Search This Blog

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Podcast of the Week - The History Chicks

This is one of my favorite, non-crafty, educational-in-a-fun-way podcasts. The History Chicks feature a woman of history with each podcast and go so far in depth, it's astounding.

Beckett Graham and Susan Vollenweider: Two women. Half the population. Several thousand years of history. About an hour. Go.

They cover entertainers, scientists, writers (Laura Ingalls Wilder is my favorite historical woman and their podcast of her was LONG and highly entertaining), royalty, etc. Even some fictional folk are covered (like Cinderella).

I've learned quite a bit about women I knew nothing about, like Nellie Bly. When that happens, I tend to hit the library for a some of the books they recommend to learn more about the Chick. That's right, you can walk away from each podcast with a full list of extra reading, blogs and/or books.

The ladies are entertaining and, while the sound quality wasn't so great in the beginning, it's a lot better.

They have a facebook page as well that stays pretty active and they give fun clues to the next History Chick they are about to podcast on.

Check them out!



Monday, February 4, 2013

Podcast of the Week - Yarngasm

This one sounds dirty but it's really not. Although, now that it's become a video podcast, it's a bit yarn p0rny :)

Kristin, aka Voolenvine, is our host and she has recently switched to video rather than audio (although she does post the audio portion of the video so you still get an audio podcast). Often, when listening to her, I would think "I wish I could see what she's talking about" and it's like she read my mind.

Kristin is lovely and has a wonderful voice. Her enthusiasm for her projects is contagious and she has a knack for picking amazing patterns to work on, all of which I frequently queue on Ravelry.

Her blog is here and her Ravelry group is here. She also has a group that is awesome called StashBustArmy. Perfect projects to use up your stash. She also has a twitter account.

Check her out. This one is well worth sitting down for :)



Thursday, January 31, 2013

Iced Iced Baby

It's 2013 and it's the year of changes!

First off, I'm becoming the proud owner of a rescue dog on Friday. First pet in this house and I'm pretty stoked. (That word didn't age me at all....)

Secondly, this is the year I will make a sweater. Not a pullover because frankly I can't stand those. Thanks to thyroid problems I often have hot flashes so I tend to layer and take off what I can when I'm flashing. So I'm making a cardigan because, boy howdy, I love me some cardigans.

My only big problem with them is that I apparently have razor sharp elbows and they wear out fast. But I saw this pattern made on The Knitgirllls video podcast and since it's made with a bulkier yarn, I thought I could do this. 

Behold the Iced cardigan from Knitty.com





I excitedly bought some (sale) yarn from WEBS and was so happy when it arrived. I dutifully did my swatch and washed it.....and it felted right up. Did I really buy 22 balls of yarn that wasn't machine washable? Yes, yes I did.Wow.

I amaze myself sometimes.

So, it's not a total loss. I can make a nice cowl, mitten, hat set out of that yarn for this howling winter we're having. Now I just need to find washable yarn for my cardigan. AFTER I get my new dog settled in.....

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Podcast of the Week - CraftStash

This is a video podcast so you can see all the crafty goodness.

The host, Kaystarr, is most awesome. She's so incredibly enthusiastic that I swear I want to KNIT ALL THINGS when I'm done watching an episode. Plus, she's all about learning new things, which in turn spurs me on to learn new things. It's been fun watching her learn to spin and seeing how amazing her yarn is becoming.

Here's the Ravelry group for CraftStash. She's currently doing a read-a-long in the group for Wool by Hugh Howey and I'm so glad she did, because I never would have found this series of books on my own.

She has a Craftstash tumblr and posts a lot of yarny goodness. *swoon*

Watch her!


Friday, January 25, 2013

Podcast of the Week - Down Cellar Studio Podcast

I listen to a frightening amount of podcasts, mostly crafty but also sciencey. I thought I would share my favorites with you each week!

Right now, I'm running through the back catalog of a fairly new knitting podcast. The Down Cellar Studio podcast with BostonJen. She does more than just knitting and one of my favorite features is the photography section. She really gives some good information on how to take photographs, of your crafts and other things.

She sews, crochets a bit and has a really great voice.

Lately she's been doing more contests, knit-a-longs and giveaways. Fun stuff! Plus, almost all the patterns she mentions? I go straight to Ravelry and queue. Enabler!

Here's her group on Ravelry, with a current knit-a-long!

Check her out!


Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Holidays are over - FOs!

Despite my funk of a few months ago, I did manage to get some projects finished for Christmas presents. Not everything I wanted but now I have presents to give people throughout 2013 - as I get them done :)

For some reason, the start of 2013 has made me excited about knitting again. And I know why. The projects I'm working on are for me. I love knitting for others and for charity projects but I think I neglected myself a bit.

First up:
Abundance Afghan for my sister. Made from 9 balls of Suri Dream Alpaca from Knitpicks.com in the (discontinued) colorway Sunkissed. Suri Dream is also discontinued but a nice bulky yarn that has a great halo would work.




I'm kicking myself for not taking a photo of my friend's Trillian scarf. I'll try to get her to take a photo. It was made with yarn from Little Red Bicycle in the River Styx colorway. Here's what the yarn looked like.

 It did knit up well but I have to say, the feel of the yarn wasn't the best. I was making another scarf with Gnomeacres yarn and the difference in texture was pretty obvious.

Onward to the Hitchhiker scarf! Done with Gnomeacres fingering sock yarn in the colorway Hawkeye (yes, from The Avengers!). It turned out beautifully with a wonderful drape. This went to another friend for Christmas.




Gnomeacres is a favorite shop of mine now. I love her yarns - color and texture. I also completed a Hitchhiker for myself out of Gnomeacres worsted yarn in Sonic Screwdriver. Pictures soon!

As an added bonus, I got a request to knit some little gnomes. I said yes immediately because they were going to two special people who needed some gnominess (not a word, says spellcheck). I decided against little gnomes and went for bigger, cuddlier sizes.


Awesome, right? The pattern was easy and I ended up finding excellent beard type fabric at Jo-ann Fabrics. Although it shed a bit, but I used this goo on the back to keep it from fraying. I'm making one for my cube at work, to hide among the plants.

Next up, FO for me! A pink Ninja! I need to add weapons but she looks pretty awesome at work.  She was made with leftover Knitpicks yarn in a colorway that had no label. I think it was a spring bloom or something. And Lurleen from Rebecca Danger's monster book. Lurleen is heading to the 600 Monsters group to be handed out to some kids. Lurleen's yarn was a handpainted Cascade 220 yarn.



That's about it....wow. I'm amazed at how much I really did while I was off work for Christmas break. Onward to new things!


Monday, October 8, 2012

Oy! I'm really here....

Where o' where have I been? Actively hunkering down in the midst of chaos. Things have been unsettled and upset and just wrong lately, and I hate to say, even knitting hasn't given me respite. Nor cooking or baking. I guess you could say, I have been in a funk. Unfortunately, I still am, a bit. But I'm unhunkering (is that a word? Spellcheck says NO) and getting back to myself a little at a time. Baby steps, y'all.

I finished one Christmas present, washed and blocked and photographed, so it's *official*. But, alas, I can't show it yet since the recipient might be reading this. Casted on the next present and have been making ok headway. I made the most headway while watching The Walking Dead: Season 2 on netflix ('bout time!) until I got so caught up, yelling at my TV and all, that I realized......people.....I SET MY KNITTING DOWN and forgot about it. For real! Walking Dead....you are my new drug.

I'm trying to figure out my Christmas season. I think I'm doing homemade cards this year, of a sort. Just not sure what to do. I'm all wonky and out of sorts because I can hardly believe it's October and I can't pinpoint where my year went. I hate that.

Pinterest...I love that. In the act of unhunkering, I made ice cream. I'm sharing the recipes below because they both were divine. I do think that helped unfunk me as well.  Here's to keep on keeping on and getting back into life.

Olive Oil Vanilla Ice Cream
Servings: Makes 1 quart
Ingredients
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 vanilla bean split
  • 2 large eggs plus 2 yolks, lightly beaten
  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for garnish (optional)
Directions
Bring milk and vanilla bean to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan. Remove from heat and allow vanilla to steep in milk for 30 minutes. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into milk and return to a simmer over medium heat.

Meanwhile, place eggs in a medium bowl, and slowly add about 1/3 of the warm milk mixture, stirring constantly. Add remaining milk to eggs, then return entire egg-milk mixture to saucepan. Reduce heat to low and stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until custard has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Be careful not to boil, or eggs will scramble. Remove from heat and pour hot mixture through a strainer into a large bowl. Allow to cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Add sweetened condensed milk and blend well. Cool completely; cover and refrigerate until cold, several hours or overnight.

Remove cover. Stir and add to ice cream machine. Process according to manufacturer's instructions. During the final 5 minutes of churning, slowly add olive oil. When finished, ice cream will be soft but ready to eat. For firmer ice cream, freeze for several hours before serving. If desired, serve with a drizzle of olive oil.

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/food/Olive-Oil-Vanilla-Ice-Cream#ixzz28l6m4O00


Blueberry Nutella Sorbet

http://www.gojee.com/food/recipes/blueberry-nutella-sorbet

Blueberry Nutella Sorbet
This recipe is adapted from Fields of Cake.
Ingredients
  • 1/2 pint blueberries
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/3 cup Nutella
  • 1/4 cup vodka
Directions
1. Bring blueberries, water, sugar and salt to a boil in a saucepan.
2. Next add cocoa and mix well.
3. Remove from heat and whisk in nutella and vodka.
4. Strain and refrigerate for a few hours, until completely cool.
5. Process in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.