Monthly Archives: May 2013

Genderswapping Media

So this is a thing:

I had no idea, but I've run into this 3 times just today. Does anyone know the history of this? (hat tip K.R. Lary and Stuart Ian Burns)

A Yarn as Majestic as Mount Everest

Sixty years ago today, Sir Edmund Hilary and sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people to summit Mount Everest.

What has this to do with yarn, you ask?

Juniper Moon has a brilliant new yarn coming out this fall named Tenzing in honor of this momentous accomplishment. I can’t reveal too much about it just yet, but you are welcome to guess the reason that we chose the name…

Just to make it interesting, the first person to guess the correct answer will receive a couple of skeins to play with before the official release.

JMF sample and test knitters aren’t eligible to win and should keep any inside info under their collective, hand-knits hats. But don’t worry– we’ll take care of you, too.

Yarned by You

Who wants to see some beautiful knits today? You do! Well, you’re in luck because I’ve got another edition of Yarned by You! A reminder that (if you’re on Ravelry) you can click through the images to get to the project page and learn more, including where to get the pattern.

This Wild Vanilla vest never looked so good in Sabine (09 Wisteria). Mollysbottomknits did a fantastic job! I love the cabled pulling everything together at the top!

Mollysbottoms' wild vanilla

This Gable (designed by Caroline Fryar) was knit in Findley Dappled (Woodland) by JulieRoseSews. I love how well this pattern works with a variegated yarn! And it’s a free pattern! So if you want to make your own version, you can find it (and the rest of the free Findley patterns) on the Findley Free Pattern page.

JulieRoseSews' Gable

Okay, this one feels a little bit like cheating because it was designed by Ann, which works for KFI (our distributor). So maybe it doesn’t quite feel like YOU made it. But Ann actually reads the blog alongside everyone else (Hi Ann!), so I think it counts anyway. And besides, she made it a free pattern, so that’s gotta count for something, right? It’s the Chadwick Argyle Cowl! She knit it using Black Magic (#10), Dawn (#3), and Syrah (#4).

  KFI's chadwick argyle cowl

This Cora (again designed by Caroline Fryar) has been lingering my favorites for awhile now, so I’m glad that I get to share it with the rest of you! She knit it just as the pattern states, using Herriot 04 Walnut as the main color.

kamikazeknit's Cora

tonymsrad made this Snowball Beanie to go with the Annie Boot Cuff which she also made. She used Yearling in 01 Snowball.

tonymsrad's snowball beanie

I’m slightly enamored of the Whisper Wrap. It’s definitely in my to-knit list. In fact, I’ve shown off this wrap in Findley before! I just love it! This one is made by Regina-K using Rappahanock. The drape! It just gets me every time!

Regina-k's Whisper Wrap

Yarned by You

Who wants to see some beautiful knits today? You do! Well, you’re in luck because I’ve got another edition of Yarned by You! A reminder that (if you’re on Ravelry) you can click through the images to get to the project page and learn more, including where to get the pattern.

This Wild Vanilla vest never looked so good in Sabine (09 Wisteria). Mollysbottomknits did a fantastic job! I love the cabled pulling everything together at the top!

Mollysbottoms' wild vanilla

This Gable (designed by Caroline Fryar) was knit in Findley Dappled (Woodland) by JulieRoseSews. I love how well this pattern works with a variegated yarn! And it’s a free pattern! So if you want to make your own version, you can find it (and the rest of the free Findley patterns) on the Findley Free Pattern page.

JulieRoseSews' Gable

Okay, this one feels a little bit like cheating because it was designed by Ann, which works for KFI (our distributor). So maybe it doesn’t quite feel like YOU made it. But Ann actually reads the blog alongside everyone else (Hi Ann!), so I think it counts anyway. And besides, she made it a free pattern, so that’s gotta count for something, right? It’s the Chadwick Argyle Cowl! She knit it using Black Magic (#10), Dawn (#3), and Syrah (#4).

  KFI's chadwick argyle cowl

This Cora (again designed by Caroline Fryar) has been lingering my favorites for awhile now, so I’m glad that I get to share it with the rest of you! She knit it just as the pattern states, using Herriot 04 Walnut as the main color.

kamikazeknit's Cora

tonymsrad made this Snowball Beanie to go with the Annie Boot Cuff which she also made. She used Yearling in 01 Snowball.

tonymsrad's snowball beanie

I’m slightly enamored of the Whisper Wrap. It’s definitely in my to-knit list. In fact, I’ve shown off this wrap in Findley before! I just love it! This one is made by Regina-K using Rappahanock. The drape! It just gets me every time!

Regina-k's Whisper Wrap

Sewing as Literary Device

sweater6
I finished my Etherial last week. I think it looks pretty rockin.

Since then, I have finished, another sweater, my Tule which came out perfectly, but of which I have no photographs yet. They are coming, I promise.

Since I am still trying to keep up with my 12 sweaters in 2013 goal, and the Tule was Sweater #3, and the Etherial was Sweater #4, and it was already the end of May when I finished them both, I decided Sweater #5 would be adorably tiny. Yesterday I cast on the Newborn Vertebrae. Brock said this was cheating to keep up with my quota. I say, I never said all of the sweaters had to be full-size adult sweaters. And also, I have never knit a baby sweater before, so I am still learning something. Mostly I am learning that baby clothes go delightfully fast. I probably would have been done today, except I spent a very humid afternoon (I could have shut the windows and turned the AC, but I was concentrating too hard) making this!

totebag
I have not sewn in ages and ages. This some medium weight cotton I had sitting around to someday make project bags out of–and not necessarily what I would chose to make myself an everyday tote bag out of–but I do think it came out pretty cute. The pattern is form this book which I have had since I moved in to this apartment. (For those keeping score that was in July of 2010, so not quite three years ago). For some reason, I was afraid to work my way through the book–even after I bought a second sewing machin 2 1/2 years ago. And even though I use the second sewing machine mostly for mending (about once every six months), you would think that a person with two sewing machines might actually do some sewing….

Turns out, a person with two sewing machines mostly just fantasizes about sewing and then feels insecure about her abilities–even though ten years ago she had people offering to pay her to sew costumes….

That is what happens after allowing an interest lay dormant for a decade through a tumult of self-debt and the sort of feelings that are only ever realized in a Bildungsroman. But today, I sewed, and I am excited to do so again.

And finish my tiny baby sweater.

Because I am, at heart, a 10-year-old boy…

It does not speak well of my character that seeing people fall down makes me laugh– I totally get that. Nevertheless, I have laughed so hard watching these youtube videos today that my abs are sore.

You can judge me or you can join me: your choice.

I have to ask, who thinks trampolines are a good idea? I mean, who is buying these things? I don’t think I have ever heard a story that features a trampoline that ends well.

Tasty Vineyard …

101_4630

Thank you Patty, these were delicious…

101_4619

- by Joan -

(www.throughjerseyeyes.com)


Snowmelt 2013 Contest Winner!

My high school friend Lynne! She guessed May 27. Truthfully, I didn’t look yesterday, but it is all gone today. There was still a bit of ice under some dirt there last Thursday.

In other news.

You might think I’ve been ignoring the blog. You might not be wrong. I still can’t get in from home on my iPad, and it’s a pain to post from there anyhow (wordpress admin platform issue). And I regularly can’t get in on my laptop. But I seem to almost always be able to get in on the old, old, old PC.

And I’m very unhappy with the new flickr set-up. It takes forEVER to load, on my iPad, laptop, and PC. Sure it’s pretty, but I don’t care what it looks like. I want to be able to go in and quickly manage or grab the photos I want.

Pics, so this isn’t a totally photo-less post…

I’ve been snorgling these puppies… they’re 4 weeks old here, and related to my girls.
puppies 015

Random shot around the yard from a week or so ago, before the deluge. That rhododendron in the background is beginning to bloom!
house 027

I saw these folks earlier this month in NH… and will see some of them again this weekend at Fiber Frolic!
nhsw gf gang (1)

Snowmelt 2013 Contest Winner!

My high school friend Lynne! She guessed May 27. Truthfully, I didn’t look yesterday, but it is all gone today. There was still a bit of ice under some dirt there last Thursday.

In other news.

You might think I’ve been ignoring the blog. You might not be wrong. I still can’t get in from home on my iPad, and it’s a pain to post from there anyhow (wordpress admin platform issue). And I regularly can’t get in on my laptop. But I seem to almost always be able to get in on the old, old, old PC.

And I’m very unhappy with the new flickr set-up. It takes forEVER to load, on my iPad, laptop, and PC. Sure it’s pretty, but I don’t care what it looks like. I want to be able to go in and quickly manage or grab the photos I want.

Pics, so this isn’t a totally photo-less post…

I’ve been snorgling these puppies… they’re 4 weeks old here, and related to my girls.
puppies 015

Random shot around the yard from a week or so ago, before the deluge. That rhododendron in the background is beginning to bloom!
house 027

I saw these folks earlier this month in NH… and will see some of them again this weekend at Fiber Frolic!
nhsw gf gang (1)

Brisket Tacos

This weekend I decided to try my hand at something I’d been thinking about for awhile.  Soft tacos with brisket filling.

I didn’t really have a recipe as such so I just kind of winged it.  This is what I came up with.

I threw a 2 lb beef brisket into the crockpot around 11 am and topped it with about 1/2 cup of catsup, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 3/4 cup of tequila, 1 cup of beef stock, 1 TBS red pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, and 2 tsp cumin.  I cooked it on high heat for about 3 hours and then reduced it to low for about another 3 or 4 hours.

Once the brisket was done (super tender and falling apart!) I chopped up some tomatoes and onions and threw them together in a small bowl with a splash of lime juice.  If I’d had any fresh cilantro on hand I’d have thrown that in as well.

05.28.13b

Then I decided I may as well whip up some homemade tortillas.

Homemade tortillas are actually dead easy and quick, and if you’re going to go through the effort to make a fabulous brisket filling for your tacos, then you should have excellent tortillas, too.  They’re so much more delicious than store – bought (unless you can buy freshly made ones!).

I use THIS RECIPE.

SO easy.  Flour, salt, water and olive oil.

Break off a small ball at a time, roll it out with a rolling pin and throw it in a greased pan for about a minute.

05.28.13a

It took me about 20 minutes to make 8.

Then I served them up.  I filled each warm tortilla with brisket (plus a little brisket sauce from the crockpot) some monterey jack cheese, the tomato – onion mixture and some sour cream.  If I had had any fresh guacamole I would have used that as well.

05.28.13e

Et voila!  A super delicious, super easy dinner that will wow your family.

 


Tagged: food