It’s nom time

I’m still working on part 2 of Knitting Self-Help Books, but in the meantime here’s a random recipe! As Mom says, I’m becoming a regular house wife – knitting, baking, cooking 😛 Except that I work. It’s a miracle that I manage to blog.

Anyway.

When I was little, there was only one way my mom could get my brother to eat broccoli: smother it in cheese and noodles. I loved it too – it was a favourite Sunday meal in our house.

Seeking to make it on my own, I realized it is perhaps a bit heavy on the fat. Below is the rendition I developed that is a little lighter on the arteries, but equally as delicious.

Mom’s Broccoli n’ Cheese Noodles

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 tbps margarine
3 tbps all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese.
¼ cup grated parmesan
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 large heads broccoli crowns, cut off close to stalk
1 ½ cups dried macaroni noodles, cooked and drained

Directions:

1) In a large pot bring enough water to cover broccoli to a boil. Add broccoli and let boil over medium-high heat until stems are easily punctured through with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain.

2) Meanwhile, melt margarine over low heat. Slowly sift flour into margarine, stirring constantly.

3) Add milk slowly while whisking mixture. Continue to whisk frequently over medium heat until mixture starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.

4) Reduce mixture to low heat. Add cheeses, garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper and stir until cheese is well dissolved.

5) Add broccoli to mixture and stir well to separate florets. Let mixture simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally

6) Combine with noodles in a large dish. Stir well. Serve hot!

Knitting self help books? Pt 1

Yes indeed! Once I discovered this genre existed, I went on a bit of a reading binge. As some of you may recall from a post or two a while back, the why of knitting is a big interest of mine. By the “why” of knitting, I mean what is is that compells so many of us to habitually reach for our needles.

My Grandmother's Knitting: Family Stories and Inspired Knits from Top DesignersMy Grandmother’s Knitting: Family Stories and Inspired Knits from Top Designers by Larissa Golden Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The stories are short reads, but very cute and inspiring. It was neat to get a glimpse into the lives and development of some big names in knitting design – I especially love the family photos. Most of the patterns are nothing out of the ordinary, but all are something I would make, and a few are even quite innovative.

The Knitting Way: A Guide to Spiritual Self-DiscoveryThe Knitting Way: A Guide to Spiritual Self-Discovery by Linda Skolnik
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The unique concept behind this book drew me in. While I was not as blown away by any profound revelations as I have been with similar works, there are moments that made me ponder and I think it’s worth a read. I found I actually quite enjoyed reading about the authors’ stories and experiences of discovering knitting’s importance in their spiritual lives. I found that the philosophical discussions, guided meditations and the like were a little overkill for my tastes. The patterns are nothing to write home about and are perhaps a little dated.

Zen and the Art of Knitting: Exploring the Links Between Knitting, Spirituality, and CreativityZen and the Art of Knitting: Exploring the Links Between Knitting, Spirituality, and Creativity by Bernadette Murphy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When it comes to inspirational or spiritual books I prefer those authors who illustrate their points by story and example rather than just waxing philosophic or religious ad nauseum. Hence, I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend Bernadette Murphy’s book to any knitter (or any crafter, for that matter) who enjoys a good story and is interested in delving into the ‘deeper’ reasons behind their yarn obsession.

All Wound Up: The Yarn Harlot Writes for a SpinAll Wound Up: The Yarn Harlot Writes for a Spin by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Yarn Harlot? Yes, I know I recently mentioned the Yarn Harlot’s latest endeavour and my thoughts on it here, but I had to include it in this list. And yes, it arguably doesn’t fit into the topic of “self help books,” but this is MY blog, so whatever. Really, it’s a comedy: a quick, light read that made my commutes fly by. At moments I actually had to laugh out loud, which probably made other subway passengers move clear of me… Yet what kept me reading were the little nuggets of wisdom and revelations about life and knitting’s place in it.

Mindful Knitting: Inviting Contemplative Practice to the CraftMindful Knitting: Inviting Contemplative Practice to the Craft by Tara Jon Manning
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found this to be similar to The Knitting Way but more succinct, weighing in at only 136 pages. Tara Jon Manning explores how knitting can help one practice the buddhist meditative approach known as mindfulness. This makes perfect sense, considering the quiet, contemplative nature of the activity. This books sheds light on why so many knitters describe knitting as a soothing, comforting pastime. More discussion on how a state of mindfulness relates to creativity would be interesting.

Pucks n’ Purls pt 2

So, it turns out my friends and co-attendees to Pucks n’ Purls, Alia and Ilana, took much more pictures than I did. Check them out for a fun read.

Not much to report this week as I worked most days, including the weekend. However I did manage to get out for a girls’ night and ended up taking home some hand-me-downs from a friend who shares my size. Included was this shirt with a crocheted top edge:

I remember thinking “ooh, pretty crochet” before tossing it in the laundry hamper. It wasn’t until I was folding the laundry that I remembered something that the Yarn Harlot had taught me in her most recent book, All Wound Up (you can read my review here): all crochet is done by hand, ALL of it.

Here’s a close-up. Just LOOK at those stitches. And in sock weight. On a mass-produced t-shirt. Dear god I feel inadequate.

Also, LOOK! more colours are manifesting in the Lanesplitter! I think I can live with this. Albeit I’m not the hugest fan of the lime green that the purple is giving way too… :S

Pucks, purls, cats, and bears, oh my

Saturday was Pucks n’ Purls!
Hockey, beer, poutine, and freezing weather. A very Canadian, and very enjoyable, day!

Lanesplitter has been started! Unfortunately I was several rows in before I realized that my interpretation of “use two balls of variegated yarn that start with different colours” had resulted in something that looks like a Christmas elf barfed it up. I kept knitting, figuring it’s variegate, it’ll change soon. Nope. Here it is JUST starting to change colours. I’m stubbornly keeping my fingers crossed that this will turn out, feeling too invested to frog it. It’s just one small corner in the grand scheme of things… right?Where are all the other colours going to make an appearance?!

At least the wrist warmers are coming along alright.Yay!

A colleague wanted to know if I could knit a lapel pin after this design

Yeah, she’s a big fan.

It just didn’t lend itself to a 2×2 piece – the smaller details would not have shown through. So I ended up with this embroidery/needlepoint-on-canvas-type-thing.

Does it work as a likeness? You be the judge.

I haven’t mentioned Desmond in a while, a whole 2-3 posts even. So here’s an update.

Seeing double? One of our neighbours has a black cat that looks almost identical to Desmond. I’m hoping Desmond doesn’t grow much more, or we truly won’t be able to tell them apart.

It’s a daily routine: they do this sort of staring contest for a while, and then…

they wrestle? Yup, wrestling. I’ve never seen behaviour like it, but they don’t fight – there’s no hissing or scratching, and any biting doesn’t break the skin. They just… wrestle. Maybe it’s a black cat thing?

On the Sunday we went antiquing out in Norfolk county. I found this cute little handknit bear from Ireland:

I didn’t buy it only because I don’t have enough space for all my yarn-related stuff as it is. I did think it was worth taking a picture of though. Is it bad that I also thought “I can do better”?

Licence to shop

The last cowl of my cowl kick is done!

I’m really happy with it. Better pictures of the others to come soon.

In other, sadder news my bag of notions (more of a sort of pencil case I carry with my knitting) went missing sometime in the last week. It either fell out of my bag (I doubt it) or got snatched by one of the kids I teach to knit/crochet. To be fair, if it was the kids they may not have known better since I let them use yarn that I bring. I do tell them that I can only give them their first ball and that the needles are loaners, plus the notions were in my own personal bag… Ah well, at least it means they’re really taking to needlecrafts?

Though you know, sometimes it’s not so bad when someone steals your stuff… I got to go shopping for more!

Which means I caved and bought the Knit Picks Emergency keychain I’d wanted forever. It was only 3 bucks, but I couldn’t justify putting in an order of yarn I really don’t need in order to get the free shipping. BUT it turns out Knit-O-Matic carries Knit Picks in-store, and they had the keychain in stock 😀

And then it was off to Mary Maxim to top off my toy box notions necessities.

The darning needles come with a case!

And let’s finish it off with a gratuitous shot of Desmond. I’m attending the OLA Conference this week and he apparently wants to come with me, having made himself quite comfortable in my conference bag.

Albeit I’m a little peeved with him at the moment. The little bugger has figured out that there is a pill inside the “pill pocket” treats he’s been gobbling up for a week, and has now decided to refuse to eat them. I tried inserting them in a piece of ham instead and he just ate around the pill. ARGH. Any suggestions? Feel free to comment.

Since I love folklore so much, I have to reblog this. Enjoy!

katknit's avatarDances with Wools

Baa, baa, black sheep,

Have you any wool?

Yes marry, have I,

Three bags full;

One for my master,

One for my dame,

But none for the little boy

Who cries in the lane.

This nursery rhyme probably dates to the Middle Ages, when England was the major player in the international wool trade. A tax had been placed upon wool, with 1/3 going to the”master” (local lord), 1/3 to the “dame” (the church), and the rest (or none?) to the “little boy” in the lane (local farmer). In recent years it has become a subject of controversy, with early childhood teachers converted black sheep to rainbow sheep to avoid any hint of racism.

The color of the sheep in the rhyme must also be of some significance. Black wool is difficult to dye and would therefore seem to have little use in making textiles. However many shepherds prized black…

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Pure pleasure (sort of)

Now that the holidays – and the frantic knitting that invariably accompanies that time of the year – are over I can focus on knitting for, you know, fun.

The blasted driving gloves I made for mom ate up most of my time :S The yarn was horrible to work with, and when I was finally done knitting them, I then had to adhere faux-leather grips to the palm. I’ll never be doing that again, but damn it if I’m not proud of myself. Mom seems pleased with them too.

In my last post I talked about my plan to make a lace or fingering weight version of the heart keychain into a heart pendant. Finally I’m done! After attaching the jump ring, I dipped it in a clear non-toxic (or at least relatively low toxic) resin. I used an outdoor grade (so water/sweat would not eat through it) version meant as a top coat for acrylic paint. I sponged off the excess before letting it dry. It seemed to work well. The heart is now hard, and is also not bothering my skin. I think I’ll end up making a second one and then giving them to my nieces.

Just started this cowl for my grandma the other day. Really enjoying how fast and prettily the Estelle Drake is knitting up. Apparently Desmond likes it too.

I also have a coworker who’s asked for something along the lines of these:

fingerless gloves

And then, it will finally be time to make something for yours truly! So excited for Lanesplitter 🙂 Made with Noro Silk Garden. Mmmm Noro.

An Ode to Men in Sweaters

So awesome, I have to share.

Grace Danielson Perry's avatarA Confederacy of Spinsters

Friends, this morning I’m feeling very passionate about a pressing world issue: Men in sweaters. In the Northern Hemisphere, winter is firmly upon us. Cardigans, gloves, and scarves have been unearthed from their attic boxes.

I am thrilled.

Winter is my favorite fashion season. I admit, this is helped by the relatively mild Texas winters. We don’t see a lot of blizzards around here. (I know, you just gasped in surprise, didn’t you?) What we do see is the temporary rebirth of classic men’s fashion. Suddenly, guys are busting out sweaters to wear over their polos and scarves to wrap around their necks. Men who normally wear t-shirts are donning rarely seen pea coats, for heaven’s sake! This is a heterosexual fashion-loving woman’s dream come true.

Example: A few weeks ago, Mae and I were eating at our favorite spot (hummus to-die-for, freshly baked scones, and an Anthropologie next door…

View original post 539 more words

Ah, the cold!

Ah the cold, I love you and hate you at the same time. I may be stuck in the house with an epic cough, afraid to go outside lest the -25°C (that’s -13°F for you American folk) gusts worsen it, but then again there is something nice about genuinely having a day with nothing to do but hunker down inside while the snow drifts prettily onto the windowsill with    andand my knitting. I’m even still in my PJs, I’m not gonna lie.

And luckily, there is no housework to do. I somehow had the foresight to do it all yesterday on our first day back after the holiday. In fact, we did more than housework, we also did a much-needed purge of stuff to send to the Sally Ann. One of the things we did? consolidate all of my books onto one bookcase. ONE. Those that know me will have an idea of how monumental an undertaking this was. Tears were shed. But look! it all fits now! (sort of)

I’d like to point out that one half of the entire top shelf (how appropriate, since my collection is ‘top shelf’ indeed, har har) is devoted to crafting (95% knitting). Obviously I have a book problem – which reminds me that you should all go read this

My problem also extends to loose-leaf pattern collecting as well. I have a file folder separated by pattern type. I know, it’s a tad on the crazy side, but don’t worry, I am normal to the extent that here is the yet-to-be-categorized pile –>

 

 

 

 

Alas, I have not been able to get much knitting or crochet accomplished over the holidays. Though I did manage to whip this off on Dec 23rd to go with my brother’s girlfriend’s gift.

It’s cute, in squishy 3D, and takes no time at all! I’m so happy with it, I’m making two in lace weight to make into necklace pendants. I may go cross-eyed, but it’ll be worth it.  The pattern is free on Ravelry or here.

What I spent most of my holidays doing is driving to various functions. A highlight was our Dec 31st drive to Newmarket to take advantage of the last day of Unwind‘s Boxing Week sale. What a great store! And a very pretty drive, even with (or maybe because of) the fog.

Between Unwind and Michael’s, I got some pretty good yarn sales over boxing week, including Noro for the Lanesplitter KAL the Toronto 20-Somethings are going to be doing soon. Extra surprising because I only had 15 minutes at Unwind before we had to leave for the next stop on our New Years tour :S Definitely have to go back.

Behold, my booty:

Plus of course there are the gifts I got from my family, who know me well enough to know exactly what to get me 😉

Happy Holidays indeed

I love where I work. One of my lovely coworkers and fellow crafter offered to crochet a cat bed for Desmond. Voilà le résultat fabuleux!

Verdict = success

Last night the Knitters’ Drop-In program that I run at the library had their holiday party. I was pleasantly surprised to be given some lovely gifts and cards! I’m so touched 🙂