Monthly Archives: June 2011

An analogy

knitting, , , ,

I’ve decided that knitting has some important similarities to baking. Actually, I’m sure that there are lots and lots of similarities, as I think about it just now. But, the one – the key one – that matters right now is that if you’re going to go off-recipe, you need to think through all the other things that might need adjusting to deal with your crazy off-recipe plans.

So – I’m making another felted bag and decided to modify the same pattern I’ve used before. I wanted to make the bag oblong instead of circular, though, and change the sizing a bit, so I knew that I’d end up with a different number of stitches. No problem. When I got to the point last week where I needed to start the handles, I got out a pencil, counted my stitches and worked out how to adjust the pattern.

The circular bag pattern calls for K25 and BO25 back and forth, so that you have four patches of 25 stitches awaiting four spiffy handle straps to be knitted on them, which will then be paired and kitchener stitched together for two handles. That equals (carry the 1, cross the ‘t’…) 200 stitches. But my oblong bag only had 152 stitches, so I dutifully recalculated – I wanted the handles to be the same width, so I shrunk the BO stitches to accommodate 150 instead of 200. I dithered a little about having the smaller gap, but decided it would be good. So, off I went…. I do the first the first handle strap. Ta Da! I do the second and then stop to think about whether I want to attach this strap to the one that I just knitted because… (anyone see where this is going?) I want the handles to be oriented like a tote bag, and so I need to make sure that the right… straps… are stitched… togeth- oh, crap.

Yep – I’d kept the equal spacing of the circular bag pattern. So, I’ve got bag straps that just sort of randomly sprout up around the bag. I have seriously considering just rolling with it, and having a crazy freak bag that only a mother could love. But, no… I’ll frog it back down the rim tonight and try again. This time I think I’ll use a calculator… (because that is clearly the problem here, nothing to do with my logic-type thinking abilities)

A Paean To Cigar City

Beer,

It came to my attention recently (when Untappd gave me a badge for being such a fanboy), that I’ve had quite a few different brews from Cigar City recently:

Vuja De (6/21)
A very dark saison, practically black.  But still very light and easy-drinking on the first evening of summer.  A collaboration with St. Somewhere (and it shows — this reminds me of their Pays du Soleil).  Very tart, but balanced by a sweetness — but not malty sweet: the bottle mentions cane sugar, so I think that’s where it’s coming from.  The sweetness provides a nice counterpoint to the very tart, cherry twang.  A second drinking yielded more mixed results: we both soured on the blackcurrant flavor.

Tocobaga Red Ale (6/18)
Definitely hoppy, with a piney finish. Balanced with a smooth and mild malt.  Wouldn’t have liked this a year ago, because of the hoppiness.

110k+OT Batch #4 Imperial Red Ale (6/17)
Very dark with highlights of dark red. Full malt with a strong balance of hops, both aromatic and bittering with a long smooth bitter finish.

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Latitude 48 Deconstructed

Beer

I heard about the Sam Adams Latitude 48 Deconstructed pack a couple months ago — an IPA brewed with 5 kinds of hops coming in a 6-pack with the normal beer and then 5 versions brewed with just one of those hops.  It sounded like a great way to try out the individual hop varieties, but I hadn’t been able to find it locally.  Luckily, my wife is more resourceful, and gave me a pack for my birthday.  So of course we had to do a 5-way tasting.

Unsurprisingly, they varied immensely.  Both in flavor and in aroma, they ran the gamut.  So on to the hops:

EKG: We both liked this the best, very mellow, earthy.  Herby, with a definite Henna taste.  Smells like wort, probably because we’ve brewed with these before.  “The comfort food of beer”.

Zeus: This reminded me of Swamp Head’s BigNose IPA or Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, especially the aroma, which is very sweet and almost floral.  Very strong start of citrus, sharpness and pine, but finishes more mild.  “Punch-you-in-the-face”.

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