school daze.

i'm sorry it's been so long.

i'm still here.

i still knit.

i finally decided to go back to school, after 8 years. that makes me sound old doesn't it?

i really didn't have the opportunity to go to college right after high school and was thrust into the real world without my big boy pants on. after folding t-shirts for most of my adult life i started wondering if there was life outside of the mall. it turns out there is, you just need a degree to enjoy it. i'm going to be thirty soon and don't have a whole lot to show for it. now is as good as time as any right?

i'm still knitting. I finished a few special orders. see?:

and a few days ago, i casted on my second charade sock from a few months ago. lol. the tofutsies is just plain horrible. it splits more than any yarn i have EVER used. EVER. but the socks will still be nice when/if finish them :-)

i can't decide on a fall sweater. all i know is that i want to use a rowan pattern (from knitting for him or vintage knits) and that i want to make it out of peace fleece or something from beaverslide dry goods. i pick up the books every night and look at EVERY SINGLE PAGE, not only because the photos are amazing but also because some of those patterns look quite intimidating.

any suggestions on a sweater pattern for me??? come on. i know you all spend every waking moment on ravelry. have i missed a hidden gem???

________________________

MagicGingerSongs <3

a fine frenzy - blow away

<3

knitxcore.

i'm trying to get back into my "good" habits.

i used to make the bed everyday.

i kinda dropped the ball.

i'm going to frame this and hang it near the bed.

i'll have a gentle reminder every morning.

i finished a few custom hats, last week.

i promise to share them soon.

i may even do a shop update sometime in the near-ish future :-)

i'm gonna feed kitties and go to bed. it's kinda late.

___________________________

BEDTIME STORY!!!!!

Capucine: Cute French Girl's Fairytale

i saw this on someone else's blog and thought it was the cutest thing i've ever seen :-)

<3

knitxcore.

watergate salad.

watergate salad is one of my favorite things ever.

pistachio pudding and marshmallows together?

a delicious dream.

my family always had it at cookouts when i was wee lil' guy.

until recently i had never made it myself.

i could never find a recipe, and wasn't even sure what it was called.

pretty sure it was some secret recipe, i gave up trying to duplicate it.

as it turns out, the recipe has been on the pudding box all this time.

now, i can share it with blogland:

Watergate Salad

• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, with juice
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Mix everything together. Refrigerate for at least an hour :-)

______________________________

cibelle - green grass (a tom waits cover)

<3

knitxcore.

and the winner is....

that right!!!!

by a landslide with 45 votes.

i've already cut it (and left sides a lil' longer in homage to Ol' RobbyPattinson), but need to pick up some styling tools and a blowdryer (dammit) because my hair refuses to stand up on it's own. i may post some photos tonight anyway. we'll see.

as you can tell, i'm on the fence about it. but this guys hair has given me hope:

thank for all of your votes/suggestions!!!!!

the winners:

nora and joontoons.

email me your mailing adresses to claim your prizes @ rdulaney82 at comcast dot net.

_________________

elvis - i got lucky

<3

knitxcore.

hair today, gone tomarrow.

i want to thank everyone so much for all of the options!

i never thought that i would get that many comments.

i know big time bloggers get tons more, but 14 is a lot to me.

my three favorites from the choices were:

-the "james dean"

WoW! why i didn't i think of this on my own?

it's perfect!!!!!

-the "swing kid"

i loved this movie when i was a younger.

we watched it in fourth grade for some reason.

-the "super hip lookbook guy"

thanx for sending this my way :-)

i love lookbook.

so these are your choices.

which haircut should i pick?

• the "james dean"
• the "swing kid"
• the "super hip lookbook guy"

View Results
Create a Blog Poll

the poll will be open until the 6th.

don't forget to vote :-)

<3

knitxcore.

hair.

this is what my hair looks like right now.

i hate it. it's thick and kinda wavy at times and usually looks terrible by the end of the day.

so everyone that reads my is going to help me pick a new 'do. right?

i want:

something more polished (as stacy and clinton would say).

that doesn't involve blow drying or straightening.

possibly vintage or classic? (i.e.; pompadours and side parts)

and finally something that requires very little "product".

leave your ideas in the comments, preferably with a link to a photo.

i'll pick my favorites out of those, and open a poll for all of you to vote on monday.

the person who picks with the winning style/cut will recieve a sweet vintage or handmade prize!!!!!

<3

knitxcore.

floor pillow.

made from a vintage montgomery ward bed sheet.
my grandma used to work there when i was little.
it's stuffed with two regular bed pillows tied together.
i'm sure the kitties will adopt it, and i'll never get use it.
i used ApartmentTherapy's tutorial as a jumping off point
and adjusted the measurements to make it easier.
i'm horrible at math.




project details:

tutorial= @ apartmenttherapy

materials = two standard pillows (which were under the bed), one vintage bed sheet (ebay $8), velcro (i had laying around for some strange reason), fiberfill to fill out corners (i buy it every time it's on sale)

time= 30 minutes

modifications= i needed this to fit under my coffee table so, i did a 30" x 30" square.

---------------------------------

sarah blasko - no turning back

<3
knitxcore.

vinyl sunday.

ed ames- when the snow is on the roses.

i bought this album at a store where LP's are 20 for $2.

the sleeve was so good i couldn't leave it there.

i'm still not sure who ed ames is.

he could have been the indian guy in "daniel boone".

-----------------------------------

ed ames - when snow is on the roses.

<3

knitxcore.

friday faves.

Etsy:

forage shoulder bag from forestbound.

sturdy and well crafted from vintage materials.

oh! if this fabric could talk, it would have better stories than my grandpa.

Music:

zoe woodbury-high's amazing ukelele smiths cover.

i secretly want a ukelele, but i know i won't be good at it.

i had a lot of instrumental FAILs in my life already.

BLOG:

a five year old girl photo blogs with her polaroid

camera. magic.

enjoy!

<3

knitxcore.

technorati

claim.

siy768uzjf

<3

knitxcore.

boo.

i thought i had work today when i woke up.

i didn't.

so i:

cleaned the patio

watched horrible reality tv (nyc prep)

thumbed through my favorite cookbook.

took a nap

got the mail

and embroidered tiny ghosts on my clothes.

now i'm going to bake a blackberry buckle.

have a great night :-)

----------------------------

frente! - bizarre love triangle

<3

knitxcore.

first rose.

i've had this same rose bush for about six years now.

it never makes many flowers.

i'm not a very good gardener.

but, i still look forward to the first rose of the summer.

it's later than usual this year, but it's perfect :-)

i hate the fleeting the beauty of a flower.

it's a perfect reminder to live in the present.

i guess we'll always have this moment.

-----------------------

devendra banhart - how's about tellin a story

<3

robbie.

explore.

the other day i had this urge to play outside.

dave and i always pass this park when we go to our parents houses.

my bff and i decided to go check it out.

they used to make canonballs there. (karen, it's called the weymouth furnace in the book i sent you).

besides the furnace, there isn't really much there.

we took lots of pictures anyway.

i even took a few holga shots :-)

i finished my mothers day gift (haha). it took forever because i couldn't find inkjet fabric. i'd like take some pictures of it tomarrow. we'll see.

in other news, i finally pledged to wardrobe refashion.

I, knitxcore, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 4 months. I pledge that i shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! Signed knitxcore.

i'm so glad etsy purchases don't count. i'd be in trouble.

______________

fleet foxes - he doesn't know why

<3

knitxcore.

cookies.

i made some sugar cookies today with a pal.

it was fun, even though half of the dough ended up on the floor.

old fashioned sugar cookies

Makes about 20 (3 1/2-inch) cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened

2 large eggs

Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl; set aside.

Put sugars and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed 30 seconds. Add butter; mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. (go back to the store because you forgot eggs.) Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon juice. (drop half on the floor, use measuring cup to figure out how much was lost. and determine how much flour you need to cut.) Reduce speed; gradually add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.

Scoop dough using a 2-inch ice cream scoop (or just man up and use your hands); space cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten cookies slightly with a spatula. Sprinkle tops with sanding sugar, then lightly brush with a wet pastry brush; sprinkle with more sanding sugar.(or just skip all that extra stuff)

Bake cookies until golden, about 15 minutes (more like 10-12 minutes). Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks using a spatula; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in (a snowman tupperware container) an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

srsly, even though we made quite a mess, these cookies were tasty.

will it ever stop raining???

-----------------------------------

little - je veux des violons

<3

knitxcore.

holgaxcore.

my first two rolls came back. i have mixed emotions about the results.

i was just hoping for more of that holga magic. i'm sure i'll figure it out eventually.

you can see the rest of them on my flickr photostream.

i swear i'm knitting. i'm chugging away on the ol' log cabin blanket. i've come to point where it takes 15 minutes to finish a row :-( i never should have used cotton. oh well. it's too late now. lesson learned.

------------------

simone white - why is your raincoat always crying?

<3

knitxcore.

friday faves.

music:

tinyfolk - mary poppins (hello shark cover)

etsy:

this print from NEW! seller formeforyou

food:

Funnel cake!!!! dave and i made some the other night from an old amish cookbook.  if anyone would like the recipe, lemme know!  even though we didn't have a funnel, they were lovely. we ate them so quickly i didn't have a chance to take a proper photo.  apparently, someone on flickr was able to excersize enough restraint...

untitled by rachel a.k. on flickr!

------------------------------------

my film still hasn't come back, i'm getting far too excited to check the mail.  i hope there are a few good shots.  

it seems like everyday i have off it is extremely gloomy.  today is the grey-est day.  i don't know how i'm going to get anything done.  i just want to drink coffee and read books.

<3

knitxcore.

friday faves.

music:

Happiest lion - Boys like me (paul baribeau cover)

reading:

my family and other animals by gerald durrell

an incredible summer read!  travel without leaving your block.

coveting:

this hat by etsy seller onnesti

i love it more than anything, it's just kinda out of my price range.

harmonica necklace by nycbird

a tiny, working harmonica.  nuff said.

i have to start getting ready for work, so i'm cutting this short.

i should have my first 2 rolls of holga film back in less than a week.

keep yours eyes peeled!

<3

knitxcore.

bubbles.

so, it's my day off.

i like to get bubble baths  (lush's karma bubble bar is my fave but mr. bubble runs a close second) and listen to this american life.

i chose episode #238 and by the end of act 1, i  was in tears.

it was about a mother dying of lung cancer who made a video for her developmentally disabled daughter to remember her.

it was soooooo incredibly sweet.

------------------------

first aid kit- tiger mountain peasant song (fleet foxes cover)

this is so raw and beautiful.  i need to order their album.

<3

knitxcore.

friday faves.

listening:

tinyfolk

drinking:

mellow mood tea from good4you - i have trouble falling asleep, i think too much when i'm laying down.  this magical elixir has me out cold in about an hour.

waiting:

i bought a holga on ebay.  it's being shipped from hong kong, but it was really cheap so i guess it's worth the wait.

have a great weekend and stay dry in the great northeast.

<3

knitxcore.

prism.

i've been thinking about light a lot recently.

so i bought lil' prism to hang in my doorway.

according to feng shui, a crystal should be placed where steps lead to a door to create a greater and smoother energy flow.

at first i was sad and thought i put it in the wrong space, or it didn't work right or something.

but later in the day, i went to get the mail and found these lil' light fairies on the wall:

i found this reasonably priced one on etsy from jerseyjewel and right now everything is  15% off, if you buy 2 or more items.  she's quite a lovely shopkeep <3

-------------------------

elvis perkins in dearland - shampoo

<3

knitxcore.