Author Archives: pdxknitterati

November, the yarn

Posted on November 19, 2009 | 11 comments

I bought a little more Malabrigo Chunky the other day. I’m still working on a pattern for our knit party auction event, and I needed to try one more variation on a theme.

Isn’t this gorgeous? The color is called Noviembre. And yes, it looks like fall. These are so not my colors, but they are gorgeous, and I’m sure I can find a worthy recipient after the pattern is written and the pictures are done. And this yarn is so much fun to knit with; it’s firm and bouncy like knitting with al dente pasta! Speaking of food…

I posted on Facebook that I was baking applesauce blueberry bread; a lot of my posts seem to be about food. There were a couple recipe requests, so I’m posting it here for your enjoyment.

Applesauce Blueberry Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup blueberries

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Blend in applesauce.

Blend dry ingredients, fold into applesauce mixture only until blended. Fold in blueberries.

Bake in greased loaf pan at 350 degrees, about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. (Mine usually takes at least an hour and 15 minutes, especially if I’m baking two. You really don’t want this to be gummy on the bottom.) Cool in loaf pan on wire rack for about 30 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely. Scrumptious!

ETA: The reason mine takes so long to bake is probably because I put the berries in frozen, directly from the freezer. These are the berries that we grew last summer, and they are wonderful!

Oh, I almost wore the clear Converse sneakers today. I tried them on again, but I still felt clunky and flat-footed. So back they’ll go. Well, it was worth a try, anyway!

11 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, recipe

Tagged applesauce, blueberry, bread, Knit, malabrigo

Quincy is qute

Posted on November 17, 2009 | 18 comments

Well, cute, really.

I finished my Quincy hat last week at knit night, and it’s taken almost a week to get some time on a day where there was enough light to get a decent picture!

This hat is absolutely adorable. We passed it around on knit night, and it looks good on everyone. Even me, the one who doesn’t wear hats because they flatten my hair.

Do you wonder why I take so many pictures at the piano? It’s because the black and white are balanced so well, the exposure and colors generally turn out fairly true. But I digress.

You can turn the hat in any direction. Except this one. Because I wimped out at our chatty knit night and used a three needle bind off to join the moebius instead of slogging through a kitchener stitch join. The seam is pretty obvious. I’d like to make another Quincy, and see if I can either finagle a better result with a three needle bind off (right side to wrong side? right side to right side? wrong side to wrong side?), or else just kitchener the darned thing!

Here are the details:

Quincy Hat by Jared Flood
Classic Elite Ariosa (as specified in pattern) 10% cashmere, 90% superfine merino
Size 10 and 9 needles
Mods: just substituting the 3 needle bind off for the kitchener stitch join

I liked working with this yarn. It was a loosely spun single which seemed to want to untwist itself, but it’s so soft, I forgive it. My next one will be in a different yarn, though, because this one was pretty spendy!

@@@@@

Thank you so much for weighing in on my clear Converse shoes. I still haven’t felt compelled to wear them, so I think I’ll be returning them. And I’ve figured out why. They’re not very girly! I don’t find them flattering. And it’s not that I don’t have shoes for showing off my hand knit socks. You saw the Danskos. I also have these:

These are cuter than the Converse. But like the Converse, they’re not that comfortable. So it’s a good thing I have these:

These are Skechers, too; the model name is Biker. They’re really comfortable, and they’re cute! I wear them a lot, but not when it’s raining, because they’re so holey.

18 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged brooklyntweed, jared flood, quincy

Verdict?

Posted on November 10, 2009 | 36 comments

I bought these clear Converse All-Stars a couple weeks ago. It’s taken me this long to think about wearing them. Is that a bad sign?

I put them on this morning, and I’m not sure I’m feeling the love.

You don’t see a lot of the sock, since there’s so much going on with the laces. And they’re under jeans, too.

The plastic tongue isn’t the most comfortable thing, either. I’m inclined to return them. I’m pretty happy with my Dansko clogs, which are what I decided to wear today. I bought them at Sock Summit.

What do you think?

36 Comments

Posted in Knit

A veritable potpourri

Posted on November 5, 2009 | 10 comments

Let’s see, where am I? Oh, yes, the contest!

I ran the random number generator at random.org and the winners are: Susie (KnittingKnoobie) for the purple Berroco Vintage Wool, and Marie (permissiontounwind) for the blue Lanaloft. I’ll be sending out yarn soon.

Just a bit of knitting going on here. We started the Quincy hat knitalong at knit night last week; I love the way the i-cord just happens on the edges. This will be the moebius strip of the hat band around the head. Isn’t it pretty?

Here’s a better look at the edges. Don’t worry; the green is temporary. It’s a provisional cast on so the beginning can be grafted to the end.

And I’m still highly distracted by my new guitar. It has a lovely voice, and I’ve been playing a lot. I had the action adjusted (lowered) by our luthier, and it’s easier to play. Dreamy. Now I just need to learn to play better! I’m learning to pick arpeggios rather than just strum. Doing that while singing is an interesting exercise in coordination, but it’s getting better.

I’m also writing a couple songs with a friend (he composes the music; I write the lyrics), and that’s been a lot of fun. I’m so lucky to have all these creative outlets in my life, and I know it.

Knit and play on!

10 Comments

Posted in Knit, music

Tagged guitar, Knit, quincy hat, yarn

Franken-tar

Posted on October 31, 2009 | 12 comments

Just in time for Halloween!

The Teen saw concert footage of Muse, and was intrigued by lead singer/guitarist Matt Bellamy’s guitar. Bellamy designed Manson MB-1 guitar, which features an x-y midi controller. The instrument sells for £2,999, which means that the Teen won’t be getting one any time soon.

But that didn’t stop him from tinkering on his own. He built his own version, dubbed it the RB-1, and used it for a short piece at school.

Basically, it’s an iPod/iPhone app called the Bebot Robosynth. It sells for a mere $1.99. The Teen loaded it up, put the iPod on his guitar, the earphone onto the guitar pickup, and away you go.

Not a lot of finesse with it yet, but he sure had fun!

Here it is charging next to my Norman. I like the old/new juxtaposition.

A closer look at the setup:

Isn’t the little guy cute?

Meanwhile, my new guitar arrived yesterday. I looooove it. Such great tone. The stock strings are mediums(?) and they squeak against my thumb. I’m about to swap them out for Elixir nanoweb lights.

12 Comments

Posted in music

Tagged guitar

Quincy hat knitalong

Posted on October 29, 2009 | 12 comments

The Quincy Hat (ravlink) by Jared Flood (brooklyntweed). The first time I saw the pattern for this, I knew I had to knit it. It doesn’t matter that I don’t wear hats. The construction of this is so clever, I just have to do it.

It starts with a rectangle of garter stitch, twisted to make a moebius strip. Mmmm, garter stitch. Cool moebius! There’s some kitchener right there, but if I don’t feel like it, I’ll do a three needle bind off. We’ll see. Stitches are picked up to make the crown. There’s i-cord. What’s not to like?

The yarn for the hat is pretty luxe stuff. It’s Classic Elite Ariosa, 90% extrafine merino, 10% cashmere, bulky weight. An extravagance for a hat I’ll never wear, but it will be soooooo nice to knit with, and it would make a wonderful gift, too.

I’m doing this hat as a knitalong with my knit night buds. The fun starts tonight. Or sooner, if I can’t resist it. Yeah, maybe sooner.

12 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged knitalong, moebius, quincy hat

Distracted

Posted on October 26, 2009 | 17 comments

Not much knitting this past weekend. I’m a little distracted.

I played a friend’s new guitar (picture in previous post), and the sound of it took me back to high school youth group. Hanging out and singing was a big part of my life. About 5 years ago, I decided to learn to play, just a little, so I could revisit some of the music that I loved so much. I bought a little Norman folk acoustic then, and it has served me well.

But the sound of my friend’s guitar is calling my name. Insistently. So I’ve been shopping for a new guitar, and I’m going to end up with the same Takamine. I can’t wait!

To make up for today’s lack of knitting content, I’m offering up a bit of yarn that came my way. This is Berroco Vintage Wool. It’s worsted weight, 50% acrylic, 40% wool, 10% nylon. It was in the goodie bag at the Sock Summit Ravelry party in August, and it’s nice, but I’m kind of a natural fiber snob and so I don’t think I’ll ever use it.

The other yarn is Brown Sheep Lanaloft, which is a sport weight 100% wool single. I bought it when I was designing my Seafoam Socks, but then decided to use a different yarn. I’m not sure it would be great for socks; it’s a single and it’s also not superwash. I’ve discovered that my other non-superwash socks need more tender care than I’ve been giving them!

If you’re interested in either of these yarns, tell me which one, or both, and what you’d make with it. I’ll take names until midnight Friday, October 30, and then I’ll do two drawings with the random number thingy.

Good luck!

17 Comments

Posted in Knit, music

Tagged contest, guitar, yarn

Knitting project design process

Posted on October 20, 2009 | 14 comments

All the cool kids were at Rhinebeck last weekend, and I was way over here on the left coast, just hanging out. But I walked to Twisted on Saturday and bought some yarn, so I didn’t feel so left out. I came back with these.

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky, 55% merino, 33% microfiber, 12% cashmere. This is incredibly soft and squishy to knit with. One ball makes a very efficient neck warmer (kind of like a mock T-neck), but it’s not very big. I don’t really want to use two for this project, so we’ll see how it goes. The color is somewhere between the two pictures: deep, vibrant, wine-y.

Malabrigo Chunky, 100% kettle dyed merino, 100 grams. It’s slightly heavier. And also really fun to knit with. The stitch definition is divine.

And I have one more on hand; it’s a bulky 100% merino yarn from Knitted Wit. Why am I suddenly obsessed with chunky yarn?

I’m hosting another party for the high school Booster Auction. Twisted is supplying the venue, and Lantern Moon is donating the needles. (Thank you to both!) Last year, I designed the Checkerboard Scarflet as a party project. I need a new project for this year. Yes, it’s above and beyond hosting the party, but it’s fun and for a good cause.

I’ve decided that I want to use a chunky yarn this year, to get near instant gratification. The project needs to be beginner friendly, but interesting enough for an experienced knitter to get some joy from it. I don’t want another flat scarf/scarflet. Fingerless mitts would be great, but you have to make two. I think a single item would be better. I think it’s going to be a cowl.

Next step: The perfect stitch pattern. I want to give options, so I think I’ll have three of them. I want at least one of them to be simple enough that a relative beginner will have a successful experience. I want something easily memorized. I want it to be elegant. Soon, with these chunky yarns!

In the meantime, I’ve returned to the piano bench and am picking my way through a Clementi sonatina (hey, I can still read music!) for relatively instant gratification, as well as trying to resurrect old repertoire. Hello, Mozart? Are you still there?

And I’m playing this guitar, just for a couple days. I have it on temporary swap with a friend; it’s new and I may want one of my own. Yes I have a guitar, but it’s not this nice! (Thanks to the Teen for being guitar model. He plays way better than I do.)

14 Comments

Posted in Knit, music, pattern design, piano

Tagged Knit, knit design, yarn

Li’l Punkinhead…

Posted on October 15, 2009 | 16 comments

has not yet arrived. But we had a baby shower for his mom last night, and I knit this little hat for him. He’s due the day before Halloween. Even if he’s late, the hat should be good all season.

I don’t really have a pattern for this; it’s a K7P1 rib, mirrored decreases at the top of each rib, Tahki Cotton Classic, size 6 needles. I’ve made pumpkin hats before; they’re all a little different because I just do them on the fly.

At the knit nite baby shower, we gave Helen our group project gift, too. Lorajean dyed the yarn and coordinated the effort. Thanks, LJ!

It’s quite the baby boom around here; I’ve knit five baby gifts since August. I think this is the last one…until spring!

16 Comments

Posted in Knit

Blue skies and sunshine

Posted on October 9, 2009 | 19 comments

This week has been gorgeous in PDX. The skies are blue, the temperatures moderate, and the leaves are starting to turn. Perfect autumn weather.

Birds are fattening up for the trek south (hazy because I shot through the window with my new 12x zoom Lumix). There are four birds in the first picture, but there were many more hanging around!

I hadn’t seen this one before; do you know what it is?

I was inspired by the autumn sky to buy this yarn.

It’s Malabrigo Sock Yarn; the color is Impressionist Sky. My original intent was to buy this yarn in a color called Indiecita because I fell in love with it at Sock Summit, but the color I saw in August (blue and brown) was very different from the one I saw yesterday (green). I was looking for blue to start a shawl, and this jumped up and said, “Pick me!”

I bought the yarn at a new store in town. It’s called Happy Knits and is at 1620 SE Hawthorne. They have a lot(!) of Malabrigo yarn, and also carry Karabella and some Cascade. The shop is sleek and spare, and has a huge common room in the back. Sarah threw in the Della Q bag as a thank you. Nice!

Portland is blessed to have a lot of yarn stores with an amazing variety of yarns. I’m lucky to be in such a fiber mecca!

With the change in weather, I have a hankering to start a sweater, too. Start-itis abounds. What are you dreaming of knitting?

19 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, LYS, malabrigo