It's A Knitting Needle Roll, Y'all

It's finally done. :) You probably already guessed this fabric would be a needle roll. I'd seen several on other knitters' blogs, and their needles looked really neat and organized so I decided I should make one. The pattern is here if you would like to make one for yourself or a gift for a knitter. It's a bit of work, but it's definitely worth the effort. You can't see the black in the print of the cloth very well in the pic, but it's there so I made a black tie.

My sewing machine got a little cranky with the thickness of all the layers, but I won. ;) Well, sorta; it's not the best sewing in the world, but it's holding.

Unfolded in all its knitful glory. Many thanks to the designer for sharing the pattern!

Have a great weekend, Y'all!
Linking up with May Sewing Party.

Quothe the Nubbins

Hark! What cloth from yon knitting wakes? 'Tis Nubbins Dishcloth and S&C Country Stripes is the one. I'm having fun with this yarn and this post. O, Violet Stripes, O, Violet Stripes! Wherefore art thou, my Violet Stripes?

Hark! Who goes there? Natural Stripes! Off with their nubbins!

What's this? A pox upon me you Poppinjay!

The double crochet bug bit me last weekend when a friend showed me an afghan she had just made. I had to have one, too. I'm halfway done as I want it 12 strips wide. For the center strips I used Red Heart Aran in the middle bordered by RH Watercolor. I know, I know, but I love those colors. (I'll use it for a little color in the study and if I get a mosquito bite...well, it'll be there. ;) And this is why I haven't yet done my little project with the fabric above, but it's on the cutting table now. Can't wait to get that one done, also.

Ballband Parade, Fried Green Tomatoes*

Have a cookie, I mean a Fried Green Tomato* (recipe below) while you watch the ballband parade, Y'all. It'll be alot more fun. They're best eaten by hand, but feel free to use a fork if you like. :)Now leading off the ballband parade is a sweet little P&C Shaded Pastel holding a bouquet of pastel pink crape myrtle.Following closely is the enormous Summerset (thanks CeElle) by S&C paired with a sprig of butterfly bush.

Next up, Over the Rainbow by S&C with too shadowy lemon thyme.

Last, but not least in our ballband parade is S&C Midnight Magic and special friend Lacy Picot Swirl . Hope you enjoyed the parade, folks.

A trip to HobbyLobby last week to take advantage of the S&C sale...yes, those are (eeek!) crochet hooks at the bottom of the picture.

This is a yard of upholstery fabric that I bought while at HL for only $2. Love the hokie print! I have something in mind to make with this, so I hope to get to it this week and can show you soon.

In the meantime, please have a look at Hakucho's Big Bag Pattern for recycling those plastic store bags that we all have a million of. And you must see CeElle's ballband cloths at her site, Coming-Unravelled. They're quite elegant, and don't forget to check out her free cloth patterns and gift tag downloads. Have a great week, Y'all.

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Fried Green Tomatoes

(Crunchy when cooked and can be eaten by hand when cooled slightly. :)

Ingredients:

4-6 green medium to large tomatoes

1 1/2 cups cornmeal, I use White Lily plain or self-rising

2 eggs, beaten or water or milk, doesn't matter

peanut oil for frying

1. Wash and slice tomatoes.

2. Dip slices in water, milk or beaten egg, whichever you prefer.

3. Place dipped slces in a bag or container with enough cornmeal to coat the slices well.

Shake until well coated and let the tomato slices set in bag for 20-30 minutes shaking occasionally to keep the slices from sticking together. This puts a good/but not too thick coating on the tomatoes.

4. Deep fry at 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes or 'til golden brown. (Pan fry is okay, too.)

5. Dust lightly with salt to taste.

Hope yours turn out great!

Tea

Hazy & Crazy Hot in Dixie

Don't you just wish you were here!
I mean...it's hot. It's already 79 degrees and it's only 9:30 AM and so hazy we can't see the mountains. That's hazy.

Did I mention it's hot in the South, Y'all?
Two family members had birthdays recently, so we had a celebration dinner over the weekend. We made shrimp cocktail, shish-ka-bobs, baked potatoes, etc. and a Dairy Queen ice cream cake for dessert.






These skewers of summer delight were a hit, obviously, since these were the only ones left. I made alot of them with ribeye steak dusted with garlic powder, black pepper and salt along with yellow squash, red peppers and onions.

Saturday we went to Pigeon Forge. SIL #2 rode the go carts with DH...over and over..just makes sense, right? :) They had fun. DD and I browsed a nearby western store; cute stuff but pricey..I kept thinking...I can make this...

The temperature gauge in the car showed 106 degrees outside while we were there. It was hot. Traffic was unbelievable so we took the backroads on the way back home. Country roads are so pleasant. We all enjoyed the ride.

I took this picture from the car so it's not the greatest, but I love pictures of barns, especially older ones. All this setting needs is a few hens pecking around.

My knitting has been less than exciting lately so here's something different. I actually finished this crocheted afghan last year and just stuck it in the closet. It was about 14 years in the making because at the time I started making the squares I had just finished two other afghans. I had done them so fast that I developed tendonitis and got really tired of crocheting. The tendonitis cleared up, and I eventually got back into crocheting. Anyways, after many years, last summer I dug out all the yarn and the squares that were already done, finished the remaining ones and added the border. Here's a closeup in case you are dying to see it upclose and personal. :)

Lacy Picot Swirl Cloth

Lacy Picot Swirl Cloth in two sizes:

Lacy Picot Swirl Cloth Size: 9 inches Materials: Worsted weight cotton yarn Size 7 knitting needles Darning needle Notes: Slip stitches: as if to knit. Picot edging: Use the knitting-on method at the beginning of Rows 2, 6, 10, etc. to make the picot edging. The instructions at http://www.knittinghelp.com/ assume you are at the beginning a project, so just ignore the part about beginning with a slip knot and proceed from there. It’s currently the 4th video on the basic techniques/cast on page. CO 20 stitches leaving 8-12 inches of yarn for drawing up center later. Row 1: Knit across Row 2: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 18 sts, (1 st remains on needle), turn. Row 3: & all remaining odd rows: sl 1 st, knit to the end of the row. Row 4: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit 14 sts, (2 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 6: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 16 sts, (3 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 8: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit 12 sts, (4 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 10: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 14 sts, (5 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 12: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit 10 sts, (6 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 14: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 12 sts, (7sts remain on needle), turn. Row 16: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit 8 sts, (8 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 18: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 10 sts, (9sts remain on needle), turn. Row 20: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit 6 sts, (10 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 22: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 8 sts, (11 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 24: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit 4 sts, (12 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 26: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 6 sts, (13 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 28: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit 2 sts, (14 sts remain on needle), turn.. Row 30: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 4 sts, (15 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 32: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit to the end of the row. Repeat rows 1-32 five more times for a total of 6 slightly swirled wedges. Bind off loosely leaving enough yarn to sew seam. Sew seam using darning needle. Draw in center using darning needle & beginning cast on yarn. Weave in ends. Copyright © 2007 Toni in the Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, All Rights Reserved

 http://www.foothillsofthegreatsmokymountains.blogspot.com/

Lacy Picot Swirl Cloth

Size: 7 3/4 inches Materials: Worsted weight cotton yarn Size 7 knitting needles Darning needle Notes: Slip stitches: as if to knit. Picot edging: Use the knitting-on method at the beginning of Rows 2, 6, 10, etc. to make the picot edging. The instructions at http://www.knittinghelp.com/ assume you are at the beginning a project, so just ignore the part about beginning with a slip knot and proceed from there. It’s currently the 4th video on the basic techniques/cast on page. CO 17 stitches leaving 8-12 inches of yarn for drawing up center later. Row 1: Knit across Row 2: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 15 sts, (1 st remains on needle), turn. Row 3: & all remaining odd rows: sl 1 st, knit to the end of the row. Row 4: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit 11sts, (2 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 6: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 13 sts, (3 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 8: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit 9 sts, (4 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 10: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 11 sts, (5 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 12: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit 7 sts, (6 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 14: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 9 sts, (7sts remain on needle), turn. Row 16: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit 5 sts, (8 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 18: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 7 sts, (9sts remain on needle), turn. Row 20: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit 3 sts, (10 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 22: Cast on 1 stitch, bind off 1 stitch, knit 5 sts, (11 sts remain on needle), turn. Row 24: Sl 1 st, knit 1 st, yo, k2tog, knit to the end of the row. Repeat rows 1-24 six more times for a total of 7 slightly swirling wedges. Bind off loosely leaving enough yarn to sew seam. Sew seam using darning needle. Draw in center using darning needle & beginning cast on yarn. Weave in ends. Copyright © 2007 Toni in the Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, All Rights Reserved Questions? mailto:distaff18c@yahoo.com http://www.foothillsofthegreatsmokymountains.blogspot.com/