From Socks of Doom to Sweater of Hope

There have been a couple posts lately on other blogs about charity knitting.I realize it's not something for everyone, but for me it's a nice way to help others in a very concrete way. And since I finished the Socks of Doom last night, tonight I was able to finish up the toddler sweater I'd been working on for Dulaan Project.



As I've mentioned before, it's done in romney blend yarn I got from Black Bunny Fibers, and it should fit a child up to one or two years of age. At some point, I seem to have managed to get a little off track on the raglan decreases, but not to an extent that I wasn't able to fudge it successfully. And the best part is that I have enough of the yarn left over that I should be able to make a matching hat.

You can see a slight bit of color pooling in the yoke area, but that's kind of to be expected given the decreases and it isn't excessive or distracting. What was interesting to me is that there was pooling of lighter and darker areas where the yarn took up different amounts of dye. This is only really visible in the body, but I think it adds an interesting dimension and really like the effect. A very little bit of dye seems to have rubbed off onto my needles, as well, so I'll give it a wash before packing it off to F.I.R.E.

Everyone at work loved it. Some are even talking about having babies just so I can knit them sweaters.

Pea Soup Revisited

Sean asked last week about my pea soup recipe, so, a little belatedly, here goes.

- 1lb. dried split peas
- a couple tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium to large onion
- 3 carrots
- 3 parsnips
- 6-8 cups water
- salt, pepper, thyme, sage to taste
- 2-3 bay leaves (if you're so inclined)

Okay, first of all I must insist on the extra virgin olive oil. The refined stuff has no flavor and just isn't worth the trouble. Besides, it also lacks the polyphenols that are so good for your heart.

Chop the onion into smallish pieces and sauté in the olive oil in a large pot until translucent. Wash the carrots and peel the parsnips and cut into thinnish slices and add to the onion. Add the thyme, sage and pepper and sauté a little longer, taking care not to burn, then add the water and salt to taste (NOTE: This will cook down a bit, so make it a bit less salty than you think it should be). Bring to a boil, rinse the peas in cold water (They can sometimes get little pebbles in the bag, so it's good to check for this) and add to the pot. Return to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for 40 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until peas are tender and soup is nicely thickened.

I know not everyone is familiar with parsnips, but I strongly encourage everyone to try them. They're like a sweeter, nuttier, somewhat starchier version of the carrot and a wonderful cold weather vegetable.