Today I worked on charting out a knitting pattern. I'm thinking about knitting a sweater for my niece, though I'm not at all sure if I'm even capable of it yet. Probably, but it'll take a lot of math and a lot of patience. I couldn't find a free pattern that looked appealing to me, so I'm making adjustments to this one. Mine would have that same shape, but I'd change the yoke (the colorful part of the sweater near the neck) and have the body of the sweater be a solid color (instead of having all those flecks of color). My niece really loves dinosaurs (I'll obviously check with her again about that before starting this project, just to make sure she's still as into them as she has been for the past 2 years), so I want to try incorporating this chart instead of the zig-zags and diamonds used in the original pattern. This means that I have to alter the original pattern a bit so that the yoke is a multiple of 15 stitches (that's the size of the pattern)... which will require some careful reading and a suspicious amount of algebra.
I also bought groceries, and some necessary household items and toiletries. I made an "Autumn Millet Bake" for dinner tonight. It turned out pretty good, but probably could have used a bit more time in the oven for the first phase of baking. Some of the millet was a little chewier than I like. I'm glad I made it though, I've been wanting to play around with grains for quite some time now.

I'm also trying my hand at making porridge in the crock pot again. I've used it to make oatmeal before, with mixed results. Still, I love the idea of waking up and finding a steaming hot pot of porridge waiting for me. And I'm getting a little sick of my usual oatmeal. I used a recipe from a cook book I found at the library. Unfortunately I can't remember the title of the book, and it was returned weeks ago. The porridge involves:

4 1/2 c water
1/3 c brown rice
1/3 c red rice
1/4 c quinoa
2 t cinnamon

I put it all in the slow cooker and set it on low for 8-10 hrs. Though mine will be more like 11 hrs... I should probably go throw in another 1/4 c of water...
I'm also making yogurt for the first time. I used Owlhaven's recipe, though of course that's not the limit of my research. So far so good. I heated the milk until it was nice and foamy (yes I used a thermometer. But had to borrow my roommate's, because apparently I didn't do enough research when investing in that meat thermometer last November. I don't need a giant face labeling the safe cooking temperature from various meats, but I do need a thermometer to read low temps as well as high ones), then poured it into jars and stirred in some active cultures. Hopefully it works... but now I think about it, it might not. I think I forgot to let the milk cool a bit before stirring in the cultures... oops. Well, we'll see what happens.

I've started a new knitting project. I bought a skein of beautiful bright orange wool (the picture really doesn't do the color justice) a few weeks ago, intending to make myself a knit headband to cover my ears. I made the headband, and then decided that I didn't really need that after all. What I needed was a new scarf.
So I took the headband apart, and cast 24 stitches onto size 4 needles for a nice tight gauge. Then I did a simple basketweave stitch (*k4, p4 for 6 rows. Then *p4, k4 for 6 rows. Repeat). I'm really loving it so far. The really old-fashioned textured stitch plays nicely against the more modern color and shape (the scarf is about 4" wide, and will end up being pretty long) and makes for a really interesting piece. I'll enjoy wearing it with my black coat :)

I finished a tight gauge wool hat for my brother's birthday (which is happening in 2 months, so I feel pretty good about that).

I also finished a pair of socks for myself, with enough yarn left over to make another pair (they'll be ankle socks though). I'm just now working on the heel flap of the first ankle sock.

I've also been having the urge to make a sweater. Either some especially cheesy stranded "Christmas Jumper" for myself, or my niece. Of course realistically, that would be biting off way more than I can chew right now.

I would like to do another lacy piece at some point too. I did a really detailed lace shawl last summer and gave it to one of my sisters-in-law. I should probably make one for my other sister-in-law as well. I really like this one but this is probably more to her taste.

There are so many projects I want to do! But I have so much yarn in my stash right now, I need to use up some of that before buying materials to make any of these lovely things. Yesterday I cleaned my room top to bottom and discovered that I have way more yarn than I though. Enough smooth, worsted weight acrylic to make several brightly-colored stuffed animals. Enough bulky synthetics and blends to make several pairs of slippers and/or scarves. And enough decent wool to make at least a couple of hats. Maybe even mittens.

I want to use that pound of halfway decent black acrylic I have lying around to make this vest. If I like the pattern I might actually purchase some good yarn and make it up in that. Other than that, I guess I'll be making a lot of stuffed animals and slippers. I have some friends with small children, maybe I can pawn a few of the toys off on them.

I thought up an awesome way to organize my yarn. Instead of winding it into lots and lots of balls of varying sizes (which tend to unroll themselves and tangle together), I'm winding my yarn around empty toilet paper tubes. Just cut a slit in one end of the tube, tie a knot in the end of your yarn, slip the yarn into the end and wind around the tube. When you're done, just cut a slit in the other end of the tube and slip the end in there (sort of like the notch on the top of a spool of thread). Then label the edge of the tube with the fiber content. Suddenly my yarn stash isn't looking so bad. I can actually find what I need. There's also something really gorgeous about a basket full of brightly-colored, neatly rolled yarn.

I finally managed a decent library run last week, so I've got some interesting books to read this month. I picked up a copy of Othello, a biography of Winston Churchill (cause I realized that all I know about that famous historical figure is that he was portly, he was the prime minister of Britain during WWII rght after Neville Chamberlain, and his mother was scandalous), a cook book, and a book about the role religion has played in US politics (historically). I finished the cook book yesterday (while doing laundry and winding yarn), and just cracked the political one last night.

Other things going on... I got my hands on a Spanish grammar workbook a few days ago (bought it w/ an amazon giftcard I got for Christmas) and have been brushing up on that. I'm only on lesson 2 of the first chapter, but it's amazing how much I remember (despite having spent high school Spanish class doodling in my notebook and staring out the window). My grammar isn't great. I can usually conjugate verbs okay, but have trouble remembering which articles to use. My vocabulary is abysmal, but I remember more than I thought I did. This chapter I learned that paragus= umbrella. To remember I think of the BBC series Sherlock, and Mycroft's use of an umbrella as a fashion accessory (esp. in the clips used for this fanvideo).

My Spanish dictionary should be arriving in a day or two, so that should help fill in holes. I also need to find a Mexican TV show to watch so I can figure out the rythm of speech a bit better (my accent is okay. It's just harder to form sentences outloud than it is in writing).

I already mentioned Sherlock in this post, but I'll go ahead and discuss it properly. It's one of my shows, and the new season is running right now. Basically, two Sherlock Holmes fanboys (who are also well-known and well-loved screenwriters) decided to remake the series and have it set in contemporary London. Each season is a miniseries of  three 90-120 minute "episodes" that play out like movies. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as John Watson. The actors have amazing chemistry, there are plenty of nods to the Arthur Conan Doyle cannon ("inside jokes", if you will), and a really cool use of contemporary technology (John Watson's "memoirs" become his "blog", Sherlock checks his facts by looking up info on his blackberry). The plots aren't typically very believable, but neither were the ones in the original stories. Mostly the show is a fantastic blend of action, suspense, and character development. I'll be eagerly watching the season finale tomorrow!

I've been in something of a slump with my cooking lately. Last week I roasted a duck, made some frozen burritos, and shortbread cookies. But before that there were the holidays, and then I was working some crazy hours (at work we had a floorset and then inventory in the same week), and then recovering from the craziness... I've gotten out of the habit of proper meal planning. I need to fix that. And I need to do some just for fun cooking. So I've been reading recipes and making plans. I think I want to play around with succotash (since I've got some frozen corn and lima beans in the freezer), do something with roasted root vegetables and sausage and this bread. I also absolutely have to make this since it's everything I love in a cake (Mostly fruit, a simple batter, not at all fussy. No frosting).

So, that's what I've been up to :)

Happy New Year! I'm starting 2012 with a marginally more organized pantry, and a bunch of "tiny people".
First with the pantry. I bought plastic cannisters for my baking goods! No luck on the oil bottles yet, I haven't really had a chance to brainstorm what I really want.

Before.

After.

 And now for my Tiny People. I've made minor changes to this pattern to make tiny, unique toys. The plan is to make a whole bunch, and then give them to my niece for her birthday next year. I'm also going to hunt down an interesting old jewelry box at the thrift store, paint it, and use that to store the Tiny People. It'll be sort of like a playset, but handmade.
Here's what I have so far:

The first one. I mostly followed the original pattern, but had a little fun with the hat.

This one is really small. I had to use size 3 needles and a really tight stitch to
make the superfine yarn hold in stuffing.

This one has green hair :D

My (5 year-old) niece loves "scary stuff", so I made her a vampire. Eventually I'll sew on fangs and button eyes. I'll probably make a werewolf and a witch or ghost too. 

 

Handmade Holiday 2011: Socks

Not everyone is pumped to open their Christmas present and find a pair of socks inside, but I happen to know a few people who love having something cozy to wear on their feet. I love being able to create useful things that completely suit my friends and family members' taste. It's also nice to be able to make something that will ultimately be an object of comfort to the recipient.

Socks are also a very quick, easy knitting project. It's just difficult enough not to be monotonous.

This Christmas I'm knitting 4 pairs of socks. Here's one of the patterns I'm using:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/a-nice-ribbed-sock

Sock knitting resources:
http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/FEATsocks101.html
http://www.socknitters.com/Tips/heels_by_the_number.htm
http://knittersreview.com/article_how_to.asp?article=/review/profile/011004_a.asp
http://www.fibergypsy.com/common/socksize.shtml