These are the small diversions I was referring to last post.

Tiny Shoes by Ysolda Teague
Scraps of 8ply Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury, Cream
3.25mm double pointed needles
Started: November 2009
Finished: November 2009
Ravelryed here

A friend just had a little girl, and I’ve been wanting to try this pattern for a little while. Quite fortuitous really.

I initially started with Grignasco Bambi, but was concerned they were coming out a bit floppy. So, I upped the yarn to 8 ply Luxury and the needles to 3.5 mm. Although the end result is a lot more structured than my 4 ply attempt, it’ll be a while before they fit. It pains me a little that the colour of the button doesn’t quite match the colour of the bootee, but as soon as I spied the buttons at the shop, I knew they were going to be the ones for this project.

I’m now building quite a collection of projects made from Ysolda Teague’s patterns, I think this is the sixth pattern of hers I’ve used. Beyond the look of the finished objects, I always learn something new about construction and find her patterns pretty clear and well written. In fact, there’s only two instances where I’ve struck trouble; the top button hole of Liesl (a fix for that exact problem was sent out this morning, as luck would have it) and the cast on for Elijah (required a bit of mental and physical gymnastics to get it to work, but the effort is worth it). I guess some would argue that these are two issues too many, but in both instances they made me think about how I knit in a different way, and not in an angry ‘I hate knitting’ way, which I think is a positive thing.

After many years, many mistakes, many stints in the naughty corner and much procrastination, Matt’s Suave Sweater is done. It’s a big mixture of relief that it’s done and that it fits well, and sadness.

“Jumper” (seriously, that’s what it’s called) from Patons Bluebell pattern book 353, Suave Sweaters (circa 1970s)
5 ply olive green crepe from the magical and slightly mystical Bendigo Woollen Mills Bargain Room
3mm needles
Started: Some time during 2005
Finished: November 2009
Ravelryed here

If only I used Bluebell, this project could have been completed a lot quicker and with a lot less tears. However, I thought it would be a good substitute and was determined to make it work.

As I was finishing it off, I thought about all the things that have happened while it’s been in my knitting basket. I remember working on it while on the tram coming home from the last time I saw Matt’s dad before he died. I remember it being one of the ‘special’ projects that came with us when we overloaded my little car and made our way up the Hume nearly three years ago (but strangely, it was trusted with the removalists on our return. It must have been in the naughty corner at the time). I don’t think there’s been a project that has carried so many memories, but this may be purely because of the length of time it took to finish it.

Being a pretty plain diagonal rib jumper, it’s probably an unremarkable project to everyone but me, but I’m really proud of it. I worked through the gauge issues, the sleeve cap issues and the ‘losing the pattern’ issues (thank you to Australian Country Spinners for helping me out there) without ever thinking about giving up. Best of all, it fits and he likes it a lot.

The only concern I have is the sleeves. Does anyone else think it looks a bit strange at the shoulder? The amount of staring at the sleeve cap may have warped my perception but it doesn’t look quite right, a bit lumpy and baggy. Having said all that it’s unlikely that I’ll unpick it, it can just be a charming character flaw.

Now that it’s done, there’s one small diversion to deal with and then a new project can be started. I’ve been fawning over the yarn and pattern for the last couple of weeks when the end was in sight, so it will be most pleasing to get a start on it.

Alison recently mentioned a couple of cook books on her blog that piqued my interest. The one that piqued my interest the most was Life is Sweet by Hope and Greenwood.

The book’s byline is “A collection of splendid old-fashioned confectionary”. Having quite a sweet tooth, I was already sold, but beyond that, I like being able to make/cook/bake things that people take for granted. It’s too easy to go to the supermarket and buy a loaf of bread, lollies, jam or even beer without thinking if or how it can be made at home. I also find it a little frightening how many ingredients are listed in things such as simple butter biscuits bought from the supermarket. Having said that, I understand that people have time and space constraints and some people just aren’t interested in baking/cooking/brewing/making in general.

Anyway, enough ranting. There are a heap of fantastic fudge, marshmallow, toffee and chocolate recipes in this book. A sample of them can be found here. I knew this book was going to be useful as soon as I saw their coconut ice recipe; coconut, condensed milk, icing sugar and food colouring. That’s how I remember making coconut ice as a kid, and seeing more complicated recipes always leaves me bemused.

Today I tried chilli and lime chocolate shards. It’s now setting in the fridge, but small (ok slightly larger than small) samples of the melted chocolate mixture bodes well for the finished product.

I hope to use a few more of the recipes for Christmas gifts. Although Christmas is stereotypically a time of food overindulgence, I like giving home made food as gifts. As long as you know the recipient’s tastes and allergies, it’s hard to go wrong with food.

As a postscript to the last post, it seems I forgot a few pertinent details in my rush to post. The yarn I used is different to Cleckheaton Countrywide. It’s a yarn from New Zealand I picked up from an op shop a few years ago and is obscure enough to not have a listing on Ravelry (I figure if it’s not in Ravelry’s yarn database, it’s obscure). The blanket measures 115cm square, so not huge, but big enough to touch the floor when used as a lap blanket while sitting in my favourite chair.

Overzealous yarn overs have been conquered, Hap is now finished!

Hap Blanket by Ysolda Teague
1.75 skeins Countrywide 12 ply light grey, 0.75 skein Countrywide 12 ply dark grey
9mm needles
Started: September 2009
Finished: November 2009
Ravelryed here

As predicted, the hot days have started so it’s unlikely Hap will be used for quite some time. Having said that, I do live in a city where I once got sunburnt and hailed on in the same day in December some years ago. The blanket did get a quick test run, and it’s very warm and surprisingly large.

I was hopeful that this would be one of two Haps with this yarn; this one, and another with the colours reversed. Unfortunately I underestimated the amount of yarn required for the border. As I haven’t seen this yarn elsewhere (one of the few drawbacks of picking up yarn at op shops), only one Hap will be made with this yarn.

The border was pretty arduous, even with 9mm needles. The rows are long, and one small mistake can take a long time to frog and fix. There’s no denying though that the border makes the blanket, so the slight tedium is worth it.

Still no non ‘Hot + Not’ blog content, but there is some on the way.

Hot + Not, brought to you by Loobylu!

Hot

Knitting. Despite (or perhaps because of) the lack of blog posts, it’s been a pretty productive knitting week. Hap is done, Matt’s jumper is being seamed and Victory is over half finished. My mind is wandering to potential next projects, but I will resist until Matt’s jumper is done.

Today’s Google logo. Even thinking about it makes me smile. Is it because the ‘oo’ is his eyes? That the other letters are choc chip cookies? That parts of those choc chip letters are missing? I think it’s all of those reasons.

The realisation that in just over 3 months, we’re going to Japan! Japan!!

Not

Possibly one of the most insane ‘nots’ that will ever be uttered – the public holiday on Tuesday. My body clock appears to be completely mucked up on account of the mid-week holiday. It’s all a bit bizarre.

Realising in just over 3 months, we’re going to Japan! Besides a few vague ideas (Studio Ghibli, shopping, vending machines, Mount Fuji and maybe Kyoto), we have done zero planning and pretty much zero saving. Whoops.

Loobylu’s meme seems a nice (and easy!) way to get back into the blogging groove.

Hot

Beer! Not just any beer though, the Federation Square Microbrewery Showcase is on today and tomorrow. It got a little crowded tonight, but the great brewers and delicious beer made up for that.

New Mattress – we bought a new pocket spring mattress last week, replacing a clapped out old futon that was a little past its prime. I feel like I’ve got a big kid’s bed now.

My Mum’s birthday. I don’t think she reads my blog, but Happy Birthday for tomorrow Mum!

Using eBay to declutter. One person’s clutter is another person’s treasure it seems.

Rediscovering lovely shops such as this one, while the Australian dollar is relatively strong. This does nothing to aid the decluttering effort (see above).

Not

A dreaded springtime lurgy that has descended upon the Pransell household. It’s the biggest ‘what’s not’ this week by far. I can’t hear, taste or smell very well, my energy is zapped and my patience thin(ner than usual). And I can’t bake. (whinge whinge whinge! I do feel a bit better getting that off my chest)

Mattress shopping. It’s boring, and lying on mattresses in big showrooms is awkward.

Overzealous yarn overs. In particular, discovering over zealous yarn overs 4 rows, or over 1000 stitches, after doing them.

The back of Victory is sort of finished and the front is well on the way. I can’t quite claim the back as finished, as the stripe sequence is a bit… off. While idly reading through the pattern after finishing the back, it became apparent that I really hadn’t paid enough attention. On the right hand side of the photo is the back piece and on the left hand side is the in-progress front piece, featuring the correct stripe sequence.

Normally a mistake of this size would result in the offending project (because it’s obviously its fault and not mine) being placed (or tossed, depending on mood) into a corner so it can think about what it’s done. Projects like Matt’s Suave Sweater received such punishment. This project’s a bit different. I kept going, following the pattern properly for the front. It really comes as no surprise, but it does look better with the correct stripe sequence. So once the front is finished, I’ll rip out most of the back and redo it.

The ribbing is excruciatingly boring and the combination of 100+ stitches, 4ply yarn and 3.25mm means it’s by no means a quick knit. However, the non-ribbing sections are really enjoyable and I can’t wait to see what the finished product will look like.

I’m hoping I’ve turned a corner as a result of this recent large boo boo. Hopefully I’ll avoid the silly mistakes by not rushing into a project. Hopefully I’ll be a bit more relaxed when things go awry. I’ll just have to wait until the next spate of dufferism to find out I guess!

Every room of the house seems to be filled with clutter. Old documents and bills, knitting paraphernalia, video games, boxes, clothes, you name it, it’s cluttering up my house. It’s also getting quite frustrating – I simply do not know how I managed to let things get this bad (actually I sort of do… my old house had lots more storage than this one). It feels very wasteful. So I’m having a good old fashioned stocktake and purge. Seeing the eBay, op shop and bin piles get bigger and bigger is kind of satisfying, but also makes me realise how little thought I put into some of my purchases.

Clutter has also found its way into the pantry. As a household, we’re really good at buying things we didn’t realise we already had, even when we plan weekly meals. Luckily, this tends to be mostly longlife or non-perishable stuff that I know I’ll use up one day. One of those things is desiccated coconut. Luckily (again) one of the ingredients that is used a lot in my Women’s Weekly Recipe cards is coconut (and ginger too, but that’s a story for another day).

Crisp Coconut Biscuits (from Women’s Weekly Recipe Cards, circa 1970’s)

Ingredients:

125 grams butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 egg
2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup desiccated coconut

pinch of salt
1-2 teaspoons of milk
Sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg. Add in sifted flour, salt and coconut and mix well.

I found the mixture too dry at this point, so added in milk until it was at a consistency where it could be easily moulded into balls but didn’t stick to my hands.

Roll teaspoonfuls into balls and press flat. Dip the top of the dough disc into sugar and place on a greased baking tray. Allow room for spreading.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden.

I got around 30 biscuits out of this recipe. If I were to make this again (which is highly likely), I’d use plain ol’ white sugar rather than caster sugar for dusting. While you can see the caster sugar on top of the biscuit, I think the coarser sugar would look better.

Now that the days are getting longer and daylight savings has started, this year’s cold days are most definitely numbered. Despite this, I have started work on Hap Blanket by Ysolda Teague.

The yarn was an op shop find from 2007, and I had no plans for it until the pattern was released earlier this year. Since then, it’s been burning a hole in my stash.

So far they seem to be a perfect match. The natural-coloured yarn works well with chunky garter stitch, and the dark grey stripe matches the light fawny grey nicely. It’s also lovely and warm.

Although the blanket will be lucky to get any use at all this year, I’m sure it’ll get a decent work out next year.

A little bit of knitting on the train, a little bit of knitting during lunch breaks, and before I knew it, this scarf was done.

Gathered Scarf by Maryse Roudier
1 skein Collinette Jitterbug, Velvet Plum
3.5mm and 4.5mm needles
Started: September 2009
Finished: September 2009
Modifications: started with garter stitch rather than stockingette, and worked over 46 stitches rather than 48
Ravelryed here

All up this took 3 weeks at most, which is quite surprising given the yarn and needle size. I highly recommend it as a commute knit, even with the needle changes, as the easily-remembered pattern makes it a good ‘pick up, put down’ project.

While purple isn’t my colour (the scarf is intended for someone else), Velvet Plum has made me fall for semi solids. I doubt I’d ever use semi solids for a larger item of clothing, like a jumper, but in small doses I think it’s terrific. Particularly with this pattern, the variation in colour works in well with the gathered stripes.

Unfortunately I’m now at a loose end, commute knit-wise. None of my current projects are really suitable for commute knitting, yet I’m reluctant to start another. Quite the conundrum.