Copping to it, or Too Stressed To Knit

So, when I first set out on this “one FO a week” idea, I knew there would be bumps, and that I probably wouldn’t stick to it very well. This was part of the reason why I started it as early in the fall as I did, and set the goal so high. The other reason is that, while I knew I was perfectly capable of knitting a hat/pair of gloves a week and could spread it out, taking plenty of time and not getting sick of knitting as I went along. Slow and steady wins the race.

Now if only my brain hadn’t gotten in the way. Remember those few posts about the hats a couple weeks ago? Yeah…trying to knit a hat a day…. I’m a moron. Though I did actually get one more out of the week (see below) things went south after that. I picked up some absolutely gorgeous yarn from a LYS and set to knitting myself An Unoriginal Hat only to realize as I neared the end of my first of 2 skeins, that I wasn’t going to have enough yarn, I was okay with this (this is why you can always go back for more, the store wasn’t going to shut down over night) until I realized one more problem…if I completed the pattern as planned…I was going to end up with a hat for Andre the Giant.

I didn't think to add something in for scale, but trust me....that's only the first of two repeats, not to mention the decreases...I'd have wound up with a skull cap for Andre..or maybe one of the statues they have littered around the city. Trust me.

Now, when I realize I’ve made a huge gaff like this, and I do it a lot, I tend to get somewhat despondent and lose interest in knitting for a while, eventually I come back to it, rip back the yarn and suffer through it. But the amount of time it takes is generally proportional to how frustrated I am with knitting in general at that time, how much time I’ve put in on the project, and how traumatic it was to realize I’d have to rip back the whole thing. For example, when I first moved to the UK I was working on a sweater, I took most of my sadness and homesickness from the time and used knitting as an outlet…until I realized I was going to have to rip out the ENTIRE sleeve I’d just knit (mostly while being utterly depressed)…that particular sleeve is still waiting to be undone 14 months later. Honestly…it may be there for another 14 months before I can bring myself to rip out all those freaking cables. (Seriously…that chart was a monster)

Okay, coming back from the tangent, the combination of overkill on the knitting and the realization of a necessary rip proved to be a bit much, so I took some time off, then started my intended project for the next week- a pair of Urban Necessity fingerless gloves/mittens for my brother Harry. Harry is an artist specializing in metalwork, so he spends most of is time working in his shop north of Denver….i don’t know if any of you have ever been to Denver, but it gets freaking cold in the winter, even if you ARE standing next to a forge. So the idea was to knit a thin pair of gloves he could wear under the shop gloves he sometimes wears. I chose the urban necessity pattern because they were fingerless gloves that still had fingers (just not closed) instead of stopping before that, like the Evangeline pattern (one of my all-time favourites). Just one problem with them – the cuff is K1P1 ribbing...my own personal form of knitting hell. Two-by-two ribbing I can just about tolerate, but one-by-one? Don’t even speak to me about it…I loath it. Plus, given that I’d decided I needed to knit up the XL size, there was A LOT of it to do.

Now here’s where I’ll cop to it…the combination of the K1P1 ribbing, and my own stressed out state due to academia made knitting an impossibility. Now seriously, anyone who knows me will know how much of a wreck I was, when I say that for the past two weeks I have been too stressed to knit. To knit! My ultimate stress reliever! So my dear readers (all 4 of you, Hi Mom) I’ll cop to it – I fell off the wagon and have barely knit a stitch. It’s like I’ve been in a coma….and I am now, unsurprisingly, a bit behind on my Christmas knitting.

However, I am happy to say that I now have a Masters Degree!!!!, (BOOYAH!) and am no longer Too Stressed To Knit. So I’m clambering back on that wagon, and working on catching up. The entry is getting rather long, so I’ll end it here and catch up with the rest tomorrow! Suffice to say I’m knitting again…or at least I was until it all went wrong.

Project Profile: Dad’s Black Cap (XL)

Yarn: Blue Sky Aplacas - Bulky (Black, don't remember the color #)

Details: knit to be massive on size 13 dpns

Pattern: Modified "Turn A Square" by Jared Flood

I've owed my dad a knit object for years, but I'd never gotten around to it. BAD DAUGHTER, VERY BAD DAUGHTER. So this year I finally did. The first "Turn-a-Square" hat I made was intended for him before I realized that a) it was way too light and b) it was probably too small. My Dad's got a big noggin, so accordingly, this hat is massive...honestly, i dunno that it's going to fit him, but if it doesn't it's only a matter of a few hours to rip and re-knit the thing, so no problem there.

Mr. Teddy Models....

KBC - Week 4 - Toxic Tuesday

Yesterday afternoon, after living here for over a year, I *finally* managed to get to Loop, one of London's most well known knitting shops. The store is located in Angel,whereas I live in the western portion of the city so I don't find myself in the neighborhood very often. Thankfully, I had a couple of hours to kill after attending London's most USELESS career fair ever, so I was able to swing by. The place is delightful, and positively spacious for a downtown knitting store. I have memories of stores in New York City that were so small you could hardly call it a coffin let alone a store. Loop was well lit, well stocked and staffed by incredibly friendly and helpful people. The place was truly delightful. Accordingly....I wound up with quite a good haul of yarn, most of which you'll see in the next few days. In particular, I stumbled upon a skein of Colinette Point 5, in them most intense neon pink and purple combination you've ever seen. Seriously, I think I may have irrevocably irradiated a large portion of my ovaries just by looking at it. Naturally, this meant it was a perfect yarn for my Godmother, Maureen.

Maureen is known for her flamboyant personality and appearance, she and my mother met in Lamaze during their first pregnancies way back when and they've been close ever since. When I was younger I made a habit of sending her small pots of pink and purple hair dye, which she uses for dying just a touch of her otherwise wonderful silver hair. Sadly I can't find any photos of her from my sister's wedding, but she was a queen in red and purple. Maureen does flamboyant like no one else, particularly the intense pinks and purples. This toxic purple yarn was meant for her!

This was the result....I only hope my future children don't have 3 heads because of it....

Project Profile: Maureen's Toxic Pink Hat
Pattern: No pattern, just Co 48 stitches, knit 6 inches then decrease.
Yarn: Colinette Point 5 in Alizarine (119)
Details: Size US 15 ( 10 mm) dpns

KBC - Week 4 - The Mad Hatter and a Monday

After finishing up last week's project I felt that I should do something that would take more time, the socks knit up so quickly that I finished the first in 24 hours, and then took the remaining 5 days to finish the second one. Second Sock Syndrome to the max, not in terms of actual times but if you look at the ratios...wow, that was bad. In light of that, I figured better to go for a 'slow and steady wins the race'-type-project and decided on finally getting around to making a hat for my dad. I've owed him one for years, since the very start of my knitting endeavors, but I'd always found the idea rather boring, and got distracted so I hadn't gotten around to knitting it....not a very nice daughter am I? But now, the time was at hand! I had soft yarn, I had free time, I had a pattern I liked....

Project Profile: Dad's Christmas Hat (Part 1)
Pattern: Turn-a-Square by Jared Flood
Yarn: Mirasol Miski Colorway 115 (black) 1.25 skeins
Mirasol Miski Colorway 118 (gray) 0.25 skeins
Details: US 7 (4.5 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm) DPNS

The hat worked out well, I made it slightly longer, as my Dad's got a big noggin, but I changed up the stripes a bit. At first I was worried that I wouldn't have enough gray to do 2 rows of it for every 3 of the black, so I did a Fibonacci sequence instead with the black, 3, 5, 8 and 13. You can't quite see the last gray stripe at the top, but it's there. In retrospect i probably had enough to do the striping as the pattern specified, but I like how this came out anyways. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be my Dad's cup of tea and it's a bit thin for his purposes. If he's wearing a hat, it means that the armageddon of snow storms has hit New York City (which it does a couple times a year) so the thinner Miski yarn just isn't going to be warm enough. So right now, the hat is homeless, but will be fostered on my head, as it's perfect for London in October!




HOWEVER, what did leave me utterly gobsmacked about this project was how fast it was completed - I did this in an evening...less than 5 hours. Insane. So then it got me thinking...what if my project for this week was more than one? How hard could it be to knit a hat a day?

KBC - Week 3 - In which feet are warmed

My project this past week was particularly special and important for me(That's not why I'm posting it late....that's just because I get distracted by *new* projects very easily. But, it's yarn....it goes with the territory). Specifically, because the week's project was for Erika, my 2nd brother's girlfriend. When I think about it, I realize that she's been around since I was in high school, and is currently the longest continuing relationship that any of the siblings have had. I'm fairly sure at one point they'll get around to getting married (in whatever form it takes), and I really am quite fond of her, although I don't see her all too often. But there is something about Erika's steadiness that I have suddenly realized has gone under appreciated amongst my family. We are not a subtle or quiet bunch, and neither is she really, but when we all get together she generally (and rather sensibly) tends to sit back and let the madness ensue rather than trying to control it. As such, I feel like she deserves more. After all...like i said, we're a crazy bunch and she's been with my brother for seven or eight years. That's a long time. She's also funny, very smart and crafty, which I always appreciate. She and Harry have done some absolutely incredible collaborations.

To the right you see the beautiful bird feeder of DOOM. They got tired of the squirrels jumping up and down on the bird feeder, thus crashing it to the ground and letting them eat all the seeds. This was the result: That sucker is copper and stained glass and has to weigh something like 30 lbs when full of seeds. I watched the squirrels trying to figure out how to bring it down, and they were not pleased when they realized it wasn't happening. I absolutely LOVE this piece, and I drool over it whenever I see it.

SO! Because of all this (pretty bird feeder photo included) I decided, seeing as she's been around so long, that Erika is fully deserving of some knitterly goodness for Christmas. It's a small token, but I want her to have it, as in previous years only my sister and my mother have really gotten stuff. Plus, what with her Craftiness, she'll appreciate what it stands for, and care for it properly!!
(If I'm going to take all that time, I like to know they aren't just going to be trashed). I took the time to call up Harry and ask what he thought would be a good idea, since I want this to be something usable, and after a bit of a chat (and some catching up as well, always fun) we settled on a nice fluffy pair of house socks as being the best choice.

I was a bit worried about this, since socks are famous for taking FOREVER and I am no exception to the 'Second Sock Syndrome' epidemic. But, bulky yarn came to the rescue once again. Behold: Erika's Irish-Wellington Socks.

Project Profile: Erika's Fuzzy House Socks
Pattern: Irish-Wellington Socks by Aileen Cahil
Yarn: Mirasol Sulka in colorway 222, 4 skeins
Details: Knit on US 7, 4.5 mm DPNS, for roughly a US size 9/10


Thoughts: Easy, straightforward and fast. I knit the first one in less than 24 hours, the stitches just flew by! Plus, i turned the heel in under 5 minutes, I'm not a particularly fast knitter so that's a big deal for me. I'm a big fan of these and may make myself a pair at some point. They're very basic, and I may add some embroidery later to try and liven them up, but I haven't decided. I wasn't sure what size feet Erika had, and Harry was a bit useless on that topic (he's a guy, it's to be expected) so I went for roughly a US size 9 as a guess, since that's average. They're slightly larger than that, so should be nice and comfy, and if need be can shrink a little in the wash to be a better fit. These will definitely be nice and toasty in the Denver winter.

This week's project (Week 4) - is a bit different....look for many an update this week!

KBC - Week 2 - A Bit of This and a Bit of That

Huzzah! I actually finished this weeks project last night, but opted to go to bed instead of blogging about it. Things are swimming along here merrily, class starts on the 20th and I'm spending the time between them plotting PhD and Law school applications. Wish me luck! Also on the list is getting my flat under control, I'm pretty sure the clothes monster underneath my bed not only is capable of speaking to me at this point, but has named itself as well. Hermintrude whispers to me while i'm trying to go to bed in her screechy little voice "CLEEAAAAAN MEEEE"! Something dire is getting done this week.

BUT, in the meantime, have some more knitting:


Project Profile: The Turn-A-Square Watch Cap.
Pattern: Squared Away Watch Cap and Turn-A-Square
Yarn: 1.5 skeins of Mirasol- Miski in shade 118 (123 yds)
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) DPNS

When I started out with this project, I had planned on using the Squared Away Watch Cap (Ravelry Link) from Crystal Palace Yarns. But once I got further into the pattern I realized I didn't want it to be quite so long as the watch cap, and I wasn't sure about the look of the decreases. After a bit of searching, I settled on Jared Flood's Turn-A-Square (Ravelry Link) cap instead. I like the raglan decrease, and the general neatness of the pattern. Naturally, as this pattern is stocking stitch and i'd done the 2x2 rib as proscribed in the Watch Cap, I was a bit worried, but once I got the hang of it (read: stop trying to be smart and figure out if I should be purling or knitting the decreases and just knit them all) I really think it came out well. This is definitely a pattern I'll be using again.

I Which I Do Something I Both Love and Hate...

I moved into my current flat in August. About two weeks before my dissertation was due in fact, not the best move ever. Accordingly, when I moved, I didn't so much fully move as I did shove all my stuff in garbage bags and throw it in the van (which by the way, showed up over an hour early, so I couldn't even pretend that they were organized garbage bags) and toddle up the street. Once we got everything physically *in* the flat we stopped. I have a functioning flat, sort of, but my closet is a beast of nightmarish proportions - if you are a woman, you know what I mean - it's at that stage where I'm digging under my bed to find clean clothes I can wear, because I don't want to open it. To make it even worse, probably about 1/3rd of my clothes are still in the garbage bags, hiding underneath my bed or in various corners. It's not cool, and now, nearly 6 weeks after I moved, it's time to bite the bullet, and get this nonsense under control.

By blogging about it of course...

Yes, I am totally busted for procrastinating. As I write this my flat looks like a bomb hit it, with open suit cases (did I mention there were two trips to the States in there that I hadn't really unpacked for?) tattered plastic bags and scarves strewn everywhere. Naturally, I pulled everything out, and then stopped for a rest, only to look around me in despair.

See here's the thing, I *like* organizing my closet. I *like* pulling it out, categorizing, folding and putting it back in again in a more efficient manner. I think it might just be a female thing. But I *don't* like doing it when it doesn't all fit, or has to be sorted (as opposed to I *want* to sort it). Boo, hiss, tantrum. This is exactly what I have to do. However, my motivation is as follows: 1- the place is a mess 2- I'm tired of wearing the same 4 t-shirts 3- I can't find the remote, it's buried in clothing and the current channel is doing a 'how it's made' of slaughtering chickens and carving their carcasses!

You Win Some, You Lose Some

This week's success: Potato Leek Soup
This week's not-so-much: Chocolate Mug Cake, Cheddar Cookies.

Potato Leek Soup
This turned out really well, but let us be fair, it's really hard to botch something like this. I'm also really biased in favor of leeks, i think they are delicious and they warm my heart. You'd think think I'd be a bit of a weirdo if I admitted that leeks are probably one of my favorite foods (or at least, things to put in food), and you'd probably be right. But I don't care...they are too damned tasty.

The recipe I used was from Cook UK and dead easy to follow. I'm fairly sure this soup is one of the easier things on the planet to prepare, even for one such as me. Ninety five percent of the effort was in chopping the leek and peeling and dicing the potatoes - M&S did not have big potatoes, only little ones....holy crap that took forever, and much love to Rifha for hanging out and peeling/chopping with me while we watched Top Gear (of course, my much loved guinea pigs friends were present for taste testing.

The key to this recipe, I have decided, is adding epic amounts of spice. In particular, i went nuts with the chopped garlic, fresh basil, dried spices (standard 'mixed herb' and 'garlic Italian spices') and particularly the pepper. I'll cop to it, while attempting to add 'a dash' of pepper, the top came loose, and a torrential downpour of pepper went in. I'll admit, when the guinea pigs friends sat down to try it, was a little worried that they were going to choke.

They didn't, it was actually amazing, and probably my best success in cooking so far. (Yes...I can boil vegetables...go me). The combination was great, and it tasted even better when it was cold! This is definitely going to be a mainstay for me during the gross London winter. Next time I think I will try it with cream rather than whole milk, to see if I can get a thicker consistency. This could go horribly awry however, as it might make the whole thing a bit too rich. The soup I got this time was definitely of the broth variety as opposed to a creamy soup, so I'd like to play with that a bit. We'll find out how it goes I guess!

Verdict: A+, the guinea pigs friends enjoyed it too!

Chocolate Mug Cake
I have to admit, I had a lot of hope for this recepie. Really now, what girl doesn't love the idea of just throwing an egg and some flour into a microwave and outside comes chocolate decadence? Unfortunately, you get what you pay for. So this wasn't super exciting. I found the recipe here.
While the recipe did, in fact produce a cake, it wasn't a terribly exciting one. The first mug actually turned out looking more like some sort of mutated coral reef. While the texture was there, the flavor simply wasn't. For the third attempt (second one was already in the microwave by the time we figured out the first wasn't very good) I poured all the sugar and cocoa I had left into the mug. The result was slightly more flavor, but still nothing to write home about. If I try this again I'm going to try adding some chocolate syrup in there, and probably tripling the cocoa and sugar amounts. Also - What the heck is wrong with Tesco, they stopped carrying chocolate chips!! The nutters...the very nice man (who the week before when I asked if they had a halal alternative to bacon suggested using deli ham) recommended breaking up the bricks of baking chocolate by hand...yeah, that didn't happen. The 'presentation' wasn't terribly appealing either!

















Verdict: B-

Cheddar Cheese Cookies:d
Earlier this week I discovered SuperCook an absolutely fantastic little website. Basically, you punch in what you have in your kitchen, and it will spit back out recipes that match the ingredients you have. The result I got was cheddar cheese cookies and cheese mushroom puffs. Seeing as I'd never heard of the former before, i figured I'd give it a try. The end result well....like the mug cake, it worked, but the outcome was utterly bland and boring. The guinea pigs agreed, and I'll admit that these just went in the bin after we'd tried them. I'm rather disappointed about these came out, because with that much butter (and it was A LOT of butter) you'd have thought it was guaranteed to be tasty, alas, although they were visually appealing, they just didn't cut it.















Verdict: D, Big dissapointment

KBC - End of Week 1, Start of Week 2

Project Profile: Lofty Cable Mittens
Pattern: Lofty Wool Cable Mittens by Cathy Campbell
Yarn - Mirasol Sulka in Colorway 215
Details: Knit size 6 US Needles, in the Mens Medium.

Modification: I ribbed the first 10 rows instead of stocking stitch, I wanted a firmer cuff rather than the rolled one, seems like a great way to get snow wedged in your wrists! I also picked up 1 stitch in the gap/gutter of the thumb to avoid creating a hole there, which i left until the final row of decreases, and made the last K2Tog into a sl,k2tog,psso, which worked perfectly.

Thoughts: I'm pretty pleased with how these came out, and surprised that there aren't more projects on Ravelry using the pattern. It's definitely one I'd make again, and will probably end up gifting to more than one relative this season. The Sulka worked perfectly, and with the smaller needle makes for a nice strong fabric, which should hold up nicely in winter.

I did run slightly past my deadline, in that I finished these on Monday, but a headcold and the late start justifies that i think.


On the schedule for this week:

Squared Away Watch Cap by Oftroy of Golden Appels in Mirasol - Miski.

and away we go!

One mitten down, 9 million to go

Finished the first of this week's set of mittens. Unfortunately in the process I've discovered that I need twice as much yarn as I thought, so I'll be acquiring more tomorrow, and that I am officially out of darning needles. My knitting bag went AWOL when I was in Denver, complete with my needles, cable needles, a perfectly lovely skein of yarn, 1 knit glove and a set of bitchin' rosewood dpns. I mourn its loss. So, tomorrow it's shopping for more yarn, needles, (and possibly some more Mirasol for another project).

Dancing With The Stars: Women's Opening

Debbie Mazar – I agree with Len – good energy, decent footwork if a bit flat. Also, Holy Back Muscles, Batman!! I feel like Debbie is one of those stars who everyone can recognize but no one knows what her name is. She did well, but not memorably so.

Melissa Joan Hart – That smile on her face is so genuine, it makes me really happy. I’ll admit to actually tearing up over how truly joyful she looked….that’s…kind of silly but it was just utterly heart ( or hart, if you’re into puns) warming. To be fair, her foot work was a bit smooshy. But she is incredibly graceful. Clarissa Explains it All was a huge part of my childhood though, so she automatically has me rooting for her!

Mya – good lines, beautiful flowing lines and innately graceful, She did really well (Carrie Anne agreed!) . Also, Wow to the score differences…Len is cranky tonight. She’s good though and I think will definitely take a while to knock off.

Kathy Ireland – When I first heard she was on the show, I could only remember her as ‘the bra lady’. For people who don’t remember who she is, the answer is she’s the designer who makes most of the sports bras you find at Target. Her footwork was kind of mincing, and she clearly had her eyes on his feet, not great at counting (like she said…not good with keeping a beat). I notice that he did a lot of flashy arm moves to try and distract the eye from her, and she was like a dead stick, overly careful. Not terribly impressed.

Natalie Coughlin – The girl can definitely move her hips, I also think she improved a bit as the dance went on and she relaxed more. So far she goes up as the most flexible, (also very athletic, nice back flip). But I’m not as sure about her, she seems to have it, but I just feel like there was something lacking.

Macy Grey – Let me just start by saying that I am biased against Ms. Grey. Having seen various interviews she gave many years ago, I think she has a horrible attitude, and is well….a bitch. Plus, rehearsing while finishing up a tour? Probably not wise. She also just looks angry, in all the initial shots where everyone else looked excited she just looked well…cranky. She’s incredibly stiff, but I’m utterly shocked that this woman even knows how to smile…most of the time she just seems to have her mouth gaping open…I suppose it’s better than a scowl. Come on woman, try at and least PRETEND to be happy. I think Carrie Ann had it right….it’s beautiful in it’s own bizarre way. Wait….why did they blur it out…what did she say!! (points for making Bruno fall over laughing)

Joanna Krupa - Being Derrick’s partner is always tough…because that man is smokin’. But She seemed to do well. Good attitude and decent beat. What the heck is up with those pants?! The chemistry between them is hot! (Even Len agrees!) Probably the best pairing, chemistry wise, of the entire group.

Kelly Osborne – Everyone has been saying that she ‘s the surprise contender and she really is. She has wonderful form and is very graceful. Again, I love that she looks so happy to be there. And Sharon cried! How sweet! (again, I teared up a bit when she ran to her parents for a hug.) She has transformed so beautifully! (not crying…I swear I’m not crying!).


Fox Trot Relay – Natalie, Kathy, Joanna, Debbie – Natalie very graceful, good flow. But again, her facial expression just isn’t there. (Angry swimmer face?) She was much more relaxed in this dance than the salsa. Kathy – she’s stiff and blocky. (In Alli’s words “She continues to be awful’). The judges were nicer than I thought they could have been. Joanna – (seriously what’s up with that hair?). Not bad, but it isn’t really standing out. Not sure who will come out on top – her or Natalie ( I think Natalie). Debbie – she’s looking very careful, and unsure of where her feet are if she can’t see them. But the end was good and she’s certainly high energy.

Cha Cha Cha Relay – Macy, Melissa, Mya, Kelly – very sad food work, but again she does have that sass. She can do the occasional intensely steamy look but the rest of the time se just looks scary. Melissa – again, she’s just so utterly joyous. Good foot work too, precise for a beginner. She did much better in this dance as well, which makes me hope she can stick around for a while. Mya - Tight foot work, she genuinely is one of the best, and is going to be in the running in this season if she can keep it up. Kelly – She looks a little more like her rocker self in this one. Her footwork was a bit stilted in some places, but still quite good, and again she is just so happy, I love it. She’s fantastic. (Also, on a much more cosmetic/silly note, I really liked Kelly and Melissa’s costumes, the other two were not as interesting).

My (sort of) short list: (Knowing that Macy and Ashley have already been eliminated, and would have been in my ‘bottom’ list anyways – though I’m unsure about if it should have been Macy before Kathy)

Will be eliminated ASAP:
Chuck Liddel (hopefully not, I like him but acknowledge he's not terribly good at this)
Tom Delay
Kathy Ireland (horrible to moderate staying power, she may hang around for a few more rounds)

Medium Staying Power:
Mike Irving
Debbie Mazar
Natalie Coughlin (with room for improvement, she’s not out yet).
Melissa Joan Hart

Stars to watch:
Aaron Carter
Mark Dacascos
Donnie Osmond
Louie Vito
Mya
Joanna Krupa
Kelly Osbourne (Mya and Joanna were better, but she was heart warming to watch, and has a large fan base which will give her a boost)

KBC- Week 1 Day 4

So after finally settling on knitting Kureyon Handwarmers, Evangelines, Bella's Mitts a pair of Lofty Cable Mitts by Cathy Campbell (Crystal Palace Yarn) in Sulka by Mirasol, I finally got started today. Yes, it's a bit late in the week to get started, but that's because I must have ripped about 6 different versions of gloves/mittens before I found one I was happy with. The Sulka I am using came out of my stash, and I was originally planning on using it for myself, but it's going to a higher cause for the time being....plus it looks like i may run short, so I'll be able to get some more for myself when I go back to John Lewis' to get more! Yes...I do realize this defeats the purpose of 'stash busting'.


The only mod I've added is ribbing the first 10 rows rather than the stocking stitch, which means i have a fitted cuff instead of a rolled one. I absolutely adore the Sulka yarn and have used it before, but this particular color makes me drool (Shade 215 to be specific). I love the deep ruby....sigh.

Here's what I have so far ---> Row wise, i'm just past 1/2 way through (row 38 of 76 to be precise). But in terms of actual time knitting i'm pretty sure I'm further along than that, yarr...there be decrease rows ahead! I'm going to aim for finishing this one and starting the second tomorrow. Which should give me plenty of time to finish it by Sunday night.

Attempting to Cook: Chicken Stuffed with Philly and Basil etc etc...

Let's just get this out there...I'm a terrible cook. Or at least, it's not really something I am known for. Whenever the word "cook" comes out of my mouth, anyone that knows me within a 10 mile radius has a heart attack and then faints from the shock. To be clear, it's not that I can't cook, I just well...don't. I'm what you'd call 'an instruction based-cooker' I can do exactly what the little writing on the box tells me, so long as it isn't complicated, but more than that and I'm stumped. Creativity is not my forte when it comes to food, nor is cooking lingo, half the time i don't know what they mean (seriously...how exactly do you 'sweat' an item of food, at least hygienically).

So, filed under my "personal growth/I have too much free time on my hands" improvement regime, is my 'try some new recipes' cooking adventure.

This week's menu (most of it impromptu, and based off of what I had in my fridge):

Starter: Spinach salad with cucumber, red pepper, tomatoes, feta, salt and pepper and a dash of olive oil: This was a bit of an afterthought, and something for us to eat while waiting for the main to cook. It's salad, but one of my favorites.

Main: Chicken stuffed with Philly (spiced) and wrapped in parma ham:
Okay, I did some tweaking to the recipe i used for this, which I dug up here.
1) IQ and Rifha, my two guinea pigs friends are both Muslim, and follow a Hallal diet...meaning that the parma ham was a big no-no. I would now like to take the opportunity to point out that, while inquiring around the local grocery stores if they had turkey bacon no less than five different people laughed at me for even suggesting it, including bystanders. I wound up finding a lovely beef alternative, known as Chiavennasca. It's a dried beef, seasoned with all sorts of tasty spices, and I'd never heard of it before, but it worked just fine, although may have been a bit drier than parma ham or streaky bacon.

2) The recipe called for basil cream cheese, but i wasn't able to find that, or the garlic herb flavor so instead i just bought plain (light) cream cheese and stirred in my own spices - garlic, more garlic, fresh basil, dried basil, and some various 'mixed spices' that I inherited from a friend when she moved back into the states...the result was probably the tastiest part of the meal. Seriously...Rifha and I wound up fighting over who got to eat the leftovers...delicious.

The chicken turned out decently, and it's nice to know that even with my minimal cooking skills I didn't completely botch it. Overall it was pretty good, if not the most exciting thing I've ever eaten (but hey, it didn't taste like death so that's good). The Chiavennasca was a good substitute i feel, and is something i will remember for the future if a recipe i am trying calls for bacon/parma etc etc.

Verdict: Probably not something I'd actively go "wow i'm really craving this" but definitely something i can whip up easily if i need to. Tasty, if not memorable. But sometimes you need that.

Dessert: Baked Apples with Amaretti and Marsala Filling
Again, this was off the cuff, but one of the few recipes i'm pretty comfortable with. My oldest brother is a chef, and good at what he does. This is the recipe he first gave to me several years ago when I was finishing up a research internship in New York City. Basically, I hadn't had the best time (not horrible, just boring) so I wanted to go out with a bang. These were my secret weapon. I'm also a big fan of them because it's a recipe I feel comfortable enough (as i discovered that night) to just whip together without measuring and prepping etc etc. My only issue with them is that I still absolutely suck at getting them to look good. This is where watching too many cooking shows (and listening to my brother rant) is either a bonus, or a negative...I understand the virtue of plating, but it tends not to work out well for me. Also, while I personally am a huge fan of this dessert, I'm not so sure Rifha and IQ were as into it as I was, it's not to everyone's taste, but I love it.

Verdict for the evening: Tasty if not memorably so, and no one died! I consider that progress.

Knitting Bootcamp: Week 1

Okay, so I have a tentative project in mind. Christmas is coming, and as every knitter (and non-knitter) knows, Christmas is Crunch Time, and almost everyone gets caught unaware ( to that one person who got all of their shopping done in August? Yes, YOU. I hate you). For one who aims to gift knit items, it's even worse because of the time involved in making all these things. All you have to do to get a good idea of this is read the Yarn Harlot's annual Christmas panic blogs, complete with her very own Schedule-Nazi to get it all done. Unfortunately, I do not have a Schedule-Nazi, I have only myself, and myself absolutely sucks at deadlines and that thing called 'discipline'. I'm also terrible at knitting speedily in a crunch. In light of that, my tentative plan is this: between now and Christmas (allowing for a few slip-ups, and life getting in the way). Knit 1 object - glove, hat, scarf, sock etc (extra time allotted for larger items) per week. Fingerless gloves and hats count as half an object (or basic gloves) given the speed and simplicity involved.

If I stick to this, that means I have 14 weeks, (Or 7 pairs of socks) to get everything done. This means if i play my card right i could actually gift everyone in my immediate family (Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother 1, Brother 1's girlfriend, Brother 2, Brother 2's girlfriend and my Grandmother) ((okay that's 8)). If I'm super efficient about this, I could possibly muster up a couple of extra items for some friends (who happen to read this blog from time to time).

I only plan on making 1 pair of socks out of all this, since my mother specifically requested a pair. Additionally, I found a project i'd completely forgotten about, complete with a 3/4 knit sock, in a color i know she would like....some may call it cheating, I just call it recycling.

So, here we go - I'm setting the deadline for each project to be Sunday night, with a new project started on Monday Morning. I will use up as much of my stash yarn as possible and must always check The Stash Monster to see if I have something I can use *before* I look into buying new yarn for it.

Today I declare to be Knitting Boot Camp: Week 1, Day 3 (Monday being Day 1).

Here we go.

Careers Advice: I advise you get a career....

So yesterday I had an appointment with the LSE Career Service, it was supposed to be on Monday but due to a mix-up, and a crappy internet based 'hit refresh constantly' type allocation system, I wound up booking an appointment that I didn't get when I actually showed up for it, and went home rather weepy. I came back yesterday, and did manage to get my appointment spot(perhaps due to the weeping stint the day before), to talk to the nice lady, in hopes that she would solve my problems.

Obviously she didn't, as a 15 minute appointment is not going to solve the question of 'What do you want to do with your life', but i was at least hoping for a 'what the hell am i doing with my life right now'. Instead it went something like this...

Me: So i'm hoping to find an internship or volunteer opportunity, something to get work experience in, while i figure out what i'm doing

Her: So what is it that you are interested in?

Me: Women's reproductive health and rights, access to care etc in developing countries. Things along those lines.

Her: But why would you be interested in that??

And this is basically how 80% of our time was spent, her demanding an exact explanation as to why i am interested in health and development...because it's such a 'small, niche area'. Seriously?? I've never thought of women's health as a 'niche' nor esoteric. You'd think I had asked her for help finding a career option that involved braiding purple llama's hair whilst singing electronica to them (accapella style) in the northeast sector of a very small town in Iceland, and ONLY that. Cripes...

Suffice to say, it didn't really help much, but I did pillage the hell out of the career services library and managed to get several websites to follow up with. Here's hoping they turn out to be a better use of my time.

Dancing With The Stars: Men's Premiere

My initial thoughts on Dancing With The Stars, semi-'live' blogging, we're a week or so behind in getting new episodes in London, ;p so bear with me.....

Aaron Carter (Cha Cha Cha)- DIRTY DIRTY BOY! Dude, you need to at least make it through the first week before you try and get it in her pants. I'm sure he'll go far, but he came off as so skeezy that i dont think i'll be rooting for him. He also has dance experience already through performing, so I think that's kind of cheating

Chuck Liddel (Foxtrot) (aka UFC guy) - Okay, he's a little scary, but he's trying, and he really did try and smile...even if he did look a bit like a happy homicidal maniac. I don't think he'll last long, but he gets major points for even getting up there and dancing. Very stiff and clunky, not quite with it, but adorable in that terrifying kind of way. He also did pretty well in the Salsa Relay, and showed signs of loosening up. (Obviously no competition for Donny, but

Mark Dacascos (Cha Cha Cha) - Again, kind of cheating with the martial arts skills, although i think it will lend itself more towards the acrobatic parts and overall fitness than actual footwork skills, ....and okay, they got the Kung Fu thing out of the way, so there is hope. I agree with Len Goodman - Kung Fu does not belong in the Waltz! Here's hoping Lacy doesn't beat the thing dead.

Ashley Hamilton (Foxtrot) - Okay...he's George Hamilton's Kid, and paired with Edyta the naked....I don't even know who this guy is! Also...what the hell kind of song did they chose? Again, stiff and sort of uncoordinated, but he's also just...not interesting to watch, and has little to no following, I don't think he'll last. (looks like the Judges agree with me, technically correct, but no showmanship, he does get points for coming to this after having spent a year in a wheel chair due to various accidents though)

Donny Osmond (Foxtrot) – Sibling Rivalry…awesome, and he’s adorable when he turns pink over the “intimate holds”. He’s definitely got the showmanship, and actually looks like he’s actually enjoying this (and isn’t just counting the steps!), which helps to overshadow his technical errors. Good potential.

Louie Vito (Fox Trot) – Alright, I’ll admit I was on the phone for this one so I didn’t get as good a look, but decent footwork, great smile.

Michael Irvin (Fox Trot) - For me, a lot of time the attitude and the body language can compensate for poor technical quality and given the skill of other competitors so far, unless he improves dramatically I don’t think he’ll beet Jerry!.

Tom Delay ( Cha Cha Cha) – I don’t think I will ever recover from seeing him shake his bottom in rehearsal. Ever… BUT, you gotta give him credit, for a supposedly stodgy republican, he is certainly willing to take the mickey out of himself.

Salsa Relay - Ashley, Chuck, Donny and Louie – Really, with Louie and Donny in there the other two didn’t stand a chance. But Ashely was even worse than he was in the original. On the other hand, I think Chuck really improved from his earlier dance

Viennese Waltz Relay - Aaron, Mark, Tom and Michael - Aaron is looking slightly less polished on this one, a few more stumbles, Mark has definitely got the ‘mrow sexy’ part down, Tom Delay was adorable, very gentlemanly….Cheryl is thankfully not trying to make him look ridiculous and having him act like a younger man. He also gets the award for best sportsmanship I think. Michael moved much more gracefully in this, and is more graceful over all, rather than just exuberant but messy.I like his approach though “I’m just here, that’s enough”.

Starting Over, or something like it

So after finishing my finals, turning in my Master's thesis, and taking a 2 1/2 week vacation I am now back in London. So far, all i've done is ascertain that my TV does in fact work, an that my internet doesn't. Oh, that and start picking up after coming home to find my kitchen trashed. Overall, i'm feeling rather stationary and a bit depressed. I have no idea what i'm doing with my life right now, so i might as well write about it!

On the list:

1. Student Detectives

2. Clean flat and unpack/finish moving in

3. Get internet working (Maybe that should be number 1)

4. Careers service - get an internship/job

5. PhD Applications.

It's a start. In the meantime i will take today to clean, sleep and possibly get the internet working so i can start uploading pictures from my various trips. I dont think it will be a terribly productive one....hey, i might even shower and change into clean PJs ;) .