Le Petit Plaisirs

Another year, another slate, another set of goals.  January doesn’t count.  It was my “I-feel-so-lazy-but-so-much-is-happening” month.  I never count January.  That’s just setting myself up for disappointment.  February is a good time for me, though.  I’ve thought a bit about what I’d actually like to try and accomplish, I don’t feel rushed by everyone else and their “new years resolutions”–by now the crowd at the gym has probably died down enough to go….

So what’s in store for this year.  Oh, maybe some blogging.  That would be awesome don’t you think?  Yeah I thought so too.  The plan: blog twice a week.  That’s it.  Doesn’t have to be FO Fridays or WIP Wednesdays–though those are nice.  But I have to do it.  Doesn’t have to be about knitting either.  Baking, cooking, what a nice day it is outside.  I think all those things could be possible posts.  This post, however, is actually about knitting.

Let’s see.  When I left off, I had a tree-topper, a wrap, xmas decorations, and a sweater to finish.  I’m sure I left something off that list.  Doesn’t matter.  So what did I actually finish?  Oh a tree-topper, a wrap, two xmas balls, and some other post-trip projects.  No, I didn’t finished my sweater.  Am I bummed?  Yes and no.  I had a lot more to work on than I thought I did.  Right now, I have too many projects I want to start and too much I need to get finished to focus on a big project that might just frustrate me to no end.  So it’s on the back burner at the moment.  It will get finished though, I swear.

I have to say, one of my favorite fos had to be the tree topper.  It went from looking more like a “wtf” to being awesome.  Holly really loved it, which was a huge plus!  And I think it really completed the tree.  I definitely want to knit another one for my mom’s tree next year, but I need to figure out a better way to actually put it on the top since it ended up being heavy.  Maybe bending the branches and just resting it would be best.  Anyways, on to the picture!  This was our xmas tree with the backdrop of Holly’s gorgeous apartment and featuring Lucky, the sausage.

Next thing I finished–which was technically finished before the trip…only without fringe–was my Khair wrap.  It turned out to be SO long.  Almost 8 feet.  I’m really, really happy with it and I only wish it were colder here so I could wear it.  Maybe next year.  Worse comes to worse, I’ll just go back to Europe so I can.  It’s a good excuse right?  Unfortunately, I really haven’t been able to get a picture of it finished.  I’ve been sick so taking a picture of me with it…um no.  I’ll see if I can figure out something later.  It’s just so long!

On to the post vacation projects.  While in Paris, Holly and I visited a shop called La Drougerie.  She has some pictures on her blog (before they told her she couldn’t take any pictures!)  It was heaven.  Skeins lining the walls in all sorts of vibrant colors and they were all oh so soft.  There was also a ton of fabric and notions.  I want to go back to Paris just to shop some more.  I ended up getting some super bulky alpaca there.  It’s like buttah in my hands; it’s so soft.  It was perfect for a smaller project, so I went ahead and knit a gaptastic cowl–yes I finally gave in.  I had been debating for a while since it’s one of those “everyone and their mom” projects, but there’s a reason everyone and their mom is knitting one. 

I actually knit that over the span of a few hours back in Portugal, but I had accidentally twisted and decided not to start again.  When I got home, though, I decided I didn’t like the twist, frogged and reknit.  Cast on fewer sts too since with super bulky it didn’t need to be as long.  I’m really happy with it….but once again, it’s just not cold enough here in California.

One of my goals this year is to knit at least a dozen of the xmas balls for the tree.  I only managed to finish stuffing the one I knit in December and gave it to Holly’s “In-Laws.”  I hope they liked it!  They were all so nice.  I figure if I knit one of them per month, it won’t be so stressful and I won’t have to cram them in last minute.  And that way, if I want to give any as gifts this year, I’ll have time!–hopefully.  I didn’t actually knit one for January, but yesterday I finished one, so I’ll just make another this month.  I’m really happy with how it turned out.  I used one of Miyayo’s charts–I love the trees! 

Let’s see…what else have I finished?  It’s been so long!  OH! RIGHT!  BEAR BEARD HAT!  I’m still waiting for it to actually deliver to Alex.  I mailed it from Porto and it still hasn’t gotten to him.  But I do have a picture of before the beard was attached.  I happen to think the hat was pretty darn epic.  I’m hoping it didn’t get lost in the mail.  Or someone didn’t steal it and isn’t parading it around who knows what European country! 

Phew…I think that’s all the pictures.  Not all the projects, though.  There might have been one or two more.  Now I need a nap!  That was exhausting.

Ok enough of this not-blogging nonsense.  I guess you can say I’ve had a busy/rough time since I lost my job.  Really I just haven’t had much motivation to blog.  I feel like nothing’s getting finished and no progress is being made.  Partially due to the fact I’m busy, partially due to my interest in other things creeping up, and partially just because I have so many damned ufos.

Yes, I did finish at hat.  No, I didn’t finish a sock–though I’m close!  My khair has seen no progress, while my sweater has seen plenty!

I finally managed to choose a pattern. settling on Parlan with some adjustments.  First, and most important, I’m knitting with worsted weight, not sport, which will yield a much bulkier sweater–that’s what I’m kinda going for, so I’m happy with that.  So I had to make necessary adjustments to the pattern.  Hopefully it all turns out as planned.  I’m making it a bit bigger so it’ll be loose-fitting, but definitely keeping the waist shaping because boxy is not cute.  I don’t know what stores are selling you this season, but they’re glorified potato sacks.  Also I’m not doing a turtleneck.  It just doesn’t look good on me…..  Making the torso a bit longer a well since I have extra yarn to play with.  I made sure to buy more than enough.

The only other projects I seem to be making and headway on are some xmas ornaments–though those are only subsidiary to my sweater right now.  I really want that sweater done before the 21st!  Only two more weeks!!  Omg O_O !!!  I managed to make one ball, which I haven’t stuffed, and I’ve finished 7 peaks on a dodecahedron tree topper (5 more to go!).  I figure if worst comes to worst, I can knit some of the ornaments when I get there.  After all, I’ll have a few days before xmas and I can pop one of these babies out every two-three hours.

Oh and what about the bear beard hat you ask?  It hasn’t seen too much progress.  Alex and I are having some ups and downs at them moment, but I did manage to felt the pouf, stitch the nose and felt an eye.  In the end, he won.  He gets an eyepatch.  I really blame the pirate raccoon hat I bought for sealing the deal.

That essentially sums up everything I have on the needles at the moment.  My number one priority is my sweater, followed by Khair–I really need to work on this!  My tree topper and ornaments are fast knits, they can totally be finished up last minute.  I’d also like to have Alex’s hat done by Christmas, just because arguments are no reason not to give people you love presents.  The socks?  Well, as I said before…Mom will just be happy I knit her something, no matter when she gets it.  Plus if I’m really, really good…I’ll bring a special treat with me to knit on the plane.  What am I talking about?  I’m gonna need a special and simplistic, project for the plane anyways!  I can’t go knitting ornaments and have yarn spilling all over the place.

I’ve made a bit of progress over the weekend.  Admittedly, not as much as I would have hoped, but then again, starting more wips is still progress is it not?  I can’t help it.  I’ve caught the knitting bug again.  It happens a lot around the holidays and dies down in spring when it starts to warm up again.  I did get about half way finished with Alex’s bear beard hat.

So far I’ve made up the pattern as I’ve gone along.  Ears are a bit smaller than the ones I’ve seen.  I did this intentionally.  It’s a bear.  It’s not a mouse or an elephant.  I tried to make the bear part a bit more “realistic” if you can say that.  The hat and ears are made with acrylic, but the nose pouf is from leftover stocking yarn so it’s 100% wool, so I’m gonna felt it before I attach it.  Still contemplating if I want to attach a button for the nose or stitch it.  I’ve leaning toward button.  Some creative differences have come up over the hat between the recipient and me.  He suggested crazy pop eyes and teeth……I know the possibilities are endless with this hat but I feel like we’re throwing in everything but the kitchen sink.  I do have a question though…would anyone be interested in the pattern once I’m done with it?

I’ve also started another hat, this time for myself.  It’s actually made from yarn I had used to knit a friend’s Christmas present with.  Well…I never got around to giving it to her last year because we didn’t meet up.  So imagine my surprise when I found it in my drawer this last week.  I was a bit disappointed in myself, but I’m actually glad it never got to her because I’m not really happy with how it turned out.  So I unraveled it and now I’m making a hat.  Best part…I should have enough for two hats.  One for her and one for me.  We can match.  I think it’s a pretty awesome idea.  It’s a great purple colorway from Malabrigo called velvet grapes, so I called this hat Druif which is Dutch for grape.  The pattern is the Rikke hat.  I love the look of it.  Simple garter st but slouchy.  I hate garter st, but this really works.  Some people have complained about the jogging, but honestly, I like it.  It’s a little faux seam up the back.   I’m almost done with one of them.  Alex and I have been watching the Big Bang Theory since I’ve never seen it.  It’s an easy pattern to knit while watching tv.

Did a tiny bit of work on my mom’s sock.  Not much, just a couple of rows.  I’d like to finish it by friday–well one of them.  I think it’s entirely possible, but we’ll see.  I’m really not the world’s biggest sock knitter so I’m going to have to push myself through this one.  I have about 40 days to finish them.  No big deal right?  ….Wrong.

You know why it’s a big deal?  I’m filled with distractions.  Aka..new yarn.  My yarn for the xmas balls got here today from knit picks.  I love the red and green.  They’re really rich and beautiful and the off-white/wheat color is great too.  They’ll knit up nicely.  Even though I hate yellow, I’m even liking the yarn I got for the tree topper.  I keep getting this feeling that this Christmas is going to be beyond awesome.  Why is that?  Oh because it is.

The fisherman’s wool was a birthday present from my mom.  Yes my birthday is coming up.  On the 21st.  I’m going to be 25–quarter life crisis time.  So now I do get to knit that sweater I’ve been dreaming of!  Have yet to pick a pattern definitely but I want something seemless with cables…not too much to ask, right?

Oh and did I mention I really want to get my swift fixed so that I can start my nuvem.  My wollmeise is calling.

I have to admit.  If there’s one good thing about getting laid off, it’s having more time.  Time to knit, obviously.  And time to bake.  I’ve been doing plenty of both the past two days.  What can I say?  I’m a carb addict.  That’s right.  I love them.  Won’t give them up.  You’ll have to rip them from my cold, dead, starchy fingers.

Yesterday, I had the urge to make some bread.  However, I’m a bit weary of kneading my bread in the mixer after the last one broke.  This new replacement smells like the motor’s burning up when I have anything heavy in there.  Doesn’t bode well.  But like before, this one has a one year warranty.  Until I can get a new job and save up enough money, I’ll make sure it gets replaced every year if I have to use it to death.

Anyways, focaccia.  I wanted to make the recipe I use in class, but I don’t have a scale anymore.  It broke.  Like everything else the past week.  My candy thermometer, my scale, my digital thermometer.  So instead, I used this recipe: Fabulous Focaccia.  I skipped the cornmeal and changed the toppings since focaccia is extremely versatile.  I lightly caramelized some onions and roasted some finely chopped garlic and actually put that inside of the bread.  Then on top I put some more of the onion, fresh rosemary, sea salt, crushed peppercorns, and parmesan cheese.  Normally, a lot of olive oil is used to brush the bread before baking, but I’m trying to keep things a tad bit lighter, so I used pam olive oil spray and just gave it a quick once over.  You can always dip in olive oil later.

After eating focaccia, working out to make up for it, and going to grab my bday present with my mom (got some yarn for a sweater!), we went to the grocery store and got this…

The whiskey sours we made with this were amazing.  The honey flavor is subtle but there was a hint of sweetness.  And it was so smooth.  It was even better on top of this:

German apple cake with whiskey glaze.  I laid out the pieces of apple to make a floral pattern on top, but the cake bubbled up in between and over some of the pieces.  It still looks nice, but I’ll have to layer more apples next time to keep this from happening.  That or I can bake the apples before hand to make them more pliable.  Maybe I’ll try it both ways because this cake was so good that it didn’t last more than 30 minutes after my mom woke up from her nap.

See?  Apple slices before looked a lot nicer than the after.  Recipe is the German Apple Cake from Marta Stewart, but I improvised the glaze recipe using 1 stick of butter, 1 tbsp sugar, an egg, and a pour of the whiskey–definitely less than 1/4 cup.

I had to blog this before I left for class this morning because I was so excited and wanted as many people as possible to see this:  I have a finished stocking.  Now…I have to make one thing clear.  I’m not quite sure I like the toe.  I might even go back and fix it.  But not this year.  Also, I’m not a seamstress.  So the lining, it isn’t perfect.  Which is ok.  How much of it do you actually see?  None.  That’s the point.  Even if the fabric is super cute.  So, without further ado…*plays a drum intro*

Ok so here’s my math for the heel/toe.  I did the heel across 40 sts out of 96.  Maybe this is where my problem started to arise.  But I didn’t want that big of a heel.  And trust me, cutting it down but only 8 sts made a huge difference in size.  I like the size of the heel now.  But the toe doesn’t–what’s the word–curve nicely in the front into a slimmer looking toe.  It could be because I started decreasing too early.  That’s entirely possible.  I tried it several times and each time I had the same problem.   Finally I got sick of ripping and just stuck with what I was doing for better or worse.  After about two inches, I started the decreases.  Decrease 4, knit 3 rows, repeat until I reached 60 sts.  Then I decreased 4, knit 1 row.  Whatever I did wrong, it’s done.  I’m seriously fighting the itch to go back and change the toe…

Since I have a lot of extra free time now–actually, I don’t, I have less time because looking for a job is more time-intensive than working–I cranked out another two fo’s, one of which happens to be 16 fos.  After finishing my stocking I got around to crocheting some Christmas decorations.  Played around a bit with the left over red and green stocking yarn to make trees for the tree.  I have to say I’m really happy with them.  Best part, they only took about 20 minutes each to make, including weaving in the ends.  It probably only took me that long since I’m not really a crocheter.

And that’s not even all!  I also happened to do the finishing on my veyla gloves.  See I was on a roll, right?  I got some cute brown buttons at Joann’s that work well with the purple yarn.  I have to say, I’m really happy with them, even if I am too shy to model them myself.  I have huge hands for a woman.  Maybe I’ll have my mom model them for me later and take some more pics.

Haven’t made much more progress on Alex’s bear beard hat.  But since I managed to knock out most of my wips, I’m gonna work some more on it this weekend, maybe finish it by Friday.  Same with mom’s socks.  I have about three inches of one foot worked, but haven’t had much time to do anything more.  This weekend, I’m just going to pop some dvds in the player and sit in front of the tv enjoying my needles.  It’s like a vacation.  I haven’t had a weekend off in two years.  This is great.

Not a lot of pictures this week.  I’m posting this from school while I wait for a resume workshop.  This past week has sucked beyond belief.  I’ve had to drop a class in order to be able to afford to drive back and forth to school, my hours last month were cut and I kept winding up searching for pennies at the end of the week.  And then on Sunday I got laid off.  Took me a few hours to calm down and stop crying, but after I applied for unemployment and started to see the bright side of things.  I now have more time to knit.  Which means most, if not all, of my projects will get done before the 20th of December.  I also have time to work out.  And while I’m not going to stop looking for a job (hey, yesterday I spent about 5 hours in the blistering sun getting burnt to a crisp without even getting an interview), I’m thinking when I come back from Europe I’ll find something better than before.  No, my trip won’t be as extravagant as I would have liked…not that it was ever going to be extravagant in the first place, but it will be amazing.  Amazing, I tell you.  Anyways, on to what you really came to hear about…the wips.

Note: My stocking is not one of them.  Well, knit wise.  It needs to be lined.  Going to pull out the sewing machine and do that tonight.  I also bought some buttons for my veyla gloves and I plan on finishing that up before Friday as well.  My Khair…no, that definitely won’t be done before Friday.  I haven’t even worked on it recently.  Maybe later.  I have started two other projects, however.  I frogged the Bayerische not because I don’t love the pattern, but with the cheap knit picks yarn I’m using, I’m having problems with splitting and knitting them was giving me hand cramps.  I’ll wait until I can afford some better sock yarn.  Instead, I cast on interlocking leaves.  I’m pretty sure my mom will love them no matter what, and these will be a much quicker knit.  I was thinking of trying two at a time, but no go.  I only have one 2.5mm needle.  I also started Alex’s bear beard hat.  I have to make it with cheap acrylic.  Vanna’s Choice was on sale at JoAnn’s for 2 for $5.  So I picked up the yarn for it.  Last yarn I’ll buy for quite a while, I think.  Well, aside from the palette I picked up to finish knitting some xmas ornaments.  Picture time…

You can find my project notes here.  I can’t really afford a beard pattern so I think I’m just going to wing it.  I’ll look at a couple of pics and see what I can come up with.  The hat part will be easy.  Oh, and now he wants it to have a mohawk.  Men…

Finally!  Another finished object.  Well…two if you count the 5-minute tree I crocheted.  I haven’t had much time to knit the past two days but what time I have had I made count.  Last night I finished the comfort slippers and, just as I suspected, my mom has decided she likes them.  That’s ok, I’ll steal them back later.

I can’t really blame her; they are comfortable.  The second skein of yarn I bought…get this, wasn’t even necessary.  I had some scraps of the black that I had in the bottom of my knitting bag and when I pulled them out, turns out they were enough.  I could knit another pair so that my mom and I each have a pair, and I just might.  But I think if I make them again, I’d make them with a bit nicer yarn.  Something smoother instead of fuzzier.  My feet get too hot, too quickly.

Hasn’t been much progress made upon the stocking.  Some, but not much.  So nothing really to report on that end.  However, if anyone would like the updated chart that I used for it with the reflected reindeer, let me know.  It’ll save you a bit of time.  I have managed to spit out another “fo” if you can count it as such despite the unfinished stocking.  While I was watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic with Alex (don’t hate…), I spent about 5 minutes making this…

I’m gonna crochet about a dozen or so of them with the two skeins of red and green I have left over from my stocking.  They’re fun and super easy to make.  Even a novice crocheter like me can make them with the tutorial included in the pattern.

Hopefully after next week, I can kick the knitting up a notch.  This past week has been hectic with midterms coming.  I have a lot of sugar work to practice for a centerpiece.  The cuts and burns on my hands are protesting.  Luckily, it doesn’t have to be anything spectacular or I’d be screwed right about now.

One more for the road…

Ok, so I think I might have said this before, but I don’t like having more than one project at a time on my needles.  Which is why this picture above is particularly disturbing.  It doesn’t even include my stocking!  So, five.  Five projects.  I know it’s not a bad thing to have so many projects going at once.  Working on one project can get, well, a little boring.  But for me…it can be a disastrous.  Let’s review in order from oldest to the most recently cast on.

1)  Khair – I cast this on back in the beginning in February.  Part of the problem is that I needed more and more yarn than I originally bought based on the pattern recommendation.  I guess I wanted this longer, or just long.  I recently started working on it again.  For about a day.  Only have one skein and some fringe to finish.

2)  Comfort Slippers – Couldn’t tell you when I started these but it was sometime this summer.  I had a skein of black sock yarn laying around and I figured I could finish it on just one….and then I ran out.  So I went to buy another skein and couldn’t find any.  Of course, then it slipped my mind for a while.  But on a recent trip to Michael’s, I found the yarn I had been looking for and now, I think I’ll finish this.  Preferably tonight.

3)  Veyla – I had intended to use the yarn I used for this on Spectra, but I didn’t like the more bold colors when combined with the colorway so I figured I’d use the yarn for this.  In my defense, I finished knitting this, but I never finished the, erm, finishing.  Maybe this week I’ll head down and find some buttons and weave in the ends…seam the picots, that kind of thing.

4)  Bayerische Socks – After being super frustrated with my stocking “toe,” I needed something else to knit.  Sooo, I started on my mom’s Christmas present.  Sadly I’m knitting these on double pointed needles, which for me, takes some of the fun out of it.  Also, not sure I like this yarn, but seeing as money is tight I can’t afford some nicer sock yarn, though I really had my eye on a skein of madtosh.

And finally…5)  The stocking with the toe from hell.

This would have been done last week except that I’ve ripped the heel back about 4 times and the toe back 6.  I know how to knit socks.  Trust me, this isn’t the issue.  I mean, it’s a standard short row heel.  The problem has been how much of a turn do I want?  Finally, I settled on using 40sts in the heel.  That part, I’m happy with.  What I’m not happy with is the width of the toe.  I’ve started decreasing now but I still feel like it’s too big.  However, I’m not about to rip back and decrease earlier.  This is going to look how it’s going to look and at least I’m happy with the rest of it…right?  Right?  I feel like a failure.

I’m going to keep this short because I’m sick and haven’t gotten more than 5 hours of sleep in the past 48.  Not much knitting getting done either.  I highly doubt I’ll finish my stocking by Friday, unless by some miracle, I manage to wake up feeling healthy tomorrow.

However, I’ve finished the length of the stocking and now I’m on to the heel.  Decided to do it in red, though I initially thought green would be a better choice.  I like the pop of the red, so instead I’ll probably do the toes green.  Also gives it some symmetry with the ribbing.  Start to finish, that kind of thing.  You know what I’m talking ’bout.  On to the progress pic:

I started winding the yarn for my mom’s socks today using my homemade yarn swift.  …..It didn’t go as well as I would have liked.  When I initially made the swift, my drill wouldn’t accommodate a 1/2″ bit…so I did some creative whittling and enlarged the holes with my 3/8″ bit.  Not perfect.  Not in the least.  But I thought it would hold.  Turns out it didn’t.  I went to pull it apart to store it and heard a SNAP!  Pretty sure that’s not the kind of sound you want wood to make.  Bye bye, arm.  I’m gonna have to go down to the hardware store and grab another 1×1 and then ask my uncle if his drill isn’t a little…kitty cat.

Before and after:

Also managed to squeeze in some time in the kitchen at home, despite being sick.  Made some earl grey short bread cookies.  I have to say, they were pretty yummy.  Earl grey is my favorite morning tea, so I knew I’d enjoy them.  There was some hesitation on the home front, however.  My mom couldn’t wrap her mind around eating tea leaves.  I tried telling her they were just like herbs.  Didn’t really convince her, but she still ate 5 of them.

Now that I’ve gone picture happy I got one more for you.

Let’s get a directory up in this bitch.   Too much time talking to Alex?  Maybe a little.  Snap out of it, Meg.  Ok…There’s a crafty directory and I’m joining.  That’s right.

Rules:  There are no rules… Well, I guess there is one, no two rules … 
1.)  It’s for Crafty blogs (you can determine if your blog is crafty – do you make, create or buy lots of crafty stuff?)  
2.)  You need to promote this on your blog for the Directory to work!

Step 1:  Add your craft blog name to the linky list below.
Step 2: Create your own blog post, letting everyone know that a huge Crafty Directory is being made & invite them to pop on over here to add their crafty blog & then to do the same with their bloggy readers.
Step 3: Add the button to your blog so you remember to pop back & peruse the fab new Crafty Directory!

Head over to Crafty Rie to join.