Fad-Classic progress

I've been knitting and knitting and knitting and this is all there is of my purple Fad-Classic!!! This one is going to take me a while - I'm going to chalk it up to the fact that I'm knitting with cotton on cheap needles and the fact that there is an endless p2tog row every couple rounds. I've put aside the Poms and haven't swatched for the Deep V yet because I can't wait to wear this. The texture is awesome - the pic below is a little fuzzy, but it gives you an idea of the depth in this stitch pattern. It's quite '50s and I plan on finding a little short-sleeved polo in another bright colour to wear under it. Love it!



[p.s. If you're looking for raspberry cheesecake, I've updated my post from Tuesday with the pattern...I mean recipe.]

RECIPE UPDATE - Freestyle Raspberry Ginger Cheesecake!

There is a birthday in the She's Crafty... household today, and raspberry cheesecake was requested. I decided to jazz it up a bit, and ended up with raspberry cheesecake filling on a ginger cookie base with fresh raspberries and grated candied ginger on top! I hope that the raspberry and ginger flavours go well together - I don't see how they couldn't. If it actually turns out to be good once we've eaten it, I'll post the recipe, since I totally made it up myself. Go me!

UPDATE: It was awesome and everyone loved it! So here's the recipe:

Blend 2 cups crushed gingersnaps (I banged up mine by hand with a big wooden spoon, but that was hard so use a food processor if you have one) and 1/2 cup melted butter, then press down into a 9 inch cheesecake pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Turn the oven down to 325 degrees.

Beat together 4 packages of cream cheese (I used the light kind, but you could go all out if you wanted to), 1 1/3 cups white sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla until fluffy. Then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time. Now here comes the magic - fold in 1 package of thawed frozen raspberries crushed up, juices and all. I think the package I bought was 300g. Pour the batter on top of the crust you made earlier, and then bake the whole shebang at 325 degrees for about an hour and 20 minutes. I followed some fancy-shmancy advice from epicurious and wrapped the bottom of my pan in three layers of foil, then set it in a baking tray full of water and put the whole contraption in the oven. It would have been sooooo much easier had I had a roaster or something with actual sides to put it in instead of having the baking tray full of scalding water sloshing around on me, but I think it was the water that kept the cake nice and moist so it was worth it.

Grate some candied ginger to sprinkle on the top, and then dot with fresh raspberries! Done!

Let the summer begin!

My exams are done! You know what that means - more time for knitting!!! I dropped by Beehive today and picked up some Butterfly Super 10 for my Fad-Classic vest, needles for my Deep V Argyle vest, and some snazzy new Fleece Artist Merino Sock, all at a 20% discount because I had filled up my frequent-buyer card (ha!). Let the knitting (and beer drinking) begin.

Yarn delivery!

Yarn for my Deep V Argyle Vest arrived today, all the way from Knitpicks! I got some Merino Style in Asparagus and Storm (excuse the glare on the labels - the sunlight helped me get an accurate representation of the colours). I'm a little nervous about this one - people in the knitalong have been having some gauge problems with this yarn, but I'm going to cross my fingers and hope for the best. This will be my first big project knitting fair isle, and I'm psyched.

Expect me to start swatching after my Bizzazz exam on Friday.

Pom Progress Pic 2

Man, this whole paper writing/exam thing really cramps my style. So this is all the progress I've made on Pom since I last posted. Pitful, I know. But I'll be done exams on Friday at noon, so expect TONS of progress after that. I'm finding the pattern really enjoyable to knit - much more interesting than my usual 'top-down 7 inch ribbed cuff stockinette foot" thing.

Pom Progress Pic

I had to rip out my first Pomatomus attempt - I had messed up royally because I just wasn't understanding the pattern yet. At some point last night though, it clicked, so expect smooth sailing from here on out. I'm using some Fleece Artist Merino Sock that I had lying around. I think it's got just enough variegation to keep it interesting without overwhelming the pattern.

Crafty purchase of the week!

After an good hard final exam, I like to kick back with a little crafty purchase. Today = The Happy Hooker by the one and only Debbie Stoller. I HATE crochet - hate it. But I think that's just because I don't know how to do it. So this book is going to teach me how. I'm pretty keen on one of the scarf patterns and the instructions for a cute little retangular clutch, but I really got this book for the all techniques covered. You never know when you might have to crochet yourself out of a jam.

New Knitty!

The Spring 2006 Knitty has been up since Monday! The articles are great, as usual, but I'm not really taken with any of the patterns this time around. I like Mesilla, but I don't think it's at the top of my list of things to knit for the summer. Hedera has been added to my socks list (after I finish Pomatomus), and I will definitely be knitting a Nautie soon - knitted toys are so in right now.

Finally, a finished object!!!

About 2 years ago, I bought a bag of Rowan Kid Classic in a wonderful charcoal grey. I absolutely loved it - it was soft and rich and fuzzy. First, it was an Under the Hoodie from Stitch 'n Bitch. The hoodie turned out fine, but the drop shoulder made me look like a linebacker. Rip. Then it turned into a Minisweater, which I made with with two strands of the mohair blend held together. As you may have been able to guess, it was a complete travesty - the pattern is awesome, and I plan to knit it again, but the thing was soooooo warm, I felt like I was wearing an electric blanket around my shoulders at all times. Rip. I was so disappointed that I couldn't find a pattern to fit this wonderful (and expensive) yarn. It was just going to waste. Then I thought about it - I could let the yarn guide ME! So I just started knitting (with only one strand this time). I used the same neckline done from the top down as the Minisweater, but once I reached the point where I wanted the deep v to end, I joined and knit in the round down to the bottom. I threw a garter stitch border on the bottom and on the sleeves, a voila! A Sexy Tunic! It's light and airy (which means it's not too warm) and it fits me perfectly. The Rowan held up like a champ throughout the entire ordeal - I took some scissors to it to tidy it up a bit, but other than that it looks gorgeous! I'm so happy that I finally made something that I can wear and enjoy out of this wonderful yarn.

In other knitting news, I joined the Pomatomus knitalong yesterday. The pattern is from the Winter 05-06 Knitty, by the supercool Cookie. I'll be knitting mine in Fleece Artist Merino Sock in a pretty bright varigated blue. Pics as I get something done to show!

Glampyre's (aqua)orangina!

I knit Glampyre's orangina last summer, but had never gotten around to sending it in to her for her reader gallery. So I finally got around to it, and it turns out it was just in time! The Sexy Knitters Club just started a knitalong for it and some people are having some trouble with the gauge. For my (aqua)orangina, I substituted Katia Mississippi 3 for the Rowan 4 ply called for in the pattern, but knit it in my regular size (36") with the needles called for (3.25 mm) and it turned out just the way I wanted it. Like Stefanie notes, it's probably better to swatch before you start to make sure your measurements are on track. You can't always count on the gauge faries to be hanging around like mine were!

[Note: I busted out this outfit today for the first time this spring, so today I'm wearing the EXACT SAME OUTFIT as in the photo. Weird.]

J-Go's super scarf

My friend Jen just finished this amazing scarf. She doesn't have a blog, and I thought it would be a shame for this not to be out there to be discovered on the internet, so I asked her if I could post it on She's Crafty to give her props. The pattern is from Instant Expert: Knitting - she knit it on 3.25 mm needles with Mayflower Cotton 8 that she got from Romni Wools in Toronto during my visit there about a month ago. J-Go = my new knitting idol!

Norwegian Stockings by One Eye on the Knitting!

I spotted these during one of my visits to Craftster, and they are absolutely amazing! (I love the heels too.) I'm knitting a pair of fair isle socks right now, but they are NOTHING compared to this. Big ups to One Eye on the Knitting. Turns out, I have the book that this pattern is from (Nancy Bush's Folk Socks) so these'll be up next on my fancy socks list.

Rip it up and start again

I bought this book today and I can't wait to use it to rip things up and make them into something new! Generation T has clear instructions for 108 t-shirt transformation projects from halter tops to legwarmers to a patchwork blanket. If you're not inclined to drop the cash on the book, check out the website, which features a blog (of course) as well as a project of the month taken from the super projects in the book.

Craft Enabling Alert!

ReproDepot, the most super fabric and notions online store in the entire known world, now ships to Canada!!! Gorgeous vintage fabrics, cool patterns, and unique bottons and patches are de rigeur from this premier online store. As if I need another way to spend money online...