Weekend Baking

Cool enough to bake but I still barely needed a light-weight cardigan during the day.

First up are pumpkin acorn cakes adapted from King Arthur's Flour. So pretty and moist but I think I want to try them again substituting the oil with butter. You toss them in a cinnamon sugar while warm for a lovely coat of fall taste.

Next up are cinnamon roll sugar cookies. No icing. I ran out of time. Also I did not use baking spray on this but just floured my rolling surfaces accordingly and used parchment on my cookie sheets. These were surprisingly popular and not too sweet. I used dark brown sugar and just a shake of granulated, because we read the recipe wrong and that's all we had in the pantry 😉

I didn't do the floss cut so they are oval shaped, but tasty.

After some more knitting I think we will continue focusing on cake. Maybe a return to something chocolate ... To be determined.

Undines in Top Cat

It is very important to me that I mention these socks were made in Top Cat from Wandering Cat Yarns, because they are really just so so lovely. So soft, but tough. 

Pink dreams.

I did a stockinette foot and I'm happy with it. 

I'd like to return to this pattern some day and try a purless version and make some lovely gift socks. Maybe even some shorties. I loved the KAL and seeing how it knit up in so many wonderful color ways even stripes!

Take and Replace Swap Treasures & A Quick Follow-up.

"I'm here! I'm here!", says the rather eager, if not irritating girl in the front row to the right. Thankfully, for both our sake she doesn't like the attention enough to feel the need to sit smack-dab, front row middle ...

That's me.

I have been trying to wave at you and get your attention, but I've also been on the go and haven't been able to commit to a full post.

Yes. I have been on the go, but I suppose that's just how I am.

I was so excited the other night when I went to bed and found a flat rate box on my side of the bed! My Take and Replace Swap box arrived from Paula The Quilter. Don't let her name fool you, she knits too and seems to be another very crafty blogger. The swap was set up by the lovely Nancy of Wyoming Breezes. Nancy does a Foreign Friday that is very transporting and informative, she's seen a lot of cool places and things. She's also a master charity knitter and quilter. Swoon!

Well, seeing how it was so late and I hadn't even been in my room until I had to go to bed ... I waited a day till I pulled my hot potato treasures.

This greatness called me, and I well who am I to abandon them?

My love for all things socks is still strong. I'm finishing up Undine, I really am! this weekend. I love that damn yarn. I cast on another pair of stockinette socks that I'm just grateful to have on the needles.

Remember that baby blanket that was going to be too small? Yeah, it's way too small. Remember the extra yarn I was going to order? I did, but I ordered the wrong colorway and the right colorway doesn't exist anymore. Oh well.

Now I'm trying to figure out if I'm going to just go back to baby sweaters and hats or try a blanket one more time... Maybe if I cast on 80 with US10s instead of 138 with US8? I'm crap for baby blanket dimensions, I really am.

I considered the color blocking and the dimensions are still wrong. It's okay team. I like to knit.

On to known things that will happen this winter? I'm going to finish that damn Twinleaf and I'm going to knit a vest. For sure.

The rest? Well let's see how the socks things unfold.

Improvising

The weekend was full of the usual suspects and the usual routine. But then there were the glitches.

First off, instead of trying any of the recipes that I was very determined to try from the last post ... I decided to make Chewy Sugar Cookies instead. Even though I had bread flour and seven eggs and honey for the Castella cake.



But that's just how things go sometimes. The winds of change ... well, they change, ha!

The cookies are good. I know this, because there are none left. I believe it's the buttermilk that gives them their tenderness. Now, this IS a quick recipe. Remember if you don't have buttermilk, you can just make your own with 1 cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of vinegar :)

That just leaves me with the knitting glitches. I'll make it plural since the first thing I did was misplace my Undine socks. I'm ALMOST done with the first sock! I could feel that momentum pulling me to finish it off and cast on the second! I feel confident despite the baby knitting that I should be doing that I'm not doing I will finish this KAL on time. Whoo to the hoo!

I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

But I did find the project bag, and that in itself my friends deserves a weekend blue ribbon ;)

So the final glitch is that I'm definitely going to run out of yarn for the baby blanket I'm knitting. I could definitely frog it and cast on again, reducing the width. It would definitely provide me enough length for a decent color block design if I still don't have enough yarn ... but I can't.

I like the width. I've come so far. I kept knitting anyways.

I know you're asking. The yarn is discontinued.

Yes, I found a ball on Etsy. I don't know. Is it worth it? I am still knitting. I figure if I must scrap patch it, I can always use it for a charity blanket.

Okay so la-dee-da ... wha'ts the back up plan. I don't know what gender the baby is so I have decided against a sweater. I am not sure why.

I have some wool blend bulky yarn that is my back up plan for a bulky baby blanket in stripes like this. Hope I have enough yarn ...

Feeling Needy: Recipes and Patterns

I make these little lists of things to do as if I have these copious amounts of time. Andi talked about reclaiming another hour in her day but really I think for the hopes and dreams listed below I need to reclaim a few years, ha!

I need to do these things! I need more time!

To Bake:

Homemade sandwich bread

Maybe wheat bread?

Strawberry cake, cause I have strawberries.

Earl Grey Cupcakes

Liege waffles because I need a reason to buy pearl sugar$$.

This Japanese / Portuguese style sponge cake, Castella

Apparently I'm obsessing about cake. this one is mocha flavored ... oooooo. I blame the Great British Bake Off ... are you watching it too? No spoilers if you're ahead of the game. The family watches it together :)

And to knit:

For Christmas or whatever ... another wreath. This is much more polished than my existing yarn wrapped one. I'm not really a fan of the flowers. It seems holly or even some ornaments might be more appropriate. I was thinking blue and white stripes might be nice as well. Wintery, non?

And remember when we were talking about winter and fall knits? I was obsessing a bit on a vest? I found my pattern... The Loro vest. I knit her Aida as my first cardigan, and I like to bring it out and pet it every now and again. This has to be faster right? Like many of you pointed out, NO SLEEVES. Also thank you everyone for all the lovely suggestions in the comments. You're all so nice, it's really amazing.

I'm intrigued by the design of this, though I doubt it would be wearable for ... me. But it kind of says, just try it.

And yet this is what I would really like to knit for my sister and my son and my stepfather. I saw it first at A Caffeinated Yarn but seeing the photo of the faux tabby in the window made my heart kinda swoon. I will have to try to do at least one, right?

I want to just say socks. No specific pattern because well, I just want to sock knit all the time. Just plain socks. Socks soothe the soul. Sock knitting brings me patience, makes me wanna yell less. So for the pure pleasure that is my personal reverence: A WHOLE LOTTA SOCKS!!

Honestly it seems almost every blog visit is full of a great idea or inspiration. Recipes and patterns to try. Right now, I feel like I need to eat pumpkin pie with whipped cream, because you all keep knitting these amazing socks that look like spiced lattes and decorating and eating tasty fall whatnot. (I'm looking at you Dee and Araignee!)

Tell me, aside from world domination and/or peace what are you plotting? If given more time in your day/week what shiny new thing would you try to do next?

Where the world seems to get away from you and you try to slow down ...

I admit, I've deleted about 5 different drafts of a new post. I actually liked a few of them or at least their starts, but since they were incomplete they lost their timeliness. Somehow a post is related to it's time relevance. This seems silly, because if the post is truly of good content, when it happened technically shouldn't matter.

But somehow, it does -- at least to me, and well ... now. Ha!

I've just come into the work week off of three days without work. To call them down days or days off seems laughable since they were filled with a fun hustle and a large bustle.

I tried a new recipe for the soccer team that really needed a little something sweet after an ugly loss. No other way to dance around it. It was ugly.

The match was a morning one, so I was thinking something "breakfast-esque" because as much as my mind is a sea of tangents, it is desperately trying to link foods and things and themes at the same time. Also the soccer team make excellent guinea pigs.This is Food52's Cocoa Quick Bread

First off I really think anything that takes 50 - 60 minutes to bake despite the amount of time it takes to put all the stuff in a pan should not be labeled quick. I was literally cooling it off in a shoe box in my lap, on two buses on the way to the pitch Saturday morning.

And yes, I did kinda "Hello Kitty" it with the sprinkles. I really am just a third grader at heart.

Moving on ...

I finished a pair of socks. They aren't blocked and I was desperately trying to get a photo of them in semi natural light (not on my kitchen table) for prosperity so I hung them up on the side of my cubicle.

In my hurry to leave on time and get groceries and dinner on the table on Friday (Get it? FO Friday?) I left the socks hanging. Also, in my haste to make the above mentioned bread the next day, and then taking a few boys to the matinee -- I forgot to post about them anyways. They are wonderful squashy socks for the record.

I was out of the office yesterday and I believe it was frowned upon that my socks were hanging so visibly ... as if I were airing them out... well they weren't in sock blockers. I think only my shameless knitter side is keeping me from being a little too embarrassed by it all.

Wishing you all a good laugh and a good time! Hopefully it won't be too long till the next post as I continue to battle for balance. It's going alright. I've even got some knitting to show for it ;)

The Wednesday Whatnot: Fall Knits

I wish I could tell you that this post is about my fall knitting. Alas it is not. Here I am slowly stuck in summer knits and I'm surrounded by fall fashion despite the fact it's 80 something degrees here in San Francisco this week! I secretly think I've been working later so I don't have to leave the air conditioning so quickly to the sad service of my screenless windows and baby square fan.

I went downtown to take two pairs of shoes to be resoled and reheeled. And there despite the heat I felt the knitting inspiration.

First off we have the  knit "cropped jacket" by Zara:

Photo from Zara.com

Instantly I think, hmm, short sweater with super bulky yarn. I could do this ...

Next up a Fringed Vest from the horribly cute but horribly paycheck sucking Anthropologie store:

Photo from Anthropologie.com

The fringe is a little too ... frivolous for my personal style. But I love the idea of a knit vest. Imagine at work when you're going through that, "Am I hot or am I cold feeling?" Sigh. Maybe I need to knit a vest?

There were also various dropped shoulder knit cardigans that looked really cute, but the one thing I've wised up about it that it's not a cut that works well for my body. I'm already sort of ... pumpkin oriented as it is. There is no "drape" for me in that style, just "pumpkin clutching" if you know what I'm saying.

I know it's not "technically" fall yet, but when I woke up on Labor Day in a lazy haze the first thing I thought was, "It's September for reals!  How'd that happen?!?"

Well the daydreams are very lovely. Vests will definitely be ... considered. But right now, I'm sticking with the In Progress agenda. It may be a while till you see any knitting progress here, but I'll be around, diving into the schedule of fall, chasing the stitches of summer.

Happy knitting to all!