Knit Two Together

We got married in August in Connecticut and we had the reception in Vermont in September! Both occasions were so much fun. It did not bother me in the least that it rained both days. I can't imagine how stressful it would be to be one of those brides who obsesses about every minute detail of the big day. I'm just glad we got to share both days with friends and family, and that my dress still fit me on September 24th. Yikes, that was a close one! We didn't even get to have the reception at the place we booked (Simon Pearce in Quechee, VT) due to Irene. Come on, Irene! Luckily the kind people at the Woodstock Inn and Resort stepped in and accommodated us on the same day and at the same time and for just about the same price. Amazing! Without further ado~some pictures courtesy of some wedding guests and our excellent reception photographer, Corey Hendrickson.

New Projects

I finally sent a late birthday present to one of my favorite Scorpios. She wanted Mary Jane style slippers, but when I tried to make them, they wouldn't fit anything that might resemble feet, so I frogged them and made these instead. These slippers are the same style that my great-grandmother used to make for all of us. They're so easy and comfortable, I'm not really sure why I haven't made any for myself yet!

The pattern is Grandma's Knitted Slippers by Zanne on Ravelry. 

I did make something for myself-the Sideways Grand Cloche by Laura Irwin. Her book Boutique Knits has so many fabulous patterns for accessories that I can't wait to make (and I'm sure I'll have to make them in duplicate, so Allison can have one of each too.) Here's the hat:

I already made a gray one for Allison, but forgot to take a picture of it before I gave it to her! 

In food related news, I have been stuffing my face with some veggie lasagna, brownies, and apple bread. Earlier in my pregnancy, I felt that I was eating for one and a half, but now it really feels like it's for two. Here's the sweet apple bread:

It's spiced with cinnamon and has big chunks of apple. Win-win. Win. Because I get to eat it all. 

Last night, I finished this sweet little Baby Aviatior Cap. I don't have a baby to model it yet, but maybe you can imagine what it might look like on a baby based on the picture that goes with the pattern.

Pretty adorable, right? We went on a tour of the maternity ward of the hospital on Thursday night with some other couples who are expecting. The funniest part was at the end, when the nurse giving the tour was so disappointed that she couldn't show us a real baby. The windows to the nursery are covered to protect the babies' privacy, and she needed the parents' permission to show us a newborn. The only one available at the time belonged to a mom who only spoke Spanish, and since no one there spoke Spanish, we were out of luck. I don't think anyone on the tour minded that we didn't get to see a real baby, because I'm sure we've all seen babies before, and will be seeing our own babies soon enough!

Diwali 2011

It's been a few weeks, but I wanted to post some pictures of Diwali. We went to visit some friends and then had a quiet celebration at home. No firecrackers! The first two decorations are from the local Indian grocery store.

Sid's mom and sister brought us the string of lights. I'm leaving them up because Christmas isn't that far away.
(Actually, all of the decorations are still up. Maybe they'll come down after New Years Day?)

Some offerings for Lord Ganesh and Goddess Lakshmi.

These little clay lamps filled with oil are called diya. Diwali is known as "the festival of lights". Though pretty, these lights made me extremely nervous because we left them burning unattended while we went out to visit friends. I was filled with dread most of the way home because several fire trucks with their sirens blaring passed us on the way home. We were lucky and nothing got set on fire! 

We wrapped this string around each other's wrists seven times. 

Diwali wouldn't be complete without special sweets, known in Hindi as prasad. 

Clockwise from the top left, these treats are kaju phool (meant to look like a little flower), milkcake (very rich and buttery), soan papdi (a flaky sweet with almonds and pistachios, hint of ginger), and besan ladoo (crunchy and made from chickpea flour). All are fantastic, but there is one I like more than all the others. Full disclosure: I did not make any of them. We bought them at the store. Oh, and we got this awesome spice storage container that has made cooking at dinnertime so much easier and more enjoyable!

Distraction

I know I said that I would write something about Diwali, but I went to Michaels yesterday and bought some yarn. I've got big plans for this stuff.

As usual, I'm way behind on some more birthday presents, and I haven't even started to think about Christmas yet. In the meantime, here are some more pretty photos of Alyson's Orchard in Walpole, NH. 

It started snowing here just a little bit last night. Hard to believe that fall, the most beautiful of seasons, is almost over! I'll be going into hibernation soon. Now I'm headed out to enjoy the sunshine.

Knitting, Fruit-related Nostalgia and Other Such Stuff

I'm still alive! I've been a little bit busy...I got married and we're getting ready to have a baby in a few weeks. Picking out names has been challenging, but as of yesterday we finally narrowed down the first name to Jagdeep. Sounds pretty cool, doesn't it? I think so too.


I've done a fair amount of knitting this summer and fall. Here are two of my summer projects, both birthday presents for friends with August birthdays in Japan:

The hat is made according to the Noro Kureyon One-Ball Wavy Gravy Hat Pattern found on Ravelry, but I used Paton's wool instead of Noro. The scarf is one of my favorite patterns, the Lovely Leaf Lace Scarf, also on Ravelry. 

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law came to visit us in September and we wanted to show them a bit of New England, so we took them apple picking in New Hampshire. I had never actually gone apple picking in the formal sense of the words, where you pay someone and they give you a bag to fill with fruit. There was never really a need to pick apples because our grandparents or uncle always just gave us bushels and bushels of them from the local orchards every fall. Strawberry picking, sure- I had paid to do that a couple of times before, and once with my mom, who took great pleasure in pointing out to me and my sister how slow and inefficient we were compared to her. It was true. We did not have the advantage of a childhood filled with rock-picking as a form of entertainment or character building. Also, I have picked countless pies, buckles, crisps and cakes worth of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. It's really unavoidable when you grow up in Vermont and the bushes are literally in your back yard. It turned out to be a fun new experience to pick apples in the fall-even though it was over 80 degrees outside and the prettiest apples always seemed to be far out of reach. 

We picked Sansas, McIntosh, Cortlands, and Jonagolds. We also bought a pumpkin to make a jack o' lantern.

The ladies brought half of the apples back to India with them, and the remaining apples turned into this:

Pumpkin became this scary dude.

Unfortunately, he rotted into a pile of mush on our dining room floor by the beginning of October. It's okay because we're not celebrating Halloween this year-we are Diwali people. "What is Diwali, you may ask? Well, to have Kelly explain it [girly voice] it's aah blah blah blah, it's so super fun and it's going to be great. [normal voice] Lot of gods with unpronounceable names. Twenty minutes later you find out that is essentially a Hindu Halloween." [Michael Scott, The Office] Next post: Diwali!

My Future Is So Bright...

...I have to wear shades.

Things I want from The Harriet Carter Catalog*

*Distinctive gifts since 1958

Strawberry slicer

Jumbo ladybug tent

28 Day Mascara

Sit and Be Fit DVD Set

Sauna pants

Portable salad bar

"Fanny" bank-makes saving money a real gas! Just drop a coin in the strategically-placed slot of this tushy-shaped bank and listen as it lets out the loudest rip you've ever heard. Add more loot, hear more toot...

That's about it. Don't mistake this for my Christmas wish list. I never write my wish list this early in the year!

I Wanted to Buy It

I saw this at Borders yesterday and I wanted to buy it, not so much so I could knit a corgi or a Queen Mum, but because the pictures are really cute. I did end up buying two knitting books that have excellent sweater and cardigan patterns. I'm nearly done with my first sweater-I've got one and a half sleeves to go, plus some business with reinforcing the button holes and sewing on buttons. I hope it doesn't grow too much when I block it because it's almost a perfect fit right now.

Chocolate Pecan Scones

I was watching this lady on Food Network today and she made scones. That was it. I couldn't stand not eating a fresh, delicious chocolate chip scone. The recipe is from Joy of Baking. Yum! I was thinking of bringing some to Allison and Richard in Boston (if there are any left over.)

Winter Is Long...

...winter is beautiful.

Flame Chevron Scarf

It's finally finished. I had been knitting and frogging, re-knitting and re-frogging the yarn I got from my 2009 share in the Juniper Moon Farm CSA, trying all the while to make the perfect scarf. Maybe the perfect scarf doesn't exist, except in my mind. I do know that the first six times I knit it, it wasn't right. Too long, too wide, too ugly, too boring, too wide again...you get the idea. Well, this time, it's practically perfect.

It's light, soft and fluffy, and I don't even mind that it curls in a bit on the edges. It goes with everything and the pattern was so easy to follow. It made a very quick knit, perfect for watching those LMN movies, like The Good Teacher. Oh, and Dad watched the whole movie, too.