the wearing of the red

Any idea where we went last weekend?

Yep, a quick weekend trip to Madison, where we watched the Badgers slaughter Austin Peay. Yikes, that was quite the game, not really fair (70-3).

Still, it was a beautiful fall day, full of Wisconsin spirit, Michael's frozen custard, and time spent with friends. My only regret is that we couldn't stay for Obama's speech on Library Mall in Madison.

Despite the craziness of the last couple of weeks (fall quarter has now started), I knit this little Elsie cardigan in Badger red (oops, I mean Knit Picks hollyberry).  The crocheted loops at the hems are a cute detail, and they are very easy to do. Great, clear pattern by Jane Richmond. I just need to find buttons! Then I'll take better pictures. Our new apartment, while delightful in many other respects, doesn't have nearly as great of light as our old place, so photography is much more of a challenge now. On a related note, I have quite the knitting backlog to blog.

Besides being perfect for knitting, Badgers football, and long walks amidst the leaves, fall is perfect for tea.  I found the Pumpkin Ginger Tea at World Market -- very nice, but best when made with 2 tea bags, especially if you're using a mug rather than a dainty tea cup (we're not really dainty people chez Caffeinated Yarn).  The loose-leaf Bourbon Vanilla Kusmi tea, which I picked up in Paris, is absolutely amazing! Highly recommended -- I think there's a Kusmi tea shop in NYC here in the states, too.

wandering the concrete jungle

Pattern: Wandering the Moor, by Celeste Glassel

Yarn: Orange Flower MCN fingering, "golden honey," less than 1 skein (~350 yds)
Needles: Clover US 5 bamboo circs
Size: regular/small
ravelled

Notes:
A very pleasant pattern to knit! The stockinette portion is mindless and perfectly portable, and the lace pattern is intuitive. I like that it's geometric in design and not too frou-frou. The yarn is soft and wonderful to knit. There were a couple of minor typos in the written-out directions for the lace portion; Celeste has updated the Ravelry page with errata.

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In a couple weekends we're heading north with a few friends for the Badgers/Wolverines outdoor hockey game. Yep, outdoors! UW's putting an ice rink in Camp Randall for the occasion. I need to get the ball rolling on some red hats for Paul and me. I wound some red O-Wool already, and I'm debating between a Slouchy Copy Cat Hat and a 16 Cable Hat for myself. Any thoughts?

Wandering the Moor #2 is already in progress. This time I'm using Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Verdigris, an absolutely lovely shade of blue-green. While I love Silky Wool for its sophisticated, nuanced colors, nubby texture, and crispness, it's a bit hard on my hands and wrists, so I can't do marathon knitting sessions with it.

I used Silky Wool for my Textured Shawl last year, and it's holding up beautifully. No pilling, snagging, or growing out of shape. I'm very tempted by Orange Flower's Textured Shawlette to give the pattern another go. While I'm happy with mine, I'd love to follow her modifications and make one that's wider and more scarf-like (hence more versatile).

in pieces

My excitement mounted at knitting circle last night as the second sleeve to my Drop Collar Cabled Jacket grew. Now just the finishing work is left! I've been swamped with end-of-the-quarter nuttiness lately (this is the last week of classes), but I may just have to take a break to seam it up.
See that unfamiliar lichen green in the background? We're in the midst of a living room re-do. We bid adieu to the tan microfiber sofa and shuffled some things around. Now I need to sew some throw pillows, figure out window treatments, and pick out an armchair. Well, I already picked out a chair, but it's a tad pricey, so I either need to save my pennies or compromise on something more affordable.

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A Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenberg(of Orangette) is absolutely charming and heartfelt; it has been inspiring me to spend more time in the kitchen. I love how Molly intersperses stories from her life with recipes. This book is more than a love affair with food -- it explores relationships and family and growing up, all that good stuff, and (most importantly) in an intelligent and thoughtful fashion. No saccharin-sweet, chicken-soup-for-the-soul crap here.

I'm no Molly Wizenberg, but I will share one of my favorite muffin recipes - Raspberry Streusel Muffins. I first started tinkering with this recipe when I lived in a darling 1-bedroom apartment overlooking State St. in Madison about 10 years ago (gulp, that makes me feel really old). It was the one and only time I've lived alone -- and I loved it. The kitchen was tiny -- no microwave or dishwasher (of course), an old-fashioned refrigerator that I actually had to defrost, and an oven that was about half the size of a regular one. And it was at least 40 years old. And it ran hot. Really hot. The girl who lived there before me left me a note in the kitchen carefully calibrating the oven settings to thermometer readings. It was a logarithmic scale, kind of like the Richter scale. On a related note, I kept a fire extinguisher in the kitchen just in case.

That year I also discovered the joys of the Dane County Farmers' Market -- being out and about bright and early while there's still a cool nip to the air, picking out my own fresh berries, meeting the farmers, testing out all the varieties of Wisconsin cheese... This recipe highlights two specialties from those mornings -- fresh Wisconsin dairy products, and sweet-tart raspberries. The muffins themselves aren't overly sweet; the streusel topping gives it a sugary kick.

Raspberry Streusel Muffins
adapted from Cindi Flahive-Sobel's Daily Bread

makes 12-18 muffins (12 muffins with large "muffin tops"; 18 small muffins)

muffin ingredients
2 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1/4 C. butter, melted
1/2 C. milk (skim is fine)
1/2 C. sour cream (I use light)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 - 2 C. fresh raspberries

streusel ingredients
1/2 C. sugar
1/3 C. all-purpose flour
dash of nutmeg
dash of cinnamon (I use Penzey's ceylon cinnamon for this as it's more delicate in flavor)
1/4 C. butter, softened, cut up into small chunks

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray muffin tins or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. I use a whisk to keep it light and fluffy since I don't bother to sift my flour.

In a medium-size bowl, beat the egg, then add the melted butter, milk, sour cream, and vanilla, and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir with a spoon until just combined and the dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the raspberries.

In a small bow, combine the sugar, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Work in the butter with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.

Fill the muffin cups with batter -- to make 12 muffins, fill them just about to the brim; to make 18 muffins, fill about 3/4 full. Top with the streusel mixture. Bake for 18-20 minutes (for the large muffins -- a little less for the smaller ones), or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean. Serve warm.

decaffeinated

Last week was rough chez Caffeinated Yarn. Here's the score:

food poisoning: 1

Jodi: 0

Due to my "trick stomach" I haven't had coffee since last Monday. This is a new record; I haven't gone this long without the magical bean juice since I was 15. But I'm finally feeling much better. For a while there I was too sick even to read or knit. The horror!

The shopping, baking, and gift wrapping are almost complete. We're making the cold, snowy trek to Minneapolis on the 24th. Let's hope that Old Man Winter cooperates.

A new scarf for my mother-in-law:

Pattern: Just Enough Ruffles, by Laura Chau

Yarn: Classic Elite Lush, Granny Smith, 3 skeins

50% merino, 50% angora

Needles: Clover US 8 bamboo circs

Notes:

I cast on an extra 20 stitches to get a bit more length. I only worked 13 short rows on each side, as I was needlessly afraid of running out of yarn again.

The "apple green" Malabrigo was just too bright for me in the end. I picked up this soft angora-blend yarn at Lakeside Fibers on a day trip to Madison. It's one of my favorite yarn stores, especially on a cold wintry day when you can relax with a cup of delicious coffee while looking out upon beautiful Lake Monona. Madison, oh how I miss you! Someday I'll be back... unless Boulder or Portland steals my heart, that is.

Wearing this scarf is like snuggling with a bunny's soft tummy. Heavenly!

I couldn't resist knitting yet another Owl Hat. I've even used this exact yarn before (Patons Classic Wool Merino, grey mix). It's fun to knit every time. This one's for my brother-in-law, who has demonstrated a surprising appreciation for handknits in the past.

2006 cookie of the day: Kanelkakor (Swedish Walnut-Cinnamon Cookies)

Happy Solstice to all!

With love from chilly Chicago,

Jodi

in which Old Man Winter smites me

Everyone's been talking about the winter blahs lately. Not me! I never fail to chime in annoyingly and admit to liking winter. Well, Jack Frost had his revenge this weekend...

The Madison mini-break was for the most part quite pleasant. A couple exceptions:
1) The state high school wrestling tournament swarmed downtown on Saturday. Not exactly my scene...

2) While heading into the Borders on Midvale Blvd., I was hit by a giant icicle that fell off the roof. Talk about a nasty winter surprise! Very sudden and quite painful. I have a giant goose egg now, but no concussion, and no blood, so I consider myself lucky.

I finished the back of my cowlneck sweater on the road to Madison. Mmmmmalabrigo, of course ("violetas"). I tried using this yarn for Mr. Greenjeans and wasn't happy with it at that gauge, so I switched patterns. A Mr. Greenjeans is still in the queue (in green Cascade 220).

Sarah kindly gave me this beautiful Plucky Knitter cashmere 2-ply laceweight that was too hopelessly tangled for her to sell. Well, my many hours of patient untangling are paying off. The yarn is so soft and lovely, and the colorway is subtle and classy. I think it's "Dark Day"? The pattern is the Woodland Shawl, by Nikol Lohr (AKA the Thrifty Knitter). I'm very happy with this combination of pattern and yarn. I told Paul that cashmere pajamas sound like a wonderful idea. A little overboard, I suppose?