lekkercraft

for a new year

2011-01-18T15:17:00.003-05:00

A beautiful poster from hi, i'm francesca, who is kindly offering a high-quality PDF download to readers. For those moments when you could use a little extra affirmation.

Found via Wolfie and the Sneak.

Christmas Ornaments

2011-01-06T09:46:00.003-05:00

These are the ornaments I made this year for the annual ornament swap with my knitting group:

I followed a tutorial from Pinwheel Ponders, and used a bunch of different scrapbook papers I found on sale at AC Moore, but this would be a great way to recycle old Christmas and greeting cards, too.

I gave all of them away though! So I think I'll make a couple more, to keep for next year's tree.

a very lekker new year

2011-01-02T23:03:00.004-05:00

Image courtesy of VintageHolidayCrafts.com.

Perhaps some blogging again in 2011?

CSA - Week 1

2009-05-08T13:27:00.004-04:00

I had been wanting to join a CSA for YEARS. There were some available in the New York City area, but I never participated because I didn't think I could get to some pick up location at the same time weekly. After moving, it was one of the first things I looked into. I looked through the offerings on Local Harvest, and signed up for the first one that opened up applications for the spring/summer season. But that was way back in NOVEMBER, and I still had to wait until MAY for the CSA to start! This is totally normal, and how the whole process works, I was just so excited to get going with it.

CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture," which has been increasing in popularity for the past decade, and has really started to boom in the past couple of years. A farm accepts shareholders who pay a bulk amount at the beginning of the growing season. Many farms offer full- or half-shares, depending on the size of your household. The farmer uses that money for seeds and supplies, etc., and when harvest season comes around, the shareholders receive a weekly box of vegetables -- and/or eggs, meat, flowers, or whatever the specific program offers -- for the length that the program runs. I like it especially because I know that my money goes directly to a local farmer, and I know I am getting the freshest, in-season produce that is grown right in my area.

I am looking forward to the challenge of cooking with what is available, rather than purchasing out-of-season sub-par ingredients that have been marked up a million times. One draw back that some people might find is that you might not have control over vegetables you receive. A picky eater might want to locate a CSA where you have the option to switch out items or one where you purchase credits and can use them weekly for the specific produce you want. Personally, I hope to find some mysteries in my box this summer. I encourage anyone interested in finding out more to take a look at the Local Harvest website.

As for my CSA, I think I got lucky in the program I joined. I am getting a half share weekly from Elysian Fields Farm, which will provide me with yummy veggies for the next 20 weeks. The farm practices organic and sustainable agriculture, which is a huge selling point to me. This is my first weeks takings:

Strawberries, Winterbor Kale, Boston Lettuce, Pink Beauty Radishes, Baby Turnips, Spinach

I've been snacking on the strawberries and radishes straight up, and have used the lettuce for lunchtime salads. Last night I used the turnips and their greens for a simple soup from The Art of Simple Food (and it was GOOD). I am thinking of trying kale chips with the kale, and the spinach is reserved for a bed for my potato salad I'm bringing to a family dinner tonight (which also includes someofthem radishes).

Does anyone else participate in a CSA? Let me know. I love hearing about different types of programs.

Sometimes, I knit

2009-05-05T13:43:00.005-04:00

My knitting mojo has been crappy in 2009. Oh yes, I've been knitting for sure, but every project is either not working out, or going painfully slow (hello Riding to Avalon [Ravelry link]), or riddled with mindless knitting mistakes. I haven't finished one project yet. Not one, son.

I've been working on a baby gift, and whizzing right along, until I looked back, and realized I had missed a a few rows of garter stitch along the button band, very noticable. $#&^%&%%! I sure as heck did not intend to frog back that far when things were finally moving along, and especially with a lace pattern. I decided to tackle dropping the stitches and weaving them back up in the correct order.

I actually had to work my head around how to do this for garter stitch (I've done it countless times for stockinette). And lo, it is simple: Just alternate between inserting the crochet hook from the front and the back (I turned my work for each row) to alternate purl and knit stitches. That might be obvious to some, but I had to Google to double check...

Wow, it worked!
Bonus round: Can you tell what I'm knitting? I bet you can!

Foodie Friday :: The Greenhorns

2009-02-27T17:52:00.001-05:00

I've had this preview for The Greenhorns bookmarked for a while now, and thought it would be a cool thing to share for FF. The documentary will take a look at the current movement of young men and women returning to farming culture and who can be found working the land rather than working the office. I'm looking forward to seeing this.

A snippit from the director's statement:

Our job in this generation is to rethink, recycle, retrofit and restore our land and our community; the Greenhorns have come to this revelation and taken action. This film is a way to convene a movement that is for now quite thinly spread out on the ground. Population density of young farmers might be as low as 1-2 per county in America. Yet, once seen as a whole in the film, you will find it an attractive and coherent sub-culture: proud, strong, tough, and a little bit nuts.

Sheep Shearing Day (2/14/09)

2009-02-17T09:47:00.006-05:00

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of visiting Rising Meadow Farm in Liberty, NC for their annual open sheep shearing. It's about an hours drive from Durham, through some lovely rural areas, which made me long for a home in the countryside.

Rising Meadow raises Corriedale, Morrit, and Pulled Dorsit sheep, which create a lovely natural palate of neutral fleeces -- from fluffy whites, to caramels, to a deep chocolate browns. It's enough to make me want to take up spinning! Although I managed to hold off (don't need another addiction right at this moment, heh).

To shear the sheep, the shearers would pull a sheep from the corral, flip them onto their backs, and start shearing away, turning the sheep as they went. They used old school hand shears, which to me looked terrifying but they handled them with ease. After shearing off the entire fleece in one large piece, another person would bring it outside of the barn to be skirted (picked through for any leftover vegetable matter (or other) matter. Then the fleece would be weighed and put into a large garbage bag to be sold.

I got to pet my first llama. Every field with sheep also held a few llamas, who offer protection from coyotes and other predators.

Although the activity of the day was sheep shearing, they did have the added attraction of showing off a few lambs born just that morning. They are adorable! They mostly were sleeping, with their mothers staying over them protectively. The barn had classical music piped through the speakers to help with the calming mood, even with hundreds (seriously, hundreds) of visitors coming through.

Some more photos (and then see more here):

Christmas Poffertjes

2009-02-12T14:13:00.005-05:00

At Christmas time, Oma gave my parents a kit for making Poffertjes. Poffertjes are a Dutch snack of small, silver dollar-sized sweet pancakes. They are made in a special Poffertjes pan, which has round divits where you pour the batter. Apparently, these treats are seasonal, and are served particularly in the summer months.

The kit contained a mix, to which we add some milk and egg. There is a bottle which we were supposed to use to dole out the batter into the pan cleanly (the nozzle kept clogging so we didn't really use it properly).

When they are just done on the bottom, and before the top has set, you use 2 forks and try to flip them quickly. It's a tricky maneuver.

Shake on some powdered sugar (Oma tells me I use too much... like that's even possible!)

Eat AT LEAST 25. They're small and tasty, and after all that flipping, you've surely worked up an appetite.

Catching up

2009-01-13T09:10:00.005-05:00

Some photos of my finished February Lady Sweater, which I finished for the 2008 Ravelympics, posted about briefly here.

I'm not the best lace knitter, but this 4 row repeat was manageable, and even a bit forgiving for some occasional missed YOs.

The buttons I bought a few years ago from M&J, which I bought to replace some buttons on a purple fun-fur winter coat that for some reason I used to think was cool. I donated the coat but kept the buttons, cuz let me tell you, those things were PRICEY.

I have to say, I think this sweater can do no wrong. It's flattering on everyone and easy to dress up or down. Custom fitting? Totally not necessary with this one. I'm thinking it might be nice to have another of the same in black or grey.

Details:

Pattern: February Lady Sweater (adapted from Elizabeth Zimmerman by Flint Knits)

Yarn: Misti International Pima Cotton/Silk in Dark Burgundy (4 skeins)

Started: 8/8/08

Finished: 8/23/08

Ravelry Project Link

happy new years!

2009-01-06T20:54:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you've had a nice transition into 2009. Mine has been uneventful, but that's just the way I like it.

It's hard to believe I haven't posted since the middle of October. I've been getting set up here in North Carolina for awhile, but allowed myself a little vacation from blogging. Plus in setting everything up, I haven't really done much on the craft front up until now.

I'm loving being back in my home state, and I've been away long enough that a lot of things are new to me again. So much has grown and developed, and my tastes have changed, so that leaves a lot to explore. And setting up an apartment that is ALL MINE has been a treat. Plus there's more apartment for the money, so it's a nice change from living in nyc.

For example, the view from my bedroom in Brooklyn (it's an air shaft):

And the view from my new bedroom (those are ducks in the water):

Much nicer, you say? Darn right it is. Needless to say, I think this has been a good move. I'm getting used to working from home and trying to figure out ways to get myself out of the house and meeting people and staying active.

Lot's to come in '09. Stay tuned!

hiatus

2008-10-16T10:48:00.003-04:00

Hello kids! Nothing new here on the knitting front, but that's because I've been way too busy getting ready to move. That's right, I'm leaving the big bad city to return to my home state of North Carolina.

See, when my roommates decided to give up our Brooklyn apartment, the thought of finding yet another temporary living situation here was rather unappealing. I've been batting around the idea of returning to NC for quite a long while, and things just seemed to fall into place for it to happen now. It just feels like the right time. My company has even allowed me to keep my job and telecommute! How awesome is that?!

Anyways, I'm still trying to keep up with my blog reading, but I'm behind on commenting and responding to emails. Please forgive me. I hope to be back and on the bandwagon in just a couple of weeks.

'Till then!

Drops Design :: Autumn Favorites

2008-10-08T10:40:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of Autumn, here are my favorite picks from the Drops Design for Autumn/Winter 2008/09. I always keep an eye on their website, and it's always fun to see the pattern options and vote on them before the seasonal catalogs are released. And this fall, I love the color palatte of greys and neutrals. I have so much queued up that I doubt I'll make it to any of them, but I like to keep them on hand for reference, although everytime I visit the catalog online, other patterns come to my attention (though some make me go screaming for the hills!).

In any case, clockwise from top, here are the patterns:
110-23 -- Jacket in moss st with raglan sleeve.
109-47 -- Jacket in garter st with curved front pieces.
109-52 -- Jacket in ”Alpaca” with stripy yoke in ”Fabel."
108-20 -- Jumper/jacket in with raglan sleeve and yoke in multi colored pattern.
Socks (they don't seem to have the English translation of this pattern, so no link).
109-1 -- Jumper with hood.

While you're there, check out the GarnStudio matching game... with socks!

Henry VIII & Wives.... Knit!

2008-10-06T11:13:00.005-04:00

Caffaknitted knitted versions of Henry VIII and each of his wives, complete with behead-able versons of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. This past year I've become really intrigued with Tudor history, so I've been watching out for the completed set. Click a link above to visit -- they're amazing!

Finally!

2008-09-23T22:52:00.007-04:00

I've been waiting almost a year to post this.

Around this time last year, I assisted at a couple Twinkle Knit nights at the Anthropologie flagship store, which were set up to promote the Big City Knits book. Shortly after, I got an email asking if I'd be interested in test knitting a couple of patterns for an upcoming book. "WOULD I?!" I shouted whilst doing cartwheels, "SEND IT ON OVER!" I should probably mention that Twinkle was one of my favorite designers to watch long before I was an avid knitter. I always loved her mixes of color, texture and sizes that she used in her lines. So as a fan, you can imagine how excited I was to see and knit some of the patterns before they were published. Kind of like interning for your favorite record label.

Test knitters were sent 1 or 2 patterns plus the yarn required to knit the project. We had a little over 1 month to complete our projects, and then had to send them back to the Twinkle office to be checked over, along with any notes, etc. After another month or so, I was able to pick up my projects to take home to keep.

Now that Twinkle's Town and Country Knits has been published, I can show the two sweaters I knit.
This is the Mistral Cardigan. I love the large collar and the puffed sleeves. I like it. Granted, it could use some blocking... my bad. This is done in the Soft Chunky yarn.
Details:
Pattern: Mistral Cardigan , from Town and Country Knits
Yarn: Twinkle Soft Chunky, in Rain
Ravelry project link

This one is the Pacifica Jacket. This was a fun sweater to knit, but the style isn't really for me. I found that the shoulder seams want to sit on my upper arms unless I adjust them back up to where they belong on the shoulders. I've never been a fan of a cropped length for tops, so I think I might re-knit this into another pattern from the book. This used 4 strands of the Cruise yarn held together.
It looks cuter on the model in the book. I think that they have it sized to be more fitted in those photos, and in my opinion, that seems to work better as a more close-fit sweater.

This sweater requires crochet to finish the bottom edging. Luckily, I was visiting my parents for my Dad's birthday at the time so I was able to get a lesson from my Mom, who is an expert crocheter.

Details:
Pattern: Pacifica Jacket, from Town and Country Knits
Yarn: Twinkle Cruise, in Capri
Ravelry project link

All in all, I like the patterns in the new book. I have already picked out a couple that I'd like to work up this fall.

As IF

2008-09-15T09:37:00.003-04:00

anyone in America HASN'T seen, or at least heard, about this already. Fantastic.

If it's not showing up right here, you can try this link (thanks Veronique!).

FO :: February Lady Sweater (Ravelympics)

2008-09-12T15:12:00.004-04:00

Better late than never! I made it just under the wire for the Ravelympics, though I haven't ~~been motivated~~ had a chance to take some decent photos yet. The weekend that I finished I had left my camera at work, so I used my computer camera. More details to come!

See all that fine detail?!?

Newspaper yarn (+ Tutorial)

2008-08-20T12:23:00.006-04:00

I think this made some of the internet rounds sometime last year, but it's popping up again. Handspun recycled newspaper yarn by Dutch artist (yay!) Greetje van Tiem. Personally, I like how it looks just on the spools there. Check out the tutorial on Greenupgrader.

Thanks to Whip Up for the reminder!

FO :: Gloria Cowl (Ravelympics)

2008-08-18T15:59:00.006-04:00

I was was starting to think that there was no way I'd have the chance to get through both projects I had committed to for the Ravelympics this year, especial after I remembered that I had planned a trip to Philadelphia during this past weekend. I decided that instead of doing the Ridged Lace Cowl, I would switch my pattern choice and work on a Gloria Cowl, which is primarily stocking stitch (and in the round--easy peasy!). That way, I could easily pick it up at any point we had some down time, converse, and still be social, without being rude and poking my nose into a pattern every two seconds (I'm notoriously bad at following lace patterns -- it takes every bit of concentration I can muster. Which often isn't much. And that is a problem). I cast on on the train down to Philly after work on Friday, and cast off on the train back to Manhattan. (Rather impressed with myself, and encouraged about the upcoming week of knitting!)

Details:
Pattern: Gloria Cowl , from Orinda
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, Driftwood (CW115)
Modifications: None needed
Ravelry Link On another note, my trip to Philly was fantastic. I got the chance to visit two of my high school friends who are now married. They showed me around some parts of the city and led me to some great places to eat. They knew me in my formative and awkward years and don't seem to hold it against me. I still get tickled seeing us all as adults.

Other People's Cool Ideas :: Conceptual Knitting Patterns

2008-08-13T11:16:00.003-04:00

Here is a great set of conceptual knitting patterns from artist Lea Redmond. Check out all of her great and creative project ideas, many which focus on the use of color in an interesting way. I also have to admit that I find the design of her little cards really fantastic, too!

Found via Whip Up.

Foodie Friday :: Apple Butter edition

2008-08-08T12:00:00.004-04:00

Last weekend I had a couple apples that were a bit overripe, so I decided to try my hand at Apple butter. Since I happened to have some plums around, I tossed them into the mix. I researched a few recipes and combined a couple to come up with the following recipe--it is delicious. I brought in the jar to work and have been enjoying it as my breakfast every day this week.

Apple-Plum Butter
3 Apples
4 plums
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. allspice

Boil apples and plums in the water and cider vinegar for 20 minutes. Let cool.
Blend using an immersion or regular blender until smooth. Add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, and return to heat.
Boil the puree for about 30 minutes until dark and thickened. As it thickens, the boiling mixture will cause spattering, so I just perched the lid of the pot covering most of the pan with a large enough space for the majority of the steam to escape.
Fill a jar and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks (as if it'll last that long!). I had a bit extra on top of this jar, so I put it into a plastic container to freeze. Enjoy!

Ravelympics

2008-08-07T16:00:00.001-04:00

I decided last-minute to sign up for the Ravelympics (Ravelry link). For anyone not signed up with Ravelry, it's basically projects you attempt to complete during the 2008 Summer Olympics coming up this week.

I am going to attempt to do both a February Lady Sweater and a Ridged Lace Cowl, though my emphasis is on the sweater. It looks complete-able in 2 weeks, right?

Wish me luck, this yarn seems to be cursed...

Edited to add: I wasn't planning on joining any teams or events, but I ended up doing both. The cardi event is the Sweater Sprint and the Cowl will be entered in the Cowl Jump. I'm battling for Team Brooklyn!

Frogged (again!)

2008-08-06T16:06:00.007-04:00

I had to frog the Drops cardigan I was working on. After messing up a button hole, I had to frog back a couple of rows, at which time I realized that the thing was 50" wide. And I'm not. I love positive ease, but that 's a bit much for me. Adventures in gauge-land, once again!

This is my second time frogging a project with this yarn. I like it in therory, but it's bad chemistry--just like my dating life (ha! sorry...).
Bye bye Drops 105-5. It was good while it lasted...

FO :: Jaywalker Socks

2008-08-04T09:00:00.001-04:00

Well, I have to say that this was the most anti-climactic end to a knitting project if ever there was one. I started these for Soctoberfest 2007, and only just finished them this week. I thought I'd be thrilled to be done, but well, I just don't think they're cute.

When I started these socks, I was cat-sitting for a bunch of wool-eating cats, though at the time I didn't realize just what that meant, exactly. I turned my attention away for one moment, and my ball of Trekking XXL went missing, hijacked by Bart, the most wool-eating cat of all. I was able to rescue most of the yarn, but a few yards were tangled and unsalvageable, but I thought I'd still have plenty of yarn to finish.

As I neared the foot of the second sock, I realized that I was going to run out about halfway through the foot, so figured of I unravelled the toes of the first sock, so I could continue striping , and then use a different yarn on the toes for both. In the meantime I was sidetracked by other projects, but finally went back to them about a week ago.

It's a patchy job. You can see how they match until the middle of the feet, and then have different striping patterns. Then, after I finally kitchnered off my second toe and tried them on, only to find that my gauge is visually very different between the two socks! So no photos of them on because that looks even worse. Maybe after a few wears and a few trips through the washer they'll even out. And if not, mostly people will only see the cutest part anyway:

Twist Collective launch

2008-08-01T23:00:00.001-04:00

I almost forgot that today was the lauch of the Twist Collective online magazine.

Seems like a great concept. Some great info, great designers, clear photographs, and a lovely format. The magazine is free to browse, but the you have to purchase the patterns--seems fair enough.

My favorites are:
Ysolda Teague's Little Birds cardigan,
Anne Hanson's Gnarled Oakwoods wrap, and
Adrian Bizilia's Faux Bois scarf.

Congrats to the Twist Collective team on a great first issue!

Foodie Friday :: portrait edition

2008-07-31T16:09:00.005-04:00

A simple and paired-down post for this week's Foodie Friday...

A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times published a lovely article about some women farmers from the Northeast United States. I was enamored with the accompanying photographs, and have since returned to the article a number of times to read it again--I think these women are beautiful, and the commitment to their own kind of craft is inspiring and so full of dedication. Anybody who knows me is probably tired of my yapping about my desire to one day own some land and do a different kind of work, away from an office and the computer... In any case, it's good to learn about people who do just that.

Click photo for article. All photos from the New York Times.