Fits and Starts

This was another weekend made for cocooning. I like that. I'm a homebody. The weather forecasters on TV predicted a big storm on the way--the supermarkets were wiped out. Everyone stocked up on food, and movies, and prepared to take to their couches.



We did get our foot of heavy, sloppy snow. Not the blizzard predicted by all the insane weather people on TV, who seem to feel they have to justify their jobs by predicting doom at every turn. It was a foot of snow, but c'mon people: It's February! This is Wisconsin! This is normal! The snow was pretty but made for heavy and tough shoveling. Good cardio workout though.

Then it was time to adjourn to indoors for fiber pursuits.

The wonky quilt is together at last. (I need a better name than that. I'm thinking...)


I debated leaving it unbordered but I'm thinking to ground it with a black border. This necessitates a fabric store trip, which unfortunately may not happen this week.

I may also add some hand-stitching in black. All you hand quilters are rubbing off on me! I pretty much left hand-quilting behind a dozen years ago but of course, still love the look. Maybe it's time to integrate a bit of hand stitching with the machine work.

I put in my share of couch time, but it was productive couch time. Several knit projects are in play.

Last year I made a Wonderful Wallaby in heathery Black Water Abbey worsted. It was a lot of plain knitting and I'll admit I got to a point where I just wanted to be done with it. So I omitted the hood and ended up with an open front placket and small ribbed stand up collar.

Only it didn't really stand up. It was neither fish nor fowl--sometimes it would stand up and sometimes it would flop. I discovered I really did like the sweater though--the heathery color and the casual sweatshirt-like style. The hood started looking like a better idea. So with my heart in my mouth, I chopped off the neckline bind-off.

It was a not-so-complicated matter of ripping back to find an entire row of live stitches and picking them up. Then I started up knitting where I left off. Worked out pretty well...


A hood is emerging--a few more inches to go on this. Better late than never. And the moral of the story is that it's never too late. By the way, I love the Black Water Abbey yarn. It's a hard yarn but the heathery colors are beautiful. I bet it will wear like iron.

I'd been scouting ideas for new lace projects and decided to give the Ene Shawl in Scarf Style a try. I had some of the exact yarn used in the book: Blackberry Ridge lace weight in 75% wool and 25% silk. I spent a couple days contemplating it. This one has a fearsome beginning--cast on 375 stitches and dive in! Long story short--I cast on, I dove in, and I fell flat on my face. So I swallowed hard and ripped back 375 stitches to the cast-on row. I left the stitches cast on but decided to table this project for the time being.

If anyone has advice on lessening the harrowing nature of beginning a piece like this, I'm all ears. Lace is nothing if not character-building, truly like walking the tightwire without a net. I truly want to return to Ene, but I'm too chicken at this point. Any advice is most welcome.

Anyway, I opted to cloak myself in the familiar. Last fall, I had bought more of the Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift. I've decided to use it to make another Kimono Shawl from Folk Shawls, only this one will be for me.

Border is done--time to start the pattern. The Kimono Shawl is like an old friend.

Patti has asked if I'd share the recipe for Monkey Bread. I was afraid someone would ask this. True confession: I have never actually made the stuff. But I don't have to! The president of our Friends group at the library makes it nearly every week for Coffee Hour and she has graciously shared the recipe. That cinnamon baking scent cannot be beat!

Monkey Bread

350 degree oven

2 rolls Pillsbury Grands Biscuits
2 Tbl. cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

4 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix cinnamon and sugar together.

Cut 1 roll of biscuits into bite-sized pieces. Dredge in cinnamon-sugar mixture and place in greased bundt pan. Pour half of the melted butter over the biscuit pieces in the pan. Repeat with the other can of biscuits.

Pour the remaining cinnamon sugar over the top of the biscuits.

Bake at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes.

After baking, let sit for 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Mix icing ingredients thoroughly, adding a bit of milk to thin, if necessary. Spread on warm Monkey Bread.

Enjoy!