In The Pink

August 3, 2011 By Carole

The color for August for Project Spectrum is pink and suddenly I’m seeing pink everywhere!

I’ve got pink toes. You know, it’s hard to take a picture of your own feet and have it be flattering. Just sayin.

And a pretty pink pinwheel leftover from Dale’s birthday party.

I’m knitting pink socks. Please to note the perfectly matching Stitched by JessaLu Bag.

I’ve got lots of pink flowers.

And lots of pink flower photos.

They remind me of earlier summer days.

And they make me smile.

I love being in the pink!

Red, Red May

May 5, 2011 By Carole

It’s Project Spectrum time again, thanks to Lolly, and the color for the month of May is red. I may have mentioned a time or two that I love red. It’s my favorite color, in fact, so I couldn’t be happier about starting Project Spectrum in this way.

I’m participating by knitting red socks.

The yarn is Kim’s, the color is Scarlet Devil, and the pattern – don’t fall over now – is Cable Rib Socks. That’s right, I’m knitting a patterned sock.

Okay, it’s a pretty simple pattern but I do love the cable running down the sides of the leg.

It’s also, thanks to Maryse, Macro May. I’m participating by taking macro shots with lots of red.

Like this one of my crab apple tree blossoms.

And this one of my wee sock stitch marker.

Hooray for Project Spectrum! Hooray for Macro May!

Hillary’s Lemon Chicken

May 21, 2009 By Carole

When we visited Hillary and her family last February we had a wonderful dinner prepared be Hillary. The star of the meal was her Lemon Chicken and it was really delicious. I’ve made it several times since watching Hillary do it and my family loves it just as much as Hillary’s family does. I figure you all might like it, too, so I’m going to show you how to make it.

I use boneless skinless chicken breasts, the same as Hillary. In the morning, throw ’em in a ziploc bag and pour in some lemon juice. Put that in the fridge and go to work – or whatever it is that you do all day. When you’re ready to cook dinner take the chicken out of that ziploc bag and put them in another ziploc bag. This one will have flour, salt & pepper, and paprika in it, too. Shake that chicken all around until it’s coated with the flour.

frying-chicken

Now heat up some oil. I like to use my cast iron fry pan for this part. It makes me feel old-fashioned. And it also is just about the best thing ever for frying chicken. And steak. In butter. There is nothing like steak cooked in butter in a cast iron fry pan. Mmmm. Oh wait, sorry, we’re talking about chicken. So fry your chicken on both sides in that oil.

Slice up some lemon. You know what sliced lemon looks like but this picture is pretty so I’m showing you.

lemon-slices

Once your chicken is browned on both side put the pieces in a baking dish. Sprinkle the top with a bit of brown sugar and then put a couple of lemon slices on each piece. Pour some chicken broth in there, enough to come up about an inch or so. Cover the pan with foil and put it in a 350° over for about 45 minutes.

lemon-chicken-ready-to-bake

The chicken is moist and flavorful and lemony. I like to serve it with rice and broccoli – which is what Hillary served it with, too, I think. And yes, I forgot to take a picture of the finished meal. I just couldn’t wait long enough to gobble it up!

I hope you’ll gobble it up, too. Enjoy!

Spinning Decisions

March 20, 2007 By Carole

With all the spinning wheels I have around here, you probably think I have all kinds of spinning projects going on. The truth of the matter is, I don’t really like to be spinning more than one pile ‘o fiber at a time. It’s sort of like knitting projects – if you have too many going at once you never finish any projects. If you have too many wheels going at once (oh, if only!) you never finish any yarn.

That’s my most recently finished yarn. It’s 200 yards of Mama E’s C*eye*ber Fiber in the Margene’s Mountains colorway. I love the colors! It reminds me of Margene and it’s perfect for Project Spectrum, too.

I shouldn’t even show you this picture of the fiber drawer. How excessive.

When it was done, though, I was faced with a big decision — what to spin next! That’s when Project Spectrum really helps because I can use the color guidelines to narrow my choices. So when I came across two Grafton Fiber batts in this gorgeous shade of blue, well, the choice of what to spin next was pretty obvious.

I’m loving it! The blue is rich and deep and spinning these batts is always a pleasure.

And, as you can see, I’m not the only one who loves these fiber batts. Mason has obviously been talking to Miss Lulu about the comfort of a fibery bed.

Project Spectrum May: The Results

May 31, 2006 By Carole

As I’ve done for the past few months, I have used the Project Spectrum color guideline to help me choose sock yarn and spinning fibers.

This month, I knit socks for Lois with yarn from Brooklyn Handspun. Lois, who will knit fiddly baby dolls and Aran sweaters and other things that are beyond my scope, will not knit socks. I, of course, would prefer knitting socks to just about anything else and therefore stepped up to the plate and made her these socks.

They were a huge success! She wore them to work the very next day and received loads of compliments from other knitters. I am happy to have made these for my dear friend. And don’t mind that she showed them off one little bit.

My other green projects included spinning this:

Into this:

This was my first time spinning with the Grafton Fiber batts and I just loved it! The fiber practically drafts itself and that helped keep my spinning pretty even.

I also spun this:

Into this:

More first experiences here, this time with Fleece Artist roving. It wasn’t as easy to draft as some fibers I’ve worked with but the colors are beautiful and I love the finished product.

And now, on to June and the color blue. Don’t we all have loads of blue in our stashes?

I’ll be knitting socks from this

Oooh. Yummm. Denim Blue Yarn from Jessie at A Piece of Vermont. Have you ordered yarn from her yet? You really should. I’m just saying.

And I’ll be spinning Foxfire Fiber batts.

I may have gotten a head start on the Foxfire this past weekend. I’ve got the blues and I just couldn’t wait.