One of the last minute knitted gifts that I can finally proudly show off was a pair of Pashas! Each knit for a small child, who I hope enjoys Pasha as much as I did...Truly a fun knit, even with the seaming!
With that, the old year closes and we get ready to welcome in the new.
Happy New Year everyone! May it be healthy, happy and prosperous!
A little bit of post holiday baking to tidy up the kitchen resulted in a loaf of banana chocolate chip bread (lower loaf) and a loaf of Friendship Pudding Bread. The banana bread tends to make an appearance whenever I have bananas that I don't manage to eat before they get mottled....and every now and again, I mix up a bowl of starter and that fuels several weeks of baking before I get tired of feeding it (or it dies...I hate it when my starter dies!)
Amongst the holiday gifting was a herd of various knit catnip mice for many of the people I know with cats. Rumor has it that they are all great hits! To the left are just three mice; I've knit numerous others of other designs, but I failed to snap photos of them before shipping them off. In addition to catnip mice, the holiday knits included several scarves (sorry, the photos never did come out right). Next year, I'll have to get into my holiday knitting earlier :D Who knows what the theme will be. There are some other knitted gifts that went out for the holidays, but I can't post the photos yet since I can't confirm their receipt and I don't want to ruin the surprise!
It's a Holiday Tradition, fruit and fruit galettes from Harry and David. Thank you, Aunt M! This year the galettes came wrapped with a bow, which I put on the cat, and he handsomely modeled it for us. Doesn't he look festive (if not a little bit wired)?
I've actually tried baking galettes before, and have come pretty close with an almond flavored butter/sugar cookie creation - smeared with jam or lemon curd, they're absolutely divine. I'll have to see about baking some for posting! As for the fruit, it's been safely stored away for munching during the holiday weekend. Tasty! And a welcome departure from the overabundance of baked goods. Is it just me, or does anyone else go into pastry overload and start craving fresh fruits instead? Ah well. I call it self-preservation of the waistline :)
Happy Holidays!
Your Christmas is Most Like: The Muppet Christmas Carol |
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| You are Socks**! |
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| You were Nice This Year! |
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Why is it that yarn shops have to be so far away? This is probably a good thing, since the closer I am to a yarn shop, the easier it is to go inside and pet the yarn...and find yarn that I absolutely *must* have....Witness Exhibit A on the left - a trip up to Jessica Knits with Amy resulted in a small herd of Baby Alpaca Brush by Plymouth Yarn Co. following me home. I think I'll make a sweater found in the first Stitch n Bitch book. Unfortunately, the name of the sweater doesn't come immediately to mind, and my book is at home, and not on hand for reference!
Speaking of Amy, she's so thoughtful, she had a holiday surprise for me - the new Stitch n Bitch book and a ball of Oasis Soysilk yarn! She definitely knows me too well - I'm on a self imposed book diet (that really ought to be coupled with a yarn diet at the rate I'm going). My rule for now is if I see a book I want, I can't buy it immediately - I have to sit and think about it and see if I really want it or not. This usually works, as I'm far far far behind in my reading, and I've got more than enough projects in my queue to last me well into next year! Don't believe me? Well, I've created a companion blog, Half Baked Objects (also accessible via my sidebar - listed in the Archives section) that has all of my finished works compiled...well, mostly all except for the holiday ones which will be posted after the holidays so I don't ruin any surprises. Included on that blog's sidebar is a partial listing of my project queue - which is definitely as out of control as my yarn stash.
Yeah. It's been one of those kinds of weeks. Thank goodness it's Friday! Time to tuck in and get some good lazing in along with some last minute holiday knitting and perhaps yet another round of baking. No, I don't have any potlucks or holiday parties to bake for. Baking just for bakings sake. I don't know what it is about baking, but I find it immensely soothing. And every once in a while, I get it in my head to do some elaborate decorative baking. The thought crosses my mind every once in a while that I shoulda been a pastry chef. And yes, you read that right, the holiday knitting list just got reopened with a couple last minute requests. What's in store? Well...you'll just have to wait and see...can't have the holiday surprises ruined, now can I? :D
Now then. The cookies are as follows:
Mystery Ingredient* Cookies
1 pound Butter, softened to room temperature
(that's right folks, we start these out right with a full pound of sweet cream butter!)
1 cup Granulated Sugar
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 cups crushed mystery ingredient*
(worry not, it will be revealed in good time)
1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
Powdered/Confectioner's Sugar for garnish
Method:
Cream together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and stir until combined. Add flour, then crushed mystery ingredient*, mix just until combined. Shape dough into small balls and place on cookie sheet. Flatten slightly (with a fork dipped in cold water, or your palm or other mushing device of your choice - I prefer to skip this step and I also recommend chilling the dough to set it up a bit). Bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for 20 minutes (I've gone as low as 10 minutes for bake time on these cookies - be sure to keep an eye on em!). You'll want to watch them closely in the oven, as they burn easily. The cookie should just start to turn golden around the edges and the top should still be light colored when they’re finished. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan until set, and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. When cooled, sift powdered sugar over cookies - if you want em really fancy, do your sifting over a stencil. Store in an airtight container, with layers of waxed paper or foil between layers of cookies.
Yield: Approximately 7-8 dozen small cookies
*Mystery Ingredient: give up yet? It's Potato Chips! Incidentally, to get 2 cups of crushed potato chips, it's a good portion of a large bag of chips from the store - I have been using Lay's Deli-style chips for my cookies....just make sure you don't use any of the flavored varieties!
*sigh* it's the middle of the week and I just feel like flopping down on the floor for a nice rest. I'm not sure if this is my seasonal slump or if it's pre-holiday burnout. I've gotten pretty much all of my holiday things done - a goodly portion of baking (sorry, lighting was just dreadful for photos!), holiday cards, and gifts galore. There are a few more things to tie up, but I'm pretty confident that things will come together as they should. Cookie Exchange tonight. Can't wait....mmmm baked goods! My recipe (sans photo) will be posted tomorrow.
For example, here is a photo - and a not too flattering one at that - of Cozy. For some reason the color isn't coming out right - she's dark green in color, knit out of Wool Ease. Poor thing has been stuck on needles since September if I recall correctly, and she's been frogged out at least twice. The good news is I'm getting accustomed to the pattern, so I can work on her more frequently - but I still limit myself to Cozy work when I can set aside enough time to complete a full pattern repeat - which, for me, takes about an hour. I do like working on her, as the yarn is pleasant to touch and the fabric is coming off very nicely. Perhaps now that I have all my holiday knitting done (at least all that I'm convinced I'll get done anyway!), I'll spend more time working on her...along with the other myriad of other projects I'd like to get underway.
Anyway, back to the eye candy - my fiber downfall was not to be had at the Yarn Garden or Lint - rather it was found sneakily hiding amongst the foodstuffs at the Farmers Market. What is it? Why it's hand painted hand spun and plied wool yarn from SuDan Farm. Hug a sheep :D I couldn't resist - now I have something on the order of 775 meters of yarn that is somewhere between sport and worsted weight...I'm thinking either Frolic or Shapely Tee. Thoughts? Frolic will require some math on my part, since the original yarn is Rowan 4-ply - a fingering weight cotton yarn. I know I was thinking of making the Shapely Tee out of that blue Beachcomber yarn I have sitting around, but this handspun yarn is so much more alluring.
And last, but not least, a trip to the Fabric Depot found me walking off with a yard of cat and mouse fabric and a fun retro-floral print. I'm thinking a lined square bottom handbag out of the Floral. I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the cat and mouse print, but I had to have it. I don't know what possessed me to buy the floral - it's got to be the most feminine fabric I've ever purchased. And it's got pink in it too! I'm typically drawn to blues and neutral tones. Perhaps it's all this knitting and other craftiness working its way into my mind. Ah well. It'll be nice to work with in any case :D
As I alluded in my previous post, my visit to the Portland Farmer's Market had me packing my bag with things that raised the eyebrows of the security officers at the airport. Nothing too strange...just some mighty fine produce.
When I saw the strange veggie to the left, I just had to have it. It's name? Romanesco. And it appeals to the nerd in me because all those cool florets are formed in fabulous fractal Fibonacci spirals. Incidentally, normal cauliflower also exhibits this type of pattern, though it is much more difficult to observe. This particular species of Cauliflower is from northern Italy (where many other good and tasty things are found) and it apparently has only a limited season - generally from September through November.
Also found and brought home from the farmers market were some glorious Chestnuts. I just love roasted chestnuts. The one I sampled while picking out my pound of tasties was nice and sweet and peeled amazingly easily - the vendor prepared his by pan roasting and finishing off either in the oven or on a lower heat on the stove top. I'll be giving that pan roasting method a try, as I usually roast mine in the oven, and no matter how carefully I cut little x's into my chestnuts, it seems I always don't cut one big enough and get a small chestnut explosion in the oven. In addition, mine seem much more difficult to peel when prepared this way when compared to the pan roasted ones at the market.
Other acquisitions at the market included a lamb sausage in a blanket and a tasty apple cobbler (for lunch) and a Chocolate Panini - which I brought home and had for breakfast.
And lest you all think I'm super strong and able to resist the lure of fiber, I did indeed bring some home...but you'll have to wait til tomorrow to see it :D
Yeah, I'm a nerd :D I saw this and sadly, I got it pretty quickly. I got my paper holiday cards out for the most part, so here's a Happy Holiday greeting for the rest of you.
I don't know what it is about rainy cloudy days, but they make me sleepy and I yearn for hot tea or hot chocolate, a good book, a comfy couch and a fuzzy throw blanket (something I need to knit). Now that I'm back up in Portland, I am once again reminded that it doesn't *really* rain here...it just "pizzles". The air remains misty, tho the mist drops defintely are moving in a downward direction - they just aren't big enough in my mind to constitute Rain. Personally, in my mind, rain consists of rather sizable droplets of water. Ah well - in some ways it's a refreshing change, and I get to wear all the warm clothes that I keep in storage back home. Unfortunately, it's putting me into hibernation mode and I'm craving my hot tea, etc. etc. rather than wanting to be working. Ah well...the work day is coming to a close, so I just retreat to my hotel room and have my hot tea on the couch with my book and my knitting. I'll have to settle for huddling under my fleece vest since there's no fuzzy throw availible.
Troy is definitely in the bag.
As for me, I've not quite got everything in the bag. But I'm getting there. Holiday madness is in full swing. Two holiday events this past weekend; I used them as an opportunity to test run the cookie recipe I'm planning on using for the Cookie Swap that I've been invited to.
Most of the holiday gifts are wrapped and waiting to be sent off...the delay? Well, it's due to the fact that I don't have our "holiday message" finalized yet. It's on the list of things to get done in the very near term.
The Hug is progressing very nicely, I'm almost done. I'm not quite certain what I think of it - the fabric is definitely plushy, but it seems that it may be prone to pilling because it is so fuzzy. I'm hoping to finish it off tonight so I can move on to another project. The nice thing with this one is I've taught myself how to knit small circumferences on a pair of circular needles....so the world of socks will be opening to me soon, I suspect. I've always hated knitting with DPNs and liken it to wrestling with a hedgehog.
