tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33171227975187544432024-03-18T15:47:38.077+00:00*+* what I’ve made *+*Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-69948237149414448992021-05-16T19:51:00.010+01:002023-01-30T22:55:02.827+00:00circular ribbed scarf <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xJ8MJXNrEhM/YKFgb2dbTUI/AAAAAAAAIrU/YI2nxpNc61AXrE12waBuAoz7Ae28jTExQCLcBGAsYHQ/s900/_MG_9660.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xJ8MJXNrEhM/YKFgb2dbTUI/AAAAAAAAIrU/YI2nxpNc61AXrE12waBuAoz7Ae28jTExQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h640/_MG_9660.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How cute is my model? Well, he is of unbearable cuteness, if you ask me.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p> I can't explain why I keep knitting those scarfs. We still live on the Canary Islands, and this winter, for example, presented no reasons to muffle up. </p>
<p> One possible reason is that I still have some <a href="https://amzn.to/3tMLXQp" target="_blank" title="Schoppel-Wolle Lace Ball @ Amazon.co.uk">Schoppel Wolle Lace Ball</a> yarn. I still have some left, btw, so there might be more scarfs coming up, who knows. </p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I8qadMHahHY/YKFiZf7st-I/AAAAAAAAIrc/WerMLW78iI0emJLubFxr5cAKu3_kkroVwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1411/_MG_4474.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1411" height="362" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I8qadMHahHY/YKFiZf7st-I/AAAAAAAAIrc/WerMLW78iI0emJLubFxr5cAKu3_kkroVwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h362/_MG_4474.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In process.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p> As <a href="http://madebytamarak.blogspot.com/2016/09/renaissance-ruff-collar.html" target="_blank" title="Renaissance ruff collar @ this blog">before</a>, the tendency of stockinette stitch to curl in and the reverse stockinette stitch to curl out was used to create ribs of different colors. The scarf was knitted in stripes of stockinette stitch and reverse stockinette stitch from two different balls of yarn. One has a gradient from cream to very dark brown, another bright teal to grey. Each side of the scarf has its own main gradient but I can twist it so that they both show.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3so0HlLsSJE/YKFl6L44QhI/AAAAAAAAIrk/700E7bkpbGA3p_prq-XFGgVZQDNdYF3zgCLcBGAsYHQ/s900/cropclose.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3so0HlLsSJE/YKFl6L44QhI/AAAAAAAAIrk/700E7bkpbGA3p_prq-XFGgVZQDNdYF3zgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h640/cropclose.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like this.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p> Height of each stripe is 7 rows. Two 100 g balls were almost completely used and I ended up with 27 stripes altogether. The circumference of the scarf is about two meters. It can go quite a few times around my neck. </p>
<p> Our teddy is wearing it wound three times around his. </p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hW8Rnyu7bhQ/YKFnFT2deoI/AAAAAAAAIrs/w7NnuuS3rzMXPofGj14bB7qdCkqIfoSsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s975/_MG_8999.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="975" height="526" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hW8Rnyu7bhQ/YKFnFT2deoI/AAAAAAAAIrs/w7NnuuS3rzMXPofGj14bB7qdCkqIfoSsgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h526/_MG_8999.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just a couple more pics</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HSKAke0mStQ/YKFnR46lF4I/AAAAAAAAIrw/GydCYiUJX-QARsu_Y7aLFUh1jmofPaCPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s997/_MG_9003.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="997" height="514" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HSKAke0mStQ/YKFnR46lF4I/AAAAAAAAIrw/GydCYiUJX-QARsu_Y7aLFUh1jmofPaCPgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h514/_MG_9003.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And here I stop</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p> Knitting pics on Shutterstock — <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=knitting" target="_blank" title="Knitting images by Tamara Kulikova @ Shutterstock">here</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-7395099523274651612020-08-12T14:00:00.000+01:002020-08-12T18:41:07.429+01:00How to publish a book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bbbGp4pzpnQ/XzPJjONJgNI/AAAAAAAA8lw/DwnuCj_5fjkWjnzytCCwtRSBwQn3tneOACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Vote_for_Meow_as_seen_on_Kindle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Vote for Meow as seen on a tablet"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="569" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bbbGp4pzpnQ/XzPJjONJgNI/AAAAAAAA8lw/DwnuCj_5fjkWjnzytCCwtRSBwQn3tneOACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Vote_for_Meow_as_seen_on_Kindle.jpg" width="287" /></a>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l7fPveSyM4s/XzPJjOKQF8I/AAAAAAAA8l0/ls4C7sERppAZpAhEffuwqYLDJkxcE78wQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Vote_for_Meow_as_seen_on_smartphone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Vote for Meow as seen on a smartphone"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="569" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l7fPveSyM4s/XzPJjOKQF8I/AAAAAAAA8l0/ls4C7sERppAZpAhEffuwqYLDJkxcE78wQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Vote_for_Meow_as_seen_on_smartphone.jpg" width="287" /></a></div>
<p> Any idiot can publish a book, I thought, so why not me then. </p>
<p> For ten years now, I’ve been posting language-related observations on my blog, <a bobjhref="http://soloalgunaspalabras.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" title="sólo algunas palabras"><i>sólo algunas palabras</i></a>. Then, last summer, I had a brightish idea: to collect all the posts dealing with various aspects of Russian in one document, to add some extras and <i>then</i> publish it as a book. Tamara supported the idea and provided the “extras” in the form of illustrations. The manuscript started to take shape in June 2019. However, with this and that, I returned to editing it only in December. </p>
<p> I like the idea of self-publishing as well as that of print-on-demand. The latter means that only those who want your book will buy it, and the book will never be out of stock. While there is no shortage of e-book self-publishing services, only a few companies will make a physical book for you. And in terms of worldwide reach, it’s hard to beat <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_(company)" target="_blank" title="Amazon (company) in Wikipedia">Amazon</a>. What other company would print your book in demand in the USA, Canada, Europe, Japan, Mexico or Brazil? So we decided to give it a try. </p>
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<p> I must admit that Amazon’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindle_Direct_Publishing" target="_blank" title="Kindle Direct Publishing in Wikipedia">Kindle Direct Publishing</a> (KDP) platform makes the whole process really easy. Their web site is full of step-by-step <a href="http://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200635650" target="_blank" title="Getting Started @ Kindle Direct Publishing">guides</a> to self-publishing; I found the videos explaining in too much of a “for dummies” style though. All right, just one video, to be honest. Watching one was enough for me. </p>
<p> OK, let’s say you wrote a book, what next? First of all, you need to <a href="http://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200620010" target="_blank" title="Create a KDP Account @ Kindle Direct Publishing">create a KDP account</a>. If you already have an Amazon account, as I did, you simply sign in to KDP with your Amazon username and password and fill in your details: name, address, banking details for receiving royalty payments, and tax information. This is important, so don’t do it in a hurry and double-check everything. Even so, it took me no more than a quarter of an hour. </p>
<p> The submission menu consists of three main parts, which are conveniently organised in three tabs: Paperback Details, Paperback Content, and Paperback Pricing. In the Paperback Details section you have to fill: language, book title, author(s) / contributor(s), description (it will appear on your book’s Amazon detail page), publishing rights, up to seven (why <i>seven</i>?) search keywords, up to two (why?) browse categories, and whether the book contains adult content. Once again, no rushing here, as certain data, including the language, book title and its primary author or contributor (that is, you) cannot be edited after your book has been published. So, pay attention. </p>
<p> Once it’s done, time to go to Paperback Content. A print book has to be assigned an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" target="_blank" title="International Standard Book Number in Wikipedia">ISBN</a>, and KDP will give you one for free. Unless you already have an ISBN obtained somewhere else, which I doubt. Then you need to choose <a href="http://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834180" target="_blank" title="Print Options @ Kindle Direct Publishing">print options</a>: interior and paper type (currently, there are three: b&w interior on cream paper, b&w interior on white paper, and colour interior on white paper); trim size; bleed settings (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleed_(printing)" target="_blank" title="Bleed (printing) in Wikipedia">bleed</a> / no bleed) and cover finish (matte or glossy). You cannot change trim size or interior & paper type after the book has been published. </p>
<p> As <a href="http://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834230" target="_blank" title="Paperback Manuscript Templates @ Kindle Direct Publishing">the guide</a> said, the “most common trim size for paperbacks in the US is 6″ × 9″ (15.24 × 22.86 cm),” we chose it without much hesitation. Originally, I had the book set in A4 but it was not too difficult to reformat it to 6″ × 9″. Still, I kept tinkering with the manuscript until the beginning of March. It really was the declaration of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Spain#State_of_alarm_(13%E2%80%9327_March)" target="_blank" title="COVID-19 pandemic in Spain in Wikipedia: State of alarm (13–27 March)">State of Alarm</a> that made me to stop fooling around and finally submit it. Which was not all that difficult. After all, I had the document ready. </p>
<p> The only thing I didn’t have was a cover, and that was quite easy to create with KDP’s <a href="http://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201113520" target="_blank" title="Cover Creator @ Kindle Direct Publishing">cover design tool</a>. I was surprised at the limited choice of templates and fonts there, but, as long as you don’t need anything fancy, it will do. We used Tamara’s images for both the front and back cover on what we thought was a black background. For some inexplicable reason, the authors’ names appear on a stripe of a slightly different shade of black. Oh well. Some day we shall try to create our <a href="http://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201953020" target="_blank" title="Create a Paperback Cover @ Kindle Direct Publishing">100% own cover</a> as a pdf. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4KT50uWBEt0/XzE0u-GvxzI/AAAAAAAA8kk/hyq8kpmKBFMVrzlEoVEohm0gl-4V3_BNACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/spor_front_cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Some Peculiarities of Russian: front cover"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="907" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4KT50uWBEt0/XzE0u-GvxzI/AAAAAAAA8kk/hyq8kpmKBFMVrzlEoVEohm0gl-4V3_BNACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/spor_front_cover.jpg" width="213" /></a>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HDqAXfnrDUE/XzEzrJDIF0I/AAAAAAAA8kc/nNx1qrqnvJ4P3VTkIxGv1vuLcy24LETRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/spor_back_cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Some Peculiarities of Russian: back cover"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="907" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HDqAXfnrDUE/XzEzrJDIF0I/AAAAAAAA8kc/nNx1qrqnvJ4P3VTkIxGv1vuLcy24LETRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/spor_back_cover.jpg" width="212" /></a>
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<p> As for the manuscript, there were still a few things that I needed to modify. First, I had a couple of pages containing the tables in landscape. Turned out, the KDP cannot cope with a change of orientation in the middle of the document. Which is really ridiculous since every <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_printing" target="_blank" title="Laser printing in Wikipedia">laser printer</a> I have dealt with in my life (and, come to think of it, most <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot_matrix_printing" target="_blank" title="Dot matrix printing in Wikipedia">dot-matrix ones</a>) could handle it. No problem, I reformatted the tables so all my pages were now in portrait and resubmitted. Second, the manuscript contained a number of images that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleed_(printing)" target="_blank" title="Bleed (printing) in Wikipedia">bleed</a> to the edge of the page. To my surprise, following my submission I received an email, apparently from a human being! The email advised me to add 0.125″ to the page width and 0.25″ to the page height to ensure that the images in the manuscript extend beyond the edge of the page. This prevents white edges when the book is trimmed. In fact, this was mentioned in <a href="http://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834230" target="_blank" title="Paperback Manuscript Templates @ Kindle Direct Publishing">the guide</a>, I just didn’t read carefully enough. So I increased the size of the page accordingly and resubmitted. </p>
<p> You can see exactly how your book will look because the submitting tool generates a downloadable pdf file that you can (and should) peruse at your leisure before going to the next section. These pdf files would be even more useful if they were searchable, which they ain’t. </p>
<p> When you are happy with this final look, you can move to the Paperback Pricing section. Here, choose Territories (there are two options: “all territories” if you hold worldwide rights for your book, and “individual territories” otherwise) and Pricing & Royalty. In the latter section, you can establish your primary marketplace (say, Amazon.com), set the list price and base all other marketplaces on this price. Or, you can set the list prices for the other marketplaces individually, it’s up to you. Note that Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, Amazon.it and Amazon.co.jp will automatically add VAT for their respective countries. Keep that in mind if you want nice round list prices like 9.99 in whatever currency. You might also consider if you want (or not) <a href="http://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GQTT4W3T5AYK7L45" title="Expanded Distribution @ Kindle Direct Publishing">Expanded Distribution</a>: ticking the box changes the minimum list price. </p>
<p> Anyway, we set our prices (I think, quite modestly) and... yes, hit the “publish” button. </p>
<p> In a day or two, <a href="http://hyperurl.co/sporp" target="_blank" title="Some Peculiarities of Russian (paperback) @ Amazon"><i>Some Peculiarities of Russian</i></a> was marked as “live” on the Amazon web site. </p>
<p> The e-book version of the book saw the light thanks to Mark Roman, the author of <a href="http://listenlearnread.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-ultimate-inferior-beings.html" target="_blank" title="The Ultimate Inferior Beings @ Listen, Learn, Read"><i>The Ultimate Inferior Beings</i></a> and <a href="http://listenlearnread.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-worst-man-on-mars.html" target="_blank" title="The Worst Man on Mars @ Listen, Learn, Read"><i>The Worst Man on Mars</i></a>. Not only did he convince me to go ahead with it, he offered his expertise and help with preparation of the manuscript. Needless to say, the offer was accepted. Incidentally, he is also responsible for coining the acronym <i>SPOR</i> for the book’s title. </p>
<p> The challenge was to convert the .doc file to .mobi format. The main problem, once again, had something to do with tables. It seems that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflowable_document" target="_blank" title="Reflowable document in Wikipedia">reflowable</a> e-book formats are not meant to represent tables. After a few heroic attempts by Mark, we gave up and decided to insert the tables as images. As a result, our e-book grew in size up to almost 6 Mb which, I am told, is a lot — but wait till you read about our next project. </p>
<p> After quite a few iterations (I read through at least ten versions of the .mobi file), we had a document that read reasonably well on both PC and on our old trusty Kindle reader. Submitting the .mobi file went like a charm. And in a few hours, the <a href="http://hyperurl.co/spork" target="_blank" title="Some Peculiarities of Russian (Kindle) @ Amazon">e-book</a> went live. </p>
<p> I hesitate to be grateful to the pandemic for the result. In any case, I had planned to publish <i>SPOR</i> before the lockdown. This cannot be said about our second book, <a href="http://hyperurl.co/miaoup" target="_blank" title="Vote for Meow (paperback) @ Amazon"><i>Vote for Meow</i></a>, which was a fruit of Tamara’s one-drawing-per-day challenge, from <a href="http://myleconsdefrench.blogspot.com/2020/03/faites-lart-pas-les-courses.html" target="_blank" title="Faites l’art, pas les courses @ My leçons de French">14 March</a> to <a href="http://myleconsdefrench.blogspot.com/2020/05/mes-bonnes-resolutions.html" target="_blank" title="Mes Bonnes Résolutions @ My leçons de French">11 May 2020</a>. Nevertheless, it took us more than two months to prepare the book for submission. This time, we decided to publish a square book (8.5″ × 8.5″) in full colour. It went live on 18 July 2020. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gj6x294bImM/XxS7WP8jRZI/AAAAAAAA74g/vDTyixoBt6Ur7b6UJdG2JSpoWYQkmPBWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Vote_for_meow.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Vote for Meow (paperback): front cover"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gj6x294bImM/XxS7WP8jRZI/AAAAAAAA74g/vDTyixoBt6Ur7b6UJdG2JSpoWYQkmPBWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Vote_for_meow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<p> It would be a shame not to offer it as an e-book too. We knew from the start that we wanted the <i>real book</i> look (not the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflowable_document" target="_blank" title="Reflowable document in Wikipedia">reflowable</a> e-book look). To convert the pdf into a kpf (Kindle Create Publishable File) format, I used the free <a href="http://www.amazon.com/kindlecreate" target="_blank" title="Kindle Create @ Amazon.com">Kindle Create</a> tool for PC. First, I created an exact copy of the paperback using the same master pdf file. It took a few seconds. However, when we saw the result in the tablet/smartphone emulator of Kindle Create, we realised that we needed to reformat the file because, well, tablets and smartphones aren’t square and the book wouldn’t look any good on them. I set the manuscript to the now-too-familiar 6″ × 9″. It looked better but still not good enough: on the emulated smartphone, the text was barely readable. I went back to the editor and increased the font size (from 12 to 14 pt, to be precise). </p>
<p> We decided to give the <a href="http://hyperurl.co/miaouk" target="_blank" title="Vote for Meow (Kindle) @ Amazon">e-book</a> a cover clearly distinct from that of the paperback. </p>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UJcrQL4iYLA/XzF2BvcmRiI/AAAAAAAA8kw/qJLE1CbFPQYF_44uBKQPBk_lygAjAOy-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Vote_for_meow.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Vote for Meow: e-book cover"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="855" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UJcrQL4iYLA/XzF2BvcmRiI/AAAAAAAA8kw/qJLE1CbFPQYF_44uBKQPBk_lygAjAOy-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Vote_for_meow.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<p> Now, what about money, you may ask. With <a href="http://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834330" target="_blank" title="Paperback Royalty @ Kindle Direct Publishing">paperback</a>, you can expect 60% royalties for standard distribution and 40% for expanded distribution. Sounds acceptable, right? That is, till you realise that you get the royalty rate times the list price minus printing costs:
<blockquote> royalty = (royalty rate × list price) – printing costs </blockquote>
How much is <a href="http://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834340" target="_blank" title="Printing Cost @ Kindle Direct Publishing">printing cost</a>? Depends on page count and print options. From the printing cost, Amazon calculates the minimum list price you have to set:
<blockquote> minimum list price = printing cost / royalty rate </blockquote>
<i>SPOR</i> printing cost is $2.70 (£2.24) and that of <i>Vote for Meow</i> (<i>V4M</i>) is $11.49 (£7.54). So for each copy of <i>SPOR</i> sold for £8.12 (min. list price £3.73), we earn £2.63 in royalties, for one copy of <i>V4M</i> (list price £19.95, min. £12.57) we get £4.43. It does not look like we’ll get rich any time soon. </p>
<p> As the printing cost of an e-book is zero, you’d expect a better pay. Amazon <a href="http://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200634500" target="_blank" title="Digital Pricing Page @ Kindle Direct Publishing">offers two royalty options</a>, 35% and 70%. If the former looks like a daylight robbery, the latter seems to be about right. But wait. The 35% option gives you
<blockquote> royalty = 35% × (list price – applicable VAT) </blockquote>
The 70% option is calculated as
<blockquote> royalty = 70% × (list price – applicable VAT – delivery costs) </blockquote>
What is delivery costs? Well, the bigger the file the more it costs to deliver. Amazon charges obscene amount of $0.15 / £0.10 / €0.12 per MB.
So for <i>SPOR</i> (3.74 MB) delivery cost is $0.56; thus, with list price $3.99, we get $2.40 royalty. While for <i>V4M</i> (22.08 MB), delivery is $3.31; with list price $5.99, we get $1.88. On the other hand, with the same list price we get $2.10 if we use the 35% option. </p>
<p> Not that it matters much for the moment: we didn’t sell a single e-book yet. But in the future, we’d like to work with a publisher that pays its authors fairly. </p>
Kirillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00719435019715182189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-39538159178792864672020-06-05T13:57:00.003+01:002023-01-30T20:27:03.634+00:00Avocado seed flotation device<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y37nwXcA7Dw/XtpANXfslSI/AAAAAAAAII8/hLorhNIq7okj69YpiCe0DyFCJ3ijJP92ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_MG_7540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y37nwXcA7Dw/XtpANXfslSI/AAAAAAAAII8/hLorhNIq7okj69YpiCe0DyFCJ3ijJP92ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/_MG_7540.jpg" width="640" /></a></p></div>
<p> This one is even less serious than the <a href="http://madebytamarak.blogspot.com/2020/04/knit-your-fears-quarantine-knitting.html" target="_blank" title="Knit your fears, quarantine knitting project @ this blog">previous project</a>, but here goes. </p>
<p> More or less at the same time as <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/00719435019715182189" target="_blank" title="Kirill's profile @ Blogger">Kirill</a> finished writing his story <a href="http://listenlearnread.blogspot.com/2020/05/flor.html" target="_blank" title="Flor @ Listen, Learn, Read"><i>Flor</i></a>, I’ve started an <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=avocado+isolated" target="_blank" title="My photos of avocado @ Shutterstock">avocado</a> seed germination project. The illustration in the story was drawn from life. I was really surprised how fast it went – the seed cracked next day already, and a little root appeared within two or three days. We, along with all of Spain, were in quarantine situation, so a lot of attention was paid to small things. The speed may have something to do with the fact that the pear was local, ripe and that we live in appropriate climate. </p>
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<p> I can’t tell you exactly how long it took for the root to start touching the bottom of the first glass I used. I changed it to a taller glass, but the root pretty quickly reached the bottom, too. A small stem, or maybe a leaf, we have to wait and see, appeared from the crack. </p>
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<p> It became clear that something needs to be done again, so I figured that maybe we can made use of a collection of corks we have in our house. We have a lot of strange stuff in our house, that’s for sure. </p>
<p> And here you have it. The corks are joined together by jewelry wire, another thing which was knocking about the house more or less forever. There are two rings of wire, to fix the corks on flat ring. </p>
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<p> The little wine cork float was made by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/00719435019715182189" target="_blank" title="Kirill's profile @ Blogger">Kirill</a> and not by me. Just saying. </p>
<p> Now, the next stage I am not at all sure about. It will need planting soon, I imagine, but we don’t have a garden, so... don’t know what to do. </p>
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<p> It might decide to die, of course, like the one in <a href="http://listenlearnread.blogspot.com/2020/05/flor.html" target="_blank" title="Flor @ Listen, Learn, Read">the story</a>, which will be a sad but easy ending to the project.</p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-37737208209476370962020-04-12T19:51:00.006+01:002023-01-30T20:35:56.938+00:00Knit your fears, quarantine knitting project <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xvmlDvZonsc/XpNUXsbFrOI/AAAAAAAAH6Y/x1qGz8Hgof4y3oTBYfuQjpw6JrHU-1k_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_MG_6449.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xvmlDvZonsc/XpNUXsbFrOI/AAAAAAAAH6Y/x1qGz8Hgof4y3oTBYfuQjpw6JrHU-1k_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/_MG_6449.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It is still drying. It has been drying for a day now.</td></tr>
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<p> I can’t explain why I made this model of the virus that brought the most of the planet to a standstill. Maybe it is an attempt to domesticate the wild and fearsome, sort of like like what we do with bears, having teddies in our houses. I thought about making at night, and when I woke up, went and checked, and yep, some people thought of it first. Made it anyway, ибодабы. </p>
<p> The pattern is simple and based on usual 6-ray symmetry knitted ball. Ball is knitted first, and then the tentacles are crocheted on. I will record here the process and numbers, so that my next attempt, if any, has better proportions. </p>
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<p> Materials: some yarn, preferably woollen, because the model is felted in the end, stuffing, hollow fibre in my case, 4 straight sock needles, crochet hook. <br />
Cast on 6 stitches, distribute between 3 needles, start knitting in round, adding evenly distributed 6 stitches every second row. </p>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3quCdk49Ui0/XpNZCHIggBI/AAAAAAAAH6k/2XFfcGHbI1M8o3CnyIPyo1G9qBfO6YYcgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_MG_6415.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="1501" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3quCdk49Ui0/XpNZCHIggBI/AAAAAAAAH6k/2XFfcGHbI1M8o3CnyIPyo1G9qBfO6YYcgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_MG_6415.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">second row, 4 stitches on each needle</td></tr>
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<p> The increase rows<br />
row1 all knit<br />
row2 increase each stitch, now you have 4 stitches on each needle, 12 altogether<br />
row3 all knit<br />
row4 knit 1, knit 1 with increase till the end of the row 6 stitches each needle, 18 altogether<br />
row5 all knit<br />
row6 knit 2, knit 1 with increase till the end of the row 6 stitches each needle, 24 altogether<br />
row7 all knit<br />
row8 knit 3, knit 1 with increase, etc. </p>
<p> I knitted in this fashion till I had 12 on each needles, 36 altogether. Then knitted 2 rows without increases, one with increases (42 stitches altogether), two more without, then started with <br />
The decrease rows, which are matching the increases: </p>
row1 knit 5, knit two together, repeat till the end of the row<br />
row2 all knit<br />
row3 all knit<br />
row4 knit 4, knit two together, repeat till the end of the row<br />
row5 all knit<br />
row6 knit 3, knit two together till the end of the row<br />
etc, till you think it is time to stuff the ball. Hide the cast-on tail, if any, inside the toy.
<p> I did the stuffing when I had six stitches on each needle: </p>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eUEO8PscI30/XpNc42UZggI/AAAAAAAAH6w/uZFuWylH0Ucu42YTc9Mrtk8SLBZbsl1KwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_MG_6421.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="1501" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eUEO8PscI30/XpNc42UZggI/AAAAAAAAH6w/uZFuWylH0Ucu42YTc9Mrtk8SLBZbsl1KwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_MG_6421.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<p> Continue with decreases till you have 6 stitches altogether, two on each needle. </p>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EBFkP9UtGrI/XpNdI0ekSPI/AAAAAAAAH60/zb79OeoLnUEDKhNwphoeNj_lCuKT6lkiACEwYBhgLKs0DAMBZVoALIViKBbdAxcwrcGYiRXC3x_MqwN3Jv6BwOr1gYsU3MVJyZldVarasiPvMS-P2pcrDW-SBEHJyQ15Mryx3et6wQ2lXYl_9PqLJdXXgbf0TDXaL7-mHUW0QzKxumQO6QpfqMLnaJ67X0FAecivwK7kWaUvFBmxVs4_T_VKeT4NU-OTkfA9D4o_TE-8j89JyssAtsT-yZT-ancvbHwYesfFU9bLJkSqAY3369Ky3WXYy49FzR3Zmx635Q3TJsUF5DMAuamd-V58kpyWhS7UtgvYVFNlji-PchyuJZBLO6HsUL0UawRglDinzTPbSwIKPRYJ3JWGL2ALq4Mf1lv6hpxZRWe6oV2R_yxttJ5AbHpYdb45riH2QSlogdepwooYeyRywsDldnP1PnTDDHI4DnmyhaHGyUbyMJthaRTDw6_156wyq5L9QCyi9ukYsDKTwyccn0_j5tdBL1-oUXkMzyxa1Zjv7JZgooeE0xvKFjPcoNijqgAxETUOdoxIPLWDsjhHsOJBy0Rkb5yFjE8gFyO0Wanc109mb18ymU-uRQdlRG_tTPlBezA75TA0CsAhAzmAO-jNmfQcKeaPzgg-63DIvuzXGlAU7UDkwiL_N9AU/s1600/_MG_6423.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EBFkP9UtGrI/XpNdI0ekSPI/AAAAAAAAH60/zb79OeoLnUEDKhNwphoeNj_lCuKT6lkiACEwYBhgLKs0DAMBZVoALIViKBbdAxcwrcGYiRXC3x_MqwN3Jv6BwOr1gYsU3MVJyZldVarasiPvMS-P2pcrDW-SBEHJyQ15Mryx3et6wQ2lXYl_9PqLJdXXgbf0TDXaL7-mHUW0QzKxumQO6QpfqMLnaJ67X0FAecivwK7kWaUvFBmxVs4_T_VKeT4NU-OTkfA9D4o_TE-8j89JyssAtsT-yZT-ancvbHwYesfFU9bLJkSqAY3369Ky3WXYy49FzR3Zmx635Q3TJsUF5DMAuamd-V58kpyWhS7UtgvYVFNlji-PchyuJZBLO6HsUL0UawRglDinzTPbSwIKPRYJ3JWGL2ALq4Mf1lv6hpxZRWe6oV2R_yxttJ5AbHpYdb45riH2QSlogdepwooYeyRywsDldnP1PnTDDHI4DnmyhaHGyUbyMJthaRTDw6_156wyq5L9QCyi9ukYsDKTwyccn0_j5tdBL1-oUXkMzyxa1Zjv7JZgooeE0xvKFjPcoNijqgAxETUOdoxIPLWDsjhHsOJBy0Rkb5yFjE8gFyO0Wanc109mb18ymU-uRQdlRG_tTPlBezA75TA0CsAhAzmAO-jNmfQcKeaPzgg-63DIvuzXGlAU7UDkwiL_N9AU/s400/_MG_6423.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<p> Close all stitches with a crochet hook. I had to cut and re-attach the yarn at this point. </p>
<p> Originally I wanted to somehow knit the model without having to cut the yarn, but couldn’t quite work out how to do it. I am ok with knitting but not so much with the crochet, you can probably do the knit-crochet transition much better than me. </p>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_qkqSD8cGiM/XpNeRoe1puI/AAAAAAAAH7E/Nzv9x2KfA4Q1eUCJOcXj211KKZIv-509QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_MG_6427.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_qkqSD8cGiM/XpNeRoe1puI/AAAAAAAAH7E/Nzv9x2KfA4Q1eUCJOcXj211KKZIv-509QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_MG_6427.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ball looks nice and neat, just a note to myself — the yarn must be thicker or needles smaller, because stuffing is showing.</td></tr>
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<p> Now, to do the tentacles. Chain six for the “leg” and then chain 3 to make a loop at the end. Return to the base of the chain by single-crocheting into the first 6 chain stitches. </p>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AcgAKrIrCdM/XpNfIeLAHqI/AAAAAAAAH7c/PAa8am4s0DcA-GKjsEBEAD1qF2c5xWdQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_MG_6434.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AcgAKrIrCdM/XpNfIeLAHqI/AAAAAAAAH7c/PAa8am4s0DcA-GKjsEBEAD1qF2c5xWdQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_MG_6434.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looks like Cthulhu with a spear, doesn’t it </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--akKQA8894U/XpNfgxY_RcI/AAAAAAAAH7k/mfQTwEOL6P84QdZH2phzyVGFTtyxAQ-wwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_MG_6437.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--akKQA8894U/XpNfgxY_RcI/AAAAAAAAH7k/mfQTwEOL6P84QdZH2phzyVGFTtyxAQ-wwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_MG_6437.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how each tentacle looks like</td></tr>
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<p> To arrive to the next base, I single-crocheted into the stitches of the sphere. You can see the chains of sc on the first photo. </p>
<p> Originally, I figured I will make one tentacle on each pole, then 6 on the equator and 3 on each 45 degrees on longitude of the sphere, 14 altogether, making for a regular arrangement. </p>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qbohtBLw4ak/XpNgg6gnrEI/AAAAAAAAH7w/AlpxQZCEzUkPwHzUNtIgxo7ICe5lQZZ9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_MG_6442.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qbohtBLw4ak/XpNgg6gnrEI/AAAAAAAAH7w/AlpxQZCEzUkPwHzUNtIgxo7ICe5lQZZ9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_MG_6442.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ball with 14 tentacles, chains of sc showing clearly.</td></tr>
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<p> But then I looked at it and realised there were too few tentacles. So, I started adding more more or less randomly ending up with 24 and breaking the regularity. </p>
<p> Also, I must note that the tentacles are too long. So next time fewer chain stitches and a regular pattern of more tentacles. </p>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H60SkNgwVGs/XpNiP65nh2I/AAAAAAAAH8A/HEoGSSiz3xE7P0gi2PxDBswlvZy_wkHBQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_MG_6443.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H60SkNgwVGs/XpNiP65nh2I/AAAAAAAAH8A/HEoGSSiz3xE7P0gi2PxDBswlvZy_wkHBQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_MG_6443.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished, or simply stopped </td></tr>
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<p> The too-long tentacles were flexible and curling on themselves, so I washed the toy in very hot water with soap, rubbing it to make it felt a bit. It helped somewhat, but next time I need to calculate better. </p>
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<p> That’s all for now. I might add of re-write if I have another go. </p>
<p> This model on Shutterstock — <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=coronavirus+model" target="_blank" title="Photos of knitted coronavirus @ Shutterstock">here</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-6534428826454582412018-01-31T13:54:00.001+00:002023-01-31T23:33:03.964+00:00Lemon marmalade<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jfznTiVls3s/WnDDVfdPOjI/AAAAAAAAGEg/Qg6en-6cyqUzxo0c_6F1N8Nn73eyeLTQwCEwYBhgL/s1600/_MG_0927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="1000" height="475" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jfznTiVls3s/WnDDVfdPOjI/AAAAAAAAGEg/Qg6en-6cyqUzxo0c_6F1N8Nn73eyeLTQwCEwYBhgL/s640/_MG_0927.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p> I am not a huge fan of marmalade, but <a href="http://listenlearnread.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="Listen, Learn, Read">Kirill</a> likes it. So we had a go at making it. The recipe came from <a href="http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2014/11/lemon-jam.html" target="_blank" title="Make Your Own Simple Lemon Jam @ One Good Thing by Jillee">this page</a>; I will post it here with my remarks lest the page disappears. First remark is that is should be called marmalade, and not “jam”, as it contains peels. </p>
<h4> Ingredients: </h4>
<ul>
4 lemons (ours were medium-sized)<br />
Juice of one lemon, strained (recipe says 2 tablespoons, but lemon I used only gave about 3, so it all went in)<br />
1 cup sugar (<a href="http://madebytamarak.blogspot.com/2015/12/orange-and-cinnamon-cake.html" target="_blank" title="Orange and cinnamon cake @ this blog">my favorite cup holds 260 ml</a>)<br />
4 cups water
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H_LpalQImVQ/WnDDTu65IlI/AAAAAAAAGEM/oYud0nU6xmsrjcjsj_21rczAAVD_ijvGACLcBGAs/s1600/_MG_0886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1000" height="251" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H_LpalQImVQ/WnDDTu65IlI/AAAAAAAAGEM/oYud0nU6xmsrjcjsj_21rczAAVD_ijvGACLcBGAs/s400/_MG_0886.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, they are medium-sized, it is a very small pot. If your lemons are waxed, wash them thoroughly (pour boiling water over, scrub with a brush, rinse, dry)</td></tr>
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<ul>
<li> Grate the zest of 3 lemons and slice the fourth lemon one into a small pot. Remove any seeds. </li>
</ul>
<p> Unsure how thick the slices should be, we counted them on the pic in the “original”. We counted 13, so we aimed for approximately the same amount. Now I think that thicker slices probably will give nicer presentation. </p>
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<ul>
<li> Add one cup of water to the pot, bring to boil, simmer 10 minutes, strain water, add another cup, bring to boil, simmer ten minutes, strain. </li>
</ul>
<p> This step (or two steps) is probably to remove some of the bitterness, so next time I will repeat it one more time, to my taste too much of it still remains (although <a href="http://listenlearnread.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="Listen, Learn, Read">Kirill</a> disagrees) </p>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The result filled half a liter jar, but it probably should make more (see text)</td></tr>
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<ul>
<li> Add sugar, juice and two cups of water to the pot, bring to boil and simmer till it starts to thicken: 30—45 minutes. </li>
</ul>
<p> This last step proved a bit tricky, specifically the “starts to thicken” bit. I found that on the surface of the boiling marmalade some sort of film is formed (probably pectin raises to the surface). So I couldn’t trust the “drop on thumbnail”* test result, and just simmered for the maximum amount of time stated — 45 minutes, then poured <a href="http://soloalgunaspalabras.wordpress.com/2018/01/25/jam-jars/" target="_blank" title="банки из-под варенья @ sólo algunas palabras">the jam into jars</a> and left to cool and set. Well, it didn’t (didn’t set, that is). It remained resolutely liquid. </p>
<p> So, the following day I poured the jam back into the pot and simmered for some additional 30 minutes. It reduced visibly in volume and started to turn orange, probably Maillard reaction started (the liquid stage was yellow). This time it set very fast. I think I could have stopped the boiling earlier (once again, next time). The resulting volume is half a liter, but you might get more of you stop the boiling earlier. </p>
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<p> * ”Drop on thumbnail” is what my granny used to do to test the readiness of her jams. You put one drop of jam on you thumbnail and hold it vertically, if the drop runs down, jam is not ready, if it slides slowly (and majestically), it is. You can do the same with a saucer of course, but this is for sissies. Plus, licking the saucer doesn’t look as natural as licking your thumb. </p>
<p> More photos related to <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=lemon" target="_blank" title="Photos by Tamara Kulikova related to lemons">lemons</a>, <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=jam" target="_blank" title="Photos by Tamara Kulikova related to jam">jam</a> and <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=marmalade" target="_blank" title="Photos by Tamara Kulikova related to marmalade">marmalade</a> @ Shutterstock. </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-18221852362148496832017-02-13T15:50:00.008+00:002023-01-30T23:38:30.692+00:00Sea glass project<link href="http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Covered+By+Your+Grace" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"></link>
<p> There is a stretch of <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Confital" target="_blank" title="El Confital en Wikipedia">El Confital</a> beach full of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_glass" target="_blank" title="Sea glass in Wikipedia">sea glass</a>. Every time we go there, we end up bringing a few kilos home. </p>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7FFqg4QiN6M/WJxMixejC9I/AAAAAAAAFNI/6U6AhHesyyUojFTy619D57dbdzrL6eLlgCLcB/s1600/0012654920-original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank" title="El Confital - photo by Tamara Kulikova"><img border="0" height="339" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7FFqg4QiN6M/WJxMixejC9I/AAAAAAAAFNI/6U6AhHesyyUojFTy619D57dbdzrL6eLlgCLcB/s640/0012654920-original.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playa del Confital</td></tr>
</table>
<p> Sea glass is beautiful and just begs to be collected. Now we know one more use for it. We’ve created some images and an alphabet out of sea glass. </p>
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<p> Speaking of use. I have finally discovered the real purpose of the glass-top coffee tables that the Spanish love so much. They are specially made to help to photograph various transparent and semi-transparent objects, such as <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=spirula" target="_blank" title="Photos of spirula by Tamara Kulikova"><i>Spirula</i></a> shell. Otherwise they are a nuisance to maintain and a danger to be around. </p>
<p> The principle is the same as in the <a href="http://tamara-kulikova.blogspot.com/2008/09/isolation-on-white-without-lightcube.html" target="_blank" title="Isolation on white without a lightcube @ Pics and other stuff">sunlight cube</a>, except using an off-camera flashgun instead of sunlight. </p>
<p> Kirill had fun making the designs (almost all of them), and it was a sheer pleasure to photograph — very little post-processing involved. As an outgrowth of this project, we’ve started yet another blog: <span style="font-family: 'Covered By Your Grace' , cursive; font-size: large;"><a href="http://justsomesymbols.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="just some symbols blog">just some symbols</a></span>. </p>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LetNlZwY46Q/WJsi1kdeDDI/AAAAAAAAFMo/LF3Yp8fKCTAhwrwbdsgpvBa86ClXFRsawCLcB/s1600/_MG_7365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank" title="Fish - photo by Tamara Kulikova"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LetNlZwY46Q/WJsi1kdeDDI/AAAAAAAAFMo/LF3Yp8fKCTAhwrwbdsgpvBa86ClXFRsawCLcB/s400/_MG_7365.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fish</td></tr>
</table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QZ-AtR5kqq4/WJsi1ZTgfmI/AAAAAAAAFMk/iVncUYUqYMUVT75k3M5Bi8buU0okOzRfwCLcB/s1600/_MG_7369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Owl"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QZ-AtR5kqq4/WJsi1ZTgfmI/AAAAAAAAFMk/iVncUYUqYMUVT75k3M5Bi8buU0okOzRfwCLcB/s400/_MG_7369.jpg" width="370" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Owl</td></tr>
</table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lG7Li_7g1qU/WJsi2GGNqwI/AAAAAAAAFM4/u1j83XcWuqgaXmAbzaNwbTQd4GlU7IxCgCLcB/s1600/_MG_8332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank" title="Tree - photo by Tamara Kulikova"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lG7Li_7g1qU/WJsi2GGNqwI/AAAAAAAAFM4/u1j83XcWuqgaXmAbzaNwbTQd4GlU7IxCgCLcB/s400/_MG_8332.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree</td></tr>
</table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7fNQyqOuCG8/WJsi1ipMADI/AAAAAAAAFMs/MnADi9eBHiIfsnA0VUN4SDfG_GuGSw2LACLcB/s1600/_MG_7396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank" title="Guanche symbol - photo by Tamara Kulikova"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7fNQyqOuCG8/WJsi1ipMADI/AAAAAAAAFMs/MnADi9eBHiIfsnA0VUN4SDfG_GuGSw2LACLcB/s400/_MG_7396.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guanche design (we had trouble finding the meanings of these. I personally reckon this one is just ornamental)</td></tr>
</table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rr6ehy9hXXI/WJsi12e5WbI/AAAAAAAAFMw/TS-PcUlxcawjxvl35diOVCWyUwdH3bTFQCLcB/s1600/_MG_7403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank" title="Another Guanche symbol - photo by Tamara Kulikova"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rr6ehy9hXXI/WJsi12e5WbI/AAAAAAAAFMw/TS-PcUlxcawjxvl35diOVCWyUwdH3bTFQCLcB/s400/_MG_7403.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guanche symbol (possibly of a human, but the tail seems to be too long. Hmm...)</td></tr>
</table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_s-MRxqhjfo/WJsi2BsGqvI/AAAAAAAAFM0/GfhsKbkGraQD2UywDtncMMsFU0MXg1JBgCLcB/s1600/_MG_7503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank" title="Sea - photo by Tamara Kulikova"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_s-MRxqhjfo/WJsi2BsGqvI/AAAAAAAAFM0/GfhsKbkGraQD2UywDtncMMsFU0MXg1JBgCLcB/s400/_MG_7503.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wave. The seaglass alphabet is begging to be used as drop caps. A book about beach, anybody? </td></tr>
</table>
<p> Many more examples of sea glass symbols in <span style="font-family: 'Covered By Your Grace' , cursive; font-size: large;"><a href="http://justsomesymbols.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="just some symbols blog">yet another blog</a></span>. </p>
<p> More photos of <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=sea+glass" target="_blank" title="Photos of sea glass by Tamara Kulikova">sea glass</a> and <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=Confital" target="_blank" title="Photos of El Confital by Tamara Kulikova">Confital</a> @ Shutterstock. </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-797712413731175722016-10-08T12:57:00.002+01:002023-01-30T20:44:30.054+00:00Round rabbit <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HwpSMpYwJJE/V_jIWI60bLI/AAAAAAAAFCE/f3ofEtFKV-kb-bmffqG3pEWMbo3HB4znwCLcB/s1600/_MG_3694.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="444" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HwpSMpYwJJE/V_jIWI60bLI/AAAAAAAAFCE/f3ofEtFKV-kb-bmffqG3pEWMbo3HB4znwCLcB/s640/_MG_3694.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The description that follows is for brown rabbit on the right</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Since I first made my <a href="http://madebytamarak.blogspot.com/2014/09/totoroid-breakfast-companion.html" target="_blank" title="Totoroid breakfast companion @ this blog">totoroid breakfast companion</a>, I've made quite a few more, ranging from conical, through cylindrical to round, as shown. Now I decided to redo the description in a somewhat more precise manner. I was writing things down as I went along, so that you can see the exact result.<br />
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First, you find some remains of the yarn. You don't need a lot (you can make the design smaller or bigger as you go along, so, I dunno, about 30 g of thin-ish yarn, like 250 m in 100 g). Find five appropriate size double-point needles. Appropriate size in this case means that you obtain knitting substantial enough that the stuffing doesn't show.<br />
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Cast on 6 stitches the way you like it best. Distribute between three needles, start knitting in rounds, first round all-knit.<br />
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Second and two more rows - make two stitches out of each edge stitch on each needle, any way you like it (this is the base of the toy, not particularly visible). With each row you will increase the number of stitches by 6 - 2 for each needle. The base will start looking like a triangle. When you arrive at 8 stitches on each needle, start adding two extra stitches in the middle of each needle every second row. Example, the first needle of the 5th row : You have 8 stitches, make two out of the first one, knit 2, make two, make two, knit two, make two, you now have twelve on the needle. Every one of such rows will increase the overall amount by 12 (4 stitches increase on each needle). Every second round is knit the same way as before - making two out of every edge stitch, overall increase of 6. Adding stitches in the middle will make the triangle rounded.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see the middle-needle increases puckering</td></tr>
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I knitted in this fashion till I had 30 stitches on each needle. You can stop earlier, of course. The toy will be smaller, but the whole thing is very modifiable anyway.<br />
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Now, to make a little tail. This is optional, obviously, but I found it helped my to keep track of which needle I was on. You end each row when you are at the tail. I don't have markers or counters - am not that organized.<br />
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Knit two stitches of the next round. Slip the last two stitches of the last round onto the other end of your working needle. You now have four stitches on it. This is where your fifth needle comes into play. Make 4-stitches i-cord, 6-7 rows of it.<br />
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Now, put the stitches of the i-cord back where they belong, returning 2 stitches on both right and left needles. The i-cord will be folded double in process. This is the tail.<br />
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This is the best point to pick up the loose end that is left after casting on. Pull the yarn tight, closing the middle hole if there is one, thread it into a sewing needle, make a half-hitch knot to fasten the yarn, make a loose seam to the bunny tail and close any holes that might have formed by sewing them together. Make a half-hitch knot and cut the end keeping it on the reverse side.<br />
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Start knitting the lower, cylindrical part of the toy's body, without increases or decreases. Knit 10 rows.<br />
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Start decreasing.<br />
I made each decreasing row by knitting two together twice on each needle. That's minus 6 stitches per row. Important (I think) - don't make your decreases every time in the same place, otherwise your rabbit will get a very geometrical look. Unless that is what you want. Do, however, make your decreases regular within the round. For example, the first decreasing row can be made as follows:<br />
We have 30 stitches on each needle and we are making one "knit two together" per 15 stitches.<br />
Knit (any number of stitches between zero and 13, i.e. not going past the middle of the needle, but for simplicity let's say) 5, knit two together. *Knit 13, knit two together*, Repeat the bit between the ** till you run out of stitches. Next decreasing row will be done similarly, but instead of knitting 13 you will do 12 (one "knit two together" per 14 stitches). Do start in a different place, though.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting to decrease</td></tr>
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Make one decreasing row, 3 rows all-knit, one decreasing. 2 rows all-knit; after that each decreasing row is followed by one all knit row till you are left with 8 stitches on each needle.<br />
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Stuff your toy. I use hollowfiber, you can use what seems best.<br />
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Knit four stitches.<br />
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Re-distribute the stitches between the four needles as follows: 8 at the back (above the tail, yes, 4 to each side of it), four each side to make ears, 8 in the front.<br />
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Make the first ear by knitting 12-14 rows of 4-stitch i-cord on the "side needle".<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my toy, but you can make it shorter or longer</td></tr>
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Cut the yarn leaving enough to finish the toy. I left about a meter of tail, being nervous that I would run short, which I didn't. I think half of it would have been enough.<br />
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Pull the yarn though all four stitches. You can use a crochet hook. Thread the tail into a sewing needle with a big eye, and make a half-hitch knot at the end of the ear to fasten. With the needle, pull the yarn though to the base of the ear. Try to stay in the middle hollow of the i-cord. If you accidentally go out of the ear too early, pull the whole thing out and start again.<br />
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Make a half-hitch knot at the base to fasten, use it to bring the base of the ear together.<br />
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Bring the front and back needles close together and cast off using one stitch of each needle with each step of cast off. (You can also graft, if you wish to remove the resulting seam)<br />
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I find it is easiest to slip one stitch off the back needle to the front one for each step of casting off. <br />
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When you've finished casting off, first knit the remaining stitch together with the first stitch on the side needle. Now make the second ear by making i-cord of the same (or indeed different) length. Pull the yarn though all four stitches. Thread it into a needle. Make a half hitch. Return to the base of the ear, close any holes, make another half hitch, stick the needle though the stuffing, pull through and cut the yarn flash to the body, thus loosing the end in the stuffing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uqz8aYIE1RI/V_jZ2pyuZqI/AAAAAAAAFDk/TtN0NdXHAREG7dM-QFe89njib5fBTCWfQCLcB/s1600/_MG_3688.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uqz8aYIE1RI/V_jZ2pyuZqI/AAAAAAAAFDk/TtN0NdXHAREG7dM-QFe89njib5fBTCWfQCLcB/s640/_MG_3688.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Knitting part of the project complete</td></tr>
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The eyes can by made by embroidery, as shown, or you can use buttons or what have you.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YRHtZEFR65A/V_jaXEdDC8I/AAAAAAAAFDo/92qTDlqmMIMa39ug-CITsl07qqfLMDeJwCLcB/s1600/_MG_3692.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YRHtZEFR65A/V_jaXEdDC8I/AAAAAAAAFDo/92qTDlqmMIMa39ug-CITsl07qqfLMDeJwCLcB/s640/_MG_3692.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Base, tail down :)</td></tr>
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To make your rabbit extra smart you can give him a pair of glasses.<br />
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The smaller and rounder bunny on the first pic is made to the same pattern, with a smaller number of stitches and a faster decrease towards the end (i.e. you can miss the non-decreasing rows).
<a href="http://madebytamarak.blogspot.com/2014/09/totoroid-breakfast-companion.html" target="_blank" title="Totoroid breakfast companion @ this blog">Totoroid</a>, in its turn, is conical, so: even decreases, not very fast, etc.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/round-rabbit-toy" target="_blank" title="Round Rabbit Toy
by Tamara Kulikova @ Ravelry">Link to ravelry page in case you want to "like" it there</a><br />
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Enjoy :)<br />
<p> <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=knitting" target="_blank" title="Knitting images by Tamara Kulikova @ Shutterstock">Knitting pics on Shutterstock</a> </p>
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Краткое описание кролика на русском (упражнение такое):<br />
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Потребуется немного пряжи (количество зависит от того, какого размера нужен полученный звер, у меня тут граммов тридцать сравнительно тонкой шерсти), немного же набивки, пять чулочных спиц, иголка с большим ухом и проволока для очков, если вам нужен ну очень умный кролик.<br />
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Набираем 6 петель, оставив некоторый хвост - см 20 примерно. Распределяем на 3 спицы, замыкаем в кольцо, провязываем первый ряд. Весь кролик связан лицевыми петлями.<br />
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Прибавляем в каждом ряду по одной петле с каждого конца каждой спицы (6 петель прибавки на ряд). Получается треугольное донышко. Когда дошли до 8 петель на каждой спице - начинаем вдобавок еще прибавлять по две петли в середине каждого второго ряда. Это скругляет форму. В каждом таком ряду прибавляется 12 петель на ряд.<br />
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Я вязала, пока не оказалось 30 петель на каждой спице. Можно остановиться гораздо раньше, конечно. <br />
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Провязываем две петли, снимаем на рабочую спицу две петли предыдущего ряда. На спице четыре петли. Используя пятую спицу, вяжем дуршнур из 6-7 рядов. Это будет хвост. Заодно это будет маркер конца ряда.<br />
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Снимаем две петли на правую спицу, возвращая их по месту жительства. Хвост при этом складывается в петельку. <br />
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Вправляем свободный конец пряжи (оставшийся от набора) в иголку, закрепляем нитку, стягиваем дырку в центре, если она есть, закрепляем нитку, свободно, не стягивая, делаем несколько стежков по изнанке к хвосту. Иголкой собираем основание хвоста в более тугую петлю, заодно закрывает все дырки, если они есть. Остаток нитки оставляем с изнанки.<br />
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Вяжем 10 рядов не убавляя и не прибавляя. <br />
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Начинаем убавки.<br />
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Убавочный ряды - по 6 петель убавки (две вместе лицевой) на ряд, 2 убавки на каждой спице. Распределяем убавки равномерно внутри ряда, но не делаем их в одном и том же мести, иначе будут образовываться "стрелки".<br />
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Убавочный ряд, три ряда просто так, убавочный ряд, два ряда просто так, с этого момента чередуем убавочные и простые ряды, пока у нас не окажется 8 петель на спицу. <br />
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Вяжем четыре петли и перераспределяем петли: 8 сзади (по четыре с каждой стороны от хвоста, видите, как хорошо, что у него есть хвост?), 4 слева и справа для ушей, 8 спереди. <br />
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Набиваем игрушку чем есть. <br />
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Следующая в работе должна оказаться "боковая" спица с четырьмя петлями. На них вяжем дуршнур - тут 12-13 рядов, но можно больше или меньше, конечно. Обрезаем нитку, оставляя длинный хвост, чтобы закончить игрушку. Я перестраховалась и оставила аж метр, думаю, половины бы хватило. <br />
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Вставляем хвост в иголку, закрепляем, "спускаемся" иголкой в основание уха. Задача попасть во внутреннюю полость дуршнура или хотя бы не выходить наружу уха. Если все-таки вышли - вытащите все назад и начните снова.<br />
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Закрепить нитку в основании, заодно закрыв дырки, если они образовались.<br />
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Сводим вместе переднюю и заднюю спицы (8 петель на каждой) и закрываем их вместе. При обычном закрытии провязывается вместе две петли, в данном случае три - одна сзади, одна спереди. Образуется шов косичкой. Если не хочется очевидного шва - можно соединить петли трикотажным. <br />
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Если соединяли петли закрытием - провязываем оставшуюся петлю и первую с последней спицы вместе лицевой. Осталось четыре петли. <br />
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Вяжем дуршнур второго уха, протягиваем нитку сквозь все петли, закрепляем, продеваем в иголку, спускаемся к основанию, укрепляем, прячем хвост в начинке. Дальше как угодно украшаем кролика - делаем глаза (ну как-нить), очки.<br />
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Можно ему еще жилет и карманные часы, конечно :)</div>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-52714819394744825922016-09-25T19:23:00.011+01:002023-02-02T20:56:40.626+00:00Renaissance ruff collar<p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hw4-1GG0JbE/V-gJqp-CrpI/AAAAAAAAFBE/eQ1yebcSADcd5fNw9T6U1WwN_SVdKdDtACLcB/s1600/_MG_3600.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="414" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hw4-1GG0JbE/V-gJqp-CrpI/AAAAAAAAFBE/eQ1yebcSADcd5fNw9T6U1WwN_SVdKdDtACLcB/s640/_MG_3600.jpg" width="640" /></a></p>
<p> I keep thinking up and trying out various types of 3D-knitting where the volume is created by the tendency of stockinette stitch to curl in and the reverse stockinette stitch — not unexpectedly — out. My previous attempt to utilize this property of the basic knitting stitches can be seen <a href="http://madebytamarak.blogspot.com/2016/02/two-sided-ribbed-circular-scarf.html" target="_blank" title="two-sided ribbed circular scarf @ this blog">here</a>. </p>
<p> This time I decided to do something a bit more complicated. I find the result interesting and reminiscent of a Renaissance ruff, but I think I need to a) overcome my dislike of knitting samples next time and b) generally work more on the idea. As with the previous <a href="http://madebytamarak.blogspot.com/2016/02/two-sided-ribbed-circular-scarf.html" target="_blank" title="two-sided ribbed circular scarf @ this blog">version</a>, it is reversible. Explanations to follow. </p>
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<p> So. This time one ball of wool (schoppel wolle lace ball) was used. The knitting consisted of ridges (simply 9 rows of reverse stockinette) and wedges (stockinette). Each wedge was made by lengthening the row by 4 stitches, turning the knitting around, knitting or purling according to pattern to the edge, turning the work, increasing the row by 4 stitches, etc, till the wedge grew to meet the other edge. </p>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7F6y4_fCV5o/V-gJkCrB1gI/AAAAAAAAFAw/0IgoTJacocYEl87paNLrGR3B9-hsW-K4wCLcB/s1600/_MG_3482.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7F6y4_fCV5o/V-gJkCrB1gI/AAAAAAAAFAw/0IgoTJacocYEl87paNLrGR3B9-hsW-K4wCLcB/s640/_MG_3482.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side where the ridges are in reverse stockinette</td></tr>
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<p> I am not sure this is understandable though. Ok, so another attempt. Let's say you start your scarf with 9 rows of reverse stockinette. Last row will be all-purl, right? You turn he knitting as usual, and start purling on this side, too. Just 4 stitches of purl, wrap your yarn around stitch on the left needle without knitting or purling it, turn your work and knit the 4 stitches. The wrapping reduces the size of a hole you are going to have at the turning point. Do the same with the next two rows, except now purl 8 stitches, turn, etc. The wedge will grow and grow till it meets the other side, i.e. you turn your work as you normally would. Knit to the end. You've made the first wedge. Start with the ridge, do the 9 rows, start with the new wedge. Hope this is clearer somewhat. </p>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b5ybKEuLfRg/V-gJkEZwbxI/AAAAAAAAFA0/B4qi_bD7fyguvqoycF5i7pNDmlhKpWdGgCLcB/s1600/_MG_3484.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b5ybKEuLfRg/V-gJkEZwbxI/AAAAAAAAFA0/B4qi_bD7fyguvqoycF5i7pNDmlhKpWdGgCLcB/s640/_MG_3484.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side where the *wedges* are in reverse stockinette</td></tr>
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<p> I finished the knitting when I realized I don't have enough yarn to make the neckwear to go twice around my neck. I made a crochet cast-on with spare yarn, so now I unraveled the cast-on and joined the ends stitch by stitch (not sure what it is called in English, in Russian it is "трикотажный шов") </p>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c0ZozUhL-7Q/V-gJqcaWCqI/AAAAAAAAFA4/KHt34WN7E1gP0I_PAvRQEtW4rKT2pgOCQCLcB/s1600/_MG_3598.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c0ZozUhL-7Q/V-gJqcaWCqI/AAAAAAAAFA4/KHt34WN7E1gP0I_PAvRQEtW4rKT2pgOCQCLcB/s640/_MG_3598.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here our son, who has long neck and perfect face shape is modeling for me</td></tr>
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<p> Now, the problems with the result: for my neck it is too wide and starts to open up at the top, giving me the appearance of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Darnley_stage_3.jpg" target="_blank" title="The 'Darnley Portrait' of Elizabeth I of England in Wikipedia">Elizabeth the First</a> without her sharp perfect chin. So, if I were to repeat the scarf for myself, I would make it narrower and longer, so it can go twice around my neck. </p>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And it looks good on him :)</td></tr>
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<p> The scarf is reversible, of course. </p>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dazLZ3M47xk/V-gJqRDNpTI/AAAAAAAAFBA/JX1h9MSdiAc3vqd-ZVrcaK0nzcAw3zf_wCLcB/s1600/_MG_3597.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dazLZ3M47xk/V-gJqRDNpTI/AAAAAAAAFBA/JX1h9MSdiAc3vqd-ZVrcaK0nzcAw3zf_wCLcB/s640/_MG_3597.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To show off the ridges</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fYNXcKyyq0E/V-gJqhUJmSI/AAAAAAAAFBI/UaKnxyNY_6QMsAqfAtxW_-yR7dmy5WHiACLcB/s1600/_MG_3601.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fYNXcKyyq0E/V-gJqhUJmSI/AAAAAAAAFBI/UaKnxyNY_6QMsAqfAtxW_-yR7dmy5WHiACLcB/s640/_MG_3601.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To show off the wedges.</td></tr>
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<p> <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=knitting" target="_blank" title="Knitting images by Tamara Kulikova @ Shutterstock">Knitted things on Shutterstock</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-23735348752741983242016-09-18T12:28:00.004+01:002023-01-31T23:47:19.348+00:00Very chocolatey cookies <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p>
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BBXiKo_eq0s/V95lDU3HWVI/AAAAAAAAE_8/xRQ7UjTB0ekWWPOZECvD8iZ9CYA2BA29QCLcB/s1600/_MG_3344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BBXiKo_eq0s/V95lDU3HWVI/AAAAAAAAE_8/xRQ7UjTB0ekWWPOZECvD8iZ9CYA2BA29QCLcB/s640/_MG_3344.jpg" width="640" /></a></p></div>
<p> I have a strong suspicion that I already wrote this recipe up somewhere, but I can't find it, so here it is again. The proportions got gradually modified over the years and the result is now much more chocolatey, so it not completely the same anyway. The "original recipe" was found in one of the blogs under livejournal umbrella; there it said that it was copied (also modified, I think) from a book. </p>
<p> Anyway, here it is as I make them now. </p>
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<p> Ingredients: </p>
<ul>
225 g chocolate, broken into pieces. Тhe type of chocolate depends on your preference. Didn't try the white one though, probably won't look as nice. <br />
60 g unsalted butter <br />
2 eggs <br />
1 teaspoon salt <br />
90 g sugar <br />
200 g plain white flour <br />
1 teaspoon baking powder <br />
Icing sugar to form a white crust; optional (see below)
</ul>
<p> Melt the chocolate and butter together. Beat the eggs, gradually adding salt and sugar. Add the chocolate and butter mix to the eggy mix, beat till smooth. Add flour and baking powder, mix till the dough is smooth and shiny. </p>
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<p> Cover and put into the fridge for at least a couple of hours to harden and make it easier to manipulate. It can stand in the fridge overnight. I didn't experiment with longer periods. </p>
<p> Line a tray with parchment.</p>
<p> Pour some icing sugar on a small plate. </p>
<p> Start your oven to 170 °C (approx, you'll need to experiment). </p>
<p> Take walnut-sized bits of dough and roll them into balls between your palms. Ice-cream scoop can make the job easier, but tablespoon will do. </p>
<p> Roll the balls in icing sugar till covered (optional) and put them onto the tray, leaving some space between them. </p>
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<p> Bake for about 12 minutes. They will flatten and crack somewhat, see the very first pic. </p>
<p> Now, about the "optional" steps. Icing sugar makes them more festive-looking, but if you don't have it at hand, or don't like additional sweetness, or think (correctly) that it is making eating process messier, you can leave it off. </p>
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<p> The result will look more like a "normal" chocolate cookie, but it still will be nice to eat :) </p>
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<p> Of course you can use some other type of coating, to your liking — crushed nuts, coconut flakes, chili and salt for the brave souls... I am sure you can think of something. </p>
<p> Enjoy the process and the result :) </p>
<p> Baked stuff on Shutterstock — <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=baked" target="_blank" title="Photos of baked stuff by Tamara Kulikova">here</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-21868887527995977012016-09-08T23:10:00.001+01:002023-01-31T23:49:05.928+00:00Tray rolls with quark and strawberry jam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<p> Much as I like <a href="http://madebytamarak.blogspot.com.es/2013/10/cinnamon-buns.html">cinnamon rolls</a>, their sweetness is sometimes a bit too much for local temperatures. So, when I saw a video of "tray rolls" on <a href="https://www.skillshare.com/">skillshare</a> (can't locate it just now), I decided that I have to have a go at various different fillings for the rolls; also to make them stuck together as they suggested. Two reasons: one, mentioned in the video, is that you hide most of the edges of the rolls as you stick them together, so they don't dry out in the oven. </p>
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<p> Second, the oven where we currently live now is even more temperamental than usual, and refuses to distribute heat evenly. So any multi-tray baking involves moving them around, and that's not good. To half the amount makes it not worth the bother, so... stick them all together and use just one tray seemed the way forward. </p>
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<p> I made the dough for the first batch according to the recipe in the video on Skillshare. It didn't come out well, don't know why, but suspect that there is big difference in "plain white flour" as bought in the States and here in Spain. So I actually went with a modified version of the dough I use for cinnamon buns and it worked. </p>
<p> Ingredients for the dough:
<ul>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients">50 g fresh yeast</li>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients">80 g butter, unsalted</li>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients">250 ml milk</li>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients">2 heaped tablespoonfuls of sugar</li>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients">1 teaspoonful of salt</li>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients">3 cups (750 ml) flour.</li>
</ul>
Filling:
<ul>
<li>Mix of 2 tablespoonfuls of quark, 1 tablespoonful of strawberry jam and about a teaspoonful of sugar; but can be anything really.</li></ul>
Glazing:
<ul>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients">1 egg and some brown or white sugar to sprinkle on the top</li>
</ul>
Process:
<ul>Melt butter, mix with milk, make sure the mix is lukewarm, mix in the yeast broken into pieces; once they dissolve, add sugar and salt, dissolve, add flour, mix and knead the dough. The dough should be soft but not liquid or sticky.<br />
I use a large pan where I can first melt the butter, then do the mixing and then cover with its own lid and put it into warm place. Saves one item for the wash and some cling film :)</ul>
<ul>Let the dough rise for about 30 min, giving it some light punches towards the end, maybe about 20 min into process (I don't really know what is the sacred significance of this moment but it is present in virtually all yeasty dough recipes).</ul>
<ul>Mix the filling and beat the eggs for glazing. The filling can be anything. I went for quark and jam mix to have a healthier final product, but I must note that it turned out way too soft and slippery and made the rolling stage difficult. Maybe just a small amount of jam would have worked better.</ul>
<ul>Prepare clean working surface and dust it with flour. Line an over tray with parchment.</ul>
<ul>Shake the dough out of the pan or mixing bowl, knead it a bit, roll it out in a vague rectangle, spread the filling and roll it up, starting on shorter side (the longer is the longer side, the more swirls you'll get). Cut the resulting roll into 12 or more buns (16 is a good easy-to-work-out number). Place them side by side on the oven tray. Glaze with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.</ul>
<ul>Let the buns rise for another 30 min in a warm place. Bake them at 210 for about 20 min or till golden.</ul>
</p>
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<p>Enjoy :)</p>
<p> Baked stuff pics on <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=baked" target="_blank" title="Photos of baked stuff by Tamara Kulikova">Shutterstock</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-9678343651027254352016-06-06T20:05:00.003+01:002023-01-31T23:57:00.090+00:00Banana cake<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For this banana cake it is best to take overripe bananas — even riper than on the pic</td></tr>
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<p> I never can quite understand if there is a banana season here on Canaries. Maybe not — bananas, mostly local ones, are available all year round. We can never guess how fast they will be eaten though, and often have to throw away some. This is a way to utilize some overripe bananas. </p>
<p> This cake is delicious. The recipe is based on <a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2249656/brilliant-banana-loaf" target="_blank" title="Banana bread by BBC Good Food team">this banana loaf, </a> but I've changed the proportions somewhat, reducing sugar, adding lemon juice and generally adjusting to my taste and presence/absence of ingredients. Plus I've changed the process slightly (never could understand the need to cream the butter with sugar, so, none of that) </p>
<p> Ingredients: </p>
<ul>
<li> 140 g butter, softened to the point of melting </li>
<li> 115 g sugar </li>
<li> 2 eggs </li>
<li> Pinch of salt </li>
<li> Two (over)ripe bananas — this is, of course, somewhat vague measurement, and so are the eggs </li>
<li> 1 table spoon lemon juice </li>
<li> 150 g plain flour </li>
<li> 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda </li>
</ul>
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<p> Process </p>
<p> Start the oven : 180 °C non fan-assisted <br />
Line whatever baking form you have with baking parchment <br />
Peel and mash the bananas <br />
Beat the eggs with the pinch of salt till foaming <br />
Mix butter and sugar well<br />
Combine eggs and sugary butter, beat with mixer <br />
Add mashed bananas and lemon juice, mix and beat <br />
Add flour and soda, mix and beat till lumpless </p>
<p> The mixture will be not pour-able, you will have to scrape it into the tin and level the surface. </p>
<p> Cover with aluminium foil, to prevent the top from going completely black. </p>
<p> Bake for 30 min, take the foil off. The color will develop really fast; test the readiness with a toothpick (if it comes out dry, cake is ready). The original recipe say to bake for 30 minutes; in my case I say 40 minutes is closer to the truth.</p>
<p> Enjoy :) </p>
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<p> Baked stuff pics on <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=baked" target="_blank" title="Photos of baked stuff by Tamara Kulikova">Shutterstock</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-16017640825507079602016-04-07T11:53:00.008+01:002023-02-02T19:34:54.944+00:00Pancakes-2: Got it right :)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YCnm_nf_ILE/VwYtqAc26II/AAAAAAAAE0M/d8OXPFOWH7E-N_N9cqeLvLCrjs5p_jZng/s1600/_MG_7171.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YCnm_nf_ILE/VwYtqAc26II/AAAAAAAAE0M/d8OXPFOWH7E-N_N9cqeLvLCrjs5p_jZng/s400/_MG_7171.jpg" width="400" /></a></p></div>
<p> Last time I <a href="http://madebytamarak.blogspot.com.es/2015/05/pancakes.html" target="_blank" title="pancakes @ this blog">wrote about pancakes</a>, I was complaining abut how I couldn't find <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kefir" target="_blank" title="Kefir in Wikipedia">kefir</a> here. Since then I discovered the food court of El Corte Inglés. I don't know why I didn't check it out earlier, I guess I have a blind spot for basement departments. </p>
<p> Point is, they do have kefir. They have a good range of products from the <a href="http://pastoret.com/" target="_blank" title="Pastoret desde 1992 - Productos elaborados artesanalmente">Pastoret</a> company and kefir is one of them. </p>
<p> So, here is another recipe and another set of pictures. As you can (hopefully) see, they are thick, fluffy, uniform in texture and have a very mild flavor, so can be used with both sweet and savory toppings. (Our older son prefers sweet, and the younger one savory). </p>
<p> Because of the way they rise and then keep their volume, the amount I end up making is always high, but they go really fast, there is so much air in them. </p>
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<p> I modified <a href="http://www.povarenok.ru/recipes/show/105828/" target="_blank" title="Оладьи на кефире 'Идеальные' @ ПОВАРЁНОК.РУ">this recipe</a> (in Russian) a bit, proportion and amount-wise. (You won't believe the amount you'll get if you follow the original). </p>
<p> Ingredients: </p>
<ul>
<li> Kefir: 0.25 l. Pastoret's kefir is a lot milder than I remember, so I add juice from a slice of lemon to it. Let's say a half-teaspoon to one teaspoon lemon juice. </li>
<li> 1 egg (small one, if you have a choice). </li>
<li> Sugar: 1 teaspoon. </li>
<li> Salt: 1/4 teaspoon, a good pinch effectively. </li>
<li> Flour (all purpose): 1 cup, and possibly a bit more if the batter looks too liquid. </li>
<li> Baking soda: half a teaspoon. </li>
</ul>
<p> Beat kefir, lemon juice and egg together, use electric mixer if available. </p>
<p> Add salt and sugar, beat some more. </p>
<p> Add flour and soda, mix with a spoon and beat briefly, till everything is uniform with no lumps. The batter should be just pour-able, like thick, non-set (or stirred) yogurt. </p>
<p> <b>Important</b>: cover the mixture and let it sit for about half an hour. I am not sure what happens exactly, but this step does make a difference, the pancakes don't collapse and stay fluffy. </p>
<p> Heat a large frying pan, medium to high heat, you have to experiment with your cooker. I use a non-stock pan. If I don't use any oil, the pancakes cook just fine, but I don't like the color and texture of their surface, so I use a variation of what my gran used to do — use just a film of oil. To do this, pour a spoonful of refined oil into a saucer, bunch up a couple of paper towels, soak them in the saucer, and wipe your frying pan with these oily towels between each batch of pancakes. </p>
<p> Without stirring the batter, take tablespoonfuls of it from the edge of the bowl and pour gently onto the pan. The idea is to disturb the batter as little as possible after its rest. I didn't experiment with the speed of pouring though, so it might be a ritualistic approach. </p>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If the heat is right, pancakes rise and bubbles appear pretty fast.</td></tr>
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<p> Once pancakes rise and the upper surface is bubbly and starts loosing its shine, flip them on the other side. Remember that the other side always takes less time. </p>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The way they rise is a joy to behold :)</td></tr>
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<p> Check the other side pretty fast. My pan holds about six pancakes at a time, and by the time I finish flipping the last one, the first one might look ready to eat. </p>
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<p> Note: I believe kefir can be replaced by non-sweetened natural yogurt, not the thick type though. Something like Greek yogurt will have to be diluted with milk. I will try to make an experimental batch, and report the results here. Watch this space.</p>
<p> UPD: was just reminded that I never added this update. YES, the pancakes can be made with natural (unsweetened) yogurt. Pour-able yogurt is fine; Greek yogurt needs to be diluted with milk 1:1 and then a teaspoon of lemon juice added to make it sourer. </p>
<p> More photos of pancakes on <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=pancake" target="_blank" title="Photos of baked stuff by Tamara Kulikova">Shutterstock</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-11089256340044374052016-02-16T14:27:00.004+00:002023-01-30T23:02:41.169+00:00two-sided ribbed circular scarf<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mK3kdmvOq30/VsMoUkWtbPI/AAAAAAAAEuY/cv6HLBLO0lA/s1600/_MG_6063.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mK3kdmvOq30/VsMoUkWtbPI/AAAAAAAAEuY/cv6HLBLO0lA/s640/_MG_6063.jpg" width="640" /></a></p></div>
<p> This is my second attempt to make a two-sided scarf using long-section dyed wool. First time I tried to make one, I bought just one 50 g skein, which was enough to make a collar, but it was not what I wanted. </p>
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<p> This time I bought three skeins, and nearly all of it went into the scarf. The pattern is really simple — four rows of stockinette stitch, followed by four rows of the same stitch on the other side, if you see what I mean (what is the reverse of the stockinette stitch is called? that one). </p>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neat, one-thread side, ribbing away nicely</td></tr>
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<p> To make the ribs formed by curling up of stockinette in different colors, I used two skeins at the same time. Four rows one skein, four rows another. I didn't break the thread (I don't fancy hiding all those loose ends; I also don't like making something that can't be unmade). I purled both yarns together on one side. That made one side thicker and less "self-ribbing". </p>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The OTHER side, still neat, but not ribbing so much.</td></tr>
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<p> In the end, it isn't such a big deal, when scarf is worn it is somewhat stretched anyway, but it is something worth re-thinking. </p>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">two loops of the scarf worn unfolded</td></tr>
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<p> I sewed the ends together without a twist, so I guess it is not a true "infinity" scarf, just circular. </p>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">two loops of the scarf folded in half</td></tr>
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<p> I finished it and tried it on. The length allows to make up to three loops around my neck. So far I like most the "two loops, the scarf is preliminary folded in half length-wise" option. </p>
<p> I rather like it, but I might want to make another one, I enjoyed it so much :)</p>
<p> I need to take it out for a walk and photography, but right now it is about +19 °C outside, it will look odd :)</p>
<p> Yarn: Katia, 185 m/50 g if I remember correctly, about 130 g used. Dimensions flat, before sewing — 120 by 19 cm </p>
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<p> Knitting pics on Shutterstock — <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=knitting" target="_blank" title="Knitting images by Tamara Kulikova @ Shutterstock">here</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-6569171199579034842016-02-12T19:53:00.001+00:002023-02-01T00:00:40.452+00:00Apple cake “sharlotka”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I might be completely wrong, but I think this cake, or variation on it, is known to pretty much everybody in Russia. It is simple to make and tasty to eat.<br />
<br />
We call it “sharlotka” (шарлотка), but, curiously, it has almost nothing to do with the apple charlotte. Apart from the apples, that is.<br />
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It is one of these strange situations when recipe changes dramatically, sometimes beyond recognition, but the name stays. Like Spanish “Russian salad” with olives and tuna, both not-at-all most common ingredients in Russia.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ingredients, more or less</td></tr>
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Everybody will have a slightly different way of making it. Here is a recipe I use, but I do vary it sometimes. <br />
<br />
Ingredients, in order of appearance:<br />
<ul>
<li>4 small apples, or 3 medium, or 2 large... really depends on the size of your cake tin.</li>
<li>3 large eggs (could be 4 small) </li>
<li>½ teaspoonful salt</li>
<li>¾ cup brown or white sugar</li>
<li>1 teaspoonful cinnamon (or more, if you like)</li>
<li>1 cup plain flour (approx)</li>
<li>1 teaspoonful baking powder</li>
</ul>
Line a baking tin with parchment (my baking tin is still 13 by 23 cm, well it is the same tin).<br />
<br />
Have some foil ready to cover the mixture before it goes into the oven.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That’s the size of chunks I use. Don’t chop much finer, or the cake might get too soggy.</td></tr>
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Peel, core and chop the apples. <br />
<br />
Start the oven going, 210 °C (not fan-assisted), the rest of preparation is even faster.<br />
<br />
Beat the eggs, add salt, beat some more, add sugar, beat some more, add
cinnamon, beat some more, the mixture will foam. <br />
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Add the flour and baking
powder, quickly mix with a spoon and then beat with the whisk to break the lumps, if any.</div>
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The mixture will be pour-able. If it appears too tough, add a little non-smelly oil, and I mean a little, like the size of egg yolk. Let’s say a tablespoon. <br />
<br />
Pour about half of the mixture into the tin, then mix the apples with the remaining half and scrape this into the tin, on top of the first half. I do this step, because I don’t like apples sticking out, they tend to burn. Pouring first half and then adding apples stops them from drifting right to the bottom.
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Cover with foil — making a little tent, so that raising cake doesn’t stick to the foil.
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In it goes. In 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 180 °C.<br />
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In 45 min from the beginning of baking take the foil off (keep it) and then bake for another 15 min to get some color on the upper crust.<br />
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Once the color looks good, switch the heat off, take the cake out of the oven, let it cool uncovered for 30 minutes and then cover with foil you saved to keep it moist. It’s not a fancy cake which needs good presentation — you just get it out of the tin, cut a slice and put the rest back in.<br />
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Enjoy :)<br />
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<b>Bonus track</b> — the recipe as it was taught to me all these years ago:
<ul>
<li>4 apples</li>
<li>4 eggs</li>
<li>1 cup flour</li>
<li>1 cup sugar</li>
<li>teaspoonful baking soda</li>
</ul>
Peel and chop the apples, put them into a baking tin.<br />
<br />
Mix all other ingredients well, pour the mixture on top of the apples, bake for 40 minutes.<br />
<br />
That was it. The 4 - 4 - 1 - 1 makes it easier to remember, but I was getting some pretty soggy results, plus I always found it too sweet, so I modified the recipe to my liking. I am sure millions of other modifications exist.<br />
<br />
<b>Second Bonus track</b> — same (but shorter) recipe in Spanish. I did it for my Spanish class, and there was a length limit, so some details might be missing, but still, here it is:<br />
<p> Bizchocho de Manzana Rusa (Sharlotka) </p>
Creo que este pastel, o su variación, se sabe por casi todo el mundo en Rusia. Es fácil de hacer y sabrosa. <br />
<br />
Lo llamamos sharlotka, pero no tiene casi nada en comun con la Charlotte de manzana, aparte de manzanas. Es uno de casos cuando la receta cambia drásticamente mientras que su nombre permanece. <br />
<br />
Todo el mundo tendrá una manera diferente a hacerlo. Esta es una receta que utilizo yo. <br />
<br />
Ingredientes:<br />
<ul>
<li>4 manzanas pequeñas o 3 medianas, o 2 grandes, depende del molde. </li>
<li>3 huevos grandes (4 pequeñas) </li>
<li>½ cucharadita de sal </li>
<li>¾ taza de azucar blanco o moreno </li>
<li>1 cucharadita de canela </li>
<li>1 taza de harina </li>
<li>1 cucharadita de levadura en polvo </li>
</ul>
Alineamos el molde con papel.<br />
<br />
Pelamos y cortamos las manzanas. <br />
<br />
Calentamos el horno hasta 210 °C.<br />
<br />
Batimos los huevos, sal, el azúcar y la canela. Añadimos la harina y la levadura, mezclamos rápidamente y luego batimos. <br />
<br />
La mezcla será bastante liquido para verter. <br />
<br />
Vertemos la mitad de la mezcla en el molde, mezclamos las manzanas con la otra mitad y metemos esta en el molde, encima de la primer mitad. Hago este, porque no me gusta cuando las manzanas se pegan hacia fuera, tienden a quemarse. <br />
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Cubrimos con una pequeña “tienda” del papel de aluminio, asi que bizchocho no se adhiera al papel. <br />
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Ponemos el molde en el horno. En 15 minutos, bajamos la temperatura a 180 °C. <br />
<br />
En 45 minutos desde el inicio quitamos el papel de aluminio y lo guardamos. <br />
<br />
Dejamos sharlotka en horno durante 15 minutos más. <br />
<br />
Sacamos la torta del horno, dejamos sin tapa por 30 minutos y luego cubrimos con papel de aluminio. <br />
<br />
Que disfruten :)<br />
<p> Baked stuff pics on <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=baked" target="_blank" title="Photos of baked stuff by Tamara Kulikova">Shutterstock</a> </p>
Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-85706305286199812432015-12-22T19:07:00.003+00:002023-01-31T23:48:46.297+00:00Orange and cinnamon cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-64m7zptOW3c/Vngmxrt_BgI/AAAAAAAAEkI/XiSV3tZhHr4/s1600/_MG_2350.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-64m7zptOW3c/Vngmxrt_BgI/AAAAAAAAEkI/XiSV3tZhHr4/s640/_MG_2350.jpg" width="426" /></a></p></div>
<p> First time I made this cake without consulting any recipe, but vaguely remembering that I had made something similar in the past. It turned out so well, I thought I'd write down the recipe next time, if I ever manage to reproduce it. I did reproduce it, so here is the recipe: </p>
<p> Ingredients, in order of appearance: </p>
<p> teaspoonful orange zest <br />
juice of one orange (measured, it amounted to about 100 ml)<br />
2 eggs, medium<br />
1/2 teaspoonful salt<br />
3/4 cup* white sugar<br />
teaspoonful cinnamon<br />
60 ml sunflower oil (refined, so it doesn't smell of anything much; can easily be replaced by other refined non-smelly oil)<br />
100 ml milk<br />
1 and 1/2 half cups plain flour (approx)<br />
teaspoonful baking powder </p>
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<p> Line a baking tin with parchment (my baking tin is 13 by 23 cm)<br />
Have some foil ready to cover the mixture before going into the oven. </p>
<p> Zest the orange; juice it into a measuring jug to make the adding of other liquids easier. </p>
<p> Here I start the oven going (to 210 °C), you know best how long does yours take to heat. </p>
<p> Beat the eggs, add salt, beat some more, add sugar, beat some more, add cinnamon, beat some more; I added zest to this mixture, but you can do it at the very end, not important. </p>
<p> Add oil and milk to the juice, mix a bit, start your whisk going again and mix the eggy mixture with the juicy one. Add the flour and baking powder, quickly mix with a spoon so that the dry stuff doesn't fly everywhere and then beat with the whisk to break the lumps, if any.</p>
<p> The mixture should turn out quite liquid and easy to pour. </p>
<p> Pour it into the tin, cover with foil — I try to make a little "tent" rather than a flat lid, because some of my cake mixtures rise quite a bit. </p>
<p> In it goes. In 30 min I lower the temperature to 180 °C, but don't ask me why. Might be not important; and all ovens are different anyway. Mine is not fan-assisted. </p>
<p> In 1 hour I took off the foil (keep it) and then baked for another 15 min to get some color on the upper crust. I usually cover my cakes to keep them moist and then uncover to get the color. </p>
<p> Once the color looks good, I usually (as in this case), switch the heat off and open the oven door a bit to let the cake cool slowly first; in maybe 10 min take the cake out and let it cool some more uncovered (20 min maybe); then cover it with the same foil so it doesn't dry out. </p>
<p> Enjoy :) </p>
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<p> -------------------- </p>
<p> * Cup being a real cup which I happen to prefer for measuring for reasons unknown. I measured it — it holds about 260 ml </p>
<p> Baked stuff pics on <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=baked" target="_blank" title="Photos of baked stuff by Tamara Kulikova">Shutterstock</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-86098793630127561812015-05-05T17:26:00.004+01:002023-02-02T19:41:23.033+00:00pancakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Y83G5Vwujo/VUfbZSi40pI/AAAAAAAADrg/L_JYuiSY6GY/s1600/IMG_6098.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Y83G5Vwujo/VUfbZSi40pI/AAAAAAAADrg/L_JYuiSY6GY/s320/IMG_6098.jpg" width="410" /></a></p></div>
<p> There is a lot of recipes for pancakes around, and I experiment periodically, though I still can't recreate the taste and general feel of the thick pancakes ("оладьи") of my childhood. I suspect it is mostly due to the fact that dairy products are different everywhere, and some of the stuff readily available in Russia ("кефир", for example) is not so readily, and sometimes not at all available where I live. </p>
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<p> But experiment I do. So here is another attempt — still not quite the same, but very decent pancakes anyway. I followed <a href="http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/american-breakfast-pancakes-141" title="American Breakfast Pancakes | Nigella's Recipes | Nigella Lawson" target="_blank">this recipe</a> with the following changes: </p>
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<p> 1) No butter for frying. On non-stick pans all the butter does (at least for me) is burn. It lends a nutty burned-butter taste to the pancakes, but I don't like it, so... no butter or oil on the pan. </p>
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<p> 2) I let the batter rest for a bit (ten minutes or so). I am not sure if the mixture needs to rest, but I noticed that pancakes get better towards the end of the frying process. A Russian saying goes "первый блин комом" — "the first pancake comes out all scrambled" — could it be coz you don't let the mixture rest? The chemistry involved is, I believe, the forming of gluten cross-links, same as for bread dough; while for thin pancakes the soft support of "endoskeleton" consisting of coagulated gluten is not desirable, for the thick ones we do want some so they don't collapse. </p>
<p> I will continue with experiments :) </p>
<p> More photos of pancakes on <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=pancake" target="_blank" title="Photos of baked stuff by Tamara Kulikova">Shutterstock</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-24567494405857953572014-09-24T14:23:00.003+01:002023-01-30T20:52:30.615+00:00Totoroid breakfast companion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p>
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<p> At some point when we were in Finland, I had ordered a bag of hollowfiber stuffing from amazon. I honestly don't remember what sort of project I wanted to do at that point, and the bag was laying unopened for a few months. When Kirill had left for Gran Canaria in the beginning of June, I suddenly had an urge to finally use it for this little critter that later proved to be an excellent breakfast companion — not very talkative, but who is in the morning? </p>
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<p> Here he is admiring his reflection in a coffee pot. You can sort of see that he has a little tail I think. </p>
<p> There is no proper description, but I can have a go remembering: </p>
<p> I started at the bottom, from six stitches distributed on three needles plus one needle to knit. I made increases as necessary to the size I liked, so the bottom looks like a rounded triangle. Then I decided on a shape (conical), made a little tail on one corner (I-cord of three stitches, six rows I reckon) and started making decreases, trying not to make them all on the same vertical, to avoid creating ridges. </p>
<p> When I came to the last 16 stitches — leaving 3 + 3 for I-cords of the ears and ten (five and five) to close together as a top of the head — I went up four more rows to make the last bit cylindrical. </p>
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<p> It was meant to be a rabbit, but our kids immediately classified him as a smaller forest spirit creature from Totoro. Personally, I still think he is a rabbit, but there is definitely something <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Neighbor_Totoro" target="_blank" title="My Neighbor Totoro in Wikipedia">totoroid</a> in him. </p>
<p> For some reason or other he stayed behind in Finland, but I still have a lot of stuffing left. Maybe I will make an army of them one day. </p>
<p> Knitting pics on Shutterstock — <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=knitting" target="_blank" title="Knitting images by Tamara Kulikova @ Shutterstock">here</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-63579919151639446732014-01-29T17:40:00.004+00:002023-02-02T23:43:24.621+00:00“snowed under” coat<blockquote>
"I don't know how it is, Christopher Robin, but what with all this snow and one thing and another, not to mention icicles and such-like, it isn't so Hot in my field about three o'clock in the morning as some people think it is. It isn't Close, if you know what I mean — not so as to be uncomfortable. It isn't Stuffy. In fact, Christopher Robin," he went on in a loud whisper, "quite-between-ourselves-and-don't-tell-anybody, it's Cold."<br />
"Oh, Eeyore!"</blockquote>
<p> When we were coming to Finland for a winter, it was pretty clear that we will need some warm clothes. Warmer than ones we had in Canaries for sure; warmer than ones we used in the UK. But, while I like to shop, I hate to waste money on something that possibly will serve one season. </p>
<p> So, soon after moving over, we discovered a few second-hand shops that we started to comb methodically. The problem we encountered is that you can find quite interesting brick-a-brack there, but not so much clothes — it appears the Finns tend to get the full money worth out of theirs before finally throwing them away or trying to sell them on. No matter, eventually I found this heavy canvas padded coat (which reminds me in general idea of <a href="http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BA%D0%B0" title="Телогрейка в Википедии" target="_blank">телогрейка</a>, "bodywarmer", except that telogreikas usually came in "one size doesn't fit anybody", while this one fit me rather snugly. Thick leather belt was soon found for it, and I could have stopped here I suppose. </p>
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<p> Except I wanted something a bit more interesting. My original idea was simply to paint something bright, possibly floral, in acrylic over the canvas: </p>
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<p> Unfortunately, the acrylic paints that I used almost immediately lost their vibrancy, and the round spots started to look rather drab. </p>
<p> So I decided to apply knitted patches over them. Fortunately, as always unable to resist a long-section variegated knitted yarn, I recently bought a ball in (almost precisely) my favourite colour combination. But I bought just one and couldn't for the life of me think what to do with it. So it seemed like a perfect opportunity to use it up. I found how to knit hexagons and that was it pretty much :) </p>
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<p> And here I am, dancing a little “пить надо меньше” dance from the New Year Movie <a href="http://listenlearnread.blogspot.com/2010/01/ironiya-sudby-ili-s-legkim-parom.html" target="_blank" title="Ирония судьбы, или С лёгким паром! @ Listen, Learn, Read"><i>Ирония судьбы, или С лёгким паром!</i></a></p>
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<p> Photos by <a href="http://listenlearnread.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="Listen, Learn, Read">Kirill</a> </p>
<p> Knitting pics on Shutterstock — <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=knitting" target="_blank" title="Knitting images by Tamara Kulikova @ Shutterstock">here</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-9290174575240245142014-01-03T16:16:00.003+00:002023-02-02T20:28:04.126+00:00Extra thick snood<p> During our Gran Canarian Christmas holidays, we spent two nights in Ingenio. Our first day, I've noticed this shop: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/mercerialolieningenio/" target="_blnk" title="Mercería Loli @ Facebook">Mercería Loli</a>. Naturally I had to get in. </p>
<p> There were two types of yarn that I felt a sudden urge to possess: the variegated felting wool and <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/borgo-de-pazzi-naturalia" target="_blank" title="Filato Naturalia Borgo dè Pazzi @ Ravelry">very thick Italian yarn</a>. I decided to sleep on it, since we still had another day (the Christmas Eve) in Ingenio. </p>
<p> Next morning, the choice was made. The thick yarn won. (I took the last 200 g skein they had.) The thick yarn required the thick needles — the label said 13 to 15 mm. Unfortunately, the largest size of circular needles they had was 12, and I needed circular needles for the project I had in mind. So I bought size 15 straight needles and size 12 circular. Armed with this gear, I could start on my holiday project: an extra thick <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snood_%28headgear%29" target="_blank" title="Snood (headgear) in Wikipedia">snood</a> for me. </p>
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<p> But it was not until we moved to Agaete (our home for the next five nights) that the work commenced. First, Timur helped me to make my skein into a ball: </p>
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<p> Above is Timur holding the ball. Timur is still a baby for us, but he is now a bit taller than me, so you can see the size of the whole affair. </p>
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<p> And second... I just knitted the thing. On the picture below I am knitting with straight needles, afterwards putting stitches on the circular needles: </p>
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<p> By the time we came to board our plane back, I had it on me. Like this: </p>
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<p> <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=knitting" target="_blank" title="Knitting images by Tamara Kulikova @ Shutterstock">Knitting pics on Shutterstock</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-5898601793359296602013-10-24T18:54:00.006+01:002023-08-28T19:03:47.569+01:00Cinnamon buns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p>
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<p> Now that we are away from sunny and hot Fuerteventura, where I wanted to keep all the cooking to the minimum, it's time to start baking again. </p>
<p> Cinnamon buns are on sale here in all forms and shapes — starting from packages of ready-made ones that apparently will keep "fresh" for years (just how do they do that?), through freshly baked and "just stick in the oven" frozen ones, and to the ones that you need to assemble yourself from chilled dough. </p>
<p> But of course it is more interesting to make things from scratch. </p>
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<p> Apparently truly Finnish version of those, although very similar in ingredients, is supposed to have a shape of "<a href="http://www.thespruceeats.com/finnish-cinnamon-pastries-korvapuusti-2952710" target="_blank" title="Finnish Cinnamon Pastries (Korvapuusti) @ The Spruce Eats">slapped ears</a>", where you cut the roll of dough diagonally, alternating right and left angle of the cut, but I decided to go with straight cuts and spiral shape. </p>
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<p> Here you can see how much butter, sugar and cinnamon filling is used. An awful lot, if you excuse a professional term. </p>
<p> I followed <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130915192414/https://honestcooking.com/swedish-cinnamon-buns-recipe/" target="_blank" title="Honest Cooking: Swedish Cinnamon Buns @ Internet Archive">this recipe</a>, with one important omission — I didn't use the cardamom (gasp, shock, horror). I know it is an essential ingredient, but the first time I did add it and our kids didn't like it, so... On the other hand, now, with the winter approaching, their firm preference is for anything with chocolate, so they might be leaving all of the buns for us, in which case I can start adding cardamom again. </p>
<p> I guess I should watch my weight carefully in the nearest few
months. Freshly baked things are so difficult to resist. </p>
<p> Next — wheat and rye bread. Stay tuned :) </p>
<p> Baked stuff pics on <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=baked" target="_blank" title="Photos of baked stuff by Tamara Kulikova">Shutterstock</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-10558883925156065562013-02-01T19:22:00.008+00:002023-02-02T20:38:22.587+00:00Peacock baktus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZmwKprzL3OQ/UQv3O91lcsI/AAAAAAAACHc/c4ucShTc8LE/s1600/IMG_4410_small.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="410" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZmwKprzL3OQ/UQv3O91lcsI/AAAAAAAACHc/c4ucShTc8LE/s640/IMG_4410_small.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p> I had this yarn sitting in my basket for so long, I can't even recall what sort of mix it was. The only thing I am sure about is that it is a silk mix, bit that as far as it goes. I tried searching, but can't find anything that rings a bell. </p>
<p> And <a href="http://listenlearnread.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="Listen, Learn, Read blog">Kirill</a> managed to find it! It's "<a href="http://handmaiden.ca/product/sea-silk/" target="_blank" title="Sea Silk @ Hand Maiden Fine Yarn">sea silk</a>" by Hand Maiden Fine Yarns, 70% Silk, 30% Seacell 400 m, 100 g. </p>
<p> Anyway. It's a thin soft shiny yarn, warm to touch, dyed in a shortish sections of raspberry, purple, green and blue, so it's quite a large spread of colors. Overall effect it's more or less dark blue. From the website it looks like that particular set of colors is not done any more. </p>
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<p> I tried different types of stitches, but in the end went for simplest all-knit — more complicated stitches didn't go well with the yarn. </p>
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<p> As a nice little bonus, and unexpectedly for me, the short sections did form two "pools". They formed in two places where the width of the scarf is about fifteen cm, and disappeared naturally as the baktus triangle widened/narrowed. </p>
<p> I should probably stop knitting scarfs now :) </p>
<p> <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=knitting" target="_blank" title="Knitting images by Tamara Kulikova @ Shutterstock">Knitting pics on Shutterstock</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-30791599153089324572012-09-04T12:25:00.002+01:002023-02-02T22:29:39.083+00:00Embroidery cover-ups<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aer6TqYOdpg/UEXcGeQmE9I/AAAAAAAABg4/5ljUR5NEzPU/s1600/IMG_2744.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aer6TqYOdpg/UEXcGeQmE9I/AAAAAAAABg4/5ljUR5NEzPU/s640/IMG_2744.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p> I don't know about you guys but I love charity shops. Charity shops is one of the things that I am missing badly on Fuertevetura, so during this year's holidays in the UK I kept buying and buying stuff in the charity shops. Fortunately, by now I learned stopping myself from buying something that I definitely not going to use — woollies. I concentrated on summery things, with one exception — this jeans jacket, which hopefully will be useful when Canarian winter strikes with its usual fierceness. </p>
<p> Now to "what I've done" bit. Charity shop things often have small defects on them, which I guess are reasons why the previous owners part with their much-loved stuff in the first place. This jacket was no exception — although in good condition, it had a small hole on the back of the right sleeve. And that was a good reason to exercise my (not-that-extensive) embroidery skills. </p>
<p> Of embroidery I know very little, practically nothing, and do even less. But one thing that I do I learned a while ago — <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=creative+darning" target="_blank" title="Other crafty pics by Tamara Kulikova @ Shutterstock">creative darning</a> using the <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2006/10/embroidery-stitch-video-tutorial-chain.html" target="_blank" title="Embroidery Stitch Video Tutorial: Chain Stitch @ Needle ’n Thread">chain stitch</a>. It's an extremely useful stitch, as it is very flexible and once you've decided what figure are doing, you just sort of fumble you way along, correcting and adjusting as needed. I did my first cover-up years ago embroidering a little lizard on my best, but by-then-old, sweater. People who know me and Kirill personally might now go "ah-ha!" finally discovering the explanation for sudden appearance of color matching animals, flowers and other patterns on our garments. </p>
<p> This little tribal sun is not the best thing I did, but it'll do and this jacket will hopefully serve another few years. </p>
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<p> Other <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=craft" target="_blank" title="Other crafty pics by Tamara Kulikova @ Shutterstock">crafty pics on Shutterstock</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-1783071918115849612012-05-16T21:51:00.001+01:002023-02-02T21:03:16.959+00:00a feat of extreme slouchiness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<p> I've made this top almost three years ago, buying the "organic" cotton and a set of bamboo needles in a Danish supermarket. The holidays were lazy, as summer holidays should be; and I bought the knitting articles for the want of something to do with my hands while enjoying the emptiness of the head to the full. </p>
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<p> Somehow I never got to wear it before now. Now I do though. </p>
<p> It's an extremely simple thing, just a strip of Shaker ribbing (at least, I think that's what it is called), sewn into a tube, with a trim extended into straps. The organic cotton proved to be an extremely soft, with no twist to it; it doesn't hold shape at all, but stretches very well in the ribbing. The funny little tie belt for the trousers is made of the same material. </p>
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<p> The reason why I am standing on one leg most of the time is that we had an extremely hot few days; and the sunroof tiles felt rather like hotplate. </p>
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<p> <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=knitting" target="_blank" title="Knitting images by Tamara Kulikova @ Shutterstock">Knitting pics on Shutterstock</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-83078032554030662162012-04-08T11:07:00.005+01:002023-02-02T22:37:17.785+00:00Onion skin eggs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oQfT1uDotac/T4FfsP4q4TI/AAAAAAAABXY/lo0j4xY4SlM/s1600/IMG_5315.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oQfT1uDotac/T4FfsP4q4TI/AAAAAAAABXY/lo0j4xY4SlM/w640-h640/IMG_5315.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p> A little while ago I saw an instruction on how to make decorated eggs using flat object (leaves, flowers) as a paint mask and a pair of thin old tights to hold the mask in place. The dye that was used made me feel really nostalgic — it was skins of brown onions, one of the two dyes my granny used to color the chicken eggs for Easter. Second one, quite surprisingly, was solution of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brilliant_green_(dye)" target="_blank" title="Brilliant green (dye) in Wikipedia">brilliant green</a>, an antiseptic that gave bright emerald color and made the eggs look inedible. </p>
<p> So I started to accumulate onion skins. However, when the time came to dyeing I discovered that there is not a pair of tights anywhere (well, it is Fuerteventura). So I improvised with simple masks made of whatever passes for wax in the candles these days. The actual dyeing is really simple — just boil your eggs together with the onion skins (don't try to blow out the content of the egg first — empty eggshells refuse to sink into water)</p>
<p> Now looking at it, I shouldn't have bothered, the color is beautiful in itself, without additional patterns, plus the waxy substance dissolved once the water started to boil, giving access for the dye to the eggshell and partially destroying the pattern. Still, here they are </p>
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<p> More photos of <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=egg" target="_blank" title="Photos of eggs by Tamara Kulikova @ Shutterstock">eggs on Shutterstock</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3317122797518754443.post-59269335889636044782012-03-15T21:44:00.005+00:002023-02-02T22:52:17.847+00:00Dulce de leche<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zIupy3vBaAQ/T2JT3cr-OaI/AAAAAAAABWM/f0TjSvrn9oU/s1600/IMG_3638.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zIupy3vBaAQ/T2JT3cr-OaI/AAAAAAAABWM/f0TjSvrn9oU/w427-h640/IMG_3638.jpg" width="427" /></a></div>
<p> Fresh milk is delivered into local supermarkets once a week, and is good for approximately a week also. They tend to keep the previous lot on the shelves up till the "best before" date. Given that, we occasionally end up with some milk that is about to expire and I urgently need to find something to do with it. Last week we ended up with two 1-liter cartons of milk and no immediate use for it, so I decided to make something kind of new for me — <i>Dulce de leche</i>. </p>
<p> It was only new "kind of", because in my childhood a similar product "варёная сгущёнка", cooked condensed milk, was a firm favourite with pretty much everybody I knew. Dulce de Leche is made from scratch with whole milk and sugar, so you end up with similar-tasting product. </p>
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<p> I used <a href="http://foodnetwork.co.uk/recipes/dulce-de-leche" target="_blank" title="Dulce de Leche Recipe @ Food Network UK">this recipe</a>, which was the first hit with google. It worked well, but I must note that our ideas of "simmering" are probably different somewhat. Even after three hours the liquid was not yet reduced to one fourth of the original volume, while starting to turn alarmingly dark, lot darker than in all the pictures I saw. So I decided to stop cooking, and it was probably the right moment. </p>
<p> I was somewhat concerned that it will start burning and I will have to stand by the cooker for all three hours stirring non-stop, but it didn't show any inclinations to do so. Neither it tried to escape form the pan, something that boiling milk tend to do. It just bubbled merrily away, and I stirred it occasionally. </p>
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<p> What I ended up with is darker and slightly more transparent than "сгущёнка" from my childhood. Taste is nearly the same. </p>
<p> It probably is not meant to be used just like that, but a bit of <i>dulce de leche</i> on a piece of dry biscuit tastes good. The recipe says that it can stand for a month in the fridge. I don't think it will last that long. </p>
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<p> More photos of <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/g/tamara?q=sweet+food" target="_blank" title="Photos of sweet food by Tamara Kulikova @ Shutterstock">sweet food on Shutterstock</a> </p>Tamara Kulikovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18008651088408982055noreply@blogger.com0