novamade

i am like a magpie

And to me, the equipment of fiber arts are like so many shiny baubles.

I could look at Brooke's amazing work for only so long.  I will be honest and say that I never really thought about weaving until Brooke started posting her weaving (which is sublime, really).  So I ordered a "vintage" rigid heddle loom off of ebay, pulled out some stash yarn that I figured would never get used otherwise and started weaving.  Keep in mind, I had no idea what I was doing.

I think the chain of events was only a little hasty, a tad--a smidgen, really.  One decision that was really hasty was trying to rush summer, or at least the taste of summer.  If you live in the northeast and you are buying nectarines in early April, you are not getting ripened-to-perfection local produce, just FYI.  It is likely not going to be tasty, thus making anything made with said produce not-so-delicious either.

While the cream cheese pastry was good, the filling of the pie was horrible.  I am going to take the high road and say it was me and not the recipe.  I shouldn't have used fruit I didn't have a good feeling about.  I also shouldn't have rushed the process or the individual steps (of which there were many).  Next week, I am going to do something with chocolate...or maybe I will do a savory pie, you know, just to shake things up a little.

Okay, there is still time to do some knitting.  So yeah, I am going to go and do that since I am, you know, a knit blogger and everything.

ketchup and caramel

Hey, Little Tomato, ketchup!  Actually, catch up.  I was going through some pictures and realized that I never posted pictures of a quilt I finished last month.

I made this quilt for a special little guy named Dru.  I was sending a quilt for his new little brother, Marley, and I didn't want him to be left out.

Also, the quilt that I originally started for Dru before he was born two years ago crawled under a rock in my basement (aka "craftland" or my "studio", you pick) and died.  Seriously. I lost it.  A whole quilt waiting for binding.   But that is okay, I like this one better (with the exception of the center strip that taunts me with its imperfections even now).  I'll put further information in the gallery, should you be so inclined to know it.

The perfect quilt for a lil' cowpoke (which just seems so much funnier to say--and type-- than cowboy).  Little Sir helped pick out the Robert Kauffman prints, which were floating around in a local Jo-Ann's for whatever reason.  I like the bright vibrant colors of this quilt.  They are fun.

You know what else is fun?  Caramel (I know, terrible segue).

Today/tonight (details), I made you a Carmelized Nut Tart.  This is a great tart/pie.  You probably have everything you need for this tasty treat in your cabinets.  You can sub in any sort of combination of nuts and it tastes amazing (probably because of the caramel).  I also made the crust called for in the recipe which provides the most unexpected and tantalizing dose of cinnamon to which compliments the earthiness of the nuts and the sweetness of the caramel perfectly.  Sublime.  And easy; actually, quite easy.

making things for others

It's what I do.  It brings me joy, yadda yadda... I am back from vacation... Hey, look at this!

I made this apron a while ago, but since I am trotting out all of my productivity for this wee parade of sorts (to divert your attention from other projects, ahem), I thought I'd share it. 

Little Sir impressed me by saying "ceviche" while watching the Food Network (in our house, this is considered "educational television viewing") and asked why the cook wasn't wearing an apron.  "Because he's Rocco DiSpirito," wasn't really an acceptable answer, in hindsight, I realize this.  And since my kid isn't Rocco (yet), I figured he needed an apron.  So I made one. 

I have already mentioned that my sewing is pretty mediocre.  I am also one who tends to like guidance (i.e. directions, patterns, templates, something); but, I figured it was an apron, how hard could it be?  DIY-time! I took a look at my apron and cut some upholstery fabric samples I picked up 5 years ago for no reason other than they were in the sale bin (I was less discriminating back then).  It's not perfect, but it's an apron, the point is to keep the kid's pajamas clean.

Because Little Sir is totally my sous chef.  I mean really, have you ever seen anyone handle an egg so chef-tastically?  I think not.

He helped me make today's pie, a Fresh Orange Tart with Hazlenut Crust a la Greenspan via epicurious.com. 

I We made today's Piehole Wednesday contribution for my friend M whose husband is going to Iraq on a photojournalism assignment.  She needed cheering.  The pies, they bring cheer, especially this one.  It's a good one...but it's a little, shall we say, involved.

Luckily, I had help.

There is no heat involved here, don't get your panties in a twist.

And that is how I get all the baking done.  Secret's out.

welcome to the world, here's some pie

One of my oldest friends (perhaps the first I can remember having) had a baby recently (our parents grew up together in Florida--the dads-- and Korea--the moms-- and we lived across the street from each other when we were kids, she is kind of like my big sister, actually).  The baby is cute.  Cute babies deserve cute quilts (though I have made some quilts for some ugly babies too, so I guess cuteness isn't really a prerequisite for quilt making for me).  I am not sure if there is anyone else in Angie's life who feels the same way I do about the babies and the quilts, so I thought I should probably make sure Marley (that is said cute kid's name, how cute is that!) had a quilt to soil in creative ways love.  (Also, it was a great way to avoid weaving ends. And no, Minty, I am still not done.  That is how pathetic I am.)

I am not trying to kid myself or anyone else, my sewing skills are craptastic rudimentary, at best.  I need more practice to achieve the awesomeness adequate results that I can produce from knitting; but, honestly, I don't think I have it in me to knit a baby blanket.  I have crocheted them (though I really know very little about crochet); but knitting a blanket is like knitting a really wide and short scarf to me.  I hate knitting scarves. 

Anyway, this quilt...  I did a re ally good job piecing this quilt (if I do say so myself, and I do) and the layout is pretty cute--nothing like a charm quilt to emphasize fun creative fabric that one stumbles upon in Jo-Ann's.  Binding quilts make me nervous, but I think I did okay with that. 

I used Joelle Hoverson's method of machine binding because she is a genius (and also Marley had already entered the world at this point, so my deadline had come and gone so the binding needed doing lickety-quick-like). 

My problem is always the quilting.  I basted this thing like crazy; but, maybe I need to switch to basting without all the pins.  Also, I suppose it is a good idea to know how you are going to quilt the quilt before you baste.  I kind of made it up as I went un-clipping safety pins along the way.  Very inefficient (and just a little stupid) and, it didn't produce quite the finished look I was going for, but it is quilted.  It has also been packed, shipped and received.  Welcome to the world Marley. 

I hope you enjoy your quilt, because you certainly can not enjoy the pie I made for this week's cyber consumption.

It is a simple pear pie.

The filling is quartered pears with sugar, cinnamon and a squeeze of lemon.  It was supposed to have a walnut pastry crust; but, I left out the walnuts. 

It was still pretty good though.

I left out the walnuts because I got distracted.  I was working on Marley's quilt.  You know, priorities. 

procrastination in e major

This post might make you wonder about me a little; but hey, I walk around wearing chocolate as an accessory, so there you are...

Because I have become an expert in the fine art of project avoidance and procrastination in general, I thought I would deliver today’s post in song (or lyrics), to the tune of the Major General Song with some a ton of variation here and there (with apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan and to you, really).

I am a fine example of a modern knit-procrastinator

I have so many ufo’s they can’t be counted with a calculator

There is a tomten needing ends weaved in

But weaving ends does not make me grin

Even though it involves touching wool

And though that usually makes me drool

I just don’t think weaving ends is that cool.

To avoid weaving in my ends

I make the most of gifts from friends

Kirsten sent me merino, take a look at this:

I spun the wool and set the twist

I really think it’s fabulous

I have no idea what to do with it

I don’t want to let it sit

But I try to be good and put it down

Then I pick up the tomten and go to town

But I want to knit everything I see—

This has been made worse by Ravelry.

Instead of weaving in my ends

I imagine purchasing new project bins

And filling the bins with yarn I do not need

Due to my very slow knitting speed

And my stash is larger than it seems

It is the stuff of knitting dreams

I’m not complaining

I’m just saying

I have a lot to occupy my time

And fitting in all my interests is an uphill climb

To achieve some balance I try and take a rest

But my conscience always becomes a pest

And I think about the tomten sitting in the wings

I know all the other projects are really flings

But every time I take time to sit

I find a way to procrasti-knit

In my weaker moments I rediscovered the quilting bug

Because to me, sending a quilt is just like sending a hug

I sew badly but make great haste

I take the time to pin and baste

And when it’s time to bind the quilt

I leave that too to try and spin some silk

(My procrastination knows no bounds

It’s not as bad as it probably sounds)

When my hands get tired, I turn to the internet

There’s so much inspiration there, I kind of need some limits set

First Brooke began her weaving kick

Her work is so amazing it kind of makes me sick

I would love to weave things half as good

But I don’t weave and instead of knitting as I should

I troll the web for some sort of simple loom

Special K says, “you’re crazy we have no room”

But I think something small and simple would be fine

And it would likely not take up a lot of time

And time is quite the commodity

But still I return to the internet to scope what else there is to see

But I try to avoid spending more time on Ravelry

And then I go to flickr and note that Mandy dyed some wool

That struck me as really cool

Have you seen the singles, I don’t think the yarn will pool

When all is said and done, I just go and bake a pie for fuel

Because it’s Wednesday and I am a pie-baking fool

And I am still avoiding all those ends

I need to find a way to make amends

But there are so many ends to weave in it’s ridiculous

They make me feel like Sisyphus

But I am not discouraged because I like to procrasti-knit

And I’ll always find a way to let the knitting sit

It’s not as though I’ll every quit

Because I love knitting and it loves me

But weaving ends is as dull as dull can be

And I’d rather ignore all the ends I see

But then Little Sir gives me a face

And it puts me in my place

So I pick up the knitting and weave in ends

Keeping in mind advice from friends

I’ll finish the tomten, but bit by bit

Because I’ll still be prone to procrasti-knit.

I know.  It’s a special kind of crazy.  Info about today’s pie is in flickr.  Things should return to normal (which for me, admittedly, is still a little crazy) at the end of the week.  There may even be an fo!  No, not the bain of my existence tomten...

there will be pie

...and it will have a pecan pastry crust (which Little Sir should not touch as we have no idea about his susceptibility to nut allergies).

Yesterday's pie was a Truffle Pie with pecan pastry crust.  The recipe is from some Mrs. Fields (yes, I know) cookbook.  There are tons of good truffle pie recipes on the internets, I like the pecan crust for this one.  It's a truffle on a pie crust.  It's spectacular, well, if you like that sort of thing.

We happen to like this sort of thing very much.

Baking this pie was my reward for weaving in ends on the Tomten.

There are less than a hundred to go now.  That's something, right?

But I can't keep my mind from wandering to new projects and hobbies (seriously, I am a champion amongst procrastinators)...  And I really think I need to come up with some sort of solution for this:

I heart it. Mountain Mohair in Day Lily from Green Mountain Spinnery.  Thoughts?  Suggestions?

Okay, back to weaving in ends.  If I get 5 done before tonight, I'll count it as a win.

hello, my name is sisyphus

I think it's safe to say that this sweater falls into the "it seemed like a good idea at the time" category.  Not since the yellow shawl masquerading as a baby blanket have I been thrust into such depths of knitting inertia.  I knit the tomten.  The sleeves want to be seamed, and i-cord or some such thing wants to be attached as does a zipper.  None of these things can happen until I weave in the ends. 

 

There are 122 ends to weave in.  I am so desperate to procrastinate the weaving in of ends that I have resorted to passing the time by counting the ends instead of knitting them.  That is just pathetic.  Even Special K is impressed with my procrastination avoidance of the Sisyphean task of end weaving.  On a recent trip to Vermont I spent 8 hours (that's a pair of socks for some of you!) just sitting in the car.  The tomten was in the bag by my feet and there it stayed.  The ends, they knock the wind out of me a little.  So that is the Sisyphean state of things.

You know what isn't a Sisyphean task for me?  Making pies. I am sure you weren't expecting that segue at all. 

So in the wee hours of the morning today, last night (whatever) I made a pie.

I already mentioned that my recipe resources for pie were starting to dry up, (this isn't totally true, I am just picky) so I subjected you to a tart last week, albeit a very pretty one (if I do say so myself, and I do).  So today I made a pie with nuts.  I have to come clean here and tell you, I am not so much into the nut pies.  I think this is colored by childhood memories of going to pick pecans (a popular thing to do in the south) with my grandparents and then returning from the farm to crack and shell them.  My nimble 6 year old hands wanted to be doing something else, I am sure.  And my formative years didn't feature as much culinary appreciation as you might expect (shocking, I know), so my enthusiasm was understated, to say the least. 

Also, I find nut pies really sweet (corn syrup, anyone?).  But I will make a nut pie if tradition dictates, as evidenced by my pecan pie making for Thanksgiving for the last 7 years.  Last year, this pecan pie baking culminated in a discussion between Special K, my dad and yours truly where we all came to the conclusion that NONE OF US even liked pecan pie.  Super, I have been wasting valuable pie making time on a pie that no one cares for.  You may remember that I made Elinor's husband's chocolate pecan pie and raved about it, well that is different, it's a chocolate pie with pecans, so different (seriously, make it and you will see and taste the difference).  I am yammering on about this so you will understand, I approach the nut pie family with a significant amount of trepidation.  But when I stumbled on this recipe, I thought it was a must make, it's not every recipe that gets a 100%-I-would-make-this-again approval rating from those in the epicurean know.  Bourbon Walnut Pie.

It's like pecan pie; but, instead of pecans, there are walnuts.  And there is bourbon.  Hence the name.

Not being one to go nutty (heh) over nut pies, I have to say this pie is pretty incredible.  It's first selling point: it's ridiculously easy to make.  If nut allergies weren't an issue, Little Sir could make this pie; and, he isn't even two yet.  As flavors go, I was pretty blown away.  I decided to be different and try the prescribed crust which tasted good, but was the epitome of irritation to manipulate into the pie plate (so okay maybe Little Sir wouldn't have a lot of success with the dough part, but anyone over the age of ten should be okay, particularly if you are not me).

The cloying sweetness that most nut pies exhibit was somehow tempered by the (I think, relatively low amount of) bourbon.  And if you add the vanilla ice cream, as you should because that is what pie a la mode is all about, it's mind blowing-ly good.  It's so good, I think even Sisyphus could somehow accomplish (or ditch) his task of boulder rolling if he knew that this pie was his prize.  That said, perhaps I should start weaving in some ends, because there are only 122 of them...that is pretty finite, I guess.

feelin' fruity

Alternatively, I could have titled this post "taste of summer," either way, a fruit normally associated with summer is involved.  Strawberries!! 

And here, I have to admit, I am running out of pies of interest to entice you; so today, I give you a tart, which some would say is not a pie; but, whatever, there's a crust, there is some filling and it's tasty.  Also, tarts are just so pretty.

This strawberry and lemon curd tart is a mish-mash of recipes (lemon curd taken from an old Bon Apetit magazine; and the crust was a shortbread cookie crust from Joy of Cooking because I feel like any crust from this book can not be a bad one.  Anyone can do it,  especially you, Liz!).  I was originally going to make a strawberry pie; but throwing some berries in a pie crust was not the sort of adventure I was going for.  Also, it sounded soggy.  I had some pretty strawberries, woefully out of season here in Connecticut (my apologies to Barbara Kingsolver and all other localvores out there) and since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, I thought something special (and red) was in order.  This, my friends, is special.

Most strawberry pie recipes have you plopping whole strawberries (with the tops cut across) right on the pie crust or pastry filling, for whatever reason, I could not accept this aesthetic.  I sliced and spiraled/fanned them out.  This made me happy.  I also brushed them with the cooked down seedless strawberry jam.  It wasn't the neatest when cut in slices; but, you can not have everything.

But, if you are a friend of mine, I do try to be accomodating.  Especially if a birthday is involved.  So my pal Al--I made a Trellis cardigan for her little girl last year (an action shot of the sweater with a chid that does not belong to me should be forthcoming)-- decided that she was going to buy a sewing machine for her birthday.  Al, at this particular point is the least crafty person I know, so the news of sewing machine acquisition filled me with all sorts of excitement.  I had visions of me and my friend sewing...whatever friends sew together, I have no idea.  So, obviously she needed a sewing kit.

In a cute bag.  A box bag to be specific.

The honeycomb box bag was the practice run to make Al's bit of fruitiness.  My pal Al, she has a thing for fruit, particularly apples and strawberries.  But pears are good too.

The practice was needed, I learn by doing and doing the first bag helped me to figure out that reading and understanding the directions you are following is a useful thing.  Also, I was able to work out how to produce a bag that would adequately hold a collection of things.  Very necessary to hold her new collection of sewing gizmos and gadgets.

I totally stole this idea from Diana (genius), by the way.

So yeah, happy birthday, Al!  Now sew.  Sew, mama, sew!

it's better with cheddar

I already made an apple pie (with raisins and rum, it was a good time); and, I like to be original; but, I have become not just a little obsessed with the whole cheese in the crust of fruit pie thing.  I am blaming those of you suggesting the cheddar and apple pairing in response to my Gruyere and pear pairing last week.  Because of your suggestions, I made my usual apple pie recipe from Joy of Cooking with the Pate Brisee crust--with the cheddar, don't forget the cheddar.  Thank you.

After thinking of all the ways to add cheddar to an apple pie (chunks mixed with filling? slices on top of the bottom crust before putting in the apples?), I came to the conclusion that I didn't want cheese floating around in my apple pie filling, it just seemed weird and incongruous.  So I did the same thing as last week and grated the cheese (maybe 3-4 ounces worth?) into my pate brisee dough.  I used sharp cheddar, I think I will go with extra sharp cheddar next time; but, this is still the best apple pie I have ever eaten.  It was incredible.

Clearly, I am never making apple pie without a cheddar crust again.  Because seriously, it was amazing.

You know what else is amazing?  When people tell you that you make their day.  Apparently, I make a lot of you smile, and that makes me smile.  Thank you Opal, Haley, Lisa, Kirsten, Tiennie,  Rangsiwan, and Rachel.  I am glad that I make your days; but, is it me or the pies?  I wish I could send you all your own personal pies, I really do.

I was thinking of just letting this go by without any sort of public acknowledgment on my part; but it seemed a good opportunity to share some blogs that you might want to be reading if you aren't already.  It was hard to crunch this down into a list of ten or less, so I decided to list the last ten blogs I have had a conversation about with someone who  isn't involved in knitblogging or blogging in general.  Or as a friend of mine would say, "real" people, as opposed to  us unreal people who blog.  Right.

Adam of Adam Knits.  I am trying to convince Special K that he wants to knit, I frequently refer to Adam and his knitting (and dyeing) skills as an argument for why engineers should knit.  Adam is an engineer who knits, Special K is an engineer who does not knit.  I recognize that my argument would be a lot more persuasive if my husband actually knew Adam or read his blog.  Details.

Diana, aka Ms. Bestitched.  She knits she sews and her posts always make me smile.  Diana is one of the first people to leave a comment on my blog and she has one of the cutest little girls in blogland, I heart LL and Diana hearts Little Sir (seriously, she sent him maracas, if that isn't love, what is?!).  I frequently find myself talking about Diana and LL in normal conversation with local friends who ask about how I met them.  "Well, I haven't met them...really.  I know them through blogging..."  This is usually where I get the look that seems to say "oh, she is talking about her imaginary friends again."

Kirsten,  who goes Through the Loops on a daily basis.  Kirsten is talented as all get out (you have probably knit one of her patterns, or you might have one of her patterns queued up to knit, if not go peruse and add one), but her kids are really talented and impressive too.  Her teenagers sound so extraordinary and likable, and I have to be honest, teenagers kind of scare me (despite the fact I have a child, children in general scare me, but there you are).

Christy who claims that she is Neither Hip Nor Funky, but who is, in reality, both.  Her brand of wit and humor is something I totally subscribe to.  Also, we both got spinning wheels at the same time, and it's been fun watching her progress, maybe sometime, I will show you mine.

Leslie, who is a good Friend to Knit With.  She is a skilled knitter and everything, but she bakes too.  I bake pies every week, she bakes cookies every week.  I have recently been told that defending a pie baking habit by using a knit-blogging cookie baker as your sole defense is a weak argument.  That person now gets no pie.

Ashley who is dogged.  Because I still want to be like Ashley when I grow up.  She knits, she quilts and she does these activities with such wit, style and flair.  She is one cool cookie.

Parikha who lives at 617 awesomeville.  She knits, and her photography skills are pretty amazing and I have a special place in my heart for people who get excited about cooking, baking and chocolate truffle making.

Stacey who hearts orange.  This is not a knitting blog, it is more pictures and anecdotes about everyday life.  Stacey is actually a "real" person to me.  We studied to be archivists together at library school.  My very first conversation with her was about the evils of addiction to caffeinated beverages which contain vanilla.  She just got back from doing humanitarian work in Africa and she was stuck in line with a crazy person talking about vanilla flavored cola.  I am so glad she never held this against me.  Stacey is, without a doubt, the coolest person I know (she climbs mountains and zip lines through trees in countries she doesn't actually live in.  That's cool.).  She also has an amazing talent for gift-giving.  She always knows the perfect thing to gift.  That is talent, people.

Do you know Mo of Mo Rocca 180?   Maybe it's an acquired taste thing; but, I love Mo Rocca.  That's right, I said it.  I love Mo Rocca.  Don't worry, Special K knows all about it.

And last, but certainly not least, Rangsiwan who is also known as YaiAnn.  I am pretty sure that Rangsiwan and I are somehow related.  I find inspiration on her blog all the time.  We talk baking, quilting and sewing quite a bit, and I have very few friends who are as enthusiastic about these things as I am besides her.  She knit me a sock that I plan on knitting the mate to this month.  It's red.

You are probably aware of a good number of these bloggers, but if not, please do go get acquainted, you'll be glad you did!

And to end, here is something I am glad about.  I am glad that when I decide to try to make something new for a friend, I make a "prototype" for myself first. 

Practice makes perfect, right?  It's a little on the small side, but it will hold a sock project.

More about this tomorrow.  I have gone on for too long, and you are probably tired of reading.  So tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel.

pie, cakes, a scarf, and happiness: things i made this week

Hi, remember me?  I'm the insane person who bakes a pie every Wednesday.  Were you wondering where your weekly dose of pie was?  It's a bit late, but hey, better late than never, right?

This week, I decided to take a lesson from Chuck and put some Gruyere cheese in my pie crust.  I can think of no words to articulate how good this was.  The pie was a pear pie; just pears, no berry funny business to detract from the subtle pear flavors. 

The grated Gruyere seemed to help bring out the subtlety of the fruit and it was beyond fantastic.  I used the Pate Brisee pastry dough recipe from Joy of Cooking--the 1972 reprint (my standby pie crust) and just threw some grated Gruyere in the dough.  This is a first for me, but I didn't measure the amount.  I just grated until my happiness meter hit "happy".  I can not wait to try this with apple pie...it would probably be good with strawberry pie too....hmmm.

 

So yes, if you are a pie baker, you are not living until you toss some Gruyere in the pie crust of your fruited pie.  Seriously, what are you waiting for, THAT was your invitation!

And then there was cake, there were two cakes actually; but, since one was made from a box (at Special K's request, honestly, I have no idea), I am going to talk about the cake that rates.  I made the American Chocolate Layer Cake from Maida Heatter's Cakes book.  This cake is all kinds of fantastic.  It was made for Special K's birthday, which we sort of celebrated after his birthday when he returned from a trip to California (we had the boxed one for his actual birthday, a fact that I am really embarrassed to admit, sigh).

It was delicious (the baked from scratch one, not the boxed one--which was passable, but come on it was from a box!).  And here is the thing about Maida's (we are so on a first name basis right now) cake, one slice is really two slices.  Because it's four layers.  I don't think anyone needs a four layer cake; but, I have a feeling, deep down, everyone kind of wants one.

And since a birthday offers a knitter a great opportunity to give a knitted gift, I knit the boy a scarf. 

I can't really say anything about this scarf that has not been said before.  "Noro is great...knitting it was a breeze...it knit up so fast, I didn't even realize the passage of time...the stripes are fun..." etcetera, etcetera.  If you really need the details, they are in the 2008 gallery.

Seriously, it was a quick knit that has been done for a while, I enjoyed knitting it and I will likely knit another at some point.  The best part, Special K loves it.  And hopefully, he will be able to convince Little Sir to share the scarf, because the kid loves it too; and, sharing doesn't seem to be something he is interested in right now.

Back off, this is MY scarf.

I also spent some time at Webs learning to spin over the past weekend; but, that is a story for another time.  A gastroenteritis-afflicted (fun times!) Little Sir is waking up and wants the mom, because I am, truly, so much fun. 

I hope your weekends are full of football, snacks, pie, cake, knitting, crafting or whatever makes you jolly.