Coming Home Bebe Set

There are few things that are constants in my life. These include:
 * I will always have a typo in emails to people that like to catch me making mistakes.
 * Walking into a yarn shop or fabric store will result in a purchase.
 * My cat will stand on me and meow at 2am when I have an important meeting in the morning.
 * As a female in my late 20's my friends are reproducing like rabbits and there will always be a baby gift to be made.

(That was actually an incredibly hard list for me to think of. I apparently have few constants.)

This fall there are a couple of friends popping out offspring. I have already discussed the quilt finished for one. Now for the adorable hat and bootee set I just finished for the other.

While making my Christmas list and checking it twice last week I also realized that I had baby gifts to make. (As well as a hat for a baby turning one in December!) I sent my friend a text to ask her to remind me if they are having a girl or a boy. She sent me back a "Haha. We aren't finding out. :P" reply. She has heard me rant and rave about what a pain in the ass it is to craft in gender neutral. Yes, it is all about me. Thanks for asking.

I'm pretty happy with how this set turned out.

The hat is made using the Bring Me Home Hat pattern from French Press Knits. It was hard to figure out a hat pattern to go with since I had to make sure to find a happy medium between girl and boy. I liked the simplicity of this pattern. And I just happened to have a skein of Blue Sky Organic Cotton in my stash. I'lll be honest. It took some serious soul searching for me to bring myself to use this skein. I had to fight aganist the hoarder in me because this yarn is L.U.S.C.I.O.U.S. It was a phenomenal experience knitting with it. It is so soft and buttery. Sorry, sidetrack. I know blue is traditionally baby boy color, but this is a new time, people.

Coming Home Hat Ravelry Project Page

The Saartje's Bootee's pattern by Saartje Knits has become a bit of a baby standby for me. I mean, c'mon. They are amazingly cute, a great use of sock yarn leftovers, and even on US 1's a surprisingly fast knit. And they always get rave reviews! The Paton's Kroy Socks Stripes I used for these wasn't even my leftover, but some yarn a friend threw my way that she didn't have a use for.

And I love the buttons with these!

Coming Home Bootees Ravelry Project Page

So, a couple more gift knits are done and ready to go to a new home! Now only twelve more projects to go...

Textured Shawl in Sage

As the air started getting cooler a few weeks ago I found myself sitting in my comfy chair by the window, listening to the leaves rustling, and wanting a new shawl. Just so happened I had some Suri Merino by Plymouth stashed away with a special shawl in mind.

The Textured Shawl "recipe" by Orlane (rav link) is a shawl pattern near and dear to my heart. This was my first go at a shawl last winter. And as you may have noticed, it started something.

This yarn really is quite lucious. It is soft and spongy and makes you just want to snuggle in.

Since this shawl is a recipe, rather than a pattern, there are some missing links. I use the Boneyard Shawl pattern by Stephen West of westknits to set up mine. I cast on five like he instructs, do the first three setup rows, then switch to the recommendations for Textured Shawl.

 Okay, fall. I'm ready to rock. Bring it. (Fall just happens to be my favorite season.)

Pattern: Textured Shawl Recipe, by Orlane
Yarn: Suri Merino 799, Plymouth Yarn Company
Ravelry Project Page

Spicy Shrimp & Peppers with Pasta

So, I finally put some action behind my rants and went on a low-fat diet. Not only a low-fat diet, but a low fat diet with Alli. If you have heard of the "adverse treatment effects" you know this means I have to mean business. If you don't know what I'm talking about, well, there are some things you just don't want to know about. I have lost six pounds in the last three weeks. Which I consider pretty good considering the first week I chose sitting with my knitting drinking wine on the couch and feeling sorry for myself a more worthy activity then exercising and this week I have been traveling pretty much all through.

The thing that always seems to make me willlingly belly flop with a super ungraceful dive off the diet wagon is that I get really bored of the food. And I have an unhealthy relationship with butter. But especially the whole food thing. So I've decided to post some recipes that are worthy when I find them. For Alli they have to be 15g of fat or below and with the calorie limit I chose for myself they need to be under 500 calories.

The first: Spicy Shrimp & Pepper with Pasta.

I really miss the dimension of flavors in "regular" food. This dish helped me snap out of that. It was pretty amazing if I say so myself, so I present to you the first of my low-fat recipe shares.

Spicy Shrimp & Peppers with Pasta

Adapted from Taste of Home-Healthy Cooking

Ingredients

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium sweet yellow or red pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium green pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces uncooked linguine
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used cooked shrimp)
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

Directions

In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the mushrooms, and peppers in oil until tender. Add garlic and pepper flakes; cook 1 minute longer.

Stir in the tomatoes, Italian seasoning and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, cook linguine according to package directions. Add shrimp to sauce; cook and stir for 5-7 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.

Drain linguine; stir into sauce. Heat through. Sprinkle with parsley.

Yield: 4 servings. (2 cups each)
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 385 calories
Fat: 10 g (1 g saturated fat)
Carbs: 53 g

Quilt for a Bumpy Road

So, awhile back I posted about finishing a "transition" quilt. The one I made some pillows to "compliment". I promised pics when I could get to a more photogenic place than the ole townhouse complex. I wasn't lying and I FINALLY got the pics done this morning while staying with the family during some work travel. I know, you've been on the edge of your seat!

This quilt taught me a very valuable lesson. Do not layout a quilt with a hangover. And DO NOT cut the fabric with said hangover! Measure twice, sober up a zillion? But, c'mon. Who among us haven't woken up on a Sunday morning with a throbbing hangover and a quilt idea bouncing around in our heads we just can't wait to start?

I had originally started off using the zigzag tutorial from crazy mom quilts. As I had cut fabric strips and was hitting a wall I THOUGHT I had come to a clear mind enough to realize that this tutorial works only with a primary color and then some other colors. However, as I'm writing this post and went back to the quilt pic I faved on flickr with the tutorial link, I realize she pulled it off. So hangover or no hangover, this quilter has one on me. Maybe someday I shall try this again. But probably not.

In the end I ended up using the trick the ex's grandma taught me of sewing two squares right sides together, drawing a line diagonal, sewing 1/4" on each side, cutting said line, and ironing and trimming rather than messing with a bunch of half square triangles.

When all was said and done I love the quilt, but wish I wouldn't have put the orange and green next to each other. My quilty friend (shoutout to Erin if she's reading!) let me borrow her quiliting foot presser guide bar to make sure my lines were straight in the middle of the zigzags. After one line of quilting I was in awe I have lived this long without one and trotted over to ebay to get my own.

And the raddest part? I made this quilt ENTIRELY from materials I had on hand. Some of those bad boys have been in the stash a minimum of four years. Rock.On.

The Christmas Crafting Has Commenced

See those innocent looking balls of yarn and that needled orb there? As innocent as they may look don't let them fool you. What you see there is the beginnings of Christmas knitting. Christmas quilting started months ago. Before this is all said and done in a little over three months this elf will have turned out two full sized quilts, two flannel pants, a teddy bear, a lace shawl, slippers, hats, a cowl, socks, and a stuffed owl.

I take my handmade pledge seriously.

I mean business.

May the force be with me and with those of you in the handmade crazy ship with me.

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Scrappy Square Quilt

I am rocking and rolling on finishing projects. I KNOW. But this shall be my last post for the week. Tomorrow morning I pack and head to the mystical world of Springfield for a few days for a state meeting. Okay, little will be mystical about this.

So, I just realized I have had pics of a finished bebe quilt on my camera for two weeks. And I finished it about three weeks ago. Tsk tsk.

This is the furtherest I have ventured into scrappydom. I know it's not exactly busting with scrappy craziness, but I've always been that person who picks one big yard or two of a fabric and then all other big cuts of fabric must in some way tie in to colors in that original fabric. So in my world this is like my quilting equivalent to going to Mardi Gras and waving around stuff that should be covered in a brazen attempt for beads. Life.On.The.Edge.

Ahem. Topless references aside. This quilt is for the soon to be emerging into the world baby boy of some dear friends of mine. These are the friends who took me in when my world fell apart. They sat with me when I cried. Gave me some verbal reality check smacks when I needed them. Prayed with me. The least I can do is go wild and crazy to give them a little scrappy quilt.

In retrospect, a few things I would change about this quilt are:

• That much white probably wasn't a great choice for a baby quilt. I try to make my baby quilts big enough they can be toddler blankies as well. This one may get a bit grungy.
• In an actual lack of planning this looks a bit too planned out. I was tired when I was piecing all of the squares and seemed to sew them in this overly organized order and wish it looked a bit more random. Oh, well. It is what it is.

You have a fabulous rest of the week and it feels a bit preemptive, but have a fabulous weekend as well. And I promise the over exposed bids for beads was only a metaphor. I'll keep my shirt on.

Inverse Pillows

My Labor Day weekend was full of sunshine, and frolicing (how they hell do you spell that, frolicking?), and picnics, and smiles. Okay, that's a big fat lie. I had a few nervous breakdowns, drank some beer, knit half of a shawl, napped, made a friend endure a low-fat supper, drank some wine, watched the first of the Lord of the Rings (my ex got custody of the second and third ones), and I QUILTED. I actually quilted a lot. I finished my top, got some help basting it to fend off an additional breakdown, and got all of the quilting done, and well, finished it. The pics will come when I can go somewhere to get some decent pics. My sketchy apartment complex just isn't a great backdrop. It is living on the back of my couch. The pillows were an awful fail in matching in any sense of the word, so I made some "complementary" pillows out of some left over fabric from the quilt.

The design is different. I just couldn't bring myself to have them totally match the quilt. I already felt a bit like I was living in a Fons and Porter photo shoot sitting there with them all together last night.

I also didn't want them to totally match, so the pattern is kind of inversed. So they match, but not like, identical twin match.

While I have admired many a quilted pillow on Flickr, this was my first go at actually making some. I made pillow cases, really, for 18x18 inch forms because I am sick of my pillows splitting and this way I can trade them out.

A big unknown for me was how to really quilt this. Not the sewing part. Well, that part turned out a little differently than I planned. I also intended to do horizontal lines, but I didn't want them to be too stiff. I wasn't sure if I layered batting behind the pillow top or what. I went with yes. And I like the results. So, top + batting=okay by me.

P.S. I'm single today. So, if you know any guy looking for a snarky crafter with a strong attachment to her cat, too much yarn, a closet missing doors due to a fabric explosion, committment issues, and who bakes too much and likes locally brewed beer, send him this way. (Yeah, yeah. I'm hiding my feelings a bit.)

Lil Man Turn a Square

I have some serious guilt issues around the fact I am missing seeing my nephew grow up. He is 18 months old. Doesn't recognize his Auntie April. I deal with the guilt in a small measure by making sure he has a handknit to keep him warm.

A few weeks ago I went looking for a cute little toddler boy hat, but was fairly unimpressed with the results. So I did some tweaks to Brooklyn Tweed's Turn a Square [Rav Link here].

Yarn: Paton Classic Wool Merino-Gray
         Boku, Plymouth Yarn-Rainbow

Lil Man Adaptation:

CO 80 sts with US5.
Knit 7 rounds in 2x2 rib.
Switch to US6.
Increase round: *K7, m1* 8 times, k23.
Alternating two rounds of solid and then two rounds of self-striping, knit to 5.25 inches.
*K22sts, pm* (Four times to create four points of square top.)
Decrease round: Knit to two sts before maker, ssk, move marker, k2tog (continue to end of row)
Knit round
Continue decreasing until 8 sts remain on needles.
Break yarn leaving a 7" tail, weave tail through live sts and tighten. Weave loose ends in.

(It's a little big to ensure it fits through the winter.)

Ravelry Project Page

How to Be Alone

Film by Andrea Dorfman & Tanya Davis


P.S. Did you notice she's a knitter? :)