Fiber Fool

This is nearly 4 pounds of mill end slivers from the Brown Sheep mill that came home with me last week. I have no idea what they will grow up to be, but the second we walked into the room with the mill ends Ashley and Hannah both exclaimed that they had just my colors out, LOL!

It was kind of funny. Looking in the trunk at all the various bags it was easy to figure out who the owner of the bag was. We definitely stuck to our certain color preferences :-)

The rush on book one has lessened so I’m concentrating on finding my desk top in the studio so that making them goes smoother. I’m getting really excited now because they are sending me fabric samples and such from the interior decoration so I can make them mesh with the home even more!

I am getting ever nearer to the straps on the Ribs and Lace Tank now. DH and I watch an SNL episode last night that aided that progress and I also made sure to spend 30 minutes outside with Emma yesterday afternoon and I knit during that as well. It is kind of amazing how quickly stolen moments can add up!

Have a great weekend everyone! I’m off to water aerobics…

Since we rearranged the kitchen a tad and made it easier to get to the stand mixer I’ve been doing more baking. This week I got a hankering to make this bread recipe I had run across on the Light & Tasty web site. However, we didn’t have quite the ingredients we needed so I started tweaking a tad until I ended up with a completely different recipe all my own, LOL!

Kristi’ Rustic Apple Cranberry Bread

Yield: 2 loaves
Oven Temp: 375 degrees F
Time: ~3 hours, including rise times

• 2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
• 2/3 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup warm 1% milk (110° to 115°)
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, added to warm milk to soften
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, separated
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 - 2 1/2 cups whole wheat bread flour
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 tablespoon cold water

The bowl of the mixer dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the applesauce, milk, sugar, butter, oil, salt, egg yolk and 2 cups AP flour; beat until smooth with paddle attachment. Switch to dough hook attachment and work in enough whole wheat bread flour to form a firm dough. Stir in cranberries and caraway seeds. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with vegetable oil, turning once to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape each portion into a ball approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place 4 in. apart on a baking sheet lined with a silpat liner or parchment paper. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

In a small bowl, beat egg white and cold water; brush over loaves. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Note: This is great toasted with a touch of butter or margarine. I think it would also make a wonderful grilled cheese with cheddar or swiss cheese. You could even dress it up with some caramelized onions and a few thin slices of apple.

Pattern: DK Two Thumbs Up Fingerless Mitt
Yarn: Less 200 yds (3 oz) of Handspun
Needles: 2 - 2.5 16″ KnitPicks Classic Circulars
Recipient: Myself

Notes: I finished the second mitt over the weekend. Fortunately, the yarn did bloom and soften some during the washing and blocking stage despite my concerns. I wouldn’t call the mitts soft, but they are definitely wearable against the sensitive skin of the inside wrist. While the yarn is a three ply which should make the cables pop, the yarn was also spun woolen so the patterning is somewhat obscured. I’d love to knit these again with a smoother commercial yarn.

I have been wearing them quite frequently. The finer gauge and the snug fit allows me to wear these mitts for nearly all of my daily activities (washing dishes and baking excluded, of course). I’ve knit with them on, computed, drank tea and coffee, read books, tied my shoes and zipped my jacket…

I need to thank Stephanie, Carole, and Susanne - my speedy and attentive test knitters of varying 2-circ experience. Thank you guys! I’ll be sure to let you know when they post their FOs so you can see them. I also need to thank Heather for making me think of highlighting the thumb in the name due to all the detail I paid to that element of the pattern. Your patterns should be awaiting you in your inbox! Thank you so much to the rest of you who offered your test knitting services and ideas for a pattern name. Deb, you were the lucky winner of the drawing for submitting your name suggestion. You should also have a copy of the pattern awaiting you.

If you didn’t win a copy of the pattern, never fear! You can get your own full-color 6-page pattern. The pattern includes detailed directions for knitting on two circulars and some unusual techniques to reduce the post-knitting finishing required. Along with the detail photographs there are written and charted directions. Most forms of PayPal payment will have you downloading your pattern in minutes.

One of the ghosts that haunted me while staying in gradma’s mostly emptied house over the holidays… The first sewing machine I used.

I have no recollection of what I was making when I first used this machine, but I remember right where it sat in the basement and recall the odd contortions I had to do to run the pedal and sew at the same time.

I know I had shown photos earlier of the star we hung in our window this past holiday season. It was a nice green one with a creamy yellow print on it. It has and will serve us well (once I shore up the folds with some tape). However, when we were in Willmar over the holidays we stopped in at a great Scandinavian store downtown called House of Jacobs. Two of the items we purchased there were the stars in the photos above. These are wooden and will continue to serve us for many more years than the paper one I’m sure.

Now, St. Knut’s day is gone so even the Scandinavians agree that the holidays are over. However, we decided to hang these wooden stars through more of the winter. It is a nice reminder of longer and warmer days to come and helps keep the house from seeming quite so bare after the removal of the other holiday decorations.