Greetings Unravelers!
It felt so odd to type the November date because my brain is firmly in December already! But it is still November and I still have a bit of holiday making to do… so I should be glad for these November days!
It has been a banner week of making… really!!
Sorry for the Dark-Thirty photo… but the levain did not mind the light!
Carole kindly reminded me about Tartine Bread, a copy of which I purchased back when Carole started baking sourdough. So last Friday, I made my levain and set it aside thinking that it would take some time. Silly me, it was ready and raring to go very early Saturday morning, and so I began my sourdough baking journey! The “Basic Country Bread” recipe is for two loaves of bread… this worried me a bit but I jumped in the sourdough pool with both feet and started. I did not plan well because I was baking bread until 11PM Saturday night (with lots of complaints from Steve about the hunger pangs the smell of baking bread was giving him! lol) Two very edible loaves were the result of my efforts because more carbs was just what Thanksgiving week needs, right? I feel a bit more confident about the process… and more importantly the timing of the process having one batch under my belt. Next time, I am going to halve the recipe… one loaf is a LOT of bread… two loaves feels a bit over indulgent! My starter is perking along in the refrigerator… as is some sourdough discard which I will be putting to use this week in a batch of soft pretzels!
It seems entirely miraculous to me that this bread did its bread-y thing with no added yeast!
As you can see above, I departed Cable Sleeve Island and immediately set off for the Back Seas… so I am making good progress on my Sweater!
I also reminded myself that Gnomes do not knit themselves! And so I have one more to add to the Ornament Brigade. The first girl joined the ranks… with a slight adjustment to the pattern. I bound off upon finishing the hat and picked up stitches under the brim to begin the body. I did a simple nose for her… and she has two pigtails!
Fancy Gnancy!
Meet Fancy Gnancy… who is not fancy currently. I need to figure out a beaded necklace for her so yesterday I googled crocheting with beads… stay tuned!
The reading last week had some highs… and lows. I finished Black AF History… and loved it! I think Michael Harriot would be the BEST history teacher… ever. He combines history, wit, and a good measure of sarcasm in a brilliant look at the history of America. And that reading low… well, evidently I am just not smart enough to “get” Daniel Mason’s North Woods. Bonny’s review of it being a bit “impenetrable” was spot on. It all sort of lost me in the Bug Procreation Portion. A collection of short stories that are interconnected seems like it should work, but for me in this setting… it all just did not. (However, ymmv – especially if you are smarter than me!)
I did hit the Wait List Jackpot yesterday when The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store came up for me! Woo! (I have started it but have no thoughts yet!) I also have Katherine May’s Wintering waiting in the wings!
And there you have my end of November making and reading! What about you? What are you trying to finish November with?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
Your cabled sweater is going to be so warm and comfortable you’re going to be living in it when the cold weather turns up. And when Fancy Gnancy gets her pearl necklace she’ll look like the star of the show.
I just adore your gnomes, I think your yarn choices are simply spot on. Well done on the jumper progress you put me to total shame! So glad I got my act together and posted this week.
I was excited to see your sweater, but your bread also provides plenty to admire! And Gnancy is sweet while patiently waiting for her jewels. I don’t think it’s any fault of yours that you didn’t get North Woods; it’s that darn impenetrable language. (Definitely not what I look for in a book.) Hooray for (finally) getting Heaven and Earth!
Fancy Gnancy is great! Love her pigtails and can’t wait to see her beaded necklace. Congrats on getting off of sleeve island and heading into the back seas. That sweater is beautiful Kat. What a copy wrap that will be. Based on what you and Bonny said about North Woods, I will not bother! I’m finishing up “The Comfort of Crows” and am not so patiently waiting for “Heaven and Earth.” Also, still knitting on socks…
Sourdough bread making . . . requires QUITE a commitment. I used to make it regularly, but eventually tired of being a “slave” to my starter. Every once in a while, I go on a sourdough “tear” again. I love baking bread, and we love eating it (so much). But you really have to be . . . On It. ENJOY! Your loaf looks great. And it’s such a rewarding process. XO Your sweater is just flying along! It looks fabulous, Kat! And Gnancy is wonderful – and patient, too . . . as she waits for her new Fancy jewels. (And . . . not every book is going to hit the mark, y’know?)
Welcome to Fancy Gnancy 🙂 Her pigtails! I swooned. ♥ Can’t wait to see her jewelry. A wonderful making — and baking — week there, for sure. Now I want to eat toast.
Lucky you that Heaven & Earth came in! I’m crossing fingers I’ll have a copy before the discussion. (Which I’m hoping to make this time.)
Have you read Katherine May’s _Electricity?? (I have not and don’t know anyone who has…)
Hooray for successful bread! I really do want to get better at baking bread, so you’ve inspired me. Gnancy is looking very nice already, and I’m sure she’ll be looking even fancier soon!
I appreciate your book reviews, as always. I’m on the wait list for North Woods, and I hope I’m smart enough to get at least some of it!
The cable work on your sweater is really beautiful!
I did enjoy North Woods, but I think that had to do with how I read it. I pictured the house as my grandmother’s very old house in the Catskills and as I read, I was reminded of all the stories and tall tales I heard growing up about that house and the area going back to colonial times. I used to imagine who had lived there in the past and we were sure her house was haunted by a few previous residents! I also remember the legends of the catamounts and listening to the big cats (probably bobcats) yowling at night. My grandfather told us that they had not been seen since the “turn of the century”, but that evidence was that they were still lurking about.
I’m not sure if I got the point of the book, but I enjoyed reading it and the memories it brought up.
Your sweater looks great, Kat! It’s been ages since I’ve done any real cabling. LOVE little Fancy Gnancy!
My first thought about this post is that those cables are just lovely. And then I saw your starter and read that Tartine helped you and I’m so glad! I should have mentioned, I always halve that bread recipe, too as one loaf is all we can eat before it gets stale. And I was nodding along at the bread being finished at 11pm because I’m pretty sure that was my experience my first time, too. Now I will do the 2nd proof overnight in the fridge so I can bake it in the morning and the timing works better for me. I love Fancy Gnancy and the way you joined her hands!
Fancy Gnancy is so cute! She is perfect with her little pigtails.
The bread looks delicious. What are a few more carbs during Thanksgiving week? The little gnome is darling but that sweater is going to be gorgeous. You are coming right along with the sweater.
Fancy Gnancy is an absolute delight! And making sourdough always feels like magic, doesn’t it? Really any kind of bread making feels like magic – and even though I have plenty of ready-made bread products in the house I’m kind of craving that comforting smell, just from looking at your pictures…
love your sweet gnome and that beautiful cabling – your needles are on fire!! Looks like you have a great collection of books to read. Now that my non credit classes are over I am reading more,yay.