Wipe Out

Or as they put it on the leader boards, DNF. A full cartwheeling off the the course and thumping against the barriers while the skis continue down the mountain by themselves.

The first third went well (the right glove), as I slowly gained confidence in the pattern and the yarn, and then, disaster waiting in the second glove. Managed to work out the tricky bit of reversing the pattern, and completely forgot the basics. As in "Does the second glove match the first?"

No.

Did I ask this question at any point in the past few days?

No.

Try on both gloves at the same time?

No.

Not until today, after I spent an industrious afternoon with my sister, both of us knitting away. The second glove has only seven rows left to be at the same point in the pattern as the right one. It is so far off that my ten year old nephew (who has little interest in knitting) could spot it.

And I know better, I really do. These are far from my first gloves, wristwarmers, mittens, you name it. And for all the others, I have taken my time and tried on, and measured and made sure that the stitch and row gauges were the same.

Ah well, they will get finished, just not tonight.

So I raise my glass of wine, and my bowl of buttery popcorn and wish all of you still in the Knitting Olympics the best of luck. Cheers!

Slogging Along

Now I know why I kept putting this project off. While the pattern is beautiful, and easy to follow, it also requires a lot of concentration for me. Every row is a pattern row, and half the stitches are twisted.

Looking away from the knitting is a bad idea. Trying to watch the Olympics while I knit is even worse. I can listen, but have to be sure to set the knitting down and hope for a replay if anything catches my attention.

I like the twisted ribbing, and it's much easier than I thought it would be. The yarn (Plymouth Rockin' Sox) is soft and warm and has nice stitch definition. Unfortunately, it doesn't stick to my metal needles at all, and I've gotten a lot of practice picking up a needle's worth of stitches and remounting them.

Next up, reversing the pattern and hoping I don't have to reverse the stitch mounts to make it look good.

Knitting Olympics 2010

For my first knitting olympics, I've chosen a somewhat tricky pattern, as in, there is no clear pattern out there, but small enough that I should be able to figure it out in time to finish by the closing ceremonies. Craftoholic's Mermaid Mitts. I've wanted to make them for years, so here goes.

I've got the yarn, I've got the pattern, I made the lace pattern book up, and the needles are ready. Now to wait until the opening ceremonies tonight to cast on.

Striped Watchcap

The snow is dancing outside my windows in the air currents around the house. It's been snowing steadily since morning, and now it's starting to stick. Since snow in February is hardly unusual in New England, I'm stocked with warm things: hot tea, oatmeal cookies, and plenty of yarn.

In the theme of warm things, here is a bulky watchcap that takes advantage of the brioche stitch's quirks to create vertical stripes while carrying one yarn at a time. Well, except for the crown, where it changes to normal rib and you have to carry two yarns, but that's only for four rows.

I used two dk weight yarns, holding four strands of each color at a time. Why? I had them in my stash. You could use a bulky or super bulky yarn and have an easier time of it.

Striped Watchcap
Yarn: 4 skeins of dk weight in each color - main color (MC) and contrasting color (CC).
Needles: #11 dpns
Size: 17" circumference (fits a 22" head nicely)
Gauge: 1.75 sts/in in pattern (7 sts to 4 inches)

Note: slip all stitches purlwise, with yarn in back.

Brioche in the round:
Set up row (MC): * yo, sl 1 wyib, k1 *
1 (MC): * yo, sl 1 wyib, k2tog *
2 (CC): * p2tog, sl 1 wyib, yo *

Cast on 26 stitches, place marker, and join for working in the round.
Do the brioche set up row once in MC.

Work rows 1 and 2 for 11 inches, or more, depending on how much you fold up the brim.

Crown decreases, start after working a row 2:
1: p1 (CC), k2tog (MC)
2: p1 (CC), k1 (MC)
3: p1 (CC), k1 (MC)
4: p1 (CC), k1 (MC)
5: k2tog (MC)
6: k2tog (MC)

Bind off (MC) and weave in ends.

That's it. Just remember to hold the yarn loosely and it should give you a nice, warm hat.

Kennebunk Mittens

I've been promising to make myself some warm mittens for a couple of years now, ever since I made the Kennebunk Wooly Bear Mittens (Robin Hansen, in Homespun, Handknit) for my Dad.

He had wanted some really warm mittens for his daily walks. I doubled the wool yarn, and then quadrupled it for the lining. They were very warm, but I had to alter the pattern a bit since there was no way I was going to come close to her gauge of 10.5 stitches per inch in ribbing. I think I got about 4.

Last winter, after I finished my Christmas knitting (lots of fingerless gloves), I started a pair of Kennebunk mittens with some brown and pink malabrigo from my stash. Did up a swatch, it seemed ok, so off I went. It fit like a glove. Ripped it out, and started again. It still didn't fit right, so I added some more stitches, and, well, it still wasn't working. So I dumped it in a drawer and went on to other knitting.

This winter, after I finished my Christmas knitting (lots of cowls this year), I took it out again, read various blogs and books to figure out how a mitten should be shaped, ripped it out and started again.

This time, it fits reasonably well. But the color patterning, which looked so good on the smaller wrist section, is looking like a jumbled mess on the hand. And it's eating up the wool. I'm not sure if I have enough yarn for two mittens, and since the yarn was a gift (years ago), I'm not sure if I can match the dye lot.

Once again, I dumped it back in a drawer.

However, my hands are still cold on my walks, so into the stash I went, looking for enough yarn to knit and line two mittens. I came across some heathered purple alpaca that I had been saving for "some sort of textured scarf." I've had the yarn for several years, and still haven't found the "right" pattern. I haven't been looking too hard for one either.

Did some swatches to figure out the needle size, and finally found that 000s (yes, 1.5 mm needles) gave me the fabric I wanted. I am in no way a tight knitter. I guesstimated the number of stitches I needed, and off I went.

Everything went well until I got halfway up the thumb gusset. Instead of checking my gauge against the original pattern, I just used the altered instructions from my Dad's mitten. The gusset was far too short.

Back to the original instructions. The stated gauge was 10.5 stitches per inch, mine was... 10 stitches per inch.

So now I'm happily working my way through the original pattern. Sort of. I made the wrist slightly narrower to help keep out the wind, and added two more ribs, evenly spaced, at the start of the hand.

They're coming along well, and it looks like each mitten will use up a full skein of yarn.

More as they progress.

Nana's Beans

Welcome to Boston Baked Blather, a small blog about cooking, knitting, harp playing and whatever else I can blather about.

Today, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, and proclaimed six more weeks of winter. I believe him. The cold has been settled in here for a while now, and I've been making soups and stews and other warming dishes.

To start off this blog, I'd like to share a recipe for Boston Baked Beans. My sister's husband's grandmother graciously shared her recipe, and now my sister brings the beans to just about every family gathering.

From the first, "Hmmm, I'd like some baked beans," to the time when they come out of the oven is 28 hours. That's 12 hours soaking (or more), and 16 hours baking. So if you want them for noon on a Saturday, start soaking the beans at 8 a.m. the Friday before, and put them in the oven at 8 p.m. on Friday night.

And don't worry if you don't have a tradition of baked beans in your family, as my sister says, it's not in the genes, it's in the beans.

Nana's Beans
1 pound Great Northern Beans
1 large onion, chopped
1.5 inch square of salt pork, diced
1/2 pound bacon, chopped

syrup - mix and warm on stove:
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon dry mustard
salt and pepper
2 cups water

Sort through the beans and pick out anything that isn't a bean. Put the dry beans in a big bowl or pot and cover them with plenty of water and soak overnight, or at least 12 hours.

Rinse the beans with hot water, and make the syrup.

Put the beans in a casserole dish, or even a small kettle, in 3 layers as follows:
- half the beans
- onions, salt pork, and bacon
- half the beans

Cover with the warm syrup. If the syrup doesn't cover the beans, add hot water to the pot until the beans are just covered. Do not put a lid on the pot, but bake them uncovered.

Bake at 275 F for 12 hours, then reduce the oven heat to 250 F and bake for 4 hours.


That's all. Hope you enjoy it.