I Can and I Can Complete Something

I was excited to see sour cherries at our farmers market this week.Last year due to strange spring weather there were virtually no cherries here in Michigan… a very sad thing  -no cherries… It’s really true that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

I brought some home and thought a while before settling on turning them into a simple syrup to mix in drinks. Just washed and pitted them and chopped them up and mixed in half as much sugar. I filled two-pint jars. I’m going to let it sit a while in the fridge before I start adding it to just about everything under the sun….Manhattans, Limeade. Sangria… This is where I go for Canning inspiration.

I also brought home some pickling cucumbers and had my first go at making pickles.

I used the recipe  for “Bread and Butter Pickles” that was on the back of the Ball Canning Cos. pickling salt package.  Simple and straight forward- they turned out pretty good for a first try.  The directions say to let them stand for 4-6 weeks before sampling so the flavors blend- well I had a little dish of leftovers and they tasted wonderful – sweet and spicy and crispy.

I also finished up the rainbow hap shawl this week. 

Somehow- probably due to a glass of wine I was drinking-

I managed to knit an extra repeat of the 24 row pattern.  I should have realized something was up. I used some 1200 meters of yarn where the pattern calls for 826.  That meant and extra 72 stitches to be bound off- a total of 495 stitches- which is a lot of stitches when it’s 92 degrees out and you don’t have air conditioning, but you are still determined to get the job done. The sewn bind off is a lesson in patience and perseverance- two stitches back – one forward- all the while drawing a massive amount of yarn carefully through the stitches.

So doing the extra repeat was a good thing in the end because I really like the extra yardage- I’m sure I’m a little larger than Kate Davies- so I could use the extra yardage. The shawl was to measure 63-inches in the wingspan and 24 inches from nape to tip. Mine measures 98 inches in the wingspan and 36 inches from nape to tip.

I used all of 2 -150 gram balls of Kauni and ran out in the second to last row- not to worry though- did I mention I have way more of this stuff on hand than anyone really should.

So mission accomplished- I used 2 balls of the Kauni and had the joy of knitting a Hap Shawl!

The photo above was before soaking and blocking.

You’ll have to trust me that the fabric turned out beautifully. I’ll try to post a modeled photo soon – need to secure a photographer…

Sending Birthday Wishes to my Mom this week! XXXOOO Will be looking forward to a visit to Cleveland in the next couple of weeks!