One Final Warm Weather Sweater

Before cold weather comes, I quickly made one final warm-weather sweater. It's a short sleeved top with a drapey sort of cowl neck, and it has a side tie at the waist. It was featured on the Knitscene magazine cover of the Winter/Spring 2011 issue, and I've wanted to make it ever since. My mom, a newer knitter, made it as her first sweater, and it was a wild success, so I just had to have one of my own! I also had a Groupon coupon to Sit 'n Knit, a local yarn shop, so I was able to buy the Bebe Cotsoy yarn I used at a discount. It's a very wearable soft 50/50 blend of soy and organic cotton. I love how it turned out! It's soft and drapey and comfortable. It didn't take too long either; I finished it in about three weeks.

Blocking

The finished product!

The Morse Code Tunic

...so called because of the random dashes and dots! It's made of cotton yarn, but I think I still need to wait until it's low 70's before I can comfortably wear it. Up top the shoulders and sleeves are held together with buttons, which I can undo and wear it in an off-the-shoulder way if I feel like it. I took way too long to finish it, but here it is!

Hurricane? What hurricane?

Well, we made it through Hurricane Irene! We actually had almost no bad weather from it... very little rain, and some wind. We did lose power, though. It was out from about 10:30am Sunday until 4:30am Monday (but it did come back on for about 10 minutes Sunday night at around 10pm). Other areas experienced flooding and severe winds and property damage, and many are still without power, and could be for days. My heart goes out to them, and I feel lucky not to have been in harm's way. Pretty weird... a hurricane and an earthquake within one week! And I wouldn't have noticed either, had we not lost power. During the power outage I plugged my iPod into speakers that don't require power and we listened to an audiobook while I worked on my knitting. I even knit by candle light for a while when it got dark! I finished my Morse code sweater, which I'll post pictures of soon, and I started on a new sweater. Here's a sneak peek...

The purple is much more... purple... in real life!

Check out my brand new second blog!

Just started it... The Home Economist: Liberty Edition. Another facet of the Home Economist :-)

-Melissa

Best. Tomato sauce. Ever.

Well, at least I think it's the best! It's one of my own thrown-together creations. I've made it three times so far, and every time I have it, I crave it even more! It uses few ingredients, but it's incredibly flavorful. Since I don't measure things out when I make it, I'll just estimate:

Melissa's Madly Marvelous Mushroom Marinara (mmmmm.....)

1. Melt several tbsps of butter in a saucepan. Don't be stingy! If you're feeling fancy, add a splash of white wine.
2. Add about one chopped garlic clove and stir for a few seconds.
3. Add a carton of sliced portobello mushrooms. Sautee for several minutes.
4. Add one can of diced tomatoes. Or more, if you want to make a bigger batch.
5. Add tarragon. This is important. Not oregano, not basil. About a heaping tsp of tarragon.
6. Simmer over medium heat until the sauce has reduced a bit; maybe 25 minutes or so.
7. You shouldn't really need to add any salt because it's already really flavorful, but if you do, go easy.
8. Serve over pasta with some grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese. 

Buon appatito!*

*optional step 9: give me credit for the recipe when you make it! (Or blame... whichever!)