Actually, that's half of what I've done. It's made by knitting two halves and grafting them together, so as I do with sleeves, I'm knitting both halves at once. I hate finishing something and then having to do to exact same thing again, so even though it takes the same amount of time overall, I'm much happier doing it this way. The pattern is Sister Scarves for Breast Cancer Awareness, appropriate for this month, though I really should have made it pink. I'm using KnitPicks Shine in Sky. I made the scarf narrower as well. For some reason, I like my lace scarves fairly narrow, and even the narrower of the two Sister Scarves seemed wide when I had about an inch. I'm happy with the pattern, and I think the Shine has nice drape. It's not all that warm, but it's sort of a fashion accessory type scarf, I thought.
Between Rachel's Soap-Holder Washcloth Type Thingy, the Lace Photo Mats in Handknit Holidays, and Coffee Cozies, I may do some Christmas knitting after all. Once I have the gift scarves and Vintage Beaded Gloves done, I may want instant-gratification projects to supplement my Butterbean knitting. I've decided not to make a Grand Plan, like last Christmas's spreadsheet with recipients matched to patterns and yarn, and if I don't get enough gifts done, I can just save them for next year.
Reading: Just finished Ten Big Ones. I actually don't have books 11 and 12 in print, just on my iPod, so I'll listen to those while knitting, and I think I'll start the Mr. Darcy book. My book club picked The Alchemist for next time, and there's a nonfiction book on the flu epidemic of 1918 that was recommended to me, so I may actually read stuff that's new to me and not a baby book. I know you're excited :)
Writing: Trying to get going on Chapter 7.
Cooking: Hosting book club went very well. I did not find any food hidden in napkins or anything, so I think people enjoyed it. I baked my sourdough yesterday morning, and it was fantastic again. I used the same recipe as last time, but I shaped it into wonky-looking batard type things instead of the boules. I love the look of the boules, but I don't have rising baskets to make them taller, so they are kind of flat, and the variation in slice size is inconvenient. The batards looked a little weird, but better than my usual dough shaping attempts. Here was my menu (theme of Fall):
Appetizer - Creamy Mushroom Phyllo Triangles (Cooking Light)
Breads - French Country Sourdough and Pumpkin-Walnut Focaccia With Gruyere (Cooking Light)
Soup - Tuscan Chickpea Soup (Cooking Light)
Main Dishes - Pumpkin and Gorgonzola Tart and Leek and Potato Tart (Cooking Light)
Dessert - Caramel Apple Cake
The phyllo triangles were really good. I hadn't made them before. The Pumpkin and Gorgonzola Tart (for which I subbed butternut squash) was super-easy and fantastic. Even our six-month-old guest enjoyed it, since the mashed butternut squash was something she's used to :) The cake part of the dessert was lovely, and could probably be made into muffins for an ostensibly healthy breakfast (though next time I make it, I'm cutting back on the oil). I didn't cook the caramel long enough, though, and I skipped the white chocolate that makes it so pretty. All in all, lots of cooking. I do enjoy a dinner party.
A note on recipes - I'm always a bit annoyed when I read a food blog and there aren't recipes provided, so I thought I'd explain why I don't always include them. I put in a link when it's available freely on the internet, but if it's in a book or magazine, or otherwise copyrighted, I'm not comfortable typing it up for the blog. Same with knitting patterns. I just don't feel it's fair to the author. Since I make a lot of recipes from Cooking Light, it means there are a lot of things I cook that I don't provide recipes for. But your library might carry the magazine, or you can always peek in a copy at the grocery store to get the month's password for access to Cooking Light's web page, which has all their recipes. If you are really intrigued by a particular recipe, email me or leave a comment and I will send it to you. I feel like that's okay, since I could share my copy of the magazine or book with a friend. Just no widespread re-publishing.
5 comments:
What about raising a boule in a tea-towel lined bowl? (And asking for sime lovely french raising baskets for Christmas ; ) )
The scarves are, as usual, lovely. And one more question -- do you pre-peel your butternut or cut it in half and bake it? We like ours cubed but man! peeling it is no fun at all. The meal sounds yummy.
I remember when I had dinner party time. . . sigh
The scarf is lovely and such a pretty colour.
On the apple cake you can replace most of the oil with apple sause. You may even be able to replace all of it. Most of the time if the oil is in the recipe for mosture it can be replaced with apple sause or canned pumpkin.
Thanks for having the links when you can.
You are the Queen of Scarves! Who's getting all these?
Carmel Apple Cake!! Yum!! I love all of your scarf knitting! Knit away girl. Thank you so much for the links and ohhh, just came across the Cupcake Bakeshop blog through one of these. Checking them out now.
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