More Mazes and Pumpkins

Pattern: aMAZEing Dice Hat by Wyvern Knits - Size: D - Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Bone and Yarn Bee Soft Secret in Navy - Needle: US 4

  I have been really liking the results I've been getting from the aMAZEing Dice Hat, but I was wondering if I could make the top seem flatter, so it would be easier to see if you can solve the maze.  I thought that working it from the top down might fix that.

  I worked the crown chart from the top down, but worked the rest of the charts from the bottom up.  I skipped the first two rows on the charts used for the first ones of the body since the last rows of the crown are main color rows.  I know I could have probably worked all the charts from the top down, but I didn't want to make it even more confusing than I already have with everything else going on.  I then added back the two main color rows before the ribbing.

Rolls I got for this hat: worked ~> and \/

  Chart number w/row for wraps for 12th row

  Crown w/17
2 w/4 - 6 w/6 - 5 w/6 - 5 w/12 - 2 w/8
5 w/2 - 2 w/12 - 2 w/6 - 6 w/6 - 6 w/2
3 w/2 - 3 w/2 - 6 w/8 - 4 w/4 - 5 w/2

1 w/12 - 5 w/8 - 5 w/8 - 2 w/2 - 1 w/2

6        - 5         - 6         - 4        - 4    
  Brim

  I used a M1L to do the increases.  They were pretty tight but I like how they looked.  I think I might try a yarn-over and knit it through the back loop on the next try.

  I also had to fudge the top because I was going to do size B, but didn't notice that I started with size US 4 needles and not the US 6 needles I had planned to use, so it was coming out pretty small.  I know I could have restarted it, but I really liked how the fabric of the hat was turning out.  I just added a few more rows from size D to the bottom to make it bigger.

  The brim also wants to flip, and I'm wondering if that is because I used the wrong size needle.  It might not do that if I had actually used the 6s for the body and 4s for the ribbing.

  I went back and tried to go to the post about The Best Damn Pumpkin Soup and found that the page no longer exists!  I used TheWayBackMachine and was able to get the recipe.  Since I had trouble finding it, I figured I would share it here.  I'm not going to put the entire post here, just the parts that matter to what I use.  Though to be fair, I usually use a smaller pumpkin and whatever soup ingredients I have on hand.  I also tend to eat it right out of the pumpkin instead of putting it into bowls.

The Best Damn Pumpkin Soup

Erin McDowell

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients:

One 3- to 4-pound cheese pumpkin

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 leek, halved and thinly sliced

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Using a paring knife, cut a tapered circle around the stem of the pumpkin (as if you were making a jack-o’-lantern). Remove the top of the pumpkin and trim any stringy bits. Scoop out the pumpkin seeds with a spoon and discard (or save, if desired).

3. Place the rosemary, thyme and sliced leek in the cavity of the pumpkin. Pour in the chicken stock and season with black pepper. Add the grated Parmesan cheese, then replace the top of the pumpkin.

4. Transfer the whole pumpkin to the prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven until the exterior of the pumpkin is golden brown and shiny, and the flesh inside is very tender, 1½ to 2 hours. (If the exterior is browning too quickly, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.)

5. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and take off the top. To serve the soup, scoop several spoonfuls of pumpkin flesh from the inside, place in a bowl and top with a ladleful of broth. Finish with more pepper and Parmesan cheese, if desired.

  We did Christmas at the cabin this year.  It is the first Christmas where Tank got to be with us for opening presents.  In past years we have gone to my parent's house and came back once we were done with presents and food.  Since we weren't going to be down for a long while, my mom decorated one of our outside trees and then we just had a live stream of a tree on the TV to put the presents under.  I was worried that Tank's bright orange harness wasn't going to fit, but it does, even though the part around his neck isn't adjustable.  I like this new tradition.

  My mom and I also made a drop-off of mostly hats at Lebanon Springs House Ministries.  They were very impressed by the items we brought them.  We also all sat down and had some tea and just chatted.  They are very nice and it was great to actually meet them.

It's Still Pumpkin Season

Pattern: Little Pumpkin Hat by Asita Krebs - Size: Junior - Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Bone - Needle: US 6

  I thought this was going to be worked like the BUN Hat by Andi OldTrout where you don't join it in the round at first, but I was wrong.  I had to go back and adjust some of the parts where I picked up and knit the wrap with the stitch because it was either being really loose or pulling the stitch in an obvious way.  Some are still a bit off, but not enough to make a difference.  I might try the Japanese Wrap and Turn method next time.  I also like how the first row of the ribbing is offset how you work it the rest of the time.

  The stitch pattern looked intimidating until I realized that rows 1 & 4 and 2 & 3 are the same to each other, just offset.  I just had to look at the beginning of the row, then I could just keep going without rechecking until the next row.

  We did a quick trip to the cabin, made sure no pipes froze or anything.  There was a limited release at the ABC store and Bill was curious what we could get down there.  We went to the closest one and were joking about random stuff with the people in front of us in line.  Bill picked out something and then we headed to the next one.  We ended up being behind the same people in line again!  He mentioned that there was another one a few minutes down the road and I said I was up to going to that one as well, but he wanted to go to Walmart to get some batteries.  We then went past the cabin the other direction and went to an ABC Store in WV and it was the smallest one I've ever been to.  It was a nice drive and the town it was in was very cute.  Some of the restaurants there looked pretty good as well, so I think we will head back there at some point.

Another Tricky Project

Pattern: Swirl Hat by Mandie Harrington - Size: Child - Yarn: Yarn Bee Soft Secret in Navy - Needle: US 6

   I decided to try the different decreases on this one.  It wasn't looking how I wanted it to, but I thought it was still pretty cool looking, so I kept going.  During Thanksgiving I accidentally added an extra yarn over and figured it would be quicker to take it out instead of trying to hide it.  I somehow missed getting both loops on a few of the decreases and next thing I knew I had some loops poking up from a few rows below.  I ended up having to take out about 5 rows before I got everything where it should be.  I kept going and it was still pretty good looking, but not how I pictured it.  Though when I flipped it inside onto to weave in my end, it looked really good.  I then flipped it back, wove on my ends on the previously right side, and I'm super happy with it.

Pattern: Moss Stitch Shawl by Sarah Zimmerman - Yarn: Caron Perfect Match in 7411 Evening Jewels - Hook: 6mm

  I forgot about this.  I went to block it in the guest room and just let it sit in there to dry for over a month now.  I kept wondering why I felt like I was missing something and then I remembered this project.  I love the colors.  There are some great variances in the pooling that repeat themselves in different parts of the shawl.  It looks pretty busy when it is small, like in the picture, but in person it isn't quite so overwhelming.

The Cursed Project

Pattern: Roll for Skulls by Wyvern Knits - Size: B - Yarn: Loops & Threads Capri Tencel in Slate and Teal - Needles: US 2(ribbing) and US 3(body)

  I had an interesting experience with this yarn.  It's my first time using it and when I looked up reviews, most people only had complaints about it splitting.  I was taking it out because I was getting gauge when just knitting, but when I started doing the colorwork, my stitches tightened up.  At one point I was winding it back up after taking it out and I noticed a bit where it looked like the yarn was wrapped on itself.  It also looked like a few of the plies were longer than the rest.  I was scared that I was going to have to cut it.  After looking at it I figured out that I had somehow managed to split the yarn and either the skein or the knitting had been passed through the split.  I gently loosened the top plies enough to get the skein through and everything smoothed out nicely.

  It also felt odd when I was wet blocking it.  I thought it became pliable feeling, like a clay.  My mom thought it felt like paper mache.  It went back to feeling nice and smooth when it was dry.

  I worked the pattern rolling for each section and midway through each chart as well:

Top twisted 1x1 ribbing

        Right Latvian braid

    3B - 3B - 2A - 6C - 5C - 1A

    2A - 1A - 4B - 2A - 4B - 2A 

    4B - 3B - 5C - 6C - 1A - 4B

    6C - 3B - 1A - 4B - 2A - 3B

    6C - 5C - 2A - 4B - 2A - 4B

    3B - 2A - 5C - 6C - 2A - 4B

        Left Latvian Braid

Bottom twisted 1x1 ribbing

  I also had an interesting experience at the dentist the last time I went.  They told me I was going to be in room 3.  I saw a lot of things that looked like the two-part epoxy but in different colors on the counter.  The person who showed me where to go asked me if I had any pain.  I told her that I didn't, and she looked at me with a really confused expression and asked if I was sure.  She then double checked my name and I hear Diane say that I was there for her from the next room over.  The guy who was supposed to be in that room was seated soon after I got into room 4.  While I was getting my x-rays done, I heard someone ask the guy in the other room if he had eaten anything particularly hard recently or not.  One of the people then tried to come over to us and steal the x-ray machine after my first one.  The second we were done she came back to get it.  While I was getting my cleaning done I heard various snippets from the other room.  She tapped on his teeth and asked which ones hurt.  At one point she was giving reasons why he might have this steady tooth ache for five days, but have the teeth all look okay.  She also mentioned that they might be able to just make a hole to get to the root of the tooth to fix the problem.  She also suggested that the pain from biting down might be caused by a break in the tooth below the gum-line.  She said that everything was too irritated to do a cleaning that day, even though it's been a while since he last got one done.  She was going to get him a few referrals for various specialists that would help them figure out what was wrong with his teeth.  Once she was done with him and was free to see me to double check Diane's work, I asked her what was going on next door since I had been sat there.  She laughed when I her about how I was asked if I was in pain and she said that they must have thought that I was her emergency patient who thought he might need to have four teeth pulled.  Luckily I had nothing that exciting done.