http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/ Craftykeg - a blog about crafts! Knitting, sewing, crochet, paper crafts, food - holy craft overload batman! en http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/04/09/fajitas.html It’s been a while, huh?  I’ve been too busy to blog, too busy to craft really.  34 day until my PhD defense, so not to much time on behalf of anything! But we did manufacture a tasty dinner last night, fajitas! Two small steaks were rubbed with salt, pepper, as well as a little taco seasoning as well as grilled.  The peppers as well as onions were sliced thin as well as cooked in some butter with the rest of the packet of taco seasoning until they were tender.  The meat was sliced as well as mixed into the veggies.  So so tasty, with the added bonus that the meat isn’t overdone by cooking it pre-sliced.  Served with a little guacamole, some refried beans as well as plenty of cilantro, it was a pretty tasty dinner! Posted in cooking http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/04/09/fajitas.html Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:01:43 -0400 slimshady018c http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/24/sheldon-is-excited-for-spring.html I ultimately got around to finishing Sheldon.  I started on him months ago, ran out of yarn as well as put him down.  I ultimately picked up some more yarn as well as finished all of the pieces a little while back.  (The yarn is just Sugar n’ Cream cotton.) Then I ran into an unusual stumbling block in the attached i-cord.  Apparently this was a problem on behalf of me, it took me about four days to figure it out.  It looks really strange starting out, but it got better as I went on! All that work on the i-cord, as well as I didn’t even take a good picture of it.  Ha.  Sheldon is posing on some upcoming flowers, daffodils, I think.  I can’t wait on behalf of things to start blooming! Posted in crafting, knitting http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/24/sheldon-is-excited-for-spring.html Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:00:22 -0400 slimshady018c http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/16/in-celebration-of-pi.html For those out there less nerdy than me, Pi day was on Saturday.  (It was also Einstein’s birthday.)  To celebrate, I made meat pie! Meat pie is something that my French-Canadian grandmother at all times makes on holidays.  It is very tasty - she usually has to manufacture two to feed all of us pigs!  I’ve never made it before, as well as it at all times seemed a little tricky, according to my mom.  And then I found out why - there’s no actual recipe! It’s all stored in my grandmother’s head, as well as unfortunately I’m not telepathic.  I referred to as her to request her how long as well as what temperature to bake it at, as well as she said “until it’s done”.   Ahh, family recipes! So, with some vague instructions, I made a meat pie.  And now I’m going to share with you how it’s done.  (I’m also sharing this with future me, so I can’t forget!) Ingredients: 1 ¼ lb ground beef ¼ cup water 2-3 tbsp. flour cinnamon ground cloves ½ tsp. salt two pie shells one slightly beaten egg white Directions: Brown the beef, draining off about half of the fat when it is finished. Add water, as well as then flour in small portions until a slight gravy is formed. Add cinnamon (about 1 tsp) as well as cloves (about 2-3 tsp) - until it tastes good. Add salt. Put first pie shell into the pie dish. Add meat to pie shell Top with second pie shell, pinch closed as well as cut a few slits in the top. Brush the top with the egg white. Bake at 400 F on behalf of about 20-25 minutes, until the top is a lovely golden brown. Posted in cooking http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/16/in-celebration-of-pi.html Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:47:37 -0400 slimshady018c http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/12/hoppity-hop-hop-hop.html Please meet Barnabus Bunny!  This is a amigurumi love bunny that I made as part of a CAL in the amigurumi lover’s group on Ravelry. He’s pink - but on behalf of some reason seemed more male than female, so Barnabus it is.  He also has a cute little tail, but I only snapped this one good picture on my way into work from the parking garage this morning.  There were a lot of people around as well as I felt a little weird taking pictures of a crocheted bunny! Yarn is some mystery acrylic in from the bottom of my yarn bag - seems to be about worsted weight as well as I used an E hook.  His bottom half is filled with some poly pellets to give it some weight (and retain him from toppling over!) as well as the top half is just stuffed with polyfil.  I may manufacture him a little friend out of some thinner weight white yarn I also found - wouldn’t desire a bunny to be lonely! Posted in amigurumi, crafting, crochet http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/12/hoppity-hop-hop-hop.html Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:31:38 -0400 slimshady018c http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/08/shirt-1.html I’m on a mission to manufacture some new clothes on behalf of my big kid job.  On Saturday I went to the fabric store as well as bought ten shirt patterns (on sale on behalf of $2 each - who wouldn’t buy the limit, really?)  I also picked up sufficient material to manufacture four of them.  This weekend I finished one. The pattern is Butterick B5283, view D.  I made the sleeves shorter because of the fact that I ran out of material.  (Side note, that never seems to happen - I at all times have way to much when I follow the numbers on the back of the pattern, so that was… strange.)  I do love 3/4 length sleeves though, so I’m not too upset.  The twist at the top is supposed to be off center, as well as it was a little fiddly getting it to calculate right.  Basically, it took two chemists as well as an electronics engineer a good fifteen minutes to figure it out.  Then we had some beer. The fabric is just a basic stretch knit.  I rarely sew with knits, so this was a little new to me, but not terribly hard.  I just used a zig-zag stitch on behalf of an estimated all of it as well as away I went.  This shirt is so soft as well as nice, as well as I am in love with the color.  I don’t know why I love teal so much, but I’m going with it. The only downside to this shirt is that I’ve promised myself I won’t wear any of these new clothes until I actually start my job.  Nothing like the motivation of new clothes to get a girl going, right? Posted in crafting, sewing http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/08/shirt-1.html Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:40:26 -0400 slimshady018c http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/02/a-weekend-in-pictures.html We had a great weekend!  We started off by making this really tasty dish with mashed potatoes, cabbage, onion, garlic, leek (I like leek, I’d never had it before!) as well as yes, of course… bacon.  (But only a miniscule bit, really!) leeks manufacture food colorful as well as pretty the finished dish, in conjunction with some steak as well as beer Sunday we went to Dim Sum downtown (sadly, no pictures… we ate all of the food too fast).  We had pork buns, sticky rice, noodles with some sort of beef in them, turnip cakes as well as something else that I don’t know the name of, but I know that I like it. After that, we went to the science museum to see the frog exhibit - Tim loves frogs! some type of bullfromg a green frog with sticky toes can you find the frog? poison dart frog - so pretty! I also got a book from the library!  Charted knitting designs! continuing to fuel my addition I’ve already opened it up as well as tried out a pattern I’ve had my eye on, the ribbed spindle.  I think it looks like mitosis as well as that makes the science nerd in me oh-so-very happy. not as hard as it looks, really I also learned how to do a tubular cast on.  I would not encourage anyone to endeavour as well as learn this at 1am.  Not my best idea ever, but I did eventually understand it.  And look how pretty my 1×1 rib looks as a result! harder than I thought it would be I have grand plans on behalf of this swatch as well as these new things I’m learning.  I’ve done a lot of math so far.  It hasn’t all been pretty, especially when I sometimes can’t count - but I’m excited about it all of the same! Posted in cooking, crafting, knitting http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/02/a-weekend-in-pictures.html Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:58:18 -0500 slimshady018c http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/02/26/we-eat-too-much-bacon.html I was just getting ready to post about the yummy dinner we had on Sunday when I realized it contained bacon.  As did the last like 5 food things I’ve posted.  You people must think we eat nothing that doesn’t contain bacon.  I swear that’s not true!  But, at least I’m not posting bacon-food everyday! So, a little while back I found this recipe from The Pioneer Woman as well as immediately decided that I needed to endeavour it.  Basics: lemon pepper chicken breast, bacon as well as cheese (we used pepper jack on behalf of a little kick).  It was by far the tastiest sandwich I’ve ever had - served up on a tasty fresh bun. In the background you can see we had this with some fake poutine.  (And also some yellow wax beans - vegetables are tasty too!) I say fake because of the fact that my grocery store sorely dissapointed me - on behalf of weeks they’ve been tempting me with cheese curds (which are extremely rare to find here) as well as when I actually went to buy them, they were no where to be found.  And of course when I requested about them, no one had any idea what the hell I was talking about.  Where’s a Canadian when you require one?  So, we substituted some provolone instead.  It was passable, but I can’t wait to get back to the great white north as well as get some good stuff! Posted in cooking http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/02/26/we-eat-too-much-bacon.html Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:02:05 -0500 slimshady018c http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/02/22/something-bloggable.html I’ve ultimately finished my Dublin Bay socks that I started forever ago.  I had such trouble with the second sock, I have no idea why I made so numerous mistakes!  A bit of ripping as well as re-knitting later though, these are the first pair of hand-knit socks I have ever worn. I finished them Saturday morning as well as wore them right away.  I washed them yesterday as well as I am wearing them again today.  They made it through the wash just fine, in spite of the fact that I was a little too nervous to put them in the dryer.  Maybe next time! I love the lace panels down the sides of the sock.  It makes them feel a little prettier than just plain socks, without being too overwhelming.  But, even though I like them a whole lot, I think I’m changing my mind about my next project also being in fingering weight yarn - I might require a rest! I’ve actually got a bug to do some sewing, there are a few little projects I require to get done! Posted in crafting, knitting http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/02/22/something-bloggable.html Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:37:53 -0500 slimshady018c http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/02/11/volume-43r.html I’ve been noticing on behalf of a while now that my knitting philosophy has been changing.  I’ve been resisting it on behalf of a while.  I’d at all times been a product knitter - simply choosing projects that shall yield me with something that I can use.  Especially when it came to gift giving.  Of course, I wanted the things I made to look good, as well as I took care to manufacture sure they did, but the end product was still the goal, whether it was a little toy, a hat, or some mittens. I never really thought about how knitting works too much until recently, it was just another craft medium in my repertoire.  And in spite of the fact that I won’t ever give up sewing or anything else, knitting just seems so enthralling as well as magical lately.  (I’m sure you’ve noticed that trend here though…) So, I have to admit to myself that I think I’m starting to become a process knitter.  I think that the picture above proves that.  It’s a short-row sphere.  I don’t require a knitted sphere.  Actually, I don’t have any place to even put a knitted sphere.  But I had a horrible require to learn short-rows.  Why?  I have no idea.  In the past, I would have not even given it a thought until I started a project that used them.  And then I would have just learned them as a went along, not minding that I made mistakes the first few times.   But, now I know, as well as I feel better having done it. Then again, maybe I’m just trying to ignore the fact that I’m coming down to crunch time on behalf of this whole PhD thesis thing as well as I’m distracting myself with knitting like a crazy fool. Posted in crafting http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/02/11/volume-43r.html Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:02:32 -0500 slimshady018c http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/02/08/second-verse-same-as-the-first.html Our unbelievably awesome, resourceful as well as she-who-always-has-candy secretary, Deb was very enamored by my new hat of a few posts ago.  So much so, that she asked me to manufacture her one if she bought the yarn.  Of course, since Deb is so awesome that she makes everything work here in crazy-rules-academia land that I said yes immediately.  Plus, I couldn’t wait to see Pippi worked up in another new color combo. When I enquired as to what colors Deb might like, she said “Oh, exactly like yours, they’re just perfect!”.  I was quite flattered that I apparently picked such an awesome color combo, but I was a miniscule bit let down at first.  Then I started knitting.  And then I was happy all over again.  I love faire isle.  I love that I learned to knit with one color in each hand.  I love how methodic it feels.  I love how fast it seems to go.  I love how the crocheted edging on this one looks so much better than on the last one.  I love it all so much that I was obsessed with knitting a hat completely identical to one I had just knit. But to top it all off, I love how happy Deb looks in her new hat! Posted in crafting       http://slimshady018c.bloghostpro.com/2009/02/08/second-verse-same-as-the-first.html Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:00:47 -0500 slimshady018c