• what I’m up to this week

    I had a great weekend – mostly staying in, playing games, knitting, making food, relaxing. I’m trying to get into a good rhythm of working during the week so that I can have the relaxing weekends, and so far it’s going well. I got some (hopefully good) ideas and finished up some knitting.

    on the blocking towel

    Since many of you asked, I will be releasing a pattern for the simple shawl that I posted about awhile ago. But since black isn’t really the most photogenic colour, I whipped up another sample to take some photos of. I knit this one start to finish in less than a week, and I hope to have the pattern out in just a few days. It really is the simplest pattern, but sometimes simple is just what you need.

    Other yarns I’m working with this week:

    28/365 - yarns of the week

    Zen Yarn Garden Superwash Worsted, Quince & Co Chickadee, and Johanneshof Yarns Romney, a gift from Rhinebeck!

  • unhealthy muffins

    20/365 - banana oat muffins

    I made a batch of these over the weekend and they were so good I wanted to share the recipe with you. I’m not going to pretend these are good for you, but everyone needs a treat!

    Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Muffins

    Ingredients
    1.5 cups flour (I used unbleached all-purpose)
    1 cup rolled oats
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    2 eggs
    1/2 cup white sugar
    1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
    1/4 cup buttermilk (I love buttermilk, but regular milk would be fine as well)
    1/2 cup butter, melted
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    2 large ripened bananas, mashed
    1 cup chocolate chips

    Directions:
    1. Preheat oven to 375 F and line muffin tins.

    2. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl until well mixed.

    3. In a large bowl, mix the eggs and both sugars together until just combined. Add the buttermilk, butter, vanilla and the mashed banana and stir to mix.

    4. Add dry ingredients all at once and stir together until almost combined. Add chocolate chips and stir just until everything is moistened, but don’t over mix.

    5. Spoon into prepared muffin cups and bake at 375F, about 25 minutes for regular sized muffins or 18-20 minute for minis. Tops should be risen and golden, and a toothpick inserted into the muffin should come out clean (except for melted chocolate!).

    This ended up making a dozen regular-sized muffins and plus about 15 minis.

    Enjoy!

  • bottineau in action

    As you might have noticed, I love cardigans – I wear them pretty much every day! But lately I’ve been exploring pullovers more.

    15/365 - warm

    Top: Anthropologie
    Sweater: Bottineau

    This is what I wore to my very last day working at lettuce knit. I started working there 9 years ago and I love it so much, but it’s time for me to concentrate on my design work. Thanks to all the friendly customers and customer-friends that I’ve made over the years, and a special thanks to everyone who came out last night for Stitch Night. Don’t worry though, I won’t be going anywhere – I still need to knit with people and shop!