Here's the links:

Floyd Vest by Martin Storey,

queue it here, purchase the individual pdf download here.

My Ravelry project page.

I'm a superfan of Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK

  and you'll be seeing it a lot more often in my blog.
It can be purchased at your local Rowan stockist
or at many online shops including:

Black Sheep

Jannette's Rare Yarns

Jimmy Beans

Webs
FiberWild

To make a comment, click here.

Next week on Knitionary:

My favorites of Rowan 59
and
Rene's Party

Have a super good weekend!

- See more at: http://knitionary.blogspot.com/2015/12/my-options-kal-is-finished-wardrobe.html#sthash.z40QzSLf.dpuf

Knitionary

My friend, Karen promised to give a Christmas party, but December came and went without an invitation.  I know how that is--holiday party wishes and dreams are complicated by the reality that the season is BUSY. Then, last Sunday an invitation arrived by email:  Please come to an open house on Tuesday evening for a bowl of soup and glass of wine to celebrate Twelfth Night. I called her and she wondered aloud how many people would show up on a rainy Tuesday night with such short notice, thinking that those who came would pop in late and leave early.  But her friends are my friends, and I know these people, and I was certain everyone who was in town would show up on time and stay way past bedtime.  I was right, and a fun party was had by all!

Karen's lovely home is a typical California ranch home, one level, with the private bedrooms on one end of the house and the public rooms--the kitchen, family, living, and dining rooms--flowing into each other at the other end. Entertaining in a house that flows from one room to the next is a piece of cake.  Karen had the self-serve wine bar set up in the family room, the appetizers on the kitchen island, a serve-yourself soup station on her stove and the table set up in the dining room.  Using all the different rooms encourages people to move about, and while they do, let's face it, guests love most hanging out in the kitchen!   

Even an informal, impromptu, mid-week party takes some smart planning and a good bit of work.  If you have the slightest hope of enjoying your own party, do-ahead is essential.  For this party, simple appetizers were  prepared the morning of and heated up just as the first guests started to walk down her path.  The soups were made the day before and gently reheated during the cocktail hour.  Karen prepared the cookie dough earlier that afternoon but spoiled us by baking the cookies just before serving them.  The table was set with the idea that the over-spill would perch on sofas in the family and living rooms.  The hour before arrival, Karen lit the fires in her family room and dining room fireplaces, lit the candles and relied on their light and the light from her gorgeous Christmas tree to set the mood for the night.  Beautiful!  With everything planned and organized ahead of time I saw our hostess enjoy her party as much as we did.  In fact we all loved it so much, Karen thinks she may well have to make this Twelfth Night Party a yearly tradition.

Karen had 30 guests and made three soups.  She doubled each recipe to serve around 16 people.  It's my experience that at soup parties, most people try to taste every one, but take very small portions.  She had enough leftover for her lunch and dinner today-- sustenance while she washes up dishes and then dismantles Christmas, because as tradition has it, Twelfth Night or Epiphany, is when the Christmas tree comes down.

12th Night MENU

Cheese Toasts 

Hot Crab Dip

Sausages with Mustard Dip

  

Gingered Carrot Soup

Split Pea Soup with Ham

Minestrone

Gingersnaps  

Knitionary

Knitionary

Knitionary