Berry and Bramble Cardigan: Finished!

I'm crowning this my BEST KNIT EVER!

Pattern: Berry and Bramble Cardigan by Mary Gehling; Fall 2009 Interweave Knits

Yarn: Elann Peruvian Highland Wool in Oatmeal Heather; 10 and a half skeins

Needles: US #7

Notes: This came out better than I ever could have imagined. The pattern actually calls for a dk weight yarn but I had this worsted weight in the stash for a long time and I got gauge with it just fine. I was afraid that the bubbly pattern was going to add a lot of "padding" and look bulky on me but I'm pleasantly surprised that it adds no bulk!

It's always good to learn something new and I learned how to do a three needle bind off in this pattern. If I had known how easy it was I would have learned a long time ago! I pretty much followed the pattern as written. There was some confusion with decreasing and the stitch pattern when doing the front neckline but other than that everything was very straightforward. I have to say I am VERY impressed with the Elann wool. I expected it to be scratchy but it's actually fairly soft where the collar touches my neck. Although I can't yet testify to it's durability, I will definitely use it again.

It feels great to finish something up before the new year. I'm going to wear this one so much!

I hope everyone has a wonderful new year! see you in 2010!

Over too quickly

All that preparation and before you know it it's over. I took all our decorations down today. I like to have everything cleaned up by New Year's Day because for me it starts off the new year fresh with no mess to clean up and nothing to pack away.

I hope every one's Christmas was wonderful! Ours was. It was our first white Christmas EVER! So much fun!

The table runner was finished in time. The recipient loved it. Thank goodness!

A sweet Itty Bitty Baby Dress from Made By Rae was made for my favorite niece. Fabric is from my all time favorite online shop, Hawthorne Threads.

One of Jack's presents seemed to have the wrong contents:

And, what I'm most excited about.....my Berry and Bramble Cardigan is DONE. D.O.N.E. Done! It is almost dry from the blocking I gave it and I'm hoping to get some good pictures tonight. So, look for an FO post in the next few days.

going just a little insane

Well, despite my best efforts, I'm scrambling to get all the last minute stuff done. It didn't help that we spent part of last week in Vail, CO to visit a cousin. We drove. That was a BIG mistake. Jack was ready to get out of his car seat after the first hour. Not good. He wasn't really impressed with the snow either although he looks like he's having fun in the picture. I think 15 months old is too young for such a long trip. Oh well, it sure was beautiful there!Unfortunately, this is all the knitting that got done on the whole 18 hour drive!!! (that's just one way)

Pretty pathetic. But, Jack is not a car sleeper and had to be entertained the whole time. You can tell it wasn't much of a "vacation" for me. My Berry and Bramble cardigan is "this" close to being finished. I really, really wanted to have it done for Christmas but it's just not going to happen.

I've also been busy with this last minute Christmas commission for a custom table runner:

Despite all of this I am really looking forward to Christmas! I love watching people open up gifts that have been thoughtfully chosen or made just for them.

sometimes "making do" turns into something spectacular!

So, last night, it was 5pm and I had no clue what we were going to have for dinner (anybody with me here?). It was a chilly, damp, dreary kind of day and I wanted something to warm our bones but didn't have any of the ingredients I needed for the soups I normally make. While I was looking for inspiration I stumbled upon a tomato soup with grilled cheese sammies in an older issue of Everyday Food. I didn't have the exact ingredients called for so I made some substitutions. OH. MY. YUMMMMM!

Here is my highly modified version:


1 tbs olive oil
1/2 a yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
salt & pepper
1 can (14.5 oz) Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, undrained (I used Hunt's brand)
1 can (14.5 oz) Whole Tomatoes, drained (yes, you read right, drain this can but not the other)
1/2 a can low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp of dried basil leaves
1/2 cup heavy cream (or more to taste, I just eyeballed it)

In a large pot, heat oil over medium and add onion and garlic. Season LIGHTLY with salt and pepper (do not over salt. the canned tomatoes have a bit of salt in them and you can always add more later). Cook until onions are soft, about 5 or 6 minutes.

Add cans of tomatoes and basil and increase heat to medium high. Cook, stirring, for about 5 to 7 minutes or until tomatoes begin to break down a bit (use a wooden spoon to break up the whole tomatoes as you stir it).

Add broth and 1/2 cup of water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Puree in 2 batches in the blender (BE CAREFUL and don't create pressure in the blender by completely sealing with the lid...unless you want hot soup all over your kitchen (a lesson I learned several years ago) Leave the small hole on your blender lid open and lightly cover with a towel when you start to blend).

Return soup to pot and stir in cream. Turn heat back up to medium high and season to taste. When soup in warmed to desired temperature, take off heat and serve. Makes about 4 servings.

Now, let me just say, my husband does NOT like tomatoes. He will eat spaghetti sauce and salsa but plain tomatoes NO. Well, he really liked this soup and that is saying a lot!
I think his favorite part was the mini grilled cheeses we had with it (sorry, didn't get pics of these):

Loaf of Rosemary Potato Bread (from the store bakery) or any crusty bread you like
Butter
1 slice of non-smoked provolone cheese for each sandwich

I sliced the bread into 1/2 inch slices and buttered one side of each slice with a doubled over slice of cheese in between. Cook in a skillet over medium heat until each side is golden. These were soooo good with the rosemary bread!

As I was eating my soup I was thinking how good it would be to add a few slices of roasted red pepper into the soup with the tomatoes. I'm definitely going to try it! You know, if you don't have heavy cream on hand you could probably use canned Evaporated Milk.

Jack sure did enjoy "helping" set up the Christmas tree:
I was worried he would try to topple it over and pull the lights off and generally destroy it but he's actually done really well with it. Still, we put most of the ornaments on the top half of the tree.

Ah, and here is my sadly unfinished Berry and Bramble Cardigan: I really, really want to get it done soon! It's been hard to find knitting time lately because I cannot knit when Jack is around. He constantly tries to pull on the yarn or the needles and it makes it pretty much impossible. All I really have left is the shawl collar. It's going to be a booger though. I've picked up about half the stitches and already my circular needle is full. I really don't want to buy a longer circular but I may have to.
I would love to have this finished for Christmas. We'll see. It comes so fast!