I Need Your Opinion

Today Madison is chilly with rain. I love it. This is my weather. Unlike Alex who is jetting off to the sunshine, I am happy to be here. (I am not so anxious to don a bathing suit.) Sure, it could be a little warmer...but the rain hitting the roof is enough for me right now. Next to the window, covered with a quilt, beautiful cup of tea, and my knitting. Maybe a little something spooky on the TV. Heaven.

Good gracious...am I a middle-aged goth or what? Someone intervene if I start smoking clove cigarettes.

This is what I like to see outside.

What am I knitting in my perfect, dreary-day scenario? A new sweater for me of course! But, I have a problem. I have the yarn, and I thought I had picked the perfect pattern...until I got wishy-washy. The yarn I'm talking about is this gorgeous "cilantro heather" worsted wool from Knit Picks. (A holiday gift from my mother.) I was going to make this:

I think this Turpan sweater might look too overwhelming on me.

Until I decided that it was too much. I want something more practical. I've searched Ravelry for weeks. Looking at cardigan after cardigan. Over-thinking to the point of frustration. I am by nature a very decisive decision maker, unless I am picking out a knitting pattern. Then I even annoy myself.


I need help folks. Here are 3 suitable candidates, what do you think? Let me know your favorites.

February Lady Sweater...super-popular on Ravelry

Crocus...super-simple

Vinelle...super-feminine

Back to the rain...and the chill...and hopefully (soon) the knitting.


–Cassandra

By the Skin of My Teeth

The clock is ticking...Santa will be here really soon. As usual, I'm not ready. The boy's sweaters are all knitted up and blocked. Seaming is in progress!

Bogart's blue sweater having a relaxing soak yesterday.

They will be done in the next few days (eek - skin of my teeth before the holiday) and then my knitting bag will be empty. That is the weirdest feeling ever. But it won't last, I have at least 99 ideas for what I want to do next. And the front-runners are all small scale projects. After two little cabled sweaters, I need some instant gratification. My next post will talk about my priority list (and maybe even some shots of the new sweaters on little bodies). Some knitting, some not. But I'm pretty excited about it all! I'm ready for a fresh start and I have so many ideas in my head.

Short post again today. This week, life is getting in the way of our relationship dear friends!

Happy Holidays everyone!

– Cassandra

Hey good lookin', whatcha got cookin'?

This has been a very hectic week of sickness (note the absence of a Monday post) and frantic little holiday-sweater knitting. I have a sleeve and a half left and I hope to have them done by the weekend. Then comes the seaming and collar finishing. Hopefully that will go quickly. Since both sweaters are the same, I opted to finish them at the same time. Ford-factory style. With the below-zero temperatures and snow in our future it should not be a problem to muster the ambition to sit and knit. This is the icy view of our yard this week:

Aside from the knitting, I haven't had too much time for anything else in my crafty world. I do have daydreams about upcoming project ideas, but I promised myself not to make any plans until after the new year. For now, I have to focus on sweaters, shopping, food and family... and those darn holiday cards that won't mail themselves!

Because we all have so much entertaining to do this time of year I thought I would share one of my favorite recipes. Deceptively simple, unbelievably tasty. Trust me. We used to have this dish quite often when we weren't as vegetarian as we are now, but it still gets trotted out for meat-eating company. Enjoy!

–Cassandra

Chicken & Basil Cream

4 chicken breasts without the bone

stick of butter

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

plain breadcrumbs

milk

pepper

salt

small container of heavy cream

¼ cup fresh grated parmesan

1 cup chicken bullion

1/8 cup fresh basil (chopped)

small jar of pimentos (diced)

Step 1: Clean and rinse chicken in cold water. Slice into smaller pieces and put in a bowl of milk.

Step 2: Dice the onion and garlic and sauté in hot skillet with about ½ stick of butter until the onions are soft and translucent.

Step 3: Put the breadcrumbs into a shallow pan about 1” deep. Add pepper and mix well.

Step 4: Take the chicken out of the milk and toss it in the breadcrumbs to coat. Then fry it in the pan with the onions and garlic until golden and juices run clear. If you need more butter in the pan…go ahead and put it in. Salt the cooking chicken lightly.

Step 5: Take the cooked chicken and put it in a serving bowl and keep warm.

Step 6: Take the cup of bullion and deglaze the pan. Then add the heavy cream and pepper to taste. Let that simmer for about 2 minutes. Stirring often. Add the grated parmesan, pimentos and chopped basil. Simmer for another minute and then remove from heat and let sit for a couple minutes until thickened.

Step 7: Pour cream sauce over cooked chicken and serve.