Blue.

Dear Caryn. 

I know I had you on blue yarn watch.  I know I asked you to intervene and steer me away when I try to beeline for skeins with bluesy names like chambray, denim, midnight, wedgewood, cobalt, nantucket, azure, ultramarine, cornflower, and cerulean.  I could go on, and often do, but that's enough for now, right?  Because you know and I know that there is not a solitary shade of blue yarn that, once created, I won't feel compelled to stash.  I love blue yarn beyond reason. 

But guess what?  I picked up some skeins recently that weren't blue.  They were devoid of blue, in fact.  They were white.  Too white it turns out.  So they...and I...and my dyepots...well, we intersected.  And now, you guessed it, they are blue.  We blue addicts are sneaky. 

Sandra 

Valentine's Day, 2012.

Hope you are having the sweetest day.

Are you wondering if we did the cards again?  Well of course we did.  I think three years in a row makes it a tradition.  The boys are becoming quite adept at their assembly line duties.  And I am getting better at letting go and letting them do it their way.  I didn't even obsess about punching the holes just so.  I mean, who cares if they are not perfectly lined up with little fists to best play up the "here's your lollipop" effect?  Nope, not me.  Didn't care one little bit.  Packed up those levitating lollipops without regret, thankyouverymuch.

But I admittedly found some inner peace having control over the pop placement on Will's cards (used an Xacto knife on his).

I also enjoyed the creative turn of tweaking Max's a bit for a no candy rule...the phrase "Write On!" cracked him up.  He appreciates a good homophone joke.

The boys also delivered balloons to their teachers.  We continue to luck out with having the most amazing teachers.  The tag is hard to read in the picture, I know.  It says You Lift Me Up.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sandra

Cream of Portobello Mushroom and Leek Soup.

My sister-in-law gave me this recipe and we just love it.  I originally planned to insert a picture of the soup.  But honestly, I think that would deter you from trying it.  How does one take an appetizing picture of brown, splotchy soup anyway?  I have no clue.

Plan B:  cue the leeks.

Cream of Portobello Mushroom and Leek Soup (my mods are in italics)

• 2.5 tbsp butter (I use olive oil)
• 4 portobello mushrooms stems removed and cleaned and chopped (I like to remove the gills)
• 2 leeks while and light part only, cleaned well to remove sand and grit
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 3 cups vegetable stock (chicken broth works well too)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1.5 cups of half and half (a cup of milk + some cream worked well, too)
• 1/4 cup dry sherry or white wine (I usually skip this)
• Chopped chives for topping (optional)

Melt the butter/oil in a soup pot over med heat.  Add the mushrooms, leeks, and onion and sauté until tender, 5-6 minutes.  Add the stock, salt and pepper and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are soft, 10-15 minutes.

Transfer to blender in batches.  My SIL uses an an immersion blender--I use my pro Blendtec blender.  If you don't have a pro blender and plan to blend it, do it in small batches.  Return to pot and add half and half and sherry and mix well.  Simmer, uncovered, until the flavors are blended, about 10 minutes.  Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with chives, if using.

Serves 4-6.

This week I'm going to try a mushroom blend to see how using non-Portobellos affect the flavor.  Oh, and last time I added a few pieces of bacon when cooking the veggies.  Yum!

Sandra

Chambord.

Well, it looks like I could have waited a day for yesterday's post and skipped the sneak peek.  Babycocktails released the Chambord pattern today and I can't say enough good things about it.  It's such a clever little number, shaped to disguise some extra holiday squish if you know what I mean. 

And if you do not know what I mean, I'm not sure we can be friends.

Project notes here.

Sandra

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

I say that a lot around here.  I have three boys you see...and am spectacularly unoriginal at times.  But this time when I said it, I was talking about a freshly blocked new knit.  And yes I was rubbing my hands together like a child about to get a treat because this is my kind of confection.  I can only reveal a bit for now because it's a test knit for this pattern. 

A test knit, you ask?  Why yes.  For Thea Colman.  You know,  Babycocktails. 

What's that?  Oh sorry.  I did indeed drop that.  Here, let me pick up that name. 

Can you tell I'm giddy that I got to test knit one of her knits?  I sort of have a crush on Thea's designs.  They make me appear to be a far more skilled knitter than I actually am.   I'm knitting her Drambuie next. 

I had a bit of a panic attack that the color (MadelineTosh DK in Nectar) was all wrong.  But then I received some positive feedback on Ravelry so I'm good.  Plus, my knitting guru Jenn commented on the project page that pink is a necessity in February.  And one should always listen to their knitting guru. 

Sandra   

Knitterly Resolutions.

I am still working on my full 2012 NY Resolutions.  But I'm ready to share my Knitting category.  It is the second half of January after all.

Projects Wish List (need to still select patterns for each)

• Winter hats for the boys
• Matching mittens
• Charlie's hat
• Charlie's sweaters (at least two)
• Toy knitting!
• At least one knit bag
• At least one pair of slippers
• Three pairs of socks
• Mitts for myself
• Create a handknit gift stash (thinking hats, cowls, coffee cozies, etc.)
• I'm thinking 6 sweaters for myself.  Last year I did 9 but that didn't leave much time to knit sweaters for others.  And by others, I mostly mean Charlie because I keep bumping his sweater off the top of the list.

Get organized:

• Organize my Ravelry queue
• Organize my stash
• Photograph and post stash on Ravelry
• Destash any yarn I do not love

Techniques to conquer in 2012:

Click to read more ...

Fiber fix.

I dearly love the new Wool People 2 collection by Brooklyn Tweed.  And I'm happy that I have some supplies to get me started when I settle on my favorites--two bags of Shelter and several single skeins of Loft acquired during the Black Friday sale at Fibre Space.  Despite the temptation of the sale (30% off!), I remember thinking, just buy what you will knit this year.  You can always get more next year.  But now as I study the collection and realize I want to knit every sweater, I wonder, what was I thinking!?  Restraint is overrated.

To tide me over and delay a yarn binge for a bit, I cast on for a pretty loop scarf with some of my new Loft.  I am using the most stunning heathery blue called Faded Quilt and the design, Pei, is from the Loft Collection.  Fyi, I love everything in there too...so again I ask, what was I thinking!?

The scarf was a quick knit but in my haste, I twisted my round.  I'm dumbfounded because 1) this is the first time I've made that mistake, and 2) I didn't even notice until I was 80% done.  Isn't that crazy?  Obviously, I need to check in with my knitting a bit more.  I still love the yarn and the design but as you can imagine, discovering this error was a major buzz kill.  As in:  Forehead?  Meet my desk.  Again, and again. 

I really wanted to just walk away but I could imagine it mocking me in the WIP basket.  So instead, I finished it up and decided I'd deal with it later.  And yes I know that's not accurate as there is no real "dealing" with a twisted cowl.  You either decide to live with it or not.  What I really mean is I'll wait until later to face the decision of whether I'll only wear it looped (thus twisted anyways) or rip and restart.  Until then, I'll daydream about some of the new designs.  And how I won't mess them up.  So I should probably have some appropriate yarn on hand...

Sandra

I actually sewed something.

It's been forever since I've sewn anything!  And this barely qualifies as a sewing project, but I did fire up my machine so I'm counting it. 

I always try to make the boys Christmas shirts.  This year I went with a stockings theme.  I found some wool sweaters I'd felted that were perfect for appliques.  To personalize the shirts, I went with old school puffy paint.  Fun fun.  Except when Max went to try on his shirt and it was too small.  Because I'd put his applique on the size 6 shirt and Leo's on the size 8.  This made me fairly distraught as it was probably my last year of talking the oldest into a crafty shirt.  I was so disheartened I didn't even take project photos.  But here is one of Will wearing his shirt...it captures his reaction when he realized he got frosting on it.  He really did love his special shirt.  So I'm happy again...I should have a few more years of cutesy-wear for him, right? 

I have more sewing projects and ideas in the works...did I mention I'm redoing my craft space?  It's about 50% done.  Hope to show it off next week.  I'm off to paint.  Happy Friday.

Sandra

Hat-trick.

Wikipedia defines a hat-trick as: the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes.  And although blogging isn't a sport, I nonetheless submit that three project posts in three days qualifies.  Please go with me here.  I once played soccer and dreamt of a hat-trick.

No?  Okay, let's go at it this way:  this hat morphed mid project from one style to another.  Surely a cool trick by any standard.  It is made from leftover Cascade Eco yarn.  It was originally planned as a beanie for my father for Christmas.  But then I found more scrap yarn and decided to stripe it.  I loved the stripes but soon suspected it was adding a feminine flavor to the topper.  Charlie confirmed this with a firm statement of, "no, your dad will not wear that." 

Well, fine.  So I decided to shift the shape to incorporate a bit of slouch.  I was beyond the point where one traditionally adds increases (the row after the ribbing).  Instead, I just switched to larger needles--two sizes up, I believe.  Then, when blocking, I encouraged some slouch by drying it over a pie plate.

Here it is.  And it's for me.  

Ravelry project notes here.  I also want to add that I promise to never wear it with this striped Free People henley again.  I promise I wasn't going for a no make-up, messy hair, "am I a bag lady or an ironic hipster* vibe"--because I'm 40.  I actually lived and liked the 90s.  I was just too lazy to change my shirt.  And, well, I'm always too lazy to put on make-up or brush my hair.

Sandra

*not familiar with the term ironic hipster?  It's one of those "you know it when you see it" looks.  But let's turn to Wikipedia again for a definition, shall we?

Hipsters (also referred to as scenesters) are a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with musical interests mainly in alternative rock that appeared in the 1990s.

In a Huffington Post article entitled "Who's a Hipster?,"Julia Plevin argues that the "definition of 'hipster' remains opaque to anyone outside this self-proclaiming, highly-selective circle." She claims that the "whole point of hipsters is that they avoid labels and being labeled. However, they all dress the same and act the same and conform in their non-conformity" to an "iconic carefully created sloppy vintage look."

Knit therapy.

Another 2011 FO.  This is TGV (High Speed Knitting) by Susan Ashcroft.  A nifty crescent shaped shawlette.  The stretchy edge + garter ridge combo makes for a squishy hug if worn scarf-like around your neck.  I also liked that it's a modular pattern, allowing you to use whatever yarn weight and yardage you have on hand.  My Ravelry project page is here.  It was the perfect thing during down time, which I grudgingly had aplenty in November. 

I knit this during the height of my never-ending cold.  I was sort of a mess--when I look at the picture below I immediately think, wow, the meds sure made me loopy.  I truly hate taking medicine and try to avoid it.  Besides, the Merino/Cashmere/Silk yarn by Sublime helped the most, I think, as did working it up in soothing stripes.

We crafty-types never underestimate the power of luxury fibers, now do we?

Sandra