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(Not) Friday Roundup

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No Friday Roundup post this week, because I’m currently on the way to the National NeedleArts Association (TNNA)’s annual summer trade show in Washington, DC! I’m going to get to hang out with designer friends, talk to yarnies, and generally enjoy myself.

I got some new business cards for the occasion:

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I’ll try to get some pictures to show off next week!

Friday Roundup: Hat FO!

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What I’m Knitting

I finished the cabled hat and even managed a photoshoot! (It was a bit of a chore to go through and crop out the 6-months preggo belly on all the pictures, though!)

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Here are the specs!

Pattern: My own, currently titled “Tierney Hat,” although that may be subject to change. I have it up for testing now, so hopefully I’ll have the pattern released in about three weeks.

Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh DK in Jade. I looooove this colorway. It’s probably one of my top three desert-island colors. And the Tosh was so nice to work with that I didn’t even mind all that purling!

Notes: My original concept was for a mostly simple and basic hat with a pop of visual interest (and interest for the knitter!). I had to fiddle with the closed-loop cable a bunch to get it to work out the way I wanted, but I’m really happy with the way it came out!

I’m back to working on secret projects next week, but hopefully I’ll have something I can show off by next Friday!

What I’m Cooking

Some overripe bananas inspired me to make these tasty banana-walnut muffins this week (sometimes I think 90% of my baking is inspired by overripe bananas, haha):

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And although the picture is nothing to write home about, the Pad Thai I made for my weekly meal-for-a-crowd came out awesome! I finally got the timing just right so the rice noodles were perfectly done, something I’ve had trouble with in the past.

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What I’m Reading

I finished the second book in the Masterminds series last night. This one ended on a huge cliffhanger just like the first one, grrr! So since I have to wait for the next one to be released, I picked up another Gordon Korman book from the library, one that I’ve seen recommended quite a bit as being a very funny middle grade novel.

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Friday Roundup: Winging It

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What I’m Knitting

I hoped to have a finished hat to show off today, but alas, that was not to be. Because the cable motif came out nearly a full inch shorter in the hat than in the swatch (??? I still don’t understand how that happened—same needles and everything!), the top decreases have been giving me fits. Here’s where I am now, after I ripped back to the start of the decreases for the fourth or fifth time:

Screen Shot 2016-05-27 at 1.48.15 PMI think I’ve finally come up with a solution that will work, so stay tuned to see if it does!

What I’m Cooking

Quinoa, black bean, and corn stuffed peppers (adding avocado on the top definitely kicked them up a notch. SO GOOD.):

IMG_9524I had a craving for buttermilk-style biscuits at the beginning of the week. I haven’t had many cravings, despite being nearly 28 weeks pregnant… but when one does strike, LOOK OUT. I began assembling my ingredients to make some yummy vegan biscuits, and then nearly cried when I realized we were completely out of almond milk, soy milk, or any reasonable substitute.

Cranky pregnant woman wanted her dang biscuits, so I improvised with the thin liquid from a can of coconut milk and crossed my fingers. Turns out adding more fatty liquid makes biscuits even more tasty—who knew? (Although I feel like I could have predicted this.)

They weren’t very pretty, though. Well, I take that back. They were gorgeous if all I show you is this shot:

IMG_3003But that was actually the only one that came out looking like someone over the age of 5 made it, haha.

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What I’m Reading

I finished Masterminds, which was great but had a killer cliffhanger ending! So I picked up the next one in the series, which is just as good so far. Hopefully this one doesn’t do the same type of cliffhanger, because the next one isn’t written yet…

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Friday Roundup: Getting Creative

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What I’m Knitting

I finished the secret knitting (yay!), although pattern writing is still happening behind the scenes. But I was itching to get something else on the needles, so I cast on for this trial swatch. It’s a heavily modified version of a closed-loop cable from one of the Barbara Walker treasuries, and it required several false starts. But I really like the final result!

IMG_2960I think this will end up in a hat. This is scrumptious Madelinetosh DK, so if I get it together to knit the hat up before the end of the month, I can participate in the fun activities happening for Madelinetosh May over in the Tosh Lovers Ravelry group, hmm…

What I’m Cooking

I love baking, but I try to keep sugar low. My husband and I certainly don’t need it, and anyone who says toddlers don’t react badly to sugar is lying through their teeth, in my experience! My son loves muffins, but most of them have tons of sugar. I tried out this muffin recipe sweetened with only ripe bananas and raisins this week. It was pretty good!

IMG_2947I was asked to bring a dish to pass to a get together yesterday. Since I was arriving late, I figured cookies would be a good choice. These are vegan, maple syrup-sweetened jam thumbprint cookies—one of my absolute favorite recipes! And they look so pretty, see:

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What I’m Reading

I’m on a middle grade kick after reading my friend’s fabulous book, so I picked up one I’ve wanted to read for a while—Masterminds by Gordon Korman. I’ve been reading his books since I was a preteen, and this one is just as awesome as I remember!

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Friday Roundup: A Friend’s Book!

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What I’m Knitting

There’s been a whole lot more secret knitting this week—but my secret projects are getting closer to completion, so hopefully I’ll be back to things I can show you next week! I did manage to take this pic of my two WIPs at the moment, which explains why my fingers are so confused right now (that’s light fingering on US #2s and super-bulky on US #15s!):

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Oh, and I wanted to mention two other knitting-related things. First, I finally took the plunge and started an Instagram account! I’m @trionadesigns if you want to connect with me there. I’m posting fun pics of what goes on behind the scenes around here (which often involves a lot of toddler wrangling), as well as sneak peeks of upcoming designs and things I find inspiring.

Secondly, I’m planning to raise prices on my patterns slightly on Ravelry next week (after the 15th of the month). Most of my garment and accessory patterns are currently priced below the average, and I’ve been meaning to raise them a little higher for a while now to bring them more in line with current costs of production (which include editing, photography, and so on). I’m proud of the work that goes into my patterns and want the price to reflect that!

So if you’ve been meaning to purchase any patterns from my Ravelry store, you can take advantage of the advance warning and save a few bucks this week. :-)

What I’m Cooking

Well, this is embarrassing… I didn’t cook anything worthy of photographing this week (meaning, nothing entirely from scratch). Thanks to a few late work nights for me and the hubby, we did more than our usual share of picking up food or cobbling together quick dinners from frozen or convenience-type ingredients. I’ll try to be better about it next week!

What I’m Reading

Okay, definitely saved the best for last. One of my very good friends had her debut novel come out this week, The BFF Bucket List! I preordered it, so it arrived a day before the release date and I’ve been happily reading it ever since. It’s so good! She has a knack for writing books for tweens that make me really remember what it was like to be that age. You can pick up this book for yourself or your tween friends/family members from your local big bookstore or Amazon.com. You won’t be disappointed!

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Friday Roundup: Spring!

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What I’m Knitting

It’s really starting to feel like spring around here, and that always makes me want to trade in my big bulky yarns for lightweight ones. Luckily, I finished the first of my secret designs (bulky yarn on US #15 needles!) and got to switch to another in light fingering weight yarn with US #1 & #2 needles. I can’t show you much, but here’s a little sneak peek at the yarn—the most gorgeous tonal gray—and the beginning of the item:

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What I’m Cooking

Spring weather calls for spring rolls, don’t you think? I adore spring rolls, and this new recipe I tried with kale and tofu (from www.minimalistbaker.com) is now one of my favorites:

IMG_2816Peanut butter cookies were also made and summarily devoured.

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What I’m Reading

I’m still working away on The Infinite Sea. While I really like this book series, and I think it’s extremely well written, I also find it a bit intense for long blocks of reading. There are lots of kids in mortal peril, something that didn’t bother me quite as much before I had a kid of my own! But I’m enjoying the read and will hopefully be done with it by next week’s roundup.

 

Friday Roundup: Hey, It’s Still Friday for Two More Hours

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What I’m Knitting

I’m deep in the throes of secret commissioned knit design, which means I don’t have anything I can show you this week. So to distract you from the lack of actual knitting content, please enjoy this cute picture of my son. He grabbed my ChiaoGoos from where I’d left them on the couch, ran up to where I was standing, and shouted, “Knitting!” while clicking the needle tips together delightedly.

FullSizeRenderHeart. Melted.

What I’m Cooking

I’ve made vegan quiches with chickpea flour before, but this week I decided to go traditional with a tofu base. This recipe also used hummus, though, which gave it an awesome savory flavor! I paired it with garlic/almond green beans and salad. Yummy!

FullSizeRender2What I’m Reading

As promised, I finally finished the Zahn Star Wars saga. I picked up The Infinite Sea at the bookstore today. I really liked The 5th Wave, the first book in the series, so I have high hopes for this one!

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New Pattern Release: Mystic Falls Hat!

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What I’m Knitting

I blogged about the hat to match my Mystic Falls colorwork mitts a while back. Now the pattern has been officially released and I can show it off!

IMG_2666Here are the specs:

Pattern: Mystic Falls Hat (Ravelry link—you don’t need to be a member to purchase)

Yarn: Stitch Sprouts Yellowstone, a scrumptious wool/silk sport-weight yarn. I adore this yarn. I think it looks great in colorwork, and it was like knitting with butter. I wanted to cry when my next project used super-scratchy yarn, haha.

Notes: I had a lot of fun with this one! The patterning is very close to my Mystic Falls Mitts, but not exactly the same. Once you get in a rhythm with the colorwork, it actually goes very quickly (as my pattern testers agreed). It’s a good choice for beginner/intermediate colorwork knitters, since there are only two colors and very few places with long floats.

What I’m Cooking

I was really, really craving cookies this week, but I’m trying to keep my refined sugar intake low for the pregnancy’s sake. I compromised and made some oatmeal cookies sweetened with maple syrup and honey, but with the addition of chocolate chips. They were AWESOME.

IMG_2759I also tried out a new method of marinating and broiling chopped veggies, which turned out pretty good. Next time I think I’ll use less marinade. Yummy over rice with vegan “chicken” nuggets, anyway!

IMG_2767What I’m Reading

I’m still working on the last book in Timothy Zahn’s epic Star Wars cycle…

 

 

 

Friday Roundup: Yummmm

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What I’m Knitting

I got another square of the baby blanket done and blocked this week—that’s four down, five more to go! But the yarn for the commissioned designs that I’ve been waiting for arrived today, so the blanket will have to go on hold for a little bit.

My son helped me knit the last few rounds of the square by shoving DPNs into the WIP:

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I can’t tell you much about the designs, but trust me, this yarn is goooorrrgeous. It feels like kittens distilled into yarn. Here’s a teaser pic:

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What I’m Cooking

Some extremely tasty banana muffins with chunks of apple this week:

IMG_2714And pure vegan comfort food, quesadillas with onions, peppers, roasted corn, and olives:

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What I’m Reading

I’m just starting the last book in the Star Wars cycle I’m reading! I don’t want it to end… but at least I have the new Rogue One movie to look forward to in December. (Have you seen the trailer yet? It’s awesome!)

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Friday Roundup: FO Fail

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What I’m Knitting

I wanted to do a quick project this week, so I whipped up this cute little owl hat for my son.

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He loves owls and loves wearing hats, so it should have been a surefire hit, right? But it turns out he HATES it. That picture was taken right before he ripped the hat off his head and refused to put it on ever again. He even went so far as to throw it violently across the room while yelling, “No hat! No hat!”

Toddlers, man.

IMG_2702Anyway, here are the general specs on the FO:

Pattern: Chouette by Ekaterina Blanchard (Ravelry link)

Yarn: This is a lovely rustic wool my sister-in-law bought me as a gift in England a few years back. It’s labeled “Pure Lleyn Lambswool” and says “Knit as Chunky” on the label, although I found that it knit up much better at an Aran gauge (and had to adjust the pattern accordingly).

Notes: A well-written, easy to follow pattern. It’s definitely not the designer’s fault that my son took an immediate dislike to it. :-P

I also got a picture of my current progress on the baby blanket. I have three squares knit up, although only two of them are blocked:

IMG_2711I was happy to find that I was able to get these three squares out of two skeins of Malabrigo Rios. That means I should have enough to do my originally planned nine squares with the six skeins I have. Yay for not having to buy more yarn!

What I’m Cooking

This potato casserole is one of my favorite easy vegan dishes. We ate all the leftovers within two days—yummy!

IMG_2695And I also made a chickpea/veggie curry, served over rice. The sauce for this is SO GOOD. You could almost just eat it with a spoon.

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What I’m Reading

So I was contemplating going back to young adult books after I finished the third book in the Thrawn trilogy… but I couldn’t help myself, so I started the first of the duology that follows those books. I promise, I’ll go back to other things when I’m done with these two books!

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