#21

~Notes~

What's going on :
~Got some groceries today to try some of the recipes I've been posting! Super excited about that.
~Actually bought a book today. I use to read all the time before I crafted so much. Tami Hoag's Deeper Than The Dead. Love her suspense books! Would recommend if you like suspense with a bit of romance usually thrown in.

Finished Objects (FOs) :
Not a thing! :)

Knitting Works In Progress (WIPs) :
~Whirligig Shrug by Stefanie Japel.

~ Baby Hats - - I started on the baby version of the Brattleboro Hat!


Crochet Works In Progress (WIPs) :
~Baby booties! Finished the first one, except for the laces. Started on the second one.


Sewing Works in Progress (WIPs) :
~John's bandanna, still working on the first one. Going to cut the other ones tonight and pick out the stitches for them!


Tempting Ideas :
~Mosaic Knitting, for some reason I really want to do some more mosaic knitting. November's Bakers Dozen Square might be in mosaic knitting.

Favorite Thing :
~ Halloween!! Happy Halloween Everyone! This is my favorite holiday. Hope you all had a wonderful time! :)

Sunday Inspirations

Rally over at Eleven Stitches. I knew I liked that dress for a reason. It looks wonderful on the right shapes!

Intertwined Triskeles is a wonderful embroidered piece. Love the geometry and it is nicely stitched. I like that the green is variegated while the orange is solid. Very lovely.

Sock Froggee is adorable! As you know, I love to knit toys and I think this one is a definite in the future!

The free sock pattern from KnitGeekery is very nifty. I have some yarn that I think might work well with this. Love the movement the pattern creates.

This free Scrappy Doll Pattern from f.pea is adorable. I want to make one. Hopefully I can find the time.

Knit.Sock.Love. is Cookie A's new sock book and right now if you pre-order the book and the pdf download, the down load is only $5.95! Yes, I am thinking about it! My only problem with her patterns is they aren't sized for my large feet. So is the inspiration and the peek into her mind enough?!?!



Recipes I want to try:
Beef with Snow Peas from The Pioneer Woman. I still read her blog even though I can't eat 99% of it any more. Every once in a while there is something that is not only easily made gluten free but also looks good. This might be made soon.

Baked Southwest Egg Rolls with Creamy Chipotle Dipping Sauce sound super yummy. I am a fan of southwest egg rolls but haven't had any since I can't eat gluten anymore. I figure with the recipe I can easily exchange the flour tortillas for corn and we are off!

Cream Cheese Chicken and Vegetable Soup sounds delicious. I like the thought of cream cheese used instead. I think this is definitely worth a try.

Slow Cooker Chicken seems like a good way to cook a chicken. I'll be the first to admit, the only bird I've even cook whole like that is a turkey, but I'd love to try to make chicken. I'll probably replace the dried rosemary with powdered rosemary.

Food Friday - Gluten Free Barbeque Stirfry

I was so excited to see gluten free Asian BBQ sauce in the grocery store a few weeks ago. Most Asian style anything are not gluten free because they use soy sauce. Soy sauce in general is NOT gluten free. I knew I had to make something with this.





Boiled up some broccoli.


Roasted some pea pods.


Roasted some mushrooms, onions, and peppers.


Fried up some flank steak in sesame oil. My sister, Rhoni, introduced me to flank steak and let me tell you . . . pricey, but oh so worth it.


Before the meat is fully cooked I put about half the bottle of sauce and about one cup of water. I dilute most sauces because the meat will absorb it better. I cook it on a medium-low until meat is cooked through and sauce thickens just a bit.


Add some rice and ta-da!





Overall : It was super delicious. Definitely will use this sauce again and I want to try some of the other flavors. A little spendy, but worth it!

Healthy Thursdays

I was thinking of this in terms of normal weeks, but since I am posting on Thursdays, my week for this will go from Friday to Thursday.

This is the first weigh-in, on the positive there is nothing to compare it to, so it's just a number. I have made a small change to the exercise goal, since it is getting quite icky outside lately, my goal is to walk or exercise 3 times a week. This can be with a video or such at home.

Weight: 278lbs
Exercise: 2 walks home and today I did 26 minutes of IntenSati workout video.
Food: Salad every day, but 1.

Speaking of salad, here are a couple of the salads I took:

Romaine lettuce, red cabbage, shredded carrots, diced onions, cherry tomatoes, cubed apple, and chunks of string cheese.


Iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, shredded carrots, diced onion, radishes, sliced black olives, purple grapes, and cherry tomatoes.




I almost always use the same dressing, I love Maple Grove Farm's Raspberry Vinaigrette. They list if there items are gluten free, gotta love that!

I am still continuing with the salad, but I am adding that I try to turn to fruit or a healthy snack instead of candy or other sweets.

Now I am off to make BBQ Chicken stir fry with LOTS of veggies. Hope everyone found time to take care of themselves this week!

How do you learn?

So many different types of learners out there. Unique in many ways, similar in others. My type of learning is to pretty much jump head first in and figure things out at I go. I am often too excited to make or do whatever it is that I can't wait to learn. I'll just learn as I go. Sometimes this works wonderfully for me and other times it helps me crash and burn.

In embroidery, it's more of a crash and burn. Not to say all is going badly, as you can see, here is the bandanna stitch I am working on:
Back of the stitch.


Front of the stitch.




It's actually looking quite nice and I like how it looks from both sides.

However, I am so out of practice again that it is going slowly. I did pick a stitch that takes a bit of time, but not only am rusty, but I am still very much a beginner. This also caused problems when I first went into this project, because it took me a few times to find something that was even suitable. This is definitely a discipline that requires more planning, more practice. Something I am going to have to work on because this is not a strong suit of mine at all.

So how do you learn? How do you approach new things or projects? Does this cause you problems in the things you try to achieve?

#20

~Notes~

What's going on :
~Took the garden down. Picked the last few peppers.
~Not looking forward to first weigh-in this week.


Finished Objects (FOs) :
~Bowknit Bag (Rav Link) - - I liked making it. It almost, ALMOST, makes me want to knit some more bags.
~Ring (Rav Link) - - Quick and easy knit. Going to make a couple more in different colors and weights.
~October's Bakers Dozen Square (blog post link) - - Loved how this turned out as you can read in my post about it.


Knitting Works In Progress (WIPs) :
~Whirligig Shrug (Rav Link) - - I think this is going to be adorable. Going to knit one for Vera too.


Crochet Works In Progress (WIPs) :
~Test knitting these baby booties.(Rav Link) Except mine are in purple and a cream/off-white.


Sewing Works in Progress (WIPs) :
~Started on John's bandannas. The first one took me forever to decide on a stitch. I worked like 4-5 different stitches, cut them out and then started again. Finally, I have settled on the wheatear stitch. It looks nice from both the front and the back.


Tempting Ideas :
~My Target sweater. I think it would be super easy to make my own in another stitch . . . maybe moss stitch. Anyways, ideas going crazy with that.


Favorite Thing :
~Favorite thing this week is actually the focus on healthier living. I can definitely see the difference in certain ways. Little more energy and focus. Feeling better in general. My walk home today in the storm was actually quite enjoying. :)


On a side not I learned a very valuable lesson, do not put any notes of any kind on your lap, because then it looks like you are looking down your own shirt for half the video and it makes you self-conscious!

Moving it around a bit & Octobers Bakers Dozen Square

Well, it looks like Monday is really not a good day to record. I will be recording tomorrow. For the following weeks I think I am moving the video-blogging/podcasting time back to Sunday.

So instead we have an FO post for tonight! :)

I finished my Bakers Dozen Square and mailed it off last week. I love how it turned out even more after it was blocked. The bamboo worked so perfectly. After the new year I am considering buying myself some fingering-weight, hand-painted bamboo to crochet some curtains in this same stitch pattern.












Yarn : Exquisite Bamboo . . . I am using the other part of the FibraNatura Yarn that I unspun for Justice's socks. So this has only the bamboo singles in it.
Color: Fiesta
Content: 100% bamboo
Care: Machine wash warm or cold, dry on low

Hook : C / 2.5mm

Pattern: I am using the Crossed Topped Shells stitch from 280 Crochet Shell Patterns. I did modify it a bit. On the crossing section the patter says double crochet stitches, but this did not work for me at all and I used triple crochet stitch instead.

As with most of the squares I do for this, I had a hard time giving it away. Loved it! Wish I had time to take some better pics before I mailed it off.

Sunday Inspirations

~Ruffled Beading experiment that is going on over at Plays With Needles


~Crochet I-Cord instructions by June of PlanetJune.


~Brioche Stitch Hat knitted up by Julia of Knitteroo!. Click over to the patter and am considering picking up the Patons Anti Freeze booklet just for the hat, it's only $4.99!


~Swedish Heartwarmer Shawl from And She Knits Too!. I love this. I doubt I would ever be patient enough to knit it, but wow would I love to have one. Maybe one day.

Some recipes I'd like to try:

~Spinach Bisque Slow Cooker by A Year of Slow Cooking. Sounds super delicious. Think this might be my salad companion this week.


~Green Bean Stir Fry is always something I have loved from Asian restaurants. Not sure I can get everything in there, but want to try a variations or something.


~Butter Poached Lobster sounds delicious. Was never a fan of lobster as it didn't seem anything special, but this sounds delicious ans simple. Might have to splurge and buy some lobster tails to try this.

Cheesy Pasta

Can you tell I was on a cheese kick?

I used this Cheese Sauce recipe. I made double though, so I could use it in a casserole. Trust that the sauce thickens quite a bit. I would use more evaporated milk next time.




I put Schar gluten-free noodles, broccoli, some cooked chicken, and corn.


Put the cheese over the top.


And baked it!


Doesn't it look yummy!





This was the first time I tried these noodles and they worked good. Would definitely get them again.

I have to say, fresh after being baked, it was super delicious. Even though I am a self-proclaimed lover of left-overs. . . this wasn't as tasty. It was okay, but more along the lines of blah as a left-over. I think the key is using more milk that you think you need to. Will try this again.

Healthy Thursdays

I have been trying to focus in a few key things this week for getting healthier.

Last week was a four day work week and I walked home three out of the four days. Which is my goal for now, at least 3 days a week I will walk home. I will not meet that goal this week. I will only have two.

My second thing is salads. I am trying to eat a salad every day. Each week I've been making them more elaborate and larger. I'll take a couple pictures to show next week. I know salad and veggies and all that are good for me, but I really dislike the bitter taste of lettuce. So I have been adding lots of other things, like radishes, grapes, onion, etc.

Third, I have been trying to get closer to 7 hours of sleep at night. This is probably the harder of the goals. But I know this is a key to not only getting healthier, but to feeling better also.

As of next week I will start weighing myself also. Yes, I know scary. I don't want this to be about a specific number, but the number is one of the ways to measure things.

I hope all of you can find time to take care of yourselves too. ☺

#19

~Notes~

What's going on :
Not much, hurt myself again. Burned myself when stirring noodles and accidentally splashed burning hot water on my hand. Not too badly burned.

Finished Objects (FOs) :
~Blume Hat - - It's all done. Love it. It looks a little silly on me, cause it's mean to grace the head of someone who has a normal sized head!

~ Out of Yarn Ball (Rav Link) - - Love the way it turned out. It was a test knit. Will post the link when the pattern is up. I think it's planned for November 1st.


Knitting Works In Progress (WIPs) :
~Bowknit Bag - - Almost done. Cute little bag. Will link it also when the pattern comes out.

~I am also working on a second Out of Yarn Ball. Yes, it's just that cute, portable, and stash-busting.

Crochet Works In Progress (WIPs) :
~Bakers Dozen October Square - Loving how the colors are working with the pattern.

Sewing Works in Progress (WIPs) :
~Only washed the fabric for the potholder.
~Will be starting on brother-in-law's bandannas this weekend.


Tempting Ideas :
~Planning for next year and where and what I want to do with crafting. Want to set up craft-a-long lessons. Lots of ideas going through my head about how I want to organize and schedule things.

Favorite Thing :
~Being able to walk home. It's nice and relaxing. I am really starting to appreciate it. You see some odd things though.

Delay

Well, guys, I am pretty tired tonight. Going to go to bed early so I can get some good sleep, you know like maybe actually 8 hours! :)

Plus, Blume hat is still a little damp, should be dry by tomorrow.

Will record tomorrow and a have a couple Finished Objects!

Sunday Inspirations

~The Coquille knit by Betz White. The Coquille is a pattern from Knitty that I loved. This just makes me what to knit it more.


~The Lumber Jack Hanspun from Monika of Smoking Hot Needles. She has her own shop now too! I am saving up to get something from her. ☺


~The art pieces that Knitting Dragonflies has been working on. They make me want to get out my art supplies.

I know there was doubt

Oh, I know there were doubters out there. . . heck I had a moment or two of doubt myself, but guess what is soaking! Oh yes, my friends, it is done, except for its bath to rinse the rest of the dye out and then a good drying.


Here it is, all knitted up, ends woven in. This was right before its bath.


And here is where it will sit for a while.



This was a good knit, just would have been nice if I hadn't needed to rip it all out when I was 2/3rds done because I needed more yarn and all. I am very psyched. I love the way the colors were before so I hope they don't change too much in the soak. *crosses fingers*

Cheesy Rice

The recipe I used was this Rachael Ray Recipe. I used it more as a base though.

My stock was gluten free.


I used whatever rice I had on hand.



I added a bit of flavor with some garlic powder.


I didn't buy any fancy cheese. I just used what I had on hand in the fridge. Although I would definitely try some fancier cheese now that I know it works well. Maybe something smokey.


Nice consistency when freshly cooked. I might suggest not using quite as much cheese, but that is all.


Served it up with some ham and roasted veggies.





I really wanted to try this because I love cheesy rice, but most packaged products cannot be trusted to be gluten free. So when life gives you lemons . . . you make cheesy rice!

New October Bakers Dozen Square

Started the new Baker's Dozen Square for October since I am using the other one in a series piece.







Yarn : Exquisite Bamboo . . . I am using the other part of the FibraNatura Yarn that I unspun for Justice's socks. So this has only the bamboo singles in it.
Color: Fiesta
Content: 100% bamboo
Care: Machine wash warm or cold, dry on low

Hook : C / 2.5mm

Pattern: I am using the Crossed Topped Shells stitch from 280 Crochet Shell Patterns.

It's a little slippery to work with, but I think it will look lovely when all is said and done.


* * * * * *

Not feeling so hot today, there's some cold stuff going around the office I work in, but next week I want to make Thursdays about getting healthier.

Brave New Knits Review

Brave New Knits book, I recommend buying it!

#18

~Notes~

What's going on :
~Cut my finger again, on the new sharp knives. A serrated blade against the tip of my finger, trust me that is visual enough.

~Getting healthy. These past couple weeks, I have slowly been trying to move myself into a more healthier lifestyle. I am eating better and have walked home from work a few days. Thinking about making Thursdays on the blog dedicated to getting healthier.


Finished Objects (FOs) :
~None, again.

Knitting Works In Progress (WIPs) :
~Blume Hat - - Didn't finish this like I thought I would. A couple of my lunches and in the morning, I walked around downtown instead of knitting. I am working through the decreases though and am hopeful it will be finished this week.

~Bowknot Bag (Rav Link) - - Enjoying knitting on this. I think it will make a wonderful little project bag.


Crochet Works In Progress (WIPs) :
~Vera's Blanket - - Still my home project. 9/48 squares completed

~Filet Crochet Rose Series - - The fingering wool is not moving as slowly as I expected.


Sewing Works in Progress (WIPs) :
~Potholders - - Picked out the back fabric. Laundry is only done once a week, so next weekend I will work on putting them together.

Tempting Ideas :
~ Baby Hats - - My sister, Rhoni, suggested that the new baby would need some hats. So I am going to make some baby hats with little matching socks. I have it in my head to create a baby version of the Brattleboro Hat!

Favorite Thing :
~Pregnant pictures of my sister!

The Green won out

I went to JoAnn's today and was still dead set on the warm brown color for the back of the potholders. In my mind it would go perfectly with the pink/red colors. I was at least smart enough to bring one of the potholder tops with me. The brown did not look as good in person as it did in my mind. So I started holding it up to other colors.

This green won:








It really brings out the little bit of the pale green in the square and makes the potholder top look more like a flower, which I like. So I have decided on the backing. Now I just need to decide if there is any embroidery I want to do before I attach the back or if I want all the embroidery to be after I attach the back. Right now I am leaning strongly towards only doing embroidery after everything is all put together.

Bowknot Bag

Started another test knit for a designer on Ravelry. Oddly enough, it's the same designer as the hat I knitted. I am quite drawn to her patterns. I know I said from before I would never knit a bag again, but I saw this up in the group and wanted to knit this.(Ravelry Link)








Yarn: Caron Simply Soft
Color: Sage
Content: 100% acrylic
Care: machine wash and dry
Needles: US 3 / 3.25mm

I need more practice with Turkish cast-ons because it took like 4 or 5 times for me to get one that I thought was moderately acceptable. I love learning new things, but I feel like I am not coordinated enough to master this cast-ons and ones similar. If you have any recommendations . . . I would greatly appreciate them.

Knitting It Old School Review and Giveaway

For the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post before Monday October 11, 2010 at 12 midnight Eastern Standard Time. I will use random number generator to pick a winner and will announce it Tuesday morning before I leave for work!


*I do apologize for my repeated "Another one I really liked" at the beginning of each pattern. Wow, I am so out of touch with doing reviews! I will try to do them more often so I don't get so out of practice.

In that direction, I will be posting another one of the book reviews this weekend.

Time is on who's side?

Well, there just isn't enough hours during the day I tell you! I am going to try to record my review for one of the books tonight and tomorrow I will edit it and hopefully post it. There will be a giveaway with it, so look out!

I started the decreases to the Blume Hat today and should definitely finish it in the next couple days!

Weekly Update #17

~Notes~

What's going on :
Turned 30!
New Digital Camcorder!

Finished Objects (FOs) :
Not a darn thing!

Knitting Works In Progress (WIPs) :
Blume Hat (It's been my work knitting project)

Crochet Works In Progress (WIPs):
Vera's Blanket (my at home project this week)

Sewing Works in Progress (WIPs) :
Potholders (my weekend focus project)

Tempting Ideas :
Dyeing! Only because the season for it is pretty much over! Plus working again with the Blume hat sparks ideas.

Favorite Thing :
Rain!! How I love rain and my allergy problems are less when it's raining.

Birthday

30, that is all I have to say. Good or bad, here it comes. :)

Potholders and . . .

I worked hard on finishing up the front of the potholders today:

Here is one of the fronts. I made my templates, cut out the pieces, and sewed them together on the sewing machine.


Do all my lines meet up correctly? No, but I still like it. I am not strong in sewing, so I probably should have picked an easier square to start with, but I wanted to start from the beginning of the book I am using and work my way through. This is the first square in the book.

Here is the second potholder top. This one lines up a bit better. This will be one set of potholders. Haven't decided what embroidery to put on it. I will probably choose a lovely brown as the backing.


Here is the book I am using. I love the different squares in here. It doesn't give you templates, you make your own from the picture. My square are a bit bigger than in the book so they'll be large enough to be potholders, so I use the picture and sketch it out on graph paper for the size I want.

The Civil War Diary Quilt : 121 stories and quilt blocks they inspired


I don't have it yet, but I also want The Civil War Love Letter Quilt : 121 quilt blocks inspired by love and war


On a lovely side note, the husband completely surprised me by getting me the digital camcorder I wanted. I totally believed the book thing, because he hates gift shopping. What a lovely surprise! :)






The battery is charging and my Update on Tuesday will be recorded with this!

Pinning and Cutting

No pictures today, I've been pinning and cutting pieces today for the potholders. With smaller projects like this I prefer to do it this way, cutting out just one or two pieces at a time, pinning my template to the fabric. I got all the pieces cut out today and will hopefully be back tomorrow with a sewn version of the pair.

I am enjoying the colors still, which is unusual, as they are not colors I would normally like. I am thinking I may have to go fabric shopping though for a nice backing color.

I have also been working on my reviews today. Doing write ups, reading over each book carefully, so I hope to record at least one tomorrow. We shall see.

Birthday Loot

First I will say that my sister gave me an excellent birthday present today by calling and letting me know that her baby is going to be a girl. I know she's nervous about having a girl, but she will be a wonderful mom. She's a wonderfully strong person.

Now on to the knitting books:






The husband says I can consider these from him . . . although I consider them from me. I ordered them for myself for my birthday, I paid for them, and I picked them up from the UPS place. He says it's our money now and we are a team, so technically they are from him too. Yeah, he's sneaky like that.

I will be reviewing each of them in the not too distant future, with my normal video review. Honestly, I am going to let you know that I was a little let down by one of the books, got what I expected with another, and was pleasantly surprised with the other. The one that somewhat disappointed I will go over why in the review and honestly, I'll have to think long and hard about whether or not it's something I actually want to keep. It may be a giveaway item. We shall see.