Lantern

Just a quick post to show you progress being made on the lantern. All the pieces have now been cut and copper foiled.
The green pieces are for the base and the purple ones (and the bevels) are for the lid.
To give you an idea of the size, the panels are 10 cm x 20 cm.

I am going to solder it together on Tuesday.

Absinthe (the end)

I finished it yesterday! My 6th pair of socks :o) (free pattern here)

The weather is getting warmer so I had to put it in the socks drawer for now, but I am hoping that next winter will be as cold as this one ;o)

I forgot to show you the little souvenir I brought back from Beauvais:

2 x 100g of Katia Bombay, 100% cotton.
It will be turned into a summery cushion :o)

Beauvais

We spent the weekend in Beauvais, a small city, 80km North of Paris. We flew on Saturday morning and came back on Sunday afternoon. The only reason we stayed there was a concert by one of our favourite French artist: Juliette.

We arrived early in the morning so we had plenty of time to wander in the city. The only thing worth visiting is the cathedral and its astronomical clock.

It was great to be able to stay outside, enjoy the sunshine and some good food and wine :o)
Enjoy the rest of the week :o)

Absinthe

Spring issue of knitty is up :o)
There are a few patterns that I really like and I've started a pair of socks: absinthe. I've knitted one already (I started on Thursday evening). There are errors in the charts but they are easy to rectify and it's been spotted by others as well so an errata should be available shortly.

There is another pattern I will have to knit: Decimal, a lacy cardigan. I have the yarn: katia linen. I bought it for another cardigan but haven't started it yet...

I think I will wait a little bit before knitting it to be sure that there is no mistakes in the pattern or that they will be all corrected by then.

Lantern

I've started my second stained glass project: a lantern. This one is a small one, not the one with the removable glass panels. I've done 3 out of 4 panels and I still have to do the base and the lid.
I've also chosen glass for my next 2 projects: a lamp and a mirror. The glass needs to be ordered so I have to plan at least 2 weeks in advance as the teacher tries to make bulk order to save on postage.

On the knitting side, I bought some more yarn at Violet Green last week: two hanks of lace weight (100% merino, very nice to knit with) and one of sock yarn. I took the opportunity to use the swift at Twist Fiber craft as we were there last Saturday for the monthly knitting group to wind the lace yarn into a ball. It took me 40 minutes to do one hank! I'll do the second one next time. The lace I am knitting is a fairly time consuming one so it will probably take me hours and hours to knit that first ball. I am not going to reveal what I am knitting before I reach chart C of the pattern, although people on Ravelry would be able to check my projects.

I can't wait to knit a pair of socks (for myself) with that sock yarn, however, I am also tempted by some more intricate patterns that would be better knitted with plain yarn...

Swap

I took part in another swap organised by the Scot Swap group on Ravelry. The theme was tea cosy.
My swap partner is totally mad on Dr Who so I decided on a Dalek teacosy. I knitted it with Lopi and felted it twice in the washing machine, then, I needle felted a few details.

I also found a great pattern for a tea mitten on Ravelry so I knitted one as well.

I added a few goodies (tea, nuts, chocolate and some Lopi) and she loved it :o)
She sent me this great parcel:

These swaps are great fun and I am looking forward to taking part in the next one.

Bugnes

Today, Stephane wanted me to prepare some "bugnes" (it could be translated by fritters). It is a specialty from the Center-East of France and particularly the Lyon area that you traditionally eat for shrove Tuesday.
There are two kind of bugnes: the crunchy ones (for these, the dough, which doesn't contain yeast, is roll out finely, cut in small pieces that are tied once or twice prior to frying) and the soft ones.

This is the recipe for the soft version:
350g flour (it doesn't have to be bread flour)
30g sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 tea spoon of dried yeast (or the equivalent of fresh yeast)
3 eggs
80g butter
4 table spoons of milk
Flavour: 2 table spoons of either rum, orange blossom water, lemon juice+lemon zest, aniseed... whatever you fancy
If you've got a bread machine, just put everything in there and choose the dough program, otherwise, mix everything and leave it to rise for at least 2 hours (you can prepare the dough the day before and leave it in the fridge).
Then, roll out the dough, 3-4mm thick maximum and cut squares, lozenges or use your fancy cutters ;o)

Fry them in very hot oil (it takes let than a minute).

Let them cool a little bit on a few layers of kitchen roll, dust them with some sugar and eat them.

Eat them as you make them, but if you want to keep them for a few day, place them in an airtight container.
Bon appetit :o)