What I'm working on...

... whoa... I can show you what I'm knitting... imagine that.

I'm not sure what to call this sweater- Bird in the Hand has already been taken by a pair of beautiful, and fairly famous mittens. Bird Folk? The Birds? Happy Bird-day? Though the bird motif originated along the Danube, in execution it looks a bit Peruvian (throw a llama in there, you'll see what I mean).

The chart was adapted from the old Dover book Charted Folk Designs for Cross-Stitch Embroidery, which I bought back when Dover books cost $2.50 (a looong time ago). It's probably out of print now, but it's a treasure trove with hundreds and hundreds of old charted folk designs (all copyright free). I referred to it extensively when I designed cross stitch back in the day. It comes in handy for stranded knitting too.

But regardless of title, this sweater is a stash-buster. I'm using whatever old yarns (from my own purchases, and left from several books) that I pull out of the bag/box in combos that appeal to me. It's going to be bright and goofy and fun. I think it'll be a v-neck pullover, but I'll leave the neck shaping until the end because I could change my mind on that.

Oh- the 16" circ to the right holds the sleeves. I'm knitting them tandem- which means both are cast on at the same time, with steeks between. When they're finished, I'll cut them apart, and seam them. I'll take pics.

Stats: Size 8 (5mm) needles, worsted weight yarn, body of sweater: 224 sts. Gauge: approx 5 sts=1". It'll be about 44" around (I like my sweaters roomy). I'm keeping this one.

Drum roll please, and Susie's socks

Guess what? The last of the book projects went off to my editor today. I have 2-3 days of writing left (glossary, sources, patterns revised to incorporate test knitter comments and suggestions, etc), but that can wait until next week. Despite 7 months of anxiety, I met my deadline, and got everything done with most of my sanity intact (yeah, I know I am tempting fate by saying that now, but I have to believe that FedEx won't lose the box, and that a meteor won't hit my house before the end of next week)(ducking). Of course, there is still much to do (copy editing, etc) but that won't start for a month or so.

Therefore, I am taking the weekend off. Here at home- not in the air, not in a different state, but right here in my own house. I'm going to laze and play and sew and read and vegitate for two full days. That hasn't happened since October. You damn betcha I'm ready for it.

I took a small road trip today, during which I finished the socks for my friend Susie. She has waited many months patiently because I could only work on them in dribs and drabs. But they're done now.

The yarn is Kertzer On Your Toes with Aloe Vera. It's not a soft yarn, but it feels sturdy, and I love the colors.

And what's next on the needles, you ask? What am I going to knit now that I don't HAVE to knit anything? So glad you asked. I'm going to start a worsted-weight pullover Fair Isle sweater for myself, using leftover yarns and a bird motif adapted from an old Dover Cross Stitch Book (one of the copyright free design books). No deadline, no rush, no worries about discontinued yarns or colors that won't photograph well. I'm going to use whatever yarns I pull from the leftover box that appeal to me, and it's going to be just for fun. I can't wait!

Thursday Tab- The Ginghams, Sarah's Pet Shop

all together now... aaawwwww

AI Season 9- Top 5 Elimination

Yikes, I think Bizarro Ryan is back- he positively chirps the open, bathed in Mothership lighting.

Randy looks like he's losing weight again. He's wearing a DOC-Orange tee and his usual beads. Ellen is wearing a trim black v-neck cardigan over a white shirt. Kara is in a tight and skimpy white tank, and an overly-busy neck adornment. Simon is in a gray/gray cardigan with the sleeves pushed up above his elbows. Ryan is giggling.

Time for the Sinatra Medley. The guys, all in black suits, musically declare that Crystal is a tramp.Crystal, also in a tux and tails, appears to enjoy the lady/tramp combo. They all sound better than they did last night, though that wouldn't be difficult.

Next week, it's Songs From The Movies, and Jamie Foxx is mentoring. I don't remember him doing a very good job of it last time, and I have low expectations for V.02.

I don't recognize the song in the Fordmercial, but it's pretty. So is Crystal, dressed in yellow floral and high hopes.

Next we get a behind-the-scenes look at Tuesdays, American Idol Style. I particularly enjoy seeing the Faux Judges during dress rehearsal.

Ryan begins the Elimination Process by dimming the the lights. He has Lee stand alone at center stage, and then he has Lee talk, which is never a good idea. Then Lee is safe, and perhaps about to throw up.

GAH! Nostril eyeballs!! What the hell are you thinking, Dreamworks?

So, the Lane Bryant lingerie commercial with the gloriously racktastic Big Girl, was formerly thought to be too sexy for FOX, but Lady Gaga, wrapped in mesh and veiling and not much else, surrounded by writhing men wearing orthopedic underwear, is okay? Right. This Alejandro ditty sounds a whole lot like that one Madonna Isla Bonita song. Also like most of Gloria Estefan's music. There is more writhing, and floor rolling (speaking of Madonna), and lots of black branches, and men waltzing with each other, and fog, and drama, though I will admit that Lady Gaga's voice is not unpleasant (as opposed to, say, Miley Cyrus's).

We see more clips of Harry Connick Jr, interacting with the kids occasionally, but mostly he's playing to the camera. I don't know if he's fun, or if he's a total jerk. Probably, he's a little of both.  But he certainly can sing the kind of stuff that he tried to get the kids to do last night. On the other hand, they could have sounded fine if they had sung Sinatra singing The Beatles, too.

Oh for crying out loud Audience- stop waving your arms. This instant! Or I'll ground you.

What's this? Another medley? This time it's HCjr songs, with Himself accompanying them on the piano. This is fairly enjoyable as well. In fact, all of the music tonight is better than anything we heard last night.

The kids are still dressed all in black. I know that I bitch all the time about stupid hats, and Crystal is wearing one, but it doesn't bother me. I don't know if that's because girls look better in hats, or that the hat itself is not quite as stupid as it could be. Or if it's because I cut Crystal a whole lot of slack. Whatever the case, she looks just fine.

Ryan tells Crystal to stand on the stage and start her own group. Oh no, we're doing The Huff on Top 5 Elimination night (rather than the traditional Top 7).

Mike starts his own group. Aaron joins Mike, and I don't like this at all, because that leaves Casey (last night's worst performer) for Crystal.

Ryan asks Lee if he would be willing to indicate in which group he, as the only sure safe one, belongs. Lee declines. Scripted? You decide. Ryan accepts the decision without argument (which makes me come down on the side of scripting), and says that Crystal and Casey are safe.

Side Note: whew

So, it's down to Mike and Aaron, and Aaron gets the boot. He's come a long way, and he seems like a very nice young man, but it's certainly his time to go. He does have a fair amount of talent (at least as much as Justin Beiber, or any of the Jonaii)- I hope we hear something from him in a couple of years, after he takes a few lessons, and gets a little more life experience.

AI Season 9-Top 5 Performance

We pan the glammed kids as Harry Connick Jr. reminds us that This. Is. American. Idol. Good thing, because we may have forgotten, and we only have an hour to do this tonight.

Whoa- is that Anthony Hopkins in the audience? And Rob Reiner?

Randy is wearing a gray, short-sleeved polo shirt with a blue striped collar. Ellen is wearing a black blazer over a white shirt and a soft polka-dot scarf. Kara isn't sparkly tonight, but she does have straight hair and a plunging neckline. Speaking of plunging necklines- Simon, for the sake of all that is good and innocent, button up. Please.

I knew that he was young, but I didn't realize that HCjr was only 22 when he did the sound track to When Harry Met Sally. He still looks fairly young, though scruffy, as he explains who Frank Sinatra was. You know, with the constant whining about the kids being current, I can't imagine why they decided to delve into the total opposite with the Rat Pack songbook. HCjr is taking the hands-on approach to his mentoring duties by bringing his own band members, and playing backup for the performances, which may or may not work well.

Aaron is up first. He's looking very snazzy in a button-down shirt, vest and tie. It seems to me that he might be the only one for whom this music is a natural fit.

But before we get to Aaron, Ryan introduces Nancy and Tina Sinatra, who present a monogrammed hankie to Simon, who seems genuinely touched. Note to Nancy: step away from the collagen.

Aaron is singing Fly Me to the Moon, and I think he's a bit ahead of the music. As usual with Aaron, he hits some sour notes, though on the whole, he hit more good ones. His problem, also as usual, has more to do with his age than anything else. He does look adorable though.

Casey is wearing a lavender button-down shirt, a charcoal vest, and matching tight pants. His hair has been tamed and pulled back. He's singing Blue Skies, and for the first time, he's appearing onstage without a guitar. Unfortunately, this arrangement highlights the flaws in his voice (no depth, no control of the vibrato) and performance ability (without a guitar, he's stiff and unnatural). He's trying hard, but this is not working, and it's not his fault. Casey is very good at playing to his own strengths, but this musical style is totally out of his normal range.

Crystal is wearing a strapless lace Barbie Dress, and her hair is in a tall pouf. Her makeup looks fantastic. I really really wanted her to sing (One for my Baby and) One More For the Road. I thought that would suit her voice and sensibility. Instead she's singing Summer Wind, which doesn't excite me. The band is way too loud, and her beginning is uncharacteristically tentative. But she does warm into it, vamping it up, and putting her own spin on the song. Technically, her voice is just fine, but the song doesn't fit her persona very well, no matter how much she says it means to her. It doesn't surprise me that she gets faint praise from the judges, and while I totally blame the theme, this is my least favorite Crystal performance.

Well, this is the one and only week where a silly hat is okay, and Mike is taking advantage of that, though the hat makes his head look small (or maybe it's just a small hat). He's wearing a snappy black suit and he looks great. He's singing The Way You Look Tonight, which seems like the perfect choice. He begins well, slow and sultry, but soon the arrangement speeds up (this seems to be an HCjr trend). This is half of a really good performance.

Lee, in a black suit jacket and loosened tie, is singing That's Life, which is getting the Ballpark Organ treatment from HCjr. The opening is good, great in fact, but once again, the band ramps up to the Speed of Blah, and Lee is having a hard time keeping up. His phrasing is wonky, and he's chopping his words off oddly. Again, this is half of a really good performance which did not deserve the Judge's tongue bath.

The best tonight: 1/2 of Mike. The worst: all of Casey. Everyone else goes in between.

Maybe next week, they'll let the kids sing The Eagles to make up for this trainwreck.

A little wine

We tackled some wine chores this weekend.

The vodka/Everclear/lemon peel mixture had steeped for the full 40 days for the Limoncello, so I strained out the liquid. The iced tea jug came in handy for that- I just drained out the juice and discarded the alcohol soaked peels. My garbage smelled like drunk lemons, which is better than the way it usually smells.

Then I made the simple syrup with cane sugar. While that was boiling, I filtered the clear, lemon flavored, lemon scented, lemon colored alcohol through coffee filters, and added it to the still-warm syrup. This is what happened:

It's supposed to be crystal clear- yellowish but transparent. My Limoncello is most definitely not transparent. A little Googling told me that warm syrup caused the liquid to cloud. Permanently. So I guess, we'll just pretend that it's supposed to be opaque (and indeed, some recipes call for a cloudy result- just not the one I used). It still tastes very very good. The big bottles are back in the basement, for another 40 days of ageing. The little jar is in the freezer for tasting (that's where you store Limoncello, though I don't know if it all has to be kept there, or only the bottle we're currently drinking. I'll have to Google some more). I'll rebottle the aged stuff in smaller bottles (those are liter size), and then we're good  to go.

BTW- the reason that the Limoncello is in flip top bottles instead of the iced tea jug is because the spigot developed a leak, which luckily I spotted before I took it back to the basement, where 40 days and about $30 worth of ingredients would have leaked out all over the floor.

I might try the recipe again, with grapefruit next time. And next time, I'll make the syrup a day ahead and chill it.

We also racked all of the wines and added clarifier and sulfite to the carboys.  We just have to wait for the wines to clear (the Chablis is there already) and then we can bottle them.

The 2010 Taylor Made Wine tally: 3 gallons Barbera, 3 gallons Chablis, 5 gallons Chokecherry Riesling, 5 gallons Rhubarb Riesling, 5 gallons Gewurtztrauminer. None of it will be ready to drink for at least 6 months, and we'll sweeten the fruit wines (unsweetened rhubarb wine is nasty- plain and simple). We're pretty much done for the year, though it wouldn't hurt to start a 5 gallon batch of Merlot, so it'll be ready by Christmas.

Dress-a-Doll- Black and White and Glam All Over

I finished the outfit. I'm pretty pleased with it. I got it sent off to Judy Johnson for her exhibit (see earlier posts for relevant links).

I added shading to the dress and collar, and rhinestones to the jewelry, and glitter to the veil, roses and shoes. Compare this image to yesterday's and see what a difference those little details make.

And of course, I printed out the doll and the dress and cut them both out.

Why don't you play along? I'll probably make another outfit, but not right now. I have work to do.