Meredith and I have gotten hands-free nursing down to an art form. If I put her on a nursing pillow, I can spend the time working on a project. Lately, I’ve been crocheting a modified version of the Tiramisu blanket. The pattern is mindless (only single crochet stitches), easy to pick up and put down without thinking twice, the crochet equivalent of stockinette.

It currently is 27 inches wide and a little over 14 inches long. It’ll be a square eventually - guess I’m just past the halfway mark. The corners curl (normal for single crochet), but the border should tame the piece. The stitch is quite pretty, even at the denser gauge I am getting.

The yarn I’m using is a tightly spun, cabled cotton, and my gauge is tight, so this is turning out to be a firm blanket. It may end up as a playmat because it’s not exactly snuggly. I’ll wash it a few times and see what happens.

–

The time has come to leave the baby in other competent hands while I return to work and begin whipping my postnatally mushy brain back into shape.

How can I leave such a cutie behind?

But truth be told, I have missed working. I enjoy what I do and my work colleagues are great, so I therefore am eager to get back. Furthermore, I have missed feeling that I am skilled and capable. As a stay-at-home mom, I was a bumbling newbie, unsure what to do when the baby cried, confused about how to entertain/educate/stimulate a newborn brain, uncertain whether I was a good caregiver. These days, we’re understanding each other a little more (I can keep her mostly happy most of the time), but it still is difficult on those days when I try so hard and she just cries and cries. Sometimes I feel like she’s yelling, “You’re doing it wrong! You’re doing it wrong!” and I long to be in a situation in which I confidently make the correct decisions and take the most appropriate actions.

Anyway, I’ve packed my work bag for the first time in months. This weekend, I’m going through my closet to identify the office clothes that still fit. I’m preparing bottles of milk for Meredith to drink while I am at work. I’m happy and sad that this day has come. Wish us luck!

Charlie and James have not dealt well with the new baby in the house. We just have less time for them, sad as it is. (Honestly, though, when the baby is crying and the cat is clawing the skin off my leg because he wants attention, do you think I’m going to put the baby down and play with the cat?)

I’m glad that they get along and hang out together. I think they comfort each other a little bit.

I finished sewing all of Meredith’s diapers. I’m so happy! I know she’ll keep growing and will need more diapers soon, but for now, I am working on other projects!

Check out this nascent polar bear (also for Meredith):

Pattern is here. I haven’t run into any errors so far (good), but when I had a question about the instructions, I wrote to the author twice and never got a reply (not so good). Anyway, I eventually figured out what I was doing wrong, so it’s water under the bridge.

The yarn I’m using is Sirdar Snowflake (reviewed here). It is nearly impossible to see individual stitches - god forbid you drop one somewhere. I’ve had to keep track of every round that I’ve knit because I can’t see individual rows, either. But the yarn is soft and cuddly and hopefully will wear well.

I never know how firmly to stuff toys. I want them structured but not too hard to hug, soft but not limp. It’s kind of a hard balance to strike. I also have some difficulty with localized regions of firmness - don’t want the bear to have palpable tumors or anything. I’m stuffing this toy with corn-based material (like Ingeo, but no good to spin) that I got at Joanns. Anyone have a favorite machine-washable stuffing that they’d like to recommend?

The green beans in my garden are going wild. I’ve never (successfully) grown string beans before, and I was a little late harvesting these, so they weren’t too tender. But it doesn’t get any more local than the backyard!

They went into a stirfry with pork. Yum.

I’ve been doing a fair bit of cooking lately, but little of it has been worth posting. I ran into a couple of duds in Cook’s Illustrated, which is unusual. (Chicken breasts stuffed with leeks, mushrooms, and more chicken - ended up dry, despite poaching in liquid. Chicken paprikash - bland.) I’ve also been baking repeats (gingerbread blueberry cake, pound cake, corn muffins). I don’t often make the same thing twice, but I guess I’ve been feeling a little less experimental in the kitchen.

–

My parents visited us for the first time since the baby was born. They were so happy to see her and so uncomfortable holding her (at first), it was amusing. My mom said it was 34 years since she’d held a newborn (ie, me!).

–

Meredith’s 2-month check up was this week. She had her first shots, and we both cried in the doctor’s office. Matt wasn’t sure who to comfort first. Heh. (He opted to hug the baby because she was crying harder… I’m such a wimp.)

(Picture taken during a happier event - the baby shower at work!)

She is so big for her age - 97th percentile for height (24 inches) and weight (13 lbs, 7 oz). I’m still surprised that babies can grow so well exclusively on milk.

Back in January 2007, I cast on for an Anemoi mitten. I talked about the tubular cast on and color choices here, and I don’t think I ever posted about it again.

Well, I finished knitting 1 mitten sometime that spring, and the project stalled. I wasn’t excited by the pattern anymore. I put it away and waited for my interest to reignite. Needless to say, it never did. It’s been lying forlornly in the bedroom for months, and it’s time for me to dump this mitten and move on.

Would you like to finish this project? No strings attached (har har), you can have a pair of mittens without having to knit a second one!

I’ll send you the mitten (needs finishing - ends are not woven and the thumb needs securing), all of the remaining yarn (J&S Shetland, fingering weight, should be enough for the second mitten), and I’ll even buy you a copy of Eunny’s pattern so that it’s all legit.

Leave a comment if you’re interested. If more than 1 person wants it, I’ll have a random drawing. People with allergies, please note that this project has been around cats.

–

UPDATE (8/9/08): Comments are closed, thank you for playing!

The winner is Devri!

Mmmm, tasty Indian food from a couple weeks ago:

This is from the Sept/Oct 2007 issue of Cook’s Illustrated.

Chicken tikka
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground coriander
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 t salt
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 c plain whole-milk yogurt
2 T vegetable oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 T grated fresh ginger

Trim fat from chicken breasts. Combine cumin through salt in a small bowl, press chicken onto spices until evenly coated. Cover chicken with plastic wrap, refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine yogurt, oil, garlic, and ginger; set aside.

Masala sauce
3 T vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced fine
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 t grated fresh ginger
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 T tomato paste
1 T garam masala
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
2/3 c heavy cream
1/4 c fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven until shimmering. Saute onion until light golden. Add garlic, ginger, pepper, tomato paste, and garam masala and stir until fragrant. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, stir in cream, and return to simmer. Remove from heat.

While the sauce simmers, put a rack 6 inches under the broiler and begin heating. Dip chicken in the yogurt mix and place on a wire rack set in a foil-lined jelly roll pan. Chicken should have a thick layer of yogurt on it. Discard excess yogurt. Broil until fully cooked (exterior will be lightly charred), turning as needed. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, cut into small chunks, and stir into sauce. Add cilantro and serve over Basmati rice.

Afterthoughts: The chicken tikka was great - it browned wonderfully under the broiler (although if juices collect in crevices, it won’t brown, obv), and the thick yogurt marinade really clung to the meat. I did end up discarding a lot of the marinade, I could probably cut it by a quarter or a third to have less waste. For the sauce, I thought the full amount of cream made the dish way too rich. The next time, I’ll probably reduce it by at least a half.

My baby:

My new baby:

The delivery of the second was much easier than that of the first, I must say.

After my last car died, we hopped on the waiting list for a Prius. Ten weeks later, here it is! It’s weird driving it around - I feel like people are watching me. I’ll try not to run any red lights. ;)

–

Every spare moment has been dedicated to sewing new diapers because Meredith outgrew the original diaper stash very quickly.

Some are lined with fleece (thanks again, Cynthia!), others are lined with suedecloth (Alova, from Joanns). I think I still need to make about 4 more to round out the collection. Note to self: sewing with black thread on black elastic is a BAD idea.

–

Thanks to Diana for a gorgeous baby sweater! You rock and roll, girlfriend! I don’t know how you do it all.

Hokay. This photo-less post is all about cloth diapering. In a nutshell, yes, cloth diapering is great. We use disposables only when we leave the house for anything longer than an evening walk. While I know this topic isn’t interesting to most Twosheep readers, I hope it is helpful for people who wander in via search engines. Knitters, spinners, feel free to move on.

(more…)

Surely some of you reading this site are quilters - I have a quick question for you.

Is it time- and cost-effective to resharpen rotary cutter blades? If yes, do you send it out? Or do you do it yourself?

The baby bok choi in my backyard garden thrives. I think every seed that was planted germinated, and instead of thinning them out as seedlings last month, I separated the clumps gently and replanted every one. This means I now am up to my ears in bok choi. Luckily, I love the stuff, and Matt will eat it, too.

The other day, I cut up a 5 or so bok choi into small pieces, sauteed it with olive oil and garlic, and seasoned it with a touch of soy sauce. To accompany, I panfried sliced beef marinated in “yakiniku no tare” (Japanese-style barbecue sauce) and served it with rice.

I also made a Japanese dish called “oyakodon.” Translated, “oya” means “parent” and “ko” means “child” - the dish is made of chicken and eggs. (”Don” is short for “donburi,” which is the big bowl that is used to serve the meal.)

Oyakodon is a homestyle dish that doesn’t really require much preparation or cooking time, and each Japanese cook probably has a preferred way of preparing it. I like to add bok choi for a little contrast in color and texture. I added scallion, too (also from the garden).

Simmer sliced chicken (boneless thighs and breasts are good) in a little dashi and add sake, sugar, and soy sauce to taste. When the chicken is half cooked, add the bok choi or other vegetable. When the vegetable is tender, pour in scrambled eggs, turn off heat, and cover until eggs are mostly set. Add scallions and serve over rice. If you’d like a more formal recipe (with precise measurements), check out the one here.