GAL Update

Wendy from Knitter's Brewing Company asked if I was having fun laying out my squares.  I did lay them out today, and my model didn't hesitate to help.

Spinning Updates

I didn't participate in the Tour De Fleece this year, but that didn't stop me from spinning most mornings.  Remember the Clown Attack Batts I was doing on the blending board?

This

 

and othes

which them became

I also blended these three (The one in the middle was also used in the previous yarn as well)

Became

I'm now working with an alpaca fleece I've had.

Yes that is some plant material you see in there.  Not all of it wanted to come out the first time.  I'm thinking of using this to go with the Spinning Challenge coming up.  The next bobbin will have alpaca and something sparkly in it.

GAL #15

Here is the 2nd Doctor Who square.  This one was more complicated, because I wanted it to be more realistic.  The TARDIS was knit using floating two strands of blue (similar to intarsia).  The green and blue are both sock weight yarns.  To get the yarns to the same weight as the others, I chain plied the yarn.  Instead of a single strand, it was now three strands.

GAL #14

The 14th square is the first of my own designs.  Searching the Internet, I found a Cross Stitch pattern, and modified to fit the square.  The square is the Original and Current Apple Computer Logo.  My second home computer was a Apple ][e, my first Smart Phone was a First Generation iPhone, and the iPad 2 was my first tablet computer, so I had to include Apple in my blanket.  The chart is available here.

The next square is ready to be photographed. 

Fiber Batts

Worked on making more Clown Attack batts, since all the previous ones are spun.  I experimented with different ways to lay the fiber down.

One batt, resting on the board.  Now some pictures.

Too sunny to get a good picture.  I will try again later.

GAL #13

My 13th square is The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  I did this square because of my interests  in the original 90's cartoon.  

My next square is not part of the series, and will include 7 different colors.

GAL #12

My 12th square is Batman.  I grew up with the reruns of the Adam West show, then some of the different cartoons, including The Justice League from the 70's (Saturday Morning), the 90's Animation, and the Detective/Batman Comics.  I have not been a big fan of any of the movies. 

This is not the original square, but the alternate square.  The original had the bat logo in the sky over the city.  I preferred the logo that represented the original logo.  It is also Not reversed.  I decided to leave the back mirrored.

P.O.P.

I had an interesting visitor stop on the antenna of my truck.  I'm thinking it is a dragonfly.  From head to thorax, I'm thinking it was 2 to 3 inches or so in length.

I was able to take a few pictures from different angles.  It disappeared just after I got the three pictures. 

Slow Cook Friday: Chicken Marsala

I had no specific plans, till GetCrocked posted a Chicken Marsala recipe.  After reading it, I had to make it.

• 4 - 5 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 c. marsala wine
• 1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth
• 2 T. butter, broken into small pieces (margarine is ok)
• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced 

1. Put the chicken breasts in a 5 quart slow cooker. They can go in frozen, but make sure they don’t overlap as much as possible.
2. Mix the flour, salt, pepper, and basil, and sprinkle over the chicken.
3. Pour the wine and broth into the slow cooker.
4. Dot the butter over the chicken and dump the mushrooms on top.
5. Cook Low for 6 hours.
6. When the 6 hours are up, take the chicken out and place on the serving dish. Stir the sauce a little, and spoon the sauce over the chicken.

 Served over pasta.

GAL #11

I've played Dungeons and Dragons several times.  It was fun to use the different dice for different tasks.  I now have three sets of multi-sided dice that I use with my students for different things.  A 20 sided is great for a student who is learning 1-20.