Back to posting

I ended up unexpectedly out of town for over a week, so I've missed out on several days posting. But I have lots of fun stuff to talk about.

I finished the gift scarf that was to be a narrow version of the Trellis Stole in Exquisite Little Knits. I decided I didn't care for the Athena as a substitute for the Flora in that pattern, so I ripped it out and did the Opera Scarf from the same book. I used only the Trendsetter Sunshine for the yarn-over rows, because I didn't like the way the Athena looked carried with it -- too busy. I also skipped the Athena in the fringe. I'm pleased with how it turned out; I think it's perfect for the recipient.

(I had a second photo showing the fringe, but blogger doesn't care to post it. Eh, you know what fringe looks like!)

Edited to add second photo when Blogger was more cooperative:


Details:
Pattern - Opera Scarf from Exquisite Little Knits
Yarn - Trendsetter Sunshine in Blues/Black/Purple and KFI Athena in multicolor
Needles - Size 13

I have finished two fingers on the first Vintage Beaded Glove, but I decided I want to have one glove finished before I post another photo. This is my first attempt at gloves, and I thought they'd be a pain, but they're sort of nice to knit. I've already forgotten what a pain the cable rib section was. I snapped a second Brittany Birch DPN (the first was taken down by a Jaywalker), and I'm not sure if I got a weak set or if these just shouldn't be made in sizes that small. Or maybe I'm too hard on them. My Clovers are all intact, at least, though they're longer (hence trying the Brittanys for the fingers).

I started a baby blanket pattern from Debbie Bliss Special Knits (if you can call instructions for making a garter stitch square a pattern) in Cashmerino Aran in a buttery pale yellow. The size 8 needles are lovely after the size 1s for the gloves. The pattern calls for a satin ribbon border, so I'm on the lookout for a pretty one.


Reading: I have been very lame in the reading arena of late. Lots of childbirth-related reading, but not much of substance. I'm afraid I've been re-reading the Stephanie Plum books :) I did collect a number of children's books from my in-laws' house over the past week, though, for reading to Butterbean. Some are older, like the Bunnicula books, but there are several younger ones as well. It was fun going through my husband's (and his brothers') childhood books.

Writing: A rough draft of Chapter 7 is due a week from Wednesday. My out-of-town-ness sort of derailed my plans to have it done by now.

Cooking: I made this peach coffee cake, but I substituted almonds for the pecans and used 3 cups peaches and 1 cup raspberries. It was fantastic. There's a nip in the air, which means I bought the ingredients for vegetable stock! Soon the freezer will be filled with it. I've also gotten a little obsessed with bread recipes. I love baking bread when the weather turns cooler; baguettes, focaccia, ciabatta. Yum. And cinnamon raisin bread, apple bread, cornmeal herb bread. I ventured into the food blogging universe (I always read Lee's food blog, and I often search the internet for recipes, but now I'm starting to bookmark more food blogs). I spent a bit of time on Saturday going through loads of them, finding wonderful bread recipes. I've decided to delve into the world of sourdough a bit. I've made bread from an overnight sponge, but nothing more complicated. Sourdough requires a starter, which has to be tended to daily until it's ready, and I've always been too chicken to try it. But some wonderful bloggers have posted tips and recipes that make me think I can do this. I'll post links once I see the sourdough has worked out :) It will be a while before the starter is ready, so I'll probably give a poolish-based bread a try in the meantime, and probably make red onion-rosemary focaccia. If you've never baked bread, it's a lovely, relaxing experience, and I recommend giving it a try. Sometimes I use the dough hook on my KitchenAid mixer or the bread machine, when I'm more interested in the final product, but all the resting, rising, kneading can be very enjoyable.