In the Kitchen

What a lovely weekend here in Kalamazoo.

I met a friend through our mutual love of cooking, in particular baking bread. So, take summer, check out a few books on baking bread (such as Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice) and in a weekend, many wonderful things will happen.

The purpose of this post was to share the French bread we made. It was my first attempt at "real" bread, instead of my normal throw things in a bowl, knead, rise, cook approach that has yielded good, but not great, loaves. So, we set out to create artisan bread. And we did.

And it's gone. Two one pound loaves have been devoured since we took them out of the oven late Sunday. I guess I'll have to wait until next time we bake to share photos. But man was that bread good!

So, instead of bread, I have farmer's market goodies to share. Such as a simple salad, with just a bit of Balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The tomatoes are so good I've been eating them on their own, just as a snack.

Or how about some onion and portobello mushroom risotto?

Tonight, I'm going to get a starter ready for a whole wheat bread from Reinhart's book. I'm a whole wheat devotee, and while the French bread knocked my socks off, it wasn't very filling. I want a big slice of whole wheat bread, a slice of cheese, and I'm in heaven.


I'm off to make dinner! I'll return soon with some knitting, crocheting, and animal tales.

Changing it Up

Now that I am done with classes for a few months, I've had time to catch my breathe, and turn my attention to things I want to do.

Goodbye finals, hello spinning!

I've had a few blissful nights with a pot of tea (even in 85 degree weather I drink tea,) dogs at my feet, cats lurking angrily in a corner, and the radio on. Listening to A Prairie Home Companion, the news, or music, I've managed to plow through several bobbins in a few nights. How lovely!

The red yarn you see on the bobbin has been with me for a ridiculously long time. Years. Seriously. Remember when I blogged about my trip to the Fold last summer? Haven't even touched that lovely stuff, since this red merino has been hogging my bobbins for what seems like eons.

But now, with my spinning wheel easily accessible for the first time since I started college (right next to the TV!) and some spare time on my hands, it seems like the end may be in sight! The more I spin, the faster it goes, and the faster it goes, the less daunting it seems. I've gone from about 1.5lbs of wool to about .25lbs! Of course, that's still a good chunk of spinning, and with the weather hovering between 80 and 90 degrees lately, who knows how motivated I'll be.

See how big that bag was? See how much fiber is left?

But the point is, I'm spinning. You probably didn't even know I spun, I speak of it so rarely! But, I'm back at it, after false starts, long lapses, and lots of fights with my wool. It's wonderful to see the progress, and I am looking forward to knitting myself a sweater from all this wonderful, luscious, woolly goodness.

Also on my needles? (hooks?)

• Babette (ravelry link) is coming along quite nicely.
  
• Two chemo caps for Eric's mom. One of the original ones got lost in the hospital, so I'm working on some to replace it. More on that later.
• the Hemlock Ring Blanket is still waiting to be blocked. I don't have a space big enough to block it in the apartment, and have been too lazy to lug it elsewhere.
  

Until next time, hope you are all keeping cool. If you are in the Midwest, I hope you are safe from tornadoes/torrential rainstorms/etc. It's pretty scary!

Finally!

Finally back with some knitting!

I feel like I've turned over a new leaf now that it is June. This happily coincides with the last day of classes, and a week (mostly) off before work starts. Thank goodness! It's a week I will spend catching up on cleaning, crafting, and reading. I can't wait.

It's 90 degrees Fahrenheit out today, which does not bode well for the rest of my air-conditioner-less summer.

Convenient time to finish a cabled, worsted weight wool sweater, no? I thought so.

Luckily this sweater is destined for greater things than languishing in my wardrobe in Kalamazoo, while the cats shed in desperation, and I wipe sweat from my brow. We live in a very dramatic household.

Forecast, by Stephanie Japel, has been on my radar for a while. I love cables, buttons and cardigans, and the marriage of the three has always intrigued me. It was one of those things I've been meaning to knit since way back when, but just never got around to starting.

But after the tragic death of the pinwheel sweater which came about as soon as I tried the work in progress on and saw how badly it fit me, I was left with several balls of a tweedy, worsted weight yarn, an itch to knit a sweater, and conveniently, a sister graduating from high school and starting at University in the fall.

She's tragically hip, always wears high heels, dyes her hair incessantly, and would probably tell you she's way cooler than me. (One might not disagree with that statement.) I wanted something for her that didn't scream handknit, but that was unique, funky, and versatile. Forecast seemed to be all of those things. Plus, it was easy to knit, and an excuse to go to the fabric store and pick out the amazing buttons. (I love them. Mmm, buttons.)

I think this sweater is best kept a present for later. Her birthday is in October, so just as the Chicago weather begins to turn, this sweater may come in handy. I doubt she'll have any use for it until then.

Like many other knitters, (212 on Ravelry!) I made some heavy modifications to the pattern. I think if I were to knit it again (perhaps for myself) I would go so far as to change the cabled pattern to an aran-style braid, but overall I am incredibly pleased with this sweater. What a lovely little thing she is.

Forecast:

• 3 skeins Plyouth Encore Worsted. The pattern calls for more yardage than I had but my sister is tiny. I ended up with only a small ball left over.
• Size 6 DPN's and Denise interchangeable circs. Not my favorite, but so convenient that I am forever loyal to them.
• Took me about a week to complete. Once you get started, this sweater just rips along.

Modifications:

• Notice the lack of bobbles? This seems to be the most frequent mod i've seen, and I agree. I think they look like a ton of little nipples.
• Bigger buttons = less buttonholes. 5 instead of 10, but I like the look of the bolder, wooden buttons.
• Started the body ribbing several inches higher, as many other knitters have done.

I'll make sure to get some pictures of the sweater in action, but like I said, it may be a while.



Until next time, which hopefully won't be too far off, now that I have clearly found my camera charger. (It WAS in a great place...)