SPT: 022808 swapcore

i made a ganomy hat for an awesome girl i never met.
she made me this super rad shirt.
we found each other on stylemob.
pretty awesome, eh?


(this is what she got.)

---current obsession---

Has anyone heard of Kate Nash?
probably the cutest video ever, and @ 33 seconds in she's knitting a scarf!!!!!!!



<3
knitxcore.

SPT: 022108 Snow Day!

I love precipitation!
It snowed most of the day today.
I walked home from work in it, and it took every ounce of self control I had not to flop on the ground and make snow angels.

---SnowDaySong---
this video stars an amazing director/writer/artist by the name of miranda july. i'm pretty much obsessed with her.

Blonde Redhead - Top Ranking




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knitxcore.

shop update.

buy this.




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knitxcore.

SPT: 021408

i finished my first toe up sock.
i gave up on shaving.
these pants have a hole in the crotch.

C is for Cupcakes!

I like to make a special treat every Valentine's Day. I usually bake sugar cookies and toss some royal icing on them, but this year I wanted to go just a step further. I bought this Martha Stewart cupcake kit at Macy's, and then searched all of my cookbooks for the perfect recipe. After looking through all of them and the creepy box of recipes from the seventies my mom gave me, I decided Martha could once again save the day. I went to MarthaStewart.com and there on the first page was exactly what I needed, not only was there a recipe but a video for those of us with little kitchen confidence.

---recipe---

Billy's Vanilla, Vanilla Cupcakes (Makes about 30 cupcakes)

1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Billy's Vanilla Buttercream
Colored Sprinkles, for decorating, optional
Alternate frosting: Billy's Chocolate Buttercream

Directions
-Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

-In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.

-Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full (I used about 2 tablespoons). Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.

-Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake (I used the buttercream icing recipe above, and Wilton's Color Gel in Pink). Decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Serve at room temperature.



I know my pictures suck tonight, but it happens. It's been rainy and dark.

BTW... I finally have my crown!!!!!!! I forgot to let you all know. It's weird chewing on both sides now. I keep biting my cheek. lol.

<3

knitxcore.

SPT 020708: Knitting.

i look kinda crappy today. i didn't sleep well. it was raining and super windy all night. i thought we were going to die.
i got sorta half ready for work and decided i just wanted to knit.
i really should eat some breakfast.

<3
knitxcore.

B is for Books.

I've always been sort of book-ish. As a kid, we didn't have a lot of money. We didn't go many fancy places. My escape was the library. It was free, and I could check out a "ticket" to where ever I wanted to go. During vacations, while other kids were visiting Mickey Mouse or some exotic island, I was 20,000 leagues under the sea. I didn't appreciate it when I was younger, jealous of the other kids exciting stories. Now, as a grown-up, I love the person being bookish has helped me become.

I'll read pretty much anything (as long as it's not written by Dan Brown or Gregory Maguire); fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, zines, et al. I have tons of favorite books! My knitting and cookbook collections are insane. I'm not ashamed to admit I've read all of the Harry Potter series, and loved every second of it. Sometimes, I'll continue reading a horrible book, just because I have to finish it.

So, in conclusion, B is for Books.

---Today's Video---

Belle and Sebastian - Wrapped Up In Books



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SPT 013108: Coffee Time

sitting down with the to-do list and some yukon blend.
i have so much to do today, but martha stewart is about to come on. will someone come fold my laundry?

<3
knitxcore.

SPT 012408: Shaving

I took 17 pictures. lol.
I hate shaving more than choclate and peanut butter together.
that's a lot.

<3
knitxcore.

SPT: 011708

today, i had to walk home in the rain.
turns out my new shoes are waterproof.
i'm gonna dry off and start another loaf of no knead bread.

---Today's Video---

Travis - Why Does It Always Rain On Me

A is for Alpaca.

I finished the lil' number just in time to give to my long-time friend Bryan for X-mas (it was kinda belated). We've been friends since we were in high school, and he's the only childhood friend that I still talk to on a regular basis. So, his gift had to be pretty nice. I used the yarn I was kinda hoarding for myself in a fit of LMGS (lastminutegiftsyndrome), although I hated to see it go, I know it will be loved in it's new home.

Pattern Particulars
Pattern Source: The Fidget by Robin Dodge for One Sheep Hill
Needles: Clover Takumi US size 10.5 straight
Materials: Misti Alpaca Chunky in Color #1000, vintage buttons from stash.
Time: Just a few hours.
loved: The stitch pattern! i will absolutely use it again!
hated: That I had to frog it about two or three times.
mods: None, really, I used the second option and just sailed through.

I'm sooper dooper happy with the fidget. I may have to order some more Misti Alpaca to make one for myself now.

---Today's Video---

Mates of State - Goods (all in your head.)




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knitxcore.

No Knead Bread!

Since I finally have fancy dutch ovens, I took a stab at the no-knead bread everyone's been gabbing about. It's seriously the easiest recipe ever, it just takes some time for the bread to rise. I skipped the cornmeal step (don't do that), and that lovely loaf above was stuck to the pan in a bad way. Don't worry, we still ate it. It was just a bitch to get the lil' klingons off of the pan when cleaning time rolled around.

I read about it on the NotMartha blog awhile ago, and found a ton of links with different recipes. Ultimately, I used the most popular one from the NYTimes:

Recipe: No-Knead Bread
Published: November 8, 2006

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Easypeasy, right??? The only thing I did differently was switch the all-purpose flour to whole wheat (well, that and the cornmeal thing). Honestly, if it hadn't stuck I would have felt like a master chef. I guess I could try again on Sunday?

In true KnitXcorE style, I have a NoKneadBread video:




thanx for all the well wishes BTW!!!! i'm feeling a lil' better today :-)
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knitxcore.

SelfPortraitThursday

Apparently, once you stop taking antibiotics, you get sick. FUNTIMES!

I'm a Rabid Anti-Dentite!!!

If you can't figure out what the crazy apparatus behind me is, or figure out why I'm wearing a bib and there's no lobster in the picture, it's because I've been hangin out at my *awesome* dentist's office.

The story begins:

The Friday before X-mas, I went to work like any normal day. By about 5 o'clock, I felt like death. My face was throbbing and the was a big purple bubble on my gums. Turns out big purple bubble means, "Remember that broken tooth? Well, now you have an abcess!". Gross! The pain was unbearable, and I was deathly afraid it was going to break, so Dave took me straight from work to the emergency room. They pretty much confirmed it was an abscess, gave me antibiotics and pain medicine, and told me that I couldn't go to the dentist until it went away.

So, I was basically doped up through Christmas.

Anyway, the abcess is gone. Yesterday, I finally had my dentist appointment. He poked around for a few minutes, left for about 20 minutes, and came back with a game plan. As it turns out, I need a root canal, filling, and a crown... ON THE SAME TOOTH! I'm pretty excited :-( My appointment was supposed to be tomarrow, they called today and re-scheduled for the 18th. Fun TiMeS!

FIN.

So that's why I haven't blogged in a few weeks. But I haven't let it put a damper on my crafty-style. I've inherited a lifetimes worth of plastic canvas and yarn (I'm not 60, I swear!), so expect some cool stuff. I've started a Fidget with my Chumky Misti Alpaca from Loop, I'm awful at paying attention, but I refuse to use a row counter for a 4-row stitch pattern. Maybe I'm a knitting sadist? Santa brought me not one, but two cast iron dutch ovens that I can't seem to stop playing with and a blooming tea set (a la Marie Atoinette)that I'm waiting to use until we can have a proper tea :-)

Seinfeld-Jerry is a rabid anti-dentite.

<3

knitxcore.

Happy Holidays!!!

some crazy things have happened this week, i'll update you all in the new year...

but for now, enjoy your holiday!

Sufjan Stevens - Put the Lights on the Tree



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knitxcore.

spt+fo.

I've decided to combine Self Portrait Thursday with my most recent FO, Foliage from Knitty.com.
I finished this hat sorta late (late in my house means after 11pm, lol) last night, and didn't have the energy to take any "good" FO pics, sorry. This lil guy is going to be wrapped up and put with the X-mas pile, eventually.



Pattern Particulars

Pattern Source:Foliage From Knitty.com
Needles: Susan Bates Size 9 16" pink metal circular, Addi Natura Size 8 16" circular
Materials: Rio De Plata Wool Multi
Time: About 5 hours
loved: the pattern!!! i had a bad experience once with a top-down hat and swore i'd never do one again. Foliage has renewed my faith. hated: knitting lace, I have the attention span of a walnut.
mods: The Rio was a weird weight, so the worsted pattern wouldn't cut it. I used Size 9 needles and did 2 and 1/2 lace pattern repeats with 6 rows of ribbing before the BO. It fits kinda slouchy, exactly how i wanted.

I'm super duper excited right now! I have possibly the coolest cake ever, in the oven. I was going to wait to show you my finished cake but you need to go buy this pan, NOW! (while it's on sale for $14.99) Martha Stewart is a genius!!!

Martha Stewart Igloo Cake Mold - Macys.com



I'll take pictures of mine when it's finished, and give you all the gritty details.

<3
knitxcore.

Reading Level.

found @ CallingonKahlo.

Cash Advance Loans

Self-Portrait Thursday.

All the cool kids are doing it.





For those of you who don't know, it's been snowing in New Jersey. Today, I had to walk in the wet, mushy leftovers to get home from work. I'm already down three pairs of shoes this week. As soon as I walked in the door, I put on some tea(Tazo Joy) and my coziest PJ pants.
lifeisgood.




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knitxcore.

icandothefriv.

Inspired by some of my favorite bloggers, I gave the Frivoli pattern a shot.

Pattern Particulars
Pattern Source:Frivol by Debi Tuttle
Needles: Clover Takumi Straight Needles Sz. 8
Materials: Naturally Tussock 8-ply in tan.
Time: About 4 hours
loved: the bobbles!!!!
hated: that i used a light color. i'm going to attempt this hat again in a dark green.

CabLE CloSE-up:

This lil' guy is the first finished X-mas gift!!!! We'll see how many get finished in time :-)

Jenny Lewis can't do the friv, but she can do frug (and the robocop):

Rilo Kiley (circa 1999) - The Frug



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knitxcore.

Yarn Crawl: A Mini-Series II

Our adventure continues, and leads us to Philly's infamous South Street. Punk Rockers, homeless folk and drug dealers pepper the street. Fortunately, I'm wielding the only weapon a knitter needs; my Addi-turbos. Despite the dingy streets and sketchy folk, a beacon of hope shines through.



Loop was my favorite shop of the day, no contest. Everything was in tidy cubbies, the staff was awesome, and they sold a certain blogger's hand-dyed yarn. The store was comfortable and inviting, plenty of places to sit and knit or just gush over the newest Rowan pattern book. My purchase at Loop include (but are not limited to); some amahhhhhhhzing Misti Alpaca Chunky, The new Men's book from Rowan, and some super secret christmas fun. Even though I never wanted to leave, we had to make our way down South Street past the Magic Garden towards our next 2 stops...



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knitxcore.