Much Needed Update

Sorry things have been so quiet over here. There are several reasons:

1. I got a camera
It’s a Sony A100 DSLR and it’s launched a nascent desire to take up photography. If you don’t see much of me here, I’m probably over in Flickerland.

2. Artomatic
I’ve been spending many of my evenings at Artomatic, a month-long arts festival with nine floors of visual art plus countless free movies, music, and other performances. This year the venue is down the street from where I work, so I’ve been making frequent trips there.

3. I got a puppy!
Her name is Lakshmi (the Hindu goddess of wealth) and she’s a 6-month old miniature Schnauzer. As you can imagine, it’s hard to justify doing anything besides playing with her.

Nevertheless, I do have some new crafts to share (including one that I’m wearing right now!) so stay tuned.

 

Mother’s Day

I’m headed up to NJ to spend this weekend with two of my favorite ladies, my mother and my grandmother!

Hope everyone has a lovely Mother’s Day!

 

Spring/Summer Bag

I was in the market for a medium-sized brightly colored bag, so I decided to make one using McCall’s M5599, style b. The bag is the perfect size and shape, in my opinion– large enough to carry around books, lunch, and a small knitting project, but not enormous and bulky.

Since bags don’t require a large amount of material, this was the perfect time to use a pricier designer fabric.  I like this print because it’s summery and the neutral colors match with just about anything. On the inside, it has a silky chocolate brown lining with pockets.

I left out the interfacing– which I never have and always forget to buy– as well as the cardboard insert in the bottom. I’m still debating whether this was a good idea or not; although this makes the bag washable and allows it to be squished into a ball or folded into a small square, it probably would look better if it were more structured. I did double the material on the straps and the bottom for reinforcement.

I’ve been using the bag for a couple weeks now and I’m really happy with it so far. Hopefully it will serve as a springboard into a summer of sewing projects– right now I have a skirt in the works, I just ordered material to make a bag for S, and I have some home decorating projects planned for later.

 

Orange Flower Tea Cakes

I love orange flower water—it has distinct floral and citrus tones, but not overtly so, and the scent instantly takes me to the exotic lands where it is predominately used.

The other day I was envisioning small, plain cakes delicately scented with orange flower water, and I happened upon an almond tea cake recipe similar to what I had in mind. I tweaked it a little, halving the sugar and muting the almond flavor so the orange flower water could really sing. Baking the batter in madeleine pans yielded pretty pillowy cakes with chewy golden edges that are profoundly addictive.

Orange Flower Tea Cakes

Adapted from a recipe at Baking and Books

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons orange flower water
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Confectioners sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray the madeleine molds with olive oil (you could, alternatively, use a load pan, muffin pan, or other cake pan—just increase the baking time accordingly).

In a large bowl combine the yogurt, sugar, eggs, and orange flower water. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and ground almonds. Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, fold in the olive oil. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.

Bake the cakes 17-20 minutes, until the centers are springy to the touch and the edges are golden brown. Cool in the molds for 5 minutes, then unmold and transfer to a rack to finish cooling. When completely cool, dust with powdered sugar.

Makes 24 madeleine-sized cakes.

 

Singer sewing machines selling in Saudi Arabia for up to $50,000

Thought I’d share a story I heard on the BBC news this morning– if you have the right connections you could make a pretty penny off your old sewing machine!

 

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend!

 

A Wrap and a Hat

Sorry it’s been so quiet here! Here’s what I’ve been working on:

Surface from Knitty Winter 2008

I fell in love with this pattern immediately and was happy to see that other knitters on Ravelry have had great success with it. However, no one else (that I know of) has made the optional wrap, which is my favorite part– it gives the sweater an interesting asymmetry and makes it totally unique. I decided to start with that part first. The blister pattern was really fun and much easier than it appears, and I love the warm neutral color of the yarn I chose.

Unfortunately, the wrap came out way too long. When it was bunched up on the needles it looked fine, but when I bound off I realized it was about 8 inches longer than it should be. It may be that my shoulders are too narrow (a common problem I run into with patterns), but there’s no way of telling since the pattern doesn’t include the finished dimensions for the wrap. Aggressive blocking only shaved off a couple inches, so now I’m at a loss as to what to do. It made me depressed and uninspired to make the actual sweater. Ideas?

In an attempt to cheer myself up, I made a hat. It’s a special hat because it’s going in a care package for my customer in Afghanistan. The pattern is called the Seaman’s Cap, which is rather appropriate since it’s for a Navy Lieutenant. I finished it in a couple days and used up leftover yarn from a few recent projects, which made me very happy.

 

Doggie Torture Device

Ravelry Link

Pattern: Icelandic Beauty Sweater from Dogs in Knits by Judith L. Swartz (I found a copy at the Fairfax County Library)

Yarn: Knitpicks Swish Worsted in Squirrel Heather and Marine Heather

Notes: I loved this pattern and the yarn. The sweater is light and soft and fits perfectly. The pattern was quick and fun and used a lot less yarn than it claimed it would. Unfortunately, the dog is not as enamored by the sweater as I am.

* I will be away at sea for the next week. Hopefully when I return I will have some knitting progress to share! *

 

Lemony Snowflake Cookies

To celebrate the first snowy day of 2009!

 

I Love Stripes Vest

It started out as Geek Chic [Ravelry link], but as you can see I deviated quite a bit from the pattern.

The back only took me a week, but I stalled on the front for a couple months (it also didn’t help that British Airways confiscated my size 2 circulars and I had to order more).

I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on this color combination– it’s Knitpicks Telemark in Lichen, Aubergine, and Northern Green.