Double FOs, and Raspberry Pear Pie (Warning: Tons O' Pics)

A double whammy of FOs today. First up, Lady Eleanor, in all her unblocked glory.Pattern: Lady Eleanor Entrelac Stole by Kathleen Power Johnson (Scarf Style) Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, colour way #243, ten skeins Needles: 5 mm Modifications: The standard one: dropped the needles size down to 5 mm (pattern calls for 6.5 mm) And then I just knit until I ran out of yarn, basically. Notes: it's still pretty big for my small-ish frame. I think it would be a great size for someone a bit bigger than me, or I could have not cast on for as many blocks, but I still love it to no end. I may have spent most of the evening cuddled up in it. My apologies for the blurry photos, for some reason, my camera is not fond of taking photos in the mirror. I probably should've asked for a new camera for Christmas. Oh well. Next year. Next up: Quoddy Scarf. This is going to be a Christmas gift for my Dad. Pattern: One Row Handspun Scarf by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Yarn: Briggs & Little Regal, in Quoddy Blue. 2 skeins. Needles: 6 mm Modifications: What's to modify? it's four stitches, over and over and over again. If you need a mod, you probably are knitting a different scarf. Notes: This is now my go-to scarf stitch pattern. It's simple, completely reversable, and utter perfection. Love it. I do not, however, love this yarn. It's super itchy, and I usually have a really high tolerance for itchy yarns. I'm going to block this in a lovely conditioner-filled bath, to soften it up. And since I infinitely prefer modelled shots of FOs, here are a couple of me wearing my Dad's future scarf: And if you are looking for a delicious new pie that you probably haven't tried before, look no further. I give you... Raspberry Pear Pie. I don't know where I got the idea, but I was hell bent on making a raspberry and pear pie for Sunday dinner (some friends and I have a regular Sunday home cooked dinner gathering. It's a feast, and feels so homey and comforting, especially in winter. I usually bring pie or wine.). I kind of made up the recipe as I went, so here are the notes for it, so you can make your own raspberry pear pie. It would likely also make an excellent crumble, for those who think making pie crust is dreadful business. Ingredients: - Pie pastry of your choice (I use the one on the back of the Tenderflake box, and it's great) - 2 pints of raspberries (500 g) - about 9-12 pears (I used Bosc pears) - quarter cup of orange juice - 2 tablespoons of brown sugar - 1 tablespoon of cinnamon - half cup of white sugar (you'll need 2 quarter cups in each step, plus more for dusting) - a pinch of salt - 3 table spoons of flour Preheat your oven to 350(f) degrees. Peel and core the pears, and cut into chunks. In a large saucepan, simmer the orange juice, pear chunks, pinch of salt,and a quarter cup of the white sugar. Stir reguarly, and let them simmer until nice and tender, about 20 minutes, depending on the ripeness of your pears. This is necessary because pears do not behave like apples in pie- they won't get soft if you skip this step. When the pear chunks are tender, transfer to a strainer and let cool. The strainer is to let any excess juice drain off (and to avoid watery pie syndrome). While the pears are cooling, wash the raspberries, and pat them dry (again, to avoid watery pie syndrome). Now sort out your pastry- roll it out, throw a pre-fab pie shell together, whatever you please. Now throw the pears in a bowl, although the raspberries, cinnamon, flour, brown sugar, and the remaining quarter cup of white sugar. Toss together lightly. Dump into pie crust. Now for the top: The star top is something I did before I perfected my pastry making skills. I was making an apple pie for a Christmas party, and my dough was refusing to stay together and be lifted on top of the apple pie. So, I grabbed a cookie cutter, cut out a bunch of stars, threw them on top, and baked it like that. That was 5 years ago, and I'm still getting requests for 'Star Pie'. Lightly dust the top with some white sugar and bake for 1 hour, although you may wish to put foil around the edges of your pie crust to prevent burning, if your oven is prone to that kind of acting out. Sorry there are no photos of the interior- in our fervour to eat the pie, we didn't pause for photographs. And the whole thing is gone now. For a pie that no one had ever tried before, it certianly was popular.