Botan Shawlette and Spring Sugar Cookies!

This was such a fun and fast shawl to knit!  It's Botan designed by Helen Stewart and it's my new Spring-y Shawlette for the season.  I'm always super pleased when I find a quintessential seasonal piece and this couldn't be more perfect for Spring.

While this is an asymmetrical design I've blocked it to more a traditional scarf shaping (long and slender) because I find asymmetrical designs can be slightly awkward to style and wear.  Maybe if I had more panashe that wouldn't be the case.  In any event I wanted it long so I could throw it over my shoulder or let the ends curl down in front.  In other words I prefer a more traditional shaped scarf. But because I really liked the bits and bobbles of this design I simply modified it slightly and wallah I had a more traditional scarf shape but with all the cool design funk.  And I still have the option to wear it bib style, should I wish.  For your visualization if I had knit this as designed the length would have been 40" (instead of 58") and the wedge would have been 16" deep (instead of 11"). Ponder those dimensions and you'll see why they gave me pause and perhaps they will give you pause too.  If you are interested my modification is explained below.  But do so at your own risk. Wearing long scarfs does have its hazards and you don't want to end up like Isadora Duncan!

I love how well these colors worked together even though they are different bases and from different dyers. The main color is a much loved light soft tonal colorway with soft speckles throughout handdyed in Germany by Baerenwolle; and for my contrasting color I used an unloved Ysolda 2016 club yarn dyed in the Isle of Sky by Shilasdair.  It's a funny thing about Ysolda's club.  The first year (2015) I absolutely loved each and every yarn and pattern.  But still.  The club yarns and patterns from 2016 just didn't resonated with me.  I think the difference might be that in 2015 her club yarns were unique and exclusive to the club members and the designs were not released to the public for a whole year which made the club projects something special.  But that changed in 2016.   In 2016 neither the yarn nor the pattern were exclusive to club members and both were available for purchase after 6 months.  Being part of the club no longer felt so "special" and out the window flew my incentive to be a club member.  After all it makes more sense to wait and see if you like the yarn and pattern before you purchase.  So while I did join again in 2016 it fell flat with me. Maybe because I viewed each project with a critical eye "i.e. would I have purchased this project if not a club member?" Obviously with that mind set I did not renew in 2017.  But I must be alone in this view because her 2017 club sold out faster than ever.  Go figure! In any event it wasn't a total loss because slowly I am incorporating my 2016 yarns into various projects and indeed I have another of the 2016 yarns on my the needles now.  Caveat Emptor.  It's always good to remember that while clubs are fun they do sometimes disappoint.

In the end it doesn't matter how or why these yarns were paired together.  All that matters is that they were a perfect pairing!  Note to self: a true "maker" sees the creative possibilities in every skein of yarn.  Tisk tisk on me.

Particulars:  Botan (Ravelry Pattern Link) designed by Helen Stewart (blogs as Curious Handmade); 1 skein Baerenwolle BAREfoot Sock (437 yrd) Club Colorway: Morning Mist; 1 skein Shilasdair 3ply sock yarn Ysolda 2016 Club Colorway Briar Rose.  To see a summary of Ysolda's 2015 club yarns and patterns see Lunna Voe post which includes a collage of all 2015 club projects.

Vis-a-vis this pattern I modified it to eliminate the I-cord both on the working edge and the BO edge. The working edge creates a mock I-cord but after knitting several rows I realized there wasn't enough flexibility and give to that edging to stretch and block well.  So I ripped back and started over using a simple slip stitch edging, i.e. I slipped the first stitch and knit 2 stitches and placed a Stitch Marker.  On the wrong side row I simply knit all 3 edging stitches.  For the BO I used a classic lift-off method, ie. knit 2 stitches and lift the first stitch over the 1st and continue to lift each subsequent stitch off the needle.  My blocked dimensions are 58" long (vs 40" long as designed) x 11" (vs 15 3/4 " deep).  I did not block for depth and could easily have blocked it much wider and may do so next time I wash it just for comparison.

Vis-a-vis Shilasdair yarn it is dyed using natural dyeing with Cochineal and Logwood and I had to run it through several cold water rinses to remove excess dye.  This is a practice I always follow when I knit projects mixing dark colors yarns with light.  For more tips on knitting projects incorporating multicolored skeins see my post Multi Colored Shawls and Testing Yarn for Color Fastness.

Spring-y Sugar Cookies 

Easter and Passover crossed paths this year so I began Spring baking early so that I could gobble down a few treats before Passover (which lasts 8 days) and celebrated on Easter with yummy chocolate instead of my usual baked treats.  But these cookies were so delicious they shouldn't (and for me won't) be confined just to Easter.

This Spring I've had a strong taste for sugar cookies but not the small thin hard variety that are the traditional Christmas fare. Instead I wanted the large thick soft type you see in bakeries.  So I searched out a new recipe and was very very happy with the result!  In fact this will be my future "go to" recipe even for Christmas cookies!

For the frosting I used the same frosting that I use with my Easter Sweet Buns which makes the perfect quantity.  I've shared it again below.

While these cookies aren't as thick and as large as bakery cookies they are a nice size, soft and delicious.  Try one. Or two. Or three.....  and I think you will agree.

Soft Sugar Cookies
yield ~ approximately 16 large cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup sugar (I use super fine baker's sugar by CH)
2 eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Steps:

1.  Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs 1 at a time and mix slowly until well incorporated.  Stir in vanilla.

2.  Combine pastry flour, baking powder and salt.  Using a wooden spoon add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir just until combined.

3.  Flatten dough into a disk and wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 1/2 hours.

4.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees at least 20 minutes before rolling out dough.  Cover baking tray with with either parchment paper or silpat.

5.  On a lightly floured board roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into large shapes. Work quickly as this dough softens quickly.  You may need to periodically sprinkle dough with flour to prevent sticking.  Place cookies well apart as they will spread during baking.

6.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes until cookie is slightly firm to touch but not browned.  Leave on tray for half a minute before transferring to wire rack for cooling.

7.  When completely cool frost with Lemon Butter Cream Frosting!

Recipe slightly adapted from Charmie's Soft Sugar Cookies.

Lemon Butter Cream Frosting ~

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sifted confectionery sugar

1/2 cup sweet butter (room temperature)

1 tsp lemon extract or lemon oil

1 Tbs whole milk (scant)

Pinch table salt

Green Food Coloring

Steps:

1.  Beat sweet butter until light and fluffy.

2.  Add sifted confectionery sugar, lemon extract, milk (scant - you can always add a few drops more if you need it) and a pinch of salt and beat until well combined.

3.  Add a couple drops of green food coloring to desired intensity.

3.  Using a table knife frost cookies generously after they have cooled to room temperature.

After the icing sets you can store either in a tin between layers of wax paper or freeze.

This lovely splash of yellow is a bloom from my garden that I'm particularly proud of as, in general, a green thumb I do not have.

Until next time be well, love well, and enjoy spring with all its glorious color, rebirth and spiritual enrichment!

Invaders of the Heart Shawl and Chocolate Cupcakes!

I had recent occasion to remember that it is important to be flexible in this life and knitting is no exception.  As much as you want something to be a certain way and to work out well, it may not. When that happens it's best not to fight against your circumstances and instead adjust your actions to the hand that you are dealt.  And yet.  Maybe we should strive for more.  Recently I read a story and one of it's characters observed "we are all slaves to our circumstances." That stopped me short.  I wondered, am I a slave to my circumstances?  I realized that whether our circumstances stem from our birthplace, parenting or the choices that we inevitably make we all find ourselves in circumstances that we are in some way slave to.  The challenge is to make changes despite circumstances that may seem insurmountable.  Everyone has at one time or another thought "I would... I wish.... I want....." and whether those thoughts become a reality largely depends on our motivation and actions because the future is not yet written.  And tomorrow is a new day.

Bringing this topic back to knitting, the circumstances I recently found myself in was having bought 4 skeins of yarn to participate in Stephen West's 2016 Mystery Knit Along.  Regrettably, the skeins that I had bought for the project did not play well together in the pattern.  And I could tell that almost immediately.  So I riiiiiiped out clue No. 1 and set my yarn aside to ponder my circumstances.

I considered and rejected finding a new pattern utilizing all 4 skeins.  I had been sufficiently turned off by the combination to preclude that.  But I had invested a sum of money and needed somehow to make all this yarn work for me. There were two skeins that I viewed as more challenging to repurpose because of their solid high contrast colors (black and lavender) and also paradoxically because they were rather hum drum on their own.  They just didn't excite me to knit them.  So I went in search of a pattern that worked well with high contrast color yarn and found this stunning pattern by Sarah Raasch.  Which converted my problem yarns into a favorite accessory!  And now I find my circumstances are much happier.  If only all problem circumstances were so easily solved.

Particulars:  Invaders of the Heart designed by Sarah Raasch, knitwear designer and indie yarn dyer known as Orange Jelly Fish Dreams; US 7 needles; 1 skein each of the following: Madelinetosh (tosh sock, Onyx colorway); The Lemonade Shop (simple sock, Grape Stain colorway with speckles. Incidentally while I ordered a strongly speckled "toxic") skein I think what I received was a pretty mild speckled skein and I'm not sure if that was a mistake or a matter of perspective; Colinette (Parisienne, Marble colorway).  I made no modifications whatsoever.  This was an extremely well written pattern that was a pleasure to knit.  I also picked up a new skill with this pattern which is the German Short Row method (which is recommended although not required to do the pattern).  I will never go back to the regular wrap and turn method.  If you are interested here's a link to a video (on youtube) demonstrating German Short Rows.  I can't recommend strongly enough that you add this skill to your knitting repertoire as it will make knitting short rows much faster and easier without requiring stitch markers to slow you down.

Lastly you might recognize the Colinette yarn (it's the shear light purple) that I also used in this recently finished shawl which was my own creation using a mash up of two patterns.  I knit at least one shawl a winter using this yarn (the silk/mohair blend) because it's light as a feather and yet warm and comes in gorgeous sheer colors. Shawls made in this yarn are my absolute favorite pieces to wear.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cupcakes

I can't stop eating cake these days.  I don't know why but that's all I want to eat.  Maybe it's all the contentiousness that seems to be everywhere but for whatever reason I need cake.  And lots of it. And I had a taste for an old fashion chocolate cake like the ones I had as a kid on my birthday. Something that I've found surprisingly elusive to recreate as an adult.  Until I found this wonderful chocolate sponge cake recipe from a French website - Let Them Eat Cake.  Just kidding.  It took me a while to retrace this recipe on the web and what it actually was was a British recipe on Allrecipes which means I had to tweak it a bit to adapt to American ingredients.  I loved these cupcakes and I hope you will too!

Recipe Adapted from Allrecipes, Always Perfect Chocolate Sponge Cake ~

Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe ~
Yield: 12 cup cakes

Cupcake Ingredients:

3 eggs at room temperature (197g - including shells)
197g white granular sugar - extra fine for baking
197g salted butter
142g (197g-55g = 142g) all purpose flour or pastry flour (I used pastry flour)
55g cocoa powder (I used dutch process cocoa from Penzey's Spices)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt, plus a pinch
1/4 cup heaping semi-sweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting  ~

50g sweetened dark chocolate (I used a Belgium chocolate)
100g salted butter - room temperature
200g confectionery sugar
1 tps. vanilla
2 tps. whole milk
Chopped walnuts (optional garnish)


Steps:

1.  Preheat oven to 340 degrees Fahrenheit and add liners to cupcake pan.

Caveat: this cake is made following the methodology that is well set out in the original recipe. For convenience I've set out the directions using my ingredients.  But, if your eggs weigh a different amount than 197g then you can easily adjust the recipe to whatever weight they come to as explained in the original recipe link.

2.  Combine butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy.

3.  Add eggs 1 at a time to the butter mixture as follows:  Slow your mixer down to the lowest speed. It is important at this stage not to whip the eggs (you don't want the eggs to become like a souffle that will rise and fall).  Just let the mixer slowly incorporate the egg and be patient.  Scrap the bowl sides often.  Do this with each of the 3 eggs (the last egg will take the longest to incorporate).

4.  Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder and add to your bowl with the butter, sugar and eggs.  Start your mixer slowly to avoid flour flying out and slowly increase the speed to beat well and add air to the batter which will help make it light.

5.  Quickly stir in the chocolate chips and scoop batter into cupcake liners.

6.  Bake cupcakes 24 minutes or until a tester comes away clean.  Cool to room temperature before frosting.


To Make Buttercream Frosting ~

Steps:

1.  Melt dark chocolate and allow to cool to room temperature.  I melted my chocolate in the micro wave - a method that is detailed in Banana Chocolate Espresso Swirl Muffins (these are fantastic, by the by).

2.  Beat butter with the confectionery sugar until light and fluffy.  Fold in (cooled) melted chocolate and vanilla.  Add 2 tsp. milk or enough milk to create a spreadable consistency.

3.  Garnish with chopped walnuts, if you wish.


Until next time, be well and love well and may you make your circumstances the very best they can be!