Knitterguy

The Notebook

During my big clearing-out during the spring, I found pads of paper and notebooks. Some were in the bankersbox of greeting cards and postcards I've accumulated over the years, in my knitting basket and knitting bags, one in a desk drawer, and several on various bookcases. Just about every one had some writing in it or evidence of torn-out or partly torn-out pages. There are spiral-bound notebooks like I used in high school; hard-cover journals; steno notepads; pads of lined sheets, usually of yellow recycled paper, and; a surprising number of pads of graph paper -- you know, the ones with horizontal and vertical blue lines that form squares. These are either 4 or 5 squares to the inch, and invaluable for charting knitting patterns.

I like handwriting notes -- or as my Mom would say, I like handscrawling notes, such is the state of my penmanship. I know many people use the Notes apps on their tablets and smartphones or they record messages to themselves, but if I’m trying to sort a problem or I’m brainstorming or making a list, I really prefer using pen and paper. The exception is grocery lists, which go on the iPhone. (And if anyone has a grocery store app that you particularly like please point me to it in the comments and tell me why you like it. Thanks.) I can write (scrawl) faster than I can type, and I find there is a directness and simplicity of pen to paper that I prefer to using a keyboard, in some circumstances.

I spent some time on memory lane through these pages while I was sorting stuff. There were lists of things to pack when I was planning a trip (“4 pair undies; 3 pair socks; deodorant; green shirt; wear boots/pack sandals”); a to-do list before leaving on the trip (“pack; mailbox key to Martha; fridge stuff to Stan; rent check; garbage/recycling; lights off!”); lists of seed catalogs to buy, likely copied from an article in a gardening magazine in the pre-internet days.

Anyway. The pads of paper and notebooks that have blank pages in them are still useful, so they were gathered up into a bag, and I’ll work my way through them over the next few months. Just this week, in fact, I grabbed one to capture ideas during a brainstorming session with friends over supper. Later, I flipped through the notebook and started to puzzle my way through some of the previous notes.

Written on the very first page are names and telephone numbers, so as far as my memory can tell, I started this notebook for my trip to the US midwest when I first attended Meg Swansen’s Knitting Camp. I can’t remember when that was...I think it was summer 1994 or 1996. Maybe 1998. (I used to have the t-shirt --it was red-- and the date was printed on that, but can’t find the t-shirt.) As I recall, I flew into Chicago-O’Hare, and someone I knew from the internet picked me up and we spent a few days in his town. I remember that we attended a potluck dinner, and maybe that’s where I got the recipe for “Corn Casserol”. Some day maybe I’ll make it, since I like Corn Casserole from the Midwest. (This isn’t even written in the notebook; it’s printed --dot-matrix-- on a piece of tractor-fed paper stapled to one of the pages.)

We drove up to Marshfield Wisconsin so I could attend Camp. Along the way we stopped at Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill.

Camp was great. In fact that whole trip was great. I made lists of things to learn about; articles from past issues of Spin-Off magazine to read; addresses of people to send copies of my book or pattern to. There are titles of books to read. Apparently I was going to send a bank draft for $32 US to a PO box in Texas for something. I wish I could remember what that something was, and whether I actually did it.  And I hope I sent Judy the recipes for Ginger Caraway Carrots and Caramel Corn. Someone named “Genny” -- and I have no memory of who she is or how or where on the trip I met her -- gave me the recipe for “Hazel Belt’s Coffee Cake”. It calls for plums, and the local plum harvest will be coming in soon, so I’ll give it a try. I see there is note about Provincetown Massachusetts, which I visited for the first time last year.

After Camp, my friend Jerry and I travelled for a few days visit with a mutual friend in Indiana, then down to Jerry’s home in Illinois for a few days. Jerry threw a potluck supper in my honor, and I made Watermelon Granita. It has 3 ingredients, and as I recall, it was delicious. In fact, at least once each summer in the past few years I’ve wondered what I did with that recipe, so I am pleased to find it. Not everyone likes watermelon, I know, but if you do, clear some space in your freezer and give it try in the hot summer months.

And for those who can’t read the scrawl, it basically goes like this.

Puree enough seedless watermelon to measure 4 cups. Stir in the juice of a lemon, and about 1/2 cup sugar, to taste. Pour this into a wide shallow pan, and put in the freezer. Check it after about 1/2 hour, as it should be freezing, and you want to take a fork and rake it through the mix to break up the crystals. Repeat the freeze/rake process a couple of times. The granita won’t have a the smooth consistency of ice cream or sherbet; it’s more like the crushed ice texture of a snow cone, maybe a bit coarser.

oops...

I forgot to post some nifty music in honour of Christmas Day itself. We're past Christmas, so let's have some non-Christmas music. How about this?

And that was the 12 cellos (celli?) of the Berlin Philharmonic playing "La Vie En Rose". Was that elegant or what?

Christmas Recap

Christmas was a fairly tame event. The high point is that Dad was able to join us for Christmas Day when the local family gathered, and then a few days later when the out-of-towners were up. He seems to have recognized all of us, which is amazing, and was a wonderful Christmas gift.

I spent New Years Eve with John and Alan, and had a splendid time playing in the fibre store that doubles as their home. It was a great break. I got some fibre carded up, spun some, read stuff, and just generally had a super relaxing time.

Between Christmas and New Years I did a bit of baking, which is quite rare in the household.  I made a loaf of The Most Delicious whole-wheat bread I have ever tasted from this recipe. It's the brain-child of bread-meister Peter Reinhart and uses a unique approach to developing flavour and rise in the dough. I haven't made bread in about 10 years so my skills were somewhat rusty, and I miscalculated the rise, and I think my oven temps are inaccurate. You'll read the recipe through and think "What the heck is he doing?" but it works and the resulting loaf is delicious. Seriously.

 

While that was rising in the pan, I made baking powder Stollen (as opposed to yeast-raised), which I'd wanted to do for several Christmases.

I used this recipe from King Arthur Flour. Solid instructions, excellent result. I still have quark in the fridge, so will make another batch soon.

In Other News

Registration for the annual Men's Spring Knitting Retreat held near Albany NY is open. (It's been open for a coupla weeks, actually.) If you don't know what the retreat is, or where it's held, or how much it costs, or how to register, see here. Dates this year are Thursday May 19 (starting with the evening meal) to Sunday May 22 (ending with the noon meal).

This year we have 2 scholarships available which will cover full retreat fees for a bed in a quad room as well as some monies to assist with transportation costs. You may nominate a guy, including yourself; deadline to have your nomination to Joe is January 28, 2011. More information about how to nominate is in this post on Joe's blog. (Disclosure: I'm one of the guys evaluating the nominations.)

Speaking of knitting, a couple of people have wondered whether I still do. Um...yeah. A couple of weeks ago I posted on Facebook that I thought I had stopped knitting, after realizing that I hadn't knitted a stitch since about mid October. (There's a half-knitted sock sitting on the arm of my knitting chair, and I don't remember the last time I even poked at it.) Commenters replied that maybe I just needed a break and, kindly, no-one asked what I am planning on doing with the stash. (At this point, keeping it.) I have been doing some spinning, but no knitting. I have no idea what this is about, or why. I've considered that maybe I should just start a piece of potato-chip knitting, or maybe I need to dig into a full-project. I could always look at what's on the Life Knitting List.

Supper tonight, for those of you who are interested, will be this.

Pasta with Ham, Leeks and Peas

1 large or 2 small leeks

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 ounces pancetta, sliced and cut into small strips

3 ounces boiled ham, in small strips

1/2 cup cooked fresh or frozen peas

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 pound tagliatelle pasta, or linguine

1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano

While you get the pasta water boiling and the pasta cooking, prepare the leek: Cut off about 1/3 of the green part, and the very root end.  Cut in half lengthwise, lay each half on the cut side and cut into thin demi-rings.  Put into a sieve or colander and toss under running water to wash away the dirt.  Toss well to shake off the excess water.

While the pasta is cooking, wilt the leeks in the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the meats and peas, maybe some pepper, maybe some salt depending how salty the meats are. Cook for, maybe, 3 minutes. Stir in the cream, and let the sauce heat through. If it's thickening too much while you're waiting for the pasta to finish cooking al dente, take it off the heat.

When the pasta is cooked, drain and toss with the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add a bit of pasta cooking water or chicken stock.  Plate up and sprinkle with parmigiano.

Recipe from Biba Caggiano's "Modern Italian Cooking" (worth looking for in your public library: some interesting pasta recipes), slightly revised by me since I've made it a couple of times. She also did it on a TV cooking show, slightly differently. And she has a variation replacing the leeks and peas with sliced mushrooms. If you can't find pancetta use an equal amount of ham (so 6 ounces ham). Very good on a windy, snowy, cold winter night, or a cold, drizzly fall night.

 

That's it for now.

Plum Good

I'm dashing to get caught up and ready to head out in a couple of days to Rhinebeck, so this'll be choppy.

I had a few little purple plums remaining from the haul I brought back from my trip to see Alan and John, and decided that I wanted to try a recipe I'd read about in Richard Sax's Classic Home Desserts: a treasury of heirloom and contemporary recipes from around the world. The "All-Time-Best Summer Fruit Torte" originally appeared in The Elegant But Easy Cookbook by Marian Burros and Lois Levine, and Burros ran it annually for several years in her food column in whatever newspaper she wrote for. (I think it was the New York Times, but I'm likely wrong.) You can find the recipe here.

The torte is simplicity itself: a basic layer of cake on which you lay  pieces of fruit, dust with sugar and spice, and bake. In baking, the cake batter rises and tucks in around the pieces of fruit, and really, it's a lot better than this picture would lead you to believe.

The simplicity, though, presents the challenge. Anytime you have a very simple list of ingredients, they have to be fresh and high quality, because their flavour is the flavour of the food. Stale butter -- and I said butter, not margarine -- and tired spices will give you a flat, tired-tasting cake. Flavourless fruit -- meh.

The recipe calls for little purple plums: Sax's cookbook presentation calls for peach slices with a scattering of blueberries, and he also recommends apple slices with fresh cranberries in winter. I think pear slices dusted with cardamom would be very good. (Note: Check Sax's version carefully. In my edition of the cookbook, the recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of baking powder. The online version, linked above, uses 1 teaspoon, and I think that's correct. I mean, it worked splendidly.)

Really; give this a try. It's great, still warm from the oven. Not so good, but still fine after it's cooled for several hours.

In Other News

While drawing up some new playlists for the iPod last night, I was hunting around iTunes and found a recording of oboe concerti by JSBach, performed by Marcel Ponseele backed up by Il Gardellino. (The CD link goes to Amazon.com: I don't know how to link to it in iTunes. Dear god, I am techno challenged...) Now the oboe concerti attributed to Bach are interesting, because while they are listed in the post mortem catalog of his ouvre, no autograph scores exist. Musicologists have "created" the concerti by reverse engineering other works by Bach, based on their understanding of his self-borrowing practices.

But what really caught my eye when scanning the track list, was the last track, an arrangement of Mahler's "Ich Bin Der Welt Abhanden Gekommen" -- one of the songs from his "Ruckert" cycle. I thought it wildly incongruous with the bulk of the tracks: Mahler composed the song at the turn of the 20th century; Bach was writing at the turn of the 18th century. The musical styles are, well, 2 centuries apart. The song setting we usually hear calls for a solo English Horn. The track information said it was arranged for Oboe da Caccia. I was intrigued, and downloaded the album.

The recording as a whole is lovely: the performances are bright and clear, and Ponseele is a gifted performer. It's a fine addition to your library. And the Mahler...wow. The arrangement works, totally, to my ears. (Well, the Mahler-ites won't like it, and I suppose that mezzo-sopranos won't be thrilled that the arrangement doesn't call for a human voice.)

But I realized I'd never heard a solo oboe da caccia. It has a completely different sound from the oboe and the English Horn, I expect because of the brass bell. I can't think of how to describe it: it doesn't even really sound like a double-reed instrument. Very haunting; very lovely.

There's another disc of baroque oboe concerti by Ponseele and Il Gardellino carrying superb presentations of 2 warhorses of the baroque oboe repetoire: the Handel g minor (the first movement shows Handel's brilliance for drama and lyrical writing) and the Marcello d minor. There are 2 charming concerti by Telemann: I'd not heard either. Also included are sinfonia from 3 canatas by JS Bach with solo oboe parts: these are virtuoso show pieces, and Ponseele gives achingly sensitive performances. Wonderful.

And the last track on this disc? An arrangement of Astor Piazzolla's tango "Oblivion". (Of course you know the piece. See this yootoob video.)  It's lush and elegant; flows beautifully. 

Both discs are highly recommended.

See you when I'm back.

Road Trip 4

Recently I hopped in the car and fired down south to Jordan Ontario to spend the weekend with John and Alan, who've just opened a small handspinning supply shop. I'd like to say that I took oodles of pictures, but I didn't. So you won't see anything. Apologies.

Jordan is in the wedge of Ontario that is south of Lake Ontario and north of Lake Erie. It's about a half hour drive from the border with USA at Buffalo and Niagara Falls New York, in the middle of what was once fruit orchard country. There are still a few small orchards growing peaches, plums, pears, some apples and a variety of vegetables, but much of the land seems to be growing grapes...and the area is chock full of small wineries, most of which many Ontarians will never have heard of.

In Ontario, the overwhelming majority of liquor sales are done through a provincial business called the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO). Selling hard liquors and wines from around the world, LCBO stores are found in a huge number of Ontario cities and towns, and, if you want a bottle of booze or wine, it's likely where you're going to go. The problem is that a winery has to be able to guarantee a certain number of bottles to get shelf space in an LCBO store, and for small wineries this may not be possible. The LCBO may buy some stock from a small winery for distribution to a select group of stores, but it's by no means provincial distribution. Small wineries, then, are selling to restaurants, online/mail-order, and through the retail outlets on their own property. They likely have an on-site tasting room, and perhaps a small restaurant.

There: end of short lesson about Ontario.

Anyway, I wanted some time away from home, and Alan and John had graciously invited me to visit them in Jordan. I was interested to see how they'd set up the shop, as well as to pick up a few bottles of wine and some fruit.

The whole trip was very enjoyable, and I brought back peaches (fabulous baked in a cobbler), pears (fabulous when gently poached in a light sugar syrup and served with the syrup enriched with a drip or 2 of Cointreau), and little purple plums. (These are fabulous eating with a glass of port. Also good poached in a syrup enhanced with port. Or poach them in a little water, puree in the food processor, stir in a slug of ground cinnamon, and then serve warm with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream. I tell you, the contrast between the warm spicy fruit and the cool bland cream is magic in your mouth.) The fruit stand I shopped at assured me that the fruit had been picked the previous day. While that may or may not be true, to my mouth, relatively freshly picked fruit that's had a few days on the tree to ripen tastes a lot better than the stuff from the grocery stores that was picked who-knows-when. Taste a tree-ripened peach and compare with what you get in the grocery store and you'll see what I mean.

I also came back with fiber. As I noted above, John and Alan have just opened The Fibre Garden -- and I mean just. I think they'd been open less than 10 days when I arrived. The website is still being set-up. (There's a ravelry group.) I came away with some California Red roving; North County Cheviot roving; bison/cashmere/silk roving, and; alpaca/kid mohair/merino roving. John and Alan want to offer some harder-to-find sheep breeds and interesting blends in addition to commercially available fibres carried by many shops.

And on the way home I stopped in to see K. and got caught up.

All in all, a very successful trip.

In Other News

The actual date is a national secret, and if I told anyone when it is, I would have to be killed. It was appropriately fêted by my coworkers and a handful of other people -- I've had 3 birthday dinners and have eaten far too much cake -- and I feel...well, 50 years old. I guess.

Talk to you all later.

San Francisco, Part 3

In Which Knitterguy is a Tourist

Monday morning I was up bright and early, and Stephen swung by with the Prius. After a stop for coffee and a look-see at the yarn store Imagiknit. (Why, yes, I did buy something. Thank you for asking.) We headed across the Golden Gate Bridge, and up Highway 1 to Muir Woods.

Muir Woods, a National Monument in California, celebrated its 100th birthday in 2008. According to the brochure I picked up when I paid my entrance fee, the land was bought in 1905 by businessman William Kent and his wife Elizabeth Thatcher Kent in 1905 to protect one of the last stands of uncut redwoods. They donated 295 acres to the federal Gov't for permanent protection, and, in 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the area a national monument. At Kent's request, it was named for conservationist John Muir.

The place was busy (one wonders how busy it is on weekends). We joined a small group for a guided tour.

Then we headed off on the (very well-maintained) paths deeper into the forest. The place is amazing. I can only recommend that you go. Dress warmly, though, because the trees filter out sunlight (and condense fog for moisture), so it's cool and damp (and noticeable dimmer) in the forest than outside it.

We headed up the coast, along the twisty curves of Highway 1 to the small resort town of Stinson Beach. I waded in the Pacific. (Thanks to Stephen for the picture.)

Along the way, I looked over a cliff and saw sheep in field below. "That's interesting," I said. "There are a few sheep down there. There are some farm buildings. I wonder who has a sheep farm way out here?"

Slide Ranch, it turns out, is a teaching farm that has programs to show Bay area kids (of all ages) about where food comes from, to help strengthen connection to the earth. Besides the animals, there are chickens and organic gardens.

Also along the way was the Bonita Beach Lookout. We nearly drove past it, but I'm glad we didn't. Great views. Click to enlarge.

i

On Tuesday, Kevin and I took the BART to Berkeley. We stopped in at La Farine for croissants, and picked up a loaf of Apricot Soda Bread to eat at home. (And it was excellent.) I'd been advised that the Morning Buns are very good, though very sweet, so didn't get one. But I could have eaten a lot more there: there's a reason I look stunned in this picture. It all looked s-o good.

Lunch was in the café at Chez Panisse. Superb.

And then we headed to Lacis, which is nearly legendary with lace makers. There was a display of tape lace --some of which is eye-crossingly fine and complex. They have a reasonable collection of books, tools, and threads for making lace, as well as other doodads. Definitely worth a look-see should you be in the area. WonderMike rolled by after work to meet us for supper.

That's Erin (Store Manager), an unidentified staff member hiding behind the peacock feathers, Mike, and me. (Why, yes, I did buy something. Thank you for asking.)

Then off for pizza supper. That's Kevin on the left; Mike on the right.

(Note to Mike: I'm remembering that you got carded in the restaurant. Could you leave a comment telling us which facial skincare products you use? Thanks, Hon.)

And then to Stash, for Stitch'n'Bitch. (Why, yes, I did buy something. Thank you for asking.) Folks were sprawled nicely on chairs and the sofa, and I kept looking at one of the attendees, thinking "I know that sweater from somewhere". Turns out the sweater was worn by Nancy Roberts of "Machine Knitting to Dye For". (Handwoven scarf: very cool.)

Nancy and I have a very interesting connection. Way back in 2006, she was at Convergence in Grand Rapids Michigan. I'd read about her work somewhere --I think it was on Sara Lamb's blog-- and mentally filed away an interest in getting a couple of her machine-knitted blanks to dye and reknit. (Yes, I know Knitpicks has them, but Nancy had them first.) I was standing in a line at Pearson Airport in Toronto on my way to Champaign IL to visit my friends Dirk and Jerry, and saw my friend Danny Ouellette...on his way to Convergence. He picked me up a couple of the blanks from Nancy. (She was tickled when I recounted this story: she even remembered the hat he was knitting when they spoke.) Nancy invited Kevin and me back to her studio to see her creations in person. They're beautiful. (I forgot to take pictures.)

Wednesday was my last day as a tourist. Stephen and I went to Tartine for a midmorning snack. I had a Morning Bun --sweet, but not overly so-- and bread pudding, which was good, but not as good as that from the bakery down the street from Kevin and Jeff. We stopped in again at Imagiknit. (No, I didn't buy anything.) Then back to Stephen's place to park the car and take Janie Sparkles for a walk.

Then we walked to Artfibers, one of The Yarnstores in San Francisco. It has an interesting selection of yarns, but none took my fancy. Stephen agonized over a purchase. (The store mannequin was not much help in offering advice.)

After that, we walked up California Street --I thought my lungs would burst-- to Grace Cathedral to walk the labyrinth, and take a general look-see. I think if I lived in SF I would aim to walk the labyrinth at least monthly: it's very calming.

And then back to Stephen's place. We walked down Taylor Street, which is so steep they've built steps into the sidewalk, and vehicles are required to park at 90 degrees. (To be honest, I think California Street is about as steep.)

All in all, I had a very successful trip. Words cannot appropriately express my gratitude to Kevin and Jeff: without their hospitality, I could not have made the trip. Thank you to Stephen, my tour guide, and to Mike who organized a successful knitting retreat.

I'll see you all again.

Memo

To: Self
Subject: For Future Reference

• A spoonful of applesauce made from early season, new crop apples can be as tangy as a spoonful of citric acid.
• A mouthful of freshly-pressed apple cidre can be as tasty.
• A boiled-over pot of apple sauce will not infuse the air with a delicious mouth-watering smell, such as you'd get from a freshly-baked apple pie.
• Find recipe using very tart applesauce as ingredient

Chutney

In Other News

Hi to the folks who’ve come over from Knitty and Ravelry. Do take a look around; leave a comment if you see something comment-worthy.

The house has been sold; Mom and Dad are moving on October 15^th. Wish us luck.

On October 13^th, the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners Guild is holding Central Region Seminar, hosted by the Etobicoke Handweavers and Spinners Guild. I’m sitting on a panel discussing the impact of the internet on the fibrearts community. <gulp> More info later, when I get it sorted out in my head. (Anybody want to write my bio for me?)

New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck is October 20-21, and there is a slim possibility that I might be able to get there for the Saturday. I’d be travelling down on the Friday, and back on either the Sunday or Monday. Since I’ve not found anyone in the local area who’s going, I’d be renting a car and driving alone, which I’m not keen on. I’m considering using Easton Mountain as my home base. It’s reasonably close to Rhinebeck (about an houranahalf drive north, I think), and possibly one the staff there would be interested in attending the Festival, so I’d have a navigator.

But the trip is iffy, and I don’t want to do the drive alone. I’d like to attend, though, because it’s the last excursion I get before hunkering down for the winter. (And then excursions are in very short supply.) Besides which, I’m still trying to convince Jenny that she wants to help me select a fleece. And there are a few people I’d like to visit with.

Maybe I’ll stay at home, buy a TV and DVD player, watch a rented copy of “Shirley Valentine”, eat roast leg of lamb and spanokopita washed down with a bottle of white wine, and consider the state of my life. I think it’s time to re-prioritize.

I’m off to start putting together swagbags for Fibrefest North. (For which, by the way, we've just had a couple of vacancies arise. Last minute registrations are possible...)

Eternity

Eternity  n. The length of time required for a 1 kilogram pot roast to be eaten in a 1 person household.

I know: Dorothy Parker said it better. Oh well.

February is, as all my American buddies know, National Pot Roast Month. I thought that in observance of the month, I should make a pot roast. Besides, I’ve never done one before, and there’s a first time for everything.

I did some research. A pot roast uses the cooking technique called “braising”, which means that the meat is browned and then cooked in a covered pot with a small amount of liquid. (You don’t want to cover the meat with the liquid, because that’s “stewing”.) You can add some aromatic vegetables, like onions, celery, carrots, to the liquid. You cook at a low temperature for a longish period of time in a covered container in your oven or on top of the stove, which tenderizes the meat and keeps it moist. The liquid can be water, stock, wine, beer, and so on. My favourite beef stew is the Belgian Carbonade à la Flamande, which uses beer, so that’s the liquid I chose. (I also had a bottle that I wanted to use up.)

Here’s the browned roast on top of the vegetables, with the beer added, ready to go into the oven.

No pictures of it out of the oven, all hot and steaming and being carved, because…um…I forgot to take them. Oh well; next time. To be honest, I’ve had 5 meals from that 1 kilo roast, there are another 3 wrapped and ready to go in the freezer (and I had to clear out some of my stash to put it there !!), and I’m weary of pot roast. Maybe there won’t be a next time.

But I am wondering. How do you season your potroast? I used beer for the liquid; what do you use? Which herbs and spices?  Do you use a rub, a marinade, or ???

In Other News

Yesterday, a small group met at the Ginger Press for Maie and Taiu Landra of Koigu to sign copies of Maie’s book Knits from a Painter's Palette. Maie spoke about her early days in the garment biz designing and making one-of-a-kind garments from scratch, her early experiments dyeing and selling yarn, and up to the company’s now highly successful yarns. The book is a really nice production, with good colour, good font size: it could easily be priced $10 higher. As Carol wrote in her review, if you like Koigu, the designs will do it for you. Many of the designs (if not all; sorry, I can’t remember) use a modular constructions approach, which will either appeal to you or not. (Maie and I were in Horst Schultz’s class in Toronto a couple of years ago, held just before he presented at Stitches. Which is not to say she wasn’t doing modular work before taking that class.)

Emma is so taken by one of the sweaters, that she got Maie to select colours for her. (She was musing aloud that she might maybe possibly get it finished in time to perhaps wear it at HickTech*.) Lisa, in turn, was so taken by the designs in the book that she got Emma to teach her to knit. (And in 45 seconds she was knitting. How’s that?) Since there is talk that Maie might do a workshop on modular knitting at the Ginger Press – perhaps with this scarf from the book as the target project – maybe we’ll see Lisa there.

Speaking of technology, I always read my blog on machines running various flavours of Windows. I'm wondering if those of you who read it on machines running other operating systems (Mac, etc) ever have problems with any of the text not displaying properly?

There’s the oven timer ringing: beer bread is baked. (Yes Jim, carbs galore.) Have a great week everybody.

* How the Internet Connects Knowledge: The Rural and Modern Technology Forum

Fleece, Spin, Knit

Fleece

Cate suggested I get an Icelandic lamb fleece at Rhinebeck, and directed me to Barb Webb of Jager Farm. The fleece arrived about a week before Christmas. Yes: it took a while to get here –- long story --  but I think the wait was worth it.

Remarkably, I managed to convince my camera to get a picture that captures the colour. The longer outer coat (the tog) is this remarkable rusty caramel colour, and the short undercoat (the thel) is a mixed grey, and is quite short throughout the fleece. Of course now I have no idea what to do with it all. Cate? Anybody? (I was going to whinge that perhaps a dual-coated fleece was not the best choice for a spinner’s first fleece, but then I realised that the Icelandic spinners have always dealt with a dual-coated fleece as their first, so I should just shut up and deal with it, right?)

Spin

Over Christmas I started spinning some Blue Faced Leicester, dyed by Danuta Kamocki of Alchemy Fibre Designs. (Colour is a bit washed out in this photo. Oh well.)

It’s been in my stash for a couple of years (I think); earlier this year I tagged it for a project. The fiber had felted a bit, and needed some work to get it opened up, which also allowed me to pick out nepps and snags. This will be knitted into a scarf, which I’ll write about later. It’s amazing how fast it’s filling the bobbin, compared to all that lace weight I spun. I should spin thicker yarns more often, I think.

Knit

Socks.

Good mindless knitting during the Christmas family gatherings. The ribbing pattern is taken from Nancy Bush’s “Knitting Vintage Socks”.

In Other News

I survived the family gatherings. Christmas dinner was very good (cauliflower ended up with cheese sauce; thanks Judith). At this point, I’m looking forward to much simpler food.

I went 2 rounds with the recipe from deliciousdays.com for quarkstollen that I wanted to try. Not having fresh yeast, I asked Peter Reinhart for the equivalent in plain ole active dry, and he generously provided the information. (His book “Brother Juniper’s Bread Book” is very good for home bakers, BTW.)

Well. The result of Round 1 could best be described as a brick, so I rethought things for Round 2. I made a sponge with the liquid, yeast and part of the flour and let that sit overnight. Next day I added everything else and gave it 2 rises. Better: still a very tight crumb, didn’t look as open and lovely as the one pictured at deliciousdays. The sponge gave a nice tang to the flavour, though, and the family voted “thumbs up”. I have some quark remaining in the fridge, so I might give the recipe a 3rd round this weekend.

One of the memorable events this Christmas is that I gave my Dad a pair of socks. (No, that’s not what’s memorable. I’m setting up the story.) They are lovely socks (Alpaca Copper Crew), which I got at Rhinebeck from David at Red Maple Sportwear. Dad put them on and said they were nice, but what he’d really hoped for was a pair of handknitted socks, because he knew I could make them to fit his foot. I was so stunned I nearly stabbed myself with a needle. This is the first time that my Dad has ever acknowledged my knitting. I offered him the socks I was making, but he felt the colours were too bright for him (!). So perhaps I will find some nice “manly colours”.

Back to the socks.

Tree is Up!

Wreath is on the apartment door.

Christmas knitting is done and ready to be wrapped.

Well, almost done. (But will be.)

 

Tree is up. I’m still looking for a good star or angel for the top.

For anyone who knows me, the fact that I have a tree is something of miracle, because for so many years I pretty much considered Christmas to be Christ’s revenge for the crucifixion. (I still have moments when I think it's true.) When I started talking about getting a small “permanent” tree, some were puzzled. When they saw it, they were absolutely, gobsmackingly, slack-jawed in amazement.

Getting the 4 foot tall tree was easy; finding decorations was another matter. I was surprised by how difficult it is to get small but interesting ornaments. I considered going with a theme.

All white ornaments, or all red, or all blue, or blue and silver. Eh. Boring.

Fiber-related ornaments. Couldn’t find any, except for some sheep made with fleece and pipe cleaners. There are angels made from roving, but every specimen I’ve seen has been much too large. I did find that beaded stitch markers look attractive, ‘though subtle. (And I think it’s a better use for them than in knitting. I could never get them to work as markers, but then I like small markers anyway.)

I considered having a tree-decorating party, where each guest would be requested to bring a suitable ornament. Then I thought “What if nobody shows up?” and “Geez, people might try to unload some ghastly thing on me, and, really, do I want energy like that coming into my home at that time of year!?” (I know: this says something horrible and petty about me that I’d think that about my friends.) However, if anyone would like to contribute something tasteful, perhaps made from Swarovski crystal, I’m sure I could find a branch to hang it from.

In the end, I forgot about a theme. Or rather, the theme became to use ornaments because I liked them. Such as this little critter, which is, I think, a hedgehog in mistletoe. See the ladybug on the leaves?

And these.

In Other News

Thank you to everyone who left comments or sent a note to tell me to chill about the yarn. I will. It will go into the freezer for a bit. (Where else?) Perhaps I shall send it to Carol for a dyejob. Several people suggested I work a hap shawl with it, but I don’t think there’ll be enough yardage. I got a copy of XRX’s “Victorian Lace Today” and like many things about the book and the pieces. There are a few ideas in there that would be suitable for this yarn.

And yes, it has been suggested in the past that I am too hard on myself. I usually get thought of as a failed overachiever.

The folks at Spindlicity asked me to contribute a short report about Rhinebeck. It’s here. (Including a dreadful picture of me squinting in the sunlight.) Spindlicity is a small online ‘zine for spindlespinners; worth checking out. I first learned of it from Jason.

Christmas Day will be spent with my parents and some of my siblings. I am cooking The Meal, which will be turkey, squash, cauliflower (still searching for the kick-ass cheese sauce recipe), potato of some kind, and mince pie for dessert. (A new recipe for the latter.) On Boxing Day the other sibs and their families will meet at my brother’s place, where bedlam will break out. It’s great.

I am “on call” between Christmas and New Years, so don’t have to go into the office. I plan to use the time productively. My pad needs a thorough cleaning to prepare for the New Year; I owe somebody a piece of writing (you know who you are), and; I hope to finish the blog post about socks that I’ve been writing for 3 months.

It’s December 21st as I write this: the shortest day of the year for us in Canada, and elsewhere in the world. Tomorrow the days start getting longer. Happy solstice to those who observe the event.

And, many others celebrate a festival of the light at this time of year as well. I hope your holiday celebration is a special time for you. May all be blessed with peace and safety during the season.