Author: <span>Sheetar</span>
Fiber Festivals

Rhinebeck 2009

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Wow, what a weekend.   I’ve definitely got a bad case of the post-fiber-festival-shock in that I have to be back in the real world instead of oogling knitwear, squishing yarn, and snorgling sheep.   The fiber festival world is SO much more fun than this everyday kind of crap.

The haul?   I did well.   Fell off the budget wagon a touch, but I think it was well worth it and I can see all of what I bought being knitted before MDSW.   (Disclaimer: Just because I can see it happening doesn’t mean that another pattern won’t queue jump and ruin that plan)
3 skeins – Socks That Rock Lightweight, Mill Ends
2 skeins – Socks That Rock Lightweight, Rare Gems
1 skein – Holiday Yarns Sock Yarn
1 skein – Silver Moon Farms sock yarn (770 yards)
1 skein – Silver Moon Farms Laceweight (1375 yards)
2 skeins – Bijou Basin 100% Yak Laceweight (400 yards)
1 skein – Briar Rose, Charity (900 yds worsted)
Firebird Sock Kit from the Tsock Tsarina
4 oz – Targee Top from Mountain Colors
4 oz – Clover Leaf Farms Merino Roving
4 oz – Holiday Yarns Merino Roving
4 oz – Little Barn Linsi-Woolsie Roving
4 oz – Little Barn Alpaca Roving
Book – Vintage Baby Knits by Kristen Rengren (signed!)

I realize that means nothing to you non-knitters, but suffice to say, I got what I wanted, and then a little more.     🙂   Abbie and I did very well in terms of getting in early the first day, getting what we desperately wanted, and generally had incredible luck on our side when it came to just being in the right place at the right time.   For example, the Chicken Pot Pie line is known for being epic.   People usually wait a good half hour for this incredible chicken pot pie.   Us?   We got in line right when there were only a few people waiting.   Granted, had there been a half-hour-long line, we probably would’ve found something else to eat, but it was nice to finally get a forkfull of that yummy pot pie.   Then there was the Ravelry party, Saturday night, which was awesome.   The vanilla mead went over well, but I still managed to come home with a good amount left in the keg.   Sunday was rainy, but we managed to go through all the barns/buildings, grab a few things that we missed on Saturday because we had enough of the crowds really early on.   Sunday though, the grounds were rather empty, there were no lines, and much more room to browse around without getting bumped.   Finally got home to Pennsylvania around 8pm to my two little snugglebutt dogs who were thrilled to meet me.   The husband had left for a class in Texas, but had baked this incredible chocolate ganache/praline cake and left me a bouquet of flowers on the table.   Perfect end to a really spectacular weekend.

I will leave you with a photo  from Rhinebeck  and link you to my whole set from Rhinebeck on Flickr.   To all of you tweasels  who I met?   It was really, honestly great, and I hope to see you all again next year!
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Charitable Causes

Donating Clothes

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The husband and I have become pretty big on volunteerism,  domating to causes,  and donating stuff we don’t need/use to someone who does have a need.   I finally got the urge to clean out one of the two closets my clothes occupy and rid myself of some career clothing that I no longer wear – I’ve not been in a corporate environment where I need business casual for two years now.   Two closets, you ask?   Yes.   That’s what happens when you move from a new apartment with a GINORMOUS walk-in closet and into a newish house that was built from design plans from the 1970’s.   The closet space here is SEVERELY lacking, so I ended up with two closets full of clothes instead of just one big one.   Besides, I am going to the New York Sheep & Wool Festival and need more space for yarn.   Yes, yarn trumps clothes.

Anyway, I go through the spare closet of items I don’t wear often and realize there are a LOT of pretty basic items that are still in good condition, current as far as style (mostly basic stuff – black pants, solid color button-down shirts), and I really can’t bear to think of throwing a bag of very wearable, nice  clothes into one of those clothing donation bins.   So, I call up the local community services organization and they point me to Wings for Success.   Wings turns out to be a non-profit organization that helps women returning to the workplace after some sort of hardship (addiction, domestic violence, crime, homelessness, etc).   I called, made an appointment to drop off clothes, and selected two huge paper shopping bags (the ones you get when Old Navy is having a sale and you actually attempt to buy out the whole store in one go) of the nicest items to bring with me.   When I arrived, I was given a tour of the space which is really impressive.   Volunteers do most of the work, dressing new clients and sending them home with a week or two worth of clothes.   There’s a whole room dedicated to handbags.   Clearly, these gals know what they’re doing.

After seeing what they do, and understanding just how important it is to the women in our community, I felt the need to post something about it and spread the word.   If you live in Southeastern Pennsylvania and have a closet of career clothes to weed through, please think of Wings for Success before you throw out those clothes.   The best way to contact them is via phone, and the number is on their website.

Photography

Ciara

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This is Ciara.   She was a blast to shoot with and I’m really glad I had the chance to work with such a wonderful model.   Even beyond that, she’s a singer with some awesome music – click her name up there to go to her myspace page.

I’m still available to schedule a shoot with you, your family, friends, significant other, etc.   Just let me know, and we’ll get something together!

2009 Knitting, Socks, Spinning, Sweaters

September Knitting Wrap-up

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YES!   September is already over – can you even believe it?   The weather got cool so quickly, I feel like fall just came around and slapped me in the face with a wet trout.   Or assaulted me with acorns.   No wait, that was the squirrels.   Anyway, on to the knitting!

Just going back, again, to the Knitting Resolutions.

3. Knit one pair of socks per month

DSC_5265 Twisted Flower Socks
Pattern: Twisted Flower Sock
Designer: Cookie A.
Needles: US 1.5 (2.5mm)
Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Sock
–Ravelry Project Link–

Still going strong on the one pair per month goal. These were rather challenging in that there were a lot of twisted stitches, cables, and I had to pay attention on every row, but the result is a gorgeous pair of socks that I’m proud to have conquered. These came together in a trip to Loop in Philadelphia, on a whim, and just ended up being the pair-of-the-month. Dear friend Abbie graciously modelled them for me.


4. Spin four ounces of roving per month.

I got this one too! That is some lovely alpaca from dkKnits in the colorway, “Wheat Fields” and I’m just dying over how soft it is. This is the first time I’ve spun alpaca and it was like butter through the fingers – a very enjoyable spin! We came out to 400 yards from the 4oz of fiber which makes it fingering weight. Not sure what this will become just yet, but I’m sure it’ll let me know someday. DSC_5401


2. Knit two sweaters this year.

DSC_5444 Wicked Sweater
Pattern: Wicked!
Designer: Sarah & Rachel
Needles: US 6 (4mm)
Yarn: dkKnits extrafine superwash merino squish
–Ravelry Project Link–

IT’S DONE! One sweater down and one to go. This blocked out perfectly and the color is just spectacular – it looks much more incredible in person. The yarn is soft and squishy and really easy to work with, not to mention, again, the incredible custom dye job that Becky put together for me. I’ll probably be wearing this to Rhinebeck, so if you see me, come say hello!

To wrap this all up, Socktoberfest begins today and I’m all prepared to cast on for a mystery sock.   There are four total socks that I’ll be doing this socktoberfest, so wish me luck!

food

Jalapeno Poppers

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My two little jalapeno pepper plants were VERY good to me this year. TWO POUNDS OF PEPPERS good to me. The first pound went to jalapeno pepper jelly which quickly became a favorite with the husband. The most recent pound was waiting for me in the fridge since I wasn’t sure quite what to do with that many jalapenos. Someone suggested jalapeno poppers, but since I’m not a big fan of frying and have never really been able to get that whole breading thing right, the idea was pretty much abandoned.  Then I happened upon this recipe and decided to give it a go. The process involves cutting and de-seeding all of the peppers, dipping them in milk, then flour and after a quick dry, two rounds through milk and bread crumbs. It’s time consuming (especially when there are 56 poppers to make), but the result is a PERFECT jalapeno popper. I’m really kind of shocked that these came out so well. Served up with a little sour cream, they make a great snack.  I plan on freezing most of them to save for later since there are 56!

recipes

Torta di Mele

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Last week, Abbie and I went to the Hopewell Furnace and found that they had a small apple orchard open for apple picking. We picked about 5lbs of apples which have been sitting on my kitchen table, waiting for inspiration. Today, inspiration struck. During my last year of college, I spent a semester abroad, in Italy, and lived with a wonderful host family. Every morning for breakfast, there would be hot espresso, warm milk, and this delicious Torta di Mele or Apple Cake. I quickly fell in love with the cake and requested that my host mother walk me through making the cake so that I could write down the recipe and bring it home with me. Her recipe uses olive oil (I’d suggest a ‘Lite’ olive oil instead of the more flavorful Extra Virgin variety) in place of butter and while we use baking powder, she used, “lievito per dolci.” There doesn’t seem to be a difference between the two and I’m not sure if the chemical composition is the same, but it rises and tastes exactly as I remember. For apples, feel free to use whichever type you like, though a tart, firm apple such as the Gala or Granny Smith seems to work best.

Torta di Mele (Apple Cake) Print Print
Ingredients:  
2 Eggs 300 g (2.25 cup) All-Purpose Flour
200 g (1 cup) Sugar 1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 cup Olive Oil 4 Apples, peeled and sliced thinly
1 cup Milk 1 tbsp Confectioners Sugar (optional)
Instructions:
  • Preheat oven to 350F.Break eggs into a mixing bowl and add sugar.
  • Add oil and milk and slowly add flour.
  • Mix together until smooth, and be careful not to over-mix.
  • Add baking powder and mix in well.
  • Pour mixture into an 8×10 baking pan and layer apples on top or press under batter.
  • Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Sprinkle confectioner’s sugar on top while still warm.
  • Serves up to 16.
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    Gloves/Mittens

    Fabulous October Leaves

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    IS THAT NOT JUST BEAUITFUL?! And no, I’m not talking about the photography (while it is pretty damned good, ahem), I’m talking about the design and pattern that these delightful fingerless mittens were knit from.  I’m not biased because the designer might have taught me how to knit. I wouldn’t be biased because she was a college floor-mate either. Never.

    But, even if I was a little biased? You should still go buy that pattern here. Find a delicious fingering weight yarn that makes the sound of rustling leaves dance in your ears, and go knit and be happy. And warm!

    food

    Just a Light Snack

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    Sometimes, all you really want for dinner is a juicy tomato and some cheese.   You don’t?   Well, I DO!   The tomatoes are black tomatoes which didn’t really turn out as deep and dark as I had hoped, but they are still this gorgeous chocolatey red color inside and have this incredibly soft texture like velvet.   The color in the picture is pretty accurate on my PC.   Surprisingly, these fared rather well in spite of the awful blight this year (my roma tomatoes have been completely decimated), but they definitely aren’t sauce tomatoes since they’re pretty juicy and high in water content.   But, that does make them perfect for slicing up with some smoked mozzarella cheese, a little basil, and some balsamic vinegar for an evening snack.

    While the tomato crop hasn’t done so well, the peppers have COMPLETELY made up for it.   I have jalapeno, anaheim, and banana peppers out the wazoo.   I’m totally running out of ideas for them at this point and need help.   So, help?