FO Friday: FO-la-la-la-la, la la la la

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!  I think I can confidently say that mine was a successful one.  Mountains were skied, busy airports were traversed, traditional potato salad was assembled, and most of the present-crafting deadlines were met.

Which brings me to finally getting to reveal some of the projects I've been working on recently that made their way under the Christmas tree.  Now that they have been unwrapped, I can share them with you.  First, I made a scarf to match the beanie I knit for my grandfather last year:

I used the same kind of yarn (except I didn't hold it double the way I did for the hat) and the same sort of almost-rib pattern.  I really like the stitch, it's very simple, all you do is make sure you have an multiple of four plus one as your number of stitches (I had 33) and then K2, P2 to the end of every row, knitting the last stitch.  It makes for a very pick up and knit project, and I like the texture of the end result.

And for my grandmother, a pillow:

I snapped up the fabric with the adorable fox cuddling on a sofa seat during the Shop Hop earlier this year.  The orange with tiny white polka dots was a fat quarter I picked up at Jo-Ann Fabric.  With the help of my much-more-accomplished-sewer mom this was a really easy entrée into the sewing world for me.

On this side of the Atlantic, I did some more knitting, but in a different category than I'm used to: baby. My step-sister (that is such a weird term, by the way, it still doesn't sound right, although it is much easier to get out than my-dad's-girlfriend's-daughter was) is due to have a baby boy in March, and I confirmed with a few people that making something for her son-to-be was an acceptable Christmas gift.

Then it was a torturous matter to decide what to make for him.  Girls are so much easier, let me tell you.  Pink, cute, fluffy, these are places that my mind naturally goes to.  It's harder for me to navigate the theoretical things a still-theoretical boy might like.  And then you want to make something sort of cute, but still useful, nothing that's going to become the bane of the mother's existence, like anything that requires special care when washing or involves things that might present a choking hazard.

I settled on this pattern from Lion Brand for a sort of blanket-meets-soft-toy bunny.  But because I never make things easy on myself, I decided that I wanted a monkey instead of a bunny.  Partly because of my uneasiness around wanting to make something boy-appropriate, partly because I have more of a personal connection to monkeys.  As a kid, and still to this day, my dad will sometimes quip in Czech, 'Opice jses a opice zustanes', which roughly translates to 'You are a monkey and you'll stay a monkey', and more roughly translates to 'You are silly'.  And the result of my silliness:

Cute, right?  The body is super-simple, and it's amazing how crocheting a pair of ears and a face will transform a blank round shape into a monkey's head.  I even gave him little hairs by strategically placing some of the ends as I was weaving them in.

It feels so good to show something finished instead of just alluding vaguely to progress made on secret projects.  How about you?  Did you finish all of your Christmas crafting in time?  Any IOUs under the tree?

FO Friday: Holiday Cards

I hinted the other week about some crafting that I did while at work.  I love that I work somewhere with a gym/activity center, and I love even more that there are people who work there who want to host holiday crafting time.  I took advantage of it and made these:

Aren't they cute?  They are my first real foray into this kind of sewing, and even though they aren't perfect, I'm proud of them, with their blanket stitching, beading, and French knots again.  They won't be going on my tree however.  I sent them in three holiday cards to some Ravellers.  And because I'm, well, me, these weren't just any cards.  They were chocolate cards.

After the holidays last year, I found these silicon molds for holiday bark and brittle on sale and I have been counting down the days until I could try them out for myself.  All you have to do is melt some chocolate, spread it into the mold, let it harden, then pop them out and cut out the bars.  I started with a layer of white chocolate with red and green sprinkles, then a mix of milk and semisweet chocolate with some dried fruit and nuts.  And it worked!  Yay!

I put each bar in a plastic baggy and attached it to a blank card.  Underneath that, I decoupaged a print out of a photograph I had already taken of that chocolate bar.  So that way they have a chocolate card, but after they eat the chocolate, they still have something to leave on the mantle.

I haven't really sent out any other cards this season, even though I really should.  There's just so much to do this time of year it's hard to organize a mass mailing.  Do you send out cards to a long list of friends and family for the holidays?

For more FOs, go to Tami's Amis.

WIP Wednesday: If a picture is worth a thousand words...

…then can I add this to my NaNoWriMo word count for the day?

This is my belated haul from the Kid 'n Ewe fiber festival two weekends ago.  Going clockwise from the top-left:

1. Brooks Farm Riata in an 8 ounce mega-skein of Sherbet (yum)
2. Heavenly Fiber Stardust Sock in Optimist (what a great name!)
3. Wooly Wonka Ceridwen Sock in Bazinga (I happened to be wearing all of these colors that day, so it was meant to be)
4. Knitting Rose Yarn Blossom in Thunderstorm (one of those gorgeous grays that has shades of other colors peeking through)

The irony is that I have all of this yarn, but this week I faced a terrible thing: too little yarn.  I ran out of Knit Picks Imagination in the final section of my Fruit Loopy Shawl.  This puts me in a terrible mood, even though I should be able to order another skein of this colorway, and it gives me an excuse to make a Cyber Monday order.  I just hate that I can't get it done now, you know?  After all of the time you spend working on something, it's frustrating to be so fundamentally stumped in the final phases.

But I comforted myself by looking at all of the other pretty yarns. And then I distracted myself by casting on another project.  I could have started tackling the seaming on my cardigan, but I needed to just start knitting something, and the sweater is going to mean figuring out something I've never done, and starting out frustrated by yarn shortage is not good.  Better to save that for Thanksgiving amongst crafty friends and delicious food.

I cast on another Christmas present, so unfortunately I can't share anything about it.  But so far it's coming together quickly.  And hopefully there will be plenty of yarn.  Or someone might be getting a frustrated pile of frogged yarn in their stocking.  Kidding!

For more WIP Wednesday posts, go to Tami's Amis.

Santa's little crafter

Okay, it's time for you blog readers to unwrap my Christmas knitting, now that the recipients have.

First, I had two projects that had a deadline earlier than Christmas Eve, because I had to ship them off to the UK for my grandparents.  I knew as soon as I saw this pattern for a fox scarf, I thought of my grandmother.  For years now, they've had a fox come visit in the evening for whom they have left a small plate of food, either dog food or some dinner leftovers.  So I thought this would make a perfect scarf just for draping over her chair in the living room to have on hand when there was an extra chill.  I used Cascade 220 in a deep rust color, and I love how it turned out.

Isn't he cute?

And then, I whipped up a beanie hat that I thought would be useful for keeping my grandfather's head warm on wintery walks.  The pattern was easy to follow, and I really like the texture it created and how all of the colors mixed together.

I think my favorite thing about these knits is that they are both inspired by happy times I have spent with them, going for walks to feed the squirrels in Nonsuch Park and keeping a lookout for the fox in the garden before going to bed.

For those giftees who live in Texas, however, there is less need for knitwear.  So I had to get a little more creative.  Even if people don't need them, their stuff probably does, right?  So I made a Kindle cozy using this cable-rific pattern.

I feel like, because it's a relatively small project, I wanted to up the ante with some cables, which I haven't done too many of.  I love the effect, but I generally find the action of putting stitches onto the cable needles, knitting, and then knitting from the cable needles, a little fiddly.  But after a while I got used to it, and it's even a little easier to 'see' the pattern than with some lace patterns, which is nice.

Also, this was the project that I mentioned as using the magic loop technique.  I liked it, it reduced the fiddle-factor that I would have had using DPNs (plus cables, it would have been more needles than I really want to handle at once).  On a scale of skill, it's still something that I can just read by rote.  That is, I can read the directions, or watch the YouTube videos, and follow along.  But I don't necessarily understand the mechanics of it.  I'll  probably try, though, just to be able to use it for mitts and hats.  And possibly for venturing into the brave new world of socks...

Anyway, the final gift I have to share wasn't knit at all.  Rather, it was sewn.  My dad is always picking up these simple, small drawstring bags when he's in Tokyo.  He wasn't able to find that many on our last trip, so I thought that this might perhaps be the elusive present that combines practicality and personalization.

So with the sewing skills of my mom, and some train fabric I found at Joann Fabrics, he got his own special set.

I must admit, I still have one Christmas present out pending.  I'm spinning some yarn for my mom, and all I was able to present her with was one completed cop.  But at least now that I've revealed that it is for her, she can let me know how she wants it plied, etc.

Whew, I feel so much better, now that I'm not keeping crafting secrets from you all!

Cooking outside of the cubicle

The holidays mean getting a much-needed break from work.  But along with not having to deal with meetings, e-mails, and other office calamities, it means not getting to bake treats each week.  It's probably good to get a break from this as well, just to keep from getting 'burnt out'.  It also gives me a chance to do something other cooking for the holidays.  Specifically, savory.  Over the past two weeks or so, I've set aside my cake mixes and chocolate chips and done some different dishes in the kitchen I'd like to share.

I already told you about the cheesy muffins I made for the Yarnorama holiday party, which were delicious.  In that same post, I also mentioned the potato salad that is made every year, without fail, for Christmas dinner.  Even if, for whatever reason, it cannot be made for the actual December 24th evening, it is always a part of the belated celebrations.  Without giving away any family secrets, I can share that the salad basically consists of:

• Potatoes
• Mayonnaise
• Frozen veggies (corn, peas, carrot, etc.)
• Onion
• Boiled eggs
• Bologna sausage
• Pickles (and a little pickle juice)

All mixed together in correct, though inexact, proportions, and stored in the fridge.  Sometimes it's that last part that can be the most complicated, because we are talking about a lot of potato salad.  This year, it completely filled a 6 quart bucket.  We are serious about our potato salad.

Another serious issue: Brussels sprouts.  I might have an addiction.  I was basically uninterested in them for most of my life, but maybe a few years ago I rediscovered them.  And then I made them using this slow cooker recipe from Stephanie O'Dea, and they went from just another vegetable to bona fide craving.  I'm considering how to put dijon Brussels sprouts into some kind of tart shell or flaky pastry crust for a possible birthday cake.  I don't know what it is exactly, but I love them.  So those have featured highly in my holiday eats as well, sharing side dish space with the potato salad and being the first of the leftovers to disappear.

With my mom on Christmas day, we decided to tackle something other than the traditional turkey, and instead chose toad.  Toad in the hole, that is.  In the US, toad in the hole is usually a breakfast dish of toast with a fried egg in the middle (literally, there's a hole in the toast that the egg is cracked into in the frying pan).  In the UK, however, neither eggs nor toast are involved.  Instead, it is basically sausages baked into Yorkshire pudding in a casserole dish.  Having had this in the UK, Mom and I had attempted it only once before, to disappointing results when the 'hole' didn't quite rise around the 'toad'.  This time around, we followed this recipe with great results.  The only changes we made were to use chicken sausage, and we cut the links into quarters (once in half, and once lengthwise) to give more even coverage of sausage in the dish.  It was really good, and now I'm actually wondering about the possibility of bringing the two versions of the dish together with some divots in the casserole and semi-baking some eggs in the final few minutes in the oven.

But next week it's back to work.  And I'm already plotting my baked treat to start off 2013 right.  For now, I can only say: sprouts will not be involved.

O, Tannenbaum

Before I ever began celebrating the holidays with Yarnorama, Bastrop was an annual stop at this time of year.  For years, it was where we went to chop down our own Christmas tree at Loma Alta tree farm.

Unfortunately, last year's fires, which burned thousands of acres in the hill country, also wiped out Loma Alta.  I suspected as much, but wasn't sure until I did a further Google search this year when thinking about where the tree would come from this year.

Here's what I found (hopefully the video works):



So this year instead of a trip to Bastrop, we took a trip to HEB and found a tree there.  I'm going to hold out hope that they really will rebuild the farm, and maybe in a few years' time I'll be back, with my little handsaw, ready to return to this particular tradition.