It's A Wonder

There is nothing quite like homemade bread.  Yesterday, I decided I needed to have some so I whipped out my copy of Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads and baked up the Thirty-Minute White Bread (if you click the link above and "Click to Look Inside" on the photo, this recipe is shown).

Mr. Clayton explains that this recipe was developed by the KitchenAid home economists "to demonstrate the ease of kneading with a dough hook."  And easy it is.  

Following the instructions, everything went into my mixer and came out a smooth and lovely dough.  I will admit that I was a little nervous about the density, but I have tried several of the recipes in this book and never had one fail me, so I just went with it.

The aroma of baking bread filled my home, increasing everyone's appetite.  And this is what we got for dinner:

 

The flavor and texture remind me of that store bought brand that so many of us grew up with.  Soft, light, and oh so yummy!  Slathered with some butter and served with some hearty homemade vegetable beef soup (because man cannot live by bread alone ;) ) it made a wonderful supper.  We managed to go through an entire loaf.  

I guess it's a good thing that the recipe makes 2.

The March 2010 Knit Picks Catalog is out, and filled with lovely things, as usual.

I was fortunate to be able to work on a project for this catalog - the Emma Lace Socks.  The pattern is from A Cuff Above, the yarn used is Stroll in Carnation.

 This one shows the color accurately.

The sock is knit cuff down, has a heel flap and gusset heel, and a toe construction I'd never done before.  The decreases aren't 4 sts every other round, instead there are several decreases in a round followed by several rows with no decreases (the number changes), and produces a rounded toe.  There is also no Kitchener stitching at the end, so if that was keeping you from trying sock knitting, here's a pattern you can fearlessly do.

 

Sorry about the photo quality.  This one was taken on my cell phone, and the color is not remotely accurate.

Of course, I completely forgot to take a picture of the completed socks before mailing them off, but you can see them on p. 4 of the catalog, or on the website.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day...

 

filled with good things...

and with those you love.

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

That's Generosity for You*

Awhile back, one of my friends passed along some wips that she had inherited (at least I think that's the story) to another friend, with the instructions to "do whatever you want with them." 

The friend that received them really appreciated them, but was never quite certain what to do with them.  So, about a month ago, she passed them on to me.

 

That's right, 2 large bags full of lovely wips and all the supplies needed to complete them - including the needles.

 

The bag on the left contains 3 sweaters and a baby blanket.  Most of the knitting is completed on all of the projects, and the white sweater on the right has all of the pieces completely knitted and some of the seaming done.

The other bag contains another 5 sweaters and a baby blanket, most of which are nearly completed as well (the red sweater up front only wants seaming to be finished, for example).  

The interesting thing about these sweaters is that they have that boxy, '80s retro look going on, and they are all knit in pieces.  Even the neck is knit separately and then sewn on - a new thing for me.

So what will I do with all these?  Finish them, of course!  And then find some one to fit them - à la Elizabeth Zimmerman.

* Bonus points if you can name the book/movie that this title comes from.

Angel Time

As a teenager, I was introduced to the vampire novels by Anne Rice.  Her storytelling was excellent, and I found myself drawn into them, readily identifying with the characters.  I got away from reading Gothic, dark, and horror (I used to be a Stephen King fan, too) stories, and so never read any of her other works, but always remembered the Vampire Chronicles with fondness, and connected to memories of my life at the time.

Several years ago, in 1998, Anne returned to the Catholic Church she grew up in, and in 2002, consecrated her writing entirely to Christ.  This made me intensely curious about her new books and what it meant in relation to her older books.  However, because I didn't immediately run out and get any of the new books, I ended up forgetting about them.  Until last Christmas, that is.

One of the Christmas gifts I received was a copy of the novel Angel Time.  Curious as I was to dive into this, I also found myself a little reluctant.  I think on some level I feared that it would somehow tarnish the memories I had both of the books and my life.  Yes, I do realize that's a bit silly, but there you have it.  I finally got over this when I picked up the book on Tuesday and began to read.  I was finished the next day.

Mrs. Rice is still an excellent story teller, and I greatly enjoyed this story of hit-man-turned-agent-for-God.  I found there to be a sense of joy in this book, which I hadn't noticed in any others, and even found that her dealing with faith wasn't the in-your-face preachy-ness that can sometimes be found in "Christian" novels.  There is still plenty of the supernatural to be found, but from a lighter perspective; forgiveness, redemption, and the deep love of God for His people being the main theme, as opposed to the search for meaning in earlier books.  I also found myself wondering how much of it was autobiographical, as there are some similarities between the author and the hit man.  I liked that she doesn't shy away from the ugliness or beauty of the Church's past.

Bottom line?  I recommend it.

A Tea Party

For Christmas this year I received a lovely tea package consisting of a cookbook, a selection of teas, and a measuring spoon from the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, B.C.

 

On Saturday I was fortunate enough to host a tea party with my knitting group.  We all decided that dressing up was required - a hat and/or a shawl.  Everyone's hats and shawls were lovely, but I must admit I find hats to be a bit of an inconvenience when indoors.

On the menu:

• Salmon Rolls on Rye Bread
  
• Cucumber Sandwiches on White Bread
  
• Curried Chicken Sandwiches on Rye Bread
  
• Egg Salad Sandwiches on Multigrain Bread
• Orange Cream Scones
• Empress Scones
• Mockshire Cream
• Scottish Shortbread
• Russian Tea Cakes
• Fresh Fruit Tart
• Fresh Fruit Salad
• Earl Grey Tea Cake
• Fairmont Empress Blend Tea
• Fairmont Earl Grey Tea
• Vanilla Caramel Truffle Tea

The food turned out well, the company was excellent, and a good time was had by all.  I wish you all could have been there.

The one thing I promised myself I'd remember and then promptly forgot?  My camera.  (Sigh)  One of these days I will actually remember to take pictures of these types of things. 

Some Favorites

Life is busy.

Updates coming soon.

In the meantime, here are links to some of my favorite knitting pattern sites:

Ravelry
Knitty
Knotions
The Anticraft
Knitting Pattern Central
Twist Collective
Antique Pattern Library
Heirloom Knitting
White Lies Designs

Enjoy!