More Alterna-sponges and Bread Failures

I found this link last week and it simultaneously makes me laugh and think its silly... and want to make one.  Apparently the UK has a chicken rescue organization and they often get hens without enough feathers... so they're asking knitters to make them sweaters.  Sweaters.  For chickens.

hen jumpers

Two updates on the alterna-sponge project (I've made about six now).  My mom read my post and was confused at what I meant by crocheting in the round. Here's a post of what knitting in the round does on this particular piece: two layers!  If it wasn't joined at the bottom, it could make a sleeve or a coffee cozy.  For this purpose, it's closed at the bottom and the last row closes it up at the top. 

round and round the crocheting goes!

When I was researching knitted/crocheted sponges, I saw a suggestion to put some bits or ends of soaps in a pouch like this and then you have a washcloth that is pre-soaped.  I wasn't a fan of that, but I did like the idea of putting half a sponge in it to add a bit of bulk.  I chose a green scrubber because a.) it's cheap, b.) half of it fits inside these just about perfectly, and c.) it doesn't hold on to water like the cotton so I don't have to worry about having a sponge that will never dry out (though it does take a while for these guys to dry).

alterna-sponge!

Oh and I checked: washing it with the sponge inside is fine.


So I haven't been posting about baking as much on this blog, but not necessarily because I'm not doing it.  Jamie and I have been baking bread out of his book Bread Alone lately because it really is cheaper than buying bread (it just takes a lot of time).  We have a starter and it's actually doing better than the starter we had in San Francisco.  Who knew?!  I think that while San Francisco has much better free yeast in the air (thus the amazing-ness of Boudin Bakery and true San Francisco sourdough), his house was always really cold and our starter was never at the right temperature to really be good.  I made the bread this past week and I basically made long hockey pucks. We've been having trouble with this particular recipe clearly the sides of the bowl as we mix it (in the kitchen aid because my arms are weak) so I kept putting flour in... bad idea.  According to pretty much all baking books ever, it was a good idea to add flour, but I added too much. I think that my problem was that the mixer was at least 1 speed too slow.  So no pictures of that.  Two slices, which are about the size of one biscotti, will just about fill me up for lunch.  It's bad. 

when husbands cook...

I am using my swiffer wetjet a lot though!