An Extreme Case of Startitis...

It's not even three weeks into January and it has occurred to me that my "resolutions" seem to have ALREADY flown out the window.  It was only here that I listed them out, but apparently I need to keep a closer eye on them. 
Fortunately I'm keeping up with my blogging commitmenet of posting at least once a week and it seems to be paying off.  Today I hit 1000 pageviews!  I was impressed and excited and may even have done a little dance when I saw it. 
I'm not even going to talk to you about the healthy eating and excercise resolution, because I've basically pretended that it doesn't exist.  I'll get there. 
As for spinning, I've completely abandoned it for no real reason other than being sick and then promptly obsessed with knitting again.  I think knitting is my long term relationship.  You may not always feel the butterflies but there's definitely something there that keeps you excited and coming back again and again.  Crochet is more of a one night stand for me and spinning is kind of on par with having coffee with an old friend every so often.  It feels comforting and fun, but you never think to do it more often than that. 
And then there was the promise to get the ripple blanket off the hook and the mitts off the needles.  Sigh.  There are so.many.ends....gah!  I must be doing something wrong.  Lucy from Attic24 CANNOT weave in this many ends in each blanket.  That would be crazy-making and she seems fairly sane.  As far as the mitts go, is it possible to have second MITT syndrome?  If it is, then I've definitely got it.  So, perhaps I'll have these things done by the end of February instead?  I did finish an object in January already as you know from my last post, but I really just keep wanting to cast on new things. For instance, on Friday night I came to the abrupt realization that I had no "purse knitting".  Nevermind the fact that I carry my entire project bag with me pretty much everywhere I go, nor that I have about 6 things on hooks and needles that want finishing also...no, that means nothing.  What is really important here is the lack of project cluttering up my purse.  Right.  So what's a girl to do?  Cast on socks, that's what.  And that's precisely what I did do.  I cast on a pair of Wendy Johnson Toe-Up Socks with a Difference for Mr. Frogged since he has yet to know the delight of handmade socks.  He picked the colourway and everything.  The only mod I'm making to this pattern is a 4x2 rib on the instep and the leg of the sock.  I'll post pictures on Tuesday when I'm a bit further along.  There's no doubt in my mind that it will be on my positive things list.  Why are socks soooo addictive to make?  I can't figure it out. 

What I also did this weekend was cook!!!  I love cooking, especially when it takes little to know effort as was the case Saturday night.  Saturday night I made Pappa Pomodoro which is a dish I first ate on a trip with Mr. Frogged and my family to Tuscany.  We were having lunch in Florence at a tiny restaurant in a back street near the Uffizi where the tourists don't go (because frankly going where the tourists DON'T go is the only way to get good food on a trip).   The Mister ordered what we were told was a traditional Tuscan soup of tomato and stale bread.  I realize that this neither sounds all that appetizing nor does it sound much like something you should pay money for, but it was sooo delicious that when I came home I had to learn how to make it and since I like it so much I'm going to share the recipe with you. If you, like me, think the best part of pasta is sopping up the sauce with a good piece of bread, this dish is for you!

This will be less of a recipe and more of a...guide.  I don't ever measure anything and I don't write things down, I just cook to taste because that's how my mom taught me, so when making this use your own judgement on amounts and things to suit your own palate. 

The basis of this dish is essentially a good tomatoe sauce.  I make tomatoe sauce probably once every other week in a large batch.  I then freeze half for later use.  When I want to make this dish, I simply use that sauce from my freezer.  I think it's pretty imperative that you make your sauce from scratch for this.  To make my sauce I simply fry garlic and green onions in olive oil until golden, and then add tomato puree or blended whole canned tomatoes, basil, parsley and salt.  I let it cook for at least two hours to get the acidtity out of the tomatoes. 

Imagine you have this sauce in your freezer, and you have some left over crusty Italian bread or baguette lying around that you can't use for anything other than perhaps a blunt weapon.  First, obviously thaw your sauce.  Meanwhile fry MORE garlic (about another 2-3 cloves) in olive oil in a pot on the stovetop.  Add the sauce and 2 cups of chicken broth to this pot and stir.  It will appear to be a runny soupy sauce now.  Break up the loaf of bread into the saucepan and stir frequently.  As the bread absorbs the liquid it will begin to break down into a kind of mush.  It should have the consistency of a tomatoe-y smooth porridge, or polenta type thing.  At this point, simply ladel it into a bowl and top with parmesan cheese and chilli peppers to taste and there you have it!  Dinner made quickly and super cheaply!

 Buon Appetito and Happy Crafting!

Positivi-Tuesday!!

Ok, ok, so I know I'm not supposed to ONLY post on Positivi-Tuesday, but time just got away from me this week.  Before I go too deeply into the positive vibes I just want to mention that my all day date on Sunday was delicious  fabulous!  We had brunch at Frank at the AGO and it was amazing.  Definitely one of those places where they somehow manage to concentrate the flavour of a regular sized meal and squish it down into a daintier petite portion.  Dessert was a plate of cookies, and let me just say that I may have fallen in love with madeleines.  Naturally the gallery was wonderful too.  The exhibits we saw were inspiring and full of colour.  Have I ever mentioned how I love museums and galleries?  Well, I do...

Now on to the positive newa story of the week.  Tonight I found http://www.goodnewstoronto.ca/ which is dedicated to highlighting goodness in Toronto, Ontario which can regularly be forgotten in a large city.  For instance, this story about a local youth who has taken the initiative to not only volunteer in a wide and varied number of organizations, but has also facilitated the donation of hundreds of pairs of jeans to the underpriveledged.  He even bought 500 pairs of jeans for this cause with money he had saved from his own allowance! 

Knitters are also generally viewed to be generous people given our penchant for spending hours upon hours of time and energy on items given away (sometimes as gifts, sometimes as charity), but for this young man to spearhead this idea at such a young age shows his passion for this cause as well as his generosity.  Up to this point I have not knit anything for charity but I would like that to change in 2012.  I will be making blankets for my local doggie daycare.  They take in rescue dogs at a moment's notice and give them food, shelter, and most importantly love.  Find something that strikes your passion, spread the good and de-stash with some charity knitting along the way.  If you already knit for charity, leave a comment and let everyone know how we can get involved in your charity too!

Last week I breifly mentioned looking forward to my new job and now that I've started it, I am adding it to my list of things I'm enjoying this week.  I've met new people, I'm learning every day and I'm loving the challenges so far. 

I'm also really loving my friends this week.  Monday was the first day of my new position and at lunch time there was a delivery of a beautiful arrangement of my favourite flowers in one of my favourite colours (let's face it, I like all colours) with a note from my "besties" congratulating me on my new job.  Aren't they beautiful!!?!?  I have the bestest friends in the world.   

Beautiful, simple, modern - my fave!

Happiness in a vase.

If these things weren't enough to keep me smiling, I finished my quick-knit scroll stitch cowl Thursday night!  I love, love, love it.  The yarn was a dream to work with and the thick-thin nature of it kept the project interesting.  The scroll stitch pattern, which I picked up from Serenity Knits in Newmarket made the fabric of the cowl twist and turn into a bit of a wibbly accordian before blocking, but I wore the cowl pre-blocking anyway simply because I couldn't manage the wait.  On Friday night I washed it in some Eucalan and laid it casually over the back of a chair with a fan on it to air dry overnight.  Without even using pins, it blocked out into a completely different shape and feel, giving me a luxuriously soft cowl with a fabulous drape to it.  Now instead of crimping up the fabric, the undulating stitches simply add a flow to the direction of the fabric that I would never have expected to acheive.  I love to snuggle into it when I wear it, and the alpaca content makes it super warm in this cold spell we've been having recently. 

Still on the needles...

Nice stitch definition.

I may never take it off.

It doubles as an effective disguise.

What am I looking forward to this week?  Mostly socializing I think.  As you know, I was sick last week and really only got back to my regular self at the end of last week.  This means much catching up is to be done so I will have a few visits and outings to do that I'm eagerly awaiting.  I'm also looking forward to casting on my second thrummed mitten (betcha thought I forgot about that one) and getting more of my ripply blanket ends woven in (will they NEVER end!). 
Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Good-bye November

So, here we are again. On the bright side, November is finally on its way out the door. I don't know about where you are but here the weather hasn't been doing anything to further endear this month to me.  Dreary, drizzly rain all week, and more on the way. 

On another note, shortly after my last post the blocking of the blanket was finally complete and I gave it to its eagerly awaiting owner (who loved it). 

 

 

 

 

Up until this point I haven't formally reviewed any patterns or yarns I've used.  I think you and future me will definitely find it useful if I do.  The pattern is The Bobble Baby Blanket and is available as a paid pattern on Ravelry.  It is a well written PDF and is clearly illustrated with many photographs.  I would totally recommend the pattern.  That said, I found it slightly frustrating that the yarn requirements are listed in grams rather than yards.  My friend had already made this blanket in Cascade 220, so I did the logical thing and converted her yardage into my KnitPicks Swish DK, arriving with an order of 11 skeins in Sugar Plum.  I used 8 skeins and wound up with a blanket whose length spanned our double sized guest bed.  It's not the end of the world at all, but it is definitely surprising.  

Now onto the yarn.  Generally I liked the yarn - it was consistent.  There were no knots in it, and it was pretty soft, though not as soft as Cascade 220 superwash.  I washed it in Eucalan even though it is machine-washable, simply because I didn't want to mess it up before giving it to the new owner.  It smelled distinctly of wet sheep when I took it out of the laundry sink.  This is likely a good sign, one that means it actually came from a sheep, but it was a bit alarming to me, who had not yet washed a large project entirely made of wool.  The other thing I learned is that I hate that colourway.  I'm not sure if it was the colour itself or the lack of variegation in the yarn, but either way by the end I wanted nothing to do with Sugar Plum or anything resembling it.  It just seemed dead to me.  Once it was all washed and blocked and set aside and I was no longer forced to look at it, I liked it again.  Over all I would recommend this yarn to someone else, and I would knit with it again, but it would not be my first choice. 

Snapping me out of this colour funk is my latest love, as you know, my ripply blanket.  I am loving this project for all it's wacky colour changes, plus this yarn is soft, soft, soft!  The only problem I'm having so far with this is that I start getting a blister if I work too long on it.  Solution - alternate with knitting.  Hehehe.

 

And what am I knitting?  My UFO socks that have been shoved in my knitting bag begging for some love since well before I got married last June.  What can I say?  It turns out that I'm a fickle and unfaithful crafter.  But at least I always come back.  

 

November clearly wasn't all bad.  Mr. Frogged took me to my favourite Mexican restaurant, Dos Amigos, the other day, and allowed me to knit socks in public while drinking a lime margarita.  The food was great, the drink was great, the knitting got a little sketchy - I'm not gonna lie.  I don't think one is meant in any realm to turn a heel and consume alcohol.  It's just a thought.  But look how far I've gotten!  Erin from the Anatomy of Knitting Podcast is right.  No matter what happens, you always feel very clever after turning a heel.  I used some bastardized version of Wendy Johnson's Toe Up Socks With a Difference.I'm working with Shibui Knit Socks and I do like it very much.  It's boingy somehow and feels good on my foot (in my first pair of socks). I'm kinda champagne taste with a beer budget when it comes to sock yarns, so it's fortunate that I have small feet and that I like ankle socks so I get 2 pairs per skein. 

What I don't understand is how I ended up with this crazy hole in each corner?  Is it because I didn't wrap my stitches?  But the pattern stops wrapping after a certain point.  Is it because I didn't keep track of when to stop working across and occasionally knit right the way across?  I think that might cause this but any confirmations would be greatly appreciated.  Post me a comment to help solve this mystery. 

Lastly, I went to a thrum mitten class at Serenity Knits in Newmarket this weekend.  I cannot say enough good things about this store.  It's such a pleasant relief from the small, overfull stores you often find in The City.  It's roomy, but not overwhelming.  There is a lot of selection, and their yarns are clearly selected with care.  In case you don't know, thrums are essentially 4 inch bits of roving that are worked into stitches within a mitten, or hat, or sock to add a fleecey layer of warmth to the garment.  Traditionally, I learned from Beth who taught the class, they were used in Newfoundland and Labrador in unwashed wool providing the fishermen with warm and waterproof mittens.  Naturally I bought the materials for the class - Fleece Artist Thrummed mitten kit - Yum, and I am making this first pair for Mr. Frogged in a lovely green colour as you can see, and in a size large because he's got big hands and is obviously masochistic by requesting such a big mitten.  Can you see the cute little heart-shaped stitches that the thrums create?  I mean, very manly arrow shapes....

Naturally, to dispell mitten envy, and quite possibly theivery, I had to buy a kit for myself in this luscious red.  Please ignore my finger encroaching on the photo.  I'm posting unusually late tonight and promise I will get you better pictures of my mitt yarn soon.

 

There was a 10% off student discount at Serentiy, so I obviously bought something else too.  Oops...

It's not my fault.  Really it couldn't be helped.  First of all, it's the coolest sock yarn in the world because it's designed for two at a time socks and has been dyed two strands at a time, allowing me to make identical socks without having to curse out loud.  Second, it begged to be brought home with me and practically hopped in my knitting bag when I threatened not to succumb.  I had to buy it or risk the yarn framing me with shoplifting.  Tough decision, but someone's got to make it.  

Oh jeez, I'm getting a serious case of the head nods so I better go to bed.  Until next time, friends, Happy Crafting!

Not Off the Hook Yet

Look at me go! Two posts in one week, I must have my blogging mojo back.

First and foremost, I finished the bobble blanket! Yay! Well, ok let's be honest here. I finished CROCHETING the blanket, but it's still wet and blocking with a few...erm...loose ends.

Wanna see? I thought as much. Well...ok.




That's the blanket before being pinned. Imagine my horror when I realized that my chain edge was so tight that my beautiful bobbly blankie was all wibbly! However, after some creative fanangling it looked like this:




Much better!

When I began this blog, the intent was for it to be a knitting blog, but since then all I keep doing is crocheting blankets! The next one's on the hook. See?

It's my Ripple Blanket. I'm using a slightly (accidentally) modified version of the pattern Lucy gives here in her Attic24 blog. It's going pretty quickly and I like it so far.

I'm also going to be hooking something else but it's a Christmas gift and I can't say anything more because I'm not sure who actually reads this blog.

But can I be honest with you? I mean really honest? Shh...don't tell but I don't want to hook anymore. I want to knit. But I can't because I've been possessed by crocheted blanket-making. Possessed, I tell you.

I can't help but think that there are at least 17 different ways I'd rather be knitting right now or at least 17 different things. I mean seriously seventeen.

1) my unfinished vanilla socks;
2) my abandoned first ever sweater, which I believe to be in my house somewhere despite having not seen it since I moved after my wedding over a year ago;
3) my beautiful and neglected kid-silk mohair cowl (cowls are so in right now!);
4) my lonely fleece artist sweater kit, still tied up in it's bag;
5) Mister Frogged's self-patterning Regia yarn socks;
6) my self-patterning Regia yarn socks;
7) the red tam for Tasha;
8) the wedding blanket, which I cast on when I got engaged ... in 2007;
9) the cushion from my first skein of hand-spun;
10) a chunky cowl-y thing, from yarn not yet acquired;
11) a purple tam for me from my English souvenir merino yarn;
12) thrummed mittens!!  (the class is next Saturday...yaaaaaay!);
13) slippers - preferably felted clogs;
14) a little sweater for Tonka;
15) a Christmas Pickle;
16) a Clapotis, because everyone's done it but me;
and
17) a tea cosy, as a gift, with a union jack on it!

On second thoughts, that list is completely daunting...exhausting just reading it I think.  Maybe I'll keep hooking....just a little while longer. 

WIP It!

It occured to me recently while perusing my friend's Ravelry account, that to look at my Ravelry account would inspire one to beleive that I am completely inactive in the ways of the fiber arts .  My friend's account not only shows photos of her WIP's and completed projects but also includes: descriptions of each project , information on their difficulty, modifications made, the name of the person they were made for and if possible why - and needless to say each project is crafted with love and displayed with perfect photography and impeccable craft.  My account, on the other hand includes: a queue of projects which have not yet been cast on, a hoard of WIP's that have neither been touched nor updated since their conception, and a number of "gifts" that may only ever meet their owners on the needles and hooks from which they sprung. 

I should defend myself by saying that I am not completely stagnant in this department.  I almost invariably have at least 3 projects on the go, but usually just one that remains in my purse and travels with me everywhere for emergency queue-crafting. 

To look at this blog right now you may think I'm not thinking of my blog either, but that's simply not true.  You can ask Mr. Frogged who raises his eyebrows at me everytime he opens my laptop to find yet another "Sticky Note" up on my desktop with a random and wonderful blog idea.  The trouble is, I just don't seem to free the ideas from my head in any sort of timely manner.  Well, no more! 

I have decided how to challenge myself with this blog.  I need to set some ground rules. 
1:  Finish all my WIP's.
2:  Knit through the stash that is slowly creeping into every recess of my home (most recently a skein was found under my laundry tub much to Mr. Frogged's confusion)
3:  Knit through all the projects in Superstar Knits from our Stitch n Bitch friends who seem to be the only ones out there to offer patterns with how-to's beyond the staple knit and pearl.  This will hone my skills and also remove me from the trap of only using crafts for gifts.  I don't even own my own knitwear!
4:  Lastly, post to this blog at least every other week with all finished projects, WIP's, or just some update. 

In the spirit of this, I recently finished a blanket and bootees which I can share with you.  The blanket is pictured below but in my gift giving haste the bootees were not photographed before I gave them to their tiny owner. Hope you like them.