June 18, 2008
Francie the Cruiser
I went to Seattle last week for business and for the first time in forever I actually knit while traveling! I think partly because I'm enamored with the sock and partly because I had a lot of time on my hands.
This pattern is bloody brilliant and I adore the arch shaping! I'm anxious to get the first sock done so I can try it on and see how the shaping hugs my foot.
The best part of my Seattle trip, by far, was hanging out with Sundara (and as an aside, don't you just love her new website)! We did a little yarn shopping and went out for drinks - it was great fun. And she was so nice to provide me with a little yarn fix!
Gorgeous Sock Yarn!
And scrumptious silky merino.
Nobody does color like Sundara.
Today is the first installment of our work lunch/knitting group. It's actually open to anyone who wants to do anything crafty, and since it was my idea, I hope we have a good turn out. I'll let you know.
Summer has finally shown up in Wyoming. Yesterday it was in the 70's and word is that it will get up to the 80's today, which I don't really believe. But anything is better than the cold and snow we had last week.
Have a great day!
Stephanie
June 11, 2008
New Project Giddiness
There's something exciting about starting a new sock. It's like a bright sunshiney day. There's all that excitement about finding the pattern and then picking the perfect yarn out of the stash. Then you get to pick out the needles - dpns, magic loop, size 0, size 1 ... all those choices. And once you have it all together, then you get to cast on. New project nirvana.
I picked the Francie pattern because I saw Stephanie's (scroll down a bit) and thought they were the cutest things I'd seen in awhile. Have you seen that shaping? The ribbing on the foot? I think they're fabulously cool.
Then I needed to find some yarn. I have a good stash of sock yarn (really, who doesn't?), so while I was tempted to buy something new, I resisted and went looking in the stash. I debated between a few choices and finally decided that the Brooks Farm sock yarn I bought at Estes Park two years ago (!) was the ticket. It's a gorgeous wool, silk, viscose blend that has a fabulous sheen and I love the color - I still don't have a pair of red socks and I think that's a crime.
Then it came time to pick the needles. I'm back to knitting on dpns after a few socks using magic loop, but I've been wanting to try the Knit Picks Harmony dpns for awhile and this seemed like the perfect excuse. I mean really, why ruin a perfectly great knitting experience with needles you're not crazy about. Right? So, I ordered a 2.0 and 2.25mm set (which are 6!) and they came Monday. That meant I was ready to go. Weeee.
So, now that I had all the materials assembled and was riding high on my new project giddiness, it was time to cast on. So, I get out the pattern and read (always a good first step), and what I see is "Loosely cast on 64 stitches using the Long Tail or German Twisted method." The German Twisted method? What's that? So me being me, I have to check it out. Google is a wonderful thing, and this is what I found
And this lovely pdf: How To Do The German Twisted Cast On
So, since it's something new and it's supposed to be "a very stretchy and neat looking beginning for socks,hats, gloves and mittens" I decided to give it a try. And after a few tries, I figured it out and it works pretty great.
So far, I love the whole project - pattern, yarn, and needles are working in harmony. Will the giddiness continue? Stay tuned.
Stephanie
Posted by Stephanie at 8:50 AM | Comments (12)June 9, 2008
Cream Scones
I promise this isn't going to be all baking all the time, but since my fiber adventures are plugging along at a snail's pace, I'm left with baking and television watching to entertain you with. So, baking first, then talk of television...
Scones are one of my favorite breakfast foods. Well really I will eat a scone just about any time - day or night. There are lots of yummy things you can add to scones - fruit, nuts, you can make whole wheat ones and savory ones, but my favorite in the cream scone - just a little sweet and light and delicious.
Cream Scones
recipe from: How to Bake by Nick Malgieri
Makes 12 scones
3 cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur is the best, in my opinion)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream, plus more for wash
cinnamon sugar
Set rack in middle of oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Cut butter into small pieces and rub evenly into the dry ingredients until it resembles fine cornmeal (just like if you were making biscuits).
Whisk eggs and cream together and stir into the butter and flour mixture.
At this point the dough looks a little dry and you might be tempted to add more liquid, but don't just yet. Knead the dough and it will combine nicely. I just dump the whole mess out onto the counter and knead it for a few minutes to work all the left over dry ingredients in and you end up with a nice firm dough.
Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces and form each into a 5-inch disk - just pat the dough until it's relatively flat and about 5 inches in diameter.
Cut each disk into quarters so you have 4 triangle-shaped wedges - I find my metal scraper works great for this - better than a knife.
Place scones onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silpat - I use 2 cookie sheets and put 6 scones per sheet. Brush tops with remaining cream and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes - 10 or 12 is enough for mine. You want the scones firm but not dry, and you don't want golden brown, but rather just slightly tan... Kinda like this.
Let me know what you think of them if you try them. They're good with butter and jam, but honestly, I like them plain with nothing to interfere with the slight sweetness. Yum.
So, now on to the entertainment portion of today. Do you watch Army Wives? If you don't, you should. Last night was the season 2 premier and it was great - I was totally shocked - didn't see that coming at all. I love the characters, so flawed yet still so likable and human. And I love that it's a show that airs new episodes in the summer when everything but my beloved General Hospital is in reruns. Lifetime has all of the season 1 episodes, as well as last night's premier on their website so if you've never watched, you can get caught up before next Sunday.
This week there will be some knitting on the never ending sleeves and I'm starting some new socks because I'm flying to Seattle on Thursday and I need a small portable knitting project for the plane - that big hulking sweater is not making the trip! I'm almost done with a fun little summer dress - just have the collar and sleeves and hem to finish, so hopefully I can get that done in the next couple of days and share that with you. Have a great Monday.
Stephanie
Posted by Stephanie at 8:48 AM | Comments (6)June 2, 2008
Got Milk?
In typical weekend fashion, I got done about half of what was on my To-Do List, but I suppose I should give myself a break and admit that part of my love for weekends is being able to lounge and read a book or watch something meaningless on tv. Saturday was very exercise related. I took Riley (the dog) for a run - we ran for about 15 minutes and walked for 10 (5 at the beginning and 5 at the end) and when I measured my distance after I was done I ended up running about 2 miles (and walking another 1/2 mile or so). Not bad for my first time in too long. To continue with the exercise theme, I also went for a nice long hike with my friend Amanda - about a 3 mile hike in the "mountains" - not really the mountains, but I'm not sure how else to describe it. The hike was gorgeous and the company was pretty great too. The weather was gorgeous - in the 60s with a bit of cloud cover and no wind! Riley had a great time playing in the lakes and the mud puddles and he was exhausted when we got home. Score one for tiring out the dog!
Yesterday was a day for household stuff. I did laundry and worked in the yard. I still have more flower beds to clean out, but they're getting there. The highlight of the day was making oreo cookies.
The recipe is fabulous and quite simple to make, although I made a huge mess while I was doing it - which is pretty normal in my cooking en devours.
I'm still knitting the sleeves on the never ending sweater, and I had to call the yarn store and see if she could put a couple of balls of the Rialto back for me because I'm going to run out before finish. Lovely. At least the LYS still had a few balls in the same dyelot. I ordered the harmony needles from Knit Picks, and they should be here this week. I'm not sure I'll be able to resist casting on once they arrive, but who knows. Maybe I'll surprise myself. Or maybe not. Whatever.
Have a happy Monday.
Steph
