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.