Mmmmmm Cheeeeese

I don't think I've mentioned that I like to bake. We had a great dinner this weekend and I had to share, it would make a good appetizer and I can come back to the blog to remember what I did. This goes much faster than you would think.

Baked Camembert and Mushrooms en Croute


Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add some thinly sliced onions and saute until soft. Add ~4oz sliced mushrooms, I used white button since that is what we had, and saute until the mushrooms have given off most of their water. Toss in 1 finely chopped clove of garlic and some sherry and continue to saute until the liquid is gone. I stopped short of really caramelizing the onions but I'm sure it would be good either way. Season with a little salt and pepper if needed and set aside. Roll out a sheet of puff pastry and cut a circle big enough to enclose the Camembert. I scraped the rind off the top of the wheel just to give the filling a place to sit and not spill over when assembling but that is a matter of preference. Top the wheel with the mushroom mixture and enclose in the pastry, folds on the bottom. Trim excess, spread with nutella and bake later :) I baked the wheel at 350 for about 25 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned. Serve with slices of this bread. We didn't wait too long to dig in so the cheese was pretty runny, but that makes if very spreadable.

For dessert I suggest the nutella scraps and some cranberry dark chocolate chip cookies based on this recipe. Food is good :)

I don't know what got into me (FO: CoCo)

It started because I wanted a simple hat, and I wanted to use some leftover Berkshire Bulky that matched my coat. I've never been a huge fan of garter stitch but when I saw CoCo I had the "I have to make that now" urge. I don't know, maybe I have a thing for big ears

Pattern: CoCo by Chloe Sparkle
Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky 1 skein in Olive
Needles: Knitpick Options US 10

I took of knitting and in a couple of hours had a new hat. It is ridiculously simple and I think pretty cute. Unfortunately I think it makes me look a little....stupid, for lack of a better word. I'm not sure I can leave the house with it on which is a shame because I love the yarn. So soft and warm. My husband says nothing but he is looking at me a little weirdly. Oh well, they can't all be winners. I think Penny is tired of me exploiting her cuteness on the blog, she says to knock it off with the pictures and knit another hat.

FO:Gathered Scarf

Pattern: Gathered scarf by Maryse Roudier
Yarn: Bristol Yarn Gallery Buckingham ~1.5 skeins
Needle: Susan Bates US2 DPNS and Clover Bamboo US7 DPNS

Work has been hectic the past couple of weeks but my lack of ability to focus on anything complicated resulted in finishing my gathered scarf. I love everything about this scarf. The pattern is simple, the yarn is both soft and easy to work with and the look is really cute. I didn't block this because I like the puffiness and the way is curls so you can't see the wrong side. It took awhile but this has become my favorite scarf, I've worn it everyday since I cast off.

I may have mentioned here that I don't particularly like knitting scarves and that has been the case for awhile. I'm pretty much eating my words now, I don't know what has come over me but as soon as I finished this scarf I had the urge to start another. I think it may be that I like to have one simple project that I can pick up at any point and knit a few rows without following a chart. So this week I stopped in to Woolworks which is always a good time. We had a good laugh when my total came up as 48,000.00. I assure you I didn't have that much in my hands :) I've always liked that store and I plan to make that my first stop for yarn even more so next year. I don't order too much off the Internet but while this year has been the year to try many new yarns next year will be more shopping locally. Anyway, I've jumped on the bandwagon and scummed to my inexplicable urge to knit the Noro Striped Scarf. I liked this when I saw Brooklyn Tweed's last year but I didn't have the scarf itch at that time. After scouring Ravelry I decided to go with Plymouth Boku. This is a nice, inexpensive yarn with pretty colors. I'm just not sure I like the way the colors are striping, I 'm not sure if I will continue on or start over.

It had just gone on sale for 25% off that afternoon so I really lucked out, which kind of gave me an excuse to try Noro Silk Garden. This is another reason Ravelry is both cool and evil. I never liked Danica when it came out but while researching self striping yarns I came across some versions with Noro and I fell in love. Entrelac is really cool and I love watching the colors come out. I'm totally smitten with this scarf and it is just the right simple project to take on our Thanksgiving trip next week.


Adding to the scarf craziness is this out of Rowan Kidsilk Haze. I'm loving the look and feel of this yarn, I can understand why people talk it up so much. This requires chart reading but is pretty easy once you understand the pattern.


I did restrain myself and not buy yarn for Cosmicpluto's just enough ruffles scarf but I suspect I will break down eventually. Of the three scarves above one is a gift, one is for me and the other...I'm not telling. Bwa hahahaha. This below is definitely a gift, do you know what I am :)


Well, that was a pretty big update, I'm off to knit some more and make my WEBS list for our stop on Wednesday! I'm excited, my birthday gift certificate has been taunting me for over a month and I do love going to my other favorite yarn store.

Bitten by Brioche

I'm sure that title has made it's way around the internet but I can't seem to come up with anything else that fits. My Family is being sneaky and is now reading the blog to figure out if they are getting something for Christmas so I've decided to give it right back :) I'm not going to say what projects are for me and which are gifts, I may not even show the entire finished project here. Bwaaa hahahahahah! Anyway this is almost done and it is my first Brioche stitch project. It's a great pattern and works up quickly. The yarn is Mirasol Miski that I got from Yarns With a Twist in Chaplin. It is the softest baby llama yarn, it is like knitting with a cloud and feels amazing next to the skin.

FO: Phases of the Moon Sleeping Cap

My husband asked for a sleeping cap about a year ago and I've finally finished it. We worked together to create the chart and after a few starts it came together. Unfortunately my stranded knitting sucks over long areas of one color so the background color shows through. He says he likes it, I think he's just happy to have a soft hat. It was tested out last night and it stayed on throughout the night. Phew glad to have that monkey off my back! The yarn he chose was Filatura di Crossa Zarina, it is a washable wool that is wonderfully soft. I love knitting with this yarn and the Zara, both hold up well and are soft against the skin. It did grow after I washed it but a tumble in the drier shrunk it back nicely. Needles were Addi US3 16".

I'm hoping the full moon evens out with some wear, boy did I make that section loose.

Remember me?

I had to rip out just about everything I knit last week so I went back to an old project, my arabesque blanket. This simple hexagon gave me the small sense of accomplishment I needed. Now that the weather is getting cooler I really wish I had kept to my goal of one hexagon a week. I doubt this will get finished before Christmas.


This lovely skein of Classic Elite La Gran Mohair is evidence of how I have the greatest parents ever. They spent a weekend at the Cape for their anniversary and brought me back this gift from Adventures in Knitting. It is amazingly soft and I can't wait to knit with it, unfortunately I have a long long queue of things to get to. Sigh, I need few more hours in the day. I have finally started the phases of the moon sleeping cap that my husband asked for last winter, I'll have pictures once I get past the colorwork portion.

FOs and Frogs

To make up for the fact that we weren't going to Rhinebeck this weekend we decided to take a trip to the beach to enjoy the great weather. Penny loves running in the sand. Unlike our trip to the farmer's market she was very good. We kept her off the leash and she only strayed when someone started to reach out and pet her. That dog amazes me sometimes.


I took that opportunity to have a little photo shoot of my new fingerless gloves

Pattern: (Ravelry down, I'll edit later- based on Hello Yarn Socks)
Yarn: Jewel in Indian Corn from Mocha's Fiber Connection
Needles: Inox US 2 40"

I love them, perfect fall gloves. I cast on 49 stitches carried the twist over 6 stitches and had 1 purl stitch between the twists. I only wish I had done more than 4 pattern repeats before starting the thumb gusset.

I must knit more for my husband since he really enjoyed posing for me.


These are a simple 3 x 1 garter rib stitch sock. They are magic loop, toe up with a slipped stitch heel. The yarn is Valley Yarns Huntington in Charcoal. I really like the yarn and will be getting more soon. Now that the weather is cold I'm loving my hand knit socks and want more.

Now on the disappointment. I had settled on a pattern for my new yarn but I need to start over, my tension is horrible and the white yarn is too thin, you can see the red yarn through it. Sigh, now I have to knit the same thing three times. At least this gives me an opportunity to fix all the little things I didn't like about these arm warmers.