novamade

hello, pumpkin

While watching Pushing Daisies this evening (entertaining and educational!), I learned that there exists something called "World Hello Day."  It was last Wednesday; but still, World Hello Day.  Hello!

Little Sir likes to say "hello" to people (so for him, every day is kind of a "hello day").  When I pick him up from school, I usually say, "hello, Pumpkin!"  Recently, his response is to "hello, pumpkin" me right back.  It's very cute, I think.

So today's theme is "pumpkin."  The gourd, the color, the pie...  That's right, pie. 

Today's Pie Hole Wednesday submission is the Brown Family's Favorite Pumpkin Pie.  I don't know the Browns, but 554 reviewers can't be wrong, right?  Pumpkin pie with nutty topping? You betcha.

The pie is fantastic.  I used my go-to crust (pate brise pastry crust from The Joy of Cooking).  Everything else was as directed by the recipe.  It's pretty yummy, this pie.  You know what else is yummy?  My new pumpkin socks (segue much?).

I heart them.  They are simple stockinette socks (the horror!), but I fell for the intense orange-osity when I saw it at Knitorious is St. Louis (back in August).  I think it was this particular incident that sparked my interest in orange and all of its fabulousness.  These socks became my travel socks, but then I just wanted them done, so I finished them.

I actually had to cut the sewn toe off of the first sock after Lolly realized that it was too small for either of my feet.  I am not going to dissect that statement, I will leave that for you.  Thank you, Lolly.  You are so observant; and, now I have a really cute pair of socks (that fit!); and, they look even cuter in really cute shoes.

Pumpkin Socks

Pattern: Beginner Lightweight Socks by Knitting Pure and Simple

Yarn: Trekking XXL, I don't know the colorway, sorry... it's orange (pumpkin, actually)

Needles: Bamboo DPNs, US1 and Us2

Modifications: Used US1 needles for the ribbed cuff

I know I said that I was done with Trekking sock yarn; but really, how could I resist this orange?  And have you seen the purple?  There is this really nice purple that... I digress...

So now, back to the Christmas knitting (with personal knitting breaks sprinkled in for sanity's sake).  Insanity, anyone else?

 

calm before the crazy

My Thanksgiving day and the 3 days after were perfect.  What about yours?  Our little holiday was low-key and low stress.  My dad had a relaxing visit and the weather was pretty nice. 

I took advantage of the calm and quiet to play with yarn that needed a purpose.  I figured that the simple act of winding it would help generate some ideas.  Can you resist the McTaggart Tweedy goodness?

And then I worked out my Christmas knitting list and realized that my original list of two things to knit grew to eight without my realizing it.  Huh.  I put in some time on the first of many gifts to be novamade this holiday gift-giving season.

Let the crazy begin.

lemony

I have been knitting, unknitting and re-knitting.  And of course, I have been thinking about food.  But the food I have been thinking about most is pie.

For Piehole Wednesday this week, I decided to make Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie (not my grandma's).  I don't like lemon meringue pie, or at least I didn't think I did--there is a story here.

I like to bake because it's an activity I did with my dad.  My dad has been on a never-ending quest to find the best recipe for two things: bread pudding and lemon meringue pie.  When I was 5, my dad and I were making a lemon meringue pie, I thought I was dipping my finger into powdered sugar and it was cornstarch, so I think I always equated the taste of cornstarch to lemon meringue pie.   I was able to find a lemon meringue pie recipe with no cornstarch, so I thought it was worth a try.

My dad flew into town for Thanksgving today, so I made him a pie.  It's lemon meringue.   He says it's the best he's ever had.  I am not an expert on the matter, so I am inclined to trust his opinion.  My dad is a fan, and I am pretty sure Ned and Chuck would be too.

If you are celebrating it, Happy Thanksgiving!

i like pie

Real pie.  The kind with a pastry crust and some sort of filling smooshed between.  An open faced pie would be acceptable as well.  I think it's all about the crust though.

Just because something is baked in a pie tin, doesn't necessarily mean it's a pie.  Take for instance the "pie" baked for today's Pie Hole Wednesday (I know, I am showing you a pie on Wednesday, what a novelty!).  It's Miss Milton's Lovely Fudge Pie.  I have no idea who Miss Milton is.  Is it lovely?  Perhaps (though I am convinced that well-placed raspberry coulis can dress up anything).  Is it fudge-y?  Definitely.  But a pie?  I don't know.

It definitely falls into the chocolate chip pie category.  A pseudo-pie, if you will.  I was lazy and didn't allot for time to make a crust tonight and decided to make this pie...because it is Pie Hole Wednesday (so there must be pie). 

Mostly, I wanted to try my hand at making the coulis.  Straining raspberries, it's cathartic.  In any case, I loved the coulis.  Special K liked the pie; but, I was not blown away by it.  I think you could have gotten the same end result (maybe even a better one) by mixing up a box of fudge brownie mix and tossing it in a pie pan (seriously).  I think the fudgeiness would be dependent on the brand you used (I am partial to the Dough Boy's traditional fudge formula, but, there you are).  So yes, good; but, not great.  Definitely not worth the Scharffenberger I used to concoct it. To be fair, my standard is high.

The raspberry coulis (red and yummy) did remind me to share a package I recently received though. 

One of my favorite knitting foodies, Rangsiwan, sent me a great book and a fantastic sock.  An absolutely perfect Uptown Boot Sock from IK's Favorite Socks.  I love it.  And the fit?  Perfection itself.

My desire to cast on for the mate of this sock is driving me to bring my Pomatomus closer to FO status.  This sock was just what I needed for motivation.  And cheeriness.  Sure, I have an ear infection (yay!); but, with a rockin' Rangsiwan-knit red sock, and raspberry coulis (and pie) how can I be sad?

new york in november

First we were going.  Then we weren't.  And then we said, who are we to let a little thing like sickness deter us from taking three bites out of the Big Apple?  In a spontaneous (for us) decision, we opted to go.  And on the advice of my friend Al, we thought we would take a ferry (long story).  When I say we, I mean Special K.  I came home from work and was told, "we are leaving in 15 minutes, pack a bag."  Good times!

We were sick, but we had fun.  We stopped at School Products.  I bought some yarn.

We stopped at Purl Soho.  Special K got to meet other knitter spouses outside the shop while I discovered that I am somewhat claustrophobic in the shop (tiny shop), try going on a week day, that would be my advice.  I, of course, bought some yarn.  I would have probably bought more if I didn't feel so frantic and uncomfortable in the cramped quarters that was Purl on a Saturday afternoon.

We also went to Purl Patchwork, right down the street.

I was able to see many of the projects from Joelle Hoverson's new book.  The shop is small, but it wasn't as crowded as the yarn shop.  Special K  waited outside with Little Sir for a while but did have to bring in Little Sir at one point though, it was getting really cold outside.  Not that he was complaining.

We also managed to get to Brooklyn to check out Brooklyn General Store. 

I am convinced that it is, quite possibly, the most wonderful place on earth.  Special K mentioned that of all the yarn shops he has been in, this was his favorite.  We won't even analyze that statement.  Just go with it.  It is a great place, the atmosphere is excellent, the staff is friendly and the customers are fun.  A quilter had a really long conversation with Little Sir about her quilting adventures.  He thought she was fascinating. And of course, I bought a few things.

And though we had a lot of fibery fun in New York, we really enjoyed going to The Strand (18 miles of books people!).  I was able to add to my collection of Dorothy Parker books (by and about).  I am a fan.

I think we mostly enjoyed the parks (Central and Prospect) though.  We are fans of public spaces.  And who is going to deny the fun of a park to a kid?

We didn't get as much done as we would have liked; but, we were sick.  And of course, you all are right.  New York will always be there, so we can go back!  Probably when it warms up a little though.  We had some frozen fingers and toes on Saturday!

disappointments of everyday life

I can be a pretty pessimistic person.  But lately, I find myself trying to make lemonade from lemons.  I attribute the change in perspective to motherhood (sure Little Sir is a challenge sometimes...but at least he is cute--his new haircut, not so much...). 

My last 24 hours have been filled with a few little (tiny, really) disappointments. 

I was determined to start my second Pomatomous, then I knit the cuff and my excitement was kaput.  Second sock syndrome, it does exist.  The bright side, there aren't really that many pattern repeats to do to count this sock done (sure, the pattern repeat is 22 rows long; but, whatever).

There was no Pushing Daisies broadcast last night (many of you were aware of this).  But really, did you all think my Wednesday would go pie-less?  It is, after all, pie that puts the pie in "Pie Hole Wednesdays." 

Also, I did promise that I would come back with pie.   I hinted that the pie involved rum, for the curious...

The pie is Rum Raisin Apple Pie.  I made my usual pate brisee pastry crust (from the Joy of Cooking(JoC), 1972 reprint).  I am not usually a fan of raisins; but, if they are rum soaked, well that is a different story all together.  I really liked the pie, it was a nice (subtle) departure from my usual apple pie (made following the JoC Apple Pie II recipe).  And the rum-soaked raisins were really a nice touch.

So while there was no new episode of Pushing Daisies last night, there was still pie.  And I did actually watch Pushing Daisies while making the pie, it was just last week's episode (which I recorded--somehow, pie-baking during the CMAs didn't have quite the same appeal).

And then this morning I woke up feeling lousy.  Miserable even.

My doctor told me to have a bowl of chicken soup.  This made me wonder what vegetarians are told to do when they have bad colds and are miserable (how do you cure what ails you?).  So after going to work and canceling my appointments and picking up work to do at home, I came home.  If I don't feel better tomorrow, we may end up postponing our New York trip...bummer.  I guess the bright side of all this is that I have time to knit.

But, I think I am going go get some sleep.  Quiet house with no cute toddler talking about trains non-stop in a very loud voice...nap time, definitely.

crazy, in a healthy kind of way

I recognize that the artsy clutch crafting trend could quickly go the way of the baby sock knitting for me.  But I am not going to fight it.

I had a few gifts and prizes to send out, and the clutches provided a great opportunity to play with a relatively small amount of fabric and actually finish something in a relatively short amount of time. 

okay, this one was made a while ago...

Besides, they are useful for holding things.  Money, dpns, projects, chocolate, etcetera, etcetera.

Project info for these clutches (should you be interested in the fabric and my size modifications and such) are to the right in the gallery.

Oh, I have been knitting  (and soaking knits) too.

As far as I am concerned, this sock (in all its singleness) is a finished object.  I am sending it to someone else who can finish the pair or simply call is sock art.

It came out pretty well, I think.  It took some re-knitting to get it to its giftable state. That is what ripping half the sock after you realize that your eyelets are off just before the gusset will get you...good times. I have learned that I can not knit during Pushing Daisies.  PD is for watching and pie baking, noted. Oh, and just a heads up about this week's pie, it involves rum.  Curious?

Cowgirls Get the Oranges

Pattern:  Pony Express by Audrey Paquin

Yarn:  Shibui Sock Yarn in Pagoda

Needles: Pony Pearls (it seemed fitting) DPNs, US 1.5 / 2.5 mm

Modifications:  Just the yarn sub.

I did notice the slightest of pooling (Smurf-sized puddle, really) at the bottom of the foot after the gusset, but it was pooling of the "it totally adds character" variety versus that of the "it's pooling, please make it stop" variety.  That is what I am telling myself.  And that is what the recipient will think too.  Okay, recipient?  Work with me here.

Oh and yes, because I said I would be better about doing this...  I will be in New York this coming weekend with my boys.  We have a mini yarn/fabric crawl (School Products, Purl Soho/Purl Patchwork-they are very excited about this) in mind (with a stop at B&H) for Saturday and a little bit of Brooklyn exploration in mind for Sunday.  If you are around and would like to be subject to the cuteness that is Little Sir (you could meet me and Special K too, I suppose), let me know.

Next time, I'll have pie.

crazy train, one ticket, please

So I turned all my baby sock singles into pairs.  And though I am perfectly aware that I could have knit three pairs of socks for myself with the energy exerted to knit these tiny ones, I would totally do it all over again.

It all started innocently enough with two pairs of socks (which, coincidently, are not pictured as they have already been gifted).  A pair for a friend wanting socks that her daughter couldn't kick off; and a pair for new feet miles away. 

Julie is right, baby foot attire is addictive.  Before you know it, you're done with one and then another and then another...and so on and so forth. 

I started going through my stash of sock yarn remnants and knit that up.  I quickly contemplated buying sock yarn for the sole purpose of knitting a pair of baby socks, but this seemed counter-productive in some way. So then I started knitting up sock yarn that I wound with no original purpose.  After that, I sent out the call to a few knitters who are more prolific (as in, they actually finish pairs) in the sock department than I.  Beth and Stacey were really generous about sharing their sock yarn remnants (thanks again for the enabling!). 

 

I didn't get through all of the yarn.  I figured that it was time to stop the craziness when I bought all that yarn in Maine last weekend (at least for now, I reserve the right to go crazy with the baby socks again, but maybe next year).

But I have to admit, every time I see fingering weight yarn now, my first thought is "I wonder how that would look as a baby sock."

Come on, you know you want to knit a pair (or 12).

The Great Baby Sock Project of 2007

Pattern: Mim Felton's Baby and Toddler Socks (the link may be wonky for a while, she is working out some bugs)

Yarn: Various and sundry fingering weight yarns (mostly Koigu, with some J. Knits, Cherry Tree Hill, Sundara and Wollmeise thrown in for good measure)

Needles: US 1/2.25 mm Susan Bates aluminum DPNs

I had particular babies or mothers in mind for three pairs of these socks, the rest were just knit because it was fun, addictive, and I was really curious to see how the yarn would knit up.  I guess I have baby shower gifts at the ready.

I plan on getting on to the knitting of socks for adults now; but, before I get involved in that, let's talk pie, my other little obsession.

I had a bunch of pears and Wednesday rolled around before I knew it...

Raspberry and Pear Pie, a la mode.  I was intrigued, as I had never heard of pear pie (though I have made a pear tart with walnut pastry which is excellent). 

I think Ned and Chuck would approve (I am so glad that it's not just me).  I heartily recommend this pie, should you feel a little fruity.  The crumb crust is, well, crumbly; so, your slice may not be picture perfect.  But the pie is going to taste unbelievably awesome.  Don't forget the vanilla ice cream though (cuts the tartness).  So yes, make the pie; and, join me in my "Pie Hole Wednesday" ventures.  Also, I need some company on the crazy train.  Go ahead, snag a ticket.  I hear the train engineer is a dreamboat.

All aboard!

I hope your Halloweens were ghoulish, zany, cute, or whatever adjective you were hoping to tag the day with.