lesson learned

How to block a baby hat? How about using a small mixing bowl?So far, so good...

Pattern: Vine Lace Baby Hat

Designer: Sandi Wiseheart (which must be one of the best last names ever)
Yarn: The Plucky Knitter, 100% Merino Single Ply Fingering, "Woodland Brown"
Needles: US3 Brittany birch DPNs
Size: Newborn

Hmmm... not so good after all. Looks more like very odd yarmulke. Embarrassingly enough, I didn't know how to pronounce that until I was 19. There was exactly one Jewish kid in my grade in my entire Minneapolis suburb (which was not small), and somehow traditional head coverings never came up in casual conversation.

I'll have to block this again before sending it off to Sarah. The newborn size is quite small indeed, so I would recommend knitting the largest size if you want it to be worn more than once. The annoyance of the YOs at the beginning and end of the needles has motivated me to learn magic loop or 2 circ's.

Mr. Greenjeans from the new Knitty is on the needles. I'm using Malabrigo merino worsted in "Violetas", and the yarn is as marvelous as ever. Some of you may remember it from my ill-fated attempt at the Hourglass sweater. A cardigan will see a lot a more use. I'm a big fan of the YOs along the raglan increases.
My knitting group met at my place last night since our coffee shop was closed, and it was great fun. Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares were absolutely yummy. It also inspired a frantic cleaning frenzy! It's so nice and clean in here now.

Saartje's Bootees

The fruits of my test knitting for The Plucky Knitter, using her fabulous merino fingering weight yarn. So soft, so easy to knit with. These booties knit up very quickly. They still need buttons.

Pattern: Saartje's Bootees Yarn: The Plucky Knitter, 100% Merino Single Ply Fingering colorway unknown ~ I'd call it "Woodland Brown" Needles: Knit Picks US 2 circular (metal) Size: large

Next up? A Vine Lace Baby Hat to match, already on the needles. Cute so far, but YOs at the beginning and end of DPNs -- what a b^&*$. Magic Loop knitters would probably enjoy this knit more than I do.

Apparently I've been living in a cave. I had been strangely resistant to Neko Case for a long time (even despite Paul's love of The New Pornographers). I have no idea why. On a whim,I picked up a copy of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood last week, and it has been in heavy rotation ever since. I *heart* Neko Case. That voice... the thoughtfulness of the lyrics... the storytelling! I would love to hear her sing "Long Black Veil", my favorite Johnny Cash song.
I haven't been this excited about any music since I first heard The Decemberists. Speaking of which, Colin Meloy's old band, Tarkio, is great, too. Much more alt country -- finger-picking, violin, etc. There's still the storytelling element, but it's not quite as literary. Sometimes it's a bit forced (I'm thinking of a particularly painful line about Albert Camus).
Omnibus is, as you would expect, a compilation album.

Any new music suggestions for me? Other new-to-me things I've been enjoying lately are Matt Pond, Cat Power, and the tribute album to Elliott Smith. I have tried using Last FM, but I can't get into it. Maybe I need to rate more music or something?

The Flaming Lips show last Friday was great fun, despite the 100 degree heat. Wayne went off on some long-winded, non-specific political rants that detracted from the show a bit. Be concise! Just being disgruntled doesn't set you apart from the crowd and motivate people to act.

Wisconsin Sheep and Wool

Wisconsin Sheep and Wool was a lot of fun. It's not a huge festival, but there were some gorgeous sheep and marvelous vendors there. Connecting with sheep farmers, meeting the little woolie guys who provide me with yarn, petting a soft angora rabbit -- much better than Stitches Midwest. The highlights:

~ Shetland sheep - so little and fluffy!!!
~ angora rabbits - I can't believe I made it home without one
~ Briar Rose Fibers - so many beautiful, saturated colors

I'm doing a little test knitting for Sarah (AKA The Plucky Knitter), so I'll be posting FO pics of Saartje's booties knit up in a super-soft merino fingering weight very, very soon. It feels like fingering-weight Malabrigo.

Paul and I are heading back to Wisconsin for Saturday's Brewers game. This time I'm rooting for the Bratwurst! Hopefully we'll hit an apple orchard on the way home. I'm jonesing for some homemade applesauce.

Check out the fabulous horns on this guy!

smitten with mittens

Heat and humidity have hindered further progress on my Tapestry shawl. Lap full of wool in 90% humidity = not my cup of tea. A smaller project was in order:

Basic Mittens

Source: Knitting for Peace
Size: Adult Medium
Needles: US 6 Brittany birch DPNs
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool

An odd hole is created in the ribbing when you begin to increase for the thumb gusset in the first stockinette round. Next time I would knit one round plain before beginning the increases. These are for the Favorites Fall Swap! I'm in a frenzy over all the awesome mitten patterns out there.

More mittens in progress:

wonderfully whimsical Squirrel and Oak mittens from Hello Yarn
Knit Picks Wool of the Andes (snickerdoodle & chocolate)

Hopefully they'll be done by the time I'm home from the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival this weekend!

My computer had a minor meltdown, so blogging has been light and will be so for the next few days, too.

haulin' oats

Watch out boy, she'll chew you upOh, here she comes
She's a yarn-eater
Ah... the immortal words of Hall & Oates. When I was little, I thought the name was "Haulin' Oats."

The "Simple Yet Effective Shawl" is growing, and it is just eating up the yarn. 3 balls down, 3 to go. I want this to be luxuriously roomy for staying warm and cozy while researching at the freezing cold library this fall and winter.

Rowan Tapestry is a loose singles yarn, and it's easy to knit with larger needles than recommended. I'm using bamboo needles with blunt tips, which I think helps a great deal. I wouldn't want to knit a sweater at a tight gauge with super-pointy Addi's, that's for sure.

Fall is on its way... :-)

tea and sympathy

Alas, I'm wallowing in the depths of a summer cold. Last week I could sense it coming on, so Friday night Paul and I skipped a b-day party and stayed home to watch Pan's Labyrinth. (an excellent but disturbing film). My Spanish is OK, but I knew I would have to look at the subtitles some, so I cast on for an easy project.
Apparently I've caught not only a cold, but also START-ITIS! I hear it's highly contagious. This is the Simple Yet Effective Shawl from cosmicpluto knits!. I fell in love with Larissa's version back in June. The yarn is Rowan Tapestry. I'm using US 8 needles, and it's creating a nice, drapey fabric. My SP10 sent me a couple skeins, and I found a couple more (of the same dyelot, no less) in the sale bin at Arcadia last week.

Saturday and Sunday were spent in The Land of Milk and Honey (AKA Wisconsin). After surviving a family gathering in the green rolling hills outside of Mt. Horeb, Paul and I took a brief detour through Madison on the way home. We walked down State St., around the Capital, and down Langdon. My throat hurt too much to enjoy a beer at the Terrace, so I alternated between people-watching and sneezing ferociously while Paul enjoyed a Spotted Cow. We stopped for dinner at the new Paisan's on Lake Monona, which attempts but fails to recreate the dark, rather dingy atmosphere of the old University Square location. I'll stick to their more upscale cousin Porta Bella in the future. :-) Many an event has been celebrated there over the years (like the night Paul proposed!!!!).

Speaking of good things from Wisconsin, many thanks to Peaknit for the award! I like the spirit of the thing, even though the button sports a very Barbie shade of pink.
I accept with pleasure! I'm passing this honor on to a few more marvelous female bloggers:
- Micki at A Thing 4 String
- Nicole at cocoknits (who has inspired me to use bloglines at long last)
- Jana at Exile in Knitville

dispatch from the frog pond

RIP
Dublin Bay Socks
19 August 2007

The Hagrid-sized Dublin Bay sock has morphed into a cuter, smaller sock:

Dragonfly Socks, a free pattern by Jocelyn Sertich

Fleece Artist merino sock yarn, mahogany
US 1 bamboo DPNs

My sock model? Lakefront Brewery Organic E.S.B. It doesn't get much more elegant than that, does it?

Inspired by thoughts of Festivus knitting, I wrote up a little hat pattern for worsted weight yarn (Knit Picks Andean Silk). If it turns out well, I may ask for a couple test knitters before I post it.

While we're on the topic of all things red, here's the Smarty Kat Love Bucket in action:

100% Capricha-approved

Available at Ye Olde Target, of course.

Recipe Round-Up + Tuesday Fun

Baking Bites is one of my new favorite blogs. I tried Nicole's recipe for a Parmesan Tomato Tart to accompany the always delicious and incredibly healthy Summer Minestrone from the Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special cookbook. It was wonderful, and I never would have thought of this simple combination of ingredients. I used some fancy schmancy heirloom tomatoes that I had real qualms about buying because of their high price, but it was well worth it. I economized on the Parmesan; I bought a block of the slightly waxy, less expensive stuff (minor gripe: the new Whole Foods near my apt doesn't sell Grana Padano, my economical Parmesan of choice).

Other successful new recipes I've tried lately:

- Martha's Easy Chocolate Cupcakes
Truly easy, sinfully rich and moist. I substituted light sour cream for regular.

- Chicken, Chickpea, and Zucchini Stew
Flavorful, healthy, and not sinful at all. I omitted the tomato paste and served it with yet another Parmesan Tomato Tart.

- Dorie Greenspan's Swedish Visiting Cake
Found via Knitter in the Kitchen. The lemon zest is a great touch. You need to take this out of the oven when it doesn't seem quite done yet to keep it nice and moist. This is good, but not quite as good as my standard Scandinavian Almond Cake (I would post the recipe but it requires a fancy Scandinavian pan).

Tuesday Fun
Check these out:

- the Action Park entry in Wikipedia. Sounds like the most dangerous place in the "civilized" world. I would love to hear from anyone who has actually been there!

- the Stanford University Marching Band entry in Wikipedia. Very rarely do I wish I had attended a different college, but this made me briefly reconsider. Sick and wrong, but oh so very right!

super - (not so) natural stripes

I'm happily settled back in at home here in Chicago after a few days in Minneapolis. Babies were visited, baby sweaters were presented, and much fun was had by all. Alas, I forgot to take my camera. Plus all the sweaters were too big, just as intended -- that way they'll fit this winter! Hopefully parents will send me some photos of sweaters in action.

Finally the heat has broken for real -- the a/c is off, the windows are open, and I'm content as can be. There's another baby sweater in the works:
This time it's the super-natural stripes cardigan by f. pea. I'm subbing Mission Falls 1824 cotton from my stash, so it's not all that natural, but it sure is cute and fun to knit. Top-down raglan = not many seams. Thank god, since there's a ton of ends to weave in as a result of all the color changes. Needless to say this is the back view, as I can't bear to show off all the dangling ends in the front. Great pattern, easy to knit. I think there are a couple errata for the stitch counts for the 6-12 mo. size that I'm knitting. I'll look at the math again and email Ms. F. Pea herself before posting any numbers, though.

I hit Stitches Midwest with a couple girls from my knitting group last Sunday. We had a good time, and it wasn't very busy. I didn't even go too yarn crazy, instead making an effort to buy yarns from the Midwest -- a handspun thrummed mitten kit from Handspun by Stefania and some oh-so-soft merino 3-ply Shepherd's Wool from Stonehedge Fiber Mill for Christmas knitting.

I had hoped to meet up with a few Midwestern bloggers, but I was so busy getting ready for the MN trip that I didn't get organized! Oh well... there's always the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival coming up in a few weeks (Sept 7-9). It's in Jefferson, WI, home of one of my close friends from college, a rather smelly Friskies plant, and the late Rosemary Kennedy (a very sad and frightening tale).

danke schoen

Viele danke to Helga, my Sockapalooza pal! Not only did she knit me these beautiful blue ankle socks:

She also knit me these gorgeous Regia Canadian Colors socks:

Die Socken sind wunderbar! My feet will be very warm and happy this fall and winter. Both pairs fit perfectly, and I couldn't be more pleased. Helga sent me lots of goodies, too:
The chocolates and tea are delicious, and I'm excited to try a new sock yarn (Woll Butt). She sent along some Opal bamboo dpns, too -- I had no idea Opal even made needles. There' are even some beautiful-smelling handmade guest soaps! Everything is so thoughtful. Thank you so much, Helga. I hope your Sockpal knit you some wonderful socks, too.

Continuing in the Sockapalooza vein...

I finally finished my socks! For a while there I felt like little miss Goldisocks. Remember the Fleece Artist Dublin Bay socks that were too big? Then the Little Shell socks turned out too small. New pattern + new yarn = just the right size.
The Breeze ankle socks from Knitty made for a pretty quick knit in spite of all the fiddly cables and lace. What a great pattern! The yarn is Rowan 4 Ply Soft in "Clover". I used size 1.5 Pony Pearl dpns, and I combined the sizing for medium and large. My pal's feet are wider than mine but the same length, so I used size large for the width and size medium for the length.

I just need to weave in a few ends, wash them in some penny royal Meadows wool wash, and send them off! I feel bad that I took so long and that they're just ankle socks, but this has been an exhaustingly busy summer for me. I also learned some valuable lessons about sizing and gauge.

a decaffeinated afternoon

What a lovely Friday! The heat has been relentless here in Chicago, but it has eased up a bit today. Nevertheless I've switched to iced tea as I settle in with the new issue of Interweave Knits.
This iced tea is fabulously refreshing, and the color is quite eye-catching. It's made by Rishi Tea, a little company up in Milwaukee. It's not all that peachy, despite the name -- I mainly notice the rooibos and the hibiscus!

Ah... the new Interweave. I really like a couple designs:

- Tangled Yoke Cardigan, by Eunny Jang. Beautiful shaping, great garter rib elements. I already have enough Rowan Felted Tweed for it.

- Tilted Duster, by Norah Gaughan. Very cute and swing-y, in quite an unusual shape. It might look horrible on me, though.

- Tyrolean Stockings, by Ann Budd. Love all the cables! They have a very retro look, and they would be super cute in the winter with a short skirt. Or peeking out between jeans and clogs.

The staff sock projects are appealing, and the Minimalist Cardigan and Counterpane Pullover are OK. The rest wasn't of much interest to me. Some things (like the elfin scarf/hat and the luna knitted dress) are downright hideous. I was surprised to realize that Brooklyn Tweed/Jared's Cobblestone pullover didn't do anything for me. Usually I love his knitted projects.

Breeze ankle socks are on the needles:

I'm using Rowan 4 ply soft, and they aren't kidding -- it's wonderfully soft. It reminds me of baby cashmerino without the accompanying vaguely acrylic-y feel. Also, I love Pony pearl DPNs! They have a good amount of bend and give, they're not too long, and they're nice and smooth. I want to pick up more sets of these.

I finally looked through my new knitting books from the big KnitPicks sale. I love these two titles, even more than Knitter's Almanac and Knitting without tears. EZ is so charming, and they're a joy to read.
A while ago I cast on for a Baby Hat with Leaf Edging using DB Baby Cashmerino. So far I've just done the edging, which was a ton of fun and incredibly adorable. I'm not going to work on the rest of the hat, though, until I finish my overdue Sockapalooza socks.

Speaking of Sockapalooza, my pal, Helga, just sent me a sweet e-card telling me that there's a parcel on the way. YAY! I can't wait to try them on. Many thanks in advance.

My heart goes out to all those affected by the 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis.


I used to take this bridge across the mighty Mississippi to the East Bank of the U of M campus every day, and it's just unimaginable.

the one with yet another picture of crabby Kylie cat

Kylie was not a fan of me working on Sockapalooza socks rather than petting her, as evidenced below. Note that once again she has picked a way to sit that boggles the human mind -- how on earth can that be comfortable?I learned a valuable lesson while working on these socks -- to trust my judgment. I knit a whole sock that I was afraid would be too big. Guess what? It's way too big. My sock pal has bigger feet than I do, but she would have to have the feet the size of Hagrid's for these to fit. 72 stitches on size 1 dpns = enormous! So it was back to the drawing board for me.

The new and improved Sockapalooza socks (yes, I am further along than this now, but it will still be a struggle to get done on time):
These are Little Shell Socks knit with Sundara sock yarn in the "Dahlia" semisolid colorway. The yarn is gorgeous, and it will be very hard to part with these beauties. These may be a bit on the small side, but socks always seem to stretch out over time.

I'm absolutely thrilled to be done teaching for the summer. There's just a little bit of grading left. The good ol' Malibu broke down on Saturday, amidst a smelly cloud of fumes and a fountain of coolant spraying from my radiator hose, but the timing was perfect. I was 20 feet from my apt. and a great parking space, and now that summer session is over I have the time (and the $) to deal with repairs.

caloo, callay, there's joy in Wrigleyville today

I have been absolutely swamped with work lately, hence the lack of knitting and blogging. Things are about to change, though -- just two more days of teaching summer school!

What's making me happy these days?


- I decided not to clean the bathroom, vacuum my apt (despite the terrifying cat hair tumbleweeds dancing nimbly across my hardwood floors), or go grocery shopping last weekend in order to finish the new Harry Potter! No spoilers here. I enjoyed the book, although I thought the pacing/timing was a bit off. One of my favorite parts -- there were even more spells in Latin than usual.

(photo credit: Julie Joliat, South Street Designs)

- The gorgeous owl necklace that I ordered from Julie's Etsy shop, South Street Designs, arrived today, and I LURVE it. The faux coin reminds me of Athenian drachmas, which were often referred to as owls. The owl is the goddess Athena's animal, you see, and thus an emblem for the city-state, too. Yes, I'm a big nerd.
- A new Whole Foods opened up just 4 blocks from my apt. today! Fresh veggies, fancy cheese, meats that actually look appealing. When I lived in Madison, WI, I was very spoiled by living a very short (and picturesque) walk from Whole Foods, so having to actually drive to the one here in Lakeview and navigate the awful and dangerous parking lot was quite the disappointment. I've already paid a visit, and I am quite pleased.

Waterloose

The Waterloose socks are complete! I must admit that an Abba tune kept running through my head as I worked on these.

Waterloose - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloose - Promise to love you for ever more
Waterloose - Couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloose - Knowing my fate is to be with you
Waterloose - Finally facing my Waterloose

My, my, I tried to hold you back but you were stronger
Oh yeah, and now it seems my only chance is giving up the fight
And how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose
The Details
Pattern: Waterloose Socks, by Randi Knudsen
Yarn: Cider Moon Glacier, in "Magnolia" - 1 skein
Needles: Size 3 KA bamboo DPNs
Size: US 9

Notes: Great, easy sock pattern! I might do something different with the toes next time. I went down to size 3 needles for my narrow feet, although 4s would have been fine for the cuffs.

Jennifer over at Craftlily sent me some lovely yarn as a runner-up prize for the most thematic parcel in the Knitflix Swap. Many thanks, Jennifer! It's All Things Heather sportweight sock yarn in a great colorway - "Cowboy."

Due to the dearth of Malabrigo laceweight in Chicagoland, Mia most thoughtfully volunteered to act as my personal shopper. It's so soft, and the colors are gorgeous! It's "Jewel Blue."

Last Wednesday I went to the Lincoln Park PaperSource for a Girls' Night Out papercrafting event, and it was unbelievably fun. We tried out new papers and tools, make a necklace, some coasters, and a CD accordian holder. There were yummy cocktails and treats, and everyone was very friendly. I'll have to post some of my goodies and projects. I highly recommend this event!

The company (HQ for a nationwide retailer) where my husband works had a Nascar-themed event last week. One of his coworkers burst into his office holding a giveaway from this event:

Oh yes, it's a Harlequin Nascar romance. Both terrifying and bizarre!

sockapa-worried

This is how far I am on my sockapalooza socks. Not good. I need to kick the knitting into high gear. The Fleece Artist merino sock yarn is a joy to knit, and the colors are perfect for my pal.

Sonya sent me a lovely Colorswap package. Blue was the theme for June -- how could I resist? There are tons of lovely goodies in here, including some gorgeous Manos Cotton Stria, a yarn that I have been wanting to try for quite a while. Her son even included one of his favorite blue rocks from his rock collection. Isn't that sweet?

Manos Cotton Stria

Gloriana over at A Mingled Yarn knit the cutest baby kimono with this yarn, and I'm going to follow in her footsteps!

This is not surprising in the least

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

kharma

Remember how lucky I have been lately? The trend continues! Sarah at The Plucky Knitter sent me this beautiful skein of incredibly soft merino sock yarn in the most gorgeous shades of blue.

Varsity Blues

Sarah's a new indie dyer, and she has an amazing eye for color, especially for subtle variations in dreamy shades. Check out her Etsy shop!

Simultaneously teaching summer session and starting a new job while trying to work on my research has been exhausting. I'm half done with my second Waterloose sock, and I need to cast on for the Sockapalooza socks ASAP. The Kai cable pullover just needs seaming and finishing.

I have been puttering around in the kitchen some (when it isn't too hot). This recipe for Rhubarb Streusel Bread turned out quite well -- moist and fruity, with a little cinnamon-sugar crunch.