December 2011 Archives
If you came here looking for an update on the grey socks, or the red socks, or the alpaca scarf, or Lintilla, or Audrey in Unst you can just move along. I have no updates on any of my WIPs!
That’s not to say I haven’t been knitting (I have) – but a couple inches here and there are not very interesting. I came to that very conclusion myself this morning.
And promptly remedied that with a trip to my LYS.
I picked up 7 hanks of a dark brown Cascade 220 for a cardi. No pattern, but it was originally inspired by Annikki by Norah Gaughan (volume 1 – I’m going old school). My current plans are barely reminiscent of Annikki though. I’m planning a top-down raglan with a big cable up the center back. I’m undecided about the closure though – maybe buttons, maybe a zipper. I do want to do a deep collar like Annikki – maybe even a bit deeper – and plan to make my cardi a more traditional length, possibly a tad longer.
I’ve been pouring through stitch pattern and cable books looking for *the* cable and I may have found it. Maybe. After I publish this post I’m going to CO for the world’s largest swatch – over 70 sts wide and at least 36 rows long. I’m excited to do more cables after my mittens last month, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to knit this on the train. Because you all know, the newest WIP is the only one you want to work on, and I figure I deserve to indulge the week before Christmas.
I stopped at JoAnn’s the day after Thanksgiving and found a new to me sock yarn I wanted to try – Jo-Ann Sensations Soles & More (75% Superwash Wool, 25% Nylon). I’ve been looking for a good striped sock yarn I could wear with work clothes and this fit the bill.
I decided to try Wendy’s Toe-Up Slip Stitch Heel - a flap and gusset heel. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT – the fit of a gusset without the picking up of stitches you get with most flap heels.
The sock is about 95% right. I increased 2 sts per inch(ish) to go from 64 sts to 74 sts on the leg and that worked well. But the heel isn’t quite deep enough. Next time I’ll add a few more stitches to the gusset to make the heel slightly deeper.
Weekday cooking for weeks 1 and 2 were tough. The good - I made food, used leftovers, saved money, ate healthy and enjoyed my food more than I have in quite a while. The bad – I only cooked once in the past two weeks. Ends of the year are always busy at work and in retrospect not the best time to start something new. But I’m still trying.
I made one weekday meal and ate leftovers three evenings. My goal was two weekday meals but I'll be honest - some weeks I may only be able to squeeze in one. But I do plan to make enough for leftovers and that's still a win.
Sausage, Peppers and Onions
I LOVED these! They were simple and made enough leftovers for two lunches. This is definitely in the weekday rotation and we bought the ingredients to make them again next week.
1 pound spicy poultry sausage, cut into 3" links
2 green peppers, chopped
1 large onion, sliced into crescents
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 whole clove garlic
1/2 c white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute the peppers, add the onions when halfway cooked. Separately, heat a grill pan on high and grill the sausage.
When the peppers and onions are cooked through, add the oregano and red pepper flakes and cook for a bit. Deglaze the pan with the wine and let cook down. Grate the clove of garlic with a coarse grater. Add some water to keep the mixture wet while the sausage continues to cook.
When the sausage is done, toss them in the pepper mixture and cook for a few minutes to meld. Add salt and pepper and serve on a crusty baguette or with cooked pasta or orzo. We did both, making sandwiches the first night, and cooked orzo while eating to use for lunches.
