a day off

from work, from thinking, from having things to do. okay, so i have a lot of things i need to do, but i feel no real hurry to do them... i'm loving every second of not doing shit. but i am knitting - so that's something i guess! i finished the green hat i was working on:


i love, love the yarn. it's so soft and fuzzy and touchable and pretty and subtley-stripey. i bought it at a yarn shop in flagstaff and haven't seen the same yarn anywhere else. so i'm stuck with the 1.5 balls of it i have left. maybe enough for another hat? some mittens? something little and cute? i dunno...

i'm making progress on my somewhat cowl. based on what i had read on others' blogs, i decided to stop my raglan increases at 9.25 inches, instead of the 10.5 the pattern calls for. it's too soon to tell if this was a wise move or not. i may have to add some increases now to get the right fit through the bust. but since i'm not thinking today, i'll just have to figure that out later.

i've also begun a new project. i was so inspired by the feather and fan shawls that hello yarn and cosmicpluto had made, that i had to have one for myself! [note: wonderful pattern available free online here]. i loved how colorful and rich and warm they looked. not fussy, yet delicate enough to not be bulky and dumpy. i thought and i thought and debated and debated over what yarn to use for the project. i wanted something really colorful, but with colors that morphed and changed organically. i didn't want a shawl that looked like a crayola box. immediately i thought i wanted to use silk garden. i love silk garden - the feel the colors the drape the natural-ness of the yarn. but it's so damn expensive! i suffered visibly at the yarn shop putting it back on the shelf and picking up some kureyon instead.

so, i've begun the shawl in kureyon. the colors and look of it are exactly what i wanted but the feel of it, well... is not quite right. i'm in denial about this at the moment, but if i'm honest with myself, i'd have to admit that kureyon is scratchier than hell!! it's awlful!! i wouldn't put it against my skin! thank god i'm making a shawl - or more like a winter wrap-up. i'm going to continue with the kureyon and finish the shawl because i'm stubborn and i'm going to keep my needles crossed that a good soak with lots of conditioner at the end will soften the kureyon some. anyone know of any good ways to make it softer??
anyway, here's what it looks like so far:


which shade(s) of kureyon should i use next? rainbows (left)? blues / purples (middle)? reds / browns (right)?



oh, and i almost forgot. while picking up the noro for my shawl, i also grabbed some cotton fleece:


know what it's for?
give up?
go here.

in non-knitting news, i had a delightful dinner party last night. i made my go-to meal: pork tenderloin and cheese grits. sooooo yummy and rich. i thought i'd share with you THE BEST marinade for pork tenderloin EVER. i swear. i've made this maybe 20 times now and it's always dee-lish.

in a sauce pan, stir and bring to a boil the following ingredients:

1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt

let boil for 1-2 minutes and remove from heat. pour over pork tenderloin and bake at 350 for... i dunno... 35 minutes or until pork is pink on the inside. spoon some of the marinade onto the pork and cheese grits / potatoes / rice / whatever and enjoy!!

happy friday everyone!

~r

posted by rockbridge @ 1:29 PM