There is a favorite used bookstore of mine that I stopped in early Sunday afternoon. It was a cool enough, gray August day that a cup of tea seemed necessary. In the same shopping plaza as my bookstore is a Starbucks and so I first made a stop for a Chai latte and then proceeded to browse the book store. Now this used bookstore has atmosphere, but nothing like some more quaint shops I have been in. It is arranged more like a Barnes and Noble Bookstore the only difference is that there is a sitting area with coffee always brewing and the price tags on the books is about 1/3 the cost.

I began browsing my favorite sections: Music, crafts (always on the lookout for a good knitting book!), and gardening. I wasn’t really finding anything and so began to wander to other sections. The most interesting ended up being the cooking section. I recently developed an interest in international cooking when I was inspired to cook a French meal after watching the French documentary To Be and To Have by Nicolas Philibert. Thus, when stumbling upon shelves full of cookbooks I excitedly began to hunt for cookbooks devoted to international cooking. The best one I found, and bought, was The International Cookie Cookbook by Nancy Baggett. If you have a sweet tooth, a love of Christmas cookie baking, or are looking for sweet treats to go along with your tea I highly recommend this book! I have made shortbread cookies (the recipe is from Scotland and Ireland) as well as biscotti from Italy. Both recipes are fantastic. I found her cooking time recommendations to be a little on the long side but other than that everything was clear and easy to follow and the flavor is great. I have many more recipes marked just waiting to be made.

I have long been a tea drinker. I have recently developed a taste for coffee but tea was always my first love. My favorite has always been any kind of green teas because I enjoy drinking a cup that is sweet enough on its own without really needing any sugar or honey. But I found, with sweet treats like shortbread or biscotti a flavorful black tea is best. What do you think tastes better?

Happy knitting, baking and tea drinking!

Emily

Knitting is very conducive to thought. It is nice to knit a while, put down the needles, write a while, then take up the sock again. ~Dorothy Day

Sorry this is taking so long to make the transition. I have been preparing for lessons with potential graduate school teachers, arranging and playing music at a friends wedding and participating in a music festival so I have let time slip away.

Just an update. I am rewriting my pattern for the “Basket Weave Tote” I just need to take some new pictures and set up pdf download. I am hoping to have this done by the end of the week so if you are coming to this site looking for the pattern bare with me for another week!

Also, I am hoping to start blogging regularly, I am a little new to blogging so it might be a rocky start (it kind of has been already… haha) So we will see.

Some projects I am currently working on (knitting is a wonderful break to practicing). I am making quite a few sweaters. Two are cardigans. I am making this with pure alpaca wool that my Aunt and Uncle gave me. They own a farm in Frederick, Maryland. It is a beautiful deep blue/green.

I am making this cardigan for my mom. As well as this pattern She really loves cardigans they flatter her very well.

I think those are my main projects. I have a few other random ones but I haven’t worked on them in a while. I have been looking for sweater patterns that include pockets. I have found that pockets are my new favorite little embellishment to any garment (knitted or not). I find them so cute on a dress or a pleated skirt. I just bought a knit sweater/shirt that has two small pockets on the front. I have yet to design a sweater and am currently working on implementing pockets into one we will see!

Emily

Hello everyone!

KnittersTalk has undergone quite a bit of renovation. I am changing the forum into a blog and a site to host my patterns and design work. I have been slow in getting this going. I decided to do this because the blog has been getting inundated with spam and I have found that there was not enough activity there to really justify it. I created the forum when Ravelry was just taking off and now find myself there more than working on my own site.

The majority of my visitors are from Ravelry, so for those of you who are looking for the tote or scarf pattern they will be up shortly available under the “patterns” tab. I am working on cleaning them up and having them available to be downloaded in PDF format. That way they should be cleaner, easier to print, and read.

Ok, I think that is all for now! Sorry for the mess!

Emily