Monday, December 31, 2007

First Campanula FO

I finally finished my first Campanula and I don't know when I've seen a prettier sock.


On to second sock...

2007 FO's

  • Baseball Socks

  • Brea Bag

  • Camo PJs

  • Cassock - for Spring Music Recital

  • Crochet Border Baby Blanket

  • Dish Cloth - 1

  • Dish Cloth - 2

  • Dish Cloth - 4 more

  • Dish Cloth - 8

  • Dish cloth - 9

  • Dish Scrubber

  • Dobok Ornament - 1

  • Dobok Ornament - 2

  • Drop Stitch Sweater for Karen's Birthday

  • Easter Sweater - Nothing but a T

  • Freezer Paper T-shirts

  • Lutheran World Relief Quilt - 1

  • Lutheran World Relief Quilt - 2

  • Lutheran World Relief Quilt - 3

  • Mom's Birthday Booties

  • Nativity Stable

  • NC State Afghan

  • North Country Hat - for chemo patient

  • North Country Hat - for the Man-Cub

  • Oversize top remake

  • Pajamas

  • Pink Prayer Shawl

  • Plain Vanilla Pullover

  • Prayer Shawl

  • Swimsuit

  • Tae Kwon Do Socks for Me

  • Tae Kwon Do Socks - Navy

  • Tennis Socks

  • Toque

  • Tough Bunny Jacket - remake

  • Triangle Booties

  • Twinkletoes

  • Vader Costume

  • Youth Socks
  • The Weekend was a blurr

    I spent the weekend at a Scouting Outing - and for the uninitiated - that's where about 1600 scouts from all over the state converge at a hockey game...

    ...but first - there was a waterpark party to make sure everyone was good and tired before we even got to the game...

    ...The Man-Cub loved this vortex - me - not so much...
    ... the lighter you are....
    ...the more times you go around...
    ...and around...
    ...and around...
    ...whoops almost went in that time... Whew...
    ...one more time around - if that's your goal - and for the Man-Cub it is...
    and then finally - down the chute...

    and out the other side...
    This was our hut...
    the Man-Cub - left front row - waiting for the huge deluge of water to come pouring down from the top...

    He's sitting in the middle now as the water falls...
    ...Shooting the water cannons - they shoot a long way and many an unspecting passerby was 'hit'...
    Then we went to the game room to waste some money...


    ....and 'buy' some 'junk' with our 504 tickets...

    Then on to the hockey game...
    ...the first goal of the evening - UND led for most of the game but lost in the third period after trying what I thought was a strange tactic - they kept the goalie off the ice so they could field an extra player and lost two points as UNH immediately scored on the undefended goal - weird...
    ...zamboni machines - with cub scouts riding...
    game over - final score - UND=4 UNH=7
    Then after listening to a lecture about what we could and couldn't do - we skated for 1 1/2 hours on the olympic ice.
    This is the blind leading the blind as one of our cubs asked me to 'teach' him to skate - this is really funny because I can barely skate myself...
    The Man-Cub however - flies across the ice...

    After another 1 and 1/2 hours of skating on the hockey arena ice with movies playing overhead - they sounded the bell at 1:45 AM for us to find our campsites - our assigned space was behind the bleachers...
    ....there are about 1000 scouts spread out across the floor...

    Lights out was at 2:00 AM but it was at least 3:30 before everyone settled down and went to sleep. Lights on was at 7:00 - I really need more sleep than that - but I had packed us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakie (we're scouts so we were prepared) and a thermos of teeccino and we hit the road - I think most of the boys slept all the way home...

    Friday, December 28, 2007

    Teeny Tiny Dobok Pattern

    Make one for all the Martial Artists in your life...



    Cast on 13 stitches on US#4 needles.

    Work in Stockinette Stitch (Knit one row - purl one row) for 18 rows.

    Row 19 - Knit 6 stitches and turn work.
    Row 20 - Purl 2 together and purl to end.
    Row 21 - Knit 5 stitches and turn work.
    Row 22 - Purl 2 together and purl to end.
    Row 23 - Knit 4 stitches and turn work.
    Row 24 - Purl 2 together and purl to end.
    Row 25 - Knit 3 stitches and cut yarn.

    for the other side of the V-neck:

    Row 19 - Attach yarn to the remaining stitches and knit 2 together and knit to end.
    Row 20 - Purl to last 2 stitches and purl 2 together and turn work.
    Row 21 - knit to end and turn work.
    Row 22 - Purl to last 2 stitches and purl 2 together and turn work.
    Row 23 - knit to end and turn work.
    Row 24 - Purl to last 2 stitches and purl 2 together and turn work.
    Row 25 - knit to end and turn work.

    for the back:

    Purl across 3 stitches then cast on 7 stitches using a single yarn cast-on technique - then purl across the three stitches for the other side - you should now have 13 stitches again.

    Continue in stockinette stitch for 25 rows for the back and cast off.

    for the sleeve:

    Fold the dobok in half lengthwise and find the center. With right side facing pick up and knit 13 stitches centered on this side. Work in Stockinette stitch for 22 rows and cast off.

    Repeat this process on the other side.

    Finishing:

    Fold the dobok in half at the shoulder and stitch from the end of the sleeve to 3 rows above the bottom. Repeat for the other side. Weave in all loose threads and turn the dobok right side out.

    For a Black Belt Dobok:

    Using black yarn single crochet around the neck opening.

    For all lower Belts:

    Using white yarn single crochet around the neck opening.

    For the Belt:

    Make a chain of about 50 loops using the color of the belt you wish to replicate and attach it with one stitch to the front center of the dobok - then take the ends to the back and back to the front where they cross over the belt and get tied with an 'arrow' pointing right.

    For the purple trim belt (purple with white) Chain 50 then with white yarn backstitch through the centers of the chains.

    In our Association - there are several solid color belts - White - Orange - Yellow - Green - Blue - and Purple
    then Purple Trim - which is purple and white
    Then Brown and Brown trim - which is brown and white
    Then Red and Red Trim - which is of course red and white
    Then Black and there are 4 degrees of Black belt - each signified by a gold bar - to Master.

    Other associations use different colors and some of the trim belts have black instead of white - some even use a Camouflaged - not sure what that one stands for as all of the colors have 'meaning'.

    Thursday, December 27, 2007

    Microwave Potato Chips

    I got a new mandoline for Christmas - so the Man-Cub and I had to try it out right away.

    It makes me a little bit nervous to watch him use a mandoline - even this picture...

    We used the thinest insert to slice a potato paper thin - like real potato chips - but I think the middle one might make a thicker tastier chip - we'll try that soon...

    We just followed the directions here http://www.recipezaar.com/47195 for Uncle Bill's Microwave Potato Chips except that it didn't take anywhere near 7 - 8 minutes - it was like 2 1/2 minutes in our micro...

    We only added a bit of salt - but we're comtemplating many other combinations - BBQ - a thin soak in some vegan ranch dressing...

    These were so yummy - go try some now - it only takes a couple of minutes - really.

    Wednesday, December 26, 2007

    Tabouleh

    Tabouleh is usually a summertime dish for me - but I wanted something light and refreshing after all the rich food we'd been eating. This recipe was scribbled in French on a 'life's a beach' notecard for me by Helene - a graduate student assistant to one of my professors when I was taking graduate courses at Chapel Hill - but I don't need the card anymore - I know the recipe by heart.

    1 cup of french couscous
    2 cups of hot water
    1/3 cup olive oil
    1/3 cup lemon juice
    20 shakes each of salt pepper cumin and parsley
    1 onion diced small
    1 tomato diced
    1 can of black olives drained

    Way back then (about 1985 or 86) this was served with plain yogurt and raspberries. I've tried lots of tabouleh recipes but this simple one is still my favorite.

    A Perfect Christmas

    A perfect Christmas would begin when my lazy eyes opened to the early morning light reflecting with a hint of blue off of the snow, and then I would hear two little feet (not so little any more) hit the floor in another room and come pattering up the hallway, quietly opening the door and coming around to my side of the bed to nuzzle me awake (I'm pretending to be asleep still) with whispers of 'I'm ready to go open presents now'...then climbing into bed for a quick snuggle. Then the Man would start a pot of coffee (Teeccino) brewing to make the house smell awake, and the Man-Cub would dump his stocking out on the floor to find nuts, an orange, an apple, some small candies and a large candy cane, and a couple of small wrapped presents. He would tear into these while the Man and I sip some coffee on the couch and knowing in advance all the eating we'd be doing - we would start light with Cheerios and bananas. Then the Man-Cub would sort all the presents into piles for each person and the present opening would begin in earnest - with lots of ooohs and aaaahs and thank you's captured on video and film. Then all the new clothes would be tried on and oooh'ed and aaaah'ed over again and all of the wrappings would be sorted for recycling and carried to the bins in the garage. The breakfast dishes would be washed and a quick veggie burger lunch would be prepared complete with home made fries cut on a new mandoline...
    Then, it would be time to bundle up and play in the snow - more pictures would be taken and then we'd warm up and drink soy cocoa laced with peppermint and talk on the phone to family members far away...then we'd bundle up again and head to the snow hill and there'd be lots of people there trying out new sleds and snowboards...and a friend for the Man-Cub to sled/race with...then we'd come home for a warm bath and the 'Roast Beast' would be baking away in the oven beside the sweet potato casserole and the Angel Biscuits would be rising on the back of the stove and the whole house would smell all yummy and warm...the Man would watch an old Clint Eastwood movie and the Man-Cub and I would play a new computer game...then a pretty table would be set with the old blue and white dishes out of the china cabinet and we'd open a bottle of sparkling cider and toast a perfect Christmas and then we'd stuff ourselves full of good food and then stand in a row at the sink with the Man-Cub on a chair washing rinsing and drying the good dishes and putting them back in the China cabinet...then the Man-Cub would don new pajamas and slippers and sit in between his mama and papa on the sofa to watch Mary Poppins in the glowing light of a tree now bare underneath...then we'd all sigh a contented sigh and take our sleepy selves to bed...

    Tuesday, December 25, 2007

    Merry Christmas

    Bathroom and Laundry Room Knitting

    As Christmas got nearer and nearer and I realized that my presents wouldn't be finished on time - I stuck this little project in my pocket and went in the Bathroom and locked the door and knitted for a few minutes - then I rejoined the family. Then I announced that I was going to put in a load of laundry - locked the Laundry Room door and knitted for a few minutes while the washer was filling.

    I repeated this scenario a few of times today - because I really wouldn't know it was Christmas Eve if I didn't stay up until the middle of the night finishing some present...

    The second teeny tiny dobok ornament is finished - I'm not really happy with the purple trim belt - but I'll rework that later.

    and I really will post a pattern for this soon - it's a pretty quick little knit - if you have a martial artist in the family.

    I also painted this little guy in the Laundry Room.

    The Man-Cub is always looking at the little dog ornaments and tags and stickers and they never have any Parson Russell Terriers (or Jack Russells as they are known in the UK), but his ever resourceful Mom (me) managed to find a little resin Jack...
    This is what it looked like when I started (not my picture - I had not sneaked my camera into the laundry room with me)

    I had to paint over some of the black with white - and then paint Jack's little brown mask and the inside of his ears then paint the spots black (Jack's very spotted) and then go back and paint over that lightly with white - he's sort of like a roan...

    I'm really happy with how it turned out and I think the Man-Cub will be tickled...

    Monday, December 24, 2007

    Gingerbread House

    We actually made our Gingerbread House the same day as we made the Gingerbread Christmas Tree - I just never posted any pictures of it - we've been too busy and too many other fun things to post about. Not that this wasn't fun - of course it was...

    This is the mold - from Williams Sonoma - about as old as the Man-Cub - maybe 9 or 10 Christmases...

    I use my handy dandy little roller thingy to mash the dough into the mold...

    You bake 2 sets of this side...

    ...and one set of this side...

    The Man-Cub is getting to be quite good at the little icing squirter thingy and decided that a dusting of 'snow' was the only thing our house needed.

    Saturday, December 22, 2007

    Last Minute Hand-made gifts - and knitting in secret...

    I don't remember a Christmas when the Man-Cub didn't get pajamas - and this year will be no exception. When Mom came up in September she brought some camouflaged material - it's pretty thin so these will have to be summer pj's - that's ok 'though because his plaid flannel ones still fit fine. I did the same trick of just cutting around a pair of trousers to make the pattern - folding down the top and encasing some elastic (I even recycled the elastic from an old pair of underwear - YAY for recycling...)

    Just add an Army surplus t-shirt and you've got a pair of pajamas...

    ...but what's a new pair of pajamas without a new pair of slippers - the fact that it's 3 days 'til Christmas won't keep me from starting a new project. I remember seeing something like a folded up triangle slipper way back in the 70s (yes I'm that old...)

    ...and the fact that I don't have a pattern won't keep from starting a new project either...
    The Man-Cub and I went to see the Chipmunk movie today and I sat right beside him and worked on slippers to match his camo PJs. I started out knitting a white dishcloth - just like I always do at the theatre - then after the movie started and it was all nice and dark - I surreptitiously switched to the camo yarn and the slippers. These are super easy peasy lemon squeasy - and I will write out a pattern for them too. They are just a stockinette stitch square folded into a triangle and seamed up one side and about 2 inches up the other - then just fold over the top to make a little bootie.

    Then after the movie we went ice-skating for the first time this season. They finally filled the outdoor rink at the park - and it was a balmy 5 degrees above zero - so we came home from the movie and bundled up (really well) strapped on our skates in the warming house and hit the ice. I was quite a bit more unsteady than the Man-Cub - who hit the ice running - literally. But, I stayed upright and he did not (he's a still lot closer to the ground than I am and I was carrying a camera so I was being very careful).



    I'm wearing my Panta headband and new wristwarmers - I'll post a pattern for those soon too. (whew - I've got a lot of pattern writing to do...)

    Friday, December 21, 2007

    Teeny Tiny Dobok

    A Dobok is a Tae Kwon Do uniform - I knitted one as a gift for the Man-Cub's Tae Kwon Do instructors (not during TKD class). Last night was the last class before Christmas break and the Man-Cub gave them (a husband/wife team) this little Christmas Tree ornament.

    I just winged it - but I'm going to write out a pattern - I still have plans of making a solid white one for the Man-Cub - then I'll make a purple trim belt and he can change the belt to a red one (probably) for next Christmas and then it will be black after that...

    Thursday, December 20, 2007

    Lollipop - Lollipop - Ooooh - Lolli-lollipop

    Now - try and get that song out of your head...

    We always make Christmas Lollipops - the Man-Cub likes making them more than eating them...

    Our molds came from Williams Sonoma - and they are about as old as the Man-Cub...
    Just give them a spritz of oil...

    ...rubber band them together...

    ...mix up your sugary stuff...


    ...and fill the molds - after they've cooled enough to touch - pry them apart - a screwdriver works well for this - then pop them out and let them cool completely...

    Aren't they pretty...