A little something

I recently treated myself to Addi Clicks (the long-tipped lace version) after trying out the sampler kit and getting hooked. I love them except for one thing: the Pepto-Bismol pink case.

The box:

The insides, which I found just as uninspiring. The fabric isn't hemmed.

So I've decided to do something about it:

I like my grey, wool Pendleton case (from KnitPicks, yes) much better than this pink plastic case, so it was quite simple to switch all of the needles and cables out. Now I can breathe a sigh of relief and relax.

FO- the Nine-Year Baby Blanket

Believe it or not, this took nine years. It was about nine years ago that I found out I was pregnant and started knitting. This, Debbie Bliss' Garter Stitch Blanket, was one of my first projects. I thought it would be easy because it was garter stitch squares. I neglected to realize that I would be weaving ends in for an eternity (or in my case, off and on for nine years). But now, it's complete, just in time for winter for my third baby!

FO- Baby Moc-a-Socs

They're not only cute, they seem to (more-or-less) stay on! I think it's because of the folded over ribbing.

Anyway, these are modified Moc-a-Socs that I finally finished. The issues I had with the original pattern were that 1-I didn't want to knit them as directed and then seam up the back; I wanted to knit them in the round; and 2-The pattern, as followed, gave me gigantic four-year-old sized moc-a-socs. Way too big for a newborn baby.

So aside from adjusting the pattern to knit in the round, I also reduced the number of stitches to yield appropriately-sized booties. They came out pretty cute, if I say so myself. I'm actually looking forward to the next time a friend gets pregnant, because I'll probably knit a pair of these.

FO--BSJ (Conclusion)

I knit bobble buttons!

It was the 60's after all (FO--BSJ)

No one disputes that EZ was a genius. And prolific. A prolific genius. And I've been yearning to knit her Baby Surprise Jacket for quite some time, but didn't get around to it until now. Which made me wonder: Was EZ on acid when she wrote this pattern? It's amazing, but so unlike anything else I've ever knit before I can't fathom how she visualized this.

 The finished object:

 Half folded up:

 Folded up and the two sleeve seams sewed:

 Close-up:

This yarn was Hacho by Mirosol, a nice 100% merino sport-weight sock yarn. I picked it up three skeins of this colorway at a Tuesday Morning and haven't known what to knit with it until now, because I don't knit socks with 100% wool yarns. It suited my purpose well though, and makes a cute little baby sweater.

I tried to crochet buttons for this sweater, but the button ended up too large for the little yo, k2tog buttonholes so buttons will have to wait. It's almost summer here though, so by the time it's cold, the baby may have outgrown this. So then I'll have to knit another sweater. . .

WIP- Baby Surprise Jacket

I am trying to finish a Baby Surprise Jacket before the baby is born (it's a race, even though he doesn't know it). This is a perplexing pattern but really fun so far.

This is what it looks like up to the decreases and knitting straight (before the increases). I look forward to seeing how it turns out.

On a roll

I seem to be on a roll lately, perhaps due to a certain large, looming deadline, but I have a new FO to share:

This is an oldie but a goodie, the Berry Baby Hat, by Michele Sabatier. It's one of my go-to patterns for babies because it's so quick and easy to knit, but cute and whimsical to boot. When I gift knitted this, I'd typically knit it in acrylic (I never know who might have what allergy and besides, being in Southern California, most mommies would not have appreciated much less known how to wash a wool hat) but this one is knit in some leftover Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. Ironically, from one of the first projects I knit for Bub--a Debbie Bliss baby sweater whose gauge I neglected to measure and tragically, ended up fitting me like a Riot girlie crop top (10 points to anyone who can name that reference). The hat, though, is adorable, and not newborn-sized, so I have hopes that a certain summer baby will be able to wear it in the fall, possibly on his first ski trip.

WIP- Modified Moc-a-Soc

Did you fall in love with Moc-a-Socs? I know I did. I bought the pattern years ago (before you could, regrettably, buy the different versions bundled) in the hopes of knitting it for someone's baby shower, but was stopped cold by the seaming. If there's anything I hate more in knitting, it's seaming. So the pattern stayed unknit, waiting.

Recently I knit Fleegle's Booties in the round and decided to apply those principles to Moc-a-Socs. I'm not done yet, but what do you think:

I also had extreme problems with making gauge (the pattern lists 8 sts/1" on size 2 needles; I've gone down to size 00 needles and I'm still making 6-1/2 sts/1") so I modified it down. I think it looks pretty good so far, and can't wait to see how they turn out!

FO (not mine)-- Standing Desk

Look at what The Man (err, My Man?) made over the weekend:

It's a standing desk, get it? He has one at work (one where you can't move it back down to sit, which really encourages him to stand) and he wanted the same thing for his station at home. The wood is sheesham (Indian rosewood) to match our bedroom set, and no, that's not a television mounted against the wall, that is indeed his computer monitor. He's thinking of building a ledge under the desk to house the cords and stuff, which would make the area look cleaner, and the space under the monitor is underutilized but I'm not sure what we could put there in terms of storage. Or how long it would take to accomplish. But so far, yay, his desk is done and now he has to clear off his desk in the other room.

WIP-- (knitting)

My not-so-secret project is growing towards its close:

That's right, it's a BFF Cowl from Knitty! I think the color is most accurate in this picture:

These are both my parts, albeit in different colors. When I first read the pattern, I mistakenly thought I'd only need one skein for both cowls, but found out from my partner that we would actually need two skeins. Unfortunately, by that time the original color I chose was no longer available at WEBS (at least at that point in time), so I conferred with my partner and chose another, complementary color to hers. Thus the purple I will be sending.

This is the first time I've knit with Fyberspates Luscious Aran, and it really is luscious! I believe it's the inclusion of silk to the already-soft merino. The silk makes it feel a bit smoother and really gives the yarn a glowy sheen. The lace wasn't as challenging as I was afraid it would be (it's been very rhythmic, actually), so I'm trying to finish it before my August deadline and then we'll see about more projects!

Are we there yet?

So I've been gingerly checking on my "pineapple vinegar" (notice the quotation marks, because I don't think I can truly call it vinegar at this point) and I have no idea what it's supposed to look like:

 Under the filter, a bit of mold grew back:

And the fruit flies have been intense. Not quite as bad since I chucked the bottle into the bathroom cabinet under the sink, but every time I open said cabinet door, flies fly out. According to this recipe, it should have darkened, and I don't think it ever did, so maybe it didn't work for me. The Man was surprised there was no starter/mother in the recipe, just sugar. I figured I'd try it and see what happened. So far it's been an infestation of fruit flies. Maybe I'll give it a few more weeks.

FO-- Fleegle's Seamless Baby Booties

I finished these Seamless Baby Booties yesterday:

As you can probably tell, I dyed the yarn myself. I think it was a combination of blue Kool-Aid and Wilton's Cake Dyes. You could call it a study in blue. Being a circular needle fan, I don't actually own any DPNs, and lacked the patience to do I-cord on circulars, so I twisted the yarn to make the ties. I first tried crocheting ties, which would have been easier and possibly faster, but I didn't like the look of it. So twisted twine it was.  This was my first go:

The top is different, do you see? I did two rows of garter and then a two-stitch picot bind-off. It drooped. Not the look I was going for, so I ripped back, did 2x2 ribbing and then finished with a normal bind-off. Much neater!

I hate knitting baby booties, I think because there are so many different parts and you can never really get into a rhythm, it goes so fast, but I liked these better than most because they were done in the round and you didn't have to seam them up afterwards. I'm going to try to use what I just learned and apply it towards the Moc-a-Socs, a baby bootie pattern so cute I purchased. Because it was cute, but I avoid seaming at all cost.

FO-Newborn Cupcake Hat

It seems rather plain without sprinkles or a pom pom, but I can't find any red yarn in my stash and since it's for a newborn, I doubt he'll mind (the parents won't). This hat was made out of Caron Simply Solids.

Better Homes and Gardens recipe for egg custard

It wasn't bad. Not too sweet, and custardy.

FO- dress for a Waldorf doll

My own design:

Pineapple Vinegar Saga

So the pineapple vinegar making seems to be progressing. It's been about a week, and I had lots of mold at the top of my jar:

I skimmed all of that off, reduced the amount of actual pineapple, and transferred it into a sterilized spaghetti sauce/mason jar. And recovered with the coffee filter. My mold looked different than the mold in the pictures of tutorials I've seen. Mine is red; theirs was green/black. The fruit flies are getting pretty annoying, they've infested the entire house it seems. I've moved the jar from a shady spot on the kitchen counter to a cabinet under the bathroom sink. I don't know whether that will help with the flies, but I can hope.

Cooking DIYs

So I've been a busy bee this morning, on account of someone kicking me until I woke up and fed him. It's not as bad as it sounds, I'm almost used to it. Anyway, I roasted a pan of tomatoes, baked another batch of savory muffins, and cut up a pineapple. Along the way, I also started pineapple vinegar from this recipe, and ground my own almond meal for the muffins.

All of my pineapple scraps did not fit into the glass container I was going to use, so I had to use a plastic mayonnaise jar I had instead. And, while I know I have a package of cheesecloth somewhere, I couldn't find it when I actually needed it, but read that a coffee filter will work as a substitute:

 This one cup of almonds:

 Became this almond meal/flour in less than 10 seconds:

Into a sieve it went:

To sift out the large chunks:

Leaving the fine meal:

This was a new recipe, "24-hour omelet" from an American's Test Kitchen cookbook. It's not actually an omelet; it's buttered bread, cheese, eggs and seasoning (onion counts as seasoning, right?), soaked for 8-36 hours and then thrown into the oven. The before pictures:

And the finished project:

It got the kids' seal of approval this morning, but let's see if they finish it as leftovers.