Well, I said I would... (NoJoMo) in Those Public Entries

So here are the pictures of my knitting projects since summer.

The face pad sets, my first reverse ridge washcloth, and the then in-progress second reverse ridge washcloth. The blue and variegated purple ones are my favorites, color-wise. I ended up FaceTiming my mom to pick the last color, and between Mistletoe and Psychedelic, she said she liked Psychedelic. I admit, the more I worked with it, the more it grew on me. I may or may not order a six-pack of it when I get back from my vacation next week. (Funnily enough, Lily Sugar n’ Cream has a color they call “Over the Rainbow”, which is variegated yellow, pink, orange, and white. I think they misapplied that name.)

The finished psychedelic washcloth, a coaster I made in about 45 minutes (using this pattern from Nimble Needles, whose YouTube channel is teaching me how to knit Continental), the sample mistletoe face pad, and the stockinette stitch holder.

One of the felted wool coasters I made, as my very first project.

The purple cowls and blue-and-white flat scarf.

I’m definitely enjoying working with cotton yarn at the moment. I find it’s easy to maintain the right tension, and it’s not as fussy or prone to stretching as acrylic yarns can be.

Oh, and I started another hobby this year: Pickling. I grew up watching my mother and grandmother can and pickle vegetables, and this year, I ended up buying a copy of Andrea Chessman’s The Pickled Pantry and making some recipes from it.

In the pint jar: Vermont maple pickled cucumbers; I actually liked these a lot, which is surprising, because I normally don’t like bread and butter pickles. In the half-pint jars: Pomegranate pickled cauliflower and Italian-style pickled green beans. The cauliflower was really good, but the Italian-style beans? Ohmigawd, I know what heaven tastes like.

Left to right: Mixed berry jam, kiwi-strawberry jam, and pickled beets. I think the beets will be ready to taste when I get back.

Other pickles I’ve made: Kimchi, half-sour kosher dill spears, and red sauerkraut. They’re in my fridge, in half-gallon jars, and I don’t feel like hauling them out for a picture. But they’re both great; I made a vegan reuben with the sauerkraut a couple of weeks ago, and it was the best part of the sandwich. (I like tempeh, but there’s no replacing the corned beef in a reuben.)

…Maybe I should do a NoJoMo prompt. Okay, five things guaranteed to get a smile out of me.

These two:

Smudge and Nyx. Although it strikes me now that I really should have called them Garfield and Nermal (iykyk).

Other things that make me smile: My nieces, exercising, having a clean kitchen/house, and knitting. And cooking. And sewing. And writing. Anything that involves me being creative.