Knitter in the Kitchen

Pattern: Gloria Cowl
Yarn: Hand Maiden Casbah Sock in Peridot (held double)
Needles: US #9 / 16″
Modifications: 81 stitches around instead of 99. 5 rounds of seed stitch instead of 3.

I don’t think cowls get much easier than this! A few rounds of seed stitch at the beginning and end with nothing but stockinette in the middle. Perfect for social knitting. Simple yet elegant, and a great way to use luxurious sock yarn. Thanks for the pattern, Orinda! This was my first experience with Hand Maiden Casbah Sock, and it knits up very well. I had to fight with the hank for awhile because of tangles, but the end result was well worth the effort.

I already have another Gloria Cowl on the needles, but some other patterns I’m looking at are Sherbrooke, Dolores Park Cowl, and Ilean (all Rav links). If you have other cowl pattern suggestions, please send them my way!

Pattern: Birthday Cowl
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy, In Vino Veritas, less than 1 skein
Needles: US #8 / 16″
Thoughts: The Birthday Cowl is a great (and easy!) pattern. This was my first experience using Dream in Color, and I really like that it has slight variegation without pooling.

Expect to see some more cowls in the weeks ahead! I have already completed a third cowl (yet to be photographed) and I am planning to start a fourth one this weekend…can you tell that I am going cowl crazy over here? And in the midst of 95 degree weather, too!

Recipe found here on Madeline’s Rachael Ray blog. We haven’t quite decided yet whether this one is a keeper or not. The veggies were really yummy, but the pork was on the bland side. Of course, it didn’t help that we totally overcooked it and thus it was tough. Hubby remedied the blandness by dousing the pork in Siracha sauce.

Hubby thought the dish would improve if we used flank steak instead of pork. I think it’s a good idea. However, I am not sure we will ever experiment with that. There was a fair amount of chopping (at least to us) and we haven’t decided yet whether the effort involved in this recipe is worth the end result. It’s good, but it didn’t wow us. If you try it, be careful not to overcook the pork!

Pattern: Cowl of Kindness (Ravelry Link)
Yarn: Claudia Hand Painted Fingering, Crushed Velvet, 2 skeins (doubled)
Needles: US #8 / 16″
Thoughts: Love this quick and fun knit! I definitely see more cowls in the future.