As the weather heats up, my thoughts go to foods I can prepare that don’t heat up the kitchen excessively. This is recipe that I modified from Weight Watchers is perfect for light summer meals. It has quickly become a family favorite and a great way to get those extra veggies into your diet. The beauty of the recipe is that is easy to modify it to use those fresh-from-the-garden vegetables. I cook my own chickpeas but you can use canned ones on those nights when you are in a hurry.
I have just released a new pattern that is great for those variegated yarns that you have in your stash that don’t want to cooperate with a stitch pattern. It is part of the Malabrigo Quickies program. This quick-to-knit moss stitch cowl and mitts is designed to match the Georgie Hat. The textured stitch makes this an excellent project for variegated yarns and responds well to thick and thin, handspun or single ply yarns like the ever-so-soft Malabrigo Silky Merino.
Over the years I have discovered some less conventional uses for stitch markers that can be real time savers and stress reducers. One of my favorites is to use them to avoid counting. When working with a pattern that requires you to do something in alternating intervals – like decrease every 4th row, increase every other row, or work a cable every 8th row – it is easy for me to lose track of what row I am working. Enter the humble stitch marker. By connecting several together to form a chain, you have a quick row counter that will let you know when it is time to do that special something in your pattern.
Here at Heart House, we are getting ready for what promises to be a very busy summer. The garden is planted and we should be picking the first fresh zucchini in a day or two. The school work is winding down. And we are getting ready for lots of fun this summer – summer reading programs, field trips, 4H classes.
We will be participating in another tour of duty with Starfleet Fiber Arts Corps. The Heart household received many honors in the spring tour of duty. PBC was promoted to Lt. Commander and I have achieved the rank of Commander, though there may be another promotion in store for me soon. We both won medals for completing all 18 missions during the tour. And our ship, the USS Alpaca, won the title of Flagship for the next tour so we are excited to begin the Deep Space tour with that honor.
This sweet little lace beret and scarf breathes spring into your wardrobe. Together they make a perfect springtime ensemble. One large skein of luxury sock yarn is enough for the hat and scarf for most sizes.
