Ding, Ding, Ding! Round 1

I didn't think it could be done. I was always on the straight and narrow with my knitting. Making scarves, test swatches and rectangular pieces with different stitching. But on Friday night, it happened. I, Jensita, can now knit in the round. I can knit in the round!

At first it was a complete disaster. I was using double-sided needles that were flinging in every which direction. I found instructions in my books, which weren't at all helpful. Once again, I turned to the always reliable YouTube. I found a couple of videos that were a little more useful and also found one on KnittingHelp.com (those are great).

I was almost there, but was having trouble understanding which way to turn the needles. Keep in mind that I'm using 4 needles at the same time. What a mess! But that's how it's done, 4 needles, well, without the mess of course.

I started for a bit, then dagnammit, one of the needles flew off. Started again for a couple of rounds, botched some of the stitching, then unraveled it. Started again, was off to what looked like a good start, mucked it up and started all over. The hubby went down to the gym after I had knit about a good 4 rounds. But once again, frustration got the better of me and I was forced to unravel. He came back after 40 minutes, looked at my work, tilted his head slightly to the right and said, "Didn't you have more than that before I left?"

"Yes, you're very smart, shut up." [thought she, in a loving manner.]

After the next try, logic hit me like a bolt of lightening. All of sudden everything started to make sense. It all fell into place. I kept knitting and knitting and knitting. Slowly but surely a shape started to emerge. It was ROUND baby! It was ROUND!






I then thought I could improvise a little by learning how to decrease stitches. I picked up the needles and continued on my way. As I stitched, it started to look like a cute little pointed hat. Just the perfect size for Pooh. So now Pooh Bear is ready for winter!







Honestly?...I think he looks like a thug.



Next stop: Hats for real people.

Experimenting with Cables

Next on the knitting agenda was learning how to do cables. Cables aren't as difficult as they seem. As fancy as they are, it's not that terrible of a challenge. My first two attempts went sour. I was following a book that assumed way too much of my abilities. I found a different book and a youtube video that treated me like a 5-year old, which of course is always to the way to go. Et Voila! A small sample of cable knit for your viewing pleasure.





Now that experimenting with cables is out of the way, my next project will be a hat. So nervous! Hats are round. I don't know how to do round! Wish me luck.


P.S.: Scarf #2 already completed!

Back to My Roots with Meat!

Now that the hubby has gone back to his carnivorous ways after 15 years, I have recently been able to prepare some of my favorite Puerto Rican dishes. And by "some", I mean two. A couple of weeks ago, it occurred to my better half that we should make pernil. Pernil is roast pork shoulder. It's a dish that has been prepared by many a tia and abuela in my family. With so many tias and abuelas, heck, I never had to make it myself....until now.

So a few Saturdays ago, we walked to the butcher shop, bought a 5 pounder and headed home to prepare the ingredients. Before starting, I called one of my tias (the one who makes the best pernil I've ever had) just for a quick review. Mixed together the garlic, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano and made a paste. Poked holes everywhere, stuffed the paste into every crevice then slathered the remaining goop all over the pork. Good stuff, man. Good stuff!

So after cooking for 3.5 hours we had our first pernil. I gotta say, for a first try, not bad. Not bad at all. A little dry, but not awful. Will certainly try it again.

Last night was another attempt at getting back to my roots, this time with bistec. The name comes from the very mispronounced "beefsteak". It's so great being able to cook meat for the hubby. This time I decided to hold on to my lifeline and go at it on my own. One tasty dish if I do say so myself. Mind you, the meat turned out as hard as the sole of a Docksider shoe, but booooy, the flavor sure did pop.

So, now I've learned that I need to adjust my cooking times just a smidgen. But at least I know how to add the sazón. And really, that's the only important part. You can always get new teeth.

Scarf #2 on It's Way

Scarf number 2 is nearing completion. I'm about 65% done. My goal was to have it finished by tomorrow. I hope I can make the deadline. I'm dying to finish it so that I can start learning how to cable knit. I'll just do a small sample of a cable just to get a feel for it and then begin my next project - A HAT!

So, I'm really starting to enjoy Ravelry even more. I can stay on that site all day. Oh, and get this, there's a forum for people who knit while watching Desperate Housewives! There's a forum for every kind of knitter out there. It's fun posting messages to fellow knitters who also have another completely unrelated shared interest. I also came across a forum for Bollywood loving knitters...the possibilities are endless!

Speaking of Bollywood, I let the ball drop on that one. I've been so out of touch with the Desi community. Eventually, I'll start that up again. For now, you'll just have to suffer through my knitting.

Desperate Housewives con Sazón Part II

I finally found a moment in my schedule to catch up with what's been sitting in the DVR for the past two weeks. Couldn't wait to jump on the couch and watch the first episode of Amas de Casa Desperadas (refer to my Jan 11th post). Since I am such a fan of Desperate Housewives, I couldn't help but get a kick out of the Spanish version on Univision. Turns out the storyline is the same. The first episode was identical to the American version. The actors playing the wives truly take on the characteristics of their gringa counterparts. I think my favorite is the actress playing Susana Martinez (Susan Mayer). It's hard to say if she does a good Susan Mayer or a good Teri Hatcher. Either way, it was a lot of fun watching her interpretation.

Even if you don't speak or understand Spanish, but are a fan of the wives, check it out on Thursday's @ 10pm on Univision. Since the episodes are the same, you'll know exactly what's going on and hey, you might learn a few words along the way.

The Magic Unraveled

I'm very excited to announce that I have officially been invited to join the group of beta testers for the web site Ravelry. As a new member of the knitting community, I was overjoyed to find out that such a site existed. It has everything a knitter could ask for in a web site: keeps an inventory of your stash - yarns and needles, endless ways to search for patterns and project ideas, ways to connect with the knitting community, and so much more. It's my knitting NIRVANA.

Since the site is still in beta, the masters are limiting access privileges for the moment. I added myself to the wait list and was delivered an invitation 4 days later. It was much sooner than I thought considering that I was 3,833 on their list. Once it's out of beta testing, the site will be open to anyone who wants to join. For all you knitters and wannabe knitters, jump on the bandwagon and add yourself to the list. There's even a link to check your wait list status. So, if you're a regular reader and you join Ravelry, pass along your username and I'll look you up!

In similar news I recently received an email from work inviting me to a Knitworking event. How great is that? An in-house knitting community. I love it!

And So the Knitting Begins

As some of you may already know, I picked up knitting about two years ago. I knit one scarf and then hung up the needles. A sad effort, on my part. Don't get me wrong, given that it was my first try, I knit one hell of a scarf (see image), but never felt the encouragement to go on.


However, with the growing anticipation of 2008 and my inner circle of peeps boasting of exciting new resolutions, the need to accomplish something challenging and creative stirred inside. Granted, not everyone sees knitting as exciting...or new, for that matter. I do, however, enjoy the idea of taking a granny craft and turning it into something hip and modern. Several knitters have beat me to the punch in that respect, but that's okay. I don't have to be the first person to do it, just someone who's really good at doing it.




Before I decided to jump into a brand new project after a two-year lull, I decided to give myself a practice project. I'm simply knitting another scarf, same pattern, different textured yarn and different color. The blue scarf was a gift I made for the hubby for Valentine's Day 2006. The scarf I'm working on now is for my mom. The yarn I'm using (see image) is Lion Suede - color: Garnet. A lot prettier and more girly. I'm about half way done with the scarf. I'm hoping to have it completed before the end of the week. Pictures of the completed project will be posted. Wish me luck!