Ken's Hat

I am playing with some stranded colorwork designs, and decided to work them into a hat for my brother, Kenny. I'm messing around with low contrast and blending ideas. The hat is made from some Andean Silk yarn (from Knit Picks) I had left over from Oscar's Turkish toe-up socks. (see image below). No pattern for Ken's hat as yet, but who knows? The colors used in the hat are Hyacinth, Pool and Pitch. Oscar's sock used Cream, Pool and Pitch.

Lefse Lefse Lefse!

My husband, Oscar, is of Norwegian, Swedish and English extraction.
Until I met him, I'd never tasted Lefse, a very traditional Norwegian potato flat bread.
Not only does he love it, but he at one point wrote an article all about making it. It's still available here, at Martin's Magazine. (While you're there it is worth it to pop over to the other recipes and articles. Some of the descriptions and directions make great reading. I think my favorites are those for Raw Potato Dumpling, also sometimes called klub; and RULLEPØLSE )
This year, Oscar's mom, Liz, discovered (thanks to Oather, Oscar's uncle) that a relative of theirs worked in Hanska, Minnesota, at the little Lefse Shoppe and Gifts, making and selling lefse; among other things. Liz bought some and had it sent to us for Christmas this year. Hanska is the hometown of many of his relatives, so it was like getting home baked goods in the mail. Man, oh man it was so good, too!
If you are interested in ordering some yourself, here is the information:
The Little Lefse Shop and Gifts
107 Broadway
Hanska, MN 56041-4400
Phone: (507) 439-6321

We still have a few packets in the freezer for later, but we already plan on ordering a supply when next winter approaches. For Oscar, a day with lefse helps bring a little more sun back into his life :-}

The rosemaled platter the lefse lays on is an antique from Oscar's family. It hangs in our kitchen. Liz, if you're reading this, was it Aunt Ingeborg's?

Rainbow on Her Head

I finished another family knit today, this time for my niece, Maddie.
I used the Striped Baby Beret pattern created by Stacy Mar, with just a few adjustments.
I needed a slightly larger size, so I used US #8 (5 mm ) needles. I also wanted a sharper crease, so I added a line of purl stitches between the increases and decreases of her pattern.
Mine was very easy, especially as I used only one yarn, instead of striping with two. I hope Maddie likes it, After I finish the knitting for her dad, mom amd sister, I'll box it up to mail :-} Conveniently, I have a child-sized head, so I was able to model it for the camera. Note the cute little nubbin on top!

Bricelyn's Hat

One of the knitted things I made for family this winter is a hat for my niece Bricelyn.
I have pictures of her wearing it, but I haven't been able to figure out how to get them from my phone to my computer, without paying a $5 per month email attachment charge.
I got the bluetooth sort of working, but still didn't make that final leap into exchanging files. Anyway, I took a few photos of the hat just before I added earflaps and blocked it. The photos on my phone look MUCH better, but you get the idea.
The pattern is based on a hat called Oslo-Cairo, designed by a user on Ravelry called Urraca, who is coeditor of a terrific online knitting magazine called Tejemanejes.

The Oslo-Cairo hat has a Norwegian shape, and a chart based on a medieval Egyptian sock now housed in the Textile Museum, Washington, D.C. *** (see image below, from a sock made by Anahita of Dar Anahita)
I chose the design (depicting gazelles) because Bricelyn keeps goats. The gazelles looked sufficiently goat-like to me, particularly as they seem to be eating :-}
Bricelyn has a smallish head so the original chart would have been huge on her. I decided to use the 'goats' facing only one direction, and it worked out fine.

The yellow yarn is dk weight held double, and was dyed by Lynn of Colorjoy, the pink is Lorna's Laces shepherd worsted, the green is Brown sheep Lamb's Pride worsted in Lime Ade.
The dark green is scrap yarn, where I later added a liner strip in a single strand of the dk yellow and pink garter stitch ear flaps. She loved it, and it looked great on her :-}
***Warning, clicking on the link to the museum may suck hours of your day away. It's a fantastic place, and has provided inspiration for several patterns for me already. (coming in January)

Oscar Day

Oscar's work schedule has been crazy lately. The office restructured to be open only 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the holidays, and so many people asked for time off, that those, like Oscar willing to work overtime had to adjust to getting up around 4 hours earlier than they are used to.
The good parts are A: He has a job he doesn't hate and B: It's been lovely to have supper together so often.
The bad parts are I over did it making said suppers, and he has been tired every day.
Today is his only day off in this period of 12 days, so we designated it Oscar day. Unfortunately, I think he's too tired to enjoy it. I know he had stuff he wanted to get done around the house (and in fact, he is out grocery shopping for us, even though I know he doesn't really want to be outside), but mostly he only had energy enough to sit and watch tv.
Unfortunately, bed time will be early, in about 3 hours, as he needs to get up at 6 and work a 12-hour shift Sunday and Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday I think he works his regular shifts, then he has the luxury of three days off in a row.
I think those should be Oscar days. too.

Dark of the Moon

Today is the Dark time of the Moon, the final one of this calendar year. This is a brief time when the moon is poised between the end of the last quarter and the first hint of growth.
The Dark of the Moon is considered sacred to Hecate. If you are interested in learning more about her, Theoi.com is a good place to start.
Many Pagans consider the 'null' moon phase a time of rest, recharging and reflection.
I think this particular dark time of the moon is a good time to think about things I don't wish to carry over into the new year, at least those things I can control.
I guess mostly that has to do with attitude. I could certainly be cheerful more of the time, complain less, look outside myself and get perspective.
That might be the biggest change I could make, to be an easier person to interact with.

Beginning around midday on Saturday, New Moon starts, and will continue to wax as the new calendar year begins. I will begin contemplating what I want to grow more powerful in my life for 2009.
Life has some big changes in store. Insurance has agreed to pay for my specially adapted power wheelchair. Freedom is enticing. :-} It may not solve all my troubles, but it certainly gives me more latitude in finding away around some of the obstacles.



(image is from a MOON PHASE CALENDAR hosted on Die.net)

Easy Christmas Casserole

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 package vegan gourmet cheddar cheese, or the real stuff if you like.
1 package frozen Brussel sprouts, or one pound frsh sprouts.
5 med or 3 large red-skin potatoes
1/4 cup flour
1 cup h2o
2 tbs cooking oil
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs minced garlic
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Paul Prudhomme Magic Salt-Free Seasoning or Mrs. Dash (or seasongs of your choice)
1/8th tsp salt
1 med onion, diced

Slice potatoes with skins on into medium thick slices, put 2 tbs olive oil in bottom of casserole dish, add Brussell sprouts and potatoes, and 1/8th tsp salt, mix, then cook on low oven heat 325 F for 30-40 minutes. Of course you can skip this pre-cooking, but the roasting adds a good flavor, and gets rid of the extra moisture from the frozen brussels. It also ensures the potatoes and sprouts are cooked through by the time the casserole is finished.
In the meantime, place 2 tbs cooking oil into skillet. Add diced onion and cook low and slow until onion is transparent.
Add ground beef to skillet, continue low and slow until beef is cooked, add minced garlic, seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Continue to cook low and slow until meat is well-browned. Add flour, stir until flour begins to brown, add water and cubed cheese, stir until melted and thickened.
Layer the sprouts and the potatoes in a large casserole dish with the meat/cheese mixture.

At this point, the dish could well be frozen for later baking.

After everything is in the casserole, cook at 325 for45 minutes or an hour, until top is bubbly and brown.
Makes 4-6 hearty servings

(image from producepedia.com)

Iguana Sean

One of the best things about Oscar finding the camera cord is I can show off my God/dess son again :-}
Here he is on his most recent visit. In the first photo, he's snoozing, in the next he's wearing the Iguana hoodie I knit for him, in the other, Basil is examining the new life form in Oscar's lap.

Cthulu-Guin

Oscar found the camera Cord last night, Yay!!!!
So I can show you a photo of one of his favorite presents this year.
It's very much a geeky gift, being a combination of Cthulu from H. P. Lovecraft's tales and the Linux penguin, Tux.
The pattern was created by Carly Zimmerman of Goddess Sue Knits.
The link to the Ravelry pattern is HERE.
It has also been blogged on Craftzine, and on Lime and Violet.
I kept the adorable shaping made with short rows, and followed the stitch directions pretty much exactly, but instead of solid green, I used Noro, instead of straight tentacles, I went wild with the crochet hook after making smaller i-cords, and made them all straggly. I used larger needles, to save my hands, then felted it slightly after I stuffed it. I put two stone balls in the base, (originally used for mixing paint) to help it sit upright. I added a beak, just because I wanted to, and also added a wee tail at the back, but it's not visible in the pictures. It's purpose was two-fold. It helps a lot with stabilization, and it also hid the slice I made to add more stuffing after the minimal felting was done :-} Mine ended up about 8 inches tall.
Brilliant pattern, and loads of fun to adapt :-}

Sun

... is starting it's journey back again. Happy Solstice!!!

Snow Day - good news.

Still no camera cord.. as I was looking through some of the old photo files I have, I found a lovely picture of our beloved Kitsune, in the snow a few April's back. She would have loved the multiple inches we are getting today. As a balance toward summer, I found a photo I took of a bird-sown sunflower, with her in the background, probably tracking a squirrel. We were so lucky to have her :-}
A bit of fantastic news came yesterday. Insurance has approved my specially-made power chair for purchase, and it should arrive sometime in January :-} Who knows, with my new mobility, I might be able to get another dog. It won't be Kitsune, but I have room in my life to love another dog, too.

Some folks have WAAAAY too much time

Sit back, relax, and prepare to laugh your knickers off.
Some folks have waaaay too much time, and twisted craft sensibility.

WARNING: I spent hours here before I realized the time had flown.

CRAFTASTROPHE.NET

If you like that, you might also enjoy

EXTREMECRAFT.COM

and THE ANTICRAFT

Learning New Stuff - Super Geeky

As a reward for kicking so much kitchen butt yesterday (You should have seen Oscar's face when he saw the cleared sink area!) today will be about some sedentary things.
One of my favorite things to do is learn a new technique or, learn anything new, really. Oscar shares this trait, which is why we love lots of the programming on Discovery, and History International etc. Yes, we be geeks. Nerdy geeks at that. As evidenced by our reservation already made for attending Penguicon for Beltane this year. (also our Handfasting anniversary, on May 5th)

I've been intrigued by entrelac, and this clued me in to a technique for knitting backwards.
At first I thought "Man, those folks must REALLY hate to purl." But after watching a youtube video or two I think it really could save time, especially when doing entrelac or other small pieces.

DISCLAIMER:
For those not interested at all in knitting, you may want to come back later this week for a non-knitting technique post.
For those who already know all about the entrelac and the knitting backward thing, this may become boring.
For those of you who like knitting but haven't heard of entrelac or knitting backward, you may want to keep on reading.

First, entrelac. Wiki has a pretty good article here: WIKI ON ENTRELAC but its basically multi-directional knitting. You knit some stuff, then pick up stitches on the sides of what you knit and start knitting at 45 degrees or 90 degrees or so from the first thing you knit.
When you knit in stockinette, it means you knit say, 10 stitches, then turn the peice over and purl 10 stitches, then turn over and knit etc etc.
(If you are intrigued by entrelac, one of the best knitting nerdy blogs I know is FUZZY LOGIC. The guy is brilliant. He has taken entrelac and moved it into knitting many different geometric shapes. I am strangely seduced by his entrelac Menger Sponge. When I have lots of time and concentration I will attempt it. In the meantime, I will learn enough entrelac to make these cute balls for the new kidling in our lives (see earlier posts about Sean Elijah))

In the meantime, all that knitting forth and purling back leads us to a useful purpose for backwards knitting.

How much faster to not have to turn the work over hundreds of times? Since purling is almost always a bit slower than knitting anyway, it can only save time if you can become as proficient at knitting backwards as you are knitting forwards.

I can knit either the English (throwing) method or the Continental (picking) method, although I think Continental style is much faster and more efficient (economy of motion-wise) that I almost always knit Continental. Since I was a crocheter for many decades before becoming obsessed with knitting, the Continental style also feels more natural as the wool/yarn is held in the same hand as for crocheting, and the motion of 'picking' with the right hand is similar to crocheting.

I was able to find you tube videos on knitting backward for both styles, and I will try both to see which feels more efficient to me.

First, a page talking about both Entrelac and Knitting Backward.
and another article, all about knitting backward no pics, but conscise instructions that make things easily understood.

Next, a video clearly showing how to knit backward English throwing style with verbal description (Sounds rather like tossing British citizens for distance, doesn't it?)

And last, a video clearly showing how to knit backward Continental Picking style no sound, just visual. (sounds like a European method of playing the banjo, doesn't it?).

So, that's my task/reward today, to learn to do entrelac, and to learn to knit backward. I am so excited! That's how I know I am a knitting geek, and happy about it :-}

(Note: still no camera cord, so image is yet another oldie with a tenuous connection to the topic. Tomorrow, I WILL find that thing!)

Progress, not perfection

Ever notice themes running through a few days or a week? Lately, I have encountered the basic premise of "progress, not perfection" almost everywhere. Pop up ads on the computer, a book on writing that arrived a few days ago, a fragment of a commercial or tv show, and I think it may be sinking in (again).

I learned a few years ago that many people in cluttered homes are perfectionists, and they get discouraged at continual failure to reach their own ideal, then give up.

As I let go of the ideal (everything in it's place, a spotless floor, reams of perfect prose reeling off my fingertips) I find myself accomplishing more than I thought realistic even a year ago.
Over the past few days, working a bit at a time, I got busy and emptied dishes into the dishwasher and scoured the the sinks, washed and dried (and put away) items too large for the dishwasher and found a dutch oven badly in need of rust removal and re-seasoning.
Today I started with scouring the dutch oven, and began sorting out a few things that have been in my way (the shelves that fit behind the sink SEEMED like a great idea, but mostly it means it's difficult to get the counter behind the sink clean enough, and almost everything that has landed on them really should live somewhere else).
And I hope to get part of the countertop scoured.

I also cleared out some books to donate to SOS, sorted summer yarns into a storage bag, and emptied enough drawers to keep my yarn where it belongs, instead of in ziplocks beside my chair.
I don't plan to finish today, just do what I can until (hopefully) just before I start feeling negative effects.
I'm probably almost at the end of today's tasks, but it is a good feeling to be finished with a number of things, and be clear about what to start with tomorrow.

Another writing tip I picked up is also useful for daily stuff. Have a plan for the first task to accomplish when you get up, and life just feels more orderly. Some authors even leave off with a sentance half finished, to help get started the next day.

Anyway, I always feel better when I feel like I've contributed to the household stuff. The secret is to not do so much that I have to take time off for recovery. That really sucks.
(today's photo was taken by Oscar, in our woods in Gaylord)

Happy Snow Day

http://www.dogwork.com/dogsnow/

Just a little Cheerful video :-}

Lovely Day

Just an ordinary day, but lovely.
One of Oscar's gifts this year was membership in "the mug club" at The Corner Brewery.
This means he has his own hand-crafted stein, with his name on it, and the chance to sample new batches of unusual brews and invitations to parties at the place. Neither of us are great drinkers, but I do enjoy small-batch beer and wine, as an adjunct to my interest in herbalism. Oscar has been interested in brewing his own beer for many many years, and recently joined a group involving being a 'beer ambassador'.

I also gave him a few cards games for us to play including Zombie Fluxx and Monty Python Fluxx (as well as one we haven't played yet, Grave Robbers From Outer Space.)
Note for Parents: They also have Eco Fluxx as well as more family centered versions of the Fluxx game, it really is a lot of fun)

Yesterday, Oscar and I took the short trip to the Corner Brewery just to get out of the house and have a 'date'.

We played our Fluxx card games, and had lunch, and relaxed. It is a very casual place, and people there recognized Oscar from the day he helped bottle some of their beer a month or so ago.
We enjoyed ourselves so much that we hope to go back a few Fridays a month.

Simple Pleasures

I have many interesting un-read books, mounds of yarn and needles, a fully loaded DVR, 100s of Cable stations, and my connection to the internet on my laptop.
What is making me happiest today is throwing a tiny ball of yarn while holding on to one end, and watching the cats hunt it.
Life is good :-}

Rambling

I made plans for knitting based solely on my old level of production.
Sheesh.
Good thing most of the recipients can wait a month or so.

So I am plugging away, knitting every day but taking lots of rest breaks, and switching between projects.
I will be writing patterns from many of the items I plan to knit for gifts, anyway, so January should be a pattern-heavy month.

I have been finishing projects right and left, too, but my blogging has been hampered by the loss of the cord which connects my clunky camera to my computer.
It will turn up. It's likely caught beneath my chair.

We have been reorganizing the living room, moving the tv to a better location, allowing my storage drawers to move away from my chair and allow access to yarn. Always a good thing :-}
More importantly, it also makes a better pathway between the kitchen and the rest of the house.
I have also been gearing up to write fiction again.
I took a hiatus this summer, but really miss it.
Dad being sick brought things into focus for me. How lovely to be published while he can still understand. Even if it doesn't happen that way, how bad will I feel if I stop trying?
How bad will I feel if another year slips by without a finished manuscript?
I will be starting by the end of the month, and will write something, anything, every day.
I have been dreaming characters, and jotting down details, and can feel the tide starting to rise again.

The Making of the Stew

Used to be I'd cook 5 days out of seven, and enjoy it.
I still like to cook, but it has become somewhat of a production, with me eking out my energy and hand-use to have all the ingredients come together at once. Sort of like a crescendo, only it smells good cooking.

This week's project is stew.

I had intended to use some venison from the 2007 season my brother gave us this year, but it, sadly, had become freezer burnt.
So, on to beef.

Oscar brought home some pre-cubed lean beef. Gorgeous stuff.
I put it in marinade last night. (a little red wine, crushed juniper berries, some hot pepper sauce, some Worcestershire sauce, and some garlic)
I have had two zip top bags full of deep brown rich beef broth in the freezer for several monhs now. Out they came today and thawed in the crock pot, while I dried marinade off the beef and then slowly browned it in my cast iron skillet.
In the meantime, I sliced some onions up relatively thinly, then cross cut them into shorter strips. I dosed them with a little olive oil then put them in a flat baking dish in a 250 degree (f) oven to slow cook.
I put the meat in the broth, then used the remainder of the marinade to bring up the fond and scraped the whole shebang in with the broth.

A few hours later, the broth was bubbling, the meat was tender, and I added the partially caramelized onions to the crock pot.

Then I got out a few rutabagas (turnips will also do) and some redskin potatoes, chunked them up and added them to the pot along with a frozen bag of baby carrots.

I'm just about ready to go in and see if the vegetables are cooked. If so, the stew is ready for thickening.

To thicken it, I make a roux out of margarine, flour (oat flour in this case) cook to a medium brown, then make a slurry with a bit of the broth from the crock pot.

After I add that to the pot, and stir a few times in the next half hour, the stew should be done, ready to ladle into serving bowls for the freezer.

The power of a hard head against soft wool

I am known for my stubborness, even among my family, which has it as a dominant genetic trait.
It has caused me no end of grief through the years. Occasionally it has been a boon, but mostly not.
Many times it would have been best to cut my losses and try something else but my hard head kept me trying past all sense and reason. Occasionally I made it to the top of a mountain, or managed a small victory not worth the cost, but mostly it just made me tired and wasted time on impossible goals.

Except for knitting.
I tell you knitting is a wonderful thing for a stubborn hard-headed person.

If you keep trying, keep frogging (rip-it, rip-it) or tinking (k-n-i-t, backwards) and starting over, eventually, you will succeed. You may wind up using a different yarn, or trying a different size needle, or only keep one row of 7 per day, but you can and will finish the project if you don't give up. It's a heady thing, I tell you, to have my stubborness finally come in handy every single time.

One of my current projects is a prime example. I saw the pattern and immediately knew someone (actually a few people) who will adore the finished objects. I bought the pattern.

I read through and discovered that the largest size wasn't quite large enough for one of my intended recipients, so I found a different yarn of a thicker gauge, and ordered it.

The yarn was on back order but eventually, the day it arrived, I cast on with needles two sizes larger than the pattern specified. The yarn was the most perfect shade for the project and person, but it was a bit splitty, (the needles too-easily split the strand of yarn rather than moving a loop as one entitity) so knitting took care and patience.

I ran into some trouble somewhere. I wound up with more stitches than I ought about 40 rounds in, 2/3rds of the way through the pattern. I measured the circumference of what I had and found it way too large for the person who would receive it. I sent the designer more notes than I ought to, telling her where my problems occurred, but finally clued in that 7 people had happily finished thier projects, without the problems I encountered; thus the problems were mine, not the pattern's. (Bless Ravelry. It's a fantastic resource in times like these.)

I ripped out all those stitches, and printed out a copy of the pattern. I meticulously cut out the directions for the individual rounds and glued then taped them, spaced clearly apart, on 5 x 8 inch index cards. I wrote notes to myself beside the tricky bits, and color coded some sections.

It took hours. When I finished, and sat down to number the cards (1 of 14, 2 of 14, etc.) I discovered that somehow, one of the cats had stolen card number 9 of 14.
I decided to rest for the remainder of the evening.

The next day (yesterday), yards and yards away from my work space, I found card 9 of 14. I also received a kind, informative and encouraging note from the designer. I was in business again.

I cast on for the pattern, using a needle size one step larger than the pattern specified, even though I knew it would be difficult on my hands to knit the thick yarn with it, and started in, round by round. I finished the first section, with no problems at all, and cast on to knit the first section for the smaller person's gift from the same pattern. (different yarn and needles)
I managed yesterday to finish the first sections for both of the people who will recieve them, and am excited about working the second sections today, or if my hands hurt, tomorrow.

My stubborness this time will have beeen worth it. The pattern is spectacular, beautiful, and useful. It will make me appear a knitting Goddess in the eyes of the recipients.
When I finish them and the gifts have been given, I will happily post photos here, bragging about my hard work and thier happiness.
In the meantime, I'll just post a picture of our cat Basil. Also a stubborn creature, but more graceful about it than I am.