AnotherPurl :: a knitter's life

happy happy yarn crawl

Saturday was the 2nd annual Red Line Yarn Crawl. I was absolved of puppy duty and got to leave early for the Knitter's Brunch at Gather Here. It was an amazingly good time. There was a very nice older lady from Germany at the shop with her daughter (who was translating). She had brought a ton of quilts and bags that she had made. They were lovely to look at.

I left that shop with a little bit of fabric for a pillow project. Let's just ignore that my cutwork project from last week isn't finished and the yarn I bought for the pillow project in February isn't done either. I definitely have more projects than time.

Now, I don't know why, but I never make it all the way out to Mind's Eye during the yarn crawl. I like to spend a few hours at each place and prefer to walk between as many locations as possible (I walked from Gather Here to Windsor Button on Saturday followed by walking from Stitch House to my friend's house near Ashmont). 

At Windsor Button I put my plan into action. I wanted to buy yarn for 2 projects: the Albers Shawl and the Mitred Crosses Blanket. Both of these are huge and are fairly good for vacation or television knitting. I monopolized Ann Weaver's time like an annoying twinkish fan girl and bought some sock weight yarn for the blanket (because anything worth doing is worth overdoing) and some Manos lace weight for the shawl. I didn't buy all of the colors for the blanket, but I did earmark some good colors for the rest of the center squares. I am going with warm earth tones for the blanket and super brights for the shawl.

At Stitch House, I pulled out the Manos and found 2 colors to complement my selection. I have plenty of time to get the outermost color selected after all! I then wound the first skein of the Manos up and cast on my 140 stitches.

We'll ignore for the moment that on Monday I pulled it all out and started over again (I had my annual physical, which I'm so grateful to have had knitting for. I was there for over 2 hours).

The only flaw with working garter stitch on such large needles is that it is super easy to pick up the wrong loop and create a stitch that doesn't properly incorporate the stitch below. I had at least one mess that I decided to fix from that, and I'm hoping with a bit more care I won't have any others. Mistakes are always a bit more irritating in lace yarn.

[10 Tuesday] public libraries

I have been going to and virtually living in public libraries for as long as I can remember. Growing up one of the public libraries I used was close to a parking lot where I know there was drug dealing, but as a kid I didn't care. I only cared about getting my Bobsey Twins and my Holliday books, my horse books and eventually my science fiction and other genre fiction. When I was a teen, my mom would drop me off at the Biddeford Public Library (McCarthy Public if I am remembering the name correctly) on her way to work and I would walk the 2 hours back with my load of books in hand.

When we were looking for our first house, which ended up being a condo, I was thrilled that Braintree had a public library, a nice airy structure that was relatively new, built or at least dedicated in 1999.

Now I go to Quincy Public Library (Thomas Crane), and there a lot of things to love.

1. Exploring new authors. I might want to buy a lot of books, but public libraries let me try the books by new authors before I shell out cash. I believe in supporting authors, but I also believe in buying things I will want to read over and over again. Because I'm a re-reader, if I take it out from the library more than 2 or 3 times (especially if one of those times involves a library fine), then I buy the book.

2. CDs and other media. While Netflix is better for watching movies, for a while the public library was a great alternative. The only problem with borrowing these items from the library is that this is one of the instances where it is apparent that people do not take the care with library property that they would with their own. I remember trying to watch Best in Show and the disc was so scratched that it would only play parts of the film. 

3. A quiet place to stay. Sometimes when I was rooming with lots of people I would go to the public library as a place to cool down and be private. When you are living in each other's pockets, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the closeness and lack of privacy. It was good to roam the stacks even if I had to pick some of the less popular ones to have some by myself time.

4. Knitting (and other crafting) books. Because knitting is pretty popular, it is a way to make a pattern when it is the only one you want in the book. I cannot justify buying each book i want to, and I am more likely to just out and out buy the books by local designers. I did this with the Icelandic turtleneck from Crochet Me. I didn't want to make anything else in the book, but I borrowed the book and made this top. 

5. New arrivals. The most popular stuff arrives frequently enough that I can read something well before it arrives in paperback.

6. Ebooks. I love having an ereader, and while I don't get quite as much reading done on it as I could (something about not buying copies of all of my favorite print books) I did get to read a large number of books on it since I've gotten it. Some of them have even been pretty good. A fair number of them have come from the library, introducing me to new authors. The QPL has at last check about 360 fiction titles and another 160 non-fiction ebook titles. I know that the BPL has easily 2 to 3 times that. It is a great way to read a large variety of books without straining the budget and it helps alleviate the problems I sometimes have with library fines.

7. Events. Not that I go to many events, but I have gone to fundraising and other information events mostly when we were at Braintree. Today the QPL has 3 events listed for children and a town redevelopment meeting. Tomorrow there is a movie matinee at 2pm, a children's event (medieval exploration), a job fair and a tennis club meeting. This is typical of libraries (especially well funded ones or ones in active communities) all over the place. If I were a young parent, I would be trying to use these resources for my children at the very least even if I couldn't make the programming for adults.

8. Museum passes. Most libraries I've been to have a number of museum passes for places like the Museum of Science, the Museum of Art or the Isabella Gardner, which they lend out on a first come, first served basis. I haven't used them, but I love knowing they are there.

9. Art. I love that my local library showcases art. Sometimes it is art from local artists (as in people who are making a living from their art), but just as often it is artworks from the local junior or senior high school. 

10. Centralized. The Thomas Crane library is right in Quincy Center. It is near a college (or two), a public school, some churches, the T, a medical facility and a variety of grocery stores. It is a place where you can get everything you need and one of the things I need at least is the library.

pretending to be Chris

And to post a little linkety (before I walk Victor, get coffee and go to Gather Here and then the Red Line Yarn Crawl - phew!).

Food
Game of Thrones lemon cakes. I'm hoping to be home from the yarn crawl in time to make these today, but if not I'm going to make them Monday! 

Legal (I don't remember why I decided the CT Law Tribune was a great feed for my Google Reader) 
I've been working in libraries almost constantly since I could get out of the food service industry, so this article on Prison Library Policy Review was pretty interesting!
I still haven't found the full text of the article about Deborah Bershel (about the her process of going from male to female), this is a great article about transgender legal issues and new bills in Congress to make gender identity a protected class. 

Given I like to read legal news, i probably should see if I can find legal papers for the rest of New England. But for now it is time to be useful!

pistachio ice cream

I made pistachio ice cream this week with the leftovers of the pistachio milk, but while this is still gluten free it is no longer vegan. I used both eggs and heavy cream to create this. 

It's a good sign when I make ice cream and then hand the dasher off to my husband that he wants to bury his face in the ice cream canister after I'm done transferring all the ice cream I can to a tupperware for the freezer.

He looked a little silly with pistachio ice cream on both his beard and his hands, and wanted to know when I was going to make more. I thought he only like pumpkin things enough to ask for that!

To anyone who has made things from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, this ice cream will seem familiar though there is not a pistachio ice cream in the entire book.

It's the method. Heat "milk" and sugar until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is steaming and then add to beaten egg yolks to temper. Cook the resulting egg mixture until a custard forms. Strain into cream, cool and churn. Ice cream is much easier and more forgiving than people seem to realize. Once you have the basics down, anyone can make their own recipes with only a little refresher on proportions.

Ingredients:
1 cup pistachio milk 
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks, beaten
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup pistachios, chopped fine

Heat the pistachio milk and the sugar over medium to medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid starts to steam. Move the liquid off the burner. In a separate bowl slowly add up to half of the milk mixture a ladleful at a time to the beaten egg yolks, tempering them. Tempering eggs means that the eggs won't be shocked when we scrape the entire mixture and immediately turn into scrambled eggs.

Add heavy cream to a medium-sized bowl and place a strainer on top. Add the egg yolk mixture back to the remaining milk mixture and return to medium heat. Stir constantly (I use a wooden paddle or spoon for this) until the mixture thickens. The mixture should be thick enough that you can take the back of the spoon and run your finger through the mixture in the middle creating a streak. Tipping the spoon on the side will still leave the streak visible. 

Once the mixture has thickened (5-10 minutes at most depending on how high the temperature is), pour through the strainer into the cream. I use a rubber spatula to get out all of the goodness and to push some of the mixture through the strainer. Don't push too hard. You don't want to transfer any scrambled egg bits to the ice cream. Mix thoroughly and then chill in the fridge overnight (or until cold, a few hours).

Before churning the ice cream, I placed a 1/3 cup of pistachios into a food processor and pulsed until they were mostly finely chopped. I set up my ice cream maker (which for me actually includes turning it on before adding the liquid - I think it makes it less likely to be huge frozen clumps on the side) and poured the liquid through the hole in the top. I churned for 35 minutes and then added the chopped pistachios. One to 5 minutes additional churning and it is done! Scrape out the ice cream and store in the freezer. 

Yum!

not done yet

My cut work is not done yet, and I know it wouldn't be done even if I had done more stitching and less of everything else.

Last night I ran 4.11 miles on the treadmill, made ice cream (more on that probably tomorrow), watched the live action Death Note movie, played Pokemon, and stitched on my cutwork. I could have worked on it more when I woke up unreasonably early this morning, but instead I read until I was finally getting sleepy again and curled up under the warm blanket in the craft room until I heard the sounds of my husband awake. I tried to sleep, but it kept eluding me and my body was doing the I'm hungry dance, mrowing like a frustrated cat.

I'm up and while I cannot promise functionality I cannot feel upset. The roses I bought over a week ago are still in their vase, drying and scenting the air with that almost spicy dried rose scent. Their yellow heads are bowed like penitents and the leaves are all curled up. I've been tempted to buy another bouquet, but I'm enjoying the faded roses in their blue vase.

Tonight I have my second training run of the week. Thank goodness I don't have to go fast. I'll plod along at my 12 minute mile until I feel like I'm getting stronger again. In a week or two I should be able to increase my speed and run slightly faster. 

Also, my husband is awesome. Knowing that I was a little disappointed at missing so much of the Red Line Yarn Crawl, he has said he will go on the kennel tour and take Victor for his kennel cough booster (rightly known as Bordetella, but I always need to look up the spelling and doesn't it just sound like a fancy Italian ham?). Last year I got home from the yarn crawl around 4 pm, but I could have easily stayed longer at Windsor Button. This year I think there is a Berocco trunk show and Ann Weaver will be there. I keep meaning to buy her book, so hopefully this will be a good opportunity to do so and to buy yarn for the Mitred Crosses blanket. 

too slow (chicken marengo)

Per normal I am behind on Iron Craft. My normal method is that we get the theme for the week on Thursday and I ponder what I want to do for 2 days and then start on Monday night. Monday night is just 2 whole days to make a craft. If I make food for the week's theme, then I am usually OK. If I am knitting or something else that is time intensive, then I am doomed and if I am lucky I get done on Thursday.

So, I love the Google image search. I was looking for the traditional Japanese beckoning cat: maneki neko, and found this image. I shoved it into a photo editing software, enlarged it, and filled in the ears and other swirled areas with black. I then printed it out.

I got home and found my tracing paper (it has been through so much age and so many moves that it is vaguely yellowish.

I then backstitched through the tracing paper.

I'm attempting cutwork based on the tutorial that was posted to Whip Up last week.

The first step is to transfer the design and stitch around it with a reinforcing stitch. I'm using backstitch and have to say that I wish I hadn't used DMC 340.

Last night I removed the paper and cut out the black areas (except the one on top of the head, which I decided was too small). I'm using a white floss to do the satin stitching over the cut areas.

Things I've already learned:

Cut one area out at a time. This way you won't have to worry about an area raveling while you are working on another.

Simple designs. There is a lot in this piece and unlike the piece shown on Little Treasures, this has been more than 2 hours of back stitch followed by almost 2 hours of removing the paper and cutting and wrapping the areas by the ears.

Choose a color for reinforcing thread that is the same or very similar to the color you are going to do the satin stitch with. It shouldn't have needed to be said, but I pulled out the lavender and it wasn't the best idea I had.

The base fabric is from a quarter yard of the Kokka fabric I bought at Gather Here about two weeks ago. I bought it because it was super girly with its pastel bows and ribbon and the sparkly glitter incorporated into the fabric. It is a Japanese fabric line, though I don't really know any more than that, so I considered it appropriate to the project.

Maybe I'll get lucky and finish it Thursday night! But right now I have a lot more satin stitch to go.

[10 Tuesday] Thank goodness for spring

It feels a bit silly to say anything about spring, because yesterday it snowed. Through the large glass windows of the office building, it felt like being in a giant snow globe and people looked weary, bored, irritated or horrified as I caught the train to go home even though at that point it was mist and rain. Everyone was talking about April blizzards, which don't happen very often but this winter has been one of oddness and lots of people seem to think we're due.

My 10 reasons to be glad it's spring:

1. Longer days. I have a hard time sleeping, but I mind less if I woke up and there is a glimmer of light out there. Of course, that doesn't help me at all when I wake up at 0300 (that was yesterday), but it does help me if I wake up at 0430 (eventually).

2. Warmer days. I have been a bad doggie mom this winter, relying on the huge fenced in back yard rather than giving him twice daily (or more) walks. With the exception of the past day or so of cold and wet, I'm back to giving him walks and longer ones. Summer and fall are my favorites for doggie walking.

3. Gardening. I suck at it. It's true. I have a very shady back yard and a desire to grow vegetables and they generally don't mix. I keep moving my tiny plot around the back yard each year, but it hasn't made a difference yet. We have both shade from buildings and trees, more trees than it first appears, blocking the light. I also have a tendency to start late. For example, I will be doing my seed starting in April and putting things outside probably the first weekend of May. Norma has been talking about seed starting and her seedlings look gorgeous already.

4. Vacations. Spring means vacations to me. Either little day trips to celebrate our anniversary or slightly longer trips to visit friends and family. We don't always take them this time of year, but often enough that I associate spring time with them. Last year we went to this cheesy inn in North Conway, New Hampshire where they had themed rooms (like a caveman room or an Oscars room).

5. Shows. I don't get to be in as many shows as I like, because despite evidence to the contrary I like to preserve my remaining sanity. However, there is a run of Yeoman (my friend, J, is playing Dame Carruthers) and another of Rent that I really want to see.

6. Food. While I do love the heavier winter foods, it is a good time of year to eat something other than heavy pasta dishes and mashed potatoes. Fresh produce and the start of the farmer's market!

7. Half marathon training. My training started March 7th, and I immediately caught a cold that has stopped me from running much of the past couple of weeks. This week marks the first full week of training I'll have done (starting with a 4 mile run on Wednesday). As the weather gets better, I will move some of the short runs and the Sunday long run outside. Treadmills are good, but I don't want them to be all of my training.

8.Pussy willows. When we got married, I took $100 with me to a local florist the day of the wedding (or the day before - the memory is fuzzy) and asked for in season flowers and pussy willows and we built our own bouquets. I loved our flowers all the more because it became an impromptu craft between my maid of honor (madam of honor) and myself, while the less crafty people sat around and chatted. It was one of the least stressful parts of the wedding planning, probably because I was doing this with friends. 

9. My birthday. I normally consider my birthday to be in summer, but it is in the first half of June (I'm still a Gemini, no matter what people say about the new horoscopes) so I am still a spring baby. This year I am having an early birthday celebration by going to Squam. I keep hoping that this will be as good as I've been told, but if I go to it with an open mind rather than my streak of grumpiness I'm sure I'll have fun!

10. Lace. Spring and summer are the seasons of other crafts: weaving, embroidery, and lace knitting. While I still will knit sweaters and socks and other heavier items, I don't need to wear them. So, I look to spring as a time to work on other things! I'm already trying my hand at cut work for this week's Iron Craft, so I'm taking the try something new feeling to heart!

looking for a kennel

I'm pretty bad at remembering to call the kennel before our vacations, but this time I am a bit worse about it. Yesterday I called a place to schedule a tour and all of that good stuff for a new place. We've been using a place called Brian's Kennels out in North Quincy, which is a bit irritating to get to (especially when there was still snow on the ground). At Brian's, Victor has a crate and is near a lot of dogs, but doesn't really get to play with them.

So, I left a call with Doggieritaville out in Weymouth. It is supposed to have both an indoor and outdoor play facility and Victor loves playing with other dogs. I'm hoping that I can get this to work out, because they do pick up and drop off as well, which would make life much better. The difference in cost in $3 a day, which is nothing when I realize that at Brian's Kennel I was paying extra for a daily walk (making the different $2 a day in favor of the new kennel). It really does look like a near perfect place for Victor (and it is on a bus route from Quincy Center, which is pretty good too).

They also do doggie day care, so I know what I'll be doing if Victor has another phase of searching for tupperware to chew. Their doggie day care for an entire week was cheaper than what I was paying for a daily dog walk and is probably more fun for Victor in the long run.

All of this is a way of saying that soon (it feels sooner than it is) we'll be visiting friends and relatives down in the DC area, and I will be buying more yarn because I need more yarn like I need a hole in the head.

Yup, hole in the head. 

Thank goodness I save up money for these things, because I have the Red Line yarn crawl next weekend and yarn buying in DC (of course, that assumes that the shop in DC has different yarn that my two favorite shops in the Boston area: Windsor Button and Gather Here). Also, I bought yarn for a sweater this weekend (see need more yarn...). I'm using Cascade 220 Sport, which is awesome and squishy and super affordable. If I hadn't bought knitting needles and the pattern, I would have paid under $25 including tax. It really doesn't get much better than that!

 

misbehaving

 

I don't know if this is true for people without pets (or even for all people with pets), but I can tell immediately when Victor has done something wrong. Like the video it starts out with evidence. I feel like a detective with the easiest job in the world.

Last night I came home to paper shredded on the couch and the floor. I have no idea what the paper was. Anything that made it identifiable was long gone. Victor saw me looking at it and was sticking around in his crate. Gently, I said, "Go to place." It took a couple of tries, but he went to the corner where he waits for food. I pulled his bed out of the crate and checked it for more paper (it is where the evidence goes to die).

I cleaned it up and let him go about the happy business of sniffing and getting pets. Silly dog!

Recipe: Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Pistachio Pudding

This week's Iron Craft challenge was all about being green and it couldn't have come at a better time. Joy the Baker posted earlier in the month about making Cashew Oat Milk, which was inspiring. Of course, I don't have a blender, and because of cross-contamination I really didn't want to use oats. 

Instead I made vegetarian Pistachio Quinoa Milk (sans blender).

Ingredients:
8 ounces of shelled green pistachios
1/4 cup quinoa
2 tablespoons honey or agave (if you want it vegan)
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
water 

Wash quinoa very well in a sieve to remove the saponin coating. Add to a small container with water to coat and soak overnight.

Rinse pistashios well and add to a separate container to soak overnight.

The next day, drain the quinoa and rinse again. Add to a small pot with 1 cup of water and cook for about 20 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Drain pistashios and rinse until water runs clear.

Add to the bowl of a food processor, pistashios, quinoa,  honey, and the extracts. Add about 1/2 cup of water and process until smooth. 

Add some of the mixture to a sieve over a large bowl and slowly add water about a 1/2 cup to a cup at a time and use a rubber spatula to drain some of the water through. This will collect in a bowl and make a green-tinged milk. The amount of milk you get is based on the water you use and the amount you press. Eventually you will have all of the mixture in the sieve as you add the water. I got just under 3 cups of pistachio quinoa milk. I have saved the solids for tasty bizarro cookies.

But I didn't want to make milk alone though. Instead, I was making gluten free, vegetarian pistachio pudding.

Vegetarian Pistachio Pudding

2 cups of pistachio quinoa milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter (completely optional)
1/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped for garnish/etc. 

Mix with a whisk sugar and cornstarch together.

Heat pistachio milk over medium heat. Slowly whisk in the sugar mixture, making sure there are no lumps. Continue whisking until the mixture starts to boil and thicken. 

The entire process takes about 5 minutes, and it should boil for no longer than 1 minute. Remove from heat and add extracts, whisking to combine. At this point you can add the butter (or Earth Balance if you are vegan) to create a richer, smoother texture.

Pour the pudding mixture into a small bowl and stir in chopped pistachios. Cover with plastic wrap. I did it in case a skin formed, but as there are no milk proteins this might have been unnecessary.

I made pudding!

Things I would change next time I make this:
Cook it slightly less long. Mine was a bit rigid when I scooped it this morning. It tastes fine, but either needed between 1/4 cup and a 1/2 cup more pistachio milk after cooking or I needed to cook it less long.

Use a blender. I don't actually have one, and using the food processor worked fine. However, I did have leakage when I tried to do the whole water thing from the beginning as the water tried to leak out the bottom of the food processor. Yup, I made a mess!

If I wanted it more green, I'd add a single drop of non-gel green coloring or a tiny swipe of the gel stuff in the milk right at the beginning of pudding time.

Also, I have a second iron craft project this week, but I haven't bound off yet. The knitting will be up tomorrow!