I’ve decided to merge this blog back into my main site. From now on, all yarn, flour, fabric, and code-related adventures will be blogged about there!
Povitica, aka swirls of awesome
A few weeks ago, I stumbled across the Great British Bake Off on Netflix and fell in love. Compared to American reality television, everyone’s so nice! Bakers who are kicked off at the end of an episode get hugs and “I’m sorry” and “you’re going to be great!” instead of “pack your whisks and go” or “give me your apron.” It’s the best.
Also: the food looks amazing. Especially the food from this episode, which introduced me to the wonder that is povitica.
Povitica is (apparently) a “Eastern European sweet bread [that] is traditionally served at Christmas, but [that] makes a delicious tea time treat at any time of the year.”
It’s also one of the coolest-looking breads I’ve ever seen. Check this out:
I did some obsessive googling after watching the show and found out that some of the most well-known povitica in America comes from a bakery not too far from where I grew up. The bakery shows off how it’s made in this video:
After waffling a bit over whether I could ever roll dough that thin and how I would possibly find space on my apartment countertops and if I’d be able to spread out the filling and roll up the dough without making a giant mess, I decided last night to give things a shot, using the quarter version of this recipe (the full version makes FOUR LOAVES, so be careful, there).
I don’t think I’ve ever been as proud as when I pulled this out of the oven:
Stegosaurii No. 3 and 4
Four down and one to go! I finished Number 3 under the watchful eyes of its recipient, who saw me working on it and proclaimed, “Is that my dinosaur? I think it’s for me because I love it so much.”
Excellent logic, kid, though the pressure may have gotten to me:
I was able to squish the other foot on without too much trouble, so all is well.
I wrapped up Number 4 on Wednesday, mere hours too late to make the cut-off for mailing it to my nephew in time for his birthday. (It’s on its way!)
I’m still struggling with the best way to sew on the plates: I’ve experimented with wrapping excess yarn around the base of the plate to add stability (and cover up awkward stitching), but I’m not sure this is best. I’ve read rumors of people on Ravelry who knit the feet and plates directly onto the body, which I haven’t yet had the gumption to try. I’ve already knit everything for Number 5, so experimentation along these lines will have to wait for another round of babies/birthdays (or requests from dinosaur-loving adults).
Pattern: Katie Boyette’s Dinosaur Jr. on Ravelry
A Hat for Greta
My parents own a garden statue named Greta, a replica of one my mom’s parents owned when she was young. It stands near our fireplace, where over the years it’s been an imaginary friend to several young children and a source of mild amusement to the rest of the family.
Last winter, while I was making a long list of 2015 projects in order to atone for my sub-par pre-Christmas creative productivity, I decided I would make Greta a festive hat to spruce her up for the holidays. She hangs out with the Christmas stockings and the fairy lights at my parents’ house every December—the least she can do is dress up a little, no?
The pattern is the Scrappy Gnome Hat from Melody Lisa. I made the adult size because I thought Greta’s stone headscarf might make her head too big for the child size, but in retrospect, the smaller size would have been better—even on me, the hat is gigantic. I suspect I’m a looser knitter than the pattern author.
I used a 13” circular (29” long) instead of DPNs, using the magic loop method. I think I may have preferred DPNs (or a longer cable), but I was buying supplies in a rush, and the Michael’s I was at didn’t have a great selection. I also improvised a stitch marker from a paper clip (bow to my resourcefulness, o readers)!
The hat came together in a couple of hours: I started working on it around 7:00 last night and finished by 11:00, with a few long-ish breaks in the middle. The instructions claim, “It also knits up extremely quick. Like, need a gift for tomorrow? This is the way to go,” and I found that to be totally 100% accurate.
I now have visions of knitting one for every member of my family (cats included), mostly for the holiday photo LOLS. If this ends up happening, I promise to report back.
Stegosaurus #2
Wrapped up Stegosaurus #2 last night. Notes are on Ravelry; stegosaurus is about to be packed in a suitcase for a trip to Kansas, where it will join an about-to-be-three-year-old’s killer dinosaur collection.
