Except for a few ends to weave in (I always leave those for dead last Just In Case) the body of the Buckle Tank is DONE. Adding the sideways pockets and working up that pattern are what's next (that and a good strong blocking- sheesh does linen show tension imperfections).

The other day Mr. PieKnits glances over from gaming while I was working on this and goes "You've been working on that for Forever!" Yes. I know, thank you. It's been just one of those kinds of processes, two steps forward one step back. After a few do-overs with the straps I am finally happy with them though, that and the vintage buckles kind of mollify me.

The neckline and armholes are all finished with a knit-in I-cord edging that transitions into the I-cord bind-off. Picking up necklines and crocheted finishes are not my best friends plus it'd be tricky for this type of unconnected armhole so I'm lovein' this solution.

Posted by Jen at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've been on a serious DIY kick lately. I present the latest installment, my new chair- my new spinning chair to be exact! What did it look like before?

Ick right? This was snatched up for a whole $4.99. Coincidently I had just seen the paisley fabric and had thought "Oooh I love that but don't know what I'd use it for." When I saw this chair I knew. It was a really simple reupholster project. Remove old fabric, give thanks that the underneath cushion is still in good condition, lay old fabric on new fabric to cut out pattern, wrap new fabric around seat and tack/staple into place.

The wood was in somewhat shoddy shape so I cleaned, filled in the holes and dings with wood putty, sanded and primed everything while taping off the woven back and metal parts and then applied two coats of white. The metal bars on the seat back were covered in so much gook that I wasn't sure if they were even silver but they luckily cleaned up surprisingly well with some steel wool.

Now to get some actual spinning done! (And knitting, I've been knitting- honestly.)

Posted by Jen at 05:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Finally, a real curry recipe up here! Please excuse the poor lighting (my kitchen has crap light in the evenings) but I've been wanting to share some more Indian recipes but never seem to get to them in the daytime. So the heck with it, here is what I refer to as "my mushroom curry" as it's not one of Mr. PieKnits family/regional dishes but one from a more northern India cuisine cook book. I feel less intimidated by curry's that won't be compared to "Mom's", heh.

Mushroom with Potatoes and Onions
Khumbi, Aloo Aur Pyaz
5 tablespoons oil
1 large potato, diced into 3/4 in / 2 cm pieces
4 cardamom pods
1 1/2 in / 4 cm cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed or garlic paste
3/4 in / 2 cm fresh ginger, grated or ginger paste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
A big pinch of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
8 oz / 225 g / 4 cups mushrooms, quartered

Heat oil in a karahi or wok over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes (carefully! I use a lid in one hand as a splatter guard) and fry for 4-5 minutes until lightly golden. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and set aside.

To the same oil add the whole cardamoms, cinnamon stick and bay leaves and let them sizzle for a few seconds.
Add the onions and fry for 2-3 minutes. You would never guess this cinnamon and onion mixture would smell so wonderful but it does, trust me.

Add the garlic and ginger (I use the ready-made paste for this because it's easy and more uniformly coats) and fry an additional 2-3 minutes or until everything is soft and golden. (Mine got a bit toasty here.)

Stir in the turmeric, chili, salt and sugar. Now get ready to stir vigorously for a moment and add the vinegar. This part is fun; it fizzes like mad and sort of "deglazes" the pan.

Add the mushrooms and potatoes to the spice mixture and mix thoroughly. All that turmeric makes the mushrooms a nice bright yellow color.

Lower the heat to medium, cover and cook for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender, adding a little water if you like more 'gravy'. Add more salt to taste and serve up with some basmati rice. Yum!

Now if you have ever had the misfortune to bite into a whole cardamom unexpectedly you'll understand when I say it might be worth the trouble to remove these before serving to others. Or, for your cruel amusement you can leave them in for the uninitiated, muahahaa!

Posted by Jen at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Yikes, talk about a long "on hold" period. After a nice projects-filled weekend I finally managed to make some headway on my Box Charkha project; specifically the drive wheels.

To catch up- I've been using this excellent article (now available in PDF) from Interweave's 1996 Spin-Off on building a cigar-box charkha with some modifications. After amassing all the supplies and working on a plan I realized I didn't have access to a drill press need to drill perfectly centered and balanced holes for the wheels. I was rather amused at the suggestions that everyone "knows someone with woodworking tools". We're 20 something techies, everyone I know is more likely to fix your computer or network than build you a cabinet.

Thinking it was too bad I didn't live near my parents anymore I finally realized I could just ship the marked up pieces to my Dad to drill for me (thanks Dad!). I got the pieces back and it was promptly put on the back burner again by other projects. So, (somewhat) fast-forwarding to now here's what I did.

The large drive wheel is made of the suggested two "basswood plaques" that are glued together right sides facing. The other larger wheel is a sandwich of three wooden circles with the smallest in the middle to create a grove that holds the drive band. A wooden spool is the smaller underneath wheel.

For the support rods and bearings I deviated from the article. I sawed plastic sewing machine bobbins in half to use as bearings instead metal tubing- easier to cut. Also easier to cut than the suggested metal support rods were bamboo knitting needles. This worked well since knitting needles come in such a variety of sizes, obviously. The bamboo needles were chosen to fit the inner diameter of the bobbins and the wheels drilled to the bobbin's outer diameter. The mounting blocks should be drilled to the exact needle size and the rods tapped in tight. My measuring was off however and my holes were a bit large so I improvised with wrapping an o-ring around one and using another bobbin half as a spacer for the other (and wood glue, lots of glue).

Under the large wheel, not shown, is a "washer" made from cutting out a circle from an empty plastic food container. For the drive band I used jewelry beading hollow tubing (not sure what this is called) since it was easy to cut to size. In the photo above you can see the double wheel is flipped over to show the spool/smallest wheel. I think I'm going to replace that one however with a smaller one, especially after referring to my own calculations (duh) as it'd put me closer to my desired ratio. The other reason I discovered while taking these photos- the box no longer shuts, oops.

I originally sawed one of the spools in half, as it was a bit taller than it needed to be but my hand sawing leaves much to be desired. Even after lots of sanding it was far from level. Well the double wheel assembly comes off the post for storing and I laid it in the box to make sure it'd still fit with the full-size bobbin. It did; so I thought, great I'll just use that. Forgot to take into account the support rod which also includes the height of the mounting block, heh. That's kind of how this project has been going, trial and error. But I'm enjoying the creative challenge-next up, the spindle assembly!

Posted by Jen at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

There's nothing like a big shiny new toy (a.k.a. piano) to inspire.

At quick lunch hour browse through the near-by antique mall, I stumbled upon this great bubble glass picture frame. I thought it was such a cool piece but what could I do with it, hmmm. So I left, thinking it over and then an idea hit me and I rushed back the next day. Yes! it was still there. I snapped it up and then began hunting for the right items to put it all together (which honestly is half the fun isn't it?).

To turn this...

into this.

(Click on the image for an xlarge detail shot.)

I'm so thrilled with how this turned out! I've always loved skeleton keys and found these and the picture corners on Etsy. The corner pieces were brass though and I had been hoping to find silverish when I discovered some rub on silver burnishing stuff at the craft store. Dabbed some on there and it worked perfect.

Here's a little detail, keys are hung on tiny cup hooks screwed into the wood back. Love the convex glass but trying to get a decent photo does cause you to perform a rather one-sided waltz for a decent angle.

These were another find at the same antique place. One of the vendors had a booth dedicated to old letterpress printer blocks, love! I had fun searching out the letters I wanted and spreading them out on the floor playing with different arrangements. An interesting looking spectacle I'm sure, but oh well. :D

Posted by Jen at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Ok, I'm so stoked - I made my own baking recipe! Now I usually tweak and change up most recipes to my taste but I've never created an entire recipe from scratch based on something in my head. Not for baking at least which requires more of a scientific exactness than regular cooking. Of course it'd be nice to tell you that all my planning created fabulous cookies on my first try, but heh- there's that reality thing. While the first attempt produced decent cookies (and vetted by Mr. PieKnits coworkers who benefited from that trail batch), it wasn't quite what I was going for. With mostly a changing up of the assembly process I got what I was looking for, a tender cleanly sweet cookie that let the delicate saffron flavor sing through.

I adore saffron. It has a aroma and flavor not quite like anything else but always leaves me trying to put my finger on what it reminds me of in a nice familiar way. As the worlds most expensive spice ($1000 a pound!) thankfully a little goes a long way. I'd recommend searching saffron out at an Indian grocer, as with most spices really, but especially this one. They come in the most charming boxes and bound up in gold string it makes you feel like you are indeed buying something precious.

The batch I made did not include any mix-ins but I've listed some suggestions if you feel so inclined to add them.

Saffron Cookies

2 tablespoons milk, slightly warmed
Scant 1/4 teaspoon (a pinch) saffron strands, slightly crushed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup white chocolate chips or slivered almonds or chopped cashews (optional)

In a little bowl warm the milk and add the saffron strands, slightly crushing them. Set aside and let steep, the longer the better. This can be done several hours before-hand. The saffron will turn the milk a lovely sunny yellow like this.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift or whisk flour, baking soda and salt together; set aside.

Beat butter until softened. Slowly add sugars and beat well until mixture slightly increases in volume.

In a small bowl mix together saffron mixture, egg and vanilla. Add egg mixture to butter mixture and beat, scraping down bowl as needed.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture gradually, stirring until flour is incorporated. Stir in optional mix-ins if using. Chill for at least an hour to overnight (or be lazy and stick in the freezer for 15 min. like me).

Drop by mounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet and bake 12-14 minutes. Let rest on baking sheet for a couple of minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool. Makes 2 dozen.

Raise cookie to your nose, and inhale deeply, awww....
And a thank you to Mr. PieKnits who put up with my incessant batch testing. ;)

If anyone decides to make these I'd love to hear how they turned out for you!

Posted by Jen at 09:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)

Spring is definitely here and it's amazing how having daylight when I get home for work does so much for my motivation. Finishing up, cleaning up and starting and wanting to begin so many new things, I think Mr. PieKnits is becoming a bit concerned with the manicness.

One of the things I finally got to picking back up is the Buckle Tank. Yes you will notice I'm only now getting back to the place I was there after ripping the nearly completed top due to gauge issues. Been awhile since I've had a straight St st project to just tote around everywhere though and it's nice.

I've also been playing in the dirt.

After talking about wanting one for ages I finally have my herb garden! The spot really worked out great as it's right outside the back door from the kitchen and all tiled from the patio so easy to just step out and snip what I need while cooking. There are two kinds of chives, oregano, cilantro, flat leaf parsley, a "curry plant" (though not the kind of curry leaves we usually cook with but I was intrigued), 2 basils and hiding are a rosemary and lavender.

Lime-mint and spearmint plants live in the pot as I've learned how quickly they can take over an open garden. Also not very well pictured is the other patio garden. In the back yard I have the wee beginnings of a wild flower and vegetable garden.

Coming from the mid-west the amount of clay in the Texas soil still amazes me. While digging I grabbed a solid chunk of it and decided to test out just how clay-like it really is.

Yep, just like art class. I've decided to embrace the clay - I now have a new garden dweller, meet Frank.

Posted by Jen at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)