In December, as I began thinking about my word for this year… one of the things that I also spent some time contemplating was this blog. I thought long and hard about its future and I determined that I still had things to share, contributions to make, and, especially, the connections I have made here over the years! But, this blog does not write itself and that means that I have to make an actual effort to… well… create content to post here!
I have sort of mapped out a plan of post topics to help me “jump start” my creativity and so this First Friday it begins!
I will be doing quarterly “Currently” posts as a check in with myself… what am I doing. (or most importantly…what am I not doing and what should I be doing!)
Unpacking: My word! January is always such a fun month to spend looking at all the possibilities a word has and in the unpacking of the word, I always always find things I did not previously consider about the word. And I just love writing down definitions, writing down the “stream of words” that come to my mind as I unpack the word. Good things for January! It is the one month that I really like being at my desk!
Planning: Some January sewing! I think this is the *second* winter that has passed since I determined that I’d like a pair of corduroy pants… (THIS is exactly what these posts are going to help me do… be more accountable on the things I “talk” about wanting to get done! HA) Anyways… I simply love Sew House Seven’s Free Range Slacks and I plan on getting the pattern cut out this weekend so I am ready to start sewing on Monday! I also really need a couple of “nicer” sweat shirt-style shirts. I have had the Cosmos Sweatshirt pattern for a while now and I have these two lovely pieces of French Terry from Blackbird Fabrics. FOMU (that’s Fear Of Messing Up) has stymied me however. But I did not buy the fabric to just look at it! So I am breaking out from the fear and at least getting them washed and dried today! Then I will plan my next steps… I have not sewn knits is so long. (but thankfully Sewing YouTube has dozens of helpful videos!)
Shaking up: Friday Happy Hours! Boy, have they felt stale as the year ended. So I have been spent a little bit of time finding some new recipes and ideas to “spruce them up” a bit! Phase One starts tonight with a something freshly baked… stay tuned! (And I will be posting an update on IG! What??? LOL)
Speaking of Baking: In November I began making a “bucket” of dough and have been using Zoë François/Jeff Hertzberg 5-minute bread recipe. It keeps is the fridge for 2 weeks and makes it so simple to just pull out a bit of dough to make a loaf of very good bread! I expect this to continue as the dough can be used for pizza as well! It is nice having home made pizza every other week! (A favorite of ours is one with a chicken breast that I have previously cooked and shredded, some artichoke hearts, a drizzle of olive oil and some parmesan cheese!)
Watching: Call the Midwife and loving every second of it! (I also watched the first episode of Around the World in 80-days with DAVID TENNANT… so far, so good…and DAVID TENNANT!) These have been my “companions” while I have been spinning… and they are such very good company!
Spinning… with a plan in mind: I started a “sweater spin” last year and it sort of lost its sparkle. I love the fiber but the sweater part of the spinning has been the issue I think. So I changed the sweater plan… drastically! I knit Romi’s Morinne sweater (Rav link) some years ago and I love the design and fit so much… but the yarn I knit it with… not so much. It pills horribly and now after some years of wear it really looks like hell. This change in sweater has spurred on my spinning… as has the excitement of opening a little bit of fiber each day from Hipstrings Base12 Advent spin… which I thought was just spinning with no plan until yesterday… I think that this will make a lovely Hitchhiker (and I am sure that I will have more than enough yarn to knit a generous one!)
Bandwagon Knitting: I know that I said I was NOT doing any bandwagon knitting this year… but I should know better than to every say never… because on Wednesday night I jumped on the Musselburgh Wagon and began that fiddly little cast on. I am not through all the increases yet so I have not quite gotten to the “mindless knitting” portion of the hat… but soon!
And there you have the things that are currently filling the minutes of my days! What about you? Tell me one thing that you are really excited about!
Have a great weekend everyone and I will see you all back here on Monday!
I am so glad that I live in a world where there are Octobers. – L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
It was a perfect October weekend. One that included a trip to our farmer’s market, glorious blue skies, and yes – even a pumpkin donut! I also made a big pot of chili on Sunday.
And, while there were no new yarn acquisitions – I am going to take Mary’s advice on bracelet-length sleeves and so Tegna sleeve knitting has begun in earnest. Why, I even managed to rip out (literally) the too loose neck edge and reknit it with the correct sized needles!
I also made some progress on my Aisé and I am very happy with how it looks. The sparkle in the kidsilk yarn is not at all overwhelming but I am not sure how well it shows up in a photograph.
However, today I can no longer ignore the sweater that I need to seam up for a friend and there will be no knitting until that is completed! And, once that is done this cake is next on my agenda!
Notes on a weekend: I do not consider myself a pie baker, but this recipe intrigued me and 8 cups of frozen raspberries from our garden that I had done absolutely nothing with glaring at me every time I opened the freezer. So, out came the raspberries to thaw a bit while I put mixed the pie crust ingredients together on Sunday morning. My raspberry modifications: 4 C raspberries – slightly thawed. 3 Tbsp corn starch (next time I will only use 2 Tbsp), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla paste, the juice and zest of one lemon. I needed to bake it about 8 minutes longer than the recipe called for.
Oh, and that corned beef… omgosh, it was hands down the best corned beef I have ever made – or eaten! If you have always felt sort of ho-hum about corned beef… try Andrew Z’s recipe. It will turn you into a corned beef fan!!
My quilt top is almost done! As is the back of Deschain – so you know that means I simply had to cast on a new project, lol. This will be the shawl I am donating to and Close to You won the great pattern debate. I wound the yarn while I watched the NCAA selection show (there were cheers for Michigan pulling a #2 seed despite losing the Big Ten Tournament to Michigan State) and the winding continued while we watched the Circus. But, cast on was achieved before I finally turned off the lights and headed to bed.
And, with that – the weekend is just a warm memory and the mundanity of Monday awaits me! How about you? How was your weekend?
It was one of those perfect “height of summer” weekends that started with a laid-back Friday Happy Hour that included Whipped Feta Dip… mmmm so good! This will be in the rotation again!
The farmer’s market on Saturday was full of all the good things! Peaches, Plums, and Sweet Corn all made their way home with us. Plus, we had a bit of a bonus at a local grocer who had some elusive but oh so delicious Michigan blueberries in stock! This meant lots of cooking over the weekend… I am not a pie baker, and while I have an aunt who would crank out pie crusts in volume, this is my least favorite thing to do. But, “cheater” pie crusts, FTW! Unroll, fill, and bake made it so easy! I made Plum, Blueberry, and Peach Crostatas. And, really… they were all so easy!
Saturday was also Genevieve’s third birthday! The day was extra special because Christian was in port and not too far away so it made for the perfect little family celebration for them!
I picked an almost overflowing bowl of tomatoes and a couple handfuls of beans.
Plus, there was an entire meal of Sweet Corn. Ahhhh, summer! How good you taste!
Lest you think all we did was eat and drink and sing Happy Birthday all weekend, there was plenty of other stuff accomplished too! And, today Steve is home and will soon be in “internet heaven” when FIOS comes to install giga-bit internet here. Be still my heart, lol.
BUT, drum roll please…I even have an almost completed Beekeeper Cardigan! The knitting is done, I just have the seaming of the sleeves to do! Just the thing to occupy myself and stay out of the way today! Ha!
There was even some much-needed rain… all in all, the perfect weekend!
I hope your weekend was full of as many good things! Happy Monday!
