wip: politically incorrect blanket

if you’re looking for a project to take along to stitch n bitch… this would be it!

this rainbow colored mitred square blanket is knit in garter stitch; it’s a very impressive project that is not at all difficult to knit. the only skills that you will need are: casting on, picking up stitches, and switching colors. As for the bad part: there are a hell of a lot of ends to weave in…

what a perfect project for hosting stitch n bitch! i could put it down at a moments notice and then pick it up without missing a beat. the only time i had to pause was to count the number of stitches before i began another square. it’s also proven to be a great project to knit while i listen to my audiobooks (the outlander series… in case you’re wondering. i plan to listen to all of the audio books in the series and then purchase the final one. i estimate i have over 100 hours of listening to go. i wonder what i will listen to after that?).

happy (belated) thanksgiving!!

the holidays are now upon us and the frenzy has begun!

and like most knitters around this time, my knitting ADD is in full swing! i’ve picked up an old wip…the politically incorrect blankie – a rainbow of mitered square goodness. this is a gift for the dd that was selected and started about 2 years ago. the project is divided into 4 quadrants then stitched together before a garter stitch border is added. i’m on square 27 (not yet pictured).

my sock wip is my car project…a plain vanilla sock that gets attention even on the quickest of car rides. if I had it my way these little project bags would be everywhere. the husband is not so keen on little project bags tucked into every nook and cranny.

(sigh)

loving that I have my needles going again. my inner crafter is finally resurfacing!

wip: gaptastic cowl or a first knitting project?

my first (real) knitting project was… do you remember fun fur?

i was in the craft aisle at meijer, or another big box store,  and was taken aback with the PLETHORA of colorful furry skeins of yarn piled up on the shelves. i grabbed two purple skeins and some susan bates (right?) straight needles that were about 12 feet long. my mom taught me to knit when I was a young child…and surprisingly, i remembered how to cast on and knit (i actually was knitting tbl but didn’t realize it until later)…anyway, out of this a scarf was born and gifted to my then 6ish year old stepdaughter.

endless seed stitch

a friend asked me to help her get started knitting.  she picked out the GAP-tastic cowl by jen geigley…have you seen it?  well, 12,000+ projects can’t be wrong!  it is truly a beautiful knit…but geez endless seed stitch!  and….well…is this really a good first knit?

for someone who hasn’t yet mastered the knit or purl, i’m not sure it is.  it is a tad more difficult to read your knitting and maneuvering the yarn forward and backward may be challenging.  luckily, my friend is a fearless and quick learner.  she just needs to loosen her death grip on the needles.

oh, and random new knitter tip…avoid dark/black yarn for your first few projects.  it’s way too hard to see.

happy knitting!

fo: pup cloth

i am a between projects and found myself with a lack of knitting. ok. that’s a lie. i have sss for my owlie socks.

anyway, i whipped this up while i waited for inspiration to strike.

woof! woof!

i will add pattern information if anyone is interested. this took a scant 35 g of yarn!

so here is the bigger question: what do you knit whilst waiting for inspiration to strike?

the bread chronicles…getting started

for as long as i can remember, i’ve always wanted to bake bread.  i’ve tried it once or twice; but i ended up with something that resembled more a paperweight than a perfect loaf of bread that i want to sink my teeth into.  since those failed attempts i convinced myself that i was a cook (not a chef, and definitely NOT a baker) so i should focus my energies elsewhere.

but as i was browsing one site or another, i came across this…

artisan bread in 5 minutes a day

honestly i didn’t think it would work.  experience has shown us that ‘quick fixes’ just don’t work.  but i kept stalking the reviews on amazon.  and i kept getting curious-er and curious-er…so i bought the book.

meanwhile, when i was grocery shopping i would discreetly chuck a bag of flour into our shopping cart.  (nevermind that we don’t use flour for anything we cook)  by the time the book was delivered i counted 3 bags of whole wheat flour, 2 bags of bread flour, another bag of cornmeal and a tupperware full of a mystery flour.  the irony in buying all that flour: i didn’t have the all-purpose flour the recipe calls for.  (sigh)

In a nutshell, this method allows you to pre-make a wet dough that is stored in the fridge for up to 10 days.  When you want to make bread, you snip off a piece, shape it, rest it, slash and bake it!  Even a non-baker like me was able to make a decent looking loaf:

my (second-ever) loaf or “boule”

i made the dough on day 1, on day 3 i made the first loaf (not pictured), on day 4 i made another two loaves, and today, day 5 i finished off the rest of the dough.

VERDICT: (loaves 1 &2) nice crisp crust that softened slightly when cooled.  the crumb was dense and moist.  aaron really took a shine to this basic recipe.  i think the crumb could be less dense and more chewy. i will switch to bread flour as it has more gluten and may give me a bread more to my liking.  (loaf 3) gifted to the neighbors. (loaf 4) in the oven!

i’ll continue to post to the bread chronicles as my adventure continues….

skewed green smoothie socks

i’ve cast on for yet another sock project:

skewed green smoothie (rav link)
pattern: skew by lana holden in knitty winter ’09
ty-dy socks in green colorway
1 skein | 436 yds : 100 g | 80 superwash wool : 20 nylon
started: jan 2011
needles: US #1 (2.25 mm) knitpicks nickel plated circs
notes: brilliant!

we’ve been blending up a storm at chez crankygrrrrrl. husband just bought a blender and has been mixing up some green smoothie goodness. that, coupled with an insane desire to knit something for me…and an itch to do something different, but not mind-bending…led me to cast on for this…wait for it….brilliant sock.

i bet all clown vomit yarn would like awesome in this pattern. and pending the completion of this pair of socks, i will be flagging this pattern for many of those yarns in my stash. that is not to say that the pattern isn’t worthy of pretty sock yarn, cuz i’ve seen some beauties….i’m just saying that this will work for the ‘difficult’ skeins.

that being said, this yarn isn’t producing dazzling color patterns…but i’m still loving the knitting and it produce a -tame- and handsome sock.

off to drink my dinner smoothie…in this one we used: spinach, kale, carrot, celery, cucumber, avocado, banana, blueberries, clementine, vega whole food health optimizer, apple juice and some water. sounds “eww” but really “yum”!

fly by posting…

january is zooming past … is it already january 9?!?

i try not to be the person to wait to make resolutions (why wait, start now!)…but i did want to have a more productive 2011.  more socks! however, the socks i started for the husband were just not clicking for me.  i ended up frogging them because the cable flow was not jiving with my vibe, ya dig?

i didn’t abandon the project, though.  i dug deep, cast on 12 stitches with jmco and started a toe-up sock.  i’m getting about 8 stitches per inch on US 1’s…but before i actually measured by gauge, i increased to 72 (too big?!).  i don’t have the heart to frog again, so if i have to, the sock will morph into the fil’s socks and my harry potter yarn will leave the house 😦

sigh.  hopefully we’ll have a camera up and running soon.

have a good monday.  🙂

lost post

I just lost the last 15 minutes of my life! (my phone ate my post).

synopsis:
christmas = good
knit = fountain pen shawl
gift = for aunt sally
I like the yarn = kp shadow

on my second sock = just turned heel

happy day. bye

psssst….

….i got the mott’s!

does that age me?  and by that, i mean, quoting old commercials?  ah, i can’t  hide the dorkiness anyway, so why bother trying?

anyway, reporting in:   i did find the camera battery and set up my little studio, sans studio (remember the one my husband gave me for my birthday?).  i only have  some spot lights, a mini-tripod and a camera.  sigh.  i’ll work with what i have.  see…i’m making progress!!

hope you’re having a good weekend!

“a short post”…..or “soup!!”

hello strangers, it’s me!

i’ve had an on-again, off-again relationship with this blog.  but this is mainly due to the fact that i had been in hell graduate school trying to earn my master of science in nursing…the knitting has been sporadic (which is definitely disheartening)…the yarn shopping even less frequent. but i am hoping to get back on top of things and get my creative juices flowing again.

since i am devoid of anything knitting related (and knitting pictures!)…i’ll post my most recent kitchen victory:  potato soup!  This was a product of the CSA bounty we had this fall.  (CSA = community supported agriculture).   We often struggled to find dishes to prepare with the, at times, weird food combos.  however, this soup just came together.  i made a giagantous batch of the stuff.  the neighbors loved it.  my brother’s MIL said it was better than her “good cook’ husband’s potatoe soup.  even my filipino parents liked the soup – and they are NOT soup people.

potato soup with leeks & mushrooms

ingredients:

• • • bacon, 4 or 5 strips
    • 2 medium carrots, diced
    • 1 small onion, diced
    • 2 celery stalks, diced
    • 1 pint button mushrooms, diced
    • 3 leeks, chopped
    • 3 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed
    • 2T butter
    • 1T herbs de provence
    • 1t ground coriander
    • 1/2 & 1/2, 1 pint
    • chicken broth, 1 box
    • salt & pepper to taste

directions

1. 1. 1. in large stock pot, render fat from bacon.  reserve bacon for garnish, if desired.
      2. add butter, then saute onion, carrots, celery, leeks and mushrooms until tender.
      3. add chicken broth and potatoes.  bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer until potatoes are tender.
      4. temper 1/2 & 1/2, add to soup.
      5. in a blender or food processor, blend soup in small batches to a smooth consistency.
      6. adjust seasonings if needed.  garnish with whatever you choose!  (bacon, croutons, green onions, cheese…sky’s the limit)
      7. enjoy!

i hope you get the chance to try it!  don’t forget to save me some!