Knit night!

I went to my first-ever knit night, and met a group of great ladies. I'm hopeful that I can make it over at least a few times each month.

Mmmmm. Pumpkin!

We carved pumpkins Tuesday night, and I roasted the seeds. Not as good as last year... but I forgot to mark the recipe I used. That's one big down side of Internet recipe-hunts, I've found. I can rarely re-find the ones I use.

This morning, I made whole wheat pumpkin scones, based on the recipe at A Dash of Sass. I used a food processor, instead of making them by hand, and substituted milk and Splenda for the cream and sugar. I was also lazy, and did not use nuts or fancy up the tops. Some mornings, it's quick gratification.

The adjustments I made turned this recipe into a diet-friendly scone -- something I really need to do more.

Whole wheat pumpkin scones (based on A Dash of Sass recipe)

2 c. whole wheat flour
2 t. baking powder
1/3 c. Splenda
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 t. grated nutmeg
1/2 . ground ginger
1/4 t. ground cloves
1 egg
1/2 T. vanilla
1/2 c. pumpkin
1 T. milk
1/2 c. butter, cubed and chilled

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix pumpkin, milk, vanilla and egg in a bowl, put in refrigerator.

Pulse dry ingredients in food processor to mix.

Add butter, and pulse until it looks like clumpy, wet sand. (about 10 one-second pulses -- be careful not to overpulse)

Add wet ingredients, pulse just until dough comes together.

Turn dough out onto counter or other surface. Roll out to 1 to 1 1/2 inch thickness and cut into triangles. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake 15-17 minutes.

These are darn good scones. Though, when I make them again, I would up the spices and add a tablespoon of real maple syrup to give it a bit more flavor. There wasn't quite enough zing for my taste. But they were delicious with butter and coffee!

Owl Baby Vest: Finished!

I am so thrilled -- I'm all done with the Owl Baby Vest. Henry will be able to wear it tomorrow, to the Three Pillars Ceremony. I'm so excited!

And, for my first-ever attempt at embroidery, I don't think it's half bad, though I can tell I need some practice with the technique.

The pattern's available for free, here: http://caffeinatedyarn.blogspot.com/2008/04/owl-baby-vest.html

Here's a picture, of the vest on the floor. Once I've got it on the kiddo, I'll get a photo of it in action.

The importance of yarn choice

When I decided I was going to make the Owl Baby Vest for Henry, I thought about what yarn to use. I knew I wasn't going to use the DK in the pattern, because I needed to make it bigger but didn't feel like doing a whole bunch of math.

He's a toddler, and I figured superwash would probably be best. But I didn't have any superwash in the stash. And I had no yarn money.

I did, however, have a TON of Cascade 220.

Despite its non-superwash status, I cast on. I'm making great progress on the vest, but I didn't get it done in time to put Henry in it for a family wedding yesterday afternoon.  The armhole ribbing wasn't done yet.

And, it's a good thing.

Henry puked all over, almost as soon as we sat down for the ceremony. I was covered in it, he was covered in it, and if he'd been wearing the Owl Baby Vest, the vest would have been covered in it. It would probably have been the first and only time he would have worn it. Not exactly sure how I would have gotten the baby puke out of the hand-wash-only wool vest.

Lovely.

I'm going to be adding some superwash to the stash.

Owl Baby Vest: Yarn ball wound!

I did the math, and all I've got to do to adjust the baby-sized Owl Baby Vest into a toddler sized vest for my little guy is go up a yarn size.

My hope is that the vest will be ready for Henry to wear to a wedding next Saturday. I'll have to be one speedy knitter (not my normal state) to get it done in time. The only yarn I've got in the house is Cascade 220. No superwash. I know I'm tempting fate... but I don't care!

If I can get this finished, and the Third Wave Harf done, then I can start socks and a sweater for me in November. I've got some great yarn for both projects and can't wait to get cracking!

Here's hoping...