Klosekraft

A new beret

I finished up this little beret last night. I wanted a hat to go with my entrelac scarf, which I'm sure I'll finish eventually. I have to say that I'm not totally wild about how the colors ended up next to each other, especially that dark purple between two peachy-pink stripes, but it's fine. It was a quick project — less than a skein of yarn, just a few days of knitting on it here and there. I even wrote up a pattern.

Last-minute beret

Size: one fits most
Gauge: 4 sts and 6 rows = 1" on #9 needles
Materials: Patons Soy Wool Stripes (70% wool, 30% soy, 80 g/2.8 oz, 110 yards/100 meters) one ball color 70013 Natural Earth
Size 8 16" circular needle
Size 9 16" circular needle
size 9 dpns

On smaller needles, cast on 76 sts. Work in 1x1 rib for 1".

Switch to larger needle and knit one round.
Increase round: *inc in next st, k2; repeat from * around; end by inc in last st - 102 sts.
Work 3.5" even, dec 4 sts on last round.

Work decrease rounds as follows, switching to dpns when necessary:
*k12, k2tog; rep from * - 91 sts
Knit one round.

*k11, k2tog; rep from * - 84
Knit one round.

*k10, k2tog; rep from * - 77
Knit one round.

*k9, k2tog; rep from * - 70
Knit one round.

*k8, k2tog; rep from * - 63
Knit one round.

*k7, k2tog; rep from * - 56
Knit one round.

*k6, k2tog; rep from * - 49
Knit one round.

*k5, k2tog; rep from * - 42

*k4, k2tog; rep from * - 35

*k3, k2tog; rep from * - 28

*k2, k2tog; rep from * - 21

*k1, k2tog; rep from * - 14

k2tog around - 7

Cut yarn and run through live stitches, pulling tight. Weave in ends.

Soak in warm water and dry by rolling in a towel. Block by stretching the beret over a dinner plate.

Playing Dress-up

Next weekend I'm going to a wedding, the invitation to which specified 'dapper dress.'  My dapperest wedding-appropriate dress (not solid black nor too slutty) is a 1950s cream and black silk party dress. I was planning to cruise ebay for a fabulous cocktail hat to wear with it, when I realized that I didn't have to: one of my co-workers has an amazing collection of vintage clothes and accessories and she's willing to lend.

I brought the booty home last night:

The contents of the box (that's the dress on the left):

The one at the top right is probably the most appropriate as far as time period goes, but it was terribly unflattering.

I love the red one and if I had a pair of lipstick-red patent leather heels to go with it, it might very well be The One. But I don't. Ignore the hair — I'll do something more cocktail-hat-friendly with it for the actual event.

I like this one a lot too. It's a little on the safe side, but quite nice. It's like a glammed-out sailor's cap.

But this one. Oh, this one! I love it so much. Even though it's the wrong decade (probably '30s), I think it'll work with the dress. It's insouciant and chic and a little wacky: everything I was looking for in a hat. I even put some eyeliner and lipstick on to try to do it justice.

I just need to figure out how to keep it on my head. The felt is too thick to use bobby pins. And I have a couple of vintage rhinestone pins that might prove a worthy adornment if it ends up looking too severe.

Wall o' Frames

I've been trying to give my apartment some much-needed attention lately. Part of it is that I've lived there long enough now to really have a sense of how I want to use the space and what's been working and what hasn't.  And part of it is probably a reaction to the change in light and air these days, some bone-deep drive to ready my cave for hunkering down over the winter. I've been rearranging furniture and artwork, sorting through my closet and books, cleaning and fixing minor things that need fixing. I got some new plants and repotted them last night. For whatever reason, herbs don't thrive under my care but ornamental plants do. So I ditched my dying sage and rosemary and basil and replaced them with jade plants and oxalis and lavender (which is probably technically an herb, but I'm not planning to eat it so am hoping that will be enough to make it want to live).

All of this rearrangement has freed up a fair amount of space in my living room, including one whole wall that doesn't have anything on it anymore. It'll take some time and lucky scavenging to carry out the plan I have for it, but it'll be worth it.

I love the painted, empty frames shown on the cover of the current Blueprint. (sorry about the small pic — I couldn't find anything larger online)

And I love the mix of shapes on this wallpaper from Lisa Bengtsson, even though it's a bit too busy for me to live with.

This embellishment of it, from Oh Joy!, is just delightful.

So my plan is to find an assortment of frames, paint them all glossy black and then hang Other Things, both two- and three-dimensional, in a couple of them. I'll start checking out the thrift shops around here in the next few days...

The elusive Kerry Blue

Anyone who's knit a shawl (or ever looked at a blog whose writer was knitting a shawl), particularly in the round, most particularly a black one, knows that they're hardly photogenic. It's hard to see progress, it's hard to see the pattern, it's just a dreary, boring blob.

Which is why I haven't mentioned the kerry blue shawl in a while, even though it's my main squeeze these days. I was putting it onto a longer needle the other night and halfway through, realized that I could lay it out flat enough to take a reasonable photo.

I love it. I'm getting a little impatient to finish, but it's going to be a while. I'm on row 117 of 170, upwards of 450 stitches (I think the count is 696 after the last increase). Each round takes a not-insubstantial amount of time and it's only going to get longer.

Good things from yesterday

1. [photo of antique light fixture taken down by request of owner of said fixture]
 

2. I gave my jeans a day off and wore a pretty vintage dress and my favorite shoes. Since I don't have to dress up for work, I usually don't bother. I really am happier when I do though.

3. I went to hear the Amateur Gourmet read from his new book. That's Craig's head in the foreground, people. Craig!

Adam was as charming, funny, self-deprecating and nicely groomed as you would expect.

4. I didn't seen any signs of the mouse.

The weekend

The good:
Anna and Alex making the Zuni Cafe Chicken and Bread Salad Saturday night. *so* good.
I went to see this play today, which was hilarious. Very Waiting for Guffman.
This air conditioner scratchito on Park Ave.:

The bad:
I was up to the armhole of one of the fronts of Flicca and did a quick stitch count before launching into the shaping. It was pretty far off, so I checked the directions and recounted and looked back and realized that I had completely screwed it up. I was supposed to cast on 61 sts. I actually cast on 53 sts. No idea where I got that — the number 53 doesn't appear anywhere on the pattern that I could see. I ripped it all back already. It was much too big an error to fudge.

The really bad:
I saw a mouse in my kitchen tonight. It was kind of big, but not a rat. I've alluded to my rodent issues in the past, but I don't think I've ever addressed just how intense my irrational fear is. It's, like, really intense. We're talking heart palpitations, nausea, immediately bursting into tears, trouble swallowing... I can't even begin to explain it, but I suppose that's why it's irrational. I had suspected that there were mice in the building a) because it's New York and there are mice in all of the buildings, but also because I cleaned a few droppings out from under the sink when I moved in and recently I found a little chewed hole in a bag of potting soil in that cabinet. I had nearly convinced myself that the bag had just torn though. Self, even mice don't eat dirt, I tried to reassure myself.

I was on the phone with my friend Seth when I walked in and turned on the lights and saw the horrible beige blur of disgusting awfulness around the perimeter of the room — God, I just hate them so much! — and went into full I-just-saw-a-rodent-in-my-home mode. No screaming, but plenty of swearing and weeping and self-pity. The last few months have been pretty crappy in ways that I've chosen not to address publicly and the thought of having to deal with a fucking mouse problem on top of everything else was just too much.

I have a plan though. After Seth talked me through the immediate horror (thanks again!), I did a little research into sonic pest control devices and was very sad to learn that Science says they don't work. I'm going to get one of these instead and get either my super or friends who have different irrational fears to empty it for me when the time comes. Right now, I'm going to clean the kitchen floor. While wearing closed-toe shoes.

Stroganoff? Strogan-ON!

Despite the enthusiasm hinted at in the title, I'm pretty sure that I'm never going to make this again. (My favorite team name at trivia is 'Fresno? Fres-YES!' and I've been trying to figure out how to work that into a post without actually going to Fresno.) It certainly wasn't bad, just blah. I like simple food, even simple beige food sometimes, but this: meh. If I'm going to make something creamy and simple without much nutritional value, I'd rather have macaroni and cheese or fake alfredo.

I used this recipe and followed one of the commenters' suggestions to add a shot of brandy. I used ground beef and about half sour cream/half yogurt. Maybe I would have liked it better if I had used sirloin instead of ground beef, but I doubt it. Next time I'm craving red meat, I think I'm going to try this recipe for carbonnade.

Zoe and I watched Jezebel while we ate. (My new favorite insult: "I don't like your hat. Or your ears. Or anything in between!") I can't believe that Bette Davis didn't win an Oscar for her performance but dreary Aunt Belle did. For what? Wringing her hands and moaning that you can't wear a red dress to the Olympus Ball, you simply can't?

Finished: Placed Cable Aran

Done:

Before washing (me and the sweater, actually. and the mirror — yikes.):

I don't know how well it comes across in the pictures, but it definitely is drapier and softer after washing.

I'm especially proud of the armhole seams. I know the pieces look like they're different colors here, but its just a trick of the light.


Pattern: Placed Cable Aran by Cathy Payson from Interweave Knits Fall 2007

Yarn: Multi-strand cashmere/silk (70/30, I think) from School Products, purchased at least three years ago.

Needles: #8

Started: Um, not sure. Sometime between 8/22, when I mentioned liking the pattern, and 8/27, when I posted a photo of the completed back

Finished: September 16, 2007

Modifications: My gauge was slightly different than the pattern, so I followed directions for the second smallest size in order to get a sweater that was the smallest size.

Thoughts: This was a shockingly fast knit, helped along by the fact that I knit most of it on the subway. A good portion of my commute is on the G train — the red-headed stepchild of the MTA system — and since it's slow and annoying and occasionally sketchy (though rarely crowded!), I really like having something to focus on. Ipod with an audiobook + knitting = relatively decent commute. It's a good, serviceable, comfortable sweater and I'm sure I'll wear it a lot. I would have liked a little more length in the body and sleeves, but considering that this is all the yarn I had left, I'm glad I just followed the pattern.

Soup weather!

I ended up cobbling this soup together from a handful of different recipes. It made a lot and was tasty, cheap, filling and nutritious. I cooked ditalini pasta separately to mix with it (you can't see it in the picture, but it's there in the bottom of the bowl), plopped a big scoop of plain Greek yogurt on top and ate it for just about every meal this weekend. I really liked it just as it is, but I do think an Indian-spiced version would be delicious.

Spinach, lentil and tomato soup

olive oil -- 2 T?
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
6 c. (1 big can) low-salt chicken broth
1 c. lentils, rinsed and picked over
several carrots, peeled and chopped
1 big can whole tomatoes in juice, chopped
1 bag frozen spinach

Cook the onion in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and cook until soft. Add chicken broth, lentils, carrots, tomatoes and juice. Cook until lentils are tender. (Depending on what kind of lentils you have, it'll take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.) Add spinach, and heat soup through.

John Scalzi

writes my current favorite blog that has nothing to do with yarn or food.

Between serious entries like this one about Bush's speech and this essay about being poor, and goofy posts like these two, I think his position on my must-read list is secure for a good long time.