I love getting mail--especially when its fiber related! I got two packages this week: my Hello Yarn Fiber club and my Spunky Eclectic Fiber/Sock Yarn Club.

Spunky Eclectic:

I really love being a member of both the sock club and the Fiber club. I find it absolutely amazing how differently the same colorway looks in a sock yarn and a fiber. This fiber, by the way, is named Aspen after the colors of the region. Its and incredibly soft merino/tencel blend. Lovely!

Hello Yarn:

I couldn't capture all the lovely colors in a single shot, so heres two shots of the fiber. Its a Merino wool and its incredibly soft with rich colors. I can't wait to spin it! I'm almost a little sorry I started new spinning last night!

Speaking of--I'm playing catch up with most of these clubs since I'm only now getting a bit of regular spinning time. Right now, I'm working on the July shipment of the Spunky Club--named Celebration. When I first opened the box, I was, honestly, a little unimpressed. The colors just didnt seem to go and the large amounts of black and white in the roving just didnt appeal to me. But then I saw lots of other people's spun up and just fell in love. A real lesson in how an ugly roving can be a pretty yarn and a pretty roving can make an ugly yarn.

This is a little overspun but I'm ok with it. I'm either going to chain-ply it to keep the colors in tact or just run it through the wheel backwards and keep it as a laceweight yarn with very long color repeats. I wanted to mainted long color repeats either way, so I didnt split the roving at all down the middle. Its my first time doing it successfully and I'm really enjoying seeing the gradual color changes.

After finishing Munch's Hallowig, I realized I only had one real project on the needles--time to cast on for something new!

This is my second try with this yarn. The first attempt was just a poor pattern choice: it had eyelets and a little laceyness to it and the yarn was completely overwhelming. I really love the garter rib (from sensational knitted socks). I think it breaks up the colors just enough to have a nice mottled sock.

I also cooked up a little something last night--an old standby: Pasta Pizza.

And a little something special for dessert: Strawberries with White Chocolate Sauce (try #2):

Yum! Recipes are in the description over at flickr!

Posted by fruitychick at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Two (actually, three since I did one of them twice) things I've done in the last few days have been pretty much absolute failures.

First, the seemingly hilarious project I was working on. Cute? yes. Funny? yes. Do I love it? yes.

Then why, you ask, is it a failure?

I give you Exhibit A:

Hate wouldnt exactly be a strong enough word to describe munch's feelings toward her hallowig. I saw alison over at the blue blog knit one up for her little girl and it was so incredibly adorable and fun I had to knit one up myself. After all--her baby girl loved hers! I used her alterations at first but it came out much too small, so I added 4 stitches to each section. It came out perfectly but it might as well be made out of steel wool as far as Munch is concerned.

I'm still holding out hope that she will come around by the time the weather changes....

Crappiness the second was a quickie desert I tried to whip up one night after a failed dinner attempt (I didnt even get far enough to take a picture...lets just say, it is awfully hard to make baked ziti without pasta sauce and no matter how many times you look in the pantry, it wont magically appear if you didnt actually buy any.) We ended up ordering out and I thought I'd save face by making Frozen Berries with Hot White Chocolate from one of Ina Garten's Cookbooks.

They looked tasty:

I just did everything wrong on this one. Super-cook that I am I thought I didnt have to go actually *look* at the recipe again. After all--the name of the recipe said it all! Berries. check. chocolate. check. heck--it even went so far as to be specific on the white part of the chocolate.

So now, looking back at the recipe, I didnt add the cream to the chocolate and I used strawberries which stayed far, far too frozen to actually be able to eat despite the thawing power of a mound of hot white chocolate. The chocolate topping wasnt bad--but it solidified the second it hit the frozen berries... Mr. Fruitychick tried to humor me by eating a few berries but eventually gave up before he cracked a tooth.

ugh. next time--only slightly frozen smaller berries and make an actual chocolate-cream sauce instead of just melted chocolate. And maybe I'll dig out the cookbook and actually read the recipe....

Posted by fruitychick at 05:30 AM | Permalink

Mr. Fruitychick is off in Seattle on business so I'm on day 2 (of 4) of "quality time" with the Munch. Shes generally a good baby but when we are alone, it's very hard to get things done around here and we quickly devolve into messiness.

There are, however, some things that can't be put off. Like potty breaks for me. Usually I just set her up with a toy and duck into the bathroom for a minute but she inevitably finds somethng to get into.

Like Cheezits.

sigh...its like she has some kind of radar that pulls her towards stuff she isnt supposed to get into. While I was cleaning up the jar of squash she pulled down onto the floor during lunch, the gravitational pull of the dog food overwhelmed her and she made a beeline right for the dish to partake in a few chunks. I dont get what about puppy chow looks so wonderfully tasty compared to the things I give her but she sees something irresistable in it.

Shes also spending a large part of her day topless these days since she makes such a mess eating now. Shes trying to learn how to feed herself with the spoon. I'd love to tell you what a genius my baby is but, in all honesty, she really stinks at the whole spoon thing. I know things will improve but, for now, she eats topless since skin is much easier to clean than t-shirts.

I have gotten very little knitting done lately though I did start a little project. Its far too hilarious to show you half completed, so I'll post a picture of the FO as soon as its done! (Probably tomorrow)

Posted by fruitychick at 06:36 PM | Permalink

I'm going through one of those phases that everyone goes through in knitting--I have several WIPs going right now and its starting to drive me a little batty. In an ideal world, I would have one (and only one) project going in each of the following categories:

a. a sock
b. a big project
c. a lace project

the boundaries there are a little blurred. if a sock is overly complicated (I'm looking at you, twisted flower socks), they count as a big project or a lace project.

Right now, I feel like I'm not making any progress on my knits because I'm spreading myself too thin. Its time to whip some of those WIPs into FOs.

First up:

Morehouse Merino Booties (project in their book)
Yarn: Morehouse Merino 3 strand

I started these ages ago and then they got stuffed into the knitting bag nearly done. I worked on them for about 30 minutes then seamed them up. DONE! I'm glad to get them out of the WIP pile.

Of course, endangering my plan... this came today.

grr...although, since I did finish the Monkey Socks, I get to start a new sock project, right??

OH--and I got my ravelry account! yay!! my username is--get ready for the crazy amount of creativity here--fruitychick. Come find me!

Posted by fruitychick at 01:58 PM | Permalink

woohoo! all finished!

Yarn: STR Lightweight in Fire on the Mountain
Needles: Knitpicks Circulars in size 2.5 mm for the ribbing and first three repeats of the cuff then 2.25 for the rest of the sock.
Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A.
Alterations: I left out one repeat of the pattern on the cuff (i'm not in to tall socks)
Verdict: LOVE THEM!

My new camera came today! You know what that means--CLOSEUP CITY, BABY!

Pattern Detail:

Kitchener Stitched Toe:
My grafting is greatly improved from when I started knitting socks. I'm not sure what happened--but all the sudden, it clicked!

Gusset Detail:
Heel flap stitches picked up "the pretty way". Thanks Grumperina! Its a great technique to avoid the stretched out looking gusset.

All in all, I'm thrilled with these socks.

Posted by fruitychick at 04:27 PM | Permalink

I am so close!

Found you!
You signed up on July 5, 2007
You are #14309 on the list.
20 people are ahead of you in line.
19421 people are behind you in line.
42% of the list has been invited so far

Woohoo!

Posted by fruitychick at 02:13 PM | Permalink

Spinning time was always rare around here while I was working. I have a smudge more time now but I dont have the room to keep my wheel out and ready to use at a moments notice. Hopefully our old house will sell today (someone is coming back for the third time in five days to see it!) and we'll be able to move into something big enough for me to have my old yarn room back again.

Munch did take a nice long nap yesterday and I was able to finish this:

This is 4.25 oz of Superwash BFL Dyeabolical Fiber in Turqoise.

I'm debating about what to do with it now. I was intending to ply it together for (hopefully) some sock yarn but I'm having second thoughts. I'm considering plying it with some laceweight (KSH maybe? I saw a lovely example of that here. These singles might look lovely plied with a deep chocolate brown strand of KSH.

I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. I can tell my spinning is getting better--more steady and even. I have yet to really knit any of my handspun up, though I have ideas for some of it.

I'm torn as to what to spin up next. I think I have the next shipment of one of my fiber clubs coming soon but, being totally impatient, I'll probably start prepping something I have on hand....

Posted by fruitychick at 09:06 AM | Permalink

This is so easy, its ridiculous. While I do like to cook, I keep "emergency meals" on hand for us if I am just not feeling up to cooking. Usually its just a frozen pizza with some frozen veggies but I decided to try one of those bertoli frozen pasta meals (though I did balk at the sodium count in those things--holy cow!). Once I tasted it, I knew I could do better, so this dish was born! Its become a really nice pantry standby for us since I almost always have all the ingredients around.

You'll have lots of leftovers but its great the second day. We usually get about three meals for each of us out of it.

1 box of penne pasta
1 package of beef smoked sausage, cut into thin circles
2 cans of artichoke hearts, quartered
1 lb broccoli florets
1 can chopped tomatos
1 tblsp tomato paste
dried rosemary

You'll need two pots going at once: one to cook the pasta and one to cook everything else. You'll add the pasta to the everything else pot, so make sure that one is big enough to handle everything. Youll also need to steam the brocoli in the microwave while everything is going on. I know it sounds like a lot, but it all comes together in the end.

Start the pasta cooking in one pot and while thats happening...

In a large pot (this is the perfect job for my favorite le creuset cast iron pot), brown the sausage well. In a small microwavable bowl, steam the broccoli with a few tblsp of water.

To the large pot, add the can of chopped tomatos, rosemary and tomato paste, stir to combine. Add the artichoke hearts, steamed broccoli. Salt and pepper well. Add the cooked, drained pasta and combine.

Add some dried chile flakes for spice and some parmesan cheese for yumminess.

Enjoy!

Posted by fruitychick at 09:00 AM | Permalink

This was super tasty! I'm always looking for a new chicken recipe and this one was a nice surprise. You only have to chop a couple of ingredients and then stick it in the oven. I got the inspiration from a recipe in the Everyday Food cookbook (which I love, by the way). It called for fewer ingredients but I think my additions were good ones.

I'm going to use the leftovers today to top a salad.

4 chicken breast halves, skin on
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2/3 cup chopped fresh curley parsley
1/3 cup pine nuts, chopped
zest of one lemon
juice of the lemon
Dried oregano

Preheat your oven to 450.

Combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, pine nuts and zest. Season well with salt and pepper. I added some dried oregano at this point--probably 1 tblsp.

Carefully separate the skin from the chicken breasts, creating a pocket. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on each side.

Stuff 1/4 of the stuffing into each chicken breast. Place in a large baking dish so there is a little room around each breast. Squeeze the lemons over the chicken. Bake until 165 in the middle and the skin is crisp (about 30 minutes).

I served this with simple steamed broccoli but next time I might roast some asparagus or green beans with some garlic...yum!

Posted by fruitychick at 08:37 AM | Permalink

Whew. That sure was close. I've been getting a heck of a lot of spam comments lately so I was going to try to install some type of utility to "fix" the issue. Ha. A few hours later, movable type wouldnt even load to let me log in any more.

yikes. Anyway--half a day later, the hosting people have it fixed. I thought I was going to lose the whole blog and have to reimport every post and picture again but it is magically still here. whew. That was a close one. I can't say enough for my hosting people; I've had a few problems in the past and they've always solved the issue within a day. Usually less.

That, unfortunately, hasnt been my only technical problem. My nifty new phone that I've been snapping all my photos with has decided it does not like the internet anymore, so I can't send photos to flickr directly.

I'm giving up on the tech issues for the time being. I only have one more repeat on the second monkey sock then its all toe, baby! I'm so close to an FO I can taste it!

Posted by fruitychick at 03:27 PM | Permalink

I admit, the Backyardigans are cute. Heck, I even occassionally find myself humming the catchy little showtunes. However, the 576th time through each episode it gets a little old; last night the music from Cops and Robots was the theme music to my dreams.

The problem is that backyardigans episodes are like lays potato chips. Munch can't have just one. Shes fine if she doesnt see it but once you play one episode you must continue to play them until (a) a meal or (b) going out of the house. Needless to say, there are many many snacks and trips to the store around here.

We are starting to feel a little more settled here in Plano. We chose to do a short term lease in an apartment before buying a house here for a variety of reasons and, despite the tiny apartment kitchen, I've actually managed to turn out a couple of tasty meals over the last few days. The other night we had Chicken Breasts stuffed with Hatch Chiles and Pepper Jack Cheese.

My own recipe inspired by the intoxicating smelling fresh roasted chiles available at our local Whole Foods:

Hatch Stuffed Chicken

Serves 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
4 Large Roasted Hatch Chiles (see note at bottom)
4 oz Pepper Jack Cheese, cut into small cubes (¼ inch)

1.Preheat oven to 350.
2.Butterfly the chicken breasts. Pound out flat with a meat pounder.
3.Remove the seeds and stem from the Hatch Chiles and place one on each of the flattened chicken breasts. Place 1 oz of cheese on the chiles and fold the breasts in half, enclosing the pepper and cheese. Place in a baking dish and salt and pepper the chicken.
4.Bake for 40 minutes or until juices run clear or a meat thermometer reads 165.

notes:
1.Hatch Chiles are available here in Texas in August and September. If hatch chiles aren't available to you, try using another large mild pepper like a banana pepper.
2.My local market roasts hatch chiles daily. If your local market doesnt, you can easily roast chiles on your grill or a gas burner. Roast up a batch and place them in a small container covered with oil. They'll keep up to a week and are great additions to sandwiches.

I also made Roasted Vegetable Gratin, a recipe inspired by one in Cooking Light (June). I made some additions and changes:

It was incredibly tasty and couldnt be easier to make:

Roasted Vegetable Gratin

Serves 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

1 red bell pepper
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 yellow squash
1 zucchini
1 large yellow onion
1 medium red onion
1 large tblsp fresh thyme

1 tblsp paprika
2 tblsp olive oil
½ cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup parmesan cheese (grated)

1.Preheat oven to 400.
2.Chop all the vegetables into ¼ inch slices. Combine in a bowl with the olive oil and paprika. Salt and Pepper well.
3.Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Set aside
4.Spread into a large sheet pan as close to a single layer as possible.
5.Roast for 45 minutes, stirring often.
6.Sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until breadcrumbs are toasted.

Mr. Fruitychick took the leftovers to work and reported them equally tasty the next day. This recipe is a total keeper.

Photos taken by my snazzy new Palm Treo 750. I'm still learning the art of the mobile photo so these are less than fantastic. Did you know you can send photos from your phone directly to flickr? Probably. I am so behind the curve on this stuff...this is my first camera phone.

I also updated a few things in the sidebar--my 52 pair plunge total for one. I finished the flourescent socks for Elizabeth (I have a photo somewhere in my email...), the no bake cookie socks and the georgetown socks. Our stuff is split between the apartment and storage right now and I think my socks are, sadly, in the storage category. I'm nearly done on another pair:

Monkey Socks
STR Fire on the Mountain (lightweight? I dont remember)

I bet I'll be done with these in the next few days. They are a quick knit and I'm trying (hard) to be a monogomous knitter so I can start getting a few more things done. I'm predicting I'll fail and cast on for something new but I'm trying, people.

Posted by fruitychick at 10:09 AM | Permalink

I have run away from my job. I didnt exactly join the circus (though from the toys currently littering the living room floor, it appears that could be a reasonable explanation) but I quit my job and moved across the country (didnt I just do that a year ago?) to be a full time mom/knitter/cook/gardener/gamer.

After 21 long, cartoon on the portable dvd player, mcdonalds eating hours later, we know live in Plano, TX, just outside Dallas. We are still looking for a house here but we've seen a lot that we like, so I'm sure it won't be hard to get settled.

I've been enjoying my time at home so far--I've been whipping up some great meals and have even managed to sneak in some knitting time throughout the day....

Now that I have internet access during the day and a little girl who takes a (somewhat) reliable nap, its time to dust off the cobwebs and get this place going again.

Posted by fruitychick at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)