Summer Squares Take Eleven...and then some

So I missed Take Ten. Don't yell at me...but this is The Summer Squares Project's eleventh week, and I am trying to be consistent. I got some modestly improved Dark Star photos. My model has been on strike (holding out for a better compensation package, possibly) and these were the only shots that she allowed me to post. Eventually I will have more and better pictures! Until then, you can get a pretty good sense of the project.

This shows the DarkStar Square...

And this shows the MoonShine Square...

And this shows the Beaded Belt Square along with a good detail shot of the border and edging.

I have a ton of knitting (and more than a ton of housework) to do, but I just had to take some time to make sweet and spicy pickled peppers. I love these and now I have enough to last about a year, as long as I don't give any away. I used hot cherry peppers, some jalapenos, some serranos and a few others that I don't know the names of. I know they are spicy because they made my face burn when I was cutting them. Yummmm.

And I have some new socks cooking, in preparation for a workshop I am teaching later this month. I am pleased with them, despite the mediocre picture.

I also have some new fiber in my queue. This is a merino and silk blend that I dyed and shared with a few friends. We are going to spin the fiber and use a scarf pattern I have gestating to each make our self a scarf. The group of us are all over the country. I am eager to see how each of us spins and knits this project. Expect to see more about over the next few months.

Finally, I have several other new knitting projects to share with you but first we have to wrap-up our Summer Squares work. I posted the Dark Star border chart this week and have the edging to post next week, and the blanket finishing right after that. Whew! I better get back to my knitting needles...so until next week, knit on!

What I did on my summer vacation...

Consider this post a postcard...and start with "Wish you were here."

We went to visit family in Greece. We have been there before, but this time we decided to take in some of the sites. BadKitten is all about ancient Greece and loves languages (especially the ones people don't speak anymore...) We flew into Athens, rented a car and hit the road.

Because I have some serious jet lag going on, I have been up since 4am getting all sorts of things done. I already got the next chart for Dark Star posted at the Summer Squares group, I have a new piece I knit (a traveling project) blocking, and I am on my fourth load of laundry! The sunset is from a ferry traveling from the mainland to Lefkimi, on the island of Corfu.

Here is a darling hummingbird who visited my father-in-law's yard in Lefkimi every day we were there.

And here I am, knitting in Athens. As long as I have the correct projects with me I can knit any time and any place...

The food is very good in Greece. Did you know that? Here you can see a lovely salad (that Kitten and I made...)
Here are some lovely lentils that Aunt Lenio made. She gave us a cooking lesson, so now we can cook like her at home. We wrote her technique down plus took some pictures, because she never measures anything...

Here is a very pretty shop in the old part of Corfu Town. I didn't get anything, but I love how all of it looks.

We got these funky little shrimp (if you look closely you can see fingers in the picture for a size check) at a Taverna on a bluff not far from Lefkimi. The food is great but the view is better.

Like I said, the view is better...

We took a ride on a small motor boat from near Lefkimi to a pretty harbor on the mainland.

We drove all over and visited Delphi to check in with the Oracle. It was very cool. Hot, but cool.

We also visited the Oracle of the Dead, which is also very interesting and cool. Again, hot but cool...

And we went to the Acropolis. It was hot, cool and crowded! The new museum opened and it is amazing. I suggest you check it out if you are in Athens. And so you don't think I neglected my stash, let us start with yarn...and there was not too much to be had. I know there is a yarn shop (one) in Athens. I didn't have time to go there. I heard rumor there was one yarn shop in Corfu Town. I tried to find it, but could not...and guess what? I found yarn around the corner from my father-in-law's house in Lefkimi!

So if you are in Lefkimi, stand on the bridge in the center of the old part of town and look down the river toward the sea. Turn right and cross the street, walking straight down the only road you see. In one block you will see this:

This shop has fabric, "dry goods" and YARN! They had some Italian acrylic that BadKitten just loves. She got a bunch and has been crocheting hats and fingerless gloves. They had an excellent selection of fine cottons, but only in white and ecru. I got some nice cotton.

A German family who vacations every year at Aunt Lenio's beach cottages knew we were coming and brought me two balls of this very nice cotton. They know me...
And this is the cotton I bought at the little store in Lefkimi.

At the Acropolis Museum they had the most lovely display of spindle whorls. They were gorgeous and so well preserved! As I looked at them I plotted how I might have one for myself. Surely they have many more than they need, as you can see in the postcard...
And would you believe it!? At the gift shop they had handmade reproductions. The reproductions were each unique and I picked one out for myself! Above is the top view and below is the side view.

And finally, everyone knows you can find beads in Athens, but did you know there is a nice, little bead shop in Corfu Town? Neither did I. Here is the address (in English and also in Greek below.)

I bought some vintage seed beads (European) in something about a 10/0 (green luster) and something like a 6/0 (mat blue.) I also got some little eyes and some shell beads that are hard to see.

Now I have to finish my laundry and take a nap. I will be back soon with cheesecake pictures of Dark Star. Until then, knit on!