Not ready for prime time

The idea was that it the shelf unit (what is that called?) would make the dining room cozier and more inviting. I am not sure it does that at all. I may move it to the wall on the right of this picture, you know the one that is to the right as you enter from the front door, where the bench is in the next shot. And then what to do with the bench? Perhaps that will be solved when I move the shelf. I suppose it can go to the studio...

I am sure we will be using this room MUCH more than we have all summer, now that it is cooler. I have already set my laptop here in my chair by the fireplace. And the white chairs look so much better here than the Poangs, being brighter.

I don't know why Dave put these facing the railing, but of course they can be changed.

The black chairs went (1) into my bedroom and (2) the studio.
The little stereo that used to be in the living room went upstairs to Dave's room and the TV set up has the receiver under the dvd player has FM (Npr comes in clearly, and all I really listen to) so I can really get big sound, if I wanted it. Eight speakers, surround sound. O my. The dvd player also plays cds. All of the stuff I want in one place.

Knitting up the Melody yarn...

It was great tv night and I had new yarn to try out, so what will I make? I wanted to try this Bainbridge scarf...

which you can see here to understand what it is that you are looking at. Open the .pdf and see what intrigued me.

I used big needles and decided on a seed stitch which is reversible, but I am not too happy with the fabric after all and probably will frog it. It is dense and not supple. I need to make something that is looser, almost lace-like which will be a challenge since this is quite a bulky yarn.

After writing this last sentence, I decided to try it on, and wrapped it twice around the neck. It is a big circle. I took pictures of myself wearing it and now I think, maybe this is worth keeping, and not adding the ties, which I have just enough yarn left to do.

It will really keep the harsh winds away...because it is dense and not lacey. So there.

Garlic Basil Butter

I made a mistake and bought unsalted butter, so of course I had to use it for this basil butter. One stick of unsalted butter, two cloves of garlic, a handful of basil leaves, no stems, and a half teaspoon of kosher salt. And as a second thought a few gluggs of EVOO. Whirl in the processor.

The plan was to add a dollop of this stuff to this bland potato soup I am making. But I also had this ready to crumble on the top…

Well, it’s raining and one needs sustenance.

My house quilts, old and new

  

It’s good to know where I have been and where I am going. The new pieces are much simpler which AMAZES me. I am not good at simple, but have always tried to get to there. I particularly love this series because it transitioned from the pine tree block into the house block almost by itself. Also the earlier house quilts are larger, about two or three inches per side, and that made me add more pattern.

Looking at these together reminds me that I really did conquer the series problem.