Needles and Gifts

"A little snow was here and there / disseminated in her Hair -- since she and I had met and played / decade had gathered to decade -- "      ~Emily Dickinson


And now, a knitting update.

First is this cabled cardigan, the first sweater I've ever made by myself:

Next is this shawl, which was a birthday present for a very dear friend who's never owned a shawl, anything that was knitted for her, or that was covered in pearls and lace. Obviously these oversights needed fixing:

Something else I recently finished for my mom is this "Ice Queen" cowl with glass beads:

  
Currently on my needles is this shawl, which I'm calling "Diamonds and Ice":

More to come as projects are finished.

Homemade Candied Fruit Peel

"Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it." - Goethe

It's been several months since my last post. Since then, I've moved across the country, had a lot of personal upheaval, and am finally in a frame of mind that allows for blogging on fun domestic things. I've still been knitting (the only way to keep sane in the midst of said-upheaval), and an update on that will be coming soon.

With Christmas just around the corner, I've decided to try a few new recipes this season, which will also make their way onto the blog. One of them involves candied fruit peel, which I was unable to find at my local market. So, time to whip some up myself.

The recipe I followed can be found at recipe.com.

First, I soaked the peel overnight in cold water:



Then I boiled it, let it stand, and drained it a total of four times...




...then sliced it...




...and candied it...




...and finally sugar-coated it:




 An intensive yet rewarding process.

More Christmas tastiness to come soon...