Baking Knitter

Times They Are A Changing

2011-12-18T16:02:00.002-07:00

Well it is almost the new year and time to look at what has happened in the past year. I made some major life changes this year and see more in the year ahead. I am choosing a theme for this year. I am having trouble defining this theme in words that other understand. The slogan that I am using is form World War 2 England, it is "Make Do and Mend". This was only one slogan for the war, but it is one that I like. The idea was to waste nothing. There were slogans for growing your own food as well, but I am choosing to encompass that in the "Make Do and Mend" mentality I want to cultivate for the year. I will be figuring out how to make the prepackaged food that I buy, planting a garden (I hope), and figuring out new uses for worn out items. For me this is an environmental idea, as well as a money saving idea. This should mean more baking, knitting and spinning in the coming year. I hope that others will find things that I learn on this journey helpful. Just in case you were wondering the picture is of a purse that I made out of an old pair of my jeans. They were no longer wearable due to holes.

Training and Playing

2011-06-27T19:44:00.009-06:00

Well I have been playing around a lot when I should be working. I got the dishes done and then gave up on cleaning the house all together. I wanted to just hang out with the garden gnome in the hot weather outside. We only get hot weather for so long in Idaho and I have learned to love being hot for the short time that it lasts. My yard and garden are doing well and I am hoping to bake a loaf of bread tomorrow before it gets way to hot. I may get around to it this evening when we open the house and let the evening in. I would say it has been a lovely week with plenty to keep me from doing to much house work.

On the subject of distractions look at how full that spindle is. I am really proud of the cop I have made there. I will be adding to it as well. As my Tour De Fleece training this year I am seeing how much of an 8oz top I can fit on the spindle. It sounds silly, but it is helping to build my courage and my skills. I am just going to be spinning for fun this tour. I want to work on spindle skills and spin things that are just fun to me. I have no project goals, and no weight or length goals. I want to spin for 29 minutes every day during the Tour and have fun at the same time. I think I will enjoy this year. Now to just not fall off my bike this year.

I have been knitting as well. I am working on the Rondeur tee from Knitty. I am really enjoying it. I have added several inches to the pattern overall. I have to do that to almost every pattern I knit though. I add an inch before waist shaping every time. I then try on the sweater and see if I need more length than that. When I get to the second part of the shaping I try it on again and see if I need to add length again. I just keep adding an inch at a time till the top is long enough to fit me. I don't often need to do any other alterations to patterns than adding length and I don't usually mention that. I don't even think about this adjustment. I wish I could make the clothing in stores longer so that they would fit me better.

Well that is what I have been up to this week. I hope to see you all again soon.

Long Time No See

2011-06-20T12:33:00.005-06:00

I have been gone for a really long time. I didn't even realize that it had been this long. I find that I have had trouble finding my voice on this blog. I struggle with what to share and what to keep to myself. I have decided to add a little more of my life in this blog. It did not help that I fell off the face of the earth this winter. The lack of sunlight deeply affected me this winter. Now I am coming out of hibernation and seeking contact with the outside world again. I have applied to a local college, and dealt with some issues at work that I should have tackled 3 years ago. I am now finding I have more energy than I have had in years.

I do not have photos today, but that does not mean that I have not been working on things. I have been knitting a lot and spinning a little. There is to much to try to catch you all up here. I am currently gearing up for the Tour De Fleece. It is one of my favorite events every year. I hope I will not fall off my bike this year. (I do mean that literally.)

On Wednesday I intend to start my bread baking again. I love the five minute a day method still. I am also looking to see if I can work the baking in to a new money saving lifestyle. I can bake for less money than I can buy things already made. I also know that the things I make are better for me that the things I buy. I am looking forward to a new start in my baking and homemaking skills.

I hope that you all will enjoy the new voice of my blog, and will join me in my adventures.

Why

2010-12-08T11:02:00.006-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about why I do the things that I do. Lately I have seen a lot of blog and forum posts on Ravelry about how to respond when people ask you why you knit or spin. Most peoples answers fall along the lines of it is relaxing and or fun. There is so much more to it than that though. I find that people who do not make things do not full understand why anyone would want to make anything they could just buy. I do not know if any of the non makers out there will understand why I love to knit, spin and bake. For the rest of you here are the true reasons I do what I do.

I would like to start with the relaxing part. When I spin my mind slows down and my shoulders relax. I am able to let go of the things that annoyed me through out my day. When I knit I am able to think more clearly and the things that stress me out find solutions. When I am baking I forget about everything, but measuring the ingredients and I can just let go for a while. All of these activities are fun for me. I find that watching one thing become another is exciting. Watching fiber become yarn, yarn become a garment, and flour and other ingredients become delicious food is just fun to watch.

Then there is the history aspect of my hobbies. With all of them I know I am doing things that humans have done for thousands of years, if not more. I know that I am making the same motions as millions of people who have come before me. I know that there have been woman and men doing the same things as I am doing now to take care of those that they loved. With my small actions I am connected in a tangible way to so many who have come before me. I love this idea. There are days when all I need is to get away from the internet and my cell phone for just a few minutes and get that connection. When I do all is right in my world even if only for a few minutes.

So why do I spin when I can just by yarn? Why do I knit when I can buy knitted goods? Why do I bake when they sell baked goods in the store? Well the fastest and simplest answer is because I can. I can make things to keep me fed and warm. The longer answer that gets me strange looks from the muggles, is that it is fun relaxing and gives me a connection to history and humanity that I have not found any where else.

So if you are stressed out about your holiday knitting or just stressed out about your holidays take a minute and think about why you do the things that you do and enjoy them. If only for a minute. It may change the rest of your day.

Time Is Only an Illusion

2010-10-01T14:49:00.009-06:00

Well I finally got around to doing things this week. I made some wonderful bread from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It is a whole wheat sandwich loaf. It tastes amazing. I found it went beautifully with chili and soup. I made sandwiches too. I was thrilled to find this book. I have not been much of a plain white bread person for years. I can not even tell you the last time that I bought a loaf of white bread. Finding a five minute method that works with whole wheat is a god send. I am looking forward to trying some of the other recipes in this book. I have learned that I will want to cook the loafs for a little longer than I did this one. I was worried the crust would get to dark if I left it in longer. The inside was a little under done for my liking though. I can not say with any authority if this is the book or my oven.

stop

I picked up my spindle again this week as well. I am working on some baby camel down. This fiber is wonderful. I got this fiber from Village Spinning and Weaving in Solvang California. If you ever get the chance to visit them I recommend it. I lived an hour or so away from Solvang several years ago and we would make the occasional day trip down to the town. It is a lovely little tourist trap. When I found the spinning shop I was thrilled. They were helpful and answered my many questions. They also have a good selection of fiber. It didn't hurt that there was a wonderful fudge shop not but one block away either.

hide

I have been working on a pair of socks for my father as well. When he came to visit a while back I had him pick a pattern he would like to have. He picked the Norwegian Rose pattern out of Toe-Up Socks for Every Body. It is a fun pattern so far. I am not moving very fast on these socks, but they are making progress. I am very proud of these. They are my first attempt at stranded knitting. I have had a few tension issues, but many of them will come out with blocking.

break

If you are wondering about the title of this post it is because I did not think I had gotten any thing done this week till I sat down to write this post. I have been home on vacation from work all week and felt as if I had not accomplished any thing. Now I see that I have done more than I thought. My house is clean, I helped a friend on her new house and I manged to get some crafting done. I feel rested and ready to return to work. It turns out that a few days off can do wonders for your energy level.

Tour De Fleece and Almost Bread

2010-08-02T16:50:00.014-06:00

The Tour De Fleece is over. I managed to spin 27 ounces of wool. I finished 19 ounces of Merino that I am hoping to turn into a sweater at some point. I will be measuring the length and finding a pattern this week. It is some where between a sport and DK weight. I am excited to see what I can do with it. I also managed to spin up two braids from the Sassy Sheep. The dark one is the Galaxy color way and the lighter one is Silver Bells. I think the Sassy Sheep yarns are likely to become arm warmers. I would have finished one more skein on yarn, but I had a small issue. I went for a bicycle ride on the 22nd of July (just three days before the end of the Tour) and I managed to crash my bike. I hurt my right ankle. I could not use my wheel for seven days. My left foot does not keep an even time making it useless for spinning. Not to be derailed that close to the finish line I pulled out my charkha and we got reacquainted. I forgot how much fun that little tool is to use. I finished two spindles full of cotton before the tour was over. I am spinning more in hopes of having enough cotton to make some thing with. It is easier than I remember too. I also bought Respect the Spindle and worked on some of the skills laid out in the book. I have no picture of those experiments as the camel I was spinning and the spindle are all in the freezer. I found a dead clothes moth in the top. I decided not to take any risks and every thing went straight into the freezer.

I decided that it was time to start baking again. It has been very hot in Idaho so I have to get started earlier in the day to use the oven. I did not get started early enough to bake, but I got the starter made. I am still using Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day. I did not use all of my last starter and decided to play around with this book more. I have a feeling that there is a lot of fun to be had with the bread available in the book. I will be doing some baking tomorrow. I am looking forward to it. I did not realize till today that my counter is just about the color of bread dough. That is the dough before rising. After rising it is just below the 4qt. mark.

Tangling Things

2010-06-28T14:21:00.011-06:00

My Dad used to say that knitting was just tangling string with two sticks. I agree with him. I am systematically tangling string with two sticks. I often wonder who the crazy person was who figured out how to do this thing? What would they say if you showed them Knitty? Would they think we were all nuts if they saw anigarumi? I also think of spinning as tangling short fibers together to make a string. I think I spend all of my spare time tangling things up. Then I think that I think to much and try to bring my mind back to the task on hand. Right now that task is lace. I am working on the Bitterroot Shawl from Knitty and the Lace and Cable socks from Socks From the Toe Up. (Speaking of who thought of that? Who on earth realized that holes in your knitting would look so beautiful?) I am very proud of my Bitterroot. I am knitting it out of my own hand spun. It is not as even as my current hand spun. I am enjoying the texture though. I think that it adds to the beauty of the pattern. I am loving both of these lace projects.
hopefully this works

I have also been training for the Tour de Fleece. I have finished the sunshine roving and I spun up 4 ounces of hand painted BFL in the color way Swamp Thing. I am looking forward to turning the BFL into socks.

On a personal note my Dad is coming for a visit. I am looking forward to seeing him. He has not been to my house in years. I have been cleaning up a storm. I have this need to show him that I am grown up and responsible. (I wonder if the desire to impress your parents ever goes away.) I do not know what we are going to do when he is here, but we will likely have fun.

Lots of Spinning, Nothing Else

2010-06-14T16:24:00.005-06:00

I have been doing a lot of training for the Tour De Fleece. I have not done any baking and very little knitting, but I have to share what I have spun. It is all so wonderful. I finished spinning Oops for a friend. She loves the yarn and the color. I don't know what she is going to make, but I am glad it went to the home of some one who will love the colors and wear what she makes from the yarn. I managed to get the yarn I was trying for. I wanted a three ply sport weight semi-worsted yarn and I got it. I have never made yarn before that I had decided ahead of time what weight I wanted it to be. I am so proud that I can make the yarn I am hoping for.

I also spun up a very small amount of natural brown wool. It all fit on one bobbin. I have plied it since the photo was taken. It still needs to be finished and measured. I think I know where I got the wool from, but I do not know what breed it is or when I bought it.

I also started in on my sunshine roving. It is coming out beautifully. I am hoping to finish it this week. I am very excited about my spinning right now. I don't know what else I will practice on before the tour, but I am sure I can find more things that I forgot to put in the photo for the Tour.

Holly Stash Batman

2010-06-01T15:51:00.003-06:00

Just a quick post. I pulled out all of the stash that I could find to take pictures for the Tour de Fleece. I found things that I forgot I owned. There is a 6 pound fleece hidden in that pile. I did the math and discovered that of the stuff I could find I had 18 pounds 2oz of spinning material. That is just what I could find. I am missing several ounces of cotton, 8oz of alpaca, and I forgot to pull out the roughly 2 pounds of wool skirtings (so none of these are in the total above). I am sure I put them some where I just don't know where at the moment. This is a lot of stash in my mind. I have come up with a goal for the Tour. I think I would like to spin for one hour every day that the tour rides and see if I can get all of this upstairs. For the challenge days I want to learn how to spin the pound of flax that I have in there. I would also love to see if I can turn a pound of merino in to a sweaters worth of yarn. I do need to process a few things and dye up some of that white wool up there. I am excited to find things that I forgot I owned and looking forward to getting to spin all of this up. I guess I know what I am doing for the next few years. I just remembered I completely forgot a largish amount of baby camel. I have long said that my stash is not normal for a knitter. I only have about ten skeins of mill spun in stash, every thing else is waiting to be yarn.

Bread, Fiber and Almost a Sweater

2010-05-18T10:57:00.007-06:00

I finally made some bread. I bought the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I love the bread and had fun with the book. One warning is when they say you need a five quart container for the initial rise they are not kidding. On the upside the dough is easy to clean off the counter. As you can see from the picture I baked it a little hot. Despite the dark crust it was wonderful. I think I will make a sandwich loaf next. I am looking forward to a lot more fun with this book. My husband even liked the bread and he only likes the sweet things that I bake. I would highly recommend this book to all who like to bake, but lack time.

I went to the Snake River Fiber Fair over the weekend and bought some beautiful fibers. I also got to meet the girls of the Sassy Sheep Podcast. They are wonderful people and make beautiful products. The two braids with black in them are from the Sassy Sheep. The one with blue is superwash merino and the one with pink is superwash merino, cashmere and nylon. They are so soft. I have been petting them since I got them. I also found some yearling cormo (the white bag). It is very soft. I am starting to see why people love it. I am itching to spin it. I also got two braids of BFL. I am in love with my purchases. I just need to finish spinning the Oops roving that I dyed and I will be playing with these.

I have been working on my Central Park Hoodie. I have seemed the sleeves and body. I am currently knitting the hood. I still need to set in the sleeves and then I will finish the hood and pick up the button band. I am still deciding if I will put in a zipper or nothing at all. I love the way it is coming out. It is a beautiful sweater.

I have to say that it is shaping up to be a beautiful spring. I have been spending a lot of time out in the sun. I hope every one is having a lovely spring.

How To Procrastinate

2010-04-23T17:20:00.007-06:00

I have been getting realy good at avoiding things this week. I can now avoid cooking and house work with a level of skill that I never knew I could achieve. Needless to say that with no house work I have also not baked anything. I have been playing on the internet a lot this last week. I will never stop being surprised by the amount of time you can loose looking at Ravelry and blog surfing. I have not even been playing games. I lost years to Bejewled. I love that game.

I have been fawning over my little seedlings a lot lately. I only have three at the moment. They are parsley, cilantro, and basil. I had some issues with the cilantro. Max loves cilantro it turns out. He ate the plants. I had to replant the seeds and move the pots to a place that he had trouble getting to. So now I have plants in my window sill, being gaurded by a router, and green out side. Yes I said green out side. The snow is gone, the sun is shining and the trees are starting to get buds on them. I will take pictures when we start to get lilacs. I love this time of year.

I have been knitting a little. I decided I wanted to work on my Central Park hoodie. I started it in December and then wondered away from it when I was on the sleeve cap for the first sleeve. I do not know why I abandoned it. I think it might be due to an error in the shaping for the sleeve cap. I think this because I could not figur out where I was in the pattern. The stitch counts did not add up. I decided to rip the whole thing out and start over. I am now about 8 inches into the first sleeve. I will need to block the body soon so I can start seeming, make the hood and the button band. Now I just need to decide if I want buttons or a zipper. I decided to buy Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann. I would like to knit a sweater useing the percentage system I have heard is in this book. If I bought the wrong book I will just have to buy the correct one. I love her writing so far. I understand why her books can be adictive. I only wish that I had found this book sooner.

I have been spinning some this week as well. I decided to start on the oops roving. I am spinning it semi-worsted and enjoying the way the colors are playing out. I am not usualy a fan of pastels, yet I love this yarn so far. When it is done it will be a three ply.

Well I hope every one is doing well where you are and that alergies are not making you miserable. Have a good one.

Is It Spring or Winter

2010-04-06T12:27:00.011-06:00

I woke up this morning to a winter wonder land. I thought it was funny when it snowed on April Fools Day, but this is definatly more spectacular. I am so glad that I finished a new hat last night. I am thinking that this much snow is not a good sign for the weather this week. I do think it is pretty though. I would rather have white on the ground than brownish grass and now flowers.

I have been knitting this week. As mentioned before I finished a hat last night. I cast it on yesterday afternoon. I am surprised I finished it so quickly as I ripped out the decresses twice trying to get it to look nice. I made up this hat pattern a few years ago. I had just moved to Idaho and the cold wind was painful in my ears. I got some chunky yarn and made up a hat pattern. It looked funny in the crown, but was very warm and the folded brim kept my ears safe from the wind. I finaly have a crown and decreases that I like for it now. I am amazed that the early ones came out as well as they did as I did not understand gauge or any other fine points of knitting at the time. I did not even know how to knit in the round when I decided to knit a hat. I will be writing this pattern up and publishing it here. I just have a few refinments to make.

I finshed the Marywarmers. I love the Cascade Heritage sock yarn that I used for them. It is a lovely yarn that is soft and warm. It also does well in the washer and dryer. I like easy care items if they go on my hands. I work in a wearhouse store so my hands get very dirty.

I dyed the wool you can see at right a while ago. I named it oops. I wanted a more solid color but used to much vingar. I love the way it looks though. I am working on spinning it now. I am liking the way it is spinning. I am getting lovely vaerigations in pastel tones. I am trying for a three ply sport weight. I will let you know how it goes.

I did not do any baking last week. I may make some wheat bread this week, but we will just need to see how things go. I hope you are all well.

Pound Cake and Veggies

2010-03-29T10:36:00.016-06:00

I was trying to decide what to cook for dinner and I came across a recipe called Sour Cream Pound Cake in my Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book 75th Anniversary Edition. It came out beautifully. I do not think that I beat the eggs and butter quite enough. It tastes lovely though. I am trying not to sit down and eat it all. Not the fanciest thing I have made yet, but just what I needed that day.

I have been knitting I am making the Fruit and Vegetable Bags from Knit Picks. They are only available in kit form at the moment. I started at the begging of the booklet of patterns and am working my way though in order. I finished the Beaded Beat Bag and finished the knitting on the Pea Pod purse. I need to sew in the pockets and zipper on the Pea Pod still. I am enjoying these. They are just funny. I am also working on Marywarmers, an arm warmer pattern I found on Ravelry. I have finished the first one and am working on the second. I think that these will be fabulous. I am working in a dark green sock yarn. I will post a pick of these another day.

I have also started a small herb garden in my window. I only have three pots there now but I am hoping to add more as the season progresses. I think that the thaw has had a very good effect on me. I want to have a full herb garden this year and I may buy some fencing to have a veggie garden too. I am very hopeful that I may be finding a balance that will keep me healthy for a while.

I also bought two books recently one is Knitwear Design Workshop a new book from Interweave Press that should help me learn how to design my own knitting patterns. The other book is about freezer cooking. It is based on the idea that one day you cook several meals then you freeze them. This way when I do not have the time or energy to cook I will have meals in the freezer just waiting for me to heat and eat. I will let you know how this goes.

Well I am off to get ready for work. I hope that you are all well.

If Only I Could See The Future

2010-03-22T21:51:00.003-06:00

I had to take some time to rethink what I want to do with this blog and my life recently. I had some health problems that caused me to loose energy at an alarming rate and made me think about what I really want to do.

I think that my original goal of using knitting and baking to help my find my way helped me in this journey. I decided that my focus needs to be on finding a creative outlet. I am finding this outlet in the kitchen and in the fiber arts. I think I want to start to design my own knits. I would love to do this for my hand spun. I also have been playing a little with dyeing and I want to explore that more. I decided that I needed color in January and made a ball of woolly sun shine. I have done a few other things, but lack photos at the moment.

I am still baking and still having fun with that, but I am now removing the structure from that adventure. I love the feeling of taking something out of the oven and having it be exactly what I wanted. I have pulled out a few new books and am having fun playing with them as well as the bread bible.

I am getting more energy day by day and I hope that this continues. I am getting very excited about my plans, or lack of plans at this point.

Just to catch you up a little I decided to compete in the Ravelympics this year. To those who may not know this is knittings answer to the Olympics. You pick a project or projects that will challenge you to finish during the Olympics. You cast on when the torch is lit and need to finish before it goes out. I made my fist big lace project. I made Frost Diamonds from the winter 2009 Knitty. I was very proud. I have been spinning a little, I even pulled out my wheel. I have not finished a skein in a while, but I am having fun. Well I guess that is all for now. I should be back nest week with what I am currently working on, and I just figured out how to hyperlink in Blog Spot.

What I Have Been Doing

2009-09-16T16:36:00.001-06:00

OK I think I am back now. I am feeling a little better and I think they are almost done cutting hay now. I have been knitting and spinning. I have socks on the needles but they are both lace and my mind was having trouble keeping up. So what does any good knitter do I made dishtowels and wash cloths. I hope my brother and his wife like the colors. I still need to tie in the ends and find buttons for the hanging towels.

I also pulled out some of the wool I bought on vacation. I had this grab bag full of random little bits of wool in it. I liked it for brain dead spinning because if every last bit is spun differently it does not matter. I still need to ply a lot of what I have spun but I got so excited when I found all of my spindles that I wanted to use all of them at once. I have had fun with all of this wool, but I can not tell any one what these wools are. I do not have enough experience with different wools to tell them apart by touch or spinning. The black stuff though was lovely. It is soft and a little slippery. I wish that there had been more of that one. I also found out how full I can make a spindle. I had a lot of the grey wool and decided that the way to do it was to spin it all at once on one spindle and then to Navajo ply it. Well it was a big spindle full.

In other news I should be baking today of tomorrow. I have every thing I need and just need the energy. I do love banana bread so banana muffins should be fun.

My husband did say that Logan had unfair face time because I have four furry kids and they all deserve mention even though Logan is the one who is always sick or into something. So here are my other kids. The brown dog is Mika she is our sweet girl who only likes so much love. The whit cat is actually a pastel calico she is a joy, but can bee as pointy as she is beautiful. You can not see it in the photo but she has clear blue eyes. The black cat is Max. He is a true lover boy. He will sit in your lap for hours. He is the most likely of all the animals to seek out love. So those are the kids.

I'm Back.... Or will be soon

2009-08-27T19:32:00.001-06:00

I went on vacation for the last week of July. I went to visit my Mom and Dad. We had a wonderful time. We made the Blueberry muffins and they came out wonderfully. I forgot to take pictures of the muffins though. I got to go fiber shopping, eat great food, and visit the beach. I am sure you guessed the beach part from the photos.

I bet you are wondering, "Why no posts in August then?" Well I got home and promptly got sick. I am just starting to come out of it now. I have been spinning and knitting, but not baking. I just have not felt up to it. I will have pics in a day or so to show you what I have been up to, and maybe some baking.

Be back soon.

Spinning

2009-07-21T16:14:00.000-06:00

Well I know I have been gone for a while now. I intended to update sooner but there was a bug that had a different idea. I got a bite on my cheek and started taking antihistamines as soon as I discovered it. I managed to keep the swelling down, but could not keep it from spreading. In a few days it had taken over my whole face and my neck, my throat started to feel a little tight so I went to the doctor. I am all better now, but I fell of the face of the earth till I got my energy back. I did get some fun stuff done while I recuperated though.

I finished a spindle full of the purple roving and decided to store it till I could get another spindle full to ply it with on my wheel. I turned out nicely. I am surprised by how even it is considering the time frame in which I spun it. I think my makeshift bobbin is funny too. I have been following the Tour De Fleece on Ravelry and saw a lot of singles stored on toilet paper rolls. It is a good idea. They are cheep easy to find and fit on my lazy kate for plying. I have started a new spindle full and am looking forward to some lovely yarn.

I got inspired by the Tour De Fleece and decided to spin up some rovings I had died a long time ago. I could not find a free spindle in my collection though. So I plied the silk (pic to the left) I had waiting on one and skeined it off then started on the rovings. I had three colors and one was already carded into rolags. I spun and carded each color one after the other. It took me one night to get the first two colors and half of the third. I don't think I have ever spun that fast on a spindle before. It was fun. When I finished up the last of the last color I wound it on to a toilet paper roll and Navajo plied it to keep the colors separate. Now I am thinking that this skein wants to be a small bag. I just have to pick a style and decide if it wants felted.

I did not get any baking done last week. I was to tired and it was to hot. I am hoping to get some done on my days off from work this week. It is still hot, but we have the swamp cooler working now. I am looking forward to corn muffins.

I hope you all can find some inspiration like I have this week. See you soon.

Bread and Fibery Goodness

2009-07-09T10:24:00.001-06:00

I just finished Southwest Spoon Cornbread. It is wonderful. It tastes wonderful. It has a nice body and a good texture. The colors are good too. This was a fun recipe. It was also easy to clean up after. I will make this more. I had never roasted a bell pepper before. I used the gas burner on my BBQ, it was fun.

I am still spinning and knitting every day. I have turned the heel on the socks. I am hoping to have them done in a week or so. I still love the pattern and the yarn. I am also enjoying the two socks at a time method. I find it to be fast and rewarding. It is also way easier than I thought it would be.

I have been spinning the purple wool still. The spindle is starting to get heavy so I am thinking about winding it off and plying it. I will see how things go for the next little while. I do not know what I want to do with this yarn yet. I is lovely and I do love the color. I an thinking of making some mittens, the kind with the flap so you can use your fingers if you want to. I also have a small amount of buffalo in a similar gauge that I am thinking would be enough to make a lining for the mittens. It would only be enough for the main hand area, but would lend more warmth. I get cold easily. I will have to see what I get inspired by. I even am thinking about a lace shawl. I don't know.

Well have a wonderful day.

My computer lives.

2009-07-04T19:46:00.000-06:00

First and formost are the images I could not uplode for the last post. The one on the left is the carrot bread, the one on the right is zuccini. They both turned out well and the carrot bread solved an issue I have had for years. I like carrot cake but it is to sweet. The bread had every thing I like about the cake, but with no unfortunate stomach ache. I shared with some friends and they liked it a lot.

On the computer front I was with out from tuesday till friday night. When I got it back it was still in need of counseling, but they were able to do that over the phone. We are now up and running better than we have in two years. I am so happy to have my baby back.

Now on to the bread I made in the mean time. It was the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread. I think I finaly have the mixing method down. I say this because the texture is like velvet. It is wonderful. It feels perfect in your mouth and it tastes wonderful. I did not make the Kahlua glaze. I can say you should take the time to get the mini chocolate chips, the big one sink.

As this post was already going to have a lot of pics I am choosing not to add knitting or spinning images today. I will do anothe post for those in a day or two. I will give a quick update though. I am up to the gusset increases on the gray socks, and I just need to weave in the ends on some dish towels for my mom (there will be no pics mom), and I did start a sock to work just one at a time, Sunshine from Sock Inovations by Cookie A. I also did spin yarn most days. I have almost filled the spindle. Well that is all for now.

My Computer is Angry

2009-06-29T17:10:00.000-06:00

I am a little later with this post than I hoped to be. My computer has decided to pitch a few fits lately. There will be no photos as a result of these fits. I can say that the baking on Wednesday went beautifully. I made Carrot Bread and the Zucchini Bread variation. They both came out well. Next time I will use fewer raisins for the carrot and make sure that I do a better job of getting the skin off the walnuts for the zucchini. I am loving this experiment. I am feeling more relaxed and in touch with myself.

I have been knitting and spinning every day as well. I find that these simple acts make life easier and less stressful. I even find work easier. Any thing that can make retail livable is invaluable to me.

The Clapotis

2009-06-23T10:10:00.001-06:00

I finished the Clapotis, from Knitty, I was making for my new sister in law. I do not know why I set it aside. I was so close to being done I finished it to the weaving in of ends in two hours. It is beautiful. At this point all I can hope is that she loves it as much as I do. I will need to make one of these for me. It is a wonderful pattern. Now I just need to mail it out. That part can take longer than the knitting does for me.

I have been working on the socks. The are progressing. In a day or two I should be starting the gusset increases. I still love the yarn. It is so soft. The two at a time is going faster than I expected as well. I thought it would feel like it took forever to make any progress, but to be honest it feels faster than doing one at a time. The pattern is easily memorized as well. I had quit looking at the chart by the second diamond.

On the spinning front it is progressing. I am spinning some every day. I didn't know how much I missed it until I picked it back up again. I may even have to dust off my wheel and play with it again some time soon.

So far what this experiment has given me is a sense of peace. I get stressed out and overwhelmed easily. I am happy to say that I am feeling less stress and even sleeping better. Even though I have made it so that I do more in a day I am finding that I have more time and energy for the things that I want or need to do.

Bread and a Dog

2009-06-20T20:58:00.000-06:00

I made this yesterday. I think it is beautiful. It is the Cranberry-Banana-Walnut Quick Bread from The Bread Bible. It turned out so well. I was a little nervous because it turns out you can not buy fresh or frozen cranberries in this area this time of year. I found crasins and hoped for the best. I shared it with friends at work and they loved it.

I am always a little surprised when the things I make turn out so well. The thing I have discovered is that if I follow the directions things turn out really well. When I decide that I know better than the author things can go badly.

This bread almost did not happen. My dog Logan got sick. He has been coughing quite a lot. We decided it was time to take him to the vet. I called and made the appointment and figured out that I would have time to go grocery shopping but probably not bake. I got lucky and the store was not that busy so when I got back I got every thing ready to the point before you mix together the dry and wet ingredients and put them all aside under plastic wrap. When I got home I preheated the oven mixed every thing together and baked it. I may have to use this technique again. It makes it so easy just to use what little bits of time I have. The best part of this is that we may have finally found something that works on Logan's cough. He gets sick as much as I do (wich is a lot). That beautiful dog in the photo is my Logan. He is the baby in my family.

Fiber Love

2009-06-19T11:44:00.002-06:00

I am currently spinning this lovely purple heathered wool roving. It did not say what breed it was when I bought it and I no longer remember the name of the dyer. I have had this roving for a few years. I love it. I have not done much with it yet for some reason though. I recently remembered its existence and started playing with it again.

I have mainly been spinning down lately. I spun up some buffalo that was a gift, then moved straight into camel down. The down is lovely don't get my wrong. I find that it makes my hands tired though. When I found the purple wool and picked it up to play with it was such a relief to my tired hands. I can spin it as I walk around my house and yard with out a thought. Now I just have to decide what I want to make with it.

I am also working on these socks. They are the Diamond Gansey Socks from Socks From The Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson. I am enjoying the pattern immensely. These are also my first two at a time socks. It is much more simple than I thought it would be.

The yarn was originally going to make socks for some one else but I made to many mistakes on the toe to be willing to gift them. You can not see them here, but some of my increases made small holes. I don't mind that in socks for me, but I will not gift them. The yarn is Regia silk. It will be hard but I will have to suffer through keeping them for me :). This yarn is a dream to work with. I have not had any issues with splitting and it has good stitch definition. Then there is the silk part, so soft.

I find that at the end of the day these two projects help me keep my sanity. It is funny how such simple acts can be so meaningful.

Well see you soon with the next baking entry.

Lets get started

2009-06-18T12:43:00.001-06:00

Hi. My name is Michelle. I recently decided that I was going to work my way through The Bread Bible. I will make one recipe a week starting with the first and working my way to the last.

Why would any one do this you ask? Well I recently took stock of my life and decided I needed a change. I did not know where to start. I had just bought The Bread Bible and thought that it might be fun to start with it. You see I already knit and spin. I own I loom, but would hesitate to say that I weave. I have always been interested with skills that are very old. What is older than bread? If you want to figure out how to have a new life why not start with the oldest crafts in human civilization?

So here we are. I plan to spin and knit a little every day and to bake one thing a week.

I already made the first recipe. Cinnamon Crumb Surprise. I will have to make this again. It is wonderful. My crumb topping sunk down into the bread, but it still tastes wonderful. The apples are the perfect touch in the center.

I had forgotten how good it feels to bake. Even something as simple as this recipe just makes you feel like you accomplished some thing.