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latest F.O.s – two easy crochet projects

Published by fairfaxhill

Hello friends! Has it really been a whole month since I last shared an update? I’ve missed this place.

Let’s see, in April, I traveled home to Costa Rica to visit my family, so I disconnected for a bit. We also had prom, a birthday and Mothers’ Day. It always takes me a while to readjust after I get back from vacation, so blogging dropped to the bottom of my list.

I was thinking of sharing some more details about our trip in a separate post. People often ask me for recommendations of places to see and things to do in Costa Rica and I never feel like I can give them a good answer. This time, I tried to take some notes, so check back for that content!

Since I got back, I’ve been focusing on doing a little bit of spring cleaning and trying to get outside more. I also gifted myself a monthly swimming pass, so I’ve been at the pool a lot.

I love swimming. I love being under the water, disconnecting from everything, focusing on breathing and improving my form, and these days I’m working really hard to improve my breaststroke technique, which I’m truly awful at!

When I was in college, my older sister and I loved going to the university’s swimming pool to swim laps. It was a great way to get some exercise and an easy way to get a tan (very important for our younger selves! 🤭) One of the swimming coaches was always at the pool when we swam. Every now and then, he would give us pointers on how to improve our technique, but when it came to breaststroke, I think he thought I was hopeless. He made me do lots of kicking drills, but I just couldn’t get the motion right.

I still don’t quite know how to do it. So, I’m practicing. I’m watching videos on Youtube. I practice kicking in the water and standing up in my living room. I know it probably sounds crazy, but I can get a bit obsessive about things. But the only thing that matters is that I’m having fun, right? Who knows, I might finally crack the breaststroke code!

Okay, enough chit-chat. I want to show you my F.O.s (finished objects for those not familiar with this term.) Both are crochet projects, which is different for me.

Granny Squares Tote

I started making granny squares about three years ago, when I planned to crochet a small cosmetics pouch. As I made more and more squares, I started dreaming about making a blanket for our bed, which is a hilarious thought.

My great grandmother, Pepén, used to crochet bedspreads and tablecloths all the time, so for a moment I thought, maybe I could do that. Except, I remembered that perhaps the fact that she could do that was that she didn’t have a job! it would take me about a century to finish a bedspread. So, I decided to keep my goals a bit more realistic and make a small handbag instead.

I had already crocheted enough squares to make a bag. All I had to do was figure out how I wanted to arrange them. When I found a combination I liked, I took a picture so I would remember which one went where. After that, I connected them with a simple slip stitch.

To give the bag some depth, I picked up stitches around three of the edges of the big square and worked back and forth in single crochet until I reached the width I liked. I then joined the second rectangle and crocheted around the top edge, also in single crochet. To finish, I added some handles to each side.

I like the result! All the granny squares I used (but one) had the same color (yellow) in the center. I worried about that at first, but it ended up making my bag a bit different from most granny square bags I’d seen.

When I finished, I decided to line the bag with white fabric. I used leftovers from the days of making masks. I thought it would look nicer and it would also make the bag more practical. I followed Vicky Howell’s instructions for adding a lining to a bag on YouTube and even added one of my Fairfax Hill Studio labels. (So proud!)

Japanese Knot Bag (Mosu Bag)

The second project I finished last weekend is a Japanese knot bag. This is a free pattern by @sweetsofties that you can find on YouTube. My mom sent me the link about a week ago and I decided to drop all of my other projects to make it. This type of bag had been on my wish list for a while.

It took me only about one day to crochet the bag. It still needs a lining, which should be easy to add, now that I’ve learned how to do it.

To make it, I used one ball of Lily Sugar‘n Cream cotton yarn in the color Bamboo with the recommended hook and followed along with the girl in the video. After I completed the base of the bag, I was able to take the project with me to the beach to finish the body. I returned to the video to see how to attach the handles, and that was it! Super easy.

My bag is about 10 inches square, and the handles are about 3 inches wide, one longer than the other so that you can “knot” it.

If you know how to crochet an oval, you can make this bag in any size and stitch combination you like. You can also change the base to a circle for the bag to stand up easily.

I love this bag’s design for carrying small projects. It will also be perfect for carrying my goggles, cap and I.D. next time I go for a swim. It’s the perfect size.

Hook Matters

While working on the Mosu bag, I learned that the kind of crochet hook you use can make a big difference in what your final project looks like. I started my bag using a standard aluminum “H” hook, which at times made pulling the yarn through the loops a bit difficult. It seemed as though the head of the hook was a little too big, so it was getting stuck. This slowed me down and was resulting in some larger gaps in a few spots.

Then, after I misplaced that hook, I grabbed a different one I had recently bought at Dharma. My goodness! What a difference! Everything was smoother and easier. The newer hook also had a soft handle, which felt great in my hand. The brand is Clover Amour. They are a little more expensive than your standard aluminum set, but definitely worth it.

I’m putting these on my Christmas wish list!

a tree in bloom

delicious lemon cake perfect for spring

Published by fairfaxhill

At times I feel like I’m solar powered. That’s why I love it so much when spring finally arrives in Marin. The sunshine makes me feel happy and energized. Last Saturday, it looked like we were finally going to enjoy a little sunlight and warmth after what has been the rainiest winter I can remember — and just in time for Easter!

On my Saturday “to-do” list was making dessert for the family potluck on Sunday. Sarah suggested making lemon bars from Tartine’s cookbook — one of her favorite desserts.

A picture from my walk last Saturday.

Sarah has always made the lemon bars, but I thought it was about time I tried making them myself. Making the lemon bars turned out to be pretty easy; the last step was to place the tray in the fridge to allow the bars to set and cool overnight. I was proud of myself for getting everything everything ready a day early. Time to relax!

The next morning, the lemon bars were ready, but Sarah was sick, so we thought it would be best for the four of us to skip Easter lunch in case we were contagious. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean we got to keep the dessert. (Potluck assignments are serious business in this family!) Thanks to Patrick the lemon bars were delivered right on time, as requested.

After waiting a whole day for lemon bars, Sarah and I were a bit disappointed. We were both looking forward to indulging in a little dessert, and I especially was curious about how my first time making the famous Tartine lemon bars had turned out.

We considered making another batch, but that meant waiting another day to eat something sweet. (We didn’t have time for that!) So, when I saw Elsa Billgren’s Instagram story, a short reel with the most beautiful pictures showing how she made lemon cake, I knew we had our answer.

You may not know Elsa Billgren. I didn’t know who she was either, until recently. She is a Swedish blogger I stumbled upon while reading a magazine I borrowed from the library via the Libby app about a year ago. I started reading Elsa’s blog on and off and following her Instagram account to practice my Swedish. I love reading other people’s blogs, and the photos she posts are beautiful; they definitely make me want to visit Sweden again.

This cake is gluten-free. But don’t be scared away by this if you’ve never baked GF recipes!

I had never made a gluten-free cake before, and I was a bit skeptical and nervous that it wouldn’t turn out right. Trust me, this cake tastes great — and I’ve translated the recipe for you. You are welcome! 😉

Also, if you aren’t into GF and don’t have any food allergies, you can substitute all-purpose flour for the GF flour. I hope you like it as much as we did!

Elsa’s Lemon Cake
adapted from Elsa Billgren‘s Citronkaka

Ingredients

200 g butter (room temperature) (approx. 14 tablespoons or a little less than 2 sticks)
2 dl sugar
3 eggs (room temperature)
0.75 dl yogurt (approx. ⅓ cup)
2 dl almond flour (approx. ¾ cup)
2 dl gluten-free flour (approx. ¾ cup)
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of sea salt flakes (I used Maldon sea salt)
zest of 1 lemon, plus a little extra for decorating
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze
2 dl powder sugar (approx. ¾ cup)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
lemon zest

  1. Set the oven to 350 F. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With the mixer at medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well.
  2. Zest and juice the lemon.
  3. In another bowl, using a whisk, combine the almond and gluten-free flours, salt and baking powder. Add this to the sugar mixture, followed by the yogurt and the vanilla.
  4. Line a loaf pan (1lb. capacity/9×5 inches) with parchment paper and pour the batter into it. Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is nice and golden.
  5. Important! Let the cake cool down on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before glazing.
  6. Mix the powdered sugar with the lemon juice to make the glaze. Drizzle or spread the glaze over the top of the cake once it has cooled down and sprinkle with more lemon zest before serving.

Notes/Tips:
This cake is not your typical pound cake. The texture is a little sandy and softer than the lemon cake you’d find at Peet’s, for example.

Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature for the best results.

Swedish recipe conversion tip:

  • I use a Pyrex cup which has markings for mililiters to measure dry ingredients.
  • 2 dl = 200 ml, approx. 3/4 cup; 0.75 dl = 75 ml, approx. 1/3 cup

I tried it! Easter Egg Candles DIY

Last week I was also inspired by Brittany Jepsen, from @thehouselarsbuilt to make Easter egg candles. I followed the instructions I found here to make them. This is a simple way to recycle old candles and crayons. You know, all those random little bits you find in your kitchen drawers.

Keeping the wick in place was the toughest part. I am not sure how well the candles will burn if the wick isn’t straight, but I love how they turned out!

Looking forward to a mini vacation

I am having a hard time believing I might have a chance to wear my crochet cover up in just about one week. I can’t wait! If you are interested in making one of these to take on your next beach vacation, here’s the link to the pattern.

a white crochet cover-up on a wood hanger

XO

-Gabi

designing a hat in five days

Published by fairfaxhill

About a week ago, I got an email from Clare from Sister Mountain announcing her new workshop: “Design a Hat in 5 Days”. I’ve been curious about knitwear design for a long time and signed up for Clare’s sweater design workshop introduction a few years ago, but decided not to go ahead with the full course, since I didn’t feel like I had enough time to design a whole sweater. But a small project like this one could be the perfect introduction I was looking for, so I signed up!

Because we would only have five days to complete the project, our homework before Day 1 was to draw a quick sketch of the hat we intended to make and to knit, wash, and dry our swatch sample.

My first idea had been to use a sport-weight yarn and to try to incorporate some pretty cables, but when I realized how long it was taking me to knit my small swatch, I changed plans and opted for a bulky yarn instead. I also picked a stitch pattern that I could knit up quickly, even if I wasn’t crazy about it.

When you swatch in the round, you carry the yarn on the back of the work. After you cut the threads they look like fringe.

The workshop was great. We learned all the steps required to design our hats and even prepare for publishing a pattern. We also learned how to keep track of all our measurements to easily grade our final design into different sizes with the help of a spreadsheet, which was super smart!

Working out the details on paper.

Figuring out the decreases to complete the crown of my hat turned out to be the most challenging part of the project. It turns out some stitch patterns are better suited for neat looking decreases than others, and there is no single recipe that applies to all hats! It all depends on the look you are going for.

Unfortunately, the way I was being taught to create the decreases in the class wasn’t making sense to me. Most likely because I’d been learning about a different way to calculate hat decreases from someone else, so I was getting quite confused. By day 5, I was also ready to finish the hat and move on to a different project. 

So, instead of trying to figure out the decreases using our spreadsheet, as we had been instructed, I did it differently: I looked up “how to decrease a 2×2 rib hat” on YouTube.

Finished Hat

I finished knitting the hat on Saturday night. It looks cute on my daughter — not so cute on me. I think I would prefer a longer brim that could be folded. Right now it feels too much like a shower cap. Ha, ha, ha…

I had more ideas on ways to improve my design, but I honestly don’t feel like knitting the whole thing again. I’ve decided to put it aside and not get hung up on the fact that I don’t love it. I’m sure my next hat will be much better.

So, stay tuned – I might have a hat pattern for you sometime in the near future! I am excited to try different stitches, colors, and yarn weights. It’s really not so difficult. Who knows? I may get good enough at this to teach others how to do it, too! Wouldn’t that be fun?

If you are curious about knitwear design, I recommend that you try out one of Clare’s classes. Not only will you get a taste of what it’s like to create your own patterns, you’ll also have the opportunity to connect with knitters from all over the world that are just as excited as you to acquire some new skills.

Have you knitted or bought a hat that you’ve loved lately?

favorite pancakes with blueberry sauce

Published by fairfaxhill

It’s Pancake Day, today. I only know this because I follow Jaime Oliver and he posted lots of pancake recipes on Instagram and his website this morning. Go on, take a look, some look amazing!

I’ll take any excuse to make pancakes. I loved the ones my grandmother used to make for us when we were little. For years, my sisters and I have been trying to recreate her recipe, and after many attempts, I’ve finally settled for this version, which started out as Mark Bittman’s Everyday Pancakes.

The goal here is to make pancakes that look more like crêpes, although not as thin. To accomplish this, I’ve increased the amount of milk in his recipe and I also make it imperative to use salted butter, just like my grandmother did.

This recipe makes enough pancakes for two people, but you can easily double it to feed a few more.

a person holding a plate with pancakes topped with blueberry sauce

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled (preferably salted butter)
1 egg
1 ½ cups of milk (2%)
more butter for grilling

Method

1) Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Melt the tablespoon of butter and set it aside to cool down.

2) In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder.

3) Separately, mix the milk with the egg until well combined. Add the melted butter, once it’s had time to cool down.

4) Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and stir to mix. Do not over mix! This is important when making pancakes. It’s okay if you see a few small lumps in the batter. Let the mixture rest for about 5 minutes before making the pancakes.

5) Add some butter to the pan before making each pancake. Once it melts, pour enough batter to just cover the bottom. Too much batter will result in unevenly cooked and thick pancakes. Remember these are more like crepes.

6) Flip the pancake after bubbles rise to the surface and the bottom is a nice golden brown. This will take 2 to 3 minutes. Cook until the second side is lightly browned.

7) Serve with blueberry/strawberry sauce, maple syrup, or fresh berries and a sprinkle of sugar.

Notes:

The pan’s temperature needs to be hot, but not so hot that it burns the butter. If it’s too hot, cool the pan down by rinsing it with cold water before making more pancakes.

After you make a few pancakes, you’ll notice that the batter may be thicker than when you started. This is because the flour tends to settle at the bottom. You can thin it down by adding more milk, being careful not to add too much, or the pancakes won’t turn out the same. If the batter looks too thick, that’s usually my signal that I’m done making pancakes. I rarely use all the batter.

Blueberry Sauce

1 cup of fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon water
a sprinkle of lemon rind (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for one minute.
Set aside and let the sauce cool down. You can keep this in the fridge for a couple of days. I like to pour it over vanilla ice cream, plain yogurt, and even cottage cheese. You can also use strawberries or blackberries to make this sauce, if there aren’t blueberries in season.