alaska, Cooking, recipes, seafood, snacks

Salmon Cheddar Grills

February 10, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

I was invited to test a recipe from Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute’s new e-cookbook, “Alaska Style — Recipes for Kids,” which is chock full of healthy snacks and meals for children and adults.

I’ve not cooked much with my 21-month-old son, but last week he did a great job of sprinkling cheese on some focaccia I was baking, so I knew he’d be able to assist in the salmon cheddar grills we whipped up for lunch. When I mentioned I would need his help in the kitchen, Jack explained to his dad, “Help mama make snack,” so he knew something special was about to happen.

These salmon grills are perfect if you’re introducing fish to your little picky eater as the fishy taste is almost completely disguised by the cheesiness. Jack eats just about anything so I knew they’d be a hit. They were easy to prepare and after a few minutes in the toaster oven we had lunch for two.

Salmon Cheddar Grills

For the original recipe, check out the e-cookbook “Alaska Style — Recipes for Kids”

Ingredients:

1, 7.5-oz. can of wild Alaska salmon, pink or red

2 oz. light garlic and herb cheese spread (Alouette or Laughing Cow is good)

2 tsp. green onion or chive, finely chopped

1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

2 English muffins or slices 0f rustic bread

Directions:

Drain the salmon and break it up with a fork in a mixing bowl. Add the cheese spread, green onions and half the cheese. Add pepper to taste. Mix well. Spread onto the bread and top with more cheddar. Place in the toaster oven or broiler till cheese is all bubbly. Enjoy!

For more great recipes and e-cookbooks, click here!

Sewing, Thrift Finds

Travel Purse

January 14, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Lately I’ve been in purse limbo. My favorite one broke, my backup one isn’t the right size and I just can’t seem to find what I’m looking for.

So I turned to my basic sewing skills and my frienemy Pinterest. I have this bad habit of inventing projects in my head before going to sleep. Next thing I know it’s four hours later and I’m still awake, thinking about my awesome idea. This idea came to me at night — why not make a simple zipper pouch but add a cross-body strap. Better yet, why not take the detachable leather strap from my old purse and attach it to a simple zipper pouch?

Done and done.

This purse is based on a terrific tutorial from Sew Me Happy. You can find it here.

It’s very clearly explained, but the dimensions weren’t what I had in mind.

For my own records (in case I want to make another one), I cut my fabric 8.5 x 9.5 inches. I also added some medium weight interfacing to the lining fabric. To add the detachable strap I just made a strip of exterior fabric 1.5 inches wide, added interfacing (keep the edges free of interfacing so it’s not too bulky), folded the edges toward the center, doubled it over, ironed, and sewed a strip. Then I cut two lengths that seemed like a good loop size, accommodating for the seam allowance and sewed two loops above the zipper, the way the tutorial instructs.

Since this purse was just for myself and I have low personal standards, I didn’t mind that the directional fabric is going sideways inside or that the directional fabric is upside-down on the back of the exterior. What I do love is it fits my wallet, passport and sunglasses, it zips easily and it looks so dang attractive with a leather strap.

baby, Knit & Crochet, Knitting, Patterns

Preemie Football Hat — Free Pattern

January 13, 2014 alaskaknitnat 6 Comments

My friend Laura asked me to make her new little one a tiny football hat. I was definitely up to the challenge. I was surprised how few knitted patterns there were floating around Pinterest. Most of the patterns are crochet, which can be made very quickly, but for a football hat I think knit has more room for detail.

This hat is so cute and teeny! It’s based on a tiny Steelers hat I made Laura’s second child a couple of years ago.

Preemie Football Hat -- Free Pattern | Alaska Knit Nat — Photo courtesy of www.laurastennetphotography.com

Materials:

Red Heart Brand worsted yarn in white and brown

size 8 double pointed needles

darning needle

Abbreviations:

k1, p1 = knit one, purl one ribbing

k2tog = knit two stitches together

Directions:

With your double pointed needles, cast on 56 stitches (14 stitches per needle) in brown. Join your work, being sure the stitches aren’t twisted and k1, p1 rib for three rounds.

Knit two rounds regularly and switch to the white. No need to cut the brown yarn. Knit two rounds in white and cut leaving an 8-inch tail. Bring up the brown and knit 15 rounds. Knit two rounds white without cutting the brown. Cut the white leaving an 8-inch tail and knit one round in brown. Decrease as follows:

*k2tog, k6* Repeat * till end of round
K one round
*K2tog, k5*, repeat * till end of round
K one round
*K2tog, k4*, repeat * till end of round
K one round
*K2tog, k 3*, repeat * till end of round
K one round
*K2tog, k 2*, repeat * till end of round
K one round
*K2tog, k1*, repeat * till end of round
*K2tog*, repeat * till end of round.
Cut yarn leaving an 8-inch tail. Using a darning needle, weave in all ends.

For the football stitches, thread a darning needle with a 24-inch length of white yarn. On the front of the hat, whipstitch the vertical line using short diagonal stitches stacked on top of one another. Then run three wide stitches perpendicular to the vertical line. Tie off the yarn and weave in the end.

To make this hat for a newborn-3 month size, cast on 64 stitches and follow the same pattern.

Crafts

Quick Craft — Homemade Mini Calendars

December 23, 2013 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

There’s something so wonderful about miniature things: Mini Coopers — cute, teacup dogs — adorable, Mini Me — freakishly endearing.

When my dad opened up a small package of miniature calendars the other day, my mini “awwww” reaction kicked in and so did my crafty brain.

I’ve been stashing away some 1960’s McCalls Craft magazines for several years now, not sure what to do with them. Now I know: mini calendars for stocking stuffers.

Here’s what you need:

Mini self-adhesive calendar pads.

Heavy card stock (I used file folders)

Magazine clippings

Glue stick

Double-sided adhesive wall-mount stickers (found in the Scotch tape aisle)

Scissors

Ruler or straight edge

Directions:

Find some small photos or magazine clippings for your calendar background. Cut out a piece of card stock the same size as your clipping plus the size of the mini calendar pad.

Glue clipping to card stock. Remove the adhesive strip from the back of the calendar pad and stick it where you want it.

Turn mini calendar over and adhere one side of your double-sided mounting tape to the back.

Use as a gift topper or stocking stuffer.

baby, Knit & Crochet, Knitting, Patterns

Retro Baby Ski Hat — Free Pattern

December 23, 2013 alaskaknitnat 8 Comments

I’m getting down to the knitty gritty here for Christmas presents. I just had one more hat on my list and that was for my best friend’s new baby.

I knit this up in just a couple of hours — and you can too with this simple pattern.

Retro Baby Ski Hat — for a 3-6 mo. baby

If you’re wanting to knit this pattern with a different needle size and different weight yarn, I am unable to adjust the pattern for you. This pattern is written for a specific needle size and yarn weight.

Materials:

Vanna’s Choice worsted weight yarn — mustard, teal and light blue

Size 9 circular needles

size 9 double pointed needles

darning needle

large fork or pom pom maker

Abbreviations:

k1, p1 = knit 1, purl 1 ribbing

k2tog = knit two stitches together

Directions:

With your circular, cast on 64 stitches with mustard color and knit last stitch to first stitch without twisting the stitches. K1, P1 for six rounds. Knit 8 rounds in stockinette stitch.

Switch to teal and knit three rounds. Do not cut mustard yarn.

Cut teal yarn with an 8-inch tail. Switch to mustard yarn and knit two rounds.

Switch to light blue and knit two rounds. Do not cut mustard yarn.

Cut light blue yarn with an 8-inch tail and knit 10 rounds with mustard.

Begin decrease as follows:

Place a marker if you need to, but I can tell where the beginning of the round is based on the stripes.

K2tog, K6, repeat till end of round

Knit one round

K2tog, K5, repeat till end of round

K one round

K2tog, K4, repeat till end

K one round while transferring to double pointed needles. Or knit the round and transfer stitches — whatever’s easier for you.

K2tog, K3, repeat till end

Knit one round

K2tog, K2, repeat till end

Knit one round

K2tog, K1, repeat till end

K2tog, repeat till end.

Cut yarn leaving a long tail. With darning needle, draw up remaining stitches and weave in all ends.

For the pom pom:

Take both the teal and light blue yarn and wrap them around a large serving fork till it’s pom pom sized. With a doubled piece of yarn about one foot long, tie the yarn around the middle tine and remove from the fork. Cut the loops and trim pom pom to your liking. Using a darning needle, attach to top of hat. To better secure pom pom, run the yarn back up through the pom pom and back down into the inside of the hat.

baby, Knit & Crochet, Patterns

Simple Fox Hat — Free Pattern

December 22, 2013 alaskaknitnat 16 Comments

In case you haven’t noticed, foxes are really in right now. This season I’ve already crocheted a nifty fox basket and sewn several felt fox ornaments. I really wanted to make a fox hat for a friend’s baby, but I’m pretty terrible at fair isle and halfway through my first attempt, I scratched the whole thing. The snout was all scrunched and I didn’t like the look of it.

I decided on something much simpler — my regular old hat pattern with some ears sewn on top. I winged the ears, but I really like how they turned out. For this project I used some Montera Classic Elite llama/wool chunky yarn I’d been coveting for some time. This hat is fuzzy, warm and downright delightful.

Here’s what you need:

1 skein of orange chunky yarn (I used Bolsita Orange from Montera Classic Elite)

size 9, 16-inch circular needle

one set of size 9 double pointed needles

darning needle

Size: This pattern fits a 12-18-month baby. For a larger hat (2T-3T), cast on 72 stitches and follow the same pattern. For a smaller hat, knit this same pattern on size 8 needles.

Gauge: I do not gauge my work, but according to Montera yarn’s website, it should be 3.5-4 sts/inch on size 9 needles.

Abbreviations:

k2tog= knit two stitches together

For the main body of the hat, cast on 64 stitches on the circular needle and knit last stitch to first stitch without twisting the stitches. Knit 1, purl 1 ribbing for five rounds. Knit in stockinette stitch for 22 more rounds, or until piece measures about 5.5 inches.

Decrease as follows:

Place a marker at beginning of round.

K2tog, K6, repeat till end of round

Knit one round

K2tog, K5, repeat till end of round

K one round

K2tog, K4, repeat till end

K one round while transferring to double pointed needles. Or knit the round and transfer stitches — whatever’s easier for you.

K2tog, K3, repeat till end

Knit one round

K2tog, K2, repeat till end

Knit one round

K2tog, K1, repeat till end

K2tog, repeat till end.

Cut yarn leaving a long tail. Run the yarn through the remaining stitches with a darning needle and draw up the hole tight. Weave in ends.

Ear (make 2):

With three double pointed needles, cast on 16 stitches (5, 5, 6), leaving a 12-inch tail. Connect last stitch to first stitch and begin knitting in the round. Knit 3 rounds.

K2tog, k3, K2tog, k3, K2tog, k4

Knit 2 rounds

K2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog k3

Knit 1 round

K2tog, k1, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k2

Cut yarn leaving a 6-inch tail. Run yarn through the remaining stitches and draw up tight. Weave in the end on the inside of the ear.

With your darning needle and the long cast-on tail, sew the bottom of the ear closed.

As for sewing on the ears, I folded my hat in half and determined the best placement of the ears. I sewed each ear on with the remaining length of cast-on yarn. I didn’t use any special technique for sewing, so I recommend whatever you feel most comfortable with. I actually didn’t have enough cast-on yarn so I did some touch ups with extra yarn.

Now it’s up to you whether to stitch a little nose and eyes on the front of the hat. I decided not to as I figured the child’s face would be the fox’s face. Either way would be cute!

baby, Crafts, Tutorials

Quick Craft — Felt Christmas Tree

December 13, 2013 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

We recently put up our Christmas tree and I’ve discovered that my year-and-a-half-old son enjoys dismantling the lower part of the tree as often as possible.

So I made him his own tree for about $5. His tree is 2-D, felt and has occupied about 30 minutes of his attention — which is a lot!

Here’s what you need:

1 yard green felt

chalk

scraps of felt in many colors

fabric scissors

masking tape

pinking shears (optional)

Directions:

Fold your green felt hotdog style and make half a tree shape along the fold. Cut out your tree shape and tape to a wall at toddler height.

Cut out various shapes from the other felt — hearts, diamonds, circles, ovals, stars, etc. Use pinking shears for decorative value.

Hand the shapes to your toddler and watch him go to town. The felt sticks to the felt.

Obviously not decorate by a toddler. — Obviously not decorated by a toddler.

Thrift Finds

Quick Craft — Easy Cell Phone Caddy

December 11, 2013 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

My desk at work is glass and whenever my phone vibrates it resonates at an embarrassing volume. What I needed was a place to keep my cell phone that was easily accessible and, of course, cute.

These are the types of projects that sit in the back of my mind as I scour thrift stores. The other day I was browsing the knick-knacks at a local antique shop and I came across this tacky little votive:

Weird? A little. Functional? Hardly. Cute? There’s definitely some potential.

All it took was a little cleaning up, two coats of spray paint and *tweet! tweet!* cute cell phone caddy! I can even run the charger cord through the hole in the front.

I have now cutified my desk.

Sewing, Tutorials

The Easy Way to Line a Hat

November 28, 2013 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

I could knit hats all day, but ask me to line a hat and chances are I’ll never do it. Something about measuring a head, cutting out fabric and sewing it into a hat seems like way too much work.

I was recently deconstructing a cashmere turtleneck for another project and was trying to figure out how to use the turtleneck tube. Headband? Too ugly. Hat lining? Perfect.

Here’s how to line a hat with minimal effort. Just some scissors, pinning and whip stitches.

What you’ll need:

An old turtleneck

Fabric scissors

A person’s head (not yours)

Straight or safety pins

Needle and thread

Directions:

Cut the tube of the neck away from the body of the sweater. I cut below the seam so it wouldn’t unravel over time.

Turn the tube inside out and put it on a head with the seam in the back.

Put the hat over the tube and line it up the way you’d like it (if there’s a seam to the hat, it should also be in back). Let the hat overhang the tube by 1/4 inch.

Pin the tube to the hat all the way around. This way it will remain stretched out as you sew it and won’t cause the hat to pucker.

Remove the tube and hat from the head and thank your head for its assistance.

With thread matching the color of the hat, whip stitch the lining to the inside of the hat, trying to sew into the inside knitted stitches so as not to reveal the thread on the outside of the hat. The following photos are from a different hat and turtleneck.

That’s it! Now your hat is warmer and cozier.

baby, Knit & Crochet, Patterns

Baby Candy Cane Stocking Cap — Free Pattern

November 28, 2013 alaskaknitnat 27 Comments

My photographer friend commissioned me to make a cute stocking cap for her holiday baby photo shoots.

I’ve never made anything so tall and pointy, but I think the effect is perfect. Could a baby look more like an adorable naked Christmas elf?

This pattern is for a 3-6 month head. It’s also a great introduction to knitting stripes.

Ho ho hope you enjoy it!

Baby Candy Cane Stocking Cap

Materials:

One skein of red worsted weight yarn

One skein of cream worsted weight yarn (I used Red Heart soft)

Size 9 circular needles

Set of 9 double-point needles

darning needle

pom pom maker or large fork

Abbreviation: K2tog = knit two stitches together

Directions:

With the red yarn cast on 64 stitches on your circular needle. Join with first stitch being careful not to twist the stitches. Begin ribbing in k1, p1 for six rounds.

Switch to white yarn and knit 2 rounds. There is no need to cut the red yarn as the rows are so narrow you can easily bring up the other yarn when you need it.

Continue knitting in stockinette stitch for 25 more rounds changing colors every 2 rounds. Transfer stitches to double pointed needles and begin decreasing as follows (while continuing to switch colors every 2 rounds):

*K2tog, k6, repeat * till end of round

knit 3 rounds

*K2tog, k5, repeat * till end of round

knit 4 rounds

*K2tog, k4, repeat * till end of round

knit 6 rounds

*K2tog, k3, repeat * till end of round

knit 15 rounds

*K2tog, k2, repeat * till end of round

knit 16 rounds

*K2tog, k1, repeat * till end of round

knit 5 rounds