Yoda?

So I am a rogue knitter and crocheter. I find patterns and then attempt to nerdify them. To mixed results. (My Star Trek Red Shirt sweater for an elephant. Oof...) So when I saw facebook promoting Bernat's Baby Kitty Hat I instantly saw Yoda in it.
Baby Kitty Hat
Who wouldn't right? So I grabbed some Vanna White Baby Yarn in Sweet Pea. (t looked like a similar yarn to what was in the pattern. And I figured I would use the hat portion and just embellish the ears.
Vanna White's baby yarn is a lot thicker and my crocheting is 10 years of practice behind my knitting.
Here's the result.

So I ended up with an adult sized hat. Be forewarned! Check your gauges. (Luckily my best friend Teri will be taking the hat. A picture of her modeling it will soon be up when I use some wire to make the ears still out.

To modify the pattern to get Yoda shaped ears after about the 5th row of 12 stitches I added a second sc in the first stitch. I did it again on the 7th row. After about the 9th row I began a decrease on the same side, decreasing a stitch every odd row until I bound off the last 3. I made 4 of those, sewing 2 together for each side (The inner and outer ears.)
Then I just sewed them on. Was hoping the double sided ear would make it stiff enough on it's own. Sadly, no.
My consolation is the purple basil at the farmer's market this week. I was late making you a post because I will busy falling in love with the following recipe. Farm Girl's Purple Basil Pesto You understand right?
Goodnight!

Late Tuesday Night

Got distracted playing the Game of Thones Card Game. I am a geek girl and these things happen. So your post is a little late and short but I promise much better tomorrow!
Anyway you know what I am reading for books, but I can't overlook the comics! After all I am co-owner of Versus Comics & Games, a soon to be retail store here in CA.
If you read one comic book this year (or if you are sick of Marvel and DC superheroes) check out Joe Hill's Locke and Key series. Epic mythology and luscious artwork by Gabriel Rodriguez. I love his art in the 'The Great and secret Show' an adaptation of Clive Barker's great and wonderfully weird book.
So go out and get lost in it. Become a kid again!

Labor Day Laziness

Okay, I admit it. I am feeling lazy today because I get a day off. (I hardly ever do.) So I am not giving you an original recipe. I am sharing a recipe from a fabulous site that I like that has been helping inspire me for recipes for weight loss. You won't miss the carbs in this one, I promise!!! Poor Girl Eat's Well's Caribbean Jerk Chicken Mango Stuffed Avocados
My own special twist on the recipe is one that will save you time. Instead of getting all those individual spices I used cajun + chinese 5 spice. Voila! You cover all your bases!
This is another great one to use avocados while they are still in season!

Hurry! It's the End of Cherry Season

Happy Friday! You made it through the week! Are you ready for a cocktail?
I am a huge fan of cocktails and experimenting and creating. I love going to bars with creative mixologists. So I want to share that love with you with the following link and story.

I have been crazy about Manhattans and whiskey lately. I think it's because my grandmother is very sick and things are not looking well. Her and my grandfather love Manhattans, as many of their generation do, it's one of those classic cocktails. And I like the feelings of being less than the 3000 miles away from them that I am by enjoying one.

But plain maraschino cherries are boring. They are lazy, like a premixed mixer for your margarita. Full of unhealthy dyes and preservatives. (I am not a full on health nut, don't worry that I will nag you about that constantly, but I try to eat fairly healthy. Damn egg Mcmuffins...) Anyway this recipe is so easy, better for you and tastes so much better in your Manhattan. Why ruin a Manhattan made with good whiskey with crappy cherries?

Since I made my blog late in the summer you are gonna have to hurry for this one. Cherry season is almost over and it's an irresistible thing to make when cherries are $1/lb. They even make nice gifts!

Here's the link to the recipe. Brandied Cocktail Cherries
I like yummly's recipe more than some others because you get a great finished product with less ingredients. I use a small hand pitting gadget that I picked up at Walmart to pit the cherries before making the recipe. It makes it much more pleasant when you want to pop a handful of these suckers in your mouth. (You will, don't deny it.)

The other great thing is that like non-vacuum canned items it can be enjoyed a couple days after making it.

So here's a picture of my final product about to be enjoyed.

Cheers!

Pirate Geek!

Argh! Mateys!

This weekend is my birthday. It was hard picking an event. I finally settled on mini golf and Rocky Horror, with a round of Cards Against Humanity thrown in the middle.

That being said, my other pick was going to be this, The Pacific Symphony Orchestra in Irvine, performing the score to Pirates of the Carribean on September 1st. Bring some friend and a picnic basket and go grab a ticket! (Then tell me all about it!)
http://www.pacificsymphony.org/main.taf?p=9,5,6,6&productionID=8861

But before you do, I would recommend trying goldstar.com or travelzoo.com because I think they had some cheap tickets to score, if you like that sort of thing. (What person doesn't like a discount?)

We recently used Goldstar to get tickets to Spamalot and we will be doing it again soon for tickets to Comikaze!!!

Also, if you haven't watched this, watch it! I think it's gonna be a great webseries, even if the Buffy is pretty mediocre.

Pumpkin Love

So your craft inspiration for Wednesday is using a pattern for a regular baby sweater and turning it into cute fall pumpkin sweaters. It's a super simple change that will help you create some adorable sweaters. I apologize for the horrendous lighting quality of the picture, but at least you will get the idea.

This is the modified text from bernat.com Titled "Striped Hoodie" The Original picture can be viewed on the site.
http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php?PID=4129
SIZES: 3 (6-12-18) mos

Chest measurement: 16 (17-18-20) ins [40.5 (43-45.5-51) cm].
Finished chest: 19 (20-22-24) ins [48 (51-56-61) cm].

MATERIALS
Bernat® Softee Baby (Solids: 140 g / 5 oz)
3 balls Tangerine (Sweater)
1 ball Fresh Green (Stem)

Sizes 3.5 mm (U.S. 4) and 4 mm (U.S. 6) knitting needles or size needed to obtain gauge. 3 st holders.

GAUGE
22 sts and 30 rows = 4 ins [10 cm] with larger needles in stocking st.

ABBREVIATIONS
www.bernat.com/glossary

INSTRUCTIONS
The instructions are written for smallest size. If changes are necessary for larger sizes the instructions will be written thus ( ).
BACK: **With smaller needles and MC, cast on 50 (54- 58-66) sts.
Work 8 rows of (K2. P2) ribbing, inc 2 (0-2-0) sts evenly across last row. 52 (54-60-66) sts.
Change to larger needles and proceed in stocking st** until 11 (12½-13-14) ins [28 (32-33-35.5) cm] total length, ending with a purl row.
Shoulders: Cast off 9 (10-13-16) sts beg next 2 rows.
Leave rem 34 sts on a st holder.

FRONT: Work from ** to ** as given for Back until 8 (9- 9-10) ins [20.5 (23-23-25.5) cm] total length, ending with a purl row.
Divide for Front opening: 1st row: (RS). K26 (27- 30-33). Turn. Leave rem sts on a spare needle.
2nd row: K2. Purl to end of row.
3rd row: Knit.
Rep last 2 rows until Front measures same length as Back to shoulder, ending with a purl row. Cast off 9 (10- 13-16) sts. Leave rem 17 sts on a st holder.
With RS facing, join MC to sts on a spare needle and work to correspond to right side, reversing position of front garter edge.

SLEEVES: With smaller needles and MC, cast on 34 (34-38-38) sts.
Work 8 rows in (K2. P2) ribbing.
Change to larger needles and proceed in stocking st, inc 1 st each end of needle on 3rd row and every following alt row to 50 (52-48-48) sts, then every following 4th row to 52 (56-60-62) sts. Cont even for 4½ (5½-6½-7) ins [11.5 (14-16.5-18) cm] total length, ending with a purl row. Cast off.

FINISHING
Pin garment pieces to measurements. Cover with a damp cloth, leaving cloth to dry.

Hood: Sew shoulder seams. With RS facing, B and larger needles, knit sts from all 3 st holders, inc 20 sts evenly across. 88 sts. Knit to 7½ (8½- 9½-9½) ins [19 (21.5-24-24) cm], ending with WS row.

Cast off. Fold hood in half. Sew top seam.
Place markers 4¾ (5-5¼-5½) ins [12 (12.5-13-14) cm] on Front and Back down from shoulders. Sew in sleeves between markers. Sew side and sleeve seams.

*****Additonal******

Once the sweater portion is finished, chain a circle of sc stitches of the color Fresh Green into the peak of the hood. (Around 20 should do. Connect with a slip stitch.

Crochet 2 rounds in sc.

Decrease by half and continue for 4 more rounds.

Decrease by half again, then bind off. 

Reading Rundown- Kindle Tips

I am a voracious reader. And now with the kindle it has gotten even more out of hand. It is less obvious because most books I purchase are digital now, but I regularly clean out my kindle selections using http://calibre-ebook.com/ or else it would take over my life.

I highly recommend using this program if you want to be able to find things on your kindle,  take things off your kindle (like the stupid lending notices), convert books to different formats, and other useful services amazon doesn't provide.

And if you don't have a lot of money to spend on books I recommend the following sites for great cheap/free reads that aren't your standard books past copywright.

http://www.freebooksy.com/
http://www.ereaderdailynews.com/
http://www.pixelofink.com/

What am I reading?
I usually have a different book going on every platform. Why? Because I can.
My Phone: The Gate: 13 Dark and Odd Tales (fun horror short stories)

My Kindle: My Clockwork Muse (A fictional book about Poe getting caught up in a series of murders.)

In the Tub: Wildwood Dancing (Juliet Marillier's take on the 12 Dancing Princesses. One of my favorite authors.)

Comfort Reread: Thursday Next: Lost in a Good Book (No reader should miss this series. The funniest and wittiest writer that I have ever come across.)

On the Couch: IT by Stephen King. (I regret not getting this in kindle format since it is over 1000 pages and quite heavy. But it was $1.00 at the used bookstore, I couldn't resist.)

On My Work Computer: Help! Wanted: Tales of on the Job Terror (Brilliant horror short stories with an appropriate theme.) I like reading short stories when on the go or at work, because picking up and putting down a book infrequently makes me want to go back and reread a few pages.

Listening in the Car on the Way to Work: Ravens of Avalon (I like really fun, dramatic books that keep me awake. Jane Austen would not be the best choice for stuck in traffic. Can you imagine?) I am super excited because Aloha from Hell should be arriving this week to listen to.

Do yourself a favor, do not read the Sandman Slim series, listen to them. Amazing voice actor work.

See you tomorrow on crafting day!