In case the lack of new posts since December 2007 didn’t give it away, this blog, Shopping Jen, should be considered closed.

I enjoyed what I tried to do here, but in the end, reviewing products is darned hard work! While I was capable enough at it for a while, I don’t seem to be able to sustain the necessary energy levels to continue doing reviews on a regular basis. Kudos to all the avid reviewers out there who manage to do this job, I know now what you have to go through to turn out an informative, yet entertaining, review.

My thanks to everyone who read Shopping Jen. We will be folding the posts into Crafting Jen at some point in the future, and shutting down this site.

Posted: June 24th, 2008 under Announcements.
Comments: none

Toys to Crochet by Claire Garland

Published by: Potter Craft (Random House)

Available: December 11, 2007

So far, my book reviews have been mainly about knitting. That’s partly because that’s what the publishers are sending me, and partly because I do a lot of knitting.

I also crochet. Crochet has its place, but it creates a fabric very different from knitting, and isn’t as often applicable to what I want to create.

One thing crochet can do very well, though, is create three dimensional shapes. You’re only working with one live stitch at a time, and you can move in any direction you want at any moment.

Toys to Crochet presents patterns for easy to make, quick to finish, crocheted toys. These are not high art, but they are cute, and made with child’s play in mind.

How Does It Look?

One of the points I evaluate about any craft book is the visual appeal of the projects themselves. Are they attractive? Are the proportions pleasing to the eye? Is the technique executed in a way that doesn’t detract from the finished product?

I wish I could say that Toys to Crochet passed all these tests for me, but the truth is, I found more than half the projects visually unattractive. Whether poorly proportioned, or stitched so large and loose that the stuffing shows through, a lot of this book doesn’t work for me.

In some cases it was the choice of yarn and gauge - very large stitches in a fairly small project make for a grainy, low-resolution look. Take these Chunky Building Blocks, for example. The samples in the photograph seem to be made with different weights of yarn, to obtain different finished sizes. At only 6 stitches wide on each side, the blocks will work up quickly. But no matter what yarn size used, you wind up with a rough looking shape that more closely resembles a slightly deflated ball than a block.

I find Molly the Mermaid to be one of the better dolls in the book. But look at that flat tail - she looks like she was run over by a steamroller. Why wasn’t the top of the tail stuffed? It’s worked in the round, so there’s ample space inside. Lightly stuffing the tail would give it some body, while still leaving her supple and flexible for swimming the imaginary oceans.

Most of the dolls in Toys to Crochet are of the long-leggedy, tentacle-like arm variety that seems popular right now.* I have to say that’s a style that doesn’t appeal to me - I like my dolls to have more realistic proportions, and to have limbs that look like they could be functional if the doll came to life.

This Basic Bear is a good example. The head is a good shape, the ears well proportioned. The body works. But then the arms start off stringy and go way long, and the legs just seem to go on forever. I think they may even be longer than the head and body combined.

Add the large size of the stitches relative to the overall size of the bear, and the design loses all appeal for me.

What Did Work?

Some of the designs work better than others. The pigs on the cover of the book, for instance. Here are a few others that I liked:

Mama Horse and Foal - Cute, knobby-kneed baby and a hand puppet for mama.

Clover Cow and Calf - Baby looked wonky to me here, until I got an image in my head of a newborn calf trying to stand up. Then it felt like the artist perfectly captured that feeling.

Mama Duck and Pom-Pom Chick - I think this may be one of the best designs in the book. Although Mama suffers from SLLS - Stringy Long Leg Syndrome - her body is well proportioned, and I love the way her neck curves as she tends to her baby. I’d definitely stitch her with way less leg. Maybe even none, and attach the webbed feet directly under her.

About the Instructions

I’ve almost never used a written pattern for crochet. Most of what I’ve done has been either made up as I went, or worked from well-defined and common modules like Granny Squares.

I decided that the best way, then, for me to evaluate the patterns in Toys to Crochet would be to actually Crochet a Toy. What a concept, huh?

I chose a pattern that I found both amusing and reasonably proportioned, and that I could give as a Christmas gift. My father likes lobster, and I was stuck for what to give him this year, so I wound up making Larry the Lobster.

Larry the Lobster

The original Larry photographed in the book uses a bulky weight yarn (Lobster Pot Bulky) and a size N (10 mm) hook. I didn’t like how much of the polyfill stuffing showed through the stitches. And this was going to have to be a stash-buster. What I wound up using was Bernat Ping-Pong yarn in a brown color, and a size K (6.5 mm) hook.

Ping-Pong is a novelty yarn in a bulky weight. There is a strand plied in with little puffy balls of a lighter shade of the overall yarn color - in this case, brown - and another of an eyelash-like, tinsely material that gives a short fuzz and a shine to the fabric.

I found the instructions fairly easy to follow, only running into one slight delay as I tried to figure out what was meant by working a single crochet “in top of each sc around.” This wasn’t explained anywhere in the book, and it baffled me. After all, each single crochet is worked under both threads at the top of the stitch, right? So what was meant by in the top? I eventually puzzled out that they meant to work in the back loop at the top, rather than under both front and back together.

In the end, I had what passes for a reasonable looking lobster, glistening with the tinsel, and spotty and brown like an uncooked lobster fresh from the bottom of the ocean. I think I did miscount the rounds on one of his claws, making it shorter than the other, but that’s actually a life-like detail. Many lobsters wind up with mis-matched claws when they lose one in a battle and it has to re-grow.

Bottom Line

Toys to Crochet is my first real exposure to a crochet project book. While I find many of the designs personally unappealing, others may like the quirky proportions and characters. There’s no denying that these funky-looking dolls have personality!

The instructions are reasonable well-written, with few omissions. It should be fairly easy for even a relative beginner to successfully - and quickly - create toys from this book, and have them come out looking like the photos. The projects would also be easy to modify for personal tastes, as I might do with Mama Duck’s long, dangly legs.

The projects will work up fast enough that you could still, at this late date, pick up a copy at your local bookstore, and make some gifts in time for Christmas.

In the end, it’s not a complete hit - but there’s enough here to have me wanting to make more projects from this book, and to consider modifying others. I’d recommend Toys to Crochet as a worthy addition to a fiber craft library.

Related Links:

• Publisher’s site: Toys to Crochet at Random House
• Purchase at Amazon: Toys to Crochet

* I just discovered, in researching links for this review, why those spindly-legged, tentacle-armed dolls struck me as so popular. It’s because several prominent books lately have featured them - Knitted Babes, and Toys to Sew - and they’re all by the same author as Toys to Crochet, Claire Garland! (I even own a copy of Toys to Sew already, won in a blog contest.) I’d say that’s a testament to the popularity of both Ms. Garland’s books and design sense!

Posted: December 11th, 2007 under Crafts.
Comments: 2

The Yarn Lover’s Guide to Hand Dyeing
by Linda La Belle

Published by: Potter Craft (Random House)

Available: November 13, 2007

I’ve been sitting on this book review for a couple of weeks now, trying to decide what to say.

I have been eagerly awaiting The Yarn Lover’s Guide to Hand Dyeing for some time. I’ve dabbled a little in hand dyeing myself, on a very amateur level, using Kool-Aid and food colors. To have a book that would help me explore the wider world of hand dye options and processes would be marvelous.

I sat down a few days before the release of this title to go through my review copy. I was generally pleased with what I saw. The book begins with a section covering techniques, dyes, types of yarn, safety, color theory, and more. Everything you’d need to know.

At least, that’s what I thought.

Chapter one, “unsweetened kool-aid and food coloring,” promises to be an easy start in the concept of dyeing. The introductory text talks about how simple and safe it is, how you can do it with your children as a fun project. And it specifically states, “The only other ingredient you need is distilled white vinegar.”

Why, then, when I turned to the next page, does the very first recipe call for Synthrapol? And what is Synthrapol?

I flipped back to the front of the book, thinking I had missed a section. Nothing there. I scoured the index. No mention of Synthrapol. Puzzled, I went back to the dye recipes, and continued reading through the book.

Every recipe is presented clearly, with a careful listing of materials, and good instructions for how dye is applied with the method used. Each recipe is followed by a knitting pattern designed to highlight the colors and features of the dye technique.

But every recipe also called for one or more chemicals that were not explained anywhere in the book. Synthrapol, Polycell, urea. For those experienced with the world of hand dyeing, these may be familiar substances, but for a newbie? Not so much.

Before posting a review, I decided to give my contact at Potter Craft a chance to comment. Here’s the reply I received:

Jenny,

Once again, your eagle-eye has come in handy. We’ve checked with the author, Linda, and she confirmed that Synthrapol is a mild soap that is used to remove excess dye. When used in the presoak it helps to remove the spinning grease that is on the yarn/fiber, and when used in the washing/rinsing process the Synthrapol suspends the excess dye and carries it from the yarn/fiber.

We will add this to the front matter of the book for reprints and apoligize for the omission! I don’t know how we all missed that. A quick google search does yield a site that says it’s a “must have” for dyers and other helpful information.

The question of the Polycell and urea had not yet been addressed, so I wrote once again, receiving this response:

We will be adding a new section to the book in reprints called “The Chemicals”. In the meantime, here is the missing info:

Polycell is a wallpaper paste that contains Sodium Alginate, a natural thickener made from seaweed. The stock paste can be stored in the refrigerator for several months. Thickeners such as Polycell, Sodium Alginate, Gum Tragacanth and Jacquard SuperClear are added to the dyestock. Thickening the dyestock slows the spreading of the dye, giving you more control while you are painting on the yarn. When the Polycell is used in the Ashford Cold Pad method of dyeing the “padding” supports the dye, prevents it from drying out and extends teh fixing time.

Urea is a humectant–it attracts moisture from the air, helping to keep the fiber damp longer. The dye is suspended allowing for a greater reaction time for the dye to fix. It can be used in conjunction with a thickener when painting on the yarn with Procion dyes.

At this point, I felt a little lost with regards to writing my usual full review of the book. The book I had in my hand, hardbound, fully finished, and ready to hit the bookstore shelves, was mostly well written, with well-explained projects, interesting interviews with people who are in the business of selling hand dyed yarns, and otherwise good information about the techniques. But no book about hand dyeing yarn could really be considered complete without an explanation of the chemicals involved in the process, could it?

You see my dilemma, I’m sure.

Potter Craft has promised that future printings of The Yarn Lover’s Guide to Hand Dyeing will contain the information that is missing from this one. That’s a good and appropriate response on their part. (I won’t address the issue of how the final copy could have been signed off on without the chemical information.)

In the meantime, they’ve got thousands of copies of The Yarn Lover’s Guide to Hand Dyeing out there that are missing data about the chemicals used. Are they totally worthless?

Not totally. A person well versed in fiber work, even if they’ve never dyed yarn, will be able to find the missing information with a few quick searches at Google. Aside from this known error, the book does cover its subject fairly well, considering we’re presented with how-to’s for seven different types of dyes, using six different application methods.

The reader who should be cautious about the current printing of this book is the newbie dyer, especially if they’re not familiar with the fiber resources on the Internet. These are the folks who will eagerly read, pick out a project to make, and then, stumped by the unexplained chemicals, will set the book aside and decide that dyeing must be harder than they thought if it’s such a mystery.

My Recommendations

Experienced fiber artists, or anyone comfortable with researching the chemicals on their own, by all means get this book in the current printing. You’ll be able to make up for the missing information with your Google-fu.

New dyers - if you’re reading here, you’re forewarned, and can prepare yourself with a search or two. I’ll give links at the end of this article, too.

If you were hoping to give this as a gift to someone who will be totally new to dyeing - either find and print out the missing information for them, or consider waiting until a future printing comes out.

Related Links:

• Publisher’s Site: The Yarn Lover’s Guide to Hand Dyeing at Random House
• Purchase at Amazon: The Yarn Lover’s Guide to Hand Dyeing
• Author’s Site: The Yarn Tree

About the Chemicals:

• Synthrapol
• Urea
• Polycell
  

Posted: November 26th, 2007 under Crafts.
Comments: 3

Winter is coming soon, and I have a problem.

I haven’t had a proper winter coat in a couple of years.

For a long, long time, I wore a leather jacket that I found at an incredible sale at Lane Bryant. A $230 jacket, for something like $60. Classic bomber style, and a little large for me at the time, but come on! Such a deal!

That was about 1991. I loved it to pieces - literally. It was comfortable, and warm enough for me, and served its purpose well.

I finally decided, a little over a year ago, that it was time to retire it. The leather itself was starting to shred in places, the lining had torn out years ago. The knitted cuffs were unraveling.

Last year, I got by with a polar fleece jacket I’d purchased a while back at a Burlington Coat Factory. But it was always a tight fit, and I’ve gained weight since buying it. Add the \/\/\zap!\/\/\ factor of perpetual static electricity generated by polar fleece, and I just don’t consider it an option any more.

So, here’s the problem. I’m a big girl. Even local shops that have plus sizes, don’t have my size - they stop a little short. I’m also hard to please, style-wise - I tend to think most fashion trends look pretty bad. I want a good, basic, functional coat, and if possible, one in a style that I actually like.

Okay, I’m a knitter. What can I do that will work, and be fairly quick?

Enter the Interweave Press book, Knit Kimono, by Vicki Square. This is not a review copy - I actually chose to buy the book from Amazon myself. I’ve been fond of some of Vicki’s other Interweave books - Folk Hats and Folk Bags, for instance - and I’m passionate about Japanese design.

There are 18 patterns for jackets, vests, and kimono in this book, all based on traditional styles. And all knitted. Some of them are even large enough already to accommodate my body, without modification! And those that aren’t will be easily altered, since the essence of kimono is that they’re made from rectangles. How hard would it be, then, to simply add a little width to the parts? Not very!

The issue at hand, then, is a coat for myself. Can I answer that with a kimono? I think so! I’ve got a couple of prime candidates in mind. Sorry for the flare in the photos, I couldn’t take them without flash on this gray, rainy day.

Noragi

Based on a field worker’s garment, this is built from simple garter stitch rectangles. The yarn called for is Plymouth Linen Isle, a cotton/rayon/linen blend, but I could probably use any worsted weight yarn that will give a nice hand to the finished fabric.

Cons:

• The size of the garment in the pattern finishes with a 50″ measurement at the chest. This is at least 8 or 9 inches narrower than what I need.
• The sleeves as designed are impractical for a utilitarian winter coat.*
• Miles of garter stitch could be boring.

Pros:

• The construction of the garment is simple rectangles. It will be easy to add the width that I need without harming the style of the coat.
• I could replace the sleeves with a tapered shape more suitable for a coat.
• Miles of garter stitch is perfect mindless knitting for television watching, or Knitting In Public.
• Garter stitch also can be finished without absolutely requiring blocking.

Water & Sky

Water & Sky was inspired by the way that “Japanese architecture harmonizes with the environment, weather, and geography.” Vicki describes the yarn she chose (Classic Elite Fame, a rayon silk blend) as “a blend of pale natural colors that represent the reflection of sunlight as water trickles over a rocky streambed.” The bottom edges have an open-work, ripply stitch pattern to further evoke the sense of water, while the bulk of the garment is knit in stockinette stitch.

This is a roomy piece - the circumference measures as about 73 1/2 inches! That would be perfect for layering. The sleeves are a more practical design for a winter coat, too.

It’s a bit long, though - 42″ shoulder to hem. The model wearing it in other photographs shows it coming down to her knees. I’d probably shorten it.

Cons:

• Miles upon miles of stockinette stitch.
• Uses over twice as much yarn as the Noragi.
• Specialty stitch pattern at hem, coupled with short row shaping to induce curves, takes the beginning of each front piece and the back out of the realm of mindless knitting.
• Blocking will be absolutely essential to prevent curling of the large stockinette pieces.
• Garment is too long as designed. Might even be too wide!

Pros:

• The style of the Water & Sky has somewhat more flare, with the curved hems and the rippling stitch pattern at the hems.
• Altering length is even a little easier than altering width. Just stop knitting sooner.
• After the fancy stitchwork at the hems, this is miles of stockinette stitch. But if I shorten it, not as many miles. The stockinette stitch portions also take this back into the world of mindless knitting, at least for portions big enough to count.
• Garment as designed could be layered for extra warmth.
• Sleeves are perfect style - in fact, if I do the Noragi after all, I’ll probably steal these sleeves!

Of course, anyone who has read here for a while knows that I would be knitting either of these choices in different colors than the designer did. They’re beautiful, mind you, just not me.

Neither garment has provisions for buttons, but it would be easy to either add a frog-type closure, or use a pin. Or just wear them open - I seldom fasten my winter coats anyway.

What will I decide? That may be influenced by the choices of yarn I can find. I doubt I can afford to make these in either of the yarns called for, so substitutions will be in order. Using a wool or wool blend will be warmer anyhow. I’m planning to stop by my LYS today and see what I can come up with. She’ll be having her annual Anniversary Sale a week from Saturday, too, and all yarns will be 20% off that day - maybe if I plan right, this project won’t have to cost much!

Stay tuned for more - I’ll be sure to report on developments as they arise!

As for my overall opinion of the book - let’s just say that in the end, I want to knit all 18 designs offered here. They’re just that gorgeous!

Related Links:

• Interweave Press: Knit Kimono by Vicki Square
• Corrections to Book: Knit Kimono Corrections at Interweave Press
• Buy at Amazon.com: Knit Kimono by Vicki Square

*I have to admit, though - the more I look at the classic kimono-style sleeves on the Noragi, the more I like them anyway…hmm.

Posted: November 15th, 2007 under Crafts.
Comments: none

Veronica Mars: Season Three on DVD

Acquired by: Free copy from marketing firm

Rating: 4 out of 5

About a month ago, I gave a head’s up that I’d be reviewing the DVD set of Veronica Mars: The Complete Third Season. I’m a little overdue to talk about it, but better later than never!

Let’s just start by saying that I felt there’s no need to evaluate the actual episodes contained on these discs. We can take it as a given that Veronica Mars was a quality television program, worth watching, and it’s a sad loss for the fans that it never continued beyond the third season.

My review, then, is based mainly on the bonus content on this six disc set. Discs one through five contain the twenty episodes of season three: disc six is filled with a larger collection of featurettes, commentary, and more than was ever included in the Season One and Two sets.

In fact, this is the first time we have commentary at all, provided by Rob Thomas, Creator and Executive Producer, and Dan Etheridge, Supervising Producer. Rather than offering it as an alternative sound track overlaid on the individual episodes, it’s given as small featurettes, in the section Going Undercover with Rob Thomas.

Divided into featurettes based on topics (such as Rob’s Directing Experience, Favorite Guest Star Moments, and The Politics of Veronica Mars), Rob and Dan talk mostly about experiences and decisions from the Third Season. They do, however, dip back occasionally to Seasons One and Two where appropriate to give more back story behind their stories. Considering this is the first Season’s DVD’s that have had commentary, that was nice to see. They aren’t afraid to shed an unfavorable light on themselves, either. In the section titled Do-Overs?, Rob and Dan show and discuss some scenes that made it to air that they weren’t happy with for one reason or another.

Unaired Scenes are offered with introductions by Rob Thomas explaining why they didn’t make it to the aired version of the show. In most cases they were cut for time, of course. There were occasions where he had a difficult choice to make, however, and he tells us why, perhaps, one scene was kept in preference over another.

Ultimately, however, the best - and most poignant - bonus features on these discs for any of us fans have to be the Season 4 Presentation and Pitching Season 4. Here, at last, we see the direction that the series could have taken if only the CW had been wise enough to pick it up. It’s a new Veronica, dated several years after the events of Season Three, a Veronica who has gone through the FBI Academy at Quantico and is now ready to embark on her life as a Special Agent.

There is enough of the old Veronica Mars flavor - voice overs, interactions with people around her, her snappy wit - to feel a continuity with where the show had been in the first three years. And at the same time, there’s a sense of a new, grown-up Veronica, dealing with more serious villains, but finding that even though her peers are “grown-up,” too, people still often behave in a very high-schoolish way to get what they want.

Ultimately, probably the best compliment I can pay to the bonus features on this set is this - the Season 4 pitch and background information made me long for the series to return, and the commentary by Rob Thomas made me want to go back and watch Seasons One through Three all over again.

If you’re a Veronica Mars fan, and haven’t got this set yet, I’d heartily recommend you pick it up.

Related Links:

• Order at Official Site: Veronica Mars at Warner Bros. Online Store
• Order at Amazon: Veronica Mars/Season Three on DVD

Posted: November 7th, 2007 under DVD Television.
Comments: 1

My most recent order arrived from Amazon yesterday. I first saw this book over at Grumperina’s blog; she, in turn, had learned about it at the purl bee. It’s Knitting New Scarves: 27 Distinctly Modern Designs, and I’m finding it endlessly fascinating.

I haven’t studied the details of this book in as much depth as I normally do for a review, so let’s call this a mini-review. I will tell you this - even with the quick look I’ve had, I highly recommend this for any knitter who wants to stretch their imagination, and learn to take their knitting in new directions.

Knitting New Scarves: 27 Distinctly Modern Designs

Publisher: Stewart, Tabori & Chang (Harry N. Abrams, Inc.)

Acquired by: online purchase from Amazon.com

Purchase Price: $14.93

Cover Price: $21.95

The author and designer, Lynne Barr, has done the sort of thing that always makes my toes tingle. Diving in headfirst, she took the basic techniques of knits and purls, and then threw the rules out the window. She uses dpns, circular and flat knitting, short rows, picking up stitches, and more, in unconventional ways to create three-dimensional scarves that really wow me.

I am already itching to cast on for a large number of the patterns in this book. Some of them would be great as stash-busters, some simply manipulate the spatial reality of knitting in such tantalizing ways that I can’t wait to see these twists, turns, and shapes coming from my needles.

Here’s a small sampling of the many designs that caught my eye. As always, click on any image for a larger view.

That last scarf shows that there are even patterns for the rawest of new knitters here - it’s a simple garter stitch scarf that derives its curves from short rows. Some of the other patterns involve using double point needles in ways I never dreamed of - not just knitting around in a circle, but knitting to create lobes and wings and flaps. The wavy scarf is entirely created by knitting a flat tube with larger needls on one side, smaller on the other - then swapping the sizes at regular intervals.

I am unbelievably excited by this book, and eager to dig in. I love the idea of sculptural knitting, and I want to master these techniques so I can then play with them myself. The only question that remains - where to begin? There are 27 patterns in this book, and I think I want to knit every one of them!

Related Links:

• Listing at Stewart, Tabori & Chang (Harry N. Abrams): Knitting New Scarves
• Buy at Amazon: Knitting New Scarves, 27 Distinctly Modern Designs
• (added 11-12-07) Knitalong Blog: Knitting New Scarves Knitalong
• (added 11-12-07) Publisher’s Blog: STC Craft/Melanie Falick Books

Posted: November 2nd, 2007 under Crafts.
Comments: 2

Kellogg’s Limited Edition Pop-Tarts: Soft and Chewy Gingerbread

Acquired by: retail purchase at local supermarket

Price: $2.50 on sale for a box of 12 Pop-Tarts

Rating: 1 out of 5

Nowadays, every major brand on the market feels a need to make limited editions of their products. We get short-lived, special editions of candy bars, cereals, soft drinks, and even winter-themed snack crackers.

Now, the folks at Kellogg’s have decided that their plain old Pop-Tarts aren’t good enough to get us through winter. No, we need special, winter-themed Pop-Tarts. And so they’ve introduced these Limited Edition Pop-Tarts in the Soft and Chewy Gingerbread flavor.

Winter-themed, I said. Seems no one is bold enough to attempt a Christmas-themed, or even a generic “holiday” themed, product. Kellogg’s, in their infinite wisdom, has chosen to take a flavor inextricably associated with Christmas - gingerbread - and use it, and the image of gingerbread men and women, in an attempt to create a Pop-Tart theme that offends no one.

As always, please click on any image to see a larger version.

On opening the interior packages (each housing two Pop-Tarts), I found pasty-looking rectangles. If these are gingerbread, they used a very light recipe - I normally expect more color. For the festive element on these limited edition pastries, images of gingerbread men or women engaging in some winter activity have been applied with a printing process that uses FD & C approved food colorings.

The images are inoffensive enough, but so crudely printed that it’s hard to tell what they are. The bumpy pastry surface, and the dusting of sugar over all, don’t help. I stared at the picture of a gingerbread woman on the right for the longest time and still can’t figure out what she is supposed to be carrying, or what those curvy green lines behind her are supposed to be.

Kellogg’s claims on the box that there are “50 possible images!” to be found within. Maybe it’s just me - maybe I just coincidentally got the lamest ones in the bunch. But the first Pop-Tart I ate? A picture of a gingerbread man operating a snowblower. How festive!

A key component of any Pop-Tart is the filling. A key element for any gingerbread man is the icing defining his clothing and facial features. Kellogg’s, then, naturally put the icing inside the Pop-Tarts as the filling.

Ultimately, the proof in any food, whether a limited edition or not, is in the eating. Pop-Tarts have always been meant to be edible either unheated, or toasted.

I tried a “raw” Pop-Tart first. And immediately regretted it. Granted, on the box itself they’d told me to expect “Soft and Chewy Gingerbread”. What I didn’t expect was something that felt like half-baked cookie dough in my mouth. Where the icing filling came into play, it only enhanced the gummy nature of the raw Pop-Tart.

Following the instructions on the box (”Warm pastry in toasting appliance at lowest or lightest heat setting for one heating cycle only.”), I prepared a pair of toasted Pop-Tarts. The result? They now tasted like warm, half-baked cookie dough.

Once upon a time, in a less litigious world, Pop-Tarts was okay with people actually getting their product truly toasted in their “toasting appliances”. That’s how I’ve always preferred my Pop-Tarts - with a little crispiness added by using toasters for the purpose for which they were intended - to toast.

Since crispiness was distinctly lacking here, I decided to take a chance that Kellogg’s hadn’t included any surveillance equipment in the Pop-Tarts box, or that they weren’t going to send their Toasting Appliance Police to arrest me for defying the official instructions. I put a pair of Gingerbread Pop-Tarts into my toaster oven, turned the dial to Medium, and pushed the button.

A minute or so later, I had two nicely crisped Pop-Tarts. One, though, had cracked across one end, and the smaller piece was starting to fall through the rack in my oven. I pulled everything out with my toaster tongs, allowed the tarts to cool briefly, and took a bite.

Here, finally, we’d gotten past the half-baked cookie dough texture. What I had in my mouth instead felt like a lightly crispy cookie, properly baked, and with the interesting addition of a layer of icing sandwiched inside.

The recipe that Kellogg’s used for their gingerbread pastry has enough spices in it to have a tiny, almost unnoticeable but definitely there, bite. Unfortunately, it didn’t have enough spices to truly taste like gingerbread. I also couldn’t detect the flavor of molasses anywhere in the mix, which is an essential ingredient in most gingerbread recipes I’ve seen.

The entire assembly of flavors and textures failed to come together to make a pastry that I would ever buy again. To make these Gingerbread Pop-Tarts work, they should have had the texture of a crisp gingerbread cookie. Instead, they came up with a recipe that tasted half-baked, with an unpleasant chewy texture - and then tried to sell it as “Soft and Chewy Gingerbread”. Sorry, Kellogg’s - this is one time you can’t turn a bug into a feature.

Even when I defied the instructions and toasted the tarts until crispy, the flavors didn’t come up to reasonable standards for gingerbread cookies - rich, spicy flavors, with the cool sweetness of icing on top.

In the final analysis, I wouldn’t buy these again - and I wouldn’t recommend them to my readers. Unless you actually like under-spiced, half-baked gingerbread dough.

Related Links:

• Kellogg’s - www2.kelloggs.com
  

Posted: October 29th, 2007 under Snacks.
Comments: 2

Everyone’s always very ready to bitch and moan about things that are bad. Granted, customer service is frequently less than stellar at many businesses, especially the big boxes, so it’s not entirely surprising when we hear a lot about what’s wrong with retail.

What about what’s right? More flies with honey and all that, after all. I hope that I’ll find moments now and then when something in a shopping experience seems to work, when an associate somewhere goes the extra mile, and when I do, I’ll make a point of telling you about it here.

Today, for instance, Gryphon and I went on our weekly errands to the local Target store. And we experienced a moment of customer service gold that was worthy of, well - I can’t say I shop at any high-end, classy establishments, but I’ll bet the good ones are like this.

A couple of weeks ago on our Target stop, 12-packs of Pepsi products were on sale. We wanted to get one of my favorite flavor, Pepsi Jazz in the Black Cherry and Vanilla flavor, but the spot on the shelf was empty.

An associate happened to walk by right about then, and we asked if there was a chance there was any extra stock out back. She gladly went off to look for us, but came back a few moments later, very apologetic about the absence of my flavor.

Fair enough. We thanked her for looking, grabbed a 12-pack of the Strawberries and Creme Jazz (my second choice), and went about our way.

So there we are today, walking through Target. We’ve finished our shopping, and are heading past DVDs, books, stationery, towards the checkout lines at the front of the store. And there, coming down the main aisle towards us, was the same associate who had helped us with the Pepsi.

She saw us coming, and called out, “Are you the woman who liked that Pepsi flavor?” Yes, I replied, that’s me. “Oh, good - there’s some in stock right now. The merchandiser from Pepsi is here, putting product on the shelves right now, and I told him how much you liked it.”

Wow. She remembered us two weeks later. Not only that, but not even knowing we were in the store, she talked to the Pepsi merchandiser about the stock levels for that flavor! Then, she even recognized us, and made a point of telling us about it.

Because there was a new special on the Pepsi today, we also made a purchase that we hadn’t planned on when we walked in the door - all because this one associate went the extra mile.

It’s a shame that she wasn’t wearing a name tag, because I’d love to give her specific recognition for a level of customer service you just don’t expect at a discount store - even at Target, who tries to pride itself for not being like the other discount department stores.

You can bet, though, that I’ll try to find a way to identify her to management when I can, and see that they know they have a gem in her.

Posted: October 24th, 2007 under Raves.
Comments: 2

3 Musketeers Minis Mix

Acquired by: retail purchase at local Walgreens

Price: $3.59 for 9 oz. bag

Rating: 4 out of 5

Oops! I blew through these 3 Musketeers Minis so quickly that I never got a picture of the full bag, or of the individual pieces. So for a product shot, you’ll have to settle for this photo of the empty bag posing on my computer keyboard.

Yes, they’re that good. But let’s rewind first, shall we, and see what we know about the 3 Musketeers Minis Mix.

What we have in this bag are three flavors of mini-sized 3 Musketeers candies - French Vanilla, Strawberry, and Mocha Cappucino. None of these flavors are offered in a full-size bar. It’s worth noting, however, that the flavor mix is reminiscent of the original version of the 3 Musketeers bar, as introduced in 1932. At the time, the wrapper contained three separate pieces of chocolate-enrobed candy - one with vanilla nougat, one with chocolate, and one strawberry. It was from this trio of flavors that the candy got it’s name - 3 Musketeers.

I first learned about the 3 Musketeers Minis Mix through a review Cybele posted at Candy Blog on August 21, 2007. Later, on October 4th, David at Candy Addict posted about them as well. Oddly, David only reviewed the Strawberry flavor at that time, because he’d previously reviewed the Mocha Cappucino and French Vanilla flavors as part of a Limited Edition Mix that 3 Musketeers put out in Spring 2006!

All this time, I searched the aisles of my local drugstores, supermarkets and discount department stores trying to find them myself. The 3 Musketeers official website was of little help - I looked through the product listings as best I could, and found no mention of the Minis Mix anywhere.

It was about two weeks ago that I finally came across this mysterious item at a local Walgreens here in New Hampshire. Feeling a rush of success, and the anticipation of finally tasting the candies that had been so well reviewed by others, I pounced.

“Mini” size is small - smaller than the so-called “Fun” size. Looking at the pieces as I took them out of their individual wrappers, I was reminded most of candies in a Whitman’s Sampler. The three flavors were somewhat unevenly distributed in the bag I purchased, with somewhat more of the Mocha Cappucino flavor than either the Vanilla or Strawberry.

The bag lived next to my television chair for a few days, and I’d munch a few while watching. Interestingly, at first I didn’t like the Minis. They seemed mushy in my mouth, and the flavors didn’t feel like they had any depth to them. Over a short time, however, they grew on me.

The nougat in the Minis mix is softer and fluffier than in a regular 3 Musketeers bar, which probably contributed to my impression of these as mushy. After a while, though, they seemed less mushy to me, and more like a nice buttercream-filled bonbon.

The Mocha Cappucino flavor didn’t taste so much like coffee to me, but like a darker chocolate with a bit of an edge. It was okay, but not my favorite of the trio.

Strawberry was actually pretty good. Which is saying a lot for me, because Strawberry is not one of my favorite flavors as a rule. In the case of the Minis, however, I found that the light berry flavor had a bright note to it that was quite pleasant.

French Vanilla wound up being my favorite of the three, even though I’m not sure this really counted as French Vanilla. True French Vanilla would have had a strong eggy richness, and the vanilla itself would have been somewhat more intense from the presence of actual vanilla seeds. Even though mis-named, however, this was a nice, strong vanilla flavor, without seeming artificial.

I was quite pleased with the mix as a whole, and would happily buy these again. My rating, therefore, is a 4 out of 5.

3 Musketeers Minis Mix may be a little hard to find, and we have no clue how long they’ll be around. Based on the experience of other bloggers and their readers, it seems your best bet is to check at national drugstore chains like Rite Aid and Walgreens, in the seasonal or Halloween candy aisle. If you find them, do give them a try - they’re worth it!

Related Links

• 3 Musketeers - Official website, which somehow completely fails to mention the existence of the Minis Mix
• May 24, 2006 review of French Vanilla and Mocha Cappucino Minis at Candy Addict
• August 21, 2007 review of current full Minis Mix at Candy Blog
• October 4, 2007 review of Strawberry Minis at Candy Addict

Posted: October 22nd, 2007 under Candy.
Comments: none

Archer Farms Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips
New Reclosable Bag

Acquired by: retail purchase at local Target store

Price: $2.29 for 9 oz. bag

Rating: Salt & Vinegar chips, 2 out of 5

Rating: New Reclosable Bag, 4 out of 5

I reviewed Archer Farms Wasabi Mustard Potato Chips about a month ago. They were quite tasty, and though I don’t normally like kettle-cooked potato chips because of the overly hard crunch, they were easy to eat. I gave them a 4 out of 5 rating.

I spotted the Archer Farms Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips on the shelf at our local Target last week. Salt & Vinegar chips are one of those tastes I got from my father - they’re a big favorite of his, and mine. Having liked the Wasabi Mustard chips so much, I thought I’d try the Salt & Vinegar variety.

As a bonus, the chips come in a new style of bag - Reclosable. Pull the little tab at the top of the package, and you open a slit. Inside is a zipper-type plastic bag closure. Good and sturdy, I found that the zipper was easy to use, closing readily when I wanted to put the chips away, and opening just as nicely when I was ready for more. A squeeze test of the sealed bag showed it to be fairly airtight, so I think we can expect an opened bag of chips to stay fresh even if stored for a while.

The Reclosable Bags are so new that not every Archer Farms flavor on the shelf at Target had them yet. If you don’t see them at your local Target, be patient - they’ll roll out as stock turns over.

Based on its good performance, I give the Archer Farms Potato Chips Reclosable Bag a 4 out of 5 on my new Gizmos, Gadgets, and Thingamabobs ratings scale. Sadly, the Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips inside were nowhere near as good.

I expect kettle-cooked chips to have a hard crunch, and be somewhat wrinkled and folded from the cooking process. I found the Salt & Vinegar chips to be so hard as to be difficult to break apart, even with my teeth. They were very badly folded and contorted, too, sometimes making it necessary to bite through at least four layers of chip at once. Or more - I frequently found that more than one chip had been folded together.

As for the vinegar flavor, it was weak and uninspiring. Vinegar flavored potato chips should have a fairly strong, acidic bite to them. The Archer Farms Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips were weak in flavor, barely giving my tongue a tingle.

Ultimately, the issue is clear - Archer Farms Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips failed me in two areas. For crunch, they had far too much bite. For flavor, they had far too little.

I’d eat them if they were put in front of me at a party, so long as there were no other chips offered. I almost certainly won’t buy them again, unless they improve the recipe. Archer Farms Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips only rate a 2 out of 5 on my scale.

Related Links:

• Archer Farms (Warning - plays video and sound.) This is a minimally informative promotional site at Target Online, but it appears to be the only one they offer. Archer Farms foods are not available for purchase at Target Online - only in brick-and-mortar Target stores.

Posted: October 19th, 2007 under Packaging Innovations, Chips and Crackers.
Comments: none