Warm Fuzzies

Knit Tissue Holder

Tissue, anyone? 

I used the bit of yarn I had leftover from the Short-Row Hat to make this nifty little tissue holder (pattern available here, from Karrie).  Adorable little sewn tissue holders have taken blogland by storm this past year...but kudos to Karrie for thinking to knit one.  It's such a great project for those shorter bits of yarn remaining after completing a more time-consuming project.  And really, you can pretty much knit up a swatch of anything - as simple or complex as you want - and just seam up the sides to magically turn a bit of knitting into something wonderful and gift-worthy. 

I love the stitch in the pattern - it's very simple, but has a very effective presentation and texture.  I think a scarf made from this stitch pattern would turn out lovely, and could be a nice larger project for a beginner.  I was lazy and didn't add a button for closure, or any other embellishment, for that matter, but you could definitely dress this baby up with some notions.  If you're not a lazy-butt, that is.

Mystery Solved: Short-Row Hat

Yup, Lera got it right, it's a hat.  Though I've really got to say, I thought the photo looked a lot like a nice, big, fuzzy apple (hence my decision to make you guys guess =p).  The photo's a little out of focus, and while the blurry photos that I take usually wind up in the desktop Recyle Bin...this one was different.  It spoke to me.  "So what if I'm blurry?  I'm beautiful!" 

The Short Row Hat pattern, free from Interweave Knits, knitted up pretty quickly.  I used the recommended Ami Ami Faith yarn, down to the green mix colorway (#A50).  I couldn't help myself, even after I found out that the supplier was back-ordered, and that I'd have to wait a month until their new stock would come in...I loved the colors in the original pattern that much.  The yarn was definitely worth the wait; it was a joy to work with, so soft against my skin, and knitting up into a lovely fabric.

 

Here's the front and back of the hat after I blocked it.  It was my first time working short rows and doing a three-needle bindoff; I've been choosing patterns that incorporate elements of knitting that I haven't yet tried, so as I complete each project, I gradually develop a more solid set of knitting skills.   Slow and steady wins the race, after all.

Now I have my very own "faux-entrelac" hat, and I love it to death. The colors, the softness. the warmth, the texture....everything about it is so...me.  I've always been more of an ear-muff person than a hat person (gotta keep my hair tidy, you know, hehe), but I think I'm a changed woman now.  I mean, hats do more than just keep my ears from freezing and falling off...they keep the rest of my head warm, too.  Imagine that.

I have just a little bit of yarn left over.  I'll definitely be knitting it up into a little something, since it's just too good to waste.

Kate, Almond and Raspberry Meringue Bars, and a Mysterious Photo

I love the work of Jessica Hutchison.  She's widely known for making some very unique knitted toys and robots.  Jess had published a booklet of her toy designs, but by the time I stumbled upon her work and discovered said booklet existed, it was already way too late to get my hands on one; she stopped printing and selling them long ago.  Yes, I know.  Poor, poor me.  But I was able to get my hands on one of her patterns, for free, no less.  Jess contributed a pattern to Knitty's Winter 2005 issue: Kate, the Cat with Britches.

I found no reason to resist temptation.

    

While amigurumi and other smaller toys usually require you to really pack in the stuffing to better shape the toy and achieve better construction overall, Kate was different.  Kate held her shape fine with a loose stuffing, so she's light, soft, and huggable.  She's bigger than my usual toys, so I can actually pick her up and cuddle her.  Yippee for truly soft toys.

Speaking of soft, squishy things, I have a recipe to share with you: Almond and Raspberry Meringue Bars.  Deconstructed French almond macarons, with raspberry filling and a touch of coconut is the best way to describe them.  The almond shortbread base is surprisingly soft, and the marshmallowy meringue is deliciously chewy (how are you liking those adverbs?  haha).  But really, I think I'm in love with these.      

Almond and Raspberry Meringue Bars (makes about 36 pieces) adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 cup butter, softened

1 large egg

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

7 ounces almond paste (usually next to the marzipan in stores)

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cup seedless red raspberry jam

3 large egg whites

1/2 cup white granulated sugar

1/2 cup flaked coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil.  Grease lightly.
2. To make the Base: In a large bowl, mix the butter, almond paste, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in one large egg and the almond extract. Mix in the flour until the dough just comes together.  Press into prepared pan, bake 20 to 25 minutes, until edges are golden.  Remove from oven and cool slightly.
3. Using a spatula, evenly spread the raspberry preserves over the base.
4. In a large glass or metal bowl, whip three egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup of granulated sugar until the peaks are stiff and glossy. Lightly spread the meringue over the jam.  Sprinkle with coconut.
5. Return the pan to the oven, and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until meringue is firm and coconut is lightly toasted. Allow to cool in the pan.  Carefully lift the foil from the pan.  Using a sharp knife, cut into bars.

I'll end this post with a bit of fun.  Anyone care to guess what crafty goodness is front and center in this cropped photo?

FO: Backyard Leaves Scarf

My apologies for being MIA these last few weeks...I was too busy having fun with my family in California.  I hope everyone's New Year is off to a great start!  I was in Las Vegas for New Year's Eve, and wowee, was that crazy.  What was usually a 3.5 hours drive to Vegas turned into a grueling 8 hour crawl through the desert.  8 hours there, 8 hours coming back.  We hovered at around 10-15 miles an hour for like, 5 or 6 of those hours.  And the gas stations were totally rolling in money that weekend...we had to wait 45 minutes to exit the freeway in an attempt to get some gas.  But that was just the beginning to the trek we had to make to fill up the gas tank.  After we finally got off the freeway, we had to wait for eleventy billion minutes in a ridiculous looking line of cars waiting to make a right turn into the completely *swamped* gas station.  The insanity of it all!  Heck, I might as well try to squeeze into Times Square next year.  Yeah, right.  NEVER AGAIN. 

Ah, but onto the good stuff.  I finished my Backyard Leaves scarf, and am totally loving it.  It was a bigger time-investment than I had initially thought; each pattern repeat took me 40 minutes to an hour.  I think I spent a total of around 24 hours knitting the scarf.  And was the finished product worth a day of my life?  Um, yes.  Now that I'm able to read lace charts, I may just attempt to knit myself one of those gorgeous lace shawls that I've always dreamed of having.  I've even started researching already.  See that book under my scarf?  That's A Gathering of Lace by Meg Swansen.  Lacy shawls, here I come!   



And, just for fun, here are some before and after (blocking) pictures of Backyard Leaves so you can see how the texture changes.  The pre-blocked scarf is pictured in black and white because it really shows off the puffiness of the leaves.  Blocking the scarf opens up the holes and flattens the scarf to better show the "lacy" aspects of the scarf.  (The color of the yarn is darker in this picture because it was still damp.)  I liked the look of scarf both before and after blocking, but, as with most knitted items, the scarf definitely had a more finished look after I blocked it.  But you know when the scarf looks best?  When I'm wearing it!