Another Shawl

I'm exactly halfway through first chart of Seraphim -- still mostly stockinette, with the occasional k2tog/yo (or yo/ssk) thrown in. Chart 2 is where the real lace begins! Just in time, Mim has issued a new set of charts, with alternate chart rows shaded and numbered. Hurray -- and thanks, Mim!

In sock news..... well, the Lucky Stripes sock is in time-out. I think I love this yarn so much that no pattern seems to be perfect!

To distract me from sock failure, I went out today and bought the giganto-humungoid needles (sizes 19 and 35) needed for the Feza Tango*-garter stitch shawl my friend admired in Phoenix. I think it might be easier to knit with 2x4s and barbed wire (a.k.a., 'bob wahr' where I come from), but I keep telling myself it will go fast once I get used to it!!!

My other adventure for today was making a batch of Strawberry Freezer Jam. I do this maybe every 5 years, and I really should do it more often -- it's so yummy and so easy! Hints:
(1) just use the recipe that comes inside the Surejell package (powder, not liquid). It's here, too.
(2) a pound of strawberries comes to exactly 2 cups of crushed berries, if you don't have to throw too many out. (Most recipes give you amounts needed in quarts, but my grocery store seems to now sell strawberries packaged by the pound.)
(3) use a potato masher or a big fork to crush the berries -- your Cuisinart will do too good of a job.

And finally, stop by MyLittleLambz and say hi to a brand-new knitblogger!

* Feza's a Turkish company -- you can explore their website in Turkish, Russian, or U.S. English!