Saturday, November 21, 2009

Bread, yarn and lace

First the lace: I am really happy with the way the lace edging is turning out on the shawl. It is hard to see how nice it is in the unblocked stage so I hope you get an idea of it.

I chose to leave it as it turned out. The second row of the pattern is on the right side. I also didn't do a chain st as I joined. I did a k2tog on the wrong side, turned, and then slipped the st with the yarn in the back. This creates an edge that looks about the same on both sides.

Thank you for the encouragement and the condolences on the long binding off/edging process and the help in deciding which side to make the right side.
Here is a close-up of the lace border. See how nicely it echoes the triangles in the edge of the shawl?
This view is from a little further out. I am a little less than a quarter of the way done. There will be 48 repeats of the edging in total and I have completed 10. They go pretty fast but I get tired of doing it so I don't do more than 2-3 at a time. There is no rush. It will get done.

Now the bread part. I baked a loaf from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day. I tested recipes for this book and this is the basic recipe for lean french bread. Except that during the testing, I discovered I could add sourdough starter to it and also mix up the flours. So this is mostly whole wheat flour with a bit of rye and a little less than 1/3 bread flour. I added a cup of mixed dried berries/cherries - mostly cranberries but I used up some dried blueberries and tart cherries - and a cup of walnuts to the dough. It makes a pretty loaf when cut.
My loaf shaping skills are getting better but they aren't great yet. This is acceptable, not ugly but not beautiful. You can see the loaf got a lot of spring in the oven - those cuts were closed when I put it in.
I am preparing to knit my first bottom up Faroese shawl. This is the lot of yarn that I put together for it. I am going to start with a provisional CO at the bottom, knit up with the blue Mini Mochi yarn (the balls) first, then the green and finally the Socks that Rock (the skein) if I need it. The rest of the Socks That Rock will go into a lace edging at the bottom that I'll add on later. Isn't it amazing how well these go together given I bought the Mini Mochi yarns at one time and the Socks That Rock at another?

Yes, I plan ahead but that is the way I am. I plan out projects in my head (imagi-knitting) long before I actually start to knit them. I usually only knit one project at a time and I guess this is how I get variety in my knitting!

8 comments:

Colleen said...

Store bought bread is usually perfectly formed. Homemade stuff is usually less perfect, so I associate less than perfect with delicious, so *that* is what I think is pretty ;-)

Nancy said...

The bread looks so wonderful that I am imagining I can indeed smell it. A blue stage, yes, so I see. I've gone through red years and green years, so I understand completely!

N. Maria said...

Very creative in they way you made it look the same on both sides.
The edging is perfect! It DOES echo in the edge of the shawl.
Mmmm, your bread looks delicious!

Thérèse said...

Stor rund Dug is looking lovely, and the loaf is gorgeous!

Preeti said...

I love how the edging frames your shawl perfectly and I can't wait to see your new shawl with those gorgeous ensemble of yarns. Yummy bread too!

Rima said...

That blue is gorgeous. Great lace work.

Anonymous said...

Can you post a recipe for your choc/espresso bread? Gloriously yummy looking!!!!

Ann said...

Thanks! I'll have to remember the tip on joining on the wrong side for my next project.

Bread and shawl both look fabulous!