Quick Update

I've finished both pairs of Interminable socks! I worked on one at Tawny's yesterday and finished it up tonight. My feet are clad in Blue Bayou Apple Laine yarn socks - toe up, gull wing pattern, silk/wool/mohair/nylon blend. Pictures to come.

What's for Dinner?

Tonight it was cube steaks (because we had cube steaks.) I looked at some online recipes and decided that some form of pepper steak would be nice. So here's my recipe:
2 cube steaks, cut into strips
olive oil
1/2 onion, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 small pieces fresh ginger
2 stalks celery, sliced
About 2 frozen peppers (from a Trader Joe's package)
1 29-oz can crushed tomatoes with puree
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. glace de veau (I got a container at Fairway and hadn't used it yet)

Heat olive oil in dutch oven. Saute the meat till browned; add vegetables and cook till limpish. Add tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and glace; bring to boil. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes. Serve over cooked rice or pasta.

The beef comes out nice and tender and there's a lovely sauce for your rice/pasta/even baked potato!

Who who?

I was looking for a project or two to take to the Metrostitchers gathering tomorrow, and I thought I'd go through a tote bag or two. I found 2 finished stitched owls and a lovely little robin - but they're sadly creased. Since I don't think I still have an iron I feel like I'm rather at a standstill. I'm bringing the Big Green Project and am considering dressing to match!

The Midden

or, organizing by piles...
I mentioned The Midden to Cynthia in a comment and thought that perhaps all of you would like to know about my secret shame. My life, including clean clothes, stitching projects, bags full of yarn, etc. lives in a large pile at the foot of my recliner. Occasionally things get lost - they slip under the recliner - and occasionally I do a sweep under the recliner looking for things. Usually, however, I let stuff rise to the top - oh, there's the Carrots cross stitch! Oh, there's that silk ribbon yarn! It's a lovely surprise when stuff does appear and then I work on it until it vanishes again.

Interminable Socks

Yes, it's been a long time. No particular reason, just somehow not blogging. That's all about that!

I'm working on 2 pairs of socks (1 sock each so far) and both of them seem to go on forever. Since I work toe-up, it's hard to decide how long to make the legs. One could just go till the yarn is gone and that's sort of what I'm doing. One pair is just K2P2 rib all the way; the other is a Gull Wing lace pattern that I adapted from Barbara Walker. On that one, I have to leave enough yarn for 4 rounds plain plus a bind-off.

My friend Cynthia just started her blog and perhaps that's inspiring me to get back to it - who knows?

Yes, Reading Again

Wasn't this a crafting blog? What happened? What are all these books? I do have some finished pictures to post but I keep forgetting various elements. In the meantime I'm resting my hands and reading!

November 6
Totally Joe by James Howe. Joe was one of the Misfits in the earlier book by Howe (also highly recommended!) and here he gets to tell his own story in an "alphabiography." This is cute - heartwarming - touching - the story of a young gay boy who still thinks kissing someone is an icky mess, but wants to have a boyfriend. A wonderful growing-up-gay book.

November 7
Seven Spiders Spinning by Gregory Maguire. This is his first Hamlet, Vermont story, set in a school with the wonderful Miss Earth as teacher. I liked a lot of things about the book but I found the spiders sort of extraneous and I didn't like their fate. However Miss Earth and the Tattletales and the Copycats are great companions. I plan to read at least one more in the series (the next is Six Haunted Hairdos.)

November 8
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell. Wonderfully weird short stories. I realized I'd read one of the stories in the New Yorker some issues ago. The title story was absolutely the best. I don't often read adult literary fiction but this had enough fantasy elements for me to really enjoy it.

Reading Continues

November 4
My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
This anthology has stories by a couple of authors I really like (Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine) and others that I didn't know that well. Harris's and Butcher's stories were set in worlds that I've come to know well from their novels. Caine used a world that I didn't recognize from the Weather Wardens series, but her tale had a nice sting in it. Spellbound by L.A. Banks was another unexpected joy. That said, I think that the Elvis story by P.N. Elrod was really wonderful!

November 5
The Iron Tower by Dennis McKiernan
I heard of an early series by Dennis McKiernan that was either very derivative of Tolkien or else (in some other stories) was written by request from the publishers who wanted a Tolkien sequel. I found the trilogy in one paperbound volume in the library basement and tried the first one, The Dark Tide. It wasn't terrible but there were so many similarities to Tolkien that I just wasn't that interested in reading the rest of it. I did skim the next two books to make sure that the Darkness was conquered but I won't look for more in the series.

More Reading

I had a sad thing befall me during NaNoReadMo. I have about 20 books picked out to read this month, and planned to take some home on Thursday, since I had a 3-day weekend. Alas, I went home sick on Wednesday evening, forgetting all about the books, and then had none of them! I was scratching about for something new to read and found the following:

November 2, 2006
Devilish by Maureen Johnson.
A cute twist on the popularity story, with a serious note to it. Unpopular Alison would sell her soul to be popular - literally. Can her best friend Jane save her? There's definitely a dark side to this one along with a great friendship story.

November 3, 2006
Mary's Meadow And Other Tales of Fields and Flowers, by Juliana Horatia Ewing.
I've wanted to read this ever since reading the Golden Name Day series by Jennie Lindquist. In it the girls read Mary's Meadow and decide to emulate Mary and her family by planting flowers on the roadsides for travelers to enjoy. It's really a sweet Victorian story and there are funny bits as well! The other tales were not as good as MM but still worth reading (for free too!)

NaNoReadMo

I blame this idea on my friend Marci, who came up with it as an alternative to NaNoWriMo. I came up with a good selection of children's and YA books and am pleased to announce that I have finished the first day of November by reading my first book for the month.
Frindle by Andrew Clements. It's a wonderful middle-grade book, with humor, good grownups, great rewards, and as a bonus, excellent illustrations.
Check it out!

In progress (no pix)

This is just a little text only entry to keep the blog updated. I am almost finished with my first red (and maroon and purple) scarf. I think the colors look great together. Just a couple more inches in red (and a few ends) and it's done. I did a lot of the end-weaving last night. Do you ever feel reluctant to finish a project? The scarf was such great mindless knitting, I will have to get/find some more red yarn for another one.

I'm also trying (again) Charlene Schurch's Class Sock to try and grasp the heel flap kind of heel. So far there's about an inch of ribbing (only 2 more to go, then the heel, it's a tiny sock.)

Lunch has arrived - tomato sandwiches on sourdough toast with Hellmann's mayo and a Tab - and the Yankees game is on so that's all for now. Can't wait to see Stephanie aka the Yarn Harlot at my local Barnes & Noble tonight!

9/11

When September begins, I almost dread seeing one of these clear,
autumn, blue sky days because that's what 9/11 was like. And today,
on the anniversary, the weather is identical. It's the kind of day
that makes you glad to be alive - cool (it's about 60F right now),
crisp - not too humid - with a hint of fall in the air but still warm
from summer. And I hate it.

Third Finished Pair

This is my third finished pair of socks - they're Grumperina's Jaywalker pattern, done in Regia Jubilee Sock, London colorway superwash wool/nylon. I finished them this spring, for my sister's birthday, then mislaid them. When they turned up again I thought I'd better send them off right away, but wanted a picture first. This is the pair where the toes turned out rather oddly (sorry!) and encouraged me to start making toe-up socks instead. Some people's Jaywalkers have ended up quite tight but these seem to be ok. Perhaps there's more stretch in this yarn. I knit both pairs sort of ongoing, one from the center pull end, the other from the outer end.

More knitting news - Mardi Gras Sock 1 is done! I ended up buying another skein of CLaudia's Purple Earth yarn to have as a spare. It's a different dye lot and though the colors are the same, the amount of each color is not (a lot more purple and dark blue in the new skein.) So - Sock 1 has Skein 1A for most of the foot and leg, and some of skein 1B to finish the leg. Sock 2, which has been started, has Skein 2 for the foot, I will switch to skein 1B probably for the heel and definitely for the leg.

And even more - the Lacy Prairie Shawl is almost done. I am knitting the top garter stitch border rows now. NO MORE PATTERN!!!

Finishing Some Projects

My afternoon has been spent (while watching the Yankees/Red Sox game)in assembling all these barrettes. I embroider them on perforated plastic for a good firm base, then glue the backs on. I'm fussy about the backs, my favorites are labeled "Made in France" and I have to go into Manhattan to get them, usually at Metalliferous. I have a bag of 12 dozen which I thought would last for awhile - except that I discovered that they're all the wrong size, slightly bigger than I use (the ends are visible beyond the stitching which I don't like.) The size that works is 3 1/4" (80 mm) and my stash is of course 3 7/8 (97 mm).


However I had enough to finish off quite a few that had been waiting. This one is a new Anchor pearl cotton with metallics. Some of the other threads are Eterna silk twist and Caron Watercolours.

Subway Series Socks

If there is Yankees yarn, can the Mets yarn be far behind? I'm winding the wool up (it arrived today from Dave) in preparation for knitting Mets socks for a friend's brother. Orange and blue isn't my favorite color combination but Dave made a thing of beauty out of it. I'm figuring another pair of toe-up socks with ribbing, very manly.

I'm knitting the Monthly Dishcloth KAL - this is my second project. You get 10 lines of pattern in email every day for 5-6 days. I thought I would have to wait (I wanted a solid and a variegated cotton yarn, and I only had variegated) but my yarn order from Smiley's Yarns arrived today. I can't believe the prices - so cheap! I got: 5 skeins of Bernat Handicrafter; 4 skeins of Lily Cotton Elite; 3 skeins of an interesting yarn called Filatura Lanorota Circus - it's a very soft blend of 85% cotton, 15% acrylic, very brightly variegated - I'm thinking washcloths, too soft for dishes; and SOCK YARN. Cervinia Calzetteria, 70% wool, 30% nylon, machine washable - 2 each in multi-blues, multi-turquoise, solid red and solid denimy heather - for $2.50 each. Five dollars for a pair of wool self-striping socks. I am having a hard time not going back to order more and more and more...

Not Just Knitting

Which is why I called this blog "Brooklyncrafter" rather than "Brooklynknitter." One of my other crafting pastimes is counted cross stitch. I've been neglecting it for knitting but on a recent trip to Maryland I found a piece that called to me. Of course it's huge, it will be 26" wide by 20" high (just the design) when finished. It's from a new designer, Ink Circles, and this one is Garden Stars. With my friend Carol's help we swapped out the DMC for various overdyes (Needle Necessities, Weeks Dye Works, Gentle Art Sampler Threads.) Here's as much as I've done:

The nice part about this piece is that it's composed of many distinct motifs so I can get the satisfaction of finishing one part at a time. After I looked closely at the chart I decided to go wild and use even more greens so I've added some Old Willow and Crescent Colors threads, as well as some Atalie threads that were just sitting around in a box. The fabric is one of Wichelt's new hand-dyes, Chai Tea Jobelan - it's a pale green with some pale brown mottling. I do have to use my portable light so it's not that easy to pick it up and stitch.

Road Trip

We gathered for a road trip to Connecticut on a beautiful Saturday morning (who said "the only trouble with mornings is that they come so early?") Our stops included Sudberry House's annual (and final) garage sale where we loaded up on frames, boxes, and other wooden objects to display needlework. Then we proceeded to Yarns Down Under, a really fine (and well concealed) yarn store where sock yarn was found in abundance (I got some Schaefer Anne, some Regia Bamboo, and some Step with jojoba oil.) We ended up at a former LNS owner's place, where she generously offered us a sale on her inventory. The result - here's the trunk!

Update

11:30 pm - Tonight I unknitted several rows to get back to 213 stitches (row 2 of the pattern.) Then I knitted a row and did row 3 of the pattern which should have been 215 stitches. It wasn't. It was 214 stitches. I went to the beginning of the row and counted off the pattern stitches - I'd missed a yarn over about halfway through the row. So I unknitted to that point, reknitted the row - 215 stitches. This is good, except it's where I started last night. Anyway I'm ready to do row 1, maybe tomorrow. The earrings really help in counting, I hook one on at every 50th stitch.

This shawl is showing me how much my concentration slips. In past rows I have missed yarn overs; I have dropped stitches; I have knitted 4 instead of 3 in the pattern. And yet at the time I felt like I was paying attention! Of course the longer the row gets, the easier it is for my mind to slip away for just a second also.

Frustration

This is the Lacy Prairie Shawl from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls. I have never had so much trouble knitting something! I think it's because it's lace - and every stitch matters. It's a really simple pattern, there are only 3 pattern rows (alternating with knit rows), and it's kicking my butt. I started with 215 stitches. It had been awhile, and I began knitting pattern row one (which, apart from the edges, is a Double decrease (slip 2, knit 1, pass 2 slipped sts over), k3; repeated to edge etc. I got to the edge and was one stitch short.

I unknitted the row (I'm getting very good at this and the yarn is quite heavy) and counted again - 215 stitches. Great. Then I realized that I was on the wrong side and I wasn't in the pattern row, I should have been just knitting. (I had to mark the right side because it's not very obvious.) So I knit a row. 215 sts. I did row 1 of the pattern - 214 sts, 1 short.

This has happened over and over with this shawl. It's such an easy pattern, I don't understand why it's being such a problem for me. It is emphasizing something that I don't like about lace knitting though - it's very fussy. You can't really add or subtract stitches as needed the way you can with stockinette or ribbing etc. I have 30 more pattern rows to go (up to 275 stitches) and I really want to finish this.

The yarn is Riata from Brooks Farm Yarns - silk, wool and mohair in the Water Lilies colorway.

Another Stitching Meeting

I attended a meeting of the Metrostitchers at Cynthia's new apartment. Many pictures were taken including lots of objects in progress. Here are Joan's finishes:

Barbara's working on a Celtic Knot pattern:















Rosie has a huge sampler:














Here's Theresa's piece - which ended in a Happy Dance today!


And here is one of mine - the Eyelet Tee from with the addition of a knitted lace border.

I also had a happy dance - the Monthly Dishcloth Knit-Along, done in Knitpicks Shine Worsted, which I gave to Cynthia for a housewarming present. It makes a lovely soft washcloth.


And we mustn't forget the friendly Curry (who climbed shelves, looked at yarn with yearning, and ended up on the sofa for the attention he was due.

New Toe

I'm going to a couple of crafting group meetings this weekend and felt the need to have another sock to work on. The Mardi Gras sock is almost up to the heel. In fact, I turned the heel and then tried it on but it was a little bit too short, enough to be uncomfortable, so I ripped it back to the foot and am knitting it a bit longer. But if I knit a lot at these meetings I'll need to turn the heel. And interestingly enough I'll have to decide which side of the sock to make the instep. Here are the choices - I call one Mardi Gras Purple and the other Mardi Gras Gold. I'm leaning toward the purple at the moment.

Now the short row heel (or toe) isn't hard. It just requires concentration and I check off each wrapped stitch as I go, so it's not a great thing for group crafting. So last night I started the second Yankees sock - here are a couple of pictures of the short row toe completed and ready for mindless knitting (it helps to have big feet, you get more mindless knitting time!)

I took some pictures last night and couldn't believe how blurry they were. This morning I tried again, and they wouldn't download to the computer. There was a message saying that the batteries were too low. So I've replaced them (for the first time) and the pictures look great. I wonder if the batteries were the problem.

Everybody stay cool and have a great weekend!