i like cake!

Apparently “circle” or “tube” scarves are very fashionable right now.  Never one to miss a hot fashion trend, I decided to make my own in preparation for my Thanksgiving trip home to Chicago.  Since moving to California, I am a total wuss, and cannot handle the cold at all.  Made from The Plucky Knitter’s Aran Cashmere yarn, this scarf was so warm and cozy that I practically never took it off the whole trip!  The long cables in the pattern reminded me of frosting ripples on a cupcake, hence the name.  =)

Frosting Scarf

Yarn: 3 skeins of The Plucky Knitter Aran Cashmere (300 yards total), pictured here in the color “Blue Spray”

Substitutions: Plucky Knitter can be kind of difficult to obtain, but this scarf would work well in many other soft yarns as well.  For example, Sundara Yarn’s Aran Silky Merino or Madelinetosh Pastoral would make a nice soft version, though perhaps with a bit more drape.   Madelinetosh Eyre is another nice soft option that would make a slightly fuzzier scarf.  An alpaca yarn might be a nice choice too.

Needles: U.S. Size 9

Gauge: Approximately 16 st/20 rows per 4″

Finished dimensions: 6.5″ by 48″ (circumference)

Casting on:

This scarf is begun by using a provisional cast-on.  I did this by crocheting a chain of stitches in worsted weight, and then knitting the starting stitches into the bumps on the back of each crochet stitch.  This method is great, because in the end, you can just tug on the end of the chain and the stitches come right out.  Be careful though, that you don’t end up pulling out some of the chain while knitting (which I did and subsequently had to put those stitches on some waste yarn).

For the pictured scarf, I cast on 38 stitches.  The width of this scarf can easily be modified by adding or subtracting multiples of 6 stitches.  When laid flat, the scarf looks fairly wide, however, the fabric tends to curl in on itself, so you may want to cast on more than you would otherwise expect.  The curling adds to the squishiness factor of the scarf.

Cable pattern:

With the exception of the very first row of the scarf, each row starts by slipping the first stitch to create a neat selvedge edge on both sides.  Each right side row should end with a k1.  I highly encourage learning how to cable without a cable needle, as it is much quicker.

C6F:  With right needle behind, insert right needle into the 4th, 5th, and 6th stitches on the left needle.  Use your right hand to pinch the 3 stitches that you have just skipped.  Withdraw the left needle from all six stitches, then with the left needle in front, insert the left needle into the first 3 stitches, then place the slipped stitches held on the right needle back on the left needle and knit them in the new order.

C6B:  With the right needle in front, insert right needle into the 4th, 5th, and 6th stitches on the left needle.  Use your right hand to pinch the 3 stitches that were just skipped.  Withdraw the left needle from all six stitches, then with the left needle in back, insert the left needle into the first 3 stitches, then place the slipped stitches held on the right needle back on the left needle and knit them in the new order.

The cable pattern is worked over 12 rows as follows:

Row 1, 5, 7, 11: sl 1, k to end
Row 2 and all even rows: sl 1, p to end
Row 3: sl 1, *C6F, k6* repeat between ** until one stitch left, k1
Row 9: sl 1, *k6, C6B* repeat between ** until one stitch left, k1

Simply work the cable pattern until you have reached the desired length, or you are almost out of yarn.

Finishing:

Pick up the first row of the scarf as you undo the crochet chain.  Graft the two ends together using the Kitchener stitch.

If you plan to mostly wear the scarf doubled, you may wish to twist one end around once, making the scarf a mobius, otherwise there will be a twist each time you double the scarf around your neck.

Weave in the ends, preferably leaving the last bits close to the edge, where the curl of the scarf will hide them.

Wearing the scarf:

One great thing about this style is its versatility.  For the most part, I wear it doubled, like a thick cowl.  Doubled, you can also pull one loop tighter than the other to give it a more traditional scarf look.  However, you can also wear it in a large single loop.  If your ears are cold. you can wrap once around your neck and then bring the end up like a hood or headband.  Really, is there any wrong way to wear squishy cashmere around your neck? =)

A few weeks ago, I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen and knew that I had to make it.   1) I love butternut squash; 2) I love carmelized onions; 3) after the TWD one that I made, I love galettes.  What’s not to love?

I started by cooking the squash.  Next time I will take the extra few minutes to swing by Whole Foods to get pre-cubed squash because skinning the squash was a huge pain in the butt:

Tossed with olive oil and salt, then baked.  I took macro shots of everything too, natch:

Meanwhile, saute the onions for a really bloody long time.  This was where I made my first change to the recipe–I didn’t add the cayenne.  I thought about substituting curry powder, but decided that the natural flavours of the ingredients would probably make me happy all on their own.

Yes, my frying pan is pink.  Let’s see a close up, shall we?

Mix the onions and squash together with the sage and cheese.  I used gruyere cheese rather than “stinky cheese” as called for, because I thought the gruyere would have the perfect blend of strength without overpowering the other ingredients.

I cheated and used a store-bought pie crust because I was far too lazy to make my own.  Especially after dicing all that stupid squash.  The recipe calls for the crust to be laid out like when I made my summer fruit galettes before, but I took a look at the filling and decided that doing that would be asking for trouble–there was a lot of filling there.  So instead, I got out my fancy pie dish and laid the crust on it as though I was making a pie, then poured the filling in, then folded the edges over like normal for the galette.

Here’s the unbaked version of the opening shot:

About 30 minutes later, and I had one of the greatest tasting meals ever!  I seriously think I could have eaten the whole damn thing.  But I restrained myself and only ate a quarter.  Of a pie.  Rob accused me yesterday of losing some weight, but I don’t think he has much to worry about after all this, lol.

YUM!

I know I’m pretty bad about keeping the site updated. And since I haven’t been baking as much lately, it’s been even more neglected. I have been knitting though, so I figured I’d take the opportunity to show off a bunch of the stuff that I’ve finished lately!

Pattern: Melody’s Shawl
Yarn: The Plucky Knitter 2-ply Cashmere/Silk in Georgina-esque
Ravelry link

Comments: Just finished blocking this one today, and I’m wearing it at work.  Ideally I would have made it wider, but I used up every last bit of yarn that I had!

Pattern: Cotty
Yarn: My handspun, from Pigeonroof roving
Ravelry link

Comments: These were a new speed record for me, I finished them in just over two days (the extra bit was seaming and blocking).  I really love making things with my handspun yarn, and these socks turned out super pretty!  And it’s cool that it’s Carrie’s pattern, too =)

Pattern: Toasty
Yarn: My handspun, from Funky Carolina roving
Ravelry Link

Another quick handspun knit.  I had to try like 3 times to get a yarn that was thick enough to make them!  I was worried they might be too thick and warm, but when I took them to work the next day, I discovered that no handknit is too thick and warm for my freezing office.

Pattern: Uhura
Yarn: Sundara Fingering Silky Merino, in Star Trek
Ravelry Link

Comments: I want to take better pictures of this at some point.  This top came out really nicely, and is totally something I could wear to work.  The FSM is lovely and soft and it only took one skein!

Pattern: Lavalette
Yarn: Sundara Fingering Silky Merino, in Delphiniums
Ravelry Link

Comments: This shawl was a birthday present for Aunt Suzie.  A very late birthday present.  I chose this pattern because it was designed to support Alzheimer’s research, and given my grandmother’s recent diagnosis, it seemed appropriate.

Pattern: Lacy Baktus
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn, in Bluebells
Ravelry Link

Comments: A friend with a SLR camera took this picture, so it is much higher resolution than normal!  I love this scarf, and I wear it a ton.  I basically took my 2 favorite skeins of sock yarn and made this pattern with them.  Turned out to be a good choice!

Pattern: Lacy Baktus
Yarn: The Plucky Knitter MCN Fingering, in Riverview Drive
Ravelry Link

Comment: Look familiar?  This was the 2nd of the 2 favorite yarns that I made this scarf out of (well, technically the first).  Pretty much the same comments–love it, wear it a bunch.

Pattern: Favorite Cardigan
Yarn: MadelineTosh Tosh Worsted, in Fig
Ravelry Link

Comments: This one still needs buttons, but functions nicely with a pin or shawl pin.  Finished it just in time for Sock Summit a couple months ago.  I really should wear it more often!

Pattern: Kiila
Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Superwash Merino Sock, in Towering Inferno
Ravelry Link

Comments: My first Yarnissima pattern, and first twisted stitch cable pattern.  They came out pretty well, I think.  Interesting new heel construction.  And I love the color!

Pattern: Melody’s Shawl
Yarn: The Plucky Knitter 2-ply Cashmere, in Sarah Leigh
Ravelry Link

Comments: Here’s a wider version of the scarf at the start of this post.  This one was made for my friend Melyssa for her birthday.  I’ll be making quite a few more of these, I’m sure.  Easiest pattern ever and a really pretty finished scarf!

Pattern: Ishbel
Yarn: Sundara sock, in Daffodil
Ravelry Link

Comments: I may have posted this one here before, I can’t remember.  Pictures were taken in Capitola.  The shawl was a gift for my grandmother.

I’ve been spinning a fair bit as well.  Here’s some of my recent yarns

Cinnamon-Swirl Marshmallow Fluff (merino/silk from FLUFF Fibers)

Frosted Chocolate Cupcake (superfine merino from Funky Carolina)

Kabocha (merino/bamboo/silk roving from All Spun Up)

Love Muffin (superwash merino from Squoosh Fiber Arts)

That’s all for now!

Behold my new Violet Proto-Drake, reward for completing the holiday meta-achievement “What a Long Strange Trip it’s Been” in World of Warcraft.

Is there anything cooler than a bright fuchsia dragon mount?  No sir, there is not.

For those who keep up with my Flickr photostream, it will come as no surprise that I have a ridiculous amount of yarn. A stupid amount, even. In my defense, I will add that while Flickr documents nearly every yarn that comes into my house, it does not capture the ones that leave, so not all of those beauties are still stuffed into my spare bedroom.

Still, the stash is getting out of hand. I’m trying to fix this by curbing my intake of yarn each month. So far so good for October. Of course, we’re only a week in. The other thing I’m doing to try and get it under control is destashing. Which is what led to the yarn explosion in my living room pictured above. Last weekend I went through my entire stash, trying to pare it down and find a bunch of stuff to sell. My efforts were largely successful, and I now have a few boxes of stuff to list on Ravelry (after already trying to push some of it on my fellow yarnies at knit night).

I’m also working on decreasing the fiber stash by spinning more pretty yarns! That adds to the yarn stash of course, but it breaks even, I think. And I tend to knit with my handspun pretty quickly. My latest is some superwash merino dyed by Pigeonroof Studios in the colorway Comfort. I was aiming for a nice thick worsted weight (practicing for spinning a sweater!), but it came out sport weight instead. Oops, guess I need more practice!

Since it’s thinner though, I can use it for socks, yay! I’m just waiting for the right size needle to arrive in my mailbox any day now.

In other news, I bought a bicycle! I haven’t taken a picture yet, but I will try to remember to when I get home. I wanted a pink bicycle, but I had to settle for purple. I like it a lot though! =) It’s a Raleigh Route 4.0. And I got a bright pink helmet to make up for it! (click on the color “sparkle magenta” to see what I actually got). My goal is to bike to work a few days a week and thereby get a tiny bit more exercise. We’ll see how that works out!

Ok, technically the outside is matte, not shiny, but the screen is very shiny!

So do I have the best boyfriend or what?  Rob got me a brand new top of the line MacBook Pro for my birthday, to replace my poor old one.  It is so sleek and shiny and powerful–very exciting!  I’m working on getting all my programs and files transferred now.  Here’s a shot of the two of them together:

Other awesome birthday gifts included a Papa Del’s shirt from my parents (remembering my roots!), and some very cute pastry-themed stitch markers and domo-kun knitting needles from Will and Jo.  Yay!

Wow, I’ve gotten really bad about posting lately. Sorry! But then, I haven’t been doing much baking lately, and I haven’t finished any interesting knitting projects either. To be honest, I’ve been a little bit burned out on knitting lately, and I’ve taken to reading a bunch over the last couple of weeks. I got sucked in to the Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris and then had to go watch all the True Blood episodes that are out. Good trashy Summer fun!

Anyway, before my knitting drought, I was participating in the “Tour de Fleece” spinning event, which basically asks its participants to spin every day of the Tour de France. I didn’t quite make every day, but I did do a lot of spinning with some pretty results, which I’ll share with y’all–

First up was a merino/cashmere blend that I plan on making into part of a scarf for Rob:

And the other merino/cashmere yarn for Rob’s scarf (I started getting a bit artsy with my yarn photography):

Next was some superwash merino from JulieSpins that became a sport-weight yarn that I gave to Terry:

And finally, my happy rainbow yarn, made from merino roving from Bee Mice Elf:

I’m trying to get my knitting mojo back now–going to Sock Summit in less than a week and how bad will that be if I’m not into knitting at the time! Hopefully I’ll have more finished objects to display soon!

Today is a hard day at work.  But my guy knows how to make it better! =)

Ok, so those of you from the TWD group are probably saying, “Wait, Peach Tart?  What?”  I kind of broke the rules a little this week.  I needed to make a dessert for my office’s barbeque that would feed a bunch of people, and the little Parisian Apple Tarts just didn’t seem like they were going to work too well for the occasion.  So I picked my own recipe.  I know–shame. =(

Anyway though, I baked something from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking, from My Home to Yours, and it’s Tuesday, so I figured I would post about it anyway!  The recipe is technically called something like “creamy and crunchy peach tart” but I don’t have the book in front of me, so I’m not sure of the exact title.  I do know that it is good though!

I made the crust the night before and partially baked it.  Then, probably the longest part of the prep time, I peeled and sliced up all these peaches and artfully laid them out in the shell.  I was very proud of my artistry here.  And good thing I took a picture, because you couldn’t see the peaches at all after the tart was done–they just became a layer of yummy squishy peach stuff at the bottom of the tart.

The peaches are topped with a layer of custard, and then when the tart is mostly baked, a layer of struesel topping.  I think I still need to work on my struesel topping, because isn’t it supposed to stay more, like, chunky than that?

My biggest worry in baking the tart was whether the custard was properly set.  I ended up leaving it in the oven for a bit longer than was called for.  And up until the point I cut into it, I was scared that it was going to be a hot gooey mess.

No worries though, it came out perfectly, and everyone loved it!  It went super fast.

I really enjoy these fruit and custard recipes from Dorie’s cookbook–the other one I’ve made is the summer fruit galette, which I’ve already made twice, and plan to make again this week because it’s just so incredibly yummy.  I highly recommend them!

In knitting news, I recently finished some socks out of my handspun yarn.  Aren’t they pretty?  I love them, but unfortunately I made the tops too big and they keep falling down.  I’m either going to re-knit the ribbing with twisted stitches, or sew in some elastic thread.  Possibly both.  Must save them though, because I love them!  I’m still wearing them at night anyway, just hitching them up every now and then as needed.

In between all the gift knitting I’ve been doing, I decided to cast on another sweater for myself.  I’ve been working with tiny-ass lace and fingering-weight yarn far too much lately, so it was nice to work on a worsted weight sweater!  The color is gorgeous, and the MadelineTosh worsted is so nice and soft to work with.  Very excited about this one!

And on a slightly related note, it has now been a week and several days since I last bought any yarn or roving.  I am making a serious attempt to exercise some self control.  It’s really hard though!

How can it not be a happy morning when I get surprise flowers from my guy?  He’s the best! =D