The Whole Ball of Yarn(s)

Decisions, Decisions

2011-11-16T10:44:00.001-08:00

My next sweater is going to be made from Malabrigo Worsted in Whales Road, and I am having trouble settling on a pattern. I like variegated yarns in fairly simple patterns, so no cables. I'm not overly fond of raglan (on me, anyway), but I think I'd rather do a mostly in-the-round sweater this time rather than stitching pieces together. I want casual and comfy...but stylish. Or at least not actively frumpy-looking.Things that have caught my eye on Ravelry:Brilliance

Labyrinth:

Snow White:

Tomato:

Varese

Thoughts?

The Scarf/Shawl Kick

2011-07-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, I said I wasn't updating this blog anymore. My knitting is on Ravelry, my cooking is on Bits of Bliss, and my book reviews are on On My Bookshelf. But there isn't a place for rambly general knitting updates anywhere but here!

I've been on a Clapotis kick lately. Easy, lovely, and endlessly modifiable, it is a stellar pattern to show off a handpainted skein (or a few). If you've been living under a rock, the pattern is at Knitty.

Here is a large-ish version in Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool:

And a medium version in Ella Rae Lace Merino:

And a small version in a single skein of Mountain Colors Mountain Goat:

I finally finished the Branching Out in Malabrigo Sock I started ages ago. It's for me, and so was put on the back burner:

My current project is a modified version of Tesla in Araucania Ruca:

I've enjoyed the simple scarves and shawls I've been busting out lately. They make nice one-size gifts, show off the lovely yarns I'm drawn to that aren't practical for a sweater, and I can knit them anywhere without paying much attention. I can make them narrower or wider, shorter or longer, based on my available yardage. There is a time for challenging knitting, but this is not it.

Hiatus, redux

2011-03-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

This blog may have become redundant. I recently started a food-oriented blog, Bits of Bliss, which is now the repository for my cooking posts and recipes. Since my knitting is well-documented on Ravelry (I'm allisonmariecat), and my book reviews have been at On My Bookshelf for some time, and with the Twitter thing (I'm allisonmariecat there, too)...there doesn't seem to be much for The Whole Ball of Yarn(s) these days. I'm not taking down the site - there are still lots of recipes and things that aren't elsewhere at this point; I simply won't be updating.

Cheers,
Allison

Would have posted earlier, but...

2011-02-08T11:53:00.001-08:00

...knitting a blanket takes a really long time. Therefore, there will be many pictures in this post. Unfortunately, none of them will include Lilah, who refuses to pose today.

Meet Lilah's "Big Girl" Blanket:

To show the scope and grandeur of this thing, I pinned it to the chain holding up our porch swing. You can see it's not a perfect square - more a rhombus. I'm cool with that.

The starting corner:

Spread out on the swing:

Folded:

Not that artfully draped:

Ending corner:

A side "corner":

Pattern: Winged it. I typed up more or less what I did on Ravelry. Basically, I started with three stitches and increased with a YO on each edge until I'd used almost five skeins, then decreased one stitch at each edge until I was done. I like Noro best in stockinette, just wanted an edging.

Needles: Size 8

Yarn: Noro Taiyo, colorway 6, 10 skeins (2200 yds)

Notes: Best television knitting ever. Will I ever knit a blanket again? No. My next non-baby blanket will be someday when I learn to crochet. Man, it takes a LONG time to knit a decent-sized blanket. Love the yarn. I've always loved Noro colors, but wasn't fond of the mohair content in Kureyon. This is wool/silk/cotton/nylon. Very soft, fairly light but warm. Noro has quirks. For a not-cheap yarn, there are an awful lot of knots. And sticks. And it's very thick-thin. But I think of it as part of the charm. Yes, knots are annoying, but what I love about Noro are the colors, and that's what I'm paying for. Think how expensive they'd have to make it if they actually bothered picking out the bits! Lilah loves it. She says it's "so cozy."

Reading: Rereading the Kay Scarpetta books. I remembered losing interest, and now I can pinpoint when and why: Blow Fly, when Cornwell switches to third person instead of Scarpetta's pov. Coincidentally (?) that's the same point at which she appears to start hating her characters. I need to get to book blogging!

Writing: I have been writing some. I know, wild, right? I am at a word count - 3800. See, even posting a word count. Cross your fingers it keeps going up.

Cooking: I'm more or less off cooking lately. Just not motivated and/or inspired. I did make a batch of granola, then another batch of granola. Oh, man, I just remembered I have to make ^&%&%* muffins for a preschool meeting tomorrow. Ugh.

I may post again! You just never know!

Check it out - it's a blog post!

2010-12-09T16:40:00.001-08:00

This has been a rebuilding year. I'm very open about my recovery from depression (which is ongoing), but that's not really what I wanted this blog to be about. It's meant to be a journal of my hobbies. This year, my primary hobby has been recovering from depression. I kept up the knitting-related posts because they gave a sense of normalcy, and there was something satisfying about documenting something positive, even if it was just a cute top I'd knitted. Cooking and writing are very difficult for me during periods of depression, and I've mainly documented my reading on LibraryThing and On My Bookshelf, so content-wise, once I went off knitting a few months ago, there simply wasn't any 'there' there. I am still not back to writing, though with an adjusted dosage of meds, I am now hopeful that I will be, at some point. My reading has been sporadic this year. For about half the year, I mainly re-read old, comforting favorites or genre novels that wouldn't have any emotionally wrenching surprises. This year, I looked at my LibraryThing entries for 2010, and I'm nowhere near even 100 books, which is odd for me, as I am generally somewhere close to 100-200. Books took longer for me to get through, and I would occasionally have difficulty with emotional content that was upsetting and put my book aside in favor of other activities. I was also sleeping a lot more, napping whenever I could. I am still in treatment, and I expect to be for some time, but a glimmer of interest in blogging popped back up around Thanksgiving. I found myself, for the first time in months, thinking, "I can't wait to finish this and get it on the blog." Anyway, rambling over. Onto the knitting.

What derailed my knitting was a colossal failure in a custom-sized top for my sister-in-law. It was based on Ballet Camisole with some measurements tweaked for a good fit. I used Knitpicks Simply Cotton, which I find quite nice to work with. I was pleased with how the size-tweaking was going, and happy knitting it...until the end, when I noticed a couple of flaws. I am just now taking it out to see if it's as bad as I remember, and how I can fix it.

I finished it, folded it, and set it aside...and didn't pick up a new project for ages. Finally, I pulled out some of my special-occasion yarn stash, a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk I'd gotten for my birthday. I wanted to make a scarf, but without the least bit of inspiration, I decided to simply cast on for a narrower Lace Ribbon Scarf. I can do it without looking at the pattern, so it's great purse knitting, and while it may not be the best pattern to show off the Seasilk, well, at least I was knitting something. And when it occurred to me that the color is, shall we say, not suited to my complexion, I realized it's spot-on for my mother-in-law's coloring. Voila! Christmas present.

Meanwhile, I picked up some handspun, handdyed yarn in a rainbow of colors from a neighbor. (This is her etsy shop! Gorgeous, plant-dyed, yummy yarns!) Well, Lilah picked it out, for a new hat and scarf for this winter. Super quick project. Basic ribbed scarf, basic ribbed hat knit in the round.

Since I couldn't knit the Lace Ribbon in front of my MIL, I pulled out a skein of Malabrigo Sock in gorgeous blues and greens and cast on a Branching Out. I've knitted several of these for gifts. It's a fun, simple pattern, and it's lovely. And I hadn't yet made one for myself!

We went shopping at the yarn store near my MIL's house over Thanksgiving (a lovely spot called Fiddlehead Yarns in case you're ever in Kenosha, Wisconsin), and Lilah picked out some Noro Taiyo and asked me to make her a blanket. Again, not wanting to do anything over-complicated that would be set aside and never finished, I started a diagonal blanket in stockinette with a garter edging. Very, very simple, but then, Noro doesn't need much in the way of texture or pattern. The colors speak for themselves. Lilah's very pleased with it so far.

Reading: I'm slowly adding to On My Bookshelf. There's one emotionally difficult literary novel (a quite excellent one, FALL ASLEEP FORGETTING by Georgeann Packard) that has taken me half the year to review. I've been lucky at how understanding the authors and publishers with whom I've established reviewing (and personal) relationships have been as I say yet again, "I'm behind on the book blog...I don't have time to review that..."

Writing: Absolutely nothing in a while, following a period of not-very-productive attempts.

Cooking: Again, not much of note here. I didn't even make my vegetable stock for the freezer this winter, instead relying on Rapunzel's vegetable stock cubes. I did make a nice tweak of classic (read: Quaker box recipe) oatmeal cookies by replacing cinnamon with cardamom and raisins with dried cherries. I added chopped pecans for a bit of crunch and to round out the flavors, and I loved them. I started musing about a cranberry-orange zest version, maybe apricot and almond, and Matt said, "Stop messing with my oatmeal cookies!" But playing with perfectly good recipes is a symptom of mental health for me :)

So, that was a blog post! Will there be more? Who knows? As my recovery progresses, I'm hopeful I'll have more to share.

Master of the Obvious

2010-08-13T07:13:00.000-07:00

I appear to be on hiatus. I just thought I'd post to acknowledge that :)

Hello, summer

2010-06-02T12:42:00.000-07:00

After this point, I will not be properly dry until late September. Yes, the humidity has hit, the mosquitoes are biting, and summer is upon us. The garden is going nicely, despite some piggish squirrels and/or birds, and we've opened the grill for business. Lilah and I had our first beach afternoon. Time for me to finish up Sizzle! The back is done and the front is clicking along. Edited to add: And it's done! Squee!

Details:

Pattern: Sizzle by Wendy Bernard
Size: 38"
Yarn: Rowan Calmer in Coffee, between 4 and 5 skeins
Needles: Size 7

Notes: I love this pattern! It’s simple and cute. I made the 38” size (for an actual measurement of 36”), but I should have gone with the 34”. Two inches of negative ease made me nervous, but I probably should have done the math to make it 36”. I added an inch to the length before waist decreases, and made the neckline an inch higher so I wouldn't fall out of there. I realized that I screwed up the trim - you’re supposed to pick up and knit 2 stitches for every 3 rows and I picked up every stitch. The armhole edging is looser than it should be, but not terribly so. I would make this again in a heartbeat. Wendy’s patterns have never let me down. Cute, simple, ingenious stuff.

Reading: I'm working to get caught up on the book blog. I'm currently reading Fall Asleep Forgetting by Georgeann Packard, and it's fantastic.

Writing: Eh.

Cooking: We grilled! Matt made ribs, and I made stuffed poblano peppers for us vegetarians. I made an absolutely divine dessert from Screen Doors and Sweet Tea, a frozen custard-truffle-thing called Darkness in the Delta. Man, that's some good chocolatey stuff. Whenever we grill, I throw on extra veggies, corn, and tofu to eat in lunches during the week. This time, it was tofu slabs (marinated in lemon juice and garlic), baby artichokes, and zucchini. And extra cobs of sweet corn. I used the corn, some brown rice, and a can of black beans as the basis for a yummy salad, finished with a simple lime vinaigrette. Oh, yeah.

I was not impressed with Godiva's pistachio ice cream truffle. Not nearly nutty enough. So I shall embark on the quest for the perfect pistachio truffle once we get back. From Paris. Oh, yeah, I'm going to Paris. Did I not tell you? Matt has a conference there, and we had frequent flier miles and grandparents to babysit, so we're going on our first trip alone together since Lilah was born!

Front Porch Blogging

2010-05-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

So, instead of the one front and one back photo Matt usually takes, I talked him into taking a few of Camisa I could choose between. And I suggested the front yard instead of the back of the house, with siding as a backdrop. I started out standing in front of a tree, but you'll see he ended up getting cars in the background. I'm a terrible model, and he's no great shakes as a photographer, but I think we did better this time. After I said, "That's probably good," he even took a couple of angled shots.

The front:

More of the front:

The back:

Lilah frequently interrupted the photo shoot with demands that her own picture be taken. No shrinking violet is that one.

Here's the one detail I'm not crazy about in the pattern, the side vents instead of proper hip shaping:

And a close up of the reverse stockinette top, basketweave center, and stockinette bottom.

And a couple of angled bonus pictures:

Pattern: Camisa, by Kat Coyle (Knitscene, Fall 2006, available for purchase here. Size 36.5"

Yarn: Rowan Calmer in Garnet, 6 skeins (I had at least half a skein left)

Needles: Size 7

Modifications: I have finally accepted that I have a long torso. So, as a matter of course, I simply add two inches in length to every sweater I make for myself. In this case, I added an inch below and above the basketweave pattern (concerned about having the basketweave cutting across the bust - I suggest the extra inch for anyone above a C cup).

Notes: I really enjoyed knitting this. It's a clever design, easy but not boring. The edges do curl, and blocking din't really fix it entirely. Neither did ironing, though at least the bottom edge is sitting relatively flat. I'm not sure that side vents are my favorite hip shaping technique, but I don't think they're awful. The crochet edge isn't the neatest. Probably my fault, as I'm crap at crochet. I'm never sure I'm doing it right. I think applied i-cord would look neater as an edging. Overall, I like this. I think I'll wear it.

Other knitting: Waiting for yarn for a Ballet Camisole, so I cast on for Sizzle in Rowan Calmer in Coffee Bean. I didn't bother to take a picture, as it's just an inch of seed stitch so far.

Reading: Not anything terribly exciting.

Writing: Some progress, not a lot.

Cooking: I have tackled sourdough! If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may recall that I had some success with sourdough while living in Wisconsin, but have had one disaster after another since moving here. Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice had the answers I needed. I have another batch rising now.

I made pesto to go with pasta and roasted red peppers and asparagus. No recipe, though. And my Triple Almond Brownies. I made them for friends and fancied them up by baking them off in tartlet pans and serving with a side of cream whipped with amaretto and a bit of powdered sugar. Very nice.

The garden is coming along. The zucchini and squash are in bloom, small green tomatoes and baby tomatillos have appeared. Strawberries are producing. My cilantro is growing so fast, I need to chop it down!

Day 7: What a Yarn

2010-05-02T06:50:00.000-07:00

Today's topic is: What a Yarn
There’s one love that we all share: yarn. Blog about a particular yarn you have used in the past or own in your stash, or perhaps one that you covet from afar. If it is a yarn you have used you could show the project that you used it for, perhaps writing a mini ‘review’. Perhaps, instead, you pine for the feel of the almost mythical qiviut? You could explore and research the raw material and manufacturing process if you were feeling investigative.

My go-to yarns are Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool for sweaters, Malabrigo sock for scarves, and Rowan Calmer for summer tops. I love the drape of the Silky Wool, and it's soft, yet durable. The first project I made with Silky Wool was Somewhat Cowl. I made an unfortunate choice to do a short-sleeved version, so I never wear it. I suppose I could try layering a long-sleeved t-shirt underneath. I also weighed at least 25 pounds more than I do now. When I tried it on recently, it was ridiculously big. When I run out of yarn with which to knit, I will frog it! I also made Gathered Pullover out of Silky Wool. That one is more forgiving on the fit. It's just more slouchy now, and less fitted, but doesn't look ridiculous. Matt's Hjalte is my latest Silky Wool project. Someday, it will have sleeves. SIlky Wool is lovely to knit with, and it's reasonably affordable because the skeins have decent yardage.

I made the Tesla Scarf and Love Bites Scarf out of Malabrigo Sock. I was SO happy when Malabrigo started a sock weight line. I like the worsted for sweaters okay, but a scarf out of Sock is absolutely divine. I have three more skeins in various colors for future scarves.

Calmer is not a go-to yarn for me, usually. It's more one I covet from afar because it's on the expensive side. If you've been following my blog, you know how ridiculously excited I was to find discontinued colors for about half off. I snapped up as many as I could. I first worked with Calmer for my Tempting II from many moons ago. I wore that top once or twice this summer, but it's sort of big now, and I was never crazy about it. When I run out of my Calmer stash, I'll rip it out because the yarn is too nice to just sit in a drawer with the other unworn sweaters. This year, I've already made Tomato and Audrey out of Calmer, and I'm nearing the finish line on my Camisa. Love, love, love this yarn.

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knitcroblo7

Day 6: Blast From The Past

2010-05-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

Today's topic is: Revisit a past F/O
Bring the fortune and life of a past finished project up to the present. Document the current state and use of an object you have knitted or crocheted, whether it is the hat your sister wears to school almost every day, or a pair of socks you wore until they were full of hole. Or maybe that jumper that your did just didn’t like that much…

Darn it, I was going to do a photo shoot, trying on all my sad, unloved past projects, but the weekend was busy and Sunday, when I had the time, was too humid for me to want to parade around in one wool sweater after another. I talked about all my sad, unloved past projects in this post but I would like to add photos. I think I still will, sometime this week when Matt's around during daylight hours.

Besides the sweaters I made for myself, there have been other disasters. Like the Einstein Coat I made out of Pakucho Organic Cotton as a newbie knitter (yes, a coat made out of worsted cotton weighs about 42 pounds and stretches like made), the fair isle cardigan I made out of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride for my mother who lives in California (where 50 is considered cold), or the red and white striped sweater I knit for my father-in-law, which promptly acquired pink stripes with the first wash. When I was pregnant, I also made weird yarn choices for baby knits, so I made three sweaters and a dress that she NEVER wore. Argh.

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knitcroblo6

Day 5: Where do you like to knit?

2010-04-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

Today's topic is: Where do you like to indulge in your craft? Is your favourite arm chair your little knitting cubby area, or do you prefer to ‘knit in public’? Do you like to crochet in the great outdoors, perhaps, or knit in the bath, or at the pub?

I knit pretty much wherever I'll be sitting around without anything to take my complete attention or requiring the use of my hands. I keep knitting in my purse and pull it out at the playground when Lilah is busy building sand castles. Or in waiting rooms, at my book club, in the car (not while I'm driving). Since I started knitting, I can't stand to sit and just watch television anymore - I knit while I watch. Same with the movie theater. Stockinette in the round is really the best for movie theater knitting. Nothing ruins a movie like dropping a stitch half an hour in! One of my favorite spots to knit is on our porch swing while Lilah plays, but that's not as common as knitting down at the playground/lake because when I'm outside our house, I tend to feel compelled to make a dent in the endless supply of weeds. With the right book (hardcovers are easiest), I've found that I can knit sitting cross-legged while reading, using a toe to keep the book open if it's uncooperative.

Possibly the weirdest place I've knit is at Wrigley Field. I got some odd looks, but the guy next to me started asking questions when he realized I was able to follow the game at the same time (I was knitting a Booga Bag, which I could do in my sleep). I knit the whole way from Bratislava to Budapest in a rental van on vacation with my husband's family. I've knit standing in line at the DMV to get my license renewed.

I don't have any qualms about knitting in public. Sure, sometimes I get weird looks, but I don't particularly care what random people think about it. But I do draw the line at events like weddings and graduations, because it just seems rude. Even if I know I can pay attention while knitting, other people don't get that, and may interpret it as not caring about the event. Same with therapy. Any time it's important enough that I feel my attention shouldn't be divided even a little bit, I leave the knitting at home.

Knitting by the lake:

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knitcroblo5

Day 4: Wild Card

2010-04-29T06:26:00.000-07:00

Today's topic is: Today's topic is about what other related crafts we'd like to learn someday. Knitting blog aside, I am actually not a particularly crafty person. So I decided to use the wild card question for Day 4.

Do you have a particular knitting/crochet tool or piece of equipment that you love to use? Maybe it is an old bent pair of needles that used to belong to someone special, or a gorgeous rosewood hand-turned crochet hook that you just love the feel of? Write about what you love about it.

Yes, I do! When I started knitting, all my tools were of the pink and blue plastic stitch marker variety, because they were cheap and I didn't know if the knitting thing would stick. After I'd been at it a few years, I decided I really wanted nice tools that made me happy to use. Here are some of my favorites:

The bag was a gift from KnitPastis, a knitblogging friend. When she started selling her creations online, I bought some stitch markers - the lovely beaded one is hers.

The lovely wooden needle case was made by Stefaneener's father-in-law. The sock measuring tools, gauge square, wooden stitch markers, and Knitter's Rule are from KaratStix's Etsy Shop. I had coveted these after seeing them around the blogosphere, but it took me a long time to get mine. For the same reason I don't have a tattoo - I couldn't think of something that was so me I wanted it on my tools, and I didn't just want to get sheep and yarn. Finally, it hit me, and I asked her to design a Jane Austen-themed set, with tea things, pen-and-ink, books. Lovely, isn't it? And so much more substantial than my cheap plastic gauge. The notions bag is from Katie Fleck Designs on Etsy, replacing a freebie cosmetics bag that had served in that capacity.

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knitcroblowc

Day 3: One Great Knitter

2010-04-28T06:23:00.000-07:00

Today's topic is: One Great Knitter

Write about a knitter whose work (whether because of project choice, photography, styling, scale of projects, stash, etc) you enjoy. If they have an enjoyable blog, you might find it a good opportunity to send a smile their way.

I love all the knitters to whom I link off to the left. No, sorry, the right. I've always had a problem with that. I could pick any of them, really, but I'll talk about Stefaneener. I want to be Stefaneener when I grow up. She's a knitter, spinner, and dyer (from her homegrown indigo, no less). Gardener and beekeeper. Mom to four. Wow. She also got me into one of my culinary loves, preserving, with her talk of the fantastic cooking she does. And she runs. I've always wished I wanted to run...

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knitcroblo3

knitcroblo3

Day 2: Aspiration

2010-04-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

Today's topic is: Blog about a pattern or project which you aspire to. Whether it happens to be because the skills needed are ones which you have not yet acquired, or just because it seems like a huge undertaking of time and dedication, most people feel they still have something to aspire to in their craft. If you don’t feel like you have any left of the mountain of learning yet to climb, say so!

I choose to learn knitting skills in order to make the projects I want to make. I learned to cable when I found a pattern I really wanted to make that required it. I learned lace when I found a lace pattern. Knitting is a relaxing and satisfying hobby for me, and I don't have any particular level of mastery I want to achieve. However, one pattern in my queue really fits this "aspirational" question, and that's Shipwreck Shawl. I love this shawl, and I really want to have one for myself. It involves beading, which I've never done, and it's BIG. After I'm done with my summer tops kick, I would love to get this on the needles.

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knitcroblo2

Day 1: How did I get started?

2010-04-26T06:25:00.000-07:00

Today's topic is: Starting Out
How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting? was it a skill passed down through generations of your family, or something you learned from Knitting For Dummies? What or who made you pick up the needles/hook for the first time? Was it the celebrity knitting ‘trend’ or your great aunt Hilda?

Sometime in late 2003, after getting married, moving to Wisconsin, and starting a new job, it got in my head to learn to knit. I remember knitting was getting popular at the time, but no one in particular inspired me. It just sounded fun. My grandmother has crocheted for as long as I remember, but aside from making some long chains, it never stuck with me. I approached learning knitting the way I approach most things: in books. I combed Amazon for promising-sounded introductory books and ordered Folk Shawls The Knit Stitch, and Vogue Knitting. I didn't yet know about the magic of online yarn shopping, so I went to a craft store and bought some chenille yarn and size 10 metal needles. Yeah, I know. Chenille. Ugh. After trying and failing to cast on about a dozen times, I went to the craft store and switched to wooden needles and Lion Brand Wool-Ease. I noodled around with knitting and purling, and then I picked a stitch pattern from Vogue Knitting (St. Charles Brocade) and did a scarf. It curled dreadfully because I hadn't learned about needing an edging on stockinette projects. But it was recognizable as a scarf, and I was hooked. Then I did a scarf from The Knit Stitch (the Dr. Who Scarf, lots of fun), using Patons Wool I bought online (yay, online shopping!). Next, I did a hat from The Knit Stitch, my first project in the round, in Mountain Colors, and that was when I turned into a yarn snob. The Mountain Colors was so soft and pretty and so very much nicer than the Lion Brand or the Patons. Not an exciting story, by any stretch!

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knitcroblo1

Catching Up

2010-04-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

It seems like I am always catching up. Here I go again. This time, it's in preparation for:

Hosted by Eskimimi Knits, it runs April 26-May 2, with a different topic every day. I am not a joiner. I rarely do knit-a-longs, read-a-longs, or any other-a-longs. But I first read about this on a lovely blog I recently discovered, Untangling Knots, and I thought, well, I'll at least SEE what the topics are. Then I can grumble that I don't like them and not participate. But...the first day's topic was sort of fun. And the second day's. And well, I could use an excuse to try daily blogging for a week. It beats monthly blogging! This isn't necessarily a knitting blog, but knitting is a big enough part that this seems like a good fit.

Speaking of knitting: Still going on Camisa. I'm knitting the bottom of the back. Stockinette. Not much to say there. I'm not sure I'm going to like the side-vent approach to avoiding waist shaping. We'll see.

Reading: I'm more or less caught up on the book blog. I did just finish a fantastic book, The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant, which takes place in a fairy-tale-like German village where girls begin disappearing...and not for the first time. The ending was literally a nail-biter.

Writing: Indeed! I dreamed the opening line for my murder mystery and magically found the exact voice I need. I'm re-writing chapter one in the new voice with some major changes. It feels like I'm finally writing the book rather than background. Much less wordy, less convoluted plot, much more divorced from reality. Um, not that it's based on any real-life experiences working in an insane theater company. Ahem.

Cooking: So we had friends over for dinner, and I used Wine Bar Food for all the recipes. I made Parmesan Flatbread, Faux Gras (yes, faux! not a goose part in sight!), Crispy Toma Cheese With Eggplant (no Toma at my store; I used a goat's milk Brie), a spinach salad with crispy shallots, a stuffed wild mushroom pizza, and Amaretto Polenta Cake. Everything was lovely, though I actually didn't care for the faux gras; it was too meat-ish for me. I really like this book, written by Tony Mantuano of Chicago's Spiaggia restaurant. I haven't been to Spiaggia, but we have been to Mangia, his restaurant in my husband's hometown. The book is nowhere near vegetarian, but I love it anyway. It's organized by region (all vaguely Mediterranean) and explores the wines of each while providing small dishes to accompany them. I mix dishes from several different regions, and I've never cooked a dud from this book. I pull it out for entertaining; it's really not an everyday cooking source.

We have a new Lilah-approved family meal standard. Sesame Noodles With Broccoli has been a favorite recipe for me for a while, but Lilah was less enthusiastic. I revamped it a little and had her help me stir in the sauce, and she ate a big bowl and asked for more. It's also the only way I can get Matt to eat broccoli... Modifications: I leave out the hot chili paste when I make it for Lilah. I always leave out the honey. I don't like raw onions, so I leave out the green onion (although I sometimes stir-fry tofu to accompany this and will stir-fry the onion with it). I also use at least double the veggies (I had three broccoli crowns and four large carrots, which I used up) and don't bother matchsticking the carrots - I slice them and add them to the water when I add the broccoli. I always double the sauce for a pound of pasta, and we use whatever pasta is around (though I personally love soba, Lilah loves corkscrews and bow ties, so we use those a lot).

Lilah stirring:

Long Time, No Blog

2010-04-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

Oops, I went forever without blogging again. It happens. Part of it is that Audrey has taken forever. It's actually quite a quick and easy pattern, but I wasn't knitting much, and then I spent some time after the front and back were finished dithering over whether or not to attempt short sleeves instead of the three-quarter length in the pattern. But I'm pleased with the result.

Also, note the hair. I finally made it to shoulder-length, which means I can stick it up in a clip or a ponytail, so it's not driving me nuts anymore. I've convinced myself it looks breezy rather than messy.

I can get Matt to take decent pictures, but he's not very artistic about it. You get the front:

The back:

The lace edge:

The increase line:

Pattern details:

Pattern: Audrey from Rowan 35, size 36"
Yarn: Rowan Calmer, in Carnation, 5 skeins
Needles: Size 7 and 8
Notes: I really like this pattern. I like the visible increase/decrease shaping. I like the easy ribbing. I love the detail of the lace at the neck. It fits very well and it's comfy, but nice enough to wear with a summery skirt.

Modifications: I decided on short sleeves. I cast on the number of stitches for each sleeve at the point of sleeve cap shaping, worked four rows, then started cap shaping. It worked beautifully, and I’ll use a short-sleeved top much more often. Based on past comments about the neckband being too big, I made the lace edging shorter than the circumference of the neckline. I really had to stretch the lace around to sew it on. It worked perfectly - I love the neckline on this. It stays up well, but isn’t too tight.

Other knitting:

The start of Camisa in Calmer in Garnet:

Oh! The garden has been coming along:

We built two raised beds, each 4 feet square, using this template. One is a salsa garden, with tomatoes, tomatillos, onions, peppers, and cilantro. The other has squash, peas, strawberries, arugula, and carrots. Lilah and I are having a great time with gardening.

Reading: I'm behind on the book blog again. Hope to catch up this week.

Writing: Some. Lilah had her spring break last week, which is the opposite of spring break for me. I'm producing on the murder mystery, and noodling with snippets of other things.

Cooking: Oh, two months of cooking? Geez. Of note are the Natural, Homemade Thin Mints, which are a bit of a pain but absolutely fantastic. I also made Dutch Crunch Vienna Bread from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Lovely, delicious bread. I'll be making it again, along with Reinhart's sourdough and bagel recipes. Love him. I also made pina colada muffins, which I've posted about before. I think those are the highlights. I'll try to remember to blog more so I can remember recipes :)

Progress Report

2010-02-25T12:07:00.000-08:00

I had a great time in the 2006 Knitting Olympics, and I've really enjoyed watching other knitters in this years' Olympics, but I decided not to attempt to start and finish anything in such a short period of time. I have enough challenges without challenging myself with knitting. However, I have been busy with my knitting during the Olympics...

We haven't seen much of Hjalte around here, and there's a good reason for that. That sweater is my Everest. I thought I'd finished the front, but realized I'd bound off too soon and had to rip back and re-do the last few inches. I slogged along on the back for what seemed like eons. There's also the lack of a ball-winder and swift, which means I interrupt knitting time to hand-wind balls of yarn periodically. And it requires me to pay some attention, what with the 52-row cable pattern, so it's not suitable for all television knitting. Depends on how visual the show is. But, I have actually finished the front AND the back. Yes, that's right. If I seamed it, it would be a vest right now!

Here's the front:

And the back:

And a closeup of the cables:

And just so you don't think I'm pulling a fast one by photographing the same side from different angles, here are the front and back together:

The next sweater I make Matt will be stockinette. Maybe rib, if I'm feeling REALLY ambitious. I like the cabling, but it seems like every row takes forever. I'm really excited to have finished the front and back, though. I'll cast on for the sleeves tonight. I haven't held this up to Matt yet, but this is a big sweater. I hope it's not really really big on him (I would cry). He's a medium, and I'm making the Medium/Large size, but it's a big sweater. It seems bigger than a Medium/Large. I'm slogging along anyway, because it's not like I'll rip the whole thing out and re-size it, even if I could (and a 52-row cable pattern would make that an ordeal). So I'm just going to keep going and hope for the best. I started it just shy of a year ago (February 28, 2009 - thank you, Ravelry), so it's high time it was finished.

Meanwhile, Audrey is my easy knitting. It's in Rowan Calmer, in Carnation, one of the discontinued (cheap!!!) colors I picked up. It's a nice bright pink with a hint of orange. Like a pinker version of coral. It's easy and even kind of boring. I'm nearly to the armholes on one side, and really wishing I'd thought to do it in the round.

Here's a close-up of the increase/decrease line:

I really think I'd get more use out of Audrey with short sleeves. I think she'd go well with a couple of my summer skirts, but it's too hot here for 3/4 sleeves in summer. However, I've only seen one project on Ravelry that adapted it for short sleeves, and I wasn't crazy about the look. Maybe it's the length, which is longer than I'd go (I'm thinking cap sleeves). Any suggestions? Is this a bad idea given the neckline and general appearance of the sweater?

Reading: I just started Apple Turnover Murder, the latest Joanne Fluke mystery. These are really pretty fun. I'm WAY behind on my book blogging. I have a review to get up for The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley. It's the second Flavia deLuce mystery, and an utter delight.

Writing: Some. Not a lot. But some.

Cooking: Not a ton. Let's see, I did a mushroom pasta. I made these olive oil crackers for snack at Lilah's preschool, along with cheddar and apple slices. The crackers are delicious. I made them fairly thick and not really crunchy at all, but I think they'd be nice either way. Delicious.

A Blue Tomato

2010-02-22T05:20:00.000-08:00

Tomato, after blocking:

Last weekend, we had snow. This weekend, I actually wore Tomato with my favorite jeans out to the playground with Lilah. Before we left, I got Matt to take pictures! Yes, actual modeled shots of a finished object. Weird wild stuff for a knitting blog. I'm trying this new thing where I'm not as self-conscious when a camera is pointed at me. It's a work in progress.

The front:

The back:

Detail of back raglan line:

Front detail:

The pattern: Tomato by Wendy Bernard
Size: 40" (see notes)
The yarn: Rowan Calmer, in Calmer, about 4 and a half balls
Needles: Size 6 and 7 circulars

Notes: I really like this top, but I was living a bit dangerously using the Calmer. I didn't see any other projects on Ravelry using it, and as I got going, I realized my row gauge was way off. Instead of 25 rows in 4 inches, my row gauge was 32. And with a top-down raglan (and my being too chicken to adjust the increases to be less frequent), I was concerned. In addition, while I could get 4.5 stitches to an inch, I could only do so with stretching the fabric maybe more than I would want. So instead of doing anything crazy like, I don't know, swatching or something, I just ripped back the inch I'd knit and cast back on for the 40" size (my actual measurement is 36"). And you know what? It worked out fine in the end. If you look at the pattern photos, mine has a higher neckline and is more snug around the arms. It's less of a comfy t-shirt and more fitted. It *is* comfortable, though, just a more fitted look.

The yarn: I love Rowan Calmer. I enjoyed my last summer knit with Knit Picks Comfy, but Calmer is delightful. Stretchy and soft and polished-looking. It's even better that I got a discontinued color for about half price. Otherwise, it's an indulgence.

Two-Fisted Tank, the Real FO Post

2010-02-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

I posted about the Two-Fisted Tank right here but it was too cold for modeled pictures. I am actually coming back with the promised modeled FO post. Usually, I show the FO on a chair or on the porch swing and say I'll do modeled pictures later. And either I never get around to doing photos or I talk Matt into taking pictures, don't like them, and never post. But not this time! Obviously, Matt and I need some practice to get this knitting photo shoot down, as I'm not sure the back door/siding is the most attractive background. There were also times when he snapped the photo before I was sucking in my stomach. And the first couple of pictures the top was bunchy, but we got into a rhythm where he would adjust it. Anyway, I think we're showing some improvement over my usual bland FO pictures.

The front:

The back:

The sassy, falling-off-the-shoulders shot:

Pattern: Two-Fisted Tank from Pints and Purls
Yarn: Knitpicks Comfy Worsted in Honeydew, just over 4 skeins
Needles: Size 7 circ

Notes: This is a fun, easy pattern. The top is not the most finished-looking summer top, but it's cute and the easy construction makes it good purse knitting. I was surprised at how much I liked Comfy, which is nice and soft. The straps are designed to fall down, so don't consider it if that will drive you nuts. To be honest, I'm not sure how much wear this one will get, but it was fun!

Still Waiting For Spring

2010-02-11T07:17:00.000-08:00

Our groundhog, General Beauregard Lee, predicted an early spring. But that Yankee groundhog was right. It's winter here. Lilah and I have started some plants indoors, and this weekend, we were going to plan our raised beds for our tiny yard, which is covered in snow. We have planted carrots, thyme, basil, fennel (for our Swallowtail caterpillars), parsley, and some flowers Lilah picked out. The herbs and fennel will go in one of our front landscaping beds. The carrots will go in a raised bed out front. I think we're going to do at least one other raised bed, in the back, and plant some sunflowers in the landscaping beds as well. We have a sort of strange looking rose bush that sprawls on the ground. I'd like to move it, but that seems like a production. Once the raised beds are set up, we'll plant broccoli rabe, the carrot seedlings, zucchini, and who knows what else. Lilah is particularly excited about the carrots, and the fennel for the caterpillars. We used a biodegradable egg carton, along with some peat pots we picked up when we bought seeds. Lilah was thrilled to do the entire project. She scooped in the soil, made a space for the seeds, dropped in the seeds, and "tucked them in to be so cozy", then watered. She checks on her seeds every morning after she gets up. The flowers, thyme, and fennel have all germinated, and the carrots are just barely starting. We also did an avocado pit in a jar of water. That's taking forever, of course, but she hasn't lost interest.

Knitting: I sucked it up and ripped back on Hjalte's back (after finishing the front...yay!!!!). Just one more pattern repeat to the neckline. I'm nearly finished with Tomato. Just the sleeve edging and neck edging to do. I love the top-down, in-the-round construction with no seaming! So nice and easy. This has been my purse knitting, and it's been a blast. I love Calmer, and I love the pattern. I expect to have modeled shots of this by the time it's warm enough for modeled shots of the Two-Fisted Tank. Meanwhile, here is some of my knitting out in the snow. My Tesla Scarf:

On my hands are fingerless mitts crocheted by my talented SIL.

And Lilah's hat, mittens and scarf:

She loves wearing them! Most kids avoid bundling up, but Lilah really likes her special things I knit her. That's so awesome.
Lilah's preschool is a co-op, so parents volunteer in the classroom a couple times a month, bringing a healthy snack with them. My dad gave us a cute muffin/cakelette pan with bug shapes, so I decided to use those. Lilah loved helping to make bug muffins! I took an already healthified version of an apple bread recipe and tweaked it. These were the most moist, flavorful healthy muffins I've made. Even Matt liked them. My apple butter was my homemade version simmered with lots of spices. You could substitute drained applesauce, but you'll want to add spices to the batter or it will be bland. Lilah's school is nut-free, so I chose to add granola for a bit of crunch in place of the walnuts I'd normally use.

Reading: Not much of note lately, but I did just receive a review copy of Alan Bradley's second Flavia deLuce mystery, The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. The first, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, is well worth picking up if you enjoy mystery and/or precocious heroines.

Writing: Nothing really in the way of page number progress, just more noodling. But that's better than nothing.

Cooking:

Apple Granola Muffins

1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup apple butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
4 cups peeled, chopped apple (Granny Smith makes for a nice, tart muffin)
1 cup granola (I used Back to Nature apple blueberry)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, add oil, apple butter, and sugars. Beat until combined. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Whisk together flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add slowly to liquid ingredients. Stir in apple and granola. Pour into muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes (shorter for smaller muffins) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Makes 16 large muffins. Get your own bug muffin tin here.

Itching for Spring

2010-01-28T08:33:00.001-08:00

I'm clearly ready for Spring. Working on Hjalte is really taking a backseat to my purse knitting projects. Partly because my purse knitting is one cute spring top after another (mostly in discount Rowan Calmer, yay!) and partly because I found an absolutely idiotic error that means, far from being finished with the back, I shall soon have to rip back several rows and re-do them. Delightful. Motivation is low for this project.

On the needles at the moment:

Not the most exciting picture, but that's nearly one ball (of a projected 6) of Rowan Calmer in Calmer (a nice pale blue) that will become Tomato. A blue tomato, whatever. I'm also not sure if this project is totally doomed. From past knitting with Calmer, I knew how stretchy it was, but I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out the gauge. I can easily stretch the fabric on size 7 needles to 4.5 stitches per inch, but will it be TOO form-fitting? I'm also nowhere near row gauge, which could be a huge problem on a top-down raglan. There's not really a way to easily add rows, I don't think. Unless I just knit even for a couple inches? I ripped back and started with the large size instead of medium to try to counter the gauge weirdness, but I'm not sure how to address the row gauge. Cotton tends to grow lengthwise, but will Calmer with how stretchy it is? Whatever, it's nice purse knitting, and I love knitting with Calmer. I was really excited to find discontinued colors nearly half-off at WEBS, and armed with Christmas money, I bought a few sweaters' worth. Usually I get to sales once all the good colors are gone, but I got several that I quite like.

I finished the Two-Fisted Tank from Pints and Purls. Here it is, pre-blocking:

Not that exciting, but it's sort of cute on. I'll get my husband to take a picture this weekend. The straps do fall down, but it's designed that way. It's a very simple knit, great for the purse.

Pattern: Two-Fisted Tank from Pints and Purls
Yarn: Knitpicks Comfy Worsted in Honeydew, just over 4 skeins
Needles: Size 7 circ

Notes: This is a fun, easy pattern. The top is not the most finished-looking summer top, but it's cute and the easy construction makes it good purse knitting. I was surprised at how much I liked Comfy, which is nice and soft.

Reading: I received a review copy of The Brutal Telling, the fifth Inspector Gamache novel, from LibraryThing, and loved it. I immediately ordered the first four in the series. Penny has a fantastic setting in Three Pines, a village hidden south of Montreal, and her characters practically jump off the page. I'm only disappointed that there weren't more than four more for me to read. These are some of the best mysteries I've ever read. From Inspector Gamache and his team of misfits to the crazy, lonely, or helpful inhabitants of Three Pines, every character is infused with warmth and life. The first in the series is Still Life.

Writing: Still noodling. Having some trouble getting going again.

Cooking: Very little. I did make a baked potato soup from Cooking Light, one of my favorite cold weather meals. It's a bit warmer now, but I have the ingredients for a cheesy spinach soup from a culinary mystery (Dying For Chocolate by Diane Mott Davidson).

Lilah and I have been talking gardening. We had a great time watching our Swallowtail caterpillars grow fat on our fennel plant, so Lilah asked if we could plant more. I also want to add more creeping thyme. Without ground cover, weeds here are insane, but most ground cover is so pointless. Like that annoying vine thing (not kudzu - something someone planted on purpose) that covers much of our yard. Mint and thyme spread nicely and are actually useful, so I'm thinking of adding more. The squash didn't go that well last summer (squash bugs, ugh), but tomatoes did well. We just don't have much yard, and even less with decent sun exposure (darn east-facing house). And the clay here seems to need a lot of help, nutrient-wise. We may just go tomatoes and herbs and butterflies this year.

Ta-Da!

2010-01-19T09:50:00.000-08:00

In plenty of time for use during the cold weather (though not today...today, it's to be in the 60s), the Tesla Scarf:

Lovely and feminine from the diagonal ruffle at one end:

to the cast-on ruffled edge:

It's got drape and elegance and warmth:

Pattern: Tesla Scarf by Deb Barnhill

Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in Tiziano Red (just about one full skein)

Needles: Size 5

Notes: This pattern, which I first saw on Turtlegirl's Bloggy Thing, is a pleasure to knit. The ruffle at the cast-on edge takes a bit of concentration, but that's only one row. Once that's done, the easy-peasy lace pattern just clicks along. Before you know it, you're near the end and have only an ingenious diagonal final flourish to enjoy. I'm sure it's divine in the Sea Silk called for, but I had the Malabrigo on hand with a scarf in mind, so decided to go for it. I never regret using Malabrigo, and the scarf is soft and richly red with subtle variegation. All in all, a fantastic project. I'm going to miss this purse knitting, and I would certainly make this pattern again as a gift for someone special.

In other knitting news, Hjalte is still almost at the armholes on the front. Whatever. The ribbed tube that was the early stages of the Two-Fisted Tank from Pints and Purls is a longer ribbed tube:

I am definitely doing one of the Calmer tops after this. Maybe Audrey (in Carnation). Or maybe Tomato in the Knitpicks Simply Cotton.

Reading: I finished re-reading the Thursday Next series, and finished Death at the Alma Mater, the third in the Inspector St. Just series by G. M. Malliet. Malliet manages to both parody and honor the conventional mystery novel, in a thoroughly enjoyable balancing act. The first in the series is Death of a Cozy Writer. This installment takes place at one of the lesser Cambridge colleges on alumni weekend, and is great fun (as expected).

Writing: Not much this week. I've been up in the writing nook, but mostly getting started again.

Cooking: I did a very nice roasted vegetable thing, with Jerusalem artichokes, carrots, potatoes, and garlic scrubbed, chopped, and tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roasted at 425 for about 20 minutes. And served over farro (2 cups farro cooked in 5 cups salted water for 45 minutes, then drained) with parmagiano-reggiano. Delicious and simple. I used some of the leftover farro in a basic vegetable soup the next day. I haven't been very into cooking lately, but it seems like it's coming back a bit.

Resolution-free knitting

2010-01-14T07:56:00.000-08:00

So with my 2010 goals modest and relatively non-specific, here's what I've got on the needles.

Tesla Scarf:

The Tesla Scarf is too lovely not to knit. Being short on Sea Silk, I went with Malabrigo Sock that I had bought in a gorgeous dark red (Tiziano Red). I also skipped the beading on the cast-on, just because I was ready to start knitting and didn't have appropriate beads on hand. The ruffle was fun, and the lace pattern quick to memorize. Not quite mindless knitting, but close. And it seems to be going fast, considering I'm barely working on it at all. I have enjoyed my Love Bites Scarf so much that I wanted to make a couple more scarves for the rotation. I find that I'm cold this winter (maybe my blood has finally thinned after moving from Wisconsin), but a bulky coat gets on my nerves. Just the addition of a scarf helps me stay warm, although on really cold days, I still have to pull out a bulky coat.

The Two-Fisted Tank from Pints and Purls:

Exciting, right? It's a 2x2 ribbed tube. But I think it'll be a cute top, if the falling-down straps don't drive me insane. It's in Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in Honeydew.

Hjalte is clicking along on the front (the back is finished). I enjoy the cabling, but the rows seem really long. And I don't have a ball-winder and swift, so I have to stop knitting periodically to wind another ball of Silky Wool. I wouldn't say I hate the sweater; I'm just over it. I'm really ready to be done, but even after I finish the front, there are sleeves to contend with. And I really can't start another complex project until I'm done. I have my two easy-peasy projects on the needles, but the Twist & Shout and the Shipwreck Shawl I have planned probably won't go on the needles until it's too warm for me to wear. Sigh.

The last of the Christmas knitting:

I finished the mittens in time for Christmas. It was a basic pattern I had printed ages ago, and I'm not sure of the source. The hat I sort of winged. I cast on 72 stitches on size 6 dpns and knit in rib until decreasing. The scarf is just 2x2 rib. Lilah really likes her hat and mittens. She specifically asked for a scarf "like Mommy's" to match, so I used the rest of the skein for a small scarf. The yarn is something I picked up from a local dyer at our city's art fair in October. She uses plant dyes, which is amazing. I mean, look at those pinks! Her etsy shop is right here.

Reading: I finished Shades of Grey, Jasper Fforde's new novel. It was fantastic. I should have the review up soon. I'm re-reading his Thursday Next series before going on to review copies.

Writing: Regular work on the murder mystery has begun! Preschool is a fantastic invention.

Cooking: Nothing at all, really. Totally uninspired. I've recently made more Pears in Bittersweet Chocolate and Pears in Pinot Noir, but I have yet to mail off my last "holiday" gifts. Maybe they'll be Valentine's presents...

2009 Knitting Wrap-Up and 2010 Goals

2010-01-14T07:09:00.001-08:00

I didn't really set goals for 2009, which is just as well. But I did manage more projects than I did in 2008, including some items I was very pleased with. My favorite (to-date) knitted sweater, Gathered Pullover and the Love Bites Scarf that I wear almost every day. I also adapted a pattern and came up with a cotton-linen bracelet bag that will be a go-to last-minute gift idea for me.

Setting goals I can't achieve actually adds more stress to my life, so I won't be setting very many.

1. Finish Matt's Hjalte: Before I can knit anything else of any complexity, I have to finish Hjalte. It's been my almost-exclusive television knitting, but I don't actually watch that much television. I am finally nearing the end of the front. Then it's just the sleeves. Oy.

2. Summer tops! With Christmas money, I made some cotton-blend yarn purchases, including Rowan Calmer, which I love. My purse knitting at the moment is from a cute book I got for Christmas, Pints and Purls, a very basic ribbed tank top. In Knit Picks Comfy Worsted (a surprisingly soft, yet very affordable, cotton-blend yarn), and size 7 needles, it's going really quickly, and it's delightfully mindless. Other summer tops I have planned: Arbor, Siesta, Audrey, Tomato, and Camisa. I may obviously not finish these this year, which is fine. It's just nice to have enough summer yarn to keep a summer top on the needles indefinitely.

3. A sweater for Lilah. She's requested a purple sweater.

4. I'm not planning gift knitting this year; I'll just add those projects in as they strike me.

Non-knitting goals:

1. In 2009, I read 116 books. Not terribly impressive after 2008's 217 books. Not that it's physically possible for me to top that one. I'm not setting a specific number of books as a goal for 2010, but I would like to be more organized with my book reviewing over at On My Bookshelf. I'm entering review copies into my calendar with release dates. I also continue to be conscious of balancing my fluffy reading of mysteries and kids' books with literary fiction. This year, I'd also like to add a couple of classics I haven't yet read to my list. I haven't really determined what a reasonable goal for classics would be. One a month would be nice, but seems a bit much with review reading and entertainment reading. And brushing up on my Shakespeare thanks to the iPhone Shakespeare app :)

2. Lilah is in...preschool! Someone else is in charge of her three mornings a week! This is exactly what I need for 2010 to be the year the murder mystery is finished. Though I am going to be saaaaaaaaaad when summer starts. I'm just getting as much done as I can while she's in school.

3. I always set a goal of more frequent blogging. It's good for me to write something non-murder-mystery-related on a regular basis. I don't think I'll be a daily blogger, but maybe. Weekly would be good. Anyway, I'll throw a nonspecific "more blogging" goal out there.

2010 Finished Knitting Projects

2010-01-14T07:06:00.001-08:00

Novelties:

Sweaters:
Audrey
A Blue Tomato
Two-Fisted Tank from Pints and Purls

Wraps, Shawls, and Scarves:
Tesla Scarf

Bags:

Kid Stuff:
Lilah's hat and scarf (to match mittens)

Socks and Hats:

Month-by-month:
January: Lilah's hat and scarf, Tesla Scarf, Two-Fisted Tank
February: Blue Tomato
March: Nothing??? Really???
April: Audrey
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:

Free Pattern - Summer Bracelet Bag

2009-12-09T11:07:00.001-08:00

This handy-dandy little bag is perfect for going out on a hot summer evening when you don't want to lug a big purse around or carry your beloved Felted Bracelet Bag. It's also a nice gift, and takes 2-3 hours from start to finish.

Summer Bracelet Bag

Yarn: Knitpicks CotLin (less than one ball; possibly two bags could be made from one ball)
Needles: Size 3 circulars or straights
Notions: tapestry needle, two thin bangle bracelets

Half linen stitch

Row 1: sl1, *sl1 wyif, K1
Row 2: sl1, Purl to end
Row 3: sl1, k1, *sl1 wyif, K1*, end K1
Row 4: sl1, Purl to end

Cast on 29 stitches. Work half-linen stitch for 3 1/2 inches, or until desired length, ending with a wrong-side row.

Decrease rows: sl1, ssk, ssk, work in pattern until the last five stitches, end k2tog, k2tog, k1. Work wrong side as usual. Repeat these two rows until 7 stitches are left.

Final decrease and bracelet tab:

(wrong side) sl1 p2tog, p1, p2tog, p1
Work 4 rows in stockinette.
Bind off these stitches.

Make two. Seam bottoms of pieces together. Seam sides up to the beginning of decreases to leave an opening at the top. Place bracelet against each tab and sew securely.

The Holiday Craziness begins!

2009-12-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

I'm not doing much gift knitting this year. A few small things, really. But a friend and I decided to trade crafts this winter. So I made a bunch of bracelet bags, and I got a supply of handpainted gourd Santas, snowmen, and ornaments. This idea came about when she saw my little black bracelet bag that I use for going out when my big giant purse isn't needed. But several of her gift recipients live in Florida, where a heavy felted bag isn't exactly the thing, so I came up with a pattern using smaller needles, cotton/linen yarn in a nice stitch pattern, and thin bangles. I made them the exact size to hold an iPhone, your ID and money, and maybe a key.

Here is the full array:

And the felted bags:

And the not-felted bags:

I was really pleased all around. The bracelets came primarily from eBay, an awesome source for mismatched/vintage bangle bracelets. The thin bangles for the cotton/linen bags came from amazon.com.

Felted Bracelet Bags Details:
Pattern: From Crazy Aunt Purl
Needles: Size 13
Yarn: Mostly Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky leftovers (the pink is Worsted, held doubled) with KFI Dazzle (sadly discontinued)
Notes: These work up in maybe two hours. Less, probably. Lamb's Pride goes crazy furry when it's felted, so I trimmed the excess with sharp scissors. The bracelets are from eBay, and I like the fun, mismatched look. I love this pattern, and the bags are fun and unique. I really love Laurie's patterns, which she calls recipes. This would be an easy felting project for a beginner because she spells out every step (with pictures!) and makes everything very clear.

Cotton/Linen Bags Details:
Pattern: My own. I used the idea of a bag on bracelets from the felted version, but changed the stitch pattern, gauge, direction of knitting, etc. It is right here!
Needles: Size 4
Yarn: Knitpicks CotLin (I think I could get two bags out of each ball, but it could be close.
Notes: I was really happy with how this turned out. It's a lighter version of the felted bag, nice for summer. I think this would be a really fun gift for the girls on your list. Each took about 2-3 hours.

Other knitting: I have some little things to finish before Christmas. Hjalte is clicking along on the front, which surprises me. It seems to be going faster than the back.

Reading: I just started Room With A Clue by Kate Kingsbury, the first in her Pennyfoot Hotel series, and it's a blast. Very Upstairs/Downstairs or Gosford Park.

Writing: Hmph.

Cooking: Lots of fall cooking, and lots of Lilah Bug Bakes products. I have apple butter, Pears in Bittersweet Chocolate, and Pears in Pinot Noir available.

Geez, is it November?

2009-11-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

It must be, because we've already had Halloween:
And it's getting chilly enough for Lilah's hat and mittens (which she loves):

And I am still knitting scarves:

And my word, I have finished the back of Hjalte!

Lilah went as a black cat for Halloween, and I decided to make her a Kittyville Hat to top off her costume. How fun! I don't think it took me more than 2-3 hours. I cast on 76 stitches instead of 84, then decreased 4 on the first stockinette round to have a multiple of 12. I tried it on her as I decreased, so I didn't do as many rows for her smaller head. I definitely didn't do 4 plain rows between each decrease row. Anyway, a fun little pattern, and very cute. I don't do pompoms, though. Or bobbles, for that matter.

My Lace Ribbon Scarf is getting longer and longer. This is my purse knitting, and gets worked on mainly in the car or at the playground while Lilah runs out toddler energy. And I am so relieved to have seen the back of the back of Hjalte (hee!). But now I have to do almost the same thing again so there's a front. Argh. This is the neverending sweater.

Reading: I have been in a Harry Potter re-reading slump. In fact, I've done a lot of re-reading this year. I think in 2008, I read over 200 books, and I'm barely over 100 for 2009. I am starting the Enola Holmes mysteries (a juvenile series featuring the sister of Sherlock), and then I'll shift into literary fiction.

Writing: Argh.

Cooking: Oh, my, yes. Lots of improvisational pasta. Batches and batches of apple butter, which you can purchase at Lilah Bug Bakes. I've made a spent grain bread from fermented apple starter, and lots of butternut squash stuff. And sweet potatoes. And I've conquered my fear of kale. If I remember the specific things I meant to post about, I'll do it next week :)

So it's really autumn now...

2009-10-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

It's a rainy, rainy day, so pictures today are not great. Still, I finished something! And it hasn't been a month since I last posted, a bonus!

Pattern: Love Bites Scarf from Gherkin's Bucket
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in Archangel (one skein)
Needles: Size 5

Notes: This pattern is fun and easy. I sometimes forgot it was time for a fang mark row, so they're not as evenly spaced as they could be. Whatever. My chosen yarn doesn't really fit the vampire theme, colorwise, but who cares. I love the yarn, which is soft and squooshy and subtly shifts from one gorgeous autumn-ish color to the next. The indoor photos really don't do it justice. I really like this scarf, and it'll get a lot of wear. It came off the needles in a tube, but a quick steam-ironing* flattened it nicely.

*I bought the ironing board in summer 2007 when we moved here...and just took it out of the shrink wrap today to block the scarf. Stuff like this is why I don't put "housewife" as my occupation when I fill out forms. I'm pretty sure real housewives iron. I usually put "woman of mystery."

Other knitting: I started a Lace Ribbon Scarf in Misti Alpaca. I'm making it a bit narrower, eliminating two lace repeats.

Hjalte is still going...slowly...

Reading: Mostly Harry Potter re-reading. I did read part of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for book club. I'm not as into it as I expected. I love quirk, but odd things bugged me. Like, I was fine with Lizzy and her sisters being trained in zombie combat. But at other bits, I would get mad and say "Lizzy would never say that to Mr. Collins! It's just too rude!"

Writing: Not really.

Cooking: Oh, yes! First, last weekend was Lakefest, and I sold jam there. A lot of jam. Over 70 jars. I still have some stock, but a lot of my flavors are completely sold out. I rescued a jar each of my favorites for personal consumption. The best part for me was when the flavors I had out for sampling would sell quickly. Talk about validating. It's also fun to watch people's reactions when they try them. One woman said, "That's so good it'll make you want to slap your grandma!" How much fun is that? I still have apple butter and pear sauces to make this fall - I think apple picking might happen this week.

I made a nice on-the-fly pasta with fennel, onions, eggplant, yellow squash, and crushed tomatoes. I used lemon zest, crushed red pepper, and thyme from the garden to season. I think the squash was unnecessary, but the fennel/eggplant combination with those seasonings was really bright and fresh, but with depth.

I tackled the Dobos Torta from my Kaffeehaus cookbook and really enjoyed it. It involves making six thin layers of cake by spreading batter on parchment paper in circles, buttercream spread between the layers, and a caramel layer on top. It was a bit humid for caramel, but it worked out all right. I brought it to book club, planning to bring half back home to feed my in-laws, but the hostess's dog ate the other half. Since it took four hours to make, that was sort of tragic. I don't think of myself as good at the fiddly, cosmetic parts of pastry chef-ing, but I thought this looked pretty nice:

And now it's autumn!

2009-09-23T06:01:00.000-07:00

Let the sweater panic begin! Will Hjalte be ready for cold weather? Will I fix my Simple Knitted Bodice in time? Do I have a prayer of casting on for Twist and Shout, much less finishing?

I *did* go shopping for layering shirts, and found a camisole to go under Simple Knitted Bodice and a couple of thin, long-sleeved t-shirts to go under short-sleeved things. Amy, I have to say, I am SO glad I'm not the only one who waits for the trends established by the fourteen-year-olds to be widespread before jumping on board. I'm going with grey underneath the Somewhat Cowl. And I really think the white tank is fine under Marie Louise. BUT. I did some blocking of sweaters, and I blocked the HELL out of Simple Knitted Bodice (I counted it as 20 minutes of cardio, seriously), but it is still too short and too snug across the bust. Here's what I'm thinking, though. Instead of ripping out and starting over (which I considered, actually), I'm thinking I could salvage the sleeves up to the armpits and put them on a holder AND maybe even save the below-the-bust part of the body. To make this wearable for me, I need more length below the waist detail AND more length above the waist detail. So I'm almost thinking I can remove the sleeves and set them aside, then rip out to just above the waist detail and set the bottom part aside. Then re-knit the top part and put the sleeves and body back on, rip out the very bottom edge and knit it longer. Does that sound insane? I really, really like this yarn and this sweater; otherwise, I would never consider re-knitting any part of it. It'd just go in the closet with the other sweaters I don't like. I'm not sure if it would be better to just start over...it's not like it's a tough knit, and it went pretty quickly the first time. It's just that I have Hjalte and Twist and Shout and I'm not sure I want to add an entire sweater plus ripping-out time to the mix. If I do the rip-out-in-pieces strategy, I will do photodocumentation!

I keep going on the Malabrigo scarf, which I love. Perfect purse knitting. And Hjalte is ALMOST to the armholes. Did I say that last time? This sweater may be the death of me...

Reading; I have to stop re-reading HP and get to some other stuff. I have Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for book club, two books coming out this winter to review, and a backlog of review copies. Plus the new 39 Clues and the latest Bobbie Faye :) I am on Book 4 right now, and every time I read it, I can tell more that Rowling was tired and on a tight deadline. The main plot twist drives me NUTS and it's so long and rambling and the subplots are out of control. It's still a Harry Potter book, so it's fun, but it's my least favorite of the series.

Writing: Not much at all, really. Matt was out of town, and being the only parent is tiring.

Cooking: Ah, Amy, Romesco Sauce! Yum. This is a Spanish sauce based on stale bread, almonds, and roasted red peppers traditionally served in the Catalonian region in the spring with charred baby leeks (yeah, I know weird stuff). It is delicious. I really ate some with a spoon one day. It was nice with polenta wedges. Camping food was pretty funny - most people think S'mores and hot dogs on sticks, but we're a gourmet book club, so even camping we had fancy stuff. The group in charge of making dinner made carrot soup (yummmmmm...) and to-order grilled cheese (choice of three breads; choice of three cheeses). My book club pretty much rocks.

Romesco Sauce (Allison's probably-not-traditional interpretation)

6 Roma tomatoes, peeled and seeded*
4 red bell peppers, roasted**
4 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup blanched almonds
4 oz. white, French, or sourdough bread (I used my leftover sourdough), sliced and toasted
1/4 tsp smoked Paprika
1/8 tsp (or more) crushed red pepper
1 tsp salt
2 TBL sherry vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil (or more)

Place garlic, almonds, and bread in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add peppers, tomatoes, and spices. With motor running, drizzle in oil and vinegar. Taste and adjust seasonings.

* To easily peel tomatoes, make an X at the bottom of each, then drop into boiling water for 30 seconds. Plunge into ice water. Skins will slip right off.

**You can do this under the broiler or over a grill or gas range. Place peppers under broiler or over flame until blackened, turn 1/4 turn and repeat until skin is completely charred. Let sit at least 15 minutes. Very, very carefully (pepper has steam inside), peel off skin and remove stem, seeds, and membranes.

Looking Back: Sweaters I Have Loved

2009-09-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

I have a history of making really bad yarn choices. And bad pattern/body type compatibility choices. Often both on the same sweater. Knitting was my first craft; I never did sewing or anything that would give me a foundation in garment construction. Since I adore my Gathered Pullover, which is also the most recent sweater I've made myself, I'm hoping I've learned from my mistakes. But for that theory to work, one has to ignore my attempt to merge Tussie Mussie with Rowanspun 4-Ply and convince myself the gauge was okay and then and tweak the pattern to remove most of the interesting features. I'm okay with that, actually - I cast on before I was active on Ravelry, and now I check Ravelry for pattern/yarn compatibility AND modifications (the only reason I love Gathered Pullover, which I would have hated without the mods). And I'm definitely more of a process knitter, so it's not a great tragedy to me when I don't like the result. Whatever, I had fun knitting it. However...I've knit myself ELEVEN sweaters. And only one gets a lot of wear. This is on my mind, because in the fall, I start to take cold-weather clothes down from the closet, so I have a stack of sweaters I don't wear. Poor, sad, unloved sweaters. Instead of being hard on myself for making mistakes, I thought I'd go through my sweaters and think about the positives: what I liked about them and what I learned.

Pin-Up Queen: This is actually a pretty nice sweater. It's from the Stich 'N' Bitch pattern, but I modified the sleeves to be a long stockinette bell sleeve (which I quite like). I used Cascade 220, which is a nice strong yarn that still has softness. It's a blue-green color that I like a lot. It predates blogging, so I don't have a picture. I really need a camisole to go under it, though, so I don't wear it much. The layering thing is something I really haven't mastered. I'm sort of a one-shirt-at-a-time girl, but I'm trying to embrace the versatility of layering. Hey, maybe I should go shopping...

Belle Epoque: The yarn (RYC Lux) was nice to work with, and the pattern was interesting to knit. However, an empire waist is not the best look for me, and I didn't like the elastic band method of forming one anyway. So it's more or less a comfy sack-shaped garment. Again, not the best look for me. If a pattern shows up that would be perfect for the yarn, I will definitely frog it and turn it into something wearable.

Tubey: This was a process knit. Everyone on knitty.com was all excited about the creative structure, and I was, too. And it was interesting to knit. But I should know better than to knit something tube-shaped (I am NOT tube-shaped) and the design means an uncomfortably high neckline in the back.

Tempting II: This one I'm blaming on design. Sure, it's quick and easy, but an off-the-shoulder sweater pretending it's not one by using a buckle at the neckline...meh. I also lengthened the cap sleeves a bit, and I don't like the look of the longer sleeves. I do wear it sometimes, because hey, it's Rowan Calmer, which is always nice. This is the knit that made me start scrutinizing patterns more, and not just assume designers are right all the time.

Picovoli: This was fun because of the picot edging. I also added short rows, which was a great experience. I will NEVER wear this tank top, though. I followed directions exactly, which makes for a too-short, too-high-necked tank with no give (I used Knitpicks Shine, which I won't use again for sweaters...nice yarn, no stretch).

Marie Louise's Lace Sweater: I love this sweater. I haven't actually worn it in public, though, because it's quite open and I hadn't found a tank to go under it. I have a white one I think works (see above re: layering issues), though, so when it's cooler, I think I will start wearing it.

Somewhat Cowl: I like this one. Good yarn, good pattern. I ended up with a bit of a ladder at the center, though. But I realized...I don't think I've done actual blocking on this sweater! So I'm doing that today. I'm also on the fence about the short sleeves. It makes it not that practical. People who know about layering stuff: can I wear a long sleeved t-shirt under this?

T-Twist: This one is SO not my fault. The design incorporates center decreases that make a poof that looks like a third breast. It WAS fun to knit, though. Frogged.

Hourglass: Despite its name, this one is pretty sack-shaped. It was a fun knit, though, and I learned to do a sewn-edge hem, which I love. I also learned that Jo Sharp is some scratchy wool.

Simple Knitted Bodice: This was really fun to knit. I love the shaping method. Next time, I'll pay attention to the cup size of the model before casting on, though. And remember that I have a long torso and should just automatically lengthen every pattern. Another sweater I haven't actually attempted to block, though, so I'm doing that today!

Gathered Pullover: And my favorite, the Gathered Pullover. Thanks to Ravelry, I thought through the pattern and modifications that would make it a sweater I want to wear.

Ha, Holly, the Twist and Shout model totally looks like a mannequin :)

Trying something new

2009-09-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

So I was thinking that I miss blogging on a regular basis, but I also feel like I should only blog if I have something interesting to say. I don't know whether that's true or not today, but I'll give it a whirl.

One of our summer trips was to Wisconsin, where one of Matt's high school friends was getting married. This was a bit high school reunion-ish (in a good way) - we got to see friends we hadn't seen in ages, and their children. My friend/co-book-blogger Holly and I actually got to hang out in person for the first time in years. I notice that I avoid putting pictures of myself up here, so I'll suck it up and post this one:

Holly also happens to be an excellent photographer. She has a business, Lily Bella Photography. Since we haven't had Lilah's photos taken in a long time, and I have been in awe of Holly's pictures for quite some time now, we arranged for Holly to try to get some photos while our families met up at the zoo. Lilah was thoroughly uncooperative at first (she's shy for a bit around new people), but Holly managed to completely capture her personality.

Lilah twirls all the time. She often asks to wear a dress "so I can twirl!" I was tickled to have a great photo of her twirling.

And since I already put up one picture of myself, here is one Holly snapped of Lilah and me:

Knitting: I'm making slow progress on Hjalte. Very slow progress. I really like it, but yikes. As Buffy would say, it is a job of work. I enjoy cabling, though. It's really addictive. I'm really dying to start Twist and Shout. Incidentally, I am making it in a Forest Green Cascade 220. Any comment on that would be appreciated. I tend to make sweaters for myself that are disastrous. My Gathered Pullover is the most-worn sweater I've made for myself.

Reading: Yes, I'm still re-reading Harry Potter. I just can't help myself. My book club has had talk of a Harry Potter Addict Support Group offshoot, but I don't think any of us is that committed to kicking the habit...

Writing: Not much. I have childcare for Thursday, so I may try to make some headway on the murder mystery.

Cooking: Oh, I was assigned to appetizers for my book club camping trip, so I came up with polenta wedges with romesco sauce and hummus with fire-toasted pita. The romesco was really yummy, and I've had it leftover in pita with grilled zucchini...nice.

Will I blog tomorrow? Who knows. Lack of photography skill is part of my slow blogging since text-heavy posts are not usually that interesting. And I don't see that changing. Still, it's nice to not have to remember a month's worth of reading, writing, cooking, and knitting to cram in one post...

Back from hiatus

2009-09-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

I never intend to take a blog hiatus...it just happens. The summer was just not about knitting, and it's been very busy. Believe it or not, I started this post two weeks ago and still haven't finished it. So...what's going on around here?

There's some knitting:

That's the Love Bites Scarf, and it's a fun knit. The yarn is Malabrigo Sock (mmmmmmm...) in Archangel.

I've also been inching along on Hjalte, which I'd taken a break from during the summer. Nothing is less refreshing than knitting a wool/silk cabled sweater when it's 90 degrees and humid!

And the ill-fated Tussie Mussie...I'm half through the second sleeve, but motivation is quite low, as it's clearly too small for me and it's BORING. So I'm going to start my Twist and Shout instead, but maybe after the back of Hjalte is finished.

There's some reading, but I'll send you to On My Bookshelf for reviews. This is actually a pretty good time to visit the book blog. It's Book Blogger Appreciation Week, so we have giveaways and fun stuff all week. I'm rereading Harry Potter right now, but I read a couple of excellent literary novels, A Year of Cats and Dogs by Margaret Hawkins and Seducing the Spirits by Louise Young. I talked my book club into reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for our October meeting, so I'm waiting for that to arrive.

There's...not much writing. Noodling around with poetry. And this fragment of something popped into my head and cracked me up. I always refer to Autumn (the season) as "she" and someone was utterly perplexed by that. This is my response: "Well, of course Autumn is a woman. All that aging gracefully, exchanging the frivolous colors of summer for more muted tones, sweeping in with a soft rustle of falling leaves. If Autumn were a man, he’d come screaming up in a bright yellow convertible wearing a hairpiece and a twenty-two-year-old bimbo."

There's been so much cooking, I don't know where to start. I have a cache of over 100 jars of jams and sauces as my stock for our Lakefest celebration the first weekend in October, so I hope I can sell much of that. I have a website, Lilah Bug Bakes that will soon be updated with current stock supplies. I have a number of recipes I should post, assuming I can remember how I made things... I have to do another test of Kahlua Brownie Cheesecake, which was quite a hit, but needs some adjustment. I also need to figure out in tablespoons how much Kahlua is in three glugs :) Maybe I'll post more than once every couple of months so I can get recipes up here...

Ah, Summer!

2009-07-03T17:17:00.001-07:00

Autumn is, hands down, my favorite season. I grew up in a part of California that lacked real, distinct seasons. We had the fog in winter, when temperatures dipped dangerously low (read: high in the 50s), and the blazing heat of summer (August was often entirely in the triple-digits...but it's a dry heat!), but not the classic divisions between the two. I never smelled the earthy, burnt-leaves aroma of real autumn until I left for college in Atlanta. In high school, I would write poems about an autumn I'd never known in person, and once I lived in a place with seasons, I was in love. That said, I adore summer. The summer of my childhood was bare feet, reaching from the cool refuge of the pool to pick grapes off the vines, walking with a friend to the Thrifty for a double scoop of ice cream, going to the lovely, air-conditioned library to get the weeks' giant stack of books, and the annual pilgrimage to the central coast, which was frigid compared to the central valley. Good times. Of course, through the dim haze of nostalgia, I do recall some pretty loud arguments about the thermostat (my dad denies this now, but in the summer, it was set to 84, which is HOT...and explains all the time spent in the pool), sunburns, and whining about boredom, but let's ignore all that. Summer is magical, and it's fun to watch Lilah enjoying it. If I so much as mention the beach, she takes off her clothes, runs upstairs, and starts looking for her swimming suit. We find sand all over the house, even if it's been a while since the last beach outing. We have squash and tomatoes to harvest. I can step just outside the house and pick enough basil for impromptu pesto. We can swing on the porch and read books, and we finally got a grill so we can cook outside. It is nice, let me tell you.

All that rambling was to distract you from a dearth of blog posts mainly attributable to a total lack of knitting progress. Hjalte is creeping along, but it's hard to knit a big cabled sweater in the summer. I'm actually further along on Tussie Mussie - I've finished the body up to the armholes, and I'm partway through the first sleeve. I finally found my size 5 dpns so I can do the part of the sleeve that's in the round. But really, it just not all about knitting right now. I did teach another friend to knit, and she's doing great and really enjoying it.

Writing: Still in the noodling phase. It's lovely to be writing again, but Lilah's sleeping has shifted a bit again, making it hard for me to get anything done early in the morning. Maybe after our trip, I can get into a routine.

Reading: I've been re-reading, as happens in the summer. I read Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, which is one of my absolute favorite things to read. I also read Twilight. Yes, I believe if you look back, you can find somewhere I wrote that I was NOT going to get sucked into Twilight. There may have been a solemn vow. But I could not put that book down. I thought the ending was sort of lame, like Meyer decided when the book was almost over, "Hey, I should probably make something happen!" But I still ordered the other books in the series. Now I'm reading The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, who wrote The Shadow of the Wind, which I loved. This book is beautiful and gripping and a fantastic read. It's one of those books where the translation is so amazing, I wish I could read the original. Check this out: "All I took from the pension was a change of clothes and the case containing my father's gun, his only memento. I distributed the remainder of my clothes and personal belongings among the pension residents. Had I also been able to leave behind my memories, even my skin, I would have done so." Or this: "When the first breath of dawn touched the windows I opened my eyes and found the bed empty. I went out into the corridor and as far as the gallery...I went through the whole house, which already smelled of her absence, and one by one blew out the candles I had lit the night before."

Cooking: Oh, wow, I have to blog more frequently just to keep up with the cooking news. Let's see, we went to pick blueberries and I made Agave-Sweetened Blueberry Ginger Jam and Blueberry Pinot Sauce (insanely good). With wild blackberries, I made Blackberry-Sage and Blackberry-Zinfandel (yum). We've been grilling, and pizza and artichokes are my favorites. I threw together a pesto pasta salad that was really good. Just roasted asparagus, roasted peppers, halved grape tomatoes, and pasta tossed in pesto sauce (basil, pine nuts, parmagiano-reggiano, salt, pepper, and lots of olive oil). When I make pesto, I usually just chuck some stuff in I think that's actually about it. Oh, I did make cupcakes for a birthday party. I used Martha Stewart recipes and baked them in ice cream cones, like my mom used to when I was a kid. Then a more artistic person than I turned them into microphones using black icing and licorice cords (I frosted with pink buttercream and then turned them over).

Almost Midsummer Already?

2009-06-16T02:59:00.000-07:00

It's been a while, since late spring a couple of weeks ago, and now it's summer. Something ate one of the two teeny eggplants in the garden, and the zucchini are still in flower, with a few tiny squash turning up. A few tiny green tomatoes are emerging. The knitting has been on two sweaters, so not much progress to report. I'm really enjoying Hjalte now, and I don't feel like each row takes half an hour now that I've gotten used to it. It's still a BIG project, though. And it looks like my boring version of Tussie Mussie is really going to make the jump from swatch to sweater, since I'm at the increases past the waist. I will have to shop for a fun closure to make it a more interesting piece, but a light sweater will be useful here. Hjalte is my complicated knitting and Tussie is my mindless knitting (I actually knit in the dark at outdoor-with-a-fire book club, until someone said something funny that made me drop a stitch), so I'm not starting anything until those are finished. Well, we'll see. I have quite the queue on Ravelry, almost all involving stash yarn (except Fifi, which Amy enticed me with), so I won't be bored.

Reading: I'm re-reading Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, one of my all-time favorite reads. I've been really moving through books for the book blog, and it's amazing I've gone this long without re-reading these.

Writing: Yes, indeed, the writing nook has not seen this much action in...ever. I've been up here a lot, noodling around. Not a lot of page count progress to report, but a bit of poetry, a few half-formed ideas, and a line here and there are certainly better than nothing.

Cooking: Wow, lots of cooking. We finally got our grill our third summer living here. You know what's awesome? Grilled pizza. Mmmmm. I did make it with the fennel and the super-easy, delicious tomato sauce. Matt had pepperoni on his instead. I didn't share the Gruyere for the pepperoni pizza, but made him use mozzarella. I'm still sort of afraid to use the grill, so I did all the prep and Matt was in charge of the grill. I have to get less intimidated by the grill.

More Strawberry-Black Pepper-Mint preserves. What else? Oh! The Great Mojito Truffle Experiment! I had these in my head for a while, inspired by the huge patch of mint in the yard, and I finally did the first draft. And they were a hit! I did one batch with a creamy white chocolate-based center and a bittersweet chocolate version (because that's what I like the best). I think the white chocolate were more what I was going for, but I really liked the bittersweet. I used my book club as guinea pigs, and the truffles were well-received, with the group pretty divided on which version was best. I have to type up my recipes before I forget what I did...

More stuff

2009-05-31T08:10:00.000-07:00

Details:
Pattern: Everlasting Bagstopper
Yarn: Dzined Hemp Worsted (body), Pakucho Organic Cotton in Chocolate (edge and handle) - 1 skein each
Needle: Size 5 (bottom and edge/handle), 10.5 (body)
Notes: This was easier on the hands than linen! I made some changes. I wasn't excited about having to sew on ribbon handles (and concerned about how long that would last), so I followed the Ilene Bag with 1x1 rib edging in Pakucho (once I ran out of Hemp) and then did a 20-stitch handle in 1x1 rib. I like the effect, which is very 1973-on-the-way-to-macrame-class. It was fairly quick, about a week to finish, and super easy to do while watching television.

More knitting...I've actually made progress on Matt's Hjalte. Partly, I made a rule that I can only do mindless projects until it's done, which means no Shipwreck Shawl or Twist and Shout. Since I really want to start those, I started working on Hjalte, at least a couple rows whenever I knit. I've finished one repeat of the cable pattern on the back, and it looks great. It's starting to get easier for me, too, and I can almost read the cabling the way I can lace.

When I was looking for my size 5 needles for the bag, I found the 24" in the bottom of my stash container, attached to the ill-fated Tussie Mussie (which I decided to do in stockinette instead of reverse stockinette AND decided to eliminate the nosegay pattern, so it's quite boring) and decided to finish it. I have miles to go:

Reading; The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley was an excellent mystery, featuring a precocious eleven-year-old, Flavia deLuce, in 1950s England. She is hilarious and slightly disturbing, with her fixation on poisons, but she's an engaging sleuth and the mystery is excellent. I'm almost done reading The Writing Class by Jincy Willett, which is laugh-out-loud funny, but also really thought-provoking. The protagonist is a writer who hasn't published in years and teaches writing workshops at the university extension. Her current class is excellent, except for one anonymous prankster. When the prankster's activities escalate, the class pulls together (even though the culprit is certainly one of them) to try and unmask him/her. With excerpts from the student writings and the teacher's bitter, cynical blog, it is a fantastic read.

Writing: Nope.

Cooking: I have really been keeping the kitchen going lately. Lilah and I went with friends to pick strawberries at a nearby farm, and it was so much fun. I've made 41 jars of Strawberry Vanilla and Strawberry With Black Pepper and Mint. I made the usual Strawberry Vanilla, and even that was much better with fresh, local berries. I couldn't get over having jars of jar three hours after picking the berries. I also made a big batch using Pomona's Pectin for the first time. Unlike Sure-Jell, you don't need huge quantities of sugar to get the jam to set, so I was able to use a relatively small amount of agave nectar, and it was delicious. More fruity than the traditional, sugar-packed jam. The Strawberry With Black Pepper and Mint is from Mes Confitures, and it took three days. Most of that time, it was just in a bowl in the fridge, but three days! It only produced 4 jars and some extra, but it is amazing. I'm close to a website launch for selling jam, which is exciting. Tim, Web Designer Extraordinaire, is just waiting on some changes to the copy and some photos of the jam and our strawberry picking adventures. Now that I have stock, I'm ready to unload it :)

The garden is really clicking along. We are going to have ridiculous quantities of zucchini this summer:

We have just a few tomato plants (ha!):

I planted lots of peppers to go with the tomatoes for salsa canning this summer:

My mint "patch" has turned into a forest:

And the eggplant are doing well:

I really want to do a lot more next year in the garden!

Come on Ilene!

2009-05-17T08:27:00.001-07:00

I finished the Ilene Bag! When I bound off, I thought, "This bag is too small to hold anything! Maybe it can be my yarn shopping bag or something.

But, boy, does it expand. I loaded it up with a box of cereal, two big (two-pound) cans, and four big apples.

Details:
Pattern: Ilene Bag from I Knit You Knot
Yarn: Louet Euroflax Originals, 1 skein (270 yards)
Needles: Size 4 and 6 circulars
Notes: I love the bag. But my thoughts of knitting several to match it, or to make them for family and friends went out the window. I do not like knitting with linen. It is rough, inflexible, and hard on the fingers. I thought the mesh pattern was grueling, and then I started the neverending strap, approximately 14 miles of 1x1 rib on the size 4 needles. Now THAT was grueling. It was an easy knit, pattern-wise, but hard on my hands. I don't know that I'd use it again, although the finished product is very nice.

Other knitting: I have another shopping bag, Everlasting Bagstopper, on the needles, in a hemp yarn that's been in the stash forever. It's pretty similar in design to the Ilene, but the hemp has more give than the linen, so it's not as bad. If I hadn't gotten all excited about destashing through knitting, I might have skipped this, but I do need more shopping bags, and I can get rid of yarn I'd never use otherwise. I've also been trying to do a bit on Hjalte, which has really suffered with Lilah's bad sleeping. It's just been too much for my brain to do a complicated (for me) cable pattern. But I have decided I have to finish it before I can start my Twist and Shout, though I may start Shipwreck Shawl before I finish Hjalte.

Reading: Lots, as usual. Bad sleeping = children's books or cozy mysteries, and lately, it's been children's/YA books. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman was fantastic. Right now, I'm finishing up a fascinating police procedural, Internal Affairs by Connie Dial, a first novel by a veteran LAPD officer. It's really interesting to have an insider's view of a police investigation and a close-up look at the bureaucracy that most police procedurals gloss over or simplify. For a reason, of course--it's almost labyrinthine in scope, and Dial includes a family-tree-like organizational chart of the departments that's very useful.

Writing: Nope.

Cooking: Our refrigerator is really terrible. Never keep the fridge that comes with the house, even if you are too lazy to shop for your own and the one in the house is fewer than two years old. Frigidaire is a fine company that makes many quality appliances, but our fridge is not one of their better efforts. I'm telling you this because our fridge unwittingly inspired a pasta dish last night. As it does from time to time, it spontaneously froze pretty much everything in the fridge section. I had planned to make pesto, and had already chucked the cheese and pine nuts in the Cuisinart. When I went to add the basil, I found nearly half of it unusable, with not enough left to make pesto. Oops. So I rummaged through the fridge and pantry and added a cup of ricotta cheese and a can of artichoke hearts. I thinned it out with some half and half (I had to crack the ice on top of the bottle, but it was fine otherwise) and served it over tagliatelle. Yum! I'd still rather have basil pesto, but it wasn't half bad.

It's almost berry jam time! I think a pick-your-own strawberry adventure is in the works soon. I wonder how Lilah will like that....

Herding Cats

2009-05-11T05:55:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, Lilah only likes carrying the stick; she does not touch the cats with it. But I love this picture, in which she appears to be a suburban cat-herd:

Yes, I finished the Mini Clapotis in time for Mother's Day, and it was even cool enough in the morning for us to wear out matching shawls:

I have approximately 27 pictures of Lilah in her shawl, but I'll just add a couple more:

Pattern: Clapotis from Knitty
Yarn: Noro Matsuri left over from my Clapotis
Needles: Size 7 circular
Details: I did fewer increase rows, and ended up with 71 stitches instead of 107. I did the pattern number of straight rows, though, and it's a bit long for Lilah, but she'll be able to use it as a scarf when she's older. She really, really likes it. We had fun wearing our matching shawls! This was a super-quick project, and used just over 2 skeins of Matsuri (I had 2 1/2 left from my Clapotis, so that was perfect!). Fun, fun.

Other knitting: I'm using up some stash yarn in one-skein projects. Right now, I'm doing an Ilene Bag in a skein of Euroflax Linen that I've had in the stash since...who knows? At least a couple of years. I was thinking of giving it away, but though of a shopping bag--Ravelry provided patterns galore, and I liked this one-skein bag. It's easy, but hard on the hands. Linen is not soft or stretchy or pleasant, and the mesh pattern is a little grueling. But it'll be over soon, and should be a good, useful bag.

Reading: Lots and lots. I just finished The Green Beauty Guide, which I didn't really like overall, but it DOES have good stuff in it, so I'll keep it. The author's tone is very negative, there are some inconsistencies, and the information is buried in pounds and pounds of text. So I have to go back through it and make notes on how to actually implement a more green approach to cleansing, moisturizing, etc. I also read the latest entries in some really good children's series, The Sisters Grimm and Percy Jackson, and the first in a new series, The Red Blazer Girls (very Nancy Drew!). Lilah hasn't been sleeping well, so I haven't been up for reading anything overly involved.

Writing: Ha.

Cooking: I did a nice lemon-swirled cheesecake. I made lemon curd using this recipe. Then I made this cheesecake recipe. I used a 12-cup muffin tin to make individual cheesecakes, but I had a ton of batter left over, so I made some more crust and used a pie plate to make a small cheesecake. The muffin pan baked about 25 minutes at 350, and the pie plate took about 35-40. It was fantastic. I didn't use all of the lemon curd, but it was still nice and tangy.

Uncharacteristically Frequent Posting

2009-05-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

It must be the weather or something, but this is the most regularly I've posted in a long time. I could have actually posted this finished object the day after my Bottoms Up! Bag post, but it was a quick little thing.

Details:
Pattern: Super basic, but it's from Design Sponge
Yarn: Handspun from Stefaneener Ha! I actually found her post about the yarn right here!
Needles: Size 6
Buttons: random army green buttons that wouldn't stand out too much

Notes: It's a knit rectangle, so there's not much to say. Super easy. Loved working with the handspun. Not sure about the loop-and-button method of closure, but right now, we're just leaving the cozy on the press all the time, so it's not an issue. I do wish I'd sprung for some vintage buttons when I was at the bead shop, though!

Other knitting: I'm doing the mini-Clapotis for Lilah in the hopes I'll be done for us to wear our matching shawls on Mother's Day :)

Reading: I finally read The Historian! I actually knit the cozy while reading it since it was mindless stockinette mostly. I quite liked The Historian, and it doubles as a doorstop.

Writing: Nothing at all.

Cooking: I made the pasta with beans, greens, and lemon from Cooking Light again. We like that one. More baby squash.

Get ready for zucchini and squash recipes all summer long:

That's just one of the five zucchini or squash mounds. We had a high germination rate, and they're enjoying the rain we've been having. They actually grew so fast I thought they might be weeds, but if you rub your fingers on the leaves, they smell distinctly squash-y.

My peppers and tomatoes are also thriving. In fact, I need to thin them out since not all of the pots were kind enough to germinate only a single seed dead center in the pot:

I planted several varieties of tomatoes, but I didn't have labeling stuff outside with me, so I have no idea what's in which pot. Brandywine, Yellow Pear, Arkansas Traveler, and some kind of cherry tomato. Oops. It'll be a nice surprise when they fruit. Anyway, I need to pick up some buckets to transfer the tomatoes from the small pots. My basil germinated, but hasn't done much else, so I need to get to the garden store and get a few plants. I'm really disappointed in my herb garden out front. I did have germination, and it gets lots of sun, and I've been watering when it hasn't rained, but the growth is just sad. At this rate, I won't have basil to eat until there's frost.

And another thing!

2009-04-28T05:48:00.000-07:00

It's not normal for me to post about a finished project (or anything, for that matter) so soon after the last entry, but I finished the Bottoms Up! Bag.

Here it is, before felting:

And after felting:

And here's the cool bottom:

And a close-up of the striping effect caused by the Knit One Below method:

Details:
Pattern: Bottoms Up! Bag from Knit One Below
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Roasted Coffee and Victorian Pink (one skein each) and Noro Kureyon (one skein in 240)
Needles: Size 11 dpns and circular
Notes: I had a rocky start with this pattern and technique. It was simply trying to do something I already find fiddly and unpleasant (joining 8 stitches in the round) with my first attempt at a new technique, and once I realized it was all wonky, I ripped out and started over. The bottom of the bag ended up perfectly, and the construction is really cool. The base is (obviously) round, then a welt is formed to give the base stability (and it's stable, let me tell you--it's been sitting upright on the counter for a day), then the column stitch pattern is worked in the round, ending with welts. This was much easier than I remember from my last felted bag, which used applied i-cord instead of the welts. The handles are attached pre-felting, which made me worry they would felt together, but they didn't. I probably over-felted a bit, but there's something off about the measurements in the book, which say the bag is 12 inches wide and 10 inches high. With really, really aggressive blocking (I shoved my biggest tupperware container to the bottom using my foot!), I managed a diameter just shy of 8 inches, but the height easily made 10 inches. So maybe the round bottom felted faster? At any rate, I meant it to be a small knitting project bag for a friend, and it's a bit smaller than I meant. But I think it'll be useful anyway. I thought it was cute. I used all but about 5 feet of the Roasted Coffee (the main color), all of the Noro, and had at least half a skein of the pink left.

I really like the Knit One Below technique, since I'm not overfond of other colorwork methods. This one alternates colors, but uses one color per row. I think it's a cool way to show off Noro without paying the price of three skeins of Noro. It took me hardly any time at all to be totally comfortable with column stitch, and I think the bag bottom is ingenious. As far as the book as a whole...the technique creates a distinctive striping with wider-than-usual stitches, so I'm not sure how much I'll use it, to be honest. The look of all the projects is necessarily very similar, and I'm not sure about it for say, sweaters. There is actually a skirt in there that makes me consider rethinking my anti-knit-skirt position, and a couple of wraps. And a pinstripe-ish vest using Noro (again, it's cool to have part-Noro options to bring down the usual Noro project price), some cute baby things. Okay, I guess there are several projects I'd consider, and I think the technique is cool and interesting, so I'd recommend the book.

Other knitting:
That's a teensy project, a French press cozy using handspun from Stefaneener! This is my first use of handspun, actually. I really like it so far, and I needed a cozy to replace one I lost when the press crashed to the floor, soaking the cozy in coffee and embedding it with glass :(

Reading: I'm reading The Historian right now for book club, and it's surprisingly fun!

Writing: Nope.

Cooking: I did do a really nice pesto, but I don't have a real recipe since it was a pantry-buster right before grocery shopping day. I put the leaves from a bunch of basil in the Cuisinart with the rest of the pine nuts (a couple tablespoons), the rest of the parmesan (a quarter cup-ish), a crushed clove of garlic, salt and pepper, and drizzled in olive oil (a couple tablespoons) until it started to come together. It didn't look like enough for a pound of rigatoni, so I whizzed in some cream (maybe 1/3 cup?). I sauteed halved baby squash in a bit of olive oil, squeezed over half a lemon, and tossed it with the rigatoni and pesto sauce. Yum!

April Showers

2009-04-23T07:42:00.000-07:00

April saw a lot of garden activity! I decided (why?????) to plant with seeds instead of buying plants. Let me tell you, seeds take forever to germinate and the plants stay microscopic for a long time. Next year, I'll do plants. I have planted (wait for it) heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, basil, parsley, garlic chives, and lavender. And catnip for the guys. Everything has had at least SOME seeds sprout, so I haven't completely killed everything yet--yay! A friend is helping me out, which is wonderful, and then we'll share the proceeds.

Clapotis is done!

Details:
Pattern: Clapotis, from Knitty
Yarn: Noro Matsuri in #7, 6 skeins (I used less than half of the sixth)
Needles: Size 8 circular
Modifications: I accidentally kept increasing, so I had 119 stitches instead of 107. That was fine, as I wanted it a bit wider anyway. It's more of a wrap. I also accidentally kept knitting the straight rows, so it's a bit longer. This was such a delightful, almost mindless pattern, that I lost track of where I was :)
Notes: I love this pattern! I can't believe it took me this long. I think a narrower, more scarf-y version would be nice as a gift, but I like the wrap size I made. The yarn is really soft and lovely. I didn't mind the thick/thin parts, but the knots were awful. Three of the skeins had a knot near the end that effectively shortened the skeins by 5-10 yards. One skein sported three knots. I was too lazy to look up the Russian join again, and I regretted it when I had all those ends to weave in. I have over two skeins left, so I'm going to be a dorky mom and make Lilah a mini-Clapotis to match mine. She loves putting on my shirts and stuff, so I think she'll love it.

I now have an actual queue on Ravelry, AND I've entered most of my stash (though not with photos). Since Lilah was born, I've taken it one pattern at a time, and I haven't had as much knitting time and even less "browsing for patterns" time. But I've picked yarn for Shipwreck Shawl, and I just need to get the beads. I'm using Knitpicks Gloss in Dolphin and hoping to find a good mix of blue beads (otherwise, I can pick four colors myself). I'm going to try an actual store so I can ask about beading needles, as far as what size. Apparently, the crochet hook method puts the bead in a different spot than the pre-stringing method, so I'm not sure which way to go. I'm also planning a Bottoms Up! bag from Knit One Below, a neat book that focuses on a different colorwork method (knitting into the stitch below with one color). I thought the bag would be a good way to learn the method. If you look at all the patterns in the book, they have a very similar look, but it's an interesting approach, and I think it'll be fun. That, or I'll be tearing out my hair. I have Hjalte still on the needles, not doing much at the moment. And now I want to knit Fifi after Amy posted her yarn decision for it. And also Twist and Shout, after Kate posted about it. Coincidentally, around that same time, WEBS had Cascade 220 on sale. Mine is going to be Forest Green, and I'm really excited about having a nice outerwear piece I knit myself. Though I'm not allowed to cast on for another cable project until Matt's sweater is done. And let's not discuss my sock yarn stash, from which I have not knit socks (or anything) since...a long time hence.

Update on the Bottoms Up! Bag:

Hey, look at that! The base is done, and I'm working on the body. The bag is NOT a good way to learn the knit one below technique. Well, it is, since I can now do it, but it's in the "hard way" category. I hate joining 8 stitches spread over 4 dpns and trying to wrestle them into knitting in the round. It made trying to master the "column stitch" pattern really hard, and after several rows, I thought it looked wonky and ripped out and started over. I'm glad I did, because does that not look cool? The other reason I think this was not the greatest intro project to a new technique is that it is, as one expects with a felted bag, very floppy and loose. That said, I am going to love this bag, I think. I am wondering if I should have made it a bit bigger (it's meant to be a small knitting project bag), but we'll have to see once the felting is done. Naturally, I did not bother to swatch, so I don't know on the shrinkage amount. I can't imagine it's much different from other Brown Sheep and/or Noro Kureyon bags I've done. Anyway, the combo of Brown Sheep and Noro is brilliant--much cheaper than using, say, three skeins of Noro for a Booga Bag, and I like the effect. The bag in the book is blue and charcoal, but I thought pink and brown would be fun. The Noro starts out purple-y, so it's a little lost with the brown right now, but it goes into pinks that will stand out more.

Writing: Nope. Though I went to a colloquium at Emory given by my undergrad advisor, Ha Jin. It was a lot of fun, and really made me wish I had more writing time. Lilah has stopped sleeping through the night again, so yay, I'm always tired!

Reading: Lots and lots, as usual. Reviews at On My Bookshelf.

Cooking: Oddly, not much of interest here. I did a nice mushroom-cream sauce for pasta, but I didn't measure anything, so I can't really type up a recipe!

Mostly Cooking, a Little Knitting

2009-04-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

I will try not to post pictures of Clapotis constantly, as it advances inch by inch, but I'd made enough progress to post another picture.

It's fun! Everyone who said this pattern was fun is absolutely right. It advances row by row in a quick, pleasant fashion, a perfect balance between interesting and simple. I'm on the straight section now, on the second ball of yarn. I expect to use six in total based on Ravelry comments. This leaves me plenty of brain power to muse on my next project. I rarely get to the new issue of Knitty until the next issue is imminent (another change from pre-Lilah knitting when I would check daily for the new issue), but I'm glad I got there, because I *have* to make the Shipwreck Shawl. I had a few decisions to make, and I'm getting there. The designer calls for knitting the entire shawl (beaded, no less, with 5000 beads) in Knitpicks Gloss Bare, then dyeing it. I am SO not crazy enough to do that and risk ruining a completed shawl, even if I did a few dyeing projects to be less of a novice first. So I'm left with pre-dyed yarn, and I had to decide on a color. I think I would use a grey shawl a lot more than a blue one. Then, I thought, do I put expensive yarn on my Christmas list or go with Knitpicks Gloss so I can make it now? It's a rustic-looking shawl, I think, and would be fine in Knitpicks, plus the beads add a lot, so I don't think expensive yarn is needed. So I'm thinking grey Knitpicks Gloss, with maybe a blue mix of beads. Also, I'm a bead newbie, so I'll have to figure out how many (since they seem to be sold by ounces, not by number of beads) and if blue mix will look okay with the grey. Good story, huh? Aren't you glad you read the whole thing? Anyway, any input is always welcome while I work this out in my brain.

Reading: I finally read The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian, who wrote Midwives quite a while ago. I think I liked Midwives okay, because I don't really remember it that well, so it's unlikely I either loved it or hated it. I had to really force myself to slog through the first 100 pages, which were disjointed and full of endless exposition (because why not introduce an irrelevant character with a scene of action or dialogue, when you can just summarize their life in paragraph after paragraph?). There was a "surprise" ending that I saw coming (though I didn't get all the parts of the surprise) and felt cheated quite a bit with internal inconsistencies (all conveniently explained by the twist, argh). And a ridiculously brutal depiction of violence that seemed way out of place. A disappointing read. But I did read the forthcoming fourth book in the Sam Acquillo mystery series, Hard Stop, and I really just love this series. And now I'm reading The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe, a novel about a graduate student who cleans out her dead grandmother's house and finds clues about Deliverance Dane, a woman who may have been a witch during the Salem Witch Trials. It is a fun, fun read so far! It sounded similar to Interred With Their Bones (which was Shakespeare instead of Salem Witch Trials), which I did NOT like, but this one is an absolute blast. I think it'll be a great summer read.

Writing: Nope.

Cooking: Oh, I have some fun stuff here. For my birthday, my mother-in-law gave me Wine Bar Food, a cookbook by Cathy and Tony Mantuano (he's the chef at Spiaggia in Chicago) that does little dishes from all over the Mediterranean and pairs them with wines. She also gave me a pound of Caciocavallo, a cheese called for in a baked appetizer in the book. So we had friends over and I made:

Crispy Parmesan Flatbread (Milan)
Red Grape Focaccia (Florence)
Baked Caciocavallo (Forence)
Nonna's Broccoli Rabe (Naples)
Moroccan Vegetables (Seville)
Chickpea Puree With Flatbread (Nice)
Almond Cake (Milan) with Amaretto Whipped Cream

Everything was great. No duds here. The broccoli rabe was fantastic, and I'll have to snag more at the market so I can make it again. I had Moroccan Vegetables over couscous as leftovers for lunch, and that was great. We also sliced leftover focaccia and stuffed it with mozzarella, then baked at 350 until the cheese melted for really yummy sandwiches. Anyway, I've been asked before to post food photos, but since my photography is extremely basic and our lighting is yucky, I usually don't bother. But Matt said I *had* to get pictures of this meal. I actually like the one of the cheese before baking--I like the herbs scattered on top! I forgot to get dessert pictures, though.

I also made Hedonistic Fudgies. They are so good. There are a couple of things missing in the recipe, so I decided to type it up because I use Lee's recipe printed out with a bunch of my notes on it, so this will be easier. But this is NOT my recipe, it's entirely Lee's.

Hedonistic Fudgies
(from Lee Davenport
Makes 4 dozen

4 cups chocolate chips, divided (I use two bags of Ghiradelli 60%)
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350. Heat 2 cups chocolate chips and chopped butter together in a large saucepan over medium-low heat until chocolate begins to lose its shape. Remove from heat; stir until smooth.

2. While chocolate is heating, beat together eggs, sugar, and vanilla into a medium bowl. In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Whisk egg mixture into melted chocolate mixture, combining well. Stir in flour mixture until smooth, then add remaining chocolate chips.

3. Spray cooking sheets with nonstick spray and, using a teaspoon, place mounds of batter an inch apart. Bake for 7-9 minutes, or until cookies are dry around the edges. Repeat with remaining batter. I make these small and get about 4 dozen using a teaspoon. That makes them approximately 2 Weight Watchers points each, a nice treat.

On the Needles

2009-03-25T08:22:00.001-07:00

Thank you to everyone for your kind comments on Hemlock Ring! I am so delighted with it, and even better, Lilah has made it her treasured blanket, wrapping her favorite stuffed animals in it so they are "so cozy." I'm not sure when exactly it happened, but she's a child instead of a baby, which is very odd! How did that happen???

I could actually do a WIP post since I have, count 'em, two knitting projects in the works. Since Lilah was born, I've really gotten to be a one-project-at-a-time person, but Matt's Hjalte is a little too fiddly to be car knitting (not really fiddly, I just have to pay attention to the chart) or television knitting (unless it's something I've watched before that doesn't need all my attention), so I looked around for a project to use my birthday present Noro Matsuri. Ravelry was, as usual, very helpful, and aside from small projects (I have 8 skeins) and sweaters I didn't think would suit me, there were several lovely Clapotis. Yes, I am so late for the bandwagon on Clapotis that it's ridiculous, but it's a lovely, fairly easy pattern, and I can add more increase rows to make it more of a shawlette than a scarf. I was struck by how gorgeous it looks in the Matsuri, too. Since Ravelry has been so helpful to me, I've making an effort to at least put my new projects in my own account and adding new stash yarn. I'm not sure I'll be motivated to take the time to enter my whole stash and past projects, but I might start trying to do a bit here and there. I'm allisonmariecat there, too.

So, here is the beginning of Clapotis:

I like it so far. It's pleasantly easy and I love the color changes on the Matsuri. The Matsuri is nice and soft, but I'm less than halfway through the first skein and I've already hit the first of what Ravelry users suggest will be a LOT of knots. Honestly, for yarn that expensive, that's ridiculous (one user reported 9 knots in a single skein, so I hope mine won't be that bad). I just did my usual knit with both yarns for a few stitches join, but I may need to revisit the Russian join if there are really going to be knots in every skein.

And here is my Hjalte progress:

The first picture shows the color better, but the second shows the pattern better. I really hope the cable pattern shows up okay in the darker yarn. I didn't even think of that. I like the cables that are carried through the waistband up into the body. This is the bottom of the back piece. I like the cabling and the pattern is interesting. Matt chose this pattern, and I hope he likes it. I really enjoy cabling.

Reading: Lots and lots, as usual. I'm reading my book club selections for this month. One member suggested The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, and it's very good so far. It's from the point-of-view of an autistic boy, and is also quite short, so I suggested a YA novel, Rules by Cynthia Lord, to accompany it. Rules is from the point-of-view of the sister of an autistic boy, and it's an interesting contrast. It was a really well-done book, and in the author interview at the end, the author says that she has an autistic son and she wrote the book in response to her daughter asking why she never read about families like theirs in books. I read a creepy, modern Gothic novel, Darling Jim by Christian Moerck, that was excellent. I also read the second in a mystery series (I loved the debut), Death and the Lit Chick by G. M. Malliet, a really fun mystery. Malliet pokes gentle fun at the conventions of the classic mystery, but the mystery itself is engaging and complex. I also started the Sam Acquillo mystery series by Chris Knopf. The first is The Last Refuge, and it's edgier than the mysteries I usually read, but the characterization is fantastic, the setting (The Hamptons) very well fleshed out, and the mystery is tricky. I read the second in the series, Two Time, as well, and it was equally good.

Writing: Not a thing.

Cooking: The pear-caramel sauce was very nice, though thinner than I had planned. The lavender and vanilla are very nice additions. I also made brownies, inspired by this recipe of one of my favorite food bloggers. I made several changes. Though the original recipe calls for mixed nuts, I decided to play off the almond butter by using only almonds. To that end, I also added Disaronno, since chocolate is always good with booze. I doubled the recipe but didn't double the sugar (I like bittersweet chocolate the best). I would reduce it even further next time. I baked them in mini-muffin tins (4 dozen) and didn't feel like cleaning the mini-muffin tins to use them again, so I also made one dozen large brownies in my regular muffin tins. The small muffins took about 10 minutes, while the larger took about 25. As promised in the original recipes, these are very chocolatey (not chocolatey enough is my usual brownie complaint), and I liked the triple almond component.

Chocolate Almond Brownies (adapted from Luxury Brownies

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chunked
2 1/4 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup almond butter
1/4 cup Disaronno
2 cups sugar
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, toasted

1. Melt chocolate and butter together in a bowl set over simmering water, stirring often. Set aside. (I used the bowl of my stand mixer to save time/washing dishes.)

2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in another bowl.

3. To the chocolate mixture (slightly cooled so as not to cook the eggs), add almond butter, Disaronno, and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Slowly incorporate flour mixture, then stir in nuts.

4. Pour batter into buttered 9 x13 pan OR two 8-inch square pans OR four dozen mini-muffin cups and one dozen regular muffin cups OR 6 dozen mini-muffin cups OR 3 dozen regular muffin cups.

5. Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only crumbs clinging to it (30-45 minutes for 8x8 or 9x13 pans, 10 minutes for mini-muffin pans, and 20-25 minutes for regular muffin pans). Let cool 10 minutes in pans on wire racks, then remove to cool completely on wire racks.

Here it is...Hemlock Ring!

2009-03-16T06:52:00.000-07:00

This was such a pleasant knit, easy yet interesting, and on large needles that made it go incredibly fast (well, until it was time for the loooooong bindoff). And, looking at the blanket, I have trouble believing I actually made this. I love it. Gorgeous, if I do say so myself. This pattern is a keeper. The feather-and-fan is elegant.

The center detail is unique, but flows well into the feather-and-fan.

It falls off the needles all scrunchy and hopeless, but blocks easily.

It's a great size for snuggling up.

And Lilah loves it!

Details:

The pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket from Jared Flood (Brooklyn Tweed) using the helpful charts from the Rainey Sisters.
Modifications: I went to the end of Jared's Feather-and-Fan chart, but that's it!
Yarn; Cascade 220 in Tutu Pink, 4 skeins
Needles: Size 10 bamboo dpns, and a variety of circulars. I ended up with a 55" needle.
Notes: I just love this pattern. I would totally do this again. On size 10 needles, it goes fast, it's detailed enough to be interesting, yet repetitive enough to be television knitting. The result is amazing. The scalloped bind-off takes a long, long time. I wish I could remember how many stitches I had on the needles at that point, but it was a lot. Good think I had book club to entertain me while I did the bind-off! I have a limited number of straight pins, and I wish I'd had enough to pin out each scallop, but just doing a relative few turned out well enough. I had doubts about my blocking ability, and wrestling the blanket into a flat shape was hard at first, but it quickly submitted after the first four or so pins were down.

Other knitting: I've got Hjalte on the needles for Matt in Silky Wool. It's a little tricky and I think I need to rip back a few rows on the back and start over. I was confused by the chart a bit, and I'm still not really positive how two purl m1 increases in a row (no stitch between) won't leave a hole, so I need to look that up before I continue. I need a small or mindless project to start, too, though, as this one is not very conducive to television knitting, at least not when I'm trying to actually pay attention to what's on.

Reading: So much. A bunch of reviews at On My Bookshelf. Of special note is The History of Now by Daniel Klein, a novel that balances philosophical inquiry with small-town life in an ingenious way. A really enjoyable book. I have a bunch of review copies right now for books that will be released soon, so once I finish those, I will probably do some breezy fun reading. I recently did a Spring Cleaning post, reviewing Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life and Mrs. Meyer's Clean Home and I have been inspired to clean and organize. My mom would crack up to hear me describe myself as a perfectionist, since she's the good kind of perfectionist--the kind who strives for perfection. I'm the other kind--the kind who says, "Eh, I can never get it perfect, may as well not do anything at all." So Mrs. Meyer's "Just do something instead of nothing" approach is strangely helpful to me. I've been enjoying the small improvements more than I thought I would. The sparkling, cleared-off counters in the kitchen are particularly nice since, as you know, I spend quite a lot of time cooking in there.

Writing: Not a thing. Cleaning, exercising, and watching what I eat have been my main activities lately.

Cooking: I have a delightful book called Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber, and I decided to make Belle-Helene, a pear-chocolate confection. Mine didn't gel, but makes a divine chocolate sauce. Between my marketing friend Kris and my web guru Tim, I will soon have this sort of thing available at Lilah Bug Bakes. Stay tuned! I also had some caramel fiascos that turned into a delightful caramel-pear sauce scented with vanilla and lavender. I'm waiting to see if it'll firm up enough to even be a sauce. It may be very expensive, very tasty syrup for waffles. Oh, well. That's what I get for tinkering excessively with recipes...

2009 Finished Knitting Projects

2009-03-16T05:55:00.000-07:00

Novelties:
Two Bamboozelles
French Press Cozy

Sweaters:
Gathered Pullover

Wraps, Shawls, and Scarves:

Love Bites Scarf
Mini Clapotis
Clapotis

Bags:

Bracelet Bags
Everlasting Bagstopper
Ilene Bag
Bottoms Up! Bag

Baby Stuff:
Hemlock Ring Blanket

Socks and Hats:

Month-by-month:
January: TWO Bamboozelles
February: Gathered Pullover
March: Hemlock Ring Blanket
April: Bottoms Up! Bag, Clapotis
May: Mini Clapotis, French Press Cozy, Ilene Bag, Everlasting Bagstopper
June:
July:
August:
September:
October: Love Bites Scarf
November: Lace Ribbon Scarf
December: Bracelet Bags, Toddler Mittens

Has it really been that long?

2009-02-28T07:13:00.000-08:00

Oops, I went off on a trip and haven't blogged in ages again. Also, I started this post over a week ago, so it's already out of date. You will see a lot of updates! UPDATE: It didn't help that this week was spent with an unaccountably feverish Lilah (when I took her to the doctor on Wednesday, her temperature was 106). Brace yourself for a long post!

Lilah and I visited my parents in California for a little over a week, then spent quality time recovering from jet lag. Anyway, while visiting, I finished Gathered Pullover. I am pleased overall with how it turned out. It took forever to do photos, as usual for me.

Pattern: Gathered Pullover by Hana Jason from Interweave Knits, Winter 2007
Size: 40.5"
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Woad (#5567) - Under 6 skeins
Needles: Size 7 circular and dpns
Modifications: Hemmed edge at the waist and sleeves instead of rolled edge. Knit the neckband in the round, beginning at the left shoulder, in 1x1 rib instead of knitting flat in stockinette. Added 2.5 inches to the length before cable detail and 1 inch after the cable detail. I left out the weird increasing/decreasing over the cable, too.
Notes: This pattern is a lot of fun to knit. It's perfect television knitting until you get to the cable detail, which was great fun. I wasn't wild about the sleeves on dpns, but it's better than seaming, and they were just a smidge too small for my 16" needle (at least until I got going on the decreases. I don't care for rolled edges, so I went with a turned hem instead. I didn't want a belly shirt, so I added quite a bit of length. I wanted the placement of the cable a bit lower, so after studying many projects on Ravelry, I decided to add an inch above the cable before shaping for armholes. I decided that the extra length from not rolling the edge would be sufficient for the sleeves, but they are really, really short, and I should have added a good two inches to each. The armholes were snug when I first tried on the sweater, but they loosened up, and it's really a comfortable sweater now. I love the drape of the Silky Wool on size 7 needles. When I got to the neckband, I had no real plan, but it seemed odd to roll that edge when I hadn't on the others, so I chose what I convinced myself is unobtrusive 1x1 rib. I saw no reason to knit the neckband flat, so I didn't.

On the needles: Hemlock Ring Blanket in Cascade 220 in Tutu (Lilah's blanket, Lilah's yarn choice). Thanks to Ravelry, I found the pattern write-up by The Rainey Sisters". The write-up makes things much easier. The pattern is a delight (yes, I said delight!) to knit. It goes fast on size 10 needles, and just when you're tired of the center section, the repetitive feather-and-fan part starts. I should have this done soon. UPDATE: It's off the needles! The miserable, endless scalloped-edge bindoff actually ended. It looks like lace does just off the needles, so I have to block it. I'll try not to take a month to post finished photos. I have some baby things to make, then a sweater for Matt out of (what else?) Silky Wool in Bronzed Green, which is actually Brown, but it's a lovely, rich brown. I am deciding between Torgeir and Hjalte. I would have to do a crew neck if I chose Hjalte, as I think the high neck is too warm to be useful for much of the Atlanta winter, but that's not a big deal. It will be spring soon, so there's no hurry on the sweater. UPDATE: I found both patterns, and Matt picked Hjalte. I think it'll be a fun knit. Also, the other patterns in that issue of Knitter's Magazine are hilariously hideous! Geez, is every issue like that?

Reading: I'm reading my book club selection, The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis right now. It's interesting so far as a look at an Orthodox Jewish community and how it's affected by an outsider moving in, but I'm not very involved in the characters. I recently finished a review copy of The History of Now, which was fantastic. I have a bunch of review copies to read at the moment, from YA to literary fiction. While I was traveling, I read several mysteries by Joan Hess, Charlaine Harris, and Alice Kimberly. Reviews are at On My Bookshelf. I especially like Alice Kimberly's Haunted Bookshop mysteries, which combine a traditional cozy with hardboiled classic detective novels and a paranormal bent for fun.

Writing: Lilah's gone back to waking up at night. Between that and travel, I haven't done anything lately.

Cooking: For Matt's birthday dinner, I chose Moroccan, which we both love. I used recipes from a gorgeous book called Made in Morocco by Julie LeClerc. I have a couple of issues with this book, which is not organized as a real cookbook (more by theme), which would be fine if its index were remotely useable. This makes finding recipes a huge pain. It's also coffee table book-like, but paperback. I've only cooked from it a couple of times and the spine is already well-creased. It would be nice to make copies of all the recipes, arrange them in a user-friendly order, and have it spiral-bound, but what a pain. Fortunately, the recipes are fabulous, which makes up for some of the quirks. Here's my menu:

Little Dishes and Bread:
Carrot and Harissa Puree
Spiced Aubergine
Emerald Zucchini*
Moroccan Flatbread With Kosher Salt and Sesame Seed*
Harissa

Spiced Red Lentil Soup

Couscous With Raisins, Almonds, and Roasted Squash

Turkish Orange Cake*^ with Cinnamon and Orange Flower Water-Scented Oranges

*Recipes from a different source
^ I realize the distance between Turkey and Morocco, but I'd been looking for an excuse to try this cake, and it was perfect with the Moroccan oranges.

Notes: I was really pleased with the menu and how everything turned out. I'd made the carrot and eggplant dishes before, but the others were new to me. I made the cake in 6 ramekins for individual desserts and put the rest of the batter in a 9-inch pie plate. The orange cake is insanely moist. I ground the almond meal myself from 8 ounces of almonds, and everything went fine. I used seedless oranges, as I had them on hand (though I would have sought them out, anyway, being too lazy to pick seeds out).

Knitting Along

2009-01-15T12:14:00.000-08:00

Gathered Pullover is really moving along. The body is finished, and I'm half-done with the first sleeve. I wish I'd known how fun and easy cables are! They always seemed so mysterious, but like lace, it turns out that you just follow the directions. This is obviously a simple cable motif, so we'll see if I still like them when I try something more complex. I'm a little afraid I've made the body of Gathered Pullover too long--I was just happily knitting along and knit it longer than I had planned (I'm making the body and sleeves longer than called for, and knit an extra inch or so above the cable to move the placement down a bit. I'm also doing hemmed edges, though I haven't decided if I'll modify the neckband or do it rolled. I think I want to do it in the round, at least.

Reading: Lots. Of special note are Savvy, a YA tall tale/coming of age story by Ingrid Law, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, and a really fantastic novel called The Disappearance by Efrem Sigel.

Writing: Nope.

Cooking: I got inspired by the freakishly cold weather (relatively speaking; in Wisconsin, this would be a warm spell) to make a pot pie. I quickly shifted my interest to shepherd's pie, which is crustless and topped with mashed potatoes, when I realized I was not inspired to make pie crust. I had in mind something akin to Amy's Organics frozen Shepherd's Pie, veggies and chickpeas in a tomatoey broth, with mashed potato topping. But Matt actually volunteered a suggestion of using...tofu. I know! Weird. So I thought of Amy's Vegetable Pot Pie, which has tofu and veggies in a creamy sauce. Hey, I can make that, but without crust and with the mashed potato topping, I thought. I googled around, not liking to reinvent the wheel, and found this recipe at Mollie Katzen's site. (You can find the mushroom sauce recipe in a crepe recipe if you go back to the recipe index.) But that wasn't quite right. I didn't want the sauce on the side, and the vegetable hash seemed overly involved, so I winged it. What else is new? You could make any or all of the components ahead of time, or assemble the whole thing and bake later. If you don't like my mashed potatoes, make your favorite recipe instead. I really liked this, but it was pretty liquidy, so I have you use half the sauce as a gravy on the side.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Mashed Potato Topping:
About 6 medium Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and diced
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 cup milk (more if needed)
1/2 tsp salt (more to taste)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Place potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain. Add milk, salt, and Parmesan and mash well. Set aside.

Mushroom-Tofu Filling:
1 TBL olive oil
1 onion, minced
2 ribs celery, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
1 pound mushrooms, washed, trimmed, and quartered
1 pound frozen mixed vegetables (mine had carrots, peas, corn, and green beans)
1 package tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 tsp salt (more to taste)
black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, celery, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook until onion is translucent. Add mushrooms and cook on medium heat until mushrooms begin to give up liquid. Stir in vegetables, tofu, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Spiked Mushroom Sauce (you will use HALF in the casserole dish and half on the side):
1 TBL butter
1 pound mushrooms, washed, trimmed, and very thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt (more to taste)
3 TBL vermouth (you can substitute sherry or brandy)
1 1/2 cups milk, warmed
3 TBL flour
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Melt butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms begin to give up liquid, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add bay leaf, salt, and vermouth. Cook 5 minutes. Whisk the flour into the milk; add to mushrooms. Cook 5-10 minutes over low heat, until slightly thickened. Add black pepper, remove bay leaf, and stir HALF into Mushroom-Tofu Filling. Serve the other half, warm, on the side as gravy. (Or just cut the recipe in half if you don't want extra sauce.)

Place in a large casserole dish or 9x13 pan. Top with mashed potatoes. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until top is golden brown and edges are bubbly.

A New Year!

2009-01-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late to the New Year's party, but I was hung up on finishing a project that was a bit ambitious for me. I finally bit the bullet and did the *gasp* sewing part, so I get to start out with a finished object post! Since it was such a difficult project for me, I took LOTS of pictures, but sadly, I did not get a photo of them upside-down.

From above:

From above, only at an angle:

Both from the front:

A close-up of the one I screwed up:

A close-up of the one I didn't screw up that nevertheless looks wonkier than the other:

Pattern: Bamboozelle from Knitty
Yarn: One skein of Southwest Trading Company Bamboo in Cobalt (if this yarn looks familiar, you may have been reading my blog back during the Knitting Olympics...sorry, any excuse to show that sweater)
Needles: Size 6, 5, 4, and 3 circulars, size 6 dpns
Notes: I love the yarn, but I was a bit put out that there were THREE knots within two rows! I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous. There was a fourth several rows past that, too. I still haven't decided how I feel about this pattern. I loved the cute little basket in the photo. I have NO IDEA what she did to that basket to make it look so sturdy and finished. As you can see, mine are not perfectly four-cornered--by a long shot. I went to Hancock Fabrics and found a nice lady to help me (I found the gorgeous art glass beads there, too!). I used stiff interfacing, taped together, then plain white fabric for the lining. I blocked the basket out with grocery bags, which worked okay, but maybe I needed something stiffer than my stiff interfacing. The basket is tapered by switching to progressively smaller needles from the top. This was a neat idea since no decreasing was needed until shaping the bottom. However, it also made for floppier fabric at the top, where structure is kind of needed. To be fair, I was using a different yarn, and maybe Alchemy Bamboo makes a stiffer fabric, I don't know. Anyway, for the first basket, I accidentally cast on 121 stitches instead of 114, which I didn't discover until it was time to decrease for the bottom. Oops. But it worked out fine, and I like the slightly larger basket. To sum up, I liked the knitting, but I'm not sure the finishing should have been done by a non-crafty person like me. It needed more professional finishing than I can do, but I'm still not sure how the basket in the pattern can look so perfect if she did the finishing she calls for.

Other knitting: I decided on a pattern for the Silky Wool. I hope i don't regret this, but I chose the Gathered Pullover. I did a folded hem instead of the rolled edge, and after lots of ravelrying, I will be relocating the center cables by knitting an extra inch or two before and an extra couple of inches after the cable. I'm still undecided about eliminating the eyelets.

State of the knitting: Okay, I really did NOT do well with my yarn challenge last year. I'm supposed to give away the yarn in my list that I didn't use, but I'm not gonna do that. I think at this point, with a toddler and writing to do, I'm not going to try to challenge myself with knitting. I have enough challenges. So I'll just keep trying to do things from my stash without concrete goals, but I'll pick things that are fun and relaxing without worrying about doing a project a month or using up twelve different yarns.

Writing: Hoping to get going again this week!

Reading: I'm slogging through Eat Pray Love for my book group, and I have an ARC to read. Er, two ARCs to read. I ended 2009 with 217 books read for the year! What can I say? Reading is my TV.

Cooking: Not too much of interest, but I have some plans for good stuff coming up!

The Post-Christmas Post

2008-12-28T13:12:00.000-08:00

My mom was getting Lilah dressed this morning, and Lilah pulled the sweater I made her out of her drawer and asked to wear it! She told my mom, "Mama made sweater! Pretty pink sweater!" Awwww... That reminded me that I hadn't posted a photo of Lilah in her sweater! She's pretty cooperative with photos, but for some reason, she likes her photo taken sitting on her toy box. Good thing that worked out.

Here it is, the Lean Mean Green Toddler Blanket:

Pattern: Made up as I went along, but super basic. I cast on 180 stitches and did 16 rows of seed stitch, followed by alternating squares of stockinette and reverse stockinette (each square 32 stitches wide, about 48 rows high). Five squares by five squares. 16 more rows of seed stitch, then I bound off. It's about 40 inches square. I had five skeins of Cascade 220, and fortunately decided to hedge my bets and get a sixth. I could have fudged it by skipping the last two rows of seed stitch, but I'm glad I had the extra skein. If I'd had more time and yarn, I might have made it 8 squares high for a bigger, rectangular blanket. And it would have been nice to have done something interesting in at least some of the squares--initials, or animals in reverse stockinette.
Needles: Size 8 circular (40")
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Chartreuse (not an accurate name at all, it's more Grass) - 5 skeins plus enough of a 6th to do the last 2 rows

More knitting: I think I'll do a State of the Knitting in my next post, as this one is pretty long. Santa Claus brought me ten skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in a gorgeous blue, and I'm deciding between two patterns in an Interweave issue I just happen to have. Actually, I got it after seeing Rachel's Henley Perfected. I thought this Elann Peruvian Baby Silk in purple would work for it, but then I had second thoughts. And I was concerned about the fit, too, as far as the pattern part covering the whole...er, chest area without looking like it was being stretched in funny ways. I'm still concerned about it, but I do love the pattern. But also, fiddly! Maybe not as television-knitting as I need? The other pattern I'm looking at is much simpler, but I'm concerned it'll be too shapeless: The Gathered Pullover. The model doesn't look particularly shapely and it's hard to tell how it hangs by the way she's slouching. I've also only found project photos modeled by equally thin people, which concerns me. Anyone have thoughts? I also was thinking of another Somewhat Cowl but long-sleeved this time. I do like the green one I've made, but I rarely wear it because I don't wear short-sleeved sweaters. A fact I knew when I cast on, but...what can I say? I'm a process knitter. So what would you do with a bounty of Silky Wool?

Let's break for cute kitty pictures. I like how in the second photo, Geronimo is clearly thinking, "Come on, Mom. Lay off the camera already!"

Reading: I'm working on a State of the Reading for the year, and I almost fell over when I checked my LibraryThing for books I read in 2008. The number is 214 (and I might finish this one I'm reading before the new year). However, it was a light reading year, in one sense, because I only read 7-8 books I'd classify as Literature. That's really not a lot. I do rely on my kids' books (which I read really fast, thus inflating the total number) and mysteries for stress relief, but I'm not challenging myself enough. For 2009, I have a goal to read at least one serious book a month.

Writing: Do I even bother to set a 2009 goal? I think I need to, because otherwise, it's just sad. I have some improvements to my writing nook and I want to spend more (heck, any) time up there so I can finish up the mystery. I think I could do it in a month or two with serious effort. Lilah's sleeping has taken a turn for the better (knock on wood), which is helping with energy, so maybe I can stick to a schedule or at least take advantage of her naps.

Cooking: Not much during the holidays, really. I sold my stock of apple butter with no effort, leading me to think I need to invest in some equipment upgrades to improve efficiency (bigger stockpot, real canning pot, food mill). I really like the no sugar added apple butter. I'll have to look into finding citrus for marmalade this winter, then I'm excited to hit the pick-your-own in the spring. I got a copy of Mes Confitures for Christmas, which I'm really excited about. I already have ideas for spring berries.

Hey, I made something! And if you want a free book...

2008-12-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

I finished a hat a few days ago for a last-minute Christmas present for my father-in-law, who takes walks almost every day (in Wisconsin!) and will certainly use it. I chose my Manly Hat pattern (available at left), as it's very simple but textured, and suited to the Debbie Bliss Merino Aran I had in a nice charcoal grey.

Shameless plug alert! Actually, this is relevant to a (mostly) knitting blog, and I think several of you will want to enter the contest I'm holding over on the book blog where I post my reviews. I read Death by Cashmere, the first in the Seaside Knitters mystery series, and really enjoyed it. I had the opportunity to "interview" the author, Sally Goldenbaum, by e-mail AND I received a brand-new, hardcover copy of the book to giveaway. Head on over to this post to enter the contest and read Sally's answers to my nosy questions.

Other knitting: Still going on the green blanket. Will I be done by Christmas? Will my Christmas cards be mailed by Christmas? (It's not a good sign that I'm using passive voice here, as in, will some elves sneak in during the night and address and stamp the envelopes for me?) The holidays are so busy, but I really want to get this blanket done so I can gift it in a timely fashion.

Reading: Lots of Christmas mysteries! It's been fun reading them. I'm taking a break to read my book club selection, Finding Nouf, and it's fascinating.

Writing: Not a thing.

Cooking: I made a nice mushroom-wine-tomato sauce for pasta, but it was a bit watery. I made some chocolate treats for a friend's holiday open house (makes me feel less lazy for not having my own party!), and everything went well in the end. I made Hedonistic Fudgies again (yummmmm), espresso-roasted almond truffles, chocolate mousse truffles that did not firm up and were turned into chocolate mousse (still good), and mini flourless chocolate cakes made from pistachio butter (from a Cooking Light recipe). I have also turned 33 pounds of apples into a lovely array of jars of apple butter taking up quite a lot of counter space. Must start mailing them and handing them out as gifts!

Catching Up

2008-12-04T12:24:00.000-08:00

I've been plugging along on my Green Blanket, not that it's interesting enough for another photo right away. I had a vague thought of knitting washcloths as Christmas gifts and giving them along with fancy soap, so I looked up a few patterns. I was intrigued by this Octagonal Crest-of-the-Wave Washcloth and decided to try it with some Bernat Organic Cotton KnitPastis had sent me along with some fancy soap (see where I got my idea?). It was an easy enough pattern, and pleasant to knit. Mine curls and doesn't lie flat the way the picture with the pattern does. Blocking might fix that, but blocking a washcloth seems absurd to me. I also should have cut off the last wave pattern, since I used the thicker yarn and bigger needles, but I forgot as I was doing the pattern. It's soft and attractive and bumpy enough, I think, to be a good washcloth. I'm thinking of using it as a facecloth since it's so large (the diameter is bigger than the space between my pinky and thumb when my hand is splayed). All in all, a nice quick knit. I can see why people knit them, and I think I'll enjoy mine. I may pick something less elaborate for actual gifts, though, or at least something that doesn't look as funny lying flat.

Pattern: See above
Yarn: Bernat Organic Cotton in color 43244, a nice spring green, just about one skein (I have a bit left)
Needles: Size 6 dpns and 16" circular (at this size, it was pretty cramped at the end, but I couldn't find my 24")
Notes: See above.

Reading: Hmmm. Lots. It's been a while since I posted. Head to On My Bookshelf for my reviews. I'd been reading Christmas-themed mysteries, which are really fun!

Writing: Nothing but addressing Christmas card envelopes :-)

Cooking: I have been inspired, let me tell you. One night, I decided to make pasta (not that this is unusual for me). I wanted something that could come together quickly, and I had roasted vegetables in mind. I decided to do something different from my usual, toss-chopped-veggies-in-olive-oil-and-roast method. I had eggplant, zucchini, and red peppers on hand for this purpose, but I ended up deciding to do a puree, and the zucchini didn't fit my new plan. You can roast the eggplant and peppers together, and let the peppers steam while the eggplant finishes roasting. By then, the oven should be hot enough for the garlic. I made the veggies a couple of hours before I was ready to make dinner, so they were cool by the time I pureed. You could prepare the puree a day ahead and refrigerate until you're ready to make the sauce. I happened to have fresh mozzarella on hand, which was lovely, but goat cheese pairs nicely with roasted vegetables. The basil adds a nice touch, but I could eat this sauce plain with a spoon, so don't worry if you haven't any on hand.

A note to eggplant-haters: eggplant can be rubbery and/or bitter if prepared wrong. I think 95% of eggplant-haters have never had it well-prepared. Roasted eggplant is completely different, mellow and earthy and a bit sweet. I've converted many eggplant-haters to the joys of the purple vegetable by serving it roasted.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta

1 pound rigatoni
2 medium eggplants
2 red bell peppers
1 head garlic
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt (more to taste)
1/4 tsp black pepper
6 oz. goat cheese or fresh mozzarella, sliced
fresh basil, chopped

1. Roast the eggplants: Preheat the broiler. Place eggplants on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil about 15 minutes, or until skin is charred. Turn 180 degrees and broil 15 minutes more. Skin should be blackened. Let cool. Trim ends and remove skin (it should peel off easily). Set aside in colander to drain excess liquid.

2. Cut peppers in half, discarding stem, seeds, and membranes. Place on foil-lined baking sheet and broil until skin is blackened (don't jump the gun or skin will be hard to peel). Carefully transfer to a large baggie and let steam at least 15 minutes. Remove skin.

3. Preheat oven to 425. Remove outer papery skin from garlic, but do not peel or separate cloves. Wrap in foil and bake until soft, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly, then squeeze out roasted cloves.

4. Heat tomatoes in a large saucepan. Add seasonings.

5. Place prepared eggplant, peppers, and garlic in a food processor or blender and puree until fairly smooth. Add to tomatoes and simmer 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to package directions and drain. Toss with sauce and serve with basil and cheese.

We had friends over for dinner, and I made Tuscan Chickpea Soup from the Cooking Light archives, Ciabatta from Cooking Light, a Fennel-Orange Salad with pomegranate seeds, and tartlets with goat cheese and Bosc pears. I knew what I was going for with the tartlets, but I didn't find an exact recipe I wanted to follow. I ended up using the crust recipe from here, but the filling wasn't exactly what I had in mind. And I wanted bigger tartlets, not the bite sized ones. I liked the approach here, but I wanted cardamon instead of cinnamon (I'm a bit obsessed with the cardamon-pear combo), and I wanted to use honey, mixed with the goat cheese to take off the tangy edge. Anyway, I was really pleased with what I ended up with. I think this would be a nice filling for filo squares pressed into mini-muffin tins, too. I was actually going for 6 tartlets, but found I had plenty of everything for 8.

Goat Cheese and Pear Tartlets With Honey and Pine Nuts

Note: I used 8 10-cm tartlet pans from Williams-Sonoma, and I found a Tupperware container that was slightly larger, and the perfect size for cutting out the circles.

Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons (or more) ice water
2 tablespoons chilled whipping cream

Spray pans with nonstick spray, or grease liberally with butter. Mix flour and salt in processor with blade attachment. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 3 tablespoons ice water and cream. Process just until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill 30 minutes. Roll into a rectangle large enough for 8 tartlet crusts (I rolled mine out, cut out 6 crusts, then re-rolled the remaining dough for an additional 2 crusts). Cut out circles appropriate to your tartlet pans and press gently into pans.

Filling:
10 oz. goat cheese, room temperature
1 TBL honey, plus more for drizzling
3 Bosc pears, cored and diced (do not peel)
1 tsp cardamon
2 TBL pine nuts

Mix goat cheese with 1 TBL honey. Place in pastry (you may have a bit left over). Toss pears with cardamon, mound on top of goat cheese. Sprinkle with pine nuts and drizzle with honey. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned on edges and pine nuts are toasted. Cool in pans on wire rack before serving.

Makes 8 10-cm tartlets. (You could also use muffin tins, mini-muffin tins, or a large tart pan.)

A Tale of Two Kitties (and Caramels!) (and Truffles!)

2008-11-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

Lots of duos in today's post!

It's getting cold, so Geronimo and Mirando frequently nap together. They're so cute.

Knitting: Thank you for all your kind comments on my placket-neck sweaters! I really enjoy knitting them, and I was pleased with the latest crop. Yes, the Kitchener stitch is only on the underarms. That's the only finishing, aside from weaving in ends, and since I hate finishing, it's perfect for me. Onto the next knitting project, it's the GREEN toddler blanket I'm winging. I think I'm going to need one more skein of yarn. I'm using Cascade 220, which in my experience, is tough, but softens up with washing. I decided to keep it super simple, with a seed stitch border surrounding a 5x5 array of alternating stockinette and reverse stockinette squares. It's simple, but I like it so far.

And what's that you see in the photo? Can it be that I've abandoned my plastic pastel stitch markers for something...pretty?

Yes, yes, I have. I snagged a lovely set of stitchmarkers at Dainty Loop, the store where KnitPastis sells her bags, stitch markers, and earrings. I love these! They bring a smile to my face every time I slip a marker. I innocently inquired whether she had any March colors, and as I'd hoped, she whipped up a batch for me!

Reading: I read the new Kate Atkinson novel, When Will There Be Good News? As expected, it was wonderful. She is one of my absolute favorite writers. She wrote three novels before beginning a series about former cop, sometime P.I. Jackson Brodie. The first in the series is Case Histories, and while these are mysteries in a sense, they're much, much more. My review is here. Anyway, I also read some children's books and the knitting mystery I mentioned last post. It was fantastic! It's called Death By Cashmere, by Sally Goldenbaum and my review of it is here. If a knitting mystery intrigues you, stay tuned, because I will be posting an author interview/book giveaway over at On My Bookshelf soon.

Writing: My Novel Writing Month never got off the ground :( We all got colds, and Lilah's molars are taking forever to come in, so I don't remember my last decent night of sleep.

Cooking: Here are the rest of the twos! I made two different caramels, Espresso Caramels from 101 Cookbooks and Lavender Honey Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels from Wallflour. I usually love 101 Cookbooks, so I was disappointed in this caramel recipe. I ignored my instincts and took the temperature up to the 260 degrees called for in the recipe. I made the version without nuts, and maybe the nut version is good at hard-crack stage, but to me, these tasted just a smidge burnt, and they were unpleasant to chew--a real jaw workout, not the softer caramel I'd envisioned. I liked the espresso flavor (but wished it were more than a one-note candy, maybe with some vanilla) and the honey (though, to be honest, the honey was a bit much and I wished I'd used some sugar to temper it), but this recipe just didn't do it for me. The Lavender, etc. Caramels, on the other hand...wow! This is my new go-to recipe for caramels. I want to try this recipe with espresso powder to see how I like it. Not to be overly modest, but these were the best freaking caramels I've ever had. And I didn't even have fleur de sel, just plain old sea salt. They made the house smell amazing, too, with the vanilla and lavender. In the hopes that partially-chewed caramel isn't revolting, I actually did a photo. I love the way the caramels look wrapped in a rectangle of parchment paper.

I also made truffles, finally. I've been talking about it for ages, but I was hosting book club this month and decided to make caramels and truffles. I made my usual peach-amaretto truffles rolled in chopped pecans, then I played around a bit and made what I'm calling Chocolate Coyote truffles in honor of a now-defunct ice cream shop in Madison, Wisconsin whose signature flavor was chocolate with cayenne. I flavored them with cinnamon and cayenne, then rolled them in cocoa powder mixed with cinnamon, sugar, and another dash of cayenne. They were awesome, I must say. I have more playing around to do (I want to try more of an infusion approach, steeping the cream with jalapeno and cinnamon stick instead of powdered spices) but I'll eventually post the recipe. My peach-amaretto truffles tasted great, but the ganache didn't set properly. No idea what happened there, since this is my standard truffle recipe. But you really could have frosted cupcakes with this, it was so soft. The truffles firmed up in the fridge, enough to serve, but they looked kind of flattened. Yummy, though.

And I've been apple buttering all over the place. I didn't realize the sheer amount of apple required--it takes ONE POUND of apples to produce a single half-pint jar! I've made three batches, one of Rome apples with no sugar added, one of an heirloom apple called Black Arkansas with no sugar, and a sweetened Granny Smith batch. Each batch made 5-7 jars. I really like all of them. The no-sugar ones are more apple-y (technical term) but the Granny Smith has its own charm. I've gotten some more apples to make a couple more batches.

We've been making soup lately, with the cold. Baked Potato Soup and Cuban Black Bean Soup, both from the Cooking Light archives. I must not have been the only vegetarian to complain to Cooking Light, too, because December's issue turned up with the Inspired Vegetarian section restored...hmmmm.

Now we're cooking!

2008-10-31T09:25:00.000-07:00

Lilah's friends, all dressed up with nowhere to go.

I keep trying to find a time when I can get a photo of this sweater on Lilah, but she's not been cooperative. The only sweater she likes is her Baby Gap zip-up sweater. Maybe I can bribe her with a cookie when she wakes up. Anyway, here it is:

Details: Placket-Neck Pullover from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts (Duh, do I knit anything else?), size 2-3 years
Yarn: Rowan Baby Alpaca DK in Blossom
Needles: Size 6
Notes: You hear about this pattern from me all the time: easy, fun, cute. I LOVE this squooshy soft yarn. I love Kitchener stitch (weird, I know). I love the easy finishing. Unless, of course, you foolishly do a striped version...

Just for fun, since I haven't gifted the other two Placket-Neck Pullovers, here they are ensemble:

I just started a toddler blanket in Cascade 220 in GREEN. And I do mean GREEN! It's about an inch of seed stitch at the moment, so I'll save posting a photo. Despite my laments that I never learn that winging it doesn't work for me in knitting...yes, I'm winging it. I think it'll be Big Bad Baby Blanket-ish, but with more squares. Or something. We'll see.

Reading: I re-read all the Bunnicula books (actually, the most recent three I'd never read before), and thought they were great fun. I just finished the Ulysses Moore series, a fantasy series about 11-year-old twins who move into a strange house with a mysterious door. Enjoyed it. I'll have the review up soon. I'm now reading Death by Cashmere, the first in a new knitting-related mystery series by Sally Goldenbaum--I was actually contacted and asked if I'd like a review copy, which makes me feel special.

Writing: Nothing. Tomorrow is November 1, the beginning of National Novel Writing Month. The official goal is to begin and finish a novel in November. MY goal is to write SOMETHING every day in November, even if it's just a sentence. I have to get back into my groove of finding time for this.

Cooking: Here's where the content is this time!

If you've been to a southern California restaurant in recent memory, you know that all restaurants are required to display the grade they got from their inspection. This is not without controversy, since some traditional ethnic cooking/food storage methods fall outside what detractors call paranoid American standards of food safety. I'm told that lots of fantastic spots get Bs for this reason. But I like seeing on the window that the place I'm about to eat has conformed reasonably to cleanliness/food safety standards. At any rate, LA County had a neat promotion to build awareness about kitchen safety in your own home, so they offered an online food safety quiz. If you passed, you got one of these in the mail to put on your fridge:

I got an A! I'm such a food nerd, I immediately filled out the test and put this up on my fridge as soon as it left the envelope. Fun stuff!

Crockpot Peanut Stew (adapted from Cooking Light)

I had a couple of requests for this recipe. I don't normally reprint recipes from magazines or cookbooks, but I made so many changes to this, it's hardly recognizable. The recipe called for reduced-fat peanut butter, which I don't think of as food, so I used my standard natural peanut butter (The ingredients should say peanuts and salt. Period.), which adds so much more flavor the little increase in fat is worth it. Add to that--reduced fat peanut butter makes up for the loss of flavor with plenty of sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup, so I think it's a wash, nutrition-wise, and when in doubt, I go for the less processed option. The taste here is a HUGE difference, as is the mouth feel. Trust me, get natural peanut butter (I use Smuckers). The amount of salt you need depends entirely on your stock. I make my own vegetable stock (see below), with no added salt, so I need a bit more salt. If you use a canned full-sodium broth, you will need very little. Taste after a couple of hours and see. I doubled the recipe to feed a crowd, but didn't double the liquid. You need less in Crockpot cooking, anyway, but I wanted more of a stew than a soup. This is really nice in the winter, very warming!

Ingredients

8 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 3 pounds)
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
1 teaspoon salt (depending on your stock)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
4 cups vegetable stock
3/4 cup natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste
mm1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Place all ingredients except for cilantro into Crockpot. Cook on high 4 hours, or on low 8 hours, or until squash is tender. Check seasonings and liquid level and adjust as needed. Yum! Serve over rice, sprinkled with cilantro, to feed a crowd.

I made my annual fall vegetable stock. I make as much as will fit in my stockpots and freeze it in those ziploc containers. I made 11 quarts, which is a whole shelf in my freezer! I love homemade broth for the fat-free, salt-free flavor it adds to the soups and stews I make all winter. If you look to the template on the left, you'll see "My Recipes" under "My Stuff." Vegetable stock is actually the very first recipe I ever posted here. I usually make stock about the same way. This time, I used only the (well-washed) dark green parts of the leeks, because the white and light green parts are so good in other preparations. I used a bit more vegetables overall, because I added a 4-quart pot to the mix.

We had friends over, and I made Curried Butternut Squash Soup and Pumpkin Walnut Focaccia With Gruyere, both from the Cooking Light archives, along with a pesto vinaigrette for salad. I also made Cranberry-Apple Cobbler, also a Cooking Light recipe, and made Cinnamon Stick Ice Cream to go with it. I winged the recipe since I couldn't find one I liked. Those who find my ice milk recipes unsatisfying will be delighted that I caved and used egg in this one--not the NINE egg yolks called for in one recipe I found, but some. I love my ice milk, but it usually doesn't firm up right away, and when it does, it's pretty hard. For company, I wanted something easy to scoop, and this worked beautifully. I thought this was a great accompaniment to fall apple-based desserts. Insane cinnamon addicts might want to add even more--the cinnamon flavor was not exactly subtle, but it paired nicely with the vanilla.

Cinnamon Stick Ice Cream

3 cups whole milk, divided
3/4 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup cream

Beat eggs and set aside in a medium bowl in an ice bath. In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup milk, with sugar and all cinnamon and vanilla until steamy. Whisk into eggs (work quickly so as not to scramble the eggs), then return to saucepan. Cook, stirring frequently, until custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Return to ice bath, remove vanilla bean and cinnamon sticks, and add remaining milk and cream. Place mixture, ice bath and all, into the refrigerator to chill completely. Churn according to ice cream maker instructions.

Excessive coverage of rather dull FOs PLUS a pattern-type thingy

2008-10-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

It must be the media influence; since I'm always seeing stories covered over and above their ability to interest, I'm doing the same with a newly finished set of FOs! Actually, it's more to do with the shiny new porch furniture that makes such a nice backdrop :) I made a simple scarf (embellished with garter stitch tapered ends and Zs at either end (for the recipient's name) and with a bit of yarn left over, I decided to do an impromptu bag. With no plan and not much yarn to work with, this took a couple of false starts. I ended up with a flat garter-stitch bottom for a little more stability than your usual drawstring bag, then joined for stockinette in the round. I did an eyelet row, then about an inch of stockinette, bound off, and hoped I'd have enough yarn left for a sufficient length of i-cord. I did, although I would have preferred two lengths. Ah, well. Anyway, the pictures. The bag is open:

The bag is closed (this is exciting, isn't it?!):

The bag is near the scarf:

The scarf is alone on the porch swing:

Details: Scarf and drawstring bag
Yarn: Plassard Ceruse Silver in hot pink, every bit of 2 balls (240 yards)
Needles: Size 9 for scarf; Size 6 dpns for bag
Notes: It's a nice quick gift. I really dislike this yarn. It's an acrylic-cotton blend, so it's squeaky. Even with a 4-stitch garter edging, it curls like mad. The silver stuff flaked all over my black shirt while I was knitting, so I can't imagine it'll hold up that well. And it was something ridiculous like $10 a ball. That said, it was perfect for my purposes--I needed a quick gift for a pre-teen, and I think the sparkles and hot-pink-ness will make her happy. I was bored by the time I'd done the garter end of the scarf, so I added the Z in purl stitches. I think it's okay, if a little more elongated than what I really intended. I should have put a Z on the bag, too.

The pattern-type thing:

The scarf: Cast on three stitches. On the next row, k1f&b, k1, k1f&b. Knit the next row even (5 stitches).
Row 1: k1, k1f&b, k1, k1f&b, k1
Row 2: k
Repeat these two rows, increasing the number of middle knit stitches, until you have 21 stitches or desired width.
Row 1: k
Row 2: k4, p13, k4
Repeat these two rows until desired length (I did 5' for the middle 21-stitch-wide section)
Row 1: k1, k2tog, k15, ssk, k1
Row 2: k
Repeat these two rows, decreasing the number of middle knit stitches, until you have 3 stitches. Bind off.

I started the bottom of my Z 12 rows into the stockinette portion of the scarf. I did a quick chart to determine the location of the purl bumps to form the letter. My Z was 7 stitches wide and 16 rows tall.

Drawstring bag: Cast on 20 stitches onto one dpn. Knit every row, slipping the first stitch on every row (for easy picking-up of stitches later) until there are 10 selvedge stitches. On the next row, using a second dpn, pick up and knit 10 stitches on the short side, on a third dpn, 20 stitches on the cast-on row, and on a fourth dpn, 10 stitches on the final side. Join for working in the round. Knit all rows until desired length (I did 3 1/2 inches).

Eyelet row: yo, sl1, k2tog, psso (repeat until all stitches are worked (30 stitches remain). Continue in stockinette for another inch. Bind off all stitches and weave in ends. I should have done a matching Z on the bag, but I didn't think of it.

Knit a 3-stitch i-cord to desired length (do two if you have enough yarn). Weave in ends. Thread through eyelets.

Finished Objects and Other Strange Tales

2008-10-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

I finished (and almost finished) some stuff while on vacation! Lilah and I headed out to California for our pre-holidays trip to visit the family. We had a great time. When we got back, it was Highland Games time in our area, so we took Lilah. She LOVED the sheepdog trials and the falconry exhibition. Matt and I didn't get to do the kind of shopping we used to at these sorts of things--Lilah wanted to squat on a stump for about 15 minutes watching an ant, and she sees a field of grass and can't help running. It was really fun to watch her enjoying herself, though!

This is a long post, and I have finishing touches to put on Lilah's sweater and the bonus FO, so I will post this now and do FO pictures later in the week.

Reading: I just reviewed Shirley Damsgaard's Abby & Ophelia mysteries, a recent favorite series of mine. I also enjoyed Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer, though I didn't like their first collaboration, Don't Look Down. And I read a plethora of cozy mysteries as well. I have Dewey: The Library Cat... to review (from the publisher! Isn't that fun?) and the new Kate Atkinson that I can hardly wait to read. As soon as I finish Murder Most Maine, the third Gray Whale Inn mystery by Karen MacInerney, I'll read those two. I really should take a picture of my To-Be-Read book piles to shock and horrify you, since it is the Halloween season.

Writing: Still at 12,294 words, and with a subplot to go back and fix. Lilah and I were visiting my parents in California, so I didn't get anything done. Hopefully, the jet lag will wear off soon and I can get us back on a good schedule that allows for writing. November is National Novel Writing Month, and though you're technically supposed to start AND finish a novel during the month, if I can use that to get a jump-start on my current project, so much the better.

Cooking: I am not a particularly good photographer, so I haven't gotten into food photography. That and the lighting in our house is awful and makes food look weird. If I find a way to take appetizing photos, though, I will! I am making apple butter this weekend (until I get my website set up, leave a comment with your email address if you'd like to place an order), so maybe I will try then.

I forgot to post two recipes last time, which is good, as I have not been cooking (traveling). One is for the magical whole wheat scones, and the other is for Spicy Cheese Rolls, a French roll with sharp cheddar and a bit of cayenne, inspired by Stella's Bakery in Madison, WI. Meanwhile, I helped Matt through hosting his coworkers for a dinner thing while I was out of town. We picked an African peanut stew and a pear crumble (both based on Cooking Light recipes). I helped him modify the peanut stew for the Crockpot so he wouldn't be babysitting the stove. And the crumble is nice and simple. I had him substitute cardamon for the cinnamon, which makes it a touch exotic and goes wonderfully with pears. He rounded out the meal with baguette, Brie and goat cheese (rolled in thyme and black pepper), and olives, and a salad with sliced almonds and dried cranberries. He's not very used to cooking, so I was really proud of him for pulling it off!

Amy, I use regular old whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, and white whole wheat flour. Bread is tougher to substitute whole wheat flour in than pastries and such. You're generally not going to get the same light, airy results with whole wheat, no matter what kind. I've had great success in using white whole wheat flour in place of all or most of the white flour in cookies, but there's a slight "healthy" taste (as my husband would say). I usually use whole wheat pastry flour when I'm not trying to hide it as much--that's what I used in the scones, along with regular whole wheat flour (for the nuttier taste). With bread...it's been a while since I've done whole wheat bread. I personally like the taste of whole-wheat flour, so I would just use 100% whole wheat flour, though I used to make baguettes with half bread flour and half whole wheat (along with cracked wheat soaked in hot water and drained...yum). With bread, whole wheat pastry and white whole wheat flours are too low in gluten to make a good substitute in bread. But regular whole wheat flour (which is made from hard red wheat) is fine. But it's always going to be denser than regular old white bread. Oh, and my vegetable stock recipe is linked at the left (My Recipes), but you can throw whatever veggies you want (except very strong tasting ones like cabbage or broccoli) in a pot, cover with water and cook until you like the color :)

And I forgot to respond to you last time--I get a lot of recipes from Cooking Light. You can get a code for online use from one of their books or a newstand magazine (at least that's how you used to do it--it might be open now), or if you're a subscriber, you put in your number. I actually might not renew my subscription. Even though it's not a vegetarian magazine (and those are no fun, I've tried), it's always had vegetarian recipes well-represented. But they dropped their Inspired Vegetarian section this summer, and the last issue had 17 pork main dish recipes in the index and 3 vegetarian. I am a subscriber, and I buy the Annual Recipe collection every year (this is the previous year's recipes--every single one, but indexed, so it's easier to use than 11 magazines), and I'm a bit taken aback by the change. I actually wrote in to ask what was going on, but they're treating it as a letter to the editor submission, so no one's given me any answers. Getting my new Cooking Light used to be a highlight of the month, but the last two magazines, I haven't marked a single recipe as "must shop for ingredients now!" Anyway, enough of that...on to the recipes!

Whole Wheat Scones

4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
12 oz. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 vanilla bean, scraped (for vanilla version) or 2 tsp cinnamon (for cinnamon version)
1 1/2 to 2 cups whole milk (start with 1 1/2 and then add a tablespoon at a time)
additional sugar and cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray.

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter using a food processor, pastry cutter, or forks (I usually resort to my fingers, even though you're not supposed to). Add eggs, vanilla extract, and 1 1/2 cups milk). Stir to combine, adding more milk as needed. The dough should be a bit sticky. Divide into four balls. Sprinkle sugar on a flat surface. Place one of the dough balls on the sugar and turn to coat. Pat down into a round about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 6 wedges. Repeat with the other three balls. For cinnamon version, sprinkle tops of scones with cinnamon. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned.

Spicy Cheese Rolls

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 TBL active dry yeast
2 TBL sugar
2 TBL olive oil
1 tsp salt
4 cups bread flour
4 oz. extra sharp white cheddar, grated
cayenne pepper

I put everything except the cheese and pepper in the bread machine and put it on "dough." (I love the bread machine!) Divide into 16 equal pieces. Stretch each piece, top with cheese and a sprinkle of cayenne, then fold over. Cover and let rise an hour, until doubled. Bake at 400 until lightly browned, about 12-15 minutes.

Good stuff

2008-09-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

Thank you, everyone, on your kind sweater-related comments (and other comments, of course). I get a little frustrated with myself when I don't think things through, which I certainly didn't on this one. I'm actually delighted with the sweater, which I think will be adorable on Lilah's toddler friend. Good catch on the lesson "Intarsia is yucky," Amy :) No action step there, since sometimes I think intarsia is just too cute to avoid. And I like the look of the sweater with the dark blue placket and cuffs. I managed to get all the ends woven in over the weekend, during slow times in my booth at the festival where I actually SOLD stuff I made! One woman indulged in my free samples and then bought ELEVEN jars to give as Christmas gifts in her office. I was delighted. And, though I was concerned a bit that I would hate customers*, I really enjoyed answering questions about my methods and talking about possible future recipes and such. I sold out of nearly everything, and had so much fun. Now I have to figure out if I just want to occasionally sell stuff to subsidize my jam-making and baking habits, or if I want to try to take it further.

*I know this sounds like I should be off in a cabin in the woods somewhere, but my past customer service experience has not been great. While working at a software/internet company, here is an excerpt from a 20-minute phone call:

Old Guy: My internet picture won't open!
Me: I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble. Um, which picture is that?
Old Guy: The internet! It won't open!
Me: The browser? Does it say Netscape or Internet Explorer?
Old Guy: The internet, you know, Netscape.
Me: Do you get an error message when you double click on the icon?
Old Guy: I don't know. Am I supposed to have an icon?
Me: Do you get an error message when you double click the picture?
Old Guy: What about the icon? Do I need one of those?
Me: Don't worry about the icon. Double click on the picture and tell me what it says.
Old Guy: It says Netscape.
Me: Right. Does anything happen when you click?
Old Guy: (click) No! It doesn't do anything! That's the problem!
Me: Sir, you need to double click. Just clicking once doesn't open the program.
Old Guy: I don't have a program. Is that in my Welcome Pack?
Me: Sir, you need to double click to open the internet.
Old Guy: (click, pause, click) Nothing's happening!
Me: Sir, you have to click faster. Click-click!
Old Guy: (click, pause, click)
Repeat the last two lines for about 10 minutes, until Old Guy exclaims, "Oh, I had to DOUBLE click! It's open now!" So you can see that the word "customer" strikes fear into my heart, a reaction that was NOT improved by working for a children's theater company:

Me: I'm so sorry, ma'am, but tonight's show is sold out.
Angry Stage Parent: But my daughter is the star! I NEED 30 tickets for tonight!
Me: I'm so sorry, ma'am, but tonight's show is sold out.
ASP: But I PROMISED everyone! They're coming from out of town!
Me: I'm so sorry, ma'am, but there are no more seats available.
ASP: But my daughter's the star!

Knitting: ANOTHER placket-neck pullover is on the needles, this one for Lilah in pink Rowan Baby Alpaca DK. After finishing the ones for our friends' two children, I decided Lilah needed one, too. No stripes on this one :) I am wondering if the yarn is too nice for the pattern, which is a nice basic pattern, but nothing fancy. But if I wait to find the perfect pattern, I'll never make her anything with it!

Reading: Lots, but nothing especially noteworthy. I have to pick up the new Kate Atkinson book, which I'm really excited about.

Writing: Still stalled at the same word count. Food prep took up a lot of my free time. I hope to get some writing done while I'm in California. Speaking of which, I'd better start packing...

I made a nice Crockpot meal that turned out very well. I also baked up a storm for LakeFest--vanilla scones, cinnamon scones, cherry cornmeal scones, and chocolate chip almond biscotti. For the bake sale, I made pumpkin muffins with pear slices stuck into the batter for ears and put little bear faces on them with chocolate chips. They were so cute! I also made 8 loaves of rosemary focaccia for the bake sale. I'm pretty pleased with the scone recipes--100% whole wheat, and when I doubled the recipe, I forgot to double the amount of butter...and they tasted great! Hmmm, wonder how much fat I can just leave out of other recipes.

Crockpot Red Beans With Vegetables

1 pound small red beans
bay leaf
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 pound okra, cleaned, trimmed, and sliced
1 14.5-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes, liquid and all
2 cups vegetable stock*
1 cup corn, fresh or frozen (no need to thaw)
2 TBL Tabasco garlic pepper sauce (this is milder than the regular Tabasco, and has lots of flavor)
3/4 tsp Liquid Smoke
2 bay leaves
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp salt

Soak the beans in cold water to cover 2 inches above the top of beans overnight or 8 hours. Drain and rinse. Cover with cold water to cover 2 inches above the beans, add bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender, but not mushy, about an hour and a half. Drain and place in Crockpot. Add remaining ingredients and cook on Low setting 8 hours. Check seasonings every once in a while. Serve over rice or as a stew with cornbread.

*I haven't made my vegetable stock yet (I make tons and freeze it to use all winter), so I used 2 cups boiling water and one cube of Rapunzel vegetable bouillon with sea salt.

How did I screw up? Let me count the ways...

2008-09-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

I did my usual "deviate from the pattern without thinking it through completely" thing with the Placket-Neck Pullover, and unlike many of you who happily modify patterns at will, I NEVER seem to learn that I don't have the skills to do this with complete success. Either major headaches or a yucky FO result. This was a Learning Experience for me. We'll have to see if I actually apply the lessons to future projects or not :)

Pattern: Placket Neck Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, size 2-3 years
Needles: Size 6 16" (Couldn't find my 24", but it squished onto the 16" just fine) and dpns
Yarn: Rowan Wool-Cotton in white (EXACTLY one ball), Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton in light blue (less than one ball) and in navy (almost two balls)
Notes: I wish I could remember that knitting is not something for which I have natural talent. I am much better off following the pattern exactly (or doing modifications outlined by other knitters more skilled than I) and not substituting yarn unless I check that someone else has successfully used my chosen yarn. Deciding to stripe in this pattern was not the best idea I've had, but overall, I'm pleased with the sweater. Here are things that are completely obvious that I had to learn the hard way:

Lesson #1: Color changes make the jog on a seamless sweater extra wonky. Consider saving striping for seamed garments.

Lesson #2: Intarsia is yucky and tedious. But I really was pleased with how well I did. I think overall the placket looks nice.

Lesson #3: Chart out the striping sequence for the ENTIRE sweater, not just enough to make the body and sleeves match. This was a tough one. I mapped out the increases on the sleeves to make sure they would match the body, but I didn't even consider the yoke striping until I had joined both sleeves. Duh! So the first blue stripe below the neckband is dark blue, when it should have been light blue to match the pattern I'd set. Knitting even wasn't an option because it would have made the yoke over an inch too long, and skipping the last dark blue stripe would have caused the opposite problem. I lucked out at least that the last decrease row was on the white stripe so I didn't have to work even at all (although another two rows would have been okay). I also went on the short side of the measurements for the body and sleeves to make the striping work. I'll have to see if the toddler who receives this has too much wrist and tummy showing--I can rip out the seed stitch trim and knit down another stripe (since the top stripe in the yoke is dark blue).

Lesson #4: If you loathe weaving in ends, DO THEM AS YOU GO. Or skip striping all together. Oh, the humanity!

Lesson #5: Do some actual calculation about the amount of yarn you need for each color. That way, your "stash-busting sweater" won't leave you with one full ball of light blue yarn, and cause you to ADD a ball of white unnecessarily to your stash when you panic and think there's no way you can finish the sweater with the white you have left (and really, it was a squeaker). White yarn left, with sheet of paper for reference:

Lesson #6: Don't do seed stitch on the wrong side row when it's the first row in a new color. (At least I caught this one after a couple of stitches of weirdness, and did a stockinette row in the new color before beginning the seed stitch row.)

Reading: I read the first book in The 39 Clues series. Review at On My Bookshelf. I thought it was fun, if wildly improbable, and I'm really intrigued by the multimedia aspect.

Writing: Writing time has been very scarce lately. We had visitors, and I've been preparing for selling jam. Still at 12,294 words.

Cooking: Hmm. I made the Pasta with Lemon, Beans, and Greens from Cooking Light. The whole family just loves this recipe. So much flavor. I made Hedonistic Fudgies again. Man, those are good. After calculating the points, I was inspired to make them much, much smaller. I ended up with 66 teaspoon-sized drops of batter, making them about 1.5 points each. I have a stew in mind to make with an array of produce, but we're having a warm spell, so it's too hot for stew.

Weight Watchers update: 3 weeks, 6.5 pounds. Hmmm. I know there are slower weeks and faster weeks, but the half-pound loss is tough to see. I'm soldiering on, though!

Just when you need it...

2008-09-23T05:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a tough day. Attempts at getting Lilah down for a nap were thwarted, so she was really cranky all afternoon. But, just when I needed it, two things brought me a smile!

Kate, of Knit the Knits gave me an award:

I was absolutely tickled. There are rules attached:
1. post this award on your blog;
2. add a link to the person who sent you the award;
3. nominate at least 4 other bloggers, and add their links as well; and
4. leave a comment at the new recipients' blogs, so they know they got an award.

If you haven't visited Knit the Knits, you ought to. Go for the gorgeous lace knitting, stay for the dry humor and abundant technical terms. I do! It's not easy to pick four recipients. I love all the blogs to which I link, so I'll give the award to those who have specifically made me smile recently.

KnitPastis (you'll see why in a minute): Gorgeous socks, inspiring posts.

StringBean of Crash Test Dummies: She does the projects I lack the ambition to attempt myself and cracks me up.

Stefaneener of Reading While Knitting": I want to be Stefaneener when I grow up. Go see her blog, and you will, too.

Amy of Sassy Does It: A kindred blog-spirit.

I took Lilah to the post office as a bedtime-stalling measure, and had a lovely package from KnitPastis, with many, many treats! I promptly moved my Placket Neck Pullover into this one:

Isn't that the cutest project bag? It's so soft, and a million times nicer to look at than the gallon-sized baggie I was using (I know, so tacky--it was left over from my travel knitting).

Thank you for your comments on my last post! It's been really funny to me, desperate people noticing things in my cart and asking how I cook them. But I love talking about cooking, so it's fun.

Knitting: Finished sleeve #1 on Placket Neck. The number of ends to weave in is HUGE. Even though I always tell myself I'll weave them in as I go along, I never do. It's going to take forever. But I like the striping, and I think it'll be cute. I'm still not sure I have enough white yarn, but I can order a ball if needed.

Reading: I have several reviews to get up on On My Bookshelf. I read a few kids' books, a really, really funny mystery (Brigadoom! by Susan Goodwill), and Staggerford by Jon Hassler. I'm still pondering the ending of Staggerford. I'm not sure it was fair. But it's a good sign that I'm still thinking about it. I'm now reading another of my Joan Hess mysteries.

Writing: 12,294 words! Not as much progress, as we had company. But Chapter 2 is done, and Chapter 3 is clicking along. I think my chapters are far too long, though I do have section breaks. Not that it's a big concern, just something that's occurring to me. I'm focused on the forward progress, just keeping notes on changes I'll want to go back and make. Nothing huge, though one subplot needs some tweaking, as I really mishandled it. I know how to fix it, at least.

Cooking: Have I made anything interesting? Oh, with the last cheap blueberries of the season, I made blueberry ginger jam that is really nice. I made my granola (recipe linked at left), but left out the coconut, added the zest of one orange, and used all cranberries, no raisins for a Cranberry Orange version. It was nice. I made some whole wheat scones to go with my jam.

Weight Watchers update: 6 pounds, 2 weeks...yay!

Cooking Class

2008-09-16T06:44:00.001-07:00

I haven't led with cooking lately, and it's not as though I've done anything spectacular, but I thought I'd bring up a few things that were on my mind in that regard. It's not that I think I'm some cooking guru, but I get a lot of questions on how I can come up with recipes and how I know what substitutions I can make in a recipe. I think anyone trying to eat healthier or more interesting food can benefit from a few ideas. I also have been giving impromptu cooking lectures while waiting at the deli counter or picking out off-the-beaten-path-of-typical-American-cuisine produce (not spontaneously! only when someone asks a question). Part of this, I think, is rising food prices. Three times I've been at the store with dried beans in my cart, and I've been stopped by people asking how to cook them. I even have my "lecture" down to under a minute :) They're so much cheaper than canned beans that people are getting curious about them, but it seems not many people know how to do that anymore. Likewise with seasonally cheap vegetables that are outside the usual comfort zone for people. And people who didn't used to cook *at all* are being forced to limit their eating out because of food and gas costs.

Cooking is natural and intuitive for me the way knitting is for other people. I can knit, yes, but it's not the effortless, creative process it seems to be for so many of the knitting bloggers I follow. I have knit myself sweaters that I don't wear because of ill-advised yarn substitutions (the Hourglass Sweater that fits great but isn't in the best color, not to mention the too-scratchy wool) or blind pattern-following (the Simple Knitted Bodice that is too short, and I knew it would be too short, but I was afraid to alter the pattern). I don't really remember learning how to cook. I started in high school when I first started the vegetarian thing and no one knew what to cook for me anymore. I started with a couple of cookbooks and some internet recipes and just went nuts. I'm happiest with Italian/Mediterranean cuisine, but I do a bit of Mexican and Asian cooking, too. When I see a recipe, I see possibilities, not a shopping list. But I think that those who are less cooking-inclined can learn how to do this and become more confident in their cooking.

Healthier eating: If a recipe isn't already billed as "low fat" or "light," you can almost always cut the fat by at least a third without ill effects. If it's a baked item, replace the missing amount of butter or oil with an equal measure of low fat yogurt, drained applesauce, canned pumpkin, light cream cheese, or another low fat ingredient that doesn't clash with the existing ingredients. How to know if it will clash? Partly common sense, like replacing butter in a brownie recipe with pumpkin, which has a strong flavor, is probably not a good idea. But in a spice muffin, pumpkin would be great. If you're not sure, you can e-mail me :) If the missing fat is in a cooking recipe, you may not need to make any change. Or you might want to spray the pan with cooking spray so that the missing fat doesn't lead to food sticking. If it's a sauce or another dish in which liquid amount is key, replace the missing fat with an equal measure of broth (I use veggie broth, obviously). If it's a dairy-oriented sauce, replace with low-fat milk (I'm not a big proponent of skim milk, which tends to make things taste funny or separate oddly). If you want more whole grains in your diet, replace half the unbleached flour in a recipe with whole wheat. White whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour are less obvious than regular whole wheat, but have the same benefits. Try doubling the vegetables in a dish, which lowers the overall calorie count per serving in addition to sneaking in more veggies. Or try adding an additional vegetable. Same with fruit--try increasing the amount. Cooking Light has a "recipe makeover" section where they take a reader's fat-laden favorite and remake it into a decently healthy dish. You can learn a lot about lightening recipes from those examples.

What flavors go together? How do I substitute one ingredient for another? This takes practice, but you don't have to reinvent the wheel. If you don't have (or like) kale, google "kale substitute." Or just ask yourself what it brings to the dish, and what other item might do that just as well. Kale is a leafy green...try using a different leafy green like spinach. Kale is pretty thick, though, so you'll want to cook the spinach for a lower time than the recipe calls for. Also think about menu items at restaurants you like. Do they use citrus and spinach together? Carrots and ginger? Eggplant and tomato sauce? If there's a combination you like, try to emulate it at home. If you know you want to make tomato sauce for pasta, search at a site with A LOT of recipes, especially one with reviews (All Recipes and Cooking Light are great for this). You can get a feel for what the possibilities are, and what combinations get good reviews. With practice, you'll get used to weeding through and finding the recipe you'll like best.

How do I cook that? I actually don't have a basic cookbook (I like the single-cuisine, specialty ones), so I don't know one to recommend. I've heard good things about How To Cook Everything, though. And googling is always your friend. Search "how to cook kale" and you'll find plenty of suggestions. And again, feel free to ask me :) I will tell you how to cook dried beans here, though, because it is SO much cheaper and lower in sodium than buying canned beans. Cover beans in a large pot with cold water two inches above the beans and let sit overnight. The next day, drain and return to the pot. Cover with cold water two inches above the beans again and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until tender. For chickpeas, cooking time might be 45 minutes, but I've had black beans take a full two hours. Unless you know the age of your beans (not likely, as they could have been on the shelf for years), you can't predict the actual cooking time, so just keep checking. I usually do a pound or two at a time. This is a lot, but they freeze really well. Just move into one-cup containers (or whatever size is convenient for you) and pop in the freezer. I defrost by moving a container to the fridge the day before I want to use them, but you can defrost in the microwave, too. If you're going to puree the beans, put in a teaspoon per pound of baking soda during both the soaking and cooking stages and it will help break down the starch. NEVER add acid (like citrus juice) or salt to the cooking beans (until they're partially cooked) as this will make them tough.

Wow, that was long. I hope it wasn't overly boring or pretentious. If you have cooking questions, feel free to put them in the comments. I can't really help you with meat, but I'm pretty comfortable with a wide range of other cooking/baking.

So, anyway...knitting! I'm almost to the armpits on Placket Pullover. I'm afraid I should have used one row of off-white between blue stripes instead of two, because my off-white yarn ball is getting frighteningly small. I may have to order another.

Reading: I've been reading mysteries, and I'll have a bunch of reviews up this week. It's Book Blogger Appreciation Week, so we have some giveaways we'll be doing this week over at On My Bookshelf.

Writing: Are you ready for this? Word count: 10, 640. Woo! Almost done with Chapter 2, and I hope to have that one done by tomorrow. I think my chapters are too long, though, so I might need to break it up a bit. I also have to make a map of my town, as I think I contradicted myself about where some of the places are.

Plugging along

2008-09-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been making progress on a number of fronts lately. I actually was going to post a few days ago, but this is Post #250 and I felt like I should have something exciting and fun. But I don't! I'm going for selling stuff at our community thing--thank you to everyone for your encouragement! I will be selling jam and some other things to go with it. Truffles I think will wait for the holidays, though I may have samples out at the community thing with information on how people can order them. They're kind of a huge pain (though perversely enjoyable). So, Amy, it's probably going to be between $1 and $2 per piece. I have to price out my costs. But that sounds like a good future blog giveaway, doesn't it? :-) The tricky thing with a food-based business is the regulation. If I decide to make this a bigger thing than just selling jam at a community thing, I'll have to find a commercial kitchen, not to mention dealing with the bureaucracy of starting a real business. So I'll try this as a first step and see how it goes.

Knitting: Still going on Placket Neck Pullover. I really like it so far. I'm getting close to the end of the body-only part, and I'm enjoying the striping. The ends are a different matter. I've been slacking on tucking them in as I go, so when I finally do them, it'll take forever.

I promise not to give you inch-by-inch progress photos on this, but I felt this showed the striping pattern so much better than the last photo that it made sense. I'm still looking for a cardigan pattern for Lilah. I was thinking this one, but it's not quite what I was thinking. I think it would be easy to modify it to use buttonholes so I can use my cute buttons, but I had more of a collar in mind. Maybe a shawl collar. Anyway, still looking. I may decide to just do this one and see if I like it.

Reading: I had a great reading tragedy occur--I was reading along (Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett) and got to page 162, which describes the hero trapped in a basement. I went to the next page...something wasn't right. I realized that the book was mis-printed. Instead of pages 163-210, I had pages 115-162 again! Ack! Amazon is remedying the situation at no cost to me, but I still have to wait to find out how the boy gets out of the basement. I just finished a fantastic mystery, Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet, but I don't have my review up yet. Next week is Book Bloggers Appreciation Week, by the way--we're going to have lots of giveaways at On My Bookshelf.

Writing: Finished Chapter One today! Word count - 5,238. I cannot believe it. I hope to get going on Chapter Two this weekend while Matt and Lilah have quality time.

Cooking: Have I done anything that interesting? I've been doing the Weight Watchers points (2.5 pounds in Week One! Woo!) so I've been doing simple, healthy stuff. Still no luck on my vanilla tea. I tried a random kind of tea that had vanilla in the title, but it turned out to smell much better than it tasted. It was some sort of vanilla chai thing (but teabags, not one of those mixes), and I suspect it would have been better with milk, which, since I'm using tea as a calorie-free treat, defeats the purpose. I did make a batch of Blue Blueberry Muffins (from Blueberry Muffin Murder by Joanne Fluke) and made 5 dozen mini-muffins instead of full-sized muffins. This makes them one point each, perfect for a little pick-me-up. I also made mini-cheesecakes for my book club tonight. Also one point each. I used my usual cheesecake recipe (which makes 8 dozen mini-cheesecakes made in mini-muffin tins) and cut it to 1/3 (this required a bit of tweaking in places, but it worked out well). I ended up with 3 dozen, slightly on the small side. I usually don't lighten cheesecake (seriously, why bother?) but I happened to have 1/3-less-fat cream cheese to use up, along with light sour cream. In the past, when I've made vast quantities of these, I make different kinds--add mini chocolate chips and use chocolate cookies in the crust, swirl in lemon curd, or swirl in blueberry or raspberry sauce. I just did plain this time.

Mini Cheesecakes (small batch version)

Prepare mini-muffin tins by spraying with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 325.

Crust:
2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 TBL butter, melted (more if needed)
1 TBL sugar

Mix all ingredients well. Use a teaspoon to evenly distribute crust among 36 muffin cups. Sort of press it down with the teaspoon to make it go up the sides a bit. (Really, it takes almost exactly a teaspoon per cup.)

Filling:
1 egg
1 8-oz. package cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat egg white (reserving yolk) at high speed until stiff. Set aside. Beat egg yolk, cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla until well-blended. Fold in egg white. Use a tablespoon measure to scoop filling in crust and smooth a bit. (This makes almost exactly enough for 1 TBL per 36 cups.)

Bake at 325 for 12-14 minutes, or until filling is set. Cheesecakes may crack a bit. Let cool in tins on wire rack. Carefully remove to an airtight container. If you're having trouble, run a sharp knife around the cheesecakes one at a time and scoop them out (if you spray the tins well with cooking spray, there won't be much of a problem). Refrigerate before serving.

Cross your fingers

2008-09-08T08:05:00.000-07:00

I got going on my striped Placket-Neck Pullover, and I think I like it so far. Although I realized that the placket should be in dark blue, which means...intarsia, ick. But it's not that many rows, so probably I'll survive the experience. I also remember why I'm not a fan of striping--ends to weave in. I'm doing those as I go a bit. I noticed that, though I use them interchangeably, Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton and Rowan Wool Cotton are not quite the same. I'm not having gauge problems, but the DB is more of a...sturdy yarn, while the Rowan is softer. At any rate, I jotted down the stripe pattern on the sleeves so I know when to stop the main body. Cross your fingers that it all comes together.

Interesting note (or maybe not), I've thought for years about starting a business, not that I know what I'd do. I've thought idly about selling my truffles or baked goods, and now I've got a jam stockpile. I have an opportunity to sell stuff (whatever I want, really) at a community thing in a month, and I have to decide what to do. Now that I'm finally writing again, do I want to give up precious free time to prepare stuff to sell? (Although Lilah will let me cook while she's up, whereas writing is out of the question.) Will cooking not be fun if it feels like a job? I guess if it's my business, I can determine my capacity and how much I want to do.

Reading: I finally posted four Jane Austen-related reviews at On My Bookshelf. The Jane Austen craze is really funny to me, but I keep reading the books :) One of the books was Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, which is funny because I'm a bit of a Jane Austen addict. I'm doing a giveaway for an extra copy of that book, actually, so enter if it sounds like a good read. I also reviewed a Harry Potter-inspired novel, The Questory of Root Karbunkulus. I'm now reading The Mysterious Benedict Society, which is fantastic. Really, really fun. And where Questory sometimes seemed forced, it's clear that the author of TMBS is having a blast. Though the plotting is careful, the storytelling seems effortless.

It occurred to me that I'd maybe been reading a lot this year, so I sorted my LibraryThing by 2008, and discovered I've read 148 books this year. I almost fell over. Now, a lot of those are juvenile fiction or cozy mysteries, which don't take me that long, but that still seems like a big number.

Writing: A couple of hours yesterday! Word count - 2,598. (I expect Chapter One will take roughly 5000 words.) It's nice to be writing again, though it's frustratingly slow. I wish I were one of those people who only needs 5 hours of sleep a night. I could wake up early and write for hours. Unfortunately, I am just too tired.

Cooking: I grilled (on the George Foreman grill--I don't do real grilling) a zucchini, a yellow squash, a green pepper, and a small eggplant, chopped them up and tossed them with a simple vinaigrette, a bit of feta cheese, and some chopped kalamata olives. Seasoned with oregano, salt, and pepper, and served it over a bed of lettuce. It was really good for such a low-calorie salad. I made the Pasta With Beans, Greens, and Lemon from Cooking Light, which is a favorite, and grilled nectarines for dessert and served them with this lovely ice cream recipe. I made a couple of changes. I upped the liquid to 4 cups to match the capacity on my ice cream maker, used all whole milk to make the nutritional profile less terrifying, and used wildflower honey, since that's what I had. I thought it was lovely, but in my opinion, one vanilla bean would have been sufficient. And they're expensive, so I really wish I had considered that before using both.

I'm back to tracking my Weight Watchers points. I don't do the meeting thing, but just writing down what I eat is a huge help. It's Day 5 and going well. Once I can get some momentum going, it's not that bad. I discovered that flavored afternoon tea feels like a treat--yesterday was Republic of Tea Blackberry Sage, and that reminded me of Republic of Tea's Vanilla Almond. Yum! But I haven't found anywhere around here that sells it, so I think I'll be forced to order it and pay shipping. I have a strong aversion to paying for shipping (amazon, bn.com, and borders.com ALWAYS get me with their $25 limit since I'd rather order a couple more books than pay the price of a book for shipping), but I think it'll be worth it.

Looking up

2008-09-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

So Lilah has been sleeping rather better, though she's had some (yuck) 10:00 pm bedtimes. And a friend and I are working out some alternating child care. She took Lilah for a couple of hours today, and I ran up to my writing nook and worked on the mystery novel. I've been futzing with the backstory so much in little notes to myself (I keep a Word file for the purpose, and a little notepad by my bed) that it's a page 1 rewrite. Gulp. I will be able to lift some sections from the 40,000 words I'd already written later on, but starting over is both exasperating and exciting, because it's a huge improvement.

I want to thank everyone for their comments! You guys are really sweet and encouraging :)

Knitting: Casting on for the Wool Cotton blue/white placket pullover.

Reading: I've been on a Jane Austen-related kick. I've read one very good, one not great but with some good points, and one hilariously fun. I'll post about them on On My Bookshelf soon.

Writing: Draft 3 word count...2017 (Note: We are aiming for about 60-80,000 here, so miles to go, and all that. Still, any progress is a good thing at this point.)

Cooking: I forgot to mention our Indian dinner. I made Samosas from The New Moosewood Cookbook to go with basmati rice and Hot Chana (chickpeas with hot spices, a milder version for Matt and Lilah!) from Vegetarian Cooking At Your House. I usually go all out when cooking Indian, with three or four dishes, rice, and a bread, but didn't have the time.

Distractions

2008-09-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

I had really meant to start posting more frequent, shorter entries, but my constant state these days is one of distraction. Lately it's been the world of book blogging. My friend Holly and I have been posting book reviews and we've both gotten into some early reviewing, and we've even got book giveaways in the works. So I've been reading more book blogs and brainstorming about how to get more than five people to frequent our site :) Add to that that I kept thinking I was just an hour away from finishing my Placket Neck Pullover, and I've gone too long without posting again.

Anyway...here it is!

Details:
Pattern: Placket Neck Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (size 6-12 months)
Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo
Needles: Size 6 dpns and 16" circular
Notes: This is an easy-peasy pattern. The only thing I do is add buttonholes because I think the beads pushed between stitches looks tacky. I do a yo, k2tog on the last two stitches on rows 4, 12, and 20, and I think it works out well. This pattern overestimates the heck out of your yarn needs. I bought four skeins (436 yds) of yarn and used about two and a half. The buttons came from The Button Drawer, which has such cute buttons and fast shipping. I got a few more, little ducks for Lilah and even a penguin button, along with a few different flowers.

Other knitting: I'm looking for a cardigan pattern for Lilah that would use some Debbie Bliss Baby Alpaca DK in pink. I haven't found what I'm looking for. I definitely want buttons, and a gauge swatch shows I'm getting 6 stitches to the inch on size 6s. I'm happy with that fabric, but I still need a pattern. I'm trying for simple, but a little girly. I may attempt to design something, but that may be beyond my ability right now.

I also have these:

I want to make a placket neck pullover for a two year old boy, but I don't have any particular yarn for it. I noticed these hanging around the stash, and was thinking it might be just the ticket...if I can come up with a stripe pattern that looks okay. I may just cast on with the dark blue and get started. Or I may finally try to finish Tiger Sock #2 while I deliberate.

Reading: Tons and tons. I'm going to send you to On My Bookshelf for reviews again. I'm having trouble settling to a book at the moment. I just read two memoirs (Wife in the North and Queen of the Road, both about women relocating for their husbands--Wife in the North from London to the country; Queen of the Road from a house to a converted bus for a year), and I'm working on Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, but it's not really doing it for me. I have mysteries to read, a huge stack of kids' books, a pile of Jane Austen-related books, and so much more. I may carry on with this one for a bit to see if it grows on me.

Writing: A bit of futzing with the backstory, at least, if not full-scale writing.

Cooking: It's been so long since I posted, let's see. Ah, the baking for the playground build was great. I made three kinds of muffins: the Blue Blueberry Muffins from Blueberry Muffin Murder by Joanne Fluke (fun mystery, fantastic muffins), my Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins (recipe in the link at the left), and Raspberry Cheesecake Muffins, only with blackberry jam. The muffin for the Raspberry Cheesecake was kind of blah, but the cheesecake/jam filling really kicked it up. Unfortunately, the blackberry jam also erupted from the muffins like lava, leaving my oven coated in charred jam. I'm not sure if I need to vent the muffins or make sure to more thoroughly cover them.

I made Gallo Pinto for brunch last Sunday to celebrate the build (recipe at left). This week, I made Baba Ghanosh (recipe from World of the East Vegetarian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey), Classic Hummus (recipe at left), and Ful Medames. The only change I make is to mash the fava beans coarsely with a potato masher. Then I make pita chips for a feast: Cut pita into wedges, spray and brush with olive oil, and stick under the broiler for about 2 minutes, WATCHING CAREFULLY. Turn, spray or brush with oil, then sprinkle with sea salt, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and dried thyme. Pop under the broiler a minute or two.

I also made Strawberry Vanilla Jam. Again, just following the recipe on the box of pectin, except scraping the seeds of one vanilla bean (split lengthwise) into the pot. I had a half-flat of strawberries, which ended up making 19 jars of jam between the two batches! It's yummy.

Housekeeping update: I finally switched over to Blogger's new Layout thing instead of my old template. I've been re-adding my old links (what a pain). I haven't gotten my web rings added back in, and since I can't seem to log into ring surf, that might take a while...

Pass the coffee, please

2008-08-21T05:37:00.000-07:00

Lilah woke up at 4:00 this morning, apparently mistaking the PITCH DARK for broad daylight. After a few attempts to get her to settle down, I gave up and took her downstairs for breakfast. I had 8 dozen brownies made before 7:00 (see below for explanation of ridiculous number of brownies). Since I got up with her yesterday at 5:45, Matt was going to sit with her until 6 and then go back to sleep (I can't go back to sleep right after I've fully woken up--I'll have to nap later in the day if I can). She pitched a screaming "mamamamamama" fit, so I ended up feeding her breakfast at 5 something. Then she acts tired and cranky, and it's like, I'm not the one who picked this wake-up time! By 8:00 I had 8 dozen chocolate chip cookie bars done, too. At this rate, I'll have all the muffins I need finished by noon.

Knitting: I actually did knit a bit on Placket Pullover. I finished sleeve #2 and I'm at the yoke decreases. If I didn't need the sleep so badly, I'd finish it when Lilah naps. This one is in an orchid color for a baby, and I'm thinking of doing another one in blues for her 2-year-old brother. I usually add a button hole or two instead of the bead thing in the pattern. Then I can pick out cute buttons.

Reading: I finished The Empress of Weehawken by Irene Dische. What a fabulous book. I haven't written up my review yet, but I should have it up tomorrow on On My Bookshelf. It was very complex and moving, so I'm reading the gentle children's series Why Some Cats Are Rascals. Very sweet.

Writing: Nope.

Cooking: I made another batch of jam, this one Mixed Berry. I used 4 cups of strawberry and 1 cup each of blackberries and raspberries. I meant it to be more even, but some of my berries had succumbed to The Creeping Mold, so I had to work with what I had. I added a couple tablespoons of kirsch for a little punch. I used the recipe on the pectin box, pretty much exactly. Jam is fun, and so much less of a production than I'd expected.

We have our playground build this weekend, so I've been baking to feed volunteers. Boring bar cookies, mostly, to keep oven time to a minimum. Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and brownies. I'm also making scones (Cranberry--meant to be Cranberry Orange, but totally forgot to get oranges at the store, oops!), Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (recipe at link on left), Blue Blueberry Muffins from Blueberry Muffin Murder by Joanne Fluke, and Raspberry Cheesecake Muffins.

For us, I made Pasta With Beans, Greens, and Lemon from Cooking Light (Sept 07), a favorite. I'll be making various Mediterranean dips at some point and Gallo Pinto. I have it in my head to make Strawberry Vanilla Jam, and maybe another peach jam. Matt thinks the jam-making is nuts, but he showed a flicker of interest when I told him it makes great holiday gifts for neighbors.

Happy Dance

2008-08-16T12:59:00.001-07:00

My car is back from the shop! It's back the way it was before the accident. Actually better, as the good folks at the dealership cleaned it inside and out. And put in New Car Smell. Yay, no more driving stick/juggling cars!

I Can Can!

2008-08-13T07:32:00.001-07:00

It was a toss-up today with which bad joke to give the title: "I can can!" won with a narrow margin over "We're jammin'!" Spurred on by Stefaneener, a very kind jam guru, I finally joined the ranks of canners with two batches of Peach-Pecan-Amaretto Preserves. I fell in love with San Saba River Peach Pecan Amaretto Preserves after receiving them as a gift, but at $8 for a half-pint jar, they're a bit rich for everyday use. It seems I'm not the only one to feel this way, as googling for a peach pecan amaretto preserve recipe turned up this recipe developed by a fellow San Saba River fan. I followed the recipe exactly and then made a second batch using no-sugar-needed pectin with the low-sugar recipe on the box of pectin, then adding the pecans and amaretto after removing from heat. The sugary batch still hasn't set, though the low-sugar batch set almost immediately upon cooling. I know some preserves take longer to gel, but the fact that the second batch has done so already makes me think my first batch will be pancake/ice cream topping instead of a spread. That's fine with me, as it'll be gooooooood pancake/ice cream topping. The first batch produced 11 half-pint jars, and the low-sugar batch turned up 6 half-pint jars, plus a half jar, which I promptly put in the fridge for immediate use. It was really good on toast this morning. Lilah and Matt agreed. The low-sugar batch is much peachier than the first batch, which is crazy sweet, like jam usually is. I like the low-sugar quite a bit, but both are nice. I also used much bigger chunks of fruit in the low sugar batch, and I prefer it that way. I have plans for a mixed berry jam next.

Thank you for the anniversary wishes! It wasn't the best anniversary, with Matt in Scotland and Lilah not sleeping well, but they can't all be winners :)

Knitting; I'd hoped to show you a finished placket-neck pullover, as Matt was home yesterday (yay!), but I was felled by a migraine and did no knitting. I suspect the sleep deprivation during his trip was to blame, as I haven't had one in years. If you've never had an aura-producing migraine, it's surreal. I was reading at the time and became annoyed because the sparkly blurry shape on the page was getting bigger. Then it hit me. Fortunately, Matt was home to take over Lilah care, and I retreated to a dark bedroom.

Yarnthrower, thank you! Long-tail cast-on is exactly what I meant. That was really bugging me.

Reading: I finished Stephanie Barron's latest Jane Austen mystery, Jane and the Barque of Frailty, but I haven't posted a review yet. Since Barron has a non-Jane book out, I was afraid it would be the last, but it seems there's room for more. I really enjoy these! I'm now reading The Matchmaker of Perigord by Julia Stuart and loving it. I've laughed out loud a dozen or so times, and it's a delightful read. I just received my June ARC to review, Lookin' Back, Texas by Leanna Ellis, so that's next. I requested this book based on the description, which left out the (to me) pertinent fact that it's Christian fiction. I'm going to try to read it with an open mind, though, and hope to be able to give it a good review.

Writing: Yeah, right.

Cooking: Besides the jam, I busted out another batch of ice cream. Inspired by this David Lebovitz recipe, I set out. Naturally, I modified the heck out of it. Lebovitz's book, The Perfect Scoop, goes on and off of my wish list, mostly because I understand his recipes almost always include a custard base made with 5 egg yolks. Not really my thing, but it looks like a fun, gorgeous book, and I sometimes think, well, hey, I could modify the recipes to leave out the egg.

Coffee-Heath Bar Crunch Ice Cream

3 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans (I used decaf Ethiopian)
pinch salt
1/2 cup cream (or substitute another 1/2 cup of milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp finely ground coffee (I used espresso)
1 cup crushed/chopped Heath bar*

In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups milk with coffee beans, sugar, and salt. Heat over medium heat until hot and steamy, but not boiling. Remove from heat and let steep, covered for 1 hour. Strain. I lined a bowl with cheesecloth, poured over the coffee mixture, then lifted the cheesecloth, squeezing with clean hands to release as much liquid as possible. You could also use a strainer and press down on the beans. Stir in remaining milk, cream, vanilla, and ground coffee and chill mixture. Pour into the bowl of an ice cream maker and process until nearly firm. Add Heath bar bits and process until mixed and firm.

*I forgot to put Heath bar bits (sold in a bag near the chocolate chips) on the grocery list, but noticed the Heath bars in the "impulse buy" section in the checkout lane. Three Heath bars made about a cup. I finely chopped two of them and broke the third into larger chunks because I like chunks :)

This is delish! It would be nice with chocolate-covered espresso beans as the chunks, or by itself, or with melted chocolate (cooled, but still pourable) drizzled into the ice cream maker as it processes in the last five minutes. Or chopped chocolate. I thought the ice cream tasted just like an iced coffee. I might try a smidge less sugar next time, maybe a 1/2 cup, at least if I'm adding Heath bits or something else with sweetness. I had already modified the recipe to include more liquid, and I didn't increase the sugar, but I think it could use even less.

Knitting Meme (plus bonus ice cream recipe!)

2008-08-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of things that are more interesting to post later this week, so I cast around for some content to post along with a fantastic ice cream recipe, and thought...meme! This meme, which String Bean posted, reminds me of a less-intoxicated, G-rated version of a popular drinking game. So, here it is, Knitter's I-Never:

Bold the things you have ever knit
Italicize the ones you plan to do sometime
Leave the rest

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Shawl
Knitting with metal wire
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Drop stitch patterns
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fibre yarn
Domino Knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting ***Do I even know what this is???
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting ***I have to look this one up, too
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publish a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dyeing with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) *** Hahahaha! Other tubular items.***
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cottonc
Knitting smocking
Dyeing yarn
Knitting art
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Entrelac
Long Tail CO
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed Toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

If you read this and feel like doing a meme, consider yourself tagged. For extra fun, do a shot for every line you bold!

Other knitting: Still going on good ol' placket-neck. My dad has been here, so we've been busy. I did want to announce that I have switched from using cable cast-on for practically everything to the double cast-on. Is that what it's called, the one with the fiddly hand movements that uses both ends of the yarn? So much stretchier, yet still neat-looking. When I first started knitting, I could NOT get the hang of it, so I switched to the (much easier) cable cast-on. But it's often too firm, so I tried the double cast-on and I couldn't be happier. Well, I could if I had a million dollars, probably.

Reading: Lots of Joan Hess's Claire Malloy mysteries. Now I'm reading the last Jane Austen mystery by Stephanie Barron, which I've been hoarding. I might go on to a big pile of juvenile fiction, or I might switch to Jane Austen related fiction.

Writing: Nothing at all.

Cooking: At the totally dysfunctional place I used to work, another employee and I were once asked to leave so the artistic director and executive director could continue their "discussion" (read: shouting match) in our one-room, multi-person office. We ran a couple of work-related errands, then came back. We could hear the yelling down the hall, so we headed to the newly opened Ben & Jerry's. A flavor I liked every once in a while (that I don't recall ever seeing in pre-packed pints at the store) was a coconut ice cream with almonds and chocolate. Yum.

Coconut Ice Cream (Light-ish)

1 can coconut milk plus enough whole milk to make 4 cups
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped chocolate-covered almonds
1/2 cup finely shredded coconut*

Place first three ingredients in bowl of ice cream mixer (make sure they are chilled). Process until almost firm. Add remaining ingredients and process until well-mixed and desired consistency. This, like other light ice cream recipes, freezes rather solid. I just zap it for 30 seconds before serving, or set it out for a few minutes. I might try coconut-flavored rum in this next time, as that would make it a bit softer.

* I actually would leave this out last time. It's coconutty enough without it, and it's sort of chewy and dry. Maybe I could try letting it sit in hot coconut milk to absorb moisture, then chilling the whole thing, but that sounds excessive.

Notes: Use up to 1 cup whipping cream in place of the whole milk if your arteries are too healthy. I happened to have chocolate-covered almonds on hand, but chopped dark chocolate and roasted chopped almonds would be great, too.

And six years ago today:

Channeling "Bulldog" Briscoe

2008-08-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

I always liked Frasier, and one of the supporting characters was sports announcer "Bulldog" Briscoe, a loud, uncouth, unforgettable sports fan. He was always a fun counterpoint to Frasier's stuffiness. Anyway, he used to have a knee-jerk reaction every time he was unable to find something he needed: "Who stole my [whatever]? This stinks! This is total BS! Oh, here it is." Now Matt and I use "This stinks! This is total BS!" when we can't find something. Anyway, long story short (too late!)...I sat down with my new Cooking Light, always a treat, and got to the last page. "Where's my Inspired Vegetarian section? This stinks! This is total BS!" It appears they've eliminated it, which really ticked me off. I flipped to the index page and counted...eight main dishes under "vegetarian." Hmmm. I went back and checked a couple recent months' issues...four and six. So, they eliminated my section, but have more recipes for me? That sounds okay. I used to think that Inspired Vegetarian sometimes gave them an excuse to ignore vegetarian possibilities in other sections, so maybe it'll work out. It's kind of weird, though, because usually when they have a format change, they go on and on about why they changed it and how it's better. Aren't you glad you read that whole story? Matt's not home so I can't share it with him, so I get to bore you instead :)

In other news, I have been coloring under duress. Lilah is very into coloring ("ee-book-ah" is what she calls it) and likes it to be a group activity. Everything is a group activity with Lilah. She is clearly an extrovert. My mom says that she used to sit and read while I played happily by myself, but my little brother used to grab our faces and say "Listen" and often hid her books so he'd have everyone's full attention. Lilah and I used to sit and color on opposite pages of a coloring book, and that was fine. But that's not good enough anymore, so I have to use the color she chooses for me (and she'll rip it out of my hands and shove a new one in my hand when she wants me to change colors) and she actually holds my hand and moves it on the paper where she wants me to color. I can tell I need to start my yoga classes after Matt's back, or start going to my alumni knitting group or book club for some "me" time because I find myself resentful of her tyranny and actually thinking, "I don't get to do anything I want! I want to color the duck yellow, not the barn brown!" Whew. Talk about temporary insanity.

Knitting: This is probably the longest it's ever taken me to do a placket-neck pullover! It's not that I don't enjoy it, but Matt is in Scotland for a conference, so I'm on double parenting duty, and I haven't had any knitting time. That being the case, I might try to set aside a few minutes to finish the sock for the Knitting Olympics (not officially participating), but I'll decide tomorrow. My day right now goes Lilah-Lilah-Lilah-Yay, nap!-Clean-Clean-Clean-Lilah-Lilah-Lilah-Yay, bed!-Clean-Clean-Clean-Crash. Not much room for anything like knitting. Fortunately, my dad is coming for a few days to help me out.

Since knitting content is limited in today's post, I decided to finally get out and take a sock yarn photo. We had a nice sunny day, so the colors are great. (Lilah and I weathered a doozy of a storm Sunday night, losing power for about 5 hours, right at bedtime.)

Clockwise, from left: Lorna's Laces in Vera, Hill Country Yarns Instant Gratification Sock Yarn in Sandalwood, Noro Kureyon Sock in whatever number that is, Instant Gratification Sock Yarn in Mountain Laurel, Instant Gratification Sock Yarn in Indian Summer (yes, two skeins, no idea why--must be Turtlegirl's fault), Sunshine Yarns in Strawberry Banana (it's been so long I don't remember if it's superwash or not), Brown Sheep Wildefoote in Sonatina (almost identical to the Sunshine Yarns, oops), Lorna's Laces in Happy Valley.

Look at all those pretty socks-in-waiting! Since I have two of the Indian Summer, maybe it'll turn into something else. I really love those colors. I also can see that there's no reason for further yarn shopping, as the sock yarn alone should keep me occupied for a while!

Reading: Finished a very disappointing mystery novel (May Day by Jess Lourey--the first in a series. My review is on On My Bookshelf. I retreated back to my Joan Hess mysteries for a bit before starting something new.

Writing: You know the story. No time, no energy.

Cooking: I haven't made anything that interesting, but I did make bread. Not the time-consuming, relaxing, old-fashioned way (partly because it's too hot to use the oven), but in my bread machine. In many ways, I am a big cooking snob (and I do enjoy the full bread experience with the kneading and rising), but I love my bread machine. Just chuck in all the ingredients and wait a while. Bing! Fresh-baked bread. This recipe is adapted from one I randomly found on the internet when I wanted to use some rosemary (we have two bushes growing outside our house) and had it in my head that cornmeal would be a nice touch. You can cut the recipe in half for a smaller machine; just use 1 tsp salt and keep the rosemary the same. Halve all other ingredients.

Rosemary-Cornmeal Bread

1 3/4 cups warm water
2 TBL olive oil
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 TBL sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
5 tsp active dry yeast (2 packets; or use bread machine yeast)
1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary

Add wet ingredients to bread machine. Add dry ingredients. Bake on white bread setting. Voila! (Note: I read somewhere that you shouldn't add fresh herbs until the beep because they can keep the bread from rising properly, but I've never had a problem with this with rosemary.) You may notice that I haven't "healthified" this recipe. I think it's because it's comfort food for me, and it's okay if comfort food isn't particularly healthy. I think about trying to sub white whole wheat flour for the all-purpose, but I've been afraid it'll be too dense. I have also thought about sauteeing rosemary in the olive oil to kind of infuse the flavor throughout the bread, but haven't taken the extra time. When I remember, I sprinkle the top with cornmeal after the final kneading and before it bakes for a pleasant outer crunch.

On the blackboard

2008-07-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

I will stop being whiny.
I will stop being whiny.
I will stop being whiny.
I will...

It's just whine, whine, whine here lately, isn't it? Thank you to everyone for your kind comments. It's a bit of a tough time, but I think there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Not to mention so many good things that I could focus on. My car wouldn't start because the crunched-up trunk was preventing a light from being turned off, so once we figured that out, it was easy to disconnect it. I also am able to drive my husband's car, so I don't need a rental (it turns out driving stick is like riding a bicycle. Although I'm not sure I remember how to ride a bicycle...). Our insurance company is awesome and will reimburse us for the deductible for getting the car fixed--it's in the shop now. String Bean, cookies aren't necessary, but always appreciated :) Amy, I wish there was ice cream delivery. When I lived in Chicago, there was a restaurant that delivered that had Ben & Jerry's on the menu. I can't even remember what cuisine it was, but I remember they had ice cream!

Lilah is a terrific source of entertainment. Here is a little piece of artwork I call "Dog Chauffeurs a Penguin (in Little People toys and plush)":

Knitting: I've gone back and forth on the Knitting Olympics. I participated in the official Knitting Olympics during the last Winter Games and really enjoyed it. I chose a difficult (for me) pattern, and I actually finished within the allotted time. However. I now have a toddler and not much free time. I haven't been as into challenging myself recently, and my priorities are different--I can't just tell Lilah to wait a couple of weeks for whatever she needs. I may choose something simple and try just to finish it, but I'm not sure that fits the Olympic spirit, so I may just cheer others on. I have a sock yarn inventory to conduct so I can pick a new sock project. I'll post a picture when I get to it. It was overcast all day, so I didn't have good light. I've decided I don't have to finish the tiger sock before starting a new pair. Knitting is supposed to be fun and relaxing for me, and not add to my stress. Hmmm...maybe I should make "finish tiger sock" an Olympic goal (though it won't follow the rules, which require starting and finishing during the Olympics). Still, it would be a challenge for me, and maybe I could use the Olympics to get that finished so it's not hanging over my head.

Reading: Lots of good reading. I'm going to send you to On My Bookshelf for reviews again. Is that okay? I figure anyone interested in my reviews can see them all there, and the rest of you never need know they exist. It just seems silly to cut-and-paste them, and they take up so much room. I just finished a wonderful little book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, an epistolary novel set just after World War !!, in which a writer begins corresponding (by chance) with several residents of Guernsey, which was occupied by Germany and completely cut off from the rest of the world. The unlikely group forms a literary society to get out of punishment for a curfew violation, and the book reflects on what reading means to people and how a chance encounter can change your life. I found it deeply moving, but also very funny. I knew nothing about the Guernsey occupation, so the history was very interesting (parts heartbreaking, parts uplifting). I will write a full review on On My Bookshelf, but I wanted to mention it now so that you can all order it immediately :) I should also mention The Joy of Spooking by P. J. Bracegirdle, which I did review on On My Bookshelf--it's a delightful children's book in the tradition of classic horror, from the Tim Burton-ish cover design to its delightfully devilish villain. I had a blast reading it.

Writing: Not a thing. I'm trying not to give up hope.

Cooking: Not much. It's been hot and we've had all these things to deal with lately. The night after my car wouldn't start, I threw together an impromptu pasta sauce with some squash from a friend's garden, and it was really nice. If I had gone to the store earlier in the day (instead of being trapped by the lack of a car), I never would have come up with it! If I were to make it again, I think I'd kick up the lemon and skip the tomatoes. And if I'd had it, a splash of cream would have been very nice. And some fresh herbs.

Summer Squash Pasta

2 TBL olive oil
1 medium onion, trimmed and sliced vertically
2 medium to large summer squash (I used yellow)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained (14.5 oz.)
1 cup green peas, fresh or frozen (thawed)
Juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound fettuccine, cooked according to package directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion; cook until translucent. Add the squash and cook until it begins to brown. Add tomatoes, peas, and lemon. Reduce heat to low and cook until vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss with fettuccine and serve with parmesan cheese.

Where's Candid Camera???

2008-07-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

So now my car won't start (probably a dead battery). We have no food in the house, which is the reason I was trying to start the car in the first place. The air conditioning is under warranty, but the labor is going to cost a LOT. AND the guy who rear-ended Matt in my car...turns out to have been uninsured at the time.

Seriously, am I on TV? Because I'd like to do something with my hair if I am...

A More Cheerful Post

2008-07-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone for your sympathy on yesterday. It was a rough day. The a/c guy did show up and we have cool air! That's the good news. The bad part is that he had to add four pounds of freon, so he's coming back Monday to find the leak, and if it's in a non-fixable place, we have to buy a new unit. I'm trying not to think about that. It turned out that we were NOT involved in the boil order. The county listed a bunch of zip codes affected, which made it seem we probably were (and with a little one, it didn't seem worth the risk to not boil), but our City Administrator found out that, since water mains aren't laid out by zip code, the list was pretty much worthless, and our city was fine. And while there wasn't ice cream (it was too far for Cranky Lilah to be walked), there WAS chocolate. So things are looking up-ish.

I also had a fantastic vacation. We had a week at the beach, then Matt had to come back for work. We had a week with my parents, then drove up to Sacramento to see my brother. I can't believe how awesome Lilah was on the long flights, the Sacramento drive (4.5 hours EACH way), the drive to the airport--she's a really good traveler.

And...I washed this:

Details:
Pattern: Alpaca Baby Shawl
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Cherry Moon (every bit of four skeins)
Needles: Size 6 - dpns, 16" circ, "36" circ
Mods: I was concerned about curling, so I added another garter ridge before binding off. I actually intended to do a couple more garter ridges, but last few rows really suck up the yarn. I was obviously going to run out before my intended border, so I called it a day after one additional ridge (one knit and one purl row).
Notes: I love this pattern. It's so easy that after the first lace repeat, I didn't have to look at the pattern anymore. I love the way it turned out. I bound off too tightly, which is pretty usual for me. It makes for a not-quite-square blanket. I really like the yarn, but the cotton makes for a heavier blanket than the alpaca would. I washed it on gentle in cold water and hung it to dry. I didn't pin out the points the way the pattern asked--I could be wrong, but I felt the cotton was too heavy to really hold that kind of blocking. The blanket is nice and soft, and the color is lovely. It calmed down a bit after washing (when they warn you that the dye may bleed a bit, they are NOT kidding). I used almost every yard of the four skeins of yarn I had. The blanket starts at the center and gets bigger and bigger, so the last skein really only contributed about 2 inches in diameter. Around and around with not much progress. It's a quick pattern because of the alternating increase rows and lace inserts. Interesting, yet simple.

Okay, knitters are going to think this is sacrilege, but I'm not the kind of person who seeks out yarn stores wherever I go. However, I finished the baby blanket in Cotton Fleece, then found out we had 9 hours of driving coming up (we drove up to Sacramento to see my brother). So I hit the LYS in my hometown, which is quite nice. I found Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo in an orchid kind of color to make a Placket-Neck Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, and some Rowan Cashsoft Aran in cream to make a Miss Dashwood. The Baby Bamboo is lovely and soft, with a gorgeous sheen, and it's machine washable. It remains to be seen how it holds up, but it has a nice drape, but also a bit of elasticity. Anyway, funny story--I had it in my head that I had the needles I needed because the baby blanket used dpns, a 16" circ, and a 36" circ. When I got back from the yarn store, I discovered that I'd taken the dpns and smaller circ out of my luggage, not wanting to bring anything unnecessary (the blanket was already on the 36"). And we were driving to my grandmother's that evening. And leaving early in the morning. So I had to get to a yarn store in Sacramento. There was one walking distance from our hotel, and I quickly found my needles. While i was waiting to check out, a display of Kureyon Sock called to me. I've been wanting some for a long time, so I snagged a skein. I have no idea when I'll get around to knitting all the sock yarn I've accumulated. I'll make a list if I get the chance, but it's sort of ridiculous.

Matt was listening to NPR and they did a piece on the knitting boom and bust (many yarn stores are folding). He mentioned that one person interviewed owned a yarn store in Reno that does 80% of their business online. "Oh my gosh, was it Jimmy Bean's Wool? Haha, it was. I just thought that was funny. It's one of my usual yarn-ordering spots.

Reading: I've done a LOT of reading since my last post here, so I'm going to send you to On My Bookshelf, where I posted all my reviews. I'm up to date on the Sisters Grimm books (I LOVE this series--I know I say it all the time). I'm currently finishing up Kate Kingsbury's Manor House mysteries, waiting for my two ARC review copies of books to show up. While I was gone, Matt moved all my piles of books into a corner, so the organizational system is shot. It's a good thing, probably, as I now have to re-organize them.

Gwyneth, I tried the first Alexander McCall Smith book, years ago, and couldn't get into it. I'm not sure why. But you're not the only one to recommend them--I may have to try them again.

Writing: Ugh.

Cooking: I was on vacation, so not much. I'm making muffins for a thing Saturday, though.