simple things

This weekend we made chocolate chip zucchini bread, one of the few family recipes we have that isn't traced back to Betty Crocker. It was my grandmother's recipe, then my mother's and now mine. Each generation has added her own flavor to the mix. My mother, lover of all things sweet, added the chocolate chips, which my version has in mini size (I like the experience of a little chocolate without the actual chunks). I added real vanilla extract, a reflection of all things Mexican that I love so much. We couldn't resist baking a few mini loaves when we saw the beautiful, abundant (cheap) zucchini at the farmer's market. Three mini loaves for school, three for home.

We also went geocaching, and had a lovely time. We found three of the four caches we set out to find. With my sister visiting, we laughed often, stayed up late, and shared much.

I also finished the filagro scarf for my mother-in-law.

It's very basic, as you can see, with just a smidge of ruffle at the ends. It's from a pattern in One Skein Wonders. It's about four feet long, which I hope is long enough for her to wrap up as she pleases. Not much is more frustrating than a scarf that is too short for the wearer's tastes.

I also joined Freecycle yesterday. With the house up for sale, we've begun the invigorating process of sorting through the flotsam of our lives. We've already taken two van-loads to Salvation Army and another one to storage. I'm hoping to find someone willing to part with hand carders and lots more people interested in taking some of the extras from our hands.

where it's at

To start off my weekend, I'm preparing my project tote for any road trips, diversions, or free moments of yarn bliss. With some wishful thinking, I even got out my roving. Who knows, maybe my new spindle will arrive tomorrow?

How delightful are these colors?

I have no idea what they will become, but hopefully it will be something the kids can snuggle with. I feel like I've been rather selfish with my knitting lately.

Just as I say that, though, here is the filagro scarf:

This will be a Christmas gift for my MIL. It's warm, it's wooly, it's wonderful.

But this is why I feel so selfish. How do people crank out sweaters in under a month? This concept completely eludes me. I have been devoting many of my free hours to this sweater since early 2010. It IS getting somewhere... near enough to somewhere that I have begun thinking about buttons. The portion on the needles is both sleeves.

Those are some itty-bitty stitches.

I am missing my cross quilt, but now I really can't pull it out, as our house is officially on the market. We could have showings at any time, and while I would melt instantly if I saw a half-finished quilt crowding out the tables and couches in the living room, I think I might be in the minority.

May your stitches be even and your hems straight this weekend. (And your children well-fed, messy, and exhausted!)

long drives

How I wish I lived in an area with mass transit.

Whenever possible, I have Daddy-B drive the family around on weekends. My favorite drives are out to visit my parents on the west side of the state. I sit there in the passenger seat, chatting up lil' b and making weird noises at marmallow in the back, while knitting or crocheting my way through some mindless-yet-pleasurable project. One year, I think it was 2007, I managed to make everyone in my extended family a beanie hat for Christmas due entirely to crochet-on-the-road.

I don't usually like to craft whilst at home with the tots. Not while they are both awake, any way. I can do some crafting while marmallow naps and lil' b colors, but not much. So I treasure the long drives that give me the ideal excuse to work on a project, because I can't possibly get down on the floor and play with them instead.

Which is why it kills me that we don't have mass transit out here. If I lived in DC, or New York, or Chicago, or even some place with a decent bus system, I could get so much done in the forty-five minutes it takes to get to work in the morning and the hour it takes to get home. I could craft, yes, or I could read, or catch up on sleep. In addition to the lovely fuel savings, environment savings, and lack of wear-and-tear on my T&C swagger wagon.

Of course, there are perks to autonomy. I like to know that I can get to daycare quickly, on my terms. I like the (possibly false) belief that I am in control of how fast I can get somewhere, or in some cases, how slowly. I think I've only come up with positives because I have to. It'll be a cold day indeed when the Auto Capital of the US has anything resembling the Metro.

One thing I can't do on-the-go is machine quilt though, Metro or no. So the goings on my cross quilt have been slow. It's looking good, though! I have finished one quarter of the top (it is worked in quarters) and laid out and half-stitched another quarter. It looks very nice and I'm eager to see how it finishes. My woodland sweater is also coming along... which is promising since it's DK weight on 4 mm needles. I've finished the back and both fronts, and just cast-on the sleeves last night. Daddy-B prefers the soft click of needles over the vuvuzela-like buzz of the sewing machine while watching the Tigers play, and since it was Father's Day, his preferences won out. The butter sweater is complete with the exception of two rounds on the neck, which I have been procrastinating on buying the circulars for.

And then there is my road piece, the filagro scarf. That one, of course, is rolling along very nicely.