Oh, hi... have some cheesecake

You thought I forgot about you, right? I didn't... I've just had other things going on. Most of them are definitely not as enjoyable as blogging, but the rest of the things have been crafting, so of course they're super fun and I can't wait to get home from work each day so I can craft. Wanna see?

I made some hats
I knit the purple one first, for a swap, and I loved it so much (despite having a hell of a time getting started) that I knit the white one for myself. It fits well and is cute, but is kind of worthless on a windy evening.

I made a pair of gumdrop wreaths for the Wadsworth Tree Festival in Hartford, CT, shown ehere on either side of the large wreath.
That was fun, I made them exactly like last years, but sprayed them with 5-6 coats of acrylic sealant spray (stinky, stinky) and after the final coat, sprinkled them in white Martha Stewart glitter. I'm now making more and more- we'll hang last year's (which didn't last all that well without being sprayed, but are good enough for another month) and I have given and will give more as Christmas gifts.

I made a cheesecake. Little known fact- I hate cheesecake. Like, gag, it's nasty. This is kind of unfortunate, because I used to love it, and it's because of a sad association with an illness. However, I used to spend many, many calories on cheesecake, which I no longer do, so I'm viewing this as a positive diet change. So why did I make a cheesecake?

I have no idea. Plus, it was for a party.

Now, since it was for a party, and at this party I had no camera (this party was the post-concert reception of my choir's Boar's Head Festival, which was rather awesome), so I can't show you how pretty it was. Fortunately, the blogger I got it from has a lovely picture, so just go see hers.

Savory Cheesecake with Onion Pear Compote
taken from Josie at Pink Parsley

3 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened (I used neufchatel cheese)
8oz blue cheese, crumbled
6oz parmesean cheese, grated
4 eggs
1/4 cup cream (I used fat free 1/2&1/2)
1/4t black pepper

Beat the cheeses together until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the cream and pepper. Pour mixture into a greased 9inch springform pan wrapped in foil so that the water from the water bath doesn't seep in to the pan, and bake in a water bath for 45-50 minutes at 350F, until the middle is not quite set and the edges are slightly brown.

Chill overnight, then remove the sides of the springform pan and serve on the bottom of the sprinform pan, topping with the compote.

I know there are tricks to get it to not crack, but.... I wouldn't worry too much. You're going to cover it with the following compote, which will cover up any imperfections.

Onion Pear Compote
4 cups onions, chopped
2t olive oil
2 cups pears, peeled and chopped (about 2 pears)
2T vinegar (recipe says pear or raspberry vinegar, but I just used balsamic, which was good)
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 t salt
pinch cayenne (I omitted, not knowing the preferences of the guests at the party)

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onions and cook over medium until softened, then reduce heat and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the pears, vinegar, sugar, salt and cayenne and cook until pears are soft (about 20 min more). Note: here the recipe says to then remove the onions and pears and reduce the liquid in the pan til it's thick, but I didn't actually have any liquid in the pan, so I skipped this.)

I tried some of this, and even though it's savory and lovely and blue cheesey, it's still cheesecake. The compote was good enough to disguise that on my second bite, but... I can't do cheesecake. Everyone else loved it, though!

I know, I know, why did I bring a dish I hate? It caught my eye, that's all I can say.

Beach knitting

I always tell people I write a cooking and crafting blog, and even though I knit just as much (if not more) than I cook, my readers would never know it. I've just returned from 5 lovely, lazy days at the beach, where I did nothing but knit, walk on the beach, swim, and eat. It was perfect.

I finished a pair of knee socks I began in April. I knit these because I love vickilicious' pair. These are "evening stockings for a young woman", from Knitting Vintage Socks, by Nancy Bush. I used size 1 needles and Gloss yarn in Winter Night from Knitpicks.

I immediately began a pair of socks for Clint. These are "Gentleman's Shooting Stockings", also from the Vintage Socks book. I'm using size 0 harmony wood dpns and Bamboo and Ewe from Joann's.

I actually finished the first sock last night, and started the second.  That's one sock per week.

I recently sent a red-themed swap package to a girl in Arkansas. She's a crocheter, and said in her questionnaire that she loves knitted socks, but can't knit herself. I thought, pah, I can never knit a pair of socks in time. Then I noticed on my questionnaire that I went on and on and on about how I love knitting socks, and I hardly knit anything else. I'm sure the swap coordinator paired us up for the socks! So I knit her anklets (and yes, I finished in plenty of time- she could have gotten full length socks, sigh).

I'm going away on a trip at the end of the week, so I'm trying to gather up enough knitting projects to get me through a one hour flight, a 5 hour flight, a 2 hour flight, all of the associated airport waiting and layovers, an hour bus/train (haven't decided yet) ride, and 5 full days in the car as we drive all over the midwest and back to the northeast. I think 3 pairs of socks should be sufficient.

I hope to use the pink and yellow yarn from this recent swap package for one pair, but I'm still deciding on patterns. I will likely knit at least one more pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks, but I want to use plainer yarns for those. I have some research to do before we leave.

A productive Ravelympics evening

I finished 2 of my Ravelympics projects! Now I have a total of 4 finishes: frogging the pink sweater, reknitting the pink sweater, and these two.

Baby sweater:


And neckwarmer for a swap:

A navy elbow-length sleeved sweater and a pair of socks for Clint still remain. I believe I stand a chance of finishing the sweater- if I knit fast.

Today I also baked more Swedish cardamom bread. Interesting discovery: if I wake up the yeast during breakfast, let the dough rise 8 hrs while I'm at work, and let the shaped loaves rise during dinner, I can have fresh-from-the-oven bread for dessert. This is extremely convenient- and probably means we'll never purchase bread again.


Now to calculate the cost efficiency of homemade bread- but I'm sure the taste is worth the money.

Knitting Olympics Update

I don't think I've really mentioned it much here, but I'm involved in the Ravelympics (knitting Olympics) this year. Basically, you enter projects (however many, and whatever type you choose) and you must start them no earlier than the beginning of the opening ceremonies, and finish them by the end of the closing ceremonies. I participated in the 2008 summer Olympics (knit my garter), but never officially finished. This year I actually joined a team and having the support of a group of people, even though it's all online, has been a lot more helpful- or maybe I've finally figured out how it all works.

Originally, I was going to focus on a pair of socks for Clint, for the "sock hockey" event. Then I discovered WIPs Dancing- finish all your unfinished "works in progress", as long as you haven't worked on them for a month prior to the opening ceremonies. Do you know how many unfinished sweaters I have in my yarn tubs?

Originally I was going to finish Dogwood Donna, a pink shortsleeved sweater I began in 2007, made the wrong size, "frogged" (ripped apart), knit again, screwed up the ribbing, and started over- then got too sick of it- it's actually a rather boring pattern. I was also going to work on what I call my "Stupid Berroco Sweater", a pattern by Berroco (a yarn brand) that sorely needed editing before they published it. I knit according to the directions, couldn't figure out why the shoulders were completely wrong (more like a halter top), but then someone told me what the fix was- only I was so disgusted I never bothered to do it.

So here's Donna, before and after.

I don't have a full picture of the stupid berroco sweater, because.... I can't find it! Another casualty of the move (note how heart-broken I am, ha)

But while digging around in my yarn tub, I found other forgotten WIPs:

Papillion (from Winter 2007 Knitescene), an elbow-length sleeved boatneck sweater- I knit the front, realized it was way too big, so reknit the front and knit maybe 2 rows of the back, before giving up (the smaller piece is the piece I'm taking apart, because it was too wide)

Baby sweater for baby P: started on the honeymoon, then when we got home, I finished the body of it, got excited by my new sock yarn, and kind of forgot to knit the sleeves and hat. I currently just need to knit the hat, and sew on 6 buttons.

I found a couple other things that technically are unfinished, but one is a sock using a pattern that is both annoying/confusing to follow, and horribly boring, and the other only has 4 rows knit, and uses a yarn that I can't easily buy (unless I go online) and will be rather expense to purchase right now.

And I also realized I need to knit something for a swap I'm in, and finally decided what to make this girl: a neckwarmer. So I have the ingredients for it, and will hopefully start tonight (once I finish the baby hat). I still haven't officially entered this project yet, but I will before I start it.
This leaves the pair of socks for Clint: originally my only Ravelympics project. I suppose you either think I don't sleep or am a knitting phenom, but really... I'm going to forfeit Clint's sock. I feel bad, but I knit for 4 or 5 hours yesterday (during a CTDAR state board meeting, and did not get in trouble, like I was sure I would) and got this much done, on the first sock.
I'm about halfway done with the leg. These are not speedy socks. The current plan is to finish everything above, then work solely on the socks, and just see how far I can get. Maybe I can get one done.

Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked bread

My favorite thing about baking bread is not only the smell of the bread baking, but the smell that lingers, so that when you come home from work the next day, your home still smells like a bakery. Fortunately for me, I have entered my 2 most recent dwellings through the kitchen, where the smell is the strongest.

I don't bake bread often. I really love doing it, but because it takes so long (even if all the time is just spent waiting), I can never seem to fit bread into my schedule. So this weekend, when my husband and I decided to be an old, boring married couple and do nothing, I decided I'd jump on this and bake some bread.

Originally, I'd planned to make Smitten Kitchen's recent Rye Bread blog post (because really, rye toast with berry jelly is one of my favorite breakfasts), but I didn't have any rye flour. So I went on King Arthur Flour and browsed until I came up with cinnamon raisin oatmeal bread.

I made myself some coffee and got started.

I combined 1/2 stick of butter with 1.5 cups of milk in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat and melted, while I made myself breakfast. Once it just barely started to bubble, I added about 1.25cups raisins, 1cup oatmeal, and 1/2cup brown sugar and stirred to combine.

I also combined 1T yeast, 1T brown sugar and 1/2cup warm water in a bowl and let it go. They both waited for me while I had breakfast (about 20 min).

The yeast maybe didn't need to be left alone so long, but that's ok.I added the yeast to the raisin/milk/etc mixture, stirred to combine. Then I added a cup of flour at a time, and mixed well. I ended up using 3cups of all-purpose flour, and 2 cups of whole wheat flour. The last cup of flour had 2t each salt and cinnamon mixed in. I kneaded by mixing with the dough hook in my kitchenaid for about 7 minutes (why yes, I am lazy). One drawback of using the mixer: the raisins essentially get minced doing it this way. I'm glad I used the cheap sunmaid raisins and not my nice organic flame raisins for this.

I let the dough rise for 4 hours on the radiator (recipe said 1.5-2hrs, but our errands took longer than we thought). Then I punched the dough down, kneaded it briefly, and shaped into two loaves. I placed each loaf into a greased loaf pan, and let rise another 2 hrs (despite the recipe suggesting 45-60min), again on the radiator.

I'm kind of excited by my radiator-rising idea. I've had problems letting bread rise on the top of the stove before- burned dough, melted bowls, etc. No matter how low I set the oven, it's still too hot, and our kitchen is definitely the coldest room of the house (Clint thinks one of the walls isnt' insulated, and based on things in the dishwasher or cabinets, I'm inclined to agree). But we have these awesome radiator covers, and the radiators actually get warm, so I just set it there. I worked beautifully, and the cat didn't noticed the dough at all (which was kept covered, but still).
After all the rising and shaping and 2nd rising, I baked the loaves at 375oF for 45 min (recipe says 30-35). When they were done, I brushed the tops with melted salted butter, waited an appropriate amount of time, cut, and devoured.

And then toasted for breakfast the next morning. Success!


In crafting news, I finished my glitter ball garland. :-D It's the glitter balls I mentioned before (water-down glue painted over styrofoam balls, and glitter sprinkled over them) strung on a strand of funfur and some fun glittery plastic hearts on the ends. It's totally me, and Clint tolerates it. (if you decide to make one, you might want to spread some newspaper all over the floor and work on that, because I now have glitter all over my house... and my cat.)

And I've completed sock #1 of my Monkeys, I can't wait to finish sock #2 and wear them :)

Friday, Girl Friday

or, the Three Week Sweater

I've mentioned my Girl Friday briefly before.

I haven't knit a sweater in a long time- at least a couple years (not counting baby sweaters). I enjoy knitting big things, because you can just start knitting and go, but sweaters have two problems: lots of seams to sew (this is my least favorite part of knitting), and you actually have to make them fit. My go-to baby sweater pattern is Peapod, and the body of the sweater is knit in one piece, so the only seams are the arms (which could easily be done in the round) and shoulder seams. And with baby sweaters, they don't actually have to fit the baby. Babies grow so quickly that they should be a bit big anyway, or else baby will wear it once, and that'll be it. Babies also don't care if their sweaters are boxy, or the sleeves are too long. Babies generally don't have any sort of fashion sense. So grown-ups like me take advantage of this, and knit them things they'll regret in their dating years.

But sweaters for me are not so easy. Out of the 4 pullovers I've knit myself, I've worn 3 of them once, and the last one never. Of the 3 cardigans I've made, I've worn one once (it's super heavy and thick), one several times (it's white, good for DAR, and the size issues are partially fixed by pretending it's a wrap sweater) and one once, with the intention of wearing it again.

So with this track record, starting a new sweater was a little daunting. But, since knitting myself a sweater and actually wearing it (no matter how many times I need to frog and rework it) is a 2010 goal, I decided to start one asap. I went with a cardigan- easier to fit. If it's not perfect, I just wear it open. And with this pattern, I can make the edging wider if it's too small to button decently. This is what the sweater should look like:

(photo by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark, more info on her and her pattern at knitty.com)

I placed a knitpicks order when I knit myself a Christmas stocking, and got 12 balls of Swish worsted in Truffle (as well as sock yarns for Clint, myself, and an unspecified pair)

And so, on December 27th, once all my Christmas knitting, was done, I cast on (using size 8 needles).

On Day 3, the back was finished.
On Day 7, the front panels were finished.
On Day 16 (after going back to work, and no more long distance car trips), the sleeves were finished.
On Day 20 (today), the body of the sweater is sewn together, and I've 1.5 inches into the 3-4in (I'll have to see how I want it) collar. The sleeves are not yet sewn in.

The morning before I started sewing seams (before blocking):(Pansy likes to help with these pictures)

And a close of up the lace pattern (which is said to be very easy to memorize, and this is very true)
Now I have to think what to knit next- and we're going to a hockey game tomorrow night, so I need to think fast. I'll probably use my Christmas yarn to knit some of Cookie A.'s Monkeys (socks).

2010: new year, new recipes

And the first new recipe of 2010 is sage-covered pork roast with dried fruit compote.

PSA to southern New Englanders: Big Y is having a special on pork roasts this week, buy 1 get *2* free! My mom emailed me about this, so of course I high-tailed it to the grocery store last night. I got 3 2.4ish lb boneless pork roasts for $14.50, and I cooked one. Sadly, I have no pictures, but next time I do this (there will be a next time), I'll photograph it. (ETA: and 5 days later, there was a next time)


Pork roast:
trim off fat, rub with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Lay some sage leaves covering the top, arrange in rows, and tie on with kitchen twine. In a oven/stove cooking vessel (I used my Le Creuset braiser for the first time! love it), brown the pork on all sides- about 10-12 min total. Wrap in parchement paper, and bake for 50 min in a 375oF oven, until it reaches 170-175oF (the recipe I found said 160, but mine got up to 175 and was just barely done enough). Remove roast, let rest for 10 min on a platter, then unwrap from the parchment and pour the juices back into the cooking vessel. Add 1/3cup each of chicken stock/broth and apple cider. Cook til reduced, add 1t (recipe said 1T, but we're trying to be healthy) butter and cook til reduced to 1/3cup total. Pour over the meat.

Dried fruit compote (to serve on the side):
while the pork is in the oven, combine
3cups apple cider
3/4cup raisins
3/4cup dried cranberries (cherries would have also been good)
1/2-3/4cup roughly chopped dried apples
16 dried apricots, cut in quarters
1 cinnamon stick
zest of 1 orange (and juice, if you want- the zest adds enough orangey flavor)
1inch piece of peeled fresh ginger (or some large pieces of crystallized ginger)
dash of pepper

in a medium-large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes, until thick and gooey and delicious-smelling. Remove ginger and cinnamon, and serve warm.

These two items were delicious. We also had roasted sweet potatoes (toss sweet potatoes cut into finger-like pieces with some apple cider, salt, pepper and chopped sage, spread on a foil-lined cookie sheet (spray the foil) and bake in the oven for as long as the meat is in it- 40-50 min at 375), garden salad, and boiled wax beans (broccoli the 2nd time around).


Then I was lucky enough to have the same thing today for lunch :-D

Craft update:
I'm knitting Girl Friday in KnitPicks Swish Worsted in Truffle (a chocolately brown). So far, so good. In 3 days I finished the back. In 4 more days, I finished the panels for the front (it's a cardigan). Now I've been on the sleeves for 3 days, but am only halfway to the elbow. However, this progress, after I told someone there was no way I'd ever finish it in time to wear this winter, but maybe on chilly spring evenings, is impressive. And after knitting all those adorable, yet full of ends to sew in, korknisse, a large thing like a sweater is a joy to knit.

Next up: socks for Clint, using a pattern from my new sock knitting book, and knee socks for me- possibly in the reverse order, Clint's socks are my ravelympics project (start a project during the Olympics opening ceremonies, and finish it by the end of the closing ceremonies, and for me, probably only knit it while watching the Olympics, preferrably curling) and I'll most likely finish the sweater well before the Olympics start.

It's a winter wonderland!

We had 6 inches of snow this morning. I took a snow day- I'm not sure if I'll be in trouble at work for not going in, but after spending 2 hours watching cars fishtail all over the place on our street, I decided to play it safe. And do a bit of crafting.

We haven't decorated much, but all that's up so far is stuff I've made.
Above our mantle hang the two gumdrop wreaths I made. I got the idea from Martha Stewart. I used 2 12" stryofoam rounded wreaths with flat backs (a hemispheric cross section), my glue gun, about 20 glue sticks, and 5 19oz bags of red and green spice drops (which left me with probably 3/4 of a bag leftover). I just hot glued the gumdrops onto the wreaths, super easy, although a little tedious. It took under an hour for each wreath (2 episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" each)

Also, my little korknisse santas, my snowflake votive holders (trace a snowflake in glue on a cheap frosted glass tealight holder, sprinkle heavily with glitter, that's it!), the two Simon Pearce glass trees we registered for, and a centerpiece we bought at the Old St Andrew's Church (in Bloomfield, CT) craft fair.

And today I finally hung our stockings. Clint's is made following Martha Stewart's stocking pattern from the December 2004 MSL, and mine was done without a pattern (I've done enough socks not to need one).
This morning I worked on our Christmas cards. Good news- I have all the paper I need to make them! Unfortunately, though, I can't seem to find my stamp box, and my gold ink pad has dried up. I'll probably have to borrow some of my mom's stamping supplies- so let's hope I can assemble all the cards before Saturday, when I'll be home. The photos came yesterday and half of them have been decorated (you'll have to wait for more on that), I've cut half of the decorative paper into the proper sized rectangle, but they all need to have a cut-out done in them. I did 10 last night, and I'm tracing a cookie cutter with an exacto knife, which is very, very tedious. It's hard to do more than 10 at a time. I've made part of 100 paper pointsettias, and need to finish those and make 100 more. Then glue everything together "Happy Holidays" or something on the front, and sign them all. Clint's in charge of addressing the envelopes.

In case you're wondering, yes, I am worried I've taken on too much. My goal is to send out the cards by the end of next week.

In the cooking world, I have my Christmas Cookie 2009 line-up made.
chocolate chip
sugar cookie trees
gingerbread men
peanut butter kiss cookies
7 layer bars (because Clint's never had them, and mom always sends most of hers to my aunts in SD)
mint chocolate sandwich cookies
and maple cookies, which I made last night.

The maple cookies aren't especially pretty. They're a simple butter cookie recipe with maple sugar added. Then you reduce maple syrup (of course, I used Grant family syrup) and pour over the cookies. And sprinkle with coarse salt, "the enhance the maple flavor". The cookies are good, but they're actually really salty, even though I skipped the sprinkling at the end, and I don't find that it enhances the maple flavor at all. I think next time I do these, I'll cut the salt in the dough in half. They're a nice, simple cookie, and the maple glaze is nice (even though I cooked mine too long and it got a little grainy).

EDIT: so I kind of forgot about those maple cookies for a couple days (we had other cookies around), and after 3 days, had another one. And you know what? I like them a lot better than I thought I did. They seem more mapley now, and after a few days in tupperware, they're soft-ish- not chewy soft, not cakey soft, but not shortbread-crispy, like they were tending towards before. I think this is a good recipe (although I'm still cutting the salt in half, the next batch will be given to people on a low salt diet).

Now I'm back to watching all the Martha Stewart Shows on our DVR and tackling the Christmas cards, and later on, when I can't stand to see any more glue, knitting some more korknisse.

The Christmas crafting bug

I caught it! I was actually tempted to skip pilates tonight so I could have more crafting time- and I really, really love pilates, and haven't been in 2 weeks. But I usually get home from pilates at 7:30, and that gives plenty of crafting time.


Korknisse.
I've been working on these guys for a couple weeks (I've made 8 so far, and have the pieces for 8 more, and I plan to make more)

Candle holders, inspired by Martha Stewart's Halloween spider web ones I made. I've done 14, and have 16 more votive holders.... but these are kind of painful to do, so we'll see if I decorate the rest.

A gumdrop wreath! I bought 2 19oz bags of red and green gumdrops, one 12" styrofoam wreath form, and luckily was able to find my hot glu gun- but I think I needed 5 bags of gum drops, it's nearly half finished, and I'm out of gumdrops. Alternatively, I could have purchased a smaller wreath form, but the Michael's in Shrewsbury only had one size of white styrofoam wreath, so I had no choice. And I think the 12" will be a nice size. I'm eager to finish this, it'll look really cute. We'll have the green gum drop wreath above the mantle and the red gumdrop wreath perhaps in the kitchen.

Not holiday at all, but here's one of my new favorite foods: beets. Now, why did I never like beets before? They're pink. They turn everything they touch pink. How did I not fall in love with them immediately? At restaurants I always see them paired with chevre, and I'll eat anything with chevre. When we went to the farmer's market in Berrysburg, PA, the beets looked good and cheap, and I decided to give fresh beets a try. First I roasted them in the oven for about an hour (a recipe suggested 35 minutes would be enough- they were wrong), which yielded rock-hard beets that I ate anyway. For this batch, I boiled them for about 20 minutes, then sliced them, topped them with goat cheese, sprinkled some sliced almonds on top, and baked for about 30 minutes. Then I drizzled honey over them. That method worked much better, the beets were nice and soft. And tasty. Unfortunately, since I gave my mom most of the beets I bought, I'm all out. I'll have to see if they look at all decent at the grocery store.

Finally, the model for our Christmas card. It's a 4x6 piece of gold paper with a bell cut-out (I'm tracing a cookie cutter with an xacto knife- we'll see how fun this is after making 100 of them... sigh) and a wedding photo of us- the real thing will have a color photo and I'll also make a little paper pointsettia to stick on the card.
I'm also working on my Christmas stocking- although it needs a bit more planning before I get too much farther, I have to grid out my name to knit in white on the otherwise dark red (knitpicks wool of the andes "hollyberry"- how appropriate) yarn.

My absense...

Sorry for the lack of posts! I have been cooking very little. I'll get some pictures up soon, of 94 cupcakes that I frosted last Friday, and some other tastiness.

I've been knitting a bit, mittens for mom and baby blankets and sweaters for people. I'm going to finish all the baby knitting and then get on some mittens for myself.

But the main thing I've been doing is packing! I'm moving in a week and a half. I don't have an apartment yet, so I'll be staying with a cousin who has room to spare, probably for a month. I'll continue to look for an apartment and hopefully be able to move in around March 1st.

I hate packing. How in the world did I accumulate so much stuff?? Sigh.

Knitting meme

Bold = Have already tried this
Italicized = Plan to try this
Unemphasized = Have no desire to try this

- Afghan
- I-cord
- Garter stitch
- Knitting with metal wire
- Shawl
- Stockinette Stitch
- Socks: Top-down
- Socks: Toe-up
- Knitting with camel yarn- if the opportunity presents itself
- Mittens: Cuff-up
- Mittens: Tip down
- Hat
- Knitting with silk
- Moebius band knitting
- Participating in a KAL
- Sweater
- Drop stitch patterns
- Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn (unless yarn purchased at tag sales or found while cleaning out someone's house before they move to a nursing home counts, that I've done.)
- Slip stitch patterns
- Knitting with banana fiber yarn (interesting!)
- Domino knitting- meh
- Twisted stitch patterns
- Knitting with bamboo yarn
- Two end knitting (I don't really get it)
- Charity knitting
- Knitting with soy yarn
- Cardigan
- Toy/doll clothing
- Knitting with circular needles
- Baby items
- Knitting with your own handspun
- Slippers
- Graffiti knitting (lol)
- Continental knitting (just so I know how)
- Designing knitted garments (do socks count?)
- Cable stitch patterns (oh so many!)
- Lace patterns
- Publishing a knitting book
- Scarf
- Teaching a child to knit (if I have a child, it's going to knit)
- American/English knitting
- Knitting to make money
- Buttonholes
- Knitting with alpaca
- Fair Isle
- Norwegian knitting
- Dying with plant colors
- Knitting items for a wedding
- Household items (do coffee cup cozies count? I'm not really into washcloths)
- Knitting socks on two circulars
- Olympic knitting
- Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn (I'll take any yarn I can get!)
- Knitting with dpn’s (honestly, this is my favorite- it's probably why I knit socks so much)
- Holiday-related knitting
- Teaching a male how to knit
- Bobbles (I have an irrational hatred of bobbles)
- Knitting for a living
- Knitting with cotton
- Knitting smocking
- Dyeing yarn
- Steeks (I'm afraid)
- Knitting art
- Fulling/felting
- Knitting with wool
- Textured knitting
- Kitchener BO
- Purses/bags (I'm really surprised to realize I haven't actually done this yet)
- Knitting with beads (I should, what with all my beads)
- Swatching (aren't we always supposed to?)
- Long tail CO (I need to learn another way)
- Entrelac
- Knitting and purling backwards
- Machine Knitting
- Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegated yarn
- Stuffed toys (I should add this to the baby knitting list)
- Knitting with cashmere
- Darning
- Jewelry (I tried... and frogged)
- Knitting with synthetic yarn
- Writing a pattern (I've made a few patterns, I just haven't written them down)
- Gloves (so far, only fingerless- but I should go all the way)
- Intarsia
- Knitting with linen
- Knitting for preemies (well, I would if there were a preemie to knit for)
- Tubular CO
- Freeform knitting
- Short rows
- Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
- Pillows (ok, this could be cute)
- Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
- Rug
- Knitting on a loom
- Thrummed knitting
- Knitting a gift
- Knitting for pets (I've knit all the pieces for Pansy's bed, but I haven't assembled it yet)
- Shrug/bolero/poncho
- Knitting with dog/cat hair
- Hair accessories
- Knitting in public (constantly)
- Double knitting (interesting, but I'm not sure I see the point)

FFE Swap Question of the Week #7

What foods do you like to bake this time of year? Are there any that are traditional to you?

I like to bake anything apple or pumpkin. I drink gallons of mulled cider (ok, not exactly baking). The most traditional thing I'll make is Thanksgiving pies, which I've been in charge of for the past 10 or so years. My mom will mail me cookies made from our old family gingerbread cookie recipe (at least, she'd better!). She always makes turkey shaped cookies, and uses a recipe that's pretty much the same as it was 350 years ago- yeah, we're very old-school. They unlike any other gingerbread cookie I've had, incredibly mellow and soft, almost cakey.

After Thanksgiving, we'll get into Christmas cookies! I'm still working on the to-bake list. In January, I'll get into Christmas bread- I have to get inspired by all my mom's fresh loaves while I'm home for the holidays to actually make my own. (hers is usually better, but mine's definitely good enough). The Christmas bread is definitely a tradition, though, it's a very old Danish recipe my ancestors kept with them when they came to the US.

Well, ok, speaking of tradition... but this has nothing to do with baking. In my family, even more important than the turkey on TG day are Grandma's peanut butter-stuffed dates. These are simply plain old dates, sliced open and stuffed with a dab of peanut butter, then rolled in sugar (or not, for the diabetics). It's the simplest thing ever, and there's really no reason to have them only at Thanksgiving, but we do only eat them at Thanksgiving.... and by eat, I mean devour. Grandma usually uses 3 tubs of dates, and 8-10 of us will finish them off in just a few minutes. And every year I wonder, why can't we have these at other holidays? It's not like dates are out of season at other times. But, that's the way it is. I'm looking forward to some peanut butter dates :)

/Phase1

, as Clint put it.

I handed in my thesis yesterday. Two weeks from today, I will give an hour-long public seminar on my thesis project and have a 2-3 hour private oral defense.

Rather than being nervous about that, however, I'm listless and have no idea what to do with myself. Thesis filled my time such that I didn't eat meals, but snacked while writing or revising. I have a good deal of work to prepare for the 21st, but I'm taking a mental vacation today.

And last night, I celebrated. I left lab super early (4:30!) to go shopping, and I bought gifts for swaps and for friends for Christmas (including one item I bought 3 of, but would have bought 6 or 7, if only they'd had more). I spent $80 on groceries, which included nice crusty bread, a pound of gruyere and a bottle of sauvignon blanc, and dined on cheese fondue (I've lost weight from the thesis, so I figured I could have fondue for one night, and not have to worry that I won't get to the gym). I knitted (finished 2 items, one for a swap and one for Christmas) and baked cowboy cookies. The cowboy cookies weren't that impressive, yet I'll share the recipe anyway. I found them rather bland, even with chocolate chips, coconut, oats and pecans. The dough was pretty good, though (and cookie dough goes nicely with pinot noir), but mostly because I love oatmeal cookie dough.

And during my absence from blogging, we had an absence of FFE swap questions of the week- nice coincidence for me.

Question of the Week #6

“What seasonal knitting projects are you looking forward to?”

I don't think I'm really doing seasonal knitting projects, I'm really just trying to pump out all my Christmas and baby gifts asap. After that, I may start my wedding shawl, because I'm getting close to choosing a pattern. Also, in February, I will be living in Massachusetts, so there's a move in there to interfere.

So, lame answer, but nothing specifically "seasonal".

Oh, except maybe a christmas tree hat (ravelry link) that my SnB is doing as a KAL- although they're meeting to decorate the knitted hat a week from yesterday, and I'll never have it done by then. So I'm not sure I'll knit it, but it's so cute.

Brief update: knitting schedule

No cooking lately (despite plans for more pumpkin bars, apple crisp and apple cupcake/muffins this weekend- I went drinking with D instead. I deserve it, thesis is very stressful), but some knitting updates.

I had family and in-law family up this weekend (it was the Big Meeting of the Families), and mom took me to White River Yarns, the LYS (local yarn shop), and she treated me to nearly all the yarn I expect to need for the next 2-3 months!! (nearly because two projects were not included, but these are projects that will use inexpensive yarn from Joann's, so I'll buy them in small batches with the 40% off coupons, as needed).

This pleases me greatly, half because I can't actually afford my knitting addiction, and half because she was nice enough to do this :) Thanks, mom.

I'll try to post a picture of the new purchases tomorrow, but I got fancy yarn and fancy needles for Grandma for her birthday, 2 skeins for my Color Swap partner (one I'll knit and one I'll give with an appropriate pattern), one skein to finish a semi-secret project (i.e. Christmas gift for someone), 4 balls for cup cozies for all my family, one skein of classic self-striping sock yarn for myself, and a hat pattern that'll hopefully turn into a hat for my dad (using stash yarn- he lost the one I knit him last year (or possibly the year before) and that project left more than half a ball). I also bought (with my own money) some nice turquoise worsted merino at the farmer's market, which'll turn into chevalier mittens for mom.

I'm currently working on Muscari socks, and completed the heel last night. Once I finish that, I'll start the color swap project, assemble that package and mail it off, and then cast on a Christmas gift of the same swap project pattern (since I'll be on a roll with it by then), and then I have two other Christmas gifts that are just barely beyond casting on. Then hat, finish the semi-secret gift, another (larger) gift, and baby stuff. The baby stuff, however, will be started after Christmas, because none of it's really needed until January.

FFE Swap Question of the Week #5

I'm far behind on other things I mean to post, but this question is easy for me.

Do you like football? Who is your favorite team?

I hate football. Passionately. I hate how obsessed people get with it, I hate that it takes forever to play the stupid game, and I find it incredibly dull. I also dated someone once whose life revolved around football, and he'd never do anything else if his team was playing, and had to talk about it constantly. It got old, fast.

I attend superbowl parties because the secondary goal of the party is to eat, and usually to eat chili (which I love and never make myself) and I enjoy the company of my friends. I also have learned to bring knitting to superbowl parties.

Back in high school I hated football because I thought it was very sexist- it probably still is, but I care less about that now, because I'd never want to play myself.

I hate the Patriots because they put Hartford in a small uproar for a while (they'd planned to move the founder's cemetary (i.e. where all the 1600s people are buried) to build the stadium). I also hate that Brady guy because everyone's so gaga over him.

I can't wait til football season is over :)

Sports I like: basketball, baseball, hockey. Sports that have action (I make an exception for baseball) and movement.

(I'm not this bitter normally, football is just one of those things)

Catching up

I've been up to quite a bit lately, too much to spare time to blog about it.

In order:
My FFE swap spoiler sent me a package!!! It's all sorts of awesome. She sent Everyday Food's Great Food Fast, a book I've been lusting after since it was released. I can't wait to try some of the recipes! Also pink super, super soft sock yarn that's already queued up to be flutter-by socks. A pattern for Wendy Bernard's Somewhat Cowl (yay!!), a red and black draw string bag that's so going to Florida with me in a couple weeks, and some treats for Pansy. Pansy was pleased.

Saturday we went apple picking. We came home with 20.5lbs of apples, which have been baked into apple crisp, eaten, and pondered. I'll make more apple cupcakes tomorrow, and maybe also apple pie (or apple pie this weekend), and LynneP (I think) from the Sha-recipe Swap on ravelry sent a recipe for apple pie bars that I may also try. I wonder how those would go on the plane? Hmm.

The rest of the weekend was spent working (and knitting in the breaks), because YESTERDAY I HANDED IN MY THESIS. and ok, this is just draft 1 of the thesis, and to my advisor so he can look it over before I revise and hand in to my committee, but still, this is a huge relief. I'm taking tomorrow off to 1. celebrate, 2. rest, 3. catch up on all the stuff I've been ignoring (like birthdays- hopefully my family will understand and not get annoyed with me for not calling the birthday people- also cleaning, putting away laundry, doing laundry, etc etc.). I'm also taking tomorrow off for some scheduled condo nonsense, which is less exciting.

I finished my chevalier mittens (photos soon) and cast on a pair of fetchings originally meant for my color swap partner, until I remembered she's allergic to wool, and that's why I'd planned to go to WRY to buy her alpaca, I knew there was a reason! However, I'm not happy with the previous two pairs of fetching that I've done, as I used horribly inappropriate yarn (knitting bulky yarn on size 5s just to make the gauge right is not so clever), so I'm keeping the current fetchings.




Finally, FFE Swap Question of the Week #4: What are you going to be for Halloween?
Last year I meant to be Persephone (white gauzy stuff, a pomegranate), but I took ill and my 103 fever prevented me from doing any celebrating (however, the Halloween party I was planning to attend was extremely lame- I wish various powers that be would stop shutting down the Grad Student Council's social events). Since I never had a Halloween last year, I believe I'll pull out the gauze and buy another pomegranate and try again.

Speaking of Halloween, Clint and I are very excited that next year, we might get trick or treaters! I don't know what's up with New Hampshire, but I've not once seen kids trick or treating here. I was mildly surprised when no one came trick or treating at my condo complex the first couple years I lived there (actually, my first year here, I was stuck in lab til 8pm and was so, so upset at the thought that kids were coming to my door and I was missing them), because one side of the street is all houses, most with kids, and my complex is 70 units where you don't have to enter any doors to get to the unit doors, so very safe, and no one comes. Even driving around on Halloween night at dusk, I see no kids. It's strange. I hope Massachusetts celebrates, because Halloween should not be a holiday just for 20-somethings and college students!

Thoughts on baking

It's probably pretty obvious by now, but I love to bake. I love the act of baking, the results of baking, contemplating baking, reading about and looking at photos of other peoples' baking, etc, etc, etc. I think it's just about the funnest thing ever.

Clint and I went to Umpleby's for lunch, each had a sandwich and a cup of tea, and um, when you go to a bakery, you kind of have to buy some sweet baked lovely. We had chocolate souffle. (this is somethign I need to try to bake sometime... perhaps when I have a proper house and no slammy-the-door neighbors)



Now, I'm down to two apple cupcakes from Monday's batch- it was such fast work because I gave Clint's office so many, and brought some to lab, and also ate them for breakfast (hey- I assure you, no one would have any complaints about this apple cupcake recipe done in a bundt pan, sans frosting, as a breakfast item). Because I'm nearly out of baked goods (by the time I go to bed tonight, I will be, except for those quinoa cookies... did I ever mention those? They're interesting but kind of weird- granola bar-like, but very, very soft and don't hold together very well), I've been pondering baking.

I think I want this:
A mini cupcake (or muffin, whatever) pan! Think about it- you want a cupcake, but you really just want a little bite. You can't leave half a cupcake in the container (for a variety of reasons), so mini cupcakes! Plus I bake often for events and things, and sometimes I think cupcakes are just too big.

And, of course, I'd need little mini cupcake wrappers of adorableness:







Um, while looking for the photo of the mini cupcake pan, I saw this pan, and oh my...

Have you ever seen something so cool?!? As one who definitely prefers the corners, this might be worth the $43 KAF is charging. Or... um, can I have a wedding registry at KAF? At least 30% of our wedding guests will be an easy drive from the store!





Up for the weekend: more baking. I'm not entirely sure what, but something tasty. I'm in a recipe swap on ravelry, and this month's theme is pumpkin. So far I've received a recipe for pumpkin roll with cream cheese frosting filling. Unfortunately, I don't exactly have a jelly roll pan, but I think I can fake it with my sided cookie sheet. I may make that- I have to bring food for choir break on Wednesday, I wonder if a jelly roll type of thing would work. I also recently came across some good recipes for pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin waffles, so maybe I'll make those... this is, of course, assuming I'm awake enough either morning this weekend to do more than pop something in the toaster. I'll keep you posted.

ps. I'm now knitting mittens.
Clapotis #2 is kinda almost done, but I've run out of yarn. I've started some chevalier mittens (pictures soon) and am enjoying it so much I hope to designate a single skein of yarn from a shop in Jamaica, VT for a second pair. I hate buying one skein, because I never can think of any good small projects. However, if mittens work, great- I need new mittens.

I finished the pinwheel blanket, photos soon. I've run out of yarn on it, but I'll buy more and make another blanket with similar colors. I have a total of 7 babies-t0-be to knit for. !! lol it's a weird clustering.

(btw: all the items I've shown today are linked, click on the photo! Buy me stuff! just kidding)

oh my, lol

Someone on ravelry posted this, and I had to share.

Pretty little things

I love these. I'm waiting to get enough money to buy them
Aren't they adorable? These stitch markers were made by a woman I went to grad school with, who has recently decided to put all her effort into her etsy shop, weeones. There was a really interesting interview recently, which was even more interesting because I know her. Plus, she makes beautiful things.

I also love these knitting needles, what a wonderful idea!

Knitting update

I'm usually good about not having too many WPIs around. UFOs are another story- those have been set aside indefinitely. but WPIs, that's different.


I have a bunch now, I think too many. However, one is nearly done, one is half done, one I'm enjoying thoroughly (probably because it's fairly mindless compared to everything else) and one... I'll probably enjoy more once I get more into the pattern.

I have a handful of Christmas gifts-to-be to be worked on, and I think I've chosen patterns and at least have an idea of the yarn to use for all of them. For the most part, they are small-ish accessory items, so I hope I could finish 3 a month. This is, of course, assuming I get all my current WPIs out of the way first.