It must be spring break because I'm blogging again...

So, as usual, not much (and by not much, I mean none) blogging happened during winter trimester. It's just so hard at school to even find time to knit, let alone blog about it. Who knows, maybe this spring will be different. But for the time being, I'm happily home and able to catch up on some long neglected blogging.


In today's edition of let's catch up, I have something really embarrassing to share. Christmas knitting. And really, there's no excuse for this. As you'll see from the photos, even the pictures were taken at Christmas. I just got back to school and got lazy. But partially in my defense, these weren't actually gifted until the beginning of January when I got back to school and could give them to the giftees. So, let's get down to it...

Pattern: Rose Hill Hat by Erin Harris (ravelry link)
Yarn: 1 + a bit skeins of Zitron Loft Classic in 1244
Needles: US 7 Addis
Start/Finish Date: Dec 8, 2008

Ok, so I saw this tha on a friend to knit with's blog and fell in love. With the hat, the yarn, everything. And even though I really wanted one for me, I'd also promised to make my roommates hats for Christmas and it seemed perfect for one of them. The only mod was that I added about an inch to the length so it would cover the ears and least partially. The original doesn't really touch them, and while that's cute and all, for winter in Minnesota, you don't want a hat that doesn't cover the tips of your ears. This is really the best Christmas gift ever ... it only took a day to make.

Pattern: Koolhaas by Jared Flood in IK Holiday 2007 (ravelry)
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Kettle Dyed in Ivy Kettle
Needles: ?? Just not really sure ..
Start/Finish Dates: Dec 9 2008/Dec 14 2008

This was for my othe roommate. I love the hat ... I don't know if you can see just how lovely the color variations are from the photo, but really, they are. It was much less pleasant to make though. The pattern is great and the hat is beautiful, but it was really hard on my hands and slow going. But I'm happy I made one ... I'd wanted to for quite awhile.

Pattern: None ... just a 3x2 rib scarf
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Navy and Gray for the tips
Needles: US 7 Addis
Start/Finish Date: Dec 1 2008/Dec 7 2008

This was for our unofficial 4th roommate. He wanted a scarf and gave me no specifics other than that. He's a very boy-next-door kind of guy, so I figured a classic scarf would be best. It was a pretty boring project, but it looks nice!

So that wraps up the Christmas knitting. There was another big finish right before (literally the day before) I left for school that I still need to block and photograph. I'm really excited to share it ...

Also, I'll have to share the two little projects I managed to get done at school and what Mom and I are working on now. It will (maybe) be a blog-post filled next ten days ...

Mmm...

So one of the great things about being home (aside from the obvious top two reasons -- spending time with family and getting to do more knitting) is getting to eat Mom's cooking. Dining hall food leaves a lot to be desired, and right before I come home I start making lists of different favorite dishes I want during break. Mom's been making some delicious things since I've been home, and I've also been trying my hand out more in the kitchen -- good life skill to learn how to chop, bake, etc. Every now and then, I think to snap a picture. So in lieu of knitting updates (and knitting definitely has been getting done, but no photos yet ... that's coming soon), here's a sampling of some of my favorite food since I've been home. And at the end of the post, my first recipe!

Popovers. We use a King Arthur mix, which is really great. We discovered popovers when were college hunting for me, had to mail order a popover pan, and have been making them ever since. We like them best with almond butter.

Thanksgiving stuffing. Mom makes up a different stuffing recipe every year. They are all delicious, but this year was one of the best. Featuring dry cranberries and shiitake mushrooms.

Butternut squash and sweet potato soup with spinach-cranberry-walnut-feta salad. Both were simply delicious.

Homemade salsa. This is one of the things I miss most at home. Salsa from a jar just doestn' compare. I love the fresh cilantro!

This is the banana bread last night. I looked at some different recipes, then un-vented. I was pretty proud of this ... I've never made up a recipe before. And it's already half eaten, so it seemed it went over well! And it's not super high in fat -- only two tablespoons of butter in the whole recipe! So I've included my first recipe if you want to try it out.

Katherine's Un-vented Banana Bread
1 c. white flour
1 c. wheat flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 smashed bananas
1 egg
1/4 c. milk
2 TBSPs melted butter
2 TBSPs hot water
chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine all the dry ingredients -- I used 1 c. wheat and white flour, but you could just use white if you're not into the whole wheat-y thing. In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Add the milk, butter and hot water and mix. Pour the wet mixture and bananas into the dry mixture and mix just until everything's incorporated. Fold in walnuts if using -- and I would recommend you do! I couldn't, because my sister doesn't eat walnuts, but I think it would have been so yummy with them. Pour in a loaf pan and bake at 325 for 45-50 minutes -- knife inserted near the middle should come out clean. Let cool and enjoy!

What's on the stove for tonight?
Mmmm .... better get cooking!

Gretel'd

Over the summer, in one of our many yarn buying bouts, I ordered some yarn to make Ysolda's Gretel. Finally, at the end of this term, I got around to casting it on. I started the project during my finals period which was actually a huge mistake -- all I wanted to do was knit on Gretel, not study. Once I got home, I finished it up. Sadly, it's my only completed project from the term. There was a mitten disaster, the completion of one sock, and one evening of half-hearted work on the vest. Clearly, one of my New Year's resolutions should be to knit more at school. But without further ado, here are the specs of my tweedy Gretel.

Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda Teague (and on ravelry)
Size: Regular Tam
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed in 09
Needles: Addis in sizes 6 (for ribbing) and 8 and Knit Picks Options in the same sizes for the smaller bits
Start date: 21 Nov 2008
Finish Date: 27 Nov 2008

I loved loved loved this yarn. I wish I had enough extra cash to buy enough of it for a sweater -- but that probably won't be happening anytime soon. It was really a pleasure to work with. I also thought the pattern was extremely clear. It was my first time knitting from a Ysolda pattern, but there are sooo many things of hers I want to make. Slouchy hats in general are just so fun to make (which I guess is why they're popping up everywhere), and even though I'm not sure if they look the best with shorter hair, I still think this hat is adorable and hopefully will get lots of wear out of it back in MN.

Gift knitting and further work on mitts happening this evening. Hopefully will have some more finished objects soon!