Crochet? Why Not?

Everyone who knows me a little bit also knows that the last person to need a new and unique hobby, is me. I am also a prolific knitter and crochet only under duress (when the edges of something fancy demand it). I had a terrible time learning it as a child and was not interested in the frustration. I could never get the gauge right. Imagine my trepidation when my niece wanted to learn over spring break. And then imagine my surprise when I was able to make a quick swatch using THIS video almost instantly.

My niece is six, and so I decided to focus on the chain stitch first. We kept attaching it to the swatch when it got too long and dangling. 

This girl has so much grit! After I showed here with my hands on hers a few minutes, she was ready to do it herself. But she was very tense, which slowed things down considerably. I think we sat together at least 30-45 minutes before her first break. 

It’s too early to see if the hobby will stick for her, but I may have started a hat…

We were also delighted to visit the baby farm animals on our visit. My brother and sister-in-law had recently welcomed four Saanen goat kids and one Nubian goat kid. We were happy to cuddle them and sample incredible dairy products. 

The Farmer may also have a new hobby goal??

In spite of a freak blizzard during our stay, it looks like spring weather is starting to return this coming week as I go back to school. Enjoy!

No Adornment Needed

As it was a mast year last year, I processed several cups of acorn flour in the fall. I am starting to get worried that the flour might get rancid, so this morning I decided to finally make acorn pancakes using THIS recipe. 

I used 1/4 cup almond flour and 1/2 cup white flour for the white flour part, and 1/2 cup almond milk with the rest water for the milk part. 

The pancakes turned out so wonderful that they didn’t even need any sort of topping. The sugar in the batter made them sweet enough to leave off any syrup, preserves, or honey and the flavor was rich enough that there was no need for cheese or yogurt sauce. 

Of course I got curious how the batter would react in my waffle maker. The waffle maker did bake a little longer since pancake batter is typically more watery than waffle batter, but the flavor and texture was also outstanding in this format. I do recommend not overfilling the waffle iron so all the batter stays inside of it. 

Finally, nothing says helpful quality control like your cat sitting on the new blanket your are knitting! I’m about 1/3 finished and love how smooshy this blanket is turning out. 

Happy Weekending!

 

New Year, New Blanket

The first month of the year is gone, but not before I started a basket weave blanket last weekend! I was surprised, but then I remembered that this is the sixth blanket I’m making from the Done by Monday book. So relaxing and lovely…

Yarn is hand-spun by the friend I never met, Anne Cohee. I’m not sure she did anything but spin in her retirement, but I’m not sad. Yarn is held double and knit with size 13 needles.

Yarn and pattern are a dream to work with. With a source that is a Romney Brown named Helga, this should not be a surprise, either.  I foresee a quick finish!