« June 2007 | Main | August 2007 »

July 31, 2007

I think I have a future knitter on my hands

I hate to do one of those look at my daughter, isn't she the cutest posts, but really, isn't she the cutest? (don't answer that if you don't agree)

I put her on my bed to put her shoes on and there she found a ball of yarn and got super excited. She was yelling "ballon! ballon!" which is the word she uses for balls, balloons and yarn balls alike. She yelled it louder and louder and then started sniffing the yarn and giving it kisses. I know you smell your yarn and maybe even smooched some that you really liked. Don't deny it.

Posted by kate at 08:11 PM | Comments (29)

July 27, 2007

Kate Gilbert Living Omnimedia

This week on Kate Gilbert Living, we'll explore activities for when you're between deadlines and just don't feel like working on the stuff you should be doing.

Plant an herb garden OK, fine. I didn't plant it. My mom did, but do you really think that Martha plants all of her own stuff? I watered it. Isn't that good enough? And I'm going to cook with it. The thyme will go into roasted potatoes and garlic. The chives will go into vinaigrette (I always make my own salad dressing now that I realize how yummy and easy it is... Plus, my French husband would have a stroke if I dared buy salad dressing). I'm sure I'll find things to do with the basil and rosemary.

Make vinaigrette I use a mini food processor thing because it's convenient but you're welcome to do this in a bowl. All amounts are approximate and you should experiment to find the ratios that you like. I use a big serving spoon for my measurements.
1) Chop up garlic. A clove... or two... or shallots. I really like shallots when I'm eating it with baby spinach.
2) Add some salt. A little. Or a little more.
3) Add as much freshly ground black pepper as you like.
4) Add 4 big spoons of balsamic vinegar and 2 of white vinegar. Mix it up a bit.
5) Add about 9 spoons of olive oil and 1 spoon of walnut oil if you're not too lazy to get it out of the fridge (which I usually am). Mix it up pretty well. I like my vinaigrette to have a lot of bite. Use twice or even three times as much oil as vinegar if you like it oilier.
6) Plop in a heaping tablespoon of very strong French mustard. I use the fine grain one for flavor and then sometimes the big grained on top of that one for texture. Mix the vinaigrette to death until it's emulsified.
7) Taste and correct seasoning if necessary. And oh yeah! Add your fresh herbs!
Eat it on salad, on a potato omelette (seriously yummy) mozzarella and tomatoes, use it to marinade, etc. hmmmm. I think I need a potato omelette for dinner tonight.

Fingerpaint with the youngster I did this in the hopes of having a few minutes to clean up and to stop the endless whine of "byebye? byebye? byebye? lolla? (stroller) lolla? byebye? byebye?" It worked for about three minutes, which was good enough.
Bake a cake (and eat it) This is Jane's Butterscotchy lemon cake. I was lazier than her. I only had one pan so only one layer and I didn't make the lemon curd, but I did whip some cream and serve it with fresh fruit.

That's all for today. I'm off to spin until naptime is over, then you'll find us back at the wading pool. See you next time on Kate Gilbert Living.

Posted by kate at 01:29 PM | Comments (25)

July 16, 2007

Secret Stripe Socks

The socks aren't a secret. The stripes are. I got some lovely hand-dyed sock yarn from the folks at Green Mountain Spinnery Did I mention the retreat? There are only a few spaces left... It's gorgeous. I'm loving knitting it, but the 2 balls I had were slightly different. Seriously slightly. Look:

It's hard to say if that photo is accurate or not. In some lights the balls look practically the same. In some, one seems brighter. I could have knitted 2 socks and it would have been fine, but I decided to make my life more complicated. I always do, don't I?

I'm striping them. The feet have two round stripes and one round stripes in the leg. I should have done one throughout. Oh well. It's not like you can really tell. I would be working on my other socks, but I can't find them anywhere. My Beckett documentary socks are already up in the calf increases but they are MIA and my poor, neglected trekking socks (which have already had heels knitted and ripped) are who knows where too. One of these days I will actually finish a PAIR of socks.

Posted by kate at 10:38 PM | Comments (10)

July 12, 2007

What to do

Here's some Fleece Artist BFL that I spun up to reward myself for finishing the puffed wheat sweater. I had 4 50g bumps (that's what you call them, right?) but I forgot about the 4th and used 3. I made a 3 ply until the first bobbin ran out. I still have a little left on 2 bobbins. Plus, I have the 4th bump and another one that is a silk merino blend in the same color. I'm not sure what to do with them. Do I make a 2-ply with what's left and make a marled (that's what it's called, right?) 2-ply with the silk and the BFL? I don't know what to do. I have so many lovely fibers sitting around and so little time to spin that I'm tempted to give what's left away or forget about it for a while and go spin something else. If I don't get rid of some of my spinning stash, I'll never be able to justify buying anything at Rhinebeck this year. Anyway, I'm pretty happy with what I made. It seems balanced. The color's pretty great. It's even-ish, which is good enough for now. Ok, all you experienced spinners, advise away.

Posted by kate at 09:16 PM | Comments (13)

July 09, 2007

Run away! Run away!

I mean RETREAT! Do you know the Green Mountain Spinnery? Every year they host a knitting retreat. This year, I'll be teaching there. It begins on Friday, September 28th with a dinner featuring locally grown produce and time for us all to hang out and meet each other and knit. On Saturday, we'll be learning how to knit two socks toe-up at one time (or rather, I'll be teaching, others will hopefully be learning). Then, we'll have a tour of the spinnery, dinner and Margaret Klein Wilson, designer, dyer and owner of Mostly Merino will talk about keeping a knitting journal. On Sunday morning, I'll be giving a design-your-own top-down raglan class. Then we'll part ways. I think it will be a blast, though I get a little nervous and sick to my stomach thinking about it. If you'd like to come, I'd be honored and I'll do my best to give you two rockin' classes.

The fee for the weekend is $300 per person, $285 with paid registration before August 6, 2007. The registration fee includes all workshop sessions and materials plus Friday dinner and Saturday lunch and dinner. If you have questions, you can call the spinnery at 1-800-321-9665.

You can print a sign up sheet here and I've put more specific info there too. I hope to see lots of you there.

Posted by kate at 09:03 PM | Comments (8)

July 05, 2007

Capri c'est fini

Like Capri, the sock pattern is "fini"*

A few years ago, we went to Capri. We found a meandering path that led down to some incredibly beautiful, blue-green water. A big gate blocked the way, but on the advice of a local, we jumped it and walked down to the Marina Piccola (little marina). The winding stitches and the color of this sock reminded me of our day so I chose to call this pattern "Marina Piccola."

It can be knit in gauges ranging from 6.5 to 9.5 sts to inch and in eight stitch counts giving a total of 56 sizes ranging from 5 1/2 in (13 cm) to 13 1/2 in (33 cm). This pattern is now available in downloadable PDF format. The sock above was knit in yarn dyed specifically for this pattern by Scout. She's adding the colorway to her gallery http://scoutsswag.com/gallery/gallery.html so it can be custum ordered. The sock below was knit in Fleece Artist Merino 2/6.

PS Those of you who originally received this pattern as part of the swag club just have to email me for the new version.

*2 points for you if you get this reference. 4 if you've actually seen the movie. I haven't.

Posted by kate at 10:11 PM | Comments (14)

July 01, 2007

Half an FO and Another Look part 2

I finished a sock.

But I'm not sure if I'm going to make the second. I wasn't really paying attention to my gauge and as usual, I knit more tightly than I had planned. That combined with the stitch pattern makes for a kind of snug sock. I'm not sure if I should make a second at the correct gauge and just deal with having one sort of snug sock or make the second the same and have two snug socks, or give them away, or use it as an example in classes or what. What would you do? My sister claimed that they were going to cut off her circulation and she would have to wear them forever and ever. I guess that means she doesn't want them. They were tight, but not that tight. They did leave marks on her feet though.

Before you ask, the pattern should be ready really soon, depending on the availability of my beloved tech editor.

A couple of you asked, so here's a shot of the back of the wing top. Again, just a photo to show my mom and it's on my sister in my living room so it's not an styled, planned out shot.

Posted by kate at 12:56 PM | Comments (19)