strawberries!

I am having a super emotional day for some reason that might have a little to do with my babies finishing elementary school tomorrow. What better way to get past it than with a little craftiness. Or food.

Strawberries first appeared at the farmers market today! I am hoping to make at least 3 batches of jam this year and 6 pints of strawberry lemonade concentrate. Other plans include strawberry ice cream and strawberry marshmallows. So you can imagine that I'm hoping for an extended season. The berries I bought today though will just be eaten. Well ok, I'm going to try a puff pastry napoleon, but I'm guessing we'll probably demolish the two quarts in a blink. But I am hoping for a batch of jam next week.

I got all my sweaters washed for the summer before June 1, and it made me realize that what I really need is a white sweater. Maybe something a bit lacy so I can wear it in the spring. So far, all I've done to fix that deficit is to say--hmmm I have no white yarn. I can't decide the best plan: buy yarn and then look for a pattern, look for a pattern and THEN buy yarn, or buy yarn and use one of Ann Budd's books to create something. I can see pros and cons to all three approaches.

In the meantime, i am still plugging away on my green socks. I am finding that I will knit forever on the plain rounds, and knit just a few rows when I have something like the heel that I have to think about. So I'm stalled in the heel for the second sock.

Usually I use the short row heel described in Ann Budd's article "Working Socks From the Toe Up" Interweave Knits Spring 2007. However, sometimes my Mary Janes rub funny on the back of my heel. In order to make the socks last longer (maybe) I decided to try a different heel. I've used it before in these socks, although for whatever reason I didn't say what heel I used. It is from Socks from the Toe Upby Wendy Johnson. Just one of her "generic" heels. But the problem I have is either my gauge or my shoe/foot size means that I can't make socks with 64 stitches, they come out HUGE. I use 52 usually, although that's what I like about toe up socks, just keep increasing until it fits!, So I have to fiddle with the numbers, whereas Ann's pattern is really simple to do over any number of stitches (and I was so used to it, that at one point I could do it in my head). Anyway, I am nearing the homestretch of the second heel, so I should be zipping along really soon on those.

I am too lazy to take a picture of those socks, so I'll leave you with some old socks. I was getting blood drawn in May when a lady told me she LOVED my socks. I was so tickled, I had to share it on facebook, so I took this picture.