Monday, February 18, 2008

let the sunrise in



pattern: Sunrise circle by Kate Gilbert
yarn: Patons classic merino in dark olive
needles: 5mm

Phewph! finally done. It's been a while since I've had a project linger for quite this long --I think it was November when I started it. It's a great pattern, and I've remarked before that I think Kate Gilbert is a genius, but it was still a bit of a boring knit for me. Which you can do doubt surmise just by looking at the simplicity of it. This is the third of her patterns that I've tried now...the others being the clapotis and Anouk.

The yarn I did this in definitley makes for a warm cardi, and I can almost get away with wearing it as a jacket.



And uh yes, my hair is kinda a lot redder than usual. Or de-browned as I like to think of it. It's definitely making me re-think all those raspberries and cranberries that I usually go for. Those will pretty much all look like ass on me from here on in.

Speaking of cranberry, we did indeed lace-up for Winterlude on the weekend, and my original clapotis made another appearance:





I actually really do wear that thing a lot, and will no doubt get an equal amount of wear out of Sunrise Circle as well.



Though I'm worried I may have blocked it a little too aggressively and already feel like it's too big for me. (I did a medium, but my gauge was a bit loose I think), the arms definitely are about 6 inches too long, so for now I am just kind of tucking them under, but think I should probably just steek them and be done with it.

With Sunrise Circle out of the way this weekend, I was finally able to allow myself room to begin Iceland. But I didn't. I started Twinkle's Borealis sweater instead. And it was going up SO FAST that I just couldn't stop. And now it's done. SO, hot on the heels of one sweater F.O post I should have another one for you as soon as I get around to taking the pictures. THEN: Iceland. Ummm, or maybe I should finish one of these scarves first. Gah. I feel like when I was in University, and it was time to sit down and write an essay, or study for an exam---the second I sat down I would decide that I couldn't possibly begin until I had cleaned the house first. That's kind of what I'm experiencing right now. Not so much a procrastination as a compulsive need to have my environment perfectly "ordered" before I can begin. Organization for me is a borderline sickness.

So here's another super-scrumptious loaf for you. I am WAY into asian baked goods (another of my MANY weaknesses...) and I cannot for the life of me remember which blog I got this recipe off of, but it does rival the green tea pound cake at Panya bakery in NYC.



Just LOOK at that green. My suggestion for this is definitely go to a health food store and buy actual Matcha (which is a powdered green tea) as opposed to regular green tea (or sencha) which is just not the same. It is pretty expensive (I paid about $23 for a bag like this) but you'll only use a couple tablespoons and it will go a long way. And think of all the other delish green tea recipes you can make with it afterwards...

Green tea cake

4 eggs
1 3/4 c flour
1 1/2 c sugar
3/4 c butter (softened)
2 T green tea powder
1 T chocolate chips (optional)

In a bowl, mix well sugar and butter. Add eggs. In seperate bowl sift together flour and green tea powder. Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture, then stir in chocolate chips.

Greased loaf pan, 360 degrees for about 35 minutes.
enjoy!

12 comments:

Julia said...

Oooh! Nice jacket! The more boring the knit, the more you'll probably wear it though, right? Hmm... and I thought you were lookin' a little redder. Join us! Red-heads rule!

Anonymous said...

It looks great. Cardigan for Arwen is also one of her knits where you're like "whaaa..?" I had no idea what was going on until it was finished.

Kate is so nice too. She invited me over to her place when I was in Montreal!

Virtuous said...

Awesome Sunrise!

You always take the post F.O. pics! So fun!

Love the color of your hair too! I guess I can see it better in the sunlight!

Sarah said...

Look how cute you are in your sunrise jacket! Perfect on you.

Sarah said...

Yey great jacket - and lingering since November doesn't sound so long to me! Still as you have another one done already I'll just call you Lightning Needles.

That cake looks totally fab too.

Macoco said...

I love the post title! Now I'll be singing that song all day. ;)

The jacket is so pretty and looks great on you.

Anonymous said...

your scj looks great! i'm sure it'll get lots of use, it looks great on you!

love the bright red hair!

Anonymous said...

your jacket looks great on you
and now I want the same color for my hair than you

Anonymous said...

The cardigan is very very nice! And the cake - oh, I am so gonna try the recipe. :)

Happily Knit said...

It looks beautiful! That looks so warm and cozy, perfect for all of this frigid weather we've been getting. I have sweater envy...

k_purls2 said...

hmm, I was going to do the sunrise with cascade 220. I think the weight is similar to the patons. Curious, how did your gauge come out?

Reckless Glue said...

yes, I think cascade 220 is a lot like the patons...my gauge was totally a bit whacky actually. I knit the back in a large and realized it was way too big, but rather than rip back I just started the two side pieces in a medium instead. In the end it all matched up for some reason so I didn't bother re-doing the back (I liked the length anyway...). I tended to not go by row counts so much as I measured length quite a bit (which was next to impossible by the time you start increasing the circular part) and my sleeves were way too long, so I will have to steek them I think. You will probably have to go down a couple needles sizes in order to get gauge. I notice some other folks on ravelry have done it in both those yarns as well.
good luck!