Fiber Fool

It seemed it was a reading/relaxing/self-care sort of Christmas for me this year. And to my knowledge no one communicated with each other about what they were getting me. Drew got me a 6″ Kindle! I’ve been *loving* reading on my iPhone over the past year or so, but lamenting how frequently I have to “turn the page.” I’ve also been bummed out at my slower reading pace (I’m about 10 books behind my average). I expect it slowed mostly due to how busy 2010 has been, but I’m hoping having so many books so handy might get me back to my usual pace for 2011. Drew did decide to leave the personalization aspect up to me. So, for now it is living in a padded mailing envelope.

Mom and dad got me this lovely ruana which I think of as a snuggie/slanket for the more sophisticated. It keeps my upper body nice and toasty while giving me complete freedom to knit or read. There was also a handy table that has legs to allow you to bring it in close because they slip underneath the furniture. It is fully adjustable too so I can have it at the right height for computing or for reading while knitting or even sketching designs. To top it all off I got some much more natural make-up. I bought some of it in early December and the combination of using it and my homemade face wash and a weekly homemade mask has my skin in the best post-high school condition I can remember it being in - despite being uber stressed with holiday and book stuff! That is quite the feat!

I follow a couple blogs that keep me up to date on free Kindle and other ebooks as well as good sales and I took advantage of a nice $5 post-Christmas sale and grabbed the first Richard Castle book and the second Stieg Larsson book. With the phone I was able to keep my book buying in check. I can see it’ll be a bit more of a challenge now :-)

I know several of you out there have Kindles and I’m wondering what you are doing for cases? Obviously, the padded mailing envelope is a temporary solution. My original thought was to get some sort of skin (contemplating getting a custom one, perhaps with this pattern or one of my photographs) and a slip sleeve case. With my pain issues weight is key and I was concerned that a more book-like case might add too much weight to the device. Though after looking at some of the M-Edge options they had at Best Buy I’m thinking I maybe could go with something in that direction. I suspect most of my reading will take place either at home, on the reading pillow like above or just held in my hands or on the treadmill or bike at the gym. There will be some travel, but only 1-2 times a year most likely. I don’t anticipate carrying it in my purse at all times since it syncs with my iPhone and I can still read via that for unexpected reading opportunities. I’m just not sure what way to go. I do love the Burnt Orange Amazon case, but their packaging was such that I could not judge the weight of it at Best Buy. And if I go that route, do I get the lighted case? I don’t anticipate needing to light it too often, though having the ability to could be nice, especially when traveling. Not to mention, clipping a light to the frame of the Kindle kind of freaks me out.

So, Kindle users, what do you have a case? Would you choose a different one now after using it for a while? How do you most use your Kindle?

I’m also thinking I need to dive into the features of Calibre more. I set it up about 6 months ago or so and haven’t really touched it sense. Are there any blogs dedicated to tips and tricks of using Calibre?

Wow, I didn’t intend to be absent a full week. Life continues to be a little crazy, perhaps even crazier the closer we get to the holiday. I’m feeling better than last week, but am still on the yuck-o meds. I really can’t wait to be done with those. Thanks to all of you who sent get well wishes my way. I appreciate and someday I will get back to replying to comments. I’ve been spending most of the day away from the computer, making candy and gifts for the holiday.

I am a big fan of handmade and consumables as gifts. Most of the people on my gift list really don’t need more “stuff.” So something that can be used and enjoyed and their container recycled or reused is optimum. Most of the edible gifts we give take much pre-planning, like gifts of preserves or homemade liqueur. But homemade spa accouterments often pull together pretty quickly and I love giving “hand care” packages to those who, like me, work with and abuse their hands.

1. Sugar scrub! I’m especially fond of giving this to knitters and hand spinners as it really helps keep the little snags on your fingers in check so you aren’t sticking to your yarn or fiber (especially silk and silk blends). If you keep it preservative free, tie a little cosmetic spatula or spoon with it to keep water and bacteria from your hands out of the jar and it’ll last for several months.

2. Lotion bars are nice for everyone. If you package it in a little tin it can be kept in an office drawer or in a purse so it is always handy. Bundle this up with the above sugar scrub, a nice nail file and some cotton manicure gloves and you have a nice little manicure kit.

3. Bath salts are a nice indulgence to give as well and the ingredients are quite inexpensive and can be found at your local grocery store (except perhaps the essential oil which you may have to go to a health food store for). It is ready to use right away too, unlike a bath oil blend that needs to mature for a week or two before using. You can package it in mason jars with a label and a ribbon tied around it.

4. Soap! The melt and pour variety that is. You can find several different bases at the large craft stores and it takes probably under an hour to make 6-12 bars depending on the size batch you opt for.

Of course I can’t have a list of last minute gifts to make and not include a few that use yarn can I?

5. In about 20 minutes (or less if done in mass production style) I can kick out a nice lavender (or cedar) sachet using fabric scraps and left over sock yarn. It makes a nice quick hostess gift, or a set of three or four might be great for someone who recently moved into a new home. Or a little something to kick a gift up a notch and dress up the present at the same time.

6. My Woodland Trails cowl was a pattern I designed last fall for gifting. It knits up in 4 hours or less, but looks like a complex cable and lace pattern, but it isn’t! The careful placement of the yarn overs and the decreases creates the illusion of cables! I gave a few for Christmas last year and I’ve been told they are in frequent rotation.

7. A hanging towel for the kitchen knits up in about 6 hours or so and pairs nicely with an edible gift for your kitchen.

8. I also like knitting up an A la Carte hat. I can knit one of these up in Cascade 220 in about 4-6 hours as well, depending upon the fair isle motif I choose. Knitting it top down eliminates the oft dreaded swatching which also saves you time. It is also multi-gauge so you can totally stash dive for these!

9. Knit in bulky yarn, the Laridae mitts are another knit that takes about 4 hours. You just have to love bulky yarns when you’re up against the clock!

10. Any of the Rugby Hats also knit up pretty quickly. The slouch and hat version are probably a bit quicker than the nightcap version.

Now through January 1st, use code LASTMINGIFTS to save 20% on any of the above patterns, plus Cargo Scarf (6-8 hr), Evergreen Copse (2-6 hr depending upon size), Spring Frills Hat (8 hours), Square Riot Hats (4-6 hrs depending upon size) and Sur la Tete Hat (8-12 hours).

Well, my list may be largely left undone. The above photo was what I was supposed to do yesterday - celebrate St. Lucia by making saffronsbullar. However, my body had other plans for me and I spent the vast majority of the morning getting poked, prodded, blood drawn and x-rays taken. All for no answers (though I guess it ruled out a few scary things), but some meds that have eased the issue but make me extremely sleepy and loopy. Since we specifically bought more saffron to make the St. Lucia buns I think I’ll keep that on my to-do list…

1. Make Saffronsbullar aka St. Lucia Buns.
2. Make Pepperkakor cookies.
3. Make Karen’s chocolate covered caramels.
4. Design, print, cut out and stick labels on all our canned goods.
5. Edit all of SIL3’s wedding photos.
6. Design, knit, photograph, write-up and edit the MSK pattern for January - I will confess to making pretty good progress on this one already.
7. Paste-up and tech edit 3 more Nourishing Knits patterns, including doing their photography.
8. Write up and knit 3 more patterns.
9. Write and photograph tech article for MSK January newsletter.
10. Make and package up lotion bars.

That ultimately is really only the tip of the iceberg. The meds I got yesterday don’t have me thinking clearly enough for most of the items on the list. I’m also stuck at home as both meds I was given will not allow me to drive and one of those is a 10 day course! :-( Though given the blood test results I’m going to be asking if I really need to continue to take that one. It has some really scary side effects in addition to keeping me stuck at home and putting a cramp in my cold weather beverage habit (no caffeine).

I’m getting a bit of a “me” day today!

You won’t believe how excited I am!

This is coming along. It’s about twice this large though after last night’s sappy holiday TV movie watching (The 12 Men of Christmas with Kristin Chenoweth, in case you were wondering).

I’m not going to feel guilty if I end up not touching it though. Although, with this texture and the softness of the yarn I suspect at least a few stitches will be knit.

Since I have the year off of hosting Christmas and we’re not formally exchanging gifts with DH’s family I’m thinking I should contribute liberally to the selection of cookies and candy that we all graze on when we get together at Christmas. I haven’t settled on recipes yet. I thought it would be fun to hear what recipes make the holidays for you! A few favorites and possible candidates for this years list are below:

For me now, it isn’t Christmas without pepperkakor - an orange scented ultra thin and crispy gingerbread-like cookie. This wasn’t a regular on the table of sweets at Grandma Irma’s house, but it occasionally popped up at our church’s holiday gatherings. I’ve been making them almost every year for a good share of my time here in Colorado.

This is another Swedish cookie. It is a recipe I got out of my personal baking bible, The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas. They are called Citronsmakåger and are lemon cookies that are a bit cake-like in texture. I’m contemplating going in the orange direction with a dark chocolate glaze/frosting. They are really simple and quick, a nice trait for holiday baking. Especially after the rather intensive pepperkakor that needs rolled out so thin and cut.

This is another from Ojakangas’ book - Kanelkakor or Cinnamon Dreams. I think what I like so much about these Swedish cookie recipes is their often liberal use of flavorings, be it spices like cinnamon and ginger and cardamom or strong citrus. It means they often get away with a more moderate amount of sugar. That too is a welcomed thing on the sweet table - sweet, but not too sweet! If memory serves these are quite quick to pull together as well.

Lefse is another thing I *have* to have during the holiday season. For those who are unfamiliar with it, it is much like a flour tortilla, but it is made from potatoes. Growing up in Minnesota we ate it slightly warm with butter and a sprinkling of sugar. I’m told it is eaten a multitude of ways in the Scandinavian countries, including in place of a hot dog bun. I’ve branched out some and had Nutella on it (yum!) and sometimes brown sugar rather than white. Or a mix of yogurt and brown sugar or lingonberry preserves. The kind I can get here isn’t as good as the stuff I grew up eating, but it works. I have all the equipment to make it myself, but so far I haven’t. It is a time intensive process as you cook one round at a time on a special iron and I think it is pretty delicate to handle the dough and such. But one of these years I’m gonna put on my big girl pants and give it a go!

I’d also like to give my aunt Karen’s chocolate covered caramels another go. So far at a mile high I haven’t had much luck. The first batch many years ago were not quite hard candy, but not far from it. Since then I think I’ve been afraid of them being too hard and have undercooked them. We’ve also in the past made rosettes, another time suck sort of project. I loved them, but they went “stale” by the next day which made me really sad. I think we must have done something wrong (wrong oil temperature?) as I know the ones I ate in Minnesota were not made the same day I ate them. We do have two sets of irons so both DH and I could fry one which made for shorter work. If I were still in Minnesota I’d like just buy them, but I’ve not found anyone who carries them around here.

Your turn! What foods make your holiday?