October warm woollies

Spending this cool and crisp October morning with this sweet girl, the Avett brothers, and a mug of hot coffee. Blissful! Heather from my knitting group knit this wee cardigan for Erik when he was a baby, and I knit the booties just for Bridget. They stay on, they're warm, and they're super cute. Handknits for the win! Unfortunately I have no recollection of the pattern details. Sigh... The yarn is Malabrigo Rios. They would make a terrific go-to quick baby gift, so I'll try to figure out which pattern I used.

bitty cabled cardigan, again

Bridget, alert and wearing the bitty cabled cardigan I knit for her big brother.

Flashback to Erik, sporting the same cardigan two years ago -- my, how time flies! We celebrated Erik's second birthday with family last weekend, and he was a little shell-shocked by all the attention, cupcakes and presents.

Yes, he adores chocolate. Totally gets that from me.

 

 Lots of snuggles with wee Bridget these days. She's plumping up nicely -- look at those cheeks!

 

Yarnalong: just starting Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home and casting on a Nurmilintu shawl with some pretty Orange Flower yarn.

yarnalong: crooked heart

a cozy autumn stroll, complete with handknit candy corn hat (thanks, Anne!) and cozy baby chalice blankie

joining Ginny for the yarnalong this morning:

Crooked Heart, by Lissa Evans and the start of another Barley hat

a knitter's child

 warm and cozy baby Bridget, wrapped up in handknit love

how quickly newborns move from sweet sleepiness to bright-eyed alertness

The baby surprise jacket was made by one of the gals in my knitting circle (thank you, Sam!), and I knit the blanket using yarn from the mill-end sale at Lorna's Laces, which is just a few blocks from our house here in Chicago.

pattern: baby chalice blanket, by Karen S. Lauger

yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted, Monkeyshines, 2 skeins

needles: US 9 (5.5 mm) Clover bamboo circs

my ravelry project page

yarnalong:

I'm reading The Artful Parent and feeling woefully inadequate. No knitting at present (soon, I hope!), but I'm crocheting the edging on my long-neglected rosie posie granny square afghan:

fo: Bridget Linnea

Welcome to the world, Bridget Linnea

 8 pounds, 3 oz., 21 inches of sweet little baby

fo + wip

pattern: seamless yoked baby cardigan, by Carole Barenys

yarn: quince and co. chickadee, leek, 2 skeins

needles: U.S. 5 (3.75 mm) bamboo circs

my Ravelry project page

notes:

The stitch pattern on the yoke and collars is super cute and fun to knit. I worked five buttonholes total. I wish the instructions for the length of the body and sleeves were more explicit. It is a free pattern, though. I love the yarn -- it is delightfully springy and woolly. Same yarn that I am using for the Sunny Lou dress, just a different color. I bought it right after Quince and Co. launched five years ago!

We have a work-in-progress underway here, too -- a baby girl, due September 13! We are through the moon, and we are hoping that Erik adjusts well to his new role as big brother. So far he enjoys reading My New Baby and Waiting for Baby, and today he declared that one of the tiny babies at storytime was "his," so we are hoping for the best. Any tips or book suggestions are very welcome.

I knit this Window Cat for Erik using some leftover (sadly discontinued) Knit Picks organic Simply Cotton. I have christened it Moxie Jr., since this cat allows Erik far more liberties than our actual marmalade tabby ever does.

 exhibit a: eye-poking

yarn along: sunny lou

Joining Ginny et al. for the yarn along today:

Knitting a Sunny Lou Dress with Quince and Co.'s Chickadee in Carrie's Yellow, a delightfully cheerful color.

Listening to the audiobook of Neal Stephenson's latest weighty tome, Seveneves. So far I like the thinly veiled fictional version of Neal Degrasse Tyson, Doc Dubois, but I'm not sure it's going to be as good as Anathem, Cryptonomicon, or The Diamond Age.

summertime

Steamy, sticky days here in Chicago after a cool and rainy start to the summer. Playground trips, fort-building, running through the sprinkler, swimming, picnicking, flying kites. Summer is much more fun with a busy toddler, though exhausting.

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pattern: yoked cardigan, by hannah fettig

yarn: mountain colors 4/8's wool, winter sky, 1 skein

needles: US 7 bamboo circs for the body, US 8 for the sleeves

size: 2 years

my ravelry project page

notes:
I'm not sure that this cardi is really a size 2T! Seems a little small. Easy pattern, fun to knit, and I love the yarn. Smooth and springy, lovely dark shades of blue and purple, plus it had been marinating in the stash forever. Next time I'd try smaller needles when picking up stitches for the button band.

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my favorite easy-peasy summer sandwich

French bread or ciabatta rolls topped with roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil, and a healthy sprinkle of garlic salt, broiled or baked in a 400-degree oven for 8 min. or so, then topped with fresh basil from the garden

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reclaimed prairie at Winnemac Park

yarn along: elsie

Joining Ginny with this week's Yarn Along:

Knitting another Elsie cardigan and reading Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break, by Anna Brones and Johanna Kindvall -- an absolutely charming cookbook + collection of musings on Swedish coffee break culture.

I've also been tinkering around with a recipe for a raspberry rhubarb tart. Strawberry rhubarb has been done many a time! I think this version's a winner:

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Raspberry Rhubarb Tart

Fruit Filling:

2-2 1/4 C. rhubarb, chopped (1/2-inch pieces)

1 1/4 C. raspberries

3/4 C. sugar

3 T. flour

3/4 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 T. butter, cut into small pieces

Tart Dough:

1 1/2 C. flour
4 oz. (1 stick) butter, cold, cut into cubes
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg
2-3 T. cold water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make the dough by mixing the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and use your hands, or a pastry blender, to break in the butter until the mixture has a crumbly, cornmeal-like texture. You can also make this in the food processor, using the “pulse” feature, being careful not to over-process.

Mix the egg with 2 tablespoons of the water. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture, stirring until the dough holds together. If it’s not coming together easily, add an extra tablespoon of ice water.

Gather the dough into a ball and roll the dough on a lightly floured surface, adding extra flour only as necessary to keep the dough from sticking.

Once the dough is large enough so that it will cover the bottom of the pan and go up the sides, roll the dough around the rolling pin then unroll it over the tart pan. “Dock” the bottom of the pastry firmly with your fingertips a few times, pressing in to make indentations.

Chill the tart dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the fruit filling.

Combine rhubarb and raspberries in a large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar, flour, and lemon juice. Toss gently. Spoon into prepared tart dish, and dot with butter.

Bake until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit filling is bubbling in the center (35-45 min.). Cool on a wire rack before serving.

yarn along

Finally participating in Ginny's Yarn Along:

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes can be rather gruesome and overly descriptive at times, but it's interesting and thought-provoking nonetheless. I find myself skimming over certain parts when my stomach starts to give out. Good choice not to enter the mortuary sciences on my part, I suppose. I'm copying Ginny by knitting an Antarktis. Nice pattern -- repetitive, but the texture is lovely, and the end result is a shawlette that is lacy, but not frilly. Quite wearable. I adore the yarn, Malabrigo Finito. Deliciously squishable, and the colors (Jupiter) are gorgeous.

What I should be doing is sewing buttons on four wee baby cardigans, but I never seem to find the gumption. Perhaps over the long weekend? The patterns are Lottie, Yoked Cardigan, one of my own design, and Seamless Yoked Baby Sweater. More on these to come, I promise.

five hours?!?

Those "five hour" baby sweater patterns are really something -- five hours for Elizabeth Zimmermann maybe, but not for me. Knitting the sweater took less than a week, but getting up the gumption to do the finishing work took a couple of months! This cardigan is destined for Paul's cousin's sweet new baby boy.

 

pattern: baby boy 5 hour sweater, by gail bable

yarn: rowan ryc cashsoft aran, ~ 2 balls

needles: us 9 (5.0) mm

my ravelry project page

notes:

The pattern doesn’t include buttonholes in the instructions! I added a buttonhole at the beginning of row 4 (K2, YO, k2tog, then follow pattern as written), and repeated every 10 rows.

RYC Cashsoft just doesn’t do it for me. It’s similar to Cashmerino, but not nearly as nice. It has kind of a mushy feel or something? Oh well, the new mom's not a knitter, so I wanted something machine washable.

The precious embroidered, cloth-covered sheep buttons had been hoarded in my stash for years -- I'm happy to use them at last. I'm trying to get over the idea of saving the "good" things for later.

totally autumn

Phew, last week was rough... my poor Jeep broke down on Lake Shore Drive and is still in the shop getting its transfer case rebuilt, autumn quarter's about to start, and there's still a lot of packing to do before we move on Saturday. Time to focus on the positive things, like this little baby sweater I finished:

pattern: Camilla Babe, by Carrie Bostick Hoge

size: 3 months

needles: US 6 Clover bamboo circs and US 7 DPNs

yarn: Quince and Co. Lark, pomegranate, ~2.3 skeins (300 yds.)

my Ravelry project page

notes:

Very fun to knit! I just love the pattern, and I'll definitely revisit it. The yarn is soft and springy, with a deeply saturated color. I used a little more yarn than the pattern specified, but my gauge was also a bit loose. I knit the 3-month size, but the final (blocked) measurements are more like the 6-month.

The yarn fluffed up a bit during the blocking process. Be forewarned that this isn't a smooth, silky merino -- it's lofty and wonderful, but not buttery soft. I'm curious how well it will hold up (I'm guessing quite well), as I'd love to knit a cardigan for myself using Lark.

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Other good things...

- Coastal Knits is available for pre-order! Such pretty patterns. Can't wait for this to arrive in my mailbox!

- Brooklyn Tweed's fall 2011 patterns are out! I absolutely love Tinder -- it looks so cozy.

- Loopy Yarns had a 6th anniversary party last Sunday, and I picked up some very intriguing Imperial Stock Ranch 2-ply pencil roving in a beautiful shade called wild iris.

It's very soft and lofty, and it will be interesting to knit, as it's unspun. This yarn is earmarked for the Pembroke Wrap from the latest issue of Interweave Knits.

- I concocted a new ice cream recipe in honor of the lovely autumn days:

pumpkin spice ice cream

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 C. pumpkin butter
1.25 C. half and half
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, or to taste (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Freeze mixture in ice cream maker (I use a basic Cuisinart ice cream maker and run it for 18-20 min.). Transfer to an airtight container and put in the freezer to harden, at least 3 hours (even longer is better).

P.S. Sorry to be so slow at replying to comments lately... it has been a little hectic around here. 

almost autumn

There's a nip in the air and a spring in my step -- forsooth, autumn's just around the corner here in the upper midwest. We've been happily munching away on apples and pears from last Saturday's green city market.

I've been knitting away at f.pea's mossy jacket pattern. I'm using the specified yarn, Classic Elite Beatrice, now discontinued. This is a machine washable, heavy worsted weight merino wool with a neat construction -- 3 plies very lightly twisted together, which means that it's very easy to separate the plies (esp. with my pointy Knit Picks Harmony needles).

What's neat is that the 3 plies are different colors -- 1 tan, 1 beige, and 1 variegated. The yarn knits up into a very pleasant variegated, marled fabric -- not garish or awful like so many other commercial yarns. Each of these three plies seems to be a plied light fingering weight. Great stuff! Too bad it's no longer on the market.

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In August I instituted a no-new-yarn policy as we prepare to move, but this has already been bent a bit, as Quince and Co. restocked Lark in pomegranate. Not only did I order one more skein to finish Camilla Babe, but also a color book.

I'm contemplating colors for an Aidez cardigan using Quince's lofty aran-weight Osprey yarn. Frost?  Peacock? Delft? So pretty!

Two small projects are blocking on my dining room table as I type, so I'll be back soon with FO posts.

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in the kitchen

-- I really want to make pumpkin ice cream -- I just saw this recipe, but it's definitely more complicated than I'd like. Any recipe suggestions?  Otherwise I'll probably experiment (I'm thinking pumpkin butter + a slightly less cream-cheesy version of my cream cheese ice cream recipe).

-- Sour cream brown sugar ice cream was on the menu for a get-together last weekend! It was awfully yummy. I swirled fig butter through half of the batch, and that was especially tasty.

  Sour Cream Brown Sugar Ice Cream

2 C. sour cream
1.5 C. half-and-half
1 C. brown sugar, firmly packed (preferably dark brown)
.5 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 T. bourbon
fig butter (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Pour into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's directions (about 20 min.).

Optional: Pour half the ice cream into a freezer-safe container. Dot a few blobs of fig butter over the top; swirl with a knife. Add the rest of the ice cream. Add a bit more fig butter if desired.

Put in the freezer and allow to harden for at least 3 hours.

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A copy of Moosewood Restaurant New Classics has been sitting in my kitchen bookcase for a few months, sadly unopened and untested. I pulled it out to peruse at lunch today, and the recipes look fantastic! I'm getting very excited about veggies again. 25 tape flags now mark recipes that were calling my name. I'll keep you posted as to the successes.

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Jane Austen fans, the Los Angeles Review of Books features an interesting review article on two new books about Jane Austen.  

blue violet

As I was knitting away on my Shalder cardigan and sipping my morning coffee, I was struck by the  pleasing confluence of blue violet.

The lace yoke is well underway, and I can't wait to wear this cardigan this autumn. The nights are getting cooler and longer here in Chicago, so autumn is beginning to seem imminent and real. Plus Shalder needs to come off the needles before I can cast on for Levenwick or Aidez!

The pattern calls for Quince and Co.'s Lark yarn, but the blue-violet Rowan Pure Wool DK had been marinating in the stash for far too long. I did, however, order two skeins of Lark in Pomegranate just to see what it was like. Soft, springy, and what a beautiful, vibrant hue!

This is Camilla Babe in the smallest size. Gauge being the harsh mistress that she is, I have run out of yarn, and this color is on back order. Doh!

the nerdiness abounds

So, The Fellowship of the Ring to the accompaniment of the CSO while picnicking at Ravinia on a beautiful night was pretty much awesome.

What made it even more awesome?

Lembas to sustain you on your journey. Recipe and mallorn leaf pattern here. Apparently the elves were actually big fans of lemon-flavored scones! The leaves are cut out of felt rather than foam, simply because there was already a plentiful cache of green felt in my craft supplies (why, I don't know, but I was happy to go with it). Sadly, we were forced to drink Crispin cider and Half Acre beer (brewed 1/2 mile from my house) in lieu of miruvor.

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I threw caloric considerations out the window and made that easy beer mac and cheese recipe on Saturday! I wasn't up for another trip to the market, so there was some improvising (i.e., cleaning out the cheese drawer and skipping the basil leaves). I used cheddar, gruyere, a wee bit of Parmesan, and  Cotswold Double Gloucester (which just happens to make the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever). The bites with the Double Gloucester were AMAZING! Next time I'd zing up the recipe with a little bit of onion, cayenne pepper, and ground mustard.

ETA: I've found Cotswold Double Gloucester at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I'm guessing that a good specialty cheese/wine shop might carry it, too.

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Another baby gift has not only been finished, but also given to its intended recipient!  The new mom's a knitter, so I didn't want to post here until it was safely in her hands.

pattern: Baby Kina, by Muriela

yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, 1.75 skeins

needles: Clover US 4 bamboo circs

size: 6 months

my Ravelry project page

notes:

Fantastic little pattern! Very easy to knit, and not fiddly at all. I love the gathering at the yoke. The yarn is wonderful to knit, and I'm sad that my Baby Cashmerino stash is pretty much depleted now (although I suppose that's a good thing, as there's plenty more yarn marinating in the craft room).

I wonder a bit about the buttonhole placement. They seem a bit off center -- I might move them closer to the edge of the button band next time. I'll definitely knit this pattern again! There's even a version for grown-ups.

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linkety ~ projects I'd like to start right away but know I oughtn't

- free pattern for a colorful bull's eye crochet blanket at Tangled

- tutorial for making a very cute cable knit pillow cover at Craftastical