(Apologies to Kevin Smith for that one.) Okay, so everybody in Sydney’s going nuts over Chinese New Year, but you know what? It’s Korean Lunar New Year too! So instead of wishing you “Kung Hei Fat Choy,” I’m going to say “sae-hae-bok mah-ni bah-de-sei-yo” instead. We’re going to be celebrating tomorrow with some traditional dduk mandu guk, a yummy dumpling soup. But before you can make dumpling soup, you gotta make dumplings! I printed out Ellie’s recipe (have I mentioned how much I love her Korean recipes?) the other day, complete with a photo of the beef dashida so I could be sure to get the right stuff. Today I headed to Miracle at World Square to get the ingredients. (There was some confusion on the part of the butchers about what exactly constitutes “beef brisket,” but we got there in the end.) Tonight I managed to sweet-talk the Snook into helping me with the prep work, and then I got to work shaping the dumplings. I haven’t had much luck with making gyoza in the past, but Ellie’s instructions were so great that I didn’t have any trouble at all. I made 68 of them before running out of gow gee wrappers, and they’re all chilling in the freezer as we speak. I can’t wait to eat them tomorrow!
It’s time to start the Sixth Annual web-goddess Oscar Contest, folks! Here’s how it works: Just go the entry form and make your picks for the dozen award categories (and tie-breaker!). Whoever gets the most right wins a fabulous, one-of-a-kind sock monkey creation. After much deliberation, there really was only one choice this year: a Striking Writer Monkey. He’s union and proud, dammit! (And he’ll probably get the Oscar ceremony cancelled anyway.) He’s also kind of a hipster, for some reason. He features hand-knitted Converse All-Stars (which also function as baby booties, if you have a baby) and chunky black glasses (made out of Fimo). He’ll also come with his very own picket sign, as soon as I get some more ink for my printer. (If you want an idea of how big he is, check out this Flickr photo.)
Toe-Up Jaywalkers These are my fourth completed pair for the Southern Summer of Socks (previously: Whitby, Retro Rib, Widdershins). The original Jaywalker pattern took the knitting world by storm a few years back, so I’m a little late to the party. I’d previously made a start on these a few months back but frogged them when I realized they were never going to fit over my ankle. (The pattern is notorious for its lack of stretch.) I later decided to use the toe-up mod instead, so I could better judge the fit and length as I went along. The yarn is Vesper Sock Yarn in the “Tartan” colourway, which I thought would suit the zig-zagginess of the pattern nicely. I knitted them two-at-a-time on two 2.75mm circs, and I used Judy’s Magic Cast-On to start the toe. (Note to self: Next time either use more than twenty stitches or space out your increases better to avoid toe pointiness.) The zig-zag pattern is actually really easy to do and takes two seconds to memorize, but it does make for some odd pooching where you switch from zig-zag to straight stockinette. The worst part of the construction was trying to figure out where to start the gusset increases; the pattern doesn’t really tell you so I had to guess and I ended up reknitting it three times. The reverse turned heel is very nice though, and it seems to be a good fit. I’ll give these an 8 out of 10! (Cross-posted to Ravelry and Southern Summer of Socks.)
Last weekend I managed to finish off two small knitting projects that had been languishing. The first is a matinee jacket for my yet-to-born niece (assuming that she does, in fact, turn out to be a girl). The pattern is from Debbie Bliss’s Baby Cashmerino book, and I substituted Sirdar Snuggly DK for the yarn (going up to a 4mm needle). I just need to get a bit of ribbon to go around the waist.
The second item is a vest for my three-week-old nephew Isaiah. I spoke to my brother on the phone the day of the birth, and I said I wanted to make something for the baby. “Do you think you guys will want to dress him traditionally?” I asked. “Or would it be okay if I did something more modern, like something with a skull on it?” “I think that would be pretty bad ass!” my brother said. Sweet. This vest is based on the “Pirate Jumper” in Zoe Mellor’s Adorable Knits for Tiny Tots. I just used random 8ply wool from my stash. I think it’s pretty appropriate, given that the baby’s dad works at a Harley Davidson shop!
Mini Socks and Swatches I whipped up two little objects last night. The first is a little “Sock Blocker Keychain,” which came in a kit from Robyn’s Nest. Isn’t it cute? I believe the yarn was Lorna’s Laces. The second project is a swatch for my planned Easter Show entry this year: “Road to Golden” from the Fall 2007 Knitscene. (You can see pictures of other people’s versions on Flickr.) I was a bit worried that the acid yellow is too bright and lairy, but so far everybody I’ve showed it to likes it. What do you think?
Widdershins in Noro Kureyon Sock These socks gave me carpal tunnel, I swear. I swore on Christmas Eve that I’d finish them over the holidays, and I spent pretty much every spare minute on the 25th and 26th working on them. The pattern is Widdershins, adapted to be knit on two-circulars. I used Judy’s Magic Cast-On for the toe, and it was AWESOME! I’ll definitely be starting my toe-up socks this way from now on. My biggest problem with the pattern was simply one of gauge, which is really my fault. Fifty-four stitches (with cables) is just too tight for my foot at my normal sock knitting tension. So I ended up increasing a bit more than directed throughout the foot, which meant that I had to wing it quite a bit on the heel. That’s probably why the heel doesn’t fit quite as nicely as the one in the picture. Oh well, they’re still wearable. I also reversed the cable twist on the second sock so they’re mirror images. The other fun thing I did was use a tubular cast-off for the cuffs. I’d never done it before, but the Knitter’s Book of Finishing Techniques has really great instructions. I did it too tightly the first time, but I unpicked it and did it properly. It looks really nice.
Oh, and the yarn? Yeah, that’s the new Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. It’s not available in Australia yet, but the supplier sent me a ball so I could test it out. It feels pretty rough to knit with (like any Noro, really), but the colours are just fabulous. It’s also got a really long colour repeat, so you’re going to have to unwind half the ball if you want your socks to match. I was also impressed with just how far a single 100g ball went. These are really long! I’m wearing them today and they feel a little itchy, but not too bad. I’ll report back once I’ve give them a good wash. (More details are on my Ravelry notebook, for those who are members.)
Carrot Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting The Snook mentioned the other night that the grocery store had some lovely carrots (which he was serving to me for dinner), which reminded me that I’ve had a hankering for come carrot cake lately. I made the mistake of saying that aloud at work yesterday… and promptly received about half a dozen requests for it. A cake is always hard to transport and dish up though, so I decided to go with cupcakes instead. A few websites mention that carrot cake can be a bit dense and heavy for cupcakes, so I found this recipe with a trick to avoid the problem. You “emulsify” the oil by pouring it into a running food processor (with egg and sugar). Sounds fancy, but was actually really easy. So I baked a dozen of them last night, and this morning I decorated them. We’re actually out of maple syrup at the moment (and Coles didn’t have any last night), so I used the hand mixer to beat a bit of maple flavouring along with a good scoop of brown sugar into a block of cream cheese. It tastes FANTASTIC. Then I sprinkled on some orange icing sugar (I have the biggest collection of Halloween-related baking paraphernalia outside the US) and then topped with a walnut half. I hope everybody likes them! (And I have to say, I’m really proud of my food porn photography. Hooray for the macro mode!)
Retro Rib Socks Despite everything else that happened this month, I still managed to meet my Southern Summer of Socks goal of one pair per month. This pattern is “Retro Rib Socks” from Interweave’s Favorite Socks. (More photos are on Flickr.) I’ve now made FOUR pairs from this book; I love it. What I didn’t love was the yarn: TOFUtsies. It’s a blend of wool, cotton, “soysilk,” and chitin. (Yes, ground up crustaceans.) Sounds interesting, right? I had a hell of a time getting it to behave.
My first problem was that I tried casting on from the center of the ball, thinking I’d do my usual “knit two at once” trick. Right away I ran into difficulty. This yarn is so loosely spun and apt to split that I just couldn’t make any headway with it. A single strand would always be pulled loose from the rest and I just couldn’t get it to sit properly. I tried about three different patterns before giving up and going to the outside of the ball. That worked a lot better. (Of course, it also meant I had to knit them one at a time, so I had to battle a little Second Sock Syndrome.) Also, as the yarn has very little stretch, I had to cast on over two needles to get it loose enough to go over my leg, even though I’d already gone up to my usual 2.75mm needles.
Okay, so that’s all the negatives. In the positive column, it certainly feels very nice to wear. I even made the Snook try them on to gauge the prickliness factor, and whether I could use the fiber for him. (He likes them better than pure wool but still finds them itchy. Weirdo.) The other nice thing is the meterage. I had heaps of this yarn left over, and I didn’t make them deliberately short or anything. You’d defiitely get a man’s pair out of a single 100g ball.
Next up: Jaywalkers! I’ve finally given in to the temptation, seeing as how everybody else in the known universe has knitted them.
A few months ago over Ravelry, I floated the idea of a “secret pal” exchange on the Australian Knitters group. Lots of folks were onboard, and we hammered out a plan for a “Tea Cosy Swap.” Everybody was to knit a tea or coffee cosy for their pal, along with $20 or so worth of related treats. My secret pal was Jen, who occasionally comments over here. I made her three crafty things, along with homemade brownies, chocolate-covered coffee beans, and a pack of Japanese cookies. She got her package today, and despite a near tragic dog-related incident, she really liked it!
First up is the Tiki Head Coffee Plunger Cosy. On the questionnaire everyone filled out at the start of the swap, Jen had said that “I absolutely love kitsch, the sillier the better.” Folks, it was like waving a red flag at a bull. I brainstormed to come up with something suitably kitschy that fit the columnar shape of her plunger pot. Then it hit me – TIKI! After scouring Google for a while, I found some tiki faces that seemed suitable. I traced my favorite in Photoshop and turned it into a crude knitting chart. Jen described her 4-cup plunger pot as being 12 inches in diameter and 6 inches high. The following pattern is based on that, but you can easily adjust it to fit other sizes.
Cast on 75 stitches using 8ply wool and 4mm needles.
Knit K1P1 rib for a bit to keep it from rolling up at the bottom. I did 4 rows in total.
Switch to stockinette stitch, and knit 8-10 rows. Now you’re ready to start the chart.
Next row: Knit 10, place stitch marker, follow face chart (18 stitches), place stitch marker, knit 19, place stitch marker, follow face chart (18 stitches), place stitch marker, knit 10.
Continue following chart, knitting stockinette stitch throughout other sections. When chart is finished, knit another 12 or so rows in stockinette stitch. Cast off.
Use duplicate stitch to add teeth and eye highlights, and to embroider “TIKI” (or something else) in the center between motifs. Use backstitch (a thinner yarn helps) to add outlines to face and around letters. Sew top and bottom edges together for about one inch, leaving opening for handle. Add fringe to the sections over the faces.
Next up is the Magical Octarine Hotpad. Jen had mentioned that she could use a hotpad, and I knew from peeking at her Ravelry groups that she was a Terry Pratchett fan. And while I’ve read a couple of the Discworld novels myself, I didn’t know them nearly well enough to come up with any clever ideas. So I did some research and asked some questions.
Octarine (the colour of magic) is described as a “greenish-yellow purple.” I figured that the nearest non-wizard approximation was using one strand of greenish-yellow cotton and one of purple. I combined the two and used a slightly smaller needle than expected to make it a bit bulkier. Octagons also have special magical significance, so I decided to make my dishcloth/hot pad octagonal.
Cast on 80 stitches on a 6mm needle using two strands held together. Join for knitting in the round.
You get the idea. Just go til you get down to the last 8, and then draw the cotton through and pull tight. I also crocheted a loop on one side so it’s hangable.
The last item – “The Librarian” – was inspired by a suggestion on my Ask Metafilter question. Someone suggested I knit her an orangutan. (The librarian of Unseen University was transformed into an orangutan in the books.) While I do like to knit, knitting toys isn’t one of my strengths. However, making sock monkeys is!
The first step was to find some appropriate socks. This wasn’t easy. After checking three or four department stores’ hosiery departments and striking out, I stopped into Kmart on a whim and checked the men’s section. There they were! Bright orange Holeproof Explorer socks. (I think they’re meant for hunters.) And by turning them inside out, I even got a fluffy texture! I was sure I was onto a winner.
The actual construction was pretty easy, especially as I didn’t have a make a tail. (If you call the librarian a monkey, he’ll rip your arms off. Apes don’t have tails!) I modified my usual design a bit by shortening his legs and lengthening the arms. I also stuffed his belly a bit more to give him a paunch. I made more human-looking ears than usual too.
The last step was to knit him an “ook.” (That’s “book” to you and me.) This was knit out of scraps of 8ply wool on 4mm needles. I simply knitted 3 stockinette rectangles (two white, one black) and sewed them together to make a book. Then I used black stranded cotton to embroidery some mystical-looking runes inside. Then I just sewed it to his arm! (Which sounds cruel, but sock apes don’t have opposable thumbs, you know.)
Happy Lunar New Year!
It’s time to start the Sixth Annual web-goddess Oscar Contest, folks! Here’s how it works: Just go the entry form and make your picks for the dozen award categories (and tie-breaker!). Whoever gets the most right wins a fabulous, one-of-a-kind sock monkey creation. After much deliberation, there really was only one choice this year: a Striking Writer Monkey. He’s 
