Location, Location, Location – Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 5

Today's prompt for Knitting and Crochet Blog Week is:

Where do you like to indulge in your craft? Is your favourite arm chair your little knitting cubby area, or do you prefer to ‘knit in public’? Do you liek to crochet in the great outdoors, perhaps, or knit in the bath, or at the pub?

I probably spend the majority of my knitting time on the couch in my front room or in the passenger seat of the car (I don't drive, yet, so try to always bring a project or three in the car for long drives). Not that those are the only places I'll knit by any means, especially since I became a mother and time to knit became a little harder to come by. If my daughter will play by herself for a while at the playground (or if we happen to be there with other children and she's not being too shy), or when she's running to blow off steam after we come out of the local coop, I'll pull out one of the small projects I keep in my bag and fit in a few rows.

Lots of my friends and some of my family knit/crochet so they don't think it strange for me to pull out some knitting if we're sitting talking. When we visit my husband's family and everyone just sits around to chat and visit it saves my sanity to be able to pull something out of my bag to work on so my fingers don't itch!! I think they think it's an exotic curious thing that I'm working in the corner over there from the questions they ask but they don't seem to mind that I'm doing it thankfully.

Starting Out – Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 1

Just as I want to try to get back into the swing of blogging (and generally being creative) again conveniently there's something to join in with that will prompt me to get going each day this week. Courtesy of Eskimimi this week is Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, each day there's a different topic for those taking part to blog about.

I also notice (and I'm afraid I've already forgotten where I saw this) that once I've got a hold of my knitting inspirations "Elsie Marley" is having a kid's clothes week challenge - for the second year she's challenging herself and others who want to join in to "spend an hour each day working on clothes for your kid’s–or kids’–summer wardrobe." Hopefully this will get me motivated to work on some new baby clothes, and make some things for my nearly 4yo too (although I'm afraid she has quite a lot of summer dresses already).

Of course part of the danger of all this will also be discovering more blogs I want to add to my insanely congested feedreeder but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it! I'll have to be firm with myself and get my bloglines subscriptions in better order and then actually get around to making a blogroll here.

And at last on to the blogging topic of the day. This may not be my finest blogging hour since I've left it rather late to sit down and write (and then I may just have fallen asleep on the couch for 3 hours and woken up, ahem, oh and then resettled my daughter who also woke up).

So, Starting Out. How did I come to be a knitter and sometime crocheter? Well it must be initially in large part be due to the fact that my mother is a knitter (not to mention that she's also being doing many other crafts my whole life) so it always seemed like something one would want to do. My grandmothers also both knit, and my mum's mother -aka Nana- at least used to crochet (in fact she crocheted my christening gown which is a lot prettier than that may sound if you're not a crochet fan). I always had some mum-made hand knit sweaters, some of which I've long outgrown but sometimes still squeeze into around the house when visiting my parents!

My mum, Nana and I think even my dad (who I don't think I've ever otherwise seen knit, although he does occasionally hook rugs and has been known to sew on his own buttons if someone threads the needle for him) sat down with me and showed me how to knit, and probably crochet, as a child. However I'm really not the best pupil when it comes to things like that (I always want to be able to just do it NOW and not have someone tell me how, it's the same with me and musical instruments), so I think my progress went in fits and starts. Too bad I didn't have knittinghelp and sites like that to hand back then, but once I was older and motivated I started to fill in my knowledge with help from books with good diagrams and descriptions and have been knitting, and dabbling in crocheting, on and off ever since.

I took textiles as one of my GCSE subjects and did some knitting as part of that (including some brief experimentation with machine knitting). As family and friends had babies I would start and not finish sweaters for gifts, and similarly start but never finish experiments for myself. Then while I was at university I made my first adult size sweater (I still wear it, here's the ravelry project link) for myself (improvising a pattern using some lovely sturdy wool yarn bought from a store in Lancaster which I think might have disappeared by my last year of uni sadly). During my year abroad (I went to Wellesley College in Massachusetts) my mother and I collaborated on a cardigan for me (I knit the easy part and she did the complicated pattern and finishing!). In my final year back in Lancaster I actually finished and presented a baby cardigan in a timely fashion and really felt like I was now a knitter!

All of this was also compounded by the time I spent singing and touring in my late teens and early twenties with a singing group (both in the form of summer camps and semi-professional touring groups) based in Vermont where on some of the tours it seemed as though almost every member of the group was knitting or crocheting (this is also where I met my husband who does neither of those things but does sing, a lot). Someday soon I'm sure I'll sit down and show my daughter how to knit and crochet too, she's already showing an interest if not the staying power to figure it out just yet...

Jam and Knitting (sort of)

Well I completely failed at WWKIP day since I did no knitting on Saturday, nor did I really leave the house. I did, however, make jam and have photos of some recently completed knitted items to share. (And I did knit in public at a contradance this evening!)

First the jam. Last year I had a go at a little jam making with a small batch of strawberry rhubarb jam which got rather over cooked and is tasty but not the most easily spreadable stuff! The lesson I learned from making that was not to rely on my candy thermometer and use the jam on plate in the freezer for a minute method to check for readiness. (That and that if the jam is turning to jam consistency in the hot pan you may have cooked it longer than you needed to already.)

When we went to visit my parents last autumn my mum let me bring my great great grandmother's recipe notebook home with me. I've looked through it (it's full of hand written recipes, some perhaps by one of my great great aunts, along with pasted in cuttings of recipes and housekeeping tips) but still hadn't used any of the recipes until now. There's a recipe in there for rhubarb orange jam which I'd been eyeing and since I had several pounds of rhubarb from the farmers market waiting to be used it seemed as good a time as any.

I followed the recipe mostly as written (supplementing with some other jam making instructions not having done this much before) although I did throw in some strawberries that were past their best. It is pretty sweet, I'd probably reduce the sugar a bit another time, and very orangey.

I'm not a big fan of peel in my jam so I used a vegetable peeler to get strips of orange peel and tried to remove most of it as I was putting the jam into the jars so now I'm wondering whether I'd like the peel dipped in unsweetened chocolate as it is I like the texture but the citrus hit is a little much for me even with the sweetness! A possible experiment for the coming week.

Now for the knitted portion of the post. Two projects, one I have blogged about before and one that I have wip photos for which have been languishing without much explanation in my flickr photostream for months.

Here is my daughter modelling her new knitwear. She selected the yarn (at the yarn store) and the pattern (from a selection of ravelry pages) herself so I hope she's happy with the outcome. I haven't actually found the right buttons for it yet so instead it's held together with a flower badge/pin my dad sent which happens to coordinate beautifully.

Pattern: Cowgirl Butterfly Astronaut Vest by Fawn Pea from f.pea
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Superwash Worsted by Brown Sheep - Blueberry Sorbet and Plum Crazy
Ravelry Project Page

I need to knit this pattern again because I made a mess of the stitch pattern of the upper body. Not sure why exactly I messed up but by the time I'd admitted the problem I was past the point where I was willing to rip it back since I think it still looks nice.

My daughter is almost three so I started out knitting size 4 but took a second look at the measurements and decided the 2 would fit my skinny girl better. I liked the idea of a slightly fuller bottom section though so I carried on with the size 4 until the end of the ribbed section and then decreased down to the size 2 stitch count at that point.

The sleeves keep rolling some even after blocking. Perhaps I went down to many needle sizes for them? I wonder whether some crochet edging would help, or perhaps they're fine as they are.

Lastly, now that it's all warm out I've finally got around to finishing the felting of my fuzzy feet slippers. I knit them ages ago(they knit up really quickly) and felted them by running them once through a full laundry cycle, with bath towels, and also a dryer cycle. They were still ridiculously big though so I haven't really used them. Finally this week I remembered to throw them in with my dark towels again, once more through the wash cycle and I think they're about right. Hooray!
Before photo (see another here of my daughter using one as a pirate hat):

And after:

Pattern: Fuzzy Feet by Theresa Vinson Stenersen from Knitty, Winter 2002
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted - Bing Cherry
Ravelry Project Page

more sheep and yarn

Yesterday afternoon we had a fun few hours at the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Festival. Once again my daughter had a wonderful time looking at and petting sheep (plus a few friendly sheepdog puppies).

She really didn't want to leave, and when she woke up from napping in the car on the way home was ready to turn around and drive back. I said maybe one day we'll live somewhere that we can keep sheep to keep our grass down and she can be in charge of taking care of them, she liked this idea very much! Maybe she'll end up on a farm sometime in her future like her uncle and other antecedents.
Once again I was restrained and came away with just one skein of yarn (I almost bought nothing but this caught my eye after my husband encouraged my mother and I to wander the sales tables which was just asking for trouble). It's 8oz of this fingering weight 65% superwash merino, 35% bamboo in Smoky Plum from Sliver Moon Farm. I also mentioned to my husband that at some point in the future a spinning wheel would be a good gift for me and he picked up the card of a man right in Vermont who makes cute little spinning wheels that fold up and fit in a tote bag so one day...

Really I have enough new yarn stash now to keep me busy for a long time because we did also make it to the WEBS tent sale last weekend. Here's a basket with a taste of my purchases; it's nice to shop with another knitter except for the way you end up enabling each other to spend much more than you should or otherwise would (or perhaps that's one of the nice things). I'm working on a post with the details of my yarn purchases and my ideas of what to make with them in an attempt to focus myself and get to knitting.

Before casting on anything new though I've promised myself to finish up a couple of projects I've been working on for my daughter. They've both been mostly done for a while now so it's just a question of sitting down and getting on with it. I used some of Sunday's driving time to work on the borders for the Cowgirl Butterfly Astronaut Vest. I was taking a new wip photo (for the ravelry project page) this afternoon and when my daughter came over to see what I was doing I had her put it on. Clearly it needs some blocking, buttons and ends sewing in; I have knitted the neckline since the photo was taken.

Hibernation

Well it seems to be February already. I believe this happened last year too. Perhaps for me January is a time to regroup before heading into the new year for real? I've been trying to finish up overdue Christmas presents (not with great success I might add) and trying to figure out how I want to prioritise this new year. Not sure I've come to any great conclusions yet, but I'm getting there.

In the meantime there has been snow play with my daughter. She has discovered snow angels, and decided that snow is not barrier to making "sandcastles"!

Indoors we've also been crafting. While at a holiday crafting event at our local library before Christmas my daughter discovered rubber-stamping and was fixated. So I have dug out my own collection of stamps (from when my own obsession began in high school), got some supposedly washable stamp-pads and there have been some fun times stamping and experimenting with mixed media (painting then stamping, stamping and drawing with crayons etc).

I've done some knitting. This photo is of a pair of fingerless mitts that go up to my elbows using leftover yarn from my Gathered Cardi. I love the cardi, and I was glad to have the sleeves not too long for when working but I do find my forearms getting cold when out and about so this fills in the gap. I tried several patterns before spotting the simpler and gratifyingly quick one I used. I should to a proper finished object post when I've got some good finished object photos.

I also managed my first sewing project of the new year -- an addition to my cloth pad stash made with the off cuts from making pyjama trousers. Love these! I notice there's a new free pattern for cloth pads up at the BurdaStyle site, but I know there are lots of others around and about if you search. I made my own pattern based on pads I already had.

Of course all important at this time of year is the comfort of food and drinks. Tea and toast is one of my favourites. I'm loving these mugs bought at the farmers market (unfortunately this one got broken already, I'm seeing it as an opportunity to support a local business!).

In the cold weather soup and bread is a must. This is some soup made from leftover potato and cheese bake with an onion, turkey broth and some corn added in!

One of my goals, that I've really been working toward for a while as you might guess from previous posts, is to make our bread products with occasional supplementation from local bakeries (the toast with the tea is bought I must admit -- multigrain wholewheat sourdough, yum). It's going pretty well (although I did buy some crumpets at the supermarket last week... I have to try making those again and see whether I can master it).

The bread with the soup is made using the naan bread method found in the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book -- it's a great way to make a flat bread quickly on the stove. Cut off a small piece of dough, roll it out and put in a warmed buttered frying pan and cook with a lid on flipping part way through. So good.

thrifting thursday plus buttons

First, look look the knitting is all done on my gathered cardi! A few ends to sew in, some blocking and buttons to be sewn on and then a FO photo op.
Yesterday alongside our excursion to the library my daughter and I stopped and got some buttons. Some for my cardi and some for her february baby sweater that's been sitting around waiting for way too long. Daughter wanted to touch everything in the store but was mostly pretty restrained (thank goodness, this is a fancy fabric store that I don't usually dare to enter). The lady there gave my daughter her own bonus button in an envelope too so now I need to find a cute cardigan pattern requiring just one button to feature it.

On the way home from the library we had a quick thrifting stop. I haven't done much thrifting lately, at least that's the way it feels! My favourite find though was this:
I'm very excited, it was only $3.25 (and from the price sticker I think it had actually sat around for a month waiting for me). I go to lots of potlucks and didn't have anything good for carrying cakes and all I've really seen out there has been plastic. This has a handle and two little catches to keep lid and plate together. So now I can start thinking about all the cakes I've contemplated...


I was also really excited to see a big plastic container of sewing patterns for 50c each and picked up a few of those (baby/small child clothes, aprons etc), also some crochet yarn to try making ornaments (when I find my tiny size crochet hooks) and some tins (for gift giving). Very satisfying.

...and Making

Two posts in such quick succession after so long. Am I setting myself up to fail I wonder?! Since posting in August I was away for a while (singing in AL & GA over Labor Day weekend and then a trip to England - visiting family and friends plus some more singing - for the bulk of September) and then not feeling creative or productive and being so much out of the habit didn't get back to the blogging.

More recently I've been starting to get back into the swing of things again. Lots going on in the kitchen (examples in my previous post). As for crafts, I haven't been sewing much of anything but there's been quite a bit of knitting lately. Perhaps I can do some something old something new posts!

Here's a picture of one of my current works in progress. This is the Gathered Cardi (ravelry pattern page) from Knit.1 Magazine (Spring/Summer 2008 edition). I went out and bought the magazine after seeing this photo, not sure I would have bought it from the pic in the magazine (especially as I'd not even noticed the existence of that particular publication before). Here's a link to my project page on ravelry.

Also please note that my almost cardigan is being modelled for me by a dress form. It is my somewhat belated excellent birthday present from my husband. Now that I have passed the baby swing chair that was residing in my sewing room (not that my daughter sat in it more than a handful of times) on to some expectant friends there was a space for me to set it up. Now I just need to sort out the rest of the room and perhaps I can manage some sewing in the run up to Christmas. I have The Omnivore's Dilemma on CD from the library to listen to while I work. Wish me luck!

January Socks Begun

January sock (wip)
Originally uploaded by commonplaceiris.

This is the beginning of my January project for the 2008 Sock knit a long group at ravelry. It's my first new knitting project of 2008 - I cast on on 6th January for something to do in the car on the way to my in laws for family Christmas..
I'm making Diagonal Rib Socks by Ann Budd (link to project info at ravelry) from Interweave Knits, Winter 2004 (pdf download here).
I love this yarn (I have to go find the info on what it is as the label got separated from the yarn). I'm not sure how well the pattern reads but don't care too much to be honest as I just love looking at the yarn. It actually seems to look better to me the further on I get which is nice, long may it continue. I have been having a slight problem with forgetting which round I'm on half way through and finding I'm off but I'm fudging it and getting back on track!

Warm Finished Objects!

Pink Mittens
Originally uploaded by commonplaceiris.

With the weather getting colder and owning nothing to keep my daughter's hands warm I decided to grab some bulky yarn and knit up some mittens. (Not that she is really willing to keep anything on her hands you understand but it's time for that battle to commence, especially as she seems to be being won over to hats at last.)

I took a look at some mitten patterns and using suggested number of stitches and such from Kate Gilbert's Gifted pattern (which happened to be the right gauge for the yarn and needles I was using) I got going.

I decided I wanted to knit in the round (actually I used my Denise interchangeable circulars -- think that's magic loop method, right?) and fiddled around with where the increases and decrease went, and kitchenered at the end. Also I added a row of holes so that I can thread ribbon or i-cord or something through to tie them on (although her jacket coat does a pretty good job it turns out).

The first one was a little small so I sized up for the second and then knit a third (perhaps I'll get around to knitting another to match the first and gift it). Of course the bigger pair are a little too big but they stay on quite well and will do for now (and then get grown into).

I've also managed to make my daughter a new hat/bonnet that covers her ears and because it ties on (hadn't added the ties yet when I took the picture)cannot be pulled off easily when she tires of it. (Although today we went out of the house and I asked her if she needed a hat and she said yes and wore it the entire time we were out, even while we were in the store which is pretty impressive based on her track record.)

The hat is from helloyarn's top down bonnet pattern which I like a lot and will use again, am tempted to make one for myself but not sure whether I'd actually wear it... Perhaps next time I make one for my daughter I will actually add ears (and maybe even embroidered face) as per the original pattern.

For my own head covering purposes I finally had a go at calorimetry. I wasn't sure when I first saw the pattern that it was really my kind of thing. But then I saw so many versions of it appearing on the Internet I got interested, and I realised that it'd be a useful thing for those days when I want to go outside with my hair up (especially when it's up because I've washed my hair). It's a nice quick and easy knit and I've been wearing it a lot. I'm not sure whether I'll wear at as much when it gets really wintery, or perhaps I'll wear it under my actual hats to ensure ear coverage!! We'll see. I think I will probably make this again, if not for me then as gifts for friends (and possibly family).

in the dark

This is why I should not attempt anything patterned when knitting in the dark.
I was knitting the first cuff for the longies I'm making my daughter. Obviously they are supposed to be moss stitch and while knitting in the car without bothering to get my little light out I managed to get off and start ribbing. At least it was only a few rows, it's fixed now and I'm on to the second leg. My mum's going to finish her pair first though I think. Not that she has to finish as soon as we thought -- my parents just changed their tickets to stay another week!

Visiting and Ravelry

My parents are visiting. They've been here for three weeks already and go home on Thursday. As usual I anticipated all I was going to get done with my mum around to help out and as usual I've done hardly any of it. There's the time spent visiting, the time wasted procrastinating when I finally do get me time that I don't use for housework, and the extra stuff that has to be done because we have people staying with us. Also my parents always time their trips to do singing stuff which means the weekends tend to be full of events rather than relaxing, not to mention the potluck cooking that is usually involved too. This trip we did actually have one weekend mostly free which was nice, we made it to the Saturday farmers market for the first time in ages. We (my husband and I) were going to go on a date to see a movie by ourselves for the first time since my daughter was born, but then there was nothing on that we were excited to see. Disappointing.

Anyway, I'd been thinking I'd get back to this blog in September and clearly didn't. I haven't even managed to keep up with the year of color posts (though I have been taking pictures and putting them up in my flickr account).

I managed to get into my sewing room a couple of times in the last few weeks which felt good. I made myself a new tank top based on drawing around an old tank top. It came out pretty well I think. I know the weather's getting colder here new, but as a nursing mother that means I need layers so that I can have some pulled down over my midriff and some pulled up to allow access when nursing so I don't get chilly! I'm also working on a pair of trousers for my daughter -- I'm always sad about the lack of warm trousers on offer for little ones and last year I made some reversible elasticated waist trousers for my daughter that worked great. They actually still fit, sort of -- they're too short but they still go over the bulky cloth diapers unlike a lot of store bought pants.

Not sure whether I'll manage to blog more when my parents leave. This is especially true because today I got my invite to Ravelry so I may get sucked in there adding stash and projects and the like. I'm going to try and go slow and steady with adding my stuff because we have managed to make the house a bit more presentable while my parents have been here, and have found a fairly good rhythm for the day which we should maintain. (I'm commonplaceiris at Ravelry)

Here's one of my current knitting projects which I did just add, a new pair of Aubrey Doodlepants for my daughter since she's growing out of her old ones (they're too short but just about squeeze over the diapers still) and we need some warm things for the cold weather that's coming.

My mum and I each cast on a pair a few weeks back ready for some long car trips and look how far we've come (she's about the same amount through as me). The gusset is a bit wider than I meant, but then the space between the leg holes on the short soakers is often wider than that so hopefully it'll be a good thing. I have almost enough yarn in one ball to get to the end of the first leg so I'm not sure what I'll knit with the rest of the yarn. Maybe a short soaker, or perhaps I could make a hat and mittens and lanolize them for my daughter to wear when playing in the snow.

Links for 2007-09-01 to 04 [del.icio.us]

• If you can handle the mess: fun things to do with toddlers - ParentDish
  A few fun ideas in the post. I was hoping there'd be more comments too, oh well.
• angry chicken: not made in china.
  great blog post about toys for children in light of all the recalls recently of toys made in China includes ideas for making toys, where to buy safe toys and how to talk to family and friends about the kinds of things to get your children for gifts
• Results of the cold brew coffee experiment - Slashfood
• Cold Coffee Drinks Without Special Equipment - Instructables
  I am intrigued by this cold brew coffee idea. Not that I'm a coffee drinker myself, but my husband is and I've thought of trying to figure out making him iced coffee in the summertime so this is on my list of things to try.
• How to construct a slash pocket - Instructables
Useful tutorial for incorporation into my favourite trouser pattern.

• Simply Recipes: Perfect Popcorn Recipe
Not that I don't know how to pop corn, but this has a few tips I hadn't come across before.

• Tutowlrial
  A picture tutorial for sewing a cute little owl found via Domesticali
• BBC NEWS World Asia-Pacific Miscarriage prompts Japan pledge
  "Japan's health minister has pledged to address the shortage of doctors in the country after a woman in labour was turned away by eight hospitals."
• BBC NEWS Health Ovary removal 'raises brain risk'
  "Women who have ovaries removed before the menopause could be increasing their risk of both Parkinson's Disease and memory problems, research suggests.
  "Removing one or both ovaries at a young age doubled the risk.
  "Sex hormones made by the ovary may be protecting the brain, said experts from the US Mayo Clinic."
• What do you think of Attachment Parenting? - ParentDish
  "These days, I don't hear much about AP v. traditional parenting. Is it just because I'm out of the baby loop, or is it because like me with the twins, parents have decided to take and use the best of both worlds?"
• BBC NEWS Health Junk sleep 'damaging teen health'
  "Too many teenagers are damaging their health by not getting enough sleep and by falling asleep with electrical gadgets on, researchers say.
  "A third of 12 to 16-year-olds asked slept for between four to seven hours a night. Experts recommend eight hours."
• 25 Worlds Weirdest Animals
  Found via parentdish definitely worth a look!
• BBC NEWS In Pictures Beards and Moustaches: Your photos
Fun, pictures from the 2007 World Beard and Moustache Championships!

• BBC NEWS Health Confusion over diabetes testing
"Diabetics could be giving up vital home blood sugar checks because they believe they are of no use, says a researcher.
"Psychologist Dr Elizabeth Peel interviewed type 2 diabetes patients, and found that many were confused over what to do with the results.
"Writing in the British Medical Journal, she said that some doctors simply ignored detailed records kept by diabetics, compounding the problem."

• Top 50 Sites for Kids - The Amusement Park of the Web : All My Faves Blog
  AllMyFaves blog has "rounded up 150+ sites that will provide the children with hours of endless entertainment." (via http://www.parentdish.com/ )
• knittywhipped: Monkey Hooters!
  this blogger found someone's purl free monkey variation and made a pair. I'd been wondering how a purl free pair would look, and suspecting I might prefer them that way and I think I was right! So, next pair of monkeys I make I plan to do this way.
• Lamaze International: The Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth
• Simply Recipes: Tomatoes!A granola recipe from my mom's hippie youth - Slashfood
  This looks like a good ratio of stuff to oil and sweetener and I've been meaning to try my hand at making my own granola.
• The explosion of vileness that followed her death Libby Purves - Times Online
  A reflection on the media reaction after the death of Princess Diana -- I really appreciated reading this article. I was remembering that time and how it seemed to me as though people were rather missing what was important in all the hysteria.
  

Links for 2007-08-24 to 26 [del.icio.us]

• The Meal Assembly Network
  I've heard of this meal assembly thing before:
  

  "A meal assembly kitchen is the ultimate partner in helping busy families get healthy, tasty dinners prepared. The typical kitchen has 12 to 16 stations that look like salad bars. Each station includes all of the ingredients necessary to put together a main entrée that serves 4 to 6. The ingredients are already chopped, sliced, and/or cut. Customers follow detailed instructions at each station and assemble the ingredients into freezer-ready bags. Buying and preparing the ingredients, as well as cleaning up the mess, is the responsibility of the meal assembly kitchen. The customer typically assembles 12 meals, and takes them home in a cooler or a laundry basket for storage in the freezer. Actual cooking happens at home."

  I like the idea but I don't think I'd actually do it -- but if I had more freezer space and could clear the time it'd be good to try and put stuff together like this at home sometimes for those nights when I don't want to cook but I don't want to eat take-out.
• He has your... fear of veggies | Health & Fitness | Reuters
  

  "In a large study of identical and fraternal twins, researchers from University College London found that nearly 80 percent of children's tendency to avoid unfamiliar foods was inherited."

  I was interested to hear the part about fear of new foods, and the idea of just keeping giving children a new food until it's a familiar food and then they may find it's ok, or even that they like it! I know that for me (somewhat picky eater that I am) I've gotten more able to stomach foods through forcing myself to take a few bites. My mum always used to do this with vegetables we didn't like. We had one bites worth on our plate that we had to try then we could have more if we liked, or not. It hasn't got me to like swede but I could eat it if needed!
• Breakthrough in obesity battle - 25 Jul 2007 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news
  

  "The scientists have shown that if a mother is undernourished, her children's bodies are set up to cope with a life of scarcity.
  "But the energy-dense "hamburger and milkshake" diet of modern Western society is likely to result in children who are likely to become fat - unlike those from mothers who eat a balanced diet during pregnancy."

• Neonatal Doc: Loss
  A wonderful post from a neonatologist - a quote:
  

  "After years of seeing various types of pregnancy and newborn loss, I have decided that there are really no good words of comfort at such a time. The loss is so final, so absolute, so irrevocable, that only time can lessen the wound and even then often not completely heal it. We can express our condolences to the family and offer to do anything we can for them, but beyond that we seem relatively powerless."

  Some great comments too. Made me cry, but in a good way. I'm so glad we also had wonderful staff at the hospital where our first daughter was born, and died.
• Craving for junk food ‘begins in the womb’ - Times Online
  
• not martha - more tiny kitchen storage
  a neat idea for storing utensils -- a good way to keep them out of reach from little hands!
  
• Pattern for “Chunky Braided Scarf” « Butterfly Morning
• Bust Alteration
  A handy how-to on altering sewing patterns to fit your bust size.
• SO busy sewing › Red Instead BLOG
  
  Found the link for bust alteration at this blog post, there are some other handy links there too.
• Six weeks without a wash: The soapless experiment | the Daily Mail
  An article about a woman who decided to try an experiment which I think was recorded for a tv show:
  

  "for 40 days and 40 nights, there has been no showering, no hair washing, no teeth cleaning and no deodorant.
  "She has ditched her make-up and hair styling products, and allowed herself access to just three outfits (her running kit, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and one summer dress)."

  I found this interesting; I think she went a little overboard, but still. It's good to hear what was good and what was bad about cutting all that stuff out. Clearly she felt all the chemicals she'd been putting on and in her body as part of her daily routine were not doing her a lot of favours (her IBS symptoms improved during the experiment, and her skin seemed much healthier), but at the same time). It was interesting to hear that as long as she was away from other people (and societal expectations) she felt " felt really healthy and good about [her]self" and that when she was tested at the end of the experiment she didn't show a great increase in bacteria and suchlike which confirms we probably don't need to be sanitizing our hands every five seconds!
  
  The article ends with her summing up:
  

  "the experiment worked in that I proved to myself there is no need for all these beauty products on which I've been frittering away so much money. My desire for them was all in my mind, not an actual physical need.
  "It showed me that for years I've been using excessive amounts, and, at the same time, potentially putting my health at risk because of all the chemicals they contain.
  "I was amazed to find that the point when my skin looked its best was after a month of not using anything at all. As a result, I've become far more moderate in what products I use and what I am prepared to spend money on.
  "A bar of soap, organic shampoo and conditioner, and a basic moisturiser are all I need now. I no longer wash my hair every day and I no longer feel self-conscious if I'm not done up to the nines.
  "If people didn't notice when they had me standing next to them during the experiment, I'm sure they won't be aware of small things that would once have got me down, such as a bad hair day or a minor skin outbreak."

• Knitty: Fall 2006 - red herring
  
  Another CookieA sock pattern for my to-do list -- I've been wanting to try colour work again. I'm intimidated by it because of the tension issue but love all the possibilities that would open up if I could master it.
• Choc Fudge Shortbread on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  This sounds tasty, need to make fudge first though!
• eat me, delicious: Chocolate Orbit Cake
  This looks so incredibly chocolaty and rich, mmmm.
• Vanana Cookies (Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Cocoa Cookies) » vanesscipes
  These look yummy. [I made some - posted on flickr]

And a couple more tasty looking recipes to try some time:

• Sausage-stuffed portobello mushrooms - The Boston Globe
• Creamy corn chowder with very little cream - The Boston Globe

Links for 2007-08-22 [del.icio.us]

• BBC NEWS | World | Europe | The secret history of the Nazi mascot
  
  Fascinating story of a Jewish boy who escaped into the forest when the rest of his town was massacred by the Nazis. After he was handed over to police a soldier helped him by introducing him to the other soldiers as a Russian orphan and he was adopted as a kind of mascot:
  
  "To this day, Alex Kurzem has no idea why Sergeant Jekabs Kulis took pity on him. Whatever his motives, it certainly helped that Alex had Aryan looks. And together, they kept the secret.
  
  "'Every moment I had to remind myself not to let my guard down, because if ever anyone found out, I was dead. I was scared of the Russians shooting me and the Germans discovering I was Jewish. I had no-one to turn to.'
  
  "Young Alex saw action on the Russian front, and was even used by the SS to lure Jewish people to their deaths."
• Neither Hip Nor Funky » Freezer Paper T-shirt Tutorial
  
  I've seen so many great freezer paper stenciled projects at flickr, and on various blogs, and would love to have a go myself sometime. This isn't the only tutorial out there, but it looks like a good one so keeping it handy for later.
  
• Simple and Elegant dress
  
  A tutorial for making one of those dresses that's got lines of elastic running around the chest/bust, but using lengths of elastic rather than elastic thread which somehow seems more do-able.
• Techniques with Theresa - Seaming knitting - knitty.com
  
  Seaming is not my strong suit so I figure I can never have enough resources handy when I need them.
• Toddlers are capable of introspection :: UC Davis News & Information ::
  
  Scientists have demonstrated that dolphins, monkeys and even rats can engage in some form of "metacognition," or an awareness of their own thought processes. But developmental psychologists have assumed that human children do not develop this capability before about age 5. Lyons and Ghetti have toppled that assumption by teaching 3- and 4-year-olds to communicate their awareness of their thought processes using pictures rather than words. "We've shown that even very young children can think about their thinking," Ghetti said. "The reason we haven't appreciated it before now is that the studies that have been used to test for it have been too verbally demanding."
  
  This reminds me of reading (and listening to a show on Radio 4) about early childhood memories a while back -- experts say lasting memories aren't formed until a child is verbal and can describe them. However in a survey of people in the UK a huge number of people reported pre-verbal memories. I know people who have really early memories - strong visual images in particular. I suspect the experts don't know everything!
  

All the following links I found via CRAFT:

• » Blog Archive » Winding a skein into a centre-pull ball
  
• Bella Dia: Doodling with Embroidery
  
  I so need to give this a try. Seems as though I could make something pretty a bit at a time without thinking too much -- exactly the kind of crafty project I crave these days!
  
• Naptime Knits: froggy
  cute knit and felted frog pattern
  
• SockPixie: Jewel (Free Baby Hat Knitting Pattern)
  cute little hat with a border of mitred squares
  
• DIY Shrinky Dinks. » Curbly | DIY Design Community
  
• Bella Knitting: Duplicate Stitch Tutorial
  
• How to Make a Gathered Skirt with Knit Waistband
  
• U-handblog: Pricing your bags or other crafts to sell.
  
  I don't know that I'm likely to be in a place to try and make stuff to sell any time soon (or ever) but this seems like a useful reference point if you or I ever are contemplating such a thing.
  
• The Knitting Zone - Easy Sock Blockers / Stretchers
  
  

Links for 2007-08-20 [del.icio.us]

• Woolgathering: Mad Color Weave pattern now available
  sock pattern found via Needle Exchange's Saturday Pattern Day #9 post
  
• domesticrafts - Get your Drunken Bees here
  another sock pattern found via Needle Exchange's Saturday Pattern Day #10
  
• domesticrafts - Zephyr Socks
  and once I was at domesticrafts I saw this sock pattern that I like even more!
  
• Stitch Catalog - Stitch Count Listing
• Stashmina - knittywhipped: Wrap it up
  Idea for a wrap, love the fir cone pattern.
• Clapotis pattern at knitty.com
  Another wrap/shawl/scarf pattern I want to make. I've seen so many pictures of this pattern at flickr and it sounds simple and looks great.
• 1x umrühren bitte: Ein Brot macht die Runde: Hokkaido Milchbrot
  this bread looks very tasty (I especially like the idea of the variation with Nutella, and guess I could alternatively use some kind of ganache and chopped nuts perhaps). Just need to brush up on my German so that I can understand more of the recipe!
• Culinary in the Desert: Mocha Mudslides
  Saw a picture of these cookies at flickr. I'm not a fan of the flavour of coffee (love the smell though) but I can think of a few people I know who would like these a lot.
• Swirl socks for Mom and MIL…and you? « Sulala
  Another aesthetically pleasing sock pattern (yet more socks for my to-do list). These socks have a swirl that spirals around the leg and foot. I suspect it would be look very interesting to babies exploring feet! Found via Needle Exchange's Saturday Pattern Day #10
  

Links for 2007-08-13 to 18 [del.icio.us]

• Study:Early diet advice for kids sticks - USATODAY.com
  "Teaching children from a young age to eat a low-fat diet can be effective — even as they reach their teens and begin eating more meals away from home, according to a new study.
  "The study of children in Finland found that those who were taught to focus on healthy fats — those found in fish, nuts, seeds and oils from plants — had slightly lower cholesterol levels compared to those who ate an unrestricted diet."
• BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Huge payout in US stuttering case
  "In 1939, the plaintiffs - all orphans in state care - were tormented for six months by Iowa University researchers. "The study was testing the theory that children develop speech impediments because of psychological pressure."
• BBC NEWS | Health | Depression is 'over-diagnosed'
  "Too many people are being diagnosed with depression when all they are is unhappy, a leading psychiatrist says.
  "...
  "But another psychiatrist writing in the journal contradicts his views, praising the increased diagnosis of depression."
• BBC NEWS | Health | Early cord clamping may harm baby
  "Clamping the umbilical cord straight after birth does not benefit mother or baby and may actually be harmful, a UK expert has warned. "Instead, leaving the cord for around three minutes can boost the baby's iron stores, cutting the risk of anaemia."
• BBC NEWS | Health | Fat 'crucial' in children's diet
  "Concerns about their child becoming overweight means some parents put them on low-fat diets, but the Nutrition Journal study said this was misguided.
  "Researchers found children burned substantially more fat than adults relative to their calorie intake.
  "Youngsters needed that fat to grow and thrive, they argued.
  "Over a third of a child's energy intake should be made up of fat, the researchers at Pennsylvania State University said, a recommendation in line with UK requirements."
• Aubrey DoodlePants Knitting Pattern
  A good (and free) knitting pattern for longies (to go over cloth diapers). I've made this pattern several times (with some modifications of my own) but thought I'd save the link here since I'm always having to search for it when I want to make more.
  
• hardrockzombie: Rescued from the Ravages of Time
  "I dug these patterns with considerable difficulty from the belly of the New York Public Library. I'm quite sure they sat untouched for years on their shelves, and would have quietly crumbled to fragments and dust with no one the wiser had I not intervened. As it was, in handling and photocopying them I'm pretty sure I fast-forwarded that destruction by 10 years."
• Instructables Make a diamond-paged book
• Farewell French and Saunders - Times Online
  "After 20 years, French and Saunders are still our most successful, and funniest, female duo. So why are they calling time on their partnership — and coming over all serious about matters of life and death?"
• Pollution Causes 40 Percent Of Deaths Worldwide, Study Finds | Scientific Blogging
  "...environmental degradation, coupled with the growth in world population, are major causes behind the rapid increase in human diseases, which the World Health Organization has recently reported. Both factors contribute to the malnourishment and disease susceptibility of 3.7 billion people..."
• BBC NEWS | Health | Baby growth chart switch closer
  "New child growth charts which reflect the slower weight gain associated with breastfeeding could be soon be adopted in England.
  "Current UK growth charts are based on predominantly formula-fed babies, which tend to grow more quickly.
  "The new charts have been drawn up by the World Health Organization.
  "They have been backed in a report by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
  "It is hoped that adopting the new standards could stop breastfeeding mothers being worried about their babies apparently failing to put on weight fast enough."
• Identification card for children - ParentDish
  "Ident-a Kid cards are like a driver's license for babies and children. One sturdy, plastic laminated card stores their eye color, height, weight, parents name and address, as well as a thumbprint and recent photograph."

Links for 2007-08-06 thorough 09 [del.icio.us]

• Birth The Play :: Bold
  
  "Birth is a play based on over one hundred interviews Karen Brody conducted with mothers across America who gave birth between 2000-2004. It tells the true stories of 8 women painting a portrait of how low-risk, educated women are giving birth in America today."
  
  I don't know whether I'm likely to be able to see this play, or go to a Red Tent event, this year but it sounds really interesting to me (I read more birth stories than I have time for). During September there are groups all over the USA (and further afield) putting on the play, and/or organizing events in order to raise awareness about labor/birth and to make birthing more mother friendly -- look for an event near you.
• A pause before parenting -- PJStar.com - Journal Star Features
  
  "Women who began their families later in life share the rewards - and regrets - of delayed motherhood"
• August '07 edition of MagKnits, your friendly online knitting magazine
  
  I like the look of Lemonade (a fitted cotton cardi), Jenora (a cardigan that makes me think of the Bloomsbury group) and Summer Sky (a nice shrug/cardigan) Also there's a sock pattern, and a slinky knit dress pattern.
• A pioneer in an experiment called open adoption - Los Angeles Times
  
  The second part of the story is here. Interesting look at one story of an open adoption, you should really read both parts of the story. I've been reading several blogs where adoption is an important part of the bloggers life - as a first parent, an adoptive parent or a person who was adopted - and it's really expanded my understanding of adoption enormously. It's given me far more insight than I've got from people I know personally who've placed a child, adopted a child or been adopted (probably in part because I've never really talked about adoption in any depth with those people). I'm really grateful for the people who have shared their stories and helped me understand more about the long term implications of adoption for all involved.
  
• How Much Salt Is Safe? | Scientific Blogging
• Latent Memory Means Genetic Learning | Scientific Blogging
• Freebirthing: Should women give birth alone? -- Daily Mail
  
  Freebirthing scares me personally, I had drug-free easy deliveries but I really valued having the nurses, midwives and my doula around (and I know my husband would have been terrified without them). Of course we were at a hospital that knows how to support "normal birth". Hearing stories of being in labor at hospitals that have epidural rates so high that the nurses don't know what to do with a naturally laboring woman, and hearing of the rising and rising c-section rates around the country (US and UK), (not to mention how hard it can be to find midwives and doctors to attend a homebirth what with malpractice insurance and not enough OBs and midwives around) I can see where freebirthing becomes a more attractive option for many women.
• MAGPIE » “Bread and Puppet continues, more than 40 years on, to live an ideal of art as collective enterprise, a free or low-cost alternative voice outside the profit system.” - Arthur Magazine blogs for you...
• Baby Videos May Hinder Infants' Language Development | Scientific Blogging
  
  "Rather than helping babies, the over-use of such productions actually may slow down infants eight to 16 months of age when it comes to acquiring vocabulary, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute.
  
  "The scientists found that for every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants understood an average of six to eight fewer words than infants who did not watch them. Baby DVDs and videos had no positive or negative effect on the vocabularies on toddlers 17 to 24 months of age."
• Online movie guides for parents - ParentDish
• BBC NEWS | Health | Diabetes problems 'vitamin link'
  
  "A simple vitamin deficiency may be the cause of many of the side effects of diabetes, a study suggests.
  
  "Researchers found people with the disease expelled thiamine - vitamin B1 - from their bodies at 15 times the normal rate in a study of 94 people.
  
  "The Warwick University team said thiamine helped ward off complications such as heart disease and eye problems, the Diabetologia journal said."
• The Phrontistery: Obscure Words and Vocabulary Resources
• Owl Hat Pattern
  Seen in a flickr photo
  
• BBC NEWS | Health | Diet food 'may fuel obesity risk'
  
  "researchers believe low-calorie versions of usually high-calorie foods disrupt the body's ability to use taste to regulate calorific intake."
• Monkeys, Humans Learn The Same Way | Scientific Blogging
  
  “'Like humans, monkeys benefit enormously from being actively involved in learning instead of having information presented to them passively,' said Nate Kornell, a UCLA postdoctoral scholar in psychology and lead author of the study. 'The advantage of active learning appears to be a fundamental property of memory in humans and nonhumans alike.'”
• BBC NEWS | Education | Academic study 'not always best'
  
  "Parents should encourage teenagers to pursue a wider range of courses, not just academic ones, campaigners say.
  
  "Educational foundation Edge warns of 'academic snobbery' against vocational courses. It says a fifth of pupils think they are on the wrong path.
  
  "Going on to study for a degree for its own sake is not always suitable for the careers they really want, Edge says."

Links for 2007-07-31 through 2007-08-05 [del.icio.us]

• Burma: A plight we can ignore no longer - Independent Online Edition > Asia
• Burma: Forgotten and locked in the shadow of the past - Independent
• Pregnancy Depression May Affect Baby
  '"Anxiety and depression don't predict [a baby's] total sleep, but do predict sleep problems and disruptive sleep," says researcher Thomas O'Connor, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. "The babies may sleep just as long, but they wake up more often and they have trouble falling asleep."'
• Sew,Mama,Sew! Blog » » Interfacing Guide from Amy Butler
• Wheat-Free Baking Recipes
• BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Orangutans use 'charades' to talk
  "Researchers from St Andrews University have shown that the animals intentionally modify or repeat their signals to get their messages across.
  "The scientists said they believed all great apes could have this capability, suggesting that the skill may have evolved millions of years ago."
• Soft Drinks Linked To Increase In Heart Disease | Scientific Blogging
  "Drinking more than one soft drink daily — whether it's regular or diet — may be associated with an increase in the risk factors for heart disease."
• Magnetic Capsules Protect Insulin Cell Transplants in Type I Diabetes | Scientific Blogging
• Green Toys Brand Toys - Platsic Toys Made From Corn!!
• Soaker pattern - Just Jussi: New free pattern
• Scientists issue warning about chemical in plastic - Los Angeles Times
  "In an unusual effort targeting a single chemical, several dozen scientists on Thursday issued a strongly worded consensus statement warning that an estrogen-like compound in plastic is likely causing an array of serious reproductive disorders in people.
  "The compound, bisphenol A or BPA, is one of the highest-volume chemicals in the world and has found its way into the bodies of most human beings."
• CorePsychBlog: Who Cares about Estrogen Dominance?

Links for 2007-07-23 [del.icio.us]

Everlasting Bagstopper - Knitty: Spring 2007

Baklava Loaf | Baking Bites

Parent's survival guide: How to entertain a brood of bored kids during the summer holidays - Independent

Jemima Lewis: You can't beat a traditional liberal education - Independent
"I am seized with jealousy of my husband, who had the closest thing to an old- fashioned liberal education that money can buy. He learnt Latin and Greek at eight, speaks fluent French, knows the Old Testament backwards and can still recite the Periodic Table. Life skills come easily to him because the basics are already there: if you can do Latin grammar, you can learn new languages in a jiffy; if you understand physics, you can (and will) wire up a digital surround-sound home entertainment system."

Andrew Franklin: The real reason why publishers miss good books - Independent

Jemima Lewis: We've created a genealogical nightmare - Independent

MOO | Stickers - Print stickers using your images
seen at howaboutorange

Sock it to me!
"[Mezzodiva] decided to self-publish [her] Campanula sock pattern (...) and offer it here for a nominal charge: To get the pattern, all you have to do is CLICK HERE and SPONSOR [HER] for the 2007 Weekend to End Breast Cancer."

nonaKnits: Sidewinders: The Prologue
links at end of each post to the next until you've knit yourself a sock, sideways!

Apron/Sunbonnet Combination - April 2001 Free Monthly Project
Saw an example of this pattern made up at flickr it's an intriguing idea; a garment that can be worn as an apron or a bonnet!

Links for 2007-07-20 & 21[del.icio.us]

joybucket: Peek-a-Boo Bunting Tutorial
found via Craftzine, a tutorial for a baby quilt that attaches to a stroller so the baby can't kick it off. Excellent idea!

Mandela turns 89 and launches 'a robust force for good' | Guardian Unlimited
Nelson Mandela marked his 89th birthday today with the launch of a group of world-renowned leaders who plan to use several Nobel peace prizes and "almost 1,000 years of collective experience" to tackle global crises that governments are unable or unwilling to confront."
Using their collective experience, their moral courage and their ability to rise above nation, race and creed, they can make our planet a more peaceful and equitable place to live," said the former South African president.

perfect pikelets ~ My Way or the Highway » Wear it. Eat it. Deny you are responsible.
Mmmm, pikelets.

By request. on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
A great knitted top (cardigan/jacket) seen at flickr. I think this would make a great garment for a nursing mother -- may need to make myself one!

Your Gamete, Myself - Egg Donation - Reproduction - In Vitro Fertilization - Infertility - Women - Peggy Orenstein - New York Times
An interesting look at the implications of egg donation.

Magazine Box Tutorial - a photoset on Flickr
found via Craft

Snicket Socks - MagKnits, your friendly online knitting magazine
"These socks were inspired by the dress Violet Baudelaire (Emily Browning) wears in the movie Lemony Snicket – A Series of Unfortunate Events. I wanted to translate the net-like sleeves into knitting.

BBC NEWS | From Our Own Correspondent | Losing the taste for China's delicacies

BBC NEWS | Health | Healthy weight link to longevity
"Keeping a healthy weight may help people live longer by limiting brain exposure to insulin, say US scientists."

Celtic Braid Socks: Tuulian omia juttuja:
Another sock pattern, this one with a nice celtic looking cable pattern

Black Dog Designs
A collection of knitting patterns from the blogger of the blog Black Dog Knits
. Quite a few I would like to try sometime, probably going to stick with the socks for now (and there are several sock patterns that caught my fancy there.

Shetland Lace Rib Sock Pattern: Stitches of Violet
And, yes, another knitting pattern for socks!