hat

Friday Roundup: Hoot Sweet Hat and Mitts!

What I’m Knitting

I had a pattern (actually, two) released in a magazine this week! This is the Hoot Sweet Hat and Mitts, published in Love of Knitting, Fall 2016 issue:

Photo by Carmel Zucker

The magazine is available for purchase online here.

Since this set is sized to fit toddlers to big kids, it’s worked in an easy-care yarn, Berroco Vintage Chunky. I’ve worked with this yarn before and love how soft it is! I think the owl motifs look so cute in the chunky yarn, and as a bonus, these accessories are really quick to knit.

These were some of the secret projects I was working on at the end of last year. It’s so nice to finally be able to show them off! I still have at least three more waiting in the release queue, so stay tuned…

What I’m Cooking

I missed getting pictures of the yummy curry I made for my weekly meal for a crowd this week, but I did manage a shot of these banana/walnut/oatmeal cookies. I don’t usually make an effort to bake gluten-free treats, but these were quite good! My son liked them a lot, although he refused to believe that they were cookies and insisted on calling them muffins.

What I’m Reading

I’m about to start The Morrigan’s Curse by Dianne K. Salerni. It’s the third book in a series I’ve really enjoyed so far, so I have high hopes!

New Pattern Release: Mystic Falls Hat!

What I’m Knitting

I blogged about the hat to match my Mystic Falls colorwork mitts a while back. Now the pattern has been officially released and I can show it off!

Here are the specs:

Pattern: Mystic Falls Hat (Ravelry link—you don’t need to be a member to purchase)

Yarn: Stitch Sprouts Yellowstone, a scrumptious wool/silk sport-weight yarn. I adore this yarn. I think it looks great in colorwork, and it was like knitting with butter. I wanted to cry when my next project used super-scratchy yarn, haha.

Notes: I had a lot of fun with this one! The patterning is very close to my Mystic Falls Mitts, but not exactly the same. Once you get in a rhythm with the colorwork, it actually goes very quickly (as my pattern testers agreed). It’s a good choice for beginner/intermediate colorwork knitters, since there are only two colors and very few places with long floats.

What I’m Cooking

I was really, really craving cookies this week, but I’m trying to keep my refined sugar intake low for the pregnancy’s sake. I compromised and made some oatmeal cookies sweetened with maple syrup and honey, but with the addition of chocolate chips. They were AWESOME.

I also tried out a new method of marinating and broiling chopped veggies, which turned out pretty good. Next time I think I’ll use less marinade. Yummy over rice with vegan “chicken” nuggets, anyway!

What I’m Reading

I’m still working on the last book in Timothy Zahn’s epic Star Wars cycle…

Friday Roundup: FO Fail

What I’m Knitting

I wanted to do a quick project this week, so I whipped up this cute little owl hat for my son.

He loves owls and loves wearing hats, so it should have been a surefire hit, right? But it turns out he HATES it. That picture was taken right before he ripped the hat off his head and refused to put it on ever again. He even went so far as to throw it violently across the room while yelling, “No hat! No hat!”

Toddlers, man.

Anyway, here are the general specs on the FO:

Pattern: Chouette by Ekaterina Blanchard (Ravelry link)

Yarn: This is a lovely rustic wool my sister-in-law bought me as a gift in England a few years back. It’s labeled “Pure Lleyn Lambswool” and says “Knit as Chunky” on the label, although I found that it knit up much better at an Aran gauge (and had to adjust the pattern accordingly).

Notes: A well-written, easy to follow pattern. It’s definitely not the designer’s fault that my son took an immediate dislike to it. :-P

I also got a picture of my current progress on the baby blanket. I have three squares knit up, although only two of them are blocked:

I was happy to find that I was able to get these three squares out of two skeins of Malabrigo Rios. That means I should have enough to do my originally planned nine squares with the six skeins I have. Yay for not having to buy more yarn!

What I’m Cooking

This potato casserole is one of my favorite easy vegan dishes. We ate all the leftovers within two days—yummy!

And I also made a chickpea/veggie curry, served over rice. The sauce for this is SO GOOD. You could almost just eat it with a spoon.

What I’m Reading

So I was contemplating going back to young adult books after I finished the third book in the Thrawn trilogy… but I couldn’t help myself, so I started the first of the duology that follows those books. I promise, I’ll go back to other things when I’m done with these two books!

Friday Roundup: The Waiting is the Hardest Part

What I’m Knitting

As promised, I’ve been working away on the hat to match my Mystic Falls Mitts! I finally came up with a swatch that made me happy, so I cast on and got to work. This is just a quick phone snap, and obviously blocking is desperately needed here, but I think you can get the idea:

I haven’t exactly figured out how I want to do the decreases in the colorwork pattern yet (I know, I know, bad designer!), but I’ll have to work it out soon. That’s 1.5 repeats of the pattern in the picture there, and I don’t think I want to go much past 2 repeats before starting the crown shaping.

What I’m Cooking

I hadn’t made curry in a while, so I whipped up a veggie-filled red curry over rice for my weekly meal-for-a-crowd this week:

It was delicious, but then you can’t really go wrong with full-fat coconut milk curries. Mmmmm….

I also baked some banana-oat muffins this week, which fascinated my son. I put him in his high chair right next to me so he could see the whole procedure. And then he was introduced to the joy that is licking the spoon after the batter has been mixed (vegan baking means no raw eggs to worry about, bonus!):

He was not, however, a fan of waiting until the muffins were cool enough to eat before he got a taste.

What I’m Reading

After devouring the first book in the Naturals series, I moved on to two and three! I’m halfway through book three right now (the most recent one published) and it’s just as good as the first two—love it when that happens. I’m going to have some withdrawal when I finish this one…

Friday Roundup: Lace/Cable Hat FO!

What I’m Knitting

We managed a photoshoot for the lace/cable hat, so I have an FO to show off this week!

Here are the specs:

Pattern: My own, to be released sometime in the next month, hopefully. I’m kind of stuck for a name—let me know if you have any suggestions!

Yarn: Frabjous Fibers March Hare in color Curiouser. Although the picture above is pretty accurate in terms of color, it doesn’t quite capture the subtle nuances of this colorway. It is gorgeous. I bought the single skein on our recent trip to Seattle because I absolutely couldn’t resist it. The yarn was lovely to knit with, too.

Notes: I’m really happy with the way this hat turned out! I wanted a longer hat to cover the ears, which took some finagling since the lace/cable pattern has a 16-row repeat (meaning length is harder to adjust to taste). But 2.5 repeats worked out nicely. I’m just finalizing the pattern writing and then will have it up for testing in my Ravelry group. Come check it out if you think you might be interested in test knitting!

What I’m Cooking

I made a truly delicious vegetable korma Indian dish this week, but I forgot to get pictures. Oh well. Trust me though, it was amazing.

I did get a shot of my latest recipe from my personal cookbook challenge, though. This is garlic broccoli and chickpeas:

I was kind of amazed by this recipe. It’s just broccoli, chickpeas, and smashed whole cloves of garlic, roasted with a little olive oil and spices… but I couldn’t believe how flavorful it was! Just, uh, don’t make this one if you’re going to be in a small room with anyone for a while, if you catch my drift.

What I’m Reading

After finishing the Terry Pratchett book (sniff), I needed something to read on my phone while putting my son to sleep… so I started in on Jane Austen’s oeuvre! I reread her books every few years—there’s something so comforting about them. This week I read Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility, and I’m just starting in on Northanger Abbey.

Friday Roundup: On the Road Edition

What I’m Knitting

By the time this gets posted, I’ll be on the road (yay for post scheduling!). We’re going on a weekend trip to the Washington, DC area—we’re planning to go to the National Zoo, spend some quality time with family, and lots of other fun stuff. And the 9+ hour drive means lots and lots of uninterrupted knitting time, hooray!

This is the current project on my needles:

This pic shows the strong wavy lines better—love!

It’s a hat (hopefully that’s obvious) that features a heavily modified version of a cable and lace pattern I found in one of my stitch dictionaries. I’m having fun knitting it, but it should only take me a few more hours to work out and knit the crown decreases… which means I need much more knitting for the trip!

I’m in mini-panic mode already, trying to figure out what to take with me. I might end up defaulting to a whole bunch of trial swatches… but then I have to take a whole load of stitch dictionaries. Hrm. Maybe I’ll figure out a quick toddler hat. My son’s hats from last year are all too small now, so he needs some new accessories before the serious cold weather hits. (Side note: am I the only one who would be completely mortified to let my son wander around in store-bought winter accessories? I mean, little hats only take like two hours!)

What I’m Cooking

This is actually from last week, but it turned out really well and I forgot to post a picture. Baked falafel in a pita with hummus and grain-free tabbouleh on the side. The tabbouleh recipe I found used bits of cauliflower instead of the traditional bulgur wheat, which I thought was pretty clever!

This red Thai tofu and pineapple rice was my lone entry for my cookbook challenge this week:

And for my meal-for-a-crowd yesterday, I made a Mexican lasagna (also known as an enchilada casserole) with homemade guacamole on the side. I used my husband’s killer guac recipe—people were very impressed!

What I’m Reading

I’m still working on The Shepherd’s Crown. I’m dragging my feet a bit on finishing this one, to be honest. The author, Terry Pratchett, passed away earlier this year. I’m still coming to terms with the fact that this will be the last new book I’ll ever read from him, sniff.

New Pattern Release: Transposition Hat

I have a new pattern out this week! This is the Transposition Hat:

If it seems familiar, it’s probably because it’s the adult version of the baby/child hat from my Babe in the Woods collection, released last winter. Here it is, modeled by my son (he looks so tiny to me!):

The adult version required some fancy footwork with the decreases, since the ones I did on the baby hat didn’t work well over a larger vertical space. I ended up going with a single spot of the contrasting color on the top, rather than the concentric circles of the baby version. But I like the way it turned out. Here’s a pic of the top of the adult hat, with the baby hat for comparison:

Here are the pattern specs:

Name: Transposition Hat (the baby hat’s called Transposed Hat. See what I did there?)

Yarn: Malabrigo Rios, about half a skein in Natural and a little less than that in Pocion for the contrasting color. I picked out the most crazy variegated skein I could find at my LYS, since the whole point of this hat is to break up pooling and give you something neat to do with variegated skeins.

Rios is kind of on the thin side for worsted-weight yarn, so for substituting, I’d recommend a light worsted or even a DK. If fit is vital, make sure to check your gauge in the colorwork pattern! It pulls in a LOT.

Sizes: Small (Medium, Large). Shown in Medium.

Actual finished circumference: 19.5 (21.25, 23)” or 49.5 [54, 58.5] cm
Length from CO edge to top: 8 (8.25, 8.75)” or 20 [21, 22] cm

Recommended needles (make sure to check gauge and change sizes if needed):
US #5 [3.75 mm] circular needle, 16” long
US #6 [4.0 mm] circular needle, 16” long
US #6 [4.0 mm] double-pointed needles, set of 4 or 5

Notions:
Stitch marker, yarn needle

Gauge: 27 sts/ 30 rows = 4 in/10 cm in Colorwork Chevron stranded pattern on larger needles

You can purchase the pattern for $4.00 on Ravelry, right here!

Friday Roundup: More Secrets…

What I’m Knitting:

Okay, I’ve been meaning to stay away from secret projects that I can’t show off (after so many months of them!), but I couldn’t help myself. It’s actually not the project that’s secret in this one, it’s the yarn. But as soon as I get the go-ahead to post about it, I will!

Here’s a teensy little sneak peek:

I finished the adult Transposed Hat and finally have decreases I’m happy with, and it’s going out to test knitters this week. It just needs blocking and a photoshoot–hopefully that will happen this week!

What I’m Cooking:

I’m kinda mad at myself for forgetting to take pictures of the black bean and avocado enchiladas with mole sauce I made this week. You’ll just have to imagine. But here are a few things I did remember to photograph:

Risotto with peas and shiitake “bacon” (just as delicious as the first time I made it!):

And this one is kind of cheating because it was so easy, but… grilled “cheese” with spinach and tomato. Yummy with soup on a cold day.

What I’m Reading:

I finished Greenglass House (so good!) last night and need to go to the library to pick out my next read. My top picks from my to-read list are Masterminds by Gordan Korman, Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson, and The Young Elites by Marie Lu. But what I end up with will be dependent on what’s checked in, so stay tuned.

Friday Roundup: Comfort Knitting and Comfort Food

What I’m Knitting:

I’m almost finished with my Transposed baby hat in the adult size.

It’s such relaxing knitting–an easy colorwork pattern that I’ve already knit before, so no surprises. This skein of Malabrigo Rios in Pocion is the kind of crazy colorway I usually wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole, but I LOVE the way it’s working up in this hat.

What I’m Cooking:

Lots of comfort food this week! I started with a nice goopy stir fry (love me some thick, glossy sauce):

Early in the week I was craving pasta, so I made some roasted red pepper sauce and poured it over quinoa-corn pasta. We’re not a gluten-free household, but I was happy to discover this GF pasta that’s much more tasty than any other kind I’ve tried. Sometimes you don’t want a whole plate full of wheat, y’know?

The leftovers were delicious over some steamed broccoli the next day:

A few days ago, I had to come up with something to cook for a crowd that included vegans and GF people… so I decided to make the same thing! This time I threw in lots of veggies, though. With fake parmesan cheese (raw cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt pulsed in the food processor), a salad and crusty bread, it was deeelicious.

The last vestiges (I hope!) of winter are making themselves felt here in Indiana today, so I’m planning a big pot of hearty stew. Can’t have enough of that, right?

What I’m Reading:

I just finished Stormbreaker yesterday. I wasn’t a huge fan–it was like one of those loud action movies in book form, although it was decently written. Today I’m starting Greenglass House by Kate Milford, because I keep seeing rave reviews. I want to know what all the fuss is about!

New Pattern Releases: Transposed Hat and Mittens

Here’s the next installment of patterns in my Babe in the Woods collection, the Transposed Hat and Mittens:

The inspiration for this design came from the highly variegated skein of Malabrigo Rios in Fresco y Seco. I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so variegated, so I knew I had to come up with something that really showed off the color changes. I’ve always liked the look of “faux Isle” knits, where it appears that there are many different colors used when there are really just two. I sketched out this chevron design and got to work.

I’m especially happy with the way the crown decreases worked out in the hat:Like the Aureate set I showed off last week, I wrote the matching mittens pattern for baby, toddler, and child sizes–thumbless in baby size, thumbs for the rest. I knit up a child-sized sample to show the thumb:

The hat, baby mittens, and single child mitten were all made with a skein each of Malabrigo Rios in Natural and Fresco y Seco. There’s a ton of yarn left, too–definitely enough for another baby hat or a second set of mittens. So it ends up being pretty economical!

You can find the pattern (and the rest of the Babe in the Woods collection) here on Ravelry.

My next design project is going to be an adult version of the hat in a different colorway, since I’ve gotten such good feedback on the baby version. I think lots of people (myself included!) are looking for ways to make beautiful variegated colorways really shine.

Ronan was very cooperative through the whole photoshoot, but he did seem to think the mittens were rather tasty: