Roman Bronze Coins

In other neat things happening in our house, Scott bought some uncleaned Roman and Greek coins from digs in various countries, and here he is cleaning them.

Ancient bronze coins are surprisingly inexpensive.  They're just a few dollars, especially if they haven't been cleaned.  Cleaning them yourself is not easy. Some of that dirt has nearly started to fossilize, but it makes you feel a bit like an archaeologist.  Or more accurately, how you imagined an archaeologist felt when you were a kid.  It's fun.

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Cadence Socks - In Progress

Currently, I am working on a pair of Cadence Socks, using Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino.  These have a somewhat tricky faux-cable pattern that definitely requires following along with the instructions.

It's been a bit frustrating, especially since I like to knit my socks two at a time.  The first issue I have was entirely my own fault for not really reading the instructions, but I didn't notice how many times I was supposed to knit each chart.  I was about to turn the heel and only went back to double check the pattern because I thought the leg was rather short.  That's when I found out that I should have knitted certain charts multiple times, so I had to rip back over forty rows and practically start over.  That's doubly painful when you've knit two sock you must frog rather than one.  So much for finishing these socks in June as I had hoped.

While my first issue was my own fault, my second issue is not.  I don't really like the author's method of  changing the location of the large cable crosses.  Rather than use another chart, she has you shift the sock on your needles and change the starting point of the row.  Not only is that really annoying when it comes to knitting two socks at a time, but it rather irks me that the rows are off between the two socks, especially the lack of an interim row between shaping/too many rows between shaping.  Ick.  Still, I'll probably follow the pattern this go-round.  After all, I do generally follow the Navajo weaver's practice of including an intentional mistake to keep my perfectionism in check and allow me to actually finish pieces.

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Peacock Shawl

Back on June 10th, I completed the Peacock Shawl that I started back at the beginning of 2011.  I used the pattern Pretty As A Peacock Shawl by Jae Koscierzynski, with a modified edging, largely based on Peacock Feathers Shawl by Dorothy Siemens.



I used two strands of JaggerSpun Zephyr lace held together and knitted as one yarn to create a fingering weight gauge.  I then changed the color of each strand independently to create the blended color gradient effect.

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Spinning Buffalo Down and Silk

It seems that it's been even longer since I posted about spinning, and it's been longer since I've done any.  I finished up my hanks of buffalo down and silk yarn, but have yet to share the product with you.




The buffalo down was a dream to spin, and it spun up very soft, fine, and airy.  I wound this into a center-pull ball and took both ends, spinning them together to create a two-ply yarn.



The silk was a trick to prep, but once I had it all carded into rolags, it was lovely to spin as well.  Like the buffalo down, I wound the silk into a center-pull ball and plied it together from both ends.

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Vernal Equinox Shawl

It has been a while since I have posted about anything except for cocktails, and I apologize for that. The routine of the weekly cocktails really helps motivate me to post about them, so I think I may need to implement a routine for other types of posts as well.



Last you saw any of my knitting, it was my in-progress Vernal Equinox Shawl. I completed the shawl on April 30th.



And I took a ton of photos of it.



It got me excited about knitting lace again.



I used JaggerSpun Zephyr lace weight, which is an equal blend of wool and silk.



The pattern is Vernal Equinox Shawl Surprise, by Lankakomero.



As I recall, I really liked the pattern and found it easy to follow.

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Cocktail Wednesdays: The Turf Cocktail

This week we picked the Turf Cocktail from a number of gin-based options.  We did a little gin tasting to decide which bottle of gin we would use as the base for this cocktail.  We settled on using Knickerbocker Gin from New Holland Brewing Co. in Holland, Michigan for its citrus notes, which we thought would go well with a cocktail containing orange bitters.

Turf Cocktail

1 oz Gin
1 oz Dry Vermouth
1 tsp Maraschino Liqueur
1 tsp Absinthe
3-4 Dashes Orange Bitters

Stir over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a single green olive on a cocktail stick.

The verdict: The first word to come our of our guests' mouths was "Yummy". It is a very difficult cocktail to describe, since the absinthe and maraschino blended in so well, but added an aspect that made it quite different from a Martini - the typical combination of gin and dry vermouth. I don't know what to say about this one, but I would definitely recommend it.

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Cocktail Wednesdays: Caterpillar & Duck Under Cocktail

The Caterpillar Cocktail

Last week, we had a red table wine with dinner that was made from concord grapes.   Even though it had a normal alcohol content for wine, it still tasted like grape juice.  We decided that although we didn't like it as wine, we could try to use the rest of it in cocktails as a substitute for grape juice.  That is how we ended up trying the Duck Under and the Caterpillar Cocktails.

Duck Under Cocktail

1 oz Gin
1 oz Orange Liqueur
1 oz Grape juice

Shake over iced and strain into a cocktail glass.

The verdict: This was a pretty decent cocktail. We're starting to come to the conclusion that gin+citrus+fruit works well. Still, it wasn't particularly special, and we decided to go ahead and try another cocktail from my list once out guests showed up.

Caterpillar

2 oz Bourbon
1 oz Grape juice
1-2 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake over iced and strain into a cocktail glass.

The verdict: We liked this bourbon-based combination much more than the Duck Under Cocktail. It is a little sweeter than a Manhattan, and it's missing some of the spicy notes, but that makes sense, because you're essentially substituting the sweeter grape juice (or sweet concord grape wine) for sweet spiced and fortified wine. Given that grape juice and even the wine we were using have lower alcohol contents than vermouth -- which is fortified with additional spirits -- and it contains less whiskey, this is a less alcoholic twist on the Manhattan.

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Cocktail Wednesdays: Victory Cocktail

We chose the Victory Cocktail this week wes had special things to celebrate this Wednesday.  I passed the LEED Green Associate exam!  I came across several versions of the Victory Cocktail recipe, with slightly different ratios and quantities, but I settled on the recipe posted by Erik Ellestad on the Savoy Stomp.  We tried the original recipe Erik mentioned, but we agreed that we preferred his twist, which I am sharing here.

Victory Cocktail

1/2 Grenadine
1/2 Absinthe
Juice 1/2 Small Lemon (or about 1/2 oz Fresh Lemon Juice)

Shake well over ice, strain into champagne flute, and fill with soda water. Garnish with lemon twist.

The victory: this was a really nice drink. At the reduced quantities, it's not very strong, but the flavor is lovely, and I think it was the right intensity. We like interaction with the soda water. The lemon made the balance better, made it less cloying, and toned back the grenadine, allowing the absinthe to shine, but still be balanced with the sweetness of the grenadine.

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Low down on the sparse updates

I haven't been posting anything but cocktail posts, but that doesn't mean it's all I've been doing.  I've actually been pretty productive, and I plan to share the fruits of my labors (well, pictures and descriptions of those fruits) soon.

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Cocktail Wednesdays: The Absinthe Frappé

We chose The Absinthe Frappé this week because I had recently discussed absinthe with our guests who joined us this week for the first time.  One is a big fan of licorice and it had been suggested that she should try absinthe, so I thought we'd give her the opportunity with an absinthe based drink.  A frappé in the cocktail sense means to fill a glass with crushed ice. The recipe is a simple, old one, from back when ice in summer was a marvel and absinthe was one of the ruling spirits.  All that crushed ice still makes it a great summer drink.

The Absinthe Frappé

1.5 oz Absinthe
1 tsp Simple Syrup

Combine absinthe and syrup in a mixing glass, stir.
Fill a rocks glass brimming with crushed ice and pour absinthe mixture over.
(Optional) Top with a splash of Seltzer.
Garnish with orange and mint.

The verdict: All of us enjoyed this drink, but absinthe has a pretty intense flavor, so I think it might be a bit much for some people.  There aren't a lot of cocktails where absinthe is the main spirit, and I think this strength is the reason.  It is much more often used as a small addition.  The syrup and the ice help balance it out, and you still get a good understanding of the flavor of the absinthe, because the flavor is still so strong.  Variants include using other types of sweeteners, which could be interesting.  If you like absinthe or licorice, this is a good summery drink, but it's not for everyone, nor is it as easy-sipping as a Mint Julep, Mojito, Margarita, or Tom Collins.

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