mayflower

My biggest problem with blogging regularly is finding the time and light to photograph. Recently, the majority of evenings around here have been overcast or stormy, ruling out any possibility of taking FO pictures...yes, FO! The Silk Garden Fair Isle and my 5-buck top are finished! Additionally, I can't seem to find the most important part of my tripod (the part that screws to the bottom of the camera) Because of my lack of knitting and fiber related pictures...a quick detour to food blogging!

I've become quite enamored with dumplings of all sorts, particularly these delicious and delicate pan fried and steamed gyoza. The technique and process is simple, and the filling possibilities are endless! This particular batch had shredded cabbage, diced seitan, grated carrot, green onions, chopped garlic and ginger, broccoli bits, and shiitake mushrooms, all lightly cooked, then seasoned with Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil. I added a little cornstarch at the end to help everything stick together.

I used store bought gyoza skins to simplify the process even more. Once you get the hang of it, stuffing, sealing, and crimping the dumplings goes by really quickly, and you end up with a cute pan full of gyoza ready to be cooked!

I brown the bottoms in an oiled pan, add a little water, cover and steam until the skin turns lightly translucent.

Glistening, delicious dumplings!

I like to dip them in a mixture of Sriracha (roasted chili sauce), lime juice (or rice vinegar) and soy sauce. Absolutely amazing. Try it!

I've grown to tolerate frogging. In my earlier knitting days, to say I disliked unraveling work would be an understatement. I would sooner break out a big pair of sharp scissors and my sewing machine and make it fit, than rip and reknit. I'd always end up with really well-fitting knits, but then months or years later when the attachment and memory of the hours spent faded, I'd regret that I couldn't unravel and reclaim the yarn. Three or so years later I've learned to love (or sometimes just tolerate) the whole process, including the inevitable frogging, a little more.

So yes, the offending parts... the neckband, the sleeve and shoulder seams have been unraveled, and are waiting to be re-knit and re-seamed.

The great part about this project is that it only uses one skein of Silk Garden (though I chopped and borrowed from a total of 2) Here are the other 8, photographed this weekend when I REALLY didn't feel like reworking the sleeves. I'm getting much closer to a completely cataloged and organized stash!

In need of a mindless, easy knit to regain some knitting juju, I started a quick shell on chunky yarn and needles. This yarn was actually recycled from a sweater I found on major discount. Imagine my glee when I found out that this very soft, brand new, 100% cotton number bore the tag "handknit". Ah, fast and painless unraveling! I bought the largest size I could find for just 5 bucks...what a steal!

It's a variegated, yet non pooling yarn with a lovely thick and thin texture. The texture disguises any tension issues that might occur (yay mindless knitting) and keeps an easy stockinette project interesting. I'm actually completely finished with this, and I love it! Hopefully I'll have that to show next time.

Have a great, safe 4th!