I told you I was going to finish these socks last night! The pattern itself was simple and fun, I enjoyed working the yarn over and slipped stitch lace pattern. And compared to other Cookie A sock patterns this one was a breeze.

When I finished the socks looked like this:

I decided I really didn't like the garish-ness of this sock yarn - although it does an amazing job of not pooling even through the gusset section.



So after knitting both socks I dunked them in a dye pot of onion skins and a touch of food coloring. The red and yellow food dyes usually are light and bright, I think the onion skin did a fabulous job of toning that down to more earthy colors. I'm intrigued by how the purl columns appear to have picked up less dye, possibly because of the way the ribbing is when it's relaxed.

I didn't get a ton of knitting done over the holiday break. But over the last week I have finished up my second Rogue sweater!



I think I did a fine job grafting the cables at the top of the hood in pattern too! I still need to weave in the ends and block it well, then I'll take some real photos. This hood became a running joke at my house because for 3 nights in a row I sat down in front of the TV saying "tonight is the night! I finish the hood!" Neil was starting to think it'd never be done. For the record, hoods are a lot bigger then they seem like they should be.

Last night, as I was putting off weaving in ends, I picked up my kai-mei socks, and I was closer to done then I thought! So I might have those finished up tonight too! Next I have hats, the hat you haven't seen, and the one that looked like this:

last time you saw it. I'm going to try and power through some hat designs before starting anything else. But honestly my UFO (that's unfinished objects) list is getting pretty small, I don't know how long I can hold out before I cast on for another 6 projects all in the space of a week. For the record, my current list (and I don't post this often) is just:
The square sock blanket of doom - I don't expect to finish this in the next decade, so it doesn't count
Royal Rose sweater - I didn't finish it for thanksgiving this year, so I figure I can push it out another year
Lilac Seas - it's a afghan, those always take a long time
Aeolian shawl - I'm almost to the edging! (ignore the fact that the edging may be 50% of the whole project)
and Autumnal Leyburns - I should always have at least one sock project on the go. In fact having only one is weird.

That's it, nothing else lurking at the back of the closet, nothing else on the time-out list, nothing else where the yarn is only half spun, or where I've cast on and forgotten about it. I'm a bit shocked, actually as I've been making this list the feeling slowly grew that I need to go home and cast on about 3 things IMMEDIATELY! (luckily my yarn stash is holding on pretty well) I mean, ignoring the side-notes that's really just 5 unfinished projects - and they're all BIG ones. Colorwork sweaters and blankets and lace (oh my!)

Clearly I need some worsted weight sweaters, maybe another pair of socks (or three), and a few accessories on the needles as well.

Monday night I made chilli with cocoa powder in it:



Because NPR told me too. They were right, it's DELICIOUS! I put 4 spoonfuls in my crockpot of chilli. I used unsweetened cocoa powder, and then also added molasses because I decided I wanted it sweeter - so I suspect chocolate chips or a chocolate bar could have worked too! I make my chilli mellow and rich, not spicy. I don't think this would have worked with spicy chilli.

The bread bowls were pretty easy too. I throw the ingredients together and get the kneading done before walking the dogs and we can be eating freshly baked bread by 8:30. In my house dinner tends to be pretty late so this isn't much of a problem. I can even do bread with two rises (like for sandwich bread) and still be in bed by 10, I just have to plan ahead. Anyway, breadbowls - I just put the lumps of dough on a baking sheet under two upside down oven-proof soup bowls - and baked. And of course there's cheese - cheese also makes everything better.

Two new patterns in one day?? Why not!


Currants Hat

My CSA farm grows currants - black ones and red ones. We have currant jam, currant wine, and all kinds of other lovely currant products. This pair of hats is named in honor of those delicious berries.



Currants are unusual enough to give any meal a special feeling but normal enough to be easily used. That’s how I feel about these hats. The cable around the brim has no background so it creates a scalloped edge. Unusual enough to be different, but it’s still simple rugged item that can be well loved and frequently used.



This pattern is ideal for gifts - it can be masculine or feminine. You can dress it up with a special button, different colors, or keep it plain in all one color.

This pattern is available for $3. As with my other patterns just click the button below and you'll be taken through to Paypal. I can't say enough how easy Ravelry makes this for me, and for you - even if you're not a Ravelry user!

Remember when I said December was going to be an exciting month? Well it's December, and the first round of excitement is right on schedule! I'm really thrilled to let you know that you can now buy and download a few of my patterns through knitpicks. I'm participating in their independent designers program - which is to say that they're supporting me (well really a bunch of us designers) with yarn, advertizing for my patterns, and access to a market that this little blog could never match. In return I design stuff with their yarn and offer pattern support.

One of the patterns, my Amidon Mittens, you may recognize.


The other, Foote Brook Socks, is a brand new pattern specially designed for use with sport weight sock yarn.

(click the photos to go to the pattern pages)

I love the warm socks that sport weight yarn knits up to be, and I've always had only good things to say about knitpicks' stroll sock yarn! These boot socks are a simple rib and cable pattern that should still be thin enough to fit in most shoes and boots and thick enough to keep my feet toasty warm in the Vermont winters! I designed this pair of socks to knit up using just 2 skeins of the Stroll Sport making them a great deal and a project that won't leave you with annoying amounts of leftover yarn (annoying = too much to throw away and too little to be really useful)

Thanksgiving was a great success! Everyone told me I did a very good job organizing. Most of the time I didn't feel like I was doing much though... Luckily this massive event mostly seems to plan itself. In brief:



This is a "32+" turkey (in other words, the scale only goes to 32lb, some of them are possibly over 40lbs)
We had two Thursday for the feast and another on friday. It's hard to get a sense of scale though, because of the industrial sized oven. Instead, consider how many rolls we need:



And:



This is what 69 people sitting down for dinner together looks like! (there are a few off camera, but that's pretty much all of us) Good thing the wonderful folks in Rumney let us use their lodge every year!

And here's the buffet:



After dinner (which started a bit late, around 1:45) we all take naps and/or walks. Pie time happens at 7, once people are ready to eat again:



And we pretty much just eat pie for dinner (there is a green salad on that table, for people who want it) We had another 4 people join us for pie, and although 4 people left before pie, that still means our Thursday total was 73 people!

This is the family tree:



Really, it's just two branches off the tree that are gathered for this feast, but I think we're still pretty impressive. Friday we play game, go for hikes, and otherwise enjoy each others company. It gets topped off with a second big meal Friday night followed by more pie. You should see some of the epic evening Trivial Pursuit games we enjoy. And we'll see each other again next year!

When I traveled to DC at the beginning of this month I had my knitting carry on pulled aside for further screening (gasp!) When the security guard informed me she needed to open my bag I spurted "I have an awful lot of knitting supplies in there!" Turns out I didn't need to worry - the TSA employee knew how to knit herself. She had never seen a magnetic chart keeper in person, although she'd heard of them (turns out that's what set off the detector. Oddly I've taken that set of steel plates and magnets on planes several times and this is the first time it was a problem) She was careful not to drop any stitches or bump my charts around while she did the routine wipe down and check for explosives. I still wasn't allowed to touch anything in the bag until she was done though...

Yesterday I had to have a tooth filling replaced. The dental hygenist who came into the waiting room to find me recognized my half knit sock as a sock from across the room! She talked knitting with me the whole time she was setting the room up. After the dentist had gotten the numbing process started instead of offering me a magazine she handed me my knitting bag. Then she hung out and we talked knitting while I waited for my mouth to numb up. She told me about sweaters and hats she's knit and I explained how a sock heel works. I love running into other knitters in the most random places!

Tonight I head for my family's thanksgiving. Our traditional 3 day affair is shaping up to be pretty big this year! Several relatives from further away are coming. In my family a big year is over 50 people and "from further away" means wisconsin (the people from Pennsylvania come every year) There will be LOTS of good food, and of course I'll have my knitting! If the weather isn't too bad there might be a hike on Friday. Neil has to work a 12 hour security shift on Black Friday though, so we're going to skip the annual Mt. Washington hike on Saturday. I'll be incommunicado until Sunday. I hope everyone enjoys their thanksgiving!

And I'll round out this post with a finished object:


This is the hat I made for my sister to wear after her surgery. I knew exactly what I wanted in a pattern: a slouchy beret that would hide the hairline in the front and drape nicely in back. I wanted a sock yarn pattern with lace so it could be worn inside. One of my absolutely favorite parts of ravelry is the great pattern search feature. In the advanced search you can filter by a huge number of things including pattern type (hat, sweater, scarf, etc) yarn type (weight, yardage, fiber, etc) and also by things you've favorited in the past, specific designers, on and on. And then after applying the filters you can search the results by key words. I honestly don't know how I looked for specific patterns pre-ravelry. Doing a search for fingering weight hat patterns tagged with the words slouch and beret gives 13 options:


Some free, some for sale, and all pretty much exactly what I was looking for! So easy, so wonderful. Even if you don't need Ravelry for the forums (which I could totally understand) or for the ability to track everything you've knit, your stash, and your list of things to knit next (and I don't understand why you don't want that, unless your stash fits in a shoebox and your queue is 2 items long) I think every knitter (and even just people who happen to knit) should use this pattern search feature.

December holds some more knitting surprises, I can't wait to show you.

I did a lot of sewing this weekend:


Now that the curtains are up (and the stool covers, don't miss those!) I think this kitchen is just about as good as it can get. The one other easy change is that we want to paint the white walls - we'll keep them light colored, but white walls are for people who don't plan on sticking around. Then there are always the expensive remodeling ideas, like new counter tops, but those have to wait until some theoretical future when we have money to spend on counter tops when the ones we have right now work just fine.

I think I've taken my kitchen theme as far as I can without going over the edge to crazy-land (I'm not there yet, right?) I do love the sunflower-y-ness of it! But if anyone ever hears me talking about sunflower print counter tops PLEASE stop me before I go through with it. I'm thinking some nice, sunny yellow counter tops should be fine...

The other sewing project was to re-make a dress I picked up in a clothing swap last weekend:


I love love love cranberry red, and this corduroy dress was in beautiful shape - probably because it has as much shaping as a brown paper sack. I changed the outline of the dress by adding four darts to provide princess shaping. First I had to take the pockets off the front. Then, since corduroy sheds like crazy on any raw edges, I figured french seams were necessary. French seams are when you sew the seams twice, first with right sides facing out, then trim the extra to less then a 1/4 inch, fold so right sides are together, and sew again. This encases the raw edge of the fabric so it's not visible (or shedding anywhere) from either side. So I put the dress on, pinched where I wanted the darts and pinned. This also meant I could make sure it would come off over my head with the new shaping. I measured after pinning to be certain the shaping was even on all sides before sewing. After adding the darts I reattached the pockets lower on the skirt (not that these pockets are functional, but they are decorative) I also raised the hemline by 6 inches. The result:


I feel this is much cuter! Neil still thinks it's a great dress for a kindergarten teacher (he was much impressed by the added fit though) I'll admit a corduroy jumper might be a touch childish, but it's a great dress for wearing to the office in the winter, it goes really well with the charcoal gray shirt I'm wearing today.

Oh, and I'll show some pictures of the princess birthday party as soon as they're sent to me! It was a fabulous 3 year old birthday party!
ETA: Here's a princess photo, one of the prime duties of a princess at a princess themed birthday party is reading princess themed stories:

And now for something completely different:
This weekend I'm dressing up as a princess! Why yes, I am serious. I've been asked to dress in one of my princess costumes and make an appearance as a "real princess" for the birthday party of a 3 year old girl. I'm going to go for the classic princess look with sequins, tulle, and pastel colors. My tasks include posing for pictures with 3 year olds dressed as princesses, reading a princess story, and discussing princess life (you know, castles are fancy, how to courtesy, visiting with other royalty, the mom suggested also mentioning that princesses must have good manners and speak softly indoors - the usual) I'm planning on subverting the genre a bit, I'll be reading The Paperbag Princess. But I'm also going to take along my copy of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, because who can resist that art??

But all the usual things will be happening too. I have more craft projects lined up then I could hope to complete (curtains for 3 rooms, a dress I want to modify, and a major knitting project) and the usual weekend house cleaning. I hate cleaning, it really cuts into my knitting time.

Designs come to me in a lot of different ways. Sometimes there is a fair amount of work: plotting, swatching, testing, and fiddling to get a design to look the way I want it to. Other designs appear in my head pretty much in their final form. This sweater was one of the latter. I know exactly what inspired the design too, it was this shirt:


I was getting dressed one morning and I realized the reason I like this shirt so much is the combination of the empire waist with the A line body. So many empire waist shirts make everyone who wears them look pregnant but the A line increases seem to help with that. The next thing I thought was - I bet I could make something like this.

The cable was the immediate answer to the question, “How do I work the waistband?” I’d used the cable cast off in a previous design so I knew it could work well here. I also knew right away that I needed to change the neckline – it may look nice but it’s my least favorite part of the shirt. I decided to pair the waistband cable with a similar cable forming a V shaped neckline which is one of my favorites. I wanted to be certain the empire waist would fall below the bust line for ladies of all sizes so I went with top down raglan shaping. I was able to write the directions for the bust short rows independent of the chosen garment size so everyone can customize the garment to their own shape. Hemming the tunic body and the cuffs with cables and putting cables on the raglan increases carried the cable theme throughout the garment without cables becoming the main point of the sweater.

The idea came easily to me, but then there’s the matter of getting it across to others. I admit to not being the best at sketching garments:


I mostly just hope to get the general shape and theme down on paper. Then I like to highlight the details in my swatch. I showed the collar design, raglan increasing, and cable bind off all in one 4x4 inch square (well, trapezoid-ish, actually).


Once my design was accepted I let the folks at Twist Collective pick the yarn. I had some suggestions on fiber content and weight to give it the right drape, but I felt the sweater would work in just about any color. I was thrilled to get a chance to work with Tosh Merino it’s a lovely yarn, possibly one of the softest I’ve ever worked with. Once it arrived I had a bit of a mad dash to get the sweater knit up on time. Luckily I could knit during the conference I had at work that week! With 8 hours of knitting time every day the sweater worked up quickly, and I even took a moment to take a quick photo before blocking it and sending it on its way:


The sweater has about 1 inch of negative ease when I wear it, compared with 1 inch of positive ease on the model.

see lots more photos and buy the pattern here.

I like knit tops with a little negative ease so I’m struck by how much nicer it looks with positive ease. The fit of the collar and the drape of the body and sleeves really need that extra ease.

I think this sweater could easily be changed in a few ways to fit the needs or mood of the knitter. I’d be really interested to see it knit up with the stretches of plain stockinette knit in a more variegated or handpainted yarn and the cables worked in a coordinating solid color. The V neck could be extended, as long as the knitter is willing to pay attention to the sleeve and bust shaping while working the cables at the same time. And for people who want a more fitted body working some extra decrease rows in the bust before the empire waistline would be a breeze.

I'll post more later - but I couldn't wait another second to let out an internet wide

SQUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The mystery project from this summer has gone live. Check out (I hinted at it before) Twist Collective's new issue.

My sweater, Cambridge Cables, is there, AND It made the FRONT PAGE. I'm a little excited (just a little)

It's fall and I have fiber on the brain - well, even more on the brain then usual. Last weekend I visited a friend and along with snacks, lovely dogs and good conversation there was a DRUM CARDER. The drum carder is to the hand carder what a dish washer is to washing your dishes in the stream and scrubbing with a little sand.

See, I bought 3 pounds of raw jacob fleece years ago, thinking that cleaning and carding it myself would be great fun and so much cheaper then buying prepared fiber ready for spinning. Clearly I didn't think this through, since I had no idea how to clean three pounds of fleece and I didn't own any carders at all. Well I washed a full pound of fleece in my bath tub (it wasn't too bad, but it wasn't the most thorough cleaning job either) and then I still didn't have any carders.

And so the fleece has sat in its bags, through 2 or 3 moves, in various closets ever since (2 pounds of it still un-washed, Neil is so tolerant of me hauling around pounds of sheepy smelling fleece...) Until last weekend. I brought half a pound with me, completely uncertain of how long it would take to process. Twenty or thirty minutes later I had 6 batts of lovely, fluffy soft wool ready to spin. Seriously, the drum carder is like magic. The fiber is still a bit lanolin-y which is fine because the jacob fiber is pretty rustic and I think it'll make a great outer layer something - something where the lanolin will provide a touch of waterproof and windproof-ness. I started spinning the fiber immediately when I got home, and I have it all spun up into singles. I'm hoping to ply it tonight - I'm aiming for a worsted or aran weight three ply. We'll see, and we'll see what the yardage is too. Very exciting.

This weekend I'm going down to visit Fat Toad Farm. We'll knit, sit around the wood stove, eat delicious food and play with goats. There will be caramel, I'm planning on bringing some of it home with me. It's gonna be awesome.

Oh, and you might want to check out Twist Collective this weekend, I hear their new, winter issue is coming out...

I made and canned applesauce for the first time last weekend. I don't know why I've waited so long to do this! Applesauce has to be one of the easiest things I've ever canned. Apples are acidic enough that this process is really easy:
1) make applesauce
2) put in jars with 1/2 inch of air at top
3) put sealable lids on jars
4) put jars in any pot where you can cover them with 1 inch of water
5) boil for 20 minutes

The reason this is so easy is mostly step 1. It doesn't matter how you make the sauce, peels on or off, puree or mash, sweetened so it's like pie filling or completely unsweetened, whatever spices you like. You really can't screw this up as long as you're using apples (and not peaches or something)

But making sauce was even easier then it might have been. Because now I have this:


It's a squeezo strainer! My mom passed it along to me since she's not using it anymore. (side note? I'm more then a little shocked at the sticker price. But seeing as how mom used it for years and it's still in perfect shape, it's probably worth it... And it really is all metal, not a plastic piece in the whole thing except three rubber rings, which don't even need replacing)

So first I steamed the apples, I just cut them in half and put them in a pot with a bit of water at the bottom, and simmered for 5 minutes tops. Then, into the squeezo!


See?? See??? The lovely sauce all goes into one bowl and the skins, stems, seeds, and hard little core-y bits go the other way. BRILLIANT! I can't wait to make pasta sauce again next year...

I may have gotten a little carried away with the squeezo though.

I made almost a gallon of sauce. The squeezo does such a good job of separating the good bits and the icky bits that I got a gallon of sauce and 2-3 cups of waste. Only losers in this picture are the chickens (who get fewer scraps)

Finally! Some good photos of the socks I knit while I was in DC:


This is, of course, Leyburn. I loved this pattern and this yarn. But I feel a bit betrayed that they ganged up on me when I wasn't paying attention and decided to become socks for Neil instead of socks for me. But maybe it's just as well. This is a toe-up pattern using a pretty standard short row toe and heel. They're fun to work, but for my foot I don't think anything will ever beat the perfect fit of a flap and gusset sock. Neil (OTOH) has narrow heels and high insteps - and I've fooled around a few times with changing the flap and gusset to make socks fit him better. A standard heel flap uses half the sts in the sock, the best fit I've gotten for him so far used a few less then half the sts for the flap, but it still wasn't perfect. This short row heel seems to make a much smaller heel cup leaving a lot more sts for the instep. The fit on my foot is kinda wonky (partly the heel and partly that it's just all around too big for me) but I suspect this will fit Neil much better then a flap and gusset sock. So it was a learning experience, I can handle that. But, because this sock is so much bigger then I expected, I spent TWO days knitting it (well, and the toe for the next one) so at the end of the second day I stuffed the first and the toe for the second into my bag and moved on to something else.


Kai-Mei. I love this pattern, I'm less sure about the yarn. It was a gift, but I know I picked the colors out myself because it was from a wishlist I put together. Maybe I can blame it on a monitor where the color settings were a bit screwy? I'm going to over-dye it with onion peels once the socks are finished. The yellowy-brown of the dye the peels create should tone down everything. Hopefully the pink will become a browny-orange and the purple will become an olivey-green and that should all blend well with the yellowy-brown that will cover the white. "Hopefully" is the key word here, but since the yarn is machine washable wool it's unlikely I'll destroy the socks, and no matter what color they turn this first one fits like a dream. It was 3/4 done at the end of the third day, and the second one is already half way through the heel flap.

In other exciting news, I'm starting to advertise some of my things on Ravelry. Everything I've read from other designers says that Ravelry adds are really useful and really easy. The self service system is easy and flexible, and the bill comes at the end of the month after you've (hopefully) sold some patterns. And of course the target audience is self selecting - 500,000 people all interested in yarn, knitting, and crochet. It'll be an interesting experiment at the very least, and hopefully a really great tool. The hardest part was definitely doing the ad layout. These are the two banners I finally created:





Um, I don't know why LJ insists on making them slightly fuzzy.  You should be able to click through to see their full size without that blur...

After I got back from my conference I finished up a few projects:


Clapotis.  It came out wonderfully!  After binding off it was about 3 and a half feet long and I was worried. 


But it blocked out to over 4 feet!  Still short for a scarf but totally long enough to tie loosely in front and look pretty.  I love the way the silk yarn makes such a crip yet drape-y fabric.

And Boyden Valley (Ice wine) mittens:


I was thinking these might go in the gift drawer, but I screwed up the second thumb.  I forgot to work the opening stitches on a scrap yarn, so I resorted to going back and snipping the sts where the thumb should go - picking up the unraveled live stitches and knitting the thumb from there. 


The problem?  I put the thumb about half an inch higher then on the first mitten.  They're still wearable but I wouldn't give these away (it's a touch uncomfortable) so I guess they're mine!  They're still awfully pretty.

I have a few projects in progress I'll talk about later.  For now they're all on hold while I knit an awesome slouchy lace beret.

One of the potential issues with having long hair (although not one I've dealt with much) is the possibility of people confronting you to donate your hair.


The NY Times did a pretty good article on hair donation awhile back.

Like I mentioned, donation isn't an issue I've dealt with much, but I've been prepared with a polite (no thank you) reply for years - just in case.

But today (right now actually) my sister is in surgery. Turns out her body has too much cerebral spinal fluid. This results in pressure on the brain - a bad thing. Less invasive methods haven't controlled the problem, so she has to have surgery, basically they'll install a drain to help control the fluid pressure. All this means she had to shave her head. She decided to donate her hair ahead of time, and she's asked us if we'd join for moral support. So my mom, my dad, and I are all donating hair in support for Kathy. I'm sending some of my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. 



Neil gets extra bonus points from me because he's shaved his head in support.

my new phone takes much worse photos then my old phone did - which makes me even more glad to have a decent digital camera. But for now, this is what I've got:



My setup when flying (I even avoided spilling the tomato juice on the white lace). Not pictured is the cell phone masquerading as MP3 player with knitting podcast.



Half a sock. These were supposed to be for me, but this was the first time I measured it, and it's much too big. Oddly it's just the right size for Neil, lucky guy. This sock is now finished, but I'm thinking I may knit something else before I start the second, just for variety.

The conference it half finished, and I clearly won't be finishing extra socks. But again, that one pictured is bigger then I was expecting, which means it takes longer to knit. Also, see me surfing the web and posting instead of knitting in the evenings. wheee!

So it turns out that rather then being internet-less on this trip I have a cute little net-book type thingy on loan (thanks mom!)  I was going to give you some bad cell phone photos, but I can't seem to navigate to them for uploading, so you've been spared.

I hate traveling, and the stress of it is starting to get to me. But soon it will be over! In the mean time, some pluses:
1) I finished clapotis, but it's officially poor lighting season, and even with a decent camera I'm having a really hard time catching the jewel tones
2) I did get a decent picture of my cashmere cowl that goes with my mitts:


3) I now have three sets of matching knitwear. The cashmere mitts and cowl, the blue and white hat and scarf combo, and the orangey/pink hat and scarf pair. I love matching sets of knitwear, what do you think?


4) I have a bag of pink M&Ms here at my desk
5) My new (free) cellphone came from Verizon in time for me to take it on my trip.

Finally, I really do need help with my sock pattern choices, and no one is giving me any opinions! I don't even care if you knit or even look at the links. Vote early, vote often!


Poll #1478020 sock poll
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

Which socks should I knit at the conference?

I've been working from stash a lot recently. It's fulfilling to create something awesome without having to buy any ingredients (and better for those of us buying fire wood and oil for the winter and paying property taxes anyway) The bronte's mitts (and matching cowl, I haven't gotten a good picture of that one yet) were spun and knit from cashmere I stashed last spring. The socks I knit next week have the potential to put an actual dent in my sock yarn stash. Over the weekend I needed something simple to knit at a knitting get together, so I started this:



Clapotis. I'm only five years late to the party. (my cell phone washed those colors out, they're much brighter in person) Mine is a small scarf-sized one. I'm using 150 yards of handspun silk - the silk top entered my stash in 2007 (? I think so anyway) and I had it spun and plyed by spring 2008. This was the silk that I first learned to navajo ply for. That was Lara's suggestion, and it was she who planted the idea that the yarn would be good for a clapotis as well. When I recently dug the yarn out of my handspun stash I realized that my idea of plying (at the time) didn't involve adding any twists to the plies, but rather just aligning them next to each other and hoping they made friends. So I started this project by running the whole skein through my spindle again adding more twist to the plies and re-setting the twist. It made the thick-and-thin nature of the yarn much more consistent and made the pure silk much shinier and less fuzzy - so that's a win for me! And this pattern really is well written and a joy to knit. It's been bus knitting the last few days in spite of how simple it is (as I said to another friend 13059 ravelers can't all be wrong)

Last night I did a little cooking from the stash too. Not from the yarn stash though. I decided I needed to cook something new, and I wanted to use a few of the 40lbs of delicata that I'd pulled from the box because they had breaks in the skin. So I invented something new (is that even possible in cooking?) Here's the recipe for "squashed rice"

2 small/medium delicata
2 cups uncooked rice
4 cups water
1/4 tsp each of curry, ginger, sage
6-8 shakes of worcestershire sauce
salt and white pepper to taste

Cut the delicata in half, scoop out the seeds and chop into bite-sized-ish pieces. I leave the skins on my delicata, they're tasty.
Put the delicata, spices, worcestershire sauce, and water into a pan and bring to a boil. Allow to boil while you finish emptying the dish washer for about 5 minutes. Turn down to a simmer and add the rice. Cook until all the water is absorbed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

That's it! I'm sure black pepper would work just as well, but I was making a point of shaking things up and using the spices that had migrated to the back of our cabinet. I'm eating some just with butter right now for lunch and it's tasty, but it could also be served as a side dish with any number of lovely fall meals.

We served this under apple cheddar bratwursts. I just browned a red onion and several brats, then added some chopped apples and apple cider, simmered until everything was cooked and squished the apples a bit with a fork. (side note, these apples are crisp and sweet and just a bit tart and hold up really well to cooking and the flesh isn't all mealy raw - and I've been collecting them out of the ditch on the side of the road ever since the wind blew them all out of the tree last weekend. The un-tended, un-pruned, un-sprayed ancient tree on the side of the road with not another apple tree within 200 feet.) I put this mess on top of the rice and grated cheddar cheese over the whole thing. I worried for a moment that I shouldn't add the cheese because there might already be too much going on, but I was wrong. As we know, everything is better with cheddar cheese on it!