I just love fibre that is dyed bright colours, but the fibre wasn’t white to begin with. I’m currently obsessed with this Shetland top from Friday Studios:
Yum!
I bought a couple similar skeins that had a grey base from The Thylacine a while back too.
I haven’t spun that braid yet, but I have spun and knitted the other braid I bought:
I love that little shawl!
When I think about these colour combos in paper terms, I think of colouring or painting on kraft paper (another look I LOVE!).
While it might be all the rage to ‘put a bird on it’, Etsy has a few awesome sloth-related items as well.
I have to start with my personal holy grail, the knitting sloth print. I may actually need to order this when we’re back from vacation.
Screw any imaginary children, I want to hang this sloth mobile in my own room!
From kindergarten to grade 3 I carried a small stuffed mouse around in my pocket all the time…. I could do it again, with a sloth!
I’ve made us a travel journal, but I could have bought a sloth Moleskine!
Friends have been having fun with us on Facebook lately… our sloth-filled honeymoon to Costa Rica is rapidly approaching!
This video is one of the cutest things you’ve ever seen.
And that’ll be us soon!
That will also probably be me soon. 
There haven’t been any Week in Woolies posts for a while because… well… it hasn’t been that cold.
Just a sweater and a jacket, and I haven’t left the house in a hat in a while!
And when I have worn a scarf, it’s been the old blue-and-green standby.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about our mild winter. It’s just a bit odd!
I made this tart for a work potluck, and it was a huge hit. The oranges are roasted for so long that they are most of the way to marmalade by the time you’re eating it, which makes it a hit with me. There’s something about January/February that makes me crave marmalade. Probably because my mum cans 30+ jars of Seville orange marmalade every year to keep my dad in sandwiches for another 365 days. I’ll post about making my own marmalade later, today is about the tart.
I saw a basket of blood oranges at Safeway, and had to buy some most of them. I couldn’t remember seeing them there before, so they were a novelty. Then that night, I was reading my February issue of Martha Stewart Living (on the iPad… Canada Post seems to have taken my Feb issue hostage) and found this tart recipe. I figured it was a sign, and arranged a potluck at work for the next weekend so I’d have an excuse to make it.
Roasting the oranges was fun, and made the kitchen smell delicious. I started with those, as they roast for 2+ hours, and made the tart shell in between basting the oranges with orange juice. I feel like that shortened some of the kitchen time, as you have to be in and out of the oven every 30 minutes anyway.
Roasted Blood Orange Chocolate Tart – Adapted from (my hero) Martha Stewart’s Feb 2012 Living magazine.
I’ve laid out this recipe in the order I did things – give it a read through before starting to make sure it makes sense to you.
Makes 8 slices of tart.
Oranges, pre- and post- roasting. Inset is a regular orange for comparison.
Ingredients – for the roasted blood oranges:
4 blood oranges
1 1/4 cups fresh orange juice (4-5 regular oranges, squeezed)
1/3 granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
Preheat oven to 325F. Leaving the peel on, cut oranges into 1/4″ rounds (I discarded the tops and bottoms that were all peel) and arrange them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet or large metal baking pan. Pour 1/4 cup of juice over the oranges. Lay a piece of parchment paper on top, then cover tightly with tinfoil. Cook until peel is tender, about 2 hours, pouring 1/4 cup of juice over them every 30 minutes.
Ingredients – for the tart shell:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Once the tray of oranges is in the oven, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla to combine. Reduce the speed to low, and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the cream in 2 additions (I did 2 tablespoons for the first cream installment, and 1 for the second). Shape the dough into a disk and refrigerate until oranges are at 1.5 hours in the oven.
Ingredients – for the filling:
1 cup/250mL mascarpone cheese (at room temperature or close to it, so it is easily mixable)
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
1 orange
Once the dough is in the fridge, zest the orange, then mix the zest and powdered sugar into the mascarpone. Refrigerate if you are assembling the tart on another day, leave out to stay soft if you are doing it today.
At the 1.5-hour mark for the oranges, take your tart dough out of the fridge. Roll it out to a little less than 1/4″ thickness on a lightly floured surface. Fit the dough into a 9″ fluted tart pan with removable bottom. (I found mine at Crate & Barrel) If it tears a little, just patch it with scraps, pressing and smoothing the edges down so everything is level. Trim the edge flush with the top of the pan. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.
At the 2-hour mark for the oranges, increase the oven temperature to 375F. Remove and discard the tinfoil and parchment paper, then sprinkle oranges with the granulated sugar. Add the last 1/4 cup of orange juice, then return oranges to the oven for 15 minutes. Add the water and roast until slightly golden, 2 – 3 minutes more. Cool completely. I pulled my oranges out of the pan and let them cool on wax paper, because I was pretty sure that when they (and all the sugar/juice in the pan) had cooled, they’d be cemented to the cookie sheet.
Reduce oven temperature to 350F. Take tart shell out of the freezer and prick the bottom all over with a fork. Bake until firm, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Assemble the tart by spreading the mascarpone in the shell, then layering roasted oranges on top.
Storage:
Completed tart can be stored at room temperature for up to one day (I used a cookie tin that probably doesn’t seal completely).
Un-baked tart dough can stay in the fridge for up to 2 days.
I stored my roasted blood oranges overnight on the counter at room temperature in plastic containers with the lids not quite fully closed, so they didn’t get too soggy. The tart shell I left out, uncovered. Mascarpone should go in the fridge overnight, but remember to let it warm up before trying to spread it.
I’m sure every knitter has experience the following two things:
I had been feeling both of these things recently with my Honeymoon Shawl. I’ve been knitting away on the second half, yet feeling like it hasn’t been going anywhere. Last night at work I was knitting away, moving my Post-It up the page every time I finished a row of Chart 2. Chart 2 is 24 rows, and I need to do 6 repeats of it for each half. Yesterday night I was closing in on finishing the 3rd repeat when I looked down at the knitting in my lap and thought ‘That looks really long all of a sudden.’
Looked at my chart – 2 little hash marks, which meant I was still on repeat #3.
Looked back at the knitting – it looked longer than that.
Counted rows completed by counting the nubs on the edges.
Re-counted the nubs on the edges.
Counted the zig-zags in the middle, just in case I’d gotten the border chart mixed up and had done too many nubs.
And in that instant, I was suddenly one row away from finishing repeat #4! One row later, and I was working on repeat #5 of 6!
Thank you, knitting fairies.
So way back in the day, before the wedding, I had this crazy idea that I would knit myself a shawl in our wedding colours, teal and green. When I was assessing my works in progress in October, I found it again, and decided that it would be a great thing to take on our honeymoon. I could wrap up in it on the plane, use it when it gets cooler in the evenings, and it is a bit like having a piece of our wedding day there, colour-wise. I thought all these thoughts, and then knit myself some mittens, a few hats, and even designed P his own special hat. At the end of January, I realized that if I wanted to take it on our honeymoon, I better get knitting.
Potager is constructed by making two identical halves, and them sewing them together at the end. I finished one half quite quickly, as the edging part with the beads was already done from earlier in the year:
I worked on this half every spare moment I had, and when I was done, I started the second half. That went pretty quickly for a while, but doing the 60-row edging chart twice was quite daunting, and I slowed down near the end of it. Now I’m on the easier column section, but I keep finding other things to do when I should be knitting. I think I was going so fast earlier that I’ve knitted myself out.
I want a shawl that is about 60″-64″ long, and currently the one half I have done is measuring at 24″. I thought that would be fine, because everything stretches out when you block it – my Evenstar grew huge after a good bath and a good stretch! It was about when I lost the knitting mojo when I remembered that the teal yarn I am using is 100% silk and won’t block out like wool does. I should really try blocking the one half to see how much (if any) it grows, and to see if I need to add a few more repeats to it, and the one I’m currently knitting. The good thing is that all those stitches are still live and easy to knit on to, as you kitchener stitch it together in the middle.
Luckily, I’m getting a lot of knitting time at work lately, and I make sure that the only thing I bring to amuse me then is the knitting, so I have some ‘captive’ knitting time. It will definitely get done, if the silk blocks out bigger. If I need to knit 6″ more on both ends, I’m not so sure.
Any tips on blocking 100% silk? Will it GROW?
One of the things that has been exciting me the most about our upcoming honeymoon to Costa Rica is that it will be a totally different culture. A different language, even! While I have traveled, I’ve traveled from Canada to England and the USA. Yes, very different countries, and different cultures, but not different in the way I’m expecting Costa Rica to be different. It’s one of the reasons that when we decided to go somewhere tropical, Hawaii was never on the list. I want to try / see / experience totally different things!
Why then, do I find myself thinking thoughts like:
“Ooh, I should remember to pack some of our favourite tea bags!”
“Maybe a box or two of granola bars for snacks?”
Luckily, I hadn’t gotten as far as wondering if I should pack 3 weeks worth of cereal, but that isn’t too far off from those original thoughts.
Every time one of those thought bubbles putts its way across my brain, I remind myself that we want this vacation to be different from home. We want to try new things! So what if I don’t drink of cup of Stash’s Meyer Lemon or Green & White tea for 3 weeks? It’ll be waiting here when I get back. I don’t eat granola bars on normal days anyway, why would I drag a box all the way to Costa Rica? It isn’t like they don’t have things like tea or snacks. I want to truly experience the country, be immersed in it. Bringing things like that from home waters that down a bit, I feel.
Are there more perfect shoes for a crafty person? I saw these Campers at my local shoe store, Gravity Pope, and I love them! Measuring tape! They had in them in this yellow, or a grey (which looks more mauve-y on their website). I just love the yellow though, it seems more like the iconic measuring tape in my mind. I love the metal finisher on the end of the strap – another great measuring tape detail. To me, in the summer yellow is practically a neutral! I’d wear them with my denim shorts, my yellow skirt, my blue skirt, cute sundresses of any colour….
I also really like Camper shoes, they’re always so comfy, even the heels. I have a pair of grey suede heels, and some grey/royal blue flats and both are very comfy, although I probably should have bought a half-size bigger in the heels for shoes I could wear for longer amounts of time.
I suppose a true crafty person would make their own pair, out of actual vintage measuring tapes, but while I’m happy to make myself clothes, I have (so far) drawn the line at shoes. Who wants to be halfway to work when the stitching on their shoes bursts?!
What would you wear these with?
Would a sundress in this fabric be just a bit too too much? 
The fabric is from the Recess line by American Jane Patterns – it came in a few colourways from what I remember, but this is my favourite.
I started a Google doc a few months ago that I call ‘My big-item wishlist’. I like to note down things I want on there that are over $100. If it is under $100 and I really want it (skeins of sock yarn, I’m looking at you) I tend to buy it. But once things get into that 3-digit territory, I need to think harder about them. I should think harder about what I buy anyway, but here we are. Also on the list are trips I want to take (next year, in Rhinebeck!) and all sorts. I list the item, the price (or estimated price, for trips) and give a number between 1 and 5 indicating how badly I want it.
It helps me prioritize, because when I go to put something on the list I see all the other things on the list, and think about why I might want those things more (or less) than the new thing I’m putting on there. Sometimes it really gets me thinking… if I’m almost on the verge of buying something/putting on my credit card, but then I see the reminder that friends are meeting up in Chicago this summer, and I could buy the handbag/yarn/whatever, or save the money towards that…. I’ve crossed one thing off the list since I started it before Christmas: my camera, which I love and was totally worth it.
The current thing I’m obsessing over on The List is this purse:
It’s Fossil’s Mason Top Zip, and I love everything about it. The short chain handle, the long detachable strap, the colours, everything. But it is almost $200 here in Canada (and $168 on the US site, not that much less) so on the list it goes. The problem with this item is that I imagine taking it on all the (possible) trips that are on the list, using it every day in the summer…. so The List isn’t doing a great job as a deterrent right now. But we have a honeymoon coming up, and while P understands the need for many different pairs of shoes, he doesn’t understand the need for multiple purses. I’ve probably got about 6-8 and it confuses him. But a girl needs options, am I right?
Does anyone else keep a list like this? And how many handbags do you own? Is that number more or less than your shoe collection?
My mum sent P and I a cookbook for Christmas:
It’s a really fun book by a UK author/TV chef, and it only has veggie recipes in it. The author is not a vegetarian, but wanted to get people excited about eating vegetables, something I can totally get behind.
Mum bought us the UK edition, so there’s a lot of converting involved in the recipes. That’s a little odd, considering that Canada and the UK are both using the metric system, but he calls for cans of kidney beans measured in grams, and all the cans I buy at Safeway are labelled in mL and oz. But it’s nothing a scale and/or the conversion app on my iPhone can’t handle.
We’ve made a few recipes from it so far, but I wanted to talk today about the Mushroom Stoup. Called ‘stoup’ because he couldn’t decide whether it was a stew or a soup, it is a super-thick, mushroom-y meal in a bowl.
I’ve never been a fan of mushroom soup, but then my mushroom soup experience so far has really only been the gloppy, gooey canned stuff, or worse: stuff cooked in the gloppy, gooey, canned stuff like it’s sauce. ew. Salt overload! The photo looked so enticing, and it used some of the veggie stock we’d made (also from the book) a double batch of and frozen, so we decided to give it a go. I also wanted to try out the optional dumplings included in the recipe – just self-raising flour, butter, and cold water rolled into balls and tucked into the stew to cook for the last 15 or so minutes of simmering.
One of the ingredients was 50-60g of dried porcini mushrooms. I got to Safeway and found that while they carried dried porcini mushrooms, they were sold in packets of 14grams each. Ok, so I’ll need 4 packets, which will cost…. $18?!
I did debate about buying them for a few minutes, and in the end decided to give it a go. It was our first time making the recipe, so I figured we should follow the directions fairly closely. You soak the mushrooms in hot water for a while, then strain and reserve the water, and put the mushrooms into the pot, along with fresh mushrooms too. As we’d splurged on the dried mushrooms, I just used button mushrooms for the fresh.
OMG this meal was so good! It was amazingly flavourful, and the dumplings were delicious. Why haven’t I been making soups and stews with dumplings before now? I ended up using dumpling directions from a Jamie Oliver book I have and love, just because of the measurement weirdness. Same basic idea though.
When I told people at work I was eating mushroom soup, someone looked in my bowl and said ‘no way is that soup, there’s no liquid. And you have a fork in your hand!’ so the ‘stoup’ label is appropriate. I think this is what mushroom soup is meant to taste like, and it is nothing like the canned stuff!
When does a soup cross the line in to stew for you? When is it not even stew, and just a pile of mushrooms?
