The Golden Iris

I love citrus: all things lemon, orange, lime, grapefruit - you name it, I am all about it. Living in California has only increased the adoration for all the bright and tangy flavors of citrus fruit - and it has introduced me to lots of new types to try! As my palate has matured (gosh, hello, that sounds pretentious, but whatever) I've gained a greater appreciation for bitter things like Campari (which we now go through by the liter) and marmalade. Marmalade has wonderful bitter and sour notes that balance the sweetness of ordinary jam. Mmmm, marmalade I knew, of course, that real marmalade is made with something called a Seville or sour or bitter orange, but I'd never seen such a thing. Lucky for me these things exist in California, if only seasonally, and finally I got my hands on some last week at the Milk Pail Market , our wonderful produce and cheese market. [They also have incredibly delicious bake-your-own croissants .] Having had good luck with his recipes i...

So I've evidently fallen off the face of the earth for the past month. There's a good explanation: the Stitches West convention. I work with Miss Babs throughout the year, knitting samples and trying to think up new things. Because she's in Tennessee and I'm in California, though, I now only work one or two shows a year with her (yes, I love to work shows. They stick me on the cash register and I get to smile at everybody). Stitches West is the big one! And lucky for me it's just down the street. I spent most of February knitting up two big sample sweaters for the booth. First off was a Simple Cardigan in Yowza. The color here is called Blackwatch. It's a size or two bigger than I need, so I'm not the best model for it. I found an excellent shiny shell button at Green Planet Yarn for it. Simple Cardigan The other sweater, which became famous in my regular Thursday night knitting group for 'feeling like kittens' was Jaina , featured on the...