Category Archives: Domestic Arts

My First Finished Object!

I’m so very pleased with how it came out. Look!

my first knit project

It’s too short to be the scarf I wanted, so I will use it as a small table runner for the top of a book case that has family photos.

Husband encouraged me to go to Michael’s to get more yarn. I bought some Lion Bran for a new scarf and a hat. I also bought some inexpensive yarn which I hope will become a small cat blanket, of sorts, to cover the furniture. This will make cleaning easier, since I can toss them in the wash rather than vacuum the chair. It’s ambitious — they aren’t large or fancy, but it will take time. I also bought more needles… they are much less expensive (about half the price).

To prepare, I wound three skeins into center-pull balls. Now my arms ache. Time for sleep!

Yarn details: Crystal Palace Yarns Musique ; 65 yards/50 grams; 2.5-3.5 sts/inch; size 10.5-11 US; 45% acrylic, 40% wool, 15% cotton; vendor Straw Into Gold, Richmond, CA, www.straw.com; $6.25 skein, 2 skeins bought at Knitting Arts.

I’ve Got Blisters On My Fingers!

Not really. But I do have a small callous developing on the tip of my right thumb, where I have the most contact with yarn as I push it from needle to needle.

I practiced the purl stitch. I do not like it very much. I also continued knitting the scarf, but I messed up somewhere. I tried to find and fix it, but I’m not skilled enough to figure that out yet. I’ll go to the yarn store and ask for help.

But really, I ought to give my hands and eyes a rest. There’s a whole weekend ahead. I’ve neglected working out for the past two days… best get back in the swing of it.

Eager

I had my second knitting class today, where I learned the purl stitch. It was so very awkward at first, but my fingers are getting more adept. I also decided that I want to make a hat, a sample of which is on a styrofoam head at Commuknity. Nathania found the pattern — it’s a Rowan — and said she’d help me through. It calls for size 15 needles, so I got them. “Pace yourself,” my inner critic says. Well, I am. I haven’t bought all the yarn that’s wooing me from every shelf and cubbyhole in the store!

Here’s a terribly selfish thought. I want to make things, but I only need so many scarves, hats, and hotpads. I’m not sure I want to get into complex projects like sweaters. I could knit scarves until kingdom come, except that yarn — the gorgeous kind that’s fun to work with — can be expensive. I can give them away to loved ones, and I will. After a point, however, they too will have their fill of such things. That leaves knitting for charities. I’m all for that, except — and here’s the selfish part — making a scarf out expensive yarn for someone who may not appreciate that gives me pause. And I feel a twinge of shame for that.

Speaking of yarn, I wish I’d bought three skeins of the Crystal Palace yarn I’m using for my first scarf. I can see now it won’t be long enough, and it’s too wide. I’m going to “reverse knit” and start over to make it less wide. Now that I’m more coordinated, the stitches will be more even too. This should keep me occupied until my last class, which is in two weeks.

There’s so much still to learn! Increases, decreases, stitch holders, yarn types… Bring it on!

Apple Pan Yum

I made a delicious fall dinner; lately I’m inspired to cook (must be the chilly nights). The side dishes were salad, steamed heritage purple cauliflower and organic broccoli (ingredients bought at the Santa Clara Farmers’ Market), and quinoa. The entree, some of which was scooped over the quinoa, was from AllRecipes.com, but I used six boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead. Recipe serves four.

Apple Pan Chicken

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
  • 3 apples – peeled, cored and sliced
  • 3 tablespoons dried currants
  • 3 tablespoons pine nuts (optional)
  • 1/3 cup apple juice or cider
  • 1.5 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 1.5 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until soft and translucent. Move the onions to the side, and brown chicken 4 minutes on each side. Top chicken with apples, currants and pine nuts. Pour in apple juice. Season with thyme, parsley, jalapeno, salt and pepper. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are cooked and chicken is no longer pink.

Stitchin’ But Not Bitchin’

bumpy yarn

Friday evening I got a little bored with the orange yarn. A few months ago I’d bought chunky yarn and size 11 needles, which I later learned were not the best items with which to start learning. I picked these up and decided to try anyway. My husband listened to me as I explained the terms; he watched as I worked, said he found it relaxing. (I’d heard that knitting could be relaxing, but watching someone knit? Apparently so.) The yarn is somewhat harder to work with — there’s a tendency to split the strand. However, I enjoy the visible progress larger needles allow, I like the fact that the variable, bumpy texture hides small errors in stitching, and I am more engaged by the color. I have two skeins, so by the time I’m done it will be a very wide and short scarf. I’ll be fairly proud of that, too, and you can be sure I’ll wear it.

I took time to look at knitting books and online patterns, and I’m a bit daunted. The instructions are given in a hieroglyphic code. For example, from a tea cozy pattern in the one book I own, Basic Knitting, “Work dec rnd as follows: k2togtble, work to 2 sts before marker, k2tog, sl marker, k2togtble…” Then it offers this highly enlightening tip: “An ssk can be substituted for the k2togtble — see page 41.” I think I need a different book — this one clearly assumes knowledge I do not have. Any suggestions on good books with neat projects for beginners?

Yarn note: Musique Crystal Palace Yarns; 65 yards/50 grams; 2.5-3.5 sts/inch; size 10.5-11 US; 45% acrylic, 40% wool, 15% cotton; vendor Straw Into Gold, Richmond, CA, www.straw.com; $6.25 skein, 2 skeins bought at Knitting Arts.