Knit Flix

HKF

2009-12-18T07:08:00.000-08:00

It's Hand Knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?

Today's forecast is warm and cozy.

Scrunchable Scarf in Malabrigo

Petroglyph Socks
Project details on Ravelry

HKF

2009-12-11T07:46:00.000-08:00

Today marks the 2 year anniversary of Hand Knit Friday. It's amazing how quickly time passes, isn't it? HBD HKF!

What hand knits do you have on today? I'm wearing

Alice

and

Hooray for Urban Broads

Digits exposed

Winter fruit (and brandy)

2009-12-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

It's interesting to see the fruits and vegetables come in and out of season at the Farmers' Market. Where there were heirloom tomatoes there are squash and root veggies, and blueberries and nectarines have been replaced with apples and persimmons.

We had persimmons when I was growing up. In the winter there was a line of Hachiyas ripening on top of the stove. Hachiya is the pointy variety that are soft and squishy when ready to eat. We didn't cook with them, but ate them as a sweet treat.

Our market has bushels full of Fuyus so I thought I'd try my hand at preserving them. Fuyus are shaped like a tomato and can be eaten when they're still a bit firm. Don't try that with a Hachiya! Hachiya's have high levels of tannins and they're not pleasant to eat before they're soft. You'll feel like your tongue is covered in wool.

There are persimmon jam and jelly recipes online, but they use so much sugar--almost one cup of sugar per cup of jam--I wanted to find some other way of putting them up.

I stumbled across a Sunset Magazine recipe for Brandied Persimmons that only uses 1-1/2c sugar for 4-5 lbs of fruit. Winner!

On Sunday we headed to the market and the Fuyus were $1.50 per lb or 5 lbs for $5. It doesn't get much better than that. We went home with 5 lbs of fruit.

Fuyu Persimmons

Then I realized I only had 7 half-pint jars available, not 4 pint jars. I played it safe and only prepared 4 lbs and cut the pieces smaller so they'd fit in the little jars.

Brandied Persimmons

The flavor is supposed to develop in a couple of weeks so I don't know how they taste yet. The syrup was pretty good, so I think they'll be a nice treat.

I'm looking for ideas for the remaining pound of Fuyus. Any suggestions?

HKF

2009-12-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

It's Hand Knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?

I'm wearing

Zigzag Lace socks

Pink Power!

FO: Snowman Illusion Mitts

2009-12-03T17:05:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Margit asked for some assistance in knitting one of her designs for a photo shoot. Seeing as I had nothing else to do (said with tongue firmly planted in cheek) I volunteered.

Well, this was a fun little knit and allowed me a bit of rest from my other hand garment project which is a tad more involved.

In no time I had a pair of illusion mittens:

Palms

Backs

Snowmen!
Project Details on Ravelry

I used a new-to-me jogless jog method and it worked like a charm:

Jogless jog

I found a link to it in a discussion group on Ravelry--

Rnd 1 with new color: Work as instructed.
Rnd 2: Sl1wyib, then work the rest of the rnd as instructed.

FO: Chemo Turban

2009-11-29T14:39:00.000-08:00

I finished a chemo turban for a friend. This is a very nice hat with a clever design. I'm tempted to make one for myself.

Chemo Turban
Project details on Ravelry

The pattern calls for a sport weight yarn, but I went with worsted. I cast on fewer sts and went with a 4x2 rib instead of a 2x2. One of the last steps is to graft the ends together which was something I wasn't sure how to tackle. I knew it was going to take some thought and quiet time, so yesterday I sat at my kitchen table and dove in.

The first attempt didn't get very far before the ribs weren't lined up... the knits and purls were at least one st off. I ripped out the graft and tried again. It turns out that I didn't pick up all of the sts from the provisional cast-on. Mystery solved.

The second try was successful. When it came to grafting the purl sts, I just did the opposite of what I do when I graft knit sts. Sounds easy, but it took some thought. I was amazed with the results.

Grafted rib

It'll be invisible once it relaxes. How cool is that?

HKF

2009-11-27T12:18:00.001-08:00

It's Hand Knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?

I'm going with a mitered square/entrelac theme.

VK Diamond Pullover
Project details on Ravelry

A Step Above socks
Project details on Ravelry

Kitchen crafts

2009-11-24T07:20:00.000-08:00

Weekends are for shopping at the Farmers' Market and cooking. Here are a few of the FO's from the kitchen:

Focaccia with Onion and Rosemary

Focaccia

The recipe is from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and I used the light wheat bread dough. Easy, relatively fast (much faster than a loaf of bread) and very tasty. It makes yummy sandwiches too.

Peach/Pear-Apple Jam

Peach/Pear-Apple jam

These were the last peaches from our Farmers' Market and some pear-apples from my parents tree. I love the color and the intense peach flavor.

Garlic Dill Pickles

Garlic Dill Pickles

The recipe is from Food in Jars. These are easy to make and taste really good. The combination of vinegar, salt, and peppers really gives them zing. I had almost a quart of brine left over, so next time I'll make 3/4 of what the recipe suggests.

Apple Pie in a Jar

Apple Pie in a Jar

4 lbs of Granny Smiths and yielded about 3-1/2 quarts of apples. I used this recipe and didn't have any issues with overflowing jars.

Rustic Apple Pie
I was going to make an apple crisp with the canned apples but realized that I didn't have any brown sugar.

Plan B: Turn a Rustic Apple Tart into a pie.

Pie plate lined with Pate Sucree.

Pate Sucree as Pie crust

Dumped 1-1/2 quarts of Apple Pie in a Jar into the pie crust (which used up the 1/2 quart from the most recent batch).

With apple pie filling

Edges of the crust folded up, brushed with milk, and sprinkled with coarse sugar.

Ready for the oven

Baked at 350F for 30 min in the bottom third of the oven, then in the top third of the oven until nice and brown. Pie!

Apple pie

a la mode

The juice bubbled over the sides of the pie plate and made a bit of a mess. Thankfully I had a sheet of foil on the bottom of the oven so clean up was quick and easy. Next time I'll put a cookie sheet under it.
Lemon Lime Marmalade

The Meyer Lemon Marmalade recipe from Epicurious has only yielded ~4 pints for me in the past. That's a lot of work for not a lot of marmalade.

This time I added 3 Bearss Limes from our tree and increased the recipe by 33%. Total weight = 2 lbs.

Meyer Lemons and Bearss Limes

Slicing, slicing, slicing

The lemon seeds were secured in a cheesecloth pouch--they are a natural source of pectin. The fruit and seeds soaked in water for 24 hours.

So fragrant

The next day the solution was reduced for 45 minutes, sugar was added and it cooked for about 15 minutes, then the marmalade was transferred to pint jars and processed in a water bath.

7 pints of Lemon Lime Marmalade

I ended up with exactly 7 pints of beautiful marmalade. Yesss!

You Give Love a Bad Name

2009-11-22T14:12:00.000-08:00

Remember when the price of a concert ticket was dependent on seat location? Closer to the stage = more $$. Now you'll find packages that have a variety of perks--an opportunity to rub elbows with members of the band, seats in the front, preferred parking--and that all translates into a premium price.

Let's look at what's included in "The Diamond Circle VIP Experience" for Bon Jovi:

One Incredible Front Row* Ticket inside the Exclusive Circle!* Or in the First Three Rows in the following markets: East Rutherford, Chicago, Foxboro, Regina, Toronto, Winnipeg & Edmonton.** Please note there is NO CIRCLE SECTION IN CALGARY - the Diamond VIP Package will be based on the First Row
One Exclusive Collectable Bon Jovi VIP Concert Chair (You sit in it, you watch the show, and then you take it home with you!)
Special VIP Cocktail Upon Arrival
Deluxe Catered VIP Preshow Hospitality
Deluxe VIP Open Bar*
Dedicated On-Site VIP Host
VIP Preferred Parking* (Where available)
VIP Priority Check-In
Separate VIP Entrance at Venue (Where available)
One Autographed Bon Jovi Souvenir Tour Program!
One Premium Bon Jovi Leather Messenger Bag (Created Exclusively For Circle VIP Packages Only!)
$150.00 Gift Card to the On-Line Bon Jovi Store
One Limited Edition Circle VIP Laminate*** & Matching Lanyard
One Commemorative Souvenir Concert Ticket***
***Commemorative VIP Laminates and Souvenir Concert Ticket are for commemorative purposes only. The VIP Laminate or Souvenir Concert Ticket does not gain or authorize access into the venue, VIP or any backstage areas.

The price for this exclusive experience? $1,875. Per person. And TM only sells these tickets in multiples of TWO.

That must be one super-fantastic chair. I wonder how fans are supposed to get them home--certainly they're not fold-up or inflatable (heaven forbid), not for that price.

BTW, did you notice what's missing in this package? The list of bene's doesn't include a meet and greet with the band. LOL. That's hilarious!

I have no doubt that someone somewhere will buy these tickets. Maybe they'll write them off as a business expense or something.

FO: Beaded shot glass cozy

2009-11-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

Looking to dress up your shot glasses? (Honestly, who isn't?)

At the last Knitspiration of Silicon Valley knitting guild meeting, Spinnity introduced us to knitting with wire and beads. The project was a bracelet, but I cut mine short and made a cozy for my ripped/frogged shot glasses. Pretty!

Beaded shot glass cozy
Project details on Ravelry

I like the texture and sculptural characteristics of knitting with beads and wire, but it was hard on my hands and needles.

But I love my new FO. :D

HKF

2009-11-20T07:26:00.000-08:00

It's hand knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?

I'm wearing

Zigzag sweater
Project details on Ravelry

Keeping the vampires at bay

2009-11-19T17:31:00.000-08:00

Halloween (yes, yes, I'm almost 3 weeks late with this post) is usually spent at home, waiting for the doorbell to ring. After answering the door 5 or 6 times the bell stops ringing and rest of the candy is ours. That's not necessarily a good thing. We have kids in the neighborhood, but they must go elsewhere because I've never had many trick-or-treaters. And no, the house isn't especially unapproachable.

This year was different. I had to work on Halloween day, but we decided to go out in the evening and have some fun. (Fun, what a concept!)

I put a paper plate filled with store bought candy on the front porch and hoped the kids would do the right thing. I thought about putting up a sign, "Take One", but let's be real. Sign or no sign, they would do whatever their conscience would bear.

I dressed as character that was sought by many in the 90's.

Waldo

The hat isn't quite right, but it's what I had on hand. Apparently Waldo joined Team Zissou.

We drove to San Francisco and headed to Columbus Ave. Traffic wasn't that bad and parking was easy. Crazy, right?! We were expecting the worst with it being Halloween and all. Perhaps the Bay Bridge closure kept people away.

Dinner was at The Stinking Rose.

I had the pork chop which was good, but the halibut was the winner by a mile.

Garlic with pork chop, apples, and smashed potatoes

Garlic with Halibut

After dinner we walked to Bimbo's to see Super Diamond. The guys are so nice and they put on a very entertaining show. This was the 3rd (or 4th) time we've seen them. Most of the audience was in costume and the band was doing a pretty darned good impression of the Captain & crew of the Starship Enterprise--if Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty and no-named red-shirt guys were in a band that is.

Channeling Kirk

Okay, maybe that doesn't make any sense but you get the idea.

We had a fun time singing along to Neil Diamond favorites.

On the way to the car, I ran into two other Waldos. "There you are!" was heard x3.

When we got home the paper plate was empty--no surprise--and there was a footprint on it. Hmmmm, maybe one of the kidlets got angry the candy was gone? We had a good laugh over it.

What's going on here?

2009-11-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

Only HKF posts with an occasional weaving post? Bad blogger.

Actually, work was overwhelming for weeks. Our year-end was at the end of October and the madness started a few weeks before and continued for a few weeks after. So one month out of three is a trial and year-end is the worst.

Work is still stressful, but not as crazy as it was before. And what's up with Thanksgiving being next week? Goodness I'm not ready for the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's rush because guess what comes after that? Quarter-end!

I have been knitting though. It's necessary in order to retain a shred of sanity through all of this.

Here's what's been happening on the knitting front--

1 new pattern knit in 2 sizes and submitted for publication.
*fingers crossed*

4 chemo caps--a beanie, a hat with fold up brim, a slouchy beret, and a turban. Patterns for the first 3 need to be finished.

Another FO which cannot be shared at this time.

Snowman Illusion Mitts designed by Fiber Fiend

Snowman Illusion Mitts

4 chemo caps? Yes, unfortunately. I'm knitting them for friends who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

More about Halloween and kitchen crafts coming soon.

HKF

2009-11-13T12:21:00.001-08:00

It's Hand Knit Friday. What hand knits do you have on today?

I'm wearing

Lite Brite socks
Project details on Ravelry

HKF

2009-11-06T07:12:00.001-08:00

It's Hand Knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?

I need something warm and comforting so I'm wearing

Fair Isle socks

HKF

2009-10-30T07:07:00.001-07:00

It's Hand Knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?

I'm wearing

Flame Stitch Cardi
Project details on Ravelry

Crystalline Lattice socks
Project details on Ravelry

Weaving FOs

2009-10-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

I finished weaving the project from my Beginning Weaving class, but I still needed to zig zag the edges, cut the pieces apart, and hem them. That was a couple of weeks ago.

Well, I finally fired up the sewing machine and started zig zagging and was having a heck of a time (and not in a good way). The tension was varying like crazy and the thread kept breaking. Talk about frustrating.

Was it that my funky ol' sewing machine didn't like the handwoven fabric? That was my thought, because a new sewing machine would be very nice. For grins I changed the needle (since I couldn't remember the last time I had done that) and voila, problem solved! I guess I don't really need a new sewing machine after all.

Here are the weaving FO's:

5 Placemats, finished
Project details on Ravelry

Placemat - hem detail

We're using them every day (unless dinner involves soy sauce or spaghetti sauce, 'cause I'm messy like that).

HKF

2009-10-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

It's Hand Knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?

I'm wearing

Mosaic socks
Project details on Ravelry

HKF

2009-10-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

It's Hand Knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?

I'm wearing

My First Socks

Finn-ish Sock pattern now available at Purlescence Yarns

2009-10-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

Nathania and Sandi have hardcopies of the Finn-ish Sock pattern in stock at Purlescence Yarns and they have a sock sample in house so you can see the finished product up close and in person. Of course they also carry the Cascade Heritage and needles you'll need for the project, so think of it as your one-stop shop for your next pair of Rovaniemi socks.

Purlescence Yarns
586 South Murphy Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
(408) 735-YARN (9276)

HKF

2009-10-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

It's Hand Knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?

I'm wearing

Fair Isle socks

HKF

2009-10-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

It's Hand Knit Friday. What hand knits do you have on today?

I'm carrying the Sipalu Bag.

Sipalu Bag
Project details on Ravelry

Success?

2009-09-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

Maybe.

Maybe it isn't a disaster like last time.

Canned Apple Pie Filling

I got the recipe from Christaface who posted a photo of her canned apple pie filling on Flickr.

In addition using a different recipe, here's what I changed from last time:

1" headspace for the apples, 3/4" headspace after adding the liquid.
Used Granny Smith apples in addition to the home grown apples I received from a co-worker (thanks Debra!)
Cut thicker apple slices--1/12's.
Processed for 20 minutes instead of 30 minutes.

I had one casualty, a jar broke while I was lowering it into the water bath. I suspect it was a combination of a couple of things--the jar and its contents had cooled too much between filling and placing them in the hot water, and that jar probably had a defect. It made a sickening "pop" sound as its contents emptied into the pot. 1 quart, gone.

Anyway, I didn't need to process the jars 3 times like last time and none of the jars were oozing after processing which is a good sign. I'll check the seals tomorrow. If nothing else, these will make a better tastier crisp/cobbler/pie than the last batch.

HKF

2009-09-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

It's Hand Knit Friday. What hand knits do you have on today?

I was talking with someone at the weaving studio about knitting machines and knitting and dyeing sock blanks. That prompted me to pull out my Dye-o-rama socks with yarn dyed using the Machine Knitting to Dye For technique for Hand Knit Friday.

Dye-o-rama Socks
Project details on Ravelry

Going to Nancy's web site reminded me that her technique works for weaving as well. Machine Knitting to Weave For. The possibilities are endless!

More from the loom

2009-09-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

I played around with different weaving patterns and settled on 4 for my class project, placemats.

Weaving Sampler

A thinner thread was chosen for the hem and I wove an inch of tabby. After that came the main pattern in a slightly lighter color than the sampler above.

1st Placemat
Project details on Ravelry

After 3 hours I almost finished the first mat which I think it pretty good output for a beginner on a table loom (no treadles, harnesses controlled by hand operated levers).

I'll complete this mat tonight and get the second one started.