Finally, Knitting!

I've been knitting! See:

Knttin' old-lady style, yeah!

There's nothing better than knitting on a porch in a rocking chair with a class of wine and your favorite boy next to you. After taking a break from knitting for a couple months (aka spending too much time on Ravelry), I'm back with more projects started than needles to complete them. And mentioning Ravelry, that picture above is my new Ravatar. Grin.

To keep you entertained until I get a new camera (my old one doesn't want to focus anymore) and a new hard disk for my computer (computer won't let me do anything except use Firefox), I'll show you a couple items I knit LAST SUMMER (!) that I haven't blogged about yet. To be far (to myself), I didn't gift these items until last February, so this post is only 4 months late. Wink wink.


Pattern: "Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono" from Mason-Dixon Knitting
Mods: Knit a few more rows for extra length, used ribbons to tie closed
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish, superwash wool, in color "Bubblegum"
Needles: 4mm straights
Recipient: Friend's baby girl
Finished Size: Comparable to store-bought clothing in 3-6 month size

I don't have pictures of the sweater on a baby, but Harrod, my teddy bear, was kind enough to model it for me.


The pattern was wicked easy to knit because it's knit flat, but seaming was a bitch. See those tiered edges on the sleeves...


...they don't create a straight underarm seam.

I figured a tie closure would be easiest for a parent dressing a baby, so I sewed ribbon on both front sections. I left an inch-wide gap on one side seam to let one ribbon through, and I attached an icord to the other side to thread the other ribbon through and hold it in place.


Along with the wrap sweater, I gifted a couple bibs (and the February Baby Sweater from a few posts ago).


Pattern: Baby Bib O' Love from Mason-Dixon Knitting
Mods: Added lace stitches
Needles: 4mm and 4.5mm
Yarn: Various Sugar'n Cream cotton
Other materials: Pansy plastic buttons from JoAnn Fabrics


Next post: More stuff that I knit months ago. Ha!

Baking... But Still Not Knitting*

I haven't baked much since my college days because I try to eat healthy but mostly because my last two apartment stoves couldn't maintain a constant temperature. (When I bought a stove thermometer, I discovered that when set to 450 degrees F, my stove would fluctuate from 200 to 550 degrees!) However, over the last two months, I've baked this delicious Swedish Visiting Cake three times!

I hate frosting, so this almond- and sugar-topped cake is perfect for me.

I changed up a few ingredients in the recipe. I used 1 tsp of almond extract and only .5 tsp of vanilla extract because I wanted the almond and lemon flavors to be the focus. I baked two cakes with half white flour and half wheat flour, so the baking time was longer (38 minutes exactly both times), but when I used all white flour, baking took the recommended 30 minutes. I enjoyed the cakes with some wheat flour more (heartier taste), but my boyfriend enjoyed the pound-cake texture of the all-white flour cake more.

My boyfriend gave the cake rave reviews and said, "Your people [the Swedes] sure know how to make good cake!" I'm only an eighth Swedish, and I don't know if the cake is even a traditional Swedish recipe, but it sure is yummy. It's light (for a cake), and the lemon and almond flavors work well together without overwhelming each other. I enjoy it as a tasty tea-time treat. I also baked one for a Mother's Day lunch, and it was gobbled up.

*Psst! I have been knitting for the past couple weeks, but I don't have anything to show yet. I'm hoping to finish up a couple projects this weekend and take pictures.