2 socks on 2 needles

3 steps for these guys!

1.) knit a rectangle
2.) decrease for the toe
3.) stitch up the side

a couple notes:

these socks are REALLY forgiving. you don't need to do swatches or anything. just eyeball the size and they will fit.

you can use any weight yarn with any needle size. i don't even know what weight yarn i'm using. the red is thicker than the white. my needles are size 6... or 7.

1.) knit a rectangle

for mine, i'm using a different color for the cuff. you don't have to. they are your socks. the colors are your choice.

i casted on with 2 small balls of red for the cuffs. 50 stitches. make sure you cast on an even number.

for the actual knitting, you can use any stretch stitch you want. i used k1,p1. i like it because it's easy for me. as long as it's a stretch stitch, you can use it.

my cuffs ended up being 14 rows long because that's how much red yarn i had. you can do yours as long or short as you want.

for the body of the socks i knitted from 1 ball of yarn. one sock from the center and one sock from the outside.

k1,p1ing, k1,p1ing, k1,p1ing...

eh, this looks long enough.

ready for the toes.

2.) decrease for the toes

k1,p1 in red

this is the SECOND row of decreases. i forgot to take a pic of the first row.

row 1: k1, p1, k1, p1, k2tog, k1, p1, until HALF of the total*, k1, p1 to the end --> do the same on your next sock
row 2: k1, p1, for half minus 5**, k2tog, k1, p1 for half the total, k2tog, p1, k1, p1, k1 --> do the same on your next sock

repeat.

*i had 50 total so half is 25. (the pic is of the 2nd decreasing row so it's 24.)
** half minus 5 the total for the row in the pic is 48. half=24. 24-5=19

keep decreasing until you feel good about your toe width. nicholas has really wide feet so i left it pretty blunt.

shuffle around your stitches so they look like this. i actually took all my stitches off and was REALLY careful putting them back on.

cut off a long tail and bring the end to one side so you can stitch up the toe.

stitch the toe. you can use the kitchener stitch but it never works for me so i stopped trying :P

3.) stitch up the side.

weave the end of the yarn to the seam and stitch it up. i used a blanket stitch.

all blanket stitched and ends woven.


totally easy!

yummy stock for freeeeee

Free, you say? Yes!

Here's how!

Ready?

Save your veggie ends in a ziploc bag in the freezer.

Yep. Stock from stuff you were going to throw away anyway. I first read about it on MDC and nearly kicked myself for not thinking about it before. I had never made stock before because I always thought it was such a waste to go out and buy vegetables just to boil them away.

also, always save bones and the little pieces you cut off when you are preparing meat to eat. the gelatin that is in bones is what makes for good thick stock.

here are the steps:
1.) dump everything in the pot
2.) boil/simmer alllllll day
3.) strain

1.) dump everything in the pot ~ yep. do just that. I had 2 gallon ziplocs worth of veggie ends and a quart size filled with chicken bones/fat. I spy some beet greens, celery, bok choy, carrots, onion skins/ends. all kinds of stuff.

Step 2: boil/simmer all day ~ I usually start first thing in the morning and finish in the afternoon. So like 8 hours, give or take. I put the stove on high until it boils then turn it back down to medium.

Steven's grandparents got us this great huge stock pot for christmas. I love it.

Step 3: Strain ~ Pick out all the big pieces and put them in a grocery bag. (*gasp* a grocery bag?? Yes. I have some. Trust me, it's way less mess.) I have a deep fry scooper that I use. A big slotted spoon/tongs would do too.

Strain it through a mesh strain. The one I use is from a juicer.

That's it. Now it's ready for soup or canning or whatever.

how to season a cast iron pan

I just got back from my visit home to PA. My mom loves her non-stick pans (ewwwww) so I needed to get one for myself. We were flea marketing and I found a great cast iron bacon and egg pan for $6. (I also got a somewhat operational antique toaster ($5), a fully operational 1941 waffle iron ($5), and 7 golden books some antique, some not ($4).) The pan was pretty rusty and in need of some tlc.

here's what I did:
1.) scrub it
2.) grease it
3.) bake it
4.) repeat 2-3
5.) repeat 2-3 again

1.) scrub it ~ I used regular steel wool and scrubbed the heck out of the pan. top, bottom, and handle. scrub it until there is no rust left.

then dry it off with a towel.

2.) grease it ~ use a paper towel and rub it down with crisco or equivalent. grease up the whole thing. you only need to do the handle and bottom once.

3.) bake it ~ 350* for 30 minutes. I got lucky and it fit in the toaster oven.

when it's done, dab up any pooling grease with a paper towel.

4.) repeat 2 + 3 ~ you only have to grease the inside cooking surface now. bake again, 350* for 30 minutes.

nice and pretty and non-sticky

in action!

totally easy!

the mysteries of bread making revealed

so i think we will start with what was the hardest and most intimidating thing for me. it took me FOR-EV-ER to figure out to make bread. i couldn't understand what i was doing wrong. i even went out and bought a breadmaker but i still couldn't do it. the bread sank 85% of the time. it was so frustrating. but i could not let bread defeat me!

once i finally figured out how to do it and do it right, it never sank again. perfect bread every time.

and it's easy!

now that i know how, i can't believe it took me so long to figure it out.

this is a recipe for onion rolls that i got from allrecipes. you can use any bread recipe you can find. the ingredients/measurements are what's important, not the directions.

so the 5 steps are:
1.) proof the yeast
2.) mix everything together
3.) let it rise
4.) let it rise again
5.) bake

STEP 1: proof the yeast

so what is proofing? it's getting the yeast going before you mix it together with the flour. proofing the yeast will also tell you whether the yeast is still good or not. no more wasting flour on yeast you aren't sure about.

get all your proofing stuff out. this includes any liquids (not including eggs), sweeteners (sugar, honey, agave, etc.) and yeast. my recipe uses milk, water, sugar, and yeast.

heat your liquids. ideally you want it between 125*-130*. basically you want it pretty warm but not too hot that you can't stick your finger in it.

put the sweetener and yeast in a jar.

mix your warm liquid in

set the timer for 10 minutes.

after 10 minutes, your mixture will have a frothy head on it. that means it worked! woohoo!

STEP 2: mix everything together

get out all the rest of the stuff you need for your recipe. mine called for 3 cups of white flour but i put in 1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup ground flax seed. we looove ground flax seed. it make everything taste more buttery.

mix the "everything else" then pour in the yeast mixture.

NOTE: you don't NEED a mixer for kneading. you can do it in a bowl/on the counter with your hands it just takes way longer.

it might not all get mixed in right away.

so put it on the counter and knead by hand for a minute or 2 then put it back in the mixer.

kneading, kneading, kneading...

you want to knead for like 5 minutes or so.

all done kneading.

when you are done kneading, form the dough into a nice little ball and coat it in olive oil. the olive oil keeps the dough from drying out when it's rising.

cover with a towel.

STEP 3: let it rise

let it sit on the counter, covered, for like 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

STEP 4: let it rise again

i made rolls, obviously. if you are making a loaf, skip the dough cutting part. form the dough into a log and drop it in a loaf pan.



cover it and let it rise again. another 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

STEP 5: bake

follow your recipe. mine was 350* for 15 minutes.

all done! totally easy! and works every time!