A tale of Two Sweaters ...

One finished!*

And one begun!**

* Sweater for Little Squid. Generic Basketweave pattern stitch using the guidelines from Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns.

**Sweater for Mike. Hand dyed, hand spun, roughly sport weight yarn. Construction guidelines will be from the same book, pattern will be one-of-a-kind. Look for the finished product sometime around October.

Yogurt

I've been looking for something really deep to post about and even had a huge monologue going on last night as I was trying to fall asleep. Unfortunately, it was all about work stuff which I really can't post about. Sorry! Let's just leave the work stuff with this: there was a public hearing regarding the fate of my school last week. It goes up for a vote on the 26th.

On the home front, I'm still plugging away on Little Squid's sweater -- front, back and right arm are done. Left arm is about halfway up his forearm. My rigid heddle loom is now clear of weaving and the final product will be run through the wash tomorrow. And I've started spinning the alpaca-merino blend that I bought at Rhinebeck.

I've also made some yogurt.

You may remember this post where Little Squid and I experimented with frozen yogurt using our homemade product. We never did master it but hey, that's what next summer is for. Right?

Meanwhile I have continued to make yogurt every week or two using the same method. Recently I've seen some posts on other blogs raving about a Crock-pot method of making yogurt.

I studied it, thought hard about it, and decided that I will stick with my method. It is fairly simple and only requires about 2 hours of my time depending on the temperature of my kitchen. In cooler weather the cooling processes occurs much more quickly then it does in the heat of summer.So, for those who are interested, this is my adaptation of Harold McGee's yogurt making technique as originally published in the New York Time on April 15, 2009.

***

First, heat the milk to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. I do this by heating about 12 ounces milk at a time on high in the microwave for 1 minute (in a 4 cup measuring cup) and then dumping it into a pot on the stove with the flame at a medium setting. (I make a gallon of yogurt at a time. You can easily make less.)

While it is heating, I monitor the temperature and twiddle my thumbs. This is actually why I microwave the milk. The one minute intervals keep me interested enough that I do not walk away and then forget that I have milk heating.


Once the milk reaches 180 degrees it is time to cool it. I do this in two or three or, when making 2 gallons at a time as I do during the summer, 4 bowls.


During the warmer weather I surround the bowls with reusable cold packs to help it cool faster. I also stir it frequently to increase the amount of milk that comes in contact with the cooler parts of the bowl (and the air).

When the temperature of the milk reaches 120 degrees, I take yogurt that I've set aside from the last batch (2 tablespoons of yogurt for every quart of milk used) and mix it with some of the warm milk to thin out the yogurt.



This yogurt-milk slurry then gets mixed into the warm milk and the mixture gets put into a large container. I use a gallon Tupperware pitcher that we've had forever.


The pitcher gets a lid (I have no idea where the official lid is these days) and then gets wrapped in towels.


Usually I use three towels but this time I used four -- one underneath the pitcher to insulate it from the cold counter. Our kitchen was really cold.


Then the wrapped pitcher of pre-yogurt sits on the counter for about 6 hours, more or less. More if you like it tarter, less if you like it more naturally sweet.

The neo-yogurt then chills overnight in the fridge and is ready for eating in the morning.

I, personally, take it one step further and strain the yogurt in a HUGE fine meshed strainer that we got at a restaurant supply store. Mike cut the handle off of it so that the strainer, sitting on top of a storage container, fits in the fridge. Half a gallon of yogurt fits in the strainer at a time.

One hour usually makes it thick enough for my taste but you can strain longer if you want. Half of the last batch strained overnight by accident. It is incredibly thick and smooth and luscious!

And there you go. A gallon of milk costs between $2.39 (Costco) and $3.50 (Whole Foods 365 brand). A quart of my previous favorite yogurt, Greek Goddess, costs $5.99 at Fairway -- more elsewhere. A gallon of milk makes 2.5 to 4 quarts of yogurt depending on how much you strain it. Monetarily it makes sense but that's not why I do it.

I do it because it is too easy and too good not to.The only down-side is the cleaning of the pan. The stuck on milk can be tough to clean with a regular sponge or dishrag so I use this curly thing. It gets it right off and then I toss the curly thing into the dishwasher to get all the milk-curd crud out. Hey, it works.

Goals: Update #4

Done! All of the goals that I posted at the start of break have been accomplished.

• Little Squid now has new, warm mittens
• Papa Squid has a big sack of homespun sweater yarn
• and we finished the puzzle.

In addition:

• I'm almost done with the woven scarf(?) (might be 2 or 3, it seems to be taking forever!)
• I built another airlift hydroponic system
• I made a fresh batch of yogurt
• I figured out how I'm conducting my last 3 weeks of classes
• I graded the papers that I brought home
• I played lots of Wii with the kids and Mike
• I played a few board games with the kids (and Mike)
  
• I slept until 7 or (gasp!) later almost every day
• I started a major cleaning of the kitchen which will ultimately lead to a paint job during either February or Spring break (I'm taking it in small chunks so it is not too overwhelming. 15 - 20 minutes a night of serious cabinet and wall scrubbing.)
• and I ordered a big-girl Loom.

My goals for the next month are:

• To spend lots of time at work making sure that the student programs are ready to go on February 1.

That's it. I really can't put anything else on the list with that looming. Oh, and maybe warp my loom once it arrives at the end of the month. (Like that won't happen!)

I'll try to get some pictures of the yarn posted later, and maybe the yardage if I manage to finish it off.

Goals: Update #3

This was not one of my goals. Nor was it executed by my nimble fingers.

What is it? It's the mascot of the Stuyvesant Computer Science teachers. It does not have a name but there is a school-wide contest in full swing to name it.

And this handsome fellow is a red green velvet whoopie pie.

Mike and Squidette have been on a whoopie pie tear for about 2 weeks now. Yum!

Finally, I give you Little Squid who is mostly back to his fairly sunny and strange self.
I love my family!

(And as to my own goals -- more weaving has been done and the end of the road is in sight on the spinning front. I've even made some progress on Little Squid's sweater.)

Goals: Update #2

Another project in progress ...
thick socks for me out of hand spun wool. I do not expect to finish them this break but did finish the first one yesterday while visiting friends.

Then there is Little Squid's sweater, back in the queue now that his mittens are finished. My first goal is simply to finish the front before the end of the week. And maybe a sleeve ...

And in the finished column ...
Ta Da! We all put some serious time in on it and finally finished it!

Goals: Update #1

Yes, I know that break is only 24 hours (or so) old. But hey! I've had no obligations and my initial goals were modest.

We started on Tuesday with this partial mitten.
By last night we had this complete mitten (ends hidden and all) and this partial mitten.

As of 30 minutes ago we now have ...
one happy kid with warm hands!

The puzzle, meanwhile, has also seen some progress. Here we are Tuesday night ...
and last night ...
and tonight ...
Squidette has been rather obsessed with it today. I think I added about a dozen pieces in between weight lifting sets this morning.

There was also some weaving done. I took before and after pictures but they look the same! I think there is another 18 inches or so of warp on the loom so give me another day or three to finish it off.

Goals

Here are the first* of my winter break "want to finish" projects:

Mittens for Little Squid, who joined his mother in denial last year and wore mittens that were were very neat (double knit-neat) but a tad too small. We have both come to our senses and his new sweater is in time-out while I whip up a pair of too large double-stranded mittens using the same yarn. (I told you, I have a lot of it -- it came from a sweater that was too big on Mike even when he was 60 pounds heavier.)


Speaking of my husband ...
I intend to finish the spinning and plying for his new sweater. Six skeins of the main color are done and I think I have another 3-5 skeins yet to spin and ply. The contrast colors are done.

And then there is this puzzle ...
A 1000 piece, black and white opus of an Escher print. It's been in progress since before Halloween.

*By the first of, I do indeed mean that there are several more ...

Summer Knits

During our travels there has been lots of small knitting going on.

First, and foremost is the Whisper Cardigan. I spied this in Interweave Knits a while ago and decided that I had the perfect, handspun, yarn for it. And so, I spent months knitting it. That's what happens when one knits a cardigan in laceweight yarn.It came out nice but I'm not crazy about it. It's one of those things that looks better in the magazine then on my body. Oh well, live and learn. I probably still wear it occassionally.

Then there were socks.

And socks.

And socks.
The first pair (right-most sock) was started just before the New Year and finished up just as July began. They are mine. The yarn was purchased in Lancaster, PA last summer so I really had to finish them before this year's trip.

The second pair (center sock) was knit in fairly short order as my "camp pick-up waiting" pair and is for the lovely Squidette. The yarn is a Regia something that we picked up at Webs in February.

The third pair (left-most sock) was my "don't need to look" pair that was started during a viewing of the latest Star Trek movie, continued during Harry Potter, had more inches added while my eyes dilated at the opthomologist, saw some action on the trip to Pittsburgh and was the ONLY project taken on the bike trip. The second sock gained major inches in the corn maze and while sitting around a campfire and was finally finished on our way back from a short trip to the Catskill mountains earlier this week. The yarn is a Regia or a Socking or something like that -- I lost the ball band a long time ago. Squidette picked it out at Webs and it was always designated as socks for Mike. "Blind" knitting often takes the shape of socks for Mike since he has such large feet that I don't have to worry about measuring for very long stretches of time.

And finally, we have Squidette's new gloves. Sport weight alpaca dyed and purchased in Lancaster, PA on our most recent trip. There is more than enough left over for a pair of matching mittens which I will probably start in the next day or two.

Currently on the needles:

the biking socks started last year for the Tour de France Knit-Along,

a cob-web weight shawl which I work on every 6 months or so,

a lace weight shawl which was started a few weeks ago after I finished Swallowtail,

and, a pair of socks for Little Squid which were started today and are about 2 inches in.

I think that's it.

On the spinning front I am working on the main color for Mike's sweater and am making steady if intermittent progress on it. All of the ancillary colors are spun and plyed though only one is skeined so far. I'll skein the other two right before I start plying the main color. That's when I'll finally need the bobbins for my Journey Wheel.

One more day of summer vacation....

Knitting?

Yes, there has been knitting and spinning going on around here.

Lots of tiny socks for geocaching swag.

A "don't have to look" sock for Mike. This is where it was in late June after seeing the new Star Trek movie and at the start of Squidette's graduation. It has since seen Harry Potter, a two hour performance at Squidette's camp and been to the ophthalmologist. (Two by two ribbing can be done with my eyes closed. Or dilated.) It now has a heel and about 4 inches of cuff.

There is also a sock-in-progress for Squidette. It gets worked on while I'm waiting to pick the kids up from camp.

Tomorrow we are going to my sister-in-laws' for the day so I have 3 hours of car time and lots of visiting time. My prediction is that I will finish the first of Squidette's socks (it is almost to the toe) and maybe the first of Mike's pair.

And then there is Swallowtail ...

Knit in laceweight, homespun, two-ply, bamboo-silk (I'm not sure if it is a bamboo silk mix or if it is bamboo "silk." The roving (top really) was a gift and the giver was not, at the time, a spinner and didn't know anything other than what was written on the label.) Since it was evenly dyed, I suspect it it all bamboo. It was certainly easier to spin than silk.

I finished the spinning last summer and the yarn aged for 6 months or so before I finally realized that it needed to be Swallowtail, a pattern that has aged on my shelf for a few years.

I do not think I will make another Swallowtail. It is lovely and I am quite happy with it but the nupps seriously annoyed me. That said, I was using my blunt tipped addi turbos and not the newer addi lace needles. The next time I knit a pattern with nupps in it I will make sure to use pointy needles. I also suffered from some brain melting during the final chart and had to rip out half a dozen rows.

More to come as we start our summer travels. Pittsburgh any one?

Catch Up Time

Spring Break started something like this ...

yes, that is a chicken bone ... they were out of lamb shanks.

The break continued with some finishing ...
and more finishing ...
As well as some nice beginnings ...

(Those are peas if you are confused.)

And then there was some dying ...

And a little bit of yogurt making ...
Only a little bike riding due to the weather. And, lots and lots of matzah.

And then there was the worm poop ... I dare you to ask!

Math and Crafts

The children joined the school drama club and will be appearing in "Bye Bye Birdie" in early May. School plays require costumes.

For the Sweet Apple Teen, Debra Sue (aka Sqidette), it means a Poodle skirt.

This prompted the statements "fast, divided 28 by pi," and "32 X 4 divided by 36," the latter in an effort to figure out the real yardage needed versus what we purchased.
I blew it. Before we even got to this point. I really should have reread the instructions instead of assuming that I could wing it. This skirt is supposed to be about 4 inches longer. Oops!

No Knees allowed. That said, the kids tell me that one of the other girls is smaller then Little Squid. So, this will be hers if she wants it. At least it gave me an opportunity to figure out what has to be done.

As I've volunteered to make all of the skirts if needed, this is a good thing. The girls are supposed to make their own. I really do not see that happening.

Then there is Little Squid's costume. He plays Harvey Johnson, a geek who is trying to get a date to the prom.
Can you say "argyle vest?" The graph was charted by Little Squid, hence the statements "69 is and easily dividable number -- use it instead" and "2x +1 is always an odd number." The first statement was originally "69 is an evenly dividable number" which prompted Mike to tell me to go back to looking cute since my brain obviously was not working.
There are also sweater pieces blocking but that is another post. One to be written after the sweater is assembled.

Oh So Warm!!!

Nomad Hat and Scarf from Interweave Knits Fall 2007.
Thanks to Kristen for blogging it and inspiring me to dig out the pattern. Now if the school yard is finally snow and ice free ... we can take the kids out again and I'll have nice warm ears. It's been a l-o-n-g 3 weeks of indoor lunch duty!

Also in this issue of Interweave Knits is the Cobblestone pullover which I am going to size down for Little Squid. It's my vacation knitting for mid-winter break.

Poke, Poke ...

There's been some poking going on here today.

We went fabric shopping today at City Quilter (I needed to make pillow cases for the couch pillows) and Little Squid became entranced with the needle felting kits. So ... I bought him one. No, it was not a Squid.

It was ...

A Penguin!

Which, after Squidette saw how quickly it was made ...

was joined by a second penguin!


And ... a Squid! Of his own design.
I think I have an addict on my hands. He now wants to try his hand at a dolphin and an elephant. My fiber stash is in danger ...

Squidette, meanwhile, made some more progress on her quilt after acquiring an edging and backing fabric. She intends to finish it this weekend.

Me? I did some work while they were all at a violin recital rehearsal. These socks? I finished them a couple of days ago. The top one shows the true color. The bottom one shows just how badly I screwed up the pattern at one point.
They've been keeping my feet toasty warm all day but were made very large with the idea that I would full them in the washer and have extra warm socks for riding. I think that for now I will wear them as it and hand wash until they get accidentally felted by Maria. Meanwhile, another pair is in the works.

Yarn is home spun corriedale. 48 stitches around on size 2 lace-addi turbos. Which get really cold when you knit with them outdoors in 30 or so degree weather.