Getting Fall Plantings In

We were lucky to get the garlic in today before the rain. We allowed things to try as much as possible, but the ground was still wetter than we'd have liked it. It now is snuggly nestled under composted manure, straw and leaves - all ready to set roots and quietly hang out until spring. We also moved all the winter onions and replanted them, as well as a couple of horseradish plants. Not much left to do in the garden, except to put it to bed. I still have a few tomatoes to pick before the killing frost they are calling for this weekend, and a couple of carrots to still harvest, but that's it.

As you can see, the trees here are still green. This was taken from our backyard through the lilacs...


What is even more amazing is the peppers - here they are STILL producing.....


The milkweed pods are opening and they are drawing in some new friends - can you see one here? You have to look closely.

If not, maybe this picture will show them off better....

Every other Thursday is interrupted with a trip to take the kids to their biology lab, so I can't get involved with anything time consuming. It's about a 40 minute round trip, so I decided to put some bagels in the bread maker to try. I found a recipe on RecipeZarr that sounded quite good. I was quite surprised how easy they were. To think all this time I've been putting them off because they appeared to be more difficult than they actually are. They turned out nicely - and everyone here is insisting that we don't buy them from the store any more. (Note - if you see marks under the bagels - please ignore. I cooled them over the parchment paper I baked them on so I could catch all the wandering poppy seeds.)

Dried Apples

We ended getting rain - and quite a bit of rain to boot, so the garlic still sits here waiting to go in. Well, at least have of it made it in before the rain, so that will have a good watering to give it a start.

I decided to take it a little slower yesterday, so I only did 5 loads of laundry, put 10 more trays of apples in to dry, and researched some on soap making. I'm about ready to begin, but I don't have a sensitive digital scale, so I need to find out if my postal scale will work for now. The last thing I want to end up with is a lye-heavy soap.

This morning, the day started with a few surprises. First, I awoke at 6:55 am and tried to figure out why I was still in bed at such a late time. Then I heard DH - he was sleeping in the tub and snoring away...and very late for work!

After we scooted him off, I was telling DS about a dream I had about my brother. I called my brother (who is now in England), and he answered his home phone - so I didn't believe that he was really out of the country. That was about the gist of the dream. DS laughed at how weird my dreams were and then I went out to take the compost out. When I came back in, the phone was ringing, and it was my brother in England! How weird is that!???

After our nice little talk, I tested the apples and found they were ready to come out. They are now packed and vacuumed sealed and ready to go on the pantry shelves. I did do a Food Saver canister full that will be left up here for the kids to snack on. They are so easy to seal - so they'll open it and then seal it back up in just a few seconds. I like the canisters, but they are quite expensive.

When I put the apples in yesterday, I decided to experiment with a couple of the trays. Every year I make the dried apple snack in the Ball Blue Book, but it aways makes such a mess out of my drier. Even when I line the trays with waxed paper. So, this time, I just sprinkled them with a little organic sugar mixed with cinnamon. They dried nicely and didn't weep. They aren't as sweet as the others, but I didn't use near the amount of sugar. I think these have a nice flavor, and the kids like them, but have asked that I continue to make some of the others as well.

One of my most favorite places to stop by every morning is Garden Gnome's blog. She is one of the biggest inspirations to me. That woman is wonderful! She has inspired me to try new things to can - and I love how she's always looking for a better way to do things. She's sort of like having a virtual mom - telling and explaining how to can and cook. It's been a real blessing with my own mom gone. I've been teaching myself how to do the canning, and when I'm not sure, I've had to read or search on the net. Now, with the discovery of Garden Gnome's blog, I can pretty much search her blog, get answers and have photos as well as great instructions. Not only that, but since she answers comments on her blog, I'm sure if I have a problem, she would be there to help. She hits me as a wonderful person that loves to share her loves and talents. If you ever read this, GG - you are a true blessing to me - THANKS!

Bread Baking

There is nothing like a homemade loaf of bread, and to have it warm with butter, is like having a slice of heaven on your plate. Besides the wonderful taste, baking your own bread is so much cheaper - easily getting 3 loaves of home made for the cost of one loaf of store bought. If you usually purchase the expensive whole grain breads, you will save even more to make your own.

I prefer the flavor and texture of kneading and baking the bread in the oven, however, there are times that I'm so busy or the kitchen work area is taken up with other things, that I can't easily make it like my grandma used to. A bread maker has been a great blessing on those days. I never realized that, until this past summer, our bread maker died and I was determined to do everything else and on top of getting the bread baking done. Canning jars were all over cooling or set to be filled, washed, etc. and every work space was loaded with something. Our kitchen is small and with no work area to knead, I really had to put things off. The freezer was full, so I couldn't bake bread and freeze it, so, we ended up buying bread. Yes, I hang my head in shame, because the stuff my dear husband brought home from the store was very expensive, and certainly didn't even resemble bread. It was awful - and a premium price.

My husband decided that enough was enough and surprised me with a very nice bread machine! So we are now back to home made and healthier bread - all the time. Everyone is truly thankful :)

This morning, I decided to get up extra early and start a loaf of raisin bread so when everyone got up they could have a nice hot piece before going about their daily duties. Usually, I will just set the timer so that the bread is done when we need it, but this recipe has milk in it, and the raisins are to be added at the second kneading. Yes, you can put them in at the beginning, but they get chopped up more, and just aren't as pretty to look at. Everyone was thrilled with waking up to the wonderful smells of cinnamon through the house.



Cinnamon Raisin Bread

1 1/4 cups warm milk
1 Tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons organic sugar
3 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons yeast

Put all ingredients in pan in order listed or according to your maker's manufacturer's directions. Select the white bread setting and bake on light to medium color crust. Use the 1 1/2 to 2 pound loaf setting.

At the beginning of the second kneading (or at the beep) add:
2/3 cup raisins

When the bread has finished baking, I will take it out of the pan and put in on a cooling rack, and brush with butter, then allow to cool. By brushing the finished loaf with butter, you will end up with a nice soft crust.

After the raisin bread came out, I put in a loaf of my husband's favorite bread, Drew's Famous Onion Dill Bread. This recipe came from the DAK Turbo Baker IV recipe book. The DAK (which we fondly called R2D2) was our first bread machine, and that machine lasted over 10 years. It would have kept going, but the pan inside broke, and it cost much more to replace the pan than to just purchase a new bread maker. We then bought a Toastmaster that did well, but didn't last nearly as long - two if I remember correctly. We are now on our 3rd machine - a Sunbeam and it is working well and makes larger loaves.

Drew's Famous Onion Dill Bread

Mix together and warm until lukewarm:
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup cottage cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
3 Tablespoons organic sugar
3 Tablespoons minced onion
2 Tablespoons whole dill seed
1 1/2 Tablespoons butter

Pour the above mixture in your bread maker pan. Add:
1 unbeaten egg (room temperature)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 1/3 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons yeast

Bake on the white bread cycle using the light setting. Use 2 pound loaf setting. Remove from pan, place on wire rack and brush with butter.

Garlic Planting Time

We spent the day finishing up the garlic bed. DS turned it all by hand and spent a lot of time making sure it was ready. Then we raked and marked it out and put one of the two wide rows of garlic in today. Our garlic plot is only 6 1/2 feet by 8 1/2 feet. We planted a 26" x 8 1/2' row today. After we put them all in, we sprinkled toe row with composted manure and then some straw. I still need to add more mulch - probably leaves and more straw before the freeze. The row now is home to 85 very large cloves of garlic. Tomorrow, we'll put the rest in.

Our friend, Paul, is an heirloom garlic "collector" (and I say that very fondly!) and he was sweet enough to share some of his garlic with us. We planted 35 cloves of Georgian Crystal, 25 cloves of Siberian, and 25 cloves of Bavarian Purple. We still have Chesnok Red, Transylvanian, Polish Softneck and California White to plant tomorrow. I'll have to separate the cloves and see how many we will have to plant. He sent us so many beautiful bulbs, and if I have a lot left over, I'll see if there's another small place we can plant more. Our garden isn't very large, so space is an issue - right now. I'll have to do some figuring, to see where and how we can make more room if need be.

I ordered the book, The Healing Power of Garlic by Paul Bergner from PaperBackSwap. With all the garlic we should have next year, we'll need a book on how to use it other than cooking with it.

Putting Up Food

We've put a bit of food up in the pantry this year. What we didn't grow came mostly from friends and some from the local growers market. When we can't grow it, we make sure to purchase locally.

Here's a peek at what was put up on the pantry shelves or in the freezer this year:

Canned

1 quart garlic cloves in oil (actually these are in the refrigerator)
1 batch Sweet Cherry Jam
1 batch canned peaches
1 batch peach pie filling
1 batch Peach Brandy Jam
1 1/2 batches Peach Jam
1 1/2 batches Spiced Peach Jam
1 batch Spicy Habanero pepper Jelly
1 batch Habanero Pepper Sauce
2 batches Barbecued Hot Peppers
1 batch Jim's Salsa (from Countryside Magazine)
1/2 batch Pickled Peppers
13 quarts and 5 pints tomatoes
4 quarts pears
1 batch Spiced Pear Jam
1 1/2 batches Pear Jam
1/2 batch Squash Relish from Heinz pickling booklet(DD made these!)
1 batch Tomato & Corn Relish from "The Joy of Pickling"
7 quarts and 1 pint Apple Sauce
2 batches Caramel Apple Butter
1 batch Apple Butter
10 pints meatballs
3 pints browned hamburger
6 pints hamburger with onions and peppers in tomato juice
7 pints hamburger with onions and peppers in water
1 batch Pineapple Sauce/Topping
3 batches Pickled Peppers

Frozen

5 batches Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
4 packages sliced onions for French Onion Soup (6 generous cups each)
26 cups chopped onions for cooking
3 packages chopped chives
3 pints peaches - sweetened
1/2 gallon bag flash frozen peach slices
7 quarts (generous) green beans
8 packages grated zucchini
1 quart flash frozen green bell peppers
3 generous quarts chopped green bell peppers
1 quart flash frozen Cubanelle peppers
4 generous quarts Cubanelle peppers
1 pint flash frozen red cherry peppers
1 batch Vera's Apricot-Zucchini Jam
6 pie crusts from "30 Day Gourmet"
9 generous quarts corn


Dehydrated

2 trays sweet cherries
5 trays onions
2 trays zucchini slices
3 trays peach fruit leather
3 trays hot peppers
15 trays apple slices
6 trays apple snacks

Herbs

Dried mint for tea
Echinacea tincture
2 quarts frozen chopped parsley
28 cubes frozen chopped parsley in water

Homestead Dreams

We have dreamed about buying lots of land and becoming self-sufficient since before we were married many many moons ago. Every time our income went up so we could almost afford land, so did the land prices. We decided to keep going and honing our skills here, until we go move on to our dream place. So far, the dream place is still a dream, but we are doing pretty well here on just 7 tenths of an acre.

With the economy not looking very promising, we've decided to stop looking for now and just be thankful that we are out of debt and everything is paid for - our home, our cars, our credit cards... everything. If the economy spirals down like they claim it will, I know we will be better off than some of our friends and family members. I'm thankful we didn't listen to all the times they told us to just take a chance and go deep into debt. I think the best thing I've heard from them is, "You can only live once". Well, now they are panicking for "living once", and we are saying "phew!" knowing where we could be standing now.

This blog is for our explorations and trials - our successes and failures...And how we are doing it all here, in the middle of town, on 7/10ths of an acre.

Photo Catch-up

Time seems to just whiz on by me. In the past month, we've been gardening, putting up the spring harvest, preparing for and having home school evaluations done, celebrating another anniversary and birthday, and surviving the spring flu. Oh yes, we can't forget Mother's Day :)

I actually had a bit a time to get a few projects completed. AND I have now gone past my half way point on my 50 project challenge!! YAY!! So today I'll be posting those pictures.

Trekking Socks #128. This makes pair #5 of 7 for DS.



To celebrate spring, I decided to treat myself and bought this Little House Needleworks pattern called "Season of Hope". It's stitched on 28 count cream pastel linen.



I stitched this card for someone special. It was a kit from the UK CrossStitcher magazine.



Keeping with the theme of spring, here's The Prairie Schooler's "Spring Ornament". I'm planning on stitching all the seasons together and making a bell pull.



DGB Confetti #100 Socks for DS. This make the sixth pair of the seven he wanted for camp.



Hot Socks #923. The last of the requested socks. DS was so thrilled that I made it in time. Now he has the coolest socks to wear for camp! :) And my first pair of socks for June.



Calico Crossroads Kats by Kelly "I Love Mew". This is from the new monthly series. I started with the first series, but really didn't like the one for Feb., so I put it aside for a while. I'm so glad I did, because I think this one is so much cuter.



And now.... My latest finish.....
A Wizzers kit from Dimensions. This one is called "Birdhouse Windchimes" and has been a WIP for quite a long time. I really didn't care at all for working on the plastic canvas. However, now that it's finished, I'm glad I kept going.

The weather has been so nice these past few days. Temps in the high 70's to low 80's have made the flowers bloom and the grass green. We planted a few things in the garden and now patiently wait for the first of the fresh veggies.

In the Socktopia group, we were given a sock pattern to make to inspire us to "Get off our Fannies". The are an athletic type sock with an arch support. The assignment was to knit them and then go out and do something - taking photos of them being worn during your chosen activity. So for your viewing pleasure....

Here's Fanny!!!!

First thing in the morning - a picture in the rising sun light....



Here's a better picture of the more true colors of Fanny. They were knitted in Knit Pick's Dancing (now discontinued). Posing with the sock is our dog - enjoying the foot rub he was receiving...



Here we go - off for a lovely hike. The weather was perfect!!





Now on the needles are a pair of socks for my DS. He wants 7 pairs of "cool" socks for camp. These will make pair number 5. Pics to come shortly.

On Friday, we went to JoAnn's Fabric. What I assumed would be a 1 hour trip at the most, ended up being more than double. We went in with lists, knowing exactly what we would be buying. Ummmmm - until we tried matching up colors for DD's placemats and napkin set that she needs to do for home ec. What fun trying to pick 6 coordinating fabrics. I didn't realize quilting could be so exhausting!

After coming home more than $125 poorer, we had all the materials we needed to do her placemat/napkin set, her oven mitt, her dress for the summer camp party, 29 patterns, my Sunbonnet Girl potholder, muslin for redwork, gingham for the kitchen curtains, large check/gingham for a new tablecloth, and some miscellaneous items. Everything was at least 30% off. Most were 50% off except for patterns. They were 99 cents each.

I found a lovely McCall's pattern for a vintage embroidery set. It contains directions for a dresser scarf, two sizes of keepsake pouches, and two sizes of pillows with scarfs. I was a little disappointed as the embroidery didn't come as a transfer - but one that you need to transfer yourself. Maybe there will be less room for mistake this way, as I won't get the pattern crooked :)

I finally bought my Clover thread cutter. I wanted it to use for a closure for my felted bag, but it's just so pretty... I am now debating if I want to use it for that, or make it into a necklace that is actually useful. :) I found it in the quilting notions at JoAnn's at 50% off. Q-Snaps were there as well, and it was difficult to pass them up, but I need another set like I need a hole in the head.

New To Me Company & Review

A trip to the mailbox rewarded me with a envelope from


Inside the envelope was a nice letter, free pattern, and an envelope containing a pattern of a potholder I remember as a child.

The envelope had the picture of the pattern printed on it.



And last but not least the contents of everything. I have never done business with Pattern Bee before, and I am very pleased with both the quality of the product I received as well as the customer service I had before making my purchase.

I have always been hesitant with purchasing copies of vintage patterns. After being "taken" on buying vintage copies before, I hesitantly decided to try vintage again. I've been reading Vicki's blog, and have drooled over admired all the items she creates. She does gorgeous work on her handmade lovelies. With looking at the quality, love and care she puts into her hand made items, I decided to take a chance on her patterns. I am more than pleased with what I received.

These patterns weren't copies, but real transfers - as good or even better than the originals. They are packaged nicely in their own envelope with a picture on the outside, and have quality workmanship. It is obvious that time and effort went into making these usable and readable. These are not just anyone's scan of an image, but are truly reprints. Yes, I will be buying from Pattern Bee again!!

It's Picture Time!!

I haven't had much time to blog, so I'm going to condense what I did during the past week with lots of pictures today.

Cross Stitch

I finally started to do a little cross stitching again. I love Little House Needleworks patterns, and just had to order this to celebrate the season. Spring is my time to look forward to gardening, fresh veggies and beautiful flowers. It's a time when all the animals give birth and everything is new. So when I saw the "Season of Hope" it just HAD to be done and stitched right away. The needle hit the fabric as soon as it arrived. :) I'm stitching this on 28 ct. cream Pastel Linen using the recommended DMC floss.


Socks

I finished my daughter's fair isle socks on the 10th. She was so pleased with them that she's begging for more. Although they came out nicely, I found them to be a slow knit for me.



I've started a pair of sports socks that are for a contest for the Socktopia KAL. They are called Fanny and are being knit from a pattern written by the group "momma". I'm knitting it in Knit Picks Dancing and am just ready to start the toe. I know they look strange, but the gathering in the "middle" of the sock is a type of arch support.



Quilting Attempts

I had posted a bit ago that I was going to try to make some yo-yos for a coverlet. I have finished 24 and need to cut out more. They are a nice take-along project as they don't take up much room and they can be done while talking or riding in a car.



My other attempt is a simple quilt from 5" squares (becoming 4" squares after allowing for seam allowance). Now realize, this is my first quilt - so go easy on me.



Let's Talk Vintage Crafting

As you know, I love older needlework items. There's just something comforting about things made from them. Maybe it's bringing back those memories of things I loved as I child... my grandmother's home, her aprons and how I was allowed to wear them when I was cooking, her potholders, our spending time together and laughing. I remember watching her make things and staring in wonder as she'd make beautiful things from thread and needles.
So when I can, I try to find things that give me that comfortable feeling. I'm slowly finding what those things are. I hope to someday give my home that same good feeling to my children (and possible grandchildren).

I finished another embroidered towel. This is a Day of the Week transfer pattern from Aunt Martha's.



I was lucky enough to be the recipient of a large tin of old perle and rayon embroidery floss. To my surprise and delight it had some stamped pillow tubing at the bottom of the tin along with a few embroidery patterns and needles. The tubing had been started in the rayon thread, and I have been slowly working on it ever since. The thread is not kind to work with, but the finished sheen is well worth the effort. I wish the photo would show it, but the sheen is lost no matter how hard I tried to get it. After the embroidery is done, I will have to sew the cases, and then crochet an edging on them. I have been searching for the "right" edging, and am torn between a filet butterfly border and a small lacy one. Then there's color. Since these are older, the tubing has yellowed a bit with age, so I want to keep away from white. I thought of a variegated color, but I know that won't look good with filet.



Old Transfers

Here's my meager Vogart collection. I'm hoping to add to it with yard sale and estate sale finds.

HAPPY Mail Day!!!!

I walked out to the mailbox to find this waiting for me:



YIPEE!! It was my package from Carolina Homespun. After an afternoon of playing, then plying using the Andean Plying method described on FiberJoy's Blog, I ended up with 23 yards of 2-ply that looked like this:



I'm thrilled that the thing even resembles yarn, let alone having it plied and possibly being able to use it!! Ah yes, I'm one happy camper!!!!

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Purist. You are an accomplished knitter producing beautiful pieces with a classic feel. You sometimes lament losing half of your local yarn shop to garish novelty yarns. Perhaps you consider fun fur scarves the bane of knitting society and prefer to steer new knitters towards the wool and cotton blends. Some might call you a bit of an elitist but you know that you've been doing this craft long enough to respect the history behind it and honor it with beautiful piece that can last a lifetime. http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!








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Friday... A great day to post pictures!

WIP
My stranded socks are coming along nicely. I know, I'm going a bit slow, but I'm so very happy with them! I'm on the last pattern repeat before I do the heel.


FO
I was terribly bored looking at homes and jobs, so I decided to do a little surfing looking at knitting blogs. I found a real gem that I knew I had to knit right away. I'm a nut for hummingbirds, so this Hummingbird Dishcloth was a must for my kitchen.


I did find what I think is a mistake. Row 44 didn't look correct when I did it, so I changed it to:
Row 44: k4, k6, p8, k1, p5, k1, p4, k1, p4, k10, k4
which now looks correct to me :)

Yarn PrOn!!

I didn't go to town today with DH and the kids, but instead stayed home and made dinner, since they would get to the orthodontist, do a few errands, then get home just in time to eat and run back out the door again to get to their 4-H meeting. I asked them if they had time on their outing today, would they stopping in at the yarn shop and picked me up some yarn so I can make DH the socks he wanted :) What a surprise it was to find 3 skeins instead of one in the bag!! They decided I needed to make them all more socks.

On the left is Fortissima Colori Socka Color in color #9 that my son chose for his socks. In the middle is the Hot Socks they were supposed to pick up for DH. (Not only is it the same color as the one I made for DS, but it's also the same lot number, so if I run out, I have some left from DS socks I did this month!!) On the right, DD chose Opal Petticoat #1295. Now, better yet, they remembered to give my frequent buyer's card, and brought it home with another new one. Yup - it's now full and I get $10 off my next purchase!

I have been a member of The Knitter's Sock Of the Month Club for 2 months now, and am finally just getting around to posting the great kits I've received so far. First is Feb's SOTM and is called "Hugs & Kisses". It came with Reynolds Whiskey yarn. Oh what a lovely soft yarn it is!! I can't wait to get these knitted up, but looks like they will be put aside a bit longer now :)


My March SOTM kit arrived last Friday and it's just lovely. The pattern is called "The Road to Hana" and uses a lovely colorway from Trekking XXL. I'm dying to get this one started. Purple is one of those colors that calls to me.


Well, with all these socks that need knitted, it looks like I won't be getting any XS done for a while :) No complaining here tho, because I'm just so grateful that I have a family that appreciates my hand made things!!

Sorry for the long delay in posting. Our household had been taken over by the flu, and blogging wasn't one of those things I really felt like doing. Knitting and reading got me through some sleepless nights. It's amazing how soothing the tinking sound of knitting needles are.

I have completed two more pairs of socks this month. First is one of my DS's favorites. These were knitted in 4-Seasons Hot Sock yarn in 927 Jacquard Rio and I used my own formula for his socks. It seems like every pair I make, I am tweeking and changing a little bit. I'm looking for that "perfect" fit for him.



My next finish was for the Socktopia KAL knit-off. A pattern was released on Saturday, and we have until this evening to finish the pair of socks. I finished mine last night. This is my first marathon KAL, and it was a blast. The pattern is called "Eleanor" and I used Sockotta color #15. I tried making identical socks, as I love how the first came out (sock on bottom), but found I couldn't duplicate the pooling, so I gave up and figured a fraternal pair would just have to do. I will be making these again, but will either use a plain color or a yarn with a longer color stripe. Sometimes the colors in the Sockotta lasted only 2-3 stitches before they changed.



I've started my first stranding project. It's a lovely pattern called "Simple stripes Fair Isle Socks" that I purchased from Knit Picks last year. It was purchased just before they discontinued the Simple Stripes line. I finished the first sock, but only have this WIP pic to post at the moment



I joined The Knitter's Sock of the Month Club and have received 2 mailings so far. To say I'm pleased with what I have received so far is an understatement. The first mailing contained a toe-up pattern and Reynolds Whiskey yarn. I've never done a toe-up before, so I used Wendy's Generic Toe-Up tutorial to try a sock. First I tried the sock using the pattern and yarn from the kit, but decided after ripping it out, that I wouldn't want to rip it too many times. The yarn is lovely and soft, but I'm not so sure how it will hold up to ripping. I did Wendy's sock with great success, but found it too large for DD's feet. I even did a fitting a few times on her, but it fits differently than the cuff down.

The kit for this month contained a beautiful pattern and Trekking XXL #187. It's just gorgeous and is in a purple/blue colorway. After the Fair Isle socks I think I'll do this one. The colors are just calling me. :)

When my mother died, (almost 12 years ago now) I inherited her spinning wheel. It's a lovely Ashford Traditional but sadly, there hasn't been any place to put it up and use it here. I've been so anxious to learn how to spin, so I decided to bite the bullet, and try my hand at a spindle first, then do the transition to the wheel. I bought a lovely little beginner's kit from Carolina Homespun but upgraded my spindle to a Cascade Little Si It is being shipped this week, so I should have it in my hands soonly - but certainly not soon enough.

Socks & Bag Finishes

Finally, I have something to post. I finished felting, shaping and then putting grommets in my bag and actually got to use it this week. I still need to put a closure on it, but I'm looking for the "right" bead or other weight that will be exactly what I want. I'm now writing the pattern up, but not sure if anyone would actually want it. I am pleased with how it turned out. Next time I make it, I might add an I-cord around the top for a little more stability. Hubby thought it would be be taller after he saw how large it was when it went in. I used the Bartlett Yarn that I had in my stash. It took 3 times through the washer, and I could have possibly put it in again, but decided it was to my liking.

I bought the grommet pliers at JoAnn's and even though they work, I didn't like how they crimped the grommet. No matter how much I tried, it crimped off center, and made it look sloppy (to me). However, I don't think many people are going to be snooping in my bag to see the crimps. :)

I finished the first of the Gentleman's Plain Winter Socks and put it on DS. It was a great fit, EXCEPT he didn't like the toe. He said it crowded his toes too much. I tried to figure out a way to make them so they'd work, but nothing was satisfactory for DS. So.... I ended up frogging it back to the leg and did my normal heel and toe. So now, the only thing that's the Gentleman's sock is the cast on, number of stitches and the cuff pattern. The whole rest of the sock has been modified. He's happy with them now. Me - I LOVE the colorway!! And the Trekking held up to the frogging so much better than I thought it would.