Preserve
It's freezing cold outside today, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to hole up at home and make something yummy. Today's plan is preserved (or salt cured) lemons. I made these last year and have fallen completely in love with them. They are delicious in any sort of vegetable dish (we use them most every time we make chicken or vegetable soup) and are called for in lots of Moroccan recipes. They've become a must-have staple in my kitchen. There is a bit of a seasonal aspect to them. They're best made with Meyer lemons, and those are easiest [...]
Not That Powerful
So it seems the sock, the pale blue, leafy, spring-tastic sock, has some limits to its magical powers of winter banishment. This is what I woke up to this morning. That's one of my office windows. This is another. It's a wee bit brisk out there. And gray. And windy. All of which is completely appropriate. It's January in Cleveland, this is what it's supposed to be like. But I am definitely going to spend the day in woolly socks to compensate. And I may set the leafy socks aside for today. Knitting on them when it's like this out [...]
According to Plan
This is going awfully well. Awfully well indeed. I have a sneaking suspicion this yarn (Chubbie, by Vice) is going to become one of my favorite fat sock yarns. This is especially good news, since the sad closing of Schaefer Yarns has meant that my beloved Nichole is going to become harder and harder to find. The discovery of Chubbie will totally help console me. I'm unreasonably taken with the heel flap on this one, it was rather a lot of fun to knit (I do need to figure out just how to reverse one part of it for the [...]
Envy
About a zillion years ago, I got to know Lizzy on Ravelry. She tested some of my earliest patterns, then she knit some samples for KCC1, and now she's gone and done that thing that so many of us yarn types have a secret hankering to do somewhere deep inside. She's started a yarn company. And of course, it's fabulous yarn. And of course, I sweet talked her into letting me play with it for KCC2. Just recently, she and I were talking about another little project I have kicking around in my head. A few days later, yarn showed [...]
A Piece of Scrap Yarn
You know that line in a lot of my mitt patterns? The one that says 'set thumb stitches aside on a spare needle or piece of scrap yarn?' Yeah, I'd really sort of suggest you take the piece of spare yarn option. I know that means you have to dig out a bit of extra yarn (hint, don't use the yarn you're knitting with, use a nice thick one of a different color) and a needle, and sometimes that's too much of a pain, but if you can, it's the best choice. Why? Two reasons. First, when you try [...]
Educational
Let's talk yarn. The yarn I'm using on the current mitts is Bijou Basin Tibetan Dream Sock Yarn. It's 85% yak down, 15% nylon, and working with it has been a bit of a learning experience. Now, let's get this part in right up front. The reason it took me a little while to get comfortable with this yarn is that it is made from a fiber I've not used before. It's not that there's anything wrong with the yarn, it's that it was new to me and I didn't know how it would behave. My ignorance is not the [...]
Now With Less Drama
Hi pinterest folks, if you're looking for this pattern, it's called Brigand and it's available in Ne'er-Do-Well Knits on ravelry! Yesterday's escapades didn't really show off the work to its best advantage. The picture of Millie--lost over the fence, pitched into the snow--has its charms, but it doesn't do much for the knitting. So, just for clarity, I'll offer here a somewhat more detailed look at the stitches. You'll note that Millie is nowhere near the fence. You may also notice that this is post-rinse (not quite a full on proper blocking, but just a bit of a rinse and [...]
Jumper
You know those stories? The ones that end 'and the doctor says with physical therapy I'll be good as new in six months,' or 'but luckily, the lawyer got me off with just community service,' or 'so as long as I never go back to El Salvador, everything should be just fine?' Have you noticed they all have something in common? They've all got a moment when the story teller pauses and says 'that's the moment it all went wrong.' I'm convinced that part of living to a ripe old age is learning to recognize those moments as they approach, [...]
Never a Good Sign
If I show you a bit of knitting, and it doesn't have needles in it, you can pretty safely guess that knitting is about to go on to its greater reward. This is no exception. This yarn (Bijou Basin Tibetan Dream Sock Yarn) is trying to teach me some things. I've not quite mastered what it has to show me, so we're still working through our lessons. I have a sneaking suspicion it will be worth it in the end though, and learning is good for you, right?
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