You may remember, Reader, that I have a little fascination with making shoes. Not that I have ever actually made shoes that anyone
wore, but the allure is still there.

Looky, what I found! Patterns, leather soles... I'm having grandiose ideations of a cottage industry here. Hand-made felt baby and kid shoes in funky colors... How much would you pay? AND you can make shoes in adult sizes too. I like these boots, but you can also make clogs and little ballet slippers.

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Hey, guess what! I got my ebay Noro. It's marked "Color 1, Lot A". Does that mean it's really one of the first Kureyons made? Not
that I'm not going to knit it, but it certainly does have some appeal. Sort of like a first edition. Hee, hee.

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Here's a recipe for a delicious Carrot Soup flavored with ginger and
lemon. I've made it several times... always delicious.

And here's William Wegman's "http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/630356805X/qid=1027691290/sr=8-4/ref=sr_8_4/002-3961802-4214443"> Alphabet Soup which we
just borrowed from the library. (Wegman is the Weimeraner guy.) The movie is like 'Dogs Playing Poker' come to life, with a deadpan
narration by Wegman himself. The whole thing is very surreal. I recommend it for your preschoolers -- or your next party!

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don't eat a bagel with lox right before you knit! one sleeve still smells fishy. good thing it's very washable yarn!

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I finished knitting the sweater I was whining about last time. Just need to sew on the sleeves. I am now working on it's less evil
twin, in purple Pronto. Fewer stitches, bigger sweater. I love chunky yarns. Plus I've been having problems with sore wrists and
hands. Knitting on small needles makes it worse I think -- more repetitive motion. That and doing a lot of computer work... and
carrying around a 30 pound kid on my hip!

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I've been having a love/hate relationship with my current project, my little sweater for knitty.com. I think because of its
unorthodox style, it came out shaped a little differently than I anticipated. I've really had to force myself to knit on it. I overcame
my block, sewed on the buttons and finished one sleeve and started the other. It's nice, but still in a 'pulling teeth' phase. Plus,
since I am not totally satisfied with it, I want to knit a second one in another size and gauge! I want to get working on it, but must
finish this one first. So close and yet so far!

And, I went and ordered myself some Noro Kureyon, which will become a raglan henley for me... as soon as it arrives, I'm sure I'll want to start in on it. I also have some bits of multi-colored Kool-Aid yarn that I wanted to knit up into something...

So many projects, so little time!

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I've been doing some genealogical research as you may recall. One branch of my husband's family came through Ellis Island in
1904-1905 and landed in Brooklyn. I have some addresses for them and this has got me wondering whether any of the buildings they lived
in are still there.

So my question is this: Is anyone in or around Brooklyn and willing to do some reconaissance work for me? The streets in question are Siegel Street and Humboldt Street. Right now I have three addresses, all within a mile of each other. If you're willing to track them down and snap a few pictures, I would be eternally grateful and happy to compensate you in some manner. Let me know! Thanks.

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My new little wallet/cell phone holder. Mostly it's a showcase for some yarn I dyed. I wanted to see if I could dye yarn so the
variegations would match up as I wanted. I did it! Stay tuned to knitty.com for details!

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Yarn score! Found this tutti-frutti ribbon yarn masquerading as a an XL turtleneck tank for $2.00 as Marshall's yesterday. Already
unravelling for its new life...

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Since what's on the needles is strictly hush-hush, here are some yummy recipes.

Eggplant Rolls with Goat Cheese

1 eggplant

1-2 red peppers, roasted (or use jarred)

1/3 cup ricotta

1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled

arugula

Slice the eggplant the long way into six slices. Brush lightly with olive oil on both sides. Broil 5-10 minutes on each side, until soft, but not falling apart.

Meanwhile, mix together the ricotta and goat cheese. Add some herbs if you like (rosemary, oregano or mint).

Slice your roasted pepper into 6 pieces. Take each slice of eggplant, top with one slice of red pepper, put a dollop of the cheese mixture on the small end of the eggplant slice. Lay on some arugula leaves and roll from small end to big end.

Serve rolls at room temperature topped with Salsa Verde (puree 1/2 clove of garlic, 1 T. olive oil, salt, 1/2 cup parsley, splash of balsamic vinegar). A good looking starter, easy to do ahead.

Things to do with Tuna that aren't Gross

Meditteranean Tuna Melt

big can of chunk light tuna

1/2 cup chopped fennel bulb

chopped kalamata olives

lemon juice

olive oil

Mix these all together. Mound on slices of olive bread. Cover each with a slice of provolone and broil until melted.

Tuna White Bean Salad

1 can tuna

1 can white beans, rinsed

lemon juice

olive oil

parsley

Mix everything together and serve in sandwiches or stuffed into tomatoes.

Yummy Lentils for Squib

Take some lentils. Simmer them for 30-45 minutes (your lentils may vary). Drain.

Saute up some chopped onions, chopped dried apricots (or dried fruit of choice), cinnamon, cumin, paprika and cayenne. Add the lentils and some broth (according to what your couscous pkg says), bring to boil. Add couscous. Cover and remove from heat. Wait 5 minutes. Stir in some chopped parsley and serve.

This makes a good stuffing for eggplants, zucchinis, or roasted peppers. You can substitute drained canned chickpeas if you want it done fast.

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On the left, I've installed a new feature, the Swap Meet. I've posted pictures and descriptions of things that I am looking to swap.
Have a look and let me know if you have anything you want to trade!

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As of the 6th of July, Kepler is here and his sweater is done, modelled here by 18 month old Ella (it's a little small for her!) I
went against all the bee votes (and even the maggot vote from his very own father!) and went with these orange and white bull's eye
buttons:

I'll send along the bee buttons with it, though, so they can be swapped out.

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Now that the cat is out of the bag, I can tell you about the anniversary gift I got for Leo. I'm getting some of his digital artwork
hung at an Internet Cafe! Now to matte and frame them...

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I've recently had a little fascination going with felt shoes and the idea of making them. Here're some really cool ones for sale at
1st Bavarian .

And for the DIY in all of us: try felting your own doll shoes, or
medieval slippers.

Or you can do what I did and make these super simple knit booties and felt them. I think with the right yarn and a little more care, these might be great. Mine were pretty haphazard.

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Another thing I found in the garage: some black vinyl that was originally for a bag a friend was going to make. I think I'll make a
raincoat for my niece from the same pattern as the girls' new green coats. Claire lives in Seattle. She needs a raincoat.

I will need new scissors!

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Spent a couple hours sorting through stuff in the garage, consolidating and weeding out the detritus of our lives. I'm sure there's
more that I could get rid of more; I just wasn't feeling cathartic enough to go through old boxes l to see what I could get rid of.

On the crafty front, I don't have nearly as much yarn as I feared, but I have way more fabric than I remembered! The good news is that in sorting through I came up with a couple of project ideas that I can complete without buying anything. And found some great fabrics that maybe may need new projects.

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I just bought some flowy velourish pants that are pewter colored at (where else?) the thrift store. I think I want to knit some sort
of glam shell to go with them. I figure I'll use one of the thousands of shell patterns that "http://www.chicknits.com">Bonne Marie is knitting this summer.

But I need a good yarn. Any suggestions for a glamorous, understated yarn? It would definitely go with something metallic, but I am very hesitant to go there.

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Okay, some of you don't know this, but I live in a tourist town. In fact, I live in a touristy section of a touristy metropolis.
Most of the time this is great and I love where I live... there's a reason why people want to visit here. Plus tourists mean that there
are about a jillion fabulous things that their tourist dollars support so they are there when I want them.

Anyway, every Winter I seem to forget that the "village", which is what people really (without irony) call downtown La Jolla -- it totally reminds me of The Prisoner -- gets crowded in Summer and you can't just pop into the bank or the yarn store*. Walking's no problem, but I forget too often and try to stop in somewhere when I am already in the car. This brings me to my big whine -- TRAFFIC! I have spent more time stuck in traffic in the last few days -- all because of the big weekend. I don't think I'll drive today!

*Diagram that, GrammarMan!

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I realized I should be posting about the interesting sites I've been coming across, though I haven't been doing much browsing lately.
Anyway, have a look at Personal Threads -- they have lots of neat yarns on sale for 40% off!
Also, looks like Colinette has a NEW yarn out called Tagliatelli -- a funky wool tape. Also check
out the "MillShop" section of their website for fab, fab, fab deals. Lots of grab bag stuff, including a new thing called "Creative
Threads" 1 kg of bits and pieces (less than skeins!) for 15 pounds (around $23). That's a lot of bits and pieces! Fun, fun, fun!
Shipping's pricy, but still...

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Crasha-banga-booma! Summertime... time to break out the Kool-Aid. According to Kraft Foods, the makers of Kool-Aid, it is the most
consumer soft drink by children, and the third most consumed by adults (after Coke and Pepsi). Who knew?

Here are some fun things to do with Kool-Aid, besides drink it: Dye your yarn like Amanda Gill. Or poke around in the archives to see what I've done. You can also dye your hair with it! Check out Grateful Dyed.

To find out more about Kool-Aid, you might be interested in The History of
Kool-Aid, or go to the source, Kool-Aid.com, for all sorts of information and listings of all
the "flavors".

Speaking of which, I cannot find the green Lemon-Lime anywhere! Do they carry it at your market?

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Some samplings from my groovy retro needlework magazines. I'll post some more fun ideas when things get dull.

This, from a magazine that's very cool. Many big gauge patterns and so timeless!

This, on the other hand, screams retro. I need to learn to crochet granny squares!

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This is a purse my mother made for Zoe while she was visiting (Thanks, Mom!). I learned how to knit on beads; she learned how to knit I-cord.

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My new self-dyed yarn. Haven't found it's ideal companion yarn. Something in the 2-3 stitch per inch range. Any thoughts?

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My latest WIP. It will be a toddler cardigan worked with a scallop pattern. Some fuzzy yarn at the border, the rest is some
Fisherman's Wool dyed with Kool-Aid.

For the scallops, it's *k2tog, k2tog, m1, k1, m1, k1, m1, k1, m1, k2tog, k2tog* every 6th row, followed by a garter stitch row. When it's all done, I'll figure out what I did and write it up...

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Here's the first (mostly) complete jacket. It still needs buttons and buttonholes and some finishing. The second one is cut out and
ready to sew. They're huge and it's summer, so they'll probably be on the back burner for a while.

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