Jananas

We’ve had a tofurkey in the freezer since shortly after the holidays. We decided that we’d make a holiday dinner this weekend, because really how can you go wrong? We roast the tofurkey in agave, Bragg’s, olive oil, paprika, and some carrots/onions. We turned it after 75 minutes and baked it for another 20-25 minutes uncovered. Even better was that the ‘skin’ crisped up nicely.

Also on the menu? Mashed potatoes & sweet potatoes with rice milk, earth balance, and two full heads of oven roasted garlic. Vampires forgive us. Our friend Robot made homemade savoury vegan stuffing with bread, veggie broth, and lots of veggies (zucchini, carrots, and mushrooms). The finishing touch was the last minute addition of blueberries. To round it out, Jason made homemade cranberry sauce (1 cup brown sugar/maple syrup, 1 cup water brought to a boil, add 4 cups cranberries and boil until they burst. simmer gently until it thickens and then cool.) and homemade miso gravy.

Now we’re watching Santa’s Slay and celebrating the last of the holiday season and the last of the snow/ice pack on the ground.

Yesterday was a day filled with group meetings and final presentations. Add that to a day full of gray skies and I feeling a little  down on life. I figured that a fun knitting project in a bright colour, so I went through my stash and the Sauterne Malabrigo was just the thing.

Given that Spring is on its way, my heavy winter fleece lined mittens (or my new thrummed mittens as the case might be) are a little too warm. The Peekaboo mittens are a fun way to still be able to wear mittens while also being able to use my fingers to, well, do things! There’s a small slit on the palm side of the mitten.

These were a really fun, quick knit. When I make them again, I’ll likely make a few changes. The first is that the cuff is a little lose, so that I’ll either CO fewer stitches or use smaller needles (or both!). I also feel that there isn’t enough space between the cuff & the thumb gusset, so I’ll also add a few more rows.

Regardless, these have inspired me to attempt a pair of bicycle/lobster mittens for a friend who bikes to school every day. Wish me luck!

I’d seen some pictures of thrummed mittens on Ravelry this winter and decided that I’d like to try a pair. As a bit of background, thrummed mittens originated in Newfoundland/Labrador. Twisted bits of fleece or roving (essentially precursors to yarn) are knit into the fabric in order to provide an fleecy lining. As the rovings felt over time, with use, they develop into a warm insulating layer that helps block out the cold and keep your fingers toasty warm.

I decided that I’d give this traditional east coast Canadian pattern a try. It took me a little practice to get making the thrums down pay and a little more effort to get knitting the thrums into the mitten right, as it initially just feels awkward. However, the final product is amazing and warm. Here are some shots of the first mitten in progress, as well as the final pair.

This is the first row of thrums I knit in. My reaction was along the lines of “OMG, I’m making a troll”. Thankfully, once you knit a few more rows its starts to settle back into a more normal, albeit puffier, looking mitten.

This is partway through the first mitten. The thrums make adorable looking little “V’s. In this pink, and against the Tortuga Malabrigo, I think that they look a little bit like hearts!

The first mitten is finished! It feels a little bit like wearing a boxing glove its so padded. Sadly, as this point I put down the mittens and didn’t pick them back up until almost two months later. I was also a bad knitter and didn’t write down all the modifications I made to the pattern. It made it difficult to figure out exactly where things were ‘off’, although with some close study of the original mitten I was able to duplicate it almost perfectly!

Final thrummed mitten product! I may have made a comment during the taking of this picture that I have cancer, but it was only because my hands were bigger than my face (honest, and potentially too subtle a joke). I’ve enjoyed wearing them, especially during that really cold spell we had in Toronto last week. With wear, they are already starting to get less ‘puffy’, which is nice in a way because it means that they are more usable to wear – i.e. I can actually grasp things now. Interestingly, even though some wind gets through the fabric and I can feel the breeze, my fingers did not get cold while wearing these. Win!

Malabrigo March is one of my favorite knitting months of the year, mostly because I have an excuse to knit almost exclusively with Malabrigo. I have some lovely bright varigated shades that I’ve been trying to find patterns for and finally came across the My So Called Scarf pattern, which I think shows off the changing colours very well. I cast on Wednesday and knit a bunch of it while at #genYTO #canlit last night.

I probably should have gone down a few needle sizes (so to an 8/9 instead of an 11) for the Malabrigo yarn to have a tighter fabric, but I quite like that this is a little looser. In part, because I envision this scarf as being used on a hot summers day in an overly air conditioned office. So it seems like having it be a little airy works better.

p.s. can you spot the #genYTO button?

I knit. I knit a lot. To the point where friends ask if I’m that obsessed. The answer is more than likely, yes. I knit in movie theatres and in class. I knit on transit and during nights out with friends. In fact, I’m using my current knitting project as a wrist rest as I type.

I was going over the list of what I’ve knit so far this year: a sweater, 8 rectangles for an afghan I’m knitting for myself (2.5km of yarn!), 15 hats, two scarves, two neckwarmers, a pair of thrummed mittens, and some general work on a circular rug knit out of scrap yarn. I am officially a de-stashing machine.

Really, I was a little bit sad when I realized that we’re into March. I love knitting hats and am 29% of the way to my 52 hat goal for the year. But, what joy is there in knitting hats all spring when no one will be able to wear them in the summer. I need to find a new knitting obsession and soon, otherwise I’ll end up with a drawer full of finished objects and no use for them in sight.

p.s. I do have fleece cloud patterned pajamas. Even more impressive is that they are onesies with feet!