Grapes In Central Park -- complete

Some of you wondered who took the family photo in my last post.  To get the shot, I set the camera up on a tripod and set the timer.  After about 10 tries, we had a keeper.  =)

I realize that any moment this blog is silent, wild speculation is bound to occur.  As of this moment, no baby, no husband. 

As much as I'd love to obsess about Holy Crap My Belly Is Huge Why Aren't You Out Yet Baby, I'm going to show you a knitted finished object instead.

Last night, I finished up my Grapes In Central Park Hoodie.

I think that this is the first sweater I ever had a serious desire to make.  Why I've waited so long to actually accomplish it is beyond me.

This sweater has extra meaning to me, because the generous and talented Chris from Briar Rose Fibers handpainted this yarn in a colorway just for me and sent it as a gift when Greg deployed.  It's comfort knit into comfort.  I love it!



It wasn't difficult, and the actual knitting of it didn't take all that much time.



The cables were of the simplest kind, and the design is classic and wearable.

I haven't determined how I'll fasten the front yet, but I'm not worried, since I won't be able to even think about the fronts meeting for a good while (this is not knit to my soon-to-be expanded nursing measurements, if you catch my drift.)  It fits perfectly though through the armholes and arms, so I know that it will be an excellent fit overall when I am finally back to my "normal" size...in about a year-and-a-half, or whatever.

I did follow Stephanie Pearl McPhee's suggestion and ran a chain of crochet along the neck/base of hood to reinforce it against possible sagging in the future.


The only other modifications I made were to knit the bottom rib only to 2-1/2 inches (I don't like tons of ribbing hugging my middle), and I knit the sleeves in the round up to the sleeve cap shaping.  When I seamed the pieces together, I used this little trick that I came up with:


I lined up the pieces, then ran a long running stitch through them to hold them together about an inch from where I'd be seaming.  This keeps everything in place perfectly, and you don't have to worry about pins slipping out and stabbing you, or moving those expensive Knit Klips around as you go.  Everything stays in place, and everyone is happy.

Now I've got my eye on a few new projects.  There's nothing like swatching for about 4 projects at a time with a baby due-date looming!

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Sleepless in Germany...

I can't sleep; uncomfortably firm Braxton Hicks contractions and terrible heartburn had me rolling around in bed for a few hours, so I'm back up.  I'm sipping on a big mug of heartburn tea mixed with the relaxation tea my midwife gave me.  I'm too tired to do anything terribly productive, seeing as it's almost 2am, so instead, here I am blogging.  Well, that's kind of productive, right?  Here's a little look at what's been going on in the past week or two. 

I've been obsessively working on my Central Park Hoodie, and I'm about 3 inches into the second sleeve:


Cleaning the house in a never-ending cycle because of little people like this:

(Together, they unwrapped every single band-aid in the cabinet, squeezed out some ointment, opened a brand-new toothbrush and ate some toothpaste.  In about 5 minutes.  According to Max, Daisy got into the sink herself; this is exactly as I found them.)

Teaching little people to clean because of their evil ways (no, really because it's a good skill, and they're VERY excited about using brooms and spray bottles):






Frustratingly, Max has developed and obsession for squeezing things out.  I find piles of hair conditioner, shampoo or body wash in the bottom of the shower or in the toilet.  Today he was carefully (and quickly) tearing off squares of toilet paper and putting them into the toilet.  He and Daisy paint things with body lotion (walls, bed-posts, etc.)

~sigh~  Baby is due in 2-1/2 weeks, and my husband is due home just a bit before that.  He'll be around for 18 days once he lands here, so I hope and pray that everything works out with baby being born in a timely fashion, and that my recovery from the birth is as quick as possible so that I can continue to manage the home on my own.

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Honey Whole Wheat Bread

The nesting urge has taken over, and the funny thing about it is that it's entirely unpredictable. With each child there's been a different flavor to the madness, and this time, it's sweaters for myself. I'm entirely certain that the world could cave in if I don't complete as many sweaters as possible before the new person makes The Appearance, and there's no fighting it.


Yes, you'll notice a finished Liesl there under it all, but the official FO pic will have to wait until I can take a decent picture of it on me. Basically, during any moment I have to myself, I feel compelled to knit, not style a shot, so that's the story.



I haven't shared a recipe in a while, and since the Knitting Cook site is now officially down (oh yeah, I'm pretty sure that I forgot to mention that I just can't podcast anymore, so.... sorry 'bout that.), I decided to post my Honey Whole Wheat Bread here. Also, I made a tiny change in the flour balance, which I like even better, so here is the updated version.


Presenting: the recipe for the Honey Whole Wheat bread that I make several times a week. It's great plain fresh out of the oven, in a savory sandwich, as toast with butter, french toast, or whatever else you want to do with it. The bread is flavorful with honey and butter, but not so overtly that you can't use it in a good, hearty, BLT.

This is my version of my mom's original recipe. I am completely happy with this recipe, but feel free to vary it according to your own taste, adjusting the balance of whole wheat to white flour, etc.


Note: These directions assume that you are making this recipe by hand. If, instead, you are using a substantial stand mixer (like a Kitchen Aid) or a bread machine, add the liquid first, then the dry, and break the egg on top of it all. If you're using the bread machine, you will want to add both cups of whole wheat flour right away -- just check on it after it's been kneading for a little while to see if it needs more flour or a few more tablespoons of water.


Combine in large bowl:
1 cup whole wheat flour (you will need one more cup after liquid ingredients have been added)
1-1/2 cups white bread flour (very important that it's bread flour and not all purpose)
1/3 cup rolled oats (I use Old Fashioned Rolled Oats)
1 tsp salt
1 scant Tablespoon yeast
1 heaping Tablespoon Vital Wheat Gluten

Melt:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

Add:
1/4 cup honey
1 cup water

Warm in microwave or stovetop to 110-120 degrees (it's almost too hot for my finger to stay in it for more than 2 or 3 seconds when it's this temp.)

Time and clean-up saving tip: melt the butter in a 2-cup glass measuring cup, add honey until it reaches the 1/2 cup mark, then add water to the 1-1/2 cup mark. Put all in microwave together -- in mine it takes 50 seconds to get to the right tempurature, and in my parent's microwave it takes just over a minute.

Add wet ingredients to dry, along with:
1 egg

Stir with wooden spoon until combined.

Add:
1 cup whole wheat flour

Tip out onto lightly floured surface, and knead for 5-8 minutes to build up gluten in flour, adding more flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Knead until smooth and elastic. (There are videos on YouTube that show you how to properly knead bread if you've never done it.)

Grease bowl and place ball of dough inside (I spray PAM on the the inside of the bowl, put the dough in, then spray the top of the dough to keep it from sticking). Put a piece of waxed paper over the bowl, then a kitchen towel to insulate.

Allow dough to rise until doubled (this may take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours depending on your house, your yeast, the weather outside, and many other factors I have yet to determine). You will know that it's ready when it looks like twice the original amount, and when you stick your fingers in the top about two inches down, the indentation stays and doesn't spring straight back up.

If you are having extra trouble getting your dough to rise, or are in a rush, turn on your oven to the very lowest setting. Place some boiling water in an oven proof bowl or pan in the bottom of the oven, and put your bowl of dough on one of the oven racks. Turn off oven when it gets fairly warm, and your dough should rise nicely. (Thanks to MA for that great tip!)

Pull dough out of bowl, and roll up into loaf shape, pulling a "skin" of dough around the whole thing to smooth it over. Place in greased loaf pan. Cover once again with waxed paper and kitchen towel, and leave to rise until doubled (this, once again, will vary in time, but expect at least an hour unless you have an especially "yeasty" house.)

Once the loaf is risen to your liking, put into a cold oven, and turn the heat on to 350 (you could pre-heat the oven, but putting it in cold gives it the extra punch to rise just a bit more). Bake until suitably golden on top -- in my oven this takes 35, and at my parent's house this took just under 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer stuck into the loaf will read 200 when the bread is completely baked through.
Note: if you badly jar the loaf when putting it into the oven, it could deflate. If this happens, you will need to re-form the loaf and let it rise again in a re-greased pan.

Turn out immediately on to a cooling rack. This bread slices best when it's completely cooled, but seriously. Who wants to wait?

(Pictured here with mini-loaves of date-nut bread)

OK kids, I've got to get back to my knitting. I am helpless to resist.

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