Knitted Tiny Sweaters

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!! Are these not the most adorable things ever? I got the idea from wise craft; she was making a bunch of these to make some kind of christmas wreath. I thought they would be so cute as christmas tree ornaments. When I told Ferret what I was doing, his only response was a confused "why?" Bunny was more receptive, she never questioned why a person might be knitting really small sweaters for a christmas tree. I love her. So, obviously, the embroidered A and T stand for alice and tony. I can't wait until after Thanksgiving when I can get a little tree. This year I'm not going back to California for the holidays so it will be the first one I spend here. These are pretty fun to make so I may continue knitting these throughout the conference next week. We will see...

Fall Domesticity

I've been all over a new blog I stumbled upon recently: wise craft I can't tell you how much I love this blog. I found it when I was looking for quilting ideas and have been spending almost all of my free time reading it. In addition to being well-written and thoughtful, the blog is full of gorgeous pictures and craft ideas. I've been adding links from her posts to my tumblr account so I'll remember later.

Anyway, so I have been feeling inspired to sew and make things again. Part of it is the changing weather I think. Ever since the ORS deadline I've just been settling in and feeling domestic. I started piecing together patches for a summer quilt I am making. I'll take a picture soon, but I'm envisioning a simple blue and white quilt. I've decided to hand quilt it because I think it'll be a fun thing to have in my lap all winter long while I watch movies and such. I always like the tactile experience of working on something with my hands, whether it be knitting or hand-sewing. Speaking of hand-sewing, last night I started making a new set of cloth napkins for myself. I had some pretty green quilting cotton I bought from Joann's ages ago so I sewed one up and did a little embroidery on it.

It was so fun that I made another one this morning while waiting for my upside-down plum cake to bake. (Why was I not at work you ask?? Ek bleh.) The colors are kind of washed out looking, it's actually a brighter green than it looks like. Everyone knows I'm awful at taking pictures and my old camera doesn't help things much. But I love these guys and I can't wait to use them.

I'm planning to make a couple more so I have a set of four. I wish I could say they were all the same size but I'm not terribly consistent about folding under the edges the same amount. Oh well. Still pretty! For the next two, I am thinking of embroidering a snail or butterfly.

Babysitting

I totally forgot I took these pictures until just now. Around May or June, Ferret went off to visit Mouse and I babysat for him. Every day before I left for work I hid the babies under the blanket because Ferret was anxious that Tony would eat them while I was gone. It was rather nice having them around and one day I took a bunch of these pictures. Happy memories...

Basils and Other Updates

It's been a long time since I had a gardening post but that is not for lack of gardening. I just haven't been good about taking pictures and without a picture I feel disinclined to post. But I am trying not to let that stop me. This summer I planted some basil from seed and there were three plants that survived into the summer. I pulled one of the plants about a month ago and today I harvested the other two. I had a giant pile of basil leaves I tried to take a picture of, but alas! no batteries in my camera. I did try though.

This summer I also planted some thyme and chamomile from seed but the chamomile seedlings were murdered by some kind of larvae that have taken root in my seed starting mix. One thyme seedling made it and is happily proliferating in my Italian Roast coffee can.

And that is that!

Smoked Salmon Linguine with Broccoli

This is a dinner I've been fixing fairly often recently because it is so simple and also hits all the right number of notes for me.

Instructions:

While cooking linguine in a pot of water, casually slice some smoked salmon into bite sized pieces. I buy the small pack of TJ brand salmon, which is 3 ounces. I find that 1 oz is good for a single serving. Cut a head of broccoli into florets and set aside as many as you like. Cut a lemon in half. When the linguine is done, pull out of the water with tongs and drop the broccoli florets into the same water. Drop a pat of butter into the linguine and stir about until melted. Add a generous handful or two of grated or shaved parmiggiano reggiano cheese (accept no substitutions) and squeeze some lemon juice in. When the broccoli is done, add to pasta and toss altogether. Lay the salmon pieces on top and eat quickly before the salmon cooks through.

And perhaps for after dinner, enjoy a mug of green tea with a small slice of kasutera cake.

(Note: once I tried to tart up this dish by adding pesto. There are few instances in which the addition of pesto ruins things, but this is one of them. Keep this dish clean and simple. A twist of pepper and a small pinch of salt may be added if necessary.)