Strawberries are cute

I have always loved strawberries. In fact, they are my absolute favorite food. They are so yummy and refreshing. Growing up my favorite cartoon character was Strawberry Shortcake; I even had Strawberry Shortcake sheets, lunch box, curtains, dolls, etc. No, I wasn't obsessed...it was the 80's. So, there was no question in my mind when I saw the Spring 2007 issue of Knitscene on Ravlery in a friend's library that I was going to have to knit the Strawberry Clutch. It was not easy finding a back issue, but I lucked out. As soon as I had the issue in my hands, I immediately ran out and bought some red and green Ella Rae Classic so that I could cast on right away. Here are my strawberries pre-felting/pre-seaming.

This project had a lot of firsts for me. This was my first foray into the wonders of duplicate stitch, and I really enjoyed adding the seeds. Surprisingly, it did not become boring. It is such a versatile technique, and I am looking forward to using it again and again in my future projects. This was also my first experience with intarsia. I did not like it. Now, it wasn't hard, just very annoying and clumsy. This could be because I held the yarn doubled, but I really did not enjoy making the green portions of these berries. I am going to try intarsia again, but I am not going to seek out a pattern that uses it anytime soon. Another first for me with this project was using my front load washer to felt it. I used my front load to partially felt a bowl last year, but it wasn't a very successful experience. So of course I decided to throw my beautiful strawberries into my washer without doing a test swatch.

The finished size is big enough for a sock project, and it fits on my wrist comfortably. The felting process took 5 mini cycles (about 70 minutes), and I think I probably could have gone for one more. I am pretty pleased with the results, but I think I am going to stick with felting in a top load machine. I know this would have turned out much better that way, so I might actually knit this project again.

Overall, I had a great time knitting this quick little project. I learned some new techniques, and I now know that strawberries are not only yummy....they are cute too.

Secret Pal goodies

A week ago I received my first Secret Pal 12 package. I can't believe that it took me so long to post about it....I am such a slacker. The package was loaded with yarn goodies. My pal has really spoiled me. Here is a picture of all the yarn he/she sent!


He/She did a great job picking my favorite colors. I have used the green tweed before to make my Alan Dart Gnome. It has such a great texture. I think I am going to use these to make some more Alan Dart toys. He has a great traditional bear pattern for sale on his website. I think the green tweed would make a great sweater for that bear. My pal also sent a mini package to me a couple of weeks ago (again...slacker). The wonderful journal and card at the bottom of this picture were in that package.

My favorite item in the latest package was this!

A TY Beanie Baby turkey. I love it! The tail feathers actually stay up on their own which is pretty cool. My pal has been great to me. THANK YOU whoever you are!

The SP question this week asks, "What is your favorite type of project to take along on vacation?". For me this depends on where I am going, and who I am going with. I almost always have a sock project on me, but I also like to take scarves to work on. I don't like to take anything that requires a lot of counting or charts because it limits how much I can participate in conversations. :)

Feelin' HOT HOT HOT!

I know that since I live in Florida I shouldn't be at all shocked that it is extremely hot. But my goodness, it is really really hot. Yucky and sticky hot. I went to my LYS yesterday, and I left my house at 10am. It was already almost 90 degrees outside. It is so bad this time of year that we cannot even take the dogs to the dog park. They get so overheated. Every summer I daydream about moving to a cooler climate, but I know that in the winter I would probably regret that decision. Oh well, that is why we all have air conditioners right?!? It would be a perfect time to take a great vacation to Ireland. It is about 60 degrees in the middle of the day right now. I would love to go there. It is my dream vacation spot.

So what do I choose to knit in the middle of the summer? An wool afghan of course, but I am almost done. It is growing steadily, and it should be finished by tomorrow. Every time I work on it I sit in front of a fan, and I mostly work on it in the evening when the house cools off. I took it with me to my husband's office a few days ago to knit while he finished up some stuff. I took some pictures on his conference table. Here is a decent shot of my progress as of Monday.

I am really in love with this project. The pattern is simple but engaging, and the Malabrigo is just a dream. I am really excited to see what it looks like off the needles. Where, oh where am I going to block this thing?

My blog turned one year old over the holiday weekend. I cannot believe it has been a year since I started Minerva Turkey! I guess time really does fly when you're having fun (or getting old). I have met so many wonderful people through blogging, and I have made some great friends. It has given me a way to keep in touch with friends and family, and ways to explore my knitting. Thank you everyone who has stopped by, come back, commented, and become a part of my daily life through your blogs. I hope that the next year is even better, and I have some plans for some changes in the nuts and bolts of my blog in the next few months. Nothing huge, just a little face lift.

My husband got me a new DSLR Olympus E510 to celebrate my blogaversary. He is so sweet, and he knows that I am interested in improving my photography skills. I have so much to learn, but I already absolutely love it. The pictures are so much clearer, and I don't think I will have to rely on my lightbox set up as much. I am really excited, and honestly a bit intimidated. Here is the case we bought to keep it safe from the elements.


This picture is at my hubby's office too, and I can't believe that the light looks decent. This is taken with the fluorescent lights on, and with my old camera it would have looked yellow. I know it isn't a great photo, but it is a start. I am going to try and learn at least one new feature each week.

Stay cool out there, and knit in the A/C. :)

Mmm Malabrigo

I have been in a knitting funk lately. I've been working on projects, but not really loving any of them. I have been battling one project in particular (all my friends from my LYS know what I'm talking about), and finally gave up last week. I started the same project at least 5 times with different yarns, and none of them worked. Very frustrating! Once I find a solution I will share the details. But for right now, I have to push it out of my mind.

So I decided to put that evil project aside for a while, and start something new. I have been in love with the Hemlock pattern for a while now, and I have seen some lovely ones made with Malabrigo on Ravelry. So when The Loopy Ewe restocked Malabrigo a couple of weeks ago I snatched up 6 skeins in Mint. This is my first project with Malabrigo, and I cannot believe I waited so long to try it. It is scrumptious, and it was the perfect yarn/project combo to get me out of my funk.

It feels so good to love a project again. I am having so much fun with this, and I have made much more progress than in the picture above. I will share more pics later in the week.

My friend Barbara suggested that I use two circulars for this project, and I am so happy that she did. It makes it so much easier to work on, and I can see my progress much better. I am using size 10 needles, and I am very happy with the texture the 10s create. Barbara has also cast on a Hemlock using Cascade Superwash in a lovely taupe shade. I cannot wait to see how hers is turning out.

Oy Update
Oy is doing quite well, and I am very proud to say he is using his litter box successfully! This is a big deal when it comes to keeping his cage clean and fresh each day. He is so smart and playful, and we absolutely adore him. We have discovered that he doesn't like eggs, but he loves apple. He also hates baths, and I mean hate. He gets completely panicked, but hopefully he will grow out of that. Here is my favorite picture of him from the last couple of days.


This is his new sleeping bag, isn't it cute! I purchased it from ellencho on Etsy. It is very well made and very snuggly. Oy loves it. I am posting some more pictures of Oy on my Flickr page, so come on over for some cuteness.