Monthly Archives: December 2011

Button scarf

knitting,

As I mentioned before, almost all of my projects are currently gift-related and so I’m reluctant to say too much about them. That said, the “beer” tag is threatening to overshadow the “knitting” tag, which I simply can’t allow to happen. I’m thinking that of the likely gift-recipients who might read this, the men-folk in my life are probably lower in the rankings. But, just in case, anyone of the grandpa persuasion who might be reading this in New York needs to stop now.

[…]

[…]

I mean it.

[…]

Okay, I’ve started working on another scarf of my own design, this time a manly scarf that’s short, with a button to keep it fixed in place. That means I have, looming large on my horizon… button holes (cue thunder and lightning and lone wolf howl). In meantime, I’m bopping along, seemingly oblivious and quite happy with my little pattern:

I’ll let you know how the button hole turns out. I think there is 100% certainty that I will learn a lesson or two.

Autumn Mead

Mead, ,

We had the first bottle of mead just before Thanksgiving, and we’re pretty pleased with the results.  It has a very sweet, delicate honey flavor and is nicely dry.  There is still a little yeasty funk, but mostly from the sediment.  It was a nice accompaniment to Thanksgiving dinner.

So of course we’re already thinking about the next batch (which will probably have to wait for summer).  Some improvements we’ve got in mind:

  • Add a stronger-tasting honey (like Tupelo or Everglades) to the mix for a bolder flavor.
  • Using apple juice instead of water, again for a bolder flavor and a more cidery taste.
  • Switching to a yeast more suited to Champagne or cider.

We’re also thinking of brewing some cider, so we might do a few different batches with different combinations.