In case you were wondering, the projects I was working on during the Cocoa Swap are still ongoing.
I really love the dragon scale pattern, but I can’t seem to get the fit I want.
This sample is my third try (currently in size 2 needles). I wish there were size 1.5 needles! Grrrr. Soon I’ll undo it and play around. I think the next version will be on smaller needles with an added repeat.
After a rough week, I got home late on Friday (thanks to a sick passenger on the subway) to find my Cocoa Swap package waiting for me. And just in time for a soggy weekend.
I can’t wait to try out the yarn. I think I’ll need to do something with cables since I now have another cable needle! I’m excited about the cocoa too. I love Trader Joe’s, but have never tried the cocoa. On the other hand, I’m quite familiar with the chocolate. 
For many years I had Trader Joe envy. My sister Caroline used to talk about how much she liked it, but living in New York, I didn’t have one of my own until a couple of years ago. My mother got a store before I did (Now she has two!). I make monthly pilgrimages for things like salsa and, more recently, Powerberries even though I live in New Jersey.
I’ll have to keep my little knit buddy up on shelf. Boo! has been admiring him a little too much. Luckily I can distract him with the empty box.
The reed infuser is really pretty. I can’t wait to try it out. I’m intrigued by the phrase: “blooms within twenty-four hours.”
Thanks, Ponyknit!
I must also thank my hostess Kate! She also sent along some goodies!
The silk will make a lovely spring/summer scarf! There’s a leather tote pattern I’d like to do soon.
Thanks, Kate!
A few years ago Marie Mockett gave me a spinning kit. (If you haven’t read her fabulous debut novel, Picking Bones from Ash, go get it and read it now!) It took me a little while, but I finally got around to trying my drop spindle out. Most of my attempts have not been all that noteworthy (There will be pictures at a later date when I have better consistency.), but I had some revelations, namely a series of inspirational blog articles.
The Yarn…
1. Do you knit, crochet, or do both?
Both, but I’m 98% knitter and 2% crocheter.
2. What is your favorite one-skein project? What item do you find you knit the most of?
This winter its Dragonscale Wristwarmers by Mary Hunt. You can find the pattern at ravelry.com. I got mine in a knitting calendar.
I’m a compulsive sock knitter. I’ve knit around 50 pairs of socks.
I knit lace every summer. For some reason I have no trouble knitting mohair in 90 degree F weather.
3. Do you like using a particular type of needle or hook? (wood, metal, straight, circular) Is there something you’ve been wanting to try, or a particular size you always seem to be short on?
Circular knitting needles rock whatever the size. I’m not too picky about metal or wood, but I don’t like plastic. I’m curious about an 8″ circular knitting needle. I have a project (see Question #2) that I could use in size 1 or 0. I’m pretty well stocked on most stuff although my collection of glove needles is scanty.
4. What’s on your needles/hook right now? What’s your oldest UFO (unfinished object)?
a. Dragonscales Wristwarmers in Koigu Mori (holiday treat to myself)
b. A snail hat in Malabrigo Aquarella
c. Toe-Up Socks in leftover Gypsyknits! Sock It Merino Superwash, but I’m running out of yarn. (Maybe more wristwarmers?)
My oldest UFO is a sweater the starts off in a circular pattern. The instructions are in Swedish, but I’ve been able to write out what I’ve needed so far. Unfortunately I’ve found a math mistake and I haven’t gotten past that. I’ll just have to make a muslin pattern and fit my knitting to that.
5. What are your favorite types of yarns? Are you allergic to any yarns, or just hate working with something? Anything type/brand of yarn you’ve been dying to try?
I love really soft, merino wools. I have a mild wool allergy and can’t use anything scratchy. I also like alpaca, cashmere and mohair (although I have enough mohair to last a decade). I love sock yarn and would eat it for breakfast if it had some nutritional value.
I really dislike acrylic. Acrylic is evil. Acrylic is cardboard in disguise. I’ll try to be open minded. If there’s a good acrylic that won’t turn to cardboard in a couple of washings, please let me know!
7. What are your favorite colors? Brights? Pastels? More muted colors? Variegated? Are there that make you want to stab yourself in the eye with your needles?
I love jewel tones: purples, deep blues, reds. Yummy, yummy! Smokey, moody and dark colors also work for me. I like wearing black, blue and gray in the winter. (It sets off the jewel toned accessories really well!)
Pastels often make me look washed out. I generally avoid light colors.
8. What is your favorite knit accessory, your fancy needles? stitch markers? your yarn cutter? What do you have TOO many of? What do you wish you had?
Hmm. will have to think about this one…I’ve never really thought about knitting accessories.
I could always use stitch markers since I seem to lose them so often. I guess I’m a pragmatist when it comes to these things. Function before decoration.
I also seem to be out of cable needles. The knitting gremlins has stolen my toys!
I don’t think I have too many accessories. Yarn, on the other hand…
The Chocolate
1. Do you prefer boxed/packets, or something homemade?
Not picky so long as it’s tasty. I prefer bittersweet and dark chocolate over milk chocolate.
2. Marshmallows or whipped cream?
Marshmallows!
3. Do you use any ‘add ins’
Brandy and Amaretto are not (although not in the same cup). I like chocolate with chili pepper, but I generally don’t doctor that myself.
4. Are you a year round cocoa drinker or just in the winter months?
Year round
5. Do you like flavored cocoas or are you just a ’straight chocolate’ kind of person?
I’ll try just about any combo. Raspberry-chocolate and chili pepper chocolate are my favorite combos.
6. Do you enjoy cocoa from restaurants or shops like Starbucks? What are some of your favorites?
For a brief time, Starbucks had a drinking chocolate that was very good. Mariebelle is one of my favorites!
7. You’ve just made the perfect cup of cocoa – is it in a thick mug, or a thinner cup? Where would you sit to drink it?
Thick mug. On or near the couch.
8. You’re enjoying that perfect cup, what treats will you enjoy with it? Are they sweet or salty? Crunchy? Soft and flaky?
Usually nothing, but if I do indulge I go for sweet. Truffles are the most decadent.
It’s all YOU!
1. Do you have other hobbies like spinning or scrapbooking?
I teach sewing professionally, but I love to sew for myself. I’m just beginning to learn how to spin. You can find lots of stuff on the Internet, but I’d like to take a proper class at some point. Is playing Xbox a hobby? I’ve been playing way too much Dragon Age lately.
2. Do you collect anything?
Yarn, fabric, kitchen gadgets.
3. What is your favorite part of Winter?
The lights at Christmas time. They make New York look magical.
4. What sort of scents do you enjoy? Any difference in what you like for your house versus what you like for your body?
Patchouli. I’m into woodsy and spicy scents. As for my house, I usually let the smell of dinner fill the apartment.
5. Are you allergic to anything?
Penicillin and its derivatives. (I just had a bad experience in which root canal was the best part of it. Yeah. Bad.) Apparently a whole lot of trees: pecan and oak are the worst. Melons, I can’t have any of them.
6. Are you on Ravelry? What’s your ID?
Yes. Yarndiva9.
7. How would you spend an ideal winter afternoon/day?
Knitting, playing Xbox, writing. Somewhere in there I’d love a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup.
8. What’s your favorite animal?
Imaginary or real?
I’m torn between dragons and unicorns for imaginary.
I like snow leopards, mammoths and miniature schnauzers. I wasn’t a dog person until I met my Boo!
Today Boo! turns eight. That’s in regular people years. Boo! claims that he doesn’t feel a day over four. Who am I to contradict the birthday puppy? I am tempted to start calling him Old Man Puppy, but I think I will wait until tomorrow.
So far we have no plans other than a couple of trips to the dog park, weather permitting. Perhaps we’ll do a little more when Papa gets home.
On our last trip to Chicago, Scott and I stocked up on some of his hometown goodies: Vienna Beef Hot Dogs (food writer/blogger Michael Ruhlman waxes poetic about the dogs here), Sport Peppers, and Chicago Relish so we could have Chicago-style hot dogs whenever we want. Our celery salt comes from Penzy’s, another Chicago institution, which has a shop in Grand Central Station. The dill pickle spears, yellow mustard and fresh tomatoes are easy enough to find locally. Here is the result of our latest effort:
I kept checking the Cherry Blossom Watch at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, but I never managed to get there this year. Scott started traveling for work and so we would end up doing stuff closer to home on weekends. The last thing Scott wanted to do was travel more on his rest days, and I found myself pretty tired from running Boo! around three times a day.
I was also less motivated by the fact that the complex I live in has lots of cherry trees around and for three weeks I had many different trees to catch my eye.
It started with these lovely white blossoms.
As far as Scott (and Boo!) are concerned, today tomorrow is the first real day of spring. The White Sox are going to play their first game of the season. The game scheduled for today has been cancelled due to the threat of snow.
A couple of months ago my husband asked me if I’d like to go to Tom Colicchio’s restaurant Craft for my birthday. I don’t know if I answered, but I do remember jumping up and down and clapping my hands. I might have even squealed. So I figure that that counts as a “Yes!” Unfortunately for Scott, he came down with a sinus infection and couldn’t go. He urged me to go so I did. Of course, I took pictures. Too bad the iPhone doesn’t have an app that captures smells.
Everything on the menu, which changes seasonally, looked great, but I decided on the tasting menu. All seven courses were sublime. (This saves me the trouble of trying to find seven different adjectives for super yummy.)
The dinner started off with Raw Tai Snapper, American Caviar and Island Creek Oyster. I love really fresh fish and this was melt-in-the-mouth fresh and the oyster was very tender. Mmmmmmmmmmmm!
The second course was Brebis Blanche Agnolotti Matignon & Lamb Bacon. The agnolotti were filled with a creamy sheep’s cheese and paired with really smoky bacon. Everyone took an extra slice of bread to sop up the gravy except me because we ran out of bread. A very astute busboy asked if we wanted more bread and so I didn’t have to leave any more gravy behind on any other dish.
I was really excited about the third course: Olive Oil Poached Cod, Morels, Chickpeas, Fava Beans and Razor Clams. I’m a fan of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations and have heard him rave about razor clams so now it was my turn. Oh wow! I totally get it. The razor clam was cut up into tiny pieces, lightly breaded and fried. Somewhere in all that, was something spicy. It woke up the entire dish. The cod was tasty and mild. I kept filling the morels with the fava beans and chickpeas (Those were chickpeas?!) and mopping up the sauce and the foam, but I was really waiting for the next bite of razor clam.
When course number four, Guinea Hen Black Truffle Grits and Brussels Sprouts, came, we began to wonder how many courses were left. The waiter assured us that there were two desserts, which made us all smile. I like Tom Colicchio’s thinking (or is it the Chef de Cuisine James Tracey?). I’ve had a few tasting menus that had really small plates, but in this case I was really getting stuffed. The black truffle was delightfully woody and the guinea hen was perfectly cooked. The grits were creamy and the Brussel sprouts so tender that I think Scott would have eaten them.
The final savory course, Elysian Fields Farm Rack of Lamb Gnudi, Trompette Royale & Swiss Chard, was the best yet. I was surprised and delighted with every dish, but I was most surprised that each kept getting better. One of the thing that had been a mystery while watching the show Top Chef was lamb. Every time one of the judge raved about how the lamb was perfect when it looked shockingly pink, I wonder is it was almost raw. I now understand. That beautifully cooked pink meat was perfect. Despite my fullness, I kept wanting to eat more. Oh, and hidden in the Swiss chard was some braised beef.
After all the rich food, this sixth course was quite refreshing. I could eat big bowls of Meyer Lemon Sundae Hibiscus Syrup & Coconut Meringue although I didn’t have the room at the time. As you can see, it was served in a shot glass. There was a couple of layers homemade granola.
For the grand finale, we had Chocolate Ganache Tart Cocoa Nib & Creamsicle Ice Cream. Slurp, slurp! I refrained from picking up the plate and licking it although the thought did cross my mind.
As we were leaving we received chocolate muffins as a going away gift. I shared mine with Scott and showed him pictures in the morning.
What a difference a day makes!
Here the layer of snow is covering the “ice rinks.”
Do you notice the footprints in these pictures? They don’t belong to Boo! I didn’t fancy slipping on the ice below, but obviously someone else didn’t mind.
When I walked Boo! this morning, it was 58 degrees F, a welcome reprieve from this winter’s chill! The snow turned the park into a couple of big puddles.
With a little luck the dog park will reopen this week.