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June 29, 2005
Almost
I finished the knitting for the second item tonight but can't claim FOdom yet. My little brown bag, in which I keep my yarn needle and crochet hook, has gone missing. Usually I pinch hit with a crochet hook when I lose my chibis I am always losing chibis but I am totally unable to seam without either//or. So here I am seamless and missing the 2 rows of garter that edges the neckline. Almost done.
Posted by Elka at 11:26 PM
June 27, 2005
A Wee Bit of Remedial Math
It all started last week when I received the yarn from Unique Colours.... you remember I was expecting 1 project and got 3 instead? No biggie. The first project was completed lightening fast and the other two were also small children items. Here is the yarn BTW:
You will notice I have not made much progress on the second project. Anyways I thought, given that I am going to Stitches in Aug. so could use some extra mad money and I hadn't heard back from Gina about a project and these projects were relatively speedy, I could tackle an extra 2. Yours truelly called stating as much. 2 projects. "2?" they asked. Yes TWO. What should arrive today?
I need to relearn basic math. Until I do happy knitting ;^>
Posted by Elka at 10:20 PM
June 26, 2005
Weekend Report
I spent this past weekend visiting my father. He is off to yet another clinical trial ~ this time in San Fran. The success rate for his condition is something like 10% with a life expectancy of 9 months if diagnosed early enough so we are loving all the experimental options.
I didn't work on the Silky Chic sweater at all. Alternating hanks, keeping track of rows [via pins] and constant measuring to make sure I am on track was not my idea of quiet weekend visiting the folks. My folks are very quiet. No TV and rarely any radio in common areas. Just companionable silence with the occassional conversation on what have you. A fidgety person such as myself must have something to do and I tend to become too engrossed in books so I took the Tea Time shawl. My father seems fascinated by the concept that it will be a circle when done~ right now it looks like a drawstring bag... Anyway I actually finished the last patterned row and have 6 plain rows before attaching edging point. I had planned on doing a happy dance when I reached this stage but happiness doesn't seem to be very much in my vocabulary right now. He was diagnosed on Oct 18th so a few weeks before he crosses into the successful treatment column. Fingers crossed
Posted by Elka at 10:12 PM
June 24, 2005
Ashley's Entry
Miss Ashley would like me to introduce you to the friendly neighborhood yarn monster so here he is:
Ashley would like to inform you that a girl yarn monster is needed~ maybe even some baby monsters. She is doing her best to find a mate for the yarn monster. If you happen to know of a friendly soft fluffy she yarn monster please let us know.
PS: oh Ashley says kid* monsters are good too.... our yarn monster is willing to adopt. And most importantly "Thank You" to all those who care for yarn monsters ;^>
*kids and babies are different doncha know
Posted by Elka at 09:51 AM | Comments (1)
June 23, 2005
And the Sun Slinked Away in Shame
Yesterday I went out to check for package at 12.30pm and instead of showing you what I got I played with yarn. First there are 3, three, 3 projects, not one, in the box. Some Graffiti, some Silky Chic, and some Point 5. I decide that the Silky Chic would be a decent middle project being lighter weight than the other two yarns. I touch the Graffiti and Point 5 and decide that I would rather work with the Point 5 so set that aside for last project. A girl needs some sorta reward for keeping on track. 23 Hours later~ and yes I sleep, eat, watch TV and care for my loved ones~ I am done with the first project. This yarn knits up that fast. Sized for a 4/5 yr old from the new Kiddie booklet:
Thank the heavens my camara cannot capture this color. It is oh so bright. Actually your corneas can thank me and my poor photographic skills.
On to some Silky Chic.... great yarny day and knitterly evening to all
Posted by Elka at 11:33 AM
June 21, 2005
Finally broke down and called about the missing Colinette yarns. Gina might have me knit something for her and I don't want to have her wait for the FO~ I adore Gina and her yarns. Due tomorrow via UPS yipieeeeeeeeeeeee a photo for tomorrow. Til then .....
Working on Shetland Tea. I was thinking today that this better be some gorgeous shawl when done. I didn't swatch much less wash and block nonexistant swatch so there is some concern. Will my YOs turn into dimples? Will the yarn fuzz up into a big ol blur. Oh how I wish I had swatched.
yarny day and knitterly evening alls
Posted by Elka at 10:04 PM
June 20, 2005
Thwarted!
Hmmmmmmmm so I finished the shawl and had to decide on what to work on next. Consulting my WIP roundup with the knowledge that Colinette garment yarn was due any minute I decided upon Michelle's Mahrvelous Dahrlink socks. I kinda wanted to work on the top down [ha ha ha] but figured that if I managed to get the sleeve pick up correct I wouldn't remember how for the second with a project in between. Socks it was. I was about 20 rows short of toe shaping on first sock last Sunday night. Looksie where I was late last night:
Ummmmmmm thats the second sock~ I am not that slow. Do you see that? The kitchnering together toe stitches point and only a few inches of thread before a knot in yarn. A real bum f*ck. Well I spit spliced and can only hope this machine washable yarn holds cause I certainly lurv the socks:
Unfortunately the colors came out wrong. Super unfortunately cause I rudely mentioned to Gina that I loved the colors and asked if she could take the base and do a little sumthin sumthin for me. Oh yeah I am that rude but hey when you know a superior colorist and they offer to dye up some yarn for ya what are you gonna do? Oh there is one problem with the socks~ my gauge was looser than for my CTH and the sock a bit more roomy. I don't think there is enough leftover for me to go down a needle size next pair out of this particular yarn..... Wild Raspberry Bearfoot sock yarn by Mountain Colours BTW.
Ok so being aggravated by le knot I couldn't very well sleep so picked up Shetland Tea Time shawl aka the neverending knit of epic proportions. Thwarted again! Oh yeah I couldn't find my chart much less where I was on nowhere to be found chart. A trip to XRX corrections site and Thwarted yet again. The printer dies. Hmmm well it did print the page before the needed chart. I was up til 5 am staring at my screen and knitting.....
Living the vida loca and hoping you aren't~ yarny days and knitterly evening y'alls
Posted by Elka at 07:45 PM | Comments (1)
June 19, 2005
Finally Pictures
OK OK I promised the pictures of Ashley's Meadow Flowers shawl knit in Alchemy yarns kid mohair blend last Monday. Sue me. First I ended up not really blocking it. I just washed that baby and laid her out to dry. Here is a bad picture of the finished shawl:
As you can see there is no edging. I could tell I wouldn't have enough yarn so worked a few extra plain rows at top between last flower row and eyelet row so that the top edge would more closely match the sides~ in the original pattern there is one plain row between flower and eyelet row but a minimum of 4 sts between yo increase and flower petal.
To make up for the wretched picture I show you the shawl being modeled by my adorable 6 year old. Note that the shawl is more than large enough for her sans stretching and edging ;^>
And:
Altogether now~ awwwwwwwwwwwww. Knitterly evenings you all
Posted by Elka at 08:46 PM | Comments (4)
June 13, 2005
Doce de Leite
The shawl if off the needles but instead of blocking I have spent the day scrubbing shelves and walls in the basement. This is the kids area overlowing with stuffed toys, blocks, legoes etc in addition to housing our main Television and DVD collection. Oh and the computers. Really very filthy. Since there is no knit fodder I turn to cooking fodder. Dessert fodder.
Last Friday I made Doce de Leite or Dulce de Leite depending on where you are from. Doce de Leite is a childhood sweet that seems to have become popular in the United States recently. Or at least popular enough that Burger King is offering Dulce de Leite cheesecake and jello pudding offers Dulce de Leite flaver. Neither of these commercial offerings compare to my childhood memories. First off lets talk about texture~ Doce de Leite was most often served as a curdy mix kinda like a very soft tapioca pudding. Sometimes it was a smooth creamy mix similar to a thin butterscotch or caramel ice cream topping. Now I happen to have a cookbook called Brazil by Christopher Idone. I don't recommend this book at all. The Piccadillo is all wrong as is the Farofa and the Black Beans that are the main ingredient of Fejoida. At least my mother would never cook beans with pigs feet and beef tongues and other icky lesser cuts of meat and her farofinha was more than sauteed in oil meal. Let me assure you that the recipe for Piccadillo aka Pinky Dinky I shared earlier is not made with steak or seasoned with mace and other 'sweet' spices. As I said All Wrong. Still in the back was tucked a recipe for Doce De Leite and the ingredients looked right even if a bit sparse. Here are the instructions per the book: 4 c Milk and 2 c Sugar put in a copper pot and over a boiling water bath. Stir 10 mins to dissolve sugar and cook, stirring occassionally, for an hour and half. Stir constantly for an additional half hour.
Where should I begin? Well I don't own a copper pot and wasn't about to drop a couple hundred just to make dessert. Nor do I own a double broiler so I turned to my handy dandy crockpot thinking constant steady heat with heavy ceramic bowl to prevent scorching or whatever. 2 hrs later I still had what I had put in~ sugar milk. Turned up the heat and waited another 2 hrs and still sugar milk. Took off the lid thinking maybe the whole liqued preservation factor was hindering my curdling and browning of milk and no go. Sugar milk. I decided patience had to be a virtue in something and waited another 2 hrs. Cream colored sugar milk-no longer milky white but a bit off white. Time to call the mommy.
Here is her correct recipe:
2 parts WHOLE MILK to 1 part sugar. You MUST use whole milk. Luckily I was. Place the ingredients in a heavy saucepan if you have one otherwise any regular pot would do. Bring ingredients to boil. Turn down heat to bare simmer and stir occasionally for 2 hrs. It should be a camel colored mix and have reduced significantly. If you want the curdy mixture which is more American in sensibility[Americans tend to look at the non curdy mix as a topping ~ its a thick creamed soup consistency] then add a 'few drops' of lemon juice just when the mix has come to a boil. Not enough to make the milk sour but enough to start the milk solids seperation from water reaction. Also flavor with a cinnomon stick or a few cloves. My mum used to season with both together and thats what I did. Much better than the sugar milk flavor I was dealing with before. Also another optional thing is to add whipped til stiff egg whites after the milk mix has boiled and the heat has been reduced. Depending on how much milk how many egg whites. Since I had no plans to add egg whites I didn't inquire further and I really don't recall my mum doing this part as a child but she said thats what some people do in Brazil. I had a nice camel colored coats the spoon mix within 2 hrs~ more like an hour and half and covered and placed in fridge where it thickened up a bit more. The lemon juice didn't work for me probably because it had already changed from milk white to off white by time I got it on the stove. Try it you might like it. And I assure you the milk content makes it more healthful than any commercial butterscotch or caramel topping you can purchase. Of course you could just scoop some into a bowl and serve with a spoon. We ate it both ways over here this weekend and yummsters. After my waistline recovers a bit I will remake it aiming for curdy goodness.
Posted by Elka at 03:14 PM
June 10, 2005
The Politics of Knitting
Popular Media would have you believe that knitting is a political act either of incredible hipness or incredible feminist backlash. This is not what I am meaning here. Let's talk about knitting for family. Hmmmm not the unappreciated holiday gifts to boorish in laws but rather the coveted by children knits. Last year I knit Miss Zoe the Meadow Flower shawl from Knitter's Stash in the called for colorway of Lorna's Laces 'Heaven Yarn' Here is a reminder picture:
This year I am knitting Miss Ashley a Meadow Flower shawl in Alchemy Yarns mohair/silk blend. Same fiber content and approx the same yardage[Alchemy yarn's has half the weight and yardage] The Alchemy Yarns kid mohair blend is a more brushed aka 'hairier' yarn and therefore I decided to use a larger needle size. It goes without saying that Ashley's shawl is turning out larger than Zoe's shawl. Need I go on? I do! Well..... Some princess panties is perturbed over the size disparity even tho Queen mommmie will probably not have enough yarn to add the super pretty lacey border. Yes I am queen~ not because I am a big ol Engelbrite fan[I am such a non fan I probably mispelled her name] and purchased tons of mugs stating such but rather because my children routinely make me crowns and cards stating as much. They have a game where they toss for who is the guard and who is the servant of the queen. Don't ask me where they got this game from cause its a total shocker. But it is good to be queen unless dealing with the politics of knitting for princess panties.
Posted by Elka at 08:37 AM | Comments (2)
June 08, 2005
WIP Roundup
I almost forgot to post today~ I am so out of the habit. Since there is an amazing lack of progress in knitting since yesterday I decided to do the routine WIP Roundup Call. On the needles we have:
Shetland Tea Time Shawl
Flower Meadow Shawl
Top Down in Bulky ala Walker
Rogue
Donegal
Michelle's abfab socks in Wild Raspberry Mountain Colours
I think thats it. Since I had pulled out the Flower Meadow Shawl for photo op a while ago I decided to work on that one. Stay tuned for updates on it. I am also considering nixing the Top Down off my list entirely. I am a chubbsy wubbsy kinda gal and usually avoid Bulky yarns like the plague. Gorgeouso color tho. I keep seeing myself walking around late fall through winter in a simple pullover but lets face it I never haul my ass offa the couch. And brown~ even beautifully flecked chocolate brown~ is not my color. What to do, what to do? I think I might as well finish it but I can't help suspecting I will never wear it and somebody might appreciate the yarn. I will keep thinking on that one.
Oh I am expecting new Unique Colours yarn for new work projects. I kinda want to retire since I am showing an appalling inability to finish anything in a timely fashion. Anyway keep clicking....
Posted by Elka at 04:19 PM
June 07, 2005
Stick a Fork in Her
Is this a phrase? I seem to recall 'stick a fork in it~ its done' from somewhere. If its not pretend for my sake cause I am. Done that is. Yay me. Now I didn't have that much to knit for TNNA this year cause I turned away work but it was still a struggle to get what little I accepted finished. And of course I had to go computerless while I struggled. I don't even want to think about email catch up but some FO pictures for you:
Here we have the Alchemy cardigan I showed the yarn for earlier. Raglan sleeved and a dream to knit. Yummmy silk. Unfortunately the silk makes it hard to capture the cables but I will try:
Next we knit a pullover for Unique Colours:
This pullover is from a new book that is gonna be called Kiddie something. Yes you read right. Kiddie. I personally cannot imagine spending the money for a childs garment but hey I am a poor type of person. You might be a rich kinda person. And amazingly the width of both of these garments is the same. Yep the same width, sleeve length, and depth from armhole to cuffs [both hem and sleeve hem] The big difference is the armhole depth. Thats OK. I have always known that grown women are supposed to be the circumference of a 5 year old. Anyway this is what I have been doing behind your backs.
yarny day and knitterly evening to all
Posted by Elka at 05:14 PM | Comments (3)