Girl on the Rocks

Button-tastic shop update January 29, 2007

This weekend I added some non-knitting goods to my etsy shop. I would like to increase the number of bacon-related items on etsy, and in the spitit of valentine’s day I made these

peppered bacon buttons and magnets

Because nothing says ‘i love you’ like peppered bacon! (more bacon items)

And as a continuation of my fascination with moustaches, I added some more moustache buttons and magnets

If you buy anything, let me know you read my blog and I will throw in some extra goodies for you!

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Brunch on the Godforsaken Island

This Saturday I spent a bit of time in Alameda celebrating B’s birthday with a knitterly brunch. There was some brunching, some knitting, some button making, and also some guitar hero. Shamefully, I only have picture of the guitar hero part.

Notice there is a bit of knitting going on in the edge of the photo!

I brought a hashbrown casserole to the brunch and we gobbled it up. I will share the recipe with you - it is delicious. but, hey, friends, this doesn’t mean you can bring it to brunches that I am attending. This is still my go-to brunch plan

Delicious Hash Brown Casserole

1 bag (1 lb) frozen hash browns
1 onion, diced (can be omitted with equally delicious results)
1 can cream of *something* soup (I like potato best, but chicken or mushroom are also tasty)
8 oz sour cream
8 oz cheddar cheese

The ingredients can be mixed the night before and stored in the fridge, and then baked in the morning.

Let the hash browns thaw, or defrost them in the microwave. To be honest, I have done this with them mostly frozen and it just takes even longer to cook, but turns out fine. Mix all of the ingredients together (reserve abiut 1/4 cup of cheese) and spread in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Roast in the oven at 375 for 45 to 60 minutes. If this isn’t long enough, crank it up to 425 and keep a close eye on it. This will make a delicious cheesy crispy crust.

This recipe also takes to customization very well. I have added bacon and also tomatoes and both were delicious.

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Only one will survive January 21, 2007

I have completed my first knitting project of 2007.

A beer cozy that I am calling “the Handyman special.” When you know a handy guy that welds a new piece for your ball-winder, you need to repay him somehow. I attempted a dramatic picture in front of sunset behind the golden gate bridge, but it didn’t work at all. This cozy is knit out of dishcloth cotton from our big order and was done on straight needles.

I have two other practically completed projects, but they won’t be around much longer. The first is a prototype for a sock pattern I am working on.

i like the pattern a lot. It has a little bit of yarn-over laciness, a little bit of ribbing, and a little bit of twistiness. unfortunately it is a little too small and needs to be reworked. This time I think I will use a normal weight sock yarn instead of the medium-weight socks that rock (in the color dreidel in case you were wondering). I think my standard 3×1 sock will be perfect for this str, just like the last. So this particular sock will be ripped out momentarily.

The second project destined for destruction: a square for larissa’s square-along using some of my solar dyed sock yarn. This is what it would look like if I was actually blocking it:

It’s an age old tale of knitting woe… I didn’t check my gauge and it is an inch too big. So it is getting ripped out and done again on smaller needles. Don’t know if I will be able to get it done by the deadline, though. Too much other stuff going on.

Edit: Larissa is accepting all squares, so I can send mine after all and I don’t need to rip it out and redo it. hooray!

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I can hear it coming down the tracks January 15, 2007

It is just around the corner - February 22-25…. Stitches West! i am lucky enough to have the location of Stitches just around the corner from me too. It used to be in Downtown Oakland, but a few years ago it moved to the Santa Clara Convention Center. Frankly, I think it might have outgrown the space available in Oakland. It’s that big. Though Santa Clara is a short drive from Berkeley, my friends and I opt for a different form of transportation - the knitting train. Amtrak hosts a special Stitch-n-Ride event where they dedicate one car of the Sacramento to Santa Clara train for knitters. A whole train car full of knitters. And there are prizes and freebies.

As you can imagine, as the word of free yarn spreads like wildfire among knitters, the train was very full. Totally full by the time we got on, in fact. So we had to sit in the next car back, a little isolated. We missed out on a lot of freebies (all gone) but we did win some prizes! (More details in my summary from last year)

So, Amtrak ladies, this year can you please make two cars and give out more free stuff, saving some for the last leg of the journey. It can’t hurt to ask, right?

This year will be my fourth stitches west (and my fourth year as a knit blogger) and I think I am ready to venture out of my shell. Are any of you going to be there? would you like to have a refreshing martini at the bar saturday evening? did everyone quit reading before they got this far? don’t worry i’ll bother you again. I am hoping that someone plans a fun event like the stitches equivalent of Rhinebeck Bingo or something like that.

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Priority mail clutch January 14, 2007

I have always been fascinated with how tyvek gets softer and softer with use while maintaining its durability (kinda like leather?). I decided that a used Tyvek USPS Priority mail envelope wasn’t trash, but actually quite a lot of usable fabric. I have a habit of saving all kinds of fabric, yarn, and fiber scraps for use as stuffing, but some of the yarns are pretty on their own. So I sewed up a clutch using the material and decorated it with felt and yarn scraps.

It’s kinda fun for me to look at because I can recognize all of the yarns and I remember which projects they are leftover from.

I really wanted to add a zipper, but I wanted to try and use only recycled items and I didn’t have any zippers destined for the trash and I was really trying to stick to the rules. So I used a craft punch and a hole punch to fashion buttons out of a plastic lid.

This is my second entry in the Upcycle contest over at etsy. Unfortunately my first entry suddenly looks a little less original…. I’m supposed to be flattered though, right?

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Major shop update January 10, 2007

I am in the middle of a major update to my etsy shop in preparation for my debut in the etsy showcase tomorrow. *edit: I am an idiot. My Showcase dates don’t start until Friday* If you would like to be informed of updates to my shop and be privy to special offers, sign up for my mailing list.

The big ticket item in my shop right now is my Atari 2600 themed altoid tin.

complete with silver beads for levers and wood grain interior

I am wickedly proud of it. The price is steep, but there was just too much hand stitching in there…. There is also a tin just for SF Bay area commuters.

The button-maker (named Stampy) was put to work making treats for knitters

and moustache lovers.

There is also some roving and yarn, but I have been having a heck of a time trying to get good photos of it. Here are just a few:

I don’t know if I will be able to let this one go

see anything you like? If you buy anything leave a comment saying you are one of my blog readers and I will throw in something special for you.

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Craftiness at Daiso January 8, 2007

This Sunday my friends and I traveled to the new Daiso Japan store in Daly City (as mentioned recently on the Craft: blog). It is the Japanese equivalent of a dollar store (100 yen) where almost all items are $1.50. I got a ton of stuff, especially cute stationery with poorly translated phrases. I also grabbed a few crafty items.

Cork tiles, laundry bags for washing fleece, carving tools, origami paper

The most exciting are the cork-covered tiles. These are supposed to be some kind of padded floor tile, but mine will be assembled and used a blocking board (I think i first read about this on the Yarn Harlot’s blog). They can be assembled in a square for sweaters, or a long line for scarves. The cork is a bit absorbent, and the tiles are foamy and padded - perfect for sticking in pins. I put it to work immediately since My So Called Scarf was in need of some blocking.

and when it is done I can just stack up the tiles and put them away. Not a bad blocking board for less than $15, and it is modular!

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Christmas kitties January 5, 2007

This past Christmas season, I had the opportunity to hang out with some fine felines while their owners were away. the first is my neighbor, Pablo.

He enjoyed chewing on my knitting during our afternoon ‘People’s Court’ dates.

The second is Emma. She is still a bit of a kitty and is tiny and cute cute cute. I am trying to set her up on a date with Apollo.

I decided that though I often think I really want a cat, i am pretty content to have one for only 1 week of the year.

On the knitting front, I made some progress on a nice pair of toe-up socks in regia Canadian Color (#4733)

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The era of the button January 4, 2007

You will be seeing a lot more of this around here from now on…

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Happy New year January 2, 2007

A little late, I know. I did manage to finish a few knitting projects before New Years Eve…

A hat for me
This was supposed to be the hat that preventing me from catching my death while working in the lab early last month. Since I was in a big hurry to finish it and was concerned about running out of yarn, I started the decreases prematurely. Here i am modeling it while at work at about 2 in the morning. At the time, I thought it fit.

I decided to pick up the cast-on stitches at the bottom and knit some ribbing until I ran out of yarn. I couldn’t be more pleased with the result.

Pattern: My own
The top is knit with a seeded rib pattern. The bottom band was picked up from the cast-on stitches and is knit with 2×2 rib. This construction made it so the bind-off row was at the bottom, and I was able to use a stretchy bind-off to finish.
Yarn: 50% wool, 50% silk, dyed by me.

I also finished my Knitpicks Emma Jacket, but I am a little disgusted with it (and don’t have any good pictures) so we’ll talk about that later.

Finally, the cutest FO is last

i bought some amigurumi patterns from Ana Paula’s etsy shop and completed a cactus just in time to give away as a housewarming plant (the kind you can’t kill). All of her patterns are cute cute cute. I made this one on no time from scrap acrylic. Highly recommended.

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