The Kindness Of Knitters

Finished with love. ❤️

This little heart marks where Bev's knitting ended and the new knitting started. 

We will mark each project like this, to honor the work she did.

I am moving in slow motion this morning after an intense—but totally wonderful—weekend. Two knitting friends drove up from Atlanta to help make and carry out a plan to deal with all the yarn left when our dear friend Bev passed away a couple of years ago. We had all met at a knitting retreat years ago and attended other retreats together. Knitting retreats are meant for learning new skills and making new friends. If you're lucky, these friendships will last a lifetime.  

This was a fraction of the yarn we sorted. If you knit and are like most knitters, you have accumulated a yarn stash. Likely more yarn than you could possibly knit in your lifetime.

Luxury yarns bought on travels around the globe, souvenir yarns, and yarns bought with specific projects in mind. Those were often bagged along with the pattern and needles. So much yarn. And so many memories. We had fun telling stories and laughing about the experiences we shared. 

In addition to sorting the yarns, these amazing friends also worked to complete unfinished projects, like this colorful blanket. There are multiple names for this blanket pattern, but I like the one that calls it "The Kindness of Knitters Blanket." This one truly is. We are still working on some other projects that could be taken home and finished after our weekend was over. But they will all be done soon and returned to her family.

Porch knitting before dawn.

The first night we watched a movie while the blanket knitting was happening. The last morning the knitted started before the sun came up as we raced to complete what we wanted to do. And in between the first night and the last morning, it was non-stop yarn sorting.

    

 

These knitting friends were also wonderful houseguests. They knew we had a lot of work to do. And to make the weekend easier for me, they brought food. Homemade muffins and fruit for breakfast, butternut squash soup and chicken salad for lunches. 

I made these crackers in case we needed an afternoon snack. (We did.) I have loved these! If you count WW points, an entire sheet of lavash made into crackers is 2 points. I never eat that many at one time.

LAVASH CRACKERS

 1 package Joseph's Lavash Bread

 Pam olive oil spray

 Seasoning of your choice, such as Everything but the Bagel or Ranch

Preheat oven to 375º.

Put one sheet of lavash onto a sheet of parchment paper. Use pizza cutter to cut into cracker size pieces. Spray with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with seasoning. Carefully slide parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes until lightly browned.  

Watch closely because they can burn easily! I rotate the sheet while baking.

These are so crisp and they stay that way. Such a good snack when you want a crunch in your mouth.

There were nearly as many knitting notions as there was yarn. That was all sorted and packaged in to 40 sets to be used for goodies at a knitting retreat.

And while they were hard at work sorting and counting and packaging, I was busy in the kitchen. We took a break in the late afternoon, sharing good memories of our friend as we shared an appetizer.

These ladies brought breakfast and lunches. My job was to provide dinner. I tried to keep it easy and healthy. All of the food I made is here on the blog and I've linked the recipes. The first night I made Chicken Taco Soup and baked the Artisan Bread that I love. (I originally got the recipe from one of these friends!) 

The next night we invited another local knitting friend to join us for dinner. After the baked brie, I made Tuscan Garlic Chicken, roasted potatoes, watermelon feta salad...and these girls twisted my arm and I baked another loaf of bread!

The entire weekend we felt Bev smiling down on us, chuckling from time to time as we tired to figure out what she was doing...forensic knitting, detective work, mind reading. It took all of our skills. And I am sure that she would approve of how we shared the yarn—some went to friends who knew and loved her, some went to high school knitters who have not experienced the pleasure of using "good" yarn, and some went to knitters with limited budgets for indulging their hobby. Another batch was packaged for use later at an event. My dining room no longer looks like a yarn shop. The table is finally empty! 

 

**If you are looking for the lavash, this is what the package looks like. I found it in the deli section, near the pita breads and wraps.

Busy Fall Days

Pumpkin Baked Brie En Croûte

The older I get, the faster my days are flying by! I have so many things I want to do—and I do a lot of them—and there isn't time to ever get to the end of my list. I was happy that I got back here before I hit the one month mark since my last post. 

In the last month, we have had houseguests and spent some time at the beach with family. One houseguest brought me a car load of yarn. His wife was a dear friend whom I met at my first knitting retreat years ago. We attended several retreats together over the years. Now I have become the "executor" of her yarn estate. Trying to figure out what to do with her substantial stash has not been easy...for many reasons. But I am happy to honor her memory by doing so. Other knitting friends are helping. This coming weekend we are getting together to finish some of her unfinished projects and sort the yarn into some kind of order. And think of ways to best disperse it.

This process has made me take a hard look at my own stash and pile of unfinished projects. Since this "yarn estate" arrived at my house, I have finished two almost-done projects of my own and a third one is nearly done.

This linen and silk wrap lacked FOUR rows (it's 94 inches long) when I set it down a year ago. I don't even remember why I stopped working on it. But it is now ready to wear. 

Last night my book club (one friend properly calls it a "bookless club") met my house. Our rule is to keep things simple. And as fancy as this appetizer looks, it's about the easiest thing I've ever made. If you are on Facebook or Instagram you likely have seen videos of the how to process. There are many. Slight variations but similar. It's easier to watch a video but I'm going to write down how I did it.

PUMPKIN-SHAPED BAKED BRIE EN CROÛTE

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

3 tablespoon apple butter

1 round brie cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 bell pepper stem

Preheat oven to 400º. Lay out puff pastry and spread the apple butter in the center in a circle the same size as the brie. Place the unwrapped Brie on top of the apple butter and fold the pastry up around the cheese. (You can cut off corners if necessary to make it easier to wrap.)

Lay out 4 pieces of kitchen twine. Cut twine long enough to tie around the pastry-wrapped brie. Lay first two pieces out crosswise. 

Lay it out like this... +  

Then the next two pieces go across so that it ends up like this....  ✳︎

Tie the twine around the pastry-wrapped brie. This is what makes the pumpkin shape. Place the brie on a baking sheet, smooth side up and brush with the beaten egg. (I used parchment under it.)

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cut the twine and carefully pull the twine out from underneath. Use a toothpick to attach a green pepper stem to your "pumpkin." Serve while hot.

Now go find a video if you want to watch the process! It's all over the internet. Search for "pumpkin shaped baked brie."

Fall is here.