Yarn, yarn, yarn

My stash has gotten out of control. Here it is, thrown about the bed:

Not that there is too much yarn. There is never too much yarn. I don't understand the concept of "too much yarn" unless and until it gets to the point that entire rooms are just filled top to bottom with yarn, like Uncle Scrooge's vault from "DuckTales." Yes, I'm an '80s baby.

My stash has out grown it's various containers, and I don't know what is in it. I've never been diligent about adding purchases to my "stash" on Ravelry; I usually only add them when I'm adding the finished project, if anything. I have no idea how much I have of any yarn, unless it's a full skein. Not to mention the mystery yarn.

My mission, my poorly documented mission, has been to destash and organize. So far this month, I have knit a baby sleep sack, a baby hat, an adult hat, and a Color Affection, and I finished a long-neglected Array. I have another adult hat on the needles, as well as a softie that I'm making up as I go. On the agenda tonight is the organization aspect. De-mystifying the mystery yarn, weighing and calculating the yardage of remnants, and organizing. Wish me luck!

Waiting Room Knitting

As far as knitting productivity goes, nothing beats nervous hospital waiting room knitting.

My husband has an infection – a complication of his diabetes – that we've been treating since he left work early on Tuesday and went into Urgent Care. Thankfully, I was able to join him; and we've been at the hospital every day since, culminating tonight in a routine surgical procedure to drain the abscess. He's been in a lot of pain, and we've spent a lot of time waiting. Waiting for his regular doctor, waiting for the specialist, for the pharmacist, for lab work, for ultrasounds, for the procedure... He's in very good hands. And he's hardly the first person to have medical issues and who is loved by a Knitter.

By coincidence, the onset of his infection coincided with the beginning of 12 inches of reverse stockinette stitch on the cardigan I'm knitting (Cerisara by Bonnie Marie Burns). My mind was so occupied that I barely noticed the knit-boredom. And it helped that nerves made me knit a bit faster than usual. Now that we're home, all I have left are a few rows on the bottom hem, and the sleeves.

Post-procedure, Ben is feeling well. He's on pain meds and will be for a couple days; he has a follow up visit on Monday but we're optimistic that the worst is over. His doctors have been wonderful; cautious but aggressive.

My supervisors have been wonderful all week, they've done everything in their power so that I can be with Ben as much as possible.

My in-laws have been wonderful as well. My mother-in-law has accompanied us on many appointments, even though she was relegated to the waiting rooms even more than we were. My father-in-law is a Radiologist at the same hospital, he's been able to review the scans and stop in periodically. They looked after our dog last night and are doing the same tonight as well.

My mom has been extremely supportive as well, though she is further away and could not be here in person. I've cried to her on the phone more than once this week.

Of course, given the choice, I would much rather not finish Cerisara this weekend if it means we don't have to back to the hospital.

Free Valentines Printables

 Enjoy these free Valentine's printables!

I could never stop love you (English)

I could never stop loving you (French)

je ne pourrais jamais cesser de t'aimer

Interested in seeing this in another language? Hit the comments with the translation!

A view of my Monday

It's been a long time, blogworld. Over the last few months, work and family things have kept me from crafting and knitting and blogging as much as I would have liked, hence the long silence. Not that the work or the family things have been anything less than pleasant; just that when I run out of hours in the day, the knitting, crafting, and blogging are the first things to hit the back burner.

Today was a pretty perfect day. I organized our bedroom closet, and then I organized my yarn stash and my needle stash (How did I end up with 2 US #6 18" circular needles?), and then I dove back in. I've been camped out on the bed, where I can sit comfortably and spread things out. Bo has even joined me.

I haven't taken a complete break from crafting. I've been working on a poncho for a close family friend's newly adopted daughter. I bound off the final stitches earlier today, now I just have to weave in ends and complete the top edging. Pictures to come, and probably a pattern as well.

Easiest Pie Ever

I promise, this is the easiest pie recipe you will ever see.




Take 2 bags of mixed frozen fruits. Any two, pick your favorites. Two of the same, two different, whatever you want. If you're feeling brave but squeamish, pick two different blends that have two fruits in common. For example, I used a strawberry-pomegranate-cherry-blueberry blend and a mango-strawberry-blueberry blend. End result, lots of strawberries and blueberries with mango, cherries, and pomegranate. Add some odds and ends and a pie crust, and you're done!

Ingredients:
Any two bags of frozen fruit, with a total of  ~26 ounces.


Pre-made pastry crust
1/2 cup sugar (or 1/4 cup Splenda/Sugar baking blend)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp orange peel
2 tsp nutmeg
cornstarch

Toss the fruit into a saucepan on medium heat. Stir occasionally as it thaws, but otherwise hold your horses. Until the fruit is fully thawed, it does not play well with others.

Once the fruit is thawed, add 1/2 cup sugar (or 1/4 cup Splenda/sugar baking blend), 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp dried orange peel, 2 tsp nutmeg. Stir until everything is dissolved.

Gradually add cornstarch until the filling reaches your preferred consistency. I like mine to be just a bit more viscous than jelly, so I added a lot of cornstarch. Be careful though; you can always make it thicker, but you can't make it thinner.

Set the filling aside, allowing it to cool.

Take the pie crust from the box, and follow the directions for a double crust pie. The directions on the box may or may not tell you to pre-bake the bottom crust; always pre-bake it. 400º F, about 6-8 minutes.

Remove the pre-baked crust from the oven and pour the filling over it, being sure to spread the filling evenly. Put the second crust on top of the pie, pressing the two crusts together at the edge as best you can. Cut a couple slits in the top crust, and return to the oven at 400ºF  until the top crust is golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. 

Serve and enjoy!

Whoopie Pies

I was craving those Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Sandwich cookies the other day. I have a love/hate relationship with them. I love the ratio of cookie to cream, I love the actual cookie part, but the cream is just a little too sweet, and I have to eat the whole box to really satisfy the craving.

So when I got this latest urge, I thought I would try making my own.

I used the Oatmeal Fruit-Nut Drop Cookie Recipe from my great-grandmother's cookbook (Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, Revised and Enlarged. 2nd Edition, 1956, this recipe p. 195)

1 cup soft shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 3/4 sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups rolled oats
(the recipe calls for 1 cup raisins or dates and 1/2 cup nuts; I omitted these)

1. Mix the shortening, sugar and eggs together.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; then stir into shortening/sugar mixture.
3. Stir in oats (and raisins/dates and nuts if desired)
4. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls 2" apart on baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes at 400º. Cool completely.

Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
coconut cream (to taste)
powdered sugar (to taste)
cocoa powder (to taste)

Beat cream until peaks are stiff, adding flavorings to your taste as you go. Other flavor ideas include almond extract, cinnamon, and allspice.

Pineapple Cake Pudding

Another recipe from my great-grandmother's cook book. I made some cookies from this same cookbook earlier tonight, which left me with half a can of pineapple. I couldn't let it go to waste, so when I stumbled upon the Cake Pudding recipe, I had to try it.

It was delicious! The two of us ate the whole thing, and we were both liking the sides of our bowls. I'll definitely make this again.

1/4 cup sifted flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 egg yolks, well beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/4 drained, crushed pineapple
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

1. Sift together flour, salt and sugar.
2. Stir in lemon rind, lemon juice, egg yolks, milk, crushed pineapple, and pineapple juice.
3. Fold in egg whites.
4. Pour into 1 quart baking dish or 6 custard cups. Set pan in hot water (1" deep). Bake 50 minutes at 350º. Serve warm or cold, with or without whipped cream.

(From Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, Revised and Enlarged, 2nd edition. Published 1956. This recipe is on page 237)