Bikkie break

Almond Biscuits
125g/4 oz vegan margarine
1/2 C sugar
1 T canola oil
1/4 C soy milk
1 t vanilla essence
1/2 t almond essence
1 C almond meal
1 1/2 C SR flour

Smoosh margarine and sugar together with wooden spoon until creamy. Stir in remaining ingredients, mixing to combine after each addition. Knead lightly if necessary to form a soft dough.
Roll dough between two sheets of baking paper, and use cookie cutters (like the ones above) to cut out shapes. Cook on papered baking tray in 160 C/315 F oven for 12 minutes or until lightly golden.

Enjoy!

You guys are my heroes.

Thank you lovely knitters for the overwhelming response! At last count, I’ve got twenty-five volunteers to test-knit the pattern for me.
And Cassiopeia cast on and knit a sock in less than 12 hours–that must be some kind of record!

For anyone interested in taking up the challenge, I’m still taking volunteers as long as you can commit to finishing one sock by Monday August 17th. Comment on this post, I’ll email you the pattern, and then you can head over to the ravelry thread and join in the fun!

Test knitters needed.

Are you a sock knitter looking for a new project?
Interested in knitting undemanding yet satisfying socks?
Prepared to work pro bono?

I feel like I’m writing a job advert here. Basically, I’ve never written a sock pattern before and would like to make sure any potential kinks are worked out before I get any frustrated emails.

I won’t be able to pay you for your time or yarn, I’m afraid, as I intend to offer the pattern for free, but you’d get the cute little pattern before anyone else and rack up a bucketload of good karma!

If you’re interested, please comment below or email me at cseneque[at]gmail[dot]com.

Finished!

A real, live, big-person knit.
Even if it only has three-quarter length sleeves.

This project was a saga from the get-go, all those winters ago when my little sister asked for a jumper in yellow.

I got out the tape measure, bought some yarn, and got through the torso and most of a sleeve before realising I hadn’t bought nearly enough yarn. I put things on hold and searched but couldn’t find any more of the same dyelot, so I undid all of those valiant, ill-fated cotton stitches.

I began again with a fresh batch of yarn, disheartened. This time I started with the sleeves–which were probably doomed from the first.

Then, the intended recipient lost a considerable amount of weight, going down about 2-3 sizes. This gave me a reasonable excuse to undo the sleeves and re-measure.

Then, it was spring & summer for a while.

Then, I started all over again with a great pattern from an even better book. All of a sudden I was excited to be knitting again, and powered through the entire torso and sleeve cap thinking of the possibilities.

Then, I got mired deep in sleeve-knitting hell and put aside the jumper/ sweater for a couple of months. Eventually the Perth winter started getting cold enough to prod me into finishing the garment in the only way I could: with elbow-length sleeves.

Toasty

The mornings and evenings have turned chilly around these parts, but I’ve got a few things keeping me cosy:

Fingerless gloves – Pattern is available as a free ravelry download, and comes in short or elbow-length variations;
Northern Exposure – Scenes of icy breath and snow-lined streets remind me that Perth is ridiculously temperate in comparison to elsewhere in the world.
Sweater knitting – I may actually finish this long-promised jumper for my sister before winter ends! The warm, creamy yellow colour lifts my spirits even as the miles of 2×2 rib get me down.
Cookies – My co-workers seem to be hooked on vegan baked goods, and have even started bribing me to continue creating. I make no complaints! Latest out of the oven are oaty peanut butter cookies, from the Vegan with a Vengeance recipe. Peanut butter is one of my favourite things in the world, and in cookie form it’s close to heaven.

What’s keeping you warm tonight?

Lazy weekend post.

An unseasonably sunny weekend brings baked goods, quick projects and sundrenched photographs.

Making: Knit & crochet fingerless mitts, my own pattern.
Eating: Dark cocoa & cinnamon walnut cookies, adapted from the Veganomicon recipe.
Listening: Eels; Daisies of the Galaxy.

Voluntarily poor depth perception

As part of the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale, I did some baking and held a vegan cookiefest at work this week.
We had three interpretations of a Veganomicon recipe: orange and almond, double choc mint (both gluten free), and classic choc chip — plus costumes, rhyming nicknames and prizes! Good fun was had by all.
I whipped up a handy dandy eyepatch and went as a pirate. Here’s how I did it:

Scurvy Eye Patch

<25g worsted weight yarn (I used Red Heart acrylic in black)
3.5mm knitting needles
darning needle for ends

Cast on 8.
Row 1: Knit.
Row 2: Knit into front & back of first stitch; knit to end.
Repeat row 2 until there are 20 stitches.
Next row: Knit first two stitches together; knit to last two stitches; knit them together.
Repeat the last row once more.
Bind off all stitches, leaving one loop remaining on needle.
Rotate work and pick up two stitches along short diagonal edge.
Knit these three stitches on every row until measures desired length around recipient’s head. (I knit until patch+strap measured 22″/56cm unstretched.)
Cut yarn and sew live stitches to remaining edge of patch, making sure strap is not twisted.

Can I get an ‘Arrrgh!’?