Ursa
One of my biggest projects last year was a gift for my younger sister, Sarah who lives in Vermont. She's cold a lot so a red wool/alapaca blend sweater seemed like an ideal choice. She's a bit picky about her clothing, in that she doesn't like anything "fussy" so I settled on Ursa from Berroco Booklet #279. Since I don't know when I'll see Sarah next, I got a local friend to model it for me after it was finished. This was knit in the 44" bust size, which is a bit bigger than Jodie normally wears, which accounts for the drooping shoulder seams. Speaking of seams, the sweater is knit in pieces and seamed together. Because I am a crazy perfectionist, this part of the process took me 10 hours. Do the seams look fantastic? You better believe it. Did I remember to take a photo of them? No, of course I did not.
I purchased many sets of buttons for this sweater and finally settled on these vintage ones from an Etsy shop. I loved their delicateness, their color and their slight variations. Thankfully, I knew my sister would love them too. If I were to knit this again, I would knit a more structured button hole than the yarn over hole specified in the pattern. The pattern also called for stitching the two layers of the button band together around the hole but if I had done that the buttons would not have fit through the holes (and they're a little smaller than the pattern suggested). It's a little tricky to button it, but not frustratingly so.
The pattern called for 10 skeins of yarn. I only used 6.5. Mileage may vary on that one, but I suspect the estimates for the booklet are a little high. I liked the yarn, it has a silky hand to it once blocked, but the processing chemicals made me a little itchy (I find this common with alpaca yarns. I can handle them fine after they're washed which is my main reason for suspecting processing chemicals instead of the fiber itself. And I can handle raw alpaca fleece with no problems!) It is handwash only and sheds like the devil while knitting with it (or washing it!) but I'm pleased with the final product. And my sister was thrilled.
Smashed Chickpea Salad
One choice D and I have made this year is to try and cut back on our meat consumption. This means more mushrooms, more whole grains and hopefully, more beans and bean-like objects. I have a great aversion to the slightly gritty texture of beans though, so I'm searching hard to find ways to enjoy them. I like hummus, so that's one. And now I like this lemon-y, onion-y, olive-y salad. It's a great balance of crisp and soft and tangy and salty. I highly recommend it, especially on a piece of seeded whole grain toast. My next recipe to try? Crispy roasted chickpeas. Then maybe I'll move on to another member of the bean family!
Noro Clapotis Scarf
In November I ordered this single skein of Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn in color s269 from WEBS. Inspired directly by this clapotis scarf. I don't normally go for pale neutrals like this but there is such amazing depth of color in this yarn. It's Noro, so it's a little "rustic" and there were two knots in the skein which didn't bother me. I managed to use all but 4" of this skein of yarn, something about which I am truly thrilled. And now, for a close up:
A wee yarn review. Yarn is thick and thin. I doubt I would use it for socks, but I love it for this scarf. I find it very soft to the touch, even around my face, but mileage will vary on that one! Like I said, there were 2 knots, 3 is acceptable per manufacturing standards and because of the neutral color palette there weren't any harsh jumps in the color sequence. Not very much vegetable matter in the skein either, although I've heard that can be an issue with Noro's yarns. All-in-all, I really enjoyed working with it, I would use it again for similar projects and I think it's worth the cost (MSRP $19.95)
Settling In
We're settling in here at the new house (In all my nerddom I've dubbed it Casa de Baya or "Berry House" for it's pale pink color on the outside.) Our move was both spur-of-the-moment and long-coming all in one. We tend to spend quite awhile debating big decisions and then move on them in one fell swoop. So far it's worked out pretty well for us.
The benefits of Casa de Baya are many. We're only attached to one neighbor and separated by a garage. We have a garage. And a washing machine and dryer. The kitchen is a huge upgrade. We can have a dining room table. We were able to pick paint colors. I have room for container gardening. The neighborhood is awesome. Mostly, we feel at home here. And that's the most important thing for us right now.