This is my second finished entry in the Ravelympics. It is an earmuff/headband with a hawaiian hibiscus flower duplicate stitched over it.
Pattern: Hawaii A Goth-O Yarn: Naturally Caron-Countryin black and claret Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm Completed: February 27, 2010
Even rows are all purls. 1. CO 3 sts. Turn. 3. K1, m1, k1, m1, k1. 5 sts. 5. K1, m1, k all but last st, m1, k1. Repeat rows 5 and 6 until at least 25 sts on needles, or desired width. Knit about 70 rows in stockinette, or enough to go around head, minus length of increases. 1. Ssk, k all but last two sts, k2tog. Repeat rows 1 and 2 until 3 sts left. K3tog.
Cut 6 strands, 16" long. Insert three strands around center st, two rows from tip, and braid. Repeat on other end.
Locate center of band and duplicate stitch motif. At least 6 yards are needed for one flower. There is enough space to place three motifs, preferably rotating image.
This is a very simple hat that can be modified for slouchiness and size, and knit up in a weekend. I will try to explain the individual stitches, but I will make more emphasis on the logic behind them. Size mods and glossary are at the end.
Yarn: Rio De La Plata wool solid in Carnation
Weight: Aran / 10 ply (8 wpi)
: 140 yards (128 meters)
: 100 grams (3.53 ounces)
: US 8 / 5.0 mm
1. Cast on 80 stitches in the round on 4 DPNs, 20 sts each. (circular needles can also be used)
2. Knit an inch (10 rows) of 2x2 rib.
3. Start chart, 2 chart repeats per needle.
p2tog all around until you run out of sts and bind off. (8 sts > 4 sts > 2 sts > 1 st).
GLOSSARY: Stitches are counted as they approach the tip of the needle. -->
g
knit
/
purl
j
yo
S
D
fcP
S
G
fcK
\
ssk
|
k2tog (both from leaf)
d
k2tog (including backround purl)
3
k3tog
fcP: front cable purl. First st is held in front, while second st is purled behind it, then k first st. fcK: front cable knit. First st is held in front, while second st is knit behind it, then k first st. ssk: a one st decrease that leaves the first st on top of second st. k2tog: a one st decrease that leaves the second st on top of first st. k3tog: a two st decrease that leaves the second st on top, then the third in the middle, and the first on the bottom. p2tog: purl 2 together.
MODS:
This pattern started off with a three leaf branch from a tree in the last pattern in A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, by Barbara G. Walker. The original pattern had all the leaves the same size (3 increases), which I modified to have 4 and 5 increases on other leaves to make it baggier. If you want a more fitted beanie, skip rows 19-22 in the left leaf, and 29-33 in the center leaf. The same logic can be used to make the hat even baggier.
For smaller sizes, a 10 st repeat can be substituted with the appropriate number of purls, distributed between repeats. Purls can also be added in between repeats to make a bigger hat.
Pattern:Evergreen, by Kristin LeMoine Yarn: Debbie Bliss Pure Silk in 27009 (lavender) Needles: US 6 / 4.0 mm Completed: January 28, 2010 Notions: five wire wrapped amethyst beads, chained together, to be used as a scarf pin
The main reason Fer and I met up in NYC, was because our other friend, Pili, has been working at Disneyworld this year and came up to see the snow. It's funny that the Snowpocalypse hit this same weekend, but only a few flurries actually made it that far northeast.
So, in my undying NEED to knit people gifts, I played hooky that thursday and knit her a neck scarf triangle thing in about 12 hours, with a total of 6 pattern repeats, and had a whole 6" left over after binding off! And, holy shit, I even blocked it! Which was completely pointless, because it was silk and had no memory. But I felt like a Big Girl ^_^
It was so odd, yet nice to work with the silk, and the pattern was very easy and intuitive, and can be scaled to desired dimensions. I didn't like the 3st garter border, but that can easily be changed for future iterations.
Pattern:calorimetry, minus half the rows Yarn: my handspun Merino in Mustard and Raspberry, purchased at Pennsic 2008, poorly fractal plied, about sport weight Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm Completed: January 31, 2010 Notions: 2 1" buttons
I met up with my bestest friend from high school this weekend in NYC, and found the NEED to make her something. It was originally going to be made out of a (now I know is absolutely nasty) pink wool yarn I bought, but thought to ask what her favorite color was before making it. She said yellow. Well, I know half of what she owns is pink, and I didn't have any yellow yarn, but I did have roving in mustard and raspberry colors that I had bought a year and a half ago, that should probably get some use out of, so I spun some up.
My original idea was to fractal ply it (your first ply is half of your color A roving, and then half of your color B, and your second ply is the first 1/4 A, then 1/4 B, then 1/8 A, 1/8 B, 1/16 A, 1/16 B... etc. until you are sick of splitting your leftover roving in half), but DEX was my throwaway stat, and must have botched my skill: craft roll, that my two plies were different lengths and the thickness got progressively more consistent (but very much not at first).
I ended up with about 50 yards of yarn, that knit up nice and quick into a Calorimetry. I only did the first 12 rows before turning back, managing to make it about 3" wide. It also works as a neck warmer. And I think that what Fer liked the most was the button I used >.<
I also need to learn how to better instruct my roommate in taking pictures of my FO's, not me.
Pozole is a traditional Mexican soup, commonly consisting of a pig-head and dried red pepper stock. It stains like a mofo, but is ever so good!
***WARNING***
At the bottom of this post I will be including pictures of the pig head. And my crazy friends posing with it.
The recipe itself was quite simple. You simmer 20 chiles for a while, blend them up, and pour into a 5 gal stock pot with a couple of onions and garlic and herbs, and a 15 lb head. Simmer for several hours, remove meat from head, remove fat from meat, and serve meat and stock with hominy, radish slices, minced onion and tostadas.
As with many great soups, it tasted decent on Saturday, but I can't wait for it to sit a couple of days and let the flavor mature!
Now for the adventure. There is always an adventure when I cook.
After a couple of hours of cleaning off the meat, we were finally ready to serve ourselves and eat, when my roommate dropped the can of hominy into a gallon sized bowl of the bright red soup. Did I mention it had 20 dried red peppers blended into it? Does anybody have any clue how potently peppers can dye things? Do you know how much fat is in a pig's head? Yeah, all over the kitchen. And my friend Cassie. It was like Carrie's prom scene. And judging by the look on Cassie's face, we were thisclose to being incinerated. Luckily I managed to clean it off with Dawn soap while she showered. And even though we put a lot of effort into cleaning the kitchen, it is still greasy. That's going to be our project tonight after work >.<
Wilbur.
The perk of working in a chem lab is that I have gloves for devaining the peppers!
After a few hours simmering with the peppers. I think his ear was getting chapped.
Wrestling the head out of the pot was such an ordeal! Bastard was slippery like a wet pig!
Getting down and dirty taking off the meat.
After fondling a pig head for an hour, it kind of loses its mystery, and turns into a fun prop!
Because we needed to take a break from playing D&D.
The first time I have ever been thankful for synthetic fabric!
The next day, all the gelatin in the soup made it very jiggly ^_^
