Bedtime Beading

The Sailor and I took a road trip over Thanksgiving, and I of course brought the necessary knitting arsenal along for the ride. 

If I'm not the one driving, then I try to use the hours in the car to knit. I get carsick reading a map, so it's somewhat surprising that I can knit and crochet. It's like I have a fiber superpower. (Of course if I'm doing something very complex or if I have to read a pattern... my ability goes right out the window and all productivity stops immediately.) 

I made a pair of simple socks along the journey -- one in the car and one at our destination. Then I began working on a little shawlette to pass the time. 

I splurged on a skein of Madeleine Tosh Merino Light on a solo road trip nearly a year ago. (The label doesn't have the color, but it looks closest to 'cove' or 'filigree' from the website listing.) 

I had planned to make a pair of beaded fingerless gloves as part of a Knitting Guild project. I started the gloves, then decided while I liked the beads with the yarn, I didn't really want to make another pair of gloves. 

After making this enormous Citron Grand, I decided I really liked shawls. But I didn't want to make another BIG one for quite a while. I needed something quick, easy, that would only take my one little luxurious skein of yarn. And, I wanted to use the beads. 

Ravelry didn't disappoint. 

I found this little shawl: The Sunlight Shawl for Sad People for free online. (Don't let the name throw you... it's a cute story and happy-looking shawl!) While the pattern doesn't call for beads, I figured I could easily add them throughout the shawl and especially on the picot edging.

The thing with beads though, is they are not conducive to car knitting. I put a few beads on the shawl randomly throughout the pattern (and probably lost just as many under the seat), so by the time I got to the edge, I put the shawl on hold. 

I waited until we got to our hotel stop for the night and pulled out the beading equipment. (Note the super cute zip pouch in the upper left of the photo -- found that little gem at Knitty City in NYC a while back.)  

I managed to finish the beading just before bedtime. Thankfully the hotel came equipped with plastic cups to corral the runaway beads.   

 
I used to think shawlettes were a little strange. Not quite a shawl, but not a scarf either. But now I think they may be my new favorite thing to make. This one is perfect for traveling -- both to knit (minus the beading part) and of course to wear. 

They also make fabulous gifts for friends -- especially when you don't want to worry about sizing. This shawlette knit up quite quickly, so there's still time to make one yourself to gift for the holidays! 

(Beading is much easier than it looks! Here's a good place to start. I used the crochet hook method to place my beads.) 

Merry Countdown

It's beginning.

I noticed that the day after Thanksgiving, both my Bloglovin' and Instagram feeds filled up with photos and posts of Christmas decorating ideas. 

I've got plenty of time to make stuff to decorate the apartment, I thought. 

 

Then I looked at the calendar. 

EEK!

Thanksgiving really was a little later than usual this year, huh?!

So far, this holly garland is all that's up. And as soon as I finish mailing out my Christmas cards, I just may get around to decorating some more winter decor before the end of this month. (Although it was 73 degrees here yesterday. Not really weather conducive to trimming a tree.)

 

The Leftovers

Thanksgiving Day may only be a memory, but hopefully you still have some leftovers? 

One of my favorite parts about Thanksgiving growing up was having enough leftovers for a turkey sandwich. Nothing fancy... just turkey, bread, mayo and salt.

YUM. 

In fact, some years, I've had to remind my mom to make a bigger turkey just for those day-after sandwiches.

Last year, I visited a friend and her family in Idaho. We celebrated Second Thanksgiving and I made my first ever pumpkin pie. Her kids were a little confused about having a holiday repeat, but they certainly didn't mind when we ate pumpkin pie again. We had leftovers for that Thanksgiving, too. 

This year, my mom made the pie, and I was thankful because she made two at my request. For leftovers, of course.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving Day leftovers? And more importantly... did you get to enjoy them this year? 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

(I know this turkey is thankful to be stuffed, but not cooked. Pattern available here.) 

Betty Wason

This week, there will be a lot of cooking going on. I've seen so much yummy goodness already posted in the blogosphere that I think I'm starting to sniff my computer screen some days. 

I won't be cooking the turkey this year -- I'll leave that one to my mother. (Let's all give pause to the women -- and men -- who will be cooking up a storm this week. Let's also give thanks for shared recipes that get passed down through cultures and generations.)

Eons ago back in July, I made German Sauerbraten and I mentioned The Art of German Cooking author, Betty Wason. I also promised to tell you more about this fascinating lady.

I picked up this book at a thrift store for a whole dollar -- I have a thing for old cookbooks (especially bargains) and figured this one could actually come in handy with some practical recipes. 

I perused the anecdotes to the stories and was a little transfixed. This woman could write. I mean it's one thing to write a recipe... it's quite another to offer the reader the added bonus of an entertaining story to go along with it. I just assumed Betty Wason was a great cook who also had a talent for writing. 

Her name sounded so familiar to me though. 

I delved a little deeper, and then discovered, amongst many other talents, that she had been a war correspondent between 1938-1941. She country-hopped through various invasions, but despite finding the stories on the ground, her employer, CBS, asked her to find a man to read her texts. 

Wait, what?! 

Apparently they thought the audience wouldn't be receptive to a woman's voice on air. Later, the man who read her texts was offered a contract. (There is so much more to the story here and here.)  

Eventually, when Betty returned home to America, where she was rebuffed by CBS (!) and turned her attention instead to writing books. Her cookbooks are by far the most numerous. 

She has also been featured in one of my all-time favorite books: The Women Who Wrote the War by Nancy Caldwell Sorel.

So, as we all gorge ourselves on American goodness this week, let us also give thanks to the amazingly brave and talented women like Betty Wason -- who not only gave us some fantastic recipes from around the world, but who more importantly, reported on events that changed the world forever -- even if they didn't always get the credit.