Making Bread

I decided to try yet another way to make bread. This is the basic bread recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. The theory behind this book and its two sisters is that you mix a big batch of very wet dough and store it in the refrigerator. You bake one loaf at a time when you need it. 

I am not sure that my dough is wet enough but I am going to go with this the first time. I did sprinkle in a bit more water on top of the dough. I don't have a 5 quart container to store the dough in either so I halved the recipe and used my 3 quart salad container. Now I wait 2-5 hours and either bake one of the loaves or I bake in the evening twice this week.

Why yes that is my new Danish dough whisk that I received for Christmas. Thanks for asking. It worked fine and mixed the dough quickly. I really like it as an option for hand mixing dough. Especially with a dough like this that comes together easily.

I jumped when I saw the book sitting at the library. I had been wanting to try it for a time. You know I do so love the library. It is just too bad I can not learn from osmosis, or else I would be brilliant.

Now I think I will knit on my sweater for a bit while I wait for dough development.

Warm?

I finally decided to take some pictures while the light was not horrible today. First up are socks that made the jump after sitting in my stash for 2 years. Now normally I don't keep stash that long but this was acquired during my first trip to NY Sheep and Wool Festival commonly referred to as Rhinebeck. 

No wait my first trip to Rhinebeck was in 2007, that is some well marinated wool. There is still another skein still  in there. Oh my!

It is Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Pheasant color way. I originally bought 2 skeins to make socks for D but he vetoed them. No worries I love the colors so I made a pair for me. Now what will I do with the second skein? I keep wanting to make mittens but I think the mohair in this yarn would drive my wrists crazy. Who knew my wrists are such delicate prima donnas? I think a shawlette would prove to be the same issue but different area. My neck is just as sensitive as my wrists.

Plus I already have a shawl that I love beyond all reason. I made the Multnomah shawl from some alpaca  yarn from Times Remembered. This yarn was so squishy and soft that I had to get it. I let this one sit for a while as I did not know what to do with it either. 

My first Multnomah was way too small for me so I thought a sport weight yarn with more yardage would suit me better. It has quite a good wingspan, but I wanted something that I could wrap a few times when needed.  I have been wearing it since I finished it. I did not even bother with blocking I just wrapped and went. I think that is what I like best about it, it is casual and functional. I like beautiful things but at heart I am a practical person first. 

Do you know how difficult it is to photograph the color grey? All nuance is lost it just comes out looking flat and grey. I like to wear it draped over my front with the ends hanging down my back or wrapped again around my neck. It has come in quite useful this winter. It keeps out the wind that always seems to find a way to get into my bones and chill me.

So that is what has been keeping me warm. What has been keeping you warm?

Confession

Yes, I have one.

I have never once partied like it was 1999.

Even when it was 1999.

I am disappointed in myself too.

I feel like I am letting Prince down somehow.

Even though I know Prince does not care.

My kidneys are happy that I have not.

I feel better now.

Blah

Dang you winter you got me again. Instead of staying home, knitting and making bread I had to go to work. I know what a bummer. Thank God I have a job, it certainly comes in handy when I want to do some stash enhancement.

My knitting is in a bit of a winter hum-drum too. I find when I am hum-drum I usually find nothing all that attention grabbing so I usually have lots of things on the needles. Sorry no current pictures because my lighting is still having its winter feelings too.

First I am working on a sock that I started in September 2010 but dropped off the knitting radar for a couple of months. Then because it kept mocking me when I went on Ravelry, I picked it up. Embossed Leaves sock in Knitpicks Stroll in Forest Heather color. I managed to finish the first sock and have the cuff finished on the second one, but my fingers are faltering.

My second subconscious avoidance project is my CPH sweater. I am just not seeing how this one is going to come together and have hit the wall of 'what if it does not work?' The simple time proven solution is that I will reknit it and I will eventually make it work but I do not seem to be to the 'just do it the first time and make your mistakes' phase. Since I have class next week I will need to get my bum in gear and just get it done.

My third problem child is my wavy cables socks, I am of the firm opinion that the current project will not work for me and I need to frog and start over with bigger needles. Why can't I just make it work the way it does in my head? Alas

Fourth is my 'hmm I wonder what this yarn will look like knit up?' phase of desperation. Now the yarn is pooling funny and I don't think it is going to work. Off to the send it back pile with you.

Fifth is working for me as I have one completed sock but the colors are not what I imagined them to be. So even though the colors are bright enough to bring me out of my funk, I am just not going along with the ride.

See what I mean I am in a winter blah. Soon spring will have sprung and my knitting and I will be in love again. Ah renewed love, come visit me soon OK?

I make bread

I've been experimenting with bread making over the last year or so.  I started with making the dough in the bread machine and shaping and baking in the oven. Then my bread machine went kaput.

I thought they looked good and I know they tasted fine! Then I went on to making dough for pizza too.

Turns out my favorite toppings are chicken, onions, and green peppers. Can you tell I lean more to the Chicago style rather than the thin NY style pizza.

I discovered cheese as a bread topper. Man do I love cheese on almost everything.

More recently I've been experimenting with a different style of bread. Instead of mixing everything and letting it rise a couple of times, you mix the liquids and part of the flour and yeast, cover it with the rest of the flour and yeast mixed and let it develop for a few hours. The liquid portion bubbles up through the flour layer. It feels a bit like chemistry class, although I don't remember baking bread in chem. lab.

The theory behind this method is that the flavor develops more. Now the first time I made this type of bread it took all day! Now it is not like I was in the kitchen working all day, but I did not feel like I could make other plans while making this. Every few hours it wants your attention.

As you noticed there are no photos of the bread. Hmm I wonder why?

I'm looking forward to making more. And we discovered last night my bread makes excellent garlic toast too. I wonder if I can make good French toast too?

Knitting for warmer tea

Awhile back I knit a cup cozy for when we went camping. I first admired the pattern in Interweave Knits Holiday edition a few years ago. It worked as well as a cup open in the outdoor cold can work. 

Since D rejected the gold colored yarn on his sweater and I was looking for a quick easy project, I remembered the cozy.

Yeah I like this one too. It is so nice to start and finish a project in the same day. Feels like I really got something done with my day. I especially like to make a cup of tea and cozy it while knitting. It really helps keep the heat inside the house.

Some people like to knit hats as a quick project I like to make reverse hats for my cups. Does that make me weird or just a tea lover?

Lessons learned in sweater class

So I had my first CPH class (Central Park Hoodie, a sweater) and wow am I in for a learning experience! Since I think of myself as a sock knitter that knits a few other items I will be getting my money's worth out of this class.

First lesson, and I did it right, was knit a swatch, a good sized swatch. As I am a very tight knitter, although not quite as tight as when I first started, I went up a needle size above the size recommended in the pattern. I did a couple of rows in garter stitch so my knitting would not curl on itself as much. I did about 5 inches widthwise and 4 inches height wise. Then I switched to the recommended needle size and knit a bit, and without thinking I bond off without knitting matching garter. At least I could tell where I started and where I ended. As a weierdo 'sockie' I instantly preferred the tighter knitting that was not gauge. Hey, what can I say tight to me means my socks will last longer, too bad it does not mean the same in sweaters. In sweaters it means something like wool body armor. Which is something I am not opposed to, but it may not be fashionable.

For the record my friend Kisknit made perfect swatches. So perfect they were held up as examples in class. I would hate her more if I did not know how much she stressed over getting the swatches just right. Perfection takes practice, and she did.

Second lesson, those diagram thingies at the end of some patterns are quite useful. I did not know that you could knit different size sleeves (to fit your arms) than the size sweater you're planning to knit. I thought if you made size X sweater the sleeves had to be size X too. Nope, it turns out if you have size X body and Size Z arms you can make your sweater the same way. Who knew? I am feeling a bit like this could be a weird FrankenSweater, with all mismatched parts.

Third lesson, I have no flippin' clue how to knit a sweater other than a top down raglan. Since I am the only one in the class not to have made a sweater that must be seamed up, I am feeling way out of my comfort zone. I am worried that I am going to spend a lot of time and money and not have a wearable item. I know I will not let this happen but I worry about it nonetheless.

Fourth lesson, I still have a lot to learn and I have 3 weeks till our next meeting and a sleeve and half of a back to complete in that time. Do you think avoidance therapy will help. I don't think knitting on other items will get me a sleeve and half back. Dang if only it could.