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October 29, 2006
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds!
So I finally got around to carving our pumpkin last night and I made Geoff and I some roasted pumpkin seeds to celebrate the season. He raved about the pumpkin seeds and when we had family over today they loved them, too. So I thought I'd share the recipe! My pumpkin yielded 1 1/2 cups of seeds so all of my measurements are based on that. Tweak it to your desire!
Yummy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
1 1/2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
6 cups water
4 tbsp + 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Preheat oven to 275°F.
In a large pot, place pumpkin seeds, 6 cups water and 4 tbsp salt and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Drain seeds onto paper towels to wick away as much of the moisture as possible. They may be a little slimy but that's ok!
In a separate bowl, combine remaining salt (1/2 tsp), butter, garlic salt and Worcestershire sauce and add pumpkin seeds, stirring to coat.
Pour onto a sheet pan and shake to evenly disperse seeds in one layer. Bake for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are browned to your satisfaction. Let cool completely before eating (they get crunchier as they cool). Enjoy!
Posted by allison at 06:31 PM | Comments (1)
October 25, 2006
Sweeping 2nd
South Carolina's State Fair just ended and this year I decided to enter some of my knitting projects in the competitive exhibits. I entered four things and won four ribbons. They were all 2nd place but they were ribbons nonetheless. Not bad for my first State Fair I guess.
Clockwise from top left we have Ene's Scarf, Trellis, the Entrelac Scarf and a Booga Bag I made last year.
Some people say I was robbed because there were a lot of 1st place entries that looked a lot simpler than my things (and they were) but you're at the hands of the judges and what they like! And judging by some of the scarves that won, they like fun fur. Oy vey. But I'm happy that everything won something! What's better than the ribbons is the check! Yarn money! Now I just have to figure out what to buy.
And remember, the SC State Fair Award Winning Entrelac Scarf pattern is available in the sidebar for FREE! Go make your own and show it to me! Caitlyn over at Knot Without My Knitting is making one in Silk Garden 224! And she has plans to make another one using a different colorway! Wouldn't it be great to have one in every Silk Garden colorway?! A girl can dream!
Posted by allison at 07:41 PM | Comments (10)
October 16, 2006
Is that a challenge?
So my friend Liz is pregnant and is due mid-December. Being a knitter herself, I knew that she would appreciate something handknit for the little bundle of joy. (side note: I was going to say "little tyke" instead of "little bundle of joy" but when I checked to see if it was spelled "tyke" or "tike" (it can be both by the way) the definition said it meant "bitch, dog, an inferior or mongrel dog" Who knew? It also can mean small child. But I didn't want Liz thinking I was calling her unborn child an inferior bitch dog)
Anyway, so I'm happily going along with my life and also taking note that Liz's belly is growing but the fact that I haven't started knitting anything for the little one didn't seem to be an issue for me to worry about. That is until I got an invitation on the 5th for a shower on the 15th. I got the invitation just before heading out the door to Stitch 'n Bitch. At Stitch 'n Bitch I told Liz that I got the invitation to the shower and she mentioned that the invites had gone out a bit late and that it was ok if I didn't bring a gift to the shower because she really wanted something knitted and she knew that a week was probably not enough time for me to get something ready. I just smiled and nodded and took it as a personal challenge. She would get a finished knit at that shower if I had to knit 24/7 for the next week!
So I raced home after Stitch 'n Bitch and scoured my knitting books and the internet and finally decided on Crumpets from Chiagu.com. It seemed a perfect fit. I could knit the smallest size (6 months) which she should be able to wear next summer and it called for Lion Brand's Cotton Ease which I just happened to have in my stash (I had hoarded several bags of it when Lion Brand discontinued it last year).
So anyway, I was able to present a finished Crumpets to Liz at the baby shower and am happy to report that there were no 24-hour marathon knitting sessions during the entire week. There was, of course, neglected house work and less home-cooked meals but I have a wonderfully understanding husband and he knew that this mayhem was only temporary.
Want pictures? OK! (click to enlarge them)
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Beading |
Crochet Edging |
Pattern: Crumpets from Chiagu.com
Started: October 6, 2006
Finished: October 14, 2006
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease
Needles: US 5
Size: 6 months
Liz loved it and I can't wait to see it on the little one!
As for the pattern, I was a bit disappointed. Thankfully before I start any project I always search blogs for knit-a-longs or others who've knit it and see what they thought and if there were any problems. One of the things people were saying over and over about this pattern was buy TWICE as many beads as the pattern calls for. I think that maybe the designer was envisioning beads only on the front. And that is fine but if you follow the directions as written, you will be beading front and back and if you pre-strung the number of beads the pattern called for you would run out of beads halfway through the bodice. So. Frustrating. Besides, the picture of the dress on Chiagu.com shows the bow side of the dress (which is supposed to be the back) and there are beads visible!
Another frustration I had with the pattern is that for the cast on it says "for a frillier edge, use the picot cast on" but does it tell you how to do the picot cast on? NO! If I'm going to pay $4.50 for a pattern, don't make me go and look up how to do a specific cast on. (note: I used the picot cast on found here from NonaKnits)
And there were a lot of typos! Many places it said "to last K4 stitches" instead of "to last 4 stitches" and that really pisses me off. This pattern was released a year and a half ago! Those errors should have been fixed! The pattern is a PDF that is emailed to you when you place your order so it would not be difficult to make the changes.
Anyway, it's a really cute dress and once you make note of all of the mistakes and omissions, it's a pretty fun knit. But when I went from 120 stitches to 240 stitches for the body of the dress I thought I was going to die. 240 stitches each round! Talk about endless stockinette!
But it was all worth it! I love it! And most importantly, Liz loves it.
Posted by allison at 06:39 PM | Comments (8)
October 13, 2006
Another Finished Knit
Remember this? I finished it back in July! But I never gave it a proper "finished object" post. So here ya go! (and I still have TWO other {old} finished knits that need a proper post, too! Maybe in the next week?!)
Pattern: Entrelac Scarf (PDF)
Started: February 20, 2006
Finished: July 26, 2006
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden in colorway 87
Needles: US 8
Size: one size
I really love this scarf and I think it will get a lot of use this winter! I got the orinigal pattern free off the internet but it was riddled with errors and I changed the width of the scarf so that I could get a longer scarf out of 4 balls of yarn. So I'm making my version available to anyone who wants it. Just click the link above or look in the sidebar.
**Edit: 11/19/06-Fixed a missing ssk on the first triangle of the final tier! You can download the pattern again to get the corrected version.
It's been a busy week and I have LOTS to blog about but no time right now! One of my greatest friends is getting married this weekend! And the best part? He's marrying a knitter! I know she will keep him wrapped in knitted goodness! Yay!
So Geoff and I have a busy weekend ahead! I'll be back next week! Have a great weekend!
Posted by allison at 08:43 AM | Comments (24)
October 01, 2006
Pea Pod Baby Set
I made this for my friend Heather and her son who is due to make his appearance in Dec/Jan!
Pattern: Kate Gilbert's Pea Pod Baby Set (PDF) from Interweave Knits
Started: September 16, 2006
Finished: September 29, 2006
Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style in color Asparagus
Needles: US 6
Size: 3 months
Modifications: I thought that the hat needed a little something on top so I added a sprout using the leaf applique from Nicky Epstein's Knitting Over the Edge
At the end of the directions for the hat you have 8 stitches.
K2tog to end of round - 4 stitches remain
Transfer all 4 stitches to one dpn and begin making a 4 stitch i-cord
Make i-cord 1.5 - 2 inches long (or as long as you want your "stem")
On last row of i-cord: k1, k2tog, k1, turn - 3 stitches remain
Start leaf:
Row 1 [WS]: pfb, k1, pfb. 5 sts.
*Row 2 [RS]: k2, yo, k1, yo, k2. 7 sts.
Row 3 and every WS row: p all sts.
Row 4: k3, yo, k1, yo, k3. 9 sts.
Row 6: k4, yo, k1, yo, k4. 11 sts.
Row 8: ssk, k7, k2tog. 9 sts.
Row 10: ssk, k5, k2tog. 7 sts.
Row 12: ssk, k3, k2tog. 5 sts.
Row 14: ssk, k1, k2tog. 3 sts.
Row 16: sl 1, k2tog, psso. Break yarn, draw through remaining stitch.*
Begin 2nd side of leaf:
CO 5 stitches
Work from * to * above
Seam the two sides of the leaf with wrong sides together.
Too cute!
Posted by allison at 07:13 PM | Comments (10)
