Romancing The Yarn

I'm baaaaaaack!

2009-11-11T15:05:00.005-05:00

Hey girlies! Long time no see! My wrist problems aren't over, sadly, but when I saw Nancy at RWA this summer, she made me reeeeeally want to try to come back. Life got in the way for awhile, and I still have to be careful how much knitting I do after writing all day, but....

Okay...deep breath...I'm trying to overcome the dreaded

FEAR OF SOCKS eeeeeeeeeek!

I tried Magic Loop last year or so when I was on here and fell flat on my face. Then I was visiting with Deb Dixon about a new book I have coming out with Bell Bridge Books (Belle Books' womens fiction imprint...the book is called THE GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA--you wanted to know that, right?;))

Anyway, somehow we got off on talking knitting, and I brought up the aforementioned FOS. Deb assured me she had a sock pattern ANYONE could knit, so I said "Show me!" She sent it...I started hyperventilating...I exchanged 483 emails (okay, 2) and I pulled out the set of 2.5 mm bamboo dps I had on hand plus some gorgeous Brown Sheep Wildfoote Symphony I'd optimistically bought in the Magic Loop days and....

I cast on 15 st each on 4 needles, tried to knit a row...had to lie down and breathe deeply.

Then I got on knittinghelp.com and saw a video where all were cast onto one and divided after...so I did that, started working on the first row...and had to lie down and breathe deeply. :) (You see how much I love you guys and want to be Barbara or Fran when I grow up?)

Another email or two with DD, and after about five rows, I started feeling like, hey! Maybe I can do this! So here's a couple of pictures of my oh-so-humble beginnings!

Jean

Low-fat and Luscious

2009-10-30T10:33:00.003-04:00

Pistachio Nut Bread

1 (18 oz.) package yellow cake mix
1 small package of fat- and sugar-free Jello Instant Pistachio Pudding Mix
1 Cup low-fat or fat-free sour cream
1 Cup Egg Beaters (or 4 eggs slightly beaten)
1/4 Cup olive oil
1/4 Cup water

4 Tablespoons Splenda brown sugar (or regular brown sugar if you prefer)
3 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (or any other kind of nut you like)

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, eggs, oil, and water. Beat well until smooth. If batter seems too dry, add a few more drops of oil - but just a few!

In a small separate bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. (Keep the nuts separate if anyone can't have them.)

Spray two 9"x5" loaf pans with the canned baking spray that includes flour.

Divide the batter between the two pans, alternating layers of batter with sugar and nut mixture. (Make one loaf with and one without nuts, if need be.) End with a sugar layer on top. Bake for 1 hour or until loaves are done. Remove from pan and either serve or wrap and freeze for up to one month.

(c) 2009 Fran Baker

Note: For some reason, blogger won't let me upload a picture, but it makes a very pretty loaf.

A perfect gift for scarf mavens

2009-10-26T22:43:00.003-04:00

In my new Knit 'N Style Magazine, I found this marvelous gadget: the Scarf Fold-up, from Nancy's Knit Knacks. (How appropriate that another Nancy sells this!)

As your scarf gets longer, you fold and wrap it round the tool. The scarf stays neat and compact: no twisting and tangling. In addition, the Scarf Fold-up has a pair of 8" rulers, a 4" X 4" stitch and row gauge, and a US-Metric needle conversion chart. It holds knitting needles too. All for a mere $11.99. Evidently, a customer suggested this idea and Nancy's 88-year-old mother refined the concept.

Here's the link for any scarf mavens or friends of scarf mavens: http://www.nancysknitknacks.com/Scarf%20Fold-up.htm

You know how I love to knit scarves. This baby is going right on my Christmas wish list!

Yarn Bombing

2009-10-03T10:06:00.002-04:00

The Denver Post last week did a story on Yarn Bombing -- anonymous knitters who carry out a kind of textile grafitti by decorating trees, light posts, signs, and other public spaces with pieces of knitting and crochet. It's whimisical and a little weird and certainly surprising.

So -- anyone done any yarn bombing? Ever felt the desire to knit a tree cozy or dress up the local lamppost?

Scarf in use

2009-09-21T08:19:00.003-04:00

I had to share this photo of my handsome nephew on his way to a big game, wearing the scarf I lovingly knitted for him. It's always gratifying to see one's FO being used and enjoyed. Go, Demon Deacons!

What's Known as a Teaser . . .

2009-09-18T23:19:00.002-04:00

Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you what these socks, Sonny Fox, Wonderama, a backwards spelling bee, and the Luau 500 all have in common.

Really.

Wanna Enhance Your Sock Yarn Stash?

2009-09-15T20:19:00.002-04:00

I've come across a terrific way to greatly enhance your sock yarn stash--the "Sock Yarn Knitting Exchange." (And it's also open to crocheters.)

First, you receive a letter (from me) with two names and addresses on it. You send a 100 gr. ball of sock yarn (or two 50-gr. balls--enough to make one pair of socks) to the first person on the letter. Then you send out a new copy of the letter to six knitting (or crocheting) friends with the first name and address from my letter removed, the second name and address in first place, and your name and address in second place.

In short order, you should receive enough yarn to make 36 pairs of socks! Cool, huh? And just as much fun will be seeing who, and where, the yarn comes from.

Now, I know these things often don't pan out exactly as expected. Somewhere along the line, someone usually drops the ball. (Of yarn. Hah!) But I figure if you even receive only one ball of sock yarn, you've broken even. Anything more than that is a bonus.

As it happens, though, I don't know a lot of knitters here. So I'm throwing this open to all of you in yarn cyberspace. If any of you would like to participate in this sock yarn exchange, please e-mail me at elizabeth@elizabethdelisi.com and I'll get your address and send you the info. BTW, this is only open to those in the US and Canada, because of the difficulties of mailing elsewhere. (Not my rule.)

Hope to see lots of you participate!

Bragging on Barbara

2009-09-12T20:01:00.003-04:00

Laced with Magic by our own wonderful Barbara Bretton is one of the Top Ten Romances for 2009 on Booklist, which reviews for the American Library Association. The Booklist blurb says: Chloe, owner of a popular knitting shop and mayor of the supernatural village of Sugar Maple, Vermont, continues to battle evil forces in Bretton’s poignant and magical story of love and sacrifice.

Not that I'm surprised because it's a fabulous book, but "Wahoooooooooo, Barbara!"

Finding your level

2009-09-10T18:08:00.007-04:00

I was browsing through my newest Knit 'n Style magazine (just started subscribing and love it) and found an advertisement for a pattern I liked. Except it was marked "For Experienced Knitters". Hmmmm, does that mean me? After all, I've knitted for a lot of years. Does that qualify for experienced?

It's easier when they define the levels of difficulty as Easy, Intermediate and Advanced because I know darn well I'm not an "Advanced Knitter". I consider myself a Low Intermediate because I have a) knitted several sweaters (not difficult ones but still...), b) made a fair amount of progress on a lace scarf, c) worked out my own stitch charts for intarsia and d) knitted short rows.

However, there's a lot of stuff (like cables and socks) I have not done. In the case of socks, I never intend to do them ever, ever, ever. So do I dare to order a pattern for an "Experienced Knitter?" Or will I founder on the shoals of my hubris?

All you Yarnies: how do you define your level of expertise as a knitter?

Sock Yarn Winners!

2009-09-08T13:40:00.001-04:00

And the winners are:

Theresa N
Marie

Congratulations! And if the others who entered don't mind, I'll keep your entries for my next sock yarn contest, coming soon.

Fran Baker

Pink-Orange Shill-Shell Blankie

2009-09-07T14:54:00.008-04:00

My toddler is going to be moving into a big girl room in a few months, which I'm planning to decorate in bright pink and orange. I bought some yarn in those colors (plus a few more) (Painted Desert, #1289), without much idea of what I'd do with it; I just wanted something for her room. I ended up with a blankie.

Sock weight yarn was a little fussy to crochet with -- I hadn't tried it before -- but I just loved the colors on this. Plus, the wool-nylon blend is super-soft and silky; feels lovely in your hands. And machine-washable, which is key for kid items. Ty-Dy apparently makes a 10-ply worsted weight cotton version of this color (#289); I'm not normally a fan of working with cotton, but people claim this yarn is really soft. Maybe I'll seek it out at some point.

As it was, I didn’t have the patience to crochet a whole blanket out of this yarn, but I ended up with a cute little blankie for her dollies, or a cape, or whatever else she comes up with…

The Shill Shell Shawl pattern was easy to memorize, and had enough variety in its three rows to keep it interesting. It only uses two stitches (single and double crochet), so totally do-able for beginners as long as you can count. :-) I'd recommend the pattern to others; I think it'd make a pretty summer shawl, and be much easier to work up in a slightly heavier yarn, like the recommended 5-ply sport weight. (My yarn was 3-ply).

If I decide I want the blanket to be larger, I might do three more squares (probably in different patterns, maybe one more crochet and two knit) and attach them to this square. But not sure I have the patience to do that in this yarn.

The rest of the August winners

2009-09-06T22:34:00.002-04:00

The list is long. The apologies for the delay is even longer. But I promise the yarn is worth the wait.

Cathy S
Jennifer M
Joanie R
Cheryl S
Carolyn C
Libi
Susanne
kittenwithawhiplash
R3
Liz B
Marsha B-B
Carla B
Gina B
Yvonne
Jaymi
ozknitter

Congratulations to everyone!!

More Stephanie Plum's New Jersey

2009-09-06T15:49:00.002-04:00

I didn't forget. I have more winners to announce. Honest!

But while you wait, enjoy this slightly goofy video.

FO: Alma Mater Scarf

2009-09-02T21:05:00.007-04:00

I did it! I finally finished something! Of course, my nephew's birthday is September 10th and the scarf is for him so I really had no choice.

This is an adaptation of a pattern from Scarfstyle which switches right sides every four inches or so, has stripes, and some interesting ribbed texture. It's very manly somehow. Can you tell my nephew goes to Wake Forest (Go, Demon Deacons)? He requested that I include his initials, hence the LCN on the other end of the scarf.

Many, many thanks to all of you Yarnies for your suggestions on hiding the back of the intarsia. Taking your advice, I ended up knitting two plain back panels the size of the section with the letters and sewing them onto the back. (I wanted to do double-knitting but found it too complicated with the intarsia pattern; my brain is very feeble.) I left one end open to create a pocket for holding ticket stubs, cash, Kleenex, or whatever. I got that idea from a NJ Devils scarf my husband gave me which has a zippered pocket built in.

(I know this just looks like black but it is the knitted back panel/pocket, and looks much neater than the reverse side of the intarsia.)

Woo hoo! Of course, I still have to complete the white lace scarf which will probably never be done because I'm convinced Barbara's Sugar Maple magic has bewitched the ball of yarn so it never, EVER ends. And I'm working on a beautiful soft blue throw blanket which I'm trying to finish before Christmas as a gift. It takes me forever to do one row because it's so darn BIG. But the yarn is so gorgeous that I love having it draped over my lap. And my (different, older) nephew and his wife are expecting a baby so I have to knit a bib for that. And I''ve found a pattern for a sweater I want to knit for myself. And...yes, I've still got the knitting disease.

I've Got the Wool Itch

2009-09-01T19:14:00.004-04:00

Hoo, boy.

I've got that itch.

I just made a deadline and sent off a manuscript yesterday to my editor (WHOO AND HOOOO!), and she's got four manuscripts ahead of mine to read before she'll get to me, so I KNOW it'll be at least a month before she gets around to reading mine.

Which is good. It stops me from click-click-clicking at my email to see what my editing letter will look like.

But now I'm dying to cast something on, and I can't decide what. I'm torn between Venezia and Bonnie.

Bonnie, all solid cabled goodness, she's great, isn't she? 18 stitches per inch, she'd go fast. I've ordered yarn for her, and hopefully it will be here tomorrow. I could be done with her in three or four weeks. I'm a fast cable knitter. It's a sensible knit. An attractive knit. A sweater I'd wear in the mornings as I sit writing before I go to the day job.

Venezia? I'm out of my dang mind. I have the yarn in hand, having bought it more than a year ago. I swatched last year on size US 0 needles, and they were TOO BIG. I swatched again last night, and you know what? I'd have to knit the whole sweater on triple oughts. A sweater knit on acupuncture needles. That oughta be fun.

AND I WANT TO CAST ON FOR IT.

That's what finishing a novel does for my head. Apparently, I lose my mind.

I know that knitting a sweater on triple 000 needles is exactly the same number of stitches as knitting it on size 0s or on size 4s.

But then again, somehow, it's not, is it? I once knit Alice Starmore's Cromarty on US 1s, so I know from crazy.

And now that I've blogged this, I think I've worn my resistance, the slight little bit I had left, right out. I'm moving over to the couch, and I'm casting on. Me and my magnifying glass and my loose, loose gauge. We'll be over there while you laugh. I'll see you next year. (Sigh. It's a pullover. I'll never wear a pullover, and I don't want to modify it into yet another a cardigan! I'm out of my damn mind...)

Sock It To You! (Contest)

2009-09-01T12:52:00.003-04:00

I've got four balls of Paton's sock yarn to give away. Two are Plum and the other two are Licorice. I'll draw two winners (one for the Plum and one for the Licorice) next Tuesday - the day after Labor Day. To enter, send an email with Sock Yarn in the subject line to

Fran at FranBaker dot com.

FO #4

2009-09-01T12:40:00.003-04:00

My most important FO, at least as far as my so-called writing career is concerned, is my finished and published book. Romeo, Romeo by Fran Baker is available as an eBook in any format, including Kindle. It's a contemporary romantic comedy, kind of sexy and kind of funny.

You can read the first chapter for free here:

http://www.belgravehouse.com/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=477

And you can get it in Kindle format here:

http://www.amazon.com/Romeo/dp/B002G1YTIA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246740939&sr=8-1

FOs #2 and #3

2009-09-01T12:34:00.004-04:00

These are a couple of my knitting projects: a red scarf made from Berroco's Zodiac for my friend and a black scarf from the same yarn for myself. What I'm not showing you is the vest I made (and sent) to my son for his birthday and a baby throw for my soon-to-be niece or nephew. Both turned out beautifully, and I forgot to photograph either of them.

FO #1

2009-09-01T12:31:00.002-04:00

Here's my first FO. My peach tree produced and I made 3 pies for eating and 4 for freezing. Now my apple tree is going to town, so I've got my rolling pin primed.

Where Has All The Summer Gone?

2009-08-31T12:25:00.005-04:00

Gosh, it seems like summer came slowly and left quickly. We had about three weeks where it was hot enough to use the window AC unit for a few hours each day, and now it feels like fall is unpacking before summer is up. Not that I mind, as I really don't care for the heat anyway.

Plus, when it cools off, it means I can go back to work on all those lovely wool shawls and sweaters and gloves and socks!

While it was hot, I worked on small cotton things like this cute little sweater for my new niece, due in November. I searched extensively to find a pattern I liked and finally came up with this one. And best of all, it's free here: http://www.classiceliteyarns.com/WebLetter/33/Issue33.php Free is a price that works for me. ;-) I love the buttons I found at my LYS; they have little pink sheep on them and they say, "Little Lamb."

Then I made a set of kitchen things for my mom's upcoming birthday. There's something soothing about knitting on kitchen things. They're not fancy, they aren't made from expensive yarn, and they'll be used to scrub and dry dirty dishes and pots. But they're down to earth and really, really useful. The recipient of a sweater made from expensive alpaca and silk might not like the style and so might not wear it; but what's not to like about kitchen towels and washcloths? Plus, they're boldly machine washable and I like that. I was tempted to use the blue variegated cotton, but then realized I was choosing MY preferred colors, not my mom's. Her kitchen is painted yellow, so I found this lovely yellow yarn and went with that. I think they came out nicely, despite some color pooling. Another good thing about kitchen sets; if the color pools, so what?

And finally, I did a lot of this with the hottest days of summer. That's my cat Burt, lounging in my office window on one of the hottest days this season. I saw a cartoon once about cats that's so true; you can use a sleeping cat as a thermometer! The more tightly they're curled up, the colder it is; the longer they stretch out, the hotter. So clearly, this was a pretty hot day. ;-)

Hope your summer, and your summer knitting, has gone well and you're ready to leap into fall!

It wasn't my idea

2009-08-26T22:58:00.002-04:00

Really.

Knitting for Practicality

2009-08-25T16:12:00.002-04:00

I've got an appointment with my doctor on Friday to look at my red, itchy and stinging face but I'm betting I know what the diagnosis is. I'm pretty darned sure I have rosacea.

I've noticed for the last few months that I've had a decreasing tolerance for rough fabrics on my skin, even for washing my face with a rough washcloth. It's been getting worse and my face redder. I read up on rosacea in the meantime, so I would know what I was talking to the doctor about. Yes, I'm one of THOSE patients. I'm not a hypochondriac but I am pretty knowledgeable and am really good at research. One of the things I saw mentioned a lot was that you have to use very mild soap and very soft clothes if you're having a flare-up of rosacea.

When I was sitting at my son's peewee football practice and knitting a simple scarf, a lightbulb came on - I knit dishcloths for my in-laws with cotton yarn and they were softer than commercial washclothes, so why not knit myself some face cloths?

After digging out some cotton yarn from my rather vast supply, I cast on a small face cloth - about 1/2 the size of a typical dishcloth because I don't need surface area as much as I need a lot of cloths so I can wash them regularly. I ended up with a little 4.5x4.5 inch square cloth that's just perfect.

The pattern is easy, I cast on 20 stitches with a long-tail cast on, knitted two garter-stitch rows, then knitted stockinette rows with a two stitch garter border on each side until the cloth was almost square, then two more rows of garter stitch and typical bind off.

One ball of Lion Cotton has resulted in 14 clothes. I have two balls more to use which should give me both a few weeks of busy work at the football practice and a good supply of face cloths.

And I've promised to teach one of the other football moms how to knit, lol.

NJ Sightseeing Trip

2009-08-25T10:19:00.002-04:00

This takes you past the Princeton Battlefield (where we won our first battle of the Revolution) down to Quaker Road which leads to Route 1 and Quakerbridge Mall - aka Stephanie Plum territory.

Don't mock the socks

2009-08-24T23:25:00.002-04:00

Goldisox to me: "Don't mock the socks."

So I took a formal portrait of them.

Now if I can just refrain from squirrelizing them . . .

Put down that squirrel, Bretton, and nobody will get hurt

2009-08-23T14:37:00.002-04:00

I need an intervention.