Valentine blooms, baking, and knitting

February 13, 2018


Happy Valentine's Day!
To celebrate the day I have quite a lot of pink I can bring in from the garden.
The tulip magnolia is blooming at the top, just out of reach.
It takes another week before the lower branches bloom and I can bring them in. 




But I can reach the camellias. Such hard workers. Bless them.




The flowering quince hedge in the front yard has the sharpest and longest thorns.
I hold my breath and reach deep inside to snip a few branches.



A friend brought us a treat--some crazy Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies from a local bakery. My husband was in love with them so a few days later I went to the same bakery to get some more but they were closed. I heard him whimper a bit when I broke the bad news, and because he is bravely recovering from foot surgery and also because he is my favorite Valentine, I went to the store to get the ingredients and made them myself. See inside that yummy cookie? There is an Oreo cookie baked right in the middle surrounded by chocolate chip cookie. Delicious. And so very decadent. I followed this recipe but mine came out huge, plus they are super rich, so I cut them into pie wedges after they cooled. (Full disclosure--I did not make my own dough but instead used prepared refrigerated Nestle Toll House cookie dough and it worked great!) I love serving cookies at dinner parties and this recipe is going into the cookie rotation for sure.  As for knitting, I've got a few things on the needles as usual. I'm testing a lovely pullover from Fallsmache, and she is a lovely woman. I'm also focussed on finishing the last sleeve of a Kim Hargreaves pattern using the new and lovely Cotton Cashmere from Rowan (see first three pictures below). Can't wait to share that with you. Even though I had those two going, I always cast on a new project during the opening ceremonies--this time the free Sarah Hatton pattern called Sutton using some vintage Calmer. Remember that lovely stuff? I'm glad I hoarded some when I could. The cable pattern is intuitive and easily memorized, plus it's pretty.  What are you knitting to the Olympics?






There is not a whole lot going on here except for watching massive amounts of TV while my husband rests his foot. Just three more weeks and he can start to be more active with a walking boot and some PT. It's a good thing we both love watching the Olympic games; him with his foot up and me with my needles. I've got a few more finished knits that I have to photograph modeled. I think that makes six to do. Dreading that little thing but I know I must. As a knitter, I much prefer seeing modeled sweaters over un-modeled sweaters and I assume everyone else does too!


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4 Comments

  1. Lovely sweaters, and yes I do prefer to see a modeled sweater. I'm envious of your blooms, we still seem to be in deep winter here in Virginia, no flowers yet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know people don't like to model their sweaters, I hate it myself, but if I'm thinking about knitting a sweater I really appreciate to see it on real people and reading their project notes.

      Delete
  2. The flowers are beautiful. The cookies are really good? You look good in anything you model. Looking forward to seeing the new sweaters.

    Carole

    ReplyDelete
  3. Am I correct that you are adding long sleeves to the pattern "Cool" which has short sleeves? Love the detail at the neck and waist - very architectural! Looks a bit like a boat neck style. Hurry up and finish so we can all see :)

    ReplyDelete

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