Monthly Archives: October 2005

It’s Halloween! It’s Samhain!

By | | ,
8 Comments

Halloween‘s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Samhain marks the end of Summer and the beginning of Winter, the end of the light and the beginning of darkness. It’s historical origin is the Celtic Feast of the Dead and the beginning of the new year. It is the day when the gates between the worlds open, and souls are allowed to walk amongst the living and visit their relatives.

For this day, I’ll share a couple of recipes.

Soothing Tea

Ingredients:

  • green tea leaves
  • dry mint leaves
  • dry orange peeling
  • honey

Instructions:

  1. Bring water to boil (a bit more than a cup per cup of tea). Once it’s boiling let cool a bit so the temperature gets down to about 85-95°C.
  2. Prepare a mix of green tea and dry mint leaves. Warm the teapot with hot water and discard this water. Add one teaspoon of leaves and a (1 x 1.5 cm.) piece of orange peel per cup of tea to the teapor, and cover with the hot water.
  3. Let the tea brew for 3 to 5 minutes for a nice relaxing tea.
  4. Serve hot, with honey for sweetening to taste.

Note: You can dry the orange peel yourself. Peel an orange trying to avoid the white skin as much as possible. Place the orange skin in a bowl, and the bowl in a cupboard, so it doesn’t have direct sunlight, the temperature is cool, and there is a certain air circulation (any kitchen cabinet is fine). Let the peel dry for at least a couple of weeks, or until it’s totally dry. And it’s ready to use!

Edited to add, as Lia says on her comment, that the orange peel can aslo be dried inside a jar with sugar. This way also, the sugar won’t form lumps because of humidity, and it’ll get a slight orange smell and taste.

And a tea isn’t a tea with something to eat. Be brit and serve cool cucumber bite-size sandwiches. Or go along with the Halloween pumpkin crazyness and bake these cookies:

Pumpking Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 150gr sugar
  • 150gr flour
  • baking powder
  • 4 eggs
  • butter
  • 1/2kg pumpkin
  • raisins
  • liquor

Instructions:

  1. Peel the pumpkin, remove the seeds and boil for 20 minutes. Drain very well, and mash the pulp. Mix well together with eggs, sugar, flour and baking powder.
  2. Meanwhile, soak the raisins with the liquor. Drain them and mix with the dough. Butter a cookie sheet, and put scoops of the dough. Bake until golden at 180C.

Have all a happy day. And all hallow’s eve. Don’t forget to put a candle on the windowsill so your ancestors don’t get lost!

Sade

Two FO’s – Two “Project Sheets”

By | |
6 Comments
Checkerboard Scarf

Checkerboard Scarf

  • Pattern: Self-made (read here)
  • Yarn: no tag! Generic blend – 3 skeins, about 300gr.
  • Colours: cream, light brown and dark brown, all three twisted together.
  • Gauge: approx. 10 stitches per 10 cm. in stockinette stitch.
  • Needles: 8mm.
  • Finished measures: 180cm long, 22cm wide.
Windy City Scarf

Windy City Scarf on Rabbit

  • Pattern: Windy City Scarf, from the Stich`n Bitch Handbook
  • Yarn: Ornaghi Filati Lana d’Irlanda. 100% Pure New Wool (100gr, 190m).
  • Colours: shades 735 (dark red) & 29 (bright red) (1 skein each – used about half of each)
  • Gauge: 30 stitches per 10cm in p1k1 ribbing.
  • Needles: 6mm.
  • Finished Measures: 21cm wide, 100cm long.

Saturday Eve Handcraft!

By | |
3 Comments

What do you do a saturday evening, when you don’t feel like studying or going out and need to relax some? Handcrafting! I had seen some tutorials to make beaded stitch markers (like this and this) and since I’m planning on making the clapotis, I’ll need some (18, if I recall correctly).

On friday I went shopping, and on the way I took this nice photo of Ex-Wilma, the hurricane that left the Caribbean islands completely upside down, and left some tourists with ugly memories of their holidays and honeymoons. Wilma visited Madrid, and covered the sky with very dark grey clouds. The pic is taken around 6p.m. friday (28th October 2005) and I can tell it was very very dark. Once we got into the ‘eye’, it started pouring like there was no end- but we got a clean car *grin*.

Ex Wilma In Madrid

So anyway, I did some shopping and got some materials for making stitch markers. I bought some silver platted eye pins and 8mm. glass beads (with ‘cracked’ effect – they look like they’re broken inside … on purpose) in orange. I added some small beads, jewelry pliers, a metal knitting needle (instead of the pen that shows the pic) and made my stich markers.
Materials Stitch Markers

Searching the web I had also seen a “rudimentary” row counter, based on an abacus. So I took my jewelry wire and more beads in two different colours and made a heart shaped one (sooo cheesy!). You can see mine in this pic:
Row Counter

And, on the needles (or better, off the needles) is my Windy City Scarf. It only needs sewing in the ends that I will do in no time, because I want to use it on monday. Pictures of my fluffy pimp rabbit modeling the scarf:
Pimp & Scarf 01 Pimp & Scarf 02

Ain’t he cute? It was a present from a dear friend, and now he’s a top-model!

That is all, folks!

Sade

It’s Voodoo!

By | |
Leave a comment

I bought new slippers, they are fun, they have yarn(!) as the person’s hair, and they came with (what I call) a voodoo doll, and a voodoo doll keyring. Wanna see ’em bigger? Click on the pic:

Voodoo Slippers

On the knitting side: the Windy City Scarf is already at 65% (and it’ll grow more soon *ahem*) and the Hoover Blanket will be casted on soon – Thinking of getting a smaller project on the side so I just don’t have a big heavy project. I might try making the ‘present baggy’ for the socks mum knitted, with a nice edge. But then, I’ll need something else. Any ideas?

Sade

An Update a Week Makes It Be!

By | | ,
2 Comments

This past week has been good. Jan came here and we had a nice time. We did usual stuff, and we visited a new restaurant: Taj where we ate mjummy Indian food (oh, the memories… England… THE Indian restaurant…) and we ate Chicken Vindaloo – veeeeeery hot! amongst other delicious Indian recipes (Please, do order Garlic Nan – you’ll love it). We did some (window) shopping, walked around, had fun in all.

On the knitting news: I’ve got pics of that already (nearly) finished Checkerboard Scarf for a yankie friend of mine:

Checkerboard Scarf Checkerboard Scarf - Closeup

I also took a pic of the Windy City Scarf in progress (already switched colours):

Windy City Scarf

And then, I have to show: the socks my mum knit for me! They’re made in Opal Carnival (for those of you that are a clown like me):

Socks!

More news are I don’t have 550 grams of that knitting roving silk, but 1036 grams, cause my lovely boyfriend bought me a second batch on ebay. So I will have more than enough for the Clapotis and what not! I want to get some book on dyeing yarn, perhaps, so I don’t screw this silk… Any recommendations (on dyeing, and on books for dyeing)? And I got my new shiny new Addi Bamboo circulars, 100 cm long, for knitting that baby blanket. \o/ *cheer* I will start it soon now!

Sade.

PS: Jan is coming over again SOON! WOOHOOOOOOO

A quicky

By | | ,
1 Comment

I didn’t do more sewing this weekend, due to lack of time and space. So the bag is still at the same (unfinished) point. *sniff* I wanted to give it a push this weekend, but seems it’ll have to wait two weeks now.

The Windy City Scarf is going well! I’m already 33.5% done! The buttonhole is already passed, and looks cute. The Irish Pure New Wool knits up wonderfully, and it’s very soft and nice. I went up from 5.5mm to 6mm needles and I got the *exact* gauge the scarf calls for. Also think the yarn called for gives 120m per 100gr, and this one is 190m per 100gr, it’s much thinner. And still the fabric doesn’t look too loose or too thick. I am also thinking of making a second buttonhole at the other end, instead of just one…. Suggestions? Votes for the second buttonhole?

On other news… I can’t wait for wednesday to arrive!!!! Cause I’ll pick up Jan at the airport and he’ll be here until sunday! WEEEEE I should look up some restaurant to go to… mmm

Sade

Sewing, Shopping, Knitting

By | | ,
1 Comment

Yesterday was a holiday here, so I used the free time to cut all the pieces for my tote bag ( and needle case, and make-up bag) from the fabrics I had already bought (and washed… and being careful because they gave off dye..). That made a bunch of parts from two pieces of 120x150cm of different cotton fabric (red for the outside, stripes for the lining). And I started sewing the lining with its pockets – all done! This weekend I’ll try to sew the outside and maybe the straps and nearly finish it (I still haven’t found two cute buttons for it).

And today I did some more shopping, since I had to return the needles and won’t start the baby blanket until 2 weeks, I needed something else to knit. I’ve decided for the Windy City Scarf by Jennifer Mindel, that you can find in the Stitch ‘n Bitch Handbook that you can see on the right on the picture below:

Windy City Scarf on the right

I visited Lanas Sixto (Atocha, 9 – Madrid) and bought some Superwash Irish Pure New Wool, from Ornaghi Filati (yes, an italian yarn manufacturer, and irish wool…) in two shades of red (red rules, I love red) (picture below). It’s not the same thickness, but it’ll make a nice scarf nonetheless! I also bought some row counters (a set of two, actually, and cheap-ish, only 2.40e for the set). I will start knitting either tonight or tomorrow!

Irish New pure wool

I finished the checkerboard scarf a couple of days ago, only need to work the ends in and block it, which will happen next week probably. Then I’ll take a picture, and it’ll be nicely wrapped and packed and shipped across the ocean to reach a friend of mine. So that’s the first (nearly) F(inished) O(bject) on this blog, since the poncho still needs blocking and sewing, and putting the fringes… Need… More… Knitting.. Till… My… Circs… Arrive… (thus the windy city scarf *grin*)

Sade

I’ve been sick…

By | | ,
4 Comments

I’ve been sick for a couple of days already. Nothing too serious, just a nice flu/cold, with sneezing feasts and runny nose and fever (me and fever don’t get along well… the slightlest fever makes me feel really sick *sigh*). Anyway, I’m on my way to recovering! Which is fast and good news, this would take me usually a week.

I knit some too. The scarf is already 150cm long, and it will be around 180cm long (at least) so I have around 83% done (yay!) – considering this scarf will cross the ocean to get to its new home, I wanted to be pretty on time. You never know how long it will take to ship or if it’ll get delayed or anything. I’ll post a pic when it’s done!

Oh, and since tomorrow is a holiday (WEE!) I will start sewing my tote bag and needle case (self design – using Ikea’s fabrics, makes it very cheap) and some new courtains that need to be cut shorter. And of course, more knitting! And still waiting for my needles.. hope they get here this week… they should…

-update- the needles arrived today too… but they’re too short! I wonder how someone can knit a double knit blanket that is about 70cm wide with 60cm long (from tip to tip) circulars! I can’t! The fabric just won’t compress that much, it has twice as much stitches… I guess I should have thought of it before, but well, I trusted the pattern :( So I’ll exchange them *sob*

Sade

Knitting News Summary

By | |
5 Comments

Let’s start this new blog with a little something about knitting.

In the last days I finished knitting the pieces for my poncho (two pieces of 50 stitches and 102 rows in stockinette stitch, plus cast on and bind off). Now I need to block them to shape before I can sew them together and add the fringe and all that. The problem is, I don’t have room to block at the moment, so I’ll wait till Jan comes over and I can use my bed for blocking.

On a second note, the checkboard scarf in knits and purls, with a yarn that simulates three thinner yarns held together (in cream, and two shades of brown), is around 130cm long now. It’s a work in progress, and probably a present that will cross the sea. It’s a work in progress, but I hope it can make a Christmas present *g*

Then, I finished swatching for the baby blanket. It made a cute little blankie! And I ordered two circular needles, to knit the actual blanket. Double knitting here I come! It’s slow to knit, since it’s 15 + 80×2 + 15 stitches, two yarns held together, and wraping at the end of the double knit section etc… But I have some months to finish this – until the baby is born! It’s not my baby, the blanket is a present!

And then, I am waiting for my silk to come home along with my boyfriend (Hey, no, it’s my boyfriend bringing my silk… priorities *cough*). I bought some roving knitting silk on ebay, that I will dye in some variegated style (probably deep orange and red – make it colourful for winter!) and I’ll knit a Clapotis out of it. And since I’ll have leftover silk, I’ll have to look for something else to knit. The silk is 200 yards (about 182 m.) per 100 grams, and I got 550 grams – So, any idea what else I could knit with it? It’ll end being warm, so it’s a no go for a summer-anything.

Oh, and on a side note, I got my mother to start knitting again! She’s got into sock making! Socks anyone? We got enough yarn for two pairs and their respective present baggies. And yarn for two more pairs is coming this way with my circular needles.

I think that’s about all so far.

Except… maybe… WEEEEEEEEEE Jan is coming the 19th! *happy*

Sade

R.I.P. My Old Site

By | |
1 Comment

Due to some technical problems, all my site, and the blog, has been moved to a new location. My old site will be deceased soon, and no more content will appear there.

Lets all enjoy this new site, and this new blog. My old entries will remain in a private archive, but I might post them here (or some of them) when I have time and if I find they must be here too.

Le site est mort, vive le site!

Sade