Feed Me

No, this isn't another food post. If the number of blogs you read is getting a little high and you frequently check them only to find no new posts since your last visit, it's time to look into setting up a feed reader. I only had the vaguest idea what it was all about, but I managed to get it going on my own, and it is pretty cool. I didn't go the popular Bloglines route because it provided too little information for my liking and I didn't want to create yet another account somewhere. So because I already have a Google account I am using Google Reader. There are several ways to subscribe to feeds:
(1) In Google Reader, hit "Add Subscription," type in the URL (I haven't actually tried this. It probably works best for blogger blogs).
(2) Click on the link or button within a page that says RSS or subscribe.
(3) Click on the feed icon within the address bar.
Options 2 and 3 may require some setting up in your browser. It was easy in Firefox 2.0.

You can subscribe to more than just blogs. Find out when your Flickr contacts add new photos or when someone comments on your photos. Sign up for newspaper feeds (NYTimes or Washington Post). I've gone a little crazy and have 54 73 subscriptions, the majority of which I never visited regularly before, when it was more work. I may cull the list later. One knitting blog I read does not have a feed, and I've already forgotten to go to her site a few times. I don't know about Bloglines, but Google Reader can take its time to update the feeds, so if you want to be alerted of any current traffic jams while they're still current, you're better off visiting the site directly and not relying on your feed (likewise with the hot yarn deals you can find at Destash and Good Yarn Karma--a lot are already claimed by the time I see them).

I'm not crazy about being logged in to Google so much, but it is very cool to see your Reader tab update when a new blog post comes in.

I don't have a shared list yet but maybe I'll share it someday. Like I said, I may drop some subscriptions.

Cheering Charm ingredients

OK, not so much a charm as a potion. I needed cheering up last Thursday, so I mixed Gryffindor socks with Cadbury Mini-Eggs and three hours of TV.

No food this time

Three entries in a row about food. It's time for some knitting. The socks are coming along nicely. I still don't know what's going to happen with the heels and the striping. It's fun to try on toe-up socks for a change.

I'll get back to my peekaboo mitts soon because those are my "normal" project for knitting get-togethers.

And yet...

I burned the bottom of the bread and was so upset. But it's really, really good even so. I'm just cutting off the burned bottom crust. The rest of the bread is still soft and moist. We had it still-warm with butter and minestrone from the bakery last night for dinner. My bread was better than theirs (sourdough)!
(Picture with flash so you can see the grains better)

Recipe modifications:
2 c white flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1/8 c flax seeds
1/4 c cooked wheat berries
Use leftover cooking water with fresh water (needed more water than usual)

Eatin'

This is (was) Guinness chocolate cake from a local bakery. There was only one bite where I thought I could taste the Guinness, and as soon as I sensed the flavor, I lost it. It was good, though a little dry.

Today I am starting dough for a whole wheat/whole grain version of the no-knead bread. I have no idea what I am doing and the husband is skeptical. I used whole wheat in addition to white flour, I added some whole flax seeds, and I added some cooked hard red spring wheat berries. I bought them from the bulk foods section because they looked like something that might go in bread. Then I came home and found out I had to cook them first or risk breaking a tooth. I'm still a little nervous. Like I said, I have no idea what I'm doing.

Cookie status

On Sunday our local Girl Scout came by with our order, of which only 25% remains. I put the remaining thin mints in the freezer in an attempt to make them last longer. Hah.

Erised

I'm excited! I will have to wait and see how the striping works out once I need to do the heel, but it's possible I'll decide top-down is better after all. Unfortunately because of the striping needing to be maintained I had to separate the yarn into balls of different sizes. One is about 10% bigger than the other. Eek!

Melissa, I think it's pretty safe to say these socks will stay with me. Dem's the breaks when you admit to hardly ever wearing socks. And you said I could keep them. And you know I will love them. But when you look in the Mirror of Erised, will you see the same thing Dumbledore did?

Unintended Peekaboo

Earlier in the week I started the Peekaboo mittens. My mousing hand gets cold and I thought I could wear this and still use the mouse. I am going to have to redo some of the mitten because my middle finger is sticking out the top. I also don't like all the unusable room around my pointer and ring fingers (unusable because the decreases stop my fingers from being able to move into that space). I'm not quite sure yet what I want to do to make it fit better. I might consult Knitting Vintage Socks for ideas from the toe-decreasing section.



Tonight I am going to weigh balls of yarn on the scale so I can split them into equal balls. Then I can start my toe-up Harry Potter socks! (I decided I should do them before the cotton socks.)

Short Rows + Picot Cuff = Toe-Up Socks!

GreewoodFiberworks sock yarn showed up at my door recently, and I thought that yarn in particular would be good for toe-up socks. I realized that I probably already knew everything I needed to know to make socks from the toe up: short-row toes/heels and the "provisional" cast-on also used in making the picot cuff. Here's my test toe. Now the trick will be knitting two socks at once, from both ends of the ball of yarn, so I can be sure to use it all without going over. I expect this will make me a bit crazy. I am contemplating using the scales at the lab to make two balls of equal weight so I can avoid a tangled mess.

Eh

I hadn't really looked at the Broadripple pattern when I thought it would be good for the Socks That Rock. Turns out, the pattern calls for a 56-stitch cast on with size 3 needles (and stretchy cotton Cascade Fixation). That's not really what I was looking for. I was happy with the way the yarn felt on size 1's with a 68-stitch cast on. I tried it, secretly hoping it would pool. The yarn and the needles weren't getting along, the garter ripple cuff looked crappy, and the stripes came out perfectly. It does look a little too big, but I can't be sure yet. I don't know if I want to keep it in this pattern, but I think I don't. There is a 72-stitch cast on version available from the author, apparently, but I'm not sure I want to bother. Plus, I found someone who tried it with my exact yarn and it pooled big time. See the plain column of four knit stitches down the center? That's the part that bugs me in nearly every striped Broadripple I look at. Can't really explain it. It's like I want there to be a point there instead of it being flat. And that makes me think I should consider another pair of Jaywalkers. I wore my one pair the other day and they are fantastic looking, but they just don't stay up as well as other socks because they're so inflexible. All this boils down to a big fat I don't know what to do.

Seriously cute

I recently happened upon some adorable cotton handknit toys from a knitter in England. Here's her blog, here are the toys, and here are other shots of the toys.

One of the best cotton sock yarns is still around

Greenwood Fiberworks had me worried there for a while. Her store was empty of sock yarn every time I'd look. But now she's got a few skeins of a new color--Campfire--for sale. I can't buy any now, so I hope she'll have more in the coming months. I need a pair for myself!