Knit a little, read a little, watch a little

Monday, September 05, 2005

Still breathing...

... no significant illnesses to report. Yay me!

Knitting update: no photos - forgot to recharge the stupid batteries. The denim pullover is done. I skipped the neckband, because I didn't feel like futzing around with knitting it, finding a similar yarn to continue it so I could bind it off and wash it, then unravel and sew the damned thing on when the sweater looks just fine without it. The sweater is much less big and sloppy than I intended, but that's fine. I'm progressing on Spring Blossoms, although it looks like a crumpled heap of pink yarn. I straightened out the circular needles (40 and 60 mm), and am hoping it will be big enough to go on the 60mm needle, because that 40 mm is awfully tiny to be comfortable to use.

RIP Justice Rehnquist. He was one of the few justices who could write an eloquent, easy-to-follow opinion. Mind you, he was usually wrong (IMOSHO), but when you've got to read a lot of opinions, one that doesn't make you want to bash your head into a wall is always appreciated! As discussed in a previous post, I knew he wasn't going to resign, but would die in office.

Going to see Green Day tomorrow, and will crash at little brother's place rather than have someone pick me up. So I baked cookies. Peanut butter cookies made with spelt flour (his girlfriend can't eat wheat.) Not a resounding success - they aren't very peanut buttery. I'm not sure if it's the flour or not - it might be as simple as the fact that my mother bought whole spelt flour, and perhaps unbleached spelt flour might be a better choice (like the difference between whole wheat and AP flour.) Oh well, this looks like a stable relationship, so I may have much opportunity to experiment. I also made lemon poppyseed cookies for Mom (who hates peanut butter and anything made with it.) They're a Martha recipe, which I modified slightly - the original recipe has you reduce lemon juice and add a stick of butter, and add the warm butter to the creamed butter and sugar. I chilled the lemon butter, chunked up the hardened butter and chucked it in with the butter and sugar to cream, and added the cooled liquid with the egg. I think it makes for a better cookie - the warm lemon butter tended to melt the creamed mixture which kills your chances for a properly leavened cookie (the baking powder only increases the size of the holes made by the sugar crystals in the butter during creaming. Melt it - no holes to enlarge!)

Helen, I think the bias fair-isle would probably work in any wool/wool-blend worsted to aran weight yarn. Mission Falls is my choice because it is easily available where I live (at least for now). None of the local stores stock the Dale Freestyle, so a sub is mandatory. If there wasn't a good substitute locally, I might order the Freestyle from somewhere, or I might wait until Elann offered something that would work. If you really want to knit the sweater, there's always a world of options.