Cat Photobombed my Knitting

Or some such. I set down the hat I am knitting for my hubby as today is Get All The Things Done Day. I went back to pick it up to do a few more stitches while waiting for the laundry to dry. And found this:

Normally Elvis licks wool and felts it. For some reason this yarn was deemed worthy of sleeping on without correction as to texture. (red arrow points to knitting in question)

I am approx 8.5 inches into the hat. No point in posting another picture of the WIP as it is a boring stockinette hat. I guess I should thank Elvis for giving me a photo op?

Ciao

Fingernail Friday

Hat Knitting

My mittens are on hold. Hubby asked specifically for a hat. A very particular hat. So we went to the yarn store and he picked out the yarn:

At least it isn't black yarn!

I had to do some digging around to figure out how to get what he wanted. Specifically, an all-stockinette hat. With an edge that doesn't roll. I opted to go with a reversible hat design. Basically, you do a provisional cast on, knit one hat, then undo the provisional cast on, knit another hat from those stitches and then push the one hat into the other hat.

All in fingering weight yarn. Yah, it's taking a while. Although it is good tv knitting.

The provisional cast on was a pain. I didn't want to do the crochet chain one. I've done it before and detested undoing the chain. So I did a looped provisional cast on. The fist time I thought I'd be smart and do it onto a circular needle so I wouldn't have to pick up stitches. That just made the whole cast on waaaaaay too tight. So I did it with waste yarn. (the blue yarn above). In retrospect, maybe if I had tried it with a longer circular it would have worked. Either way, it's cast on.

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire....

Warning:this post contains nuts and references to nuts. Do not continue if you cannot handle references to your nuts. Yes I am 12 in my head sometimes......

This is the time of year when a woman's thoughts turn naturally to...nuts. No, get your mind out of the gutter. Chestnuts. Roasting chestnuts to be exact. Roasting chestnuts is an activity I remember doing with my parents as a small child. Mom would peel them for me since they were hot. As an adult, I still have trouble peeling them. My sister blames it on my fingernails. I blame it on the chestnuts!

I had always roasted the chestnuts in a frying pan. with a lid. Every so often you would have to open one to see if they were done. This was a major pain. Recently my sister told me about an easier way she had discovered on the intartubes. This method makes them MUCH easier to peel.

I will now share it with you.

Step 1. Cut an 'X' in the shell of your nut.(snerk) A small paring knife works fine. I prefer one with a slightly 'hooky' tip like this:

Step 2: dunk your nuts (giggle) in a bowlful of water. Turn on oven to 425F

Step 3:When the oven is preheated, fish your nuts out of the water (tee hee) and put em on a cookie sheet. I like to lay em cut side down.

Step 4: Set the timer to 20 minutes and walk away. I am afraid I did not take a picture of this step. Use your imagination

Step 5: When the oven timer tells you that 20 minutes has elapsed, take your nuts out of the oven. (snicker) They should look something like this:

Step 6: You need to peel your nuts while they are hot. (that's what she said) Do so. I find a cutting board is helpful. Sometimes if you give them a smart slap with the palm of your hand they peel easier. Sometimes they don't and you have to pry. This step is significantly easier because of the soak them in water trick.

Step 7: EAT!!