Planning Ahead

That's what I'm telling myself. I'm only planning ahead when I finish these heavy winter knitting projects at the beginning of spring. Oh well!

They are still very pretty and soft and wonderful!

On to the info!

Pattern:
Ringwood Gloves
Yarn:
Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light
Color:
Peat Mix, 4277
Skeins Used:
2
Cost Per:
$6.50

This pattern was fun and quick. DK weight gloves on size 6 needles. It flew by! The ringwood stitch is stretchy and warm and perfect for a nice pair of sturdy gloves. I do love these and I cannot wait to wear them once it gets cold again!

Not the best timing.

Ah 60 degree weather. How I have missed you. To celebrate I'll finish this beautiful chunky cowl that I cannot possibly wear until next fall.

Oh well.

Even though the season for beautiful cowls has passed I am still in love with this cowl. It's thick, soft, and just the right size. The color is probably my favorite. This yarn has such beautiful surprises in it. The big streaks of red in the purple and best of all the blue that you only notice in the sunlight.

Beautiful!

STATS!

Pattern:
Devonshire Cream
Yarn:
Ultra Alpaca Light
Color:
Boysenberry Mix 4282
Dye Lot:
1101
Skeins Used:
4
Cost Per:
$6.50

This was a fun project and my first time working with cables. The pattern was easy to follow and the yarn a dream to work with. It's the same kind I used for the gloves I made not too long ago. I'm also using the chunky stuff to make a bag.

I love this yarn, apparently.

Om nom nom

Feed me, Seymour!

- Audrey II 'Little Shop of Horrors'

I love food. I love to make it, eat it and share it. I'm not much of a recipe creator like so many amazing food bloggers floating around out there. Mostly I am a recipe alter...er. That's weird to say. Try it. It's weird.

Today I'm going to share a recipe I made for Twelve and her hubby a while ago. Like... new year's eve. I am such a slacker. After we had all eaten a fair amount of it we remembered I should take a picture to share for the blog. As you can see we almost didn't remember in time...

 Buffalo Chicken Shells and Cheese.

Do I have during photos? Shots of me making it? Of course not. I ain't no fancy food blogger!

Lets just take a second, before we get to the recipe, to look at that adorable geisha pot holder my Nana made for me. My Nana is amazing.

This recipe was fairly simple. I made it up for the most part, but used a recipe for a cheese sauce. A delicious natural cheese sauce. I love this sauce because, obviously, it doesn't just have to be used as a dip. I've also found you can use just about any kind of cheese you like. I've used sharp cheddar, monterey jack, pepper jack, garlic cheddar, etc. So good!

2 Chicken breasts (or however much you want. Do what feels right, baby)

1 c Franks red hot

1/2 c butter

2 Cups Pasta, uncooked (whichever type you prefer. I had shells, I used shells)

1 Egg yolk

1 tbsp Cornstarch

1 tbsp milk

1 c cream

1 c milk (I used whole)

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese grated 

4 oz cream cheese, in small pieces (optional if you're crazy. USE IT)

Salt and chili powder to taste

1/2 c sharp cheddar

Preheat oven to 350. Poach the chicken breasts until cooked and shred. Combine with Franks red hot and butter and set aside. Cook pasta according to directions minus a couple minutes and set aside.

Combine egg yolk, cornstarch and 1 tbsp milk in a small bowl. In a medium sauce pan combine the rest of the milk and the cream over medium heat and let warm. Gently stir in thickener. Once it begins to thicken add in your cheeses and seasonings. Stir until everything is melted and delicious and feel an urge to drink the cheese. Stop yourself from doing so.

In a large bowl, or in an 11x8 baking dish combine the pasta, chicken, and sauce. Stir it until it's well combined.

Top with the extra 1/2c cheddar and cover with tinfoil. Place in oven and cook for 25 minutes. Remove foil and cook for an additional 20 minutes. It will not be overly buttery as the chicken absorbs a lot of the liquid. If it seems to dry when you pull it out, splash some half and half over the top and let that soak in. 

Allow to sit about 10 minutes, serve and enjoy!

Yum! <3

Somewhere to put my crap!

- What do you got in that purse of yours? Rocks?

- Oh no, bricks. I've been paving my garden...

Roger and Anita - 101 Dalmatians (1996)

My purse was dying. Look at that poor thing...

Those handles were a few more tugs away from unraveling into oblivion! This just wouldn't do. Buying a new purse wouldn't do either. You can only replace a handmade purse with another handmade purse. It's a rule... that I just made up.

I decided to improve on this purse with my next one. I wanted something a little smaller so it doesn't get so full of stuff. Also pockets! I can never find my phone or a pen in my purse. Something had to be done about that.

I just winged the pattern for the knitting portion. The base is just standard garter stitch. I worked it until it looked right and then picked up stitches all around it on my circulars and just worked my way up.

The handles just involved binding off stitches and then on the next row casting on more and knitting until they were big enough.

EASY PEASY !

But then I had to line it... Ugh.

I am a terrible seamstress. TERRIBLE. I can do it but it's messy and rushed and I get so frustrated and sweaty. Obviously it's worth it in the end, but still. UGH!

I used the ever amazing Futuregirl tutorial for a bag liner. It says for a crocheted bag (she made it for her Starling Bag) but it works great in my knit one too. As you can see this bag is pretty much a knit Starling. I figured that was fine since the bag I was replacing was my original Starling bag I made almost 4 years ago. That bad boy has been through a lot.

Anyways... the lining. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, honestly.

This portion will hold my phone and ipod. My ipod is cozy at home, my phone is taking photos.

PENS! I'll also shove needles in there a lot, I'm sure. I'll probably forget them too and stab myself when I reach in for something. That'll be fun!

Here it is all cozy in it's new home! The fabric is just stuff from Joann's. The yarn is from our LYS. It was a funky yarn that was super cheap and I couldn't resist it. It'll make a good purse as it won't show dirt at all! Time to swing it around at somebody.

>_>

Quick Crafts

Whoa, that was quick!

-Birdy

Had to go to the craft store today to buy some needles. I just can't wait to finish those gloves so a quick run to the store was necessary.

While I was there I found myself wandering the jewelry aisle and looking at some of their charms. I found some really cute ones but I'm not really into jewelry making. I am, however, in to super cute stitch markers!

Sorry about the lighting. So these are just little metal charms attached to the Knit Picks stitch markers. These took about 4 minutes and turned out so cute. Can't wait to attach them to another one of my wips.

While shopping for glove needles I also found the buttons I will be using.

Ooo I love that woodsy look. :3

Another one gone!

Another on bites the dust

And another one gone, and another one gone

Another one bites the dust.

Hey, I'm gonna get you too,

Another one bites the dust!

- Queen 'Another One Bites the Dust'

It's always a nice feeling to finish a project. The yarn slides off the needles and they are once again free for some other project. There is always a point in the pattern that I feel like i'll never reach the end, but it eventually happens. Ah, how joyous!

Project: Two-Tone Socks

Pattern: I didn't use a specific pattern, just used what I knew worked for socks in that past.

Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Tonal Sock Yarn. I used the colors Gypsy and Canopy. This yarn is nice and soft and the skeins are 100g for a decent price. However, towards the end the yarn was splitting a lot and I found some "soft spots" in the color. 

Details: CO: 64 stitches. I decreased this down to 60 half way through the cuff. Heel was an afterthought short-row (to get the opposite color) and the toe was also short-row and for them I used this pattern. I started this project the day after Christmas and finished 1/20. Not bad for me, as I get distracted a lot and play way too many video games on my day off. :)

I've already started my next project: Ringwood Gloves. After knitting socks on size 2 needles making dk weight gloves with size 6 needles is so much quicker. I can hardly believe it!

I have to wait to borrow some size 6 dpns to finish the fingers so I'm starting the other hand already. These should be done in a few days, which will be nice for the cold weather.

I'm also in love with this color. Aah so pretty.

Double the pleasure double the fun

Double double your refreshment,

Double double your delightment

- Double Mint Gum Commercial

I'm really having fun with this two sock knitting. I've been sending my Nana updates as she was curious on how I was liking it. Only now did I realize I should show the internet too! The internet cares, I just know it.

THEY JUST KEEP GROWING!

I've decided to go with an afterthought heel with these guys (my first ever). My reasoning is that I have encountered a few people giving me weird looks because I'm knitting two different colors. I even had someone ask if I realized that I was doing it.

Oh my gosh, how did I make that mistake! ;)

I decided to make it blatantly obvious that these were meant to be a pair and I'll give them the opposite color toes / heels. I think it'll be great and I'll be able to wear them as Christmas socks when Christmas comes again. Boy, I love Christmas.

I'm about to lay something heavy on you guys: I've already planned a lot of gifts out in my head.

I need help. Send some quickly.

Cowl fever

Birdy and I decided to make cowls for our husbands as Christmas presents.  My husband was basically bursting to have one (he brought it up CONSTANTLY).  He uses public transportation for school and work, so his neck does get cold a lot.  I blatantly lied and I told him I would try and make one for him after I was done with my Christmas knitting, which was okay because my mom always says it's okay to lie if it's regarding presents.

Bird and I picked up the yarn from Yarn Garden.  Bird was a magician and had finished all of her Christmas presents like 3 weeks before Christmas (people do that??) and I did mine about a week before.  This pattern moves very quickly, and I finished it in a week, and that was without pushing myself too hard to get it done.

twelve's cowl

Birdy's cowl

Me: Smile Baby!

Bkins: Maybe I am.

Darn! These photos really wash it out, but it is a nice bright blue, as modeled by the darling husband above.

I had a ton of fun making this cowl. It was quick and easy but had just enough of a pattern to keep me interested until the end. I ran into a mishap when I was casting off, though. 12 or so stitches to go and I reached the end of the line. For realsies. What the blob. So I just found a blue in my stash that was similar enough and finished off this bad boy. 

I was excited to do a project with Twelve. Our husbands are total buddies so this is a good gift for them both to enjoy. 

Shablam!
The end!

Wind it, Knit it, Give it, Wear it.

Buy it, use it, break it, fix it,

Trash it, change it, mail - upgrade it.

-Daft Punk 'Technologic'

Sing the blog title like that song and it becomes a billion times cooler. I think someone much more clever than I should make a crafty version of Technologic. If someone has already, please, please, let me know!

Anywho. This post is all about those gifts I received for Christmas that only make my crafty addiction easier to satisfy. As I've stated before, it's nice having a nerdy husband that appreciates your craft. Appreciates it and feeds it with shiny new toys.

I really wanted Knit Picks ball winder and swift for a while now. I was always bothering Twelve to bring hers over or let me use them at her house. Now I don't ever have to talk to Twelve again because I got my own. Thank goodness!

Ah, a glimpse into the clutter of my craft room. Is that Reese's peanut butter cup wrapper in the corner, you ask? And proudly I say: YES IT IS!

On top of giving husbands I have the coolest Nana in existence. So cool in fact that there are people who have applied to be her honorary granddaughter.  I had complained to her at some point about my issue with losing steam on my sock knitting. It's a curse most knitters fight with everyday, it seems. I'm just lazy enough that it turns into an issue, occasionally every single time.

She was kind enough to buy me some Addi's double pointed needles. Two sets, in fact so that I could try my hand at two sock knitting! I knew it was a thing and I have seen it done before on public transit but I just never went out and bought the needles for it. Well, now I don't have to. I also was able to wind up some sock yarn that had yet to be touched and so my journey has begun!

I am a fan of mismatched socks. Little Miss Matched, anyone? These socks are using the same style yarn, just different colors. (Durhey) 

So far I really like doing the two socks at a time. It made it easier when I decided it was time to knit together my extra stitches. Didn't have to count and write it down (and then lose the paper), I just went ahead and did it to both at the same time. Lots of fun to do.

Nana also got me a fun little book: Knit Your Own Dog. Someday I will knit my own dog, or 8 and you'll be sure to enjoy it.

She also gave us a beautiful hand made quilt.

Super nifty giraffe pillow cases.

This isn't everything she made us either. She did some amazing painting this year too, but that will need it's own post. There is a lot to show, but in due time.

I never know how to end these things, so...

Gotta reach for that goal

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” 

-Albert Einstein 

I'm always making lists of things I want to get done. I'm also always losing those lists and forgetting what I wrote on them. I get a jolt of inspiration (usually at work, it seems) and just feel the urge to go for it. Then that feeling fades and I completely forget what it was I wanted to do and why it felt so right to peruse it.

In order to avoid that this year of 2013 I am writing it right here, right now. For all you lovelies to see and perhaps hold me accountable if it sounds like something you'd be into. You know.. harassment and stuff. These will be knitting/craft only goals, for now. My other goal list will probably be a little longer but fret not, you shall see it in good time.

Lets cut this turd loose!

1. Knit a Sweater - twelve and I decided this is something we would do as a kal (knit-along) so that we have the proper motivation to finish. Should be started soon and I'm sure we'll post about it a lot.

2. Make most of my gifts / buy locally - I really need to do research and find stuff for even the hard to make/buy for. I know twelve wants to try to do all local/handmade stuff this year and I think I may be tentatively joining her. Everyone can use a soft snuggly something or other...

3. Bust the stash - I have a lot of crafting stuff. It's hard not to call it crafting crap... there is just so much! I need to go through my yarns and use what I have for what I can. I need to organize my scrapbooking paper, all my threads, my w.i.p., and my little pieces of little crafts that are in 80 different places.

4. Clean the craft room - This kind of goes with the above goal. I really need to clean it so I can take pictures and show you. It'd look super cool if it weren't so cluttered. Someday.

5. FINISH THE W.I.P - WIP is works in progress, fyi. I have about 5 that I remember. It's sad that I have to add 'that I remember'. No patterns for most of em, they were just things I decided to go for. Go for and then completely forget! Once 3/4 are done the number of wip will surely rise.

6. Be better at cataloging my crafts - this means using the blog more, taking more pictures, putting them on Ravelry, actually keeping track of what I've made. I find things in boxes all the time that I made and forgot about. I found gloves just last week that I didn't remember making last year. It's a little sad...


So there.
Wham
Bam
Thank you, Ma'am!

Time to get crackin!

In a giving mood

“It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” 

― Mother Teresa

As I have said before I love Christmas. Most years I try really hard to make a fair amount of my Christmas gifts, but I usually fall short on that goal. This year I found the secret to success: use nicer yarns. I lose steam pretty quickly when it comes to a project, doesn't matter what it is: hats, scarves, socks(always the second one... always!), even simple bags! But this year really nailed down the fact that if it's a soft luxurious yarn I will work on it as often as possible!

Earlier in the year I had made a hat and matching arm-warmers out of the Wurm Hat pattern on Ravelry. Bkins seemed slightly jealous and hinted several times that he thought the pattern would even be masculine, if made in the right color. Hint hint, amiright? So I went on down to Yarn Garden and bought me some more of the beautiful Chalet yarn I used on my hat. Obviously, a more Bkins color choice was made. 

Here it is in the sun. It's a really pretty blueish gray, that can almost look purple if paired with the right colors.

Or it'll blend into my couch...

Here are the ones I made for myself.

I love this Chalet stuff! The photos make it seem a little more white than it is. It's definitely a creamier color in person.

I also made Bkins a lovely Cowl (you can see it poking in on one of his hat photos) but that post will be shared with Twelve, as it was a joint effort kind of project.

And then... the big daddies. The gift that I could not wait for him to open. The pattern twelve just HAD to show me when I thought I was done with gifts. The perfect gift for the nerdy husband...

The Tardis Socks!

This last photo is a little more true to color. It's not quite that bright, but it isn't as dark as the above ones either. 

These socks were difficult. I had never tried fair isle knitting and I had no flipping clue what yarn dominance was, but if anything was going to make me learn it would be Tardis socks.

The first one was the roughest. I'm a tight knitter and for fair isle you want to keep things loose so that you're non-dominant yarn doesn't get sucked into the dominant color. In this case it was white nondom and black dom. On the top right photo above where I have it on my foot you can't see the middle of the B. I knit it too tight and had to go through and fuss the yarn up to show. It was tedious, but I had the hang of it by the second sock.

It went much smoother and it's the easiest to read. 

He loved them. It's so nice to have a husband that just loves these nerdy crafts. Right, Twelve?

 I'll have a post later of the stuff I made people that aren't my husband. Unfortunately I need them to send me photos... I kind of finished them and wrapped them. Whoops!

Happy New Year, internet!

EDIT: Almost forgot this guy!

Tis the Season

Christmas time is here

Happiness and cheer.

Fun for all that children call

Their favorite time of year.

I love Christmas. The smells, the food, the friends, the family, the lights, the decor and of course: presents!

This year is an exciting year. Lots of good gifts under my tree and I'm excited for those that get to receive them. Unfortunately you won't get to see these gifts until after Christmas. Don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone.

We get into the season with gusto around here! 

The tree is up.

We're even counting down!

Even the plants are festive.

(do you see that little gum drop tree in the back? See how few gum drops are on it? :V)

Of course the window got into the spirit. This is our side of it, but I'll do a full post for it a little later. 

CHRISTMAS!

Halloween Decor

Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!

In this town we call home

Everyone hail to the pumpkin song!

-Nightmare Before Christmas

I was very excited when Bkins and I found a duplex to move into. It had been primarily apartment life for us and I was a little tired of it. Stairs? Downstairs neighbors that sound like they're above you? A thing of the past!

This place is perfect except that it is right on a fairly busy street. We have a big beautiful dining room window, but the whole world can see inside when it's open. No one wants to watch Bkins and I stuff our faces with our pants off. That is a privilege very few have taken advantage of. Our street did not need to be a part of that.

I enjoy natural light and hated the idea of keeping our curtains closed all the time. Our neighbor at the time did that and it was kind of depressing, especially since she was really just using sheets. Ick!

Luckily I was able to find my savior in the form of privacy film! This stuff is amazing in that it lets plenty of light through but blocks out anything else! 

Now all this is just a roundabout way of telling you how I used it for our Halloween decorations.

Last year crafty intentions did something similar to what I did and inspired me. Now, I have to tell you hers are perfect, mine however could have used a bit more love. However, being done the day before Halloween I was still happy with it.

The night of Halloween bracken added some of our orange string lights and it made it a little more fun. The shapes are just poster board that's cut and taped up. Again, next year it'll be a little more planned out, but for a last minute thing this was pretty cool.

We even got trick-or-treaters, which is a first for us. Again, apartment life really snubbed us as far as that goes. Not any longer! Next year we're going even further and it will be amazing.

For Christmas we have plans, too, so stay tuned. 

Ursula, Halloween 2012

You'll have your looks, your pretty face.

And don't underestimate the importance of body language, ha!

- Ursula “The Little Mermaid”

Oh Halloween. I’ve missed being a kid, when dressing up and running around to get free candy was totally acceptable; expected even. Alas, as the body ages, and unfortunately, swells, it’s not quite so easy to pull off. Usually I have to work or have no reason to dress up, but luckily this year we had a nice shindig we were invited to. We also had plenty of time to work on a costume so I knew exactly who I wanted to be.

Oh yes, everyone’s favorite sea witch! As a curvy girl she seemed like a lot of fun. She had attitude, crazy make up, and a great rack. Yeah, that’ll work.

First off I wanted to make tentacle that I could wear almost like a skirt. That way they would hang around my legs and I could take them off if necessary. What I did was pretty easy (this isn’t a tutorial, by any means). I cut out three long triangles: two black, one purple. When they’re done getting sewn together I turned them right side out and stuffed them with polyfil and put wire in the ends.

The suckers were just suction cups that were spray painted pink. They did not last very long, unfortunately. I did hot glue them on, but alas they just fell right off anytime they were bumped too hard. it was kind of fun at the party to find them and stick them to people. They never ended up anywhere very appropriate with their shape, but it made for a good laugh.

The rest of the outfit was just a corset, frilly skirt and some black tights. My hair was done with a half bottle of gel and white hair spray. With my thicker hair it was a bit hard to spike it up so I did what I could. I made the mistake of using some pretty cheap makeup so the lipstick didn’t work out for well, or last very long, but the bright blue eye shadow worked out just fine

This picture was taken towards the end of the night, so the hair was going a bit limp, but the rest was working just fine. I did have the beauty mark and bright red lips at the beginning, but alas!

The final bit was her necklace. That was easy enough. I just used polymer clay, baked it and painted it gold. I made sure a hole was formed before it was cooked so that I could string it up.


And ta da, Ursula was complete! Most people were able to guess who I was right off the bat. Even though I took up a lot of room with the tentacles it was worth it and a ton of fun to dress up as!

PS: Bkins (the husband) was just a general zombie killer/survivor. He had lots of blood, a nice big bat, and his airsoft gun, ready to defend us from the undead hordes. It was a very good time. :)