Blue Whippoorwill

When I Googled "Whippoorwill" I found that they are nocturnal and dark birds.  Though the name of this shawl is Whippoorwill, it isn't nocturnal or dark.  It's bright and cheery.  And it's a Christmas gift.  Can you believe I finished a gift and it's still May?  I hope I can wait till Christmas actually comes before I give this to my mom.

Though I knit a lot of lace, I was in a bit of a rebellion against it.  I just wanted to knit something easy, something stockinette.  That's mainly what this shawl is.  There are only a few rows that aren't.  This is a quick knit.  It took me only three weeks from cast-on till I took it off the blocking board.

Both yarns (blue is Malabrigo, variegated is Sunshine Yarns) were in my stash.  I own way too much yarn.  It felt good to use up a teeny tiny bit of it.

That's a self-portrait in the bathroom and it's a bit awkward.  But it shows the shawl with me for scale.  I think this will look great with a jean jacket.  

Weekend in Corpus

We spent the weekend in Corpus Christi, TX.  While there we ran a race, observed the pelicans,

ate some seafood,

and watched the sunset.

I had a bit of knitting time in the car.  I started another Whippoorwill shawl, this time in Noro Shiraito.

Yarn Bomb!

Have you ever yarn-bombed anything?  I haven't.  Yet.

Recently I was looking at the Groups section of Ravelry.  I rarely do that.  That particular day the group at the top of the list was Yarn Bomb Brigade of Pueblo, CO.  Hey, that's my hometown!  In June the group is going to yarn-bomb a gallery in the arts center.  Afterwards they will donate the knitted and crocheted items to a homeless shelter.  So it's yarn bombing with a purpose!  I decided I'd like to participate, even if it's long distance.  So I made some dish/washcloths.  I'll be mailing them off this week.

 I'd forgotten how much fun and how addicting these ballband cloths are!  As a bonus, I used up a little bit of my dishcloth cotton stash.  But I think I still have enough for a lifetime.

More weekend fun:  We went to the International Festival again.  We saw the Texas Tornados, featuring the legendary Flaco Jimenez. 

I love live music!

Weekend Fun

We had a great weekend, involving many things.  Saturday afternoon was spent at the Houston International Festival.  Specifically we went to see Los Lonely Boys.  What a great concert!  We were a bit surprised to see so many people waiting patiently, 40 minutes before the show began.  The mosh pit was already in place!  Once the concert began, there was no sitting down!  The band and the crowd were so energized!

 

 It was a beautiful and unseasonably cool day to be outside.

Sunday we put our cooking lessons from last week in place and grilled some fantastic steaks.

In the midst of all the fun, some charity knitting took place!

Friday the 13th Fun

One of my Christmas gifts from my boyfriend was a gift card to take a cooking class at Sur la Table. He said he'd take the class with me. So we had to find one that we were interested in and fit our schedules. We decided on a "date night" class this past Friday night. Here's the menu:

• Mini Crab Cakes with Lemon-Garlic Aioli


• Shiitake-Dusted Ribeye with Gorgonzola Butter


• Creamed Spinach with Shallots and Crispy Bacon


• Thyme-Roasted Potatoes


• Chocolate Napoleons with Port-Braised Pears

Sounds good, doesn't it? It was.

The class was completely hands-on. There's no pressure though and no one was going to get "Chopped". We basically worked in groups of four and everyone got to participate in preparing all the dishes. A lot of couples brought a bottle of wine to enjoy while cooking. Those that didn't, well, The Tasting Room is just across the street and has plenty available for purchase.

The kitchen in Sur la Table is fantastic! See the big TV up there--if Chef Robbie was demonstrating something you could gather round him or watch it on the TV. I think my boyfriend was hoping they'd put the Rockets basketball game on but no such luck.

At last, steaks are grilling!

Here is the main course. It was delicious! And I learned a lot.

We'll definitely take another class here. Maybe something Italian next time. Hm, I have an idea for a birthday gift for the boyfriend.

I went to an LYS and didn't buy yarn!

I'm starting to worry that the crew from Hoarders will show up at my door and want to feature my guest bedroom/yarn room on their show. Really, one does not need as much yarn as I own. But I can't not go to my favorite yarn store, Colorado Fiber Arts, when I am in town.
I spent lots of time looking at all the pretty yarns and the shop samples. I got a couple ideas for future projects. I managed not to buy yarn. But I did buy this. It's a basket, officially called a caddy, by Atenti.

You can't see inside from this angle, but there is a knitting project in there.

Shawlish Cowl

A while ago I saw a cowl/shawl combo that appealed to me. It's Zuzu's Petals by Carina Spencer. It's the idea and shape of a lace shawl but actually knit in the round as a cowl, thus staying in place without any problems. It seemed like a quick little project and a good way to use up some yarn. It was!

I would give this project about an 85% happiness rating. I really do like the project, but my yarn is a bit too busy for lace. I prefer my lace knitting to be done with a yarn that is has minimal color variation. However, I think it looks quite nice with this pink t-shirt.

I have been participating in two KALs, one spontaneous RAL (read-along), and just enjoying spring. I'll post the KAL projects next time.