My Sweater-dress... The Finished Product

I'm really happy to say that my sweater-dress is finished! Toward the end I was starting to get really nervous that I might not have enough yarn. But, PHEW! There was enough... just barely! I probably have enough yarn left over to make a matching bookmark :-) 

So first, I lovingly handwash it in lavender scented Eucalan, a great no-rinse detergent for your delicates and handknits. Obviously I chose that particular scent because of the color of the sweater-dress! BOY does that thing absorb water! I think it sucked up about 3 liters worth.

Next, after gently wringing out as much water as I could by rolling it in a towel, I set up my blocking board on top of my dresser and pinned the dress to the proper measurements. If you just let it drape over a drying rack like your other clothes, it could get all stretched out and weird looking. 

So I'm clearly not a model in any way (awkward stance, etc.) but here's the finished product on me!

I wore it for the first time for my little Thanksgiving party :-) 

My First Thanksgiving

Well, not literally... but the first one I prepared and cooked completely by myself! Including hubby and myself, we had 9 adults and 4 children over for dinner. For a few of my guests from India, it was their first time having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, so I wanted to include everything I could! Boy was it exhausting, but everything turned out better than I even hoped. Here's the menu:

Clockwise from top left: Sweet Potatoes with Coconut and Pecans (can be found in Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook); Pillsbury crescent rolls, garlic mashed potatoes, Herb Crusted Turkey Breast with Mushroom & Leek Stuffing (Whole Foods Recipe); gravy; Green Beans with Walnuts and Shallot Crisps (Vegetarian Times Recipe); Double Cranberry Chutney (Vegetarian Times Recipe). In the center, for the vegetarians was a Mushroom Tart. There are no leftovers of that! I didn't even get a slice myself! That's OK, I plan on making it for myself very soon! 

Off camera is the pumpkin pie I made with a yummy gingerbread crumble on top. There was a crazy mishap making this, though. I was watching Glee while I was making it, and the pie is in the oven, and I realize I left out HALF of the ingredients! HALF! I hadn't mixed in any of the spices OR the eggs! LOL! I pull the pie out of the oven, stir in the spices right into the pie, and try the same with the eggs. I realize quickly that will not work; egg whites are spilling everywhere. I pour all of the contents back into the mixing bowl, add a couple more egg whites to replace the ones all over my counter, mix, and pour back into shell. Phew! What a save! It worked. The sad thing is, this isn't even my first time making this recipe; it was my third. What is the opposite of "Third time's a charm"?

All the time spent cooking didn't leave my time or attention to holiday decorating, so here is my still-good Halloween pumpkin, made over for Thanksgiving: 

Minimalist Decoration

Anyway, everything was really yummy (that's why I included the recipes, so you can have them!) and I pulled it off! I was pretty exhausted afterwards, and slept somewhere between 10 and 11 hours.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Cannibal Sweater

As I mentioned in my Tweets, I decided that the sweater dress I was making was way too big, and would make me look like I'd gained about 30 lbs or so. Even though it was the right gauge and all, it just wasn't doing it for me. Even though I was already about 70% finished, I knew that there was no way I could continue on with a sweater that would just look like a pretty purple potato sack! I put it aside, and with my remaining yarn started over again on smaller needles. I am pleased to say that the size is much better! Phew! Now that I've used up the remaining balls of yarn, my new sweater is now cannibalizing the old one. That is to say, I didn't think it was worth the extra effort to rip out all of the yarn and re-wind it into balls again, so I'm just pulling the yarn, bit by bit, from the old, and knitting directly into the new! A perfect solution.

The Last Veggies

Saturday was Clean-Up Day at the Community Garden. Time to pull out the exhausted tomato plants and save seeds from the basil and marigold. The bed was all cleaned out, with the exception of the chives, oregano, and basil, which should come back next spring. I saved some OK looking green tomatoes to allow them to ripen indoors, along with two adorable (and yummy!) baby carrots. Yum! Can't wait for spring so I can start planting again!

C is for Cookie

This cookie monster has been cookie-less for a while, and hasn't baked in ages. This stops now! I'm making Snickerdoodles! I like to try new recipes, and although this is not very different from regular sugar cookies, I think that the addition of cinnamon qualifies it as a new cookie. Even if it didn't, so what? This cookie is a classic, and should be made whenever the mood strikes!

Boring to look at, yummy to eat!

Cinnamon-sugary goodness!

Mehndi

One fun experience in India was having mehndi done. I definitely recommend it, although it isn't for the impatient sort of person. The whole process takes several hours, during which you really can't move or touch anything. When it's all over though, and you can scrape the dried henna from your skin, you're left with lovely designs all over your hands and arms, like semi-permanent jewelry. When you put on bangles and have your nails painted, you feel so fancy and dressed up, even if you are wearing simple clothes. For some reason it always comes out much darker on my palms than on other parts of my skin. It's almost gone now, but at least I have pictures :-)

A Success!

I'm happy to report that the teddy bear I knit for our niece was a big success, and very loved! She named it "Greeny", and even drew a picture of it :-) Now she wants me to knit her a sweater so she can show it off! But what kind of sweater would be appropriate to knit for a girl who lives in Kolkata, India? Maybe a short-sleeved cardigan? Definitely not something too hot, and certainly no wool. 

Meanwhile, I'm back to working on the sweaterdress thing I started before I left. I guess I'm about 2/3 of the way finished.

Photos!

Well, I haven't had the energy to write anything about my trip to India, what with jetlag, a cold, etc., but go right ahead and click to see my photos!

My India Photo Album