Signs of Christmas

Ahh yes. It's October. 

Time for the Christmas knitting to begin. 

Here is a little taste of the holiday season, thanks to Arne&Carlos and their new book 55 Christmas Balls to Knit.

The book full updated Nordic motifs and old world Christmas charm. As a bonus, there is an empty chart in the back of the book so you can make your own designs.

The only con was there is a very small, easy to look over paragraph about how they do their colorwork.(pg.22) They suggest the stranding method, and I thought it was odd that there were instruction and illustrations for all the other technical aspects of the project except this. I found that stranding the yarn on such a small project worked in the round really lent itself to bunching. Once stuffed they look fine...but there was a lot of tugging involved.

There is a Scandinavian technique called tvåändsstickning that I'm going to try. Don't ask me to pronounce that word, in the states it is also called Twined Knitting.  Hopefully it will work a little better. I'll keep you updated.

Lots of Norwegian Christmas fun will be had over the next few months. Oh, and watch out for Der Krampus, don't let him cramp your holiday spirit. (Pun totally intended.)

Ode to Kimchi

I may have been Korean in a former life. I LOVE kimchi. It's one of my favorite foods. 

As with all my favorite foods I am trying to make it myself.  Thanks to Momofuku and David Chang I had a recipe to start with. 

But.....

In the book Momofuku, Korean chili powder is called "kochukaru".....I found no such thing at my local Korean market. What I did find is the following: Gochujang, Gochitgaru, and Gochugaru.  

I figured it out...after standing in the spice aisle for about 30mins. Ugh. (P.S. go with Gochugaru)

 

So, now I have a VERY smelly container of fermenting cabbage in my fridge. It's been about a week and I have about a week to go. 

In the meantime my new task is to find some thing to eat with it. Korean BBQ party anyone?

**Update: I wouldn't call it a failure, just a very smelly adventure. I have learned that I am a fan of white kimchi, not red. Red is very sweet and spicy and not very pickled.

Also, everyone was scared of it and wouldn't eat it. So, I ate some then threw the rest away with a heavy heart. Sigh.

 

Adventures in Canning #2

Sour Pickels

The canning is not over, but it is winding down. Here is what I've made so far:

Spicy Pickles
Sour Pickles
Apricot Preserves with white wine and vanilla beans
Mango Peach Habanero sauce
Brandied Cherries with Orange
Chinese Five Spice Blueberry Jam
Blueberry Thyme Jam

Brandied Cherries

Mango Peach Hot Sauce

Finally, I can knit something for Darcy.

Back when I was working at the yarn shop I saw a blip, a small teeny tiny photo advertising Jane Austen Knits. Since then I've been scouring the internet looking for any sign. None was to be had.

I'm pleased to announce that yesterday pre-order began for this fun collection of knits. Yeee!

I'll be delving into the magazine after my Christmas knitting is done. But I wanted to share my joy now.

http://www.interweavestore.com/Knitting/Magazines/Jane-Austen-Knits-2011.html