All Purpose

Another pair of socks done, and in record time.

Pattern: Eurydice by SpillyJane for the Sock Yarnista Club at Three Irish Girls.
Yarn: Three Irish Girls Beckon Merino in Auspicious colorway
Needles: US 1 (2.25mm) circular using Magic Loop
Notes: This pattern was super easy and went really fast. I think they turned out really great. This was my first time working with the 3IG yarn, I have been a club member off and on for a while, and I really liked it. The colors knit up beautifully I think, and I’m excited to knit up some of my other club scores soon.

However, I think I’m taking a small break from sock knitting, just for October maybe. I really want to get at least one sweater done this fall and one done this winter (before the new year) and sweaters take me a while so I need to focus. So I’ve restarted my February Lady Sweater, and that will be my first one and then I might try to also do the Honeybee Cardigan because that seems like it would be fast and it’s perfect for Austin weather I think.

I’d love to also keep a smaller project on hand, in case I get the wild urge to take my knitting out in the world, but I think I’ll maybe do a scarf. We’ll see.

No Comments | In: finished object, knitting, work in progress | tags: cardigan, finished object, knitting, socks. | #

So last week or maybe 2 weeks ago I mentioned being in a knitting frenzy or maybe just a stashing frenzy. I even said you could be the judge, but then I gave you nothing to base your judgement on. Sneaky of me, no?

So I’ve laid off the stash posts here because I started thinking they were probably really boring and my stash pics already clog up my Flickr to the point that I don’t think anyone looks at it anymore. So yeah, I didn’t want to alienate everyone. But I also think saying “hey look at all this stuff I traded, swapped, bought” (and folks it’s a lot of stuff) maybe made me a little uncomfortable because I might be out of control right now with the yarn. Maybe.

I don’t want to get all blow by blow here but here are some facts. As of June I had bought 11875 yards of yarn for the year. That’s some yarn. I think I’ve purchased almost another 10000 yards in the last 3 months, and I’ve got some stuff still in transit. On the other hand, I have projects lined up for every single thing in my stash (ie, not in transit) and I’ve managed to let go of some things I was really never going to knit. I also wore my Louet & Lacy cardigan for the first time in NYC last week (yay!) and can’t wait to knit some more cardigans.

So for those that care about such things here are some highlights of my recent acquisitions.

I have had my eyes opened to a whole new world of yarns in the past month, including the ever elusive Wollmeise.

I also discovered Squoosh Fiberarts

and Sanguine Gryphon (though no Bugga or Skinny Bugga yet)

and Sundara

and Pigeonroof Studios

and that’s just like half of it, but I won’t bore you. If you really love yarn porn check out my Flickr account.

I’m on a yarn budget. Starting in October. Really.

2 Comments | In: knitting, stash | | #

So remember that whole baking thing? Right. So it’s Tuesday and I realized when I got home that I still have not done a TWD this month and the souffle (which I missed last week) and these turnovers were the two things I wanted to do for September. So I flew by the seat of my pants and made these turnovers today, well tonight.

First, I made soup for dinner, Winter Minestrone. It was good.

Then quickly while the soup simmered I made the dough (I did a half recipe of this) and threw it in the fridge. The dough did not come together for me that easily, it actually seemed a little dry when the recipe said it would be wet. I squashed it into two balls and chilled it for about 20-30 minutes. Did the recipe say an hour? Sure.

Then I pulled it out and rolled it out using the plastic wrap method, which works like a charm I must say. I gotta remember that one. Then I folded it and chilled for about 20 more minutes, while I mixed together the dry ingredients and cut up the apples. I added a dash of curry to the dry stuff for fun.

Did the recipe say chill for 2 hours? Yes it did. I don’t have time like that though. I decided to just go for it and unfolded and rerolled the dough in plastic a couple of times to smooth the creases and then used ramekin as a dough cutter. It did work but the stickiness of the dough made me decide to do one pass through with the ramekin and save the rest of the dough and filling for tomorrow and a proper chilling.

So then I went to put the apples down and fold it all over and…

more like burritos than turnovers.

But I have to say they turned out delicious and that crust is awesome. The Italian said he could eat a whole plate of them.

So lessons for this week are to plan ahead, and get better lighting in my kitchen.

3 Comments | In: baking, tuesdayswithdorie | | #

I’ve been remiss in posting here. I’ve been remiss in baking for my Tuesday’s With Dorie gig. I promise to get better though. I’m going to try really hard to bake 2 things this month for TWD. I’m also going to try to just write something every few days no matter what. I will not worry if it’s all about knitting. Some of you like knitting, right?

I’m totally obsessed with knitting right now. I go through these phases where I really latch onto things (OCD much?) then gradually it fades and I just have normal feelings towards any one hobby. Right now I’m in a knitting frenzy, or maybe it’s just a yarn stashing frenzy. You be the judge.

I finished a pair of socks for August, so my project a month goal plods along.

Pattern: Pomatomus Socks
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Dusky Aurora (love!)
Needles: US 1 [2.50 mm] circular (Magic Loop methods)
Notes: I resisted these socks for a long time because I thought they looked bulky and I love lace socks. Glad I finally gave in to this pattern. I really like the look of these, but they are slightly big. I probably should’ve used my other 1′s (2.25 mm) needles or maybe 0′s. I’m hoping a soak and block will help, we’ll see. The pattern is great though and the yarn is fantastic! This color is just amazing.

2 Comments | In: finished object, knitting | | #

I spent last week in the lovely town of Alpine attending a Writer’s Retreat. It was great, I’m motivated and I feel creative again. It was also exhausting so I feel like I’ve mostly been catching up on sleep this week.

We saw some fun stuff, like these cute donkeys. We were trying to figure out what donkeys were, and mostly we got it right.

Donkey’s can be interbred, but the offspring are sterile so while I’m not sure of the other two guys I took pictures of, this one is donkey and zebra:

We spent a lot of time on the Sul Ross campus where our class was held, and I saw something really funny there.

So he’s letting me get real close to get a picture and it’s not until I take this one that I understand that it’s a bug and not a pecan he’s got. Then it’s game time.

I saw this at the motel, very cool butterfly that I have been unable to identify so far, I guess a trip to the Life Sciences Library might be in my future.

We did go to Marfa on Friday and have dinner and poke around.

Then we went back to Alpine and stopped to see the lights. We did see them, but I could not get pictures. So small, so far away. I got this instead though.

It was great. I’d love to do it again next year!

No Comments | In: life, travel | tags: 2009, alpine, marfa, texas, travel, writing. | #

I managed to finish something for July, with plenty of time to spare even.

Pattern: Liesl by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton in Indigo
Needles: US 10/6 mm circular
Notes: Easy, easy pattern. I think this would be great as a first sweater project because it’s in the round, the pattern is easy to understand and it goes by really fast. It did take me almost a month to knit this, but that’s because I haven’t been knitting a lot lately. I didn’t do buttons at all, and I did the green version (low neck, half sleeves). I’m definitely making a winter version of this later this year maybe with some Malabrigo, because my Malabrigo stash? It’s getting out of hand.

The yarn is nice too, very soft and the colors are amazing, but it does shed. A lot. I’m hoping a wash will get rid of the excess fiber and the shedding will die down, otherwise I’ll have to only wear it with black.

No Comments | In: finished object, knitting | tags: 2009, cardigan, cotton, feather and fan, finished object, knit, knitting, lace. | #

I might not be cranking out the knitting, but I sure am on a yarn buying frenzy. So many sales…so many destashes…so little will power.

The good news is I did manage to finish something in June, yippee.

Pattern: Ribbon Lace Scarf by Veronik Avery
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Silkie Socks that Rock in Lagoon
Needles: US 4 (circulars because that’s how I roll)
Notes: Easy pattern, but you know it’s a scarf so it does seem to drag on, and on. The yarn is super yummy, so soft, would definitely like to work with this again. I’m not sure it would hold up great for socks, or at least for socks that actually got worn with shoes, but it’s really nice for something like a scarf or wrap or even a sweater. You can see more info on my Ravelry page (login required).

No Comments | In: finished object, knitting, ravelry | tags: 2009, BMFA, finished object, scarf, silk, STR, wool. | #

So I have this book called Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. I’ve had it for a couple of years and I’ve made a few things from it, but really not much, which is a shame because it seems like a great book. I guess I sometimes forget about it though.

Then I found this whole group of people from all over the world that have this book too and they bake a recipe from the book every week, and then they all blog about it. Isn’t that so cool? So here I am, writing my first Tuesday with Dorie post. Yes, I know it’s Wednesday all ready, but I’m still figuring out the timing for all this.

So first let me admit that I don’t have a money shot of the brownies. It just got too late and I was tired and sunburned. I’ll post some more pics to Flickr and this post later today, including a money shot of the cooked brownies in all their glory (if there are any left when I get home).

So the recipe was pretty easy. I had a couple of bumps, mostly of my own doing. First, I though there was instant coffee around, but I was wrong. Ok, no biggie. Then I found out the nuts I had were really old. Like scary old. So no nuts. Alrighty, no problem full steam ahead.

Then as I as melting the butter I realized I needed to sift the cocoa. Fuck. I’m sure if you direct your attention to the following picture you’ll understand. That metal thing? Yeah, that’s my “sifter”.

Is it resting in a measuring cup? Yes, yes it is. Let’s just say my wrist is still smarting from that and leave it at that for now.

Despite all that it came together pretty well. I was a little concerned about the texture of the batter, not that it looks scary here or anything.

And I was a bit worried about my “oven”, but no way was I turning on the real one.

It baked for exactly 30 minutes, and it turned out swell in the end. The Italian (aka my husband) asked that if I make them again I make them just the same: no coffee, no nuts. The cinnamon was not prominent last night but after resting it definitely comes out more. The texture is great with a crispy top layer and super gooey inside. Very decadent, very yummy.

You don’t need the book to try these! You can find the recipe on the NPR site (scroll down a bit).

I will work on my note taking and photo documenting abilities for future installments. Promise.

2 Comments | In: baking, tuesdayswithdorie | | #

Hey, I’ve been knitting. Surprise! I have been in slump, it happens when the weather starts getting really hot. I didn’t finish a damn thing in April, knitting blahs. However, I did finish my Lush and Lacy Cardigan (rav link) in May.

I think it turned out pretty good, even if the pictures could use a little more focus.

So check out the Ravelry link for details. I think this might be my first really well done sweater. It fits, the seaming isn’t weird (well too weird), and it’s flattering on me. I will definitely wear it when the weather cools off, like in 6 months (ok really 4 months).

The Lace Ribbon Scarf (rav link) is coming along and will hopefully, probably, be the FO for the month of June.

I have almost finished the first Leyburn sock (rav link). Srsly, I have no idea why this is taking me so long. I think that the pattern is pretty easy, but does require some thinking so perhaps that’s why it’s not flying off the needles. I really hope I can finish these soon. I need them to be done so I can either take a real sock break or start something I like better.

I also started my Traveling Log Cabin blanket (rav link) with the Noro I got in New Orleans. I have 3 more balls of Noro already (some of my recent trips have not been Noro productive) so at least I can start getting an idea of the block size.

I finally admitted defeat on the Ribs and Lace Tank (rav link). I realized it would ruin the lace pattern to steek it so I frogged. The. Whole. Thing. So sad. I started again but am just not digging it right now.

I’m thinking of casting on a different summer project, one that might be faster and look better on me right now. I just got some Blue Sky Dyed Cotton (I know, we’ll talk about the stash later) in a nice Navy/Indigo color and I think I might make a Liesl with that. I’m also interested in doing a Hey Teach cardigan, but not sure about the yarn (stash or new, etc.). I’m mostly working on the scarf anyway and will probably push to finish that before I start anything new.

So yeah about the stash. I did cancel my sock club membership. It was fun, and I really like the yarn and colors and everything that I got. I was not as excited about it after the first couple of packages though so decided to take a break.

I have really managed to rack up some stash though. I think I last talked about this in March and yeah, I got more yarn. So now I’ve bought a total of, holy shit, 11875 yards this year. Plus when I was looking for my fabric stash (yeah, still haven’t found it) I found 2180 yards worth (2 bags) of Reynolds Lite Lopi that I got I have no idea when (or what for) so that also added. I’m totally trying to sell the Lite Lopi though. The numbers are growing, though at least with the exception of April (so far) I have managed to finish a project every month so far. So I guess it’s good.

Anyway, I’m knitting again. It might be slow going over the summer (I think it’s going to be a brutal one), but it’s going at least.

No Comments | In: finished object, gifts, knitting, ravelry, stash, work in progress | tags: 2009, cardigan, finished object, socks, work in progress. | #

The stash numbers to the right aren’t looking so great anymore. I have been staying in my budget, but I have still managed to add a lot of yarn to the stash so far this year. You see I got some good deals on destashes in January and February and then I bought some stuff for specific projects in March. Then I had this gift certificate from xmas for my LYS that I HAD to spend like now. I needed a pick me up what can I say. Then Webs had the exact yarn I wanted for a tank top on sale. I’ve racked up 8347 yards of new yarn so far this year (including sock club). That’s a lot. I need to ease up for a while.

I mean I have 14 sweaters worth of yarn now, and I have yarn (with attached projects) for every season. I really should not need any new yarn for a while. Right?

I have finished two projects so far this month, but they were small (only subtracting about 383 yards from the stash).

I finished some more socks and a hat that I don’t have a picture of because it really ended up being a mistake, but I’ll wear it.

I also started 3, no four new projects. I started a Lace Ribbon Scarf, some Leyburn socks, a Lush and Lacy Cardigan and another attempt at a plain ribbed hat for M.

I also really want to try to finish my Ribs and Lace tank from last summer up this month. I ad a very unfortunate incident with it. See I twisted the work with I joined to work in the round and at first I was like “oh I can just fix that whenever”, because I’ve twisted socks before and been able to recover (I also always noticed after one round and fixed it right then). Then I tried fixing it and it just wouldn’t untwist. So then I thought “well when I get to the part where I start working flat I’ll be able to fix it”. Then I got there and the darn thing still wouldn’t untwist. Then I Googled it and realized, to my horror, that no, unless you untwist in the first few rounds you are pretty much screwed. Yep. Then I read this enlightening post from the Yarn Harlot and learned I could fix the problem without starting over, all I had to do was do a steek, untwist and seam. Ta ha. Right. So I put the whole thing on hold while I got up the courage to try the steek, and I’m almost ready. Almost.

No Comments | In: finished object, knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: 2009, finished object, harlot, knitting, stash, steek, work in progress. | #