thanksgiving prep

i hadn't originally intended this blog to include my timid forays into cooking, but with Thanksgiving approaching, i'd say it's appropriate. no, not just appropriate, obligatory. (ooh, vocab, ooh!)
i've wanted to try some new recipes that i've been scouting online, specifically one for brie-stuffed mushrooms and one for an apple-y spice cake with bailey's caramel icing.... becoming my little creation of 'drunken caramel apple cupcakes.' i tried making drunken green velvet cupcakes for st. patty's day and they were a hit. i felt that i must try to make other alcohol-infused desserts.... ;)

i shopped for my ingredients today and didn't end up spending too much. let me just get it out of the way: i love aldi and i'm not too proud to admit it. i bought a turkey roast for $9.99, which i know tastes amazing when butter and seasoned salt are drizzled and sprinkle over it while baking. mmm, i'm drooling already... i realized a couple weeks ago that i rock at making corn casseroles, so that's definitely on the menu as well. i found some sparkling apple cider at aldi, which i love, for about $1.99 a bottle. and the caramel bailey's? i bought the aldi brand for $8.99. yay!

i had to go to meijer to get the parsley and i ended up also getting the mushrooms there. i probably should have just got them when i was at aldi but i wanted to check the selection at meijer. they look like they'll work though, so that's all that matters.

the girls are bringing over some thanksgiving basics as well, so we'll definitely have a good variety of stuff. i'm so excited!

at an impasse

Man in black: But if there can be no arrangement, then we are at an impasse.
Vizzini: I'm afraid so. I can't compete with you physically, and you're no match for my brains.

i'm currently not sure what to do regarding the shawl i'm knitting... was knitting, whatever. i was reminded of the princess bride quote above when thinking about my shawl situation. this project has definitely beaten my giant and bested my spaniard...

it would still be pretty, if finished. it's not going to be finished by the prospective deadline, unless by some random act of time travel.... there are some mistakes within the lacework, but none that the casual observer would be able to detect.

oh! and i just found out that the lace i'm using is potentially 'cobweb laceweight.' ARE YOU FRAKKING SERIOUS?!? sweet. awesome. that's just great. wait... how insane was i to start this? i feel like pulling 'a charlie brown', tossing back my head and screaming "UGGGGHHH!" well, maybe that is a bit dramatic... but it IS frustrating...

now is the time when i have to remember that it's just yarn -- slow it down, now: it's. just. yarn. just breathe, 'kay?

i should have never let myself fall in love with it at the yarn store... but it was a beautiful colorway and incredibly soft... and i spent far too much time over a period of a few months scouting out the perfect pattern. i then spent $10 on said pattern, something i've never done before.

i'm not going to frog it... i mean, would YOU rip out 200 yards of cobweb lace? i enjoy fixing mistakes and solving problems. i just kind of have a knack for trying to 'make it right,' though i think my motto for this project is going to be 'just make it work, regardless of mistakes.'

so where am i right now? chart c (ie: the third chart in a set of nine[!]), at the part where you have to increase sixteen stitches within the double yarn-over from the previous row... yeah, i've had seven years of yarn experience so far and even i don't know how to pull this one off... and the fact that i have to attach two pages together in landscape layout just to read across the chart is frustrating too. i'm going to have to find an easier way to focus on whatever row i'm knitting.

ps - if you've made it this far, congrats. thanks for sticking with me. :) i'm posting the rss feed of facebook for my craft blog now, instead of the curvykristen blog. i'll still be writing the curvykristen blog on my weight-loss endeavors, but i'm currently struggling with some heavy stuff (no pun intended) and i'd like writing that blog to be more of an outlet for me... and not get so much 'publicity.' although there may be many crafting terms that appear, there's usually a deeper meaning / understanding within the words -- i always feel that there's a lesson to be learned.

letter to my shawl

dear shawl,

we need to take a break... this doesn't mean that the chance for reconciliation is gone... it just means that i'd like to see other projects. i need something easy, quick, and fulfilling right now, and you were just becoming too much of a struggle and too complicated. the charts that i could follow but could never get the proper stitch count made me feel like i couldn't do anything right.

i must admit something to you: i had a one-night stand with a tan hat during trivia night this week... and i'm spending the weekend with a striped hat right now. they don't expect any more from me than some ribbing, some increasing, and a whole lot of stockinette. it's comfortable and familiar... and i need the satisfaction of a fast project -- something you can't give me.

i'll pick you up again sometime soon. hopefully this will give us both some time to rest and reflect on the mistakes of the past.

yours truly,
kristen

i always fall for those intricate, lacy projects because they're beautiful and they need to be understood... too bad that they have the propensity to be such a pain in the butt...

oh, hi!

i haven't posted for awhile on this blog... i find it so easy to upload stuff (when i get around to taking photos of my COs...) on ravelry. this has made me a lazy, inconsiderate blogger. why? because not everyone has been exposed to / shown interest in the craftiness that is ravelry. *gasp!* i know, blasphemy, right? :)
for anyone who is interested, curious, bored, etc., i will be posting many a finished item on this page again. it has been neglected for too long. :)

here's a preview:

progress with the merpanda from a couple months ago.

yarn chat

when i purchased eight skeins of sandnes garn's lanett in sage green about a year ago, the yarn couldn't decide whether it wanted to be branching out...


or a razor cami...
it seems that after some thought, lanett would rather be a dolman top from knit so fine. so pretty... :)
also: this flutter sleeve cardigan could be quite cute, now that my waist is more defined. :)



lastly, isn't this yarn gorgeous? it's not mine... yet. :) (jojoland melody)

yarn cakes

first off, i'm writing this blog on my new laptop. woo hoo! my very own laptop! it is the new millenium, you know... even if it is about a decade old already. :)

last weekend when my sister was home, i taught her some very basic steps about how to knit and crochet. she found knitting a bit easier, so we're going to progress with that next time she's home. i think what inspired her was the huge, fluffy blanket that i knitted for her for christmas. it was pretty cool. i also think that after six years of watching me crochet and seeing the projects i've made, she's at least a little curious. :)

i finally purchased a yarn winder. the alpaca yarn that started it all is pictured below:
i had it wound at knit on in bellevue, ky. i thought that the patterns on the side made it look so cool. the shape makes the yarn easier to stack too. i immediately wanted my own winder. :)

here's a picture of my spoils from this weekend... i went a little crazy with it:


here is a before and after of some joann's sensations stellina yarn. it doesn't stay together very well, so the yarn is much better off in a cake. :)