Still wallowing…

 …in a puddle of angst — not quite the Slough of Despond, but debilitating enough I suppose. The world situation is worrying, the crazies are doing their damndest to take over the asylum here in the US, and Mother Nature is throwing around whacky weather all over the place. Yesterday was a sunny, pleasant 64F. (about 17C.) here — today it is 32F (0C.) and snowing. Arghh!

My refuge from all this has always been in creating — whether sewing, knitting, beading or anything else. Like everyone else I’ve had to deal with the passage of time and its effects  on physical abilities. Not always pleasant, but we deal with it. Now though, I’m faced with something not so easy for me to deal with — wet macular degeneration. Many of us will face the ‘dry’ version of age-related macular degeneration but around 20% will have that develop into ‘wet’ (so called because of fluid leakage from eye blood vessels) which can lead to a loss of vision. Not a total loss — peripheral vision remains — but enough to make me fearful of the day I may not be able to do the things I find comforting and joyful. Right now my treatment is medication injected into the eye itself to stop the progression — there is no current cure, although there is always hope. I can still do the work I love with added lighting and magnification, but as those modifications become less effective I find myself giving in to bouts of useless self-pity. This entry is one of them, I guess. It’s also my way of reaching out to anyone else ‘out there’ who may be dealing with this. 

Next post will be more upbeat I hope. I have a few things I’ve made and a few things I’m planning. The work goes slower, and I’ve had to let go of any hope of ‘perfection’ (does that even exist anyway?) but things are still chugging along in the workroom. 

Sewing/Machine Knitting/Hand Knitting -- What, No Crochet?

 It's a small project, but I managed to squeeze 3 techniques into its completion. Behold -- mittens!  

The fabric for the body of the mittens was machine knit and supposed to be one half of a scarf (directional print, needed to be done in 2 pieces), but after washing and blocking the piece I decided that the yarn wasn't soft enough for around the neck wear. Not wanting to waste it, I thought it would work for mittens. I had already made up the Tova mittens from The Last Stitch from a felted RTW sweater and knew it was a good pattern.

I wanted ribbing for the cuff, and my knitting machine has no ribber, so hand knitting it was! 

So glad that I was able to salvage even a small piece of my machine knit fabric.

I have managed a little sewing too. I bought a few pieces of fabric from Fabric Mart and managed to sew one of them up before it hit the stash. Whoa, that almost never happens! The pattern I used was Preston from Style Arc. The fabric a double-faced knit (cotton/linen/Lycra), heathered linen on the face, and grey cotton knit on the reverse. I left off the pockets because I had to reduce some length on the pattern in order to fit it on the yardage I had. I will make them next time. It's a simple raglan, boxy top that's right up my alley for everyday wear.

And so it goes...

 

Slogging through January

 When I potted up this amaryllis bulb last autumn, I had hoped for a nice Christmas display.  Mother Nature has her own timeline though -- so, blooms to celebrate MLK Day -- and they are just as lovely.

Sewing projects have been scarce lately, but I've picked up the slack with some hand knitting. I finished the Alby scarf and am looking forward to wearing it.

I really liked working with the Finn Dandy yarn -- it felt so nice running through my fingers. The black contrast yarn was some leftover Loft by Brooklyn Tweed in the cast iron colorway. I had used it as the darkest color in the Aranami Shawl by Olga Buraya-Kefelian (not previously shown here) and was hoping to use the ball up, but no such luck. I'll have to keep looking for some small projects to use up my leftovers.

I like to use charts for my knitting projects, so I treated myself to a new tool -- the Maker's Board from Cocoknits. It's a bit pricey at $36 USD, but it works so much better than the flimsy plastic document holder from the office supply store I had previously used. I use the included ruler under the line I'm knitting from a chart, and the magnetized back holds it firmly in place. Despite the firm hold it is easy to move the ruler up the chart as you work.  Plenty of additional magnets and a needle gauge are also included, and of course you could stick any additional metal objects (needles, pens?) to the board.

Despite my lack of sewing I have still managed to order a few pieces of fabric for some eventual spring projects. Couldn't resist the shirting sale at Fabric Mart -- I really can't be trusted on any fabric sites. Some things just never change!

 

Bits ‘n’ Bobs

And a Happy New Year to all. Can’t say I’m incredibly optimistic about 2022, but who knows?

I’ve enjoyed reading many blog “year-end round ups”, and while I don’t do that kind of summary myself, I feel pretty good about my production this past year. My focus was on filling gaps in my wardrobe, and producing some ‘every day at home’ wear that is a cut above Pandemic Year I Don’t Care Anymore. 

I ended up sewing several pairs of joggers, but tried to elevate them from ‘sweats’ with fabric choice. One of my favorites was Ponte Leggero Stretch by Telio. This is a lighter weight ponte with plenty of drape. The pattern I used was a modified Kwik Sew (RIP) legging pattern. I wanted a slimmer jogger, and the pattern also had no outside leg seam for an even more streamlined look. I split the 1-piece pattern down the center and added about 3/4” there and then an additional 1/4” to the inner leg seams. I have no idea if that is an official Sewing Police method, but it worked a treat. I should note that the legging pattern was not drafted with negative ease originally so I didn’t need to add much for the look I wanted. Drafted a cuff — plain rectangle, how easy is that? — and boom!, just what I wanted. Gotta love it!

I’ve started a small hand knitting project — Alby by the talented Bonne Marie Burns. My main yarn is Finn Dandy 2-ply sport by Bare Naked Wools. I’ll use a black yarn for the contrast stripes. Right now I’m working on the lacy edging — 

Not much sewing done lately, but one small project has been my “costume” for our family holiday gathering — a 20’s murder mystery night. We decided to not go full bore with costumes, but rather just use accessories to suggest our characters. My character is Greta Garbled and I’m using a gold metallic tinged turban to convey a little hint of glam.  

The pattern is the Surimani turban available through Etsy. Fabric is a black/gold knit that I found in my ‘scrap’ tote — I have absolutely no idea what I used it for originally, but was happy to find it.

A little machine knitting has been done also. I’m thinking that this 1/2 scarf will turn out to be a nice large swatch instead of being completed. I had punched the design card for the sheep in snow and combined it with a standard block design from my pre-punched design cards and was anxious to see how it would look, but a softer wool and more width would be better I think.

The wavy yarn at the bottom of the picture is waste yarn, not part of the design.

So, bits and pieces to start off the new year. Trying to keep busy to keep up a positive attitude. 😀

And to all a good night…

Best Wishes for a Peaceful and Healthy Holiday Season

It's a Holiday Re-run

 'Tis the season -- for cookies and for re-runs. It's been a while (14 years, really?) so here it is again -- Chocolate Rum Balls, with a couple of notes at the end. Apologies to most of the world for being a lazy American and not including metric measurements. We really should have learned all that by now. 😞

C is for Cookie...

Need something chocolate for your holiday cookie platter? Here's a favorite from our house. While there are plenty of recipes out there for no-bake cookie balls, I think this is one of the better ones -- and I say that based on years of sacrificing my waistline in the quest for tasty treats. Resist the urge to eat these until they have 'aged' overnight. It takes a bit of time for that fudge-like consistency to develop.

CHOCOLATE RUM BALLS

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate morsels (chips)
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 3 Tablespoons rum
• 1 package (9 oz.) chocolate wafers, thoroughly and finely crushed
• 3 cups powdered sugar (divided)
• 1 cup finely chopped nuts
• 1 container (about 8 oz.) chocolate sprinkles
• small container candied cherries for decoration, if desired

In a large bowl, mix cookie crumbs, 2 cups of powdered sugar and nuts. Being careful not to scorch, melt chocolate morsels in either the microwave, or in the top of a double boiler. Pour melted chocolate into crumb mixture, then add orange juice and rum. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or even overnight.

To shape: roll dough into small balls and then roll them in the sprinkles. When all the balls are rolled, chill them for a bit until they are firm enough to easily handle. Blend the remaining sugar with enough water to make a rather thick glaze. Dip each ball halfway into glaze. If desired, decorate the top of each ball with a sliver of candied cherry.

NOTES: I use Nabisco chocolate wafers for these. They come in the right sized packet and they're nice and thin and crush easily. However, any plain chocolate wafer that you find pleasant to eat will work. In fact (and I'm not too proud to admit this) in an emergency Oreos (with the middle 'goop' scraped away) has been used to no ill effect -- but trust me, the wafers are easier! They can often be found in the ice cream 'accessories' (cones, fudge sauce, etc.) section of the supermarket, rather than in the cookie aisle -- go figure.

In some parts of the US, chocolate sprinkles are known as "jimmies" -- call them what you will, but they are the little chocolate rod-shaped thingies used as an ice cream, cookie, or cupcake garnish. FWIW, you can find real chocolate sprinkles in  (link removed)The Baker's Catalog, but regular supermarket ones work just fine.

Powdered sugar also uses the alias of 10X, or confectioner's sugar.

Over the years I've refined my technique for rolling these: take a small scoop of dough, gently roll it in your hands until it 'just' softens. Now, put some sprinkles in your hand and continue rolling gently until the sprinkles (mostly) cover the ball. Works much better, and uses less sprinkles, than trying to roll them around on a flat surface or in a bowl.

No need to refrigerate cookies after they have been rolled and decorated. Frankly, around here, they just don't last that long!

NOTES: I don't think that King Arthur Baking carries the real chocolate sprinkles currently. It won't matter if you use the supermarket variety.

Some folks don't care for candied cherries -- a sprinkle of red colored sugar atop the glaze adds a festive touch if you don't add the cherries.

It was asked if a teaspoonful of bourbon vanilla could be used instead of rum. Sure, just don't call them Rum Balls! 😀

Woolies

 The weather here is starting to enter winter territory, although there are still some warmer days, so it's time to get serious with wool -- one hand knit, one sewn.

Mr. Minglingyarn has become a big pickleball fan and plays (outdoors) with a group that calls itself 'The Polar Bears'.  Alrighty then -- how about a hat to keep those ears toasty? I made a slightly altered version of the 1898 Hat and was delighted to find a graph online for a polar bear. I needed more rows for the bear design than would have been available by knitting the pattern as directed, so I simply cut down the width of the garter edging. The ear flap shaping stayed exactly the same, but a narrower band gave me the extra rows for the design. I also knit the hat flat instead of in the round so that I would have a nice open space to do the bear in duplicate stitch. This was my first experience with duplicate stitch and while it's not perfect -- it will be fine for a hat worn while playing.

I also (just happened) to be browsing Mood Fabrics recently and found a grey/black wool knit in buffalo plaid -- no link, as I believe I got the last bit -- snapped that up so fast the cart was spinning! I am always cold so wool knits are my favorites for winter tops. When the fabric arrived I was a little apprehensive as it was thicker than expected, but it handled really well with just a few adjustments to my machine and serger. I decided to sew a stripped-down variation of  the Toaster Sweater. Bring it on Ol' Man Winter -- I'm ready!