Recipes

I was a bad blogger this week. I could give you my excuses, but how would that help? So instead I'll give you some yummy recipes that I used this week!

Ginger Cookies
makes appoximately 5 dozen (yeah a LOT of cookies)

mix the following dry ingredients in a huge bowl:
7 cups flour
3/4 t. ground cloves
5 1/4 t. baking soda
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 1/2 t. salt

in a separate bowl combine:
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup molassess
3 eggs
3 c. sugar ginger mixture*

*blend 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a food processor with 1/2 cup chopped fresh ginger. Strain the mixture - add the liquid to wet ingredients and discard the solids.

Slowly add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry mixture until well combined. If you don't have enough room in your bowl then you may have to kneed the dough on the counter. The consistency may bit a crumbly. Roll dough into balls, roll in sugar and bake for 8-12 minutes (until cracked on top).

Note: these even worked at high altitude! I'm at approximately 7,500 feet.

Also I made this super yummy Bittersweet Chocolate Pear Cake that you should check out! If you try the cookie recipe let me know what you think!

Coming Soon....

...to my Etsy shop (and this blog)- FRENCH PRESS COZIES in these AMAZING colors!! (can't you just hear it in that movie announcer voice?)

But really, I do almost have these cozies ready to post - just a little more blocking. I think I am going to add some robin's egg blue buttons to the persimmon colored one, white and green buttons to the purple one, and I am undecided on the blue..... hmmmm.

Which color is your favorite?

The Vinnland Socks

These are the socks that I struggled to finish because the heel was too small, but I finally pushed through and just did it! I do like their look, but they just were not motivating!

I know, you are saying, "...if the heel was too small why didn't you rip back and re knit it..." Honestly, it is only because I couldn't stand the thought of working on this project longer than I had to.

These socks took about a month to complete which is probably the longest a pair of socks has taken me since I first learned. I really love the colorway, and look of the pattern, I just didn't enjoy working it. I now know that I do not enjoy short row heels, and if I am going to do short row toes I need to learn how to do it better!

I believe the only modifications I made were not repeating the pattern on the back calf section of the leg. Instead I did a 1x1 ribbing. Also, I don't remember if it called for a tubular bind off but that is what I did.

If you are interested here is my Ravelry project page.


Up next: Ginger Cookies!

B.O.B. is Finished!

It is finished and SO snuggly! Seriously, if you keep your house chilly than this is the sweater for you. Or if you don't like coats this could take the place on some days. It has been super warm and sunny (by that I mean in the 40's) this past week, but it is supposed to get quite cold this weekend. I'm actually looking forward to it!

If you want to catch up a bit here are my previous posts about B.O.B. and here is the blogger with a link to the pattern. And lastly, my Ravelry project page.

I had a hard time choosing buttons. They all seem to be so expensive, even online. So I decided I would just pay more for buttons I really liked. I believe I spent about $12 on the buttons at a local quilting shop, but I think they look perfect for the sweater so I can't complain too much. In the end I followed through on one of my life goals - supporting local business.

The wind was a bit blustery for the photos so the button band was blown under the sweater a little but you can still get an idea from the photos. Knitting the button band with the sweater was one of my modifications, which worked well for the most part. I say "for the most part" because I ended up with nine buttons instead of eight so it is a little tall on my neck.

I also lengthened the sleeves from seventeen inches to nineteen and half. In my opinion if a sweater is snuggly than it must have long, long sleeves. To ensure they were long enough I did what I belive is called a provisional cast on - using the same cast on from these short row socks.


I believe that is the short version of all my modifications.

I cast on for another pair of socks yesterday. I'm not exactly sure why, but I did. I also have another sweater tempting me, my only hesitation is it would be similar to this one I just completed. So who knows what's to come! But I will show you some finished socks soon!

The Button on Blanket - B.O.B.

I'm sewing on buttons right now, but this is where I was last night about mid-night. I figured I should at least post this before I finish! A truly AWFUL photo, angle, face and all but there ya have it! The complete bob soon to come!

The Weekend

It was a busy one, but really great.

Saturday was spent car knitting, being a model for bridesmaids dresses, and shopping with friends in civilization.

Sunday was spent doing some more car knitting, skiing, being generally exhausted, and movie knitting.

With all those bits of knitting I am nearly 14 inches into B.O.B. and am about ready to knit the sleeves! Pictures to come, but for today you get to see the mountains.

The Yarn has Arrived!

My snuggly, chunky yarn for the B.O.B. sweater has arrived. This evening I plan to borrow the correct size needles from a friend and cast on.

I must admit that though I am excited at the prospect of B.O.B. another sweater caught my eye last night and it calls for the same yarn!

The pattern is by Jane Richmond and it is called Sedum (ravelry link). I'm pretty determined not to cave though, maybe I'll just have to make another sweater sooner than later.

I'm excited to get started on this project, but this weekend is going to be pretty full, actually everything is pretty full until next Friday. Still, it is chunky yarn and when I want to get something done I make time for it.



Okay I'm going to try to finish my socks this afternoon so I can focus on my sweater! Wish me luck!

Just for fun here are a couple of my most recent finished objects...

Soft Wool Hat

I realized I never shared the link for this cute new hat in my shop! I love these colors, but they just aren't colors I actually wear SO you all have a chance to snatch it up! I have plenty of a skein left so you may be seeing some fingerless mitts to match - or if you have a custom item that you would love to own made with this yarn feel free to contact me.

I'm still figuring out a new color format for this blog and banner and such. In my fiddling around I made a new banner (similar to this new one) for my Esty shop so go have a look! As of now I like the one in my shop better than on the blog so the Pointless Nostalgic banner is still subject to change. Any input would be appreciated!

New Beauty

I would like to introduce you all to my new spindle (yet to be named, though I'm pretty sure she'll be called Maggie). This spindle was made just for me from beautiful walnut wood. I ordered it from a man in Grand Junction, Colorado who runs a shop called Magpie WoodWorks and he does beautiful work.

I also ordered this super cute yarn gauge. I realize I didn't really need it, but it was under $10 and just so darn useful and adorable I had to get one. This is made from mahogany. For those of you who don't know what a yarn gauge is... the space on the gauge is 1 inch and when you spin yarn you wrap your yarn around the inch space. Then how ever many wraps you have per inch (WPI) is the weight of your yarn - i.e. worsted, DK, sport, bulky, and so on.

Tomorrow is the birthday of a fellow volunteer and instead of cake she requested pie, which if fine by me. So I thought I'd share with you the recipe I made last night.

Apple Pie with Walnut Streusel. I mostly stuck to the recipe but I did change a couple things... substituted pecans for walnuts (personal preference), doubled the streusel topping (because streusel is amazing), and I used a 9.5 inch pie plate instead of making it in a cast iron skillet. We are having it with supper tonight so I'll have to let you know how it tastes!

Knitting Busy

I got a LOT done this weekend. I seriously felt so productive and I'm not even sure I can list off all the thing I accomplished, but I'm going to try.

- cleaned the apartment
- baked lemon pound cake (stupid altitude - they collapsed in the middle)
- dyed and spun three balls of yarn for new cozies (you can see the bright colors in the roving photo)
- knit a hat, scarflette and wrist warmers for my shop
- dehydrated fruit and fruit leather
- spun a LOT on my new spindle (photos later this week)
- filled Etsy orders
- actually practiced my fiddle (this is MUCH needed)

So yeah, I feel pretty good about my weekend. I think what has been most interesting to me is my spiked interest in my Etsy shop. Not that I had started ignoring my shop, but it has been awhile since it excited me. I realize my rise in excitement coincides with the raised interest in my work, but still it is a good feeling.

So that is a little update on my weekend and Etsy thoughts. Have a great Monday!

Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Yes, you read the title correctly, heaven. So yummy. I mentioned awhile ago that I started using Google Reader to keep up with some blogs. Since doing that I have been introduced to the wonderful world of foodie blogs. One of my favorites is Smitten Kitchen - if you haven't read much of her stuff I highly recommend it.

So while I was on my travels I was determined to try her Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies because I had read about them before I left and almost everywhere I was going had a bigger kitchen than mine (and a KitchenAid mixer - love).

At our second stop, my in-laws, I got the chance to do a little baking. It is a good thing I made them when I did because her oven went out the next day. Although it may not have been a tragedy to have to eat all that buttery dough plain, anyhow we didn't have to.

These cookies were really good for anyone who likes coffee even a little bit. Few friends who picked them up were expecting gingerbread so that was a little bit shocking to taste coffee and chocolate, but they still enjoyed them. So give them a try!

I'm messing with new looks... is this color too intense?

The Return

Hello everyone I have finally re-entered the blogging world! Well, I wanted to return sooner, but I kept forgetting to take photos of yarn and finished objects so I put it off and well... I still don't have photos of fibery things but we can still do a little catching up.

Since I was tagged by Pfeiffer Photos while I was journeying around I'll use my seven random things to tell you about the last couple weeks.

1. Though it is more expensive than driving I do enjoy traveling by train.

It is so wonderful to be able to bring all the luggage you can possibly carry without having to pay extra. I'm a bit thrifty so I like that I can bring as much of my own food as I want. I like that I can snuggle with hubby while trying to sleep (gotta admit the train car was little on the freezing side). And the people watching can be pretty good too.
2. In general I don't think of myself as a materialistic person, but WOW did I enjoy shopping while I was back in the mid-west.

As I am sure I have mentioned now and then - there is NOTHING where I live. Wal-mart. Payless. Maurices. Local Sporting Goods Store. So I had to remember to blink when I walked into Target and saw all the cute clothing and clearance end caps! I just enjoy getting together with a girfriend and meadering around - and that my friends is just what I did.

3. I found that I still really enjoy color work patterns, and I only enjoy socks if I like the pattern I'm doing.

Hence, my mittens are done and lovely, but I'm trying to finish up the legs on my socks. I REALLY needed my mittens when I was traveling so that was bit of motivation, but also I found color work interesting and fast moving. If you remember I did the Tiffany pattern.
Now for my socks, they were a little doomed from the beginning because I taught myself how to do short row toes. I think I could like short row toes, but I would need to learn how to pick up my stitches more correctly (it was somewhat correct). The main problem is I just never really got the hang of the pattern I'm using though it is lovely - so I keep trucking. That all about travel knitting.

4. I bought some yarn on our way to the train station - thank you Edla's. (photos later)

5. On our trip we saw rain, sleet, snow, wind, fog, thunderstorms, and even had a tornado warning. Seriously, what the heck!

6. Since I'm knitting my socks in a bit of a funk I decided to knit another sweater before winter is over - meet B.O.B.

Mine will be navy and I am very excited! Yarn should arrive next weeks sometime!

7. After returning home a cold took over my face, but I am glad to say that I can now breath and have reclaimed my head.