Ruffle Tank | PDXKnitterati

While waiting for Ishbel’s yarn supplement to arrive from Texas, I started a new project. (I could have finished the second Kai-Mei sock, but I was looking for an excuse.) It was either the Ruffle Tank or the new Single Skein Club project.

I was really hankering for a semi-mindless knit, so I started the Ruffle Tank. No charts to follow, just 9×2 ribbing for the first 13 inches. I can manage that. I’ll start the Club knit when Ishbel is done. Only one chart project at a time!

This is my first experience with linen, and it’s really different. Where the Malabrigo Sock is buttery soft, the MerLin is like knitting with twine. But I like it! It’s crisp and “dry” and “hard” feeling. The fabric is a bit stiff, but I know that it will soften up when I run it through the washer and :gasp: dryer. Hey, the label says I’m supposed to! I’m not following the advice given in my Tips & Tricks class with Lily Chin; I should wash and dry and hang the swatch. But I just want to get started, and the tank isn’t terribly fitted. Fingers crossed; I just want to knit.

We had a stellar dinner when my in-laws were visiting. Vickie made an unbaked version of it a few weeks ago when we were camping. If you can make it on a Coleman stove, it must be manageable in a real kitchen! We had it with polenta then, but pasta is way easier for me to coordinate. Sorry I don’t have a picture; it disappeared quickly! And the in-laws would have thought I was weird, taking pictures of dinner. Well, weirder than they already think I am.

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

Makes 4 servings (I increased shrimp to 1.5 lbs for 6 peeps, and it was plenty)

1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp)
2 14.5 oz cans diced (roasted) tomatoes with their juice
3 T smoked paprika (pimenton)
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 1/4 lbs medium shrimp, peeled & deveined (1 lb is enough for 4 peeps)
2/3 C crumbled feta cheese (3 oz)
1 lb dry linguine or other pasta

Start your water for pasta now and timing will be great. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil, add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft. Add tomatoes, pepper flakes, paprika; bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to casserole dish. Add shrimp & cilantro. Sprinkle feta over top. (Start cooking your linguine now, takes 12 minutes) Bake until shrimp are cooked through and cheese melts, about 12 minutes. (Linguine is done!)

Serve over drained linguine.

Enjoy!

Ishbel’s knitting should be finished in the next few days, so I’m looking ahead to a new project (besides all the socks that will be happening for Sock Summit).

At our recent knit nite, Leigh Radford was wearing her Ruffle Tank (Rav link). This was featured in Interweave Knits Spring 2003, and also in The Best of Interweave Knits. I was smitten with the simplicity and elegance of her design.

Although the yarn specified is all linen (Louet Euroflax sport weight), I opted for Louet MerLin Sport, a blend of 60% wet-spun linen, and 40% merino wool. It was mostly a color decision; I liked this blue better than the Euroflax colors at Twisted. But I’m also hoping that the wool will make the linen a little easier to work with, too.

The MerLin has 20 yards less per skein than the Euroflax; I’ll see how close I am at the end and decide if I need all four ruffles, or only three. I have the advantage of being short, so I’ll use less yarn in the length, too, and that may save me right there.

I seem to have done a lot of dreaming about this tank already, but I’m not letting myself cast on, or even swatch, until I’m done knitting Ishbel. I know how diverting a new project can be, and I don’t want Ishbel to languish!