Pattern: Two Rectangular Susemis

Susemi is the word for dish scrubber in Korean, same as the word tawashi in Japanese. They’re fun little things to crochet, and over the past couple years in Korea, they’ve become quite the popular housewife project. Apparently, according to the companies’ claims on the ball bands, susemis made with this type of yarn are totally antibacterial, and I’ve also heard it said that they don’t require soap to wash with. I’m a little skeptical of such claims, and it is certainly not the case that antibacterial means that you can wipe things with the susemi to disinfect them, just that the susemi itself doesn’t harbour bacteria. I think it’s just a case of the yarn companies in question capitalizing on the natural properties of acrylic yarn compared to wool or cotton, not that it is some type of specially developed fibre. Anyway, I made up a couple to replace my last store-bought dish scrubber, because I do believe that these homemade ones are better than the store bought. They are far more durable, they don’t seem to “hold on” to food bits as easily, they can be healthier, because you can wash them as often as you want, after every use if you feel like it, and I have also found that they don’t need as much soap–in fact, they do seem to work just as well once most of the soap has rinsed off. (I haven’t tried washing a load of greasy dishes without soap yet to test it, though.) So, all in all, a good kitchen hack.

These first two I made without a pattern, just because I needed them right away. Then I got curious and started looking for more patterns on the Korean web, but I will post more about those later. Here are the patterns for these two rectangular susemis, just in case anyone wants to know:

Rectangular Susemi #1 (Green and Pink)
Use acrylic yarn, and a hook smaller than size suggested; however, use a hook two sizes bigger than that for the foundation chain and the first row of dc, as the chain edge tends to be tight. I did my stitches throught both loops of the top of the stitch, though you could go through the front or back, or into the spaces between the stitches for different effect.

Chain 15
Row 1: 1 dc in 4th chain, 1 dc in each of next 11 chains, ch 3, turn. (13 sts.)

Row 2: 1 dc into next stitch (not the one at the base of the chain), 1 dc into each of next 10 stitches, 1 dc into top chain of previous row, ch 3, turn.

Continue row 2 until you have 9 rows (or to desired length).
Sew in ends, and single crochet around edge.

Rectangular Susemi #2 (Orange and Purple)
Use acrylic yarn and a hook smaller than the size suggested.

Chain 9
Round 1: 1 dc into 4th chain, 1 dc into each of next 4 chains, into next chain (last chain): 1 dc, ch 3, 3 dc, ch 3, 1 dc. Then, 1 dc into same hole as base of each of next 5 stitches. Then, into base loop of beginning chain: 1 dc, ch 3, 3 dc, ch 3, sl st to top chain of beginning chain. (20 sts.)

Round 2: sc into first space (between beginning chain and first stitch of previous row), ch 2, 1 dc into each of next 5 spaces. Into ch 3 space: 2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc. Then, 1 dc into each of the next 2 spaces, then into next ch 3 space: 2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc. Then, 1 dc into each of next 6 spaces. Into next ch 3 space: 2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc. 1 dc into each of next 2 spaces, then into the next ch 3 space: 2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc. Sl st to top loop of chain. (32 sts.)

Round 3: sc into first space, ch 2, 1 dc into each of next 6 spaces, (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc) into ch 3 space, 1 dc into each of next 5 spaces, (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc) into ch 3 space, 1 dc into each of next 9 spaces, (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc) into ch 3 space, 1 dc into each of next 5 spaces, (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc) into ch 3 space, 1 dc into each of next 2 spaces, sl st to top of chain. (44 sts.)

Sew in ends and single crochet around edge.

Recipe: Chocolate and Peanutbutter Squares

Seriously, who needs Reese’s? Which is a great discovery, because peanut butter and chocolate is not a popular combination here in Korea, so if I want any peanut butter cups, I have to haul them back from Canada in bulk in my suitcase. The less i can depend on bringing stuff from Canada, the better, so I was really happy that these turned out to be just as good, if not better than the store-bought stuff, and with ingredients (mostly) available at my local grocery store! Yay!

Adapted from recipe here

Chocolate Peanutbutter Squares

Base:
3/4 c. digestive cookie crumbs (crush up and whirl in blender)
3/4 c. light brown sugar
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. butter, melted
3/4 c. peanut butter

Top:
180 g. dark chocolate bars, broken in small pieces
3 T. butter

Combine cookie crumbs and brown sugar in bowl, sift powdered sugar and flour in, and mix well. Add melted butter and mix well. Add peanut butter and mix well again. Press into two 8″x8″ baking pans lined with wax paper. Heat chocolate and butter in pyrex measuring cup in microwave for one minute or so, or until half melted. Take out of microwave and stir until smooth. Pour evenly over both trays, and use the back of a spoon to spread carefully until smooth on top. Chill until set, then pull out of trays and cut into 1″ squares. Makes 128 squares, though many of them “go missing” before you can actually store them in a container in the fridge to keep.

Why I Knit

I learned to knit, like a lot of girls, when I was about 10, from my Nan (I love my Nan). I didn’t do much with it at the time, but then picked it up again when I was in high school and knit this big ol’ striped blanket using a pattern another knitting friend gave to me. My ex-fiance still has that blanket. Then university got in the way and I didn’t knit again until just after I got to Korea. There was this Roots blanket that looked like a work sock, which I had seen at Sears for some exhorbitant sum, and I thought, as all knitters/crafters do, “Hey, I could make that cheaper!”

So I went to the awesome wholesale yarn market at Dongdaemoon and bought a ton of cotton for 40 bucks and went to town. Though, being an inexperienced knitter, I didn’t realize that the cotton was pretty much laceweight and, by choosing to knit it in a 3×3 rib, how much it would expand to, and cast on way too many stitches. Eight years and just over a quarter of a million stitches later, the darn thing is still on the needles. Only about 15,000 stitches to go, and it will be done! And it shall be the coolest and most idiotic thing I have ever made.

But I wasn’t working on it constantly for eight years. I think I didn’t even look at it for three years at one point, so even though I had something on the needles, I can’t really say I was really into knitting all that time. But the desire to craft was percolating in the back of my brain somewhere, and then, without much warning, last year, something snapped as I walked past the little knit shop in the subway station near where I was working–there was a big table full of bins of cheap and colourful acrylic (green! green yarn! the colour of grass in the spring!)–and I walked away with a huge bag of rainbow colours and a crochet hook. I came home and taught myself to crochet that weekend and went to work on another blanket (hey, they’re square and you don’t have to fiddle with things like sleeves and collars and buttonholes…). Then another, with the leftover scraps, then another, and then yet another. I kept waiting for the thrill to wear off and for this to turn into one of those temporary obsessions that peter out after the first little while, but it didn’t happen.

Then I was in Canada, hanging out with family for the whole winter. I scoured Value Villages all over Toronto for bags of unused yarn and sweaters to unravel for yarn; I went to Michael’s and Walmart for cheap yarn, and I even got a chance to go to a real (oh, bliss!) yarn shop (they had sheep outside!) and drool all over their handspun yarns and displays and spend way too much money for two hanks of Sea Wool (oh what, oh what shall I make with them??). I went to the library and took out almost every single book and magazine they had (the librarian scowled at me as if I was doing something wrong–neither of us knew exactly what, but taking out 44 books on knitting HAD to be wrong, somehow) and then proceeded to cram my brain full of every scrap of information I could about designing and shaping knit garments. At the same time I cast on for nearly a dozen projects, and knit and frogged, and knit and cursed, and screwed up and started over and knit and knit and knit, and then ripped out again, changing designs as I went and being woefully wrong, time and time again. I loved (am loving) every single minute of it. Especially when I had to completely frog sweaters that I had already spent hours/weeks on…my mother was horrified that I could so gleefully pull and pull and pull until there was nothing left of something I had spent so much time on. No worries! More knitting for me!!

And while I knit, though I do think about my life, my career, and how long I can go without a job, and human nature and a million other things, I think quite a bit about knitting. And of course, since I am really the only one I know who knits (this much), and since the knitting bug seems to be intensifying, rather than fading, I think about why I knit. This is what I have come up with (so far):

1. It allows me to explore my creative energy
2. It is a source of aesthetic joy
3. It fulfills my need to create/nest; even though I don’t want kids, my biological clock does influence my levels of domesticity
4. It is a way to celebrate the domestic arts
5. It is in harmony with the ideals of sustainability and simple living (making your own stuff, opting out of rabid consumerism, being able to repurpose used materials)
6. It fosters an ethic of self-sufficiency
7. It is a form of materialistic anti-consumerism–enjoying the items you make and posess, while not having to depend on large corporations as much
8. It is an act of being different/non-conformist
9. It provides amazing sensual/tactile pleasures
10. I can play with colour–wheeee!
11. It is a reminder to honour the labour that goes into each item we own, teaching us empathy and respect for others from a global perspective
12. It values slow living and lets me practice delayed gratification
13. It’s all about design–design, baby, that awesome place on the corner of Art and Science
14. It allows me to focus on detail, by giving me the context in which to explore freely the OCD side of myself, without seeming abnormally anal
15. It gives me the enjoyable sense that I am good at something
16. It embodies the spirit of giving and nurturing–to self and others
17. It is a source of warmth and comfort
18. It allows me to be productive–at least I can do something with my hands while I wait or watch movies
19. It gives me more choice and better fit of clothes (especially as a plus size woman); I can choose styles I want in colours I want and I don’t have to schlepp through soul-destroying malls to find clothes
20. It is a skill I can use in order to re-use fibers and use natural fibers
21. It is a tradition, and by knitting, I can honour the women who came before, who passed these arts down through the generations
22. It fosters patience, a sense of humour, and peace and quiet
23. I devilishly delight in the linguistic elitism of knitting–i can rattle off knitting jargon (SABLE, UFO, KIP, tinking, frogging) and sound all cool, and nobody knows what I’m talking about, unless I deign to explain
24. It’s a good way to de-stress (watch your tension, though!)
25. It encourages me to participate more in life, by involving myself in the process of what I own
26. I knit for the pure pleasure of both the process and the product
27. It can be a spiritual/philosophical/intellectual challenge–knitting has deep meaning and symbolism
28. It is an instance, for me, of Maslow’s discussion of peak-experiences: “These experiences were of pure, positive happiness when all doubts, all fears, all inhibitions, all tensions, all weaknesses, were left behind. Now self-consciousness was lost. All separateness and distance from the world disappeared as if they felt one with the world, fused with it, really belonging in it and to it, instead of being outside looking in.”
29. It is fulfilling
30. It gives me time to think
31. I can have fun little conversations with the wool/pattern/designer
32. It is a path that leads to insight and discovery
33. I can kinda be part of the new DIY craft/punk movement
34. It is a product of my impatience–sometimes it actually takes forever to find what I want and I want it now
35. Through knitting, I can express my uniqueness/individuality
36. I’m friggin’ CHEAP–my Scottish blood??
37. It’s extremely practical
38. Taurus traits lend themselves to this kind of activity (stubborn, practical, down-to-earth, domestic, homebody-ish, sensual, materialistic, patient)
39. It is a way to practice mindfulness
40. I enjoy complexity
41. I like to learn
42. I’m a bit of a show-off (Look! Look what I made! I made this with my own two hands! Isn’t it awesome?!)
43. I love classic, romantic, timeless, graceful styles, and sometimes the fashion of the times leaves a lot to be desired (especially in my price range); on the other hand, the really great styles of the moment are also quite often out of my price range (did I mention that I’m cheap?)
44. Today’s clothes are cheaply made, and the price doesn’t really reflect the true cost of making the item
45. I like not flashy, but quality made designs
46. I’m single–knitting fills the time, replaces sex, gives me something to do other than change diapers and cook for a husband
47. It is one step in my Master Plan to become the crazy old maid cat lady who talks to herself, has wild hair, and goes to the grocery store in her housecoat (note to self: must get cat)
48. I like collecting (can you say SABLE? I’m working on it)
49. Maybe I will smoke/sleep/snack less?
50. It is deceptively simple–I can appear hugely talented without actually being talented
51. The coolest thing is that there are only two stitches but infinite combinations–kind of like the yin and yang of Taoism resulting in the myriad things, or like DNA, or language patterns/syntax, and other discrete combinatorial systems
52. It satisfies my inner geek: knitting patterns are like computer code
53. Misgivings about knitting being a bourgeois activity make me appreciate my life more
54. It encourages me to experiment more with different colours and styles that I would hesitate to choose off the rack
55. It’s a natural alarm clock–I wanna get up and knit now
56. It makes me feel feminine and domestic
57. It gives me something to say when people ask me what I’ve been up to lately
58. It also gives me a topic I can drone on infinitely about, allowing me to get certain people to go away and stop talking to me
59. It makes me feel like part of a community (yay for Ravelry!)
60. It’s probably the only area in which I have no fear of making mistakes–in fact, I want to make as many mistakes as possible, and there is absolutely no sense of personal failure if I do–in contrast to just about every other area of my life

That enough for ya?

Alphabet Auto-complete Meme

DSC01836, originally uploaded by nikkislipp.

Photo of orchids taken at a display at the university in Wolfville, March 2008

Another meme: seen here
This is how it works: Type each letter in the search box of your browser and list what the auto-complete function jumps to first.

Since I use both browsers, I’ll do both lists:

Firefox

A anthropologie
B bcbg
C cubis
D dramatic hamster
E ekdma
F frilling magknits
G g마켓
H hot dog appetizer
I ikea
J japanese spinach sesame
K knit encroachment
L lily elsebeth lavold
M my cake wardrobe
N Nashua Handknits: occasion
O ok캐쉬백
P purl encroachment
Q quicktime
R rose and radish
S sherman heel
T threepotatofour
U utube
V velvetlava
W why me nickpapageorgia
X xp sp3
Y youtube
Z zara

Explorer

A amazon 200 ripple
B bcbg
C cherry clafoutis
D dulce de leche
E eyelet border facecloth
F flickr
G gookjae Electronic Center
H honeybee pattern knit
I infiniti
J jandabown
K knit ripple pattern
L logen 이사
M mission falls kits
N naver
O oxford day korea
P platoon ost
Q quotes of the Day 12 February
R ravelry
S studio marlowe
T themoment nyt
U usb headset skype speakers
V vorbesti si
W whitehorse time
X xbox
Y yarn over eyelet border
Z zuma

Flickr Meme

1. Untitled, 2. SmartiEz, 3. Little Miss Muffet Illustration, 4. Verde no Aquarius, 5. Tokyo Nightscape, 6. coffee and chocolate mousse cake, 7. Summer knitting qualities, 8. clafoutis aux cerises, 9. if you put your mind to it., 10. bookshelf, 11. Stubborn, 12. Macro NonSlip Liner

The concept:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name

Orange Carrot Cake with Orange Yogurt Cream Cheese Icing

I took a look through a few carrot cake recipes that looked good:
Eggs on Sunday’s Solid Gold Carrot Cake
CD Kitchen’s Orange Carrot Cake
A Merrier World’s Carrot Cake
Epicurious’ Carrot-Orange Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Baking Bites’ One Bowl Carrot Cake

…and decided that Baking Bites’ carrot cake looked closest to what I wanted. Of course, I doubled it and modified a bit to use up what we had on hand…carrots that didn’t make it into last Sunday’s roast, two oranges left over from Jaret’s booth partner at the Outdoor Adventure Show, and some mandarin oranges that needed to be eaten soon.

Orange Carrot Cake with Orange Yogurt Cream Cheese Icing

2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs
1 t. vanilla
4 T. vegetable oil
Juice of two oranges
Zest of one orange
3 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
3-4 large carrots, grated

Stir together butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well, then add oil, orange juice, and zest and mix. Sift half of the flour into the bowl and mix together. Add the soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to the remaining flour in the measuring cup and whisk together well with a fork, then sift this into the bowl, mixing quickly. Fold in the shredded carrots. Pour into your choice of non-stick baking pans (loaf, square, round, or muffin). Bake in a 325 to 350 degree oven (depends on your oven) until golden and knife inserted in middle of the cake comes out clean. Serve with icing.

Don’t bother with icing recipes that call for a gazillion cups of icing sugar; they are sickeningly sweet and all you really need to do is soften up your cream cheese a bit and sweeten it. The flavours come out SO much more nicely that way. Trust me. It’s yummy.

Orange Yogurt Cream Cheese Icing

1 regular package of cream cheese (8 ounces, I believe)
2 T. butter
1/2 c. sugar (icing or regular)
1/4 c. yogurt
Juice from one or two mandarin oranges

Whip all ingredients together with hand mixer until smooth and all sugar is dissolved. Adjust amounts to your own taste and to the desired consistency.

Recipe: George (Mint Nanaimo Bars)

This is a longtime family favourite. I always thought it was named after my Grandpa George, and had never heard of Nanaimo bars until well into my teens. Turns out, it was from one of the Best of Bridge cookbooks that mom has had forever, and they aren’t even mint in the recipe–I guess someone made that change so that they would be more “Christmassy”.

Bottom layer:
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. brown sugar
3 T. cocoa powder
1 egg, beaten
2 c. graham cracker crumbs (will have to find a substitute in Korea…maybe digestive cookie crumbs?)
1 c. shredded coconut
1/2 c. chopped walnuts/pecans

Middle layer:
1/4 c. butter
2 c. icing sugar
2 T. Bird’s custard powder (not available in Korea afaik…maybe equivalent amount of cornstarch and a little bit of vanilla)
1/4 c. cream/milk
a few drops of green food colouring
1 t. peppermint extract (or more, you want it really minty…add bit by bit and taste)

Top layer:
3 chocolate squares (1 square=1 ounce=28 grams)
1/4 c. butter

Combine ingredients for first layer and press firmly into a 9″ square baking pan. Chill for half an hour.

Combine all the ingredients for the middle layer in order, using an electric blender, so that there won’t be any lumps, until smooth and fluffy. Spread carefully on top of bottom layer using an icing knife if you have one (I do, I stole it from mom hehe). Do not make the mistake (as I once did) of chilling this layer, or the melted chocolate will harden up as soon as you pour it and you will have one big lump of chocolate in the middle, not a nice thin layer. In order to make it easier to spread the top layer, just make sure the middle layer is nice and thick.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave (one minute will do–the chocolate should not be melted completely, but will continue to melt once you take it out of the microwave and stir for a bit). Pour carefully and evenly over middle layer and tilt pan to spread. Chill until set. To cut into squares, warm to room temperature first and cut carefully into small squares.

I like thinner squares, so I would be a little generous with the ingredients to make a tiny bit more, then make it in a 9″ x 13″ pan. In order to have enough chocolate for the top, though, I would add one or two more chocolate squares and a tablespoon more butter to the top layer.

Leftover Roast Beef Dinner Soup

Inspired by this recipe, but made with the leftovers from Mom’s awesome traditional Sunday night roast dinner. Best. Soup. Ever. Srsly.

2 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 or 3 stalks celery, diced
1 green or red pepper, chopped
1 c, mushrooms, sliced or chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 c. chopped leftover roast beef or steak
4 c. water
1 beef bouillon cube
1 can stewed, diced tomatoes
2 or 3 roast potatoes, diced
1 c. roast carrots, diced
2 or 3 roast onions, chopped
1 c. mashed turnip
1 or 2 roast sweet potatoes, diced
2/3 c. orzo
1/2 T dried oregano
1/2 T dried basil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in pot, add onions and red pepper and saute until slightly softened. Add garlic and saute, then add mushrooms and cook. Add beef and saute a few minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for a couple minutes. Add water and bouillon, then rest of vegetables, orzo, oregano, basil pepper, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer at least 20 minutes, until orzo is cooked. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Basic Pancakes

To get pancakes that look a bit more like the ones above, use less baking powder and more liquid. Mom likes ‘em that way, a bit more dense and crepe-y. Me, I like them as below:

Basic Pancake Recipe
adapted from Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cook Book

1 1/4 c. flour
2 T. sugar
4 t. baking powder (!!–I’m going to have to make these again just to double-check that)
3/4 t. salt
2 eggs
1 1/3 c. milk (1 c. for thicker batter)
3 T. oil (I think we forgot to add this, but the pancakes were great. Will double-check)

Mix flour, sugar, soda and salt in large measuring cup (easier to pour batter later). In small bowl, beat eggs, stir in milk and oil and pour into flour mixture. Stir just until flour is moistened.

Heat skillet on medium-high until a droplet of water sizzles. Brush with oil and fry until golden on both sides.

Serve with butter and maple syrup. Have some bacon with it too! And some fruit (for your health ).

Greetings from Canada!

So I got here in mid-December…I suppose that’s news to a lot of people But don’t take it personally that I haven’t gotten in touch, I just needed some time to myself. Since I got here, I’ve been:

1. De-pressurizing and de-stressing
2. Hiding from the entire world (think Thoreau’s Walden, not the hunchback of Notre Dame)
3. Having Christmas

4. Trying not to think (and mostly succeeding) about the fact that I have no job, no income, almost no home, and no apparent job prospects…whoops! better be careful, I almost thought about it…
5. Knitting

6. Augmenting my yarn stash

7. Baking and cooking

8. Reorganizing my online experience
9. Looking at the snow

10. Preparing to enter Phase 2 of my four-phase plan to Get A Life, which is getting in touch with people and joining the human race again Talk to you soon!