scurrying

Posted on Posted in food and garden, projects, spinning and fiber

oooh, it’s been a really busy weekend, one pre-christmas prep task after another and not much to blog about, i’m afraid. everything that needed to be mailed is going out the door in the morning, at least.

but once again, i am four days out from christmas and dashing to make the deadline with a few last-minute gifts. i have one HUGE secret knitting project that i started on thursday and must get done by the 25th

which has brought most other projects to a grinding halt. at this point, i am not having a panic attack over it, like i was friday—i think there is at least a whisper of a chance i’ll finish it.

the problem isn’t that it’s too big of a project—the problem is that there has been much other stuff to get done simultaneously.

i think though, that all the food and gift shopping is done now (can i just say—YAY!!). the cards are in the mail. i have a plan for christmas eve dinner, and we got a couple more patterns ready for release. we’ve gotten the workroom squared away enough that david can start—the rest of the sorting can wait til the week after christmas. (if that list seems disjointed, you should see the inside of my head right now).

i’ve been managing to squeeze in some sock knitting late at night in front of the TV—i’m working up a new design for the first shipment of dye dreams four seasons sock club.

i’m a little single-minded right now about making warm socks. i thought and thought, then remembered that i always wanted to do another gansey sock, this time a bit longer in the leg (though you could easily do it shorter) and with a little shaping. i’ve had that fishbone motif in my head for a couple of years as the top panel of said sock—no kidding.

the yarn provided—classy sox—is a soft and cozy merino/cashmere/nylon blend, sure to provide the warmth i’m craving. i chose the color before i had a design planned—i wanted a juicy orange colorway to brighten up our january, and mona and stephanie came through with a winner (it is much richer and juicier than the photo show).
i’ve been enjoying it so far and can’t wait to get through the pair—i think these will go straight into my sock drawer.

this morning we had spinning class and i’ve never needed the respite more than i did today.

linda has been making mitts with her handspun merino yarn—yum.

anne marie and barb have been test knitting sprössling sweaters and brought them last week for show and tell, but i never got around to posting pictures.

barb’s is gray and knit in the same yarn i used—lanas puras melosa fingering. she has two sleeves done and has started her fronts (or maybe it’s the back). jocelyn is also knitting hers in a gorgeous color of the same yarn

anne marie is knitting hers in briar rose grandma’s blessing and it’s working up a treat.

and um, why, yes there was some spinning too . . . .

we had a wonderful, relaxing class—i’m almost done spinning the singles from my AVFKW camel/silk—i think one more 2-hour session should do it. then i can ply; i can’t wait.

we’re all getting together wednesday night for a sip and knit—no fuss socializing and imbibing to ring in the holiday.

after class i took care of some desk work for a few hours and we squeezed in a photo shoot of the cité neckwarmer (to be released tomorrow).

david was just snapping the last shots when beckie called to say she was heading over; we had a date to make the pasta sheets for the lasagne we have planned for christmas eve dinner.

we got right to work as soon as she arrived and made the dough. while it “rested” for half an hour, we had a cup of coffee and one of michele’s homemade ginger cookies, sent along with the bags i ordered for christmas gifts (thank you michele, everyone agrees they are scrumptious!)

when it was time, we set to work, cranking two pasta machines at once

this is beckie’s first time making pasta, but i bet you can’t even tell—she looks like an expert. i mean, “beckie” is an italian grandma name if i ever heard one—am i right??

look at her go. we used the recipe in the mario batali book i have and doubled it. it’s just your basic pasta recipe—you can probably google him and find it right away (or another just like it).

with the two machines going, together we got the sheets rolled in no time
after we decided which sheets to keep aside for the lasagne, we set about running the rest through the attachment which cuts them into fettucine or angel hair noodles.

i was extremely pleased with the results—sometimes the noddle cutting doesn’t go so well and the machine doesn’t cut cleanly, but today, it all worked perfectly.

beckie is pretty, pretty pleased with herself, too.

we’ll eat the fine pasta noodles on christmas day with baccala in tomato sauce with black olives and capers (a favorite of david’s and mine).

i know this post was a little rushed, but that’s all i have time for now—i have a big secret project calling my name . . .

24 thoughts on “scurrying

  1. Oooh, I was so hoping you’d produce a pattern for Sprossling. I have 7 skeins of Lucy Neatby yarn waiting for it. Merry Christmas! The food looks fabulous!

  2. YUM!! I haven’t had homemade pasta in years…can I invite myself for dinner?? LOL Seriously, I am in a pasta kick right now and can’t get enough of it!

    LOVE, love your camel/silk…the color is scrumptious! I, too, cannot wait until you ply it to see what it turns into. Don’t forget to post the pics, please!

    Merry Christmas!!

  3. Good luck finishing that project….and while I’m at it…have a lovely holiday and a very happy new year. Thanks for the gorgeous designs and the entertaining blog posts this past year. It’s been such a pleasure!

  4. How do you store the pasta to use later? Do you dry it or bag it while it is still wet in the frig?

  5. Yes, it is a mad rush, isn’t it? Glad you liked the cookies! Good for you to still have some left – haha.

    You are a busy Christmas elf! But then again, you always are!

  6. Good luck with all your preparations! I know how you feel, having to go from one task to the next with no time in between. That’s not much fun.

  7. You get more done in one weekend than I get done in a month! You must have your very own Energized bunny. Merry Christmas!

  8. I feel the same way, too much to do and somehow I have much less planned than most years, I just decided what’s for xmas eve dinner and ordered the braciole yesterday!

    I am impressed with your pasta – I tried a hand crank one and I can’t do it alone, it walks too much, I have a kitchenaid attachment on my xmas list and since “santa” benefits from any cooking item I put on my list I have high hopes for that one!

    I feel woefully behind on my sprossling, I guess I’m the tortoise in this one! I got halfway through the increases up the back by the end of the day yesterday and so far so good!

  9. Go secret knitting!

    I’m excited about the pattern you are releasing tomorrow. Maybe when all of my holiday mayhem is done I can start knitting again. Or maybe not.

    Homemade pasta is the best! Another thing I should do if I have time…

  10. Mmmmm…..homemade pasta…..son #2 came home from school this morning and informed me that I have some “fattening up” to do…homemade pasta might do the trick! Thanks for taking my mind off of the as-yet-unfinished Christmas knitting! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

  11. Looking forward to the release of sprossling! I’ve found when the noodle cutter is cutting wonky it’s usually gummed. Try cleaning with a toothbrush and then flouring the whole rig.

    Merry Christmas!

  12. Mmm… Homemade noodles… I may have to do that for New Year’s (Christmas eve and day are already spoken for, by long-standing traditions). Those Sprosslings are looking wonderful — I have some catching up to do! And I should have known Grandma’s Blessing would work so well — it’s the miracle yarn that works for any project! 😉

  13. The pasta making looked like fun-and you did a great job. I’ve never attempted making my own from scratch. If I do I will have to have a pasta making expert/buddy like your Becky.
    Love the spun fiber-looks so sparkly and like fairy-spun. Gorgeous. The secret project looks “christmasy” in color-can’t wait to see what it is.
    I have one more Christmas project to get done-a bulky knit ribbed hat for my daughter’s fiance. Totally do-able in time, I’m thinking. If I start today, I can still work on the 2 pair of socks I’ve planed to finish by the 31st. (Although there is a baby sweater I need to get done by my trip to FL the first week in FL for my nieces baby gift….Hmmmm, guess I’m still feeling a bit pressured. Happy Holidays!

  14. Awesome! Yum! I’ve made ravioli before. My brother kept my grandmothers presses and molds and etc. When I was visiting his family in Florida we decided to take it out and put it to use. It came out really well. Makes it worth the work, definitely. I bet it’ll be great!
    Good luck with the top-secret knitting!

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