A Black Mood

Spring is beginning slowly outside the windows these days. There's still plenty of snow on the ground around here, but the sun is warm and strong and we all know it's only a matter of weeks before there'll be buds on the trees and clean streets - well, I suppose Winnipegers know that clean streets aren't going to happen until late May or early June, still, though....just a matter of time.

I haven't been posting much at all lately, due to a deep, dark ugly mood I found myself in through February and March, oddly, perhaps, I blame my knitting.

I've always had a fondness for dark, bold colours like black and charcoal and aubergine and I have, over the last five or six years, indulged in buying lots of yarn in those colours, often in lace-weight, stashing them away for future projects. Unfortunately, I noticed last year that my eyesight wasn't as good as it was once (I suspect bi-focals are in my future). I had a flash of brilliance, or so I thought, around Christmas, that in the new year I would work through all my darkest shades of lace-weight yarn, starting with the blackest of blacks that I owned, hence my starting of the Blackbird shawl mentioned a few posts ago. In fact, I'd planned on working projects in black yarn of all weights, and also started a fairisle yoke cardigan with black as the body colour. My thinking at the time was that I would work through the dark colours before it's beyond me, and would have lots and lots of my favourite colours to wear while I moved on to knit in other hues.

This was a terrible mistake. Often Winnipeg winters are filled with brilliant blue skies, bright yellow sun and sparkling white snow, making for a visually impressive, though brutally cold, few months - but not this year. This year we had lots of snow, too much, considering the flooding that's expected, which meant many, many overcast days. So, not just brutal, awful, bitter cold, but perpetual dreariness. Blah!

And, on top of this, stitch after stitch of black, black, black...

The Blackbird shawl continues to sit on my desk, slowly, slowly progressing. I know I'm going to love this project when it's finished, and suspect that I will wear it often so I'll continue work on it, but...

that cardi...

After knitting the main body and both sleeves (all in black), I started the fairisle yoke in shades of grays and white, and after knitting and knitting, all the way to nearly the end of the colourwork and nearing the neck, I thought to myself, "I don't like this. I'm never going to wear this. This depresses me."

and...

rrriiipp...



I tore it all out.

It was very liberating, like coming out of a fog.

To rid myself of the "blackness", I immediately pulled a brilliant red 4-ply from the yarn stash and knit a tam, Robin by Kim Hargreaves.



Colour, how I've missed you!

Also started a pair of gloves in teal Dk weight. This pattern is called Nouveau by Tanis Fiber Arts (that's a Ravelry link). These are being worked in the recommended yarn - Tanis Fiber Arts in Yellow Label DK.



More Colour!!!!

Also started, the Diversion sock pattern from Knitty's Winter 2009 issue. I'm not a huge fan of knitted socks, but saw a pair of these on display at Wolseley Wool, and could not be contained in the purchase of the same colourway of yarn and a plan to knit these up immediately. Yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome in colourway Sweet Pea.



And then, one last final leap away from the dark; I purchased a hank of Sweet Georgia Merino Silk Lace from Wolseley Wool in colourway Dutch, a very uncharactersitic (for me) orange.



Wowsers! Now that's not black, you have to admit. I don't have an immediate project for this, but I suspect my desire to work with this yarn will make my search brief.

Onwards, springtime!

Where'd I Put Those Buttons?

Well, I found the perfect buttons for the wee baby jacket from my last post. Ordered from Wool-Tyme Canada, they were by Mission Falls and looked like this:



except, the ones I ordered were darker in colour. They were perfect, the size was right and they possessed enough quaint, homeyness to appeal to my knitting pals, and enough sophistication to appeal to everyone else. This is all past tense though because I have no idea what I did with them.

I was certain that I'd put them in the top drawer of the black dresser in the craft room, where I store yarn for upcoming projects along with various other delights. However, they weren't in the drawer when I went to fetch them for this post.

I did find the shawl pin that I bought from Wool-Tyme in the same order (seemed a waste to spend money on shipping for three little buttons, so felt I should "fill out" the order - this is one of my secrets to spending vast quantities of money, if Nigel is curious)



Lovely isn't it? It's shell with an ebony spear. I'll wear it to knit night on Wednesday so the girls can have a gander.

Yes, lovely, but the buttons weren't there...

I did find my darling package of White Stripes buttons (they're a band) Nigel bought me for Christmas one year. I've never opened these - too adorable. You've got to admire a band that doesn't just sell t-shirts and posters.



I looked all over my desk, which is a disaster at the mo'.



There's my Blackbird Shawl from a previous post - languishing, along with a piece of genealogy research - also stalled.



Oooo, a pattern for an apron and 10 skiens of black angora purchased on sale at Wolseley Wool. Angora and aprons - I am turning into a '50's housewife, yes?



Some half finished Alan Dart mice, and some of the yarn for a cardi I just started. I'll show that to you some other time, it's got a silk hem facing - fancy!



My sewing machine, poor neglected thing...



Hmm, are they in the hutch? If you click on this picture you might see Nessie lurking (she's a former whiskey bottle).



I can see the first buttons, later rejected, for the jacket. Also sitting there is a curling rock, also formerly a whiskey bottle (makes me look like a bit of a boozer, doesn't it?)



The craft cupboard... if you know me from ravelry and click on this picture, you might see the black and white felt cat that appears in my ravatar...no buttons though...Hey, also my half finished Lady Grey jacket I was working on! I really should put the lining in that before summer gets here.



Old tins full of buttons, but not the ones I'm looking for...



glass jars full of buttons, also not the right ones. Hard to believe my entire button collection once fit in these jars...



Would I have put then in here?



no...



no...



no...



Oooo, special buttons!



But not the buttons...

These aren't buttons, but at least I know where (some of) my marbles are...



ah, vintage game pieces and dice, so, so charming...but not those Mission Falls buttons.



I will continue to look through March, but if they're not to be found I'll be forced to place another order...possibly with more "filler" merchandise...poor Nigel...

A Question of Buttons

Bunnies!

Recently off the needles are a pair of Bunny Baby Booties for a wee boy who's due at the end of April. The pattern is from Animal Knits by Zoe Mellor, and are knit up in Sirdar Snuggly DK in cream, plus a few other bits and pieces.

Adorable, yes?

I'd never used this pattern before, but I'll definitely count it as a keeper.

Also (almost) finished for the same wee laddie is the Cardigan for Merry. Also worked in the Sirdar Snuggly, this pattern is a variation on the Cardigan for Arwen from Interweave Knits Winter 2008 issue. In order to make Merry, you'll need the Arwen pattern for the reversible cable pattern.



The cardi is still missing it's buttons though. I'm having a hard time deciding between the classic toggles...





and the quainter, sweeter hazelnuts (these are made of plastic).





Nigel and Elly agreed that the toggles were better, but both thought them a tad pale, and the Wednesday knitting group all agreed on the hazelnuts (there were nearly twelve of us in attendance that particular night, so consensus was surprising). Nigel and Elly know the parents of the wee one, and I would certainly agree that they'd probably prefer something classic over quirky, however... I'm still a bit torn. Would anyone else like to weigh-in on the subject?

Which do I choose? Classic, but too pale, or high contrast and quirky...

I could order in dark toggles...

...made of wood...or horn...

...that would involve some Internet shopping...

Oooooo....must go ogle some toggles...

Last Year's Knits

Has everyone packed away the Holidays? I did - I also packed away a few extra pounds, but I've decided not to focus on that...

After Christmas last year, by that I mean 2009, I thought it would be good fun to make a little something knitted for Christmas 2010 for a select few people on my Christmas list. There was a fair bit of knitting that went on all through last year that I never blogged about, but finally, all can be revealed.

There was only one item that seemed to be a bit of a dud, so we'll just casually get this out of the way first...



I made my boy Ian a hat. My mistake may have been the pattern, which I've made unsuccessfully for him previously, or it may have been the yarn, which appears "rainbow-y" in the original photo, but I think the red may have run during it's Eucalan bath, making the yellow into orange, and the blues a tad muddy. Suffice to say, no comment was made when opening the gift, and it sat unworn until I shoved it in a drawer the other day. I'm not taking it personally though, he did love the fish hat I made for him two years ago.

For my Mum, I made the Gretel Tam by Ysolda Teague.



This pattern is yet another keeper from Ysolda - I haven't tried one of hers yet that I haven't loved. This pattern has instructions for three sizes - slouchy, traditional and fitted - I made the fitted version. Mum loved her tam, definitely a success!

Way back in March was when I started the first gift, a Citron Shawlette, I wasn't sure who this was going to be for, but it ended up being perfect for my closest friend, Betsy. I love this shawl pattern (I've made it twice before, both times for myself. See here and here). This one was worked in Fiddlesticks Zephyr Wool-Silk (now discontinued) in colourway Marine blue. Betsy loved this shawlette - another success!

a note: it's only the Zephyr Merino/Silk by Fiddlesticks that's been discontinued, it's still being made by JaggerSpun and Fantastic Knitting.



For Elly, I made the Felicity Cowl (the pale blue in the following photo). This pattern is lovely, knit from edge to edge instead of bottom to top, the final challenge of this pattern is grafting in garter stitch, which I accomplished with a few moments of pausing to think about what I was doing. I knit this up in Sublime Yarns cashmere Merino Silk DK. Very nice, if I do say so. Swish!

Next to Elly's cowl is one for her boyfriend, Steve. This pattern is the Caera Cowl, a pattern I used liberally leading up to Christmas. Steve's was made in a deep indigo, almost purple-blue - very lovely.



Most of the other men on the list received a Caera Cowl too. Nigel got charcoal, my brother Ian got truffle brown, Dad's was classic cream and Betsy's son Cailin got a heathered blue. Apart from Nigel those other three fellows live out on the west coast where one rarely needs a neckwarmer, but this year they've actually had snow, and some very chilly temperatures, so I've heard the gifts are getting a bit of use. Hooray!



And for Jane and her family, I made Galileo Mittens by cosmicpluto knits. This project was, by far, the most labour intensive of all the knitting. According to my ravelry records, I started this project April 7th and didn't finish until September 19th. To be fair, I worked on other projects in between, but....whooosh... I think I can knit that pattern without looking now.



They were worked up in Knitpicks Gloss Merino/Silk, in the following colours: for Jane: Winter Night (a dark navy), for Jane's hubby, Hart: Jade (a heathered teal), for Jane's eldest, Thea: Kenai (a vivid teal), and for Jane's youngest, Aaron: Dusk (a heathered navy - a colour which has since been discontinued, but was very nice none-the-less). Most importantly, they all fit. Huzzah!

And that, as they say, is all she knit.

I'm back to knitting something for myself in this new year.



New on the needles is Blackbird by Kieran Foley. This is another one of his start-from-the-bottom-up shawls where you cast on some ridiculous number of stitches (527) and then add beads on that first row...

Wheeeee.....

A Very, Merry Bovine-Protein-Allergy Christmas

The last of my Christmas baking recipes! All the yumminess that has been blogged about so far can't be consumed by Elly due to her bovine protein allergy. She's not allowed any dairy, or beef for that matter, though she can wear leather shoes, as long as she doesn't chew on them.

Not being able to eat butter can turn sharing Christmas treats into a bit of a challenge, but Elly has altered a few of the classics on her own, and I've found three new winning recipes that I'm able to offer.



From the Fall 2008 issue of Home for the Holidays Canadian Living comes Tropical Fruit Bark. In order for this to be dairy-free I buy the dark Bernard Callebaut chocolate, as I know for certain what's in it, whatever chocolate you buy, make sure it's good quality and check those ingredients!

Tropical Fruit Bark

1 lb. good quality 70% chocolate, melted
1/3 cup each chopped dried papaya, pineapple and mango (Elly also has a pineapple allergy, so I skip that and use either mango only, or mango, apricots and papaya - the all mango is best)
1/4 cup pepitas or sunflower seeds (I've only ever used pepitas)

Line a 15x10 inch baking sheet with foil; grease foil. Set aside. In large bowl, stir together melted chocolate, fruits and seeds. Spread to about 1/4 inch thickness over the prepared pan. Tap on counter to release air bubbles. Refrigerate bark until firm, about 30 minutes. Break into chunks.

Was that easy, or what?

From the December 2008 issue of Cooking Light magazine, this recipe doesn't make very many cookies, but they're low in fat and calories and very tasty.

Espresso Crinkles

4.5 ounces flour (about 1 cup)
1 1/4 cups icing sugar, divided
1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/4 tsps baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
5 1/4 tsps canola oil
1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (again, this needs to be dairy-free chocolate)
1 tsp instant espresso powder granules
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp light-coloured corn syrup
1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
2 large egg whites

Combine flour, 3/4 cup icing sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine oil and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat; cook until chocolate melts, stirring constantly. Add espresso powder to pan; stir until blended. Remove from heat. Pour chocolate mixture into a large bowl; cool 5 minutes. Stir in brown sugar, syrup and vanilla. Add egg whites, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, stirring gently just until combined. Cover; chill at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Dredge balls in remaining 1/2 cup icing sugar; place balls 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until tops crack and are almost set. Cool cookies on pan 2 minutes or until set; remove from pan. Cool cookies on wire rack. Makes about 2 dozen.

I highly recommend those espresso cookies, they're excellent.

From the Holiday 2000 issue of Canadian Living Holiday Best:

Sweet Spicy Pecans

1 lb. pecan halves
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp each chili powder and ground coriander
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp each cinnamon, cloves and cayenne pepper

Blanch pecan halves in boiling water for one minute; drain well. Transfer immediately to large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and drizzle with oil; toss to coat well. Let stand for 10 minutes. Spread in single layer on greased foil-lined rimmed baking sheets. Bake in 325 degree F oven, turning every 5 minutes, for about 25 minutes or until nuts are crisp and slightly darkened. Meanwhile, in metal cake pan or other heatproof pan, combine cumin, chili powder, coriander, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cayenne; toast in oven alongside nuts for 5 minutes. Dump nuts into large bowl; sprinkle with spices and toss to coat well. Spread in single layer on baking sheet to cool. Store in airtight container for up to two weeks.

This is another excellent recipe, being savoury rather than sweet makes this a nice departure from the other baking being passed around this time of year. My batch didn't turn out as well as usual this year, when I reached in to take the pan of pecans out of the oven, I knocked the pan of spices and half of it spilled all over the inside of the oven. Not only was I facing small flames, but I had to act fast and pull extra spices (which I didn't bother to measure) from the cupboard and mix them into the hot pecans. I think they ended up needing more of something, possible cumin, or chili powder. However, they were still pretty good.

That's it for me for pre-Christmas blogging, I'll be back next week with some knitting to show you.

Have a happy and relaxing Christmas week-end.

Happy Christmas!

Festive and Fruity

I've two more recipes for you today, plus a little knitting at the end of the post. If you're weary of all the baked goods, just skim done to see the jolly, red fellow I knit a couple of weeks ago.

First recipe today is for Orange Cherry Poundcake. I'm not sure where this recipe came from, my Mum use to make this when we were younger, so she must have discovered it from a book or a friend in either the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s (I had a lengthy childhood). Ian has discovered this year that he loves this cake, in years past he wouldn't try it, being too suspicious of "things" (like cherries) inside of other "things" (like cake). I guess he's not a baby anymore...



Orange Cherry Poundcake

1/4 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed is a nicest)
1/2 lb. red glace cherries, cut fine (sorry, i don't know how to make the wee accent mark over the "e" in glace)
1/2 lb. butter, softened (that's one cup, for you novice bakers)
1 1/4 cups berry sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups unbleached flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Grease two standard loaf pans and line with wax paper. Mix the juice with the cherries in a small bowl and stir well to separate the fruit. Cream the butter thoroughly and add 3/4 cup of the sugar gradually. Continue beating, add flavouring, then flour sifted with the salt. Beat well. Scrape the batter into a larger bowl and add the cherry mixture and zest. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together until fluffy; add the remaining sugar gradually and beat until very stiff (the egg whites, not your arms). Fold the egg white mixture gently and thoroughly into the cherry batter and scrape into the prepared pans. bake at 300 degrees F oven for 1 1/4 hours or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan, then remove and peel off the wax paper. When cold, wrap airtight and store 24 hours before slicing.

Another cherry-filled recipe that I found through Mum, this one comes from the November 2006 issue of Chatelaine. It was a recipe submitted by a reader, who mentions in the preamble that her Mother found it in a recipe book back in the '50s and they've made it ever since at Christmas time.



Festive Cherry Bars

Base:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Filling:
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. each baking powder and salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup finely chopped almonds
3/4 cup maraschino cherries, drained and chopped

Topping:
1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 cups icing sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch pan. In a bowl, using a fork, stir flour with 1/2 cup icing sugar. Using a pastry blender, or two knives, cut in 1 cup butter until coarse crumbs form (or instead pulse ingredients together briefly in a food processor). Press over bottom of baking dish. Bake until light golden around edges, 25-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, stir flour with baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat eggs, then stir in brown sugar. gradually stir in flour mixture, then almonds and cherries. Spread over base (no need to cool the base after baking, as it's going right back in the oven). Bake at 350 degrees until filling is set, 25-30 minutes. While filling is baking, in a small bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cherry juice with 3 Tbsp butter and almond extract. Gradually beat in 2 cups icing sugar until fluffy. Cover and set aside. Cool bars, then evenly spread icing overtop. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before cutting into bars. Store in airtight container.

My Festive Cherry Bars didn't look so great this year because I forgot to chill the bars before cutting into them, I just left them to cool on the counter, and now the icing looks a tad sad and wilted. This, of course, won't happen to you because you'll follow the recipe.

Off the needles recently is another Alan Dart toy, this one is the Little Devil from the October issue of Simply Knitting.



I thought why not Old Nick instead of Saint Nick for the festive season. He's not all that threatening though, as I never did make his trident.

On an unrelated-to-anything-except-for-Christmas note, this video makes me wish I'd asked for a timpani drum for Christmas:

Something Nutty

More recipes today! Three, in fact.



Mmmm....see that, it's called Tiger Butter and it's wee Ian's favourite. Like the rest of the Christmas baking, I make this treat early and then squirrel it away in the freezer to dole out in small plate-fuls through the holiday season, most other years I've noticed this item dwindles quite quickly, despite being frozen solid, as Ian would quietly help himself after school. This year has been different, and even now, so close to Christmas, there's still plenty in its little box in the freezer. It tastes just as good as always, so I suspect that Ian, now 14, is simply going through a "lacking initiative" phase (also evident in his algebra marks).

It's one of the easiest of all the Christmas baking, involving simply measuring, melting, marbling and cooling. It's important to use good quality chocolates and a natural peanut butter for this recipe, it makes a huge difference in the flavours. I use Bernard Callebaut chocolate and I purchase it at Scoop 'n Weigh on Taylor Avenue.

Tiger Butter

1/2 lb. white chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 lb. semisweet chocolate, chopped

Line the bottom of a 9-inch square cake pan with wax paper. You will use two glass bowls set separately over a saucepan with hot, but not boiling water. In first glass bowl, melt white chocolate. Stir in peanut butter, and pour into prepared pan. In second glass bowl, melt semisweet chocolate over hot water. Pour the semisweet chocolate over white chocolate in prepared pan. Spread evenly, then draw a table knife through both layers to create a marbled effect. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes, or until solid. Cut into wedges or squares to serve.

More nuttiness:



Here's a classic Northern and Eastern European Cookie, Almond Crescents, the little lovelies on the plate aren't actually "almond", other nuts can be substituted for the ground almonds, I've used pecans in the past and this year I used ground hazelnuts. They're very nice, but I'm going to recommend almonds, because the flavour is stronger and more defined (more festive...?). Nigel and I both agreed that the hazelnuts were just a little too delicate in flavour.

Almond Crescents

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds (or other nuts)
2 1/3 cups flour
more icing sugar for dusting

Cream the butter and icing sugar together until fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts, than add the almonds. Stir in the flour and beat until well combined. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a roll 1-inch in diameter. Cut each roll into 3/4 inch slices, roll each slice into a cylinder 2 inches long, place 1 inch apart on baking sheet and form into crescent. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Let cool, then dust liberally with icing sugar.

This next recipe is from the Canadian Living Holiday Best magazine from 2005, reading through the recipe, they sound a little fiddly to make, but they're not as bad as they initially seem, and very tasty if you're partial to coconut.

Coconut Macaroons

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup icing sugar
1 egg, separated
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each coconut and almond extracts
2 cups flour
45 chocolate macaroon candies (this would be one box of Neilson Original Macaroons)
1 3/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Line baking sheets with parchment or grease; set aside. In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy; beat in egg yolk, salt and extracts. Add flour, stir until smooth. Roll dough into 1 Tbsp balls. Press 1 coconut macaroon candy into centre of each, covering candy with dough. Roll with hands into smooth balls. In small bowl, beat egg white with 1 Tbsp water. Place coconut in shallow dish. Dip each cookie into egg white mixture; roll in coconut to coat. Place, about 2 inches apart on prepared pans. Bake in 350 degree F oven until coconut is lightly browned, about 18 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool.

Mmmm...one of my new faves.

Meet me here tomorrow, I'll have two more recipes for you!