twylem.

It is overdue but it is finished! I started this test knit back in early February. It was moving along very quickly but we had some weekends of rough teething (we are officially up to 3 teeth!) and my knitting was laid to the side. Do you experience a lull in momentum on a project when you constantly have to put it aside? I know I do.

I have wanted a new black cardigan for a long time – unfortunately this is going to be way to warm for a summer-over-the-shoulders-cardigan but it will be perfect for the rest of this winter and then the fall. It is almost more like a jacket due to the collar.

Pattern: Twylem by Vanessa Smith

Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Worsted in colour black

Needles: 5.5mm for the yoke, collar and body; 5.00mm for the sleeves; 4.00mm for the belt

I really wanted to test this because of the super cool collar. The construction was interesting – I loved working the top-down collar with the yoke, then picking up and working the ribbing. It makes the collar bulky. I think that was very smart that it isn’t double layered all the way to the bottom of the cardigan – it would have been a lot of heavy fabric and warmth.

The seaming on this is minimal – the collar join at the back of the neck is a 3-needle bind-off. But the one seam is the double collar edge to the lower single ribbing. It was challenging to figure out how to seam it to get a clear line all the way across. Vanessa’s tutorials are fantastic and the finished edge looks perfect.

While I was knitting this I lost 10lbs. So by the time I got to the sleeves, it was too big. I did decide to size down the sleeves, though, and knit the 34 1/4” size sleeves instead of the 36” sleeves. I’m glad I did as it actually helped with the rest of the sweater even though it is too big. I should have knit the 34 1/4” instead of the 36”. It’s only 2” but in this case, for me, it made a big difference. And here I was concerned about whether I should knit the 38”! It would have been huge!

That’s the difficult thing about knitting while you are pregnant or just postpartum – everything for me felt too tight and now that I am getting back to my pre-pregnancy size, everything is too big! It is a small problem to have but when knitting sweaters, it is a little frustrating :)

How have you been doing with fit ‘issues’ lately?

beets me.

There has been some radio silence over here. Last week was a ‘busy’ week. I put that in quotes because it wasn’t busy but just one thing after the other. We had a good weekend, though, and a chance to get out of the city … clear our heads and start fresh.

One positive to come out of last week, however, was a reason to continue buying beets. I hate beets. I’ve tried. And tried. And tried to like them. But I don’t. I just don’t. I had some in the fridge and I thought I would try them one.last.time. No avail. I still don’t like them. But what do you do with 2lbs of roasted beets?

Beets me.

I decided to go cruisin’ on the Internets to see if there was a recipe or two that I could make with these things. Eureka! These are delicious!

Beets Me Muffins (Original)

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

• 2 C roasted, shredded beets
• 2 C whole wheat flour
• 1 C white flour
• ½ C – ¾ C brown sugar (increase as needed for sweetness)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ginger

Wet ingredients:

• 1 C vegetable oil
• 1 C milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients together. Create a well in dry ingredients. Pour in wet ingredients and stir together until just mixed. Pour mixture into muffin tray, filling ~2/3rds full (muffin cups recommended). Bake 18-20 minutes. Insert a toothpick to ensure cooked through (pick comes out clean). Yields 20 muffins.

Surprisingly, these do not come out pink as they would have you believe online. Here is another version for those of you out there who are vegan or choose vegan more often (like me):

Vegan Whole Wheat Beets Me Muffins

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

• 2 C roasted, shredded beets
• 3 tsp vital wheat gluten
• 2 1/2 C whole wheat flour
• ½ C – ¾ C brown sugar (increase as needed for sweetness)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ginger

Wet ingredients:

• 1 C vegetable oil
• 1 C plant-based milk (eg. Almond milk, soy milk or coconut milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients together. Create a well in dry ingredients. Pour in wet ingredients and stir together until just mixed. Pour mixture into muffin tray, filling ~2/3rds full (muffin cups recommended). Bake 18-20 minutes. Insert a toothpick to ensure cooked through (pick comes out clean). Yields 20 muffins.

Happy Eating! I promise there has been some knitting (albeit very little) that I will be finished with and able to show you very soon :)