Aspiring to Crochet Socks

The Blog Week question for today is: What pattern or project do you aspire to?

floofle's socks on Ravelry
Here is my crochet answer: I want to crochet socks! So far, I’m still looking for a pattern that I like, and Linda Diak’s Toe-Up Crocheted Socks might be the one to start with. I know it will be challenging to make comfortable, adequately stretchy socks in crochet, and I hope I’m up to the task.

If you want to see more posts from other bloggers participating in Blog Week, click here to find links:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=knitcroblo2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

(Blog Week Day 2 tag: knitcroblo2)

A Legacy Passed from Mother to Daughter

The Blog Week question for today is: How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting?

I actually don’t remember learning to knit and crochet... I was so young when my mother taught me. She was an awesome knitter, and there were wonderful hand-knitted garments in our house. She had a cherry-red cabled cardigan that she knitted for herself in the 1950’s, and my father had hand-knit-by-her socks and an incredible tweedy cardigan, which I wore quite a bit in high school. I wore the cabled sweater when I was in college--it was to die for!


The houndstooth swatch pictured above was knitted by her, with itty bitty stitches. She was a much better knitter than I will ever be.

Funny thing, though, when the time came for our Girl Scout troop to do the needlework badge, some of the mothers taught us various skills like knitting, crochet, embroidery, etc., every week for about a month. My patrol (small group) went to the home of a mother from Germany, and a different patrol went to my house to learn from my mother. Well, not only did I already know how to do all the needleworking things we were learning, but the German mom was surprised that I used the German technique of holding my crochet hook. Oddly, I had changed my grip-style as a child to suit my own preference so I ended up crocheting like that instead of like my mother and grandmother. Go figure.

As for knitting style, I did my own thing, too. My mother showed me how to knit, and I couldn’t do the wrap-around-your-finger thing, so I just grabbed the working yarn and threw it over instead for each stitch. To this day, I still knit that way, and so does my daughter! I find that it goes fast, I can control the tension just fine, and I don’t have any problems with my wrists.

So when my daughter came home from college in her first semester and she wanted to learn to knit, I happily showed her how. I’m quite sure my mother learned from her mother too.

If you want to see more posts from other bloggers participating in Blog Week, click here to find links:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=knitcroblo1&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

(Blog Week Day 1 tag: knitcroblo1)

Get Ready for Knit & Crochet Blog Week!

Starting tomorrow, I will be participating in Knit & Crochet Blog Week, which, to quote the foundress, Eskimimi, “is a week of blogging for knitters and crocheters, where individual bloggers will all simultaneously post about the same topics over the course of seven days, so that for one week readers might be able to read from blog to blog and enjoy a community of bloggers all talking about elements of their craft in their own unique way.”

Each day of the week has a special topic to be discussed in the context of knitting or crocheting. The topics are going to be fun to read for all the different blogger-knitter-crocheters.

You can find out more about Blog Week here:

http://eskimimiknits.com/2010/04/knitting-and-crochet-blog-week-countdown-to-april-26th/

I’m off to snap some pictures for next week’s posts!

Kitty!

We have adopted a sweet, old manx kitty. He loves being outside, having lived indoors for the last 6 years with his previous owner (he is 14 years old). In fact, he refuses to come into the house for more than about a minute, since he has discovered our back yard. He is certainly in his feline element.

UPDATE: At our new house, Tuffer stays indoors most of the time. He makes brief visits to the patio, and occasionally chases a butterfly in the yard. But he spends most of his time sleeping inside, these days.

Barely Borscht

This recipe happened accidentally one day when I was concocting a soup made with vegetables I had just bought at the Farmers' Market. Having already put the veggies in, I wondered what kind of seasoning would work, and I looked up soups with beets... bringing me to borscht, of course! All I had to add was cabbage and a bit of vinegar, followed by a slab of cream cheese in the bowl, and I got a nice borscht, made mellow by the squash. Mmmm.

BARELY BORSCHT

1 Tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 med. beet, peeled and chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 med. onion, chopped
1/4 med. head cabbage, chopped
2 yellow squashes, cubed (or substitute 2 cups peeled winter squash)
5 cups vegetable stock
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cider vinegar
cream cheese

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In a soup pot, melt the butter with black pepper added. Sauté the beet, celery, and onion until softened. Add the cabbage and sauté briefly.

Add the stock, squash, salt, and vinegar. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer until squash and beets are tender.

When serving, add 1 Tbsp. cream cheese to each bowl. You can substitute sour cream or yogurt, if you prefer.

Serves 6


For more of my favorite cabbage recipes, see
How to Cook Non-Yucky Cabbage
Cabbage Soup
Colcannon
Maple-Pecan Fried Slaw
Onion Pie

This recipe appears on

Maple-Pecan Fried Slaw

This is a wonderful veggie side dish, which I adapted from a recipe in Gourmet Magazine. Originally calling for shredded Brussels sprouts, I tried cabbage once, and found that it tastes much better. So here's my version, which the whole family likes--even the kids.

MAPLE PECAN SLAW

1/2 cup pecan pieces (approx. 1/2”)
1/2 stick (4 Tbsp.) butter
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. salt
1 lb. cabbage, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar

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In a dry skillet, toast pecans over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until fragrant and slightly browned. Add 1 Tbsp. of the butter, the maple syrup, and 1/2 tsp. of the salt. Turn heat to low and warm the ingredients until butter is melted and pecans are coated. Set aside.

In a large, open pan, such as a stock pot, melt the remaining butter with the black pepper and the rest of the salt over medium heat. Add the cabbage and toss. Sauté until wilted but still crisp-tender--about 3-5 minutes. Add the vinegar and cook for 1 more minute.

Add the pecan and maple glaze from the skillet, and cook for another minute, stirring well.

Serves 8

adapted from a recipe by Shelley Wiseman found in Gourmet Magazine, Nov. 2003
http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2003/11/brussels-sprouts-maple-hickory-nuts


For more of my favorite cabbage recipes, see
How to Cook Non-Yucky Cabbage
Barely Borscht
Cabbage Soup
Colcannon
Onion Pie

In the Arms of the Angels

Sigh. Today I attended a cremation. There were just two of us there with the technician and the... deceased. I sang that song, "Angel," all the way home. I hope our friend found the way home with her angels a few days ago when she left the body. She was a brave soul who did a lot of good in this world. Sigh.