On the hooks

I thought I'd share some crochet things that have been keeping my hands busy lately. The first is a granny square pillow cover. I bought some large, flat pillows at a thrift store that I'm using as floor pillows in the living room. I often find myself spread out on the hardwood floors working on crafty projects and needed something cushiony to make my work time a bit more comfortable. The pillows I found are plain black and that certainly wasn't fitting with my desire to surround myself with color, so I decided some pillow covers were in order. This is the first--the second will also be crocheted but I haven't decided on the pattern yet. Any suggestions?

The granny square pattern I'm using is the Grandma All-Square tutorial from Michelle of The Royal Sisters blog. The tutorial includes information about how to connect the squares as you go, which still feels like magic to me. Michelle's got lots of crochet tutorials if you're looking for something new to try.

My plan for the back of this pillow cover is to do granny stripes! I'm really excited to give it a go. Lucy of Attic 24 has got a pattern up for the stripes.

I've also been working on a ripple blanket for my cousin's little boy, due to arrive at the end of September. I just love crocheting ripples--they're so easy, breezy, and fun. I'm making the stripes in random widths for this little blanket.

What's in your project pile these days?

this moment: my first knitting

there's so much joy in learning a new skill. thanks, christine!

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this is a moment from this week that i want to remember. 

more moments are here.

csa day: first one of the year (to me)

(Actually the first CSA day was last week, but I missed it because I was in Minnesota, so this is the first one for me!)

Our CSA produce from Finger Pickin' Farms for the week of June 1, 2010

From 12 o'clock and on around clockwise: bok choy, beet greens, radishes, 3 lettuces, kale. Strawberries are in the middle, but you figured that out already, didn't you? The strawberries are so small and sweet. I could eat them right out of the carton, but I must maintain some sense of discipline so that I can make some of the strawberry recipes on my list. An update on my list: muffins and ice cream have been made! Strawberry rhubarb pie and strawberry jam have been added to the to-make list.

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CSA days are amongst my favorite days of the year and I love that in summer (and it does seem like summer here, so I'm going with it) I get to experience such great days every single week. Last year we split our CSA with my mom, but this year she's decided to grow more of her own vegetables. She's got lettuce, broccoli, onions, tomatoes, sorrel, and a whole host of herbs growing. So we are sharing our CSA with my dad, and I'm very excited to see what he does with his half of the produce. He's a great cook, famous in my family for his soups and roasts, but he's very much a meat-and-potatoes guy, so I want to see what he'll do with all of these greens and lettuces.

I really enjoy planning meals around what we get from the market. Here's the dinner plan:

*Pasta Alfredo with sauteed garlic, beet greens and peas. Yes, we did just have this a couple of weeks ago, but it's so good! Plus, my sister was over for dinner, and I knew she'd love it.

*Tofu and bok choy stir-fry with garlic-mirin sauce over rice.

*Black bean quesadillas, kale sauteed with garlic, lemon and soy sauce, and oven-roasted potatoes. A real mish-mash of flavors, but it works for us.

*Dinner out by the river to celebrate my Grandma Alice's 82nd birthday. Fingers crossed that it doesn't rain.

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I would love to hear what you're eating this week, so please share in the comments. I find myself endlessly curious about what other people are cooking and eating, plus it gives me ideas for what to make.

Minneapolis in a Nutshell

Lucky us, we got to hang out in Minneapolis and St. Paul last week! K and I visited our best friend in Japan, Christine, who now lives back in her homestate of Minnesota. It was our first trip to the Twin Cities, but hopefully not our last. There are so many cool things to do and amazing places to eat there. I would definitely recommend a visit--it's easy to get around because it's very bike-friendly and has great public transportation, too. Thanks to Christine for showing us around!

(Click image to see larger version)

Top row, left to right: Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture, dandelion fountain, Christine and lego Woody, the Mighty Mississippi, clever revision of a street sign.


Middle row: Playing in the water at Minnehaha park, Candyland, cue the sad Peanuts music, Minneapolis skyline, Punch pizza.


Bottom row: Taffy-mouthed twins Mary and Christine, shopping at the Mall of America, Mary's hat toss, Minnehaha Falls, Dinkytown.

Blog Break

 (2007 Neon Party in Yamagata, Japan)

I'm just popping in to say that I'll be taking a break from blogging this week to hang out with my friend Christine (one of my new year's resolutions, thank you very much). There's lots of fun planned--including a knitting lesson or two--so I'll definitely let you know how that goes. I've also been crocheting up a storm lately and want to share what I've been making with you. 

Hope you have a lovely week! I'll see you back here next week.

this moment: necessities close at hand

the moment from this week that i want to savor. 

find more moments here.

Picnic in the Park Pillow Cover Giveaway Winner

A flower date?

Hopefully Emmalina will be seeing a lot more flowers as she picnics and enjoys the outdoors with her new pillow cover. Congrats, Emmalina, you were lucky #67! Just email me your mailing address and the pillow cover will be on its way to you.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. It was so much fun to read all of your comments.

I hope you'll stick around because I sure do like you guys. Also, I wanted to let you know that my year anniversary of blogging is coming up, and I'm going to do another giveaway in a couple of weeks to celebrate. I'm excited about it already.