Some FO's for Monday

Some finished knitting from the last couple of weeks:


The Darryl Waltrip Dishcloth, pattern by Rhonda K. White
Pattern can be found here.

Knitted with size 7's using Sugar 'n Cream Stripes.

Fun to knit, I liked the striping, too! Already in use for dishes.


Next up, a new iPod sock:

iPod Sock, by Suw Charman

Pattern is here.

Yarn is Trekking xxl , colorway 126. Size 2 needles.

Love, love, love the patterning with this yarn. Eventually I will be making socks, too.

Lastly, here is my Morning Surf Scarf, pattern by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer .

Pattern is here.

Yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport Multi in Devon 1 skein total. Finished length is 59.5 inches. Perfect for those (2) cool mornings in So. Florida! I was afraid the edges were going to curl, but after blocking it keeps its' shape just fine.

Presently knitting some baby items for co-workers. Pictures to follow soon.

Saturday Sky

A front starting to move in with showers expected. Still warm in the 80's.

B is for.....

The Blimp!!

The Goodyear Blimp (or Airship, as they like to be called) has a base here in South Florida. I love when the blimp is out and about, it always makes me smile. The Goodyear blimp is based north of my home by about 20 miles. Lucky for me, I live near a municipal airport that hosts other blimps year round, such as the Metlife blimp, Direct TV, Ginn, Fujifilm, and Outback- to name a few. In February of 2005 I was lucky enough to ride on the Goodyear Stars and Stripes Airship.

Bringing the Blimp in for a landing.

Note our pilot with his hand out the window!

All tucked in for the evening.

We were up in the blimp for about 90 minutes, going up the Atlantic coast from Pompano into Palm Beach county and back. It was truely one of the best experiences ever!

Sadly, this blimp- the Stars and Stripes, crashed in a thunderstorm and is no more. There is a replacement blimp now, the Spirit of Innovation, which looks exactly like the old one.

You can see pics from my trip here.

A Is For.....

Avocado! This is my "A" for the ABC-along 2008 from knitorious.
We have an old avocado tree in the corner of the backyard that was lush and full of fruit when we moved into the house in 2004. It is a shady respite on a hot day, and is home to parrots,woodpeckers, and the greenest lizards I have ever seen. Then, we had Wilma come through in 2005, and our stately old Avocado tree held on, but was reduced to this:


I think of all the damage to our property, this was the saddest. After much debate, we decided to see what the tree would do, instead of our initial reaction to remove it. I'm happy to say the old tree has filled himself out again, and this year was the best year by far for guacamole!! Here he is today:

Moving Right Aong With No Knitting Content

I am making some progress with my Morning Surf Scarf, really, I swear!!! Pictures will follow soon!!

Aside from knitting, two things I wanted to get back to in 2008 is my photography, and to improve my baking skills. For 2008, my plan is to get back to doing a Picture a Week, which I did faithfully in 2005 and 2006, but fell off the wagon in 2007. You can see them here, in my SmugMug Galleries. I will probably post the weekly picture in the blog on Fridays. It is a good way to hone skills, and try out new things. Initially when I started, it was with a group of photographers that would critique each other's work, which was invaluable. That ended, unfortunately, and I wish I could find something comparable online. I'd like to do more architectural photography this year, and more nighttime shots.

My other skill I want to improve is baking. I've been a bread baker for years, and am OK at cakes, pies, etc.. I'd like to get better consistency with baking, so I am going to try a Baked Goodie of the Week. Today we have Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies from Cooks Illustrated, February 2008.

I have to say, these came out looking like the photo, that doesn't happen to me very often! And they lived up to their promise of being crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. I just thought they were a little mild in flavor, I think I missed the raisins. I'd make them again, but with a modification or 2. I'd try them with raisins, or maybe a little sugar sprinkled on top. Overall, a good start to the new year!