OP ART DONE!
My Knitty Op Art blanket is done:
It’s about 47 inches across the center. I used about six skeins of green and five of yellow Austermann Record 210. I had begun another round of yellow but I didn’t have enough yarn to complete the next progression, so I ripped it back, opting instead to use up all available green for the outer, larger framing section. Obviously, I haven’t attempted blocking yet. Cotton yarn as a rule does not deform as well under blocking as does wool, and this dense cotton in particular has a mind of its own. I suspect I’ll have to pin this to within an inch of its life, then steam block it rather than just damp blocking. But that’s an exercise for another day. Even if I don’t get around to it, the odd shape (although unorthodox) isn’t unappealing.
In other knitting news, I continue to slog away at the spiderweb section of my growing olive green tablecloth, but pix of the standard indistinct and blurry snood shape object won’t reveal much beyond the fact that it still exists. Also I was tempted too long by the skein of Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn that’s been sitting atop my monitor since I posted about its acquisition back in July. I had thought about doing something unusual with it rather than just socks, but the lure of those colors proved too strong.
At that time I bought it I posited that each color area would last about three or four rows in a sock. My instinct was more or less correct, but the yarn has more transitions and in-between gradations than I expected. Knit up, the color sections look like they last much longer, but if you examine closely “pure” colors do last for about five or six rows before they begin transforming into the long “tweener” blend areas:
For the record, I’m using 00s, and am working at the relatively large gauge (for me) of 8 stitches per inch. Although I usually prefer my socks knit tighter, this yarn is a bit heavy compared to the sock yarns I usually use. It’s also a single, with a fair bit of unevenness – some parts are thinner than others – and a fair bit of overtwist. The overtwist can be a pain because the yarn will kink up on itself if a long section is drawn from the skein. I’ve also noticed that other knitters have complained about Kureyon Sock’s feel, thinking it a bit on the coarse side. It is hard on the fingers as it is being knit, but the resulting sock at my gauge is nice and cushy and feels much softer than palpitating the skein promises.
This pair won’t be finished any time soon. Now that the first sock has been kicked off, I’ve relegated it to “briefcase project” status. That’s the small, portable project I keep on hand to knit at doctors’ appointments, while waiting on line at the post office, and other stolen oddments of time. My socks will be done. Eventually.
ACTUAL PROGRESS. AMAZING.
I feel like I’ve landed on the planet of the domestic divas. Everything I did this weekend involved knitting, sewing or cooking.
First, the Chicken Viking Hat is finished!
It’s shown here on a random stuffed toy – no infants of appropriate size being to hand at the moment.
The CVH is quick knit, although getting the legs on and finished were both a bit fiddly. Luckily I had some stuffing left over from a previous project because I violated Knitting Rule #4, and didn’t bother to read the whole thing through before I sat down to attempt it.
My only other caution is a minor one – If anyone is going to knit up your own CVH, be advised that on the diagram of how to pick up the stitches that form the leg, there is one 90-degree corner, and three slightly rounded ones. That 90-degree corner indicates the direction that the feetie part of the drumstick will point. I didn’t make the mistake of making the two feeties go in different directions, but I can see that doing so might be a very easy and natural error. (Why do I call them feeties? Because that’s what we’d call the real thing when as kids we’d haunt the kitchen when my grandmother made chicken soup. Only the best behaved kids got feeties from the stock pot as a pre-dinner special treat.)
My camo valences are also coming along. Everything is proceeding as per the plan and diagram in the last entry. Here’s Valence #1, all ironed out and pinned prior to stitching.
And I also managed today to do my community service obligation. I baked for the Election Day bake sale, to be held at (and benefit) Younger Daughter’s elementary school. Class for both kids is canceled on Tuesday. Usually voting happens with no interruption of school. My guess is that they’re anticipating record turn-out. That means lots of people hungry to express their political will, who might also be hungry for cinnamon hazelnut teacake, or cocoa spritz cookies.
On the teacakes, I used a mini loaf pan that produces four small cakes, sort of like this one.
One recipe of the batter (plus about a half cup of ground hazelnuts in the batter and another half cup in the topping) worked perfectly in it although I did end end up baking the cakes for about 10 minutes longer than the recipe advocates. All four cakes turned out quite nicely.
The cookies also were a success, with one iteration of the recipe making approximately 115 1.5-inch cocoa stars. However I find that most published cookie press cookie recipes are way too stiff for my presses and this one was no exception. I want my batter to be something like refrigerated peanut butter in consistency. It should be so soft that it must be shoveled into the tube – not something that can be taken up and rolled into neat cylinders and inserted. I used an extra tablespoon of cocoa in the spritz cookies, plus considerably more milk than it calls for to achieve my target texture. I used sour whole milk in both the teacakes and the cookies, having some in the fridge this week. It worked nicely, providing both with a tiny bit tangier taste than usual.
SIDE TRIP INTO HOME SEWING – CAMO VALENCES
Elder Daughter is now in the Doc Martins and camo phase of teenage self expression. That expression has spiraled out to her immediate surroundings. As a result, last fall we replaced her pre-teen starry night sheets with a bed-in-a-bag set on this theme:
It came with a top sheet, a fitted bottom sheet, a comforter and a pillowcase. And for some reason – a bed skirt. To those who don’t suckle at the breast of Martha Stewart, a bed skirt is a somewhat prissy patterned dust ruffle that lies between the mattress and box spring on most beds, with the fashion fabric curtaining off the under-bed area from general view. Far be it from me to question the wisdom of the marketers who thought that someone favoring camouflage patterns might use and appreciate such a thing.
In any case, her bed is a high platform with built-in drawers underneath and a bed skirt is irrelevant. Still, the skirt came with the set, and I abhor waste, so together Elder Daughter and I decided to remake it into a pair of narrow valences for the windows in her room. It’s taken this long to start the project because my ancient Elna sewing machine has been up on blocks awaiting repairs. The machine has now been overhauled and I am no longer able to endure the puppy looks and pleading, so I’ve begun.
Here’s our general plan. My goal is to minimize sewing as much as possible, by re-using existing finished edges and seams:
I’m at the first step (upper left of the diagram), slicing the camo fabric off from the foot of the skirt and picking out the box pleated corners:
We have no ideas on what to do with the excised bit from the former foot. Various pillow and stuffed animal suggestions have been floated. I also considered (then discarded as too fiddly) the idea of using some of it to make curtain tabs rather than a simple rod casing.
I think I’ll take this opportunity to introduce Elder Daughter to Ancient Elna. Long straight seams are easy and sewing is a life skill. More on this as we progress.
CROWING FOR LITTLE REASON
And the Chicken Viking Hat it is. Turns out that in addition to his week-old baby boy the recipient has 1) a sense of humor; 2) a wife similarly blessed; and 3) backyard chickens. It’s a perfect fit:
So far it’s been a quick knit. Two evenings knitting while watching a movie and I’m finished with the hat body. You can see I am starting on the protruding ornamental drumsticks. Chicken Viking knit up with no problems. I worked the whole thing on DPNs rather than a small circ. Newer knitters attempting this one should remember that “continue in pattern” means that as the decreases that make the crown happen, the placement of the one-purl goosebumps should follow the established distribution and spacing, even if the decreases eat into the beginnings of the repeat sequence. As a result post-decrease rows won’t begin at the specified spot described in the goosebump stitch pattern sequence. But the pattern is extremely simple and figuring out the right place to begin won’t be a problem.
My only departure from the written pattern so far is that instead of ending off the ear flaps by binding off the last four stitches, then attaching some strands of yarn to braid to make the ties, I reduced those last four down one final time to two stitches, then made my hat strings by working a two-stitch I-cord of requisite length. It came out nicely, sort of like lucet cord, I-cord’s ancient cousin. On the materials, nothing special here. I used remnants of a mass market 100% acrylic, in the “grade inflation” weight that is labeled worsted but has a natural gauge of 18-19 stitches = 4 inches. I did this because I wanted to make sure the thing was absolutely washable, and because of the heft of the yarn. This stuff has heft. The drumsticks will stick out on their own. A cotton as recommended would work well, too but most wool blends and all wools would make soft, droopy drumsticks. So it’s Soylent Green for this project.
I expect to knock this hat off by mid week, even allowing for the severely decreased knitting time that accompanies deadline crunches at work. Stay tuned.
UNLEASH THE INNER PUMPKIN
Sometimes the materials speak:
On the knitting front, I’ve been totally consumed again at work. I’ve managed to do a couple more rows of the spiderweb section on my olive green tablecloth, and a little bit more on the OpArt blanket – but not much of either.
I’ve also received a special request for an unusual baby hat, the amazing flood of co-worker fecundity continuing unabated. I am contemplating either the now classic Chicken Viking Hat or the Baby Squid Hat, although I am open to suggestions of other similarly absurd headgear.
A PRESENT
Here’s a present for the new year, or to celebrate arrival of fall, whichever has more meaning to you. I post my grandmother’s savory noodle kugel recipe – from the same grandmother whose latke and blintz recipes I’ve shared before (but not on String – I’ll have to fix that). I see lots of how-tos on the web for sweet noodle kugels, with cottage cheese, sugar and even cinnamon and raisins, but very few for non-dairy savory ones to serve as a meat meal side dish. As a kid, this noodle kugel with onions was one of my favorites, especially alongside roast chicken.
One quick note about noodles. The curlier the ribbon style noodle, the looser texture your finished kugel will be. Many brands of bagged egg noodles have a very slight spiral to their shape, to make them look fluffier when cooked. You can see the spiral in these:
If you can find them, choose a flatter rather than a more curly noodle, preferably of medium width. This will make a denser, moister kugel. If you can’t find flatter noodles, use the others, but be prepared for a final product that’s drier, crunchier throughout, and that falls apart when cut. Manischewitz, Streits and Goodman all make the “old fashioned” flatter type noodles.
You can use either yesterday’s leftover noodles (which is what I do when I make a little kugel), or cook up noodles just for this dish. If you cook up noodles to make this, you’ll get the best results if they are room temperature or cool from the fridge rather than just-drained and steamy hot.
On what to cook this in – I strongly suggest a Pyrex dish or pan. A clear or tinted glass pan will let you see when the bottom is brown and done. A glass pie plate will work in a pinch, but I prefer something deeper, and depending on the size of my kugel will use either a clear glass loaf pan, 8″ square baking dish, or a slightly larger oval glass casserole dish. Whatever pan you use, make sure that it is both VERY well oiled, and pre-heated before putting the noodles in it. Doing both will eliminate sticking.
Apologies for not having pix of the finished product, but we ate every bit of it before I thought to write up this entry.
Minnie Leibowitz’ Noodle Kugel (in three sizes)
Small – (Fills one loaf pan, about 4 servings)
About 2 cups of leftover cooked egg noodles (measured after cooking)
1/2 medium onion, sliced very thin
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Large – (Fills one 8″ baking dish, about 8 servings)
1 whole 12-oz box or bag of egg noodles, previously cooked.
1 medium onion, sliced very thin
2-3 Tbs vegetable oil
3 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Giant – (Fills one large oval glass casserole dish, about 10-12 servings)
1 whole 16-oz box or bag of egg noodles, previously cooked.
1 and a half medium onions, sliced very thin
3 Tbs vegetable oil
4 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Method (all)
Preheat oven to 350, pour oil into Pyrex pan and oil the bottom and sides very generously. Pour remaining oil out of Pyrex pan and into a saute or small frying pan. Saute onions in oil until they are golden. While sauteing, put the Pyrex dish in the oven to heat it up.
When onions are done (takes about 15 min or so), beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl and dump in the noodles. Scrape the onions into the mixing bowl. Toss noodles, egg and onions together to separate the noodles and combine the ingredients, adding salt and pepper. When well mixed, remove the Pyrex pan from the oven and turn the noodle/egg/onion mass into it. Return Pyrex pan to oven, turn the heat down to 325 and cook until noodles are brown and bubbly on the bottom and crunchy on the top, about 45 min to an hour, depending on the size of your kugel.
When done, it’s best to let rest a few minutes before cutting into portions, especially if you used a curlier noodle. Can be served hot, warm or cold.
Enjoy!
DELUSION, NOT ILLUSION
Two steps forward, one step back.
A minor scuffle on the OpArt baby blanket. I had decided to finish it off after an 8 ridge yellow and 9 ridge green garter section. I knit away at my yellow, and was just at the beginning of my last knit row of yellow when I reached for my final skein of yellow yarn.
Unfortunately, I had miscalculated. Although I was sure I had equal numbers of yellow and green to begin with, and have used more green than yellow, there wasn’t another yellow to hand. A frantic stash hunt turned up no more. Since that last yellow stripe as-is would interrupt the vortex effect, for want of about 40 yards it had to go. As a result I am ripping out the final yellow band, and will finish out the blanket with a wide edge of either green (widening the existing green stripe), or screaming orange (using up all three remaining skeins of the stuff).
A caution to those working the thing. The ever increasing diameter and stripe length conspire to play havoc with one’s running estimate of yarn consumption. Those outer stripes eat a lot of yardage. Don’t be surprised if you run a tad short like me, if like me you throw caution to the winds and sub in a yarn of different gauge.
ILLUSION DETAILS
Monday’s post inspired a rare comment here. Lillian sympathized with the flock of ends problem that this blanket poses, and suggested a method for beginning/ending strands that I hadn’t used before. Thank you!
The back to back join as described by TechKnitting is a very useful method, and is an excellent one to have in one’s bag of tricks. I would be extremely useful for joining thinner yarns, woolly yarns, and for adding on a new ball when spit splicing isn’t possible because of fiber content. It’s new to me, but it will be something I’ll be playing with in the future. But it didn’t work out well for me on my blanket.
This particular project adds two complications that limit the effectiveness of the back to back method. The first is the yarn I’m using. It’s a very dense, round cotton, made up of a zillion little hard strands. As a result, it’s difficult to compress easily. The distortion produced by the two-strands-thick change-over stitches stands out very prominently on both the back and the front. The second is that the first stitch of a new color stripe is also the stitch that bears the row increase (either a k1 in the back and front, or a p1 in the back and front, depending on the garter stitch row being worked). The double strand distortion is magnified in that increase stitch, making a very prominent lump, visible here at the stitch marker:
Given my yarn choice (and remember that I’m not using the medium lofty washable wool as recommended by the pattern’s author), the best, most invisible method for working in the ends is the old fashioned method of darning them in locker style – thread yarn through backs of stitches in color in one direction, snick up any looseness, then reverse direction and pierce the same strand on the return trip, burying the yarn into itself before snipping off. This does leave a small caterpillar like lump on the reverse side as a slight thickening of a garter ridge, but is totally invisible from the front side. Here you see the reverse, with two green caterpillar end-offs in the center.
In my particular case, an even more invisible treatment is to take advantage of the nasty splitting habit of my chosen yarn. If I take my darn-in end and split the plies into two bundles, then darn each bundle in separately (and in opposite directions), the resulting caterpillar bumps on the reverse are smaller and less noticeable. My pix of that refinement will have to wait until tomorrow.
CONTINUING THE ILLUSION
The OpArt baby blanket continues to grow. Being all garter stitch with very obvious markers to wake the fingers up when the four increase points are reached, it’s an autopilot project, ideal for knitting while watching subtitled movies:
Right now it’s approximately 22 inches across, and I’m not finished with the second 6-ridge (12 row) set of stripes. The pattern continues on for four more stripes, one each of 7, 8, 9, and 10 ridges, alternating colors (a larger size goes on for two more stripes of 11 and 12 ridges respectively). I’ll keep going until I either run out of yarn, or I feel the thing is big enough to be a lap/basket/car seat blanket – at least another two stripes. The jury is still out on whether or not I’ll end off with one last stripe of orange. The Record 210 yarn is holding out fine. I’m on my third skein of each color, and have at least two more of each as yet untouched. I did hit a couple of poorly plied spots in one skein of the yellow. They were bad enough to excise rather than work in, although that made even more ends.
For the record, given the vast number of ends, I’ve been finishing them off as I go rather than waiting until the knitting is complete. I strongly recommend doing it that way, unless you’ve got a “finishing party” to go to.
What subtitled movie was I watching? Sansho the Bailiff. It’s from famous Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi, made in 1954. It’s bout the development of compassion in a brutal time. In the movie the family of a noble minded official is torn apart, and the children grow up in the most wretched of circumstances, yet maintain their absent father’s ideals. An excellent film, but very affecting. Bring a box of tissues.
ILLUSION
The amazing flood of fecundity exhibited by my friends and co-workers has not yet crested. More baby gifts are required. Being at this moment long on leftover yarn but short on inspiration and time I was delighted to notice something simple and clever in Knitty. Melissa Dominguez’ OpArt baby blanket fits the bill. It’s similar in principle to the Centerpiece Treasure pattern offered by Lion Brand, which I believe was a licensed outgrowth of a square published in the first Knitters Magazine Afghan competition in the spring of 1995. All are squares knit center out, relying on a simple non-eyelet increase in the corners to create a spiraling effect, and stripes in multiple colors to magnify the visual spiral effect. Melissa’s very successful bit of cleverness is to graduate the width of the stripes in the spiral throughout the piece, and limit the colors used to two. That takes the pleasing but static swirl and gives it depth and a striking appearance very true to her Op Art inspiration.
Diving into the stash of remnants, knowing that exact gauge doesn’t matter in this type of project, I came up with some Austermann Record 210 – a non-mercerized cotton. It’s listed on the label as Aran weight (18 stitches/27 rows =4 inches or 10cm), but I found in the past that it knits up closer to Worsted (20 stitches = 4 inches). I used it before to make my citrus-color Ridged Raglan pullover from another pre-2000 issue of Knitters, back before they fell into their current self-referential rut.
210 is a durable matte-finish cotton that holds its color and shape through repeated washings, after a small bit of shrinkage in the first wash. It’s biggest drawback is that it’s composed of lots of small plies and isn’t very tightly twisted, so it splits like crazy while being worked. I’m using US #6s (4mm) and am getting a gauge of 5spi in garter stitch.
I’m pretty sure I have enough of the lemon and lime to make up a small crib or travel size throw. If not, I’ll figure out a way to introduce the orange. Perhaps as a framing stripe around the outside. In any case, the thing is already on its way:
You can see Melissa’s spiral effect and illusion of depth already starting. You’ll also note the one bit of annoyance inherent in this type of pattern. Each stripe means two ends to finish off. I’ve ended off the first four stripe’s worth so I could see the joins would look, but you can see the chain of holes at 2:00 – each one signaling two more strands to tame.
I’ll keep going on this one until I run out of yarn. At that point, it will be big enough. Thank you Melissa!
String-Or-Nothing 