Fig and Plum

The Blanket Revelation

2012-02-01T08:23:18-05:00

How come you guys never told me how relaxing blanket knitting is?

No shaping, no sizing, no swatching (breaking my own rule here). I bought a ton of Berroco Peruvia Quick last year to make Cirilia Rose's beautiful Aidez cardigan, but then realized this colorway turns me into a corpse.

(Add a rule to my list above: don't buy yarn online unless you've seen it in person and held it up to your somewhat sallow winterface. Cirilia swears this is fetching with a pop of color, but I'd need somewhat more than a pop, and can't be bothered with loud lipstick every time I wear a cozy cardigan).

All eight skeins have been sitting in a box in my office for a year. Eventually I needed the box to return the hairdryer that almost fried my hair off and blessed me with a 48-hour scent of burning rubber (long story!), and people started asking questions about the large pile of yarn in the corner, so I decided to put it to some use.

Finding a second project for already-purchased yarn is always a struggle for me, a perfectionist about matching projects to fibers. My stash is almost entirely comprised of failed purchases like this that don't get much love following the initial disappointment. I hit Ravelry trying to find a project I could give as a gift to someone who would look alive within a 10-foot radius of this yarn. Finally: Brooklyn Tweed's Umaro. It's been on my queue since Jared released it. Blankets always seemed like such a huge commitment, though. Katie from my knitting group is *always* making them, and every time I see her I'm all HOW DO YOU DO IT?

Quite the opposite, so far. It's been ages since I took on a project where literally all there is to do is knit until you run out of yarn. This is only one skein in to this blanket, with a long way to go, but all I feel about it is soothed at the prospect of inches and inches of this beautiful, squishy pattern. Blankets have officially converted me. Okay, talk to me several skeins from now.

What else? How about some purple oatmeal?!

Yeah, I thought so.

I'm a Monstah!

2012-01-29T18:38:48-05:00

Pattern: Frances the Charismatic Monster by Rebecca Danger [Ravelry]
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers, 1 skein, 9452 summer sky heather
Needles: US 8
Recipient: Maya's baby Abel!

Notes: This is baby Abel. He's quite a little monster!

Well, not exactly a little one. He's 7.5 months old, and I won't share his weight because it's rude to talk about a person's weight publicly, but let's just say his mama Maya has her some guns.

So when it came time for Abel's babywarming, Virginia thought as our group gift we should make some monster themed loot for this little dude. Virginia made some of these adorable Das Monster pants! Maybe if I can snag a photo from some one, I'll post one here, because they are AWESOME.

And I made the monster a monster. This is Frances. Isn't he just debonaire?

He's working on his first novel on the old Underwood typewriter. He just loves the heft of the keys under his, um, paws.

His teeth are made of felt. I took a bit of poetic license (i.e., didn't look at the pattern) with his ears, and his mouth is upside down. Whoops.

But, all in all, he still manages to be quite genteel, as does Abel. I hope he gets a lot of joy dragging Frances around by the feet for many years to come.

Frivol!

2012-01-22T12:30:48-05:00

Pattern: Frivol by Debi Tuttle (free pattern) [Ravelry]
Yarn: Rowanspun Aran, 1 skein
Needles: US 8

Notes: How many hats have you seen with a sideways cable? Not too many, right? Sometimes it takes a newbie to see things in a different light, ask why something isn't usually done, and figure out a way to do it. It sounds like Frivol was the result of just that process. Debi Tuttle came up with this hat about four months after she started knitting, and Frivol shows you what a little math and a lot of short rows can do.

The construction is kind of ingenious. The hat is constructed in one piece, knitting the piece around the head and shaping the crown using short rows all the way around. You can see the crown above.

There's a seamed version and a seamless one. I did the seamed version because i was too lazy to use the provisional cast-on used for the seamless. Apparently many knitters have also made this without the bobbles, which I find a little sad. Bobbles are one of my great joys!

The yarn used here is Rowanspun Aran received from Andrea of Knitting by Bicycle in a swap a few months back. If you find some, snap it up, because it has, tragically, been discontinued.

A Wintry Update

2012-01-21T16:49:46-05:00

Happy New Year! If you're excited about 2012, you aren't alone. 2011 was mildly rotten for a lot of folks (Corduroy Appreciators aside), and it got off to a rocky start for me too. I blame the awkward way "twenty eleven" rolls off the tongue. "Twenty twelve" is so much nicer, isn't it? This year is a leap year, the end of the current Mayan Creation, the Queen's Diamond Jubillee, the OLYMPICS for Pete's sake! It's going to be good.

We spent our New Year's upstate, hiking in Minnewaska State Park on New Year's Eve in the glorious unseasonable weather that no one in New York seems to be complaining much about (so out of character!).

We ate Korean-Style Steak & Eggs, a recipe from The Good Fork in Red Hook (where we got hitched!) from The New Brooklyn Cookbook(Christmas gift from Chris. Good job Biggie!) (but you can find the recipe here)

We made cardamom marshmallows, because Chris unceremoniously tossed the last of my stash from the last time we made them. So what if they were a year old?! What's with his obsession with food going bad? He's as incorrigible as Heather's Gary.

Today, it finally snowed.

Chris and I went for a walk just to get out of the house and out of (my) PJs.

We happened on a tasting that was going on at a delightful new shop nearby called The Winey Neighbor.

A nice guy from Janelle's was there handing out samples of a Trini dish I'd never had before, called buljol & bake. Buljol is a salt cod salad with lime, cilantro and guacamole in a fresh, warm "bake," which is essentially fried bread.

The big news around here, though, is that (if all goes well) we are moving apartments to a place we're going to own! After a decade of pressing our noses against realtors' glass, two lengthy post-graduate educations and one expensive one, and five years of gainful employment, we're buying our first home. We'll be doing some renovations, and I expect to post about them here, but I have to tell you it's beautiful just the way it is. Especially the two bathrooms. And the roof deck.

We'll be moving to Crown Heights, changing neighborhoods ever so slightly (and only by NYC standards . . . it's a 10 minute walk from where we now live).

Here is one of our new neighbors:

As you can see, St. Paul & Mohammed live there! And our new street:

Not too bad, huh? Anyway, stay tuned for that.

I also have a FO to show you next week!

Moonshine Kitty + Happy Hanukkah!

2011-12-20T20:45:33-05:00

Happy Hanukkah, for those who celebrate! I've been doing some holiday crafting, and by little, I mean a real little. My niecelet AJ has been feeling poorly, and it's Hanukkah, so I sat down and made her a kitty.

This is based on the pattern for "Steve" from Denyse Schmidt Quilts. The kitty perhaps looks even more unwell than AJ's been feeling, what with her wonky eyes, crooked head, and general drunken demeanor. Thank goodness she's supposed to be "folk arty," which to me means "made after several swigs of moonshine" or, as Adrian suggested, "by firelight alone." I am not good at sewing. It was the cause of poor grades in Home Ec, along with that one time we put a cup of salt in the hot cocoa instead of a teaspoon.

I did have to embroider the mouth twice because the first time it was Just. Too. Scary. for a 5-year old. Sadly the corduroy isn't that forgiving, so now Moonshine Kitty has a shadow mouth.

Whoops! Well, looking delightfully handmade is all the rage these days.

In related news, Curtain up! Light the lights! It's the first night of Hanukkah!

If you're celebrating, Happy Festival of Lights. Have an extra latke for me!

And I leave you from an image from this year's Spiders holiday party, hosted Chez Fig and Plum. There was gløgg. And a pumpkin stuffed with everything good. And this delicious concoction too. It was a good time, as you can see.

No, that is not a can of original Four Loko you see.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Herbs

2011-12-18T10:37:09-05:00

Finally, a photo for my beloved favorite recipe for roasted brussels sprouts, originally posted here. It's adapted from Second Helpings from the Union Square Café by Danny Meyer and Michael Romano.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Herbs
Serves 4

6 oz. bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch-wide pieces
1 lb. brussels sprouts, washed and trimmed - larger sprouts quartered, smaller sprouts halved
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano, sage, or thyme (we used thyme)
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Cook the bacon in a large ovenproof saute pan over medium heat until the fat is rendered, 6-7 minuts. Toss in the brussels sprouts and stir to coat. Add the chosen herb, salt and roast in the oven, stirring now and then during the last half of cooking, until the sprouts are tender, about 25 minutes.
Remove from oven, stir in the lemon juice and pepper, transfer to a warm platter, and serve.

Meyer and Romano say that back in the day, a side of brussels sprouts was a dependable way to kill sales of a dish, but that they have noticed they are now winning people over. As for me, I DESPISED them until recently, when I discovered that it was not the sprouts but (sorry Mom) my mother's way of cooking them that was to blame. Poor sprouts: for all these years I blamed you!

Sheep Yoke Baby Cardigans for Lilly & Caroline: Postscript

2011-11-07T08:45:39-05:00

Seriously? Seriously?

Are Marie's girls for real? Here are Caroline and Lilly at eight months . . . eight unbelievably fast-gone months, modeling their Sheep Yoke Baby Cardigans.

See more on Ravelry or drop in on Marie!

Three-Bean Chili For Your Awesome Husband to Make

2011-11-03T08:50:56-05:00

If you're always on the lookout for a great basic chili recipe when the leaves start to drop, here's a good one Chris stumbled on at epicurious last year. It's actually a user recipe, with no photo, so here's one to do it justice.

We used dried beans instead of canned, and sometimes we up the level of cayenne if we're up for more heat, but otherwise we make this as-is. Serve with cornbread, cilantro, and Sunday afternoon football.

Three Bean Chili
Adapted from an Epicurious user recipe

1 T Olive Oil
1 Cup chopped onion
3 Cloves minced garlic
2 Pounds ground Turkey Breast
1 Pound ground Leanest Ground Beef
1/4 cup Chili Powder
2 T ground Cumin
1 T dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp Ground Coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or more to taste
Tapatio sauce or other hot pepper sauce to taste.
Grated rind of 1 lime and juice of 1 lime
1 can chicken broth.
1 Can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cups each of red kidney beans, black beans, and white beans, drained
ground pepper to taste
toppings of choice (Limes, cheddar cheese, fritos, avocado, cilantro, sour cream)

Heat olive oil in large soup pot or dutch oven. Add and sauté onions. Once translucent and soft, add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add meat and brown, stirring and breaking up lumps until the meat is no longer pink.

Add chili powder and other seasoning, cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and tomatoes with their juice and bring to a boil. Reduce and cook stirring occasionally for 1 hour. Stir in beans, heat through and season again if necessary.

Serve with toppings.

2011-11-01T15:16:31-05:00

I'm Jessica. It's unclear what I should say about Fig and Plum, except that it's a hobby, sort of a hobby documenting other hobbies. I knit, and do other things, like that one time when I lost my head and made our wedding invitations on a Gocco. Sometimes I write a bizarre scree about ~~The New York Times, health food, or the credit economy~~ margarine, people trying to buy my handknits, or getting attacked by a cyclist with a cardboard tube. Most of the time I'm a ~~law student~~ lawyer, but most of the time it's unclear precisely why. I'm 28 in my 30s, a native Hoosier, and a current Brooklyner - ~~Park Slope, Brooklyn, to be exact. Park Slope doesn't really count as Brooklyn, though. It's more like Chicago~~. Make that Prospect Heights. We love it here and it's not anything like Chicago!

I live here with my ~~domestic partner, or whatever~~, spouse Chris. He's ~~a Ph.D. student~~ an associate professor at the College of Staten Island in journalism / media studies. ~~Ph.D. student + law student = poor and overeducated~~, Lawyer + professor = busy and overeducated, but happy nonetheless. I just love that man (even if I sometimes gross him out).

We have ~~two naughty cats, Catty and Moses~~. It's just us and Moses now. We miss Catty. She doesn't seem so naughty in comparison to what Moses is capable of on her own.

{It was time to update the "About Fig & Plum" page. Originally posted December 17, 2004, updated today. How things change!}

Homemade Salted Caramel Mocha, My Way

2011-10-29T15:45:18-05:00

A special treat for the first snowy day of the season. I've never had one of these at Starbucks, because it seemed like one of those good concepts that could easily be ruined in the hands of an outfit known for liberality with multiple artificially-flavored syrups. Plus, I'm picky so whenever I go there I end up being one of those jerks who orders like this. Lesson: make your own. It's kind of a production in our house, though, given that we only have a Bialetti stovetop espresso maker and no milk steamer, just an aerolatte which was regifted to us by my friend Emily, whose family keeps buying them for her. The aerolatte, while nifty and effective, doesn't heat the milk, which means another dirty pot. ANYWAY.

So, I started with a batch of Salted Caramel Sauce (which is REALLY buttery) from David Lebovitz's Perfect Scoop. It was still warm, which is why the topping isn't so pretty. I now have a pint of salted caramel sauce. Want some?

Okay. So then. I made some espresso (probably about 3 ounces) and stirred in a heaping tablespoon of hot cocoa mix and (gasp) a tablespoon of caramel. Next time I would probably cut the caramel by half or so, but I am not complaining too loudly because that stuff is delicious. Topped with steamed unsweetened soy milk or regular milk (or heated then aerolatte'd, in my case), with a bit more caramel drizzled on top.

If you're into recipes, I used this one as a guide. This is probably less work if you have a real espresso machine. But if you can only have one of these on rare occasions (like me, wah) it's probably a good thing that it takes some effort.

I quite enjoyed watching the first snow of the season come down with this in hand. It's kind of like the non-boozing chocolate lover's equivalent of hot buttered rum, if you use a buttery sauce like David's.

Mayonnaise 101

2011-08-15T08:59:23-05:00

I made mayo!

That is all.

(Details on Flickr for those similarly inclined)

Sheep Yoke Baby Cardigan (x2!)

2011-06-28T08:58:39-05:00

Pattern: Sheep Yoke Baby Cardigan by Jennifer Little [Ravelry]
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Sport (for two sweaters: 3 skeins grey, 1 skein each of the other colors)
Needles: US 4 (for trim), US 5
Recipients: Marie's wondertwins Caroline + Lilly

Notes: I have Marie to thank for, like, half of my best friends in New York (including her). One afternoon, several years ago, in response to an email from Marie, whom I'd never met, I trundled out to Bay Ridge to learn to hand-dye yarn with a bunch of knitters I'd also never met (although I knew a few through our blogs). They had a name-The Spiders-which seemed weird. I told Chris to send the cops after me if I wasn't home by midnight.

Turns out, I spent eight hours on Marie's couch with these ladies and got home just a couple of hours before midnight, knitting and laughing and watching terrible Julia Stiles movies. In the years since there have been lots of changes, but the Spiders are still an important part of my life. All because Marie reached out to a total stranger and brought me into the fold.

I now know that act was completely in character for Marie, who not only is warm and friendly, but would never let a little thing like inviting a random stranger into her home bother her. A fundamental part of Marie-ness: she's unflappable. You might even call her a rock.

Now Marie has two little gals who came into the lives of Marie and her wife Courtney, and, as Marie put it: "Parenthood is starting out typical - I have absolutely no say in how my kids conduct their lives." Meet Caroline (L) and Lilly (R):

These ladies came into the world at 33 weeks, after a pregnancy that put Marie and Courtney and everyone who knew them on a wild roller coaster. I won't get into the details, but at 19 weeks doctors were pretty much assuring them that the babies wouldn't make it to viability (which is 24 weeks). But these babies were stubborn, like their mamas. They wouldn't take "no" for an answer!

That's a shot from not long after they were born. Lilly only weighed just over 3 lbs! Caroline came home sooner, and I met her not long afterward. We got on pretty well.

And of course, I came bearing hats, which I might blog about at some point.

Well, it goes without saying that these gals stole my heart, and seeing them healthy and thriving is just a gift. What could I give them and their mamas back?

Sweaters with sheep on them, of course! I started these sweaters when Courtney was about 27 weeks, intending to make them newborn sized. Yeah, right. The gals should grow into them just in time for ~~Rhinebeck~~, I mean, fall.

The Sheep Yoke Cardi is, for a free pattern especially, excellent. My favorite part is the detail on the back with the lone nosy sheep poking his little sheep face at you.

Some of the versions on Ravelry used yarn choices that were a little too loud and/or gendered for such a sweet pattern, for my taste. I went with some soft pastels snagged from Purl's collection of the very useful Cascade 220 Superwash Sport. (Hey Cascade, why do you continue to call this yarn "220" if there is less than 220 yards in a skein? Just asking.)

This past weekend I finally gave Marie and her girls the sweaters and, more importantly, met Lilly for the first time. She's just a doll, teeny but doing all the things a baby her age should do and the perfect size for being best buds with a shrimpy grown-up like me. I can tell she's going to be awesome and stubborn, just like her mom. We're going to be friends.

Offset Baby Wraplan

2011-06-13T21:11:50-05:00

Pattern: Offset Wraplan by Sara Morris [Ravelry]
Yarn: Sublime Organic Cotton DK, 1.5 balls
Needles: Hm. US 5, I think?
Recipient: Baby Every Word's a Purl

Notes: I told you I had lots of FOs in the queue! By my count there are four more projects that are finished or nearly so, but have not yet been gifted to their nosy recipients (or let's be honest, their nosy moms). That's right, I've now entered my "mid-30s cliché" phase: everyone's having a baby (not me!). There are many things to say about that. One of them is that it keeps a knitter busy.

This is a second gift for Carrie and Jon's little guy, intended to be a comforting newborn knit for a summer baby, in lightest, washable cotton.

Do you like the buttons? Patting myself on the back for my foresight, I had purchased some snazzy, rustic wooden buttons ages ago, but waited until the day before I gifted this to sew them on. Naturally, I had lost them. Thank goodness my thoughtful mother-in-law keeps me supplied with lovely vintage buttons in each year's Christmas stocking! I think these are bakelite tortoiseshell, and were a lovely match.

I hope Baby Lemire wears it in good health!

Deadpan the Bunny Blanket Buddy

2011-06-12T16:36:02-05:00

Pattern: Bunny Blanket Buddy [Ravelry]
Yarn: Sublime Organic Cotton DK, 1 1/4 balls
Needles: US 3
Recipient: Baby Every Word's a Purl

When my dear friend Carrie got pregnant, I knew there would be a softie. Carrie and her husband Jon share an appreciation for stuffed animals that is rare among adults. Once they even had a difficult time permitting a certain crocheted hippopotamus to go live with the baby for whom he was made. It was a tricky situation.

As much as Carrie and Jon love softies, some of them are shelf pieces for the first year or so. And my new philosophy of baby gift crafting is practicality. With garments I am trying to choose practical patterns and yarns - the cotton I swore off years ago, the cardigan with offset buttons that make fastening easy. With this softie, I looked for a pattern people swore babies loved.

Turns out that babies love blanket buddies. I will not going to go so far as to claim that this is the Sophie the Giraffe of knitted toys, but I am assured that the combination of security blanket, chewtoy, and adorable animal is usually a winner. Carrieoke has made FOUR of them, including one for her little Charlie that is well-loved.

The trouble with this pattern is, well, hm:

That's why Carrieoke's husband Jacob calls Charlie's buddy "the creepy disembodied head bunny." And I don't want to call out anyone's knitting in particular, but some of the FOs on Ravelry are downright nightmarish, faceless devil bunnies. Now, babies are not particular about the kawaii factor, so they still rate high for practicality, but I knew we could do better.

So, I modified. Trouble is, I can't recall exactly how. I know I used the ear modifications here as a guide, and made the head in stockinette to make a smoother canvas for face embroidery. Instead of the sort of brioche stitch called for in the (somewhat confusing) pattern, I just separated the stitches onto DPNs and knitted the head in the round. And added a little scarf, because heck, it's jaunty!

So, there he is. Not half bad, right? I could not be happier for Carrie and Jon, and can't wait to meet their little one in a few weeks. I hope the gene for love of deadpan stuffed animal faces is hereditary!

A Thing of Beauty

2011-06-05T11:48:35-05:00

An artichoke: symmetrical and asymmetrical.

I've been knitting lately, but it's all been super secret special gift knitting. So, eventually to be shared but not just yet. Until then, food!