Autumn

Morning.

Day.



Evening.

Soup.



Funfetti cake.

Sickieface McGee

So I love living and working in schools. (Seriously. I live with 849 people, go to school with 1500 people, and then work at a school with 1000 people. There is no escaping the weirdest freaking germs that ever existed and mutated.) I've had a cough for several days, and sore throats, seemingly headed towards SWINE FLU. Instead, my vertigo flared up.

So yes, it is the best fun running from rehearsal to go throw up in the fifth floor bathroom, then spend two days in bed. I've missed two of my favorite classes, and hanging out with out-of-town friends, and my head hurts and my throat is sore and I'm behind on making new scripts and contacting people and generally getting my life together. Plus I need to head uptown to pick up my paycheck. But anyway.

The upside is that I got to read an excellent book (The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood--I'm on an Atwood kick) and got a little knitting done.

You know what staves off the worst of the chills? Wooly socks. See?

I also started some Christmas knitting (for a MYSTERIOUS recipient, because I have no idea who, if any of my family, reads this). Pomatomuses, in Lana Grossa Meilenwiet Fun & Stripes, colorway 640. I'm calling them Big Bird Goes Swimming.

And worked a bit on the Medallion.

In other news, I got a belated birthday present on Monday, from my dear dear sister.

She's nuts. It's four skeins of Handmaiden Sea Silk, in Moss, Masala, Stardust, and Pewter. The colors. They glow. I don't know what to do with them yet, but for now they're glowing on top of my bureau, where I can see them every day.

By the way,I went on a beading kick. Two pairs of earrings and two necklaces, all using up the chunky beads I never know what to do with. They work nicely as feature pieces, which now I'm more of a grown up sound really exciting. Although some day I do want to do a froofy piece of lots of slender silver chains and maybe lockets interspersed like little heart-shaped points of hope. Something silly like that. For kicks. But observe:

Winter is beginning to creep into our Autumn already. I closed the window today because I was just too cold with it open, although it's not quite cold enough to turn the heat on. Yesterday I woke up with icy feet despite warm sheets and a down comforter. No good, you see. I hate being cold. I spend a lot of time in big sweatshirts and shawls and sometimes I even start wearing handwarmers inside. Your fingers can start to ache, you know. Not fun for either typing or knitting (which are my two main activities).

I feel a little odd writing all these blogs that tend to either dump my brain issues on you, the unsuspecting public, or subject to a series of amateur pictures of crafts that you will likely never see. (Unless you're Hartley. Or Bonnie. Or possibly Deena. By the way, Deena, I have that red scarfy thing for you.)

On the other hand, I'd be afraid of posting my creative writing here because they could so easily be jacked and spread without credit. It's not that I want to get paid or anything (ha! I'm a funny) but it's nice to know that the work is attributed to right person.

Bad photos it is!

I'll Never Let You Go

Look! Socks!

(I know Autumn is here because my feet are getting cold.)

New York, New York, New York. I love you so dearly. The food, the sights, the sounds...

This morning, the sounds included loud and enthusiastic music and cheering from an event on 61st. No one knows what it was for, but it included a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" that woke up the entire dorm on what I like to refer to as Hangover Sunday, and the Jackson 5. Holla at that, mysterious group of people in raincoats.

Last week I turned 22. (Whoo!) I made fabulously delicious cupcakes (that I did not photograph) but if you make a Swiss buttercream in the next few weeks, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 2 tablespoons cinnamon, let sit until firm, then mix with the rest of your softened butter, and before adding powdered sugar, add 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar. Yum yum yum. It would be alarmingly good on pumpkin cakes.

There has been knitting (though not a lot). The sea blue-green blob has been replaced by a deconstructed, fully blocked sweatervest:

(Apologies for the blurry pictures.)

These projects aren't on Ravelry yet, because I'm a lazybutt, but they still exist!

Newly on the needles is the Dreamcatcher Medallion Cardigan (Rav link), inspired by Chinda's version, which I had the pleasure of seeing in person this summer. I'm using Rowan Bamboo Tape, which has a bit of a different look than a tubey yarn, but it's kind of an experiment anyway.

Also, when the weather looks like this,

I'm glad I have these.

Although the Cascade sock yarn looks and drapes like cotton, it is still a toasty warm wool. Delightful.

In other knitting news, Neil's sweater got crossposted at Kitty's Neverwear. It was kind of a fluke that I clicked over to the post from Twitter, but I did and then I almost fell out of my chair when I saw it, and all the nice things Kitty said about it. I just hope it reaches its owner soon...

It's been a bit of a rough start with my last year of school; another of those years that says "Welcome back, how're you doing, now jump in the ocean and learn to swim." We had auditions for the studio season the first weekend back, and I'm now starting on my second week of rehearsals. The show isn't exactly finished yet, but that's what school is for donchaknow. Experimentation, growth, mistakes, etc. I do think that, however much of the script is finished by the time we go up, it will be my best show yet.

Hrm hrm... Next time, crafts! And paintings! Also, I still have an etsy, a Twitter (kraftylikeafox), and Ravelry (VintageTheater). Social networking is awesome!

Also, the musical moment of zen today comes from Muse, with "Starlight".

I hope they don't find you, Tacoooooma

I have pictures. I have some lovely pictures of the finished green blob, the nearly-there blue-green blob, and the cat residing temporarily in my parents' house.

I'm back in Tacoma, and it's been a little odd, as visits go. I'm not knitting much, as my projects haven't been exciting. Some crochet on a mod of my Mock Herringbone (which, while I love the effect, gets tedious in laceweight), miles of stockinette in various colors of more laceweight, casting-off on The Blob--nothing that speaks to me. My stash is all in LA waiting to be shipped to New York, and I fear dipping into my mother's just because I've got knitting ennui. I'd like to take this time to work on other creative endeavors; letter-writing, playwriting, poetry, essays... I'd even like to work on some bead and wire jewelry or sculpture, but my needlenose pliars are in a box in upstate New York somewhere.

The upside of all of this is that I finally feel recharged. My burnout this year was bad, deep-running and all-encompassing, and it's nice to feel like I'll be able to start my last year of undergrad with enthusiasm and energy. I do have to talk my dean into waiving some credits for me, for a performance and writing class that I've been thinking about for awhile, but if I'm supposed to be there, it'll happen.

There are some priorities I have to get in order for this year as well. As always, it's the balance of enjoying my college years with the need for groceries and paying off various debts, and attempting to save against future needs. By May, I'll need an apartment, and maybe a car or a plane ticket. I don't know where I'll be, but everywhere costs.

Next time I'll have pictures. Stay tuned for knitting!

Pack It Up

This is my packing face.

This is part of the packed up stuff.

Now, for a physical question: How does one fit two suitcases' worth of stuff into one suitcase?

Any takers?

Anyone?

Break It Down, Yo

Project Breakdown Time! Because I'm leaving on Friday early in the morning and I really should be packing or cleaning or something right now. So I'm blogging. Hurray!

Self-Portrait in Objects #3 is coming soon, I promise. I'm being lazy about photos because my camera needs charging, and then you will get another little look and what the world around me looks like.

I've hardly been knitting at all lately, mostly I think because whenever I approach a major transition I tend to feel nauseous for several days surrounding key events. I'm flying to Portland in two days, therefore my stomach seems to be flipping over and over. I'm flying to New York two and half weeks after that, and I can see a long-term guck of feeling coming at me. In light of these changes, my fast-approaching senior year, and several months of self-reflection, I've been asking myself the Big Questions. What kind of person do I want to be? What kind of character do I want to be building? Where do I go after I graduate? Which people and climate do I want to be close to? If I move back to LA, will I be able to afford a car and an apartment? If I stay in New York, will I be able to stand the concrete for another winter or two or ten? What kind of artistic circle do I want to be a part of?

BIG QUESTIONS.

In the way of these things, I've also been quite social these last few days. I met some people who could be great friends at a party, I've been to the beach and a kareoke bar, I wrote smatterings about a jam at a music collective and walked on a bluff over the city. I miss my friends in Tacoma and my friends in New York and I'm starting to dread leaving. It's tough saying goodbye, and the kicker is that I do it all the time. I suppose beginnings and endings are constant, woven into each other, spit-spliced and felted and knotted, but like the ends in knitting, they're never quite as neat as you want them to be.

I'm dealing with my so long farewells by not thinking about them until the last minute. It's kind of like splitting the difference between getting a surprise punch in the stomach and getting a light smack on the head every day for several months. Long foresight has disadvantages.

But this was supposed to be a project breakdown, and I'm rambling about my early-twenties crisis. Moving on.

From left to right: ocean-colored kimono vest in lace-weight baby angora, 2x2 hat with baby cables in silk and merino, cocoa tunic in lace-weight baby alpaca, the socks that will never die, giant green blob Go Fly A Kite Shawl in lace-weight baby alpaca, Anna's stethoscope cover in Tofutsies, Mock Herringbone Wrap in orange lace-weight wool.

Notice how many of those projects are heavier than lace-weight? Two. And one is a skinny sock yarn.

But full disclosure: the hat is done. It seems a little itchy.

I'm on the edging for the shawl.

But it still looks like a blob.

And I just have to finish sewing on the snaps for the stethoscope cover.

Also, I finally finished up the Author sweater and it's stockinette road to the end of the earth. It's for Neil Gaiman. I shipped it last week. I'm totally flipping out, 'cause, well, it's freaking awesome that he'll have something I made and possibly wear it.

The real color is of course black like the gates of hell and the souls of Norwegian black metal aficionados, but the sunlight washed it out. I thought the sweater might get lonely in its box, so I made it a friend:

It's a kitty! But then I thought kitty might get lonely so I made it a companion:

On the inside, my five-year-old self is going "awwww", and my eighteen-year-old self who loved MirrorMask is going nuts, and my nineteen-year-old self who loved Stardust is squeaking with delight.

In other news, I went to Twist in Manhattan Beach, and picked up some sexy yarn:

My name is Sarah and I am addicted to Malabrigo Lace.

One last thing: my great-aunt Sally and uncle Bill celebrated their 60th (!) wedding anniversay this summer, so I made them a card. It's krafty! Like a fox.

And for your moment of zen: "Postcards From Italy" by Beirut. It's one of my summer jams.

Look! It's Woolly! And Stitched!

I'll say one thing for unemployment: it sure leaves you a lot of time to knit. I've gotten more projects done this summer than I have in the last nine or ten months, not in the least because I've been the grateful beneficiary cheap yarn. Unfortunately, the yarn comes from A Mano, which closed on the 3rd. Which means I'm unemployed. Vicious cycle.

So I've been working my knitty magic with my booty of tragic origins, and here are a few of the results:

An unfinished project of Annette's, found in a basket in the back room. It had about six rows done, so I took a few hours to finish it. Call it the Lettuce Scarf.

Kidsilk Haze and an anonymous thick and thin wool. Cast on with the thick and thin, knit four rows Kidsilk, two rows t and t, and continue until you're tired of it. Cast off on the fourth Kidsilk row with the t and t. And look, it's pretty!

Next, anonymous sock yarn mitts. Good for cold hands and fall days, so...absolutely useless in LA in July. But come fall in New York, they will be keeping my hands toasty warm.

Next, I've knit about ten (no exagerration) of these 2x2 hats, in half a dozen yarns. The pattern is simple: using 16" US 9 circulars, cast on 76 stitches and purl 2, knit 2 in the round for 7". Then k2tog around until five stitches remain and pull the tail of the yarn through the remaining stitches. It's a really easy way to use up about 100 yards of worsted, and it's freaking addictive. Think of the 2x2 scarf craze the Yarn Harlot started.

I've put them up on Etsy (bottlecapknits.etsy.com!) but if they don't sell, everyone I know is getting a hat for an upcoming gift-giving occasion.

I'm still working on my authorial sweater--miles and miles and miles of black stockinette, and the chart ended up creating a slightly retarded looking kitten, but I think it will turn out well. The sleeves are almost ready to be attached to the body, and then I have the interest of raglan shaping to motivate me to finish up. It turns out I don't like knitting anything too plain; there has to be some kind of shaping or pattern or change to keep me involved. When I finally have enough disposable income to get a Bohus kit, I'm going to have to make some changes to keep it going.

Also in the works: a giant green lace blob! the same blue pair of socks for my mother! another 2x2 hat...with cables! Stay tuned for photos.

But honestly, if anyone knows of employment that doesn't mind me moving around the country for the next four weeks, I'd love to hear about it. Seriously. Like, really really.

Recipe Corner

Welcome, boys and girls, men and women, non-gender identifying humans and non-human identifying people, to the recipe corner. Today, you have the privilege of being gifted the recipe for the BEST DAMN CAKE EVER.

If you you like cake, that is.

The recipe comes in five parts.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake

I. Cake (Modified from epicurious.com)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup good unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup strong fresh-brewed coffee
3/4 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons butter
2 large eggs, beaten to blend
4 oz good bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 F and butter and flour two 8- or 9-inch cake pans. Whisk sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, melt butter in coffee and cool. Mix with buttermilk, eggs, chocolate, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients, and mix until there are no lumps or dry spots left in batter. Divide batter into cake pans. Bake at 325 F for about 20 minutes in the middle of the oven, until a sharp knife or toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Turn out cakes on a cooling rack.


II. Buttercream

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a medium sized bowl with an electric mixer or wooden spoon and strong arm, beat ingredients until fluffy. Set aside. (Easy peasy, right?)


III. Salted Caramel

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons salted butter
1/3 cup heavy cream at room temperature

Melt sugar in a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until it achieves a medium-brown color. (You can cook it darker if you wish, but be careful not to let it burn. Burned caramel cannot be salvaged.) Add butter all at once, continuing to stir. Remove from heat and whisk in cream. Let cool.
IV. Dark Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:
5 oz. semisweet chocolate
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 tbsp. heavy cream
2 tbsp. butter

Melt chocolates, cream, and butter together in microwave on high in 30-second bursts, stirring after each burst, until melted together and glossy. Let cool, but not harden.
V. Layering

Divide buttercream into four parts, one part slightly larger than the others. Divide caramel in four equal parts. Using a sharp, serrated knife, cut each cooled cake into two equal layers. Place bottom of the first cake on your decorating surface (in my case, the serving plate). Spread with one of the three smaller butter cream portions. Drizzle one portion of the cooled caramel over the buttercream. Repeat with following three layers; cake, then buttercream, then caramel. On last layer, drizzle caramel on the buttercream in an aesthetically pleasing design, then drizzle ganache in a complementary pleasing design over the caramel. Serve immediately, or store in fridge for several hours before serving to set ganache and layers. Will serve between one and twelve people.


If
you have extra caramel, warm it in the microwave, stir in a good helping of salted, shelled peanuts, and eat with apple slices. If you have extra ganache, use as chocolate sauce. It will store quite well in an airtight container in the fridge. If you have extra buttercream, eat with a spoon, scoop up with graham crackers, or hand it to the nearest child, teenager, or staving college student.

Just look at how delicious that is.

Self Portrait in Objects #2

I'm always amazed at the way I live my life. Most days I am surprised when I wake up and find that I am still myself (and said as much on Twitter not long ago). The gift of time that I receive every summer brings my thoughts to circle the same places: what does it mean to be a person, what does it mean to live, how does creation and consumption affect who and what you are; the kinds of questions that are easy to laugh at, easy to dismiss, but difficult to answer. The need to "do" during the arc of the school year allows me to discard those questions until garbage day, when it's all built up so far that words I didn't know I had spill out. Well, it's time to take out the trash (but I'll be doing it in the comfort of my head, thank you, and letting it out in the form of creative writing, which will only refer obliquely to my experiences).

In the spirit of self-examination, I bring you Self Portrait in Objects #2, Perfume.

Name: Perfume

Smells Like: citrus, patchouli, sandalwood, rose absolute, Nag Champa incense (you know, the kind that comes in the blue and red box sold at a hippie festivals and on NYC street corners).

Created By: Alicia of Anabella and Company, a master soapmaker and scent expert. She has a small wooden sheddio in her backyard, and last summer she brought me out of a hot and sticky August to her little lab of scent, oil, shea butter, and bunnies for a "scent interview". She handed me bottle after bottle of scent, which I placed in three categories, and then worked her wondrous sorcery to make me a perfume that smelled like me. I've never gone in for commercial scents much, kept mostly to Bath and Bodyworks citrusy body sprays, but having perfume feels sophistocated and grown-up.

Also: I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really do like the scents I said I liked. Lavender, patchouli, and lime are things I thought I liked, but was always secretly concerned that I like the ideas and associations behind them. Patchouli being exotic and womanly, lavender being thoughtful and clean, lime as fresh and relaxed--all impressions of who I wanted to be and be seen as, but never quite certain of. (Isn't that true of most people? We know what we want to portray, but aren't sure that we're successful at it. Famous people employ whole teams to maintain image; those of us who have only ourselves will only know how we look from the inside. But that's the most important perspective anyway. As my mommy says, the only person you have to live with for the rest of your life is you.)

Self Portrait in Objects #1

The other night, I was lying in bed trying to go to sleep and thinking about my life. After many minutes of a thought process influenced largely by half-remembered dreams and the cup of strong black tea I'd had just before brushing my teeth, I thought about the way people describe themselves. From those demented musings comes my first (and possibly only) feature: the Self-Portrait in Objects series. Every so often I will take a photo of an object I own and post it. The objects could be old, new, foodstuffs, underwear, jewelry, ballpoint pens, whatever I want. Over time, I'm hoping the series will become a visual personality map.

The Rules:
1. It must be something I own.
2. It cannot be alive.

Today is number one.

Name: Gray Bear
Age: Approximately 18.
Significance: He was gift from my paternal grandparents when I was about three. He is a Gund bear, a teddy of the highest caliber, and has never betrayed me for another love. I refused to bring him to college for two years, because I feared the dorms would burn down and I would lose him forever. Last fall, I realized that there was just as much of chance of my parents' house going up in flames, so I brought him with me to New York as part of the Taking Care of Sarah initiative.