The Golden Iris

We're always on the hunt for a fun new food project. Somehow all food experimentation becomes a project, complete with research, shopping expeditions for unusual ingredients, and full-fledged destruction of the kitchen. So. Bagels. Why bagels? Well, why not bagels? They have great potential for yumminess. Onward. The Mr. did the research - I don't have the patience for it. He came up with what was described as a recipe for the genuine article, which is apparently more genuine in Montreal than it is in New York these days. Whatever. Go read the writeup about it; I'm not going to get into an argument. At the end of this long article of discovery and experimentation is a recipe, which we followed almost to the letter. I substituted bread flour for all-purpose. The weird ingredient requiring a shopping expedition was barley malt syrup, which we found at Whole Foods in the baking aisle, next to things like molasses. Here's a note for technologically advanced cooks: if you h...

Now that I have a little more time on my hands, I've been partnering with Miss Babs to knit samples, work shows, and hopefully come up with new ideas. Here's one of the samples I've knit for her booth. We were looking for a simple, straightforward garment to show off the qualities of the yarn and ended up with Hannah Fettig's Featherweight Cardigan . The original sweater was knit in Malabrigo Lace, which is oh-so-soft but frankly not very durable. I was the first person to get to knit a sweater with her new Northumbria fingering weight yarn. It's 100% Blue-faced Leicester wool, which means it's smooth and strong while still being soft and a little silky. Let me just say I love this yarn for garments! It's lightweight and I'm sure it will wear really well. The colors are also incredibly vibrant (this color is called Aubergine, if you like it). Here I am. I knit the 40" size, even though I'm closer to a 36" bust, for two reasons. My gauge wa...

The bamboo that had invaded my lawn was removed. It took the work of strong men with axes, but it was removed. However, bamboo is tenacious. Bamboo can only really be stopped by several feet of concrete, and then only sometimes. This bamboo hit the foundation of the house, couldn't go any further, and shot up from there. When people say bamboo grows fast, they aren't joking around. Compare the bamboo to the window frame. The left photo was taken on Monday. The right photo was taken today. That's a good 18" of growth in two days. It can see in the windows now. I think it's watching me.

Visiting fibre space and Alexandria was good. I got to knit a lot, work the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival with Miss Babs, and hang out with people I hadn't seen in six months. The other thing I did while I was there was to try some wheel spinning. I’ve done some spindle spinning before, but just like knitting I like to go FAST. I love spinning with a wheel. On the other hand, I don’t need another hobby, another expense, or another piece of furniture in the living room, so I don’t own one. Thankfully this is where Lesley comes in. Lesley just got a beautiful Kromski Symphony and agreed to let me spin on it. I am still very much a beginner, so I tried out some mixed light & dark BFL from Miss Babs. She always says it’s good for new spinners – not as slippery as merino or other silky fibers. So here I am spinning. Please remember I have no clue what I’m doing, so I’m sure I have atrocious posture and there are probably seventeen other things wrong with this photo. My yarn i...

How was your weekend? Our weekend was busy. We went to a book sale at the public library and brought home two big stacks for less than a dollar a book. I have been able to fit the non-fiction into the bookcase. The fiction is another story. Oops, that wasn't intended to be punny. No really, where are all the books supposed to go? Also going on this weekend was the Mountain View A La Carte and Art festival . The main street was closed down and filled with art, craft, and food vendors. As usual, not much of it was to my taste, but I did have to go back the second day for a great t-shirt from Limey T's. Her booth was packed with goodies, and she has an etsy shop here where you can see it all. There's a whole line for kids, too. I love the barn owls. She had some shirts with peacock feathers and lilies of the valley that I also wanted... but one thing at a time. Of course there was knitting, but it was mostly the secret kind. How was your weekend?

Since leaving for California, I've finished eight pair of socks. Some of them were for me. Some of them were for other people. That's the nice thing about socks - most people seem to think they're a really cool gift. Anyways, nobody needs to read individual things about eight pair of socks, particularly the ones that were knit plain. So I used the mosaic maker over at fd's flickr toys to make you a pretty photo of all the socks. If you're really curious, you can look at all the details over at my Ravelry project page dedicated to socks . Okay wait, I'll write about one pair. For a Sock Knitters Anonymous challenge, I knit Skew (top row center in the above photo). Eighty-six zillion people have knit these socks. Some people love the way they fit - and some don't. I have high arches and wide feet, so I was a little afraid they wouldn't fit. Miraculously, with virtually no modification, they did. I was so excited. I'd never knit a pair of socks so q...

I can't stop knitting. It's PINK. SO PINK. I am not a "pink person" but it is so HAPPY. I sat in the sunshine for hours to be with this yarn today. It's Miss Babs Yowza in a one-of-a-kind spectacularly unrepeatable shade called Scarlet Ibis. The camera can never pick up the colors right. It's every shade of pink imaginable, plus a little red, berry, and coral. I am in love. Of course, it's not for me. Someone I love dearly has had a little girl, and this is going to be perfect for her. For both of them. But when I'm all done, there will be a pattern for you. Soon!

Note I didn't say new knitting content. As usual, all my current knitting is super-secret in one way or another. I have some designer samples, some gifts, and some really terrible swatches for new designs (that aren't working properly) on the needles. However, since I haven't blogged in approximately forever, I have an immense backlog of old finished knitting to share. Aren't you just beside yourself with excitement? Before I moved to California, I started some wonderful Citrus mittens. After over a year (sock yarn on US #0, anyone?) they were finally done back in December. They have snuggly double cuffs to keep out the cold. I have worn them exactly zero times. I guess they are nice to look at. I made plans for making SpillyJane 's super-cute Carrots & Beets Mittens as a gift for my mom, who is an ardent gardener, for Christmas. A week after Christmas (I know, I’m a terrible daughter), they were finished. Let’s not talk about how long it took to weave in all...

Even though I had unpacked all the books immediately, it took me four months after we moved in to alphabetize the bookshelves. Now, madness has set in and I'm organizing the fruit.

In the almost three weeks I was gone from California, my front lawn has been invaded by malicious alien life-forms. Bamboo shoots, to be precise. Aside from the fact that you can almost watch them grow - which, admittedly, is pretty cool - these things are terrifying. The biggest ones are nearly a foot tall, bigger around than my wrist, and pointy. It's like the bottom of a tiger pit out there.