The road goes ever on and on...

Maybe I'll manage to post more than once every 18 months.

I have finished the degree I went back to school for- graduated in May. I had two classes to finish the program but will have the last of the paperwork finished in the next week and a half. About two months after that I will be eligible to sit for the credentialing exam! 

The first thing on my to do list is to find a job in the field, I had to leave the bakery a few months back-it became more important to be awake between 9am-3pm than 11pm-7am. 

As soon as I have employment in place, I plan to find space in my schedule to craft regularly. I haven't had the time to sew at all, and knitting has been limited to simple, portable projects. I have a cardigan that is half done and yarn ready for another. 

Salto Socks

These are the Salto socks I was knitting in my previous post. It took a year to knit them because I did not keep track of where I was in the pattern and had to rip back several times. I finally found a row counter in the Stash to Go app the linked specifically to this project. That helped tremendously when I only got to knit for the duration of travel time to and from campus. 

So, this blogging thing...

It's been almost two years since my last post. I've been doing a lot of knitting, some sewing, but have not been spending much time on the internet. OK, not much time on the internet outside of Ravelry, but how else does a knitter keep projects organized?

I've been working overnights at an awesome bakery for the past 9 months, and as of January, I'm a full time student as well. After dealing with ill family, and my own chronic illness, I found a nutrition program at a local higher education institution. This semester I'm finishing up the pre-requisites that my bachelors degree didn't cover, and after I've completed the term, I'll be able to apply to the program. 

Carrying a full time hours as work plus full time credit load, plus care-taking responsibilities means I don't have much time for sewing, but I almost always have knitting in my purse or backpack. Socks are my go-to project nowadays. My current pattern is Salto, in the now discontinued color of Cranberry of Stroll Glimmer, though it looks like they have new colors. It's got more twist than the regular stroll I've worked with, but the Stellina just seems to make the sock look linty more than sparkly. 

Me Made May 2016: The Pledge

I, 47stars77 of Instagram and yarnneedlesandthread.blogspot.com sign up as a participant of Me Made May 2016. I endeavor to wear a minimum of one me-made (sewn, refashioned, or knitted) garment every day during the duration of May. I also endeavor to not wear the same outfit more than two times during the month.

Furthermore I pledge, by month's end, to finish the top I'm knitting, refashion that one men's shirt that's been hanging out at the back of my closet, and sew one garment using fabric from my stash.


The above is my pledge for Me Made May 2016 hosted by 'So, Zo... What do you know?' link to sign-up post is here.

I have managed to wear a me-made item everyday for the month of May in the past, if you include socks and shawls. This year I am challenging myself to wear more of my me-made garments. And not fall into the trap of wearing the same outfit or two three and four times a month, this necessitates that I keep track of my outfits. I also need to update my spring/summer wardrobe so this will be a good time and forum with which to do that.

And now to fabric stash dive...

WIPWednesday: Jaywalker Edition

So, Jaywalkers. This is my first pair and it may not be my last. Yarn is Knitpicks Felici in the Time Traveller colorway, purchased during the Cyber Monday sale of 2014.

Size: It's complicated. Thanks to a childhood spent on foot and bike, I have calve muscles. This means my leg is a sock size larger than my foot. This makes knitting socks complicated, but so totally worth it.

For this pair, I decided to knit the 84st size for the leg and the 72st size for the foot. I cast on 72 stitches for the ribbing and increased to 84 during a plain round after the ribbing. Worked in pattern until just shy of seven inches. It worked almost perfectly to use yarn from other end of skein for heel flap- the heel flaps don't quite match, but zero wasted yarn and uninterrupted stripe pattern across top of foot is worth it. Sock on left is finished with gusset decreases, sock on right will follow shortly. The depth of the heel flap is closer to three inches than two and ha half-so there are more stitches to pick up and decrease, plus this is where I get rid of the extra stitches-my foot being narrower than my leg. After continuing gusset decreases stitches down to what is called for on the 72st size, I still had extra stitches in the instep pattern. Solution: On first pattern row do not kfb on left side of instep needles (two sts decreased). On next pattern row do not work kfb on right side of instep needle (additional two sts decreased). Sock now has correct number of stitches to follow pattern for 72st size.

Recipe: Stupid Simple Pecan Bars

A while back my boss lent me his copy of a Cook's Illustrated Magazine. There was information about how to choose and roast a turkey. (It was November) I turned the page and found this recipe for a pecan bar- Nice and simple, no extra sweet custardy or syrupy filling. Just a press in pan crust and glazed pecan topping.

I didn't make the recipe exactly as it was written, here is my version:

Crust
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted- I used unsalted

Topping
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup agave nectar*
2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter melted and still warm -salted this time
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 cups pecans- toasted

*I used agave nectar because I have it on hand, if you don't have agave, use 1/2 cup corn syrup and omit water. Note to self: try maple syrup here because maple&pecan is a good combo.

Toasting the pecans is essential for the nuttiest pecan flavor. Here is how to toast nuts. This can be done ahead of time,

Preheat oven to 350, Line 9x13 pan with foil so that the foil can be used to lift the whole batch of bars out of the pan. I used two layers- one placed lengthwise and the other layer placed crosswise.

To make crust: whisk dry ingredients together in bowl. pour in melted butter, mix until all flour is incorporated. Press into pan.

To make the topping:combine brown sugar, agave, water and salt in bowl, pour hot butter over ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in vanilla. Fold in pecans. Note: I had three cups of pecans-the recipe called for four. Fewer pecans makes for a more caramel-y topping.

Pour topping over crust. It will not spread evenly and remain clumpy. This is ok. It will even out during baking.

Bake for 23-25 minutes, until topping bubbles.I took mine out of the oven at about 21 minutes because the topping was bubbling, My topping remained rather goooy. Very good but goooy. Cool completely in the pan. Then use foil to lift bars out of pan. I cut mine into 32 pieces for small bites dessert bar servings, but the recipe recommends 24 servings

Me-Made-May 2015 Pledge

I, Lydi of yarnneedlesandthread.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May 2015. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade/refashioned item a day for the duration of May. 

I also endeavour to sew one pair of pants that become a regular part of my spring/summer wardrobe, because it has been years since that happened.


It has been almost a year since my last post. Let's skip last that and get right back to posting. I've knit a lot, I plan to knit more. And I have some refashioning to finish, some men's shirts tucked and hemmed to my size and I need to lengthen the sleeves of a suit jacket for my brother.  Plus I'll be moving soon. Again. Sigh. I hate moving.

Me Made May: first ten days

I intended to do a FO Friday post yesterday, but my camera cell phone is giving me grief so I don't have photos of my two most recent finished objects.

That also means I don't have pictures of my me-mades for Me Made May.  Sigh.

May 1: Black pants, wool gaberdine, wide legged. (It was cool enough to be comfortable)
May 2: Whit and black print open front long sleeve top, fabric was knitted-I sewed it, came up with the pattern myself.
May 3: Black boyfriend-shaped cardigan, wool, knitted.
May 4: Same cardigan, hand knit orange socks
May 5: Short sleeve green floral print blouse, knit blue scarf-shawl
May 6: Black slacks, stretch cotton poplin.
May 7: Cropped cardigan, knitted.
May 8: Black toggle closure top
May 9: Sewn knit top, hand knit shawl
May 10: Another pair of handknit socks

Thoughts so far:
I have quite a bit of black- not complaining, just stuff I made when I worked somewhere with a dresscode of black.

I haven't had a chance to break out my warmer weather clothes. It's still kind of chilly in the upper mid-west.

My me-made items fall into the 'wardrobe staples' category.  So far it's all been items I wear in a regular basis. It makes sense, I keep my wardrobe small, so stuff stays basic to match everything else. Solid neutral colored pants, plain sewn tees, A small variety of casual long sleeve indoor-type jackets. Though I need more of these.

I'm planning a denim top-somewhere between a classic denim jacket and a blazer. I have a dark denim embroidered with bright spring colored flowers.

I've also been inspired to refashion many of my me mades. The black poplin pants could be  trimmed into a skinny-pant. Friday's sewn tee could be altered or taken in.