Tag: update

Bread #174

Back to baking! Here is my last bread, decorated with the college S:

Bread #174 – Weizenvollkorn

I enjoy baking for a variety of reasons. Eating it is not the most important 🙂 I find baking, and especially leavening, a process that demands respect for its timings, in exchange for minimum requirements (flour, water and cozy ambient temperature). I mix the ingredients and I know that in a few hours the dough will be ready. There is no way to make it faster (apart from raising ambient temperature, but still) but from my side there is not even such intention. I bake only when there is enough time. I actually try to follow this principle for everything, which is sometimes clashing with expectations around me – either I get pushed to act faster, or worse, I am expected to push others. The result is that I get really uncomfortable (in both situations), and the task gets delayed or derails completely, which is not better than letting me complete the task at my pace.

Apart for the metaphorical considerations, bread #174 tastes delicious 🙂 Till next time!

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Knitting updates

This time there will be mostly pictures and little text 🙂

So let’s begin! My blanket is almost ready, it fits on two circular needles, the lace section is almost over and there are two more skeins left. I don’t know yet how I will block it, because my yoga mat is too narrow, but I’ll find a way:

I started a smaller project with green cotton, a very pretty skein, but I’m not convinced by the progress, the needles could be a bit too large and the shawl-in-progress is somewhat missing structure. I’m tempted to frog it, but I’m almost finished, so mm, any thoughts?

My last and favorite project is a cotton sweater from a craft book printed in 1985, I chose to swap red for taupe and it’s coming out oh so nicely 🙂

I really want to start another pair of socks (most of my stash consists of sock wool – maybe because it’s easy to grab a pretty skein than buy the amount for a pullover?) but I will finish one of those three projects first.

That’s all for now! Until next post, stay safe 🙂

Knitting updates

A few days ago I had the unrealistic plan to go buy one new magic loop cable and a second set of 2mm DPNs at my favourite wool shop, and of course I came back home with a few more things:

The shopping generated a peak of new-project-enthusiasm, and without hesitation I started a new pair of socks with the grey striped wool from a previous raid, and a cabled scarf with the purple-grey-green wool. The yellow linen sweater is almost finished, and I will make sure I will finish it before starting a new large project:

Here is some more progress on the cabled scarf. The wool is very soft!

And here are the finished socks from previous update. They are not as pink, the camera is doing its own color balance:

That’s all for now, stay tuned for more knitting pictures 🙂

Life update

I have been quiet recently and I am now staying home, as many of the people I know, and I must say I am lucky and privileged to be able to stay safe and have all I need.

Apart from home office, I am knitting quite a lot, and making good progress on the Bairn blanket and the Audierne linen pullover:

I even started drawing again… not much, but I feel that I need to keep in touch with the combination of nature, observation and scribbling. John Muir Law‘s videos are for me a source of inspiration, insight and cheerfulness. Even when I don’t draw along, I feel revived in my interest for nature.

And last but not least, a pair of wood pigeons chose my windowsill as the place to make their nest. I had a heather plant that didn’t manage to thrive, and they apparently found it a great start for a nest, to the point that they first laid an egg and then brought twigs. Then yesterday I was nearby when they switched nesting duty, and I saw a second egg! I am very curious on what will happen next, and will keep you updated too 🙂

That’s all for now, I wish you all to stay safe and healthy, and to be able to deal with these challenging times as best as you can.

Yearly bread update and goodbye 2019

Hi everyone, it’s been a while since my last post… so here is a long-due update about my baking! I got to bake bread #107 last week!

I have a few favourite recipes, but also like to try new ones or add some extra ingredients. Baking has been one of the hobbies I enjoyed most this year, and by far the most relaxing.

I wish you all a great start in the new year, a bunch of fresh energy for your plans and projects, and memorable moments with your dear ones. Take good care of yourselves!

Bread update: breads from #61 to #70

Here’s a visual update of the last results:

Some are missing because they were eaten before I could take a picture 🙂

I keep baking with the same procedures and setup since a long time. The only changement is the addition of a sandstone that heats up in the oven, stores heat and therefore keeps the temperature more stable. I got it from a friend who was throwing away a grill/raclette set, so I’m sure it’s OK for food use. I am not yet so sure how it changes the baking process, as I don’t see much difference in the results, except maybe that the crust doesn’t get that golden (that could be because I don’t let the stone get hot enough before putting the bread in the oven, so that it keeps eating up heat for a while).

I am baking more than once a week, so next update will come really soon!

Quick update

It has been a while since last post, thanks to a bit of vacation, an internet-free break before the upgrade to the new contract, and some good bits of offline progress. I’ve been reading insightful books; I have baked a few breads despite the scorching heat, which greatly helped the leavening process; I’ve been drawing more, and am preparing a significant announcement about my artsy activities… stay tuned for next update!