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!

Wow... Really?

Has it really been nearly a month since my last update?! Time sure has flown by, and here I am at the very end of my first semester of graduate school. Tomorrow is my last class, and I have a couple of things to finish for that, but I thought I'd come over and give a shout. And show off my latest FO! But first, some quick catch-up.
Thanksgiving happened, and so did an 11th birthday.

That cake is 100% vegan, and the most delicious chocolate cake I have ever made or eaten. The frosting was amazing too, but the cake! It's accidentally vegan, no egg replacers, no soy. It's a recipe called Wacky Cake, and there are versions all over the Internet. The recipe was created during WWII rationing, when home cooks had to get creative. Try it!

Speaking of food, we had a pretty delicious Thanksgiving breakfast of Vegan Pumpkin French Toast. The kids ate every bite with singular focus, something that never happens.




I squeezed in a visit to Purl Diva for a chat and some stash enhancement.




And Christmas draws nearer and nearer.




I'm making a hat for my brother. Partly because he's always complaining that I've never knit anything for him, and partly to see just how serious is his wool sensitivity. He wants a Cobblestone Pullover, but no way am I embarking on that project without testing out possibilities first. I think Mission Falls 1824 might be the way to go. We shall see.




And I finished something! I somehow managed to pull off a sock in between trips home, fifteen page papers, reading two short story collections, and critiques. No wonder they took a month to finish!




I used J. Knits Superwash Me in Florida. I really like this yarn! It's comfortable to knit, doesn't get too twisty. It's also very comfortable to wear. I haven't taken the socks off since I took these pictures this morning. I used the Hourglass Eyelet Socks pattern by Cindy Putnam. This pattern was formerly available on the defunct MagKnits site, and is now available for download on Ravelry. It was a nice, fun, easy pattern. The stitch pattern is easily memorized, and they go quickly (when you're not a first year grad student). I chose to use this pattern with this yarn because I was concerned about pooling, but I didn't need to be! Check out the soles, no pooling here! I don't regret my choice, but it would be sorta nice to have a pair of plain jane socks in this bright, cheery color, don't you think?




Whew! So that's what happens when you have to play catch up! After tomorrow, I'll have a blissful month reprieve from homework before the Spring semester starts. Let's see how many projects I can churn out during that time!

And so we meet again, Monday.

I spent the weekend in Austin, Texas visiting my BFF Michelle and meeting her baby (my goddaughter). I basically ate my way across the city, which is exactly how I like a vacation.

Some standouts included the Pumpkin ice cream with Pecan Praline sauce at Amy's Ice Creams; the most amazing grilled cheese of my life at the all gourmet grilled cheese restaurant, Chedd's; cupcakes at Quack's 43rd Street Bakery; and, of course, Frito Pie at Dog Almighty. Dog Almighty was my favorite place, narrowly beating out the grilled cheese. They can make anything on the menu veg, so it was the perfect place for me and my omni friends to eat. The hot dog I had was the juiciest veggie dog I had ever tasted. Seriously, if the inside hadn't had that distinctive veggie dog look, I would have been nervous. The Frito Pie did not disappoint! I'd heard of this Southern delicacy, but figured I'd never try it unless I made it myself (which just isn't the same). For those who haven't had it, it's basically chili and cheese on top of a pile of Fritos, so it's important that the chili is good. Dog Almighty boasts about all of the awards they've won for their dogs and veggie chili, and those awards are well deserved! The chili was rich and heavy, and had some kind of crumble in it (maybe TVP?) that gave it some serious heft. Deeeeeeelicious!



Since I spent the bulk of my time in Texas lazing about in a food coma, I didn't get any knitting done. But I still have something to share! I made a pretty delicious baked squash before my trip. I had bought a package of squash on impulse at the grocery, thinking I'd make some sort of chili or stew. It was a ridiculous idea, of course, since in the days leading up to my trip were filled with homework, packing, laundry and tying up lose ends. The squash languished in the refrigerator, threatening to go south before me. Baking to the rescue! I love baking/roasting root vegetables and squash in the winter. It's easy, relatively fast (almost no prep), and infinitely customizable. You can pour pretty much whatever you feel like over those suckers and it'll taste good. In this case, I started out looking at cookbooks and found a recipe for pumpkin that called for soy sauce. I thought I'd follow that recipe, but quickly went off course and made my own thing.



Baked Butternut Squash
(this made two servings for me, over rice, but as a side it'd go a lot further)
2.5 lbs squash (any kind you like, or sweet potato would be good)
1 Tbsp canola oil
1.5 Tbsp sake
1 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp Chinese Five Spice
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Pour sauce over squash and bake! My baking was a little wonky. I started it out at 325 for about a half hour, but it wasn't cooking fast enough for my level of hunger so I turned the oven up to 400 for about 15 minutes, and got perfectly cooked squash. So maybe use a temp in between?

So now it's back to the grind! I've been spending all morning thinking about how I should be working on a paper. I think I've officially used all of my procrastination resources at this time. Better get to it.