Fresh Starts

When the last semester ended, Winter Break seemed to stretch out before me endlessly. I entertained notions of reading entire novels, baking, knitting an entire sweater AND a hat AND a cowl AND mittens. But, as time is wont to do, it sped up until before I knew it I had mostly succeeded in getting reacquainted with my Sims and the gym and not much else. But I did manage to finish one little knitting project.

These are the Celtic Moonrise Mittens by Rhiannon Don. I already went over some tips in my last post, so I'll just say that I love how these came out. The cable is so pretty and I love that it takes up the whole hand. I love that I found this shade of Cascade 220 buried in my stash totes, and it's the most perfect color for the person I sent these to. One thing to note is that these mittens are done up on US6 needles. I know, right? As a result, they're really more a fall/spring mitten than a dead of winter mitten. They're still warm, but a cold wind is going to go right through them.

Speaking of dead of winter and cold winds, I was not informed last week that my office had closed for the STORM OF THE CENTURY (tm) and so I trudged into town to my empty office. Since my last job was at an old folks' home which never closes for anything, I just figured my officemates were troupers. Anyway, since I was already in town, and it was so beautiful and quiet (you don't realize just how loud a city is until it isn't), I decided to take a long walk and get some pictures. There's something so magical about having the city pretty much to yourself.








By the next day it was all dirty slush and bitter people.

It's snowing again today and I'm about to head out into it. I've got some good gym momentum happening (my ice cream habit caught up with me in an unsavory way), and at the end of week one of Spring semester, I already have a ton of work.

Next up: Herringbone Mittens!

Happy New Year!

I know I'm a little late with my greeting, but since this is my first time on the blog in 2011, it didn't seem right not to acknowledge the new year. I went home soon after my last post for 11 glorious days. I ate, I visited, I watched trashy TV, and I relaxed. My brother loved his hat and (HA!) didn't find it to be itchy at all! Score one for wool! I forgot my knitting at home (if you could have seen how much stuff I was lugging to Maine you'd understand how this could happen), and never got a chance to shop for a new project, or else I'm sure I'd have an FO to show you. Instead, here's a WIP:

These are the Celtic Moonrise Mittens by Rhiannon Don in Cascade 220. Couple of things about this pattern:
1. I didn't notice that they have a flap thumb until I was too far gone to add a gusset. Surprisingly, the thumb fits fine!
2. There is an error in the chart on line 5. After the purl stitch that starts needle 1, the chart reads k2, p4, then work a cable. Instead, you should work work the k2, p1 cable, then p3 and work the next cable.
3. The top shaping calls for abandoning the cabling, but as it's quite a few rows, I continued to cable until it was time to kitchener the top.

I got most of the first mitten done hanging out at Amy's house, so I think this second mitten will go quickly. These mittens are for someone else, so I'm pretty sure my next project is going to be mittens for myself. I really need new ones! And also a cowl. And also this sweater. While I was at Amy's, I got to meet her friend Thea, the designer of the drool-worthy Dark and Stormy. Of course the next day I checked out her blog (I'm always looking for more knitting blogs to add my reader!), and fell immediately in love with White Russian. I have to do a stash dive to be sure, but I'm pretty sure I have just the right yarn to make this!

In other news, I got a pressure cooker for Christmas! I love it, and want to use it all the time. Last night, I had a stew recipe I wanted to try that wasn't written for a pressure cooker, but I made it work anyway. After sauteeing the leeks and garlic, I pressure cooked everything for six minutes. Voila! Dinner is served!



This is Quinoa, White Bean, and Kale Stew by Isa Chandra Moskowitz via the ppk. It's hearty and delicious, and this recipe makes a TON. I have seven more (super full) containers in my freezer. Delish!