The Summer Squares Take Six: Adding Beads...

Happy weekend! We are at the half-way point of our Summer Squares Project, and this week brings us to our 6th square and the 3rd square in The Blue Quartet. Our square this week? The Viola... What did you expect? Again, this is from the series of blocking photos, still wet and with ends hanging out. Don't mind the noise.

There is a technique video at the end of the post, but I though I would distract you first with some food. I made dinner last night for my parents, and (as almost never happens) it was just us adults! My mom had given us a cookbook last year which has some excellent ideas. The book is Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics. I highly recommend it. First course: Chilled Cucumber Soup with Shrimp. The recipe calls for dill but the dill I got tasted horrible, so I swapped it for mint from my garden. Really yum.
Next I made a salad. The Contessa has a similar idea using butternut squash, which I could not get. Instead I roasted some fancy carrots. The walnuts were soak in a maple sauce before I roast them. Double yum.

Again, a modified recipe from The Contessa for Roast Pork Loin. I added some mango juice to her marinade, because I had it in the fridge. As some of you know, we rarely eat meat because Bad Kitten is a vegetarian and I can only put one dinner on the table. When the Kitten is away...triple yum on a rare occasion!

Finally, I had some local pickle cukes so I made these fresh pickles using red onions, dill and cider vinegar. They filled out the meal perfectly.

Now that you are totally distracted by food, I give you my video for the week. As my usual camera Kitten is away, I had to impose on the local Tom Cat to help me out. Compound that by a cold and you have my video on adding beads using a crochet hook. We have not used any beads in our summer project to date, but that will change. I think you might imagine a little Brooklyn, but I am not totally sure. I was focusing on not dropping stitches while my camera guy was learning the ropes. Let me know if you can hear it...you know who you are.

The piece in the video is coming up in two weeks on The Summer Squares Project, in case you are wondering. I think you will like it. Before that, we have the last square in The Blue Quartet to get to next week (not to mention a border and an edging!) I told you I would keep you busy. Though we are at the half-way mark there is still time for you to join, so get all the details here and email me with questions.

Until next week, knit on!