Tasty Lemonade

Happy Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday, everyone. I hope those in the U.S. had a great Thanksgiving. I had a great day, but it was turkey-less. Don't be sad, though. I'm not.

I usually order a fresh turkey and then pick it up on Wednesday prior to the big day, but this year I didn't. Big mistake. I was too busy to get out and do my Thanksgiving food shopping until early Wednesday evening. Of course, the store was all out of fresh turkeys by that point. Frozen turkeys were the only big birds left - and they were big. Too big. I would never have been able to thaw it in time to cook it. So, I went to the on-the-spot Plan B - cornish game hens. I brushed them with a sauce of orange marmalade and balsamic vinegar during the last half of cooking time, and they were indeed tasty. Don't be put off by the slightly charred-looking skin, it was yummy.

On the fiber front, I also have some finished items to talk about. Both were gifts for a holiday swap. My giftee really wanted some fingerless mitts, so I found a quick (at least for me) pattern in this year's Knit Simple holiday edition.

I worked these up in some fingering weight wool from Lollipop Cabin (too bad she's not dying fiber anymore, I did love her colorways and smaller environmental footprint) held together with some laceweight kidsilk (Debbie Bliss Angel) and was pretty pleased with the result.

Another gift I whipped up - a striped version of my recently-published L'Hiver Slouchy Hat. I used the two-fiber cocktail from the mitts and added some Lion Brand Wool-ease from stash. It feels almost neapolitan:

Slouchy hats are tough to photograph when not on someone's head. I did the best I could with my cell phone camera. Actually, all of the photos today are from my cell phone. Necessity and all that.

Finally, I hope everyone will skip Black Friday and wait for Small Business Saturday (November 24, tomorrow) to commence their big holiday shopping. Saturday's spirit is tailor-made for many of us who love fiber/design/textile arts and want to support the artisans who provide all of us with so much beauty and fiber and design fun. So I hope you'll wait until Saturday, and then buy a pattern from an indie designer, or some yarn or fiber from an indie producer, or a book from an indie publisher. Oh all right, if you must, you can buy any of these things today.

And if all else fails, head straight for dessert.


Anyone for a little Pumpkin cake?

Now don't forget (after you cut that slice of cake), to check out The Wonderwhygal's blog to see how everyone else is getting ready for the holidaze. I'm going to enjoy my left-overs and work on a few other projects I need to get done.

Fiber Potpourri Friday

Hello everyone - it's been a busy week here at chez Voie de Vie. I've got lots to blog about, so let's get right down to it.

Initially, I have a new published pattern to report - the L'Hiver Slouchy Hat! I seem to be on a small hat jag - this perfectly decadent, slouchy hat is published by Premier Yarns and uses their Alpaca Dance yarn. The yarn is soft, has a halo, and comes in a field full of colors; I used dusty green for these samples. I write "samples" because there's a coordinating scarf that Premier has photographed but for which it hasn't quite yet managed to post the pattern (but it's coming).

Both of these accessories combine tunisian crochet ribbing (the "other" 2 x 2 ribbing) + traditional crochet lace. The hat also has directions for a big, lush pom-pom, although the pom-pom has managed to escape making it to a photograph. I'll see if I can't rectify that next week. Everyone can download the free pattern at the Premier site (linky above).

If you'd like to win a skein of Premier's Alpaca Dance, I've got three to give away - each skein has plenty of yardage for a wonderfully slouchy hat, or two, even. Just leave a comment here (and feel free to let me know how you feel about the scarf, too!) and I'll pick three random winners next Monday.

Now, on to my NaKniSweMo sweater - it's the middle of the month and I'm at the point where my Sera (top-down construction) is ready to have the armholes attached at the bottom. This photo is from earlier in the week. I am loving this color. A lot.

There's almost no finishing to this sweater, which is a plus because I'm going to go down to the wire in terms of getting it completed by the end of the month. Just don't forget - I'm determined. :)

Speaking of -alongs, if any of you crocheters are interested in getting your ripple on ... the Underground Crafter has been hosting a Ripple CAL since mid-October. It runs through almost the end of November and there are instructions on various different ripple techniques (yes, there are several in case you didn't know); the CAL boasts some great prizes at the end for anyone who posts a qualifying FO/UFO photograph. Quite frankly, the Lion Brand Amazing yarn prize would be motivation enough for moi - I love that Amazing yarn. You can check out all the CAL information at this Underground Crafter blog post or just head directly on over to the Ravelry Underground Crafter group ripple CAL thread. Get your ripple on, people.

Finally, and in honor of U.S. Thanksgiving next week (next week! eek!) - I leave you with a photo of the results of my most recent America's Test Kitchen  recipe test - braised red potatoes. While I think this recipe needs a few more tweaks before it's ready for prime-time cooks, the test kitchen is definitely on the right track. With the appropriate braising liquid and ingredients, who knew red potatoes had so much natural sweetness? And yes, that's a burger next to the potatoes, with some carmelized onions. And yes, it was good.

Now don't forget to head on over to the the WonderWhyGal's blog to get the rest of your weekly fibery fix. Have a great Thanksgiving - I'll be making a turkey and checking out the dog show - go bernese mountain dog!