Thanksgiving Early

Dave's sister Carol and husband Dan, came for a nice visit this week and knowing we won't see them for the holidays I decided to have an early Thanksgiving dinner prepared for the four of us. 

I got a small frozen turkey (about 12lbs) and thawed it out and cooked it a day or two ahead of their arrival. I  used a roasting bag and that makes it all so easy and ever so tasty. I don't stuff it, but do make stuffing on the morning of the dinner and will then make my famous (in my own mind) Turkey Lasagna.

Thanksgiving Turkey Lasagna

Everything starts with a good ovenproof container, nice and deep. The bird in the bag is cooled on the counter and the breast is easily removed, keeping the rest of the bird and juices in the bag.

Removing skin, bones and icky things with no name, slice in large chunks. 

Pour in a bit of canned or boxed chicken broth, and top with a layer of turkey breast. 

Top that with dressing, made with Pepperidge cornbread stuffing mix, flavored with apples, raisins, cranberries, cooked Jimmy Dean Hot pork sausage, sauteed onions, garlic and celery, broth and lots of butter.

Keep layering meat and dressing until the container is full and looks like a magazine picture.

Pour the remaining broth over all, since none of us wants dry dressing or turkey. Cover with foil and Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the aroma begins to drive everyone nuts. Un-foil and let the top brown for 10-15. Dig in.

This is so simple, delish and non-stress making that I wanted to share so you could consider doing this if you are the holiday cook.

22nd on the 22nd

Presenting the twenty-second version of my Diamond Patch Jacket. I made the first one seven years ago and would you believe I still don't have one for myself! The next one will be mine. I mean it. This one has all the new updated features, slits on the side, raglan sleeves and improved neckline. I just hate a garment that gaps at the back of the neck, and this one hugs it warmly. I chose to make this version in a petite size, and found that it fits my knitting pal Patsy just right. She is about 5'2" or 3" and has a trim silhouette. The size of the jacket is 44" around and 24" long, making it a nice loose fit. 

At last, a garment that fits my mannequin just right!

The yarns are Noro Kotori: wool, cotton, viscose and silk, and Cascade Casablanca: wool, silk and mohair. Hand wash, lay flat to dry. If this one calls your name, it is available for $150 including postage (US only) email me at fibermania at g mail dot com.

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On the home front, we are enjoying our new relaxed lifestyle, and the gorgeous days of October with that blue blue sky and the changing colors of the leaves. This morning I awoke to a layer of fog, so my mountain view was obstructed. No doubt it will clear later.

On Tuesday we closed the deal on our previous house and now only own one house. What a relief! My sister has a contract on her house too, and then only has her husband's previous house to get ready to sell. She got her offer after one day on the market too. What a crazy real estate whirlwind we are experiencing.

While I promised myself and Dave "No more giant garden projects" I did find a spot where I will have a tiny plot, close to the house, in the back for basil, chives, oregano, parsely, lettuce and a few flowers. Nothing monumental, just handy for those necessary kitchen herbs. I will wait til Spring to construct it. We already have a bunch of landscape brick from the front yard that will be removed, due to my plans to scrap what is currently there in favor of brand new plantings. They will be used to create a raised bed. But I am serious about not causing myself a lot of work to maintain a large garden anymore. The long back yard will become a forest, if I have my way. Tree after tree will be planted and many will be flowering specimens. 

Dave and I recalled all the places we have lived and imagined what the trees must look like now, after all these years. At our first house in 1981 we planted white pines and several fruit trees. At our second, in 1987 we planted more pines, plus lilacs, and magnolias. Of course many more trees were planted here in Tennessee, where we had lots more land to fill up. It seems without knowing it, we are leaving a lasting legacy of green, repaying the earth for our presence. 

We Voted!

Our state, Tennessee, has early voting and one could request by mail, a mail-in ballot. But I decided that I would be careful and along with my husband, we lined up outside our town hall, along with many, many others, to cast our vote in person, on the very first day we could, October 14th. 

Everyone was masked, and socially distant, well behaved and patient. The line was long but it moved pretty swiftly. I would estimate that it took only 20 minutes to get into the polling place, and at 4:30 in the afternoon, the breezy temps of 78 degrees made it pleasant.

I want my vote to be counted so that on Election Night, it is part of the landslide I hope will be evident.

Watching The Social Dilemma

OK so I took a friend's advice and watched this documentary on Netflix yesterday and whoa! It explains so much of what is going on in our country and the world at this moment. If you are on your phone constantly and looking for more hits etc. this will ring true for you. I gotta say I am grateful to be an old lady now, and not hooked on most social media, like Facebook, and don't even have a working cell phone (unbelievable, right?) then one would think I am not caught up in all this, but you'd be wrong. I still want to see how many likes I got on my Instagram feed, and can look at Pinterest for hours, and have nothing but wasted time to show for it. I just don't carry my laptop around with me and check it every ten minutes or so, but it dings when I have an email and I drop everything to go see who it is...not to mention I get up early and read CNN online to see what is happening like my first fix of the day with my coffee. 

If you've watched this doc, let me know what you think. 

Pivoting Stripe Cardivest

Lest you think I just whipped this knit out, I didn't. It was knit in July and I just now got the buttons sewn on and the loose ends buried. This is a new design which I drew up and hoped it would work. 

 

My aim was to just cast on a few stitches (15, I think) and knit them in a stripe, then turn the corner with a mitered square, and continue the stripe to form a frame. From that frame, stitches are picked up along the inside of the stripe and the center part is knit. Later more stitches are picked up along side the bottom edge of the strip and knit until the desired width and length are achieved. 

 

More mitering is done to make the bib part of the front. And again in the center back. 

The yarns are Filatura di Crosa, Zara merino. The measurements are 42" at the bust and 44" at the hip. The length (lying flat ) measures 24" but of course will lengthen with wear. I am offering it for $110, including shipping. Email me at fibermania at gmail dot com.

Silk Neutrals

 You know I love color, but there are times when you want something a little more subtle and sophisticated. Here is a new Cardivest in silk and wool with a more toned variety of hues. The yarns are Noro Silk Garden  45% Silk, 45% Mohair, 10% Wool and Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend 70% Merino, 30% Silk.

There are lots of colors here: cranberry, slate blue, mint, lavendar, bone and taupe, but mixed into a wearable melange that will coordinate with many styles.

 

This item is sized 42" at the bust and 44" at the hip and is 26" from shoulder to hem, and has mother of pearl buttons. Hand washable, lay flat to dry. 

I am offering this for $110, including shipping. Email me at fibermania at g mail dot com. SOLD

Autumn Colors

October brings the colors out of the leaves and inspired this cardivest. Knit from Malabrigo Rios, 100% merino and Cascade Casablanca, wool, silk and mohair, all the lovely colors of the autumn are included. For contrast, just a touch of faded pink is added, like the last rose of summer. Knitting makes me wax poetic! 

This is a slightly new take on my fave Cardivest, beginning with that bustline strip of vertical lines, bordered with matching horizontal stripes, just for my own knitting amusement. 

 

It's the Casablanca that has all the colors in one yarn and I knit that striped band and mitered design to show them all off. 

 The size at the hip is 48" and at the bust is 44". I am offering this cardivest for $100 plus $9 shipping. Email me at fibermania at g mail dot com.

Bonus Knit

During the long confinement...I knit!

It made the days productive and I got the luxury of knitting the most delicious yarns which I had been saving for something really special. I used some specially hand dyed Verdant Gryphon merinos, and Malabrigo Rios, which I had been keeping in my secret stash. Both are hand washable.

For fun I added a contrast striped section on the fronts and at the sleeve ends, which brought all the colors out nicely.

Every color is in the mix and will coordinate nicely with things in your wardrobe, whatever they may be.  The size is an ample 26" wide and that makes it 52" around. The length is 26" but I expect it to lengthen with wear. This is a one of a kind adaptation from my original Diamond Patch Jacket design with the new neckline and the raglan sleeve which makes for a nicer finish, and in this case an abalone shell button.

I am offering it to you for $150 plus $10 shipping. Email me at fibermania at g mail dot com. SOLD.