Work in Progress Sunday

... because I never remember to do this on Wednesday!

About to be frogged

One of my students gave me a copy of Colorwork Creations as a good-bye present last year. I've been planning to knit her something from it and I finally got the chance to cast on after  Christmas. Unfortunately, the gauge in the book is 10.5 stitches per inch and the best I could achieve was 7.5 stitches per inch. (Yes, I'm a loose knitter.)

And yes, the mitten is almost double the width of my hand. The recipient's hands are even smaller than mine, so this clearly wasn't going to work.

I think I can rejigger the Sanquhar Squares pattern to reduce the mitten by about 25%. We'll see...

A failure of curry

I have two blocks of paneer in my fridge so I've been searching for good ways to use them up. This was my first attempt: a basic paneer curry from AllRecipes.com. It was perfectly edible but really boring. (My husband, while eating it, expressed surprise that it was an Indian-derived recipe.)

New recipe count: 6

Another whole wheat muffin recipe

My son keeps requesting "healthy muffins" so I've been trying different whole wheat muffin recipes. This recipe for whole wheat muffins with apples is probably not very healthy, but certainly is delicious and fairly easy to make.

Edited to add: they were so good that I made another batch the next day!

New recipe count: 5

400 and a Finished Object!

This is my 400th blog post. Not sure where the time has gone...

Two days ago, I finally put the second thumb on a pair of mittens I started over the summer.

The pattern is Norwegian Selbu Mittens (rav link) by Henriette Hope.
The yarn is Cascade Heritage Sock in Army and Natural.
The needles were size 3 wooden 16" circs (a pair) from Knitpicks.

I agree with Ms. Hope when she says that this is a not a pattern for beginners. While the charts were lovely and quite clear, one should definitely have knit at least one pair of mittens with charts and a gusset thumb before tackling these.

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Goals for 2013

I have a bunch of goals for this year. Many of them are the same as last year, because I actually met all my major goals for last year and felt really good while doing so.

1) Read at least 104 books (rereads are OK so long as they aren't the majority of the list)
2) Try at least 52 new recipes. (sandwiches do not count. Paninis and smoothies do.)
3) Watch at least 26 movies that are new to me.
4) Be kind.
5) Get more exercise.
6) Keep losing weight.
7) Be better at keeping track of everything.
8) Focus on the positive
9) Try to eat raw vegetables every day (NOTE: I'm already failing at this!)
10) Knit at least a little bit every day

Another success from SmittenKitchen: german pancakes

Just to be clear: I have made German Pancakes (also known as Dutch Babies) before. I was first introduced to them by my college roommate and I've continued to make them, on-and-off, ever since. This is, however, my first time with this particular recipe. I actually meant to make the Gingerbread version from Smitten Kitchen's cookbook, but at the last minute decided I wanted something with fewer ingredients.

Verdict: very good, and very easy if you have a blender.

New recipe count: 4

Mediocre whole wheat muffins

My older son requested "healthy muffins" for dinner so I poked around online for a bit and dug up these Whole Wheat Muffins from the NYT. We still have a bunch of pumpkin butter sitting in the fridge so I used a cup of that as my "choice of fruit or vegetable." I didn't have whole wheat pastry flour, so I subbed in a cup of white flour for wheat.

And they were only OK. I'm pretty sure there's a better recipe for whole wheat muffins somewhere, so I will keep searching. Feel free to point me at a recipe if you know of a good one.

New recipe count 2013: 3

Two new recipes for the new year

Just before Thanksgiving the NYT posted a long article on vegetarian food inspired by Southern traditions. I've previously made the mushroom gravy and stuffed squash (both delicious) and now I can confidently add that the salad of Brussel sprouts and candied pecans is also fantastic.

Be warned: it's a lot of work, and I didn't have any luck using their method of making the pecans.

Hence the second recipe: an easier way to make candied pecans. These weren't quite as crisp as I'd like, but given that the pecans were going stale, I think this did a great job of rescuing them.

New recipe count (for 2013): 1, 2