Cranberry-Fudge Pie

Today was Cranberry Fudge Pie day! It's been a pretty tough week, so it was lovely to hole up in my kitchen with the radio and boil the crap out of some cranberries.

I have no idea how it tastes, but we'll find out tonight.

Fudge Pie

Cranberry Fudge Pie

I followed the recipe but used digestives instead of graham crackers (which aren't available in the UK), and G&B Maya Gold for the chocolate. Here's hoping the orange flavouring in the chocolate enhances the cranberries and doesn't make it taste awful!

Vegan Jelly (Jell-o)

Owing to the fact that I now live on the other side of the world from my family and have recently found myself vegetarian, I will be reinventing Thanksgiving this year with my husband, the strict veg, another vegan friend, and a Canadian omnivore.

This is the first post in my journey through a vegetarian, part-vegan Thanksgiving.

Also, this if my first time making any gelatin dessert (vegan or not), so I can't really vouch for any of my methods, here.

Day One: Test Run
Vegan Jelly 
(Or Jell-o to you folks back where I originally came from)

INGREDIENTS
2 sachets of Dr. Oetker Vege-gel (Not sure of a US equivalent. Main ingredients are carageenan and guar gum instead of the usual animal-derived geletine).

Liquid Ingredients:
500ml of 100% apple juice

50ml of mango juice
The juice from a can of mandarin oranges

Solid Ingredients:
 I used what I liked here (and what was in the fridge). 100g of blueberries, 100g of strawberries, 75g of raspberries, a kiwi, a banana, and the orange segments from the can of mandarin oranges.


I started with the directions on the box, which I suppose is a good place to start, I guess. Except I can't read and boiled all the liquid ingredients before adding the vege-gel. I put the saucepan on the windowsill to cool but the vege-gel still lumped together when I poured it into the liquid. Will definitely add it while the juice is cool, next time, and sprinkle it over gradually while I stir it in, instead of dumping both packets in, one on top of the other.

Then I added the fruit and heated for a few minutes, which I don't think I'll do the next time. I don't really fancy partially cooked fruit.

I poured it into a Pyrex dish (carefully) and put it in the fridge, where it set wonderfully.

Other changes for next time:

I will add the fruit to the Pyrex dish before the liquid is poured in.
I'll add some sugar, especially with sour fruit like raspberries. There's no added sugar at all in this, which leaves it wanting of sweetness.
Read the instructions on the box.
Use more juice. It set better than I expected, so I don't think adding another 250ml (so there aren't blueberries poking out obscenely from the surface) will hurt it.

Also, why has no one posted Vege-gel recipes on the internet? Shocking!

Gwynedd is Now Available!

After months of writing, erasing, knitting and tinking, testing and tech editing, my first eBook is now available as a Ravelry Download!

All patterns are also available as individual Ravelry Downloads.

I'm also pleased to announce that I have opened my own Ravelry group, a place to get the latest news and share tips and FOs with others, as well as some KALs down the line!

Thanks for your patience as I got ready to bring Gwynedd into the world.

Ashley

More new patterns, and coming soon:

I've been both catching up with my backlog of work from when I was without internet and hurrying to get everything finished for my book, and in the meantime I've released quite a few patterns that I haven't quite managed to tell you about.

Stonemason is now available:

So are these cute headbands:

And this soft, cable and lace cowl, called Trevi:

These patterns are all available now as Ravelry downloads and will be available in Gwynedd next month.

Also coming out next month is the pattern for my newest shawl design (and one I'm a teensy bit proud of):

The Neolithic Shawl will also be published in Gwynedd.

Just one more knitted glove and a few more patterns to go, and the e-book will be avaliable! If you want to be notified when it is, drop me an e-mail at ashleyknits (at) hotmail.co.uk and let me know.

Blocking!

Last night I finally cast off the Evening Primrose Scarf, something that's been torn out and re-knitted so many times I'm actually a little startled that I finished it at all. Fortunately, Fyberspates Faery Wings (4 ply) is much more forgiving than 99% of other mohair yarns out there, and allowed me to re-knit to my specifications.


Anyway, here she is on the blocking bed!

I can't wait until Evening Primrose is dry so I can take some proper pictures. Not only is the yarn gorgeous (it has a heavy core of silk and a fuzzy, soft mohair halo), but I actually just quite like the pattern. While I didn't feel the curve was necessary for the scarf, not only will it allow it to stay on a bit more, the curve also means...ruffles.

This is knit end to end, with short rows worked in a narrow garter stitch band so absolutely no wrapping is required. Perhaps the easiest short rows I've ever done! Can't wait to show it off a bit more.

The pattern will be coming out next month and as one of the patterns in Gwynedd.

ETA: A few action shots:

I'm Back, and also: Patterns Coming Soon

After a month without internet access, I'm finally back. And a lot actually seemed to happen in my time away.

I moved in behind a field of gossipy sheep:

Had a pattern, the Flame Yoke Pullover, published in Issue 30 of Yarn Forward:

 

Modeled here by Sarah. Modeled much better in Yarn Forward 30 (sorry, Sarah!)....check it out.

And finished up a few more patterns for my upcoming e-book Gwynedd, tentatively set for release in November. Here's another sneak preview (and psst! These patterns are just now going up for testing).

Out of Office 20 August - 7 September

I'll be out of the office from 20 August - 7 September as I partake in a bit of holiday/moving-house-so-no-internet-for-ages fun. Please be patient for replies as I will only be able to check my e-mail and Ravelry account intermittently. Thank you!

Ashley

Charity of the Month: August

Sometimes having a featured Charity of the Month is quite disheartening, because, every month, something new seems to happen that deserves help.

This month, I'm going to donate 10% of pattern proceeds to an old favourite: MSF. With the flooding in Pakistan and the continued need in Haiti, this fantastic organization could do with every penny we can give them.

A New Design, a New E-book!

I am very pleased to announce two things: I've just released my newest design, the Snowdonia Shawl. Secondly, I have a new e-book coming out this August!

First things first: the Snowdonia Shawl.

The pattern is available as a Ravelry Download for £3.00, including both charted and line-by-line instructions.

Snowdonia is a shimmering stole with a variety of Estonian motifs reminiscent of the Welsh countryside, ranging from the scalloped waves of the Irish Sea to the leaves and stony flint trails of Snowondia’s rivers and forests. Knit in icy blue silk-cashmere blend, it also can’t help but bring to mind the snow-capped mountains of the Welsh wintertime.

This stole is worked in two pieces and grafted at the center, with no knitted-on borders to be found!

Snowdonia is perfect for wrapping, draping, tucking into coats and settling into on cool evenings.

And then, the pattern will also be available as part of an as-of-yet unnamed (seriously, any ideas, let me know!) e-book coming Autumn 2010.


Here's a little preview...

The Fine Print: Sorry, but refunds will not be available for purchases of single patterns prior to purchasing the e-book. Hope you enjoyed this preview!

Charity of the Month: July, Oxfam West Africa Appeal

 Photo: Cristina Vázquez Moreno

Right now, several countries in West Africa (including Niger, Chad, and Mali) are suffering from one of the worst droughts, and one of the worst famines, in over a decade. Current low rain levels are leaving millions of people at risk of starvation, and destroying their livlihoods.

Fortunately, fantastic organizations like Oxfam are there to help. Oxfam are raising funds for a £7m appeal to send aid to West Africa. Every Dollar (Pound, Euro) can go a long way, with £60 enough to feed a family for a month.

So this month I'll be giving a little more than I usually can. In July, 20% (instead of the usual 10%) of sale proceeds from my patterns will go to Oxfam's West Africa Appeal, where the money will be used to distribute food as well as bolster up the local economy by trading with local merchants--a rare and extremely helpful double-whammy benefit from a charity.



So that's 20% of pattern sales at my store this month. Of you can go directly to Oxfam and donate, and read more about what's going on.

Thank you for your help!