Braided cable hat

(I think we can all agree that I need new needles, especially when they have turned from gold to silver, and they're turning my fingers colors. Not good. But they were my first needles. I don't know if I can give them up.)

I really like how this hat turned out. It's on the Loops and Threads Threadless Cadet Blue. Straight 10s, as per usual.

CO 80

K2P2 across for 6 rows

K across, make 10 throughout (I made mine at the ends, as in K1 M1 for 10)

Stockinette for five rows

K4, C3 front, K3, K3 from cable across

Stockinette for five rows

C3 back, K3, k 3 cable stitches, k 4 across

Stockinette for five rows

K4, C3 front, K3, K3 from cable across

Stockinette for five rows

C3 back, K3, k 3 cable stitches, k 4 across

Stockinette for five rows

K2tog, K2tog, C3 front, K3, K3 from cable across

Purl across

K2tog, K8 across

Purl across

K2tog, K7 across

Purl across

K2tog, K6 across

Purl across

K2tog, K5 across

Purl across

K2tog, K4 across

P3, P2tog

K2tog, K2

P1, P2tog

K2tog

Cut a long tail and pull through the remaining stitches. Use tail to sew up the side.

Karma Hat

I LOVE this hat. A lot. I love cables, and stockinette, and having entire purl/knit rows. No counting. To top it off, this hat took me only a few hours. Maybe five? I'm not sure. I should start keeping track of these things.

(Yeah, I need new needles.)

First, let me tell you about this yarn, the Threads and Loops Threadless. I knit my Hermione hat with the burgundy of it, and LOVED it. A lot. So before I came back to school, I bought two blues. Cadet Blue, and what I knit this hat on, True Blue. I was looking online to see other colors, and I found out it's the Michael's store brand. And I was pleasantly surprised. It's pretty soft for acrylic, and knits really well, without a lot of stray strings and whatnot that the Vanna's Choice sometimes has. The only downside is that the ends fray a bit more than most when leaving them loose (like fringe and such).

I promise that Michael's didn't pay me to give them their own little commercial. Though I wouldn't mind.

So, anyways. The actual pattern is knit on 8s, and I'm lazy and wanted to knit it on 10s. So straight 10s, with Loops and Threads Threadless True Blue.

CO 78

Knit 6 rounds of K2P2 ribbing

Knit a row, increasing by one on each end

Purl a row

Knit a row

**C2F, K2, Knit C, K4 across

Purl a row

Knit a row

Purl a row

K4, C2B, K2, Knit C across

Purl a row

Knit a row

Purl a row**

Repeat between ** three more times, or until desired length.

K4, C2B, K2, Knit C across

(I had some trouble with the following, but I think I just miscounted my decreases. Sorry.)

Purl a row

SSK, K6 across

P across

C1B, K2, Knit C, K4 across
P across

K5, K2tog across

P around

K3, C2F, K1, Knit C across
Purl across

K1, K2tog, K3 across

Purl across
C1B, K1, Knit C, K3 across

P across

K2, SSK K1 across
P across
K2tog, K2 around
P across
K 1, C1F, K1, Knit C across
P across
K1, K2tog

P across
K2tog

Cut long tail, pull through remaining stitches, sew up the back.

The Mission

Who: me, of course

What: hats!

Why: for one of my favorite people in the world, who is sick.

When: by February 10th, or February 26th

How: yarn I already have, and the soft Vanna's Choice Baby I ordered, which was shipped today

The Patterns:

The Cap Karma Hat (with this crown shaping)

(Possibly) The Claudia Hat

Another Hermione Hat

Aother Lydia Hat (which I'll upload soon)

A simple striped hat

And more, once I find them.

I'll upload photos/patterns as I finish.

Blogs

People (blogs, really) you should check out:

Who -- What I love

KNITTING, etc.

Rawrchar -- This is Carly's blog, a good friend of mine

JL Yarnworks -- love the Hermione hat

VO Knits -- the Lyon hat, yet to be made

Present Knits -- her Mossy Pebbles scarf. I made a similar one for my friend Megan for Christmas

Midnight Knitter -- used her Karaoke Cable scarf pattern for my mother

Na Vlne -- I LOVE her Capucine hat. This was also one of the failed January hats. Let's not talk about it.

The Sweatshop of Love -- Love the name, love her slouchy red hat

Creativeyarn -- these fingerless gloves, yet to be made

BAKING, etc.

Usually I just mess around with recipes I have, but I just found:

Bakerella -- LOVE her cake pops. There are no words.

Slouchy red hat

Things we ARE NOT going to talk about:

1. How I ruined two (and a half?) hats.
2. How I'm beyond exhausted for no apparent reason.
3. How my favorite pair of knitting needles are so worn out that the... color? is so worn out that the silverness underneath shows through and thus turns the tips of my fingers silvery after lots of knitting.

Things we ARE going to talk about.

1. I finished a hat. And not just a hat, an ADORABLE one. (We're not going to talk about how I messed up some of the cabling in the back. It's in the back.) I might even make a matching scarf.
2. It's a long weekend. Which means another day of sleeping in. Thank you, MLK.
3. I have good leftovers for dinner.

So, here's the hat.

Here's the girl who made the pattern. I've got to say, the hat (and she) are adorable, like I said earlier. But this girl must have a tiny head, because I added TWO extra cable panels. TWO. So, 26 or so stitches. I did use size 10s instead of 11s, but I've done this before, compensating for it, and it's never been that much. It's really easy to make, as it's in stockinette mostly, so you don't have to worry about counting knit stitches and purl stitches in your head. And it didn't take that long to make, either.

So, here we go. Realize that this hat will be big. It is slouchy, after all. If you want it slouchier, block it. I've never blocked before, and the hat I made was already pretty big. All I did was put it over a big plate. Seriously.

Knit with Burgundy Threadless, size 10 straight needles.

CO 66 stitches (to make smaller or larger, subtract or add 11 stitches from casting on)

K1 P1 around for 5 rows across

Knit last two stitches of ribbing together

K3, C4 front, K4, knit 4 cable stitches, repeat across

Stockinette two rows across

K1, make 1, knit 2, make 1, knit 8 across (for 78 stitches)

Stockinette three rows across

C4 back, K4, k 4 cable stitches, k 5 across

Stockinette five rows across

K5, C4 front, K4, K4 from cable across

Stockinette five rows across

C4 back, K4, C4 back, K4, k 4 cable stitches, k 5 across

Stockinette five rows across

*K5, C4 front, K4, K4 from cable across

Stockinette five rows across

C4 back, K4, C4 back, K4, k 4 cable stitches, k 5 across

Stockinette five rows across*

(If you want the hat shorter, DO NOT do the part between the **. If you want it longer, DO the part between the **. Each part between the ** is about three inches).

K2tog, K1, K2tog, C4 front, K4, K4 from cable across

Purl across

K9, K2tog across

Purl across

K8, K2tog across

Purl across

K7, k2tog

P2tog, P6

K5, k2tog

P2tog, P4

K3, K2tog

P2tog, P2

K1, K2tog

P2tog

K2tog

Cut a long tail and pull through the remaining stitches. Use tail to sew up the side.

Made while

Watching: Miss Congeniality for the millionth time, episodes 1-4 of Firefly (also for the millionth time)

Playing: Bejeweled Blitz

Also, I recently made this hat. With earflaps! Go me.

Hermione hat

I really love this hat. I'm one of those people who sees movies/shows/whatnot and thinks whether or not they're handmakeable. This, thanks to JL Yarnworks, is. And I LOVE it.

A lot. Obviously. I made one for my friend Megan for Christmas, and I'm now making myself one sort of similar. Same general pattern. Ish.

Here's the pattern, but it's knitted in the round. And because I don't knit in the round, here it is on straight 5s, knit with Threadless Burgundy.

CO 110

K1P1 ribbing for 12 rows

*K6 P5 across

P6 K5 across*

Repeat between ** twice more

{K6, P1, YO, P2tog, P2 around
P6, K5 around
K6, P2, YO, P2tog, P1 around
P6, K5 around
K6, P3, YO, P2tog around
P6, K5 around
Slip 3 stitches onto cable needle and hold in front of work, K3, knit stitches on cable needle, P5] around

*K6 P5 across

P6 K5 across*

Repeat between ** twice more}

Repeat from {} three times

P6 K5 around

K6, P2tog, P3 around

P6, K2tog, K2 around

K6, P2tog, P1 around

P6, K2tog around

K5, K2tog around

P4, P2tog around

K3, K2tog around

P2, P2tog around

K1, K2tog around

P2tog around

Cut tail, pull tail through remaining five stitches. Sew the back up with tail.

NOTE: this pattern makes a long hat. So either decrease by one cable (only repeat between {} twice), rib for 6-8 rows instead of 12, or just leave it as it is.

Fried green tomato sandwich

If you've ever lived in or visited Atlanta, especially within the last 10-15 years, you know about Mick's. I guess I was too young to really appreciate it when it was here. There was one in town, and one in our closest mall. Delicious American food. And it was the only place my parents could get me to eat tomatoes, even if they were fried.

About this time last year, I really started craving their fried green tomato sandwich. Seeing as they had closed their stores long before, it's not like I could drop in and get one. So I spent hours online, looking for a recipe. And this is the closest one I found. It takes a while to make, but it's so freaking good.

And even if you don't like tomatoes or anything else in it, try it. Honestly, I don't like 90 percent of the things this sandwhich is made of.

You need:

TOMATOES

Flour (a couple cups)

Oil

Salt (pinch)

Pepper (pinch)

Eggs (two)

Green tomatoes (three or so)

Rye bread

Mozzarella

SAUCE

Cream (1/3 cup or so)

Parmesan cheese (like, a handful)

Red peppers (one)

To make the sauce:

Cut and roast [?] the peppers on the stove. (Make sure you get all the seeds out). Meanwhile, mix cream and parm in a saucepan to make a alfredo-ish sauce. Put the peppers into the sauce, and put it all into a food processor. Process until the sauce is pinkish and there are no major pepper pieces. put into fridge.

NOTE: if you're either lazy, stressed for time, or don't have these ingredients, there's another option. Get some alfredo sauce and some canned roasted red peppers. Drain the peppers. Put it all into a food processor. Process, and you're done.

To make the tomatoes:

Wash the tomatoes, and cut into think (about 1/3 inch) slices. Dip into flour/salt/pepper mixture, into whisked eggs, and back into flour mixture. Repeat.

Heat oil in a skillet, fry the tomatoes. Do this slowly, turning them only once.

To serve:

Sprinkle mozzarella over rye bread, toast lightly in a toaster oven. Spread pepper-parm sauce over the bread, then put the tomatoes on. Cut in half, and enjoy!

After dinner cupcakes

Last weekend, I made these. (Unfortunately, I don't have a picture, because I brought them to a friend's house and the ones I kept were kept only because I'm not a pro at icing. Hence crumbleyness. So no photo)(EDIT: Obviously, there are photos now. We're not going to talk about how I pretty much had a cupcake photo shoot. Not at all).

Things I love about these:

1. They're cupcakes. Which I ADORE. It's your own personal cake. Enough said.
2. They're chocolatey. And minty.
3. They're pretty light, not even remotely overwhelming, like a lot of chocolate cupcakes can be.
4. And they're super easy to make.

What you need:

Oven, bowls, spoons, the regular baking stuff. And a muffin pan, with muffin cups

CUPCAKES

1 c sugar

1 c sour cream

2/3 c vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp mint extract (NOTE: you can replace either of the extracts with the other [like 1 full tsp of mint] for either a mint-free or super minty cupcake)

1 and 1/2 c cake flour

2/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1 and 12 tsp baking soda

ICING (Well, it's really more of a glaze...)

1 c confectioners sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp mint extract (NOTE: see above)

about 3-4 tbsp heavy cream

Directions:

Whisk the sugar, sour cream, oil, eggs, and extracts together in a medium bowl. Sift in the cocoa, flour, and baking soda. Stir until blended, divide into prepared cups. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until knife/toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely.

Meanwhile, stir the extracts, vanilla, and cream together. Make a smooth icing. Ice the cupcakes.

Honestly, that's all there is to it. It makes about 18-20.

(yum)

Not-so-Minnie Mouse

I really like cute little stuffed animals. For a while, I was making some crazy knitted monsters, and I recently received a book full of patters for kids' toys.

Here is an adorable mouse, knit on size 5 needles (though pretty much any size could work). I used two contrasting grey yarns I had, but anything could work, from one color to all your scraps.

So, mouse:

BODY

CO 3 in MC

P around

Increase by 3 (6 stitches)

P

[K2, inc] twice, k2

P

K2, inc, K4, inc, K2

P

[K2, inc] four times, k2 (14 stitches)

P

K2, inc, K10, inc, K2

P

[K2, inc, K5, inc] twice, K2 (20 stitches)

P

K2, inc, K16, inc, K2

P

IN CC: Inc, K9, inc, K2, inc, K9, inc (26 stitches)

P

IN MC: K across, inc at the ends

P

IN CC: K

P

IN MC: K across, inc at the ends

P

IN CC: K across, inc at the ends

P

IN MC: K across, inc at the ends

P

IN CC: K across, inc at the ends

P

IN MC: K across

P

IN CC: K across, inc at the ends

P (38 stitches)

IN MC: K across

P

IN CC: K across, inc at ends

P (40 stitches)

IN MC: K across

P

IN CC: K across

P

IN MC: K14, slip knit pass over, K1, slip knit pass over, K2, K2tog, K1, K2tog, K14

P

IN CC: K14, slip knit pass over, K4, K2tog, K14

P

Cast off

STOMACH

(all in CC)

CO 13

Work 35 rows stockinette, decreasing at each end of the 9th, 17th, 24th, 28th, and 35th rows.

P

Slip 1, K2tog, pass stitch over

Fasten off

BACK

(all in MC)

CO 13

Work 16 rows of stockinette, decreasing at each end of the 9th, 12th, 14th, and 16th rows

Fasten off

EARS

(obviously, make two. both in CC)

CO 4

*P

K row, increasing at each end*

Repeat between ** until you reach 14 stitches

P

*K row, decreasing by two at each end

P*

Repeat between ** until you reach 4 stitches

Fasten off

TAIL

Cut three 7 inch long lengths of MC and CC. Braid together. Tie the end off.

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

Okay, bear with me here. You'll want to use embroidery thread for all the sewing.

Embroider the nose. Use buttons (or embroider) the eyes.

For the ears, fold the circles you made in half, so the CO side and bind-off side are opposite. (In other words, "hot-dog" style). Sew the two corners together, and then sew that to the middle part (where you stopped increasing and started decreasing). This should make a 3D half-circle.

ALL OF THE FOLLOWING SHOULD BE DONE INSIDE-OUT

Sew this to the body, where the first CC stripe begins.

Sew the stomach to the body.

Sew the circular part of the back to the body. (This should leave you with the back end of the stomach and the bottom of the back open).

FLIP INSIDE-IN

Stuff! I'd recommend actual pillow stuffing stuff, but you can use anything from cotton balls, (unused) tissues, or knitting scraps (yes, this is actually what I used. I had a lot).

Now (finally), sew the remaining flap part closed, making sure to tie the tail in.

And, well, then you're done.

MEASUREMENTS

(Without tail)

Mine's about 6 inches long, 3.5 wide, and 2.5 tall. Or something close to that.

Made while

Watching: Bones season 4

Listening to: She's Got You High - Mumm-Ra

Striped nightcap

So my sister's super picky. (I am too, I guess.) I made her a hat, which I still need to give to her. She wanted a really long hat, and I wanted to make her something she could wear with a lot of her clothes.

I got the pattern from here, but I knit really tightly and it just didn't turn out right. It was cute, but on size 7 needles knit exactly as the pattern she gives is, it was just way too small.

Knit on size 10 needles, Vanna's Choice Sapphire (107) and Silver Grey [?] (149). I used another blue (which I can't remember the name of or find) for one of the stripes, but honestly, any colors can be used. About half a skein of each was used.

Hat:

CO 75 in MC

K5P5 around for 24 rows in MC

In CC, knit 5 rows stockinette (K row, P row, etc.)

Still in CC *(on K side row), s1, ssk1, k until last three, k2tog, s1

P around*

Repeat between ** fifteen more times for a total of 20 rows

In MC, repeat between ** for 18 rows

In CC, repeat between ** for 14 rows

In MC, repeat between ** for 12 rows

In CC, repeat between ** for 10 rows

In MC, repeat between ** for 3 rows, or until there are ~5 stitches left.

Cut 2+ foot tail, bind off. Use long tail to stitch edges together.