Swap swag

Admittedly, I'm late in posting this. I got my wonderful stuff from Meg(aphone) more than a week ago and I've already plowed through both the coffee and the chocolate. Both couldn't have turned up at a more fortuitous time as we were out of coffee (and I'd forgotten to stop by the store) and there was not dessert in the house, either!

Without further ado:



Coffee is a wonderful Costa Rican organic bean that is wonderfully mellow, but a very *round* flavor. Nice change of pace from the Indonesian varieties that are usually in the house! (Chris likes Costa Rican - that's his usual Trader Joe's bean). Next is the chocolate from local favorite, Ghiradelli. It's got (had) little nibs of espresso beans in a really rich dark chocolate. That stuff lasted moments. Best of all, a great skein of Trekking Natura (with bamboo) that is destined for a pair of socks for Chris and a cool skein of laceweight. I'm not sure what I'll do with this one yet - I need a nice black little scarf, so maybe the Dolphin Scarf or something just made-up. Regardless, there's a good quantity of mohair in there so it'll need to be something that will benefit from the texture.

Anyway, I'm back in the land of ginger and noodles - and I've nearly finished the scarf that my dad is getting for Christmas. He doesn't read the blog so there's no risk of him seeing it - but I do have the camera (clearly) so a pic or two is due tonight. What better way to spend the night than blogging? Heck, I sure don't sleep while I'm over here ...

I've been away ... but there's a prize!

Yes, I've been terribly busy lately - what with the holidays and jetsetting over to the Orient (yes, I leave again on Monday of next week) but I do have something to show for myself. Ok, maybe not *show* right away since the camera isn't handy, but I'll do my best to take some pictures sooner rather than later.

I've knit, assembled, hemmed and added buttons to the Sunrise Circle Jacket. No, this jacket isn't an original idea, but I'm hoping that I actually beat The Harlot to the final step. She and I began knitting this at just about the same time (serendipity) and she definitely got to the "done"-ish stage first. I completed the assembly over the weekend and it took a while to get the button part straight.

I originally started with Kate's directions for locating the button loops but that just Didn't Work for my shape and the way the jacket fell on me. If I had more yarn (yes, I'll take a picture of what's left .. this was truly scary) I would have widened the back between the shoulder blades to make it more comfortable - but overall, I'm very satisfied. This project has worked out better than anything in the past.

Interestingly enough - I knit this with size 5 Addis. Yes, size 5. The pattern calls for 7s, I think. While I can't say that I actually knitted a swatch, I did go a fair way on the sleeves and then checked gauge - I found that spi gauge was correct but my row gauge was way off. That's how I backed down to size 5s. Who knew?

Brief details:

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed
Color: 04 - Green Tweed with spots of orange, blue and black
Quantity: 10 skeins - ALL OF IT
Size: 36"
Needles: Addi Turbo Circular Size 5
Gauge: Per pattern

Picture of the yarn, below. Pix of the sweater to follow.



I love this thing.

We did it!

Ok, so I'm totally stealing this image (but not the bandwidth) from Engadget, but seeing as my company probably gave them the image in the first place, I'm not sorry about it!


Yes, sports fans, this is our baby. After six months of not being able to tell my friends and family what I do, it's time to run outside and shout to the world, "I helped make the Kindle!"

More specifically, this is why I've been spending so much time in China. Starting the factory, managing materials and generally getting things up and running. It's been incredibly hectic (got home most recently on Saturday) and it's made life extremely challenging in terms of keeping up with friends, refereeing and knitting.

However, now that it's out there, the real work begins. Regardless, life is cool. And, if I can manage to stay awake, I may even have a FO to share this week!

Hip, hip, HOORAY!

Friday is for "relaxing"

or so one would think!

Life's been really hectic around here of late - what with the move, work heating up and the tail end of the fall soccer season. C. and I are both really ready for a vacation and were looking forward to getting away over Thanksgiving, but that's off the list since he's tied up with work. Couple all that with me heading over to China next week and I'm frazzled. Totally.

Last night I went head to head with all the stress and spent a good 4 hours knitting. Period. Nothing else. And let me tell you - it was wonderful. I'm not going to say what I'm working on yet (no, it's not one of those that are in the current progress list) but it's something I've been wanting to get to for almost a year and have finally managed to start. I've even taken the time to ensure my gauge is right (two needle sizes *BELOW* what's recommended!) and therefore I have high hopes that this one will turn out as planned.

Anyway - hopefully tonight will be another quiet and restful night (last college game of the season this afternoon) and that the trip next week will be uneventful. Even if we're not getting away, at least there's some time off in the future.

Thinking about 12th Night

Every year I throw a big dinner party for 12th. "Dinner Party" may be stretching it a bit since it's really become more of a graze-festival - plates of finger food spread throughout the house that makes for easy drifting and night-long noshing. It used to be a true sit-down dinner, but then there were way too many people I wanted to feed and simply not enough chairs. Bring on the appetizers!

While I do have a list of favorites that make the table every year, I like to spend at least some time browsing for a recipe that will give my friends something new to enjoy. That effort has, in recent years, started about 1 week prior to the event and hasn't really panned out as well as I'd like. This year, however, it'll be different. Honest.

Witness our first entry: Pumpkin Pie Blintzes. Yes, it's another Slashfood find, but this one looks truly scrumptious. Better still, it comes with a recipe for crepes from the illustrious Mark Bittman. My mother used to make crepes for dessert (she called them "breakfast pancakes") when I was growing up and I've never mustered the courage to try it myself. This recipe is making me want to try it.

With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, and the fact that we're *not* going to the cabin (insert pouty-face here ...), it's a great excuse for me to try some cooking experiments. This one is on the list.

Update: and here's another one to add to the list. Green Tea Cookies as an alternative to the King Cake. While I usually make Cardamom Shortbread from Epicurious, this might just give folks something new to talk about. I sense that my Thanksgiving holiday is going to involve way more than just baking ...