i like lemons

the olive plan 2008 - week 52

2008-12-27T11:35:00.001-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 1 (green)
Total for the year: 122

Info on the Olive Plan 2009 coming in the next couple of weeks.

the olive plan 2008 - week 51

2008-12-20T12:53:00.000-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 1 (green)
Total for the year to date: 121

the olive plan 2008 - week 50

2008-12-13T14:24:00.000-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 1 (black)
Total for the year to date: 120

happy holidays!

2008-12-09T22:26:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a happy, joyful, peace-filled, safe holiday season. Sackie hopes the same for you too.

My year has been filled with ups and downs (and it looks like it will end that way too!). This will be my last post of the year that isn't olive-related, so I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has stopped by my blog. I'll see you next year! :)

And just so you know that he isn't always a photogenic charmer, here's a picture of Sackie while prepping for his photoshoot. He's not liking his snowball outfit.

More pictures at Flickr

holding hands, feeding ducks scarf

2008-12-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

I've had beforesunrise's Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks Scarf in my Ravelry queue since February. She mentions that the name of the scarf is from a song by The Brunettes:

Holding hands, feeding ducks
When I met you, that's what I wanted to do

I liked the scarf when I saw it, but I like the sentiment behind the name just as much.

In an effort to procrastinate on other things, I brought out the purpley-blue yarn I dyed earlier this year and got started on the scarf. A cast on of 33 sts gave me around a 5-inch wide scarf and it took me about 6 days of leisurely, nights-only knitting to get ~65-inches. I used the recommended US sz 10.5 needles with worsted weight yarn.

The star stitch the scarf is based on grows rather quickly and the pattern is a simple 4 row repeat that is easily memorized. Don't let the directions for star stitch intimidate. Once you have the needles and yarn in your hands, it's really very simple and produces a really beautiful pattern.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 49

2008-12-06T11:49:00.001-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (green)
Total for the year to date: 119

the olive plan 2008 - week 48

2008-11-29T11:21:00.000-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 1 (green)
Total for the year to date: 117

the olive plan 2008 - week 47

2008-11-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (green)
Total for the year to date: 116

the olive plan 2008 - week 46

2008-11-15T09:55:00.001-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 1 (green)
Total for the year to date: 114

how i spent my monday

2008-11-10T21:04:00.000-08:00

I took Monday off from work and decided to go to the beach. The quality of the light during autumn is amazing, especially at the coast. It was cold enough to wear a hoodie, knit hat and scarf, but still warm enough that when my feet got wet, it wasn't uncomfortable. You *have* to get your feet wet at my favorite beach in order to access the majority of it.

Been playing Little Big Planet on the weekends. The game really is wonderful.

After several years of being good, I've started regularly drinking coffee again. Sticking with one small cup a day, and so far I've been trying to limit it to three times a week. If it starts affecting my skin/complexion, I'm going to have to cut it out again.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 45

2008-11-08T12:48:00.000-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 1 (green)
Total for the year to date: 113

the olive plan 2008 - week 44

2008-11-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (1 green, 1 black)
Total for the year to date: 112

hats for a sack

2008-10-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

I've been having some fun knitting hats for my Sackboy. Since he's small, his hats are tiny and that means quick, instantly gratifying knits.

I've already posted the snow hat with pom pom, but the striped beanie and the earflap ones I knit this past week. The black and grey striped beanie I made so that it resembles a unisex beanie I bought several years ago (before I learned to knit). The orange earflap one just *needed* to be done. Sackie's cuteness just demands an earflap hat! I added in the bit of colorwork to break up all that orangeness.

All the hats were pretty much improvised. I looked at some patterns to get the technique for the earflap one (I've never done earflaps or had to pick up stiches before), but otherwise it was just estimating cast-on and how many rows to knit to get the right scale for Sackie.

I'll be putting the needles down for a while (except for olives!). As long as there aren't any more surprise delays, Little Big Planet should be arriving this week and I intend to get playing next weekend. After that, Mirror's Edge is soon approaching. No, I won't be knitting Faith!

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 43

2008-10-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (green)
Total for the year to date: 110

sorta sackboy

2008-10-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

I made a new friend. Literally. And apparently he likes lemons too.

If you haven't heard of Sackboy, star of the highly-anticipated, soon-to-be-released Playstation 3 video game Little Big Planet, go view this game trailer. Now, now, now! Don't blame me if you die from cute overload. Go on, I'll wait.

See what I mean?

When I first saw Sackboy, in all his knitterly glory, I knew I *needed* to make him. He really didn't take that long. Only a couple of weekends and he didn't monopolize my time. I added the detail stitching on weeknights, after work. He's not perfect, but I'm happy with him. I may make him a friend once I've gotten a chance to play the game and can scrutinize the Sackpeople.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to share the pattern for him. This isn't about me not wanting to help other people out or share the love. It's about me wanting to do the right thing. You can skip to the end of this blog post now if you aren't into soapboxes.

I think that most people found my blog because of my free patterns, and I hope you know how I feel about free patterns: I love them! I love sharing my original designs because I think it's important to give back to the knitting community. Free patterns are a great way for all of us to stretch our skills and learn new techniques, try something different without worrying "do I really want to spend x dollars and end up with a pattern beyond my level?" However, I won't share the pattern for my version of Sackboy for the simple reason that he is a trademarked character. I'm sure Media Molecule (the game developer) has marketing deals to sell Sackboy merchandise. If they don't, they should. I would buy the stuff.

You see, even if I offered my pattern for free, I would end up cutting into MM's possible profits. Sure, one or two people knitting a Sackboy wouldn't be a big deal, but if you multiply that by a few dozen and then factor in that some people would try to sell them, well, you can see where things get messy. And I would have the legal responsibility for having offered the pattern in the first place.

Big (and little) companies have access to better/more expensive lawyers than I do. I like my hard-earned money. More than I like lemons. I like my money in my accounts. It's happy there. My money will not be happy in some expensive lawyer's account.

I believe that the game developers should make money from a character that they have spent years creating and refining and breathing life into. I mean fercryinoutloud look at how cute and full of personality they've managed to make a bunch of pixels! Hopefully some of the profit will allow them to create future games and characters that are just as wonderful as Little Big Planet and Sackboy. I don't want to be responsible for taking anything away from their hard work. Ok, hopping off the soapbox.

Making accessories for this little guy is going to be a lot of fun. He definitely will be needing a hat with earflaps. Even though LBP's release day has been pushed back, I plan on hermitting myself away the weekend after it starts selling and spending some quality time getting to know Sackboy. Maybe if I leave some needles and yarn out, Sackie will knit his own friends.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 42

2008-10-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 1 (green)
Total for the year to date: 108

the olive plan 2008 - week 41

2008-10-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 1 (green)
Total for the year to date: 107

something new in the works

2008-10-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't had the chance to knit anything more than olives in quite a while, but this past weekend was a nice time to get back into it. A little bit of rain put me in the mood. I've started to work on a new pattern.

The above picture shows some of what I worked on over the weekend. I'm not going to say what it is yet, but I think (hope?) that it will turn out nice enough to show off the finished project once it's complete. My goal is to finish before the end of this month.

Unfortunately I won't be able to share the actual pattern for this project (I'll explain why once I'm done), but as always seems to be the case when doing pattern design, I am enjoying the challenge of trying to figure out shaping and how to pull everything together.

the olive plan 2008 - week 40

2008-10-04T10:28:00.001-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (green)
Total for the year to date: 106

the olive plan 2008 - week 39

2008-09-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 1 (green)
Total for the year to date: 104

no new knitting

2008-09-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

*sigh*

I haven't been able to knit for the past several weeks. I barely have been able to knit my olives. Perhaps that's ok, since it means I can put off finding a new/bigger jar if I'm only managing one olive per week. But even the one olive is accomplishing the goal of the Olive Plan. I really am fortunate.

There are tiny sprouts of an Olive Plan 2009 in my mind. I need to sort out whether it's do-able and the general logistics, and if I have the discipline to keep up with it. I will say that it wouldn't really be knitting related and I would create a separate blog for it. I'll have to see what develops.

I did treat myself to a new point-and-shoot camera (Nikon Coolpix S600). It's around the same size as a business card, so no excuses for not taking it with me everywhere. The DSLR I was interested in is no longer in production and I haven't had the time to research new or upcoming models, so I figured this would hold me over until I can read up on DSLRs again.

The weather has been teasing with some cooler days here and there, but mixing in those warm days typical of September and October around these parts. I'm looking forward to being able to wear hats, scarves, coats and gloves.

the olive plan 2008 - week 38

2008-09-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 1 (green)
Total for the year to date: 103

the olive plan 2008 - week 37

2008-09-14T10:22:00.001-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 1 (green)
Total for the year to date: 102

apple sweater

2008-09-06T09:51:00.001-07:00

During the work week I try to eat at least one apple a day. I don't know if the "apple a day" thing is responsible, but I haven't had a really bad cold in at least the past 5 years (knock on wood).

Carrying the apple to work in my tote means it gets treated fairly carelessly, so the Silly Apple Cozy by Casey Newman was a nice solution to bruised fruit.

For my apple sweater I used bulky weight yarn and US sz. 7 needles. The pattern calls for 8s, but I don't have any. The density of the knit fabric is nice and thick, great for keeping the apple safe from bruises. I used a button instead of a knit bobble for the closure. For the leaf, I knit a larger version of the leaf from my "Cherries are the Bomb" pattern.

At first the sweater was a little tight on the giant apples I buy, but after a couple of days of use it loosened up a bit and fits nicely. Really cute pattern, and functional too!

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 36

2008-09-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 1 (black)
Total for the year to date: 101

I won't be around next Saturday, so next week's olive update will be delayed.

the olive plan 2008 - week 35

2008-08-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 3 (green)
Total for the year to date: 100

red scarf project

2008-08-23T12:36:00.001-07:00

Decisions, decisions! I'm trying to figure out which of these scarves I should send for this year's Red Scarf Project.

For the past couple of years I've participated in the Red Scarf Project, which is run by the Orphan Foundation of America. The OFA is a wonderful organization that provides scholarships and support services to young men and women who have aged out of the foster care system and are making their way through college/university and trade school. Part of the way the OFA shows their support is by sending care packages to these students, and during the winter months, the OFA likes to include hand knit scarves made and donated by people like you and me.

If you'd like to participate in this year's RSP, click on the above link to find out more about it. There are some guidelines that they would like to be followed, and they will only accept scarf donations this year from September 1 through October 31, 2008.

There is still plenty of time to knit up a scarf and send it in. And no, it doesn't have to be red!

the olive plan 2008 - week 34

2008-08-23T12:10:00.001-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 ( 1 green, 1 black)
Total for the year to date: 97

the olive plan 2008 - week 33

2008-08-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 1 (green)
Total for the year to date: 95

it all started with pencils and pearl cotton

2008-08-10T20:56:00.001-07:00

A question from Heidi about learning to knit made me think about how I first learned. I think I had seen some knitted project in a crafty LiveJournal community and decided I wanted to learn... right away. I found an online, written tutorial (no pictures or videos) that explained things in a way that made sense to me and took a pair of no. 2 pencils and some pearl cotton that were sitting on my desk and went at it. The pictures here show the result: my first attempt at knitting.

A big, big thank you to Harper for recommending Juice Beauty products. I have been using their SPF 30 Mineral Sheer Moisturizer for the past month and I am very impressed with it. I wear it under my powder foundation all day and my skin stays so soft and smooth. I've also noticed that my skin tone has evened out a bit too. I've been using their Green Apple SPF 20 Antioxidant Body Moisturizer and that works wonderfully too.

If you use multiple chat clients (Y!IM, AIM, etc.) and want to consolidate, I recommend Digsby. Digsby also handles email and social networking notifications. It's only available for Windows right now, but they are working on Linux and Mac versions. I have been using it for a couple of weeks and I like it so much more than Trillian. Please note that Digsby is still in beta, so if you aren't willing to put up with issues (such as RAM hogging) that go along with using a beta product, skip it.

Busy, busy. Need more sleep. I'm getting bags under my eyes.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 32

2008-08-09T09:40:00.001-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 ( green)
Total for the year to date: 94

the olive plan 2008 - week 31

2008-08-02T09:24:00.001-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 3 ( green)
Total for the year to date: 92

knit coffee & donuts

2008-07-26T10:11:00.001-07:00

I gave up drinking daily coffee (french roast, black) about 6 years ago. Now it's a special treat, something I have maybe a few times a year. Donuts? I don't think I can ever truly give them up. My favorite is still a frosted and sprinkled cake donut. For some reason the more outrageously colored the frosting and sprinkle combination, the tastier the donut seems to be.

This knit coffee cup and the knit donuts offer the smile-inducing power of caffeine and fried dough, but without the guilt. Now if I added in some knit cigarettes to go with my coffee and donuts, I'd have the ultimate unhealthy (yet healthy, because it's fake) breakfast going on here.

Coffee

The pattern for the cup of coffee was designed by Melinda at One Of My Ears Is Higher Than The Other.

I followed the pattern, substituting worsted weight yarn and US sz 5s for the cup and coffee and US sz 7s for the cup sleeve. I used the 7s so that the sleeve would knit up less dense than if I used 5s. The cup measures about 5 inches high and is about 3.5 inches in diameter at the top.

While looking for something to stabilize the bottom of the cup as Melinda recommends, I found that a lidded yogurt container fit well towards the top of the cup, but not at the bottom. The yogurt container discovery led to the idea to have the cup be a place to stash spare change or small objects.

I ended up using a simple round of cardboard at the bottom of the cup, then put a plastic bag of rice in to weight the bottom. The yogurt container, wrapped in a white plastic bag so the labeling wouldn't show through, went on top of the rice and I sewed the coffee swatch onto the yogurt container lid.

My cup looks a little portly due to my yarn/needle substitutions. If I get the chance to knit this again, I'll probably do one less set of increase rounds for the base of the cup and work from there. Very well written pattern and it goes perfect with the knit donuts.

Donuts

I saw this doughnut pattern by Dorien on one of my Ravelry friend's (nillakitty) project lists and knew I'd have to give it a try.

Once again, I subbed worsted weight yarn and US sz 5s. Perfect! The donuts turned out life-sized (3.5 inches in diameter). Something to note: if you follow the pattern instructions past round 19, the stitch counts in parenthesis don't appear to be accurate. The donut still looks good when you're finished, but just something to be aware of. Knitting exactly from the pattern gives about a 2/3 frosting to 1/3 donut ratio.

I did work the pattern a little differently so that the frosting to donut ratio was a little more even, and so the donut would be a bit flatter than the original. I knit 3 rounds (instead of 5) just after the cast-on and I added in the "k1, m1" set of rows after round 19, ending with the "k4, m1" plus 2 knit rounds (instead of 3), before casting off. I sewed the "sprinkles" on after stuffing, since I found it made the bead placement easier.

The powdered donut is done the same way as the frosted one. I used some soft and fuzzy yarn that was in my stash that lost its label. The "loftiness" of the yarn caused the powdered donut to be slightly bigger. Even though it's the simplest of all the donuts made, I think it's my favorite.

For the jelly donut I worked the pattern the same way as for the sprinkled donuts, except I kept working the decrease sets until I had 5 stitches left (knit two of these rounds and then sew them together). I also used a paler colored yarn to cast on and knit the first row to give that pale seam that you often see on the real thing. To make the jelly, I just messily embroidered on some red yarn.

Knitting the donuts was really enjoyable and there's no junk food remorse, like I would have after eating the real thing.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 30

2008-07-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 3 (2 green, 1 black)
Total for the year to date: 89

iphone love

2008-07-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

I succumbed to temptation and decided to get a iPhone 3G.

I've never been one for cell phones. I have one for emergencies, but I really don't use it very much. I'm just not a phone chatter. And I never got into the whole texting thing. I do, however, love my computers and web access. How did I ever navigate and find my way before online maps?

The iPhone is perfect for my commute, giving me something to do when the train car is too crowded and I can't concentrate on a book. Music, websurfing, games to occupy me. And the GPS will come in handy for my directionally challenged self.

The learning curve is minimal. Watching the online, guided tour was good enough for me to figure out almost everything. The only minor confusion I had was in setting up voicemail. I needed to reset my voicemail password at the AT&T website to unlock the voicemail box, and that cleared things up.

I was on the fence about whether or not to get one. I'm so happy I did!

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 29

2008-07-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (green)
Total for the year to date: 86

sortin' sequins

2008-07-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

This really does calm and relax me. Just get a bag of assorted sequins and go about sorting them. The simple task helps me clear my mind and the colors, shininess and shapes of the sequins give me that "ooooo, preeetty" feeling.

I start a new job soon. New beginnings are always a hopeful time. A little bit scary, but mostly exciting.

Trying to finish up a couple of fun knitting projects before the new gig starts. Next, it's on to getting more Kitschmas Trees done, and then a couple of scarves and hats. It's a little difficult to think about cool-weather knitting when it's been so hot out.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 28

2008-07-12T11:23:00.001-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (green)
Total for the year to date: 84

Another go at a lucky olive. This time it worked! :)

knit goldfish cracker

2008-07-08T18:51:00.001-07:00

I'm easing back into non-olive knitting with something tiny: this goldfish cracker pattern from Kimberly Chapman.

Small as it is, this was actually a challenging thing to knit. I used my US sz 2 dpns for the first time (well, to actually knit something and not to just pick at eyelash yarn from between stitches). I could feel those things flexing as I struggled to knit the tiny stitches. I did use a worsted weight yarn, so that kept the stitches super tight too. The fish measure 1.25 inches from nose to tail, and .75 inches wide at its tail.

I didn't stuff the fish as recommended and left off the smile and eye. In reality I just couldn't get them to look right, but I'll just tell everyone that goldfish crackers didn't have those fancy facial features when I was a kid.

the olive plan 2008 - week 27

2008-07-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 3 (green)
Total for the year to date: 82

lemon tea cookies

2008-06-29T16:23:00.000-07:00

It's about time this blog lived up to its name and had another lemon recipe. These cookies are delicate, but pack a big lemony punch. The cookies themselves have good lemon flavor, but it's the icing/glaze that delivers the knockout.

Lemon Tea Cookies

Cookies:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Icing/glaze:
2 cups confectioners sugar
4-5 tablespoons lemon juice
a dash of salt

To make cookies:
Preheat oven to 350F. Cream butter, 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, lemon zest and juice. Sift together flour, cornstarch and salt. Mix flour mixture into butter mixture. Allow dough to sit for 10 minutes, then shape into 1-inch balls (or use a sz 70 cookie scoop). Place dough balls 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes. Cookies will look pale on top, but bottoms should be a light golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet for about 10 minutes then transfer to wire wracks and cool completely before icing.

To make icing/glaze:
Mix confectioners sugar, salt and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice together until a smooth. Adjust thickness by adding more lemon juice. Spoon icing/glaze over cooled cookies and allow to harden before storing in an airtight container.

Makes ~45 cookies

*****

Substitute the lemon zest and juice with lime, orange and even grapefruit.

For a sturdier cookie, you can substitute granulated sugar for the confectioners sugar.

Switch out the lemon flavoring with...
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract, then roll the cooled cookies in confectioners sugar mixed with cinnamon. (akin to Mexican Wedding Cookies)
-1 teaspoon rum extract and add scant 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, ice/glaze with confectioners sugar and rum. (Egg Nog Cookies)
-1 teaspoon maple extract and add 1/2 cup of finely chopped walnuts, ice/glaze with confectioners sugar and maple syrup. (Maple Walnut Cookies)
-1 teaspoon mint extract and substitute 1/2 cup cocoa powder for 1/4 cup of cornstarch and 1/4 cup flour, drizzle cooled cookies with melted chocolate. Or substitute 2 tablespoons of fresh, finely chopped mint for the extract. (Mint Chocolate Cookies)

Size 70 scoop is the equivalent of 1 tablespoon.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 26

2008-06-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 4 (green)
Total for the year to date: 79

the olive plan 2008 - week 25

2008-06-21T10:45:00.001-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (green)
Total for the year to date: 75

the olive plan 2008 - week 24

2008-06-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (1 green, 1 black)
Total for the year to date: 73

a nice set of balls

2008-06-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

Before I tried knitting or bookbinding or screen printing, temari balls were my crafting obsession. These are over 10 years old (please excuse the dust).

If you are interested in learning temari, I highly recommend Diana Vandervoort's book Temari: How to Make Japanese Thread Balls (ISBN 0-87040-881-X). It has very clear instructions and is illustration heavy, just what you want in a craft book. Vandervoort has a few follow-up books with additional techniques/patterns.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 23

2008-06-07T13:21:00.001-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 3 (green)
Total for the year to date: 71

faux kalua pork

2008-06-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

Growing up on the mainland, it was always a treat when relatives came to visit from Hawaii. They would bring the standard candies and t-shirts, but also foods like laulau, poi and kalua pig. Sure, chocolate covered macadamia nuts and neon yellow and red coconut balls were great, but it was that shredded pork that was like candy to me.

Though nothing quite replicates pork cooked in a traditional imu, this recipe satisfies my cravings. It's so easy. Waiting for it to finish cooking so you can dig in? Not so easy.

Faux Kalua Pork

~2-3 lb. pork shoulder roast
kosher salt (or Hawaiian salt, if you have it)
ground pepper
water

Preheat oven to 350F. Generously salt and pepper the roast on all sides. Place roast in roasting pan, fat side up, and fill pan with water to about halfway up the side. Cover pan with aluminum foil (cover tightly, don't leave a vent). Cook in oven for 1 hour at 350F, then reduce temperature to 300F and continue cooking for another 4 hours. Remove roast from oven and shred meat. Season meat with additional salt and pepper to taste.

~4-6 servings.

*****

This recipe freezes well so consider making two roasts since you'll have the oven on for such a long time. If freezing a portion, add some of the cooking liquid to the containers to keep the meat moist during reheating.

The cooking liquid can be used for broth. Strain the liquid, refrigerate, then scoop off the solidified fat. Use within a day or freeze. Remember to taste the broth for saltiness and adjust your recipe accordingly.

Add your favorite barbecue sauce for some delicious and messy sandwiches. Serve with fresh salsa and and a squeeze of lime on tortillas. I like mine with salt and pepper, topped with carmelized onions, on a french bread roll.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 22

2008-05-31T11:52:00.001-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (green)
Total for the year to date: 68

the olive plan 2008 - week 21

2008-05-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (1 green, 1 black)
Total for the year to date: 66

cherry bits

2008-05-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

Well, this is *cough* interesting. The cherries were beautiful, crisp and juicy, but not yet sweet.

With summer almost here, I am searching for the perfect chemical-free sunscreen. I am allergic to chemical sunscreens (oxybenzone, ketone, PABA). Think all the pain, redness and oozy itchiness of a sunburn without the fun in the sun bit and you'll have an idea of what happens when I just do a patch test of most sunscreens. I've tried Burt's Bees SPF 15 and 30, and while it's better than nothing, both formulas have a strong fragrance. Anyone have recommendations to share?

More pictures at Flickr

pizza dough

2008-05-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

There was a time in my life when I pretty much survived on pizza. Rarely was it good pizza. Most of the time it was pretty bad, but it was very cheap. One time it was practically poisonous. Let me tell you, getting food poisoning from pizza on the same night you see Silence of the Lambs and have the cover art from Front 242's Tyranny (For You) album stuck in your head, well, it just doesn't make for a restful night's sleep.

Thankfully, I can make my own pizza now. This pizza dough recipe makes a crust that is chewy on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside, just the way I like it. While you could probably make/knead the dough in a standing mixer, I like to do mine by hand (I don't even own a mixer). Ten minutes of kneading dough by hand makes me feel less guilty about the subsequent pizza feasting.

Pizza Dough

1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water (110F)
1 package active dry yeast
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
~3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon olive oil

In large glass bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over sugar water and allow to sit for 5 minutes, or until yeast is foamy. With a wooden spoon, stir in 1 cup of flour and mix very well. Allow to sit for 5 minutes so that the flour can absorb the water. Stir in 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt and another 1/2 cup of flour and beat the dough with the spoon until the dough is very elastic. Add another 1 cup of flour. Transfer dough to floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, adding the remaining 1/2 cup of flour only if dough is too sticky.

Grease a clean bowl with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Place dough in bowl, turning to coat surface with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, around 1 1/2 hours.

Turn risen dough out onto floured surface and knead for about a minute to remove air bubbles. Form dough into a ball and allow to rest, covered, for 15 minutes. Place oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 500F.

Divide dough into quarters and flatten each ball into an 8-inch circle or square, leaving the edges a bit thicker to form a lip for your crust. Place dough round on an ungreased baking sheet. Prick the surface with the tines of a fork to help prevent air bubbles from forming while baking. Top pizzas with your favorite sauce, cheese, etc. Bake for 10 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Makes 4 ~8-inch diameter pizzas.

*****

You can use this dough to make calzones. Form into a 8-inch circle and place fillings on one half of the circle, avoiding the edges. Fold bare half of dough over the fillings and pinch and crimp the edges to seal. Bake on middle rack in 400F oven for around 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

The dough makes good breadsticks too. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll into 10-inch long snakes. Place on ungreased baking sheet and brush with olive oil or melted butter. Sprinkle with salt and herbs for savory or cinnamon sugar for something sweet. Bake on middle rack in 450F oven for around 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

The unbaked dough can be frozen. After allowing to rise and kneading to get air bubbles out, form dough into ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap (get as much air out as you can) and place the wrapped dough in a freezer storage bag. To thaw: transfer from freezer to refrigerator and allow to thaw for 24 hours. Leave dough on countertop, covered, for an hour before forming pizzas.

Clockwise from upper left, the pictured pizzas are:

Lasagna - Jarred marinara sauce, creamed spinach and turkey lasagna filling, carmelized onions and pre-packaged four-cheese blend.

Quattro Formaggio - Jarred marinara sauce with pre-packaged four-cheese blend. A grinding of fine black pepper on top.

Carmelized Onion & Cheese - Pre-packaged four-cheese blend topped with carmelized onions. A grinding of fine black pepper on top.

Curry, Peas and Yogurt - Curry sauce, with the peas and yogurt added after baking.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 20

2008-05-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (green)
Total for the year to date: 64

The potentially lucky olive from week 16 turned out to be not so lucky. I've taken its bow away.

scooped - random notes and afterthoughts

2008-05-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

So, the Scooped knit ice cream cone pattern has been posted and I'm happy to be able to kick back, dust my hands and not look at it for a while. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed designing and knitting it. I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't (life's too short and all that). But now it's time to do a final clean-up and get all those bits and pieces that are floating around in my brain, out.

Scooped was originally suppose to be just for the dipped scoop and sugar cone. I don't know why, but I used to really like Drumstick ice cream cones when I was little. Honestly, there were more peanuts left in the wrapper than stuck to the chocolate coating, the cone was always soggy and the ice cream was little more than vaguely flavored air, but it's one of those unexplainable childhood likes. The test knit went really well and I pretty much got both on the first try. I did the test knit on US sz 7s, but decided to go down to 6s to make the final product a bit more life-sized. The scoop part did undergo one small revision (taking out a couple of rounds) for the final knit, but the cone worked up just as I had hoped.

That's when my brain started to get big ideas. "You can't just do the dipped scoop, you should do a classic scoop. And what about those cake/wafer cones? Mom always made you get cake cones instead of sugar cones at the ice cream parlor. And you only liked cake cones when they were from the soft serve place." Plans grew and I ended up designing the other patterns. The classic scoop was the most difficult for me. It went through four revisions before I was satisfied. Soft serve was easy (first try) and cake cone went through two revisions. A couple of other ideas that I tried but didn't pursue: waffle bowl and styrofoam dish (maybe later, maybe not).

I'm always interested in other people's design methods, so it's only fair that I share my process. I usually start out mentally conceptualizing how I want the finished object to look. Once I have that image in mind, I break down the components of the object into basic shapes and stitch patterns: spheres, cones, broken rib, scallops, etc. Then, I write out the pattern the way I think it should work. From that pattern, I start knitting, making adjustments to the written pattern when it becomes clear that something is not going to work. I rarely frog during the design process, preferring to knit all the way through so I can check that the subsequent rows/rounds behave the way I want. I like to have that swatch to refer to when I'm knitting the next revision.

To rewind, when I first thought about knitting ice cream, I checked for existing patterns, hoping I could just modify one if it wasn't exactly what I wanted. While there were many examples of crocheted ice cream cones, I couldn't find patterns for knit ones. By the way, I am so jealous of people who can crochet. I have tried to learn several times in my life but I just can't get it. I found a few pictures of knit ice cream cones, but they all seemed to be personal patterns or done on a loom.

In the larger scheme of things, Scooped didn't take that long to design. A couple of weeks. It felt longer, I think, because I had a bunch of ideas flooding my brain and I wanted to get everything down on paper (errr, in pixels) before they disappeared. Getting everything recorded meant working on it every chance I could, which meant not much downtime for two weeks.

I also want to say thank you to the people who have left comments at the usual places and to those that have queued or downloaded Scooped. The response and feedback I've received has been wonderful. I'm happy with how the patterns turned out, but when others take the time to knit Scooped, well that's just the cherry on my sundae!

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 19

2008-05-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 5 (4 green, 1 black)
Total for the year to date: 62

scooped - knit ice cream cone patterns

2008-05-04T00:16:00.000-07:00

Ah ice cream! What is it about you that casts a spell over us?

As children we gobble you down with innocent glee. As adults we sneak you at midnight as a guilty pleasure. We try to figure out someone's personality by analyzing which of your flavors they choose as their favorite. You make a sticky, melty mess in the summer and you make us shiver in the winter, but no matter the season, we can't resist your call.

There's no need to worry about ice cream going straight to your thighs with these guilt-free knit ice cream cones. Included are patterns to make a sugar cone, wafer/cake cone, classic scoop, dipped scoop and soft serve. Mix and match the tops and cones, and make some no-calorie treats.

Scooped

Do not reproduce this pattern elsewhere. This pattern is for personal use only. In other words, please don't try to make money off of it.

Materials
Set of US size 6 double pointed needles
Worsted weight yarn (your choice of colors for cones and ice cream scoops)
Stitch marker
Material for stuffing (yarn scraps, batting, plastic grocery bags, etc.)
Yarn needle, for weaving in ends and sewing scoops to cones
Beads/sequins or embroidery thread, to act as sprinkles, nuts or other add-ins (optional)
Needle and thread, to attach beads/sequins or to embroider (optional)

Patterns

Sugar Cone
Cast on 6 sts and knit one row as for I-cord.
Divide sts equally among 3 dpns. Place stitch marker and begin to knit in the round.

Rounds 1 & 2: *k1, p1; repeat from *
Round 3: k all sts
Rounds 4 & 5: *k1, p1; repeat from *
Round 6: kfb into first and last stitch on each dpn, k all other stitches (you're increasing by 6 sts each time you knit this round)

Repeat rounds 1-6 six times (42 sts)

Round 7: p all sts
Round 8: bind off knitwise

Turn the cone inside out. Keep the little nubbin at the bottom tucked on the inside to help stabilize the point of the cone. Weave in ends and set the cone aside while you work on the scoop.

***

Wafer/Cake Cone
Cast on 6 sts and knit one row as for I-cord.
Divide sts equally among 3 dpns. Place stitch marker and begin to knit in the round.

Round 1: kfb all sts (12 sts)
Round 2: k all sts
Round 3: *k1, kfb; repeat from * (18 sts)
Round 4: k all sts
Round 5: *k2, kfb; repeat from * (24 sts)
Round 6: k all sts
Round 7: p all sts

Rounds 8 & 9: *k1, p1; repeat from *
Round 10: k all sts

Repeat rounds 8-10 five times. Turn the cone inside out and proceed to round 11.

Round 11: *k3, kfb; repeat from * (30 sts)
Round 12: *k4, kfb; repeat from * (36 sts)
Round 13: *k5, kfb; repeat from * (42 sts)
Rounds 14 - 19: k all sts
Round 20: p all sts
Round 21: bind off knitwise

Sew shut the little hole that probably formed when you turned the cone inside out. Weave in ends and set the cone aside while you work on the scoop.

***

Classic Scoop
Cast on 80 sts, leaving a 30-inch long tail. Divide sts among 3 dpns (if you prefer, you can use a 16-inch circ for the first several rows). Place stitch marker and begin to knit in the round.

Round 1: p all sts
Rounds 2 - 5: *k1, kfb, ssk, k1, k2tog, kfb; repeat from *
Round 6: p2tog all sts (40 sts)
Round 7: k all sts
Round 8: *k4, kfb; repeat from * (48 sts)
Rounds 9 & 10: k all sts
Round 11: *k4, k2tog; repeat from * (40 sts)
Round 12 - 14: k all sts
Round 15: *k8, k2tog; repeat from * (36 sts)
Round 16: k all sts
Round 17: *k4, k2tog; repeat from * (30 sts)
Round 18: k all sts
Round 19: *k3, k2tog; repeat from * (24 sts)
Round 20: k all sts
Round 21: *k2, k2tog; repeat from * (18 sts)
Round 22: k all sts
Round 23: *k1, k2tog; repeat from * (12 sts)
Round 24: k all sts
Round 25: k2tog all sts (6 sts)

Cut yarn, thread needle with yarn tail, pull through remaining stitches, knot discreetly and pull tail through to wrong side. Weave in the cast on tail towards Rounds 6/7 (this is the scoop opening). If you would like to embellish with sprinkles or nuts, now is the time to sew them on.

***

Dipped Scoop
Cast on 40 sts leaving a 30-inch long tail. Divide sts among 3 dpns, place stitch marker and begin to knit in the round.

Round 1: k all sts
Round 2: *k1, kfb; repeat from * (60 sts)
Rounds 3 - 7: k all sts
Round 8: *k1, k2tog; repeat from * (40 sts)
Round 9 - 12: k all sts
Round 13: *k8, k2tog; repeat from * (36 sts)
Round 14: k all sts
Round 15: *k4, k2tog; repeat from * (30 sts)
Round 16: k all sts
Round 17: *k3, k2tog; repeat from * (24 sts)
Round 18: k all sts
Round 19: *k2, k2tog; repeat from * (18 sts)
Round 20: k all sts
Round 21: *k1, k2tog; repeat from * (12 sts)
Round 22: k all sts
Round 23: k2tog all sts (6 sts)

Cut yarn, thread needle with yarn tail, pull through remaining stitches, knot discreetly and pull tail through to wrong side. If you would like to embellish with sprinkles or nuts, now is the time to sew them on.

***

Soft Serve
Cast on 40 sts leaving a 30-inch long tail. Divide sts among 3 dpns, place stitch marker and begin to knit in the round.

Rounds 1 - 10: k all sts
Round 11: k2tog all sts (20 sts)
Rounds 12 - 21: k all sts
Round 22: k2tog all sts (10 sts)
Rounds 23 - 29: k all sts
Round 30: k2tog all sts (5 sts)

Transfer sts to a single dpn

Rounds 31 - 33: I-cord
Round 34: Still working as an I-cord k2tog, k2tog, k1 (3 sts)
Rounds 35 - 37: I-cord

Cut yarn, thread needle with yarn tail, pull through remaining stitches, knot discreetly and pull tail through to wrong side. If you would like to embellish with sprinkles or nuts, now is the time to sew them on.

***

Assembly
Stuff the cone and scoop. Place scoop on top of the cone and see if the openings match up. If the opening of the scoop and opening of the cone aren't the same size, weave the long cast on tail along the edge of the scoop opening as a running stitch. Pull the running stitch and gather until the openings match. Knot and evenly distribute the gathers. Sew the scoop to the cone using the scoop cast on tail. Knot discreetly and weave in ends.

Enjoy your guilt-free ice cream!

*****

This probably doesn't need to be said but... please do not embellish with beads, sequins or other small objects if you intend to use the ice cream cones as child toys. It's best to embroider with yarn or thread to keep the possibility of choking hazards to a minimum.

If you aren't going to embellish the scoop by sewing on sprinkles and nuts, you can knit the cone and dipped/soft serve scoops in one piece. Knit the cone as instructed, however, don't bind off on the last round (remember to turn the cone inside out if necessary). Switch to your scoop color and knit Round 1 of the scoop pattern, but work two k2togs somewhere in that first round to get your stitch count down to 40. Continue working scoop pattern, being sure to stuff the cone and scoop before closing up. I personally prefer the look of the sewn together cones, but this one-piece method is an option if you are concerned about things being pulled apart.

Sprinkles and nuts can be knit in as you go. Before casting on, thread beads onto yarn. While knitting, randomly pull up a bead and knit it in (see this tutorial from Knitting-and.com). Using this method also allows you to knit the ice cream cones in one piece and still add embellishments.

Variegated yarns work great to create swirled flavors of ice cream.

Craving double (or triple) scoops? Just make multiple classic scoops and sew them on top of each other. You may wish to stuff the stacked scoops a little less than the one that is attached to the cone.

If the wafer/cake cone is going to be used for decoration (or light play), you can insert a piece of cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels into the lower portion of the cone to help stabilize and shape it. The double scoop cone in the pictures has the cardboard insert to help support its top-heaviness, while the soft serve and orange creme ones don't.

Want to make these ice cream cones smell like the flavors they are suppose to resemble? Dab a bit of extract, scented oil or perfume (Demeter and Bath & Body Works are a couple of places to find food scents) onto a cotton ball and tuck it in with your stuffing. Or cut one of those car air fresheners into bits and hide a piece or two inside.

Sugar cone measures ~4" high. Wafer cone measures ~3.5" high. Classic scoop measures ~2" high (not including the scalloped “skirt”). Dipped scoop measures ~2.5" high. Soft serve measures ~4.5" high. All are ~3" wide at their widest point.

Pattern available for download as a pdf file.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 18

2008-05-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (green)
Total for the year to date: 57

bowl-ed over

2008-04-29T21:36:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist these little bowls that were by the checkout at the grocery store. They're so cute, bright and only $2.50 for the set of four. Then I couldn't resist my favorite candy bar (Violet Crumble) at the drugstore. Seems like color is my impulse buying trigger right now.

The toy food pattern I've been working on will be posted this weekend. Most of my free time has been devoted to working on it the past couple of weeks and it's left my brain a bit fried. The design process took on a life of its own and has grown into multiple patterns. I think I'll write up a head-clearing blog entry after the pattern is posted.

I'm going to need to take a knitting break (except for olives) once the pattern is posted. I want a bit of a recharge before I try to tackle the Lelah Top and before I get back on track with knitting more mini Kitschmas Trees. Recipe posts will fill in for knitting posts.

check? check! scarf pattern

2008-04-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

Does the world need another basketweave scarf? Probably not, but every year I knit at least one more. And let's call these "checks". "Checks" sounds so much cooler, right?

The grey scarf in the above picture is the first item I ever knit that I didn't frog. It's the first thing I knit where I figured the pattern out for myself. This is a good unisex scarf and a good choice for charity knitting. I've been participating in the Red Scarf Project for three years now, and knit at least one of these scarves for them each year.

There must be a ton of patterns for basketweave scarves out there, but here's my basic pattern. I've kept it on a scrap of paper for almost six years. Time to commit it to pixels.

Check? Check! Scarf

Do not reproduce this pattern elsewhere. This pattern is for personal use only. In other words, don't try to make money off of it.

Materials
Your choice of size US 7-10.5 straight needles
Your choice of worsted weight yarn (~325 yds, for a 65-inch long scarf)
Yarn needle, for weaving in ends

Pattern
Cast on 32 stitches. Knit one row.

Row 1: k2; *k4, p4; repeat from * to last six sts; k6
Row 2: k2; *p4, k4; repeat from * to last six sts; p4, k2
Row 3: repeat row 1
Row 4: repeat row 2
Row 5: repeat row 1

Repeat rows 1 through 5 until scarf is desired length. Cast off knitwise, weave in ends, and you're done!

*****

You can adjust the width of the scarf with needle size. For example, using the above directions, US 10.5 needles gave me a ~7-inch wide scarf and with US 7s I got about a 5-inch wide scarf.

Width can also be adjusted by casting on any number of stitches that is a multiple of 4 and is divisible by an even number.

If you intend to fringe the scarf, I would recommend knitting two rows after casting on and knitting one row before casting off.

The two knit stitches at the beginning and end of each row creates a garter stitch border. If you prefer, you can eliminate these stitches to create a slightly curled/wavy edge.

A good first scarf for beginners. It looks a bit more polished than plain garter, while allowing the practice of knit and purl basics.

Pattern available for download as a pdf file.

the olive plan 2008 - week 17

2008-04-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 3 (2 green, 1 black)
Total for the year to date: 55

arches & columns lace scarf

2008-04-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

After a three year break, I gave Arches & Columns another try, and this time... success! I'm not sure why, but this time around things seemed to go a little quicker. Perception? Determination? Who knows, but it took me about ten days of unrushed knitting to complete (and that includes some time off to knit the Felicity hat).

I followed the recommendation to use US sz 7 needles. The pattern says to use two balls (ball = 25g/240yds) of the Crystal Palace Kid Merino held together (which I did) and that it will take 3/4 of each ball to to get a 55-inch long scarf. A full two balls gave me 45 inches. I used about half of two more balls to get to my desired length of 60 inches. The width of the scarf was 8 inches. All these measurements were taken pre-blocking. After a light blocking, I did get an additional 10 inches of length, but hardly any more width.

The pattern itself is quite easy. Just four rows, with two of those rows being straight purls. The right-side, knit rows are easy to memorize. I did make a few mistakes (additional yo or not doing a psso) that I didn't bother to go back and correct, but the pattern is quite forgiving and it's difficult to see the mistakes unless you are really scrutinizing the scarf.

The overall look of the scarf is refined, but not too girly. The lace pattern would look really lovely if it was made into a wrap. The scarf will look good with a professional skirt and sweater, but also will "chic" up a pair of jeans and t-shirt. The drape of this scarf is really wonderful. The Kid Merino is soft, light and not itchy. Perfect for the in-between seasons.

More pictures at Flickr

felicity hat

2008-04-19T08:57:00.000-07:00

Wanett Clyde's Felicity Hat (pdf link) is a little bit hipster and a lot of casual.

This is a quick knit and just what I needed as a break from working on the lacy Arches & Columns scarf. I cast on in the evening, got through half the hat in a few hours before bed and finished the next evening. I'm guessing I used about 180 - 190 yards of worsted weight yarn. Out of all the slouchy hats I've knit so far, this one is my favorite. It's also the simplest.

Now, I know I tend to knit tight. *I* don't think I knit particularly tight, but gauge swatches say otherwise. The pattern calls for using US sz 5s and 7s and to cast on 70 sts. Knowing my tight gauge and my preference for looser-fitting hats, I decided to use sz 7s and 10s, and cast on 80 sts. Added an extra 4 rounds to the recommended 6 that go between the increase and decrease sections, for lots of slouch. And finally, I did another set of k2tog/knit rounds at the end.

The adjustments turned out to be good choices. The hat is comfortably loose and sufficiently slouchy. I think if I had used the recommended needle sizes, with my tight gauge, I would have fainted from lack of circulation if I was able to get the hat on my head at all.

Felicity is so comfy, cute and casually hip. Just right for cool spring days and foggy summer nights. I want to make one in a light grey. And maybe another in a color-blocked scheme. And maybe another in .... You get the idea. I'm definitely going to knit this one again.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 16

2008-04-19T08:44:00.001-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (green)
Total for the year to date: 52

You may have noticed that one of the olives is sitting outside it's jar, wearing a red bow. That one had a little outing in my purse this past week as a, hopefully, lucky olive. If it does turn out to be lucky, it will get to keep its bow. If not, I am going to revoke its bow-wearing privileges.

apricots are teases and so are peaches

2008-04-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Just an "omgsogood" tip. Make your favorite shortbread recipe, adding a couple pinches of cinnamon to the dough. Ten minutes before the shortbread is finished baking, spread on some apricot jam and continue baking. Cut into wedges while still warm. Really wonderful with a cup of tea.

Could it be?! Will I actually knit my first non-accessory, wearable item this year? I added the Lelah Top (website seems to be down - try the Wayback Machine) to my Ravelry queue. I've been looking through the projects and reading the notes of what modifications people have made. I intend to give the pattern a try using some Caron Simply Soft before I decide to throw down some $$$ for cotton yarn. I'm a little concerned about the lace pattern. I don't like it when you can see skin and then jeans/skirt/pants through eyelets or sheer tops. I'm going to be trying to get away with using the 29-inch circulars (10.5s and 7s) I bought 5 years ago and haven't yet used. Hopefully the 7s will create a denser fabric, to avoid "show through" in the chest area (go double thick for the bust?). Maybe just line the whole thing.

New toy pattern coming within the next month or so. The concept is pretty well set and I've written the first draft of the pattern, so I should be able to test knit this weekend. I'm keeping what it is under wraps for now, but I will say that it's food related and it will, as usual, be a free pattern.

trinity stitch beret

2008-04-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

The first thing I thought when I saw pictures of the Trinity Stitch Beret was "Ooooh, that's lovely!" My second thought was "That's going to be difficult to knit." I'm happy to say I was wrong on the second thought.

The beret uses (surprise!) the trinity stitch - also sometimes called blackberry or popcorn stitch - to create the bobbles all over its surface. If you can do a kfb and a p2tog, it isn't that much more difficult to do the trinity stitch. You'll be doing a k1, p1, k1 into the same stitch and then p3tog. Do a little swatch on dpns if you're unsure. Don't be surprised that the pattern is on the "wrong" side, that's the way it's suppose to be.

I didn't do many modifications. I did use US sz 10s for the ribbing instead of 9s, knit for 6 inches before starting the decrease rounds, and I was only doing two rounds between decreases when I got towards the end. I probably should have followed the pattern exactly for more slouch and a less pointy decrease. Also, I used two strands of worsted weight yarn held together since I didn't have any chunky yarn. The hat does use a lot of yarn. If you decide to use two strands of worsted, I'd recommend having around 400 yds to be safe.

The beret took me a while to complete, about 8 days, working on it a couple hours a day. The p3togs hurt my fingers a bit. The hat is very thick/heavy, a little too heavy for spring in California. I'm not too happy with the way it turned out, but I'd be willing to give it another try.

the olive plan 2008 - week 15

2008-04-12T09:48:00.001-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (green)
Total for the year to date: 50

i like my arches gothic and my columns doric

2008-04-08T19:14:00.001-07:00

I started my Arches & Columns Scarf over the weekend and it's coming along ok. Very hard to photograph and get the pattern to show up. I did make a mistake a few rows in but I didn't bother frogging and starting over. Just think of the mistake as adding "character" to the overall piece.

The scrap of paper that I have my basic basketweave/check scarf pattern written on is getting kind of ratty. I need to type it up and post it so that I can ditch the paper. I knit it at least once a year so I want to keep it handy. I'm hoping writing this here will force me to actually type it up, instead of going another year with that piece of paper.

honey yogurt bread

2008-04-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

As much as I like to cook and bake, I must confess that I tend to keep an ill-stocked refrigerator and pantry. I do, however, always seem to have yogurt in the fridge and I keep flour and a couple packages of yeast in the pantry. Salt is a staple for me, as is honey. With those ingredients, I have what I need to make Honey Yogurt Bread.

I came up with this recipe when I was craving a soft-crusted bread to eat with some butter and jam, and didn't have any milk or eggs to make brioche. It isn't as buttery and light as brioche, but it does have some richness to it because of the yogurt. It also has a sweetness from the honey, but the tang from the yogurt keeps it from being overpowering. The texture of the crust and interior is soft, with a bit of "chew", but it is not cottony like some store-bought sandwich breads tend to be. Great for sandwiches, french toast or just buttered, and enjoyed with some fruit preserves.

Honey Yogurt Bread

3 tablespoons honey
1 cup warm water (110F)
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon kosher salt
~6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
vegetable oil

In a large glass bowl, combine warm water and 1 tablespoon of honey. Sprinkle yeast over the honey water and allow to sit for 5 minutes, or until yeast is foamy. With a wooden spoon, stir in 2 cups of flour and mix very well. Allow to sit for 5 minutes so that the flour can absorb the liquid. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons honey, yogurt, salt and another 2 cups of flour and beat the dough with the spoon for a couple of minutes. Add another 1 1/2 cups of flour. Transfer dough to floured surface and knead for 10-12 minutes, adding the remaining 1/2 cup of flour only if dough is too sticky.

Lightly grease a clean bowl with oil. Place dough in bowl, turning to coat surface with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, around 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Turn risen dough out onto floured surface and knead for about a minute to remove air bubbles. Form dough into a ball and allow to rest, covered, for 15 minutes. Grease two 9"x5" loaf pans (or four mini 6"x3" pans).

Divide dough in half (quarters for mini loaves) and roll or pat each piece into about a 12"x10" rectangle (9"x7" for mini loaves). Starting at the shorter edge, tightly roll dough up, jelly roll style, pressing the seam and the ends well to seal. Place loaves seam side down in the prepared pans. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

Place oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 400F. Slash the top of each loaf lengthwise. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes (depends on size of loaves), until loaves are golden brown. Remove from pans and allow to cool on wire racks.

Makes 2 regular loaves or 4 mini loaves.

*****

You can freeze the baked loaves. Wrap cooled loaves tightly in plastic wrap, and then in aluminum foil before placing in freezer. Thaw loaves in refrigerator.

I like to eat this bread with "Trader Joe's Cherry Preserves made with Fresh Cherries" (the apricot version is quite good too). Also, the bread makes really good curried chicken salad sandwiches.

Oh! I don't usually eat my bread with *that* much butter on it. For photographical purposes only!

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 14

2008-04-05T12:37:00.001-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 3 (green)
Total for the year to date: 48

gathered scarf

2008-03-30T11:55:00.000-07:00

Simple, basic techniques that result in a beautiful, impressive-looking payoff. That's how I would describe the Gathered Scarf pattern by Maryse.

Instead of starting and finishing with the frilled stockinette ends, I chose to start with the garter stitch rows, so the edges would be straight in case I opt to add fringe later. Cast on 20 sts with US sz 7s, followed the instructions for the garter rows, then increased to 40 sts with US sz 10.5s and followed the instructions for the stockinette rows.

The scarf measures 4 inches wide by 60 inches long and used 1.3 skeins (skein=100gr/220 yd) of Knit Picks Peruvian Highland (worsted weight). The scarf grew quickly, due to the stockinette sections being knit on the larger 10.5s and the needle-switching kept things from getting too monotonous. I'm not usually a fan of scarves that aren't reversible, but the reverse side isn't bad at all (it's the left "tail" in the picture).

Now the question is to dye or not to dye? I'm not sure yet. I don't have a particular color in mind at the moment.

the olive plan 2008 - week 13

2008-03-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 4 (3 green, 1 black)
Total for the year to date: 45

from "z"ombie to ber"et"

2008-03-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

Recognize what I'm trying to recreate in this picture? The voodoo heart is an illustration by Tim Burton for his poem Voodoo Girl from the book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories.

I haven't been knitting the past week (except for the olives). Partially because I wanted to give my fingertips a rest. I was getting calloused, peeling skin on my fingers from needle and yarn rub. Eeeeew! But the rest period did the trick and my fingers look better this week.

The other reason is that I finally caved in and registered a domain. My ISP made it kind of irresistible by offering free registration for the first year and free lifetime hosting (well, as long as you stay with them). I've been spending some time trying to figure out WordPress and personalizing the blog theme at least a little bit. It still needs work but I'm tired of looking at it for now. You can take a peek by visiting http://ilikelemons.net. It is too soon to say that the domain will be a permanent home, so no need to update bookmarks. I will still be posting to my Blogger and LJ accounts, no plans to abandon either of them.

This past weekend I did take some time to do another test run on a honey yogurt bread recipe I've been working on. I think I have things just about right. I'll share that recipe in a couple of weeks.

I intend to get my write-up on the finished Gathered Scarf posted this weekend.

My knit patterns are now available for download as printable pdfs over on Ravelry. You can also download the pdfs from the online pattern pages.

Another hat is the next thing on my knit list. The Trinity Stitch Beret looks to be cute and challenging. I've never done trinity/blackberry/popcorn stitch before.

monster (aka mohair) in the closet

2008-03-23T10:12:00.001-07:00

Look what I found tucked waaay in the back of the closet.

It must be almost 3 years since I bought these balls of Crystal Palace Kid Merino. I think I had just finished knitting Branching Out as a gift for my mother. My first attempt at lace, though I did it in worsted weight yarn. I must have been feeling rather proud of myself, thinking I should try knitting one for myself using lace weight yarn. Nothing like knitting with mohair for the first time to knock you down a few notches.

I remember needing to frog and quickly finding out that mohair does not rip out easily. Frustrated, I decided to give that a rest and move on to knitting Arches & Columns in the cream color. Holding two strands together should be a little easier to control, right? It was, but I soon lost interest when things seemed to be going so slow.

Finding this little stash makes me think that I should give the Kid Merino another try. Right now the plan is for the black to go towards Arches & Columns, and the smoke/charcoal grey will be for Mist Lace. Maybe use the cream held together with some other yarn for a skinnier version of the Lace Ribbon Scarf?

the olive plan 2008 - week 12

2008-03-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 3 (green)
Total for the year to date: 41

dye another day

2008-03-15T10:25:00.001-07:00

You know how when you are cooking soup and it just isn't turning out right? You just start adding things in hopes of correcting whatever isn't right, more and more goes into the pot, and before you know it, it's totally not what you expected. It turns out better.

The second attempt at home-dyed yarn started out with Kool-Aid. I decided to use up all the packets of Kool-Aid and doing things on the stovetop this time. I put 2 packets of grape, 2 packets of black cherry and one packet of strawberry into a large stockpot and added cold water. Then, in went two hanks (100 grams each) of the bare worsted yarn from Knit Picks. I heated it slowly until the yarn soaked up the color. The color turned out about the same shade of pink as my first try. Pretty, but I don't really go for bright colors most of the time.

Time to pull out the Wilton icing gels. I remembered from dying eggs that the black gel actually produces a purple color, so I mixed up about a 1/4 teaspoon of the black with about 1/2 cup of vinegar and some water. Removed the yarn hanks from the pot, mixed in the "black" dye mixture (which looked green, actually), and replaced the hanks. That made things more purple, but I thought "let's make it darker". Too lazy at this point to remove the hanks from the pot, I mixed up more dye/vinegar/water and slowly poured it into the pot, gently moving the hanks to the side with a spoon.

(There is a tutorial for dying with Wilton icing gels at Keep On Knitting In The Free World if you would like to follow a guide with step by step instructions.)

Once the water was almost clear, I turned off the stove and let the pot cool down to room temperature before rinsing the hanks. To get the vinegar smell out, I gave the yarn a cold water swish in some B&BW aromatherapy shampoo and then a really good rinse. Worked great. No more vinegar smell and just the slightest hint of jasmine/vanilla.

The color is a variegated warm-toned purple with bits of pink and fuschia. I think the initial Kool-Aid and the fact that the pot was a bit crowded led to the variegation. One thing to note, under CF lighting, it looks like a brighter red-purple (the fluorescent light sucks all the blue tones out). I shall dub this color "grawcherry".

I also dyed a couple of hanks with just the Wilton black and vinegar. It came out a mix of cool-toned purples and blues, with hints of green and fuschia. Again, crowding in the pot probably contributed to the color variegation. I like the muted colors of this batch better than "grawcherry". I'm calling this one "plue". I think I'll use plue when I attempt the Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks Scarf.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 11

2008-03-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

Number of olives knit this week: 5 (4 green, 1 black)
Total for the year to date: 38

spring has sprung a leak in my eyes

2008-03-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

Spring is here, as my red, itchy, teary, swollen eyes and sneeze attacks can attest to. We are starting to have near 70F degree days about once a week. With all the rain this year, the trees and weeds are spewing forth pollen like crazy. My black car is now a sickly yellow color.

Dyed some hanks of yarn last week and was able to ball them up over the weekend. Pictures and thoughts in a blog post this weekend. Overall I'm happy with the results, but I do feel as if I need to branch out into other colors, maybe earthy greens and browns.

I'm using undyed Knit Picks yarn to make Maryse's Gathered Scarf. Might try dying it once it's done, but I kind of like the natural color too. Ah! I just noticed that my wip picture has the inverse color scheme as Maryse's :).

Wavering on the purchase of a DSLR. I had thought I was pretty set on the Canon Digital Rebel Xti. Now I am considering the Olympus Evolt E510. Buying any camera seems like an extravagance for me.

Living on a busy street has its moments of excitement. The other week a car crashed into an apartment building across the street. The car flipped, but it appeared no one was seriously hurt. Remember people, shiny side up!

All I want to do is sleep, sleep, sleep.

last minute "purled" beret

2008-03-09T10:55:00.001-07:00

Some women are able to jump out of the shower, run a comb through their wet hair and walk out the door. When their hair dries, they end up looking effortlessly beautiful. I'm not one of those women. I need to blowdry, and then either straighten or curl if I don't want to commit a hair crime.

When I plan on staying in for the day, I just don't bother. Inevitably, on those days, I find that I need to make a quick trip to the store for that one forgotten item. That's when hats come in handy. However with my long hair it's difficult to tuck it all under a hat. Beanies don't work, nor do brimmed hats.

That's where Wendy Bernard's Last Minute "Purled" Beret (pdf link) comes to the rescue. I can pin up the bulk of my hair, wear the beret on the back of my head to cover the mess and go out in public without scaring small children.

I followed the option for the small-sized beret, but knitted it on US sz 10s. The other change I made was to knit for 5 inches (instead of 4.5 for the small size) before decreasing. I think I should have done 6 inches, for a bit more slouch. I prefer the stockinette side, so I won't be turning the hat inside out, as suggested in the instructions. A very quick knit that only took a few hours.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 10

2008-03-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 3 (green)
Total for the year to date: 33

knit kittens

2008-03-06T22:27:00.001-08:00

These little darlings were made about 3 years ago following geobabe's Knitted Kitty pattern. They pretty much keep to themselves in the closet these days, but I remember them fondly, since they were the first knitted toys I ever made.

Lady Crisco - Sure, she *looks* innocent, but she has a psychopathic streak in her. She has a fondness for playing with Kuromame's guts.

Kuromame - The mellowest kitten you'll ever meet. She'll let you pet her for hours. Maybe that's because she's kind of, well, dead.

Earl Grey - He may seem a bit deranged, with his wonky eye, but he's perfectly harmless. A real sweetheart actually.

More pictures at Flickr

kitschmas trees - wip

2008-03-01T18:37:00.000-08:00

Either I am really late, or really early for Xmas, but I've been knitting the Fun Fur Kitschmas Tree pattern by Maryse. It's another one of those "throughout the year" projects I've given myself.

I've only knit with fun fur/eyelash yarn once before and I had forgotten that it can be a chore. It leaves my fingers a bit sore, especially when using yarns with metallic strands. However, once done, the trees are so pet-able. It's like you've got your very own muppet pelt.

Instead of the bulky weight Homespun that's suggested, I'm using cheapo worsted weight yarn (Red Heart, TLC, Caron). All the trees are made using Ice Eyelash, except for the red one which is made with Lion Fun Fur. The Lion yarn has longer eyelash strands, which makes for a shaggier tree. I attempted a "haircut" to try to make it look better. I personally prefer the Ice yarn (eyelash strands are about half an inch shorter than the Lion) since it makes a tidier looking tree. I'll probably just get some red Ice Eyelash and save myself the effort of further "haircuts".

Remember to fluff the tree when you're done. I gently "scratch" across the surface with the tip of a dpn to help pull the eyelash strands from between the stitches. I'm not going to do a permanent base because I like the idea of being able to stuff the tree (perfect use for plastic grocery bags) for display, and then unstuffing so it can be stored flat. Actually, the trees aren't even stuffed in these wip pictures. None of the trees have been decorated yet, but I have plenty of sequins that will be put to use for that purpose.

I am having fun knitting these. Very enjoyable. I'm happy that I am spreading the knitting over the entire year so that it really is a leisure activity, instead of a holiday rush situation.

Gold
-9.5 inches high and 6.5 inches in diameter at its base.
-Followed Maryse's pattern, but did 3 rounds between increases and purled the second to last round to prevent curling. Knit on US sz 10.5s, using ~2.5 balls (50g) of the Ice eyelash yarn.
-Undecorated, this one reminds me of a sad, dried-up tree a few months after the holidays.

Silver
-11.5 inches high and 7.5 inches in diameter at its base.
-Cast on 6 sts, knit one row as I-cord, divide stitches equally among 3 dpns, knit 2 rounds. *work increase round (kfb into the first and last stitch of each dpn, i.e. +6 sts), then knit 4 plain rounds; repeat from *. Purl the second to last round to prevent curling. Knit on US sz 10.5s, using 3 balls (50g) of the Ice eyelash yarn.
-I have a thing for tacky, tabletop, silver-tinsel xmas trees, so this one is a happy addition to my collection.

Red, white, green
-5.25 inches high and 3 inches in diameter at its base.
-Knit same as the silver tree, but using US sz 7s and ~.25 ball (50g) of the fun fur/eyelash yarn.
-Several more of these will be knit to use as little gifts, filled with candy or a small surprise, and with a cardstock or felt base to hold things in. Just think how cute it would be to give a tree to a friend with some earrings or a bracelet hidden inside.

More pictures at Flickr

knit citrus

2008-03-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

After getting a kick out of knitting the lemon earlier this year I decided to knit a variety of citrus fruits by modifying existing patterns. Here are my notes:

Kumquat - Slightly modified the olive pattern from Mary Jane, Midge & Mink. Knit on US sz 7 needles and instead of binding off on round 9, continued to work decreases until 6 sts remained.

Grapefruit, orange - Knit from my own ball pattern. The orange was knit with US sz 7s and the grapefruit with US sz 10s.

Lemon, lime - From the lemon/lime pattern at Peachcake Knits and Eats Glutenfree. The lemon was knit with US sz 7s, the lime with US sz 5s and I did only three of the plain knit rounds before starting the decreases.

Pomelo - Based on the Poor Man's Spherey pattern at Kathryn Ivy. I used US sz 10.5 needles and loosely stuffed with plastic grocery bags.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 9

2008-03-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 5 (3 green, 2 black)
Total for the year to date: 30

claudia hat

2008-02-27T00:01:00.001-08:00

The Claudia Hat is the first hat that I've knit since the end of December. It's a beautiful but fairly simple pattern and only took a day and a half, knitting at a leisurely pace. The design is suitable for men and women.

I went up a size on the suggested needles, since I like my hats to fit a little looser. There was a bit of laddering when I switched from circulars to dpns, but that is completely my fault. I'm still hit-and-miss with dpns: sometimes I ladder, sometimes I don't. Practice, practice, practice.

The pattern is a definite keeper and I will knit it again when the opportunity arises.

More pictures at Flickr

kool-aid dyed yarn

2008-02-24T00:17:00.000-08:00

Last week I tried dying yarn with Kool-Aid for the first time. The tutorials at Knitty and Keep On Knitting In The Free World were my guides. I am pleased to say I managed to not make a mess or stain myself.

I tried the Kool-Aid dying on the leftover natural marl Patons Classic Merino (100% wool) I had from knitting the Scrunchable Scarf. The store didn't have many flavors/colors (no blues or greens), so I went with grape, black cherry and strawberry. I also did a test on some Lion Brand Wool-Ease (80% acrylic/20% wool) with the leftover Kool-Aid.

The Patons took the dye very well. The Kool-Aid even got rid of the nasty chemical smell that had plagued the skeins of Patons. The Lion took the dye too, though to a lesser degree. I knit swatches of each and after five handwashes, the Patons has stayed colorfast, but the Lion continues to bleed.

I'm not sure what I'll use this ball of yarn for; maybe a simple ribbed, black-striped scarf. I have ordered some plain yarn from Knit Picks to continue experimenting. Here are a few reminders for next time:

*Use the top part of the broiler pan (that allows for drainage) so that any dye that isn't immediately soaked up by the yarn doesn't pool on the underside of the hank and make muddied colors.

*When setting the color in the microwave, heat for 1.5 minutes, cool for 5 minutes. Do 2-3 cycles.

*Play around with my old Wiltons food coloring pastes and vinegar to dye the yarn.

*Try making self-striping yarn.

top: Patons; bottom: Lion

More pictures at Flickr

creamed spinach

2008-02-23T17:08:00.000-08:00

Creamed spinach has always been one of those pseudo vegetable side dishes. With all that cream and butter you can't really taste the spinach, but because it's green and has the word "spinach" in it you count it as a veggie.

I came up with this recipe as a healthier alternative. It has no added oil or butter. I like to use it as a pasta sauce and it also makes a good base for a lasagna filling and for spinach dip.

Creamed Spinach

2 10 oz. packages frozen chopped spinach, undrained
1 green onion, finely chopped
2 cups broth (chicken, vegetable or whatever compliments what you are serving)
1 8oz. package Neufchatel or cream cheese, in small chunks
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Pinch nutmeg
2-3 tablespoons cornstarch (depends on how thick you would like it)
1/4 cup water

In saucepan, over medium heat, combine broth, cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Once mixture is boiling and cheese is mostly melted, add spinach and green onion and bring to a boil again. Make a slurry out of cornstarch and water, slowly add it to the spinach mixture and boil until thick. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 8 servings.

*****

For a quick dinner I like to mix some creamed spinach with linguine noodles (as shown in the pictures). If you need protein you can add grilled chicken breast or steak. Sprinkle with some parmesan, quattro formaggio or other favorite cheese.

Lasagna filling: Mix half a recipe of the creamed spinach with a pound of ground turkey that has been browned with a diced yellow or white onion.

Spinach dip: Refrigerate a half recipe of the creamed spinach until well chilled. Combine spinach with 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (or sour cream if you are feeling decadent), 1/4 cup finely diced yellow or white onion and 1 cup of grated carrots. Salt and pepper to taste.

While this recipe can be frozen, the spinach doesn't always keep its green color very well. If you do choose to freeze a portion, be sure to reheat it very thoroughly, otherwise it will have a curdled appearance.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 8

2008-02-23T15:27:00.001-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 3 (green)
Total for the year to date: 25

scrunchable scarf

2008-02-21T18:46:00.000-08:00

After buying a couple of skeins of Patons Classic Merino in color Natural Marl on a whim, I had no idea what to do with it. Scrunchable Scarf came up in a Ravelry search and it looked good in marled colorways, so problem solved!

Knit Notes
*Started Sunday, February 10, 2008. Finished Wednesday, February 13, 2008.

*Cast on 26 sts on US sz 10.5s to make the scarf 4-inches wide. Knitting until it was 65-inches long used up about 1.25 skeins of the Patons. The large needles give a nice drape but still makes for a warm and cozy scarf.

*The Patons yarn smelled really bad! Bad enough to give me a headache on the first day and make me somewhat queasy on the other days. The smell was chemical, like a solvent. I've never had that problem with Patons yarn before. Hopefully I'll be able to get the smell out so I can actually wear the scarf.

*The scarf looks a lot like the Enjoyable Rib Stitch Scarf, except without the yarnover openness. Pattern is suitable for men and women.

More pictures at Flickr

cherry ice cream randomness

2008-02-18T12:54:00.000-08:00

It's a cherry kind of holiday weekend. Breyers Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream is keeping me company. Deliciously free of chocolate chunks, thankyousoverymuch.

Next pattern for me to develop is a simple tea cozy. Concept has been worked out, still have to knit and write. I think I'm going to take a break before tackling that one though. Knit a couple of patterns from my Ravelry queue first.

Finished the Claudia Hat on Sunday. It only took a day and a half at a normal pace. Very happy with the pattern and will keep it for future use (pictures and full notes next week).

The leftover Patons Natural Marl from knitting the Scrunchable Scarf (write-up coming soon) is being put to use in my first attempt at Kool-Aid dying. The hank is drying now. Also did a test dye on Lion Wool-Ease. I'm curious to see how they both turn out.

Rest of today will be spent curled up with tea, watching Becoming Jane.

More pictures at Flickr

cherries are the bomb - knit cherries pattern

2008-02-16T18:12:00.000-08:00

On this Presidents' Day weekend, we are suppose to remember US presidents. So let's remember little Georgie Washington and his hatchet and him chopping down a poor, defenseless cherry tree (myth?) for a moment and knit some cherries.

I like/love lemons, but cherries are another favorite fruit. And, well, let's face it, you can't really eat lemons straight up the way you can eat cherries. A fruit shaped like a sexy little bomb? Oh yes please!

I don't know what George had against cherry trees. Cherry pie, maraschino cherries, cherry ice cream (without chocolate chunks!), fresh Bing cherries that stain your lips a purple-y blue. What's not to like?

Cherries are the Bomb

Do not reproduce this pattern elsewhere. This pattern is for personal use only. In other words, don't try to make money off of it.

Materials
Set of five US size 6 double pointed needles
Worsted weight yarn in colors red and green
Stitch marker
Material for stuffing (yarn scraps or batting)
Yarn needle

Cherry Pattern
Using red yarn, cast on 6 sts and knit one row as for I-cord.
Divide sts equally among 3 dpns. Place stitch marker and begin to knit in the round.

Round 1: *k1, kfb; repeat from * (9 sts)
Round 2: knit
Round 3: *k1, kfb, k1; repeat from * (12 sts)
Round 4: knit
Round 5: *k1, kfb; repeat from * (18 sts)
Rounds 6-8: knit
Round 9: *k1, k2tog; repeat from * (12 sts)
Round 10: knit
Round 11: *k1, k2tog, k1; repeat from * (9 sts)
Round 12: knit

Stuff cherry with yarn scraps or batting

Round 13: *k1, k2tog; repeat from * (6 sts)
Round 14: knit

Transfer all stitches onto one dpn and switch to green yarn

Row 15: k2tog as if for I-cord across row (3 sts)

Continue knitting as an I-cord until cherry stem is the length you desire. Knit one stitch and k2tog the last two stitches (2 sts). Leave this cherry on the needle, cut a 6-inch tail and set aside. Using the remaining four dpns, make a second cherry in the same manner.

Once both cherries have been made, transfer the first cherry stem onto the dpn you are now using. You should now have 4 sts on one needle. Knit the 4 sts as an I-cord for about 4 rows to join stems. Cut yarn and leave a 6-inch tail. With yarn needle, pass yarn tail through stitches, knot discreetly and weave in ends. Poke, squish and mold your cherries into nice little balls.

Leaf Pattern
Leaf is knit flat. With green yarn, cast on one stitch.

Row 1: kfb (2 sts)
Row 2: k1, kfb (3 sts)
Row 3: k1, kfb, k1 (4 sts)
Rows 4-6: knit
Row 7: k1, k2tog, k1 (3 sts)
Row 8: k1, k2tog (2 sts)
Row 9: k2tog (1 st)

Cut yarn and leave a 6-inch tail. With yarn needle, pass yarn tail through last remaining stitch on the needle. Weave in tail so both cast on and cast off tails are at the same end of the leaf.

Sew leaf to joined cherry stems. Weave in all tails.

*****

If you don’t have a fifth dpn, you can use any other US 6, or smaller, needle or a piece of yarn to hold your stitches while you knit the second cherry.

Sure, you can make a single cherry too (I made mine a maraschino). Knit as above, but once the stem is the length you want, kfb into first and third stitches so you have 5 sts on your needle. I-cord for 4 rows, pass yarn tail through stitches, knot discreetly and weave in ends.

Cherries are approximately 1.25 inches in diameter.

Pattern now available for download as a pdf file.

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 7

2008-02-16T18:00:00.000-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 4 (3 green, 1 black)
Total for the year to date: 22

knit hearts

2008-02-14T00:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!
Happy Quirkyalone Day!
Happy Ferris Wheel Day!

These knit hearts are so cute and were a quick knit. If you aren't paired up this year, why not knit some for yourself? Everyone deserves some love. :)

Free pattern at Mochimochi Land.

a dream of green peas

2008-02-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

I seem to rarely remember my dreams these days, but for some reason I remembered last night's. Or I should say an aspect of it. It concerned a bowl of green peas. That's all I can remember. A red bowl filled with green peas. I don't particularly *like* green peas. They are ok to add color or as a garnish for a dish, but if you set a bowl of green peas in front of me expecting me to eat them plain, I'd give you a dirty look. Trying to analyze this is bringing up nothing.

There's been a feeling of impending... not doom. Impending change, I guess. I feel as if this week is going to be a bit of a chore to get through.

I finished the knit cherries. Should have that pattern up next week. And I am almost finished with the collection of knit citrus.

Finally set up my Ravelry profile: ilikelemons.

Thinking of getting a new camera. It's between the Canon Digital Rebel Xti and the Nikon D40x. I'm leaning toward the Canon. The new models come out around April so I am going to try waiting until then, hoping for a price drop on the existing models.

The weather has turned decidedly Spring-like here. 66 degrees and sunny yesterday, though the fog started to roll over the hills in late afternoon.

random scarves

2008-02-09T16:28:00.000-08:00

A few notes on some of the scarves I worked on towards the end of last year. Modifications to the patterns are noted.

*****

Enjoyable Rib Stitch Scarf - Though very easy and repetitive, this scarf lived up to it's name. The Enjoyable Rib Stitch Scarf is cozy enough for Northern California winters. I cast on 26 sts on US sz 10.5s to get 5-inch wide scarves. Very quick to knit and I like that it has the open, lacework look without being strictly feminine.

*****

Palindrome Scarf - Just as easy as the Irish Hiking Scarf *and* it's reversible. I made my Palindrome on US sz 10.5s and only did two cable repeats to make a skinny scarf.

*****

Karaoke Cable Scarf - Had to bump up the levels on the picture to get the cables to show. Karaoke Cable was cute and easy. At the midway point, I switched the direction of the cables (shown in the above picture) so that when hanging around the neck, the cables would face in complimentary directions. And you guessed it, knit on US sz 10.5s.

*****

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 6

2008-02-09T15:49:00.001-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 2 (green)
Total for the year to date: 18

oh balls! - knit balls pattern

2008-02-06T21:19:00.000-08:00

Many years ago I saw the movie Impromptu, about the affair between George Sand and Frederic Chopin. With a cast of well known actors, beautiful locations and costuming, and an interesting story, I am a bit embarrassed to say that what I remember most is that "Oh Balls!" was the stand-out line of the movie for me.

A sphere is such a versatile shape to have in one's knitting repertoire. I use this ball pattern to make fruits, toys or something soft enough to throw at the television (oh like you haven't wanted to throw something at the tv before).

Oh Balls!

Do not reproduce this pattern elsewhere. This pattern is for personal use only. In other words, don't try to make money off of it.

Materials
Set of US size 7 double pointed needles
Worsted weight yarn
Stitch marker
Material for stuffing (yarn scraps, batting, plastic grocery bags, etc.)
Yarn needle, for weaving in ends

Pattern
Cast on 6 sts and knit one row as for I-cord.
Divide sts equally among 3 dpns. Place stitch marker and begin to knit in the round.

Round 1: kfb all sts (12 sts)
Round 2: knit
Round 3: *k1, kfb; repeat from * (18 sts)
Round 4: knit
Round 5: *k2, kfb; repeat from * (24 sts)
Round 6: knit
Round 7: *k3, kfb; repeat from * (30 sts)
Round 8: knit
Round 9: *k4, kfb; repeat from * (36 sts)
Round 10: knit
Round 11: *k8, kfb; repeat from * (40 sts)
Rounds 12-14: knit
Round 15: *k8, k2tog; repeat from * (36 sts)
Round 16: knit
Round 17: *k4, k2tog; repeat from * (30 sts)
Round 18: knit
Round 19: *k3, k2tog; repeat from * (24 sts)
Round 20: knit
Round 21: *k2, k2tog; repeat from * (18 sts)
Round 22: knit

Stuff ball with yarn scraps, batting, etc.

Round 23: *k1, k2tog; repeat from * (12 sts)
Round 24: knit
Round 25: *k2tog; repeat from * (6 sts)

Cut yarn leaving a 6-inch tail. Thread needle with yarn tail, pull through remaining stitches and knot discreetly. Run needle down the center of ball and through to other side. Snip excess tail close to ball’s surface. Makes about a 2.5-inch diameter ball.

*****

The size of the balls can be adjusted by using larger needles and chunkier yarn. You can also change the size by adding more increase, and corresponding decrease, rounds.

The striped ball is easily made by casting on and knitting rounds 1-10 with color 1, switching to color 2 for rounds 11-15 and changing to color 3 for rounds 16-25.

Pattern now available for download as a pdf file.

This pattern is now available in German (translated by Kalinumba, with my permission).

More pictures at Flickr

the olive plan 2008 - week 5

2008-02-02T13:49:00.000-08:00

Number of olives knit this week: 3 (1 black, 2 green)
Total for the year to date: 16

snowflower hat pattern

2008-02-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Groundhog Day! Whether or not the lovable marmot (woodchuck, land beaver, whistlepig) saw his shadow or not, the calendar says that there are six more weeks of winter. Plenty of time to knit a warm, cozy hat.

This hat is based on Amy King's Fake Isle Hat, but I've modified it to use a classic fair isle snowflake pattern. Or is it a flower? A snowflaker? A snowflower!

The crown pattern and overall gauge have been modified a bit as well.

Snowflower Hat

Do not reproduce this pattern elsewhere. This pattern is for personal use only. In other words, don't try to make money off of it.

Materials
Size US 7 circular needle (16 inches)
Size US 7 set of double pointed needles
Main color (MC), worsted weight yarn
Contrast color (CC), worsted weight yarn
Stitch marker
Yarn needle, for weaving in ends

Pattern
With MC and circular needles, cast on 98 stitches. Place marker and join round.

Rounds 1-6: *k4, p3; repeat from *
Rounds 7 & 8: k all sts
Rounds 9 & 10: Switch to CC and k all sts
Rounds 11 & 12: Switch to MC and k all sts

Rounds 13-26: Using MC and CC, knit the pattern from the following chart. Note: pattern begins at lower, right-hand corner. MC = white, CC = black

Rounds 27 & 28: k all sts with MC
Rounds 29 & 30: k all sts with CC
Rounds 31 & 32: k all sts with MC

Rounds 33-52: Using MC and CC, knit the pattern from the following chart. Note: pattern begins at lower, right-hand corner. MC = white, CC = black. Switch to double pointed needles when there are too few stitches on the circular to knit comfortably.

Round 53: k all sts with CC

Cut yarn leaving a 12-inch tail. Thread tail through remaining sts, gather and fasten tightly. Weave in ends. Hat is approximately 20-inches around and 8.5-inches high, unstretched.

*****

Switch up the ribbing of the brim rounds to give a different look. For example, the grey hat used 5x2 ribbing to give it a slightly curled edge.

For the child-sized pink hat, using US size 5 needles, cast on in CC and then beginning with round 1, switch to MC and knit hat as instructed. Child-sized hat is approximately 17-inches around and 7-inches high, unstretched.

Pattern now available for download as a pdf file.

More pictures at Flickr

giant olive pattern

2008-01-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

These giant olives were inspired by the knit olives at the blog Mary Jane, Midge & Mink. While Mary Jane’s olives are to scale (and adorable!) and I continue to knit them for The Olive Plan 2008, I needed to do some stash busting, hence the gigantor size of these olives.

Giant Olive

Do not reproduce this pattern elsewhere. This pattern is for personal use only. In other words, don't try to make money off of it.

Materials
Size US 10.5 set of double pointed needles
Size US 10.5 straight needles
Lion Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in color Grass
Caron Simply Soft in color Autumn Red
Stitch marker
Material for stuffing (yarn scraps, batting, plastic grocery bags, etc.)
Yarn needle, for weaving in ends

Olive Pattern
Cast on 6 stitches

Round 1: knit as for I-cord. Equally divide stitches among 3 dpns to begin knitting in the round. Place marker at beginning of round
Round 2: *k1, kfb to increase; repeat from * (9sts)
Round 3: knit
Round 4: *k1, kfb to increase, k1; repeat from * (12sts)
Round 5: knit
Round 6: *k1, kfb to increase, k2; repeat from * (15sts)
Round 7: knit
Round 8: *k2, kfb to increase, k2; repeat from * (18sts)
Round 9: knit
Round 10: *k2, kfb to increase, k3; repeat from * (21sts)
Round 11: knit
Round 12: *k3, kfb to increase, k3; repeat from * (24sts)
Round 13: knit
Round 14: *k2, kfb to increase, k2, kfb to increase, k2; repeat from * (30sts)
Rounds 15-23: knit
Round 24: *k4, k2tog, k4; repeat from * (27sts)
Round 25: knit
Round 26: *k2, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k2; repeat from * (21sts)
Round 27: bind off

Cut yarn leaving a 6-inch tail. Weave in ends, just enough to secure (leave excess ends – they can become part of the stuffing). Stuff olive with yarn scraps, batting, plastic grocery bags or whatever you like. Push, prod and mold stuffing to create an olive-y shape.

Pimento Pattern
Using straight needles, cast on 20 sts. Knit in flat stockinette for four inches; bind off. Tuck the flat swatch into the opening of the olive so that it covers the stuffing. Mold and shape olive again. Have a martini and admire your handiwork.

*****

Giant Olive measures approximately 5.5-inches long and 12-inches in circumference at its widest part.

One skein of the Thick & Quick (170grams/108 yards) should yield five olives. You don’t need much of the red yarn for the pimento, just enough to make a 4x4-inch swatch for each olive.

Pattern now available for download as a pdf file.

beef stew

2008-01-27T10:54:00.000-08:00

Ah comfort food! There is something about a big bowl of beef stew on a cold, rainy night that just seems like perfection. I use champagne, or other dry white wine, because it gives a slightly sweet and bright flavor. It also keeps the color of the stew from turning that purpley grey color you can sometimes get with red wine. You can certainly substitute red wine, beer or more broth, if you prefer though.

Serve this stew in a big cappuccino mug with a thick slice (or two!) of homemade bread on the side. Pop a movie in the dvd player, get comfy and prepare for a cozy night in.

Beef Stew

2 1/2 pounds pot/chuck roast, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
~4 tablespoons oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup flour
2 cups champagne
4 cups beef broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
~1/2 pound mushrooms, quartered or sliced
2 cups frozen green peas
additional salt and pepper to taste

Mix 1/2 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper together in a plastic bag. Add cubed beef and shake until pieces are coated with flour. In large stock pot, over medium high heat, brown the cubed beef in batches using a tablespoon of oil at a time (meat does not need to be cooked through). Remove browned meat to a separate bowl as you finish browning the rest of the beef.

In same pot, over medium heat, saute onion in 1 tablespoon of oil, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Once the onions have softened and begun to turn translucent, add 1/4 cup flour and cook onions and flour together for a couple of minutes. Pour champagne and beef broth slowly into pot, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add the browned beef (and any juices that may have rendered out), bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

After simmering for 1 1/2 hours, add carrots and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes, or until carrots and potatoes are tender. Remove bay leaf. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. 5 minutes before serving, add frozen peas, cooking just until peas are heated through.

Makes 10 servings

*****

As with any recipe, feel free to add or omit any herbs and vegetables that you choose.

1 large onion is equal to about 2 cups.

Save time and buy "baby" carrots and cut them in half.

I like to use red or dutch yellow potatoes, cut in quarters. Leave the skins on.

Another shortcut is to buy a 10 oz. package of pre-sliced mushrooms.

This stew tastes even better the next day. It freezes well too.

More pictures at Flickr

hearty homemade bread

2008-01-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

I have fond memories of making bread with my mother when I was a little girl. She would place a step-up stool next to the counter so I could reach the big, wooden baking board and let me sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. I would exclaim that it smelled stinky!

I suspect that I caused more trouble than good, getting flour everywhere and slowing down the whole baking process. Mom would let me punch at the dough like a prize-fighter since my little hands couldn't properly knead the dough. No electric mixers or bread machines for us! White bread in loaf pans, brown bread in coffee cans, go down for a nap and wake up to the bread miraculously done, ready to be eaten.

This recipe makes a very dense, hearty bread. Pair it with stew or think "slather" when considering topping it with any spreads.

Hearty Homemade Bread

Sponge:
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110F)
1 package active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Dough:
1 cup warm water (110F)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons kosher salt
~3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil

To make sponge:
In large glass bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over sugar water and allow to sit for 5 minutes, or until yeast is foamy. Stir in flour until a smooth, stiff batter forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to proof for 6-8 hours at room temperature (70F) or place in refrigerator for 12-14 hours.

To make dough:
Add water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and 3 cups of flour to sponge and stir until the flour has been absorbed. Transfer dough to floured surface and knead for 15 minutes, adding additional flour only if dough is too sticky. The dough will want to stick to your hand but it should pull away towards itself instead.

Grease clean bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place dough in bowl, turning to coat surface with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, around 2 hours.

Turn risen dough out onto floured surface and knead for about a minute. Divide dough in half and form each half into a round loaf. Place loaves on an ungreased baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425F. Remove plastic wrap/towel and make a few slashes with a knife on the tops of the loaves. Bake loaves for 30-40 minutes, or until loaves are golden brown and make a hollow sound when gently tapped on the bottom. Remove to wire racks and allow to cool before slicing.

Makes 2 ~8-inch diameter loaves.

*****

If you want a darker crust, brush the loaves with milk or an egg wash (one egg beaten with a tablespoon of water, milk or cream) before baking.

You may freeze one of the loaves if you like. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and then in aluminum foil. To thaw the loaf, unwrap and allow to thaw on the counter. Or wrap loaf in aluminum foil and heat in a 325F oven for 15 minutes, remove foil and leave in oven for 5 more minutes.

Feel free to add herbs (rosemary, thyme, chives, etc.), olives, carmelized onions, pancetta, etc. If using dried herbs, add them at the same time as the oil and salt. Other add-ins can be incorporated after the 2-hour rise and before forming the loaves.

More pictures at Flickr