Haven't Picked This Up In A While

I needed to grab something the other day to take to the park to stitch. A lot of my projects are finished or at a spot where I needed more concentration than I could muster whilst stitching socially. I did a bit of work on my Newcastle Bouquet which I abandoned quite a while ago.

This is my second attempt at this piece. The first one got started too far to one side and I ran out of fabric before reaching the border. In this re-start, I haven't completed the border. I just plug away on parts that I don't have to count in social situations. I think I'm going to outline the white blossoms just to make them pop a bit. I now wish I had used the called-for hand-dyed floss for the red in the bird's breast. The other red is hand-dyed (Cayenne). 

I can't just sit and watch TV - I have to be doing something with my hands. I also went back to this linen stitch scarf project that has been sitting on my desk for months. I'm using my handspun. I think I cast on 350 sts to knit this lengthwise scarf, leaving a long fringe at each end which I'll twirl into a nice fringe when the knitting is done.

My spun yarn isn't the most consistent but will make a nice, cozy scarf if I ever finish it.

Upon request, I made another Beauty and the Beast cross stitch clutch. I had to fussy cut quite carefully as there wasn't much fabric left but it worked out OK.

I need to add the zipper pull.

Yesterday I whipped up a knitting project bag. 

The pattern name is 'grab bag' but because of its shape when you tuck the long handle into the short one, I call it a 'dumpling' bag. These are so handy when knitting while standing in line, on public transit, or in a car. Just put your hand through the long loop and your yarn is contained yet you can still knit and there's nothing to catch your yarn on,

For once, I didn't make a bunch of mistakes that I had to fix for this. 

Skip and I actually ate dinner indoors at a restaurant on Friday. We hadn't been to our local Mexican place since January 2020. I do love ordering adult beverages and being served a nice meal. And then walking away without having to clean up afterwards.

That being said, I made chimichurri sauce yesterday for the first time. I had it the first time while visiting friends in San Antonio 3 years ago. Authentic chimichurri sauce from Argentina or Uruguay doesn't use cilantro but I love cilantro so made mine with both flat leaf parsley and cilantro. I also used fresh oregano from the garden. I went a little heavy on the garlic (note to self) but the resulting sauce was delicious. It keeps for about a week in the fridge and a month or so in the freezer. 

Chimichurri sauce can be used as a marinade or as a sauce with cooked meat. It would also be good with grilled veggies. I'd even put it on hamburgers.

We have a lot of basil ready in the garden again so I'll be making 'basil pucks' again soon. Right now Skip is making 'kale pucks' using a regular sized muffin tin to shape them. He'll use the kale in soups and other dishes in the winter. I don't like the taste of kale and and don't like the smell of it cooking. I usually only eat it if the taste is overpowered by another flavour. 

August 9 is a date I always remember. My mother died on that date 60 years ago and her mother died on the same date 55 years ago. I was just a little girl when my mother died. Because she had been ill and in hospital a lot of the last two years of her life (children weren't allowed in hospitals back then), I really don't have a lot of memories of direct contact with her. I do remember visiting her in hospital. I also recall her putting rouge on my cheeks for my rhythm band performance in the local music festival when I was in Grade 2. I also remember her combing my hair before my Grade 2 school photo.

This is one of the last photos of my mother, older siblings and myself about the time she was diagnosed with cancer.