SQUIRREL!!!

I just can't help myself.  I see something on Pinterest or Facebook or someone's blog, and I just have to swatch.

The Russians Are Stealing Everything

Often, when I see a stitch pattern on Pinterest, the link that it brings me to is in Russian...and it looks as if the instructions and even the photo is scanned directly from a book.

I guess stealing knitting stitch patterns doesn't compare with stealing parts of the Ukraine, but I still don't recommend it.

Especially when it's not that difficult to re-create it yourself.

And here's the stitch pattern:

Current Knitting

I decided to re-make my demonstration heels for the workshop I'll be doing at the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat this year.

From top to bottom we have a simple short-row heel, a Dutch heel and a toe-up version of the Dutch heel.  My favorite is the bottom one as it has all the advantages of the Dutch heel (which I think conforms to the heel very well, but the gusset seam is less visible.

Finn felt it necessary to give his opinion as well.

He prefers the Dutch heel...but cats can be so contrary, can't they?

Readers' Comments/Questions

Maureen writes, "But what if it explodes??? - isn't it dangerous to have a tank of gas in your kitchen?"

Not really.  The tanks are inspected every 5 years for safety and it's definitely as safe as having a fire extinguisher in your kitchen (which you should).

Christina writes, "Finn, is dad having you sleep on a machine made blanket? You have him knit you a super soft blanket and then post the picture."

First of all, that blanket was woven by an 85 year old man in Edmonton Canada on a beautiful old loom.  Second of all he does have two hand-knit blankets (by me) that he lays on all the time (one in the second bedroom and one in the TV room).

New Thaddeus Recipe

This side-dish is amazing...we had something similar in a restaurant and we loved it.

Curried Chickpea Fries

This dish is a healthier alternative to French fries, it can be completely gluten free and has a ton of flavor.  I personally love the flavor of  Indian spices, but you could substitute rosemary, or chive

Curried Chickpea Fries
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Time: About 1½ hours, largely unattended

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chickpea flour
2 cups water (you could also use vegetable or chicken stock)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
Salt and black pepper

1. Grease an 8- or 9-inch pan (Thaddeus uses a round pie pan, but most people use a square pan).
2. Whisk chickpea flour, cumin and turmeric into boiling water (you definitely want to use a whisk for this).
3. Boil while whisking constantly for 2 minutes.
4. Spread the chickpea flour mixture as evenly as possible into the greased pan, cover with foil or plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
5. Put at least 2 inches of the oil in a large, deep pot over medium-high heat. Cut the chickpea flour cake into ½-by-3-inch strips. Add one of the strips to the oil to test whether it’s hot enough; the oil should immediately bubble vigorously. Working in batches, cook the remaining strips until deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the strips to paper towels to drain, season with salt, and serve hot.

Current Knitting/Crocheting

I'm doing a workshop at this year's Men's Spring Knitting Retreat on knitting a sock heel that forms more to the real anatomy of a foot than commercial socks, so I've started knitting up some samples.

I also did some additional crochet on the Crochet Basketweave Afghan, until I realized I had miscounted the number of rows in one of the stripes, so I had to rip back a bit.

I have recovered and gone a little past where I was, but I did promise a progress photo.

Readers' Comments/Questions

Thanks for the two comments about using EverNote instead of OneNote.

I made a comment that I still like OneNote better (see my response in last blog entry comments), but I have to now qualify my comments.

OneNote on Windows is an excellent product...better than EverNote in my opinion.  But on Mac OS, OneNote (which is a free app) is not as good...in fact in some ways it sucks.  I tried copying an Excel table into EverNote and also into OneNote...EverNote handled it great, OneNote wouldn't format the damn thing into a table no matter what I tried (whereas in Windows, it works like a charm).  Those kinds of platform-based inconsistencies with Microsoft products drive me nuts.