BitterSweet

Happy World Wide Pinhole Photography Day.

(After a full week of working with pinhole cameras, this is the best print I could get. To be honest, I'm really not particularly fond of the technique!)

At long last, you can enjoy your very own slice of knit pizza!

Now, this is my very first pattern, so if there are any errors or confusing bits, please let me know and I’ll do my best to clarify. In addition, I would appreciate it greatly if you would only make these for yourself and your friends, without selling the finished product or pattern, seeing as it came from the vapid expanses of my own head. …So what are you waiting for, get knitting!

Crust

With US #7 needles and tan yarn, CO 20

Row 1 and all other odd-numbered rows, unless otherwise noted: P

Row 2 and 4: K1, kfb, k all stitches until last 2, kfb, k1

Row 6 and 8: K

Row 10 and 12: K1, k2tog, k all stitches until last 3, ssk, k1

Row 14 and 16: K

Row 18: K1, k2tog, k all stitches until last 3, ssk, k1

Row 20: K

Row 22: K1, k2tog, k all stitches until last 3, ssk, k1

Row 24 and 26: K

Row 28: K1, k2tog, k all stitches until last 3, ssk, k1

Row 30: K

Row 32: K1, k2tog, k all stitches until last 3, ssk, k1

Row 34: K

Row 36: K1, k2tog, k all stitches until last 3, ssk, k1

Row 38: K

Row 40 and 42: K1, k2tog, k all stitches until last 3, ssk, k1

Row 44: K1, k2tog, ssk, k1

Row 46: K1, k2tog, k1

Row 47: K3tog, Tie off.

To make up the crust, fold over the top of the triangle you just knit, aligning sides so that the increases and decreases match. Hand-sew this flap down, WS facing (the bottom of your pizza will have the smooth side of the stockinet stitch, and all of the bumpy side will eventually be covered by the other pieces.)

Sauce / Cheese

To achieve the correct coloration, please refer to the color chart below for the first four rows, continuing in yellow after it is completed.

CO 20

Row 1, and all other odd rows, unless otherwise noted: P

Row 2: K

Row 4: K1, k2tog, k all stitches until last 3, ssk, k1

Row 6: K

Row 8: K1, k2tog, k all stitches until last 3, ssk, k1

Row 10 and 12: K

Row 14: K1, k2tog, k all stitches until last 3, ssk, k1

Row 16: K

Row 18: K1, k2tog, k all stitches until last 3, ssk, k1

Row 20: K

Row 22: K1, k2tog, k all stitches until last 3, ssk, k1

Row 24: K

Row 26 and 28: K1, k2tog, k all stitches until last 3, ssk, k1

Row 30: K

Row 32: K1, k2tog, ssk, k1

Row 34: K1, k2tog, k1

Row 35: K3tog, Tie off.

Mushroom

Switching over to US #4 needles for the toppings, in a light cream yarn, CO 2

Row 1 and all other odd rows: P

Row 2: K

Row 4: Kfb, kfb

Row 6: Kfb, k2, kfb

Row 8: K

Row 10: P2tog, p2, p2tog

BO

With darker brown yarn, hand-embroider the details of the bottom of the mushroom cap, referring to the photo if necessary.

Onion

In white yarn, CO 16

Row 1: K2tog across

BO

*For alternate toppings, the technique for the onion can easily make peppers, using either green or red yarn instead of the white.

To assemble: First, weave in ends on all the toppings and sew them securely to the cheese piece in whatever arrangement pleases you. Then smooth out the sides of the sauce / cheese piece (the edges will want to curl, as with any piece knit in stockinet) and align the sides evenly with that of your crust. With WS together, (both RS’s should be outwards and visible) whip stitch the edges together with the crust color, and be sure to also sew down the top part near the folded edge of the crust. Tie tight, and hide the ends underneath the cheese.

Enjoy, but don’t eat!

*Or, go share a slice and see the pizza that other crafty bloggers knit up at…

Blah, Blah, Blahhhg

I'm not sure what the rule is with double-dipping when it comes to knit cookies…

But I say you should just go for it!  This sweet little Oreo, Newman O, or what-have-you, is so brainless to whip up, I don't even remember how long it took me to complete.  Knit entirely in garter stitch, I can't imagine it too much over 1 hour.  Trying to photograph it, I had so much fun, I took about 10 individual pictures that I wish I could use here… But I figured that would kinda be overkill.

See for yourself, these sandwich-creme cookies are irrisistable, and you can find a fantastically detailed tutorial on Craftster.com, complete with pictures and diagrams of almost every step.

So pour yourself a tall glass of frothy soymilk, and get knitting! 

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but just to ensure that I've covered my bases: The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller is THE book for crochet, and if you don't already own it, go run out to the store RIGHT now and buy it. The beauty of it is, it doesn't matter if you've been crocheting for 10 years or if you've never picked up a hook in your life. The patterns are enticing and attractive, with easy to follow, well-written instructions. If it hadn't been for this book, I doubt I would be able to do much more with a crochet hook than weave in ends. The price is a bargan, because I garuntee that you will refer to it endlessly like I do, even when you're not working on one of the projects included within.

Finally working through some of the projects that I marked over vacation, I decided to first tackle something relatively easy (all single-crochet) but still challenging. The Orange You Glad bag fit the bill perfectly.

At first, I was a bit intimidated by the color changes, as I'm still not very skilled at making them appear natural in knitting.  Nonetheless, I decided to give it my all.  Funny enough, the hardest thing for me in this entire bag was just the first row.  It's always difficult for me, and ends up taking rediculous amounts of time, especially of I inadvertantly chain too tightly.

But anyway, even while on the train to New York, I figured out how to create a picture in crochet stitches!  It was so exciting, I had no idea it would be so easy!  So while it's not perfect… I'm really pleased with it.  Not to mention how beautifully it used up some of the scraps of yarn I had in my stash.  Don't tell anyone, but that green is actually the same one I used in my Skully sweater ages ago!

Alas, all good things must come to an end. Such is the case today with my prized spring break. In just a few short hours, I’ll find myself back in that institution of learning, where nothing is actually taught.

But reflecting back on the wonderful week now passing, I’ve discovered that I’m one of those rare, perhaps nearly mythical… Morning people. Yes, there is nothing that I savor more than waking up early, the house to myself, and watching the sun rise through the numerous kitchen windows. Coffee in hand, I have all the time in the world to think, to do whatever I desire - The whole day is ahead of me, and there are no commitments for me to fulfill. I can make whatever I want of it, and to me, I find this feeling to be exhilarating.

It would make sense that I’m a lover of breakfast food, right? I wish it were that simple… Of course I am, but I almost never get these beautiful, picture-perfect mornings, even on regular old weekends. It’s always school this and appointments that, so any time that I do get to make a real breakfast…. Usually ends up being for dinner. I know, better than nothing, but… It’s just not the same!

So I took advantage of the situation and tried something I’d never attempted before… french toast. Since I had never tasted regular french toast, I had no way of comparing the vegan version to it, but on its own, I thought it was delightful. My mom was even surprised - To her, what’s french toast but milky, eggy bread? Rediculously easy and delicious, even on those less-that-gorgeous weekend days.

I've been experimenting with making my own patterns again…

…And so I've come up with this, mushroom / onion pizza!  I'm still not entirely satisfied with the look of the mushrooms, but I think it works overall…  My nutritionist hinted that knit pizza would be awesome in her office, and since she's getting married in two weeks and will be off the job for some time, I wanted her last gift from me to be extra special.  I'm really happy for her, she's such a wonderfully kind person and deserves someone who agrees to the millionth degree.

Anyways, if there's any interest out there, I could write up the instructions for the pizza pattern sometime later this week…  Any takers? 

I long to knit intricate lacey things, or atleast items more complicated than a little stuffed toy. Sadly, my regular schedule doesn't really permit this, as I don't have enough time to sit and concentrate on a complicated pattern, and I certainly couldn't take it with me and work on it in between appointment. Thankfully, this vacation time has allowed me to finish my Flower Basket Shawl, and I must say I'm very proud of the end product.

The pattern is from Interweave Knits, Fall 2004 issue, but I somehow downloaded it in .pfd form for free. I can't seem to find this file anymore, but if anyone's interested in making their own, I could try to email it to you? Trust me, this shawl was so much fun to make, it's really worth your effort!

So here it is, pre-blocking, rather curly and unimpressive on my bed…

Oh, and do you see that little thread to the side of it? That is litterally all that's left of the yarn. I was so scared I would run out at the very end, I was having a nervous fit as I bound off! It used exactly 6 skiens of Cotton Classic (With the yarn doubled-over) for a grand total of $36. I know that this may seem pathetic, but that's the most I've ever paid for a single project. As you can see, I usually make really small things from cheapo acrylic, because it doesn't matter if a knit vegetable isn't so soft, for example.

So anyway, I layed it out to block yesterday…

…And was certainly rewarded for my patience.

I really love this shawl. Nevermind that I have no clue when it'll get worn, it's exactly what I was hoping for. Beautiful, elegant… and PURPLE. I swear, I was practically seizing when I saw how rich this hue of yarn was at the store. I think it's perfect for this pattern.

And now I have a reason to use my brand new brooch!

…And as always, I return to the world of chocolate. Nothing sinfully rich, but definitely a treat nonetheless. I wanted to congratulate my mom on making it through the whole week of passover without having any wheat or leavened items, so I baked her scones with a new recipe. It’s something I ear-marked a long time ago from Baking Sheet and converted easily to veganism.

With peanut butter mixed into the batter and chocolate chips speckled throughout, this recipe may be a bit much for breakfast and could even be considered a dessert. Whenever you choose to eat it, though, these delicious scones will have you coming back for seconds.

I just love using my spritz gun - It makes such cute little shapes, without all the hassle of rolling out the dough, cutting, re-rolling, re-cutting… I’m sure you can understand how tedious that can become, especially in big batches. I don’t often do “shaped” cookies, because usually you have to sacrifice flavor in order to accomidate design, but I thought it could be a fun activity, and a good way to test out a recipe I might not otherwise consider.

So I whipped out my In the Garden of Vegan cookbook and set off creating “Mum’s Sugar Cookies.” I shot out a tray full of cute little dough-flowers, and they went into the oven like so:

Cute, huh? And so well defined! With high hopes, I set the timer and wandered off to clean the counters and such (I don’t cook very neatly.) 15 minutes I returned… and pulled this out of the oven…

It looks like someone set off an atomic bomb in there, they’re completely leveled! What happened?? It couldn’t be the recipe, these are supposed to be tried and true… and even they aren’t all perfect, I can’t imagine that they would be so far off…

So I threw the remaining dough in the fridge, and sulked in front on my laptop, blog-hopping as usual. Then, after the first dozen blogs or so, it hit me: I’m a moron. Clearly, they spread so much because there was too much fat, but I’m positive I used the correct amount… Somehow, I have a feeling in my bones that I skimped on the flour. By about a cup. I bet that could do it.

I retrieved my exiled dough from the chill chest and mixed in another handful of flour. Repeating the same process of using the spritz gun and resetting the oven, I waited anxiously. In the end, I was rewarded for my [relative] patience:

It worked! Now, however, I had wasted about half of the dough to the nuclear explosion effect, and there was no way I would have enough cookies to share around. Back to work making a second batch to suppliment, and this time I made sure I used the proper amount of flour.

For decoration, I made a simple confectioner’s sugar glaze, and mixed in 2 teaspoons of lemon juice for interest. I must say, that little lemony flavoring made all the difference. Being plain sugar cookies, I was worried that kids might find them boring or bland, but they were gobbled up as if I had put crack in them! ….Which of course I didn’t. [Shifty look]

With one and a half batches, it made a whole field of flowers! I chose to mix in three different colors for the petals and top them with colored sugar, but they were all the same flavor. As an interesting side note, I did notice that for some inexplicable reason, red was the most popular. Heh, who knows, right? I was lucky that they were consumed so enthusiastically, because this amount would have taken my household about a decade to finish off. One little girl even took ten for herself! If you find yourself in need of quick, cute kid-pleasers… Don’t make these. The icing alone took me atleast two and a half hours to complete, but maybe if you had someone to help or weren’t nearly as obsessive as me, it could be a bit simpler.

The beautiful thing about spring break, for me atleast, is getting the time to work on all of those little projects that I've been dying to do for what seems like ages.  I've been accumulating so many craft magazines, books, and links, it's practically impossible to sort through all of it!  The craziest part of the whole situation is the fact that I'm actually attempting to reorganize to fullfill my need to do some spring cleaning, so all of the crap I have lying around is driving me crazy!  The best way to take care of messy supplies:  Craft with them.

Ordinarilly, I really suck at working with wire, but lately it has actually been kinda fun.  The first attempt at this sort of bracelet, though, has all sorts of issues, and I'm not so happy with it.  The inspiration came from the latest issue of Bead Style magazine, which is usually about as helpful has a computer manual written in Latin.  I've only received two copies because they were free, but this last one shocked me - There were actually projects I wanted to make.  Every other issue (As far as I can see) has really just been one big ad.  Even the projects are no more than lists of supplies to buy, which you're instructed to string onto some wire, and you're done!  I guess it's better for inspiration… And cleaning out your bank account.  Though painfully expensive, I've gotta admit that the beads that they advertise are truly gorgeous.

So anyway, I tried again and came up with this.  I like it a lot more, so I'm almost okay with letting go of some of those nice glass beads.

They really do look pretty nice, probably much better in person, because as I'm now learning, jewlery is one of the hardest subjects to photograph.  In fact, I had so much trouble with backgrounds and lighting, the above picture was actually taken on the lid of my toilet!  That's why it's a bit reflective… but look how clear and bright it is!  (Don't worry, it was clean.)

I tend to get better pictures outside, so the rest were taken on my patio, in case you were becoming worried.