Rainbow Loom II

My biggest fan, my little sister, got spoiled by my dry rainbow loom post.

LS:  Are you going to make me more tutorials?
       Ones that use the other looms, or with different borders?
       I'm sad we only have one left.
Me:  I don't think so.  It's time for you to fly!
LS:  :(
Me:  They get much more complicated, and they're not as similar.
       You just watch whatever ones you like.
LS:  I don't want to fly.
Me:  The reason you have to fly is there's too much out there.
       And I would need a theme for a second post.
       Like "2 peg bracelets" for example.
LS:  Yay!!!!!
Me:  ha ha ha ha ha ha
       Ummmmmmmm.
       So I'm going to do that now?
LS:  Thanks Lan!
Me:  Omg.  Well.  Okay.

Before we go any further, I must give credit where credit is due.  Over half of these bracelets are from Rena T's youtube channel.  If you see a bracelet you'd like to make, but the translation from video to blogpost isn't thrilling you, head over there.  But what am I saying?  Liên is clearly the only person who has read this far.

2 PEG BRACELETS

Terms

For each bracelet, bands will be represented by natural numbers, 1, 2, 3...
The very last band will be called N.
So your bands for each bracelet are, 1, 2, 3... N.
There is no band named "0."

Actions "is placed" and "is twisted once and placed" will be abbreviated to P and T.
Actions "loops over" and "loops under" will be abbreviated to O and U.
O and U require looping over the pegs to the top center of the loom unless otherwise indicated.
Action "hooks to C-clip and attaches to initial cap band" will be abbreviated to H.
Most of the time, you will need use your hook to edit your bracelet after this step.

Modifiers "left" and "right," will be abbreviated to L and R.
Modifier "between" will be abbreviated to B.
B will always be followed by two band numbers.

Colors in a color scheme will be abbreviated to C1, C2, C3...
Colors "rainbow colors" and "border color" will be abbreviated to Cr and Cb.
Rainbow colors can be replaced by any assortment of 1 or more colors.
Conversely, rainbow colors can be superimposed into any color scheme, especially 2-cycles.

To review, we have: 1, 2, 3... N, P, T, O, U, H, L, R, B, C1, C2, C3... Cr, & Cb.

Rules

If a band number is placed before an action abbreviation, manipulate that band.
If a band number is placed afterwards, this describes the action and that band is left alone.
If L or R is placed before a band, use the side of that band that originated on that peg.
If L or R is placed afterwards, loop to the L or R peg as indicated.

Structure

Each bracelet tutorial will appear in six parts, as follows:
1.  Starting the bracelet.
2.  The sequence that will then be repeated to desired length.
3.  Ending the bracelet.
4.  Suggested number of colors; how to fit colors to cycle.
5.  Credit link

The Fishtail Series

Fishtail

1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  1O.

2.  4P.  2O.

3.  NP.  (N-2)(N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  1-∞;  N/A.
5.  Common

Inverted Fishtail
1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  1O.
2.  4P.  2U3O4.
3.  NP.  (N-2)(N-1)O.
    NH.
4.  1-∞;  N/A.
5.  Common

Tribal Fishtail
1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  1O.
2.  4P.  3O.
    5P.  2U4O5.
    6P.  4O.
3.  NP.  (N-2)(N-1)O.
    NH.
4.  3;  C1 C2 C3.
5.  Justin's Toys

Single Fish
1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  1O.
2.  4P.  L2U3O4.  R2O.
    5P.  3O.
3.  NP.  (N-2)(N-1)O.
    NH.
4.  2;  C1 C2.
5.  Angelynn

Knotted Fishtail
1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  1O.
    4P.  2O.
2.  5TTL.  6P.  5O.
    3O.
3.  NP.  (N-3)(N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  1, 2, 3, 4, N Cb.  Starting on 5, Cr Cb.
5.  Rena T

Three Fish

1.  1T.  2P, 3P, 4P.  1O.

2.  5P, 6P.  3O.
    L6OR.  L2O.  L6OL.
    R6OL.  R2O.  R6OR.

    7P.  4O.

3.  The last band placed was N.
    (N-2)(N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  3;  C1 C2 C3.
5.  Rena T

Viper Fish

1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  1O.

    4P, 5P.  3O.

2.  6P, 7P.  2O.  5O.

3.  (N-1)P.  (N-5)O.  (N-2)O.

    NP.  (N-3)O.  (N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  3;  (N-1) & N C1, starting on 1: C1 C2 C1 C3.
5.  Rena T

Flat Track Fish
1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  L1O.
2.  4P.  R2U3O4.  R1O.
    5P.   L3U4O5.  L2O.
3.  The last band placed was (N-1).
    R(N-3)R(N-2)O.
    NP.  L(N-2)L(N-1)O.
    R(N-1)O.
    NH.
4.  Cr Cb;  1 & N Cb, starting on 2: Cb Cr.
5.  Rena T

Dish Dash Fishtail

1.  1T.  2P, 3P, 4P.  1O.

2.  5P.  2O.

    6P.  3O.

    7P.  4U56O7.

    8P.  5O.

3.  The last band placed was (N-1).
    (N-3)O.

    NP.  (N-2)(N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  4; C1 C2 C3 C4.

5.  Amanda and Monica

Entrapped Fish

1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  1O.

2.  4PB23.

    L3OR.  L2O.  L3OL.

    R3OL.  R2O.  R3OR.

    5P, 6P.  34O.

3.  NP.  (N-2)(N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  Cr Cb;  N Cb, starting on 1: Cb Cb Cr.

5.  Rena T

Infinity Fish
1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  1O.
2.  4PB23.  2O.
    5P.  4U3O5.
3.  (N-1)P.  (N-3)O.
    NP.  (N-2)(N-1)O.
    NH.
4.  Cr Cb;  1 & N Cb, 2 Cr, starting on 3: Cr Cb.
5.  Rena T

Mushroom Fish

1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  1O.

    4PB23.  2O.

2.  5P, 6P.  4O.

    7PB56.  5O.

    L6OR.  L3O.  L6OL.

    R6OL.  R3O.  R6OR.

3.  The last band placed was N.

    NO.

    (N-1)H.

4.  2;  C1 C2 C2.
5.  Rena T

Rapunzel's Ladder Fishtail (Variation on Budding Friendship) 

1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  1O.

2.  4P.  R2O.

    R4OL.  L2O.  R4OR.

    5P.  L3O.

    L5OR.  R3O.  L5OL.

3.  The last band placed was N.

    (N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  2;  C1 C2.
5.  Rena T

Tongue Tied Fishtail

1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  L1O.

2.  4P.  R3O.  R1O.

    5P.  L4O.  L2O.

3.  The last band placed was (N-1).
    R(N-2)O.  R(N-4)O.
    NP.
    L(N-3)O.  L(N-1)O.
    R(N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  Cr Cb;  1 & N Cb, starting on 2: Cb Cr.

5.  Rena T

Cross Fish

1.  1T.  2P.

    L3P, R3PB12.  1O.

2.  4P.

    L5P, R5PB24.

    L3O, R2O.

    L5OR.  L2O.  L5OL.

    R4OL.  R3O.  R4OR.

3.  NP.

    (N-2)(N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  Cr Cb;  1 & N Cb, starting on 2: Cb Cr.
5.  Rena T

Double Dutch Fishtail  

1.  1T.  2P.

    L3L4P, R3R4PB12.  1O.

2.  5P.  L6L7P, R6R7PB25.

    L4O.  R2O.

    L7OR.  L3O.

    L6OR.  L2O.

    L6OL.  L7OL.

    R5OL.  R4O.

    R7OL.  R3O.

    R7OR, R5OR.

3.  NP.

   (N-3)(N-2)(N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  Cr Cb;  1 & N Cb, starting on 2: Cb Cr Cr.
5.  Rena T

Twisted Fish
1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  L1O.

    L3OR.  R1O.  L3OL.

2.  4P.  R2U3O4.

    R4OL.  L2U3O4.  R4OR.

    5P.  L3U4O5.

    L5OR.  R3U4O5.  L5OL.

3.  The last band placed was N.

    (N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  3;  C1 C2 C1 C3.

5.  Rena T

Rocket Fishtail
1.  1TTL.  2TL.  22PR.

    3P.  1O.

    4P.  22O.

    5P.  3U4O5.

    22O from inside back to pegs!

    6P.  22O.  4O.

2.  7P.  5U6O7.

    4O from inside back to pegs!

    8P.  4O.  6O.

3.  The last band placed was N.

    (N-1)NH.

4.  2;  1 C1, starting on 2: C1 C2.

5.  Justin's Toys

Fishtail Family

The Braid Series

Fishtail Braid
1. 1T. 2P, 3P, 4P. 1O.
    5P. L2O. R4O.
    6P. R2O. L5O.
2. 7P. L3O. R6O.
    8P. R3O. L7O.
3. NP.
    L(N-3)L(N-2)L(N-1)O.
    R(N-4)R(N-3)R(N-1)O.
    NH.
4. 2;  C1 C2 C2.
5.  Rena T

Rainbow Braid

1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  L1O.

2.  4P.  R1R2O.

    5P.  L2L3O.

3.  The last band placed was N.

    R(N-2)R(N-1)O.

    (N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  Cr;  Crx2 Crx2.

5.  Rena T

French Braid
1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  1O.

    4P.  L3O.  R2O.

2.  5P.  L2O.  R4O.

    6P.  L5O.  R3O.

3.  NP.

    L(N-3)L(N-1)O.  R(N-2)R(N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  2;  C1 C2.

5.  Angelynn

Frilly Braid
1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  1O.
2.  4P.  L2U3O4.  R2O.
    5P.  R3U4O5.  L3O.

3.  NP.  (N-2)(N-1)O.

    NH.

4.  2;  C1 C2.
5.  Angelynn

Paisley Braid

1.  1T.  2P.  1O.

2.  3P.  R2O.

    4P.  L2L3O.  R3O.

    5P.  L4O.

    6P.  L5O.  R4R5O.

3.  The last band placed was N.

    NH.

4.  3;  C1 C2 C1 C3.

5.  Angelynn

Aqua Braid

1.  1T.  2P, 3P.  1O.

    4P.  L2U3O4.  R3O.

2.  5P.  R2U4O5.  L4O.

    6P.  L3U5O6.  R5O.

3.  The last band placed was N.

    L(N-1)O.  R(N-2)O.

    NH.

4.  2;  C1 C2.

5.  Rena T

Braided Pegasus Tail

1.  1TTL.  2TL.  22PR.
    3P.  1O.
    4P.
2.  5P.  22O (single after first time).
    3U4O5.
    6P, 7P.
    4O to very center of pegs.
    5O straddling 4.
    L5UR4OL from inside back to pegs.
    R5UL4OR from inside back to pegs.
    8P.  5O.
3.  NP.  (N-3)O.
    (N-2)U(N-1))ON.
    (N-1)NH.
4.  4;  C1 C2 C3 C4.

5.  Loves2Loom

Funky Crossed Braid
1.  1TTL.  2P, 3P.  1O.
    4P.
2.  5P.
    2O3U4O5.  3O.
    L3UR2OL from inside back to pegs.
    R3UL2OR from inside back to pegs.
    6P.  3O.
3.  The last band placed was N.
    (N-2)O.
    (N-1)NH.
4.  3;  C1 C2 C1 C3.
5.  Amanda and Monica

Mermaid Braid
1.  1TL.  11TR.
    2TL.  3P.  L11U22O3.
    4TR.  5P.  R11L3U44O5.
2.  6TL.  7P.  L22L3L5U66O7.
    8TR.  9P.  R44R5R7U88O9.
3.  (N-1)P, NP.
    L(N-5)(N-5)L(N-4)L(N-2)O.
    R(N-3)(N-3)R(N-2)O.
    N-1)NH.
4.  2;  C1 C2.
5.  Aira Tran

Braid Family

Not to worry.  There's much, much more.

Rainbow Loom III

Short Story about Crayons

Milli had a bunch of broken crayons that I turned into mermaid tails.*  They turned out well.  So well, in fact, that there was a fresh pile of broken crayons not a minute later.

The End.

*If you have enough broken crayons to fill some silicone molds, bake at 200 for about half an hour.

Chocolate Fudge

I don't even like fudge that much.  But a month ago, when I made enough fudge to harm my family, I learned that making chocolate fudge is hard.  Maple fudge, peanut butter fudge, and even white fudge aren't.  With maple fudge, the sugar comes pre-dissolved, peanut butter fudge is really just a few things mixed together, and white fudge doesn't get made without the help of marshmallows.  I know; I've tried.  White chocolate curdles and the cocoa butter leeches out at 110F, which is the temperature fudge starts hardening.  In other words, you need the help of something like marshmallows to help distribute your white chocolate evenly, no matter how diligent you are.

Fudge is not only difficult, but it's also old-fashioned.  And how could I not take on an old-fashioned challenge?  They're simply irresistible.  Last night I made my sixth batch of chocolate fudge, and I am proud to say that I finally cracked the code.  The only fudge recipe that works for me is nowhere to be found other than my own recipe blog.  Now, it's important to give credit where credit is due.  If you search for a fudge recipe that does not use sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, corn syrup, or marshmallows of any kind, you'll be left with one recipe and one recipe only.  It is Hershey's Rich Cocoa Fudge.  According to that link, this recipe was originally published on Hershey's cocoa cans in the 1960's.  I've made it, and it works just fine.  The problem is that it doesn't yield enough fudge to create eight enormous, towering, deadly cubes.  It's unlikely I'd ever eat a piece that big in one sitting, but that's the kind of fudge I aim to create.

I Said Towering

Let's take a detour and talk about how much sugar is in one of my deadly cubes.  Each block of chocolate fudge holds 150 grams, or 3/4 cup of sugar.  One fifth of that, or 30 grams, is the same amount of sugar as a can of coke, or a full size candy bar, or the daily recommended intake per adult per day by the American Heart Association.  I mean, I'm making Starbucks look good.  The suggariest drink they sell, a venti skim milk white chocolate mocha with whipped cream (518 calories) has 75 grams of sugar.  That's no small feat, but it's half a block of my fudge.

Deadly!

Back to what I was saying.  Hershey's didn't have the goal of making fudge portions that can kill you, and they warn you not to double their recipe.  I've written and asked why, but I'm sure that knowledge disappeared in the 60's.  I've tried doubling their recipe a few times.  It kind of works, but there are some problems.  For one, it easily bubbles over, even in my six quart pot.  That's a lot of bubbling.  For another, it separates during the boil, and you're not supposed to stir it.  Making fudge is all about waiting and stirring and not stirring.  In fact, here's what you need to know.

1.  Put sugar, cocoa, salt, and milk in a pot on the stove.
2.  Stir it a lot until it boils.
3.  Don't stir it at all until it gets really hot.
4.  Remove it from heat, and add butter and vanilla.
5.  Don't stir it at all until it gets cool.
6.  Stir it a lot and pour it into a mold.

See?  Step 3 is where the disaster happens every time.  I don't stir my enormous pot of fudge, it separates into two different textures, and several hours later, the whole thing has set up as grainy as the inside of Milli's sandbox boots.  The first thing I had to do was override the wisdom of our grandmother's generation, and that's a hard step to take.  I decided that it's okay to stir in step 3.  But I'm trusting them on step 5.

The other problem with fudge, generally speaking, is that it's nothing but melted sugar, so it's not that fun to eat.  Sugar tastes better with more fat and more salt.  My recipe swaps the milk out for half and half and doubles the salt.  The half and half has the added benefit of creating a thicker mixture from the beginning that doesn't readily boil over and also separates less easily.  It's like I killed three birds with one stone, but instead, I did something not so mean.

I also change both temperatures.  I boil to 236 instead of 234 (both of which are in the lower range of the soft ball stage of candy making) with the notion that the fudge will continue to set up stiffly, even with the added fat content.  Secondly, I let the fudge cool to 112 instead of 110 because instead of beating it with a wooden spoon, I put it into the cold bowl of a stand mixer.  I need to make sure that after the cooling of the transfer, the rapid cooling of the paddle, and the further cooling of add-ins like toasted pecans, the fudge will still be warm enough to pour into a mold.  If it's too stiff, it doesn't flow into the corners of the mold, and what kind of person goes through the trouble of making fudge only to have it come out ugly?  As I already said, fudge is inherently too sweet, so it had better at least look nice.

Molded to Parchment Paper

Eat Your Heart Out

Porg's Pie

Happy Pi Day.
Even when everything has shut down to "flatten the curve" of COVID-19, it doesn't mean life isn't better than ever.  Follow this adorable little Le Crueset Porg Matthew and Malinda Healy got us for Christmas as she makes a braised beef pot pie.

First she makes a braised beef filling.  To get the beef tender, she advises to braise on low heat for several hours, and to get the right taste, she uses a secret blend of red wine, beef stock, soy sauce, Worcestershire, and tomato paste.

Secret Blend

 Selfie

She then makes an all butter crust, parbakes it with pie weights for an hour, trims the sides, egg washes, and sits down right in the middle of her nest.

Home Sweet Home

Then she just gets real nice and cozy.

Buckle Up Because We're About to Go for a Ride

And rolls thyme into her roof because everything she does, she does with style.

 Fabulous Shelter Piece

 And then the cutest thing happens.

Peek-A-Boo 

Could she be any cuter?  Why, yes, there it is.

Pie Crust Shield!

After 25 minutes at 400 and another 25 at 375, she's all done.

Hello!

Easily $150 of Fudge

Places that sell fudge can overcharge because nobody wants enough fudge to bother making a whole pan of it at home.  Let alone four.  And who wants to slave away doing dishes and monitoring a candy thermometer all night on Valentine's Day?  L&G, that's who.

The one that started it all is our favorite fudge, maple.  We bought some at Inner Space Caverns a week ago, and they did not use real maple syrup.  Not only did we use real maple syrup, but we used a liter.  We don't play around.

Serious About Flavor

Next, we had to take on the old fashioned classic, chocolate fudge.  Is anything more indulgent than rocky road, with toasted almonds and pieces of marshmallow?

A Party of Textures

Where there's chocolate fudge, there's white fudge.  You can do just about anything with white fudge, so we chose mint Oreo.  Isn't that secretly everyone's favorite?

The Pretty Girl Next Door

The trio wouldn't be complete, really, without a good peanut butter fudge.  We topped ours with Snickers.

The Creamiest 

All in all, I wouldn't recommend it.  Open a bottle of wine and turn on a movie, or you'll be left with more fudge than you can handle and enough dishes to keep you busy the next day.

 Ready To Open Shop

Lan and the Old Lady by Tracy Jo Earley

Those Are Some Powers of Two

Last year, I wrote Old McDonald Had a Pie, which may have been the beginning of some dork-math-song-videos-for-kids tradition.  I don't know yet.  Two in a row don't quite make a pattern.

Those Are Some Powers of Two

Valentines V

I always have fun with the kids' Valentines, but it's hard to imagine I'll ever want to do anything other than loom bracelets again.  The kids can make them all by themselves, they are easy to personalize, their friends love wearing them, and they're so cute.  Rainbow loom was popular in 2013 and 2014, so now I'm the only one geeking out over it.  Of note, the first Harry Potter book was published in 1997 and the last one was published a decade afterwards.  Here we are in 2020, and our family is rummaging our way through the first chapter for the first time.  Until next year.