The Hook and I » alaska

A Christmas at Home

Amy — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:31:39 +0000

Ever since we moved to Alaska, I’ve thought it would be fun to spend the holidays here–avoid travelling, and get to experience an Alaskan Christmas. This year, I finally convinced my mom, and my brother and his family to come join us in Juneau for the holidays. I’m so excited, but I’m also completely unprepared. I have done no decorating or shopping or baking since I’ve spent the fall working on graduate school. I now have 10 days to get ready. This means I will probably not be posting new fun holiday crafts even though I truly love to. Instead, I’ll dig through my archives and re-post some of my favorite things from Christmas’s past.

I was walking last week and thought the snow on these rocks made them look like Chocolate Crinkle Cookies… At least I’m thinking about holiday baking.

I Have a Fairy Knit-mother

Amy — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 03:29:23 +0000

As you know, I’ve been scouring the local thrift stores in search of ruined wool, and I haven’t been having much luck in that department. On the other hand, I’ve been finding an amazing cache of hand knits too beautiful to destroy even for the sake of felted art. The jacket above is one example. The amazing thing about these sweaters is that they are all in my size. Some petite knitter with long arms has been donating great things to the thrift stores of Juneau. Last week I found a sweater that was minutes from completion, just a little button band to tidy up. Today I found a well-loved, impeccably knit fair isle and this jacket knit in heavy wool in one of my favorite shades of red. I may never need to knit a sweater again, which would be fine with me, because, as you know, I could be happy making hats and shawls forever.

Who is this knitter? I’m afraid she may be deceased. Her progeny must not have the superior taste she possessed: why else would they part with her beautiful things? Maybe she bore only giants and these smaller knit gems didn’t fit anyone in the family. Or, maybe she’s still living, and she loves to anonymously give away her creations. I suppose there is the possibility that my fairy knit-mother is not just one knitter, that the sweaters I’ve found are a random assortment of creations. I may get more clues if the hand knits keep turning up.

Wool Rescue

Amy — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 22:58:31 +0000

I’ve spent the afternoon preparing supplies for a class I’m teaching this month at The Canvas, an art studio here in Juneau. The class is called Sweater Reclamation. We’re making new projects from old wool: felted sweaters, cut up old blazers, anything that might look better as a new craft. I’m bringing ideas and supplies, and I’m hoping my students bring creativity and a sense of whimsy. I’ll take pictures and let you know what we make!

p.s. Search “recycled sweaters” on flickr for some inspiring ideas!

Gifts of Food: A recipe for Candied Pecans

Amy — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:00:29 +0000

I really wish December was two months long. Right now I’m on a break between semesters (which reminds me… I’ve got to go register for spring!). So I’ve been getting into the Christmas spirit, with Christmas crocheting and knitting and general crafty fun.

Today, I dropped everything to make some treats. I have a couple of gifts that need to go in the mail, and they need to go out tomorrow to make it on time. So between dropping the kids off to school and lunch time I made seasoned pecans and candied pecans and rum balls. All three are family favorites.

The candied pecans are so quick, they’re the kind of thing you can whip up while you’re waiting for something else to come out of the oven. They are also incredibly addictive.

I didn’t have time to roll the chocolate into rum balls before I had to rush to the airport to pick up James. He’s been in Juneau all week. I should have called, because the plane didn’t get to land in Cordova. They were stopped by fog and had to continue on to Anchorage. I was glad I made the drive, though because the town is in the shadow of mountains, and even on a clear day doesn’t get direct sunlight in winter. Driving across the delta to the airport, I got to see beautiful frosty view and soak up some rays on this 14 degree day.

I rushed back to town and went to a class Christmas party for Jay Jay, then took the kids and my fifth grade girl scouts over to the high school where the Honor’s Society was putting on Santa’s Workshop and kids get to make crafts to give as gifts. My favorite crafts this year were the very retro clove studded oranges and beeswax candles.

So in case you need a quick treat to make for a party or for a gift, here’s my mom’s recipe for candied pecans.

Candied Pecans
(Makes 3 cups)

1/2 c. sugar
1 t. instant coffee
2 T. water
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. salt
3 c. shelled pecans.

In a medium saucepan, bring to boil, sugar, instant coffee, water, cinnamon, and salt. Remove from heat, and add pecans, stirring for 3 minutes. Pour the sugared pecans onto parchment paper, and allow to cool (about 15 minutes). Store in a sealed, dry container.

You can double or triple this recipe–just make sure to use a saucepan large enough to easily stir all the pecans. I just did a batch with 2 pounds (8 cups) of pecans and it came out beautifully.

Make a Parol: A Filipino Christmas Lantern

Amy — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:45:49 +0000

Here in Cordova we have a vibrant Filipino community. We’ve all benefited by learning about the delicious food and a bit about music, and dancing from the Philipines. Last night, the Library hosted a craft night, and the featured craft was a Parol: a Filipino Christmas lantern. (The word parol comes from the Spanish word for lantern: farol.) Wikipedia says that in the Philippines, the parol is as much as symbol of Christmas as a tree is in the west. There are competitions to see which neighborhood can craft the best parols, and there is an infinite variety of designs.

Paula Payne, a librarian and local artist found a how-to video on You Tube, and learned to make a version of the parol that she could teach to the rest of us.

I just watched the video, and found that it didn’t describe all the steps, so I’ll list them here:

Step 1: Cut five sheets of paper into squares

Step 2: Fold each sheet into a triangle, and into another triangle half the size.

Step 3: Use a ruler to mark 8 even lines lengthwise across the triangles.

Step 4: The triangle opens like a book. Cut along the lines towards the closed (fold) side of triangle. Stop cutting when there’s about 1 cm left.

Step 5: Open your papers carefully and lay them flat.

Step 6: With a small piece of tape, fold the corners of the center diamond in to make a tube and tape them shut. Then, do the same for every other diamond.

Step 7: Flip the piece over, and fold and tape the remaining diamonds.

Step 8: Take two of your star pieces and staple them together at the top corner. Then, staple again at what Paula calls the “shoulder,” which is the middle of the outermost diamond on each piece. Continue adding pieces this way until you’ve attached all five.

Step 9: Use some scrap paper to make a hanger, and staple it onto one point.

Step 10: Attach some tissue paper in strips to the remaining points, if you wish, to embellish your star.

A note about size: the diameter of your star will be a bit more than twice the diameter of your squares, so size them accordingly. We made BIG stars last night, but today I’m trying one with origami paper. It looks cool because the two sizes of the paper are different. I’m sure once you learn the basic star you could come up with lots of variations.

Parols weren’t the only craft last night. Another local artist, Carl Becker, was helping kids to learn origami. Jay Jay was captivated–as much by Carl’s calm, easy manner as by the paper folding–and came home with a gaggle of paper animals.

Starting to get crafty for the holidays: make a wreath from an old book

Amy — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:23:16 +0000

Brrr! It’s chilly if you run outside without a coat, which is what I just did to snap a picture of the fog on the lake. The light is dim here all day right now, so the photo doesn’t do justice to how pretty it is.

I finished my school work for the semester and we’re getting into the holiday mood around here. Last night I went to my friend Erica’s house to make paper wreaths out of old books. It was quick and easy, and the results are pretty. You wouldn’t hang this wreath outside, but it looks nice indoors especially if, like Erica, you have a non-white accent wall. I don’t since we live in a rental house, so I hung mine on the back of the front door. I like the idea of text showing up in unexpected places. If you’re worried about destroying a book (gasp!) you can usually find one at a thrift store that already has a damaged spine or binding. (Or maybe you already have a broken book lying around your house).

Erica found a tutorial for the wreath on a craft blog, but we didn’t end up using it, since the process is pretty self-explanatory: cut paper into leaves, hot glue onto foam wreath form, et voilà! I used pinking shears and tried not to be too orderly about it. The other ladies’ wreaths look a bit more symmetrical, but that’s not my style.

Wishing for Deathly Hallows

Amy — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:22:45 +0000

Most of the time I don’t mind that there’s no movie theatre here in Cordova. Going to the movies is a fun part of any trip away from town. But sometimes I just want to be part of a cultural phenomon–like today, when the new Harry Potter movie opens.

Jay Jay is currently obsessed with Harry Potter. Since he’s only five (he’ll be six on November 28th) he’s only been read the first two books in the series. I think they get a little too dark for a wee lad like him pretty quickly after Chamber of Secrets. But he insisted on being Harry for Halloween.

I made the winter wizard cap with ear flaps and convinced Jay that if Harry were to come visit Alaska, he’d probably wear a hat.

Now he wants to have a Harry Potter birthday party. This leads me to wonder–how do I make a Harry Potter party fun for kids who don’t know anything about the young wizard yet? Selma and I have come up with a few fun activities (a sorting hat game, a scavenger hunt for the Sorcerer’s Stone, making wands out of chop sticks, but I’m searching for more).

Got any suggestions?

p.s. In honor of the movie opening, Craftzine has posted a round-up of Harry Potter-themed crafts and they’re featuring my Hermione Tie with a picture of Selma.

Cinnamon-Crusted Pumpkin Seed Recipe

Amy — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 07:00:46 +0000

On Wednesday night we had our annual pumpkin carving party. We’ve been hosting one each year since we moved away from Seattle where our friends Van and Tracy always had a great party. James has adopted Van’s recipe for Hot-Buttered Rum. This year, the party almost didn’t happen because we’ve had a shortage of pumpkins! Getting anything from the lower-48 to Alaska is a challenge, but big heavy fresh vegetables are probably one of the harder things to get here on time. We found a few on sale over the weekend for $1.00 per pound, but by Monday morning the town was fresh out and some folks we’d invited hadn’t gotten their pumpkins yet. Luckily most of our guests had planned ahead and were ready for Wednesday night.

We transform my laundry (and yarn storage) room into carving central–there’s a formica table in there and concrete floors, so it’s a great place to make a big mess.

I usually avoid the actual carving and sometimes convince James to carve a pumpkin of my own design. This year, I was too involved in salvaging and roasting the pumpkin seeds. With the help of many friends we liberated the seeds from the pulp of all the pumpkins being carved and set about roasting them. Once we started, we were full of ideas for various flavorings–wasabi, Italian seasoning, cocoa powder. But we settled on plain salted seeds and cinnamon sugar. The cinnamon sugared seeds were a big hit.

To make them, rinse pumpkin seeds in a mesh strainer to get off any sticky pumpkin pulp. Shake off any excess water, then spread them on an oiled baking sheet in one even layer. Coat the seeds in a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil, then mix together 1/4 c. cinnamon, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 T sea salt (more or less depending on how many seeds you have). Coat the seeds with the spice mixture and bake at 400 degrees until everything is crispy. You can adjust the salt and sugar after cooking while the seeds are still hot and the additions should still stick to the seeds. Cool on a paper towel and store in a sealed dry container.

One of the carvers took all the pulp and said he was going to make it into a pie like his grandmother always did. I’d only ever heard of using the flesh of the pumpkin, not the pulp–how about you? Have you ever made anything with pumpkin “guts?”

Feeling Sheepy

Amy — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 20:43:06 +0000

photo credit: JOE MARINARO

I’ve always had a thing for sheepy yarns. You know the kind I mean. They smell earthy, feel a bit like lanolin. They maybe even have a bit of straw left in them (Spinners call this “VM” for “vegetable matter”). When I lived in Maryland I was surrounded, north and south, by amazing fiber festivals. Now, here in Cordova, I’m not. I don’t get to make yearly expeditions to see and pet sheep and alpacas. In the absence of the festivals (like the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck that I just missed this past weekend), I’ve been knitting a lot with these artisanal yarns.

photo credit: Hav n Knit Lover

I love that they often have a story–the farm where the sheep were raised and the mill where the wool is prepared becomes part of the yarn’s entrancing qualities. Often, you’re buying these yarns directly from their maker at fairs and markets, so you cut out the waste of distribution, and you can hear the yarn’s story firsthand.

So, I love what these yarns are: rustic, earthy, sheepy. I also like what they’re not: mass-produced, machine-washable, each skein identical. The lack of mass production and distribution leads to some design difficulties. My new designs come about in one of two ways. Either I consciously set out to create a new pattern for my line or for another publication, or, I’m making something for myself and decide later to turn that into a design. If I start out for publication, then the availability of the yarn is one of the first things I consider. Will people be able to find this yarn–is the color still being made? How much will it cost for someone to make a whole sweater out of this yarn?

photo credit: Hav n Knit Lover

Lately, I’ve been working on two sweaters. Both are knit in an artisanal wool that’s only available in the United States in one shop–it happens to be here, in tiny Cordova, Alaska. Dotty, who owns The Net Loft, our amazing little wool shop, has a 20+ year relationship with a small New Zealand farm and mill called The Little Wool Company. The yarns she buys from Anna Gratton, the fiber artist who creates them, are wonderful corriedale blends that are soft and long-wearing and make sweaters perfect for life in Alaska–or life in any winter climate.

So I need to make a decision. If I’m to release patterns for these sweaters, do I need to re-knit them in yarns that are more commercially available? I think that might defeat part of my purpose of using artisanal yarns in the first place. I want to encourage the use of yarns from small producers, not just promote some specific yarns.

I think I can compromise. I already write my patterns so that they’re not yarn-dependent, but that doesn’t mean that any yarn will work for any pattern. It was the qualities of the yarn in the first place that led me to these particular designs. However, if I swatch in various yarns that have similar qualities, and demonstrate how to adapt to them, you, as the knitter will feel comfortable adapting the pattern to different yarns, and choosing yarns that will work for you.

I’m thrilled that these types of yarns are getting more attention these days. Jared Flood’s new Shelter line and companies like the Imperial Stock Ranch, and even larger yarn manufacturers are extolling the virtues of supporting local farms and small mills. It seems like more and more knitters are attending fiber festivals and meeting the sheep, the farmers and the yarn makers. And why not? Our crafting materials deserve careful attention. Consider the number of hours put into crocheting or knitting a sweater. It doesn’t make sense to choose materials simply based on what someone else used.

It’s difficult to know what a yarn is like, and how it’s used in a garment, if you’re just looking at a picture on a screen. If you’ve never knit with something yourself, you don’t know how it’s going to work at a particular gauge or in a particular stitch pattern. All the more reason, I think, to use yarns you have access to, and can touch and feel rather than simply buying the yarn used in a pattern.

photo credit: Lori_NY

In order to make yarn substitutions intelligently, you need to know some things about the yarn. There are the things that are usually printed on a yarn label: fiber content, meters per gram, suggested needle size. This information only hints at what a yarn can be used for. Other details that might be helpful are: number of plies, method of spinning (worsted, so the yarn is smooth, dense, great for texture, or woolen, so the yarn is lofty, warm, matte).

The yarn I’m using from The Little Wool Company would probably be called “heavy worsted.” It’s got three plies, and the recommended gauge is 4.5 stitches per inch, which gives a solid “winter-weight” fabric. But, I found by swatching that this yarn puffs incredibly when blocked so it fills in any spaces around it. I tried knitting it on US10 needles, then 10.5, and finally ended up with size 11, knitting at 3 sts per inch. The bulky gauge finally gave me the soft drape and hand I was looking for, and I loved the fuzzy halo that appeared in the yarn after it was washed and blocked. There’s no standardized way to describe the quality of a yarn when it’s knitted. Gauge says nothing about drape–so If I said, try for a gauge of 3 sts/inch, then knitters would probably choose bulky yarns and end up with sweaters much heavier than the sample I’m creating.

I would much rather you choose the yarn you want to knit with, and choose what gauge you like with YOUR yarn. All this is a rather long-winded way of saying I want to continue writing patterns that are yarn-independent, but I also plan to provide more information about the qualities of the yarns I’m using that will help you decide what to use in your patterns. It might help if I knew what details would help you. I know sometimes you choose a pattern first, and sometimes you choose a yarn first, but what kind of information do you WISH you had when you are choosing or substituting yarns?

In Praise of Mending

Amy — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 21:24:03 +0000

photo credit: Kirstea

When’s the last time you fixed something instead of throwing it away? I have a love-hate relationship with mending. I can’t stand to get rid of clothes just because they need repair, (so much of our wardrobe comes from thrift stores–I’d hate to end the cycle of re-use) but mending is always something I say I’ll get to later. So as a result, I usually have a nice big pile of socks with holes, jeans needing patches, etc. (The last time I mentioned mending on the blog was back in 2007. In that case, James was mending my jeans.)

Last week, I decided to clear the decks. (My pile wasn’t too big because my mom whittled away at it when she was visiting this summer–Yay, Mom!) I took care of the little projects that were piled up, and then, as I was doing laundry, I began to notice other clothes that needed repair. Instead of making a new pile, I sat down to fix them right away. “Well, that was easy.” I told myself after I’d finished patching a pair of jeans. It only took a few minutes. I used an iron-on patch, but whip-stitched the edges because those patches tend to come unglued after a few washings.

My laundry room also happens to be the storage area for all my craft stuff, so I have mending supplies right at hand there. If you put off fixing things like I do, it might help to have a small repair kit near where you fold clothes.

My mending basket isn’t particularly tidy, but I’m sentimental about it. It’s my grandmother’s basket, and she got it in Okinawa when she was there visiting my aunt and uncle in the 1960s. It’s full of her old wooden spools of thread, plus needles, patches and other bits and pieces.

Nearby on the yarn shelf, I have scissors, pins, glue, darning egg, etc. in these admittedly overstuffed little fabric boxes I found at Target. I’m hoping that I’ll keep up with the mending, and that last week’s repair frenzy wasn’t just an attempt to procrastinate about doing something else.