Flours & Fibers

Moonlighting... at Knit & Knot!

2012-01-11T21:29:00.004-06:00

Last week, something very exciting happened. Bettendorf became home to the Quad Cities' newest yarn shop, Knit & Knot! Meet Joy Povich, the owner of Knit & Knot:

The above picture shows her placing the very first skein of yarn on the shelves built by her husband. As you can see, they placed a lot more yarn after that! (And this isn't the half of it!)

Yarn lines include:

Noro

Silk Garden
Taiyo Sock Yarn

Brown Sheep Company

Lanaloft
Burly Spun
Handpaint Originals
Serendipity
Wildfoote

Ella Rae

Classic
Heathers

Debbie Bliss

Cashmerino
Baby Cashmerino
Riva
Angel
Andes

And much, much more!

In the three years that I've lived here, I have to say that the knitting and crocheting community seems to have grown in leaps and bounds! This newest development is very exciting to me personally, because I will be working and teaching at this shop!

Location: 3359 Devils Glen Road, Bettendorf, IA
Hours of Operation: Tuesday-Friday 10am -8 pm, Saturday 10am - 5pm
My Hours: Thursday 5pm - 8pm, every other Saturday

So come visit tomorrow, to check out the new shop and stay to hang out and knit with me!

New Pathways for a Non-Sock Knitter

2012-01-08T17:19:00.002-06:00

Yesterday afternoon, I finished my second pair of socks ever, and the first pair that I will wear. And I will wear these often! I am a sock knitting convert!

At first, I though my aversion to sock knitting stemmed from the small gauge. But that doesn't make sense... I knit 5 pairs of fingerless mitts on size 2's with fingering weight alpaca. And I'm knitting a sweater of sock yarn on 1's. Then, awhile ago, while sorting laundry, it came to me. I only wear ankle socks or knee socks. Absolutely nothing in-between. So why did I knit the first pair to be mid-calf length? (I'd say the fact that I took a year-long break between the first and second sock might have been a hint that I wouldn't like them, but then that would mean that there are about 10 projects upstairs that I won't like once I finally finish them. And I know that's not true. It can't be.)

So on the way to Madison last week, I cast on for a pair of socks from a really neat skein of yarn I'd had in the stash for awhile. It was a skein of Ancient Threads Sock Yarn that I bought at the Elegant Ewe in Menominee, MI. Ancient Threads Farm Yarn is naturally dyed with botanical and insect based dyes. I used the yarn on the left in the top photo. I am still thinking about a project for the other skein.

After a few false starts (including tearing out an also completed sock to about 2 inches after the cast-on, I waited until we returned home, and dug out my borrowed (thanks, Mom!) copy of "New Pathways for Sock Knitters" by Cat Bordhi. This book is pure genious, and allows you to knit socks custom fit for your feet. I finished both socks in about 6 days, and also worked on other projects. That busted the myth in my head that socks took a long time to knit. So I now present you with proof that I did, in fact, knit and wear a pair of socks!

I knit these toe-up, starting with Judy Becker's Magic Cast-On, which my just be the most useful bit of information I gleaned from "New Pathways". That is saying something, as the book is chock-full of useful techniques and tips. I use this cast-on exclusively whenever a pattern calls for a provisional cast-on. It really is magic. I then used the Riverbed Master Pattern from the book, knit to the end of the heel, worked in the round for a few rows, throwing in a couple of short rows along the back, and topped them off with an I-Cord bind off. Check out my Ancient Threads Anklets Ravelry project page for all the details!

A very lucky knitter...

2012-01-03T20:41:00.000-06:00

Man, did I luck out this Christmas. My friends and family treated me to some fantastic knitterly gifts. (And I didn't even have to forward the Yarn Harlot's gift ideas!) Here is the haul:

In case you can't read all of the titles, pictured are:
Knitter's Almanac, The Commemorative Edition by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Knitting Around by Elizabeth Zimmermann
The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning
A Vogue Knitting Subscription!!!
Little Red in the City by Ysolda Teague
Knitting Around DVD with Elizabeth Zimmerman and Meg Swanson

I have had the Elizabeth Zimmermann and Alden Amos books on my list for a long time. I'm trying to add mostly tried and true knitting titles to my library. I really like reference style books to help me in my knitting, while still giving me the freedom to change things as I please. I just cannot follow a pattern to the letter, and EZ's creativity and writing style inspire me! I spend a lot of time at the Schoolhouse Press website. I can't get enough of their yarns and patterns!

That being said, sometimes the new intrigues me as well, and I have looked up Ysolda Teague's new book several times. It was a wonderful surprise!

I got another sweet surprise in the mail a few weeks before Christmas:

My Aunt Sue send me this adorable ornament. It is handmade and the yarn is handspun. It was a perfect addition to our first Christmas tree.

So thank you Mom, Colleen, Abby and Aunt Sue. Your gifts will be treasured!

Rebuttal

2011-08-13T22:12:00.004-05:00

Where Laura proves that knitted food-stuffs are actually adorable and irresistable.

First, let me just say that I do agree with Emily that baked goods made to look like knitting are totally awesome and impressive. Other than that though, I have to say, as a knitter, I was a bit put off by the rest of the post. Just kidding, but seriously, knitted food is way cute.

Exibits A- D:

Case closed.

P.S. Emily, does your aversion to wool extend to alpaca? If so, I want the sweater I knit you for your birthday back!!

When Flours and Fibers Meet

2011-08-12T21:23:00.001-05:00

A sensory adventure in which Emily discovers that food made to look like it has been knitted is adorable and knitted things made to look like food are horrifying.

So the subtitle of this blog describes us as "a blog about baking and knitting...only occasionally simultaneously." Yet, to date we haven't actually broached the "simultaneous" subject. You may be surprised to find out that there are quite a few instances in which the line between flour and fiber is blurred. Cookies that look like knitting patterns, yarn-based hamburgers, etc. And, *nerd alert,* I love doing research. So I did the dirty work for you and compiled a collection of links related to the subject.

First up, the cupcakes that inspired this post. I stumbled upon them over a year ago and fell in love. Apparently I'm not the only one; Martha Stewart also thinks they're a good thing. The cupcakes feature marzipan yarn balls, sweaters, scarves and more. So cute! Check out the post from VeganYumYum's blog here.

In keeping with the cupcake theme, we'll move on to knit cupcakes. These are basically their own genre within knitting, nestled somewhere between hats and sweaters. There are way too many examples to link to every one, but I think this one is incredible. It's made to look like it has dripping frosting and sprinkles! This post from mydeco also features some beautiful knitted cupcakes. You have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the post, but that's ok, because there are pictures of lots of other knit things to keep you occupied on the way down.

I have to admit, cupcakes are pretty much where my enjoyment of knit food ends. The rest I find pretty gross. I've always been pretty sensory defensive, and I still can't stand the feel of wool (no one tell Laura!). For some reason the cupcakes don't bother me, but any other type of foodstuff rendered in yarn just makes me imagine a mouthful of itchy yarn-ness. And when it comes to food, I'm definitely a texture person. Now, I don't want to offend you, hypothetical food knitter, by being mildly repulsed at the sight of your handiwork. I think what you're doing is cool, in a somewhat repugnant sort of way. Just not my thing. If knit food is your bag of wool, you might want to check out these pictures or maybe these books:

To end the post on a happy note, here's a cool tutorial about how to create the knitted pattern with icing and a picture of some tiny knitting-themed cut-out cookies. Hopefully I'll get to try some of these ideas out soon!

Stay tuned for a post about Laura's wedding shower, which was last weekend. I'd hoped to write about it sooner, but...ahem...a certain co-contributor to this blog hasn't gotten the pictures to me yet. Everybody send her an angry email!

Sunday in the Garden

2011-07-27T23:56:00.002-05:00

As I've mentioned in a couple earlier posts, last summer I had the opportunity to intern at Miss Effie's Country Flowers and Garden Stuff in Donahue, Iowa. Almost exactly one year ago, I was frenziedly baking, weeding, and otherwise preparing for Miss Eff's Second Annual Ice Cream Social. Carrot cake, sour cream chocolate cake, German chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, lemon shortbread, lemon poppyseed Bundt cake, yellow cupcakes with fudge frosting, French vanilla ice cream, chocolate silk ice cream, a few batches of last-minute jam...I was in heaven, people! Read about last year's preparations here. And check out a picture of the fruits of my labor:

The ice cream social holds a very special place in my heart. The first one was in 2009, and it was the first time I ever went to Miss Eff's. I was seriously in a daze. At the risk of sounding saccharine, I'm going to say that the farm felt like home. And I don't mean like my childhood home, I mean like the abstract, can't-put-your-finger-on-exactly-why-it's-so-perfect "home." You can scroll down past the recipes on this post if you want to read about my maiden voyage to Miss Effie's. It was the start of a beautiful friendship!

As has also been mentioned a couple times, Laura's getting married in October! My mom and I had planned a trip to Iowa to help her get the invitations ready, and it just so happens that that trip coincided with Miss Eff's Third Annual Ice Cream Social! It was amazing to be back on the farm, but also kind of bittersweet. So much has changed! Take Miss Eff's retail shop, the Summer Kitchen, for instance:

What the Summer Kitchen looked like when I left...photo credit Cathy Lafrenz

What an amazing sign!

The Summer Kitchen today

It was great to see how far the farm has come, and visiting with Cathy and Cliff is always a treat. They raised over $500 for their local food pantry at this event! But for Laura, nothing topped the goats from Zen Goaties:

Laura getting in touch with her motherly side...

If you'd like to read some other points of view about the day, check out these blogs:

That's all for today, folks! I'll leave you with my favorite picture of Miss Eff's. I took it last summer after a long day of weeding. Now before you go thinking I'm a photography genius, the whole hazy thing was an accident. I actually thought I broke my camera, because all the pictures were turning out like that. Turns out I had left my camera sitting in the grass and the lens got all dewy, resulting in that dreamlike look. Gotta love happy accidents!

A Recipe to Make You Appreciate Mom's Tuna Casserole

2011-07-23T00:23:00.001-05:00

Ever look through your cookbooks and come across a recipe that makes you wonder what the author was thinking? I have ~~too many~~ a lot of cookbooks, ranging from turn-of-the-century textbook-style references for homemakers to brand new tomes heralding the merits of tofu. Naturally, while perusing these cookbooks, I occasionally come across what I call a WTF recipe. This was exactly the case tonight as I leafed through my 1917 edition of The New Household Discoveries: an Encyclopedia of Recipes and Processes, edited by Sidney Morse. The book is 842 pages long (including the index) and offers sections like The Art of Correct Table Service, Economical Use of Meat in the Home, Candies and Candy-Making, and Prevention of Communicable Disease. If you need to know which fork goes where or how to counter hookworm disease, this is the reference for you. The recipe section comes complete with such appetizing headings as "Meat with Macaroni and Other Starchy Materials" (highlight recipes: Meat Cakes, Mock Wild Duck, Meat Salad).

In terms of WTF recipes, this book is rife with them. One in particular, however, caught my eye. Ladies and gents, allow me to introduce you to Chicken-and-Ham Mold. I hope I'm not violating any copyright laws by posting this, but honestly I can't imagine anyone wanting to actually take responsibility for this recipe.

Chicken-and-Ham Mold
From The New Household Discoveries with editor's comments (okay, they're my comments, but I imagine any self-respecting editor would respond in a similar fashion)

2 cupfuls cold chopped chicken (not off to a great start)
1 cupful chopped ham
1 cupful cold boiled macaroni (WHAT?!)
2 eggs
1 tablespoonful butter
1 cupful gravy (oh hell no)
pepper and salt (you sound like a fool. It's salt and pepper.)

Mix the chicken, ham, and macaroni (not happening), moisten (dirty, disgusting word that should never be used and especially not when referring to food) with the eggs, melted butter, and gravy, season highly (unless you're seasoning with Mrs. Dash magic de-disgustifying blend, don't bother). Butter a mold, pour the mixture in (ew ew ew ew), put on cover tightly (and don't EVER take it off), and boil two hours. Dip the mold into cold water for a minute and turn out on a hot dish (yes, because you don't want to ruin as gourmet a dish as this with a cold plate). Serve with tomato sauce (to someone you don't care for much at all).

So now you know what to make next time your in-laws visit. You're welcome!

What are some WTF recipes you've come across?

IMBY

2011-07-18T20:17:00.003-05:00

I've never been good at seeking out the positives. Born a pessimist, some of my earliest memories involve my mom asking why I always had to be so contrary. And so when it comes to my hometown, I all too often focus on what's wrong.

My whole life, I've been surrounded with murmurs of "There's nothing to do here," and "this town is so boring!" More than a few of those murmurs were uttered by me.

My mom always used to say, "Boredom is a choice." It was unbelievably annoying. Of course, she was right. Any place is boring if you don't look into what that place has to offer. And I probably wouldn't change how things happened, but it's almost embarrassing that I found my dream in Iowa, only to come home and discover a similar version of that dream right in my backyard. Funny how life works!

So what is this hometown dream? Peterman Brook Herb Farm in Porterfield. For those of you who don't know, Porterfield is in Northeastern Wisconsin...about 15 minutes from my house! I happened to find out about this farm just days before their annual Faerie Festival, an event that reminded me a lot of Miss Effie's market party, with numerous vendors and proceeds going to charitable organizations (none of Miss Eff's famous French silk ice cream, though!). Of course, I'll always be partial to Miss Eff's--it's impossible not to be after having spent so much time there weeding in triple-digit-with-the-heat-index temps. Er, I mean...after having found a second mother* in Cathy . My first time at Peterman Brook was not quite the same as my first time at the aforementioned flower farm, but it was very nostalgic to be back at a place so similarly aligned to Miss Effie's philosophy. And I'm always happy to go somewhere that allows me to unleash my inner ethnobotanist!

Though I'm no photographer, I did manage to snap a few pics of the grounds:

Vendor stalls flanking the soap shop

Coming up the drive. One of the most amazing porches I've seen...and how about that barn? SWOON.

Side view of the soap shop plus some herb gardens

Of course, we couldn't leave without picking up a couple souvenirs:

One of Peterman Brook's soaps...you can buy them here!


Laura's having a fall wedding...pending her approval, these may just end up in the centerpieces.

In addition to soap and mini pumpkins, you can find bath salts, essential oils, candles, and more. Like Peterman Brook on Facebook to stay up to date with their latest goings-on. And if you're looking for an excuse to break out the tutu and ferry wings that have been gathering dust in your attic since Halloween of [insert year you turned ten and begged mom for them and she said no but you cried at the store so she relented and then you ended up being a cheerleader anyway], mark your calendars for next year's Faerie Festival.

*My sister and I are those adopted daughters! Just a note, we have an amazing biological mom. But she lives in Wisconsin and at the time Laura and I both lived in Iowa. We needed a local motherly influence! Plus, Cath never enforced curfew.

Sorry If You Thought I Was Dead

2011-07-16T11:18:00.003-05:00

Howdy folks! It has been an embarrassingly long time since I've contributed to this little blog of ours. Truth be told, I haven't been doing much foodie-wise except drooling over other blog posts I've found via StumbleUpon (you think Facebook is a time-suck? HA. I scoff at your Facebook.).

The good news about my long hiatus is that I have lots of ideas for future posts, and lots to share with you, dear readers! Highlights may include (but are not limited to) my first trip to Europe, graduating from college(!), my first real job (pending actually getting a real job), grad school (pending a decision to go/where to go and selection of a course of study), Laura's wedding/shower, the opening of my new bakery (pending funding, a business plan, and growth of "a pair" large enough to actually do it), and, of course, my future exploits in the kitchen.

But today I will leave you with a link to a blog related to my most recent obsession--though it is, for now, only an obsession played out through the internet. Can you guess what it is? No, not that. It's decorated cookies! And I have seen few bloggers with as wide an array and as well-done an arsenal of decorated cookies as Callye of The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle. After discovering her site on--where else?--StumbleUpon, I spent several hours devouring all 51 pages of her Flickr photostream. I could never actually pick a favorite, but these* are near the top of the list. If you'd like to try your hand at decorating, the blog has tutorials, recipes, and lots of drool-worthy pictures. You can also follow Sugarbelle's on Facebook and/or Twitter (while you're at it, follow me!). However you decide to check out this Texas-based baker, be prepared to spiral into a tailspin of despair as you realize you will never EVER be as good as she is. (That may have been a singular reaction on my part. You may be a better decorator/more confident person than me.)

*Little-known fact: I am OBSESSED with anything nautical. I have maritime-themed shoes, jewelry, undies, sweatshirts, sweaters**, t-shirts, socks, you get the idea. But, alas, I fear I am a poseur because I have never once been sailing. Although I did spend a lot of time on ferries between Greece and Italy during my three-week sojourn in Europe this May-June. More on that later, I promise!

**Does it piss anyone else off when people call sweatshirts sweaters and vice versa? They're not synonyms, people! They are two distinct entities with clear differences. Confession/irrelevant rant (leave now if you don't want to read an account of how my Catholic education resulted in legitimate ~~elitism~~ craziness): one of my many faults is that I'm somewhat of a vocabulary/grammar/language snob. That's not to say I'm a perfect writer, but I do spend a lot of time trying to make my compositions technically correct and fun to read (anyone else use a thesaurus when writing posts?). I just don't think it's that hard to proofread your stuff or have someone who knows their stuff proofread your stuff. Blame it on the "Grammar Nazi," aka my fifth- through eighth-grade English teacher who had us diagramming sentences 50 minutes a day. And now, almost a decade later, I still know what a predicate adjective is, so I guess my Catholic-school education was worth the tuition after all (just don't tell God I haven't been to church in about five years). By the way, sorry for the footnote within a footnote...that's probably not proper English. Sometimes it's okay to forgo convention for the sake of style, right? It's all about balance. Just don't confuse sweater/sweatshirt, there/they're/their, your/you're, or its/it's. ;)

I'm a knitting instructor!

2011-06-15T23:07:00.001-05:00

Hi Knitters!

Today was an important day in my knitting life. I taught my first class, and it was even better than I hoped it would be. I took a couple of hours off of work today, so I could be completely prepared for class. I had high hopes of presenting the class with a great tutorial to go along with Allison LoCicero's awesome Entrelac Scarf pattern. They got the pattern alright, but after two hours of hard work, I was only able to produce one tutorial. I won't get into the whole story but it involves two printers, two laptops, one outdated operating system, one jump drive, and the blue screen of death. It's a miracle that I got one printed. The entire class will be getting the tutorial by email later tonight.

The class was held at the 365 Days on a Farm Yarn Shoppe in Eldridge and the topic of the day was the technique of "Entrelac". I had been intrigued by it since I saw Miss Effie's beautiful scarf when we were at the Crafting at the Convent Retreat. I started out with Dorrie's Cowl.

Then I made my Summer Cowl, with Stonehedge Millends from a mill in Michigan. (I bought this skein at Serendipity Yarn Shoppe.)

Then Tami of the 365 Days on a Farm Yarn Shop talked to me about teaching a class, and I went crazy knitting samples.

So today, I breathlessly arrived at the shop a few minutes late, hoping that myearlier technical difficulties were not indicative of the rest of the evening. I was pleasantly surprised to see nine (!) women there eager to learn the technique of entrelac. The technique is not easy, and at first, it's definitely confusing. I was really proud of all of my students. Some of their work is below!

I really enjoyed this class and all of the women who participated. I love sharing my passion for this craft, and one of my favorite things is the fellowship that comes along with spending time with other knitters. So thank you, Sue, Brenda, Heather, Sue, Shelley, Ann Marie, Maggie, Pam, and Janalee.

As you can see, a couple of hours is not enough time to finish a project like this. So I'll be back at the shop on Thursday, June 23, at 5 pm for additional help. All are welcome to stop by and join in the fun!

The Yarn Garden

2011-06-14T20:10:00.003-05:00

Last week, I traveled to Annapolis, MD to attend a wetlands class for work. It was a great week, filled with field trips, dinners with friends, and on my last day, a few hours at the Local Yarn Shop. After asking around and doing some internet research, I quickly learned that "The Yarn Garden" was the place to be.

Nestled on the second floor of a fairly large shopping complex, it took me a few times around the parking lot to notice the unassuming sign. But once inside, I was in for a treat!

Inside, there was a little bit of everything. The store is a knit, crochet and needlepoint shop. I always love seeing all the tiny skeins of embroidery floss and needlepoint yarn! They also had all kinds of curiosities, like this gnome needlefelting kit. This was really hard to resist! And they carry one of my favorite yarns of all time, Manos Silk Blend.

This is the yarn that I used for my mom's Christmas present. I made her the Lovely Leaf Lace Scarf from the Purl Bee.

I couldn't get everything I wanted, though, because I had over three hours to stay in the shop before I had to leave for the airport, and limited luggage space to bring back my treasures. So before I bought anything, I sat down at the table and started knitting. It was then that I met a few of the shop's wonderful employees. Robyn was there knitting on her day off. Maybe her family didn't understand going to "work" on your day off, but I certainly would do that too, if I worked at a yarn shop! Beth and Alex were both very helpful, and I'm glad I got the opportunity to knit with all of them during a quiet hour or so at the shop around lunchtime. Alex was so nice to let me leave my knitting while I went across the street to grab lunch. I met many of the shop's patrons, and all seemed very happy to be there. Including the 91-year-old grandmother, who took the bus to the shop to get some help on a baby sweater!!

Of course, I couldn't leave empty-handed. Does this yarn look familiar?

Yep, that's the discontinued Noro Silk Garden Lite that I used for the Dorrie Entrelac Cowl. I don't know what I'll do with three more skeins, but somehow my stash seems more complete with these new additions. I also picked up some Second Time Cotton, from Knit One, Crochet Too. This comes in many colors and is very affordable!

I reluctantly left the shop at around 3 pm. But it didn't talk long for me to see another knitting project. Meet my knew friend Rae's airport knitting!

This sweet basket weave scarf is made from a beautifil skein of Miss Babs hand-dyed yarn. Rae split the skein and is holding the yarn double for this project. I was so happy she sat down next to me in the airport to talk knitting!

And if you think that sounds like a good knitting day, stay tuned. I'll write about World Wide Knit in Public Day soon!

Cheers and Happy Knitting!
Laura

World Wide Knit in Public Day!

2011-06-09T19:33:00.000-05:00

Attention all Quad Cities and North Scott Knitters!!!! There are multiple opportunities to participate in "World Wide Knit in Public Day"!

Miss Effie's Country Flowers and Garden Stuff is hosting a sangria-fueled knitting, spinning and crocheting extravaganza. Starting at 2 pm on Saturday, June 11 until 7 pm. There will be trivia games, sangria and much crafting! Please RSVP to me or Miss Effie so we don't run out of wine.

If you want to get a good food base before you start knitting and drinking sangria, stop by the new yarn shoppe in Eldridge, 365 Days on a Farm Yarn Shoppe. I know I will! On Saturday, there is a potluck starting at 11 and the event runs until 4! Bring your knitting, a dish to pass, and a lawn chair. We'll be knitting outside across the street from the shop! RSVP to Tammy at 563-285-9985!

The Elegant Ewe

2011-05-13T15:52:00.000-05:00

I grew up in Northeastern Wisconsin, along the Michigan/ Wisconsin border. It is a beautiful place, with many hidden gems. One of them is Menominee, Michigan's LYS, The Elegant Ewe. Paul and I went up north for Mothers' Day, and I couldn't wait to stop in. This shop is currently located in a beautiful old home, on First Street in Menominee, MI, along the shores of Green Bay. The entire first floor is a yarn shop, with a staggering amount of fiber. There is also a very large selection of needlepoint and cross-stitch supplies. Rumor has it that if you want to see the second floor of the house, just ask to see the cross-stitch fabric. It fills an entire closet. Em can back me up on this one!

One of the best parts about this place is that you never know what you'll find. There is an extensive sale section that offers at least 25% off the yarns there. Also, any discontinued fiber is 50% off. Martha, the proprietor, doesn't take anything off the shelves, she just moves it to the discount section. This means I was able to score some pretty great deals.

First, five skeins of the discontinued Annabel Fox Chunky Donegal. I have visions of making this a warm zip-up cardigan for fall. I had a fleece jacket when I was little in similar colors. I'll try to find a picture of the jacket, so I can replicate it. This yarn was just $4.50 a skein!

Then I couldn't help but pick up all the partial skeins of Bartlettyarns 2-ply wool. I absolutely love this yarn. If I could only knit with one yarn for the rest of my days, I think I'd pick a 2-ply woolen spun 100% wool yarn. This yarn is proudly made in a mill in Harmony, Maine that has been running since 1821. The yarn is also extremely affordable, at $7.75 for a 210 yard skein. I paid much less than this for the remnants I bought. I restrained myself from buying full skeins, but it was difficult. I really love this yarn!

Then came the real suprise. Ever since I went on Flood Duty earlier this spring, I have been mulling over the prospect of making a set of "outside work" accessories. Very simple hat, mittens and a cowl, made with heavy-duty, respectable wool. Something our great-great-great grandmothers would knit. (At least mine would; they lived in Finland, Sweden, Germany and Canada!) So I've been on the lookout, and I found it! Ragg Wool from the former North Bay Yarns in Sister Bay, Wisconsin. It's exactly what I had in mine. The yarn is that color between grey and brown that won't show dirt very well and I think the yarn will bloom nicely once blocked and be incredibly warm. I picked up the last 4 skeins for $3.50 each, which is over 800 yards.

And don't you just love the yarn band?

I left some pretty great stuff on the shelves as well, so if you find yourself in Northeastern Wisconsin, or along Green Bay in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, please stop by!!

Laundry Day!

2011-04-25T22:06:00.002-05:00

This is what laundry day looks like when you have a wardrobe of handknits. Someday I hope to not need the washing machine at all! Today I thought I'd show you my knit-washing process. It starts in the soaking room, a.k.a. the guest bath.

The Eucalan stays there all the time, right next to the hand soap. I fill up the sink with lukewarm water, add a capfull of Eucalan, and let the knits soak for a half an hour or so. Now it's time to break out the ShamWows! These were purchased at the one and only U.P. State Fair. (Which is the best state fair, despite the fact that the U.P. is not a state!)

Then I roll up the sweaters and stomp on them, "I Love Lucy'-style.

Finally, I bring them up to the blocking room and lay them out under the fans. I put the ceiling fan on high and then set up a desk fan to blow directly on the spare bed/ blocking area. The sweaters should be dry by the morning; now I just have to decide what to wear tomorrow!

Spin Me a Yarn

2011-04-13T22:12:00.002-05:00

So I've been a bit quiet on the blog lately. I think there are two main reasons for this; 1.) March Madness took some of the wind out of my blogging sails, and 2.) umm... spinning!!!

It finally clicked and now I am a woman possessed! I'm quickly spinning my way through my small fiber stash. First there was the gray Corriedale from Susan's Fiber Shop.

Really uneven and chunky, but it does look like yarn. I found this first batch of roving to be really difficult to spin and a bit frustrating, but I stuck with it. Next I spun a wool top from the Iowa Sheep and Wool Festival.

Still uneven, but I could probably knit it on US 10 needles into a cool scarf or something. Then I went to Serendipity Yarn Shoppe for a Spin-In with Abi, from High Prairie Fibers. I learned a ton in the short time I was there and my next yarn actually looked like "real" yarn. You know, the kind people pay money for.

Another wool top from the Iowa Sheep and Wool Festival. This one was 100% merino and hand-dyed. So soft, and really, really fun to knit. After skeining this yarn, spinning was all I could think about. Last summer, at Miss Effie's Market Party I bought some roving from High Prairie Fibers. It turned into this:

Next on my wheel is Louet Northern Lights 100% Wool Top Handpainted Pencil Roving in the Caramel Apple colorway.

If only I didn't have to keep up with the housework or go to my real job...

In the Heartland

2011-04-05T21:36:00.001-05:00

In the last two days, I've received some pretty interesting mail. First, yesterday this showed up!

I've been waiting for this and finally my mouse will get some farm companions! And then today in the mail I received this:

Are you sensing a theme here? It seems farm-themed knitting is all the rage. Click here for the cover project, the "Heartland Road Trip Tote Kit".

I've been drawn to pastoral scenes for as long as I can remember. I'm pretty sure this was started with a smocked dress I had when I was really small. The dress was embroidered with a farm scene and I loved it!

Now with the recent inspiration, I'll definitely be casting on for some new projects soon. There are a few more projects that have caught my eye in the same theme.

From the Fall/Winter 2008, Knit1 Magazine, the #04 Rainy Day Fingerless Gloves.

I've also been seeing some very cute versions of the Sheep Yoke Baby Cardigan on Ravelry. This adorable FREE pattern was designed by Jennifer Little of Looking Glass Knits. French Press Knits (one of my favorite bloggers), made an adorable version for her newborn daughter to wear home from the hospital.

And finally, the other day in anticipation of getting Spud and Chloe at the Farm, I was searching Etsy for some plastic canvas patterns. I got the idea to make a plastic canvas barn to house all the knit farm animals in. I really like the idea of having an enclosed space to store all the toys. Here are a couple of the patterns available on Etsy.

This barn set is really close to what I was imagining. I would probably make a few changes, but the pattern might be worth getting.

This is not what I was originally looking for, but it's incredibly detailed. After seeing this pattern, I found a ton of really cute toy plastic canvas patterns. My grandmother used to craft us all sorts of plastic canvas projects; toys, ornaments, purses, and the ever popular tissue box cover. My mom's sister also used to make plastic canvas placemats and coasters for everyone in our family. These sweet projects hold a lot of fond memories for me, and I'm excited to learn a new craft soon, in memory of my Aunt Sandy and in honor of my Grandma Elaine!

The Oman-St. Louis Number

2011-03-31T22:01:00.002-05:00

When I was in college studying engineering, I always joked that I wanted to have a number, theorum, or equation named after me. Well, today I've discovered that number.

This number is defined as the ratio of started projects to finished projects over a 30 day time period. Posting on the blog every day this month has definitely raised my Oman-St. Louis number. As I talked about earlier, I am a chronic project starter. This month, however, saw the completion of four projects:

It also saw the start of seven new ones.

Therefore (∴), my Oman-St. Louis number is:

Not bad! It's usually probably more like 5 or 6! So I don't think Pythagoras or Berno ulli have much to worry about, but this may just be the beginning of my knitting related calculations!

In the next post I'll talk more about the central project in the WIP collage. It's a good one!

Oh! And I did it! A post every day in March. Whew!

But It's My Day!

2011-03-30T20:21:00.001-05:00

Ever since I was little, one of my favorite parts of the day has been getting the mail. I still love it, even though now, more often than not, the mail is full of junk mail and bills. There's always the chance that something special will be in there. And today there was!

My mom must have gone right to work when she got back to Marinette, because the valence for the kitchen window was waiting for me in the mailbox today. I love, love the curtains and they make the kitchen seem much more cozy. Thanks, Mom! They are perfect.

My brother and sister will understand the title of this post. When I was growing up, we all loved getting the mail. We actually argued about it until my parents got the idea to assign days to each of us kids. On "our" day we could sit in the front seat in the car and get the mail. But we also had to do chores that day, like setting the table for dinner. We would always be reminding each other that it was our day to sit up front by shouting, "It's my day!" Pretty smart of my parents, now that I think of it!

My dad is really great at sending out notes and packages, and they are always thoughtful. When I was in college, every once in awhile I'd get a note from him with $5 or $10. The note usually said something like, "Take a break and have one on me!" That always made me feel so good! When he sent out the valence yesterday he included something extra. Only he would think of this:

My very favorite cheese! You can't get good Wisconsin aged cheddar like this in Iowa. This is in the freezer now, waiting for a special occasion.

So I just want to say thanks again, to my wonderful parents. I love you both very much!

Cleaning House

2011-03-29T20:25:00.000-05:00

So I must admit, I can be a bit of a procrastinator. Today, I really wanted to clean up the house so that when Paul gets home, everything would be tidy. But the knitter/ procrastinator in me just couldn't bring myself to put away all that laundry. So I found another mess...

This counts, right? I set up a workstation in the family room (on our new couch!) including the ball winder and a dining room chair.

Two hours later I had this!

Not bad! And check out that couch! Tomorrow I'll put the laundry away; if I don't find more yarn to wind, that is! And one last thing, I couldn't let you think it was all smooth sailing. There was one major fail:

I'm still not quite sure what to do with this one.

L.O.V.E.

2011-03-28T21:04:00.002-05:00

A gigantic "Thank You!" to Susan Mohr Krupke for taking our engagement photos yesterday!

A Future Obsession?

2011-03-27T19:21:00.001-05:00

I know my love of all thing fiber-related is partly due to my mother. While she knits and crochets, she is also an extremely accomplished quilter and seamstress (sewer?... that just looks wrong). And like me, she travels nowhere without a project or two (or three). Before we distracted her with the kitchen curtains, this is what she was working on:

The last two photos show the quilting frame she bought for $7 at a thrift shop. The quilt itself was a kit from Nancy's Notions. With such inspiration, I think it's only a matter of time before I start quilting! And note Paul's posing in the last photo. It was good practice for engagement photo shoot we had this afternoon!

Moms Are The Best!

2011-03-26T18:50:00.001-05:00

My parents came down this weekend to visit. This was the first time they've seen the house since we've moved in. We've been here for a couple months now, and the place really feels like a home. Of course, there are still about 1000 things we want to do. Today, we got to cross one more thing off the list. This afternoon, Mom and I went to Quilts by the Oz, in Moline, and I found some awesome fabric for kitchen curtains.

I was going to try to make the curtains myself, but I'm no fool, and when my mom offered to sew them up this afternoon, I immediately accepted. She is making a valence, two panels, and tie-back sashes. She is a master at all things sewing and I'm so grateful to be able to benefit from her awesome skills. This would have taken me about three weeks to accomplish, and she's going to make them in a few days.

Here is a before picture of the kitchen window Stay tuned for the after picture!

And thanks to my dad, too, for hanging up the curtain rods!!

I've got to go now, we are off to the Redstone Room for a John McCutcheon concert!

Starting Something New Again

2011-03-25T20:10:00.001-05:00

So with the recent success of the crocheted lion applique, I am going to do another crochet project. When I was little, one of my great aunties gave me one of my most prized toys, a crocheted, heart-shaped doll that I called Soft Dolly. It's really a strange looking thing, with a heart-shaped, stuffed body, a ruffled skirt, spiral arms and legs and pompons for hands and feet. Over 20 years after it was made, it is a little worse for the wear.

There's only one leg, one foot, no hands, and no face. Frankly, even if Soft Dolly had everything she's missing, I still think she'd be a little creepy. But I absolutely loved this doll and I'm determined to make another, with the help of this pattern on Ravelry, my trusty crochet book, and the original doll. I'm using Spud and Chloë Sweater in Ice Cream and Watermelon. (Leftover from my Mouse project.)

Here's what I've got so far.

Hopefully, I'll have more to show tomorrow. Tonight we are watching Meet the Parents with my parents :)

Buckley T. Bear, Jr.

2011-03-24T22:11:00.001-05:00

Another project done in just one night! I just love this little guy. He turned out really well, but I wasn't sure since the pattern called for the bear to be felted. The pattern is Little Bear by Denise Powell. It was the only pattern I could find that was of a realistic looking bear, not a teddy bear. After knitting it, I can say that it was worth every penny of the $6 price tag.

It's knit in one piece from tail to nose to underbody, in garter stitch. The adorable shaping is made by the use of short rows. I've reclaimed my knowledge of that technique! The pattern reminded me a lot of Elizabeth Zimmerman, especially her Christmas Fiddle Faddle Pattern from Knitters' Almanac. The pattern was a joy to knit, and it was so sweet to see the bear taking shape.

After sewing up the bear, I took to the button bin to find the perfect eyes.

Would you believe that I couldn't find what I was looking for? I did however find a little leather button for the nose. For the eyes, I stopped by Hancock Fabrics on my way to the Eldridge Knitting Nook and picked up small,round, black shank buttons. It took me just about as long to sew on the nose and eyes as it did to knit the bear.

For the body, I used Knit Picks Merino Style in Coal (the same yarn I used for the Checkered Skull and Crossbones). For the snout, I used a tiny bit of Argyle Fiber Mill's Fifty Mile Fiber, that I bought at the Driftless Area Fibre Arts Faire in 2009. Since I didn't felt him, I just knit him on smaller needles that usual so the stuffing wouldn't show through. I used US 2's, but I'm a really loose knitter. And with that, I have only one thing left to say...

The End!

Meet Buckley

2011-03-23T23:42:00.000-05:00

It has been brought to my attention that I haven't knit very many things for Paul lately. Today I remedied that by starting a project for Paul to take on the road with him when he's traveling for work. He has a stuffed bear his mother gave him, but it's a big too large to tag along on road trips. So I'm making a miniature version.

I'll post more about the pattern and finished photos tomorrow! Cheers!

The Barter System, Knitting Style

2011-03-22T20:10:00.002-05:00

Today's post is another blast from the past. The first summer I lived in Iowa, my friend Tom approached me with a proposal. He wanted a hand-knit hat and in exchange he'd give me an extra road bike he had. Sure! I said. I was confident I could make whatever hat he had in mind. He sent me a picture of what he'd like it to look like, and when I saw it I started to get a little worried. Here's the inspiration picture.

If I knit him that, then I would get this.

So, I ordered some yarn and tried to figure out how to make that beast. The yarn I used was Knit Picks Merino Style in the Coal and Vanilla colorways. My friend Colleen had made the We Call Them Pirates hat, and introduced me to the free pattern. I thought the skull and cross bones would be perfect. I did a little experimental swatch and figured out that rectangles 4 stitches wide by 5 rows tall looked pretty good. Here's what I ended up with.

What do you think? I also did a turned hem by casting on provisionally and then knitting in black for about 3 inches, then I started the checker pattern and worked for 3 more inches. When I do provisional cast-ons for hems, I keep the bottom stitches on a circular needle and then when my work is twice as long as I want the hem to be, I turn up the bottom and knit one stitch from the working needle and one stitch from the provisional needle together. This gives a pretty clean hem.

And finally, here's a picture of Tom in the finished hat. I think I did a pretty good job matching the inspiration hat! check out my Ravelry project page, Checkered Skull and Crossbones, for more information. And I love the bike!

Summer Cowl; Entrelac, Take Two

2011-03-21T21:06:00.001-05:00

Remember Dorrie's Cowl? I loved learning how to do entrelac, and as soon as I finished that first cowl, I started planning my next entrelac project. I became inspired when I was at Serendipity Yarn Shoppe in Muscatine and saw the shelf of Stonehedge Mill Ends. I bought one skein for my mom for her birthday.

And I bought another for myself.

A lot of the mill ends had crazy color combinations, but I really like the nautical theme of this skein. And it is so soft!! I immediately thought of a making a summery cowl for boat rides and camping trips and summer evenings outside. I looked up a few entrelac patterns, but I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. So I just casted on and went from there. I measured my other cowl and then cast on to knit a smaller, lighter cowl. The kicker was that I decided to knit this one in the round, so that the color changes make vertical stripes, instead of blocks of color. Also, this way I won't have to seam the cowl at the end.

This is what I've got so far:

Learning Something New...

2011-03-20T22:19:00.004-05:00

This weekend, Paul and I went up to Madison for our nephew's baptism. Not only did I have a great time visiting with Paul's family, but I learned a new knitting skill as well! This afternoon at the party, Sydney, the daughter of a family friend, was finger knitting. The scarf she made is pictured above, and she generously gave it to me! The yarn used was Lamb's Pride and they bought it at Loop Yarn Shop in Milwaukee. Knitty has a great tutorial for this technique here. Basically, you can make an I-Cord without any needles!

Here are a few more pictures of the weekend. Mouse, from Spud and Chloë at the Farm, made the trip with us.

Paul and Nephew #1 got some important work done and built a big boy bed.

Nephew #2 looks absolutely adorable with his new blanket.

I'd show you the bird, but Nephew #1 promptly placed it in my full coffee cup, and it had to go through an emergency wash and block session!

Olive update tomorrow and I'll show you another project I've been working on!

Yarn (Cup)Cake

2011-03-19T08:44:00.000-05:00

The other day as I was winding the blanket back into a ball, I noticed that it had taken a rather interesting shape. Normal yarn wound on a ball winder is called a yarn cake. This looks rather cupcake-ish, don't you think?

Egg to Bluebird!

2011-03-18T23:31:00.001-05:00

As I was knitting the blanket, I was getting a feeling that I should be knitting something for the baby's big brother too. I was 4 1/2 years old when Emily was born, and I remember it vividly. It's a big adjustment having a new brother or sister. I also remember everyone giving me small gifts as well. I received more than one notepad and pen set that said "Laura". Since our older nephew can't write yet, I figured I'd make him a toy. And not just any toy but a reversible one from Itty-Bitty Toys. This incredible book was written by Susan B. Anderson. I love her toy designs. I am getting a pretty good feel for understanding the designs for garments,but toy designs still escape me. The patterns are so ingenious!

So a few days ago, I casted on for Egg to Bluebird, and a Little Nest, too (but I omitted the nest). If you are interested, check out all the Ravelry projects. There are Easter projects, and a robin, and so many more brilliant interpretations of this design.

Check it out! I hope our nephew loves it as much as I do!

The main yarn I used was Spud and Chloe Sweater in Ice Cream and the discontinued O-Wool Balance. And here's a view of the bottom, which shows how I've connected the two parts. Isn't it adorable?

[27 April 2011 - Edited To Add] I made the nest last April using the pattern from The Purl Bee's adorable pattern, Sparrow's Nest. This nest usually houses some tiny blue robin's eggs that I knit last spring. I just borrowed it for the photoshoot. The yarn used was a thoughtful gift from a dear friend. It's a blend of wool, mohair, and linen, as far as I can tell. The yarn band to this yarn seems to be the only yarn band I've ever gotten rid of. Go figure.

The Blanket is Complete!

2011-03-17T23:56:00.002-05:00

The blanket was dry when I got home from work, and tonight I blanket-stitched the applique onto the blanket. I took some close-ups of the crochet border. Anybody know what stitch this is? I really like it, and because of how I was hooking the yarn, it almost looks knitted!

And here's a picture of it blocking last night.

An aerial view, like most of the update photos. Do you notice anything different? I fixed the ears. Probably not a noticeable difference, but I feel better about it.

And finally, a sneak peak for tomorrow's post:

I finished the project I started yesterday! (And cleaned the kitchen!) Tomorrow I'll go into more detail about this adorable Susan B. Anderson project :)

ROAR!!!!

2011-03-16T23:05:00.002-05:00

Isn't this just the cutest thing? I learned a lot about crochet making this little guy. First, I learned I was definitely not doing single crochet for the blanket border. I was hooking the yarn in more of a "knitting" way. I'm sure this is actually some real crochet stitch, I just don't know the name for it. The lion is made with the real single crochet stitch. I also learned a loop stitch, which is pretty perfect for a lion's mane, don't you think? My ears don't exactly match, but I think they'll do. I probably couldn't do much better if I tried again. Tomorrow, I'll stitch it to the blanket, which is currently blocking.

And, as promised, here is an updated photo of Olive. I got the chance to knit in the car a little today. This is perfect travel knitting and I'll definitely be bringing it up to Madison this weekend for the baptism.

Oh! And I almost forgot to mention... I started something new!

So Close...

2011-03-15T22:31:00.000-05:00

Well like most knitting and sewing projects (at least in my experience) things are running just slightly behind schedule. I'm still working on the picot edging, which took a little research to figure out how to do. I may or may not have crocheted the single crochet borders incorrectly. In any case, it still looks pretty neat. Here is the blanket in it's current state:

Knit One, Crochet Two.

2011-03-14T23:10:00.001-05:00

I've finished the knitting portion of the blanket, and tonight I embarked on the crocheting. After much thought, I decided to just do some single crochet rows around the blanket and then I'll do a picot edge at the very end. It's definitely smaller than I would like, but I was limited by the amount of brown I had. It will be good for the baby to drag around though, or to stuff in the car seat. Also, the yellow and orange are not as vivid in real life.

Tomorrow I'll show you the lion applique and hopefully the blanket will be finished and blocking for the final time!

Baby Blanket Update

2011-03-13T19:51:00.000-05:00

The center square of the blanket is blocking on the spare bed, and I'm still contemplating how to do the border rows. I definitely want to crochet them, but I'm not exactly sure how to go about it. Everything in my crochet book is for crocheting back and forth, but ideally, I'd like to do this border in the round. I suppose I could work back and forth and then just seem up the one corner. I'd really like to do a sort of chevron motif, like the ones here. I really like the "close chevron" stitch shown on that page. I'm also pretty excited to experiment with the lion applique. I hope it turns out half as cute as I'm imagining it...

Answer of the Day: No.

2011-03-12T23:11:00.002-06:00

Unfortunately, my gut feeling was right, and the small extra bits of yarn I had left over from another project were not enough to finish out the square. I decided to try some striping in a coordinating green color. To add some interest, I started the striping using the Fibonacci Sequence.

It looks alright, but I'm not really feeling it. I had a vision, and it didn't involve stripes. So, I'm going to rip back to where I ended the first skein. I'll start decreasing with the second skein. The center square will be smaller than I wanted, but I'll be able to make the blanket bigger by doing more border rows.

So right after I took this picture, I started frogging. I have to admit, I actually enjoy doing this. It's crazy how fast you can rip out something that took so long to knit. Usually I use my nostepinne to hand-wind the yarn as I'm ripping out. This time I tried something different with the help of Paul and the ball-winder my mom gave me for my birthday.

Paul sat in his chair across the room from me holding the blanket and I wound this ball right off the blanket, since Paul could provide the necessary tension. It was cool to watch the rows disappearing from the blanket from across the room!

On a side note, Paul is pretty good at figuring out the mechanical aspects of my knitting and spinning tools. One of the first times I was using the ball winder, I mentioned how the Knit Picks one didn't always get the best reviews and people complained that sometimes the ball would shoot off the end before the entire skein was wound. I always thought that the faster I turned the handle the better. Apparently, that is not the case. Paul pointed out that I should try to match the speed of the handle to the rotation of the swift. I tried this, and slowed down turning the handle considerably. Perfect cakes of yarn, every time! So there's my tip for the day!

'Olive' is still taking a breather, but I did buy another longer needle, which should make knitting the yoke more enjoyable. I'll post an update to 'Olive' later this week. For the next few days though, it'll be all baby blanket!

Fish Fry Friday!

2011-03-11T18:58:00.002-06:00

I grew up in northeastern Wisconsin and some of my favorite memories are of attending Lenten Fish Fries at the former Marinette Catholic Central High School gym. A quick Google search even produced this. A fish fry within walking distance to my parents house, going on at this very minute! I wish I were there. Here's a picture of a classic Wisconsin fish fry to show you all what I'm talking about.

Question of the Day

2011-03-10T22:51:00.000-06:00

So what do you think? Do I have enough to complete the square? I sure hope so, because JoAnn's doesn't have this yarn anymore, and paying $14 online for one skein defeats the purpose of stash-busting. I don't think I'll make it, so I have a few other ideas up my sleeve.

So I Started Something New...

2011-03-09T22:42:00.000-06:00

Truthfully, this could probably be the title for almost every other post. I am a chronic project starter. Lately, I've been finishing things more, but I'm always thinking about the next thing to cast on. I also am big on knitting things on ambitious deadlines. So that being said, I'm knitting a baby blanket for a baptismal gift. The baptism is Sunday, March 20. I'm not sure why I do this to myself, but this time, I really think I can handle it. I'm using yarn in my stash, Patons Shetland Tweeds Chunky and some (gasp) acrylic I bought for something I can't even remember. I'm making up the pattern, but using a similar idea to the Jared Flood Tweed Baby Blanket. Here's a version of that pattern I made last year. This one needs to be hand-washed. The new blanket will be machine washable.

The center square on both blankets is in garter stitch done on the diagonal. You start with one stitch, increasing one stitch every row until it's as wide as you want it, and then decreasing one stitch every row until one stitch remains. Here's the start of my blanket:

The main color is dark brown tweed with flecks of green, gold, and orange. I'm going to learn some new crochet techniques for this blanket as well. The main square is knitted, but I'm going to crochet an edging, and also a lion applique to sew on to the blanket. I think it'll be really cute. The book pictured is A to Z of Crochet, and I think it's a great reference for the occasional crocheter. I'm definitely more of a knitter, but I like the sturdiness of crocheted borders, and I love how quickly they can be worked up. Much faster than knitted edgings!

Do you mix crochet and knitting in your projects?

Knit. Sew. Party!

2011-03-08T22:43:00.002-06:00

Ok, first things first. While I ended up deciding not to incorporate short rows into 'Olive', I did review a couple of my favorite resources. I really like this tutorial from Knit Picks. The illustrations are really easy to understand and there are good descriptions of when and how to include short rows in your projects. I also found this techniques page from Carol Sunday's blog. This is the technique that Kate Davies (Needled) suggests in her Paper Dolls pattern.

Since Olive looks exactly the same, just about one inch longer, I thought I'd bring a project of of the archives to show today. This is one of my favorites, partly because I made the whole thing in just one weekend. A coworker asked me to make a hat for his wife for Valentine's Day last year. Of course, I made it the very last weekend before February 14. He gave me a a few guidelines: not girly, with earflaps, and lined. This is what I came up with:

I used Red Heart Eco Ways, which was a Christmas gift. What's cool about this yarn is that is is made out of recycled soda and water bottles.I made up the hat pattern, but I was influenced by the free! pattern by Leef Bloomenstiel, Leef's Earflap Hat. I borrowed the checkered pattern from The Knitting (Man)ual by Kristin Spurklund. I also used fleece to line the hat for the first time ever. It wasn't too difficult, and I just laid the finished hat over the fleece and cut around the hat. This works because fleece is pretty stretchy. (Provided you cut it the right way. I found this out the hard way. )

Aren't those tags neat? My mom got them for me. I suppose I'll need new ones in October. I'd better get knitting before then; I have a lot of them left! I also crocheted for the first time for this project. It took me a long time to get the ties done, but I'm glad I stuck it out! For more information, check out my Ravelry project page, Fleece-Lined Earflap Hat.

And finally, in celebration of Mardi Gras, here is a picture of Paul and me exactly one year ago today, in New Orleans!! Happy Mardi Gras!

I forgot how to do short rows.

2011-03-07T22:19:00.000-06:00

Here's a picture of "Olive" in it's current state.

And I thought casting on took a long time! It took forever to pick up the stitches for the body! The fact that I seem to have forgotten a lot of basic knitting techniques isn't helping. I think maybe the stress of buying a house, shopping for a car, and planning a wedding is starting to get to me! I especially am troubled by the fact that I can't remember how to do short rows. Maybe it's time for a bath and bed. More tomorrow, when hopefully my knitting smarts have returned!

Merry Christmas!

2011-03-06T21:39:00.001-06:00

Today I thought I'd share one of the Christmas presents I made this year. I wanted to make my little brother, Steve, a hat to wear at the University of Minnesota, where he is studying journalism. Here he is modeling the finished product!

This is my own pattern. The "M" is duplicate stitched on after the hat was completed. I charted it myself, using the Minnesota logo as a template. As you can see, the Minnesota M is a little stretched and slanted.

He loved it, and as far as I know, he's only misplaced it once! (Paul recovered it from the movie theater in Davenport. Lucky for Steve or it would have been the last knitted hat he'd ever receive!)

I used Lion Brand Alpine Wool, which is a roving type yarn that is super warm. It was really hard to find Minnesota colors! He requested the pompom on top. And he just texted this Friday that a girl in his Anthro Lab complimented him on it :)

As for 'Olive', the neckline is completely bound off, all ends woven in, and the body stitches have been picked up!

Olive Update!

2011-03-05T19:46:00.000-06:00

So I finished the collar. I am now casting off the neck line. Since lately I've been obsessed with all things I-Cord, that is how I'll be finishing all of the edges!

Happy Birthday to You!

2011-03-04T20:57:00.001-06:00

I'm pretty lucky as knitters go. My entire immediate family celebrates their birthdays in the eight weeks after Christmas. That's one January and three February birthdays. If you knit Christmas presents, you can see what I'm getting at. Any missed Christmas deadlines suddenly extend to birthday deadlines. And let's not forget Valentine's Day is in there if I don't get Paul's gift done in time. He has also told me that if I don't finish his gift at least a month before Christmas not to worry about it, because he is the one who directly suffers the wrath of the sleep-deprived knitter who stays up until 3 am feverishly working on her "hobby". She is not a pleasant person to be around.

That being said, Emily did not receive a hand knitted Christmas gift. (Paul didn't either, or even a knit Valentine's Day present, come to think of it. Well, there is always Memorial Day!) She did, however, get a pretty awesome 21st birthday present. May I introduce to you...Talamh!

This beautiful sweater was designed by Carol Feller. It's a sweet cardigan with a really neat waffle border. I just did three buttonholes at the top of the sweater and then added an I-Cord border all around the entire sweater. Here is a close-up:

And a blocking picture:

And a picture of the sweater on this really cool rocking chair at Em's apartment that I would love to have in my house.

I bought the glass buttons at my favorite antique shop in Davenport, Antiques on Brady. Last time I went, I picked up a few extras.

My mom's birthday is two days after Emily's. I did finish her Christmas present (that's another post), but I couldn't resist getting her some yarn for her own projects. Last week, while I was at the Spin-In at Serendipity Yarn Shoppe, I picked up these beauties.

The turqoise is Cascade Pima Cotton, that I thought she'd like to use for a market bag. She has been making a lot of those lately. The multi-colored yarn is really cool. It is mill ends from the Stonehedge Fiber Mill. I also sent the Entrelac pattern I just used, because I think it'd look really cool in this yarn.

I've got to go now. There is no "Olive" update because it is movie night with my honey!!

Look what I did today!!

2011-03-03T21:59:00.000-06:00

Today at the Knitting Nook, Tami and I got to card alpaca! It was really cool to get to try this, and it reminded me of making pasta with my mom :)

And I knit a few more row on the collar of "Olive". Sorry, I know these pictures are boring so far!

He's a keeper!

2011-03-02T21:33:00.002-06:00

Everytime I tell people what Paul got me for my birthday, the response is the same,"Well, he sounds like a keeper!" I have to agree, although for many more reasons than that he bought me my first spinning wheel, with no hints from me at all. Here is the wheel in all it's glory.

It is a Kromski Prelude, and we bought it from Susan's Fiber Shop in Columbus, WI. When we went up north for Thanksgiving, Paul told me that he needed to stop by a friend's place before we headed to my grandmother's. I almost started to say that I thought that now was not the time for extra stops and that we should just get to my grandma's house. Good thing I didn't, though, because the extra stop actually ended up being Susan's Fiber Shop. As we pulled into the drive, and I looked at Paul with utter confusion, he shouted, "You are getting a spinning wheel for your birthday!" I could not have been more surprised. For someone who hates surprises himself, Paul definitely did a great job at keeping this a secret. For months he had been doing research and talking to fiber-y people. Suddenly it made sense why he kept disappearing when we were at the Iowa Sheep and Wool Festival. He even called Miss Effie for advice and to ask if she'd help me learn to spin.

We spent hours at the shop, and tried every wheel. Paul got in on the action too, and actually picked up spinning more quickly than I did. He claims that years of untangling fishing reels helped him figure it out. Anyway, my first attempts were pretty humorous. The following picture shows the first three batches of yarn I made. They are in order from left to right. I'm pretty sure the first skein would need to be knit up on needles the size of broomsticks.

It wasn't until last Monday, that I really had a spinning breakthrough. Since it was Presidents' Day, and I didn't have to go into work, I finally got the opportunity to take advantage of a Spin-In with Abi at Serendipity Yarn Shoppe. She is there every Monday from 10 until 2.

So Monday morning, I packed up my wheel and headed to Muscatine. After about an hour and a few pointers from Abi, I had this:

Real, honest-to-goodness yarn! I was so excited. I had been letting the twist go too far back into where I was drafting, which makes spinning way harder than it needs to be. Here are some pictures of the merino top I was spinning, that I bought at the aforementioned Iowa Sheep and Wool Festival.

And finally, to keep up with my daily knitting progress, I have a few more rows done on 'Olive'. See you here tomorrow; it's another knitting night at the Eldridge Knitting Nook!

March Madness, Day 1

2011-03-01T22:09:00.000-06:00

This month, I'm joining several other knit bloggers, including one of my favorites, Canary Knits, in an attempt to post everyday. I'll do some regular posting on big fiber-y events and finished knitted objects, but on slower days, I'll at least post what I've knitted on that day. So, today I'm introducing a project I just started on tonight: the Olive Blouse! I found this pattern on Ravelry a few weeks ago, and I've been thinking about it ever since. Last year, my grandmother gave me a lot of her stash, and there was some Cascade Lana D'Oro that I thought would be perfect for the main color.

Check out my Olive Project Page on Ravelry, for the accent yarn specifications and pattern information. I know it doesn't look like much knitting, but it takes a long time to cast on 220 stitches!

And finally, today was a big day for me blog-wise, with links on two of my favorite blogs. Thanks, Susan and Canary Sanctuary!!!

Spud and Chloë at the Farm!

2011-02-28T21:43:00.003-06:00

Wow, this weekend was a whirlwind! I was lucky enough to get a coveted spot in Susan B. Anderson's knitting workshop at Stitcher's Crossing, in Madison. The event was in celebration of Susan's new book, Spud and Chloë at the Farm. Lucky for me, Paul plays in a yearly curling fundraiser, Curl vs. Cancer, with his father, and it happened to be the same weekend as the workshop! The fundraiser is put on by the Madison Curling Club and they raised a lot of money for cancer research, which is wonderful!

We drove to Madison Friday, and had a great Wisconsin fish fry with his parents and then we got schooled in Euchre. Saturday morning Paul's sisters and mom and I found my bridesmaids dresses and had lunch and then I drove to Stevens Point to visit Emily. She turned 21 on Tuesday and I was thrilled to get to spend the night with her. We had a great night of wine and movies. Can you believe she had never seen When Harry Met Sally?!

I raced back to Madison Sunday morning and got to Stitcher's Crossing in the nick of time. In the class, we were given a book preview pamphlet and the complete pattern for Mice, from the new book.

All of the projects are so adorable! I can't wait to get mine; the books are shipping at the end of March! There were about 20 women in the class and most were from the Madison area. There was another woman from Green Bay, however, who, like me, arranged her entire family's weekend around the class! And I thought it was just me! The class was two hours long, so we all tried to complete a mouse, while watching Susan give demonstrations and checking out all of the amazing samples she brought from her other books. I first learned of Susan when I bought Itty-Bitty Toys from a shop here in Davenport. By the end of class I had almost finished a mouse. I just needed to make the feet and stitch on the face. I finished the feet on the car ride home, and I stitched the face on tonight. And here is the finished product!

How cute is that! The book has twelve more patterns, including a barn, fence, and hay bales. I seriously cannot wait to make them all. The mice are made from Spud and Chloë Sweater, and I probably have enough to make fifteen mice. I'm holding out for the book though, as Susan said she overlapped the yarns in a lot of the patterns, so you don't need to buy as many skeins. I've never knit with Sweater before and it's just as great as everyone says. So easy to work with and knits up beautifully. Another awesome part of the day was that Susan had a bunch of give-aways for us from Blue Sky Alpacas. Patterns, yarn, and the cutest little project bag. It was a wonderful afternoon and definitely worth the drive! Thanks, Susan, for the awesome experience!

The Eldridge Knitting Nook! And Dorrie the Little Witch.

2011-02-17T17:53:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I woke up earlier than usual, but I had no problems getting out of bed. I was going in to work early, so I could leave work early, for a very special reason: the Eldridge Knitting Nook knitting group!

I had heard about it online, from friends, and even got a personal invite on Ravelry from the group's founder, Tammy. So needless to say, I was pretty excited for yesterday afternoon. However, I was not prepared for how completely awesome this meeting turned out to be. Tammy had mentioned in a message that they were expecting 20-25 people. How optimistic, I thought. Well, when I pulled up the the Buzz cafe in Eldridge, there was not a single parking space. I drove around the building and joined the many cars parked back there. As I was entering the shop, I heard a guy on a cell phone tell his friend not to bother coming to the cafe. It was packed, he said, with no room left to sit. I still was not prepared for what I saw. Standing room only, with knitters and crocheters of all walks of life, introducing themselves and their projects. I slapped on a name tag, signed the attendance sheet and worked my way to the back corner, where Miss Effie was sitting! (Check her blog for some pictures from yesterday.)

The next hour and a half were a happy blur of knitting and meeting new people. It is my understanding that this will become a weekly meeting, with yarn swaps and book swaps and even some more formalized instruction. Of course, everyone at the meeting was willing to help out any novice knitters, crocheters, spinners or other types of fiber enthusiasts. There also will be a later meeting on Thursdays (next week is the first from 5-8. I'll keep you posted on the details). I will definitely be trying to make this a regular occurence. Maybe I'll even go both nights!

I might actually teach a class myself on the technique of entrelac. Tammy asked me about it when she saw me wearing my new cowl, with colors reminiscent of the "Dorrie the Little Witch" books by Patricia Coombs.

I loved these books when I was little, and I still do. They actually cost quite a bit of money now on the secondhand market, but we just borrowed them from the public library when I was growing up. They are usually only printed with a few colors of ink, like in the picture above. I was originally inspired to try entrelac when I saw Miss Effie's entrelac scarf, made of some type of Noro, at the Crafting at the Convent Retreat. I searched Noro Silk Garden Lite on Ravelry, and although it is discontinued, there are quite a few people willing to sell a few skeins from their stash.

I bought these skeins from a fellow Raveler (exuse the poached stash photo, please!) in part because they made me think of Dorrie, and I could not wait to get them in the mail. I cast on as soon as I received them, and two weeks later, I had this!

I love the way the entrelac is so squishy before blocking and in fact, I don't plan on blocking this one at all. I started off with this pattern from Alison LoCicero. It's free on Ravelry and her website and very easy to understand. As usual though, I had to change things up a bit. I cast on additional stitches for two more rectangles per row, and started on my merry way. It didn't take long to realize that I did not have enough for a normal length scarf. I then got out my pencil and paper and did a little math. By calculating the area in square inches the pattern produced in its original form and then the area my guage, width and yardage was going to get, I confimed my suspicions. I decided to keep on knitting though, and then sew the ends together to create a cowl instead of a scarf. This turned out great, and I like it even better because you don't have those pesky scarf ends to worry about. I usually wear it as shown in the first picture, doubled and then folded over itself at the bottom.

I love the Noro colors and the way they change in this project, which is surprising given my usual aversion to all yarns variegated. However, the use of entrelac makes it looks very structured and planned out, don't you think?

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more knitting in public (and maybe even some spinning)! And please, please try to come to the new knitting groups in Eldridge if you are at all intrigued.

Knitting in the QCA

2011-02-11T21:46:00.005-06:00

Ever since the Crafting at the Convent weekend this past January, opportunities for knitting in public have been popping up everywhere! First, though, I'd like to show you some pictures of the projects I finished that weekend. I started a Paper Dolls sweater this summer while I was visiting my family in Marinette. It was designed by the fabulous Kate Davies of one of my favorite knitting blogs, Needled.

I made a few modifications to the pattern.For one, I knit it much, much longer than the pattern called for. I have a very long torso, so I usually need to add at least five inches to sweater patterns. I added some skinny horizontal strips to break up the body. For the actual paper dolls, I added pigtails and omitted the eyes and mouth. I though they looked a little bit skeletal, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't cut in facial features if I were making real paper dolls. I also cast on using a tubular cast-on and worked in K1P1 ribbing in one color. I don't usually like corrugated ribbing because of how the purl bumps pop out. It just doesn't look right to me, but I did see some examples of the sweater on Ravelry that looked amazing with the corrugated rib. I'm just set in my knitting ways, I suppose. Oh! And the yarn I used was Un-Spun Icelandic from Schoolhouse Press that I bought at the Sow's Ear in Verona, WI.

The other project I worked on was designed by one of my former favorite knit bloggers, Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed. I made the Beaumont Tam using the exact yarn and colors suggested in the pattern, which can be found in the booklet Made in Brooklyn. I say former favorite because Jared used to host a really warm, friendly blog that was a wealth of knitting information and beautiful pictures. In the past couple of years he has become very well know and his patterns are extremely popular. As his popularity rose, the blog became less and less inviting, in my opinion. In the old days of Brooklyn Tweed I loved following projects through multiple posts and learning in depth about the yarns and techniques used. The blog was an open dialogue between readers and Jared. As of late, I feel the new Brooklyn Tweed is merely a means of churning out patterns to a captive audience who fell in love with the old blog. The posts lack depth and almost always contain a link to a pattern for purchase. This is just my opinion, of course, and all of the patterns Jared creates are gorgeous, which is why I've knitted several of them. Enough of my ranting, though, here is my Beaumont Tam!

There is talk of getting a knitting group together with the fine knitters that were at the convent, possibly meeting in Dewitt. This is still in the early stages of planning, but while we are figuring out the details, there are some more established groups that I'd like to put out there.

First up, the day after the convent, a co-worker brought in an article from The Dispatch and Rock Island Argus, called A Community Knit Together. The article detailed a knitting group that meets Tuesday Nights at the Fairmount Branch of the Davenport Public Libraryat 6:30 pm. The group is the Fireside Knitters and what's so cool about them is that they create blocks that are then sewn into afghans for the knitting charity Warm Up America!. Warm Up America! was created by Evie Rosen, who just so happens to be a great friend of my grandmother's. Together they worked at Evie's shop, The Knitting Nook, in Wausau, WI. The shop is not open anymore, but my Grandma Marge has given me some of her stash over the years and other fun stuff like this awesome canvas duffel bag!

The next group I want to tell you about is called, believe it or not, The Knitting Nook. The Knitting Nook is a new group that meets on selected Wednesdays at the Buzz Cafe in Eldridge. I read about it in this article from the Quad Cities Times. After reading the article, I tried to find contact info for the founder, Tammy, but I couldn't. Imagine my surprise when I signed on to Ravelry today, and there was a message in my inbox from Tammy herself! Apparently she knows Miss Effie, and she stumbled upon this blog in Ravelry! I'll definitely be making an appearance to this group soon. Their next meeting is next Wednesday, February 16 from 3pm - 5pm. You can RSVP at the Knitting Nook blog, which is linked above.

Also important to note are the knitting nights at Serendipity Yarn Shoppe. They have a full calendar, including knit nights on the First and Third Thursdays of each month at the shop in Muscatine at 6 pm. I've been to their knit nights quite a few times and they are always fun!

This post is pretty long, so I'll sign off for now. But soon I'll tell you all about the knitting workshop I'm taking with Susan B. Anderson!!

Opening Doors...

2011-01-16T19:42:00.001-06:00

The picture above is a pretty special (albeit fuzzy) door. It's the front door to the house that Paul and I just bought! I'm so excited to move in and make this place our own. One of the things that's great about this place is that there is a specified yarn studio! I set up a yarn studio in my apartment this summer, and I want to share some photos from the first studio. Many of the same elements will be present in the new place.

I have a penchant for hand-winding yarn, which can mean many skeins stay in their original form until I'm about to use them. Miss Effie gave me some accordian-style hat racks on one visit to her farm and they became the perfect way to add color, and warmth, to the white walls of my 1915 apartment.

The turquoise cabinet was one of the first pieces of furniture that I bought when I moved to Davenport and started my first real job. It is from a store in LeClaire called Artswork. They have a cool mix of furniture, jewelry and art and a lot of it is fair-trade! The wash basin was purchased at my favorite antique shop, Antiques on Brady, just north of Vandeveer Park. It's a small shop, but very, very cool. There are awesome buttons, lots of extremely clean kitchen items (including my favorite blue Ball canning jars), and some really neat furniture. I also got this awesome wooden ironing board there, for practically nothing.

The glass cabinet definitely was not enough to contain my yarn stash, so I needed some more storage. I accomplished this by stealing an organization idea from Susan B. Anderson, one of my favorite knit bloggers and a wonderful designer. I'm especially charmed by her toy designs. On one of her posts she mentioned some chicken coop style shelving she purchased from Sundance. I just couldn't resist!

I still needed a way to store/display all the small leftover balls of yarn from former projects. I can't throw yarn away, especially any of the natural fiber variety. This dilemma was solved by a few hanging produce baskets. Thanks, Mom, for remembering I mentioned this and finding them for me!!

The studio wouldn't be complete without knitting books and patterns. I acquired a bookshelf from my parents house that my dad built when I was a little girl. It fits perfectly under a window, and looks pretty great with the red office organizers that I bought on clearance this summer.

In the center of the room was a dining room table with a tablecloth I got from Anthropologie. If I had endless funds, I'd furnish my whole house with housewares from them.

Oh! The reason it's a dining room table and not a work table is because the yarn studio also happened to be the dining room. As you can see, I didn't host too many dinner parties :)

Serendipity

2010-04-26T20:39:00.004-05:00

I have a new favorite yarn shop: Serendipity Yarn Shoppe in Muscatine, IA.

Reason #1 is that I walked in and the owner, Francy, said, " I was on your website this morning!" Yes! I was so excited that someone I'd never met read the blog. Serendipity opened in February, in the place of the former LYS in Muscatine. Which brings me to reason #2: the store's atmosphere is wonderful, with a huge table and comfy chairs that just beg you to sit down and knit for hours. Colleen, my knitting partner in crime, and I did just that. Reason #3 would be all of the events, classes, and knitting groups the store hosts. Their (full) calendar of events can be found here. Reason #4 would be that they loved the sewing organizer that I made on the quilt retreat I attended at the St. Columbkille Convent in Dubuque. So much that they asked me to make a sample in knitting themed fabric and I might sell some organizers there in the future! See the photos below to follow the making of my first official sewing project.

Step 1. Draw out plans, to scale of course, as any self-respecting Michigan Tech engineer would do.

Step 2. Cut out tiny pieces of fabric and beg mom to place three zipper heads on one zipper. These is an amazing feat, and I'm forever grateful to my mom for sticking to her guns and figuring this one out. Place fabric according to drawn out plans.

Steps 3-25. Try to sew all the little pieces together in a logical way so that it actually looks like the plan. This is harder than it sounds, which is why I'm allotting 23 steps to this task.

Steps 26-35. Ask mom and aunts numerous times how to accomplish things such as sewing in plastic windows and adding bindings, zippers, etc. This is necessary because of course you didn't decide to make something with an actual pattern for your first sewing project.

Steps 36-50. Attempt to use some ridiculous plastic tool thing to make a perfectly sized binding. These are not separate steps so much as opportunities to get one simple step done correctly.

Step 51. Hand stitch binding to front of organizer.

Steps 52 & 53. Fill with sewing/ knitting notions and enjoy!!!

I Caved...

2010-04-18T09:53:00.008-05:00

On Friday, I did something I swore I would never do. I was really determined not to do it. I have been known to expound upon the abomination that is this act.

I bought Crocs.

I actually spent my ~~dad's~~ own good money on Crocs. Crocs: the reason Mario Batali's appearance so disturbs me (that and the fact that the hem of his apron goes past the hem of his shorts). And I now own a pair (of Crocs, not Mario Batali's shorts). Well, kind of...

So you see, I didn't buy clog Crocs. And is it just me, or are these actually kind of cute? And they were only $10 (at Big Lots...you never know what you'll find at that place). I almost put them back after the nice lady at the checkout asked, "Now, honey, do you have a place to wear these?" as if there is no appropriate place to wear Crocs flats.

But I sucked up the embarrassment, ignored the flush I could feel coming to my cheeks, and paid for my new footwear. Because there is a perfect place to wear the Malindi Flat Slingback. And I will be lucky enough to work there this summer. And get college credit for it (seriously, has there ever been a class as cool as "Fieldwork in Ethnobotany?").

Whew. I feel like I've just been to confession. I have to say, this was eating me up inside. But man, do I feel better.

Flash-in-the-Pan Mob

2010-04-10T16:18:00.003-05:00

Oh. My. God.

Seriously, who doesn't love a good flash mob? If you've never heard of one, it's when a bunch of people learn a dance, then go to a public place, disperse themselves amongst unsuspecting standers-by, pump up the music, and proceed to make the day of whoever's lucky enough to be standing around. Usually the dance grows progressively larger, with some of the people who previously acted surprised at the impromptu display turning out to actually be dancers themselves. I possess absolutely no dancing skills, but being part of a flash mob is on my bucket list nonetheless. Maybe you've heard of this one, where a group of dancers performed to a hip-hop remix of Do-Re-Mi from the Sound of Music. Or this one, involving thousands of people and featuring live music from the Black Eyed Peas, organized to kick off Oprah's 24th season.

But now, there is a flash mob involving, yes, choreographed dance, but also...choreographed cooking! As part of his new show, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, the naked chef organized the flash mob along with students at Marshall University, located in Huntington, West Virginia. Huntington, billed as the unhealthiest city in the U.S., is the setting for the entire show. The premise is that Jamie will try to revolutionize the eating habits of America, using similar techniques to those he used in his homeland of Britain, and starting with the school system. So far, Jamie's received a lot of hostility from Huntington residents, and especially from a local radio host who, excuse the expression, has been a pompous ass completely ignorant of both the dangers of our current food system and Jamie's intentions. The flash mob came about as Jamie's attempt to raise awareness of a bet with that selfsame radio host that he could teach 1000 people to cook in 5 days. Check it out!

The premise of this show is already right up my alley. But a flash mob makes anything better. Waaaay better.

Local Fare Fair

2010-02-27T21:02:00.010-06:00

So those of you who have been in college and lived in a residence hall know that in such a situation, there generally isn't much to get excited about when it comes to food. This last week I've forgone the cafeteria and it's grease-laden faux-mestibles in favor of fruit, granola bars, and whatever I can manage to make with my two saucepans, small cutting board, and single knife (I've pared down a lot since last year). Surprisingly, it's quite a lot: tons of soups; multiple permutations of stir-fry-like concoctions using brown rice, lentils, or quinoa; and my all-time favorite breakfast of pinhead oats mixed with whatever fruit's lying around.

But as exciting as brown rice and lentils are, the week's real excitement came Thursday evening at the Stevens Point Local Food Fair. Held at a local high school, the event featured exhibits from local farms and businesses, a free baked potato bar and desserts, and even an original multimedia presentation about the future of local food in the Stevens Point area. All that emphasis on locavorism brought me back to my days at Quad Cities Buy Fresh Buy Local, and that can only be a good thing. Plus, my mom took me...and it's always good to spend time with Mom! (P.S. thanks for the groceries...love you!)

Overall, the fair was pretty awesome. The multimedia presentation was a little odd--long story short, it focused on a group of farmers in the future who genetically modify a "future-loom" seed which contains a breathing, speaking messenger, which they send back in time to warn people about their dangerous farming practices...anyone else see a flaw in logic with genetically modifying a seed and sending it back in time to warn people against genetic modification? But really, the overall message of the fair was good, and it was heartening to see how many people showed. I love seeing people with a vested interest in the origins of their food.

I also love getting new books. My mom (she really is awesome) bought me a new one at the fair as well. Your Eco-Friendly Yard: Sustainable Ideas to Save You Time, Money, and the Earth is chock-full of sweet ideas for the backyard of your dreams. I swear, someday I'll live in a place where a backyard is usable more than three months of the year. Plus, my mom went to college with the author...right here in Stevens Point! Pretty cool. Only problem is I think she took the book back with her when she returned to my hometown 150 miles away...

So, check out Your Eco-Friendly Yard. And get involved in the local food economy of your hometown! I'm not saying you should be a die-hard about it. There is a continuum. Just check out your local farmers' market. You can't beat the atmosphere, and it's usually not just fruits and veggies (although those are great too). Many markets also offer local eggs, meats, baked goods, preserves, and sometimes even handicrafts and housewares. And they're not as expensive as you might think!

The Big Jump

2010-02-27T15:37:00.015-06:00

I have recently embarked on a new knitting challenge; I am going to knit a sweater, for myself, out of sock yarn! Hand-painted sock yarn, to be exact. I saw this yarn almost a year ago in a yarn shop in Davenport, and it immediately made me think of a favorite book from my childhood. Can you see the resemblance? I also found the title of the book fitting for the name of this sweater. Designing a sock yarn sweater is surely a big jump from my previous knitting endeavors :)

This project is to be a celebration of knitting. It will be simple in design, to show off the yarn and to demonstrate how beautiful a sweater in stockinette stitch can be. There is no pattern, I'm making it up as I go, and I'm sure a fair amount of frogging will be taking place. But even so, I can't describe how this project excites me! After swatching in the round last week, I finally casted on a few days ago.

The sweater is knit from the top down, and I've casted on for a 28" boatneck opening. After researching other patterns, I decided to follow the raglan set-up method used in the Candy Stripe Noro Raglan. Thank you, Jenn! From this pattern, I set up for the raglan sleeve increases by setting aside 1/6 of the total number of stitches for each sleeve. I decided to do paired raised, or lifted, increases for the sleeves, leaving two stitches of stockinette between the increases. I love how it looks so far! For more specific details, check out my Ravelry listing for this project.

P.S. I have to confess I already had my first frogging episode. The yarn started to pool a little strangely after awhile, so I ripped out a few rows and started alternating rows from two skeins. It totally worked, and I consider the frogged rows to be "practice"!

And I'm back!!!!

2009-12-26T11:14:00.012-06:00

Ok, so the preparation for this Christmas season wasn't exactly what I had expected. Instead of calm evenings in my beautifully decorated house, I frantically knitted my fingers to the bone and on most nights did not even plug my Christmas tree lights in. Why so frantic, you ask? Well, in October it seemed like a fine idea to say yes to anyone and everyone who asked me to knit a present for one of their loved ones. Now I'm older and wiser, and I know that is not a fine idea. I've instated a new policy: if you haven't ever told me you love me, you are probably not getting any items from my knitting needles in the near future. Someday, maybe, but not soon. Sorry to sound harsh, but I'm doing this for my sanity. I do need to add that this situation was my own fault, I did get paid, and I do love knitting things for others. It was just the combination of holiday stress, strict deadlines (yes, Christmas is December 25th, EVERY year), and my knack for grossly underestimating the amount of time it takes to knit things (especially sweaters). With that, I'll leave you with some photos of things I've knit in the last couple of months. (These photos do not include everything. There were some things I finished so close to the deadline I was practically weaving in yarn ends while driving to meet the customer.) Not pictured are two green, seed-stitch berets, a pair of charcoal grey mitten gloves with white snowflakes, and a half finished Christmas stocking.

Locateria

2009-10-15T14:56:00.007-05:00

So far I haven't minced words about how much I dislike the cafeteria food I'm forced to eat while living on campus at UWSP. That's because, until last night, I was faced with the usual deluge of greasy pizza, butter/cheese-laden pasta and potatoes, and a weekly rotation of dubious main dishes, my favorite of which is the masticated mass of ground chicken formed into a vaguely breast-shaped patty, deep-fried, and then advertised as "breaded chicken breast."

This year was supposed to be different. It was big news when, during the last school year, UWSP announced plans to switch from dining service giant Chartwells to a self-run operation. Until last night, that basically meant the school was buying from Sysco, instead of Chartwells buying from Sysco (effectively cutting out the middle man, although meal plan prices went up considerably this year). When asked about a recent student push for local food, the director of university dining responded with the offensive and patronizing comment, "People don't understand the real impact. To go local, we would be serving no lettuce in the middle of winter." Umm, this is one of the leading natural resources schools in the nation. For the most part, we understand the idea of agricultural seasons. We embrace it; the beauty of eating seasonally is variety. Not to mention the fact that some of the earliest proponents of the Farm-to-School method have been in New England, which, last time I checked, also enjoys winter.

Despite being a truly environmentally forward school, Stevens Point's dining program is, on a whole, lacking. So when I walked into the dining hall and was confronted with what was advertised as "Harvest Dinner," I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least.

There was still pizza and pasta, like usual, as well as the salad bar and the build-your-own sandwich/wrap station. But the main line was loaded with (oh my God!) local food! Purple potatoes, roasted with lots of black pepper; whitefish from Lake Superior; bison stew (!); wild rice with cranberries; baked acorn squash; and apple crumble. All from Wisconsin. I was beyond excited.

It is my sincere hope that in the not-too-near future this will not be a once-a-year occasion that almost causes me to drop my polycarbonate cafeteria plate in disbelief. My dream is that soon, the oddity will be food from outside Wisconsin. Apples from Oregon? Why? We have orchards practically within walking distance. Masticated chicken patty? Nope...plenty of poultry to be had right here in Portage County. As difficult as it may be for kids to give up lettuce in December, I have faith in UWSP's student body. The least we can do is give it the ol' college try.

Book Review: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

2009-10-08T13:46:00.003-05:00

I'm going to try something new today. I've not been posting much because, frankly, the most exciting thing that has happened to me in the past few weeks is one homeworkless day...which I spent poking around Facebook. And I've certainly not experienced anything interesting in the culinary world lately (unless you count yesterday's Oktoberfest celebration at the cafeteria, which I don't).

So in lieu of relating my culinary exploits, I'm going to review a book. While Animal, Vegetable, Miracle isn't an overt "foodie" read, it does bring to light many issues related to responsible consumption, an important consideration for the modern eater.

Published in 2007, the book tells the story of author Barbara Kingsolver's move (along with her husband and two daughters) to a small tract of land in Appalachia. Accompanying the move was a family pact to join the locavore movement: that is, the family decided to obtain all of their food from within a 100-mile radius.

Kingsolver is best known for her works of fiction, such as the immensely popular Poisonwood Bible. Few people realize that she is an avid home gardener with a masters degree in evolutionary biology. The combination of skilled writer and environmental scientist makes for a great read, and one without the pretension of similar eco-books. Kingsolver remains grounded, offering environmentally friendly options for people with little time, money, and/or space.

Separated into months (the Kingsolvers' initial locavore commitment was for one year), the book is interspersed with recipes and nutritional information from Kingsolver's oldest daughter, Camille, and insight from Steven Hopp, Kingsolver's husband. Despite the fact that it forces the reader to consider some of the biggest environmental issues of our time, the book is a light read. Comic anecdotes abound...especially entertaining is the chapter describing Kingsolver's difficulty in trying to get turkeys to mate with themselves (a trait corporate farming has bred out of them; if you're buying your turkey from the grocery store, it's been artificially inseminated by human hands).

Don't have time to read the book? Not to worry. The book's website includes recipes, news, and even a new index for the book. If nothing else, check out the brilliant depiction of the "vegetannual," an easy guide for knowing what produce is in season when.

Get "Fresh" With Me

2009-09-25T15:38:00.011-05:00

Friday, September 18th, marked my local TV debut here in the Quad Cities. I was on Paula Sands Live (PSL, if you're a local!) to promote a screening of "Fresh... The Movie" that was sponsored by the Quad Cities chapter of Buy Fresh, Buy Local and Progressive Action for the Common Good. This documentary is a great showcase of awesome farmers using innovative methods for providing incredible, fresh food. I highly recommend it!

The next morning, it was off to the market once again. Maybe it was the excitement from the PSL and the movie the night before, but everything about that day was awesome. It started with the debut of an absolutely beautiful banner that was hand-quilted by my mom. This banner will follow Em and I in all of our future endeavors. Thanks, Mom!

A couple of hours after the market started, I had a very special visitor. Right when Em and I started selling at the market, a really great family stopped to talk to us. One of their daughters asked me if I could show her how to make the bags I was selling. I love the fact that she is so young and interested in knitting. A few weeks later she stopped by and I gave her a pattern that I wrote down for her. Well, last week at the market, she stopped by with her very own market bag! Meet Bronté (and her bag)!

The next photo shows a close-up of the bag. What a beautiful job! I may have some competition. Thanks for showing me your work, Bronté!

The most surprising part of the day came at the end, when I realized I sold an entire batch of Emily´s amazing caramels. Seriously, people were raving about them. Emily had made them the week before when we were both at our parents house. I was sorry she wasn't there to see it, but I was pumped to let her know she's getting rich off caramels AND she gets to sleep in on Saturdays. We're currently trying to figure out a way for her to ship them here, so the caramels may be back soon; you'll just have to stop by the market to find out!

Back to the Market

2009-09-12T12:07:00.008-05:00

So a lot has happened since my last post. For one, I have two new brothers from other mothers. Jorge, from Mexico, is second from the left in the picture, and Kensuke, from Japan is on the far right. They've been great additions to the family...even though I now have to sleep in the camper when I come home to visit. Regardless, I miss them and the rest of my family very much now that I'm back at school.

I spent a week back home between moving from Iowa and moving back to the dorms, and the Friday after I got to Marinette, I enjoyed my second fair of the summer. This time it was the U.P. State Fair, which I haven't missed once since I can remember. This year the newly-arrived foreign exchange students came with us, and a great time was had by all petting farm animals, eating fried food, and checking out exhibits. Below are some picture highlights:

Yes. They judge hay. I have no idea what the criteria can be for such a competition, but obviously someone figured it out. And yes, they apparently smoke suckers in Upper Michigan. Now, I am not a picky eater, but I don't think any amount of money could convince me to pop one of those babies in my mouth. This is probably wrong of me, but for some reason I feel canning should be limited to things that have the ability to undergo photosynthesis.

The following week I moved into my dorm...a much easier task this year than last, mainly because I had approximately 500 pounds less of kitchen equipment with me this year. Seriously, this is what my dorm room looked like last year:

Yep. That's an ice cream maker on the top shelf. And seven varieties of flour on the bottom pantry shelf. And a food processor. And two full sets of pans. And four stock pots in various sizes.

My first week of classes went well. I'm taking Old English, Literature & Ecology, Spanish, an anthropology class called the Culture of Language, and Chemistry. That's a lot of English for a Biology major, I know. And the more observant of you may notice that my course list contains no Biology classes. What can I say? I'm trying to take the holistic approach (my anthropology instructor would be so proud) to learning. And I am doing a 3-day, 1-credit Mushroom Identification workshop, so I guess I did manage to squeeze some Bio in this semester.

Anyway, after three whole days of classes and five whole days away from my family, I had the opportunity to return to Marinette for the weekend. Laura was home, and I hadn't seen her in about two weeks (which is a lot after having lived with her for the whole summer), so I was very excited to be back. Saturday my Mom, Laura, and I visited an art gallery/farm (only in the Midwest) that reminded me a lot of Miss Effie's. Of course, there's no replacement, and the day really made me miss my adoptive parents! I would have more pictures, but my camera batteries ran out. Fortunately this happened after I snapped a picture of this cool rooster sculpture:

And today....today I walked the mile or so downtown to my first farmers market in almost a month! I was having serious withdrawals. The Stevens Point Farmers Market is nowhere near as big as the Freighthouse, but it is quaint and adorable and small-town and just what I needed after a week of rigorous studying. And I ran into an old family friend who also happens to go to UWSP. Only good things come from visiting your local farmers market, people. Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I haven't gotten around to buying more batteries for the camera yet. No worries, though...I'm planning on going every weekend I can until the market closes for winter, so I promise I'll take pictures!

I'm going to leave you with a quote out of one of the books I have to read for Literature & Ecology (Bill McKibben's Deep Economy). Actually, McKibben is quoting from economist Kenneth Boulding. Anyway, I'm a sucker for doggerel, especially of the environmentally-conscious kind, so here goes:

"One priniciple that is an ecological upsetter

Is that if anything is good, more is better,

And this misunderstanding sets us very, very wrong

For no relation in the world is linear for long."

I know, it's pretty lame. But it probably made you think, too.

Back to School...

2009-09-04T16:02:00.010-05:00

A lot has changed in Davenport since the last post. Emily has moved back to Wisconsin and I have weathered my first market without her. It was a bittersweet day. The booth seemed empty without her, but I did sell an entire batch of her famous caramels! I also finally finished the special order market bag!

This bag is an original design, and it turned out pretty much how I envisioned it. I wanted to give this bag more structure, so it would look more like a classic, rectangular grocery bag. I did this by increasing and decreasing every other round at each of the four corners. The use of left and right leaning increases and decreases created an edge that I reinforced with extra yarn after the knitting was complete. I also needed an open mesh-type pattern that did not twist, as the yarn over mesh I had been doing creates a diagonal pattern. The stitch I ended up using was the "S tar Rib Pattern".

I added a pocket inside for keys, cell phone and money. This was done by picking up stitches along the back on the band and then casting on the same number as the stitches that were picked up. Knitting these stitches in the round creates a pocket that is already attached to the back. I finished the pocket using a three needle bind off and tacked the corners to the body of the bag for stability. I searched my tin of buttons from the antique store to find the perfect match, and I think I did: an old, weathered wooden toggle, painted white. I wanted the straps to be sturdy and not stretch as knitted straps would. So... I used woven strapping (in this case blanket binding) and sewed this to the bag. I did, however, want the straps to look knit. I achieved this by knitting a tube that I placed around the binding. The tube had tabs on each side that covered the binding. After using embroidery floss to sew the straps and tabs to the bag, the binding is invisible! Also, note the tag sown into the bag. "An Original by Laura Rose Oman"! Hopefully, I'll be using a lot of those tags in the future. See the photo below for a picture of Vicki (a satisfied customer, I hope!) with the finished product.

Swan Song

2009-08-17T11:28:00.004-05:00

Okay, so nobody's dying...but my life here in Iowa is about to meet its end, at least for now. I can't begin to explain how amazing this summer has been: great new friends from the Farmers' Market, a new set of adoptive parents, eye-opening experiences through Buy Fresh, Buy Local, weekly Ultimate Frisbee, spelunking in the rain, lots of fests (Rhubarb, Sheep and Wool, Jazz, Tug), my first experience camping in a tent, lots of baseball (River Bandits, Iowa Cubs, and even a White Sox game!), free yoga every Friday, more coffee and sushi than should ever be consumed by one person (I'm the caffeine addict, Laura's the one who should probably be worried about too much mercury in her system), and many chances to hone my baking skills.

I haven't had a chance to feel too sad about my impending departure, because some amazing company arrived over the weekend! Laura's college buddy Joe is visiting from Minnesota and our cousin Trina drove down last night from Wisconsin. It's been an adventure-packed weekend involving the Farmers' Market, Tugfest, the aforementioned spelunking in the rain at Maquoketa caves, and River Bandits baseball. Today we're going to check out a local record store, maybe make spaghetti sauce with some gorgeous tomatoes from the Farmers' Market, and play Ultimate Frisbee--if the weather cooperates, that is.

Now, I know what you're thinking, and no, I haven't forgotten about posting my recipes. Friday was my last full-blown baking day, although I plan on making some caramels and caramel corn to sell after I'm gone...I need to preserve my legacy, after all.

Zucchini Mini Loaves

What's a Midwest summer without at least one batch of baked goods laced with zucchini? I used half whole wheat flour in these, simply because I was running out of all-purpose, and I omitted the nuts. One more use for that cute mini loaf pan!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Shortcake

This recipe comes from a community cookbook produced back in my hometown in Wisconsin. It never ceases to amaze me that pouring boiling water over a pile of dry flour and sugar can actually be a good thing, but hey, that's the magic of dump cakes. Since there's no online link for this recipe, I'll post it here:

rhubarb and strawberries to line 13x9" pan

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 Tbsp. butter

1 cup milk

2 tsp. baking powder

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 cups boiling water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together the sugar and butter. Add milk and blend well. Combine baking powder, flour, and 1/2 tsp. salt; add to wet ingredients and mix well. Pour over rhubarb and strawberries in pan.

Mix together sugar, remaining 1/2 tsp. salt, and cornstarch. Sprinkle over batter.

Pour boiling water over entire mixture. Bake 1 hour.

NOTE: A few drops of red food coloring may be added to the water to add color to the cake. (I didn't do this.)

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

I had leftover marshmallow frosting from last week's Confetti Cupcakes, so I used it to top these chocolate beauties instead of using the semi-sweet chocolate frosting from the cake recipe. I used white rice flour instead of tapioca flour because I was out of tapioca flour.

Maple Oatmeal Scones

This is a pretty wet batter, but worth the mess, because the scones come out fluffy and delicious.

Oatmeal Scotchies

I had some leftover butterscotch chips from a pan of Monkey Bars I made last week, so I baked them up into a batch of these oatmeal cinnamon cookies.

Fruit and Nut Energy Bars

I used a combination of almonds and hazelnuts in these naturally-sweetened treats. The filling was comprised of dried currants, dried figs, and dried apricots. These aren't overly sweet; they're more of a snack than a dessert.

So that's all she wrote. At least as far as Farmers' Market posts are concerned. Thursday I go back home for about a week and a half, then it's back to good old UW-Stevens Point for another year of higher learning. I'll keep you posted about my adventures in dorm baking, and there will probably be more than a few instances where I use this blog as a sounding board to rant about how stressed I am about the upcoming midterm, etc. Hopefully I'll be back for Christmas and/or next summer, and the Farmers' Market baking madness can resume.

Belated Baking

2009-08-10T20:38:00.007-05:00

Okay, so I've been a little negligent of the ol' blog lately. Sorry! This means that TWO Saturday markets have passed since I last wrote, so this blog will be a little long what with the double dose of recipes. Here we go!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Maple Muffins

This week's naturally-sweetened recipe is adapted from a recipe for Maple Breakfast Cake from the Michigan Maple Syrup Association. Instead of baking in a cake pan, I put the batter in muffin cups...the recipe made exactly twelve regular-sized muffins. The syrup was courtesy of a friend who recently visited his home in New England...I would rather have had Michigan maple syrup, but hey, as long as it's the real deal, I'll take what I can get.

French Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

This was also originally a cake recipe, but for ease of dispersal, I made it into twelve cupcakes. They baked up with beautiful round domes, but soon fell to create a little depression right in the center of each cupcake. This was perfect though, because it created a great little spot to drizzle the chocolate glaze without having it pour all over the sides of the cupcakes.

Gluten-Free Orange Hazelnut Brownies

I've tried gluten-free brownies before, and they're usually very thin and gooey...these were still gooey, but thicker and overall more...brownie-like, I guess. Instead of almonds, as the original recipe calls for, I used hazelnuts, because I had some leftover from the chocolate cupcakes.

Blueberry Lemonade Scones

Three ingredients. That's all that goes into this simple recipe. Okay, four, if you count the blueberries, but the original recipe doesn't include them, so neither do I. If you don't have self-rising flour, check your all-purpose flour package for a "recipe" for homemade self-rising flour using baking powder and salt. I've also used fresh chopped strawberries in these with great results.

Chocolate Chunk Banana Breads

Banana bread is kind of my thing, but for some reason, I waited until now to make it for market. I chopped up some milk chocolate to mix in and baked it in a mini loaf pan (the kind that's a single pan with 8 depressions). I got the pan from my aunt as a Christmas gift about ten years ago and never used it until this summer, so I'm glad it's finally getting some use.

The recipe was originally from the back of a bag of walnuts I purchased, so I don't have a link for it. I'll post it here with my modifications. Ironically, my adapted recipe doesn't include walnuts.

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3 tbsp. milk

1 cup milk chocolate, chopped, or 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and bananas and mix, using an electric mixer, until bananas are well-mashed. Add flour, milk, and baking soda. Blend thoroughly just until well-combined. Fold in chocolate. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured loaf pans (8 1/2"x4 1/2"x2") or 8 mini loaf pans (about 4"x2" each). Bake for 45 minutes for large loaves or 30 minutes for mini loaves, or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.

Oh, and here's a picture of the beautiful eggs from Miss Effie's that I used in many of the above recipes:

Alright, on to last Saturday's Market:

Gluten-Free Applesauce Cake with Maple Frosting

This cake turned out perfectly moist. Instead of gluten-free baking mix, I used equal parts white rice flour, brown rice flour, and sorghum flour. I didn't use the raisins or nuts as suggested in the recipe. I also didn't use nuts in the frosting recipe. Store this cake in the fridge if it's summer, because warm temperatures make the frosting run a lot.

Currant Cinnamon Oat Scones

The original recipe for these scones calls for cranberries, but I'd already made this version, so I decided to go more of the cinnamon-raisin route. However, I didn't have raisins, so I had to settle for dried currants, which are pretty much the same thing but smaller. The oatmeal gives these a really interesting texture. Sorry about the picture; I had already wrapped the scones before I got the camera out. To make these, simply add a little cinnamon and substitute raisins or currants for the cranberries.

Milk Chocolate Cake with Fudge Frosting

I adapted a recipe for a Spicy Chocolate Cake to make this recipe. I omitted the jalapenos because I actually wanted to sell some of this (although I plan to make the original recipe soon and serve it to unsuspecting family members--it will kind of be a test to see who actually reads this...those who do will be rewarded by knowing enough to stay away from any chocolate cake I offer them in the near future). I also used milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate because I had the former and not the latter. Anyway, my modified version must have been pretty good, because it sold out!

Flourless Banana Muffins

This was my naturally-sweetened recipe for the week. I wouldn't recommend trying these unless you really like molasses. They're good, but the molasses definitely steals the show in this recipe. I omitted the coconut because I didn't have any, and used quinoa flakes instead of bran cereal.

Confetti Cupcakes

The homemade marshmallow frosting takes a while, but it's definitely worth it. It's one of those amazing kitchen transformations...you start with about a cup of runny, almost-clear liquid, and after (just) fifteen minutes of beating with an electric mixer, you have your very own version of something very similar to marshmallow fluff--except it doesn't melt out like the store-bought kind. And it's sooo shiny.

Everything Bagels

Laura's been begging me to make bagels since pretty much the beginning of summer, and this weekend I finally caved in. I added baking soda to the water bath from the original recipe to aid in browning. After brushing the bagels with egg wash, I sprinkled them with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and a steak seasoning that included mustard seeds, pepper, salt, garlic, and onion flakes.

Lemon Sugar Cookies

I goofed a bit on these. The recipe warns not to cook them until brown, lest they get too hard. So I did what I was told and baked them until set. However, they were too soft and all ended up sticking to each other so that I could only get three of them out to sell at market. Those three sold out though, and I'm sure this is a great recipe so long as you bake the cookies long enough.

Sadly, next week will be my last market post. I'm going home for a couple of weeks before returning to school for my sophomore year of college at the beginning of September. Don't worry though, I'll still keep you posted (no pun intended) on what I'm up to...my dorm has a full kitchen so I'm sure I'll be doing a fair amount of cooking, especially in the first couple weeks as I try to bribe people into becoming friends with me.

I'll leave you with a picture I took at the Great Mississippi Valley Fair on Friday. I hope someday my pantry looks like this!

Flours, Fibers, and Fastballs

2009-08-04T21:26:00.011-05:00

I figured it was time to end my on-line silence and contribute to the blog again. This post is devoted to the other pastime that Emily and I have been enjoying this summer... America's pastime... baseball! The picture above is Emily and me with our brother Steve. He's visiting for the week, and we kicked off his visit with a trip to Chicago (note the skyline in the background of the photo) to see the White Sox/ Yankees game. It was awesome! A beautiful day, some good baseball, and a drive around downtown Chicago. The only downers were that the home team lost and we got to the game too late to see the Doobie Brothers sing the national anthem. After the game, we were treated to a cookout at my friend Pat's house, courtesy of his mom. Thanks Mrs. Miller! We enjoyed grilled fajitas to the musical stylings of Lady Gaga. No joke; it was amazing. Below is a photo of U.S. Cellular Field (home of the White Sox).

Em mentioned in a previous post that we got to check out a couple Iowa Cubs games while we were in Des Moines. What she didn't mention was that we happened to run into some other residents of Marinette. Check out the picture below to see who we found at the game...

Yep, that's right. That is Mrs. Hayes, our beloved kindergarten teacher. I cannot describe the state of complete confusion I was in when she stopped me on the concourse. There I was, on a trip for work, in a city 180 miles from the city I live in, and 500 miles from the town in which I grew up, face to face with my kindergarten teacher. I literally didn't hear the first few things she said to me. Once the fog cleared, Em and I moved to sit by Mr. and Mrs. Hayes, and had a great time watching baseball and catching up on Marinette news.

The game was made even sweeter by the fact that I got to see my high school buddy, Greg Reinhard, pitch that night. We had a great time with some old friends that night. Thanks, Greg!
(The photo below is Greg on the mound for the Iowa Cubs.)

In more baseball news, Em, Steve, and I are hitting up the River Bandits game on Thursday. We'll keep you posted on whether or not we try to sneak the underagers into the Tiki Hut. Changing that ridiculous policy has become one of my goals in life.

Lazy Sunday

2009-07-26T21:50:00.023-05:00

Okay, so we didn't wake up in the late afternoon, and there was no Mr. Pibb or Red Vines involved, but it was still a fabulous lazy Sunday. (Ooh, and we did use Google Maps....it's the best.) And SNL, it would be really great if you didn't sue us for unauthorized use of your material...thanks in advance!

Before I get to explaining our wonderful day, I'll do my usual recipe post from market yesterday. It was incredibly slow, which surprised me a little considering that there were 18,000 people downtown for the Bix7 and the Bix Jazz Festival. Laura, however, had an awesome day selling beef at the Sawyer Beef booth...but then, who can resist a pretty blond selling bovine products? Apparently plenty of people can resist an even prettier brunette hawking baked goods. Whatever. Here are the recipes before I get too depressed to type:

Sugar-Free Apricot Honey Braids

I altered the procedure from the original recipe a lot, so I'll post my version here:

adapted from the National Honey Board

3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 (1/4 oz.) package fast-rising yeast

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons butter

1 large egg

1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots

honey for glaze

In large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, undissolved yeast, cinnamon and salt. Heat milk, honey, water and butter until very warm (120° to 130°F); stir into dry ingredients. Stir in egg and enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Knead in apricots.

Divide dough into six equal parts, then divide each part into four pieces. Roll each piece to a rope about six inches long and 1/2-inch in diameter. Braid these groups of four, then place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Go here for a video of how to braid with four strands. (Of course, you could also divide each of the six pieces of dough into three and do normal braids.) Once all braids are completed, cover them and let rise until doubled in size, about 40-60 minutes.

Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Remove from oven; brush top of loaf with honey. Remove from sheet; cool on wire rack.

Bread machine variation: Measure 3 cups all-purpose flour and other ingredients into bread machine pan as suggested by manufacturer. Process on dough/manual cycle. When complete, remove dough to floured surface; knead in additional flour if necessary to make dough easy to handle. Shape dough and proceed as directed.

Gluten-Free Coconut Muffins

I used cornstarch instead of potato starch for this recipe, and I substituted butterscotch chips for the chocolate chips. Oh, and I used plain old canola oil instead of coconut oil. This made a very thick batter, and the craggly tops of the dough globs didn't even out in the oven. To make sure the tops are smooth, I suggest evening them out with a wet finger just before popping the muffins into the oven. Cupcake liners also tend to pull away from these, so you might want to forgo them altogether and just use a muffin tin sprayed with nonstick spray.

Root Beer Cupcakes

This recipe came from my Taste of Home Cupcake of the Week newsletter. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to try these little beauties. I don't turn down a recipe that gives me an excuse to use all my strength to shatter something to bits (this, among other reasons, is also why I will never go to Dairy Queen to buy a Butterfinger or Heath blizzard...much more fun to buy a candy bar and whack it to smithereens yourself.). In this case, the shattering victim is root beer barrel candies, which then get stirred into frosting to top the cupcakes. I didn't use whipped topping, as called for in the original recipe. Instead I made vanilla buttercream and swirled in the crushed candies before frosting the cupcakes.

Pineapple Muffins

The original recipe calls for a specific brand of fancy yogurt, but our store doesn't carry it, and even if it did, I don't think I'd be able to afford it, so I used plain old Yoplait Light Pineapple Upside-Down Cake flavor. I imagine any exotic-flavored yogurt in the mango-pineapple-coconut family would work out just fine. The recipe made way too much glaze. Next time I'll probably just mix a couple tablespoons of yogurt with a couple tablespoons of brown sugar and then down the rest of the yogurt myself.

White Chocolate and Cherry Scones

This recipe comes from dessert guru David Lebovitz, who adapted it from an Alice Medrich recipe. Buckwheat flour and cornmeal give these an interesting texture and nutty flavor. They don't rise as high as normal scones, but they're delicious nonetheless.

Apple Pie Bars

I love any excuse to use a cast iron skillet. There's just something about hearing the sizzle that can only come from food cooking at the high temperature made possible by cast iron's amazing ability to hold heat. After preparing this easy homemade apple pie filling, you'll never use that icky high fructose corn syrup-laden canned stuff again. A short-crust bottom and oatmeal-walnut crumb topping round out the recipe. Truth be told, these would probably be best in early September as an after-school treat, but as I had bushels of apples sitting in my refrigerator begging to be used, I couldn't resist trying the recipe.

And now on to my amazing afternoon. To give you a little background, I'll let you know a little secret about Laura and me. We were born in the wrong century. Right place, just about 150 years late. Both of us feel this indescribable pull toward mid-nineteenth-century Midwest farms. Honestly, we have a running dream of owning adjacent farms...separate acres, but still neighbors. Anyway, today we had the opportunity to visit our dream farm (this is where the aforementionedGoogle Mapscomes into the picture--we used it to make the twenty-minute drive to the farm). See, our friend Cathy was having a birthday bash (a homemade ice cream social, actually) to benefit the CCC food pantry. It was really neat, with donations being used to buy Freight House Farmers Market gift certificates, which will then be given to the food pantry, which will then purchase local foodstuffs to stock their shelves. What an ingenious idea...not surprising, because Cathy is full of ingenious (and generous) ideas. This particular farm also happens to be home to a U-Pick flower garden, and half the proceeds from the day's sales also went to the food pantry.

So we spent the afternoon roaming around Cathy's farm, admiring the gorgeous flowers, eating homemade ice cream in the Corn-zebo (just what it sounds like--a corncrib repurposed into a gazebo...again, ingenious!), and gushing over how perfect the farm was. The afternoon ended in Cathy adopting us (don't worry, Mom and Dad, we still really love you guys too...but there's always room for more positive parental influence, right?).

Cathy also raises chickens. She introduced us to a few, including one named Cruella de Vil and another named Napoleon (I resisted the urge to ask whether he had earned his name by staging a chicken coup). As Cathy explained it, he has a real "Short Man's Complex." Apparently he untied her husband Cliff's shoes today, which I personally think is nothing short of amazing.

Here are a couple pictures of the gorgeous flowers we picked today:

Camping Capers

2009-07-22T16:06:00.008-05:00

Not much baking going on this week. That's because we're CAMPING! It's been a long time since I've felt so close to nature...our site is coverd in white clover, so needless to say, the honey bees have become my good friends. Anyway, I thought I'd share a few pictures and such. We're at Bob Shetler Campground right next to Saylorville Lake and Dam. We were going to stay at a nearby campground called Acorn Valley, but as we had decided we needed electricity and none of their tent sites had said amenity, we decided to move on over to Bob Shetler. In retrospect, we probably should have stuck with Acorn Valley because their sites were prettier and the only thing we've used electricity for in the past three days is to make three pots of coffee. All in all, it's been a great trip, despite the fact that I've gotten lost in Des Moines a couple times, and the fact that the couple next to us had a couple of those tiny yippy dogs that make sleeping such an impossible feat (they left yesterday morning...a hilarious ordeal to listen to).

Our lovely tent under the tree. Laura was able to rent it from work. Unfortunately tent stakes do not come with the tent. We didn't realize this until we had set the tent up. But the nice park rangers came to the rescue with some make-shift rebar stakes that are about six feet long. They get the job done, but getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night has become a dangerous affair.

The view from our site:

We're right next to the playground...

...and the bathroom.

One major highlight of the trip was the opportunity to see an Iowa Cubs game in Des Moines. One of Laura's high school buddies plays on the team, and he got us great tickets. Unfortunately it started raining at around nine o'clock. As we were behind by about six runs, Laura and I decided to be true fair-weather fans and leave before it started pouring on us. Good news, though: Laura's friend got us tickets again for tonight's game...we're going to try our best to make it all the way through this one! Here are a few pictures of Principal Park. Steve, eat your heart out! (Steve, for those of you who don't know, is our baseball-loving little brother.)

Market Madness

2009-07-18T20:44:00.011-05:00

Today's market was amazing! So busy at times that we could barely keep up...but we love it that way. Thanks to all the customers who visited us today. We really appreciate your business! Now, on to business. Here are the day's recipes:

Sugar-Free Apricot Sticky Muffins

I made quite a few modifications to the original recipe, so I'll post my modified recipe here. They sold out, so I can only assume they were good!

1 cup apple juice
1/2 cup dried apricot halves, finely chopped
1 3/4 cup white all purpose flour
1/3 cup dry farina (Cream of Wheat)
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup Margarine, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg whites , lightly beaten
8 oz nonfat peach yogurt (substitute vanilla or plain if desired)
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Microwave apple juice and apricots in a covered and vented microwave safe bowl until mixture boils (about 3 minutes on high). Let mixture rest and keep covered until fully cooled. Strain mixture in a colander set over a bowl in order to save juice.
Mix flour with farina, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk together 3 tablespoons of saved apple juice (from previous step), margarine, vanilla, egg whites, and yogurt. Gradually mix flour mixture into apple juice mixture. Then, mix in apricots.
Divide batter among a 12-cup muffin tin coated with cooking spray. Bake muffins for 20 minutes or until set. Let muffins cool on a wire rack. When cooled, dip tops of muffins in saved apple juice and scatter with sugar.

Gluten-Free Monkey Bars

These sold out as well. They kind of reminded me of that oh-so-delicious Girl Scout cookie known as a Caramel Delite. Instead of chocolate chips, I used Nestle Swirled Milk Chocolate and Caramel Chips. And I used these adorable baby bananas because they were the only ripe ones at my grocery store.

Oh yeah, and instead of baking mix, I used 1/3 cup each of tapioca flour, sorghum flour, and brown rice flour, plus 1 teaspoon of baking powder.

Apple and Spice Muffins

The weather has been cool this week, and I guess it got me in the mood for autumn, because these muffins definitely evoke September/back-to-school feelings. I guess other people were in the same mood, because there were only two left!

Cinnamon Chocolate Squares

Yet another great BakingBites recipe, this coffeecake was a big hit. I forgot to layer the chocolate into the cake, but other than that I followed the recipe exactly.

Lemon Creme Bars

I guess I was in a bar cookie-type mood this week, because these were my third. A super easy, six-ingredient recipe...only two left!

Blackberry Scones

This week's scone recipe was a real winner...they turned out flaky and beautiful. Laura hand-picked the blackberries while working(!) in Peoria.

Butterscotch Marshmallow Cookies

The original recipe for these calls for Corn Flakes, but I didn't have them, so I used Corn Chex. Again, only two left!

And now for the Sprouted Grain Bread update. There was a little mishap regarding the first grains I sprouted. Long story short, I visited Laura in Peoria for a couple days, leaving my poor grains to ferment. Oops! Some of them literally carbonated their sprouting water. It was not good. Anyway, I ended up re-sprouting, with the exception of the amaranth because I didn't want to deal with trying to drain it (see my earlier post about this). I also sprouted some wheat berries, because wheat is the only grain that has the necessary protein on which yeast feed (I know how ridiculous that sounds, but I hate dangling participles). Also, after a little more research into the subject, I discovered that it's preferable not to leave the grains sitting in water between rinsings. Also, I realized that the anaerobic environment created by screwing the lids/rings onto the jars probably does nothing but encourage fermentation, so I just left the jars with their window screen covering them, and no lid. I sprouted half a cup (dry) of each of the following grains: wheat berries, barley, rye, oats, millet, and red quinoa. To actually make the bread, I combined two tablespoons of instant (not fast-acting) yeast with a little warm water and a little honey. Although it's not technically necessary to dissolve the yeast when using instant, I wanted to give it a little head start since the bread contained such a small amount of wheat. After the yeast mixture was nice and foamy, I poured it into the food processor with the drained grains, a little salt, a squirt of honey, and a couple handfuls of spelt flour. When the mixture formed a dough (of sorts), I scraped it into a bowl and let it rise for about two hours...longer probably would have been better. Then I scraped it into a 9x5-inch loaf pan and let it rise again for about two hours. I then baked it in a 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes...the tap test (you know, where you tap the bottom of the loaf and it sounds hollow) doesn't really work on this bread because of its density, but the finished bread is dry yet still slightly springy. To prevent a rock-hard crust from forming, I wrapped the loaf in a clean kitchen towel and enclosed it in a gallon-size Ziploc bag for about 45 minutes. After this, I removed the bread and let it cool completely on a wire rack. Here's the finished product:

Stay tuned for further experiments with sprouted grains. We're camping in Saylorville this week...I can't wait to see the cute sprout jars sitting on our picnic table!

Trials in Sprouted Grain Land...and Some Applesauce Cocoa Cookies

2009-07-14T22:27:00.013-05:00

There's an awesome couple that visits us at the market every week, and a couple of weeks ago, they commissioned me to try making sprouted grain bread. My first attempt was a hilariously awful round rock consisting of nothing except sprouted wheat berries ground into a dough-like paste and then baked in a crock pot for upwards of eight hours. I had success the next week, with a loaf modified from the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book (always a great read for getting in touch with your inner hippie). This one had yeast, a little honey, and some salt in addition to the wheat berries, resulting in a couple of loaves of pleasantly dense, chewy bread. The customers enjoyed it, but they asked for something made without wheat, so I'm on to trying a six-grain sprouted bread. I'm going to try to basically follow the Laurel's Kitchen recipe, but I have no idea if the combination of grains I have is going to work. Here's a picture of the grains I chose (from one of my favorite stores in the area, Greatest Grains):

Starting at the left and going in a clockwise spiral: rye, amaranth, millet, oat groats, barley, and red quinoa.

First soak: The basic idea here is to soak the grains for a couple of days, rinsing them 2-3 times per day, until they "sprout" little tails. Different grains take different amounts of time and grow different lengths of tails. I learned today that quinoa sprouts really fast...the other grains haven't done much but it's only been a day so I'm not worried yet.

This ingenious set-up makes it incredibly easy to drain the soaking water from the grains...it's just window screen cut to fit inside the ring of the mason jar so that it can be tipped to drain the water without dumping the grain. The only problem is that I chose to use amaranth. Amaranth is the smallest grain. So small that it goes right through window screen. Not exactly sure how I'm going to deal with that, but I'm probably going to end up trying cheesecloth to drain the water.

In between drainings the jars should stay covered, so I just put the lid under the window screen and screwed the band on.

I plan on making a variety of mini-loaves of this bread with different flavors like cinnamon-raisin, sesame seed, everything, etc. Stay tuned for the results!

And now on to those applesauce cookies. As I mentioned before, I make something naturally-sweetened every week. Today it was these cookies, adapted from a recipe from allrecipes.com. The original recipe called for artificial sweetener, but I try to stay away from that when I'm baking for the market, so I substituted honey and cut back on the water by about two tablespoons. They turned out very cakey and spongy. Anyone with a desire to make whoopie pies would probably have good success with these.

This one's for you, Mom!

2009-07-12T22:20:00.007-05:00

Today's post is half about knitting and half about a certain Norfolk Island Pine. First, the pine. When I was baptized, my godfather gifted me a Norfolk Island Pine. It was tiny, and as I was growing up I watched it grow into a 5 foot tall tree. We even decorated it for Christmas, and each summer moved it outside to enjoy the Wisconsin weather. It was cumbersome to move, and my mom even "lent" it to my dad's office for awhile. I know she was getting sick of it, but I promised her that as soon as I had my own place, I'd take the tree off her hands. I really liked it and liked the fact it was exactly as old as I am. Anyway, here's where the story gets a little fuzzy. I'm not sure if the tree never made it back from the office, or if the Wisconsin weather was a little too windy, but on one trip home from college, the tree was no longer there. I was bummed, to say the least. But today, all that changed. I purchased the little beauty pictured below, and in 23 short years, I'll have my own 5' pine tree to decorate every Christmas!

Now, for the knitting. I'm still working on the vest, but it is going quickly, despite the fact that I have to make it at least 4 inches longer than the pattern calls for to accommodate for my ridiculously long torso. I also keep messing up the diamond pattern, resulting in a lot of mistake fixing with the crochet hook. I am getting really good at fixing mistakes with a crochet hook, though!

I also have a new market bag in the works. It was special ordered by some of Em and my customers at the market. Em is working on sprouted grain breads for them, and now I've been contracted to make a bag with lots of color changes and a new open-work pattern. I'll scan and post a sketch soon!

To Market, To Market

2009-07-11T23:10:00.011-05:00

So today was the Farmers Market. A little slow at first, but it picked up towards the end. Here's what I made, with short descriptions and links to the recipes:

Gluten-Free Cherry Chocolate Cake

Every week I make something gluten-free. It's surprising (and really gratifying) to see how many people with wheat allergies are able to enjoy things they don't usually get to indulge in. This is a basic chocolate cake, with cherry pie filling mixed into the batter, marshmallow creme on top, and a few chocolate jimmies for the finishing touch. I didn't have gluten-free flour mix, so I used equal parts brown rice flour, sorghum flour, and tapioca flour--for this recipe, that's about 2/3 cup of each flour.

Seabreeze Jumbo Cupcakes

The original recipe for these cupcakes calls for cranberry juice and fresh cranberries, but I substituted orange juice for the cranberry juice and dried cranberries for the fresh. The recipe is also written for standard-size cupcakes, but it made the right amount of batter for six jumbo cupcakes, which I baked for about 25 minutes. I used a cream cheese frosting with gold sanding sugar on top, followed by a molded white/milk chocolate swirl shell. These were a top seller!

Lemon Angel Food Cupcakes

Light-as-air angel food cake with a touch of lemon zest just to change things up a bit. I used a simple powdered sugar glaze with fresh strawberries on top of the cupcakes.

Dark Chocolate Muffins

Another great recipe from Baking Bites, these muffins get a double dose of dark chocolate: some melted and stirred into the batter, and some in the form of dark chocolate chips. They came out with beautiful domed tops due to a large dose of baking powder.

Sugar-Free Almond Granola Bars

I also make something naturally sweetened every week. These granola bars were good, but I had to add quite a bit more honey than the recipe calls for in order to make the dough stick together enough to shape them.

Ginger-Orange Scones

For some reason, scones are incredibly popular at the Farmers Market. To make these, I added chopped crystallized ginger and orange zest to a recipe for Coffeehouse Scones.

Big Mistake, Fella...Biiig Mistake

2009-07-09T23:47:00.002-05:00

^Don't tip this guy^

I'm just going to put it out there: this post has nothing to do with knitting or baking--although I can think of a few things I'd like to do to the above pictured man, and several involve knitting needles and an oven. This post has everything to do with how much it sucks to be nineteen sometimes. Before tonight, the only reason I have ever wished I was 21 was that I wanted to be able to make whiskey cake without asking Mommy or Daddy to supply the alcohol. But tonight Laura and I went to the Quad Cities River Bandits game, as we've done every Thursday for the last couple weeks. The night started off well, as it was Obama bobblehead night (score!). But it quickly turned (whiskey?) sour when we headed over to the Tiki bar behind the outfield. This is where we always sit, and there has never been an issue before. But no sooner had we sat down when Matt, the River Bandits employee from the picture, informed us that I was not allowed to sit in the tiki area because I was not twenty-one. Now, if the Tiki bar were the only place alcohol were allowed, I would understand the over-21 policy. However, there is beer everywhere at this park! The excuse Matt gave was that "they treat the Tiki area like a bar." This is where I will point out that there actually is a bar inside the lovely Modern Woodmen Park, and I was more than welcome there, as was the adorable four-year-old boy munching french fries with his father. Matt also told us that this policy has been in place all year. I would believe him, but for the simple fact that I have been sitting in the same chair for the last few weeks with nary a glance from any of the workers. I would also like to point out that I had no desire to drink; I simply wanted to be able to sit with the people I came with. Laura and I were upset, and I felt about three years old, but we didn't really argue with the guy. Our friend Kim, however, was, frankly, incensed. She was awesome sticking up for us and asking any employee who could listen what the deal was. She didn't get many answers, because none of the other employees had heard of this policy. We sincerely thank her for the effort, though!

Ok, so now that I've vented a little about this whole fiasco, I'm going to add a little disclaimer here: I fully understand that Matt was probably just doing his job (or maybe he just didn't like the looks of me? No, that can't be it...). That does not, however, change the fact that he made my night considerably less fun than it would have been...I can't imagine what I would have done if I hadn't had my Obama bobblehead to assuage the pain of rejection. Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is: Matt, I kind of think you suck, but I don't hold it against you. That much.

P.S. Also, thank you Kim for supplying the picture...and thank you Matt for happening to look just as Kim snapped the shutter (at least you did something right tonight).

Frozen Yoga(urt)

2009-07-08T11:59:00.004-05:00

Lately I've been slightly obsessed with yoga. I've been taking advantage of the fact that I have access to cable for the week by watching FitTv's Namaste Yoga and In Shape with Sharon Mann every morning. Although I don't enjoy it as much as my weekly Yoga Happy Hour at the Davenport School of Yoga, it's still a nice way to begin the day. Anyway, this morning I was inspired to share a frozen yogurt recipe because 1)the two words sound similar, allowing for a nice word pun in the title of this post, and 2) both are healthy and aid in digestion. After a lengthy web search, I chose this Blueberry Frozen Yogurt from Simply Recipes because I love blueberries and they should be coming into season soon. Enjoy!