Just a few more days

Stats final: Two take home components, due Dec 2 and December 9.  In classcomponent: December 9.

However, that isn’t to say I’m not knitting as a coping mechanism, even though I know I shouldn’t be.  Since Thanksgiving:

My own design.  I’m refering to it as Elizabeth Zimmermann’s EPS, Cosmic Pluto’s Lucy in the Sky, Ann Budd’s Diagonal Cross Rib Socks, and even a little bit of Kim Hargrave’s Jolie getting together for a drunken one nigh stand.  Really, it’s EPS + stitch pattern from Barbara Walker Treasury.  As usual, I’m worried about running out of yarn, but I have a plan for the sleeves.  Which will probably show up December 10.  When I’m up all nigh knitting after the final…

Oh, and Thanksgiving!  Let me tell you about Thanksgiving!

Sadly, my cranberries did not set this year.  Granny Smith apples provide natural pectin to make them jelly-ish.  Just not enough this year.  Rebecca made whipped cream from cream!  I’d never seen that before.  The few times I’ve tried, either nothing or I start getting bits of butter.  We also made apple pie from Alton Brown’s new baking book, with crust from scratch!  We also mashed potatoes (baby red).  We made cornbread from scratch in order to make cornbread and sausage stuffing, along with apple cider gravy.  Broth – you guessed it – from scratch!  We boiled chicken bits, onions, bay leaves, carrots, celery for … a really long time.  And boom! Tastey broth!  A tiny little turkey meatloaf (as Rebecca pointed out when I was being concerned it was too small, “It’s a half a pound of meat for each of us!”).  Not photoed: sauted grape tomatoes.  We also had grand intentions of making beet latke-type things, a roasted acorn squash with cinnamon butter, but sort of ran out of steam at abotu 8:30 pm.  We were eating the pie at 11.

Tutorial: Fisherman’s Rib

Looking shifty in a cowl

To make my super nifty cowl cast on 40 (size small, 12″ circumference)  50 (15″ circumference), 70 (20″ circumference) stitches with a bulky yarn and size US-10.5 needles, place marker and join in the round, being careful not to twist.  Shown here: Large, when I should have done a medium.

Round 1: Knit 1, Purl 1; repeat around.
Round 2: Knit 1 into stitch below, Purl 1; repeat around.
Round 3: Knit 1, Purl 1 into stitch below; repeat around.

Repeat rounds 2 & 3 to desired length, bind off.

I know Brioche Stitch is all the rage.  Fisherman’s rib looks pretty much the same, and has fewer steps!  By knitting into the row below, you get a thick fluffy ribbing.  Although fisherman’s rib is typically worked flat over an even number of stitches (so that every row begins with a knit), I’ve also added pictures for purling into stitch below, this way, you can work it in the round!

So, let’s start with knitting into the stitch below.  The target:

(You’ll want to have actually worked to the knit stitch.  I was recycling photos.)

So, normally (working flat) that would be it – when you cast on an even number of stitches, every row will begin with a K1below.  But to make the super nifty fisherman’s cowl, you’ll need to alternate rounds knitting into stitch below or purling into stitch below.

So to purl into the stitch below:

It may be helpful to glance at the back of your work and see if you are inserting the needle into the “V” below, as you did for the knit-into-stitch-below.  After all, a purl on the right side is just a knit on the wrong side.

But I don’t want to stop!

Loving these!  I’m using some Lang Jawoll (navy blue) I got in a swap ages ago, and the white is plain old Regia 4-ply, and size 0 (2mm) addi turbos.  They’re a little snug, but I’m willing to bet they’ll grow when I give them a bath.

I don’t want to stop, but my hands are hurting, I’m starving (all I’ve eaten to day is an apple, I didn’t want to stop knitting to make lunch!) and I have to do homework.  But man, I really want to work on these!