I am so Finished

I started this sweater last year in August on our vacation. It has been so long that I barely remember how I did it. It all started when I saw this sweater. I wanted to make it, but change a few things: a deeper, round neckline and that the ribbing starts directly under the bust. I used Barbara Walker’s Knitting from the Top to make my own pattern.

I ordered the yarn from Louet ( sadly  discontinued). It is a single ply wool/silk blend and I kettle dyed it in red-violet.

Due to our heatwave I have been able to wear the sweater only briefly, but I think this one is a winner. The yarn is very soft, the neckline flattering, the sleeves have a nice length. The only negative is that due to the ribbing the sweater is very close-fitting. I thought about adding more stitches, but I really don’t like how increases look in 2×2 ribbing.  But all in all I am very happy with it.

Celebrate July With Raspberry Cake

I made this cake the other day and it was absolutely delicious. It would probably also taste great with strawberries. This is the recipe:

Crust:

35g soft butter, 35g sugar, 1 egg yolk, 70g flour -  knead together until smooth, wrap in foil and rest in fridge for 1/2 hour

Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C)

Roll  crust out to fit a 10 inch ( 26cm) spring pan. Poke holes into crust with a fork and bake for 10 minutes.

Lower oven temperature to 360 F (180 C)

Cake:

3 eggs, 75g sugar – beat in a stand-mixer on high for about 6 minutes until fluffy and light in colour, dust it with

75g flour – fold it in carefully

Spread 2 Tbsp of raspberry jam onto baked crust leaving the edges free, top with cake dough  and bake in the oven for another 30 minutes.

Glaze it with jam while it is still warm and top it with about a pound of fresh raspberries. Using a large spoon drizzle Dr. Oetker’s Clear Glaze over the raspberries ( I used cranberry juice for the glaze)

Don’t forget the whipped cream!

Heads up

My Etsy store will be closed in August. So please let me know if there is anything you need before I put my store in vacation mode. Thank you!

Even though my blog suggests I have not been doing much lately the truth is that I have not blogged about the things I have done. I have been making jams, jellies and syrups. I have made cakes, cookies and bread and (big surprise) I have even been sewing. The sweater I started in August last year is almost finished and I have started another scarf with handspun yarn.

Unfortunately I also have been hit by another worsening of my Asthma so that all that activity has slowed down to a trickle yet again.

In the photo is a silk/merino blend for my oldest daughter whose favourite colour is blue. The yarn is inspired by Intertwined. It is a single ply yarn where you add sparkly embroidery thread. I have been trying hard not to overspin the yarn. It will all be obvious when it comes off the bobbin! I think I should spin more often so that I remember the things I have learned the last time I did it.

I am not sure what I enjoy more: spinning the yarn or knitting with the handspun yarn…

Make Your Own Iced Tea

I love to drink homemade iced tea in the summer. Here is how I do it:

Fill a large cooking pot with 2 liters (quarts) of water and add 1 cup of sugar. Bring to a rolling boil (it will take a while). Turn the heat off and add 6 to 8 bags of black, fruit or herbal tea and let steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the teabags and mix the tea with cold water in the ratio of 1 part of tea to 3 parts of water. It is important to cool the tea down quickly as this preserves the flavour.

You can add ice cubes, slices of lemon or  mint leaves. My family likes lemon and summerberry tea best, but black tea is also delicious especially with lemon.

The way I design my yarns

When I design a yarn I start with how I want the colours to appear in a knitted sock. To avoid pooling I rewind the skein I get into very long skeins before I dye them. Then I apply the colours in a way that one colour is dominant with intermittent lengths of different colours in between. These are examples of how a variegated yarn looks like knitted up ( Photos are either my own or used with permission):

I also dye striped socks, where I reskein the yarn into even longer skeins so you get clearly defined stripes in a knitted sock:

Another design I have created are transitional yarns. These are dyed in 5 or 7 wide bands that change from one colour to the next.