I checked the administration building and made sure everyone was getting checked out okay. CeeCee was at the desk, making arrangements to extend her stay. She was glad to be away from the paparazzi and said she’d finish putting the blanket together and make sure it got delivered. She said it was the least she could do.
When I was sure everything was under control, I met Barry on the deck and he followed me up to my room. When he saw the narrow beds and Spartan surroundings, he laughed. “Maybe we couldn’t have worked things out after all.” I packed up my things and we loaded them, along with the boxes of crochet supplies, into his Tahoe. I stopped to pick up the registration stuff from the administration building and put it in the SUV, too.
Adele had all the supplies and things she’d brought up gathered together by the main driveway. Commander brought over some of the things he’d had shipped up, too. Dinah was with him. She winked at me when she saw Barry before getting into a cab for the airport with Adele, Sheila and Commander.
We still didn’t know what the prognosis would be for Adele’s car. I’d called Mrs. Shedd to fill her in on the end of the weekend. Though I knew she was back from the cruise, I’d just gotten her voice mail. My message had been so long, it beeped off before I finished. With everything going on, I’d missed her call back. Her message was short and made my stomach churn.
“Molly, I’ve thought long and hard all during the weekend about the future of the bookstore. My decision isn’t the kind of thing to be left as a message. We’ll talk in person when you get back.”
What did that mean?
Great, my list of things to deal with when I got home had just gotten longer. On top of my son moving back home, and the two cats, there was now uncertainty about my job.
Mason came out pulling his duffle bag and saw the pile of stuff. “I guess you won’t be needing a ride after all. What about all of this?”
I felt funny asking Mason to haul everything if I wasn’t going in his car, so I looked at Barry and he shrugged a yes and started to load up the Tahoe.
Mason stepped close to me. “It was a memorable weekend.”
I thanked him for everything, and hugged him. Barry was busy arranging all the extra stuff in the Tahoe as Mason went on to his rental Explorer.
Other retreaters were getting in their cars and leaving, or heading for the airport in cabs. I took one last look around the weathered buildings of Asilomar and climbed in the front seat of the Tahoe. Barry got in his side and started the motor, but before he could put the car in gear, Mason ran in front of the hood, waving his arms.
Barry stuck his head out the window. “Is something wrong?”
“The motor won’t turn over on the Explorer,” Mason said. “The rental place is coming to pick it up, but they can’t guarantee when they can get me a replacement. So I’m kind of stranded. I was hoping I could hitch a ride back to Tarzana with you.”
“What about flying back?”
“Not an option. All the flights are booked up.” Did I detect the glint of a smile in Mason’s eyes?
Barry was unmoved. “You could call another rental company.”
Mason was unmoved, too. “I already tried. Would you believe there isn’t a car available in the area?”
Barry blew his breath out, clearly not pleased with the way this was going, and I don’t think he exactly believed Mason. “How about I try calling for you? I bet I can find an available car.” Barry locked eyes with Mason. Mason pulled out his cell phone and reached out to hand it to Barry, calling his bluff.
“Never mind. Get in,” Barry grunted in capitulation. Mason was definitely smiling as he went for his things.
“You must be tired from driving up here,” Mason said after he loaded his duffel bag in the back. “I’d be happy to drive.”
“No worries, pal, I have it covered,” Barry said with gritted teeth as he put the SUV in gear.
As we drove out the gate of Asilomar, Mason leaned against my seat and showed me the hook and yarn he still had from Izabelle’s workshop. “Maybe on the way back you could show me how to crochet,” he said. “I’d like to make a dog sweater for Spike. Of course, I’ll need your help.”
I watched Barry clench his jaw and I knew what he was thinking. Mason fought dirty.
It was going to be a long ride home.
All-Purpose Pouch Purse
EASY TO MAKE
Using the J hook and Red Heart Designer Sport yarn, chain 16.
Row 1: Single crochet in the second chain from the hook and across. 15 single crochet stitches made. Chain 1 and turn.
Row 2: Single crochet in the first stitch and across. 15 single crochet stitches made. Chain 1 and turn.
Repeat row 2 twenty-two more times. On the last row do not chain one or turn; instead, finish off.
Make two pieces with above directions. Place them together, right sides facing out. Join pieces by attaching yarn with a slip stitch on the top left side. Working through both thicknesses, do a single crochet in the same stitch and continue single crocheting down the side. At the corner do 3 single crochets and then continue single crocheting along the bottom. At the next corner do 3 single crochets, then continue single crocheting up the other side. Add an extra single crochet on the top stitch. Do not finish off. Chain 120 for the handle and, being careful not to twist the chains, connect to the other side with a slip stitch. Do not finish off.
EDGING
Beginning with the first stitch of the body of the bag, start the picot stitch *(chain 3, single crochet in the third chain from the hook, single crochet in the next 2 single crochets)* Repeat from *to* around the body of the bag. Do not finish off; instead, continue and make a single crochet in each of the handle’s chain stitches. End with slip stitch in the first stitch in the body. Finish off. Weave in ends.
SIX-PETALED FLOWER
With the H hook and Bernat Glow in the Dark yarn chain 10 and join with a slip stitch.
Round 1: Chain 1 and do 18 single crochets in the ring. (Mark the first single crochet with safety pin or stitch marker.) Slip stitch to marked first single crochet.
Round 2: Chain 1, single crochet in the marked stitch from the previous round, * chain 3, skip the next two single crochets, and single crochet in the next single crochet. *Repeat *to* 4 times. Chain 3 and slip stitch into first single crochet.
Round 3: Slip stitch to move the yarn to the next chain 3 space *(single crochet, double crochet, double crochet. Triple crochet, double crochet, double crochet, single crochet).* Repeat *to* in the 5 chain 3 spaces for the petals. End with slip stitch to first single crochet. Fasten off. Weave in ends.
Tack flower or flowers to front of pouch purse.
Flowers can also be attached to pin backings and worn as a pin.
Note: Flower can also be made in Red Heart Designer Sport yarn.
Adele’s Marshmallow Stitch
Using a P hook (11.50 mm) and white Red Heart Baby Clouds yarn, yarn over and put hook through chain stitch, pull yarn back through, yarn over, go through 2 loops on the hook, which leaves 2 loops on the hook; yarn over, go through stitch, pull yarn back through, yarn over, go through 2 loops on hook; which leaves 3 loops on hook; yarn over, go through stitch, pull yarn through, yarn over, go through 2 loops on hook, which leaves 4 loops on hook; yarn over, go through stitch, pull yarn through, yarn over, go through 2 loops, which leaves 5 loops on hook; pull yarn through all 5 loops. Chain 1.
Note: Adele is still trying to figure what to do with the stitch.
Commander Blaine’s Savory and Sweet Mini Cream Puffs
½ cup butter
1 cup milk
1 cup bread flour
4 large eggs at room temperature, unbeaten
Put butter and milk in a heavy saucepan and bring to boil. Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture no longer sticks to the side of the pan. Remove from heat and cool ten minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating with the wooden spoon until the egg is completely mixed in.
Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a buttered cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes, until the puffs are golden. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut off tops, fill and replace tops. Makes about 30 appetizer-size puffs.
Filling
SAVORY
8 ounces of sour cream
3.5 ounce jar of black lumpfish caviar or 15 kalamata olives, finely chopped
Place approximately 1 tablespoon sour cream in puffs and garnish with approximately ⅓ teaspoon caviar or 1 chopped olive. Replace the top of the puff. Makes about 15 savory cream puffs.
Other savory options: ham, cheese, lox and cream cheese, creamed spinach, crab salad, egg salad, chicken salad.
SWEET
8 ounces whipping cream, whipped
About 15 strawberries sliced thin
Place about 1 strawberry in puff with about 2 tablespoons of whipped cream on top. Replace the top of the puff. Makes about 15 sweet cream puffs.
Other sweet options: pudding or custard, other kinds of fruit, ice cream
Classic S’mores
For one s’more:
2 graham cracker halves
2 large marshmallows
2 blocks of milk chocolate about the size of the graham cracker halves
Place chocolate on graham cracker halves. Roast marshmallows so they are golden on the outside and molten on the inside. Put roasted marshmallows on the graham cracker half and chocolate combination, place the other graham cracker and chocolate on top. Squeeze gently so the heat of the marshmallows melts the chocolate.
A CROCHET MYSTERY FROM
Betty Hechtman
BY HOOK OR BY CROOK
Meet the happy crafter who believes every mystery should be unraveled ...
Molly Pink’s crochet group has a new mystery on their hands when they find a paper bag with a note that speaks of remorse, a diary entry on the sorrow of parting, and a complicated piece of filet crochet that offers an obscure clue in pictures. They immediately set out to find the owner of the bag, but things get even more complicated when they find the talented crocheter-murdered by a box of poisoned marzipan apples. Now they must pick up the stitches before a killer creates a deadly pattern.
NOW AVAILABLE IN ONE VOLUME
Sew Far, So Good
Three Needlecraft Mysteries From USA Today Bestselling Author
MONICA FERRIS
Crewel World needlework shop owner and part-time sleuth Betsy Devonshire has a knack for stumbling upon dead bodies—and it’s entangled her in more than one knotty situation. Here in one volume are three of Betsy’s adventures as a not-so-seamless investigator.
Unraveled ,Sleeve
A Murderous Yarn
Hanging by a Thread
Free needlework patterns included!
New in the “terrific Knitting Mysteries from national bestselling author
Maggie Sefton
Dropped Dead stitch
A KNITTING MYSTERY
Kelly’s friend Jennifer is a top-notch knitter—and a bit of a party girl. But she’s always stayed one step ahead of trouble, until the night a stranger follows her home. As Jennifer recovers from the encounter, she leans on Kelly and her close-knit group of friends for support.
A ranch retreat in the mountains, stitching and talking, is exactly what Jennifer and the gang need. But they’re all in for a shock—because the owner of the ranch turns out to be Jennifer’s attacker. When the man is found dead a few days later, Jennifer is the most likely suspect. Now, Kelly has to pick up the stitches before things get out of hand.
*The Mystery Reader
A Stitch in Crime Page 23
