When my mother found out that Tyrone like rhubarb, she started bringing me a big bag every couple of weeks. The “big bag” usually yeilds about 14 cups, which is way too much. I guess they’re not making wine with it this year.

I enjoy making rhubarb custard bars. This year, I made the first batch with Splenda, and it was so weird that I’m never making pie crust portion with it again. I’ve used 1/2 splenda, 1/2 sugar for the filling, and that seems to work out well.

Last night I cut up enough for another round of bars (5 cups), and 2 cups for Rhubarb-Strawberry Sorbet. The recipe was a variation on the Strawberry Sorbet that came with the ice cream maker:

2 C Rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 C Strawberries, hulled, quartered

1 C Sugar

1 C Water

2-3 Tablespoons lemon juice

In a blender, pulse the strawberries + rhubarb + water. Pour into your ice cream maker with the sugar and juice. The original recipe called for 1/4 C of corn syrup, but I don’t like cooking with corn syrup. The sorbet actually turned out pretty tart. I added 2-3 tablespoons of Splenda, mid-processing, to make it sweeter without adding to the calorie content (we get enough of those).

My friend Ruth had a bridal shower this weekend, so this mid-March project can be unveiled.

The orange creweling looks more like the bottom orange stripe than this picture lets on.





The pattern is “Peace Trees” from Katherine Shaughnessy’s _The_New_Crewel_.

EXTREME CLOSEUP.

I offset the color blocks for the front and the back. They didn’t exactly match up, so this was a fun way to work with that little mistake.

The “Peace Trees” pattern was fun to stitch. It gave me some ideas about possibly designing a coiling DNA-like pattern.

I can feel it around the corner. Soon the rain is going to stop, and it will become unbearably hot in the midwest. The feeling has been keeping me from knitting that woolen (mock) turtleneck, so if you are waiting for updates on that one, you may have to keep waiting.

What I really feel like doing right now is making circle skirts with this pattern. It seems I only have 3 go-with-almost-anything summer skirts, in kakhi, drab green, and black. Two of the skirts are over 7 years old, and really showing the wear. I also have a cool idea for an office-grade (aka good for work) recycled kakhi velrco wrap skirt.

But good news, Secret Gift 2007 #2 has been given, and should be appearing here by the end of the week.

In the picture department, I really wanted to take a picture of our growing shiitake block (from www.fungi.com), but Tyrone harvested it on Monday. So instead, pictures of my brother Tom’s morel mushroom bounty:

He sent a really nice email out to the family talking about his hunt. It was all really lovely, until he made us all jealous with this golden brown and delicious photo:




Click the pictures to make them bigger if you’d like.

When the Creative writing masters students lost their venue for the end-of-the year reading, we sponsored it at the dome.

Tyrone was the host:

View from the top:

Arra baked Shaker Lemon Pie with strawberries:

I won the $50 second place prize on Saturday. Last year first was $50, so I was a little shocked. This hat is a combination of the hat from last year, and multiple knitted and felted flowers from our wedding. We have about 20 left. I had mounted them all on floral wire with floral tape, and the openwork on the crochet hat made it easy to interlace the two.

Overall, it was an awesome day. Tyrone and I went to Peru for Jari’s graduation, where we met up with my parents and other family (HI AMY!). On the way down and the way back, I read off all 20 entries to the Kentucky Derby for Tyrone. Hard Spun had been standing out for me with those blinking lights of intuition. Besides, this is supposedly a craft/fiber arts blog, and Hard Spun was the most knitter-friendly name in the pack. I wrote down 2 other horses before we went in, and tried not to look at the sheet again.

The State Fair Park Clubhouse was packed, as usual for Derby Day. We met up with friends, talked, and people watched (best part). I ended up doing an across the board bet on Hard Spun, and an Exacta with Hard Spun, Scat Daddy, and Street Sense. On the final leg of the race, Tyrone and I thought the #1 horse was the one pulling away, but no, it was Street Sense, making my Exacta complete!

Got Cinquo de Mayo margaritas for everyone in our group afterwards with my winnings, and then we all went to Ruth’s graduation party. Her fiance Dan had made some mean brisket.

To commemorate such a wonderful Saturday, here is a gratuitous picture of my favorite industrial carpeting, ever. From the clubhouse:

Last night we had some UNL English Dept Master’s Program Students over for a reading. The first venue of choice closed on them, and we said we would host it in our “outdoor livingroom” in the back yard.

Well, it rained, but we ended up lighting the tiki torches around 10pm when the reading was over. More pictures from that event later.

For now, some progress on the sweater, and a little Alan Lomax:

In my midwinter pattern writing/design craze, I knitted up a few inspirational swatches. Not sure what I’m going to do with them, or if they inspired anything, but here’s my favorite, the hunter eye:

Tyrone and I just joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), and their first pick up was last night. We got some nice bitter mustard greens, asparagus, romaine lettuce, and eggs. There will be more next week, they have a pick-up every week at 5PM. I think it is just for 12 weeks, so by then we should be up to our ears in backyard potatoes and family tomatoes. And there are egg mobile eggs! This is a video our CSA owner talking about the egg mobile.

Huzzah! Sarah and Jen showed up for porch beers and knitting at Katie’s house last night. It was like old times. Got a bunch of knitting done, updates on the Turtleneck Tube Vest tomorrow.

Here is our new horseradish “Western Wasabi” plant (we’re on a rhizome kick):

Not sure what these flowers are, but they come back with more force every year. One of the many perennials in the front yard yet to be identified. My mother, Mary Lou, gave us the swan gourd last year. We dried it out and it looks pretty cool.



Lilly of the valley is blooming too. I don’t smell it very much yet, it should be at full force by tomorrow.

Started the Perfect Periwinkle Turtleneck Tube Vest (or TTV for short) from Stefanie Japel’s _Fitted_Knit_ this weekend. The pattern calls for 5 inches of turtleneck, but it is a sleeveless summer top in wool. There have been several variations on the fitted knits along ranging from 1inch to the standard 5 inches. Some of the talk on the knit along suggests adding 1-3 inches to the end of the sweater.

Progress shot:

I’m using Ella Rae 100% wool in color 101. My mother-in-law, Diana, got it for me for Christmas in various colors. The 3 skeins will be just enough for this sleeveless sweater.

Last night, I finished making the strawberry shortcake I started making late on Sunday. I was ready to start the biscuits, when I found out Tyrone is a Cool Whip/Dream Whip snob. I had never made it before, but we got the recipe from Diana yesterday, and it was so quick and easy. The only problem is that I’m never making the entire one-pint size for the two of us ever again. We have so much left over! Luckily, we have plenty of strawberries and biscuit mix too!