Hand Mitt Blowout

Hi y'all.

This weekend I finished my pair of Fetching hand mitts (see Knitty) and the pair of hand mitts in Weekend Knitting. [BTW, why do I call these hand mitts? I think maybe our friend CJ in Madison gave them that moniker?]

I should be happy, right?

Unfortunately, I am cursed with a touch of mediocrity and mistakes. Murrrr!

For the Fetching mitts, I had to dip into my second skein of cashmerino aran, meaning that I didn't make gauge. Maybe the hand mitts are a bit not-so-snug, or maybe it's mind games! Aaaaa! In one of my dreams last night, a horribly rude person (who bore a striking resemblance to an Iowa professor with the initials E.L.) kept on insulting my hand mitts as being too loose and a disgrace.

But, I think they will be okay. I wore them out today and they did not fall off of my hands.

I might try the pattern again in a different color and smaller needles (meaning 4s or 5s, ick!) because I am perhaps obsessive.

Last night, I decided to whip up a pair of the WK hand mitts for an individual who has frequently admired my pair (knitted by CJ, thanks! they still work!). I began maybe around 11:30 last night. [Because when Porkchop is gone and it's just me and Keetah in the apartment, I have to stay up as late as possible so that I can fall asleep right away. Otherwise, I freak myself out with imagining noises. Because we live in St. Louis, the most dangerous city in all of our great United States.]

Anyway, I nearly finished the first mitt last night, but I had to turn in around 1:30. I finished it this morning, and when I tried it out, I found it quite snug. Much snugger than the pair I made for K last year.

"Uh," I thought. Perhaps I had overcompensated on my apparent loose knitting in the Fetching mitts?

I started on the mitt's mate this afternoon, after sending off my deadline-extended grad school papers (yippee!). After knitting the first set of 10 rows and the first short row, I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach.

I suddenly realized why the first mitt was so snug.

In my sleepiness, I had skipped the second set of 10 rows + short row!! Damn! Why didn't I count the garter ridges like Melanie suggested??!!

Because I am cursed by mediocrity and mistakes. Gah!

I went ahead and finished the mitt in the manner set forth by the first mitt. If they don't fit the intended recipient, I will keep them. And enjoy their snugness.

I will post pictures of the Fetching mitts when Porkchop returns with the camera.

More Disturbing Dreams
In the same dream with the hand mitt insults, I also dreamt that there was a huge pig on our back deck. Huge as in the size of our deck...roughly 10x16. I think this image appeared because Porkchop called yesterday, asking for one of our porkchop recipes. She said that she and her mom were going to triple the recipe and make 15 porckhops (they ended up making 24! yikes!) for their family. I think, in my mixed up dream state, this translated into a really huge pig.

P.S. I might also be disturbed that, having transitioned out of vegetarianism after 9 years, I found that I really enjoy porkchops. And I call Amanda "Porkchop." Even though that started when I was a veggie-head, I still find it disturbing.

Non-Meat Things (sort of)
To complement the porkchops left over from Friday's dinner (yeah, it's just a regular porkchop parade around here!), I made the cranberry-almond pilaf that I've written about before.

I really love this pilaf. It's buttery bulgur goodness. So here's the recipe (thanks again, Martha!):

1/3 cup sliced almonds
2 T butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup medium-grain bulgur
14.5 ounces broth (veggie or chicken)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup dried cranberries.

Toast the almonds (in a skillet or the oven).

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown. Add bulgur and stir to coat.

Add broth, season. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, covering saucepan and simmering until liquid has evaporated and bulgur is tender (15-20 minutes, be sure to test the bulgur for tenderness!).

Remove from heat. Sprinkle bulgur with cranberries. Cover and let steam for 5 minutes. Before serving, add almonds and fluff with a fork.

More Knitting Things
I might start another felted bag this week because I have enough yarn left from my sister's bag (will also post a picture of that).

And I really want to start on the shibori scarf.

To address one question about the shibori tutorial, I had also wondered about glass marbles getting knocked around in the washing machine. The author of the tutorial doesn't caution against broken glass, but I thought about perhaps trying to find some little plastic spheres instead of glass marbles. Because that seems a bit dangerous.

In Conclusion
Have a good week!

Also, I am now free to start recreational reading. So, if you have suggestions, let me know. Because I am totally out of the lit loop.

P.S.
Nearly forgot this anecdote! At work on Friday, I was compiling a list of certain board members for a grant proposal. The list had to include the board members' titles at their respective companies. Well, one member is head of a certain stuffed-bear-building store chain headquartered here in St. Louis. This particular company likes to include the word bear in all titles.

So, for this very official grant proposal list, I had to include the phrase "Corporate Executive Bear."

This amused me endlessly, and I found myself snickering throughout the day.

It still makes me laugh.