Focaccia on Steroids

I made focaccia today. The only thing is that my Dad stopped by on the last rise time, so I became distracted. It's friggin yuge. I'm going to make the pate fermentee for French bread tonight.

I'm beginning to like the Vertical Crochet Stripe Blanket. Maybe I just needed to add more colors.

Here I am Simpsonized.

Self-Proclaimed Snob

I forgot how fast crochet goes. The blanket will be over 10 feet long. And I've already crocheted over 6 inches for the width. The jury is still out on how it will look.

Even though I started with crochet, once I started knitting, it seemed to make crochet look rudimentary. Knitting has stitches. You can make lace, cables, bobbles and there are hundreds of different patterns to use to make the fabric. Crochet seems random. So, I'm a snob about knitting.

Maybe the sudden interest in crochet on the net is that these people didn't live through the seventies. And the crochet goucho vests, granny square purses and hats etc. Think Rhoda.

I'm also making this blanket using acrylic yarn. Over the years, I've turned into quite the yarn snob. I got the majority of this acrylic yarn when I decided to make the log cabin quilt blocks from Mason Dixon Knitting years ago before they published the book. I've got, oh, about 10 blocks made. Then, I made a few Harry Potter Scarves. I've used the left over acrylic for samples when taking classes. But, I might as well face it: knitting with acrylic makes me turn up my nose. But, who wants to hand wash a blanket?

While surfing this week I found a great Food Blog. Tea & Cookies. Check it out.

I didn't forget that this is yarn Porn Friday. This is Blue Heron beaded rayon. I'm going to make a wrap out of it. Clapotis?

And how about a picture of my trusty Beagle?

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 2nd Anniversary.

We are going to Bluestem. We're going to do the seven course meal. I hope it's fantastic.

I started a vertical stripe crochet blanket. The directions are here. I especially like Brainylady's version.

I learned to crochet before I learned to knit from my mother. I was probably about 11 or 12. I remember my mother making tons of crochet things. Her hands moving swiftly while we were on one of those awful driving vacations or late at night when she was watching Johnny Carson. I was not allowed to stay up that late, but I remember hiding on the stairs and listening to it.

When I started the blanket, I felt as if i had two left hands. Nothing was going right. I could not remember how to do it. I certainly didn't remember it as being a hard thing to do. But, my hands were all tense, shaking and sweating. And each stitch took several minutes. Finally, I looked up some video tutorials on it and now it's going much better.

I'm going to use leftover balls of yarn. Here are some of the colors.

If it turns out crappy the dog can sleep on it.

Saturday fun

I have about 36" of the Nikko wrap done. I checked the pattern, and it's only supposed to be 60" long. It's coming along swimmingly.

I've also got about 6" of the KP&S cardigan done. Gawd, I hope I have enough yarn.

I also made some 100% Whole Wheat Bread.

New Toy!

Sam got me a new camera for our Anniversary. I'm still trying to figure out how to use it. It's a Panasonic DMC-FX12. Our other camera was okay, but technology has come so far since we purchased it.

Here is a shot of Boy.

And, some yarn porn for you.

This is hand-spun hand-dyed yarn I bought a jillion years ago form E-Bay. The wrappers say they were hand-spun or spun with a drop spindle by Gladys McRae from Texas. Each of the bundles of yarn have been left undyed or dyed with natural dyes. The ones that are dyed have Gladys's handwriting on the type of dyes. Some say Tickseed + Ammonia, Lichen etc. They are most likely too precious for me to actually use in something. I enjoy looking at the little balls of yarn so much. I have a big gallon Ziploc bag full of them. Who would even begin to guess what the yardage is. I suppose I could make a free-form purse with them. They are all natural colors. White, browns, and yellows.

Tonight, I'll do the prep work for bread baking tomorrow. I'm going to make a whole wheat bread.

Relaxing Sunday

It's nice when you are expecting a house guest. A little extra cleaning always feels good. I have decided to make portobello goat cheese lasagna with flashy green sauce and a green salad with anise croutons with vinaigrette for Bruce's dinner. Both recipes are by Didi Emmons.

I cast on for the KP& S cardigan. (It's the second cardigan.) It should move quickly as the yarn is a heavy worsted and needles are a size 9. I'm using the hand spun and some Noro Big Kureyon in color 1 around the shoulders. I just want to be sure I have enough yarn, as it will be impossible to get any more of the hand spun (purchased at least 10 years ago on eBay). Another warm sweater for when the winter weather sucks in Kansas.

Tonight, we will celebrate Tate's birthday at my parents' house. I'm going to give her the Chanelish-Cardigan jacket, the black Fetching glovelets and a gift certificate to Wild Oats. She wanted the kombucha, but it's not quite ready. When it is, she'll get the mushroom, some tea, and the vessel so that she can prepare it at her place.

Light at the end of the tunnel

I finished the Hyde Park Pullover last night. Pictures later. It's drying on the spare bed right now. I liked this pattern a lot. I highly recommend it. It isn't a sweater to be worn indoors, but rather an alternative to wearing a coat. I think this may be the direction I go. Sweaters instead of coats.
Today I attempted to make a couple of loaves of whole wheat bread. Total flop. I just threw the (not so risen) unbaked loaves in the trash. I got my book from Amazon today, so maybe I can figure out what I did wrong.
I worked on Nikko today. I have about 2 feet knitted.
I also spent some time cleaning today. And I forced myself to deal with the basket of UFOs. It's a tangled mass of crap. After untangling and sorting, I realized that I don't have a whole bunch to do to get caught up.
1) The Ribby Cardi. I'm thinking that it would be nice if I could get this done for Caitlin when she comes back. All that's left is one sleeve, picking up the collar and finishing.
2) EZ's Surplice Baby Jacket.
3) The brown twirly scarf from Scarf Style. Bind it off and forget about it already.
4) a pair of cabled slipper socks for me.
I also identified a few things that need to go to the frog pond. Along with the Kimono Jacket, I have made all the pieces of a v-neck pull over with this kick-ass hand dyed yarn from Bonkers. But, it just looks weird. I think it's a waste of this fabulous yarn. It should be used for a different project. So, I will rip it out.
I also started a sweater vest for my dad a long time ago with a Dale of Norway washable wool. He looks good in blue. It just seemed giant. And he's lost quite a bit of weight, so this needs to be ripped out and redone.
My cousin, Bruce, called me today. He will be coming to town this Wednesday. I can't wait. He was always my favorite family member. We had so much fun growing up. Bruce is a vegetarian. I can't wait to make a lovely meal for him and to have a long talk with him.