More FOs of 2008

Here's two of the last couple things I pulled off in 2008.

Pattern: Thuja from Knitty

Yarn: Japanese yarn, Wister Gokubito

Timeframe: Just over a week.

Mods: None, 9.25" foot

Problems: None. Love this pattern! Sixth pair I've made, though none for me. I'll have to get on that...

Pattern: Sunny Baby Blanket from How Stuff Works

Yarn: Thrifted DK-ish cotton from a sweater bought at Goodwill.

Timeframe: Just over a week.

Mods: Few. I made the blanket square instead of rectangular, so did 10 total squares instead of 13. I didn't have quite enough yarn to finish, so the top border is a couple of rows short, and I slipped the first stitch on every row for a chain border instead of a garter stitch one.

Problems: Only the yarn shortage. I think it would also look better with a crochet chain cast on, so I think I'll make a second like that. Or maybe not.

You can't really tell from the picture what the pattern is, but it does look great. It is machine washable and has no holes in it, so should be perfect for getting dirty. That's my one beef with many baby blankets, the kids can get fingers and things caught in the blanket and then whine about it. Not fun. This one is textured and has a nice, simple pattern, but will be very difficult to turn into a hazardous device.

First FO of 2009

What will it be? The contenders:

Rogue is the first contender. I've still got to seam the sleeves, and that's it. They're set in sleeves, not raglan sleeves, so I've never actually done such a thing in a knit garment. Actually, I did when I knit Reid, but that didn't count because it was baby sized, since it was for a baby. I didn't have a camera at that point, and while I do have a picture of the cutie wearing the cardigan, I shouldn't put it online.

Hourglass Socks:


This is as far as I've gotten. First sock. A bit more than halfway down the leg. Probably not going to happen.

Mystery Big Bird's Nest Project:


This is why you shouldn't try to make monster skeins when recycling sweaters. I tied the front, back, and one of the arms together for this skein. Frickin' huge. It really could be Big Bird's nest. This is a test knit, so no pictures yet, but I'm liking the way it's turning out and can't wait to show it off!

Another baby bib:


I haven't done an FO wrap up of the other three bibs I've done yet. I'm waiting until all six I will be making are done before showing off all of them at once. They're a very fast, easy knit, even though they are seed stitch and cabling in kitchen cotton. Heck, I've already knit four and started a fifth, and we all know how fickle I am when it comes to projects. This one needs a button before it is complete, and may not be the first FO because I will probably wait until the other two are done and then sew all three buttons on in one session.

Evil Santa doorhanger:


This is the cross stitch I had so very many problems with. It is now washed and blocked. It still needs some tassels on the hat, then I need to sew the backing onto it and add another tassel. This one will probably be done around the time I finish the three bibs, in one big sewing session. I did buy felt for the backing, so now all I'll need to do is mark where I'm supposed to sew, then figure out how to thread my machine. I've done it before, but haven't used it in over a year, so it might take a bit.

Final FOs of last year still to come! This time I already have the pictures on the computer (and Flickr and Ravelry) I just have to write up the post.

Holiday Baking, Part II

On the 9th day of Christmas, could still be 8th for you, I give to you...Cookies! I never showed off the anise cookies or showed how the gingersnaps were supposed to look. Without further ado, for your viewing pleasure (unless you've already closed the window), my cookies:

These are the anise cookies. I had no cookie cutters, so instead of rolling out the dough and making cute little star shaped cookies, I rolled it into a log and sliced them from there. After they came out of the oven, nice and slightly brown, they were tossed in a cinnamon sugar mixture for a sweet coating, then left to cool on the rack. Not stellar, but good cookies.

The gingersnaps were much better when made correctly. The dough was rolled into 3/4 - 1" balls and then rolled in sugar. After baking, they were put onto the cooling rack and then into the bowl for transport. Everyone loved these cookies, including Lee. They are now official Christmas Cookies and will be made every year, if not more often. The only problem is that you can't find molasses here, and it's a key ingredient. We shall have to keep that in mind for next year.

I hope your holiday season was enjoyable, I know ours was!

2008 Recap

In 2008, I finished (according to Ravelry) 35 projects. This does not count my cross stitch ornaments or the three pairs of socks I didn't photograph. Therefore, I actually finished over 40 projects. That makes me feel a heck of a lot better about my enormous pile of WIPs/UFOs. I have fewer WIP/UFO projects than I completed in the past year. Awesome.

After looking back through blog entries, it seems as though there's 44 finished objects. 3 pairs of unphotographed Mix and Match Rib socks, one red, one blue, one pink, all with short cuffs like the red ones on my Ravelry page, the angel bear cross stitch ornament I had to put the backing on, and the five other cross stitch ornaments I finished in October, four of which only needed the gold hanging thread. Not bad, not bad at all.

This year, I think my New Year's Resolution will be to start another 101 in 1001 list, this time knowing where I'll be for the next 1001 days. There are so many things we want to do before we leave Japan that it would probably be a good idea to write them all down anyway, and add to those any other goals I have for the next couple years. I'll get started on that list, but it'll probably be a bit before it is finished.

I spent my New Year's Eve finishing up a few straggling projects. I had six that were within finishing range, Rogue, the Santa cross stitch, the baby blanket, and three baby bibs. I did not feel like setting in the sleeves on Rogue, so that will linger on into 2009. I washed and ironed the cross stitch, but the rest of the finishing was a bit more in-depth than I was willing to get into, requiring me to pull out and thread my sewing machine, so that one also didn't get finished. I did, however, weave in the ends on the three bibs and baby blanket, and I sewed buttons onto the bibs. Four projects that were completed in 2008, all right. Now for the other two small blankets I thought I might be able to finish this break (I'll be lucky if I get halfway through another one!) and the other three bibs that I may as well just finish off, since they take so little time to make. I do have a party on the 3rd to go to, so I might finish up Rogue to wear it there, or I might not. We'll see if I get motivated enough prior to the party with enough time to actually finish it, instead of something like 1 hour beforehand.

Happy New Year!

First Japanese Yarn Purchase

Here is my first yarn purchase in Japan. It's for two pairs of Thujas, one for my work Secret Santa, and one for the person who's been helping us get settled in and acting as the go-between for our landlords and other important but non-English-speaking places. I was already mostly done with the first socks by the time I took this picture, but here it is:


It's some Wister Gokubito. I don't know either. But that's what it says! It's a nice multi yarn, three ply with each ply a different shade. It's worsted weight, 75 meters to 150 grams, and I think it's machine washable with cold water. Not 100% sure there. I did try to felt a piece and while it kind of did, I was still able to easily pull the strand back apart after vigorously trying to felt it. The Wool of the Andes (Knit Picks) felted easily with less agitation. At this point, I've finished both pairs of socks, but have only uploaded the photographs of the first pair:


Yup, another pair of Thujas. It's my go-to pattern. Fast, easy, and who doesn't like a nice warm pair of socks in the winter? Especially when they're handmade!

Pattern: Thuja from Knitty

Yarn: Japanese yarn, Wister Gokubito

Timeframe: Bought the yarn on a Friday, cast on Saturday, finished and gifted it the following Wednesday.

Mods: None, 9.5" foot

Problems: None. Love this pattern!

Holiday Baking

I will have made nearly 300 cookies by Christmas. This has taught me three things:

1. I really, really, really miss American size ovens.

2. I strongly desire a stand mixer.

3. Our apartment tends to be very humid.

I can only put 9 cookies in our oven at one time. Nine. The good news is that both kinds I tried came out well, and I hadn't ever made either of them before. They came out so well, in fact, that multiple people have asked for the recipe and I even made another batch of the gingersnaps to bring to Christmas gatherings. Even Lee liked the gingersnaps! I also made an anise sugar cookie. This one uses whole aniseed (or at least the recipe didn't say ground, and it did say ground cinnamon, so I used whole seeds) and is then rolled in a cinnamon sugar mixture when still hot. These were also very good.


The day I tried making the gingersnaps was not a good day for baking. First, we couldn't find any ground ginger. There's lots of fresh ginger, but we couldn't find any ground. So, I decided that tossing the fresh ginger into the blender was a good idea. It's not. The ginger is too big to be adequately minced in the blender. Some of it was small, and there was a good amount of juice which will be good for the flavor, but there are definitely some cookies with extra large crunchy ginger bits. We bought a ginger/daikon grater for the next batch - got it down to a perfect size. When making the cookies, you are supposed to roll them into 3/4" balls and then roll them in some granulated sugar before placing on the cookie sheet and into the oven. I had to add nearly an extra cup of flour to get the dough into a non-flowing state, and then decided to go with 1.5" balls instead of the recommended 3/4" ones. Apparently, these cookies spread out when they bake:


They look more like muffins in the oven than the tiny little cookies I was expecting. They came out as one giant cookie with some perforations. It tasted pretty good, considering, so I froze the dough to make more cookies in about a week. I was trying to be proactive with the baking, and knew the day I wanted to bring cookies in, so I wanted to make the dough and a test batch early enough to make sure they would actually work. These ones were much better in smaller sizes and a bit less time in the oven.

Next I tried to make some frosting. I wanted to make a Red Velvet cake for Christmas, and wanted to try a couple of different frostings with it. This one was roux based, so I cooked the flour and milk and tried to cream together the butter and sugar. This did not work so well. The sugar flew everywhere and the butter just did not cream, leaving lumps of butter in the frosting. This (and mixing other doughs and things) made me realize that I really do want a stand mixer, especially the dough hook, and I convinced Lee by showing him the pasta maker attachment. As of yet, I have not found the necessary distilled vinegar or buttermilk for the Red Velvet cake, and have the frosting in the fridge, waiting for something chocolate to coat. It must be chocolate. I know, because I have tested various cookies in it and the chocolate ones taste awesome. Everything else, not so much.

Finally, to end the baking extravaganza, I made my tried and true biscuits. They came out...weird. Very watery, and I decided to just go with it instead of adding flour for a better consistancy. Not bad, per se, but definitely not what I was going for! No pictures of these. They confirmed the abundance of moisture in our household. I've made these things dozens of times, there's (almost) no way the consistancy was my fault, it must be the air. I shall attempt these again, for science. And my taste buds.

Vacation!

Wooo, I'm on vacation! Except for one pesky meeting on Monday, that is...

Goals for this 2.5 week vacation:

1. Finish Current Thujas
These are a gift for someone, so I'd like to finish them by Wednesday. The first one is already halfway done, so this should be very do-able.

2. Blog More
I have one completed pair of Thujas to show off, and I may as well show off some other in progress works. I've also been baking, so I can show some cookies too!

3. Finish 3 Baby/Lap Sized Blankets
The first one is already most of the way done, so it shouldn't be too difficult to do this. We've also found a way to get Hulu here, so I can peruse the movies on that while knitting.

4. Finish Fellowship of the Ring
I hated The Hobbit. However, the Lord of the Rings trilogy is on so many booklists that I'm finally tackling it. It's really pretty good so far!

5. Cook Daily
Lee's been cooking here since the majority of my recipes are sauce and cheese based (lasagna, stuffed shells, chicken parmesan) but you can't get plain tomato sauce or most cheeses here. I could definitely do Chicken Parm, and I probably will this week, but I can't get the ricotta for the others. I also like chicken and dumplings and chicken and beef based soups and stews, but there's really not stew beef or good chicken for such things either. No chicken on the bones here. The vegetables are also very small, so I'd be peeling potatoes forever for a good stew or potato soup. I have a recipe that I love, but it requires cheese too, which again is nigh impossible to get, unless you want to spend an arm and a leg. Since I'm on break for the first week and we're both on break for the second week and a half, I'm going to be doing the cooking.

To that end, are there any good Japanese style recipes you enjoy? We eat a lot of cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots and onions, and there is an abundance of fish. We can get really good pork, chicken, and beef, but it's expensive so we try to have vegetable based foods with some meat, instead of American style meat based foods with some veggies. We can only get short grain white rice, and can't get plain old distilled white vinegar. There is pasta and lettuce. There are also eggplants and a multitude of mushrooms, purple sweet potatoes and diakon, but I tend to stay away from those. The purple sweet potatoes are delicious and make really good mashed potatoes, but I don't like/don't know what to do with the rest. Any ideas?