First, Darling Hubby decided (after I handed him my camera to take a picture of the socks I had just finished for him) that I needed a new one.  So, he took it upon himself to find one for me.  And knowing me, he even found a green one. 

Isn’t it adorable?  It’s a Panasonic Lumix DMC FS7.  10 megapixels, AWESOME macro mode (one of the things my old one lacked), nice big LCD screen… and it’s a perfect emerald Elphaba green.    Thanks, sweetheart!

Another new thing – a new WIP!  This is the Clementine Shawlette from Interweave Knits Spring 2007.  I picked up the yarn – Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca and Silk in Jade – when I went down to see Cristi for SAFF in ‘07, and it’s been waiting for this ever since.

I’m about 2/3 of the way through it, knitting both ends at once, just because I know I won’t finish it if I do them separately.  Of course, I do have to kitchener them together, but we’ll tackle that when we get to it.

See what I mean about the macro?  It even has two – manual zoom and an autofocus macro.

And the third “new thing” (Those of you on FB and Twitter may have seen this)… I have a job. That’s right – after five and a half years as a homemaker, I am once again among the gainfully employed. I’m going to be working for a local indie yarn dyer, starting with stuff like hauling dyepots, rinsing and hanging yarn, and eventually learning to dye myself. I’ve met most of the women I’ll be working with, and they are awesome. It’s going to be hard work, but I think I’m really going to have fun. I’ll be working four days a week, so I may be scarce (um… scarcER) for a bit around the blog until I get into a groove with it.

All needles have their original packaging, and they can be yours for the low price of $5 per needle – any size, length, or type – USPS postage included.  Email me at katydidknits at katydidknits dot com and let me know what you want, and I’ll sent you a Paypal invoice.  (US only, please.)

The Needles:

Addi Lace:

US3 (3.25mm) 24″ (60cm)

US5 (3.75mm) 24″ (60cm)

Addi Premium (same as Turbo, but as sold in Europe)

US0 (2.00mm) 32″ (80cm) – 2 avail 1 avail, 1 PENDING

US1 (2.50mm) 32″ (80cm) – 2 avail 1 avail, 1 PENDING

Addi Turbo

US1 (2.5mm) 40″ (100cm)

US2 (3.00mm) 32″ (80cm) – 2 avail 1 avail

US3 (3.25mm) 16″ (40cm)

US5 (3.75mm) 60″ (150cm) – PENDING

US6 (4.00mm) 24″ (60cm)

US6 (4.00mm) 32″ (80cm)

US6 (4.00mm) 60″ (150cm)

US8 (5.00mm) 24″ (60cm)

US8 (5.00mm) 32″ (80cm) – PENDING

US8 (5.00mm) 60″ (150mm) – PENDING

US9 (5.5mm) 32″ (80cm)

US10 (6.00mm) 32″ (80cm)

US10.5 (6.5mm) 24″ (60cm)

US11 (8.00mm) 32″ (80cm)

They are all first come, first served, so if you see something you need, jump on it!  I’ll mark them off here as soon as each is gone, so it should hopefully stay pretty accurate.

ETA: I’ve added some stuff to my Rav destash page, too.  I’m going to continue updating the stuff there, so if you spot something, let me know there or email me same as for the needles.

One of the women in my regular Barnes & Noble knitting group posted about a pattern in our Rav group.  I hadn’t seen it in person, but I took one look at the pattern and HAD to make it.  It’s called the Butterfly Forest Shawl.

I thought for about 3 seconds, and then knew – this needed to be for Kirsten.  She collects butterflies much like I collect dragonflies (although for different reasons).  I was debating what yarn to use, when Carol posted that SeaSilk works really well (that’s what she’s using for hers), and it hit me – I had some in my stash!  Better yet, the colorway was “Dragonfly”.  So, it would be a little of each of us.

I cast on Saturday while Kris and I had a movie marathon (Our copy of the new Star Trek, followed by Eagle Eye and Igor.  We have odd Netflix combos, sometimes.)  By the end of the movies, I was about a third of the way through the shawl.  I worked on it on Sunday and Monday, and finished up the last four rows yesterday (shortly after taking that picture).  I blocked it last night, and this morning, it was complete.

I love the butterflies along the edging.

So, my dear, darling, oldest friend in the world, here you are.  Happy birthday!  It will be on its way to you soon.

Oh, and Bezzie, so much for that silver-grey kick, huh? 

Amanda and I went down to Fibre Space on Nov. 5 for the preview party for Olga’s new book Ori Ami Knits.  I knit one of the samples for it, and it was lovely to see how it all came together.  It’s a really beautiful collection, and I can’t wait to get my copy of it.

While we were there, I picked up a skein of Malabrigo Sock yarn in “Alcaucil” – beautiful shaded charcoal and black.  I was looking for something to make Damson, and I thought it would be a nice change to have a very neutral colored shawl for once, since I tend to go to the obnoxiously bright and colorful. 

I cast on last Sunday (the 15th), and worked on it while we were watching “Up” with our friends Mary and Rich.  I worked on it at auditions for PGLT’s upcoming production of “Arsenic and Old Lace” (Kris was cast as Mortimer, the role Cary Grant played in the movie, but I wasn’t cast.  I’m pretty upset, but dealing.), and at trivia on Wednesday (We won!).  I cast on on Friday, and blocked it yesterday.

This is a LOVELY pattern.  I really liked working on it, and the yarn was a dream.  It blocked out quite a bit (I was worried that it was going to be too small), and it is absolutely light as a feather. (Batty – this shot made me think of you – the way it’s hanging and the color made me think “Bat wings!”)

If you are looking for a nice small shawl pattern, I’d definitely recommend this.  There’s a reason that it’s so popular.

I also got a little something new that I broke in on Damson. I’m a complete sucker for project bags, as anyone who has seen my craft room can attest. Corrina (PicnicKnits) tweeted that a friend of hers had re-opened her Etsy shop. I resisted until Bezzie replied that the “Silverfly” bag reminded her of me.  I peeked.  I was sunk.  So, this arrived from ComeToSilver just in time to house my Damson-in-progess.

It’s lovely embroidered satin, has a snap pocket on the exterior, a strap that snaps so you can attach it to another bag or a belt loop, and look at the inside.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/katydidknits/4131258194/sizes/m/in/set-72157601888694576/

Two interior side pockets, a drawstring notions bag, a snap loop yarn guide.  She also included a little sachet of moth-repellent herbs, too.

Oh, and yes, that’s a new project in there.  You’ll get the details on that another day.

I made this for a dear friend’s birthday party the weekend before last, and then ended up down with the flu and just haven’t had much blogging mojo. (Seriously – I’ve been sick on and off since before Halloween. This SUCKS.) So, I’ll post it now. Grab a beverage – this one has LOTS of pictures.

What I’m showing you is a recipe I saw on an episode of Cooking Live 8 or 9 years ago.  Since then, it’s become a party staple for us, which was why friend’s hubby asked me to make it.

Presenting: The Buffalo Wing Ring.

Dice a medium sized onion, and let it saute in 1/4 cup melted butter until softened, but not caramelized.

While that sautees, combine 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese with 1/3 cup of mayonnaise, and stir until blended.  Stash this in the fridge.

This?  This is like my nightmare.  I am not a blue cheese fan.

Once the onion is softened, add in 3/4c milk, and 1/2c water.  Remove it from the heat and let it cool to room temperature-ish.

In the bowl of your mixer, combine 1-1/2 c flour, 3T sugar, 1-1/2t salt, and 2 packages of Fleischman’s Rapid Rise yeast.  You can also use their bread machine yeast that comes in the jar, if you have that on hand.

You will also need an additional 3 cups of flour in a separate bowl.

Mix the dry ingredients (not including the set-aside flour) to combine them.

With the mixer running on low, pour in the onion-milk-water-butter mixture and stir until it is incorporated.

Mix in one egg, and beat for two minutes.

Add the remaining flour, I do it about 1/2c at a time, and mix until you have  a soft dough.

Mmmm… sticky.  Knead the dough with the mixer for 4-6 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic.

While it is kneading (I love my stand mixer…), grab the cheese – about 8 oz. each of cheddar and pepper jack.

I buy blocks and shred them myself using my handy-dandy food processor.

Set the cheese aside once it is shredded.

Once your dough is elastic…

Turn it out onto a floured board (or, you know, your countertop), cover it with a towel, and let it rest for ten minutes.

Once it has rested, roll it out into a rectangle – about 18″ long by 12-14″ wide.  And seriously, this is the most perfect rectangle I’ve ever rolled out.  I was way proud of it.

And assemble the fillings – the mayo-blue cheese mixture, the shredded cheddar and pepper jack, wing sauce, and cooked chicken.  I cheat and use the pre-cooked stuff, but you can certainly cook and chop up your own if you prefer.  You need about 1-1/2 pounds.

Spread the mayo-blue cheese mixture over the dough, leaving the edges plain so you can seal them later.

Top the blue cheese with the chicken

And then drizzle on about 1/3 cup of the wing sauce.  I usually end up eyeballing this, and often end up with a little more than 1/3c.

Top it with the cheeses.  Looks like pizza at this point…

Starting from the far long edge, roll the dough toward you.

And pinch the seam to seal it.  This is not always successful for me. 

Roll the log so that it is seam-side down, and bend it into a ring on a pan (pizza pan, cookie sheet, whatever you’ve got handy) that has been lightly sprayed with Pam.  (Side note, I used to refuse to buy that actual brand, because the name bugged the hell out of me when I was a kid.)

Slash the dough about 1/3 of the way down, in 8 places, using a sharp knife.  Try not to giggle at the piece of chicken that pokes out like it is trying to escape.

Bake the ring at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes until the crust is nicely browned and the cheese is bubbling through the slashes.  If you manage to seal the seams, you’ll have less issue with the cheese leaking into the center.  Clearly, this one didn’t seal well.

Normally, I’d show you a picture of a slice of it, but since I was taking it to the party, I didn’t slice it until we got there, and I didn’t bring my camera. If anyone would have understood, they would have, but I decided that some things are too weird even for me.

I sometimes make a cheesesteak variation as well – I add chopped green pepper with the onions, use Cheez-Whiz instead of the mayo/blue cheese mixture, cook up some Steak-Ummz for the chicken, swap the pepper jack for provolone, and use A1 instead of the wing sauce.

So, yeah, I’ve lost the last 3 or 4 months worth of emails. If you sent me something critical… you might need to resend that.

I’ll be sitting her smacking myself in the head and calling myself an idiot.

Feeling a bit stupid.

Happy Hauntings, all!

And here’s one of the literal music videos I mentioned.

I don’t know why they amuse me so much, but they do. I’m just simple-minded, I guess.

Hope everyone has a great Halloween, if that’s your thing. We’re having some friends over tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll have some good pictures to show you. I’m pretty proud of my costume, so I’ll definitely try to get a good one of it.

While I was looking for it, I stumbled on another of his bits – I just wish it was the whole song!

He reminds me a bit of the literal music videos – if you haven’t seen them, they are a hoot. I’ll have to look those up for another day.