Weekend of Knitting

Friday night I went to the Late Night Knit at the Sow's Ear. I had gotten a few notices from friends who had hoped to be able to go and I was looking forward to seeing folks but decided that even if no one showed I still wanted to go. I am slowly getting more comfortable doing things on my "own" again. As much as I love my partner it is good to be able to remind myself that I am still cool with just me.

And it is such a lovely place...warm beverages at just the right temperature and labyrinthian rooms full of shelves stuffed with yarn. And knitters are a lovely group...everyone just seems happy to be somewhere knitting. As always the place is packed so I wound up sharing my table with some people I hadn't met before and was glad I had the opportunity to chat with them.

I finished the second of the basic baby socks.



They knit up really quick and the second one on the left is starting to show promise as "k1 p1" ribbing is concerned. Not great but significantly less woofy then the first attempt.

Although I think I knitted the first one wrong because when I went to do the final decrease on the toe it happened very differently and I think I like the original way I did better. I need to wash and block the hat and socks before I send them off to my aunt. The hat is going to probably be too small and the socks probably too big which I am hoping will be forgiven.

Saturday the full force of the ick I have been slowly coming down with hit me. Horrible cough and my entire body ached. As in I think I now know where my spleen is. Which means I got pretty much nothing done except for a load of laundry and some banana chocolate chip bread (the bananas needed to be used up).

The rest of the day I plunked down on the couch and watched some movies... mostly some Netflix stuff and of course one of my three favorite crafting movies Pride & Prejudice (the good version from A&E...no I do not want to know about the zombies. There are no zombies in Pride & Prejudice). It is excellent because it is so long and I have the thing practically memorized so I can concentrate on the knitting when I have to and not miss any of the story. I wonder if Jane Austen knew how much she would be loved centuries later.

Anyway, while watching I started making the flower washcloths I have a pattern for. I am thinking of making a bunch as presents. The cotton chenille is unbelievably soft and which is making up for the non-stretchy nature of the fiber. I would be highly annoyed otherwise. I probably would have gotten further but I got tired a few times and worked on the Blanket of Many Colors instead.




I think I have enough projects to get me through the end of the year and probably the end of next year as well.

However, Some day when I do not totally suck at the knitting thing I am going to attempt this:
http://www.flintknits.com/blog/?p=151

I have seen the February Lady Sweater every where in the past month and a wide variety of shapes and sizes and I know that someday if I really really try I could make it...possibly. I am hoping that I will have worked up the courage to try next spring.

NO! I am not going to start anything else knew until I finish what is on my current needles (except for the blanket of many colors which is my "I want to knit but not really concentrate on the knitting" project and has no deadline).

A Cambridge Pudding

A Cambridge Pudding.

(John Murrell: A new booke of Cookerie; London Cookerie. London 1615) http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/tx/1615murr.htm

SEarce grated Bread through a Cullinder, mince it with Flower, minst Dates, Currins, Nutmeg, Sinamon, and Pepper, minst Suit, new Milke warme, fine Sugar, and Egges: take away some of their whites, worke all together. Take halfe the Pudding on
the one side, and the other on the other side, and make it round like a loafe.
Then take Butter, and put it in the middest of the Pudding, and the other halfe aloft. Let your liquour boyle, and throw your Pudding in, being tyed in a faire cloth: when it is boyled enough cut it in the middest, and so serue it in.

My initial review of this recipe sounded like a boiled pudding. I have never had or seen one but I had heard of them so I did some online perusal. And found this:
http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=42205
While not identical it gave me some good ratios to start with. I opted to leave the suet out as I had some difficulty finding it and what I did find was in larger quantities then I needed. I wanted to try the recipe first and see how it tasted before investing in ingredients that might go to waste. I also found another pudding recipe from the same Murrell reference that gave the option “If it be a fasting day leaue out the Suit…”

1 ½ cups butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
½ cup warm milk
4 cups (280g) stale breadcrumbs (not dry)
1 cup (150g) wheat/white flour mix
1 cup (150g) currants
1 cup (170g) pitted dried dates, chopped
4 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp pepper

Combine dry ingredients and incorporate the wet ingredients until the dough holds its shape. Form into a round loaf. Tie up into cheese cloth. (I prepped the cloth by soaking it first and then sprinkling the center with flour to form a barrier to hold the moist pudding in and help form the skin needed for the pudding to hold its shape).



I slowly immersed the pouch into boiling water and tied the ends to the handles of the pot and put a lid over. This then boiled for six hours. I had to replenish the water periodically.



After 6 hours I removed the pudding and unwrapped it and allowed it to cool.



The pudding became more firm and darker in color as it cooled.



The flavor was good and I seemed to have found a good balance with the spices. I don’t think that anything is missing by not adding the Suet and since Coronation takes place during Lent in our modern year I decided to leave it out. It had a good flavor but needed a sauce. I couldn’t find anything else with in the same text but I decided I will serve with an almond cream which uses almonds, cream, mace and sugar.

Baby Hat

Wow! This knitted up really fast! I had some sock yarn that I wanted to work with but I didn't feel like tackling another pair of socks so I decided to make this cute baby hat I had a pattern for. I was a little unsure of a few things but I managed to figure them out. I guess I am getting to be a better knitter despite myself.

I used Sockotta. I think it patterns a little more distinctly than Berroco Sox but I am not sure which one I like better. I have a ton left over so I am going to make a pair of socks to manage. I had forgotten that my aunt was pregnant (I don't keep in touch with my extended family that much) so starting and finishing it was rather convenient. Her shower is tomorrow and since I have to work I will send it, the socks, and a card soon. I think I am going to make another set for the original mom-to-be this was intended for. Then I should probably get back to some other projects.

I really liked how this one pattered on the top with the decreases. The I-cord was a first attempt so it is rather woofy. I found lots of instructions on how to start I-cord but absolutely none on how you finish it off. My first was a little disasterous but I tried doing decreases on the second until I got down to one stitch and then finishing it off like I usually do for a cast off. I then pulled the tail back down through the cord which seemed to correct the end shape. Not perfect but better then the first attempt. Look at me experimenting.




It is a good thing I am starting to get hooked on this because I have too much yarn to just drop the knitting thing but I worry how long my interest will last. My embroidery obsession is pretty much gone and I am hoping the knitting one doesn't follow suit.