Movie & it was really great!

I've been a bad blogger. It just seems like too much trouble most of the time. But, here's a little update since August with pictures of the things I've finished.

Hitchhiker

Hitchhiker was finished in August. I absolutely love it!

Entrelac Scarf

The entrelac scarf was a lot of fun to knit & I love looking at it but it's rather scratchy so I doubt it will get much use. Which is really a shame considering how long it took me to knit it.

Mountain Stream Scarf

 The Mountain Stream scarf  cowl was a fun quick knit & was one of my possible choices for the scarf swap but it is also a bit scratchy.

Daybreak

Daybreak! Awesome!! Loved knitting it although I had lots of angst. I tried several different yarn combinations before find the grey bamboo/wool blend. And then I worried that it would be too heavy used with the fingering weight. I have yarn to make another one for me. This was the one I sent to my scarf swap partner.

Crochet Bag

Fun, fun fun!! Carrie R. made me make this one.

Lace Cardigan

Had some trouble getting going on this lace cardi because the pattern only gives you the first 7 rows but I found someone on Ravelry who sent me her charts. Yippee! I love Ravelry!! I'm doing the bottom edging in 1x1 rib currently then plan to do the front & neck edge with the sleeves last so I can make them as long as possible. I'm trying really hard to stick with this cardigan until it's finished. But, I bought a new outfit yesterday for New Year's Eve & it really really needs a silvery shawl....

Last year I finished almost 30 projects! 2013 will be about half that many.

Oh yeah....yarn that I bought on the yarn crawl...

Cobasi

This yarn is planned for another Daybreak along with some Blue Heron Rayon Metallic.

Mimi Mink
This is going to be Crimson Cashmere Cowl...except it'll be Lime Mink Cowl. There are several patterns from that magazine that I really would love to make. Like the Basic Bolero. I love the fitted look of that bolero.