Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself.

It seems I’ve been having an introverted phase lately.  No blogging, little socializing, lots of inward gazing.

No reason for this, it’s just how I’ve been feeling.  Neglecting the blog is a minor thing, but I’ve also neglected some relationships.  I haven’t been instigating “let’s get together” moments.  I’ve forgotten milestones in people’s lives.  It’s not good.  The only excuse I can offer is that life has been flying by me way too quickly and honestly, it scares me a little bit.  I look up and another month is gone, just like that.

I remember my dad talking to me very earnestly when I was a senior in high school and so anxious for the end of the year to come so I could get on with my life.  He begged me not to wish time away, ruefully noting that any time passed is time I never get back.  He was about 60 at the time.  I understood what he was telling me, but I couldn’t process it because at 18, the hours seemed to crawl by.  Now, at 47, I totally feel what he was trying to warn me about.  While a random hour might still seem to crawl, the weeks and months blast by.

I’ve tried to hold on to time by focusing on what’s in front of me – my work day,  my girls, my list of weekend “to dos,” my knitting and reading.  That means I tend to miss the big picture, though.

I’ll tell you one thing, having two high schoolers in the house isn’t going to slow life down at all.  I’d better get used to it, and stop the denial.

Now that I’ve broken my silence, I’ll see if I can’t get some photos of the knitting posted, and regale you with the stuff I know you’re just dying to hear.

Toodles!

But Wait! There’s More!

I’ve been on a tear this past week to get a gift in order for a brand new arrival.

This is the Autumn Leaves baby cardi.   Sweet, hey?  It took me only about 5 days – perfect, since I was on a deadline, scheduled to greet the new little person this weekend.   I know, the buttons are maybe a little too funky for this delicate knit, but I couldn’t resist them.

I made a little hat to match.  However, the hat size is clearly more suitable for an older baby – not sure what’s up with that.  I knit to gauge with both projects.  I won’t sweat it, though.  It’ll be worn eventually!   I knit both projects in Frogtree Meriboo left over from my Lily cardigan.  It’s a nice, soft yarn for baby items.

After that little interlude, I can move on with my life.  I’ve got two cardigans in the planning stages, and I’m going to start a lace project as soon as I can get off my backside and wind the yarn.

Anyone else knitting these days?

FO Two-Fer.

Can you believe it?

I finished that sleeve in record time.  I really, really wanted this sweater to be done.  For those of you not following along, this is my Mondo Cable Cardigan.  Ravelry project page with copious notes here.    What I’ll repeat, because it bears repeating, is OMG did this yarn ever grow when I soaked it!  I was Freaking the Hell Out!!  I was about one cup of coffee away from frogging it, but I threw it in the dryer for 20 minutes first.  Magically, it reverted to the size I knit.

It was close, people.

Sadly, it is still cold enough for me to wear the sweater rather than just modeling it for a photo shoot.  Speaking of cold,

I was really cold in this photo.  This is because my feet were bare and I was standing on the cold concrete step.  It might look like I’m smiling, but really my teeth were gritted and I was saying “take the picture so I can go in and put something on my feet.”  I’m demo-ing the Stockholm Scarf for your viewing pleasure.  Ravelry page here.   I’ve been wearing this for weeks and I just love it.  I finally got around to the photo shoot to provide incontrovertible Evidence of Finishing.  I keep wanting to call the project the Stockholm Syndrome, though.

That’s enough out of me.  Happy weekend everyone!

When a Knitter Knits in the Woods…

Although I have been on the lam from the blog, I have been faithful to my needles.  Here’s a taste of what I’ve been up to, in all its unvarnished, unblocked, wonky glory.

 

You might recognize this as a Mondo Cable Cardi.  If you squint and look with one eye.  I finished that first sleeve yesterday and got maybe 20 rows into the second.  I cannot wait to give this sweater a soak – I can hardly stand to look at the bit around the neckline where the collar was attached, or the slip stitch edge, or the rolling ribbing.  Having knit the pullover version in the same yarn, I’m pretty confident that blocking will make this look like a garment instead of something I found in a dumpster.

And now, for my next trick…

Stranded colorwork!  The last frontier!  This is Selbu Modern (I know, no links, but I’m in a hurry and this pattern is ubiquitous).  I totally cheated on the ribbing because I was in a huge hurry to get to the fun part, so I may need to cut that off later and knit it downward, properly, on the correct size needles.  I finally decided to ignore all the officious instruction out there about the importance of knitting stranded with two hands.  No Dark Lord of Knitting has appeared to smite me, so I guess it’s OK.  And so much fun!  Who knew?

Finally…

 

Just a plain old vanilla sock.  I spent some time yesterday repairing some of my hand knit socks.  I haven’t finished any in quite some time, and I wear them constantly.  That adds up to HOLES.  I need to spend some quality time this summer replenishing my sock pile.  This is a start.

That’s it!  I still have a finished thing to show you, but no time today.  And yes, I had to make a choice between blogging afresh and replying to comments.  My apologies!  That’s how life is right now.

Happy Monday!!

It’s Been a While.

I’m emerging from hibernation to record a recipe I made over the weekend before I forget what I did.

No drama behind my absence – just taking a breather.  I’ve been doing a lot of knitting – I’m on the home stretch of my second cardigan of the year, if you can believe that.

More on the knitting on a different day.  Today, I want to tell you about this:

This is a potato, caramelized onion, and gorgonzola tart I made on Saturday.  I found myself with a surfeit of refrigerated pie crust from a quiche baking exercise.  We always seem to have a lot of potatoes threatening to sprout themselves into disgusting potato hell.  So I started thinking about potato tarts.  I did some research and mostly found tarts that included a custard of cream or milk and egg, but since we had just eaten a lot of quiche that didn’t seem to suit.  So I winged it, and the result is sort of a cross between a tart and a gallette.  It was tasty and a wedge with a salad alongside made a nice supper.  This could also serve as a heavy appetizer, cut into small squares.

Potato, Caramelized Onion and Gorgonzola Tart

1 refrigerated, ready to use pie crust

about 6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch rounds

4 strips of bacon

1 T butter

2 large onions, sliced into 1/8 inch rounds

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 T fresh rosemary, chopped

1 t dried thyme

2 oz. gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

a pat or two of extra butter

salt and pepper as needed, to taste

Heat the oven to 425 F.  Unroll the pie crust and place it in an 11-inch tart pan (or do this free-form on a baking sheet – no formality necessary).  Poke the crust all over with a fork, and weight it down with dried beans or pie weights on top of tin foil.  Bake for 12 minutes and remove from oven.

Lower oven temperature to 375.

Place the potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover by an inch or so.  Add some salt and if you are feeling festive, a bay leaf.  Bring to a simmer and cook until just barely tender, about 10 minutes.  Drain.

While the potatoes cook, brown the bacon in a saute pan until crisp.  Remove to paper towels and crumble when cool enough to handle.  Reserve.  Drain off the bacon fat, leaving just a slick in the pan.  Add 1 T butter and the onions.  Slowly saute the onions until they begin to turn golden.  Add the balsamic vinegar and the herbs, with salt and pepper to taste.

Place a thick layer of potato rounds atop the par-baked pie crust (about an inch thick).  Dot with a few bits of butter, just to keep things moist, and sprinkle a bit of salt over the potatoes.  Add the caramelized onions, covering the potato layer.  Sprinkle on the crumbled bacon and the gorgonzola.  Return to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes (more if you’ve allowed everything to cool or done steps ahead and refrigerated the components).

Since certain members of this household object to gorgonzola, I made some mini-tarts with Swiss Cheese to mollify them.  They were devoured, so I have to assume this makes a good substitution!

I hope everyone is well!

 

FO: Aidez.

 

This was one of those projects that just flows off the needles.   It was the perfect combination of well-written instructions with enough going on that you had to pay attention, but intuitive enough that once the pattern stitches were established on a given piece, there was no need to be looking at the pattern constantly.   And, at this gauge, progress is quite apparent even when you have time to knit only a few rows.

All details are on my Ravelry project page, here.   Also a bonus, dorky mirror shot of me wearing the sweater the second after I wove in the last end.

Like me, lots of knitters have made this sweater in Eco Wool.   I do think it’s a great choice for this project, although because it is not a true bulky weight, it does not exactly match the character of the Peruvia Quick called for.  Having some experience with Eco Wool, I knew going in that I don’t care for the look of it when knit loosely to try to achieve a large gauge.  Using my Heather Hoodie vest as a giant gauge swatch, I went with the gauge I had achieved with size 9 needles on the hood of that garment, and I knit a size larger to adjust.   Oddly, after I soaked the pieces they blocked spot on to that larger size – and I started to fret a bit that my sweater would be too sloppy.  But the Eco Wool has such personality that after it dried and I unpinned it, the fibers had fluffed nicely but everything pulled back in just  a bit – so I think I wound up with about a size 38 cardigan (the pattern jumps from 36 to 40).  So I have plenty of ease, but it’s not bulky or sloppy.  And people, the sleeves on this sweater are snug – lots of people have complained about that, but one positive is that it makes the look of the garment more streamlined overall.

Two other points.  One, I just love the way the neck is constructed.  You knit extensions about 4 inches up from where the shoulder seam would otherwise sit, and those wind up wrapping around and meeting at the back of the neck.  So clever, and it looks like a shawl collar.  Two, I think I have almost mastered my fear of/distaste for seaming.   I mustered all the tips and tricks anyone had ever given me, including basting the more crucial seams first, and I think the engineering of it all finally clicked.  Admittedly, raglan seams are a lot easier than set-in seams, but this project gave me a lot of confidence.

Enuff.  Here’s a shot of the back, and with that, happy Monday, all!

Winterlude.

You may have heard about the blizzard that hit a large portion of the country this week.  Unless, of course, you live under a rock.  In spite of the usual overhyped media freak-out fest about the whole thing, it really was a pretty impressive display of nature’s wrath.  The winds were scary.  We wound up with a four-foot drift blocking our side door.  I tried to get a photo of it, but unless you know what you’re looking at it doesn’t tell you much.  Let’s just say it was a lot of snow in a very inconvenient place.

This is mid-excavation.  The snow was very compacted and therefore a bitch to shovel.

Kinda pretty, though.  When it’s not covering your driveway, that is.

With all that behind us, we here in the Land of Cheese will turn our attention to what’s really important:  Da Pack!  In Da Superbowl!

What’s going on in the rest of the country?   Anyone?

Fiber Fugitives Retreat!

Is there anything not to like about an entire day devoted to friends, fiber, food, and fun?

I can’t think of a thing.  Except that the day ended too soon.

We gathered at the Heritage Inn Hotel in Watertown, Wisconsin – a point about halfway between Madison and Milwaukee, so equidistant for all attendees.   We sort of took a flyer on the location, and didn’t really know what to expect, but as it turned out, it was perfect.  We had a nice big table, comfortable chairs, a refrigerator and microwave, and free wifi.  Just add knitters…

Becky shows Jeannie her WIP.

We gathered around 9:00, and after quick introductions of the women who didn’t already know one another, we settled down to our projects.

Jeannie, Lexi, and Catherine in concentration.

We had a delicious array of snacks, including a strangely addicting olive and cream cheese dip that no one could stop eating.   Among the general chat, munching, and stitching, we addressed crucial issues:  How could Lexi best rip out her mohair scarf to reuse the special yarn?  (Answer:  put it in the freezer for a while – it worked!)…  Is Kaffe Fassett still as handsome as he was in his iconic 80s publications?   What’s the deal with Alice Starmore?   Flap heel or short row?   Etiquette of knitting in public?

We also got to see examples of some hot new yarns…  Becky had the Quince & Company Lark, and Ellen had Jared Flood’s Shelter.  Delicious!

Ellen shows Becky her Shelter project.

We saw and tried new things.

Angie gives a spinning demo.

Becky demos drop spindling.

We admired each others’ projects.

Catherine shows her sweater-in-progress.

We undertook distasteful tasks:  Leslie sewed buttons on her darling owl sweater (how did I not get a photo of her??) and wound yarn for a February Lady.  Lesli (yes, there were two! and no photo of either!! ) wound yarn and cast on about a quillion stitches  for a Linen Stitch Scarf.  Lexi ripped out the aforementioned mohair scarf.

There may have been pizza… and there was certainly a lot of laughter.  I was getting a little punchy by the time Angie gave me my spinning lesson, and I was nearly verklempt looking for the orifice on her wheel.  (She kindly explained that her wheel didn’t actually have one, much to my disappointment.)

We departed, much to soon, with hugs and promises to do it again soon.

Next weekend would be good, don’t you think?

All in.

This and That on a Monday.

Hello!  Did everyone have a good weekend?  Did anyone notice that the Packers are still in the playoffs?

Yep, we have to dig deep for the good in January.

Just a couple of things today.   One, if you like tortilla soup (or if you’ve never tried it but think you’d like it), here’s a great recipe.   I’m happy I can link to it – I actually got it from Rick’s Mexican Every Day, which I happen to own.   I made this yesterday.  I used the suggested alternative of a canned chipotle chili since I didn’t have any dried.  Also, instead of cubing the chicken, I seasoned the whole chicken breasts with some adobo powder, browned them, and simmered them whole in the broth until they were tender, and then I shredded them.  I think the flavor of those skinless, boneless breasts is so much better with this treatment.

I expanded the recipe just a bit and got two solid meals and probably an individual lunch or two out of it.   I love making a big pot of soup or stew on a Sunday, and having enough left over for a weeknight meal!

Two, if you’re one of the 3 people in the world who doesn’t read Cookie’s blog, go there now.  Wish her a happy birthday (just a day late) and then check out the links she has provided to The Fabulous Joan’s new business venture.   I have to say, I’m so impressed.  I don’t spin, and I don’t know jack about spinning, and I don’t want to know anything more than less than jack about spinning until that magic day when I can retire with a full pension (that’s a long time from now for those of you who haven’t done the math), but even I can see what a fantastic idea Joan and Cookie came up with.  And the execution is beautiful – right down to the detail of the boxes looking like little packages of gourmet cupcakes!

That’s all I have…  happy Monday!

 

New Year, New Projects, Renewed Mojo.

The needle-clearing purge at the end of the year has really re-charged my knitting batteries.  I was so sick of those stale projects, but too stubborn to allow them to morph from WIPs to UFOs.  It was wonderful to clear a path to some new, more compelling projects.  Above is the back of my Aidez cardigan, which was one of those “I must knit that” at first sight patterns for me.   It’s whipping up beautifully in Cascade Eco Wool.  My previous experience with this yarn told me that I needed to mess with the gauge to get a nice fabric, but lucky for me I had a giant, blocked, multi-gauge swatch at the ready in my Heather Hoodie Vest!   I’m not working the waist shaping in the pattern, by the way.  I wanted something a little more loose and comfy in this cardigan.  We’ll see if that works out.

Somewhere in the far reaches of my closet is an actual Irish fisherman’s sweater procured from the source many years ago by a traveling friend.  I need to dig it out to take a good look at the stitch patterns used in that sweater.  Aidez certainly echoes that very traditional style, but it will be interesting to compare the two when I’m feeling a little more ambitious.

And, for my “knit and talk” project, here is the Stockholm Scarf in progress.    I had been looking for a large cowl/capelet/infinity scarf and I was so pleased to find this.  The other strong contender was a cable pattern, which would be lovely but since I’m cabling on Aidez I wanted something different.  This is knit width-wise in two halves and seamed at the end.  You can of course knit it in the round, but it would require a lengthy circular cord and would get pretty bulky – I like this method because it’s a reasonably portable project even though each half is fairly sizable when finished.  The stitch pattern is completely reversible, and it has the advantage of being nicely rhythmic and easy to read, so there’s no need to tote a pattern with you if you take the project on the go.  Oh, and the yarn is Ultra Alpaca, which remains one of my very favorites and knits up like buttah on my Addi circs!

These projects are making for a much cheerier January than I usually experience.  I’m sure that probably seems completely baffling to my non-knitting friends, but having these projects to look forward to after work or other obligations really does lift my spirits!   It’s rather like having an excellent book to get lost in at the end of a stressful day.

Happy Monday!  Anything fun on your needles?