W.W.M.S.D?

The bar exam starts tomorrow. What would Martha Stewart do? She'd bake a cake.

Crocheting Together Your Fish Blanket - A How-to Guide

This is a step-by-step how-to guide for those of us who created our own fish patterns or used one from the Internet and are now faced with the tedious task of creating a blanket out of those fish.

1. Arrange your fish

2. Start with the tail of one fish and the mouth of a second, using a crochet hook the same size as your fish knitting needle (I'm using a US8). Holding wrong sides together draw your seaming yarn through the edge loops of both fish. Yarn-over and create a single crochet (note that this photo does not show the yarn over sc step).
3. Insert hook again through both fish with wrong side together. Notice how I am inserting once between each "lump." Each fish should have an equal number of "lumps" so if you use the "lumps" as a guide your fish should match up perfectly.

4. Yarn-over and pull your seaming yarn through both fish - 2 loops on hook.

5. Yarn-over and pull through both loops

6. 1 loop remains on the hook

7. Repeat steps 3 through 6 until you reach the end of your fish AND CONTINUE without cutting your seaming yarn. This is how your fish rows will look.

When you reach the edge of the blanket cut the yarn & pull through the last loop to secure. Then go back to the beginning and add another fish to the row you have just completed (see photo #1). When all of your fish rows are together single crochet together the open vertical seams in a similar fashion on continuous chain for each vertical row. When you reach the horizontal center crochet seam you can either go over the seam, or under it, but be consistent.

Finally, single crochet around the entire blanket and then, if desired, do a row of double crochet. To allow for ease you may want to do a few extra single crochets at the four corners and the rounded edges of the fish. More pictures of this to follow.

Please leave a comment if you have any questions and I will get back to you!

oh, oh, O.R.E.O.

Holy stress case, this has to be some kind of torture. One by one each of my friends has called while having a panic/stress breakdown. I've had at least 25. How did I avoid one tonight? I baked these delicious homemade oreo cookies. Recipe from the Smitten Kitchen's website.

I'm panicking now while watching a criminal procedure video, but the baking worked for a short time.

"Ratatouille for Dinner" - a brief synopsis of my day

Oh smitten kitchen, how you inspired me today…

Mom: “I am not pleased with my vegetable intake”
Me: “You must see what the Smitten Kitchen made, hold on I’ll get my computer”
Mom: “that’s beautiful”

Six hours later Mom goes to grocery store, upon her return

Mom: “Can you make that ratatouille for me now?”
Me: “grrr, no, snap, study, snap, snap, ”

Thirty minutes later we have this for dinner:

recipe here.

Note that this lovely creation follows this morning's delicious carrot & banana bread. Eat that, bar examiners!

Seaming while reading? I think not

I cannot seam and read at the same time, I can only knit and read. Consequently I'm facing a boat-load of seaming after I finish the bar exam next week. I'm so excited for this nightmare to be over...I can't wait to stop studying! Here are a few of the projects waiting for me:

Pieces of an Elephant

Fish, lots and lots of Fish

And my cashmere shawl, which just needs more yarn

Spotty Rotty Banana = Carrot & Banana Bread

There's something about spotted bananas that calls for an immediate, drop-everything need to bake. There was a lone spotty banana staring me down on the counter this morning and even though I should be spending every waking moment with my head in a book I succumbed to it's calls and mashed it into a chunky mush. Unfortunately, it only yielded a measly half-cup. Not to fear, I have a supply of frozen shredded carrots on hand for dilemmas like this!

The loaves didn't rise as high as I would have liked, but the results were delicious. When I measured my carrots I packed the measuring cup tightly. I think if I measured the carrots "loosely" then the batter would not have been as heavy and the loaves would have risen higher.

Carrot & Banana Bread

• 1 large over-ripe banana mushed in a 2cup Pyrex measuring cup
• Shredded carrots with the moisture squeezed out added to the bananas to make 2 cups - see the note above about measuring "loosely"
• 3 cups flour
• 1t salt
• 1t baking powder
• 1/4t baking soda
• 2t cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2T oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce (I use one snack-pack size container)
• 1t vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1-1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Mix all the wet ingredients & sugar together. Add the bananas & carrots, mix well. Then add the dry ingredients in 2 or 3 batches, mixing to incorporate after each. Finally add the chopped walnuts.

Pour into two greased 8 1/2 x 5 pans
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes until a toothpick tester is dry

This is really good served with a little cream cheese on top. Yum!

Still Alive

I'm still alive. The bar exams are next week. I'll be back.