Knitting On

Wow, what a couple of weeks it's been!  Between finalizing and releasing my new shawl pattern Sothia, planting trees in the yard to replace those that died in last year's drought, attending a fiber festival, prepping for conferences and my mom's birthday, and working out details on my next pattern, I'm about done in.  

To everyone who made Sothia Ravelry's "hottest" pattern for two days and have kept it pretty well up there ever since - whether by buying the pattern, commenting with so much enthusiasm, or test knitting the draft - I humbly offer my heartfelt thank you.

I don't get much time to indulge in reading blogs, but every few weeks or so, I like to click and drift from one to another, reading about other knitters' and designers' doings and projects.  It's one of those mindless pleasures that I need as a break from always thinking, planning, doing, etc. That is how I became familiar with one of my tester's knitting and designing.  

Diana, or Deenulya (her Russian nickname and Ravelry username) is a superb knitter, having learned from her grandmother as a child.  She also designs lovely knitwear herself, and has a blog where she shares updates on her knitting projects and life with her beautiful family.  

Diana did such a wonderful job on the Sothia test knit that I just had to share (with her permission of course!) a few photos of her modeling her finished shawlette.  

Sothia is a true, wide triangle with increases on both sides, creating a shallow shawlette silhouette that is lightweight but drapes nicely around the shoulders.  

Blocking the finished object with a horizontally-stretched top edge enhances this shape, bordered by a flounce of restrained ruffles. 

Thank you Diana for the wonderful job you did on your shawl, your incredible photos, and terrific input on the design. 

Memorial Day weekend my friend Lynn and I had a great time being escorted by my husband (with my dog in tow) to the Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster, Ohio.  

We found lots to enjoy including these jacket-wearing sheep being guarded by an adorable shepherd-in-training Great Pyrenees puppy.

Of course there was loads of fiber and yarn to interest us like Knitting Notions' fantastic hand-dyed assortment,

Ohio Valley Natural Fibers beautiful gray mohair/ wool blends,

and their merino/ dog hair blend (!!?? - dog of unknown breed),

Lynn is an angora nut and cannot resist it's silky allure.

Especially when there was SO much of it to consider, like this lovely selection from Angoraonline.com

 

My Pom was a chick magnet.

The little diva just basked in the love.

I've now progressed to knitting on my next project, a light summer top in Louet MerLin, the swatch is shown below.  

I'm also knitting something summer-y in Classic Elite Allegoro linen/ cotton blend, that yarn is shown in the photo at the top of this post.

I normally almost always lean towards rich or saturated colors, but lately have found myself working with more neutrals, although they mostly do not suit my coloring at all.  Perhaps it is the lure of warm summer evenings and soft breezes?

Season's Knittings

Last weekend was a blur of cooking, wrapping, celebrating with my family on Christmas Eve, then getting up Christmas morning to travel several hours to my husband's family home on Lake Erie.  

 

Lots of knitting was accomplished, including work on another version of a Lingonberry Loop cowl scarf in worsted weight, and miles of swatching for the cable cardigan I'm planning. 

I also blocked the cardigan I've been puttering on for the last 3 months.

Our Pomeranian proved herself very much the lap dog and crafting buddy cuddling with my mom as my mom crocheted en route to the celebration.  

After a family gift exchange, I caught my husband, his brother, and my sister-in-law  sneaking off with the cookies as we walked up the street to a friend's house for a large festive gathering.  

It was a nice weekend but I'm glad to be home to take a long winter's nap before diving back into more knitting...

Knitting on the Road FO: Legwarmers, and a Holiday Recipe

 

Yesterday we drove about 2 hours north to Akron to tour Stan Hywet Hall.  Contrary to popular belief, this mansion was not built by a guy named Stan.

'Stan Hywet' is Old English for stone quarry, and this grand home was built by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company founder F.A. Seiberling, beginning in 1912.

No photos may be taken indoors, but you get an idea from the outside what an interesting place this is to visit.
 

The house, outbuildings, conservatory/ butterfly house and grounds are spectacular and the snowy setting was picturesque. The Christmas decorations are looking a little worn around the edges, but the home itself is worth seeing.

As I pondered a knitting project for the above-mentioned road trip I suddenly had a mad desire to knit something cabley.

I started and finished a little pair of legwarmers during the drive up and back, thinking they'd be a great extra cozy layer on a cold winter day.

Little did I know how handy they would be today as we went out to shoot photos for my upcoming Lingonberry Loop pattern. 

I've had cables on the brain lately as I ponder knitting several cable projects, some for publication next year. I think all this snow may have had something to do with my sudden desire for some cable knitting too!

And what fun the snow has (mostly) been. My little fur girl loves to play in the snow.

Well, she just loves to play, period.  But watching her enjoy snow is such fun.

Pomeranians were bred down from sled dogs, and a love of winter weather obviously runs in her blood.

The rest of today was a good one to stay indoors with a cup of hot tea, knitting and cooking.  My friend Cheryl is a big fan of Oreos, so I whipped up some of the easiest 'truffles' ever, using - don't laugh! - Oreo cookies.

These cookie bonbons are creamy with that distinctive Oreo flavor American readers might remember from childhood.

Food processor-crushed cookies are blended with cream cheese to form a dough for rolling into balls and dipping in melted chocolate.  So simple, so nostalgic, so tasty.  

Oreo Truffles Recipe

Recipe Notes

• Don't be tempted to use store-brand cookies unless you've compared them to Oreos.  The only store-brand cookies I've found that taste remotely as good in this recipe as the real thing is Trader Joe's brand. 
• Be sure to use at least 20 oz. of cookies or your dough will be too soft.
• If garnishing with crushed peppermint, crush the candies very finely to avoid cracking a tooth!

Makes approximately 3 dozen truffles, depending on size.

Ingredients:
20 oz. package Oreo cookies (not "Double Stuff")
For peppermint variation: 20 oz. peppermint-filled Oreos (if you cannot find peppermint cookies, use regular cookies and add 1/2 tsp. pure peppermint extract)
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
16 oz. dark chocolate, chopped, or use chips
Optional garnishes as desired, such as pure cocoa powder, crushed peppermint candies, shaved chocolate, colored sanding sugar or melted white chocolate drizzle.

Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor, crush cookies to fine crumbs.  Add cream cheese and process until completely blended with no white showing.  The dough should be slightly sticky but firm.  If it's very wet, the truffles will be too soft so add pure cocoa powder in tablespoons until it is firm enough to hold shape when rolled into walnut-sized balls in the palm of your hand.

Roll small chunks of dough into balls and place on a pan that will fit in your refrigerator.  Refrigerate at least one hour or until firm.

Spread parchment or waxed paper on counter surface.

Heat chocolate in a completely dry glass bowl in microwave, stirring every 45 seconds, until melted.  Even a small amount of moisture from your hands, a spoon, etc. can ruin your chocolate.  Do not overheat.

Remove truffle balls from refrigerator.  Using two forks or small tongs, dip balls into melted chocolate until completely covered, allow to drip over container for a moment, then place on paper. Every 10 balls or so, sprinkle with garnishes.

When the coating is completely solid, layer the candies with parchment or waxed paper in a storage container.  Store different flavors separately or they will all end up tasting like peppermint.  Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve, best if used within one week. 

Enjoy!