Tuesday

Random thoughts for Tuesday
This morning I watched a bird take apart a thistle.
After the park I went in to Treadle Yard Goods and got to see the new patterns from Oliver + S.
I want to make this one-
When we have the Oliver + S trunk show they'll have it made up as a rain coat from vinyl-coated cotton.
I can't wait to see it!

Speaking of Treadle, I just started blogging for them here so pop over occasionally to get the skinny on what's new in fabric and patterns.

Also, if you sew and you get your material or patterns from Treadle come over and join our flickr group and post some photos.

Thanks

Also, I want to say thanks for the lovely comments on my back to school posts.
Blogger doesn't always email me the comments that people leave, so I can't answer them individually, but I really appreciate you all taking the time to say something.

Party Party Party!

This week turned out to be full of fun and excitement.
Thursday the Hug-a-Bugs and myself went to an awesome fire-fighter-themed birthday party.
My friend went all out.
There was a fire-fighter trainee obstacle course around the backyard, everyone got a hat and a badge, and then we toured an actual fire station!

Parties always require appropriate attire.
It's a good thing that fire fighters are used to the heat, because it was about 95 degrees in that station and he is about to put on a wool hood.
The Younger Hug-a-Bug asked to use the camera, and if you enlarge this you can see that he got himself, the firetruck and the Elder Hug-a-Bug reflected in the hub cap. He's clearly a genius.

Then yesterday we spent the day at the Minnesota State Fair.
It was a beautiful day.
We spent most of our time at the Kidway, I think we went on at least 10 rides between the three of us (the Younger Hug-a-Bug isn't quite to the line for many of the rides, so I got to go along). I made the ill-advised decision to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl, and my stomach wasn't quite the same for the remainder of the day.

There were mini-donuts (which were eaten too quickly to be photographed) and fresh-squeezed lemonade.

There was Irish dancing, and a band who played an instrumental cover of Bohemian Rhapsody.

In the arcade I saw a whole row of photo-booths.
So we took some family portraits.

The best part of the whole day was that the Elder Hug-a-Bug won a prize in the midway.
She won the game where you fill up a balloon with water until it pops.
I can tell you, she was over the moon.
The camera was nearly out of batteries by the end of the day (why I didn't recharge in anticipation of the fair, I don't know) so I didn't get a shot of her with her major award, but she was almost in shock.
Even with the sleepy-boy tantrum on the way to the car it was a terrific day and I can't wait for next year.

School Clothes, part 5

O.K. the title is a little misleading, as the 4th installment wasn't really clothes, but whatever, this is my space to do with what I will.
I finished the latest item in the fall collection yesterday.
I had a dickens of a time taking a good photo of this little sweater so I had to wait til today to post. The pics I took in the sun are still not stellar.
The buttons are a really light aqua, and mostly they read as white against the red whenever I try to take a photo of it.

It is still damp from blocking, but it does have buttons so that's something.

I added a loop at the top for hanging, I don't know if that's a good idea or not yet.
My goal was to avoid stretching out the sweater with a little poky outy part at the neck.
I measured the sweater and I measured the girl, and they seem like they will be compatible.
Here's hoping.
I hope you all have a wonderful last couple of weeks of Summer.
The FAIR starts tomorrow, so I plan on spending Friday covered head to toe in mini donuts and fresh squeezed lemonade.
See you there if you're local and loyal!

Good Loaf

I don't know if it's the rainy weather we've been having, or the feeling that with the end of Summer and the coming of school, Fall is near, but I am in the midst of 14 hours of bread-baking frenzy.
Last night at 8:30 (why? I don't know) I made up a loaf of wheat bread from the recipe on the back of the King Arthur Flour bag, as well as throwing together the ingredients for no-knead bread.

I didn't end up baking the wheat long enough (who'd a thunk that at 10:45 PM I wouldn't have the best judgment about baking times) and I had a big dead spot in the center of the loaf.

Well, if life gives you underdone bread, make croutons.

Long, long ago I was a bread baker at Cafe Latte and we would use the day-old bread to make croutons for the salads and soups.
I tried to remember the recipe, here's what I could come up with after 9 years-

I sliced the bread, sprinkled a little olive oil, added a little kosher salt, onion powder and oregano and baked them in a low oven, 250 degrees or so, for about 20 minutes.

Since the bread was fresh it took a little longer to dry out fully, but I think these will be quite tasty on a salad for dinner tonight.

The no-knead just came out of the oven and it is questionable whether this will make it to dinner tonight.

Back to School part 4

Even though it looks like I am spending all my creative energy on supplying the Elder Hug-a-Bug with school stuff, I did manage to make the Younger a new backpack for school.
His old backpack is gone.
I left it at the park after school one day and it got moved to the lost and found.
From there it was either thrown out or someone took it home.
I hope that it is the latter, though I don't know why anyone would take home a backpack with someone's name and phone number in it along with a change of clothes for a 3-year-old boy.

It's probably for the best, as the flannel it was made of was starting to pill anyway.

So, here is his new backpack-I used the same pattern as before, Butterick 5054. and it is a super quick and easy one.
The pattern is for a young adult sized backpack, but what looks cute and kicky on a young adult is the perfect scale for a really, really young adult.

School Clothes, part 3

Well, I just couldn't leave well enough alone.
The Elder Hug-a-Bug picked out yarn for a sweater months ago when I thought I might knit her Sylvi.
I don't think I have it in me right now to tackle that particular project.
But maybe if it was for me...
Anyway, I decided to whip up a school sweater for her from the yarn.
I think it'll go well with the Cherry Outfit.
The original sweater was going to be a little red riding hood situation, and I think I will go that direction with this one.
I plan to continue the cables up the hood, though there might be some difficulty with the top of the hood as the cables are opposite one another.
Guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
This has been a super quick knit, I began this sweater on Thursday.
The yarn is Cascade 220.
Great yarn, superb color selection, nice to knit, not itchy.
I am making up the pattern as I go, but I am taking notes so I may post the pattern someday.
I have been speaking and writing in short declarative sentences lately.
The words are not flowing.
Maybe that's a sign that I should really be knitting.