Hello! I hope this finds you all well. From some of you in the US I’ve heard that you’ve had a thick blanket of snow recently and spring seems far away. Here, March has brought rain and hail storms as well as some milder days. Judging by the flowers and the birds spring is in the air. But judging by the cardigan I’ve just finished winter is around the corner. My knitting is sadly out of sync with the seasons again. Before going on to more spring-like things, let me tell you about it first.
This is the Air Cardigan from Finnish designer Suvi Simola, and the yarn I’ve used is Garnstudio Drops ‘Air’ in Crimson, a beautiful deep and warm red. It is long, oversized and very cosy. Size M is 86 cm (33¾”) long, with 64 cm (25½”) bust width.
The Air cardigan is knit from the top down and the sleeves are knit on. The only seaming to be done afterwards is the sides of the pocket linings. The pattern is very clear and has photo tutorials for several techniques. The one thing I didn’t like about it, is the stretchy bind-off used for the sleeve and body ribbings. Can you see how wavy the bottom is? I painstakingly unpicked it and re-did it using an ordinary bind-off.
What I do like a lot, are the decorative purl ridges on shoulders and upper back. This is where the knitting starts, with a narrow strip with short rows for shaping. From the purl ridges on either side of this strip stitches are picked up for fronts and back. Very nice!
All in all, a lovely design. It is knit on 5 mm (US 8) needles and should be a quick knit for someone who doesn’t have a dozen projects on the go simultaneously. Oh well, when the first chilly autumn days come, I’ll have a cosy cardigan ready and waiting.
And now – spring things!
It’s blossom time. And it’s also wood anemone time.
Wood anemones are not very common in these parts. They mainly grow in ancient woodlands and on historic country estates. Places where it is as if time has stood still and the rest of the world with all its woes and worries seems far away.
Where a distant wind turbine is the only sign of modern times.
In one of these dreamy wood anemone woods many white storks are nesting. When you see them out in the water meadows foraging for frogs and moles, you don’t hear them.
But from their nests their bill clattering can be heard far and wide.
In some places, the wood anemones grow together with wild garlic.
I wouldn’t dream of picking it here, but fortunately we also have a small patch of not-so-wild wild garlic in our garden. And that brings me to a recipe I’d like to share with you – Potato and veg frittata with Camembert and wild garlic (can also be made without wild garlic). Our young hens are so productive that we have of necessity become very creative with eggs. And then there are enough eggs left to feed many of our neighbours, too.
Potato and Veg Frittata with Camembert and Wild Garlic
(Serves 2-3)
Ingredients
- 500 g potatoes
- 2 tbsp olive or sunflower oil
- 100 g green beans
- 150 g broccoli
- 100 g cherry tomatoes
- 4 eggs
- 50 ml milk
- Salt & pepper
- 100 g Camembert or similar
- A small bunch of wild garlic leaves (if you don’t have access to wild garlic, just leave it off or use chives instead)
Method
- Rinse the vegetables. Trim and halve the beans, divide the broccoli into small florets and cut the tomatoes in half.
- Bring a pan of water to the boil. Add the green beans and broccoli, bring to the boil again and cook for 5 minutes. (If using frozen cook for 2 minutes.) Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Peel and cube the potatoes. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and sauté the potatoes on medium heat for 10 minutes (until almost done).
- Meanwhile beat the eggs in a bowl with the milk and plenty of seasoning, and cut the Camembert into wedges.
- Add the tomatoes, green beans and broccoli, arranging the florets in a nice pattern if you like.
- Pour over the egg mixture and place the Camembert wedges on top of everything.
- Cover with a lid and leave to cook on low heat until the eggs are set (about 10-15 minutes).
- Meanwhile rinse the wild garlic, pat dry and cut into strips.
- Just before serving, sprinkle the wild garlic over the frittata.
Enjoy!
Beautiful cozy cardigan! I am pleasantly surprised to hear this is a warm red, because on the website it looks quite cool. Must order a ball to test for myself (can never go wrong, I need warm reds, partner needs cool reds ?).
My favourite method for a stretchy bind off that doesn’t flare is Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind off, by the way. But different yarns often still behave differently, of course.
It looks like a warm red to me, but you may see it differently with your colour expertise. There isn’t a hint of orange or pink in it, and looking closely you can see black in the core thread. On my screen, the first picture (of the neckline) is truest to the real-life colour. I’ve used Jeny’s bind-off for sock cuffs and like it a lot, too. But this cardigan in this yarn didn’t need a stretchy bind-off at all.