jazzeria

I realise I haven't posted much about Lil Blankie in 2025 or 2026. I think it's because I feel like every post now has to include my best attempt at rigorous scientific data, and that feels like more work than I'm up for every time I think about posting. Mostly I just want to write abou my feelings.

But I'll still include data for those interested.

Lil Blankie is about about 1.5 years old at this point. I wash it a few times a year. I sleep with the blanket every night, mostly using it to cover my head and eyes. Sometimes I spend a few minutes just snuggling the heck out of it. I've stopped tying or pinning as a cape because that stresses the corners a lot; but sometimes I'll still drape it over my back and shoulders, and sometimes use a hairtie to gently bundle those corners at the front. Every night when I go to bed, seeing Lil Blankie still makes me smile.

I'm starting this post with my strongest feelings first.

I feel like Essex Linen has gotten rougher--is that even possible? Every time I touch it now, I have a slight "ugh" response to it, especially since I usually keep Lil Blankie close to my face when I sleep. Sometimes I'll run my fingernails against these patches because that's about the only way I enjoy touching them. It really is an unpleasant texture for such a blanket.

All the quilting cottons still feel lovely! Wow it's almost like they were designed for this! The cotton lawns are the best, they feel luxurious and soft in a "smooth" way. Right now I'd rank the purple-apricot floral lawn as the nicest; but really, all the cotton lawns feel exquisite.

The worst quilting cottons are the black florals (black-and-white and black-and-colours, which I think are from the same batch of fabrics): they feel notably rougher than any others. The dyes are also fading, and/or the little raised fibres that stick up are white (which may be the cause of the faded appearance). They're not necessarily bad, but they're disappointing in the company of the nicer cottons.

But really, all the quilting cottons are performing extremely well.

The bunnies print (which I've since learned may be either a genuine or knockoff Sevenberry) is also a delight, but for different reasons. It balances sturdiness and softness in a way that I think would be ideal for garments, but might be a bit "heavy duty" for a blanket. I wish I had enough of this fabric to make soft housepants or an overshirt.

That said, this tear seems to be growing. I've been deliberately not mending it as part of this experiment, but I think I might have to, soon.

The flannelette continues to be an absolute pleasure! It consistently ranks highest in squishiness (pliability) and texture (softeness). It gives a sort of immediate squee for its softness--which I'm contrasting with a sort of delayed squee when I touch the nice quilting cottons. (The quilting cottons feel like a more sophisiticated enjoyment, if that makes sense, a slower satisfaction; whereas the flannel feels like a visceral, instinctive and more excited joy?)

I think the Sprout Woven has reached the tipping point where it's becoming worn out enough to negatively affect its softness (texture). The pilling is prominent enough that it's hard to detect the woven Xs; now it just feels ... textured, all over. It's not a bad texture, it just means the distinctive texture is becoming less distinctive.

The yarn-dyed wovens continue to break in. I'm not sure they'll get much "softer" before becoming "worn out", and trying to describe this idea is really deepening my appreciation for materials science (and my own backyard attempt at doing it). I think these fabrics are better suited for garments, or the top of a blanket but not a backing. But I believe they add a desirable textural contrast: if I made a quilt entirely from entirely similarly-smooth quilting cottons, I don't think I'd like it as much as something with small patches of lightly textured fabrics.

I actually really enjoy visually and tactilly admiring the puckered textures woven into these fabrics! (And as much as I complain about Essex as unsuitable for a blanket, it's also very interesting.)

All in all, I still feel absolutely delighted every time I reach for Lil Blankie. It's been a year and a half--which feels like simultaneously a short and long time. "Wow I've already had this blanket for nineteen months?" and, "It's been less than two years, how can I commit to Big Blankie when I have so little data?"

In the meantime, it's not like Big Blankie is getting any less worn. I've been slowly working on my random quilt blocks, adding to the pile, slowly working up the courage to put them together as a new exterior for my beloved childhood blankie. I'm trying to keep that in mind as I continue my Lil Blankie Project.

As promised, here's the data:

What an amazingly intimate knowledge to have of another person! Secret and specific details that no one else might ever know--I'm not even sure I knew it before we spoke about it!

My good friend CB gave me some apples (which he had received from a friend!). I'm not sure of the variety, but they were small, about the size of a ping-pong ball; bright red, tart, astringent, very juicy, and also sweet. They might be a type of crabapple, and I imagine they'd be lovely for baking--and of course, brewing.

After removing the stems and seeds, I pureed these apples with the remaining Dead Horse Cider from the recent cyser. It had begun fermenting slightly in the fridge, and I was very curious about utilising that wild yeast in combination with commercial yeast. To bring the volume up to a size worth fermenting, I added some pear nectar from Del Monte (it contains pear puree and added sugar, so it can't be called "juice").

I used half a packet of Lalvin 71B, and a quarter-teaspoon of pectic enzyme. Reading the hydrometer in this pulpy puree was difficult, but I think the OG was about 1.078. (Of course, some sugar would still be locked in the fruit solids, meaning my sugar estimate would be low; but I ran with it.)

I first tried to fit everything into my 4L Fermonster, but that seemed foolish, so during the first few days, I also made use of a 1L glass jar.

After a week or so, things had calmed enough for me to feel safe combining it again.

At some point (probably early October when I also racked the Cyser) I racked from the Fermonster to a 1 gallon jar. By November, I had moved the brew to the basement, and solids were settling into a thick layer.

I left it in the basement for a long time, procrastinating waiting for the sizeable sediment layer to compact.

In March, I finally racked to a 1 gallon jug. I took a little taste, and was startled. I described the flavour as "cheesy" at first, because it tasted "fermented" in a way I associated with lactic acid I guess, and the fruitiness made me think "blue cheese". I took a few more tastes and wondered if maybe the flavour was actually "yeastiness" (not "cheesiness")? Anyway, it's acidic (malic acid for sure) and fruity, maybe floral, complex in a very compelling way. But it's also got bitterness, and the harsh burn of a young brew.

I'm not sure whether the complexity comes from: the wild yeast in the fermenting cider, all the fruit pulp and peel, the commercial yeast, leaving it on the lees for so long, or something else? But I'm really excited for this one!

In late-Aug, I picked up some apples from the St Norbert Farmer's Market: Goodland and Trail (crabapple).

I also bought some cider from Dead Horse--a variety of different donated backyard yapples that they press for juice! The juice is tart and lightly astringent, very refreshing.

I cored the apples and removed any discoloured parts (since I wouldn't be pasteurising it), then blended the fruit, keeping the pulp. This yielded about 1068g of apple puree. I knew some of the sugars would remain locked up in the apple solids and so the hydrometer reading would underestimate my sugar content. But I still aimed for ABV of 12%. I used a half packet of Lalvin 71B and a quarter-teaspoon of pectic enzyme. The OG measured around 1.096.

This fermented in a plastic bucket for about a month. In early October, I transferred the brew to a 5L jar and set it in the basement. By November, the sediment was settling nicely.

I racked this in late March, taking a little taste.

It's not great. It's got bitter flavours, and I'm not sure how much of that is "young, messy brew", how much is "bad flavours from too long on the lees", or how much is, "bad flavours from bad airlock." I'm going to let it settle a bit before having another taste.

Like, it doesn't taste "bad", it just doesn't taste like a winner at this point. There's actually a lot of complexity that I find compelling, and I'm hoping I can mitigate the bitterness and get a really nice brew out of this eventually!

Since I was posting about my meadjito project and latest cyser anyway, I took some pics of my other brews to give you an update on where they're all at. These have been in my basement for awhile, where the temperature ranges about 17 to 20 C.

Unfortunately, this temperature range might be affecting the airlocks: I've definitely seen the airlock fluid being sucked toward the brew instead of pushed away. I can't know for sure how much air has gotten into my vessels--or how much airlock liquid (diluted StarSan solution).

In July, I made two "plain" meads (fairly neutral-tasting honey, mild flavoured mead with no additional fruit), with the intent of fermenting them dry and backsweetening with nice varietal honey. I was aiming for ABVs of roughly 12% and 15%, so my OGs were 1.095 and 1.122 respectively.

Both these batches were made with a bit of black tea to provide tannins and complexity. I used Mangrove Jack M05 yeast.

The lighter (less sweet/alcoholic) batch, I labelled with a blue marker so I could spot it more quickly. It's been doing ok! This month (March 2026), I racked to another jug, and added some lemon peel and black tea in a teabag. I'll taste it after a week, and when it's ready, I'll add a touch of Sparkalloid and then pasteurise the batch.

After several months of forgetting about it in the basement, I finally bottled my mint mead for making meadjitos.

Unfortunately I bumped the jar as I was bottling so one bottle in particular is noticeably cloudy.

Mixing the drink in preparation for carbonation, I made the erroneous assumption that the agitation of carbonation would be sufficient to dissolve the honey. Oops. In the future, I'll have have to stir the mixture before starting carbonation.

As we get into warmer weather, I think this will be a nice, refreshing beverage to have on hand. I'll probably keep a carbonated bottle ready to drink in the fridge during summer.

In autumn 2025, I bought a jug of apple cider (unfiltered apple juice), and kinda forgot about it in the fridge til spring 2026.

Although the juice had been pasteurised, I was a bit worried. The plastic jug looked like it had been inflated slightly! When I opened it, there was no apparent hiss or deflation, and the juice still smelled normal. I gave it a cautious taste and it was still sweet and tasty. But there was the faintest amount of carbonation.

To be safe, I transferred the juice to a pot and brought the temperature up to at least 70C for at least 20 minutes (probably longer). Dissolved gas bubbled out of the juice quite eagerly once the juice got warm!

I took a sample out to cool just enough to get a hydrometer reading; it had a specific gravity of about 1.060. I did some napkin math and figured I'd add about 1100g of honey for my target ABV of 11%. My mix ended up being too sweet, so I added a little water (in hindsight, I think I had assumed 3.8L or 1 US gallon of juice, when the jug was actually 3L).

Recipe:

3 L unfiltered apple juice, pasteurised

1.122 kg liquid honey

100 g water

half packet, Lalvin 71 B

1/4 tsp Go Ferm

1/8 tsp pectic enzyme

handful of dried apple peels

OG: 1.109

For the first few days, each day, I gave the brew a big stir to let out gas, mix in oxygen, and then added 1/8 tsp of Fermaid K. After that I'll keep giving it a stir for a few days, then just let it do its thing undisturbed until primary fermentation looks done.

I honestly don't know whether I'll ever replicate that amazing Triple Jims cyser, or make something as good as it. But I'm gonna try!

Earlier this year, I took an introduction to knitting class at my local yarn shop.

At the first lesson, we learned the long tail cast-on, how to tension yarn in a yarn hold, and I learned how to Continental knit (the rest of the class learned English style; the instructor figured I'd have an easier time doing Continental because I crochet).

Soon after, I joined a knitting circle that meets on weekends, and at my first day, someone kindly taught me the knit decreases "knit two together" and "slip slip knit"! (And I taught her the most secure way I know to join yarn, which seems to be a modified weaver's knot!)

Aside: at the knitting circle, I also explained "foundation single crochet" to a knitter as, "Imagine if you could just start knitting without having to cast on. Like if you could just start knitting, and somehow that produced your cast-on as well!" Her response: "That makes zero sense!" which I think provokes a similar response in crochetists who've never done foundational crochet either!

It's now March and I've learned the following knitting techniques:

Purl (Continental)

Yarn-over increase (for purl and knit)

Make one Left/Right (knit)

Knit front and back

Twisted knit/purl

the basic bind-off (does it have a name?)

Lori's Twisty Bind-off

Tink (un-knit and un-purl)

I'm keeping track here because I don't think I'll knit as much as I crochet. Because I learned it first, I have more intuition for how crochet projects work, how the material behaves and grows. And I like really working intuitively ("keep going until it fits") rather than keeping track of stitches and rows in a pattern.

That said, the movements of Continental kntiting feel way more efficient than any crocheting I do. So I like the idea of knitting some garter stitch scarves or something where I don't have to concentrate too hard on counting or meeting gauge.

Anyway, here are some of the things I've started knitting, mostly practice swatches:

The hats in progress are Spiral Beanie by Babi Crisosto (free pattern!).

Exactly when I started sewing is hard to say.

In early 2023, I started mending clothes with hand stitching, and also doing decorative sashiko-like embroidery.

Later that year, I also started hand-sewing small things like pincushions, jar bonnets (kraut caps!), and even project bags:

In Feb 2024, my friend showed me how to use a sewing machine.

Using the machines at the public library, I machine-finished a project bag which I had begun with hand-sewing:

Upon hearing about my strange commutes, a friend loaned me their family's sewing machine that wasn't being used.

In March and April of 2024 I sewed at least 6 more project bags! After that, I took a short break apparently; but in September I was back at it, sewing my first zipper, then my first faux leather bag.

I continued sewing project bags and purses in 2024, and started planning mending my blankie by encasing the entire blanket in a new quilt top and bottom. In preparation for that big project, I started my Lil' Blankie project, practising patchwork, quilting, and testing how various fabrics wear over time and use.

This project got me really ambitious in 2025. I made a dedicated post about all the things I made in 2025 here. In early 2025, my mother-in-law gave me her old sewing machine! Later that year, my grandmother-in-law gave me her old sewing machine too!

I learned most of my textile craft skills from self-led research in adulthood: watching videos, reading books, asking friends to teach me, and signing up for classes. What I mean is, I didn't come to it in the way that was (and maybe still is?) more common: exposure from youth, usually through a family member--a family tradition. Which I'm ok with. But I think it creates a bit of.... Maybe it makes me an outsider to the craft?

Anyway, I wanted to take some time to reflect on my "sewing anniversary", irrespective of how you count it.

When I think about the sewing I've done in the past year, what are the biggest skills I've learned since?

Buttonholes!

Sewing garment zippers

How to sew rope baskets

Sewing more complicated bag zippers

Sewing stretch and knit fabrics!

I'm excited to continue expanding my skills over the next year of sewing and crafting. Some goals and intentions for this year:

Pants fitting workshop in April

Sew house pants for my spouse (spouse house pants!)

Sew a house vest for myself

Plan gifts and create schedules to ensure timely completion and delivery

Be very intentional about what clothes I buy, and consider what clothes I can make.

Shop my fabric stash before buying more fabric.

Avoid buying fabric just because it's on sale (I probably have something usable at home already!)

Go through the old clothes that have been marked to harvest for their materials; do an inventory of those clothes and their materials.

I joined last month, but they meet on Sundays, and I guess I haven't gotten used to thinking "Sundays are now a day I go out and do an activity" so I've actually missed 100% of the meetings since joining, dangit!!

I'm going to try to build my Saturday routine a bit better, scheduling time to plan for my new Sunday outing. The meeting time will also force me to consider my lunch and dinner plans for Sunday in advance.

I think the reason is: that other blog is meant to be more of a showcase, and I haven't felt like my stuff is showcase-able? Or I'm not sure how to showcase it?

So I might try posting them here instead (and maybe some other time, post them there too).

It feels weird to have this pressure (albeit self-inflicted) to write in a certain way. Like, I try to write more "professionally" there, try not to complain or nitpick, and try to show off my work. But I want to also be able to just go, "Hey I made a thing!" with no, like, expectation of professional conduct?