Archives for the month of: December, 2008

A Review

December 30, 2008 //
1

Birthday and New Year have this affect on me…  I like to review this meme from the previous year:

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

Afghan/Blanket (WIP)
I-cord (new!)
Garter stitch 
Knitting with metal wire 
Shawl 
Stockinette stitch 
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up 
Knitting with camel yarn 
Mittens: Cuff-up 
Mittens: Tip-down 
Hat 

Knitting with silk 
Moebius band knitting 
Participating in a KAL Sweater
Drop stitch pattern
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn 
Slip stitch patterns 
Knitting with banana fiber yarn 
Domino knitting (modular knitting) 
Twisted stitch patterns (new!)
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting 
Charity knitting 
Knitting with soy yarn 
CardiganToy/doll clothing 
Knitting with circular needles (Love them! I don’t own any straights) 
Knitting with your own handspun yarn 
Slippers 
Graffiti knitting 
Continental Knitting (and don’t like it)
Designing knitted garments 
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran) 
Lace patterns 
Publishing a knitting book 
Scarf (way too many!!) 
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental) 
Knitting to make money (Does getting yarn instead of real money counts?) 
Button holes Knitting with alpaca (one of my favorite fibers)
Fair Isle knitting (new!) 
Norwegian knitting 
Dyeing with plant colors (Oh yes! Very much so!!!) 
Knitting items for a wedding (finished!) 
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…) 
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting (new!) 
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs 
Holiday related knitting 
Teaching a male how to knit 
Bobbles 
Knitting for a living 
Knitting with cotton 
Knitting smocking 
Dyeing yarn 
Steeks (oh the adventure!!!) 
Knitting art 
Fulling/felting (new!)
Knitting with wool 
Textured knitting (What does that include? It sounds like fun though)
Kitchener BO 
Purses/bags (new!) 
Knitting with beads 
Swatching 
Long Tail CO 
Entrelac 
Knitting and purling backwards 
Machine knitting 
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn 
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning 
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn 
Writing a pattern (isn’t this the same as designing knitting garments?)
Gloves 
Intarsia 
Knitting with linen 
Knitting for preemies 

Tubular CO (new!)
Freeform knitting 
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers 
Pillows 
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine 
Rug 
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting 
Knitting a gift 
Knitting for pets 
Shrug/bolero/poncho 
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories 
Knitting in public
If you haven’t do this one before, you should try it.  I like how it gives me an idea on what else I wanted to knit and learn.
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Yarn update:  My LYS got back to me.  They don’t have any of my yarn. :(  BUT!  I posted on Ravelry and the people did not fail me.  Pinot Noir contacted me and she not only have the exact yarn I need, she is sending them to me for free!  As a birthday present!  I am lost for words.  
Thank you,  Pinot Noir.
Categories Baby Makes 3

When Your Freezer Gives You Chicken Breast…

December 29, 2008 //
3

…  Try making this Chicken Piccata Recipe for dinner!

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Simply Recipes yet again saved my dinner!  I’ve taken out butterflied chicken breasts from the freezer but didn’t know what to make with it.  I searched foodnetwork, but nothing jumped out at me.  And when I went to Simply Recipes, the chicken piccata just looked amazing.  One thing – I didn’t have capers.  I used to buy them all the time, but for some reason I haven’t stock them in my shelves for quite awhile.  But my brother was nice and pick it up on the way home.

I used rice flour instead of regular flour, and Romano cheese instead of Parmesan cheese.  And I used the chicken stock to make it a non-alcoholic version.  It was YUM.  I bet the dry white wine version would be good also if you like to cook with wine.

In addition, the rice is a new rice I’m trying out – haiga rice.  Supposedly it has the haiga that’s missing on the white rice.  And no I didn’t buy it from amazon.  I got it from a Chinese grocery store for a much better pricing ($24/15lbs).  It is a big step for me to try out new rice, as rice is a staple in my diet and I am very picky about it.  For a long time, I’ve been buying Nishiki short grain.  And Nishiki also has the haiga, but not in my grocer.  So I bite the bullet and try Tamaki and it is just as good.  I don’t taste any difference although apparence-wise, the haiga rice looks more yellow-y, more like a brown rice color, but not as dark.  (You can’t get me to switch to brown rice to save my life!)

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Onto the knitting…

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See those sleeves?  They are sewn up but still on the needles?  Yeah…  I ran out of yarn. :(  I’m upset and I almost wanted to yell at the pattern for lying to me.  I’m thinking of taking apart the gauge swatch and see if it will help, but I don’t think it will because I still have the whole neck to make up.  I do have 1/3 of ball left from making the body though, and that MAY be enough for the neck.  ::sigh::  What to do????

I emailed my LYS where I purchased this yarn a year ago (maybe even two years ago!  I can’t remember) to see if they have couple more leftover from somewhere, but I don’t have a lot of confidence.  We’ll see what happens.

Well, time to get ready to meet some friends for lunch.  Have a good day!

Categories random

mmm… PORK!

December 28, 2008 //
2

Yes.  Yet again, this knitting blog is going to talk about food.  You see, I started this blog with the intention of talking about everything, hence the name Cafe Eclectic.  Instead of Knitting Cafe of some sort.  But when I first started, I didn’t know what to put on a blog, so all I talk about is knitting.  But now I think it is finally got to the point of where I want it to be.

So on to the food…

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I forgot to take a picture of the whole roast, but I follow Giada’s Pancetta Wrapped Pork Roast with Herbed Polenta.

I didn’t have pancetta, so I used bacon instead.  The roast I had didn’t need as much of chicken stock as it called for, and it cooked longer – about 1.5 hours.  I think it all depends on the size of the roast.  The result is a tender, juicy roast.  And the polenta is the perfect compliment to this dinner.  Although I think white rice would do as well, since there were lots of yummy pan juices left on the bottom of the pan.

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So I joined the Hot Cocoa Swap #2.  If you missed it last time and would like to join this year, hurry over and sign up since they are only taking the first 100 participants!  I had a great time with this swap last year and highly recommended!

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Lastly, I’m almost done with my new sweater.  Although I’m getting worried on the yardage I have left.  The pattern said 9 skeins, but I already used 10!  And that’s all I got!  I’m crossing my fingers on the yardage.  Hopefully I’ll finish the sleeves today to get a judgement on that.

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Categories exchange, Food

Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2008 //
1

Were you on the nice or naughty list???

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We’ve gotten lots of cards from friends and family.  I love getting Christmas cards.  I think they mean more than any material things.  It’s the thoughts and time people put into that really counts in my book.

So besides the cards, I purchased the three VK Stitchionary books for myself when VK had a 60% off on selected books!  SIXTY PERCENT OFF!  So each book was only about 12 dollars.  THEN!  If you are a VK mag subscriber, there is a tiny code on the bottom of the magazine, and it gives you another 30% off!!!!!  With shipping, I ended up paying 30 bucks for them!

I also purchased a new lunch bag for myself:

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I know, buying myself a lunch bag for Christmas does sound lame.  But it has become apparent that I needed one badly at my new job.  I got it from buildny.com under a friend’s recommendation.  Absolutely LOVE it!  It’s made with neoprene and it has lots of room.  I think it’s rather stylish for a lunch bag, don’t you think?

The same day the lunch bag came, we also gotten this in the mail:

img_0084Harry and David’s gift box from Dad and Sher!  I always heard awesome things about them but have never tried it or gotten one before.  The pears were SO GOOD!  David has been munching on the cheese.  YUM.  They also had send us a card along with some Hanukka gelt and a Visa gift card, which we plan on spending on new year’s eve.  (More on that later!)

David’s mom came down before the big snow storm and stayed with us.  She gave us a Simpson Beach Towel (David loves the Simpsons) and this for our new house:

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A finch feeder!  We have a big yard now, but the new yard will be big as well, and I think it would be a nice addition.  (I also wants a green house, but I’ll work on that later)

Our realtor Mel, who is more like a friend than just a realtor to us, gave me this:

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I’ve been admiring her similar necklace for quite awhile now and she got me one!  It was very sweet of her and I love it!

And I also gotten this from my best friend Itchy:

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I think she made it!  And it’s in my favorite color! :)  I also gotten another package from her via Keys.  I’ve been looking for chemical free face and body care for awhile now and she’s been using Keys and loves them.  She sent me some trial size items to try out.  I started using them last night and can’t say I know much yet since I’m so new at it.  But it smells natural and nice though! :)  And there is no added scents, all scents are from the ingredients that made up the lotion or wash.

One last thing we’ve gotten, which isn’t exactly for Christmas, but it’s good:

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RUM CAKE!!!!  In this case, SIX rum cakes! :)  It has 6 different flavors – golden original, chocolate, pineapple, coconut, banana, and keylime.  I already chowed down the chocolate one…  SO GOOD!  See, they went on a cruise to celebrate their 2 year wedding anniversary and we dog sit their dog, who is Mick’s best friend.  When they returned, they brought back rum cakes for us!  Well, more like for me :P

So I guess we were on the nice list.  I hope you all are on the nice list as well.

Merry Christmas.

Tags
Categories Family, friends, Holiday

Christmas Eve Update

December 24, 2008 //
2

Well, it’s been a little while since I posted.  Since then, I’ve been to an awesome party at Peaceful Knitter‘s:

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I’m sure we entertained Peaceful Knitter and her sweetie’s non-knitting friends.

There was also a huge snow storn since then.  I think we got 8 inches here.  And I didn’t take any pictures.  I don’t know why.

And I made some progress on the sweater:

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I finished both front and back and actually made some progress on the sleeves as well.  I probably could have finished the sweater by now, but then I was distracted by making a couple of balls:

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Both are for my new work friends, with one for a yankee swap, which was a hot item to go.  After the swap, one of my coworker really liked and hence the second one was made.

Well, time to go finish that sweater.   Happy Holidays!!!

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Categories friends, Holiday

I Got Paid!

December 8, 2008 //
5

With Yarn!!!!!

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These are my payments for all the bags I made!  Sweet, huh?  Schaefer has always been very generous to their knitters!  And this time, I made sure I snatched some of their limited edition color in Anne.  So pretty.

Speaking of pretty – When I left the party Saturday night/Sunday morning, it was SNOWING!  We got our first snow here.  I always love the first snow – pure and uninterrupted.

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Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…

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Categories Uncategorized

An Olde England Seasonal Celebration

December 7, 2008 //
1

The holiday season to me is always the gathering of friends and family.  The parties that get us all together to celebrate the year past and welcoming the new year coming.   So when nottus and her husband M invited us to join them for an olde England sasonal celebration, I couldn’t say no.  (I only because David has to work so he couldn’t go.) 

Archiknist and I arrived promptly at 7 and was welcomed with the beautiful smell of mince pie and mulled wine.  And shortly after, CinderOla and her husband J, Sunflowerfairy and her husband D, editorgrrl, SheShootSheepShot and her husband D, QueenofSalvages, BabyBeth, and KnittingEwe arrived.  Everyone tried the mince pie, which I’ve never had and was surprised with the filling (It was YUM!).  BabyBeth brought some figgy pudding, which was also yum.  M and I both agreed that it reminds us of carrot cake except with the fig seeds.

nuttos took some picture while we are busy stuffing our faces and play Apples to Apples.  If you never heard or played it before, you are missing out.  I find the game extremely hilarious and fun.  Everyone had a good time and most of us didn’t leave till 1:30am!!!  

A good time was had by all at this olde English Seasonal Celebration!  And hopefully you had a good time this weekend as well.

Tags
Categories friends, Holiday

Etsy Street Team Connecticut Holiday Spectacular!

December 6, 2008 //
1

I love handmade stuff.  Always have.  I also love MAKING handmade stuff.  So when I saw the Holiday Spectacular flyer from Esty Street Team Connecticut blog, I was excited to attend, and it’s a bonus that it wasn’t too far.

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I forgot to take a picture of the room all the vendors are in, but it was warm and cheery with holiday feel in the air.  I’ve gone through all the vendor first without making purchases, and then went back to the ones I really want.

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My new earrings!  I love the vintage feel to them.  I don’t know where these branches came from, but some other earrings/pendants are from vintage books, vintage stamps, pressed leaves or flowers…  you  name it, she’s got it.  I love the elegant feel to it too.  I really wanted to buy more stuff but I refrained myself.  But I will definitely be back to visit in the future.

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My next purchase is a mini scrapbook.  I supposed I could make it myself easily.  But it’s nice to support fellow crafters too.  It has a little snowman charm with it too.  I can’t wait to select some picture to go with it!

And that’s it!  That’s all I bought!  Although I really like stuff from Spoiled Baby Design, Design By Galina and Sulimos Design as well.  Sue from Sulimos Design is also teaching Precious Metal Clay class and I’m thinking of taking it!  (Thanks for your influence MamaE!)

So I’m excited for my purchases and my self-imposed budget.  Tomorrow, a post about a gathering!

Categories good finds, jewelry
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