Home value

The pattern is Homage to the Granny Square from an online class on color theory and crochet from Sue Maton of the Mercerie. I learned a lot about color theory and crochet in creating this afghan. The process is to choose 5 colors for the center that grade from one to another. I went from blue to green, as you can see, but some people went from yellow to gray or black to red. The colors didn’t need to lead from one to another on the color wheel. Then you chose 4 boarder colors and d1 or two pop colors. I cheated a little and chose 3 pop colors. And I don’t regret a thing. The designer used Rowan Felted Tweed, but I really wanted something a bit more washable, so I went with Cascade Ultra Pima. That also makes the afghan a little more generally usable all year, rather than being just for really cold weather. I do still have a ton of ends to weave in, but that can happen gradually. I’m calling it done!

Throughout my efforts this year to become a better baker, I have been trying to work from scratch as much as possible. Occasionally I will go with a premade crust for pie, but usually I try to do completely homemade. However, this week I tried a box mix special – Pistachio Pudding Bundt Cake . The ingredients include eggs, water, milk, pistachios (optional), and vanilla extract. And a box of cake mix and a box of pudding mix. Basically, you throw them in a bowl, mix them up, and bake. So how did it go? Pretty good! I’m tempted to say homemade would be better, but that may be just my desire to complicate things beyond what’s necessary. If it looks like the cake has an odd shape, that’s because it does. I baked it in this pan , which I could not resist. I think next time I use it, a batter with no inclusions will make the details stand out a little more. Or maybe a little bit of decorating? We will see. So this is a good reminder to me that it’s OK to shortcut sometimes. I do like...

This book is the end product of Kate Davies’ knitting club event for this year – a read along of several of Margery Allingham’s mystery novels accompanied by some lovely knitting patterns. The essays and patterns in this book were released periodically though the club time period. This club was a bit different from what she’s done in previous years, and was a fun departure from the usual. Margery Allingham was a prolific mystery writer working around the same time frame as Agatha Christie. I had not heard of her before this club, so it was good to encounter a new mystery writer. The book has 9 essays from Kate and a few other writers on Allingham, her writing and her times, and some related topics. The final essay is on knitting in detective fiction! There are also 11 patterns included in the book for a variety of projects. Hats, slippers, sweaters, scarves – something for everyone. That includes a sweater for your favorite dog! By and large the patterns have an art nouveau ...

This week I only have one WIP to report on. I’ve done a little bit with Powdermill, but not that much. I do have a lot of progress to report on my Homage to the Granny Square! The side borders are on, and now there’s just the top and bottom granny square borders to add and a few rows of double crochet to add around the whole thing! I’m not sure if we’re supposed to do the final border in one color or several or what – didn’t read that part of the directions yet. But I’m getting there! What projects are you working on and how are they going?

This certainly isn’t pie, and it’s not really cake either, but it’s baked in a bundt pan so I’m calling it close enough. I made this Cornbread Bundt with Savory Cheese Filling the other day for supper. Suggested use is as a side with soup or chili, but we decided to just have this with salad on the side. It is really delicious! 10/10, would definitely recommend! Have you tried any new recipes lately? What were they and how did they turn out?

Some good progress to report today! My Homage to the Granny Square afghan is under construction! I got a layout I was happy with organized, and am putting together the center. After this, I have the crochet square border to put together and attach to the center, then a final border to crochet around the whole thing. I am very happy with how it looks so far! The other big project I’m working on right now is my Powdermill cardigan . I started this in January 2023, and then set it aside for a while to work on other stuff. I am hoping to get it finished before the end of the year. We’ll see if that is possible. I have about an inch to go on the torso, then steeking, sleeves, collar and button bands. Fortunately, it was pretty far along when I set it aside. I’m glad to be working on it again! Other than these 2 things I only have a few small projects I’m hoping to finish by the end of the year – a pair of mittens, a hat, and a cowl. Hopefully do-able! How are your projects going? ...

After blowing off my baking experiments last month, I have some making up to do. I will probably be baking a couple of things this month. I started with a pumpkin spice cake, and use one created for use with the Haunted Mansion cake tin I got last year. I used this recipe , and did not make any substitutions. The ingredients include a cup and a half of oil, which seemed like a lot. And right when I added it in to the wet mix, it did not incorporate in easily. However, as I mixed in the eggs, it all came together pretty well! It made a nice moist cake with a good flavor. And-bonus-there was too much batter for just the haunted house bundt, so I had enough left over to make some tombstone mini cakes! I’m not sure what the next bake will be – probably something for Thanksgiving. Do you have any special cakes or pies you make for the holidays?

A little while ago, DH and I took a week off and went on a couple shorter adventures to nearby areas. I wrote about the first one in Anniversary Adventures Part 1 . Our second trip was to Lake Geneva, WI and we had a wonderful time there too! We started off with a lake cruise with a stop at the Black Point Estate historical site. The lake cruise was beautiful – we had great weather and gorgeous fall foliage. Lake Geneva is surrounded by big beautiful mansions owned by hyperrich robber barons, so there is a lot to see. You can only get to Black Point Estate through the boat cruise, and it’s only open in the warmer months, because Lake Geneva does freeze up. As we were on our cruise, all the boat docks around the lake were being dismantled for the season. Black Point Estate was the family summer home of a Chicago beer baron Conrad Seipp, and was in the family’s possession until very recently. When the family signed the house over the historical society, they basically left all ...

My Open Weave Wrap is done! The pattern is Open Weave Wrap ( Ravelry link ), designed by Nancy Marchant of brioche fame. The yarn I used is &Make DK from The Fiber Company. I started in late July and finished at the end of October, so it wasn’t a quick project, but it was a fun one. Shout out to my saintly Mom for weaving in the ends, which there were a lot of. I have offered to make her one next year, so you may be seeing another one of these at some point.

I really only have one active project going this week – my Homage to the Granny Square afghan. I finished the very last block last night. Now all I have to do is connect them all together in a big rectangle!

I recently hit a jackpot of older used knitting books, and am having great fun reading through them. A few of them I’m not sure I’m going to talk about here because they are pretty scarce and also pretty old. So I’m not sure you’ll be reading about the entire haul. But in any case, here are 3 that are interesting and still widely available. In no particular order Yup – more fishermen’s sweaters. Knitting From the Netherlands by Henriette van der Klift-Tellegen was originally published in the Netherlands in 1983, and then the English translation first published in 1985. So this is not a new book at all. But it’s still a pretty good one if you are interested in ganseys. This is a smallish book, and does not spend any time teaching you how to knit. So don’t start your knitting journey with this one. It does feature old photos of people wearing their ganseys, and shows swatches and gives general instructions for reproducing the old sweaters. Recommend if you are interested in ganseys and...