BABEH!

Just when I feeling burnt out on deadline knits, a knitting-fairy comes along to sprinkle some motivational-fairy dust on my head (or rather, my step-mom emails me pictures of this weekend’s happenings)!

Say hello to my new niece!



She was born Friday night. There were no complications and she’s perfectly healthy. She’s actually a good size baby, too! I’ll be seeing her the first weekend in June, and I’ll be waiting anxiously to give those cheeks a proper squishing. And also play with her feet. So now I have some extra motivation to get crackin’ on the Mountatin Laurel Blanket which I will be picking up again right after I finish my Mom’s Hedera Socks (which maybe tonight *crossing fingers*).

I doctored the pic a little bit to crop out my SIL. Not that I mind her being in the picture, but she’s in hospital swag and she probably wouldn’t like me posting pics of her on the internet in her post-birthing condition. Anyway, everyone is ecstatic, my brother especially. From what he tells me Zoe’s already “daddy’s little girl”.

Just call me the “Stressed Knitter”!

Holy Crap! I must limit myself to ONE deadline knit at a time. I have TWO deadline knits: one due my mid-next week (to be shipped for Mother’s Day) and the Mountain Laurel Blanket for my niece (expected any day now) which is due the first weekend in June for my visit back home.

Forgive me for whining, but I really want to knit a cute summer top! WAHHHH!!! I do this to myself all the time. Even with things non-knitting related. I tend to over-extend myself with lofty goals, which means I normally loose perspective on the bigger picture. *sigh* I’ll never learn. Not that I regret knitting for other people…

I guess I’m just a selfish knitter at heart.

The Hedera Socks are trucking along although I find that I need to be conscious of my pace when knitting these socks. I find that the lace tends to slow me down, and it doesn’t help that I end my day knitting (which means I then morph into the mistake-prone “Pre-Comatose Knitter”). I’m hoping I can finish sock #1 tonight so that SHOULD give enough time to knit sock#2 and have them sent out in time for Mother’s Day. They’re turning out lovely so far. I’ll be sure to have pics for you this weekend.

Jaywalkers have been completed and worn and washed! I love those socks…

I wish I had pictures for you, because pics always liven up a blogpost. No pictures for you. BUT! I do have a pointless, distracting, and mildly fun quiz :

You Are 42% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side. Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

How Evil Are You?

Knit Theory- knits and knerds collide!

My mom sent me an article from Discover Magazine a few months ago that I thought was really interesting and nerdy, but it involved knitting. It concerned this mathematician who tried modeling a hyperbolic plane by knitting it. Well, crocheting. I'm no expert in geometry, but basically instead of the flat geometric planes we know of, hyperbolic planes curve out from a center point and continue to curve on. So basically, hyperbolic theory states that instead of the space being a series of intersecting or parallel flat planes, space has a curvature nature. What exactly this means in the bigger picture, I have no idea. Like I said, I’m not a mathematician. Apparently, mathematicians struggled for many years trying to produce a physical model of a hyperbolic plane. Enter: a knitter/crocheter/mathematician from Cornell University. Basically, she crocheted a 3-dimensional ruffle, and said "here you go" this is what a hyperbolic plane "looks like".

What I enjoyed about this story is the overlap of two skills that seemingly didn't have anything to do with each other. I admire Dr. Taimina’s creativity (also: score one for team girl!) . The Discover article isn't online, but Interweave Crochet published an article on it, which you can read here. The article includes a crochet pattern so you too can produce a hyperbolic plane model. You know you want to.

Knitters can find a pattern here.

So when someone asks you what the heck that ruffled mass of yarn is, you can say in typical know-it-all egg-head fashion: "a hyperbolic plane, duh!"

Oh, crap! Mother's Day!

Knitting plans are forever changing here at ESK (I love abbreviations-so “official”). I was hoping to transition from the Jaywalkers, which are steadily moving towards completion, to either the Anthro-Capelet or the Tie-Cropped Cardigan from Knitpicks. But then I realized something: Mother’s Day is fast approaching (fyi-May 14, about 3 weeks from now). What do I do? Do I cheat and buy her something she doesn’t need, or worse, something I’ve already bought her? (I hate being a repetitive gifter) Or do I give her something handmade, especially for her?

DUH!

But what do I knit for her in less than 3 weeks time? Hmmm…. After pondering this through most of the weekend I realized the logical thing to do would be to ask. Turns out she would like some more socks. She really likes the Rapunzel Socks from d-made.com (see side bar) that I made her a few months ago. Easy enough and completely do-able in 3 weeks time.

maybe Mom would like those shoes too...?

I decided to make the Hedera socks from the current Knitty. They’re lacey, and paired with sky blue yarn, should be the perfect spring sock. I hope she likes them. Cross your fingers for me cuz this one’s gonna run down to the wire (can we say Priority Shipping on May 12?). So it looks like the Jaywalkers are going to have to fill my Spring-Summer knitting needs for a few more weeks. Just when I thought I could be a selfish knitter again. >.>

So many holidays, so little time. I don’t even want to think about Father’s Day. EEK!

Is anyone else knitting for Mother’s Day? Cough it up! Who’s knitting what?

Remember...?

Ok, so y'all remember that CD Swap I did on craftster? I don't think I ever posted my playlist or my partner's. But here they are if you're interested.

The CD my partner made:
1. "take me" 3kstatic featuring louise fraser
2. "love is the drug" roxy music
3. "another one bites the dust" queen
4. "hope of deliverance"- paul mcartney
5. "airwaves"-thomas dolby
6. "gravity never failed"- omd
7. "the way you like it"-hook the captain
8. "no new tale to tell"-love & rockets
9. "silver screen shower scene"- felix da housecat
10. "end of the reel"- 3kstatic
11. "in your eyes"- peter gabriel
12. "secret oktober"- duran duran
13 "a way"- the bolshoi
14. "chains of love"- erasure
15. "no reply at all"- genesis
16. "six underground"- sneaker pimps
17. "extraordinary machine"- fiona apple

A great mix. I've been listening to it quite a bit lately. The overall feel is like electronica-techno/new wave/80's which is cool because I love all three of those genres. I especially like the 3kstatic songs and will be checking out more of their stuff. And who doesn't love that song by the Sneaker Pimps?

Here is the CD I made:

David Bowie "Golden Years"
Barenaked Ladies, "Conventioneers"
Annie Lennox "Little Bird"
Eva Cassidy "Blue Skies"
The Killers "Smile Like You Mean It"
Garbage "Cup of Coffee"
Yoko Kanno ""First Vision" (instrumental from Escaflowne: The Movie)
Bjork "Possibly Maybe"
Diana Krall "The Look of Love" (cool)
Tori Amos "Crucify"
Nine Inch Nails, "Everyday is Exactly the Same"
Annie Lennox, "Cold"
Enya "Books of Days"
Madonna "Isaac"
Sarah McLachlan "Elsewhere"
Bjork "PLay Dead"
TaTU "Stars"
Eva Cassidy "What a Wonderful World"

Sort of a folky/electronica/jazzy type deal. My partner says she likes it. YEAH!

In case you can't tell, I got nothing in the knitting area. I haven't done much in the last few days. I CO on for Jaywalker Sock #2 last night, and row 2 of the Mountain Laurel Blanket is sewn together (two more to go and a border). I'm anxious to start the Anthropologie Inspired Capelet, which I don't even have yarn for. It'll be such a quick knit, but I'm forcing myself to wait until I finish the Jaywalkers. Come on size 1 dpns, don't fail me now! But actually I have a sewing project going on right now. Sewing, you say? Esk-ibby? It's more like a reconstruction project. I'll have pics this weekend.

I watched a movie called "Coffee and Cigarettes" last night. Skip this one, unless you like movies that are too artsy for their own good.

Jaywalker #1 is finished!

The fruits of my Friday night labor (yes, I knit on Friday nights). I was up until 1:30 AM. That's waayyy past my normal bedtime. ;)

The yarn is pretty cool. It's a wool/cotton/spandex blend from Knitpicks called "Dancing". It has an interesting texture: not squishy-soft like merino. It's more like stretchy-soft. I'm glad there's spandex otherwise it would be a lot harder to get on my foot. If at all. It seems that I couldn't escape the tight-ankle byproduct Erin warned me about. But once the sock is successfully manipulated over my gumunjeous heel, it's comfortably snug and secure. So all is well. Now, all it needs is a partner. But first, I need to sew together the second row of the Mountain Laurel Blanket.

Today will be sunny, breezy, and warm (high in mid-60's) around here. I'm not the kind of person who's mood is attached to the weather (like my mom) nor am I the type who prances in the sun, or whatever. I can be happy when it's cold and rainy, during a blizzard, and even during a heatwave (well, not so much, as long as I have A/C). But today I'm really forward to being out in the spring weather. So the mister and I are heading to the Regional Market (the big local farmer's market) for some awesome local produce and products. If you're in CNY area, even if it's a drive for you, make a trip to the Regional Market on sat. for the farmer's market (sunday's the flea market). I'm not an expert on farmer's markets but I think it's an awesome place to be. There's a great vibe, a sense of community that isn't normally apparent. I walk around the vendors watching people looking, buying, talking and I wonder if that's what bazaars and markets in other countries are like. And the produce is ridiculously cheap, and better yet it's local. Anyways... check it out if you haven't. And then we'll probably take a little stroll on the Onondaga Creek Walk before heading to the grocery store for the rest of our shopping. Hmmm... maybe we'll top off the day with a good movie. We have "The Chronicles of Narnia" still in its wrapper...

Well, everyone have a wonderful weekend! Tomorrow, blueberry pancakes!

I'm still here ;)

I can't believe it's been an entire week since I've posted! I have a good excuse. The power supply on our home computer went kaput late last week and we had to wait until Mr.V got a new one and was able to install it. It wasn't all fixed until Wednesday. Since then I've just been lazy. But here I am...

So let's see... the Princess Bride swap is finished. I had fun, but I'm glad it's over, because I really need to focus on some other things: like the baby blanket and some summery knits. And Jaywalker, of course. Perhaps by tomorrow I'll have a finished sock#1 to show off. Tomorrow will be picture day, kiddies, so check back!

Has everyone purused the Spring Knitty already? I can't say I care for the sweaters much, but I like the socks and the man sweater (though, I'm not sure if I'll ever knit a man sweater, cuz Mr.V doesn't like sweaters due to the fact that he's hot when he wears t-shirts during the winter, thus, he no likey sweaters). I absolutely LOVE the Convertible. Ingenious. Read the articles, too, they're very satisfying.

So here is my tenative Spring/Summer knitlist in desired order:
1. Anthropologie -inspired Capelet (you know, the one floating around Craftster)
2. Tie-Cropped Cardigan (see previous post)
3. Spring Fling from Knitty
4. Convertible from Knitty

Chuck in a sock pattern, and a Mother's Day gift, and some other projects to distract myself with. I'm set through the season, baby.

Food related info: I'm planning some simple blueberry pancakes for this Sunday's breakfast. nothing fancy, but I'll bore you with pics anyways.

More non-knitting related info: I saw the cutest, most original movie last night. It's called "3-Iron" it's a Korean film I got from the library and Mr. V and I really enjoyed it. It's sooo not like all the dribble that's being released over here these days. If you like foreign films or just films that are actually original I would highly suggest it. Here's a hint: boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl never utter one word to one another. It works, trust me.

lata

Up on deck-a springy knit

So I've discovered that my recycled yarn and SnB Nation's Lucky is NOT a match made in heaven. So what to do with it? I was thinking of something along the lines of the infamous Boobholder but in a style that doesn't call so much attention to.... you know.

And then I found this:



It's a free pattern from Knitpicks.com. I like it. A little fancy, yet something I can easily dress down. Plus this pattern's gauge is a much better fit for my yarn (which is about a sportweight). Yeah for Spring knits!

Maybe if we all start to knit Springy-Summery items like this maybe, just maybe we can invoke the powers of Mother Nature and actually get some F-ING SPRING WEATHER!!!

Jaywalker is trucking along, and I will be finishing up my Princess Bride Craft Swap this weekend. Have a good one!

Jaywalker, Oh how I love thee!

I've learned something very important these last few days: Jaywalker will take over your life. Nothing else matters in terms of knitting, especially deadline knits (cough*baby blanket*cough). As soon as I get home, before I go to bed, those random minutes (even just one) of nothingness in my evening are now filled with Jaywalker:

Now I know what all the hype was about!

Bee-The yarn is Knitpicks "Dancing"

one way to kill a diet

I really don't consider myself a health nut or anything. I try to exercise (which normally consists of running) for about 40 mins 3-5 times a week (but I still don't consider myself to have an active lifestyle). I "strive for 5" on a daily basis. I don't eat red meat, and only eat chicken about 2-3 times a week. My problem, like most Americans and citizens of developed countries is that I eat TOO MUCH FOOD. Explosive-size portions! Even though the food that I eat really isn't bad, I just eat too much of it. Because it feels good to be full, right? Now Mr.V and I have been reflecting on our eating habits for the past few weeks and came to a conclusion: we eat too much. We have seconds for dinner, we snack, we gorge in our darker hours, and don't eat enough of the "good stuff". So, the last two weeks we've eliminated our snacking (not even buying anything, out of sight-out of mind), I'm not allowed to bake anything outside of Sunday breakfast, and we're eating smaller portions (yeah for leftovers!). For me personally, this isn't so much about loosing weight (though a couple pounds would be nice), it's more about being healthier (loosing some of the OMFG-I-ate-the-whole-bag guilt). After 2 weeks of reducing calorie in-take by just eating less of the same stuff (no celery and seaweed here) and eating fruits and veggies instead of chex mix or brownies I'm definately noticing a difference in the way I feel and a little on the scale. My running has improved because I'm not so weighed down by food (and I don't cramp as much either). I also think about the food eat. I savor my meals instead of inhaling them. And I think about what I really want to eat instead of the usual "graze first, think later" approach. Really, this is a good thing.

There is a point to this rambling. Honestly, I'm not looking for a congratulations or anything. It's really just a set up for what I'm about to show you. I can't say this journey has been a fairy tale so far. After about 2 weeks and me being the carb-loving-anti-Atkins person I am, I was craving something carby and bad. Because of the rules I couldn't buy anything or bake it just cuz, so I had to sneak it into my special sunday breakfast time. No regular pancakes would do. I chose Cinnamon Buns from Joy of Baking. They required a bit of effort. I had to prepare most of it last night, to let the dough rise and everything, let them stand for 30 mins in the morning before baking. Effort, indeed. But it was worth it.



Luckily, thankfully, I halved the recipe and made 4 jumbo size buns instead of 8 because these are definate diet killerz. I ate 2 of them, happily. They were delicious! The dough was sweet and warm and there was ample amounts of cinnamon-sugary goo. I am quite full, even now, and probably won't eat lunch (my stomach must be shrinking). Mr. V liked them, too. I substituted milk for the "light cream" it called for and it turned out fine. Also, it says to bake for 30 mins at 375, but mine came out a tad too overdone. Make sure to keep an eye on them.
I didn't because I was distracted by the infamous Jaywalker! What a Sunday! Here's another, for the road ;)

see the goo? goo is your friend. goo is good. the goo. is.... good.

My Precious!

Sock Yarn! For your yarn craving pleasure!

An orgy of fiber (via Knitpicks.com)! (really, I just wanted to capture their brilliant packing capabilities. man was that yarn squished together. It kind of reminds me of those three bad guys from the superman movie. you know, how they got trapped in that glass, and they were like "let me out, let me out" as they were floating through space... anyways.)

And my lovelies set free. Free at last.



You better believe they experienced a lot of fondling by my naughty hands (sorry about the blanket in the background, it's kind of distracting). Last night I sat down and gauged for the infamous Jaywalker sock by Grumperina (i'm sure you don't need a link) using the green multi-colored yarn on the bottom left. I had to get used to dpns again, but it didn't take long. Soon I will CO. But first I must work on my Princess Bride stuff and sew another row of the Mountain Laurel Blanket. I'm tucking the Ballet Wrap Cardi away for now. I'll whip it out when knitting demands have slowed a bit. I'm in no hurry. Spring is here and there's no reason to rush since it'll be too warm. Oh well. I also got a "Dye Your Own" skein and I'll be picking up some rad Kool-Aid colors at the grocery store today.

Tomorrow is food porn. I'm thinking some cinnamon rolls. And not from the tube. See you tomorrow.

Yarn porn (picless-rated PG)

Well, I seem to be having some technical difficulties with uploading my pictures to my computer. Hopefully, I can get this thing squared away soon so I can show you pics of my yarn porn. Remember? The Knitpicks sock yarn bender I went on the other week? It was fantastic. It's being stashed for the times when I absolutely feel the need to knit socks, which will probably be soon. It talks to me, you know. The yarn... in the other room. late at night. AHEM! Anyways...

With the MJ slippers done (but not mailed >.>) and the baby blanket truckin along I realized that it has been a while since I've completed anything just for me, myself, and I. So I raided my stash, paged through SnB Nation and made a lovely "Basic Cable" out of some rather yucky gray Caron Wintuk. I'm chucking it in the wash first so it can soften up. I figure I can get some use out of it in the mornings, which are still rather chilly around here. *waving from the fourth snowiest, non-mountainous city in the US*

I'll have some R-Rated illustrations of my fiber frenzies soon ;)

As for the food porn. I decided to make a tried and true recipe yesterday for breakfast. I got it from a fitness magazine I used to subscribe to. ENERGY, I think it was called. They used to have some pretty interesting, but tasty recipes in each issue. I snatched this and make it every once in a while. It's supposed to be an "energizing" pancake recipe. It's light, but not tasteless. It's actually quite nice to not feel so damn guilty after eating some butter and syrup laden traditional pancakes. Really, I'm serious. Here's the recipe since the magazine as hence forth gone out of print. Let me know if you try it :) I won't include the nutritional facts because who really cares?

Apple Pancakes (from Energy Magazine)

1 cup flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 small apple diced and peeled (I like to use green apples like Crispin, Golden Delicious, or Granny Smith)
1 1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup egg substitute or 1 egg
2 tbsps canola oil
1 tbsp honey (I substitute regular sugar when I don't have any honey)

Mix the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and apples in med-larg bowl. In separate smaller bowl, mix milk, egg/subs, oil, and honey. Pour milk mixture over flour mixture and mix well. Ladle onto griddle. This makes about 10 pancakes. It also suggest serving with applesauce instead of the usual butter and syrup. I've done both, but pancakes aren't the same without syrup (I use reduced-calorie syrup though... gimme a medal)

ENJOY!

WAIT! I'm not done! Mr. V invented this just last night. This sandwich has no hope of ever being labeled "healthy". So, go make one. NOW!

Garlic/Cheesy Bread Sandwich

2 slices of garlic cheese toast as found in the grocer's freezer (Texas Toast is the name brand I think)
Sprinkle of grated cheddar cheese
slice of turkey breast lunchmeat
a couple slices of pepperoni
small amount of mayo (I use the light kind)
dash of cumin
dash of paprika
lettuce to top

Heat oven to recommended toasting temperature (around 400 deg F). Place two slices on baking pan. Sprinkle one slice with cheddar cheese. Top other slice with turkey slice and pepperoni. Pop in oven for about 7-10 minutes (keep an eye on it) or until you achieve desired toastiness. Apply thin layer of mayo to cheesy slice and sprinkle with cumin and paprika. Top with lettuce and combine to make the sandwich. That's it!

Hungry yet?

Stay tuned...

This is a quickie post! Check back in a day or two for some:

1. Yarn Porn (bow chica wowow)
2. Instant Gratification Knit
   
3. Some breakfast porn

And some other stuff, too. I need to charge up my camera batteries and figure out how to upload the pics since Mr.V did some major computer upgrading this week.

ciao!



Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

Bit by Knitting Bug

Yes, my remarkable progress in not one but two projects yesterday proves of the existence of such an organism. The Knitting Bug (insecta knitta) bit me bad, but in a good way. You see, I finally finished the Ridiculously Easy Mary Jane Slippers that I was knitting for my SIL (the one who is expecting Zoe in the next 1.5 months). I think they were a little too ridiculously easy because they didn't really keep my interest. But they turned out fabU, if I do say so myself. I hope she likes them since these are a complete surprise for her. And I hope they fit. They're too small for me, which probably means they will fit her (hence, the reason why they are not modeled in the picture)




Project: Ridiculously Easy Mary Jane Slippers, Craftster.org
Yarn: Bernat Soft Boucle (some sort of deep red color, label is gone), not even half a skein
Needles: Size 10.5 Denise Interchangeable, Size 7 for straps
Mods: The pattern actually calls for Size 7 needles on chunky yarn for the whole thing, but it hard enough trying to work chunky boucle with the called for needle size. Also, you're supposed to crochet the strap, but that was easily remedied.
Woulda-Shoulda: I can't say anything bad about this pattern. It's so easy you can really personalize or go crazy with the substitutions. Good project for some instant gratification. That's all I have to say about that.

I have the first row of the M. Laurel Blanket finished and assembled. With the MJ's and this I was knitting for several hours yesterday. I'm so proud of myself. :)





I'm really stoked for this blanket. I can't say I'm stoked for the seaming involved, but that's why I'm assembling as I go. The knitting is way fun though. And with this kind of progress I might be finished ahead of schedule. *crossing fingers*

In all honesty I think I invoked the wrath of the Knitter Bug because I was naughty and signed up for my second craft swap on Craftster. I was going to wait until the blanket was finished, but when I saw this swap I couldn't resist. My shoulder angel said, "yo' bitch, just finish up all the other UFO's you have and you'll be golden". It's a Princess Bride Swap. I'm sure most of you know and love that movie. I found the swap yesterday morning, thought it over for a few seconds, then signed up (at the last minute mind you). Then I went downstairs and proceeded to watch the movie while finishing up the MJ slippers. I love. that. movie. Ever since I was little I loved that movie (It's hard to believe that it's almost 20 years old). So I have a few ideas floating around in my head, but I need to get in contact with partner to see what kind of stuff she would like. Suggestion Box is open!

"Death cannot stop true love... It just delays it for a while." -Westley (aka The Dread Pirate Roberts)

Don't Kiss Me, Who Cares if I'm Irish!

So work has been a little busy this week. I have a deadline looming over my head and what I’m working on requires a good bit of my attention. Thus, less time to do important things like surfing knitting sites and posting on my blog.

BTW- Happy St. Patty’s Day to everyone! Irish or not. Make sure you wear something green, eat some corn beef and cabbage, soda bread or, for you partiers, drink some green beer. Do a jig and what not. Me, I’m a more quiet celebrator. I don’t know how to make corn beef and cabbage (and I’m not really crazy about it). I’m not a drinker and I hate bars, so there goes the green beer thing. I did make Irish Soda Scones last night. J They turned out pretty well (and very hearty since I mixed in some whole-wheat flour). I’m wearing green as we speak. I own a copy of “The Quiet Man” starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara but I don’t think I’m going to watch it tonight. Yeah, I’m paying homage to my Irish roots in a very quiet and stereotypical way. So, I’m good.

As far as knitting goes I’m working on the baby blanket, ignoring the MJ slippers, and punishing the BWC sweater. I started working on the left front piece of the BWC and got about half-way through and realized I wasn’t doing the side-shaping like I was supposed to. I guess when the pattern says to “read the entire section before knitting” I should do it. So it’s been banished to the other room for about a week because I’m not in the mood to frog and re-knit (bad BWC, bad).

I’m wondering if I should just put the BWC away for now. By the time it’s finished I really won’t be able to wear it since it’ll (hopefully) be warmer outside. I’d much rather make something to ring in spring, like a Lucky from SnB Nation. I have that recycled yarn all ready to go. But first I must finish the MJ slippers and ship them off to their recipient ASAP. This weekend: no baby blanket until MJ slippers are finished.

Yesterday I experienced my very first yarn bender! In anticipation of my tax refund I decided to treat myself to a large heaping of real sock yarn. Yes, real wool-nylon fingering weight sock yarn. I ordered from Knitpicks.com and made sure to order enough for free shipping. I ordered a little bit of everything, some Pallette yarn, some simple stripes, some essential… It’s all good. Can’t wait to open that box and see all that yarn.

Me thinks I’m turning into a yarn whore.

Knitting Progress and some Apple Goodness

I love weekends. What a fascinating idea weekends are. Two whole days free from work after 5 days on. It's a good combo. I also enjoy those 3-dayers thanks to "holidays" like Memorial Day, President's Day, etc. Supreme. And yesterday here in CNY it was sunny and warm (and by warm I mean in the 50's, yes, that's warm for this time of year). That's a rare combo in these parts: saturday, sunny, and warm all in one day. The first hints that hibernation is coming to an end. People want to go outside and enjoy it before it gets cold again, right? I'm sure most did.

But I didn't. I stayed in doors, the entire day, to knit (and watch Harry Potter). Don't get me wrong I felt the "duty" to go out and enjoy the weather, but I when I asked myself what I truly wanted to do the answer was knit. So that's what I did. Here are the fruits of reclusive behavior:


Two full hexagon pieces for Zoe's baby blanket. This is probably the fanciest damn thing I've ever made. I'll need to make many of these, plus a couple halfies, filler triangles, and the border. But it's a good start. This pattern definately keeps you on your toes, and the results make you want to knit more. But I can savor this. I must savor this. I still have two other projects in queue, one of them being a cozy sweater that may not be finished in time for the last days of winter. So when I knit today, the BWC will be getting my attention.

For Sunday beakfast I decided to make on Apple Popover instead of scones. I didn't know what the hell an apple popover was until I found myself at www.joyofbaking.com. They have a lot of inspiring recipes, including "old school" recipes like this popover-thingamajig. It's simple enough to make, it just takes time. But the results are rather pleasing. Basically, you saute some apple slices in butter, cinn, and sugar. Whip up the batter, pour it over the apples in the skillet, and stick the skillet in the oven for about 20 mins. The edges of the batter rise and brown and also binds the gooey apples together. A sprinkle of powder sugar, and voile!

Pretty tasty, not too heavy like my usual waffles and pancakes. This is a good thing since I've been trying to eat lighter these days. Plus, with the ample amounts of fruit make me feel like I'm being healthy (who I am I kidding, they're smothered in butter and sugar!). I'd recommend this. More so than the crepes. Check out that site. I'll be sure to put a link on my sidebar.

Happy Weekending!

First Craft Swap is Finished!

Yeah, so my first craft swap adventure is over. I sent out the CD and craft today, the deadline date. Oh, well. :) I'm going to hold off revealing the craft and the track list for the CD until the lovely recipient (Thriftgoddess, aka Lucy Van Pelt) receives it (hopefully she can take a picture of it because I forgot too). But I will share what was waiting for me on Wednesday after work:

A new mix CD with a funky insert, a pin-up girl card (ooh lala), and lovely handmade pin. I'm not sure what the pin is made out of, but it's quite pretty. Impressive. :) Funny, I listened to CD while I was finishing up HER craft. Let me tell you it doesn't disappoint. It's a good mix to craft to. Lots of new sounds like 3kstatic, Thomas Dolby, the Bolshoi and a couple familiar ones like Queen and Fiona Apple. Sweet!

All Hail the Thriftgoddess!

My Crepe Adventure

Ok well my attempt at an exotic (aka, french) beakfast was a bust. Not a complete bust, but a bust nonetheless. I shall explain. Let me start with the one positive thing about this meal.

The crepes themselves turned out quite good. I'm guessing the batter was the right consistency because they didn't break during cooking. And they smell quite lovely while they're cooking. It doesn't smell like pancakes. It's hard to explain. Like a cross between fried chicken and donuts. That's the best I can do. It's a mild sweetness paired with a subtle smell of melted butter. And OMIGOD is there butter. I cook almost exclusively with butter. If you're gonna go for it, best to go all the way. The crepes did turn out a bit greasy for my conscience, but the belly was all for it.

Now for the bust part. The thing with crepes is that they don't have a strong taste (at least this version didn't). The taste of the filling just takes over. Not to mention the juices get soaked into the crepe leaving a mushy texture that just isn't my cup of tea. My filling options were a goopy strawberry filling I concocted from simmering frozen strawberries and some strawberry blend juice and some cottage cheese. Mr. V tried a crepe with strawberry goop and cheese. He ate it, then went back to bed. Not his cup of tea either. That's ok, I marched on optimistically. I tried a strawberry goop with a little less cheese and syrup. Not too impressed:



Then I tried a Cheesy Chocolate combo:

Looks better than it tasted.

I doubt I'll be trying crepes again anytime soon (unless I find myself at an authentic creperie or I find a recipe boasting itself as the best crepe filling ever comes into my possession). They're a fun cross-cultural breakfast, but just not satisfying enough for the tastebuds. Perhaps there was too much hype going into this. If you're familar with crepes and have some input to share, please do. I'd love to hear it.

As for the crepe batter recipe I used the basic crepe recipe at about.com. Next week, I'm trying scones, which I have higher hopes for because they're baked (more of my forte) and they hail from the British Isles, with whom I have a closer cultural relationship with than France.

Here are the buttons I bought this week. Aren't they purdy? The black lace ones are going on the SIL's MJ slippers. The rest are gettin' stashed. Au Revoir!

Meh, WIPs

There's not much going on here knitting wise. I haven't done much with the BWC, because I have a couple of deadline-knits on my agenda: the easy MJ slippers for SIL and "small craft" for the CD Swap I'm doing on Craftster. There was two whole days this week where I didn't touch any needles (god, wha'st wrong with me? *checks head for fever*). Yesterday's knitting time was devoted to the swap craft (I'm keeping it secret for now, in case she's lurking). I've gone over the time limit for what's supposed to be a "small" craft, but that's the way it goes with knitting. Not much I can knit in less than 2 hours. I should have used some bulky yarn instead of worsted weight for the item I'm making. Woulda shoulda.... It's kind of cute (it's my own creation). I hope my partner likes it. Luckily, the focus of the swap is the mix CD (phew!). I'll post the playlist when it's all said and done. :)

Hmm...I have the yarn all ready for the Mountain Laurel Blanket I plan on knitting for my soon-to-be neice, Zoe. I bought some Caron Simply Soft in "orchid" which is like a pale lavendar pink. Yeah, I know. I was trying to avoid the whole baby girl-pink thing, but this color isn't the horrible pastel-like color, it's quite pretty and I think it will show off the lace work (gulp!) of this pattern. Personally, I'm not into pink so much, but its for baby. I doubt my bro and SIL would like to wrap their new bundle of joy in black. Ha, baby-goth! There's no turning back now. I'm hoping I can finish the MJ slippers early this week, so I can get trucking on the blanket. She's due in late April, but I figure our visit won't be until early May. So I have about 2 months.

Something tells me that by the time BWC is done the weather will be too warm for a thick homespun wrap. Luckily, my office stays frigid pretty much year round (lack of heat in winter and hardcore A/C in the summer). I'll get some use out of it, heat stroke or not.

I got BUTTONS! Yes, purdy buttons. The Joann's in the mall (the big one) is closing and they're having some great sales on stuff. The yarn is pretty much gone except for the novelty crap which they moved up front, put a 50% off tag on with jacked up prices. If you're into that novelty stuff then check it out. The pricing could be better in my opinion. But my mission this week wasn't yarn. It was buttons for MJ slippers. They were 60% off, but if you got 5 cards they were 70% off each. SOLD! So I proceeded to pick out all the ornate buttons (selection was still pretty good). 5 cards, 2 buttons per card-$2.99 total on gift card. God, I love bargains!

On Sundays I normally make a special breakfast here at home. Just because its fun, really. And I like to eat. Since I've been reading a lot of food sites and blogs recently I've been feeling the need to experiment with some more of the exotic breakfast fare. This week: fruit Crepes. I have the batter sitting as we speak. I'll post a pic if they turn out all right. Next week: homemade scones!

In fact, I'll post a pic of the buttons I got, too. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Memoirs of a Knittah

Ok, I’ve been knitting since about July/August of this year. I found myself on FigandPlum.com looking at her yoga mat bag pattern (to sew) and saw all the cool things she was knitting. Since sewing was pretty much falling flat for me, I thought I’d give knitting a try. So I went to my friendly neighborhood Joann’s (now in the process of closing, thank god) and got a skein of gray Caron Wintuk and pair of Susan Bates Size 10 straights. I went to knittinghelp.com and Vogue knitting to learn how to get started. For a couple days I fussed with making a knit stitch. Finally, I realized that I have to actually slip the knitted loop off the left needle for this knitting thing to actually work. EUREKA! And the rest is history.

Knitting is pretty much the only thing I do in my off time now. And by that I mean the time when I’m not working, doing stuff with Mr.V, sleeping, eating, running errands, napping… hmm, actually if you count reading knitting blogs, knitting boards on craftster, and other knitting related sites then I knit at work too. Just don’t tell my boss ;) I’m pretty much obsessed/addicted to knitting. Weird, because I’m so anti-addiction. Am I hypocrite?

Do I really care?


No… I could think of worse things to do with my free time.

And what’s up with the online knitting sites posting all these cute new patterns all of the sudden?

Click Here

And Here

I was paging through SnB Nation (I just got it from the Library) last night making mental notes on all the things I want to knit from there. And that doesn’t count the stuff from my two IK issues that are now in my possession. What’s a knittah to do? Move to Alaska so my sweater knitting will never interrupted by that pesky sun and evil earth's orbit?