Finished Object: East End Sweater

You know when you see a design, and you think to yourself, "Omigod, I have to make this sweater!!"? This was one of those times. But I was apprehensive... this sweater was made from fingering weight yarn. In linen. And I am not a small girl.

But I volunteered to test the pattern despite my apprehension, and I am so pleased with the results!

 

 Here is a shot of my backside - not normally a view I display willingly, but I wanted to show the neat shaping on the back - it flares out below the hip and creates a beautifully feminine shape:

 

The Particulars:

Pattern: East End by Alicia Plummer
Yarn: Quince and Co. Sparrow, 9 skeins in 'Port.'  Knitting with linen was a completely new experience for me - it's so very crunchy when you knit with it, but it becomes extremely soft once it is washed and dried (yes, you can put it in the washer and dryer!).
Needles: Size 5 circulars in different lengths (depending on the part of the sweater I was knitting).
Would I knit this pattern again? Definitely! Someone in our test group knit hers in Madtosh merino light, and I would love to try that as well. I did do some modifications to the pattern to better suit my short, narrow-shouldered, curvy figure. The original neckline was very wide on me, so I worked a 1x1 ribbing for 9 rows around the neck to bring the sweater in a bit. I also extended the sleeves (with no decreases) to an elbow-length, and then knit 10 rows of 1x1 ribbing there as well. I really like the flirty pattern at the bottom hem, and the A-line of the pattern is very flattering on me.

Thank you for letting me test this pattern, Alicia! I love this sweater!

And I have to say that this was a very quick photoshoot. Not only was it 93'F in the shade, but there were gnats everywhere - as evidenced by this picture and the "ACK! BUGS!" look on my face:

 

Zinnia Visitor

Zinnia Visitor, originally uploaded by jochibi.

I don't know if it is a moth or a butterfly, but it sure was pretty.

Piper Ballerina

Peach Lilies

DSCN0762, originally uploaded by jochibi.

Found these in my father-in-law's garden on the weekend. So pretty!

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Finished Object: Willow's Lighthouse Keeper's Wife Cardigan

Okay, can I start with saying how beautiful this girl is?



This cardigan has been finished for a little while, but we have had torrential rain on and off for the last two weeks, so it has been difficult to get out and take pictures.

Full body:



The funniest thing happened with this sweater.  I normally knit when Willow and I watch TV together, so she had seen me working on this all along.  I have made a few things for Piper recently - but because she is so much smaller, they get completed much faster.  I finished my last little bits, balled it up, and tossed the sweater in Willow's lap.  Willow: "What's this for?" Me: "Try it on." Willow: "It's for ME?!"  It was nice to be able to pull this over on her in the open!

Side view



Back:



The Particulars: 

Pattern: Lighthouse Keeper's Wife by Melissa Schaschwary. A great simple, straightforward top-down pattern.
Yarn: Naturally Caron Spa (a little over 2 skeins for the XS size) - a bamboo/acrylic blend.
Needles: size 13 bamboo circulars (not my favorite needles - way too blunt!), and a J-size crochet hook. Would I Knit This Pattern Again? Definitely - and the next one will be for me - but not in this yarn. This yarn made a nice, airy summer-weight sweater, but was so splitty, especially with these blunt needles. The next time I do this I am going to use a provisional cast on for the hood so I can kitchener the hood rather than seaming. I opted to make long short sleeves (about elbow length) for Willow as this will be a summer cardigan. I created a stabilizing band for buttons by doing three rows of half double crochet along the button bands and hood. I did the same with the ends of the sleeves. The bottom of the sweater I opted for 5 rounds of garter stitch so the sweater wouldn’t roll up. I then added 2 small buttons on the front.



Knitting things for Willow can be a little hit or miss - so I am really happy that she likes this one.  It's also nice that she fits into the ladies' XS size, because there are so many more women's patterns out there than tween girl patterns.

Somehow

Somehow, we have gone from this on her first day of Kindergarten:

to this on her last day of 5th grade:

My amazing firstborn graduated with Distinguished Honors (straight As for the entire year), received an award for leadership, as well a certificate for being involved in the Math Olympiad.  Willow, you never cease to amaze us - we love you so much!

Everyday

DSCN0679, originally uploaded by jochibi.

This is the state of our living room at least once a day - if not multiple times a day. Cleaning up after Piper has seriously cut into my reading and knitting time...

Finished Objects: Sebago Cove 1.0 and 2.0

Wow, am I ever remiss here. I was all ready to post my Finished Object post for the tunic sweater I finished last night for Piper when I realized I hadn't created a post for my original version of the same sweater! So here we go -

 Sebago Cove 1.0

 

and Sebago Cove 2.0

 

Same pattern, but in different yarns! Why did I knit 2 sweaters in the same pattern in short order? When my friend Alicia selected me to be on of the testers for her Sebago Cove pattern, I ordered the yarn she designed it with, and the yarn had to come all the way from Australia from the lovely Augustbird. It took about two weeks, but in the meantime, I was chomping at the bit to get started on the sweater. I dug around in my stash, and found some red merino/acrylic blend called Les Laines du Petit Poucet Colorado that I achieved gauge with, and I ran with it.

 

 As you can see, there are some rainbow colors woven through the yarn, and I didn't bother with the color blocking as the pattern describes, but I think it made a pretty cute tunic sweater. Piper liked it so much, she stole it out of my knitting bag so she could play dress up with it even before I had a chance to weave in all the ends - and if that isn't a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is!

 When my yarn from Augustbird arrived, I was nigh-finished another test knit for another talented friend, Melissa... which I haven't posted here yet, either. How did I get so far behind? Anyway, I wanted to finish my Sturgeon test knit before I started a new sweater. I had never knit anything with Augustbird yarns before, and I was in for an amazing treat. The colors are so saturated in the yarn, and it felt so incredibly nice to knit with. The Augustbird Hearty DK definitely shows the stitch definition much better than the Les Laines du Petit Poucet Colorado - I love the eyelets at the raglan shoulders, and the YO increases along the sides of the tunic:

 

The Particulars: 

Pattern: Sebago Cove by Alicia Plummer. You can purchase the pattern at this link on Ravelry - and please do!

Needles: Size 6 and 8 16" circulars and size 7 dpns (the pattern called for size 6 dpns, but I couldn't find mine). I made the 4T size. If you were to make a larger size, you would need longer circulars.

Yarn: Sebago Cove 1.0 was in Les Laines du Petit Poucet Colorado and Sebago Cove 2.0 was in Augustbird Hearty DK

Would I Knit This Pattern Again? Oh yes, in fact - I already have yarn to make Piper another one. I have a sneaky feeling that Piper will be wearing these all fall and winter long this year!

 

 Seriously - doesn't Piper look gorgeous in purple?

Piper Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes in her Sebago Cove 2.0 A, originally uploaded by jochibi.

Where on earth did she get eyes like this? My Mom and my sister Jaime both have light coloured eyes, but not like this.

Dinner Tonight: Mabo Turkey Lettuce Wraps

A few weeks ago, I had lettuce wraps at our local Asian Fusion restaurant, and my taste buds fell in love. I wanted to try making my own, but I was feeling very lazy. The ingredients were easy enough - but I was stuck on the sauce. On Friday night, I was searching Pinterest for variations on lettuce wraps, when I saw one for Mapo Tofu lettuce wraps and it occurred to me that I had some Mabo Nasu sauce in my pantry. Yes, I know that is an Indonesian website, but it was the only link I could find for Mabo Nasu. It's a common Chinese sauce mix (seet and a bit spicy) that you should be able to find at most Asian grocery stores. So - let's get started - here are my ingredients:

 

 The only things missing from the picture are the olive oil, garlic, and the cashews.

Ingredients

 1.25lbs extra lean ground turkey breast (99% fat free)
1 package Mabo Nasu sauce
2 TBSP minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 water chesnuts, chopped
1.5 TBSP olive oil
1.5c shredded carrots (about 3 handfuls)
3 scallions, chopped (whites and greens)
1 head of iceberg lettuce, leaves washed, dried, and put in fridge to keep cold.
0.25c cashews, chopped

 Rice - cook separately (as much as you think you may need - it's a side dish)

 Put your olive oil, turkey, garlic, and ginger in a pot, and cook the turkey over medium-high heat until completely white - breaking it up with a wooden spoon into small bits. You shouldn't need to drain it because there is so little fat here. Add in your carrots and Mabo Nasu sauce mix, and stir. Turn the mixture to low, and add in the scallions, water chestnuts, and cashews. Cook until thoroughly combined and carrots have softened a little.

 

 I have to say - the most difficult thing about this entire process was trying to peel the leaves off the head of lettuce intact! There must be a secret to this.

 Makes 5 servings (our in our case, dinner for everyone and lunch for me tomorrow!)

 Spoon a little meat mix into a lettuce leaf, roll in a bit so the stuffing doesn't fall out, and enjoy!

 

 Even Piper enjoyed her more deconstructed wraps:

 

It was funny - I gave her bits separately because I thought she would prefer it that way - but when she saw us wrapping ours up, she started to do the same thing with hers. Smart girl!

 

And if you have run out of lettuce leaves, you can eat the rest with some rice!

I do think I will make some adjustments to this the next time I make it - I would like it to be a bit saucier, so I think I will use 2 sauce packages next time. It could also be kicked up a notch in spice level - maybe a pinch or two of red pepper and maybe double the ginger? But all in all, everyone liked it and looks forward to having it again.

Willow's Spring Concert

Willow had her Spring Chorus Concert this afternoon, but unfortunately I wasn't able to attend. Andrew was, and he took these wonderful videos for me:

 Part 1:

 

 Part 2:

 

 Seriously - can I tell you how much I love this camera!

Gotta Get This Kid Music Lessons

I was going to call this Piper's musical debut, but then I realized I have other videos up on the blog of Piper and I singing together. So - change of plans. Without further ado, here is the world-wide premiere of Piper's new hit single, "Everybody Jump and Jump!"

 

 All kidding aside, she was sitting there strumming her guitar (and Willow's auto-harp earlier) and singing to herself for a good twenty minutes before Willow took out her camera and filmed Piper singing.

MDSW 2013 Recap

Guess where I was today?  Somewhere south of here... fairgrounds... horrible traffic once you get within a mile of your destination?  You guessed it!  The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival!



 Wearing a fabulous hat, nonetheless!

 

Would you believe I bought this hat at Home Depot?  Just squint your eyes a bit and imagine a mint julep in my hand - I could be at the Kentucky Derby!

 This had to be one of the best MDSW that I have been to in a long time.  The weather was beautiful - mild, and maybe only in the high 60s for most of the morning.  I wore my sports jacket all day - but there was a huge variance in what I saw other people wearing (everything from tank tops to fleece coats).

 I saw lots of animals, including mohair goats:

 

 Alpaca:

 

 Standoffish sheep:

 

 And the teeniest baby bunnies:

 

 The colors were amazing, too.

 





 Even the lack of color was beautiful:

 

 I came home with just four skeins of yarn:

 

 Two minty bars of soap:

 

 And two cherry tomato plants - one is a Black Cherry (a sweet purple cherry tomato) and the other a Sunpeach cherry (a pink-orange non-acidic cherry tomato):

 

 So, even despite the fact that I couldn't have any ice cream or kettle corn because of my temporary caps on my molars, I have to rank this up there as one of the best MDSWs I have ever been to... and I can't wait until next year!

Purple Belt Conquered!

Guess who is the owner of a shiny, new purple belt in Tae Kwon Do?

 

 Willow! I wasn't in the best position in the audience to take pictures, but I did manage to catch some video as Willow was working through her form (to prove she knew all the moves for the green belt and was ready to move on). It's interesting - in the lower levels, the instructors counts out the moves, and so the students are paced out - but as you move higher, you have to do it all in your head, and it becomes something like a dance.

 

 Congratulations, Willow! We're so proud of you! Now we have to buy sparring equipment, because with the purple belt level, she gets to learn how to do hand-to-hand combat.

Life Is But A Dream

Easter Egg Dyeing (With Bonus Stress!)

Dyeing Easter eggs should not be this stressful! But, add in a "ME DO IT" toddler, and little cups a dye - well, you have a disaster in the making. This picture is misleading - it looks like they were playing nicely and that Piper wasn't grabbing for everything in sight:

   

Piper dyeing her eggs. At this point, I kind of gave up on guiding her or I would have ended up with PAS dye all over my white shirt. And what on earth was I thinking wearing a white shirt while helping the kids with their eggs!?!?

 

 Willow and her eggs:

 

 Here are all of our eggs - we will be eating these for a while:

 

 Some of the ones I did ending up with fingerprints - I'm calling it a design feature:

   

This was nerve-wracking. I also didn't think to lay paper or a tablecloth down on the table, so now the table looks like it has been dyed as well. It's a good thing we aren't fancy in this house!

 I am not sure how I could have better contained this - I can't really leave her out of the festivities - but holy hell, she wants to do it her way all the time. Andrew just smirks and says, "Gee, Jo - where do you think she got that from?" Gah!

Willow had some bonus eggs she wanted to show off. She made these at her friend Amanda's house:

 

 Showgirl eggs might have been a safer bet with the toddler... a hot glue gun can't be worse than flinging dye everywhere, can it?

Oh, The Drama

The terrible twos have arrived. En force.

 Willow and I went shopping for a new outfit for her spring pictures last night. This kid has grown so much that all her dresses (except for the snazzy yellow one she wore to the dance) was either too tight or too short. We found a pretty dress at Kohl's last night - isn't Willow lovely in it?

 

 Willow coming downstairs in her dress drew a very unexpected reaction from Piper:

 

 Oh my Lord. She went ballistic! She was spitting with anger that Willow was wearing a 'fancy dress' (Piper's words) and she was not. It was a tantrum of epic proportions, so I had to take pictures. We have really been trying to get Piper to express herself with words rather than flipping out. I held her for a bit, and explained that she had to tell me why she was so upset, because I don't understand tantrums.

 A few more fat tears and some shuddering breaths, she came out with "Piper wear fancy dress..."

 

 Luckily, I had a fancy dress for her, too.

 

 This child is so mercurial - I foresee a bumpy ride for many years. Entertaining, but bumpy.

 Two pretty girls on the sofa - and neither one freaking out!

 

Another Pair of Socks

Not meant for me.

(sigh)



Damn me and my cankles.