Yarn Over Murder (A Knitting Mystery) (20 page)

“If I’m not mistaken, your client Arthur Housemann might have had something to do with that. Didn’t you say he mentioned alerting Dennis’s friends in the canyon about his predicament?”

“Yes, he did. As Dennis’s neighbor, he’d gotten to know him and like him. Arthur was really upset with what had happened to Dennis.”

“Apparently, Housemann has also offered to pay Dennis’s mortgage for him so he won’t lose his home in the canyon while he’s serving his sentence. And, Dan said Housemann also mentioned he’s pretty sure he can find Dennis steady work doing repairs on some of his rental properties once he’s released.”

Kelly’s smile spread inside this time. “Well, how about that? It’s time Dennis had a break or two. Arthur mentioned he’s helped out others in the past who’ve needed a helping hand. That old sweetie. I’m going to bake him some of Aunt Helen’s gingersnap cookies for a gift. He loves them.”

Burt stopped in his tracks. “In
July
! Good Lord, Kelly! It’s still in the upper nineties back in town. You’ll swelter in that kitchen!”

“Hmm, good point,” Kelly said, staring off toward the mountains in the distance. “Maybe I’ll sit outside with Carl in the shade of the cottonwood trees while they’re baking.”

Burt and Kelly both laughed out loud as they continued to walk through the pasture of dry grass. No burned patches over here either. Small blessings were everywhere.

Canyon Pullover

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS IN INCHES:

*Length is easily adjusted between the bottom edge of the sweater and the armhole.

MATERIALS:

Heavy worsted weight yarn or any combination of yarns to obtain gauge.

NEEDLES:

US Size 7—double-pointed needles (for neck and sleeve ribbing)

US Size 7—32-inch circular needle (for ribbing)

US Size 8—double-pointed needles (for sleeves)

US Size 8—16-inch circular needle (for sleeves)

US Size 8—32-inch circular needle (or size necessary to obtain gauge)

ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES:

Stitch holders

Tapestry needle

GAUGE:

3.5 sts = 1 inch

INSTRUCTIONS:

Body:

With 32-inch US Size 7 needle, CO 126 (140, 154, 168) sts. Join in a circle being careful not to twist the sts. Work in k1, p1 ribbing for 2".

Change to larger needles and continue in st st until body measures 13" or desired length from the beginning to the armhole. Split the work by placing half the sts on a holder or piece of scrap yarn. Work back and forth in st st.

Back:

Continue working in st st until armhole measures 9 (9, 9¾, 9¾) inches. Work 23 (26, 29, 32) sts. BO the center 17 (18, 19, 20) sts, and work to the end of row. Place remaining shoulder sts on holders 23 (26, 29, 32). Leave a long enough length of yarn to knit the shoulders sts together.

Front:

Place front sts on a needle and work the front same as back until front measures 6 (6½, 6½, 7½) inches.

Shape neck:
Row one (RS): Work 28 (31, 34, 37) sts, BO next 7 (8, 9, 10) sts. The bind off area designates neck edge. Work to the end of row 28 (31, 34, 37) sts.

Row two (WS):
Work to neck edge. Drop yarn and join a second ball of yarn after the BO sts. BO 2 sts at this side of neck edge; complete row.

Row three (RS):
Work to neck edge. Drop yarn. BO 2 sts at opposite neck edge, using second strand of yarn. Work to end of row. 26 (29, 32, 35) sts remain on each shoulder.

Continue in this manner, binding off one stitch at each side of neck edge, 3 times; 23 (26, 29, 32) sts remain on each shoulder. Continue until the front measures the same as the back.

Join Shoulders:

Turn the garment wrong side out and join the shoulders with three needle bind-off as follows: Place the back shoulder sts on one end of the needle and the front sts on the other end. Hold the two ends of the needle together and with a spare US size 8 needle, knit one st from the front needle and one from the back needle together, k the second st from front and back. Pass first st over second. Continue until all sts are bound off from both ends of the circular needle.

Sleeves:

With the 16-inch US size 8 needle, pick-up 72 (72, 78, 78) sts evenly around armhole opening. Knit every round. Place a marker on either side of the center st at the underarm. Knit 5 rnds. Continue in pattern, decreasing 1 st each side of the markers every 4th row 20 (20, 21, 21) times. Switch to double-pointed needles when sleeve is too small for the circular needle. [32 (32, 36, 36) sts remain].

Neckline:

With the right side facing, use the 16-inch needle, begin at the right shoulder, pick-up sts evenly, skipping every 4th st, around the neckline. A larger or smaller neckline can be created by picking up more or fewer sts. Work in ribbing for 1½". This neckline can easily be altered to make a turtle neck by working neckline in st st, or by extending the ribbing.

Wash in cool water with Lambspun Herbal Magic, dry flat, enjoy!

Pattern courtesy of Lambspun of Colorado, Fort Collins, Colorado. Designed for Lambspun by Laura Macagno-Shang.

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

½ cup butter

2 squares (2 ounces) unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ all-purpose flour

½ cup chopped nuts

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla, then beat with fork until combined. Stir in flour and nuts. Spread batter into a greased 8" x 8" square baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes, then cool on wire rack.