summer's bounty

numero uno

If you're a Doctor Who fan at all, you need to go check this out immediately (hat tip to Hilary). 

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in the kitchen

One of Paul's coworkers generously shared a bounty of tomatoes from her garden with us. 

Inspired by a certain rooster, I made a French tomato tart.  Delicious!  I used plenty of strong, French whole grain mustard, chives, fresh goat cheese, and a drizzle of Wisconsin honey.  An aged goat cheese would be delicious, too, but I was feeling budget-conscious (and too lazy to trek any further than Trader Joe's).  I, too, cut down a bit on the butter in the dough, and it was plenty wet without any additional water.

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off the needles

Already off the needles and onto my feet!  An actual pair of socks -- first pair since August 2007.  Granted they're more like footies, but still, it feels like a milestone. Or perhaps a turning point?  We'll see.

Pattern: Turkish Bed Socks,  by Churchmouse Yarns & Teas

Yarn: Koigu KPPM, 1 skein (175 yds)

Needles: US 2.5 Knit Picks Harmony DPNs

my Ravelry project page

Details:

A clever little pattern with a very unusual construction technique!  There's some seaming midway through, and you have to pick up some stitches pretty carefully to avoid getting holes, but it's not bad.  The socks are cute and comfy, and they go well with my Danskos.  A slightly smaller ankle opening would be nice, but I'm not sure that I care enough to fool around with the pattern.  I'll definitely be making more of these, as they're quick and useful.  I'd like to think that this pattern might help me make a dent in my stash of sock yarn, but it takes so few yards that it isn't really the case!  I had a bit of yarn leftover from my 1 skein of Koigu, so no need to be stressed about running out of yarn.

not a shawl, for once

Fall must be in the air, as I have socks on the needles:

The only thing that's different this time is that I might actually finish the pair right away! The pattern's called Turkish Bed Socks, from Churchmouse Yarns & Teas on Bainbridge Island, a place I've been wanting to visit for ages but just haven't made it to yet.  It's my first time using Koigu, though I've had a few skeins marinating in the stash for years.

These socks are supposed to be great with Danskos, which sounds perfect, as I wear Danskos all the time once sandal season ends.  Egads, my foot looks ghostly pale!

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Thanks to everyone for such lovely comments on my last post!  I appreciate each and every one. Ever since I switched from Haloscan to Blogger comments, I've had a terrible time replying to comments (hitting "reply" just doesn't work for many people).  If anyone has any tips, please share!

summer flies

Indeed it does.

Pattern: Summer Flies, by Holly Griffin-Weidner and Donna Griffin

Yarn: OrangeFlower merino/bamboo sock, raspberry, ~3/4 skein (330 yds.)

Needles: Clover US 6 bamboo circs

my ravelry project page

notes:
The pattern was a delight to knit, and it involved enough elements that I never got bored with it.  The knotted openwork section required concentration. The picot bind-off was new to me and took a while to do, but the end result is fluttery and lovely.

I really like the butterfly details:

I think Beatrix Potter would approve. It looked awfully small as I was knitting it, and I had to fight the urge to embiggen it.  Good choice, as it blocked out to the perfect size. Plus I had plenty of yarn for a change.

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urban oasis

When we moved into our new place, the deck off the back door looked like a trash heap, littered with an old mop, a bottle of bleach, an electric juicer (still in its box), dead plants, etc. I had high hopes for the space, though Paul thought it was a lost cause.

Voila!

It doesn't receive a ton of light, but enough for my plants.

There isn't a ton of room back there, but it's spacious enough for this bistro set (where I've been drinking my morning coffee), plus we have the cute Restoration Hardware chair and a grill, as well (not pictured).

Getting used to the lack of outdoor living space was one of the hardest parts about adjusting to Chicago for me.  Seven years later, I've made myself a little green place outside, and it's delightful!  Our neighbors couldn't believe the transformation, and described its former state as a wasteland. In fact, they were inspired to clean up their area, too, and plant a windowbox. Not too shabby for what's essentially a gussied-up fire escape.

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kitty-cat weirdness

Capricha in one of her trademark poses:

She loves to stand on top of Winnie the Pooh and slowly knead him with her front paws while she goes into an ecstatic trance.  We call it "giving Pooh the business." What an odd girl!

pink moon

on the needles

Something new!  Brokeknits pointed out the Summer Flies shawlette pattern a few days ago, and I was enchanted. See the rows of little butterflies?  Whimsical and cute, but not too twee.  I'm using yet more OrangeFlower yarn from my stash -- Merino Bamboo Sock in raspberry.  The bamboo content gives the yarn great sheen and a bit of crunch, plus it makes the yarn take the dye in a sunwashed, subtle way.  It's so pretty.  That said, I do miss the super soft squishiness of merino/cashmere/nylon yarn. I have a feeling this is going to fly off the needles. ;-)  groan...

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in the post

The ever generous and thoughtful Mia sent me this amazing parcel of goodies:

Not only did she knit me some pink fingerless gloves (which fit perfectly!) and a posh bamboo spa washcloth, she even knit a Traveling Woman shawlette!  I suppose it's fitting, as I knit the exact same pattern for her last winter.  It's so pretty -- she used handspun yarn from roving dyed by Scout.  I can't wait for some cooler weather so that I can wear it!

There's also fancy "tequila" soap from Biggs & Featherbelle, homemade jam (yum!), and books, Needles and Pearls and The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family, which is of great interest to me as I'm a big fan of The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate.  Any book about an eccentric family in a crumbling British estate pretty much has my name written all over it.

Mia also sent me a bounty of her gorgeous handspun yarn.  Lots of blues, in nice, heavy aran weights. Any suggestions for patterns that really showcase handspun?  The skeins range from 196 to 300 yds.

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lesson learned. twice.

Fresh off my finishing high from Hemlock Ring, I picked up Gaenor again and chugged along at a brisk pace.  Much to my chagrin, I ran out of yarn quite a few rows from the end...  Yeah, relying on guesstimation to figure out when I was halfway out of yarn didn't work at all.  

This is beautiful yarn -- OrangeFlower's 50/50 merino silk fingering in "leafy green." Naturally I don't see any more of it on Ravelry, and she doesn't do repeatable colorways.  I'm waffling between ripping back a little more than halfway or just ripping out the whole thing. Both the pattern and the yarn are amazing, but a springier merino with more body might work better with the pattern and the sawtooth edging.  The silk content gives this yarn lots of wonderful drape, but it may not be the best for the pattern.

After this knitting fail, I asked Paul whether I should start something new or resurrect a project from the graveyard of abandoned knitting.  His look of surprise at the existence of said graveyard prompted me to rummage around amidst the shades of handknits past.  I emerged with this Damson:

Another project where I had run out of yarn!  I had started the contrast edging last summer, but was stymied by Row 109, in which you do some fancy "(k1, p1) twice into the double YO" action.  Apparently doing something similar on my Hemlock Ring enabled me to wrap my head around the concept, so I quickly did the last row and bound off.  It just needs a good blocking (and a proper FO post). 

notes to self

1) check yardage

2) check gauge

3) weigh yarn
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I'm very busy with proofreading for work right now, and Kylie insists on helping.  That cat...

almost there...

off the needles

Hemlock Ring, in need of a thorough blocking.  That fancy bind-off took freakin' forever, so it had better look awesome when it's blocked.  Knitting this actually went pretty quickly, thanks to a cache of Masterpiece Mystery episodes on the DVR.  Plus it helped immensely to know that Barefoot Rooster was out there knitting a gorgeous brown Hemlock Ring at the same time. ;-)  Knitting camaradarie is the best.

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in the kitchen

Pasta with fresh corn pesto, recipe courtesy of Lottie + Doof (adapted from Bon Appetit August 2010). This was amazingly delicious.  I did some tweaking of my own, as we had no bacon in the house.  Instead I just sauteed the corn in a bit of olive oil.  I subbed egg papardelle for the tagliatelle, added extra red chile flakes, and cut back a little bit on the oil.  Yum!  Sorry for the crummy photography -- neither food styling nor using the flash bulb is my strong suit.

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Craigslist bounty

 

 Major score off Craigslist today!  Paul's picking up one of these Restoration Hardware vintage-style chairs for me as we speak.  I'll post pics in situ very soon.

best. cookies. ever.

 in the kitchen

The melt-in-your-mouth buttermilk chocolate cookies recipe from Baking Bites truly lives up to its name.  These are amazingly good.  Rich and chocolatey, chewy and just a little bit tangy.  The recipe doesn't call for any eggs, which is surprising and also very handy to have in your recipe arsenal.  Then again, it's quite rare that my fridge is stocked with buttermilk but no eggs.

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on & off the needles

The baby boom continues among my friends and relative (it must be an early-thirties thing), so I'm working on baby gifts!  This is my first foray into knitting wool soakers, a concept that's simultaneously awesome and kind of gross. 

Pattern: Adaptation, by Connie Stults (free!)

Yarn: Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool, "Lakeshore," ~ 2/3 skein

Needles: US 5 and 7 straights, US 7 DPNs

Size: medium (21" hips)

my ravelry project page

Notes:

An easy and quick pattern!  These are knit flat in one piece and then seamed up the sides.  You then pick up stitches for the legs.  I had a hard time figuring out how loosely to bind off the leg openings.  We'll see how they work!  Next time I'd try a pattern that's knit in the round, as the seams may be a bit annoying.  These are worn over bulky diapers, so the seams won't be next to the skin at least.

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on the tube

I'm totally hooked on The Fabulous Beekman Boys on the Green channel this summer.  Brent and Josh, a couple of "big city" guys, have renovated a beautiful farm in upstate New York and are building a business making goat cheese and goat milk soap, two of my favorite things in the world. These guys are a hoot, and I just love how Farmer John cares so much for his goats.  Brent's really something -- kind of a drama queen, and Josh manages to keep the couple tethered down to earth. Josh, of course, is a Wisconsin native. :-)

Aren't their goats adorable?  

On the subject of cheese and Wisconsin, check out this recent Lottie & Doof (foodie) blog post on visiting Madison, my alma mater. If you haven't made it to Madison yet, you should go now.  Like stat. But don't tell me about it, as I'll be very jealous.

FO: Multnomah

Kate Flagg published this pattern just after I returned home from visiting Portland and Multnomah County!  It was meant to be...

Pattern: Multnomah by Kate Flagg

Yarn: Impulse of Delight Merino Silk, "Sun Dappled," 1.3 skeins

Needles: Clover US 5 bamboo circs

my ravelry project page

Notes:

the good
Delightfully easy pattern, and the yarn is great. Nice sheen, lovely shades of green, springy yet a little crisp. It seems more like heavy fingering weight (almost sportweight) rather than light. The color in the first photo, taken out on my wee little balcony, is true.

 

the bad
I don’t love the pattern, actually. Something about the big garter stripe down the middle bugs me, and  the feather-and-fan pattern isn’t incorporated into the design very smoothly (e.g., look at the garter panels between the feather and fan sections and the center stripe). Also, the top of the shawl seems kind of tight because of all the KFBs. Subbing YOs on at least one side might work better. Blocking did help a good deal with the tightness, but it’s still not perfect.  In fact, before I blocked it, I considered ripping the whole darn thing.  I'm glad I didn't, though, as it will be perfect with my brown corduroy coat this fall! Unless that combination makes me look like a tree nymph...

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hemlock ring update

10 rows left, plus the bind-off (which I've heard is neverending)!  Huzzah, huzzah.  I'm doing the larger size (beyond the gold line on pattern chart), and I need to wind my 3rd skein of Eco Wool.

hemlock amoeba?

Hemlock Ring is looking more like an amoeba now, or perhaps a jellyfish.  Thanks to yet another heat wave, I've been holing up in the downstairs rec room (AKA the man cave) and knitting while drinking endless glasses of iced tea.

I used the magic loop technique with a 40" cable rather than DPNs to start, which worked great. At some point it just slid out of magic loop and I switched to regular knitting in the round.  At this point I'd love to switch to a longer cable, but apparently I don't own one!  Something to add to the next Knit Picks order.  I'm using stitch markers between each feather-and-fan repeat, which is super helpful now that there are a bazillion stitches on the needle.

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The postman delivered one last round of yarn for the stripy crochet blanket.  I refuse to buy any more yarn for this project, and I don't want to calculate how many skeins have already gone into this thing.  I do love the ice cream colors, though, and it's absolutely addicting to make.  With any luck it will fit our queen size bed! 

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I caved and bought a double-walled iced coffee travel cup from Starbucks, and it has turned out to be a great purchase! I usually just fill it with homemade iced coffee and tea; it's even perfect for toting around the house because condensation doesn't build up on the outside.

socratic

Hemlock Ring in progress.  I learned Emily Ocker's circular cast-on via this tutorial yesterday morning, and it's very neat!  The blanket's speeding along so far, thanks to a fresh crop of Miss Marple episodes on the DVR.  

Julia McKenzie is quite good, isn't she?  Not too namby-pamby.  The production values on the last two seasons of Miss Marple and Poirot on Mystery have been such an improvement -- striking camera angles, great sets, colors that pop.  Very visual in a way that the old ones simply weren't.

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I've been racing through books lately.  I just don't feel like myself when I don't make some time to read novels.  There's something valuable about reading fiction that helps me approach problems from different angles and consider other points of view.  Two highlights:

The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters
Post WWII, a country doctor befriends the Ayres family at Hundreds Hall.  Landed gentry, the Ayres are struggling to keep up a crumbling old pile, and the financial and emotional strains, as well as their increasing isolation from the social circle in which they once flew, are getting to them.  Waters reinvents the Gothic novel, pitting logic and science against emotion.  The real thing to watch here is the narrator, though.  Unlike Waters' other novels, the plot is very linear, building slowly.

Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese
Born from an illicit union between a nun and a brilliant but emotionally stunted surgeon, twins Marion and Shiva Stone grow up in a cross-cultural household in Ethiopia, raised by doctors at Missing Hospital.  This compelling story about family, love, and betrayal is set in a tumultuous time in African history, and the setting really shapes the book.  It may sound a little melodramatic, but it's a great read.

good things

• casting on for a new project

Gaenor, by Corinna Ferguson, knit with Orange Flower's merino / silk fingering weight yarn.  The colorway is "leafy," which just happens to be one of my favorite words. The yarn is absolutely wonderful.  Karin has a great sense of color, and the merino / silk is slippery and smooth.  I'm using size 7 needles; size 5 or 6 might be better, but not so much better that I would frog and start over.

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• taking the Kitchen Aid out for its second test run

Buttermilk Pie Bars, from the Baking Bites blog.  Holy cow, these are amazing. They're like cheesecake, but better in that they're not too heavy.  Usually when recipes call for freshly grated nutmeg, I'm too lazy to bother.  This time I'm glad I did!  I also added a bit of lemon zest. They're light and cool and absolutely delightful.  The only thing that could possibly improve them?  A handful of black raspberries sprinkled over the top. 

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• my new desktop wallpaper

The Doctor plus a kitten?!? Be still my heart.  More Dr. Who desktop wallpaper available here, courtesy of the BBC.

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•  a new outpost of First Slice Pie Café just opened right across the street

Hurray, iced lattes and delicious salads all summer long for me!  First Slice is an awesome nonprofit organization; proceeds go to feed the homeless in Chicago.  Seriously, it's so new that they haven't even finished planting the flowerpots out front yet.

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•  my Jeep's sporting a new touch of class

Yep, a 1' tall Bucky Badger magnet.  Makes me smile every time.

Pimm's progress

There's nothing like a nice crisp Pimm's & ginger ale on a breezy, sunny summer day.
Yesterday I rewarded myself with a cocktail and some knitting time after a long couple of days (tons of regular things on the to-do list, plus cat-sitting for a friend, plus two separate plumber visits + one appliance service call).
Mum's Shalom is speeding along. I must say that this is a very quick and easy knit so far! With any luck the body will be bound off by the end of today.

I'm loosely following moxymomma's modifications for 38," as well as SouleMama's sleeve modifications:

• CO 77 sts
  
• 3 buttonhole rows -- 6, 22, 38
• slipped the arm sts to waste yarn instead of BO
• CO 10 sts at each armhole
• no waist shaping
  

I did a one-stitch buttonhole, as the two-stitch buttonhole seemed a bit too large. Next time I'd slip the first stitch of each row (for a cleaner edge).

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The kittehs, basking in the morning sun:

shalom

Last Saturday started off perfectly with a trip to Chicago's Green City Market. Berry season is in full force. When Paul admitted that he'd never tasted a black raspberry, I was flabbergasted.
Not only did we eat 1/2 a pint immediately upon returning home, I turned the rest into a (Black) Raspberry Buttermilk Cake. The Kitchen Aid's virgin run was a success, though using it feels like cheating. Monsieur Kitchen Aid just churns away and does most of the work for you. I'm pretty sure my arm muscles will now turn to limp noodles as a result.

The cake was good -- not too sweet, nice and moist, plenty of complexity from the tart berries and lemon zest. That said, it's really more of a coffeecake than a dessert-type cake.

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On the topic of new things, I did something rather wild in our new place. I threw caution to the wind and did NOT paint our bedroom blue. Shocking, I know, but the whole open living/dining area was already a peaceful shade of light blue, and it opens into our bedroom. So more light blue could have been overkill.

We went with Behr Premium Plus Ultra ("paint and primer in one") in Sliced Cucumber, a very "Martha" shade. I wasn't that impressed with the paint -- it still took two coats plus a good amount of touch-up work, and it didn't seem to want to stick to the wall. That said, painting conditions were less than ideal, as it was super humid (and we were working at night part of the time). In retrospect, I probably should have manned up and done a third coat.

Doesn't Kylie look alert and kittenish in this picture? My ferocious old biddy is mellowing as she reaches 15 years.

Wonder of all wonders, I trimmed almost all of her claws over the weekend! The girls' previous owners had never bothered, and the cats were resistant to it when we first adopted them, so I gave up. But now we have a whole lower level of brand new carpeting, and I thought it was time. Oddly enough, Kylie (the fierce one) minds it less than sweet Capricha, who's generally good natured and friendly.

And the knitting in the background?
A Shalom (with sleeves) for my mom, knit in a discontinued shade of Cascade Eco +. SouleMama just knit a second one that's even more beautiful than her first one, and I couldn't resist the pattern any longer.

A parting shot of my kitters, curled up in a sunbeam:

shalom, indeed

FO: second in a series

Today has been a very good day. Beautiful weather, the end of a taxing project at the journal, the start of a new round of guitar lessons tonight, and I just had a nice telephone chat with my wonderful parents (it's their 49th wedding anniversary today, holy cow!).

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first the knitting...

Second in a series of FO posts, but fourth in a series of Opera Scarves (see #1, #2, and #3).

Pattern: Opera Scarf, by Deb Peterson (rav)
Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Merino Cashmere Nylon Sport, 1 skein
(sadly I'm not sure of the colorway)
Needles: Clover US 9 bamboo straights
~ my ravelry project page ~

Notes:
This pattern's always a quick and easy knit, and I love this yarn! Sarah's MCN sport yarn is so soft and buttery. I only had 1 skein (250 yds.), so the scarf's on the shorter side.

I wish I had dug out my blocking wires, as you can kind of tell where I pinned it out. We moved recently, though, so I'm counting myself lucky just to have found my blocking squares and pins!

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then the swapping...

A lovely, thoughtful parcel arrived on my doorstep today, from Lauree:
So many lovely goodies! This is for the Super Crafty Swap, which I loved doing because it wasn't just an excuse to buy things. It truly was a swap. It's a way to send on perfectly nice things from your stash that you might not get around to using, but that someone else will appreciate. You can include up to $10 worth of goodies, too, but that's not the emphasis. I sent a parcel to Debby.
Not only did Lauree send me a nice array of yarns (including LB Nature's Choice Organic Cotton, which I love), books, super cute ribbon trims, wool for felting, and embroidery floss and designs, but she made me the sweetest little tea carrier, stocked with tea of course. Perfect to pop in my purse for tea on the go! Plus she made a very cute envelope-style needlecase.

I already have plans for the whimsical kitchen-themed fabrics -- a quilted cover for my new/used Kitchen Aid stand mixer!

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and finally the thrifting

Yep, I can't believe I didn't already have one of these either... I stopped by a moving sale on my way home from campus today and picked up this lovely lady, a vintage Kitchen Aid K45, still chugging along just fine.
One other item came home with me from the moving sale. It's a surprise for Paul (for which I've already enlisted the help of my handy father), so I can't reveal that one just yet.