October Daring Bakers Challenge is Complete

This came right down to the wire, but I got it done. I was so very excited that the bakers challenge was again for a savoury item and doubly pleased that it was for hand tossed pizza. How cool is that! This is exactly the reason I decided to join the bakers challenge in the first place. We make pizza from scratch fairly often, but never......and I mean never would I have even dreamed of trying to toss my own dough. Well fortunately for me, the Daring Bakers have Dared me to try something new and I LOVE IT! It was really much easier than I had anticipated and making the dough was a snap in my Kitchenaid mixer. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely some skill involved in the tossing process....especially to get height to the toss and keep it moving and not collapsing on itself. However.....I was able to toss to a height of about 8 inches and I was amazed at how quickly the dough became unmanageably large for me. I did cut the dough into 4 balls rather than the recommended 6 and perhaps a smaller size ball of dough would have been more easily managed. In fact I have two balls left to try and I can hardly wait......hopefully my family does not tire of pizza while I practice on them. Aside from the fun of the tossing, I will say that I believe the dough really does benefit from the proofing time and the tossing method as well. This was a very well received pizza! I made a plain pepperoni and cheese pizza to cater to my son's picky pizza palate, and I have included my sauce recipe below in case you're interested.

Pizza Sauce

1 (24 oz) can tomato sauce

6 tbsp water

1 1/2tsp sugar

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon juice

1 bay leaf

pinch onion powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. You can can the remaining sauce in jelly sized canning jars for later use or keep refrigerated for about 1 week.

~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:

4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled

- FOR GF: 4 ½ cups GF Flour Blend with xanthan gum or 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup corn flour, 1 cup oat flour, 1 ½ cup arrowroot, potato or tapioca starch + 2 tsp xanthan or guar gum 1 3/4 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Instant yeast

- FOR GF use 2 tsp

1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)

1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)

1 Tb sugar

- FOR GF use agave syrup

Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

Method: 1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

Or2. FOR GF: Add the oil, sugar or agave syrup and cold water, then mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

Or8. FOR GF: On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the number of desired dough balls from the refrigerator. Place on a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle with a gluten free flour. Delicately press the dough into disks about ½ inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil. Lightly cover the dough round with a sheet of parchment paper and allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C). NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

Or10. FOR GF: Press the dough into the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough).NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping. In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

Or11. FOR GF: Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

Or12. FOR GF: Place the garnished pizza on the parchment paper onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.

Or13. FOR GF: Follow the notes for this step.NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

Hello Canada.... it's Free Coffee

This contest is now closed. Thanks to all who participated!

This Give Away is for all you Canadians out there braving the fall weather. (If you know a Canadian you'd like this sent to that's OK too....) It's beautiful and crisp out there today and I'm hoping for good Halloween weather for the kids this Friday. How about a nice cup of Pumpkin Spice Tea and a Pumpkin Spice muffin or donut or maybe a soup to knock the chill off. Why didn't they make a pumpkin soup???

If that's not your cup of tea....then make it a coffee....you get the picture......and take a friend that you haven't chatted with in a while along.....it's on me. I'll be sending the winner a $20 gift card from Tim Hortons to help knock the chill off and hopefully spend some time with a friend. Now who wouldn't like some of that???



The Rules

1. Leave a comment below (on this post) with your favourite Halloween costume that you were when you were a kid or one you'd have liked and you are entered!


2. You can enter once per day.


3. Draw closes Saturday November 1/08 at midnight.


4. Remember to leave an email or link at which you can be reached.


5. Winner will be chosen using a random number generator, posted and contacted Sunday November 2 and you'll have to respond with an mailing address within 4 days or a new winner will be chosen.


6. Please use the format of jane(dot)doe(at)hotmail(dot)com when providing an email so you won't get a whole bunch of spam.


7. Remember this prize will only be sent to a Canadian address.

More giveaways at the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival!

Please go check out Bloggy Giveaways for more fun !

More Bloggy Giveaway Carnival Goodness

This contest is now Closed. Congratulations to Michelle from North Carolina USA.

It's Bloggy Giveaways Carnival time again. Those of you who participated last time may remember my first giveaway was a vintage style apron and matching headband. It was a lot of fun, and I've been looking forward to again taking part in the carnival. Well here it is again........IT'S CARNIVAL TIME....small squeal......In keeping with the handmade theme, I am offering a chance to win this hand knit and felted wool purse. It is knit with brown Merino wool, felted, lined with cream coloured Shantung silk, and embellished with felt, embroidery and a vintage coat button. I've been liking this little bird theme in felt and have been putting it on everything it seems. In fact, I do like it enough....I think......to make another for me. Doesn't it just look like fall??? It is 5.5 inches tall (not including the strap), 8 inches wide, and 3.5 inches deep and is brand new...(just finished it yesterday)

The Rules, for those interested in entering are........

1. This contest is international and open to absolutely everyone.
2. Enter by leaving one comment at the bottom of this post before midnight on October 31. Make sure to leave an email address or link so I can contact you should your name be drawn.
3. A random number generator will be used and the winner will be contacted for their address and announced here on Saturday November 1, 2008.
4. The package will be posted to the winner within the week.
   
   

As always, when leaving an email address, I would recommend that you leave it in the format of jane(dot)doe(at)hotmail(dot)com . This should keep your spam down to a minimum. Please take the link to Bloggy Giveaways below to check out a tonne of other cool Giveaways! Have Fun:)

More giveaways at the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival!

6 Halloween Costume Ideas

Looking for some home made costume ideas??? Well here's what we've done so far......

I have so far, made all of the costumes my son has worn for Halloween. I remember the fun of Halloween being in the creation of the costume and I remember being very excited when one year I came home from school to find my mother sewing me a Halloween costume. It was really rather inventive of her.......she sewed up a clown costume using white and black garbage bags. My mother, while talented in many ways has no patience for crafting, so to this day I do not know what prompted her to this creative output. Although I don't know that I've ever thanked her for it since that time, it was and still is one of my most memorable Halloween nights. I remember that year it rained and it really came in handy.

Ike's first Halloween was a skeleton made from a thrifted terry cloth sleeper which I dyed black and cut white felt pieces out to be bones which I hand stitched onto the front of the sleeper. It was cute as a button and the easiest costume to date. The following year, Ike went to a wedding and so we had a pair of black dress pants, a white dress shirt to start with, so making a cape and medallion were very little work. The only red fabric available at the time was a stretch velvet with little sequin like red dots all over it, so that's what we used.

The biggest problem for outdoor Halloweening in my area of the world is the temperature. It can, and has snowed on Halloween and rain can be an issue as well. So for this climate the biggest issue seems to be having a costume warm enough for you child to wear. The first outdoor costume I made for Ike was a little bat. My mom had cut a picture from a woman's magazine of a little girl with a bat like cape on and that's what I started with. I had a friend that had reams of black fleece fabric available from her kids school and I have bought many meters of it over the last few years. What I make first is a black fleece set of GAP style pyjamas to start with. I take a pair of fitted pyjamas and trace the pattern from them onto Christmas wrapping paper. I usually add 2 inches in length to both the top and the bottom, and add at least an inch also to the width since Ike will likely be wearing a little something underneath the costume as well. The fleece is very easy to sew and using a zigzag stitch gives the seams a little stretch as well. I have often left the neck opening unfinished because this leaves is with more stretch, but I usually turn under the bottom hems and stitch for neatness. For the waist, I sew in a piece of wide elastic although the fleece is pretty stretchy and it may not need it. But it's a quick easy job so I usually sew it in with a quick zigzag. For the Bat wing cape, I traced a pattern out on some inexpensive wrapping paper taking into account the finger to finger span with both arms extended. This would be the over all width measurement. I also traced out a rectangular strip to be the collar attachment to be added at the top center of the bat wing cape. I made one layer (collar and bat wing) of fleece and one of a black mat nylon fabric that was a little stiff. It offered a little wind protection in case it was windy on Halloween night. Then, to assemble joined the front and back sections together wrong sides together and turned it right side out. To finish it off I top stitched the wings all around the outside edge, and from each point across to the top center of the wings. I had a mountain equipment co-op kids winter hat with the 8 little points around the top and made a copy with only two points ( to be the ears). This worked out well for warmth as well. Some black mittens and black boots or shoes and he was all done.

Another year I got to reuse the cute black hat with the ears and could have reused the pants had he not grown in height. This year Ike decided he was going to be a spider, so costume modifications were minimal. Again, I made a top and bottom based on good fitting pyjamas, but before I sewed up the sides on the pyjamas, I sewed together and stuffed, four fleece tubes of similar size to the arms and legs of his outfit. When it was time to sew together the the front and back of the top, I inserted two extra fleece 'arms' on each side seam and sewed them up. You have to think about what you are doing, and place the arms inside the body of the top while you are sewing or else you may end up with extra arms on the inside of your costume rather than on the outside. Yep, I've done it. In order to make the extra arms come to life, I sewed lengths of white ribbon between each successive arm in a spider web outline. This way, when he lifted his arms he would also lift the four stuffed arms hanging below. This one was pretty darned cute......I really liked that one:)

As a change in direction away from the usual black costume, Ike decided one year to be a mummy. This time, it as white fleece and the same old top, bottom and hat set up. In order to get that 'mummy' look I soaked cheese cloth in strong black tea to end up with a dirty off white colour. Then I wrapped the fleece costume in cheese cloth tacking down by hand as I went. This was a little time consuming to say the least.

This year I think will be the biggest challenge yet as Ike has requested to be the Pokemon character Turtwig. I did not have a lot of confidence in my abilities to put out anything that would be recognizable....but five minutes into the party last night someone recognized his costume without prompting or any guessing. Go figure??

I'll have to dig through some old photos to see if I have any photos of the spider and mummy....I know they are around somewhere.

Pink Soup

After a busy weekend of sewing for Ike's Hallowe'en costume (which is almost finished now) I've noticed that the weather outside is turning quite cold. I say this because I think I spent the entire weekend indoors, perhaps even in my pyjamas for longer than I would care to admit, planning and working on Ike's Turtwig costume. It was, I think the most challenging costume I've made for him to date. It's 90% complete now, only requiring a means to attach the shell and some fleece mittens to match because it looks like it's going to be a cold one......but hopefully not raining!

Well, all this cold weather makes me think of soup.........and here's a soup that I had never made myself. Growing up, both my grama and my mother made Borshch, but I had not made it myself until this past weekend. Well...here it is....and although it met with resistance from other unnamed family members....it tastes like it should and I like it:) While it's never the same as eating it out of gramas dishes by the warmth of the kitchen wood stove........it's as close as I can get.

Sunday Breakfast: German Pancakes with Apples

Yum.....I love German Pancakes.. (AKA Dutch Baby Pancakes)....almost as much as I love Finnish Pancakes and Pannekoek.....They all run a tied race for me really. One of the things I love about German Pancakes is how easy they are to prepare for company, since you can make one big huge one to share. The German pancake is very much like a popover or Yorkshire pudding. So if you like the texture of Yorkshire pudding, you'll probably be interested in this too. You first preheat your oven to 425F with your baking pan with some butter in it to preheat and brown the butter. (Just like you would preheat the drippings or fat for making Yorkshire Pudding) While that is preheating you make the batter. Just a warning....these pancakes will not be fluffy in texture like traditional american pancakes at all!......They will be quite heavy, much like Yorkshire Pudding.


German Pancakes
6 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup milk
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 425 F. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a pan in oven until brown and foamy. Careful not to burn. While pan is heating, mix above ingredients together in blender briefly. Once pan is ready, pour batter on top of the melted butter and return pan to oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Will be brown and crusty and puffy. Serve with lemon juice and icing sugar.

You may vary the recipe to serve as many people as needed in the amount of 1 egg per person, 1/4 cup flour per person and 1/4 cup milk per person. When cooking a batch of 2-3 eggs use small 6" pan and bake for 11 minutes. When cooking a batch of 5-6 eggs use a 9x 13" pan and cook for 20 minutes.

If you would like to include apples to the recipe, saute peeled and sliced apples in butter till softened and golden and add to the pan before adding batter. I myself like them with fried bacon, apples and onion added prior to the batter. If you are going to add bacon to the pancake, as with the apples, you must precook it and add it to the pan before the batter just like the one in the picture above. You can use the bacon grease instead of the butter to preheat in the pan if you'd like. You can cook the whole recipe in an oven proof cast iron pan if you have one appropriately sized, and glass bake ware including pie plates work well too.

Well, that was Sunday breakfast..... and for the rest of the day....some sewing. Or trying to sew a Turtwig costume for my son for Hallowe'en......Wish me luck!

Star Felt Ornament

Another felt ornament swap is in the mail. This one for a star shaped ornament is now on it's way to it's new home in the US. I wanted a rounded tip star shape and found a pattern for one here at Allsorts. I copied the image into Corel Draw and sized the image to the dimensions I was interested in. The dark blue felt is wool Melton cloth while the accents are acrylic because that's all I had on hand. Accent shapes are stitched on with a blanket stitch in 3 strands of embroidery floss. I thought the little bird was cute, but it also could be embellished with embroidery flowers, or needle felted like the red heart shaped ornament of last months swap.

Pumpkin Cookies for Autumn

I really do love the fall. It's very filled with colours I like and it really makes me feel like cooking comfort foods. Chicken Pot Pie, Hearty Stew, Hot Soup are all good autumn meal choices. It's also such a nice time to sit around with friends and enjoy a cup of your favourite hot chocolate, latte or tea in comfortable surroundings. A nice little something to have with your soul warming beverage is a nice addition too. I like to make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies for just this time of year. I was introduced to these cookies by a friend Alison a few years ago, and I have always thought that they are perfectly suited for fall weather.....probably because of the pumpkin. I make them almost without fail every fall now, once the leaves colour and begin to fall. They are surprisingly good cookies, and are the best straight out of the oven when their outsides have a light crust from their time in the oven. Once they have been stored in a tin or jar for any length of time they do lose their crisp exterior, but are still a very delicious cookie. They have a subtle flavour of pumpkin pie with the addition of chocolate, and are equally popular with children and adults. Without any more babble, here is the recipe should you wish to make some.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree

4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 pinch of nutmeg

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F. Cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla, pumpkin and blend well. Add remaining ingredients except for flour and chocolate chips and stir well. Fold in flour and then chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 12 -15 minutes in preheated oven until the edges of the cookies begin to brown. Allow to cool on sheets for a few minutes before moving to cooling racks to completely cool.

Best Banana Bread

There are a great many recipes for banana bread out there, and I have not tried them all. I have had great difficulty moving beyond this particular recipe since it always turns out for me. I always add maraschino cherries and chocolate chips and occasionally pineapple chunks. Today's batch is a little light on the chips as I am mysteriously out of them. Don't know how that happened since I buy the big box from Costco.........but I guess it's time to buy another. I just added more cherries to compensate. As well as being practical for using up otherwise inedible bananas, it makes two loaves and they freeze very well if you should find yourself in the position of not being able to eat two loaves within 3-4 days. Sometimes it happens....
If you'd like a slice, come over....I'll save you one. Or you could make your own. Here's the recipe just in case you like to try it.

Banana Bread

6 tbsp butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 1/4 cups flour

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup maraschino cherries, halved

1 small tin of pineapple chunks

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease 2 loaf pans and dust with a sprinkle of cinnamon and pinch sugar. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas, sour cream, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda and mix in. Mix in flour, then chocolate chips and cherries. Divide batter equally between two loaf pans. Bake for about 40 minutes and remove when a cake toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Or bake until the top springs back when lightly pressed. Baking time will vary depending on your oven. I usually set the timer for 35 minutes and then check it every 5-10 minutes depending on how things look.

How Many is Too Many???

After grumbling to myself about the clutter on my kitchen counter tops, I had a huge epiphany. I decided that there was really no need to have 68 cups and saucers in my display cupboard. So, I proceeded to pull them all out and sort them. I concluded that 28 of my favourites was an ample number to have quick access to just in case company stops in for tea, or for personal family use. The rest will be boxed up in the basement where they can stay until I need them. You just never know when you might them all, and I figure once a year I can change out the selection in the cupboard to rotate through them all. Problem solved! Now I have extra room to store all the teapots and serving dishes that were cluttering up my counter tops. Now........If only I had a big rough tote or two to store these extras in, I can use my table again.

An Easy Scarf Pattern

Another Swap-bot project out of the way! This one was a scarf for winter. I changed my mind a few times before starting due to nervousness over how my intended project would turn out, and if it was going to turn into the project from hell. In the end I scrapped my initial idea (which I will share with you if I get around to making it some day) and also my second idea (which was to make a sewn chenille scarf, like the one below), and went with a knitted pattern from here called the Meandering Rib Scarf instead. You need to sign in with Lion Brand to view and print the pattern, but it is free.

Over all, I liked the pattern but found it to be a little narrow for my liking. It was around 5 inches wide, and over 6 feet long which used about 1 1/2 balls. When I do it again, I would add 12 stitches to the cast on to make it a little wider. My partner had stated a preference for red non acrylic yarn, and I had a nice stash of red wool set aside to compete the project. On my search for the yarn I happened upon some other yarn I had set aside for a felting project, and it is the one I ended up using. It was a Patton's Classic Wool in a variegated cherry red/pink/brown/orange colourway. I think, that over all it still looks red??? I was very torn on whether to go with my plain red or this variegated yarn, and in the end I thought that the blended colours might add something extra to the scarf. In retrospect, I think maybe a red tweed or heather yarn might be nice to try for comparison as the variegated yarn competes with the wavy pattern of the rib by adding a perpendicular element. Although it appears to be more so in the photo.......when you see it in person, the wavy patten of the rib is very apparent.

The pattern turned out to be easy and straight forward to knit. Once however, I did zig where I should have zagged, and only discovered my error after knitting another 30 or so rows. There was a bit of panic for a while, while I decided whether to just continue on or rip out the last 30 rows and hope for the best picking up all the dropped stitches. In the end, I had to rip out the stitches.........and I'll say it was a good learning experience trying to figure out where in the 24 row repeat I was when I started to knit again. The pattern made a lot more sense after all that thought!

Anyway, it finally got finished (all 6+ feet of it) and mailed, and one of these days I'll make another. For now, I've got it in my head that I need to make another chenille scarf. I see I have enough fabric put aside to make four more, and I really need to start using up some of my crafting stash. But with Halloween costume work coming up, there is just never enough time:(