When In France ....

Every now and then, I like to browse through my stash and remind myself of the beautiful yarns I've collected over the years.  I store my stash in an antique dresser and whenever I open up the third drawer down from the top, I rest my eyes on the three skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Loft that I purchased on a trip to Loop while spending a long weekend in Philadelphia.

The colorway is gorgeous but I'll be honest ... I'm a little afraid of knitting with Loft.  I hear it's a little crispy and can break with not much effort and while I'm not a tight knitter, the idea of having the yarn break mid-garment makes my hands a little sweaty.  On the upside, reviews of finished objects knit with Loft are always favorable, even a little gushy!

Like many, if not all of you, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about what knitting project I want to take on our family holiday to France and Spain ~ yes, France and Spain and we leave tomorrow! I'm currently working on another test knit for the uber-talented Jane Richmond, but it's a bulky weight cardigan and I'm a light packer so that project will stay home and be finished when I return. 

Much to my good luck, I was skimming over Gudrun Johnston's lovely blog and saw all the gorgeous photos of her recent trip to France and Spain and felt so inspired.  And then I saw it ... my travel project ... and knew instantly that I must knit my own Amelie while traveling in the South of France.

So, I'll be packing my three skeins of Loft, my printed pattern of Amelie, and my circular bamboo needes. As they say, when in France ... a bientot, mes amis!

Road Trip = Knitting

That's right ... we're going on a road trip!  The four of us have been patiently anxiously counting down the days until we're off for spring break and the day to load up the car and set off is almost here.  We originally wanted to whisk away to Paris (yes, France) but have you seen the cost of airfare recently?  Quelle horreur! Instead, we're going to the next best Parisian-scented city without having to fly:  Montreal. This is truly one of my favorite cities in the world, and my travel notebook is already filled with the bakeries, bistros, shops, and museums we plan to frequent.  One thing I don't know is where the LYS's are so if anyone has a recommendation, my travel notebook is waiting.

Now to the next important task:  what to knit while in the car?  After hearing Abby from Knit Knit Cafe talk about her love of the Wingspan shawl on a few recent podcast episodes, I couldn't resist and cast one on earlier this week.  At first, I cast on with a skein of Lorna Laces in Stoplight Red but that was a huge mistake.  The rayon content in the yarn gave the shawl too much drape and after completing two triangles (because I was stubborn and wouldn't admit failure), frogged the thing.

Being more mindful, I searched my stash again and found a more comparable yarn to what's called for in the pattern which is my Ball and Skein Sophia in the Gourd colorway.

I have a feeling that I'll easily finish this shawl before the road trip back home so I've got to come up with another project to take.  Another pair of heroine socks? Another shawl? What's your favorite road trip knitting project?

The Tale of Two Desserts

While I pondered making more traditional sweets for my family's Thanksgiving meal, I couldn't stop thinking about something unusual and chocolatey.  I have a healthy collection of cookbooks and spent a few hours leafing through a whole host of delicious dessert recipes before settling on two that made the cut.  Of the many cookbooks that I own, one of my favorite authors is Ina Garten of Barefoot Contesssa fame.  Her dishes are always so homey and made from very basic ingredients which I truly appreciate. 


The first holiday dessert that Miranda and I baked was a simple and fragrant apple crisp from Garten's Back to Basics Cookbook.  5 pounds of apples goes a long way and most of the ingredients are typically found in a well-stocked pantry.

Apple Crisp

While the apple crisp was fun to make, it was the French Bark from Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties that Miranda and I really loved creating.  Made with a combination of good-quality semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolates, the bark came out smooth, not-too-sweet, and delicious.

French Bark

As Garten explains, what makes this a French bark rather than an American one is that the candied/dried fruits and nuts are layered on top of the bark instead of mixed into the chocolate.  We put a more varied combination on one half and simply Crasins and almonds on the other.

Both desserts were a hit but the dessert table wasn't complete without my sister Kathy's fantastic pumpkin roll and pumpkin pie, my niece Kristina's beautiful blueberry pie, and my other niece Nicole's sugar cookies.  Heavens knows how we had room for these desserts, but don't worry ...  we did!

Xavier, Miranda, Nicole, and Kristina

Better Late Than Never

One happy thing I can say about this past week is that I managed to knit in spite of our loss of electricity.  Being a fairly experienced knitter, I can sometimes knit while watching a movie or talking to a friend or, as I discovered earlier this week, in the dark.

Miranda's Cat Paws

Cat Ears

We lost power on Saturday afternoon during the hardest snow fall of the N'oreaster, but I had only completed the cat paws of Miranda's Halloween costume so I had to press on and lit as many candles as I could find to keep knitting.

This is a swift and easy project with great results.  I chose hot pink rather than light pink for the paw pads and inner ears which I think helps the costume pop.  I used Sidar Snuggly which I've never knit with before.  I feel a little conflicted writing about this yarn during the Wovember challenge as it's not made from 100% wool but I'll justify this by saying that I completed the project before November 1 (whew, that was close).

We added black nail polish, some black whiskers and a nose in stage make-up, and a touch of blush for a rosy-cheeked affect.

I had hoped to post this on Halloween but we all know what happens to best-laid plans.  As this post is titled, better late than never!

They're Watching

I know, it seems that all I have on my mind these days is Halloween, and I'm not even such a huge fan of this holiday.  Still, after making my autumnal pom pom wreath and realizing that the front porch needed spiders to thrill the trick or treaters come Monday, I couldn't resist making these!

I came across this pattern by Mary Jane Mucklestone (who knew she designed eyeballs?) and cast-on immediately.  I'm definitely going to make more (in-between knitting Miranda's costume) and perhaps put a whole bowl of them on the front porch. Hmmm, maybe I should put them in the same bowl that I fill with treats to give out on Halloween.  After all, you are supposed to be a little scared on all hallow's eve, right?  

P.S.  My friend Beverly says I should add some red yarn to make a few eyeballs look bloodshot. I think that's a great idea!

Boo Cat! Part I

For the last three years or so, I've knitted part, if not all, of Miranda's Halloween costume. One year she was a Tootsie Roll and I knitted her a dress that resembled a Tootsie Roll wrapper.  Another year she was the bride of Frankenstein and I knitted her a full white gown with a gray and white twirly wig. This year she's going to be a black cat with hot pink pads and ears.

I thought I'd just show you the beginning stages of the paws -- these are simply a pair of fingerless mitts with the thumb gusset that I've grown to love.

I'm knitting the costume in Sidar Snuggly which knits up nice and squishy. Now I better get back to knitting as trick or treat day is just around the corner!

Are You Ready?

I bet I'm not alone in saying that it's all about Halloween over at my house these days.  I don't quite know when this holiday became the big event that it is now but in the little town where we live, it's a huge deal.  Houses get completely decked out in all its creepy finery so come trick or treat night, kids (young and old) have a feast not only for their sweet teeth but for their eyes as well. As I blogged about earlier this week, I was tired with our outdated autumn decorations and so made this pom pom wreath to adorn the door.  It cheers me every time I come back home.

But I couldn't just have a pretty porch for Halloween, right?  No, I had to have some scary bits to thrill visitors especially when trick or treat night rolls around.  So I knitted these little creatures -- I know that they have a high scare factor because Miranda hates isn't fond of spiders.

This pattern is super easy and super quick.  I made two spiders in only two days and am tempted to make more.  But perhaps I should get back to Miranda's Halloween costume first.  Hmmm, there are still a few other knitted decorations that I'd like to try so let's see if I can squeeze in those before next week.  

One down, more to go

As promised, I finished one of the WIPs that I blogged about on Monday. It's the second pair of fingerless mitts in a mustardy hue, and I'm glad I got it done.  As minding my own stitches commented, it's getting chilly out here on the east coast and too many hands, large and small, need some mitts to stay toasty.

Mission Falls 136

I still love Mission Falls 136 but these might be a little bulkier than I intended.  Still, they'll be great for driving to work and for those late autumn days when the chill factor nips at my hands.  Now that I've mastered this pattern, it will definitely become one of my (almost) mindless knitting projects to turn to when I need to cleanse my knitterly mind or to have on the needles while doing a more challenging pattern.  I say almost because I do have to pay attention when making the thumb gusset.

I'm also glad that I am now so comfortable with this pattern because Miranda has decided what she wants to be this Halloween and fingerless mitts are part of the costume.  Well, actually, I should say fingerless paws.  Any guesses?








P.S.  Notice anything odd about the fingerless mitts that I just finished?