Author: Marie Haigh

I started knitting 15 years ago right around the time of my marriage and the birth of my niece.

A Birthday Pie

Marie Haigh6 Comments

This weekend, we hosted a mini get-together to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I was supposed to cook a chocolate cake.

Saturday morning, just back from my walk with Jake, I decided the last thing I wanted to do was bake a cake. Cakes aren’t cool and refreshing. It wasn’t even 10 am and I was already searching for a bucket of ice water to dunk my head in. Jake was laying next to me panting. He couldn’t believe I was thinking of turning the oven on.

So, I compromised and dyed my hands red in the process.

I bought 2 lbs of Washington red cherries (sweet) and made a cherry pie based on Martha Stewart’s recipe.

I made a few changes. I swapped out arrowroot for the cornstarch and apple cider vinegar for the lemon juice. I eliminate the egg wash and extra sugar because I prefer the natural look. Plus, since my cherries were ripe and very sweet all on their own, I used a little bit less sugar than called for, probably about 2 tbsp less.

It was yummy.

Now, truly, I have so much more to tell you. For starters, I received a super cute apron in the apron swap I’m participating. Next, I ordered and received a new purse designed specifically for knitters. Then, I can’t wait to show you the lovely, raw, alpaca fleeces I purchased. Finally, I have to introduce you to the friendliest cat I’ve ever met. (Thankfully, Jake wasn’t with me. He thinks cats were put on this earth to be chased.)

His name is Sammy.

I’ll post pictures and an explanation later this week. Hope you are having a great day!

Keeping My Needles

Marie Haigh9 Comments

I had boasted before our trip to Tennessee that if I didn’t complete the last tie of my knitted tree skirt, someone could take away my needles.

You’ll have to pry them from my dead, cold hands first. I’m keeping my needles.

Not only did I finish knitting the last tie of my tree skirt, I knit another i-cord (that will become a bow on one of the white ties) and I started and finished knitting a pillow cover. Perhaps I should be stuck in a car for 22 hours at least once a month. I would knit more than I usually do.

The final tie:

The i-cord:

The odd-shaped pillow cover:

The reason for its odd shape is so that I can weave the knitted strips together like a basket. I’m not sure if this crazy idea will work or not. It popped into my head. I was stuck in a car with no book to read (I had finished it), no more ties to knit and nowhere to lean my head for a nap. It seemed perfectly rational at the time. Of course, walking home also seemed perfectly reasonable. I take back what I said earlier. It would not be good if I was stuck in a car once a month for 22 hours.

Did you notice something else about the pillow besides the odd shape?
The cream yarn is my 1st handspun yarn.

Vacation Knitting

Marie Haigh7 Comments

Because I love the “Wouldn’t You Like to be Knitting Here?” series by Knitting Dragonflies, I am borrowing it.

Wouldn’t you like to knit here?

I can testify that it is lovely, since this is the view from Dan’s grandparent’s deck where we spent the long holiday weekend.

We did many wonderful things while we were in Tennessee:
*Visit with family.
*Visit with more family (Hi, Tim!) in Knoxville.
*Take a tour of the lake on a pontoon boat.
*Eat blueberry pancakes.
*Take a walk around the neighborhood after a good rain.
*Watch the men set off fireworks in the backyard.
*Knit.
*Spin.
*Relax.

Yet, my most prized memory is teaching one of Dan’s younger cousin how to knit.

Miss E with her new scarflette.

Miss E is 8 years old and loves to make crafts. She had been wanting to learn how to knit, but did not have anybody to teach her. I was thrilled to able to pass on the gift to one so enthusiastic to learn. Miss E’s mother kept thanking me for taking the time to teach her. Truly, it was I who was thankful to be able to teach Miss E. I even sent her home with her own set of bamboo needles and yarn.

The specs on Miss E’s scarflette:
1 ball of Lion Brand Landscapes
Size 10.5 needles
The instructions: Cast on 10 stitches.
Knit in garter stitch until only a little bit of yarn is remaining.
Bind off all stitches.
Weave in the ends.
Sew one button on. No buttonhole is necessary due to the nature of the large stitches.

Happy Independence Day!

Marie Haigh7 Comments

I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating our country’s independence! (Unless of course, you don’t live in the States. Then, I just wish you an ordinary but still wonderful day. Grin.)

Dan and I leave for Tennessee tomorrow morning. His father and paternal grandparents live in a large house on a lake in Talbott, TN (little town outside of Knoxville). It should be a relaxing weekend, minus the 11-hour drive … for one of us. The other one will be knitting.

Have you ever seen the Lion Brand’s “So much yarn, so little time” tote bag? Huge, right? Mine is stuffed to the gills with knitting needles, yarn, roving, spindle, and notions. The plan is to finish knitting my Christmas tree skirt. I only have one white tie left to knit. If I can’t finish one tie in 22 hours, someone should take the pointy sticks away from me.

Speaking of my tree skirt, I started playing around with more ways to decorate it. I wanted the embellishment to be non-breakable, flat in dimension and durable, since presents will be stacked upon it year after year. Plus, it needs to withstand abuse from children, pets, and the stifling heat (or freezing cold temperatures) found in our attic.

What do you think?

As you can see, I dipped into my button stash.

PS. The cookies are lemon almond cookies (with a Hershey’s kiss inside), drizzled with white chocolate. Even Dan liked them.

The Start of Summer

Marie Haigh7 Comments

Technically, Summer officially started on June 22nd. I had been informed of the fact and even subjected to a brutal heat wave. Still, I refused to welcome Summer in. Until yesterday.

Yesterday, I bought blueberries.

 

OK. So, we live in an era where seasons hardly matter anymore. One is no longer restricted to purchasing and eating fruits and vegetables based upon when they are harvested in his/her little corner of the world. Somewhere else, it is warm and sunny.  

Yet, there are specific fruits that I refuse to eat out of season; blueberries, strawberries, and apples are top on that list. I think part of my philosophy stems from the fact that since childhood I associate fruits with a particular season. More accurately, I associate a season with particular fruits. I look forward to each season with the glee of a child waiting to open a present.

I was thrilled yesterday to find blueberries in the grocery store. Not just any blueberries – blueberries grown and harvested in our neighbor state, New Jersey.

The best way to enjoy fresh blueberries is with heavy cream poured over top of them.

Delicious.

Yesterday was made even better by our mini-trip to Saint Peter’s Village. Piney, my secret pal from Summer of Love swap, had told me about it. It’s only 15 minutes down the road.

Though I have no pictures of the little town, I do have pictures of our booty.

Inside Dan’s bag are two chocolate coated pretzels.

My bag is better.

Dan said he should steal a truffle or two from my bag just to teach me lesson about how to properly label bags. Not funny.

Never Ending Mulch Pile

Marie Haigh8 Comments

I bragged to my neighbor that my mulch pile would be gone by Monday. It was my 2nd mistake. My 1st mistake was ordering 7 yards of mulch last month. What was I thinking?

I have laid it everywhere I can think of:
the garden that wraps around the entire house,
the garden bordering my neighbor to the left,

The path in between the house and the garden to the left:

the garden bordering the my neighbor to the right,
the sunflower bed behind our firewood pile,
the veggie garden, 
the two trees and two saplings in front of our house,
and the garden behind Henry’s tree.
(After listing them all, I’m starting to think … perhaps … we have too many garden spots).

Even my neighbor has taken a few wheelbarrows of mulch to use in his garden.

And still I have a pile of mulch sitting in my driveway.

I’m beginning to hate the sight of it. Do you think anybody would notice if I set it on fire?

Speaking of my veggie garden, my strawberries are growing!

I have come to the conclusion already that I will not be making strawberry jam from any crop I receive out of the plants. They are too tasty. I can’t seem to stop myself from eating them as soon as they have ripened.

Shiny New Car

Marie Haigh10 Comments

The plan was to drive our our old car, a ’98 Honda Civic, into the ground. We made it to 190,000 miles.

When Pottstown’s local Midas mechanic informed me that it would cost approximately 1 thousand dollars to repair all that was wrong with it (back suspension, broken motor mount, and broken hubcaps) and receive the state inspection sticker, I told him not to bother. “Kindly give me back my broken car” I said. Surprisingly, he was relieved. The mechanic confessed he was going to try to talk me out of sinking more money into the ole Civic.

On Friday, we went car shopping at Car Sense. Dan has already narrowed the choices down to a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry, since both have excellent reputations for longevity and reliability. We test drove both. And by ‘we’, I mean Dan test drove the cars while I played with all the buttons and gizmos in the passenger seat and back seat.

Our old Civic didn’t have any buttons outside of the AC/heat and the radio. To let the fresh breeze in, you had to manually hand crank the window open.

By the end of the evening, Dan and I couldn’t agree. I liked the Accord. The Accord, being a Honda, felt more familiar. Additionally, it had less automatic buttons (i.e. less things that can break and require repair). Dan liked the Camry because it was a smoother ride.

Guess who won?

Dan got his 2006 Toyota Camry.

He was right. The Camry was a smoother ride and we drive a LOT. Our closest friends and relatives are an hour away (which equates to a 2-hour round trip). Other relatives are much further. It is more important to be comfortable in the long rides that it is to buy a car for its familiar environment or to worry about the buttons and moon roof that might break.  

WWKIP Day and Slow Service

Marie Haigh11 Comments

There is nothing wrong with my computer. The problem lies with my Internet provider, Comcast. We have a high-speed cable connection though you wouldn’t know it these past few days. On Monday and Tuesday, I was certain I had a dial-up connection. Yesterday, I couldn’t connect to the Internet at all. Today, it is still splotchy, but greatly improved. I can only load one site at a time, but something is better than nothing.

Though it was frustrating to be barred from the internet, it did allow me to complete a task I have been procrastinating about. I completely rebuilt the charts in my Christmas Tree Skirt pattern so that they are easier to “read”, adhere to industry standards, and look more professional. My eyes were starting to cross towards the end, but I am pleased with the way they turned out. Here’s a small and abbreviated snapshot of the chart for the white tie.

Because of my Internet service troubles, I was not able to share with you pictures of what I did on WWKIP (Worldwide Knit in Public) day. So, I’m late coming to the Show off your WWKIP Pictures party.

Knitting at Spinnerstown Hotel & Restaurant, Spinnerstown, Pennsylvania:

A closer shot of the good beer: Scotch Silly.

Dan would like to make a notation. He asserts that I cheated. He states that I only started knitting at the table so that he could take a picture of me. Once the pictures were taken, I promptly tucked the i-cord back into my purse so I could concentrate on the good beer and good conversation.

I defend myself by pointing out that I put enough foresight into the occasion so that I was properly prepared with both a knitting project and a camera. Besides, it will have to do. I was not about to drive a hour to the nearest WWKIP event in Philadelphia. Gas prices are high here too and Philadelphia is too far away to bike to.

Computer Woes

Marie Haigh6 Comments

I have been battling computer problems for two days now. I’m not certain that I will be able to post this little blurb or not. I was shocked when I could even get onto WordPress. My server freezes or shuts down altogether when visiting Ravelry, Etsy, Blogspot, Bloglines, etc. Hopefully, Dan will set everything right tonight. Though the new light fixture hasn’t been hung in over a year and I imagine another year will pass before it does get hung, computer problems never last longer than a week in our house.

Not much was accomplished this weekend. I did a minimal amount of cleaning before our friends stopped by for a visit on Saturday. On Sunday, I ripped out ever more grass in our yard and laid ever more mulch. I would have thought by now that I would have used all the mulch up. No such luck. Everytime I look out the kitchen window, I can see the remaining pile of mulch, mocking me. Perhaps out of pity or out of a desire to see the pile gone, my neighbor has offered to lay some of the mulch in his yard.

In knitting news, I might have solved the mystery of how I was going to decorate the white ties in my tree skirt. My solution involves i-cords.

Finally, pictures!

Still … there is something missing. It needs some more bling. I’ll keep playing with it.

Remember the 19 skiens of wool hanging to dry in my basement? They finally dried all the way through. I have would them into pretty yarn cakes.

Just two more white ties, 5 more i-cords and a bit of bling to make before I can start on the cabled jacket.

Summer of Love, part 1

Marie Haigh12 Comments

When I signed up for the Summer of Love swap, I had no idea what to expect. I’ve never participated in a swap before. I understood the concept. I was to send yarn to a person randomly chosen by the organizer and a different person, whose name shall remain secret until the end, was going to send me yarn. I thought I would receive two skeins of yarn – maybe three. Tops.

When I opened up the package today, I was stunned.

I literally sucked my breath in and stared at all the lovely packages in the box without breathing. Then, I giggled with joy and ran with the package into my office/craft room so I could take pictures of everything.

7 packages! Woo!

Like a child at Christmas, I started tearing into the packages.

In the order I opened them:

Malabrigo! I’ve heard so many great things about this yarn. I’ve wanted to knit with it for a long time, but could never decide on a color.
My Secret Pal, named Piney – I really doubt it’s her real name, chose Yellow. It matches my living room walls exactly. So, of course, I have plans to make it into a pillow.

Then, more Malabrigo! This time in red.

Though I never wear the color (I have red hair and am careful to keep the red family away from my face), I love to knit with it. It makes me think of apples, tomatoes, and my sister. She always looks stunning in red. Whenever I knit for her, I use red.

Next, I opened up a package I presumed to be a book. Sure enough.

It is an excellent reference book for knitters, filled with techniques, stitches and guidance. Often I find myself searching the Internet for the correct way to execute a certain stitch. It will be handy to have such a book in my library.

Then, I opened up an odd shaped package to find this:

Ribbons! You can never have too many ribbons. I plan to use this collection for embellishing cards, gift packages, and sewing projects.

Next, lovely, green, embroidered fabric, that unfolded into this:

It is as light as feather, made of 100% rayon. An excellent summer shirt.

My next to last package contained … Beads!
Now I’m no stranger of beads. I use seed beads in many of my knitting and sewing projects. Yet, Piney didn’t send me sead beeds. She sent me fancy beads.

Aren’t they beautiful?! I especially love the carved wooden mini cuffs.

Lastly, more Malabrigo in green!

This yarn I will use for me. I’m envisioning a new wool scarf and hat.

Thank you so much, Piney! I am overwhelmed by your generosity! I love it all. Thank you! Thank you!

Now, because I am still a bit giddy, I am off to update my stash and library in Ravelry.