New Mexico: White Sands National Monument

Mom and Zach and I ventured out to the desert at the end of March for a marathon event (because what this spring needed was a major race and a whirlwind trip out west, right?).  We honestly had a lot of fun, though. 

The first stop we had was at the White Sands National Monument.  This is an interesting little geologic site and worth the stop.  It's not a national park, just a monument, so no wide-ranging trails or backcountry hiking like Yosemite or Zion or anything.  But it's still a pretty bit of hiking, and definitely a good day trip if you're in the Alamogordo or Las Cruces areas.  Be sure to check the park's website beforehand though - weather can make a difference to access, especially in the summer.  As can the firing schedule of the nearby White Sands Missile Range.  How many National Parks can you think of that have to worry about that?

The titular White Sands refer to the gypsum dunes which cover a large portion of the park.  These dunes are in fact the world's largest gypsum dune field.  The gypsum has eroded over the years from large selenite crystals which formed in an ancient lake which once filled the Tularosa Basin (the region where the park now sits).  Selenite is one of the crystalline forms of gypsum, and as it eroded away, the now-granular gypsum began being picked up by the wind and moved around.  (Bit of trivia - the winds need to be at least 17mph to pick up the grains of gypsum).  The winds pick up the grains and blow them into dunes, which change shape over time.  Since the winds are pretty steady from one direction, the dune field is actually gradually moving.  Dunes in the center of the field can move 30-35 feet in a year, and build up to 60 feet high.  Dunes at the edge of the field move more slowly, meeting resistance from vegetation at the edge of the field.

You can learn more about the geology which created these amazing dunes on the National Park Service Nature Site or on the White Sands website itself.  And of course read about the plants and animals that have evolved to survive in such an unique environment too.  But that's my science background talking - you could just enjoy the hike and pretty pictures too ;)

The gypsum comes from Alkali Flat and Lake Lucero, areas where the selenite is now exposed to erosion.  An overlook on the edge of Alkali Flat is the turnaround on one of few trails in the park, the appropriately named Alkali Flat Trail. We're standing at the turnaround in the picture above (I'm pointing to where we are on the trail map).  The trail is definitely one to do when you're at the park.  It's about 4.5-5 miles, just walking through the dunes.  As mentioned, the dunes are always blowing around, always shifting, so there is no actual path through them.  You follow a series of orange signposts, like the one next to us.  Sometimes you'll be able to see the next 4 or 5 posts across the dunes ahead of you.  It's a very different little trail.  Be prepared for lots of wind and exposure (I wouldn't want to do this trail in the summer heat) and definitely bring water.

The park regularly holds moonlight hikes and bike rides along Dunes Drive.  Can you imagine these vast stretches of white sand in the moonlight?  Must be gorgeous!

 

An unusual activity in the park is sledding on the dunes.  And it's totally legit!  They even sell saucer sleds in the park gift shop!  (We just borrowed the pair we used.  It was a wee bit too windy that morning to spend tons of time playing on the sleds.)  The gypsum sand has different qualities than quartz sand (besides the color), and the dunes are very fine and soft, yet stable.  Which makes them good for sledding, as it turns out. It's not the fastest sledding you'll ever do, but the dunes aren't that steep either.  Of course, you can still get hurt, so use caution, be safe not reckless, watch where you're landing, yadda yadda yadda.
Also be warned that the sand, being as fine as it is, will be in your clothes and shoes for WEEKS!  Zach was changing his shoes last week, and I looked at him and the clouds of something around his feet, asking "What is that?"  "White Sand."  Three weeks later!!

And yes, I did sled too.  I took pictures as they sledded, then they filmed me going down when I took my turn.  Whee!

 

And a last little thing.  These are the picnic shelters below.  With the winds coming pretty much unidirectionally, all the picnic shelters had these walls on one side.  They look like little space ship pods, don't they?  Especially in the areas where there were more of them clustered together, they had this kinda sci-fi sort of feel.  One of those random little things about the park  :)

 

To close, here is the only picture I have of all three of us in the park.  We're all there, even if just in silhouette :)

Granny's Blanket

There is only one other knitter in Zach's family: his grandmother, whom I was able to meet only a few times, unfortunately.  Between all the stories I've heard from the family, she seemed to have been a pretty incredible lady.  Among her many talents, she also knit and crocheted.  So, when the family was cleaning out her things a few years ago, they set aside her knitting and crocheting stuff for me to sort through.  Stored in with all her needles and yarns were patterns and pattern notes that she'd made.  One of these was the blanket that she made for Zach and his siblings and cousins.  Not that it was one blanket, of course; she used the same pattern in different yarns to make a blanket for each of her grandchildren.  Zach still has his, and we use it all the time.  

When my brother-in-law and his wife became pregnant, I wanted to carry on the tradition and make blankets for the new arrivals.  Of course, it turned out to be twins and I had two blankets to make!  And yes, I know that the twins enter kindergarten this year, but I'm finishing the blankets up, and finally got around to typing up Granny's notes as well.  And hey, I got the blankets made before the kiddos were in college, right?  :)

My versions of the blanket (the grey and light blue) are raveled here and here.  The bright blue one in the picture below is Zach's.

Granny's Blanket

(a.k.a Zach's Blanket or The Family Blanket)

Materials:

• Approximately 4100yds of worsted weight yarn. I used just under 5 skeins of Caron One Pound (yes, I just weighed Zach's blanket to calculate how much I would need - his blanket weighed 5lbs).  I stuck with acrylic, like his blanket, since this is to be a blanket the kiddos grow up with, so needs to be heavy-duty and easy to wash.
• Size US 8 needles
• Cable needle
• Crochet hook and/or Tapestry needle for finishing and adding tassels

Optional Materials:

• Stitch markers
• Row counter

Gauge:

16 stitches = 4 inches (gauge isn't all that important, though)

Directions:

These blankets are full, adult-size blankets, not baby blankets, so although the pattern is straight-forward, these aren't quick projects, just based on the sheer size.  The blanket itself is constructed as a series of panels, then seamed together.  Think stitching a bunch of scarves together to form a blanket.  It seems to be a pretty common blanket-making technique, actually, and I've seen similar other patterns around.  This is just the version I got from Granny's notes (with any gaps filled by studying Zach's blanket).

Panels:

Cast on 42 st.

The pattern across the rows will be as follows:

• 2 stitches garter stitch
• 2 st st
• 2 rev st st
• 6 st cable (3 st twist over 3) - cable twist every 8th row
• 2 rev st st
• 2 st st
• 2 rev st st
• 6 st cable (3 st twist over 3) - cable twist every  8th row
• 2 rev st st
• 2 st st
• 2 rev st st
• 6 st cable (3 st twist over 3) - cable twist every  8th row
• 2 rev st st
• 2 st st
• 2 stitches garter stitch

Rows 1-7 - knit in pattern (just knits and purls)

Row 8 - cable row  (I did the cable as a left-leaning twist, but it's really not that important - if you prefer to twist right, that's up to you).

Repeat Rows 1-8 forty-eight (48) times, then 1-7 one (1) more time.  Your panel will have a total of 48 twists, plus a little on the end.

Bind off.

Make 7 panels altogether.

Charts:
 

 Charts created (for free!) on Chart Minder

 
Finishing:

You will seam the panels together to form one blanket out of the 7 scarves you've made.

I used a crochet seam instead of mattress-stitching the panels together because, quite frankly, these are full-length blankets and that's a lot of very long seams (you can see below in the picture). The crochet seam was just a lot easier to back up a stitch or two if I made a mistake :)

Add tassels or fringe, as desired.

For the fringe on these blankets, I cut five lengths of yarn per tassel, and then used a lark's head knot to attach them to the blanket, pulling the clumps of yarn through the edge of the blanket with a crochet hook.  Each panel had about 7 tassels.  In Granny's blanket, she used an overhand knot to secure the tassels.  Personal preference - I just think the lark's head looks neater, but both knots will keep the fringe secure.

Notes, Thoughts and Ramblings:

The stitch markers you can see clipped to the blanket panel in the picture below were marking out every 6th cable repeat - helped me keep track of how far along I was without having to count all the way from the beginning.  It also made seaming a little easier, because I had a landmark to match up between panels.  (I was very excited in this picture.  I'd just finished the first panel.  Yes, I know I still had 6 more to go.  And then another 7 in the second blanket after that.  But I'd finished the first one!)

In my head, I broke up the pattern into 7 sets of 6 stitches - 6 border stitches, 6 st cable, 3x2 little ribs 6 st cable, 3x2 little ribs, 6 st cable, 6 border stitches.  Breaking it up like that in my head made the rows seem even smaller, and helped me to remember the pattern as well.

Of course, no knitting project write-up is complete without a kitty picture :)

As always, the standard wording applies. Thanks very much for checking out my pattern. You are welcome to make any of my patterns for yourself, a friend, or charity, but please do not sell the finished product. If you would like to share the pattern, please do not sell it or try to pass my work off as your own. If you make one of the patterns, I would love to see pictures! Please consider sending me a picture, or letting me know on Ravelry (I’m oddbird26).

I blinked and Spring happened...

Well, I knew this spring semester was going to be a doozy, but I didn't realize how big until I sat down to write today and saw my last post was from DECEMBER!  Yipes!!

But, lots has happened in the meantime, so for a quick catch-up:

• I am in my final semester of grad school, and almost done with that (only 5 more weeks now!!)
• I finished my End of Project Exam in February.  This is the capstone exam for my degree program - Written Comps/Comprehensives, some might know it as.  Basically a looong week of writing papers, trying to demonstrate in your answers that you are fully synthesizing what you have learned over the past three years.  Pretty draining, with the way I write papers.  But all is good; I've been notified that I've passed.  One more box checked off before graduation!
• I finished a pair of blankets for my niece and nephew.  THE blankets, if you've heard me talk about them.  Quite the project, but finally all done and being enjoyed by the little ones :)
• We had a whirlwind trip to New Mexico with Mom for a marathon.  There are so many pictures from this trip, that it will have its own set of posts.
• And the big news (as if all that wasn't enough): Zach and I have moved!  We are now in a hotel in HAWAII looking for housing as Zach in-processes at his new job. After 5 years in TX and 3.5 in the desert, we are in Hawaii!!  Water!  Mountains!  Trees!  Very very exciting!!!!  But more on that in another post, since the whole move has been a saga unto itself.

So, yes, a few more posts to come over the next few days, with plenty of pictures.   I've time to write again, now that the semester's winding down and I'm not working at the moment.  Just consider this a teaser for now, so stay tuned :)

I'm actually gushing about a Red Heart yarn!

I definitely have yarn preferences, like any knitter or crocheter does.  I'm not a true-blue yarn snob, but I do prefer nicer ones over total acrylics or big box yarns.  My preferences tend to be texture-related though.  There are expensive boucles that I hate working with because my dry hands will snag on every little thread and curl in that yarn.  And there are big-box acrylics which are perfectly comfortable to work with.  Like I said above, texture comes first for me.  With that being said, typically expensive yarns with the nicer fibers tend to have nicer texture.  Red Heart Super Saver tends to be looked down on by a lot of "yarnies" but it definitely has its place too.  Wears forever, machine washable, no fading, cheap, etc.  It's a good yarn for stuff for charity or for kids or that will get a lot of hard use.  A good staple yarn, and yarn company, and I've definitely used it more than once, but not a brand that I typically get gushy about.

And then they released this one.

The Yarn

Red Heart Reflective.

 

Yes, reflective!  I've been looking for a reflective yarn for YEARS!  It's perfect for knitting gifts for runners, and as you might imagine, I have a few running friends.  But you couldn't find a reflective yarn.  You can buy spools of silver threads to use as a carry-along with your yarn, but they are very hard to find and tend to be a little expensive and still not exactly what you're looking for when you're looking for reflective yarn.  This is an acrylic yarn with a silver reflective thread wrapped in.  It comes in neons, bright purple, peacock, black and grey.  I chose grey for Zach and bright neon green for me (it contrasts nicely with my neon, safety-yellow running shirts). 

And it's really reflective!  Check out the pictures!!

As a yarn, it's pretty nice to work with, actually.  The silver thread is a little stiffer and a touch rougher than the rest of the yarn, but nothing off-putting.  And like with a lot of acrylics, different colors have different softnesses.  In this case, the green was noticeably softer than the grey.  The grey wasn't bad; the green was just softer.  It knits up nice and soft and squishy, even at a tighter gauge, like in hat pattern.  Not bad!

I really liked it.  I made the two hats for me and Zach.  Then I made wristwarmers for me.  And then I made two more hats for Mom and her running buddy (a close family friend since I was about 9) to celebrate them completing their first marathon at the beginning of December. So proud of them!  For those two hats, I made one in the bright green (again) and one in peacock blue-green.  They need something warm to wear as Mom trains for her second marathon in March!

   

The Pattern

Well, patternS this time.  I had several pieces I wanted to make with this.  So I did :)

As I've said, Zach and I each got a hat, and then I made two more.  All were the Man Hat by Haven Leavitt, available on her blog Knit Alone Together.  It's a nice, simple, broken rib ski cap.  Knits up very fast - I think I finished Zach's hat in about 2 days!  Chunky yarn, even at a tighter gauge, knits up very quickly, and doing the pattern more than once... the hats just flew along.

 

Despite being named the Man Hat, only one of my hat recipients is actually a man.  But for a running hat, these are perfect. I like my running hats to be basic ski or skill caps, not girly slouchy hats or berets or cloches.  Simple ski caps for me.  Or hats shaped like penguins :)  

 

I know that mine totally covers all my hair, now that my hair is so short.  Might as well be a knit swim cap, for all the hair showing.  Still, means that my ears will be warm on winter runs!  And they are very comfy hats.  Zach wears his quite a lot during the winter.  Makes me smile.

Here we are modeling them at last year's Turkey Trot 5K. 

Also made with the yarn was a set of handwarmers (fingerless mitts) for me.  My ears and hands, that's what gets cold on runs. I was wearing the mitts at the Turkey Trot as well as the hat.  You just can't see my hands in the pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it.

The pattern is the Ribbed Fingerless Gloves, a free download from Yarn + Co. 

This is a nice, basic ribbed fingerless mitt pattern.  The directions are nice and clear, and they knit up very quickly in bulky/chunky yarn.  A yarn weight which also means they are nice and squishy and warm.  Not much really more to say, I guess.

 

The hats are raveled here, here, here, and here.  The mitts are raveled here.

Notes, Alterations, Etc.

The caps are the same pattern, and most are exactly according to the pattern.  Zach's has only one minor alteration. His head is a little smaller than mine, so I only knit 6 inches before starting the decreases, instead of 7 inches, like the pattern calls for.

For my fingerless mitts,  I added stripes.  There were about 8 yards of grey left over from Zach’s hat.  I cut them into two even pieces, and then used them to evenly make stripes on the two mitts.  I had enough for 3 stripes on each mitt, 2 rounds per stripe (which you can see in the pictures).

I also followed the directions for the mitts as they were written, but knit them on smaller needles (US 8 instead of 10).  I've small hands, so that made the mitts a little smaller, to actually fit.  And it also produced a little bit denser knit, so a little warmer too.  The only thing I'd add to that is that I'd cast on with larger needles next time, if I'm using the same smaller-needles strategy.  It would give the cuff a little more stretch.

And here we are, modeling 3 of the 4 hats, over the unseasonably warm Christmas holidays this year.  I made them put on the hats so I could take the picture :)

Oh So Pinteresting Wednesday - More birdseed feeders

Following up on a post waaaaaaay back in November 2011, here is another style of bird feeder I've found on Pinterest - Bird Seed Ornaments.  Some call them Bird Seed Cakes, but since you can make them in cute shapes using tins and trays and cookie cutters to decorate your outside trees, and it is the holiday season after all, I'll stick with calling them Ornaments.  Of course, we don't have too many outside trees ourselves, but I'm sure I'll find places to hang them!

Bird Seed Ornaments

Variation 1:  The first recipe for these that I found was from Critter Comforts, and is as follows.

What you need:

• 3/4 c flour
• 1/2 c water
• 1 pkg unflavored gelatin
• 3 T corn syrup
• Bird seed

Directions

1.     Mix the first four ingredients.  Then mix in bird seed, about 4 cups.

2.     Stir the mixture together.  For extra-messy fun, use your hands.  Beware, though, the corn syrup and the gelatin make it pretty sticky!  Fun for kids, though :)

3.     Scoop the mixture into the shape of your choice. Silicone molds and cookie cutters work beautifully. 

4.     Press the mixture in firmly and layer a loop of twine or ribbon in the middle for hanging.

 

5.     Let the ornaments air dry in a warm, dry spot in your home for at least full day.

 

Variation Two:  Stephanie Lynn at Under the Table and Dreaming has a variation as well.

Compared to the recipe above, this version doesn't use corn syrup or flour - nothing but the unflavored gelatin (and water to prepare it) and birdseed.  And of course, the molds or cookie cutters, and the ribbon or twine to hang them.

Directions:

1. Begin by mixing two envelopes of Knox Gelatin (approximately 4 tablespoons) to 1 cup of water.  If you're making a bigger mold, you made need to double or triple the recipe.  Obviously you need more seed mix to fill bundt pans or cake tins than you do for cookie cutters or muffin-sized molds.
2. Simmer on low until the gelatin has completely dissolved.
3. Add 2 cups of bird seed to the gelatin mixture, stirring until completely mixed.
4. Spray your mold with a coat of non-stick baking spray and scoop in birdseed mixture pressing lightly to pack down. 
5. Chill for at least 2 hrs in the fridge.
6. To remove, turn the mold upside down and apply a little pressure until the bird seed cake is released. For a larger sized mold, you may need to run a butter knife around the edges to help release.
7. Hang with a ribbon or twine and let the birds enjoy! 

I've only made the first version so far, but I want to experiment (i.e. play!) and see which one is easier, less messy, which one the birds prefer, etc.  Maybe after the new year when I've a little more time on my hands again...

Merely a trifle, merely a trifle

So, back in 2013, I decided to give making trifle a try.  Little did I know the wonderful variations we'd discover down that enticing rabbit hole!  Here we go, a post devoted to what is becoming our house's favorite dessert: 

The Trifle

The first trifle I made, and the one I've made most frequently, is the Red, White, and Blueberry Trifle from Skinnytaste.

Ingredients:

• 10 oz angel food cake, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 pints strawberries, sliced
• 2 pints blueberries

For the cream filling (what I call the fluffy layer):

• 6 tbsp fat-free sweetened condensed milk (I used Borden Eagle)
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 1 package white chocolate instant pudding mix (the small box)
• 12 oz frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1. Whisk the condensed milk and water in a bowl. 
2. Whisk in the pudding mix for 2 minutes. 
3. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set; fold in the whipped topping.
4. Arrange half of the cake in the bottom of a 14-cup trifle dish. 
5. Sprinkle evenly with a layer of blueberries. 
6. Spread half of the cream mixture over the blueberries and gently spread.
7. Top with a layer of strawberries. 
8. Layer the remaining cake cubes on top of the strawberries, then add more blueberries and top with the remaining cream mixture. 
9. Finish with the remaining strawberries and blueberries, arranging them in a pretty pattern. 
10. Cover and refrigerate at least one 1 hour.

Notes, Variations, Etc:

Skinnytaste recommends using a plastic bag with the corner cut off to pipe on the fluffy layer and then spread it.  I just use a spatula.  Whatever works for you :)

I make my angel food cake for this dessert, using a box mix.  If you're short on time, you can just as easily use a purchased cake.  And if you want it a little denser/richer, you can substitute pound cake instead. And they don't really need to be 1-inch cubes.  Chunks of cake are fine too, as it'll all be layered in with fluff and fruit soon enough.

As desserts go, this one isn't doesn't have to be horrible for you.  Use a lighter cake, like angel food, use fat-free and/or sugar-free ingredients when you can, and pack in the fruit.  See?  Relatively healthy, as desserts go :)

What is so much fun with trifle is the variations on it.  It can be rich and heavy, it can be light, it can use whatever fruits you want to put in!  A trifle is simply a layered dessert with a cake-type layer, a pudding-type layer, and quite often a fruit layer.  Whatever you want to layer is then up to you!  I think my Sweet Stuff board on Pinterest is slowly becoming my Trifle Possibilities board, with all the variations out there!

I think I've made the strawberry-blueberry version about 5 times now, but I have made others too.  Some of the variations we've tried:

• Lemon-raspberry - lemon pudding in the fluffy layer, and lemon snaps for the dry layer (can't really call it a cake layer when they're cookies, right?)  Delicious combination of flavors, but I think I needed more lemon snaps, and I wouldn't use frozen raspberries again (it was all I had at the time).  Still, very good flavor combination!

• Pumpkin Spice - gingerbread and pumpkin pie filling feature heavily in these layers - actually have written this one up, too!

 

•  Christmas (strawberry-kiwi) - tried this variation just this week.  Bright red and green, but not the standard "Christmas" flavors, so it's a nice variation to bring to a potluck at this time of year.  I based this on Joy's Prize-Winning Trifle from allrecipes, and then altered it to my tastes.  Her recipe includes layers of banana and pineapple too, making it much more tropical.  I'm not big on bananas in dessert, so I went with just the classic strawberry-kiwi flavor combo.  It was still a hit :)

  

Some of the variations I've pinned and want to try:

• Key Lime Trifle from Betty Crocker - angel food cake, key lime fluffy layer - what more do you need?
• Dreamsicle Trifle from Time Travel Kitchen - angel food cake, orange sherbet, mandarin oranges - yum!
• Lemon Trifle from i2u2gethercooking - basic lemon fluffy layer with angel food cake and optional coconut topping
• Colossal Caramel Apple Trifle from Taste of Home - yellow cake, apple pie filling, vanilla fluffy layer, and caramel sauce
• Basic Chocolate Trifle from Cocinando con Alena - brownies, chocolate pudding, whipped topping layers
• Triple Chocolate Peppermint Trifle from Martha Stewart - brownies, chocolate and white chocolate fluffy layers, lots of candy pieces for crunch and mint
• Nutella Mousse Trifle from Something Swanky - brownies, Nutella mousse - might be dangerous!!
• Strawberries and Cream Trifle from The Alison Show - angel food cake, plain and strawberry fluffy layers, strawberry pieces - nice and classic
• Black Forest Trifle from Recipe.com - chocolate cake, chocolate fluff, cherries
• Italian Tuxedo Trifle from Random Sweetness Baking - amaretto brownies (!!), white chocolate fluff, strawberries

And that's just a start!  Be creative!  Enjoy!

PS - if you are from our house, you get the joke in the title to this post.  That one's for you, Anne!

Another finished test knit: Brayford Cowl/Infinity Scarf

Now that I'm writing again, I'm playing a bit of catch-up on my project chatter.  This is a pretty test knit I finished last fall.  All done and blocked and has been worn more than a couple times, so thought I'd finally share.

The Yarn

Jaeger Matchmaker Merino DK.  I've used this one before, but as I said then, I had a whole bag of it from a lot sale.  The opinion hasn't really changed, working with it again.  It's a little scratchy at first, but softens after the first wash.  Still like the yarn, still think it's a shame it was discontinued :\

 

The Pattern

This is a long cowl, with a large leaf lace pattern.  The pattern begins with the lace edging and ends with garter stitch.  The lace itself is nice and repetitive, one that 'gets into your hands' and is read easily, so the whole cowl goes very quickly.  In fact, the most time-consuming part of mine was having to restart at the beginning because there was a twist in the round.  It's been ages since I've done that!

I used about 330 yds, but it would be very easy to omit a repeat or two if you had less yarn to work with.  I personally like the length though. If it's left long, the lace pattern is very pretty, but it's also long enough to double up if the weather's particularly chilly one day. 

 

Overall, a very nice, well-done pattern.  My project is raveled here.