Les importantes

A Year and a Day

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I’m not too much of a sentimental person when it comes to anniversaries. In fact, if I hadn’t been looking at my blog stats just now and seen that someone had looked at “Posting No. 1” I’d have no idea that I started this blog Nov. 6, 2010.

So…happy birthday Knit Nat!

So many good memories….

http://knitnatak.blogspot.com/2010/11/cabled-gauntlets.html

http://knitnatak.blogspot.com/2011/02/pink-champagne-cake.html

http://knitnatak.blogspot.com/2011/05/hubby-cook-breakfast-egg-cups.html

http://knitnatak.blogspot.com/2011/06/italian-cheeseburgers-with-homemade.html

http://knitnatak.blogspot.com/2011/04/baby-beckham-set.html

http://knitnatak.blogspot.com/2011/05/tea-wallet-photo-tutorial.html 

http://knitnatak.blogspot.com/2011/03/springtime-headband-with-tutorial.html

http://knitnatak.blogspot.com/2011/07/30-minute-craft-cute-pincushion.html 

http://knitnatak.blogspot.com/2011/03/homemade-granola.html

http://knitnatak.blogspot.com/2011/04/tokyo-tie-bag.html

http://knitnatak.blogspot.com/2011/04/snow-angel-scarf.html

Knit & Crochet, Knitting

Magic Loop

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Dear Fellow Knitters,
If ever you find yourself knitting mittens, socks or booties, I highly recommend using the Magic Loop Method.

It eliminates unwieldy double pointed needles, knitting becomes quicker and you don’t have any pesky “ladders” as a result of improper tension between needles.

It takes some finesse to figure it out at first, but once you understand how to Magic Loop knit, it goes by quickly.

Here is a great video tutorial:

Now I’ve got to finish my second mitten. I already finished the first one I started this morning. Can’t wait to show y’all!

-Nat

Crafts

Beautifying the Medicine Cabinet

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I stayed up too late last night and I can never sleep past 9:30 a.m. This gives me lots of time to myself before my husband — who could sleep standing up if he had to — stumbles out of bed at around noon. So today I made up my mind to organize my medicine cabinet.

Yes, I’m aware of the lameness of this decision. But it wasn’t so lame, trust me!

I took out all the little cartons of Alka-Seltzer and Day Quil and transformed them into bright, flowery containers fit for a magazine medicine cabinet.

Using Mexican oilcloth, scissors, scotch tape, paper, pen and glue I spent my afternoon turning something that people rarely see (unless they are poking around) into what is nearly unattainable — an organized space.

Useless garbage? I think not!
Ta-da!

Crafts, halloween

Halloween Garland

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My friend Rosey and I crafted out today. It was a beautiful not-quite-winter day. The afternoon sun dappled the kitchen table as we cut and pasted.

Rosey made a simple vertical garland with orange, black and tan construction paper. She traced around a tin can and cut out about 64 circles. She cut lengths of string and glued the string in between two circles and spaced them about two inches apart from one another.

Pretty spooky!

Crochet, Knit & Crochet

Crocheted Ugly Bunny

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I love Ugly Dolls. They crack me up. Also, they are cuddly.

In my quest for easy crochet patterns I came across this brilliant pin cushion pattern on Craftster.org:

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=334739.0

This nutty bunny resembles Ugly Dolls and it looked relatively simple to create, so I got going. It only took a few hours to make and since I used a larger hook — J size — it turned out sort of stuffed animal sized. I opted for button eyes cause I thought he looked crazier that way.

baby, Crochet, Knit & Crochet

Crocheted Baby Booties

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In the past I’ve not admired crocheted objects. They looked icky to me. But during the past couple of years crochet has grown on me. It’s easier and more gratifying than knitting when you’re making blankets. And recently I’ve discovered baby booties go by more quickly on a hook than with needles.

 
I have Lion Brand Yarn to thank for this bootie pattern. Reading crochet patterns isn’t easy when you’re a beginner, but I took it one step at a time and after two pairs of funny looking booties I finally made a pair that resembled something. 
 
 
 
I would not call it a baby bootie in the size I was successful at, but more of a small child’s slipper.
 
Either way, I thought they were cute and a little kitchy. They don’t have the elegance of a knitted bootie, but functionality outweighs elegance when it comes to clothing a baby.
 
This is really a great way to make a bootie. You create the sole first, then crochet around to make the vertical volume, then work across to make the front and you end with the cuff.
 
I’m unable to link the pattern — it just takes you to the main Lion Brand page, so I’ll paste the pattern below. Initially it required a lot of counting and I couldn’t figure out how to get the number of cuff stitches that pattern suggests you should have, but after a couple of tries I worked it out.
 
Also, I still haven’t really figured out hook size so I used a J hook and it turned out just fine.
 
 
 



BOOTIE (make 2)
Sole
Ch 5 (7, 9, 9).
Foundation Row: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across – 4 (6, 8, 8) sc.
Next 5 (6, 7, 9) Rows: Ch 1, turn, sc in each sc across.
Next Row: Ch 1, turn, 2 sc in first sc, sc in each sc to last sc, 2 sc in last sc – 6 (8, 10, 10) sc.
Next 4 (7, 10, 12) Rows: Ch 1, turn, sc in each sc across.
Place marker in last st worked. Move marker up as work progresses.
Sides
Rnd 1: Do not turn, work 10 (14, 18, 22) sc evenly spaced down side of sole; work 4 (6, 8, 8) sc along opposite side of foundation ch (this is the heel); work 10 (14, 18, 22) sc evenly spaced along other side of sole; work 6 (8, 10, 10) sc across to marker – 30 (42, 54, 62) sc.
Next 2 (3, 4, 5) Rnds: Working in front loops only, sc in each sc around.
Top of Foot
Note: When working top of foot, do not ch 1 at the beginning of rows.
Row 1: Sc in next 1 (1, 2, 2) sc, sl st in next sc, turn, sk sl st, working in front loops only, sc in next 6 (8, 10, 10) sc; working in both loops, sl st in next 2 sc; leave remaining sts unworked.
Next 4 (8, 12, 14) Rows: Turn, sk first 2 sl sts, working in front loops only, sc in next 6 (8, 10, 10) sc across top of foot; working in both loops, sl st in next 2 sc along side of Bootie.
Next Row: Turn, sk first 2 sl sts, working in front loops only, sc in next 6 (8, 10, 10) sc across top of foot; working in both loops, sl st in next sc along side of Bootie.
Cuff
Rnd 1: Turn, sk first sl st, working through both loops, sc in each sc around entire Bootie opening; do not join – 18 (22, 26, 30) sc.
Note: If you would like cuff to be a little tighter, when working Rnd 2, work 3 decreases evenly spaced around as follows: draw up a loop in each of next 2 sts, yarnover and draw through all 3 loops on hook.
Rnd 2: Sc in each sc around.
Rep last rnd until cuff measures 1 1/2 (2, 3, 4) in. (4 (5, 7.5, 10) cm). Fasten off.
FINISHING
Weave in ends.
 
Cooking, recipes

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken on Homemade Buns

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In one of Stephen’s many lunchtime thrift store pursuits, he acquired me a Crock Pot. This appliance has never existed in my home nor in my parents’ home. It is a foreign object to me. It sat in the cupboard for about two months before I finally decided to do something with it.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are the most boring cut of meat. I don’t like cooking them because usually I create boring meals.

So I made pulled chicken sandwiches. I let the chicken cook alllllll day and shredded it up and cooked it for even longer. It turned out pretty well, except my homemade BBQ sauce tasted like sweet mutant tomato paste, so I cheated and added some Sweet Baby Ray’s and liquid smoke and everything balanced out.

The buns were a little dense, but I think it’s because the recipe I used called for instant rise yeast and I only had regular yeast so I should have proofed it. I am not including the recipe for the buns because I only did a Google search and picked the first recipe I found. I’d try a different one next time. I just really didn’t feel like going to the store just for hamburger buns.

Ingredients:
3-4 chicken breasts, mostly thawed
1 tiny can of tomato paste
2/3 of the tiny can of water
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
some dried basil
some dried thyme
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 tsp. liquid smoke

Directions:
Place the chicken on the bottom of the crock pot. Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl and add to the crock pot. Set crock pot to low for four or five hours. Shred up the chicken with a fork and cook another two hours.  Scoop on to a bun and enjoy.

snacks

Boiled Peanuts

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I’m not a big fan of peanuts. I can do without peanut butter and I’ll munch on the roasted kind if it’s the only thing available at a bar, but the one type of peanut I really adore is the boiled peanut.

The first time I had them was about six years ago in Seward, Alaska. Someone was selling them at a local bar. They are salty and soft — a little like edamame.

Fast forward to present day. I really didn’t think pregnancy was affecting me in the cravings department, but when my step sister-in-law posted on Facebook a photo of a Georgian boiled “P-nut” stand, that is the only thing I ever wanted to taste.

The reason I’ve never been able to make them myself is that you need raw peanuts — ones that haven’t been roasted. You just can’t get them up here.

Thanks to my mother-in-law’s thirst for online shopping, she was able to have some shipped up to me via Amazon.com.

I didn’t know what to expect. I was worried they would be fresh like sprouts where they could go bad very quickly. When I opened the box, I surely thought she had mistakenly sent me roasted peanuts because they were dry and hard. Then I read they were cured and raw so I knew I was good to go!

Give yourself an afternoon to make them, because it takes several hours. The longest, easiest snack this side of the Mississippi!

Directions:
Place about a pound of raw peanuts (still in their shells) into a large pot. Fill the pot with water and add 1/2 cup of salt. Put the lid on and bring to a boil. Turn heat down so your peanuts are still simmering and cook for hours until they are soft to your liking.

They can be stored for up to 10 days in the fridge and I’ve read you can freeze them for even longer.

baby, Knit & Crochet, Knitting

The Tiniest Steelers Fan!

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My friend Laura had her son five weeks early. A few days after he was born she asked me if I would make him a Steelers hat (even though I know she’s a Colts fan, but I guess he’s daddy’s boy in the sports department).

I made the little guy the littlest hat. I couldn’t imagine this hat fitting a person, but it looks like it fits him just fine and with lots of room to grow.

I made the hat using the magic loop method because it was so small that I would have had to use double points from the get-go. A normal circular needle would have been too long. Magic loop uses an extra long circular needle and you work half the stitches at a time while the other half rests on the bendy part of the circular. This sounds confusing, but once you get the hang of it it can be much faster than using double points. Just remember, every knitting technique I know I’ve had to learn backwards since I’m left handed, so if I can do it, you can do it!

Preemie Steelers Hat

Materials:

Worsted baby yarn in yellow, black and white
At least a 32-inch long size 8 circular needle or one set of size 8 double points
Tapestry needle

Directions:

Cast on 56 stitches of the white yarn either using the magic loop method or divided onto three double pointed needles.
Join your work, making sure the yarn isn’t twisted. Place a marker if needed.
k1, p1 rib for five rounds.
Knit eight rounds in stockinette stitch. Switch to black. Knit three rounds. Switch to yellow. Knit four rounds. Switch to black and knit three rounds. Switch back to white and knit eight rounds.
Decrease as follows:
At stitch marker, *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 pom-pom:
Using something small, like a matchbook, wrap yarn around and around a ton of times. Remove the matchbook and tie a 12-inch piece of yarn around the middle of the yarn loops. Cut the loops. Trim pom pom to preferred size.

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