good company

Posted on annePosted in designing, food and garden, lace/shawls, projects

mmm, pie fresh from the oven, yum, yum.
i made this on wednesday (from this recipe) because our friend andrea came to stay overnight on her way to michigan.

aside from putting in so much filling that the crust almost couldn’t contain it, it turned out very well, using frozen berries that we bought locally during high season (we have about twelve more bags in the freezer, yay).

i also cooked potato soup with everything fresh dug from the garden, a pickled beet salad (also from our garden), and i fixed with a cheese plate with my rhinebeck cheeses. we talked about yarns for our barenaked club all through dinner (beckie was there too),

and then afterward, the spinners came for class. we ate the pie with everyone there. sigh . . . now that’s a nice evening. and in the middle of the week, too. priceless.

i tried to take a photo of the cut pie for you the next morning but as i was doing that, the camera strap caught the edge of the board it was on and the remaining pie flipped into the air and then somersaulted to the floor with a crash.

it was specTACular—glass and blueberries everywhere—too bad i wasn’t filming. oh well, i’ll just have to make another.

well, maybe this weekend; she’s coming back on saturday night.
or maybe a different dessert this time—how about carrot cake with carrots from the garden, eh?? (maybe i’ll even add some grated beets. don’t tell david, ok? we’ll see if he guesses).

i did a LOT of knitting on my nona scarf while andrea was here and i think i may have doubled the length from where it was before. i’m on a mission to get this done and dusted before the knitters review retreat so that jen can sell the pattern in the spirit trail booth there. the pattern is all set to go; i just need to finish my knitting and blocking.

the fact that she’s returning bodes well for accomplishing this goal, i think.

i’m sorta trying not to start anything else til i’m done.
with just one other item on my active knitting list, this strategy may actually be working for the time being.

after andrea left on thursday morning, my susanna shawlette looked like this; i had just finished section C and was ready to begin the hem section. last night i worked on it for just a few hours (from maybe 11pm til about 2-ish??)

and look—i’ve gotten all the way through the first hem chart, about 26 rows (they are getting long now, too). this is what i was saying about the shawlettes—they really whip along. it’s a fever with me, i’m telling you.

i’m hoping david will like this one—i think this storm blue will look really great on him and the riveting cotton yarn is a good fit for the fall weather. i think he could even wear this for bike riding around town on errands (he has the best outfits; i wish my clothes were as cute as his).

i found that skein of merino/cotton that i was considering for another run of this shawlette. i bought this at rhinebeck about five years ago; it was the only remaining skein in this fiber combination. i seem to have lost the label, which really stinks; i’ve always wanted to get more. all i know is that it’s from some farm with maple in the name—good luck finding that, right?

i absolutely love it and have been saving it for something special. i might design something new for it, or i might knit little iris with it. i definitely want to make something i’ll use often. who knows, maybe i’ll even knit a hazeline with it . . . and with 500 yards in the skein, i may even have enough yarn for fingerless mitts to match.

whatever it becomes, it will be my travel project for my november trip.
i have plenty of time to think about what it will be while i get some other work out of the way this weekend.

in addition to cooking a bit on saturday, i need to do some bookkeeping, some work on the new club, and lots of knitting. i also need to lay plans for new projects to start over the next couple months.

and for that i have to visit my yarn room, which happens to be a mess at the moment. this is what i end up with when i travel a lot and have no time at home between trips—i dump stuff.

eventually, it gets to a level that makes me anxious, if not insane. it’s been at that level for some time now and i’m more than a little twitchy about it.

so this weekend, it’s time to clean that situation up. fortunately, it will coincide with organizing the new projects, which adds an element of fun and a modicum of efficiency to the process. i wish i could say that i plan things this way, but haha, not usually—it’s a coincidence.

and with that, i’ve gotta go see a man about a dog; have a nice weekend.

26 thoughts on “good company”

  1. Could the yarn be from Maple Creek Farm? I got some BFL from them at Rhinebeck last year, which I loved, and so picked up more this year. They do great stuff!

    Sorry to hear about the pie accident. I specialize in that sort of spectacular “how did I even do that?” accident myself, unfortunately. Better luck with the next one!

  2. Could your grey merino/cotton be from Maple Row Stock Farm? They were on the vendors list this year but not sure if they were there 5 years ago. I did some sleuthing and I think you even mentioned the seller in one of your blog posts in 2008 of another sheep and wool festival. Just a thought, in case you wanted to track down some more of that wool ;). Not that I’m trying to enable you…heh, heh, heh.

    Cheers, Barbie O.

  3. Mmmmm–lovely pie. Too bad about the spectacular crash. My husband baked a carrot/beet cake for my birthday last week–with golden raisins, pineapple, dried cranberries, lots of walnuts, and lemon cream cheese icing.

  5. I’m kicking myself for not signing up for the fall in full color club – will the patterns eventually be available in your shop? The Hazeline is so pretty!

  7. You are just a dynamo, Anne. I don’t see how you get it all done. I’m constantly in awe of all that you do.

    That pie looks so goood. Sorry it had that mishap. I vote for a carrot cake (not that I get a vote – but it is my favorite).

    If you saw my office/knitting holding area, you would feel your dumped items were very organized. I’m getting ready to attack my stuff. Good luck with yours.

  8. That’s Maple Creek Anne! I know that fiber well! They do have a website, but it’s hard to purchase from them unless they are at a show. Speaking of which – I was standing outside of Briar Rose wearing my ‘Hilflowers’ in Chris’ fiber and there you were! Sooooo funny!

  9. Love the scarf!! Beautiful color!!!

    I just did a re-organizing of my sewing/yarn room. Amazing what I found!! Yarn & patterns that I REALLY want to knit.

  10. Yummy looking pie – at least you got to enjoy it a little for it’s early demise. Organize? What’s that? I need to badly, thanks for the reminder. :o) Let’s all have a OAL – organize a long!

    So what’s with the man and a dog?

  11. i think the yarn would be from Maple Creek Farm? also, i’d be willing to organize your stash in exchange for some of that pie…..well, some of the 2nd pie 😉

  12. I’m with Susan and Bobbie. What’s the deal about the man and the dog?
    Inquiring knitters want to know, Anne.

  13. I just googled “maple farm yarn” and found Maple Creek Farm Yarn, and it looks from the other comments that it’s probably from there. The web is wonderful!

  16. Oh, the pie looks so yummy. And I wish you WERE filming! That would’ve made a great You-tube!

  18. Hi Anna,

    That pie looks so yummy. At least you got to enjoy some of it! Regarding your label-less yarn, I did a yarn search oh Ravelry for “Maple” as the source. Here are the results, in case one of the earlier suggestions don’t pan out: http://rav.to/tuCRZl. Hopefully that link works.There are 6 matches.

    I’m crossing my fingers for Santa to bring me a subscription to your Bare Naked KnitSpot club.it is right up my alley. (but then again, what do you do that is not?) We’ll see.

    Good luck on your next baking adventure. 😉
    Betsy in overcast Seattle

  19. Oops on the link in my first post. That’s not right.*But* you can log into Ravelry, go to the yarn tab, Advanced Search, then click on Brand in the page’s subheading. You can then type Maple in the search box and click on Search. Voila! Yarnie vendors with Maple in their name. HTH.
    Betsy

  20. Omg- and I typo’d your name in my first post! Anne! Sorry about that. Guess I need a nap or something…
    Betsy

  22. Okay, this post is just full of yummy win. I NEED to make that pie. It would be wonderful for breakfast one day. I love that basket in the last pic! I just love baskets, and the handles on that one are particularly nice. 🙂
    Any idea when Hazeline will be out for those of us who should have signed up for the club but didn’t?

  23. I was going to suggest Maple Creek Farm as well–did the yarn have a city name? (I have some absolutely stunning 50/50 merino/silk of hers that’s dying to be a sweater . . .)

  24. That blueberry pie looks delicious. Mr JK’s German auntie makes a similar one using plums with a streusel or crumble topping. It is just to die for. What a shame it had such an unfortunate ending! I hate to tell you, but I reckon David might spot grated beets in carrot cake – you need to make it a chocolate one to mask the colour!!! Cunning, eh?! Hope you get your yarn room sorted out.

  25. Oh, so sad about the pie! Some very unladylike words would have escaped my mouth for sure! But more pie is always a good thing.

    Organizing yarn is a fun project!

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