Yarn and Me: A Love Story

I'm in a flurry of knitting for Christmas. I can't even say who is getting what since there is always an outside chance they might stumble across this blog. But suffice it to say that it has given me an excuse to indulge in buying a whole new slew of yarn. Because guess what, nothing in my stash worked for anything I wanted to make!

My mother taught me to knit when I was about eight or so, I'm not sure exactly how old I was. I just recall how hard it was to struggle with the needles and yarn and how awful the results looked. Worst of all, it was incredibly tedious. Fast forward to my senior year in high school, when my mother tried again. This time, she gave me an easy project (a scarf) done with large needles. It had yarn overs an resulted in a wide lacy effect that looked complicated but was simple. For a short time, I was hooked and made about five scarves before getting bored again.

After that, about every five years or so, I'd buy some yarn and knit a scarf or something. I pressed my mother into teaching me how purl and other basic skills. I even got her to teach me to crochet just a year or so before she died. But every time I picked up the yarn and needles again, I'd get quickly frustrated which resulted in my dropping it.

What changed for me? About three years ago, I sold my remaining balls of yarn at our garage sale, convinced that I would never pick up knitting again. Then a year later, a young friend of mine had a baby. I was suddenly filled with the urge to create something to give to the baby, something more meaningful than a plastic rattle or store-bought blanket. Since knitted baby items are small, and therefore easier, I decided to purchase some baby yarn and a pattern book. Then I couldn't resist picking up some cotton yarn so I could make some wash cloths too.

Two years later and another baby was born, but I still have not completed a piece of baby clothing, not even a blanket. However, I have produced countless (really, I can't count them all) wash cloths in various sizes, patterns, and shapes. A few of them are even functional. But I have learned to knit and actually enjoy the process. For too long, I was anxious to produce a finished product, preferably perfect. The process of knitting was simply something to suffer through until I was finished and hopefully rewarded with something amazing. Yet nothing amazing ever resulted and often I just wound up tearing things back.

It's too bad it has taken me this many years to get past the frustration and disappointment that stymied me in the past. But this time, I was able to view all my disasters as practicing my skills. And thanks to technology, I was able to access immediate help for my knitting problems by looking at You Tube videos. I'm sorry but no matter how well written or how clear the illustrations, no book can compare to watching someone else do it. The help was immediate when I needed it too.

So I gradually became a more patient knitter and even acquired the skills needed to repair mistakes, rather than always frog (rippit) it back. Then I grew to actually love knitting (most of the time) after reading a magazine article wherein the author said something along the lines that knitters constantly told him they wanted to finish quickly. His response was that you should enjoy knitting, touching the yarn, looking at the colors, it should be a sensual experience. Otherwise, why would you continue knitting if you found it to be drudgery? Exactly what I had always run into, knitting became a drudge for me.

I invested in some very nice knitting needles, not top of the line but far nicer than the cheap plastic or metal needles from local craft chains. Then I started paying better attention to yarn. By this time, I had found Ravelry.com and if you are knitter or crocheter, you really need to go to that website. Hands down, the best designed website of any on the internet.

Now I live with a closet full of yarn and have learned the sad fact of stash-building. Any yarn bought because it was a good bargain and irresistible will never work out for any project. Never. Any time I settle on a specific project to make, I will find myself searching websites and stores and wind up buying a whole new bag filled with yarn.

Luckily, in the Twin Cities, we are blessed by having a wonderful Textile Center for the Arts, which also includes the Minnesota's Knitter's Guild. In the spring, they host a garage sale where members can donate yarn--and then return later to buy yarn at greatly reduced prices. I bought bags of yarn last year and yes, I'll probably donate most of it back and more besides. Perhaps this year I will be a little bit wiser in my buying habits when I see all my donated yarn on the tables.

The moral of this story is this. If you want to get started on knitting or crochet (and I plan to write a post about how they compare in my experiences) be sure to purchase good tools. That is, needles that feel good to you and probably won't be found in a chain store. While practicing on cheap yarn is a good idea, be sure that it has enough quality so that you won't be frustrated by it. Crummy yarn splits and can be rough on your fingers, taking all pleasure from the experience. Start checking out websites, especially Ravelry, for lots of ideas on simple patterns made with reasonable materials.

As for my holiday projects, I have one finished, one half done, and two more to go. I'll post pictures when I can.

Cooking Doldrums

I admit that I have a short attention span, although I can focus when inspired or fascinated. So I go in and out of cooking, but never have been able to sustain cooking meals at home for longer than a week, and that is a rare event.

What makes this a huge problem is that I want to...need to eat healthy. I want my family to eat healthy too, particularly my husband who is dealing with Parkinson's. Okay, we're all dealing with the Parkinson's but that's another post another day. We learned this past weekend that the usual healthy regime of lots of antioxidants and omega 3s is recommended for Parkinson's patients.

This isn't news. My husband had a stint implanted and has dealt with cholesterol and blood pressure for years. And yet neither of us remain focused on healthful eating for any length of time. I have many, many reasons to want to change my diet habits without falling into bad habits.

I've concluded that I need something different that a healthy recipe book. I've got tons of those to draw on, including various Eat Well type of magazines. What I need to find are ridiculously easy ways to eat when I don't feel like cooking or preparing. The right sort of things to have on hand that satisfy a snack craving or sweet tooth. As I start finding some answers, I'll be happy to share them here. And I'd love to hear how the rest of you stay healthy!

Pot Roast Results

Overall, the roast turned out quite well, although not so good that I would rave about it. However, my son liked it and ate an entire serving. If you knew Jake, you'd know that is a rave on his part.

What I didn't care for was my own fault and that of our slow cooker. I wound up overcooking it when I panicked over the progress on low setting. I kept fiddling with the temperature so it was a bit tough, although not at the inedible stage. Also, had I not been lazy, I could have removed the gravy that had formed during cooking and defatted it, then made it into a real gravy that would have been better.

So a satisfying meal if not a great one. Oh, and a bay leaf or two would have been nice.

First Post In Which I Make Pot Roast

Nothing sounds more housewifey than a pot roast, but don't let that scare you away. This is an experiment, which is pretty much how I cook nowadays. I used to follow recipes carefully and if I didn't have each and every ingredient, either the dish was abandoned or I made a trip to the store.

Today's pot roast began with a trip to Whole Foods, where they had chuck roast on sale. Since their meat is grass-fed and purports to be humane (the cows will love you for eating them!) I purchased a goodly chunk which turned out to be about 4 pounds. I wisely purchased onions, carrots, and potatoes since I know that is what I always want with my pot roast.

I also knew that I had on hand some horseradish cream and bay leaves. This morning, I perused the Internet for slow cooker pot roast and of course, was rewarded with an overwhelming number of recipes, most of them calling for either canned soup or dry soup mixes of various flavors, usually involving dry onions.

After reading through a number of recipes, I finally settled on the following procedure:

Heated oil on my gas range in the slow cooker pot. Brushed flour, salt and pepper on the meat and browned on both sides. Took meat out and slathered horseradish cream all over both sides. Placed sliced onions on the bottom of the pot (now off the burner.)

Put the meat back in the pot on top of the onions. Surprise ingredient: found a packet of swedish meatball sauce dry mix, so emptied it that into the pot. Added some low-sodium beef broth, enough to cover onions and come up to the bottom of the roast.

Put the roast on high, to bring it to a boil, then turned it down to medium. I might turn it to low later in the day, I'm expecting to serve this around six.

Last but not least, I peeled six large carrots, cut them in half and added them. Then put in ten small potatoes, unpeeled.

I have attempted pot roast in the past, several times, in my slow cooker and it has always come out bland. Tomorrow I will report the results.