crafty shtuff: fisherman's hat mishap

A lot of firsts this summer for my knitting skills.  First a sweater now.... A hat!  Yup, knitting in the round.  All was going swimmingly I even got connected with out getting twisted!  But 3" in to my stockinette I realized I have skipped a line of my pattern, poop!  I have missed 4" of Fisherman's Rib to start the hat once I connected my first row.  I have mentioned I'm horrible at following patterns, seriously it was one little sentence I scooted over, ugh.  

Unwilling to rip out what I had already accomplished I decided to finish the pattern from where I was and pick up stitches around the brim to add my elusive Fisherman's Rib.  Next problem... How do you do a Fisherman's Rib?! Enter YouTube search...  Result: was this wonderful tutorial & a new stitch under my knitting belt. 

    

    

Once the hat is finished & the mishap is unseen in the final product I hope to give it to Che who was one of our adorable seafaring guides on the Spike Africa.  We had great wind that evening that swooped his hat right off his head. 
I will post the final project once finished... keep your fingers crossed this knitting mishap becomes wearable for Mr. Che.

sshhhhhhh..... silent sundays: fond fair moments

steady as she goes...

 I have made a BIG decision this month.  I have decided to stay the winter here on San Juan Island.  Which is exciting & scary all at once.  

This is the "off season" for our little Roche Harbor Resort so business for me at the spa will be slower.  Which will require some budgeting & maybe a few side jobs around the island or resort. 

The silver lining to less work is more time for crafty shtuff & reading.  There will be fewer tourists roaming the island so I can enjoy the tranquility of island life more, like having the beach to myself & shorter lines at my favorite lunch spots.  Yay!

My calendar was telling me something...

I'm excited for this new adventure of being "Steady" in one place. I've been a bit of a nomad lately and I'm tired of moving.  Although... one more move will have to happen for me to be comfortable through the colder months here.  My current flat is not very economical when it comes to heating, ancient baseboard heaters and single-pane windows will suck my wallet dry.  So, I am hunting for a new place to share with my friend & colleague Sydney.  We are hoping for a great deal on rent after Labor Day!  Keep your fingers crossed for us! 

allium free fresh salsa

I have an annoying intolerance/allergy to the allium family.  Allium family encompasses all garlic & onions.  This makes eating out difficult.  I usually end up with a horrible belly-ache even though the meal was divine.  So, I have become very creative in my own kitchen to make my favorite meals allium free.  This has made me a fly by the seat of my pants kinda cook as I need to get creative with recipes.  I don't measure out anything, which totally freaks out my Mother.  Ha.  So I apologize now for no exact recipes for ya.

Dinner is served!! Ole! 

Since the fresh ingredients were at my finger tips at the farmer's market, I made salsa!  I gathered up the following:

Cilantro

Green Zebra Tomatoes

Radishes

Tomatillos

Zucchini

& from the kitchen I had limes, kosher salt, and a smidgen of cumin.

Freshest of the fresh from my favorite farms.

First I roasted the tomatillo's for maximum flavor.  Intense flavors are needed when life is sans onion & garlic.  

While those roast... time to chop up everything else!  I like my salsa semi-chunky. 

Put all chopped ingredients into bowl add lime salt & cumin to your taste.  

Then either use a hand chopper or blender to mash up the roasted tomatillo's.  

Add to bowl & grab the chips!

Belly-ache free salsa = Heaven to me!

seeing blue...

Well, it was a most sucessful year for my enteries at the fair!  I won 2 Blue First Place ribbons!

My sweater "Punk Be A Lady" 

My skirt "The Rain In Spain"

I used Amy Butler's Barcelona skirt pattern.  It is an easy fun pattern to use & it fits wonerfully. 

island life: san juan county fair

Despite San Juan County being the smallest here in Washington, we have the biggest fun at our tiny Fair!   Four days of fun every August.  To say I love our fair is an understatement.  It is adorable & the participation of all the residents is totally endearing, making it the social event of the year.  

Cow & Pig are ready for the fair too!

This years Fair t-shirt! Get your goat on...

The fair t-shirts are always fantastic! They are designed by local artist and printer Jennifer Rigg of LOEA. 

Preserving & canning at the Grange booth. 

Art works of every type are entered.

Curly fries & Corn on the cob were a few of the delights devoured.

Trash to Treasure! Being on islands we are always finding ways to recycle.

A few of the Trashion Fashion frocks from Wed nites runway show!

IAL's raffle booth of one of a kind art by local artists....
Hoping I might win one!

Chicken barn is my favorite!!! The kids and their animals are so cool!

Award winning eggs from ducks, pigeons, & chickens.

See why I love the chickens?! 

Flower entries galore.

The crafty shed where I entered my sweater & skirt!

Quilters are hard core here! There's my skirt in the corner...

pure awesomeness: method & orla kiely limited edition

I'm a total dork when it comes to well designed products.  Method has always been beautifully designed & eco-conscience.  Orla Kiely's pattern's make me swoon.  So, needless to say this collaboration is blowing my mind!!! 

method : ORLA KIELY limited edition – gel hand wash

Primrose hand wash, yum.

Pear Ginger all purpose cleaner, double yum.

Vanilla Chai hand wash, oh my!

 Bay Leaf, too.....Oooohhhh....

you're my obsession: heirloom tomatoes

The tomatoes have finally arrived at the Saturday farmers market.  This is my first stop at the market now!  There is usually a line of "tom" lovers & if you don't get there at the opening bell of the market you will not get what you want.  And what I want is the Green Zebra tomatoes.  They have not been in abundance this year.  Luckily most people do not know that these green gems are actually ripe and divine!

Toe-MAY-toe, Toe-MATO! 

Buckets of yummy-nesssss

The reserves are dwindling, which is why I get up early on a Saturday!

My coveted yet small stash of Green Zebras. 

 Thank goodness for The Thirsty Goose Farm who grows all these gorgeous fruits!  I tried to grow tomatoes in pots this year... they are still only an inch tall due to the cold summer we had this year.  Boo.... 

crafty shtuff: my first sweater

I have finally done it!  I decided on a sweater knitting pattern & bought the skeins of yarn need.  I think I have been wanting to do this for at least a year.  
I'm making "The Swindle" from Pretty in Punk.  My goal is to actually follow the pattern for once! I tend to have pattern A.D.D and try to change it & tweek it.  So,  I decided for the first attempt I would even keep to the same color scheme which was not too hard to wrap my head around seeing as I LOVE green. 
I was unable to get a mohair blend of yard here on the island so I did substitute Merino wool by Malabrigo, which is divinely soft! A BIG thanks to my gals at Island Wools here in Friday Harbor who helped me through the selection process.  Yarn shops make me feel like a kid in a candy store all hopped up on sugar, so focusing on why I came in can be difficult. 

Delicious skeins of merino wool in Lettuce & Black. 

The pattern called for 3 skeins of each color but I did not even touch the 3rd skeins.  In fact I still have a good amount of the 2nd skeins left.  Which would make me think I made a baby sweater, but alas it did fit. Hmmm?!

Here we go! Working my stockinette.

First front/back piece finished. 

I was lovin' how the kettle dyed lettuce was a bit variegated in the color!

Front & back are connected now at shoulders and waiting for sleeves to be finished 

For the most part there were no new techniques for me in this pattern so as long as I paid attention it went smoothly.  But there were many times of not being focused and I had to undo rows due to not increasing or decreasing properly. Ha.
There was one new exciting moment though... My very first 3 needle bind-off! wow was it awesome! If you have never tried one, you must.  The feeling of accomplishment was intense.

Time to block this mother out...

I blocked the pieces once done at the recommendation of a fellow knitter.  The pattern did not mention it.  I have never blocked before.  But so glad I did it made the edges less rolly and easier to stitch together. 

All stitched up & begging for felted star elbow patches

I think it adds a whole lot a star power... hee! 

Not only does it fit... but I think it kinda rocks. 

I added a tiny star on the front too. Couldn't leave all the fun in the back...

First sweater complete!

I had put a deadline on myself for finishing this project.  It needed to be finished by Aug 14th to enter into the San Juan County Fair.  I made it by the lack of sleep skin o' my teeth! I will let you know if I win a ribbon!

sshhhhhhh..... silent sundays: fun with instagram!

i'm sailing.....

Yesterday I went sailing!!  Despite being a NW girl I have not been on many sea vessels.  My Grandfather Arthur was a Coastie but, my family has mostly been land-lubbers.  I'm hooked... The masts, booms, tacking, jibing, grommets, halyards, & Captains, Oh my!!! Another fun thing to add to my "Shtuff I wanna do list". Learn to sail!

Ahoy, Spike Africa!

Such an beautiful schooner.

The sailing trip was for our annual summer spa party. We all have fun at work together but when we get together for fun... We have a BLAAST!!

Kryssy, Amber, & Ali 

Ali, Megan, & Nikki

Miss Suzanne

Amber, Mayra, Lacey, Becky, & Sydney

Edward & myself.

Joseph, Boss Lady Troy, & Captain Marshall 

I'm Sailing!!! Ahoy!

I had to take advantage of a "What about Bob?" moment.  Thus far I think this is my best experience of the summer.