Hope to See You At Rhinebeck

This year I couldn't manage a new sweater for Rhinebeck. Guess I'll have to content myself with a new hat, nothing fancy, just Blue Wave 2018 by Donna Druchunas. I made it a bit smaller than written, with the wave pattern continuous around the hat.



And here's the inside view. The hat needed light blocking, accomplished by placing it on an inverted gallon (3.78 l) jug of vinegar and misting with water. Whodathunk my head is roughly the same diameter as a gallon jug.



I'm thrilled to bits to be going to Rhinebeck. It's been years since I've gone, a drought I hope to remedy in the future. And I hope to see you at the fair!

Mark Bittman's Gravlax

The Food In Jars salt challenge is so wide-ranging, I had to try another recipe. Gravlax, or salt-cured salmon, seemed a natural. There's not much to say – I followed Mark Bittman's Gravlax recipe, using some techniques mentioned in the comprehensively informative Serious Eats recipe and essay, and a 2:1 salt:sugar dry brine. The required effort was minimal; some space in the fridge was needed. The results are excellent, luxuriously yummy.



For this recipe the most important comments have to do with food safety. Salmon sometimes carries parasites that can affect humans, so the fish MUST be sushi-grade, that is, commercially frozen to render it suitable for consuming raw. And as this type of salt-curing is a fleeting preservation method, the gravlax MUST be eaten within five days of finishing its cure. Given the wide availability of "previously frozen fish" and the tastyness of gravlax, both safety requirements are easily satisfied.

Bittman's recipe says a 3-lb (1.36 kg) piece of salmon will yield 12 appetizer servings. A quarter-pound per person initially sounds outlandish, but it does seem most people if given half a chance will happily gorge on this stuff until surfeited, so the part that's mistaken is calling this an appetizer. At casa Jersey Knitter, there were suspicious mutterings when the curing salmon first appeared in the refrigerator, hogging so much shelf space, followed by impatient mutterings as it underwent its three-day cure, then more suspicion ("You try it first, and if you don't keel over..."), a sudden change of heart after that first amazing taste, then the soft noises of very contented feeding.



A bonus happiness is I used some of the overly salty vegetable bouillon to wash the raw salmon as described in the Serious Eats recipe. I was wondering what to do with it! We ate the gravlax with my own pickled nasturtium pods, which are similar to pickled capers, except they taste like pickled nasturtium pods (duh), flowery-mustardy-cresslike. I really must put up more... which means planting more.

I am definitely making more gravlax. I'd like to try the basic recipe with other fish, substitute shiso, an Asian pickling herb, for dill, tweak the dry brine mix. I used gin for the booze, which added a nice juniper berry note, and wonder what adding juniper berries to the rub will do. Mmm... so many things to try.



Meanwhile, fibery progress continues. I'm wishing I had a not-too-big stainless steel mixing bowl. They don't have much appeal as mixing bowls for me, but for craft purposes they're da bomb. Hm.

Vegetable Broth Base

This is a tale of two soup bases. Two, because this is the best of times and the worst of times – my first effort was not satisfactory. But I persisted and got it almost right the second time, yay me and yay the February Food in Jars Mastery Challenge, salt preserving, for prompting me to try something new.

I'll start with a clerihew and a stock photo (::groan::).

Sir Humphrey Davy
abominated gravy.
He lived in the odium
of having discovered sodium.

Sodium being one component of table salt, chemically, sodium chloride or NaCl.

Generally when I make soup stock, cauldron work and/or the pressure cooker is involved. I'm not a big fan of using commercially prepared bouillon cubes or mixes because the flavors seem fresher and truer and I can control the amount of salt and other additives when I make homemade stock. By contrast DH loves bouillon because he loves its salt and convenience. Shrug. (The photo below shows the mise en place, or culinary setup, for chicken bone broth. I dunno why I didn't take a pic of soup base in progress or, for that matter, why I took this food prep photo. I have enough trouble remembering to take fiber WIP photos.)



Attempt the first at vegetable soup base was Homemade Vegetable Bouillon. The recipe calls for 7 ounces (200 g) of salt to make one quart (almost one liter) of soup base, which makes 48 quarts of vegetable broth. The recipe yield was spot on. The soup base initially smelled very harsh and bitter, but within a day mellowed. Unfortunately, the resulting broth was so excessively salty, it could be used as an emetic. At least the colorful confetti-like bits of ground-up vegetable grit and the occasional peppercorn look rather festive floating in the pale broth.



Attempt the second was Vegetable Broth Base. In striking contrast to Attempt the first, this recipe calls for two tablespoons (20 g) of NaCl to make one pint (0.47 liter) of soup base, which makes 8 quarts of vegetable broth. The yield for this recipe was also spot on. This soup base smelled much more appealing than the first, without the bitter odors. The resulting broth is dark and turbid...



... but when strained as suggested is quite nice in both appearance and taste. The need to strain the broth makes me want to try it in a teabag, an experiment for next time. Out of curiosity I tried steeping the strained sediment a second time as if it were tea leaves, which didn't really work. Not only had all the salt dissolved in the first steeping, but most of the vegetable flavor as well.



As I want a strong vegetable stock and am not fond of heavily salted food or liquid, the second recipe is the clear winner, YMMV. Both recipes call for a similar amount of vegetables; the first uses far more salt but also makes more broth. When diluted for serving the first broth is 1.6 times saltier than the second and has a less pronounced vegetable flavor. So Attempt the second it is. Were I to make the second recipe again, I'd reduce the amount of soy sauce, which contributes additional sodium (even if one uses low-sodium soy sauce), color, and a fermented soy flavor that to my palate is overly dominant in the final broth. Soy sauce can also be an unexpected source of gluten, which of course is problematic for those following GF diets.

Sad to say, soup base itself is not particularly photogenic. At its best it bears an unfortunate resemblance to the poo emoji (click if you dare). The commercial versions as well. After all, one starts with lovely fresh whole veggies and ends with unlovely paste. Ah, the photographic challenges posed by purees. Speaking of which, I imagine it might be possible to make soup base by hand, but I would never have attempted it without a food processor. The paste is sufficiently salty that it can be stored in the freezer, yet never freeze solid.



Back in the world of fibery sausage-making, I bought an I-cord mill and have been cranking out I-cord. The gadget is a little finicky about yarn (not too thick, not too fuzzy, not low twist), but works well. Which is good, because science.



To be continued!

What's New, PussyHat?

With the holidaze well upon us roundabout Exit 151, there hasn't been much time for knitting or blogging (cough) at casa Jersey Knitter beyond the occasional row for the PussyHat Project. But, today is a snow day, so after shoveling and errands I fixed some tasty beverages and settled in for a little wordsmithing. (Note: these whiskey sours are not all for me.)



Ah! I do love a classic cocktail with lots of fruit. Citrus and Maraschino cherries, yes please. Mmm.

It should scarcely surprise gentle readers that I'm getting my marching boots ready for the Women's March on Washington, January 21, 2017, despite some misgivings. Or that part of the preparations include knitting PussyHats for myself and others. Here's progress so far: first one done, second in progress.



The pattern by Kat Coyle is simplicity itself. I prefer its suggestion of cat ears; others have been pinching the top corners of the hat to make the effect more explicit. PussyHat 1 is knit in the round with a three-needle BO, which results in a speedy knit with minimal seaming. I'm not sure I like the depth of the hat or the seam at the top, so PussyHat 2, in progress, will have the ribbing knit in the round and the crown knit in rows and seamed. We'll see if the fuss is worth it.

It's troubling to add the intersection of women's rights and knitting is becoming an increasingly familiar place as the progress made within my own lifetime gets ground away. Suffice to say that for me, fuss in this area is definitely worth it, and I'm looking forward to marching.

Cobbler's Child

After the raid on the charity bin I've been busy refilling it.



As it was obscured by the others, the Hufflepuff hat gets a pic all to itself.



I also made a snow shoveling hat, with an extra-thick brim, just for me.



The busyness did not escape notice: DH remarked on how fancy and nice the new hats look.... Not to mention he left the house without a scarf this chilly morning because he "couldn't find any clean ones." What?

Spoiled

The season has turned to nightly frost warnings, so I picked what was left in the vegetable patch. This year it was sorely tried. When I wasn't paying attention marauding deer ate most plants down to foot-high stems, then rabbits and squirrels devoured any new leaves and fruit. The eggplants were particular targets. Their leaves are hairy and I've read toxic to rabbits, but the cottontails don't seem to know that. Even the onion tops were cropped to the quick. I put up a garden fence which the big creatures knocked down and the little creatures chewed clean through. I've never seen the like. It's a marvel there was anything left for us. So what I just brought in may not be the most impressive last harvest ever, but it's not bad under the circumstances.



Speaking of marauders, while I wasn't paying attention DH got cold, helped himself to the accumulating pile of watch caps meant for the mitten tree, got squawked at, promised to wash them and put them back, and somehow managed to felt them. Plus he complained they're itchy. Sigh. Too bad, he's keeping them now.

Then, as we drove along Route 1, there was a sign. Literally.



Of course we stopped. Not least because if DH was raiding the charity bin, clearly, he needs a new knit cap of his own. The cobbler's children and all that. He picked the color and I insisted on the yarn, lovely Swans Island Organic Washable Aran. An evening's worth of very enjoyable knitting latter, DH had a hat knit to his specs. The good stuff always knits up quickly.



DH is happy with his new hat, but when I went back to knitting yarn ordinaire, it seemed itchy. Alas, I'm spoiled.

Post Factum: Nobody Knows the Trouble This Was

This time of year I'm always knitting hats for the mitten tree at Church of the Sharp Elbows. (It's called a mitten tree, but it includes hats and scarves as well as mittens.) In a departure from the usual watch cap, I knit up Salunga Beret by Heather Zoppetti, which pattern is in Everyday Lace and also is available free.

I started with some luverly Yarn Hollow 80/20 Merino/Tussah handspun, liked the color, but wanted better stitch definition.



So I frogged the handspun, set it aside for another day, and started again with Louet Gems Sport Weight. Much better. (Can't tell from the photo? Gentle readers will have to take my word for it.)



Knitting with black yarn has never been an issue for me before, but for this project I needed daylight or bright artificial illumination. I also had the darndest time keeping the pattern repeats straight. It's radial symmetry, five reps per round, mirrored increases and decreases within each rep – nothing out of the way, but apparently my eyes and mind are rotting. The studip got so bad I finally resorted to stitch markers and a lifeline. Then there was the hell of the tubular bind off in 1x1 ribbing. Gah, I know this stuff. I finally substituted Kitchener tubular bind off for the BO given in the pattern. I also forgot to take a pic of the beret at the sad pouch stage and only have pix of it blocking.

Even so, the transformation wrought by blocking is worth documenting. Here's the top view, with dinner plate inserted. (I have no idea why the color of the beret – basic black – is so different from photo to photo.)



And here's the bottom view. The yarn threaded through the beret is to reduce strain on the ribbing.



A good blocking erases many hiccups and frustrations. Perhaps it's more brain rot, but when I look at the FO I forget all the trouble I had.



The tubular bind off ended up looking well, if I say so myself, but of course I forgot a pic of that too. Gah. But, onward.

Churn a Square

Santa's workshop, casa Jersey Knitter location, is churning out Turn A Square hats! This batch is non-striped, which seems to be better-received than the Noro-striped original style, at least by many non-knitters roundabout Exit 151. I'm surprised, but compliant.

      

So much busyness calls for a festive new box bag... to hold still more small projects. I was a little out of it when I bought this fabric, thinking only, "Ooh! Socks!" The recognition they're Christmas stockings came later. Ah. I was a little out of it making the bag, too. I didn't fussy cut the fabric, but the print aligned along the zipper rather nicely anyway.



Meanwhile, I'm searching for a replacement for my trusty old Tupperware pastry rolling sheet, which after years of faithful service is finally showing excessive wear. I've been considering this one. Although it's been so long since I was in the market, I'm suffering sticker shock. But Santa's workshop must work on!

Something Wicked

By the pricking of my thumbs
The weather took a wild turn this week and a winter storm with snow! in October! is forecast for tomorrow. We could have a white Halloween roundabout Exit 151 – all part of living in the Anthropocene. I like to be prepared for French toast emergencies, so began knitting Turn A Square hats, because in my world the journey from Shakespeare to Halloween to severe weather to food to knitting is a short one. Here's the first one done.



It's not for him, but DH could not forbear to grumble, "It's girly." I beg to differ. This is girly.



It's an old Six Sox Knit-along pattern, Amble, worked in Forbidden Woolery Footloose, colorway Cherry Blossom Festival.



I wanted a gansey sock for October Sockdown, something light-colored to show off the stitch work. Having used Footloose before, I knew it would have good stitch definition – I'm very pleased so far.

Humbugs

Over the holiday weekend, which included Thanksgiving and the start of Advent, I saw Deathly Hallows and, like Ebenezer Scrooge, changed my mind. The hats I've been knitting are nice, but they're not what's in the movie. Guess I was humbugged.



Sigh. Ah well, they'll still look well on the Mitten Tree.

With all the Overt Christmas Knitting going on, when the Vestvember vest achieved the vast expanse o' stockinette stage, I stowed it to get it out from underfoot keep my precious handspun pristine. This time of year it's FO or stow!

In that spirit, I finally finished the cuff down I Heart Toe Up cycling socks started during Summer of Socks. I'm pleased with the socks, even though the designer made a newbie mistake in the knit-purl heart motif. As a rule knit stitches are wider than they are tall, so a motif that is well-proportioned on standard graph paper will be vertically compressed when knit up or when charted on knitter's graph paper, as these hearts are. To my eyes they look like sharrows, not a bad motif for cycling socks.



In between contemplating recipes for leftovers (edible) I selected leftovers (fibery) to use in Grumperina's recipe for Helical Stripe Socks. It'll be my December Sockdown project. Should the knitting police inquire, the yarns are true leftovers from Tropical Mer-tini, and green and red cycling anklets.



Lastly, I signed on to Stephanie van der Linden's Advent calendar KAL. I've seen humbuggery in some mystery KALs, but Steffi's looks very promising – the Advent calendar even chides those who try to peek ahead (guess how I know that)!

Of Two Minds

After pondering the merits (and pitfalls) of Mitten Tree mittens, I turned to ruminating on Mitten Tree hats. I wanted the sort of gift hat that would make the recipient feel happy and NOT as if dressed from the bottom of the charity bin. Then I saw a publicity still from Deathly Hallows I and thought, "I could un-vent something like that."



I channeled the spirit of EZ and knit up a child-sized reasonable likeness, and was happy.



Then I saw another photo of Emma Watson, presumably in character (albeit blonde), sporting a hat that looks rather different. The color isn't the issue – it's the texture.



Knowing how persnickety Potterheads can be about verisimilitude, now I'm stricken with renewed indecision. Which hat is in the movie? Either? Neither?? Both??? Could this be – gasp! – a continuity error? Guess I'll have to wait 'til I see the movie – I'm sure I'll be very distracted whenever knitwear is on the screen.

Happy

Quincy is finished and I like everything about it. The well-written pattern is a quick, fun, satisfying knit full of handsome architectural details – I especially like the clever crown shaping. The yarn, Cherry Tree Hill Potluck Bulky, has just the right amounts of spring and color variation. The hat fits my head nicely, with good ear coverage.



I thought the moebius twist might fidget me, but it's quite comfortable. I might tack it shut – then again, I suppose one could use it to stash a press pass or train or theater tickets....



Despite its feast of knitting techniques, Quincy has only one tricky part, grafting the body of the hat. For neatest appearance, the attached I-cord should be grafted knitwise and the garter portion should be grafted purlwise. I messed up slightly because I miscounted the number of garter ridges and so ended up with a reverse stockinette ridge instead of a garter ridge at the grafted seam. Oops.



It's actually not that bad whether viewed from the inside or the outside, so I didn't bother to unpick the Kitchener stitches to fix it.

 

Like some of EZ's most un-ventive patterns, Quincy has the quality of sticking in the memory after knitting it once. It's very striking in bulky yarn, but can easily be adapted to different weights of yarn and different sizes of head. Newbie knitters can learn a lot from it; experienced knitters can enjoy it too. I recommend it highly!

Insulate the Attic

This morning the sky roundabout Exit 151 was the thick milky white familiar in Industrial Age cityscapes. Which set off a six degrees chain of thought: The Gare St-Lazare > Liberty Leading the People > liberty cap > Rhinebeck stress avoidance > I want a new hat. Although not as much as the young Allie wants cake.




I cast on Quincy by Jared Flood in Potluck Bulky Singles that was part of a Cherry Tree Hill New Year's grab bag.

And pondered how white skies could become commonplace should the Pinatubo option be deployed to counteract global warming. It's just one more reason to mind the energy efficiency gap.

Sea Watch

I'm keeping one eye on the sea this week. Hurricane Earl is heading this way. Stinky "brains" have been washing up on the Jersey Shore. John McEnroe has been blowing up a storm. And my Windandsea Hat looks more like an octohat than ever.



Seriously, gentle readers on the U.S. Eastern seaboard may want to check out their local Office of Emergency Management coastal evacuation maps and storm surge maps (click here for NJ). It could be time to prepare to head for higher ground – or at least to queue some hurricane knitting.

Trepidation

I started a Windansea Hat by Kristi Porter, knit from brim to crown. The FOs in the Ravelry project gallery are quite cute, although at the moment the brim on mine is shaping to be an octohat.



I do believe in blocking and brim wire, I do, I do, I do!

Oh Happy Day

Yesterday, Inauguration Day in the U.S., was like the Fourth of July in January roundabout Exit 151. Amid the snow and ice and remnants of winter holiday decorations, many houses were resplendent with flags and bunting. I put up a flag, but cheerfully concede this one takes the cake. (Notice the number of stars – I wonder how many joys and sorrows this flag has marked.)



Reclaiming flag-waving from yahoos and scoundrels was only one of the many marvels of the day. The biggest marvel undoubtedly was the huge, excited, well-mannered crowd in Washington – DC police reported no incidents and no arrests among the eager witnesses to history. The best? I'm not sure – I loved the music, the sung and spoken word, the wise and witty benediction, but perhaps it was the inaugural address, with its triumph of reason and reasonableness, embrace of our patchwork heritage, lack of posturing and doublespeak, and explicit care for commonweal and commonwealth.



All in all, it makes me happy to wear my Grassroots Hat, knit from worsted oddments. There's a clever allegory lurking in the grassroots somewhere, but I stand content with this exclamation: three cheers for President Barack Hussein Obama!

Toque, Yo!

Remember Toque, Yo!, a test knit for Rosemary Hill? It's the hat she's wearing in her Knitty profile photo (see Bijouterie, Muir, Ice Queen, and others), it has a story of its own, and the complete pattern is now available.



The hat is an enjoyable project for experienced knitters; adventurous beginners will find it a readily accessible introduction to three techniques: mosaic colorwork in the round, knitting a casing, and jogless joins. The pattern offers two options – this is the original version with boning.

Many knitters will chose to emulate the designer and use strongly contrasting colors for a dynamic, op art look. I wanted to explore the interplay of a subdued color contrast with the ear-of-corn texture of the purl fabric. I love the nubbly result, even though the short version without boning actually fits my short stack cranium better. Either way, Toque, Yo! is a satisfying knit.

Amabilis

The month is less than a week old and already has both meowed and roared. Perhaps in harmony with that seasonal split personality, Malabrigo March is reminding me of how much I love fancy texture stitches. I also hate the same stitches, but right now it's all good. The Amanda Hat by Gina House is finished and she is lovable perfection, if I do say so myself. I'm particularly happy with the way the Diagonal Demi-Brioche stitch and the color pooling work together.



Amanda as written is a bit too deep for my head, so I set out to omit one repeat of brioche stitches, four rounds, half below the garter band and half above. Apparently I can't count to two, because somehow the omitted rounds are all above the garter band. Ah well, I rather like the subtle asymmetry. I also added an extra set of decreases on top for a better fit.



Consistent gauge is extra important when working brioche stitches. The fabric has a strong propensity to pull in, which causes many knitters to tighten their gauge, which causes the fabric to pull in more, ad infinitum (– and beyond!) in a spiral as inexorable as a gravity sink or an economic depression. Happily, it's generally a virtue if a hat tapers toward the top, which makes Amanda a forgiving project for the first-time brioche knitter.

The next Malabrigo March project on the needles is Chevalier Mittens by Tikru. I'm a great admirer of her Suomi style and this pattern is no exception. Alas, my poor digicam seems unable to capture the richly ombréd red-violet of the Pagoda colorway; indeed, what it does register seems to obscure the beautiful cables. So I dabbled in some special effects to convey a better sense of the luscious texture.



Chevalier as written has a cuff that reaches almost to my elbow – a magnificent gauntlet for a knight of yore, but too much of a good thing for my taste. I've shortened the cuff. I'm working the m1 increases for the offset thumb gusset so that they lean away from the thumb instead of the more usual lean toward the thumb, resulting in soft organic curves on the palm side that showcase the yarn and contrast with the embossed relief on the back of the hand. Sorry, no pix of the thumb gusset this time, I got obsessed with the color balance problem.



Red-violet does seem to be a challenge for my digicam, cf this splendid dendrobium orchid from last year's Flower Show. I'm off to Philly tomorrow to chatter in botanic Latin, walk and gawk 'til my feet fall off, and stock up on goods, garden and otherwise. (Thanks, Alotta.Knittin, for the advance review. I'll look for those Flying Monkey cupcakes!) As I mentioned to blogless Kelli, I'll be the one inhaling – all the fresh flowers and plants are such a breath of spring.