Tag Archives: cool weather

10Jan / 2010

DIY Mittens from (Accidentally) Felted Wool Sweater

The past two mornings I’ve left for work it’s been snowing.  One morning my car door was actually frozen shut.  The next day I was almost late because I sat in my car so long looking at the snow.  It’s kind of a big deal here.  On these snowy days, by the time I get to work my hands are nearly nonfunctional due to the cold.  This got me thinking: if driving five minutes in the cold sucks, how much  more is walking to school (for an 8 o’ clock class, nonetheless) next week going to suck?  I live really close to campus, and I generally enjoy the walk, but I feel like said walk will be considerably less enjoyable if I don’t take certain cold-protection measures.  Hence, last night I decided to make a hat and mittens to protect me from the cold next week!  This post deals with the mittens portion.

To make this hat and mittens set, I used BurdaStyle’s free (!) Felted Wool Mitten pattern made by Fabricitis.  The hat was the result of a bit of trial and error, but I’m pretty pleased with the outcome.  I started with a (favorite) wool cardigan that I accidentally shrunk a couple of months ago:

The yellow sweater, included for scale, is a size S that I happened to be wearing at the time. I used to the shrunken green sweater, originally a size M, to make the hat and mittens.

The yellow sweater, included for scale, is a size S that I happened to be wearing at the time. I used to the shrunken green sweater, originally a size M, to make the hat and mittens.

BurdaStyle's Felted Wool Mitten Pattern by Fabricitis, part 1

BurdaStyle's Felted Wool Mitten Pattern by Fabricitis, part 1

 

Burdastyle's Felted Wool Mitten Pattern by Fabricitis, Part 2

Burdastyle's Felted Wool Mitten Pattern by Fabricitis, part 2

Rather than following the mitten pattern exactly, I folded it in half and used the sleeves of my sweater, saving myself a few stitches.  Cutting the thumb hole proved a little difficult this way, but I just puckered the fabric where the thumb hole was supposed to go, snipped off the piece between my finger and thumb, and then widened and cleaned up the resulting hole.  Like this:

The making of a thumb hole.

The making of a thumb hole.

Sewing the thumbs in was definitely the hardest part.  After following Fabricitis’s instructions and sewing the thumb piece up to the tip of the finger, I turned the piece right-side out and inserted it into the wrong-side out glove.

Sewing on a thumb is more complicated that in looks.

Sewing on a thumb is more complicated that in looks.

With the right sides together, I stitched all the way around the opening, giving me this:

Success!

Success!

The finished product.

The finished product.

I’ll be posting the hat tutorial shortly!

Related Posts:

Posted in DIY

Tags: , , , ,

Permalink 2 Comments

06Jan / 2010

Another Tomato Soup Recipe

There’s a threat of ice and snow sometime between midnight and 3 am, and when it snows around here everything completely shuts down. (I’m keeping my fingers crossed about work tomorrow.) We really need groceries (like, haven’t bought groceries since before Christmas), but whenever there’s a winter weather warning everyone runs to the store to stock up on milk and bread, and I didn’t feel like fighting with all of those people when I got off work earlier. Instead I decided to come home and throw any and everything we had edible into a pot and see what happened, and I’m pretty pleased with the results!  I’ll definitely be making this again, even on days when I have groceries in the house.

If you're in special need of comfort food, add a biscuit.

If you're in special need of comfort food, add a biscuit.

To make this soup, you’ll need:

  • 1 T butter
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 or 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 T red wine vinegar
  • 2 28 oz cans of tomatoes (whole, diced, crushed… whatever you have on hand!)
  • ¼ C tomato paste
  • 6 sun dried tomatoes
  • 1 C vegetable stock
  • 1 t red pepper flakes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 T brown sugar
  • 1 t basil
  • 1 t oregano
  • 1 t parsley

In a large stock pot, cook the onion and carrot in the butter (over medium heat) until everything is almost caramelized. Add the red wine vinegar, making sure to scrape all the tasty bits from the bottom of the pot. Next, add the tomatoes and tomato juice. If you’re using whole tomatoes, you might want to crush them with your hands (I did), but I’m not too sure this step is necessary since everything will be pureed later. After adding the tomatoes and juice, add the tomato paste, sun dried tomatoes, stock, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and then cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for at least 30 minutes. (This is a good time to wash the dishes or whip up some biscuits. Mine probably simmered more like 45 minutes or an hour, and I think it was got better each time I snuck a taste.) After adequate simmering has occurred, remove the bay leaf and puree the mixture with a stick blender (my preferred method) or food processor. Be warned: there will probably still be tiny bits of carrot, and overall this is a pretty chunky soup. If you don’t like chunky, leave the carrots out. Anyway, once the mixture has been pureed, add the herbs and return to the heat until you’re ready to serve it (probably no more than another 30 minutes).

Related Posts:

Posted in eats

Tags: , , ,

Permalink 1 Comment

09Dec / 2009

Pumpkin Bread

I decided to use my pumpkin puree to make pumpkin bread! I’ve been working all day every day this week, and while I’d much rather be at home watching movies in my pajamas, my consolation prize has been pumpkin bread and hot coffee in the mornings. This recipe is very simple and almost impossible to mess up. The spices can be adjusted according to your taste; I added a lot because I love the combination of cinnamon and warm flavors like cinnamon and clove.

Flour, sugar, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Woah baby!

Flour, sugar, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Woah baby!

To make this tasty bread, you’ll need:

  • 2 C sugar
  • 3.5 C flour (I used half whole wheat and half unbleached all purpose with very tasty results)
  • 1/2 t baking powder
  • 2 t baking soda
  • 1 t salt
  • 1 t cloves
  • 1 T cinnamon
  • 1 t nutmeg
  • 1 t ginger
  • 1/2 C oil (applesauce will work as a lighter alternative here, if you have it on hand.  I didn’t.)
  • 2.5 C pumpkin (or butternut squash!)
  • 4 eggs
Wonderful and fluffy homemade pumpkin puree.

Wonderful and fluffy homemade pumpkin puree.

Preheat oven to 325°.  Mix up the first nine ingredients (from ginger up) in a large mixing bowl.  Combine the wet ingredients (eggs, oil, and pumpkin) in a smaller bowl and add them to the dry.  Mix thoroughly and pour into two greased and floured loaf pans.  Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until loaves are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.  So simple!  This recipe makes two generous loaves, so brew some coffee and invite some friends over.

Plenty to share, so you better!

Plenty to share, so you better!

Related Posts:

Posted in eats

Tags: , , , , ,

Permalink Leave a comment

13Oct / 2009

Family Dinner: Spaghetti Squash

This Sunday was devoted to our second annual trip to the pumpkin patch, followed by a customary family dinner of spaghetti squash, mulled cider, and front porch pumpkin carving. It was nothing short of divine. I love the pumpkin patch that we visit, because not only do they have more varieties of pumpkins than I’ve ever seen in one place, but they also have tons of winter squash. Last year we got a little one or two butternut, acorn, and spaghetti squashes and a few carving pumpkins. This year, however, I wanted to devote a considerable portion of my pumpkin patch funds to spaghetti squash because I loved it so much last year (other things I purchased: a pumpkin to carve, a pumpkin to turn into a pie, and some Indian corn–we’ll see how all that goes). The spaghetti squashes at the grocery stores around here, however, were almost $8 each, and I can’t justify paying that much for one squash.  Since they’re only 75 cents at the pumpkin patch I told myself all year that when I finally went back I would stock up, so that’s what I did.

squash

Only 75 cents each!

One large spaghetti squash is enough for three to four people; we made two for eight people and that was plenty.  Spaghetti squash can be cooked a number of ways.  We chose to microwave one and boil one, partially to test which method was better, and partially out of necessity since neither my microwave nor my biggest stock pot could hold two squashes at once. 

To microwave: wash and cut the squash in half, and microwave until the flesh is tender and easily separated from the skin (20-25 minutes, though some sources I read recommended as little as 12-15; mine just wouldn’t cook in that amount of time). 

To boil: fill a large pot with enough water to completely cover the squash (it won’t stay submerged, though, so don’t worry about it) and boil for around 15-20 minutes, until the skin is easily pierced with a fork.  No matter what cooking method you use, tongs are helpful in separating the noodles from the skin (especially if you’ve got a bunch of piggies waiting on you and don’t have time to let the squash completely cool off).

Both methods took about the same amount of time, but in the end I felt that boiling produced better quality “noodles” that were more completely done and much easier to separate from the skin.

You can't really see the noodly texture in this picture...

You can't really see the noodly texture in this picture...

My favorite way to eat this is covered in The Best Spaghetti Sauce Ever (I swear, it’s good on everything!) with garlic bread on the side.  To me they are a wonderful replacement for pasta because of their vitamin and fiber content, which regular pasta lacks.  I also think they just plain taste better.

Related Posts:

Posted in eats

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Permalink 1 Comment