This weekend was lovely. It was cold and dreary and I was still recovering from a fairly nasty cold, but it was lovely all the same.

A dear friend of mine came into town to spend a day with us. We had cocktails Friday night and had a deliciously lazy Saturday. We made french toast, took a long walk, and played scrabble all afternoon. Perfectly lovely.

Sunday morning, I slept in for the first time in weeks and weeks. I woke up refreshed and ready to finally finish my Fairyhill shawl. I only had a few rows to go and finished the knitting over coffee. The bind off, simple as it was, took me forever! I’m not particularly fast at anything, and binding off 399 stitches is a job for me.

I finished the binding off and settled in to weave in the ends on the shawl–4–and the ends on Joshua’s first birthday sock–around 20. Still, I actually like weaving in so it wasn’t too bad.

Once those were done, I set in to block the shawl and start the second sock. I used to be pretty bad about putting those things off–second socks, weaving in ends, blocking. But I find that I have the most gusto for those steps as soon as they are called for, so I try to go for the finishing immediately.

To finish off the weekend, I made an amazing cocktail last night. I’ve been doing a bit of research on how to recreate the delicious cocktail I had in San Jose, the Last Word. I seem to be doing a fine job of it, as Kevin is definitely a fan.

All in all, it’s a simple cocktail. Only four ingredients, mixed in equal parts. Two of those ingredients are rather special: green chartreuse, a very herby liqueur, and maraschino liqueur, which is surprisingly un-sweet. They blend with gin and lime to give a flavor both light and deep. On a side note, did you know that the color chartreuse is named for the liqueur?

If you would like to give it a try, combine ¾ ounce each gin, green chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and fresh squeezed lime juice. Shake very well and serve in a chilled cocktail glass. Cheers!

YoM day 139: Shawl knitting

YoM day 140: Shawl knitting

YoM day 142: Sock and shawl knitting, finished Fairyhill shawl!

Happy making!