Food meme silliness

I'm totally a follower, so I'm doing what Julie does today. And I'm curious about my readers - I love food, but some of these things are out there for me.

1. Venison - I don't care for it.
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare - I was going to say no, but then I realized I did have it. It was okay. I won't eat it again.
5. Crocodile - nope.
6. Black pudding - no. And you can't make me.
7. Cheese fondue - I like it, but it doesn't like me.
8. Carp - I don't think so, but I did eat some catfish my friend fished from a rather dirty river. At least I think they were catfish.
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush - yum.
11. Calamari - Unlike Julie, I like tentacles. I like octopus sushi too.
12. Pho - my love of this is well documented. I do prefer it with thin sliced beef as opposed to tripe or meatballs.
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart - I only eat kosher hot dogs, and those sort of scare me.
16. Epoisses - German cow's milk cheese.
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes - Japanese plum wine
19. Steamed pork buns -yum
20. Pistachio ice cream - ice cream and I aren't friends
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras - kind of bland, really
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese - oh heck no.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche - yes please!
28. Oysters - not my favorite.
29. Baklava -
30. Bagna cauda. Had to look this up. Sounds okay, but haven't had it.
31. Wasabi peas - love.
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi - doesnt sound appealing.
34. Sauerkraut - delicious on kosher hot dogs.
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar - cigars stink.
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo - love it.
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects - not intentionally.
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more - only the cheap stuff.
46. Fugu - I prefer my sodium channels unblocked.
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel - as sushi, yum.
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - overrated.
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi -I don't think I liked it.
53. Abalone
54. Paneer - I'm really not good with dairy.
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal - but not anymore.
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini - extra olives, thanks.
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads - eww.
63. Kaolin - yup, worked, too
64. Currywurst - ew
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs - I like frogs too much to eat them.
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake - liked it as a kid, too sweet now.
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho - yummy.
72. Caviar and blini - surprisingly good, especially with the creme fraiche
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail - I have... issues... with slugs and snails.
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum - I prefer pho.
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant - quite possibly. It was a tasting menu, it was amazing, it was in Manhattan, and I couldn't tell you where it was or how I got back to my hotel.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare - only Welsh Rarebit for me.
87. Goulash
88. Flowers - good in salad
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish - was okay.
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox - my favorite breakfast
97. Lobster Thermidor - I would probably like it, but I prefer my lobster steamed.
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Only 43. I would try another 20 on the list, but no more.

Finished.

Finally done. I like it - it's not inspired knitting, but it makes a pretty scarf. Now, according to my Ravelry page, I started this about 6 months ago. Technically, I finished knitting this back in June. Braiding the fringe took forever and a day, and weaving in all the leftover ends took me about an hour this afternoon. The pattern instructions call for ironing this to flatten things out after dropping all the stitches, but my scarf sat around so long that this wasn't necessary. (Which leads further credence to my theory that things that need ironing just need to sit around long enough for the problem to take care of itself.)

Would I make it again? Maybe. I would definitely knit twisted stitches before the dropped stitch sections. I think this would actually be a fun way to use yarn with sequins or beads, show off a ribbon yarn or a variegated silk. I didn't have a problem with the cast on row, and I can't remember how I did it at this point.

Will I wear it? Yes. It's striking, and I'll probably wear it to dress up a white button-down shirt and slacks or jeans when I go out in the evening for post-conference events this fall. It won't add much warmth, but it's a good accessory. Plus, it does feel nice. The bamboo yarn has a pleasant heft and silkiness to it. I wouldn't knit a garment out of it - it would be too heavy, but I think this makes good use of the yarn. Even if braiding and weaving in those ends was dull beyond words.

Intrigued

I found this sweater in the J.Jill catalog (link provided so you can go check out the details) and I'm finding myself intrigued by the construction. At first, I thought it was just another raglan sweater, but now I'm not so sure how this was made. In any case, I think the look is sort of cute, and since I'm always cold here, but the weather is hot, I'm actually contemplating knitting something like this.

I'm considering Wren (non Ravelry link here.) I'm trying to actually work through some of my stash, and use up some of the yarns I purchased for other projects that I have since rejected as they aren't really going to work on me.

Of course, it would be nice if I actually finished something for a change. Which I am in the process of doing - I picked up Badia again and should be able to finish it this week, perhaps. I also might actually weave in the ends of the Phiaro scarf and iron it, so I can finally call that done. Someday I'll do some seaming and finish up other things, but it's really hard to find a time and place for that. And of course, I might have started another project and bought yarn for another sweater, but we won't talk about that. At least not today. I will tell you that I'm off socks for a while, and I really don't feel like knitting them right now.

In the meantime, I'm off to make a grocery list. Ground turkey meatballs and spaghetti for dinner tonight, and I have no idea what else for the rest of the week. Suggestions welcome - seriously!

And everyone, please read this. Consider it a very tiny rant on my part.

Levity for this evening.

I need a laugh, so I'm sharing something sublimely ridiculous.

Fashion! turn to the right

I am magazine obsessed.

I'm also not the right demographic for Knitscene, but there are some pretty things in the Fall issue, and I'm tempted by several, despite my inability to finish anything.

Opulent Raglan, Wendy Bernard. I think this is very pretty, although I would be better off if it were shorter for my stubby, short-waisted self. And I know that some people rail against 3/4 length sleeves, but I like them - I almost always have my sleeves pushed up when I'm working. Plus, I think they can be very flattering.
Riding to Avalon - Connie Chang. I think this is a really pretty sweater. I even think I have a yarn that it would look nice in, but I haven't checked yardage. Happy to see a sweater in dk weight.
Big Thaw Pullover - Amanda Berka. This is the first sweater my husband has approved. Of course, he has no need for a sweater, but finding one he likes is a big deal.

Canopy Cardigan - Amy King. I really like Amy's aesthetic. This cardigan has an interesting construction, a little different than I'm used to. I knit a cardigan similar to this one from one of Amy's patterns, and I really like it. Admittedly, it's one of only 2 sweaters I've actually finished, but I wear things like this.

Fashion! turn to the left

Julie commented on Vogue Knitting. I'm going to torment her with some shots from Knit.1... That's what you get for threatening me. I hit you with Zoolander.
Now, I actually kind of like a few things in this one.
This shawl is kind of pretty, although I find it peculiar that the model was styled with lipstick that exactly matches the color of her knitwear. And no, I'm not going to knit a shawl out of Tilli Thomas yarn.

I find the styling in the main photo to be absolutely atrocious, but in the dark blue, it's a perfectly serviceable vest. I would wear something like this. Just not with skintight cheetah print pants.

I'm clearly not the right demographic for this magazine, and I don't really know why I keep picking it up at the store.

Proof

I do still knit. Just not much. The green sock (Miss Babs Yummy Sock in Rock Wall) got ripped a few times until I could decide the number of stitches and needle size I was happiest with. This particular combination (64 stitches on size 1 dpns) seems to work pretty reliably for me. I like my socks to be densely knit, and without a lot of ease. So the green grows, sporadically.

Below it is the start of a new sock, or rather a cuff, knit in twisted k1p1 ribbing. That is slow slow going for me. Not the most practical ribbing, but it's pretty. I'm hoping this will grow up to be a pair of Bavarian Twisted Stitch socks, from Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar on 2 Circular Needles. This isn't my favorite knitting technique, but the pattern is interesting and different. The pattern instructions are not the clearest things I've ever read, and the socks require attention, which I'm sadly short on.

Sometimes you just need something simple.

It's a little further along now.














I wouldn't say that I'm back in the swing of things, but it feels closer to what my hands want to make. Thanks for all your kind comments. It's Wednesday. So far so good. It's a week.

Why yes, I did hang out with Julie.

And she instructed me to inform you all that she really does play nice on her blog. She does. I sat with the woman while she looked through the latest Vogue Knitting. Go poke her until she posts. It should be a good one.

In the meantime, I'm still sort of missing my mojo. I found some sock yarn I wanted to knit, and well, it wants to be a boring, zen knitting kind of sock. I tried a pattern, but the color pools too much, and fought with the texture. I thought I might be able to get away with it as it was a forced movement sort of thing, but it was too much. When the sock is a little bigger, I'll post it, but right now it's still very small and could be frogged at any minute.

Feeling a little off this morning, sorry. It's a year since I lost someone to cancer today. Life goes on, but I feel the loss still. Today it's a little more acute. Take care of yourselves.

It's official.

I'm in a bit of a knitting funk. It's not unusual in August, at least not for me. I frogged the Go With the Flow socks. They were okay, but the pattern wasn't centered and I'm not sure I really like all the holes in the socks. Maybe lace socks aren't me?

I'm thinking I might use the yarn for the Lace Ribbon scarf that was in Knitty. But I don't feel like working on it. And I'm not in the mood to knit Badia right now, because it's humid and the yarn feels sticky. The Twisted Yoke Cardigan is making me feel guilty as I've neglected it so long, and it's absurd that I haven't seamed Cutaway.

I have 2 other socks on the needles, and I don't want to knit those. I frogged a shawl I was loving as I knew I had made an error and I lost my place in the charts. I picked up a lace scarf I was working on, ripped back a mistake, and put it down. I'm going to try casting on a new pair of socks while I do some social knitting this afternoon, but really, I'm afraid I've lost my mojo.

When nothing's really grabbing you, what do you do? Rip out all the stuff that isn't working? Cast on something new? Take a break for another hobby?