update!

August 19th, 2008

I’ve gotten a good bit done, including a few CAL squares. I’m going to try to post pictures of them all and then start posting everyday or every other day. No more months between post!

I’ve decided to make one blanket that’s green and purple, so I’m trying to use both colors in all my squares. A little white in there just to lighten things up.

May Square
May Square

June Square
June Square

July Square
July

August
August

Tomorrow I’ll do a catch  up post on the hats I’ve made. I made a couple in PA and I did some sewing. :) I want to post pictures of Brittany’s baby blanket I’m making too, but I want to get new pictures of that one. Lots to come!

CAL - 12 inch square blanket photos

April 12th, 2008

Here are some quick shots of my blankets

Green blanket -

Green Blanket

Purple blanket -

purple blanket

Odd ball blanket squares -

odd ball squares

Crochet and Knit hats

March 4th, 2008

I made a Pretty Puff Slouchy Hat and a Banana Republic Knockoff Hat (I also used this pattern for inspiration). On to the pictures!

Pretty Puff Slouchy Hat 01Pretty Puff Slouchy Hat 02Pretty Puff Slouchy Hat 03

Side view                      Close up of puff stitch Front view

BR Knock off 01BR Knock off 02BR Knock off 03

Side view                      Back view                     Front view

Chicken Bog - Family Recipe

February 21st, 2008

Just a quick note to post my Moms chicken bog. I made it for my brother, upon request, for his birthday. Written by my Mom. :)

CHICKEN BOG OF THE GODS!

(I’M NOT YELLING! I’M JUST PASSIONATE!)

 

2 whole chickens

Water – enough to well cover the chickens and sausage

A large amt of rice (it’s one cup of rice to 2 cups of broth)

Margarine

2 packages of regular Kielbasa (don’t get the lowfat turkey kind…not enough spices for flavor)

One onion – quartered

A tall, large pot with a good lid

Chicken boullion

Salt

Pepper

 

Chop up the chicken rather crudely. This is your chance to be violent. Enjoy. Imagine it’s someone you really don’t like, but don’t curse them too much. Toss the mangled bodies into water….

 

Salt and pepper to madness. Boil chicken and onion in water with up to 10 bouillon cubes and two-four large spoonfuls of margarine. When you fork the chicken and it’s getting tender, then cut the kielbasa into medallions and toss in with the chicken. Boil…stirring to keep things from sticking to the bottom. I cover it to go faster, but you can leave it open, but if you have to add water, you gotta toss in another cube. Gotta keep up those chicken-flavors.

 

When chicken is falling off the bone, remove from heat and unless you’re lazy or don’t mind choking on a chicken bone, take the chicken out of the chicken broth and de-bone it. (”She said, “Bone”, heh heh.”). Cool first or run under cold water unless you like burns, pain, blisters and ER visits. Toss away the ookie skin unless you like it or want to make soup later. (With the giant amt of bouillon cubes, keep all the water, since tossing in a bag of egg noodles and some more chicken later makes wicked chicken noodle soup, aka “Jewish Penicillin”).

 

You have a mound of chicken, poofy kielbasa and water. Perfect.

 

Go back to your big pot. Put the chicken and the kielbasa and onion back in. For every cup of rice you want, add 2 cups of water. If you have to add water during cooking, then add a bouillon cube.

 

Make sure the water is boiling and add 1 cup of rice for each TWO cups of water. Don’t forget your original count or…it gets weird.

 

Add the rice and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly Deosil, not Widdershins. Mock anyone who asks why you only go clockwise when you stir. Tell them you are stirring in goodness. When you see boilage…turn the heat wayyyyy down, cover tightly and don’t touch for 20 minutes. Don’t peek. Don’t stir. Don’t let anyone curious at the good smells open it up.

 

Many a testosterone-based life form has wrecked a good pot o’ bog by opening it and letting the magic out!!! They’re just praying the rice has plumped in under 20 minutes. For shame!!

 

At the end of 20 minutes, remove from heat, leave covered and ignore it until you can’t stand it and must eat. If there is standing water on top when you open it, eh….the rice will be tender. If there is no water and the top layer of rice is crispy, you didn’t butter and water it enough…immediately and secretly scrape that off and toss it. Act like you didn’t.

 

A woman can make only perfect Bog.

 

This Chicken Bog recipe comes from a friend who used to run a biker bar named ‘Dizzy Lizzie’s’ before I moved to the fair land known as the Lowcountry aka Dol Amroth. You can toss in bacon, other sausages, no sausages at all, anything. It’s a heavenly concoction. Eat until you’re sick and bloated.

 

Enjoy!

 

Short Row Techniques

February 13th, 2008

I started a pair of socks, from the toe up, and got my ass kicked totally by these short rows. I was literally beating my head against the wall, so I ripped the sock out, put it aside and went online to find a video or tutorial or something on short rows. I found THIS blog, amongst other helpful sites, and I decided to give her experiment a try. So I tried the wrapped stitch, Japanese short row and yarn over techniques and decided that I liked the yarn over way the most. It was the easiest and came out the best looking for me. Here’s a picture of mine, which you can compare to the picture of hers on her blog. And thanks Nona for the great tutorial and explanations!

short row techniques

Just a little update, nothing exciting.

January 31st, 2008

I knit Bryce (I hope that’s how they spelled his name), Sly’s nephew, a hat. I used THIS pattern from Knitty and posted it HERE on Craftster.
Bryce hat 01
Bryce Hat 02

I’m also participating in THIS crochet-along and here are the squares I’ve done so far.
Dreamcatcher 01
Dreamcatcher 02
Dreamcatcher 03

The green was my first one, the varigated my second and the purple my third. I can tell the difference with practice, hehe. Anyway, I can’t WAIT until February, I hope she’s able to post the square tomorrow.

Ahhhh…

January 9th, 2008

I’m so glad the world is starting to slow down after the New Year. I sat down to do some sewing last night, the first time in a couple weeks, which was lovely. I did some knitting while waiting to help a friend of ours with her clay class. I also made some earrings today, which I have pictures of. :)

I like the silver ones a lot, and the gold ones but I’m not sure about the ones with the big beads in the center, they seem a little off… Tell me what you think!

Silver EarringsGold EarringsFlower Earrings

Ravelry Invite!

December 17th, 2007

I finally got it! I’m very excited to finally get to explore this lovely site.

I’ve been working steadily on xmas gifties. I made some hot cocoa jars, some socks, gonna cross stitch some ornaments. Hopefully I’ll have pictures soon. I hope everyone is doing well for the holidays!

Oh, I got a job at Wal-Mart. Yay. It’s a pay check and it’s retail. That’s about all I can say without being mean or rude. :p

More soap

December 6th, 2007

This lovely person on Craftster made these snowflake soaps with molds she found at Target for only $2.50! So, I ran off to Target and grabbed the snowflake one and the snowman one. The snowflake soap is a Fresh Rain scent with just white soap and the snowmen are avocado and cucumber base and sandalwood scented with oatmeal.

soap 01soap 02

soap 03soap 04

‘Tis the season…

December 2nd, 2007

I got to put up my xmas tree yesterday, I was very happy. So far the cats haven’t attacked it or climbed it. We still have to put up the stockings but that won’t take long. I haven’t done much crafting in the past couple days but I did get some awesome punches at the dollar store. I’m going to play with them tonight and I’ll take some pictures. Anyhoo, here’s a picture of the tree, I’m going to go make some dinner. :)

xmas tree