Most recent domestic activities

This winter I bought myself a hand blender for myself as a Christmas present. I bought this so that I could make soups and sauces. The first soup that I made was a wonderful broccoli cheddar soup, recipe from Deborah Madison's "Vegetable Soup". This is a great soup with a slight kick to it. That book has a number of wonderful soups. I have used the soup for two additional recipes:
Tomato bisque

lentil with chickpea (it was supposed to be farro and chickpea but I got the wrong thing)

I know that these soups may not look like anything special but they were damn good. I have to try more.

Aside from cooks I am still knitting. The cold weather this winter kind of inspired me to try something new. So I am working on my second lace project. It is a sampler called the Hanami Stole. I realized very quickly that this might not be the project for me. Ahhh. I messed up on the first pattern. Oh well. I still think that it looks kind of cool. That was really the only reason that I have not ripped anything back.

Since the weather was so chilly at least a couple of days this winter I decided to knit a scarf. The last time that I made as scarf was sometime during college. I made a eight foot long, basket weave and seed stitch scarf. I believe that after I made that scarf I vowed to never make another scarf again. But this year I really wanted a circular/moebius. Those things look so warm and you don't have to worry about tying any loose ends. I also thought that it wouldn't take very long because it would definitely be shorter than the first scarf I made. I am beginning to think that neck wear is the bane of my existence. Why you may ask? Well the patterns become tedious and boring. This is not a reflection on the pattern itself. Its all me. I am currently working on the 5th Avenue. It is a great lacy pattern that hides mistakes pretty easily. I really like how it is coming out. But I do need a little distraction. Since it is getting warm now I think that my goal is to finish by next Winter. I know that is really lazy, but hey, it's still a goal.

This year I made two winter hat. I usually don't make hats because I lose them. But this time I was not knitting it for myself so I am not terribly worried. I made another Nora Gaughan and I also made

a Raleigh Hills Hat. THAT came out cool. I don't usually make cabled beanies (I don't know why. I am not "anti-beanie). It was really fun making in and the yarn was nice to work with. I believe that it is Debbie Bliss "Fez". Which was a change from the Malabrigo that I am using for my other projects. I think that I will use the Fez again to make a hat for myself... maybe I will make one with a pom-pom on the top.