[knitting] Vermont Sweater

Made a new sweater for my niece:

I found two balls of green Valley Yarns Haydenville in my machine-wash, worsted yarn stash (which I normally use for socks). I opted to make a sweater instead with every last inch of the yarn. Rav link to the free sweater pattern.

I used the same yarn and pattern earlier in the year and liked the result. That was a 2T size and I did the 4T size this time (nearly the same stitch counts- just larger needles).

The collar:

I wait until I split for the sleeves, then pick up stitches around the neckband. Knit a couple inches of k1p1 ribbing, cast off leaving a long tail, then fold over and sew down to the inside. It's so stretchy and squooshy. I love it.

Then I work on the main body to a good length and bind off. With a couple sets of DPNs, I do both sleeves at the same time from either end of the yarn ball, so I can use it all up. I only had a couple yards leftover.

The sweater seems a little plain and I since was adding wooden tags to things left and right, I sewed one on to this:

Close-up:

Awww. Vermont is the Green Mountain State, so this is a cute little Vermont green sweater now.

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TGIF. I have plans to get our Christmas tree tomorrow. We didn't have one last year and I missed it. Also, things are appropriately snowy/wintery around here now.

I'm picking up some new kimchi from my mom after work- I can't wait. I'm nearly done with the last batch and made a big pot of kimchi jjigae last night to use a lot up. There's still some kimchi left and it's sour, so I might make some fried rice, pajeon and buns this weekend. Kimchi weekend, kimchi weekend, kimchi weekend.

[knitting] Sparkle pompom hat

I made a quick ribbed hat:

The yarn is Kollage Glisten- a nice blend of alpaca, silk and sparkle. It is quite sparkly in direct sunlight. I added a faux fur pompom and wooden "Made in Vermont" tag. Another hat I plan to give as a gift.

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Worked on some quilting last night. Completed nine 9.5 inch squares using scraps and small pieces of fabric. Still have to add some sashing, borders, find some backing fabric- get everything to the quilt shop.

Plugging away on a cabled hat and I queued about a dozen more free patterns from Rav. I think over Christmas break, once all the gift knitting is done, I'm going to knit a sweater for myself.

[knitting] Traveling Cable Hat - decorated

I added a couple accessories to the grey traveling cable hat:

A faux fur pompom (ordered a variety from online- this one matches well!) and a wooden "Made in Vermont" tag (by Katrinkles).

I bought a few wooden tags at the VT Sheep and Wool Festival and I should have gotten a couple dozen. They are sooooo adorable.

A little jealous to be giving this one away but... I can make another ;)

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Weather here is a little insane:

I did try to leave but there were trees down across the road. Someone is getting a chainsaw for Christmas.

I'm working on a cabled hat and some quilting projects. At this point I'm not sure I'll be able to get what I want to Barnyard Quilting in time to get things finished before Christmas. I've got to get cranking.

[misc] Thanksgiving

Had a small family Thanksgiving meal this year. My mom's turkey (22 lb):

It was brined and absolutely delicious. She also had the cuuuuutest little rice cooker:

Not much bigger than a can of cranberry sauce. She said it doesn't cook rice very good, though, so she was using it for:

Keeping spinach artichoke dip hot! It was perfect!

This year we had turkey, squash, stuffing, mashed potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, peas/onions, gravy, stuffed shrimp, cranberry sauce, rolls. I made an apple pie in the morning to bring down:

I've made a lot of apple pies and I think this one was the best one ever. It was so good. I normally put a pizza pan under the pie tin to catch any filling that might boil over. It never has boiled over (knock on wood) so I threw caution to the wind and baked the pie without *anything* underneath it. I think the bottom crust cooked perfectly this time.

Thankfully the pie was pretty much the only cooking I did over the holiday. I had lots of Thanksgiving leftovers to reheat for days. And Saturday evening we had dinner at Dollar's mom's for his birthday, so no cooking and more leftovers to bring home. Which afforded me lots of knitting time. I even got the sewing machine back out. It was a very craft-productive vacation.

[knitting] Traveling Cable Hats

I completed a new cabled hat:

The pattern is free from Purl Soho and it's called Traveling Cable Hat. The adult size makes a pretty deep hat, so take care with regards to how much ribbing for the brim you do.

The yarn is Sabine by Juniper Moon Farm (discontinued). It's a blend of 40% cotton, 30% merino and 30% llama. It's a light worsted weight and a little... crispy? Not particularly bouncy because of the cotton content but the llama gives it a bit of a halo and I think this is the type of yarn that will only get softer and nicer over time and the more the hat is worn.

So once I had the pattern down, I did another:

The yarn is March Hare by Wonderland Yarn. It's 100% superwash merino, dyed by Frabjous Fibers, and the colorway is Tea Tray. This is the most sqooshilicious yarn I've used in a looooong time. It was pure joy to knit with. It made me realize that I usually only work with workhorse and economical yarns. I was knitting with this yarn like, "Oh my god, are there people that knit like this allllllll the time?"

Not that I have a bad time knitting with my frugal yarn- I (usually) always love whatever I make. But this yarn was like sleeping on silk sheets or eating caviar or hunting and killing a poor person for sport. You know, stuff rich people do.

But I'm not rich and I'll stick to my stashed pauper yarn. But I am for sure going to pick up another skein of this yarn when I run across it.

[vermont] Cosy

Things are pretty cold and snowy now. On Nov. 12:

More snow fell a few days later. Over the weekend, snowed in, I survived on kimchi jjigae:

And cuddles:

I've been knitting like crazy. I dropped the b-day socks to work on a new sweater for my niece- which I completed 99% of in just two days. Just have to finish the sleeve cuffs, then back to the socks... then... stuff for the band members? 

Looking forward to Thanksgiving this week and more days off for knitting. Maybe (hopefully) sewing.

I'm making an apple pie to bring to my mom's for Thanksgiving and I think I'm going to add some grated gjetost to the crust. I got a block of ski queen to try for the first time and it's interesting. But I'm looking for ways to use it up.

I plan on bringing some kale dip, as well. I made it last weekend, based on this recipe from Penzey's:

I used kale and cheddar. Rather than mix it all up, spread on toast and broil; I mixed it all up, put into a small casserole dish and baked. Served with small toast, it was a nice, green, savory, spicy dip.

Oh, and I went to the annual Cabot Hosiery/Darn Tough sock sale for the first time ever on Sunday morning. It was good- got there just after 8:30 am and there was no waiting/no line/not too crowded. I hope everyone wants socks for Christmas, because that's what everyone's getting. 

[cooking] Aquafaba

One thing I've wanted to try for a long time is aquafaba. Literally, bean water. It's the liquid you drain from a can of garbanzo beans. You can whip it up into fluffy (vegan!) meringue. Just look:

I whipped it in the stand mixer with cream of tartar for stability. After it reached the stiff peaks stage, I incrementally added maple sugar and almond extract. Dolloped onto a baking sheet:

Baked at 250F for one hour:

Yeeeahhhhhh. Not so awesome. The foam was tasty so I think next time I'll stir in some melted chocolate at the very end, refrigerate and call it mousse. I assume my maple sugar may have has something to do with the poor baking but the only other sugar I have is brown (would that have been okay?) or raw (too coarse).

The actual chickpeas I seasoned and roasted in the oven, in the hopes for a crispy crunchy snack. The beans never got crunchy and ended up not-quite-soft, not-quite-chewy. I had to throw them out. It was a bad weekend for chickpeas in my house.

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I did a lot of other cooking over the long weekend and the rest of it went much better! More pics this week.

I did a ton of knitting- two hats done. I finished the worsted socks and started another. 

We've got lots of new snow and it looks like it's not going anywhere so... yay, winter. 

[misc] TGIF Penny

Aww, Penny has been featured so much this week. Tucked in on Monday. With the teddy bears on Tuesday. With the octopus on Wednesday. Now on Friday.

I've started listening to podcasts in my craft room on Wednesday nights (band practice has moved to our basement for the winter- they practice right under the living room so it's too noisy to watch anything on the TV) and Penny eventually comes to keep me company in the chaise lounge.

Still working on the worsted socks (at the toe of sock #1- ohhhh these worsted socks go so fast!) and I started the cable portion of a hat. I found a couple balls of machine washable yarn in the worsted-sock-yarn stash that I think I'm going to used for a toddler sweater instead.

I finally visited a new(ish) local spice shop called Little Istanbul in White River Junction. I've followed Sirali Kebap for a while on Instagram and I'm obsessed with their videos and food. They show you everything that goes into what they're making but don't explicitly state what all the spices are and I am so unfamiliar with this cuisine. I'm soooooo happy to have a spice shop to pick up pre-mixed spice blends. I picked up a few one-ounce baggies:

I plan to try some of these over the three-day weekend. I just have to find recipes... Three day weekeeeeeeeeeeend!!

[knitting] Zauberball socks and pouch

I needed a portable, easy knitting project for my work trip a couple weeks ago. Socks. And the most basic vanilla socks, at that.

I took some zauberball sock yarn that has been in my stash for millennia and cast on for k2p2 ribbed legs and stockinette feet. The socks are a little delicate and not particularly dense (I used US2 needles) but I just wear my socks to bed during the winter, so these are perfect. 

There was a decent amount of yarn leftover, so I made a plain pouch:

It's about 5 inches x 7 inches. I cast on 90 stitches, knit for an inch, worked k3 k2tog around, knit the rest, kitchenered the bottom closed. I knit a long i-cord to use as a tie.

I love these small drawstring pouches using leftover yarn. Fast and easy projects to work on during football games.

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I've cast on for a pair of black worsted-weight socks (someone's b-day is coming up) and a cabled hat (Christmas gift). 

I made a kale paneer curry last night for dinner that turned out just *chef's kiss*. I used my over-drained, hard ricotta in place of paneer.

We watched a good movie on Netflix last weekend- The Invitation. Didn't know what to expect but it kept us guessing...

We bought a season pass for the newest season of The Walking Dead via Amazon (WHY is this season so much more expensive than all other past seasons?!) and have caught up. This show has gone so far off the rails, I don't even know what's going on or care about anyone. 

I watched all the Curious Creations of Christine McConnell on Netflix. It was good but... kind of out of my realm of ability. Or budget. Or time. I don't have an airbush tool, sculpting tools, and endless supply of modeling chocolate, etc. Having said that, it was a very funny and original show and I would watch more. I looooooved the Henson puppets and creatures- Rose being my favorite. I've printed a pattern for a crocheted amigurumi raccoon that I'm going to make in her fork-armed likeness.

I think since it's going to be a three-day weekend, I'll get the sewing machine back out and start quilting again. 

[knitting] Scrappy Handspun Octopus

I made another toy from the scrappy handspun yarn:

The pattern is Common Octopus from Hansi Singh's Amigurumi Knits book. I used my handspun for the body and tops of the tentacles and Knit Picks Brava in a brick color for the bottoms of the tentacles.

It was a well-written and fun pattern. The tentacles are quick to do, joining isn't so bad, I inserted craft pipe-cleaners to the tentacles to make them poseable. I use safety eyes from my stash and whip-stitched the mantle to the base, which isn't so noticeable since I'm using a multicolored yarn. If I were using a solid color for the body, I would take the time to properly and invisibly graft the two pieces.

I introduced the octopus to Penny:

It really took a liking to her...

And you can see that she loves it, too!

Penny, my always-happy-to-oblige model.

[knitting] Scrappy Handspun Bears

A few weeks ago I made the scrappy three-ply yarn from my spinning leftovers. I thought it would make a cute teddy bear, and I was right!

The pattern is Harry Bear by Berroco and it's so nice, I had to make it twice. (I will say, though, that I think the wrap-and-turn rows are incorrect as written in the pattern in terms of where to perform the wrap and turns. I just made sure my short rows are always centered and symmetrical.)

The bear pieces work up quickly:

The back is knit as one piece, then the front. The hardest and most time consuming part is sewing the two pieces together.

Because of the color randomness of the yarn, the back of the bears are different colors from the front but it adds to the charm and hominess, I think.

The safety eyes and noses are from the Etsy shop 6060. I ordered a good variety some time ago so I have lots of sizes/colors in my stash. I need to make more toys and amigurumi!

I think one of the bears will be gifted but I almost can't bear (hah!) to separate them:

And the cats don't want to lose their new friend:

Actually, they don't care. They might be more interested if it was stuffed with catnip. Hmm... next time...

Now that I've done this pattern a couple times- I'd like to make more. All white for a polar bear. If I do the arms separate, it would be easy enough to make a black and white panda. Furry yarn for fuzzy bears. Fuzzy... bear... Fozzie bear. Omg, I could do one in light brown and give it a fedora and pink polka dot scarf. I think I have Dollar's Christmas gift sorted.

[misc] Weekend Penny

Every picture I take of Penny napping, wrapped in a blanket makes it look like she has a cold:

Her little paw sticking out the bottom of the blanket is so cute to me.

Was a good weekend. Got some chores done and knit a few little toys. Made some rieska- which I should make more often. It's fast, a good use for rye flour/oats/buttermilk and tastes so nice and rustic. Tried to watch all of the Pats game last night but with the time change and deciding to "lay down on the couch to watch the second half", I was asleep in minutes.

[cooking] Ricotta recipes

I made a batch of homemade ricotta last weekend and have been looking for ways to use it all up. I had ricotta toast for dinner a couple nights:

Wheat toast, ricotta, pea puree, scallions. With a little drizzle of lemon olive oil.

The frozen peas were just microwaved and then pulsed in the magic bullet with a little butter, cream, salt, pepper, cider vinegar.

I also defrosted some pumpkin puree to made some cookies:

This is the recipe I used but I omitted chocolate chips. The keep the cookies from being too bland, I added some pumpkin pie spices (1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp each cloves, nutmeg, ginger, all spice). Next time I'd add more to make these even spicier.

I used a little cookie scoop to potion out the cookies and they didn't spread at all during baking. Next time I'd press them down a bit but 14 min in the oven was enough time to cook them through. They are lofty with a cakey texture. I really liked these.

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TGIF. Should be a chill weekend. Gotta take care of recycling tomorrow morning but other than that and household chores, I'll just be wrapping up some craft projects. I knit a little pouch with leftover yarn from a pair of socks I knit in Kansas City last week. I'm working on a little bear with my scrappy handspun yarn. Maybe dedicate some time to coaster weaving while listening to podcasts (the Wolverine one is really good!). And I need to get the sewing machine back out to wrap up a quilt top- I want to have it professionally finished before Christmas. 

[knitting] Hunting Season

That most basic of basic knit hats:

A very bright, blaze orange hat for walking in the woods this year. I don't hunt but I also don't want to get shot when I'm outside. 

The yarn is from the Bartlett Yarns booth at Vermont Sheep and Wool. I bought one skein and I'm tempted to buy 4 more next year. This is the perfect color for hunters and would make nice, rugged cabled hats. The only drawback is that the yarn is a little sheddy and rough.