cooking | Laura Chau

Snowy April

April 12, 2016

Apparently April has been the snowiest month of this winter, here in TO! I just saw some hail falling, too. Yeeesh.

I’ve been working on an XL version of my Milkweed Shawl pattern – which originally came out in 2008. That’s seriously an AGE in digital knitting patterns! It needs some new photos and layout to freshen it up, and I’ve been meaning to do a larger version for years. I’m actually striping 2 different colourways of Cashmerino 20 from Sweet Fiber Yarns – I had bought 2 different ones by accident, but they look great together and blend really nicely. I’m at the point now where I’m starting to worry about running out of yarn…here’s hoping I don’t have to rip back again.

I hadn’t spun in weeks, but got back to the wheel this past weekend. This 50/50 merino/silk from Woolgatherings on Etsy is so soft, and the colours are just gorgeous. I split the top vertically into 2 pieces and am spinning each one separately, then I’ll chain ply to preserve the colours. I really wanted this yarn to be a heavier than my “default” thickness (which is pretty thin), so I’m aiming for about a worsted-weight 3 ply.

Despite all the other work I’ve got going (and the fact that I have only 2 hands, dammit) I couldn’t resist winding this awesome yarn from Caterpillar Green in Vancouver, in Blue Light. I wind a lot of yarn by hand these days because I can’t be arsed to set up the swift and ball winder, but it was worth it to see how this yarn stripes up! It’s designed to stripe nicely for top-down, triangular shawls, but of course I’m thinking of a light spring cardigan. At a whopping 600 yards, this skein might just be enough for a little topper. Stay tuned…

This week’s cookie is Jam Thumbprints from Love and Olive Oil, spurred on by the several half-full jars of homemade jam in the fridge! They’re filled with raspberry, blueberry, and meyer lemon marmalade. They’re pretty, tender, and way too easy to eat!

Here’s hoping Spring is actually spring-ing where you are.

A Monday-like Tuesday

February 16, 2016

Let’s catch up a bit!

New Project: Top-down raglan

I don’t think I shared here that I started a new sweater for myself, inspired by Ann and Kay’s “Bang out a sweater” knit along. I’m not knitting Mary Jane’s (lovely) Stopover, but instead one of my own design. It’s a top-down raglan wrap cardigan, worked in garter stitch – the grown-up version of my Mermaid Cardigan! I’m using Fleece Artist Blue-faced Leicester DK in a lovely deep brown-black, with hints of blue.

I’m past the yoke divide now, but this one hasn’t been getting as much attention as I would like – I have 2 other sweaters to finish before the end of the month for a deadline!

I did a little more spinning.

2016.5

Fibre: FatCatKnits Superwash Targhee Combed Top, colour way: Barn Country 40
Structure: split lengthwise, singles spun end to end, basic 2 ply.
WPI: 14-15 WPI
Yardage: 391 yards, 113g

New Pattern: Polonium

And I have a new pattern out as well! Polmonium is an easy, elegant hat and mitt set worked in super soft Miss Babs Caroline. The largest size set can be made with just 1 skein!

One last thing: cake! I made this hummingbird cake (banana, pineapple, and pecans) for my grandma’s 86th birthday, which we celebrated yesterday. I really wanted it to look nice for her, so I piped roses on top – it came out great. I didn’t have quite enough frosting to do roses on the sides as well, so I just smoothed it out and added some chopped pecans around the bottom edge.

I used this recipe from Joy of Baking, but changed up the frosting a bit – I used equal parts butter and cream cheese, and a good amount of heavy cream (along with powdered sugar and vanilla). YUM!

peeries and monday things

November 2, 2015

It’s November?! I can’t promise I’ll blog every day in November, but I really would like to write here more, and it’s a good kick in the pants.

I got it in my head that I wanted a new stranded colourwork hat pattern for my retreat class on the weekend, so here’s a sneak peek! It’s all peeries, which are small patterns of 1-7 rounds. After all the sweaters I’ve knit lately, it’s quite lovely to work up a worsted weight hat, and this one is extra fun! I’m just about up to the crown shaping now. The pattern will be available for everyone in a week or two – I’m hoping to do some little handwarmers to match, or maybe full mittens? What do you think?

Eating
This leek and potato soup was yummy! My mods: more leeks, a mixture of unpeeled yellow and red potatoes (mini ones, because that’s what we had), and a splash of heavy cream at the end. Delicious!

I really, really wanted cherry pie. I have a soft spot for canned cherry pie filling, but at $5/can I passed in favour of frozen sweet cherries for this pie. I looked at a few recipes, mostly this one. I don’t think I’ve ever made a cherry pie before.

Things I would do differently next time / notes
– My crust was a little too crumbly for rolling out this time – but usually I’m pretty good at it. I do want to experiment with lard pie crusts!
– The sweet cherries are really big, so I would cut them up next time.
– Plus it was a bit too juicy, so I’d either cook the filling down a bit in a pan, or discard some of the juices from the resting period. I should really know this by now, I’ve made quite a few runny pies. Time to try tapioca as a thickener, too.
– Lattice top needs work – but that’s also related to the too-crumbly crust!
– Topped with turbinado sugar, which looks pretty awesome.