Moebius Update or Diabolical Plot and SPRING!

Sheepy is demonstrating how easy remembering the Moebius cast on is, or not. My mom and I are beginning to think it is a diabolical plot to tie us up in knots or to test the durability of the yarn that we are using. This past Saturday we sat for 4 hours and cast on at least 47 times before we got it figured out again. Finally, as the sun was waning and the snow flurries were beginning again, we both got the cast on and first row done for another basket.

Of course she has one completed from our class and my first one is still in this stage. Here is where the bowl part is just opening up. And now I have a second cast on. At some point I will have to finish one or the other.

But while they both sit idle I have been working on all the swatches I have to knit for my KIC Level One. I am happy to report that I am one swatch away from completing the first submission to finish my Level One.



Here is the first batch drying on the blocking board.


And while I am finishing that Pedro and I are looking for spring. Here in the Rockies, Spring is a tricky beast. It shows up one day and tempts us with warmer weather and some early bird song. Then the next day we get more white stuff and, voila, we have glorious pictures of winter again. This picture was taken from the Woodland Park Safeway parking lot of the back side of America's Mountain - Pikes Peak - on Saturday.

The on Sunday, the weather map was a wide array of colors with ever version of possible weather imaginable. From this map I got a great idea for a knitting project. It will be my secret knit. Once I get it done I will offer the pattern to you as a spring gift.

Pedro still has high hopes that the warmer weather is just around the corner and begs to go out every evening that it is still light and mostly warm when I get home from work.

And he has supervised the inaugral flight of the swift I received as a much-appreciated Christmas gift. He watched intently from his perch while I assembled it but as soon as I made it "fly" he ran off. Then he came back as I was photoing so he could be in the picture.

I hope you are finding evidence of spring in your world!

The Day After the Magic Adventure

Yesterday my mother and I ventured into the area of magic. We went to a class in Pueblo at the wonderful yarn shop, Colorado Fiber Arts. We learned the Moebius cast on for a basket. It was quite the adventure on a beautiful spring day. And it was well timed because one of Mom's next projects is a wrap pattern that uses the Moebi cast on. Needless to say, this is another cast on that will require frequent practice to remember how it works. We came home with most of the handle for a basket complete.

Now if we can remember how to pick up for the body of the basket we are in business. I have to say that once I saw it done I realized that Cat Bordhi is a genius, and her instructions in the Second Treasury book do make sense. That will be helpful in the future. I also considered that a Moebius should be something from either biology class, Captain Nemo's underseas adventures or a diabolical plot to tie you up in knots. In any case, it is an adventure.

After the beautiful day we had yesterday, when Pedro was able to commune through the front window with his friend, Squiggy the Squirrel, today we are under a winter storm warning.

This morning, it started to snow about an hour ago and already the ground is covered. Pedro is spending his morning chasing the "white mosquitoes" at the window.

With this weather I am glad I did all my adventures yesterday, so today I can stay home and work on knitting projects, make some great soup and enjoy the Spring in the Rockies.

Today's Soup recipe is: Lasagna Soup and is easier to make than you think. It comes from Cuisine at Home.

Here is the recipe for Lasagna Soup

Brown; stir in:

1 lb ground Italian sausage

2 cups onion, chopped

1 cup carrot, diced

2 cups button mushrooms, sliced

2 T. garlic minced

Add; stir in:

4 cups chicken broth

2 can chopped Italian-style stewed tomatoes (14 1/2 oz)

1 cup either mafalda (mini lasagna pasta) or falfalle (bowtie style pasta)

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

Serve soup over; garnish with:

1 cup provolone or fresh mozzarella, diced

1/4 cup Parmesan, shredded

4 t. thinly sliced fresh basil

Brown sausage in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrot, saute 3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and garlic, and saute another 3 minutes.

Add broth and tomatoes, bring to a boil. Stir in the pasta and simmer until cooked, about 10 minutes (or according to package directions). Add the spinach and cook about 1 minute, or until wilted.

To serve, place cubes of cheese in each serving bowl, then ladle soup over to melt. Garnish with Parmesan and basil. If you have French bread or some breadstick dough, create dippers for your soup. Yummy!

Hope you are enjoying your day, no matter what the weather brings.