Replenishing my dishcloth stash

Ever since finishing my Echo Flower Shawl I haven't been focused enough to do the casting on for a completely new project so I've just been cranking out these handy ballband dishcloths from

Mason Dixon Knitting

.  I've made so many that I don't have to count rows, check needle size or any of the other project prep that keeps me from starting all those other patterns in my queue.  The only problem is I'm running low on Sugar'n Cream so it won't be on deck as my permanent standby project much longer.  

Currently accepting suggestions for mindless spring knitting.

Echo flower shawl

This is how I spent the end of winter in Dallas.  The last major project I started, this Echo Flower Shawl was cast on in Atlanta in Fall 2012.  Just a small project to work on during my business trip, I thought!  After that, it traveled the world with me, most notably on a business trip through 7 countries in Europe when I didn't even knit a stitch.  Since then, I had worked on it on and off throughout other trips and breaks, but it wasn't until this winter that I got serious about casting off.  With 350+ stitches in the last rows and an edge chart with a different lace pattern, I queued up Scandal on Netflix and spent a good two weeks powering through (both the project and the episodes).

I've just cast off, but I'm starting to wonder how exactly I am going to manage blocking this beast that is already nearly the length of our sofa.  I wasn't too concerned until I remembered that I don't have my trusty tatami floors to pin my knitting to anymore.  Now what?!  It's already too warm to wear this in Texas so at least I can put it off blocking it in good conscience.  

Yarn

:  Malabrigo Lace Merino (Tuareg) - 2.3 skeins (although you could easily use less and not add endless repeats like I did)

Needles

:  Clover bamboo, Japanese size 7 (US 6)

Small log cabin piece

This small log cabin piece has been in the making for more than 3 years.  I returned home to my parents' house from Japan

unexpectedly

in the spring of 2011 and one of the prized possessions I'd brought with me was the colorful fabric strips that I had neatly cut and stacked, waiting to take on a project like this.  I moved back to the US last year with this quilted (with pearl cotton) but still in need of a good trim and binding.  I was delighted to do the finishing work knowing I could hang it on my wall when completed.  This completely dark spot in the hallway needed some brightening and it's nice to know I don't have to worry about fading.  As a bonus, this spot is visible from my main kitchen and living area so I can enjoy it every single day.

When I first hung this on the wall, my husband was very concerned that the "New York" writing was upside down.  "Is it supposed to be like that?" he asked, a bit hesitantly.  I hadn't completely decided which side was up, but I actually quite like this version, for now.  In case I change my mind, I bound it with triangles in each corner on the back so I can just readjust the dowel rod when I'm ready for a whole new look.  

In the spirit of full disclosure, these triangles really ARE a bit too small.  They work just fine for this small piece, but as much as I hate to admit it, my mom

was

right when she told me to make them a lot bigger than these.

Happy White Day!

Today is White Day in Japan.  Traditionally, Japanese women give sweets and gifts to men on Valentine's Day, and then can expect something in return one month later on White Day.  This is extra incentive for anyone who likes to bake or make sweets to pass out heaps to co-workers on Valentine's Day and then wait for it to pay off come March 14.  

I was never one much for this tradition, which is a good thing, because if I were planning to reciprocate for the treats that arrived here on Valentine's Day, I'd be in trouble!  Can you guess what I found in the mailbox one month ago today?

If you guessed a box full of fabric "scraps," ironed and organized by size and shape, you'd be correct. As if this weren't good enough, a lot of the fabrics are familiar patterns from quilts, pillowcases and other gifts I've received through the years.  The possibilities are endless!  Thanks, Mum!

As my White Day gift to you, let me share the simple recipe for a tasty treat I have been enjoying off and on since Valentine's Day.  If you have the three ingredients on hand, it will come together in less than 5 minutes and makes a good addition to breakfast or a bedtime snack.  Freeze any leftover extra coconut milk in an ice cube tray to toss in smoothies on a rainy day.

Cherry coconut chia treat

(makes 4 servings) 

200 ml coconut milk, or about 3/4 cup

1/4 cup water

2 Tbsp black chia seeds

2 handfuls of dried cherries

Combine all of the ingredients in a mason jar, seal tightly and shake.  Alternatively, you could whisk together in a mixing bowl.  Leave in the fridge for about 4 hours, shaking (or re-whisking) from time to time, as you think of it.  After that, serve, and enjoy!  

There is no right way to make this.  You can increase or decrease any of the ingredients to your taste.  If you prefer something less rich, just fiddle with the coconut milk-to-water ratio until you find the consistency that works best for you.  Heart-shaped garnish, optional.  

Adamas shawl

It's time to pull out the knitting before anyone should think this is just another quilting blog.  Although I've been enjoying the time and space to work on quilts more since coming back to the US, the knitting basket hasn't been more than an arm's reach from my spot on the couch.  This

Adamas shawl

that I started in 2008 has been languishing in my craft box for a long time, but I recently pulled it out to send to someone special.

This prompted me to take a closer look at

my Ravelry notebook

and I was delighted to see that the site now has more than 4 million users.  Congrats, Ravelry!!  Seeing those WIPs that are still in my knitting basket has me ready to set aside the quilts for a while.  Torn about which project to pick up at night, at least!

My first quilt

For Throwback Thursday, I thought I'd post a the first baby quilt I made a few years ago for a friend in Tokyo.  Somehow, I managed to not take any photos of the finished quilt as I was rushing to get it over to their place between busy overseas travel.  But they helped me manage to get a few shots even with the new baby in the room.  Talk about friendship!

My friend loves strawberries, and I had a fun time picking out the strawberry fabric and some precious animal prints.  But when it came to quilting it, I wasn't sure if I was up to the task, so this one was all tied.  Almost 4 years later, I hope the ties are still holding fast!

Welcome Nanami!

The theme of 2014 so far has been to finish what I've started.  I'm now all settled into our new apartment and gone are the busy travel schedules of the last few years.  It's just me and all the projects I started or dreamed up during those last few years in Tokyo.  First up is a baby quilt that I had meant to sent out at the start of last fall.

I actually brought this quilt top in my checked luggage from Japan, thinking that I would just baste up the quilt and do some hand quilting in all the free time I would have when we first arrived.  The first week in Dallas had me busier than expected as we navigated all the details of a new city from our hotel room, getting set up for adult life in the U.S. for the first time, while working full-time to prepare for a 4-week business road trip the following week.

Needless to say, the quilt went on the back burner!  But I finished up work in December and gave this my full attention in January, my first time hand-quilting in a hoop. 

As much as I love the fabrics and pattern I chose for the front, I this animal print backing takes the cake!

This welcome to our new little friend was a little late in its arrival, but just as warm as could be.  And it made it there with time to spare before Valentine's Day!  Perfect timing.

Let the hand-quilting begin!

Last weekend, I spent Saturday ironing this quilt top and all day Sunday smoothing, pinning, smoothing, unpinning, smoothing, pinning, calling my mom and finally basting my first full-sized quilt on the kitchen table.  This has been a work in progress for the last 5 or 6 years although I have started and finished a few smaller baby quilts in the meantime.  I didn't have the room to lay it flat to baste in Tokyo, but now that I have the space, I'm (mostly) happily back to work.  I had a moment last Sunday afternoon when I was certain this would by my first and last quilt of this size, but now that it's basted and ready to hand-quilt, all that back-breaking work is forgotten.

Bring on the Olympics!

Almond Milk and Power Breakfast Bars

As I liberally edited a recipe I'd found online this afternoon, I felt a twinge of regret that I might not be able to recreate it if it turned out to be delicious.  I thought fleetingly of making a note in an email draft or writing it down in my recipe book, but I knew I wouldn't do that.  Wouldn't it be much easier to just start a new blog and post it there, available to be referenced anytime I like?  Of course.

It all started with a quick project to make my own almond milk.  I used almonds in the 

basic nut milk

 recipe from the January 2014 Bon Appetit magazine, but I substituted a small splash of maple syrup for the agave.

When I realized how much ground almond the magazine suggested I discard, I couldn't imagine chucking it all out.  I quickly found 

this recipe 

online to make "power breakfast bread" with the almond pulp, and checked my pantry to see that I had enough of the ingredients.  I seemed to have much more than 1 cup of almond pulp from my batch of milk, but loathe to be too precise, I didn't actually measure.  I used one whole banana, an extra 1/4 cup or so of flax meal, less peanut butter and more tart cherries than called for, and added generous portions of sunflower seeds and flax seeds instead of chopped walnuts.  Chopped walnuts?  No, see, I have (had?) things I want to get done today.

In the end, I cut mine into smaller breakfast bars to freeze and eat with my morning smoothies.  Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.  And most importantly, they're delicious!