Sockdown: October

These are Finished Object (FO) pictures of the socks I made for October, as a part of Sockdown, in Sock Knitter's Anonymous on Ravelry. The pattern is Simple Skyp Socks, by Adrienne Ku. I used some of the yarn I picked up at the Kentucky Wool Fest, by Knitted to a T -- Sensational Sock 3 in April Showers. I call them "hubby's game day socks," because I made them for my husband and the colors are the same as the University of Kentucky (go cats!!). They're the first pair of socks I have made for him, and I am hoping they will bring good luck to the cats. So far, so good! We won both games we played on Saturday, and DJ was wearing the socks. We not only won our basketball game, but we also beat Georgia in football at Athens, for the first time in 1977!! Here's hoping there is more luck with these socks.

Soup Part Deaux

I am beginning to think I don't know how to cook unless I am using a Simply Recipe's recipe. Lately all of my meals have been made using recipes from that site. I feel like I am their own personal commercial. But, I love the pictures and the descriptions of the recipes, plus they're always yummy!

I thought I had a butternut squash leftover from my first CSA share, so I planned to make this butternut squash apple soup. So, I sent DJ to the grocery to get a few things we needed. He got home, gathered the ingredients, and realized that our butternut squash had gone bad. Way bad. So, he had to run back out to get another. Of course, that meant that we weren't really using any of the veggies from our share . . . but, it was worth it. The soup was delicious! I've always liked the idea of squash soups, but have never tried them. I really enjoyed it. The tart from the apple really blends well with the squash, and balances the flavors. This is an easy, tasty soup! I made a few changes, such as roasting the butternut squash first, but that just made it easier to cut the squash up. Plus, it gave it another flavor, from the roasting.

Bok Choy Virgin No More!

Before last Thursday, I was a Bok Choy Virgin--I had never cooked bok choy before. But, we got three heads of bok choy in our second installment of the fall CSA we're participating in. I knew I wanted to make a quick meal because we were heading out of town the next day, so I decided on a stir fry. I based the recipe on Simply Recipe's mushroom stir fry. The sauce part of the recipe is delicious!! Very good. I mixed the vegetables up, using broccoli, snow peas, and bok choy. I also added some beef and served it on top of brown rice. It was a delicious, quick meal using some of my CSA share. I have veggies coming out of my ears because of the CSA and am trying to find ways to use more!

Perfect Soup

I love soup for dinner, paired with some form of a grilled cheese sandwich. I have only made a few soups, though. We typically pull out a can of soup . . . I know, I know. Blasphemy. But, I do occasionally make soup, and I do want to try more recipes. One of my favorites is actually a Weight Watcher's recipe for spicy black bean soup. Tonight, however, I found a new favorite. It's Gourmet magazine's Thai-spiced tomato soup, and was recently featured by The Wednesday Chef. The recipe is so simple and so delicious. It makes a perfectly creamy, yet not too rich tomato soup with the perfect spices. The lime and cilantro are perfect additions to accent the red curry paste. DJ (my husband) picked up some of the ingredients we needed, and happened to get some spicy thai kettle chips, which went perfectly with the soup. I highly recommend this recipe!

Applesauce Party

This weekend I participated in my family's annual Applesauce Making Party. Well, really, my dad and I made applesauce, with some help from my nephews and an honorable mention to DJ. For as long as I can remember, we have made our own applesauce. We usually make it once a year and freeze the results to enjoy throughout the year. My dad is not a chef, or even a cook, really. My mom generally cooked for the family while I was growing up, with little help from dad. He did, however, have a few staples that surprised us: homemade applesauce and pizza.

Although the thought of making applesauce may seem daunting, it's really not quite as difficult as you would imagine. First, you have to buy your apples. My dad had Jonathon apples this time, and they were a bit soft. Generally, any tart cooking apples tend to be pretty good. We used 2 bushels and ended up with approximately 30 quarts and 22 pints. I think.

Once you have your apples, you begin by peeling, coring, and slicing your apples. This is usually the most difficult part. We have a slicer/peeler/corer contraption, but it did not peel the apples very well this go-round. As I mentioned, the apples were a little soft, so the pressure from the peeler pushing against the apple, along with the coring mechanism, seemed to just make the apple crumple. So, I had to peel the apples by hand, using a vegetable peeler, before putting them through the corer/slicer. Once you have your apples, cored, sliced and peeled, you put them in a big pot and add enough water to cover the bottom, about an inch deep (below).

Cook the apples on medium heat, stirring occassionally and adding water as needed, to keep the apples from sticking and becoming too thick.

When the apples are cooked enough so that most of the large chunks are gone and the remaining chunks are soft enough that you can easily mash them with the back of your spoon, they are ready to be removed from the heat. The picture below shows you about what the consistency should be:

After you remove the apples from the heat, you want to run them through some kind of a collander, strainer, or sieve. We didn't have a proper sieve (note: Christmas idea for dad!), so we simply used an over-the-sink mesh strainer. Put a larger bowl under the strainer and, using a spatula or some other device, force the apples through the strainer. You want to do this until the only stuff remaining in the strainer is uncooked pieces of apple or remaining skin. I know, it will seem like this step takes a long time, but keep forcing it through, until you've got hardly anything left. After you've strained the apples, you are ready to sweeten and season them to taste. We generally add cinnamon and sugar. I teased my dad and told him that he likes his applesauce like candy, because he adds more sugar than I tend to prefer. The applesauce is, in my opinion, actually pretty good without sugar. But, I lost that argument!
After your applesauce tastes the way you want it, you can then pour it into freezer bags and enjoy throughout the year--just defrost it in the microwave or on the stove top. You could probably also submerge the ziploc bags into warm water. I also guess you could can it instead of freezing it, but we've never tried it!

Shhhh.... swaptime!

As promised, here is more KNITTING blogging! Since I've been cooking more lately, I seem to have been spending less time knitting. And I definitely have been spending less time blogging about my knitting. That makes me a little sad. So, here's a "fix."

I am doing a swap in the malabrigo swap group on ravelry and am currently finishing up my partner's package. I am so excited!! I have done one other swap, but this is a pretty big swap, so I hope that I have done a good enough job! I decided to knit a Gretel for my swap partner, using, of course, malabrigo worsted--bijou blue. I really love this pattern (and I obviously love the yarn). It is tedious knitting, that's for sure. The twisted cables are time-consuming, and make my wrist hurt some. But, the outcome is totally worth it! And, it does actually knit up quickly. I finished this one in less than a week! I hope she likes it!

Happy Halloween!

A lot of chopping... is it worth it?

I chopped for almost two hours and got a blister on my index finger, with the following result:



I made this Cottage Pie to go along with the aforementioned brown bread. The end result was delicious! And the leftovers were even yummier. But, it was A LOT of chopping. A lot. I didn't mind it too much. I worked on it during an afternoon when I was working from home, so I really took my time with it and enjoyed myself. It wasn't until the very end, when I noticed my blister, that I'd realized just how much chopping there was (and also how I seriously need to get my knife sharpenned--or just get a better knife). But, it was really tasty, and a nice intensive project to keep my mind off of other things. So, I do recommend it. And the good thing about Shepherd's or Cottage Pie: you can put in whatever you have!

And, I promise, I will be back soon with some more knitting blogging.

Dreaming of Ireland

A few years ago, my husband and I went to Ireland. It was our first European trip together, and we fell in love! We traveled from Dublin down the southern coast, stopping along the way, and left from Shannon. We loved the people, the culture, the sites, and even the food. Our very favorite was the brown bread. We stayed in B&Bs during our trip, and they all served delicious brown bread with soft butter. Since then, I've been trying to recreate the bread we head in Ireland, with various degrees of success. Tonight, I have found it. The very first result in a google search for "Irish brown bread" is this. And it's delish.



The recipe is super easy, and it turns out great! The texture is great--soft, yet with texture from the whole wheat flour. I used stone ground whole wheat flour, which I highly recommend. I had to add extra buttermilk, to get the texture right, but the directions in the recipe tell you exactly what consistency you should be looking for (slightly thick brownie texture, yet pourable). This bread is perfect served with some salted butter, alongside a hearty stew or soup (I served mine with Cottage Pie, which I'll be discussing in a later post).

Scalloped Turnips

As promised, here is a review of the scalopped turnips recipes from Simply Recipes. We only had two turnips--one was giant, though. We really needed probably one more, because the turnips turned out a little soupy. The flavor of the turnips was pretty good, though. They still had a lot of turnip flavor, so the scalloping doesn't take out all of the bitterness of the turnips. But, my husband loved them! I was a little on the fence, but probably because I may not love turnips themselves. I will try something different next time, to see if I like them prepared another way.

I served it with chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese and spinach. It's based on a recipe from Simply Recipes, but I made some changes. I pounded out two chicken breasts, seasoned them with salt and pepper, put a layer of spinach on the breasts, and sprinkled goat cheese on top. Then I rolled the breasts, secured it with a toothpick. I browned the breasts in a pan with hot olive oil first, then finished it in the oven at 425. It was delicious!

Saturday Brunch

I love brunch on the weekends with friends! We had a delicious brunch at Toast on Market in Louisville yesterday morning. I had a Monte Cristo French toast sandwich with hashbrown casserole. The French toast was great--the bread was cooked like French toast and it was served sandwich style with ham, Swiss, and orange marmalade. The coffee was flowing and my husband recommends the spicy bloody Mary. It was the perfect start to a great Saturday!



-- Posted from my iPhone

First Fall CSA Share!!

A co-worker told me about the fall CSA program from a nearby farm--Elmwood Stock Farm. Although their main CSA is during the summer, they offer a fall program with biweekly pick ups, for a total of 10 weeks. It focuses on fall produce, plus any leftover/stored summer produce. We also opted to do add the meat option. I was looking so forward to getting our first share and cooking some great, fall foods! Well, today was the day.



In this share, we got the following: baby beets, brussels sprouts, organic, garlic, garlic powder, kale greens, sage, rosemary, gold potatoes, red potatoes, baby rutabagas, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, stripetti squash, sweet potatoes, turnips, cucumbers, eggplant, bell peppers, a whole chicken, and ground round. All of the veggies are organic--with the exception of the squash. The beef comes from certified organic angus cattle and the chicken is also organic.



I decided to do the CSA program, our first time ever, because I am really falling in love with the idea of buying local. Sure, there are environmental reasons, but I personally like the idea of helping my neighbor. In these tough economic times, I worry about the farmer in the next town, the local artisans, businessmen, etc. So, the idea of getting fresh produce and supporting local businesses makes me feel like I am supporting my community. I also really like the idea of being force to try new foods. Although I recently moved from Chicago, which has amazing farmers markets, I would never step out of the box and try new things. So, today I am. And, as I write, I have scalloped turnips in the oven. I will be sure to post a follow up review of the recipe!

Kentucky Wool Fest

A few weeks ago, DJ (my husband) and I went to the KY Wool Fest in Falmouth, KY, with his mom and dad. I had never been before, but the festival is huge in the craft collectors-crowd. There are multiple tents where people sell their crafts, lots of food, and, my favorite, wool and fiber! This was my first fiber festival, and I loved it!! The KY Wool Fest is still growing, but I got to meet some lovely women who dye and spin their own yarn--some of whom even raise the sheeps! We had a great time and it has inspired me to keep knitting, and even learn to spin! I purchased a drop spindle (have yet to find time to use) and some roving to get me started.



Here are some of the other goodies I bought:

Sock yarn by LunabudKnits

Handspun yarn by a woman who raises her own sheep:
Of course, there were livestock at the festival! I got to meet this lovely alpaca, along with other animals, including sheeps and even pot-bellied pigs!

I was super excited to watch the sheep shearing. Although I know I saw this as a child, I only started knitting about a year ago, so I did not appreciate what I was seeing back then.
I had a great time and I can't wait to go to more fiber and yarn festivals!! I don't have anymore planned at the moment, but really hope to go to Stitches South next year!

A Cupcake Review

I recently volunteered to bake cupcakes for my boss's birthday and was quite excited to try a new recipe. I love making baked goods from scratch and really wanted to try making real buttercream. So, I decided to make Martha Stewart's yellow butter cupcakes with her chocolate buttercream frosting. The instructions were very easy to follow and didn't require anything too difficult.


The batter tasted delicious, and I was excited to see how they would turn out! Unfortunately, I think I over-filled the cupcake tins because they rose too much and spilled over the sides. I was a little disappointed in that. The recipe said to fill each tin, but I would recommend leaving some room at the top. Because they rose so much, the cooking time was also off. So, I kept an eye on them, but couldn't keep the edge from browning too much, since the middles weren't completely done. They turned out pretty good, probably a little on the dry side (maybe I over baked them??). The icing was delicious. Real buttercream is super rich, especially with chocolate in it.



Overall, I think the recipes are both very good, classic recipes, but I needed to improve my execution! I am adjusting to a new oven (and an electric oven at that), so that may explain some of the problems.

Knitting for Babies

I love knitting for babies!! Especially clothing. It goes so fast, yet you feel like you've accomplish so much! I recently finished my first project from Vintage Baby Knits, the Louise Cardigan.



I used Lorna's Laces sock yarn on size 3 needles. It used less than 2 skeins for the 3-6 month size. I am really happy with the way it turned out. I do think that the pattern would look a little better with slightly textured/tweedy yarn, but I still really like it a lot! I didn't modify it at all, although I could have done the sleeves in the round, as some on Ravelry have done. But, I was glad to have the seaming practice, because I don't have much experience with seaming. I love the pattern and hope to do others from her book!

Fall Cooking

Work has been stressful for me lately. I've just been really busy and have been having motivation issues. Plus, I have a really bad habit of not being able to leave work at work, and I tend to stress about work at home. This is one reason why I am so addicted to knitting--it's one of the only things that can completely occupy my mind. Cooking has the same effect. I don't cook as much as I'd like to because I am sometimes too tired to put much effort into cooking. But, something about the fall begs me to cook. I love hearty fall foods: stews, warm casseroles, root vegetables, pork chops with apples! Earlier this week, I had a craving for just that: spiced pork chops with apple chutney.



The chutney was quite good. It calls for apples, cranberries, brown sugar, cider vinegar, dry mustard, ginger, all spice and salt. Although I tend not to like mustard, even in dry form, I really liked it in this. It counterbalanced the cider and the sweetness of the apples and the cranberries.



The pork chops I used were thicker than called for, and I always find that I have to cook pork chops longer than recipes call for. I can never get the inside cooked correctly without the outside overcooking. I started these on a stove-top grill pan, and finished them in the oven. They actually turned out really good and juicy!



We paired it with sweet potatoes that had been baking in the oven and some apple cider wine from a small winery in southern Indiana, Huber's Winery. We got the wine in September when we went with some friends. We did a wine tasting, and I really liked this wine. It's a seasonal selection. It's a little thick and a little sweeter than I typically prefer, but it really does have an apple cider taste, which I love! And it paired well with the chops.

Hanging on to Summer

Although my last post relished the fall, this post describes my attempt to cling to summer during the looming winter! I posted previously about sockdown going on in the sock knitter's anonymous group on ravelry, and here is my first completed sock of the sockdown!


I knitted the September Mystery Sock by Nancy Bush. The yarn is minestrone by Yarn Chef, in the straw hat colorway. This was my first time using any yarn by Yarn Chef, and I was pleased with it! The yarn was just a hair splitty, but I think that's because I had problems getting it wound, caused by my failure to properly secure my ball winder, which resulted in a giant knot that I really had to struggle with to undo. There is a lot of yardage in the minestrone--these are socks for my wide, size 10 foot and I had plenty of yarn leftover that I could have used to make them longer.

I really enjoyed knitting this sock and learned all sorts of new techniques--estonian cast-on, vikkel braid, and a different toe (not quite sure what the toe style is called, but it doesn't use kitchener!). I love the yellow because it will remind me of the summer, even in the middle of winter when I need to cover my cold feet up with warm, wool socks!

I did make some modifications, for sizing. They're listed below:

• CO 66 instead of 60, for my big feet.
• I only did 5 pattern repeats before starting the heel, because I like socks that are slightly shorter and was also concerned about yardage (but I shouldn't have been, I had plenty left over!)
• Because I used 66 instead of 60, I had to redo some of the math for the heel. I worked the heel across 33 stitches, instead of 29.
  
• For the heel turn: R1: k22, ssk; r2: SL, P11, P2tog; I then worked until all stitches were used.
  

Still here!

I am still here! I have just been super busy lately. Between commuting to work, trying to get some knitting projects finished, and traveling on the weekends, I haven't had much blogging time. But, things are going well. I am really enjoying my work. It's intellectually challenging and interesting!! I am trying to keep up with my hobbies on top of work, but I have a feeling my hobby-time will be cut some in the coming weeks. I will be busy at work for the next month or so, and will probably have some late night to try to get everything done.

For now, I want to do a little food blogging! Fall is upon us in Kentucky. The leaves are changing colors, the air is cool and crisp, and fall festivals abound! I love pumpkin, and tried a new pumpkin recipe last week, pecan-topped pumpkin bread, from Cooking Light. It was very good! The bread is super moist and tasty. I froze one of the loaves to enjoy later! If you like pumpkin, try the recipe. It uses egg and egg substitute, to cut down some on the fat. You could probably make it even lighter by replacing some of the oil for applesauce.

I'm Back!

I have been MIA for a few weeks. Hope someone missed me :) As I alluded to in an earlier post, I moved from Chicago to Berea, KY. It's just a temporary move (about a year), but it's still been a rough transition. I miss Chicago and my friends there. I sort of hate driving so much (I commute about 40 minutes to work each way). Although the time isn't horrible, it cuts into my knitting time!! haha. Anyway, I wanted to check in to let you all know that I am alive.

On the knitting front, I finished two projects this weekend, and casted on another! I finished my mom's birthday present (the vesper shirt I talked about earlier) and my dad's father's day socks (okay, so those were just a little late!). I am so happy to have those projects done, and everyone loved them! I will get FO pictures soon. I also casted on another ishbel. This is also in malabrigo sock, but in a gorgeous new arbol colorway. It has beautiful shades of gold, red, brown, and green. It's the perfect fall colorway, in my opinion! Pics to come of those, soon!

On yet another topic, I am setting a new weightloss goal for myself!! My 10-year high school reunion is Thanksgiving weekend and I want to lose some weight for it. In reality I need to lose a lot of weight (I could stand to lose at least 70 pounds), but I am not going to go crazy and be unrealistic. I am following Weight Watchers (have been off and on for a while, just need to convince myself to stick to it), so I want to lose the weight in a healthy way. My goal is to lose about 1.5 pounds a week, for a total of 16.5 pounds by the reunion. I will be updating on here about my progress, so wish me luck!

Confessions of a Yarnaholic

I am officially addicted to yarn! (what knitter isn't??) I love and hate Ravelry for introducing me to so many wonderful types of yarn, especially hand-dyed yarns that I can't get at my LYS. Don't get me wrong I am glad to have these additions to my stash, but my pocketbook isn't . . . nether is my husband! I was watching Confessions of a Shopaholic last night and Rebecca's description of shopping and the pleasure she gets from shopping completely match the pleasure I get from buying yarn. For example:

You know that thing when you see someone cute and he smiles and your heart kind of goes like warm butter sliding down hot toast? Well that's what it's like when I see a store. Only it's better.

And comparing shopping to men:

A man will never love you or treat you as well as a store. If a man doesn't fit, you can't exchange him seven days later for a gorgeous cashmere sweater. And a store always smells good. A store can awaken a lust for things you never even knew you needed. And when your fingers first grasp those shiny, new bags... oh yes... oh yes.

Swap "store" for "yarn" and these quotes may ring true for some of us. Am I right? And, even more, is that a sign I (we?) have a problem? This is something to consider for a later day. As a newer knitter, and an even newer stasher, I still feel like I have time to keep stashing before going overboard.

I finally caught my first Wollmeise update last night! I got a small "We're Different" grab bag in Blau, Twin. I can't wait for it to arrive so I can check it out. I also bought my first yarn by Yarn Chef today. I posted earlier about Sockdown and knitting yellow socks in September. Although I bought some Dream in Color in butter peeps for that month, I found some on Yarn Chef that I like better. It's the Minestrone line (75% superwash merino, 25% nylon) in straw hat. It's going to be gorgeous! Maybe I'll exchange my butter peeps for a different color...

My recent exposure to these yarns got me thinking about hand-dyed yarns and smaller operations that I may not know much about. Does anyone have any they can't live without? How do you guys find out about new yarns? I get a lot of information from Ravelry, but there is so much out there that it is hard to process!

Louise Cardigan

I casted on last night for the Louise Cardigan!! I am knitting it as a gift, of course. It's for the same person my hap blanket is for and I was just going to give her and baby the blanket, but really like this pattern, so thought I'd give it a shot. I am using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Whisper Pink and it is turning out darling! I am only about 12 rows in, though, so not much to report at this point. I am slightly confused by the pattern. It starts off by casting on, then working 6 rows in seed stitch. On the next row (Row 7), which is the RS row, you do the button band in seed stitch for the first and last 5 stitches, but switch to St st for the rest. It say to "work even for 5 rows." So, by my count that would make the next row Row 12. But, it's supposed to be a RS row. I noticed the same thing for other parts of the pattern, too. I am interpreting "work even for 5 rows" to mean repeat for 5 more rows, a total of 6 rows, so that I end up starting a RS row. Just thought I'd put this out there in case anyone else is working on this pattern and noticed that. Of course, if I am reading it wrong please let me know!

Sockdown 2009-2010

I was perusing Ravelry the other day, and found the Sock Knitter's Anonymous group. I have only made 1 and a half socks to date. I took a sock class this summer and loved it, and immediately started on my second pair as a gift for my dad. But, I had to stop working on them until I could get him to try them on, then I got side tracked. He was in town this week, so I had him try them on and was able to get the first sock finished! Now on to the second. But, I found this group on Ravelry and I joined! They do a Sockdown challenge throughout the year, and the new year begins in September. I am definitely going to do it! I may not be able to keep up every month, but I think it will be a fun challenge to keep me knitting socks.

Here is the schedule for the year and my plan of attack for the first two months. Each month they encourage you to use either the technique of the month or knit a pair of socks by the designer of the month. Plus, the odd months have a mystery sock! If you're interested, you can get more info here.

The Sockdown: Ravelry! Schedule 2009 - 2010

• September – Technique: All knit with the same color (Solid or Semi-Solid Yellow)
  Designer: Wendy Johnson Mystery Sock Designer: Nancy Bush

For September, I am planning on using their technique (knitting with yellow) to knit the Nancy Bush mystery sock. So, two birds, one stone! I am hoping to get some Dream in Color Smooshy in Butter Peep for my yellow.

• October – Technique: Holiday Stocking/ Man Socks/Knitting for a Cause
  Designer: Jeannie Cartmel

In October I will do the suggested technique, man socks. I have been promising my husband a pair of socks, and I even have the yarn (Lang Jawoll Aktion in a dark gray/black). I am not sure yet of the pattern. Here are some I like: Gentlemen Socks, Mr. Pitt's Socks, and the http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/globe-trotter-socks (I am working on that pattern now for my dad, so may want to do something different). Any thoughts?

• November – Technique: Mosaic/Slipped Stitches
  Designer: Chrissy Gardiner Mystery Sock Designer: Star Athena

• December – Technique: Almost Socks/Leftover Socks/Stashbuster Socks/Stripes/Self Striping Yarns

• Designers: Kirsten Kapur/ Kristi Schueler/ Hunter Hammersen

• January – Technique: Texture Other than Rib/ Beaded Socks
  Designer: Nancy Bush Mystery Sock Designer: Debbie O’Neill

• February – Technique: Underappreciated Patterns/Entrelac/ Intarsia
  Designer: Yarnissima

• March – Technique: Lace
  Designer: Janel Laidman Mystery Sock Designer: Kristi Geraci

• April – Technique: Designs from an Online Magazine
  Designer: Cookie A.

• May – Technique: Cables/Traveling Stitches
  Designer: Cat Bordhi Mystery Sock Designer: Cookie A.

• June – Technique: DYO, Vintage Patterns
  Designer: Stephanie van der Linden

• July – Technique: Stranded/Colorwork/Fairisle (Including Nordic/Scandanavian)
  Designer: Ann Hanson Mystery Sock Designer: Chrissy Gardiner

gift knitting

I am currently working on some gift knitting. My mom's birthday is coming up (it's at the end of this month and is actually on the same day as mine) and I am making a cute pleated tee for her, called Vesper. The designer is Heidi Kirrmaier (Pipibird on Ravelry) and she has some really great patterns out! I am using Elsebeth Lavold's hempathy, in dark coral. Here's a progress pic of me trying it on. Despite some initial set backs, it's turning out nicely.

The yoke is hand-pleated and sewn, giving the edge a "raw" look. I hope she likes it! She better. I am making the XL size, which required casting on 468 stitches. That was a lot of work!!! I was seriously skeptical about whether it would work out or not because the yoke does not take ANY shape until you sew the pleats. So, after I separated the armholes, I went ahead and sewed the pleats to get an idea about how it would look. And I love it! If you're working on this pattern, just trust the process! I know some people think it ended up being a bit heavy at the top because of all the extra stitches, but I think it works great! It's just a lot of stitches and DK yarn.

I will also be working on some more gift knitting after this. I will be doing Ysolda Teague's Hap Blanket using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in natural and poppy. It's for my cousin, who is having a baby in October. I have some other things planned for her too, but I'll get to all of that in time. Doing all of this gift knitting has me really wanting to spend some time doing some selfish knitting! I have recently acquired, for the first time, some wollmeise and I would love to work on a couple of projects using it. But, that is being put on hold. Don't get me wrong, I do really like knitting for other people (at least the ones that really seem to appreciate it!). But, I miss doing projects for me! I miss using the colors I like and being able to take as much time as I want to, instead of feeling pressured to finish something. I know I will keep gift knitting. Barring some bad experience, I don't think I'll ever completely give it up. But I need to be sure I don't get too overwhelmed with gift knitting. And, with December not really being all that far away, I am not sure that will happen!

beginnings (and endings)

I am going to try not to make a big deal about the beginning of this blog. My blogging attempts in the past have all failed miserably. Okay, that's got something to do with my failure to post after the initial post. Nonetheless, I am not guaranteeing this one will fair any better. But I will promise to attempt to keep this one up. I have more time now than I did in law school, so perhaps it will work out.

This is going to be a place for me to post my thoughts about my current knitting projects, the books I am reading, food I am eating or cooking, or really just life in general. Hopefully you'll get to know a little about me and the things I care about as I go. So, on with the show!

I love to knit. It's a newly discovered hobby. I've only been doing it for about ten months or so, and I am hooked. I started knitting by taking a beginner's class at Loopy Yarns in Chicago, and haven't stopped since! I have met some amazing women (and men!) at Loopy and they have all encouraged me to keep knitting. I have learned so much from them, not just about knitting! They have really become my peeps in the past ten months. Sadly, I am moving from Chicago in a few weeks and will have to tell them goodbye. I know we'll continue our friendships (thanks in no small part to the internet and sites like Ravelry!), but I will miss my weekly knit nights with them. Maybe this will help them keep up with me . . . hint, hint.

Anyway, welcome! I am not promising I'll be entertaining. That's not really why I am here. But, I am looking forward to having a forum for saying what I want, when I want!