Archive for 2015 September

Friday Roundup: Vest in Progress, Lots of Cooking

What I’m Knitting

Remember the mystery cabled strip from last week? Here’s the big reveal:

I loved the sideways, pick up stitches construction of my Keelback Hat, so I wanted to try a garment this way. I like it so far! The band is sticking out from the stockinette fabric a bit too far for my taste, but blocking will almost certainly solve that. Just the armhole edgings to go, so I should have an FO to show off next week!

What I’m Cooking

I was busy this week! We went to a Talk Like a Pirate Day party on Saturday (so fun! And if you ever want to see a roomful of grown people squeal, bring a one-year-old to a party in full pirate costume). I made potato boats to fit the theme (vegan, of course) and even managed to make up a few sails. They were a hit!

I plowed through three more recipes on the cookbook challenge, too!

Chana Saag over rice (yummy!):

Sushi roll salad (not so yummy… actually, I’m counting this as my first real fail from this cookbook. The hubby and I didn’t really like it, and it was SUPER fiddly to make. Think I’ll just stick with real sushi rolls in the future. But hey, at least it’s pretty…)

And roasted red pepper/tomato soup with sweet potato biscuits. My son LOVED the biscuits—I think they’re his new favorite food.

For my Wednesday dinner-for-a-crowd meal, I made quinoa-stuffed peppers. OMG, these were amazing. Somehow the quinoa, black bean, and corn filling with Mexican spices managed to be almost ground-beef like. I’d make these all the time, but it gets a little expensive with the peppers. I’ll have to keep an eye out for sales!

What I’m Reading

I finished the next two books in the Tiffany Aching series, Wintersmith and I Shall Wear Midnight. They were so good! This series, unlike so many others, gets better and better with each book. I can’t wait to read the new one, the last in the series.

Friday Roundup: Mystery and Tempeh

What I’m Knitting

After finishing the nautical baby sweater (still working on the pattern—and a good name that isn’t already taken!), I wanted to cast on for another baby/child garment. I have enough of this lovely yarn from a local Indiana company (Good for Ewe Yarns) for a vest if I’m frugal with the yarn. After several swatches, I finally hit upon something I like:

This is actually part of the garment itself, not a swatch! You’ll have to guess how this will turn into a vest. I just might spoil it next week, depending on how much progress I make.

What I’m Cooking

The next few recipes up on deck in my cookbook challenge were, again, ones I probably wouldn’t have made without this challenge. First up, blackened tofu (served with cauliflower/potato mash ):

It was really good! I’m not generally a fan of tofu unless it’s chopped up small or doused in savory sauce, but the Cajun spices worked so well here. Definitely making this one again.

The next recipe was Isa’s veganized, healthified version of her childhood favorite, Hamburger Helper. I think I only had it once or twice at friends’ houses, but I have to say, this tempeh helper did sort of remind me of it!

I also made a fabulous Arabian lentil soup from the cookbook this week, but I forgot to get a picture. Gotta get better about that.

What I’m Reading

Due to an unpleasant lack of time to read (grrr…), I’m still working on Wintersmith. But I should be done by the end of the weekend!

New Pattern Release: Glenwood

I have another new pattern release this week! This is Glenwood, part of the SweetGeorgia Yarns Fall 2015 collection:

I’m so excited that this one is finally out in the world! I’ve always wanted a snuggly, cushy, long cardigan—the kind you never want to take off. The shawl collar can be folded if desired, but I also like it the way they’ve styled it in these photos.

I usually like a seamless construction, but for a garment like this, seams are essential to give the sweater structure and prevent sagging. Seaming is SO EASY on this one, though! The waffle stitch pattern makes it incredibly simple to line up the pieces and keep track of where you are.
Here are the pattern specs:

Name: Glenwood, available to purchase here on Ravelry or on the SweetGeorgia Yarns website here. The price is $7 CAD (a steal for US buyers with the current exchange rate!).

Yarn: 7 (8, 9, 9, 10, 11, 12, 12) skeins SweetGeorgia Yarns Superwash Worsted in Magpie (200 yd / 183 m per 4.06 oz / 115 g skein; 100% Merino)

Side note: Ohmygoodness, this yarn. I used SweetGeorgia Superwash Worsted for this sweater, in what is possibly the most beautiful shade EVAR, Magpie. It’s a greeny-blacky-bluey color that looks completely different under different lights and one that I find absolutely irresistible. It’s aptly named, trust me.

Needles: Size 6 US / 4.0 mm straight or circular needle; Size 7 US / 4.5 mm straight or circular needle; Size 6 US / 4.0 mm circular needle, 32” / 81.5 cm or longer (longer needle recommended for larger sizes)

Gauge:
20 sts and 28 rows = 4” / 10 cm in Waffle Stitch using larger needles
20 sts and 32 rows = 4” / 10 cm in garter stitch using smaller needles, stretched lightly
21 sts and 28 rows = 4” / 10 cm in Stockinette stitch using larger needles
(Note: Stockinette stitch is not used in this cardigan.)

Finished measurements:
Chest circumference: 30 ¼ (35 ½, 39 ¼, 42 ¼, 45 ½, 48 ½, 51 ½, 55 ¼)” / 77 (90, 99.5, 107.5, 115.5, 123, 131, 140.5) cm
Length: 22” / 56 cm from underarm to hem (all sizes)
Sample shown is size 35 ½” / 90 cm
Intended to be worn with 1-3” / 2.5-7.5 cm positive ease

Pattern includes a 6-page PDF (both written directions and charts)

Notes: I was actually astonished at how quick it was to make this sample. The fact that it’s constructed in pieces means it’s easy to bring around with you, and the waffle pattern is so simple that it’s memorized in a flash.

And this made me very happy… check out Glenwood in the top 5 patterns on Ravelry’s Hot Right Now list last week, yay!

Friday Roundup: An FO and Spring Rolls!

What I’m Knitting

I finished all the knitting on the little nautical sweater (mark 2)! Here’s my son testing the fit. This is pre-blocking, so the white stripe won’t pull up as much in the center as it does here.

So I know I’m biased, but how freaking adorable is he???

I’m going to be blocking the sweater this weekend and then whipping the pattern into shape for testing next week. (PSA: If you’d be interested in testing one of the sizes, join my Ravelry group where I post all my tests! You can even sign up to be notified when I have a new test up so you get first dibs.)

What I’m Cooking

Thanks to a dreadful cold that knocked me out for several days, I didn’t get much cooking done this week. I did manage some rice, lentil, and kale soup:

And the second thing I cooked was actually really cool! I made spring rolls for the first time, using rice papers (so weird!), crispy tofu, rice noodles, and veggies:

My setup…

With vegetable fried rice and homemade peanut dipping sauce

What I’m Reading

I just started the third in the Tiffany Aching series, Wintersmith!

New Pattern Release: Transposition Hat

I have a new pattern out this week! This is the Transposition Hat:

If it seems familiar, it’s probably because it’s the adult version of the baby/child hat from my Babe in the Woods collection, released last winter. Here it is, modeled by my son (he looks so tiny to me!):

The adult version required some fancy footwork with the decreases, since the ones I did on the baby hat didn’t work well over a larger vertical space. I ended up going with a single spot of the contrasting color on the top, rather than the concentric circles of the baby version. But I like the way it turned out. Here’s a pic of the top of the adult hat, with the baby hat for comparison:

Here are the pattern specs:

Name: Transposition Hat (the baby hat’s called Transposed Hat. See what I did there?)

Yarn: Malabrigo Rios, about half a skein in Natural and a little less than that in Pocion for the contrasting color. I picked out the most crazy variegated skein I could find at my LYS, since the whole point of this hat is to break up pooling and give you something neat to do with variegated skeins.

Rios is kind of on the thin side for worsted-weight yarn, so for substituting, I’d recommend a light worsted or even a DK. If fit is vital, make sure to check your gauge in the colorwork pattern! It pulls in a LOT.

Sizes: Small (Medium, Large). Shown in Medium.

Actual finished circumference: 19.5 (21.25, 23)” or 49.5 [54, 58.5] cm
Length from CO edge to top: 8 (8.25, 8.75)” or 20 [21, 22] cm

Recommended needles (make sure to check gauge and change sizes if needed):
US #5 [3.75 mm] circular needle, 16” long
US #6 [4.0 mm] circular needle, 16” long
US #6 [4.0 mm] double-pointed needles, set of 4 or 5

Notions:
Stitch marker, yarn needle

Gauge: 27 sts/ 30 rows = 4 in/10 cm in Colorwork Chevron stranded pattern on larger needles

You can purchase the pattern for $4.00 on Ravelry, right here!

Friday Roundup: Uh oh…

What I’m Knitting

So I was pretty happy with the progress I made on the nautical-themed toddler sweater this week… until I took a good look at my WIP after binding off the cuff on the first sleeve.

It looks cute, but also out of proportion to me—that’s a long sleeve for such a short body! I went pattern diving on Ravelry last night and came up with every number imaginable for toddler sweater body and sleeve lengths. There’s clearly no standard. So what I’m planning to do is try it on my son when he wakes up from his nap and adjust accordingly. I’m thinking I’ll need to add some rows to the body (which will work out okay since I think I’d like more blue before the ribbing anyway).

This is one of those times when I’m soooo happy I knit this sweater top down!

What I’m Cooking

Still going strong on my cookbook challenge, but I only managed two recipes from it this week. First, a spicy blue potato and corn salad. Something I’d never make normally (blue potatoes were not exactly on my regular shopping list), but it was really good! I also used canned chipotles for the spicy part—another first!

The second one from the cookbook was a vegetable korma. It called for garam masala, which I couldn’t find pre-made at my grocery store, so I made my own with cumin, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, and a few other spices. Indian food purists would scoff, I’m sure, but I thought it was pretty good!

I liked the korma, but I’m a little spoiled by full-fat curries, so it did feel like it was lacking something. Next time I make it, I think I’ll use full-fat coconut milk instead of light.

I went off cookbook for my Wednesday meal for a crowd. Sometimes I absolutely crave comfort food, so I tried a new-to-me green chile mac and “cheese” recipe from Minimalist Baker. It was amazing (maybe because I’ve been eating all this low-fat stuff, haha). I served it up with some simple roasted broccoli and some toasted crumbled tortilla chips on top for crunch:

What I’m Reading

I’m well into my friend’s manuscript and loving it so far! It’s fun to read things well ahead of publication, but it’s tough when you want to share it with everyone you know and can’t….