I Don't Even Know

I find myself suddenly addicted to this video. I can't help it!

Breakfast of Champions

Happy Birthday to me!

Yes, I'm a whopping 34 years old today! And in celebration, today's plans include: knitting, pool time and chocolate cake. Though not particularly in that order as this was my breakfast:

Well, that and some of my favorite Keemun. Nummy!

Missing Pieces

Gidget and Bitty are back from the dentist, doped up and either happily (Gidget) or grumpily (Bitty) stoned.

Of course, I don't blame Bitty for being grumpy - she had a lot of work done. Of course, I don't blame Gidget for being happy, either - they are on the good stuff! But it's well deserved. Gidget only had two teeth removed. Bitty, on the other hand...

See all those X's? Those are the teeth that she had removed today. (The O's indicate missing teeth.)

That's right, she had ten extractions. Ten! Poor kitty - she was already missing nine teeth and cats only start out with something like 30 teeth. She's got only eleven left now, most of which are the tiny little teeth in the front of her mouth.

See, no wonder she's grumpy, even in her stoned state.

Gidgie had a much easier time with her two extractions (added to her previously missing nine teeth) so the pain meds are doing a lot better killing all of her pain. She's a pretty happy camper right now!

Hopefully we'll be able to say the same about Bitty in a day or two. Poor kitty!

This Cheers Me Up

I'm a bit under the weather today (got a bad cough, among other things) but fortunately the only remaining work I had on my alpaca hat was pretty simple.

Yes. Was. Past tense. I am done!

Well, I do still need to block it and trim the tassel ends, but it's close enough to giggle madly, so I'm sharing!

Yay alpaca hat!

More Alpaca-y Goodness

Well, I'm still a bit brain dead from our weekend road trip - though, okay, actually at this point I'm just a bit brain dead from all the catch up I've been doing. Yesterday was laundry day. Today I need to get the rest of the house up to code. But fortunately, one chore included in that is getting the pool chemicals straight.

That's right! Our pool is finally back! We ended up with a leak in it a bit ago and ordered a new pool body but it arrived the day before we left on our trip so we didn't get to put it up. Naturally, we didn't want to put it up right after we got back either. So evening before last we (and I really mean Dan) set it up and got it filled with water. And last night we (and again, I really mean Dan) got the pump hooked up to it. So that means I can get the chemicals all straight and actually get in it today! Yay! This is good because I feel like I'm turning pasty white again and that's not a happy thought in the middle of summer.

But back to the brain deadness. I can't always knit when my brain is mush, but my alpaca hat doesn't require the ability to count to more than 16 (and in most cases, I just need to count to three or four a few times in a particular order) so I've managed to get a lot of work done on it in the past two days.

See?

I giggle like a mad woman each time I try on the hat. It's awesomely ridiculous. Ridiculously awesome? I do have a couple of mini issues with it - the end rolls since it is all stockinette stitch and my stitches are a bit uneven in spots - but I'm very confident that blocking will take care of the roll (well, blocking plus the edging the pattern calls for) and hopeful that it will take care of the stitch issue (without stretching the hat too much because currently the fit is perfect!)

I realize this is a bit mad, but I'm kind of contemplating doing a second hat. It's just been such a good knit project (once I got it on my new needles) and I'd like to try to change up the colors a bit (though probably use the same ones just because I have a lot of the yarn left) but I'm not sure what I would need with two alpaca hats. But I think my subconscious wants to give it a try because I actually dreamed about it last night.

Of course, I can always use the charts from the pattern and see about making some matching mittens or something. That'd be ridiculously fun. It would require a bunch of upfront thinking which might eliminate the desire to do it, but I've done knitting-related math before (on this hat (though it ended up unnecessary once I changed needles) and on Dan's gloves) so I really should stop letting it intimidate me.

Which does make me want to state for the record: Algebra? You really do use it after you graduate! (I still haven't found a use for geometric proofs, though.)

Anyway, I'm on the crown of the hat which means it's the last section before finishing so I'm oh-so-close to done. But it also means that my current circular is going to be too big in the not too distant future for me to finish this project. Yes, I could magic loop but I really want to finish it on double pointed needles. That means, though, that the DPNs I ordered need to get here quickly!

Of course, I imagine pool time will slow my knitting down a bit. I don't think those two activities should be combined. At least, not outside of a blog post.

The Winner Is AWESOME!

Okay, lately there has been much drama (or, you know, long-winded babbling, whichever you prefer) about my search for the perfect interchangeable knitting needle. Well, I found it which you would think would end the uber-lengthy posts about it, but apparently not. Because, y'all, I got my HiyaHiya stainless SHARPS.

When Dan and I were up in St. Louis this weekend, my in-laws gifted me with an early birthday present. Needles!

OMG. I cannot stop gushing about how fantastic theses are to knit with. I'm sure everyone was getting tired of it at the end of just one day, but I just couldn't help it! Knitting with these puppies is almost magical. Words simply cannot express how delightful these are.

As you can see in the picture above, I'm working on a stranded colorwork hat (alpaca hat!) on my new needles. But what that picture doesn't show is that I started the hat on a different brand of needles (because I didn't own the Hiyas at that point). But I had so many issues knitting with those needles - after just an hour of knitting, my fingers would throb and my hands were just so sore! So when I got my new needles, I promptly restarted the project, this time using just the HiyaHiyas.

That's when the gushing began. To just give you an idea, I knit for almost eight hours straight (with an about 20 minute break for feeding in the middle) on our road trip yesterday. Then my hands started to get a little tired. So one hour of knitting with my old needles versus almost eight hours with my new.

Yeah, I kind of love my HiyaHiyas. Just a bit.

But on to the hat!

Isn't that delightfully obnoxious? The colors don't mesh too much right now, but that's because the earflaps are the "light" colorwork sections and the bit right above it are the "dark". Next up is another "light" section that uses the colors from the earflaps so that should start tying things together a bit more.

At least, that's the general theory. I hope it turns out that way! I also hope it fits me. The pattern is for a 20-21" head and I have a 23" head. So I upped the needle size, which is giving me the perfect gauge for the pattern to end up as 22.9" around. But the bottom is flaring quite a bit from the knitted cast on (I probably should have done that in the US3s before going up a size) but I figure I can get it snugged up at the end since the pattern calls for an attached i-cord around the edges. Also, it seems a lot of people end up with a huge hat so I am a little concerned (even though math says this will work perfectly) but if the i-cord doesn't snug it up enough, I can always felt the hat a little. I think a fuzzy alpaca would be divine.

Also, because stranded colorwork like this has such a messy back (with the unused colors stringing along the inside), I decided to do the earflaps in the round. So the earflaps are double thick and both sides are the right side. I kind of enjoy how that turned out. (Though I do hope blocking will help with my uneven stitches. I tend to be a little messier with colorwork like this. I suppose I just need to practice more!)

So there we have it: my newest knitting project and some gushing about the best needles ever! Whee!

Other posts in my needle hunt saga:
Part I A and Part I B
Part II
Part III
This entry is my gushing about the big winner!
My KA Switch Short set review
And my Chiaogoo Spin and Twist review is here

Gah! I'm Addicted!

So bad news. Our pool currently has a leak in it. I know! It's so sad! This past week hasn't been the best for sunning weather-wise, but today is perfect for it. But without our little pool, it's much too hot. So I'm stuck inside, feeling fidgety (and doing laundry). No worries though, a new pool body is already on order. But I'm not necessarily the most patient person out there, you know?

Speaking of which, Dan and I are currently doing some tightening of the budgetary belt so we can work on saving up a downpayment (of roughly 50%) for our next house. Oh, don't worry - it's a more long-term plan so don't think that we'll be asking to borrow a truck or for help packing stuff up, at least not any time soon. But it does mean is that I have picked out my favorite-est needles ever in the whole wide world... AND I HAVEN'T BOUGHT THEM YET.

Y'all, I'm such a preoccupied dork about these needles that I've actually dreamed about the beasties. Twice.

And what do you suppose I've been doing to entertain myself on this non-pool-able day? Yes, I've been surfing the HiyaHiya website. Sigh. Which means, yes, I have a massive list of things I want from them now. Not just the SHARP 4" interchangeables small set, but the 4" regular interchangeables, too (both sets). And oh, don't all those smaller-sized DPNs look enticing? Ack, and those cute accessory cases! And they have 9" circular needles! AHHH!

Seriously, I need my pool back up and running just so I don't try to spend our grocery money on knitting needles. I'm obsessed!

Delayed Pretty

A few posts ago I mentioned that one of the reasons for my blog-related quietness was 1) that I lead a boring life but also 2) that I had been knitting some things that I couldn't post about because they were gifts. I mentioned the shawl I made for my mom's birthday but didn't have a picture of it in use (just of it being knit and of it blocking, neither which I thought pretty enough to share). But my mom sent me some camera phone pictures of her wearing it to church this morning, so now I have something to post!

Look at the pretty!

If you want a staggering amount of non-important information related to the actual knitting of this lovely little wonder shawl, you can check out my Ravelry project for it. Otherwise, just know that the yarn is actually this clown-red that I overdyed with tea to calm it down (it's actually the same yarn I used to make my dad's crawfish, but the crawfish was not overdyed and thus retained it's brightness). I didn't do the tea soak until I had already finished knitting it (since I knew I wanted to use some of the originally bright yarn for said crawfish) and until it was all soaked and blocked, I was mentally scrambling to figure out what I could give my mom for her birthday because there was no way the shawl was going to be nice enough to give as a gift.

Thankfully, I think it ended up turning out nicely! Which is almost a little disappointing because the shawl is this light whisper of a thing that feels so soft and squishy but is nicely warm... I could have given it a good home if I had ruined it!

Oh well, guess that just means I have to make something similar for myself!

It's an Upset!

(Sorry non-knitting blog-followers. This will bore you. But good news - this is the last mega-post about needles. Yay!)

The results are in! After much venting, babbling and hand-wringing, I've finally settled upon my perfect wooden interchangeable needle set - and you won't believe what I picked!

At the end of my last post, I had some favorites but knew I couldn't decide which one I would truly love until I had knitted with them a bit. So I've taken a few hours to knit some swatches and tubes and even a little heart (which Dan felt did not look at all heart-like but rather like a more southernly bit of anatomy) and I've come to some conclusions.

Addi Click Natura

I really thought these needles might be the one. They are smooth, silky and warm with lovely points (which are quite pointy for bamboo) and the cable is delightfully flexible and memory-less. They are longer than any of the other needles I have, but that didn't seem to be a problem at all when I knit with them. In fact, it was quite nice and they didn't hit my hand in the same way the KP needles do, so I was quickly comforted that I wouldn't end up bending the cable against my palm. These seemed so great - I was totally prepared to want them.

And then I knitted with them for a while.

The join! It's awful! That little lip between the metal on needle and on the cable caught every single stitch of yarn. And I was using an aran-weight 100% wool and not knitting tightly. I can only imagine how catchy it would be with a less friendly yarn or on a smaller needle.

Ultimately, I think these are good quality, well-done needles, totally ruined by the join. I would be more than willing to check out Addi DPNs or straights and maybe even fixed circs. But any Addi interchangeable is off the table for me.

KA Switch

I was a bit concerned by the little divot where the metal connects to the bamboo on these needles. But my concern was unnecessary - these are delightful. They are smooth, silky and warm with fantastic cables. The cable probably corresponds to KnitPick/Knitter's Pride cables but they swivel - this one is probably my favorite cable of the bunch that I tried out (though I've only tried this one size of KA Switch cables; I believe there are two other thicknesses that correspond to needle diameter which I have not played with). The smoothness of these compares to the KP needles as well, though knitting with the KPs after using these made me feel that the KPs were a bit uneven, almost like certain areas were stickier than others.

The points aren't as sharp as the Addis, but I never felt they were too dull. The join on these are great - most of the time the stitches flowed wonderfully over it. The only time I had an issue was when I pulled the last stitch too tight while Magic Looping, making me have to work it a little to get on the needle. But that's my knitting's fault, not the join.

Bottom line: I really really like these. I would love having a set of these. In fact, I can't really think of anything bad about these needles. Well, maybe that they are harder to find than other brands. But seriously, great needles.

HiyaHiya Bamboo

I was not impressed by these when my order showed up. I grumped both about the plastic-y feel of the resin-impregnated bamboo and the cheap-looking and -feeling metal join.

Well, I was half-right. I don't like the bamboo on these. It feels like knitting with acrylic needles - there's an almost nails-on-a-chalkboard feeling in my bones when I use these. They are also by far the grabbiest interchangeable needle I have tried. (My fixed Clover circ still ranks as number one for stickiest overall needle.) I didn't enjoy these.

Okay, that's not fully correct. There was a bit of knitting with these that I did enjoy and that was when the stitches would go over the join. OMG, it was fantastic. The join is just beautifully smooth. And that metal that I didn't find impressive? Like butter. It's so great.

Ultimately, I dislike these needles. I probably would be more willing to knit with them than the Addis simply because of the join but I really don't like how grabby these are and can't imagine getting another needle pair, much less a set of these. But the (fantastic, wonderful, silky) join made me think...

How are the HiyaHiya Steel needles?

HiyaHiya Steel

First let me explain my dislike of metal needles. Certain types (like KP's nickel-plated) are too slick and too heavy. When I'm knitting and take my hands off of the needles, they have a tendency of falling out of my work. I detest this. Aluminum (like Boye) tends to not be as slick or heavy, but they have a texture to them that makes my ears ache with the soft almost-grinding when they rub up against each other.

But the HiyaHiya Steel? Are practically perfect. And I don't say that lightly. I am predisposed to disliking metal. But these are everything I want in a needle.

The joins, as I mentioned with the bamboo ones, are wonderful - they are so nicely tapered that the stitches, even too-tight ones, slide right up. The metal is silky smooth, not glassy slick. When I say silk, I mean silk - it's just like petting a silk shirt. They rank as less grabby than laminate wood needles but grabbier than nickel-plated needles, which I think is fantastic. And these needles are apparently hollow so they don't have the weight that many other metal needles do. These are light enough that with as few as just two stitches on the needle they stay securely in my work. Two stitches!

The cables swivel nicely (I had an issue with the swivel on the bamboo initially but that smoothed out quickly - it's still not as perfect as the KA swivel but good enough that I wouldn't realize it could be smoother if not for the KA). There's a hair more memory, it seems, in the cable than my ideal cable, but the flexibility combined with the swivel means it doesn't cause any problems (Magic Looping is cake). I also love the fact that all of their metal needles come in both 4" and 5" sizes (though I'll be going with the 4").

Probably the only complaint I have is that the points are a bit duller than what I would prefer but that's not really a problem because 1) they are pretty much the same point as the Addi Naturas, which I didn't have an issue with and 2) I accidentally ordered a pair of the HiyaHiya Steel, not the HiyaHiya SHARP Steel so yes, there are sharper versions out there (though the larger diameter needles won't be released until later this year). There is a tiny bit of whooshing sound as the needles rub together which I don't love (I like the quiet, dull tap of wood needles) but it doesn't give me the heebie-jeebies, isn't as loud as brands like Boye and doesn't sound like glass pieces tinkling together like KP metals, so I'm cool with it.

I love these needles. I will be buying these needles (in the SHARP version) in the next few months (well, the smaller sizes set... the larger sizes will have to wait until, you know, HiyaHiya releases them).

Ironic, yes? My search for the perfect wooden interchangeable set has resulted in me deciding to get a set of metal interchangeables. But that's not quite the end of it.

I love (LOVE!) the HiyaHiyas. But I'm quite partial to the KA Switches, too. If I was forced to get just one set, I'd go with the Hiyas, but if I was forced to get, you know, a wood (okay, bamboo) set, I'd go with the KA Switch. And I can imagine a situation where I'll need maybe something a tiny bit grabbier or need a second (or third) set of needles in a particular size or some other point that will help me justify getting more than one set of needles. So that's what I want to do: get both the HiyaHiya (specifically the 4" SHARP set) and the KA Switch set. Ta-da! The winners!

I'm really pleased with this whole adventure. I fell in love with a needle (metal!) that I probably wouldn't have looked at otherwise, confirmed that another needle (the KAs) are a good match for me as well and now have the confidence that the needle sets I'll end up with are the perfect ones for me.

Yay!

Other posts in my needle hunt saga:
Part I A and Part I B
Part II
This page is Part III
Some gushing about the big winner
My KA Switch Short set review
And my Chiaogoo Spin and Twist review is here

Absurdity

I've been quiet blog-wise lately, but that's mostly because the most excitement going on has been knitting-related and both of my recent projects have been gifts, so I haven't been able to post about them.

But today was Father's Day and I got to give my dad quite possibly the most ridiculous thing I've ever knitted.

A crawfish.

Isn't that freakin' adorable? I'll admit, I squeed a lot while I was putting the finishing touches on it. SO CUTE. But I do recognize that it easily at least ties (if not beats out) my previously knit adorable absurdity, the Rubber Chicken.

The other recent knitting project I just gifted was a shawl for my mom for her birthday. (Her birthday hasn't hit yet but Dan's got work activities that weekend, so I gave it to her early.) I don't have a good picture of that yet, so hopefully I'll get one I can post soon-ish.

In other knitting news, I've been working on narrowing down my interchangeable needles to find that one perfect set. I've gotten it down to two and hopefully I'll come to a conclusion between the two shortly and I'll post more about it than anyone here wants to read.

In non-knitting news, my garden is growing. I'm having some issues with my butterbeans (the grasshoppers think they are delicious) and the butterbeans, zucchini and squash are all having issues draining. I think I've solved the draining issue by drilling some more holes in the pots and I'm hoping that will make the butterbeans happier so they aren't as vulnerable to the grasshoppers.

The okra and tomatoes are doing good - I have a couple more okra almost ready to harvest, one Marglobe tomato turning a nice orange color, about six Roma tomatoes that are still green but they look happy. Also, my Rutgers tomato plant is finally putting out some blooms as is the slower Marglobe plant. My zucchini aren't really doing anything and the squash are blooming like crazy but, aside from one single female bloom, all of the squash blooms have been male.

At the very least, it looks like we'll have okra and tomatoes this year. Which is pretty yum, so I'll take that!

I Didn't Mean To Do That

Rumor has it that I'm stubborn and a bit head-strong. And yeah, I have a little bit of a tendency to do things just to be contrary. Not intentionally contrary, just more of an "oh yeah, well you're wrong and I can do xyz." I'm not at the Marty-McFly-drag-racing-to-prove-he's-not-a-chicken level or anything. Just sometimes I have trouble backing down from a challenge. Even one I accidentally issue myself.

A few weeks ago, my mom and I were talking about different toiletries that we use, specifically whether we go gluten- and corn-free, respectively (as my mom is Celiac). She trends towards the going gluten-free products and my stance was basically "it's too hard to go corn-free".

Sigh. I didn't even realize I had challenged myself.

Too hard. Bah! I laugh in the face of "too hard"! Or rather, I spend hours searching the internet for allergy-friendly alternatives to things and ways of making my own household products instead of buying the corn-packed commercial versions.

So that's what I've been doing lately. And I'm having perhaps more luck than my wallet would prefer. I already use a corn-free toothpaste (Squigle, if you are wondering) but now I'm switching over to corn-free soap, shampoo, conditioner and lotion. I've found Gluten-Free Savonnerie, which has a variety of gluten- and corn-free items. (I got their sample set and so far I can say I like their shampoo, love their conditioner, love their lotion and really like their liquid Castille soap.) I've also found their sister site, Dakota Free. Not all of their stuff is corn-free (though most are) but they have the allergens checklist on each item so it is easy to check. I haven't purchased anything from here yet but there are a few things I think I want to check out. I've also found a nifty seller on Etsy, HaloSoap, that has some corn-free goodies and is currently mixing up some special order body butter and toner without glycerin (the glycerin she uses is from a palm/corn mix) to make it corn-less. And if that weren't enough (because, okay, it isn't), I've been scouring the internet to find easy DIY things that I can attempt to make once I run out of whatever it would be replacing (laundry detergent, spray starch, deodorant... it's sort of ridiculous how much corn is still in our how) and have been collecting them on Pintrest.

So basically I'm turning into a big hippie.

Kibble Round Up

Just wanted to share two links to absolutely delicious recipes that I've made the past week or so. (Well, links to the recipes and the recipes, just in case the internet eats the original pages.) Because good recipes deserve to be shared! (And life without the mac & cheese recipe would be sad.)

First off, a Potato & Egg Torta from Glutenfreeda.com.

My parents have been supplying us with some of their neighbor's chicken eggs which are truly awesome (and have almost orange yolks!) so I'm sure that contributed to this being so delicious. But still. Yum!

Potato & Egg Torta

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 7 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil

Directions:
1. Peel potatoes and cut them into 1/2" slices.
2. Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender but still firm. Drain.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs and season with a little salt.
4. Heat olive oil in an ovenproof, non-stick skillet and add eggs and potatoes. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Place pan on middle rack in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until just set.
5. Invert onto a plate and cut into wedges. Serve immediately.
Servings: 6

I added a bit of garlic (because I add garlic to almost everything) but I think next time I'll add a little more. And maybe some cilantro. But even without those additions, this is tasty. Dan enjoyed putting a bit of hot sauce on it and I thought it was a delightful vehicle for salsa and we both had seconds.

Next up, One Pot Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese from whiteonricecouple.com. Sadly, I have no picture of this one because we ate it too quickly.

Now, in the comments over on the original post for this recipe, some folks say it's too gloopy. I didn't find that at all, but then I'm more of a Kraft Mac & Cheese girl than baked mac & cheese (which I've always found too dry and not cheesy enough), so that might have contributed. Also, I think if you use pre-shredded cheese, it might end up lots thicker because of the cornstarch they coat the cheese in so it won't stick. (As you can guess, I did not use pre-shredded cheese.) So yes, this is thick, but it's thick and creamy, not like eating paste or anything. And it's even good cold!

One Pot, Stove Top Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients:
- 2 cups elbow Macaroni, uncooked (about 1/2 lb)
- 2 cups Milk, **if more milk is needed, add an additional 1/4 cup
- 1 tablespoon Butter, or oil, if using cast iron
- 1/2 teaspoon Mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- dash Nutmeg
- 1 cup Cheese, grated
- black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Place raw elbow macaroni in colander and quickly rinse under water. Let drain.
2. In medium sauce pan (about 3.5 qt), add milk, raw elbow macaroni, salt, butter, mustard powder and nutmeg. (If using cast iron, pre-heat oil (instead of butter) first, then add other ingredients.)
3. On medium heat, slowly bring mixture to a simmer, stirring frequently. This will separate macaroni and keep them from sticking together. DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE! The milk mixture will come to a boil very quickly and leaving it unattended will leave a big mess on your stove stop.
4. Once mixture comes to a simmer, immediately turn down heat to LOW. Macaroni will slowly cook in the milk. Having your heat too high will evaporate the milk too quickly!
5. Continue to stir the mixture frequently so that macaroni will cook evenly and absorb milk evenly. If you don't stir your mixture frequently, you will get a big clump of macaroni in the end! Stir, stir stir!
6. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until milk has been fully absorbed.
**If macaroni is not cooked fully, add a little more milk or water to mixture ( in small amounts) until macaroni is fully cooked. This will take about another 5 minutes.
7. When milk has evaporated, stir in grated cheese of your choice. Stir the cheese evenly into the macaroni.
8. Turn off heat. Place lid on top of pan and cover for about 5 minutes. This rest period will allow macaroni to plump up and absorb any excess milk.
9. Take a final taste and add additional salt to taste. Before serving, stir one final time to mix everything together.
Servings: 4

I did add cayenne to the recipe (because apparently I'm addicted to it) and I probably put in a bit more cheese (maybe a cup and a half total?) which totally was't necessary but still good (and I dislike actually measuring shredded cheese because it gets sticky and mushes together and gets under my nails. So I eyeball. Generously.) I used Tillamook's Mild Cheddar, which was fantastic, but maybe a little saltier than I anticipated so next time I'll cut the salt a bit.

But anyway, this recipe was fantastically easy (I had geared up for something challenging) and I think the fact that I used my cast iron pan helped since it kept the heat even. I will totally be making this again. Actually, I kind of want to make it now. Breakfast anyone?

My Garden is My Daily Squee

It's so exciting out in my garden now. Things are growing! Okay, basically it is just the tomatoes, but the squash are efforting mightily so I anticipate some sort of future showing there.

First off, my 'maters.

Romas! I have two more growing on another plant and another on the third Roma plant. Very exciting! And fun they are so oddly shaped. That makes me happy. (I think it has to do with always pulling for the underdog. I hope this means I won't become so attached to them that I will be sad when the time comes to eat them.)

The baby Marglobe is getting bigger! Now it's the size of one of those large marbles. Shooters? Anyway, so far this one is the only thing to show between the two Marglobe plants I have. But that's okay because the Rutgers is doing nothing so at least the non-producing Marglobe doesn't have to feel bad about itself. Yet.

Honestly, I feel like a bit of a dork saying this, but I have no idea how long it will take before these hard green things turn into edible red things. When I asked my garden-guru parents, they started asking me things like how big the tomatoes were it would produce and what color they would be. I have no idea. So yeah, this whole tomato thing is a surprise from start to finish.

Let's look at my squash!

Well, squash bloom actually. No squash yet. I think all of the blooms to date have been boy flowers. Which has lead Dan and I to speculate if we perhaps purchased gay squash. Which would be problematic in that I'm pretty sure gay squash would not be able to naturally reproduce. Which means we would have pretty flowers. For a few hours every morning. And that's it.

Hopefully we will get some girl flowers in there soon. The flowers are pretty but they close up as soon as the sun gets too hot which, given this is Texas, is about 10:30am. The butterflies sure do enjoy them before them, though. This weekend I've only been out in my yard in the afternoon when it is nice and hot (we've hit over 100° already) and I've been sad because my yard has seemed so lonely and butterfly-less. This morning, though, I learned that that is not the case. The butterflies are simply morning bugs who siesta in the hot part of the day. They were out in force this morning when I went out at nine. Frisky, too. A couple tried to fly up my shorts.

And take a gander at who was on my okra cage this morning!

I've seen him before! Actually, this is about the fourth time I've seen him (her?), always near the okra. I'm growing kind of attached. At least I know I won't have to eat him.

Better Late Than Never?

Sometimes I'm not all that timely with this blog. Usually it's because I'm not on the computer for one reason or another and that's pretty much the case with this post here.

A week and a half ago was Mother's Day and Dan and I got invited to my parents' place for barbecue chicken and wine. (There were other delicious things there, but those were the two that I had the most of.) Not only was it a pretty sweet deal (my parents cooking for Mother's Day) but it was delicious and fun - and there were lots of flowers!

So naturally, I gift you with a slideshow.

Happy belated Mother's Day!

Oddities of Life

Why is it that packing now equates to Dan getting out a very strong homebrew for us to share? Half of one of his Absolutions is strong enough to make the room spin for me (yes, I'm a lightweight, but in my defense it is a very strong beer) yet it seems that lately, he has decided that room spinning is good preparation for me packing.

Of course, it does make me chill out a bit from my normal packing-related stress.

More Things are Growing!

Guess what I found in our garden today? A baby tomato!

Whee! It's about the size of a marble right now so it's got a ways to go before it is a real, live, edible tomato but hopefully it will get there. Theoretically it will be a Marglobe tomato (one Marglobe plant and one Roma were unmarked so I might have mixed them up while planting), which really doesn't mean anything to me currently, but hopefully it will by the end of the summer.

So cross your fingers with me that this little 'mater becomes a big, red, edible one (and that Dan and I get to eat it, not the buggies)!

In other news, the baby okra that was growing outside? Yeah, I went out the day after I posted my okra post and it had fallen off the plant. So my okra numbers are back to two. Sadness.

The Evolution of Okra

My garden is growing things!

Surprisingly, the first fruits of our garden have been okra. (I thought it was more of a middle-of-the-summer thing, not late May thing, but, well, here we are.)

And if it isn't exciting enough seeing the little fuzzy baby okra grow into big fuzzy edible okra, yesterday, I was able to take some as the first harvest from our garden!

Sure, it was just two pods but we've got another one growing out there now so I feel pretty confident that our garden will produce at least a grand total of three okra. (I also have two blooms on my squash plant, but you know the whole thing about counting chickens... I'm pretty sure that applies to counting squash, too.)

Now, I know that I like okra. But okra fresh from the garden? OMG, so sweet! (As in, it tasted so sweet, not that it's sweet that my garden is growing okra... okay, though that is pretty cool, too.) I've never really been tempted to eat okra raw before but this stuff? Totally could. It's delicious.

But instead of eating it raw, I had promised Dan that I'd try my hand at fried okra. Of course, since I can't have cornmeal (what you dust okra in for frying), we tried brown rice flour (it worked well when I fried some catfish). It turned out pretty darn tasty!

Though it is a bit hard to tell when anything with brown rice flour is done because it doesn't exactly turn golden or anything. So I probably could have cooked it a minute longer, but hopefully I'll have lots more okra to experiment with this summer and I'll get the chance to perfect my timing.

Also, because I found this guy hanging out around the okra, I thought it would be appropriate to share his picture on my okra-related post. It's a new visitor to my garden!

Hopefully, I'll soon be able to post about the squash growing in my garden!

Non-Knitting Updates

I thought I'd add a little blog-related updating that isn't knitting related since I've been so focused on needles issues lately. So here it is!

First off, my finger.

It looks painful, yes? Yes. Well, it isn't nearly as painful as it was. I still have some movements (fully extending my finger, putting too much weight on my hand) that make me feel like the fingernail is being pulled off with pliers, but for the most part I think the cut on the nail bed has healed. So at this point, it's really about just letting the nail grow out. And use my metal mesh glove when I am cutting things!

My garden-growing is doing well, too. Sadly, I don't have a recent picture. Well, relatively recent, that is. I have a picture from last week but so many of the plants have really grown since then, it doesn't feel right to post that picture now. My butterbeans are particularly huge now. (They also seem to like raising their leaves vertically so that every so often, they look like they have their arms thrown up in surprise... Not really sure what that's all about but it makes me giggle.) Oh, and my okra plants have two 'ittle bitty okra growing on it! The peppers have even bloomed, too, so hopefully I will have some baby peppers showing up soon. My squash are happy-looking but no blooms yet, my zucchini is growing nicely (but it still small) and most of my tomatoes have put off at least one bloom.

We also have finally gotten our pool up! The weather hasn't been fully cooperative for constant pool days, but I get at least two or three days a week to get out there and get some sun roasting in. My shoulders are a bit warm as I type, in fact, because today was one of those delightfully sunny days. It's wonderful!

In addition to averaging a couple of sunny pool days a week, I'm also averaging about one butterfly rescue from the pool a day.

There are a lot of butterfly friends around our yard and it seems that they occasionally decide to go swimming. It's not a good idea. I end up fishing them out, letting them hang out on my hand until they are dry enough (and warm enough) to be able to stick to our apple tree or pomegranate bush, then I transfer them over and let them dry their wings out. Surprisingly, all but one of the butterflies I've pull out of the pool have still been alive and all but one of those seems to have made a recovery. So yay! It's Baywatch for butterflies in my back yard.

Speaking of butterflies, Dan and I went to visit my parents for Mother's Day Sunday and they have a lot of wildflowers still blooming and even more butterflies! I took a nice handful of pictures which I need to go through and post. Hopefully, I got some pretty ones in there.

And I think that's about it right now. I'm sure there have been other things going on but nothing too exciting (not like what I have posted is actually exciting, but anyway) so I can't recall it right now. But I'm okay with an uneventful life because things are going pretty well so I can't complain!

Needle-y Goodness

Normal blog followers: this is long and will bore you. Sorry.

Recently, I posted a long entry sharing information about my search for the perfect wooden interchangeable needles. While the internet is a lovely resource for researching, there's nothing like touching something to figure out if it will be perfect. After all, information on the internet is either objective or subjective from someone else's perspective. But I need subjected from my perspective. So I decided to buy some needles.

Needles from top to bottom: KA Switch (US9), HiyaHiya (US10.5), Addi Natura (US8), Colonial Needle Company Rosewood (US3), KnitPicks Harmony (US6), Knitter's Pride Dreamz (US5), Knitter's Pride Cubics (US11)
Cables from top clockwise: KA Switch, HiyaHiya, Addi Natura, Colonial Needle Company Rosewood, KnitPicks Harmony (my Knitter's Pride cable is in a project right now so it is unpictured, however it is just like the KnitPicks Harmony cable but colored liked the Colonial Needle Company Rosewood cable)

I realize this might be going overboard but I think a full set of interchangeables is a big decision so I'm okay with going overboard.

KA Switch
Pros: They feel very smooth, especially for bamboo, but they still have a nice, warm "wood" feeling about them. I'm particularly pleased with how smooth the taper seems. The cable is flexible and supple and it doesn't seem to want to curl up on me, even right out of the package. The swivel of the cable is very smooth - Dan found this particularly fun. The connector on the cable is nice and heavy and overall, these feel nicely solid and very quality made. Also, I think these are pretty - a nice, smooth-looking blonde.

Cons: I have two reservations about these which can only be addressed by knitting with them for a bit. First, the tips seem fairly blunt. However, I have read that having a longer taper and a lack of ridge between the taper and the shaft makes blunt needles knit like a pointier needle and these needles have no ridge and a slightly longer taper than, say, the pointier KnitPicks Harmony. Second, there is a slight indent where the metal connector attaches to the bamboo. One of the needles had a little bit of glue (?) here and my thread caught on it but the glue (or whatever it was) flaked off easily and I couldn't repeat the problem. So technically the join doesn't seem like it will be a problem, but I want to test them a bit more before I write off the potential for a problem.

Verdict: I really like these. They've got a good feel to them and, while I have two concerns, I think there is a good chance those concerns will end up being irrational worries. We shall see!

HiyaHiya
Pros: These have a very nice join - there is a slight indent but it isn't as pronounced as the KA join and the edges feel very smooth. The cable is thin and flexible - it is a tad thicker and not quite as supple as the KA cable but no so much that I think it would create a problem (though the cable seems to have a bit of memory, unfortunately, which might be problematic). The taper is nice and there's no ridge between the taper and shaft.

Cons: These are impregnated with resin to leave them smoother than typical bamboo and they are smoother than my Clove Takumi, but they aren't as smooth as the KA. Also, I think it is the resin, but they do look and feel a bit plastic-y. The connector sleeve is made with a light-weight metal (aluminum?) which isn't as heavy as the connector on the KAs. I suppose this could be seen as a positive as it makes the whole needle lighter but, to me, it makes it look and feel a little less quality (though I can't say if that impression is accurate - it's just my impression). Also, the swivel isn't very smooth. It does swivel fully but it feels a little rough and, particularly when I first started messing with them, the swivel would occasionally catch.

Verdict: All in all, I don't think these are bad needles but they don't feel as nice overall as the KAs (assuming the dent in the KAs doesn't cause a problem) even though they cost a tad bit more. I don't hate these but I don't love them either.

Addi Natura Click
Pros: These are just as smooth as the KA Switch needles are - in fact, the color and texture matches them almost exactly. But these have a smoother join - and no dimple - where the metal and wood connect. The point is not super pointy but it's pointier than the other bamboo needles I've picked up during this experiment (though I did get these in a US8, but the KAs are US9, so not a big difference in size but the Addis are noticeably pointier). I also like the cable quite a lot - it's flexible and supple and I think it's pretty super cool that they have the length printed on the cable. The way the cable and needle connect is pretty neat, too. It reminds me of how my stirring attachments connect to my Kitchen-Aid mixer.

Cons: Dude, these are long. The wood parts are longer than the wood sections on any other needle I have and the metal connector adds another inch to them. And that's without the cable attached. The metal connector on the cable adds another half inch, putting the total size of these needles at 5-1/2" long. That's a quarter inch longer than my long needles (KnitPicks and Knitter's Pride, which measure exactly 5-1/4"), half an inch longer than the HiyaHiya (which measure in at 5" on the dot) and over an inch longer than the KAs (which come in at just under 4-1/4"). [I know there are those out there with a preference towards longer needles but for me, I tend to go for shorter - not only does it feel a bit less awkward in my hand but the way I hold the needle means that the Harmony and Dreamz are just the right size to hit my palm to where I end up bending down the cable at the join. It's not a hard bend and doesn't damage the cable, but with the lack of swivel it can be a bit of a hassle to fight against. It is possible, though, that the extra half inch on the Addis will make them long enough where I won't have the cable bend problem occur so I'll only have to see how tired my hand gets holding them when knitting for long periods of time.] My second problem here is that the cables don't swivel.

Verdict: If they made these in a shorter size and had swiveling cables, I'd be all over these. It's possible the size thing won't be the issue I think it is since they aren't the same length as the Harmony and Dreamz needles, but that still leaves the swivel thing. I suppose if I don't bend the cable at the join, though, there might be less annoyance with fighting the cable. So I'm going to have to knit on these for a bit to see what I really think.

Lantern Moon Rosewood/Ebony
Yeah, I would love to be able to try these out (even after reports of a too-thick cable) and include them in my massive interchangeable face-off, but they don't sell these individually and I'm not going to drop $300 (and more!) just to test something. I will say, however, that their case looks super neat. They do sell that separately and I'll admit, the turquoise tempts me!

Clover Takumi
(The information here actually refers to the fixed circular I have since I assume the tips and cables are the same material, leaving only the connector to address. But since I hate these so much, I refuse to buy any more of them, even for comparison purposes.)
Pros: There is no ridge between the taper and shaft... That's all I got.

Cons: These are rough and draggy and dull. The cable is thick and stiff and constantly curls. The needles are light and feel hollow and gritty when they touch or rub each other.

Verdict: I keep these only because they are the only US11 needles I currently have. I actually have purchased another US11 and, once they arrive, I will be tossing these. Hate them. If someone actually liked these needles, though, I can't say if the interchangeables would be a good choice as I know nothing about the join (or if they are really anything like the fixed... I'm just assuming).

Colonial Needle Company Rosewood Interchangeable
Pros: These have a good, pointy point (as pointy as Harmony and Dreamz but not as sharp feeling, if that makes sense) and a nice looking taper. I really like the cable, too - it's thick, like the Clover cable, but it's flexible and supple so it feels more like a Harmony or Dreamz cable. It's kind of the best of both worlds - flexible but sturdy. The join is smooth, too, with a really interesting join for the cable. The cable has a screw tip poking out of the end of it (no other metal surrounding it) and that screw tip slides up into the metal connector jacket on the cable about a quarter of an inch or so and screws in. I find it pretty neat since it prevents the potential catch line of where the metal jacket of the cable hits the metal jacket of the needle. I do wonder, though, if it might lead to some unscrewing-while-knitting problems. I haven't ever run in to those before but I understand that it can be a common issue with interchangeables if the cable isn't tightened enough... and I'm not sure how tight this type of connection can really get. Lack of a metal sleeve on the cable also means that the needle length isn't extended when the cable is added (these measure 4-1/8") and I really like the overall size of these.

Cons: Unfortunately, it seems like there are some quality issues here. One of the needles I received was noticeably curved. It makes holding it fairly awkward and knitting can feel pretty funky because of it. I contacted Webs (the company I purchased the needle from) and their customer service was great, as always, but unfortunately they were out of stock on that size needle so wouldn't be able to replace it for a couple of weeks (until their restocking shipment came in).  I decided to just return the needle and cable for a refund instead of waiting for a replacement. This makes me a little sad because I think I could learn to like these but I don't think they are the needle choice for me, so it'll just be quicker to resolve it this way instead of waiting. (For the record, I really like Webs' customer service. Responsive and very helpful.) Theses also seem to feel a little light and have an almost acrylic-needle-like stickiness to them. I am guessing they have a required breaking in time. As for the lightness, I did get a US3, so naturally it isn't going to be the sturdiest thing, but it feels a bit lighter and less dense than even the US1 fixed Dreamz circular I have. (The Dreamz, though, feels more dangerously flexible than this one. But even with that oh-my-gosh-is-it-so-flexible-I'll-break-it feeling, the Dreamz still feels a bit more solid.)  Also, the cable doesn't swivel which makes me sad (but it seems that the thicker cable helps it not get crimped which might lead to less fighting the cable when MLing.)

Verdict: The more I think about it, the more I am a bit sad I didn't just wait for a replacement for the bent one. I think there is a lot of potential here with these once they are broken in (and thus a bit slicker) as long as the bend is the only quality control issue. I still do feel a little hesitant about how light they feel, but they feel good in my hands so I'm torn.

WEBS Interchangeable Bamboo
These can be purchased individually so I could have gotten some to test them, but honestly, I didn't want to. And since I picked up a pair of the Colonial Needle Company Rosewood needles and the pieces are apparently interchangeable, I thought that would count enough even though bamboo... rosewood... yeah, big difference but I'd rather take the chance on rosewood, so I did.

KnitPicks Harmony
Pros: I love the cable. Thin, supple, flexible and it never stays curled up. I even like the color (it's purple) more than the clear. The join is very smooth and the needles are smooth and nicely slick. I have heard that with lots of use, these can get stickier because of the laminate coating rubbing off, but I've not run into that problem, though I haven't had them very long.) These are also very pointy, which I count as a positive, but not everyone does. These are so pointy, though, that sometimes (particularly with splitty yards) they make it too easy to pick up just a partial stitch.

Cons: The main issue I have with these that most makes me not want these as my go-to needle set is that the cable doesn't swivel. I spend too much time fighting with the cable (especially when doing Magic Loop). Very annoying. My second problem with these isn't really an issue because it is more of a cosmetic (and personal taste) thing, but I think these needles are ugly. I'm cool with Dymondwood-type colored woods but I prefer the less obnoxious ones. Yuck.

Verdict: Honestly, if these cables swiveled, I probably would pick these up in an entire set. I've heard of quality issues with them (and I've had issues with KnitPicks Zephry needles) and I've had some problems with the Dreamz (which I view as basically the same needles) but KnitPicks has good customer service so the potential quality issues aren't that big of a deal to me.

ETA on 2/4/13: KnitPicks now has Sunstruck wood interchangeables, which are basically the Harmonies but in a pretty pale wood instead of the obnoxious Harmony colors.

Knitter's Pride Dreamz
Pros: Most of the things for KnitPicks Harmony above hold true for Knitter's Pride Dreamz. They're manufactured by the same company (and the pieces are interchangeable between sets) but have slight differences (colors mostly, from what I can tell) which allows them to sell the needles in the US. (The metal connector is also a little shorter on the needle of the Dreamz, but I don't think that makes a real difference between the two sets.) The cables are great because they are the same (though Dreamz cables are black) and the needles are nice and pointy (and yes, even too pointy at times). Unlike the KnitPicks, however, some sizes (US4 - US10) come in shorter needle lengths (good for making a 16" circular and good for folks like me that prefer shorter needles) and, unlike the KnitPicks, these aren't ugly!

Cons:Just like the KnitPicks, these cables don't swivel. Frustrating. Also, I've had quality issues with the brand. I've had two fixed US0 circs that snapped and I have some DPNs in US1.5 with some nicks in them. They aren't the interchangeables, but it is the same line so I worry, even if I think the issue is more with the material in that small of a needle size versus just the material alone.

Verdict: Even though I've said (over and over) how I clump KnitPicks Harmony and Knitter's Pride Dreamz together, I am slightly partial to the KnitPicks. Maybe it is their jaunty purple cable. Or the ugly obnoxious needles (I like Sharpei dogs, too). But yeah, I lean in the KnitPicks direction. Though really, because of the lack of cable swivel, I'd really prefer something else.

Knitter's Pride Cubics
Pros: Pointy, good cables, there are some shorter sizes available (but not in the US11 I picked up)... Pretty much all the same things as the Harmony and Dreamz. But these are square. They are also pretty - I like the darker tones of the wood grain and I'm a-ok with all of the needles being the same color, especially when they aren't an ugly color like the Harmony.

Cons: These still have the lack of cable swivel like the Harmony and Dreamz. And, unlike the Harmony and Dreamz, these are square.

Verdict: Okay, I knew these would be basically buying another Harmony or Dreamz needle. But I did it anyway because these are square. Holding them, they seem to feel more secure in my hand, but they are still square so I'm going to see how they knit before I can say if square or round Knitter's Pride needles are the way to go.

Knitter's Pride Symfonie Rose
I haven't tried these out as I imagine they aren't sold in individual pieces and, like Lantern Moon, I'm not going to drop a nice chunk of change (though this one is a smaller sized chunk) just to test out needles. I imagine, however, that they are just like the Dreamz, but a bit prettier.

DyakCraft Darn Pretty Needles
Since bad customer service led me to cancel my DyakCraft order, I (naturally) cannot include those needles in this comparison. Ah well.

ETA on 5/16/12: There is also another wooden interchangeable set, Plymouth Yarn's Rosewood set. Sadly, the reviews online trend towards the unhappy (mostly damaged or broken needles) and they don't sell these individually for replacement or testing. So there's another set that is out there.

ETA on 6/10/12: Thanks to a new Ravelry group dedicated to interchangeable needles, I have learned of another wooden (bamboo) needle set out there, Caron Tulip Carry C. Sadly, looks like these only come in a set so I won't be able to get a single needle pair to test them out.

So there it is, my massive wood interchangeable face-off. It's been kind of insane and honestly, I've probably spent what a full set of interchangeables would cost (depending on the set) just buying these individual pieces to test out. But I'm okay with that because I won't ever wonder if the grass is greener on, say, the HiyaHiya side of the fence. I know it isn't. Also, it means when I get my full set of interchangeables, I will already have a second set of back-up needles just in case I need more than one US6... or US8... or US7... or, well, you get the idea.

And what will that back-up set be back-up set to? What is my choice out of all these needles? Well, I've got one more test before I pick. Keep an eye out for that blog post! (Here it is!)

Other posts in my needle hunt saga:
Part I A and Part I B
The current post is Part II
Part III
Some gushing about the big winner
My KA Switch Short set review
And my Chiaogoo Spin and Twist review is here

That Didn't Last Long

Last night I posted about my DyakCraft woes but mentioned that I hadn't cancelled my order.

Well, that information is now outdated because this morning I requested a refund.

Even though I still don't have my ideal interchangeable set picked out, I decided to cancel for two reasons. One, if I knew then what I know now, I would not have ordered them in the first place. And two, even though I was (most likely) fairly close(-ish) to my order being fulfilled, it was likely the frustrations and wait-time issues would have continued even past getting the needles.

The more I've read, the more likely it seems that I wouldn't like the cables. There are a fair number of folks in the DyakCraft fan group on Ravelry that have hacked their cables to be more in line with what they like (something a bit more supple with no memory), but I don't really relish the thought of spending a hours to fix something I just bought. (Or, more likely, have Dan spend hours fixing something I just bought.) And even then there seem to be issues with the connectors cutting into the cables (though nothing really about connectors coming loose which seems to be a common complaint with other interchangeable sets, so I'll give them credit for that). Also, while the Diaks stand behind their product and will fix any problems with them, apparently they don't do that in a remotely timely manner either. It can take months for a replacement to be provided and even longer if you have to send your needles in for a fix. (I read of someone that sent their needles off to be polished and, four months later, have still not gotten them back. Yikes!) And given that they seem to be having a spell of issue-filled needles, I'm guessing that my chances of not having to deal with some problems is fairly low. Add this to the fact that it annoys me to give money to a company with such horrible customer service and you've got my reasons why I asked for a refund.

Of course, this is assuming that they read their email (and then ignore them, versus ignoring every email that comes in full stop) and I will get a refund. Sadly, PayPal (who I paid through) only supports disputes for 45 days (not eight months). But, if worse comes to worst, the charge went through on my Amex and they are really great about disputes.

Now, fingers crossed that the KAs or the HiyaHiyas are wonderful! (Or I can find out how to make the KnitPicks set have swivel cables, because that would be pretty nifty, too.)

Other posts in my needle hunt saga:
Part I A, This page is Part I B
Part II
Part III
Some gushing about the big winner
My KA Switch Short set review
And my Chiaogoo Spin and Twist review is here