The Miracle Socks

I finished Twinkle's purple socks today.

I had enough yarn.

Are you in awe yet? If not, it is because I have failed to adequately explain. Well, then, in the immortal words of Inigo Montoya, "Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up."

A week or two ago, I began knitting 'Stache a pair of socks. I had one Zauberball, which ravelry.com tells me was probably 459 yards. I knit a pair of size 10 men's socks.

'Stache's socks

 There is a substantial amount left, so I began to knit a pair of socks for Munchkin. I knit a pair of size 8ish boys socks.

Munchin's socks

There was still yarn left, just a bit, so I started a pair of size 4.5ish socks for Twinkle. I knit and knit and the ball got smaller and smaller and ... I finished them.

I know these look just like the last picture but these feet are Twinkle's!

With 22 inches to spare.

459 yards and I knit three (three!) pairs of socks, in the specific sizes to fit the specific feet in my house and ... 22 inches.

What makes this even more incredible is that all three pairs were top-down socks. In the world of sock knitting (and let me assure you, it is a beautiful, crazy world indeed, you should come visit) there are basically toe-up or top-down socks, knit in exactly the ways their titles describe. The sticking point here is that when you knit a top down sock, you can't stop a little short because you ran out of yarn. Because then you have a ridiculous sock suited only for nail painting and flip-flop wearing. However long you made the leg, you're stuck with it. If you run out of yarn you have to unravel the whole foot and heel, unravel a few rows of the leg, and then put your sock back on the needles and knit it again with extra yardage this time.

And I didn't do that.

Three pairs of socks, I just knit the amount that seemed right for that wearer and that size and ...

Blurry, but look! Everyone's feet in the same picture.

Three pairs of socks.

Sock Recipe for a Toddler with Size 4.5ish Feet

Light to mediumweight sock yarn and size 3 needles.

Cast on 40 stitches over 3 needles.
Knit in 2x2 ribbing for 10 rounds.
Knit in stockinette for 15 rounds.
On 1/2 the stitches, knit a short row heel, using Cat Bordhi's wrap and turn technique. The "corner" of the heel is when you have 6 live stitches left in the middle of your wrapped ones.
Knit in stockinette for 17 rounds
Decrease 4 stitches every 2 rounds until you have 12 stitches left.
Cut off your yarn, leaving a generous tail, and sew the stitches together with Kitchener stitch.
Weave in and trim your ends.

*Fair Warning* I haven't test knitted this pattern so mistakes may lurk - call out if you spot any.

Also *Fair Warning* I can't guarantee that if you get a Zauberball that you will be able to achieve this 3 pair miracle. I can't even guarantee that I could do it again myself. It all depends on exactly how tightly or loosely you are knitting. But regardless, it is a LOT of yarn, so I'm sure that you could do something great with them!

Anytime Enchiladas

This is one of my family's favorites. We almost always have the ingredients for it, and as long as the meat is already cooked, it can be on the table in 45 minutes or less.

We call them enchiladas but the knowledgeable among you may protest this description, claiming that this dish bears only a glancing resembleance to actual enchiladas, which in 'Stache's family growing up always meant a stack consisting of tortilla, sauce-and-ground-beef, onions, cheese and chopped lettuce on top, made for each person individually. If you were very hungry you got a double stack.

This is more of a casserole, and is an adaptation of an adaptation of a recipe. It really isn't even a recipe,  just a method. Whatever you call it, it's yummy.

Anytime Mexican-Inspired-Thingamabob 

Line the bottom of a 9x9 pan with:

2-3 corn tortillas 

OR 

a handful of tortilla chips 

OR

a handful of Fritos

In a bowl, mix one of the following: 

1 pkg taco seasoning

OR

1 pkg fajita seasoning 

OR 

a generous sprinkling of chili powder and a good sprinkling of cumin 

with at least two of the following: 

1 lb ground beef, ground

OR

2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

OR 

1 can of black beans, drained

OR 

1 can kidney beans, drained

OR

1 can corn kernels, drained

OR 

1 can spinach, drained 

OR 

1 can chickpeas, drained 

OR 

1 can chickpeas, drained and pureed 

OR

2 onions, chopped 

OR 

2 onions, chopped and sauteed 

I don't recommend mixing meats for this dish. If you want a vegetarian dish, you should probably use at least 3 vegetables. Spread half of this mixture over the tortillas. Grate 8 oz of cheese, using any combination of: 

cheddar

OR

mozzarella

OR 

pepperjack

OR

colby 

Sprinkle half the cheese over the dish. On top of the cheese, spread:

2-3 corn tortillas

OR 

a handful of tortilla chips 

OR 

a handful of Fritos 

Next layer the rest of your mixture. If you want to add extra stuff at this point, you can. Some things to try:

black olives 

OR 

avocado slices 

OR 

jalapeno slices 

OR 

banana peppers 

OR

chopped bell pepper 

OR 

diced fresh tomato

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Over the cheese, pour: 

1 can enchilada sauce 

OR 

a scant 2 cups homemade enchilada sauce 

OR 

1 can diced tomatoes and chilis, pureed with liquid

OR 

1 can tomatoes and 1 small can green chilis, pureed with liquid

Bake for 40 minutes at 350 or until the cheese is melted and the enchiladas are hot all the way
through. Serves 4 adults.

Right before I popped it in the oven. I used corn tortillas, chili powder and cumin, chicken, black beans, 4 oz cheddar and 4 oz pepperjack, and a can of diced tomatoes with chilis.

Any way we've made it, it's been great!

Munchkin Socks

I've been working on a pair of socks for Munchkin. I'm using the (substantial) leftovers from making 'Stache a pair of socks. I even hope to have enough leftovers from Munchkin's to make a pair for Twinkle. Maybe if I stretch the sock yarn with a few stripes of something else? Who knew that a Zauberball had this much yarn?

I'm sure I'll have enough to do the ankles, maybe if I run out I'll do the feet in a different color so that when they're all wearing shoes, they'll still match? The picture in my head is just adorable, although I know the reality will probably be a bit less Hallmark-y.

Zauberball yarn is a two-ply yarn that shifts slowly from one color to the next, and may not ever exactly repeat itself. This produces socks that are definitely fraternal, rather than identical, or may not look even related at all. The ones I've done so far look to be at least in the same color family, shifting from purple to black to teal to gray. The original idea was to make socks that 'Stache could wear to work, but that weren't deadly dull for me to knit. These have been lots of fun!

As you can see, I've only knit one.

In my defense, the first sock I knit was too short, and I had to rip it back and add 1/2". I decided that since I'm not really following a pattern, and since I have now managed to make a sock that actually fits him, maybe I should write down what I did so I can do it again. Also, these are dark socks, making repeated countings of rows and stitches something to be avoided.

Sock Recipe for a Boy with Size 7 and 1/2 (?) Feet 

Light to mediumweight sock yarn, size 3 knitting needles

Cast on 44 st over 3 needles.
Knit in 2x2 ribbing for 10 rounds.
Knit in stockinette for 17 rounds.
On 1/2 the stitches, make a short row heel, using Cat Bordhi's wrap and turn technique. The "corner" of the heel is when you have 8 live stitches left in the middle of your wrapped ones.
Knit in stockinette for 25 rounds
Decrease 4 stitches every 2 rounds until you have 12 stitches left.
Cut off your yarn, leaving a generous tail, and sew the stitches together with Kitchener stitch.
Weave in and trim your ends.

*Fair Warning* I haven't test knitted this pattern so mistakes may lurk - call out if you spot any.

These are the 3rd pair of socks I've knit for Munchkin. The first pair were from leftovers from a Zauberball pair I knit for myself! They were about 6 month size, and fit for about 30 seconds. Hopefully these will last longer.

Munchkin says: "Silly Mama, don't you know that a pair means two socks? Stop blogging and start knitting! My feet are growing! There's no time to waste!"

Testing, Testing, 1 2 3 ...

Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?

Hi. I'm Libby Fenn and this is my blog. I am starting this blog because I love creating things, and I wanted to have a place to share the things I make and have a record of my creative progress. I tend to come up with brilliant (or at least rather clever) solutions or patterns or ideas and then, a week or two or five months later, I'll want to do it again and I end up having to reinvent the wheel, trying to recapture the wisps of an idea or reverse engineer the prototype. Hopefully this blog will change that. Of course, that will require me to actually record the boring but vital details and remember to have them handy when I'm writing the blog post, but hope, as they say, ever springs eternal.

In addition, there will probably be an element of the family blog to Pins in My Shirt, mostly because I have a pretty incredible (although undeniably unusual) husband, and two remarkably cute little boys, and I feel like their antics deserve to be archived. However, the internet being what it is, I'll be referring to them by nicknames for the sake of their privacy. Nothing quite like googling yourself at the age of 15 and discovering that the top hit is a blog post devoted to the details of your diaper rash and the steps that your oh-so-loving mother took to cure it.

(So if any my friends or family are commenting on this blog, if you could use these nicknames too, that would be awesome.)

My husband is going to go by the name of 'Stache, because, as you can see ...

He has a rather impressive mustache, as well as a bit of a piratical flair. (Come on. Wouldn't you do it for free Krispy Kremes?)

My older son, who is two, is going to be called Munchkin.

Courtesy of Rachael Kulick Photography

See? I told you he was remarkably cute. But wait till you see his little brother, who is nearly one year old and is going to be known as Twinkle:

Courtesy of Timeless Moments by M

And I, being the author of this blog and thus responsible for what I say about me, will be using my real name, Libby.

Courtesy of Rachael Kulick Photography

(Don't you love how Twinkle seems to be in the act of pouncing on Rabbit? Quite a feat for a child who wasn't even crawling at the time)

I hope that you will enjoy reading about my various works-in-progress (and who knows, maybe a completed project once in a while!), possibly learning a new trick or two, and accompanying me in this messy, creative, difficult, wonderful thing commonly known as life.