Luggala Heartbreak

Is there anything worse than frogging hours of work? I finally bit the bullet and ripped out Luggala's sleeves because, as hard as it was to admit it, the sizing was way off. At least my other news this week is all good: everything in the seed trays is growing and our second attempt at dumplings went even better than the first. Oh - and the chickens are laying!

No, I still have just the two - it may have taken me a couple days to notice is all.

Perhaps it will get easier with time and experience, but I'm really struggling with knowing what measurements to use with this sweater. The cuff size that corresponded to the other measurements I'd chosen sounded pretty big but hey, the designer knows what they're doing, right? Right?

If I pulled it up to 3/4 sleeve position it was a great fit! Unfortunately I want these to be full length...

It sounded huge. The cast on looked huge. The first few rows seemed huge and after the first couple increases I could not keep kidding myself that this wasn't way too big. If I slid the sleeve halfway up my arm it fit perfectly but, short of chopping off the cuff and adding some more length to it (definitely not worth the trouble) there was nothing to be done but admit that this size is not going to work. So, after hours of struggling to Magic Loop my way up this section, I admitted defeat. I frogged the sleeves.

Don't worry, the frogged yarn is separated into two different bags.

Now begins the fun process of doing some more math - the top measurement for that size seems like it will work, but I'm going to need to go down a size or two at the cuff and change my rate of increases. It doesn't help that I didn't take legible notes about my guage and ease at the beginning of the project - don't be like me. Don't assume that you'll remember, or be able to decipher things later. This is your lazy brain lying to you and you'll forget everything you didn't explicitly write down.

Trust me. I have no idea what I'm doing at this stage.

(The only plus is that I used this as an excuse to buy another pair of 5mm tips for my interchangeable circs - no way am I beginning this all again and still using that cursed Magic Loop method!)

At least my Ione is going well - the lace was fun and getting that out of the way early means that I'm up to the easy part now: garter stitch! I'm almost at the end of my first skein so I suspect I'll have a bit left at the end, even though I'm knitting the larger size.

The Yorkshire Scarf, now blocked and dried, is a joy to wear. I cannot overstate how soft this yarn is and it has such a beautiful drape. The stitches really show now, too, and it's one of my favourite FOs of all time.

And, out in the yard, things are going well. I've been slowly but surely taking the backyard back from the weeds and getting my act together for my warm-weather plants to go in. The seeds I started in trays indoors have been slow - possibly they weren't warm enough, as our house is a little chilly - but, finally, at least one of each variety has sprouted. The tomatoes are even beginning to put out their second set of leaves: I can't wait to get them out in the yard to really take off!

I think my biggest challenge for the near future is going to be finding the space for everything I want to grow. The garlic won't be ready for months - that's in the bed near the kitchen where I grew cucumbers last year to pickle - and the onions may be just as long. The artichoke is bushier than ever - to the point that it's putting some real strain on the chicken fence - and the potatoes are taking off. I've cleared a spot along the fence for butternut pumpkin and watermelon (though I'm not sure if they will get enough sun there) and the tomatoes will go in where last year's beans grew, but... what about the corn? The chillis? The sunflowers and cucumbers? I think I'm going to have to invest in some more pots!

Oh, and speaking of artichokes, check this out.

Now that's an exciting bouquet!

We're going to have a go at preparing them tomorrow - and if it goes well there's still half a dozen little ones growing out the back just waiting for their turn.

Things in the kitchen have been pretty much par for the course, though our second dumpling attempt went much better. We tried a different dough recipe - from the appropriately named Dumpling Mama - that had double the flour and a little less water, and it came out practically perfect. It wasn't gluey, it was easy to knead, and the counter didn't end up a sticky, caked-on-flour mess like last time. When it came time to fill and steam them I even got to use my own cabbage leaves, and you know how much of a treat it is to bring your own backyard ingredients into the kitchen.

It took a few batches to cook this many dumplings! Not pictured: the pile of extras that didn't fit on the plate.

We made ours with chicken mince, soy sauce, garlic, cabbage and spring onion. The sauces are sweet chilli sauce (left) and a mix of soy sauce and sesame oil (right). Everything was so delicious that it was difficult to stop eating them! They also taste great reheated the next day if you happen to have any left over (or are generous to share any with friends and family).

I'm still not sure I'd want to go through all of that work on my own, but with someone to help you out it's a lot of fun. While one rolls out the dough the other can fill and keep an eye on those that are steaming. It's also really easy to make a ton of them - we had a 500g packet of chicken mince and had to  make a second batch of dough because the filling goes a long way.

Now, if you'll excuse me, the sun is really, deliciously shining today and I have more weeds to deal with.