I like Sarahland

I've been thinking about my friend Sarah a lot recently, and I thought I'd share just a few of the ways in which she's fantastic.

First of all, she's whip-smart, funny and pleasingly neurotic. Further, she has excellent and adventurous taste in food, and a keen appreciation for both Joss Wheedon's entire oeuvre and the wankability of Alton Brown.

Despite her continuing and willful refusal to knit socks, she is actually a fine and eclectic knitter. From silk scarves to toy chickens to fair-isle mitts, her knitting is varied, lovely and a genuine pleasure to watch roll off the (circular) needles.

Further, she has an appreciation for and deft hand with googly eyes, the likes of which I have never seen.

She also has feet that I hope will be really, really happy in these socks.



And finally, in case there's any doubt about just how likeable Sarah is: these mother#&%@ing socks fit me beautifully.



I can only hope that she'll enjoy them as much as I do. And perhaps she'll be inspired to make some of her own some day...

And this is why I stash

I think non-knitters have trouble with the stash concept. To non-knitters, having yarn and not knitting it means you do not like that yarn.

If a non-knitter gifted that yarn to a knitter, it might seem like the knitter doesn't really like the yarn at all. For example, a particular friend of mine just can't understand why I would ignore the 400 yards of gorgeous cashmere he gave me. He thinks I don't like the cashmere.

Knitters know not liking cashmere is impossible. But I do think there are several factors at work in the stashing and project selection process.

1. Non-knitters don't really understand just how much yarn some of us actually have. There is more yarn in my stash than I could possibly knit in the foreseeable future. Not knitting a particular yarn is, admittedly, at least partially due to the fact that I am a fickle, fickle tramp when it comes to new yarn. But it's also due to the sheer amount of other yarn in the stash. I don't really knit all that much, and I have a shitload of yarn. Therefore, the backlog is substantial.



Monkey, in Fiber Confections hand-dyed merino. Stashed December 2008. Project started July 2009.

2. Sometimes I don't knit precisely because I love the yarn so much. I am waiting for the perfect project that will best complement a particularly gorgeous yarn. Such is the case with my cashmere stash. And honestly, I think some sock yarns are prettier in the skein than they could ever be knit up.



Auracania Ranco, Multy. Yarn stashed April 2008. Unknit.

3. The stash is a constant source of joy and inspiration. I browse my stash the way I browse cookbooks, to remind me of all the possibilities that are out there. And because it just makes me happy. I may not knit something immediately, but visiting my stash reminds me what I could be knitting with. And as I browse patterns, I mentally align pattern to stash, and every now and then there is a spark. The perfect alignment of pattern and yarn and (this is crucial) the desire to knit this particular pattern in this particular yarn immediately.



Chevron Scarf, in J Knits Superwash Me Light Sock, Reno and Colorado colorways. Stashed March 2007. Project started September 2009.

4. Sometimes I just want to knit and not think. I keep self-striping sock yarn on hand for just that urge. A stockinette sock is soothing, like a glass of wine (or three) or a long hot shower. It doesn't challenge me, I don't have to think about how it's going to turn out (cough *toosmall* cough), I don't even need to read a pattern.



Uh, some kind of striping yarn. Maybe Trekking? Meilenweit Megaboots? Purchased at some point, somewhere.

My stash is not just for those rare occasions, when I look at the yarn and know exactly what it must become. Though that is nice. I stash because I like knowing I have something easy to knit. I stash because yarn is beautiful and because it gives me pleasure to look at it and touch it and imagine what it could become.

Also, because I can't pass up nice tweed when it's on sale, but that's another matter entirely.

How about you? Why do you stash? Are you saving up anything particularly juicy?

Things I love about California

1. Kelley and Quinn

When my friend Kelley moved from Boston to the Bay Area last year, she (cruelly) sent me a picture of her and BFF Quinn, with the comment "There's someone missing from this picture."

Looking back, that was probably the first moment I seriously considered moving. It took another three months and a particularly vile New England ice storm to finalize my decision. I can say I moved for a better climate, for the amazing local food scene, for a more relaxed vibe, whatever. In the end, my friends were a huge part of why I moved.

2. There are flowers. In the middle of OCTOBER. And crazy Dr. Seuss-looking shit growing everywhere.







3. You can buy booze everywhere, every day of the week, at any time. I still find this so exciting that I refuse to buy booze at an actual liquor store. This is clearly less exciting to everyone else who lives here, because thus far I'm the only one I've seen at CVS buying beer, vodka, gum and tampons.



4. The Farmer's Markets. Dear god.





5. Vosges Bacon Chocolate bars. This has nothing to do with California, except that my local grocery store sells both the milk and dark chocolate varieties. And they are AWESOME.



Plus, their cheese section looks like this:



Oh yeah, did I mention I'm in California?

Yep, I am now a proud resident of Oakland, California in a neighborhood that rates quite highly on the awesomeness scale. Everything I need to be happy in a four block radius: the public library, used bookstores, video stores, a comic shop, bars (in my two favorite flavors: "filthy dive" and "tiki"), a movie theater, a half dozen coffee shops and - get this - a yarn shop.

There's even a weekly knitting group that meets every Saturday, at the library! Which I heard about from my next-door neighbor, who's also a knitter.

Add in fantastic friends who put me up while I was apartment hunting and who ferried me on countless shopping excursions and moved piles and piles of boxes and offered their husbands up for shelf assembly/electronics hook-up duties, and you've got a pretty painless cross-country move. As these things go.

I've even been doing some knitting. But more on that later.

The more things change

I am sixteen days away from moving to San Francisco. This means my house is crammed with boxes and every surface is covered with piles of crap I pulled out of closets, some of which I don't even remember owning.



Sadly, I do not have an enthusiasm for putting things in boxes to match my enthusiasm for removing things from closets. Thus, piles everywhere.

The move also entails thrilling adventures like selling furniture on craigslist. This process includes both "letting total strangers into my apartment" and "hoping I don't end up in an oubliette being told to put the lotion on its skin." So far so good, largely because most everyone on craigslist is apparently a total flake.

Though if someone puts me in a dark hole and then makes a girl suit out of me, I wouldn't have to pack any more boxes. So really, it's a win-win.

With all these big changes going on, it's obscurely comforting that some things never change. Like how tightly I knit. Like that familiar self-deception that tells me blocking will TOTALLY add 147 inches to a sock's circumference so that it will actually fit over my heel.

Like this tiny, tiny sock I (accidentally) knit for Megan of the dainty feet.



Or this Ariel-size sock...



That was originally a doll-size sock.

Sigh.

My potatoes are more American than yours

Think I'm exaggerating? Take a look:



Now that we've cleared that up, may I formally present Potato and Radish Salad for Friends, aka Let's Pawn off Radishes on Unsuspecting Partygoers. If you happen to have radishes from your CSA, this is an excellent way to get rid of the little f*ckers use for them.

It's just your basic potato salad in a wine and herb vinaigrette. But the radishes make it a little peppier, and it's mighty pretty for a 4th of July potluck.

Ingredients

- 2 lbs. small new potatoes. A mix of red, white and blue ones are both delicious and patriotic.
- Salt
- 5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 c. white wine
- 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp. dijon mustard
- 1 small bunch radishes, very thinly sliced
- 1/3 c. chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley and dill)

Scrub potatoes, then halve or quarter larger potatoes so that they are all basically the same size. In a medium pot, cover potatoes with 1/2 inch cold water. Add a good shot of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are tender but still hold their shape. [The cooking time will vary a lot depending on the size of your potatoes and what variety they are. Mine took less than 10 minutes.]

When potatoes are cooked, drain and allow to cool slightly. While still warm, slice potatoes into 1/2 inch thick slices. [Or whatever shape strikes your fancy.]

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp. of the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

Pour wine and remaining 3 tbsp. olive oil over warm sliced potatoes. Drizzle vinegar over. Add cooked garlic and onions. Stir gently to combine. Allow potatoes to absorb liquids.

Stir in mustard, radishes and fresh herbs. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Serve at room temperature.

Happy 4th of July, and happy eating!

Farm candy

Ah, summer... Beaches, barbecues, sunburns...endless mountains of CSA greens....all those goddamned beets...



Yep, it's that time again. I seem to have actually learned from my past experiences and admitted that even a half-share is entirely too much for one person.

So I'm splitting the share with my friend and fellow knitter, Sarah. Our haul today included: kale, red and green chard, beets with greens, arugala, red-leaf lettuce, curly cress and strawberries. Tiny, almost unbearably sweet strawberries.



Curly cress was another exciting addition. Not only have I never eaten it, I didn't even know it existed before today. Pretty, isn't it? It kind of looks like curly parsley, but it's actually a salad green with an intense peppery flavor, like super-charged cracked-out watercress.



This is what a CSA is all about. Gorgeous food, picked at the peak of ripeness and freshness. The eating, it will be good.

I think I've even narrowed down what I want to eat. My standby kale recipe is this one: White Cheddar Polenta with Sauteed Greens and Garlic Portobellos, and it's brilliant. Though I may branch out and try Risotto with Tuscan Kale and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds instead. And I'm certainly not ruling out Red Potatoes with Kale, Avocado and Feta either.

For the beets, I'm thinking Red Beet Risotto. Because even beets can be palatable with enough cheese on top.

Mmmmm....

What I did on my blogger vacation

Well, I knit some socks.

First up, Manly Socks, in a basic sturdy Regia 4-Ply. These socks are hugely more attractive on the foot than off, and a perfect match for the green-grey-blue-brown heathered yarn. A nice, easy knit, too, whose good looks I think are disproportionate to the level of effort. And they are terribly manly.



I'm not sure if these were a huge yarn hog, or if I really did knit much bigger man socks than I usually do, but this is how much yarn I had left. I actually had to cannibalize the leftover cast-on edge to finish the second toe.



Next up, the Artichoke Socks, winging their way to their intended recipient even as I write, thereby continuing my tradition of providing people with woolens just in time for summer.



Modifications: I accidentally knit a "row 10" in the repeat that didn't exist in the pattern. And I would do a standard heel instead of the funky squarish heel turn in the pattern, but no modifications other than that.

I really can't say enough good things about the Shibuiknits sock yarn. It does have an oddly crispy feel when you're knitting with it, but softens dreamily after blocking. The recipient will get to enjoy both textures, since I only blocked one of the socks before mailing them to her. I think it's my dedication and high standards through all stages of the knitting process, including finishing and presentation, that makes me stand out from all the other knitters. Snort.

Balancing out these surprisingly successful socks is a recently frogged variation on the Staccato Socks, from the excellent Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarns.



I knit to the heel, well aware that it would never in a million years fit me. Finally, one of my knittahs with size 6 feet tried it on and couldn't even get the damn thing over her heel. So, it's been frogged and reincarnated as a simple stockinette sock. I'm still charmed by the colors and the stripes. A three-row stripe is just about perfect for stockinette - just when I get bored...WHEE! New color!

As you can see, I have been knitting a lot less. In the past few months, I started going to the gym, and I started taking karate. I've been reading a lot more, and cooking (and eating) a lot of really wonderful things.

Given the decreased knitting, I've been debating what direction I should take this blog in. I've decided the blog will probably expand beyond knitting to cover more of my interests. I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I do.